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Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu May 19, 2022 5:58 am Huh. I'm stuck because I've got a melee coming up, and I suck at writing those.
I don't have to describe what everyone's doing. Describing what 100 humans are doing, second-by-second? Ridiculous. Probably best to stick to what the main character is seeing and doing. He'll see and hear what people on either side of him see and hear. If he's very lucky, he could block a blow for someone next to him.
The Sphinx is the wild-card. What will she do when she casts Time Stop? Ugh. I can't decide. And the MC won't know, because time will be stopped for him as well.
Maybe it's best to do something silly, like:
1. Time Stop;
2. Rush about pulling down ALL the legionaries' skirts kilts;
3. Return, snap fingers;
4. Cue a warband of gladiators doing their best impression of Nelson Muntz from "The Simpsons". "HA-ha!"
What do you think?

I used to be horrible at dialogue. Until I literally wrote nothing but dialogue (with minimal other) - just to force it to read like "natural" dialogue.
I did this over and over until now - I thrive on writing dialogue because it gives so much insight into a character's personality.

So spend some time, just writing some side combat thing, unrelated to the story.

I feel like running D&D games, has also helped me - because when someone hits or misses during attack, I learned to be more narriative/descriptive rather than, "You hit" or "You miss."

It's now, "Yes! 16 hits! So as you swing your sword in a wide arc, your eyes focused on the enemy, the blade tears through his right arm, sending blood spraying across the room."

Or, "12. Ah, that's going to be a miss. So as you lunge forward with your blade, the goblin - having just been shot by Baragoth's arrow - has stumbled backwards slightly - so your sword just misses him!"

Hmm. Something that made me smile after a long and tiring work-week ...

That's funny.

Just wondering: does "going home" have another meaning in D&D that I'm not aware of? If so, why can't someone "go home" if they're in an encounter?

Also (and this is not D&D related, but it is LOTR-related, which is close enough...)

Let's suppose (in an alternate universe) that Gandalf got married and had kids (and grandchildren). Does that mean we can calls him "Grandalf"? (Sorry)

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 9:40 am Just wondering: does "going home" have another meaning in D&D that I'm not aware of? If so, why can't someone "go home" if they're in an encounter?

No. It just means if you start your day rolling a 1 on a D20 - it is ALWAYS a critical fail, and potentially an ill omen of how the rest of the game will play out.

Trying to get back on track with doing notes for my games...
Work Game - party fights the Pac Man themed statues...
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... nturers-64

OK, some of my thoughts on this ...

1. The runes, from left to right, look to me something like this:

- A Groucho Marx mask (glasses, long nose and moustache)
- A mace
- A pitchfork
- A spiked mace

2. Elon Dusk? *facepalm* Lemme guess, is he trying to buy (or build) a system for long-distance, instant communication ... and call it Twit/Tweet, etc.?

I suppose it's better than an elephant herder/hunter called Elon Tusk ...

3. Oh, dear ... now the party can't rest. I hope they don't spend the night howling and crying about how they killed the Pink Panther statue.

Why do they need these gems? *curious*
===================================
And apropos of nothing, I just read the wiki-article about the infamous D&D "Gazebo" story, and realised that it may have happened in the first place because some PC heard the word "gazebo" and mistook it for "Glabrezu".

Too late. You've awakened the dreaded gazebo, who catches you and eats you.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 10:39 pm OK, some of my thoughts on this ...
1. The runes, from left to right, look to me something like this:
- A Groucho Marx mask (glasses, long nose and moustache)
- A mace
- A pitchfork
- A spiked mace

Heh, I googled and found those runes - then just photoshopped the color to match the PAC MAN ghost colors (red, orange, light blue, pink)

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 10:39 pm 2. Elon Dusk? *facepalm* Lemme guess, is he trying to buy (or build) a system for long-distance, instant communication ... and call it Twit/Tweet, etc.?

So... the big trick here is...
The person playing Ragnarok had been HOUNDING me to be able to play an Artificer...
Which I didn't allow in my game setting, because Artificers rely on tech and such.
And I didn't think it fit the theme of my game.
But, then I got to thinking - when the party reaches the Broken Lands, and the pyramids - I had ideas, that would make having an Artificer possible.
So I finally said, "Let's do this."
So - the plan (I'm not caught up yet in the notes - I am about 10 sessions behind on my notes) - was that Ragnaroc (who had technically committed murder of a guard, and the party was aware) - was going to make the ultimate sacrifice, and swamp his soul to save Elon Dusk. The big bad evil in the temple had one attack, I custom made that promised to hit - and one shot Elon Dusk - with an ability that would banish his soul. Ragnaroc would use a parchment of soul displacement that they got way back in Session 30-something, and sacrifice his own soul to bring back Elon Dusk.
Elon Dusk was NEVER an NPC.
I was "controlling" him - and made him appear as an NPC, until Ragnaroc did this sacrifice - and then he'd take over Elon Dusk, which was his character all along.
This plan had been about three years in waiting, for this moment to happen. (Which happened about 4 weeks ago, it was great!) One of my players ALMOST stopped it from happening though (downside of keeping a secret from your other players) with a spell (Polymorph)!
But yes, the story with Elon Dusk is he's obsessed with the pyramids and believes that some of them are starships (and he's correct).

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 10:39 pm Why do they need these gems? *curious*

The ones in the gauntlet? It's me referencing the INFINITY GAUNTLET (from Marvel Comics, made more famous in the Avengers movies, which I know you've not watched).
If you're curious - The Infinity Gauntlet.

I love throwing references to things I love in the game (there's Mortal Kombat references, Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, just introduced a Soul Edge/Soul Calibur reference, this segment is an entire nod to PAC MAN, etc.)

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Jun 18, 2022 10:39 pm And apropos of nothing, I just read the wiki-article about the infamous D&D "Gazebo" story, and realised that it may have happened in the first place because some PC heard the word "gazebo" and mistook it for "Glabrezu".
Too late. You've awakened the dreaded gazebo, who catches you and eats you.

I think most D&D players know the Gazebo/Mimic story.

Proof you only need two people to play D&D and still have fun... a DM (Dungeon Master) and player.

This came about because one of my players (Jessica) and I were chatting on Discord how we wanted to play D&D but neither had a game that night....
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... session-01

We've done about four sessions. Her mother even joined us for one!
This is the first notes from that session (still playing catch up...)

OK. I didn't catch the Pac-Man thing at first! That's cool.

Perhaps Elon Dusk could create the mysterious artifact called the Disc of Flop! (aka floppies). It would be disc-shaped, like a frisbee, but floppy, like a pancake - and people could play frisbee with it, and when they catch it, they could eat it. Then he could be known as "Elon Disc". (Sorry). What do you think?

And yes, I'm sure most D&D players know the Gazebo story. I never connected it with mimics, though (I don't know if there were mimics, back in the mid-1970s, when this story happened?) but never mind. Yes, it's a classic. But to mistake a gazebo for a glabrezu?

Some thoughts on this ...

- D'awww, cute fire fox.

- The A-Team? *facepalm* Um, so which one of them is Mr T - the one who makes tea? (All right, I know that was bad)

- Arrimar explains that Arwynn is very skilled; this causes her father to fume, explaining that he’d better be talking about horse riding ...

- Ah, the two horses. It's Shadowfax and Brego!

-

Arwynn quickly casts Entangle – which both bandits fail to break out of (rolled a Strength of 2, the other rolled a Strength of 3…!)

The bandits have a STR of 2 and 3? What are they, infants?

- So they're in trouble with the local bandits now. If the others are as weak and incompetent as the first two, that's fine. Let then shoot each other, then the A-Team can get all their money! Huzzah!

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 6:23 pm OK. I didn't catch the Pac-Man thing at first! That's cool.

Yeah, the whole map they were on was the PAC MAN first map.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 6:23 pm Some thoughts on this ...
- D'awww, cute fire fox.
- The A-Team? *facepalm* Um, so which one of them is Mr T - the one who makes tea? (All right, I know that was bad)
- Arrimar explains that Arwynn is very skilled; this causes her father to fume, explaining that he’d better be talking about horse riding ...
- Ah, the two horses. It's Shadowfax and Brego!
-

Arwynn quickly casts Entangle – which both bandits fail to break out of (rolled a Strength of 2, the other rolled a Strength of 3…!)

The bandits have a STR of 2 and 3? What are they, infants?
- So they're in trouble with the local bandits now. If the others are as weak and incompetent as the first two, that's fine. Let then shoot each other, then the A-Team can get all their money! Huzzah!

Heh - We're four or five sessions in for this game (as I said, I am way behind in doing my notes) - but at Level 3 my Ranger got animal companion and summoned a grey wolf he calls Chrome.

So "Firefox" named "Mozilla" (or just Zilla) and my wolf named "Chrome."

Yes, the puns are intentional. Since it's just her and I (though her mom joins us for a game!), we're just being really silly.

As for the STR of 2 and 3, no - those were Strength Saves.
So the way that works...

If someone has you ensnared, you do a Strength Check or Strength Save (different things, depending on the situation) - and roll a D20 and add whatever bonuses you have.

So for example, if your Strength is 12 (I think you have a +1) - so if you need to do a Strength Check and roll a 2 on a D20, your end result is 3.

This is what happened with both brigands.


And then, in the OFF WEEK game, just did the notes for Session 17...

http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... -wizard-17

Tawmis wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:40 pm Heh - We're four or five sessions in for this game (as I said, I am way behind in doing my notes) - but at Level 3 my Ranger got animal companion and summoned a grey wolf he calls Chrome.

So "Firefox" named "Mozilla" (or just Zilla) and my wolf named "Chrome."

Yes, the puns are intentional. Since it's just her and I (though her mom joins us for a game!), we're just being really silly.

OK, they're being Brave. With their animal companions, soon they'll have an Edge!

Tawmis wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:40 pm As for the STR of 2 and 3, no - those were Strength Saves.
So the way that works...

If someone has you ensnared, you do a Strength Check or Strength Save (different things, depending on the situation) - and roll a D20 and add whatever bonuses you have.

So for example, if your Strength is 12 (I think you have a +1) - so if you need to do a Strength Check and roll a 2 on a D20, your end result is 3.

This is what happened with both brigands.

OK ... *curious* So what do you compare the end result with, to know if you're still ensnared or not?

Tawmis wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:40 pm And then, in the OFF WEEK game, just did the notes for Session 17...

http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... -wizard-17

Ack! You're too fast for me! Slow down, please. *reads*

- For a moment there, I thought your website said:

Want to help? Consider becoming a Paladin.

-

As soon as the trio enter, Lady Falsour greets them, “Oh, if it isn’t my favorite patrons patreons!”

- The Wagon looks like something out of the Old West. Is that deliberate? "Ah, we was part of the long wagon train ... movin' west." (That scene still kills me, so many years later. I can't stop laughing).

-

Kaltore was once Eagle Rock’s main access for any form of metals – whether steel, gold, copper – it all came from Kaltore’s mountains.

You can't mine steel, sorry. Steel is made by mixing iron with carbon and heating in incredibly high temperatures (above 2600 degrees F). Don't touch it! You don't know where it's been.

Sure, I understand it's fantasy. It just throws me a bit, especially since I've been doing a lot of research on metallurgy and blacksmithing.

- Um, gnome-riding wolves? They are wolves who ride on gnomes? (Yes, Fey Hunters)

- Uh-oh, Galiena and Kavium fell in the water. Now they're wet and shivering. What do they do to dry their clothes?

"On the lake your boat's upset,
and your clothes got soaking wet.
How do you stand and wait for them to dry?
D-d-d-d-d-d-patiently,
D-d-d-d-d-d-patiently,
D-d-d-d-d-d-patient ... ly."
("L-Y", Tom Lehrer, from "The Electric Company" in the 70s)

-

“I still have the body oil,” Kavium calls back, “for all the lubrication needs.”

Ah, yes ... the old double entendre. Pretty soon Aros will get it, shake his head, and say "That ... is SO not what I meant."

-

“Yeah, she wants something from the mining town,” Baldur explains. “We’re headed that way anyway. So we’re going to try to help her.”

Way to turn the mining town (and the four miners) against you, Baldur. The miners are scared of spirits. And anyone who helps them.

-

“Leave it to those two to go out of eyesight,” Galiena shrinks.

How small does she get? I think she smirks, yes?

-

The four men enjoy Baldur’s company, and begin drinking old, wine.

I think this needs an edit. You can't drink old.

- Ah, yes - the were-rats. Well, they were rats ... but not any more.

- I'm confused. What are "undead monkey things"?

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am

Tawmis wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:40 pm As for the STR of 2 and 3, no - those were Strength Saves.
So the way that works...
If someone has you ensnared, you do a Strength Check or Strength Save (different things, depending on the situation) - and roll a D20 and add whatever bonuses you have.
So for example, if your Strength is 12 (I think you have a +1) - so if you need to do a Strength Check and roll a 2 on a D20, your end result is 3.
This is what happened with both brigands.

OK ... *curious* So what do you compare the end result with, to know if you're still ensnared or not?

So - it depends on what is known as the "DC" (Difficult Challenge).
So for example, as she goes up in Levels - the DC to escape becomes more difficult.
So in this instance, I believe her current DC was 11. Since they both rolled less than an 11 (Meets It, Beats It) - they remained ensnared by the roots.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am

Tawmis wrote: ↑Sun Jun 19, 2022 11:40 pm And then, in the OFF WEEK game, just did the notes for Session 17...
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... -wizard-17

Ack! You're too fast for me! Slow down, please. *reads*

Heh, funny because I am about 20 behind in my notes for my various campaigns I run.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am -

As soon as the trio enter, Lady Falsour greets them, “Oh, if it isn’t my favorite patrons patreons!”

LOL! I am sure there's ample dumb typos like that because of me trying to catch up on doing my notes. I will try to remember and go back and edit that.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am - The Wagon looks like something out of the Old West. Is that deliberate? "Ah, we was part of the long wagon train ... movin' west." (That scene still kills me, so many years later. I can't stop laughing).

Aye!

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am -

Kaltore was once Eagle Rock’s main access for any form of metals – whether steel, gold, copper – it all came from Kaltore’s mountains.

You can't mine steel, sorry. Steel is made by mixing iron with carbon and heating in incredibly high temperatures (above 2600 degrees F). Don't touch it! You don't know where it's been.
Sure, I understand it's fantasy. It just throws me a bit, especially since I've been doing a lot of research on metallurgy and blacksmithing.

Aye, sorry - supposed to say iron.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am - Um, gnome-riding wolves? They are wolves who ride on gnomes? (Yes, Fey Hunters)

Baldur was convinced that was the case - turned out to be a Fey Hunter.
The off week game has a ton of RP and humor like that.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am - Uh-oh, Galiena and Kavium fell in the water. Now they're wet and shivering. What do they do to dry their clothes?

Kavium being a paladin of the goddess of sexual pleasure, you can imagine what his idea was.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am -

“I still have the body oil,” Kavium calls back, “for all the lubrication needs.”

Ah, yes ... the old double entendre. Pretty soon Aros will get it, shake his head, and say "That ... is SO not what I meant."

Kavium is all about sexuality.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am -

“Leave it to those two to go out of eyesight,” Galiena shrinks.

How small does she get? I think she smirks, yes?

Supposed to be smirked, lol

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am - Ah, yes - the were-rats. Well, they were rats ... but not any more.

Yeah the island itself has a massive wererat problem. Most have learned to control their urges.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am - I'm confused. What are "undead monkey things"?

It's from a previous campaign - there was a cult that worshippd a demon monkey. It's a custom monster. I just turned it undead for this session.

Tawmis wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 2:02 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Jun 20, 2022 4:30 am -

As soon as the trio enter, Lady Falsour greets them, “Oh, if it isn’t my favorite patrons patreons!”

LOL! I am sure there's ample dumb typos like that because of me trying to catch up on doing my notes. I will try to remember and go back and edit that.

Please don't worry about this one, it is spelled correctly. I was just having fun with patron/patreon/paladin.

Off Week Game - Session 18!
The party befriends a ghost... and a flaming skull with a unique problem... oh, and there's an angry tree...
http://tawmis.com/kneurth/adventure-not ... -wizard-18