Tabletop Games Thread

[Saiga]

Probably not to the level I was thinking

Without mechanics or a very chill DM you aren't going to be going around destroying mountains with the swing of your sword

Like there's the cleaving through enemies mechanic from the DMG, but in 5E's you're unlikely to ever get so strong that that will actually work

[mAc Chaos]

It reminds me of when I was running a werewolf encounter once.

Mechanically, all that happened was the werewolf moved up to the player and attacked them at point blank.

Narratively, I described the werewolf as leaping off the walls and shooting forward to slash the player, then landing in front of them.

If you take it too literally, you'll have problems. Like some people wanted to opportunity attack the werewolf as it was sailing past them in the air, even though mechanically it wasn't actually doing that. I suppose I could just give it some special ability so it can do that but that seems like going too far to just enable a narrative flourish.

[Five_X]

It reminds me of when I was running a werewolf encounter once.

"once"

never of forgetting

[Bird of Hermes]

Since we seem to be sharing PC's

I mostly DM myself so I don't play a PC as much but my most recent ones are as follow:

Spoiler:

Annessen Raemense: High Elf Paladin raised by Dwaves, an unsociable grump but ultimately means well. Struggling with alcoholism and an inferiority complex. His luck with guys and girls tends to vary significantly day-by-day.


Prince Albus Draan: Last in line to be heir of his dukedom, he has left his home in search of adventure, wonder and - if possible - spreading the good of his family name. Kind, loving, romantic and all that jazz.

One campaign later with a switch of DM, he has been retired as an NPC and become Grand Duke doing his best with politics due to being thrown into the role completely unprepared. The past 50 years has cost him most of his patience and made him significantly more cynical. Still a very loving and doting grandfather.

[mAc Chaos]

Also the MonHun arc in one of my campaigns finally began. The first target on the menu: the flail snail.

[Saiga]

Oh yeah, I totally get fully descriptive with the combat turns - including having to clarify that this isn't having a mechanical effect - but as a player having mechanics in place to simulate what you want just adds more weight to it. Which is why if I was making an elemental based character I'd want to pick actual elemental spells over say, refluffing Magic Missle, even if that's the best option.

Actually, my example of being descriptive and needing to clarify also involves a Werewolf encounter.

I mentioned a while back how I designed a werewolf encounter that could go in different ways depending on what they did. It ended up going with TWO of the options as the carriage took off pursued by one werewolf after two players got off to deal with the other werewolf. I was really happy with that.

Anyway, after the animated tree attack and knocked the carriage onto its side, the werewolf climbed in from the window (now at the top) and dropped on our sorcerer, wrecking his shit. Our sorcerer used Catapult on the glass around him, so I began describing it:

Me: As you stand to your feet, you concentrate on the shattered glass across the floor. It springs to life, surrounding you and the best from all directions-
Sorcerer: Wait this is a targetted spell not an area spell, I don't get hit by this
Me: I am aware of that.

[Bird of Hermes]

Probably not to the level I was thinking

Without mechanics or a very chill DM you aren't going to be going around destroying mountains with the swing of your sword

Like there's the cleaving through enemies mechanic from the DMG, but in 5E's you're unlikely to ever get so strong that that will actually work

Give the PC's a McGuffin that can do crazy stuff at random as luck/plot demands.

Bam, uncontrolable mountain splitter.

[Saiga]

I'm not talking as a DM, but as a player

Fuck those guys, I want to split mountains

[Seika]

edit: Oh, those pictures are really nice, Seika. I have never used faceclaims, but I want to start doing so for my characters. Aside from the MTG werewolf, where did you find those?

All sorts of places to begin with. I made up 'Lumberjack Monk' because of the art, which comes off a Magic card called Hinterland Logger. It just sparked ideas about, like, actual Shaolin monks breaking boards and bricks with their bare hands, and how that could be applied to make a genuine living if you were a more ... practical sort of D&D monk.

Otherwise, there's ads or concept art from games, the occasional deviantArt or ArtStation artist I've bookmarked because they do cool fantasy characters, some guy's mermaid webcomic (that actually has way better art on the pages than for this image that's supposed to be the collection cover) ...

I also use Pinterest as a sort of crossroads of lots of these sorts of websites and images, and maintain a collection there full of potential art for my characters.If I can't find something in there, then the search to pick up a picture which does match my idea tends to also turn up a couple of things I can save for later. So the art for the non-raising Necromancer (which came out of the discussion we had in this thread) was already in my collection went I went looking for something to fill that concept. On the other hand, I had to look a bit further for an aristocratic duellist piece that really fitted, and so added several more fancy rogues to my collection along the way before I found that one.

[Saiga]

Yeah, I took to pinterest recently - they also have some really cool dungeon map art - but the layout of that website kind of confuses/annoys me

[Seika]

Tbh, I just signed up because I was pissed off with the number of GISes that led there but the site wouldn't let me actually explore to find it. Then it turned out it was really useful for stuff like this.

[Five_X]

There are a few decent Greasemonkey scripts for getting around the more annoying bits of pinterest, thankfully.

This might be the one I use? https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/63...t-registration

[Seika]

I wouldn't mind running more games with you in the future, Seika. The only reason we have ours so sporadically is the way everybody's particular schedules fit together. But different groups of players would have different availabilities.

I mean, hey, if you have room and think I'm a fit for it, I'd love to be on the recruitment list when you next find something.

There are a few decent Greasemonkey scripts for getting around the more annoying bits of pinterest, thankfully.

This might be the one I use? https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/63...t-registration

Huh, neat. Bit late now, though.

[Saiga]

Tbh, I just signed up because I was pissed off with the number of GISes that led there but the site wouldn't let me actually explore to find it. Then it turned out it was really useful for stuff like this.

literally same

wait, didn't you have Mac have an ongoing campaign?

[mAc Chaos]

An ongoing campaign... you'll have to be more specific than that. ;o

[Saiga]

well Seika's post made it sound like whatever you did before was finished

[Seika]

wait, didn't you have Mac have an ongoing campaign?

I wouldn't mind running more games with you in the future, Seika. The only reason we have ours so sporadically is the way everybody's particular schedules fit together. But different groups of players would have different availabilities.

Yeah, but

we have ours so sporadically

I'd just like to play more. Poor mAc has undoubtedly got plenty on his plate because he's got multiple groups; myself, I have an overflow of D&D time and motivation available, and nowhere to put it.

[mAc Chaos]

well Seika's post made it sound like whatever you did before was finished

Nah, was waiting for Five to come back from Jupiter or wherever he ran off to.

[Saiga]

Once again, Seika, same

edit: I'm going to try out some online programs, perhaps we can play together when I do. From what I remember I don't have as much trouble syncing up to your timezone.

[Five_X]

Yeah, but

I'd just like to play more. Poor mAc has undoubtedly got plenty on his plate because he's got multiple groups; myself, I have an overflow of D&D time and motivation available, and nowhere to put it.

Wellllll, depending on how much time I end up having once I get a job... :3

Nah, was waiting for Five to come back from Jupiter or wherever he ran off to.

Hi I'm alive and permanently in a strange cold place but am alive.

To be fair, it's probably colder than Jupiter here so you're not too far off the mark with that.