dnd-discussion

[little stream]

Yo momma was nice

Askew echo

[empty thicket]

its a hand that can interact with things at distance, that it is.

[woven flint]

Spells can only do as their spell description says.

[severe rampart]

What

[empty thicket]

You cant use it for harming directly, only utility

[blissful ibex]

It alows you to manipulate and pick up smal lobjects at a distance

[little stream]

Yes

[empty thicket]

Can grab a grenade and throw it with mage hand towards someone

like a guided missile

[sleek flax]

No like what was the joke there

[blissful ibex]

The version you get with Telekenetic is special because it has double range, is subtle, and is invisible

[scenic zinc]

familiars don't cast spells. sometimes they can be a place you can cast spells from - but the familiar isn't casting the spell

[empty thicket]

A Mage Hand explosive punch

[lavish flame]

lets u make a hand that can do hand-like-stuff, as noted in its spell description

[balmy ice]

Ok so my half caster would work better with find familiar

Wich ritual caster can provide with the bonus of 2 more

I can carry like 1800lbs with my charecter so I dont really need the disk and my helmet has speak w animals

[blissful ibex]

IT can't use the Utalize Action or Attack Action sadly

[blissful ibex]

Take the disk, You can put party members on it c:

[woven flint]

It's almost like spells do pretty much exactly what they say 😔 /silly

[balmy ice]

Im already the mount lol

Plus we just got a ship

[blissful ibex]

Yes, but it lets you "hold" more >:3

[balmy ice]

True dat.

[blissful ibex]

Put a cannon on it

[balmy ice]

Also vortex warp shenanigans

[balmy ice]

Came with 10 or 12 lightning cannons

Its cozy

[blissful ibex]

Put one on the Disk c:

[balmy ice]

Oh lol. I mean.....

Omg my skeleton ranger can fire it

Hehehe

[blissful ibex]

If it's too heavy; get a Disc Mounted Ballista

Don't use it all the time; keep it in your back pocket

It's funny once or twice

[balmy ice]

Skeletons weigh like 20 lbs i think and cannon is like 300lbs

I think its good.

[balmy ice]

Yee yee

Ima just say it. Im a 6 legged dragontaur . Class iron Sentinel. Sub necro shield. Its a campaign of 2 players

[empty thicket]

i mean, you grab the bomb, activate it nad use the mage hand to get it closer, nothing else

[balmy ice]

OoO smart targeting

Also thanks yall for the help. I think my mind is made. Ritual caster it is.

I have to many things to take care of lol

1 scarab(the simbiot), 2 skeletons (i get 3 at 15), 2 mastiff (i keep on ship), 2 kids ( part of campaign one is a dream witch and other there sister), and my friend

[strong wave]

Rogue can have an invisible mage hand right

[fossil hollow]

if theyre an arcane trickster

[strong wave]

Cool

[balmy ice]

Telekinetic feat too

[empty thicket]

yep and can do sleight of hand with it

[knotty vine]

The gith can do that too

[empty thicket]

Gith?

[fossil hollow]

githerazai

[wispy laurel]

Gith-yankee? 😂

[crimson gulch]

Ahh brilliant, death toll for the year is now 31

[rough basalt]

I'm at 10? 3 5.5e PCs

[knotty vine]

Gith yankee

[rough basalt]

I need to run another SD game to get my kills up

[peak pecan]

Now I’m thinking of Gith sports teams

[blissful ibex]

as a player, so far this year; 2 party members killed, 1 petrified for several sessions before being restored, 1 longterm kidnapped by the shadow wizard money gang (still at large)

[fossil hollow]

who died against halaster?

oh wait, nobody yet

[balmy ice]

Wonder if you can beat my record?

[severe rampart]

What's your record?

[crimson gulch]

No one yet, one of his apprentices had a power word kill with the Rogues names on it though

[balmy ice]

3 worlds and a dimension

I did a oppsie

[fossil hollow]

owch

[severe rampart]

they mean PC deaths

[fossil hollow]

my party just got to the || Woods level||

[balmy ice]

Oh. Have yet to lose one

[rough basalt]

OSR systems are good for getting needed PC kills to live

But if you wanna have those gourmet PC souls, need 5e ones

[severe rampart]

Killed 5 myself so far

[strong wave]

What do you do when you're petrified play another char?

[crimson gulch]

Oh all this killing was in dnd games, never ran shadowdark

[balmy ice]

OoO nice

[rough basalt]

It's fun, very easy which makes it a nice palate cleanser

[blissful ibex]

They got Beholder'd

[rough basalt]

If you can run 5e you can run SD

[severe rampart]

I haven't gotten a character of mine die though, feels sad

[blissful ibex]

X went and gave it to em'

[rough basalt]

Since SD uses 5es base mechanics with some AD&D flavor

[strong wave]

So did you play a different character in the meantime

[balmy ice]

My current has bin on 1 hp for 99% of the campaing lol

[strong wave]

Lay on bands

[balmy ice]

Whats bad. Im the one on team that knows it lol

[blissful ibex]

It was our bard, they swapped to playing their backup character who's a wizard for a couple sessions

[severe rampart]

How?

you've never taken a single point of damage?

[blissful ibex]

Not too much you can do when you're at level 6 for the petrified party member

[balmy ice]

Bad jokes and combat

Also luck. Yet to go down

[balmy ice]

I take all the damage

Im da tank

82 hp and a dream

Im also the mount

[severe rampart]

yeah so you're not at 1 hp for 99% of the campaign

[fossil hollow]

for a second i thought this was implying shadowdark meant you can kill the players

[balmy ice]

Im confused. I basically am. Until we sleep

Then we get attacked and im back at 1

[severe rampart]

Hyperbole?

[strong wave]

Superb owl

[balmy ice]

No like 1 of 82 max

[sleek flax]

Exaggeration to get a point across, yeah

[severe rampart]

That's impossible

[blissful ibex]

That's what Aura of Vitality is for c:

[sleek flax]

1 is wild lol

[severe rampart]

you can't take exactly 81 points of damage every combat

[balmy ice]

Dumb luck. Also the jokes cant kill lol. Dm rule. No stupid jokes

[strong wave]

Jokes can kill if you're a bard

[sleek flax]

Vicious mockery:

[strong wave]

So I said to this guy what's the deal with mimics

[balmy ice]

Ima just say its complicated. But I am pretty much almost dead

99% is a exaggeration

But it alot

[severe rampart]

I know it's exaggerated because I'm a tank

Paladin with a Shovel +1

[balmy ice]

We played let's say 100 hrs

A good 60 im at 1 hp.

[severe rampart]

16 AC and me against the world

[strong wave]

I got 19 ac

[balmy ice]

Ah paladin. I remember my earth fire genasi paladin

[severe rampart]

having a higher AC doesn't make you a better tank

at times it actually makes you a worse tank

[balmy ice]

I mean 21 is pretty good.

[severe rampart]

the enemy will think "Oh hey, I can't hit that guy, guess I'll hit his friends"

Tanking in D&D isn't really a thing

[harsh oxide]

If I see a juggernaut approaching me I’m going to do anything to try and put it down

[blissful ibex]

I get 17~20ish fairly reliably in early tier 2 c:
good for a backline caster with only light armor prof q_q

[harsh oxide]

WW1 and tanks after all

[balmy ice]

I have taunt and a few other tricks.

In other words you cant hit them while im alive. My homebrew fixxes a few things while tanking

[severe rampart]

if you're up against a BBEG and there's minions all behind it do you take out the BBEG with 100 hp first or the minions with 20?

[strong wave]

Always kill adds first

[severe rampart]

ah, homebrew

[blissful ibex]

Exception being grapple tank, cavalier fighter, and that one barbarian?

[balmy ice]

Bloom and wither my beloved

[severe rampart]

there is no "taunt" in D&D though, aside from Goading, which only gives disadvantage on attacks on other allies

[twilit shell]

Ancients my beloved

[severe rampart]

Ancients Paladin?

[twilit shell]

or ancestral spirit I mean...

[blissful ibex]

you fireball the adds from 65+ feet away

[severe rampart]

warlock with Eldritch Spear

[blissful ibex]

760 ft range go brrrrr

See, I'd Take it as an option if I was ever actually in maps with more than 120 ft between me and enemies q_q

It's very rare that we have a larger map than that, but it does happen, especially in tier 3

[balmy ice]

Yee. Im a dragontaur so im 8 ft by 4 ft by 9 ft

My class iron Sentinel has stuff were I can increase ac of allies using my point system( 2 ageis points) I have 9 (1 per lv) I have a natural taunt ( enemies in 15 ft of me are more likely to hit me)

And other skills.

Also my rough friend is in hiding almost all battle

[strong wave]

I understood some of those words

[severe rampart]

aegis, but yeah

[harsh oxide]

Hindsight, unless you’re really RPing you’ll take out the BBG, if I’m a soldier(NPC)I’m going to focus on the big guy who is approaching. If not then I preemptively planned to take on the wizard

[balmy ice]

Oops

[severe rampart]

?It's simple

[harsh oxide]

Sorry for the delay multitasking

[severe rampart]

Bait and Switch Maneuver with the Monk Focus point, + Goading Attack

[blissful ibex]

Ye, martials hold down the boss while the mages clear adds before pivoting to boss again

[lavish flame]

further to this point, always go for the kill. Hurting enemies doesn't stop them from taking turns, killing them does.

[severe rampart]

It's a battlemaster fighter with the focus points of a monk instead of superiority die

[blissful ibex]

meanwhile, monk and ranged Marshalls take out any enemy casters

[harsh oxide]

Mistyped meant minions first MB

[balmy ice]

I remember my 1st bbeg

Died turn 1

Bag of holding, plus gun powder, plus 100 daggers

[severe rampart]

I have yet to play a campaign as a player and meet the BBEG, the campaign either cancels or goes on hiatus

[balmy ice]

And dumb luck

[balmy ice]

You always remember your 1st

My 1st kill i sat on a gnome

[severe rampart]

My first kill? I killed a.. .was it a goblin? no... I think it was a Giant Bat? but it was a team effort

[balmy ice]

Ngl. Yet to kill a bat. Ive killed tarask, gods, the thing before gods.

But never a bat

Ok technically not true. Ive killed worlds and a dimension with a bad wish so....... Ive technically killed almost everything

Its bed time. 2 am. Be well everyone

[blissful ibex]

See this is exactly the sort of thing the lady of pain is supposed to step in and say "No" to

[balmy ice]

I think it was her idea at the time lol

Ive made alot of gods and beings mad at me. Idk how I lived

[blissful ibex]

I've pissed off an ancient red greatwyrm c:

[fossil hollow]

klauth? ashardalon?

[balmy ice]

My 1st one the dm forgot I was immune to fire lol

[twilit shell]

I made niv mizzet mad and he Dr. Manhattaned me 😔

[blissful ibex]

Balagos c:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Balagos

[fossil hollow]

you dont mess with the GOAT

he deserves all the hype

truly is the best candidate for guildpact

[twilit shell]

Highkey. Only viable choice

[fossil hollow]

[Redacted] Jace

[balmy ice]

I remember the 1st campaign I did. 4e. Pissed off every god. Good and bad. But lived to lv 20

[blissful ibex]

What a little amnesia does to a guy

[fossil hollow]

not even to mention what hes cooking up in Reality Fracture

[blissful ibex]

Sadly he got better; lore would be better off without him XD

[balmy ice]

Had like 3 of these after me. 24/7
Aboleth | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom https://share.google/aedFJNb9qeefqbnlF

[blissful ibex]

To be fair; he's really fun to bully

[balmy ice]

Hold on. B4 bed. Is forgotten relms. Like the thousand orcs and the lone drow dnd?

[fossil hollow]

yeap, the Thousand-Arrow Orcs and Drizzt take place in the Forgotten Realms

[balmy ice]

Idk why it took me so long. I want the cat item now

I even did book reports on them in school

[fossil hollow]

there isnt an exact figurine of wondrous power that summons a panther (Gwen seems to be special), but it shouldnt be a hard brew

theres similar items that summon:

• trex, pterosaur, triceratops, plesiosaur
• giant fly, nightmare, mastiff, giant goat, elephants, etc

[balmy ice]

Could be good for my rouge friend. But he has a summon beast. Sabertooth and im 900 lbs naked

[tame kelp]

Sage is the background that is for a graduated wizard?

[fossil hollow]

thats one way to be a sage yes

[wraith zodiac]

Evening!

[balmy ice]

Morning

Ok. News from dm. I can make a living chestplate.

Yay

Just need to find a living core

[fossil hollow]

mimic

[wraith zodiac]

Yeah, just a few more minutes before it goes from dinner to breakfast.

[twilit shell]

Animated armor / armored hulk

[balmy ice]

Sorta.

[wraith zodiac]

Golems

[balmy ice]

Symbiont | Eberron Wiki | Fandom https://share.google/mRcCu7xLXaVVLzrZS

I have a throwing scarab

[strong wave]

Wats a living chestplate

[balmy ice]

Living breastplate | Eberron Wiki | Fandom https://share.google/6ZxOv6LcrWF2S88Fk

It can bring you back to 1 hp on a 0

And +2 to con

[strong wave]

Is this canon or homebrew

[balmy ice]

Ebberon

Cannon

[stiff valve]

Sorta sucks playing a bard when I dont do a single thing all combat, because of enemies passing every save

[strong wave]

What's eberon

[balmy ice]

Were warforges are from

[severe rampart]

What bard? subclass?

[balmy ice]

Eberron | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom https://share.google/EEbbRTDTAAMf5GtoK

Oops wrong link

[stiff valve]

Eloquence bard, level 6, 2014. Spell save DC15, all my combat spells rely on a save

[fossil hollow]

a dnd setting

[severe rampart]

Silvery Barbs

ah wait 2014, I don't got a wink of knowledge about Bards there

it gets better at 2024

[balmy ice]

@strong wave think magepunk

[stiff valve]

Didn't take that spell, and from my experience running the game its not super enjoyable

[balmy ice]

Thats ebberon

Flying ships, robots, machines

Dwemer from skyrim

Pretty much

[strong wave]

Is that where they solve all their problems with magic

[balmy ice]

Its like steam punk

But magic

[stiff valve]

Steampunk but magic instead of steam

[severe rampart]

Welp, you chose Eloquence, gotta play support

[stiff valve]

So magic machines robots etc

[strong wave]

Magic elevators

[balmy ice]

@strong wave found it
Welcome to Eberron! An Introduction to a Realm of Swashbuckling Fantasy | Dungeons & Dragons https://share.google/3sHpzQEG586I98d2W

[strong wave]

That go whoomwhoomwhoom when your riding them

[balmy ice]

That too

I dont fit in the elevator also im to heavy for ones I do fit in lol

[empty thicket]

If i use animal handling in some animistic humanoid creature, i would be doing a persuasion or what?

Aka, use animal handling to relax a minotaur

[balmy ice]

In?

[fossil hollow]

ask your dm

[blissful ibex]

Generally if they're intelligent/can communicate you use social rolls
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/rules-glossary#InfluenceChecks
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/playing-the-game#Skills
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/rules-glossary#InfluenceAction

[fossil hollow]

monstrosities i think often fall under... wheres the Influence action

[empty thicket]

So there is an int threshold

[balmy ice]

A rule my dm has. If it can speak or can speak wo magic

Its treated as human

[balmy ice]

Yee.

[cerulean monolith]

You don’t use Skills. You narrate your characters actions, sometimes guided by mechanics such as the Influence action, and, if a certain set of conditions are met, the DM or the rules may ask you to roll an ability check to determine the outcome of said actions

[cerulean monolith]

No

[empty thicket]

And using animal handling to maybe flirt with one Minotaur

[harsh patrol]

hey i'm running a Ravenloft Carnival adventure set on the Rock of Bral, does anyone have any recommendations for carnival game rolling mechanics?

[cerulean monolith]

I don’t think a more morally reprehensible sentence has been said in this server today. Congrats

[empty thicket]

Thanks(?) im testing stuff

[oak grotto]

Nobody tell him that minotaurs are a playable race.

[peak pecan]

Minotaurs are people too

[empty thicket]

yeah but like, you are with one in a date.
You could use it for maybe recall something and know where scratch him, like behind the ear or smt like that

[empty thicket]

i know, its part of why im asking too

there is few animal races that arent playable
Rarely there is no dog race

without involving lycans

[balmy ice]

All ill say is. Treat em like a human.

As a dragontaur its just weird to do animal things

[peak pecan]

That would just be a humanoid culture; make a Persuasion check or History check to see if you offend him or offer the appropriate amount of contact

[empty thicket]

oh yeah, obviously treat any other Sentient race with respect or nicely
Unless they are el... nvm
But i mean more like lil interaction with that animal side

[oak grotto]

If they can speak you use words. I think that's a good way to do things.

[hollow lance]

if a thunder elements monk dapped someone up would it be as thunderous as their punches?

[fossil hollow]

wynaut

[nova salmon]

this might be a random question, but how can i introduce someone to dnd who claims to "not be creative enough"

[empty thicket]

yeah obviously and if they cant use words, i will use paper and if those 2 dont work...welp, lets hope they arent violent towards me

[harsh patrol]

i might go with it being a multi player game where they could work that into their character,

[empty thicket]

Dab up the fighter for the most powerful clap in history

[empty thicket]

He can be not so creative and just use things that already exist too.
Copy an idea from some anime, book, comic, etc. etc. and try to adapt it to DnD

[harsh patrol]

i am a bit new to this discord server, how do i set my roles like your "Paladin" one?

[balmy ice]

Id say thats like hoof care and brushing.

For me to get saddle on i need help. Also Im natural proficient

[sleek flax]

Channels & Roles at the top of the channel list

[cerulean monolith]

Sometimes our inside thoughts dont need to become outside thoughts

[sleek flax]

I wondered for a second why you didn’t have roles and then realized you joined in 2019, that makes sense (onboarding wasn’t a thing)

[empty thicket]

getting a brush for the Minotaur husband to brush him off after a hard day of work

[harsh patrol]

ah, thank you, it was being hidden by how my browser was being set to a reduced size

[severe rampart]

I of course am the exception

[twilit shell]

I miss old minotaur and not...whatever tf the new minotaur base art is

[severe rampart]

Imagine this: a circular frame of hard material that may be solid, partly solid, or spoked and that is capable of turning on an axle

[cerulean monolith]

Naturally

[empty thicket]

The curiosity killed the cat, but the cat wont be trapped all the time inside of the box, he would get out or not

[fossil hollow]

we do not talk about the motm minotaur art

[twilit shell]

bro def has mad cow disease

[harsh patrol]

test?

excellent

[balmy ice]

Test

[empty thicket]

test

[balmy ice]

Sad no tank role

[empty thicket]

Paladin and Barbarian are the closest "tanks" class you can find

[balmy ice]

@empty thicket if you need taur help feel free to ping

[balmy ice]

I mean like dps, support, tank and healer would be nice

[empty thicket]

taur help? oh with minotaurs? na im good

[blissful ibex]

Cav Fighter, Ancestral Spirits Barbarian, and Open Hand/Elemental Monk grappler

[balmy ice]

I ment any. Ive met one with a fish tail

[severe rampart]

It aint Bear Totem barb?

[empty thicket]

the thing is tricky ngl

[blissful ibex]

That's for solo resilience (which is not tanking); ancestral spirits is for tanking for the party

[empty thicket]

how you would categorize Rogue? i think it would get into a "support" role

[balmy ice]

Dps id think

Unless arcane

[fossil hollow]

Utility and Damage

[blissful ibex]

They're specialists, ye

[empty thicket]

Yeah but in general rogue give tons of utility out of combat

[cerulean monolith]

A classical tank requires both the ability to survive hits and the ability to force attacks to target them.

[blissful ibex]

They exist for the Exploration Pillar, but also have decent combat potential

[balmy ice]

Ah ok. Support would be correct

[severe rampart]

except this is D&D where there is no classical tank

[empty thicket]

And in combat they dont do "DPS" perce, but mostly Burst some objectives or debuff them in some ways

[balmy ice]

Ngl. Ive yet to meet a support rough 😕

[cerulean monolith]

Ancestral Guardian, Battlemaster’s Goading Attack, and the Compelled Duel spell are all examples of classical tanking. Granted, they are the only examples of classical tanking I believe exist in the game, but still.

[humble cairn]

New Grappling makes actual tanking more of a reality.

[severe rampart]

Goading only gives disadvantage on attacks, it doesn't outright force the creature to attack you

[balmy ice]

Oof

[empty thicket]

They should take care of most skills related things, get info and resources and finally being able to take down the most dangerous or important targets

[severe rampart]

I haven't checked out Ancestral Guardian nor Compelled Duel, though

but I find that often "tanking" is just giving disadvantage on attacks on targets other than yourself to the enemy

[cerulean monolith]

Classical tanking doesn’t require a literal forcing, it requires the ability to create conditions that make it most likely that you are the target of the attack.

[severe rampart]

That's our impasse, we have different definitions

[humble cairn]

The new Grappled Condition combines soft control with hard control, making it much more likely to force an attack.

[cerulean monolith]

I can’t name a single MMO (where the idea of classical tanking comes from) where you can force enemies attacks to hit you

[humble cairn]

WoW does.

Taunt mechanics force targeting.

[cerulean monolith]

You’re right I try to forget WoW exists

[humble cairn]

They even had taunt mechanics in 4E D&D. That literally chose the target.

[severe rampart]

though I guess my bare bones definition of tanking is just "preventing your allies from getting damaged"

[balmy ice]

Mine just wanders. Zoro style.

I manage in this campaign

Me, 2 skeleton atm, 2 mastiff( I keep on air ship, 2 kids, my summon spirit, my throwing scarab, 10 basic crew, 6 specialists, and a pear tree

[fossil hollow]

FFXIV

[balmy ice]

And the rough

Tree out ranks him

[fossil hollow]

although FFXIV is more manipulating the "agro" of enemies

[cerulean monolith]

I really love when I say something stupid and all my friends come out to remind me that I’m stupid. It keeps me honest

[empty thicket]

Welp, the idea is positioning too
The "tank" would be in front and most enemies would like to go and attack it because ignoring it would proc opportunity attacks and is a no no for them
Either paladin with high AC and survival or Barbarian with Rage can tolerate the focus of the enemies, until some point

[humble cairn]

Final Fantasy also has taunts that force a change in targeting.

[cerulean monolith]

The Interception feat should’ve allowed for a switch in targeting

[balmy ice]

Tbh. Dnd needs to add a taunt class feat that make ppl attack you if your closest

[humble cairn]

Rogue is an Expert.

[empty thicket]

Dps like wizard, ranger (in theory) and other casters would like to be in the safe positions while others like monk, fighter and some hybrids would like to be in the middle

[blissful ibex]

Quite literally any MMO with a Threat/Emnity mechanic

[balmy ice]

Thats the one I forgot

Specialist

[humble cairn]

"DPS" isn't a good term to us in D&D. If needed perhaps "DPR."

[empty thicket]

Potato potatoe, noted

[humble cairn]

They were officially playing around with class categories and used: Warrior, Mage, Priest, and Expert.

[cerulean monolith]

What in the Dan Quayle

[blissful ibex]

DND isn't an ARPG, people. XD

[empty thicket]

I took DPR like a measurement instead of a category to call a class but okey

[cerulean monolith]

DP6S

[humble cairn]

Mechanically the roles in D&D look more like: Damage, Utility, Support, and Control.

[empty thicket]

Such like Burst, Dots, etc. etc.

[blissful ibex]

it is; but the catagory term is 'High DPR Class'

[empty thicket]

(Dots = Damage over time status)

[blissful ibex]

if anything XD

[lavish flame]

Where's 4e's Roles when you need them. Defender, Controller, Striker, and Leader or bust

[fossil hollow]

speaking of roles, god dnd should have kept monster roles

[blissful ibex]

Controller go brrr c:

[lavish flame]

D&D shouldve kept Monster Roles! It also shouldve had Class Groups

Just gimme categories man

[balmy ice]

In that term im a control, support

[cerulean monolith]

Defender, Ballet Teacher, Leader, Fry Cook, Striker, Banana Farmer, Controller, and IT Engineer

[empty thicket]

In any way, in the game i learnt, Darkest dungeon the positioning of your units matter because some of their skills need X position and enemies have positions too

You wont have in the back the crusader and in front the musketeer

[humble cairn]

Yes, a "tank" would be combined Control and Support.

[balmy ice]

Ima call it a night. Be well all

[noble ermine]

If you had to make a deal with a fey, what would you choose
And no, it cannot be a firstborn but you don’t have any children
You MUST carry it out.
And first to reply chooses what happens if you break the deal/ avoid it

[empty thicket]

Druids are tanks?

[humble cairn]

No

[fossil hollow]

moon druid makes you a bit of a damage sponge

[humble cairn]

Not all Controller Supports are tanks, but "tanking" would a specific combination of controlling and support.

[empty thicket]

im feeling this is one of those "a human is a featherless creature" and then someone bring a chicken without feathers

[fossil hollow]

also did we literally not just go over why tanking isnt a thing in dnd

[cerulean monolith]

Monsters need roles and they also need their DCR and OCR to be listed

[blissful ibex]

Druids are Controllers; Moon Druids are beefy and can tank (somewhat)

[empty thicket]

neat

[upper rapids]

You guys want to hear a funny DND story?

[oak grotto]

Sacrifice all the onions that I eat.

[noble ermine]

I think it would be like, indentured servitude
How bad can the feywild be

[fossil hollow]

#tales-from-the-table

[upper rapids]

Oh thanks

[peak pecan]

-Matt Colville

[blissful ibex]

I mean; if they're stuck in a Control spell and you just stand next to them whaling on them; they're probably going to focus you, no? c:

[noble ermine]

Consequence if break: Extreme pain in liver for 5 hours

[cerulean monolith]

I appreciate the comparison but I would never allow myself to be named Matt. My will is too strong

[oak grotto]

I just have some onion at least once. And I don't like onions so that's a win.

[blissful ibex]

It just samply will not do

[noble ermine]

Plus, I’m sure the consequence couldn’t be that bad-
(The suspiciously placed potted plant)

I wonder what my consequence is

[blissful ibex]

could it be... 🪴?

[fossil hollow]

you already wild surged into a potted plant, thats your consequence

[noble ermine]

If I leave feywild without it, I turn into a plant

[balmy ice]

What if you maker her birth your 1st born?. I watched a dnd short but it was wich not fey

[noble ermine]

How long?

[noble ermine]

A day, a week, a month, how long?

[oak grotto]

Child support.

[fossil hollow]

until you reach 0 hp

[noble ermine]

Just have someone kick the plant.

[cerulean monolith]

How do we feel about per/encounter abilities in 5e?

[blissful ibex]

child support; there's a lot of bards, druids, clerics, and rogues in your future

[paper portal]

would be awesome

[fossil hollow]

i feel like X/Day end up being X/encounter anyway

[noble ermine]

A day, a week, a month, how long? (You did reply

[blissful ibex]

They made them all Short Rest abilities q_q

[cerulean monolith]

I mean on the player side, not the DM side

[oak grotto]

Bards would be terrible at this specific kind of support.

[blissful ibex]

until you hit 0 hp
or are hit with Dispel Magic

[noble ermine]

Just have someone kick the pot

[paper portal]

yeah ive complained about this before that dnd has so many really cool abilities that barely get to see play because of how limited they are

[severe rampart]

God I have to bring my A game in roleplaying, I'm covering 4 players' backstory this session because one person couldn't make it and I didn't want to cancel

[blissful ibex]

And it comes back every dawn c:

[noble ermine]

Does it end if I go back in the feywild?

[blissful ibex]

Hard to do that if you're a plant c:

[severe rampart]

Give me the power of 500 Dungeon Masters

[blissful ibex]

It lasts until the fae gets bored and decides to change the punishment
or until you provide them with something more entertaining than tormenting you for eternity

[noble ermine]

I should retire for the night.
Goodbye.

[oak grotto]

I can only conjure the power of two. Is that ok?

[severe rampart]

Good enough

[empty thicket]

2,maybe 3. 4 but this last one need to be paid

no wait, i can call like 5 dungeon masters and 6 if paying

[severe rampart]

Ah forget it, I'll use my secret weapon... amateur improv

[balmy ice]

I already pay that to 3 dragons

[oak grotto]

Then maybe stay from the fey realm. Fey can be just as bad as dragons. Worse depending on the kind of fey you're dealing with.

[balmy ice]

I had a poly ring made by a pixie recently

Made me a gnome for 1 hr

Dont I know it lol

[oak grotto]

???

You mean a polymorph ring?

[balmy ice]

Dm gave us. Know a guy cards. I got a 20 for the ring and a 30% that they like me. They do not lol

[balmy ice]

Yee

[oak grotto]

Ok, I was very confused for a second.

[balmy ice]

Being a 6 legged dragon taur. Changing my type is kinda very useful

But I did get curse removed from ring

No more gnome. Unless I say

Attempt 3 to sleep. Be well all

[sinful crater]

What is a dnd moment that sounded completely fake out of context but actually happened in your game

[balmy ice]

I killed 3 worlds and a dimension

[sinful crater]

That sounds completely insane out of context and somehow exactly like something that would happen in dnd and now I really want to know the story behind that

[balmy ice]

I wished for a world core (homebrew item) and got a planet core that blew up a dimension drive (also home) and it ripped apart destroying the dimension i was in and 3 planets near the rip

On my dimension side

I lived somehow

But yee got a 1 on wish and a 10%

[fossil hollow]

i thought you were gonna sleep lmao

[blissful ibex]

I need to q_q

[sinful crater]

Lol you just mirrored me but seriously now I am even more curious what actually happened in that session that led to 3 worlds and a dimension getting deleted?

[balmy ice]

I have insomnia and narcolepsy lol

[blissful ibex]

need to wake up for a session in 8 hours

[mighty wharf]

Just helped my DM rework the current encounter to be feasibly done in one session.

Before it was a multi session nightmare fight slog

[balmy ice]

Ok more detail

In this campaign we need to find one of 3 wish rings. The only items that can grant wish. World core was only item that can save our planet

1 was our dimension. (Rough said id wish you'd shut up and I was mute rest of campaign)

And 2 unknown. So we stole a ship. Found a dimension drive and dimension hopped for like 2 years(long campaign lol) then we found ring 2

I wished for the world core and because in this dimension they dont exist it corrected to closet thing, planet core( the nat 1 and 10% percentile)

So it poped in existence and destroyed our dimension drive (it was left on) and in that reaction my partner was blasted into the void and eaten by a Aboleth and I was blasted to dimension 0. The one we live in killing a dimension and 3 planets.

I was arrested for treason and killed by execution. Then brought back by our leader to continue the mission to get the last ring

Then we forgot this campaign till like 4 months ago. Might bring it back

We still got 1 year left

[sinful crater]

Oh so how did the dm even react to that wish going so badly wrong?
and I am confused is this your actual campaign or are you just playing in someone's?

[balmy ice]

This was my 3rd dnd campaign I played in. I was a warforged

Also it was planned by dm that wish would f up. That bad was not main intention

Also odd. Can say pissed. But not f word

[balmy ice]

And to answer 2nd part. My best friend is a dm

Im barred from dming lol

[sinful crater]

Oh thats great I also want a best friend like yours hehe

[sinful crater]

So what's your experinece and which class are you playing?

If I guess the one on your pfp?

[balmy ice]

Current or in this.

Im that campaign i was a warforged artificer. Iron defender sub

Current full homebrew. Dragontaur iron sentinal. Necro shield sub

[balmy ice]

No thats just my sona lol.

Vaporeon protogen

Ppl called me buzz alot online so thats how he came to be.

[sinful crater]

Oh thtas great so whats the traits?

[sinful crater]

both?

[balmy ice]

Buzz has no traits. Its just me.

[sinful crater]

I mean you are playing same classes or different ones on each

[balmy ice]

Diffrent

[sinful crater]

Oh which ones

[balmy ice]

My current is a tank. The dragontaur

That old campaign was more long range

[sinful crater]

Oh so what's in your personality?

[balmy ice]

Autism lol. Best way to put it

I bounce around. But im pretty friendly.

@sinful crater it was nice chatting. I apologize I got to go to bed. Dnd tommorw from 10 to 12

Be well

[sinful crater]

Oh got it interesting

[sinful crater]

For me too so if you don't mind can we also connect on dm as well if you feel comfortable? When I get free we will talk later. I want to talk more about your sona and campaign?

[balmy ice]

Im iffy in dm atm. To many scammers and a few exs

But feel free to ping me here. Im trying to keep it to public only for a bit if thats OK

[sinful crater]

Alright, alright, no problem

[vast saddle]

Is it normal to grief on my PC's condition?

I'm still grieving for the PC I made to be played with my real life friends, got spoiled and rotten in a stranger's table

[tame kelp]

What spells are really good for blinding or deafening marksmen enemies?

"Omg they have a lot of guns!!"

[balmy ice]

Shatter i think

Color spray too I think. Is aoe

[vast saddle]

Speaking of this....does Cleric have a spell that can blind opponents with light?

[balmy ice]

Pyrotechnics,Blinding Smite,Sunbeam,Prismatic Spray

[balmy ice]

Blindness/Deafness and sunbeam

And I think Divine word

[tame kelp]

Wizard like me probably have Darkness

[balmy ice]

I sleep

[tame kelp]

Sleep in 2014 is so weird.

[paper portal]

its a great spell though

[tame kelp]

That's why I like 2024 version

I hope my dm allow me to learn Sleep in 2024 version.

[paper portal]

?

[tame kelp]

Well we are playing dnd with 2014 rules

No one have knowledge or courage enough to rey 2024 rules

Everything in 2024 got changed

[paper portal]

2014 sleep is better anyways afaik

[humble cairn]

I like 2024 Sleep and Color Spray

[humble cairn]

Not everything, but a lot of things.

[still plover]

Fog cloud.

[tame kelp]

Level 1?

[paper portal]

yeah

fog cloud is really good in the right situations

[still plover]

It is, yes.

Even if you don't hide, the attackers will still be at disadvantage.

[true heart]

I dmed for the first time yesterday

Not sure when to use all of the dice, Ive only used the D4 and D20

I used the D4 to roll for damage from punches and weapons

[flint ledge]

Lovely to hear, how did it go?

[true heart]

I don't think I used the session to its full potential, I feel like I couldnt flesh out the story enough

[paper portal]

theyre all just different damage dice (except for the d20 of course)

[flint ledge]

And the d100

[true heart]

So how do I know what one to use

[paper portal]

abilities that deal damage will say, for attacks it depends on the weapon

a whip deals a d4 while a halberd deals a d10

[true heart]

Ah

My players are only level 1 rn, I don't know when to give them anything or what dice to use on the rest of the weapons

I just gave them spells after their first combat encounter

[hot gate]

You can read all about the different weapons here:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/equipment#Weapons

As for spells, it depends on the pc classes. Some classes will have spells from level 1 (clerics, wizards, bards and more), and some won't (fighters, rogues, monks, barbarians)

If you're not sure what classes are supposed to get what, you can check the free rules for that as well:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/character-classes

[small sand]

Does the pronunciation of Eilistraee bother anyone else. I feel like it should be "Eh-liss-trey" or similar idk, the -ee kind of throws me off

[next elk]

can we talk about aurora builder here?

[small sand]

I just looked, it was postponed in 2020???

[pure comet]

You think that's weird, the spanish word lluvia is pronounced Yoo-byah

[small sand]

At what point does one move on😭

[next elk]

yeah but apparently the community maintains it

[pure comet]

I guess it's D&D's version of a dígrafo

[next elk]

as long as there are broke ass bihs like me who cant afford the books

[paper portal]

I don't think so? Because it provides free access to official content thats outside of the srd

[next elk]

i see i see alright

[small sand]

I have a solution but we're definitely not allowed to talk about it here LMAOOOO

[paper portal]

Real

[next elk]

my dms are open,,,

[true heart]

I have a cleric and a wizard so I just had them roll D20s and pick spells out of a level 1 deck

[humble cairn]

I like the ee-liss-TRAY-ee pronunciation.

[vague steppe]

Heyo I got a question, have you ever encountered an OP build in an campaign (as DM or player)

[still plover]

I remember in a level...5? game one of the other players had an echo knight. I moved and threw an eldritch blast. Their turn seemed to go on a lot longer.

[still plover]

Why do you ask?

[vague steppe]

I have played in 2 stories with 2 groups of people and in both we all got messed up by every fight. Barley alife. I wanna know if thats normal or is my group just terrible

[still plover]

Can be. Did you win?

[haughty nimbus]

hey, so the broom of flight can carry up to 500 pounds, right, could it carry more than one person?

[vague steppe]

Yeah? We finished the stories but it was really exhausting

[flint ledge]

That's always a weird thing to answer because characters don't have set weights. Although I see an argument to be made that 2 people don't fit on the broom. A very ask your DM question

[tough lynx]

I was once in a game with a person playing a 3 hexblade/8 echo knight and their turns took 10 minutes while all the casters were done in 40 seconds at most. That was so exhausting

[hot gate]

Ah I suppose that's a decent way of doing things if you're all just playing for the first time yeah

[vague steppe]

Was it atleast an effective turn?

[tough lynx]

Not really lol

They did like 6 more damage than me casting eb

And I still had control spells to cast

It was 6 people and the fight lasted 5+ turns

The 50 minutes of the hour that fight went on for was their turn

It was a single target.

It was one enemy

And then we were told we failed the dungeon cause we took too long

[haughty nimbus]

I genuinely can not wait to fly up and pelt potions downwards at the enemies

[still plover]

Sounds like the DM was providing an appropriate level of challenge for your party.

You can try some tactics, though.

• Focus fire. An enemy is at 100% effectiveness until dead. Kill them one at a time.
• Don't stand in the fire. Avoid taking opportunity attacks, don't bunch up when area effects are likely.
• Work together. Have the monk push, pull and prone enemies for best effect. Don't interrupt crowd control. Make sure the rogue gets sneak attack every turn, that kind of thing.
• Use the terrain. Take advantage of cover, bottlenecks to movement, elevation. You only have to see the enemy you're going to hit.
• Know when to fold 'em. Sometimes the right move is to disengage and get the fighter between you and the enemy. Sometimes a fighting withdrawl is the best you can do.

[vague steppe]

Woah these are actually great advices! Thank you!

[still plover]

I don't like playing D&D like a wargame, but I never said I can't.

[tough lynx]

I really enjoy tactical combat and yeah that’s some pretty good advice

I will say that’s probably a question for the optimisation channel but like it’s quite empty here right now so I don’t think people will mind

Also it’s the general DnD discussion channel

[still plover]

Yeah, this is general strats. Optimisation would be something like take this feat and this multiclass and cast this spell and bounce around killing folk like Mario on goombas.

[tough lynx]

No optimisation is also strategy

Like obviously you want to take good spells and feats if optimising

But if you have a bad strategy then like… you will do worse than a worse build using better strategy

[twilit sail]

pathfinder player

[tough lynx]

The strategy is almost more important than the build

[twilit sail]

🫵

[tough lynx]

I want to get into pathfinder tbh

All my friends are playing Star Wars saga edition

It’s apparently just like the best parts of 3.5e and 4e

[twilit sail]

i was told that pathfinder 1e is 3.5e dlc

and 2e is 1e tempered down

[tough lynx]

Interesting

[twilit sail]

1e is like about building the best builds you can
2e is more about team coordination, and builds arent quite as extreme

[tough lynx]

I have been told character creation isn’t as good in 2e

[tough lynx]

Yeah I’ve heard that

I’d probably prefer 1e then

After I’m done with my exams for the year I’m learning pathfinder 1e and swse

[paper portal]

i really dislike pf2e you've probably seen me complaining about it lol

[tough lynx]

I have lol

[twilit sail]

i dont pay attention to non dnd topics

[tough lynx]

I enjoy kiting

[tough lynx]

It’s in other servers

[twilit sail]

the dm i usually play w irl is not a fan of 5e (or pathfinder)

he likes odnd games

[paper portal]

I had a friend try to get me into it they were very much one of those "ohh dnd sucks pathfinder fixes all of its issues" people

[tough lynx]

I mean dnd does suck but I enjoy the imperfections

Does pathfinder fix the quirks I enjoy?

[paper portal]

dnd sucks in a fun way

[twilit sail]

i mean its way more balanced if thats what he means?

[paper portal]

pathfinder is just bad imo

[twilit sail]

with 5e they didnt rlly try to make the game balanced at all

[still plover]

Shots fired!

[twilit sail]

but balance != good game

[paper portal]

ive heard i would like 3.5 though so maybe when i have time and motivation ill learn that

[tough lynx]

The writing is worse lol… just look at techo knight

[paper portal]

techo!

[tough lynx]

I wanna learn 3 systems after my exams

The only thing keeping me going lol

[paper portal]

nah im cooked for uni lol

[twilit sail]

the real way to convince ppl to play pathfinder is to tell them they have queer polycules in the pantheons

[tough lynx]

Based based based based

[twilit sail]

-# also the pathfinder devs charge you way less money

[tough lynx]

The only thing is my irl friends got into dnd because I convinced them to. Idk if I’ll have anyone to play 3.5, pathfinder 1e, or swse with

[twilit sail]

have you tried abducting ppl

[tough lynx]

No I haven’t I really should (joke)

[twilit sail]

you can try to convince them to get into other systems?

dnd is kind of constrictive

[tough lynx]

They aren’t into dnd and ttrpgs like I am

[twilit sail]

ah

[tough lynx]

They like it cause it’s a chance to be with friends

[twilit sail]

youre at uni yes, isnt there a tabletop club there

[paper portal]

hiii

[tough lynx]

I like it cause crunchy

[twilit sail]

i could probably easily find ppl to play new tabletops at my uni bc its really big

idk abt you

[tough lynx]

I’m not at uni yet, 1 more year hopefully

[paper portal]

that has the issue of having to talk to people at my uni

[twilit sail]

join the tabletop club discord and then beg ppl in general

please play pathfinder w me pls pls pls pls pls

[paper portal]

i would die

[tough lynx]

I did really bad on exams last year so I’m using the next year or 2 to get all my qualifications so I can do physics

[twilit sail]

i have never had a year where ive done bad in grades
but its still insanely stressful and i struggle a lot to motivate myself to do non academic stuff

[tough lynx]

I had awful mental health… like quite bad but yeah… I couldn’t do anything so I just tried my best

[twilit sail]

i got a 50 on an exam this year and i was told "oh we dont do curves and theres only one other exam for this class, good luck lol lmao"

i got an 85 on the final but still

[tough lynx]

Somehow I still got a B in maths

[tough lynx]

Oh damn

I like maths it’s fun

Numbers work with my brain

[twilit sail]

i dont like math bc extremely bad experience w tutoring

im better than most ppl at it, still hate it

[tough lynx]

That’s valid

[paper portal]

i once got 13/100 on a maths exam lol

[twilit sail]

math becomes a lot easier if you have ppl tutoring you

its always a logical thing

[paper portal]

some maths is fun imo

[twilit sail]

and if you get it explained to you, it becomes easier

[paper portal]

i like dice maths :3

[twilit sail]

my uni had a good tutoring program in my freshman year (that they promptly axed) which made college calc way more forgiving

i didnt pass the ap calc exam so i was surprised that college calc was way harder than high school calc

but i passed bc they didnt only have one person to tutor the entire grade

[cobalt owl]

Is there no way to preorder the ravenloft books on the non-US website?

[sour grove]

Are there vc on this server?

[hot gate]

No there aren't, mostly because they would be hard to moderate

[fathom pollen]

Real

[lethal otter]

Sup yall, how is everyone this fine morning

[humble cairn]

I'm having a great afternoon this morning, thank you!

[lethal otter]

ah yes, timezones

[tall adder]

Nice bright day Nephew

[humble cairn]

Hot leaf juice time?

[lethal otter]

oh yeah, tea would be nice

[tall adder]

Not yet 😁

Tea is best when in conversation

[humble cairn]

But isn't all the time hot leaf juice time?

[lethal otter]

its best when giving great life advice

[tall adder]

Now that is true!😁

[humble cairn]

Ahh well lemme just whip out this bench and table and give'em a quick wipe down!

[tall adder]

Now that may be a good idea!😆

[cobalt owl]

Oh wow they're canning the international store

So thats why I can't pre-order the ravenloft horrors book on the international ddb website

Trash, once again defeated by region lock

[potent summit]

"No, I'm not human" would be an entirely normal thing to say in DND

[cobalt owl]

I don't think this is the place for that

[small sand]

I mean are there many races that pass as human but aren't?

I guess a kinda tall halfling who people think is just a small human or like a half-elf who takes after their human parent could be possible

[potent summit]

Humans smash anything, so everything is bound to look human like

Do you not have friends or family to ask that of before a large discord online?

It's kind of a long shot to ask here

If you can't afford 3 dollars for food, how the hell are you paying rent or Internet and such

[narrow moss]

Eh not worth it.

[errant whale]

public wifi is a thing at some restaurants and such but brother just joined the discord less than an hour ago

there are better resources out there if you're in need than joining random discord servers

[finite osprey]

your profile picture is awesome

[narrow moss]

it's from a vn

all imma say on that here

[sweet wolf]

gulp

[narrow moss]

lol

[timber turtle]

Would a mindflayer fighting time traveler sound like too high level of a character for what ever lvl the campaign starts with?

[narrow moss]

man time travel itself is a tricky thing

you got consistency, bootstrap paradoxes, your river songs...

gestures at all of Homestuck

it's a mess if you don't prepare right.

[lilac epoch]

Hey guys, in my table, we can write down a few items that we hope to get, to let the DM know what our playstyle is.

For the Rare item slot, is Staff of Woodlands good? Mainly concerned about Wall of Thorns which will have a chance of breaking the Staff. Minus Wall of Thorns, is it still a good item?

[little stream]

How would one even prepare? Like deadass it would be tenet

[narrow moss]

you start with the rules of the setting/universe and go from there

like I said it's a headache and a half.

[little stream]

Okay let's say so and so did this

Somehow we gotta bootlegged from there, what a nightmare holy

[flat niche]

@bright pendant Looks so temping.

[narrow moss]

i wrote a story once where the mc becomes a certain way because of an old hero. But that's his future self.

a hero from the past, mind you, is his future self.

he creates his own legend somehow.

and that's a tame example lol

you can simplify it of course but yeah time travel can do weird stuff

[little stream]

Kudos dude, I don't even have enough brain power to make it coherent

[narrow moss]

bootstrap paradoxes are a common trope tho

event a happens because of event b, but b only exists because event a happened. No origin and yet part of the timestream now.

that's the most common type of time travel i've seen anyway and my earlier example is exactly that. But you can do weirder stuff.

it all depends on how loose your current universe plays with the rules of spacetime lol

[oak grotto]

I know what you are. 🐺 🦎 🐂

[raw atlas]

Hi

[silver willow]

I want to know, do the players and DMs use the titles, items, maps, characters according to the d&d lore or through their own imagination??

[raw atlas]

I watched 3 YouTube videos and joined this server. Seems fun

[silver willow]

Like I am genuinely confused out of my mind

I have a lowk cool idea for a character but I don't know if I can technically allow the character to exist or does it have to be according to some rules??

[raw atlas]

Hi I new

[oak grotto]

Idk what exactly you mean by this.

[silver willow]

Like the player's characters use certain places, items and are of a selected class, race, etc. so i want to know whether these properties are according to the rules of the dnd lore/games or out of one's own self imagination

[last flume]

Yep this is a games with rules and set classes and items and so on

[oak grotto]

Well, the rules for character creation are entirely up to your DM. Some DMs might ban a certain race, some DMs might be very lax with rules, some DMs might state that a certain race uses different lore from their official counterpart, etc...

[silver willow]

I can share my ideas here right?

[sinful crater]

usually it iss a mix of both actually cz dnd has official lore races classes items and settings but a lot of players and dm also add their own imagination or homebrew ideas into the world and characters

[silver willow]

Ohk

[sinful crater]

You are new to dnd

[oak grotto]

You certainly can. Just be aware that each DM has their own preferences. Some ideas might not be approved by certain DMs.

For example, I am a DM who doesn't like guns and the verdan race.

[sinful crater]

yeah I guess every DM has their own style and limits for what fits their world or campaign

[silver willow]

I was imagining that my character (going to be made after finding a party) is basically a conglomeration of souls of the fallen dragons and wizards of a war. This this character is basically a brain child of a ghost, wizard and dragon. But this would be to over powered so the catch here is that it can only use it's powers of wizard and dragon only when it manifests into a physical form. It can use it's powers as a ghost freely tho but it is a person of civics sense and doesn't believe in possession of living beings. With inanimate objects, it's a bit different

[oak grotto]

I'm afraid that there isn't really an official ghost race. Also your powers are dictated by your class and subclass so you can't possess things all willy nilly.

[sinful crater]

That is actually a really creative concept honestly really liked it the ghost possessing objects part especialy so are you planning to design the character yourself as well?

You could also do something similar where the character is an abandoned suit of armor inhabited by the souls of fallen knights and one ancient mage and the armor changes slightly depending on which soul is influencing it more and certain abilities only work when a specific soul takes control.

[severe fox]

There is a ghost like rogue but thats about it

I had a character who was a intellect devour

[still plover]

First you get the group. Then you build the trust. Then you can ask to play Pinnochio or whatever.

[humble cairn]

This seems a bit too much for a level 1 character. Why don't you take a look at the basic rules so you get a better idea for the kinds of characters you can make: https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024

[sour cave]

Is xp a common system for leveling? I’ve so far only ever used milestone and never used xp

[still plover]

Yes.

Though more in sandbox style open world games, West Marches, that kind of thing.

[empty thicket]

Xp and Milestones are commons ways
Both with it own good and bad so

XP is tricky because some actions you must determinate them like giving XP too so the players lvl up

and unless you give them the chance to farm some in some way is almost like milestones

[sour cave]

What’s bad about milestone? Players always asking if they level up yet?

[empty thicket]

that is one of many like problems like everything, but it have a bonus

[idle oar]

I don't find milestone bad at all - in my experience it can encourage more story-focussed gameplay.

[empty thicket]

saying to your players "okey guys... would you like to level up?"

"and please, level up again"

(2 lvl ups is the most scary stuff sometimes)

[errant sonnet]

Thinking up campaign ideas atm

I want to run more campaigns with social dynamics as a focus

Unique social dynamics that make the campaign more interesting

Could do one where the players accidentally joined an evil organization

[empty thicket]

the party was paid by some organization (a cult) and do some dungeon exploring for them. Getting paid and same for 2 or 3 times

at the 4th time they are tried to be used for a sacrifice for their patreon

[errant sonnet]

I like the idea that they were there when the level 20 LG Paladin died, and the demon king's army just assumed they did it so they recruited them

[empty thicket]

but drop lil hints that they are a cultist group

[errant sonnet]

Who are? The explicitly demonic demon king's army? I think they're a lil beyond a cult my guy

[empty thicket]

i expect some "yeah we are the bad guys but we still give dental and medical insurance"

[errant sonnet]

See I was thinking more like edgelord chuunibyou stuff.

"By gods, you're Him, the one that killed Lavanthis. But you are not prepared for the power of... Elissa.. the BLACK"

I want absolute edgelord stuff and gap moe

Man I just want to go home and play Baldur's Gate 3

I'm tired of trying, I've tried enough tonight

Anyone wanna hear about my Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough?

[humble cairn]

PCs get hired to rescue a kidnapped royal. When they find the royal they discover that the person they are rescuing actually hired someone to kidnap them because they were going to be married off against their will. Now the PCs have to figure out how they will proceed and who they will believe.

[grim notch]

Finally, made it to the Underdark, via a portal inside the Abbey of the Sword, in our latest campaign. (Our party of 5 are Lvl 7) We decided to seek the source of it's power. The DM had us roll a d100 for our first encounter. The Barbarian rolls a 98. The Paladin hears a voice in his head whisper, "Look what scrumptious morsels have arrived". He replies, "We are not food. Show yourself." The voice in the Paladin's head speaks, again, "I know you seek to destroy the Cult of the Dragon." The Paladin responds, "Show Yourself!". An Aboleth(!) appears. We roll for initiative. The Cut: We lost the Cleric, briefly, and emerged victorious.

[errant sonnet]

Tbh that's just like a quest.

When I ran VtM I had the players (who were vampires) get sent to retrieve cargo from the basement of a gang hideout. Vampires are strong, but they have rules about secrecy, so they had to be smart. They stealth into the basement, only to find that the cargo is a drugged woman, and they are probably human trafficking, so now they have to decide whether to set her free, or hand her over for a reward, and also have to figure out how to get her out of the gang hideout

Generally, I just want to create a campaign around a unique dynamic, and possibly a joke that the players get to play out

Eminence In Shadow has a theme that the main character wants to cosplay as the ultimate badass, but wants his true identity to be forgettable and as much of a bystander as possible. I like the idea of the players being overpowered, but having to hide how overpowered they are

[humble cairn]

Yes, correct, but it depends on how deep you want to make the political layers. The family of the royal is a faction with an agenda, they could be contending with a number of suitor families, all with their own agendas, the royal "kidnapee" also has their own agenda and the people they hired could be yet another agenda. I feel like if the runaway royal hired a traditional enemy faction, that might be interesting.

[errant sonnet]

I'm not looking for intrigue, I'm looking for a fun bit

Comedy is a form of storytelling, and I also love edge, angst, moe and satire

[humble cairn]

You said "social dynamic" so that's what I was going for?

[errant sonnet]

Yeah that's why I told you what I was looking for just now

Lemme think up some others

I feel like an isekai is a common trope. I could run that, but it honestly doesn't sound super fun

[humble cairn]

I'm not understanding the specifics of what you want here, also I'm not great with jokey type stuff.

[errant sonnet]

No worries

I honestly just want to do more campaign-facing mechanics and ideas

My favorite setting way back when was Eberron, but honestly I've kind of grown cold towards it

It's a novel setting, but it gets a lil old

Writing your own setting is hard though, especially since DND is such a hard system to homebrew mechanics for

[subtle cliff]

Anyone ever played sunless citadel? Like in a online campaign

[fair summit]

It's an official module I see often mentioned, so someone 100% has played it, online or not

[subtle cliff]

Was curious, if the DM gave them full map of the sunless citadel (dungeon), or cut the map room wise when playing...

[rough basalt]

This is why I don't use it.

Being asked something repeatedly is something that irks me.

[hot gate]

Depends on individual DMs. For me, when I run digitally, I put up vision walls onto the preexisting map. If I play in person, I draw the rooms as players explore them-

[rough basalt]

I also like XP cause it provides a clear concise progression.

With XP it's very easy to tell if your DM is shorting you with level progression.

[narrow moss]

yeah but then everyone goes murderhobo for 5 more exp.

[rough basalt]

That's not how it works.

[narrow moss]

That is how people think it works.

[hot gate]

You can also just not give them xp for murderhoboing and give them the same xp for resolving an encounter peacefully.

[rough basalt]

XP in dnd is given out for solving an encounter that would require effort.

[subtle cliff]

Noted, thanks

[narrow moss]

idk i just like the idea of milestone.

[rough basalt]

Such as talking down a fight between you and a group of soldiers who misunderstood you.

[hot gate]

I overall prefer milestones (story based progression). Normal XP always felt too slow for me.

[rough basalt]

It's always funny cause actual Milestone is just XP in set amounts rather than calculated.

[twilit sail]

Keeping track of things is hard

Isnt that right dms

🙂

[hot gate]

Oh no as DMs it's easy. It's the players who usually don't keep track.

[narrow moss]

if you say so Sora

[hot gate]

Sora's right, that's what the rules say about it

[sour cave]

I like milestone because a level up after a big event to show how far you’ve come and how you are getting stronger for it is cool

[hot gate]

But the community has claimed the term to mean something else pretty hard so I'm not usually fighting it.

[narrow moss]

eh.

[delicate violet]

does anyone know where i cna find a one shot to play?

[twilit sail]

Hell

[rough basalt]

No. I like keeping track of stuff.

[twilit sail]

Oneshots only happen if theres a dm who wants to make it happen

[hot gate]

You mean as a DM or as a player?

[delicate violet]

player

[hot gate]

#find-a-game

[narrow moss]

idk i don't need xp to keep track of "stuff"

[twilit sail]

This will show you games but not neccessarily a oneshot

[rough basalt]

I like fighting it cause I'm a stickler for the right terms used. Also gives me something to do.

[vernal owl]

#looking-for-players

[crimson gulch]

No it's really not

[hot gate]

lol

[twilit sail]

Twas a joke

[rough basalt]

"Milestone" is either DM based level up or story based progression as the community believes it.

[narrow moss]

words change though

language is dynamic.

[hot gate]

Sure, but in this case it's defined by the rules

[narrow moss]

which are guidelines in dnd

[rough basalt]

2024 DMG still says it's XP just
"Major Milestone = Hard encounter"
"Minor Milestone = Low encounter"

[hot gate]

We're not going to get far if we start disagreeing what actions and bonus actions mean

[hot gate]

Right, and as soon as someone brings that up as an argument we can also just pack up and go home because there is nothing to discuss.

[narrow moss]

same feel whenever someone says "but the rules"

[rough basalt]

I enjoy XP cause like I said, elmininates "do we level up" spamming.

[hot gate]

Not at all, as you can have a discussion about the rules and how to use them.

[narrow moss]

whatever. Be right if it's that important to you.

[hot gate]

Good talk

[noble tusk]

There are rules for leveling entirely without using XP using the milestone framework in the DMG at least.

[hot gate]

Yup, it's what people usually mean when they say milestones

"Level Advancement without XP"

[vernal owl]

Tomato

[noble tusk]

Yeah I've noticed the milestone people usually refer to is that, without the actual numbers. I find it easier to use that one as well honestly.

[hot gate]

Replaced with "do we get xp for this?"

[noble tusk]

Is it really D&D if nobody asks about the rewards tbh

[twilit sail]

💀

[hot gate]

Yeah, though with the right party I suspect neither is a problem.

Thinking about it, it has been a real long time since any of my players was like "can we have x"

[noble tusk]

Its usually done at a pretty comical point during session wind down when I DM so it's never been like obnoxious or anything.

[twilit ibex]

"What do you mean we didn't level up? Come on, we killed so many civilians by accident. Doesn't that half count?"

[rough basalt]

Yep says to potentially treat story events and stuff as milestones using the "Hard encounter or low encounter" XP allotage.

[rough basalt]

Surpringly never get this.

[hot gate]

+0 +0 +0 +0 +0 XP

[humble cairn]

"Milestone" as a word makes sense to just get a level up, but according by the book that's Story Based Progression.

[delicate owl]

I can change that! Mwahahha

[south prawn]

The DMG makes it clear there's a difference between "Milestone" and "Story Based Advancement", but it's confusing because the adventure books are loose with it. Curse of Strahd refers to it as milestone awards specifically detailing when to award a level up. That sort if discrepency that seems to exist all throughout published materials just loves to create confusion

[delicate owl]

Milestone is just xp given at intervals.

[south prawn]

In a sense it is a milestone by definition because you're technically awarding XP to level up, but ya just sort of skip over the actual XP

[south prawn]

Right.

[peak pecan]

Things you kill on accident don’t count towards XP total. Sure, you “accidentally killed Barzodiax the dread Beholder when you set off a gunpowder explosion that rocked the Underdark”, but you didn’t mean it, and so you can kiss that XP bye bye

[twilit ibex]

I love ridiculous names. "Thronglechar the Destroyer" being a warcriminal who ended up being discussed here

"What's proper punishment for Thronglechar? Does leveling a civilization really earn eternal imprisonment?"

[peak pecan]

The Fearsome Red River Ravagers and their leader, the great and terrible Throckmorton

[silver willow]

I want to ask...can I be a dm? Or does one need some experience to be a DM

[peak pecan]

Everyone starts somewhere — if you want to be a DM, give it a try! It’s easier than you think it is.

[high jolt]

This might not be much of a dnd discussion but I am positing anyway. Does anyone have examples of “is a hot dog a sandwich” type debates that my table can have in character.

[cyan stirrup]

Hello! I am new to dnd. Where should I start lore wise and if I wanted to join a session how would I go about that?

Actually ignore me. I see the proper channels lol.

[hot gate]

You can check for #find-a-game for more info about the latter. For the former, the lore will depend on the sort of game you join, so there's no size fits all answer without more specifics.

[cyan stirrup]

Thank you! And its nice to meet you guys.

[thorn abyss]

How did ya’ll discover D&D?

[last flume]

My brother left his Monster Manual at home when I was little and I took a gander at it and fell in love with all the Monster Illustrations

[dim flicker]

my classmate was watching critical role over breaktime & i asked what it was about

[torpid hound]

Pack Tactics + Mount 🤔

[hot gate]

I saw those cool old Lockwood illustrations and got curious

[torpid hound]

Online

[little stream]

Ironically a game in 2000s

[cyan stirrup]

I kept hearing about it growing up and now I just want to full dive into it.

[little stream]

But only now that I have interaction with the community

[fair summit]

Had pretty much always known about it, being a very well known game, though I never really cared or knew anything about it
The first time I actually properly discovered what the game is like and got interested was around 5 years back when a youtuber I watched mentioned joining a game, and since i already occasionalyl had them talking in the background when drawing I figured seeing what the game was like made sense, and after then properly reading up on the rules I've been playing since 😎

[cyan stirrup]

And I had several BG3 runs so it was kinda inevitable

[little stream]

So that's where we put the line, ight. Got it, got it. Thx

[rough basalt]

You can learn how to DM without experience.

It'll be harder but it's a guarantee you'll be able to play much faster and more often.

A lot of skills with dming are only really grown by DMing as well.

My advice would be to run low level tutorial adventures, stuff like Lost Mines of Phandelver, Dragon's of Stormwreck Isle and/or Heroes of the Borderlands to get started.

Heroes of the Borderlands would be your best bet if you're playing 5.5e

As it's the 5.5e starter set, and it's a pretty good one.

[high jolt]

I got a desk job with no human interaction and went to look for audio books to listen to and somehow accidentally found critical role.

[rough basalt]

I knew of dnd for a long time, but never played it till 2016

When my brother in law invited me to their game while I was staying with my dad for a time.

Then a few sessions of that, and didn't play again till 2022

Cause I wasn't aware of online dnd till Legend of Vox Machina S1 made me really wanna play dnd and I searched it up.

[turbid vessel]

The first time I "played" DnD, I was invited to a group that told me they would help me learn to play. Despite how well I thought I prepped, the rules were really confusing and I couldn't wrap my head around it.
I would find out years later from a friend of that group that they actually were playing Pathfinder 1e, and said "it's basically DND but improved'

[crimson gulch]

I can't stand this bait and switch crap.

[turbid vessel]

It turned me off from the hobby for a long while cause I thought I was just too stupid for DnD

[hot gate]

I'm so sorry 🫂

[turbid vessel]

It's funny in retrospect but idk how they thought lying to me about the game we're playing would get me to like pathfinder lol

[hot gate]

Wild, yeah

[crimson gulch]

Classic pathfinder player behavior

[hot gate]

I tried to get into D&D with the 3.5e rules and let's just say I'm only playing with the 2024 rules now

[crimson gulch]

Bought my first players handbook i 2001, never played til 2021 in 5e

I feel that deva lol

[turbid vessel]

These days I genuinely like pathfinder 2e but I think I still have some implicit bias against the player base after the fact

(and after trying to be a part of the server, I'm not totally convinced my bias is irrational )

[twilit sail]

back in the summer of 82
during the great ttrpg war, i lost three friends to a stray hellfire ray

i can still hear the laughter of those damned three actioned palookas as i scampered away and hid under half cover

[woven flint]

Why does the Pathfinder community have to be such.. TTRPG supremacist, bro?
I don't think I've seen ANY other community like them in that sense 😭

[dim flicker]

i've seen a handful other ttrpg-bases that can fight for that ttrpg supremacist title

[twilit sail]

i dont think thats the case, it's just the biggest one

[crimson gulch]

Yeah, I love dnd and that's all I run, and I don't actually see a lot of other folks like me

[dim flicker]

i personally have an incurable hatred for fabula ultima bc the playerbase is nightmarish. it's kinda sad cos over time i've met some close friends who genuinely enjoy it, but it's forever tainted for me.

[rough basalt]

Classic pathfinder fixes this moment

[woven flint]

Eh, its not all Pathfinder players, its just VERY loud small group in the great number of players who thinks its the best thing ever, but I swear, it feels like all I've talked to are like
"D&D? That SUCKS! Play Pathfinder instead."

[rough basalt]

Pathfinders playerbase is their ultimate opposition

[tepid radish]

to some degree it's probably trying to ride the momentum that the PF resurgence made.

[rough basalt]

Every tabletop honestly has that issue tho

[dim flicker]

how did it get a resurgence anyway?

[woven flint]

Its true!
It IS a good and fun system, but some of the players SUCK!!!

[rough basalt]

The OGL crisis

[dim flicker]

ohhhhh right! i forgor all about that

[rough basalt]

The OGL crisis pushed many people away from dnd temporarily and permanently

[twilit sail]

no im saying that pathfinder has a big community so we see pathfinder supremacists a lot more than the smaller comunities

[rough basalt]

Which led to the rise of OSR systems and PFs popularity increase.

[little stream]

Actually elaborate on that could ya

[tepid radish]

it started due to the OGL shenanigans largely. That made people want to check other ttrpgs, and since PF2E is the second most known one, it basically created a momentum which various people probably wanted to ride on

[woven flint]

Its sad

[rough basalt]

DnD wanted to basically take over all content made using the DnD OGL

Which includes Pathfinder and other systems.

[little stream]

Oh yea no...nah that's bad on paper

[twilit sail]

those accursed coastal wizards

[rough basalt]

And all third party content would pay retro fees for using it as well as to keep using it.

[woven flint]

I will say, Paizo as a company is pretty based tbh

[rough basalt]

Basically they tried to take over the entire tabletop industry

But it didn't work out and now the DnD OGL is protected by Creative Commons so they can't do it again.

And the biggest people who were behind it left wotc in 2024

[tepid radish]

the way they wanted to write the new OGL, it was gonna make everything of the original OGL and onwards basically owned by WoTC

Which includes every third party thing and Pathfinder 1e/2e

[rough basalt]

As well as OSR systems made off of DnD

[tepid radish]

it was going to make the original OGL deprecated so you couldn't even stay behind it (and the OGL was talked about as if it wasn't gonna be deprecated ever)

[lean wigeon]

D&D? That SUCKS! Play Pathfinder instead.

[rough basalt]

They wanted to become the Gods of the tabletop industry.

Everyone would pay tribute for being in their presence.

[little stream]

That would drive off new playerbase completely, how did they make sense of that. Or do they even have the foresight for it bru

[rough basalt]

Money

[tepid radish]

I don't want to talk about intent as a whole, but ultimately it was an action which was gonna be unhealthy for the market at large yeah.

[rough basalt]

They felt dnd was undermonetized and they wanted that money

[little stream]

HAHAHAHAHA yea no, holy. No

[rough basalt]

Thankfully the main people behind it publicly are gone now.

[subtle cliff]

U can always find ways to enjoy games without spending money
Just gotta work for it...

[lyric viper]

There is also a certain sistership and overlap between 3.5 and pf1e were the suggestion of "you might enjoy pathfinder' is a genuine recommendation to someone who enjoys or is interested in 3.x

[rough basalt]

And it set a pretty good precedent that you can't just nuke an industry you basically created without backlash.

And the new OGL being covered by Creative Commons means fantasy systems inspired off dnd and fan created third party are safe too.

[lyric viper]

I always feel like the phrase of 'you might enjoy'/:be interested in' instead of 'play x' makes a big difference between feeling like a genuine thoughtful suggestion or gatekeeping/rejecting

[little stream]

From what I seen the playerbase started as a hobby, mind you ranging for kids to adults. Who just want to pass the time

If let's say money is involved? I for one wouldn't go near it blind

[rough basalt]

Thing they don't understand about dnd imo is that it can't be monetized like a video game which is what they were hoping iirc

Since all a group needs to play core dnd is for one person to buy the corebooks.

[twilit sail]

i mean new books are basically dlc

[rough basalt]

You don't have to buy new books

Video game monetization is as bad as it is cause they force you to keep paying to keep up.

Where as DnD, they can't come to your house and burn your book so you're forced to buy the new one.

[turbid vessel]

Technically you can play DND for free, your character customization options are just limited

[rough basalt]

Yeah what I meant by core is just pure core rules.

[lyric viper]

You buy books in DND to:

• get the pretty, pretty art
• get playtested and approved official options
• support the hobby

[rough basalt]

For all the core content only 1 person needs the books and free content can take you pretty far.

[tepid radish]

the point is that it's not possible to monetize it like a video game. You can get closer but it will be different because the way TTRPGs are made simply doesn't support the "predatory" ways of acting that video games have. It's not gonna be possible to make such a system sustainable while being precisely like video games monetization

[twilit sail]

dnd lootboxes?

[rough basalt]

It'd only be possible if they stop making physical books, which I doubt that would go over well.

[twilit sail]

you can only get core rulebooks in random crates

[rough basalt]

Magic the Dungeoning

Dragons the Gathering

[turbid vessel]

Peace cleric gets buffed and becomes the DND black lotus

[rough basalt]

Iirc wasn't one of the initial concepts for 5e to make it a deckbuilder rpg

[empty thicket]

how so?

[little stream]

So ur telling a, I could get other sets of rules and b, pretty art on different occasions? Y'know what, hell yeah

[empty thicket]

after playing lot of Deckbuilding games, i would love such thing

[rough basalt]

Or was that just a rumor that turned into folklore basically

[hot gate]

"Peace Cleric is out of rotation, only current season subclasses please!"

[dim flicker]

random booster pack with rare magic item cards inside

[empty thicket]

but that would need a whole reinvention of the system

[lyric viper]

I think more so that was some of the design intention behind 3.5 as wotC was more used to card games at that time.

[twilit sail]

what is black lotus

[rough basalt]

Ah I see.

[dim flicker]

a very sought affter & iconic card in magic the gathering, a card game

[rough basalt]

It'd suck if dnd was a cardbuilder

[peak pecan]

They might bring that draft back to compete with a certain system that tried to stick a Dagger in WOTC’s Heart

[tepid radish]

yeah it originally was meant to be an extremely modular game. Xanathar's and various UAs before that were built with that in mind, as iirc Mearls also mentioned that.

the process didn't work well, both due to how the system was base was and also the fact that various extra content after kind of wasn't "extra"

[rough basalt]

Imagine you wanna get your hands on the Legendary weapon packs for a vorpal sword but Scalpers buy up the entire product line every shipment

[lyric viper]

So some of the philosophy behind how mtG was played influenced dnd- lot more mastery of the system expected.

[little stream]

Limitation? That's what come to mind

[rough basalt]

Scalpers

Scalpers are a massive issue with trading card games atm. Notably MTG and Pokemon

[turbid vessel]

Mike mearls explicitly praised and used ivory tower game design in DnD

[rough basalt]

People will buy up the entire stock then resell cards online for like 200 bucks

[peak pecan]

“Went out to buy minis last week but the scalpers got em all. So, for our dramatic final battle with Vecna, he will be portrayed by this $5 Darth Vader figure I found on the floor of a CVS”

[little stream]

You mean the very thing rams, laptop parts and hell Pokemon cards have a problem at?

[rough basalt]

Yep

[lyric viper]

Which is funny as Monte Cook explains how that influenced 3.x and how it didn't really work for DND in hindsight.

[rough basalt]

If it isn't AI centers ordering all the parts it's scalpers

[tepid radish]

Like there are many things that dungeon and dragons 5th edition does, and what and which it does well is an entire discussion

but without going into it, I can confidently say that the base rules in both the 2014 ruleset and 5.5e didn't end up modular enough for the idea to function

[lyric viper]

Mastery of the game is more for competitive games.

[rough basalt]

3.5e so far to me feels complicated but not too much. But I'm also only level 1 lol

4e level 1 felt most complex out of the dnd editions I've tried.

[twilit sail]

isnt being skilled at dnd just using tactics and optimizing your character sheet

[rough basalt]

More or less yeah

[twilit sail]

most of the game comes down to random chance

[lyric viper]

I think 3.5 had the issue of character complexity and 4e was more combat tactical

[rough basalt]

Having good thinking for the out of combat portion could be considered such

Tho the real skill in ttrpgs comes from being able to manipulate reality to only roll 20s

If you hold your hand towards your computer screen and scream "20!" It'll always roll a 20.
Trust.

[crimson gulch]

The rogue last night rolled 3 nat 20 sneak attacks in a row, was wild

[jolly canyon]

My rogue landed a single attack after 3 turns. The duality of rogues

[crimson gulch]

She's got the divine boon of "nope that's a hit"

[sleek cloud]

Pretty solid rogue boon

[turbid vessel]

As well, being able to bribe your DM with pizza

Or if you're an artist, bribe them with art

[crimson gulch]

I had a player give me 25 3d printed ducks last night

She caught a power word kill and died

[rough basalt]

I'm looking forward to my next combat with my rogue