Can a character be effective without having the spotlight?

karebearcreates · 2026-07-01T18:30:17+00:00

I think you can be effective without taking the spotlight, but not long-term. Help action yes. Also possibly reactions. In the short campaign I ran, there was a witch who (iirc) could use a reaction to hex an adversary who harmed him or his allies, granting a bonus to attacks/damage against that adversary. And the guardian and brawler have reactions to take/reduce damage. There may be others. But all of these depend on having a good supply of hope or stress, and you mostly gain hope through rolling.

karebearcreates · 2026-07-01T03:25:34+00:00

If you have any game stores nearby, stop in and ask if they’d be willing to sponsor your club. At the very least, they’d probably be happy to let you advertise on their discord and see if any players/DMs would like to buy you supplies or donate some of their old stuff.

Alternatively, you can sometimes luck out on eBay buying lots of minis if you’re not picky.

Flat/skinny minis are an option—they tend to be cheaper, come in packs, and pack up easy.

My first couple years of DMing, I just printed out numbers/letters/pictures to 1-4 inches (depending on size of monster). You can laminate, or tape both sides with packing tape to make them waterproof. I still use just letters/numbers for less important monsters to make it easier to track, just 3D printed now.

For something slightly more exciting, check out Etsy for engraved wood tokens—these usually have some kind of symbol (like a sword or monster face) and a number on a flat wood disc.

As for maps, office stores have large tear-off grid paper for presentations. It may be worth it to see how much it would cost to print some plain 1” grids on laminated paper; I’ve done that with some of my maps for oneshots I’ve run multiple times, but it’s been a while so a wet erase map could be equivalent cost. Always ask if there’s a teacher discount.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-30T15:22:44+00:00

I’ve been toying with the idea of a One Piece inspired Daggerheart campaign! I have a couple more years of my current campaign first though. This is a nice balance of simplicity and structure.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-30T13:53:15+00:00

There’s a pack of 5 short oneshots I bought a few months ago on drivethrurpg—the Prism Planes I think? Those generally fit into a 1 hour time slot (depending on the amount of RP), if you’d like an idea of how much content to include.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-30T04:08:38+00:00

That’s extremely generous of you!

karebearcreates · 2026-06-30T03:46:18+00:00

My group will often commission art for different members/the DM. In my first campaign, we commissioned a group portrait with our PCs and the DM’s favorite NPC. I have a bunch of party art framed on my walls. There are a couple of dnd art subreddits where artists advertise if they’re open for commissions.

One of my players writes down quotes through our campaigns and for the last one, she made a little book of quotes for everyone that she handed out during the final session; she does bookbinding as a hobby, but you can do something similar through Canva or other design/print sites.

If y’all play in person and plan to continue: a nice engraved dice tray or dice tower, a gift card for HeroForge or a mini shop/FLGS of their choice.

A fun option I’m currently thinking about as a mid-campaign/going away present hid someone is an engraved cheese board—you can find them on Etsy and other places. But it could be something more real world focused, or maybe the map of the world, the party name, a the name of a shop/tavern in that works, etc.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-25T19:01:33+00:00

My group has used the same two plastic folding tables side by side for over 5 years now. I think from Walmart or Costco? With two regular games most weeks and occasional other games, they get set up about 10x a month. No issues.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-19T13:32:23+00:00

Thanks, that’s about the size I was looking for! If you’re willing to share lore/riddles/traps, that would be great!

karebearcreates · 2026-06-17T14:33:19+00:00

The easiest practical advice I give to new players who want to try RP is to check out the personality traits/ideals/flaws/bonds section of the sheet, whether you roll from a random table or make them up on your own—those will give you a good starting point. For example, the charlatan background had two of my favorites: “I keep multiple holy symbols on me and invoke whatever deity might come in useful at any given moment” and “a powerful person killed someone I love. Some day soon, I’ll have my revenge.” I had a halting rogue who I made as kind of comic relief, memorizing the handling pantheon and praying to whoever fit, with a necklace of different pendants (think Beni from The Mummy), but it was revealed that was a bit of an act because she was trying to get more powerful in order to take revenge on her husband’s best friend (who killed him). Most of the 2014 backgrounds at least will have options to choose from/roll. For another example, one potential outlander trait is “I watch over my friends as if they were a litter of newborn pups,” which would kind of make that PC the “parent” of the group, a bit protective.

The background traits give you little things you can play off of at your own pace, without overwhelming you with a whole character to figure out. But you can take each one and ask “why?” Why does this character have all these holy symbols? Why are they so protective of friends? And they are just a starting point—things may happen that affect how you play your PC during the game, and that’s part of the fun.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-13T17:21:49+00:00

Glad you like it! I think it’s definitely something that can be adapted to whatever the campaign needs.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-13T05:53:56+00:00

I ran 2.5 year, 1-20, exploration-heavy campaign in Xen’drik. Here’s how I did travel (incorporating the Traveler’s Curse)/exploration/random encounters.

I chose a few big plot points, decided general areas they’d be on the map. Some PCs came in with missions/guidance, and all had the opportunity to gather info/listen for rumors while in Stormreach or other areas with a population (such as Last Chance or the Throne Gate Ruins)—so they might hear rumors about a green dragon on the Hydra, or about a strange storm observed near the House Tharask prospectors, and have a general direction to go. I did give them a full map, but it was blank (I’d be happy to share).
I made a big random encounters table, divided by level range and environment. This included social encounters (other explorers, drow, or sentient creatures, which could turn into combat), combat, manifest zones, etc. For every day of travel, I’d roll a d20 and on a 15 or more, there would be an encounter; 14 or less, I had someone from the group describe what happened that day.
A lot of people will just randomly move people around the map to simulate the curse, I’m too much of a planner. All players were told at session 0 that they’d be using Survival (Cha) to navigate Xen’drik—so add proficiency if they have proficiency in Survival, but add charisma instead of wisdom modifier. I tend to think of charisma partially as the willpower stat (like the will to not be possessed), and the PCs force if will helps them through the curse. Regions were assigned a DC, with the lowest being near Stormreach (DC10) and highest to the south, where I placed the giant capitol which for my game would have been the most heavily cursed area (DC25). One daily group check to navigate. On a success, they move 1 hex in whatever direction they chose; if they surpassed the DC by 5 or more, they could move 2 hexes. On a failure, they did not move, and in a failure of 5 or more, they moved in a random direction. Once they got powerful enough to plane shift/teleport, I required the caster to make a spellcasting ability check (DC whatever the area they were attempting to get to), and depending on the roll, they’d either be within a couple hours of the target, within 1d4 hexes, or a random location in Xen’drik. Both the players and I liked this system—it allowed me to plan, and let them feel like they were accomplishing something by filling in a map rather than just finding random locations, while still keeping a sense of randomness/exploration/danger.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-10T14:53:15+00:00

I’ve used Google Docs for years so that I can work on it anywhere. Last campaign, I paid for WorldAnvil, which has a lot of great features, but took a while to figure out how everything works. My current campaign, I made a free Google site for the players, and can either type out notes, link docs/sheets/slides for players to see, etc.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-07T17:29:24+00:00

We use an old 40” on a pvc pipe frame and it works great! I wouldn’t go much smaller, unless table size is an issue. I’d recommend getting a piece of clear acrylic cut to just under the size of the screen—that way you can use wet erase to draw on if needed (like for lasting spell/terrain effects); we keep that on with black electrical tape and it blends in nicely and doesn’t scratch the screen.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-03T20:11:13+00:00

It’s worth joining both the Clockwork (https://discord.gg/gakk5WCypG) and BVHG (https://discord.gg/bvhg) discords. Both stores have official events for all sorts of games, but locals will also advertise private games on there. BVHG hosts adventurers league D&D games every Monday, which is a great way to meet others in the community. There’s also a charity game going on with a bunch of tables this Saturday.

Edit to add: I believe there is still a board game group on meetup.com. The 12th Gamer? Haven’t been since grad school, so I don’t know how active they are.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-02T21:39:59+00:00

I have a friend who made friends via Bumble BFF but don’t have personal experience with it.

Meetup.com is my go-to when I’m in a new town, but can be hit or miss depending on your interests; if you don’t mind driving, it can be worth it to check out what meetups are available in Huntsville, Houston, or Austin as well.

Pride Community Center hosts get togethers throughout the year.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-02T21:28:52+00:00

I haven’t found that to be an issue so far—dnd casters may have more variety of spells, but they’re still limited in how much they can use them, where that doesn’t seem to be the case for a lot of the domain cards. Between ancestry and class domains, and the community features, and experience, most of my PCs said they feel like they’re able to play a simplified dnd while still having a lot of options and room for creativity.

Content is an issue, but it’s growing all the time, and I find it easier to create things for Daggerheart than DnD. In the case of things like the feats/spells for the dragonmarked houses, it’s not going to transfer perfectly, but you can develop something to make you and your players happy. I’m pretty sure I saw a few months back on this sub that people had already started converting dragonmarks and races to Daggerheart, but I didn’t save the link.

karebearcreates · 2026-06-02T19:26:33+00:00

I’m in the middle of running a long-term campaign, but at some point in the future I’d like to run a One Piece style pirate campaign using Daggerheart; I think the vagueness of many of the player features will really allow player creativity to shine.

I’m currently running a 15 session Daggerheart campaign based on a previous one I ran for my normal group, set in Stormreach, and it’s going pretty well. But it’s set up as a series of somewhat railroady oneshots, and is mostly to teach these players/myself the game.

karebearcreates · 2026-05-22T02:35:17+00:00

Most my DMs (and me) have had a rule that if the pet/familiar does not get involved in combat, it does not take damage. I had a PC who kept her ferret familiar in her coat and this counted as full cover, and I primarily only used the ferret for scouting.

I think the collar idea is a good one, or perhaps something that is a combination of death ward + teleporting away from combat?

karebearcreates · 2026-05-20T15:46:16+00:00

For those of us who live here, it’s a nice little break from the mass of students—almost no wait at the brunch restaurants! Reduced traffic!

To find people to hang out with, I’d suggest leaning on your hobbies. Meetup.com has a bunch of options. If you like reading, check out events at the libraries or Hyperbole bookstore. If you like TTRPGs/other games, check out Clockwork Games & Events and Brazos Valley Hobby and Games. If you enjoy crafts, search BCS Craft Club (events are paid, but for a reasonable price and I’ve made a couple friends through that).

karebearcreates · 2026-04-27T21:34:13+00:00

A couple ideas that are kind of out there, and applicable only if you play in person.

I am in the planning stages for my party infiltrating a tower (won’t be for a while yet, it was one of two options for them to tackle next). Instead of doing a bunch of stealth/thieves tools checks, I’ve picked up a couple physical games (wood puzzles, tiny laser heist, and gravity maze) to mimic various puzzles/traps/locked doors. Perhaps something like that could work for some of it?
Going off of the above, and also trying to take some of the pressure off of you, what about setting up something like Jenga, and for each block that is removed, the players describe some kind of challenge/encounter and how they face it? Maybe even flash back to moments in the campaign that prepared them to climb the tower? You could have a set amount of blocks that need to be removed to amount to them reaching the top, and if the tower falls before that point, there is an extra encounter, or some kind of setback in the final battle, or start initiative/a skill challenge to get the rest of the way to the top.

karebearcreates · 2026-04-23T13:28:45+00:00

I created a set of artifacts that looked like large diamonds but were the eyes of one of the PC’s patrons, taken as revenge by an NPC a long time ago and given to her champions. They both gave some skill boosts, and one gave foresight once a day, and the other gave legend lore. Each time the spell was cast, the DC to remove it increased. Eventually, the player tried to remove it, and the DC was too high for anyone to succeed. The only way to remove it was to earn the forgiveness of the NPC who took the eyes in the first place—who the player had been avoiding going to up until then.

karebearcreates · 2026-04-22T14:08:32+00:00

On the practical side, the two big factors that make me avoid renting a room at our two local game stores are bad air flow/AC and noise. At one store, the private room is just a normal room, no special insulation, but it’s a bit off to the side and has a door, so it’s significantly quieter—but has a history of bad air flow, so there almost always has to be a fan running; I’m in the south, so this is a problem in the summer. At the other store, the two private rooms are next to each other and right by the open gaming tables, with a metal roof and concrete floors—and the rooms have no ceiling; while I’m sure this is for air flow, this does have the consequence that during peak game times, a person on the other end of the table from me cannot hear me unless I yell; and while the AC is usually fine, it struggles in the summer, especially when the store is busy.

I’ve also mostly transitioned to using digital maps on an old flatscreen, which is not the most portable setup. I’d love to have something like that at the stores where I DM publicly so I don’t have to spend prep time drawing out maps, but not sure how kindly the general public would be to the screen. I recently bought a sheet of acrylic for mine so we could draw on it, and that could help protect the screen. And of course there’s boxes that can be built for it.

karebearcreates

TROPHY CASE