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Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:I think single monsters just don't work in this game and they certainly need legendary actions/resistance if nothing else. You have to be willing to throw the rules out to do a single monster, and even then you're going to want something to occupy at least a could PCs. With gradenko's encounter building rules, you can concentrate on making abilities and attacks that change the battlefield or do more than just damage.
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Jul 12, 2018 23:17
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It's the good old action economy issue.
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Jul 12, 2018 23:33
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Alright guys, here's a tough question. My girlfriend works with the deaf and blind, and one of her clients asked what I do and she said that I play D&D and now he is interested to try it out. She asked if I wanted to show him how to play and I agreed. He is fully blind, and can hear via an implant and external microphone. He remembers some of his friends playing back when he was 12, but really knows nothing about it. I convinced my girlfriend to play too, much to her chagrin, but I need help designing a character that he can play without having to read anything or keep track of too much. When I asked him what he wants to play he said a Dragon or a Ninja. I made a Dragonborn Barbarian and a Human Rogue for those two suggestions, but I wonder if you guys can think of another option for a class that can be played without reading much or needing to keep track of too much. For the Barbarian, I can give him beads to keep track of his rages, and a D4 or something to keep track of his breath. I am not sure what I can do for the rogue because of positioning, but I can just describe the setting to him on his turn. Any suggestions? I want him to have fun, but feel that he has to stick with the weapon classes.
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Jul 12, 2018 23:40
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CommaToes posted:Alright guys, here's a tough question. It's going to be tricky because positioning and reading are big deals for everyone, but the dragonborn barbarian is a good bet. A lot of people play without visual aids like a grid or minis, and while it doesn't really work it's technically possible and being a caster should be doable There's a few results on people who had the same issue, and how they managed it Here's some people talking about how they managed the gametable(It's 4e but everything's still relevant) a blind player talks about their experiences with DnD Here's a GM talking about how a blind player improved everyone's play experience
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Jul 12, 2018 23:53
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Right now i'm trying to think of a puzzle for a dungeon built by an ancient race. The solution will be that the race that built it had 4 digits per hand so they count with an octal system. I think they'll get it since they are mostly CS students but i'm not sure what the best way to present it is without giving it away or making it unfair because of the way i'm presenting the information. I think i definitely need to have it give 4 or so numbers, such as 1, 3, 7, 12 so that they can get feedback seeing the single digit numbers work. My first idea was to have 16 braziers and a note that says to light 1, 3, 7, 12, but they might misinterpret it failing after lighting the last one as meaning the whole sequence is wrong, and i can't give feedback one at a time because otherwise it just becomes trial and error with 13 possible solutions. Another possible idea is to have them encounter things earlier on, such as a puzzle with 7 fish and then at the end there are four statues and each has a symbol on it and like a keypad with random numbers in a weird font as a handout, so they have to figure out which symbol means which number and they will get the first three right pretty quickly until they get to the curveball of the last one having double digits. Anyone tried anything like this before? The other idea i had was to make the final boss fight take place on my Tzolk'in board:  Bad guy would be a giant spirit or something in the middle and they have to put a thing in a slot on each of the outer cogs to make the boss vulnerable (but really to make them have to navigate on to the other cogs), and after each turn the cogs rotate one space. Maybe have flamethrowers that alternate at certain points so they have to be careful not to get rotated in to them. Need to think more about how to best leverage the moving floor but it should be novel at least. CJ fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Jul 13, 2018 |
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Jul 12, 2018 23:56
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CommaToes posted:Alright guys, here's a tough question. Okay so in all honesty D&D is probably one of the worst choices to start this person off on, there are plenty of D&D-like systems out there now that have well-thought-out Theater of the Mind combat mechanics that also have much less innate crunch for a person to want to have easily available, since I can't imagine reading a character sheet in braille is going to be any more intuitive than it is reading it in English so you might want to cut down on that sort of thing as much as possible. There's a pretty great thread for system suggestions over here even!
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Jul 13, 2018 01:27
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CommaToes posted:Alright guys, here's a tough question. I'm going to echo "D&D may not be the best choice", because it's fiddly, and it's hard to say "I move my barbarian close enough to the bad guy to attack, but also not within x feet of where the fireball is about to be dropped" in theatre of the mind. However, if you do stick with D&D, then I would really clamp down on reskinning being your friend. Help the person understand some of the mechanics of some classes, see which one that person likes, and then go poof~. That heavy armor your wearing is ACTUALLY your ninja being really good at dodging. Roll some d20s, say that it's not a martial attack with a weapon, but "Ok, this is how much of the fire breath he just got hit in the face with."
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Jul 13, 2018 01:46
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Yeah, I think he just said D&D as it was the only thing he heard of. I know 13th age pretty well and I think that'd work maybe a bit better, but I was trying to work with what was actually asked instead of going adjacent, but that may end up being a better choice. edit: oh and thanks for those resources on playing with blind people too. I've read them before, but I appreciate the suggestions. CommaToes fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Jul 13, 2018 |
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Jul 13, 2018 02:09
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5e is TECHNICALLY designed to be Theatre of the Mind-able but I imagine it’s hard, especially if you have a party totally used to older editions. Are you playing in person or online? If you’re online you could maybe have someone be in charge of moving his character and let him just describe details that turn into mechanics. But yeah, something like Dungeon World or Genesys or the Star Wars RPG would probably be a way better entry point.
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Jul 13, 2018 03:50
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CommaToes posted:Yeah, I think he just said D&D as it was the only thing he heard of. I know 13th age pretty well and I think that'd work maybe a bit better, but I was trying to work with what was actually asked instead of going adjacent, but that may end up being a better choice. Yeah D&D is definitely the thing pretty much everyone will know of, it's just become a fairly rules-heavy game that relies on maps pretty heavily - there is TotM 'supported' in 5E as mentioned but... it's bad, and 13th Age would likely work tons better in the ways it abstracts skills and combat. Hopefully it's not a tough sell, since 13th Age is very intentionally D&D-like
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Jul 13, 2018 04:26
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I've been thinking about a Rogue - Swashbuckler/Fighter - Samurai that I want to play as a ninja. A Dragonborn would be a great race for him. My neighbor was the only grandma I really had, and she worked with the blind, so I'll do whatever I can to help this guy play D&D. I'll post again tomorrow with whatever advice I can think of.
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Jul 13, 2018 05:09
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Shadows Monk is pretty much fluffed as being a Ninja.
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Jul 13, 2018 05:18
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I'm usually pretty soft on combat as a DM (over estimating how much damage a mob will do, how long they'll stay alive vs PC damage, etc.) but I accidentally dropped a level 6 tortle bard in the first round of combat tonight, largely thanks to the most crit-heavy attack I've ever witnessed. Crit on the attack (with the always-hilarious patronizing natural 1 on the Roll20 second roll) and then crit on 4 of the 6 damage dice (plus a 4 and 6 on 2d8). The first attack softened him up enough that when the second one crit and dropped those numbers there was a brief "oh wait is he dead dead" pause which are not common but real fun.
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Jul 13, 2018 06:11
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Heya guys I found this whilst looking up the Darkest Dungeon, are the stats interesting? I liked the aesthetic of the mosquito vamps and was thinking about using them in a future campaign. https://kor-artificer.tumblr.com/post/166399802670/vampires-of-darkest-dungeon-in-dd
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Jul 13, 2018 09:44
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I am DMing for the first time for a couple of my coworkers, doing Lost Mines. I let them build their own characters, and all looks well design and also party balance wise. There are 6 of them so I am using this to adjust for that, but otherwise what else should I prep? I read the LMoP booklet and feel confident with 5e in general. Two of them are total newbies so I really want them to enjoy the first few sessions.
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Jul 13, 2018 13:36
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As written, the ambush and goblin cave that start LMoP can be pretty deadly for first level characters. Don't be afraid to fudge the rolls a bit or intervene if things go sideways. 6 PCs should be able to handle it though.
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Jul 13, 2018 16:21
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Quidthulhu posted:5e is TECHNICALLY designed to be Theatre of the Mind-able but I imagine it’s hard, especially if you have a party totally used to older editions. Are you playing in person or online? If you’re online you could maybe have someone be in charge of moving his character and let him just describe details that turn into mechanics. But yeah, something like Dungeon World or Genesys or the Star Wars RPG would probably be a way better entry point. What makes it hard? Our group has been TotM'ing 5e for several months across multiple campaigns and have had zero issues, really. We did full minis battles with 3.5 prior to that, too. If anything 5e is WAY easier to do TotM because stuff like attacks of opportunity are way easier to handle without minis.
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Jul 13, 2018 16:40
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I wrote an article on Designing Boss Monsters that should tackle most of the problems with trying to throw "a single Warlock" against the party. The very short version is that any monster that is supposed to be a "boss" is going to need as many actions as there are players. It doesn't matter if that technically violates the rules. CommaToes posted:Yeah, I think he just said D&D as it was the only thing he heard of. I know 13th age pretty well and I think that'd work maybe a bit better, but I was trying to work with what was actually asked instead of going adjacent, but that may end up being a better choice. You might try telling them flat-out that you get that they want to play a roleplaying game, and you want to help them do it, but you're going to recommend a different game than D&D specifically because it has a lot of bells and whistles that don't make it conducive to be played with their capabilities. It's certainly not impossible, but it would probably require enough modification and fudging and houseruling that you'd be better off playing something that actually works out of the box.
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Jul 13, 2018 16:40
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Finster Dexter posted:If anything 5e is WAY easier to do TotM because stuff like attacks of opportunity are way easier to handle without minis. The thing that gauges everything explicitly in 5ft increments is easier to do without a visual reference of what a 5ft increment is because OAs are easier to do...? What about "stepping away from the thing" or "it starts to cast a spell" (Feat required) exactly makes it "way easier" to do TotM?
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Jul 13, 2018 16:49
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Dragonatrix posted:The thing that gauges everything explicitly in 5ft increments is easier to do without a visual reference of what a 5ft increment is because OAs are easier to do...? What about "stepping away from the thing" or "it starts to cast a spell" (Feat required) exactly makes it "way easier" to do TotM?
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Jul 13, 2018 16:53
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Dragonatrix posted:The thing that gauges everything explicitly in 5ft increments is easier to do without a visual reference of what a 5ft increment is because OAs are easier to do...? What about "stepping away from the thing" exactly makes it "way easier" to do TotM? There aren't several different ways to provoke AoO... there's just one, moving away from a melee opponent without using the disengage action. There's no such thing as "5ft step" in 5e. That's only one example... which is why I wrote "stuff like AoO". The combat rules are specifically written for TotM. Using minis is a callout with special rules over and above the combat RAW.
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Jul 13, 2018 17:01
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It depends on your definition of support. If you're asking if 5e can be run as TotM, of course it can. If you're asking if 5e's mechanics are built around TotM or map combat, the answer is obviously map combat. If you're asking if the designers actually thought they were making a TotM game, who can say?
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Jul 13, 2018 17:04
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Finster Dexter posted:There aren't several different ways to provoke AoO... there's just one, moving away from a melee opponent without using the disengage action. There's no such thing as "5ft step" in 5e. So your answer is "nothing." Nothing makes it way easier. Gotcha. Also, you're wrong outright on the first point as I alluded to before (but I forgot Sentinel exists so I was partially wrong too). Casting a spell adjacent to someone with the Mage Slayer feat also provokes an Attack of Opportunity. While near someone with the Sentinel feat, if you don't have it and you attack someone else? That also provokes an Attack of Opportunity. Weird how those are both easier to keep trick of with a grid. 
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Jul 13, 2018 17:08
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ahh yes those niche feats sure are a checkmate to the very obviously true claim that "5e AoOs are much simpler to track in your head than 3e ones"
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Jul 13, 2018 17:10
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Quidthulhu posted:5e is TECHNICALLY designed to be Theatre of the Mind-able but I imagine it’s hard, especially if you have a party totally used to older editions. Are you playing in person or online? If you’re online you could maybe have someone be in charge of moving his character and let him just describe details that turn into mechanics. But yeah, something like Dungeon World or Genesys or the Star Wars RPG would probably be a way better entry point.
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Jul 13, 2018 17:12
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Toebone posted:As written, the ambush and goblin cave that start LMoP can be pretty deadly for first level characters. Don't be afraid to fudge the rolls a bit or intervene if things go sideways. 6 PCs should be able to handle it though. Yeah, we just got through the cave on our 2nd session (we're slow going), and , man, any encounter we get the jump on is trivialized and any time the goblins got the jump on us, we were basically down to the bone after 1-2 rounds. It's been terribly unfun, as action economy has been king and I've personally just been unable to participate in some fights because "arrows fly out of the darkness and hit your dumb 14ac rear end for 125% of your max hp" has been hella non-interactive and with only 3-4 PCs there's not even any point in healing me since it just puts us further behind.
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Jul 13, 2018 17:16
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Finster Dexter posted:What makes it hard? Our group has been TotM'ing 5e for several months across multiple campaigns and have had zero issues, really. We did full minis battles with 3.5 prior to that, too. If anything 5e is WAY easier to do TotM because stuff like attacks of opportunity are way easier to handle without minis.
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Jul 13, 2018 17:24
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Try adjudicating the AOE of a cone shape without using a grid
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Jul 13, 2018 17:35
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gradenko_2000 posted:Try adjudicating the AOE of a cone shape without using a grid its certainly a fun game of "mother may i"
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Jul 13, 2018 17:38
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Finster Dexter posted:There aren't several different ways to provoke AoO... there's just one, moving away from a melee opponent without using the disengage action. There's no such thing as "5ft step" in 5e. Doesn’t casting while engaged trigger an AoO?
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Jul 13, 2018 17:47
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Subjunctive posted:Doesn’t casting while engaged trigger an AoO? 
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Jul 13, 2018 17:51
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Splicer posted:Nope. If you cast a spell with a ranged attack roll while in melee you have disadvantage, but other than that Huh, we’ve been playing wrong. An inadvertent holdover from the DM’s 4e campaign, perhaps.
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Jul 13, 2018 18:00
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gradenko_2000 posted:I wrote an article on Designing Boss Monsters that should tackle most of the problems with trying to throw "a single Warlock" against the party. This is why most Legendary Creatures have 3 Legendary Actions. It's assuming 4 players. For bigger parties it would be a good idea to change any Creatures Legendary Actions to Number of players - 1.
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Jul 13, 2018 18:02
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Subjunctive posted:Huh, we’ve been playing wrong. An inadvertent holdover from the DM’s 4e campaign, perhaps. So far as every time my friends excitedly remember that interpretation.Meanwhile you often have to fight tooth and nail to have 5th ed rule "Melee distance ranged attacks vs prone get advantage instead of disadvantage" used. But I blame the crazy editing of the rulebook and old ingrained habits for that. I mean, I've lost track of how often I've heard about people ignoring the fact 5th ed kept DEX mod for finesse weapon melee damage even if it's a jokey fun loving group. So what hope does "Wait, hold on. Shooting at point blank is GREAT!" niche rule got? Section Z fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Jul 13, 2018 |
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Jul 13, 2018 18:29
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Section Z posted:Meanwhile you often have to fight tooth and nail to have 5th ed rule "Melee distance ranged attacks vs prone get advantage instead of disadvantage" used. Oh, we use that all the time with proning abilities from my wild shapes. It’s like teamwork! (Standing up should provoke an AoO though, I mean come on.)
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Jul 13, 2018 18:34
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I'd love the mass charm from order clerics more of i could make everyone affected prone and vulnerable in that ruling vs just an advantage roll for attackers or charm which is meh in combat.
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Jul 13, 2018 18:52
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Dragonatrix posted:So your answer is "nothing." Nothing makes it way easier. Gotcha. Do we have to do this poo poo every god drat time?
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Jul 14, 2018 04:02
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5e uses a grid, explicitly, because of how it demarcates distances. You're saying it's easier to do without a tactical map, and yes, compared to 3e, and 4e it is, but it is still worse for abstract positioning than nearly every other game in D&D alone, not to mention the thousands of games also better suited for abstract positioning, and not using a battlemat. Any situation where I couldn't have a mat, I'd rather be playing a game that isn't three hardcover books and requires handfulls of various polyhedral dice, but what do I know. I've been waiting for the promised "story game, theory of the mind" module for years now, I don't think they're doing the modular design anymore.
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Jul 14, 2018 07:35
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tote up a bags posted:I am DMing for the first time for a couple of my coworkers, doing Lost Mines. I let them build their own characters, and all looks well design and also party balance wise. There are 6 of them so I am using this to adjust for that, but otherwise what else should I prep? I read the LMoP booklet and feel confident with 5e in general. Two of them are total newbies so I really want them to enjoy the first few sessions. Things to prep: -A couple throwaway names and personalities. You never know who your PCs will want to attempt parlay with. In my case, it was everything in the Redbrand Hideout after they found disguises. -Developments if the party withdraws from a half-finished dungeon to long rest. After all, dungeon inhabitants don't just sit on their spawn points, so someone's bound to see the bodies of some fallen comrades as they head outside for a breath of fresh air. The adventure doesn't provide any ideas for how they might respond, but calling in reinforcements, laying extra traps, or taking their valuables (including prisoners) and fleeing are some quick and dirty ideas. -Consider editing Thundertree in chapter 3. As-written, if the party asks the druid to tell them the location of Wave Echo Cave, he says "ok, but only if you fight off a dragon". Trouble is, said dragon will almost certainly one-shot any character at that level who fails a save against its breath weapon (along with some who do save), and its lair is conveniently designed in such a way that it can hit the whole party if played with the intelligence befitting a green dragon. So you probably want to steer the level 3 party away from a violent confrontation with a CR 8 foe. If you want to roleplay Venomfang, you're on your own for its motivations. The MM entry for green dragons says they like to subvert and corrupt the good-hearted, so having it agree to leave if the party does something evil-adjacent might be a starting point. If you'd prefer to have them avoid Venomfang entirely, you could have the druid agree to reveal the location of Wave Echo Cave in exchange for simply clearing out all the zombies/blights in town. Flavor it as those creatures reanimating unless they're killed while he's performing a super special NPC ritual. -You might consider adding some square footage to the dungeons to accommodate the additional players and baddies. Several rooms are rather tight even for the default party of 4. With a party of 6 and the additional baddies from a rebalance, tight quarters will almost certainly be a problem if the maps are played as-written. Other general tips: -Goblins using their bows can't benefit from a shield's AC. Being aware that a goblin bowman has 13 AC instead of the 15 listed in their statblock (which includes the shield's AC) makes chapter 1 slightly more bearable for a level 1 party. Speaking of making chapter 1 more bearable, if you plan to make each PC roll stealth anytime they want to achieve surprise, force the goblins in that infamous first encounter to play by those same rules instead of using a single roll for all of them. -Random encounters in chapter 3. Excepting those who can reveal the location of Cragmaw Castle, they're rather pointless outside of being non-challenging bags of xp. -Speaking of pointless, several ability checks. There's a lot of "DC 10 strength check to bash down the door", but nothing that can prevent someone from trying again or penalize a failure. Either add some kind of twist if they fail (nearby enemies alerted, some fragile treasure behind the door was damaged, etc) or don't bother rolling.
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Jul 14, 2018 09:52
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Speaking of LMoP maps, be sure to notice that some of them are 10’ squares.
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