If the casters get upset, you take their advice into account and give them some encounters where they can shine too. That being said, you don't want to swing the pendulum too far to either direction, so it's important to communicate to the casters and ranged attackers that melee warriors need some time in the spot light too, or else they won't feel useful and won't want to play. Due to this, no one character or type of character will be the hero of every battle.
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.
Now, the fact that many players these days expect particular magic items to complete their builds is its own concern. If you have players like this and they're not going to change, then this solution isn't for you. Maybe you could still make it work by saying a player only gets to choose one, or only if they're playing a class without spells or something.
I have never understood this. I see people creating powerful builds, but they rely on rare magic items that they might never get. As a DM, I like rewarding characters with magic items that will be fun for them to use, compliment their characters, and don't destroy the story of the game. I don't see why anyone would expect to start out with or find any magic item they want.
Question of the hour and a half before midnight: What's the best polyhedral die? Is it the d20? Or perhaps the humble d6? As someone who likes to spin my dice, the d20 is usually the go-to choice for me, but the d12 isn't bad either.
The d20s great because of how awesome it is to roll a nat 20. I also like the d8s a lot, I don't know why.
d6s are kind of bland because they are always used, and I dislike d4s. Something about how... triangular they are just causes me a miniscule amount of pain. I don't know why this is so, but we have agreed to coexist. As long as they keep rolling 4s and the occasional 3 for me then I will treat them kindly.
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
I sent an angry message to the moderator who banned us. Guy seems like a real a hole.
At least we’ve still got a place to put a thread. And I don’t really use DDB. I never have liked its tools. All I care about are the forums and book updates for all of the books coming out this year.
Question of the hour and a half before midnight: What's the best polyhedral die? Is it the d20? Or perhaps the humble d6? As someone who likes to spin my dice, the d20 is usually the go-to choice for me, but the d12 isn't bad either.
Obviously the d20 feels great to roll, it the d12 and d8 are my favorites because d12 damage is amazing and d8’s are just amazing. D4’s are my worst fear because I have a wall of dice and if we had an earthquake (we have a lot of minor ones) that was just strong enough to shake them off then I’d be getting up to a foot filled with caltrop dice. As a friend of mine often says, “It’s ‘Where’s Waldo?’ with ‘the Floor is Lava!’”
Question of the hour and a half before midnight: What's the best polyhedral die? Is it the d20? Or perhaps the humble d6? As someone who likes to spin my dice, the d20 is usually the go-to choice for me, but the d12 isn't bad either.
had no idea there was a TSR superhero RPG, let alone a licensed Marvel one. It sounds great, and your werewolf healing mechanic sounds fun.
I've never played 2e (or any edition other than 5e. Unless PF1e counts?). To my knowledge, it's when D&D started leaning towards a slightly more heroic fantasy thing? I've had a look at OSRIC but the tables and limitations scared me off lol.
Your 5e-based system seems kinda similar to what I'm doing, though to a more extreme degree. Taking 5e as a system, changing around the rules and mechanics, but keeping 5e's skeleton.
By the way, what is MSHAS an acronym for?
Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Set, for the acronym.
The Heroic Fantasy bit was always there -- Howard's Conan was one of the archetype standards for the Fighter, after all.
Yeah, what I am doing is pretty extreme and especially around magic (since I am essentially redoing the entire system for it), but what I keep running iinto is that they are doing the same stuff for one D&D that I am doing, I am just taking it a bit further, lol.
5e is really an incredibly flexible and deeply malleable system. My only real complaint is that they lost the thread on class balance -- but based on Homebrew, it seems to be a thriving space by itself. So much so I had to figure out the rules to add classes for my stuff out and then *follow them*.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (2000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA
Question of the hour and a half before midnight: What's the best polyhedral die? Is it the d20? Or perhaps the humble d6? As someone who likes to spin my dice, the d20 is usually the go-to choice for me, but the d12 isn't bad either.
I have to vote d12s, only because I have a set of three ridiculous "fortune telling" d12s -- one with regular numbers, one with astrological signs and one with planetary symbols
The idea is that you roll them to get something like "Jupiter is in the fourth house of Pisces"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Active characters:
Green Hill Sunrise, jaded tabaxi mercenary trapped in the Dark Domains (Battle Master fighter) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Question of the hour and a half before midnight: What's the best polyhedral die? Is it the d20? Or perhaps the humble d6? As someone who likes to spin my dice, the d20 is usually the go-to choice for me, but the d12 isn't bad either.
I have to vote d12s, only because I have a set of three ridiculous "fortune telling" d12s -- one with regular numbers, one with astrological signs and one with planetary symbols
The idea is that you roll them to get something like "Jupiter is in the fourth house of Pisces"
so utter gibberish?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
add "getting stabbed" to the list of things that I don't want to happen again
"Ignorance is bliss until it's you who is being ignored" -A friend
I don't want to be *that* girl, but I have to confess that I dislike d2s.
I mean, sure, everyone calls them d4s, but they are really just d2s...
And I am going to do the thing and ask a question:
What is your favorite Magic Item from the core rules?
I know that given my habitus, a Deck of Many Things would be the usual expectation, but no, my favorite is the Staff of Power, lol.
Bag of Beans is cool. The Cloak of Arachnida is also cool. But the Belt of Dwarvenkind is great. You can't beat growing a magnificent dwarven beard each morning.
I had a monk who had magical tattoos from Tasha's and they were really fun to use.
Appreciator of all things Weird, Wondrous, and/or Yummy
In the Autumn Country, days end quickly, the gloaming hours linger, and the midnights pile one upon the other till the air is thick and flows like twilight syrup.
I don't want to be *that* girl, but I have to confess that I dislike d2s.
I mean, sure, everyone calls them d4s, but they are really just d2s...
And I am going to do the thing and ask a question:
What is your favorite Magic Item from the core rules?
I know that given my habitus, a Deck of Many Things would be the usual expectation, but no, my favorite is the Staff of Power, lol.
Bag of Beans is cool. The Cloak of Arachnida is also cool. But the Belt of Dwarvenkind is great. You can't beat growing a magnificent dwarven beard each morning.
I had a monk who had magical tattoos from Tasha's and they were really fun to use.
I don’t want to be *that* guy, but the Immovable Rod and Bag of Holding are my favorites. Also, an honorable mention for the Decanter of Endless Water and Nolzur’s Marvelous Pigments or whatever. Those are my insane.. Least favorite is the Jug of Alchemy. We had a mayonnaise incident once…
What is your favorite Magic Item from the core rules?
I've got a fondness for the grey Bag of Tricks because it gave my fighter plushie pets whenever she wanted, and the Staff of the Python because that thing saved my cleric's life a dozen times and ended up getting destroyed in a cinematic, watershed moment in the campaign.
That's a good solution. What do you do if a caster calls foul, though?
I'm not SirTawmis, but my answer to that would be to kindly and pointedly remind my player to stop metagaming and celebrate the martial. Stat blocks are mine to mold.
I'm also in the camp that says you balance martials by throwing encounters at the party that let them shine. If you think about it, throwing fireballs is cool, but being able to stare down an ancient dragon with just a stick and a can-do attitude is where the real cool factor comes in. I'm gonna narrate the crap out of that bravery.
Also, d8s are where it's at. I like the diamond shape.
If the casters get upset, you take their advice into account and give them some encounters where they can shine too. That being said, you don't want to swing the pendulum too far to either direction, so it's important to communicate to the casters and ranged attackers that melee warriors need some time in the spot light too, or else they won't feel useful and won't want to play. Due to this, no one character or type of character will be the hero of every battle.
had no idea there was a TSR superhero RPG, let alone a licensed Marvel one. It sounds great, and your werewolf healing mechanic sounds fun.
I've never played 2e (or any edition other than 5e. Unless PF1e counts?). To my knowledge, it's when D&D started leaning towards a slightly more heroic fantasy thing? I've had a look at OSRIC but the tables and limitations scared me off lol.
Your 5e-based system seems kinda similar to what I'm doing, though to a more extreme degree. Taking 5e as a system, changing around the rules and mechanics, but keeping 5e's skeleton.
By the way, what is MSHAS an acronym for?
Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Set, for the acronym.
The Heroic Fantasy bit was always there -- Howard's Conan was one of the archetype standards for the Fighter, after all.
Yeah, what I am doing is pretty extreme and especially around magic (since I am essentially redoing the entire system for it), but what I keep running iinto is that they are doing the same stuff for one D&D that I am doing, I am just taking it a bit further, lol.
5e is really an incredibly flexible and deeply malleable system. My only real complaint is that they lost the thread on class balance -- but based on Homebrew, it seems to be a thriving space by itself. So much so I had to figure out the rules to add classes for my stuff out and then *follow them*.
Now it makes sense, thanks. The acronym thing somehow flew right over my head hah.
Yeah, 5e is great for house rules and mechanics. It feels super modular, as you can add, remove, or change almost any rule and it won't break the system.
What is your favorite Magic Item from the core rules?
As common and overused as it is, I love the Bag of Holding. One time, me and my sibling used one to infiltrate an evil prince's hideout. Immovable Rod is awesome, too. I also love the common magic items from Xanathar's, though they aren't part of the core rules. Aside from the BoH and IR, the Hand and Eye of Vecna are definitely up there.
I don't want to be *that* girl, but I have to confess that I dislike d2s.
I mean, sure, everyone calls them d4s, but they are really just d2s...
And I am going to do the thing and ask a question:
What is your favorite Magic Item from the core rules?
I know that given my habitus, a Deck of Many Things would be the usual expectation, but no, my favorite is the Staff of Power, lol.
Bag of Beans is cool. The Cloak of Arachnida is also cool. But the Belt of Dwarvenkind is great. You can't beat growing a magnificent dwarven beard each morning.
I had a monk who had magical tattoos from Tasha's and they were really fun to use.
I don’t want to be *that* guy, but the Immovable Rod and Bag of Holding are my favorites. Also, an honorable mention for the Decanter of Endless Water and Nolzur’s Marvelous Pigments or whatever. Those are my insane.. Least favorite is the Jug of Alchemy. We had a mayonnaise incident once…
After having an itch in the back of my head all day, I snagged the core 26 pages of the magic system I will be using (skipping over psionics, Runes, and Words of Power, and not including classes -- just the foundations of how it works at heart) and turned them into a separate pdf.
I still need to fix the spells memorized per level table and some other odds and ends, but the basics are there enough.
Now that I did it, though, I don't care about the thing that was in the back of my head, lol.
Fixing spells so that people can "pump more mana into them" is going to be a PITA still. I do not look forward to next week. And, of course, folks are going to scream when they see what I did to the spell lists, lol. Those are not in the pdf, lol. I mean, i moved spells all over the place within the lists. Complete re-jiggering of the system. It is why my players love it, lol. And as I am working on light touches to the combat system I am ending up with a separate system of combat for Magic that still works with the original.
of course, the minute after I post that I find a major skipped error in the description of Expert spells and how long they take to cast that I didn't update a couple months back, lol.
Second edit to fix the link to a better file with errors fixed.
Heh - that's the problem though - both sides will argue their points, because there is no clear answer - and some people really get ... passionate... about their answers.
For me I will watch my players - if someone does not look like they had a good session, I will pull them aside (much easier to spot in person games) - and ask. And if it's like, the fighter who says, "Well by the time I run up to the monster, the Ranger and Wizard have already nuked it so I felt useless." Rather than tell the Wizard and Ranger to stop being so effective, I will use monsters that breach under the fighter such as a bulette, ankheg or something similar. Or I just might adjust a monster and make it so the troll is fire resistant - so the wizard's fireball isn't as effective - and they see, once defeated, that these trolls have been muted by magic most foul! Stuff like that to try and ensure, whether melee or magic, ideally everyone can keep playing what they're playing and have a good time.
That's a good solution. What do you do if a caster calls foul, though?
If they cry foul about a troll being fire resistant? Well one thing is mentioning "metagaming" as theologyofbagels mentioned in their reply...
But anytime something is resistant or immune to damage, I always have players roll a Perception check to take notice, "Say, that fireball - it didn't look like it did as much damage as you think it should have!" So usually they know that when I ask that - that the creature has some kind of resistance or immunity to whatever just happened. And my players are good where if they rolled low and I say, "You don't notice anything - the blinding flash and heat from the fireball made you advert your gaze to notice something." They're good about not going, "Ray of Frost!" as their next attack.
Changing a monster's resistance is not uncommon in my world. The party in my games have encountered trolls that live in both deserts and inside caves that have lava - and have either fire resistance (desert) or fire immunity (lava). I like to change things up so even if there's an experienced DM in the group - I still might be able to surprise them, even if they're doing a good job not meta gaming.
The thing is to make sure everyone at your table is having a good time - and this can't always be accomplished every session. But it should ideally be the majority of your sessions.
Bah. All I want to know is how other people solve the balance issue for their games. It ain’t a new thing — pretty much since the Repub of 2e with all the chapbooks and such, casters just took over the game, and 3 turned it into fantasy superheroes, lol. nevermind me, being grumpy because I am not having my curiosity sated…
Heh - that's the problem though - both sides will argue their points, because there is no clear answer - and some people really get ... passionate... about their answers.
For me I will watch my players - if someone does not look like they had a good session, I will pull them aside (much easier to spot in person games) - and ask. And if it's like, the fighter who says, "Well by the time I run up to the monster, the Ranger and Wizard have already nuked it so I felt useless." Rather than tell the Wizard and Ranger to stop being so effective, I will use monsters that breach under the fighter such as a bulette, ankheg or something similar. Or I just might adjust a monster and make it so the troll is fire resistant - so the wizard's fireball isn't as effective - and they see, once defeated, that these trolls have been muted by magic most foul! Stuff like that to try and ensure, whether melee or magic, ideally everyone can keep playing what they're playing and have a good time.
That's a good solution. What do you do if a caster calls foul, though?
I'm not SirTawmis, but my answer to that would be to kindly and pointedly remind my player to stop metagaming and celebrate the martial. Stat blocks are mine to mold.
If the casters get upset, you take their advice into account and give them some encounters where they can shine too. That being said, you don't want to swing the pendulum too far to either direction, so it's important to communicate to the casters and ranged attackers that melee warriors need some time in the spot light too, or else they won't feel useful and won't want to play. Due to this, no one character or type of character will be the hero of every battle.
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 have never understood this. I see people creating powerful builds, but they rely on rare magic items that they might never get. As a DM, I like rewarding characters with magic items that will be fun for them to use, compliment their characters, and don't destroy the story of the game. I don't see why anyone would expect to start out with or find any magic item they want.
The d20s great because of how awesome it is to roll a nat 20. I also like the d8s a lot, I don't know why.
d6s are kind of bland because they are always used, and I dislike d4s. Something about how... triangular they are just causes me a miniscule amount of pain. I don't know why this is so, but we have agreed to coexist. As long as they keep rolling 4s and the occasional 3 for me then I will treat them kindly.
I sent an angry message to the moderator who banned us. Guy seems like a real a hole.
At least we’ve still got a place to put a thread. And I don’t really use DDB. I never have liked its tools. All I care about are the forums and book updates for all of the books coming out this year.
I'm a lurker myself, sometimes
⌜╔═════════════ The Board ══════════════╗⌝
...the glow of a hearth, just through those trees...
⌞╚════════════ Extended Signature ════════════╝⌟
same here
add "getting stabbed" to the list of things that I don't want to happen again
"Ignorance is bliss until it's you who is being ignored" -A friend
Obviously the d20 feels great to roll, it the d12 and d8 are my favorites because d12 damage is amazing and d8’s are just amazing. D4’s are my worst fear because I have a wall of dice and if we had an earthquake (we have a lot of minor ones) that was just strong enough to shake them off then I’d be getting up to a foot filled with caltrop dice. As a friend of mine often says, “It’s ‘Where’s Waldo?’ with ‘the Floor is Lava!’”
Agreed, 8s & 12s all day.
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Marvel Super Heroes Advanced Set, for the acronym.
The Heroic Fantasy bit was always there -- Howard's Conan was one of the archetype standards for the Fighter, after all.
Yeah, what I am doing is pretty extreme and especially around magic (since I am essentially redoing the entire system for it), but what I keep running iinto is that they are doing the same stuff for one D&D that I am doing, I am just taking it a bit further, lol.
5e is really an incredibly flexible and deeply malleable system. My only real complaint is that they lost the thread on class balance -- but based on Homebrew, it seems to be a thriving space by itself. So much so I had to figure out the rules to add classes for my stuff out and then *follow them*.
Only a DM since 1980 (2000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA
Wyrlde.com
Free PDFs
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I don't want to be *that* girl, but I have to confess that I dislike d2s.
I mean, sure, everyone calls them d4s, but they are really just d2s...
And I am going to do the thing and ask a question:
What is your favorite Magic Item from the core rules?
I know that given my habitus, a Deck of Many Things would be the usual expectation, but no, my favorite is the Staff of Power, lol.
Only a DM since 1980 (2000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA
Wyrlde.com
Free PDFs
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I have to vote d12s, only because I have a set of three ridiculous "fortune telling" d12s -- one with regular numbers, one with astrological signs and one with planetary symbols
The idea is that you roll them to get something like "Jupiter is in the fourth house of Pisces"
Active characters:
Green Hill Sunrise, jaded tabaxi mercenary trapped in the Dark Domains (Battle Master fighter)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
so utter gibberish?
add "getting stabbed" to the list of things that I don't want to happen again
"Ignorance is bliss until it's you who is being ignored" -A friend
Bag of Beans is cool. The Cloak of Arachnida is also cool. But the Belt of Dwarvenkind is great. You can't beat growing a magnificent dwarven beard each morning.
I had a monk who had magical tattoos from Tasha's and they were really fun to use.
I don’t want to be *that* guy, but the Immovable Rod and Bag of Holding are my favorites. Also, an honorable mention for the Decanter of Endless Water and Nolzur’s Marvelous Pigments or whatever. Those are my insane.. Least favorite is the Jug of Alchemy. We had a mayonnaise incident once…
I've got a fondness for the grey Bag of Tricks because it gave my fighter plushie pets whenever she wanted, and the Staff of the Python because that thing saved my cleric's life a dozen times and ended up getting destroyed in a cinematic, watershed moment in the campaign.
I think... It might be the Flame Tongue? It's just hard to beat a flaming sword.
I'm also strangely captivated by the IOUN stones. Oh, sorry, the Ioun Stones (totally original).
Good advice. Thanks
Now it makes sense, thanks. The acronym thing somehow flew right over my head hah.
Yeah, 5e is great for house rules and mechanics. It feels super modular, as you can add, remove, or change almost any rule and it won't break the system.
As common and overused as it is, I love the Bag of Holding. One time, me and my sibling used one to infiltrate an evil prince's hideout. Immovable Rod is awesome, too. I also love the common magic items from Xanathar's, though they aren't part of the core rules. Aside from the BoH and IR, the Hand and Eye of Vecna are definitely up there.
[REDACTED]
Mayonnaise, you say..?
*laughs in goblin*
[REDACTED]
I do really like Ioun stones. Like, a lot.
Only a DM since 1980 (2000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA
Wyrlde.com
Free PDFs
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
After having an itch in the back of my head all day, I snagged the core 26 pages of the magic system I will be using (skipping over psionics, Runes, and Words of Power, and not including classes -- just the foundations of how it works at heart) and turned them into a separate pdf.
I still need to fix the spells memorized per level table and some other odds and ends, but the basics are there enough.
Now that I did it, though, I don't care about the thing that was in the back of my head, lol.
Fixing spells so that people can "pump more mana into them" is going to be a PITA still. I do not look forward to next week. And, of course, folks are going to scream when they see what I did to the spell lists, lol. Those are not in the pdf, lol. I mean, i moved spells all over the place within the lists. Complete re-jiggering of the system. It is why my players love it, lol. And as I am working on light touches to the combat system I am ending up with a separate system of combat for Magic that still works with the original.
Anyway, if anyone wants to see it: http://www.wyrlde.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Magic-Basics-1.pdf
of course, the minute after I post that I find a major skipped error in the description of Expert spells and how long they take to cast that I didn't update a couple months back, lol.
Second edit to fix the link to a better file with errors fixed.
Only a DM since 1980 (2000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA
Wyrlde.com
Free PDFs
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
If they cry foul about a troll being fire resistant? Well one thing is mentioning "metagaming" as theologyofbagels mentioned in their reply...
But anytime something is resistant or immune to damage, I always have players roll a Perception check to take notice, "Say, that fireball - it didn't look like it did as much damage as you think it should have!" So usually they know that when I ask that - that the creature has some kind of resistance or immunity to whatever just happened. And my players are good where if they rolled low and I say, "You don't notice anything - the blinding flash and heat from the fireball made you advert your gaze to notice something." They're good about not going, "Ray of Frost!" as their next attack.
Changing a monster's resistance is not uncommon in my world. The party in my games have encountered trolls that live in both deserts and inside caves that have lava - and have either fire resistance (desert) or fire immunity (lava). I like to change things up so even if there's an experienced DM in the group - I still might be able to surprise them, even if they're doing a good job not meta gaming.
The thing is to make sure everyone at your table is having a good time - and this can't always be accomplished every session. But it should ideally be the majority of your sessions.
This, exactly.
And now you've posted - it's injected into your veins - calling for you to return.
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
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