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AlphaDog posted:Yeah it's great when my friend rolls low and that means my character dies even though I made good decisions and have been rolling well. You should definitely make sure this fun and awesome scenario can happen in your game too.
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Dec 1, 2016 23:58
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I'm in basically the same boat - it will be my first time DMing to a group of new players, just picking up the newest D&D with the nice low-setup starter set seemed easiest. Gonna give that a trial run and see how we like it. The adventure certainly seems better than one in the pathfinder starter set, which was just the one dungeon. I've read way too much about all of them at this point but I think that's easiest. 4e sounds fun but fiddling with combat math myself to make encounters shorter seems like a bridge too far, curious why they didn't reprint the original MM. I'm already thinking about what to fudge, probably will only have 3 players and the starter adventure seems plenty lethal for 4 players. Really, the starter traps when my players are gonna have no clue to look for them do 2d6 damage? Making that 1d6 seems easy sensible to me. Jeffrey of YOSPOS fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Dec 2, 2016 |
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Dec 2, 2016 22:47
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You can just take 20 there though, no? I realize that there were no codified rules for that until 3e but come on, that's the obvious implication of such a system. Why would you have the player roll if they're an expert lockpick doing a routine thing with no time constraint?
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Dec 8, 2016 21:39
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AlphaDog posted:Why roll 3 times for this?
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Dec 8, 2016 22:42
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AlphaDog posted:The scenario was you've only got three rounds before they see you trying to open the door. Sorry if this poo poo is obvious, I'm new at DMing and trying to figure out intuition here.
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Dec 8, 2016 22:52
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Zomborgon posted:e: My apologies for inadvertently causing that bit of a scuffle, I didn't mean for that to be a situation in a vacuum.
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Dec 8, 2016 23:23
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It explicitly says it's considered a kensai weapon if you're proficient in it. If you are saying that kensai weapons are different from monk weapons, well, obviously that's not the intent there and no one sane would enforce the rules that way. Like, okay, maybe the somewhat vague wording is a problem, but it's a pretty far cry from a "huge" problem. Jeffrey of YOSPOS fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Dec 13, 2016 |
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Dec 13, 2016 00:01
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Rules lawyer attempt: Kensai weapons are monk weapons to a kensai. Kensai are a type of monk, their weapons are a type of monk weapons. This would apply to any monk path that adds weapon proficiencies. It's weirder that it doesn't say "martial melee weapon", that means you can pick a bow and still get the AC bonus.
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Dec 13, 2016 00:06
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mango sentinel posted:What the hell does Kensei Weapon mean then?
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Dec 13, 2016 19:51
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Just did a first session for SKT on roll20. The included maps are pretty cool, every monster has a token pre-created and the maps from the book are pre-populated. I bought it because it sounded the coolest, not realizing that it's literally the only adventure for 5e on there besides the starter-set one. I'm a brand new DM so I'm learning on here. (My other group is doing the starter set in person....somehow my two groups of friends both had the idea to play D&D near-simultaneously, but I can't really combine them.) Having an explicit grid manager thing seems really nice. Gonna post my thoughts/review based on the one session here. The platform feels a little weak to me. Everything in the interface is like, twice as clunky as it needs to be. The character sheets are somewhat unreliable, at the same time trying too hard to automate some things while not trying at all to do others. Overall character sheets seem pretty loosely mapped to players, which is understandable for a big game-agnostic toolkit style thing, but come on. Can't I at least click on a player's name and quickly see their character sheet? I left all of them open, but any time it updated it would refresh and no longer be "popped out" and I'd have to click like 6 times to get it back on the browser tab I want it on. This isn't a huge deal, but small gaps in play due to interface design feel like loving forever when I'm the one responsible for them and the whole group is waiting. It's strange that it has this whole system for turn management that stops short of tracking what a given player can do on a turn. We have a grid, players with movement scores, etc, but not even a visual indicator of how much they are "allowed" to move? (Even showing it but having it be unenforced would be an improvement.) I have to hit end turn myself every time instead of players ending their own turn? You'd think it could also let the player indicate who they attack in some way besides pinging and check AC/subtract HP for me and all that, but that's okay, I can do that, it's nice to be able to override stuff seamlessly anyway so that works. From the player side, It's awkward that there doesn't seem to be a way to simply have the map jump to your character's tile, instead relying on your tile being easily recognizable on the huge variety of HUGE background maps and making them scroll. Overall characters seem only loosely mapped to players. This is especially an issue when they enter a building that is mapped out in a separate part of the map, because I gotta drag the tokens across a map that doesn't even fit in a 2560x1600 screenful if I want to have reasonably sized squares, then instruct the players on how to get there in the big empty black square. Gonna kick someone's rear end if they try to go in and out of one of those buildings during combat. The dynamic lighting they offer is really cool. (Interface is clunky, explicit doors that I could double-click on to open or close would be nice. Instead I have to delete the border and put it back it seems.) Weird that I have to pay 4.99/month for it but I get it. I liked it enough that I'll keep using that. I figured out only at the very end that I could like, shift-click on tokens to pull up the character sheet instead of the "token options", ie, poo poo that I almost never want to change or read. That was my biggest complaint and thankfully amounted to "read the manual idiot". Not sure what the point of this post was but like, I guess the moral is, I had hella fun playing D&D and I can only assume it gets better with practice.
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Jan 9, 2017 23:01
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MonsterEnvy posted:I use a different online tabletop on account of finding Roll20 kind of too clunky for me. Thanks for the warning - they haven't found any giants yet but I already warned them. I presume they'll just keep fighting anyway. Looking at the descriptions, I'm going to have them go to the frozen north city, but the fight there has at least 3 frost giants and two wolves. I get that they have npcs and walls and a gate and all that, but that still seems kinda nuts to fight for 4 level 5 characters.
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Jan 9, 2017 23:25
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Arivia posted:Roll20 has a ruler tool for counting squares. Also, shift-click on the map as a GM to force all player views to where you clicked. The ruler isn't what I mean, roll20 is fine about distances, just not speed. I want it to track how much a player can move in a turn, and only let them move that much, show how much they have left, show what squares they are eligible to move to, etc. Cool cool about the view, that will help a lot.
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Jan 10, 2017 00:18
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lifg posted:Roll20 is clunky. It doesn't give a lot of tools to help the DM, I always keep a pen and pencil nearby when I've used it.
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Jan 10, 2017 07:22
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Treating death as more or less serious is part of setting tone I think. I think it's pretty valid for the DM to want you to feel that tension you're describing - combat as vicious and dangerous and to be avoided if possible is certainly one way to run a game. You can decide that you don't like games like that, but I don't think there's anything wrong with playing it that way, as long as you're not excluded from participating by having to reroll at level 1 or something. Roleplaying that sort of tension is something you should do anyway - presumably your character is actually feeling the tension that they might be viciously murdered even if you, the player, aren't.
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Jan 26, 2017 22:14
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Lol if you use a square grid and don't explain it within the metaphysics of your world. In a square room? Your character sees a circle, deal with it.
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Jan 29, 2017 20:49
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That's exactly what you're proposing, at least as the characters are concerned. Your octagon/square grid is just how your represent that on euclidean paper.
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Jan 29, 2017 20:58
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Ran my first proper session of SKT with my group, and it certainly seems like everyone had fun.(First session was a meet+greet/character building session.) They were pretty murderous with the playful goblins but they know Kella's true intentions and haven't killed her, a good sign of....not murdering every npc which helps me. I'm pretty sure they're just not going to go in the keep at all, which is strange, who doesn't go in the big setpiece part of the town???? Whatever lol, it's all good, I think they're gonna sleep and then the zhents will arrive tomorrow.
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Jan 30, 2017 22:02
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Wait resistance doesn't apply to spells? Cold resistance doesn't reduce damage from cone of cold? 
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Feb 6, 2017 22:38
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Playing video of your character's mom and I. It definitely will cause you damage but there's no magic - it was all physical.
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Feb 6, 2017 23:48
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3 attacks per 2 rounds huh?
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Feb 7, 2017 04:25
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Rolling for monster perception seems kinda silly - "passive perception" or whatever fixed DC the DM decides is reasonable ought to be sufficient to cover everything. If one PC is trying to sneak past another....you hosed up already.
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Feb 8, 2017 21:25
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Looking at storm king's thunder as a new DM, I already am worried about situations like that. How do I make the encounters against too-strong feel tense without also having the threat of death, especially if my players choose risky options like toe-to-toe instead more clever stuff? The 3 frost giant/2 wolf one seems particularly lethal even with city walls and player-controlled npcs( ) and all that.
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Feb 9, 2017 00:59
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To what extent did it ever work? Tomb of Horrors is famous and stuff even outside of normal d&d circles but I don't think it's supposed to be like, a fun adventure for your friends.
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Feb 9, 2017 01:17
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Bar Crow posted:Then get rid of the charisma stat and all social interaction skills. Don't pretend that these are character abilities that you invest character resources into if they are not. At very least, don't act surprised when players are confused after being actively misled. Why would you bother having non-hostile npcs if your interactions with them are going to consist of things like "I deceive them"?
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Feb 10, 2017 17:50
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Bar Crow posted:Because none of a character's other abilities are powered by the player's improv skills. They don't have to do this to cast a spell or fight a monster. 
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Feb 10, 2017 18:05
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My point isn't really that you need to be as convincing as the character would be, just that you ought to interact with npcs like a person interacting with another person, not like a dude playing a video game. It's the DMs job to infer "ahh, they are trying to intimidate them" and roll the proper things to see if it works while keeping up the conversation. (While still rewarding good roleplaying.)
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Feb 10, 2017 18:17
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Also I don't know what the point of playing D&D is if your line of thinking is "[wrenches face derisively] ~improv skills~" at the idea of roleplaying but I guess it's cool that it appeals to different people in that way.
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Feb 10, 2017 18:22
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Vengarr posted:I definitely know dudes who like the idea of killing dragons but aren't hyped at the idea of wasting time haggling with rando shopkeeps, even if their character certainly would. I think this kind of goes for the entirety of the game - spend more time on something the more important it is. You don't have to roll initiative and a save to coup-de-grace that sleeping goblin either. This does mean it's hard to roleplay someone with superhuman intelligence or whatever, and that's fine. If someone is IRL not a very bright person, they probably shouldn't roleplay one. Recalling memories and facts that your character would know by asking the DM is also fine - there's a line there. But an active conversation going on right now that the results of are important? Tell me what your character says. Jeffrey of YOSPOS fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Feb 10, 2017 |
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Feb 10, 2017 19:30
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Agent355 posted:I would disagree with this bit, but not the rest of it.
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Feb 10, 2017 20:45
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AlphaDog posted:Why can't a player roll INT to see if their character solves a puzzle? The character's got an 18 int, the player invested game resources in making them smart, let them use the resources they bought. Do you keep a set of weights around for so when a player says their character is lifting a boulder? "It's a 500 pound rock, show me how you're lifting it <gestures at pile of plates>". What's the difference? Like, in combat, you don't ask your DM to roll a check to see if you figure out the optimal tactics for fighting this particular monster, you just fight the monster.
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Feb 10, 2017 23:25
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Turtlicious posted:uh what? you roll knowledge checks to find out their weaknesses / resistsances / tactics
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Feb 10, 2017 23:34
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Turtlicious posted:I guess it's just another limitation of the system that this is even a problem. lol.
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Feb 11, 2017 00:10
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That situation is pretty far removed from the initial thing described. I don't think it's crazy to just roll dice for a solution if you encounter a literal block sliding puzzle. (Recognizing it as such is still up to the player though. Probably would not ever put this in a game I ran.) Intelligence (or wisdom or whatever) isn't just about solving puzzles though. In general, figuring out what to do is something the players should do and not roll for, the same combat is not resolved with a single combat check. The same goes for communicating with plot-important NPCs.
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Feb 11, 2017 00:22
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AlphaDog posted:Yes, this. Socially awkward teenagers get to say "Prancey the Famous Bard (and con-man extraordinaire) fast-talks the stablehand into loaning him the cart horse". Wheelchair-bound dudes get to say "Krarg the Mighty throws the boat at the guards". People who can never find their own keys or wallet get to say "Ts'herlock the Warlock Detective examines the room to figure out if the countess was here recently, making clever observations to his sidekick". Then they roll dice. I was the one talking about autowin combat - to me that's as silly as autowin dialogue. Totally agreed on the big setpiece battle thing too - there *are* times where autowin combat is appropriate - combat that's at a different scope than the players and their adventuring team probably shouldn't get the roll initiative treatment, but that's a case-by-case thing. The same goes for dialogue. In general, "I intimidate him" on an important npc encounter doesn't work for me the same way "I use my knowledge of combat to beat the orcs" doesn't either.
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Feb 11, 2017 00:58
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Yeah I was running Storm King's Thunder and there's a DC 20 chest in the starting town. Lockpicking a chest while there's no time pressure sounds like a reasonable time to take 20, but that's kinda boring and why was the chest even there with no encounter? I may just not do stuff like that any more, since why was there a lock, but I thought that was a particularly strange one. (I said rolling a 1 would break his tools and made him roll until he passed but still.) The other option would be to say like, one attempt and that's it, or one attempt and that's it until a long rest (to uhh, re-approach the problem with a beginner's mind.)
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Feb 13, 2017 20:39
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Drowning Rabbit posted:Of note, I'm actually preparing to run this campaign myself, and while it's been a little bit since I read all of Chapter 1, are you talking about the chest in the castle in Nighthold? because if I recall not only was there a [/spoiler]trap in that room[/spoiler], but also guards who would be with the party that would tell them off for trying to mess with it. I would definitely not give them infinite time to dally in that situation. Nah, it was the owner's gear in the inn. For some reason my players decided not to bother with the keep.
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Feb 13, 2017 22:45
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Drowning Rabbit posted:Well poo poo! Yeah that is asinine. I'll take note of that though! Thanks for the info. Please post about your campaign when you start. I'd kill for someone's notes all the way through, though I found some blog that has a nice writeup. No clue how my players are gonna do the fight with 3 giants and 2 wolves in bryn shandar where they each control an npc - that seems like a confusing clusterfuck and a recipe for [N]PC death.
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Feb 13, 2017 22:50
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I was thinking that, in my game, I'd have attuning magic items reserve a spell slot, of a level that I decide per-item. (Perhaps based on minor/major/whatever.) Non-casters and casters get the same theoretical number, it's just that non-casters don't have any spells so there's less opportunity cost.
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Feb 14, 2017 04:36
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Kibner posted:This would make any limited spell slot caster (like Paladin and maybe Warlock) have to choose between having any magical gear or any magical spells. Yeah I was thinking of just picking a class (say wizard) and going with it's progression of, uhh, "spell" slots for every character for the purposes of magical items. A magic item wouldn't count as one of your class spell-slots until you expended the ones you didn't have those for. I know that's super confusing and all but it seems like a pretty simple fix. No idea how this interacts with warlocks' higher level not-quite-slots, haven't thought it through that far and there isn't one in my party. It's certainly not strictly a nerf to casters since it actually lets you use (way) more magic items than the rules as written. It's just even more of a buff to non-casters.
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Feb 14, 2017 05:35
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 03:27 |
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How certain of you that you can't use extra attacks + gfb? A spell that involves making an actual melee attack, complete with to-hit modifiers and rolling against monster AC isn't "an attack action"?
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Feb 14, 2017 21:53
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