Search results

Believe it or not, I build a player character, as if I were going to play in the campaign (I don't actually run it as a DMPC though). This forces me to read through the various character options and familiarize myself, which will be important when I have to walk my players through it. It also...

Yep, I just give them a reason to be working together prior to character creation. In my current campaign they were all drafted into service to the tyrannical God-King. They were sent on a few missions in his service, and then during the third or fourth session the God-King was taken off the...

I'm not very good at mapping, so what I do is draw a very rough map. I don't even try to get the exact dimensions, but rather just the rough positions of hallways and locations; just enough that the party can navigate without getting lost. My maps (more or less) look like a point crawl, rather...

That's a lot trickier to crack. Have you tried starting from a minimal number of options (2) and gradually working up to more? Also, while I realize this really isn't your style, if they get stuck maybe have an NPC show up to provide some direction. Think of it like giving them training...

That advice was written under the assumption that the players were struggling with being self-motivated, such as it were. If you have players that are struggling with being self-directed, having a rumor pan out as nothing is pretty much the worst thing you can possibly do, because by doing so...

I write a handout with rumors in between sessions. Some are true, some aren't. I used to just have it that these were rumors they heard around town. More recently I've been using invisible, incorporeal fey I call Mungers. These little pests basically feed off of sharing gossip, and can go...

Lately I've been using ChatGPT whenever this happens. I just plug in whatever random ideas/threads I have and let it generate an adventure for me. I virtually never use the adventure itself, as it tends to be fairly generic. But for some reason it gets my creative juices flowing. I can look at...

Some of these objections seem a bit overstated to me. Of course the monsters can have guns. If you design the guns properly, this isn't an issue. For example, using my rules, why would the players care if the Drow Elite Warrior (MM-128) is shooting them with a flintlock pistol for 7 DMG (2d6...

Sure, as long as it sounded like an interesting campaign. Limited to just the SRD, the DM can't rely on interesting character options to hold my interest, so they'd need to bring their A game. I've played in a few games where the campaign was kind of meh, but I was really excited about the...

I played in an apocalyptic modern campaign (probably over a decade ago at this point) that used heavily modded D&D rules. As best as I can recollect, guns dealt crossbow-ish damage, but had three range increments. The least favorable range prevented you from adding your modifier to the damage...

IMC, firearms deal a lot of damage but don't add modifier to damage. For example, a flintlock pistol deals 2d6 damage, whereas a musket deals 2d8. IMO, this fits the idea of guns. They're likely more effective in the hands of a low-skill user than bows or crossbows. But for characters with...

Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. I'm not familiar with SO, so I can't speak to it directly, but I do think that if a dungeon was created by or taken over by large sized creatures, they would build it to an appropriate scale or widen the passages (if possible). On the other hand, if...

I usually try to pace the session such that they end on a long rest. I feel like it's easier for everyone that way. I can prep the next session knowing they're fresh, and they don't have to try to remember if they used some ability and just forgot to note it down on their sheet. If we're...

Many years ago, back in 2e, I had a player who was playing his first cleric. He asked me how to turn undead. I explained the rules to him, he gave me a confused look, and asked "But how do I turn undead?" We went back and forth like the old Abbott and Costello skit until finally it dawned on me...

I use them primarily for verisimilitude. Does it make sense for something to be trapped? Is whatever is being protected particularly sensitive, and/or rarely accessed? Then yes. If it doesn't make sense for something to be trapped, then no. One of my biggest turn offs as a player is having...

Yeah, they're close in concept to gestalt. No on the more powerful (unless you're running a one shot at level one). The increased XP requirements mean that they get a broader array of abilities, but at a significantly slower progression. The ECL column shows what level a standard character is...

I use a system based on 2e multi classing (which I refer to as hybrid classing). It delays the acquisition of higher level abilities in exchange for broader versatility. I actually offer a lot more in terms of options, but that would be a REALLY long post. It has seen limited play testing...

They could charge whatever they can get away with. If they're generous, it might be free. If they're greedy, thousands (or more) gold. Of course, in the latter case, their "service" wouldn't be very popular and might be problematic to enforce. What if someone arrives and is unable/unwilling to...