Solo's DM Blog

Where I store and share all my dming stuffs. Submissions and requests welcome!

[solosilas]

NPC IDEA

Cornelious: A holy paladin who has been cursed with immortality, but his body rots. A swarm of honey bees have built a hive inside his body using an old arrow hole in the chest of his armor as an entry. They have a symbiotic relationship, his travels provide the bees with new flowers and fields, the honey the bees produce helps slow down and preserve his rotting flesh.

He is lawful good, traveling the wildlands aiding where he can. Though often mistaken for a monster by common folk.

If Cornelious is threatened, 1d4 swarms of bees will come out of his armor to defend their hive every round until threat is neutralized or settled. (use stats from monster manual)

[solosilas]

Solo's sketch book. Practicing hands.

[solosilas]

My party trying to accomplish anything productive.

[solosilas]

"If we kill all the civilians, then the villain won't have anyone to victimize!"

The parties mage trying to reason using genocide to save a village.

[solosilas]

3 rounds of combat

Is that some kind of record?

"Me congratulating the party after they completely self-destructed and party wiped during an encounter."

[solosilas]

Human race variant

Sumer (Soo-mare) or of the sumerian peoples

Int +2 Cha +1 Str -2

Collective Knowledge: The people of Sumer are highly intelligent and experts and keeping records as well as knowledge. As a Sumer you have grown up in libraries and lecture halls. You have proficiency in all history checks.

Persuasive: You have grown up haggling and bartering for most everything in the market, as is your people’s customs. You have proficiency in all persuasion checks.

The peoples of Sumer are a highly intelligent and crafty race. They take great joy in keeping records and histories. If only to use them to blackmail someone later. The Sumer loves to haggle, and it is considered a great offense to not haggle with a Sumer, as they see paying full price as a statement of higher status than the seller. Their schools of magic train their youth at a young age to master this art with precision and grace. Their thirst for knowledge carries them far from home.

[solosilas]

Human race variation.

Gall or of the Gallic Empire.

+2 STR +1 WIS -2 INT

Intimidating Pose: As a member of the proud and mighty Gallic Empire your reputation and natural warrior stance give even the most stalwart creature hesitation. You have proficiency on all intimidation checks.

Natural Habitat: As a tribal race, you were raised to live off the land. You are proficient in all nature and survival checks while in your home biome.

Description: Mother tribe, neighboring tribes, all of Gall, the gods, and self. These are the most important things to all Gallic citizens in order. A nobel and proud race of human who choose to live in small tribes governed by larger, multi tribe run city-states. Renowned for their druids and barbaric warfare, the Gall have carved a place in this world for themselves and will guard it with honor. Most stay with their tribes,some leave their tribes in search of riches, or fame. Using their skills as mercenaries or adventures.

[solosilas]

DM screens, and why I never use them.

A DM has an arsenal of tools at his disposal during the course of a campaign. The screen being one. It hides the dice rolls, conceals notes, and acts as a staging area for miniatures to be placed. So if it is such a great tool, why would I refuse to use one?

The answer to that is a little complex. So I'll start with the easiest reasons first.

1: All dice rolls are visible to all players.

This was the primary reason I stopped using a screen. With every DM roll in the open for all players to see I found that each attack held a certain tension, players held their breath as the damage dice hit the table, and the saves made the hair on the backs of everyone's neck stand up.

This happens for two reasons. The first being that when they can see the dice, there is no argument. It gives a sense of permanence. Secondly, when they are watching you roll as opposed to just waiting for you to narrate the results they are more submerged. They tense in anticipation as they await the bugbear's club to fall. They instantly know the results and cannot deny them. Just as if the bugbear had hit the player and not the char. They witness the damage dealt and know how lethal it was instantly.

Without the cushion of the screen the strong rolls are much more brutal an experience, and the terrible rolls are that much more comical for all players at the table, including you, the dm.

Reason 2: The DM screen creates a barrier between you and the players both physically, and mentally.

Anyone who has been on either side of that screen for any amount of time can attest to the fact that after a while it creates a stifling atmosphere. A "Me vs Them", or "The DM is against us." Kind of vibe. In reality you are all playing the same game together. Why create this unnecessary division between yourselves. By removing the screen I found the players much more willing to engage me as an NPC or to ask questions regaurding the area they are in. Compared to the divisive nature groups take with a screen. "Why ask when the DM will just lie to us" is a real phrase I have heard many times at many tables.

Finally

Reason 3: It made me a much better, and more efficient note taker.

Without my screen to pile loads of notes and other clutter behind, I was forced to minimalize and shorthand all my notes. Before, it was not unusual for me to have 2 or 3 folders, a binder, and a notebook all open at once behind my screen. While all that information was useful, it bogged my games down terribly. Removing the screen forced me to condense all that into a handful of coded notes in a single notebook.

Now where there used to be constant stops and breaks in rp for me to dig through notes, there is a steady and unbroken rp session as well as encounter sequences. I have found that player emersion is much stronger now, and I have much less to carry! Setup and tear down time is less also, which allows sessions to run a little longer, which is nice when the climax of a battle comes right down to the wire.

In conclusion

While using a screen has a few advantages, I personally have found that it's drawbacks far surpass them. Using a screen as a crutch to fudge rolls, stifles characters and removes any risk, and makes players distrust your calls. Using it to hide notes creates a break in emersion and continuity, and creates a physical barrier that becomes a mental barrier between yourself and your players.

[solosilas]

My party fighting Krampus for Christmas. I drew the Krampus mini just for this one shot. They bombed it. Accidentally killed all the children by blindly shooting a fireball spell into a room before checking it out, then almost dying to Krampus. It was a lovely Christmas special.

[solosilas]

Dm thoughts

Do you remember when you were a kid, and your parents taught you that sharing was cool so they wouldn't have to hear your siblings whine about you hogging the cool toys?

Then a while later you find yourself eating with a friend. Well this fatass friend goes and wolfs down all his french fries before you, and now he's just sitting there with a stupid look on his face eye fuckin your fries.

Well all that sharing is cool bullshit has been hammered in your head, so you offer him a few of your fries, but you hope to god he says no. He doesn't, instead he just wolfs down your fries too. So now you sit there dissapointed. Disappointed in yourself for knowing what would happen, disappointed in your fatass friend for being himself, and disappointed in your parents for such shitty life advice.

Well that's life in it's entirety. The whole thing, from front to back. That's real life, and by god that should be in our rpg life.

Those experiences are what gives us character. Don't rob your players of that. If you just hand them plot hook after plot hook, lay it all out in front of them like spoonfeeding babies split pea mush, they will never learn anything. We as DMs should lead them on, give them dead ends, show them disappointment.

Now I'm not saying eat all their french fries, but a good handful anyways. That magic item that they were promised? A single use charm of unlocking. That massive bounty promised? A hat passed amongst the poor citizens for a few copper coins.

You see, your heroes are more than treasure grubbing meat heads. They are citizens of your world. They are people themselves, and as much as the dwarven fighter wants to be a mizer with a hammer fueled by bloodlust, he's still a citizen. Show him that. Give him the opportunity to develop that moral compass he thinks he's got all worked out.

That's all for now.

[solosilas]

Christmas card from my best friend

[solosilas]

[solosilas]

The party's ranger broke the game in a splendid way today.

So the party was having a conversation with an ancient iron dragon, attempting to win his favor and learn some things regaurding the current campaign. During their conversation an adult red dragon from the chromatic council arrives to confront the iron dragon. A violent argument erupts, spurred on by our antagonistic ranger. Soon enough the breath weapons come out and the area is an inferno. Pools of boiling organic iron and flames are everywhere. Smack in the middle of the fray is our ranger, now on fire. Our ranger had 2 kegs of gunpowder on his person for some other scheme he was working on at the time. So in the midst of battle, using himself as a living fuse, he detonates the kegs of gunpowder directly beneath the red dragon. This kills both him and the dragon instantly. The iron dragon is severely wounded, and the paladin survives, but is left unconscious. This would typically be a pretty awesome thing, but the party was level 3 at the time, and he just singlehandedly rendered 2 dragons unconscious or dead. The resulting exp jumped the remaining party members from lvl 3 to lvl 6.

The first thing the ranger asks when the dust settles is if he can be revived....

[basalt-dnd]

Two of my favorite Del Toro monsters, adapted for D&D 5e. I first wrote ‘Handsight’ as ‘Sight of Hand’ on the Pale Man’s statblock, but my puns are notoriously awful. As you can tell.

And yes, Sammael doesn’t split in this statblock, so that he’s actually possible to kill. If anyone is interested in Sammael stats without a weakened tongue attack and with splitting abilities, just let me know.

[xanth-the-wizard]

Random Wilderness Encounters (1d20) #5

[1] A group of Goblins attack! After giving them a good licking you run into them again. And again… And again. Maybe we should just make peace with these dorks

[2] Introduce the most ridiculous NPC and have them stuck in some quicksand. Really let their character shine through, whether they are stupidly entertaining or horribly unbearable

[3] A strange light glows in the distance on top of a mountain. Is this a sign of good fortune or something much more sinister?

[4] A lone child plays the flute in the forest, they appear almost ethereal. It is a haunting melody

[5] Shattered Gargoyles sit in an overgrown garden, a treasure chest lies among the rubble

[6] Pick your favorite Cryptid and make them canonical to your world. Have the beast stalk the party for mysterious cryptic reasons. And yes, the Loch Ness Monster is an excellent choice

[7] The forest clearing leads to a crystal clear freshwater lake. In the depths of the water something terrifying is waiting to be discovered

[8] Two hyper intelligent, talking rabbits stop the party in their tracks. All they request are some books to read

[9] A tree, twice as tall as the others appears to be growing… Weapons? (All of those are cursed, of course)

[10] Next to the road, a group of Archaeologists are taking dirt samples. They’re convinced they will find some buried artifacts in the area. They are willing to pay a ridiculous sum of money if you give them some assistance, just as long as you keep this whole thing to yourselves

[11] Resting through the night was very pleasant for the party leader. When they attempt to greet their comrades, they have found themselves in a bed a long ways away from their resting point

[12] Dried up lake beds and decaying trees among a field of animal bones. You have reached the outside of a Necromancer’s circle

[13] Orcs with a sense of humor attempt to prank the party. Their prank is perfectly harmless, it involves just a little bit of bottled unicorn piss

[14] Travel is impossible on this moonless night. Unfortunately, sleeping until morning does not solve the situation, nighttime persists indefinitely

[15] A colorful formation on the side of the mountain piques your interest. Inside lies the abandoned home of a giant and it is full of unique treasure. Let’s just hope something else hasn’t taken residence within the forgotten halls

[16] Tons of bubblegum covers the roads, it is awful to travel through. The source of this mishap is a young Wizard with a sweet tooth

[17] Crashed into the side of a plateau, a metallic construct with strange markings and glowing lights. Surely this isn’t an actual extraterrestrial?

[18] While foraging for food, the party find a path of mushrooms leading into a dense Fungal Forest. Rare and undiscovered fungi grow within

[19] The most obnoxious bard in the world joins the party at their campfire. They claim to be weak and in need of good company, offering booze to win them over. Did I mention this bard is an infamous necromancer on the run? Yeah, that might be important to know

[20] Have you ever heard of the Adventure Zone? Well, Taako, Magnus and Merle have suddenly found themselves into your campaign. They are completely lost

(Feel free to use and reformat to your campaign. More Random Encounters on Tuesdays!)

[5epokedex]

#086-087 Seel and Dewgong

When polar lights shine over arctic skies, it’s a sign that Dewgong and their pups, Seel, are present. Attuned to the majesty and magic of isolated, frozen lands, this good-natured Pokémon is capable of conjuring frigid winds and radiant auroras from thin air.

Go With the Floe. Seel and Dewgong are slow and clumsy on land, but they still need to rest on solid ground. For this reason, they tend to crowd in groups of approximately one dozen on drifting ice floes, glaciers, and arctic beaches. At night, all of the Dewgong in a given group summon a massive aurora in the sky above them. Each Dewgong can create a unique aurora, and each group’s aurora is a distinct combination of each individual aurora. A single group’s aurora can be seen from miles away at night, and serve as beacons for any Seel or Dewgong that swam too far from their home during the day. By following their group’s aurora, they can find their way home.

Icebreakers. The horns on a Seel or Dewgong’s head are incredibly hard. They may appear awkward and impotent on land, but even a grounded thrust can dent or even pierce armor. While swimming, Dewgong become veritable missiles, punching through arctic ice like paper in order to chase fish, squid, and other prey. Friendly groups of Dewgong will even clear paths for sailing ships that may be trapped by encroaching floes. They like to help fishing vessels the most, because they usually offer their cargo as a delicious token of gratitude.

#088-089 Grimer and Muk

Grimer can best be described as mounds of slime or sludge that have been brought to life by unknown means. In this way, they are similar to the monstrous oozes that plague dungeons and other dank pits across the realm. Some theories suggest that mysterious rays from space brought these Pokémon to life, while another asserts that each Grimer is the descendant of a mud puddle targeted by the *awaken* spell that went on to literally multiply. Whatever the means of their animation, a Grimer must maintain constant mental concentration in order to keep itself constituted. Because of this, they are notably weak to psychic assaults.

Swarms of Sludge. Grimer congregate in large clans and cover their territory in their own filth. This sticky film slows and can even trap intruders, but doesn’t impede the Grimer at all—in fact, by spewing their sludge on walls, they can even ooze up sheer surfaces with relative ease. When a clan’s territory is threatened, the Grimer will mobilize quickly, belching as much sludge as they can while swarming the offending creature as a single, mighty wave. Together, the Grimer attempt to bury the intruder beneath their weight and suffocate it with their nauseating stench.

Mighty Muk. A clan of Grimer is typically led by an exceptionally large and powerful specimen: the Muk. In addition to being much bigger than the Grimer it leads, the sludge that comprises the Muk is several times more potent than that of its underlings, making it even more dangerous than its increased size suggests. This more potent sludge is thicker and syrupier than that of the Grimer, too, though Muk can alter their body’s density at will. In doing so, they can steel themselves against attacks, scrape roughly along the ground, or thin themselves to float gently over water.

Slimy Sentries. Because their bodies are mostly liquid, Grimer and Muk must establish their clans near water in order to survive. They are typically found deep in forested bogs, urban sewers, and other repugnant, polluted places. Their habitats occasionally overlap with hags’ lairs, and hags ambitious enough to tame them (and hardy enough to withstand the stench) occasionally train these oozes as stalwart, but smelly sentries against trespassers. Reportedly, tamed Muk are surprisingly affectionate, but their slimy, rancid embrace can make for “tough love.”

[solosilas]

The rough draft for my holiday campaign setting map.