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Tonight is game time. So, I have my notes up and try to quickly browse through it to load some of it into the short-term memory. I.e. I'm reviewing it. I am always a little upset if I am improvising not because I did not anticipate, but simply because I cannot find the right notes (I give...

Inspired by another thread on this forum, I wondered how the experienced hive mind of this forum deals with players who choose violence when a peaceful solution would be possible or even obvious? Should every action have a consequence? What if it's just shenanigans and a strong response from...

I play on multiple tables. I'm curious how you all transition from pre-game to in-game. On one table, the pre-game chit-chat is usually about the campaign. The game starts as soon as the DM has set up his things (we are always a few minutes early). We know the game has started once the DM joins...

So, in the MM (5E), it says Banshees covet beautiful items (it actually does not say "collect", covet is a synonym of "crave/desire"). A banshee also has incorporeal movement, and can basically move through walls. Assuming that the Banshee actually collect valuables, would they be able to take...

I'm running a sandbox game. The PCs accepted a plot hook where they must travel a pretty big distance, and I don't know yet which route they will take. I want to prepare some towns along the route (at first I'm thinking to prepare 3 towns). I'm trying to keep a balance between making these...

If a spellcaster with Teleport has an object from a location, but has never been to a location, would the teleport spell be successful? The text of the spell says: The destination you choose must be known to you, and it must be on the same plane of existence as you. Your familiarity with the...

So, in our group of friends, there is a sudden interest in D&D. We have an ongoing campaign with 3 players, and recently we talked in a restaurant about that campaign and now 3 others would like to join. But I don't have very good experiences when people join into an existing campaign. The group...

So I am the DM of a campaign that has stopped during the summer months (DM and players were all on holiday). It's a relatively new campaign we play: We will play session #6. (Homebrew campaign, newbie players, btw). I want to start up the game with a little recap: First players say what they...

In our previous session, the BBEG (Drow mage, INT 24, WIS 20, lawful evil, homebrew) captured the PCs (party of 4, all level 14, two spell-casters). They ran out of spells/HP and surrendered after they correctly didn't see an escape. The BBEG could just kill them, but I don't want to end the...

So, demons and devils have a true name, and possibly a common name. Who gives these names to them? Demons and devils are what is left of humanoids after they die, right? But typical demon/devil names do not sound like their humanoid names (I haven't seen a devil named John Smith yet, their...

Hey all, It is well-known that the main goal of all players is to mess with the DM and for the DM to kill the players. But outside that, I am curious to see what you all focus your attention on: combat or roleplay? Given the content of most threads, I have a suspicion, but that may be all...

Hey hive mind, Say I would make a cleric or paladin who dedicate their lives to hunting down undead. And say that this paladin has a pet or familiar. What creatures (which are at least not evil) are really good at hunting down undead? Note that these are to be NPCs, and as a DM I can give such...

Hey all, tl;dr How do you guys deal with a situation where you think that the rather intelligent BBEG (Int >16, Wis >16) would think "Screw those adversaries [the PCs], I am NOT gonna tell them anything, even as I am bleeding out, defeated and dying", and you still want to have your PCs find...

In the D&D realms, what would a deity feel when its followers pray to it? Can it distinguish individual prayers? Does it gain extra power from each prayer (does prayer act as a fuel to its divine powers)? I realize that a lot is not described in the books. Just looking to what you think...

Hey all, I am writing up a new world setting for a potential campaign. I love running sandboxes, but I am not sure if this is too open. I have created so far: 1. A map of continents with some continental drift (randomly chosen by me), from which logically follows where the mountain ranges are...

I have a situation: My players may want to contact a person in the game using the "Sending" spell, but they only have seen this creature in disguise (it used Disguise Self). Would the spell arrive if this person is not disguised at the moment? The spell says: You send a short message of...

Say you're a DM, and say that as a DM you control a lich who also has a bunch of cultists, and both the lich and the cultists all control multiple undead, so that together they have an undead army. And say that they'd like to attack a location a few hunderd miles across an ocean. How would you...

I have a (homebrew) monster who can cast Mass Suggestion, but I hesitate to use it against my players, because I see very few ways that the players can counter it. I am considering to nerf the monster and to remove the Mass Suggestion. From a roleplay perspective, the Mass Suggestion makes sense...

I'm DMing a very successful (i.e. lots of fun) campaign. We're nearly 20 sessions into the story. There is however something that bothers me, and I would like some opinions. Some players put tremendous effort into roleplaying. One fighter especially has a signature move where he moves to a...

As a DM, I am running into the problem that I don't know how to keep the players to a contract? In two cases, there is an NPC with knowledge of an item/loot, who would prefer the players to get this for him because its dangerous. Party gets big reward, NPC also benefits. Everybody wins, right...