Pens and Papers

[Chris the Human]

10 minutes ago, Ruki Returns said:

22 players? That sounds unwieldy.

Not all at once haha. Sessions are capped at six players, but there is a player pool of 22 (each with 1-5 characters) that can go out on any given mission.

[thepunkrockicon]

So I've recently begun working on scripts for some YouTube videos talking about Dungeons and Dragons. Aside from campaign diaries or stories about previous games, is there anything you guys think would be interesting to see someone talk about related to D&D or Table Top RPG's as a whole? I have a decent amount of experience with D&D and not much else, but I'm down to pick up other games if people think that kind of stuff would be interesting

[Ruki]

I dunno if I just prefer DMing to playing, or if I just have much higher standards for DMs now. I played my first session of Rime of thr Frost Maiden last night and it was fine. But I just want my DM to a) know the rules b) know how to use the tools we're using. 

 

He was making ruling calls that are most definitely in the book (opposed grapple check, unarmed damage), we're using the official modules from roll20, but not using any tokens and using custom maps that just feel lifeless and flat. Oh, and a DMPC, which I feel are just incredibly tacky. 

[Toe]

Yeah, DMPC is almost always a bad thing. 

I can forgive a DM if they don't know every rule (especially if they run several different systems), but it's pretty easy to search "opposed grapple 5e" online and get the result within seconds. 

[Ruki]

I google so many rules or the way certain abilities interact while in session. It's really easy.

(The only thing I couldn't find was: PC casts Arcane Lock. Intellect Devourer takes over PC. Can the ID pass through the lock? Technically not the same creature, but same body. I ruled in favor of the PCs, as it was a clever idea on their part)

[OctoberRaven]

Well, here's the problem... the very last sentence of Body Snatcher.

Quote

Unless its brain is restored within 1 round, the body dies.

Meaning the host is very much still alive, and the ID has the ability to use their magic (due to retaining spellcasting abilities; if they were just gleaning the spellcasting from their mind, this would only apply to wizards and bards. Sorcerors are born magical, and divine casters are, well, divine casters). The ID is in control, but the host still is there.

So, with that in mind, it's almost like the effects of Dominate. The person being controlled opens the door. They're not in control, but they're still opening it.

[Ruki]

Also a fair interpretation of that!

[OctoberRaven]

It's the divine casting still being available that really sways it IMO. A Devourer can fool humans (as, by RAW, things like Detect Evil don't work). I find it very unlikely that a Paladin for example's powers would work if the host's soul wasn't still there.

[thepunkrockicon]

I think that's a pretty interesting idea. I'd probably rule in favor of the party, just because I think it's an interesting use of the spell, but RAW, I think the ID could pass through the lock. At the very least, it would know the password set during the spell to suppress the effects, so it could get through that way. But I also tend to throw RAW out the window as soon as it interferes with the fun of the game, unless it's a brand new table or the players have explicitly stated they want to play RAW.

[OctoberRaven]

Could be written off as a particularly thick ID? They retain their INT and WIS scores, so just because they have information of their host "This door has arcane lock that the host cast" doesn't mean they know how to parse that correctly "This means I can open it".

They have 12 and 14 in those, which is above average, but maybe this one had like 6 WIS?

[thepunkrockicon]

I think that's probably how I would rule it. In my setting, Mind Flayers and anything tied to them are pretty explicitly aliens who use psionics instead of magic, so I'd just rule it as them not understanding even the basics of most magic, so they might know what the password is, but not necessarily how it's used. It's kinda interesting to think about edge cases like this and how different people would rule it

[Ruki]

On 16/02/2021 at 12:32, Ruki Returns said:

I dunno if I just prefer DMing to playing, or if I just have much higher standards for DMs now. I played my first session of Rime of thr Frost Maiden last night and it was fine. But I just want my DM to a) know the rules b) know how to use the tools we're using. 

 

He was making ruling calls that are most definitely in the book (opposed grapple check, unarmed damage), we're using the official modules from roll20, but not using any tokens and using custom maps that just feel lifeless and flat. Oh, and a DMPC, which I feel are just incredibly tacky. 

Follow up: He owns the module on Roll20, but we used a blank white battleboard when maps ARE available. He's using inconsistent rules when it comes to disengage. We don't even have proper tokens assigned. The DMPC is still a thing (which benefited from the disengage). He wanted to punish a player for using 'Create Bonfire' as we were using it to make a fire, and he didn't like that and said if he keeps doing it he's going to take psychic damage. He said he had stuff prepared, but it totally seemed like he was not. Like.... why is it so hard to have a DM who just knows the rules? I want to clone myself so my DM could be me.

 

The whole time I was thinking "I should just run this campaign instead." And I'm considering dropping it and running ANOTHER game. 

[thepunkrockicon]

14 hours ago, Ruki Returns said:

Follow up: He owns the module on Roll20, but we used a blank white battleboard when maps ARE available. He's using inconsistent rules when it comes to disengage. We don't even have proper tokens assigned. The DMPC is still a thing (which benefited from the disengage). He wanted to punish a player for using 'Create Bonfire' as we were using it to make a fire, and he didn't like that and said if he keeps doing it he's going to take psychic damage. He said he had stuff prepared, but it totally seemed like he was not. Like.... why is it so hard to have a DM who just knows the rules? I want to clone myself so my DM could be me.

 

The whole time I was thinking "I should just run this campaign instead." And I'm considering dropping it and running ANOTHER game. 

That sounds awful. Is this guy a completely new DM?

[Ruki]

5 hours ago, thepunkrockicon said:

That sounds awful. Is this guy a completely new DM?

I think new to 5e.

[OctoberRaven]

Man I really want to find a World of Darkness or superhero TTRPG to play in. Or D&D, really, but I'm in more of an urban fantasy kick right now.

[Hajjhowe]

I've been running a sort of modified Super Hero RPG game based loosly on the mechanics of Monster of the Week that's been fun. The basics are as follows.

Quote

6 or less = Failure
7-10 = Mixed Success
11+ = Perfectly Executed

Skills:
Charm - Ability to persuade or manipulate someone else. Generally used for social challenges.
Sharp - Ability to investigate or recall information on something. Generally used for mental challenges.
Tough - Ability to attack or protect others. Generally used for physical challenges. Also added to any attacks

You have 4 points to spend and can go to a maximum of +2 in any one category.

Health - How much health you have left (8 HP for PC's)

Combat Moves

Light
6 or less = Miss
7-10 = Hit for 1 Harm
11+ = Hit for 2 Harm

Heavy
+1 to attack
6 or less = Miss and reaction attack with advantage
7-10 = Hit for 2 Harm
11+ = Hit for 3 Harm
Opponent Attacks with +1

Defend
-1 to attack rolls of opponents

Then I add little tweaks based on what sort of special powers ect. that characters or NPC's have. It's been pretty breezy to run and gets through combat at a nice pace (Which is good). I still might refine some thing, maybe give different levels to pass/fail depending on what the action is but that's the bare bones of it and I generally give people an action and movement unless they have some sort of special ability that makes sense for them to have more actions.

Also if anyone is running games and needs players I have like no social life and am always down to play. 

[Ruki]

I'm caught up on Critical Role. Minus the episode that aired Thursday. I feel lost. 

[Kyle]

4 hours ago, Ruki Returns said:

I'm caught up on Critical Role. Minus the episode that aired Thursday. I feel lost. 

Jesus. I fell off the week before Halloween and catching up seems like an impossible task.

[Ruki]

I work an evening shift, so lots of time to watch. I can usually get 2-4 episodes a week.

But you should get caught up! Everything from Halloween on has been hype.

[thepunkrockicon]

@Ruki Returns Have you watched MCDM's The Chain livestream?