dnd-discussion

[buoyant oar]

In short, it is when the Dungeon Master plays a specific character with the party and usually its done poorly to railroad or to steal the spotlight from PCs.

The spotlight hogging is the telltale sign for me. Sadly I have seen too many players that will accuse a well developed NPC of being a "DMPC" because they are developed more than a standard tavern keeper

[warm meadow]

My NPCs never replace the party’s decisions. They are only there to add depth to the world and for interaction. If at any point it felt like an NPC was guiding too much, I’m open to adjusting that based on feedback

[timber cove]

If only 3 players show up I will add a DMpc to balance combat. They dont really do anything but be another body in combat

[mystic crystal]

Being a spotlight hog as player is a big fear of mine.

[buoyant oar]

The only time I will "Override" a Group decision as a NPC is if the NPC has authority over them like a Lord or monarch and their idea is capital S stupid. But they can always disobey the order and roll with the consequences of that.

[mystic crystal]

It’s all fun and games until your lord is assassinated! I’m just kidding I just have a problem with authority

[buoyant oar]

In my experience players have enjoyed my developed characters it helps the world feel more alive if NPCs are more than a quest giver and crowd person.

[crimson gulch]

having a world full of powerful npcs is fine, so long as they are sending the players on an adventure and not dragging the players on a guided tour

[mystic crystal]

As a player I prefer a developed NPC makes the connection feel more real

[buoyant oar]

Oh I was not even talking Powerful characters lol.

Best compliment I have gotten from players is that some of my NPCs have felt like companions from bioware games.

[crimson gulch]

oooh thats a good feeling yeah

[warm meadow]

That’s actually really cool, getting compared to BioWare companions is a massive compliment. It means your NPCs have real personality and emotional depth if players are connecting with them like that

[buoyant oar]

Longest NPC quest I ran was a full year NPC had their soul stolen and sold to Zariel in the hells. Players had to fight on their behalf to free them long before Karlach existed. It ended with the players having to be key witnesses in an internal court and a battle with Zariel. Took about 18 months.

[radiant night]

YOOOOOOOOOO

Hi guys :)

My DM agreed to let me make a mini minotuar

[twilit shell]

mini-taur

[radiant night]

It's a mini minotuar, his weakness is tar tar

[twilit shell]

Dang is DDB down?

[turbid vessel]

You should make them look like a juvenile Shetland cattle
That'd be adorable

[radiant night]

It's the tobuscus miniminotuar

[warm meadow]

Damn, that's a seriously impressive campaign arc. A full year storyline involving soul theft, Avernus politics, Zariel, and even an internal court case sounds like something straight out of official D&D modules. Keeping players engaged for 18 months like that is honestly a huge achievement as a DM

[buoyant oar]

😅 That was a side plot in our 2 year 50 player living campaign.

[radiant night]

Our first campaign was going on 4 months when we all died

He literally said to the bbeg "don't kill them" but the dice said "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS"

[tribal hill]

I just had to share this idea.
Pact of the Chain makes Find familiar cast in one action. But it does not change material cost.
So Chain warlocks are chain smoking lavender cigarettes.
And they do it in one drag.

[radiant night]

Didn't know they did it in drag

[rough basalt]

I feel like the answer to powerful npcs in world being "they're busy" is just necessary for dnd worlds lol

[buoyant oar]

Yep 90% of the time your BBEG at levels 1-10 should not be threatening the fabric of the world.

[warm meadow]

Bro tried diplomacy, but the dice said off with their heads anyway

[radiant night]

We died to the will of the dice

[rough basalt]

Like the Empress of the country my Monday game in is like CR20+ but spoilers for my Monday game ||She has a curse that's killing her every time she uses her magic so she's been basically a shut in and only sneaks out to check on her subjects now and then.||

[simple cave]

Hey !
Just wanted to ask if anyone also has problems with dnd beyond right now? It just isnt loading for me...

[buoyant oar]

Elminster can't help because Mystra has a bet with Kelemvor over what is going to happen and told him to stay home.

[rough basalt]

Or the leader of the country I was running a game in. In order for all the magic functions that allow the city to survive, there always needs to be a powerful mage "sitting on the throne of the council."

[buoyant oar]

Also world scale helps here too.

"Why doesn't Drizzt handle this?"

Drizzt is 4000 miles away and cannot teleport.

[twilit shell]

He's also only 5 foot 4

[rough basalt]

He's busy dealing with average father stuff.

[last flume]

Impressive height for a Drow male /s

[twilit shell]

if only the drow women allowed the male children to eat, maybe they could even reach 5'6 😔

[rough basalt]

I think other powerful npcs usually have other matters to attend to as well

[clear cliff]

What is a purple worm? My friend is making us fight one.

[rough basalt]

Big damn worm

[clear cliff]

Also it is a baker for some reason

[buoyant oar]

Its also purple so I have been told

[rough basalt]

Bg3 having drow males use the male npc size spreads some funny misinformation

[twilit shell]

One eyed one horned burrowing purple people eater

[rough basalt]

I wonder if there's a BG3 mod to make the models lore accurate in size.

[clear cliff]

Can someone draw it as a muffin baker? My friend made it live on a muffin mountain in a town built on the muffins that nobody ate.

[rough basalt]

It'd be funny

[buoyant oar]

The lack of body size customization was a let down I get why but also sadage.

[warm meadow]

True, sometimes you just can't escape the dice

[rough basalt]

Everyone looks the same but then drow males are tiny

[twilit shell]

Man now i wanna be a 5 foot tall durge

[rough basalt]

Ah there is a mod that applies lore accurate heights I think.

[cyan tide]

Dndbeyond down?

[buoyant oar]

I will never forgive what WotC did to firbolgs

[cyan tide]

Bless

[rough basalt]

DnD beyond being down is the reason it exists /j

Gonna hope it's back up in time for my game tonight

[buoyant oar]

Give back giant firbolgs. /S

[reef tundra]

What did they do to them 😭

[reef tundra]

Did they shrink them?!

[buoyant oar]

In earlier editions firbolgs stood between 9'10"-11'4"

[reef tundra]

Oh damn

[twilit shell]

unfortunately Oghma killed the firbolgs when he took over ireland

[reef tundra]

Elder edition firbolgs would tower over 5e goliaths

[turbid vessel]

firbolgs also seemed to be depicted in earlier editions as just like, large celtic men

[buoyant oar]

Because they were, based on the Fir Bolg people

[twilit shell]

Yeah then they moved to greece

[buoyant oar]

I don't mind the redesign in terms of looks but their large size compared to humans was a plot point in one of the better novel series in the realms.

[turbid vessel]

which, if my gaelic mythology is up to date, were a mythological people said to have been earlier settlers of Ireland?

[inland oasis]

me and my friends wanna start playing and sometimes we will be onlinne and otheres be in person so idk anywhere to that can give maps, dice, all that stuff for free or a chaep price

[buoyant oar]

Yes

[shy stirrup]

Pretty much yes

[buoyant frost]

Gotta love it when your just about to make a new character and dnd beyond just goes down

[clear cliff]

Dnd beyond took me down by 1 level each

[buoyant oar]

Firbolg were also the primary playable giant race prior to goliaths in v3.5

[turbid vessel]

i don't know much about their role in earlier editions, but i'll say i don't mind their design in 5e much at all. sure they're smaller, but they have a better niche as they're written, rather than just. large irishmen

[buoyant oar]

To be fair they had their niche beyond big person. It was just buried in the many books across earlier editions.

[still plover]

This might help: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_System_Reference_Document_v5.2_(2025).pdf

[buoyant oar]

I would have preferred they didn't get chopped at the knees lol. I understand from a playability standpoint. Large creatures can break bounded accuracy

[vague bison]

anyone know how long dnd beyond is gonna be down

[turbid vessel]

That'd be a funny race actually, large burly armed people who have no shins, just quads and then feet

[viral kraken]

#ddb-support maybe?

[warm meadow]

Usually these outages don't have a fixed time best bet is to check the D&D Beyond status page for updates

[buoyant frost]

Its already fixed?!

[warm meadow]

Yeah, seems like it's back up now

[empty thicket]

it was down? i didnt noticed

[warm meadow]

I noticed it

[ebon trellis]

hey there friends, say, would anyone be able to point me to where i can drop an invite to a dnd campaign?
proper vet of dnd, though new to this server.

[radiant night]

Folks I'm having a hard time staying awake

We only got like 15 more mins left of work

[harsh hinge]

Make a post in #looking-for-players by following the directions in #find-a-game!

[ebon trellis]

mighty thanks friend! preciate the helpful peeps here <3

[warm meadow]

Welcome, you can usually drop campaign invites in the LFG Looking for Group channel

[mystic crystal]

How am I expected to work when I have to think about all the ways my Pc can die in the upcoming game of D&D. My place of work is not very compensating

[twilit shell]

I used to work at a really slow retail store with a chill manager and would run text PBP on my shifts when things were dead lmao

[mystic crystal]

I used to do that at my current company lol. But the server I was in was no Bueno lol

[twilit shell]

I hope it wasn't one of mine 😉

[mystic crystal]

Well the server I was in shut down because of bad drama between the owner and co owner lol

[turbid vessel]

niche internet microdrama? in my discord server? say it ain't so. clutching my pearls

[obtuse hatch]

I might be the only one but if they created a modern dnd source book would you get it?

[cerulean patio]

Hello! I was hoping to know if there’s any rules or features about undead companions? I’m currently making a necromancer with a failing body so I want to know if there’s any permanent undead companions or if me and my dm need to homebrew something unique

[twilit shell]

If I am doing anything modern or future it'd be call of cthulu or lancer

[normal junco]

technically, you could apply the sidekick framework to any stat block providing the CR requirements are met. so if there's an undead stat block that doesn't go over a certain CR level, that should work as a companion/follower/sidekick

[rough basalt]

Nah. I like DnD for Renaissance-esque era fantasy.

[warm meadow]

Maybe jot down ideas for the game later so you can focus on work

[cerulean patio]

Not sure exactly what that is but I’ll look it up

[rough basalt]

Furthest I'll go is early industrial era to some degrees.

[normal junco]

D&D as is doesn't work very well for sci-fi. however, i do want to see what Neon Odyssey is like.

[rough basalt]

I think after my current dnd games conclude, I'm probably gonna switch to running episodic campaigns again lol.

[mystic crystal]

Look at this person putting the company’s needs above their own!!!
/s

[normal junco]

Sidekick rules are in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, and a smaller version can be found in the Essentials Kit Rulebook (which the pdf should still be free on WotC's media server).

[turbid vessel]

i have a lot of other systems to run if i wanna do modernized fantasy. IMO, dnd operates best when played with classic Sword and Sorcery settings

they did a modern dnd UA way back when. it wasn't reviewed well

[rough basalt]

I think someone like me is best with an episodic campaign.

[twilit sail]

whats a sidekick

[ebon trellis]

Well... technically, the only thing that differentiates an undead versus living companion is the creature type Undead
undead do not need to breathe, eat, or sleep, they are immune to disease and poison, magic cannot put them to sleep, and they automatically stabilize when reduced to 0 hit points, along rest for an undead is basically remaining motionless for at least six hours while being conscious, other than that and looking like an undead they can be a companion
Other than that, in the Guide to Ravenloft, there's the reborn race but ask your dm about content like that

[rough basalt]

NPCs that use their own generic "class" and somewhat level with PCs.

[twilit sail]

ah
so a dmpc?

[ebon trellis]

and if you wanna get an undead companion you gotta use a spell

[rough basalt]

Nah they're not full PCs. They're as their name suggests, Sidekicks

Like there's a sidekick that's a skill monkey primarily, but that's about all it does.

[ebon trellis]

animate dead create undead summon undead or even finger of death

[rough basalt]

They basically exist so low player amount parties can have a little aid

[ebon trellis]

yeah pretty much

[warm meadow]

Corporate loyalty level: 100

[ebon trellis]

just gotta make sure the players can keep track of more than one pc lmao

[rough basalt]

Like if you're running a duo(?) (1 dm, 2 players) a sidekick for each player to control on the side can make the game a 4 man troupe without getting in the way of their characters.

[mystic crystal]

You have shown great loyalty to the cause! For the privilege of working for us we will invite you to this exclusive pizza party for a celebration of your hard work.

Also your insurance is canceled.

[ebon trellis]

I love the ability to randomly recite dnd rules and lore when prompted

[rough basalt]

Yeah, PCs not learning their sheets is a big issue

[twilit sail]

so a temp?

[rough basalt]

Let alone a 2nd one, even tho it's much simpler

[ebon trellis]

to be honest unless the player is half decent at dnd venturing out to managing multiple characters territory is not viable

[rough basalt]

Well they're very simple

[warm meadow]

Do I also get a paper crown for my loyalty

[ebon trellis]

ask me lmao, back in the day when I first started dnd I tried managing 2 characters, a bard and a death cleric at level 12
safe to say it was awful

[rough basalt]

Like the Warrior sidekick is just a fighter without most of the features.

[mystic crystal]

Only if we can take the cost of paper out of your pay.

[ebon trellis]

was way too over my head back then

[boreal dagger]

anyone here really good at dnd outfit ideas?

[twilit sail]

ymean like as a cosplay?

[rough basalt]

Like the Warrior sidekick has 4 abilities by level 20

[twilit sail]

or for your char

[rough basalt]

Second Wind, Indomitable, and Improved Critical.

[turbid vessel]

mascot outfit, fantasized

[ebon trellis]

well, at that point you're better off having an npc companion

[boreal dagger]

either that or just designing stuff for characters, asking because im trying to figure out shoes for my character in their slice of life arcs

[rough basalt]

That's what sidekicks are

[twilit sail]

eh i mean if i were an adventurer id probably pick very practical shoes

[ebon trellis]

I assumed they'd be player controlled, no?

[still plover]

Wikipedia, history of footwear. Off with you.

[twilit sail]

it depends on their background of course

[turbid vessel]

since when did Sword and Sorcery ever pride itself on practical aesthetic

[rough basalt]

You take an NPC from a bestiary of Cr 1/2 or lower and they get Sidekick levels and a sidekick spec.

[twilit sail]

shush

[ebon trellis]

booba armor.

[rough basalt]

As for who controls the sidekick, it's DMs discretion.

Sometimes it's one player, sometimes it's the table, sometimes it's the dm.

[twilit sail]

thats true but generally the kind of person id imagine going on adventures would be the kind of person who dresses practically

[rough basalt]

Men in loincloths and women in bikini armor is practical.

The enemies will be too focused on your appearance to fight properly

[twilit sail]

this has nothing to do with the fact i play human fighters in most games

[ebon trellis]

for honor player

[warm meadow]

Guess I'm paying for my own royalty then

[rough basalt]

But since it's the modern day, we can have the real aesthetic.

Men in the bikini armor.

[ebon trellis]

amen to that

[rough basalt]

Aesthetic in dnd has always been a weird thing

[turbid vessel]

i'm very laissez faire about dnd aesthetic. as long as we can all agree upon it at the table, then it can work

[rough basalt]

You'll see some dark gritty monster fighting in a dungeon then you'll have Gerald Broms Dark Sun aesthetic.

Which nothing says apocalypse world more than spandex

[reef tundra]

My setting’s aesthetic is an absolute incoherent mess and I love it

[ebon trellis]

reminds me of that one time we were playing a session and the dm let a guest take control of a hill giant we were facing, cut 5 moments later and the hill giant famously known for being stupid had the smarts to bolt directly towards our sorcerer, attack twice, critting on the first attack and turning out poor sorcerer into red paste 😭

[reef tundra]

I essentially slapped every aesthetic, historical or fictional, together, kitchen sink style

[rough basalt]

If I could draw, what I'd draw for my setting would get me drawn and quartered.

[turbid vessel]

apocalypse world be like "make your apocalypse whatever world you want it to be, just make it sexy"

[rough basalt]

"Hey dm, why are the men and women of this world always hot? It's unrealistic"

• made up scenario that sounds funny to me and probably happened at some point.

[twilit shell]

The ugly one died in the great face wars

[turbid vessel]

"i refuse to assign narrative motion to the physical attractiveness of a character. either everyone's hot or nobody's hot."

[barren badger]

You do NOT want to chafe in the apocalypse

[rough basalt]

Chafe is probably a common problem in Dark Sun

Given its always 100+ degrees F

You're always sweating.

[barren badger]

People must smell so bad

[ebon trellis]

how to make a fantasy world

insert your kink
insert your political ideology
add racism
done

[turbid vessel]

baby powder is probably a hot commodity

[reef tundra]

Happened to me except for the unrealistic part, bc my players would never complain about how beautiful all my NPCs are

[barren badger]

Made from real babies in dark sun

[rough basalt]

I imagine people of Athas don't even have a sense of smell.

It always smells so bad their noses turned off

[turbid vessel]

it's not that i intentionally make NPCs hot. it's that my players are debauched, depraved individuals that are hungry

[warm meadow]

Welcome to a world where everyone rolled well on appearance

[barren badger]

Which of the ability scores had the strongest correlation with hotness

And why is it dexterity?

[turbid vessel]

none hotness is stored in the heart and soul

[ebon trellis]

18 CHARISMA

[barren badger]

The real hotness was the friends we made along the way

(Literally, all of our friends are hot)

[rough basalt]

The real hotness was the Dark Sun we made along the way

• Sorcerer King's, probably.

[ebon trellis]

I think the real hotness was the feet we saw along the way

[barren badger]

If my players ever ask about an NPCs foot, I’m giving myself villainous inspiration

[turbid vessel]

you can be hella charismatic without being conventionally attractive, and vice versa. Danny Devito, Steven Colbert, Ron Perlman, examples of people who don't fall under conventional beaty standards but are strongly charismatic

[remote wadi]

Feels like that depends on your tastes tbh

Dex and Wis is a good start

[warm meadow]

Ah, yes, classic Sorcerer King energy checks out

[ebon trellis]

Charisma.

[rough basalt]

That reminds me to add in the lorebit in my guide that worshippers of the God of Freedom believe shoes to be imprisonment therefore they don't wear them.

[barren badger]

Ah so the gallows speaker is very hot then

[ebon trellis]

oh god XD

[barren badger]

(I am seriously considering developing a rule called villainous inspiration for the DM)

[craggy summit]

Villainous inspiration should be a real thing 💀 it's the opposite of heroic inspiration, and the DM uses it

[ebon trellis]

smooth talking without a pretty face can only get you along so far and vice versa a pretty face with no smooth talk can only get you so far

[barren badger]

I think the DM gets awarded VI when the players do something stupid

[remote wadi]

Please have this NOT stack with Legendary actions

[warm meadow]

That's a great lore detail that really fits the God of Freedom vibe

[craggy summit]

Mmm that's fair 😅

[thick void]

As a player, how do you encourage more communal role playing from the other members of your party?

[barren badger]

I think it just lets an enemy re-roll a d20 test

[ebon trellis]

goddamnit now I can't get the idea out of my head of an otherworldly beautiful elf with -4 int

[ebon trellis]

ask the players questions, involve them jn the world, reward them for role-playing instead of saying "I do x"

[barren badger]

What do you mean by communal?

[ebon trellis]

Group

[craggy summit]

As a player, have your character interact with their character. Like "(insert your characters name) will go up to (insert players character name) and put a hand on their shoulder and ask, "what do you think about this situation?" "

[barren badger]

I mean, do they mean just more involvement? Or are there players who are hogging the spotlight and ignoring other players

[ebon trellis]

Communal means gathering or grouping, a group activity per say

[barren badger]

I’m curious what specifically they would like to see their fellow players do.

[thick void]

Role playing with each other. We're in a Pirate campaign and every time we hit a port of call we all disperse in 6 different directions.

[ebon trellis]

I think he means players role-playing with other players

yep

[barren badger]

Yeah, I just wanted them to explain it. I know what the word communal means.

[rough basalt]

Ah yeah the "only in the party cause we're forced to be" party.

[twilit shell]

I think encouraging them to RP via indirect threat (better stay as a group, there's pirate catchers in this port), providing inspiration for engaging RP, just asking that they stick together and using your words to explain why you want it to be a more cohesive group game etc

[twilit sail]

Whip your party members when they dont rp

[rough basalt]

Unfortunately there's a lot of potential reasons why players won't roleplay with the group

[barren badger]

If the party keeps splitting, I would say follow someone else. If they want to do something, encourage the rest of the party to help them follow their goal, rather than focusing on your own goal. .

[ebon trellis]

reminds me of that one time we had an absolute Mary Sue and she was so extremely hostile towards the every other party member that wasn't her boyfriend the campaign fell apart because she made so much fuss about it

[thick void]

no one is involved in anybody else's story. And I don't know how to interject myself into theirs, or how to incorporate them into mine.

[turbid vessel]

intentionally add fellow players to my actions and moments. i make sure that more often than not, i take my turn to talk in the roleplay as an opportunity to bring other characters into the moment, especially if they haven't had a chance yet in the session

[twilit sail]

Me when i have to be social in a social game

[barren badger]

There’s also the option of speaking with your fellow players outside of session too.

[mighty dove]

I need to see more of the "stereotype is correct, but you're thinking about the wrong stereotype."
Like:
A: "just remember, don't shake a dwarf's hand after making a deal"
B: "cuz you can't trust them on deals?"
A: "what? No, but they do forget how strong their grip is when they're satisfied. They might break your hand if they shake too hard."

[ebon trellis]

And that's where DM experience helps!
nudge your players into making backstories that fit into the world they are in so you can work things better

[twilit shell]

Yeah I generally ask my party mates if they wanna integrate backstories / narratives at all. Especially as pirates, plenty of reason to become friends on a ship if you weren't already having done that sorta campaign recently

[rough basalt]

I've only ran into a couple at the table once and I didn't even make it to the table cause the dm didn't like how I was getting along with her husband and banned me the day of the session.

[barren badger]

They’re not a DM though

[ebon trellis]

ah, my mistake -^-
In that case, usually taking the initiative and being friendly helps ALOT

if the players see one person role-playing and being very actionable and even a little dramatic in actions, they're more inclined to follow suit

[rough basalt]

Eh

[barren badger]

Sometimes?

[rough basalt]

Ime a lot of players aren't even paying attention

Unless they hear the dm say "roll initiative"

[ebon trellis]

most of the time it works everytime

[barren badger]

I’m surprised parties split up. I never feel the urge to split the party when I’m a player

[twilit shell]

I don't know why y'all play with these sorts of people

[rough basalt]

But they still aren't paying attention till they get almost yelled at to roll initiative

[ebon trellis]

nah, worse
"roll a constitution save"

[thick void]

asking as a player, not a DM. I can spot where the DM could have done something if that's what he wants. But it's not my position to tell him.

[rough basalt]

I mean I'm bad at roleplay but I do my best to pay attention.

[barren badger]

You can always have your character just directly ask other characters questions

Or talk to them

[twilit sail]

Me encouraging the party to join my polycule for the +2 AC

+2 AC is a pretty good buff..

[ebon trellis]

I've been playing dnd for... eh, 14 years something? I've gained enough skill where I've found just leading the charge in roleplaying and doing in character things with other players's characters helps alot to get them going too

[rough basalt]

"Hey so what do you think about this?"
"....."

[ebon trellis]

people usually don't do something unless they see others are doing it

[twilit sail]

I mean shield of faith or whatevr is prob way better but shhh

[ebon trellis]

but I may be wrong

[rough basalt]

Might just be lucky enough

[barren badger]

I think the “yes and…” rule can help a bit

[rough basalt]

The key word there being "..."

[ebon trellis]

reminds me of that one time we had a warlock paladin hit a diabolical AC of 23 at level 8 lmfao
that campaign was borked

he was an EXTREME minmaxxer

[twilit sail]

That doesnt seem that high

Cant you get like 21 at level 1

[twilit shell]

Defensive fighting style with plate armor and a shield

[barren badger]

23 at level 8 isn’t tooo bad. And you do get to a point where a high AC isn’t that impactful

[rough basalt]

I get 20 tonight in my Tuesday game.

Tho AC is a suggestion.

[barren badger]

Oh you have a high ac?

Make an int save

[rough basalt]

That's a +10

[twilit shell]

heat metal on those damn tin cans

[twilit sail]

Yeah thats not very impressive

[rough basalt]

For me at least

My rogues only real weakness is strength saves

And dex saves

[barren badger]

The easiest thing I think you can do @thick void

Don’t split the party.

If you do, you all are just playing independently

[rough basalt]

Cause she has a +12 to them but always rolls 1s

[ebon trellis]

the issue was that he was also dishing damage... in the upper 70's, at level 8
In a campaign focused on magic-less enemies

yummy homebrew

[thick void]

I'M NOT THE DM! I'M NOT SPLITTING THE PARTY!

[barren badger]

Sorry I mean like

When you get back to town, don’t go off on your own. Go with someone else

[twilit sail]

I dont have the experience to judge that

[rough basalt]

Tonight my Tuesday party goes to the Demonweb Pits

[barren badger]

Oh bobert wants to go to the chicken store to buy a pet chicken? That sounds fun, I’ll go with him. Who else wants to go with bobert?

[ebon trellis]

oh right I forgot to ask, how do I make a post in player requests? I didn't get the jist fully xd

[rough basalt]

#find-a-game

[barren badger]

Hey bobert, why do you cry every time you see a chicken? Would you like to tell me about your trauma?

[still plover]

Are you wanting to advertise yourself as a DM, or as a player?

[ebon trellis]

we used to have a wizard with anger issues who had a sentient pet rock named gabriel which everytime the wizard got upset he would put the rock in a sock and slam him
I miss you toxopid

[rough basalt]

My rogues character is pretty flat. She's just very blunt, kinda careless.

[barren badger]

Poor Gabriel. The wizard needs a therapist

[thick void]

Next time we hit a town and the Druid f@$s off to the forest, I'll just ask to come along.

[barren badger]

Exactly! Show me your favorite rock, Mr. Druid

[ebon trellis]

Dm requested I gather players, we're close friends so I took him up on it, got some players that were existing friends of mine and I thought I'll get the rest from here

[ebon trellis]

he was genuinely one of the best players I've ever met, super in character and so lively, he quit playing dnd unfortunately cause he got married

[barren badger]

Ah yes. It is illegal for married people to play dnd after all

[turbid vessel]

even if i do a "sneak away" in a game, i make sure to leave room for at least 1 other character to potentially notice and follow
cause half the fun of a sneak-away is the chance of you not being as sneaky as you actually thought

[still plover]

Right. In this channel, type

/looking

Use the suggestion for players, hit Send. Then the bot will give you the form. I advise if you haven't already to read it, close it, prepare all the information separately and then do it again so you can copy and paste directly.

You cannot edit a form once submitted.

[twilit sail]

Grrrr happy couples

My archenemies

[ebon trellis]

😭
well he had a kid on the way and neither me nor our dm were planning on going "so uh... screw having a kid ya wanna continue?" LMAO

[turbid vessel]

i once saw a post go viral that said "i as a DM don't allow couples to play at the same table because their behavior is always disruptive." an uncomfortable amount of people agreed wholeheartedly 😭

[barren badger]

Interesting. The married couple i dm for
are super chill.

Maybe younger couples are different though

We generally don’t have much romance at my table either, though

[turbid vessel]

in cases like this it's usually a case of "are you sure you the problem is all couples, or does one couple owe you an apology"

[upper axle]

Afternoon all.

[barren badger]

Welcome silent!

[turbid vessel]

it's all a matter of maturity at the end of the day. immature people will have bad table etiquette regardless of their romantic status

[upper axle]

That part. Individuals will be... well... Individuals, no matter who they come associated with.

[fair vault]

im looking for someone to give me a personal tutorial of DND Beyond to learn how to DM and the mechanics.. what i need to purchase , etc

[ebon trellis]

in my experience, yes, VERY, younger couples
they get very very... immature about some things, and one of them takes the DM for example dishing damage- RANDOMLY, to one of the couple, as a personal attack

[barren badger]

I’m generally a bit picky about players I invite to my table, so I think that helps prevent awkwardness like this.

It’s a red flag to me when strangers who are DMs just invite me without really getting to know me first or at least asking questions

[turbid vessel]

when i was in a group with my romantic partner at the time, we loved watching each other go through the trials and tribulations of romance with other characters

[twilit sail]

Zero brain cells im ths one

[upper axle]

Hilariously, I played in a table where the DMs wife was a player. He was honestly MORE likely to target her with things and she called him on it multiple times. Great fun.

[twilit sail]

(The dude who said that not lanthan)

[barren badger]

Honestly this is kind of a big ask… maybe there are guides online or YouTube videos that could help you?

The starter set is always a good place to start though.

Also reading the dungeon masters guide is very helpful too

[upper axle]

If you have specific questions feel free to throw them out in #dnd-newcomers . People are bound to answer.

I wouldn't expect to get a personalized tour of the website though.

[twilit sail]

You cant ask dnd players to read thats offensive

[fair vault]

I knwo dnd just not the vtt

[ebon trellis]

believe me
I have had more than enough in my time playing of these antics that at this point I'm just like... just get out, OUT WITH YOU

[upper axle]

Ah then maybe #ddb-support ?

Super random. Has there been any talks of further core subclasses? There are a handful of the old ones I'd LOVE to see get retools

[ebon trellis]

on todays episode, more classes, because artificer was not enough

[upper axle]

Honestly true. But I know that's a pretty massive undertaking.

[timid ember]

guys which class would u say is a glass canon, high dmg low hp

[barren badger]

Psion was in UA I think

[twilit sail]

Honeatly id be fine w this

[barren badger]

Barbarian

[twilit sail]

Rogue

Bubble is messing w you

[timid ember]

fr?

[barren badger]

Rogue is not high damage.

[timid ember]

i figured

[upper axle]

Casters are the literal definition.

[twilit sail]

Fine sorcerer

[ebon trellis]

do people forget wizard exists 🥀

[twilit sail]

Wizard

[barren badger]

Does wizard do high damage?

[twilit sail]

Yes

[barren badger]

I think warlock might do more damage?

[upper axle]

As much of a troll as the Barbarian comment xD

[barren badger]

I guess it depends on level

[upper axle]

If you want some SUPER in depth answers to this, check out #optimization . They'll throw out some crazy options.

[timid ember]

got it, thanks

[ebon trellis]

ah, yes, the paladin cleric warlock sorcerer hybird who is a variant human that can shoot level 9 fireballs out of his armpit

[upper axle]

It's just so obvious...

[timid ember]

that also cant walk cuz of the size of his 00

[barren badger]

I’m actually not really trolling. I think wizards are better suited for battlefield control rather than straight damage

[ebon trellis]

the ball wizard

[ebon trellis]

wizards of the coast, add silvery barbs to this man's campaign

[barren badger]

I’m not even kidding. I don’t think wizard is top of the list for damage

[barren badger]

*woman. But what even is a gender anyway

[ebon trellis]

sure pal, now enjoy the npc enemies in your campaign having silvery barbs 🙄 ||joking obviously||

[twilit shell]

Berserker barbarian with a comrade casting haste is highest DPR in the game ong (this is a lie)

[barren badger]

Like before level 10, I think sorcerer out damages a wizard

[timid ember]

isnt haste like a kind of broken supp spell?

[twilit shell]

GOATed spell

Oath of Valor paladin is a fantastic time as a result of haste as a class spell

[barren badger]

The original question was what is the class that’s the most “glass cannon”

[ebon trellis]

in my humble opinion, smite
i conclude my statement of utmost truth

[timid ember]

exactly

[barren badger]

And I think spellcasters probably have more defensive options than many casters

[delicate owl]

The only wizard that can compare in damage is evoker. Even then, sorc can use empowered, has advantage on all attack rolls with their spells, and can be draconic, getting that power spike earlier.

But if we are talking single target? Man, ive seen multiple martials destroy something before I had a chance to think about its existence.

[ebon trellis]

imagine roleplaying as the power rangers as a party of paladins with different flavors of smite

[upper axle]

I've always viewed it as pretty bad action economy.

[timid ember]

HAHAHAHHA thats awesome to think

[barren badger]

I think it might actually be rogue at lower levels. I think they’re a bit squishy and can do decent burst damage

[timid ember]

rogue has this thing that when making sneak attack u add 1d? something of dmg right?

or im trippin

[barren badger]

Yes rogue has the sneak attack feature

[thin venture]

I think and it will be obvious to early game wizards

[delicate owl]

Rogues damage is entirely dependent on hitting often and rolling high for sneak attack. Sure, it has great single target damage, but it aint hitting a room full of gobbos with a fireball

[ebon trellis]

rogue sneak is diabolical, genuinely sneak in bethesda games amount of bullshit they can pull off

[barren badger]

What can a wizard do better than a sorcerer at lower levels?

[thin venture]

Nothing

[near gust]

Rituals

[thin venture]

But talking about a glass cannon wizard has lower hp

[ebon trellis]

cast smelling a fart from 10 meters away at 3rd level i suppose

[near gust]

That's it though honestly

[barren badger]

I think a glass canon has to do lots of a damage and idk if wizards do

[thin venture]

No believe they do and they do big

[ebon trellis]

on todays episode of: dnd players never play wizard

[barren badger]

We should probably ask #optimization

[thin venture]

If you could survive early levels you will be literally a nuke machine

[upper axle]

Mini Haste Rant.

It's ESPECIALLY TERRIBLE if you use it on yourself.
Takes a FULL ACTION to grant yourself a partial benefit on you NEXT full action, all the while making yourself vulnerable to a super stun in the meantime should someone break your concentration.

You lose what equivalates to most of your first turn to gain a LITTLE bit of a bonus on subsequent turns when you could've just used an action to begin with and front loaded your benefits.

RANT OVER

[halcyon forum]

like, even level 1-3, wizards have more spells, a better spell list and rituals over a sorcerer, and roughly the same AC and HP

[barren badger]

Sorcerers can still ritual, just only with their prepared spells

Sorcerers get meta magic

[halcyon forum]

which is a massive difference

[barren badger]

It doesn’t impact damage though (the main topic of this discussion)

[halcyon forum]

because for a sorc to learn a ritual spell, thats a huge investment

[ebon trellis]

even the idea of
"you lose an action to get 2 actions on your next turn"
is silly

[upper axle]

I point new players toward Evocation for sculpting spells but even then that's a pretty minor benefit compared to meta magic.

[twilit sail]

can they ritual cast normally in 2024?

[thin venture]

I have a genuine quick to ask

[barren badger]

Yes

All spellcasters can anyone with the spellcasting feature can

[timid ember]

but doesnt haste last more than 1 turn? u would forfeit 1 action to get 2 actions for the rest of the fight right?

[halcyon forum]

metamagic is neat but alone doesnt really compensate for all the stuff wizard gets imo.

[near gust]

Well if you cast it on your self you still get the secondary action for a single hit, dash, disengage, hide or utilize that turn as well as the double speed AC boost and Dex sev adv.

[barren badger]

Wizards are definitely one of my favorite classes and their utility is unmatched. But I don’t think they’re a damage powerhouse

[thin venture]

I am thinking of doing a spare character for my campaign because i may kill my monk and i am thinking about some characters with their play style but i want to ask what is the best wizard to do magic in dnd 5e

[twilit sail]

half casters dont count as spellcasters? or dyou mean like eldritch knights

[ebon trellis]

the big issue here my good friend is that the fight wont last long enough for you to reap that benefit, your fighter, barb, quite literally anyone in your party will make more use of it before you get any reward

[halcyon forum]

wizard and sorc damage is basically the same, which maybe a very minor advantage to sorcerers

[twilit sail]

would you say 2024 sorc is equal to wizard?

[barren badger]

I think any class that has the “spellcasting” feature can ritual cast

[empty thicket]

na

Sorc can adapt spells
Wizard get tons of them

[barren badger]

Innate sorcery is a pretty powerful feature with I think helps the sorcerer out damage wizards in tier 1/tier 2

[halcyon forum]

2024 sorc is close to wizard, might be better in very social skill heavy games, but on average wiz still takes the win more often imo

[twilit sail]

that makes sense

[barren badger]

I personally see them as relatively different classes. they both bring some unique characteristics to the table

[delicate owl]

Sorcs have the benefit of having way more higher level spell slots than wiz

[barren badger]

?

[thin venture]

I am thinking of doing a spare character for my campaign because i may kill my monk and i am thinking about some characters with their play style but i want to ask what is the best wizard to do magic in dnd 5e

[delicate owl]

By that I mean more 3-5th level slots

[barren badger]

Oh via sorcery points?

[twilit sail]

im looking at the website and it says they get the same spell slots

[upper axle]

Sure, but burst is crazy important in DND. That first turn is WAY more important. Take into consideration: That 3rd level spell + action can be used to Hypnotic Pattern / Slow / Fireball etc etc etc.

Haste is bad.

[halcyon forum]

ehh in the grand scheme of things, they are pretty similar. big overlaps in the spell list, same AC and HP, full casters. thats more similar than most other classes

[umbral girder]

They do have a Metamagic to help roll higher than average on damage rolls too I think

[delicate owl]

Now that turning spell slots into sorc points is no action, and turning points into slots is a ba, you can pump out 5th level spells even when you're out of them by expending other resources.

[barren badger]

I think I’d agree with this. I just think the sorcerer subclass features and sorcery points make them feel a little different

[twilit sail]

oh w sorcery points nvm

[delicate owl]

Empowered + Advanatage with Chromatic or Spellfire Flare can deal with either groups or single targets quite easily, they both get spellfire storm so easy denial, sorcs can subtle so no interruptions, etc.

[twilit sail]

thats pretty cool!

magic initiate is a pretty cool feat

[halcyon forum]

yeah Im not advocating to delete either one, they are different enough to justify being seperate classes, just saying that overall ,they are more similar in the basic gameplay loop than pretty much every other pair of classes except maybe melee fighter vs barb

[upper axle]

Barb is Hulk

Fighter is Moon Knight

[barren badger]

I’m trying to think of other classes that might be that similar.

[umbral girder]

I’d gone Celestial Warlock on Moon Knight personally

[barren badger]

I do like 2024 sorcerer a LOT more than 2014 sorcerer

[umbral girder]

Generates weapons from out of no where, can be built with martial powers, has regeneration, and made a deal with an entity.

[halcyon forum]

well once we get the Psion, it will be similar to both wizard and sorcerer ^^

[upper axle]

I was thinking batman for fighter but didn't want to Marvel + DC xD

[barren badger]

Ugh no

[halcyon forum]

btw, I really look forward to the psion

[errant crag]

I don't think there is any class in 2024 that I don't like more than the 2014 version. Ranger and Paladin feel like side grades to me and not direct improvements but I don't dislike them or anything

[umbral girder]

I like Ranger more now. Mainly because Hunter’s Mark is a bigger upgrade to Favored Foe by a lot. Plus it got features for empty levels.

[upper axle]

Make Hunters Mark free and Ranger is perfect

[delicate owl]

Psion is going to easily go in my top 3 classes slot

[barren badger]

Ehh. I think hunters mark needs to scale more in damage

[errant crag]

Make it not a spell and I'd find Ranger perfect

[barren badger]

With no concentration?

[umbral girder]

Nah it’s fine as is

That be way too strong

[twilit shell]

I just make it no conc and wis mod number of times a day as a class feature

[lavish flame]

Expertise feels so much better than Natural Explorer imo

[shadow apex]

Hey all - I’m building a character for a one shot and I’m considering using the “Haunted One” background from Curse of Strahd, but it doesn’t have info on an ability scores. Anyone have a line on why this might be?

[upper axle]

It needs to keep con for multi classing shenanigans.

[barren badger]

Divine favor doesn’t require concentration

[umbral girder]

Old backgrounds didn’t get those or feats

[errant crag]

There is nothing wrong with Barbarian being able to use Hunters Mark that's like the biggest non issue ever

[barren badger]

You just choose two

[errant crag]

It's 1d6

[upper axle]

Backgrounds before 2024 weren't tied to point bonuses. 🙂

[umbral girder]

Divine Favor isn’t force damage, advantage on two skills, and lasts an hour, and can’t be moved to another target

[delicate owl]

I would have made hunters mark scale every other level by 1 die, and then made ranger able to have conc on both it and another spell, but only if hm is one of the spells.

[barren badger]

Because it’s not limited to a single target

[delicate owl]

But thats like level 11+ feature

[twilit shell]

they made 75% of ranger spell list conc too 😢

[lavish flame]

I wish Hunter's Mark just had a family of Mark spells, like Divine Smite's family of Smite spells

[errant crag]

I would have made Hunters Mark not a spell, made it not concentration, and made it have some additional benefit when you're concentrating on a ranger spell.

[upper axle]

Maybe have it scale at BI scaling?

[shadow apex]

Perhaps I’ll have to reconsider, thanks for the info! @umbral girder @upper axle

[barren badger]

The level 20 ranger feature is simply insulting

[umbral girder]

A big thing to remember with Ranger is all of their subclasses also give a damage boost at level 3 that can stack with Hunter’s Mark

[twilit shell]

Ranger deserves it ong. Never met an overpowered ranger (that wasn't gloomstalker)

[delicate owl]

The level 20 ranger feature is probably the most damning thing about ranger

[upper axle]

Oooooh now we're talking.

Binding Mark.
Burning Mark.

[halcyon forum]

i still cant fathom how they thought this was worthy of a capstone

[twilit sail]

i think it makes more sense this way
having races tied to point bonuses is kind of eugenics-y?

[umbral girder]

Yep

[wanton raft]

Sorry how do subclass specific spells work? They're not showing in my add spells section in dnd beyond

[halcyon forum]

I really want to ask the people involved what they were thinking

[umbral girder]

Depends on the subclass

[twilit sail]

meanwhile you get stronger through training, so having experience as a soldier would give you more strength

[umbral girder]

Like 2014 Warlock subclasses gave you no spells

[twilit sail]

you want to ask gary gygax what he was thinking

[lavish flame]

I wish there was nore Mark spells like Smites. Something like "Grounding Mark" that removes Flying Speeds (like Earthbind) or Blinding Mark that blinds a creature while increasing ur damage.

[barren badger]

glances at celestial

[wanton raft]

Ab mind sorc. I'm looking for dissonant whispers and arms of hadar

[halcyon forum]

he didnt design that capstone

[twilit sail]

oh wait youre talking abt smthn else
mb

[errant crag]

Completely unrelated but I seriously wish more DMs would run games above tier 1

[twilit shell]

you get them at the appropriate spell level if thats something that isn't the case yet? what lv is ur char sheet

[errant crag]

Ive played a level 10+ character like, twice

I never get to play as a higher level and it stinks

[twilit sail]

i want dms to stop running games at tier 1

[lavish flame]

I wish scheduling werent such a nightmare to allow this to happen more often

[wanton raft]

Level 2 sorc and dnd beyond says I get them at level 1

[twilit sail]

just personal preference

[umbral girder]

It’s pretty easy too, barely an inconvenience

[upper axle]

My DMs almost exclusively start in T2. It's wonderful

[errant crag]

They act like level 10 is where players become so OP that they start splitting the game wide open

[barren badger]

It’s easier to run

[lavish flame]

I like starting at level 1 and finding the character over time. I wish circumstances permitted this to go all the way to level 20

[umbral girder]

Yeah meanwhile I’m nearly killing tier 4 players frequently

[barren badger]

Also most published adventurers are lower levels

[errant crag]

I gotta find my way into one of those tables

[barren badger]

Are there even any published modules above 12? I guess vecna?

[umbral girder]

But that’s mainly because a lot of players in tier 4 make the mistake of “burst damage can stop this!”

[upper axle]

"The Monsters Know What They're Doing" is a great recommend for reading to anyone struggling to put together higher tier games.

[umbral girder]

Only to realize “yeah it stoped 2 encounters, you got 6 more to go”

[twilit sail]

i understand that
i just personally find level 1 boring to play at

[wanton raft]

Chill touch vs firebolt?

[barren badger]

[buoyant oar]

Dungeon of the Mad Mage to level 20

[umbral girder]

Eve of Ruin, Princes of the Apocolypse, Dungeon of the Mad Mage off the top of my head

Tyranny of Dragons too

[buoyant oar]

Chains of asmodeus was published by Wizards of the Coast. It also goes to level 20

[umbral girder]

I think Out of the Abyss too

[upper axle]

Specifically in 2024 Chill Touch is a touch range spell so that tweaks the standings dramatically.

[lavish flame]

Admittedly, I'd also prefer published adventured to be a little more "focused" on Tiers. I'd vastly prefer most adventures to just be 1 Tier of play. That way, we can get stuff thats just for Tier 3 and Tier 4 without having the baggage of dragging u thru levels 1-10 first.

[barren badger]

Wait was it published by them?

[wanton raft]

2014

[barren badger]

I didn’t know that

[twilit shell]

are you playing 2024 or 2014

[lavish flame]

The Planescape Adventure is a 1-10 with a jump to 17th level

[gilded canyon]

I find like level 6-8 to be the most satisfying. Everything past like 15-16 gets into the realm of players being more like walking gods than mortals

[wanton raft]

2014

[buoyant oar]

It's on the DMs Guild listed as published by them. Developed by arcanum worlds

[errant crag]

I either need our games to start at a higher level, or have us level up faster, OR I need our games to go for longer than 3 damn hours. I'd be fine with being in tier 1 and 2 if we weren't stuck there week after week after week because we're only playing for 3 hours at a time.

[buoyant oar]

To mention most adventures League seasons from 1 through 9 have modules that go all the way to fourth tier

[barren badger]

Oh I’ve run CoA, I just didn’t know that WOTC published it

[umbral girder]

I think Tales from the Yawning Portal had one

[barren badger]

It’s not on dnd beyond, so I thought it was all third party

[twilit shell]

Just made a 2014 abberant mind sorc and theyre in spells section, make sure you have the right subclass in your char builder and not the 2024

[buoyant oar]

Avernus Rising the 9th season of Adventures league is a very well-written series of modules and it goes to level 20

[upper axle]

Even third tier is crazy fun without dipping toes into the world altering spells

[wanton raft]

Yup it's 2014. I disabled 2024

[errant crag]

The CoS game I play in has been cancelled 2 sessions in a row with biweekly sessions and it's just hard for me to look forward to it anymore because I forget it's being ran

[lavish flame]

I'd venture to say Adventurer's League has some really solid adventures at Tier 3 and 4 for u to steal and put in ur game

[umbral girder]

2024 is admittedly 1000% much easier to run tier 3 and 4 as a DM

[wanton raft]

Or 5.5 or else it wouldn't have let me choose subclass. Maybe after I create the char I'll see it

[buoyant oar]

I also really loved the Dreams of the Red Wizards campaign

[twilit shell]

oh yeah it shows in your actual char sheet

[barren badger]

That’s hard :/ I’m sorry

[wanton raft]

Is chaos bolt worth it? I don't know the third cleric spell to pick too so I want to add guiding bolt but idk

[twilit shell]

we LOVE chaos bolt

[errant crag]

If it's 2014 yeah Chaos Bolt is pretty good

I'm pretty sure it got merged into Chromatic Orb in 2024

So in 2024 Chromatic Orb is just better

[wanton raft]

Perfect. But problem. I only have 3 sorc spells so far. I'm picking silvery, shield and I have only one space for chaos bolt or magic missile

[umbral girder]

Yeah the 5.5e is just Chromatic orb and Chaos Bolt fused into 1 spell

[wanton raft]

I miss full cleric so much

[errant crag]

I'd go Silvery or Shield not both

[twilit shell]

Silvery is the spell of cowards and snakes, shield is for weaklings. All damage all the tiime

[wanton raft]

But I like reactions ☹️

[errant crag]

Well you only get one so

[buoyant oar]

Me sleeping soundly in banning setting specific options

[wanton raft]

I guess silvery since my AC is pretty high

[errant crag]

Me sleeping soundly in not banning any official options and just running the game in a way where very few things are OP if any

[wanton raft]

Me using silvery against the players

[twilit shell]

I really just ban stuff that doesn't fit the setting (and strixhaven as a whole)

[buoyant oar]

Binga bango

[umbral girder]

Me who just has encounters that don’t care about silvery barbs because of the amount of d20s being rolled

[errant crag]

I say that but I do ban things that explicitly require another setting

Like Eberron Dragonmarks and Strixhaven backgrounds

But I'm fine with spells from those books generally speaking

[severe rampart]

I forgot what happened but Silvery Barbs did what if you had magic resistance?

[errant crag]

If a player shows up with an official book I'm not usually gonna ban options from it outside of stuff like those feats and backgrounds. I'm not gonna tell my player who brought their Strixhaven book that they can't play an Owlin for example

[severe rampart]

It just made it a straight roll, no?

[buoyant oar]

For me part of the reason why I have restrictions is because It helps reinforce expectation setting. I communicate very early on in the process about the setting that I'm running and things like that.

[lavish flame]

Yeah. There's no Dragonmarks in Wildemount, so even though I allow stuff from the Eberron book in my Wildemount game, I don't allow everything.

[errant crag]

Depending on the game I'm running I may ban certain very exotic species, like I ban stuff like Plasmoids in my Ghosts of Saltmarsh game because species politics are relevant to the overall plot and someone waltzing in as a Plasmoid or Astral Elf sort of throws a wrench into that

[uncut zenith]

Yeah, I generally stick to the idea that setting specific content is not allowed in my campaigns unless we’re playing in the respective setting.

[errant crag]

But most of my games aren't super narrative focused in a way where it'll matter

[halcyon forum]

The spells from strixhaven dont really have any setting specific flavor or application though

[blissful ibex]

yeah; stuff like this is 10,000% a fair ban in almost any context if it's from outside the setting

[errant crag]

Yeah so I don't ban stuff like Silvery Barbs

[halcyon forum]

I ban Silvery barbs because its annoyingly designed.

[errant crag]

DMs can ban whatever they want for any reason there are very few fringe scenarios where I think it may be unreasonable

[halcyon forum]

vortex warp is great though

[buoyant oar]

Allowing everything everywhere all at once is a fine way to run and I don't look down at anybody who does it.

Not to mention also I mainly run for new people. New players can and will get overwhelmed with the amount of options that exist in the game as it currently exists.

It's also one of the reasons why last year I made a decision that going forward only options released after the player's handbook 2024.

[uncut zenith]

I do ban Silvery Barbs because it’s a Strixhaven spell, but that’s just based off my rule regarding setting specific content

[severe rampart]

I don't ban Silvery Barbs because... well none of my players use it

[wanton raft]

I like silvery but i get why it's annoying

[blissful ibex]

It's when we start getting into species and subclass bans (maybe outside of some of the more technologically advanced artificer ones) that I start having issues >.>

[errant crag]

I love Silvery Barbs as a DM because players waste spell slots on it frivolously and that makes later encounters tougher for them which is fun for me

[uncut zenith]

I have no issue with the spell itself, I just don’t like allowing it and banning all the other Strixhaven content from my non-Strixhaven campaigns

[lavish flame]

Tbh I don't think its right to frame it like banning Silvery Barbs. Its from some random MTG setting book, the conversation should be framed like allowing it at all.

[severe rampart]

Group 1(Curse of Strahd, level 6)
4 casters, 1 martial (one multiclass monk with cleric)

Group 2(Phandelver and Below, Level 1)
4 martials, 1 caster

[buoyant oar]

I also try to always add in setting specific content when I'm cutting things. So if I'm cutting a book that has a bunch of species in it. I'm typically adding a book from the DM's Guild about the part of the world that I'm running in

Yeah, that's actually a good point about framing. Anything beyond the player's handbook is an addition and optional content by the default. It shouldn't be allowed. You are allowing it by having it in your game.

[glass granite]

Only time I’ve banned subclasses were necromancy based subclasses in a homebrew setting where necromancy is heavily socially hated, supposed to have been wiped out, and would be extremely hard to do.
*Exluding spores Druids

[errant crag]

Has anybody here ever played in an Acquisitions Incorporated game that seems like such an odd book

Feels kinda out of place

[halcyon forum]

I mean I am banning it because it not being allowed stand out vs all the other spells in that book, which I want to have in my games

[blissful ibex]

Like it's technically First-Party content; but also falls into a similar space as EGW where it's more that it needs to be explicitly allowed rather than there being any sort of Expectation that they're available

[uncut zenith]

Better to assume it isn’t allowed than to be disappointed when the DM says it isn’t

[halcyon forum]

so that feels like a ban

[errant crag]

Yeah it's usually more of a "Can I take this thing from this book?" thing

[buoyant oar]

Especially for new DMs. It can feel super overwhelming that the default assumption is that all first party official content should be kind of allowed, which is kind of the default assumption in the community

[twilit shell]

Idk its my game and if I don't feel like it I will ban just about whatever, if people don't want some very limited content banned join a different table

[uncut zenith]

Same with the the Wildemount Dunamancy options

Don’t assume they’re available at my tables unless we’re explicitly playing in an Exandria campaign

[buoyant oar]

The AL guide of PHB +1 was such a good way to tease in new players about character creation

[errant crag]

It's been said more than once in the conversation Already that DMs can ban whatever they want for whatever reason they have

[lavish flame]

Yeah, I'm not trying to doubt Strixhaven's legitimacy as a D&D product to work with. I just think it should be thought about like any niche setting-specific content. To me, allowing Silvery Barbs should be thought about in the same way as allowing Dark Gifts.

[upper axle]

All of the secondary and tertiary content on DDB doesn't help but MOST of it is at least correctly tagged as partnered.

[buoyant oar]

And ddb book sharing is all or nothing.

[lavish flame]

Supposedly they're improving the book sharing capabilities in the new character builder thing

[twilit shell]

Yeah I really want this to be a thing, esp to block 2024 stuff from my 2014 games

[buoyant oar]

All for it been a big believer in the platform since the curse interactive days

[errant crag]

I run my games in person and if a player rolls up and slaps Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica on the table all like "Hey I bought this book can I play this species from it???" I'm not usually gonna tell them no.

[upper axle]

When IS that supposed to be coming out? I feel like it's been "in the works" since 2024 launched

[twilit shell]

lemme rock up with my gruul anarchist background druid I want firebolt

[buoyant oar]

If they didn't speak to me beforehand about it, I have no problem telling somebody no, even in person. Unless it's for an event that sets the rules for character creation

And in those instances, I typically have several pre-made ready to go

[warm meadow]

True, the labels do help filter things a bit

[woven flint]

Me getting ready to buy Spelljammers Astral Adventurers Guide so I can play Thri-Kreen and get into arguing arm semantics with everyone /silly:

[lavish flame]

I'd love dropdown categories in the character builder for Settings, Expansions, and Adventures as available sources. You could blanketly turn off all Adventures, or open the dropdown and specifically allow stuff from Tomb of Annihilation or whatever.

[barren badger]

no it isnt, i think. I think if you click on content management in a campaign you can block sourcebooks

[buoyant oar]

Yeah I mean about specific books. I can't go into a book and ban a spell

[errant crag]

I'd be totally fine with this in most games I run nowadays honestly

[nocturne turret]

man i wanna do a dnd group today

[barren badger]

Ahh, yes. I think that's just when you have to tell them they cant use it

[woven flint]

@twilit shell
Was that a live Niv Miz reaction?!

[errant crag]

I only will have issue with that if I'm running a proper campaign from a module usually

[uncut zenith]

My general rule of thumb at season 0 is all core content and content from the Everything guides is okay. Setting specific content is okay if we’re playing in that setting. Anything beyond that needs approval, don’t assume it’s free game.

[barren badger]

I think I rarely ban spells though? Maybe it would matter more if I ran third party content.

as much as I want to ban silvery barbs, but I dont like banning individual spells

[errant crag]

One of my players was a Simic Hybrid Monk in my Stranger Things set game

[uncut zenith]

So a Scion of the Three Rogue is an auto no-go in any of my non-FR games

[wanton jackal]

Someone needs to invent freemasonry but it’s just D&D

International order of the dragon. Coming to a town near you!

[buoyant oar]

I once had to have a very Frank conversation with a player who tried to tell me that me restricting to setting specific content. Was limiting player freedom and the Hallmark of a bad DM in the making.

[barren badger]

I dont allow ebberon feats or backgrounds at my tables

[errant crag]

Scarlet Brotherhood in Ghosts of Saltmarsh:

[barren badger]

lolll, okay. Sure jan.

some players hate being told no

[woven flint]

Freemasons & Cults!
My favorite TTRPG

[wanton jackal]

yes

[lavish flame]

I wish that expansions like Xanathar's Guide and Tasha's Cauldron were titled Player's Handbook 2 and Player's Handbook 3 for this reason. I think it would be easier to say "Anything from PHB 1, 2, or 3 is allowed" than to specify which books are okay and which aren't.

[uncut zenith]

Some setting specific content just doesn’t make sense outside of the setting they were designed for imo

[twilit shell]

It blocks from share but not players from using their own books. I'd like to just block overall. Players aren't malicious but are easily confused lol

[errant crag]

My favorite system, Communes and Cultists

[uncut zenith]

Like the Dragonlance backgrounds/feats are designed for Dragonlance, they don’t need to exist in any other setting

[woven flint]

Ladies, Gentlemen and Friends in-between...
I'd like to Address the Elephant in the room!!!

Does anyone else ever wanna play a Loxodon? Be the Elephant in the room?

[uncut zenith]

That said, some content, like the upcoming Grave cleric and Reanimator artificer can likely work outside of Ravenloft

[twilit shell]

I LOVE loxodons!

[buoyant oar]

I was like

Let's restart this conversation where you don't assume you get to dictate how I run my table

[nocturne turret]

whats a loxodon

[woven flint]

Loxodon are Elephant people

[errant crag]

I mean Grave Cleric was from XGE

[twilit shell]

from Ravnica

[errant crag]

It's just being reprinted in Ravenloft book because it's thematically appropriate

Not because it's specific to that setting

[buoyant oar]

Loxos in the realms scary with their dual trunks that have hands on them.

[warm meadow]

Yeah, makes sense if you want a specific setting vibe

[lavish flame]

I couldn't imagine a Scion of the Three Rogue in any setting but FR, but I absolutely could imagine a Winter Walker Ranger in every setting. Depends on the option

[errant crag]

Loxodons are from Strixhaven right?

[lofty tinsel]

By RAW, does 2024 True Strike activate Extra Attack if the character has it? Like a Pact of the Blade Warlock with the invocations that enable extra attacks

[barren badger]

Dragonmarks are just very powerful

[stoic haven]

Pffffft

[woven flint]

I think there's a part deep inside all of us that wants to be a Loxodon in a game one day

[barren badger]

No, You are not taking the attack action

[errant crag]

I don't know what this reaction means I'm just asking what book they're from

[lofty tinsel]

Gotcha!

[twilit shell]

Niv Mizzet is from Ravnica, which is where loxodons are from

[barren badger]

(eldtrich knights can replace an attack in extra action with a cantrip though, at a certain level)

[lavish flame]

True Strike is a Magic Action, not an Attack Action, so Extra Attack doesn't apply

[errant crag]

Gotcha

[uncut zenith]

Right. It’s hard to justify the flavor of the Scion of the the Three in any setting other than FR imo. Because it’s very specifically about the Dead Three, who don’t necessarily exist outside of the Realms.

[lofty tinsel]

Oh, that might be what I was thinking of

[buoyant oar]

They made it work with bladesinger. I think if they just gave it a generic name like they tried to do with Purple Dragon Knight

[barren badger]

When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of the attacks with a casting of one of your Wizard cantrips that has a casting time of an action.```

[lavish flame]

Bladesinger works in any setting, Bannaret does too. Maybe if they just called it Cultist Rogue it'd fit better

[barren badger]

Thankfully the scion of the three subclass is just bad

[umbral girder]

Isn’t Bladesinger a FR lore thing?

[buoyant oar]

Yes.

[barren badger]

it is

[warm meadow]

Yeah, Dragonmarks are definitely not weak

[lavish flame]

yeah, but it just doesn't feel uniquely FR to me

[woven flint]

The Chad Drow Deathsinger:

[uncut zenith]

Yes, but the lore and flavor behind it isn’t inherently tied to gods of a specific setting the way Scion is

[barren badger]

Some dragonmarks give casters more spells than their subclass does

[lavish flame]

its one of the various elven magics, but that can be true of most settings' elves

[woven flint]

Maybe if my Drow dies Tonight I make my new character a Deathsinger of Lolth /silly

[buoyant oar]

It also didn't help it staying to its own setting when they put it into a setting neutral book in 2019

[errant crag]

I always see people saying that 5e players need to try other systems but at this point I think I need to try older D&D editions

[woven flint]

Replace the guy that hates Lolth with a Guy that loves Lolth, clearly 🧐

[buoyant oar]

4e 4e 4e

[uncut zenith]

Whereas as Scion Rogues are rogues who are tied to the Dead Three, who are specifically FR exclusive deities

[errant crag]

Like almost every other system I've tried makes a hard effort to simplify things and have minimal rules for things, I don't want less mechanical depth I want MORE mechanical depth.

[umbral girder]

4e

[buoyant oar]

Pathfinder fixes this

[lavish flame]

I've been thinking about trying 3.5 and 4e revently tbh

[errant crag]

I don't like 4e its not what I want

[uncut zenith]

Booooo Pathfinder

[errant crag]

I wanna try 3.5e

[woven flint]

I would like to RAGE!!!!!

[errant crag]

I oughtta play more Pathfinder

[lavish flame]

3.5 with PHB 1, 2, and 3 only could be cool

[barren badger]

in 2026, I think i'd rather play pathfinder than 3.5

I did start with 3.5 in high school though.

[buoyant oar]

V3.5 is the rule set where the meme of

"Oh God he is pulling out another rule book" comes from.

[lavish flame]

thats why i'd want a very strict limit to Core 3 rulebooks

[woven flint]

I love Pathfinder but hearing "Pathfinder fixes this" makes me want to eat my own leg

[buoyant oar]

The print rate was like 36 books a year

[twilit sail]

AND IN COMES THE RULE LAWYER WITH THE STEEL CHAIR

[buoyant oar]

And they didn't do a lot of adventures

[woven flint]

IT'S A CRIT!!!

[barren badger]

I enjoy lancer a lot

[buoyant oar]

A bunch of long campaign adventure modules is a 5e thing.

[normal junco]

i thought thematically that was a 4e thing. or was that just more settings books?

[barren badger]

I wonder if we're going to get any more massive adventures

what was the last one, dragonlance?

[umbral girder]

3.5e was the era of “keep releasing books!!!” At wild pace

[uncut zenith]

Agreed. If people wanted to play Pathfinder, they’d play Pathfinder

[buoyant oar]

Vecna

[umbral girder]

4e and later is when we got the current release style

[normal junco]

likely massive adventures broken up into smaller segments.

[umbral girder]

I believe they announced one later this yeah

[barren badger]

As much as I love the anthology books, i feel like we're getting a lot of them.

[buoyant oar]

Deadfall is a hard back adventure

[umbral girder]

Ah the Tyranny of Dragons method

[lavish flame]

I like the range of adventure types we are getting. I like the long 1-10 and 1-15 adventures. I like the anthology adventure books. I like the 1-2 page flash adventures from FR.

[barren badger]

Dragontales, the pretty staircase, lets go to the library

what else was there for anthology books

[umbral girder]

Adventures in Faerun and Tales from the Yawning Portal

[uncut zenith]

Golden Vault

[umbral girder]

And I think Ghosts of Saltmarsh

[buoyant oar]

Keys from the golden vault and radiant citadel

[lavish flame]

Heisting!, Blub Blub, and Old Adventures 2

[barren badger]

saltmarsh and yawning poral are republished adventures. Id say they're different

[buoyant oar]

So was infinite staircase

[umbral girder]

“What SCAG wants to be” is the next name

[uncut zenith]

They’re still 5E anthologies, regardless of whether they’re updates or not

[barren badger]

was it? I thought they were like, stories from around the world? Maybe thats radiant citadel

[lavish flame]

Tales, Saltmarsh, and Staircase are all anthologies of old books

Radiant Citadel is a whole new setting with new adventures

[buoyant oar]

Infinite staircase was specifically a bunch of updated modules

Most from 1e

[barren badger]

i always get radiant citadel and staircase mixed up

[umbral girder]

Like the one adventure with Androids and laser rifles and space ships

[buoyant oar]

Including one of the first FR modules

Pharaoh

[uncut zenith]

Yep. Much like Yawning Portal, Infinite Staircase was published with info about the adventures’ original versions

[mighty pulsar]

What does radiant citadel have again?

Just modules right?

[barren badger]

Adventures, yes

[lavish flame]

the Radiant Citadel setting and like 12 adventures

[uncut zenith]

Radiant Citadel is an anthology book with brand new original adventures written by BIPOC creators

[buoyant oar]

Yawning portal also had a reprint of a dndnext module

[barren badger]

im honestly surprised the HoFR didnt have subclasses for each class

[lavish flame]

Oh we also skipped Dragon Delves

[barren badger]

Thats what i meant with dragontales, loll

[normal junco]

Radiant Citadel was a setting that could be used to bridge multiversal settings. just like Infinite Staircase was a setting that could be used to bridge multiversal settings. and like Spelljammer was a setting that could be used to bridge multiversal settings. and like Planescape was a setting that could be used to bridge multiversal settings.

[umbral girder]

Dead in Thay right?

[uncut zenith]

Nope someone mentioned Dragon Delves

[umbral girder]

That’s why you use their actual names tbh.

[feral fulcrum]

Why are we delving into dragons?

[hot reef]

I think we need a setting that bridges all of these settings together

[buoyant oar]

Some kind of plane scape

[normal junco]

and the MtG settings books also had the ability to be bridges to multiversal settings. which they did in Adventures in the Forgotten Realms five part series of free adventures.

[umbral girder]

Some kind of city that can connect to all of them

Could even give it some kind of Sigil of some sort /jk

[normal junco]

possibly a city of arches?

[lavish flame]

No, Lorwyn isn't connected to FR in the FR or Lorwyn books

[umbral girder]

So who wants to explain the joke?

[normal junco]

pretty sure if that sort of thing ever existed it would be BLeeM's jam.

[buoyant oar]

Yeah the FR connection to Lorwyn was in a blog post.

[umbral girder]

I should run more adventures in Sigil

It’s a fun setting.

My players went there once and decided the skull luring them into “The Ally of Dangerous Angles” would cause a TPK

They were level 17

[buoyant oar]

Netheril's Fall and First light def felt like they had all of this art for two cancelled books and rushed out two things quickly

[hollow estuary]

shame on the forgotten realms wiki for having a info page on the ring of winter. fr.

[buoyant oar]

I mean the map of Netheril they used was a reused asset from 2007

[buoyant oar]

Why shame on the FR Wiki for having info

[umbral girder]

For it’s crimes

[hollow estuary]

Because divination spells dont work on the ring of winter, its whole thing is that its almost impossible to find

im half joking on this one but it is funny to think about

Elminster talks to ed greenwood in cannon, as a result like elminster could go on the wiki and find the ring of winter LOL.

[errant crag]

I wanna run mechanically intensive games with dungeon crawls and combats and it's just hard to get players who wanna play in stuff like that nowadays. I'll be very transparent about that being the style of game I wanna run and will get people signing up only to be like "here's my 10 page backstory, can we have the game not be very dangerous I don't want my character to die in an unsatisfying way"

And I'm oooouuugh

[rough basalt]

I love dungeon crawling

I love running Dungeons a bit more tho

[barren badger]

megadungeons my beloved

[buoyant oar]

One of the bigger lore drops out in the new books that I think should have gotten more explanation is calling Elminster the Former Chosen of Mystra.

[feral fulcrum]

Five Bucks says the new Chosen is EEEEEVIL and plot related in a future book.

[craggy summit]

They're fun until you have a FIFTY ROOM DUNGEON and the party gets to the important mcguffin room in their 3rd room 😅 (why must wotc put that in their adventure books)

[buoyant oar]

Well she also has like 75 chosen

[hollow estuary]

Mystra very clearly deserves the last two titles on her wiki page.

[twilit sail]

do you play pathfinder

or 3.5

[umbral girder]

Yeah Elminster was just one of her Chosen

[rough basalt]

I like Mystra

[twilit sail]

that sounds like the kind of game those ppl would play

[woven flint]

Imagine being a chosen of Mystra

CRINGE!!!

[feral fulcrum]

Mystra, The Frequently Dead. And Mystra, The Fickle idiot?

[sturdy niche]

Brian Valenzuela's artwork for Cthuluh in the new article highlighting 5 select darklords from the upcoming book, looks so epic and peak, interested to see how the dark powers managed to snag him, given that historically the dark powers can't keep a god contained, that is how vecna escaped

[rough basalt]

She's a neverending tale of Mystryls folley

[umbral girder]

When I reveal your patron was Mystra with a disguise this entire time /jk

[buoyant oar]

Well. They are all different people

[woven flint]

Sovis woukd explode

[umbral girder]

Again

[rough basalt]

Mystryl didn't take Karsus seriously, so a random netherese woman was ascended to Mystra forcefully as her people crumbled around her.

[twilit sail]

i mean personally that sounds like the kind of game i would enjoy

[rough basalt]

Which traumatized her and led her to becoming so bad it sullied the Mystra name.

[twilit sail]

so if youre open for that at some point hit me up

[rough basalt]

Then Helm killed her which forced Midnight to become Mystra.

[sturdy niche]

that is not what happened, sora, at least not to my knowledge

[fresh laurel]

hey guys whats the average age of this server and DnD community?

[rough basalt]

The first mystra was a young Netherese woman forcibly ascended the moment Mystryl died.

[woven flint]

I love the Suffering of Mystra 😎

[rough basalt]

Ao's discord account.

[buoyant oar]

When the goddess of magic was reborn—this time as Mystra—she used as a vessel a beautiful peasant girl who was just learning cantrips but who had the capability of one day becoming an archwizard. She immediately took control of the Weave and magic returned to Toril. In the aftermath of the Fall of Netheril, the new goddess took a much more lawful view of magic use and laid down some rules, including a decree that the most powerful of spells would fail utterly.

[sturdy niche]

well as i said, to my knowledge it is not really a thing given i have never heard it mentioned until now

granted i am not all knowing or incappable of making mistakes

[buoyant oar]

And the current 5e Mystra is an amalgamation of the previous Goddesses laid in the weave.

[rough basalt]

Yep. She was filled with Mystyrls last thoughts and everything as well as she knew what it was like to be killed as a deity by inheritance iirc

[feral fulcrum]

Don't spam all caps, or ask about ages.

[rough basalt]

Which makes Midnight kicking Gales ass for being an idiot much more reasonable.

Current Mystra has the experience of dying 3 times as a deity

Then her little fling almost made it four

[buoyant oar]

Yeah. Gale is 100% stupid and at fault

[errant crag]

I'd love to

[feral fulcrum]

Because this is an all ages server, and the mods don't allow it for many, many reasons.

[hollow estuary]

Sorry I tried to respond to this but I was timed out by dyno because the last two titles were derogatory terms against women.

Apologies.

[rough basalt]

It wasn't a healthy relationship, but Midnight herself I think was only in her 60s when they met. Counting years she's alive and has a form.

[sturdy niche]

Gale is a classic case of smart with magic, not so much at other forms of intelligence, plus probably clouded be either his love for her or his hubris, probably abit of both

[rough basalt]

Like current mystra is younger than a lot of humans

If you don't count the 100 years she spent as a speck of divinity

[buoyant oar]

Well midnight was born in the 1300s. Current Goddess of magic did not come into being until around gales younger years

[twilit sail]

i have zero experience w pathfinder
but i do love optimizing chars

[sturdy niche]

dnd is for people of all ages, there is no sensable reason to be asking about anyone's age

[hollow estuary]

Have you all seen the cannimelinon crystal from the adventurers in Faerun thing?

[buoyant oar]

I'm surprised that just mysteriously returned considering it was very specifically destroyed

[rough basalt]

Ye the current version who thinks of herself more as midnight yet isn't cause technically Cyric and Shar killed Midnight.

[buoyant oar]

Like that was one of the inciting incidents in 4th edition

[hollow estuary]

Well its one of the few cool magic items you can have as a warlock patron (other one I know about is blackrazor)

[buoyant oar]

Calimshan Was as close to a hard retcon as you can get from the Realms

[rough basalt]

So technically current Mystra was only just born when she met Gale. Gales the one who needs the Waterdavian Guards called on him.

[woven flint]

I hope this Mystra perishes as well

[rough basalt]

She will whenever they're bored.

[buoyant oar]

As long as James Wyatt works at Wizards of the Coast, it'll happen

[rough basalt]

Or you're bored cause you're Ao

[buoyant oar]

Just have faith

[sturdy niche]

honestly, not sure off the top of my head who started the romance, but gale and mystra or a god in general, dating or anything more serious, is just a mess waiting to happen, so i'd put them both at fault for letting the relationship last long enough to lead to any trouble born of either's actions

[hollow estuary]

By that I mean if your a genie warlock you could have calim as your patron, and essentially your genies respite would be the crystal, and also calim would be constantly pressuring you to destroy this crystal and let him loose.

[rough basalt]

Ao's heart beats as long as there's some random girl to be forced to become a God to induce endless suffering in them as a crime for having magic potential.

[hollow estuary]

and maybe if you do let him loose you might get the genie magic feat, a blessing and a few wishes.

[rough basalt]

At some point he'll let Cyric out for Spellplague 2

[hollow estuary]

idk up to the DM.

[sturdy niche]

Ao is indifferent, as long as realmspace is stable and in balance, everything is fine in his book, he survives so long as realmspace exists, least to my knowledge

[buoyant oar]

It's okay, just don't think about how Mystra's daughters were made

[rough basalt]

Something Mystra haters say that makes me laugh is she allows Daugathoth to live for nefarious reasons.

The 1st Mystra did for her own amusement

Midnight and Current Mystra only allow him to exist as long as he remains in his lair

[errant crag]

I've ran games where I wouldn't want minors to be playing in them because they may have heavy themes

[rough basalt]

If he ever leaves, he gets nuked by all of her chosen.

[barren badger]

Do gods... reproduce the same way humans do?

[errant crag]

Also I run my games in person and if I have an underage player I need them to get explicit permission from their parents to play in my D&D games

[buoyant oar]

They can, but they usually possess amortal's body to do so

[feral fulcrum]

I Imagine much like the way Simulacrums are made, she waved her hands at a pile of snow and presto chango, kids.

[rough basalt]

Usually a devoted of them

[woven flint]

Probably

[feral fulcrum]

It depends on the God.

[woven flint]

I'd imagine, but also, not every god in the realms is human

[craggy summit]

I was about to say, probably lolth does it differently

[feral fulcrum]

All those Demi-gods came from somewhere

[craggy summit]

Tiamat, bahamut, yeehognu?

[rough basalt]

Lolth has two forms that I can remember.

One is a 6ft tall hot drow woman, the other is a giant spider lady.

[buoyant oar]

Alustriel, Open Lord Laearl, and Storm. Are the only ones that are still alive Of Mystra's seven daughters.

[woven flint]

Yeenoghu isn't a God

[hollow estuary]

Yeenoghu isent a god

[woven flint]

He's a demon :3

[errant crag]

All my homies hate yeenoghu

[twilit sail]

some of them probably reproduce asexually

[barren badger]

I think it's pretty important to ask for people's age.

And like, as much as I love everyone. I do prefer to DM for people who are at least 21+.

I will and have DMd for teens and underage individuals, but I run those games differently.

[feral fulcrum]

Which doesn't technically stop one from being a god

[woven flint]

REAL!
All my homies like Baphomet

[woven flint]

It doesn't

But he's also

Still not a god

[uncut zenith]

Yeenoghu my beloved

[feral fulcrum]

Gather up enough weird fish people and he will be

[woven flint]

Kuo-Toa my babies...

[craggy summit]

Oh wait yes he was the demon prince 😭 sorry

Or demon lord or something along those lines

[rough basalt]

Nah that's uh

[hollow estuary]

The gnolls need a new leader because yeenoghu is trivially easy to defeat

[rough basalt]

Two headed bro

[barren badger]

You know, I only found out recently that Bahamut is a lesser deity?

[rough basalt]

Demogorgon

[woven flint]

All the greater Demons are Demon Princes

[rough basalt]

He's the "Prince of Demons" I believe.

[buoyant oar]

That time Orcus killed Primus

[twilit sail]

i found that out after he was defeated by a bunch of cats

[woven flint]

Its sad, but yeah...

[barren badger]

i never saw the cats musical. is that what happened?

[hollow estuary]

Did yall know that yeenoghu has No ranged attacks whatsoever? not even a javelin?

[twilit sail]

no no
The Battle Cats

[hollow estuary]

and no speeds

[barren badger]

Ah, the Baats

[twilit sail]

i guess thats an obscure reference

[rough basalt]

5e WotC was afraid of giving enemies ranged attacks

[hollow estuary]

Right yeah but the legacy gnoll atleast has a longbow

[rough basalt]

One of the outliers ig

[barren badger]

i know warrior cats

[rough basalt]

Probably an accident

[twilit sail]

i know what warriors is
its not the same thing

[hollow estuary]

yeah but yeenoghu is baby stuff yo 😭

just sayin

[buoyant oar]

If a Demon Lord or boss entities stat block seems insufficient given their strength, remember:

They are not supposed to be fought alone, and they are absolutely not meant to be fought with a party with full resources

[hollow estuary]

my level 3 rogue with a repeating crossbow from my artificer can beat this guy

[woven flint]

^^^

[barren badger]

i guess it can charge at least? And teleport?

[craggy summit]

and they also have a weakness against paladins and clerics

[woven flint]

People complained about Demogorgon being weak. But what makes you think you're fighting THE Demon Lord alone?

[buoyant oar]

And if somebody let you long rest within 15 mi of that guy that's on them

[hollow estuary]

Naw youll have friends, the demons will fight him too

he will probably be in a battle when you arrive

[hollow estuary]

I suppose? but like with a monk or rogue you can disengage as a bonus action

I suppose he might be smart enough to teleport away

[sturdy niche]

yeah, well that is a seperate situation from what i was reffering to

[sturdy niche]

again, separate situation

[buoyant oar]

Yeah, his flavor text specifically states that a pack of hyenas always follows him and those that eat his kills turn into gnolls

So he will be more difficult than he seems just off his stat block because he will not be alone

[sturdy niche]

there is a lot of terrifying and deadly abilities demogorgon has in the lore that are not reflected in mechanics or statblocks, despite technically it being possible

[shut lance]

that was a good series of adventures

[hollow estuary]

like how many hyenas

[buoyant oar]

Hyenas can be anywhere between 6 and 100 let's be conservative and say that he has 10 who have already turned into gnolls. And let's be conservative and say that you have as a party 70% of your resources. His fight just got a lot tougher

[sturdy niche]

and basically ruined one of the most op spells for the entire multiverse getting it basically banned/disarmed, classic orcus XD

[sturdy niche]

yep said title basically makes you "king of the abyss" and is generally prove of being the strongest, he took it by force

[sturdy niche]

and? he does not really need it, at least if you look to his lore, he can basically have it fly around cracking skulls while he rips and tears his foes the old fashion way https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Yeenoghu#Possessions

you can easily replicate that at the table without it being baked into the statblock, if you want to that is

[hollow estuary]

right about flying he cant do that

[sturdy niche]

he does not really need to

and as i said his weapon, specifically it's chain, can do that at his will, even doing so independantly

is like saying thor from marvel comics has no ranged options for combat despite one of his regular moves is throwing his main weapon and at times even controlling it with his mind to fight at a distance while he punches people, very similar principle

[hollow estuary]

okay so yeenoghu is not properly represented by his statblock

[sturdy niche]

as i said, neither is demogoron, there are things that are not baked into the statblocks, basically it is better to think of the demon lord statblocks as them in an average fight with some things more specific to the items or otherwise not taken into consideration, but that one can replicate if they put in the effort, the published stuff is largely something you can grab and use if need be to save time, like baphomet, his official 5e statblock is missing the breath weapon of unholy water he could shoot out like a high powered geyser in older editions, i even homebrewed it into the statblock my self on dnd beyond, obviously couldn't share it as it was still too similar to the published version

and Demogorgon is basically a fear powered hulk and can kill other demons to steal their strength basically healing himself and powering up a smidge, supposedly from what i understand somehow Demogorgon is directly connected to the primordial concept of fear in the multiverse

like if you judge them based purely off mechanics like statblocks, i feel you are doing yourself a disservice cuz you are not taking the entirety of what makes them so infamous into account

[sturdy niche]

to be fair though, is probably not easy to adapt, since this description is from way back in "Monster Manual 1st edition" at least according to the wiki, and according to Dragon issue 364, at least as cited by the wiki, "When put in direct combat situations, Yeenoghu did not bother with subtle tactics, instead wading directly into battle and hurling derogatory epithets at his enemies, although he might first attempt to pump himself up. The insults he hurled at his opponents were rumored to be dangerous curses he used to weaken his enemies." plus historically was known to use spells including invisibility

and given how large and fast he is, especially compared to the average humanoid, one could make the argument he often does not need a ranged option

so yes, while he has some things not reflected in his statblock, it is not like the prince of gnolls is helpless when fighting ranged combatants

[woven flint]

None of the Demon Lords are really properly represented by their statblocks in all honesty

[umbral girder]

Plot powers vs Game Mechanic powers

Like the Dragonborn of Skyrim can hit someone hard enough to sink an island in lore but can’t do that in game

Sometimes lore don’t match game mechanics

[little stream]

Being the leader of every faction seems good enough, skyrim I mean

[livid brook]

What chat can I ask about the Northlands bundle in. Specifically the subclasses.
Not sure if i Wana pay $70 without knowing what they are

[oak brook]

hey guys i was making a system that creates random characters with different races, genders, ages, classes , non combat jobs, mastery , stats calculated from all the above , but i kinda over did it lol

i made it that it generated a characters smallest details like faces , skin colour , eyes and their colours , hair style and colour , length , weight , family situation , current life , combat experience , basic life skills mastery , personality , tools , weapons , pets , wealth and assets

what do you think (everything that can be rolled have a massive pool to pick from already)

please give some ideas and reviews 🙂
(sorry for bad english)

Where can i post pics ?

[still plover]

If someone ran a top tier creature using just the statblock out of the book, I'd be disappointed, I feel.

[sturdy niche]

honestly to attempt to make them feel accruate to their lore, you'd have to run them far earlier a combat counter than the cr would recommend

like a cr 10 angel, would only feel even close to how they are in lore if your party was 4 level 5 characters

[still plover]

You can take screenshots and share links to them using a service like https://imgbb.com/ as long as you describe what the links are for.

#dm-world-building might be a suitable place to share such a tool.

[woeful halo]

Anyone know anyone who’d want to run a Starwars campaign?

[oak brook]

Thanks !

[jovial talon]

Or steroids. That’s my go to method.

[paper portal]

star wars has its own system that would probably work much better than dnd for a campaign like that

[sturdy niche]

wrong channel, more fitting to ask in #looking-for-dm or #looking-for-players

[woeful halo]

Where can I find that?

[sturdy niche]

yeah, but tweaking, especially powering up an existing statblock has it's own issues

[jovial talon]

Indeed

[sturdy niche]

not to mention it is also a lot more time consuming to do even remotely well

[still plover]

#non-dnd-topics. There are a number.

[fair vault]

Best VT for dnd ?

[paper portal]

roll20 imo

[jovial talon]

Fortunately this kind of fine tuning is something I enjoy greatly.

[crimson gulch]

Owlbear rodeo

[barren badger]

Foundry

[fair vault]

See i have heard both im about to start doing the thing and want the opinion of a vet dm

[severe rampart]

Owlbear

[severe rampart]

Urizt is a veteran DM

[shy stirrup]

I use Roll20, but have heard good things about Owlbear. Roll20 has a fairly steep learning curve, and an often unintuitive UI/UX

But its powerful, once you can get it to do what you want

[stable kiln]

hallo friends

[paper portal]

hii

[stable kiln]

how is everyone this fine Tuesday

[paper portal]

wednesday for me but pretty good :3

[stable kiln]

nice nice

[broken imp]

doing well

[stable kiln]

thats good

[barren badger]

I think it really depends on what you're looking for a VTT

[stable kiln]

it is getting a bit harder to find others to get together for games nowadays

[shy stirrup]

Is it? Hadn't noticed.

[stable kiln]

well, for me at least, but ill keep trying, been in different places for some games, but sometimes you get unlucky

[shy stirrup]

Yes. Or, lucky!

[stable kiln]

true, rn im tryna come up with a new homebrew campaign idea