I've just started working on an adventure for level 5 to 6 that I might wanna run with our pbp group, and will likely post in DMs Guild eventually, if it doesn't end up going terribly because I'm not far in at all.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explainHERE.
I just finished the expansion of our CR basis to 60. Along the way I realized I screwed up some math.
Math is not among the degrees I hold, lol.
In most of our worlds, powerful people are high level people -- the head of a church will be equal to a Tier 4 character in regular 5e, for example. We also use 5 tiers (Novice, Yeoman, Adept, Master, and Grandmaster), which has import when figuring out what to throw at folks.
For each of the PC levels, there are 3 CRs now -- it used to be two. It lets us get pretty granular, but his shift to 60 also means we have a better comparison to regular 5e -- we just divide by 2, depending on the other system in use.
It also means that we can adjust a CR up or down based on a ot of different factors, and create monsters more readily from scratch, balancing their different abilities for a particular level.
The math I screwed up was the lowest tier stuff -- I forgot that the same rules for "common folks" needed to apply in the case of the "bad guys" -- who essentially use Cr as a kind of level for us. So a 20th level PC is facing CR 57 and up creatures.
But I also screw up the math for how much an encounter is worth. And the reason is I spaced out an old "table rule" for planning. Like 20 years ago we all decided that each level is a year of time. NOt in reality (game reality or actual reality), but in terms of planning "how long would it take for a regular person to get to 20th level". And we figured 20 years.
that isn't how long it really takes -- Adventurers are way faster, lol, but also, it is influenced by how often that normal person has to put their life on the line and use skills and learn and all that. It's a silly, abstract number for planning thing out like "How old is that Bishop?"
That is further influenced by the fact that the higher your level, the more encounters your likely to have, and the more dangerous those encounters are going to be.
So, now, the experience points per encounter are based on a set number of expected, planned encounters per day (not random ones) in relation to how tough a given encounter within a given level is. And if you take the middle number from each of those encounter CR's, and multiply it by the number of days in a year, you get a level.
What that really means is much slower progression for a normal person -- and a much faster progression for an adventure. Plus, it is harder to level up at lower levels, but sorta stalls out at higher levels, because it takes so much more to get ahead. and all of that is just XP - which are higher at lower levels than regular 5e, and lower at higher levels.
So, now when I have a Yeoman guard, their CR is going to be more reflective -- a 7 or 8 in regular 5e terms. Whereas that Bishop is a typically going to be a 25 -- and it scales the same way the PCs scale up.
The reason I had to fix it is Redcaps. you know, goblins that dip their hats in the blood of their enemies and generally just bad news. A fresh faced goblin might only be a CR 2, but a Redcap (experienced, tactical, dangerous) is going to be a CR 8 at least. And they can have variance, as well -- in our system, that 8 becomes a 16, meaning the range is 14 to 18 in a given encounter, which is at least a level 6 or 7 encounter (with 1.5 Redcaps per character).
Much more dangerous, but the same math still holds up for those CR 1 farmers, lol -- 4 of those farmers should be able to take out a single Redcap -- but they would need over a thousand of them to tackle a CR 30 creature (with likely over half of them dying in the process).
It really drives home how "special" the PCs are, how they are the Protagonists of their world, while also letting me see just how much harder something would be at their level for the really high stuff. A level 20 PC should need three friends to handle a CR 60 creature. And my level 20 wizards can drop a spell that does 20d14 worth of damage (whereas 1st level can do 1d6 damage with a cantrip). And that's all before they decide to pump more magic into it and make it deadlier.
I am now certain that my dragons can kick Tiamat's hind end ito the sun, lol.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I've just started working on an adventure for level 5 to 6 that I might wanna run with our pbp group, and will likely post in DMs Guild eventually, if it doesn't end up going terribly because I'm not far in at all.
I've just started working on an adventure for level 5 to 6 that I might wanna run with our pbp group, and will likely post in DMs Guild eventually, if it doesn't end up going terribly because I'm not far in at all.
Send us a link if you ever publish!
It might be a while before the adventure is finished and is released if I keep working on it, but I'll definitely send you guys a link if stick with the project and end up publishing the thing. :)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explainHERE.
I've just started working on an adventure for level 5 to 6 that I might wanna run with our pbp group, and will likely post in DMs Guild eventually, if it doesn't end up going terribly because I'm not far in at all.
I've just started working on an adventure for level 5 to 6 that I might wanna run with our pbp group, and will likely post in DMs Guild eventually, if it doesn't end up going terribly because I'm not far in at all.
Send us a link if you ever publish!
It might be a while before the adventure is finished and is released if I keep working on it, but I'll definitely send you guys a link if stick with the project and end up publishing the thing. :)
You better, I will buy that, possibly more than once.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Your friendly trans bard!
She/They pronouns
The Goddess of the Strings (thanks for the title Drummer!)
I am now certain that my dragons can kick Tiamat's hind end ito the sun, lol.
I am super confused. So regular dragons in your world can kill a goddess? Who is CR30? Who regenerates 30 per round? Has legendary actions?
How is Tiamat not the ultimate aspect of said (Chromatic) dragons?
Granted every world is different, based on the DM. But dragons killing a goddess seems pretty incredible.
yep. She ain’t a goddess on my world, lol. Technically, she doesn’t exist there, soooo…
I will confess that the healing is a big problem, lol, but they also have legendary actions.
Dragons actually make up a huge chunk of the final segment of the first campaign — strictly 19th, 20th level stuff. And they appear throughout the whole campaign, interacting with the party off and on — from 2nd level on up! The party’s way of handling those things determines the way the dragons will react.
there is a Glaring and mostly unmentioned aspect to my lore book, lol, but hints are mentioned in passing. I already dropped a huge bomb in that last bit, so I hope no one sees, lol
i have a special fondness for dragons, and poor Tia has been mightily abused by the game, lol
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I am now certain that my dragons can kick Tiamat's hind end ito the sun, lol.
I am super confused. So regular dragons in your world can kill a goddess? Who is CR30? Who regenerates 30 per round? Has legendary actions?
How is Tiamat not the ultimate aspect of said (Chromatic) dragons?
Granted every world is different, based on the DM. But dragons killing a goddess seems pretty incredible.
yep. She ain’t a goddess on my world, lol. Technically, she doesn’t exist there, soooo… I will confess that the healing is a big problem, lol, but they also have legendary actions. Dragons actually make up a huge chunk of the final segment of the first campaign — strictly 19th, 20th level stuff. And they appear throughout the whole campaign, interacting with the party off and on — from 2nd level on up! The party’s way of handling those things determines the way the dragons will react. there is a Glaring and mostly unmentioned aspect to my lore book, lol, but hints are mentioned in passing. I already dropped a huge bomb in that last bit, so I hope no one sees, lol i have a special fondness for dragons, and poor Tia has been mightily abused by the game, lol
Like you, among mortals, dragons are one of the most powerful creatures (especially once they reach Ancient for their age). Even Beholders know better than to mess with a Dragon.
In my homebrew, Tiamat exists (though by a different name) and is a goddess.
So her not being a goddess in your world would make more sense that dragons could take her own.
If I may ask - what is she in your world? Something similar to a Chimera or something? Just some crazy monstrosity?
I am now certain that my dragons can kick Tiamat's hind end ito the sun, lol.
I am super confused. So regular dragons in your world can kill a goddess? Who is CR30? Who regenerates 30 per round? Has legendary actions?
How is Tiamat not the ultimate aspect of said (Chromatic) dragons?
Granted every world is different, based on the DM. But dragons killing a goddess seems pretty incredible.
yep. She ain’t a goddess on my world, lol. Technically, she doesn’t exist there, soooo… I will confess that the healing is a big problem, lol, but they also have legendary actions. Dragons actually make up a huge chunk of the final segment of the first campaign — strictly 19th, 20th level stuff. And they appear throughout the whole campaign, interacting with the party off and on — from 2nd level on up! The party’s way of handling those things determines the way the dragons will react. there is a Glaring and mostly unmentioned aspect to my lore book, lol, but hints are mentioned in passing. I already dropped a huge bomb in that last bit, so I hope no one sees, lol i have a special fondness for dragons, and poor Tia has been mightily abused by the game, lol
Like you, among mortals, dragons are one of the most powerful creatures (especially once they reach Ancient for their age). Even Beholders know better than to mess with a Dragon.
In my homebrew, Tiamat exists (though by a different name) and is a goddess.
So her not being a goddess in your world would make more sense that dragons could take her own.
If I may ask - what is she in your world? Something similar to a Chimera or something? Just some crazy monstrosity?
Tiamat isn't in my world. None of the D&D based powers are.
I mentioned long while back about how I have different sets of Powers. One of them is The Old Ones -- and they are known, but they are maybe worshipped by one tenth of one percent of the total population, and always in secret -- they count in game terms as vestiges. They are based entirely on PIE folks, and don't have Names, they have descriptions. And to look upon them is to lose sanity, for their mere visage is a DC 45 Sanity check, lol. The only exceptions to that are the two saints, the world dragon, and the Fates. And the story of how these beings all came to exist on this planet that is not Earth, that is colonized over a thousand years from now and then removed from spacetime a thousand years after that, is a part of the mystery that surrounds them, lol.
So, technically, she would be somewhere in there. Since Tiamat herself is derived from the Proto-Indo-European deities. But none of them are able to do much in the world -- they are lore and possibly down the road story stuff.
The simple truth is this: Wyrlde is a terraformed planet, and the Dragons are the survivors of the terraforming, altered by it, and then by all the other stuff that happened. And there are 25 of them, (well, the old ones) and they are super pissed off that their planet was invaded by these damnable creatures who have utterly changed the surface of the planet and created new continents and brought all manner of horrors with them.
Tia's a good reference point, though -- she's powerful, dangerous, and well known. If I expect a fight with 9 of my 20th level PCs to last at least five turns, the big ole beastie has to be better than her stats, lol.
I think D&D did her wrong -- this is the personification of the salt sea, the mother of all the gods, the waters of the ocean, the bringer of life, whose husband was slain by their own children because they lusted for power. She is a traditional tragic goddess, an aspect of the anima mundi, and D&D takes her from her waters and makes her an evil. For shame.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I've just started working on an adventure for level 5 to 6 that I might wanna run with our pbp group, and will likely post in DMs Guild eventually, if it doesn't end up going terribly because I'm not far in at all.
Definitely. Characters can argue and fight, players need to treat each other with respect. Characters can get mentally scarred or traumatized by all sorts of horrible stuff, players get safety tools. Characters can notice and understand things that players wouldn't.
Most importantly of all, characters can get stabbed to death by evil goblins, whereas I've been told this is quite illegal and strictly speaking impossible to do to players.
Definitely. Characters can argue and fight, players need to treat each other with respect. Characters can get mentally scarred or traumatized by all sorts of horrible stuff, players get safety tools. Characters can notice and understand things that players wouldn't.
Most importantly of all, characters can get stabbed to death by evil goblins, whereas I've been told this is quite illegal and strictly speaking impossible to do to players.
I would answer but it would be pretty much the same thing as this ^
I've just started working on an adventure for level 5 to 6 that I might wanna run with our pbp group, and will likely post in DMs Guild eventually, if it doesn't end up going terribly because I'm not far in at all.
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.I just finished the expansion of our CR basis to 60. Along the way I realized I screwed up some math.
Math is not among the degrees I hold, lol.
In most of our worlds, powerful people are high level people -- the head of a church will be equal to a Tier 4 character in regular 5e, for example. We also use 5 tiers (Novice, Yeoman, Adept, Master, and Grandmaster), which has import when figuring out what to throw at folks.
For each of the PC levels, there are 3 CRs now -- it used to be two. It lets us get pretty granular, but his shift to 60 also means we have a better comparison to regular 5e -- we just divide by 2, depending on the other system in use.
It also means that we can adjust a CR up or down based on a ot of different factors, and create monsters more readily from scratch, balancing their different abilities for a particular level.
The math I screwed up was the lowest tier stuff -- I forgot that the same rules for "common folks" needed to apply in the case of the "bad guys" -- who essentially use Cr as a kind of level for us. So a 20th level PC is facing CR 57 and up creatures.
But I also screw up the math for how much an encounter is worth. And the reason is I spaced out an old "table rule" for planning. Like 20 years ago we all decided that each level is a year of time. NOt in reality (game reality or actual reality), but in terms of planning "how long would it take for a regular person to get to 20th level". And we figured 20 years.
that isn't how long it really takes -- Adventurers are way faster, lol, but also, it is influenced by how often that normal person has to put their life on the line and use skills and learn and all that. It's a silly, abstract number for planning thing out like "How old is that Bishop?"
That is further influenced by the fact that the higher your level, the more encounters your likely to have, and the more dangerous those encounters are going to be.
So, now, the experience points per encounter are based on a set number of expected, planned encounters per day (not random ones) in relation to how tough a given encounter within a given level is. And if you take the middle number from each of those encounter CR's, and multiply it by the number of days in a year, you get a level.
What that really means is much slower progression for a normal person -- and a much faster progression for an adventure. Plus, it is harder to level up at lower levels, but sorta stalls out at higher levels, because it takes so much more to get ahead. and all of that is just XP - which are higher at lower levels than regular 5e, and lower at higher levels.
So, now when I have a Yeoman guard, their CR is going to be more reflective -- a 7 or 8 in regular 5e terms. Whereas that Bishop is a typically going to be a 25 -- and it scales the same way the PCs scale up.
The reason I had to fix it is Redcaps. you know, goblins that dip their hats in the blood of their enemies and generally just bad news. A fresh faced goblin might only be a CR 2, but a Redcap (experienced, tactical, dangerous) is going to be a CR 8 at least. And they can have variance, as well -- in our system, that 8 becomes a 16, meaning the range is 14 to 18 in a given encounter, which is at least a level 6 or 7 encounter (with 1.5 Redcaps per character).
Much more dangerous, but the same math still holds up for those CR 1 farmers, lol -- 4 of those farmers should be able to take out a single Redcap -- but they would need over a thousand of them to tackle a CR 30 creature (with likely over half of them dying in the process).
It really drives home how "special" the PCs are, how they are the Protagonists of their world, while also letting me see just how much harder something would be at their level for the really high stuff. A level 20 PC should need three friends to handle a CR 60 creature. And my level 20 wizards can drop a spell that does 20d14 worth of damage (whereas 1st level can do 1d6 damage with a cantrip). And that's all before they decide to pump more magic into it and make it deadlier.
I am now certain that my dragons can kick Tiamat's hind end ito the sun, lol.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Send us a link if you ever publish!
Terra Lubridia archive:
The Bloody Barnacle | The Gut | The Athene Crusader | The Jewel of Atlantis
It might be a while before the adventure is finished and is released if I keep working on it, but I'll definitely send you guys a link if stick with the project and end up publishing the thing. :)
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Hope to see it! I’d love to play!
You better, I will buy that, possibly more than once.
Your friendly trans bard!
She/They pronouns
The Goddess of the Strings (thanks for the title Drummer!)
I am super confused. So regular dragons in your world can kill a goddess? Who is CR30? Who regenerates 30 per round? Has legendary actions?
How is Tiamat not the ultimate aspect of said (Chromatic) dragons?
Granted every world is different, based on the DM. But dragons killing a goddess seems pretty incredible.
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
yep. She ain’t a goddess on my world, lol. Technically, she doesn’t exist there, soooo…
I will confess that the healing is a big problem, lol, but they also have legendary actions.
Dragons actually make up a huge chunk of the final segment of the first campaign — strictly 19th, 20th level stuff. And they appear throughout the whole campaign, interacting with the party off and on — from 2nd level on up! The party’s way of handling those things determines the way the dragons will react.
there is a Glaring and mostly unmentioned aspect to my lore book, lol, but hints are mentioned in passing. I already dropped a huge bomb in that last bit, so I hope no one sees, lol
i have a special fondness for dragons, and poor Tia has been mightily abused by the game, lol
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Like you, among mortals, dragons are one of the most powerful creatures (especially once they reach Ancient for their age). Even Beholders know better than to mess with a Dragon.
In my homebrew, Tiamat exists (though by a different name) and is a goddess.
So her not being a goddess in your world would make more sense that dragons could take her own.
If I may ask - what is she in your world? Something similar to a Chimera or something? Just some crazy monstrosity?
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
Tiamat isn't in my world. None of the D&D based powers are.
I mentioned long while back about how I have different sets of Powers. One of them is The Old Ones -- and they are known, but they are maybe worshipped by one tenth of one percent of the total population, and always in secret -- they count in game terms as vestiges. They are based entirely on PIE folks, and don't have Names, they have descriptions. And to look upon them is to lose sanity, for their mere visage is a DC 45 Sanity check, lol. The only exceptions to that are the two saints, the world dragon, and the Fates. And the story of how these beings all came to exist on this planet that is not Earth, that is colonized over a thousand years from now and then removed from spacetime a thousand years after that, is a part of the mystery that surrounds them, lol.
So, technically, she would be somewhere in there. Since Tiamat herself is derived from the Proto-Indo-European deities. But none of them are able to do much in the world -- they are lore and possibly down the road story stuff.
The simple truth is this: Wyrlde is a terraformed planet, and the Dragons are the survivors of the terraforming, altered by it, and then by all the other stuff that happened. And there are 25 of them, (well, the old ones) and they are super pissed off that their planet was invaded by these damnable creatures who have utterly changed the surface of the planet and created new continents and brought all manner of horrors with them.
Tia's a good reference point, though -- she's powerful, dangerous, and well known. If I expect a fight with 9 of my 20th level PCs to last at least five turns, the big ole beastie has to be better than her stats, lol.
I think D&D did her wrong -- this is the personification of the salt sea, the mother of all the gods, the waters of the ocean, the bringer of life, whose husband was slain by their own children because they lusted for power. She is a traditional tragic goddess, an aspect of the anima mundi, and D&D takes her from her waters and makes her an evil. For shame.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
D&D's use of the name Tiamat is a real head-scratcher.
Ya'll are awesome. The amount of support and friendliness is literally incredible. :)
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.I look forward to helping you playtest it!
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
No worries, everybody’s got something.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Hehe.. Okay. I‘m pretty glad I’m in this thread but I’ll keep my traumas and horrors to myself and others I’m close with.
She/Her | Femboy Nerd
Moderator for the The 2 Story Tavern and Return of The Spider Guild
~Extended Signature~
Devilishly Cute
QOTD: Do you draw a strict distinction between players and PCs, or do the lines get blurry for you on that subject?
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Sometimes the lines get blurry. I’ve only been a DM once, but in most of the campaigns I’ve played in the lines can get a little blurry.
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
Definitely. Characters can argue and fight, players need to treat each other with respect. Characters can get mentally scarred or traumatized by all sorts of horrible stuff, players get safety tools. Characters can notice and understand things that players wouldn't.
Most importantly of all, characters can get stabbed to death by evil goblins, whereas I've been told this is quite illegal and strictly speaking impossible to do to players.
I would answer but it would be pretty much the same thing as this ^
She/Her | Femboy Nerd
Moderator for the The 2 Story Tavern and Return of The Spider Guild
~Extended Signature~
Devilishly Cute
We do Session Zero and safety tools and all that, but sometimes personal feelings get in the way of the game.
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).