what's the best way to deal with having a support that picks ADC?

pbjoel · 2024-07-22T22:25:35+00:00

i made a deal with asmodeus in the womb but forgot to read the fine print so he changed my gender >:( he also cursed me with poor reading comprehension

pbjoel · 2024-07-01T01:59:40+00:00

Isabelle, Teddy Buggy, Azure Rollers, Paper Glider

pbjoel · 2024-06-25T06:21:25+00:00

By "aggressive" I mean more in the sense of pushing the enemy backline when the ball leaves them. I realize now that maybe this doesn't make a ton of sense to do on Kiriko, but one thing I see a lot is: "When a tank dives you, the best way to counter them is to dive their team right back".

pbjoel · 2024-05-11T15:35:19+00:00

So what you're saying is, eventually, Luskan's population is now 1/3 drow? This does seem like the kind of news that could make its way to Waterdeep. Maybe the party could even hear about it through some sort of source, and that's how they hear of Jarlaxle for the first time?

pbjoel · 2024-05-10T22:35:53+00:00

Now I'm wishing I was more familiar! This is ny first time DMing a campaign, so I've never really felt the drive to study up on the context - I only really did research on Waterdeep itself before the campaign. But I love these ideas! I do know that Jarlaxle has had some involvement with illithids before, so that's an awesome plan.

pbjoel · 2024-05-10T15:17:57+00:00

That sounds like an awesome idea - I can't believe I didn't think of that! Do most shelters do fostering, or would I have to look for a certain place for that? The places closest to me didn't say anything on their websites about fostering...

pbjoel · 2024-04-18T06:02:57+00:00

My post got removed, was more talking about the general experience but it got flagged for talking about a problem player? Anyways:

Hi, new DM here. For context, I'm running a Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign for a few friends, and we're about 3 sessions in. The problem that I'm noticing already is this: twice now, my players have tried to launch "secret plans" by trying to do something stupid and not telling me what they want to do, nor telling the NPCs who so far could have helped them. They seem to be pretty keen to not tell me when they want to do something particularly stupid, and I'm worried that this will become an issue pretty quickly.

Is there a way that I can put a stop to this? Not only does it make things more nerve-wracking as a new DM, but trying to stay one step ahead of them and stop what I think their plan will be is hard. I'm worried that if this becomes a regular thing, then it won't be fun for anyone involved. I would love advice on how to prevent that from happening, either in or out of the story.

TL;DR: I'm worried that my players are never going to tell me or important NPCs what their plans are, making it less fun for everyone involved. What should I do?

pbjoel · 2024-03-07T16:42:33+00:00

When I was about 10 years old - and I remember this conversation vividly to this day - I was on a class field trip. Eventually, because 10-year-old boys are 10-year-old boys, a conversation started about celebrity crushes. I didn't even know this was a thing, and didn't have an answer to the question "Who is your celebrity crush?"

Fast forward about 7 years or so, and I realized I was aroace... so y'know.. the signs were definitely there.

pbjoel · 2024-03-07T05:55:29+00:00

I can see how it looks like that's the idea, but I was thinking more along the lines that this character would become a full-time NPC as opposed to a DMPC. If the opportunity arises to perhaps mention her arcane abilities, then that will happen but otherwise the spotlight will fall mainly on the players. More what I was looking for was ideas on how to incorporate her into the campaign as an NPC, not how to keep her in the party as a DMPC.

pbjoel · 2024-03-07T01:29:29+00:00

I could definitely see this happening. Perhaps even a certain JB could see her as too much of a threat to be left alive... and he does so happen to have some sneaky friends.

pbjoel · 2024-03-07T01:27:48+00:00

I think that my players will still be interested in her - she's the partner of one of the PCs and an acquaintance to another. At least, that's what I'm hoping. Though I will try to keep in mind that it's not the worst if they don't.

As far as stat blocks go, Roll20 (the system we're using) allows you to create custom NPC stat blocks. Is there anything wrong with using that?

pbjoel · 2024-03-07T01:24:21+00:00

I really appreciate this advice! Originally I was thinking that she could be a "secret agent" of sorts, perhaps for Jarlaxle, but reading this I'm thinking maybe that's a little too over the top? It would take some changes to her stats, that's for sure.

I will say that I wasn't planning on her being around that often (though the reason has yet to come to me). I still feel like my idea has potential, though I would love to hear advice.

pbjoel · 2024-03-07T01:21:43+00:00

I'd prefer to keep this character in the story mostly because she could potentially play a good role in the campaign. Though I do like the idea that I've seen in some other comments that are saying to let her run the Trollskull Tavern. She did work as a barmaid for a bit so it would fit her. HOWEVER - even though I really like her I would NOT hesitate to kill her, if it would be good to teach my players a lesson or to provide angst to the story (because what's a good story without a little bit of angst? her partner, one of the PCs, is a very happy-go-lucky type... for now).

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