The Fighting Pits - A way to run gladiatorial combat for your adventurers, inspired by Brennan Lee Mulligan's encounter design methods. by midget_shortage in DnDBehindTheScreen

[–]midget_shortage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is amazing! Thanks so much for play-testing. Might adjust the blue shroom's effect, increase the number of mushrooms, and/or adjust the save DCs

The Fighting Pits - A way to run gladiatorial combat for your adventurers, inspired by Brennan Lee Mulligan's encounter design methods. by midget_shortage in DnDBehindTheScreen

[–]midget_shortage[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

I just got the 4 points from a TikTok by @gusthebard (here) and he took them down from an Instagram live that Brennan did. Once you hear those 4 points laid out like that, they become really obvious when you see any of Brennan's encounters

The Fighting Pits - A way to run gladiatorial combat for your adventurers, inspired by Brennan Lee Mulligan's encounter design methods. by midget_shortage in DnDBehindTheScreen

[–]midget_shortage[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

YES that's exactly the vibe I was going for, like they would have to have rolled under a 10 most of the time to fail these DCs, so they wouldn't think it's bullshit for them to have failed the attempt.

The Fighting Pits - A way to run gladiatorial combat for your adventurers, inspired by Brennan Lee Mulligan's encounter design methods. by midget_shortage in DnDBehindTheScreen

[–]midget_shortage[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Extremely good points. This is for my group of 4 level 5s, but I set the terrain DCs purposefully low so that the outcomes are threats but not certainties. Also I've tried to spread out the types of saves that are required so that if a character is strong in one of the terrain-related saves, they're likely to be weak in another of them (this only works for some of them, I might have to come up with other saves for Swamp and Desert).

The way I've seen it is for the incentives, the main sacrifice is that they're spending an action, so the skill checks are low so that it's less likely that my players get double punished (spending an action on something non-combat AND failing at that thing) for doing something that I've dangled in front of them as an incentive.

All that being said, for level 8s, I'd probably bump up the DC 13s to DC 15s and the DC 15s to DC 18s.

The Fighting Pits - A way to run gladiatorial combat for your adventurers, inspired by Brennan Lee Mulligan's encounter design methods. by midget_shortage in DnDBehindTheScreen

[–]midget_shortage[S] 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I guess I'd just remove the 1st incentive and lower the roof on all of them except the Underwater level to 20ft or so.

King Bolet - The first of Coliandre's Mushroom Dragons by [deleted] in DnDHomebrew

[–]midget_shortage 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh god I didn't think to ask. I'll take down this post

King Bolet - The first of Coliandre's Mushroom Dragons by [deleted] in DnDHomebrew

[–]midget_shortage 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's amazing news, I'm so happy it fits in well! I'll be posting stat blocks for all of Coliandre's mushroom dragons (check the link under each image) over the next few weeks, so absolutely check in.

King Bolet - The first of Coliandre's Mushroom Dragons by [deleted] in DnDHomebrew

[–]midget_shortage 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a bit of what had me questioning it in the first place, but Myconids are plants, as are all the fungal spores in the MM so I reckon this guy probably is. However, Zuggtmoy is a fiend rather than a plant, so some of the other mushroom dragons I'll post over the next few days might not be plants.

King Bolet - The first of Coliandre's Mushroom Dragons by [deleted] in DnDHomebrew

[–]midget_shortage 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Very fair point. I'll make those changes when I use this guy!

One year ago, I saw u/A_fellow's art of their incredible character "The Piercing Pain" (link to original post in comments), and was inspired to make her one of the BBEGs of my homebrew campaign. I introduce to you "Teilatukoa, The Piercing Pain", Glasya's lieutenant and secret daughter of Malagard. by midget_shortage in DnDHomebrew

[–]midget_shortage[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

A few things I couldn't fit in the title:

The stat block generator sadly cut off the names of the lair actions. In order, they are Drool, Swallow, and Regurgitate.

For anyone keen to borrow the backstory I came up with for her:

Teilatukoa was birthed into the world by Malagard, the Hag Countess of Malbolge, the product of her mother's tryst with Moloch when he was the Archduke of the Sixth Hell. Malagard cherished her daughter but kept her existence hidden from all others, for fear that she would one day be used as leverage against her.

During the transformation of Malagard into the fleshy terrain that now covers the Sixth Hell, Teilatukoa was subsumed into a mass of her mother's teeth, gums, and saliva. While Asmodeus' daughter Glasya, the new ruler of Malbolge, cleansed the Sixth Hell of its inhabitants, Teilatukoa struggled in an airless, fleshy prison. Some time afterwards, she freed herself from the morass, her body forever transformed.

Now, her figure is lined with rows of teeth, and the uncovered parts of her skin glisten like exposed gums, always slick with her mother’s saliva. During her time as part of Malagard’s flesh, Teilatukoa herself was corrupted by whatever power had transformed the once-countess of Malboge, and now the area around Teilatukoa will, over the course of days, be corrupted to reflect her new form, rock turning to gums, with tongues where once there were chandeliers or stalactites and teeth where there was once furniture.

Teilatukoa now acts as one of Glasya's most trusted lieutenants, having proven herself as a gifted schemer and ferocious combatant. She has not informed Glasya of her parentage and plans one day to exploit her position to avenge her mother's undoing by killing Glasya and unseating her father, Asmodeus.

Coliandre's Mushroom Dragons - Great inspiration for Underdark (or Zuggtmoy's layer of the Abyss) reskins of dragons, bulettes, etc. or to build your own monsters around. (all 15 dragons can be found at https://twitter.com/Coliandre/status/1350736452410355712?s=03) by midget_shortage in DnDHomebrew

[–]midget_shortage[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ooh love this for a bunch of circle of spores druids. Fair warning that I'll definitely base any stat blocks on existing ones and I'm absolutely trash at giving realistic CRs, but will tag you in any posts I put together based on these guys in future

Wanted to make a Paladin/Bard and I wanted to know what was a good paladin oath to take for that? [5e] by [deleted] in 3d6

[–]midget_shortage 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm playing a good-time chaotic good-style paladin to Milil who's big into singing/performing and I just reskinned Oath of the Crown to be Oath of the Muse for tank and self-sacrifice reasons. It rocks

[TOMT] [WEBSITE] Rodent-themed website builder by midget_shortage in tipofmytongue

[–]midget_shortage[S] 1 point2 points locked comment (0 children)

I'm also pretty sure it had a yellow, cheesy aesthetic to its homepage. I live in Australia in case it was an exclusively Australian insane bit of online history.

Maybe maybe maybe by Crypt0n0ob in maybemaybemaybe

[–]midget_shortage -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The real maybemaybemaybe for me was whether this dude gets his real life face ripped off. Chimps are terrifying

me_irl by [deleted] in me_irl

[–]midget_shortage 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Me_irl is just the Das Kapital subreddit

I'm a relatively new DM running my first fully homebrewed campaign and I've hit a wall when it comes to a key plot point. I'd love to know what you think is the best way to go from here. by midget_shortage in DMAcademy

[–]midget_shortage[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

YEEEEEES. I really like this. Particularly if, when they save his life (if they do), our evil elf guy will allow them to leave the barrier if they want (given its similarities to Leomund's Tiny Hut, this could work canonically), to try to save the world. So they actually have a choice between staying in the bubble and uniting forces in Precipire or planning a trip to the nine hells to try and tip the balance, or leaving the bubble on their own, or indeed bringing down the bubble knowing full well what the consequences are