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I mean... Illithids eat brains by compulsion. I am no expert but I would believe many in the adventurer's tavern would consider that quite rude. It'd be hard to play one in the context of a "normal" campaign without leaving a trail of corpses. You could make due feasting on the brains of the bandits and things you kill, but if you're in downtime at an inn waiting for something for a couple of weeks in-game, squidmonster's gotta eat, may as well be that waitress that shortchanged your buddy the other night. You might be able to make one work in the context of a one-off dungeon crawl (see K'larota in that Critical Role campaign), but there comes a point where the fleshy brainhavers are no longer convenient to you and it's time to get your feast on.
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Apr 24, 2018 14:12
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Could make for interesting motivation, having to cut deals with city government for criminals' brains, trying to stay legit.
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Apr 24, 2018 14:17
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I mean Drow are evil by default but you can play them. They're only evil because they live in a corrupt xenophobic society that worships Lolth. Gnolls worship Yeenoghu and demons and poo poo. The only difference I see is that Drow are pretty and weird hyena people aren't.
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Apr 24, 2018 14:24
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"always chaotic evil" or whatever was dumb when it first appeared and remains dumb now
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Apr 24, 2018 14:25
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Glagha posted:I mean Drow are evil by default but you can play them. They're only evil because they live in a corrupt xenophobic society that worships Lolth. Gnolls worship Yeenoghu and demons and poo poo. The only difference I see is that Drow are pretty and weird hyena people aren't. I think the difference with gnolls is that they're literally created by evil magic rituals from hyenas, yeah? They don't have a normal life cycle really IIRC from glancing through the MM. Yeenoghu just popped them into existence at one point, and occasionally does so to keep their numbers up.
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Apr 24, 2018 14:28
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What season should it be for LMoP? I like using calendars and I'm starting in 1491 DR. What's the climate around Neverwinter anyway?
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Apr 24, 2018 15:08
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In my mind, Neverwinter has a climate very similar to Boston or Montreal. Making LMoP take place during winter could create some interesting hitches, especially if some of the PCs aren't from the area
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Apr 24, 2018 15:13
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Hypothesis:
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Apr 24, 2018 15:15
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Additional info: Arctic Climates: Icewind Dale. Subarctic: The majority of the North, including the Spine of the World. Temps range from -30 to 40 F in the winter, Summer temps can reach the 70's. The coast between Waterdeep and Port Llast stays warmer and wetter throughout the year than inland regions. (The North: The Wilderness, pg5) Calimshan: Temperate, but warmer than Tethyr of Amn due to Southerly location, the warming effects of the Shining Sea, and volcanic activity that effects the Lake of Steam. (Empires of the Shining Sea, pg 49) Tethyr: Temperate, average precipitation 25-30 inches; long, hot summers, with moderate humidity, mild winters; cooler in the Northern and Eastern parts, with the air getting drier as you approach the coast. (Lands of Intrigue: Tethyr, pp 2-3) Amn: Not as mild as Tethyr & S, but a pleasant climate year round. Slightly warmer along the W. & NW shores of Lake Esmel due to a hot springs. Rainy season from late fall through spring. (Lands of Intrigue: Amn, pg 2.) Cormyr & Dales: Temperate. (Elminster's Ecologies: The Settled Lands, pg8) Stonelands: plagued by storms, heavy rainfall. Two seasons: summer and winter. {Elminster's Ecologies: The Stonelands and the Goblin Marches, pg5) Sea of Fallen Stars: Scarsdale to Yhaunn: Harsh, nearly constant cold winds from the Sea, little plant life, very little sandy beaches, mostly rocky coast. Sea of Fallen Stars: Selgaunt to Urmlaspyr: More temperate than previous, and more stable. (Elminster's Ecologies: Coastal Aquatic lands: The Sea of Fallen Stars, pp 3&4) Thar: Typical high Steppe region. (Elminster's Ecologies: The Great Gray Land of Thar. pg4) Cormanthor: warmer winters, fewer gale-force winds, higher humidity, and more than its share of rain, partly due to the Mythal's effects. (Elminster's Ecologies: Cormanthor, pg 7)
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Apr 24, 2018 15:17
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kidkissinger posted:What's the climate around Neverwinter anyway? It's pretty far north but the city itself is unusually warm due to the Neverwinter River flowing out from a magic volcano. SCAG doesn't get into climate stuff much but The Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from 3e probably has more detail.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:19
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I always worry about using previous editions source material since things change but I'll give it a look.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:20
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slap me and kiss me posted:Six people is what, 30 minutes between turns in combat? That sounds dreadfully boring. I'm in a game with 8 players (well, 7 at most at a time, because the two GMs switch off between playing and running between stories) and even when all 7 are actively around and at the fight, using reactions, using spells etc, I have never seen a round take more than 10 minutes for everyone to finish. And that was when we were fighting 10 enemies at once due to a trap. Most fights have taken 5 minutes per round total. How do you estimate 5 per each players turn?? This isn't exalted where you have 40 complex options to take for every action.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:22
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kidkissinger posted:I always worry about using previous editions source material since things change but I'll give it a look. In fairness, if they're playing the starter adventure they're probably not 1) the kinds of people who are going to go after you for lore fidelity and 2) knowledgable enough about changes to 5e lore to contradict you.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:22
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Also, it’s your campaign so it’s your lore. Any resemblance to other lore is purely coincidental.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:24
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kidkissinger posted:I always worry about using previous editions source material since things change but I'll give it a look. they're books, not cops
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Apr 24, 2018 15:24
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the guide to the realms may be written like the CIA World Factbook but it is, in fact, fake
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Apr 24, 2018 15:26
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My main group caps out at 8 players and it doesn't get too bogged down as long as people think about what they want to do ahead of time. Having groups of monsters all act at once helps too. If you don't know what you're doing you get skipped until you're ready, and the DM moves onto the next person while the previous rolls damage.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:27
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Nehru the Damaja posted:In fairness, if they're playing the starter adventure they're probably not 1) the kinds of people who are going to go after you for lore fidelity and 2) knowledgable enough about changes to 5e lore to contradict you. Oh I totally get that, I'm just trying to keep things internally consistent with minimum effort/creativity on my part.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:29
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Serf posted:the guide to the realms may be written like the CIA World Factbook but it is, in fact, fake I prefer the People's History of the Forgotten Realms, by Howard Zinntarim
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Apr 24, 2018 15:31
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okay LMoP game is set and happening especially since I bought the roll20 module so now I'm contractually obligated. The party is an elf fighter, a human bard, a warforged ranger, an elf wizard, and an earth genasi cleric which seems to cover all the bases that might come up in this. Though also this is my first time touching 5e so what the gently caress do I know. I'm sure "are there any good LMoP running tips" is something that gets asked constantly in this thread but: are there any good LMoP running tips?
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Apr 24, 2018 15:31
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kidkissinger posted:Oh I totally get that, I'm just trying to keep things internally consistent with minimum effort/creativity on my part.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:33
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The Gate posted:I think the difference with gnolls is that they're literally created by evil magic rituals from hyenas, yeah? They don't have a normal life cycle really IIRC from glancing through the MM. Yeenoghu just popped them into existence at one point, and occasionally does so to keep their numbers up. Not quite. Version B of Gnoll prehistory is that they worshipped their creator god originally (Gorelik, I think) and then Yeenoghu corrupted them. The original version of Gnoll prehistory is that a wizard did it by merging gnomes with trolls.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:33
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Yeah, all the crossbreeding with hyenas didn't happen until shortly thereafter
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Apr 24, 2018 15:41
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Splicer posted:Quoting this so I have it handy next time there's a "Why do people like pre-built settings/modules?" derail. Why are people like this
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Apr 24, 2018 15:42
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What classes would you pick to round out our group? So far we have a Dwarf Paladin, and a Drow Bard.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:46
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kidkissinger posted:Why are people like this
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Apr 24, 2018 15:46
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Blockhouse posted:I'm sure "are there any good LMoP running tips" is something that gets asked constantly in this thread but: are there any good LMoP running tips? Give your characters an extra 10 HP on top of however you're already computing HP so that they don't fall over to a stiff breeze. Don't be afraid to detach skill proficiencies from ability scores if the pairing feels stupid, such as a Fighter that can't intimidate because Intimidation is linked to Charisma (the corollary is that players shouldn't be made to roll for things in their wheelhouse anyway) Try to give players a Short Rest once every two fights, no matter what that means narratively. It won't matter much at level 1-2 except for giving them the chance to spend their Hit Dice, but even that can be important, and is definitely important once they do hit level 3+ and have things that interact with Short Rests.
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Apr 24, 2018 15:52
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Falstaff posted:The original version of Gnoll prehistory is that a wizard did it by merging gnomes with trolls. So, practically the same thing. 
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Apr 24, 2018 16:03
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gradenko_2000 posted:
A (probably lesser) alternative to this is, in this specific case, making the check Intimidation (STR). It's backed up by the book and makes sense for a muscle boy flexing his muscles to intimidate based on how muscly he is.
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Apr 24, 2018 16:11
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you should be able to key intimidate off of con by breaking a bottle over your own head
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Apr 24, 2018 16:14
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KittyEmpress posted:I'm in a game with 8 players (well, 7 at most at a time, because the two GMs switch off between playing and running between stories) and even when all 7 are actively around and at the fight, using reactions, using spells etc, I have never seen a round take more than 10 minutes for everyone to finish. And that was when we were fighting 10 enemies at once due to a trap. Most fights have taken 5 minutes per round total. Players have to pick what they're going to do, negotiate with the DM about who and what their spells affect, discuss strategy. How that's all possible in under 60 seconds a person is beyond me. Rolling, checking difficulty / ac, and applying damage is a minute on its own.
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Apr 24, 2018 16:17
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kidkissinger posted:What's the climate around Neverwinter anyway? I hear it's never winter there.
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Apr 24, 2018 16:26
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slap me and kiss me posted:Players have to pick what they're going to do, negotiate with the DM about who and what their spells affect, discuss strategy. How that's all possible in under 60 seconds a person is beyond me. Rolling, checking difficulty / ac, and applying damage is a minute on its own. If you know what you're going to do ahead of time, you can pre-roll your attack and damage and ask the DM if it hits when it's your turn. I learned to do this in 3e when our group had 7 players and two of those PCs were summoners.
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Apr 24, 2018 16:35
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inthesto posted:If you know what you're going to do ahead of time, you can pre-roll your attack and damage and ask the DM if it hits when it's your turn. Yeah, I guess, but that presupposes that nothing's going to change that will require you to make a new decision, and also that your table is comfortable with people rolling for things when attention and focus is elsewhere. Not only that, but if you're busy rolling your own thing, how engaged are you in what's actually going on with your allies?
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Apr 24, 2018 16:38
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It could be more like "new round, everyone roll your first d20 of the turn" but then it's weird if you can be like "uhh okay I run away" or do something lower stakes if you know it will fail. Overall I don't think you can fairly roll before 100% committing to your action. An rpg that had truly concurrent aspects of combat would be pretty cool but I don't know how it would work.
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Apr 24, 2018 16:44
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Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:It could be more like "new round, everyone roll your first d20 of the turn" but then it's weird if you can be like "uhh okay I run away" or do something lower stakes if you know it will fail. Overall I don't think you can fairly roll before 100% committing to your action. Call of Cthulhu has a separate round for declaring actions before they are resolved.
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Apr 24, 2018 16:47
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slap me and kiss me posted:Players have to pick what they're going to do, slap me and kiss me posted:negotiate with the DM about who and what their spells affect, slap me and kiss me posted:discuss strategy. Follows these rules and you too can have turns that take 5-20 seconds each!
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Apr 24, 2018 16:57
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I used to try to optimize my players' turns but for most of them it makes the game less fun so now I just focus on trying to make peoples' turns fun for the whole group. I don't like stressing my players out.
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Apr 24, 2018 17:13
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Baby T. Love posted:Learn what your spells do ahead of time. Sure, some things about the target you can't know, but it doesn't take long for the DM to say "Your hold person has no effect on this seemingly humanoid creature. (DUN DUN DUUUN)" Yeah, so what I actually mean is "your fireball hits two guys" "no, you said that they were all together last round and they didn't move apart" "I said they were all together but they're spread out." A condescending "learn your spells" isn't a great answer.
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Apr 24, 2018 17:16
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It also doesn't take long for the DM to say "You can only hit 2 of them with fireball this turn." If constant bickering is something that's inflating your turn durations then I think you might have a more difficult problem to solve. e: I didn't mean to imply that you don't have any idea what your spells do, but even the players on Critical Role are constantly wasting time with "But this isn't a concentration spell! Let me look at it... It doesn't say concentration... Oh wait, there it it, yes it's concentration... Ok, then instead I, uh..." Baby T. Love fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Apr 24, 2018 |
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Apr 24, 2018 17:28
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