>>97300098
>TQ
Torn grass, and the Prestidigitation cantrip

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To be a human male fighter chud in a world of diverse magical castercels…

Asking again from last thread-
Whats a good barbarian subclass for a barb 3/warlock 5? Uses Armor of Agathys and rages, then uses rest of spell slots for Eldritch smites. PAM and GWM. No bear totem. Toss up between Zealot (Party has a cleric) and just keep reckless suiciding into combat, or Ancestral Guardian for the flavor. I would prefer something more selfish though.

recently, "that guy" at my table has
>nearly shoved the healer down a hundred-foot shaft for no reason
>knowingly set off a cloudkill trap as another character (then blamed that characters player even though he was absent)
>started meaningless fights with multiple important npcs and cut off our options
>sabotaged our plans to hide the macguffin that the entire kingdom is after, worsening our already poor standing
>ignored the party's critical plan and gotten himself arrested moments before our next big step, resulting in a multi-session detour to rescue him and an increased level of difficulty for the thing we were going to be doing originally
>goaded an otherwise docile deity into inflicting a debilitating set of debuffs with an indefinite duration to all but one of our party members
>likely been cheating the majority of his rolls under the veil of remote play
>justified all this and more by claiming that "every party needs someone to cause problems"
i want this character dead in and out of character and the player out but the dm is threatening me with a bazillion karma debuffs if i act on those wishes despite how blatantly destructive he is. its such a dumb situation since the player in question has been called out multiple times and just refuses to change
anyway im done bitching thanks for coming to my ted talk

>>97300098
>TQ
Some wild mushrooms that he may or may not be able to tell are edible or poisonous

>>97300206
I usually take the one that lets you get resistance from everything but psychic. Especially at high levels there are a lot of elemental attacks. Bear totem or someshit.

>>97300098
>TQ
Fresh salad she prepared herself, laced with psychedelics

>>97300270
Bear totem isn't allowed. That's why I am asking. I was planning on taking that one too.

give me ideas

>>97300324
here's an idea
think for yourself

I've really wanted to get into d&d for a while now and ive gone to my local board games club for a game once every few years, but the people there turn me off it every time. Everyone there is reddit personafied or a tranny. How do you guys find cool people to play with? I live in a small city so I don't have a lot of options

>>97300406
I have friends

>>97300426
Of whom already liked d&d or did you introduce them? Not that it really matters since I don't have friends, but I'm curious

>>97300438
yes to both

>>97300311
I can’t read apparently. Path of the giant and path of the beast are both very good. Path of the giant makes you big and have decent ranged and elemental damage. Path of the beast is good for damage. Like totem warrior it lets you have options but unlike totem warrior you choose every rage. If you want to be tanky/defender go ancestral guardian.

Fucking gnomes.

>>97300608
gnomebuttplug.jpeg

>>97300608
It is not right that one race should hold such sway over all the banks and mercantile guilds...

>>97300686
Are gnomes the same as goblins in the Warcraft universe, except not green?

I’m an elderly 28 year old man who will be DMing for the first time soon, any tips to do it well?

>>97300098
>>97297875
I like Wyvern, just because in one session I was able to kill one solo at level 5. It felt so good

>>97300776
Yeah, more or less

>>97300438
>Of whom already liked d&d
What did you think you were doing with this phrase?

>>97300844
let player describe the way he does the final kill for monsters

it's a lot of fun

I'm bored. Tell me about your characters, anons

If I prone an enemy with an opportunity attack he needs half his full movement or or half its remaining movement to get up?

>>97300249
Why the fuck didn't you just leave the moron in Jail?

>>97301712
Human Monk (not actually monk-like, that’s just his class) who was a sailor and thug or “trade facilitator” for his family, as he puts it. His family is a modest merchant and shipping clan from an island country that values intellect over martial prowess, but since he never really picked up on the whole “making deals and securing trade contracts” thing, his family put him to work as muscle instead. He’s not dumb, just has a tendency to mouth off and rub people the wrong way at times, which makes him a bad negotiator.

Right now he’s traveling with the party to the southern continent’s capitol city since he’s got a relative there trying to set up new contracts and the other parties need a little “encouragement” to keep to their prior agreements. It’s not super deep but this is the first DnD game I’ve played so I didn’t want to get too crazy.

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>You're going to a pot luck, what does your character (or an NPC of your choice) bring?
My halfling brings some honey glazed date cookies

>>97302063
I'd like to glaze that honey's cookie on a date

>>97302067
Sorry you're too tall for her

>>97302072
Joke's on you, I'm pretty short.

>>97302148
Not Halfling short

>>97302063
She sure looks like she's packing a wild bush down there

>>97301712
My DMPC is an Orc Druid of the Many Arrows tribe. He speaks only when he thinks his words would have weight. He believes in survival of the fittest, and that it is the natural right of all living things to rail against those forces that would impede that survival. All members of the tribe are expected to defend the tribe, especially now that the White Dragon Thalessemius has driven them from their lands; my character is no exception, and has joined the party in order to gain resources and potential allies to help take back his homeland or settle his people in a new one.

>>97302063
honestly so rare that an artist gets a halflings proportions right

How do I get everyone to show up
I can tell when people just dont feel like coming

>>97303644
Kidnap their loved ones

>>97304222
In the game?

>>97304255
That might help too.

>>97303644
I simply tell them to.
>All right, guys, game is at 6:30pm on Saturday. Get here by 4:00pm or earlier so we can catch up, figure out dinner, and get settled in first.

>>97303644
You can’t make people interested if they’re not. Ditch the bitches. I wish I had for past games. Once the flaky duded stopped coming it got much better.

>>97304466
>shows up at 2 cause I like hanging out with my friend

>>97300098
He brings meatballs that he has misidentified as beef. He has no idea what meat they actually are.

What’s the most economical way to print DnD maps? Can’t find them made for less than 13 bucks for a 2x3 foot map.

>>97305063
Works for me, but you'll either need to entertain yourself for forty-five minutes somewhere in there or come on the dog walk.

>>97305141
>dog walk
hell yeah bro
>>97303644
get a dog

>>97305115
No idea. How come you need/want to print maps? I could see doing one or maybe two for a oneshot or something, but not much beyond that.
You could print a couple of A3 sheets and arrange them together maybe?

Trove key not working?
hd15FhHNn5HndHg
Or am I missing something?

>>97305397
I just copy it, I have no idea if it actually works desu

>>97305115
>Buy chessex battlemap
>Buy those makers they use in schools that just wipe off easily
>Infinite shitty maps drawn by yourself
ez

>>97305371
I can’t stand theatre of the mind combat and vastly prefer gridded maps.

>>97305407
Not a bad idea.

>>97305371
Also meant to say yes, I can print them and tape them together on my own, I’m just assuming the ink is gonna add up, price wise.

>>97305537
I wasn't talking about theatre of the mind. All my IRL combat is with a dry-erase gridded battlemap. The high-effort alternative is usually using battlefield terrain and stuff. Some people use spiral-bound books of maps or other tools like that, but you don't usually hear about people printing individual maps on the regular.
>>97305552
It's free if have a work printer that no one complains about you using.

>>97305601
I may have just been implanted with autism. My one campaign I played, the DM printed out every single battle map for the entire thing. I’ll look into the dry erase battle map.

>>97305115
You abandon printing maps and instead make terrain out of boxes, plastic containers, and other random everyday items with cheap paint to cover it up like you're a broke teenager trying to make warhammer terrain
It has the bonus of being fully 3d

>>97305407
I got two of those maps for Christmas from two of my players this. I think they're trying to tell me something.

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Inspired by some cool art, I have made the most over-designed CR 3 monster.
>charges at you, possibly knocking you prone
>possibly grapples you on attack
>can grapple an additional creature
>a recharge ability to possibly restrain you for one round
>starts randomly causing minor effects when below half heath
>explodes on death
but you can
>destroy or disrupt the floating hand to remove its grapple ability
>destroy or disrupt the shard to hurt it and remove its damage resistances
I am going to pair this in an encounter with a CR 3 Red Wizard of Thay and a few skeletons.

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>>97305671
I make paper terrain. Fat dragon make good ones for D&D. Then I use standees. Here is an example from a wargame but could work just as well for D&D. The house is paper the rest are battlefield in a box. If I’m using a physical board I’d prefer measuring distances instead of using a grid anyways. Grids have issues with distances.

anyone have hellfire club pdf?

ancient dwarven elevator ascension
enclosed space fight
first a swarm of bats/stirges/something else? is disturbed
then a large ooze (the dwarves used them to clean/grease the gears of the giant mechanism)
what would be the third monster for the climax?

>>97306290
Rust monster (will make players unreasonably scared if played like the 3.5 version), or maybe some dwarven sentinels using animated statues.

>>97306290
Whatever destroyed the dwarves. Maybe a dragon, or a purple worm (or less powerful worm if low level).

>>97306290
>Dwarves
When in doubt, always add a huge fuckoff aberration that they woke up because they dug too deep dwarf fort style

>>97303173
What even are their proportions? What's the trick?

>>97301712
A ranger who speaks in such a way that everything sounds epic and poetic. When he casts his spells, he does it in an unconventional manner, moving his hands dramatically and asking nature to aid him in a very exaggerated way. And then he finishes with a strange hand sign to complete the casting. All of that… just to summon a few berries or call his animal companion.
>O spirits of nature, I humbly ask you lend me your strength. Infuse this soil with your essence. Let sweetness be born from the earth… let it grow, let it grow… LET IT GROW!
or
>I call upon you, Silver Eye! Stir the skies with your mighty wings, bring doom with your terrible claws. Come, and bring the end to these monstrous creatures of chaotic evil!”
He also gets overly excited about adventures, speaking in an exaggerated way about how everyone must prepare at once, as if he can already feel the danger lurking inside the cave.
>Everyone, ready yourselves at once! I can feel the thrill of danger stirring in the depths of this cave… PREPARE YOURSELVES , FOR GLORY AWAITS US!”

>>97305635
I played a game where the dm split the map into chunks on different papers, then laid these on the table. Larger chunks consisted of multiple pieces taped together.

>>97306859
fucking hell I wish my players would actually play/assume their characters
no matter how much I tell and workshop and reinforce and demand that each character have a memorable trait/behavior/anything they ALWAYS revert back to just playing themselves

there's a special kind of tryhard fag in everygame who refuses to not be "john operator" who is tough and about solving the encounter and has no time for this fantasy siliness. I wish they would fucking die

>first D&D group i ever played with was a perfect 10/10 amazing group
>every group ive tried to play with since sucks ass in comparison

So I wanted to get a warlord style feel and battle master just wasn't scratching my itch.
So I made a bard with the expectation of speccing into glamour, planning on using battlefield control to move my allies and CC enemies, healing if need be. Of course at level 1 and 2 you can only do so much, so I just sat back and plinked, handed out inspiration, and sometimes attempted a command or healing word.

At the end of a tough fight, a few of my allies had gone down, I had healed them with healing word and used all my resources, but I was at full HP. They then called me a coward for not front lining. I just didn't feel the need to march to the front lines when I didn't need to. Should be noted that the party has 3 bards cause no party planning. The 8 charisma bard who walks into melee with a staff was more courageous maybe. The other bard who planned on speccing into valor also plinked with me, but had cure wounds instead of healing word and went into melee for cures. Am I a coward? I remember every time I tried to be brave I ended up dying in previous campaigns(the dm used deus ex machina to bring me back)

I like playing safe smart character after my little stint playing OSR with a different group. But that mindset gets me called a coward in 5e apparently, which normally if be fine with but I made a point to be playing an ex-military commander.

>>97300249
Why do people do things like this? It just doesn't make sense to me.

>>97309093
Only a fool calls a general a coward for not leading the charge.

>>97300608
I never understood the gnome hate meme.

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>>97309820
Then clearly, you didn't see the island.

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>>97300098
>Need 1,000 Gold Coin so I can purchase a gem that I can then use to Planar Bind an Invisible Stalker I summoned, or anything else
>Was near close to 1,000 Gold Coins but had to spend some money on some AC increasing items so I could avoid getting slammed and smashed by the DM
>Also have to pay rent on some fucking haunted lighthouse with the rest of the Party
>Some of the Party are also broke :^)
>The most Broke Bum Member of the Party was given the opportunity to win 5,000 Gold Coin in a music competition, he's a Bard
>Declines it

Yea sure he can do whatever he wants it's his character but he also went broke spending all his money on lingerie and owed people money at one point so what's the plan here.

Question 1:
One of my players is playing a bard and has had shitty rolls for his level ups. I get the impression he is very bored with his character. I have suggested he roll a different character, but he refuses. And I have tried to give him some roleplay opportunities to compensate but he does not take them. Should I just buff him on the next level up so he is no longer dead weight?

Question 2:
I'm looking to integrate a few combat rules from older DnD versions to make it a bit more tactical, any pitfalls I should look out for?

>>97309820
Sounds like you don't know enough about gnomes then, the devilish creatures.

>>97309014
my current DM is also my first, he seems amazing so far and I'm genuinely worried this will spoil me rotten

>>97310050
>Q1
Give him a magical weapon/ magical item to compensate for the bad level up. If he's not taking to roleplaying then it's sounding more like he's preferring to play the Bard for it's abilities

>Q2
idk

>>97309093
just remind them low your AC was

>>97310209
>Give him a magical weapon/ magical item to compensate for the bad level up
It's the health rolls that were bad, but I had not thought of giving him a magic item. I will investigate further.

>>97309820
I think it's mostly because nobody really knows what to do with them and there's not much else to say about them.

>>97310385
Paracelsus labelled Gnomes as Earth elementals. Make them Earth elementals instead of ANOTHER race that tinkers

>>97310419
I went with this, leaning into the design of D&D salamanders and making it so that the Paracelsus elementals were the "standard" races of their planes, all of them without legs. So your salamanders are as we know them, your undines are traditional merfolk, sylphs have skyfish/rod lower halves, and gnomes are little worm-y guys.

>>97308978
Man, tell me about it. I've been in a campaign for almost a year now, and I'm still the only player who roleplays. I feel bad for the DM since he's doing a pretty good job so far, but I'll probably ditch these guys if I find a better group, it's so unfulfilling.

>>97308978

Why are you still playing with them? No trolling, but roleplaying (and presumably using a heavy game like dnd) without actually roleplaying sounds like the saddest job for which you aren't even payed.

>>97308978
>there's a special kind of tryhard fag in everygame who refuses to not be "john operator" who is tough and about solving the encounter and has no time for this fantasy siliness
I know the type
this awesome fantasy location? eh, im not impressed, let's make progress, we have a mission
the king is threatening me with jail? eh, come and get me, im never humbled
12 ancient dragons are flying towards us? im not afraid
You see im a special character who knows he's in a game so nothing really matters

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>>97300098
>that tummy
God I love women's bodies so much. I just can't stand women. A man in a woman's body would be perfection.

>>97311690
They’re called trans men. You just have to find one who’s uncomfortable getting surgery or going on hormones. Treat him like one of the guys, correct him when he acts like a woman about things, and you can avoid the bullshit while still going to pound town.

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getting so impatient to play that I'm drawing up item artwork

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>>97311690
>>97311734
Just hire a woman of the night. Cheaper than having a wife or girlfriend anyways. No matter that trans men do they never really pass. Except in very specific lighting and camera conditions.

Fantasy artwork used to understand this. But now D&D and other fantasy artwork make half their characters look trans. Which is bizarre, I thought the goal was to be a woman not an insane man in a wig.

>>97301712
Dark Sun setting
I made my character one of The Offspring.
She is a Tiefling capable of using Templar magic without having to be granted it. Like a Warlock that's their own Patron.
She acted as a Templar until a mission gone south where she was supposed to spy in someone by arrogantly decided to engage and convinced her friends to do the same.
She was sold as a slave and lived like that for seven years until the start of the campaign.
She tends to focus more on avoiding fights now preferring to lie or talk her way out of conflicts having lost her confidence.

>>97311778
Looks awesome, anon!

>decide to check out rpgnet again after a few years
>mfw there's a giant trans fag flag on the website
What the fuck happened?

>>97312021
>Racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or ableist posts will not be tolerated. Support of Gamergate, racial supremacist groups, the redpill/incel movement, or any other hate group is a direct challenge to the lives and well-being of our other users and will result in a permanent ban.

How do these mentally insane fanatic freaks manage to infiltrate EVERY community and poison it and make it completely about themselves?
Is there another forum that isn't run by fucking lunatics?

>>97312021
What do you think? The place was compromised, obviously.

>>97312085
trans are a fuckin lunatic asylum that sticks together and shits up the internet they love having petty power like being jannies because they're all fucking suicidal losers in real life so they make it their life mission to try and ruin shit for everybody else until the day they finally an hero and rid the world of their toxic existence

>>97311845
Anon, trans men are the ones born with vaginas trying not to be women.

>>97312210
I’m not up to date with the lingo. I avoid all alphabet mafia members.

>>97312021
>>97312085
>>97312091
>>97312202

what happened is that people grew the fuck up while you're still the same little shitheads you were in the middle school.

>inb4 basedjak that just proves my point

>>97312260
>growing up is acting like a protestant school marm and trying to inject your suicidal fetishist shit into everyone else's business

>>97312021
>>97312085
lmao you are so triggered

>>97310031
>spending all his money on lingerie
>his
Is he buying it for his wife or is he into weird shit?

>>97312277

which one is it, puritanism or weird fetishes? This really isn't rocket science. You're enough of an asshole that people would rather have trans people around that you.

>>97312353
What's the difference? Annoying conceited freaks that nobody likes to be around and why you fucking scum exist only online and make it your life mission to piss off everyone else until the day you finally fuck off permanently from the server. I can't imagine what it's like to actually play dnd with you fucking losers. Do you just chop your cocks off and see who is the biggest victim of the day while mass reporting each other?

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We’re getting off topic. Tell me about your last session anons.

In my last session the party saved a bunch of deep gnomes from slavery. Right now they’re attacking a duergar mushroom farm to save even more. Unfortunately it seems the Duergar are working with a mind flayer so now they’re facing heavy resistance.

>>97312367
>Annoying conceited freaks that nobody likes to be around and why you fucking scum exist only online and make it your life mission to piss off everyone else until the day you finally fuck off permanently from the server.

then why are you the one banned from all these sites? It's unlikely all these mods and admins are muh trannies or le heckin jooz. It seems much more likely that you're just kind of unlikable

>I can't imagine what it's like to actually play dnd with you fucking losers. Do you just chop your cocks off and see who is the biggest victim of the day while mass reporting each other?

case in point

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I ran out of Gemini credits before I was able to get the Netherese Shard Barrel Mimic to only have a single shard.
(I am putting Gnomengarde into Phandelver and Below.)

>>97312498
damn gemini did that? it actually looks professional

>>97312430
it's been kind of dull. We've been at what's essentially an illuminati convention in the shadowfell for the last three sessions. There hasn't been a lick of combat and because of the holidays and everyone being busy we've only been meeting sporadically for the past three months or so. I'm hoping our game tomorrow isn't cancelled. I'm starting to worry it's on the verge of falling apart.

>>97312430
DM’d for the first time.

My party ran into a moron tavern keeper who had bones that were taken from a nearby graveyard. They took the bones back and were attacked by bandits and then a couple waves of skeletons before successfully re-interring the bones.

>>97312291
Player is an irl Bisexual playing a Hexblood Satyr Bard Bisexual who dumped his goblin gf for the limelight, so he bought it for himself

>>97312672
Sounds fun.

>>97312085
>Gamergate
>in 2026

>>97312878
Gamergate became the Alt-Right and MAGA.

Do you think BG3 will make the magic item and story situations in 5e games even worse?

Or would leaning into the high power fantasy of 5e be improved by treating minor magic items as things you find all over the place?

>>97312941
From my experience with 5e most DMs are terrified of giving out magic items. They're afraid it will ruin the balance. Personally once I've given out a few items I just put their level up to determine appropriate CR.

I don't think most people will use BG3's magic item system. It's a video game thing not mainstream D&D.

>Make the story worse
I doubt it. The story of BG3 was fine.

>>97312954
>BG3's magic item system
I did find the abundance of items with minor basic enchantments interesting. Not good or bad, but interesting. Very Diabloesque.

>The story of BG3 was fine.
I meant individual character stories. Everyone has some massive tragedy that makes them the protagonist of their own story.
Mind you I am a Grog who is used to Backstories being as deep as "I am broke and can't hold down a job"

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>>97312997
>Everyone has some massive tragedy that makes them the protagonist of their own story.
Nothing new

>>97313027
Thats fair.
Though in BG3 its literally things like "If I dont eat magic items I will explode"

Anybody run Raiders of the Serpent Sea? How is it?

>>97312941
>>97312997
I think BG3's character integration is fantastic.
The only thing I'd caution against for players or DMs inspired by it is that the characters' places in the power hierarchy are cracked. Some are fair and fine but then you have the L1 wizard who before being depowered was the Chosen AND lover of a goddess and it gets very silly.

>>97313044
To be fair though, there's a lot of serious fate shit from the gods combined with your "Guardian" picking out some "ideal" candidates to deal with the Absolute stuff.

Failure in that incident could lead to basically the end of The Forgotten Realms.

>>97312586
>I am a queer woman and a multiple-assault survivor
Stopped reading there. Good. Push these fucking cancer out of our hobby and stay the fuck out

>>97312878
They have a section where you can read all the bans and it's hilarious. It's mostly mods banning their own people for not being as radical and fanatical enough as they are. The usual anecdote of the snake devouring itself.

>>97312430
>First session of an Eberron campaign
>party has never played the setting before
>Decide to start them during the Last War for a couple of sessions before jumping forward to the 'modern' Eberron
>All they have to do is get a satchel from the front line ten miles back to an outpost
>Boobytrapped bodies
>Gallows for deserters
>Random magical artillery strikes
>Refugees begging for help the party doesn't have to give
>Villages force-evacuated and burned down by allied soldiers so the enemy can't use them
>Allied soldiers being moved away from a front line the officer says would be suicide to try and hold
>Warforged soldiers marching toward the direction the previous group came from
>When they do arrive the satchel is taken from them and they aren't told what's in it
>Four downs, no deaths, no enemies encountered. Party is now suspicious of aiding any cry for help or taking anything that looks to easily grabbed

Ain't war hell?

>>97300098
i'm playing 5e for the first time at the end of the month
i want my elf to hail from a village that was wiped out by a fungal infection, forcing him to flee
i'd like his ultimate goal to be curing his village of the infection or at least learning how to prevent it from wiping out other towns
ideally, the cure should involve another type of fungus
anybody know of anything like this in the rules, or something that may be readily adapted to the scenario and solution as described?

>>97312997
In older editions they would be called Pseudo Magic Items, it's a little weird to get that many in act 1. But in the city it feels right, maybe a touch more fitting in Halruaa or Waterdeep but a major city like the Gate would have its fair share.

>>97313093
The gods doing shit in the realms is pretty common. They tend to be the active fuckups behind every major event in history. I have a campaign with a Karsite character where Karsus does show up just to remind her she's a failure for not being at his power level yet. I'm sure on some level he thinks he's helping. But he's also on the short bus of gods and can barely have paladins let alone do any major miracles.

>>97314019
When I DM I love it when players come up with ideas and motivations like this. However, not all DMs are made the same. It may just never matter depending on the campaign that’s planned. Have a chat with your DM about it.

An idea for the fungus could be the Yellow Musk Creeper https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Yellow_musk_creeper

>>97314019
Ask your DM about using the Ruined background without involving the deck of many things. It's very fitting for the scenario you want.
Your cure is going to be largely plot related, but making a ranger or a druid and leaning into the academic side to study fungus would be a great start. Best advice I can give is asking your DM about research societies in the world and letting them know your character will be very interested in consulting them. For the right kind of DM you've got a perfect hook that's giving you motivation to adventure and left them a lot of freedom to write in a story. For a DM who doesn't like that kind of thing you'll never find a single spore that can help. Talking with him and setting expectations for both parties is essential.

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>>97314049
>>97314060
thanks for the ideas

trying to get my nibling to DM for the first time, so it's probably up to me to suggest how my character can make progress on his personal quest.
they are playing a freakishly strong mute mushroom man that we're modeling off a dragonborn. i want the solution to my problem to be fungus related so i don't outright reject his N/PC given my backstory when it starts following me or the group in the first session. making the solution plot related seems like the way to go, and it doesn't necessarily have to be found in our first adventure.
as a side note, we were having fun coming up with our characters. when the question came up how does the mushroom guy eat, i suggested he carry around a log as a weapon that doubles as his provisions which he just stands on at night.

>>97314147
Have fun anon. Nothing like the freedom of ttrpgs.

>>97313971
>Says the genuine cancer that makes the community worse for everyone and who doesn't actually play because nobody puts up with his bullshit

>>97313971
When even the queers are calling out how toxic the other queers are you know it’s bad.

>>97314340
>>97314416
Why are you retards replying to an ESL shitposter?

>wild shapes into a fly
>flies into strahd's ear
>ends wild shape

heh, nothing personal kid

>>97314481
I’ve told people they’ll just be forcibly ejected and take damage for that. Their plan involved Strahd’s rectum instead.

>>97314481
>>flies into strahd's ear
>>ends wild shape

>Gets shunted out
>Takes 3D10 Force Damage

>Go to sleep
>Wake up and check on 5egg
>Nearly died with no new responses
Everyone checking out other threads I guess

>>97318014
no this game is just dead
other systems have weekly releases, ongoing adventure paths, announced splat books, etc
wotc decide to make dnd this sclerotic boring garbage that has the minimal amount of content, and when it does it's always 100% garbage

>>97318014
5e is just... weird now. honestly they built the game way too marvel superheroes like that any sense of adventure is simply gone. level 1 players are incredibly powerful with tons of starting items and abilites. i just dont get why they did that.

>>97318196
I've taken my own path with 5e because my friends whom I play with IRL insist on using the system. They're "casuals" in the sense that they dont have time to learn anything else and, well, I'm just happy to play with them. But I am pretty brutal with certain rules.
>Players start at level 0
>Rank up to Level 1 after completing introductory task (usually something fairly simple) and more focused on roleplay
>Level 1
Here players have no gold, weapons, armor, etc. If they are magic based, they know only 1 cantrip of their choice. In order to progress in a class, the player needs to find someone to train them or else risk the wilds. We do milestone level ups, and these are fairly straight-forward. So far a number of PCs have died, but those that have survived are coming along pretty well. By level 5 though the power gaming is simply a little too much for them. Exploration is basically meaningless and it seems that 5e is tailored more for Critical Role live action performances and for BG3 players that don't like to play TTRPGs.

>>97318147
Yeah that’s true. I remember in the 3.5 or even 4e days we had a lot of splatbooks and builds to talk about at least. The complete X series was a favorite of mine. What do we have with 5e? Two different editions that have the exact same issues and an extra subsystem or two that could have easily been a splatbook. Circle magic which is clearly poorly thought out and OP. It also encourages everyone to go casters for spell slots when magic was already overused. And the new artwork…jesus christ even when it’s not woke as fuck they can’t hire anyone who doesn’t tick enough DEI boxes so their pool is pretty limited.

>>97318196
Level 1 5e isn’t that OP. But if we’re comparing it to OSR games sure, you don’t immediately die when hit I guess.

>>97318254
>Level 1 5e isn’t that OP.
It's more the starting gear and gold. There's no sense of progression in the opening few levels unless you're already handing out advanced gear.

>>97318331
I disagree. Every class gets a lot more abilities with each level. Whether that is extra spells, abilities like cunning action, or just getting your subclass filled with abilities at level 3 there is enormous progression early which if anything falls off as you level.

I genuinely have no idea what you’re on about.

>>97300098
What are some /tg/ cold takes? Feels like any opinion here is a hot take.

>>97318618
5e is so controversial I'm not sure. Here are a few I think are cold takes
>The game is best from level 3-10
>It's a game of heroic fantasy not gritty realism
>90% of tables don't play RAW and have houserules
>Advantage/disadvantage is elegant but shallow
>5.5e was a bad choice by WoTC

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Cragmaw Castle looked too cramped, so I doubled the size.
Now it looks empty.

>>97318618
mm14 are boring hp bags
mm25 have stupid always-succeed riders (and inconsistently, some that still require saves) that eliminate character attributes (the barb is just as likely as the wizard of being proned)

>>97318704
>t. wotc mapmaker in 2014

>>97318704
>looked too cramped
It is sized for goblins, remember. That they take up a 5-foot square same as a medium creature is just a quirk of the combat rules.

>>97318726
It shouldn't be sized for goblins. It's an ancient wizard's tower commandeered by goblins.

How did they even fit a Dire Wolf though the door before I doubled the size?

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>>97318704
wut? it looks the same to me

>>97318704
You didn't double, you quadrupled it

>>97318796
Are you fucking retarded?

>>97318755
>20 ft door vs 10 ft door
it was fine before

>>97318835
5 ft doors everywhere except the main gate. See >>97318796

>>97318813
Area, yeah.

>>97318851
do you have any idea how stupid a 20 ft door sounds
seriously take a measuring tape right now

>>97318755
>How did they even fit a Dire Wolf though the door before I doubled the size?

>A creature's space is the area in feet that it effectively controls in combat, not an expression of its physical dimensions. A typical Medium creature isn't 5 feet wide, for example, but it does control a space that wide. If a Medium hobgoblin stands in a 5-foot-wide doorway, other creatures can't get through unless the hobgoblin lets them.
>A creature can squeeze through a space that is large enough for a creature one size smaller than it. Thus, a Large creature can squeeze through a passage that's only 5 feet wide. While squeezing through a space, a creature must spend 1 extra foot for every foot it moves there, and it has disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage while it's in the smaller space.

how would you build a muscle wizard in 5e24? I don’t mean a homebrew subclass but just using the available options how would you make a wizard with 20 str and 10 int.

>>97319983
would you dip or not? does it need to be specifically a STR wizard or can it be a monk wizard?

>>97320059
I’d rather not gimp my spell casting by multiclassing, and yeah strength if I wanted to be more of a dex martial wizard I’d just be a bladesinger.

>>97319983
Do you not even need a minimum stat to cast spells anymore?

>>97320059
Literally can't multiclass out of wizard with only 10 Int.

>>97319983
Step 1: Choose spells without spell attack rolls or saves.
>Cantrips: Booming Blade
>1st Lv Spells: Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield, Silvery Barbs
Etc...
Step 2: Feel on top of the world for levels 1 to 4.
Step 3: Regret from level 5 onwards.

>>97319983
Muscle Wizard is pointless when magic is infinite

>>97320285
I don’t know, I just meant dumping int and making melee attacks in combat, with spell selection like
>>97320414
is saying. that’s the reason I asked, because I don’t see a way to not get left behind as you level up.

>>97320463
spell slots aren’t infinite, though. a rogue can sneak attack a hundred times a day.

>>97320584
Just a no games retard. Ignore him.

>>97320463
Which game are you playing in which magic is infinite?

>>97320627
I've been running a Strixhaven game for a couple of years for the LGBTQIA+ community of my local elementary school

What's the best way to find online groups nowadays? I've been playing in person occasionally for the last few years but my situation changed and I've been out of online play for like a decade.

>>97320627
Literally scaling cantrips

>>97320584
>spell slots aren’t infinite
I didnt say slots

>>97321007
roll20

>>97321062
has anyone tried tabletop simulator for online games
I imagine it would be more work than roll20 but I haven't looked into it

>>97321062
nta, but have you had success with it or is it mostly a miss?

>>97321327
I dunno
>>97321334
The cool thing about online groups is you have the option to shop around. Longest online group I played with lasted 3 years, but I've dropped games after the first or second sessions too.

>>97321327
I've played on TTS. You can do neat stuff with 3D terrain but the interface is really fiddly and doesn't work well for moving tokens and rolling dice at anything faster than a leisurely pace.

I’m going to bed. I better see at least one post in the morning or I’m getting the whip.

I had planned on giving my newbie wife-of-a-player Rogue Goggles of Night pretty early on into this run of Lost Mines, as she's the only character in the party without night vision and also the best scout. She missed the first session. Am I being too generous if I say that her character went and procured them somehow before this upcoming session? They're just about to enter the Cragmaw Hideout after killing the guards outside. My original plan was to have them in a hidden compartment in the saddlebags on Sildar's horse at the ambush site, so I might have her just roll Perception as the session starts to see if she can find them and then go from there.

>>97322033
just drop them into this session and let her have the satisfaction of finding them herself

Stupid question:
Did we ever get any more mtg x dnd arcanas?
Asking to see if I should wait for a lorwyn one or cope.

>>97322266
It this what you want? https://5e.tools/book.html#lfl

>>97322033
>1 distinctive thing about a character that could lead to interesting scenarios and complications
>NO LETS JUST SMOOTH IT OVER AT LVL1

I cant blame wotc when you fucking players are the same

>>97321327
I've tried this
It's fucking ass. There's better 3d VTT systems out there (Talespire, which is also kinda shit but still better than TTS)

Is there an adventure for Melauthaur anywhere?
>undead Dracolich who lures adventurers with rumors of treasure into his lands to further necromantic experiments
>is interested in and pursuing a powerful relic called the Shadow of Ao that can warp reality
If not, he's practically begging for one

>>97322652
I get where you're coming from. I'm new to DMing and only one of my four players has any significant tabletop experience, two of them never having played before, so my first instinct is to coddle them at the start until they're more comfortable with their characters. I do get that waiting until later to give her the goggles creates a tradeoff for the party as a whole, where they have to make a decision as to whether they want a much stealthier character without night vision to scout or if they want the less stealthy with night vision member to scout. I think I'll play it by ear and leave it until later like >>97322039 suggested. Let them get a taste for making decisions and being at a disadvantage before I reward them with a way to overcome the issue.

>>97323360
>so my first instinct is to coddle them at the start until they're more comfortable with their characters
no, don't. they'll never learn that way. you have to train them to think their way through difficult situations. don't spoil them.
i wouldn't give her the goggles at all. she chose to play a character without darkvision, therefore she has to face consequences for her choice, which is how ttrpgs work

>>97323360
good but also expand the range of consequences and choices. Maybe there's a town or tavern that is racist towards non-humans. The party is a bunch of freaks who can see in the dark? great for dungeons, not so great for social stuff. They made choices - without realizing it - as a dm, your job is to bring the consequences.

>>97323454
contd

now the human who sucked at dungeons gets her time to shine. But do this for the whole party: present them with situations where certain characters will suck, others excel. Look at abilities, spells, races, skills, everything. If someone speaks with animals, you need animals. Maybe there was a murder at the zoo. If someone has slower speed, something that requires running past a trap or door rapidly shutting.

Is a 2 level dip into warlock worth it for Tough and Alert on a lunar sorc?

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>errrmmm should i dip into...
>errrrr should i take...
>ermmmmm should i play this race for...
NO. you fucking mongoloids. go and play a video game. play a race/class/subclass because that's what your character is/would do and makes sense in the world, not for your gay little builds you sweaty fucking virgins

>>97323583
Based, buildcucks are the worst

>>97323583
I played a warlock/wizard/artificer last campaign for an amazing tank. What are you going to do about it faggot?

>>97323976
rest well knowing i get bitches and you don't

>>97323583
>>97323783
>>97323976
Inflexibility is not a meaningfully worthwhile personal attribute. You can both RP your characters' behavior, or you can power game. You probably won't be able to do both at the same time, or even have these two different attitudes at the same table, but it's not like they're universally mutually exclusive. I think one has the capacity to be a far better DM if they understand both behavior sets inside and out from both the mathematical/game system perspective, and the player psychology perspective.

D&D's systems are different than those of a video game, and wildly so, at times. The only similarities between them are superficial at best.

>>97324592
I understand the power gamer behavior because that’s how I play video games sometimes. I reject it from my games because I cannot imagine anything more boring, shallow, and stale than trying to minmax 5e (the choices are always the same) when the game difficulty is adjusted by the dm anyway (so it doesn’t fucking matter). All it does is make everyone’s eyes roll. It doesn’t bring anything to the table, it doesn’t make the other players have more fun. That should be the criteria for any character, not their dpr or whatever

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>Gundren Rockseeker has been captured by King Grol!
>They tortured him until he told them about the party who had the key that activates Wave Echo Cave.
>Based on Gundren's description, this is the portraits drawn by the Cragmaw Golbins.
>pic rel
I am proud of my handiwork.

>>97324592
>>97324710
All somebody needs to do to minmax in 5e is look up lists of 'top 10 subclasses' or 'top 10 feats'. Because as long as you pick a good subclass and good feats, then you're 90% of the way to being optimized. Trying to do some multiclass dip on top of that can squeeze out the remaining bit of efficiency, but it barely matters.
The DM deciding to give out a legendary weapon is going to have more of an impact than any charop guide.

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With 2024 Warlock, there are a few Invocations that let you cast spells without a spellslot.
If I take Otherworldly Leap, can I just specify that I recast it every minute so that I always have it up?
(Obviously excluding times when I am sleeping etc.)
The DM already said material components without listed costs can just assumed to be in your component pouch.

>>97325030
Yes, those invocations functionally turn those spells into cantrips-lite. Reminder that you're still restricted from casting levelled spells more than once per turn.

>>97325030
this >>97325039 and you also need to have the spell prepared since it doesnt give it to you

>>97325039
>Reminder that you're still restricted from casting levelled spells more than once per turn.
2024 just restricts you to spending spell slots. If you can cast without spending a spell slot by any means it doesn't count towards the one-slot-per-turn limit.
You could quicken a Fireball and use a Scroll of Fireball in the same turn, for example.

>>97325426
holy shit youre right

>>97324710
How do you feel about players planning their approach towards a dungeon (when the game difficulty is adjusted by the dm anyway (so it doesn't fucking matter)). That's not the same problem, but it is related.

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>>97301712
Not in a game but been writing a Monk. Her name is Nian Huachun, she's a member of the Wan Zu, a group of Chinese alchemists and scholars who act as devil-slayers and exorcists for the Emperor. Their shtick is they recruit people to join their order then turn them into chi-sucking dhampir who live as long as elves and act as 'living ancestors' socially. In return for undying service to the Emperor they're given legal and moral access to the chi they need to sustain their long lives. Nian herself is the daughter of a great Chinese general who, when she was dying of a deadly ailment, broke into the palace and begged/forced the Emperor to somehow save her. His solution was turning her into a Wan Zu. Everything was great when it happened and she was 17 but now she just turned 100 and most of the people she knows are dead and she's having an existential crisis over the prospect of another six and a half centuries, so she's thrown herself into her work, spends all her money on wine and frivolous distractions, and is searching for the enlightenment her serene bastard elders assure her is out there that will make the ages bearable. Also she's a fish out of water story, I hope to use her in a normal D&D setting but say she got into a series of shipwrecks and other troubles over the last few months that saw her end up far far from home.

>>97327616
NTA, but while brainstorming a general approach or plan is fine, it does risk bogging things down and wasting time if the players try to go full spec-ops tactics. It's unlikely the party is going to be able to clear out a dungeon in a series of one-sided ambushes, and so time spent on elaborate plans attempting to achieve that is just wasteful.
But simple plans, like waiting for a dragon to be out hunting before heading into its lair, or luring out some orcs from their camp to divide their forces, stem from interacting with the game world, and the DM having the world react in turn.

In both cases, the issue is when the players go overboard. Trying to make a perfect character or a perfect plan just isn't worth it.

I have a terrible idea of making a DnD campaign inspired by the Vampire Survivors DLC "Tides of Foscari".

>>97328136
>spirit guardians are spinning bibles

>Cast off Armor. You can doff this armor as a Magic action.
>Arcane Armor (Quick Don and Doff). You can don or doff the armor as a Utilize action. The armor can't be removed against your will.
These effects made me realize something- where are most adventurers storing their armor? Are they putting them in chests and lugging them around? Do they just carry the one and toss the second? Bag of Holding most likely I assume?
Even with the Bag of Holding when looking at these effects- especially the Armorer Artificer's how would even be able to don the armor from the bag? Is there a distance limit you have to be to magically don the armor? When would you really be able to use this sorta trait or when would it even matter?

>>97328402
>storing their armor
Why aren't you wearing it?
>bag of holding
That's actually a cool idea to do with armorer, but definitely up to the DM
>distance
I just assumed you have to be able to touch it, but again that might be something the DM can change
>when to don
If you were sleeping and got ambushed
>when to doff
If you fell off a boat into deep water

I think most adventurers either wear their armor everywhere or store it in camp when they sleep. If they have a bag of holding they take it out first.

People still have a carrying capacity based on strength so if needed the armor could be putnin a large backpack if nothing else. If it's too heavy the rules impose penalties.

>>97328402
>When would you really be able to use this sorta trait or when would it even matter?
TSA checkpoint.

>>97327616
like other anon said it's about going overboard on the rules. Normal planning is expected and perfectly normal

But you may remember a particular autist ITT who insisted that according to raw, the best tactic was to just destroy every dungeon wall from longbow range since walls dont have damage threshold, and that every fight takes place in an open field as a result

>>97329758
>Guy doesn't understand load-bearing structures

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>>97328402
>Are they putting them in chests and lugging them around?
Found this art in the Artificer book. This armorer is just carrying a rolling chest.

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>>97329813
Then, when they get into a battle!

>>97329813
>>97329827
Honestly an artificer with a big wheeled steamer chest is a style I love

>>97329813
>Chest weighs 25 lbs
>Plate weighs 65 lbs
That man is going down a rope with 90 lbs in one arm. Impressive work.

Session 1: 6.5 hours
>introduce the PCs, goblin ambush, Cragmaw hideout
Session 2: 6 hours
>talk to Phandalin NPCs, street brawl against some Redbrands
Session 3: 7.5 hours
>talk to one Phandalin NPC, Redbrand hideout
Session4: 7 hours
>resolve the Redbrand situation in Phandalin, talk to one new NPC, smaller chats with some existing ones, b-line to Cragmaw Castle, sneak in the back entrance and fight Grol immediately
I think the sessions are long. My players think the sessions are too long.
My players are mad at me for how long the sessions are. I am upset with them for being mad.
Just tell me how you feel. It's not like I can read minds. 4 of the players' voices sound the same when tired as when they are vigorous. We play in voice chat on a VTT, so it's not like I can look at them to see how tired they are.
Sure, as the DM, I have knowledge of what is coming up, but clearly I'm not good at estimating how long things take. I'm first time DM, give me some grace.

Hard rule from now on. End the session right as combat breaks out. Start each session with combat.

>yea but mathew mercer
yea im not mercer but you're also not a professional 30 year experienced full time voice actor fuck you

>>97331262
>End the session right as combat breaks out. Start each session with combat.
Plan 4-5 "scenes" you want to potentially tackle per session
Plan fights as combat starts or stops is good, but you can run combat normally and stop it in the middle of it. Rule of thumb is not so much to stop at combat, but rather find a good moment to end the session on a cliffhanger. It keeps people engaged and excited for the next session. Not so much about combat, more about not ending on a flat note that can cause confusion instead of a singular strong event that needs little recap.
Keep chicken sexing(guessing timeslots per scene/interaction and looking back on why those guesses were wrong/right) and you'll eventually get good at it

It also really depends on the group
I've had 4 hour sessions and I thought I had a good cliffhanger and the group really really wanted to continue

Also
>Just tell me how you feel. It's not like I can read minds.
Also just ask them
"Ok lads how are we feeling?"

>I need something more tangible to latch onto
Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master book

>>97301712
Mortimer
Classic human wizard full-stacked on int
The twist is that it's not the human, but a homunculus, and Mortimer is a sentient hat ventriloquist (the party(besides me and the DM) doesn't yet know this and thinks it's just a fire-casting wizard afraid of fire.)

We ended the last session where our main fighter got partially stuck/enveloped in slime and the cliffhanger note was that it started to dissolve clothing

Critical Role has done untold damage to this hobby and I will seethe about it until the end of my fucking life

>>97321062
I've only had one good game with Roll20, went on for a few months but inevitably people stop showing up or just fuck off for some reason. Then there's the billion games I've dropped the second I got in the call with them or after 2 sessions. Online play is a fucking cesspit

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>>97332494

>>97331262
>End the session right as combat breaks out. Start each session with combat.
This can get a bit repetitive. Yes starting with combat can really draw people in. I often start the campaign with a fight breaking out immediately in some way or another. But for other sessions it just has to be something engaging. Like meeting an important NPC they were waiting to speak to, or finally revealing what's been in the vault they got open etc.

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>>97332494
Okay. Here's a hyena taking a bath.

>>97331262
who the fuck doesnt say "I am for a 4h game" and then just stops if it looks like a big encounter is about to go over
how can you hold a bunch of strangers for an indefinite amount of time? my players all have jobs and families and so do i
are you playing with drug addicts and neets

>>97333089
*aim

>>97331262
>I think the sessions are long. My players think the sessions are too long.
Have you tried running shorter sessions?

>>97332537
>>97333032
i kinda thought everyone here hated them but its been years did y'all convert?

>>97333594
Not really. It just seemed like a random remark to make out of the blue.

>>97333594
>i kinda thought everyone here hated them but its been years did y'all convert?
so you're just a tourist trying to fit in by spouting what you think is the common opinion
let me guess you dont even play the game but you hate what CR has done to it
you also have never watched their show I assume

>>97333594
Convert to what? Even if I don't like them I'm not obligated to give in you useless histrionics.

I just find critical role unwatchable. At least if you meet someone who likes it you know never to have them to one of your games.

Only nogame retards watch critical role, and only nogame retards care enough to hate it. People who actually play don't watch other people play it, and people worth playing with don't care what other people do in their spare time.

>>97333671
Eh. First campaign was alright, second turned into a load of faffing about, didn't watch the third. Apparently they've got a fourth with a new DM, but I'm not that interested.

>>97331262
can you not just set a 3 hour timer and just stop the second that alarm goes off, pausing whatever is happening? I don't get it.

only streamer DM I like is a guy called Brettultimas, listen to his stuff when I go fishing. I would recommend his hardcore games in particular, I think I just like him because he's that rare and wonderful case of fucking psychopath that still sticks to the rules like glue

tried many many others and they're honestly all dogshit

>>97333690
Vox Machina and Mighty Nien, the shows on Amazon are all the exposure I have to them. Frankly I don't give two shits about the games or mercer or whatever but the shows are unironically really good. Doesn't mean I'd ever watch those clowns play dnd tho

>>97333754
I just can't stand watching other people play D&D. I enjoy playing it but what makes it fun is the freedom to do what you want. Watching someone else play is just a shitty fantasy story. If I wanted that there are plenty of schlocky films from the 80s I could watch, at least they'd have real tits not imaginary ones.

>>97333089
>I am for a 4h game
Barely worth showing up for. Five hours at a minimum, six or seven for preference.

>>97333862
true for most but cr is a group of professional paid actors not a bunch of retards their shit is kinda worth putting on in the background

>>97333754
>Apparently they've got a fourth with a new DM, but I'm not that interested.
They've brought Brennan Lee Mulligan in for one-shots before, and he's run several games on Dimension 20, so he's a pretty well-known DM on Mercer's level. Kind of makes sense too, so Mercer gets a chance to play instead of being the foreverDM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtUuab1Aqg0

Tieflings possess an evolved redundancy of Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs). These are molecular chaperones that catch other proteins as they start to unfold from heat and "fold" them back into shape instantly.

To fuel this rapid cellular repair, Tieflings have a massive caloric requirement. They don't just "resist" fire; they "burn" through energy to stay alive in it. After walking through a burning building, a Tiefling would be emaciated and ravenously hungry because their body used up weeks of fat reserves to keep their cells from melting.

Their horns act as biological heat sinks, similar to the ears of a fennec fox or the plates on a Stegosaurus. They are highly vascularized, filled with a dense network of capillaries.

Tiefling lineage is the result of a highly aggressive retrovirus. This virus performs Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT), splicing non-human DNA into the host. The "cloven hooves", "horns" or "tails" aren't magic; they are atavistic traits triggered by the virus rewriting the skeletal blueprint during puberty.

"Tiefling" isn't a race, but a condition. It’s hereditary because the virus integrates into the germline (eggs and sperm). This explains why Tieflings can be born to human parents—it’s a dormant viral load that finally "expressed" itself.

>>97334737
Nah, they're magic.

Is Acquisitions Incorporated still a thing? That seemed to be the horse WotC backed.

>>97334842
Last thing on their website is a live event at PAX East 22.

>>97333955
I’d rather watch actors in an actual film with costumes, scenery etc. CR is unwatchable trash. I’d rather stare at a wall in silence.

>>97329813
Is this supposed to be modern fantasy? Because that nigga is wearing a trench coat, bowtie, and a sweater vest.

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>>97335131
To the people who've infected our hobby everything has to look like the los angeles of today.

>>97335184
Is that what you think modern LA looks like?

>>97335384
I assume there is at least one person dressed in a trench coat, bowtie, and vest. Or maybe that’s me assuming there’s more diversity than homeless fentanyl addicts shooting up on the street and then shitting in the gutter.

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I've been busy and haven't been paying attention for a couple years. How's the state of the game? What's the general reaction to the new releases? How's the update they did a while ago? How is everyone feeling? I'm planning on doing a shopping spree to grab the supplements I've missed over the past couple years, any issues to be aware of?

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>>97335505
>How's the state of the game?
The same more or less, biggest change was 5.5e. WoTC's content is basically non existent. Lots of good third party content as always.

>What's the general reaction to the new releases? How's the update they did a while ago?
Apathy, disappointment, small improvements in some ways and worse in others. An update that was made to try and screw over roll20 rather than an actual desire for innovation or to fix any of the flaws of 5e. Every new book seems to at most be trying to fix anything racist like ability scores or half-elves??

>How is everyone feeling?
The general is pretty quiet. The only time people have gotten animated was while talking about trannies or other off topic bullshit. I'm chugging along with my weekly 5.5e game and enjoying it. I say this every campaign but I'm going to run a different system next time. I went with 5.5e to try it. As the DM I basically see no difference except having two monster blocks to choose from.

>still not allowed to play as tortle despite the fact that people play as gnomes, tieflings, dragonborn freely in our group
>there's even a goblin now (no guesses when or where the player got that idea)
Is this what it's like to be racially profiled?

Run me through 5E like I'm a retard. I remember being unimpressed with the playtest in the early 2010s. I stopped playing tabletop entirely around the time of the PF2 playtest, which I also hated. Has 5E supplanted 3.P for market dominance?

>>97336111
If you didn’t like the playtest I wouldn’t bother with 5e. They took the feedback from the playtest and went the opposite direction.

>Market dominance
As far as I can tell it is the most dominant ttrpg ever made. That’s because of many factors. Most of which have little to do with WoTC’s design decisions. Except for making it a very accessible and easy to learn system. At least compared to 4e/3.5.

I like 5e and have taken many rules from the playtest as houserules. But I’m not going to waste either of our time trying to convince you to enjoy it if the playtest wasn’t your thing.

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>>97336000

>>97336000
Minus the goblin, those are all official races.

>>97336172
So it's a matter of having a citizenship

>ask two of my players to come up with some goals for their characters a week before the session
>radio silence
>confirm they're coming for the session today
>radio silence

I don't feel so good, bros

>>97336111
Take 3.X. Distill and simplify it down (no multiple BAB, no escalating AC and skill levels, minimal in-class choices). That's 5e.

They took it a bit too far in the 2014 version, though, to the point that half of each class' subclasses were basically trap options, and they'd basically played it too safe. They added some band-aids in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, but the game has fundamental design flaws in its math that lead to it being an HP Pool versus Damage Output Escalation game rather than one that has challenges that scale linearly with levels like 3.X.

2024 helped a lot in the "player options" side of things, fixing big issues like Ranger Beastmaster and Bladepact Warlocks, as well as giving every class 4 subclasses on pretty equal footing, though the DM guide is apparently terrible at telling people how to DM, but it's still functionally the same game.

>>97336111
>Run me through 5E like I'm a retard.
good news is you'll be right at home

>>97336565
If they don't have an answer when they get there, eat their dice.

>>97336000
>>97336172
>>97336178
how do you lads feel about Ratatosk, as a point of contention

>>97336985
Lame and gay beyond even the furthest bounds of lame gaiety. I would sooner have tortles as a core race in every edition going forward that having any mention of those bastards in any book anywhere.
Fuck even is a ratatosk, anyhow?

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>>97337045
They're one of the only codified playable Tiny species, standing at about a foot tall. They also communicate exclusively through telepathy but are otherwise kinda shit besides being novel.

We are playing saltmarsh (right now isle of the abbey at level 5) and apparently there is no guide that says when you should level up, so are you just supposed to level twice between the last couple adventures? doesnt make any sense

>>97337073
I stand by my arbitrary and uninformed statement.

>>97337108
>t. chipmunk

>>97336565
Backstories are one of the best parts of making a character, no idea how people don't get into it.

>>97336985
It can be used as an onahole, at least.
And what class can you even play as a tortle? Caster? Kinda ruins the whole point of being a based armored turtle. Fighter? You're getting outscaled (haha) because you can't wear that plat armor+1. Barbarian, I guess?
>but monk and rogue
SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I WILL RAPE YOU.

>>97337115
I don't even get to play, only getting to DM, and I already have like 4 or 5 characters with backstories floating around in my head. These two are a friend of mine who wanted to get into this because of Baldur's Gate and his wife, so I'm not super surprised that they're not as engaged. I'm fine with them being Wallflowers for now but hopefully they'll get to explore their characters a bit more as they get more comfortable.

>>97336981
They got back to me, thankfully, so I don't have to eat the brand new dice they got themselves.

>>97337115
I had a player a while back absolutely lose his shit at the zero session in front of the whole table when I gave him constructive criticism for his backstory, explaining why certain things he wrote wouldn't work. Typical donut steele coldsteel the edgehog trite. I didn't even change anything, merely gave him some examples as to how he could achieve the angle he was looking for. He just started trembling with adrenaline after very angrily saying something like "Well how the hell do you want me to do it, then?," before he quietly got up and left a moment later. I was pretty stunned, honestly. Never seen anyone react like that before. Dude's temperament is obviously not suited for the game. I texted him as much immediately after (very politely) but he never responded.

FF a couple weeks later and I met the dude again at a birthday party and the first thing he did was apologize to me about the way he behaved. Talk about a psychological whiplash. Some people find the task of making a basically coherent and interesting backstory extraordinarily daunting, for one reason or another. I'm so god damned exhausted of running games with a full party of orphans starting out in a tavern. It's literally the same shit, every time, and never by my suggestion, either.

>>97337128
I got into DnD because of BG3 too. I find not opting to get invested in the character is missing out a big part of why I love the game.

>>97337165
>Gets criticized once
>ragequits

Makes sense you'd see a lot of cliches. Cliches are cliches for a reason.
Did you ever see any interesting backstories?

>>97337231
>did you ever see any interesting backstories?
Yes, actually.

I had walked into my LGS the day that they had in the Monster Manual around Feb last year. I started flipping through it looking at how they redid the stat blocks for Mage Apprentice, Mage, and Archmage as I was about to run them later that month in the main campaign, and some dangerhair asked me a question about my hat. One thing led to another, and we exchanged numbers for the zero session for an unrelated three-shot I was running for my brother that weekend, who had just came back from boot camp, and his gf.

She had the PHB already, so I texted her the usual DM spiel the next day. She replied back pretty quick, and said she thought halflings were super cute, and decided to make a Fighter. About an hour after, I was reading a massive scrawl of text about this tiny shortstack "with huge tits" (lmao?) that lived with her massive halfling family and was part of their ancestral orchard's guard, and wrote several pages about the intricacies of cider, apple condiments, apple vinegar, apple-based baked goods, and whole bunch of similar stuff. Felt like I was reading the fantasized novelization of Forest Gump where Bubba was shrimposting for half the damn movie.

Anyway, she turned out to be a total wallflower at the table, and wasn't able to show up for the final session. Nice lady though, and one of the most passionately-written backstories I've ever seen, even if it was getting extremely off-topic by the dozenth flick of my finger. Never spoke to her again after that. I got the feeling that she didn't actually like playing the game all that much, or maybe didn't like my style since she spent quite a lot of time on her phone.

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wait, so everyone who posts here is a foreverDM?

>>97337345
/5eg/ plays. It's about 25% DMs, 30% players, 10% players whose games fell apart in the last two months, 20% players who haven't had a game in over six months, 10% people who have never played a day in their lives, 3% FBI agents, and 2% monkey girls trying to find human husbands.

>>97337345
Not really, I just make shit up for attention.

>>97337344
>dangerhair
Reminder that animals with bright colors do so to warn off predators.

>>97337345
Am I technically a forever DM if I got to play in a one-shot once?

>>97337344
Sounds like she was more interested in writing the character over actually playing a game.

>>97337345
Never DM'ed and probably never will.

>>97337345
Eh, my friends are all new so I gm significantly more often than not. And when I don't, it doesn't usually last very long, it's just a whim or testing from someone else who goes back to playing shortly.

I don't really mind though, I like both so it's whatever. And I understand the practical reason, I'm a huge nerd and played every edition for like 2 decades and have an encyclopedic knowledge of the rules, whereas my friends are pretty normie many of whom hadn't even played a crpg, not to mention the real thing, before they met me.

I also used to help out at my local store for their weekly adventurer's league and pathfinder society and those sort of public games where I was always gm'ing. But for the same reason. That was fun, my table always filled up quickly, I think people like that I'm easygoing about the rules by default, but also encyclopedic about them when they do want to do things properly and ask for that.

>>97337671
Nice post, ChatGPT, now trim it down to three sentences.

>>97337345
those who post here have no friends and those who have maybe 3 will end up dming for them everyone else gets by on scraps like playing disgusting shop games or worse, online

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do you guys have any purposefully detrimental effects on your characters or your players, tied to their Flaws?
>currently playing in Curse of Strahd
>one PC, a swashbuckler rogue, has a mortal fear of wolves, has to roll a wisdom saving throw or suffer the Frightened condition when he gets into combat with them
>my character, a lore bard, has been mutilating himself regularly by cutting off his horns, and has to roll a constitution save at the end of each long rest or suffer 1d4 damage

What's your opinion on thri-kreen?

>>97338006
bugge

How to deal with dm burnout, prep feels like a slog and by the time the game starts I just gas out

>>97338072
>how to do with dm burnout
psychoanalyze yourself to find out where the exact specific issues are. you're currently in the middle of an adventure yourself irl, and you need to beat the BBEG (your gay, lazy, and/or mentally ill inner-self not allowing you to engage with your fun hobby)

>>97338006
Lose to tortles.

>>97336825
Fuck off to your own general cunt

>>97337979
wow so original not bg3 at all

>>97338398
what? I've never played BG3. Is that a thing?

>>97338409
no. idfk what he mens

>>97338398
that's hellboy you fucking retard

>>97336172
all of those are official races dumbass.

>>97337073
what do you mean codified? BoET is homebrew. There's plenty of homebrew tiny races

>>97336985
it's complete and utter dogshit in every way possible. most of its traits are nerfs rather than benefits, and the ones that are benefits are paltry at absolute best. I'd ban it at my table just to prevent players from shooting themselves in the dick

I'm pretty sure everyone here could correctly guess the three classes the three women in my game chose at session 0

I'm reading the PHB linked in the OP for the first time. Am I just fucking stupid? I can't find skills in the table of contents.

from a player perspective, how much physical change from spells/curses/etc would you (or your guy) be willing to put up with
i think that sort of stuff is cool in small doses but the exact quantity before it becomes too much is a hard thing to judge

>>97339387
Is it like the three in my game? Tiefling, Tabaxi and Centaur? Except one is my sister so that one if fine and based

>>97339512
Classes you fucking moron

who gives a shit about classes

>>97338409
One of the party members in BG3 has a serious fear of wolves, yes.

>>97339578
oh, well the player is playing Puss in Boots from the movie.

>>97339387
All barbarians. Girls love playing characters with huge muscles.

>>97339642
is this wishful thinking on your part

>>97335572
Do we all agree that it's fucking retarded that minotaurs are getting +X to strength because of their culture and not because they're giant bull monsters?

>>97339387
Sorcerer, Druid, and even odds on Ranger or Warlock

>>97339713
yep, and ye ranger

>>97339705
Clearly it's to allow for both big burly bull monsters and tiny femboy bull monsters.

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Humble Saltmarsh DM back again.

We started Isle of the Abbey tonight, the Crystal Minotaur was such a fun boss.

The cultist fight at the start took my players by surprise when the others got called into the main room. Druid almost died. Would've sucked if he did since he was the only one with high enough passive perception to detect traps in the winding way.

When they got to the minotaur, they were heavily intimidated my party due to some nice rolls starting off in the fight. Nat20 on initiative and then rolled max damage on a hit against one of my melee fighters. Admittedly I forgot about it's reaction until it was down to half health, but that's fine, at that point it should start breaking up enough anyway for those glass shards to fly into the melee attackers.

We left it off there for the week though. I look forward to continuing this dungeon. Wild to think I'm running a dungeon that came out in my birth year. Then again, I've ran older modules in this campaign.

>can't even get into online games with randoms
should just fucking die honestly

Am I reading this correctly? Rogues never get a second attack in 5e? So they could never take advantage of the Vex property on the rapier?

>>97340225
When you take the Attack action on your turn and attack with a weapon that has the Light property, you can make one extra attack as a Bonus Action later on the same turn with a different weapon, which must be a Melee weapon that lacks the Two-Handed property. You don’t add your ability modifier to the extra attack’s damage unless that modifier is negative.

>>97340225
Two things
>Vex is until of your next turn so your next attack can get advantage on your next turn
>You can use two weapons to get another attack with nick, often people do this for another chance to sneak attack in case they miss or to take advantage (hehe) of vex

>>97340172
Getting into online games as a player is like trying to find a job. Pre screening, questions, an interview. Better pay someone to DM or enter the shitshow that is DMing for randoms.

>>97340264
End of your next turn.

Fuck me for phone posting

>>97340225
This is partially why I like Soulknife with its built-in bonus action attack that also does add your ability modifier.

>>97340264
>pay someone to DM
lmao I should start running games for money. I would put in no effort and just watch those retards click on digital die while I spend their money on beer and pizza.

>>97340264
Thank you, I see that I misread the entry and thought it was only until the end of my current turn.

>>97340264
>>97340260
I'm attempting to build a swashbuckler and need my offhand free.


Also, do you really have to choose between getting a stat increase or getting a bonus feat in 5e? Or am I misreading that as well?

>>97340304
>do you really have to choose between getting a stat increase or getting a bonus feat in 5e?
Generally. Some feats give a +1 bonus to a stat. I think in 5.5e all feats give the +1 bonus but I’m always DM so double check that. 20 is the max of any stat anyways so there’s a limit to how much you can have anyways.

>>97340172
>>97340264
>playing with randoms online

people don't actually do this right? unless they're completely friendless autists or something

>>97340441
I played with randoms from /tg/ it was so shit I never have tried again. It was Cyberpunk 2020. Complete and utter retards and autists. I play with friends only now.

>>97340441
I like to go to west marches servers to kidnap the like 2 or 3 jaded players on it who are good at rping and fun to play with into main campaigns

>>97340465
My longest running campaign was with randoms from the internet.
The one from the roll20 turned out to be a god amongst men.
The one I've found while playing on an RP server in WoW also turned out to be great.
The two people I've recruited from /tg/ were absolute bottom of the barrel garbage, and I wish I've never met them

>>97340465
this, you only play online with randoms if you are truly, truly, TRULY desperate but its never a good time. Weird as fuck people or people who are alone and no one plays with for good reason. I've tried doing games online, from /tg/ to roll20 and even lfg shit, non of it is ever a good experience. And good fucking luck getting a girl to play, it feels weird to play with just dudes. atleast my sister and my gf play in my games and playing with friends is the whole point of dnd

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>>97340480
>Playing with women
What the fuck is wrong with you?

>>97340264
The process of finding a group is why I started playing using a paid DM. I would join free groups later, but schedule issues would become an issue.

>>97340441
I've only had fun games playing with randos online who are already into TTRPGs and ready to play.
Most irl friends wouldn't be into playing and even if I got enough, I'd become the foreverDM. I also feel like I'd take the game more seriously than everyone else.

>>97340478
Someone is going to win the lottery I guess. I’ve never heard good things about games from 4chan. Can’t imagine why lmao.

ive thought about charging as DMing. Not because I want the money but because I do enjoy dming and it seems like a good way to get committed randoms who won't flake or be fucking weird as hell

>>97340480
>good fucking luck getting a girl to play, it feels weird to play with just dudes
i started a campaign by recruiting on lfg and i have 3 women in my game out of 4 players, going for a year now

of course this isnt "Randos", it's extensive vetting and interviewing 30+ people

>>97340304
Feats give you a new feature and a +1 to stats

The-eye.eu is dead, what's the best alternative that I can access without a fucking mega?

New thread
>>97341233
>>97341233
>>97341233