D&D General 25 years

[Larnievc]

I just played D&D with friends who I have not played with in 25 years. It was over the inter webs, it was only for two hours, we had but one encounter and there was lots of fannying around with speakers but it was the best time I’ve had in ages!

I just wanted to share something positive (there was wine, I’m in my cups and I’m in that post game high).

We play again next week.

 

[BookBarbarian]

I’m in that post game high

That's the best feeling.

I’m in my cups

Except for this.

 

[darjr]

Man that’s so great, so great!

 

[Larnievc]

I was the DM and got a lot wrong, apparently dash is not a charge action, back stab isn't double damage and first level is just as deadly as it always was. I've played a tiny bit ( two games) of 5th ed with other people when it first came out but playing with the guys I grew up with was a real treat.

In the one combat encounter we had the thief caulk two goblins, as did the druid but the fighter dispatched the boss (was modelled off the last PC one of the guys playing every played with me- 25 years ago) after taking his second wind (2 hp left).

If anyone cares we were playing an adapted adventure from Dungeon mag 130 (Within the Circle). I'm going to use this to get into Tomb of Annihilation because it has those snake fellas in (Yaun ti).

Any one else play with short rest as 10 mins, long rest is one hour, sleep is 1/2 HD and reduced spell recovery and sleep in a good bed is full HD recovery and all spell level recovery (not that it matter much to these guys as they are 1st level)?

 

[Uller]

One of my high school buddies (of 28 years ago) is in my group. We use Roll20 so he can play. We play about 2 hours ever week or so.

I use 10 min short rests but they only get 2 per day (so short rest powers get at most 3 uses per day) and long rests are just 1/2 hit die and class feature recovery. Fully HP recovery requires 24 hours of rest in a town or other safe comfortable place.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Being a DM is hard work, and sometimes I do find that the various editions’ rules bleed over. Flubbing a rule now and then happens to all of us. What I like to do is to come clean before the next session starts and let the group know. I find that helps establish trust. And it also can be a learning experience for everyone.

In any case, it sounds like you had a fun time! Getting people back into gaming after such a long time is quite awesome.

I was the DM and got a lot wrong, apparently dash is not a charge action, back stab isn't double damage and first level is just as deadly as it always was. I've played a tiny bit ( two games) of 5th ed with other people when it first came out but playing with the guys I grew up with was a real treat.

 

[rgoodbb]

A hearty welcome back!

 

[MNblockhead]

Welcome back!

I got back into TTRPG with 5e after not having played since I think 1990, maybe 1991.

Its been great. Getting back together with old friends (having moved back to near my hometown), making new friends, having another activity to enjoy with my kids--gaming is better now than it was when I was in middle and high school. Except that I don't have nearly the amount of free time as I would like.

 

[Larnievc]

Thanks for the positivity!

I was planning on running old Dungeon mag adventures converted up to 5th ed but the hard back modules seem to be an entire campaign in a jar: are any of them any good?

When we played 2nd ed inthe before times I had a kids encyclopaedic knowledge of the game and made stuff up on the fly, likely as not. I can’t really do that yet with 5th ed.

Is there an acknowledged top 5th ed module? Tyranny of Dragons sounds cool but I’m drawn toward Princes of the Apocalypse for some old school dungeon crawling.

Any suggestions?

 

[Demetrios1453]

Thanks for the positivity!

I was planning on running old Dungeon mag adventures converted up to 5th ed but the hard back modules seem to be an entire campaign in a jar: are any of them any good?

When we played 2nd ed inthe before times I had a kids encyclopaedic knowledge of the game and made stuff up on the fly, likely as not. I can’t really do that yet with 5th ed.

Is there an acknowledged top 5th ed module? Tyranny of Dragons sounds cool but I’m drawn toward Princes of the Apocalypse for some old school dungeon crawling.

Any suggestions?

If you want something old school, I'd go with Tomb of Annihilation. Going through a massive, deadly jungle filled with undead, dinosaurs, undead dinosaurs, and a multitude of other dangerous animals and plants, to find a ruined lost city and the multi-level death-trap dungeon that lies below it, in order to stop a world-wide curse that is causing thousands to waste away to death.

 

[Stormdale]

From my PoV most need some work- some good adventure sites can be picked out of them but have not run any of them in entirety and not really endeared to any of the main storylines (aka railroad) with many them. Like Dungeon mag I plunder for ideas and don't run them as is. "Princes" has been especially useful for me in this regard- some great sites- I coupled it with the Original Hommlet adventure.

However, I am playing in Curse of Stradhd with one of my regular players DMing it and really enjoying it- lots of role playing potential with that one. Lost Mines of Phandelver is a great low level sandbox that you could look at and which I Do recommend. Tales of the Yawning Portal has an update of some earlier modules (including some 1E ones) and I'd go for that over the Hoard of the Dragon Queen.

 

[Michael LaPointe]

I'm glad you were able to reconnect with the people you played with 25 years ago. It is such a great game and good times were (hopefully) had by all!

 

[MNblockhead]

For someone who played a long time ago, who is getting back into it, and who has been converting all magazine adventures, I think you may like the following:

1. Curse of Strahd

It is VERY true to the original I6 Ravenloft Module but expanded. Tracy and Laura Hickman were involved as consultants and the main writer, Chris Perkins did an excellent job. If you are not up for a horror-themed adventure, then it is not for you, but if you want a campaign that takes the characters to 10th level and which has a sandboxy feel yet with a rich story and well-design plot threads, this is worth checking out.

2. Tomb of Annihilation

Excellent mix of grand, save-the-world story and hex crawl. This seems to have learned from the mistakes of some of the earlier modules. It is not as tight as Curse of Strahd, but doesn't have as much to fill in as Storm Kings Thunder.

3. Tales from the Yawning Portal

If you don't want to commit to a long campaign and want to play old modules in 5e, someone has already done the work for you. A number of classics here.


Keep in mind that you can also run campaigns from the Adventurers League modules, which are affordable and available in PDF format. There are also many good third-party options.

Goodman Games has republished Keep on the Borderlands, though it is pricey and contains the historic 1e versions as well as the 5e version, which is of more interest to historians and collectors.

Frog God Games has successfully funded Rappan Atthuk and City of Brass. Rappan Atthuk should be released shortly. It is a classic mega-dungeon updated for 5e. It will likely be my next campaign. Time to put aside deep stories for an old-fashioned kick-in-the-door, kills monsters, check for traps with your 10' pole dungeon.

If you support the EN World EN5ider Patreon you will have access to the Zeitgeist campaign materials updated for 5e, or you can buy directly from DTRPG. It is a steampunk-type setting, though I'm sure someone will call me out for misusing the term. For more info: https://zeitgeistadventurepath.com/)

 

[schnee]

Any one else play with short rest as 10 mins, long rest is one hour, sleep is 1/2 HD and reduced spell recovery and sleep in a good bed is full HD recovery and all spell level recovery (not that it matter much to these guys as they are 1st level)?

I'd be careful about that, try the default game first for a while to see how it works first.

Since this is the overall best-designed version of D&D that I've ever played (and I've played since 'blue book' Basic), I'd do my best to learn default game until you have a feel for it.

Even though the game IS very robust, you're pulling several different handles in different directions at once, and each one can have a big effect on the effectiveness of a different type of character class, so there's no telling what it will do to the system, and you won't have a good baseline for what the game was designed to be. You could end up nerfing the hell out of certain characters and boosting others into the stratosphere without realizing it.

And, I'd strongly urge you to resist assuming you know how everything works. It looks the same at first glance, most of the names are the same, but parts of the game have been radically re-worked an it can play deceptively differently. Don't take anything for granted, especially with spells and magic.

I did a lot of little 'tweaks' to perceived shortcomings in the game when I first played, but over time, I've stripped them all back out. The only ones left in my house rules relate to process - like 'Stats are rolled with a DM present', 'If you're not hosting or DMing then bring enough snacks to share', stuff like that.

 

[Larnievc]

I see where you’re coming from but I’m only really using the variant rules for heroic characters from the DMG.

As far as I can see (which I’m happy to be corrected if my assumption is wrong) the only thing that changes is the time frame in which the adventure takes place. By that I mean that with the heroic character rules from the DMG a few days worth of adventuring can be crammed into but a single day (with spell casters eventually needing sleep- rather than just a long rest).

Is there something obvious I’m missing? I’m not overly invested in my house rules.

 

[DRF]

Another vote for Tomb of Annihilation. It's an incredible adventure. If you need more DMing experience, definitely run "Lost Mines of Phandelver". It's a great intro adventure, and easy to run. The campaigns, like ToA, can be quite a mouthful.

 

[Larnievc]

I’m running “Beyond the Circlet” from Dungeon 130 which as luck would have it has Yuan-ti as the villains behind the scenes so that works out quite well.

 

[Larnievc]

So we had our second session, this time with 5 people (2 more from uni). I totally forgot how it can get if one person insists on role playing a character who is not sailing in formation with the others. I could see the others getting bored as the one had a whole little vignette of their introduction to the party.

By the time the second new player turned up we agreed to just re write reality to say she had always been there so we could just get on with it.

Still, it was a great two hours.

 

[Ymdar]

Recently had my 20th roleplaying anniversary, decided to create a character named after my first. Good times.

 

[Larnievc]

My first character was called Ash Terrain. I think I must have been 11? Haven’t thought about him in ages, lol.