#dungeon master help

[electaaaaa]

If anyone's got any Dungeons and Dragons like map building stuff that would be swag as fuck cuz world anvil is a cruel mistress and my stylus hates me

[thebrainrotsreal]

I demand an AU where Laios' leg gets fucking crunched during the Red Dragon Battle (re-attachment impossible), and Marcille practices the whole necro-magic first by givin' him a new leg! With Red Dragon Blood/Flesh, he also gets put under the same command as Falin, except since it's only a leg, the curse slowly becomes more and more powerful until the eventual transformation above!!! :D AKA Ah Fuck, Took Too Long Overthrowing the Dungeon Lord, Get Monster'd. Lion + Red Dragon, because I like it. Laios would think it's cool, too, so there. The trade of Cool Monster is Sense of Self / Consciousness eroding into nothing (monster body, monster brain), though, so he's basically on an extra timer to stop/overthrow the Dungeon Lord, or experience a kind of death of sorts. Random idea I had to get outta my head, y'know?

[cyanomys]

Hey TTRPG nerds

Anybody got recommendations for indie ttrpg youtubers? I'm looking for content that is broadly not D&D-specific, and not actual plays. So, video essays/reviews of games, how-to-plays, GMing/playing advice, game design, etc.

[curse-of-dming-strahd]

"Don't worry, I'm on your side," I lie, knowing full well that I'm about to make them fight five CR 5 vampire spawn at 2nd level.

[lilithxmoon]

Do you know that feeling, when you’ve written such a great plot-point for your currently running campaign but you’re the DM, so you can’t share your great ideas with anyone, because ‘anyone’ are your players? 😭

[itseasytoremember]

My best piece of writing advice for any aspiring DM is to not write every single story beat you want your party to get to, but instead write the bad ending if no one helps the situation.

I'll give you an example;

There's a kingdom run by dwarfs that is known across the land for making a specific kind of technology that a few military generals want to turn into a weapon, but the current king and his daughter are both peaceful rulers who do not want to start war. The generals are planning a coup, and the plan is to kill the ruling Monarch and his daughter who is betrothed to a neighboring party, and replace them with her much more pliable younger brother. This will start a civil war with the neighboring countries, destabilizing the global area and eventually creating a powerful militarized empire that will cause ruin and destruction.

Now I could write a story beat about meeting in a tavern and someone giving them party tickets and I could write another beat about them getting clothing and then I could write another beat about them going to the party and then I could write another beat about them stopping in assassin, but they might not do any of that, And I've wasted hours and hours of writing.

Instead, I'll write that the bad ending; the assassins will kill the princess at this party. The assassin won't be caught at the party, because of that they'll be able to get back to her betrothed's room and plant the murder weapon, and with that they will convince everyone that it was Uxoricide (had to look that word up).

Because I have the bad plan, any meddling/ investigation my players do will alter the trajectory, and can be related to the story. I know they're going to want to be at this party, so I'll focus on that, but I'll give multiple options of entry and make it so no matter what they choose to investigate, they'll get a different aspect of the plot.

This way the villains have these really concrete plans that the players are trying to uncover and thwart, rather than meandering around for a while, and you aren't planning 85 scenarios hoping your players will choose something. Make a map, put different revelations in different parts, and trust your players to find them

[nuppu-nuppu]

I’m going to be a dm for the first time tomorrow and I’m scared bros?!!?

Does anyone have any tips for a first time dungeon master?

[stgoodsir]

D&D folks I need you!!!!

I'm a mildly experienced dm who has a group of completely inexperienced nerdy 18 year-old guys who want to play. How do I design a campaign as the only girl in a group with 4 of these D&D newbies, keep from being bulldozed, and keep them engaged???

I'm thinking Emily Axford style Hot Boy Summer type deal?

Please please please give me advice!! (Especially dms, but players as well)

[firsttimedmsendhelp]

Okay here’s another question for you lovely people who play tabletop rpg games. Where can I get miniatures and terrain for my DnD campaign without it costing an arm and a leg to ship outside of the US? Because I’ll find something on amazon or whatever and the prices are ehhh but yeah I’m willing to pay that much it’s fine every once in a while but then when I wanna check out it’s suddenly double that price? Excuse me? Is this all a sign to DIY my own sets? Where do I even begin. Is this a ploy to trick me into buying a 3D printer? Me? A simple minded maiden from the middle ages who thinks technology is some form of witchcraft and sorcery with a 3D printer? I still don’t know how to switch the keyboards language on my work computer without going into the settings. WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

[fuitgummybat]

For my fellow confused Waterdeep DMs: a chart of the authority hierarchy of our fair city, cobbled together from the information given in the Dragon Heist module book & scattered online research

[moons-magical-archery]

serious question, how do I make NPCs that my player doesn't try to kiss?

I'm doing a German modern fairytale adventure and made a Krampus (bipedal goat that kidnaps children) that is incredibly jealous of the Easter Bunny for having job security. (the whole kidnapping thing is a side job that doesn't really pay well, and his therapist told him to stay away from children for a bit)

So I made this goat guy nine feet tall with sharp teeth and red eyes yet my player found him attractive and wanted to roll to kiss him. She got an 18... so like I just kind of let her kiss him but didn't make him do anything. I did say that if she tried to take it further I would start an attack round.

Every single time we do any sort of campaign, me DMing or someone else, she tries to kiss any sort of antagonist NPC.

Does anyone have any advice? How do I make relatable evil characters that can't be romanced?

[theothefrog]

Pain

We are finally done… we beat them… after 114 hp.

Our second fight of the game AND OUR DM GAVE US WATER ELEMENTALS WITH 114 HP!

WE ARENT EVEN DONE WITH THE FIGHT

WE STILL HAVE TO FIGHT THE BOSS

DM WHY?!?

DM STANDS FOR DISASTER MASTER AT THIS POINT

[tofu-bento-box]

alright curse of strahd people / other DMs. i need plot brainstorming help. wig and revivivivify no reading past the read more or checking the notes. i’m warning you. i’ll know 👁️ 👁️

thanks in advance!!!

so my plan for the leadup to the final battle in my curse of strahd campaign is to do arcs based around the four horsemen of the apocalypse. we’ve already covered war (#1) via the fall of argynvostholt, famine (#3) is self-explanatory, and death (#4) is the final battle.

the issue is pestilence (#2, and the next big arc). i made krezk a mining town, and the abbot has been helping the party at little to no cost, so i’m planning on setting it there. there are two very minor NPCs that got on the abbot’s bad side, so i’m planning on having them be the first victims. they’ll come to the abbey looking for help and get turned away (barring successful party intervention). if the party manages to pry some forgiveness out of the abbot, there’s still gonna be an issue, because the abbot can’t fix whatever’s wrong.

the issue is i cannot figure out what the fucking pestilence is. some creeping black gunk? where did it come from, how is it treated if not by magic, why can’t the abbot just snap their fingers and fix it?

dug too deep in the mines? something like the blight in datv? parasitic creature? hivemind? slime mold that feeds off of magic, so magical healing makes it worse?

THIS IS A PLEA FOR HELP. please DM me or brain dump in the notes because i’m hardcore stuck on this.

**because of some of my players’ triggers, please don’t base ideas on real diseases (no cancer, no 1:1 terminal illness replication). parasitic stuff should be okay, same with more fantasy style diseases**

[curse-of-dming-strahd]

*kicks Rahadin out of my favorite character spot*

Here you are Victor I saved a seat for you

[harrywavycurly]

So just for like funsies what would y’all say to the idea of you being besties with the “bad boys of horror” aka Jason, Michael, Freddy and Ghosty while also dating Eddie? So he has to not only treat you right because he’s dating you he also has the added terror of dealing with your besties if he breaks your heart👀

I feel like this would be his face when you tell him who you’re besties are because you’re just like “this is Jason and Freddy oh and that’s Michael he’s quiet and where’s Ghosty? He’s always running around being weird…Anyway…guys this is my boyfriend Eddie”:

[lilithxmoon]

Just a random doodle from my D&D campaign:)

I could ramble about them for hours haha