"Alice in Wonderland is an isekai" is a funny joke opinion because it's kinda true but obviously not actually correct.
The genre is basically defined by a loser protagonist who finds themself, usually inexplicably, transported to a fantasy world, and usually the thing that made them a loser is what makes them a winner now. A lot of the time the fantasy world is a video game, which adds a whole plethora of possible complications to the format, including but not limited to: The hero knows the plot of the game; the hero can exploit bugs or mechanical interactions in the game; the hero is trapped in the game and needs to get out; the hero respawns when they die in the game; if you die in the game you die for real; the rules of the game are in the hands of someone outside the game who can change them...
In some of the more wacky ones, the protagonist isn't transported in their normal body, but instead reincarnates as someone or something else. I've heard of them becoming enemy monsters, inanimate objects, members of the opposite sex, or even existing NPCs such as the villain of the game.
It's strange.
So would Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness, The Last Starfighter, or a Connetticut Yankee is King Arthur's Court be adopted by the isekai as one of their own?
All yes
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Hi, I’m DrakenBrine, here’s my Sig and characters
Mimic. Always mimic. "You see a door slightly ajar."
"I push it open."
"You go to push and your hand sticks to the door. Roll initiative."
I cannot remember when I have ever said a door was slightly ajar. My players would immediately jump on that detail.
Which means I have to use that much more often to lull them into a sense of complacency =)
I’ve done this a few times, but in truth, my party makes jokes that everything is a mimic these days, so it’s a real surprise when something actually is. We played this RPG called Warrior, Rogue, Mage (really fun, highly recommended. Rules-lite, but offering deep customization) and it didn’t include a mimic stat block. We were using the big 3D dungeon tiles, and I have a chest, so I decided that the chest would be a mimic so I could use it as the miniature, and I also decided that, canonically, in this world, all chests are mimics. That led to a lot of paranoia later on.
Mimic. Always mimic. "You see a door slightly ajar."
"I push it open."
"You go to push and your hand sticks to the door. Roll initiative."
I cannot remember when I have ever said a door was slightly ajar. My players would immediately jump on that detail.
Which means I have to use that much more often to lull them into a sense of complacency =)
They key is - once the first mimic strikes - all the furniture in the surrounding rooms (the chairs, the bed, etc), reveal themselves as mimics - and the party finds themselves in the center of a mimic colonly. The reason for leaving it ajar is someone will typically push the door open, rather than a closed door and someone casts "Knock" on it. ;)
Writer’s Note: This madness is something out of sheer boredom. It all began when AllMightyLordOfDND assigned races and classes to people who were participating in the thread. He was basing it on people’s responses, avatars, signatures (I am not sure what his formula was). But I was bored, and decided to start writing… I can’t even call it a story. I will call it an “Attempt To Curb My Boredom.” It keeps going, and no idea how long it will even go for. I have no plans where this story is going, as the conversations in the thread often dictate where the story is headed.
“Keep moving!” IAmSposta barked the command, as the Satyr tried to make his way through the thick, dense, swamp infested terrain. “No matter what, keep moving!”
AEDorsay grimaced at how the very swamp pulled at her torn and tattered robes, as if invisible hands composed of the very fetid soil were trying to hold her back. “We can’t really leave the others behind?”
“We need to keep moving,” IAmSposta insisted as he pulled her now muddy, furry leg from the mud and heard the sickening suction sound as it tried to hold his feet in place.
Theology of Bagels, who’d seen his fair share of less than suitable environments as a goblin, found the Swamp of Despair… well, it earned its name. Each effort to pull one’s foot free of the swampy waters seemed to only increase the amount of fatigue each of them was feeling.
Midnightplat had picked up Wysperra and threw the Halfling artificer on his shoulders, because his bags full of various herbs were repeatedly getting caught. Wysperra, who had transformed into a wererat as soon as they entered the Feywild confessed that he’d been infected with Lycanthropy, but had it under control. However, in the Feywild, the magic here invoked the Lycanthropy to reveal itself and he was unable to shift back to his Halfling form.
Antonsirius noted to himself how the wildlife here in the swamp sounded similar to how it had on the “Prime Material Plane” as IAmSposta liked to call it. All around him he heard frogs, crickets and other creatures making sounds. “There’s so many creatures making sounds,” the Kobold druid finally said aloud.
IAmSposta stopped and listened. “Oh no, they know we’re here…”
“What does?” The_Summoning_Dark, the tortle bloodhunter asked, gripping his crossbow.
“Bullywugs,” IAmSposta hissed.
“Wait,” AEDorsay shouted. “All this fear because of Bullywugs? They’re hardly a –…” At that moment a net dropped from above, landing on AEDorsay. She immediately felt it sapping her strength – as she struggled, she noticed the nets had been laced with some form of berry extract that, upon contact with her skin, was rapidly sapping her stamina as well as clouding her mind. She tried to cast – but discovered she couldn’t. It wasn’t because her mind wasn’t clear – it was the net. It was… an anti-magic net? How had simple creatures such as bullywugs gotten such a thing?
She hardly got more time to think about it as she lapsed into unconsciousness, her beautiful desert features facing planting, face first into the murky waters.
Sterle09, the Dhampir Cleric/Paladin – as quickly as he could through the murky swamp – rushed to her side and rolled her over so that her mouth was no longer submerged in the water. Just as he did and went to stand, he was struck by an arrow to the shoulder, then one to the knee. He snapped the arrow in half and drew his blade just as several bullywugs leaped down from the mossy trees around them. “By the goddess, Gradh, I will send you to the murky depths of…” And similar to AEDorsay, Stertle09 also collapsed forward.
The others fought on, but one by one, each of them fell, darkness over taking them.
The others, not far away, were also in the middle of a fight…
The Ankheg reared back as Thorrison tumbled backwards, head over heels over a fallen log. The Ankheg’s mouth began to gurgle and green liquid began to dribble from its mouth. Just as it lunged forward to spit, the massive creature was struck upside the head by a thrown war hammer which caused its acid spew to strike a tree rather than the Giff ranger, Thorrison. Thorrison scrambled to his feet and grabbed his bow and several arrows that’d fallen out of his quiver and fired them at the Ankheg who had now focused its mandible attacks on ChoirOfFire who’d been the one who threw her war hammer to save him.
She used her shield to bat away the lunges that had come from the Ankheg.
Off to the other side, Drakenbrine spoke a few words of incantation and flames pouring out from his fingertips singing the side of the Ankheg and sending the smell of burning flesh to mingle with the odorous Swamp of Despair not far away.
Amnon_Balderk, the orc monk, with a swiftness ran and slid beneath the Ankheg, using a dagger to cut beneath its exoskeleton and across its softer underside. He then grabbed the war hammer, and despite his lack of muscular structure, managed to pick it up and throw it back towards ChoirOfFire, who was able to pick it up as the beast was distracted by being burned and cut.
Quar1on, the gnome warlock, spoke the spidery words of the arcane and began to gesture wildly with his hands; the very air above the Ankheg turned grey, then purple, as bolts of purple lightning began to strike all around the beast.
Above all the noise and commission, BoringBard, the Dragonborn Bard was strumming madly on his guitar, and singing, “Never was he one to beg; never did he look away; even as he fought this Ankheg; we knew victory would be ours today! A half-orc fighter with sword in hand; here to help us all; forgotten and cursed by a lord of the land; we are here to see him redeemed, and for the lord of the land to fall!”
Sirtawmis, the half-orc fighter was so caught up in fighting, he’d not been paying attention to the lyrics the bard was singing, but he felt energized by the music alone. Sirtawmis cut and cleaved into the beast, though hardly making a dent in its exoskeleton.
It was Thorrison who, now with a steady hand, fired a shot that landed directly between the weak spot of the exoskeleton as the beast had reared up to smash Sirtawmis with its mandibles that delivered the killing blow; forcing the half-orc to leap out of the way as the giant beast collapsed, dead.
Sirtawmis brushed himself off and shouted, “We need to get going after the others.” They gathered themselves and quickly made their way into the eerily silent swamp.
“Damn it,” Sirtawmis hissed. “They’ve been captured.”
“How can you tell?” ChoirOfFire asked.
“The silence,” Sirtawmis explained. “The bullywugs use the beasts of the swamp as an alarm. And if they’re not speaking – that means the bullywugs already communicated that they caught whoever caused the disturbance, unaware there was more of us. Probably because there’s so many of us.”
“They were captured by bullywugs?” Amnon_Balderk seemed genuinely shocked. “Aren’t they pretty simple creatures? I mean, sure a threat when there’s many – but with those who escaped into the swamp they should have been able to handle bullywugs.”
“Not these bullywugs,” Sirtawmis growled as he began making his way into the swamp. “They’ve been gifted items from Mealladh.”
“Mealladh?” BoringBard asked. “Isn’t that the hag we’re after?”
“It is,” Sirtawmis nodded. “Rumor has it that these bullywugs were actually children many generations ago that Mealladh turned into frogs and this is how they adapted and survived, and now they breed other bullywugs, all server the damn hag faithfully.”
“That’s horrible,” Quar1on said, his mouth agape.
“At least IAmSposta’s with them,” Sirtawmis said with some relief as he continued moving through the swamp. “Their leader is a bloated frog and IAmSposta will know how to speak to him.”
Deep in the Bullywug’s kingdom…
“His Royal Highness The Prince Toadtickler, Duke of Mud Burrow, Earl of Vast Depths, Baron Murk Eater, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Coven, Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Frog Elite, Member of the Order of Merit, Grand Master and First and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the Despair Swamp Empire, Knight of the Order of Fey Wild Dark, Additional Member of the Order of the Coven Elite, Extra Companion of the Mealladh’s Service Order, Royal Chief of the Order of Dark Water, Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Gloomhaven, Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Lord of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Councillor of the Queen’s Privy Council for Duskhaven, Personal Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty, Lord High Admiral of the Swamp of Despair, it is I, Lord IAmSposta, honored to be in your presence with my companions,” the Satyr gestured to his companions who were in the cage with him.
A sickly, overly bubbly toad of immense weight leaned forward, “So the Satyr remembers well, my titles. What brings you here into my swamp with so many? Come to try and take over my kingdom at last, I see?”
“No such thing,” IAmSposta said. “As a matter of fact, I come with a gift, o’bubbly one,” IAmSposta bowed.
“A gift,” Toadtickler thumped his gnarled staff on the ground. “I do love gifts. What do you bring for me?”
“I,” IAmSposta stammered, and looked at his companions. “Him.” He pointed to AllMightyLordOfDND.
AllMightyLordOfDND, who hardly spoke a word finally said, “Excuse me?”
“What is it?” Toadtickler asked, trying to stand up from his throne, but could not move his massive weight so he signaled to two of his guards to examine.
“A deity,” IAmSposta smiled. “In human form. Or elf form. Or dwarf form. Depends on when you look at him. His form shifts.”
“A Deity? In mortal form?” Toadtickler seemed doubtful.
“I knew you would doubt me,” IAmSposta nodded. “I doubted it at first too. The thing is, he doesn’t realize he’s a deity. And I am not even sure what deity he is. But he proclaims to be one. And the magic emanating from him certainly seems off the charts.”
“What are you doing?” AEDorsay hissed through clenched teeth.
“Getting us out of this mess,” IAmSposta hissed back.
Thanks! I am not sure how much longer this is going to go, as this thread seems to be winding down. Many of the folks in the story don't seem to visit the thread these days. Expected, because as The_Summoning_Dark said...
Yeah. It’s a shame, but it is the way of things. We’ve had good times. To those already gone, I bid you adieu, and to those who read this I wish you luck on your adventures. May our digital paths cross again in the future.
At this point, experience kinda feels like a remnant of older editions where classes progressed at different rates (and apparently wights stole your levels). Nowadays, you wouldn't expect to ever see a table with characters at different levels, so it doesn't make sense for everybody to write down how much they've earned. Plus, in my experience (heh) it often leads players to get a video-gamey idea of how the system works and go off to the coast to grind crabs until they're 10 levels higher than they're supposed to be. When I DM (gods willing), I'll probably keep track of the XP the party earns by myself so that I have a general idea of how much progress they've made, and then just tell them when I think it's about time for a level up. So basically, milestone with crutches.
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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)
I like XP because I like having a simple rewards track that I can use to push certain types of play. I think it's cool and good to have something the players can directly pursue and understand independently of the story. I dislike XP because I never feel secure assigning XP values to *anything.* I always feel like I'm using the wrong numbers. They've made it very intimidating.
I like milestone because it keeps it in sharp focus for the DM to know what level the party is at. I dislike it because it feels like "mother may I" and it often results in stagnant periods where it feels like you haven't made progress in ages.
Given the choice, I'd choose XP. But I'd really prefer a simpler, chunkier version. Reduce those Yu-Gi-Oh-ass triple 0's.
Here's a sub-question to Wyspera's question and riffing off Quar1on's comment: If you milestone, do you milestone the entire party, or do you milestone particular characters?
I currently sort of hybrid XP/milestone ... that is the campaign has a sort of "chapter" with enough xp in it to level up the entire party. I guess I'm reluctant to not level up the entire party because of some of the power jumps that happen in tiers, especially for casters.
Conversely, I tend to really prefer skill over class based TTRPGs in general, as the experience and growth systems there are specifically geared toward character growth award specifically predicated on things the character did in the game, and only that thing. Or at least my preferred skill system games do it that way.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Yeah. It’s a shame, but it is the way of things. We’ve had good times. To those already gone, I bid you adieu, and to those who read this I wish you luck on your adventures. May our digital paths cross again in the future.
Heh - and like that - the thread gets a few posts! Good to see some people back here.
The story is/has been awesome. Congratulations, you level up and gain inspiration.
Question of the Day: Do you prefer experience points or milestone leveling?
Milestone. For many reasons.
One of the things is milestones allow me, as the DM to control the flow of the story better. If handing out XP levels characters too fast to become too powerful for some of the monsters I'd like to use. Also, with milestone, it makes it much, much, much easier - because people can miss sessions - and that means they miss out on XP - and if they miss out on XP that means others can out level them. Sure, it's nice to award players for showing up. But with milestone, you don't need to worry about it. Players won't feel that extra pressure to show up just because they might miss XP and fall behind.
Question: What are some name suggestions you would give for a high fantasy Isekai themed ttrpg?
Look in my damn signature.
LOL>
Otherwise, I strongly agree to really lean into the current naming conventions, because they are so damned awesome.
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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
All yes
Hi, I’m DrakenBrine, here’s my Sig and characters
I am The Grand Envisioner!
I cannot remember when I have ever said a door was slightly ajar. My players would immediately jump on that detail.
Which means I have to use that much more often to lull them into a sense of complacency =)
"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
I’ve done this a few times, but in truth, my party makes jokes that everything is a mimic these days, so it’s a real surprise when something actually is. We played this RPG called Warrior, Rogue, Mage (really fun, highly recommended. Rules-lite, but offering deep customization) and it didn’t include a mimic stat block. We were using the big 3D dungeon tiles, and I have a chest, so I decided that the chest would be a mimic so I could use it as the miniature, and I also decided that, canonically, in this world, all chests are mimics. That led to a lot of paranoia later on.
They key is - once the first mimic strikes - all the furniture in the surrounding rooms (the chairs, the bed, etc), reveal themselves as mimics - and the party finds themselves in the center of a mimic colonly. The reason for leaving it ajar is someone will typically push the door open, rather than a closed door and someone casts "Knock" on it. ;)
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
Authenticate Whiskey Tango
"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
Writer’s Note: This madness is something out of sheer boredom. It all began when AllMightyLordOfDND assigned races and classes to people who were participating in the thread. He was basing it on people’s responses, avatars, signatures (I am not sure what his formula was). But I was bored, and decided to start writing… I can’t even call it a story. I will call it an “Attempt To Curb My Boredom.” It keeps going, and no idea how long it will even go for. I have no plans where this story is going, as the conversations in the thread often dictate where the story is headed.
Part 1: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=501
Part 2: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=522
Part 3: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=552
Part 4: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=599
Part 5: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=631
Part 6: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=665
Part 7: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=696
Part 8: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=748
Part 9: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=811
Part 10: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=821
Part 11: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=829
Part 12: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=880
Part 13: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=972
Part 14: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=986
Part 15: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=1006
Part 16: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?page=53#c1050
Part 17: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/off-topic/adohands-kitchen/166611-anything-but-the-ogl-2-0-literally-anything?comment=1141
The Story Map: http://www.tawmis.com/ogl/ogl_map.jpg
The Fey Map: http://www.tawmis.com/ogl/ogl_fey.jpg
Swamp:
IAMsposta: satyr bard
AEDorsay: elf wizard
Theology of Bagels: goblin cleric
Midnightplat: changeling rogue
Wysperra: halfling artificer (Wererat)
Antonsirius: kobold Druid
The_Summoning_Dark: tortle bloodhunter
AllMightyLordOfDND – Multi-Race/Multi-Class
Stertle09 - Dhampir Paladin/Cleric
Fighting:
Sirtawmis: half-orc fighter
Drakenbrine: dwarf sorcerer
Amnon_Balderk: orc monk
Quar1on: gnome warlock
Thorrison: Giff Ranger
ChoirOfFire: tielfing paladin
BoringBard: Dragonborn bard
Welcome to Part 18… The Swamp of Despair.
“Keep moving!” IAmSposta barked the command, as the Satyr tried to make his way through the thick, dense, swamp infested terrain. “No matter what, keep moving!”
AEDorsay grimaced at how the very swamp pulled at her torn and tattered robes, as if invisible hands composed of the very fetid soil were trying to hold her back. “We can’t really leave the others behind?”
“We need to keep moving,” IAmSposta insisted as he pulled her now muddy, furry leg from the mud and heard the sickening suction sound as it tried to hold his feet in place.
Theology of Bagels, who’d seen his fair share of less than suitable environments as a goblin, found the Swamp of Despair… well, it earned its name. Each effort to pull one’s foot free of the swampy waters seemed to only increase the amount of fatigue each of them was feeling.
Midnightplat had picked up Wysperra and threw the Halfling artificer on his shoulders, because his bags full of various herbs were repeatedly getting caught. Wysperra, who had transformed into a wererat as soon as they entered the Feywild confessed that he’d been infected with Lycanthropy, but had it under control. However, in the Feywild, the magic here invoked the Lycanthropy to reveal itself and he was unable to shift back to his Halfling form.
Antonsirius noted to himself how the wildlife here in the swamp sounded similar to how it had on the “Prime Material Plane” as IAmSposta liked to call it. All around him he heard frogs, crickets and other creatures making sounds. “There’s so many creatures making sounds,” the Kobold druid finally said aloud.
IAmSposta stopped and listened. “Oh no, they know we’re here…”
“What does?” The_Summoning_Dark, the tortle bloodhunter asked, gripping his crossbow.
“Bullywugs,” IAmSposta hissed.
“Wait,” AEDorsay shouted. “All this fear because of Bullywugs? They’re hardly a –…” At that moment a net dropped from above, landing on AEDorsay. She immediately felt it sapping her strength – as she struggled, she noticed the nets had been laced with some form of berry extract that, upon contact with her skin, was rapidly sapping her stamina as well as clouding her mind. She tried to cast – but discovered she couldn’t. It wasn’t because her mind wasn’t clear – it was the net. It was… an anti-magic net? How had simple creatures such as bullywugs gotten such a thing?
She hardly got more time to think about it as she lapsed into unconsciousness, her beautiful desert features facing planting, face first into the murky waters.
Sterle09, the Dhampir Cleric/Paladin – as quickly as he could through the murky swamp – rushed to her side and rolled her over so that her mouth was no longer submerged in the water. Just as he did and went to stand, he was struck by an arrow to the shoulder, then one to the knee. He snapped the arrow in half and drew his blade just as several bullywugs leaped down from the mossy trees around them. “By the goddess, Gradh, I will send you to the murky depths of…” And similar to AEDorsay, Stertle09 also collapsed forward.
The others fought on, but one by one, each of them fell, darkness over taking them.
The others, not far away, were also in the middle of a fight…
The Ankheg reared back as Thorrison tumbled backwards, head over heels over a fallen log. The Ankheg’s mouth began to gurgle and green liquid began to dribble from its mouth. Just as it lunged forward to spit, the massive creature was struck upside the head by a thrown war hammer which caused its acid spew to strike a tree rather than the Giff ranger, Thorrison. Thorrison scrambled to his feet and grabbed his bow and several arrows that’d fallen out of his quiver and fired them at the Ankheg who had now focused its mandible attacks on ChoirOfFire who’d been the one who threw her war hammer to save him.
She used her shield to bat away the lunges that had come from the Ankheg.
Off to the other side, Drakenbrine spoke a few words of incantation and flames pouring out from his fingertips singing the side of the Ankheg and sending the smell of burning flesh to mingle with the odorous Swamp of Despair not far away.
Amnon_Balderk, the orc monk, with a swiftness ran and slid beneath the Ankheg, using a dagger to cut beneath its exoskeleton and across its softer underside. He then grabbed the war hammer, and despite his lack of muscular structure, managed to pick it up and throw it back towards ChoirOfFire, who was able to pick it up as the beast was distracted by being burned and cut.
Quar1on, the gnome warlock, spoke the spidery words of the arcane and began to gesture wildly with his hands; the very air above the Ankheg turned grey, then purple, as bolts of purple lightning began to strike all around the beast.
Above all the noise and commission, BoringBard, the Dragonborn Bard was strumming madly on his guitar, and singing, “Never was he one to beg; never did he look away; even as he fought this Ankheg; we knew victory would be ours today! A half-orc fighter with sword in hand; here to help us all; forgotten and cursed by a lord of the land; we are here to see him redeemed, and for the lord of the land to fall!”
Sirtawmis, the half-orc fighter was so caught up in fighting, he’d not been paying attention to the lyrics the bard was singing, but he felt energized by the music alone. Sirtawmis cut and cleaved into the beast, though hardly making a dent in its exoskeleton.
It was Thorrison who, now with a steady hand, fired a shot that landed directly between the weak spot of the exoskeleton as the beast had reared up to smash Sirtawmis with its mandibles that delivered the killing blow; forcing the half-orc to leap out of the way as the giant beast collapsed, dead.
Sirtawmis brushed himself off and shouted, “We need to get going after the others.” They gathered themselves and quickly made their way into the eerily silent swamp.
“Damn it,” Sirtawmis hissed. “They’ve been captured.”
“How can you tell?” ChoirOfFire asked.
“The silence,” Sirtawmis explained. “The bullywugs use the beasts of the swamp as an alarm. And if they’re not speaking – that means the bullywugs already communicated that they caught whoever caused the disturbance, unaware there was more of us. Probably because there’s so many of us.”
“They were captured by bullywugs?” Amnon_Balderk seemed genuinely shocked. “Aren’t they pretty simple creatures? I mean, sure a threat when there’s many – but with those who escaped into the swamp they should have been able to handle bullywugs.”
“Not these bullywugs,” Sirtawmis growled as he began making his way into the swamp. “They’ve been gifted items from Mealladh.”
“Mealladh?” BoringBard asked. “Isn’t that the hag we’re after?”
“It is,” Sirtawmis nodded. “Rumor has it that these bullywugs were actually children many generations ago that Mealladh turned into frogs and this is how they adapted and survived, and now they breed other bullywugs, all server the damn hag faithfully.”
“That’s horrible,” Quar1on said, his mouth agape.
“At least IAmSposta’s with them,” Sirtawmis said with some relief as he continued moving through the swamp. “Their leader is a bloated frog and IAmSposta will know how to speak to him.”
Deep in the Bullywug’s kingdom…
“His Royal Highness The Prince Toadtickler, Duke of Mud Burrow, Earl of Vast Depths, Baron Murk Eater, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Coven, Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Frog Elite, Member of the Order of Merit, Grand Master and First and Principal Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the Despair Swamp Empire, Knight of the Order of Fey Wild Dark, Additional Member of the Order of the Coven Elite, Extra Companion of the Mealladh’s Service Order, Royal Chief of the Order of Dark Water, Extraordinary Companion of the Order of Gloomhaven, Extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Lord of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Councillor of the Queen’s Privy Council for Duskhaven, Personal Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty, Lord High Admiral of the Swamp of Despair, it is I, Lord IAmSposta, honored to be in your presence with my companions,” the Satyr gestured to his companions who were in the cage with him.
A sickly, overly bubbly toad of immense weight leaned forward, “So the Satyr remembers well, my titles. What brings you here into my swamp with so many? Come to try and take over my kingdom at last, I see?”
“No such thing,” IAmSposta said. “As a matter of fact, I come with a gift, o’bubbly one,” IAmSposta bowed.
“A gift,” Toadtickler thumped his gnarled staff on the ground. “I do love gifts. What do you bring for me?”
“I,” IAmSposta stammered, and looked at his companions. “Him.” He pointed to AllMightyLordOfDND.
AllMightyLordOfDND, who hardly spoke a word finally said, “Excuse me?”
“What is it?” Toadtickler asked, trying to stand up from his throne, but could not move his massive weight so he signaled to two of his guards to examine.
“A deity,” IAmSposta smiled. “In human form. Or elf form. Or dwarf form. Depends on when you look at him. His form shifts.”
“A Deity? In mortal form?” Toadtickler seemed doubtful.
“I knew you would doubt me,” IAmSposta nodded. “I doubted it at first too. The thing is, he doesn’t realize he’s a deity. And I am not even sure what deity he is. But he proclaims to be one. And the magic emanating from him certainly seems off the charts.”
“What are you doing?” AEDorsay hissed through clenched teeth.
“Getting us out of this mess,” IAmSposta hissed back.
TO BE CONTINUED?
Note - Prince Toadtickler's excessive title is based on Prince Phillip's title - see more here for fun: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/offbeat/prince-philip-royal-title
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That cracked me up. Great combat scenes as well!
I look forward to reading it when I get the time. Right now I have a metric ton of work but hopefully soon.
Thanks! I am not sure how much longer this is going to go, as this thread seems to be winding down. Many of the folks in the story don't seem to visit the thread these days. Expected, because as The_Summoning_Dark said...
... life being life, will take us away from the fun things. :)
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
Yeah. It’s a shame, but it is the way of things. We’ve had good times. To those already gone, I bid you adieu, and to those who read this I wish you luck on your adventures. May our digital paths cross again in the future.
I would never have guessed the story would go this long. It's gotten a bit much for me to keep up with.
The story is/has been awesome. Congratulations, you level up and gain inspiration.
Question of the Day: Do you prefer experience points or milestone leveling?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
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"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
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I think I prefer milestone leveling. I have only used experience points once, but I like how milestone gives more flexibility to the DM.
At this point, experience kinda feels like a remnant of older editions where classes progressed at different rates (and apparently wights stole your levels). Nowadays, you wouldn't expect to ever see a table with characters at different levels, so it doesn't make sense for everybody to write down how much they've earned. Plus, in my experience (heh) it often leads players to get a video-gamey idea of how the system works and go off to the coast to grind crabs until they're 10 levels higher than they're supposed to be. When I DM (gods willing), I'll probably keep track of the XP the party earns by myself so that I have a general idea of how much progress they've made, and then just tell them when I think it's about time for a level up. So basically, milestone with crutches.
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)
I like XP because I like having a simple rewards track that I can use to push certain types of play. I think it's cool and good to have something the players can directly pursue and understand independently of the story. I dislike XP because I never feel secure assigning XP values to *anything.* I always feel like I'm using the wrong numbers. They've made it very intimidating.
I like milestone because it keeps it in sharp focus for the DM to know what level the party is at. I dislike it because it feels like "mother may I" and it often results in stagnant periods where it feels like you haven't made progress in ages.
Given the choice, I'd choose XP. But I'd really prefer a simpler, chunkier version. Reduce those Yu-Gi-Oh-ass triple 0's.
Here's a sub-question to Wyspera's question and riffing off Quar1on's comment: If you milestone, do you milestone the entire party, or do you milestone particular characters?
I currently sort of hybrid XP/milestone ... that is the campaign has a sort of "chapter" with enough xp in it to level up the entire party. I guess I'm reluctant to not level up the entire party because of some of the power jumps that happen in tiers, especially for casters.
Conversely, I tend to really prefer skill over class based TTRPGs in general, as the experience and growth systems there are specifically geared toward character growth award specifically predicated on things the character did in the game, and only that thing. Or at least my preferred skill system games do it that way.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Heh - and like that - the thread gets a few posts! Good to see some people back here.
I would have never guessed the story would go this long as well. lol
It was originally just an idea that might go like... three posts? And be super silly?
And while it's still silly, it's also gotten more story now woven into it.
Because my brain at night - the only way to silence the voices is to write.
So every once in awhile I come back and add to this.
And I get it's easy to be a bit much to keep up with at this point.
I always try to make the segments very short and sweet, for easy consumption.
And because, originally this thread would yield a lot of posts in a single day, I got in the habit of linking the stories.
And just kept doing it.
Not that ye have to read it. But I was trying to make it easy for anyone who was interested.
Milestone. For many reasons.
One of the things is milestones allow me, as the DM to control the flow of the story better. If handing out XP levels characters too fast to become too powerful for some of the monsters I'd like to use. Also, with milestone, it makes it much, much, much easier - because people can miss sessions - and that means they miss out on XP - and if they miss out on XP that means others can out level them. Sure, it's nice to award players for showing up. But with milestone, you don't need to worry about it. Players won't feel that extra pressure to show up just because they might miss XP and fall behind.
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
Look in my damn signature.
LOL>
Otherwise, I strongly agree to really lean into the current naming conventions, because they are so damned awesome.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
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Wow. I was about ready to retire from this thread. I did not expect a wall of text. A few in fact.