Dungeons & Dragons: 5th Edition - Its not called Dungeons & No Dragons, son

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Dungeons & Dragons: 5th Edition - Its not called Dungeons & No Dragons, son

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scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

chaotic figures are guided by their base instinct, while lawful figures heed the artifice of society.

# ¿ Jan 21, 2024 02:09

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 04:04

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

i simply introduced the concept of incomprehensible creator gods of unfathomable cosmic power into my setting and made them distinct from garden variety gods that can be spoken to directly by the faithful and attained their positions mostly by getting unlimited spell slots and access to the wish spell. most of my npcs have never heard of the creator gods because their names are unpronouncable and they do not have physical manifestations or even free will. forgotten realms kind of already has this dichotomy but i figured id make it much more explicit

# ¿ Feb 2, 2024 22:13

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

laughed so hard in baldurs gate 3 when vlaakith wished my party to die in dialogue. wow very powerful of you, defeating us with a 9th level spell. what a truly godlike capability

# ¿ Feb 2, 2024 22:26

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Reveilled posted:

But that�s kind of my point, if there�s no reason to privilege a title there�s no reason to care about the title either. Like, in a world where the gods actually exist, �god� is essentially just a species or a job. This guy is an elf, this woman is a goblin, this thing is an ooze, this man is a plumber, this being is a god.

I mean, there�s nothing stopping someone holding a completely irrational position, but that does make the position inherently silly.

If you live in a kingdom, �King Jonicus isn�t worthy of my loyalty� is a perfectly respectable position, but if you say �King Jonicus isn�t actually king� and King Jonicus is sitting there on his throne with a crown and sceptre and sentencing you to death for treason, that sentence essentially implies you have strong opinions on what a king actually is.

in my setting atheists are like, �kill me if you like, you arent a real god. if you were then heresy would be impossible. real gods are unquestionable.� then they go and worship tharizdun or something

# ¿ Feb 2, 2024 22:44

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Reveilled posted:

I guess my question would be, why do these people believe a real god would be unquestionable? What is it about being a god that would make it so? Presumably your setting�s theists don�t make this sort of claim about the gods.

well, the creator gods determined stuff like the fine structure constant. questions of chemistry and quantum stuff are only really relevant with the creator gods, which arent really beings in the traditional sense. yet they have will and machinations and theres more than one of them. like these beings perceive and interact with all of time and space simultaneously with no inhibitions�..they are universes. logically they cant be questioned because they always seemingly intentionally developed the conditions for the questioner to ask the question. one of my big bads is a lich who went around engineering the deaths of minor deities because he believed that if he could do it, then it was a true god�s will

# ¿ Feb 2, 2024 23:58

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

fishing with the fam posted:

I'm a new DM running my first campaign, and poo poo went completely sideways in our last session. Running Keys from the Golden Vault with some homebrew connective tissue between heists.

The group robbed a casino and got away clean through some clever deception and well timed distractions. One player was in the vault stuffing everything not nailed down into a bag of holding while the rest of the party ran interference. That session was great. Loved it. But in the following session it went to hell. They met with the contact in a tavern's back room, and gave the requisite gold and statuette as were the terms of the contract. Everything was going smoothly. But then the character with the bag of holding decided to lie to the rest of the party about how much extra gold was in the bag. So I had them roll contested deception/insight rolls, and basically everyone knew he was lying. I decided to let this play out and had the only NPC leave the room. These are all adults who have been playing D&D for years. They can handle inter-party conflict and figure this out.

lol, egg on my dumb face. The player with the bag of holding decides gently caress IT, casts fog cloud and tries to make a break for the door. The player admits in the moment they are fully aware this means they are almost guaranteed to be rolling a new character regardless of outcome. Everything goes to hell and now we are in PvP combat. They eventually non-lethally subdue the escaping party member, but in the fracas another player had stolen the bag of holding off of him and given it to her imp familiar who went invisible. So now the party's rogue is blocking the door and refuses to move until the bag with the loot is visible, and the player who's invisible imp has it is flat-out refusing to budge on having her familiar reappear. So now we are in a stalemate, and there is a moment of silence before people are looking at me, as if I had anything to do with this series of decisions. So we end the session with an out of character table conversation and it sounds like this campaign is just dead now. In-fiction, why the gently caress would any of these people continue traveling together. The player who tried to make a break for it with the bag admits to loving up and apologized after the session. The player with the invisible familiar was frustrated by everyone else's confusion with her actions because her character was supposed to be untrustworthy, so trying to hold onto the bag therefore makes sense.

So I know I hosed up. I should have nipped the PvP stuff in the bud before it got as far as it did. But in the moment I didn't want to take away the player's agency by just saying "you can't do that". We've been playing together for years, and I figured they would be able to figure it out. During all that time they never even tried to pull this PvP nonsense with our normal DM, but couldn't make it 10 sessions before completely imploding while I'm DMing.

More than anything else I'm just bummed out. Like, I'm honestly much sadder about this than I expected.

Edit: IF I decide to try and run another campaign with this group I'm going to have to set some ground rules for this kind of stuff apparently. It's frustrating that our normal DM never had to set these kind of ground rules though, because none of these same players tried these kinds of shenanigans. Inter-party conflict can still be in play, but before taking any action that would negatively impact a fellow party member, ask yourself "would a reasonable action be to kick me from the group?" If yes, then don't do it.

shouldnt have written off the npc imo. a real valuable purpose an npc can serve is to unite the party. if the party members betray each other, then just have an npc betray them even worse. maybe the npc wants that gold even more. maybe the room is flammable and the npc knows gold doesnt burn. arguments end pretty quickly when flames start licking through the door

# ¿ Feb 20, 2024 17:05

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Kaal posted:

Sounds like a Mexican standoff. If you want to resolve it with the same party, have an over-leveled casino hit squad hear the ruckus and stomp the party. If the Imp gets dismissed while carrying the bag of holding, or if it is killed, the Imp disappears into a pocket dimension which detonates the bag of holding. Once the party wakes up, they�re all in jail. If anyone wants to re-roll a character, now�s the time.

this is pretty good but i would keep the hit squad defeatable and hope the warlock detonates the bag on their own

# ¿ Feb 20, 2024 17:28

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

one of my groups steal from each other and lie to each other and dont cast heal spells and kill npcs that slight them. they always have a really good time loving with each other and i have a really good time seeing how they pull off their shenanigans. i dont really have a problem with players stealing from each other, i have a problem with wasting time letting them argue about it. if my players were sitting there arguing about gold for half an hour im having a cave dragon burrow up through the floor

# ¿ Feb 21, 2024 01:48

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

i give out magic weapons around the end of the first �adventure.� video games are a pretty useful reference for stuff like when its most satisfying to reward players, and getting a powerful weapon (a) from a boss character or (b) as a reward for handling a boss character reinforces the reward cycle

# ¿ Feb 29, 2024 16:18

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

i have the wizards my players pay to cast identify on their stuff tell them that if they attune more than 3 magic items their bodies will explode and their souls will be scattered across the ethereal plane. what my players dont know is that you can attune as many magic items as you want but theres a wizard conspiracy to prevent non-wizards from growing too powerful using magic

# ¿ Mar 11, 2024 18:53

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Zonko_T.M. posted:

And then if you go over the limit and it becomes widely known, you've got wizard mobsters trying to chase you down to make sure you explode and your items are scattered across the ethereal plane and that everyone hears about it.

Stabbey_the_Clown posted:

After attuning a fourth item, the DM could ask for a CON saving throw (repeated after completing a long rest), and then no matter what the result is, say "Okay. Noted," and see how long it takes for the players to cotton on.

my players havent tried attuning 4 items yet but if they ever do im planning on having a wizard�s familiar teleport in and serve them a court summons for fraud, sedition, and violating the magically binding resolutions on a long list of arcane treaties signed by all of the archmages from every city (except one who will be their lawyer) but its never going to happen, my players are cowards

# ¿ Mar 11, 2024 20:08

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Raenir Salazar posted:

What ARE the rules for trying to pickaxe your way through hewn stone walls? I think I saw that there seems to be Damage Reduction/Threshold of 10 and AC 17 and 26 HP which actually in practice seemed kinda reasonable, it took many rounds to make their way through the wall. And thanks to their Silence Spell they cast over the section of wall, avoided attracting intention. Like maybe in the future its better to flatten this out to a check that takes 10 minutes to do but I wanna double check what do other DMs do?

all my walls are hollow and full of spiders

# ¿ Mar 11, 2024 23:30

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Outrail posted:

If the players don't find a game breaking exploit for this they're not trying hard enough.

its just buffed giant spider enemies, they get stronger every time. some day i�ll think of a plot reason

# ¿ Mar 12, 2024 02:13

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Outrail posted:

Cast shatter on the wall behind enemies... and it scales with level? Fantastic feature, definitely not a bug.

the situations this occurs in are very specific and a consequence of bad decisions like trying to shawshank redemption out of a prison

# ¿ Mar 12, 2024 05:20

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

i dont think im capable of making a character for whom the proposal of a mayonnaise-based diet doesnt immediately result in an initiative roll for pvp combat

# ¿ Mar 14, 2024 17:08

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Outrail posted:

To protect your valuable mayonnaise?

being offered a mayo-only diet by a party member is in the same league as being offered a written contract for my soul by asmodeus or a verbal contract for anything by an unseelie

# ¿ Mar 14, 2024 17:18

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

pseudosavior posted:

1. Eat mayo,
2. ???,
3. gain eldritch power.

1. agree to mayo diet
2. add �was able to be convinced to eat only mayo� to the flaws section of my character sheet
3. realize the damage thats been done to my PC and engage in a battle to the death with whoever offered the mayo

# ¿ Mar 14, 2024 17:42

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Outrail posted:

There is an anguished scream as the buffet table collapses under your rogues weight, spilling three days of prep work. The Souscheforer's aura darkens as he summons forth three mayonnaise elementals from the Culinary Plane of Fridge.

Roll for initiative.

i choose to fail the saving throw against being frightened and i cunning action disengage, spend all of my movement to break line of sight and use the hide action

# ¿ Mar 14, 2024 18:00

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Outrail posted:

Where do you hide? There is a walk in freezer, a pantry and an industrial washing machine.

*You accidentally glance at the DM screen, and see the monster manual opened to something beginning with "Mi..."*

i set the industrial washing machine to maximum and climb in

# ¿ Mar 14, 2024 18:39

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Reveilled posted:

Obscure FR lore question: does anyone know what language people speak around the Border Kingdoms and the lake of steam? I�m trying to make a map of human languages (i.e. the things people actually speak other than Common) but I can�t see there�s much info in this area.

Uncommon

# ¿ Mar 16, 2024 16:26

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Raenir Salazar posted:

Something like that. It rolled a six on its recharge every turn so far.

i would be ecstatic as a dm

# ¿ Mar 18, 2024 00:56

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

odinson posted:

Can anyone recommend a few good 5e playthrough/web series? Specifically ones that progress to the higher levels. I caught the final few episodes of the first Critical campaign live a million years ago, and now getting an itch for that kind of content. Figured I'd ask what else is out there. Preferably not all TotM.

naddpod gets to level 20 in the first campaign and the DM is strict about sticking to the rules. one of the players is jake hurwitz, who had never played before at episode 1. its easily the best �live play� d&d show if you care about it being both a good show and an accurate representation of playing d&d

edit: it�s a podcast so it is all theatre of the mind, but take my word for it, the combat sequences are more creative and interesting than critical role or dimension 20

scary ghost dog fucked around with this message at 17:11 on Mar 19, 2024

# ¿ Mar 19, 2024 17:09

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

One Legged Ninja posted:

Someone convert this to 5e, please.

easy. level 20 fighter with 30 strength, 30 dex, 12 wisdom, 5 in every other stat, and literally no equipment except for a 30x2cm tungsten rod

# ¿ Mar 19, 2024 19:29

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

i think stoneskin is for tanking city guards, basic traps, fall damage and falling rocks dex saves, not for going up against dragons, ghouls and d�wuls

# ¿ Mar 19, 2024 22:22

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Reveilled posted:

Hey, I�m looking for some ideas on how to reskin 5e to run a Star Wars campaign. Any thoughts on how to adjust the skills? I know there�s official Star Wars RPGs, but my group�s always played 5th Edition Call of Cthulhu and we�re not really interested in learning a whole new system.

https://sw5e.com

# ¿ Mar 20, 2024 14:46

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Reveilled posted:

Hmm, this appears to be for a system called �Dungeons and Dragons�? I�ve never heard of it.

im missing something

# ¿ Mar 20, 2024 15:16

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Dexo posted:

Read the posts in the quote chain.

i thought it was strange they were responding to a joke with a serious request, but i thought there was an actual 5e call of cthulu so i glossed over that detail and missed the connection

# ¿ Mar 20, 2024 15:28

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Antifreeze Head posted:

There is , it came out in the 90s. They are on their seventh edition.

stop trolling me

# ¿ Mar 20, 2024 16:28

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Hollismason posted:

There's just like no skills like alchemy. There's like 18 skills total. No blacksmithing either. Basically 0 trade skills. Also wizards get 2 skills ..that's it.

you add your proficiency bonus to skill checks using an alchemists kit or blacksmithing tools, instead of each vocation having its own skill

# ¿ Mar 21, 2024 17:14

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

i make all my players do custom backgrounds but i also whisper to them that they can just use a preexisting background and i�ll pretend not to notice. im a machiavellan dm in this way

# ¿ Mar 21, 2024 18:08

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Narsham posted:

Read the entire stat block first.

Is there anything in the block that would theoretically allow the monster to target most or all of the PCs at one time. If so, what would happen if the entire party failed their saving throws against that spell or ability?

If not, are there any powers or abilities or attacks in the monster stat block that could knock out, kill, or otherwise eliminate from combat a single PC, or that could do permanent damage to a PC or the PCs important equipment? Even a low CR monster like the Intellect Devourer or the Ghost can apply effects that take powerful magic to remedy.

A final consideration can be the combination of AC, hit points, resistances, immunities, and the underused vulnerabilities. A low-CR wererat is still immune to nonmagical weapons: against four warlocks, that probably doesn�t make a difference, but a group of L1 PCs with a barbarian, fighter, paladin, and monk are probably reduced to swinging torches dealing 1 fire per hit.

accidentally using a ghost without fully reading its abilities led to one of my players actually roleplaying for the first time ever instead of just japing with the gang. highly recommend nervously admitting to a high roll on the d4 for the horrifying visage effect

# ¿ Mar 22, 2024 14:57

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Hollismason posted:

Hey, anyone got some suggestions for tokens that would be used for visual aids for a in real life game. Seems more affordable than miniatures. Unless there's some super cheap miniatures out there.

i used a big whiteboard and stackable disk-shaped magnets

# ¿ Mar 25, 2024 19:11

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Hollismason posted:

How hard is it to convert old dnd adventures to 5th edition

if you have the 5e rules fully integrated into your subconscious it�s pretty easy. i converted Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) to 5e and it was only really difficult to grid out the maps

# ¿ Mar 27, 2024 16:28

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

how about a single action revolver with a cool �fan the hammer� ability where you can make an additional attack as a bonus action but you have to roll a d8 and if you roll a 1 it backfires and hits you. if you want to make it busted you can have rolling an 8 give you a third attack

scary ghost dog fucked around with this message at 05:28 on Mar 28, 2024

# ¿ Mar 28, 2024 05:26

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

i like to make magic weapons that just have abilities from obscure subclasses. a magic gunslinger would be cool with a variant of the soulknife�s psychic teleportation:

Psychic Teleportation. As a bonus action, you manifest one of your Psychic Blades, expend one Psionic Energy die and roll it, and throw the blade at an unoccupied space you can see, up to a number of feet away equal to 10 times the number rolled. You then teleport to that space, and the blade vanishes.

you could probably reskin the psionic energy die as a type of bullet

# ¿ Mar 28, 2024 14:19

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Valentin posted:

man I would love to know how much use "teleport between 10 and 80 feet as a bonus action" gets across all 5e play. kind of a big variance in outcomes there

its just cunning action but way better and more interesting

# ¿ Mar 28, 2024 14:41

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

PeterWeller posted:

I gave an artificer a revolver with six "charges" a day. At the beginning of the day, the artificer could decide which damage type the gun was loaded with for those six "charges" from acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage.

similarly, i gave a gloomstalker ranger a revolver with six arcane focus crystals in the cylinder, and a mithril bead on the hammer that expels force damage on crystal impact through the barrel up to 60 feet (1d8 damage). he can �fan the hammer� as a bonus action and roll a d6, and if he rolls a 6 he can do it again, and if he rolls a 1 one of the crystals shatters permanently. it�s extremely sick for RP and not particularly broken, since he isnt good at the game and always forgets about his gloomstalker abilities

# ¿ Mar 28, 2024 16:56

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Dexo posted:

My Horizon walker ranger was the bane of my GM's existence.

just an absolute rear end in a top hat teleporting around at the maximum resource cost of 1hp damage to a friendly or object. After I completely sequence broke one of his major set pieces he had to extremely carefully plan everything.

im jealous of your gm. i put my players in front of an unlocked door and they spend ten minutes doing investigation checks for a hide-a-key before one of them tries turning the handle

# ¿ Mar 28, 2024 17:38

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

Bobby Deluxe posted:

Now I notice you specifically avoided mentioning traps there, so I'm just going to pull out my 10ft pole and spend the next 30 minutes prodding every brick to avoid your devious plan.

thats the good part. theyre careless enough that they always get caught in every trap

# ¿ Mar 28, 2024 17:45

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# ¿ May 15, 2024 04:04

scary ghost dog: Aug 5, 2007

i run three different �weekly� games which ultimately total out to about one weekly game

# ¿ Mar 29, 2024 20:22

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