#i might have a matt mercer problem

[zackcollins]

I'm such a Cassidy main that I spent $100 on Tears of the Kingdom and joined a D&D campaign that my boyfriend is the DM for even though I've never played D&D before.

[burningsuitfire]

Essek and religious trauma

Saw this post from @balleater here and having been meaning to write a meta on the subject, theorizing about what we know.

Essek admits to being seriously traumatized when Caleb talks to him in the Grove.

(141) Caleb: Somewhat hypocritical coming from me, but try to be kind to yourself.  Essek: You, more than anyone, showed me that trauma doesn't define you.

The simplest conclusion is religious trauma, along with neglect and abandonment.

In the wrap-up Matt puts serious emphasis on Essek's parents and family being "very deeply steeped" in the religious culture alongside how Essek has "very much eschewed" the religious culture, that no one has ever genuinely cared about Essek beyond his influence and talent, that his family didn't understand or support his focus on dunamantic research (or his career), and draws clear lines about the negative aspects of Dynasty's theocratic authoritarianism and uncompromising cultural zealotry, at points Mercer even compares it to evangelicalism and doomsday cults.

He also gives us hints that it's a bad situation for anyone who doesn't follow the official faith, like in Eiselcross when Caleb asks questions about the mandated religion and Kryn theories on the beacons:

(124) Essek: It is an interesting idea, though I would caution to keep it close to the chest. Such conversations might be considered sacrilege in some circles of the Dynasty.

Which as word of god tells us Essek had a very bad relationship with his powerful authoritarian den family that didn't understand him or his goals, and he grew up in the Bastion (which is a temple to the Luxon), when the Dynasty laws are founded on the faith and enforced by the military:

(EGtW) The laws of the dynasty, which stem from the faith of the Luxon, are enforced by a network of trusted Aurora Watch captains and soldiers

To the point where Matt emphasized how even petty criminals in the prison were systematically "beaten and emaciated", sacrilege could have ugly consequences, even growing up.

Especially considering that all we know of his father is that he seemed to have a temper to the point of extremely self-destructive tendencies, and that he was possibly military and thus law enforcement (warriors function as both in the Dynasty).

Even in the dinner conversation when he was being outstandingly open, Essek was very careful not to tell the nein anything that could allow other Kryn to question his faith:

Marisha: So his lying about it [consecution] was just about going along with the zealotry and not- Matt: Exactly, because he didn't want people to think that there was something up.

And then there's Essek's massive trust problems, which are specifically focused on the word "trust":

(131) Caleb: We feel we can trust you more than my old teacher. (You see, when you say the word "trust". It's simultaneously like seeing a small hit to the heart... and whatever icy bit that cracked melts away for a minute. There's a moment of him hearing the word and letting it wash over him.) Essek: I'm thankful for the trust you put in me. And I hope to make this up to you.

(124) Essek: I've never really been trusted and so I did not trust. When I- when you gave me trust, it gave me a perspective that was so agonizingly striking. So easy to see that I refused to acknowledge it at first, even. (135) Essek: The more I begin to see Beauregard, yourself return with these markings- I've only just recently learned to trust. It's hard to begin to mistrust so quickly.

Where there's a theory that it might stem from the Dynasty's training for echo knights and dunamancers (when we've heard Essek tell Caleb that the training is comparable to that of scourgers), and we even see the echo knight in Zadash react very strongly to the word "trust":

(13) Mollymauk: We just need to know who we can trust and who we can't.  Thuron: You cannot trust anybody in this city. You cannot trust yourselves. Anyone who has not bound themselves. They are the enemy.

Other context and info gives us that consecution and worshipping the Luxon and following the umavi-written "system of pure faith" created from their interpretation of the beacons (as EGtW dictates the Luxon is canonically silent and unconscious) is required for people to hold Dynasty political/spiritual/military office and influence, to work for the theocratic government (comprised of the 12 noble religious den families), and that dunamancy and the Dynasty's dunamis research is only accessible to those working for the government.

And it seems like Essek hints at unattractive consequences to others discovering he's been lying about his faith (and/or the dangerous nature of his career):

(131) Essek: I just know that I've also survived this long, weaving the intricacies of deceit like I have, by knowing how best to keep myself out of the complications as best as I can.

Finally, we have Essek's relationship with punishment and pain, alongside the Dynasty's systematic religious corporal punishment:

(57) In the shadows there look to be multiple figures. Some human, some ogre-ish with more reinforced bars, drow. Emaciated, beaten. Not looking happy and healthy, but then again, what good Dungeon of Penance would?

(77) ...days of chosen sunlight in which the nightfall is dispelled and the people of Rosohna and Xhorhas bask in the sun. Even those who find pain and challenge in its presence, as it is part of the worship. (EGtW) The Kryn drow who emerged from the shadowed depths of the caverns beneath Xhorhas now endure periods of sunlight as part of their worship. Periods of days, sometimes weeks, will transpire in a state of perpetual evening, enabling the darkness-bound denizens to go about their work. Such periods briefly come to an end to usher in periods of scheduled, mass worship under the sunlight.

(99) Essek: I will take my leave for the night. Thank you for not throwing me into the water. (97) Essek: The pain is somewhat comforting because I am my own punishment. (91) Essek: I have seen those far older than you that have experienced maybe half the pain I see in your eyes. Age isn't everything. Experience is what hardens you, prepares you for the worst. (138) Beau: My essence will haunt you. Essek: And I would deserve it, like I deserve all of the things that haunt me. Jester: Aw, Essek... Essek: Don't- offer me any solace. (141) Essek: Maybe it's time I just found my way. Really began my penance. I've procrastinated long enough in dealing with my sins. I convinced myself I'd be alone for so much of my life. It's hard to say goodbye when I don't feel alone anymore, but… I understand. I understand and accept what I've done.

[cassafrasscr]

Not only is Lilliana full of shit... I think (at least subconsciously) she knows she's full of shit.

Here's thing #1. She claimed in the most recent episode (C3 E92) that she didn't become aware of the heinous crimes committed by the Ruby Vanguard until recently.

If she only just learned that Ludinus' plans involve doing some seriously evil shit... then why would she insist that she's the only one capable of curbing his worst impulses?

Really, Lilliana? If you know Ludinus is doing bad things, and he would do worse things if you weren't around to reign him in, you can't claim ignorance as an excuse for your involvement in his plans.

#2. If you don’t think Predathos is dangerous to mortals, why would you have spent the last 10 years in Imogen's dreams telling her to run away? Why would you be so afraid for Imogen the first time you noticed her attempting to commune with Predathos directly?

I guess it could be argued that communing with Predathos could draw Imogen further into what Ludinus is doing. But even then... if Predathos is really the one in charge, and is just manipulating Ludinus, why not just ask Predathos directly not to involve Imogen in its plans? Does Predathos not care about harming its Ruidusborn children? Do you think Predathos would lie to you, even though you claim to know exactly what it does and doesn't want?

Lilliana KNOWS that the Ruby Vanguard are committing enormous harm to normal people. She KNOWS that Predathos is dangerous to mortals.

As Lilliana herself has said... she's in too deep to back out now. Or at least, that's what she believes. She's spent AT LEAST 10 years (probably longer) following Ludinus and fighting for his cause. She gave up her life with her husband and daughter to pursue this. If she leaves now, all that time and work and pain will have been wasted.

Not only that, but the idea that this mission she's given up her whole life to pursue might be a lie? Lilliana has made this cause her entire life and identity. Imogen and her friends aren't just challenging the plan. They're challenging everything that makes Lilliana who she is as a person. If her cause is a lie, Lilliana herself is a lie.

Plus, the thought that the plan she's been fighting for has already done immense, irreparable harm to thousands of people across Exandria AND Ruidus... and threatens to do even more damage still? It's unbearable. She thought the cause she's devoted her life to and sacrificed so much for was just and beneficial. Now that she's being challenged by someone she loves (her daughter) with undeniable evidence to disprove that idea, she's trying to double down. She can't process the thought that not only is she the villain in someone else's story... they would actually be right to think of her that way.

All this is to say: I think a big part of why Lilliana is such a frustrating, infuriating character... is that she's actually a pretty realistic depiction of a member of an extremist cult. The problem is that deprogramming from those patterns of thought and behavior takes a long, long time. Time that Bell’s Hells may not be able to give her.

(All the negative feelings about Lilliana are, of course, valid. She also makes me Big Mad, lol, especially after the latest episode. That said, she's also a very interesting and compelling character... based on all the meta I've seen written about her since last night, anyway. Good job, Matt Mercer! 😂)

[spyridonya]

How the Drow Became Problematic Faves - a Badly Written Meta History of D&D

Oh, hey. It feels like newcomers to D&D via BG3 fandom have discovered the Problematic Nature of Drow via Halsin vs Minthara conflict. 

Cut because of talk of racism and it being fucking long.

Let's talk about meta, first. So, the very first usage of 'drow' came from a dialetc of Scots as a term for troll, which was used to talk about all sorts of evil spirits. When Gary Gygax had to make a war game, he decided he'd make evil elves. They were based on 'black elves' in the Prose Edda and saw the word 'Drow' in a dictionary that claimed it was a term for underground elves who were skilled workers in metal. Being a white guy in the late 70s, he saw no issues in making evil elves actually black. For the next decade or so, they were canon fodder for modules and novels and always evil and repugnant. 

In the late 80s and early 90s, R. A. Salavotre and Ed Greenwood slapped on the concept of drow society being an evil dystopian society run by dominatrixes who emasculate men, in the Forgotten Realms setting. There were a few token dark elves, namely the super popular Drizzt Do'Urden, who were good but the majority were not. Like Gary, RA and Ed were white guys who did not see the problem of black elves and putting their kink into deep lore. Not all settings went by this, Dragonlance for example had drow just be ‘evil assholes elves who got kicked out of their society’ and look like just any other elves.  

(Quick note on Drizzt, he became iconic not because of his race but so much as being an outsider to two cultures while being a badass. I might not be a fan personally, but I know the appeal of the character.) 

The 90s came along and by the end of the decade, TSR was bought by Wizards of he Coast who proceeded to make the Drow even Grim Darker during 3rd edition  to go along with the times. Yet, too, didn’t stop to think about the problematic issues that were being brought up by more thoughtful fans - WotC hired another module company who wrote about  drow women being so fucking evil, they an orgasm like reaction when embryo killed each other in the womb. 

4th Edition came and went. No one talks about those times. Drow existed as evil. 

2014, 5e comes along and drow are so fucking popular, they’re included in the Player’s Handbook, rather in errata based books, as ‘humanoid’. In fact other evil races were introduced under the label of ‘humanoid’, indicating orcs and goblinkin. About a year later, Matt Mercer switched up his TTRPG to 5e because it was an easier system for his friends to understand, and they began to show their games online under Critical Role while a year after that Stranger Things came out and became a smash hit. 

Between these two, D&D explodes in popularity with an entirely new demographic group that began to outnumber the old guard. This larger and more diverse popular saw drow and other ‘evil races’ and went ‘wtf’. They didn’t exactly like the concept of ‘an always evil race’ and discovered the problematic issues that collected over the last several decades not with just drow, but with ‘monstrous’ races. 

WotC wanting money began to listen - just really slowly, and not so much in Forgotten Realms.They dropped the ‘always evil��� from the stat block but refused to change anything else to their older settings. 

(Incidentally, the company that made Grim Dark Drow really disliked 4e. They decided to make their own take of 3.5e with Hookers and Blackjack and made Pathfinder, which was supposed to be Edgier Game than D&D. However, a lot of people they hired were quick to notice the nature of the game and say, ‘nah, this shit is stupid’. As of now, Pazio is retconning drow from their lore. - That my friends, is called a character arc.)

During this 46 year span, drow have been fucking evil because their goddess made them do it as justification of their evilness - and not because they were black or born into it. In fact, Lloth, Gruumsh and Maglubiyet are the reasons why the Drow, Orc, and Goblinkin society is so evil and they’re also why they can function as a society when in truth, they all should have fallen apart. And no one has bothered to change this lore. In fact they avoid mentioning this lore rather than changing it to avoid conflict with older fans and newer fans. 

Then BG3 hits and hits harder than anyone expected. A lot of new fans come on aboard and really begin to like Drow, who are super sexy evil elves, not knowing the lore and kicking the problematic issues down the road. Larian was a bit quicker than TSR/WotC to realize ‘wow, this is fucking yikes’ and decided to make Seldarine drow. I’ve been playing since I was young teen, in the last years of 3.xe. I saw a lot of wanna-be Drizzt and Good Aligned Drow that were played variably, but there were a lot of people who loved the concept. While Seldarine aren’t a concept in TTRPG canon proper, the idea of Seldarine drow has existed for decades at tables, and Larian acknowledging that is something I love.

But they made Llothsworn Drow as the ‘lore compliant drow’ because WotC hasn’t changed drow in decades. 

The thing is, Drow being Problematic Faves isn’t because WotC is wildly racist on purpose, it’s just that during the majority of Drow being A Thing in D&D, they have been Sexy and Evil Villains and play the role of Misunderstood Outsider (though this recently has been taken over by tieflings).

In fact, I’m seeing a lot of new fans getting kicked in the teeth when characters react to a Llothsworn drow as flat out evil and not being judged by their actions, because they don’t know it’s been a thing in D&D for years with narrative excuses to justify in-universe racism. And then there are some players who make an evil Llothsworn drow and still get upset despite playing into in-universe reasons for the excuses of racism.

We’re seeing it as a reaction to datamined information with little context other than an abused white guy feels uncomfortable with an abused black woman - and it’s super hard to justify in-universe reasons for this because in the real world, a white guy is going to be listened to and believed regardless of it being true or not.

Essentially, the drow are a fucking mess due to D&D ignoring the racial implications of drow in the real world for nearly 50 years. The only way to fix it is making major lore changes, which is something they’re reluctant to do because they’re making their errata books so damn light on lore as to avoid conflict and the model sells.

Will this change with BG3? I don’t know. But I kinda hope so. 

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Epsiode 112

Ah, the Halloween episode. This is gonna be fun ... and ... OH MY FUCKING GODS ... so they're ALL Nic Cage ... oh yeah, OF COURSE Liam's the Mandy Cage ... and Ashley's got some poison VX gas from The Rock ... meanwhile Sam ... of dear fuck Sam ... that's just too much ... and of course I've ALREADY worked out which one Marisha is ... perhaps THE WORST Nic Cage of them all ... and I love Con Air, so thanks for that one, Travis. Not to mention Matt's is awesome too ... Raising Arizona for the win ...

Seriously Sam, that costume is just TOO DISTURBING ... O.O ... this is some genuine nightmare fuel ... please don't wear THAT throughout the whole game ... fuck ... I'm starting to think that genuinely might be the case ...

I love how Liam DOES NOT ASK any of them to start mirroring his actions, Taliesin just starts it on his own and then Laura and Ashley start doing it all on THEIR own and it's adorable ... XD

Thank you all for addressing the problem with Sam's make-up ... that is gonna be SO HARD to ignore over thh course of the game, Samuel ...

Yup ... here we go ... the gameplay is ALREADY derailing and we're still on Matt's recap ... XD ... also I wonder how bad it's gonna be for Marisha once she has to start READING DICE ...

Nice crack at the Schumacher batsuits ...

Aha ... oh, so Ashton and Fearne have actually truly for real done the nasty? It's about fucking time, you two ...

Pancakes and waffles? Yay! The perfect start to any day ... oh, and cookies too? Nice one, Jester!

Travis INSTANTLY forgetting to use the newer Fjord accent instead of the older ... meanwhile Jester is TOTALLY already onto Ashton and Fearne ... and Liam's busy having a conversation with himself ... LOL

Chetney lives! Okay, then ...

Some confusion about what the plan is now, then ... clearly there's some fuzzy heads among the group after the night before ...

Imogen quickly draws a map ... Sam (as Veth): "How is it?" Ah hell ... first performance check of the night ... serviceable ... okay, then ...

Sending a message to Rashinna, then ... oh dear, are we having trouble with the count? And npw Jester's invading Imogen's mind with her intrusive thoughts ... oh boy ... watch Laura Bailey learning JUST what it's like being on the receiving end of another Laura Bailey character ... XD

Oh shit ... Rashinna hasn't gotten back to them yet ... Matthew, what's happened? Oh Matt Mercer ... you GIT!!! That was not funny ...

"Look for Gaz"? Hmmmmm ... the Villums? Okay, then ...

Dorian making a meta crack about their costumes when discussing the disguise idea ... LOL

Oh dear ... and now the disguise conversation becomes more serious as we're now uncovering the inherent problems of what available choices there actually ARE ... hmmmmmm ...

Laudna gives Sprinkle back to Jester ... who then tries to cover for the fact that Fjord accidentally DESTROYED PATE the night before ... O.O ... yeah ... here we go for Deception checks on BOTH OF THEM ... oh boy ...

Sprinkle is PLEADING FOR DEATH right now and I can't blame him ...

Pate returns! And it turns out he doesn't bear a grudge, clearly. Far as he's concerned it was just a macabre game ...

Turning into guards, then? Might be smart ... and some Bormodos for the smaller folk? Yes, that's smart ...

Good point ... IS THERE anybody upstairs in the store?

Yes, time enough for ONE Suck ... decisions, decisions ... something tells me Dusk Hunger might be worth holding onto, if I'm honest ... rollies, then? Hmmm ... Ashton, then ... okay ... goinf for Fire, then ... so he straps into the Harness and starts sucking up Dusk Hunger ... nuts ...

Some nice new effects for Ashton, then ... meanwhile Jester's now jealous about THEM not having a Harness too and immediately demands Caleb makes one ...

Caleb and Veth having a serious conversation while Sam is wearing THAT FACE ... ye gods ...

So ... try another one? 20% chance of the Harness breaking, but they ARE rolling towards the endgame ... hmmmm ... that;'s a yes, then ... and so ORYM is going to suck up Ishta, the very blade that killed his husdand AND father-in-law ... O.O

A permanent +2 to Wee Man's Dexterity? Holy shit ...

Does the Harness survive? Hmmmm ... it doesn't go bang YET ... but it was close ... hmmmmm ...

One more? Up to a 40% chance now ... maybe not, then ...

Yasha punches Braius in the face ... of course she does ... and he elbows her back ... hmmmm ... so ... that's just, like, a little pep-up, then?

Leaving the Tower, then ... so they're now all crammed in the cellar again ...

So they're going to teleport again, then ... hmmmm ... meanwhile Caleb activiates the disguises ... ruining Dorian's attempt at creating his own ... LOL

And Jester casts Pass Without a Trace ...

Zhesh! Hello there ... nice to see a familiar face ...

"Transference"? Hmmm ... I mean it sounds like an opportunity, really ...

Trickling out in groups, then ... and there's a storm out? THAT could be helpful, too ... the Dust Pit Delta, then? Sounds like a plan ...

Imogen and Orym leading the way through, then ...

Interesting ... a shrine to Exandria? Strange things to find here, all round ...

Planerider Ryn! She's here! Can they rescue her? Is this going to go down REALLY BAD?!!! O.O

So, planning a distraction while they try a Greater Restoration ... hmmmm ... this all sounds like apretty tall order ... I have a bad feeling this is gonna be a MAJOR distaster ...

Fjord creates a phantom red tornado while activating his Marine Layer ... oh boy ... here we go, then ... and they're creating general widespread PANIC ... meanwhile Imogen casts a blanket Telepathic Bond across the group ...

Ah ... so two of them are staying put ... great ... and now Dorian's getting in on the act ... oh, so it's actually WORKING? Hmmmmm ... okay, now what?

Caduceus tries out his Greater Restoration while it's all going off ... and now she's back ... missing a fucking arm! Calm Emotions? Hmmmmmm ... now what? Cure Wounds at Level 4? Let's see if THAT works ... O.O ... 25 points of healing ... and now he's trying to calm her down ... oh boy, this is all getting really chaotic all at once ... wait ... did she just TELEPORT AWAY?!!! Fuck ...

Imogen tries to Message Ryn ... oh boy ... she's in a random dark spot ... hmmmm ... so it was a Dimension Door? Meaning she's still close by ...

Oh crap ... something;s coming? Might be a good idea to get the fuck out of here ...

A full grown vidulch? SHIT!!! Oh, that's not good at all ... O.O

Okay, so ... looks like they dodged THAT bullet ... but there's more? Hmmmmmm ... so it's just CHAOS out here right now ... maybe they can continue to just sneak through, then ...

Jester messages Ryn ... oh my fucking gods ... this woman will go INSANE from this one ... oh ... so Ryn's just rolling with it? Okay ... guess she really IS a cool customer, that one ...

And now the storm's getting WORSE ... great ... time to move, then ...

Watcher Amido? Hey! Yeah, another familiar face ... this is their way in, then ...

So they just have to find a way to tunnel through into the tunnels, then? Hmmmm ... Jester turns herself into ... a diremole? Really? Intriguing ... Veth is not convinced this is actually gonna work ... I dunno, it looks all kinds of intimidating ... okay, this seems to be working out after all ...

So ... that worked, then ... the way is open. Braius is impressed.

Great ... this doesn't look all that promising any more ... can they still get through here ... oh ... okay, maybe they still can, then ... yeah, that's it ... the city itself ... so there's just the window? Which is WAY UP IN THE AIR ... crap ... maybe not, then ...

Okay, so NOW what are they gonna do?

Imogen sends a Message to Gaz ... oh boy ... I forgot what he sounded like, Matt that is BONKERS ... LOL

Thankfully Orym's RIDICULOUS Perception saves the day again ... so THAT'S the way, then ... and now a return of Taste of Tal'dorei ... XD

Damn ... Dorian has a point here ... DO THEY have a viable escape plan if the Moon ... EXPLODES?!!! O.O

I love how Caduceus' abject terror is everybody else's perfectly chilled ... LOL

So ... they're REALLY going to just DROP DOWN from here? Seriously?

Oh ... Arcane Gate? Smart ... go Fjord! That's the ticket ... and Jester just INSTANTLY SWOONS over how awesome her future husband is right now ... :3

Group Deception check ... hmmmmm ... and EVERYBODY except Robbie has to roll TWICE ... oof ...

Okay ... trying to make their way as inconspicuously as possible through the streets ...

Oh hello ... GAZ!!! Nice to finally see you again ... phew!

So ... CAN WE trust him? Is he on the level or IS HE a traitor like some suspect? O.O

Sounds like Liliana gave him a hell of a going-over ... and he's actually SPEAKING to them verbally rather than through telepathy ... wow ...

Accelerating plans, then ... but they do still need SOME flexibility ... hmmmmmm ...

Fearne goes to listen in on Gaz making contact with Rashinna ... 17? Nice roll, Ash ... oh, this sounds like quite the journey ... watch out, Fearne ...

Wow ... Gaz wasn't very bright BEFORE, but now he really is kind of DUMB, isn't he? But yeah, seems he really is on the level, at least ...

Jester offers Gaz a cookie ... awwwwwwwww ... and he's NEVER had sugar before ... wow ... :3

Dorian gets Gaz to explain the WHY the Volitiona are doing what they're doing ... oh boy ... his extremely simplistic explanation is kind of adorable ...

Meanwhile Jeter's created a sugar junkie ...

"The Hallowed Cage"? Try not to jump ahead in the narrative, guys! O.O

Short rest? Short rest. Yeah ...

Meanwhile they do NEED TO contact Vox Machina NOW ... yeah ... might be best. MAKE CONTACT guys!

Imogen Messages Allura ... so they're ALL READY ALREADY?!!! Okay, so ... best to make a start ASAP?

So ... whatever they're doing, start in one hour? Hmmmm ...

JESTER makes the reply ... oh boy ... yeah, Allura reacts VERY MUCH as anyone would with one of HER Messages ...

Going to break, then ... and when they're back it's going to be from the perspective of VOX MACHINA!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Oh my gods ... the pantyhose and the diapers ... Matt, you cheeky bugger ... XD

Only FOUR at the table? Right now it's just Laura, Ashley, Travis and Marisha ... in their ORIGINAL seats? Cool ...

So it's just KEYLETH right now ... hmmmm ...

She goes looking for Vex ... oh boy ... this should be fun ...

Okay, so ... we're a little back in time, then? Interesting ...

Yeah, I think BOTH OF THEM want to get Vax back ... well, at least as much back as they CAN get him, at least ...

Man ... too much FEELS right now, guys ...

So Grog and PIke'll likely both be in the pub? Yeah, sounds about right ...

They haven't HEARD from Scanlan yet? Hmmmmmm ...

Keyleth is covered in sticky bees ... O.O

Yeah, the titles were SO COOL, KIki. You did SO FUCKING GREAT there ... XD

A CLERICAL pub? Fascinating ...

As expected, Grog and Pike are already pretty far in their cups ... XD ... drunk Pike is always fun ... and they're up to old tricks, again ...

Grog thinks "piety" means he has pies ... yeah, that's about right ... LOL

Keyleth conjures a goodberry pie for Grog! Awwww ... :3

So ... Pike and Scanlan are going through another fivorce? And she can't even remember WHICH NUMBER it is? Blimey ... and so they CAN'T get hold of him because of it? Great ...

Jeanine? Awwww ... she sounds very sweet ...

Oh ... the Earrings? Neat ... yeah, try that, then ...

Yeah, Percy's a really good dad ...

Holy shit ... Marisha's having a hard time remembering how to actually PLAY a druid now ... it's been a while, of course ... so she just tries to SCRY on Scanlan instead ... which is resisted? Nuts ...

Pike x Scanlan = "it's complicated" ... like, the very DEFINITION ...

Matt's just having so much fun just WATCHING Travis getting to be Grog again ... XD

Tary? REALLY?!!! That'd be pretty sweet ...

Wow ... even VEX can't remember who Tary got married to ... XD

Flamespeaker Cerkonos? The leader of the Fire Ashari? Hmmmmm ... might be worth a go ...

Oh shit ... ROBBIE'S playing as Cerkonos? Oh, that's so cool! And yeah, Robbie Daymond really is INCAPABLE of playing a character who isn't, like, A TOTAL SNACK, and I love it ... XD

"Sir Grogory Strongjaw" ... Keyleth: "He added a few syllables." Yes. Yes he did ...

Nice going of Vex to just cut to the chase while Keyleth's fumbling talking him into doing something he was ALREADY planning on doing anyway ... XD

Pike's like me, thoroughly enraged by the idea of not finishing a book ... O.O

WHITESTONE!!! Welcome home!

And the Sun Tree! D'awwwwwwww ... :3

The Slayer's Cake! Yay!

A half-elven girl? Is this who I think it is? Oh my gods IT IS!!! Vesper! Hiiiiiiii!!! Oh my gods ... and she's ALREADY swooning over Cerkonos ... XD

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Gwen! Hi sweety! :3

Percival! Yay! Taliesin returns to the table ... meanwhile is the old grouch mellowing a little? Or is it just when he's around Vex?

SCANLAN was Cerkonos' favourite? XD I like that ...and he's VERY BAD at the sexual jokes ... which in his case come across as slightly more risque dad jokes, clearly ... LOL

Oh ... so Scanlan WAS travelling with Dr Dranzel's troupe? At least until Percy stopped caring to keep track of him, anyway.

So Keyleth tries to Scry on Kaylie instead ... not a whole LOT of luck there ... apparently she's asleep ...

Crisis Orbs? Hmmmmmm ...

"The Triple" ... oh, I like that. That's very effective ...

Pike tries to Message Scanlan ... and the others try to convince her to say she's HORNY for only him ... I mean yeah, that might work ...

Matt calls Sam backl to the table ... okay, so that means Scanlan's answering her, then ... okay ... is he having sex right now? At least he said he was in Wildemount ...

Oh boy ... she really is SO BAD AT THIS and I love it ... LOL

Ttat's a pretty non-specific location still ... but at least he's clearly NOT having intercourse, then ...

Pike: "He asxked if it was a booty call. I don't want to respond to that." Grog: "Well we are actively trying to contact him." Pike: "You're so smart, Grog."

Homing in on Scanlan and the troupe ... looks like they MIGHT be able to make it, then ...

Wow, Percy and Vex' kids really are all just COLLECTIVELY adorable, aren't they? :3

The Mask? Percy's mask? Is No Mercy Percy coming along for this ride?

Grog reverts to type and immediately gives himself a massive psychic shock ... Percy you clever and very evil bugger ... you have such a dark sense of humour, I love it ... XD

Awwwww ... I love Percy and Keyleth's friendship vibe SO MUCH ... XD

Setting out through the Sun Tree, then ... and Keyleth of course HAS TO still give a big of ceremony for their departure. And a fond farewell to the De Rolo kids ... awwwww ... but it's also giving me feels ... O.O

I really do hope this isn't the last time one or both of them will see their children ...

Stepping through, then ... and Grog tosses little Vax his petrified poop ... oh boy ...

Stopping the troupe before they get too far away ... and now Vox Machina are finally back together again ... plus one ...

Oooooooooh ... a bit of a glow-up for Scanlan, then ... wait ... oh my fucking gods ... HE'S A FUCKING CENTAUR?!!! Oh ... THEY'RE ALL CENTAURS?!!! What the fuck, guys? O.O

It's TRUE POLYMORPH? Oh shit ... isn't that, like, REALLY HARD to remove?

Cerkonos loves the idea that Scanlan now has a genuine horse cock ... wow ...

Trying to explain what's happening and what's at stake ... oh, yeah ... actually that might work. Vax IS Scanlan's best friend, telling him about him being trapped in the orb would probably do the trick ...

Come on you two, just MAKE UP already ...

I can't believe it's actually GROG who convinces him to come ... but yeah, that worked ...

And THAT'S it for the night? Cool. Does that mean we're starting wit them next time? I could get behind that, definitely ... this has been SO MUCH FUN ...

[tangent101]

D&D Game Concept - working out issues

Several months ago I started working on a three-part adventure set in my own homebrew campaign world set during the second great apocalypse the world faced, when the Lord of Destruction emerged into the world to bring about the End Times. (The first happened over 500 Seasons earlier with the God Wars - Seasons on this world lasting for 450 days, so a year on this world is about the same as five years on Earth.)

Amusingly enough, while some elements of this might match Matt Mercer's Calamity on Exandria, the original concept of the God War and the End Times were crafted by me over 20 years earlier for my previous games set in this world. And while I've been playing in Golarion for the Pathfinder Adventure Paths for the past decade, I still have been meddling with my own campaign world from time to time.

A couple things to note: the Goblins of my world are tinkerers, perhaps closer to Tolkien's goblins than Pathfinder's - they're close to the size of dwarves. Elves rarely get over five feet in height and tend to live to be a very youthful 150 Seasons before they quickly grow old and die - however, after 30 Seasons, they start remembering their Past Lives and can pull upon those older memories. (Gnomes in my world are one of the four Elementalkin rather than fae folk, and elf-blooded humans are rare due in part to events leading up to the End Times - the Empire of the South was not a kindly empire and indulged in some truly dark alchemical magics in seeking immortality, which ultimately brought about their downfall.)

The Dead are arising, devouring the souls of the living, destroying the heart of the Great Empire of the South. Four Gods have been struck down by the Lord of Destruction, and one of Their corpses slowly makes their way toward the village where the PCs (a group of elves and goblins living in harmony together while hiding from human slavers) and the only chance the village has is for the PCs to enter into a ruined (formerly flying) Goblin Citadel to activate a weapon from the time of the God Wars to try and stop this Avatar of Destruction before It gets close enough to drain the souls from everyone in the village.

What I'm trying to figure out is where would such a weapon be found and how would the PCs be able to find their way to the weapon. Once they find it, the "conflict" will be trying to route ancient arcane power through broken conduits to empower the weapon and then aiming it to strike down the Avatar of Destruction... but getting there is half of the problem, and this is the bit that's giving me pause.

The PCs will consist of five archetypes (which can fit any class really, it's up to the PC to decide how to craft the character).

The Dreamer: Has dreams of the past and sometimes present.

The Historian: Has studied a bit about the past of the Goblin Flying Citadel and the goblins.

The Tinkerer: Loves to work with various old Goblin devices and owns a device from the Goblin Citadel.

The Explorer: Has explored the region and knows the region like the back of their hand.

The Guardian: Works hard to protect their brethren and has practiced hard in protecting others.

So. What I'm trying to figure out is how do the players learn how to reach the ancient arcane weapon and how to reach it. I have ideas on obstacles (such as goblin-crafted automatons who would detain intruders) but reaching this device... that's the odd question. So I was hoping people would toss out some ideas.

[pikmininaplane]

Hello dear mutual LB lanuel Bals third of its name, i do not know a SINGLE thing abt d20 i only rbed because a mutual drew that and i thus extend the official invite to feel free to info dump to me abt it (PLEASE !!! only if u want ofc peeposhy) and also where should i start if i were to try to get into it (asking for me)

thank u and have a great ballsy day <33 uwu

Oh em gee it’s Moo Peng my beloved tumblr dot com mutual haiii ^w^ And thank you SO much for giving me an opportunity to talk about this >:D This might get long tho

D20, aka Dimension 20, is a RPG (mostly D&D) show that you can watch on Dropout (smaller American streaming service, but it has really good content <3), though some seasons are on Youtube!

There are 21 seasons in total so far, but each one is its own campaign (well, except for the 3-4 sequel seasons), which means you can absolutely jump right into a later season and still get what’s going on :] Also the seasons range from 20 episodes to 4, so you don’t always need to find the emotional resolve to sit through 20 2-hours long episodes lol

The fanart you reblogged is of Ayda, a character from Fantasy High, which is basically the poster child of D20 – it was the first season, and it later got two sequel seasons, Sophomore Year (which is the exact one Ayda is from) and Junior Year, the most recent season, as well as two spin-off seasons with locations/characters from its world (Pirates of Leviathan and The Seven (it’s kinda funny actually because I know you’re a PJO fan and, well, I often see posts about it in that season’s tag because of the name X))) Mostly it’s about a bunch of teenagers in a fantasy 80s-esque high school trying to solve mysteries and going on adventures!

Fantasy High is not my personal favorite, however – the medal of honor goes to A Court of Fey and Flowers and Mentopolis, respectively the "fey regency/romance" season and the "Inside Out but as a film noir" season <3 But there’s plenty I love!! There’s a space opera season, a "Game of Thrones but with food" season, a heist season, a furry murder mystery season, a fairytale horror season… the list goes on! It even featured a bunch of drag queens on a season :D

There’s only four seasons available on Youtube, unfortunately, but they’re all really good so here they are:

Fantasy High

I’ve mentioned it before, so I won’t elaborate, but I’ll add that it’s 17 episodes long!

Fantasy High: Sophomore Year

Also mentioned before, but I’ll add that this season was recorded live on Twitch so while it’s a lot of people’s favorite, it has occasional problems (especially audio-wise). 20 episodes long

Escape from the Bloodkeep

Lord of the Rings parody – the villain lords find themselves scrambling when not-Sauron suddenly dies and they’re forced to work together to bring him back :3c 6 episodes long, features Matt Mercer of Critical Role fame

The Unsleeping City

Urban fantasy, turns out there’s a whole magical side of New York that regular people can’t see, and a group of unlikely heroes band together to face the bad parts of that magical side >:3c 17 episodes long, there’s also a second season of it but it isn’t out on Youtube unfortunately :(

The next season, Never Stop Blowing Up, is coming out in like a week and a half, based on the trailer, it’s going to be a Jumanji-like 80s action movies parody and I am!! Very excited!! :D

[z-cerulean]

Sure I'll do a few of these why not

Don't remember exactly I think friends were talking about it and I was bored over the pandemic so I played 1 and 2 then.

DR1

Not really any come to mind they either were annoying and stayed that way or I was initially neutral and then they got worse.

haiji towa is the biggest waste of matt mercer i've ever witnessed

not sure uhh maybe Maki she's cool

no

not really interested in that type of thing

Pretty easily Shuichi

genuinely kinda hard choice tbh i guess maybe Hajime and even then I think he was pretty good

Case 2 I will give credit for managing to achieve that much emotional impact with relatively underdeveloped characters for the point but overall I think case 4 is my favourite from DR1

DR2 Case 5 is probably just actually the peak of the series

V3 pretty easily has the best median case quality overall uhh probably case 5 again

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probably either Akane or Hiyori for reasons I cannot discuss without spoiling stuff

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personally not interested in them all that much

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the series can put out some genuinely pretty good mysteries and the characters that aren't just death cannon fodder can be pretty good

Biggest problem especially from 2 onward is how formulaic it can be. case 3 is always 2 victims (and it always sucks idk why they like this one so much), case 4 is always an environment change, etc. it's mostly a problem with case 3, I think the case 4s are pretty good, but still. Also not to beat a dead horse but with some characters like the pink girl in UDG they do not handle their subject matter uhh particularly well

killing game but they're trapped in a supermarket might be funny tbh

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was kinda able to foresee most of them uhh can't think of any and also don't want to spoil people

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i could probably make it to case 3 before i'm the unceremonious second victim

nagito sure is something but i don't think anyone does it quite like byakuya

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most them are pretty decent but ig i like maki's overall

uhh skip

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designating x character as uhh celeste according to this random spinner she's alright though the case she's most involved in kinda falls flat for me

V3's ending is a danganronpa ending. I feel like I get what it's going for with it but at the same time it's very busy and cluttered and eh it's probably not that worth dwelling on you don't play these for the overarching narrative

Hiyoko

no but that's why the hunger games application exists for people that do

perhaps the one that kinda spoils the first game for newcomers and then proceeds to overstay their welcome in every subsequent game they're in

he's probably relatively hyped up as is but I don't see people talk about fuyuhiko much he's cool

i do not think about danganronpa enough to have them committed to memory (not for DR but for fire emblem sure)

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I do not talk to people much about Danganronpa but i assume it is like most other fandoms

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haven't watched the 1 anime, DR3 the anime is perhaps the single biggest waste of my time i've ever permitted myself to sit through. i'm pretty sure the links I was making up in my head beforehand were better than what the anime showed me. Genuinely the worst thing I watched that year.

The most mediocre shooter I've ever played (play ultrakill instead) and it was absolutely not worth it for what it contributed to the series.

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if we're counting the anime then DR3. at least UDG had parts of it that I thought were ok, DR3 is only good for exactly the length of time Nagito is on screen

V3 is just the best game in the series, pretty good overall case quality (3 is still the worst but it's better than the last two) and I think the important characters in that game are broadly the best collective group in the series.

not much else to say uhh send post

★彡 Danganronpa Asks 彡★

What was your first exposure to Danganronpa?

Which was your first Danganronpa game?

Did you have a character you hated at first, and then fell in love with? Who and why?

Which character can you absolutely not stand?

Which character would you hypothetically die for?

Do you have a fan character? Tell us about them!

You get the chance to reassign five characters new talents. Who do you choose, and which new talents do they get?

Who is your favorite protagonist?

Who is your least favorite protagonist?

Which was your favorite trial from THH?

Which was your favorite trial from SDR2?

Which was your favorite trial from V3?

What is your OTP?

What is your NOTP?

Which character do you think could benefit from a total rewrite?

Do you have any ideas for a Danganronpa murder? Share!

List five headcanons for your favorite characters!

How do you feel about fangames?

What kind of fantasy creature would you make [X] character?

What is your favorite aspect of Danganronpa?

What do you think could be improved about Danganronpa?

What’s a setting you’d love to see for a Killing Game?

Which are your top three favorite beta designs?

Which character do you most identify with?

Which character surprised you when they were revealed to be the blackened?

Which character did you expect to be the blackened, but wasn’t?

You’re placed in a Killing Game as yourself (who you are now, no perks). How far do you believe you’d get?

Who is your preferred rival?

Talent swap time! Which two characters do you think would benefit best from a talent swap?

Whose design do you enjoy the most? 

Whose design do you dislike the most?

Which two characters from different games do you believe would get along the most?

What is your favorite interaction from the Talent Development Program?

What is your opinion on [X] character?

What is your honest opinion on the end of V3?

Which character do you wish had more screen time? Why?

Have you ever wanted to run a Killing Game yourself? 

Which character do you feel is too popular amongst the fans, in your opinion?

Which character do you feel deserves more love?

Do you celebrate character birthdays?

What is your opinion on Ultimate Talents being similar to low-level super powers?

How do you feel about the Danganronpa fandom as a whole?

Which is the most offensive Danganronpa character, in your opinion?

How do you feel about the anime?

What is your opinion on Ultra Despair Girls?

What are some of your pregame headcanons?

What are some of your Remnant of Despair headcanons?

Do you have any rare pairs?

Which is your least favorite installment?

Which is your favorite installment?

[lunar-eclipse-bunnies]

Long time dm here: 12+ years of experience. Here's some tips:

Relax. You got this.

It isn't all on you. DnD is cooperative before anything else. I like to think of my role as being like a video game console: I'm there to provide a physics engine and lay down a scenario, but that doesn't work unless my players help out by buying into the scenario and accepting the way I run those physics. If anyone at the table is throwing off the vibe, your job is to remind them that they need to cooperate or it won't be fun.

On that note, communicate with your players. Communicate frequently and make sure you talk over any problems anyone has, and also call out when people are being awesome.

Your favorite home brewed item, mechanic, or monster is going to break the game. No, not that one that you've suspected of wrongdoing for months. That one is going to be comically underpowered. I'm talking about the clever mythology reference that neatly explains why your favorite region is as cool as it is. Yeah, that. It'll let a level 3 barbarian become immortal or something. When this happens, calmly inform your players that this was a mistake and the game will be much better if Gregnagax The Oaken-Thewed can't suplex the tarrasque.

Seriously, you will need the phrase "that effect is unbalanced, so we won't be using it."

You will need the table of damage by severity and level. It's on page 249 of the DMG. It is absurdly useful. Anytime you need to improvise damage, this chart is useful.

Print out your monster and npc Stat blocks. Flipping through the books in combat sucks.

Your campaign will go off the rails. Your plans will be destroyed so badly you don't even recognize them. This is normal. After the damage is done, consider how the people in your world will react to what just happened. Congratulations, that is the plot of your next session.

Remember to keep play fresh. Spice up combat heavy areas with cool lore moments, throw social encounters into clue gathering, make the mayor a very silly person, let the stablehand whistle all the damn time. This is especially helpful if you're including mysteries or politics, since vibrant worlds can make allegiances and deceptions less obvious.

You are not Matt Mercer. Matt Mercer has a whole production team behind him, years of experience, and a party of professional actors. I love the DnD Renaissance, but it can make a dm feel really inadequate. This is a game of basements, rickety chairs, old dining room tables, and improvised miniatures. I promise that you will feel silly for your first couple of sessions. That's okay. You'll hit your groove, and it'll be fun tabletop evenings, not professional quality polished narrative and character arcs. Those silly low-budget moments are the best sign that you're doing it right.

Most campaigns are confined to one or two tiers of play. Levels 3-to-10 is common. Campaigns to level 20 take years, and I've never been in one or run one that got all the way there. You'll spend a lot of time doing shorter campaigns, one shots and the like. If you manage to play to level 20, great, but be ready to accept that you might not. Campaigns fall apart because people have busy lives, and that's okay.

And finally: relax. You got this.

i shaking this is extremely helpful thank you?? /gen

i never realized it before but the game console analogy is very helpful and also very true!! all the (good) dms i've had have always been very good at painting pictures of what's going on/explaining how the world works and if anything, i want my world to be really colorful! and i want my players to enjoy playing in it

thank you so much for sharing your wisdom!!! very much appreciated by this babey dm <:)

[clocknchain]

I'm watching Critical Role starting from the beginning lately. Fun stuff. Matt Mercer is a pretty good DM, and when I eventually make a campaign I hope I can be even 1/10th as good.

I reached the part where Vox Machina fights K'varn and the Ilithids. And I have a hot take. I was really frustrated with Tiberius/Orion's choices during those episodes.

Point #0: I call this #0 because it is the most forgivable, most arguably okay decision, but ultimately still hurt the party. Tiberius flying down to speak to the Ilithids to try to rally them was a somewhat reasonable attempt to garner allies. Clarota had misled them to think Ilithids would listen to reason. But indeed it cost him time away from the K'varn fight, where he potentially could have helped things go even smoother. Combat rounds go so quickly that it was unlikely he would have been able to usefully get any Ilitihids up to the temple in time. Meanwhile Pike and Grog almost died, and Kima got Petrified.

Point #1: This is one I consider a true play mistake. When he wasted all his time trying to talk to the Ilithids, they thanked him for freeing them by all attempting to Brain Blast him. He should have *immediately* informed the party via magic earrings that the Ilithids were still hostile despite their aid. Then after killing K'varn, the party would have been a whole lot less likely to try to stay and speak to the Ilithids at Clarota's insistence. They could have, instead of durdling, thrown stone walls in the doors, and immediately packed up to get out of Dodge. Tiberius is a major reason they even ended up in combat against so many Ilithids to begin with.

Point #2: Once combat began he yet again failed to make good choices. Upon realizing they were in combat with Ilithids, he ought to have *immediately* stowed the Horn in the Bag of Holding or put it on the Magic Carpet, to free himself up to lob fireballs and launch pillars. Instead he futzed around all "oh nooo we can't touch the Horn". He nearly cost the party their lives, yet again. If Tiberius had entered the fight with the Ilithids sooner, he could have thrown a lot more damage at the Elder Brain and maybe they just might have actually killed it instead of only angering it.

I think the whole party messed up too by not doing more damage to the Elder Brain. Clearly killing the Elder Brain would have bought them a bunch of time to get away from the Ilithids. But Tiberius's actions absolutely heavily contributed to them being unable to do so. If Tiberius had rapidly put the Horn away and sealed off the doors, Keyleth could have done a lot more damage to the Elder Brain. They would have possibly only had to fight Clarota as well instead of a room full of them, freeing up other party members to hit the Elder Brain too. They could have solved the problem instead of just starting a freaking war against the whole city of Ilithids.

So, yeah. I'm quite annoyed at Tiberius/Orion!

(Side note, I think at one point Scanlan/Sam added his own strength score instead of his Hand's strength score to an attack roll on the Elder Brain??? All the crew are so bad at keeping track of their bonuses. [facedesk] I hope they get better at their math later on cuz this is killing me lol.)

[theworldbrewery]

3 NPC Models and How to Use Them

Many people have observed the differences between Actual Play DMs’ play-styles, and while there is endless room for variance here, we’re going to talk about the 3 main models of NPC use, and we’re going to do that by talking about attitudes. [full disclosure: this post was inspired by this post about NPCs and DMing in Critical Role, if you’re interested!]

In D&D 5e, there’s a concept that in an ordinary social encounter, PCs who want things from NPCs will try to convince them of their lies or get them to do something. To run these encounters, the DMG has provided a basic system to help DMs figure out how NPCs will react. Friendly NPCs will usually do what’s asked of them (the DC is fairly low), while Hostile NPCs take more effort to convince and Indifferent NPCs are somewhere in the middle--they’ll accept a request provided there’s no risk involved, for instance.

But this model of NPC interaction goes astray when your PCs have more complicated relationships with the NPCs. It’s easy enough to apply this system to an innkeeper or an old man whose goats you just killed. When you are engaging with, say, a Rival you met a few levels ago, that system starts to get confusing. The Rival isn’t indifferent, but they’re not exactly hostile, either. And what about when an NPC has a specific goal in mind?

All this gets complicated quickly, so we’re going to sort it out with 3 models of NPC use.

FIRST: The “NPC Typecast” Model. In this model, NPCs fall into certain typecast roles. Any friendly NPC will defer to the party’s desires and plans. They aren’t coming up with ideas of their own. An indifferent NPC is usually interacting with the party in a mercenary fashion--there’s an exchange necessary to get what you want (such as a shopkeeper or a spy who might turn on her employer). And a hostile NPC is usually a villainous character, with goals that work directly against the party’s goals. Rare is the occasion that they will work alongside the party--and if they do, expect them to be plotting a double-cross. This system is ideal for a straightforward campaign where most threats are External or Epic in nature, or where the lines of Good and Evil are pretty clear. Usually, the party will be Good-Aligned overall, and the friendly/indifferent/hostile dynamic corresponds to good/neutral/evil. This model is great for letting the party have agency--these NPCs are pretty much never going to tell the party what to do or have a secret agenda, unless they’re Evil. For an example of this, look at Critical Role, where DM Matt Mercer’s friendly NPCs tend to defer to the party members and typically have no interpersonal conflicts even as hostile NPCs might feign friendship to get what they want.

SECOND: The “NPCs Have Agendas” Model. When you’re running a campaign that is more roleplay-dependent, such as a mystery or political intrigue game, you’ll quickly find that the NPC Typecast model doesn’t meet your needs--it’s simple, but you are running a complicated game, and that calls for complicated NPCs. In these types of games, NPCs are going to have agendas that don’t align with the party. That doesn’t meant they aren’t friendly; it just means the NPCs have their own goals in mind. Under this model, friendly NPCs are more likely to compromise their own goals to help the party, while indifferent NPCs prefer a quid pro quo--if they help you, you must help them. Hostile NPCs, then, need more leverage or convincing--for example, you might need to blackmail them to get the job done. This is the type of campaign I run. Now, not all my NPCs are super complex, but the important ones usually have goals and ideas that don’t revolve around the party. The more morally complicated your campaign is, the more likely you’ll fall into this model: Because each NPC has personal wants and fears, it’s easier to portray them as fallible, as vulnerable to temptations and flexible with their morals.

THIRD: The “NPCs Are People Too” Model. In this system, NPCs act like, well, like people. They also have goals, wants, fears, etc., but the key difference is that in this model, the campaign itself tends to be extremely roleplay-heavy, if not entirely roleplay. There’s conflict, but it’s mainly interpersonal or inter-factional. NPCs each have feelings and reasons behind why they do what they do, and in this model, a savvy PC can capitalize on that and befriend someone who might have started out hostile. You might still use Good and Evil as factors, but in such a model, they’re mostly names for sides and priorities, not the definitive alignment system that’s often assumed in D&D. These campaigns sometimes even push into slice-of-life, but not always--they might be better described as Pacifist Campaigns. This model, in essence, assumes that most creatures that understand language can be reasoned with--and most of the time, the players will choose that route.

While none of these are bad models to use, issues can arise if there is a mismatch between what the DM is running and what the players want to see. If the players want to be in the third model, and the DM is going for the first, either the DM will be annoyed that no one is fighting the monsters or the party will become frustrated that every encounter ends in a fight. In fact, specific players who gravitate to a particular model of NPC might not enjoy the game as much if the rest of the group prefers a different version.

Issues can especially arise if, as a group, you have decided to play a game with a particular approach to morality. If everyone is strictly Good-aligned, having a series of complex moral encounters with NPCs that have agendas can leave the party feeling impotent. They can’t trust anyone, and difficult moral choices are just not what the group is looking for from this game. In the opposite direction, say you are running a morally complex campaign but your friendly NPCs are not as morally complex as your hostile ones. You might be hoping to avoid railroading by having NPCs making the decision, but if your NPCs are too forgiving of a morally gray party and don’t have personal wants, it will start to fray the suspension of disbelief--your friendly NPCs won’t feel as real and developed in comparison to your hostile ones, and the end result may be that your players don’t want to interact with their own allies. Players can sense an underdeveloped NPC as much as they can an overdeveloped one--and they tend to gravitate toward developed NPCs because that’s where interesting encounters tend to happen.

Of course, you might find you’re using a blend of different approaches in your own game, or even moving from one model to another depending on the current arc. In my own game, I usually use a blend of model 1 and 2. Because we’re in a strongly roleplay-focused arc with very complex characters, I’ve shifted to do mostly model 2 with some model 3 qualities! That’s perfectly fine, and as long as it doesn’t force NPCs to act inconsistently, using different models in the same game isn’t a problem either.

[pandacommander24a]

Matt Mercer Effect use to be call the Gary Gygax Effect, and its the prevalent idea that there is only one way to play the game as created by one person who may or may not deserve the attention thrusted on them because they are prolific or active enough to get attention. I would say a lot of us who have been doing GM for a while know its a bunk concept but if you only example of playing is Critical Role or some other Tabletop and you don't have access or interest to expand out from there, it's going to have a profound effect on where you start from and may or may not help you develop an intrest in the game.

The real reason Actual Plays are all these things is because they don't actually help you build your Toolbox, you are witnessing a highly customized table, with a highly customized GM style, designed to entertain, yes. So you can't actually learn anything from them other than maybe its okay to improv and you don't have to do combat all the time.

All of these issues come down to what a GM's style is, and what you as a player who is GM likes doing as well as what they have in the tool box. They present those other problems but those table have a back end you don't see, GM-Middle-Manage-Team-Leader is another hat.

I do as a player have overly complex motivations and back stories. I actively don't watch Critical Role or any actual plays, I find them pretty boring to be honest, let me play or I am better off working on my own campaign. I have players who built interesting characters and they get depth from play, I have one player who is unable to build back story and gave me bullet points to probing question, I have one who wrote a goddamn thesis gnosis faith in the 1800s, one player who is playing mexican Mina Harper turned vampire, and one player who wrote a samurai revenge story novel as a back ground. ALL IN THE SAME GAME!

Which is why I bring this up, every table will be different simply based on its membership. Look at the difference when Mercer is a player with the same group verse when he is gming its a dramatic change in the table. Because the Table dynamic has changed and so has the style and needs of the table, even in that highly entertaining style.

Table Limit is a GM style thing, I have heard and read about 9 player groups, and yea they are a mess but often have co-Gms, or multiple players are GM so they are okay to help. I know people who don't like more than four, its again a GM player thing.

For example, CR or Challenge Rating is based on a party of 4 people with a GM who all know the game well enough to run combat like it isn't a 4 hour time sync. Which, isn't balance or designed for 5 players, 3 players, or even 6. And it shows.

I have had multiple players, when asked, "What do you do?" Freeze and decide to sit and wait... Like fantastic, you as the GM-as-Camp Counselor now have to fix that problem. The fun Dominating player can go all night though, you have to reign him in, and every player requires a different touch. A player with no idea to do could have too many ideas, where as another who wasn't paying attention might actually just have none.

Because as stated, everyone has to be at the table for the Actual Plays, they get paid, attention, whatever for being there, in a real tabletop, everyone is various degrees of Fucking Off, including you as a GM, you are doing this for fun, and if your table is sucking your joy, you won't be giving it 100%. No D&D is better than Bad D&D, separate issue but yea trust me. The only player who has to be at the table for a normal table top game to happen is the GM. Which is why you need to also play, GM-as-Cheerleader to get everyone psyched up.

I feel like at this point the conversation has pretty thoroughly debunked the idea of the “Matt Mercer Effect”, where new TTRPG players exposed to the hobby through actual play shows like Critical Role end up expecting their random local game to be run with the same degree of focus and production value that they saw online. That said, I think there ARE some bad lessons that somebody whose primary exposure to the Hobby is actual play streaming might learn, mostly for GM’s. 1) A lot of the big Actual Plays I’ve seen tend to feature around six players. Critical role started with seven, and has a base cast of six with fairly regular guests. Six is generally considered to be the MAXIMUM amount of players for a TTRPG for a variety of reasons. It varies depending on group, GM, and system, but D&D at least tends to center on four players. 2) Actual Play shows are entertainment, players and GM are cast members trying to create an entertaining experience for the viewer. In an actual game, The GM’s goal is to entertain the players, not some hypothetical audience. A lot of actual play GM’s spend a lot of time and effort on lavish descriptions and NPCs, which are good things, but remember that the more time the GM spends talking, the less the players get to actually do stuff. If you’re watching an actual play it’s fine, since your experience doesn’t change that much based on who is talking, but for a player at the table, sitting there while the GM reads out six paragraphs of descriptive text or acts out some wacky NPC can get boring. 3) In an actual play, the players are financially incentivized to make the game an experience worth watching, this means they’re motivated to put thought an energy into the game. A local table game isn’t going to necessarily be that way, your players are often looking to relax and have a good time, they’re not necessarily going to write gripping backstories with lots of dramatic reveals, or show up with the energy, or even the theatrical skill, to do the sort of big dramatic roleplay scenes that form the highlights of a lot of actual plays. A GM first exposed to the hobby through actual plays might expect that a decent amount of a normal game is just players RPing with each other, and while that can certainly be the case, it’s not necessarily so. Even if that’s what your players want out of the game, they’re not necessarily going to be very good at it.

[chaos-burst]

Hey! :) I’ve wanted to play d&d for a while now, and after getting into critical role i finally decided to convince my friends to play with me. None of us have played before, so im both exited and a bit nervous since i’ll be the dm. We don’t know anyone who plays, and i’m not very comfortable with palying with strangers, so we’ll be diving right in together! Do you or your followers have any tips or good resources to recommend for new players and/or dms? Any tips would be greatly appreciated! :D

Hey there!

I’m very flattered that you would ask me for DMing tips, but I just have to preface this saying that I am a first time DM myself and I am currently on session 13 of my campaign. But I can see if I can list some things that I found useful building my first campaign :) And I totally feel you not being comfortable with strangers, I play with a group of friends and we were all first time players when we started!

Let’s start with resources! (I will put the links in a reblog bc tumblr is a dick about posts with external links in them. Sry for the hassle!)

Probably a bit redundant, but nevertheless very helpful: The core rulebooks for D&D. Which is to say The Dungeon Master Guide, The Monster Manual and The Players Handbook. Bc those are expensive as fuck, check out this lovely thing (1).

Then, depending on whether you play online or live: Roll20.net (2) You can invite your players to your campaign and make maps for encounters with minis on them, you can insert music that plays in the background and it also rolls dice for you if you have to roll a big amount of dice and don’t want to do math ;)

There is an encounter builder on kobold-fightclub (3) that can help you balance encounters according to your party’s level! I have found it quite helpful and it’s also an easy way to filter monsters for a specific terrain when you know that you’ll be running through a swamp/desert/cave etc.!

I also found this this cheat sheet very helpful, esp regarding the different conditions that I can never seem to remember.

Then, ofc, one of CR’s sponsors: dndbeyond (4). Me and my friends bought a subscription bc damn is it useful to be able to click on anything on your character sheet and see what the hell it means. It also helps you track your spellslots/HP etc. during combat. 

Something I also did was watch Matt’s videos (5) on how he DMs. Altho it bears to say: Don’t compare yourself to Matt Mercer. It will only stress you out. 

You like maps? So do I! Check these out (6/7). 

You want to keep track of your npcs and important lore and places and everything? You could try worldanvil (8)! It’s like building a wiki for your own world!

And then about tips. It is probably easier to give tips when you have specific questions than it is to give general tips, but I’ll do my best! I’m sure many experienced DMs want to chime in and add to it :)

Communication is (as with most things in life) key to everything. Get together with your players for a Session 0 and just talk about what kind of game you want to run and what kind of game they want to play. There are people who like combat more than roleplay or vice versa. There are people who want to play an evil campaign or they want a lot of political intrigue or they are soft marshmallows like I am and don’t want permanent character deaths and so on and so on. Just get together and talk about what you guys want to create. Also talk about the characters with each individual player.Ask them about triggers they have, so you can avoid topics. Ask them how they feel about an NPC flirting with their character. It goes the other way around as well! Tell them about your boundaries and your expectations. One of my friends wanted to make a character with a neutral evil alignment. I told that it’s fine, as long as there’s the prospect for the character to evolve towards a neutral or good alignment, bc I have no interest in dm-ing an “evil” campaign. 

Something that might make running a campaign easier for you is if your players’ characters already know each other before the game starts. If you’re like me you will sweat bullets thinking about how to get them to work towards a common goal. If they’re already friends/rivals/lovers/colleagues/members of the same adventuring guild you will not have that problem. And they can give you some notes on how they envision the relationships to be/how they met.

You can start your adventure with one of the official adventures that are out there if you want to! You don’t have to do a whole ton of worldbuilding like I did bc I’m a crazy person and have my whole setting homebrewed. If not, you can always make life as easy as possible for yourself and start small! Build a small town with a few key NPCs, put a small assortment of possible quests there and then only roughly sketch out what you want the “outside world” to look like. I as a player love some context when I build characters, so if you want to give your players a small introduction into the campaign setting, I think that would be helpful and also helps creating characters who fit into your setting! If you want to run a campaign that has tons of dragons and poisoned oceans that cannot be crossed by mortals it would be sad if a player came to you and gave you the character sheet for a sailor.

If you do a whole campaign, I found it helpful to have a rough idea about different factions and two or three major events that shape your world. Ideas for later quests will eventually tie into big world events when the players get higher level!

Draw yourself a map. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or anything, but at some point there will be a question about “where is the next big city, we need to buy healing potions” and you will feel much safer if you just have a piece of paper (analogue or virtual) with like... a rough outline, some landmarks and some cities on it. At least that’s how it was for me!

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Don’t beat yourself up if your first quests are “standard” stuff like “Take care of this giant rat infestation in the cellar of the tavern.” or “My purple dragoncat has been abducted, please get him back for me.”. I started my campaign with small quests before getting to a small arc and then I want to work towards bigger arcs eventually. But for new players and a new DM I found it very helpful to keep things low stakes to not stress anyone out too much. If you fuck up the giant rat infestation, the world will not end, you know? That is nice. Also works well as a tutorial for everyone! Combat is intimidating! So many rules! Take your time to figure out how stuff works with some nice, small quests and some not-too-complex-combat encounters!

You don’t have to follow every rule. There are so many rules for everything and that can be helpful but it can also be stressful. You don’t have to do everything by the book and if you notice that some rules annoy you and your players, you can always change them as you go along! (Cats have nightvision. Sometimes the rulebooks are dumb.)

Don’t get hung up on too many details. I love worldbuilding, but I get obsessive easily. Sometimes I think my world isn’t ready enough bc I tend to think like a writer who has to have everything figured out. That is not the case with d&d! Sure, It’s good if you know stuff. But d&d is not only about planning, it’s also about improvising. And the world will grow while you play in it! Before you know it you’ll go like “I want to have an encounter with this cool ice monster. I need an icy landscape.” and then you will make one. And maybe it wasn’t there before, but who cares. Your players will be excited and you can make up the lore as you move along! 

Did I mention communication? 

If you have specific questions about certain aspects of DMing or how to start, feel free to message me anytime :) I hope this helps a little bit! I’ll reblog in a second with the links!

[grimmywrites]

So, about Infinite Darkness...

I’m gonna try to be as succinct as I can (I failed) about all the problems I had with it, but my list is pretty long... Yes, this has spoilers. Let me state upfront: if you’re not a hardcore RE fan, you can skip the show. Below I’ll tell you why.

Story: What a mess. Honestly, they turned me off right at the beginning with all the military stuff. It’s the same reason people didn’t like Chris’ campaign in 6; didn’t they learn anything from that? So, the story wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen. Honestly, it had more plot holes than anything and so many points where I went: “I don’t care about this.” Again, it was a jumbled mess. Capcom, hire me and I’ll do better, I swear. Let’s just sum it up by saying it’s a rehash of things we’ve seen SEVERAL times in the series before. If you’re gonna do it AGAIN let’s make the story unique and interesting. Oh, there are shady people in the military that want to use bioweapons in war? Okay, we’ve known that since the first game. We’ve seen it time and time again. Look to re8′s ending for example: the BSAA are now starting to use engineered soldiers - THAT was a reveal that was far more interesting. The way it was addressed and overcome in this show was just... so lackluster. Ultimately, it just felt like this entire thing didn’t need to happen. It changed nothing, it impacted nothing, and I’m aware that it really couldn’t since it was after re4 and before re5. There was just no lasting point and all the ‘themes’ (if you can call them that) made absolutely no sense, but I guess I’ll get into that with the characters? Pacing: Absolutely god awful. One minute we’re in the White House fighting zombies then I blink and it’s over and I’m like: Oh, we’re done? Another we’re in a sub and then I blink. Oh, that’s over, too. Also, the creators must’ve taken a page from the last couple of seasons of Game of Thrones (which is an abysmal idea, don’t fucking do that) because with a few cuts here and there we went from Guam to China back to DC. Guess everybody learned how to teleport so they got exactly where we needed them to for the “climax”. Let’s talk about that climax: There was none. Let’s look at Degeneration and Damnation (no I won’t talk about Vendetta). Both had their weaknesses but Leon and the climaxes were BADASS. Leon doing parkour in Degeneration? Leon going against Lickers and the huge Tyrants in Damnation? Those were amazing scenes. He did a few cool things here and there but nothing that got more of a laugh out of me. My man is coming off re4 where he rampaged through a village, a castle, and an island of mutated creatures to save one girl. C’mon now. Characters: By now (if anybody is even reading this rant), you’ve noticed that I’ve talked a lot about Leon. But what about Claire? Yeah, they lied to us about them working together. She got sidelined again. A lot of people are upset about this -- and yeah, it sucks because I do love Claire. Leon has just happened to be my favorite since 1998 so I wasn’t as heartbroken. That doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed, I’m just not very surprised. Leon - My main problem with Leon is Nick, his voice actor. I’m so sorry for all those who like him, but he just isn’t good enough for me. Paul Mercier (re4, Degeneration, Darkside Chronicles) and Matt Mercer (Damnation, Re6, Vendetta) would have been more appropriate. Nick tries his best, but he’s just too soft sounding to be post-re4 Leon. This is a man who is quipping one-liners left and right a couple of years ago. Now he’s barely smiling and doesn’t feel confident at all, and I think a lot of that is because of his portrayal. There are times where the lines hit, but more often than not they fall flat. I never felt that way with Paul who is my favorite Leon or Matt who gave emotional performances every time. Also, his decision at the end? I can understand it, but explain to Claire! Claire - I like Stephanie as Claire, I have no problems with her. She makes her sound tough and ready to do what she thinks is right. Unfortunately, the story completely sidelines her and makes her role obsolete. Everything she uncovers (because that’s her role apparently, just there to Nancy Drew) is already told to us through flashbacks and other characters. Why even have her? Was it just to show us WHY her and Leon don’t talk often? A waste. Shen Mei - I don’t care. I felt nothing for her. They tried really hard, but they just failed to flesh these new characters out and when her time was up I once again went: Oh? That’s it, then. ‘Kay. I think I laughed a bit, sorry girl. Her whole plotline was to get that chip in Leon’s hand, nothing more. Jason -  I don’t care. A character I thought I felt sorry for with his ptsd but nope. Once his story unfolded - messily, I might add (I hate the REPEATED flashback shit. Tell me once and stop teasing me.) I just went... okay, what the hell is your plan? To spread fear? ‘Kay. It was dumb and made no sense. What, he wants everyone to feel terror so they know? It needed to be clarified. It’s like they couldn’t figure out more synonyms for fear and terror. So, what? It helps keep Leon from going public with the chip and that information? Because he knows it’ll just cause mass hysteria? And then you’ve got Claire’s side - she’s not an agent and she believes the people have a right to know. They’re both right, but there’s no goddamn communication between ANYONE in this show. I just felt exhausted by it, nothing else. Not to mention it’s useless angst because of the plot of Degeneration. Wilson - Our bad guy. Let’s just sum up really quickly in case people were confused by the plot: He was putting infected soldiers into war zones so that even after they died they’d kill anybody involved, then he’d bomb the area and clean up the evidence. These soldiers didn’t show any symptoms because they had inhibitors that kept the virus at bay until they died, so they had to take regular shots to stay human. He’s the one who gets the zombies into the white house so that he could blame it on China and get the US into a war with them. That way he could send in his soldiers and infect the populace. From there, he’s the only one with the cure so he could rake in LOTS of money selling it to the world. AKA: he wants to use the US military to infect everyone so he can make a profit. He gets infected by Jason and gets away... then meets up with someone who gives him an inhibitor. This someone is working for Tricell, the big bads of re5 who work under Wesker. So it leads right into the fifth game. That’s all he is, a tie in and yet another example of someone in power trying to profit off the viruses of the RE world. Honestly, nobody else is worth mentioning. Animation: They’re getting better at it. Leon and Claire looked especially pretty, but there’s still a stiffness here and an issue with everyone’s mouths while they talk. I want to praise how different SOME of the characters look - the president and his aides all look appropriately aged and grizzled and distinct. Same with Jason. Other characters (side characters mainly) kinda look generic. Shen Mei for example isn’t very distinct. I mean, her grandpa and brother (both one scene wonders) were more realistic looking than she was. Even Claire - they gave her a bigger nose and made her look more in line with her Revelations 2 model (thank god I love that model). Movement was pretty fluid, I wish we’d seen more fighting and cool action -- though not to the extent of Vendetta. Maybe that’s what they were trying to avoid, but it didn’t make it any fun to watch. Enemies: This is the last thing I’ll comment on. The zombies were fine - they always are. I heard a ton of reused sounds from remake2, as well, but I thought of it as an Easter Egg more than anything. They looked good, their gore was good, all set there. Problem was, they were basically the only bad guys. That’s a huge fucking disappointment. I know people recognize this series as ‘the one with the zombies’ but that’s not true. Every game (save 7) had MULTIPLE enemy types all created through bio engineering. In this show we see three types. THREE. Zombies. Zombie rats - a one-scene wonder that Leon dispatches fast and easy. I’ll admit, they looked cool but there was nothing else to them. “They’re a bioweapon” and then Leon fries them all with some electricity and we’re done. Jason’s mutated form. Okay, I have to admit, I really loved his design. He was cool, I liked that he could talk and emote. But, other than that? He didn’t DO anything cool. He mutated once and hopped around a lot. That’s it. I mean, a bioweapon that keeps his mental capacities? C’MON! We could’ve done so much more with him. Again, this goes back to why the climax was so bad -- he and Leon didn’t fight. One jumped, the other ran around to catch up and fired a few bullets and a rocket at him. Then he used an acid bath to finish the job. (Also, explain to me WHY he mutated into a tyrant-like creature while everyone else with that specific virus was another form of zombie? We see Jun (Shen’s brother) mutating almost crystal-like at one point but... what? You leave them off for a while and they turn into crystal zombies? Make it make sense.) I’m sure there’s more to say, but honestly, unless you’re a hardcore RE fan like me, I’d say you can skip it. It wasn’t a fun ride, there weren’t any stakes, it wasn’t emotional... it just... was. I will end on one good note that made me smile, though: I loved seeing the Ashley Easter Egg.

[nochiquinn]

campaign 3 episode 17:

I am so tired, my kid's on half days this week and I'm not getting my usual nap because of it, I am a Disaster and if I fall asleep halfway through the episode no one is allowed to judge me

samuel

"in theatres! crazy things to say right now that don't make sense!" because there iS A PANDEMIC

wait I was muted was there vince mcmahon salt

it's so fuckin CUTE

"that is not child safe" "still going on my dog"

HEY IF YOU LIKE LAURA BAILEY SINGING YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT STRAY GODS BY SUMMERFALL GAMES

say Ariks Eshteross' Airship five times fast

oh no nightmare lights

"I bet it looks cool in the theaters"

put gem in mouth

"you should never have to run into the storm alone"

"what time is it" it's 3:01 am

"whichever way they bend"

I love the idea that orym sleeps like a cat

imogen gets halfway down the stairs and starts going into withdrawal

>waifish >dwarf

saM

marisha's dice redemption arc

"don't fuck with me matt mercer"

sldkfhs travis

I just need all of them to give up and share one room at all times

"I've been up for a little while just lookin atcha"

ashton and fcg <3

travis just hiding his face

"is he dead?!" "no, I just heard him screaming"

[smacks fcg with a newspaper every time he offers someone therapy unsolicited]

(I was gonna say spray with a water bottle but that might end badly)

"not GRAB it bc it will fall off"

"you can borrow my ears any time"

I love their little identify lens

🎶who can say if I've been changed for the better🎶

I KNEW IT addictive rock

put it in a cart with a bunch of bananas, that's how you test if it's evil

quietly references every other campaign

fearne you specifically know what swapping around a potentially evil object does

"I'm alive" "press x"

I would like to touch the crystal now matt

love the dichotomy between the players 👀 and the characters 🤷‍♀️

traVIS

"fuckin imogen"

chetney: fuckin imogen laudna: yes

(I don't go here I just can't pass up a setup like that)

"can you grow flowers whenever you want?" "🌷"

ashton

I don't like it

"I immediately start tracking fearne" dad friend orym

ashton either has so many regrets or is having the time of their life, it's impossible to tell

evon calling

did imogen's accent just get 400x stronger or is it just me

fcg: competish ashton: 😒

jiana hexum 🤝 veruca salt I want one now

fcg your self-sacrifice has to have an upper limit

chetney

oh. oh fuck.

ashley's face when the penny dropped

"should you bring a buddy? ....or a minder?"

"I know horses. I've eaten a few." well now we know how this campaign's horses are gonna die

not the shania twain

they did it, they broke eshteross

fearne he is eating

sam literally just telling the audience to fuck off for ten minutes

marisha trying to take sam out

persuade grandpa out of his biscottis

"why limit yourself to the player characters?"

someone do a religion check so I can get a bingo

ashton: we will stop percieving me immediately

orym using the hammer as a stepstool

samuel

is it like cabal's ruin where they're gonna build up charges and then unleash them all at once

oh no

that one scene from falcon and the winter soldier

someone mention marwa so I can get a bingo

"don't touch my stuff for three weeks"

I'm enjoying Silly Orym

mala: travis in any shopping scene with his wife: how can I be a Problem

laura starts playing star stables

roll for horse girl

bloodstorm

chetney: blood magic me: [whispers] maleficar

I love him

I put on my blood robe and blood wizard hat

TRAVIS

matt just scooting away

GET HIS ASS

mala: the dc for this is 1

"get your third character ready"

OH RIGHT there are people who suffered that in a group

aw man I apparently missed a cute video

LIGHTS

PLANTS

"I just got a little bit teary-eyed in my face"

aww imogen gets Quiet

"I got instantly itchy thinking about it" "yaaaaay that's called immersion"

"you've never ridden a horse?" "my sister in christ I basically am a horse"

orym straps himself to the back of one horse like a pelt in red dead

horse aesthetics. horsethetics.

this is becoming some oregon trail logistics

"natural 20! that means we fight a dragon."

"that is not a horse OR fearne"

the roast of sam reigel

"that's not a script it's just ad copy" "the script's on the monitors"

"oh for FUCK'S - "

Silly Orym has backfired

a RABBIT CALL

commit to the bit

do the watership down dying rabbit scream

orym you can't throw greens at it like a chocobo

orym's gonna get eaten by a t-rex

I lucid dream bc my brain gets mad when my dreams are poorly-written

ORYM

you're gonna get your fingers bit off

liam sees a gem and insists on stealing it from wherever it was

orym: I got you a rock

soul gem vs black soul gem

it's an opal, they will be hearing from my lawyers

sir floppers, rabbit, loonch, escargot, heart, and one-way

"he's foreign, don't worry about it

taliesin knows

"I don't like to get attached to things that are clearly going to die. like all of you."

"we only have five horses, how did we get six names!"

"if you take rabbit from me I'll kill you"

"your beau dice were talking shit about you yesterday" samuel

nooo I'm fading, I've been doing so well

they both get eaten

and them liam derails the whole game to talk to ashton for an hour

(this is not a complaint)

fcg goes to sleep and the fantasy kudzu overtakes him in the night

Birdie and Oleander

"sounds like a musical"

matt: you can attach it to a small item sam: I'M a small item!

sam doesn't watch the product

you can't touch the two silver millenium crystals to each other it'll blow up the planet

BUTTERFLIES

"everyone turns into sheep" when we first started the polycule my partner's wife insisted on calling it "polymorphism" which is in fact a WoW spell that turns you into a sheep

"you, fearne. you're special" cries

the way orym looks at fearne. just all the quiet, steady affection in the world.

the kind of person who says "you're special" and means it right down to his bones.

rolls to find fey gate, finds a dragon

midday loonch

bits of....edibles

ashton and fearne just spend the entire night trying to steal shit from each other

see I was joking but I knew it would probably happen

"you can always just ask. what do you want." "I want to not ask."

ashley 100% have left that last word off but she was never gonna

"this isn't how I started" excuse

oh ashton

is this how rock genasi work??

"I might try to steal it" "I would be very entertained"

RAIN

BACKSTORY

I've been avoiding earbuds but my roommate is awake for once and her keyboard is so LOUD and I wanna hear this

OH

HANGING TREE THEORY CONFIRM??

everybody at the table

laura: I wanna throw something at her

marisha's so proud of herself

"you're the happiest person in this bunch" "of course. the worst thing that's ever happened to me has already happened."

taliesin's eyes are about to pop out of his head

like he's VALID

sam's face

her whole everything about her right now. face. posture. voice. god I love marisha ray so much.

"they cut my ears to make them pointy" MARISHA

my automatic assumption is keyleth body bc it's marisha but dark hair means possibly vex

also being keyleth might be a little on the nose

3 am is my new favorite euphemism

taliesin just mouthed "we'll talk later motherfucker" at marisha

ohh the golden sunrise light before the green kicked on

I love everything about this set

(how excited do you think matt is to get to use all these new buttons)

MISTY JUNGLE RAIN

somewhere mica burton is threatening travis and taliesin's lives

travis that's how you break one of their stupid weaksauce finger legs

blue flower???

DORIAN

LIGHTNING FLOWER

CHROMATIC ROSE????

that's the COOLEST FUCKING NAME

what in the kurama

orym that's gay

ashley and laura missed campsite rolling bc ashley was putting a flower behind laura's ear

[whaps fcg with a newspaper]

ffs they're not even sitting next to each other anymore

ROLL FOR FREAKY FRIDAY

what if they get the permanent mind link that yasha thought she had with veth

did we unlock fcg's ptsd babygate??

oh the music

oh no mutual psychic damage

what in the return to witch mountain

nobody in this party knows how to take watch

"this is fine"

neither of them can see over a particularly large rock, is this wise

dragon

or gnolls?

(regular gnoll, regular gnoll)

the return of dbp

orym: I will pry everyone's backstory out of them with a crowbar

(I say "orym" like that's not just liam at all times)

"what's the moon for"

HUSBAND

"o....ohhh."

liam: I will pry MY OWN backstory out of me with a crowbar

time is soup

"you're so young" "so was he" oh that hurt

who had Orym's Husband Died In The Air Ashari Attack

(literally everyone)

chetney is all of us

hand of the tempest

"gray-black leather clad" somebody go scrub through all of campaign 2 and tell me what krynn assassins wear

"you're a rare one; I actually believe you"

fearne knows!

dorian knows!!!

do the rest of the crownkeepers know??

I have to imagine they do

BIG MOON LITTLE MOON

I'm gonna DIE

"it's just raining"

(something something ruidius something cursed life)

eMOtional DAmage

in the dark of the niiiiight

willothwisp

taliesin

fable pixie laugh noises

"can you scare it off" "it's from the feywild, it might not be scared of me!" ".....maybe it'll think you're hot"

hey, listen!

dear fairies we are sleeping

ashton no

give it a shiny

it's definitely going to eat them

"don't OFFER"

"this is not an eatable face"

"why am I sounding old"

"fearne'll get weird" GET weird?

it's gonna fly at laudna's face and that's where matt's gonna call it

you just called it a slur in morse code

twitch I'll fight you

ashton playing with pate

DETECT THOUGHTS THE FAIRY that can only go well

"you're making a fairy house? like my daughter?"

"I made it a fairy tent out of sleeves"

"same grill"

"it's gonna crawl into your nostril" goa'uld fairy

liam what in shit was that laugh

fearne: fucking flying rats

"the pizza rats of the feywild"

FAIRY CRY

WILLOTHWISP

willotheanglerfish

"it was a BUTTON I was gonna PRESS IT"

"I hadn't pushed a button all day"

"I would wander into a dark forest for a flying gummy bear"

I am the last person to realize campaign 3 episode 17 was on 3/17

[kindadnd]

Okay. I now realize how long my advice is.

Eh, let me add this with interactions.

Let's say they go to the dungeon. All decided.

You describe the dungeon. Ask what they want to do. If silence:

"You could look around first. That would be a perception check. Or you can go straight in and see what might come next."

In social situations, act out the NPCs, if there is silence, ask

"You could ask if they know anything about the quest. Or if they have heard rumors or seen something strange."

If the group decides on something, ask how they say it. That's a opportunity to be in character or at least add adjectives to flesh out the character.

Ask how the characters feel in a situation. If there is silence, say some words on what you could imagine. "unsure, confident, confused, heroic" (might be more difficult with some players. I got a few friends who are bad at recognizing their emotions)

Now some more advanced stuff. Don't read from here on if you feel overwhelmed.

A thing you might want to add to your game for this (and please take this as long term advice. You're new, no one can fault you for not being Matt Mercer) is adding narration to failed rolls. Like if someone fails terribly at a perception check, say by what they are distracted. Someone fails a strength check, maybe describe how they don't get a good footing on the ground and slide away. Don't make the players feel bad for rolling. If it's someone more confident, or someone who makes fun of their character on their own, you can make it funny for the whole table to laugh.

I am a bit put off by that post about player engagement. Yes, at some point your players have familiarity with the world and NPCs and what to expect from your story, but especially in the beginning it is difficult, and leading questions help see the options and still make the players feel like they have impact.

Imagine it like the first day of a new school. No one knows each other or the teachers or the expectations, of course it's difficult to break the ice!

If after multiple games (for me the problem stopped around game 2-3) the players are still silent, you might want to talk about the problem or maybe play a different game. GM-less or with more "structure", so everyone needs to learn talking or at least knows in every moment what the few options are.

And finally, if most of your table is loud, but a few of them are shy, try asking them what they want to do, or how they feel like.

Biggest rule: make sure everyone feels comfortable and have fun!

Hey, I know you've answered some advice questions before, and even if you don't have anything your followers might? I'm about to GM for the first time using a very narrative-heavy system that kind of hinges on player interaction, but in addition to first-time nerves, my experiences roleplaying with D&D have been "I am the only one talking while everyone else is too anxious to say or do anything without the DM repeatedly prodding them". Is this generally just what roleplaying games look like or is it a side effect of D&D (like that player engagement post going around?) And do you or your followers have any advice for what I might be able to do if my nightmare scenario happens and I'm dealing with a silent table?

I gotta be honest, I've never had this particular problem. In my experience, the opposite where everyone is talking over each other is far more likely.

If the problem is that players lack confidence in their knowledge of the mechanics, the solution is practice. I've had some luck using Session 0 as kind of a slightly non-canon prologue to allow people to try things without the worry of causing permanent consequences.

If the problem is that a player is shy, it'll just take them some time to become comfortable enough to come out of their shell. I've found that it helps for one of the other players to check in with them from time to time to seek their input. I'm not saying you should formally assign that role, but if you have anyone who seems keen on leadership and decision making, it's smart to encourage them to use their assertiveness for good.

If you truly have a silent table even when you are making an effort to be easy going and inclusive, then I guess I would wonder if people really want to play the game. The normal response to wanting to play a game is enthusiasm, which is rarely expressed silently.

Thanks for the question, and good luck!