Quote from BoringBard >>

I've been working on my adventure for DM's Guild but it really isn't looking too great. Do you guys think I should still post it when I finish even though I'm not proud of it, or should I just scrap the whole thing altogether?

If I wrapped it up and published it, I think it'd be pay what you want with the suggested pay being 0.00 lol.

Set it aside for now, move on to the next project, come back to it later and see if you can fix what was wrong.

Quote from BoringBard >>

I've been working on my adventure for DM's Guild but it really isn't looking too great. Do you guys think I should still post it when I finish even though I'm not proud of it, or should I just scrap the whole thing altogether?

If I wrapped it up and published it, I think it'd be pay what you want with the suggested pay being 0.00 lol.

 Didn’t you mention you possibly wanted to run it for the Temple group? I bet once Choir is done DMing , we’d all be happy to play test it.

That was a different thing I haven't even started working on but just have an idea for, sadly.

Question for y’all, how would you completely reflavor a monster that everyone has seen before to make it more interesting, without changing the stats?

like an Aboleth?

Quote from Nothic2SeeHere2 >>

 About the rug:

Quote from TheMadGibber>>

Quote from SirTawmis>>

Rug of Smothering: No joke. Just used this a month ago in a low level campaign I run. Was used as a trap just inside the main front door - before entering if you don't speak the command before stepping on the rug - it attacks you. Not sure why you can't take it serious - at low levels it can be dangerous. Several other monsters have the same exact powers as the Rug of Smothering.

 Pretty sure the "can't take serious bit" is because it's, you know, just a living rug.

"As you enter into the dungeon, you encounter a dangerous enemy... A RUG! DUN DUN DUNNNNNN!"

Yeah, pretty much. I’d never use the rug for anything but a joke. Maybe the BBEG leaves a welcome mat outside their lair, and the welcome mat tries to smother the party, or something.

While it’s true that the rug is dangerous at lower levels, that doesn’t mean it’s a good choice. Compared to other CR 2 monsters like the ankheg, ettercap, or grick, it just doesn’t hold up. It only has one action, and its single interesting ability, Damage Transfer, only applies until someone escapes the grapple, which always happens pretty quickly unless they grappled a wizard. So it’s cool, but I feel like using a rug of smothering would be a waste if I could use a different CR 2 monster instead.

(Antimagic Susceptability doesn’t count because antimagic field is too high level and no one ever takes dispel magic. I mean, I’m sure some parties do, but most players I’ve DMed for only care about flashy things like lightning bolt and magic missile.)

So it’s funny, and it could work with some campaigns, but it’s just not a good fit for me.

 
Here's the thing... You mentioned using Animated Swords and Animated Armor. Which is cool. But that's a straight up fight.

The rug will require more thinking - especially if it manages to snag someone.

First of all - I always give it a surprise attack (meaning at advantage) unless someone is examining the rug. Which is hardly ever the case, because I put it just inside the house. So not a rug outside that says "Welcome" but the rug inside. So when people step in after opening the door - if the magic words, for example, are not spoken - the rug goes into effect.

A surprise hit, at advantage has some results.

The creature is grappled (escape DC 13). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, blinded, and at risk of suffocating, and the rug can't smother another target. In addition, at the start of each of the target's turns, the target takes 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage. 

So not only do I give it advantage for surprise - but then if it hits (which it has a good chance) - the target has the grappled condition on them - and unless they can get out, will begin to suffocate.

But you say, "Well the party would just attack it."

Great.

Because you know what else it has?

Damage Transfer. While it is grappling a creature, the rug takes only half the damage dealt to it, and the creature grappled by the rug takes the other half.

So when the party hits it - the rug is only taking half - the other person, potentially suffocating - is taking the other half of the damage.

The thing has 33 HP - which at low levels - when it's only taking half the damage - is a long time for someone else to be taking the other half of the damage while also potentially suffocating.

Add spice to the trap - that as soon as the rug takes 1 or more points of damage, the decorative swords and armor just inside the foyer become animated and attack anyone attacking the rug.

Quote from TheFriendlyArchfey >>

Question for y’all, how would you completely reflavor a monster that everyone has seen before to make it more interesting, without changing the stats?

like an Aboleth?

Most commonly (which is against what you're asking) - I've scaled creatures up and down (HP, To Hit, Damage) as needed. For example last month, the party fought some Kraken Priests who used Deep Scions to lure the adventurers (and a whole crew) to the nest of the young Kraken. So I took the Kraken's stats and lowered it because it was a Young Kraken (and the party was lower level to be handling a real Kraken).

However, I've created new versions of existing monsters and given them additional abilities. Like Ice Trolls, whose blood is so cold that fire does only half damage to them (Acid is what does full damage and slows down their regen) - as well as given them a "Chill Touch" - where any successful hit the damage does I think an additional 1d8 or 2d8 cold damage. 

I think it's not only fun to - but sometimes important to change things up - especially if you have experienced players at the table. Not that they will use Player Knowledge, but just so that they're "Oh damn! The troll also does cold damage!" and create some surprises and fun.

Quote from BoringBard >>

I've been working on my adventure for DM's Guild but it really isn't looking too great. Do you guys think I should still post it when I finish even though I'm not proud of it, or should I just scrap the whole thing altogether?
If I wrapped it up and published it, I think it'd be pay what you want with the suggested pay being 0.00 lol.
Edit: Y'know what, I'm scrapping it. I don't have the energy to finish it and it's an abysmal adventure lol.

So a friend of mine was playing D&D - and his DM had a pregnant wife. Well the day came where she had the baby and the DM needed to step back. They asked me to DM for them. They were doing a module. Rather than take over the module (the DM was new to DMing) - I created my own adventure based in the area of the module. I ran them through it - it was a small, haunted house kind of module. Some story about the family. I left the disappearance of the daughter (only one in the family not found) open. Thought maybe I would go back to it in case they needed me to DM longer I'd create another adventure involving hags that took her. The DM never decided to return and that group fell apart.

I ended up putting the adventure on DMs Guild (link to it and other things are in my signature). I've not made a metric ton of money, but I made money here and there. I think I sell the adventure for $2.50. And get 50% of whatever sells. So even if you put it up for $1.00 you'd get .50 cents. And if you check DMs Guild once a year, you may have some extra pocket change. So I would say do it - and see how it goes. You say you're not proud of it - so maybe create a second account (if you have one already) as your pseudonym. 

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Quote from BoringBard >>

I've been working on my adventure for DM's Guild but it really isn't looking too great. Do you guys think I should still post it when I finish even though I'm not proud of it, or should I just scrap the whole thing altogether?

If I wrapped it up and published it, I think it'd be pay what you want with the suggested pay being 0.00 lol.

 

Set it aside for now, move on to the next project, come back to it later and see if you can fix what was wrong.

 Well even on DMs Guild you can always update it there too.

So for example the first map on mine, I had attached the player's map - which did not include a secret passage being visible - so there was literally a dead end. Fixed it and updated the file and all was good.

Quote from WoodsGirl0402 >>

Quote from SpiderTrapper >>

Quote from WoodsGirl0402 >>

Quote from SpiderTrapper >>

Quote from Nothic2SeeHere2 >>

Thanks for all of the advice on the zombies. I’d been more focused on the stat block than the actual implications on a campaign. Hopefully the Curse of the Husk will become the default for all zombies in 2024.

It seems like the consensus here is that zombies aren’t the best in terms of stats, but utilizing different DM tools as well as homebrew can make them far scarier. Since I do have an undead-focused campaign going on, I’ll try a lot of the tips here, and maybe get back to y’all on it.

(It’s so cool that we have a thread full of veteran DMs, lol.)

 Me, whistling, having never DMed a full campaign before.

 Me either. But I am now!

 Thats more than I can say, what are you running? homebrew? or a module?

 

 I’m running the Planescape boxed set adventure. So really it’s like a mini campaign (probably only going to last through the beginning of March).

 
This is excellent. How many sessions have you done? As someone new to DMing - what would you say is the easiest thing? Most difficult thing? Would love to hear it. I love hearing when people take the seat of the DM and hearing about their experiences!

So, I had to rework a chapter in my lore book on DMing, and in doing so I used a bunch of my advice from here and from reddit and from some Q&As I did locally after folks found out I'm like *old*. Like older than the Matts!

*sigh*

Anyway, I thought I would drop it here for anyone who might want to take a look.

http://www.wyrlde.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mastering-Games-1.pdf

I do still have to do a conversion of stuff like the Hero's Journey and other other story cycles into something that works with the non-linear approach, and I should note that none of that is really about how to make calls or how to perform or such. It is a way of thinking about how one plans out things.

Quote from SirTawmis >>

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Quote from BoringBard >>

I've been working on my adventure for DM's Guild but it really isn't looking too great. Do you guys think I should still post it when I finish even though I'm not proud of it, or should I just scrap the whole thing altogether?

If I wrapped it up and published it, I think it'd be pay what you want with the suggested pay being 0.00 lol.

 

Set it aside for now, move on to the next project, come back to it later and see if you can fix what was wrong.

 Well even on DMs Guild you can always update it there too.

So for example the first map on mine, I had attached the player's map - which did not include a secret passage being visible - so there was literally a dead end. Fixed it and updated the file and all was good.

 
I was thinking more in terms of you not feeling like it was "good" -- there's usually a problem when one doesn't think something is good, and sometimes stepping away from it for a bit can make it easier to identify and solve the problem later when you come back to it.

Ok, so, I had a great (at least, i think it's great, though i'm usually wrong) idea: instead of build an adventure? what about build a character? most of y'all know how this works, its like create an adventure: someone (me, in this case) posts a list of questions for each aspect of the character/adventure & someone answers each of the questions, building off previous answers.

1. What is the Character's name? Why did their parents (or themselves) choose this name? what signifigance does it have in their life?
2. What is the Character's race? Do they connect with the culture of that race? if so, how?
3. What is the Character's class? how did they gain the abilities & powers of that class? how does it tie into their backstory?
4. What is the Character's background? what made them choose to become an adventurer? what was a profound experience they had relating to their background before they became an adventurer?
5. Who are 5 Individuals who have made an impact on this Character's life? was this impact negative or positive? does the character still interact with these individuals?
6. How did the Character meet their current adventuring party? who among this party are they close to? do they have any interesting dynamics (IE, friendly or not so friendly rivalrys; romantic relationships; ETC)?

Anyone is free to answer these questions, but please respect others contributions and build off them. if you have any questions, just ask, and me or another one of the participants will provide answers. (god, I feel like such an overbearing employee at some big store)

1: Their name is Lavender. This is because of the color of her eyes, a strange shade of lavender that the parents thought was some sort of sign from the gods.

2. Lavender’s family are wood elves, but they identify as a high elf because they’re more in tune with the arcane mysticism of the Weave than the simple beauty of nature.

I made a new thread!

3: lavender is a necromancer, and they love collecting bones to adorn their staff.

Quote from Fry_Doodles >>

I made a new thing!

3: lavender is a necromancer, and they love collecting bones to adorn their staff.

 Nice!

new thread!

Quote from Fry_Doodles >>

new thread!

 
Why?

Thoughts on this?

Quote from IamSposta >>

Quote from Fry_Doodles >>

new thread!

 
Why?

 I think they mean they made a new thread in the RP section.

4. Lavender's parents were adventurers long ago. They retired after they realized the lich they slew at the peak of their career wasn't actually evil. When young Lavender began showing a strong interest in necromancy, her parents decided to ignore everyone's opinions and the infamous history of necromancy, and move to the abandoned lich dungeon where she could pursue her dream. They hope to somehow redeem themselves for what they did back then, and can't imagine that their own daughter might have a dark side.

5a. Jandalf, a friend of Elves for hundreds of years. Mostly known for his kind smile, warm heart, and fireworks. Old folk know he is a wizard of great power. First to introduce Lavender to the world of magic.