July 2024 Sly Flourish Patreon Q&A
Added 2024-07-04 16:00:07 +0000 UTCWelcome to the Sly Flourish Patreon Questions and Answers thread for July 2024!
Ask your monthly RPG-related question in the comments below!
Every Friday morning I answer every question on this post. Some questions make it to the Lazy RPG Talk Show or fuel an RPG Tip video or Sly Flourish article. Don't be upset if your question doesn't make it to the show – only a handful do.
As you consider your question for the month, please
search the SF Patreon Q&A database, the Lazy RPG Talk Show Topic Database, the Sly Flourish website, and the Sly Flourish YouTube Channel to see if I've done an article or video on your topic previously.
focus your question on tabletop RPGs.
stick to one question each month.
keep your question brief. I love your stories but I get overwhelmed.
Thank you so much for helping me do what I do.
Now bring on the questions!!
Comments
I laughed out loud at the first part of your response in the episode. The second part was also very insightful.
Chris W
2024-08-27 01:50:56 +0000 UTCWhat is your experience and take on Proactive Role-playing? The Gamemasters Handbook has an amazing book about this that really seems online with Solo RPG... That can be amazing for groups too.
Kris Swett
2024-08-21 01:59:03 +0000 UTCCan't wait for your take! I'm hooked on Mothership. Just ran it this weekend for a bunch of teens that never played a TTRPG - all they wanted to talk about was our next session. Keep up the great work!
Craig Pressley
2024-08-10 23:49:28 +0000 UTCMany thanks!
Richard Carey-Knight
2024-08-08 17:46:38 +0000 UTCThat's it for this months Q&A! The new thread will be up in an hour!
Michael Shea
2024-08-08 14:57:16 +0000 UTCShadowdark. It's a complete system in one book with a ton of fun you can do. But it's not great if you're looking for a crunchier more heroic – dare I say *superheroic* – fantasy RPG. In that case, the 2024 D&D book is probably better for that crunchier play. But I love me some Shadowdark if people don't mind dying easily.
Michael Shea
2024-08-08 14:56:10 +0000 UTCI don't think it's bifurcated. I think its all kinds of furcated. Polyfurcated? There are so many ways to play this game and so many different games to play, I don't think we can draw a clear line between these distinctions and I don't think we really have to. Even online we have so many different platforms and games. In person we have so many games and styles. I don't think they'll be any more spread out than they have been. Vampire the Masquerade players were different from D&D players who are different than Pathfinder players. It's all over the map. Which is fine with me. I think the *hobby* is important more than any one particular way people play or platform they us. I think it's a wonderful mess! Fantastic question!
Michael Shea
2024-08-08 14:54:20 +0000 UTCGreat question! I use Preview on my mac to view PDFs and its "find" feature is usually good enough to find something in the PDF. Desktop searches can use some more advanced filtering to help you search just within your PDFs. I wrote more about that here: https://slyflourish.com/organizing_digital_rpg_materials.html As far as tools themselves, I use "books" on my ipad but I heard good things about PDFExpert but it's not free. I haven't used anything more than books myself. I have no great way to sync bookmarks and notes across devices but Apple Books, I think, does it.
Michael Shea
2024-08-08 14:51:56 +0000 UTCI don't know about Markdown but there will be an ePub version!
Michael Shea
2024-08-08 14:46:49 +0000 UTCThat's a good question! I really don't know. I don't think it would work particularly well. I think rolling and using an oracle system to determine what happens works better than trying any sort of prep for a solo game. It's such a different style. I do think the 8 steps work fine for one-on-one play though! I've done it in my one-on-one games and *loved it*.
Michael Shea
2024-08-08 14:46:14 +0000 UTCHi Mike, Next month I'm off on holiday to Switzerland to eat cheese and climb mountains. Now, the cost of living in Switzerland is fairly high, so when I get back I will only have funds for one TTRPG treat. My question is this; if it were you, right now, full of Raclette and Fendat Vétroz les Terrasses but empty of pocket, which would you buy: 1) PHB 2024 2) Shadowdark RPG
Richard Carey-Knight
2024-08-07 11:21:38 +0000 UTCHi Mike, Do you think our hobby is moving toward a bifurcation? One where for one group of players the game experience is one of online VTT play with polished 3D graphics, animated spells, and other video-game like effects. And for the other (smaller?) group of players, the game experience is meeting in person around a table. Will the experiences of these two groups grow increasingly foreign, non-intersectional, and irrelevant to each other? What would that mean for the hobby?
Richard Song
2024-08-06 20:56:35 +0000 UTCHi Mike, between Kickstarters and Humble Bundles, I'm swimming in great TTRPG PDFs. I love that I can fill my tablet with a library, especially when I'm on the go, and it's great for reading through... the first time. However, when I want to find something later, PDFs are much harder to navigate than a paper book. - On a tablet, I often have to either go a page at a time or keep scrolling back to the table of contents. - On a desktop, Acrobat Reader can sometimes struggle and bog down with big books. (I have an older computer, please don't judge.) What's the best way to access and use RPG PDFs? And if you use bookmarks and notes how do you suggest keeping them synced across devices?
Brydon Marks
2024-08-06 04:56:40 +0000 UTCThanks a lot Mike!
kaasimir
2024-08-04 14:36:46 +0000 UTCAnywhere you get your podcasts. I hear a VPN is really good at working around regional restrictions.
Alexander Stanton
2024-08-03 11:07:42 +0000 UTCAnywhere else we can listen to this? Iheart is not allowed in our country (UK)
Bastien Leblanc
2024-08-03 10:09:52 +0000 UTCHey Mike, are you planning to release the markdown format of the city of arches? That would be even better to get the files linked (like I do on obsidian, all markdown but links to players, NPC, location. Similar to your setup on notion but more open and future proof. Good old text format, long term! (Could be a stretched goal on the kickstarter?) NB: that's the right thread? Cause it's August now 😁
Bastien Leblanc
2024-08-03 10:08:16 +0000 UTCI know it's not your wheelhouse, but I'm curious if you have thoughts about using the 8 steps for solo play?
Dylan Watts
2024-08-03 01:54:35 +0000 UTCLiterally you and Margaret Killjoy are of my top 5 podcasters.
Alexander Stanton
2024-08-02 16:13:24 +0000 UTCHere's part 2. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-cool-people-who-did-cool-96003360/episode/part-two-dungeons-dragons-the-191631722/
Alexander Stanton
2024-08-02 14:05:10 +0000 UTCI dig them! I think some systems really work well when they're baked around a campaign world and it lets me try out a new world and a new system at a time. Shadow of the Weird Wizard is the same way. I love Rob's worldbuilding so I'm happy to have it.
Michael Shea
2024-08-02 13:57:13 +0000 UTCI'll have to give it a listen!
Michael Shea
2024-08-02 13:56:04 +0000 UTCYeah! That's really hard. Having basically a sphere you have to know surrounding the characters – the whole dungeon around them plus the dungeons above and below – that's a lot to prep. My recommendation would be to jot down at least a word or two for every chamber you can starting out from the characters and spiraling outward maybe twenty rooms or so. Then use those prompts to improvise things as the characters move from room to room. Rely on random tables to help you build interesting encounters. Put the lore of the dungeon in your secrets and clues which can be revealed whatever path they take. It can be done, but yeah, a megadungeon is a hard thing to prep.
Michael Shea
2024-08-02 13:55:19 +0000 UTCYou might try other games like Crown and Skull which are a bit more optimistic. There are probably house rules you could put into Shadowdark to make it a bit more optimistic like quest goals instead of treasure experience and starting the characters out with max hit points and one luck point per session. I haven't tried that so I don't know what it does to the game but it could work.
Michael Shea
2024-08-02 13:53:21 +0000 UTCI own it but I haven't read it! I've been busy these past few weeks but I'll definitely give it a look!
Michael Shea
2024-08-02 13:52:24 +0000 UTCI think its almost certainly easier for you to come up with an arc and then stick to it than it is to try to work out an arc with your players. Even the smartest players tend to clash off of one another and the consensus of the results is usually not nearly as good as the ideas of a single facilitator. Sometimes when you build a big motivation for a campaign, you get tired of it yourself, but I recommend keep at it – find the fun parts of it. Think of the villain (often the main driver of the campaign) as a real entity and think about what they're doing. Change the script up but keep the goal going. Who are their new henchmen? What new discovery have they found? What's *their* story and how is that exciting to you? So I'd recommend building your own plot, maybe three like Dungeon World recommends, and seeing which ones your characters like to dig into and then find ways to add exciting things to them to keep you interested as the campaign rolls on. You might also consider shorter campaigns if you often find yourself excited about the next thing.
Michael Shea
2024-08-02 13:51:47 +0000 UTCYeah! Absolutely. Building quick monsters with Forge of Foes for my A5e games has worked without a hitch. Monsters are just one of those things that I think are pretty easy to convert and work with in any of the 5e variants. Each monster is sort of its own little pile of rules. Sure, sometimes the CR balance isn't perfect but it isn't within any single book anyway so its not a big deal. I use both A5e, ToV, and FoF monsters in my A5e game without a problem.
Michael Shea
2024-08-02 13:48:10 +0000 UTCHow do you feel about rpg systems with built in campaign settings like " Blades in the Dark" and "13th Age"? Sometimes I dislike them but other times I am glad they were included.
Spike Hemphill
2024-07-31 13:36:30 +0000 UTCThat's a good point, giving new players a menu of options may actually make it easier for them. The blank slate that a rules light game provides might be intimidating. Do you think Nimble 5E fills this gap? I don't have much to base this on, but it seems like it would be easy to learn, but still with lots of flavourful options for players to grab onto.
paul brandson
2024-07-31 06:42:58 +0000 UTCHey, what do you think about this? https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-cool-people-who-did-cool-96003360/episode/part-one-dungeons-dragons-the-190928872/
Alexander Stanton
2024-07-31 00:37:08 +0000 UTCHi, I have ben running D&D since the early 80's. I'm currently running a 5e campaign that heavily features an old school megadungeon. The original product is big on exploration tier and faction interplay and machinations. The megadungeon is VERY interconnected and VERY large and always sets up meaningful choices. As a result the players often find new staircases and access points to places I haven't prepped. I'm having trouble adapting the 8 steps to this style of play. Sometimes I manage to pull it off and other times my prep is utterly wasted. Do you have any tips?
Garry
2024-07-30 21:50:26 +0000 UTCI really want a version of Shadowdark that is not dark. I love the simplicity but not the focus on greed and easy death. What do you recommend?
Tim Kreider
2024-07-29 11:52:54 +0000 UTCI've now heard repeatedly that the Mothership Warden's Operation Manual is the single best book for GM's to read to not just run Mothership, but any TTRPG games with great game running advice. Do you agree? I wonder what it has to add to running games like D&D and Shadowdark? Mike, I'd love if you would take a deep dive into this short book and share your kernels of of wisdom! Can you review other games like Mothership, Mork Borg, Heart, Spire and Shiver (maybe the coolest game I've seen in years!)?
Craig Pressley
2024-07-27 21:57:30 +0000 UTCHi Mike, I'm currently in the middle of prepping for our next campaign. Usually I do very high improv games, often coming up with stuff on the fly. While this gives me the freedom to basically react to whatever my players throw at me, the sessions sometimes lack a bit focus. Also, while my Players love feedom of choice, they also like having some sort of goal or story arc that they can follow. So I tried creating campaign goals myself in previous campaigns, but usually derailed from them because I found them lacking or not satisfying during game and went back to fly from the seat of my pants. In the last campaign I switched ideas and offered my that the players should come up with a party goal that they could follow. However, even though all of them are dm's themselves, they had a pretty hard time coming up with one, and after about 15 sessions or so we abandoned that campaign, because we lost interest. I also tried using prewritten modules for a good Story arc, but found them either just plain bad or simply too time consuming for me to get into. Basically I'd love to have some sort of loose structure for my games that we can then follow. So to sum it up: - my players and me love having some sort of story arc that they can follow - both me and my players have a hard time coming up with such an story arc So … yeah, if you have any sort of idea, how I could get into creating such a structure for our next campaign, that would be amazing. Thanks as Always and have an amazing day! :)
kaasimir
2024-07-27 09:19:59 +0000 UTCThank you for all the nice content as usual :) Maybe it is a little too early for this question, if so you can just shelve it for later. I was wondering now that you are slowly playing through a Level Up: Advanced 5E campaign if your work in Forge of Foes can easily be ported over to the system, and maybe more broadly if monsters from the general 5E ecosystem can also thrive in A5E?
Bo Thomsen
2024-07-26 22:58:38 +0000 UTCThank you. That was very helpful information. I mixed up the terms printer and publisher, but you answered my questions extremely well. Thank you again.
Tiffani
2024-07-26 18:51:48 +0000 UTCI can't offer great advice on getting a contract but there are some examples on the web you can use and its possible artists you reach out to have a contract they're comfortable with. Lots of publishers buy the rights to a piece of work so they own it in the end. For me, I actually license the art from the artist so they still own the rights but I have rights to use it in my books and for marketing. I usually tell the illustrator what I'm able to pay for a particular piece as well. For me, artists don't get a percentage of a sale. It is really difficult to figure out how much you'd pay given the costs to produce and market a product so percentages aren't a great way to do it for me. So I pay a flat-rate for illustrations. Our books were printed in Canada but I'm the publisher. I don't have another publisher I work with. Finding a publisher can be tough on its own. They want to know it's worth their time and investment and often take a significant cut of the book, giving the author a smaller percentage which varies by publisher. I talked to a couple of publishers when I was doing the Lazy DM's Companion but it was clear to me I wanted better control over my work so I did it myself. Now I have a printer I use, a process I use, an awesome layout specialist and editor I've worked with for many years (Scott Gray), so I sort of have the whole process set up. Now it makes less sense to work with a publisher since I've set up this whole pipeline at this point. Still, it was a ton of work and a lot of work I didn't really want to do. Hope that helps!
Michael Shea
2024-07-26 11:17:28 +0000 UTCI don't even know what the DMG rules are so I think its safe to say I don't follow them. For me, I try to get into the head of the NPC and act as they would act. What do they want? What mannerisms do they have? I've talked before and in Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master about using a character from fiction as a model for an NPC. I don't do this all the time but it's a quick shorthand for an NPC. I don't put a lot of mechanics around it. Instead I act as the NPC, let the player roleplay with them, think about how they'd react, and if there's some probability in there, I have them roll a charisma check of some sort. Getting into the head of the NPC is my best advice for running dynamic roleplaying scenes at the table. Hope that helps!
Michael Shea
2024-07-26 11:12:32 +0000 UTCWe'll have to see when it actually comes out and we get a good understanding of what these characters bring to the table. I'm not yet convinced we have to modify it since its a loose guideline anyway and each table can decide if a group is running stronger than the baseline. Instead of treating them a level higher, I like to treat them like they have more characters. This way there isn't a false bump at 4th level when they're treated like 5th level and suddenly things get really hard.
Michael Shea
2024-07-26 11:06:47 +0000 UTCI really can't say. I think it always works better when the characters have some sort of shared prompt so you're not herding cats the whole time, trying to find a way to get them all motivated to do one thing. I might try to come up with an adventure prompt for yourself and for your players before the game so they can build their characters around it and you can start to let it stew in your head and see where it takes you when you sit down to run the game. Good luck!
Michael Shea
2024-07-26 11:05:13 +0000 UTCSure! You can, of course, add any section you think is useful or repurpose a section to better fit what helps you prep. I might stick the factions in the NPCs area just to keep it there and you can default to keeping a handful of factions or notable villains regularly in your notes so you don't forget and can think about what they're doing while the characters are going about their adventures.
Michael Shea
2024-07-26 11:03:33 +0000 UTCI'm really not sure but I have a couple of theories: First, there probably are and we're either forgetting about them or not paying attention to them. Games like Dungeon World come to mind. Second, it could be about what players pay attention to. If the game is more heroic but there are fewer character options, that might not engage them as much as a game with fewer character options but they're more worried about their character from scene to scene. Also, they may have more chances to try different characters if their characters are dying more often. Honestly, though, I'm not really sure.
Michael Shea
2024-07-26 11:02:27 +0000 UTCHello Mr. Shea. I have searched through your database and have found some tips on finding an illustrator, but I am wondering what kind of contract I should use for hiring an illustrator and other contributors for my own 3rd party content? Also, do you just let the illustrator name the price or do you make an offer? Are they typically paid a set fee or do they get a percentage of the sale of the product? If they get a percentage, what is the typical amount? Do you have a publisher you would recommend? I think your books are of a high quality, especially Forge of Foes, but I can't find the publisher. All I see is "Published in Canada" As you can see, I have a lot of questions, but I'm not sure where to turn for answers. Thank you for any help you can give me. I'm looking forward to City of Arches.
Bree
2024-07-25 21:25:46 +0000 UTCBernie here: How do you handle social interactions in your games? Do you use the DMG's rules for them? I have some of your books (Return, workbook, FoF) and I was trying to recall if there is social interaction stuff tips somewhere there. I mostly handle social encounters using 10/15/20 DC rolls, but I was wondering what is your approach in cases of big situations (example, trying to convince a King to sign a treaty with an enemy nation). I know it's a bit extreme of an example, But I wonder how do you handle this kind of stuff
Bernaldo Barrena
2024-07-24 20:48:02 +0000 UTCBased on the information about the 2024 rule changes for D&D, how would you adjust the math presented in the Lazy Encounter Benchmark? With player characters having an extra feat, better ability distribution, martial classes gaining weapon masteries, inspiration becoming a reroll, etc., 2024 PCs will be more powerful than their 2014 counterparts. To be clear, I have no issues with this as a DM. Currently, your Lazy Encounter Benchmark is working well for me as a DM, so thank you! However, with the new rules, it might need some adjustments. Here are my ideas: - Consider the PCs as one level higher. - Assume there is one more PC in the group. What do you think?
Jun Miyazaki
2024-07-23 22:17:35 +0000 UTCThinking about doing an all improvisation one-shot with my regular dnd group, based on the characters they bring with them. How would you prepare your players to make a character and backstory for a session like this? As the GM I plan to bring with me a lot of random tables, try to create a intresting situation and have 10 min breaks each 50 min, to collect my toughts.
Joe Oak
2024-07-23 17:52:58 +0000 UTCIn campaigns where factions have become important, what are your thoughts about adding a small segment the session notes after characters or after NPCs, where various factions are listed? This section would exist to regularly remind me of what faction is pursuing what goals, that kind of thing. I tend to forget my minor factions if I don't keep tabs on them.
Jason Kemp
2024-07-20 06:52:00 +0000 UTCThanks Mike! I’ll start off by using this method in my A5E game. And also by incorporating Doom Points…
Unfrozen Caveman Roleplayer
2024-07-19 10:54:12 +0000 UTCYour comment last week about making a "more heroic shadowdark" woke up an issue I've had for a while. I know that "old school" games had fewer rules and more death. I know that newer games have gotten more crunchy and more heroic. But why have we tied those two ideas together? Why isn't there a heroic rules light rpg out there?
paul brandson
2024-07-18 23:00:11 +0000 UTCThat's a tough one. You might talk to the other GM about it if you're comfortable doing so. It can be great fun to take a break and play in a game instead of running it. I loved doing it in my friend Chris's game but I'm back to being the GM now. You could ask the other GM if they would mind you offering to run a game at another time or you could just build another game of your own. Most of the time the best option is talking to people about it and getting their opinion. You might find that your friend won't want to stick to running a game that long.
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:42:20 +0000 UTCI really haven't thought about it much more than what I said. I do wonder if there's a reason that simpler games aim more towards dark and deadly instead of high power systems but I don't know if that's true or not. I do have Lightning 5e, a super-lightweight 5e variant but I haven't looked at that in a while so I don't know if it scratches the itch or not. You can find lightning 5e here: https://slyflourish_content.s3.amazonaws.com/lightning_5e.pdf I keep toying with it but its never in a perfect spot. Thank you for the compliments!
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:40:52 +0000 UTCI'll have to check them out!
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:38:09 +0000 UTCI don't bring them into combat range. I enable bad guys by having their heralds talk to the characters or learning about the villain some other way. Old notes, rumors, meetings in places where fights can't break out. But I don't have them get into a fight and escape unless it really makes sense and the players are aware of the possibility. Let the rumors of the bad guy come into light far more often than the bad guy themselves.
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:37:47 +0000 UTCWe're still figuring it out but right now if a A5e destiny ability interacts with luck, it counts as three luck points. So treat three luck points as though its inspiration either coming in or out. If Excellent gains inspiration on a natural one, you get an automatic three luck points. That's the idea so far. We'll see how it works.
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:36:29 +0000 UTCI think the idea of a warlock patron as a partner can work. Warlock patrons aren't nearly as powerful as, say, the god of a cleric. They aren't omniscient. They're doing their own stuff. Have them going on their own quests and working with the characters. Or find a way to bind them somehow. Maybe they're imprisoned like Merlin in a big crystal and can't reach out except with a little bit of info. What limits the patron? I think it can be a lot of fun to roleplay a warlock's patron but no, they don't have to be all knowing. Think of them like a partner.
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:35:03 +0000 UTCI would probably put the PDFs in an accessible area so players can see them and some of your house rules may be so small you don't have to put them anywhere. Like the 2024 D&D exhaustion rules (which I think are just in the playtest. I think they reverted to the old way). But for bigger tomes like the Ghostfire Gaming Heritage system, you might offer that in a PDF through something like Google Drive. Here's how to ethically share your PDFs with your group through Google Drive: https://slyflourish.com/sharing_pdfs.html
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:33:19 +0000 UTCHi Adam! I answered this in a previous SF Q&A: https://slyflourish.com/sf_patreon_files_898123050001223/qa/?id=1928
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:31:34 +0000 UTCI don't think you'll have to do much work at all. I think they're great. I put a big sewer-style dungeon beneath Dulwich the characters could explore but Shadowed Keep was designed as an old-school module and I think it'll work really well for Shadowdark. Good luck!
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:30:50 +0000 UTCFor me, my "pause for a minute" version of the X card and lines and veils together work as a good safety tool package. For lines and veils, I don't give the players a blank sheet. I have some common ones I put on it to begin-with because I know there are some areas I don't want in the game. I don't think the category alone is too dark to bring up. We don't have to dig deep into our past to bring up painful memories, it's enough to say "no unwanted sexual advances", "no violence to domesticated animals", "no character-initiated torture" and stuff like that. You can see examples of my own lists of pre-defined lines and veils in my one-page campaign notes and I have some in the Lazy DM's Companion and, I believe, in Uncovered Secrets volume 1. Lines and veils aren't specific, they're general. Just know what edges of the bounds you don't want to get into and it can go pretty smoothly I think. Good luck.
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:29:48 +0000 UTCYeah, I don't know. They seemed to have a style of play in mind – superheroic fantasy – when they designed 2024 D&D from what I'm seeing. I won't know for sure until it's in hand but they sure did make characters powerful even at early levels. It reminds me a lot of 4th edition in that way. I don't think its necessarily a mistake. I think a lot of groups played 5e as a more powerful superheroic fantasy RPG than a grim and dark one and, lucky us, we have lots of different grim-dark fantasy games to enjoy. It hurts a lot less that D&D 2024 doesn't have options to make it more grim and dark old school style since we have Shadowdark. So now it's just an opinionated RPG of its own. We'll see how it stacks up!
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:25:10 +0000 UTCI've never actually played Mork Borg so I can't say! I'll check out Berserkr. Sounds cool!
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:22:46 +0000 UTCOne way is to make it more of a destiny magic item – one that specifically calls out to the character. It could be something from their history or some other part of their culture. It could be tied to their alignment or some other aspect of their background. You can also just tell your players that it was really intended for a particular character up front. It's a little railroady but that can work. You could say something like "this magic sword really calls out to Eledron." and then just clarify that it's for them. It's heavy handed but it solves the problem. It can depend on the item as well. Something with more specific intentions you can just say to them that this sword will really better serve the group in the hand of one character over the other. If it causes trouble, talk to your group about it and explain your reasoning.
Michael Shea
2024-07-18 21:22:24 +0000 UTCI consider myself a "forever DM," but once my current campaign is over, someone else in the group plans to run a rather long campaign that I predict will take years. I considered bowing out the group, not out of spite, but because I don't particularly want to be a player for so long. I can try to find another group. It's a great group and I like the people in it. Any guidance on how to handle a situation like this?
Christopher Willson
2024-07-17 20:03:56 +0000 UTCHi Mike, You mentioned in your last podcast that if you were forced to create the next official WotC D&D product, you would create a D&D Basic game, something like a more heroic version of Shadowdark, combining Shadowdark's elegance and simplicity with 5e's heroic character progression and tone. I am very interested to hear more of your thoughts on what such a game would be like because that more or less describes my ideal fantasy RPG. And I have essentially been working on creating such a rules set for my own games. I ran a short campaign (about 20 sessions) using my first attempt at making those rules earlier this year, and I think it went fairly well. My players were very accommodating, letting me experiment and change things on the fly, so we all kind of worked together to hone the rules into something we enjoyed playing. But of course, there are plenty of things I would like to improve about the system. My question for you is this: Are you considering making something like this yourself? And even if you aren't, I would love to hear your thoughts about it in more detail, especially since you have so much experience with different RPGs. (My own experience is mostly limited to different editions of D&D.) Perhaps a future Sly Flourish article? Thanks so much for all you do. Your writing has helped me become a much better DM. Cheers, Michael E P.S. I would be happy to share the rule set I made with anyone who is interested. I have a document laying it all out that I made to give to my players :)
Michael Ebling
2024-07-17 18:01:39 +0000 UTCLast week on the show you responded to “if you were head of WOTC” by saying you would develop a 5E BX type product as an on-ramp to the game. I wanted to point you to two attempts at something like this. They lack the polish a big company could bring to the project but an interesting take on the idea and a glimpse into the potential of the concept. One is Into The Unknown by O5R games. The other is Bugbears and Borderlands by Izegrim Creations. Both on DTRPG. I am not affiliated with these products just want to bring it to your attention in case you wanted to look at them or spotlight them. I am thinking of using some of the class features as talents in ShadowDark to expand the options without adding much complexity.
MSN2012
2024-07-17 17:03:23 +0000 UTCHi Mike. What tricks do you use to enable a bad guy to reoccur?
Shantha292
2024-07-17 09:43:46 +0000 UTCHey Mike! When you're running A5E, I was wondering exactly how you integrate Luck from ToV. I'm thinking of using Luck (and also Doom) in my A5E games, and I am curious to know how you handle the nuances. My concern with importing Luck to replace Inspiration is how it would interact with character Destinies. * Do characters gain Luck from their Destiny's Source of Inspiration? For some Destinies, like Excellence, that wouldn't provide a benefit (Excellence gains inspiration from rolls of a natural one, whereas in ToV you're already getting it from a missed attack). * With respect to using Luck, can characters use Luck to activate their Inspiration Features? Some of those are pretty powerful, and activating them through a single Luck point could be problematic. Maybe it's best to require multiple points?
Unfrozen Caveman Roleplayer
2024-07-16 21:36:26 +0000 UTCThanks for this, Chris!!
Ryan J.
2024-07-16 21:13:27 +0000 UTCI try to get people excited about how playing a magic user gives you a lot of chances to be creative in how you play. In 1980's B/X, your first level wizard had 1 spell they could use 1 time and that's it besides using a dagger, so shadowdark is actually way ahead of that. Use caltrops and ball bearings, push furniture over, cause distractions by setting something on fire, carry horribly smelly tinctures, put on a scary mask, etc. I guess what I'm saying is, get them focused on what they CAN do instead of obsessing about what they CAN'T do.
Cee-Jay
2024-07-16 20:53:38 +0000 UTCI do leadership development and culture for a living... sometimes we set up situations at our workshops that are easily solved if people just assume positive intent and trust as a learning exercise. What if you created a scenario that is solved easily with trust and direct conversations and rewards the players... but if they distrust, are dishonest or covert then in spirals our of control like a Three's Company sitcom... with them ending up in the village stocks for a day or something? :)
Cee-Jay
2024-07-16 20:41:46 +0000 UTCMy opinion... low tech and simple doesn't distract much from player imagination. But once you start using really good looking images and effects, it starts to compete with imagination and the expectation is a lot harder to meet consistently. One approach is to use very crude (but accurate in the important ways) maps and tokens that a) won't break the TOTM feel and b) will be much easier for you to maintain/manage.
Cee-Jay
2024-07-16 20:25:26 +0000 UTCHi there Mike, thanks for everything you do for the hobby and the community! I have a really dedicated player (great notetaker, bullet journal of the whole campaign, etc) who is playing a Celestial Warlock pact of the tome with a benevolent, Lawful Good warlock patron. She is really putting in the work to RP this cool character but I'm at a loss at times for how to RP the patron and how to work the patron/warlock relationship into the campaign. Should the patron be omniscient? Should they know everything that the warlock does? Looking for any other tips, advice etc you have about DMing for warlocks!
Daniel Hershman-Rossi
2024-07-16 15:25:55 +0000 UTCGood morning, Mike. I hope you have a great day. With all these new variants of 5E, including Tales of the Valiant, 5E 2014, 5E 2024, etc., some being released this year and others soon, I have concluded how I want to run my 5E games. In my case, I will mostly use Tales of the Valiant, the 5E 2024 Exhaustion rules, and the Ghostfire Gaming (Playtest) Heritage system. My question for you is: how do you recommend consolidating "My Game Master Rules" into a single document or repository that is cohesive and can be easily shared with my players? My first thought is to use Adobe Pro Editor to combine and mix PDFs, but I have a feeling that the format will be inconsistent. Do you have any advice on the matter? Kind regards, Mario Avila
Mario Avila
2024-07-16 13:20:28 +0000 UTCHave you read “The Game Master's Book of Proactive Roleplaying” by Jonah and Tristan Fishel? I recently picked it up and love the idea of putting the plot of the campaign into player’s hands, but am curious about your thoughts on how feasible this actually is.
Adam Volk
2024-07-15 21:45:16 +0000 UTCHey Mike! I’m thinking of running “Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands” using Shadowdark. Any advice on how to mesh these two amazing products together?
Adam Volk
2024-07-15 21:39:57 +0000 UTCHi Mike, I've been thinking about safety tools in RPGs and would love to hear your thoughts. I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, so let me lay out my thoughts and give you "dealer's choice" of an answer. The safety tools that I see most commonly are the X Card and Lines and Veils. I like the X Card, but it doesn't help you stay away from danger zones in the first place. Lines and Veils are bigger deals. For one, my players often don't know their own lines and veils. You hand them a blank page, and I've seen lots of folks freeze up or write nothing. Similarly, and at a personal level, I simply don't like thinking about my Lines. I have things I don't want to think about, and writing them as a Line or Veil forces me to think about them: I have to communicate clearly or risk confusing people (which has happened). So, in summary, while I think safety tools are useful and important (especially at conventions), I have these real problems with Lines and Veils. So, those are my thoughts. Are there other safety tools out there that you've seen that are good? Where should I look for good, cutting-edge stuff on this topic? Thanks in advance.
Nick Wakim-Takaki
2024-07-15 20:25:06 +0000 UTCHi Mike, building on your modularity comments the other day... why has Wizards given away rest of the hobby by focusing on an increasingly narrow play style (from a game mechanics standpoint)? In a sense, Pathfinder and the OSR are the scraps of what Wizards dumped in the trash... but they didn't need to throw them away. With the optional rules in 5e... it always seemed to me this was a missed opportunity because they needed to support players with a brief index or table showing how suggested combinations of rules could be used to match different playstyles. Essentially, different Modes or Settings to make 5e play/feel differently. For example... Old School, Super Hero, Extra Crunchy, and so on. The Old School setting so to speak, would be 3d6 down the line, no feats or multiclassing, etc... basically a more OSR style game. Extra Crunchy would look more like 3.5/Pathfinder... I mean it would be 5e mechanics, but will all the bells and whistles to allows for more complexity and detail that those players enjoy. It's a mistake to try to be everything for everybody, but I really thought the modularity concept could have worked with some more guidance. Why is Wizards going for an increasingly narrow approach mechanically instead of embracing this kind of approach? Maybe they believe they young adults they are steering the game towards don't like those playstyles? Thanks!
Cee-Jay
2024-07-15 13:23:29 +0000 UTCHey Mike! Did you see this Norse-themed Mork Bork Kickstarter, Berserkr? The book seems really beautiful and flavorful. You haven't mentioned Mork Borg in a long time, since you started playing Shadowdark. How do you think the two OSRs compare? Thanks and take care!
Joshua Brown-Clay
2024-07-14 16:37:52 +0000 UTCI always want to make sure my players are getting equal chance to be in the spot light so when I notice one character that doesn't seem to be having as much "oomph" in combat, my instinct is to place a magic item specifically selected for that character in an upcoming adventure. The problem is that the item I picked out will rarely land in the hands of the character I intended it for. An item that I think will be really fun for one character have might be more strictly beneficial for another character to use. I can't fault my players for distributing magic items like this, they aren't trying to shun anyone from the spotlight, they're just trying to be smart about who gets what. I'm fine with this happening for most magic items, but it stinks when those hand-picked items go to the wrong person and exacerbate a problem I was trying to solve. How can I ensure a particular character gets a certain item or upgrade without stepping on the groups' agency?
NiteHood
2024-07-12 23:39:59 +0000 UTCThis article may help with that too: https://slyflourish.com/facilitating_choices.html Good luck!
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 17:24:08 +0000 UTCThe “pause for a minute” article is good, except I want more. The examples are “everybody good? Yes? Okay, game on!” What happens when one player says they’re *not* okay with what’s going on, but the other doesn’t want to back down? I’m a DM, not a manager!
James Geluso
2024-07-12 13:43:30 +0000 UTCI think it's fine to do a refresh and maybe even a new session zero as the characters end one campaign and begin another. I typically haven't done this because I like the reset button between campaigns but this was the way campaigns ran in the old days and I don't see any problem with this. I don't think you need an overarching story but if you can bring some elements forward to remind them of what happened in the past, I think that can work well.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 13:10:02 +0000 UTCThe in-game time of a combat round never really mattered to me. The *out of game* time it takes for a combat round bothers me a lot more. I don't want that to slow down. I just never worried too much about how far a character could move in what period of time. It's a level of detail below what I worry about for a game.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 13:08:26 +0000 UTCFantastic questions and this helps me get my messaging right! A. The City of Arches is built from the ground up to be easily used by GMs to build their own adventures and campaigns with their group. It's a city built for adventure with an optimistic atmosphere on the surface and greater dangers below and beyond. It's a city in which every species, origin, culture, and heritage makes sense. It's designed to be dropped into any existing campaign world – homebrew or published – with minimal fuss. Every element is built to be reskinned to fit your desired setting. It's just packed with stuff to help you run awesome adventures. B. It should be fully compatible with the D&D 2024 rules. As a high-fantasy city, the high-fantasy near-super-heroic feeling of D&D 2024 should work just fine. While there are dials in the campaign to make it more grim-dark if you want, the focus is primarily on high fantasy adventures so it'll work just fine. The whole book is light on mechanics and was written understanding that GMs may run it with one of many different 5e variants (and other fantasy RPGs). C. The City of Arches is designed so GMs can be modified and reskinned to support the characters. There's a whole section of the book (which you can find in the Patreon version) that describes how parts of the city work well for particular classes of characters. The whole book is built so GMs can reskin it to their own campaign and their own character and still benefit from the hundreds of adventure hooks, fantastic locations, and interesting NPCs all throughout the book. GMs also benefit from all the beautiful artwork and maps they can't just come up with on their own. It's a book intended to do a lot of the heavy lifting GMs can't do on their own.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 13:07:33 +0000 UTCI think published adventures will do just fine. I don't think they'll be any harder to run than they have been over the past 10 years. It looks like D&D 2024 characters are going to be significantly more powerful than D&D 2014 characters but that's also true for 2014 characters using all the options from later books and true for Tales of the Valiant and Level Up Advanced 5e. So we might have to beef up challenging combat encounters a bit but otherwise I think they'll work as well as they have in the past. I think general 5e compatibility will be fine but we'll have to see once we have the 2024 PHB in hand and have seen how it works at the table.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:59:45 +0000 UTCThis is a perfect time for "pause for a minute". Break out of character and describe the situation as *players*. What outcome can help both of them reach what they want to do? As soon as I see conflicts like this, I think it's a great time to break out of character and talk about it as real people to come up with an answer everyone can live with. More here: https://slyflourish.com/pause_for_a_minute.html
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:57:50 +0000 UTCThe Level Up Advanced 5e Monstrous Menagerie has fantastic sections on ecology, lore, encounters, tactics, and treasure for 5e monsters. I think it's excellent at offering table-usable information for GMs. Mixing it with the random environment tables in the Trials and Treasure book has been working very well for my Wednesday night A5e City of Arches game.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:56:29 +0000 UTCI think I'm going to make a pitch for a Tales of the Valiant-based game set in the Dragon Empire of Midgard. It's very different from other things I've run and it might be a good time and a nice break for me.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:55:00 +0000 UTCI ran a few underwater adventures when running Ghosts of Saltmarsh. I did a little bit of 3d sort of thinking and it worked well enough with little mini stands and the like but it is complicated and not the sort of thing I'd do all the time. You might focus the 3d nature more on bigger rooms with bigger fights going on just to make it not so complicated. You might have a dungeon-style layout with holes between chambers to let characters travel up and down. Other than Ghosts of Saltmarsh, I don't know of other products off-hand that have a good handle on underwater combat.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:54:08 +0000 UTCYeah, burning a spell can suck. I haven't tried it but I was thinking it might be fun to have a house rule that you can't lose the spell until you've used it at least once. It requires more tracking than Shadowdark really calls for but it gives wizards a chance to try each spell at least once before losing it. Later on, wizards can specialize in spells which makes them more reliable. I have had spellcaster characters go through a whole day and never successfully cast a spell.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:51:47 +0000 UTCI usually let the character make an arcana check to figure it out. I get that it takes a short rest to do it but sometimes that's just getting in the way. It's easy to forget about the ring you don't know anything about. Sometimes I just tell them. Why not.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:50:21 +0000 UTCI don't think there are any special protocols or unwritten rules. Be open and engaging with the other players. Pay attention to the game. Put your phone away (I suck at this). Work with the GM to help the story move forward. Take notes to keep yourself engaged. I'm going to my first gaming convention this year next week so I have these things in mind myself!
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:49:34 +0000 UTCI just don't have the bandwidth to do much from the game perspective but I promise you you're not going to see some space age Jedi mind trick going on. It's just my friends and I playing the game. This article may help further: https://slyflourish.com/using_the_8_steps_at_the_table.html
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:48:04 +0000 UTCI don't think there have been any major developments. It's not a technology that changes very often. My current best solution is to draw simple diagrams of maps on a dry-erase flip mat (my beloved Paizo flip mat). I have a printed out Dyson map that I use for reference and then I draw out the map by hand. I want to use a more line-and-block chart for a mini-map but I've just started trying that out. This is where each hallway is just a single line. Each chamber is a box. You draw it out abstractly so its quick to draw but then you can draw more detailed rooms if its important and then erase those big rooms when you're done. It works well enough.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:46:55 +0000 UTCTrust is a hard topic! It's very easy to feel like it's the GM versus the players and that's something we have to work past. I joke about being a facilitator for the story – an antenna to another world – but my players don't buy that and often say "I" did something to them, not the monster. So that's something we have to consider when we're playing. I don't really have NPCs betray the characters. I don't think it's that fun a plot angle. My players know which NPCs are working for them and which are working against them. They know which ones are shady. If there is a potential betrayal, it's usually well-foreshadowed. I try to lean in to give players lots of information. Instead of cursed weapons, I give them sentient weapons with agendas and benefits. I think it's fine to tell players that their characters feel they can trust an NPC – even going so far as to telling them out of character that this NPC can be trusted – just to keep things going smooth. So yeah, don't betray trust. It's hard enough to earn and very easy to lose.
Michael Shea
2024-07-12 12:43:54 +0000 UTCWe are finishing up an arc involving the vampire, Gulthias, from the Sunless Citadel. The characters will end this story at level 7 but want to continue the adventures of the group. How do you deal with a complete change in direction of the story that has nothing to do with previous events? Have you ever done a “level 0” session after characters are established? Should there still be an overarching story tying everything in?
David Darosa
2024-07-12 04:28:25 +0000 UTCIs it time for 5e to change the length of the combat round? There is nothing wrong with six seconds in theory, until fighters start using action surge to attack six to eight times before taking a bonus action and/or moving 30 feet or more. This would all be a lot easier to swallow if we just said that rounds are longer. It wouldn't need to be a huge change. I am not (necessarily) advocating for a return to AD&D's minute-long rounds. Even 15-second rounds could eliminate these logistical issues in a lot of cases. What would be the downsides to making this kind of change?
Luke Baumstark
2024-07-11 14:45:25 +0000 UTC3 questions about City of Arches - [A] It seems like there are plenty of citywide supplements available. What makes yours better than all the others? [B] In what ways could the new 2024 rules (some of which won’t arrive until 2025) impact or break elements of your supplement? [C] I ask this as a never-GM. Seems to me a GM would prefer to design their own city to fit it perfectly in the lore of the world. In what ways do the benefits of outsourcing city design outweigh those drawbacks?
Thomas Connolly
2024-07-10 18:09:08 +0000 UTCHey Mike! Loved your discussion on modular 5e this week… it made me think, what is your hypothesis for what’s going to happen with published adventures when we have all these versions 5e out and in the wild? On the one hand, I think we could find ourselves as DMs doing a lot of conversation work, but also 5e “agnostic” adventures could add even more flexibility to our TTRPGS… can’t wait to hear your thoughts as a DM and as a publisher! Thanks again :)
Sydney P
2024-07-08 18:53:29 +0000 UTCThe party is at a cathedral. The rogue/wizard wants to steal a magical book. The cleric sees it as a holy site and doesn't want the rogue to steal the book, and takes steps to stop the rogue from stealing the book -- first closing the door to prevent Mage Handing the book out, then putting Glyph of Warding on the door. They're playing their characters, but also creating discord within the party (characters and players alike). I can't decide whether to give one or both inspiration, have private talks with them, or both. What would you do?
James Geluso
2024-07-08 17:16:32 +0000 UTCActual Question Here: I've seen some beautifully minimalist monster presentations in OSR products lately, but where should I look for great maximalist monster presentations, and what elements from them might be worth incorporating into our own designs? Context: The list I'm aiming for now includes boxed text, lore (with check DCs), tactics, motivations, and plot hooks at a minimum, with treasure/harvesting, ecology, society, lairs, lists of names, and tracks/signs where applicable. I've found that Numenera's 9th World Bestiary does a lot of these really well and also has suggestions for improvising further mechanics, Skerples Monster Overhaul does a great job at pulling in one-off tables of relevant information for specific monsters, and Vaesen (despite emphatically not being a monster-fighting game) elegantly attaches evolving tactics and mechanics to each of a creature's wounds/HP, so every strike progresses the narrative meaningfully.
Isaac (Conflux Creatures)
2024-07-08 17:09:43 +0000 UTCHey Mike! I know you mentioned your shadowdark game is in its last leg. What adventures are on the horizon? Does any system/adventure have your eye?
Daniel Collins
2024-07-08 12:59:35 +0000 UTCHello, First time patreon questioneering...Have you got any tips for making underwater adventures awesome? Currently home-brewing our adventures....looked to published ones for inspiration, but many seem to default back to a 2D space (battle-map like). I want to highlight the 3d nature of the space as much as possible, to bring that otherworldly feel to the experience.
Richard
2024-07-08 07:31:07 +0000 UTCI've been running Shadowdark. I really love it, most of my players do as well. One guy, though, is playing a wizard and HATING it. He's frustrated that when he fails a spell check he loses the spell for the day. He complains that when fighters miss with swords, they don't lose their sword for the day. What advice do you have to help this situation?
Ryan J.
2024-07-06 17:07:17 +0000 UTCWhen giving out magic items, do you straight out tell the players what they are and what they do? Or or is there another approach? I usually just say, "You found a xxxxx and it does yyyyy and has zzzzz stats," but this feels odd to me. Is there another approach?
Reluctanse
2024-07-05 23:33:13 +0000 UTCHi Mike, I'll be attending my first game convention in a couple of weeks! I'll be traveling solo. What is the etiquette for joining in a game if not already part of an established group? Are there any unwritten rules/general protocols that I should be aware of? I realize that was two questions. Thanks for all you do to help gamemasters run better games!
Christopher Reeves
2024-07-05 19:38:02 +0000 UTCHi Mike, I've been a fan of your Lazy DM tips for years, but I feel I'm still not getting the most out of them, and I often over-prepare. I understand the 8 steps in theory, but I think it would be really helpful to see them "in action". I know you don't want to record an actual play video, but would you consider something like a transcript of one of your sessions - a detailed account of what happened, so we can read about how you improvised encounters based on the simple notes you prepared? I'm really curious to see how it all comes together in your games. Thanks!
Victor Navone
2024-07-05 19:36:26 +0000 UTCHey Mike, it’s been about a year since your video on in person map options. I have referred to that video a lot for when I started first trying in person games because it is the biggest challenge when moving from online only. In the past year has there been any other developments you have found in terms of making physical maps easier for players or dms? I have considered some digital screen solutions but most seem in early phases and high cost :/
Ben Hodges
2024-07-05 19:34:43 +0000 UTCFair enough, thank you for spotlighting it!
Ben Clarke
2024-07-05 17:21:54 +0000 UTCThank you, that‘s helpful!
Lyre RPG
2024-07-05 16:52:10 +0000 UTCMy Empire of the Ghouls game is complete so I probably won't be talking about it again. You can find my full playlist about it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb39x-29puaolX3T6CTCA7gYbgZiIXgXQ It was a fantastic time. Run it!
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:39:54 +0000 UTCThere's a very nice garden about 20 minutes away where I love to take walks and think about my games. I also have a nice park near my house where I can do the same but its not quite the same as the beautiful garden. Speaking of, I need to get back out there.
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:39:07 +0000 UTCTalk about it! Be proud of the hobby. Carry some stuff around. Ask them about their experiences. Offer to run single-session games. People really want to play and I haven't run into a single negative view of it in more than a decade of talking to hundreds of people about it.
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:38:22 +0000 UTCThere are some good numbers to keep in your head. I wrote about it here: https://slyflourish.com/numbers_to_keep_in_your_head.html I don't think we want to choose numbers based on the likelihood of success but instead based on the fiction of the world. https://slyflourish.com/choosing_dcs.html Things like armor class should be based on the actual defensive capabilities of monsters from 10 (basically no real defense) to 20 (full plate with a shield). We wrote about this in Forge of Foes: >>> Optional Step: Consider Armor Class Though the Monster Statistics by Challenge Rating table offers a value for Armor Class that increases with challenge rating, you can modify a monster's Armor Class further based on their story. A big beefy titan set up as a CR 16 monster might still be easy to hit—maybe with an Armor Class of 14. It's easiest to think of Armor Class on a scale of 10 to 20, with 10 being the equivalent of an unarmored opponent with no Dexterity bonus, and 20 being an opponent wearing plate armor with a shield. (Armor Class can go above 20 or below 10, though.) Keep in mind that missing an opponent isn't much fun for a player. Lower-AC opponents, even those with more hit points, are often more fun to fight than high-AC opponents with fewer hit points.
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:36:43 +0000 UTCI'd quit and start an independent company focusing on helping GMs run great games... Ok, not the answer you wanted: I'd focus a *lot* of attention on a new D&D Starter Set with basic rules that lead into the core books. I'd make it a strong enough product that someone could play with just that for years. I'd streamline a lot of complexity. I'd include lots of adventures and ways to make new adventures. I'd focus it on a region with lots of adventure hooks for new DMs to build their own campaigns. I'd aim for a $50 price point but make sure its filled with lots of things to help people run their games. I think a strong starter set on the shelves of big box stores is critical and I'd make it as strong as the best board games out there.
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:34:21 +0000 UTCI don't have a lot of experience with West Marches games but I certainly think you can get there. I wrote about running a West Marches game in Grendleroot for example: https://slyflourish.com/west_marches_in_grendleroot.html City of Arches would work really well for that. Just have a handful of possible quests or hooks and ensure the players keep track of what's available and where you might want to go next. Ensure the players choose where they want to go giving you enough time to build out an adventure for the place they want to go.
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:31:09 +0000 UTCI think we'll have to see when it comes out. It's going to take time to understand the real impact of all of this stuff. Is the game still fast and furious or has it bogged down with too many possible options, decisions, and actions on each turn? We only need to worry about this for our own game. My plan is, for any given campaign: 1. Choose a core set of 5e rules be it Level Up Advanced 5e, Tales of the Valiant, 2014 D&D, or 2024 D&D. 2. Bring in other elements on the player side and let them know about them -- luck from ToV, bonus potions from 2024 D&D, exploration and safe havens from A5e. 3. Bring in anything else we want on the GM side like monsters from anywhere and everywhere, magic items, enemy spells, whatever. That way we're building our own version of the game with a core set of rules and then some add-ons of our choice.
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:30:04 +0000 UTCIs there anyone else in the group who could DM another group so you don't have all twelve players? I really don't think there's a great way to do that. It's just going to be messy and long and people aren't going to have a lot of spotlight time. If you absolutely had to, I'd choose a system where characters really only do one thing – like a level zero Shadowdark or Knave game with pregens and lots of carnage. Good luck!
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:26:53 +0000 UTCIf the in-fighting is in-game, maybe it's ok? Otherwise, this would have been a good time to make sure the vote was unanimous before they made the choice. I wrote more on that here: https://slyflourish.com/facilitating_choices.html
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:25:11 +0000 UTCFirst, make sure she really wants that. Also, consider how the other players will feel about that. Warn her when it's likely to happen out of earshot of the others. If you think everyone's on board, have her killed by a nasty villain the characters either hate or are going to hate. Go ahead and script it since you and the player are in on it. Then immediately introduce her new character. But if she's sticking around, don't kill off her character unless she's eager to start a new one. Talk to her before you do anything – she may have changed her mind.
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:23:55 +0000 UTCI'd start with the base stats from Forge of Foes and build out particular powers from there. You can use the newer stat block from the recent Fizban's Treasury of Dragons supplement as a guide and build your abilities from there. I think Tiamat would have some spells on top of her obvious breath weapons. Here's a loose list of things I'd probably give her: - Immunity to all bullshit (stuns, banishes, dominates, etc). - Multiple bite attacks a turn. - Mutliple breath weapons a turn and able to change their shape. - Some other powerful cleric and wizard spells of your choice. Give her lots of actions and maybe some dreaded blessing points instead of legendary resistances that let her: * succeed on a failed saving throw. * downgrade characters' resistances or immunities for a particular ability or effect. * force disadvantage on saving throws for a particular ability. * end an ongoing effect or suppress it until the end of their next turn. * Teleport or move without provoking opportunity attacks. * gain advantage on all attacks until the end of their next turn. * redirect incoming damage or an effect to an ally. Hope that helps!
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:22:06 +0000 UTCIf they have a key, they're going to want to use it. You can tell them that they don't have the right power or some other item needed to enter the vault itself but if you gave them a key, you have to give them a chance to infiltrate the vault to get inside. Give them a fun heist adventure!
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:19:15 +0000 UTCI'm afraid not! I've had a long-term Shadowdark campaign. You can see my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb39x-29puaprZnCvX-twHdHHoiTebSD5
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:17:56 +0000 UTCDon't let perfect be the enemy of good enough! Here are my battle map tips: 1. Ignore dynamic lighting. Use simpler and faster fog of war tools. 2. Turn off the grid and snapping to the grid. Size the map to whatever makes sense without worrying about perfect pixel matching. 3. If the map itself has a grid, size it close enough to what you want, either with 5 foot squares or 10 foot squares. Don't fret about 10 foot squares. 4. Use theater of the mind for some battles. Use a Final Fantasy style backdrop instead of a top-down map for some fights. 5. Don't try to find a perfect map. Find the first one that does the job and write your adventure around the map. Hope those tips help!
Michael Shea
2024-07-05 14:17:05 +0000 UTCYou've been talking about your gripes with some of the newer WOTC D&D adventures having story developments that risk the trust between players and GM. Since I find the topic really interesting, I would really like you to talk about player trust in general (e.g. how to earn and maintain it, what things to avoid to not risk it, etc.), maybe even as the main topic of a podcast. If this is too broad of a topic I would like to ask one question about something that for me also falls into this topic: I struggle a lot to get my players to trust NPCs. Not even the ones that might have a hidden agenda but NPCs that are supposed to be benevolent and allies of the party (No, Runara is not brainwashing the kobolds in Dragon Rest to do her bidding!). Most often, in cases like these, I resort to straight up telling my players that their characters feel like they can trust the NPC or let them make an insight roll but I would like to hear if you have a any tips on how to handle or even avoid such misconceptions. Thanks in advance and sorry for any potential grammar or spelling mistakes (if you were to talk about this on the podcast, feel free to edit this post in any way to make more sense of my rambling and also greetings from Germany :) ).
Denito
2024-07-05 13:41:54 +0000 UTCIn west marches you propose several missions and the players choose from them. I suggest doing a very quick and shallow 8 steps for each, and then doing a second complete pass of the eight steps for the one selected.
Gustavo Campanelli
2024-07-05 12:51:50 +0000 UTCHi Mike, can we expect any more content on your empire of the ghouls campaign(s)? For some reason I really look forward to 'story time' on this campaign and it's definitely one I'd consider running in the future! Of course there can be any number of reasons why not, just curious and hopeful :)
Ben Clarke
2024-07-05 11:01:29 +0000 UTCWhat places in the real world inspire your creativity in DMing?
Great Diviner Games
2024-07-05 00:10:41 +0000 UTCI had a delightful surprise this week when a friend I’ve known for decades and knows I DM asked if he could join one of my games. I knew he played when he was younger before we met, but he’d never expressed to me any interest in playing. I got to have the joy of handing them a PHB to make a character and they said “wow, I haven’t held one of these since I was in grade school”. My question is: any advice or stories about opening up your game proactively to people in your life? I feel so surprised that someone I know so well was interested, and i had no idea.
Ryan McIntyre
2024-07-04 23:02:15 +0000 UTCIs there a magic number, or more likely a range of magic numbers? For example, if I'm running a game and the average player has +4 to hit, then what is the effect of giving the avg monster AC, 12, 16, 18? Obviously, the chances of the characters hitting changes. My question is if there is a theory about what percentage of success is the most fun to go up against, or of that would predictably vary from group to group? Thanks
Bill R
2024-07-04 22:57:07 +0000 UTCi'll take that invite, im looking forward to it, they have addressed my main pain points (i have a druid player who loves to summon 7000 poisonous snakes. ....), im sure there will be a bit of adapting that needs to be done but thats where the hp/damage/number of attacks dials can be adjusted if needed.
William Jones
2024-07-04 21:45:34 +0000 UTCCongratulations Mr Flourish you have been promoted to Head of product development for the D&D team at Wotc, the new rule books are coming out and cant be changed, our last few adventures have received mixed feedback, and we have seen 3rd party products take the community by storm in the way of flee mortals and LUA5E MM. what products do you want to task your new team to develop, both to improve the game for players and DMs (and bring in that sweet money)? feel free to think outside the box from our usual WotC product line up.
William Jones
2024-07-04 21:35:51 +0000 UTCIs there a Lazy way of running a West Marches campaign? I imagine City of Arches is kind of a response to that, but I was wondering if you have written or spoken about your own spin of that type of game. How would you make it as easy as possible?
Bernie the Wordsmith
2024-07-04 21:29:34 +0000 UTCThe new 2024 books, from all I heard so far, are mostly about reimagining with mixed success some player options. But as I see that information from the GM side, I feel less inclined to run a 2024 group than a 2014 group. This questions is for Sly flourish, and also for all the other GMs here. Do you feel the same? I might adopt the option to take a potion also as a bonus action, and I might poach other things as house rules. but that's it. What I have are very serious doubts about the new spells and the new masteries. From my point of view, this introduces an imbalance that makes designing an encounter for a fight harder, as the same amount of enemies will be now trampled, leading into an escalation that might as well end up in a TPK.
Gustavo Campanelli
2024-07-04 21:00:42 +0000 UTCAlso not Mike but I have been loving Alchemy!
Alex W.
2024-07-04 20:23:13 +0000 UTCHi Mike! For my birthday my friends surprised me by booking a room for 6 hours to run a one shot with them. I've been wanting to do this forever and I'm so excited! Here's the catch -- there are 12 players. Any advice on how I can get the most bang for my buck or any good one shots I should check out? (Pirate themed, island, or sea-faring adventures preferred -- it's kraken week after all!) The one thing I know is that I'll definitely stick to pregenerated characters. I'll have plenty of time to prep (two weeks) but not much time to run... By the way, an awesome group of teenaged players (they're literally like modern day Stranger Things kids) have been coming to the library I work at and I've been singing your praises to them. And now they are huge fans!
Alex W.
2024-07-04 20:18:50 +0000 UTC(TL;DR - keep it simple and reuse stuff) Another option is to use something vague that can be reused. Maybe just a background with grass/rocks for hills/water for sea/etc. and just draw shapes on the map with the drawing tool to represent whatever set piece things you want to have on that one specific map. That's what I do with my Loke Giant Book of Battlemaps IRL and it's really simple and quick to set up any encounter. The PERFECT MAP (in case of battles, not dungeons) is only cool for the first few minutes. After that everyone focuses on the content and in some cases too much stuff on the map can take a way from that, because it pulls people from the immaginative space and has them focusing on the screen too much.
Miha
2024-07-04 18:42:22 +0000 UTCI introduced a scenario where my players had to chose between saving a beloved NPC (a players sister) or see the evil guy destroy the town that is their home base. This has triggered a lot of infighting amongst my players (only in game, everything is still ok IRL) for the last 3 sessions. Question: Is there a way that I could have avoided this or how would you handle it?
Drunken Yoda
2024-07-04 17:52:51 +0000 UTCI have a guest character in my campaign who's staying around longer than I thought, as the sidequest she joined for became more important than I expected. When the player first joined, she requested that I kill off her character. How can I make that happen as a dramatic and satisfying conclusion to the arc, without completely scripting the death scene ahead of time?
Cosmonaut
2024-07-04 16:54:53 +0000 UTCI'm not Mike and I also don't use VTTs much, but maybe you could pull up some artwork instead of a map when you want to do TOTM?
Cosmonaut
2024-07-04 16:49:27 +0000 UTCMy players are about to encounter an avatar of Tiamat soon. It‘s my first time running a god and I find the official stat block quite underwhelming. I want my players to feel like they‘re up against a divine force that can bend reality to its will. I‘m willing to deliberately bend the rules of the game for this encounter and creature, but I‘m having trouble coming up with cool rules and traits that make the encounter fun and memorable. What‘s your experience with running combat with deities? Do you have any ideas for divine powers? Thank you so much!
Lyre RPG
2024-07-04 16:23:30 +0000 UTCI have a player who stole a key to an npc’s lockbox in a magical bank. I don’t want the bank to become any easy target for theft by the player moving forward in the campaign. Would it be lame if the stolen key (and all other lockbox keys) were enchanted such that they become useless when in the possession of an unauthorized person? Thanks Mike!
Mark Allain
2024-07-04 16:11:38 +0000 UTCI heard you've had a long term EZD6 campaign? Do you have an videos talking about it?
Thomas Ryan
2024-07-04 16:09:25 +0000 UTCSince Covid - our group has moved to VTT. At first, we loved the battlemap gaming. But it has made DM’ing a lot of work because you need a perfect map that fits the scenario. Has anyone come up with a good system that allows for some battlemap gaming and some theatre of the mind???
Matthew DiAntonio
2024-07-04 16:06:51 +0000 UTC
