Dungeon Master Rants and Raves

The tales and woes of being a Dungeon Master as well as occasionally being a D&D Player

[deardnddiary]

Dear DnD Diary - Mrs Skullhead, final part. Read the rest here:

https://tapas.io/series/Dear-DnD-Diary

[sylfina]

You murdered an attempted murder

DM Quote out of context

[sylfina]

Character Creation!

I’m starting work on creating a whole tribe of Kitsune’s for my current campaign! Shoot me some ideas and I’ll work them into my character creations! Looking for class ideas, character ideas and flaws, what kind of foxes I should use, anything!

[sylfina]

Easter Special!

To do backstory with two of my PC’s, Kala and Zorakus, I decided to let them go through an Easter-themed adventure, set two years before the rest of the campaign had begun. 

______________________________________________________________________

We begin in on the road towards CrystalForge with two weary travelers on horseback. Both horses are spooked off the road by a fox and stumble upon a slightly foot-beaten path in the woods. As the two riders try to make sense of what has happened, two panthers slip past them and the pair follows behind them silently. Suddenly, the two panthers shift into slenderly built golden-haired and the pair quickly whip around as they hear an examination from behind them.

Standing there is both a grey tiefling, Zorakus, and an air genasi, Kala, staring in awe at the two wood-elf druids before them. Zorakus and Kala introduced themselves to the elves and were introduced to Morwin and Daeven. They are graciously welcomed into the town of Rosefall, populated solely by wood elves, all of which are druids. As the foreign pair look around the town they take in festive decorations of colored eggs, rabbit and egg-shaped banisters, wonderful scents of freshly made festival food, the squealing of youth running about, and yet are also greeted by an unsettling sight: any teenaged elves are wearing rabbit masks that only expose their eyes and mouth. 

The pair follows Morwin and Daeven to the town’s library, taking in the sights of the small building structures that are all overgrown with ivy and flowering plants. Upon entrance to the library, Zorakus and Kala separate in hopes of discovering more about Rosefall. Kala searches through children’s books for local fables, while Zorakus spends hours searching for the town history to no avail. While Zorakus spends hours reading, Kala finished his light reading and headed outside to scope the area for festive activities. Noticing a small stand with rabbit masks, each uniquely decorated,  Kala makes his way over to learn more about the festival. He learns that the masks represent the type of animal the druids turn into and is handed one to represent his spiritual aura. Zorakus soon joins him and receives a mask as well. 

The two adventure about the town for the remainder of the day to enjoy the festive activities and run into a young child wearing all pink. The three compare ages, discovering that the child is actually the oldest amongst them, and are invited to spend the night in the home of Morwin and Daeven. Once shown to their room they are warned to not leave at all after midnight, for their own safety.

During the night Kala and Zorakus both wake up to a strange sensation and the sound of scratching at their door. Roars and squawking echo from the room as they have both been magically transformed into the animals that their masks represented. Kala, now a large brown bear with blue crescents under his eyes and a golden chin to lip line, and Zorakus, now a small saw-whet owl, try to calm down, but panic as parts of their door is being ripped apart. The two bust open the door to be greeted by an oversized housecat that leads them downstairs to a congregation of nearly 25 panthers. The two do their best to blend in, failing to do so and are called out by Morwin and Daeven after the congregation for disobeying the one rule they were asked to follow. The two are escorted back upstairs and are closed off in their room once more.

Zorakus begins to panic once more, fearing the possible consequences for leaving the room and before Kala can adjust to his new strength, he pats Zorakus too strongly on the head and knocks him out. The two rest through a good chunk of the morning, Kala being abruptly awoken by a tap of Zorakus’ staff and a Mage Hand slap to the face due to frustration about the previous night. 

The pair head downstairs and are informed of a local egg hunt occurring. While it is common practice for only children to participate the two have been allowed the honor of joining since they are outsiders who seemed interested in understanding Rosefall’s culture. During the egg hunt, Zorakus manages to find an excessively large chocolate egg, and once discovered by Morwin, and is asked to guard it through the night in the middle of the town square. Kala joins Zorakus in his guard-duty to see if he can catch a glimpse of the fabled Easter Bunny that is revered by the town. Through the night the two hear a slight cracking of the chocolate egg and are surprised to see a chocolate wyrmling clamber out of the egg, which instantly attacks Zorakus as he moves closer to see it.

During a struggle to kill the wyrmling the Easter Bunny appears to collect any eggs left outside and watches the pair struggle with wyrmling. Upon the death of the creature, the Easter Bunny promptly eats it and nods fair well to the pair, disappearing from sight as he does so.

The two awake the next morning in the town square, both wearing their masks, and are greeted with wide-eyed faces of children looming over them. Having enough of the strange customs of the town the pair head off in their own directions, putting as much distance between the town and each other as possible.

[hummbirds]

Unamused.png (WIP)

This is probably going to be Alea’s general attitude for about 90% of the time our party isn’t fighting something.

[sylfina]

This truly will be Alea’s attitude most of the time! Zorakus isn’t going anywhere yet!

[diary-of-a-mad-black-dragon]

Reblog if you are open to answering questions and giving advice for Dungeons & Dragons or other table top games.

Feel free to put in the tags how best to contact you and maybe what games or editions you know best.

Edit: since some were a little confused, I wanted to clarify that I am not looking for advice. I’m just trying to make it known to those new to the hobby that myself and many many other people are willing to help.

[fortethebard]

When your players have been arguing over how to get from one side of the room to the other for two freaking hours…

[sylfina]

This happened recently in my last session I ran this past Friday.

[sylfina]

Homebrewed Item for one of my campaigners, Alea ( @hummbirds )

Orbs of Darkness Usage Time: 1 action Range: 10 feet without breaking if thrown. If thrown farther, roll 1d6. On a 1, the orb breaks. Can be rolled as long as no obstacles obstruct its path.

Duration: Permanent or until a large enough light spell is cast

Calling on the limitless darkness of the Shadowfell, you coax darkness into a fragile glass sphere the size of a marble. The light absorption ranges from all light to a slight dimming in lights. The level of light taken in is determined by 1d4, 1= takes in one candle's light, 2= takes in 2 lantern's light, 3= dim light, 4= total absorption. There is no limit to the number of orbs you can possess and there is no limit on how many orbs can be used in a single moment.

If an orb is smashed, the magic is lost and the light, that has now been converted to darkness, is released into a 15-foot radius.

Magic Focus: A glass sphere (50 gp for a pouch of 10) into which the light is placed and is converted into darkness. An orb usable for this purpose has a hardness of 0 and 2 hit points.

[sylfina]

The Never Ending Bag

 Who has the stickiest fingers in the group? Why not put your skills the test and steal that Bag of Holding you say lying about in the bizarre. Crystalforge is known for its weird places to buy magical items, but why buy it when you could just steal it instead! During your trip to the bizarre, you have just passed a stand that has a Bag of Holding for sale, at a low price of 600 GP! Will you save up to potentially lose the item, or will you work your stealth skills and steal the bag, and anything that it may have inside of it too.

This was a sidequest that was unfortunately completely skirted past in our most recent sessions and the party will now begin their journey outside of Crystalforge! Oh well, time to format a new, fun, and easy sidequest for the future!

[sylfina]

Fun Starting Point for Any D&D Campaign!

Before we started our full campaign I had each of the players write down 5 rumors that related to their characters. These rumors included 2 good, 2 bad, and 1 false rumor. I compiled the list so I could have the rumors on hand in case any character ever wanted to try and ease drop on conversations to try and pick up hints about the other members of their party. If the situation is appropriate, and the perception check is satisfactory, then I will pass out the rumors to individuals that may have overheard the new tidbit of information. The most entertaining part will be to watch them decide if they believe the rumor is good, bad, or possibly false!

[homemademoonbeams]

shoutout to people with ocs

[pcthetics-deactivated20161211]

that are either for fandom or purely original projects. you just spend so many hours constructing them from essentially dirt.

shoutout to people with ocs who have them go through a million changed names and a million changed backstories, and still don’t feel like they’re up to the developmental standards that they should be…but they’re still loved by you regardless. shout out to people with ocs who want to share them with others, but are too anxious to tell information about them out of fear of judgment or laughter. And shout out to these same people who’re obviously adoring their creations but feel scared as shit to express the love out of your friend’s potential annoyance. shout out to people who make their ocs align with themselves in surname or quirks or just giving them those softer, hidden traits that also make you, you. to the peeps who feel so disappointed with their creations because again, they don’t feel good enough or accurate enough compared to other ocs. Nothing is perfect on the first draft, but they’re getting closer to perfected imperfection. to the creators who will write paragraphs about those brain children, paragraphs and concepts that have been building up for months only to be greeted with no response or simple replies such as, ‘oh.’ or to people who actually pay attention to them, and ask the BIG QUESTIONS and you’re just internally screaming and have to put on this cool act. shout out to people who spend hours thinking about how they sound like. (listening to voice clips for HOURS just thinking about your characters) What songs can apply to their personality and lifestyle…how they apply to them specifically.  shout out to big-brained creators who have a hundred and one characters and are greeted with, ‘isn’t that enough?’ when you talk about the concept of making a new one. If shows can have a vast cast of more than a ten to twenty characters, you can have your own vast cast too.  this post is just for people who feel so uneasy being so deeply involved and enthused in their creations. as if, there should be a limit on this type of love.  fandom ocs get stepped over and judged on sight, non-fandom ocs really get stepped over. But all that work and construction is valid and shows in your explanatory essay of their favorite genre. 

1k notes. this post got 1k notes. I am so happy and thankful that it managed to spread out of my small dashboard corner and touch people. 

[rocky-ds-stuffs-deactivated2018]

Reblog it with your OC’s in tags!

Go on, do it.

[hummbirds]

Anyone who has an OC of any kind, read this :)

[sylfina]

I don’t know what I would do without all of my OC’s, I can’t even imagine tagging all of them!

[hummbirds]

So I’ve managed to get roped into DMing a game of D&D for my roommates…while I’ve played some D&D, I’ve never DM’d before. And while one of them has watched a lot of D&D, neither of the other two have actually played. So…new experiences for everyone?

These are just some tokens I’ve made up of the party since we’re using Roll20. There’s Sylfina the wood elf sorceror, Azarik the drow rogue, and Mirian the human fighter, who is a character I’ll have control over, but is basically there to babysit in case something goes horribly wrong (due to first-time things all around). There’s also Tolin the dragonborn paladin, but I haven’t got his token made yet and his player may/may not be able to make every session.

[sylfina]

I miss my baby Sylfina! These are pixels done by @hummbirds for her session that she is DMing for our suite! I hope to get in touch with Sylfina again by possibly drawing her into the campaign I am currently DMing for a bit of stealthy stealing shinanigans! 

[hummbirds]

“Hello there. Care for a drink?”

Finished piece! …With a bit of a crummy rushed bar background.

First session with this character was today! Unfortunately not quite everyone could make it, so just a good bit of introductory rp and a first delve into combat.

Also learned that despite having a base AC of 13, under the right conditions Alea here can (temporarily) reach an effective AC of 21. A few more ability score increases in dex and it’ll reach 23. Eeeeeeeup.

[sylfina]

Just wow!!!! Absolutely amazing art by @hummbirds of her character Alea! This was a great image to keep in mind during any recent bar scenes with Alea and the group!

[hummbirds]

D&D shenanigans doodles!

1. “I’m not being mean, this dude’s just being a creep” - in reference to one of the other pcs who sorta keeps trying to talk to her but is socially awkward.

2. Base AC = 13. Add mage armor: (base 13 + dex mod), AC = 16. Add shield of shadows (reaction, gives ¾ cover if in dim light), AC = 21 until her next turn. Good luck hitting her when all that is active!

3. Misty stepping above the last enemy and driving shadow blade into its back. Very satisfying combo

[sylfina]

Wonderful recap of the first battle Alea, as well as Sui and Zorakus, encountered in our campaign! This took place the forming of Ravens Keep, the group that consists of Alea, Kala, and Zorakus, and it was an epic beginning battle against some pissed off Displacer Beasts!

[hummbirds]

Painty things! The socially awkward tiefling from a campaign I’m in has managed to get his hands on a hawk fox. So a hawk fox.

The black paint is very reflective, it’s hard to get a picture.

[sylfina]

An amazing painting of Zorakus’s silver hawkfox, Esmerelda, done by the ever so talented @hummbirds

Hopefully one day Esmerelda will be introduced to the rest of the party, but currently she is a secret to all.

[hummbirds]

Messing about with a Nenya doodle! She’s gonna have a stint as an NPC in the D&D campaign I’m in for *character backstory and drama* reasons, since she’s technically my PC’s younger sister.

Though whether we’ll get to a point where she’s even there is up for debate, since we only just had session 3 and my DM already had to:

1. Pull minor magic transportation shenanigans “because I said so” to try and get the party in the same place to talk down one of the other PCs

2. Pull magic nullifying shenanigans on the same PC to keep him from just leaving the area, then giving him plenty of time to have a reasonable discussion

3. Watch me and the other PC try in vain to calm the troublesome PC down. I was one point away on my roll to intimidate (read: curse out in Infernal) him into submission. Meanwhile, he continues to ignore the other PC’s attempts to reason with him. We just ended up giving up and letting him hash it out with the NPCs.

4. Call down literal divine intervention to wipe the memories of anyone involved of what happened to cause the disagreement and of the disagreement in the first place. And I’m pretty sure the PC’s player still doesn’t get it.

This bodes great for the direction this campaign is going.

…In other news, Alea (my PC) now has a staff that can make flowers grow. I can’t wait to summon impromptu-cover Sunflowers. :D

[sylfina]

One of the lovely PC’s who has been dragged in joining Raven’s Keep, a possible train wreck waiting to happen! It’ll be interesting to see where this group decides to go!

[sylfina]

Storytelling in Crystalforge

As the lights dim your eyes adjust to the darkness around you, some more quickly than others, you hear the faint whisper of screams. A woman appears on the stage, covered in blood (perception check to see if you can tell if it is fake or not), and she falls to her to knees. Her sobs are drowned out as a voice floats over the crowd, “She was not the only victim of the plague set upon our lands” as you watch shadows form into humanoid shapes, “countless wives, children, and citizen were left without a single soul left in their family other than their own and many others were seen covered in the blood of others before they took their final breaths,” the woman rises but there is clearly a rope hung around her neck now, “but one would come to save us all.”

  A male figure covered in shimmering gold armor, a golden sword at his hip, walks out onto the stage. A mask covers his face, giving him a more porcelain doll-like appearance, but his blonde hair (perception check, if failed sees blonde, if passed see orangish colored hair) flows freely around his ears. The man walks to the center of the stage, the woman has now exited the stage and looks over your heads and into the unknown.

  “Crystalforge was the heart of the Demon War, the most destroyed and devastated area until the Golden Knight appeared. The Golden Knight was not like any other soldier we had ever seen and have ever seen since.” The man draws his sword as a brick red tiefling enters the stage with flames surrounding its horns and a large, flowing, black cloak surrounded them.

  “We all feared the Demon King, though we do not do so today. He had killed hundreds of our citizens and his spawn destroyed our homes and those horrid creatures still roam our lands today.” A thick fog seems to pour out from underneath the tiefling’s cloak as it steps closer, a wicked smile ripping across its face, to the knight the dimming lighting is now gone and only the light of the flames around the tiefling’s horns are visible and a deathly growl echoes from the stage. “You will rue the day I die.” You can hear a few of the audience members gasping and a small child can be heard whispering their fears to whoever had brought them.

  As the crowd settles down the lights rise, emulating a brilliant sunrise, behind the Golden Knight and you are both temporarily blinded as your eyes adjust to the brightness once more. The tiefling is now gone, but its black cloak has fallen upon the stage in front of the Golden Knights who is now holding both of the horns that were on the tieflings head.

  “Our Golden Knight, just as the sun rises, rises up against the evil of the Demon King and brings us to our salvation. We know our Golden Knight is still out there, fighting the demons that still plague the country, keeping all of those who reside in Drachurst safe from the demon hoards!” The crowd cheers as the Knight bows, the horns disappearing from his hands in a black cloud of smoke and the sword being returned back to his belt. The cheering continues as the knight walks off stage, returning with the woman, tiefling, and a tall female elf. They all bow and you hear the voice that was calling out to the audience now come from the elf on stage, “For those who can, or care to, come join us at The Puzzled Crow Tavern for the drinks and more fables! Tonight we will be telling of the fabled Kebrook and all of its mysterious glory!”