For players here: do you ever look up monsters after a battle out of curiosity? I'll sometimes check out a statblock after (NEVER during the fight, don't worry) facing a monster I haven't seen before (assuming it isn't entirely a homebrew creation). Sometimes it adds a little extra spice of "oh man, I'm sure glad I passed that one saving throw."
For DMs: how often would you say you use monsters straight from sourcebooks vs tweaking them or homebrewing your own? I'm still early in my DM journey and mostly been using things out of the box but have made a few of my own monsters.
Because I like to use monsters I've not used before for a party - as they proceed to adventure and gain levels and abilities - opportunities to use some of those monsters won't fit (not in the right environment, for example) - so I often will begin to tweak monsters to be able to use them when I can. In most cases, I am simply adjusting their Hit Points and their "To Hit" chances (and "Damage") to match what would be adequate for the level of the party. Sometimes, I may change the AC as well (if the monster is a CR 2 monster who I am converting to a CR 6 monster, for example). I also often do the reverse - if there's a CR 6 monster, I want the party to fight one - I will reduce things like AC, Hit Points, and "To Hit."
Very rarely I will give the creature additional abilities (unless I am making a climate specific creature) - for example, a band of trolls living inside a volcanic cave are no longer taking that special damage from fire since they're natively surrounded by it. I might change it to Force Damage or Acidic damage, to adapt.
Today's game is a good example - party was tracking down evil cultists - and the cultists were upped in AC, Hit Points, To Hit and Spells to match the level 8 party they were going to face - they also had with them the two-headed cerberus monster (three of them) - and all I did was up the monster's hit points in that case (I left the creature's AC and "To Hit" and "Damage" the same). Because it was a party of six level 8 characters, I just needed the dogs to have extra hit points (because I relied on their pack tactics to have advantage and at least get in some hits from time to time). It worked out nicely because two of the party members were monks who frequently stun everything - and these beasts are immune to stun. So it was just what I needed to have a challenge. The extra health pool kept them in the fight longer to take advantage of that pack tactics, while the cultists cast spells.
For players here: do you ever look up monsters after a battle out of curiosity? I'll sometimes check out a statblock after (NEVER during the fight, don't worry) facing a monster I haven't seen before (assuming it isn't entirely a homebrew creation). Sometimes it adds a little extra spice of "oh man, I'm sure glad I passed that one saving throw."
For DMs: how often would you say you use monsters straight from sourcebooks vs tweaking them or homebrewing your own? I'm still early in my DM journey and mostly been using things out of the box but have made a few of my own monsters.
Sometimes after a session I will look it up but only if I had never heard of it before. It helps to expand my GM game.
I often use low level creatures as is. For new players, it's new to them and traditional. I want to believe that every D&D player has some sort of experience with goblins, kobolds, orcs, and taverns. For experienced players, it's a warm up to familiarity.
Higher level, I mess with a lot. I want to give players something different from what they expect.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
For players here: do you ever look up monsters after a battle out of curiosity? I'll sometimes check out a statblock after (NEVER during the fight, don't worry) facing a monster I haven't seen before (assuming it isn't entirely a homebrew creation). Sometimes it adds a little extra spice of "oh man, I'm sure glad I passed that one saving throw."
Yeah sometimes and I've seen a couple other people do it, though it can arguably become an issue if they check out the stat block of a monster they don't realize is a recurring theme in the dungeon or campaign. For instance, I was a player in The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan (from Tales From the Yawning Portal) and another player looked at the Vampire Spawn stat block after we encountered a couple. And that was kinda annoying for the DM because they had added them all over that dungeon.
But I do sometimes do this, just rarely. And I find I already know most stat blocks tbh.
For DMs: how often would you say you use monsters straight from sourcebooks vs tweaking them or homebrewing your own? I'm still early in my DM journey and mostly been using things out of the box but have made a few of my own monsters.
I usually do monsters straight from the Monster Manual, but sometimes modify things and very rarely completely make new monsters.
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.
Sometimes I get a wild hair and need to figure out how to describe something that only I can see in my head, lol. That, inevitably, leads me to try and figure a way to draw it out, which never ends well, since the politiest thing to say about my capacity for placing pencil to paper is that I at least understand the insult I am inflicting on the paper and the pencil.
So, Wyrlde is in a self contained "universe" of just the one solar system and trying to visualize The Firmament, which iis the whole thing of it, is a bit of a challenge -- akin to the challenge of how to explain the universe is a flat world on the back of a turtle, lol.
So, very late last night and then first thing this morning, I put some effort down to try and get a visual for it. Several iterations through Powerpoint, assorted graphics tools, and my overall goal has finally been reached:
The Firmament, as seen from outside.
Believe it or not, this shows all the planets, the peculiar cometary cloud, and of course the star at the center, and all of it started out looking like this:
Meanwhile my brother is humblebragging to me over text messages as a way of talking to me for the first time in a decade because he's in Rome at the Vatican on a vacation. It is a strange day.
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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
Couldn't leave well enough alone, so I also did a shot of the night sky from Avilon proper -- where you can see the moon that is quite literally Iyah, lol.
When you remember that each star is not only a fiery ball of fire, but also a pocket dimension where a hero from the God's War is residing in a personal heaven, the scale of the God's War becomes pretty apparent.
Oh, and the extra bright "star" to the lower right of the big moon is the actual colony ship, still in orbit around the planet. This image would be right around the start of the game, as well -- within a couple days of the new year. Based on the phases of Coyola (the big moon) and Themis.
And yes, these posts are just to keep the thread high on the page, 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
Meanwhile my brother is humblebragging to me over text messages as a way of talking to me for the first time in a decade because he's in Rome at the Vatican on a vacation. It is a strange day.
Heh. The Vatican is cool, but most of it is just a tourist trap. Plus, it’s like 90 degrees in there regardless of the season. You’d think if he was gonna brag about something he’d pick, I dunno, the Colosseum or Palatine Hill or something.
Meanwhile my brother is humblebragging to me over text messages as a way of talking to me for the first time in a decade because he's in Rome at the Vatican on a vacation. It is a strange day.
Heh. The Vatican is cool, but most of it is just a tourist trap. Plus, it’s like 90 degrees in there regardless of the season. You’d think if he was gonna brag about something he’d pick, I dunno, the Colosseum or Palatine Hill or something.
He knows I did it in the 80's, and that I am kinda down right now, so it works, lol. he's both more religious and more politically right than I am (natch -- we've always been night and day). So this is a big deal for him.
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
Meanwhile my brother is humblebragging to me over text messages as a way of talking to me for the first time in a decade because he's in Rome at the Vatican on a vacation. It is a strange day.
Heh. The Vatican is cool, but most of it is just a tourist trap. Plus, it’s like 90 degrees in there regardless of the season. You’d think if he was gonna brag about something he’d pick, I dunno, the Colosseum or Palatine Hill or something.
He knows I did it in the 80's, and that I am kinda down right now, so it works, lol. he's both more religious and more politically right than I am (natch -- we've always been night and day). So this is a big deal for him.
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
Anybody remember the game Okami, by Capcom? I just picked up the HD version on Xbox. Really brings back fond memories.
Also, what's the walk-out music for your current PC?
What, like the Windows shutdown tune?
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Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Also, what's the walk-out music for your current PC?
I know exactly what it is after he died last session: Can’t Go to Hell. Or possibly just the sound my speaker makes when it dies. It powers down. And then it does it again. And then three more times. Quite symbolic of how he was quite nearly dead many times. Then the level 6 rogue used his stealth and Ciáran Draoidh was no more.
Anybody remember the game Okami, by Capcom? I just picked up the HD version on Xbox. Really brings back fond memories.
Also, what's the walk-out music for your current PC?
What, like the Windows shutdown tune?
Lol. Nah, like when your PC steps out into the spotlight. I think it might be a baseball expression.
Definitely Mighty Little Man by Steve Burns for my gnome Rune Knight.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Anybody remember the game Okami, by Capcom? I just picked up the HD version on Xbox. Really brings back fond memories.
Also, what's the walk-out music for your current PC?
What, like the Windows shutdown tune?
Lol. Nah, like when your PC steps out into the spotlight. I think it might be a baseball expression.
Oh, I thought iit was walking away music, lol.
this is what happens when I don't watch people throw an egg through a hoop
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
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Because I like to use monsters I've not used before for a party - as they proceed to adventure and gain levels and abilities - opportunities to use some of those monsters won't fit (not in the right environment, for example) - so I often will begin to tweak monsters to be able to use them when I can. In most cases, I am simply adjusting their Hit Points and their "To Hit" chances (and "Damage") to match what would be adequate for the level of the party. Sometimes, I may change the AC as well (if the monster is a CR 2 monster who I am converting to a CR 6 monster, for example). I also often do the reverse - if there's a CR 6 monster, I want the party to fight one - I will reduce things like AC, Hit Points, and "To Hit."
Very rarely I will give the creature additional abilities (unless I am making a climate specific creature) - for example, a band of trolls living inside a volcanic cave are no longer taking that special damage from fire since they're natively surrounded by it. I might change it to Force Damage or Acidic damage, to adapt.
Today's game is a good example - party was tracking down evil cultists - and the cultists were upped in AC, Hit Points, To Hit and Spells to match the level 8 party they were going to face - they also had with them the two-headed cerberus monster (three of them) - and all I did was up the monster's hit points in that case (I left the creature's AC and "To Hit" and "Damage" the same). Because it was a party of six level 8 characters, I just needed the dogs to have extra hit points (because I relied on their pack tactics to have advantage and at least get in some hits from time to time). It worked out nicely because two of the party members were monks who frequently stun everything - and these beasts are immune to stun. So it was just what I needed to have a challenge. The extra health pool kept them in the fight longer to take advantage of that pack tactics, while the cultists cast spells.
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
Sometimes after a session I will look it up but only if I had never heard of it before. It helps to expand my GM game.
I often use low level creatures as is. For new players, it's new to them and traditional. I want to believe that every D&D player has some sort of experience with goblins, kobolds, orcs, and taverns. For experienced players, it's a warm up to familiarity.
Higher level, I mess with a lot. I want to give players something different from what they expect.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Yeah sometimes and I've seen a couple other people do it, though it can arguably become an issue if they check out the stat block of a monster they don't realize is a recurring theme in the dungeon or campaign. For instance, I was a player in The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan (from Tales From the Yawning Portal) and another player looked at the Vampire Spawn stat block after we encountered a couple. And that was kinda annoying for the DM because they had added them all over that dungeon.
But I do sometimes do this, just rarely. And I find I already know most stat blocks tbh.
I usually do monsters straight from the Monster Manual, but sometimes modify things and very rarely completely make new monsters.
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.Sometimes I get a wild hair and need to figure out how to describe something that only I can see in my head, lol. That, inevitably, leads me to try and figure a way to draw it out, which never ends well, since the politiest thing to say about my capacity for placing pencil to paper is that I at least understand the insult I am inflicting on the paper and the pencil.
So, Wyrlde is in a self contained "universe" of just the one solar system and trying to visualize The Firmament, which iis the whole thing of it, is a bit of a challenge -- akin to the challenge of how to explain the universe is a flat world on the back of a turtle, lol.
So, very late last night and then first thing this morning, I put some effort down to try and get a visual for it. Several iterations through Powerpoint, assorted graphics tools, and my overall goal has finally been reached:
Believe it or not, this shows all the planets, the peculiar cometary cloud, and of course the star at the center, and all of it started out looking like this:
Meanwhile my brother is humblebragging to me over text messages as a way of talking to me for the first time in a decade because he's in Rome at the Vatican on a vacation. It is a strange day.
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
Couldn't leave well enough alone, so I also did a shot of the night sky from Avilon proper -- where you can see the moon that is quite literally Iyah, lol.
When you remember that each star is not only a fiery ball of fire, but also a pocket dimension where a hero from the God's War is residing in a personal heaven, the scale of the God's War becomes pretty apparent.
Oh, and the extra bright "star" to the lower right of the big moon is the actual colony ship, still in orbit around the planet. This image would be right around the start of the game, as well -- within a couple days of the new year. Based on the phases of Coyola (the big moon) and Themis.
And yes, these posts are just to keep the thread high on the page, 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
Heh. The Vatican is cool, but most of it is just a tourist trap. Plus, it’s like 90 degrees in there regardless of the season. You’d think if he was gonna brag about something he’d pick, I dunno, the Colosseum or Palatine Hill or something.
Terra Lubridia archive:
The Bloody Barnacle | The Gut | The Athene Crusader | The Jewel of Atlantis
He knows I did it in the 80's, and that I am kinda down right now, so it works, lol. he's both more religious and more politically right than I am (natch -- we've always been night and day). So this is a big deal for him.
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
Hm. Well, to each their own, I guess.
Terra Lubridia archive:
The Bloody Barnacle | The Gut | The Athene Crusader | The Jewel of Atlantis
Anybody remember the game Okami, by Capcom? I just picked up the HD version on Xbox. Really brings back fond memories.
Also, what's the walk-out music for your current PC?
https://open.spotify.com/track/0wn2bxIhQweLCfEWkee6IM?si=300eb4659dbe4775
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
Mastodon - Blood and Thunder (for my Tempest Cleric).
What, like the Windows shutdown tune?
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Valhalla Calling: https://youtu.be/mQFPk8n97wk
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
I know exactly what it is after he died last session: Can’t Go to Hell. Or possibly just the sound my speaker makes when it dies. It powers down. And then it does it again. And then three more times. Quite symbolic of how he was quite nearly dead many times. Then the level 6 rogue used his stealth and Ciáran Draoidh was no more.
Lol. Nah, like when your PC steps out into the spotlight. I think it might be a baseball expression.
Oh, well in that case it would be Go With the Flow, by the High Kings.
Definitely Mighty Little Man by Steve Burns for my gnome Rune Knight.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
For my one PbP character, Toots Wheat, it would be this:
For my other PbP character, Tronolon, it might be this:
For my Cyberpunk character it would be some generic stompy electronica.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
This has to be what Tron's voice sounds like in game.
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters: Brormin the Devout Crusher; Ellora the Romantic Rookie
Check out my EXTENDED SIGNATUR (hasn't been updated in forever, fyi) and don’t forget to join the Anything but the OGL 2.0 Thread!
"I don't make sense to you, and I don't make sense to myself. Maybe the only one I make sense to is God" ~ Me, trying to sound smart
Oh, I thought iit was walking away music, lol.
this is what happens when I don't watch people throw an egg through a hoop
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