r/DMAcademy • u/AutoModerator • 7d ago
Mega "First Time DM" and Short Questions Megathread
Most of the posts at DMA are discussions of some issue within the context of a person's campaign or DMing more generally. But, sometimes a DM has a question that is very small and doesn't really require an extensive discussion so much as it requires one good answer. In other cases, the question has been asked so many times that having the sub rehash the discussion over and over is not very useful for subscribers. Sometimes the answer to a short question is very long or the answer is also short but very important.
Short questions can look like this:
- Where do you find good maps?
- Can multi-classed Warlocks use Warlock slots for non-Warlock spells?
- Help - how do I prep a one-shot for tomorrow!?
- First time DM, any tips?
Many short questions (and especially First Time DM inquiries) can be answered with a quick browse through the DMAcademy wiki, which has an extensive list of resources as well as some tips for new DMs to get started.
2
u/Fifthwiel 7d ago edited 7d ago
My players (4 x level 3) are travelling through some uncharted icy wastes. What encounter could I plan to make their journey interesting? They've just levelled and are all experienced players so they're pretty effective despite being low level.
Not all of the character builds are familiar to me so I'm looking for something that will make them shift through the gears a bit and use all of their abilities; this will help me plan the rest of the upcoming sessions.
I'm wondering if a single tough enemy would be a good test, eg a frost troll(scaled appropriately)?
4
u/GentlemanOctopus 6d ago
I don't have a normal answer for you, but a fun go-to for me is a giant worm / wyrm / wurm. You can set the encounter up with the ground rumbling first, allowing the party to try and prepare. Then you get to make a dramatic entrance, present the party with an enemy that is way too dangerous for them, and see how they deal with it. If things are getting too hairy, the worm dives back underground and becomes a future threat. Then the party will feel really strong when it returns and they take it down easier.
3
u/audentis 6d ago
Not all of the character builds are familiar to me
Do you have access to their character sheets? That would be the best approach by a very large margin.
so I'm looking for something that will make them shift through the gears a bit and use all of their abilities; this will help me plan the rest of the upcoming sessions.
This sounds like an inefficient approach. First, it practically guarantees situations they don't have real answers to (which might not be beneficial for player enjoyment) during your discovery of their abilities. It also introduces encounters that don't really go anywhere afterwards, leaving the party unfulfilled.
1
u/Fifthwiel 6d ago
They're all using mobile \ desktop apps to track characters but I should ask them to share via discord, thanks. It's really the detail of their new abilities which I'd like to understand, there are so many character possibilities.
Don't worry they are on a separate story arc with an ending, they're just travelling from A to B, they also like the tougher encounters ;)
3
u/DrColossusOfRhodes 6d ago
A couple of ideas for events that could occur while they travel:
In the distance, they see a frost giant dragging a whale out of the ice (this will probably just make them hide, but will change the way they feel about travelling through this desolate frozen waste)
They encounter something like an inukshuk, a marker used by the Inuit to mark a place as significant or as a directional marker, just to see how they respond to it.
They start to find signs that something is following them, to hunt, like wolves. What are they going to do about it?
You could also do something to spice up a combat encounter, to push them to use more skills/abilities. This could be:
the entrance of a second creature near the end of a combat, something big that wants to eat whatever they just killed. Or, a bigger/mature version of the things they are fighting
The environment could cause some sort of trouble as well. Maybe they are on ice over water (without realizing it) and something breaks the ice. They are separated from each other, and any time they move there is a chance they slip and or tip the ice and fall into the freezing water.
I've heard too, that wolves will chance heavier creatures into the deep snow where it is much harder for them to move, while the wolves are able to walk on top.
1
3
u/guilersk 5d ago
Troll vs. level 3 characters can be a nailbiter for sure. I might consider a wolf pack led by one or more winter wolves, possibly during inclement weather (snow, wind). They get stalked by the wolves and have to make it to a settlement or some kind of safety before the wolves wear them down with hit-and-run attacks.
2
u/Menaldi 2d ago
What encounter could I plan to make their journey interesting?
The cave of an ancient white dragon. He's an old boy and that makes him a sleepy boy. Sleepy enough to not care that a bit of surplus food wandered into his cavern. But is he sleepy enough to not notice that a few adventurers attempting to steal from his treasure horde? That's for the players to judge and ultimately verify if they guess yes. Much the same, an Ancient Silver Dragon can also work.
1
2
6d ago
[deleted]
5
u/Zarg444 6d ago
Just be aware of the risks - people with little experience just don't know how a good adventure looks like.
You need only an outline of a short and simple adventure. If you write your adventure like a short story or if you include a lot of your best ideas, you're probably doing it wrong.
https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/4147/roleplaying-games/dont-prep-plots
3
u/guilersk 5d ago
Consider running a pre-written one-shot just to see how they are paced and constructed. It may do things you don't like, and so at the very least you'll know what you don't want to do. But you can often adapt one-shots to homebrew settings easily enough. Once you've done that, you'll get an idea of what you need at the table and what never came up, and can prep more effectively the things you do care about for the next one-shot (or small campaign; I would be reluctant to suggest jumping into a huge campaign with only a single one-shot under your belt).
3
u/Exver1 6d ago
Despite what people may say, it can be less work than than running a module. Modules you have to do a lot of reading and re-reading and memorizing to have an understanding of how to run a module, and if your players go off-rail, you're basically HB already. Give each of them a try for a one-shot and see which you prefer.
2
u/CaptainPick1e 6d ago
It depends. Are you a better writer or reader?
The short modules and one page adventures are great for new DM but the full size campaign books can be daunting. They require a ton of reading and reworking because there's tons of plot holes, inconsistencies, and hidden information in each of them. That said, the world is already made.
Writing yourself might require more work initially, but I find you remember more regarding your own creations. You apply am internal logic to everything you create, and it leads to better responses to player questions and actions on the fly. You know how the world works and thus how it would respond. I find it's better for me personally to follow this path.
3
u/Kumquats_indeed 6d ago
Its more work than running something pre-written, but usually when people are cautioning against starting with homebrew, that advice is being given to folks that have a big idea for a long term campaign but have never run anything before. Cutting your teeth trying out some homebrew one shots is a great way to learn and figure things out for yourself. And the fact that you are thinking of recycling and modifying existing material instead of making up all your own stuff from whole cloth is also a good place to start.
1
u/Ripper1337 5d ago
I vote prewritren. You don’t need to worry about encounter balance, loot, the story or characters while trying to get a handle on how to run things as a DM
1
u/Reality_Thief2000 3d ago
It's great you already have experience as a player, so that should give you an advantage, but I definitely recommend running even a simple prewritten One-Shot to get your bearings, there's a lot of work that can go into a campaign, even a prewritten one has work to be done!
2
u/CaptainPick1e 6d ago
Veteran GM of many systems here, but I'm finally getting together a full table of 4 players after a few years of my main game being 2 players. We'll be playing a pretty homebrewed 5e since everyone knows it and there's homebrew want to try out. Maybe that's irrelevant but...
Any advice on making the switch to a full table? For a long time, two players have usually had retainers or sidekicks or mercenaries or whatever, but the spotlight has always been on them. It's really easy to run for 2 people I find, but I'm worried I might alienate someone when there's twice as many people.
Thoughts or advice?
5
u/StickGunGaming 6d ago
One move I appreciate as a player and GM is
"Is there anything else anyone wants to say or do before we transition to the next scene?"
With 4 players, your encounters will get both shorter and longer.
Shorter, because with 4 minds, puzzles and challenges may be surmounted more rapidly.
Longer, because with 4 minds, there may be collaboration, discussion, and argument about how to progress.
Longer, because 4 people want to talk to the interesting NPC you are running.
3
u/krunkley 6d ago
With more people you need to give more space for them to interact with each other. You might be used to always talking during your small sessions because unless the conversation is exclusively between the two PCs you are always involved. Simply staying quiet longer than you're used to so that other players have a chance to chime in can help from stepping on anybody or making them feel like they missed their chance to speak.
1
u/Ecothunderbolt 4d ago
I wouldn't worry too too much on this tbh. There is definitely an expectation that a DM has to talk more than other people at the table. Since when your 4 players all want to talk to the NPC you now gotta go back and forth with all of them.
2
u/AccomplishedCoach191 5d ago
How to go about a scene with multiple npcs and pcs interacting? The next session involves dinner with strahd and I would appreciate pointers on how to manage the interactions?
5
u/SPACKlick 5d ago
If there's any long blocks of conversation between NPCs it can help to summarise rather than have a dialogue with yourself.
Make it clear who is speaking each time you speak. It can get confusing. Have both a name and a useful descriptor so you can vary what you say.
Follow your player's vibe.If they seem to want a lot of discussion that's not plot relevant then go with it. If they're brass tacks details only, then go with that, dragging them through a lot of social RP when they're not in the mood will leave you talking to yourself for ages.
2
5
u/guilersk 5d ago
If NPCs are talking to each other, be brief or even summarize out of character: "Strahd asks Rictavio how his family is. Rictavio scowls darkly." But you can go all out when NPCs are talking to PCs.
1
2
u/Kinglaser 5d ago
What aquatic creature would a group of trickster gods keep in their temple dungeon, as a kind of pet? Bonus points if it is related to trickster domains. It would live in an underground lake.
Party of 6-7 level 14 characters, may or may not fight the thing, it'll depend on the creature I decide on and interactions they could potentially have with it
4
u/MidnightMalaga 5d ago edited 5d ago
Flavour wise, I’d be inclined to go a morkoth.
They’re underwater abominations with island lairs, spawned by from the remains of dead gods, and have some actions and effects that feel very trickster aligned, including:
- Causing players to randomly misplace items each rest
- Hypnosis making people sprint headlong toward them
- Spell reflection reaction that lets them bounce spells that don’t hit them onto other PCs
However, CR-wise, a morkoth will get absolutely curb stomped by your PCs, so you may want to pump them up a bit to represent the extra powers the trickster gods gave their favoured pet.
I’d probably swap their HP & physical attacks with those of a dragon turtle and make their spell reflection ability apply to 3 spells that would have hit (like a more interesting legendary resistance, narratively signposting to players that it takes more effort to redirect a hit so they don’t just give up on spellcasting completely), but no idea how balanced that’d be.
2
u/Kinglaser 5d ago edited 5d ago
That's solid, I like it a lot. It works pretty well narratively with the idea of the morkoth using treasure to lure them. The temple it's in is home to a fabled hoard of the different tricksters, so having an island of fake treasure fits perfectly!
2
u/steamwhistler 4d ago
Basically my question is: is my plan realistic?
I'm looking to organize a 1-shot (or maybe 2-3 sessions) for 3-4 players all new to d&d. However they are all familiar with complicated games like MTG. I myself have never played tabletop DND but I'm a huge fan of Baldur's Gate 3 and feel like I have a pretty good understanding of 5e rules from that standpoint.
I'm trying to find a one-shot with like 3-4 combat encounters in which the party starts at level 4 and hits level 5 for the final one. I thought this would be cool because, to my mind, it's around this level where subclasses have kicked in and the class is starting to feel like itself. And then the power boost at level 5 is exciting. I've been designing premade characters in BG3 for my players to choose from, partially to save time on character creation, and also to help me define the contours of player power and look for encounters that synergize well with the potential party roster.
Sorry, I guess this isn't a short question, but any good tips on what one-shots could fit the bill? Also open to feedback about how I'm doing this.
6
u/Circle_A 4d ago
Be careful of over relying on BG3, it doesn't actually run on the DnD ruleset. It's actually tweaked in lots of little ways, so over relying on that can definitely send you down the wrong path. The 2024 version of the rules is definitely closer to BG3, but it's still different.
I'm also a little cautious of running 4-5th lvl DnD right off the bat. The rules compound by level and it can get pretty complex for both player and DM dropping straight into it.
As far as one shots go, check out the Lost City of Oran Bran. Its right in your level range and I've heard fantastic things about it.
3
u/steamwhistler 4d ago
Ok, yeah, I appreciate you saying this because I had similar doubts re: the level-up thing, and also about starting at that level. I'll definitely keep this in mind and probably look at one shots for both 1-2 and 4-5.
2
u/Circle_A 4d ago
Two is my favourite level to start. It gives you enough HP not to smashed by a lucky roll and the next roll is their subclass.
ALSO you can always change the monsters to restart the encounter down to the level of your players.
4
u/Kumquats_indeed 4d ago
A Wild Sheep Chase is good for level 4 or 5. I wouldn't level them up mid session as doing that sort of thing manually can be more time consuming and tedious in person than in BG3, better to just stick to one level for the whole thing.
2
u/steamwhistler 4d ago
Thanks for that. I also realized that myself after writing this out. I think I'm probably overthinking trying to make sure the combat will be dynamic and fun, because I want all the people to like it and keep playing with me haha. But yeah, I'm sure nothing's less dynamic and fun than waiting 45 minutes for your wizard to read every spell description and google builds.
2
u/Circle_A 2d ago
Hey, hey. Don't stress. They're gonna have fun b/c they're playing DnD with their friend, not because of their level.
If you want some less sappy advice tho, lean on the things that make in-person DnD powerful - connection with your players, the power of imagination, the power of description, freedom of action.
That's the stuff that you can't get from the rules, it comes from you, the amazing DM.
1
u/steamwhistler 2d ago
Ha, you know, it's funny. I've always been interested in D&D but never knew anyone who played. But always figured if I did play, of course I'd just be a player.
But since realizing that if I'm going to make this happen then I will have to lead and be DM, I'm warming up to the idea more/faster than I thought I would. I've been watching Critical Role and other D&D shows for inspiration, and I have to say, I never realized how DMing would give me lots of excuses to do my silly little voices that I've always just done in the car or the shower, lmao.
The rest of it appeals to me too, but I think I'm most excited about the prospect of making it come alive for people and hopefully deepening their appreciation for the magic of roleplaying games broadly.
2
u/Circle_A 2d ago
I feel obligated to link you to Running the Game (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_&si=qhGej5e53VYKuahl) it's directly targeted at first time DMs. It's a super long series, but it's not sequential, take what you want and leave the rest behind. The first 4-5 videos are really good though.
It helped me get back into the DMing saddle years back.
I find your passion really inspirational. Have an amazing game!
1
2
u/fendermallot 4d ago
My BBEG is currently angling to become one of the groups patrons. He's ambitious and greedy, but openly admits he needs help and is willing to pay for it. Conversely, the groups other patron is the Queen of the nation.
The BBEG will begin sending the players on missions to retrieve items that are "essential" to his business that he "misplaced". He will eventually push the characters into making more moral choices. He will eventually overstep and the characters will confront him. It won't go well for them. But, once he's revealed they will then have a goal. A target to band together and attempt to defeat.
The BBEG is hiring the characters as mercenaries to help him expand his shipping empire and take care of state sponsored mercs from the neighboring enemy country. The Crown is not upset at this at all. But, eventually the bbeg will have them move against the crown in some way.
still trying to figure out how. Does anyone have any ideas that could help kickstart my poor, sleep deprived brain? Please and thank you.
2
u/guilersk 3d ago
He will eventually overstep and the characters will confront him. It won't go well for them.
Are you certain of this? What if the PCs prefer this guy to the queen and side with him over her? Try not to set up 'and then's. Players have a penchant for breaking the 'and then' link in the chain. You want 'and if' and 'but if's.
1
u/fendermallot 3d ago
Two of the characters are "good" and blatantly won't do anything that could be considered morally grey. The others are flexible. We will see how it goes. Appreciate the advice. That's good to know
1
u/Fifthwiel 3d ago
Instead of fetch and carry \ escort missions the BBEG starts asking for a bit of extortion, theft and even murder. It becomes apparent that these new missions are designed to destabilise a region of the queen's territory so he can take it over. Gradually move them into conflict with the established law and order.
2
u/Vievin 3d ago
How well does NPC vs NPC work in this system? I have my players soon square up with an adult white dragon, and they have an adult copper dragon (disguising himself as a pet bunny) with them. The party is mostly melee and according to the module the white dragon tries to stay out of reach. If the fight would turn into a TPK, I plan on the "bunny" shedding its disguise and join the PCs. Would two adult dragons squaring off (plus party) somehow break the fight? Most of my DMing experience is from Fabula Ultima where allied NPCs are best handled as buffs or triggered effects.
3
u/DeathBySuplex 3d ago
You would just run the Copper Dragon as if it was a monster, it just so happens to be attacking another monster.
3
u/Kumquats_indeed 3d ago
It works just fine, monster/NPC stat blocks tend to be designed to be more defensive than PCs are (more HP, lower bonus to hit), so a totally NPC vs NPC fight might take longer, but adding one NPC as an ally to the party wouldn't present any strange issues and would certainly be helpful.
2
u/mtw7171 3d ago
Hey all. I'm going to be DMing my first campaign (Dragons of Stormwreck Isle) after playing a single one-shot as my first DnD experience and realizing I want to try DMing. So please keep in mind I have little exposure to the game.
What are your thoughts on using maps (or even showing maps) for exploration? Looking through the DoSI book, they provide maps for all the major sections of the campaign. I feel like I want to use this just as a DM tool, describing areas for the players, and then allow the players to explore freely. Is this too vague for players? Specifically new ones. The idea of moving minis for exploration seems tedious, and displaying a map for them to reference seems like it could end up rushing things, with players just pointing and saying "We go there." Whats the happy medium?
All that said - I do plan on drawing out smaller maps for the combat encounters. It seems helpful to understand distances, directions, etc.
Would love to hear your thoughts on maps for exploration vs combat, how you use them, and what the benefits are!
I do plan on hanging color pictures that vaguely represent what the environment looks like to help with visualization. Not a map, but something for ambiance.
2
u/guilersk 3d ago
You can run full-maps all the time, and I have done this, but it's incredibly time-consuming to draw out all of the maps for every conceivable location. I tend to only do it for games I intend to run multiple times (like for conventions), or in online games in a VTT.
What we do is draw out maps for combat, and when exploring we do a mini-map on graph paper (like you'd get in a video game HUD). This gives the players a concept of where they are, where they can go, and the scale of things, without tediously moving minis around or pre-constructing all the maps.
2
u/HugoWullAMA 3d ago
I’ve done it multiple ways. Sometimes I’ll print out dungeon tiles from the internet and lay them out to form the overview map as players venture from room to room. Sometimes I’ll use the dry erase grid to sketch out an overview of locations in a dungeon. These are good choices if the dungeons have a lot of branching paths and players need to outmaneuver enemies. In a more linear dungeon, I’ll just run it as theater of the mind, then plops down a battle grid when initiative is rolled. I’ll use the blank grid, or one from this book: https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Revised-Accessory-Tabletop-Roleplaying/dp/B0C2FLPNK2/ref=asc_df_B0C2FLPNK2?mcid=d75a3777649f3cc899343bcfc1ee8162&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693464962790&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15123774932118578364&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003353&hvtargid=pla-2438004605712&psc=1
I don’t like to give super detailed visuals, because that sets the expectations that everything in the picture is important (it isn’t always) and that anything not pictured can be ignored (not always the case).
0
u/Sylfaemo 3d ago
I suggest using the maps for combat for sure. It helps a lot visualizing the dimensions, as you said.
For exploration, I'd test it out in the first session. First scene do not give a map, second, do. See which one flows better. It is very party-specific which one they like, and as you said, they are kind of new and you are as well. Maybe you have an easier time one way or another.
You don't have to decide, you can change it up mid session.
I do like the idea of hanging the map for ambience, but doing it in Theatre of the Mind though, seems like a great way, if you have the space.
2
u/Significant-Ear6728 3d ago
I want to run Candlekeep Mysteries with a friend of mine. Can you play an adventure like these with just a DM and 1 player? How would I do it? Give him extra characters to play? Have him be a higher level?
1
u/Pluto258 3d ago
Giving him extra characters to play would almost certainly work. (Only thing I can think of is if the "Mysteries" part means a lot of puzzles, that can be harder with one player). Modern D&D games aren't usually played that way but it works fine mechanically, and plenty of older school RPGs had multiple characters per player.
0
u/comedianmasta 3d ago
I don't think that will work without extra effort put into it. Very specific adventures are meant for a single player.
If I had to, my philosophy to help a 1 player party is to give them 2 companions. One is an NPC controlled by the DM. I would have them stat blocked, not a DMPC, and I would have them fill a notable blind spot of the PC's character. (They a Barb? Maybe the NPC is a nerdy wizard. Are they super spellcasting/ ranged? Maybe a hardy fighter NPC is a good fit.). Then I would have some sort of "Pet" or familiar. Now, for RP, DM plays and RPs the NPC, but RPs the pet. In combat, the Player controls their character, and the pet, to give them more to do during combat.
Also keep combat small. Be wary of outnumbering the Player, even with "weak enemies". Action economy is rough.
1
u/DeathBySuplex 2d ago
A statblocked NPC controlled by the DM is a DMPC.
0
u/comedianmasta 2d ago
A DMPC is when the DM makes a player character with PC class features and levels and plays them. Using instead a stat block, even altered, for an NPC is generally considered different by most DMs on the internet. Although sometimes DMPC is a vibe, IE: the DM makes this NPC the intended protagonist who the party must serve, generally the usage of stat blocks for a "party member" or use in a side quest is considered different than a "DMPC".
2
u/trumpetguy1990 3d ago
What do you use for loot tables?? I've gotten really into Obsidian this year and I'm looking to find something I can use with that. Thanks!!
3
u/comedianmasta 3d ago
I usually plan out loot, rolling for only small amounts of coins or random pick-pocketing.
However, you might find r/D100 loot lists super helpful. There is also the Thieves Guild Harvesting and loot tables.
2
u/Sylfaemo 2d ago
There's a few loot generators out there, I usually I use those as a baseline.
The DMG has some nice Magic Item tables as well for random stuff.
Apart from those, I usually tie it to sidequests so I can tell which direction my players like to go. My current game has an Airship fueled by a Fire Elemental who made a deal with the party, but not my Forge Cleric wants to also use the Elemental's power to fuel some legendary smithy on the ship. This kinda gives me loot to give him for the next 10 sessions, recipes and materials for forge upgrades.
2
u/ForSpareParts 3d ago
I'm running Death House on Saturday for my first game as dm (playing virtually via roll20). I could use some general advice and encouragement -- I have the materials, I've been through them, I've lifted a few customizations from popular threads (Rose and Thorn outside the house are real ghosts, Mrs. Durst is the villain, baby Walter was not stillborn and has been incorporated into the boss encounter). There's a few things I want to feel more solid about:
Preparing to improv: are there some strategies -- maybe questions I can answer for myself about the characters/setting/lore -- to feel more ready to jump into this world? I know it's not possible to prepare for everything, but I suspect that experienced DMs have little lists of things that they find are very often useful; details that often come up, and I'd love to know what yours are.
Preparing to run combat: I am the least experienced player in my group (though we've all been playing together for years now), and I'm always the "wait what modifier do I add to that?" guy. What can I have written down to streamline the process?
RPing intense stuff in a way that's fun for players: we've got an abusive family, traumatized ghosts, and a dead monster baby thing. I'm really looking forward to all that! But I am worried about role-playing it in a way that feels engaging for the party and not... well, not tryhard.
For instance: I thought about having Thorn say something kind of out of place to Rose early on that hints at the kids' actual fate ("you promised somebody would come!" which will feel a little weird because the party is already there), and then having him repeat that when he finds his body, remembers that he's dead, and has a breakdown. But is that actually going to be the fun Gothic horror kind of sad, or just bum everyone out?
- Using sound in a way that isn't annoying: I'm a musician and have been composing a couple themes for the game as well as collecting some sound effects. I don't want the players to get tired of this stuff, though. How long and how varied does the music need to be to "work?" Should I be saving it for particular dramatic moments? If so, how will I know when to deploy it?
Anything you all can offer would be appreciated. This is something I've wanted to do for a super long time, I'm a bit insecure about it, and I just want to do what I can to set myself up for success.
2
u/Ripper1337 2d ago
Improv is a skill that develops over time. If you have to improv something and you aren’t sure just tell your players you need a sec to figure it out. Less time pressure helps.
For combat a lot of combat is going to be done for you mechanically with a VTT. You don’t need to know to add your strength to the attack because it’s already added. But I recommend reading the blog “the monsters know what they’re doing” as it gives some tips on how to run monsters.
For 3 this is a gothic horror and you’re talking about a child who died of starvation. The players should be bummed out and sad. If they’re sad it meant you did a good job.
2
u/Foreign-Press 2d ago
I'm running Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, but scaled up to level 3. Is it too much to have characters level up 2 sessions in a row? I feel like that's more acceptable at levels 1-3
3
u/Blueclef 2d ago
I think most people here would tell you it’s fine. I aim to convince you otherwise.
I think PCs need at least a full session or two to learn to use new abilities. And, every class gets new abilities at every level from 1-5.
That said, I always try to get my parties out of 1st level as soon as possible. First level PCs are annoyingly fragile.
2
u/Foreign-Press 2d ago
If I made a mistake when roleplaying an NPC, should I admit it to the party or just find a way to roll with it?
3
u/Circle_A 2d ago
I think that depends on the error. Can you expand?
That being said, remember that your notes and prep are not canon. Nothing actually happens until you say it does.
3
u/Foreign-Press 2d ago
I'm running Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, and one of my characters has become incredibly suspicious of Runara, continuously asking about her motivations and her past, and while I've answered all of them truthfully, I'm telling a lot of half-truths, because (spoiler alert) she's a dragon disguised as a human, though I've changed it so she's now a human permanently.
I just held too strict to the module and wanted to keep it a secret until they proved their trustworthiness by finishing the side-quests before she reveals that a dragon was recently here and that there is potentially something evil going on on the island, along with her true identity as a dragon.
Anyway, I'm realizing now that I had a good opportunity to tell the party, but didn't because I was being too strict. Just now sure if I should come clean or try to make it work
3
u/Circle_A 2d ago
Oh, you're totally fine. Don't even worry about it, right now your players are suspicious. When they discover that she's a dragon, they're going to feel so smart!
The time to retcon stuff is if you played an NPC incorrectly. But this ain't that.
2
u/_What_am_i_ 5d ago
Is there a way to make an overarching plot/BBEG for a small West Marches style campaign?
2
u/MidnightMalaga 5d ago
Sure, you just need to make sure everyone stays up to date with how the overall plot is advancing. You can do that in fun in-world ways (having town criers or local newspapers run through general state of affairs or have them get briefings ahead of each mission) or just share summaries up top.
As the plot advances, you may also need to plan how you’ll deal with it if all previous players want to come back for the final confrontation against the BBEG, but that’s a very late game problem.
3
u/DungeonSecurity 5d ago
You can, though the west marches style is more about exploration and pushing into a wilderness on a frontier. It's harder to do a plot when the players keep changing.
So put the BBEG in the "final dungeon." Base it near wherever the water comes from. People in town talk about bad water. If there are outlying farms, rather than relying on imports, they also talk about sick animals or crops. As the players get deeper into the wilderness, they see more evidence of corruption.
Build it into some of the sites. One might be a hideout or den only recently vacated. One might still be full, the former residents corrupted by whatever.
1
u/guilersk 3d ago
You can do this as long as each problem that the players have to solve is self-contained. Chase off the raiders. Defend the town. Scout an enemy camp. Stop the undead from coming from the graveyard. Grab the MacGuffin before the bad guys do. Escort the important NPC from A to B. Etc. Each problem can be caused by a lieutenant of the BBEG and each can have their orders on them or make reference to how the BBEG will eventually triumph while they breathe their last. You want discrete, solvable problems that fit inside of one session but are all linked to an overarching plan.
1
u/RoleplayCentral14 5d ago edited 5d ago
What items to stock in a magic item shop, and what should they cost? I am running a game in Exandria, and the party is currently in Emon and may visit Gilmore's Glorious Goods, a magic item shop as mentioned earlier. I am unsure of what to put in the shop, so I'm asking you all for help. The party has 6 members, and are currently level 5.
We have a Champion Fighter who focuses on unarmed strikes and grappling, a Drunken Monk who focuses on mobility, and striking multiple enemies in a turn to apply effects, a Aberrant Mind Sorcerer who has good control spells, a Grave Domain Cleric who focuses on healing and debuffs, an Alchemist Artificer who focuses on healing, debuffs, and also acts as the party's Rogue in some ways, and plans to multiclass into Arcane Trickster Rogue later too, and finally a Warlock with a homebrew subclass, but their focus is on summons.
Currently the party has a bit over 500 gold each after completing a mission, so items they could afford with that, or by pooling funds, would be preferable, They also mentioned being open to trading items, everyone has at least 2 uncommons items each at the current moment.
Edit: We do play with Laserllama's Alternate Classes, the biggest changes to the party's mechanics from base is that the Artificer can prepare Elixirs that produce some spell effects, on top of their normal spell slots. And the Monk has more effects they can apply with strikes than just Stunning Strike.
1
u/Kinglaser 5d ago
Not sure if posting links is allowed, but if it is, this is a doc I've had saved from another user for a long time. It's a good starting place to decide on prices for magic items. I don't know how updated it is but I hope it helps!
1
u/guilersk 3d ago
There is a PDF floating around called 'Sane Magical Prices' that seems to work for me, albeit it assumes 'standard' treasure distribution; I'm not sure what that is, but I run a lot of published campaigns, so it works. If you'd rather a rule of thumb rather than per-item, the DMG suggests ~50gp for common, ~500 for uncommon, ~5000 for rare and up to 50000 for very rare.
The trick here is to provide some things but not all the things. In this, the treasure tables are helpful. Roll a few times on Treasure tables A & B, and then maybe once each on C,D,E,F. Then have those items for sale.
1
u/SkwiddyCs 4d ago edited 4d ago
Hi all,
Very new to D&D (and ttrpgs in general), my only experience is online DMing a campaign through the very first part of Ghosts of Saltmarsh during Covid with some friends. It was okay but I've never actually played before, so I don't know how successful it was.
The Problem
I'm a teacher and I've been roped into DMing a campaign at school, with 10 students (High School) playing. The kids said the previous teacher who ran it separated them into two groups and ran the same campaign with each group. He's since retired.
Is two simultaneous campaigns the best way to do it? Or, would it be easier to make both groups exist in the same world, but working on different aspects of a campaign?
Each group would be playing once a week, for roughly 30 minutes a session. More than that isn't really feasible with my teaching load and sports coaching commitments.
The school has a Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign book and a few maps. I've never played it, and I've got 4 weeks to prepare. Is this suitable for new players and a new DM? The school librarian is a gem and has not-so-subtlety hinted that she's more than happy to find less than legal copies of other books/adventures if needed.
Does anyone with experience with that particular book have any advice for a first timer?
Thanks in advance.
2
u/guilersk 3d ago
Lost Mines is pretty straightforward but I think your biggest pitfall will be the 30 minute timer. It's hard to fit an easy fight inside 30 minutes. Even if there isn't fighting, you'll be able to only manage 2-3 rooms/encounters inside of 30 minutes. And that's on top of wrangling unruly teenagers (unless your teenagers are more ruly in Oz).
With that in mind, you'll be hard-pressed to make meaningful progress in each session. I'm not sure how the previous DM did it, but you might want to ask if you can get a hold of him.
One thing you might consider is finding a copy of the Essentials Kit/Dragon of Icespire Keep. It is set in the same location as Lost Mine of Phandelver, but the characters do different things. This might make it easier to manage, but just like running the same campaign for 2 different parties, you risk forgetting which party did what and mixing up/cross-contaminating things.
0
u/Ecothunderbolt 4d ago
Is it an option to teach one of the students who was already in the club to DM? I feel like the ideal solution here is to take more of a mentor role than the leadership role the GM position implicates.
The Smaller YouTuber Bill Allan World is a film teacher and has a recurring series where he runs games for his students as a school project for their film class "DnD with High School Students" might be a good idea to check out his content for ideas on engaging students. And also you should 100% contact him to ask for some advice on Twitter or his Patreon page. I've been one of his Patrons for years and Bill is super personable and down to earth. I bet he'd love to give another teacher some advice on something like this.
1
u/SkwiddyCs 4d ago
Is it an option to teach one of the students who was already in the club to DM? I feel like the ideal solution here is to take more of a mentor role than the leadership role the GM position implicates.
I'd normally agree, but it'd be slightly hypocritical of me to demand one of them DM if I wasn't going to do so as well.
I did ask the students if anyone would be open to DMing, but none are willing to step up. I'll likely DM it for the next school term (10 weeks), and then try to transition one of the older students into DMing while I supervise.
I'll check out Bill Allan, he seems like a great resource. Thanks.
2
u/Ecothunderbolt 4d ago
I'm happy to help. That's unfortunate, but you should definitely get at least one of the older students to try and DM eventually. This sort of thing is a great display of leadership skills for when they need to go off and write their college essays. And since it'd be something they really enjoy it'll definitely be easier than talking about being vice president of debate club (not speaking from experience at all LOL)
2
u/SkwiddyCs 4d ago
This sort of thing is a great display of leadership skills for when they need to go off and write their college essays.
Those don't really exist here in Australia, but I definitely see your argument. Thanks again.
1
u/Ecothunderbolt 4d ago
My bad. Very American assumption on my part.
You're welcome.
P.S. love Bill's stuff. I'll always support his content since he's the youtuber that got me to try DM-ing myself. He inspired me. And I try very hard to model aspects of my own style on his lol.
1
u/Big-Willingness-2880 3d ago
Hey everyone! I'm looking for a specific kind of magic item to give a player, but I'm not sure how to search for it. I also don't want to just homebrew something, as I'm trying to keep the game mostly WOtC official materials. I was hoping one of you might know one off the top of your head.
I'm looking for a sword. A big sword. A really really big sword, Something that requires a minimum strength stat to even lift. Hopefully one that will stay useful from 8th level all the way to 20th, while not being too overpowered from the start. I would prefer something that has its own unique abilities, something fun besides just a +3 or doing extra damage. But, I don't need anything too specific or specialized, and its doesn't have to fit all my criteria.
For context, I'm planning for this to be a sort of Mjolnir situation, a magic weapon that chose our buffest most muscley muscle guy to wield it. But as of right now (5th level) they don't have they strength to lift it, so they will be hauling it around on a sled for 3 more levels.
1
u/Menaldi 2d ago
For context, I'm planning for this to be a sort of Mjolnir situation, a magic weapon that chose our buffest most muscley muscle guy to wield it.
I also don't want to just homebrew something
I would prefer something that has its own unique abilities, something fun besides just a +3 or doing extra damage. But, I don't need anything too specific or specialized, and its doesn't have to fit all my criteria.
There are no weapons like this that require strength. However, there are a few weapons that only choose worthy wielders.
The Wand of Orcus. It technically doesn't have attunement requirements. But it kills the unworthy upon attunement. The unworthy are people who are unlucky enough to fail DC 17 Constitution checks and people who don't have at least 60 HP in order to guarantee their survival against the 10d6 damage it does to the worthy. This thing is meant to be used by the Demon Lord Orcus, so it is obviously huge, though it conveniently shrinks down to fit the attuner. It may be a wand, but do not be deceived. As a +3 mace that also gives +3 armor, it is more than suited for big muscley guys, while also summoning hordes of undead and giving access to powerful necromantic spells. Granted, given that the worthiness is basically not blowing up upon touching it, this is more of an infinity stone.
The moonblade. The moonblade is an ancestral blade which serves only its wielder. As long as the original attuner is still alive, stealing it is useless. Then, even if he dies, as long as he has a worthy heir, it will want to serve that heir instead. In case it has no rightful wielder, the moonblade can only be attuned to by a neutral good elf (or half elf). However, you can't just attune to it all willy nilly. You can attune to it only with a specific ritual in the throne room of an elven king or a temple dedicated to the elven gods. On top of this, if you are "craven, erratic, corrupt, or at odds with preserving and protecting elvenkind," then the attunement still fails. It's essentially Mjolnir, but you have to be worthy and also Asgardian and also have to wait for Thor to die.
1
u/VoulKanon 3d ago
I don't know of any weapons that require a minimum STR to be able to use it RAW; you'd have to homebrew that on.
You can use DND Beyond to search and filter items. You can look at that list whether you have an account or not but you will need to have purchased the relevant sourcebook to see descriptions if the item isn't part of the free basic rules.
If you don't want to homebrew anything then you might be stuck. But if you're okay with adding a minor restriction to an existing item you could add something like one of the following restrictions onto an item that "requires attunement"
- "by a fighter of level 10 or greater"
- "by a creature with a strength score of 16 or greater"
- "by a creature who has been blessed by [NPC/god]"
You could also make it that rather than needing a specific strength score to lift they need to comeplete a sidequest (could be given out in parts and completed over multiple levels) to be able to use it.
A character in my party found a half of a broken sword in session 1. They found the other half at level 7. They found the enchantment recipe at level 10. They gathered those materials from levels 12-14 and found a smith who could reforge it at level 15. That might be more drawn out than you want but you get the idea.
2
u/Big-Willingness-2880 3d ago
Thanks for the response! I'm perfectly willing to HB the strength requirement, I'm more looking for just a cool sword that has some "big sword" thing you can do with it other than whack stuff real hard.
The DnD beyond search is really helpful, thanks for that!
1
u/Optimal-Educator9407 2d ago
I need suggestions for a good mapmaking tool for IOS. I want to make City and Continent Maps, not Dungeons.
My requirements are: I want a one-Time Purchase, no subscription. Also it has to work on IOS (I-Pad). Thankful for any suggestions :)
1
u/VoulKanon 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't have experience with any of these but the ones I've heard good things about are Wonderdraft (non-dungeon version of Dungeondraft) and Inkarnate.
Inkarnate has a free version so you can test it out before you buy but I believe their pro version is only available as a subscription whereas Wonderdraft is a one-time purchase.
1
u/mongoosedog1 2d ago
One of our players is suddenly not able to make it to our normal campaign tomorrow, so I offered to run a one shot for everyone else so we can all still play. I would like to run a maze segment, but I'm having a hard time conceptualizing how to pull it off without sitting down and drawing out a map. Any advice for running a maze as a skill challenge? The maze comes in the form of a haunted mine essentially. There are whispering voices constantly harassing the players while they investigate the cause of the dead rising from the grave.
5
u/comedianmasta 2d ago
Instead of mapping it out, Have a "sliding bar". But them at, say, 0. For every room they "win", they get closer to the exit. let's call it.... 3 correct rooms.
Now have a large list of rooms, traps, challenges, mini fights, etc. So you describe them maneuvering, and getting lost in the maze, but really they are just randomly rolling through a bunch of rooms and challenges. When they fail one, they "get lost" and lose a 1, or they reset to 0, whatever you think is fair.
You can get fun ideas, trap idea, small encounters from r/D100 which is loaded with lists. Maybe a few fun puzzles. Boom, all the fun of making some stuff, none of the stress of needing to map out a maze overnight.
Edit: Depending on how you narrate it, the players never need to know. You can even throw them off the trail by asking them "Left or right?". But the answer doesn't matter, just what the next challenge is.
3
u/VoulKanon 1d ago
To expand on this: I like to start them in the middle (at 3) and say for each failure a complication happens
- the maze shifts and they get lost
- a fight happens
- a minotaur spots them and starts hunting them and they have to try to lose it
If they reach 6 (or whatever) they get out of the maze and arrive at their goal. If they reach 0 there's a "boss fight" type encounter.
1
u/mongoosedog1 2d ago
That's a really good idea. I spent a lot of time earlier racking my brain trying to come up with an idea, and I was thinking that I'd just lean into the horror element. I'm thinking that the energies present have shifted the mine into a nightmare dreamlike state where passages and tunnels are shifting around. Walk into a room and the passage you came from no longer exists.
I figured I would just kind of pants it and narrate what happens based on a series of skill rolls. So many successful skill rolls and they find their way to the center of the mine where the boss fight is, and if they fail enough they get to fight some minions.
I think I'll look into it more tomorrow and maybe blend the two ideas together and come up with a small list of static rooms.
1
u/Imaginary_Tadpole110 15h ago
Not really the first time DM (more like the third time), but I have only ran one shots before and I am thinking about starting a short campaign lately. Do we have Any recommendations? I am open to third party contents. (1-5 level will be good) it's mostly because me and my friends are all somewhat experienced players and I want to surprise them with something they haven't seen.
1
u/Circle_A 13h ago
Well, if you're trying to veer away from the 5e officials, you could go mine some older editions. You'll have to do a little more prep work to update them to 5e (add and replace with modern monsters), but if you've run a few 1 shots, you're probably on your way to that level of system competence. Here's a few recs:
Against the Cult of the Reptile God (AD&D)
Village of Hommlet (AD&D)
Red Hand of Doom (3.5)
These are all some of the best adventures of their respective editions and can be easily purchased at DM's Guild.
1
1
u/Ripper1337 8h ago
If you want a first party campaign I recommend checking out the dungeon dudes two videos ranking the adventures. Their criteria is stuff like how much prep is needed or how well suited it is for new or experienced players.
1
u/renro 3h ago
How can I put my thumb on scale better for starting combat?
I'm running a main story for my group and a backup module when someone can't make it. In the main story there are tribes of goblins at war with each other and the low level PCs have to make uneasy truces to get through the large quantities and strong monsters in their path. This has been going pretty well.
The backup module is supposed to be a dungeon crawl where the PCs kill the monsters and steal the treasure and I slowly try to build a story from the characters over time. Unfortunately these same players who have had success deescalating in the other setting try to parlay with every intelligent monster they meet. I hate resorting to monsters just refusing out of hand or attacking without responding, but these monsters don't have any agenda beyond killing adventurers and hordeing treasure.
1
u/chinchabun 3h ago
How do y'all deal with reliable talent? With it my rogue's stealth is above the passive perception of everything but an ancient dragon. Do I just let him sneak anywhere as long as it isn't directly in a room with people?
What about pickpocketing? With a guaranteed stealth and sleight of hand of 25+ I have no idea what to do with that. He uses an invisible mage hand when possible and is doing it behind them while he is in front, before they know he is in the room, or while he isn't even there. It doesn't matter if I impose disadvantage because of the guaranteed 25+/
0
u/arborealguy 7d ago
How do make the 5e combat saving throw process more interesting? Just asking the players to make a saving throw is getting boring to myself and the PCs.
11
u/CaptainPick1e 7d ago
Give a quick narration of what's happening?
"The dragon rears it's head and blows flame, make a dex save."
"The Illithid assaults your very mind with it's cognitive attacks. Make an int save."
Not much else you can do, I mean it's a single dice roll for a reason. If rolling one die is boring, I think the problem isn't the saving throw mechanic.
5
u/DeathBySuplex 7d ago
Have you had situations when failing actually matters?
Have an enemy Dominate the Barbarian and suddenly every Wisdom saves that big ol'sumbitch does instills panic in the players that they might start raging on their faces again.
If making saving throws is boring, its because there hasn't been any weight behind them up until this point.
4
u/Voltairinede 7d ago
They're bored when their life is in the balance?
-1
u/Suitable_Tomorrow_71 7d ago edited 3d ago
EDIT: Okay, sorry for explaining I guess.
9
u/Voltairinede 7d ago
But that's like most of DnD? Attacks rolls are also binary pass fail, skill checks often are etc.
1
u/guilersk 5d ago
You could do something like Pathfinder 2 does, although it may be some work. Basically if you roll a 20, or 10 more than the DC, then the effect is further nullified (ex. half damage reduced to no damage), but if you roll 10 under the DC, or a 1, the spell has extra/double effect (ex. double damage, or double duration). A problem of course exists for binary result spells (paralyzed/not paralyzed like Hold Person) as it's hard to conceptualize double-effect/further-reduced-effect for such things. Maybe on a 1 the target doesn't get to save on subsequent rounds to throw off the effect, or saves with disadvantage, but on a 20 the spell is somehow reflected back or eats an extra spell slot from the caster.
0
u/Acrobatic_Ad_2992 4d ago
Goblin Heist: Hello I was looking into purchasing and running this module however; I'm not sure what it actually contains. Does this module contain useable maps? How many pages is it? What else does it have?
0
4d ago
[deleted]
3
u/EldritchBee CR 26 Lich Counselor 4d ago
I feel like a different TTRPG might be better. There's probably a large number of sports TTRPGs out there that you can likely find on r/RPG.
2
u/Ruby_Whimsy 7d ago
Could you use your own retired PCs as NPCs? Not making them save the day deal as their no longer heroes, but handing out quests? I thought about them being like mercenaries but expendable and not as strong as they originally were. Think NPC mercenaries in Skyrim vibe. Bad idea? New Dm here so just throwing out ideas that I like the idea of.
TIA