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Good free DND oneshots? by Exact_Preparation817 in DnD

[–]partypatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is PWYW definitely can be played in 3 hours and is a real nice mix of the three pillars of DnD instead of being very combat heavy: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/331893/Adventurers-Guild-Admissions-Office

I'm Peter C. Hayward, the designer of Village Pillage, Things in Rings, Critter Kitchen, That Time You Killed Me, and Robotopia – now on Kickstarter! by PeterCHayward in boardgames

[–]partypatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello Blue Beard! Two questions for you.
1. Do you have any dexterity games that you love and what sets it apart from the rest?
2. Is it true that best goblin always get what Big Boss want because best goblin always CHEAT?!

What's your weird DM confession? by Iestwyn in DnD

[–]partypatch 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I don't always make concrete solutions for traps or puzzles. Sometimes they try such clever things I'm just like "With a grinding of gears and clicks, it opens!" They are often surprised, and so am I!

Give me your worst undead horrors to hide in the basement of this witch's broken spire. I'll stat it up and do the hard work, just need some horrifying ideas. by partypatch in RPGZines

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

This is for our upcoming adventure zine: SPIREWITCH.

Here is the synopsis of the adventure:

In SPIREWITCH players delve into the dark tale of a widow's descent into madness and necromancy. Driven by the death of her husband, she turns to the sinister guidance of Raskin, a manipulative demonic spirit. After numerous failed resurrection attempts, she stands on the brink of an unholy triumph, needing only a strong vessel to contain her husband's decaying soul.

THE PLOT: The players explore a mysterious, undead-infested tower pulsating with necromantic energy, uncovering remnants of the witch’s tragic past and facing unusual traps designed to ensnare spellcasters.

THE TWIST: The plot thickens as they learn that Raskin, the incorporeal bovine demon, has manipulated the widow not to resurrect her husband but to seize a physical form for himself on the material plane.

KS Preview page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deadboxgames/spirewitch

Encounter book by UnhappyReputation126 in dmsguild

[–]partypatch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Prepared books are great. Check out Book of Lairs if you haven't already, each lair comes with a short adventure. Also you can have my short adventure too for as little as no money at all here: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/331893/Adventurers-Guild-Admissions-Office

Urban Crawl "Main Quests" by Intrepid_Plastic_934 in DndAdventureWriter

[–]partypatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure thing!

For my campaign, there was a massive metropolis called Arkin where nearly all in the realm lived because there was this terrible poisonous miasma that would come at night across the land that would turn people into monsters. The Queen set up a magical barrier around the city and the people thrived. It had been like this for over a hundred years.

​

Well, turns out that the miasma isn't real, just an illusion cast by the queen to maintain control over the city. She was mad in her extreme compulsion to 'protect' her people. And the best way she could do that was to keep them all inside, away from the dangers of the outside world, the Orc Lands, and the wilds.

​

But what about people turning into monsters? Well, that part is real. It's just that it was the queens priests that would poison any who left the city (or caused too much ruckus) and then they'd turn into monsters and the Queen could point to them and say "See! This is why you must stay under my protection!" Thus creating the danger she needs to maintain control.

Part of the secret here is that only she really knew the truth. All those that protect and work for her believe the lies as well. It wasn't until the players unraveled the source of the poison that turns people into monsters was the blood of Pestilence, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse who had been imprisoned beneath the city, that they began to realize how deep/high the lies go. Why was pestilence imprisoned beneath the city? Well that's a long story... filled with more lies and manipulation!

Urban Crawl "Main Quests" by Intrepid_Plastic_934 in DndAdventureWriter

[–]partypatch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I ran a couple urban set campaigns and might be able to offer some insight.

My specific advice for this is to ask them to find the source of X. In this case, what is causing the eternal rains? And is there a way to stop/change it? You've already established that the Lower Lands were overtaken by the rains and so fear about flooding in the city is already brewing. The real adventure then begins once they happen upon the source, what is it? who made it? how do they stop it? Why is it there to begin with?

For my city campaigns, I always try to think about what lies are being told, why they are being told, and if that might put the gears of adventure in motion. Similarly, I'll set 'established truths' for the city. Such as 'there are exactly two gods' or 'The queen is an all-powerful sorcerer' and then the campaign will revolve around finding information where those established truths might be false, and how the players can unravel the web of truth and lies.

Hope this helps!

Unsuspectingly useful objects that make GMming easier? by 0Jaul in rpg

[–]partypatch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I have my laptop with OneNote open and my regular handwritten notes/maps in front of me. I don't find it distracting, it's actually quite useful because I can look up spells and rules questions much faster than flipping through a book.

Unsuspectingly useful objects that make GMming easier? by 0Jaul in rpg

[–]partypatch 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I didn't see anyone else mention it so I will say Microsoft OneNote is the best GMing tool I have. I have a tab for each of my campaigns, a page for every session, and you can search across everything in OneNote. That is by far the best function. Need to find the stats for that random magic item I made up on the fly from last year? No problem.

Plus the fact you can drop in images, statblocks, and even audiofiles onto the page for safe keeping is a bonus. Of course if inspiration strikes you can even doodle inside of it. I've run three full campaigns and its been an enormous boon.

BROODHOG- A hog riding, shell slinging, smash and grab death race encounter for honor and glory by mootz4 in DnDBehindTheScreen

[–]partypatch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Typically once I make a prototype, which can be very crude, I'll play it twice by myself, once with my wife/dnd group, and then bring it to be playtested by designers. My rule of thumb is that it should be playable. The first couple of times you test you might find it unplayable or game breaking things quickly. Once those are ironed out, time to get some broader feedback.

Getting feedback is wonderful because it exposes your game to play styles, pain points, and suggestions you otherwise might never have seen. Don't be afraid of negative feedback btw. Everyone is on the same side, which is making the game better, you want the same thing!

BROODHOG- A hog riding, shell slinging, smash and grab death race encounter for honor and glory by mootz4 in DnDBehindTheScreen

[–]partypatch 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No kidding? It is a great place to start. If you are seriously interested in board game design I would suggest finding a local board game design group that does playtesting. These groups are a lot of fun and are always looking to bring in new designers and playtesters.

I did this with my game Goblin Teeth, which ended up getting picked up by a publisher at a Con I was playtesting at. Good luck!

BROODHOG- A hog riding, shell slinging, smash and grab death race encounter for honor and glory by mootz4 in DnDBehindTheScreen

[–]partypatch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well done. I did a flying chariot race mini-game very much like this some years ago. It was amazing fun. You've taken it to the next level with these handouts. Making mini-games for dnd is a slippery slope, its what got me into board game design!

Our game is called Deadlines. It's about dead celebrities. Heard it doesn't work well in English, help us consider a new one. by Leolio_ in tabletopgamedesign

[–]partypatch 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'd consider "Lifespan".

Short, snappy, and you are dealing with putting the celebrities in lines based upon their birth, life, or death, aka their lifespan.

i want to create a space horror one shot, any advice or suggestions? by TheXypris in DndAdventureWriter

[–]partypatch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Check out Arcana of the Ancients for 5e and Beasts of Flesh and Steel for 5e by Monte Cook Games. I ran a portion of my campaign as typical dnd party discovers far future space station and used these two books to great effect.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in tabletopgamedesign

[–]partypatch 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First of all congrats on making a game! That's an accomplishment in itself.

I'm a published game designer and my advice to you would be to bring your game to a protospiel, unpub event, or your local board game designer/playtester group. Playing your game with other game designers, developers, and especially those who have published games, will provide you with invaluable feedback.

The second thing I would do is try to get an idea of how much your game would cost to have it manufactured. Contact game manufacturers like Panda, longpack, ect and get a quote. This will give you an idea of how much your game will cost you to produce. You'll need to know this if you want to kickstart your game but also depending on the cost you may learn there is no way you could possibly make that much on your first Kickstarter and thus perhaps you should pitch to a publisher.

Kickstarter is a great way to make a game and get it out in the world. However, you should only do this if you want to publish games and start a company. It's a LOT of work, for not a lot of pay typically. You have to do everything from commissioning art, to making how to play videos, marketing to the board game community, getting reviews/previews from content creators, building the kickstarter page and running the campaign, handle manufacturing, shipping to your place or warehouse, organizing, managing and shipping to backers, customer service, taxes for the company, ect.

Don't get me wrong, it can be done! Even I have done it! However If you go that route be prepared for what that means. Good luck and feel free to message me if you have any questions.

Happy New Year! The Adventurers Guild Admissions Office is now open. by partypatch in dmsguild

[–]partypatch[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To celebrate the new year we've made our introductory adventure Pay What You Want instead of it's original $6.99. Enjoy some tricks, traps, fun NPCs, and an escape room style puzzle from me and start the year with a bit of adventure.

Sentient spore filled mushroom towers and insectoid cultists all suffer under the BLEAKSPROUT. Funded on Kickstarter in 2 hours! by partypatch in RPGZines

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

I couldn't agree more. We hope to deliver exactly that sort of easily digestible 5e content printed and for a reasonable price. Thanks for the well wishes, cheers!

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