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Welcome (self.dm_academy)
submitted 10 months ago by Brunbrun6766 to c/dm_academy

Welcome to Dungeons and Dragons - Chat, a /c/dnd Networked Community

This community is for those that want to learn and share ideas regarding being a Dungeon Master in Dungeons and Dragons. Much of what you learn here can also be applied to being a Game Master in other TTRPGs.

There are 3 types of posts here:

  • Questions

These can be from beginners asking about the most simple of issues, to masters. It does not matter but be constructive and never discourage those that are new to the hobby.

  • Tips/Advice

These are preemptive posts where more experienced DMs can share their advice and tips for running the game. Be sure to emphasize that this is YOUR way of doing things and is not prescriptive on HOW to run the game.

  • Tools

These are posts regarding tools, both official and 3rd party that a DM can use to better run their games. BE SURE to adhere to the rules in the side bar regarding piracy. DO NOT link to sites that host pirated content as a "tool"

Please read the sidebar and familiarize yourself with our rules, and visit the other communities in our network!

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submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

The following all happens in a town and the nearby surrounding area.

So my party, hereby referred to as their classes are currently third level and have infiltrated a cults hideout, they went there looking for Rogues friend and snuck in with disguises and managed to bluff their way into where the friend was being held. She was in a holding cell. After some deliberation they devised a plan to cast silent image and sneak her out, they couldn't manage to pick the lock and Cleric smashed the door in, this was heard by nearby cultists and they decided to just make a break for it. The cult massively outnumbered them and the party got surrounded. Sorcerer, who is an Aasimar and can fly at 3rd level, flew past everyone and escaped while the rest of the party surrendered. We ended the session there and Sorcerer told me after the session that they plan to go to Cleric's tavern to get the barkeep and any tough looking patrons to form a quick mob.

The conundrum here is that I can't think of a good reason for these cultists to not just kill the party aside from that's not fun. The cult is aware that one of them escaped is probably going to bring the law down on them, so they'll also want to leave. If I was them (and in a way I am) I'd probably kill the witnesses and bail.

Any advice?

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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by zakobjoa to c/dm_academy

Hey gang.

I'm running a campaign where the players are looking for eight magical items, once owned by eight powerful mages representing the eight schools of magic.

Right now – through the power of Plot™ – they're looking for those items for an influential but shadowy collector. They're supposed to deliver the first batch of three items together. When that happens they'll find out that they were inadvertently helping a criminal collector. A representative of a historical society will tell them that these artifacts belong in a museum.

And here's my problem: I want them to have these magical items, which of course have cool powers. And I don't know how to do that.

My plan right now is, that the museum isn't interested in the actual powers, they just want to display the items for their historical relevance. So they'll magically pull these items apart into two identical ones, where one retains the power and the other the history of the item (scratches/wear and tear).

I am not completely satisfied with that idea, because it seems far-fetched and I'd like to hear your ideas, if you have any, on how to resolve this.

Thank you and a thousand dm'ly kisses to you all.

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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by TheGiantKorean to c/dm_academy

Current scenario: BBEG is being dogpiled by 8 PCs, has a Wish spell, and is an insane genius.

How would the BBEG utilize her Wish?

*edit - and what actual effect would it have?

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submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

This is for D&D 5e.

I'm currently making a reoccurring antagonist NPC that is a master thief. It's CR 6 and I want it to be capable of making three attacks per round like multiattack but also have their thief subclass's enhanced cunning action with fast hands.

This would normally mean they'd get 3 attacks and a varying options for bonus actions, however I'd want them to be able to trade up to three if these attacks to have more uses of cunning action (this would of course stack the ability to dash 4 times per round but I'd just not do that while running the monster). They also have a special once per day ability that I'd want them to be able to swap a single attack for.

It got me thinking, instead of trying to make an unwieldy combination of multiattack, a special action and cunning action, could I just give them three actions?

The simple way this NPC works that I want them to pick 3 options from:

  • Dagger
  • Crossbow
  • Special action
  • Dash
  • Disengage
  • Hide
  • Make an ability check
  • Use an object
  • Use a set of tools

At this point, what do I actually lose from letting them take 3 actions? They aren't a Spellcaster so I'm not worried about them throwing out three fireballs or the like.

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submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

I'm going to be starting a pretty short campaign here soon. I've mostly got the plot figured out, and when I was helping a player with character creation they asked if there was a good patron for their Warlock character. My initial thought was, "well the BBEG would be interesting."

The players are just exploring a ruined castle/island that's been twisted and it's inhabitants warped due to exposure to a great old one- they're trying to solve the problem and make the place habitable again.

The warlock's patron is the BBEG, an eldritch god trying to force his way onto their plane. He's currently held out of the plane by a magical seal that can't be broken by him or any of his servants. So the Warlock player needs to- subtly- get the party all the way to the seal and manipulate them into breaking it. I did this specifically to avoid him murder hoboing his party members. They have different goals, but they still need each other.

If this goes badly, I figure the worst case scenario is that he gets slapped by the other 5 party members. So I've asked him to have at least an idea for a second character.

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submitted 3 months ago by Linuto to c/dm_academy

Hey all, I've done a lot that I'm proud with in the past for random tables while traveling. Weather, encounters, and even the environment are all dynamic and changing in ways that my players enjoy.

What I feel like is missing is a fun way for the players to feel like they are plotting a course through my hexcrawl. They have a mostly blank map with points of interest that get added days or even weeks from their central location. While my players enjoy roleplaying around the fire, fighting monsters, and filling in the map as they go, a train ride could accomplish the same result.

Does anyone know an RPG system, or have some mechanics that facilitate the PC's trailblazing a path? Using their survival skills to find a safe way forward, that kind of thing. Thanks!

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submitted 3 months ago by godzillabacter to c/dm_academy

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11298431

I've been a DM for about 3 years, and have predominantly run one-shots and short campaigns in DnD5e and PF2e. I have a player who persistently builds primary caster based characters, but then won't do anything in combat but "I stab it with my dagger." They rarely use cantrips, and basically won't cast a leveled spell unless I suggest it immediately before their turn. They seem to enjoy playing despite the fact that they're far too squishy to be a front-line melee character and don't utilize most of their class features. I've talked with them explicitly about how their play style seems to be discordant with the kind of play they want to do, and that maybe next time they should try a paladin/champion or a fighter/rougue subclass with some minor casting. They agreed at the time that sounded like a good idea, but low and behold showed up to the next one-shot with a primary caster, and over 3 hours of play and 3 combats never cast a single spell, including a cantrip.

I enjoy playing with this persons as a whole. They are engaged in the fiction, and are particularly engaged during exploration activities. They tell me they also find combat quite fun, and they are requesting I run a mega dungeon in the near future.

As a general rule, I like to let people play how they have the most fun, but issues have arisen with this play style. Namely, all of my TPKs have been associated with this player charging a squishy character directly up to a significantly stronger villain and continuing to stab it with a dagger until they went down, significantly hindering the party in the action economy and resulting in a TPK. I feel I have to intentionally weaken all of my encounters to keep the party feasible in the face of such mechanically poor combat choices.

What else can I do to help drive this individual towards melee builds, and/or help encourage them to change their play style to better suite the caster classes they choose?

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submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

I'm planning a campaign loosely where players have to fight enemies backed by a larger, scarier empire that frequently sends out their agents to try to assassinate them while they try to setup a new kingdom post-revolution (think the beginning of Game of Thrones where players are on the Small Council, but they're also sort of Danaerys trying to fend off the spies and assassins of the enemy kingdom's Varys).

I want there to be a lot of cloak and dagger stuff. The players will probably have to protect themselves and fellow members of the court, the monarch (whether it's a player or NPC), allied diplomats, and such from assassins while also rooting out spies. Those resulting battles, along with adventures that I'll incorporate with diplomatic missions abroad, are what will make it DnD.

But it occurred to me as I was planning the worldbuilding for this campaign that a lot of the danger of assassinations will be lost if they can be undone by resurrection magic. Then I started wondering how kings, organization leaders, criminal syndicate bosses, basically anyone important ever dies in any high fantasy DnD world. For players I can restrict their access to diamonds or whatever, but for NPC's who are rich and powerful, not sure if that makes much sense. Besides, it's okay of players have access to the magic, but I want NPCs to be threatened by it, because it adds drama and stakes to the story I'm planning. But if players have access to it, then basically no NPC around them is in danger either, and I lose a lot of the tension I was counting on.

So looking for advice on how you would solve this. Tl;dr: How would anyone important or rich die in your fantasy world from stuff that are not old age? (assuming you want a fantasy world like I do where death is a dangerous possibility)

Restrict the resurrection spells? Restrict diamonds even more so they're rare even for kings? Manipulate the religion or cosmology of your world somehow? Do something with the resurrection spells themselves, like like Matthew Mercer's optional rules? Something else?

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submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by zakobjoa to c/dm_academy

I need help/input/inspiration with a campaign I am planning. Without going into too much detail, in the world I've built there used to be a historically important and very powerful council of 7 mages (3 elves, a human, a gnome, an orc and a dwarf). They've each left behind a magical artifact of some kind. My group (druid, rogue, cleric and swashbuckler) is eventually going to hunt down all these artifacts.

I am struggling to find artifacts that would fit. They either feel too mundane or are way too powerful. I want these artifacts to be useful and powerful, for the time they get them. Of course, they're not going to get them all at once. So these things should be spaced out to be useful from about player level 3 to 12.

We're playing Pathfinder 2e, but I can easily adapt DnD items as well. If you have homebrew, I'll take that as well. If you have general input for these items or that plotline, that's great as well.

Thank you all in advance.

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Turning during combat (ttrpg.network)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

I'm interested in adding turning to a game I'm running (I've talked to my players so don't worry,) and I've been wondering how some people do it, so please share.

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submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

I hope everyone is having a Fantastic December! With the Holidays in full swing, I wanted to give everyone here a present, by doing all the prep work for a fantastic Holiday One-Shot for you! Then, in turn, you can gift that experience to your players! And what better gift is there for players who have been so good, than an opportunity to let loose and be evil for a change! Yes, that's right, The Night before Wintermas is specifically designed for Level 5 Evil/Neutral aligned players.

Thanks to the creative mind of jmanc, you'll bring your players to The Town of Frosthold and join a morally bankrupt Toy and Tabacco company to put an end to Santa's charitable operations by Infiltrating his workshop and dealing with the problem for good!

Experience holiday music to fit every scene, face your favorite Christmas Characters...in a battle to the death, earn unique magic items to help you take on the fat man, and live vicariously through your newly evil characters! This is a One-Shot you won't want to miss!

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for the encounter. This includes the enemy stat block organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • An Alternate encounter PDF for Frosty and The Snowmen *(Updated 2023)
  • Custom Maps for Santa's Grotto
  • Custom Boss Fight Music
  • Handouts for the Scrolls of Haste and Invisibility
  • A Preview PDF of Flee Mortals

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! If you have any advice on how I can improve my notes further, please let me know either here or leave a comment on the Google doc itself! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

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submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

I might not be using the right terms exactly, but hopefully this makes sense.

This is only my second time DMing and this is with a group of newish players. I'm running an adventure out of a book which is fairly linear, since during our session 0, the players communicated that they would prefer following a set story rather than freely roaming around. I'm totally ok with that and am trying to accomodate.

The problem I struggle with, is I am utterly failing at presenting the plot points in an interesting way without it feeling lame and forced. For example:

"As you make your way down the path, you see two figures ahead. You recognize them as the odd couple from the tavern. What do you do?"

The answer is sometimes "uh... We ignore them and continue down the trail" which is frustrating when they are major characters for the story. The players sometimes get so focused on advancing the plot that they just skip past it all.

However it's almost worse then their answer is "well I guess we're supposed to talk to them. So... I do that." I feel that awkwardness, because if I were in their shoes, it would feel just as forced to me.

But... It's in the adventure book! They need to meet these guys or the next section kind of doesnt make sense. I have tried having the NPCs directly approach the player characters, but even that tends to feel like the players are just going through the motions. They know this must be important so they play along but I feel like it just turns into me giving info dump after info dump as each NPC appears, and it feels so contrived.

So, yes, I have talked to the players, and they are trying their best to engage. This is now me asking how I can be a better DM and present plot points in a natural, interesting way that doesn't just feel like a queue of NPCs lining up for their turn to "stare menacingly at the PCs" so they can stumble through another stilted conversation.

This is particularly difficult for "random encounters" that are meant to flesh out the world and give the players a chance to roleplay. "You come across a goblin next to an elaborate painting on the side of a large oak tree. 'my brushes! My brushes are missing!'" If I were a player, I would have no reason to engage with this. It might be a fun little interaction but would our group of adventurers really stop and talk to every random person they see? Help every cat out of a tree? I want to make the world feel full and exciting and fun to play inside but instesd I feel like I'm just presenting my players a series of chores.

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submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by Exusia to c/dm_academy

I'm running a homebrew of Monster Hunter as a first time DM, with sort-of first time players. They treat it like a Disneyland ride where they "go here do X" and so I set them up for the first major boss fight with Teostra (cr13) against their group (lv4) with the inte t that they do 1/4 to 1/2 it's health to drive it away. (I know they can't kill it).

Except rather than fight it they offered to make it a cooked meal, since it can speak draconian and I want them to actually try to roleplay I let it unfold. Except now I have no idea how to proceed. I want this to pan out because it's the first time they've all truly put their heads together and had to figure out how to proceed to actually strategize in the way I see so many players just naturally do in podcasts, but in the spirit of MonHun, the Elder dragons are nearly ageless and you cant...just like reason with them.

I also have no way to set a scene other than pure improvisation for this "city saving cookout" they have to plan. Help?

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submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

We're back at it again with another Level 1+ One-Shot, this time by the amazing Jennifer Adcock! Grammy's Country Apple Pie is the perfect One-Shot to run for a group of kids who are looking to just have some fun. They can go in the hard way and try to fight everything or they can try to practice those bard-like skills and converse their way through the challenges!

In Grammy's Country Apple Pie, a wizard named Tyndareus develops a craving for a special treat from his childhood, he will stop at nothing to get his hands on the best apple pie in the whole world. He hires your group to seek out the bakery that once produced the wonderful dessert – unfortunately for them, the bakery has long since been overrun by goblins. But all is not as it seems at Grammy’s Bakery, and Tyndareus isn’t the only one who’d do anything for those pies.

Parents and Teachers can oftentimes be even busier than the rest of us and with this Fully Prepped One-Shot I hope I can help get families together and bring new generations of players to the table!

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • Custom Maps of Grammy's Bakery

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

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submitted 6 months ago by TheGiantKorean to c/dm_academy

What is the best way to determine this? Is a flat number best, or should it be based on one of the user's ability scores?

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submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

We all know combat can sometimes be a bit of a slog when done poorly. I'm trying to get better and introduce more tactical nuance (interesting terrain, varied enemies, etc.) but things still tend to devolve into roll, hit, roll, miss, roll, hit, you win!

I know there are a few blog posts around that encourage alternative win conditions (no fights to the death, grab the MacGuffin, etc.) but a lot of that still feels handwavy to me ("Just be creative! It's easy!") and more or less still "feels" like the same old combat.

As an example of what I'm thinking, I've been playing Warhammer Vermintide. 95% of the game is just mindless fighting. But every so often, they throw in a simple puzzle to keep you on your toes. Everyone has to stand ground on a specific spot while something powers up. We have to find and break open all the eggs in the area. Bring the explosives to the target site without accidentally exploding. Protect one player while they fire the cannon/push the cart/read the map. All while an endless horde chases you. It's minimal, but is just enough of a shift in priorities that it "feels" exciting.

I'm not sure how well any of these would really translate over into D&D anyway, but perhaps some of you experienced folks have some tried and true examples? It would be especially handy to have a resource to quickly spice up an encounter on the fly using some kind of flowchart or tables. Is there anything like that? I'm hoping for enough variety that every fight can feel a little different beyond just different enemies.

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submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

It's October, the month of Halloween, so of course I had to prep a spine-chilling One-Shot! The Haunt is one of the highest-rated 5th-Level Horror-Themed One-Shots around by Phil Beckwith. In it, your players will have to survive, solve puzzles, and uncover the mysteries of Montarthas Manor.

In ages past, an ancient town was lost and destroyed by a siege of orcs. Only one building survived and to this day, the manor is the only still standing building to be seen for miles around. Some say it is haunted, a few whisper of great treasures within, whilst others whisper that it is the manor itself that lives! No one knows for sure, only that a great evil haunts its halls. Do you dare enter Montarthas Manor?!

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • Handout for The Scroll of Invisibility
  • Custom Maps (Credits: just_2_clarify, Before the Lore, Anonymous, PogS_3)

Index:

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

As always, If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

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submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

So, this is my own version of XP to level 3's idea to let player play until they are completely dead. I.e., they can still do stuff at 0 hp... for a price. Enjoy.

Condition Dying

Pas pour les NPCs, le but est de garder les joueurs en vie.

Quand les points de vie atteignent 0, le personnage tombe Prone et devient Dying

Au début du tour, on commence par les Death saving throws.

Ensuite, le personnage peut soit :

Bouger (prone = moitié de mouvement). Coût : gratuit

Parler en mourrant. Coût = gratuit

Action. Coût = 3 niveaux d'Exhaustion

Bonus Action. Coût = 1 niveau d'Exhaustion

Réaction. Coût = 1 niveau d'Exhaustion

Il n'est pas possible de se relever.

Exhaustion :

Sur les d20

1 = -1

2 = -2

... ...

9 = -9

10 = mort

Récupération

Premier short rest = - 1 Exhaustion

Long rest = - 2 Exhaustion

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submitted 7 months ago by MaroonMage to c/dm_academy

I'm finalizing my next campaign, and am looking around for an online tool to create a world map. I really just need to make one map (maybe two), so I'd prefer free to use or a small fee to get started.

I've googled around and found some options, but haven't found one that does exactly what I need. For example, some of my world map is on a plateau and some is lowlands, but that level of varying terrain elevation seems to be an advanced feature for a lot of programs.

I'm wondering if this community has any favorites to recommend. Thanks in advance!

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Rate my creation (self.dm_academy)
submitted 7 months ago by Katt to c/dm_academy

Hi everyone!

I'm preparing a new monster for a special Halloween themed one-short and would like to check with the community if my evaluation of the CR for this monster seems fair... If anybody has resources to evaluate this, please do share!

The creature: a Pumpkin Beholder.

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submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk stems from The Lost Mine of Phandelver a classic and beloved starter set that many new DMs run. Even with this being the most recent release it still has an issue, the same as with many others...it doesn't describe the best way to transform the book's contents into an actual session. The Book-to-session conversion can be difficult between figuring out when things should happen, understanding motivations, and even organizing encounters.

Well, fortunately for you, 99% of that work is done! Only a few things are really left:

  • Read the book, I know surprising, but It can be extremely confusing when you don't know where everything leads to.
  • Consider the needs of your group. As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign, you'll have to make tweaks here and there.
  • These notes aren't meant to be the end-all-be-all. Tweak to your heart's content, and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things were meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience, though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Advent's Notes: I was surprised with how few changes were made in the book considering how long this adventure has been around and all the wonderful things the community has come up with, I was even more surprised when they started adding more monsters to Cragmaw Cave. It's already pretty rough in there and with the additional creatures, it's almost assured there's going to be a TPK. I've kept most of the fights the way they were with only a few minor adjustments, the most important changes are just subtle nods to the Psi Goblins that will be encountered later on.

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection are:

  • A Word document with all my notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDFs for all the encounters. This includes all the enemies' stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP.
  • An additional PDF with Sildars stats should he join the party as an ally
  • Custom maps of Cragmaw Hideout. I enlarged and printed this out for my players as a battle map!

Index:

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

As always, If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

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submitted 7 months ago by Imperor to c/dm_academy

Good day everyone, hope you're doing well!

I've made a new video and blog post on the topic of how to deal with sessions where people can't make it.

My solution is fairly simple but effective: The Woven Dream, a state of dreaming where party members experience shared dreams. Besides allowing the group to play instead of skipping a session, it also allows you to really dig into the background of any (or all) of the present characters.

It's not something that'll work every time, but it has served me really well, and I wanted to share the idea with you.

I've also taken the feedback from this and other communities around here and my stuff isn't just videos anymore, but blog posts as well and the blog posts have a full audio narration of the blog post for those that prefer podcasts or to account for accessibility.

Hope it gives you some inspiration!

Blog post with full audio transcript: https://impheim.com/2023/09/skip-or-play-a-solution-to-sessions-with-missing-players/

YT Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol-8-P3YSBY

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submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/dm_academy

Hey everyone, I'm looking for any tips or advice with running exploration, as a recent example my players recently came across an abandoned ship and decided to climb aboard and look for any treasures that were left behind. They went room to room and I made an effort to describe each room in detail but the whole process felt very drawn out and repetitive. Especially if there's no special encounter in that room.

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submitted 8 months ago by Imperor to c/dm_academy

Hey everyone!

As a DM, I struggle a lot with juggling all the various things the party should get and receive. One of my greater shortcomings has been dealing with magic items.

So to help myself deal with that, I've been working on a little system to approach magic items differently. The basic idea is that instead of only letting players loot, be rewarded with or buy magic items, the dungeon master could go and enchant the equipment that the characters already have.

This could mean taking a magic item that exists and applying those effects to what they have through various means or creating effects that are fully tailored to not just the character but also the player.

The enchantments could come from external sources or even the pure power of the character who carries it.

Here's the blog post going into some depth on it all and including some examples: https://impheim.com/2023/09/magic-items-in-ttrpgs-embrace-enchantments/

And here's the little video I made on the topic: https://youtu.be/GSnCd2Mbr9U

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions!

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DM Academy

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