dnd-discussion

[thick rapids]

I can only get free rules

[narrow moss]

existing

[jovial badger]

yep

[thick rapids]

And dets good u sey

[shy stirrup]

It's the core of the game

[thick rapids]

The free rules are core of the game

[shy stirrup]

Was that a question? If so, yes

[glad barn]

You get all the rules in the free rules, you just dont get all the content.

[narrow moss]

ye

hence 'basic' rules, I would assume.

[shy stirrup]

Can you keep a secret?
Use the free core rules. Develop your own content.

[glad barn]

I prefer SRD, but yeah, theyre Basic Rules.

That's what my table decided to do for 5e24. We just homebrew subclasses/species/spells/stuff

[narrow moss]

fun fun

[proven nova]

Hey, I was wondering, is Swords Bard usable?

[glad barn]

Yes, you can use it

[proven nova]

How would one ideally use it?

[thick rapids]

Um ok

I made my charachter at least

[glad barn]

Lean on the martial / fighting with a blade side of the bard, try to pick spells the help you get in and out of trouble

Its basically a kind of Fighter

[proven nova]

Any spells that could help out on melee with Bard?

[thick rapids]

Im a wizard lol

[glad barn]

#optimization might have some better answers but stuff like Blade Ward, Thunderclap, Earth Tremor, Heroism, Enthrall, Sleep, True Strike, Viscious Mockery all seem solid.

[lavish flame]

So Dhampir, Lorwyn Changeling, and Rimekin are the first non-PHB species for 2024, right?

[crimson gulch]

If you count digital only releases yeah

[uncut zenith]

We would've had the Eberron updated species by now too if it weren't for the delay

[fossil hollow]

freaking wotc and pringling products

[glad barn]

Look on the bright side.

At least we're not MTG.

[fossil hollow]

they wanna milk dnd like its mtg

[glad barn]

Yeah, but its like trying to milk a turtle.

[crimson gulch]

I love that by now I have gotten enough out of dnd to pay for all the money I ever spent on mtg lol

[fossil hollow]

thats awesome, im still in crippling mtg debt
my cards aint paying off what i spent

[dense hamlet]

Wait. (Shenanigans) In dnd 5e 2014, beast master ranger has conditions for replacing your companion when it dies, but it only says to get a new one. And you can bring things back from the dead in dnd. So if my companion dies, can I get a new one then get a cleric to revive my older companion, thus getting 2 companions?

[uncut zenith]

No

First of all, resurrection spells that clerics generally have access to specifically target humanoids.

[narrow moss]

i'd say no just on principle cuz 1 becomes 2, 2 becomes 4...

nvm the restrictions like humanoids etc

[dense hamlet]

It’s just (N + 1), not ( 2N)

[crimson gulch]

What, no

[narrow moss]

I know but i'm also making a reference

[crimson gulch]

We have fey pc races and constructs too

[narrow moss]

i'm just saying where would it stop if you allowed it the first time?

[dense hamlet]

?? Literally Revivify?

[fossil hollow]

revivify iirc did not have a humanoid limitation

[uncut zenith]

Secondly, because the rule in Beast Master is more specific than the general rule regarding resurrections. The way a 2014 Beast Master gets a new companion is by creating a new one, and the subclass is built around having one companion.

[crimson gulch]

The resurrection spells just say one creature

[uncut zenith]

I may be misremembering the resurrection rule, sorry folks

[dense hamlet]

Oh yeah, it shouldn’t be allowed

[crimson gulch]

Most of them can't do things that were undead though

[fossil hollow]

welp, im off to commute now, gotta grab a bite before session

[narrow moss]

even if you could 'technically' do it, i'd probably rule as a dm that you could only really control one at a time

[dense hamlet]

Good luck

[narrow moss]

the amount of time and effort to train and synergize with ONE companion alone is a full time job, right?

[dense hamlet]

Agreed. I’m just saying RAW, not RAI.

[narrow moss]

yeah I know, lol

[snow jungle]

Looking for community

[narrow moss]

it's a fun thought, but idk if it'd be allowed even on RAW

beastmaster becomes a packmaster, lol

[uncut zenith]

or constructs iirc, save for some edgecases like the Autognome species, who has a feature that allows them to benefit from certain spells that exclude constructs.

[dense hamlet]

https://discord.com/channels/516367331358801950/880956314308714566

[glad barn]

If autognomes exist, there is the potential for deceptignomes

[knotty wyvern]

hello all, i'm trying to make some props for my current sessions including making a physical version of some battle maps, is there a channel where i can ask for help with that :>

[narrow moss]

autognomes roll out

[dense hamlet]

It is a fun thought. This is from my recent incursion into learning Beastmaster Ranger

[narrow moss]

hey nothing fuels creativity like asking 'what if i could do this?'

[dense hamlet]

Autognous prime

[narrow moss]

the prime autognome is just like an inch taller

[glad barn]

Megagnome just turns into a Crossbow.

[narrow moss]

a really cool crossbow

[knotty wyvern]

in particular i'm trying to print out a battle map to fit across 2 sheets of legal size paper so that i can tape them end to end and have them be big enough to be comfortable to play on, and we use lego minifigures as minis at our table

[narrow moss]

lmao having a custom lego figurine would be awesome

[knotty wyvern]

yee right now i've just been making lego minifigures for our player characters out of the pieces i have
what i'm struggling with rn is fitting them on these maps in a reasonable scale, i dont wanna have to use like 4 pages of ink for a single map

[glad barn]

#dnd-arts-and-crafts might be a good place to ask for craft stuff

[knotty wyvern]

thank you ^^

[narrow moss]

yeah they might know more for sure

but i just think it'd be funny if my guy was a normal lego guy but with some lego pieces taped on for horns and hooves lol

i know you can do better than that but it tickles me

[pearl hedge]

@glad barn ty for being around all this time with my dnd journey, me and my paladin just had a really fun rp session where we argued but me and the player are mutual acquaintances

can't believe i'm at this point since i started searching for a game a month and some weeks ago

[knotty wyvern]

the scale i have right now is wild lol

[pearl hedge]

huh?

[knotty wyvern]

like, the size of a mini compared to my battle map i'm making

[pearl hedge]

ohh

[glad barn]

Hey, that's dope.

[pearl hedge]

yeah this is why i play online so maps are easier and more freeform

[knotty wyvern]

right but i personally prefer in person games ^^

[pearl hedge]

but having lego minifigs for minis sounds like a great idea

if you can find the pieces

[knotty wyvern]

it is, especially if i can get my hands on the official collectible dnd minifigs
rn i'm just using what i have in my collection

[pearl hedge]

oh right they have dnd sets i forgor

loolll they have so many IPs

[knotty wyvern]

but my problem is that using the scale of the lost mines maps scaled to fit on 2 sheets of legal size paper a single lego stud would take up 20 feet on the map

[pearl hedge]

wow

[knotty wyvern]

so that won't work lol, especially if i give each minifigure a small piece for balance and even conditions

[glad barn]

We use all sorts of things sometimes, from army men and plastic wagons to string and colored cellophone to boxes covered in paper and tape to whatever else

The fun thing about making environments is that if you make em cheap theyre pretty easy to accumulate.

[minor lake]

You can get custom mini figs for like $20 I've been meaning to check that out

[knotty wyvern]

right

[knotty wyvern]

that sounds overpriced tbh

[minor lake]

It is I think just bc it's custom

[glad barn]

Like if you grab a tiny piece of a branch and some dirt and put glue on a rock and glue the dirt and branhc on it, now you have a little placeable whatever that probably can last a few months

And when it breaks, youve gotten a good bit of mileage out of ... a rock

Same if you have an excess of cardboard. Exacto knife, tape and time can lead to a lot of neat stuff lol

[pearl hedge]

i'm so glad PBP and online/roll20/foundry exists

[glad barn]

That too.

[knotty wyvern]

i've only recently gotten into dnd but i've fallen in love with making physical props for the game

even if it's really tedious to get things to be the right size

[glad barn]

Yeah. Generally you want a big enough square to fit tokens into but not so big a standard house map is the size of your house

[knotty wyvern]

i'm thinking i need to take a different approach to this hmm

[glad barn]

You could not use a grid, in a sense.

[pearl hedge]

i've had previous roleplay experience going back all the way to 2018 so i'm very talented in expressing emotion and have done multiple page/paragraph post roleplays in various servers.. so roleplaying in post and in voice feels easy to me

[muted gulch]

I found a homebrew expansion for 5e that looks great but idk how to make an ad to look for a dm who would be interested

[glad barn]

If you just say that 1 inch is 5 feet or 10 feet or whatever, you can just make sets for them to play in and have a little ruler

[pearl hedge]

for scale, a small tree should be 1 square

[glad barn]

Eh, 1 square can be a mile too.

[knotty wyvern]

i could get good mileage out of just printing out the maps big enough to be useable and being loose with distance

[glad barn]

It depends on the scale of the map relevant to what the players are doing on it, if that makes sense.

[pearl hedge]

that's more for travel maps / hexes

talking about standard battle maps

[median abyss]

I like hexes for outdoor stuff

[glad barn]

But like, lets say youre in the plane of ice right. I might make a square 10 feet because that way I can use the same screen to show you an area twice as big

[knotty wyvern]

the map i'm working with atm is the map of phandalin from lost mines

where the smallest scale on its ruler is 20 feet

[pearl hedge]

hey my party is literally there at the current moment lol

[glad barn]

And youd just kind of navigate by feel. By quadrants or whatever.

[pearl hedge]

i haven't encountered/used exhaustion points but it must be annoying

i mean 5 points of exhaust is like.. death

[glad barn]

Exhaustion as in the survival mechanic?

[pearl hedge]

correct

[glass granite]

There’s a reason sickening radiance can be so powerful

[glad barn]

It doesn't come into play a ton but sometimes it can for things like poisons, curses, skill challenges (survive the flash flood type stuff)

Or just players trying to Skyrim carry like 40 things of armor across a desert.

[knotty wyvern]

if i get a dnd kit in a brick and mortar store is there any way to use its material online or do i have to specifically buy it as a physical-digital bundle online

[torpid ocean]

what's brick and mortar?

[knotty wyvern]

like can i redeem a digital copy of a dnd book i get physically

[glad barn]

I mean, you can use it online, but to use it in specific VTTs you have to buy it in the VTT

[knotty wyvern]

an in person store as opposed to buying online

[glad barn]

But you dont redeem physical copies.

[torpid ocean]

no you can't

[knotty wyvern]

rip

[narrow moss]

nah you'd need to either buy it on their store or get a code to redeem

[glad barn]

You just have them. And you have the content and you can write it in.

[narrow moss]

honestly i prefer physical copies anyway

[glad barn]

They just wont give you the custom made VTT digital version, which is what you pay for and is a different thing between VTTs

So Foundry has its own, Roll 20 has its own, DBB has its own

[torpid ocean]

basically you're paying for the effort it took to put everything into DnD beyond if that's the platform you're on

[torpid ocean]

yeah physical copies are goated

[narrow moss]

basically

[torpid ocean]

much easier to read and much cooler too

[narrow moss]

if i do use the dndbeyond sheet i'm gonna have to wrap my head around this silly homebrew thing

aka how i enter my stuff without buying the digital copy.

[knotty wyvern]

is dnd beyond the one that connects to the official dnd store, like if i bought a digital copy of something on dnd store would i be able to use it on dnd beyond?

[narrow moss]

i want to say yes?

[torpid ocean]

why are illithid not a playable race wizards I wanna be a funny squid man 😭 🙏

[torpid ocean]

uhh yes I think so, probably google it first

[narrow moss]

i didn't have luck with their store though so i just did amazon lol

they have some issues with payment processors and timing out for a LOT of people lately

[glad barn]

I personally find that keeping paper sheets for PCs, along with referencing books on your own databases or using index cards or physical books, while using a VTT just for the map and the basic dice roller, is my happy place

If Im using a VTT at all, Im not going to try to automate stuff that I can just scribble down on a notebook faster >_>

[narrow moss]

that said you could probably buy a code for a digital copy and redeem it there... maybe.

[knotty wyvern]

my mom's ordered the essentials kit on amazon for christmas
and i got a notification for it on my phone so i got spoiled on that :p

[narrow moss]

honestly i just got so fed up with it though lol. glad i have my books at all now.

[torpid ocean]

I use a VTT for my character sheets because writing character sheets gives me an aneurism

as in I use DnD beyond's character builder for the character sheet because it's honestly just much easier

[snow agate]

how serious vs silly are your campaigns

[knotty wyvern]

shame, if i wanna get the adventure from the essentials kit it's gonna cost an extra $15 :p ill just only use it physically

[narrow moss]

it is, except if you dno't have their stuff and have to manually enter it in anyway

[torpid ocean]

also the new character sheets kinda suck icl

[torpid ocean]

they have the basic stuff which is enough for me right now

[teal wasp]

DnD beyond character sheet is great and being able to equip and unequipped armour + weapons, Mark rest abilities, keep track of spells slots and inventory ect saves SO MUCH CRUNCH

[narrow moss]

they have some of the basic stuff sure

[snow agate]

foundry has that too btw

[torpid ocean]

yeah it actually lets me get some sleep

[narrow moss]

all the options I want though? nope.

[torpid ocean]

what's foundry

[snow agate]

a vtt

[torpid ocean]

for dnd specifically or other ttrpgs too?

[snow agate]

i have seen it for at least like 6 different ttrpgs

[teal wasp]

Foundry is cool but my friends and I play very casually and only 5e so it's not worth the massive group investment

[muted gulch]

So do I just put the command into #find-a-game ?

[pearl hedge]

you could do a reskinned vedalken

[knotty wyvern]

i wonder if there's anywhere i can order just like a huge stack of character sheets so i don't have to print them every time

[torpid ocean]

eh idk, homebrew is awful on dnd beyond so I just don't know

[teal wasp]

Dnd have an official product for it

[torpid ocean]

just make mind flayers a race and also make a book on all the pantheons of gods wizards 😭

[teal wasp]

You can also just photocopy the base sheet if that's easier

[muted gulch]

Homebrew is also kinda bad on Roll20

[teal wasp]

Just make any 2024 book that features a campaign setting or an actual full campaign module with a couple player options built in please

[snow agate]

homebrew is kinda bad everywhere

[lean wigeon]

most of the campaigns i've been in and ran are serious in tone

they're lighthearted at most, but never silly

[torpid ocean]

I offer a hot take

[snow agate]

noted ty

[torpid ocean]

homebrew in general is awful and you need to be good in order to make good homebrew

[narrow moss]

yeah it can be a challenge

[muted gulch]

I think I found a good homebrew extension but I'm kinda dumb so idk

[knotty wyvern]

something i really wanna try is making a character journal

[narrow moss]

even if you think you've been careful, playtesting may reveal things you'd never have thought of

[torpid ocean]

yeah I wanted to homebrew a rogue subclass and gave up because I was dying trying to make it

[teal wasp]

Same here. We like to be funny so take some role-playing liberties (like using stuff from Valdes spire) but it always has to be flavoured to fit the setting and make sense for the character

[narrow moss]

don't blame you cat lol

[torpid ocean]

also do wizards have an official dice tower for dnd

[snow agate]

it really requires a lot of game sense and you can't exactly teach game sense, its more of an instinct or experience thing

[muted gulch]

I would like need someone with a lot more experience to look over this extension and tell me if it's good or not

[torpid ocean]

exactly my point yeah

[muted gulch]

But the one I found maybe good and I wanna try it

[narrow moss]

i could come up with some homebrew IDEAS but i would probably never be able to nail down the mechanics for its system

[torpid ocean]

silas who's the guy in your pfp btw

[narrow moss]

so i wouldn't try too hard lol

[pearl hedge]

i'm sure someone's made a statblock for a squid race

[narrow moss]

i don't know it's a pic i found. the artist is in the corner I could dm you the name of probs

[torpid ocean]

yeah, I just gotta pray to wizards and hope to god they make a performer rogue subclass

[narrow moss]

i'm using it cuz like, it reallly fits the vibe of the guy i'm gonna play

[torpid ocean]

I see, I was just curious if it was anyone in particular from anything

[knotty wyvern]

i never expected to be combining legos and dnd as much as i've been doing lately tbh

[narrow moss]

if it is i don't know

[muted gulch]

I might just attempt to make the ad in the way I think the instructions tell me in find a game

[torpid ocean]

the dnd lego set being 300 pounds breaks my heart

[knotty wyvern]

real i want it so bad but there's no chance i can afford it unless i save up

[torpid ocean]

yeah 💔

also lego make a baldur's gate 3 lego set I'm begging you

[knotty wyvern]

it would be cool if lego made a non 18+ set for dnd so it could be priced reasonably lol

[teal wasp]

Cmf

[torpid ocean]

yeah like a baldur's gate 3 minifigure series

[knotty wyvern]

set, not just minifigures

[torpid ocean]

it would be cool if they did a dnd lego set like those storybook looking ones they're doing

and then have that be based off different campaigns like eye of ruin or curse of strahd

better yet make a UCS castle ravenloft

BETTER YET BRING ANY ATTENTION TO RAVENLOFT LIKE I SWEAR TO GOD

[muted gulch]

what pinged

[torpid ocean]

whar

[muted gulch]

I got pinged when trying to convey my confusion through gif

[torpid ocean]

oh that's cuz gifs aren't allowed I think

[muted gulch]

ah

[narrow moss]

probably why yeah

[muted gulch]

I wanna make this clear because I'm not smart. For the looking for commands, I just put them into Find a Game?

[glass granite]

No

Do it on any channel

[muted gulch]

Oh really?

[fresh kite]

does anyone know any ways to look for play by post games other than this discord?

[glad barn]

There's Discords dedicated to it, forums (by post, etc), there's probably a few subreddits too.

[torpid ocean]

question, can I post really long stories in #tales-from-the-table?

[past blaze]

yeah, it'll open up a form, and then the bot posts the filled out info in the channel. People read from the filled forms in the channel and apply / pick from those

[vale sage]

i lav u guys :)

[valid geyser]

rimekin from the lorwyn supplement are the species ever

like, that sure is a species that gets cold resistance and some cold damage spells (except flame blade that gets to deal cold damage, would be cool if flame blade was a good spell at all)

[pearl hedge]

animalfolk PCs are either the chillest people ever or chaos incarnate

[torpid ocean]

or furries

[pearl hedge]

that too

[pearl hedge]

wait where would that be on the chill-chaos scale

7 or 8?

[torpid ocean]

furries are a strange bunch, it feels like if I say anything bad about them I get shunned for not letting them be themselves, yet when I praise them everyone else seems to hate on them

[torpid ocean]

can very from 1 to 11, some of them are just chill people with a slightly strange hobby, the worst are unspeakable humans

[valid geyser]

i mean rimekin arent animal people, more just ice guys

[pearl hedge]

i was just saying generally not specifically about rimekin

[valid geyser]

ah, i assumed since you replied to me

[pearl hedge]

no problem

[pearl hedge]

cough cough you're talking about me right in front of myself cough cough

[fierce basalt]

What is rimekin?

[narrow moss]

ice people from the name alone

[woven flint]

Dumb /lh

[timid current]

Furries are the only ones keeping the internet running despite the best and worst efforts of billionaires in love with ai

[woven flint]

Rimekin are stinky

[timid current]

A moment of respect for the lords and ladies of infosec

[narrow moss]

i'd have to look at rimekin but i'm not gonna judge without knowing.

[scenic epoch]

Would anyone know of a desert/persia themed campaign?

[woven flint]

All they get is Cold Resistance, Dark Vision and some pretty bad spells lol

[narrow moss]

oof

[fierce basalt]

Honestly never seen one

[narrow moss]

that's rough buddy.

[empty thicket]

Just found out, in a group of 4 players, if all the group is capable of marriage and there is a cleric or paladin, the spell ceremoy let you marriage 2 of them for a +2AC.
Consideration that the spell effect last a week and dont disappear unless one of the couple die.
If the group is of 4 they can marry a total of 8 times so 8 weeks of extra +2AC for the cost of 25 gold each time.

[narrow moss]

Never seen a furry huh? I guess not, I haven't put my face on this profile.

[woven flint]

They get an ice version of flame flameblade, but it's just Flameblade but it does cold damage

[narrow moss]

so technically that's accurate.

[woven flint]

I know what you are 👁 👁

[valid geyser]

yeah i thought we left behind this kind of species design in like 2016, it's rather bland

[fierce basalt]

Nah like personally or on my feed

[valid geyser]

but i guess the fact that its in a 15 dollar mini supplement softens the blow a teeny bit

[pearl hedge]

yes i've heard about this and then you have your cleric or wizard use revivify after murdering your entire party to use ceremony all over again for a permanent +2AC

[woven flint]

Nah, most of the recent book stuff has been hit or miss, mostly miss.

[pearl hedge]

(your DM may not like this and it is not recommended)

[woven flint]

Technically, a spell doesn't stack with itself, so it wouldn't work anyway.

[valid geyser]

yeah, i just figured that wotc didnt design species like this after like xanathars

[narrow moss]

maybe they didn't want to go too hard at first.

[fierce basalt]

So when u guys do play dnd?

[narrow moss]

?

[pearl hedge]

well that's why you have your party murdered because ceremony doesn't stack, but it wears off after a week

[woven flint]

Uh

Yes :>
A lot.

[pearl hedge]

#looking-for-players ?

[idle oar]

We don’t actually host games on this server

[fierce basalt]

Oh

[narrow moss]

think of this more as a hub to find games/players in the appropriate channels though.

[idle oar]

We do have Looking for Game channels - see #find-a-game

[pearl hedge]

it's also a hub to talk about D&D! there's just no hosting directly on this server, it's all done by people posting games

[narrow moss]

exactamundo

[woven flint]

I've got
A Monday game
(Copper Dragomborn Cavalier Fighter)
A Tuesday Game
(My character died so I'm working on a back-up, he died a chad)
A Thursday Game
(Tortle Cleric)
2 Friday Games
(Shifter Twilight Cleric and a Starfinder Character)
And
Alternating sunday games
(Harengon Bladesinger Wizard and Owlin Glamour Bard)

[narrow moss]

it's fun to talk about it too

[pearl hedge]

harengon 🥹

[narrow moss]

are harengon fey related btw

[pearl hedge]

i think that's tabaxis

[woven flint]

Said Harengon drew Dragon from the deck of many things and has a dragon daughter now, but I'm sure I mentioned that ad infinum by now lol

[cold badge]

if there’s a profession a furry has aced it

[pearl hedge]

luckily i've never drawn from TDOMT

[pearl hedge]

wait what are you talking about professions.. do you mean classes?

[woven flint]

I did so twice.
My Dragonborn Fighter drew the Rogue

And my Harengon.. lol

I'm not counting oneshots towards that, in which I would've done it three times :p

[pearl hedge]

why didn't you pick red or gold dragonborn

[woven flint]

Because I don't have to? Lol

[cold badge]

job

[valid geyser]

Only time I ever drew I got donjoned. My old west march used to have charity draws from the deck, and I was the first of the season

[narrow moss]

that's exactly what i'm afraid will happen to me lmao

[valid geyser]

Luckily, donjon in that WM meant others could adventure to rescue you

[narrow moss]

it can usually mean that but honestly i just assume i'll have to roll a new guy

i'd rather do that than derail the entire campaign, you see.

[woven flint]

My Copper Dragonborn is also from a humble background as a farmer and Copper Dragons generally seem the mist friendly
Also, Lightning breath is way cooler

[valid geyser]

I think my druid was locked up in the city of brass? It’s been a long time since then though

[pearl hedge]

i thought copper was acid

[woven flint]

Nope

Copper is lighting because well..
You know...
Copper conducts electricity

[pearl hedge]

@woven flint have you seen the new mighty nein episodes

[woven flint]

I don't watch that stuff lol

[pearl hedge]

ohh

[woven flint]

I'm a D&D player, not a D&D Watcher lmao

[glass granite]

Same

[woven flint]

I'll watch Pathfinder games though, as I know a group I actually like

[cold badge]

wb being both

[narrow moss]

lol

[woven flint]

Narrative Declaration's Rottgrind campaign is also a fun premise

[empty thicket]

that part i didnt heard it, but i find wild that poli love is a good option in DnD

and btw, 25 gold for blessing how much wateR? holy canneloni that is a lot

[woven flint]

I might sound odd for this, but in my opinion, D&D isn't as fun to watch as it is to play

[cold badge]

you do not sound odd for this

[narrow moss]

it's not odd

i like hearing others' stories, but it's so much more fun to help create one

[woven flint]

Meanwhile, I find Pathfinder interesting to watch as the group I watch is actually pretty tolerable for me :p

[pearl hedge]

hey i mean someone has literally made a taser in D&D that flings people up 10 feet in the air and then knocks them prone and they take an additional 1d4 bludgeoning damage and are prone

[lilac olive]

i posted in #find-a-game i just want a dnd game thats more eventful

i played a backrooms one and got nothing it was pretty boring

[woven flint]

D&D Backrooms literally just sounds like Dungeon of the Mad Mage to me lmao

[empty thicket]

You arent wrong honestly, seeing it in animations is epic but gameplay show, not so much.
That go in how your party is good in making a "Show" out of it.

[woven flint]

Thank you, Yoinkus Sploinkus, you're a constant source of inspiration and
Uh..
I dunno, Hi lmao

[cold badge]

fantasy taser

[cold badge]

im naming my first character yoinkus sploinkus because of this

[narrow moss]

backrooms is a sorta fun idea only in stories.

[empty thicket]

Welp, i have the feat strike of giant so i can do some of that, but the thing is.
Literally, a party that love each other to the point that they marry and they all love and respect.
Its op.

[narrow moss]

as a game it always falls flat for me without adding some other horror to it, which defeats the point of the liminal horror aspect.

[pearl hedge]

oh and it has a range of 600 feet

[cold badge]

definitely a fantasy taser

[cold badge]

wait I’m sorry thank you and hello tokii

[woven flint]

My Paladin died last night, fight in his honor, Yoinkityus Sploinkityus 🧐

[pearl hedge]

this is a tempest domain cleric with gift of the chromatic dragon feat btw

if memory serves me

[cold badge]

I will avenge you but to reach your murderer I have to walk for 6 weeks

[woven flint]

His Murderer was a Lich in the Shadowfell, he fought valiantly so the party could escape :>

[empty thicket]

Anyway, my Dm let us literally spam Ceremony if we want.
Something i appreciate because some of that ceremonies rituals are pretty good.
Sadly that our only person capable of it is the paladin that miss his wife

[narrow moss]

shadowfell, huh?

[cold badge]

his death will not be in vain

[woven flint]

Good luck, it was the "Flee, Mortals!" Statblock for Lich lmao

[pearl hedge]

that's.. interesting

[cold badge]

is a statblock exactly what the name suggests or does it mean something else

[pearl hedge]

it means the stats of the monster or race, what they can do, their health, armor class, etc

[cold badge]

why is block in the word

[woven flint]

Yarp, he was an Earth Genasi Noble Genies Paladin from Calimshan, hes the direct descendant of of Dao (his father was a Dao lmao)
Sakhir Jabal was his name

[empty thicket]

Yep, i wnat my Artificer to Make more alchemy jugs for literally farm things like oil, poison, beer, honey, etc.

[cold badge]

not knowing a single term in this sentence except paladin and then reading it felt like you were speaking a different language

[empty thicket]

But i fear that its too hard such thing so, its okey

[pearl hedge]

JUGS OF GREASE

[narrow moss]

but how do you light it up with style

[cold badge]

I watched some dndshorts videos and I already know im going to be the best atlas dm

[pearl hedge]

well isn't grease also a flammable oil

[narrow moss]

all while walking away from the explosion of course

[cold badge]

remember don’t look at the explosion

[pearl hedge]

ah yes with badass shades as well

[narrow moss]

obviously

tinted spectacles in a fantasy setting tbh

[woven flint]

All you need to know, is that the lich killed him by rending his mind and stealing his soul 😔

He gave it a nasty crack over its eyesocket with a powerful Divine Smite though, brother ain't regenerating that!

[empty thicket]

Molotovs, a vial, some cloth and the oil with some wine if you want, add some dry grass if you want too

[pearl hedge]

they did the same thing in X:Men Origins Wolverine

[narrow moss]

just toss the pipe you were smoking

walk away. epic badass music plays

[cold badge]

pirate lich now

[pearl hedge]

i hoped someone wouldn't say this. just lost a bet

[narrow moss]

pirate lich is an interesting idea

[cold badge]

im sorry what is your punishment

[woven flint]

It was also my first attempt at a Dual-Wielding Paladin, he had a Shortsword and a Scimitar

[pearl hedge]

i had to give up $5

[cold badge]

dnd pirate campaign

[narrow moss]

noice

[cold badge]

im sorry 😭😭

[pearl hedge]

you just made someone else $5 richer today..

[empty thicket]

wait, the only difference between the alchemy jugs are the ammount of liquid?

[hot marlin]

In order:
Genasi are people with elemental ancestry. In this case, the elemental plane of earth. An earth elemental for a grandparent, in this case a Dao, which is a type of genie that lives on the elemental plane of earth. Calimshan is a nation in the Forgotten Realms.

[pearl hedge]

OTHER THAN ME

[past blaze]

Earth Genasi Species, Noble Genies Paladin is the Noble Genies oath/subclass for Paladin class, Calimshan is presumably a location, and a Dao is the Earth type of Genie

[pearl hedge]

no no i'm joking

[cold badge]

good

[cold badge]

thank you

[pearl hedge]

all you need to know is that you cannot divine smite until you have attacked with your sword as an action

[cold badge]

your contributions to my knowledge of dnd is greatly appreciated

[hot marlin]

The genies are djins for air, efrits for fire, daos for earth, marids for water. The noble genies are extremely powerful and can grant wishes.

[narrow moss]

yeah genasi are interesting

[hot marlin]

Is everything now clear to you?

[cold badge]

yes

[pearl hedge]

@cold badge btw you don't need to use your main action first. you can use your bonus action first if you want but not for divine smite

[cold badge]

is divine smite a good attack

[narrow moss]

it's a staple of the paladin's toolkit

[cold badge]

so probably

[past blaze]

yeah, outside of ones that specifically require something else to have happened first, Action / Bonus Action aren't locked in a certain order.

[hot marlin]

In 2014 I would say that divine smite was good but best reserved for crits on very tough opponents. Most times, your spell slots were too precious to waste on a smite.

[narrow moss]

yeah you didn't want to do it all the time

[hot marlin]

In 2024 the balancing is different and I haven't looked into it

[woven flint]

Hell yeah it is 😎

[cold badge]

is it true that you can play dnd however you want and make up your own rules as a dm

[past blaze]

actually, divine smite isn't an attack itself, but it can be used to make an attack deal more damage
in all seriousness though it's a staple part of paladin, there's a reason people make memes about when a paladin scores a critical hit, they get bonkers damage in a single hit at that point

[narrow moss]

especially against enemies weak to it

[hot marlin]

I would argue that there is a point where you've made up so many rules that you are not really playing D&D anymore

[woven flint]

Craziest Erm, Ackshually nerd emoji lmao

[cold badge]

so it’s like a buff

[hot marlin]

You're still playing a TTRPG but D&D is made to be a heroic fantasy game about a band of heroes (in the old sense, regardless of morality) exploring dangerous locations and defeating foes

[muted gulch]

Now I wait

[past blaze]

it's literally just "I hit with an attack, I'm going to say this also has divine smite on it so I do more damage"

[sour peak]

Guys i really wanna do a campaign with my friends but i dont know how to dm and neither do they, is there a guide somewhere?

[cold badge]

that’s how I wanna play dnd, I feel like writing a plot and then players doing the opposite of what you wrote sounds frustrating

[past blaze]

https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2618833-divine-smite

Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action *
Which you take immediately after hitting a target with a Melee weapon or an Unarmed Strike

[eager marsh]

That's largely a meme in most cases

[cold badge]

so like a buff but easier to use?!

[past blaze]

it's not even a buff, it's just spend resource for more damage on a hit

[cold badge]

people usually follow the plot?

[eager marsh]

Numerically speaking and in order for games to happen, yes

[hot marlin]

DMs should not write a plot in the script sense. You cannot anticipate the PCs' actions. What you can write is how the universe is, and how it reacts to the PCs' actions. But you cannot and should not anticipate that they will do what you think they will do

[cold badge]

temporary damage increase

[past blaze]

singular, actually.

[cold badge]

singular damage increase

[past blaze]

It's not quite a 'buff' in the same sense using fire bolt is not a buff, it is just a thing that is done

[eager marsh]

you're kind of just overthinking it I think. It's just a limited use of 'extra damage on an attack'

[hot marlin]

With some limits of course. If you present them with Doctor Hannibal Von Murderkill, who plans on enslaving the entire world, covering it in toxic sludge and lobotomizing dissidents, you can safely assume that the PCs will want to stop him.

[cold badge]

I see

[cold badge]

extra damage on an attack

[lean wigeon]

players are active agents in your story/campaign so if you do not set your foot down your players will obviously take the story in a different direction, for better or worse

[eager marsh]

generally you plan for 2 rough outcomes in most cases. The party chooses diplomacy vs violence and have a rough idea what happens in both cases

[hot marlin]

But how is another question. For example: If your bad guy is a wizard who created an evil artefact, PCs might surprise you by looting the journals in order to, in the future, create their own version of that artefact

[sour peak]

How do i join a campaign the commands are confusing me

[woven flint]

Hey, Von Muderkill and the Lobotomites is my favorite heavy metal band!

[cold badge]

I watched some viva dirt league and I thought it was hilarious that they were interrogating a waiter instead of interrogating the shadowy robed figure in the background

[hot marlin]

(I kinda want to make my own Soulmonger by stealing Acererak's plans one day)

[hot marlin]

Exaggerated for comedic effect, but... Not completely inaccurate to some games.

[eager marsh]

that implies Acererak wrote any of that down

Bro did the whole thing on a whim because it'd be funny if it worked

[past blaze]

You use the command, it brings up a form for you to fill out, you fill out the form and the bot posts that in the channel corresponding to the command, and then people can read that form in the channel.
Otherwise, you look through the forms in looking for players, and say something to the effect of "hello i am a player and saw your post" in whatever communication method they listed that applicants should go through

[hot marlin]

... Damn it you're right. Reverse engineer it by studying it maybe?

[cold badge]

it worked

[woven flint]

We love Acererak, doing shit because he can

[eager marsh]

plot mandates breaking it so that may be a problem

[cold badge]

jocat was funny too maybe my humour is cracked but they got a smile out of me a few times

[hot marlin]

Sure but you can take some time to observe it before you break it.

[eager marsh]

And the giant murder fetus?

[toxic nebula]

Hi

[hot marlin]

That is... another problem yes.

[past blaze]

wild time to join

[cold badge]

thank you everyone that helped me

[hot marlin]

Nevertheless I think a character who studied the principles behind the soulmonger in order to create something that targets people who have been resurrected in the past, or who are undead, could be interesting. If you could aim it of course.

[vale sage]

I too joined in a wild time what’s happening lol

[cold badge]

idk not that much I think

[eager marsh]

and immediately have every god's avatar after you. Acererak's phylactery uniquely cant be found by gods due to how many layers of plans he's on. Messing with the afterlife is an easy way to have Kelemvor personally hunt you down

Or send the Maruts

[hot marlin]

True. But if you could create... Even something as small as an arrowhead that curses people who have been resurrected with the same curse, it could be a great weapon. And it might escape the notice of the greater powers

[eager marsh]

curse them to start dying again? Cuz you can just...kill them iif you're already shooting them

[hot marlin]

You know how those big bad guys of the setting are. They teleport. They have contingencies, they have clones and stuff.

And the point is that if that thing kills them, that's it. No more resurrections

[narrow moss]

something something final form

[cold badge]

I think I could make a good dm

[eager marsh]

I mean anyone worth that much effort would have a bypass still anyways. Szass? Weave Anchor. Halastor? Same deal. Alastor? He invented the curse

Acererak*

[hot marlin]

Wait, Szass Tam is a weave anchor?

[eager marsh]

He controls the anchor in Thay. It's why he has illegal simulacrums of himself that dont stop existing in anti-magic and cant be dispelled to do his bidding despite being an undead

So he can break certain magical rules like Halastor can as a result

[hot marlin]

Ok fine. Alright. While it might be usable stuff, it might be too much effort for the expected results

[eager marsh]

Essentually yea

Kinda how Fearun is. Breaking the status quo is a huge pain because the powers are very well entrenched

[woven flint]

I'm sure you could, friend yoinkithyyus sploinkthyyus, but, it's always good to get some experience with the game first, I'd suggest running a pre-made module at some point!
They're pretty good for new dms from my understanding

Phandelver is a classic

[tough cedar]

I think the group im about to play with all want to be cleric or paladin...

[narrow moss]

hmmm

[woven flint]

CRUSADE!!!

[glass granite]

Holy knights can be a fun party dynamic

[narrow moss]

be the wizard

or some kind of 'arcane consultant'

[tough cedar]

You know what ...yes. lol. The picture i had for the group changes.. but in the best way lol

[cold badge]

im gonna be playing my first game with my family so i wanna make up my own little story, and ill be the only person in my family who can be a dm 😭 alsooo i appreciate your support Tokiith, the great lord of silliness and tomfoolery

[hot marlin]

Eh. With the right subclasses and a diversity of skills and background, you could try to create a... Not balanced but almost balanced party with mostly clerics and paladins.

[narrow moss]

they know divine stuff but more esoteric things? who knows

[glass granite]

What can’t they do?

[woven flint]

You're my friend now, Yoinkithsplonkithdoinkith

You cannot escape.

[narrow moss]

it's an interesting party to play around with lol

[cold badge]

you’re my friend now let’s have soft tacos later

[hot marlin]

Well, dexterity skills are lacking. Melee power is through the roof, but there's a lack of ranged option and stealth would be abysmal.

[woven flint]

The good ending

[hot marlin]

Lack of mobility too.

[deft aspen]

does anyone has like a best etsy seller for the dice? i want cute ones! :3

[cold badge]

real

[hot marlin]

Honestly, a single wizard or bard would round up this party rather well.

[narrow moss]

yep

[glass granite]

Thaumaturge clerics can have decent Dex, clerics can start blasting with ranged spells (plus knowledge domain really helps with proficiencies)
But yeah the stealth and mobility…

[hot marlin]

Ranged spells are fine, but they are naturally more costly and can be, depending on the situation, less effective than simply a dude with a bow and arrows

[lilac olive]

i need a dm so i can do a more fun dnd game to play cause my last one was 2 hours with no combat at all#1440852400440086648

[hot marlin]

Maybe a ranger could actually be the best way to round out that party?

[narrow moss]

could be

kinda depends what they can all do huh

[cold badge]

is grim grimm

[narrow moss]

hm?

[hot marlin]

But thematically it clashes. A wizard, sure. You can have your wizard be like the archivist of that holy order or something. With a ranger it's more complicated.

[narrow moss]

well a ranger could be a scout or guide

[cold badge]

idk it autocorrected I meant to say is grimm grim

[lilac olive]

what about a goblin artificer with a fisher background

[narrow moss]

lol i see. Actually Grimm refers to an insane orc i once played. Always smiled. Always...

[snow agate]

Stealth and mobility are overrated

[hot marlin]

Eh, an artificer could also work now that I think about it

[narrow moss]

sang to freak the enemy out too

so yes, but also no.

[cold badge]

Invest in plated knight armour

[hot marlin]

Anyways the main reason such a redundant party is best avoided is actually simpler. Competition for items.

[narrow moss]

true

[tough cedar]

Yeah tbh I never heard of a crusade being stealthy. they do the other thing...

[narrow moss]

def

[hot marlin]

In a balanced party, ideally, there is no debate on who gets what. Because any given item is only interesting to one person. Two at most.

[snow agate]

2 light clerics alone = double fireball

[narrow moss]

unbalanced might make them think more. like, who needs this item more

[snow agate]

I mean they might also just go shopping >_>

[hot marlin]

But if you have two paladins and two clerics? Everyone wants heavy armour, nobody wants light armour, nobody wants the robes, everybody wants the magical shield, everybody wants the melee weapons...

It can easily turn into a mess

[narrow moss]

then they need a system to divvy up loot

[hot marlin]

And it is also easier for enemies that know your party to prepare for them.

[snow agate]

We had one of those, it was called being generous to eachother

[narrow moss]

sadly that system is not common lol

but i do like that one.

[hot marlin]

But yeah. Lots of items you'll find will be useless to your party, and everybody wants more or less the same stuff. And it can be a bit of a problem. Especially if you don't have shops for those items.

[snow agate]

I am considering whether to make this paladin fancy or humble… we have a gentle support Druid, an intrigue enjoying rogue, and a gritty fighter

I do not know

[rough basalt]

Can be a bit peeving to find reasons to explain why a Archmage has 5 sets of +2 plate armor, 5 +1 shields, and 5 +2 longswords in his bedroom.

[lilac olive]

did anyone notice what i said earlier about needing a dm

[snow agate]

What do you want us to say in response

[lilac olive]

just taking a look thats it

[hot marlin]

I have a trick. Consider every other character in the party. Ideally, your character should have one (or more) points of agreement with each, stuff they share or that makes an interaction enjoyable. Then one (or more) points where they clash.

[urban dew]

After seeing 2024 purple dragon knight and getting hyped then getting bummed after finding out they got rid of the dragon companion and made it banneret. I'm hoping we get a class with a dragon companion soon

[snow agate]

Oki

[narrow moss]

am not a dm so

[hot marlin]

Drakewarden ranger

[snow agate]

Yeah I know that

[narrow moss]

make the paladin clueless about normal stuff

he just went all in on being a paladin lol

[hot marlin]

So by instinct, I feel like the fancy paladin is a better fit when it comes to characters dynamics

[urban dew]

is their a 2024 compatable Ver. of it?

[rough basalt]

How it is already

[hot marlin]

Not sure, I haven't been keeping up for a while

But normally it should already be usable enough

[rough basalt]

Fizbans was made in the 2020s which means it works with the 2024 rules pretty seamlessly

[snow agate]

Yeah I was thinking either like the classic sort of orphan raised by a temple, which would be the humble one; or like an upstart noble raised on hero stories, which would be the fancy one

[narrow moss]

mix of both but obvs thinks he is humble

[sturdy juniper]

Surely that depends

[snow agate]

Horrific

[narrow moss]

he's just socially inept outside religious topics

[rough basalt]

The only thing I can think of that hasn't been updated that doesn't work ideally with the 2024 rules is Shepard Druid

Some of its features no longer work due to the summon changes

[snow agate]

that was the idea with the former, to be like really focused on one type of theme so the rest is relatively clueless and novel

[hot marlin]

Also Battlerager doesn't work

But that's because it didn't work previously

Nothing to do with 2024. It's just trash

[rough basalt]

So bad they didn't even remake it with the only book it'd make sense in since Battleragers are an FR thing

[narrow moss]

he tries to do good like the paladins in stories but overdoes it a bit

[hot marlin]

I think everyone wants to forget about the Battlerager

I'm told the person who made that subclass is in witness protection nowadays

[rough basalt]

Yeah, some of what WotC made in the dark ages it's best left behind.

[snow agate]

I was gonna straight up do “the quest came to you in a dream” bit and treat it like a divine calling xd

[narrow moss]

instead of meditating on it he just goes for it

[snow agate]

Yeah of course why wouldn’t you

[narrow moss]

obvs

[rough basalt]

It's pretty hilarious

Undying was so bad they made a whole new sub to replace it

And that subs already being reprinted despite being made after Tashas

[snow agate]

I think I’ll go with that one because it can be played sincerely while also being inherently cheesy and foolhardy

[hot marlin]

Turns out your dream about your grandmother giving you shoes made of chocolate before being abducted by a monkey wearing wizard robes was just a dream and the gods had really nothing to do with it

[narrow moss]

they're also not going to discourage you because hey, you're actually doing a good job so far

[sturdy juniper]

Wait wut, fine.

[slow island]

When i started playing DnD(5e) i saw alot of Triton Players. Now they almost vanished

[marble lion]

I never heard of one myself

[meager fractal]

I've had a few in my games I've run. Though mostly in nautical campaigns or ones taking place in the Greece-like area of my world.

[marble lion]

Cheers

[narrow moss]

idk what a triton is

but then again there's a lot of things i haven't heard of yet so that's nothing new for me

[meager fractal]

A triton is an aquatic, humanoid race that lives in the ocean depths

[narrow moss]

makes sense

[knotty pasture]

A githyanki but sea

[clear lark]

Nothing like Githyanki, but exactly like the Aquatic humanoids from Atlantis in Aquaman and The Sub-Mariner

[slow island]

It came up in the lore channel.

[eternal stump]

Would i be in the wrong for casting purify food and drink to de-alcohol booze?

On the party's supply...

[narrow moss]

oh they'll be mad at you for ruining their supplies

that stuff costs money, ye ken?

[eternal stump]

Is it ruining though?

[narrow moss]

i'm just saying be prepared for the consequences. If the DM even allows it

it is technically a toxin but does the spell cover that?

[knotty pasture]

Probably

[eternal stump]

It removes poison from non-magical food and drinks

[knotty pasture]

It'll just turn alcohol into fruit juice which ironically spoils the quality of the drink its trying to purify

[slow island]

Spell says

You remove poison and rot from nonmagical food and drink in a 5-foot-radius Sphere centered on a point within range.

I would allow it on strong alcohol. The reaction would be funny

[narrow moss]

tbh i wouldn't count alcohol among them. it could be funny tho

alcohol is just drink. and historically it was used when water was, well, contaminated

[empty imp]

Are there any common <25gp ways to obtain holy water in low levels when broke for a paladin’s protect from good/evil

[eternal stump]

Alcohol is a poison by every definition.

[knotty pasture]

But it is a type of socially acceptable poison

Getting drunk is basically getting poisoned in a way

[eternal stump]

Caffeine is also a poison

[narrow moss]

a lot of things we ingest are technically poisons

[slow island]

I know real world doesnt work in DnD sometimes. Thats why i said strong alcohol.
It's still a toxin for the body

[knotty pasture]

And you can cure being drunk with lesser restoration iirc

[cerulean monolith]

Drunkenness causes the Poisoned condition, so yes

[knotty pasture]

Now we know what Dwarven Paladins and Clerics avoid learning at any cost

[narrow moss]

i think it's about intent tbh

[eternal stump]

Ive done that to an npc by kissing him on the cheek and he spent so long getting drunk he was upset

[knotty pasture]

And if they were to learn it, better isolate the alcohol away from the spell as far as possible

[minor cargo]

What's that saying? The dosage makes the poison?

[narrow moss]

yeah, probably

the way i see it, its a prepared/cultivated drink. So it would not affect the alcohol, but any poison or disease within it.

and anything in a large enough amount will end you, so...

[woven flint]

Slay, honestly

[hot marlin]

In theory alcohol is poison so you can't get drunk. But it would not alter the taste I think. It would still taste like alcohol, and caffeine and pepper

Being drunk would, in game terms, be perfectly represented by the poisoned condition

Now I do have a... weird question

If the character casting the spell plans on eating the fresh corpse of a humanoid, does the spell treat the corpse as food?

Like... What constitutes food? From whose point of view?

If I'm a hag, does the still living child in front of me count as food for the purposes of the spell?

[narrow moss]

if it is prepared as food, it may count

by itself? probably not though.

it's kinda loose lol

[old sluice]

Wait. If you're right, does that mean a cannibal casting the spell on the still-living person they plan on eating raw cure that person of the poisoned condition by neutralising the poison in their veins?

[hot marlin]

... I hope I never find myself needing to make an actual ruling on those questions

[narrow moss]

well a person isn't prepared or cultivated as food, so probably not. Also won't turn their blood into water (cuz the contaminants)

[minor cargo]

I think what we might be missing here is that food is not just sustenance. Food is culture. So if you take that more holistic approach to it, I think the conversation becomes a bit more easy to navigate.

[narrow moss]

you can see where this gets ridiculous now, yes?

[glass granite]

This is definitely a conversation topic to walk into

[narrow moss]

the spell says food and drink, alcohol is considered a drink so

[hot marlin]

Not really. A person is food to some people. To a dragon or a tiger, a person is a normal meal.

[glass granite]

Tigers don’t normally eat people tho

[hot marlin]

Fine, to a polar bear. They're enthusiastic man eaters when they get the opportunity

[minor cargo]

A human could be food to some one. But what I'm saying here is that you can also see food (and in my opinion, should) see food as a cultural thing. That is, it's something that you would share and build bonds over.

That could mean eating a human.

But for a lot of creatures, in company of others, it probably is not.

We can also talk about food as ritual. I think that's different, too.

[wintry sphinx]

it is more of a cultural thing

[dawn haven]

Absolutely having a bad guy do this

[hot marlin]

Wait are you saying the spell doesn't work if you're eating alone or am I misunderstanding?

[glass granite]

Would it depend on the cultural perception of the creator of the spell?

[remote lynx]

Is the lotr dnd any good...? might try it out

[glass granite]

Like a Lotr inspired campaign?

[hot marlin]

What if a non-cultural being casts the spell? Like something that comes from an extremely solitary species without a culture?

[dawn haven]

There's more than one lotr system

[hot marlin]

Nope. There are dedicated RPGs for playing in Middle Earth though

[minor cargo]

No. I... don't want to be flippant about this but like... your culture exists without others perceiving it?

[dawn haven]

Yugoloth

[glass granite]

I think your statement “in company of others” confused them
And me

[wintry sphinx]

but once you think about it the solitary becomes its culture nothing has no culture

[dawn haven]

Not enough people use them

[hot marlin]

Yeah that's what confuses me

[hot marlin]

Of course some things have no culture. Zombies, plants, sea turtles. Solitary and non-sapient creatures have no culture

[minor cargo]

I dunno. Maybe we don't need to get into this because this is something that might be more intrinsic to me than others.

But like... when you eat food, it's more than just nutrients in a body. It's like... a connection to your family?

[hot marlin]

Culture is a collective thing. If there is no collective there is no culture

[glass granite]

A being of no sense of identity would have no culture

Even if there were a lot of them, there’d still be no culture

[hot marlin]

What if you're a dragon whose egg hatched in the middle of nowhere, your parents already dead, growing up and hunting alone. You don't have a culture but you can cast spells, including maybe this one. And to you just about every living thing is food. Hell, you might not even kill your prey before starting to eat it

[minor cargo]

Then you probably have a very specific definition of what is "food". And when you purify it (we're talking about purify, right?), it would probably work within that definition.

I dunno, this doesn't seem that complicated to me? 😅

[hot marlin]

Yeah you're right. So point of view of the caster then

[glass granite]

Idk if this has been said before but…
I put it to DM’s discretion

[minor cargo]

Point of view of the caster, yeah, but within the context of when, where, and with whom (including if alone) during the casting. But although that's being very... clinical about it, I find those factors to be pretty intuitive - at least for me.

[wintry sphinx]

culture is not just art music food culture is simply patterns of behavior if all zombies are brain less , have zero language or no food thtas their culture

[glass granite]

I don’t think culture exists in things that aren’t really alive

[glad barn]

Valkyries like :(

[hot marlin]

I have never heard of a definition of culture even remotely approaching this.

[glad barn]

Culture just means "How they grow food" in a sense.

But generally also includes things like language, art, personal closeness, family values, etc

[wintry sphinx]

so whats your culture and tell me its not acts of patterns that build traditions

[glad barn]

Behavior is behavior. Sociology describes it better than culture.

Or biology, or anthropology, or psychology.

[hot marlin]

I think it's the conventional conducts and ideologies of a community, the system comprising the accepted norms and values of a society. The beliefs, values, behaviour and material objects that constitute a people's way of life

[glad barn]

Culture is the collection of customs, beliefs and practices of a group of people maintained over time.

Whether that's Punk Music or Mercenaries

[glass granite]

Doesn’t that mean that, like, any pattern is culture tho? I don’t think zombies mindlessly wandering around and eating brains is tradition.

[hot marlin]

So that dragon whose egg hatched alone has no culture. Zombies have no culture. Culture requires a collective where people influence each other and create those behaviours

[wintry sphinx]

im not saying yall are wrong just saying that culture could be made by anything even a beast whos isolated dosent man he has no culture that is his culture

[glass granite]

It’s a pattern, sure. But “tradition” sounds like the wrong word.

[glad barn]

I think undead by definition 'had' culture. And it likely manifests as echoes.

[hot marlin]

Depends. Some undead have never been alive

[wintry sphinx]

how so you know diffrent cultures have diffrent tradittons

[glad barn]

Then they wouldn't be undead..

Just animated or constructed

[glass granite]

They’d just be…dead

[hot marlin]

Take it with the rules and the writers who gave those monsters the undead type

[minor cargo]

So undead are a weird one to examine because we... don't have undead in real life to try to map on to it?

But like we could try to map it to things we do know. For example, if we map it to a virus (who do have "patterns of behaviour"), I think it's obvious that this isn't a "culture". So that might be the end of it.

But if you treat them like beasts, we can look at other beasts in our real life. Look at orcas who we've seen put salmon on their head seemingly for fun; or chimps who put grass in their butts for seemingly no reason.

It's... complicated, but it's one of those situations IMO where you gut can probably lead you in the right direction.

[glad barn]

I just consider the nature of the shadowfell, and the actual like, cities and factions that 'live' there.

[minor cargo]

But to pull this back a bit, we're also talking about an undead creature casting purify food and drink. This is a very niche situation.

It is, as some might say, a bridge you cross when you get to it.

[eager marsh]

People are never considered good and drink for the purpose of that spell even if the caster can technically eat them

[cerulean monolith]

I think a lot of it isn’t “This creature died and is now sort of living” but instead “ehh spooky creature with right vibes”

[hot marlin]

Well vampires are the only undead I can think of who need to be careful not to get poisoned

[karmic mason]

The closest we can consider animals to intelligence is dolphins

and those things have 0 sense of empathy.

[eager marsh]

The perspective of the caster means nothing as far as how magic is concerned

[wintry sphinx]

i think every one misunderstood what i was saying

[minor lake]

Lol
"Hey DM I really liked this part of the story!"
'thanks I got it from totally making it up'

[glad barn]

"Woah, how did you come up with that?"
"I wait for you to ask me stuff and I say yes"

[hot marlin]

Wait, are there other undead besides vampires who are not immune to poison?

[minor lake]

DND really be 4 hours of prep just for your players to ask what an NPCs dental records say

[eager marsh]

Vampires aren’t immune to poison??

[hot marlin]

Nope. That was instrumental in beating Strahd in my game btw.

[eager marsh]

Huh. Interesting.

[hot marlin]

They called me mad for injecting purple worm poison in my own veins, but I showed them!

[karmic mason]

ok so i got a really bad idea for a small miniature villain

not BBEG worthy, but probably a side quest villain

druid necromancer who, in an attempt to keep their beloved friends alive, continuously revives them whenever they die or further decay.

The druid would prevent them from leaving this forest since it they leave, he can't necessarily revive them.

[minor lake]

I LOVE THIS

[karmic mason]

Said friends would be various forest creatures.

[eager marsh]

Hector from the Castlevania anime and his reanimated pet cat

[karmic mason]

I haven't watched it

[cerulean monolith]

Real conversation I’ve had:
“Sam that fight with the creatures was really cool, I liked the flavor you used with our allies fighting alongside us.”
“Thanks, I thought of it as I was rolling Initiative.”

[glad barn]

Reminds me of an old AD&D rule where your CON score at creation was the max numbner of times you could be resurrected

[karmic mason]

But is it an alright idea for a side quest villain?

[glad barn]

Lol.

And yea, unhinged druid imprisoned by good intentions is a neat encounter

[eager marsh]

I mean that depends on what makes them even an antagonist to the party

[hot marlin]

Yeah. Like, why should the party even care about the stuff that guy does privately?

[eager marsh]

Because if I met a Druid that’s just pet cemetery-ing the animals that’s their business

[glad barn]

Well, maybe its causing a shadowfell rift >_>

[eager marsh]

Sounds like the Shadowfells problem

[karmic mason]

It would mainly be for if a second druid is in the party and could hear the animals

[glad barn]

No, definitely the material's problem lol

[eager marsh]

Not mine if I leave the vicinity!

[knotty pasture]

Vampires are indeed not immune to poison, I was poisoning certain vampires to death in bg3 epicly

[glad barn]

That's kind of always true though

[eager marsh]

Reanimated creatures are generally not still housing the soul that used to be in the body

[karmic mason]

I mean
You try living well when you're constantly in a cycle of death and rebirth, never returning to their true life, and never staying dead.

[glad barn]

Sounds like when I worked at a bank

[karmic mason]

oh

ok hold on as someone who's never DM'd, I gotta think a bit

[crimson gulch]

What? Lol

[hot marlin]

If they're reanimated as zombies, yeah. There's no soul in it, no suffering save what they inflict

[eager marsh]

Like there isn’t even the moral quandary of ‘that’s someone’s uncle you are defiling’

[glad barn]

My prep is just an encouraging index card and good coffee before session these days

[karmic mason]

Ok wait you just unintentionally fixed the issue with why we'd fight them

[glad barn]

Maybe his 'raised' animals are starting to zombify more and more animals

Oops I accidentally made a zombie army is a fun time

[karmic mason]

Village farmers would be speaking of cattle slaughtered and turned into undead, threatening the entire villages supply of food

[hot marlin]

Why can't they just eat the cattle after putting it down again?

[hasty coyote]

It’s all fun and games until the necromancer animates grandma.

[hot marlin]

Also weird village where the meat is an important part of their diet

[karmic mason]

If it is done at night, then that's decaying meat for like, 4-5 hours

[hot marlin]

Fair enough

[karmic mason]

Selling and trading for crops not growable in the region

[hot marlin]

Makes sense

[karmic mason]

i can improv explanations for a surprisingly high amount of stuff.

[cerulean monolith]

You think cows are butchered and salted and/or frozen in 3-4 hours?

[glad barn]

Meat is also nutrient dense, and you get a ton at once which if you know how to jerky or turn into pemmican can be a month of winter

[karmic mason]

maybe i could be a dm.

[hot marlin]

For winter, yeah, makes sense.

[karmic mason]

Exactly
Meaning it's more than, quite possibly 10 hours total

[hot marlin]

Should ask the druid for some goodberries.

[glad barn]

But yeah, the butchering and cleaning and bleeding out and quartering and preparing is like, a 3 day endeavor with plenty of people

Particularly if we're going medieval/renaissance with hand tools

[cerulean monolith]

My point being a few extra hours of decay isn’t going to render the meat unusable

[karmic mason]

10 hours of decaying meat plus making sure it's safe, cutting up, dividing, and then prepping, that's a while.

[hot marlin]

Also fun fact: There are situations where you can't rely on goodberry.

[cerulean monolith]

The main problem would instead be the huge surplus of meat that you have to find a safe place from animals to store or someone to find

[glad barn]

Yeah, you'd be amazed the condition a lot of farm beef is in for hours before refrigeration >_>

[karmic mason]

wait, question.

if a herbivorous creature, I.E, a deer or rabbit, is turned into an undead

Are they still herbivorous or do they become omnivores

[glad barn]

Though if you wanted to add a food poisoning angle or essentially Ration Durability thats always a harsh but fun survival mechanic

They dont eat to survive anymore, theyre undead.

[hot marlin]

What kind of undead?

[karmic mason]

Oh right

[hot marlin]

Zombies and skeletons don't need food. Vampires do

[glad barn]

They still might bite and zombify stuff though

[karmic mason]

Alright that makes more sense.

[glad barn]

And yeah, leeches need blood.

[wintry sphinx]

im so sorry im still talking bout this but this what i meant.Culture isn’t just art or intelligence — it’s the shared patterns, habits, and origins of a thing. Zombies, plants, and even objects all carry culture because they follow consistent behaviors or come from the people who created them. A zombie’s predictable hunger for brains or a plant’s inherited growing pattern is just as much a cultural trait as anything humans do. Something doesn’t need to be alive or creative to have culture — it only needs a consistent identity shaped by its nature or its maker.

[cerulean monolith]

There’s a story from a book I read once where a guy’s job was to use a pressure washer to disperse blood clots in dead pig carcasses. Yeah meat preparation is disgusting.

[glad barn]

But they dont drink blood like, to fill their bellies. Its a mystical thing.

[hot marlin]

Actually D&D zombies are not Romero zombies, they don't transmit it through a bite

[karmic mason]

A game that has their take on vampires has a really good explanation on it.

[glad barn]

Yeah, theyre more WoD zombies with 90% less 90s punk

[hot marlin]

Nope. Culture is collective. You're confusing culture with behaviour. Some things simply don't have culture because culture requires community and communication

[karmic mason]

Blood is not NEEDED for life
Infact, you can starve them for the entire duration and they'd not die

The only thing that blood does is keep them sane/keep them powerful

[glad barn]

Lest they go into torpor etc

Then theyre sitting ducks, more or less.

[karmic mason]

@glad barn ...just don't question what else this game lets their vampire creatures do.

[hot marlin]

Actually vampires die from starvation like living things. The thing they don't require is air

[wintry sphinx]

what about that is not collective your actully so close minded

[karmic mason]

cause god it's weird

[glad barn]

Ive been running VtM since '98 >_>

[karmic mason]

It's not VTM.

[glad barn]

Lamentations? Lol.

[karmic mason]

No

[hot marlin]

What's not collective is not part of culture. Because "culture" designates group behaviour.

[glad barn]

Whelp, thats my guesses.

[karmic mason]

It's not a TTRPG. All I'm gonna say

[glad barn]

Oh then 🤷

[glass granite]

So… would summer be a culture?
It’s a pattern of a thing

[karmic mason]

How this game handles giving their vampire characters weapons is

ok here's a basic ass weapon

let's somehow crystalize blood on it. Good job. We made a weapon effective and made it look cool

[minor cargo]

I get what you're saying. And yeah, like... plants have behaviours like making flowers in the spring to attract pollinators, and making fruit in the summer (I'm being general, chat, please don't uhm actually me here 🙏🏾 ).

But like... I think the issue is that the word "culture" in the way humans use it has a lot of unspoken nuance to it. It just feels wrong to say that plants have a culture when we also say things like, idk, people living in District 1 in Saigon have a culture.

I think what we have here is just an instance where we're missing the right word, maybe? Like plants have "behaviours" and humans have "culture" and our fantasy examples have "TBD".

[glad barn]

I mean, there are summer dresses, summer drinks, summer festivals, summer songs.

[hot marlin]

WoD vampires indeed just go crazy, then comatose if not fed but don't die. D&D vampires die of starvation

[glass granite]

Yes, but that’s culture deriving from the observation and experiences of an alive community

[glad barn]

Without an observer culture doesnt exist though

[karmic mason]

Honestly
WoD seems like it does vampires a bit better

[glad barn]

WoD does a lot of their monsters better. Because it forces you to make monsters interesting enough to play for 80 hours lol

[hot marlin]

I do not know if it is "better". I know the WoD vampires are more appropriate to the story that setting wants to tell with its vampires, while D&D vampires are more appropriate for D&D

[glad barn]

You can do the same type of design with D&D monsters. Beyond Dragons.

[karmic mason]

now here's a dumb question that I thought of

[glass granite]

I completely agree with your definition, except I think it needs to be a “living being”, not a “thing”

[glass granite]

Oh, my favourite

[hot marlin]

Things are not better or worse in a vacuum. It's like evolution, are they better or worse for their environment, in this case the sort of story they are required for

[glad barn]

However, I have run WoD in 5e and I have run Faerun in V20 >_>

[karmic mason]

If you made a dark/evil god, and you hade symbols of them, would they be unholy symbols or holy symbols.

[wintry sphinx]

okay i understand why i could be wrong but i just personlly think everything has culture

[glass granite]

Holy

[hot marlin]

A heroic fantasy medieval game has different goals from an urban fanrasy gothic-punk personal horror game

[glad barn]

Depends what Holy means.

[karmic mason]

Yeah I might have made a paradox

[glad barn]

If Holy means Divine, then it would be Holy. If Holy means Positive Planes, then it would be Unholy.

[glass granite]

Or both.
Depends on the definition
They’re not mutually exclusive

[karmic mason]

So a god of darkness would have their symbol kill a vampire by logic

[clear lark]

There are evil gods

[karmic mason]

damn

vampire being killed by a lack of sunlight.

[hot marlin]

Traditional D&D answer would be "unholy" but in-universe it just depends on who you ask

[glad barn]

Yeah, and those evil gods should be dealing Radiant imo, because theyre gods.

But thats a choice, really. I have too many MMs to keep track of lol

[hot marlin]

In D&D "holy" normally means "good or neutral" and "unholy" means "evil"

[proven nova]

I play in a WoD campaign (Hunter: The Reckoning) and all four characters have aspects to them which are out of the ordinary. For example, my character is a vet who got involved in a war and whose friend ended up going down a bad path and becoming a gang leader, which is how he is able to get more heavy-grade firearms inside of a setting which restricts them quite a bit (it’s set in Montreal).

[minor cargo]

I have "holy" thoughts about my parnter.

[karmic mason]

anyways

[glad barn]

I prefer to keep Necrotic damage to the dead, which I dont automatically make 'evil'

[glass granite]

Well, yes, depending on the definition

[hot marlin]

Some gods are undead though

[proven nova]

I have………..no partner

[glad barn]

Yeah, and then they might deal both.

Which is fun to think about lol. A "2d6 Necrotic 2d6 Radiant" attack is just mind breaking

But makes sense if it's like, Death's Scythe.

[clear lark]

Even Undead gods aren't always evil

[glass granite]

If you use the DND definition, no
IRL definition, yes

[hot marlin]

Like how some gods are also fiends, some gods are fey, some gods are giants... God is not a creature type

[karmic mason]

I had a funny idea
What if I grabbed a bard, gave him the most convoluted instrument, and then made him learn it whenever the rest of the party would be long resting

[glad barn]

Yeah, but Divine is a category, not a type.

[karmic mason]

I call it

Middle school late band recital

[glad barn]

Hm. I havent run Kids on Bikes D&D in a while.

[clear lark]

Gods are most likely a class

[glad barn]

They used to be a 'ranking system' in some editions

Including things like quasi- and demi- and lesser- and greater- type categories

[hot marlin]

Oh yeah. With divine ranks going from 0 to 20

[glad barn]

Which in a way, levels are also a ranking system

[clear lark]

The 2024 DMG also ranks divinity as Greater, Lesser and Quasi.

[glad barn]

Ability scores are kind of "Whats your reverse rank compared to all things in the universe"

[hot marlin]

A rank 0 would be a demigod, not capable of granting power to clerics but still immortal. A rank 20 would be close to omnipotent

[glad barn]

Ye

[clear lark]

But I think it was 3.0 or 3.5 that listed Divine rank from 0 to 20 IIRC

[glad barn]

That sounds right. Although the BECMI Immortals stuff might've had someting along those lines

Although I think it was much less involved. It mightve just been like 4 rungs

[clear lark]

The Immortals from Mystara (aka Basic) had interesting levels from Initiate to Hiearchs.

Initiates were 15th level and Hiearchs were 50th level

[glad barn]

I really need to sit down with White Box, B/X and BECMI one of these days to re-read them and remind myself which one did what lol

[clear lark]

Oops not levels, they had Hit Dice

Rules Cyclopedia, combined and revised all of them into one edition

[knotty pasture]

Quick question, how does size influence carrying capacity and push/drag/lift strength again in 2014?

[glad barn]

Yeah, thats probably part of the reason I cant ever remember where certain things started.

[knotty pasture]

Is there a fixed modifier to the increase

[glad barn]

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/basic-rules-2014/using-ability-scores#LiftingandCarrying

[knotty pasture]

Excellent, ty

[glad barn]

Oh wait, 14 puts the size thing elsewhere

[lavish flame]

its just ×2 for every size above Medium or ÷2 for Tiny

[glad barn]

Oh nvm here it is Size and Strength. Larger creatures can bear more weight, whereas Tiny creatures can carry less. For each size category above Medium, double the creature's carrying capacity and the amount it can push, drag, or lift. For a Tiny creature, halve these weights.

Yeah that ^^

I forgot how rough the encumbrance variant was in 14 lol

[umbral girder]

In 5th edition it is doubled for each category above medium.

[snow geyser]

How is it that applying for campaigns is nearly as depressing as applying for jobs, I just wanna play a game man

[glass granite]

Time zones, schedules as well as supply and demand

[minor lake]

I'll never forget the time we convinced our dm to let us invent Dr Pepper in-universe

[glossy otter]

yeah, the player v dm balance is hugely scaled to the players

[limber trail]

It's a difficult situation. It does put a lot on players, but as far as DMs go, a lot of games get tons of requests to join. When I was starting up my game I probably got about 40-50 messages in total across 2 rounds of recruitment, and I had five slots at most. Which means that, for DMs, you gotta be picky.

[minor lake]

Every time we asked for something stupid after that he would be like "no. You already have doctor pepper. I'm putting my foot down."

[glossy otter]

its why I always do interviews because I want to ensure I'm getting genuine players as I know there's a chunk of people who are flakers

[undone fable]

is Urizt here?

[limber trail]

i mean not at this immediate moment

[minor lake]

Online games are hard to find and sustain in my experience

[minor lake]

Exactly for this reason

[glossy otter]

I would say when in doubt, become the dm. But I know there's people who don't want to be a dm just to play

[snow geyser]

Fair points, thanks for listening to me lament a bit. Just been searching for weeks and getting frustrated. I guess I'll just keep on slogging and hope for the best.

[glossy otter]

eh, np. I've vented here for dnd so I know the feeling

[limber trail]

Yeah this is my mentality too. I don't do direct interviews but, for me, I have so many player options, so I ask a lot of questions and genuinely, it's the ones who write the detailed answers that get the slots. It's a sucky situation but that's how recruitment goes.

I've been there too, struggling to get into games.

[glossy otter]

I usually aim for players who are detailed in backstory/or even concepts for newer peeps and pass phrases to see if people are catching on. You'd be suprised how many fail a pass phrase

[limber trail]

I also do have the mentality of, part of my commitment as a DM is that every week I am going to put hours aside to worldbuild, plan sessions, run sessions, and generally engage with this campaign as fully as I can. So, I do think on some level, if you can't write a couple sentences about what you enjoy most about ttrpgs, there's an imbalance of effort (which there always will be, but minimizing that is nice)

[minor lake]

Pass phrase works wonders in a session zero

[limber trail]

Pass phrases are an interesting one. I don't directly have them, but I usually do ask a trick question

[glossy otter]

mind the pass phrases I did were more for written. I think at least 25% thought it was a joke or didn't read it properly

[minor lake]

I usually just write something in the intro

I usually just tell them to go back and read it closer tho

[limber trail]

I ask "what kinds of characters do you typically like to play in ttrpgs" as a quick way to filter out the people who want to play one specific very developed OC they have. if you honestly just answer the question, you pass. If you start talking about the lore for the character you want to play, you fail.

[minor lake]

"The murder hobo"

[limber trail]

well, that's also a fail, but moreso just a fail on personality differences

[minor lake]

I only like to play tv characters

[rose wedge]

This feels like a wierd trap.

[narrow moss]

for a new person that's kind of a hard sell regardless but it's your right I suppose.

[snow geyser]

I usually put quite a bit of effort into my applications, and I usually don't even get the chance to talk about my character ideas before I get passed up for other players. I guess the DM / Player ratio is just insane, might as well pick the top of the top for players.

[minor lake]

I actually did see somebody talking on Reddit about how they played as John from John Dies at the End. Niche pull

[minor lake]

I've also seen patreon campaigns where ppl just ghost

Which is silly bc you're paying to be there

[limber trail]

It ultimately comes down to, I've had experience playing with & seeing player characters where those characters came pre-created, and it usually results in characters who don't fit the world & tone of the story we're all trying to tell. I want to find players who will create characters based on the world.

[glossy otter]

another thing I look for are PC's who use the info given in descriptions to craft their concepts

[narrow moss]

what exactly does that mean

[rose wedge]

I mean see, tho. I sort of play the same kind of characters across many of the MMO's I play but I'm still smart enough to be able to re-translate/rewrite their backstories for the universe they're entering. So this feels like a fairly judgemental way to gatekeep players.

[limber trail]

actually this is so real I do love when players mention something about the intro they find interesting. They chose to leave later but I did have a player who got into my campaign solely because they saw my campaign doc and were like "oh hey, your world sounds interesting, I think playing an artificer in it would be an interesting role"

[limber trail]

You're correct but also when I wake up to 30 people messaging for a spot in a campaign, I do need to be a bit judgemental.

[minor lake]

That's awesome and just gave me an idea

[rose wedge]

I suppose.

[limber trail]

I can't take everyone, so I do need to include things to quickly filter out people who don't match my preferences

[glossy otter]

I remember for a bit I had a thing where recruits had to write a response to a nobles letter for adventurers or how they ended up getting caught by a cult (all the adventurers were infected by demon ichor due to a botched ritual)

[minor lake]

I might unexpectedly multiclass as fighter bc there's this knight that our dm keeps bringing out to hang out with us

Maybe I'll ask him to teach me swords

[narrow moss]

well nvm then I suppose

[glossy otter]

hrmm?

[limber trail]

(I also will be upfront enough of the pre-created ideas I see just don't fit with the world. Which is a big turn off on its own.)

[minor lake]

I think it is important to have this kind of basic engagement at the top

Like you're kind of building the world together that way

[limber trail]

this seems like a cool idea

ultimately a bit weird but I could see it working for just super quickly attracting the players you want

[minor lake]

It's fun and also if someone doesn't do it you kinda get a vibe read

[limber trail]

Mhm

[minor lake]

I usually will have ppl describe their hometown

Which is also fun bc then you can go there

[glossy otter]

I mean it also helps in the sense of how to introduce the character to the party. In this case it's because they have a mutual enemy, being the cult

[limber trail]

I do enjoy stuff like this, although I save it for after players are recruited to be honest

[minor lake]

Ya I haven't played online in a while so with friends you don't really need it??? But then they just ghost the session irl

[glossy otter]

man am I hyped for that campaign's session tomorrow

[limber trail]

Hell yeah

[minor lake]

YEAH DUDE
mines on Friday
Are you running it?

[glass granite]

I’m hyped for Monday (same reason)

[limber trail]

I’ve got a session of a new campaign I’m playing in tomorrow

[minor lake]

epic

[limber trail]

I’m finally getting the Ti-Moth experience

[glass granite]

Ah you got invited too? I was gonna join but my schedule was too busy.

[glossy otter]

ye, it's been going for the past year. The groups in the shadowfell as they're looking for items to find a cure to their demonic affliction

[minor lake]

What is that?

[narrow moss]

neat i guess.

[glossy otter]

probably a game ran by Ti-Moth?

[limber trail]

For Waterdeep, I wasn’t invited directly but I saw the post go up and figured I’d give it a go

[woven flint]

A nice dm here lol

[glass granite]

Another member on the server (Ti-moth)

They’re chill

[glossy otter]

ye, and a usual too

[glass granite]

Usual? you mean regular?

[glossy otter]

usual/regular, same difference

I wonder how I shall once more traumatize my lot lol

[narrow moss]

idk.

[glass granite]

Corpse mimic?

[umbral girder]

Cosmic Horror is my new method

[glass granite]

That’s a step up from my idea, to say the least

[glossy otter]

I mean the realm they're in does feature them so....

[narrow moss]

i'm gonna assume you've already done a false hydra

[limber trail]

I’ve got cosmic/divine horror coming up in a couple sessions. It’s gonna be great.

[narrow moss]

plus there's other ways to traumatize people i guess.

[glossy otter]

eh, I'm not crazy on false hydras. They can crash a game if not done right

[umbral girder]

I got a one shot coming up this weekend I’m basing on the King in Yellow

[narrow moss]

yeah. it's situational

anyway i'll... i dunno.

[umbral girder]

Yeah False Hydras rarely work and usually make things worse

[glossy otter]

though my group might come across Venger again

[glass granite]

False hydras are really cool as a concept, but in practice they’re flawed to use in dnd

You can’t make your characters forget something

[glossy otter]

modify memory

[glass granite]

I’m not a wizard, or a spellcaster
I’m just kinda petty, and have been given too much power behind the DM screen

And just so happen to have a brain that likes to make stuff up

[glossy otter]

though ngl, you're all giving me an idea with an obscure dnd monster

[umbral girder]

Yeah it is kinda a pain

[narrow moss]

shrugs

[glossy otter]

Anyone remember the carionette

[glass granite]

No, I don’t

[narrow moss]

from the name alone I don't think I'd want to meat it.

-# i honestly meant meet. oops.

[glossy otter]

essentially dolls that can swap bodies with people if pricked by their blades

[narrow moss]

okay so worse than i thought then.

[umbral girder]

From Ravenloft yeah

[narrow moss]

carrion and marionette is... yeah that's word combo

[glass granite]

So pretty much what I thought, doll puppeteer

[limber trail]

King in yellow has been doing numbers lately

[glossy otter]

I might use them to help a bbeg plant spies around

[umbral girder]

Minecraft ARG boosting the King

[limber trail]

Yup

Which, it was an awesome vid to be fair

[umbral girder]

Agreed, I got the original novel and want to make it an adventure.

[glossy otter]

I forget, do the carrionettes just possess them, or do they straight up swap bodies?

[umbral girder]

The idea I have is the players find the lost city of Carcosa as a ruin, it's former leader is a mummy lord gone mad (might be named Hastur).

The end of the adventure will be finding the book with the play inside it.

[narrow moss]

oh dear hope they don't read it.

[umbral girder]

Yeah they swap

After 1 hour the person they swap wakes up in the doll body.

Protection from evil and good or if the carrionette body stabs the possess body with the needle again.

[glossy otter]

I suppose the bbeg must then invest in some doll boxes, or just mod them so that they pilot the body while the person can watch but nothing else

[umbral girder]

If the Carrionette's body dies then they both die

It is a dc12 Charisma save

[hot marlin]

Fun fact about Carcosa!