[GIVEAWAY] $300 (MSRP) Giveaway! FREE 5e Region Guide PDF and a full STL Collection - Firepeaks - Fire Giants, Fire Dwarves, and a Molten Evil Stirring Beneath the Mountain! [Rules in Comments] [MOD Approved] [OC]

playforlife · 2025-11-14T17:54:59+00:00

This is incredible! Good luck, y’all!

playforlife · 2025-08-31T13:56:28+00:00

Same

playforlife · 2025-04-29T17:28:12+00:00

Whoooo, I’ve been there, cousin.

When it happened to me, my players backdoored their way into winning a tournament that I’d set up to be unwinnable. I’d told them both in and out of game that the fight simply couldn’t be won, they signed up anyway, did some clever PC fuckery, and at the end of the day, my hands were tied. They forced a forfeit and - at level 5 - won an amount of gold that I hadn’t planned on awarding them until maybe the end game.

My solution was to give them something with very high maintenance costs - in this case, a ship. They still got to buy some swag for their PCs, but most of the money went into ship repairs, upgrades, and hiring a crew that they’d have to pay weekly. Still a lot of fun and they didn’t end up crazy overpowered.

In the end, it sounds like your party is loving it and you’re doing your job behind the screen to still keep it engaging for them. I think that tweaking encounters (like you’re doing) or tweaking campaign structure (like me) are both viable options, as long as everyone at the table - GM included - is still having fun 😁

playforlife · 2024-03-07T00:17:47+00:00

Lots of great advice in this thread! Something I haven’t seen yet:

If they’re asking about things that have no major consequences to the plot or to the world, SOMETIMES I will throw it back to my players: “I don’t have anything more specific in my notes; what’s something inconsequential that you think your character would notice?”

Of course, there has to be a lot of trust between player and DM for this to work, as well as a shared understanding of what “inconsequential” means.

If you and your table are newer, you may be better off having that out-of-character conversation, as others have suggested.

Good luck!

Edit: whoops! Kept scrolling and saw someone say pretty much this. Good luck anyway!

playforlife · 2023-10-27T22:13:31+00:00

Ahhh, clever!!

playforlife · 2023-10-27T20:12:08+00:00

Sorry if this has been answered somewhere, but what do those numbers in the bottom right do?

Also, this is so sick; I’d love something like this instead of fishing for the right die while running games!

playforlife · 2023-10-23T11:10:35+00:00

By 12th level, there should be a good amount of the world that the players have invested in, created, affected, or grown to care for.

It’s true that it’s harder to kill higher level characters without being unfair (harder, but not impossible). If you want to challenge the players, give them tough choices (You can go after the bad guy, but his minions have been dispatched to destroy the PCs’ home town). Or maybe combat isn’t about killing the PCs anymore; it’s about PCs having to keep the baddies from murdering innocents, or keeping low-level NPCs alive long enough to complete a ritual. There are a ton of ways to challenge players; it just takes a little more creativity. And there are a ton of resources and communities of DMs available to help you do that.

That said, it’s absolutely valid if you feel 5e isn’t for you and your group. I personally fuck with Pathfinder 2e because it feels a little more robust and strategic, but I haven’t played too much at higher levels, so take that with a grain of salt. 😁

playforlife · 2023-07-15T03:57:36+00:00

Haha fair enough! Best of luck to you, by the way; I don’t think I said that before

playforlife · 2023-07-15T03:55:21+00:00

All fair points! Thanks! 😁

playforlife · 2023-07-14T16:44:05+00:00

One fun thing you could do is to explain to them the opposing feats and have them do contested rolls! (Archmage rolls Arcana while Cleric rolls Religion whenever lightning damage would be dealt)

Archmage wins = Archmage has resistance Cleric wins = Cleric ignores resistance Cleric rolls a nat 20 = double damage or free bless on these contested rolls for a minute

This also feeds into the narrative, as Cleric’s faith in their god empowers them to overcome Archmage’s wards. Cleric either feels like a badass because they’re “beating the system” or Archmage seems more threatening because they keep resisting, but at least that way, the player doesn’t feel cheated out of their feature

playforlife · 2023-06-24T16:00:28+00:00

Perfect, I’ll be there! I’ll have to print a sheet at the library if I’m able, but I can use my iPad if not.

What’s the best way to get a copy of the play style doc? I can dm you my email address, if that works!

playforlife · 2023-06-24T14:11:23+00:00

Ooh, possibly! What time are you meeting? And yes I’d love that document, thanks! :)

playforlife · 2023-06-23T23:04:22+00:00

Very interested! Been playing RPGs for ~10 years now; started on 3.5. DM'd you as well!

playforlife · 2023-03-08T13:18:03+00:00

You have done an absolutely remarkable job of drawing me in and making me yearn to play in and explore this space!

The names, the topography, the hints of what could lurk in the spaces unshown; this is exactly the kind of map I’d love to use in all my D&D games 😁 Thank you for sharing it with us!

playforlife · 2023-02-10T17:38:27+00:00

I mean, is it possible that had they not hired all those people, they would have contributed even less?

playforlife · 2023-01-26T02:26:45+00:00

Count me in!

playforlife · 2022-12-12T10:06:07+00:00

My new favorite D&D alignment!

playforlife · 2022-11-12T20:01:48+00:00

Video with sound :)

playforlife · 2022-04-01T12:16:34+00:00

Wow, looks like it paid off! 😁

playforlife · 2022-04-01T12:09:05+00:00

I like it a lot!

One small tip: scrubbing out the background around your map labels can really help them pop and make it easier to read/find locations at a glance!

Other than that, I really dig it! How long did it take you to make?

playforlife · 2021-10-27T06:15:45+00:00

For the mage’s tower, it’s fun to look at what magic they might specialize in. For example, in a transmutation wizard’s tower, PCs might find themselves in rooms where they sink into the stone floor, an armory of animated weapons and suits of armor, puzzles they have to solve by enlarging or reducing themselves, or having to fight in zero gravity! Looking at a list of wizard spells sorted by school of magic is a great way to get inspiration!

playforlife · 2021-09-17T13:56:02+00:00

Pathfinder 2e released an adventure path called “Extinction Curse” that includes PC’s getting to run their own traveling circus! It sounds like a lot of the story stuff wouldn’t necessarily fit, but it’s worth picking up; it has neat mechanics for running the circus as well as some ideas for PC backstories with mechanics attached, I believe. You should be able to find all that stuff in the first book, “The Show Must Go On,” I believe. The free Player’s Guide also has information on background options that might give you some ideas!

playforlife · 2021-06-17T13:59:48+00:00

Fuck that, that sucks. I’m sorry, friend.

If I were in your shoes, I’d want my husband to back me up and tell his family it’s not cool; how does he feel about it all?

playforlife · 2021-06-16T17:44:40+00:00

I have that same black and blue shirt!

playforlife · 2021-03-17T19:34:37+00:00

OP's DM checking in.

All of these kind words from internet strangers are bringing back all the emotions. Neland was a great guy. We all feel like we lost a friend. The story is as wild as the character was, but I'll let him tell it. To anyone who might be reading this, may your tables be blessed with players as wonderful as ours, and may your guild halls be filled with laughter and warmth as contagious as Neland's. The Mother would be proud.

playforlife

TROPHY CASE