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[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

At the end of the last session, my player’s went through years of training to become professional monster slayers. The last trial to become a Knight of the Dusk was to bathe themselves in the flame of a mysterious fire which granted them supernatural abilities. Needlessly to say, it hurt. In fact, a couple characters died. Don’t worry, we had extras!

If you’ll notice, this is actually just the Knights of the Dusk theme with different instruments and some FX added

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

Well, I finally started my campaign in our homebrew world of The Axis! The players have joined an occult organization of monster hunters known as the Knights of the Dusk. About 10 people died in the first session, but it was incredibly satisfying!

Anyway, this is the theme of the Knights!

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

Charisma rolls can be tricky. I think the best way to handle them is to take into account what the player says or does when determining the DC (IF they do anything specific at all). If a PC says they do something ridiculous like that in an attempt to seduce an NPC, then they themselves just set the bar too high. Also, it’s important to note that Nat 20s don’t matter during skill checks. 

The situation would be different if the PC simply said something like “I’d like to seduce one of the servers.” I would ask if they do anything specific they think might help, which would either raise or lower the difficulty. If not, then it’s a straight Charisma role and we would probably act out the results. 

Another thing about social checks is that interacting with people and convincing them is rarely as easy as what a single check encompasses. I use the Angry GM’s method of requiring multiple checks/arguments (1-3) based on how dead set the NPC is against being persuaded. 1 being average, 2 being someone pretty firmly opposed to something, 3 checks being if someone is absolutely dead-set against the idea. You also have to make sure that the NPC would even be willing to convinced in the first place, if not then don’t ever break down. The checks can still be made, but you won’t get a total success out of it. 

Last thing: PCs can use information or objects to affect the difficulty just like anything else! Gifts could knock off a check or lower the DC for success. Blackmail could do the same, or make it harder when dealing with a fearless macho NPC who hates being manipulated! Also, using information that would make it easier to win an argument makes for interesting rewards. If I want to encourage my PCs to sneak about, I might place diaries, notes, letters, etc with information that can be used against NPCs during social checks around town. 

Thinking about social interactions just like one might think about any encounter is very useful

Charisma’s double-standard

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how the mechanics & expectations work for charisma-based characters is a lot different than for combat-oriented characters.

If we treated combat abilities the way we treated social interaction, then we’d see something like this:

Fighter: “I stab the guy through the chest, all the way to the hilt, with my blade sticking out of his back and blood pours out of him..

GM: "Okay, roll for damage.”

Fighter: “….. I got a 2.”

<GM & Fighter look at each other and try to explain how the enemy has a sword sticking through him, but only took 2 points of damage.>

Of course, the solution is that combat characters roll their dice first and then, based on the result, describe what they did to achieve that result.  But with charisma-based characters we do things like

Bard: “I raise my eyebrow at the bar wench, lick my lips, and then thrust my pelvis at her suggestively.”

GM: “Okay, roll seduction.”

Bard: “Nat 20!”

GM: “Great, you found the 1 creature in the entire universe that is actually receptive to that pervy come-on.”

I guess, what I’m getting at is, should we (as GMs) potentially alter what charisma-based player characters do, so that it is actually consistent with their rolls?

Or are we honor-bound to allow their actions to have the desired effect, even if they make terrible, terrible decisions when interacting with others?

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

Xanathar’s Guide to Everything does not, in fact, have everything, but what it does have is many, many pages of random roll tables for names.

Not pictured: quite a few pages more of real-world Human names.

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

A nifty, versatile piece that I made for some cave-delving. This probably resulted in one of my favorite scenes ever. The party encountered a group of telepathic Nothics who were forced to cannibalize each other (and soon the party) because of a distinct lack of magical items and secrets in these tunnels. Nothics eat that stuff, but mine made do with eating each other. Luckily, my party gave in and gave them a magical item riiight before they were attacked (and possibly feasted upon). In return, the Nothics point the right direction to go.

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

My first piece I made in LMMS (heartily recommended for all you DMs out there btw). 

I played this when my party finally delved into the Shadowfell and encountered the floating city of Thultanthar, where the trapped goddess of the night, Shar, is being freed. 

My poor players don’t know what’s coming

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

I whipped this piece up to put on loop during an intense scene between one of my player’s characters, Plato, and his missing father who turned out to be a kingpin of a smuggling ring. After denying his father’s offer to join up and help destroy the world as we know it, Plato chopped off his head.

I think it was just unsettling enough to capture the moment

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

Asks Are Open! (And Empty)

The wind howls and races around the mountain. Snow falls on you faster than you can shake it off. A cramped entrance to a dungeon provides your only solace, and you’d be well-advised to enter…

The Dungeon of Good Advice is open and welcoming anyone to come in and ask a question! I’m the Constant GM and I will be perfectly happy to answer any question you might have in great detail. I can tell you how to build an engaging combat, how to create an interesting dungeon, how to engage your players, how to edit or touch up monsters and NPCs, or even how to create an engaging player character! Just try me!

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

This looks like it’s the final version of the map my group and I made together using Dawn of Worlds! I’m excited to start playing here in the Conjunction! (Temporary name? Maybe)

In the meantime, I’m going to be working on making a OneNote doc on everything! All the goddesses, planes, cities, empires, races, etc. This was actually why I made a Satyr race not long ago

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

NaturalCrit has a tool for making badges now! Use them for house crests, Inspiration cards, or any number of near things. Here’s my character’s new inspiration card:

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

The sound of sweet pipes fills the air of the evergreen forest. Pipes mingle with the sound of snow crunching underneath hooves as a clearing hosts several satyrs prancing and dancing amongst each other. Glasses of wine flow as freely as the music in the clearing while several satyrs coax the nymphs from their river with wild promises and fanciful stories.

"Come, celebrate Harvest Day with us!" calls a slightly inebriated satyr, raising a glass to the nymphs.

"Harvest Day? I was unaware you had a Harvest Day," a nymph raises her eyebrows.

"Why so surprised? You know turning in the crops is a very important event," the satyr says, parting only a moment from her mug.

"Well, it is simply that I have not yet seen any of these crops."

"Well," the satyr says loudly above rising pipe music, "of course not! We're celebrating the gnomes' Harvest Day. We're sure they appreciate our party very much!"

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

Fear is all about building tension, and it follows a pretty precise pattern:

Unease

Dread

Terror

Horror 

Ash Law describes how to put your audience on this roller-coaster of fear in The Trajectory of Fear

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

Here’s a little something I whipped up awhile ago to spice up my shadow monster game! The Shadow Caster is a high offense low defense monster that relies heavily on hiding in the shadows to stay alive. It likes to stay out of the way and use its powerful ranged attack, all while making sure to keep the players busy fighting their own shadows!

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

Gygaxian Guidance for Good Gaming

Disregard these adminitions from the AD&D Players Handbook (1978) at your peril!

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

Some quick Tabletop Roleplayng tips for newbies

With the popularity podcasts like TAZ or Critical Role have gained I’ve been seeing many people start getting into tabletop roleplaying which is so nice and fills me with hope since I’ve gotten used to be the youngest in groups at 23. 

So here’s some tips for people who are interested in getting into tabletop roleplaying: 

Your first session is not going to be what you expect. Unless you and your peers have a theatre kids background, you’re probably going to be shy and it’s going to be awkward. It’s normal. You’re not an actor or a professional entertainer. You’re having fun sharing a story with your friends, not recording a podcast for a living. 

Long campaigns are good but it’s usually difficult for adults to commit to one and it’s sad when they get abandoned. Give one-shots and short campaigns a chance! They are honestly really fun for a night with friends and don’t usually require hours of building a character.

Speaking of characters, my recommendation is to start with a character whose personality and beliefs resemble yours. Choosing to play a charming and outspoken character who loves public speeches can put a lot of pressure on you if you’re shy. 

If you go to a LARP do a bit of research on who is organizing and who is attending, if you don’t know them make sure it’s in a public place. If there’s softcombat let the GMs know if you’re allergic to latex and if you have any lesion they should be aware of. 

D&D and high fantasy are not the end-al be-all of tabletop roleplaying (in all honesty I find it kinda boring?), give other universes/systems/lore a chance, you might find something that suits your interests more than D&D. 

Don’t stress over rules. Also, a good GM should not make you stress over rules. 

Villain campaigns might sound cool, but I wouldn’t recommend them if this is your first campaign. ESPECIALLY if you don’t know the people you are playing with. 

A good GM should not make fun of your triggers and will work around them . 

Trust your gut. You are here to have fun, if you are feeling uncomfortable it’s time to get up and leave. 

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

After yesterday’s game of Dawn of Worlds, this is what we came up with! We’re still playing in the political relations stage of the game, but most likely the geography is gonna stay the same. 

I’ll make another post once we’ve finalized everything!

[thedungeonofgoodadvice]

My group and I are trying something new! After years of pattering about the generic Forgotten Realms settings, I decided to take the leap and homebrew my own setting! This here is the base map for the world in Inkarnate. I randomly generated it using this random map generator and then recreated it in Inkarnate!

We met to play Dawn of Worlds today and once we have filled it out using that game, I’ll show you guys the results!