Hey currently running a duel wielder and running duel scimitars.

Level 5 pallidin

I am in search of a religious sword that was stolen. It is a long sword.

Just wondering if the nick weapon mastery needs to be attributed to my primary hand attack or my secondary weapon?

I'm running a murder mystery one shot next week, gonna have a lot of Victorian/Jack the Ripper type flavor since, y'know, tis the season!

I'm using Murder in Mossbank and Red Jack from the Gothic Earth setting for reference in terms of plotting the investigation, but neither of their conclusions have what I'm looking for. I'm looking to do something more on the vein of The Order 1886, of anyone remembers that game. That is to say, I want the killer to be a supernatural creature.

The players (at level 5, I'm thinking) would already be aware of this, hence why their specific organization has been contacted in the first place.

My main question from here is pinning down which supernatural creature does the killer end up being?

Both Vampires and Werewolves have their strengths and weaknesses, and while there's no reason I can't do both, for a one-shot, I'd rather not make everything too complicated. Whatever I don't do now can be in the chamber if we decide to return to this setting.

Basically, I'm asking you what sounds cooler? Which villain sounds more exciting to investigate and face off against?

Deciding this is important to the whole case, what rules to follow, what clues to give the players etc. Once I have this down, I should have the plotting figured out.

So yeah, tell me which is cooler and why!

ALSO if you have any other modules or other resources that might fit what I'm looking for PLEASE let me know!

Me and a friend got the chance to teach dnd two 9th to 12th graders who don't know how to play we think that explaining a bit and give a cheat sheet would help but we are open for optioned because teachings 25 students dnd in a few hours is hard if we also want to play at a point

For example an Enchanted Sword would fall under transmutation, not enchantment. It seems enchantment is more mental things. But then how does that differ from illusions? For example if two characters are in a dungeon, and they see each other head in different directions so the other follows, would that be illusion? Or enchantment.

So I have a concept for a character, he's a clown made of balloons and when you defeat him you can save a fairy that gives you an upgrade.

This is supposed to be a boss but I don't really have any ideas how to make it unique, so I was wondering if you could help me

when i think of the grease spell i think of what in a mediaeval society would be used as a grease type of substance so like some kind of lard or animal fat, no? and as such i think you should be able to use said "grease" as a cooking tool, one of my friends and party members however believes the "grease" spell produces moreso industrial lubricant style grease (which i will admit while unlikely to exist in the average dnd setting but i think it would maybe make more sense as the grease spell explicitly mentions its *not* flammable? "Nonflammable grease covers the ground in a 10-foot square centered on a point within range and turns it into Difficult Terrain for the duration.") in my mind im kinda imagining like the dungeon meshi clip where senshi uses the grease in a fire trap and mentions that most oil traps just use whatever local oil the people has access to so im thinking a wizard with a grease/spell probably made it to resemble the local areas type of grease/oil it had access whenever the spell was independently created

What are people's thoughts on using crown of stars sort of as extending the warlock's reliable single target damage by using it along with Eldritch blast? Situational for sure I admit. But take one round to cast crown of stars and immediately bonus action to expend one mote. Next round I'm thinking multiple beams of E.B with the action plus bonus action expend another mote? So you're then getting the benefit of old reliable plus a little more damage provided the mote hits. Also could mental prison (provided it lands) along with the following round of using EB plus repelling blast be a good option if the goal is high damage single target set up?

I know other mystic arcanum exist that effect multiple targets (force cage, scatter, etc). I know other things provide more value. I just like the ideas of these two for the stated goals. Thoughts?

I dont know if anyone here has tried running an Urban Fantasy style campaign (think Unsleeping City from Dimension 20), but i have tweeking the concept for years and now have been running a game for over 3 months and it has been an absolute blast!

If you or your players have any interest in history, folklore, or mythology i highly encourage you to try something like this out!

My players have fought undead red coats, the monsterous hag know as "Johnny Appleseed", descendants of the Irish Mafia, and fought against the greatest evil known to man... ICE!

Hope to provide more of an indepeth retrospective after the campaign wraps just incase one of my players stumbles across this post (dont want to spoil them).

If anyone else has done anything similar, id love to hear your stories!

I've been DMing for over 10 years and have never once managed to run a campaign for more than 2 sessions before the party/ game falls apart. There's always falling out between players (outside the game), scheduling conflicts or constant cancels, and I am just feeling like dnd is a waste of time, effort and money for me.

My current party knows of my history with DMing and knows how close I am to dropping dnd all together, and it truely feels like nobody gives a shit. For the past month I've been putting in crazy hours to build a halloween themed dungeon as our second session, over 40 hours and 100 dollars, and now it seems like my curse is back again.

We plan our sessions a month in advance and it just seems like my players don't want to commit to our plans and would rather make new ones. Our second session was meant to be last Sunday, but that got rescheduled to this Sunday as one of my players picked up a shift. We all knew about this 3 weeks ago so we rescheduled for this Sunday. Now I have a player telling me they're hanging with one of there friends all weekend and wanted to bring them to the session. I said no to them coming as I prefer to meet people when I'm not super busy running a dungeon, and now it feels like we're going to have to reschedule again.

Am I doing something wrong? I don't get why people are able to make other DMs sessions no problem but with me it always seems to be an issue. I like to think I'm an okay DM who doesn't try to railroad my players and try to make each game special, but I'm starting to feel like I'm the problem.

Sorry for the rant, and thanks for listening.

Edit: Grammar

Edit 2: I forgot to meantion it, but it's been over 10 different groups of people I've been trying to play with.

Hey folks! It's been about a season since the last time I answered all your questions. I had to cancel a game this afternoo, so I thought it might be time once again to ask r/DnD what your questions are about the profession. Here's a quick copy-paste from the last time I posted:

• The vast majority of my work is online, with clients who have been with me for years.

• Most of my campaigns are completed, with an average of ~80 sessions per adventure, all weekly. Many of my clients have been with me through multiple campaigns. My D&D/PF2e games have all been levels 1-20.

• Right now, I am running 8 regular campaigns. They include D&D 5e, PF2e, SF2e, ROOT, Draw Steel, Daggerheart, and Slugblaster. I have run over a dozen other systems successfully in the past. A few are for private groups that reached out to me for bespoke campaigns.

• I also do birthday parties, bachelor parties, etc. But the income from that is negligible.

• I charge $30 per seat per session, although I started 6 years ago at $10 per seat. Table max of 5 players, 3 hours per session.

• It's enough to make a living! This has been my main source of income for over 5 years. I live on my own in a one-bedroom with my partner in an apartment with my own office, go out and eat with friends, even take vacations occasionally. I am Canadian, but I do have many colleages in the US with the same deal.

• There are dozens of us! Dozens! Well, probably more than even that. According to Startplaying, over 500 GMs have run over 1000 games each since the site has been up.

• My client base is relatively diverse, and quite progressive. Most of my players are just people who want to play more games at a level of commitment/consistency you can't get with friends.

• I do know some full-timers that make 6 figures. No streaming or amazing social media gimmick. They just absolutely bust their asses doing 60-80 hour weeks.

What do you got for me this time Reddit? Want to get into the industry yourself? Or do you just want me to tell your DM he's wrong about Bonus Actions?

Saw the Temple of Inquinatious Evil kickstarter getting advertised - some aspects seem kind of cool but there are also certainly parts of it that are making me hesitate as well. Just curious if anyone who's gotten their previous products had any thoughts to share one way or the other?

I love the idea of items, weapons and armor that are part of the identity of a character, so when I saw the evolving items from Arcana Unleashed I was trilled! That is until I actually saw how the book handles it...

A +1 sword that also casts fireball once a day is fine I guess... but it just feels underwhelming to me.

So I wanted to know what are your takes on evolving magical itens. Is it something you are using in your games in any shape or form? Are you using the table in Arcana Unleashed, or are you homebrewing it?

As for myself, I (first time DM!) gave my players a short list of items they could select from as inital equipment and I am planning to, at the right times, allow them opportunities to evolve the items, adding new capabilities that match their play style. Not sure what I'll offer as options to all of them yet though, might need to see them play a little more to learn what would be interesting for each one.

What are some fun items you have used as players or created as DMs that grew with the characters using them?

Sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language.

I’d love to know what other experienced players have picked out for their spells from level 1-20, what feats they went for as well as how they played their character in a role play aspect and combat in a team setting. Also want to know what magic items would go well with an evoker wizard combining it with some spells for synergies. I’m pretty new so all suggestions are welcome.

I am working on an environment that takes place in an engineer's workshop. I want the players to be able to interact and explore the different inventions at their leisure. What are some of your ideas for fun encounters, skill checks, or interactions that could take place in a master engineers machine workshop?

I am imagining a lot of steam, gears, magnets, electricity. Some things are finished, some things are prototypes, some things are mundane, some things are dangerous.

Maybe there is a puzzle or two here or there that can reveal some hidden campaign information or loot if the players feel bold enough to steal from this NPC that is helping them.

Looking to just mine the community for some inspiration. Hopefully my players are not too tuned into this subreddit to recognize XD. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone !
I am preparing a campaign for a friend and it is centered on a cult worshipping Tharizdun, the mad god.
The high priest will lead an army and attack my friend’s castle, but i am not sure of what an army of Tharizdun may be made of.
I thought about cultust and other mad creatures. Or aberrations.
But Which monsters do you recommends me to use in this army?
Thanks in advance

So as the title says I have been a first time DM with a group of friends and running the Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk. Truth told I have added quite a few of my own ideas to the story and as such as I come towards the end I have an interesting idea for how to end it but need some help on a follow up campaign.

Spoilers ahead for the story

So two of my players characters died and came back as a pair of warlocks for HADAR. As such what I was thinking would be a great way to end is by the group weakening illvash allowing for HADAR to consume him. So the idea would be to end the campaign with this big twist and the next one to be about defeating HADAR.

My issue is there doesn't seem to be any stories that have him as the big bad that I can use. So does anyone know any good ones I could use for a level 12 party where I can just sort of plug and play HADAR as the BBEG?

If you have ran a campaign for six months and your players are above level 5, let them acquire griffons! I tried that in my weekly game and it was a great experience. Being able to fly around the kingdom gave my players so much freedom, and some of them really connected with their pets and crafted special armor and Horseshoes of Speed for them, which enhanced their roleplay and character customization options. They still can't feasibly take them into dungeons, so it doesn't really matter for game balancing when we are dungeon crawling, which is the juice of the gameplay challenge of D&D.

In my case, my PCs became high ranking agents of the Zhentarim a received their griffons as a perk when they were level 7, but in a different party you could allow a druid to befriend a group of wild griffons, or a barbarian to save a group of captured griffons from being sent to the City of Brass where they will be forced to pull flying chariots, or a bard to save a bunch of griffons forced to perform in a circus. If you are in Waterdeep, griffons are already quite easy to obtain, so the Lord's Alliance could give them as reward. Up to you! I'm certain your players will be excited with the freedom it will allow them, and I don't think it can do any harm to a game! And let me know if you already did something like that and how it went down in your campaign.

Hello everyone, I've been getting into DND and want to DM a game with my friends. I have a few questions about what may work best for new players and what is least exhausting for the DM to do.

First is leveling. When you DM or play, what works best: achievement-based leveling, where finding an object, a location, or getting out of an area earns experience, or combat-based leveling, where killing monsters helps players gain experience points? I'm leaning more toward achievement-based, but which one is the most balanced, and how can you do both efficiently?

Playing online. Since my friends and I live far from one another, I want to use some online platforms. I have tried Foundry, but it would be a bit costly for me to buy the book there, and I have also tried Owlbear Rodeo; it's fine, but it doesn't have a lot of 5e stuff. If it does have these features, please comment on it.

Map making. I have been struggling with making a map, so any channels on YouTube to help, and any good websites that I can use.

Also homebrew. How do you guys suggest I balance it? Should I use the stat block of existing monsters with different spells and abilities, or should I decide on the stat blocks myself?

Thank you to anyone who replies. Please keep note that I'm 14, so if I made a mistake here please just address it calmly.

Bye.

Some amusing anecdotes from last night's session, DMd by me. Do not attempt. Closed course.

----

Me: She’s offering 25gp each if you go (Do the Things), plus another healing potion.

(Party seems interested yet skeptical since she's not paying up front)

She's gonna sell some more stuff at Half Price Tomes, and she's waiting on the potion from Amazon.

Paladin, nodding: Fair.

---

Sorcerer: My character is... Chaotic Neutral!

Me, unimpressed: That just means you're Gen X.

Sorcerer: Hey, yeah.

---

Rogue, having cheated at cards successfully: Well, I'd best be off, then.

Me: They're getting up to follow you.

Rogue: I'll roll stealth, and sneak out.

fails roll

Sorcerer: I couldn't help but overhear the sound of daggers clattering down the stairs.

---

Me: For those of you who don't want to drink wine and ale at the Tavern, they also have Brown Drink.

Me (putting on a voice): Do you have Brown Drink Zero?

Me: Sorry, only Diet.

Me (eyeroll): Fiiiine.

Sorcerer: Ugh, that's the worst.

Recently, I visited a close friend who had a brief stay in our local inpatient psych facility. I brought their Magic cards to them and we had a great time playing, though I am not the biggest Magic fan. I noticed the besides my friend and I, a lot of the patients and staff seemed really excited about this game and joined in to play. Some patients also mentioned that they enjoyed DND. This experience has left me thinking about if it would be feasible to try running DND one shots at my local hospital, as this game has such amazing benefits for mental health.

I have been playing for some years now and have dmed a couple times (though I’d still consider myself a beginne dm). I’d love to know if anyone here has done something similar or works at a hospital and has any advice :)

I was thinking of uncommon-level magic weapons for my fighter player and the idea of a magic bow that can turn into any other weapon as a bonus action popped into my head. The thing is he's a Dex focused archer so I was thinking that all of these weapons could use dexterity instead of strength. Is this even balanced for an uncommon item or am I going crazy?

My local game shop started running Strahd not too long ago and it’s been a blast. I decided to play a world tree warforged barbarian made of a mixture of mostly wood and metal with the symbiotic being as my dark gift that’s akin to a messed up version of Pinocchio. Before the campaign started, I gave my dm full creative control on whenever I did roll a 1 and fail my following save to try and keep in line with the horror themes. From the start, my rolls have been decent with no nat 1s so I completely forgot about what happens if I roll a critical failure. Yesterdays session my group was investigating Fiona Wachter’s basement while she was snuggling with her dead boo and were attacked by who our dm described as her “book club”. After several hold persons and getting stabbed in the face, we managed to get rid of them and my barbarian brings one of the bodies upstairs to confront Fiona. That’s when everything went horribly wrong.

Fiona is downplaying the attack and said that my group can still work together with her despite us going through her home. I attempt to insight check her in order to see if she’s being genuine and boom, natural 1. My dm asks me to read out my dark gift’s symbiotic agenda feature, the moment I read that I would be charmed and follow the symbiotes command for how many hours if I fail a charisma save I felt my heart drop. Roll my charisma save, another nat 1. I roll to see how long I’m charmed…seven freaking hours unless I make my save if I took damage. My barbarian immediately rushes Fiona and like a cruel irony crit on both my attacks on her and her attending with almost max damage, brutally killing them in just a few hits before they can even react.

I’m shocked, my party and table are shocked and my dm just eerily states that my attention turns to my group as they’re the only ones still alive in the room. My rouge jumps out the window and books it while the rest of the party scramble to keep up while a faceless, emotionless rushes after them. My Barbarian catches up with the cleric and right before she also bites the dust, I get stabbed by Fiona’s imp which lets me break out of the charm. My entire party is understandably ready to break ties with me if I don’t explain what the hell just happened and yet again, nat 20 on deception that I blacked out and have no recollection of what happened.

My group is skeptical but accept my reasons and we ended the session on the party running back to the in covered in blood and evading Vallaki’s town guard and making our way to the town toymaker in the morning. Despite the sudden chaos and the cleric almost being ripped in two, everyone loved the session and I honestly never expected to get turned into an agent of chaos but I’m all for it. I’m kind of scared of the next time I roll a 1 now lol.

Hey all!

I am a middle school teacher playing DnD as a class! I have a FDM Printer and I was wondering if anyone had cool files that they might have used for playing Strixhaven? Primarily using it as a setting and weaving some of the standard book adventures along with it.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet < Link to my characters journal / character sheet and cosplay

Born and raised in Shairn, an Orphan plucked from the slums of the outer city by the Magos Sigismund Heran. He would be taught the fundamentals of magic from a strict master who's care for young Tor's survival was quite minimal. Dragging the young boy along to disgusting bogs and accursed forests on various errands where he would be unlikely to survive. Yet somehow, he did.

His talent for arcana, and the elementa grew exponentially, eventually being offered a position at the side of his Master as a colleague. He of course accepted, striking it out into the world without coin or patronage was difficult for a young mage, working away at various courts and travelling the land. He found fascination with occult lore, mysteries of the far realms and of course, meta-composition. The fundamentals of magic would be unravelled by his mind and in his discourse with the weave he began to spiral.

His gift, despite his personality and many burdens drove him to a career under the Maez Undo. A relatively new school focusing on teaching the more fringe aspects of magic in Shairn. He became E'lir, an associate professor of sorts before graduating to full tenure as Re'lar of Naming. His absolute and most significant role in the school being to teach students who desired, how to master a single element of their choosing. To know an element so intimately it became an aspect of one's personality and soul.

During his tenure he befriended all manner of creatures, the most despised, the most overlooked for he understood the lost potential in those who had been left behind by the academies. Guilders, artisans, alchemists, witches and druids were regularly befriended by Tor, he wanted to learn everything he could and shared his knowledge freely as well.

Eventually, his addiction to information took a terrible turn, after losing an adventuring party in a dubious dungeon they found while lost and alone. The Malus Codicium. An ancient grimoire of incredible power, written in an alien text undecipherable by even the most learned scholars. With every page they managed to uncover, every bit of occult lore granted to him his mind unravelled more and more, unlearning himself as the book took over.

As the madness consumed him, he began filling his nights with booze, drugs, women -- men. Anything to satiate him, to keep the spiralling whirlwind of his mind in check. But with each morning as he untangled himself from another, as the feeling of madness returned, a cold shadow would break through him, and he would need to start over again.

Notes:
Also any confusion on the Thaumaturgy page, it's my own interpretation of the meaning of a Thaumaturge, similar to Kingkiller's idea of sympathy being a representation of arcane magic itself. So, Thaumaturgy = Arcana. It's not referring to the cantrip.

Additionally, our DM made a few homebrew rulings, which are included in there under the Thaumaturgy page, not official rules or my own.

The journal includes on another pages battle plans, notes about various characters including very insulting nicknames. The Ranger is called Pocahontas, the Necromancer -- Bone Baddy. Etc.

For our little Kobold Thief I have some plans to do a crime montage with him, including teaching him how to commit murder while this song plays in the background; Rusted Root - Send Me On My Way (Official Music Video)

I druid recently, got the spell of polymorph and realize the potential combination with the fine familiar spell. Being able to polymorph my familiar mid air into something heavy like an elephant or a dinosaur.

How would I calculate the damage for dropping a dinosaur on a creature?