Search results

I mean, I can only comment based on my own experience. That said, I've played an awful lot of 5e, for going on, what, 8 years now? That's across multiple different groups, scenarios, and styles of play, as both player and GM. So, when I say '5e is like X', I'm using that experience, and...

For me, this part is really key. The issue with 5e isn't that it's easy, it's that nothing much happens except by fiat. It just kind of plods along, with no real stakes and no surprises. As a player, you're pushing buttons on your character sheet when prompted; as a DM, you're leading everyone...

I'm no expert on this stuff, but I found this article confusing. The argument seems to be something like 'the LLM is stochastically parotting a selection of stochastic parrot skills, and is therefore unlikely to be a stochastic parrot.' There is also a lot of vague qualification in use. Saying...

I miss all the giant bugs the game used to have. Simple but effective.

I think we have differing assumptions here. I have no problem with a clear objective or constrained environment, so long as everyone is on the same page and can exercise agency within those bounds. Dungeon crawls are a prime example of this. IME, though, a lot of adventures are written in the...

Eh, that works if your problem is that you don't feel up to the job in terms of creativity, but if the problem is passivity as such, prewritten adventures are likely to make it worse. I think linear written adventures has a lot to do with how people learn to stop having agency as players. I...

Oof, that sounds bad. I'd probably start with the cliched advice of 'talk to them about it out of game.' If the players all earnestly want to be told what to do, and you're not up for DM Story Hour, then it's just not going to work. Having said that, I've found that this passivity is often...

Honestly, the whole 'guns don't belong in my medieval fantasy' thing is a pet peeve of mine. Guns are medieval weapons. Late medieval, but so is plate armour, and heaven forfend if you try to remove that. On the other hand, you have things like rapiers, which are strictly early modern weapons...

Thanks! You too!

A week late due to holiday distractions, but here it is, the final week! I won't be doing it for 2024, but I would like to eventually give 2023's work another pass and make some proper maps so it is playable. 22: History Section (!) The shambling, starved, eyeless horror. 23: Occult Section...

Archive, Week 3 15: Face of Assignment Stern marble face with jewels for eyes watches the hall. Scorch marks on the marble. (!) The face fires disintegration rays at anyone whose face it doesn’t recognise. Fist-sized jewels worth 500 coins each. 16: Living Collage Human forms piled...

That was quick!

I have a lot of inchoate thoughts. Off the top of my head: I definitely want to play this, and put it out for playtest, maybe after a short break. Having gone to the trouble of writing up a draft of all 12 levels, I'd like to publish it, if only to say 'I made a megadungeon'! Actually playing...

Trust me, I'm feeling it too.

8: Librarian’s Bureau Lair of the Librarian, many-limbed, eldritch, levitating mummy within flowing robes. Mien: whispering, severe Wants: new books & specimens; return of stolen materials Needs: order, silence Fears: the Emperor Knows: the location of any object within the archive (index is...

Level 12: Imperial Archive The universal store of knowledge. The emperor is vanished somewhere within. There are no wandering monsters; just cold, altitude sickness, and guardians in their lairs. 1: Ziggurat Stair Ascends from the Temple of Industry to the silver star doors of the archive...

OK, finally done with November! 15: Thermopanoplia 1d6 armoured, insulated heat suits. (?) Suits are very uncomfortable to wear for prolonged periods. 16: Pistons (!) 2 moving piston arms gyrate across the room, threatening to rush anyone who tries to cross (unless the turbine was stopped...

I aten't dead! 8: Canal, Waste Channels Metal pipes that project over the back side of the ziggurat to expel waste. A long way down. Strange fungi grow in the pipes. 9: Canal, Coolant Channels Filled with crimson, phosphorescent water. (!) Immersion sickens over time. Drinking sickens...

OK, I'm back again! Lots of RL distractions have made it difficult to keep up, but the good news is that that should be past me and I think I'll be able to finish on time. Is anyone else still working on creative dungeon-esque projects? Where are you at? Is it just for fun, or do you hope to be...

Finally done with October! November's theme will be something a bit less gloomy, for a change in pace. 22: Ziggurat Stair (past) (!) Two Iron Maidens at the top of the stair. Passphrase: onyx. (?) Golden lion doors to level 11. 23: Chamberlain’s Roost (past) Lair of the chamberlain. Opulent...