Roll an Emotional Check

An archive of sorts for all of my Dungeons and Dragons ideas and notes on campaigns. I work in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and Fifth Edition.

[dare-to-dm]

Everyone in my gaming group is a DM as well as a player and we all take turns running campaigns.

For the last few years, there has been this trend towards each DM inventing their own special DM bucks which serve kind of the same purpose as Inspiration. They're a reward from the DM that you can cash in for in game bonuses.

For example, the guy who runs our dinosaur underdark campaign gives players a buck every whenever we complete our personal round of combat in a reasonable time frame (because it's important to him that we stay focused and keep things snappy). His bucks can then be turned in for bonuses on any d20 roll (and they add up quickly, I've got like 60 bucks, so I can pretty much always just decide to pass a check).

Anyway, I've decided to make my own reward system for my new Pathfinder campaign because sometimes peer pressure is fun. But I also like making things complicated for myself, so I'm going to be making 3 different prizes.

Might Points: Rewarded for interesting or impressive accomplishments in combat encounters.

Mystery Points: Rewarded for interesting or impressive efforts towards unraveling the mystery presented in my campaign.

Mayhem Points: Rewarded for causing general amusement at the table. (i.e. making people laugh or go whoa).

I'm thinking players can spend 1 point to give themselves a +5 on a check, which is nice enough to turn failures into successes a fair amount of the time. Spend 2 points and I'll remove the limits on the Aid Another action (normally players can only give each other +2, but with this you'd be able to add the full value of your skill check, which could make for potentially really large totals). And for 3 points, I'll let players use a mechanic their character doesn't yet have access to, but would after their next level up.

I think this sounds fun, but only time will tell if it's actually a huge pain in the ass. But I'm embracing the experimental nature of this next campaign!

[that-house]

Making a shitty one-page RPG called Oh Shit It’s the Killer. The premise is simple: you’re a high schooler spending the weekend in the woods with your besties. The Killer is there also. He is trying to the Kill you

[that-house]

I say shitty not to demean the quality of my work but because it’s less an exercise in good game design and more an attempt to induce paranoid internal conflict that turns into murder (in game of course). It has like three mechanics and one of them actively encourages you to murder the other PCs

[that-house]

Great news!

It’s done

I put like three braincells into this, so if there’s anything about it that outright sucks, uh. Sorry not sorry, L + ratio + let’s use the 1-page restriction as an excuse for any unfun mechanics

[that-house]

“What if there was a game about being a genre-savvy slasher protagonist murdering their way to the role of Final Girl?”

“Sounds cool when exactly does the PvP start”

“character creation”

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Random mansion generator

The Procgen Mansion Generator produces large three-dee dwellings to toy with your imagination, offering various architectural styles and other options. Each mansion even comes with floorplans:

https://boingboing.net/2019/07/12/random-mansion-generator.html

[something-from-elsewhere]

Oooooh! Saving this

[lady-feral]

That’s fun

[vesperlionheart]

Hey, but don’t fall asleep on this Medieval Fantasy City Generator   

[breelandwalker]

There’s also a very helpful Village Generator.

[elliottkay]

You ever find yourself fighting a bunch of dungeon monsters and wonder why they don’t just bail? Or feel like maybe there’s no way any old goblin gets paid enough to throw their life away fighting a bunch of shiny, conventionally attractive heroes?

You ever think maybe the “heroes” aren’t so heroic?

I thought about it enough to write the book. Wandering Monsters: Run Like Hell is FREE ON KINDLE DECEMBER 8-13th.

Bloody, broke, and face down on the floor is no way to end a job… even for a “monster.”

Life hasn’t been easy for Scars of No-Clan. The king has a bounty out on all monstrous folk, leaving half-orcs like Scars no choice but to work for the local evil wizard. Now adventurers have hit the wizard’s dungeon, wiping out years of hard work along with most of his co-workers. He’s left with a handful of survivors: an outcast goblin scout, a heretical gnoll, the wizard’s bizarre apprentice, a bandit cut loose from the stockade, and a murderous knife-fighting lady bugbear. They have to escape before the adventurers find them–and the only way out is through the darkest reaches of the dungeon.

Scars wanted to walk off this job the day he was hired, but going out like this is going to look terrible on his résumé.

WARNING:

RUN LIKE HELL contains explicit violence, profanity, heresy, necromancy, sexualized pyromancy, failure to give two weeks’ notice of resignation, workplace violence, lies, theft, looting, bickering, bullying, literal backstabbing, disrespect, oppression, desecration of the dead, negligent safety practices, toxic workplace culture, abuse of prisoners, starvation, endless curses, treason, harassment, unsanitary medical practices, misrepresentation of identity, flagrant abuse of authority, exploited workers, stabbing, slashing, clawing, bludgeoning, biting, stereotyping, immolations, drowning, betrayal, spontaneous unionization, destruction of a historical landmark, vast hordes of the undead, labor disputes, sacrilege, revenge, blunt discussions of cannibalism, unfulfilled dental benefits, and a full embrace of subjects targeted by the Satanic Panic of the 1980s.

I mean… this crew? This art by @sephiramy here (thank you!)? That cover by @leemoyer​ (thank you, too!)? That’s found family. And a labor dispute. And a lot of stabbing. And right now, it’s free.

[mz4250]

Today I proudly present to you all Juiblex the demon lord of slime! This was a very satisfying model to sculpt on given its just a hideous mess lol

Free stls here so you can 3D print your own: https://www.patreon.com/posts/74947217?pr=true

Some would say he's the Goncharov of the demons (ok I'm just saying that to jump on this bandwagon lol)

I love my work. More to come tomorrow friends!

Juiblex the Demon Lord of Slime ready for 3D printing!

[another-rpg-sideblog]

Map tutorials by Dyson Logos

[dragongirlcock]

[lazzmap]

After the redesign of the Cartography standards, I did another redesign, this time around, I added more details for R&D to help in making map design easier.  Something else that was requested from upper management was the addition of low, medium & high complexity maps, and the workflow chart showing how a map starts and travels through the various steps to completion within our corporate environment at that time at Wizards of the Coast.

I hope this helps everyone in creating their own maps and making gaming more fun and enjoyable for all :)

Cheers!

Lazz

[not-a-crow-in-a-hat]

ALT

View on Twitter

[vintagerpg]

If you like tables, we’ve got some books for you! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we check out Jennell Jaquays’ series of Central Casting books, for use creating both player and non-player characters of alarming depth and, sometimes, bizarre circumstances. There are three flavors: Heroes of Legend (1988), our focus, which tackles fantasy backgrounds; Heroes for Tomorrow (1989), for science fiction characters; and Heroes Now! (1991), for characters from worlds not unlike our own.

[someemochick]

[fishingscam]

op didn’t add a link so here’s a link to his patreon where all of his minis are free to download please support him if you can

[transfagrified-in-the-void]

Here is a free pdf of the players handbook

Here is a free pdf of xanathars guide to everything

Here is a free pdf to monsters manual

Here is a free pdf to tashas cauldron of everything

Here is a free pdf to dungeon master’s guide

Here is a free pdf to volo’s guide to monsters

Here is a free pdf of mordenkainen’s tomb of foes

For all your dnd purposes

[random-questions-fairy]

Oh my gosh. I just found this website that walks you though creating a believable society. It breaks each facet down into individual questions and makes it so simple! It seems really helpful for worldbuilding!

[theredscreech]

Heads up that this is a very extensive questionnaire and might be daunting to a lot of writers (myself included). That being said, it is also an amazing questionnaire and I will definitely be using it (or at the very least, some of it).

[basalt-dnd]

‘A glimmering blue tonic is set in a crystalline glass before you. The bartender, a fire genasi with a charming smile, informs you that this is his signature drink. Made from the powder of a Slaad’s crystal, he says. You can’t help but find his name, Havic, oddly fitting as he reads off a list of possible side effects. It doesn’t matter that he insists his name is spelled with an i rather than o. ‘

A Wild-Magic-like potion created by the wizard character of yours truly. Drink at your own risk!

Artwork by 000Fesbra000. He does a lot of impressive fantasy artwork, check out his page!

[ganymedesclock]

I think it’s interesting that tabletop warlock bargains generally operate on the idea of eternal servitude or owning your soul or whatever but there is a world of alternatives that range from funny, dramatic, or just plain interesting. Consider:

Patron was sealed for a long period of time, and more than seeking their revival, they miss the world and its experiences, and thus seek warlocks who are willing to share their senses with their patron and thus ameliorate the loneliness and fatigue of ages

Patron likes money and valuables and will bequeath power in exchange for a warlock who will share their adventuring fortunes. 

Patron has a chaotic sense of humor and likes fire and explosions; causing spectacular destruction pleases them.

Patron is just kind of a (relatively wholesome) frat bro who gave the warlock powers because they decided the warlock was chill and could hang, maintaining powers hinges on navigating said relationship. Patron may manifest physically for the exclusive purpose of fistbumping warlock if they do something really cool.

Patron is a foodie and warlock is a chef traveling the world looking for rare ingredients and lost techniques to construct dishes that please their patron’s palate

Patron is a literal patron- warlock is an artist of any form and the patron commissions them for works from time to time.

Warlock babysits (or performs another service) for patron, who prefers to pay them in dark powers.

Variant on above where warlock is occasionally ordered to perform various esoteric tasks such as delivering an object to a site or obtaining something and sending it to their patron- they are simply running their reclusive patron’s errands as the latter would rather not leave home.

Patron and warlock promised to be best friends forever when one or both of them was a small child and patron takes that very seriously

Patron likes blood but is disinterested in full-body sacrifices as their particular taste means that some people are exceptionally delectable to them, and it seeks to prolong those people’s lives as long as possible in exchange for semi-regular ‘blood donations’

Patron was disembodied and in exchange for being allowed to inhabit the warlock’s flesh, is willing to fight to defend the shared body.

Patron specifically seeks to cultivate adventurers and support them throughout their career, in a manner similar to a professional wrestler’s manager.

Warlock was a child sacrifice, offered live, at a dark altar; patron has an interesting definition of what ‘the child is now mine’ entails.

Patron is an alternate timeline ‘potential future’ of the warlock’s who is either trying to influence events to ensure their timeline or prevent it.

[othersidhe]

“ Patron likes blood but is disinterested in full-body sacrifices as their particular taste means that some people are exceptionally delectable to them, and it seeks to prolong those people’s lives as long as possible in exchange for semi-regular ‘blood donations’ “   This likely confuses most vampires.

[ganymedesclock]

Depending on your interpretations of vampires, you could roll this WITH a vampire as a patron. Just imagine an eccentric and highly out of touch ancient vampire noble who doesn’t get out much and is like a weird old high society uncle who chortles at your latest antics like ohohoh, delightful, take this and go give them what for, would you? and hands you an extremely evil sword.

[filibusterfrog]

core classes as undead :)

[octoswan]

I love that RPG race trail rations post, and it got me thinking about non-Eurocentric fantasy trail rations. I focused on Central and South Asian cuisines (as I also needed the information for a project I’m working on). I looked for foods that were easy to carry (dry or dehydrated), easily obtainable in markets/easily foraged, easy to cook/not needing cooking at all, and high in protein/generally filling. Many foods had language-specific names and some overlapped into different regions, so I bare-bones’d the names. This is what I came up with: 

Dried curd comes in many forms – kashk, aaruul, quroot, etc. – and was of particular interest to me, since I learned it was used since (and before) medieval times as a trail ration for soldiers and travelers because it is lightweight and high in protein. The more you know. 🌈

Tempeh is one of my favorite food options, but I should note that it originates from Southeastern Asia, Indonesia in particular. 

Bamboo is extremely handy for use as both a carrying and cooking vessel, and would save a character the hassle of bringing a skillet with them (provided the character is in an area with large bamboo and a water source). It’s a method still used today because it’s extremely efficient. Storing eggs in rice is a good way to travel with them and keep them from cracking for a short time. 

These are just some basics and I’m only scratching the surface, so if anyone has foods to add from these regions (East and Southeast Asia, too!), or any non-European region honestly, don’t hesitate to add them! 

[keplercryptids]

combat additions to make it actually take more than a round for your players to kill your cool boss

difficult terrain. flood that cavern! oops the floor is lava! make the walls attack and grapple!

environmental effects in general. make an avalanche happen as soon as combat starts. combat during a storm is a great opportunity for lightning to strike. rain, snow, darkness, distance, fog, anything that'll impose disadvantage on their hits.

charm and fear effects. charm/fear conditions on a PC or two can totally turn the tide of an encounter.

straight up just swallow a PC or two. sometimes ingestion is the answer.

official statblock be damned, your boss should ALWAYS have additional legendary actions and/or resistances, condition and damage resistances/immunities, multiple attacks (probably more than the statblock says) and a motherfucking escape plan!

portals. seriously, just chuck some portals in there. I've never run a combat that couldn't be improved by the addition of a portal or two.

time constraints, mid-combat puzzles, a non-combat goal, anything the PCs have to do during the fight that isn't actually fighting.

in general, just get weird with it! wizards of the coast doesn't own you! no gods no masters! hit harder and have more fun!