Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in
More Ooc (initiative issue - discussion)
Hey gang, so you know I stole the side initiative we've been using from DSRPG, or you don't, doesn't matter. I think it works okay most of the time, but this dungeon has shown me its big old weakness: a bunch of low CR creatures with low to average hp pretty much will never act, and so really may as well not exist. A bunch of empty rooms sounds less than exciting to me, but I'm not the only one here. So, what do we think? If we keep this initiative, rooms like this are non-mechanical combat, they simply exist in the narrative. You enter, you see all the shadows hiding in tbe dark, because you're thst spwced, and then you all kill them. They have theoretical abilities that make them dangerous, but in practice, this can only come up if someone carelessly walks away from one and they aoo outside their own turn. Just like tbe last room at the end.
So, we can do this more like a Cypher game in these rooms, (we resolve how hard it is to hurt these guys based on discussion between player and gm, then yiu roll to succed and it deternines the outcome if the atrack. Success ge erally means yiu eliminate that enemy) or we can adjust initiative to something else.
Ideas for something else include:
Doom points, (if you've seen Daggerheart's rules, it's like that, but I'm familiar from other systems, like Dreams and Machines or Conan) where the more stuff you do, the more points the DM gets to spend when he chooses to have enemies act.
Auto-rolling regular by the book initiative (by which I mean, I just roll it. This is all RNG outputs, anyway) and each noc gets their own initiative and then we go through it. I stopped this in pbp because it takes long time wait for the player who's turn it is.
Greyhawk-like initiative. You say what you want to do, there's math for how long it takes, that's the order in which it resolves, and the whole round resolves at once.
PM me your thoughts. We can flesh out details as needed.
(For the dungeon , quicker seems better to me, since my pc has alert, I like her going quick but find it fun when the order the pcs go can change. It provides variation and different strategies. Any way for dm to roll everyone’s init including npcs in one post, then we go from there.
@shimshon: that is the one i described as auto-rolling, in that it is rolled initiative, it's onky auto in that I'm prompting jt, but really ddb is doing all the rolling. This is an actual feature present in the encounter builder. Owlbear has it, but it's been a challenge to implement in practice.
The issue I noted is that, while the upfront wait for rolling for initiative is eliminated, each combat round actually unfolding in order is the part that tends to move slowly. Example: Monday DM "x, you're up" 14 hours later x: "I do ..." 4 hours later "OK, this happens. Y: you're up" 12 hours later y: "I..."
This, in my experience is painfully slow and the reason I keep looking for alt. Initiative systems. Variations of side initiative are what I've tried.
(That would suck to wait so long)
Put your spoiler here
I personally like the action point allowance concept, but it's a lot - the backbone kf a whole different experience to vanilla 5e, so best to avoid.
Based on feedback I've received, and the prior approval I had to do so, I think I'm going ro stick with the system we've been using, and just chsnge the CR of one kr more monsters so they can possibly act before dying. I already said I mogjt do this when we agreed on long rests, I just usually do ot because I want to never becasue I previously felt I had to.
Thus is a good time to discuss the thing I call autoroll (I think it sounds better than DM roll, and more accurate, top, since it's the game engine doing it).
It's just me using DDB encounter builder to roll initiative, but monsters slot based on the aforementioned DSRPG-based math and act as a side
The only changes following this discussion are:
1. DDB Encounter builder rolls initiative each encounter.
2*. I'm adjusting monster CR as previously discussed (*so, this might not actually count as a change).
Thank you for your patience and input!
<If EB fails to include some bonus to your initiative, let me know. (I think it's still technically beta after 3 years or so 🤔). >
<that was a chore, but I've got it now.>
Picollo 23
Randy and Trisk 21
Sam 19
Shadows 17
Ethan 16
Tetrevess 4
Picollo wins the hide vs perception for certain. She can point out general locations, but everyone please roll two to-hits and a perception check so we can use the DA if needed. You know of all six creatures, so just pick one and that's tbe number you're up against. If yoi don't name it, I'll roll a d6. I have a set of rolls saved from anydice. That determines if you spot the shadow and if it hits.
<Complicated enough? Thanks for putting up with it.>
Picollo, Randy Trisk and Sam are up.
Trisk's Perception: 18
Shocking Grasp at number 2 creature.
1st rolled Attack: 30 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll. lightning damage.
2nd rolled Attack: 29 Damage: 7 lightning damage.
(use the highest of the 2 attacks rolls for advantage, and the lowest for disadvantage.)
With lightning speed, Piccolo moves toward an undead within 20 feet, , tosses two thorn daggers, then move back to the entrance, , cunning action dash (or if she can, she will use hide action)
to hits 25 and 32 to hit
damage 9 and 12 magical piercing
Not wasting his breath, Randy reloads his firearm and shoots at both targets
Fire Bolt (#1): 28 Damage: 23 (Nat 1)
Ballista (#2, Sharpshooter): Attack: 11 Damage: 25 (23, 27)
God awful perception roll: 0
Wildland Shifters Pt 2 (Pt 1 with PyromaniIsDeadThankGod)
Celci (The Lamb) - Non-Binary Changeling Sorcerer (Shadow Magic)
Maya Kurosaki - Female Kitsune Cleric (Twilight Domain); Currently in Lancea
Randy Wolftree - Male Human Artificer (Armourer); Currently in Crimson Sands of Time
Shijiro Otsune - Male Kitsune Blood Hunter (Order Of The Lycan)
Trojan Dseyller - Male Tortle Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian)
Xenia Ironhide - Female Kobold Rogue (Soulknife)
(ooc: the room is dark? if it's just regular darkness Trisk has darkvision.)
<the text is vague about the darkness' magicalness. I dont think it is, but mundane and low level magical bright light only illuminates dimly.
the shadows can hide as a bonus action and they start the encounter in hiding. They require nothing to hide behind, they're just shadows in the dark. But that darkvision means you're not making the perception check at DA. The darkness is more about enabling abilities than limiting visibility. >
17 perception (with disadvantage, although tet has a source of light continual flame on his staff- if that works then 23 perception.
Tetrevess seems out of it again, a bit befuddled and slow to act
Reisk, long-time denizen if the shadowfell feels comfortable in these environs. sensing danger and reacting ro Picollo's response soon spotting the agadiea within the room, he tosses a spell and manages to hitnhsi target: darkness hidden in shadow (or the other way around). The spectral hand latched onto the creature reveals its presence for the time being
<anyone else attacking this target who can see in the dark (or brings a light source close enough) would therefore see this creature.>
The spell doesn't seem especially effective.
Pocollo targets a shadow and with a deft flick of the wrist extinguished the entity with ease.
Shadow # 4 is gone
<@Wildland_Shifters: you know your PC better than me, so I'm assuming these are the right rolls for your vision. #2 would be rendered visible so no DA to hit. If the firebolt is with DA, it's still a hit.>
Randy's firebolt shot in the dark briefly illuminates the shadow it manages to hit but does little harm as it is snuffed out.
The shot fired at the shadow to which Trisk has attached a spectral hand, however, completely destroys the umbral entity in the blast.
Sam is up, then the shadows. #1,4,5 & 6 remain, and #1 has taken some damage, but remains hidden as do the others.
<this feels like a good encounter for a gloom.stalker>
<I really want to wait for the Gloomstalker to do something with this dimly lit encounter. Also, due to umbral sight, he is invisible to these entities. I dont want to have them attack and then one or more gets killed before that occurs.>
Sam smiles and chuckles this is going to be fun
as he brandished his frostbrand weapon
he attacks
attack 1 27 to hit 8 slashing 1 cold
attack 2 Nat 20 for 29 damage 17 slashing 7 cold
dread attack 19 to hit 8 slashing 3 cold + 8 slashing for dread
bouns action war priest 27 to hit 10 slashing 2 cold