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TTRPGkids: TTRPGkids 2023 gift and charity guide

posted on November 02, 2023 by Steph C.

If you're searching for gift ideas for a TTRPG friend/family memeber (or for yourself), check out this list of awesome creators and their works ranging from dice to game tools to in-name charity donations! Continue reading “TTRPGkids 2023 gift and charity guide”…

Joshua

Pestilence makes a lousy pet.

Hot RPG Questions

01:30

5

Q: How do I make an improptu fix to a lore discrepancy without it feeling forced?

For context, I'm running a Feywild campaign where I was told by one of my players (who I've noted metagames often) that pixies are evil. Turns out, they aren't, and I've already made it so my party is heading for a pixie camp. I've considered some ideas, but I want it to not feel forced. How woul...

KorvinStarmast

02:13

@Catija There are loads of the on the wizards site, premade from level 1 through 10. I'll see what I can find. What do you want to play. ?

Hot RPG Questions

03:50

4

Q: Does a Bullseye Lantern require a hand?

A Fighter PC without Darkvision who has donned a shield in their left hand and wishes to attack with a sword in their right hand. Their ally, a Gloomstalker Ranger, bought them a Bullseye Lantern so the Gloomstalker could stay in the dark behind the fighter shooting arrows at enemies, while the F...

dnd-5e equipment

Hot RPG Questions

11:17

1

Q: Bag of Holding Bomb but with mayonnaise?

I am a DM and one of the PCs has gone through the long-winded effort of close to filling a Bag of Holding with mayonnaise from there. 3 Alchemy Jugs. The PC then put another Bag of Holding into this, "Bag of Mayo" - PC, thus creating a portal to the Astral Plane. now as per the creamy contents in...

dnd-5e magic-items

AncientSwordRage

12:04

@HotRPGQuestions How many Unseen Servant's would be needed to make use of 60 cubic foot of mayonnaise in sandwiches?

Hot RPG Questions

13:15

2

Q: What stat would I use for a crossbow if I throw it rather than shooting it?

I've got a silly build I'm working on revolving around Path of the Giant Elemental Cleaver which grants a weapon the Thrown property. Can I use my STR for the roll? The rules seem ambiguous: What I've found: Thrown. If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon to make a ranged at...

dnd-5e ability-scores improvised-weaponry throwing-things

Catija

@KorvinStarmast I tend to lean towards ranged attacks or support of some kind. High intelligence, lawful, good or at least neutral... I have a difficult time pretending to be something I'm not, so ... yeah. Selfish/self-serving characters aren't a good fit for me.

Also, just like... I'm not super into RPing... so probably not something like a bard who would kinda be expected to burst out into song at random times :P

KorvinStarmast

13:34

@Catija I played a Lore Bard as a support for 20 levels. But the ranged attack bit will not fit. A Ranger would probably fit what you are looking for, or a wizard. You can build a wizard as a mostly crowd control/support pretty easily.

Catija

@KorvinStarmast Hmmm, yeah, I'm poking around at stuff... I kinda need something easy to play the first time out and flexible... I was kinda thinking maybe Paladin? I'm guessing we're not going to get very high level-wise in four hours, so something that's at least decent at the start?

KorvinStarmast

@Catija Paladin is a good class for what you are looking for. But it's not ranged. :)

Catija

@KorvinStarmast Yeah, I can deal with that aspect, I think it fits otherwise, though?

KorvinStarmast

Since you don't choose an oath at level 1, it's pretty straightforward.

Yes, good call. I think sword and board, with the dueling fighting style (adds two to your damage rolls) would fit.

Catija

I was looking at either Half-orc or Tiefling? The latter seems to hit the intelligence side of things.

I was just looking at the "core" ones listed on this page, though... dicebreaker.com/categories/roleplaying-game/how-to/dnd-races

I feel like there's some weird irony of a Tiefling paladin.

KorvinStarmast

13:54

I'll suggest half orc. You don't need a high charisma for a low level paladin, and if you are not RPing heavy, tghe INT doesn't matter that much. You do want a 16 STR in order to get the hit/damage for when combat happens.

Are you rolling dice, point buy, or standard array?

Catija

The only one of those I even know what it means is rolling dice. :P

KorvinStarmast

The advantage of a Tiefling is that you get a magical spell which may be handy.

Catija

One of the things I read said that charisma is good for Paladins but if it only comes later, at higher levels... then probably not going to matter much.

KorvinStarmast

OK, Use the Quick Build advice from the SRD. That ought to get you the paladin you want, and it's 4d6 drop lowest six times, place the numbers where you want them.

You only need Cha 12 ish for a level 1 paladin. If this is a level 1 raid, charisma powers the Divine sense that lets you know if there is nundead, fiend, or celestial around.

You get 1 + Cha mod uses per day/Long rest, so a 12 gets you two uses, which ought ot suffice for a one shot adventure.

(I played a paladin from 1-17 and found that Charisma made more difference leater, yes).

Nauth Arch played one from 1-20, he's got better Paladin instincts that I do, I suspect.

For Stat gujidance @Catija I'll suggest prioritizing ... Str > Con > Wis > Cha > Int > Dex based on what you have presented as your themes.

Arrgh, off to work I go, best of luck. I'll check back in later.

Catija

Thanks for the advice!

VLAZ

14:05

Just to mention about stats - you are free to roleplay as you want, regardless of what the stats say. The stats only determine the outcome of roles. So, you could have a character with low intelligence who still speaks well and reads a lot of books. However, when it comes to recalling information and figuring things out via rolls, they won't be able to do it. It suggest that they have more surface level knowledge and might just be trying to present a smarter facade than they really have.

On the flip side, a slightly below average intelligence score (8-9) might be played as the typical "dumb muscle". Both are valid interpretations. Might also be a facade - the character can still present a facade of being dumber than they look. So, they'd be counting on their fingers and tracing words with their finger while reading just to make it seem they struggle more than they really do.

Catija

Ugh, this is so complicated... I'm looking at this page to see what works for Paladins and there are so many things going on. rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/classes/paladin/races/….

If I'm just trying to keep it simple, would I just look at the ones labeled "PHB" with default rules?

VLAZ

@Catija Yep, sounds like a plan. That site offers information from many sources.

It might also be a bit on the advanced side, since it also compares features from different sources. You can make a perfectly serviceable paladin with the PHB. But the site might rank some of the choices as sub-optimal when compared to things you don't have access to. Which is a bit unfair.

Catija

It seems like the favorite is half-elf, which is in PHB?

VLAZ

It is, yes. Solid all-round choice for many classes that rely on Charisma.

The "sub-types" of half-elf are not in the PHB, however.

Catija

Hmmm. Are Elves as aloof and whatever ? I just generally don't like the navel-gazing stuff :P

@VLAZ Yeah, I was looking at the "standard" one, that has the PHB marker.

VLAZ

14:15

@Catija Elves could be whatever, really. Half-elves are supposed to be more sociable but again don't have to. They get a boost to charisma but that can still be played off as they are usually quiet but when they decide to speak up, people listen.

Catija

I guess the other one I'm seeing recommended is the Dragonborn.

VLAZ

Also solid choice.

Basically, the recommendations are mostly based on what their bonuses to attributes are. So, races that have a bonus to Str/Con/Cha are mostly ranked towards the top.

Catija

Hmmm, it seems like level 1 Paladin really relies on their physical abilities since they don't learn spells until level 2, so something like Dragonborn or Tiefling that has some extra skill from the start seems like it'd be good.

VLAZ

Tiefling would be considered a sub-optimal choice because they get bonus to Int and that's not something you rely on as a paladin. Although, I think a Tiefling paladin makes a great combination for a character. Playing off an infernal nature with a paladin. You could even pick one of the more ruthless oaths to embrace the infernal legacy to an extent.

Catija

Since it's just a one-shot... and all... considering we're generally slow to play as none of us play RPGs regularly, I'm guessing we won't make much progress level-wise.

VLAZ

14:22

If you want something simpler, I'd suggest half-elf, half-orc or dragonborn.

Dragonborns a breath attack. Which is interesting.

Catija

I'm guessing it's not like the video game RPGs where you kill one or two slimes and level up :P

VLAZ

I mean, usually you're level 1 for a session. Or two at most.

And that's mostly because levelling up during a session is annoying.

Thomas Markov

@Catija Nope. To level up in this space, you instead have to successfully coordinate scheduling four times with three to five other adults with things like jobs, children, and extended family trying to stop you.

Catija

@VLAZ OK, so yeah, I should assume we'll just be at level 1. But I'll ask the DM guy who's running the event if we're starting higher-leveled or at 1.

VLAZ

If the GM plans on levelling you up during a session, I'd expect they'd ask for two character sheets - for level 1 and level 2. So you can swap in the middle of the session without needing to spend much time.

Catija

14:27

The DM tends towards adventures with puzzle solving and creativity rather than fighting... usually. And he tends to give us space to be creative in how we address the situations we're dropped in. Sometimes when we've played one-shots, there's only been 1-2 actual fights we've gotten into and otherwise we were engaging with NPCs and whatnot to complete a quest.

VLAZ

Although, they might also do a quick one - give you more HP but not the other features for the class (since that's the thing that really takes times - picking spells and the like). So, just the pre-set bonuses.

Catija

Not sure if D&D is/can be as low-combat?

VLAZ

It could. It's not the best system to run it low combat since a lot of the rules are about combat. It sort of sets the expectation that you'd need to be engaging in fights. That doesn't have to be true. I've been in consecutive sessions that had no combat and all the players had fun.

Catija

@VLAZ Hmmm. Interesting. I'll see whether he's given much thought to this. At this point he doesn't have any characters for us and hasn't asked us to create any (I just asked him since I have so much free time now and all)... so I'm not sure if he's even gotten that far, so maybe I can help him poke at that.

@ThomasMarkov HAHAHAHAHA - that sounds impossible.

We have had Gloomhaven in our closet for several years and all we've managed to do at this point is organize the box.

@VLAZ Do you know what game the podcast Adventure Zone was playing? I wasn't sure they ever said but it seemed to be less combat-focused.

Wikipedia says it's loosely based on D&D 5E (when it was just released in 2014)...

VLAZ

@Catija Hmm, haven't listened to it.

Catija

14:34

It's pretty funny. They even turned it into a graphic novel.

VLAZ

Might be just rules-light version of D&D. Or even just free-form. As in, they might be using mostly stuff like information about races but not really rolling dice. Just a guess, though.

Catija

It's three brothers and their dad playing together. They're all very silly. One of the brothers is the DM.

Mithical

14:52

@Catija Our SE D&D game was pretty low combat.

Catija

@Mithical I'd guess it depends on the campaign/quest itself, yeah? If you're hitting a dungeon, that's going to be different than some other options.

71

Q: In a low-combat campaign, most PC abilities seem useless; what few fights there are barely use up resources. How do I deal with this as the DM?

As part of session 0, I discovered my group wanted a campaign with a heavier amount of intrigue, exploration, investigation, etc. Well, I did it. And I think the general perception is that it's going well. But I'm observing the following things that are growing into a larger concern: For session...

dnd-5e gm-techniques non-combat resource-consumption

VLAZ

@Catija You could make an adventure (single or multiple sessions) where the objective is simple. Like "go to <somewhere> and get <something>". This could be as combat-heavy or combat-light as required. Maybe the players face multiple adversaries and need to take them down. Or maybe they have to mostly spend time organising the expedition and navigating hazards like traps. Never actually attacking.

Both might end up getting the players through the same environments and scenes. The focus of what the players do just shifts.

Mithical

@Catija Yep. It meant my spell list was pretty utility-focused (mostly illusions, TBH). If you know ahead of time that it's going to be low-combat, you can build the character differently than for a combat-optimized character... so, good to know what you're getting into ahead of time.

Catija

15:07

It's amusing, I'm listening to the "trailer" - the first episode of The Adventure Zone and they were just talking about how 5E is much less combat-heavy than prior editions and creative solutions to problems are often a better route (and will avoid death).

Catija

15:36

I'm seeing some questions talking about keeping track of time (for days, I assume)... but that seems very complex - is it the sort of thing that's often omitted in a one-shot or something I should understand?

GcL

16:30

@Catija It's less combat focused because combat was simplified and there's less volume of material dedicated to it. It's still a system where the majority of the text is about combat or getting to combat.

Hot RPG Questions

16:45

3

Q: Is a holy symbol borne on a shield a discrete object for the purposes of being the target of a spell?

Is the holy symbol that a cleric or paladin can use as a spellcasting focus a discrete object? Does it stop being a discrete object when the player decides to bear it on a shield by inlaying it? For context, a player wishes to enchant their holy symbol (borne on their shield) with a Continual Fla...

dnd-5e spells shield objects spellcasting-focus

Kerrick

17:51

That new Cartomancer feat's wording sure left me with a lot of questions! 😅

GcL

18:13

@Kerrick Where's that from?

Oh, the new Book of Many things.

@Kerrick Regarding, hidden ace, it's behaving as a spell scroll or other consumable magic item in that you aren't using a spell slot. It's essentially a personal daily spell scroll.

Although, that does seems rather powerful in addition to the additional prepared spell and casting as a bonus action.

KorvinStarmast

18:29

@Catija Yes. Stick to the PHB if just starting out. Makes it all simpler.

GcL

The feat reads very much like a spell gem or ring of spell storing. The difference there, is that the spell gets cast into the gem/ring.

That, card-o-mancer feat is written very vaguely. Neither the intent nor implementation details are clear.

Hot RPG Questions

18:42

6

Q: Shortest path from Shieldbreaker to Engineer

Playing as a Shieldbreaker, I found a distinct lack of Dwarf-only advancements that would lead to other Dwarfy classes but for Runebearer, which would lead to the Runesmith classes. There ain't no Ironbreakers or Longbeards, no Hammerers or Irondrakes exist as individual classes... The only Dwarf...

optimization class wfrp-2e

Kerrick

19:30

@GcL Interesting, that would be really strong.

GcL

@Kerrick It's not terribly dissimilar from the Artificer class abilities, but does seem very strong for a feat.

I think the best evidence I've found for it not acting like a scroll is the casting cost.

It's also the way it's dissimilar from spell storing objects. I think I'll put up an answer with the reasoning and references.

GcL

20:10

Further research and I think this is just a busted ass feature. As written, it's a magical object that lets the creator of it just cast a spell from it.

GcL

21:29

Eh. I don't like that feat as it's written. A little bit of clarifying text would have made it nicer.

KorvinStarmast

21:44

I just saw this on a news feed: Coding community Stack Overflow announced its plan to cut about 28% of its workforce on Monday. It's the second round of layoffs this year for the company after CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar said it'd let go of 58 employees in May. Stack Overflow's cuts come amid an industry-wide shift toward artificial intelligence and an earlier decrease in online traffic, Insider previously reported. Prior to the layoffs, the company reportedly doubled its headcount in 2022

☹ not happy

Catija

@KorvinStarmast yep. This is why I have time to hang out here and talk about RPGs.

Xirema

The entire tech industry is entering/in a squeeze period right now.

I'm guessing it ends when the third major AI-related incident occurs and a bunch of companies realize that outsourcing their talent to a language model was a bad idea.

It won't happen the first or second time, to be clear: it'll take three separate incidents before the lesson is learned, probably by three different major companies.

Thomas Markov

@Xirema Lots of industries are. My employer just cut 20% of our workforce, including shutting down one of their chemical plants.

bobble

22:17

@Mithical or you can just take stuff that looks fun without eye for utility (and/or because you are bad at optimization...)

KorvinStarmast

22:38

@Catija I am guessing that V2 got caught in the storm?

Catija

@KorvinStarmast both of us, yeah.

Glazius

23:01

Is there an offsite standard for linking a canon 5E item description?

Beyond's still good?

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