dnd-discussion

[austere root]

these guys have a whole day ahead of them, that's gonna suck lmao

[fossil hollow]

these ones are specific to RotFM, but your character can have secrets

[stiff rock]

ah okay, thanks for clarifying

[knotty vine]

Bags of holding aren’t bottomless

[river vector]

"Seems"

Though I could have made a mistake in how I saw it

[severe rampart]

He had 200 hp

and we fought a level 18 spellcaster at level 8

[river vector]

Oh hey there Machina.

[austere root]

this sounds scary until i mention she didn't get a turn and when she did it was to time stop to run away

[austere root]

hi strahd's thrall

[severe rampart]

we didn't know she'd be that weak

[austere root]

unoptimized wizard

she's weak because she chose rp spells and rp stats 💔

[severe rampart]

I got 3d6 psychic damage

[knotty vine]

I just rolled a 36 on the wild magic table

[river vector]

DND today. Eleventh session.

It should be fun for the party I've got

[knotty vine]

I just hit the jackpot hey hey hey hey hey

[austere root]

have fun!

[knotty vine]

remeber target means object or creature

creature means creature

[glad arch]

Can UA content be discussed on this server like 'official' content can or would that be a different channel

[knotty vine]

I think it depends

[vale kettle]

I mean i dont see why not

[glad arch]

Depends on what?

[vale kettle]

its still dnd

[glad arch]

Yeh thats what i assumed but tought id ask still

[vale kettle]

it not being allowed to be discussed here would be absurd imo

[rough basalt]

I think for indepth convo they want it to be in the UA threads, but it's not like a "if you mention UA here you're sent to the Demonweb Pits"

[glad arch]

Not the demonweb pits

[glad arch]

I was mostly just letting my mind run about creating a titan druid and ideas for what their forms could look like but ill just wait until its released/ditched. Dont have anywhere to play them anyways

[knotty vine]

Ahem

[hot reef]

It’s avoided in #dnd-rules and extensive conversations should probably go in the threads, it’s fine here

[knotty vine]

one thing i think thats funny is that in dance bard is

there capstone can apply to enemies as well

[hot reef]

Especially if you want to talk to the general server community and not just the UA enjoyers

[glad arch]

That sounds fair enough, ill be honest in my nearly a year of being here i just learned theres UA threads.

[onyx wasp]

is mimic meat edible?

like could you theoretically use it for a long rest?

[hot reef]

Up to DM, probably

There are arguments for both sides and may depend on the origin of the mimic

[glad arch]

if dungeon meshi taught me anything its that everything is edible

[tribal plume]

It’s like eating fish but instead of being careful for bones you have to avoid splinters

[severe rampart]

I believe it depends on what the mimic is mimicking

[glad arch]

That begs the question, is a mimic disguised as a chicken wing inherently more edible then a chest mimic

Important note, mimics revert back to a 'true form' when they die

And i hope youre killing it

[severe rampart]

...

It's smart though, eat the mimic before it eats you

[glad arch]

Goodluck biting into the chest

[severe rampart]

There was a guy who ate a plane once... I think I could follow in his footsteps

[glad arch]

Yeh except the plane didnt try and eat him while he did it

[tribal plume]

I mean it’s not like he only ate plane

He had a normal(ish) diet + a tiny piece of plane every day

[silk hare]

I mean, as long as u dont eat a mimic in its entirety, why shouldnt you be able to eat it?

[knotty vine]

If a creture is invisable within 5ft does that still give you disadvantage on ranged attacks

[silk hare]

it does o

but only if its thing

also probably, since the disadvantage is not based on being perceived iirc

it just states "you have disadvantage"

[knotty vine]

i see good to know

[glad arch]

As long as they are within 5 foot, can see you and arent incapacitated theres disadvantage. I guess they have a very intimidating aura

[unreal fox]

Yall know any good westmarches that allow homebrew?

[fossil hollow]

#looking-for-community

[frail wasp]

if you mean west marches that allow you to bring your own homebrew i'd expect that to be extremely rare just by the nature of how west marches work

[rough basalt]

A westmarches with brew of their own that's approved I'd say is more likely

[knotty vine]

yall what stops me from casting immoveable object on someones clothes

[vale kettle]

West marches are hella strict. I tried asking for a different variant of ranger horizon walker with minor changes and i was told to gth

[glad arch]

Nothing, doesnt fully immobilize them though they just need to make a save

Though said save requires an action and only lets them move the object 10ft

[vale kettle]

Id say you must make an attack roll regardless no?

[lavish flame]

Nothing, go hog wild. Whoever you target will have a tough time moving around until they get nekkid

[hollow hawk]

good roleplay opportunity too!

[glad arch]

Nothing in the text says so so officially no

[lavish flame]

To some extent, itd be like needing an Attack Roll for Animate Objects

[glad arch]

Imagine if you could cast animate objects on someones gear

Suddenly their shirt, pants, weapon, shoes all turn against them

[vale kettle]

Rules as intended it was not meant to be used the way you say it does

Like vampire touch is literally an attack

Are you telling me because you decided to touch them but with a different spell they suddenly stop trying to get hit?

It shouldn’t say it needs an attack roll cause your using a spell for a purpose it was not intended (using it on equipment)

[glad arch]

Thats fair to think and i do agree its a somewhat weird interaction. But the way the spell works is you can just do it

[vale kettle]

If you wanna be absolutely technical here then the interaction would not work cause equipment ain’t an object that is currently used or worn

[glad arch]

"For the purpose of these rules, an object is a discrete, inanimate item like a window, door, sword, book, table, chair, or stone"

[vale kettle]

Equipment is equipment

If the spell could affect equipment it would state as such

Like other spells that affect equipment

[frail wasp]

sorry rust monsters ... you target objects, but my weapon is equipment, so no rusting for you

[glad arch]

From heat metal, "Choose a manufactured metal object, such as a metal weapon or a suit of heavy or medium metal armor" armor being worn is still an object

[vale kettle]

The spell specified

[glad arch]

No the spell gave examples

[glad arch]

Also this (probably idk the exact wording on rust monster)

[frail wasp]

The rust monster targets one nonmagical metal object—armor or a weapon—worn or carried by a creature within 5 feet of itself.

[glad arch]

Either way no point in arguing, raw imoveable objects works on gear as long as the weight condition is satisfied. And objects being worn/carried are still objects. If you disagree thats up to you

[hollow hawk]

hey yall, how would you deal with a player that somehow... just seem to not get the rules of DnD? (and cannot be kicked out)

[frail wasp]

i bake myself cookies and eat them mainly

if its egregious i'll sometimes go on discord and go "players, amirite", but thats rare

[glad arch]

To what extend?

[wanton ridge]

Curse him

[knotty vine]

thats great mark just great

Kill him

[vale kettle]

Boil him

[wanton ridge]

Real

[severe fox]

flay him

[hollow hawk]

he does not understand how most of the things work (most of the terms he tends to misunderstand), he does not really know what are the attributes, abilities and similar when it comes to his character etc.

[vale kettle]

Put him in the tomb of horrors

[glad arch]

How long have you been playing?

[wanton ridge]

Put him in a bag of tricks

[hollow hawk]

okay so: curse, kill, boil, flay and than put inside a tomb? at the same time or one after the other?

[wanton ridge]

One after another

Make sure he gets the message

[knotty vine]

Put him in my cauldron

[silk hare]

at the same time in different timelines

[glad arch]

You use it to escalate, start with 1 then if they dont learn keep going

[silk hare]

then merge all of those selfs into one while stripping him of his conciousness

[wanton ridge]

I don’t wanna know what in there

[knotty vine]

everything

[vale kettle]

Give him a deck of many things all with void cards

[frail wasp]

wait a minute, is your cauldron in there?

[silk hare]

deck of mandatory things (TM)

if touched by player, player has to draw every card in the deck, each draw counts as voluntary

[hollow hawk]

he has been playing before (or so he claims); we had one in-person session, a two-month break and then three online sessions with two weeks apart.
He got the PHB well before the start, we ran through the basics once together, he has been told he needs to learn stuff (even gave him page ranges) repeatedly

[grizzled lance]

let me disintegrate him

[wanton ridge]

My dm put a curse on me where every time I picked a lock it would summon any high level monster and I was our rouge theif

[silk hare]

uhhh red and theify

[silk hare]

mhhh I mean did yall go over the rules together?

[hollow hawk]

okay, put him through GM-made horrors beyond his comprehension, got it

[silk hare]

does that person just not seem to care?

[wanton ridge]

An adult red dragon summoned once

[empty thicket]

who made you get angry? the god of doors? locks?

[wanton ridge]

I made some god angry I still don’t know yet

He was purple is all I know

[knotty vine]

Let me make him laugh hideously

[hollow hawk]

Yes, one time before the in-person session.
Then at the in-person session I literally wrote everything down on his character sheet and we went through it.
Then again when creating his character for online play.
After that I asked him if we need to go through something again, he said he is good and then messed up multiple times 🙁

[vale kettle]

Okey but for real though just do the basics (like absolutely bear bones basics with them) tell em when/how are rolls are made for skill checks how saving throws work etc etc

[knotty vine]

The man behind the slaughter

[silk hare]

I mean just messing up a couple times is normal at the beginning ngl

[wanton ridge]

Probably he had runes and was purple was the last thing I saw before going to a snake dungeon

[silk hare]

also make them repeat stuff back

and ask open questions to confirm whether its malicious (/they really just dont care) or if they just didnt get your explanation

[hollow hawk]

yep, deffo gonna make him explain every single thing to make sure he got it..

[vale kettle]

If they somehow forget how to play the game then they didn’t really care about it and you should just get rid of em

[wanton ridge]

True

[silk hare]

assuming that the explanations were correct and understandable, true

[vale kettle]

Dont drop the friendship but like tell em “this game might not be for you”

[woven flint]

Hello, friends

[hollow hawk]

that I already asked, it is not malicious, he seems to simply not understand it.. as for the explanation, he had them from me, from the PHB and from shudder ChatGPT

[silk hare]

alright so: what in particular does he struggle with tho?

[hollow hawk]

True, but these were very big things, that is what worries me

[silk hare]

(devours your brain)

[woven flint]

Thanks bbg, always appreciated

[hollow hawk]

unfortunately that does not work - the group is very tight, and removing one would mean ending the group

[vale kettle]

Why

[silk hare]

🧠 🐕 (intellect devourer yaaay)

[vale kettle]

I guess at that point give em a fighter and call it a day

[woven flint]

My headaches are gone..
Because my brain is gone!

[crystal star]

Kill them

[silk hare]

well technically, you would also be gone :)))

[vale kettle]

If they cant grasp fighter class

[frail wasp]

i still stand by my cookies answer btw

[silk hare]

also @hollow hawk so what do they struggle with in particular?

[frail wasp]

some players just dont learn

[hollow hawk]

Yeah, that was kind of my plan - we have a call tomorrow... he is insisting on playing a ranger, so a fighter might not be too far

[silk hare]

what cookies answer? accept all?

[woven flint]

You don't sound like a Friendly Pyromancer...

You must be a Mean Cryomancer

[silk hare]

nooo nooo, they just want to save them from any future headaches

you of all people should understand

[crystal star]

Sorry
Kill them *with kindness/fire

But in all seriousness, get them on an easier class and be patient with them. If their only problem is that theyre having trouble understanding, than a little patience will go a long way

[hollow hawk]

as a ranger, the concept of spellcasting (okay expected - aoe vs range) but casting time, components etc. too
the concept of rolling checks only when prompted (vs chiming in with "I roll intelligence to see if I can understand a language I do not know"

[crystal star]

As an aside i think we should normalise take the lives of problem players

Ending their existence prematurely

[hollow hawk]

yeah, that was my next idea - fighter instead of ranger to start.. and I love the dude like a brother, ready to work with him but just need advice on how to approach the entire thing

[vale kettle]

Explain to them how action economy works

[silk hare]

I mean the roll thing should be an easy fix, talk to them again that they roll when YOU tell them too

and only then, if it still keeps happening, have some sort of consequence (sth minor, like 1 psychic damage every time they do it)

I mean components are usually moot anyways, since everyone has spellcasting focii, and for the rest just look at the spells and explain it again

• action economy as a whole might be a good idea

[woven flint]

I'm so excited for my Triton Paladin for Rime of the Frost Maiden!
I might yap about him later in character discussion because I think he's one of my sorta more ambitious characters

[hollow hawk]

that I did - explained, sent pages of the PHB and also a YT video with an explanation (figured maybe my way of explaining is the problem) but it somehow did not work

[vale kettle]

Damn I will not make a joke here (if i laugh i go to hell)

[silk hare]

what joke, now Im curious

[wanton ridge]

Do it

[hollow hawk]

Yep, those were just the first two examples that popped into my head.. I did add conscequences ("you want to use that ability on an ally? did you read it? you sure? okay it is range:touch so you go through the room and get two attacks of opportunity")

[vale kettle]

It would be rude

[wanton ridge]

Anyway I got a question

[silk hare]

dm me it then

[lean wigeon]

i love using in-game measures to address out-of-game behavior

[silk hare]

we might have an answer

[vale kettle]

So dont take it personally or be insulted please

[wanton ridge]

Anyone familiar with a purple god with runes that probably has something to do with snakes

[woven flint]

Totally

[vale kettle]

Intellect devourer might starve trying to eat their brain 😭

[silk hare]

oh that was tame, I thought it would be worse

[wanton ridge]

lol

[hollow hawk]

[silk hare]

In dnd lore, or in general?

[wanton ridge]

Dnd lore

[vale kettle]

I didn’t wanna call a person i dont know stupid

[silk hare]

nooo you misunderstand, you just called them out on being very resistant to gaining experience with objective reality

[crystal star]

Sounds like youre looking for spoilers

[hollow hawk]

I told a guy once "Mindflayers seek you out when they want to go on a diet"
he did not get it....

[wanton ridge]

No I met him and talked to him then I got cursed and sent to a snake dungeon

[vale kettle]

Mindflayer parasite immunity +

[crystal star]

Damn bro whatd you say to piss him off

[silk hare]

from a google search I found "Zehir", a snake deity, master of poisons

[wanton ridge]

I didn’t do anything I moved some magic items for him and stuff I got some platinum and he just did that

[wanton ridge]

I think it could be him

He did give me a venomous dagger

[silk hare]

usually followed by yuan-ti

[woven flint]

My Harengon Bladesinger Wizard was in Melee with a Mindflayer and they said
"Your brain smells delightful, I can't wait to eat it!"

He retorted with
"Well, I thank you for your compliments, dear friend, but I'm afraid you're not my type!"

[silk hare]

or maybe "sseth"

[wanton ridge]

He’s from dnd and has purple runes I got one on my back in the campaign

I mean he summoned some mummies on me

Easy encounter for me

[short brook]

Have y'all bought dice that matches your characters vibes?

[rough basalt]

I don't play irl

[short brook]

found one at a store today, and it called to me

[rough basalt]

But if I did, I probably would

[wanton ridge]

I have a black and purple and black and red dice set so yeah

[rough basalt]

Sounds like a fun ritual and dice aren't that expensive

[hollow hawk]

yep, been there done that

[frail wasp]

i bought multiple sets for one char, one for each mood, and I swap the dice when the mood hits

[wanton ridge]

It is

[frail wasp]

time for the angry dice

[hollow hawk]

an even more fun ritual is explaining to your wife why you need "yet another set of your stupid dice"

[short brook]

My character has tattoos that are red and black, golden eyes and it had all three I was like 😮

[wanton ridge]

Idk that problem I’m 14

[hollow hawk]

luckyyyyy

[wanton ridge]

Yeah

I love my table we are all so suicidal in game

[short brook]

Get your wife addicted to dice, that's the solution

[lean wigeon]

no thanks bro

[hollow hawk]

tried it, she found the d20 cool and the d12 cute but did not work in general

[short brook]

dam

[wanton ridge]

D100 time I guess

[short brook]

Finally got my hands on the hard cover phb too today, twas worth it

[hollow hawk]

big guns huh

[wanton ridge]

Yeah

[hollow hawk]

oooh it is beautiful

TBH I was pleasantly surprised with the 2024 hardcovers - they look so good and high quality, they pull a person to play only with the visuals

[wanton ridge]

I also got it today

[short brook]

For real, the art of the book is so nice.

[wanton ridge]

I got a adult golden dragon who thinks I’m its child and it’s close to death what should I do

[hollow hawk]

when I got the MM, I literally spent the entire day just flipping through and looking at the art

[short brook]

I got it a discount from a store I frequent, it was serendipitous

[knotty vine]

Szass being a level 30 spell caster is still crazy to me

[still plover]

Fix things, hero!

[short brook]

I'm not a dm, so I didn't get the dmg, but the mm is one im interested in next

[hollow hawk]

the MM is simply amazing!

[wanton ridge]

I’m chaotic evil and I slaughtered Dragonborn’s i feel like it’s best this way

[hollow hawk]

the DMG is also pretty nice, I gotta say...

[short brook]

I believe it, the dnd art style is so nice

[still plover]

Well then, step on its tail, ya jerk!

[wanton ridge]

I’m gonna harvest its scale and store them in my bag of holding

[still plover]

Naturally.

[wanton ridge]

Yeah probably gonna craft something or sell them I am a rouge subclass thief

[still plover]

Boy, it's a good thing gold dragons don't have really long lives to form powerful bonds with entire lineages of folk who revere them for their wisdom and kindness... right?

[blissful dragon]

i was in a tyrrany of dragon game where their was a magic item called lizard skin boots that lore is lizard folk make them from warriors that challnged the leader of the tribe for control and lost

[woven flint]

Silver Dragons > Gold Dragons

[wanton ridge]

I mean it’s friend with two adult red dragons

[blissful dragon]

dm went with the older waste not want not mindset for lizardfolk lore

[still plover]

That's either an expression of your biases or the dawning revelation that your personal situation will soon be somewhat incendiary in nature.

[wanton ridge]

True

What should I do with the scales

[woven flint]

Honestly? It's very fitting

[still plover]

Magic weapons, maybe. Can't think gold scales make for good sneaking armour.

[wanton ridge]

True

[woven flint]

You can make.. a Dragonswrath weapon? I think it's called

[hollow hawk]

make a pan out of the dragon scale... ultimate cooking flex

[wanton ridge]

I can only use light or finesse in a rouge

[woven flint]

Hmm, you could ask your dm if they'd allow you to make a dagger version of itv

Ofc, that's up to them
I'd allow it personally lol

I think you can make a Shortsword one?

[wanton ridge]

Sure

I can also sell some

I’m 2ft btw in dnd

[woven flint]

Well, I didn't expect you to be 2 feet irl Xp

[hollow hawk]

you never know

[wanton ridge]

True

[woven flint]

Are you a Gnome, Tankerd?

[hollow hawk]

if you are that tiny in game, you can make a greatsword and a penthouse apartment out of the dragon scale

[woven flint]

Actually, I think Halflings are shorter than Gnomes

[wanton ridge]

I’m 2ft criminal background chinotic tiefling rouge subclass theif

[hollow hawk]

negative, I am a meat popsicle

[hollow hawk]

IIRC, Halflings are 3 feet, and gnomes 3-4 feet, per PHB (could be wrong tho)

[rough basalt]

Gnomes are smaller pretty sure

Nah wait yeah Halflings are 2 to 3ft tall and Gnomes 3 to 4

I always thought it was the other way around.

[hollow hawk]

yep, I also just checked it 🙂

same, I guess Samwise is an outlier

[rough basalt]

Nah Hobbits are a tad different. They get up to 4ft tall

Usually 3 and a half ft

[empty thicket]

imagine getting discounts in armors for your size because your armor use less materials

or charged extra for being too big

[glad ferry]

It would make sense if your in the right area. I mean it would probably cost extra say a giant ordering armor in a halfling town or vice versa

[wanton ridge]

My dm does that

[wanton ridge]

My character btw

[empty thicket]

peak dm moment, give him a cookie whenever you can and want

[wanton ridge]

I buy him a soda and a snack of choice sometimes before sessions

[wanton ridge]

He let me steal a lot of things

[hollow hawk]

buy your DM cookies and snacks and sodas all the time

[wanton ridge]

Lowkey should we play every Tuesday after school

Next campaign I’m the dm

[river vector]

Inspired by this drama I watched, I'm going to make a serial killer that switched bodies with a detective, and is trying to get the party to arrest the detective.

[hollow hawk]

mind=blown

[wanton ridge]

How much would you think I could sell adult gold dragon scale for

[river vector]

Thanks, I wonder if they will figure it out lol.

[feral fulcrum]

Purely up to your DM.

[livid brook]

I can use a greatsword with warcaster yes?

[wanton ridge]

I mean yeah but he says that he hasn’t thought of the pricing so idk

[feral fulcrum]

Well it's entirely their decision, so whatever we spitball on here doesn't really matter one bit, so...

[wanton ridge]

I’m gonna make some rouge armor and daggers and probably sell some

[wanton ridge]

True

[carmine solstice]

Every time I look at Fighter:
ugh, so many dead levels due to “choose another weapon mastery”.

Does anyone really use more than 3 weapons regularly?

[wanton ridge]

My barbarian has 6 and our fighter has 5

[hollow hawk]

the only time I find it useful is in adventures that rely a lot on scavenging and scarcity

[carmine solstice]

But you build around things like:
short sword + scimitar + dual wielder. Can’t really sub those out

[wanton ridge]

They have weapons just In case

Barbarian goes for the maul fighter uses a bit of everything

[carmine solstice]

Same thing with crossbows. Yep, I took crossbow master. Nope, not trading it for a short bow

[wanton ridge]

For my team

[lavish flame]

My Fighter is currently juggling a Flail, Trident, Longsword, and Longbow, so yeah

You don't really get to choose the magic weapons you get, so sometimes you get a Trident of Fish Command

[wanton ridge]

Mine has a scimitar pole flail longsword and longbow

[sterile jacinth]

can someone help me make a build im new and i keep dying like instantly

[carmine solstice]

Yeah, you don’t get to choose the magic weapons you find, but a magic long sword isn’t going to convince me to swap away from dual wielding with Nick

[wanton ridge]

I can help

[feral fulcrum]

If you're starting at level 1, that's normal

[wanton ridge]

I had 9 max hp at level 1

[sterile jacinth]

can u give me like a good build that does damage cuz im rogue and only doing like 7 a turn

[carmine solstice]

If I took polearm mastery, I’m not going to swap to a great sword and give up the feat abilities

[wanton ridge]

Sure should I message you

[sterile jacinth]

yes pls

[wanton ridge]

I only play rouge and artificer

[hollow hawk]

I hate running low level characters - you are one (un)lucky roll away from dying

[wanton ridge]

True

[reef tundra]

Sounds like you have a case of bad DM

[short brook]

I think level 5 and above is my preferred

[reef tundra]

Bc you shouldn't be facing any enemies that can one shot you in really early levels

[short brook]

Levels 1-4 are novel to me

[reef tundra]

Level 3 is when I as a DM begin to ramp up fights slightly, but the training wheels don't come off until my party is level 5

[lean wigeon]

i only use level 1-2 today as sort of "tutorial" or prologue levels

[reef tundra]

Yeah, they were built to be as such

[short brook]

Thats why I love level 5 and above because that's the biggest powerspike

[hollow hawk]

dude, at level 1, almost any enemy can one shot you, with enough bad luck

[reef tundra]

Level 1 is quite literally reducing the player to the most basic of abilities so they understand the fundamentals, and level 2 slowly adds a little more to get new players used to it

[hollow hawk]

yeah, after level 3 the game begins, level 5 is the good stuff

[short brook]

most martials get extra attack and spellcasters get some nasty level 3 spells

[reef tundra]

If your con is above +0 you won't be oneshot by the enemies you're intended to face at those levels

And even by level 3 you're at least somewhat durable and can step it up

[empty thicket]

and martials get good hp pools while casters not so good ones

[short brook]

my dm friend put us against a night hag at level 2

[reef tundra]

-# Ssshhhh you migght summon the "martials bad" crowd /hj

[short brook]

it was supposed to be unwinnable though

We won

[hollow hawk]

casters need to be smart, martials get tanky so it is easy mode

[reef tundra]

Mad respect

[reef tundra]

Hell yes

[empty thicket]

yeah, having 8hp... one attack and i was with my legs shaking like crazy

(wizard)

[empty thicket]

meh, in my way to see it, martials is martial and caster is caster

"What about the hyb" Shhhh, no one want to talk about them.

[hollow hawk]

two weeks ago I am running a session, first roll a 20, 1d6 damage, rolled a 6... luckily not a wizard so no one shot

[reef tundra]

And they're all good

-# Not open to debate, every class is good, bite me

[hollow hawk]

every class is as good as a player playing it IMHO

[empty thicket]

yeah, some are more flexible than anothers but yeah, every class work

[short brook]

I wish martials were better late game, but they're by no means bad

[empty thicket]

Like fighter//wizard, rarely you will not have one in your parties because they are good

[reef tundra]

I think the strongest enemy I've put against low level players is an Oni and Mummy Lord against a level 2 party

And they god damn won. They took out the oni and successfully escaped the Mummy Lord and got to their objective

I am so proud

[hollow hawk]

IMHO martials are pretty dependant on items to be poweful later, casters get phat spells automatically

[short brook]

Like Barbs should have some feature that let's them perform herculean feats. Why can't the str class lift a wagon or hold up a building partially.

[empty thicket]

Welp
Fighter and monk can make a barrage of attacks and let you dead
Barbarian most of time is a hard to kill creature with tons of hp
Rogue can literally do trillions of damage in one turn
The problem is that, martials depend of the items while casters get their upgrades through spells(leveling)
except monk, that one scale with level

[reef tundra]

-# We have now stepped onto a very slippery slope

[hollow hawk]

add it as a house rule - I did and it is hella fun

[reef tundra]

-# Let's all step calmly and think positive thoughts

[empty thicket]

Everybody like a monk in the team because it mean no loot sharing with him

[short brook]

nah, i'm not saying martials are bad, I just wish they went harder on their character tropes

[reef tundra]

What is the strongest creature y'all have faced as a player, and if you are a DM, what is the strongest enemy you have unleashed upon your players?

-# The art of distraction /j

[empty thicket]

"Oh look, a +3 longsword, who want it?"
Paladin, fighter and barbarian: Mine
Monk:

[hollow hawk]

I absolutely love monks only for the reason that I had a player who was often playing a monk and he RPed the class like a mofo, made everything super duper fun

[short brook]

I think it was a demilich?

[reef tundra]

I always found them strangely powerful for what their lore implies, but I still love them

[hollow hawk]

Pit fiend as the strongest, the scariest is something different

[empty thicket]

highest hp, ancient owlbear, 800hp
Most dangerous, demon that hold a curse on my paladin.
Most lethal, economy.

[short brook]

The banshee shriek on that enemy is terrifying

I remember half our party instantly dropped

[reef tundra]

Holy hell that is a strong owlbear

[short brook]

It was insane

[hollow hawk]

did you one shot it?

[reef tundra]

I love pit fiends

Devils are my bae

[wanton ridge]

The most recent owlbear I saw was a librarian

[short brook]

I think we fought a balor once? That guy was scary

[hollow hawk]

the Nine Hells are my second home

[empty thicket]

800hp was giga hard to take down, 5 rounds non stop hitting and still couldnt take it down, ran away with 200hp

[short brook]

I need to get to higher levels of play, i'm unfortunately not as experienced

[reef tundra]

Now, I often like devils more than demons, but Balors? I love them more than any monster manual devil

[hollow hawk]

I remember fighting an Abishai in 2nd Edition... I was so young and so terrified

[reef tundra]

I promise it is not because of Balrog Bias

[short brook]

The funny thing was we were talking about balrogs just a bit before fighting that guy

[reef tundra]

Speak of the demon and he shall appear

[empty thicket]

x2, next monday i have session, going to try for first time a caster and going with a warlock

[knotty vine]

Hey cowboy

high tale your ass outta here

I dont know you

[short brook]

One of my favorite details after that fight was the explosion, I was playing a warforged and my friend was turned into a vampire so we both survived the explosion in different ways. I walked it off being superheated (think like red hot metal), and he regenerated. It was one of my favorite moments i've had as we just stared at each other after the guy blew up

[empty thicket]

that sound dope ngl

[reef tundra]

Metal af

[short brook]

Fighting fiends is always cool, they're usually always formidable

[empty thicket]

Last time i fought a demon went... pretty hard, got into death doors 2 times and the 2 times got myself up with nat20

in a row

The Dm explained us that he have 2 parties, one that take care mostly of fiends and another take care of undeads mostly

[hollow hawk]

as a DM, I am always looking forward to fights against Fiends - the atmosphere, descriptions and roleplay are always epic

[empty thicket]

My party take care of demons while the another take care of zombies and undeads

[short brook]

When the dice favors you, there can be no greater high

How do y'all get inspiration for characters?

[hollow hawk]

I take a character from one thing, put it into another thing, and build up the personality that would appear there

[short brook]

I'm not 100% original, I usually see things in media be cool and try to replicate the trope in dnd (not the character completely, maybe just a facet of how they are)

[empty thicket]

i grab an idea and turn it into a character.
First time was Harood, the half orc Champion fighter. A gladiator searching fame
Second was Angus, the miracle kid. A warlock celestial that doesnt know he is one and want to help people

[short brook]

My latest one i got some inspiration by was the heavenly restriction duo of Jujutsu Kaisen, Toji and Maki. Made a fighter/barb named Merkava with an unnatural physicality

[hollow hawk]

one of my favorite characters got born out of a bet I made with a DM who was leadin' the game

[wanton ridge]

Take a rouge or artificer think if I’m feeling evil or good and work from there I’m mostly a chaotic evil and make deals with demons and gods and stuff celestials are usually my go to friends in dnd so make my story related that’s kinda how I start

[empty thicket]

Another one i have in my mind is a slime in an armor (Warforged flavored) that is an artificer armorer that wanted to search adventures outside on the world and other creatures worlds

[short brook]

Not always, but one of my favorite characters i made that I haven't gotten a chance to play was a Triton Inquisitive Rogue

Wears a detectives clothes (like trench coat, nice hat) a lot of extra layers but he's always perpetually damp

[empty thicket]

and finally i grab characters from other games and try to adapt them in DnD
Last time was The Silent from "Slay the Spire", a rogue. Could be either assassin, soulknife or arcane trickster

[tulip edge]

Couple questions for a noob DM. Scenario: 3 of my players are looking down toward a small bandit camp 100ft away. They want to try sneaking one player, the Rogue, very close. The two Wizards want to stay back and watch/cover him.

1. If the Rogue gets close and is spotted or initiates combat, do the Wizards still have Surprise on the bandits if they attack from out of combat?

2. If so, how do the Wizards land in Initiative order?

Thanks

[lavish flame]

If the bandits don't see the Wizards, then the Wizards would surprise them (like if theres darkness/foliage obscuring the Wizards). If they're just standing 100 feet away without any effort to also conceal themself, they get spotted alongside the Rogue, everyone rolls initiative.

The Wizards would roll initiative as per standard Initiative rules, they'd just be very far away and likely couldn't impact the combat for a round or two as they caught up.

[tulip edge]

Thank you much!!

[limber trail]

So technically speaking, surprise is only applicable to the enemies being surprised. A creature doesn't necessarily "get" surprise on another creature, it gets surprised.

The exact (2024) wording of surprise is as such: "If a creature is caught unawares by the start of combat, that creature is surprised, which causes it to have Disadvantage on its Initiative roll.". The bandits would know that the rogue is there and as such wouldn't be surprised. Initiative would be rolled as normal.

[cerulean monolith]

What’s the consensus on Stunned, Paralysis, and domination being used on player characters?

[lavish flame]

People don't like it happening to them and tbh I don't really like doing it to PCs

[limber trail]

Not necessarily a consensus but I usually go with it being fine if used in heavy moderation

I would maybe use it one in every 20 encounters

[woven flint]

They suck, but, honestly, also, it happens lol

[lavish flame]

I kinda want to see the cool stunts ppl pull in combat, so shutting people down isn't ideal.

Of the kinds of effects that do it, I think Incapacitated/Stunned is the worst because it doesn't do anything additional to bring any pizazz. I like Domination more (phrasing) for how it impact a fight in a dynamic way, or how Paralyze sets up enemy crits. Stunned just stops you from acting, but nothing extra happens.

[woven flint]

I wouldn't be too perturbed at being stunned or whatever personally, that's just how the game goes sometimes

[cerulean monolith]

I say because I had a combat which was several Mind Flayers (inflict Stunned and have Dominate Monster though I didn’t use it), an Elder Brain (inflicts Stunned and again DomMon though I didn’t use it), and an Inquisitor of the Mind Fire (has a mass Charm that comes with a partial domination)

And while it felt fun, there were definitely some moments where I wouldn’t be surprised if players were upset. There was one round where I think only one player actually got to take their full turn

[knotty vine]

I absolutely love Peace cleric

[cerulean monolith]

It is also the first encounter in the game’s ~8.5 sessions that I’ve used any of those features.

[cobalt owl]

Peace cleric rules

[limber trail]

I also think a pretty big part of it comes down to the group size and table style. To me a lot of the impact of stun and similar conditions comes down to how much playtime I'm missing out on and how much of the game I'm missing out on.

If we're in a combat which only lasts 1-2 rounds, and I'm stunned for what may be my only turn, that feels pretty bad on my end, because suddenly I haven't gotten to do anything this combat. In a combat that might be longer and more elaborate (4-5 turns), I've still got an opportunity to get to do some cool stuff. So it's not quite as bad. Similarly, group size matters. If I'm playing with seven or eight folks, and I lose my turn, it might be ages before it comes back around to me. I could be waiting 20 mins before my next turn, which really means I'm stuck with 40 mins I'm not able to do anything. So that stun hurts way more, compared to a smaller table in which the game might flow a bit quicker.

[cobalt owl]

Favorite cleric for me goes Tempest, Peace then Twilight in that order from most to 3rd most

Lightning is my favorite damage type, so tempest is my alley

[little spindle]

Question, how do I get permission to post in the looking for players channal?

[fossil hollow]

#find-a-game

[feral fulcrum]

The only one that didn't really work (at least in most scenarios) is OG 2014 Ranger. Which was...weirdly fixated on Specific Locations, and Specific Monster Types, and if you didn't face things, in such places...alot of your features stopped doing anything in particular.

[odd crater]

Nords will see a Khajiit in skyrim tyring to do better for himself, and lowkey start hating

[woven flint]

Its because he's incredibly abrasive

[coarse ravine]

Depends on how long the stuns are

[woven flint]

I don't hate him
I just could give a shit less about his life ✌

[vagrant notch]

Does Tasha's hideous laughter work on a boss?

[coarse ravine]

Favorite is order cleric, second favorite is light. But peace and twilight are pretty awesome. With twilight being slightly op

[coarse ravine]

What kind of boss?

[vagrant notch]

Anything that doesn't have some weird ability like legendary resistance or immunities to it

[coarse ravine]

Some "bosses" use legendary resistance

[fossil hollow]

bosses tend to have those

[vagrant notch]

Yes but it can burn the slot right?

[coarse ravine]

I mean its tashas

[coarse ravine]

Yes leg resistance burns the slot

[fossil hollow]

You still casted the slot yeah. LRs dont refund

[vagrant notch]

Great then, love this spell

[coarse ravine]

Treat it like counterspell

[coarse ravine]

Its a good spell

Tasha's is fun

[vagrant notch]

Shes a baddie

[coarse ravine]

Tell a joke in rp

Then make the big bad guy laugh

I guess it would only not work if they cant be "incapacitated"

Which... I dont what monsters cant be

But I guess it wouldn't work on them

[fossil hollow]

I dont recall one monster ever being straight up immune to incap

[vagrant notch]

If i cast this spell using a 4th level slot of spell will it burns through all of the legendary resistance, i dont think it's working like that yea must be a different creature

[fossil hollow]

No.

[vagrant notch]

Haha

[coarse ravine]

Sais high cr constructs and undead have immunity to it

But its very rare.

[fossil hollow]

For reference, all LRs say this:

Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the [monster name] fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Doesnt matter the level, doesnt matter what feature, if its a save, it can get resisted

[fossil hollow]

Yeah, but general immunity to Incap is rare

[coarse ravine]

"Warforged collosas"

[fossil hollow]

only 4 monsters yeah

[coarse ravine]

"Mighty Servant of Leuk-O "

[fossil hollow]

Warforged Colossus, Crawling Hands and Swarm of Crawling Hands

[coarse ravine]

Then it is indeed very very rare

So Tasha's is a fine spell

[vagrant notch]

But what if i cast silvery barbs?

[fossil hollow]

That would have to resolve before the monster chooses to use LR

[vagrant notch]

Alr

[coarse ravine]

Legendary resistance.

He succeeds on the spell

No matter what.

Makes the die roll irrelevant

[woven flint]

Legendary Resistance is just a free success on any save

Its to make special monsters more challenging AND to encourage players to spend resources to get rid of them

[limber trail]

In the order of events, LRs occur after the dice roll is resolved

[vagrant notch]

No, I mean I already cast Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, then he chose to use his LR. After that, I used Silvery Barbs. Will the LR still bypass Silvery Barbs?

[woven flint]

legendary reisistance isn't a roll

[coarse ravine]

So after dice rolls are done. Silvery cant be cast correct?

[woven flint]

its just automatic, you can't negate them

[vagrant notch]

Ahh alright

[fossil hollow]

not how it works. LR can only be used on a failure

[limber trail]

Generally yeah

[rotund urchin]

Who wants to play DND right now, pure improv

[jolly canyon]

#find-a-game people do probably

[feral fulcrum]

Thou shalt not mess with Legendary Resistances, for it's the only thing keeping dangerous enemies from getting absolutely clowned on instantly

[limber trail]

LRs essentially just take the dice roll out of the save

[woven flint]

The humble maze spell:

[limber trail]

Maze is an 8th level spell, it's honestly fair enough

[coarse ravine]

Yes

Maze will humbilize any non minotoar enemy

[fossil hollow]

Or Goristo

I think Goristos are included

[coarse ravine]

Aren't they like like minotoars?

[fossil hollow]

Demons

[woven flint]

Polymorph your friends into Objects and play prop hunt in D&D

[coarse ravine]

I think they are demonic minotoars yeah?

[vagrant notch]

ive thinking about this for a while, if a boss already turned into a turtle/snails and etc by using polymorph can i place him into the bag of holding? And if i succeed on holding my concentration for 10 minute will the boss died by suffocating?

I played using 5e

[limber trail]

In 2024 actually nobody is excluded from the Maze spell. I don't know about 2014 off the top of my head.

[coarse ravine]

Something like that.

[fossil hollow]

Theyre demons with relations to Baphomet

not exactly minotaurs

[coarse ravine]

I mean... sounds like alot of cheese

[glass granite]

Just use a bag of devouring

[coarse ravine]

Make sure ya let your dm know about that. Before ya make that sandwich

[vagrant notch]

What is thg

[glass granite]

It’s a bag that eats stuff

[coarse ravine]

Different then using your environment the dm gave you to your advantage

[fossil hollow]

a bag that devours any organic thing put in it

[vagrant notch]

You cant buy it from a blacksmith right

[fossil hollow]

its a magic item

thats a bag

[vagrant notch]

Idt my dm would give it to me

[fossil hollow]

you can always ask

[coarse ravine]

Speaking of Klaus. That would be a funny bad Santa quest idea. Trying to grapple and Put pcs into his bag of devouring

[empty thicket]

yeah

you must force yourself to either situations, like taking forest or common terrains or terrains you know you will be yes or yes

or general common creatures for the another feature

[vagrant notch]

I always want to find a catch in the system, dm used to gave us an AC 20 boss when we were level 3, from 10 rounds i only can hit him 3 times

[fossil hollow]

assuming +5 to hit, only a 1/4 chance to hit everytime

[empty thicket]

which size?

[vagrant notch]

I think he made it by himself

[empty thicket]

yeah but i mean which size the creature was

if it was big enough you wont be able to grapple him//choke him

[long violet]

I loves you

[fossil hollow]

hoeh

[empty thicket]

Thanks but you arent the person i need to heard it from, hope you someday find the person that want to heard it from you

[vagrant notch]

Idk its been a while, large probably? It was a short of undead king

[empty thicket]

then nvm, too big to grapple//choke

[long violet]

Bro I’m sorry I meant to send that to my gf on iMessages. 🍃

[empty thicket]

roll for deception.

[vagrant notch]

Almost killed all of my teammates by using shatter lol

[long violet]

Bro I’m srs, I’m zooted

I meant to send that to my gf 😭

[empty thicket]

400 baboons.

[empty thicket]

one time i got against a demon that levitated us and droped all of us

[long violet]

Whaat 😭

[empty thicket]

half hp the whole party without even starting the fight

[coarse ravine]

Undead using shatter? Weird

[long violet]

Wtf just happened 😭

[empty thicket]

im rolling each one initiative individually.
Same attacks and skills.

[coarse ravine]

One fireball kills them all

[vagrant notch]

Is undead immune to it? Dang lol

[fossil hollow]

No, its just not that intuitive for an undead to be using it

[coarse ravine]

I made a oversized goblin encounter for level 5-7. Lots of goblins like so many. But one wizard casted fireball when they were all huddled around a campfire

[fossil hollow]

Animate Dead or Blight? Sure. Shatter? not my first pick as an undead

[long violet]

Dead by daylight

[coarse ravine]

And litterally killed like 50 goblins lol

[fossil hollow]

what

[vagrant notch]

No i mean i cast it by myself

[coarse ravine]

I had some rp goblins they didn't have to fight. It was crazy

[long violet]

It’s the hit game by behavior interactive

[fossil hollow]

i get that but what is its relevancy to the conversation or DnD

(and yes i know Vecna is in it)

[long violet]

What u said sounded like it 🙂

[fossil hollow]

I said Animate Dead

[long violet]

The name

[coarse ravine]

Im just saying creating a undead monster.... ac of 20... that also spellcasts and uses shatter vs level 3s? Wack

[fossil hollow]

No, Klaus is the one using Shatter

[long violet]

Dead or blight sounds like Dead By Daylight lol

[fossil hollow]

¯_(ツ)_/¯

[empty thicket]

good, you killed 26, the other 24 dodged it and took half damage. Start making your new character.

[coarse ravine]

Nah they legit all failed lol

It was crazy

Well actually it didn't matter 7 hp

That was years ago so I just looked at the damage

Then looked at their hp and was like welp....

The other creatures that were at the camp still attacked the party and stuff. I just didn't think of the fireball spell. Was tryna figure out what the party would do with a massive army of goblins. Decent level enough but instead of doing like a normal goblin tricks encounter. I had some rp npcs incase they wanted to talk. Wizard said nope

[cunning venture]

hello just curios, have any of yall dm a campaign that is based entirely on your player's characters backstories?

[coarse ravine]

Lots of planning for that dm and pcs. But would be fun

Normally there are backstory arcs but no never done a whole campaign off of just backstories alone

[cunning venture]

i see... i would love to play a full campaign based on the entire backstory of the party themselves, if there ever is one.

[coarse ravine]

With pcs committing to fully fleshed out backstories. Im sure it could work

[cunning venture]

i wrote like a 6 paragraph backstory for my character

[glass granite]

I’ve done one that was heavily influenced

[coarse ravine]

So dm prepares nothing for the campaign and just has to wait for pcs to deliver their backstories before he can start planning

[hot reef]

I took it as a starting point, I’d say it’s about 50/50 for my game

[calm vapor]

what you you guys think about this intro to my campaign

Setting: Thalasson, a Mountain City of Greece

Thalasson is a small but wealthy Greek settlement carved high into the mountains, where stone homes cling to cliffs and narrow paths wind between peaks like veins through stone. Though isolated, it thrives through trade—exporting crafted goods, olives, wine, and minerals carried down treacherous mountain roads to distant markets.

But the land here is harsh. The slopes are too steep and rocky to grow wheat, and there are no wide plains nearby to farm. Because of this, Thalasson depends entirely on imported grain to survive, purchasing it from outside regions with the wealth it earns through trade.

Now, something has gone wrong.

The last wheat caravan sent into the mountains never returned.

No word. No survivors. No sign of what happened along the passes.

Fear spreads quietly through the city. The mountain routes are dangerous even in the best of times—bandits, rockslides, and worse things whispered about in old traveler tales. Yet Thalasson has never needed a large army; its greatest defense has always been its natural position among the peaks.

Now, however, those same mountains that protect it also isolate it.

So the city turns to you.

Not as famed heroes. Not as soldiers of a grand army.

But as the only ones willing to follow the missing caravan into the mountains—and uncover what the peaks of Thalasson have taken.

[broken imp]

this sound like a very nice setting

[calm vapor]

thanks

[broken imp]

how do u plan for the hook to play out? @calm vapor

[lavish flame]

eh kinda. I usually tell my players when I pitch the campaign to them these things: what sorts of themes to expect, what kind of threats the party will face, and the general overview of the setting. They usually make characters for the game, so when I say "expect Giants" I usually end up with at least 1 PC who is particularly mad at King Snurre, or when I say "War will be present" one of my PCs is usually a soldier. From there, the campaign gets refined to match the characters better.

[calm vapor]

my players didnt give a single reaction to it so i needed to ask the people

[calm vapor]

they go out looking for the guys who got lost and they find that it look ask though it got pushed of the cliff and they need to go down and see if thers bodys or anything to help them find the missing money and people

so search and rescue so the town doesnt starve to death

@broken imp does that answer your question

[lofty thunder]

Welp today might be the first time i a character i have died in a campaign!! Even though i am sad if it does happen i also super happy because this will be my first time experiencing it!!

[calm vapor]

nice im the permanent dm im my new group i think so i will be doing the killing

[lofty thunder]

Awesome!

Yeah idk why i’m super sad but also super excited if my character does die!

[lavish flame]

Ooh! Is this a pre-discussed death with ur DM or an upcoming tough encounter?

[calm vapor]

good question

[lofty thunder]

This is a tough encounter! She got infected with the blight but she is a server of a goddess of life in the campaign were in so her god might save her!

We’re still in battle so i will find out what happens!

[broken imp]

usually i show a major threat (not necessarily the bbg)some where near the end on the hook to connect it to the bigger part of the campaign of the campaign, i also like to make the first encounter with it to be unreasonably hard to the players lose (not die, but the threat gives up on them because they figured the party is too weak or smt else happen the players
escape)

[calm vapor]

k keep is updated i find unexpected death more fun

[lofty thunder]

I literally have 16 unplayed characters so i literally have a backup character on lock if my character does die!

[calm vapor]

yeah for this im basically remaking ancient Greece, so there really isn’t going to be anything big like that until the Romans, which will be like when they’re level 10 and they’re starting level one maybe two and its not going to a ton of battle battle battle so that’ll be a while i think maybe a month or so

[lofty thunder]

It’s so funny i make dnd characters by either making a random character in baldurs gate or i get a random ass idea about a character in my head

[calm vapor]

thats true i have over 50 from different eldin ring builds

[vagrant notch]

Anybody know the bagman? Who is he

[lofty thunder]

Nice!

[calm vapor]

i guy who lives im every bag of holding and he speaks to you and trys to get you to come into the bag and help him then he kills you

[lofty thunder]

Yeah i just made a firbolg druid just because i had a cute design of a modded baldurs gate character

[calm vapor]

that is so valid

[vagrant notch]

Holy st is that real or just an urban legend

[broken imp]

lol i just make them from random ideas or based on the build i'm using

[woven flint]

Its an Urban Legend within the realms

[calm vapor]

both some dont think hes real but some do and some say they have lived (thats not possible because the bag of holding when you enter it from his word becomes a impossible maze)

[lofty thunder]

literally same

[calm vapor]

@vagrant notch so if your bag of holding starts to talk just drop it into the fire pit

[broken imp]

or put it inside another bag of holding

[vagrant notch]

Dude, thats freaking creepy

[calm vapor]

that too

[calm vapor]

yeah also any town thats over 500 years old has a good chance of having a terask underneath it

[vagrant notch]

Whats that

[knotty vine]

Mr bag man

[vagrant notch]

Ouhh i know the godzilla

[knotty vine]

bring me bag

bum bum bum

[calm vapor]

But on hundreds of pounds of steroids

[broken imp]

yea that

[calm vapor]

i fought one when i was level 20 plaladin and lost i had 2 other level 20 players with me

[calm vapor]

@broken imp

[calm vapor]

theres also the three headed dragon that can almost swallow it oh and creatures develop spines on their back to not get swallowed. The Godzilla on steroids has spikes on its back what can swallow the Godzilla on steroids?

[lofty thunder]

Welp my goddess made the FREAKING INFECTION SO I DONT THINK MY CHARACTERS LIVIN

[knotty vine]

I have yet to lose while above level 15

[calm vapor]

uh oh

[calm vapor]

lucky

[calm vapor]

You should use a bard next if you have one

i gtg

[lofty thunder]

yeah maybe

[knotty vine]

Not luck my dear boy/girl

prepareing!

Always be prepared

[calm vapor]

im a dude

[tropic thicket]

Hi im new

[calm vapor]

hello friend

[knotty vine]

gotta be all inclusive ya know but

[tropic thicket]

I kind of got interested into playing D&D bc I’ve seen a bunch of people play it

[knotty vine]

but i will remember that for the future if we talk

[tropic thicket]

But could someone kinda help on how to play

[fossil hollow]

Check out #dnd-newcomers

[tropic thicket]

Ok thanks

[past blaze]

Yeah newcomers chat is specifically for onboarding and not bombarding with too much complexity

[crystal mountain]

Does anyone know what VTT is?

[fossil hollow]

Virtual Table Top

[calm vapor]

meh im not going to say anything because them i might get banned

[crystal mountain]

ooh okay ty

[past blaze]

Virtual Tabletop

something to have tokens or figures on some kind of area to represent the spacing and area and positioning

[lofty thunder]

I BECAME A TAINTED KNIGHT AND I WILL LIVE FOR FORTY YEARS

[fossil hollow]

no need for the caps

[broken imp]

uhh u need another hook than to continue the campaign in an exciting way, unless it's intrigue based, which is different. usually have something pop up to escalate the situation, i use combat because it's easy to use, but smt else will work too

[slate delta]

Last minute someone dropped out of my game and now I cant post another message and my first session is tomorrow😭

[feral fulcrum]

I hate people who do that crap

[lavish flame]

You can always postpone session 1, but tbh, I'd just run it short 1 player

Find the replacement in time

[broken imp]

email, call, text... or just tell ur party tmr

or have a session o decide the rule for dropping out

[calm vapor]

im going to adjust the history a bit so its more fun but its not a supper combat heavy campaign more rp and helping people

but i do agree

[fossil hollow]

may i reccomend theros

[slate delta]

Yeah i cant delay cause another party member has a hard out in a month and this campaign should be like 4 weeks. Sad times

Just 1 player short I geuss

[vagrant notch]

Tiamat?

[fossil hollow]

tiamat has 5

[vagrant notch]

King Ghidorah

[lavish flame]

This is something to consider in all games. As part of my session 0 stuff, I define how many ppl will need to call out for us not to run (there's 5 PCs+me as DM, if 2 PCs are missing, we don't have a session) and I thino it has smoothed out play very nicely for me.

[knotty vine]

I really gotta stop learning how to rage bait I just lost a rib 😭

[calm vapor]

yeah but there’s something tjat we domt know that can eat Godzilla on steroids hole

[meager fractal]

rip

[vagrant notch]

Whats the biggest creature that forgotten realms hs ever had

[knotty vine]

I think there was a living planet at one point

[vagrant notch]

Isn't that just earth?

[knotty vine]

But as for FR aka creatures that you can fight it would be either the Scions of the giants or Kraken/Greatwyrms

[lavish flame]

I choose to not think of anything eating Godzilla's hole

[knotty vine]

I do know one of the scion is 80ft tall

[woven flint]

No, like a LITERAL living planet

[fossil hollow]

storm scions yeah

[woven flint]

I believe the monster was called a Genuis Loci

[lavish flame]

Genius Loci is like a living planet, its like MCU's Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy 2

We have other living astral bodies, like the Murder Comet

[knotty vine]

The murder comet is weird

[woven flint]

We also have Astral Dreadnoughts as another gigantic type of creature, they're so big that their stomachs are Demi-planes, I believe

[lavish flame]

literally only exists because they needed an extra M monster in Spelljammer

[knotty vine]

ha true

[woven flint]

They don't even HAVE to eat
They just do it for the hell of it

[lofty thunder]

I’M ALIVE

[knotty vine]

We love dnd monsters that do it for the love of the game

Welcome

One of the big bads took out of my ribs and locked me in a freezing room with a AMF

Im a wizard btw Im i cooked

[vagrant notch]

Can a counterspell be countered by another counterspell

[knotty vine]

yeah

its weird through

[lavish flame]

Yuuup, cuz Counterspell is a Spell with V or S components

[vagrant notch]

Damn

[lavish flame]

You could do some real Blue Deck Magic the Gathering shit by Countering a Counter

[vagrant notch]

Oh u still need to do cons save, i can use lucky then

[golden parcel]

How do you play this game?

[glass granite]

Read through the Playing The Game and Character Creation of the link below. Free basic D&D rules: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/free-rules

At its simplest form, the players collaboratively roleplay a story, where outcomes are determined by their actions and dice rolls

[golden parcel]

I made a charecter i jus dk how to make sense of the dice rolling n how to know how much my attack does

I’m slow wit numbers 😭🙏

[lavish flame]

Its not terribly complicated to start, but once you're in the weeds, you're in the weeds. #learn-to-play will give you a great overview on how the game is generally played. It should even provide you with the Basic Rules you can read which is the game rules.

[glass granite]

#learn-to-play and #dnd-newcomers are good places to get help then. For that, it depends with what you attack with

[golden parcel]

Thank yall I’m getting the set this weekend I’m jus tryna prepare i wna make campaign for me n my friends as a dk

[golden parcel]

*dm

Can someone explain it without taking me to dnd beyond

[lavish flame]

The dice:
You only really roll dice in 2 occasions: a d20 Test or Doing Damage. A d20 Test is like 90% of what you're rolling, thats gonna be your roll to see "Can I jump across this chasm?" and "Will I hit/hurt this enemy?". A d20 Test is always gonna be a d20 roll with some modifiers.

Damage is based on your weapon of choice. If you aren't using a weapon, whatever spell/class feature you're using will tell you how many dice of what kind to roll. Usually its read like "8d6" which means 8 of the 6 sided die.

It might read "1d12" which is 1 of the 12 sided dice. Eventually you'll be able to translate the text to the die easily.

[karmic junco]

I have an npc whos name is Bridgid Whaley, shes a artificer deer satyr! And i have literally 0 ideas for her backstory, all i know is i want it to be dramatic and sad. Shes sassy and kinda a loner but thats about all i have for her 😭 anyone have some fun general backstory ideas?

[fossil hollow]

#character-discussion

[golden parcel]

Ye that makes sense do yk what a good starting fight for a lvl 1 group of 3 ? I’m working on a campaign

[karmic junco]

I did not know this existed thanks!

[glass granite]

Yeah if you don’t have the player role it’s not automatically visible I believe

[karmic junco]

Ohhhh ok! Thank you!

[glass granite]

Though ain’t #character-discussion only for PC’s

[fossil hollow]

stare oh huh

NPCs would be #dm-world-building i think

[glass granite]

Im relatively sure NPC’s are for #dm-world-building

[glass granite]

Sorry for the unintentional misdirection

[woven flint]

Ti, I'm working on more stuff for you to chew on with my Paladin lmao

[errant crag]

I wanna run Tomb of Annihilation so bad

[rough basalt]

Do it. It's fun.

[lavish flame]

Crack open the Basic Rules and look at the entries for a couple monsters, see what catches your fancy: Goblin, Kobold, Gnoll, Lizardfolk, Orc, Troglodyte, and Mephit

I would recommend running an adventure that someone else has already written though, for a group of people new to D&D, i'd recommend The Delian Tomb as a starting adventure. Its free and fairly straightforward.

[errant crag]

Maybe I should run it online

So I can have maps

[fossil hollow]

i just met Karsus as a naga

[lavish flame]

The hexcrawl aspect prob needs a map to work

[karmic junco]

Oh ok 😭😅

[broken imp]

base it on ur campaign

[errant crag]

The physical book has a hex map in the back that can be broken out and folded out

I need to figure out how to run a hex crawl

[lavish flame]

yeah, one side is almost entirely blank and the other is filled for the DM

[errant crag]

Seems like probably the only way I'm gonna get away with running travel stuff

[rough basalt]

I got some 10 dollar maps off dmsguild for ToA that covered everything else besides the main POIs they were nice.

Hexcrawls are pretty simple imo

Roll an encounter every hex. And decide how long traveling each hex takes.

[lavish flame]

I wouldn't run it by the book tbh, Tomb of Annihilation progresses way too slow imo (it takes like 2 days to travel 1 hex normally and if you find water and have a canoe, you can go 1 hex per day). I've been enjoying 5.5's Exploration stuff (especially the Movement Speed to Travel Speed calculator) and I would honestly suggest just running it via that.

[errant crag]

I do kinda like the idea of a hex crawl though, it seems like it could be a fun

[rough basalt]

They lend themselves well to XP leveling in particular since you'll be running into stuff alot.

[errant crag]

I like a game having what feels like a living and dangerous wilderness

[rough basalt]

Tho the non-XP way is to level via amount of Hex's traveled I think.

[errant crag]

I'm kind of mixed on exploration/travel

Because I don't want it to be boring/miserable but I do also want them coming upon a settlement or friendly characters to have that sense of reprieve and relief that comes with arriving at a town finally or finding someone who doesn't wanna wrong you

[rough basalt]

Which given how lopsided encounters in ToA can be may not feel as rewarding if they manage to win instead of run and gain essentially the same progress if they'd run.

[errant crag]

Especially if it's like a brutal jungle environment

[rough basalt]

Yeah it's a dinosaur jungle full of monsters, cannibals, and all sorts of crap.

[lavish flame]

This is the tough line to walk, especially in Tomb of Annihilation. That adventure is bleak and pretty miserable before having to navigate The Jungle That Hates You

[rough basalt]

The Jungle that makes you say Peak

It's a game you need the right players for

Cause if you got passive players who don't do anything it's just a PC killing simulator.

Like every sandbox it relies on players that can make their own decisions and push the game around.

[lavish flame]

A good session 0 will go a long way for ToA. You truly do need to inform your players that their characters are expected to get chewed up and spat out

[rough basalt]

Yeah you also can't be someone who gets too angry/upset over their PCs dying.

[knotty vine]

I love how Leo mound tiny hut can just make you neigh untouchable

[rough basalt]

Keep in mind if enemies really wanted to they can just wait for you.

[woven flint]

not in 2024 rules lol

[fossil hollow]

do forcebreaker weapons work on them?

[knotty vine]

wait for 8 hours then

[lavish flame]

I've always liked the idea that Leomund's Tiny Hut didn't touch the ground below you, so burrowing enemies can get in. I love Tiny Huts

[fossil hollow]

it is a bowl

[rough basalt]

Yep they spend 8 hours setting up traps.

[woven flint]

"Spells of level 3 or lower can’t be cast through it, and the effects of such spells can’t extend into it."

Spells of 4th level and Upwards can still effect you inside

[steady zephyr]

huwwwoo!

what's popping

[lavish flame]

technically in 5.5 its an Emanation, which means it does hit the floor below you, but regardless, I still like that restriction

[knotty vine]

I guess Rangers box is still fair game

[woven flint]

Salutations, creature

I'm making a FOUL man /joking

[rough basalt]

People who rely on leomunds when the humble wizard with a 4th level fireball appears.

[knotty vine]

Rope trick

[steady zephyr]

..what a way to enter the topic

[lavish flame]

I love a good Rope Trick

[knotty vine]

nope rope trick stillworks the same

[steady zephyr]

ooh rope trick

[rough basalt]

That's when they use dispel magic.

[knotty vine]

besdies the archmage and lich name a statblock with dispell magic

[lavish flame]

Maybe the best usage of Rope Trick I've ever seen was using it to bypass a city's prohibition of alcohol consumption. An extradimensional space is probably legally distinct from the town that contains it

[rough basalt]

What I say has it.

[woven flint]

The rope MUST do a backflip /silly

[knotty vine]

nvm not even the archmage has dispell

[knotty vine]

stack rope tricks

[feral fulcrum]

Your Tiny Hut is inferior to Galder's Tower.

[rough basalt]

All of the enemies have wands of dispel magic.

[broken imp]

can u?

[knotty vine]

Idk

[woven flint]

Your Galder's Tower is Inferior to Druid Grove

[rough basalt]

Your Druids Grove is inferior to Mordys Mansion

[broken imp]

i thought there was a rule for putting an extradimentional space inside another

[knotty vine]

domain mansion

[steady zephyr]

Speaking of d&d, I'm a bit nervous lol, going to teach a bunch of juniors how to play this week

[broken imp]

u got this!

[knotty vine]

What would have happen if you cast rope trick in rope trick?

[woven flint]

Your Maginificent Mansion is Inferior to Demiplane

[glass granite]

We believe!

[rough basalt]

Singularity forms, you die.

[broken imp]

juniors as in junior high students?

[steady zephyr]

thank you! they're like...junior high ppl, so it's nervewracking since the younger generation might just not take it seriously

oops I typed thank you in the same message

[limber trail]

I’m sure it’ll go great!

[rough basalt]

Probably will, but might not.

[knotty vine]

I dont think thats raw

[feral fulcrum]

To continue the trend. MIGHTY FORTRESS!

[steady zephyr]

it depends...there's only one support

[rough basalt]

I say it is.

[knotty vine]

Thats a homebrew rule

[glass granite]

I mean I’m a minor and I’ve taught my entire friend group (ok around 7 people) how to play. It’s not super easy, but I’m sure you can do it!

[severe fox]

Is this another bag of holding inside bag of holding

trick

[rough basalt]

Your Instant Fortress is inferior to using Proctivs Move Mountain to create a flying city. (If you're cool enough, you can bypass the 10th level+ ban on magic)

[severe fox]

through I dont think Rope trick is a Demiplane

[limber trail]

It’s an extradimensional space

[rough basalt]

Nah I am the RAW.

[feral fulcrum]

Looks at their Mile Wide Flying Island Citadel

Already ahead of you on that one.

[steady zephyr]

wait pulling up the list...

Kenku Warlock (Great Old One)
Dark-Elf Fighter (Battle Master)
Dwarf Monk (Way of Astral Self)
Human Artificer (Alchemist)
Vampire Rogue (Soulknife)

[rough basalt]

Damn.

[glass granite]

Monk!!!!

[severe fox]

Do you mean dhampier or vampire

[steady zephyr]

vampire is a race from the site I've checked!

[fossil hollow]

Its not an official race

[severe fox]

Not an offical one if thats the case

[limber trail]

Is it? It might be homebrew, Dhampir is the official equivalent

[fossil hollow]

If youre referring to Planeshift: Ixalan, its not official

[severe fox]

IS planeshift Ixalna 3rd party or?

[fossil hollow]

Its homebrew, but it is made for fun by the MtG team

[feral fulcrum]

Gotta have somewhere to keep the Dryad Daughter I made on a whimsy.

[steady zephyr]

yeahh not official

I just wanted ot make my players happy

[limber trail]

That’s fair

[severe fox]

vampires are very strong

Hope they have the weaknesses of one too

[feral dock]

Hey

[woven flint]

Do keep in mind that its okay to say no to your players sometimes

[glass granite]

Gooood morning afternoon evening!

[rough basalt]

I'd give them Dhampir. Cause homebrew can be very unbalanced leading to one player being much stronger than others.

[limber trail]

My assumption is they aren’t playing an actual CR 13 vampire, but just a vampire species

But yeah a dhampir is the official version of a playable vampire

[steady zephyr]

yes, they had much worse intentions (smth smth wanting to absorb the powers of the enemies when they drink their blood or wound them like...sorry no) I had to compromise

[severe fox]

Vampire isnt really a species through

Its just a type of undead

almost any humanoid can become a vampire

[feral fulcrum]

I mean it kind of is.

[rough basalt]

Ye with DnD, sometimes it's just gotta be a flat no in general.

[fossil hollow]

the mtg planeshift one. Based off the conquistador vampires from Ixalan

[severe fox]

But it isnt

[rough basalt]

Cause you don't wanna let bad player habits form in anyone.

[severe fox]

again any humanoid can be a vampire

[feral fulcrum]

Aasimar can be from any humanoid species, and they're Definitely their own species.

[steady zephyr]

I learned to be firm with D&D lol...so many times where the story went nowhere in my first year of DMing all because I had a hard time saying no

[severe fox]

Arent aaismar mainly humans?

[woven flint]

No

[rough basalt]

Yeah, just flat no is the strongest tool in a dms toolbox.

[woven flint]

not anymore, at least

[rough basalt]

They used to be. But tieflings and aasimar are now more general.

[fossil hollow]

not since Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

[severe fox]

Still dont think vampire should be down graded to a speices

[feral fulcrum]

It's not a down grade?

[woven flint]

its not a downgrade?

[fossil hollow]

well, tell that to the MtG Team who made Ixalan

[steady zephyr]

OK the player just messaged me

dhampir it is 😂

[severe fox]

Thats why it isnt offical

[fossil hollow]

thats the one in question

[limber trail]

awesome. I DM for a Dhampir, they're a sick species.

[severe fox]

I prefer the linage of dhampier

[feral fulcrum]

looks at the official Guidance for becoming a Vampire or Werewolf

[steady zephyr]

Also trying to write the campaign and...does anyone know danganro-

[severe fox]

2014 or 2024?

[knotty vine]

Oh dont get me stared on becoming a werewolf in dnd

[feral fulcrum]

Either of them.

[woven flint]

Knome, I have a sin to confess, my greatest Knemesis

[knotty vine]

Its not even a punishment

[steady zephyr]

that aside, I might do a bait and switch campaign

[fossil hollow]

I cannot freaking wait for Lupine

[feral fulcrum]

if you get NPC'd it is.

[knotty vine]

2014 werewolf was legit just a buff with no downside?

[fossil hollow]

actual dog species for once maybe???????

[rough basalt]

I can.

[knotty vine]

theres no NPC with it

[rough basalt]

I'm afraid of seeing one at my table.

[limber trail]

I would be careful planning bait and switches. They can sometimes feel a bit cheap if poorly done.

[limber trail]

Oh no

[knotty vine]

PLAYER CHARACTERS AS LYCANTHROPES

A character who becomes a lycanthrope retains his or her statistics except as specified by lycanthrope type. The character gains the lycanthrope’s speeds in nonhumanoid form, damage immunities, traits, and actions that don’t involve equipment. The character is proficient with the lycanthrope’s natural attacks, such as its bite or claws, which deal damage as shown in the lycanthrope’s statistics. The character can’t speak while in animal form.

The following information applies to specific lycanthropes.

Werewolf. The character gains a Strength of 15 if his or her score isn’t already higher, and a +1 bonus to AC while in wolf or hybrid form (from natural armor). Attack and damage rolls for the natural weapons are based on Strength.

[steady zephyr]

true! luckily I've set enough clues in the main teaser that point to something off

no one has noticed tho. now where can I send pics so I can showcase the teaser ?

[woven flint]

I've officially joined the dark side,
I'm "downbad" for the Auril the Frost Maiden... 😔

[knotty vine]

"oh no im immune to non magical BPS whatever will i do"

"i have a +1 in ac and 15 stregnth"

[errant crag]

My players really enjoyed Tomb of Horrors they had fun seeing it as a challenge to overcome and think their way through

[knotty vine]

"whatever will i do..."

[rough basalt]

Ye he saw all the horrific stuff she's doing and went "man. That's hot"

[errant crag]

Only one person died and it was a throwaway PC

[rough basalt]

They'll probably like Annihilation then.

[feral fulcrum]

Isn't there also a big caveat of, as with Vampires, the DM being expected to NPC-ify the Player?

[knotty vine]

Not with werewolfs

[limber trail]

The best twists I've seen in ttrpgs are one where some clear mystery or question is clearly outlined. Everyone knows there's a mystery. The information they have is pointing towards one clear answer, but in actually also works completely plausibly with one other answer.

I've got one of those at the moment, a twist I'm setting up. I'm very keen for the payoff.

[errant crag]

They almost started a short rest in the path of the giant ball that kills you

[knotty vine]

Thats a vampire only thing if you become a spawn

[errant crag]

They decided very last second to travel farther back to rest

[limber trail]

eat a stone

[errant crag]

And the giant ball that kills you slammed into the wall right within 5ft of where they rested at

[rough basalt]

Rolling ball moment

[woven flint]

"The giant ball that kills you and the giant ball that kills you 2"

[steady zephyr]

ooooh

[feral fulcrum]

What is this, Sens Fortress?

[errant crag]

Like 16 minutes into their rest

[woven flint]

Am I a fool for loving a force of nature?

[rough basalt]

One that does the stuff she does to the people of the ten towns

[knotty vine]

The most you get is an aliment chance and thats it

[limber trail]

"I know there's something off here. Based on these three pieces of information, it seems like the truth is XYZ. But no, actually, the truth is ABC instead, which does completely work with the information". Makes for an awesome reveal.

[limber trail]

Never implied you were

[feral fulcrum]

Yes, but at least in D&D you have a chance.

[knotty vine]

Eat a stone

[errant crag]

One of my favorite parts was the players spending like 30 minutes of the session hiding in a closet because they were scared of a key

[knotty vine]

Rock and stone

[errant crag]

That was pretty hilarious

[rough basalt]

My morality leaving my body when the villain is attractive.

[steady zephyr]

!!!! perfect! got something in mind hehehe

[knotty vine]

A non-lycanthrope humanoid hit by an attack that carries the curse of lycanthropy must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + the lycanthrope’s proficiency bonus + the lycanthrope’s Constitution modifier) or be cursed. If the character embraces the curse, his or her alignment becomes the one defined for the lycanthrope

[woven flint]

I specifially really dig Aurils Cold Crone avatar
She kind of a cutie 😭

[feral fulcrum]

That reminds me, I need to follow up with getting more involved with Phlethegos's resident Arch-Baddie

[rough basalt]

Time to make one of the bbegs in my world hot and see what happens.

[steady zephyr]

Oh by the way, does anyone know where I can find people willing to voice act in exchange for art...like servers outside here or channels here 😭 idk where to ask

[glass granite]

Maybe look around in #dnd-advertisements ?

[woven flint]

Dude, I'd voice act for free, but I have a crap mic lol

[limber trail]

all of my villains are hot, it's how my players can tell they're a villain.

[steady zephyr]

that sounds fun lmao

[steady zephyr]

I'll try!

[rough basalt]

True. Like my rogue said. You can't trust hot people. Or specifically "I don't trust women hotter than me." In relation to Tasha.

[limber trail]

no that's a lie there's one ugly one, he's gonna die early on

well I suspect he's gonna die early on

[steady zephyr]

I mean 😭 I don't really mind as long as the players can understand what the voice says

but yes I'll look in the ad channel ty

[rough basalt]

Ye villains being hot is what keeps them alive.

[limber trail]

There's a non zero chance the hottest character in my campaign will eventually betray the party so yeah.

[woven flint]

I'd rather not disappoint 😔
I wish you luck, friend

[limber trail]

your mic is totally fine tokii

[woven flint]

Totally lmao

[limber trail]

no it is

[steady zephyr]

thank you!! 🫶

[rough basalt]

Voice acting is fun.

[limber trail]

actually wait no i remember the mic incidents

ehh thats more background noise when it works its fine

[glass granite]

-# is it?

[rough basalt]

My only issue is I live with people and my house has thin walls so I can't voice act as hard in my games since they're at night on weekdays.

[glass granite]

I dunno about totally

[steady zephyr]

I do visual novel style for my d&d campaigns, or a certain website that allow you to move character sprites and assets -- custom pixel map lol

[limber trail]

ykw youre right i shouldnt be complimenting tokii

[woven flint]

I can't put as much passion into voice acting my D&D characters because I live with other people and I find it easy to peak my mic lol

[steady zephyr]

so I do sprites most of the time, but never voice acting

[rough basalt]

I do voice acting when I'm bored and alone.

[limber trail]

I do enjoy a lil bit of voice acting. I have fun with voices and accents when I DM my campaign

[rough basalt]

I run lines from bbegs or other notable npcs.

[steady zephyr]

oh I meant I do voice acting in my campaigns and oneshots! just not in the visual novel lol I read them myself

[woven flint]

I'm currently working on a very emotionally numb voice for my
Triton Paladin for ROTFM

[limber trail]

Most of my PCs tend to be a bit tamer because I can't as easily do a voice over long times

[glass granite]

I suck at voice acting lol, been trying to get better

[rough basalt]

Like the one villain I have that wants to return the country he's in to the place "it used to be."

[limber trail]

I've had a few NPCs who have killed my voice lmao

[woven flint]

I can't wait to play a sad sack of shit paladin lmao

[steady zephyr]

Oh I just realized there's no vc here ahaha, I was going to stream my spritemaking

[rough basalt]

His voice is very unsettling once the facades dropped.

[limber trail]

voices time my beloved

[rough basalt]

And has lines such as "we'll make the human heart obsolete." And crap.

Tho in context it's spiritual

[limber trail]

Sometimes I'll repeat an NPC's name in their accent just idly if I'm working on them in some way

[woven flint]

I've been talking so much about my Paladin like.. very vaguely, maybe I should yap about him in character discussion, like genuinely, he's probably the most excited I've been to play a character

[rough basalt]

Basically he wants his entire country to be under a hive mind so nobody ever questions authority, and only does what their supposed to do.

[limber trail]

I've... definitely been caught pacing around my house just repeating "Breach" over and over again

[rough basalt]

"I'll give them the lives they need" and crap like that.

[broken imp]

1984

[steady zephyr]

God this is nervewracking...murder mystery campaign...

[limber trail]

ah yeah murder mysteries can be tough, great fun though

[woven flint]

"literally 1984."

[steady zephyr]

I think this will be my most worked on campaign in dnd yet

[broken imp]

i'd love to run a intrigue campaign but my players is too dumb

[rough basalt]

He's modeled after a good bit of Senator Armstrong from Metal Gear

But without the underlying message that conflicts with the protagonist despite being the same ideals.