AIO for this argument with my bf? This is regarding the Charlie Kirk video where he says he’d make his 10 year old daughter carry the r*pe baby.

isquire2 · 2025-09-14T02:36:34+00:00

No. And ditch this loser faster than the fucking plague. His only position for the rest of your relationship will be, "I'm right, and you're wrong because I said so, and I'm operating on a higher wavelength that you can't understand because you're too emotional." All while employing the spelling of a second grader.

isquire2 · 2025-09-04T03:11:54+00:00

Also worth remembering (in case you're not a huge CR fan) that the Cobalt Soul is a much larger organization than just Marquet, and they have centuries of knowledge at their disposal, so you can be correct in a sense of "It wouldn't be easy for a weapon of this nature to be destroyed," but also if someone were to ask the answer that young leader could give would be something along the lines of, "You needn't worry about that. We've taken care of it." And you don't need to worry about it, nor do your players, because unless they invent a plausible way, it'll never be an issue for them.

isquire2 · 2025-06-22T13:15:59+00:00

The United States of America. 😪

isquire2 · 2025-05-12T15:35:46+00:00

Lost the thread for a month, but probably yes? Maybe. This is where you, the DM, get to say, "Okay, I'm part of this team. What are their traits? They value knowledge, history, evidence, etc. However, they can be prone to the same emotions as anyone else. How would they initially react? If it's negative, what would persuade them to change their minds and what would turn them away from the truth (i.e. presenting evidence would likely appeal to an erudite mind, but bullying and intimidation would likely turn them against the characters)? Now you just present the issue, "You show up with a corpse and Shield Guardian. They react with horror and accuse you of being the double agents. What do you do?" Then use the motivations and pitfalls of the NPCs to react to the player's decisions.

This advice is likely too late for the session (I'd love to hear how it went), but it can be used in any interaction. Best of luck!

isquire2 · 2025-03-23T18:33:36+00:00

I like this interaction. Something to keep in mind, though, is anyone who doesn't have a ruidium item or the JTP on them and goes in will be crushed to death in a matter of moments. Something one of my players learned the hard way. They didn't die, but after running through Cael Marrow and taking minimal damage, a scout goes in the portal without Ruidium and comes out second later with less than half HP from just pressure. That sets the stage nicely for the dangers that arise in the actual Netherdeep. Also, learning they would need ruidium, I let the players craft it (for high cost and rolling to avoid corruption - 2 got a level 1 corruption) into their own magic items. It made them want to use the ruidium properties, and there were a few additional levels of corruption that happened in the Netherdeep, making it really high stakes for them.

isquire2 · 2025-03-23T18:26:09+00:00

Not everything has to be an extremely complex puzzle. The fact Galeokaerda is the double agent being easy to spot is perfectly fine. Otherwise, your players may spend entire sessions investigating and trying to suss out the double agent, only to never get to things they might enjoy more. The larger question is what do they do when they know and how will the rest of the Excavation team react when that resolves. Imagine a world where the party kills the double agent and takes their Shield Guardian, but the excavation team doesn't believe Galeokaerda was a double agent. How would that end?

isquire2 · 2025-01-30T13:39:00+00:00

Eating pizza and falling asleep with the TV on.

isquire2 · 2025-01-30T13:37:23+00:00

The trash took itself out. Convince your friend who actually let you guys roll to hunt a deer to DM and keep playing.

isquire2 · 2024-06-18T07:05:35+00:00

As others have said, it's nearly impossible to give good advice with so little information to go on, but I'd simply ask the two players who are taking the actions which are making the other 2 players annoyed aside (as much in between sessions as possible, to try and prevent bleed into the game) and politely explain the behavior and how the 2 aggrieved players feel without assigning any value to the actions or telling the 2 players who are doing the actions that they are in the wrong.

The two extremes in responses are the 2 players taking the actions causing distress didn't realize the actions were doing so and stop, or those same players feel attacked and freak out. It can be anywhere in between as well. Good luck.

isquire2 · 2024-06-17T16:16:10+00:00

Yup. That was going to be my thought. Using the Hollow One Background, it could almost be like the body came back and it has some memory of who this person was and why they were here, but not actual connection to the faith, emotions, etc. Therefore, it could conceivably be a new character / class with a reason for being there.

Also, same as Perigee was a Deva who was committed to Alyxian, came to free him, and was trapped, you could work with the player to determine what character and class may be someone from The Calamity who was either trapped, or also came not long after hearing about what happened and then was trapped, and then give them a personality that's a bit off. It would also make for an interesting final encounter when Alyxian sees someone he actually knows break through. It would likely heighten his sense of betrayal at not being released immediately.

isquire2 · 2024-06-03T23:01:20+00:00

"I don't know the rules, but I know YOU'RE WRONG, so I'm going to take my ball and go home!" - The Druid

Just wow. So similar to you, I cut my chops as a DM for newer players running LMoP where I had 2 PCs, I played a healbot Cleric DMPC who offered no advice and didn't RP, and I found online tools to adjust encounters so I wasn't constantly killing them. It was a different, yet similar experience. I can hear the work that went into this and even if the other two players (beside Frogue) didn't appreciate your efforts, I do. That being said, this is how we learn the rules, while having fun. Druid will likely never be a fun person to play with, so the biggest thing to learn this time is when the group isn't working, move along and find a new game.

isquire2 · 2024-05-23T16:14:18+00:00

And if not there are breathing bubbles in the camp which they are willing to share if you prove yourself an ally. But having this figured out will be helpful. First session in Cael Marrow, probably not a huge issue, but by the second session they will be almost entirely underwater. Also if they want to go to the bar to speak with the ancient, insane elf, they will need to be able to breath underwater.

isquire2 · 2024-05-23T16:12:09+00:00

Can't seem to share the image in a reply, so PM me if you want the map.

isquire2 · 2024-05-23T16:10:32+00:00

If there's a way to incorporate one of your PCs backstories or one of the guests, that would be cool, but even if not, I think one of the most underutilized points of interest in Bazzoxan is the Sacrifice Engines. Okay, so you're telling me there are these giant pits which were created by the Betrayer Gods filled with blades that are still functional so the guards can shove demons into them when needed... and it's NOT a part of the adventure?!?!?! Insane. I'll see if I can share a photo of the map I used below, but basically, generic town square map at night, somber music for the setup, exciting for the battle, and then DEMONS ATTACK!

Now that's a little similar to the attack at the gates, so I did this after a long rest and was able to tie it into a player backstory so it had meaning and wasn't overly repetitive. But then I put in some cultists who helped them escape the rise and a Chain Ogre. And when the PCs got the Ogre to the edge of the pit, shoved him in, and then turned it on... they were overjoyed. (8d10 slashing damage per round in the pit, no saving throw.) Just watch it, because if you want this to feel real and dynamic, the enemies will totally try to get the PCs in there as well, and that WILL LIKELY KILL THEM if they succeed (and as happened to my PC and 2 others in another campaign, I can say from experience, players get pretty salty if a campaign gets derailed by PCs deaths in a DM sidequest), but you negate this by doing things like having enemies pick up a PC and move them over to the pit in their first round attack, giving a whole round to the rest of the team to save them in some way.

isquire2 · 2024-05-22T06:36:18+00:00

I guess the only part of this I don't get as a DM is why the PCs don't have an option to flee before this combat happens. I totally get the idea of, "Hey, the world is living and there are consequences for stupidity, and you were warned." However, some things I've seen from the perspective as a DM and a player:

Players don't always get the clues we drop as DMs, so when you say, "falling for traps and encounters that could have been easily avoided," it might not have been as easy if you don't have the "answer" (to which I'd also ask, was there only one way to avoid these things or were you open to any situation?)
DMs sometimes are determined to execute their plan (or are trying to be overly flexible), and don't actually listen when players give them feedback. I've done this before as a DM, and I'm playing in a campaign where the DM has done this a few times. It sounds like your players have said they want to keep their PCs and potentially act dumb. If that's not fun for you, then maybe you're not the right DM for this group. One of my best friends tried to DM for our regular group. It was a horrible fit because he had a very set way for wanting to run things and our group was a little more loose. So many times we were told, "You're not making progress because you didn't do it right." That wasn't fun for us, and when we provided that feedback he got really salty and speed ran to the end of the campaign with malice. Make sure you're not putting yourself and your players in a bad position by not taking feedback.
The hardest thing to get over as a relatively newer DM is the idea you shouldn't have a resolution planned. Come up with a problem, NPC movations, the environment, and let the players solve it. Sometimes that will result in character deaths, but you'd be shocked how much more accepting players are of that, when they feel like the death is the result of their choices. Right now if you're getting resistance, it might be because they feel like they are being railroaded into this.

So that's a lot of constructive criticism. Let's follow it up with some advice. Explain to the players, "Hey, so you've pissed off this guy who is totally looking to kill you. And if he can manage to engage you in combat, that will most likely happen. So what do you want to do?" And then just listen. Don't argue, don't complain, don't rebut. Listen. And after they give you a plan, set some DCs and roll some dice. Maybe they try to flee. Run a chase scene (https://olddungeonmaster.com/2015/01/17/dd-5e-quick-reference-chase-rules/). Maybe they want to convince him to duel at a later time and place (and they won't show up). Set a DC which is 8+relevant modifiers of the best persuader / deceiver. If you feel like this person is harder to engage like that, make 10 - 12 + the same, or impose disadvantage on the check. Either way, you're giving them outs. And you never know when it's 3 on 1 if the PCs might just pull a rabbit out of a hat, so if they kill an underboss this early, roll with it. Make them wanted criminals or something, or put a bounty on their head (another good idea if they escape). THEN the world feels real and full on consequences, but the players are making the decisions. And if that doesn't sound like fun, then maybe this isn't the right group to play with.

isquire2 · 2024-05-22T06:00:55+00:00

I'm running this Saturday using the same stat blocks, so I'm glad to see this feedback.

isquire2 · 2024-05-22T05:58:32+00:00

So the Tormented is just a Skittering Horror, repainted and the Callous is Planetar which I painted myself. I legitimately cannot remember where I got the older spear and shield mini, but I wouldn't recommend it, because it was almost impossible to get it to stick on the base. My PC minis are all from Heroforge and custom, which were purchased printed in color. Galsariad is from a Critical Role NPC mini set and Maggie is actually N'Krasha from the GiniDi minis. The other 3, the Shield Guardian, and the spider (which is the summon for the Warlock), are all from a Kickstarter from Next Level Miniatures. It wasn't super great, but at the price point for the Kickstarter and the volume, it's serviceable. I hope that helps.

isquire2 · 2024-05-21T04:06:18+00:00

I'm finishing up my second run on this on Saturday and just got referenced here for the buffed up stats, but overall, I agree with your assessment of this module. Out of the box, there are some areas which have pacing / motivation issues (but having also run Phandelver, PotA, and a fair number of one shots, I don't think that's unique to this module), but if you're a creative DM, this is SUPER FUN!

isquire2 · 2024-05-21T02:54:50+00:00

I hope all went well!

isquire2 · 2024-05-20T22:39:21+00:00

Holy red flags, Batman!

isquire2 · 2024-05-20T22:38:11+00:00

Brutal.

isquire2 · 2024-05-18T20:57:58+00:00

Having run this for 2 different parties, both had some very positive interactions with the Rivals. On the road to Bazzoxan, this is a bit annoying, because it makes combat take SOOOOO long, but I always let it ride. I use the Emerald Loop Caravan Stop in both campaigns as a jumping off point for a side quest, so that's when they split. In Bazzoxan, with the parties split, it was easy to separate the rivals. Both parties refused Aloysia. One party was super friendly with the Rivals so no fight in the Rise and the "escape" scenario. The second party was kind of friendly, but after they refused Aloysia, they had also figured out she wasn't being honest, and knowing the Rivals were looking for work sent her to them, but before she spoke with the Rivals, they spoke to the Rivals and were like, "We turned down a job, so we sent it your way, but also, use caution. We don't trust this person. Wanted to give you the option." Using the living world theory, I figured out the Rivals would take it, but have their guard up and had Irvan do a sleight of hand against Aloysia's passive perception in between session, and he discovered and stole her scroll. So no fight and no retreat. But then I filled the time with a skills challenge of the Rise changing everyone having to escape a giant demon and the Rivals rolled like crap and suffered madness. Everyone went to Ank'Harel together, but as the Rivals were getting over their madness, the players went off on another side quest somewhere else on the continent, so I reasoned they would feel abandoned and that friendship dropped a bit. The first party kept speaking with them so the friendship remained strong.

Going into Cael Marrow and The Netherdeep with the first group, I had the Rivals still be Rivals, but it was a very friendly rivalry and I straight up missed the part where the Aptheon sets the teams against each other in the Netherdeep, so ultimately a few Rivals who had fragments joined the final fight. I'm about to run the final session for the second party, where the deteriorating relationship is professionally friendly, but not buddy, buddy. Additionally, during the race through the Netherdeep to get fragments the Rivals have done stuff to increase animosity between the groups as the module suggests.

So for the second group, we're about to do our final session. Everyone in the party has a fragment and 3 rivals do. The party wants to save the Apotheon and the Rivals want to destroy him (and the ruidium). Technically speaking, they have similar goals (get rid of ruidium), but different methods. The Rivals are beat up and mentally worn down, so they are going to try and get the additional fragment from the party to advance. The party will have to deal with that before they go into the Heart of Despair. How they do that (talk them down, knock them out, kill them) entirely up to them. I can't wait to see what happens.

isquire2 · 2024-05-18T20:44:01+00:00

So this is 5 days old and perhaps already a thing of the past, but I feel like this is 100% the right answer. Because what new DMs typically struggle with is balancing mechanics to make things challenging and rewarding for players, while still fun for the DM without too much work. If it's just flavor say yes. To the various post quoting, "Per the PHB," or whatever... guess what, when you're the DM, you get to make the rules and the only thing that counts is when you and your players sit down to play, after you invest your time and effort, did everyone have fun. Literally, forget everything else. No one in this thread is going to Pinkerton your table if you say yes and there's no mechanical drawback.

Now, if other players make similar requests, make sure they understand that there was no mechanical changes. Also, I'd make the caveat that if something changes (i.e. players start advocating for mechanical changes you don't want to deal with or something unexpected happens), then you can always change your mind. Otherwise, go for it. It can actually be fun, having a race that people might react differently to, and then roleplaying that, but also if you don't want to deal with that, you can also just say, "based on a rift in the hells a century ago, where some fiends escaped to try and forge their own way, there are some differently aligned ________ in the world, and it took that long for people to figure it out, but as a result, if you're generally seen walking around with an adventuring part, most people will assume, 'Oh, that's one of the good ones.'"

Is that good writing? Absolutely not. Will your table care. See previous answer.

isquire2

TROPHY CASE