TRPG General Chat

Black Spike

1:23 AM

@Shalvenay And Princes!

Shalvenay

@BlackSpike eheheh

Black Spike

And possibly Wizards (of any gender they choose)

Shalvenay

well, not my current wizard of choice, but they come from a decidedly martial wizarding tradition :P (never mind that they never were into wizard's robes to begin with -- he pretty much wore a ranger's wardrobe while apprenticing in the tower he studied at before his studies took the turn that he is currently on)

Black Spike

My Merlin Cosplay was a Robe.

Shalvenay

yeah, I'd need more bodypaint than anything else to cosplay said wizard :P (he's about the color of a desaturated smurf)

Black Spike

1:29 AM

:D

Shalvenay

@BlackSpike a witch to go with the wizard, I see :D

Black Spike

Morgana le Fey. :)

(You seen "Excalibur"? 1981. )

Hottest day of the year, and we're wearing fur cloaks. I have jeans on under my robes. And my hat is basically cardboard! :D

Shalvenay

eheh

Black Spike

<smug mode> we got an Honourable Mention for the costumes. Was a Comic-Con, mainly anime, with Joker/harley, and a few Deadpools. We gotto parade on stage with everyone else in costume, and that lady in the background of the pic demanded that alongside the 3 "real" winners (who were VERY good), they got to pick 3 Others, so we got our Moment in the Spotlight! :)

V2Blast

@BlackSpike Nice!

Shalvenay

1:43 AM

and yes, nice work :D

Black Spike

Thanks. All @Lucretia's work. I just put the dress /s ROBES on, and pranced /s Paraded around :)

I used to think Fancy Dress was all a bit silly. But then I tried it ... and I am now convinced that it is very silly. And very good! :)

We've done:
Merlin and Morgana
Dr Who and The Master
Ripley and Vasquez
The Briarwoods (Critical Role)
Pumat Sol (Critical Role) (with Merlin)

BESW

@BlackSpike Which Doctor?

Black Spike

Tom Baker

BESW

Iconic.

Black Spike

Not the best pic :(

With some 'real' Doctors (or at least they played them on TV!)

Black Spike

2:17 AM

And if I can just keep <smug> running a little longer: We met Matt Mercer! :)
Critical Role attended a Comic-Con, and we signed up to get Autographs ("everyone expect Matt Mercer", as he was expensive, and over-subscribed :( ).
We went as Pumat Sol, and Merlin (as one of the guys is a Excalibur fan). We're getting said-guy to sign her PHB, and Matt leans over ...
Matt: "HEY! Cool Merlin costume!" ...
Me: <pushes @Lucretia forwards> all her work!
Made the f@$"$%^& long wait worth while! :)
She went home happy.

MikeQ

@BESW Have you checked out Dragon Prince season 3 yet?

BESW

Not yet. Last night we finished She-Ra, caught up with The Good Place, and watched more of a Control playthrough.

Hot RPG Questions

1

Q: Has anyone done research on average RPG probabilities?

I've been looking at designing an RPG system lately and I'm currently considering where to set the "difficulty" of a roll at to get some satisfying results. I'm wondering - has anyone researched some "average" RPG probabilities that "feel good"? My guess would be having something like a 50% succ...

Black Spike

3:12 AM

Hope you find a suitable solution.
Kids are remarkably resilient, and so long as they know you're trying to do the right thing, they're usually ok :)
Ask them what they want to do?

nitsua60

3:23 AM

@BlackSpike Not so much the kids as the in-law. The kids'll be fine, she's just feeling conflicted.

Hot RPG Questions

4:30 AM

1

Q: What are the maximum hit points of an NPC?

Every player at a D&D table knows both their character's current and maximum hit points at any given time. I, as the DM determine the current hp of any NPC that the players encounter, either by rolling dice or taking an average value (as an example, let's say my NPC has 5 hit dice, a size categ...

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V2Blast

5:24 AM

@BlackSpike Awesome :D

@MikeQ Oh yeah, I forgot that was out. Guess I know what I'm watching tonight :)

Hot RPG Questions

6:14 AM

1

Q: What are the stat modifiers (other than Dex) that can be used when calculating AC?

As far as my knowledge of D&D goes there are 2 ways to determine AC: 1. Calculation of AC through Base + Stat modifiers Examples of these AC calculations are: Unarmored = 10 + Dex mod Unarmored defense, such as Barbarian = 10 + Con mod + Dex mod Light armors, such as Leather Armor = 11 + Dex ...

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Hot RPG Questions

7:16 AM

2

Q: Does a Paladin with the Divine Health feature destroy a Green Slime?

The Green Slime (DMG, p105) is a dungeon hazard, and any effect that cures disease [...] destroys a patch of green slime. A Paladin, from level 3, is immune to disease thanks to the Divine Health feature. Does that mean that, if a Green Slime drops on one, it is destroyed? Or would the slim...

dnd-5e class-feature paladin environmental-hazards disease

7

Q: How can I run a realistic open-world game with vast power differences, without resulting in constant TPKs?

I would like to run a game with an open world, where the party can explore unconstrained. I would like to do it in D&D 5E, but the power differences are very stark between levels. How can I make the world realistic, without scaling everything up as the players advance their levels (so, first only...

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Hot RPG Questions

3:14 PM

6

Q: Would the Slow spell block a Hunter ranger from using Volley or Whirlwind Attack?

The Slow spell includes this rule for any creature affected by it: Regardless of the creature's abilities or magic items, it can't make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn. A Ranger with the Hunter archetype gets the Multiattack feature at level 7, letting them choose to ...

dnd-5e spells class-feature attack ranger

Shalvenay

5:46 PM

hey there @Glazius and @ACuriousMind

ACuriousMind

ahoi @Shalvenay

Shalvenay

@ACuriousMind how're things going?

ACuriousMind

Quite alright :) How're things on your end?

Shalvenay

@ACuriousMind OK here

big question I have for our dungeons, btw, is mapping...is it just pure Theater of the Mind for DW dungeon runs, or how is mapping handled for that?

ACuriousMind

@Shalvenay There isn't any mechanics for it, if that's what you're asking - the only thing in the game's text that relates to maps is "Draw Maps, Leave Blanks", but I think it's open whether you want to apply this to dungeon maps or just to overworld maps.

You can definitely run DW dungeons with and without maps in practice.

Shalvenay

5:58 PM

@ACuriousMind yeah, I was just wondering what general practice in that regard was

kviiri

I was just going to point out that AW at least has "draw maps" as a core instruction, decided to see if that's true for DW too... and then ACuriousMind beat me to it :>

I personally have found it quite helpful, in my meager DW (and considerably less-meager AW) experience to have some visualization of tense situations, but what visualization works the best is of course a bit variable.

Glazius

6:28 PM

Yeah, some visualization is helpful.

kviiri

@Glazius Hey, you play GMT Games' COIN series don't you?

Shalvenay

@Glazius available for our game I take it, or do you have places to be and things to do?

Glazius

@kviiri I talk to a lot of people who do, but I don't myself.

@Shalvenay I'm about, yes.

kviiri

@Glazius Ah okay. I was wondering if you had first-hand experience with Gandhi, but no worries

Shalvenay

@Glazius ok, cool. will be able to at least run something today, I think, or try to, provided ACM is around ofc

ACuriousMind

6:35 PM

around and about

Shalvenay

6:47 PM

@ACuriousMind still about? sorry for the silence btw

ACuriousMind

@Shalvenay My internet died, let's hope the problem is on my end and restarting the router will fix it...

Shalvenay

@ACuriousMind awww

Tiggerous

9:19 PM

Question for the room that is probably not stackable (POB) but I wouldn't canvassing a few simple opinions on. I've got a new player joining my 5e game that's new to RPGs in general. They want to play a Druid. My experience with Druids if fairly limited but my understanding is that they're one of the more complicated 5e classes, with an above average number of moving parts of keep track of and the above average book-keeping.

Shalvenay

@Tiggerous "new" as in "new to 5e?" "new to D&D as a whole?" "new to roleplaying in general?"

Tiggerous

New to RPGs in general - as I state above.

Anyway - I was just wondering if anyone more familiar with Druids had a feeling on whether any specific sub-classes were more simple than others?

NautArch

@Tiggerous I honestly wouldn't worry about it. They're going to need to learn mechanic anyway.

Tiggerous

@Shalvenay Unrelated, but I take inspiration where I can find it - including the names of users here. I named a continent after you in my game. Kingdom of Shalvenay.

Shalvenay

@Tiggerous LOL XD. what's the place like?

Tiggerous

9:26 PM

@Shalvenay Typical medieval european fantasy pastiche, not very well fleshed out tbh - it's a place of origin for lots of characters but none of the campaign actually takes place there.

Shalvenay

@Tiggerous eheheh :p

Tiggerous

@Shalvenay My players also tease me that it sounds like Chardonnay.

@NautArch Just give them a free reign and hold their hand through whatever they choose?

BESW

9:44 PM

@Tiggerous I don't have experience with 5e, but my time with 3.5 and 4e showed me that it's really dependent on the player. Some players have trouble balancing roleplaying and tactical complexity and social dynamics all at once right away, and need to pick one to ease off on at first. Many are fine, though, and would be frustrated by the GM holding them back.

My solution is to talk to the player and say "Some people struggle with this class's complexity, so let's make sure to touch base between sessions and see if there's anything we can help you with."

Tiggerous

@BESW Sound advice - I'd be less nervous if they weren't joining mid-campaign (6th level) when the complexity has already ramped up a bit, but I will be helping roll up the PC and check in often.

BESW

I advocate post-session follow-up time for the whole group after every session, just as a general rule.

MikeQ

@Tiggerous Druid - complicated parts = Nature cleric

Tiggerous

@MikeQ So Nature Cleric = Druid - Wildshaping?

MikeQ

Not literally, but that's the gist of it. Similar hit dice and saves, similar proficiencies, similar flavor

Then again, it still requires managing all those spells and such

What about druid do they like? Would they consider ranger, instead?

BESW

10:00 PM

Yeah, what about the druid attracts them? Make sure not to take that away when offering subclasses or alternatives.

Tiggerous

I'm inclined to let them stick with Druid - but this is all good food for thought.

MikeQ

Fair enough. Speaking from (unpleasant) experience, if they're joining at mid levels with a primary spellcaster class, they'll require a lot of patience, both from you and the other players. Expect them to get confused by the mechanics several times per session, such as mismanaging resources and action economy

Tiggerous

Patience shouldn't be too much of a problem. I have a champion fighter who 40 sessions later still has to be reminded what to roll for their standard weapon attack.

MikeQ

But again, keep the basics in mind. Why attracts this player to druid? What attracts them to D&D? To tabletop RPGs in general? What are they expecting?

BESW

10:19 PM

Calibration tools! Calibration for everyone!

NautArch

@Tiggerous I came back into D&D into a 5th level campaign. Make the player a cheat sheet of actions/bonus actions and the appropriate rolls

Or have them do it

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