discussion and house keeping page

looks really solid Mike!

Just decide what you want for starting magical items - email me if you need to discuss anything (or just post it here)

I took Longbow+1 and chainmail shirt +1 per your earlier post. What else can I choose?

In case you didn't know about this regarding Halflings....

Heavy weapons are used at Disadvantage by Small creatures/characters. Page 147 of the Core book; Long Bow has the "heavy" tag

Drat. Short bow+1 then

looks like everyone is ready then?

Ready!

whit10 wrote:In case you didn't know about this regarding Halflings....

Heavy weapons are used at Disadvantage by Small creatures/characters.  Page 147 of the Core book; Long Bow has the "heavy" tag

Not challenging the ruling or anything, and I get why they make the "heavy" distinction, but a short bow and a longbow both have a listed weight of 2lbs.

well, I think that was the best way around the fact that a long bow is also about 6 feet long. Sorry bro... They used to make it worse in other versions of the game if I remember right.


Also; all players - please make sure to write down any mundane gear or equipment that you might carry (pack horse is fine as well). This came up in my last group and I just wanted to make sure we're all on the same page. Thanks!

Ready!

Check out the kits, saves typing up 20 items
Dungeoner kit, explorer kit, etc

https://5thsrd.org/adventuring/equipment/equipment_packs/

@GM
You mentioned a pack horse. What about a war horse?
I have animal handling

Marvin has animal handling and land vehicles. How about a wild boar chariot?

hell, mounts for everyone!

Just use the normal 'mundane' rules for this for now please.

I’m a 500 lb bi-pedal turtle. I will transform into a horse to travel long distances. When I reach 8th level I will fly…

I was not going to give him much equipment but then I thought it might be funny if he keeps a bunch of random gear in his shell. Then if he pulls head and limbs into his shell all of his stuff falls out on the ground around him.

Like a sea cucumber, when you get scared you drop all your shit and hope they pick it up and forget to eat you

Let's go!

lol... that's fine Alan. That mount comment was just for those that wanted it, certainly not a requirement

We will start tonight.

Added stats for warhorse, saddle, lance, etc

Marvin rides a mastiff named Chopper

Hey GM,
What exactly are our duties for the King?
It's kind of a power check question too. For example, are we his direct body guards because we are his highest level retainers? Are we somewhere in the middle? Do we directly speak w him and advise him?

What is the king like? Generous, brutal, fair, wise, petty, jealous, etc?

ah, thanks for asking as I had meant to provide this.

King Arcadius III is known as a fair and just king to his own people (including any Dwarves, Halflings or Aasimar in his kingdom). However, he was an aggressive king in his youth and he has only recently tired of constant war and the disruption it causes. The Dwarves of Koloth are almost as aggressive and it is considered a notable achievement that peace has been restored after 20+ years of war. Arcadius is more concerned with his legacy an the succession of his kingdom now that he's growing older.

The PC's are part of his retinue of the 'best and brightest' that Arcadius likes to have around him. As he has many enemies (not just in other kingdoms) this is also a good arrangement for protection. He is known to favor those that have magical powers... the ancient wizardry tower in Merciana is still in ruins and was destroyed more than two centuries ago. There are few actual 'wizards' in Merciana; fortunately, this is the case in nearly all the kingdoms as far as anyone knows.

That helps, thanks

I have added Warhol’s story to the character thread.

Nice!
I like how you tied in Uncle Vinny, lol
Hopefully that wasn't Zax knocking you on your butt with his lance

The King is aware of Warhol's particular talents now.... he loves the idea!

FYI - big sale on STEAM for most video games, some 30-80% off, ends tomorrow, just FYI for all

Chris, you mentioned something about "identifying the gem later" - did we have some sort of house rule about this?

It's been a while since I GM'd, so if we did, I've completely forgotten it.

whit10 wrote:Chris, you mentioned something about "identifying the gem later" - did we have some sort of house rule about this?  

It's been a while since I GM'd, so if we did, I've completely forgotten it.

On page 136 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide it states:

The identify spell is the fastest way to reveal an item’s properties. Alternatively, a character can focus on one magic item during a short rest, while being in physical contact with the item. At the end of the rest, the character learns the item’s properties, as well as how to use them. Potions are an exception; a little taste is enough to tell the taster what the potion does.

Sometimes a magic item carries a clue to its properties. The command word to activate a ring might be etched in tiny letters inside it, or a feathered design might suggest it’s a ring of feather falling.

that's the one, which if you recall, I didn't know about either at the start of Pirates. I had this whole thing planned for pearls, pearl merchants, etc since they are the main component for the ID spell.

ah. I had been looking at that earlier and just missed that sentence.. was getting distracted by a neurotic dog this afternoon. lol

Thanks!

I’m going to be taking ”ritual caster-wizard” next level.

Mike, don’t forget to claim potions or items from the loot thread and add them to your equipment list.

Good shout Alan. Will do that tonight.

DM, would you allow the 3rd Level Rogue feature “Steady Aim” from Tasha’s Cauldron?

“As a bonus action, you give yourself advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. You can use this bonus action only if you haven’t moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is 0 until the end of the current turn.”

hmm... I'm not opposed to it. Since it's Bonus Action, it would mean that you can't also use Cunning Action on the same round.

I think that's just fine.

Ok, will level up Marvin to Ranger5/Rogue3

Zax to level 8 is done

+9 HP
ASI +2 STR to 20

navyik wrote:I will keep updating the first post at the top of the thread. There’s still a couple of unclaimed potions.

sorry! I didn't even notice that you were editing the OP, my bad. I deleted all the other duplicative and junk posts to keep that thread clean

hey guys, just an update. Matt is really busy right now so he won't be joining us for a bit still. I told him no worries and he's welcome when he has time.


We'll get started as soon as everyone is levelled up and has their loot. No pressure... I still have some writing to do anyway since this is my first day off this week from any sort of work.

I hope everyone is enjoying this so far. I'm really enjoying GMing again for the first time in a long while.

whit10 wrote:

I hope everyone is enjoying this so far.  I'm really enjoying GMing again for the first time in a long while.  

It has been a well rounded and organized adventure. Very good pace as well. Thanks.

I’m digging it as well. You’ve crafted an interesting world and I find myself looking forward to the next bit of story

you guys are too kind. I think the next chapter will be far more interesting, at least I hope so.

hey guys... Chris and I were having a long convo about gaming and I realized that some of you might not be aware of this book. It's a modification for weapons and it's only a few pages long but give some more options for attacks with weapons.

The Book is called Beyond Damage Dice... I don't know how to link a PDF here but I can send it to you via email. I'm sending it to Mike and Chris because I have their email addresses. Alan, I will look but I don't remember if I have an email address for you. If you want to look through this, just post your preferred email.

It's a nice bit o' options for those that use weapons

I read the kobold press home-brew book you sent. It has some cool ideas that I like but overall it is a hot mess in terms of balance, ouch.

Some are so OP that instead of adding options, its just the new default best thing.
Many add another roll to each swing, usually a save, which bogs the game down.
There is little logic applied, like why does a mace get something different than warhammer? Just for balance of a bad weapon?
Speaking of mace... imagine a gang of goblins all with maces that stun every time they swing. They could easily stun lock a dragon or the whole party.
Some of the cool ones, like the aoe swing on a greatsword or parry on a longsword are not OP on their own but they rob classes of unique features. As a BM, many of those are my class special moves that I can only do 5 times and thats my key class ability. Or a ranger's Horde Breaker now comes free on every greatsword! Lol

The best ones are ones that say "you do no damage" but instead some effect. Those are kinda perfect because they are options. The flail shield rip, maul AC reducer, etc

It's a hard pass from me.


I might take a swing at making a system myself, just for fun.

I am going to have to agree, I re-read that book and it's a hot mess as you said.

A goblin pack with maces could decimate a party rather quickly and that's just a bit dumb IMO.

Unless someone really has an objection (and please make your argument here), I'm not going to allow this book after all. Most of the creatures you're going to see are already nasty enough as it is.

Some of that Kobold press stuff is just silly

I agree with the idea - melee weapons are a bit boring and 1 dimensional.  
some of their ideas are terrific, some just make matters worse


Anthony and I talked about some ideas this morning when we took the dogs to the park:

1) each group of weapons gets 1 new option in place of damage - all polearms\halberds\staves\etc can Trip instead of damage, all hammers\maces\etc can attempt to "Daze" instead of damage (Daze makes you lose your Reaction, so help your wizard friend run away or something).  etc

2) each weapon gets a specific new ability (usually in place of damage) - like "shield snare" for a Flail from Beyond Damage Dice (BDD).  no damage but if you hit you get a chance to make them drop their shield.  Warhammer can shove 5ft instead of damage.  
 etc

3) each weapon or group gets an additional bonus when you crit with the weapon - arrow can pin target to the wall or ground, immobilized for 1 turn or dagger\rapier adds a 1d6 persistent bleed effect, 2H sword\greataxe\maul can "Sweep\Cleave" adding just STR bonus (no dice) to other targets within 5ft.   etc

4) each weapon or group has an option for using Reaction that is not damage based - like the bury the sword in the ground to avoid being shoved (Vader vs Obi Wan), axes could be used like an anchor to avoid being pulled, daggers\picks could be buried into a surface to stop a fall (Jango Fett vs Obi Wan on Kamino), staff could be used for balance to avoid being tripped, etc    ** these are the hardest to figure out and may not end up being included***



and just to be clear, these are just my mental exercise to see if I can do better than Kobold Press.  I am not suggesting we use them and I won't be butthurt if others think they are crap.

my goals were to add options that didn't involve damage but not add more complicated mechanics or dice rolling when possible

some interesting ideas!

However, I'm just kinda brain-dead today for some reason. I have to work from 3 to 8 or 9 tonight. So I'll try to process this when I get home or sometime tomorrow.

Mike and Alan, please feel free to chime in on this... it's just been a long-ish week and it's already starting up again (Sundays are not my favorite days recently)

I quite liked the Trick Shot variant for bows, but with Marvin's bonus to hit a high percentage of his shots would end up as crits. Lots of fun for me, but probably too OP for the adventure.

The possibilities for this sort of thing are essentially limitless, why not treat it similarly to what we did with boons in pirates? DM grants each PC a "weapon" boon, or the player cooks it up and the DM blesses it. Either way, it gets tailored to the PC and adds a bit more flavor & fun to the game.

And if we're doing it that way, my home brewed weapon boon would be a "Disarm" shot. On a successful hit the creature must make a Save or drop whatever they are holding (weapon, scroll, potion, etc.)

Save could be as written in the Kobold text: DC 8 + Prof + Dex =15, or it could just be an attack at Disadvantage if we want to cut down on back & forth rolls.

Interesting but no time to read it yet. Not using weapons now, but I would like to explore this with gut characters. I think if 5e weren’t so stingy with feats, these could just be feats. But if you go back to first edition unearthed arcana there were special abilities for some weapons. Every edition since has had some version of it. 5e emphasized the balanced resistance to “breaking” the game. I respect that, but giving some weapon types and specific weapons multiple options and others fewer options but with better damage seems manageable within that strict goal.

https://www.ign.com/articles/one-dnd-reveal-dungeons-and-dragons-5e-dndnext

Watch the video!
WotC are using Unreal5 engine to build a digital table top for D&D.

sweet!

The first new playtest rules are out for oneD&D or 5.5
Its just some basic stuff, most of it I really like, but others.... not so much

https://media.dndbeyond.com/compendium-images/one-dnd/character-origins/CSWCVV0M4B6vX6E1/UA2022-CharacterOrigins.pdf?icid_source=house-ads&icid_medium=crosspromo&icid_campaign=playtest1

I will explain, no that takes to long, I will sum up!

The good stuff:
Character creation, fully customizable now as the stats come from Background.  Race is locked but more for flavor.
+2 and +1 to attributes
Any 2 skills
Any 1 tool
Any 1 language
Any 1 Feat

So yes, Humans get 2 feats and 3 skills.  Most races also give a skill and several race abilities.  Most races appear to be buffed.

It looks like all abilities will be prof bonus # per long rest (no more short rest recharges)
Long rest automatically restores all HP
Short rest probably just for using HD (my guess)

Feats - they buffed the weaker ones and some look the same

Rules - all d20 rolls work the same now.  Nat20 always succeeds and nat 1 always fails.  Attack rolls, ability checks and saving throws are now called d20 Tests.
Currently 1s and 20s dont mean anything for skills or saves

The "uh.... really?" Stuff

Monsters cannot CRIT players in combat
Spells cannot crit, only weapons
So sneak attack dice dont double, or hunters mark or CS or Pally smite dice, etc
Inspiration points are way easier to get, but can only hold 1 max, which disappears on long rest


Feedback can be given on D&D beyond website