AN idea I've had percolating for a while now; not settled on the specifics, but the general idea is to set a game on a Niven Ring. For those unfamiliar with sci-fi mega-structure concepts: a Niven ring is a ring constructed around a star at somewhere around the habitable zone... so think the Halo rings but with a star in the middle. The idea being to feed the players hints that something is "odd" but the characters in-universe wouldn't have any clue that something non-natural is at work; at least at first.
Niven does explore this a bit himself in the books, with Teela and Seeker's story - albeit not big time. I believe, however, it would be difficult to "hide" that the world is a ring rather than a planet from the players, at least as Niven describes it, it would be visible with the naked eye.
Tough place for dwarves and gnomes - no mining into the scrith. I've always wondered about Niven's societies there, some have gone completely off tech others seem to have advanced metallurgy tech but only as reuse (of the materials if not the tech) from previous societies. I've not been able to wrap my head around how that would work on a societal scale after a crash
Another idea: A D&D adapted for the world of Bug Fables. Giant artifacts, tree-sized grass, things like that. And races are adapted into species of bugs (Humans would be ants, dwarves would be beetles, elves would be moths. Bees, butterflies, mantises, wasps, etc. would probably be separated into their own unique things).
AN idea I've had percolating for a while now; not settled on the specifics, but the general idea is to set a game on a Niven Ring. For those unfamiliar with sci-fi mega-structure concepts: a Niven ring is a ring constructed around a star at somewhere around the habitable zone... so think the Halo rings but with a star in the middle. The idea being to feed the players hints that something is "odd" but the characters in-universe wouldn't have any clue that something non-natural is at work; at least at first.
Niven does explore this a bit himself in the books, with Teela and Seeker's story - albeit not big time. I believe, however, it would be difficult to "hide" that the world is a ring rather than a planet from the players, at least as Niven describes it, it would be visible with the naked eye.
Tough place for dwarves and gnomes - no mining into the scrith. I've always wondered about Niven's societies there, some have gone completely off tech others seem to have advanced metallurgy tech but only as reuse (of the materials if not the tech) from previous societies. I've not been able to wrap my head around how that would work on a societal scale after a crash
I think when he said the characters in universe wouldn't have any clue that something non-natural is at work, he meant that they'd know the world is a ring; they wouldn't know that it's WEIRD that their world is a ring.
Another idea: A D&D adapted for the world of Bug Fables. Giant artifacts, tree-sized grass, things like that. And races are adapted into species of bugs (Humans would be ants, dwarves would be beetles, elves would be moths. Bees, butterflies, mantises, wasps, etc. would probably be separated into their own unique things).
AN idea I've had percolating for a while now; not settled on the specifics, but the general idea is to set a game on a Niven Ring. For those unfamiliar with sci-fi mega-structure concepts: a Niven ring is a ring constructed around a star at somewhere around the habitable zone... so think the Halo rings but with a star in the middle. The idea being to feed the players hints that something is "odd" but the characters in-universe wouldn't have any clue that something non-natural is at work; at least at first.
Niven does explore this a bit himself in the books, with Teela and Seeker's story - albeit not big time. I believe, however, it would be difficult to "hide" that the world is a ring rather than a planet from the players, at least as Niven describes it, it would be visible with the naked eye.
Tough place for dwarves and gnomes - no mining into the scrith. I've always wondered about Niven's societies there, some have gone completely off tech others seem to have advanced metallurgy tech but only as reuse (of the materials if not the tech) from previous societies. I've not been able to wrap my head around how that would work on a societal scale after a crash
I think when he said the characters in universe wouldn't have any clue that something non-natural is at work, he meant that they'd know the world is a ring; they wouldn't know that it's WEIRD that their world is a ring.
hmm, maybe if the fact that the world is a ring is hidden from them... some kind of magical illusion simulation, but then you get into the purpose of it. did an ancient race do this to protect them or train them for something, like in Ender's Game, or do the rings have some other purpose, such as space travel or even mass planar travel.
I'll also add a little DM experience/tip here, since I'm bored:
Recently ran a one-shot (all kobold party) where they ventured into a massive fey crossing subterranean area cause by a massive planar rift hundreds of years ago. basically, the area is consumed with wild magic and is like Alice and Wonderland meets Atlantis or Avatar. In their adventures they encountered some crazy stuff, but one of the favorite encounters I got to run was this magical forest. There was this absolutely stunningly beautiful stretch of woods, with perfect trees with multi-colored leaves and the best fruit they had ever tasted. These giant butterflies were flying overhead and an npc stopped to pet one. The butterfly then turned on him, and snapped him with a squelch, wrapping itself around him. they then leanred that these butterflies were NOT friendly, and in fact appeared to prey on creatures venturing through, using the idyllic forest as a trap. (Note: I used cloakers for the butterflies, made for a fun fight and good use of their illusions)
Despite the party being level 12, it was cool in this fight seeing how quickly subversion of expectations made them afraid and took them from 'exploration' to 'action' mode in an instant. Some takeaways I had were that it helps to set up fights however you can. Strictly speaking, make it so that there are no 'random' encounters. That way every fight feels not only planned and well-thought out to the player out of game, but immediately immerses them and provides intensity in-game.
Since Halloween is coming up on us, thought I'd ask...
Has anyone ever played any fun Halloween or horror one shots?
Anyone have any good tips on running horror or maybe a horror movie adaption for dnd?
I've been working on a campaign setting for a while that's somewhat based on the Castlevania series though with the normal POV inverted. IE: instead of hunting monsters teh players are the vampires, werewolves etc tryign to protect a "cursed land" sort of place from outside crusaders.
For other horror settings: Curse of Strahd is of course a classic. Grim Hollow is a cool setting I've heard that uses horror tropes/themes. Exploring other game systems tehre's of course Call of Cthulhu and the Aliens RPG.
As for techniques to use: as any good horror movie or game buff will tell you, it's actually far less about "real danger" (that helps of course) and far more about achieving the right atmosphere. The imagination is far better at scaring people than anything you can dream up on your own. So; use of sounds, music, ambiance, that sort of thing to set the stage is a lot more important for a horror game.
To give an example I like to use from the world of Video games: the introduction segment of Metroid Prime is a brilliant illustration of what I'm talking about. It takes place on a derelict ship that's sent out a distress call... only; it's a pirate ship, so right away that signals something very bad must have happened. There is no actual danger for most of it; but instead you find yourself picking through the ruins of carnage past, with most enemies being barely alive survivors that you don't feel "powerful" for killing; more like you're putting them out of their misery. Basically; achieving a good horror atmosphere means achieving the inverse of a "power fantasy": it's about creating the feeling of helplessness instead of agency.
Since Halloween is coming up on us, thought I'd ask...
Has anyone ever played any fun Halloween or horror one shots?
Anyone have any good tips on running horror or maybe a horror movie adaption for dnd?
I've been working on a campaign setting for a while that's somewhat based on the Castlevania series though with the normal POV inverted. IE: instead of hunting monsters teh players are the vampires, werewolves etc tryign to protect a "cursed land" sort of place from outside crusaders.
For other horror settings: Curse of Strahd is of course a classic. Grim Hollow is a cool setting I've heard that uses horror tropes/themes. Exploring other game systems tehre's of course Call of Cthulhu and the Aliens RPG.
As for techniques to use: as any good horror movie or game buff will tell you, it's actually far less about "real danger" (that helps of course) and far more about achieving the right atmosphere. The imagination is far better at scaring people than anything you can dream up on your own. So; use of sounds, music, ambiance, that sort of thing to set the stage is a lot more important for a horror game.
To give an example I like to use from the world of Video games: the introduction segment of Metroid Prime is a brilliant illustration of what I'm talking about. It takes place on a derelict ship that's sent out a distress call... only; it's a pirate ship, so right away that signals something very bad must have happened. There is no actual danger for most of it; but instead you find yourself picking through the ruins of carnage past, with most enemies being barely alive survivors that you don't feel "powerful" for killing; more like you're putting them out of their misery. Basically; achieving a good horror atmosphere means achieving the inverse of a "power fantasy": it's about creating the feeling of helplessness instead of agency.
ooh... that's a neat idea. I like playing monstrous races, and I feel like with good player buy-in those monsters would create fun and unique abilities and weaknesses, maybe an opportunity to do some homebrew races (i.e., vampires have weakness to sunlight, running water, werewolves have to contend with the constant switch, maybe a phantom who can't stay corporeal for long... etc.).
and yes, ambience and player buy in seem to be the two top tips in every dnd horror discussion I've seen or been a part of. You really can't go wrong if you're players know its horror, and if there's good lighting and music.
also, you're idea feels like genera flip that would actually work, as the crusader type enemies could easily be working for a corrupt kingdom or divine power.
ooh... that's a neat idea. I like playing monstrous races, and I feel like with good player buy-in those monsters would create fun and unique abilities and weaknesses, maybe an opportunity to do some homebrew races (i.e., vampires have weakness to sunlight, running water, werewolves have to contend with the constant switch, maybe a phantom who can't stay corporeal for long... etc.).
...also, you're idea feels like genera flip that would actually work, as the crusader type enemies could easily be working for a corrupt kingdom or divine power.
More or less the idea yes; I've created five homebrew monster races for the setting; all a bit "OP" by standard D&D 5e rules, but that's rather the point, getting to play AS the monsters as it were:
1) Vampires - A lot of powerful physical and blood magic abilities, but also take stacking Radiant damage when exposed to sunlight or equivalent, along with the other vampiric weaknesses (unable to cross running water, thus ferrymen replace bridges in the setting, forbiddance unless invited, so it's customary to have a "welcome" sign on your shop/inn/home, etc.)
2) Werewolves - Drawing a little on the Lycans of the Underworld series, these guys are permanently turned so long as they stay in teh cursed land; but they still have to contend with their weakness to silver which is poisonous and deals wounds that can't be healed except by magical means. This means that there's an entirely different set of coins in this setting because silver is a strictly controlled substance.
3) Shades - Basically "shadow people": the remains of humans who were altered to suit the new land they found themselves in. Basically think "darklings" or other "solid shadow" creatures. They also take the vampire stacking radiant damage in daylight; but are extremely attuned to magic since like Tolkien Elves; it's a part of their very being.
4) Scarecrows - Basically this setting's warforged; with similar traits as constructs: immunity to poison and disease etc, but extremely vulnerable to fire since they're comprised of flammable materials.
5) Deep Ones - Basically Lovecraft-inspired fish people with a heavy emphasis on mind-games style abilities.
And yeah; my idea for the outside crusaders is that, in any normal setting, they'd be the faction a party would work for: fighting on the part of a conventional deity of light to "cleanse the corruption" that the cursed land represents. Even have a whole pantheon of gods that rule the region in place fo teh "normal" pantheons of D&D since well; the worshippers are now entirely different races.
ooh... that's a neat idea. I like playing monstrous races, and I feel like with good player buy-in those monsters would create fun and unique abilities and weaknesses, maybe an opportunity to do some homebrew races (i.e., vampires have weakness to sunlight, running water, werewolves have to contend with the constant switch, maybe a phantom who can't stay corporeal for long... etc.).
...also, you're idea feels like genera flip that would actually work, as the crusader type enemies could easily be working for a corrupt kingdom or divine power.
More or less the idea yes; I've created five homebrew monster races for the setting; all a bit "OP" by standard D&D 5e rules, but that's rather the point, getting to play AS the monsters as it were:
1) Vampires - A lot of powerful physical and blood magic abilities, but also take stacking Radiant damage when exposed to sunlight or equivalent, along with the other vampiric weaknesses (unable to cross running water, thus ferrymen replace bridges in the setting, forbiddance unless invited, so it's customary to have a "welcome" sign on your shop/inn/home, etc.)
2) Werewolves - Drawing a little on the Lycans of the Underworld series, these guys are permanently turned so long as they stay in teh cursed land; but they still have to contend with their weakness to silver which is poisonous and deals wounds that can't be healed except by magical means. This means that there's an entirely different set of coins in this setting because silver is a strictly controlled substance.
3) Shades - Basically "shadow people": the remains of humans who were altered to suit the new land they found themselves in. Basically think "darklings" or other "solid shadow" creatures. They also take the vampire stacking radiant damage in daylight; but are extremely attuned to magic since like Tolkien Elves; it's a part of their very being.
4) Scarecrows - Basically this setting's warforged; with similar traits as constructs: immunity to poison and disease etc, but extremely vulnerable to fire since they're comprised of flammable materials.
5) Deep Ones - Basically Lovecraft-inspired fish people with a heavy emphasis on mind-games style abilities.
And yeah; my idea for the outside crusaders is that, in any normal setting, they'd be the faction a party would work for: fighting on the part of a conventional deity of light to "cleanse the corruption" that the cursed land represents. Even have a whole pantheon of gods that rule the region in place fo teh "normal" pantheons of D&D since well; the worshippers are now entirely different races.
I've a concept for a campaign which will hopefully screw with the players minds a bit.
The concept is the ususal start - the BBEG is starting to cause ominous rumblings and the party starts to try and sort things out. They do some quests and get some renown, grow a bit attached to the world, and then they are called to an Artificer who has a powerful machine which they can use to fight the BBEG.
The machine is simply - it's a respawn point. If they die, the machine will pull their souls back and rebuild them as they are now. The only problem is that the machine cannot store memories, so they will not remember anything that happened since they used the machine - if they use the machine, then go and write a number on a piece of paper and die, they will not remember the piece of paper or what they wrote.
The party, presumably, will agree as this implies immortality and repeated efforts, trying again and again to complete the tasks but not fearing death.
When they all stand on the platform, they will be blinded by a flash of light, and feel energy coursing through their body, like they are being disintegrated in reverse, and they will look out on a slightly changed room - the furniture has moved, the cobwebs have built up, and the artificer - notably older - is trying to put out a fire and ranting at them; "All of you? at once? What happened, did you fall down a pit? Oh this is terrific, you're not all supposed to use it at once! you've overloaded it! it's gone! dead! Kaput!".
They will learn that it is several years since they used the machine, and in that time they have been fighting the BBEG constantly, dying and respawning individually and being caught up by one another. But, somehow, they all died at once and have overloaded the machine - this is now their last chance to save the world.
They have rooms which have cool items and stuff that their characters collected during these lost lives, and notes which hint at things - perhaps a diary which features concerns of a betrayal, or plans for a heist - I will need to do the fleshing out to suit it. I would likely give each of them something which might indicate that they were a traitor in a previous life - a detailed map of the BBEG's castle, or an item which belonged to the BBEG and may have been a gift, and so on.
The party will get one shot at dealing with the BBEG, and the BBEG will be new to them - though BigBad will greet them like old friends/enemies, knowing them well and acting as though they have been fighting for years (they have!).
The world will have changed dramatically, with obvous signs of war and stuff - I need to iron out details!
So yeah, that's my plan for them to suddenly be jumped to where the BBEG is a lot closer to completing their goals, and to be given a bunch of cool stuff and a mystery to unravel to try and work out who was a traitor (if they even care at all!). Hopefully it'll work out well, if I ever run it!
I thought up this campaign concept after reading Fitzban's/ painting dragon minis:
Dragons used to be common. Sights of winged forms flying through the sky was an everyday occurrence, and not one to be reacted to with fear. Dragons and humans lived if not harmony, in distant tolerance. But that was many years ago. The stories say they abandoned their dragon forms and lived as humanoids, and for many years any mage of strong power was speculated to be one. That suspicion too has died away, and now dragons remain only in art and legend.
...or do they?
When a collection of mysterious, mystical gemstones is found hidden near a small village, the strongest forces in the land take notice. Some seek them for knowledge, others for power, and still others may be looking for kin.
My idea is that the player characters will be one of the interested parties, maybe working for a noble or faction (to be determined based on alignment/goals after creation). A few other ideas I had were:
Dragonborn are scarce, although some exist on the fringes to society. (Or in service of their parent, a dragon disguised as a humanoid)
Kobolds are held in high esteem for their draconic connections.
The 'gems' (eggs, definitely) might hatch, leaving the players with a/multiple baby dragon(s).
Different factions want the eggs for different things- and one faction might steal them from the faction the players deliver them to.
Multiple factions are headed by disguised dragons.
Dragon alignment is not dependent on scale color, and the eggs will hatch random colors of dragons.
Eggs will be generated by a magical Fitzban method, not laid.
Questions I need to answer:
Why are the dragons hiding?
Who is the main villain?- May be determined during the game.
What, specifically are the factions? (One is definitely Kobold nobility)
Also- I definitely like your concept, Thoruk! Very cool.
I thought up this campaign concept after reading Fitzban's/ painting dragon minis:
Dragons used to be common. Sights of winged forms flying through the sky was an everyday occurrence, and not one to be reacted to with fear. Dragons and humans lived if not harmony, in distant tolerance. But that was many years ago. The stories say they abandoned their dragon forms and lived as humanoids, and for many years any mage of strong power was speculated to be one. That suspicion too has died away, and now dragons remain only in art and legend.
...or do they?
When a collection of mysterious, mystical gemstones is found hidden near a small village, the strongest forces in the land take notice. Some seek them for knowledge, others for power, and still others may be looking for kin.
My idea is that the player characters will be one of the interested parties, maybe working for a noble or faction (to be determined based on alignment/goals after creation). A few other ideas I had were:
Dragonborn are scarce, although some exist on the fringes to society. (Or in service of their parent, a dragon disguised as a humanoid)
Kobolds are held in high esteem for their draconic connections.
The 'gems' (eggs, definitely) might hatch, leaving the players with a/multiple baby dragon(s).
Different factions want the eggs for different things- and one faction might steal them from the faction the players deliver them to.
Multiple factions are headed by disguised dragons.
Dragon alignment is not dependent on scale color, and the eggs will hatch random colors of dragons.
Eggs will be generated by a magical Fitzban method, not laid.
Questions I need to answer:
Why are the dragon's hiding?
Who is the main villain?- May be determined during the game.
What, specifically are the factions? (One is definitely Kobold nobility)
Also- I definitely like your concept, Thoruk! Very cool.
1. Why are the dragons hiding?
Perhaps there was a division among the dragons about changing their forms. Some dragons wanted to go and live lives in the human world, but others didn't. the dragons may have had a war, or at least a cold war, among themselves and nearly destroyed their numbers. The remaining go into hiding in human societies to push their own agendas.
2. who is the main villain?
could be multiple (see answer #3). maybe a faction leader, secretly an evil dragon taken human form (I've long had a house rule that all dragons can shapechange, cause let's be real, that's cooler and makes more sense). It's up to you and what direction you want this to go.
3. kobold nobility, like it. One thing you need to make clear, if it is not obvious that the gemstones are eggs at first, is why all these major powers are seeking them. Obviously, most of them probably know they're eggs, but there should be another reason to make it inconspicuous (when all of the biggest governments in your world immediately converge on these 'gemstones', that's kind of sus unless they have a good reason). off that, you could have a faction that appears to be led by benevolent clerics, but really is a cult seeking to use the eggs for their own purposes (dragon grafting, powers, that kind of thing). I like this because the 'wise older man' trope is so done to death in fantasy, that's a really good spin to make him a traitor.
I love these ideas so far! feel free to share past sessions or campaigns you've DM'd and what you've learned from them. Especially if it's halloween related or themed!
also @Undaunted Dm, I designed these rules for a bit more flavor in draconic combat. Use 'em if you want
In lieu of a dragon-based campaign setting I've been working on, and some ideas I've had brewing for a while about fighting larger size class monsters, I wanted to create some rule sets that make dragons feel like they are truly huge, legendary beasts. When players fight them, I want them to feel the scale of their opponent as well as its power relative to theirs. I'll try to update this thread with new rules, but I'm also posting so all can give thoughts and some of your own advice and experience when it comes to 'legendary' combat. (I also plan to add sections to this later with similar rules for creatures like the Kraken, dragon turtle, purple worm, and other titanic creatures). These rules are mainly meant for adult or ancient dragons, to reflect both their size and the power that comes with their long years.
Legendary Combat
For a huge or larger dragon consider adding the following benefit:
Resistance to Bludgeoning and Slashing damage, Immunity to Piercing damage*
this feature gives the feel that the dragon is not only tough, but that their puny mortal weapons are not sufficient to pierce its ancient hide. Although I'm sure I haven't covered every weapon that probably should be covered with this rule, the point is that bludgeoning and slashing damage generally make more sense to damage a dragon, while piercing with certain weapons just shouldn't be enough to damage a dragon (Bard dances in with a fancy +1 potsticker, tries to poke the dragon and leave with a parting gibe? No sir!)
*The following weapons bypass the dragon's immunity to piercing: War Pick, Heavy Crossbow, Lance Pike, or Longbow
The following feature adds a level to realism that I think is missing from breath weapons. The effect in the sample below is called 'Burn' as I used the red dragon as an example, but you can change the name to reflect the damage type.
Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales fire in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw, taking 63 (18d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Each creature that fails the saving throw suffers from severe burns and has disadvantage on attack rolls and until the end of their next turn.
This effect still makes thematic sense no matter what dragon you use. The acid from a black dragon would still corrode and burn, as would lightning from a blue dragon, a white dragon's cold gives extreme frostbite, and the gas from a green dragon's poison breath would cause disorientation that lasts till their next turn. The point of the effect is to add a fun and more detailed layer to a dragon's breath, given that it's such a powerful effect.
In adult or ancient dragons, I add the following to the Claw and Tail attack options:
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage, and the target must make a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be knocked back 15 feet away from the dragon.
These both give the dragon a sense of power and force behind its attacks and provide a fun mental image of the dragon flinging its targets around like ragdolls.
Elemental Fury
When the dragon is below half its hit point maximum, the cracks in its scales begin to widen, and flames* begin to wreathe the dragon's body. Any creature that enters within 10 feet of the dragon must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (3d6) fire damage.
*Or lightning or acid etc. You get the idea.
The Dragon Hammer is an item that you don't necessarily have to use against dragons, but is useful tool when trying to keep one grounded, especially if you choose to use the added resistances listed above^.
Dragon hammer
heavy, two handed, rare
You gain a +1 to attack and damage rolls with this weapon and have advantage on attack rolls against creatures size class Large or larger. If you hit a Large or larger creature with an attack from this hammer, it must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of its next turn.
While these hefty hammers serve well against all titanic creatures, landing a hit or two with this on a grounded dragon will allow your companions to move in on the stunned beast and attack more effectively.
I’m running a Ravenloft one shot this Halloween that’s basically gonna be a homebrew expansion of the House of Lament adventure from VRGtR with some tie ins to my existing Ravenloft campaign storyline.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
My characters begin as performers in a traveling show who are misrepresented as actual heroes by an agent sent to monitor "multi-dimensional activity of interest." The agent's lazy ploy for continued travel funding comes home to roost when his employer flies down in a spelljammer looking for these capable heroes. Then it's a scramble to get them on-board with the ruse and on board the physical galleon. Once gathered, they're told of the employer's desperate mission to seek out a source of great dimension warping power. One such object in Waterdeep pinged their scrying devices three days ago which may or may not have inadvertently caused an earthquake under the city a day later. A shady faction in Waterdeep was hired to investigate and so the heroes are asked to infiltrate that faction and secure the macguffin for their own. With luck they could get paid twice for the same job!
I don't hear a lot of praise for the Acquisitions Incorporated adventure, but I was really impressed with the dungeon design. Certainly more traps and nuance to every tunnel and leg of travel than I felt like I was getting from the comparable Lost Mines of Phandelver. And the story leaps immediately to the point for my setup. I'm rather torn now whether I want to nudge the campaign into Xaryxispace (not everyone's cup of tea, but maybe worth the explore) where it had been aimed or if it might end up more fun playing as AcqInc's first intergalactic delivery crew ("good news, everyone!").
I had played a bit of “Descent into Avernus” at my table; and on a whim, I entertained the idea of the opposite: “Ascent into Mt. Celestia”.
I have had a fascination with the Upper Planes and the celestial-type creatures; and thought it would be interesting to see how players would navigate the literal realms of the gods.
It also has the nice irony of having very mortal adventurers having to deal with a plane that is purely good, and sometimes excessively lawful…invariably, someone is going to piss someone off; which might lead to amusing encounters. Not to mention as to whether or not a mortal can “handle” the vices or revelry of literal heavenly creatures…
The overarching conflict is also not dissimilar to the concept set forth in “Descent in Avernus”: there ARE planetars & angels who feel like they are not doing enough to preserve the forces of “good” within the cosmic balance; and there is something of a civil unrest among the natives of the Upper Planes.
Anyway, the adventurers would start the adventure by winning a mystical “lottery” held at a festival celebration outside Waterdeep; they, the victors, win a free all-expense paid trip to Brightwater: essentially Las Vegas, but on the celestial plane of Arborea. From there, they would learn of a mysterious coup plotting to usurp the hierarchy of the heavens. To make matters worse, a peculiar “sickness” would be causing the celestial creatures of the realm to behave erratically…lawful entities driven to excessive violence over minor infractions; and chaotic creatures being sent into maddening rampages.
This sickness would slowly creep its way up the various levels of Mt. Celestia; and the adventurers would have to make their pilgrimage up the mountain to find out where it came from & how to stop it. Along the way, they might even have chances to meet with deities themselves.
I’d sprinkle in some neat encounters…like fighting with the undying einherjar to prove their strength in battle…tracking magical creatures through the Beastlands…stopping a network of thieves stealing precious artifacts that they wish to smuggle into the Material Plane…lots of fun options.
The overall theme of the campaign would be to ask the question: what is it to be “good”? How does one prove their goodness? What is it’s worth?
I had played a bit of “Descent into Avernus” at my table; and on a whim, I entertained the idea of the opposite: “Ascent into Mt. Celestia”.
I have had a fascination with the Upper Planes and the celestial-type creatures; and thought it would be interesting to see how players would navigate the literal realms of the gods.
It also has the nice irony of having very mortal adventurers having to deal with a plane that is purely good, and sometimes excessively lawful…invariably, someone is going to piss someone off; which might lead to amusing encounters. Not to mention as to whether or not a mortal can “handle” the vices or revelry of literal heavenly creatures…
The overarching conflict is also not dissimilar to the concept set forth in “Descent in Avernus”: there ARE planetars & angels who feel like they are not doing enough to preserve the forces of “good” within the cosmic balance; and there is something of a civil unrest among the natives of the Upper Planes.
Anyway, the adventurers would start the adventure by winning a mystical “lottery” held at a festival celebration outside Waterdeep; they, the victors, win a free all-expense paid trip to Brightwater: essentially Las Vegas, but on the celestial plane of Arborea. From there, they would learn of a mysterious coup plotting to usurp the hierarchy of the heavens. To make matters worse, a peculiar “sickness” would be causing the celestial creatures of the realm to behave erratically…lawful entities driven to excessive violence over minor infractions; and chaotic creatures being sent into maddening rampages.
This sickness would slowly creep its way up the various levels of Mt. Celestia; and the adventurers would have to make their pilgrimage up the mountain to find out where it came from & how to stop it. Along the way, they might even have chances to meet with deities themselves.
I’d sprinkle in some neat encounters…like fighting with the undying einherjar to prove their strength in battle…tracking magical creatures through the Beastlands…stopping a network of thieves stealing precious artifacts that they wish to smuggle into the Material Plane…lots of fun options.
The overall theme of the campaign would be to ask the question: what is it to be “good”? How does one prove their goodness? What is it’s worth?
This sounds like a really cool campaign.
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I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
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*sigh*
it's fine. Guess I'm a nerd or something *shrug*
Updog
Niven does explore this a bit himself in the books, with Teela and Seeker's story - albeit not big time. I believe, however, it would be difficult to "hide" that the world is a ring rather than a planet from the players, at least as Niven describes it, it would be visible with the naked eye.
Tough place for dwarves and gnomes - no mining into the scrith. I've always wondered about Niven's societies there, some have gone completely off tech others seem to have advanced metallurgy tech but only as reuse (of the materials if not the tech) from previous societies. I've not been able to wrap my head around how that would work on a societal scale after a crash
Another idea: A D&D adapted for the world of Bug Fables. Giant artifacts, tree-sized grass, things like that. And races are adapted into species of bugs (Humans would be ants, dwarves would be beetles, elves would be moths. Bees, butterflies, mantises, wasps, etc. would probably be separated into their own unique things).
I think when he said the characters in universe wouldn't have any clue that something non-natural is at work, he meant that they'd know the world is a ring; they wouldn't know that it's WEIRD that their world is a ring.
hmm, maybe if the fact that the world is a ring is hidden from them... some kind of magical illusion simulation, but then you get into the purpose of it. did an ancient race do this to protect them or train them for something, like in Ender's Game, or do the rings have some other purpose, such as space travel or even mass planar travel.
Updog
I'll also add a little DM experience/tip here, since I'm bored:
Recently ran a one-shot (all kobold party) where they ventured into a massive fey crossing subterranean area cause by a massive planar rift hundreds of years ago. basically, the area is consumed with wild magic and is like Alice and Wonderland meets Atlantis or Avatar. In their adventures they encountered some crazy stuff, but one of the favorite encounters I got to run was this magical forest. There was this absolutely stunningly beautiful stretch of woods, with perfect trees with multi-colored leaves and the best fruit they had ever tasted. These giant butterflies were flying overhead and an npc stopped to pet one. The butterfly then turned on him, and snapped him with a squelch, wrapping itself around him. they then leanred that these butterflies were NOT friendly, and in fact appeared to prey on creatures venturing through, using the idyllic forest as a trap. (Note: I used cloakers for the butterflies, made for a fun fight and good use of their illusions)
Despite the party being level 12, it was cool in this fight seeing how quickly subversion of expectations made them afraid and took them from 'exploration' to 'action' mode in an instant. Some takeaways I had were that it helps to set up fights however you can. Strictly speaking, make it so that there are no 'random' encounters. That way every fight feels not only planned and well-thought out to the player out of game, but immediately immerses them and provides intensity in-game.
Updog
Since Halloween is coming up on us, thought I'd ask...
Has anyone ever played any fun Halloween or horror one shots?
Anyone have any good tips on running horror or maybe a horror movie adaption for dnd?
Updog
I've been working on a campaign setting for a while that's somewhat based on the Castlevania series though with the normal POV inverted. IE: instead of hunting monsters teh players are the vampires, werewolves etc tryign to protect a "cursed land" sort of place from outside crusaders.
For other horror settings: Curse of Strahd is of course a classic. Grim Hollow is a cool setting I've heard that uses horror tropes/themes. Exploring other game systems tehre's of course Call of Cthulhu and the Aliens RPG.
As for techniques to use: as any good horror movie or game buff will tell you, it's actually far less about "real danger" (that helps of course) and far more about achieving the right atmosphere. The imagination is far better at scaring people than anything you can dream up on your own. So; use of sounds, music, ambiance, that sort of thing to set the stage is a lot more important for a horror game.
To give an example I like to use from the world of Video games: the introduction segment of Metroid Prime is a brilliant illustration of what I'm talking about. It takes place on a derelict ship that's sent out a distress call... only; it's a pirate ship, so right away that signals something very bad must have happened. There is no actual danger for most of it; but instead you find yourself picking through the ruins of carnage past, with most enemies being barely alive survivors that you don't feel "powerful" for killing; more like you're putting them out of their misery. Basically; achieving a good horror atmosphere means achieving the inverse of a "power fantasy": it's about creating the feeling of helplessness instead of agency.
ooh... that's a neat idea. I like playing monstrous races, and I feel like with good player buy-in those monsters would create fun and unique abilities and weaknesses, maybe an opportunity to do some homebrew races (i.e., vampires have weakness to sunlight, running water, werewolves have to contend with the constant switch, maybe a phantom who can't stay corporeal for long... etc.).
and yes, ambience and player buy in seem to be the two top tips in every dnd horror discussion I've seen or been a part of. You really can't go wrong if you're players know its horror, and if there's good lighting and music.
also, you're idea feels like genera flip that would actually work, as the crusader type enemies could easily be working for a corrupt kingdom or divine power.
Updog
More or less the idea yes; I've created five homebrew monster races for the setting; all a bit "OP" by standard D&D 5e rules, but that's rather the point, getting to play AS the monsters as it were:
1) Vampires - A lot of powerful physical and blood magic abilities, but also take stacking Radiant damage when exposed to sunlight or equivalent, along with the other vampiric weaknesses (unable to cross running water, thus ferrymen replace bridges in the setting, forbiddance unless invited, so it's customary to have a "welcome" sign on your shop/inn/home, etc.)
2) Werewolves - Drawing a little on the Lycans of the Underworld series, these guys are permanently turned so long as they stay in teh cursed land; but they still have to contend with their weakness to silver which is poisonous and deals wounds that can't be healed except by magical means. This means that there's an entirely different set of coins in this setting because silver is a strictly controlled substance.
3) Shades - Basically "shadow people": the remains of humans who were altered to suit the new land they found themselves in. Basically think "darklings" or other "solid shadow" creatures. They also take the vampire stacking radiant damage in daylight; but are extremely attuned to magic since like Tolkien Elves; it's a part of their very being.
4) Scarecrows - Basically this setting's warforged; with similar traits as constructs: immunity to poison and disease etc, but extremely vulnerable to fire since they're comprised of flammable materials.
5) Deep Ones - Basically Lovecraft-inspired fish people with a heavy emphasis on mind-games style abilities.
And yeah; my idea for the outside crusaders is that, in any normal setting, they'd be the faction a party would work for: fighting on the part of a conventional deity of light to "cleanse the corruption" that the cursed land represents. Even have a whole pantheon of gods that rule the region in place fo teh "normal" pantheons of D&D since well; the worshippers are now entirely different races.
sick. share those please!
Updog
I've a concept for a campaign which will hopefully screw with the players minds a bit.
The concept is the ususal start - the BBEG is starting to cause ominous rumblings and the party starts to try and sort things out. They do some quests and get some renown, grow a bit attached to the world, and then they are called to an Artificer who has a powerful machine which they can use to fight the BBEG.
The machine is simply - it's a respawn point. If they die, the machine will pull their souls back and rebuild them as they are now. The only problem is that the machine cannot store memories, so they will not remember anything that happened since they used the machine - if they use the machine, then go and write a number on a piece of paper and die, they will not remember the piece of paper or what they wrote.
The party, presumably, will agree as this implies immortality and repeated efforts, trying again and again to complete the tasks but not fearing death.
When they all stand on the platform, they will be blinded by a flash of light, and feel energy coursing through their body, like they are being disintegrated in reverse, and they will look out on a slightly changed room - the furniture has moved, the cobwebs have built up, and the artificer - notably older - is trying to put out a fire and ranting at them; "All of you? at once? What happened, did you fall down a pit? Oh this is terrific, you're not all supposed to use it at once! you've overloaded it! it's gone! dead! Kaput!".
They will learn that it is several years since they used the machine, and in that time they have been fighting the BBEG constantly, dying and respawning individually and being caught up by one another. But, somehow, they all died at once and have overloaded the machine - this is now their last chance to save the world.
They have rooms which have cool items and stuff that their characters collected during these lost lives, and notes which hint at things - perhaps a diary which features concerns of a betrayal, or plans for a heist - I will need to do the fleshing out to suit it. I would likely give each of them something which might indicate that they were a traitor in a previous life - a detailed map of the BBEG's castle, or an item which belonged to the BBEG and may have been a gift, and so on.
The party will get one shot at dealing with the BBEG, and the BBEG will be new to them - though BigBad will greet them like old friends/enemies, knowing them well and acting as though they have been fighting for years (they have!).
The world will have changed dramatically, with obvous signs of war and stuff - I need to iron out details!
So yeah, that's my plan for them to suddenly be jumped to where the BBEG is a lot closer to completing their goals, and to be given a bunch of cool stuff and a mystery to unravel to try and work out who was a traitor (if they even care at all!). Hopefully it'll work out well, if I ever run it!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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I thought up this campaign concept after reading Fitzban's/ painting dragon minis:
Dragons used to be common. Sights of winged forms flying through the sky was an everyday occurrence, and not one to be reacted to with fear. Dragons and humans lived if not harmony, in distant tolerance. But that was many years ago. The stories say they abandoned their dragon forms and lived as humanoids, and for many years any mage of strong power was speculated to be one. That suspicion too has died away, and now dragons remain only in art and legend.
...or do they?
When a collection of mysterious, mystical gemstones is found hidden near a small village, the strongest forces in the land take notice. Some seek them for knowledge, others for power, and still others may be looking for kin.
My idea is that the player characters will be one of the interested parties, maybe working for a noble or faction (to be determined based on alignment/goals after creation). A few other ideas I had were:
Questions I need to answer:
Also- I definitely like your concept, Thoruk! Very cool.
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
1. Why are the dragons hiding?
Perhaps there was a division among the dragons about changing their forms. Some dragons wanted to go and live lives in the human world, but others didn't. the dragons may have had a war, or at least a cold war, among themselves and nearly destroyed their numbers. The remaining go into hiding in human societies to push their own agendas.
2. who is the main villain?
could be multiple (see answer #3). maybe a faction leader, secretly an evil dragon taken human form (I've long had a house rule that all dragons can shapechange, cause let's be real, that's cooler and makes more sense). It's up to you and what direction you want this to go.
3. kobold nobility, like it. One thing you need to make clear, if it is not obvious that the gemstones are eggs at first, is why all these major powers are seeking them. Obviously, most of them probably know they're eggs, but there should be another reason to make it inconspicuous (when all of the biggest governments in your world immediately converge on these 'gemstones', that's kind of sus unless they have a good reason). off that, you could have a faction that appears to be led by benevolent clerics, but really is a cult seeking to use the eggs for their own purposes (dragon grafting, powers, that kind of thing). I like this because the 'wise older man' trope is so done to death in fantasy, that's a really good spin to make him a traitor.
Updog
I love these ideas so far! feel free to share past sessions or campaigns you've DM'd and what you've learned from them. Especially if it's halloween related or themed!
Updog
also @Undaunted Dm, I designed these rules for a bit more flavor in draconic combat. Use 'em if you want
In lieu of a dragon-based campaign setting I've been working on, and some ideas I've had brewing for a while about fighting larger size class monsters, I wanted to create some rule sets that make dragons feel like they are truly huge, legendary beasts. When players fight them, I want them to feel the scale of their opponent as well as its power relative to theirs. I'll try to update this thread with new rules, but I'm also posting so all can give thoughts and some of your own advice and experience when it comes to 'legendary' combat. (I also plan to add sections to this later with similar rules for creatures like the Kraken, dragon turtle, purple worm, and other titanic creatures). These rules are mainly meant for adult or ancient dragons, to reflect both their size and the power that comes with their long years.
Legendary Combat
For a huge or larger dragon consider adding the following benefit:
Resistance to Bludgeoning and Slashing damage, Immunity to Piercing damage*
this feature gives the feel that the dragon is not only tough, but that their puny mortal weapons are not sufficient to pierce its ancient hide. Although I'm sure I haven't covered every weapon that probably should be covered with this rule, the point is that bludgeoning and slashing damage generally make more sense to damage a dragon, while piercing with certain weapons just shouldn't be enough to damage a dragon (Bard dances in with a fancy +1 potsticker, tries to poke the dragon and leave with a parting gibe? No sir!)
*The following weapons bypass the dragon's immunity to piercing: War Pick, Heavy Crossbow, Lance Pike, or Longbow
The following feature adds a level to realism that I think is missing from breath weapons. The effect in the sample below is called 'Burn' as I used the red dragon as an example, but you can change the name to reflect the damage type.
Fire Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales fire in a 60-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw, taking 63 (18d6) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Each creature that fails the saving throw suffers from severe burns and has disadvantage on attack rolls and until the end of their next turn.
This effect still makes thematic sense no matter what dragon you use. The acid from a black dragon would still corrode and burn, as would lightning from a blue dragon, a white dragon's cold gives extreme frostbite, and the gas from a green dragon's poison breath would cause disorientation that lasts till their next turn. The point of the effect is to add a fun and more detailed layer to a dragon's breath, given that it's such a powerful effect.
In adult or ancient dragons, I add the following to the Claw and Tail attack options:
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) slashing damage, and the target must make a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be knocked back 15 feet away from the dragon.
These both give the dragon a sense of power and force behind its attacks and provide a fun mental image of the dragon flinging its targets around like ragdolls.
Elemental Fury
When the dragon is below half its hit point maximum, the cracks in its scales begin to widen, and flames* begin to wreathe the dragon's body. Any creature that enters within 10 feet of the dragon must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (3d6) fire damage.
*Or lightning or acid etc. You get the idea.
The Dragon Hammer is an item that you don't necessarily have to use against dragons, but is useful tool when trying to keep one grounded, especially if you choose to use the added resistances listed above^.
Dragon hammer
heavy, two handed, rare
You gain a +1 to attack and damage rolls with this weapon and have advantage on attack rolls against creatures size class Large or larger. If you hit a Large or larger creature with an attack from this hammer, it must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of its next turn.
While these hefty hammers serve well against all titanic creatures, landing a hit or two with this on a grounded dragon will allow your companions to move in on the stunned beast and attack more effectively.
Updog
Currently brainstorming a campaign idea about: Sci-Fi, Cyber-Rune-Tech, Space-combat, Magical Space Opera.
I’m running a Ravenloft one shot this Halloween that’s basically gonna be a homebrew expansion of the House of Lament adventure from VRGtR with some tie ins to my existing Ravenloft campaign storyline.
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
My characters begin as performers in a traveling show who are misrepresented as actual heroes by an agent sent to monitor "multi-dimensional activity of interest." The agent's lazy ploy for continued travel funding comes home to roost when his employer flies down in a spelljammer looking for these capable heroes. Then it's a scramble to get them on-board with the ruse and on board the physical galleon. Once gathered, they're told of the employer's desperate mission to seek out a source of great dimension warping power. One such object in Waterdeep pinged their scrying devices three days ago which may or may not have inadvertently caused an earthquake under the city a day later. A shady faction in Waterdeep was hired to investigate and so the heroes are asked to infiltrate that faction and secure the macguffin for their own. With luck they could get paid twice for the same job!
I don't hear a lot of praise for the Acquisitions Incorporated adventure, but I was really impressed with the dungeon design. Certainly more traps and nuance to every tunnel and leg of travel than I felt like I was getting from the comparable Lost Mines of Phandelver. And the story leaps immediately to the point for my setup. I'm rather torn now whether I want to nudge the campaign into Xaryxispace (not everyone's cup of tea, but maybe worth the explore) where it had been aimed or if it might end up more fun playing as AcqInc's first intergalactic delivery crew ("good news, everyone!").
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
I had played a bit of “Descent into Avernus” at my table; and on a whim, I entertained the idea of the opposite: “Ascent into Mt. Celestia”.
I have had a fascination with the Upper Planes and the celestial-type creatures; and thought it would be interesting to see how players would navigate the literal realms of the gods.
It also has the nice irony of having very mortal adventurers having to deal with a plane that is purely good, and sometimes excessively lawful…invariably, someone is going to piss someone off; which might lead to amusing encounters. Not to mention as to whether or not a mortal can “handle” the vices or revelry of literal heavenly creatures…
The overarching conflict is also not dissimilar to the concept set forth in “Descent in Avernus”: there ARE planetars & angels who feel like they are not doing enough to preserve the forces of “good” within the cosmic balance; and there is something of a civil unrest among the natives of the Upper Planes.
Anyway, the adventurers would start the adventure by winning a mystical “lottery” held at a festival celebration outside Waterdeep; they, the victors, win a free all-expense paid trip to Brightwater: essentially Las Vegas, but on the celestial plane of Arborea. From there, they would learn of a mysterious coup plotting to usurp the hierarchy of the heavens. To make matters worse, a peculiar “sickness” would be causing the celestial creatures of the realm to behave erratically…lawful entities driven to excessive violence over minor infractions; and chaotic creatures being sent into maddening rampages.
This sickness would slowly creep its way up the various levels of Mt. Celestia; and the adventurers would have to make their pilgrimage up the mountain to find out where it came from & how to stop it. Along the way, they might even have chances to meet with deities themselves.
I’d sprinkle in some neat encounters…like fighting with the undying einherjar to prove their strength in battle…tracking magical creatures through the Beastlands…stopping a network of thieves stealing precious artifacts that they wish to smuggle into the Material Plane…lots of fun options.
The overall theme of the campaign would be to ask the question: what is it to be “good”? How does one prove their goodness? What is it’s worth?
This sounds like a really cool campaign.
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).