#homebrewing tips

[dailyadventureprompts]

Homebrew Mechanic: Meaningful Research

Being careful about when you deliver information to your party is one of the most difficult challenges a dungeonmaster may face, a balancing act that we constantly have to tweak as it affects the pacing of our campaigns.

That said, unlike a novel or movie or videogame where the writers can carefully mete out exposition at just the right time, we dungeonmasters have to deal with the fact that at any time (though usually not without prompting) our players are going to want answers about what's ACTUALLY going on, and they're going to take steps to find out.

To that end I'm going to offer up a few solutions to a problem I've seen pop up time and time again, where the heroes have gone to all the trouble to get themselves into a great repository of knowledge and end up rolling what seems like endless knowledge checks to find out what they probably already know. This has been largely inspired by my own experience but may have been influenced by watching what felt like several episodes worth of the critical role gang hitting the books and getting nothing in return.

I've got a whole write up on loredumps, and the best way to dripfeed information to the party, but this post is specifically for the point where a party has gained access to a supposed repository of lore and are then left twiddling their thumbs while the dm decides how much of the metaplot they're going to parcel out.

When the party gets to the library you need to ask yourself: Is the information there to be found?

No, I don't want them to know yet: Welcome them into the library and then save everyone some time by saying that after a few days of searching it’s become obvious the answers they seek aren’t here. Most vitally, you then either need to give them a new lead on where the information might be found, or present the development of another plot thread (new or old) so they can jump on something else without losing momentum.

No, I want them to have to work for it:  your players have suddenly given you a free “insert plothook here” opportunity. Send them in whichever direction you like, so long as they have to overcome great challenge to get there. This is technically just kicking the can down the road, but you can use that time to have important plot/character beats happen.

Yes, but I don’t want to give away the whole picture just yet:  The great thing about libraries is that they’re full of books, which are written by people,  who are famously bad at keeping their facts straight. Today we live in a world of objective or at least peer reviewed information but the facts in any texts your party are going to stumble across are going to be distorted by bias. This gives you the chance to give them the awnsers they want mixed in with a bunch of red herrings and misdirections. ( See the section below for ideas)

Yes, they just need to dig for it:  This is the option to pick if you're willing to give your party information upfront while at the same time making it SEEM like they're overcoming the odds . Consider having an encounter, or using my minigame system to represent their efforts at looking for needles in the lithographic haystack. Failure at this system results in one of the previous two options ( mixed information, or the need to go elsewhere), where as success gets them the info dump they so clearly crave.

The Art of obscuring knowledge AKA Plato’s allegory of the cave, but in reverse

One of the handiest tools in learning to deliver the right information at the right time is a sort of “slow release exposition” where you wrap a fragment lore the party vitally needs to know in a coating of irrelevant information,  which forces them to conjecture on possibilities and draw their own conclusions.  Once they have two or more pieces on the same subject they can begin to compare and contrast, forming an understanding that is merely the shadow of the truth but strong enough to operate off of. 

As someone who majored in history let me share some of my favourite ways I’ve had to dig for information, in the hopes that you’ll be able to use it to function your players.

A highly personal record in the relevant information is interpreted through a personal lens to the point where they can only see the information in question 

Important information cameos in the background of an unrelated historical account

The information can only be inferred from dry as hell accounts or census information. Cross reference with accounts of major historical events to get a better picture, but everything we need to know has been flattened into datapoints useful to the bureaucracy and needs to be re-extrapolated.

The original work was lost, and we only have this work alluding to it. Bonus points if the existent work is notably parodying the original, or is an attempt to discredit it.

Part of a larger chain of correspondence, referring to something the writers both experienced first hand and so had no reason to describe in detail. 

The storage medium (scroll, tablet, arcane data crystal) is damaged in some way, leading to only bits of information being known. 

Original witnesses Didn’t have the words to describe the thing or events in question and so used references from their own environment and culture. Alternatively, they had specific words but those have been bastardized by rough translations. 

Tremendously based towards a historical figure/ideology/religion to the point that all facts in the piece are questionable.  Bonus points if its part of a treatise on an observably untrue fact IE the flatness of earth

[mytortoisegotstuckinatupperware]

fun dm tip

if your players roll a perception check and ask "is there a [insert specific thing that I definitely didn't design but go off queen] nearby"

say

yes

always

[do-you-know-this-adhd-character]

Do you know this (noncanon) ADHD character?

Evidence below the cut!

can be pretty hyperactive, forgets things regularly (even important things, forgot he turned into a heartless in kh1), distractable, later on he seems to have some problems with emotional dysregulation. hes constantly called lazy by his friends but as soon as hes doing something he likes he has all the energy in the world, and also tends to dismiss his own intelligence despite actually being pretty smart, both of which are things that i think are decently common with undiagnosed adhd

[jawsandbones]

okay, wait, I'm so interested in your "no player revivify spells" rule. Would you be willing to elaborate on your house ruling for that???

I would love to, thank you so much for asking!

It's 99% because of story reasons, 1% because I feel that deaths are fairly meaningless when they can be immediately undone.

In my homebrew world, Winyul, there are no gods but entities called Titans. They are the manifestations of wants, desires, hopes, memories, experiences, knowledge, and thoughts. Titans form around a community, be it a city, a mercenary band, even between lovers. The prime Titans are those who oversee the entirety of a region and all other Titans in that region are considered part of that prime Titan. [I have a bit more information on Titans in my little packets - link!]

The Titans are the arbiters of life and death on Winyul. There are no spells of resurrection that have ever worked, as no magic can find the threads of the person lost. Upon death, souls are weaved into their respective Titans, their pattern becoming a part of the Titan itself. To resurrect someone, their pattern must be ripped out of the Titan.

The Titan which holds the persons pattern, their soul, must be sought out and pleaded with, in the hopes that they might ravage their own weave. Resurrection has always been historically rare, invoked only in times of great need. Typically, those pleading on behalf of a resurrection will give up magical items to the Titan. That magical energy helps a Titan repair the damage being done by tearing out the soul. During the False Wisp crisis now, the Four of Four are the only ones the Titans have been resurrecting.

Resurrection also comes with its own risk. The more death one experiences, the tighter ones soul is stitched into the Titan. Multiple deaths and resurrections risks leaving behind threads that could not be undone. This means that, past a certain point, those being resurrected begin to forget things - as their memory, those threads, have been left behind in the Titan. It can work the other way as well, where some threads which don't belong come along during the resurrection. Die and be resurrected often enough, and eventually you're going to end up an entirely different person.

It's led to some amazing moments in campaign - from Adra, Ilsa, and Talee kneeling for hours in the snow over Loam's body begging for his resurrection, to the playful ribbing of having to haul Ilsa's corpse up a ladder which took eight hours to fully climb. The current death count in campaign is Ilsa leading with three deaths, Loam in second with two, Talee with one, and Adra still untouched by death (not for my lack of trying huhu).

Thank you again for asking! If you have any more questions, don't hesitate, love thinking and talking about Winyul. Cheers!

[rychlostthespacewizard]

No matter where I look, the one most common tips i see in the worldbuilding community I see is:

THEMES AND PRINCIPLES

and it seems to be very important for the entire process so you dont end up with a clusterfuck (although i already made sure that my world is one by adding anything i think is cool into it)

So i decided to show you all the ones that help me make Aeloria:

Never One Without the Other

A grand tapestry woven from opposing and inseparable forces: life and death, light and dark, self and other. Life finds meaning in death; light defines dark; individuality exists because of the collective; one cannot have a coin with only one side. Every element is essential and interconnected, forming the true magic of the world. Your existence is inextricably essential to the greater whole.

Everything stays, but it still changes

There's a constant cycle of change and continuity in the world. Remnants of the past stay, but they transform slightly with time. History repeats itself, but never in the same way. Sudden events, seem to come out of nowhere, but they are always rooted in the past. People, instituitions and figures take roles that have been played before, as if they were reincarnations of the past. Ruins dont disappear, they become faded and overgrown, but they are still there, waiting to be discovered until they become the landscape itself.

Elements

Magic, reality, energies and matter are all made up of elements. These elements are the building blocks of the world, and they can be combined in different ways to create different things. The elements are not just physical, but also spiritual and emotional. They are the essence of everything, and they are what connects everything in the world. Each element has its own unique properties and characteristics, and they each represent many different things, they can appear in different ways in our words, like fire can be passion, or anger, or warmth, it can represent the desires and heart of a person and many other things. Some elements are more common and manageable, while others are rare and dangerous. The elements are the foundation of the world, and they are what make everything possible.

The First is More Powerful but The Last is More Refined

The first of a kind embodies raw, untamed power, while the last represents refined, distilled wisdom. The first holds primal strength but lacks control; the last offers stability and knowledge but lacks raw potential. This rule applies to all things, from the first dragons against the new ones, and the first spells agains the recently created ones. The cycle of creation and destruction is a constant in the world, and it is what keeps it in balance.

Many Pasts, Many Proofs

Multiple pasts exist, each with its own truths and stories. The past is a complex, multifaceted entity defined by collective and personal beliefs, revealing different aspects through exploration and interpretation. When one discovers evidence of the previous world, the narrative created by them reveals more about those that created it than the past itself. No one is safe from their own biases, not even the gods, as they are also part of the world.

The Rule of Twos and The In-Between (This is not really a principle but I think it fits here)

All things come in twos or exist in the in-between. The world is shaped by duality and the spaces bridging opposites. Represented by twin deities Aena and Kryela, it highlights balance and unity in duality. The In-Between signifies the spectrum between extremes, blending black and white into shades of gray. This motif guides adventurers and scholars in understanding Aeloria's complex reality, emphasizing that existence is not just black and white but a continuum of possibilities.

[mayakern]

I really like the way you draw expressions and how they are unique to each character even if they are expressing the same emotion! Any tips on how to practice that? I tend to draw expressions the same way for all my characters

thanks! honestly i think this mostly comes down to the characters having different face shapes and facial features. in drawings, a lot of acting is often done by the design itself, especially designs that come pre-baked with a primary expression.

this guy is basically the best example of that. he was made to scowl and the same range of emotions are gonna look way different on his face than someone else’s

ofc i don’t draw like this, but there are similar (tho less exaggerated) things going on in my art.

the other main thing, i think, comes from posing and the angle that you draw the face at. if a character is more expressive and confident, they will probably lift their head when laughing, but another character might express this in a more withdrawn manner, tucking their head in instead.

i’m no great character actor but when i draw the expression sheets i still try to consider the things i know about my character’s dispositions, what expressions they are most likely to show (or what would be most interesting to see them express BECAUSE it is a rare/difficult emotion for them) and how their temperament and their natural facial features effect those expressions.

hemlock is an innocent and earnest person who always tried very hard but has terrible luck

audra has a confident facade specifically as a form of rebellion against the people who want to see her vulnerable, but it hides a lot of pain

aerilyn is confident to the point of incompetence and has next to no real life experience in anything, leading to a lot of painful lessons

althea can only remember the last two weeks of her life but she is already world weary and exhausted (and also very, very anxious)

cassiopeia is very confident and sexy (literally played her for an TTRPG called Sexy Battle Wizards and her highest stat was sexy) and also kind of a smart ass and a bit of a (bitchy) mom friend

pearl also can only remember the last two weeks and she is 100% horny for life

[dungeonsandkobolds]

Do you have any advice for making homebrew spells an appropriate power level? I have a really cool idea I'd like to develop but I have no idea what spell level it should be and what exactly its effects should be

The best place to start tbh is to look at similar spells and figure out where it fits within them

Some things to think about with homebrewing spells:

Components - if it's a really good spell, effects a lot of people, or doesn't require concentration generally you'll need to think about Verbal or cost-based Material components, as these help put limits on it. Material obviously limits based on cost, but Verbal components are generally easy to counteract

Does it require concentration? This is especially a good limit to put on things that have long lasting effects on a group of people, or something where you're taking hold over someone

Range - generally I think the better the spell is for the level, the more danger a caster has to put themself in. For instance Bestow Curse can be a really powerful spell that changes the entire battle, but it's range it touch

Spell attack or DC - this one really depends on the effect the spell causes. Spell attack is more like a weapon attack, whereas spells that use DC tend to have a more general effect. The damage of spells that use spell attack also tends to be higher, because if they miss they do no damage at all

Damage - this one I personally tend to find the easiest, because you can ascertain from spells of a similar level what an appropriate amount of damage would be.

Damage dice - this an be chosen based on what is appropriate to the effect of the spell. For instance, Cloud of Daggers uses multiple d4 because there's multiple knives slashing and opponent whereas Spiritual Weapon (at a base level) uses 1d8 because it's a single ethereal weapon attack

What effect would this have in game/on the battle field? Spells that gain more allies/last longer/alter the layout of the fight tend to need more limits place on them. This is also the point to think about, does this spell have the potential to get annoying for a reasonable DM or players

Is there a reasonable way to counteract the spell? This is very important in my opinion, because the ability DnD offers to find creative ways to counteract spells encourages player creativity. It also offers a way for players to be less frustrated if the spell is cast on them, as there's still scope for them to do something about it

Hopefully this helps! I'm sure my wonderful followers will also have more suggestions

[craigofinspiration]

What do you think?

pointsofinspiration.com

[tennierose]

Does anyone have any tips for writing homebrew DnD campaigns? I have been a DM before, and I've always been into creative writing, but I just wanted to know if anyone had any tips or pointers when it came to writing a campaign.

[stick-or-treat]

kind of honest pro tip for becoming a better dungeon master: run a one-on-one campaign for a good friend or your partner or your sibling or something.

you'll learn

how to prepare a lot of content very quickly - having only one player means there isn't a ton of interparty chatter or debating how to storm the castle, so content goes by faster.

how to cater content to fit your PCs - with only one PC, they're essentially a Main Character, and it feels weird to send them through content that doesn't tie into their goals or backstory.

how to balance encounters - it is so unbelievably easy to kill a single PC so you get the hang of action economy real quick, especially if you start at a low level.

how to play and run lots of NPCs - not only do you run side characters and monsters, but you may also play a few complex NPCs to help simulate an adventuring party.

how to run combat quickly - again if you are both the monsters AND most of an adventuring party, you have to go fast otherwise it's just you playing against yourself for like 30 minutes at a time.

how to delegate tasks - giving your player some NPC stat blocks to run for you in combat, asking your player for details about the world, working together to decide what "shared" NPCs would do.

how to roleplay real good - you're the ONLY person your player has to interact with, so you'll get a lot of practice driving the plot through NPCs and setting details in a way they'll latch on to.

and if you want to go to DM boot camp like I did, find a player who:

loves combat but also wants to play a fancy noble who avoids combat by rolling Persuasion when at all possible - you will get very good at coming up with non-traditional encounters like stage play combat, fights with heavy social elements, and how to move them into situations where talking just isn't going to help.

loves all monsters, is tired of human-centric stories, and hates the trope of "this entire species is evil therefore you are justified in killing them on sight" - you get really good at quickly modifying modules and encounters to have less humans and way more complex depictions of monsters and monster races.

thinks you're cool and likes watching you create stuff - ok this one is just nice, it's very heartwarming when you apologize for taking so long for your NPCs to take their turns and your player is like "no I love it!! I'm just watching the drama like (⚆ᗝ⚆)"

anyway thank you for attending my Ted Talk

[dailyadventureprompts]

Drafting the Adventure: Dungeons Without Walls

I love the idea of dungeons, but there was a significant portion of my life as a DM where they didn’t feature in my games. While Pathfinder and 5e provided a great framework for character building and tactical skirmishes that I could build story on top of, neither was really great when it came time to detour into a  dungeon. My players tended to get confused when we headed out to plunder the local ruin or cave system, spending a lot more time figuring out where they were and what they should be doing than actually doing anything. 

The problem as it turned out was limited information.  I had a picture of the dungeon in my head/notes but I couldn’t telepathically infer that to the party, and the back and forth questions where they tried to orient themselves within my mental labyrinth ate up a lot of session time prevented us from attaining that snappy pace that every table needs to keep the players invested.

Recently though I had an epiphany about overhauling exploration in d&d, and wrote up a whole post detailing how you could build and run wilderness adventures the same way you could a heist or a murder mystery. Because I was already writing a series about dungeon design it didn’t take long for me to realize that this exploration overhaul was 100% applicable, and could solve a lot of the delay and confusion my players usually faced on their next trip underground.  Spoilers: it worked amazingly.

 The key to this overhaul was giving my players enough information to see the dungeon as a sort of abstract checklist, and then giving them the power to investigate and check things off that list in whatever order they wished, when they enter a new level of the dungeon they get a new checklist to fill out which still keeps that sense of exploration. Folk love checking things off lists, and I as a dungeonmaster love it when players engage with the content I’ve spent so much energy creating even if it’s only poking their head in the door to realize they want to run away as fast as possible. Likewise, designing the dungeon this way let me tackle much larger concepts without having to sweat the details of filling up every little room as I would have to in map-centric design.

To summarize my exploration mechanic as It applies to dungeons:

During Design: After you’ve got the dungeons’ major concept, you divide it into unique “zones” (essentially what might be levels in a regular dungeon) with an interconnected theme, mechanic, or threat.

Each zone has a number of points of interest, which can be anything from trails to follow, odd sights they might investigate, to full complexes of rooms that you’ve mapped out. You don’t need to map out the points of interest otherwise, they sort of float abstractly within the zone 

When players enter a zone, they become aware of its name and general descriptor, as well as how many total points of interest are in that zone. They also become aware of some points of interest immediately to serve as landmarks and give them a direction for their exploration, but most remain undiscovered until they venture off the path and start checking out their surroundings. Hidden among these points of interest are the doors that lead to zones deeper within the dungeon, encouraging the party to explore in order to progress.

During Play: When the players enter the dungeon, one player is appointed as the surveyor, who’s job it is to keep track of the zones, fill out that checklist, and check things off when the DM tells them that they’ve fully explored a point of interest.

Rather than needing to be aware of the exact room layout, the party just need to know what zone they’re in and what options are available to them, Because this information is delivered in the form of a checklist with empty spaces, the party know exactly how much of the dungeon they’ve explored, what’s left to explore, and when they’ve cleared out an area.

Lets take the image above as inspiration. Say the party is trying to make it up to the tower, you can easily see a progression of zones and maybe imagine a few to go alongside them:

Ruins & Foothills: The first area, filled with the remnants of an ancient civilization. Picked over by looters and now a home to all sorts of wildlife,

Mountainside: The obvious next goal, but locked off behind a challenging climb, Filled with hazards that threaten to knock the party back down to the foothills if they’re not careful

Caverns: Secret area accessible only if the party explore a cave on the mountainside, or make a beeline towards the old aqueduct landmark in the foothills, realizing it might be easier than the climb. 

Spire Foundations: The door connecting to the foothills is guarded by a complex puzzle and arcane ward, but the party might be able to sneak in through the caves where erosion has caused a breakthrough into the cellars.

Spire Peak: High among the clouds, the party’s prize is somewhere here.  Access to the upper sections of the tower are guarded by a territorial sphinx under arcane compulsion, though the party might just be able to skip that fight if they figure out the riddle to make the portal mirrors work in the foundations.

Trying to design all this by pencilling it in on a gridmap would take weeks, to say nothing of the headache it’d cause you trying to make things fit together and fill up empty space with content. Designing it first as a sequence of zones and then filling those out with interesting fights, puzzles, and encounters is the work of an afternoon or two. Likewise, its easy on your players: five zones with six to ten points of interest is far easier to tackle when you can make a checklist and see how much progress you’ve made, despite the fact that the area they’re exploring is quite vast. 

I hope you find this as useful as I have, and if you need a more concrete example of how it might work, don’t worry, I’ll have one of those for you in the coming days.

[mytortoisegotstuckinatupperware]

fun DM tip

out of game, just ask your players to roll a D100 (preferably over text). do not elaborate. keep them guessing.

[averydavery]

I went down the PS2 Emulating/Reproduction Rabbit Hole so you don’t have to:

And here’s how to get your favorite PS2 games for cheap.

I was just gifted a used PS2 for my birthday which made me SO excited… until I looked up the cost of a lot of the games I want to play. Titles like Silent Hill 2 & 3 go for about $100 (USD) typically and the game I’ve been hunting for, Blood Will Tell, averages anywhere between $450- $700. Because these titles didn’t sell well initially but are popular now/have a sense of rarity to them, they cost a fortune. So do you spend a fortune on getting them or live without playing them?

Neither!

You emulate them or buy from a professional reproducer!

What is emulating?

According to Wikipedia the definition is: “in computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system to behave like another computer system. An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peripheral devices designed for the guest system.”

TLDR; emulating (in video game terms) is taking a game and playing it on either a system it wasn’t originally made for OR a country/region it wasn’t designed to launch in.

Is emulation illegal?

No, emulating a game isn’t illegal. The only part that would be considered “illegal” is if you don’t own the actual ROM/game you’re emulating. For example, if I download Silent Hill 2 for free off the internet and emulate it on my PS2, that’s considered piracy because I didn’t actually buy the game.

Do I suggest emulating on the PS2, if not what is another option?

No, there’s something you can do that’s a lot easier than emulation. Emulation typically is for playing old games on a new system, commonly a PC. It takes a lot of software/hardware know-how to do and the average joe (me) doesn’t have that.

Another option is buying a reproduction and a reproducer. This requires a rapport with a third party professional and a the right system.

What is video game reproduction?

Reproduction is when a creator completely reproduces a game and burns it onto a disk, making multiple copies off of one game and making them available across different models and regions of the same system. In order to use the reproduction, one needs to download a software on their system that allows you to run homebrew/reproduced content.

Is reproducing a game illegal?

Well… yes. But the brunt of the legal ramifications is on the vendor and there has been no case of a person being charged with buying a reproduced game. Think of it as going to 9anime.to and watching a pirated anime, you’re watching pirated content which is illegal. But 9anime is providing that content and has the target on their back. The vendor I’ll be suggesting is literally on Etsy and has been for years, so that’s how little this is enforced.

If you’re paranoid about this then I obviously don’t suggest this option, I suggest trying to emulate the game but that means you’ll be buying whatever it is at full price. I’m just a random person on tumblr so you don’t have to listen to me at all lmao.

Here’s a screenshot of a reddit thread discussing this practice:

What reproducer do I suggest?

AndresCustoms on Etsy/Facebook Marketplace! He tests his products on many different systems from various different regions. He has an 4.8 star average review. I’ve read the review comments, consumers a very impressed with his work and he actively responds to his reviews. Andre also is easy to get in touch with if you have any questions on how to set up his FMCB cards or games. He only accepts refunds for defect disks of his, since that is his fault. Besides games he sells (average of $25) he also sells the hardware that allows you to play them, they’re FMCB cards ($15) all you do is stick one into the controller port and it’s good to go.

What to look out for with reproductions?

I don’t recommend buying off Ebay, they have a fraud department but you’re likely getting overcharged for what you’re buying. The largest portion of scams are on Ebay.

Scammers often sell reproductions for the cost of the real game titles, not only are you paying way more than it’s worth many of these tend to not work well or at all. That’s why reputable vendors who openly claim to be professional reproducers and have multiple ratings by real customers (i.e. AndresCustoms) are very important to consider when getting reproductions. Never buy a game that is inflated far above market price, unless it is mint condition and graded for collection purposes.

TLDR FOR ENTIRE POST:

PS2 games cost a shit ton of money these days

Emulation is mostly used to play retro games on modern devices, usually PCs

Emulation is hard to do unless you have technical know-how

Legal emulation requires the purchase of an authentic game

Reproduction is illegal under piracy laws

Reproduction under a reputable vendor can be a cheap way to get your favorite retro games and still run as if they where authentic copies

Keep your eye out for scams

[aggressiveworldbuilding]

suggestion for dms - do 'group checks'

when i run skill challenges i often alternate between individual checks, and more 'turnbased' checks. its a little like pathfinder's skill challenges but simpler.

essentially, choose a dc. i usually do the check DC x number of players.

so if i want have 4 players, and want them to have a high chance of success I would do 10 x 4 = 40.

the challenge dc for that round is 40. you can either keep it a secret or tell the party. either is good. everyone has to make a skill check, using an ability they get to decide, so long as they can think of a way it will help.

------

Scenario: The party is trying to escape the BBEG with a mcguffin. the barbarian has the item and is running.

Barbarian makes an athletics check to push through the crowd Warlock uses intimidation to clear the road of pedestrians Cleric uses perception to yell directions to the barbarian as they run. Druid uses a spell slot to cast mist wall to distract the enemy.

End Round: Add all results and determine success or fail of that round.

-------

Even if one of the players fails, there is the chance that the others will help. If a player uses one of their class abilities/spell slot it is an auto success on their individual check.

I usually have between 3-5 rounds of this sort of 'combat'; it makes everything feel more chaotic, and is super versatile for a lot of different situations.

it also allows players to make their own decisions, and become more invested in the scene. maybe the rouge has a special skill they haven't ever been able to use until a chase, or the bard comes up with an elaborate multi-round distraction.

This ensures that there is a higher success rate for them, with help from their friends.

[hidefdoritos]

I've created a cursed magic item.

DMing the "Dragon of Icespire Peak," Dwarven Excavation quest. In order to differentiate two hostile ochre jellies, I said that one had a priest's hat. Via player shenanigans, we decided that this ancient holy garment, by sheer coincidence, looks just like a modern red fedora.

Upon striking the final blow, one of our fighters (we have three, thanks for asking,) struck an anime cool-guy pose and donned the hat. Hilarity ensued. I promised it was a magic item. I did some research and homebrewed this beauty.

Hat of the High Priest

This hat has five charges and resets every dawn. While not sentient, this hat remembers that it was holy to Abbathor. When worn, the wearer feels slightly greedy. The wearer can expend one charge to palm a small, cheap item and stash it under the hat. Others must pass a DC 20 investigation check to notice the theft.

Curse: The wearer is also obliged to tip the hat and say "m'lady" to every woman they meet.

[jellisdraws]

So my campaign has come to a new arc, which has me doing something I’m not super well versed in and have attempted only semi successfully in the past.

I’m writing mystery and ‘political’ intrigue.

TL;DR I would love to have some advice and anecdotes for what has worked for you, yes you, as a player or DM.

My players have arrived in the (primarily) Elven city of Avalis in the nation of Goram’Andiel. The city is grown directly into the structure of some massive mangrove trees- all connected back to a central mother tree in the heart of the city. Buildings have been sung and grafted into the living wood and wooden walkways built between boughs and branches. Gondolas traverse the waters below where stone buildings have been integrated here and there among the roots and docks on stilts protrude into the River Arterius that winds lazily through the cities heart and also along tram lines that weave throughout the upper reaches. The city- while primarily home to various elven peoples is also home to half elves, humans, kenku, aarakockra, Owlin, Hadozee, lizardfolk, and even river dwelling Triton.

The group has come for multiple reasons: to meet with allies from their home country in secret in order to exoerate themselves in the killing of one of their enemies who was a powerful political leader in their own capital. To learn of a powerful ancient relic of the Sundering and what came before. To seek the location of a lost burial site. To learn more about the foreign souls they are hosting in their bodies, and what the intent of these souls is. Much of their search involves a place called the Woven Knot Archive and it’s High Curator, Amber Enathard, a powerful Wizard and Cleric who also serves as one of the cities three high ministers. They are racing against three cults called The Grasping, The Hollow, and the Starved- three sects of folllowers surrounding what they believe is the reincarnation of the moon goddess who will cleanse the world in fire and chaos and end the events that began in the sundering.

Shortly after arriving in the city the group wakes up to the Archive burning. The archive is also home to the national library and the natural history museum. And it’s these structures that were burning. In the chaos the group made their way to help, only to learn their contact, Amber, was inside. They rushed in to save her, stumbled upon the burned remains of a device, and found a fire elemental battering against the wards of High Curator Enathard. The group handily defeated the fire elementals, allowing the guard outside to effectively stop the fire and discovered that the person responsible for the firebomb and elemental slipped into the crowd in a guard uniform.

The group was asked to help with the investigation, and to speak to the cities High Ministers about what they saw and heard in the Archive as they fought inside it and rescued people. And now they’ve discovered more hooks. The scorched device they found was the baseplate and fissile material for some kind of arcane bomb- one that could open a large portal very near the center of the elemental plane of fire. That baseplate had a symbol on it from a group known as the Order of the Megalos Psychi, a sect of artificers and Alchemists from the same town a PC’s monastery was. Additionally the materials used to create the device were not something naturally occurring on this plane. Some other mysterious things happened and clues presented themselves for the group to ponder. Who was the person in guard uniform the group saw escape into the crowd rather than try to help during the fire? Why has the woman they rescued and saved from harm still in a coma like state? Why was the archive attacked, and who was the attack meant for? The group? The high curator, or something else? What does the O.M.P have to do with it? Where is the cultist leader that allies of the group tracked to this city and what is she planning? With many questions and not many leads at the moment the group has found themselves thrust into an investigation they aren’t allowed to move on from and one they don’t have clearance to investigate themselves (legally that is).

I’ve done a lot of work with the various NPC’s this arc, and how all the pieces of things tie together. some stuff has already happened that’s changed how things will play out and rearranging things to match up is pretty cool and I’m having a good time, but because I’ve put in so much work already plotting and thinking about this intrigue I feel ready for what comes next.

Still, I am new at this. And I’m curious how others handle finding clues, political machinations and getting the PC’s willing to manuever and hunt for clues both socially and sneakily. Let me know!