#D&D story

[solotabletop]

I'm waiting on Mialee's mini to arrive in the mail, and then I'll begin my solo campaign of The Sunken Citadel in the Sheldomar Valley on the word of Oerth, the World of Greyhawk. I've always been curious about how the iconic characters of Dungeons & Dragons, 3/3.5 Ed., would handle the adventure. L

Todd Lockwood

[cat-cosplay]

*play D&D on New Years

*encounter Dehydrated Dryad

*a player asks how a Dryad becomes Dehydrated

*Me: "Well it's a DRY-ad not a Moist-ad"

*DM beans me in head with inspiration token

Happy New Year!

[dingodoodles]

⏳✨EPISODE 16 IS OUT! ⌛️✨ The bubble gum crew make their way to the mysterious town of Vyder. Handling the heat of the glass sands, Kore runs into a familiar group and Rooster makes new friends in strange ways as usual. 🐍🥓

[contextfreedungeon]

DM: This continues to be a normal old lady's room. I don't know how else to explain to you that she's just an average woman.

Druid: I don't know. Seems suspicious.

[solotabletop]

Song of Ashardalon Solo Campaign

System: Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Ed.

I'm still waiting for Mialee and Lidda to arrive in the mail, and then I will have a diverse party of iconic characters to play through the original D&D, 3rd Ed., "adventure path," beginning with The Sunken Citadel and ending with Bastion of Broken Souls. Even though I prefer D&D, 3.5 Ed., over D&D, 3rd Ed., the purist in me wants to solo the adventures with D&D, 3rd Ed.

From left to right:

Tordek, dwarf fighter

Jozan, human cleric

Devis, half-elf bard

Nebin, gnome illusionist

At first, I planned on running the adventures using Microlite20, but now I want to try to play through the adventures with the rules system for which the adventures were designed. I have dubbed my campaign "The Song of Ashardalon," set in the Sheldomar Valley on the world of Oerth.

[dungeonmalcontent]

My players finally made it to the fantasy Hooters that has been laying dormant in the single major city for my setting. Took them a couple years because our sessions are short and we play infrequently.

Modern me probably wouldn't have included a fantasy hooters. 2018-ish me definitely did. And I'm okay enough with that.

[severevoiddragon]

D&D Adventures of today !!!

The Cast:

Nivaira (they/them), a Sun Elf Bard @two-aliens-in-a-suit

Izumi (He/Him), a Half Elf Rogue @muntsthefreshkid

Hecate (She/Her), a Tiefling Monk/Druid @hecate-vm

Bella (She/Her), a human Sorcerer NPC that the party adopted

The Backstory:

The party took up a bounty from an NPC called Kilvar (he/him), a dwarf blacksmith, who had lost his pickaxe. The pickaxe was currently owned by Monsieur Sirraux (it/its), a Tiefling artefact collector. The party went to see Sirraux, who asked them to retrieve a specific sample of a fungus, that lived on an island. Last session, the party managed to get to the town centre of a town on this island, and had until sundown to get the fungus.

What happened today:

The party walked along a path, following Nivaira who seemed to know where they were going. Eventually they went into a house off the path, and Nivaira want upstairs to cry in their old bedroom, because this island used to be Nivaira's home. Hecate, Izumi and Bella were very confused, and just... Let them do it, while they looked for the same. Nivaira hadn't told the rest of the party that this island was their home. The party continued walking, and came across some musbroom guys - two of them. They fought the party, and the party won. However, one nearly killed Bella. Now, this was the second time she had nearly died, and she was Very Infected by the fungus. The party did not realise this, however.

The party continued onwards, and found a clearing in the forest. A clearing with 6 pillars in a circle, and a plinth in the centre, which had a bowl full of the infection that the party had been asked to retrieve. However, guarding this sample, was a larger, more powerful mushroom person.

One who looked a lot like Nivaira.

The party fought him and the other three mushroom people who were helping, and it was going so well, until the penultimate round. Where Hecate and Nivaira got to 0hp. Both rolled and succeeded on a saving throw, and Izumi and Bella killed Nivairas brother. They healed Hecate and Nivaira.

However, the infection was still there. It started with the three infected being unable to use one of their limbs - for Hecate it was her leg, for Nivaira it was their arm. Izumi was fine.

The party went back to Sirraux's, and got not only the pickaxe, but a magical Lute for Nivaira ! They also suspiciously asked Sirraux what it wanted with the fungi. It assured them it was purely to add to its collection. Whether or not this is correct is to be determined. The party also asked for something to heal them, but Sirraux would sell this magic ointment for 500gp. The party had 350gp at that point. The party declined, now annoyed at Sirraux.

However, good news ! The Lute had a spell that could be cast once per day that can heal the infection (protection from poison, a spell none of the party had up until then). So when the party got back to their "home base" town, Mytheas, Izumi went back to Kilvar to hand back the pickaxe, while Nivaira healed Bella. The party spent two days of resting, and doing nothing, while Nivaira healed Hecate and themselves in turn once each day. However, the infection was painful. This will probably haunt them !!

Once the party woke up on their first day of Not Resting, Hecate and Nivaira and Bella went down to breakfast in their safe house (that used to belong to an NPC, who let them live there indefinitely), and started eating, when Monsieur Sirraux came down. Or so they thought.

You see, the party had levelled up. And Izumi would discover he was also a sorcerer (much like his half-sibling, Ammon). So, a disguise self spell in his sleep turned him into Monsieur Sirraux. Bella sat back, watching the scene, as she knew what was going on (being a sorcerer with Disguise Self herself). Nivaira and Hecate initially went to fight "Sirraux", before questioning Izumi as to why he looked like Sirraux.

Izumi didn't know, other than the fact he'd had a....... Dream. About Sirraux. Nivaira and Hecate stopped interrogating after that, with Hecate then choosing to ask Nivaira about the mushrooms, and how they knew so much about the mushrooms, especially seemed to know the Main Mushroom Guy.

They asked if Nivaira was dating the mushroom, and they said "Ew, no." So they asked them what their relationship was to the guy.

Nivaira revealed it was their brother, but didn't say any more.

Izumi now no longer looking like Sirraux, the party then went into town, and looked at the town notice board, noticing it was now officially Winter. They also noticed a Missing Persons sign, asking for 1,000gp if found. They decided to take up the quest, and went to where they were last seen - by the cliffs.

Hecate and Bella went off to look at the top of the cliffs, while Izumi and Nivaira went along the beach. Hecate asked Bella about her backstory a little (she used to live in a circus), and wanted to ask about the Morally Dubiousness of the circus, however she didn't know how to say it properly. Nivaira splashed Izumi with water.

Eventually, they saw a ship go towards the beach, which was then obscured by fog. The party all made their way to a cave, and ventured inside.

They found a large area where it was clear it was a smuggler's den, with crates and barrels of goods. There were two doors - one without a handle, where the rocks around were a slightly different shade than the rest of the walls, and one with a handle and laid into the wall. The party investigated the one without the handle.

A mimic stared back.

So, the party fought a mimic, and Hecate determined that there were people behind the other door, so they all went through the passage the mimic was hiding.

And we left off the session with the party finding a baby mimic.

[impalalord]

The secret to a good TTRPG/D&D level up:

Have your players create a copy of their character sheet, but leveled up by one at all times.

“Just so I know what to expect when the time comes” you say, “just so we don’t have to waste time to deal with leveling up mid-session”. You are lying.

Level them up two or three times like a normal campaign. Your players might get a little annoyed at your strange house rule, but promise them it’s to help the narrative flow better.

Eventually they’ll level up to be an actually strong fighting force, and make their way to a big boss, be it the bbeg or just a end-of-dungeon tough guy.

Now the fun part.

Beat the everliving shit out of your players, make them suffer for every little thing they’ve done to your beloved campaign. Every poop joke, every “I roll to seduce,” every unwarranted murderhobo moment. Use them as your stress ball until everyone is down or has a trickle of HP. Monologue it beautifully, say things that make them think you plan on killing their characters. Make them panic, make them cry, make them feel remorse.

And then you’ll forgive them for everything.

Maybe the cleric cast divine intervention, maybe an NPC who owed them a favor shows up to save the day. Whatever it may be, you give them their magical girl moment.

In a moment, a warm and blinding light washes over the players and fills every one of them with fresh energy as you hand them their new character sheets.

And phase 2 of the boss battle begins

[banana-pancake5]

Don’t believe I’ve posted this yet… anyway I would like y’all to meet the greatest band of all time! The Timothy Scratchers!!

In one of my recent D&D sessions, I snuck into an enemy camp. Within this camp was a section of about a hundred Kobolds that worked for the Cult we were trying to stop. I convinced 5 of these kobolds that they could be free and have a better life! So, as I was leaving the camp they followed close behind. Once we were all outside of the camp they wondered what they could do. I suggested they go out into the world and create a good name for themselves, and so they settled on becoming a band. The name I created being, “The Timothy Scratchers” because one of the five was named Scratch and another was named Timothy; they both wanted the band named after them. I, a bard, then created small wooden flutes for each of them. Once they were given the flutes they began playing the intro and ending music to our campaign, Into the Forest we Go

My DM has been describing each opening and credits as a small, 8 bit video game gif. (which I think is AWESOME) Now The Timothy Scratchers are always described playing their flutes somewhere within the gif as the credits roll.

I’ve never made a gif before and I’ve never done pixel art before… but I am really happy with how it turned out!!!

[vanridraws]

Valis was my first character with my current group and they have been through a LOT. But they were committed to their actions, even if they were... less than advisable.

[tristomisto]

D&D Valentine’s Post!

My friends and I have ran a few games the past year, but one thing we share in common is writing stories about love.

I’m my D&D game of Fragment, they played characters in a dying world. A world they were trying defiantly to restore. It was supposed to be a story about desperation and sacrifice. It instead became a story about perseverance, and love.

The first romance I’d like to talk about was between the PC (Nyxaris) and the NPC (Aren). Aren was a cleric of an order of warriors who believed that arcane magic was evil, due to the events of the fragmentation of the world being caused by magic. Nyx was a man wary of magic due to his upbringing by his (very evil) magical parents. They both were wary of magic, which led them to each other in the party.

But Aren was not just meant to be a party NPC. Aren was meant to be the party betrayer. Aren was evil for a long time prior to the events of the beginning of the Fragment campaign. She killed many people, for the simple fact that they possessed the ability to wield arcane magic. Her reasons for being in the party were malicious, and she was lying in wait for her moment, like a serpent ready to strike. Then she was befriended by the magical members of the party, despite her sour attitude. Then she fell in love with my friend’s character Nyx.

Anytime after she had performed some cold or heinous act, Nyx was there at her side to comfort her. To inform her she wasn’t a monster and that they were doing what needed to be done to save the world at large. He worried for her when she took actions that were harmful to her, or anytime she was injured in battle.

Their mutual distrust of magic led to their coming together, then led to their growing trust of the magical members of their party. Nyx helped bridge that gap between Aren and the others of the party.

What did Aren do after this? Well she took charge of the disarray of her homeland’s warriors, and forged them into protectors instead of slayers. While she did that and she was separated from the party, the party got themselves into some trouble. Then she did what she did best. She went to war for the people she was created to betray.

She ended this story as someone who wept at another characters wedding, whereas she began it as someone who wouldn’t so much as blink at murdering a child who possessed arcane gifts.

Then there was Callie (PC) and Kissinger (NPC).

Kiss, was an NPC doomed from the start of the campaign. A man created from a magic ritual to be the one who restored the world by any means necessary. In the original ending I had planned, Kiss was meant to shed his mortality to become a god and restore the world, losing himself in the process. When the party found out that’s what the ritual entailed, was his sacrifice… they said no.

Specifically, the first to say no was Callie. Calypso Solavita was a girl who grew up on the streets, outcasted by her family as she was a shapeshifter with inherent magical ability. She possessed the magic to manipulate and read minds, and was a person likely to fall under the category of too dangerous to allow alive. Then when she was found guilty of practicing her magic on the streets of her city, she was outcasted. Where she met Kiss, who was also being outcasted after recently arriving in the city for aid. Kissinger was the first to embrace her magic openly, even inviting her to use it on him. He had merely wanted to see what she could do, but to Callie it was a moment of connection she had yet to experience in her whole life.

Kissinger was set in his way once her learned his true objective and willing to sacrifice himself for the world and his friends. But they said no, and vied for a much more difficult path wrought with hardship. The party went to restore long-lost goddesses in a bid for their aid. They reunited the two goddesses that had once loved each other, and they made the sacrifice together, so that Kiss could see the world he was meant to heal.

For Kiss and Callie, their love was born over their sharing of the gift of magic. Callie had never seen what she had as a gift, and it was Kissinger’s encouragement that made her began to love that part of herself. It’s what made her fall for him too. He would fly her around forests and cities, so she could see the view from the skies, and anytime she was injured, his normally gentle nature would fall. Because if one person in this party was going to survive, it was Callie. He believed that out of everyone in the party, she deserved a new life in a better world.

This party became a family. They survived restoring their world. They brought love to many places, and continue to do so even in their epilogues. I’m sure many can relate to that with their stories.

This is them from left to right, Kissinger & Calypso Milovan, Nyxaris Debor, and Aren Wildheart-Debor.

(An image that has been seen before on this tumblr.)

Twas an insane story to tell, and I fear my friends are telling an even more unhinged one right now.

[thosenaturalones]

When Sehanine Moonbow sends you a gift from the Celestial Realm.

[bards-anonymous]

Me, about to do something silly that will have earth-shattering, mind-obliterating, campaign-derailing consequences that only my DM can see coming:

[contextfreedungeon]

Possibly controversial take: Inter-party conflict and even occasional pvp can make for an amazing rp experience if you:

1.) Know when you draw the line (e.g., you never kill a PC during in pvp)

2.) You're on the same page about this being character conflict, rather than player conflict

Some of my favourite role-playing moments have been player characters at odds with each other

[solotabletop]

Here's another trick of the trade: specialty dice. Shown: Direction (center), Magic Items (upper left), Reactions (top), Dungeon Rooms (upper right), Weather (bottom left), Terrain (bottom), and Dungeon Features (bottom right). Sometimes, it's better to put the table on the die rather than flip through a book to find the right table.