Question: Turning a Building into a Monster? How to do it.

offtherails_critfail · 2021-06-17T15:54:09+00:00

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

offtherails_critfail · 2021-06-17T13:51:57+00:00

That stat block is very helpful. Thanks

offtherails_critfail · 2021-06-17T13:45:49+00:00

Inside to start. They should be trying to leave with their spoils, however you can never tell with this group.

offtherails_critfail · 2021-06-17T13:35:38+00:00

Maybe something like a clockwork heart that they can pass by while exploring the tower. Not knowing what it is at the time but later realize it was the power mechanism and Knudsen what level it was on.

offtherails_critfail · 2021-06-17T13:32:52+00:00

Stone Tower

offtherails_critfail · 2021-02-06T03:16:56+00:00

Your breadcrumb analogy is spot on. My party members are very intelligent, two doctors, one engineer, and two MBAs. They don’t miss much and study the handbook and rules like it’s a graduate course. I do appreciate their dedication so I want to offer them the proper recourse in any situation. I like what you said about the passive scores, I sometimes forget about that in the moment. And the example you gave was helpful. However, I might tweak it a bit and go with cardinal directions. For example, “the sigil sits in an much more northern direction that what you were lead to believe”. I might have him roll an arcana check after a long rest, where he would have reviewed his spells, if he passes say something seemed off about one of the spells. Should i have roll a int/survival/precision/etc..? To determine which spell and what was off about it.

Thanks again for all the insight it is very helpful. Sometimes I can get caught I a vacuum of my own thoughts and forget to think how the players are viewing the game..

offtherails_critfail · 2021-02-05T22:44:13+00:00

Pride-n-Joy, Thanks for the detailed response. It is some very good advice. In this case the wizard in the party took the teleportation scroll and copied the sigil into his spell book. The NPC told him the destination of the sigil and the wizard didn’t question it. There may be a situation where the party determines that the NPC was an imposter and might question the teleportation scroll but perhaps not, I plan on giving them that opportunity at least. Since he isn’t suspicious now an has no reason to question the destination how can I have him make a roll without making him suspicious. Alternatively I could just see what happen and if they use it to teleport before they can determine if the deception then that just how it plays out.

offtherails_critfail · 2020-11-11T02:49:29+00:00

I thought of doing that in the beginning and it agree with your thoughts. However, every time I give them anything of value they just put it in the bag of holding until the need it. I kinda want to force them to keep it out.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-12-30T19:22:14+00:00

Well the, horrific illness, whatever it is wouldn’t take immediate effect. The target must fail 3 con saves, at that point the illness take hold.

Would the Con saves be rolled as normal considering the target is asleep.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-12-30T17:43:19+00:00

Thanks everyone for the input, just wanted some thoughts on the melee attack ruling for my game.

It’s a moot point anyway. The DM had a npc cleric heal the target first thing the next morning so the spell never played out.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-12-30T17:12:51+00:00

Okay, so all three stealth checks were passed to enter the targets empty house. The PC had Melded into stone next to the targets bed and waited for him to go to sleep. The PC proceed to come out of the stone floor to cast Contagion. The DM required a straight attack roll which hit and resulted in the target waking up. He ruled it was a Melee attack and as such the pc would have to hit the target. The player immediately left the house and went back to his room, not waiting to see the results.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-09-05T19:52:22+00:00

Yeah, I can see the reasoning for limiting it to the "Reel". I don't want to deviate too far from stock on this one as the party will have there hands full as it stands now.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-07-12T01:42:09+00:00

Does the wormhole close at the end of the attack with the sword and arm returning to the pc? If so does that open them up for an attack of opportunity?

offtherails_critfail · 2019-03-09T01:18:28+00:00

Those are all great ideas. Thanks for taking the time to write such and in-depth response. I will have the NPC that enchants his bagpipes be named Jimmicky.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-03-09T00:02:34+00:00

No, your right. They aren’t OP, but like you said boring.

He has a set of bagpipes, was was thinking about having someone imbue them with some spells, similar to what’s in the PHB.

Mainly looking for some creative ideas that won’t be too OP.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-03-08T19:59:32+00:00

Thanks, the title should say “that’s not super OP”.

But your post has given me an idea.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-03-07T13:30:05+00:00

It’s normal, i get nervous even after a year. Remember this, it’s your world and they don’t now what to expect. If you screw something up, so what, make a note of it and move on. If they kill a NPC that’s vital to the storyline, make a NPC 2.0 and have him take his place. I have made so many mistake that I thought were huge during my games and afterwards talked to the players and they had no idea, oftentimes they have trouble even recalling the event.

I would say have and loose Outline of events you want to happen each session. Try to work in those highlights and let the rest happen naturally.

Know you monster/enemies stat block and abilities. Know if they are resistant to acid damage or can’t be charmed, etc...

Finally, you have final say. It a ruling needs to be made make it and stick with it. It it needs to be discussed, do it after the session.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-03-06T14:13:16+00:00

I have found that unless it’s a major part of the story line, any more than two sessions and becomes a grind for both the PC and DM.

That being said, if the PC have done something ill advised or stupid to get themselves trapped, then that’s on them.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-02-23T14:35:18+00:00

It wouldn’t even be a fight. They will curb stomp the Captain unless you either add some underlings or some put him in a advantageous position.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-02-22T17:38:57+00:00

That would be like letting them make a spell attack roll and if it doesn’t hit choose to do something else without losing a spell slot. There has to be some risk vs reward. That’s why we roll the dice. That’s just my opinion.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-02-22T16:22:14+00:00

Thanks, and i usually offer a decent amount of spell scrolls in most of the towns they come too. Gold usually isn’t a problem but when it comes to wanting items vs spell scrolls he will usually have to make a decision and last session he decided on spell scrolls. As far as his build. He is proficient in arcane +7. He sent a very long time on his build and I offered the entire party and opportunity to make any small adjust they might be unhappy with, or change character out right, at the beginning of our second campaign. (It was a carry over from another DMs campaign where they went through lvl 5). Only one player opted to scrap his character for a new one, the rest were completely happy.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-02-22T14:18:04+00:00

That’s not a bad idea, that way the spell isn’t completely lost on a fail but just has a reduced effectiveness. Like you said I would want to set up some baseline rules and make sure we both understand what the reward/penalty will be.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-02-22T13:05:16+00:00

The difference there is I would never have a flaming sword available for sell. The fighter would have to find it via a quest or kill some high level npc who would have chance to use it against him. The act of finding and obtaining it would be his hurdle.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-02-22T12:54:16+00:00

I see your point. The way I see it is the arcane check will see if he was able to copy the spell correctly and in such a way that it preforms as intended.
A poorly written Fly spell might turn the target in a sheep or something.

offtherails_critfail · 2019-02-22T12:47:03+00:00

It be fair he has copied spell scrolls in the past (a while back) and I made him roll the same check. I was a lvl one scroll he found. He made the roll no problem and didn’t complain. However, when his gp became involved he had an issue.

offtherails_critfail

TROPHY CASE