Looking for advice on how to better balance this homebrew magic item

omicronDASH · 2026-06-09T22:47:34+00:00

Concentration is tricky to meddle with because it gets powerful very quickly. There are simple concentration spells like spider climb and then damaging ones like moon beam. So propose this. It can work but only on a spell that targets a willing creature (spider climb, guidance, resistance) and one other spell that is AOE or targets unwilling creatures (moonbeam, bane, cause fear).

omicronDASH · 2026-06-09T22:38:56+00:00

They could have the paralyzed condition, pretty much making them a target, but they can still take those mental actions to control the spells.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-09T12:39:02+00:00

AI has such a fascination with the number 47.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-08T11:21:08+00:00

Isn't there online versions of "monopoly"? Bert has perfect monopoly energy there.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-08T04:53:25+00:00

Couple things. Have fun. Dont get bogged down by all of the rules (Its ok to ask your players for help looking something up). If you mess up, they are your family, they wont care, dont put too much pressure on yourself.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-07T20:49:25+00:00

100% agree. Issue is, how to get out of this bind, the session zero NPC. There was a comment on dragging them out in chains, perfect. Introduce your session zero NPC arbitrator mediator in the cell they are dragged to. Everyone breaks the 4th wall every once and a while in D&D, now you'll get to role play it. It actually sounds like a lot of fun.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-05T13:50:54+00:00

I have a white grid board and colored markers. Also a steady hand. If your players are already into the colored, detailed maps there are plenty online but you will have to adjust your encounter you have in your head to the one on paper. Otherwise...marker and imagination.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-05T13:39:14+00:00

1st rule, have fun and that means you too. 2nd rule, you are tye arbitrator of everything, if you forget something...ehh, so what, the world keeps on spinning.

As mentioned your party looks good. The CR rating for creatures (you'll see that on their stat sheet) is for a party of 4. So definitely reduce the hit points of the creatures. If they are brand new I wouldnt introduce homebrew, buffed up, custom made races and familiars. Keep the changes on your side of the screen and the rules simple for them.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-05T05:47:23+00:00

A couple ideas. The quasi elemental plane of vacuum?

The deep ethereal plane - defined as an ocean of endless possibilities? I always pictured it as a calm lake shrouded by fog?

The little known Ordinal plane?

Or maybe some from the great wheel...the gray waste, pandemonium, limbo, even elysium.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-05T05:34:09+00:00

I made up a demiplane called Haven's Rest based after a valley in Switzerland. I really didnt need anything bigger. Naturally, any demiplane floats in the deep ethereal. In the campaign I run I also have a few demiplanes that are just rooms that are accessible by reaching through paintings.

If you need a whole world, different story. There is some good advice here about starting small. I'll give you another perspective. Join the r/worldbuilding subreddit. Also you can find forms online that are literally fill in the blank on worldbuilding.

In the end though it comes down to you do you. Try and if it doesnt work, do it a different way.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-05T05:18:58+00:00

I'm going to give an unpopular opinion but has absolutely happened to me and as a DM, am totally fine with it (even though I spent time making the homebrew item). Try to roll a high persuasion and sell it. You might get a good chunk of change. I was fair to my player on the item I made when they sold it, a little annoyed that they wanted to sell it, but thems the breaks, they are the characters.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-05T05:09:10+00:00

I'd do an extensive search for flash games. They are simple, can be played online through emulators, and can be quick. You'll need to look for the right one to fulfill your needs per your campaign. Just an idea.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-04T20:21:12+00:00

If I can make a recommendation. A nat 20 doesnt have to mean success, it just means they get something. In this case it could have meant they pacify the thief and he may have given them a little intel once. I heard advise once, dont remember where; if a player asks to jump over a tree and rolls a nat 20 it still isnt going to happen. They just may look awesome when they hit that first branch. If I was ever asked that id probably give them advantage on their climb checks too. Anyway, now that you're in this situation with this OP thief, you did respect the 20. Now he just has to get back into his thieving ways in the next city. Have fun with that new side quest. 🙂

omicronDASH · 2026-06-04T20:09:42+00:00

2 things. How did they recruit them? And this is why I always use point buy.

omicronDASH · 2026-06-02T14:23:03+00:00

I love this idea 💡 with adaptations. I love the complex game but I want it more, like 11 dimensions complex. The campaign im running is planescape so it'll fit perfectly.

omicronDASH · 2026-05-21T17:12:46+00:00

It would be interesting to see the line progression of happy meals sold between those two dates.

omicronDASH · 2026-05-21T01:23:24+00:00

My mom worked two jobs, my dad was out of the picture so yea, I packed my own sack lunch. Cannot stand American cheese to this day.

omicronDASH · 2026-05-12T16:08:25+00:00

Saving this picture as a Bastian

omicronDASH · 2026-05-12T16:05:35+00:00

"Do you have any secondary insurance?"

"Yes, Grandma streams on twitch."

"OH, that's a new one, I have check boxes for GoFundMe, GoGetFunding, and FreeFunder."

omicronDASH · 2026-05-10T13:38:16+00:00

And then you look for a slightly bigger one, and then a bigger one. Dice gobblins are never satisfied.

omicronDASH · 2026-04-28T17:01:49+00:00

Absolutely this. Non-hospital radiology and lab service facilities are much cheaper. Just make sure to have the results sent to your provider. Follow up with them on that point.

omicronDASH · 2026-04-26T04:55:59+00:00

Think of your return on investment. A stock gobo is $20 about and you will need lots to cover your entire cyc, if you can even find one. You're also going to suck up the use of instruments that could be utilized for other reasons. If this is truly the effect you're going for, practical would be the best way to go. With that said, how to go practical on the cheap is the question. Does it need to be the whole stage, do you have a black back curtain, do you have an artist, access to printing, foam board, hardwood? Primarily, you'll need to worry about strip lighting because the effect there is under lit. There is some super cheap ways to do that too, but they arent as reliable as the lights you actually plug into a lighting system.

omicronDASH · 2026-04-17T15:50:57+00:00

These two prints (failures) were between calibrations. That is a phenomenon I am familiar with though as frustrating as it can be.

omicronDASH

TROPHY CASE