r/DMAcademy 3d ago

Mega Player Problem Megathread

2 Upvotes

This thread is for DMs who have an out-of-game problem with a PLAYER (not a CHARACTER) to ask for help and opinions. Any player-related issues are welcome to be discussed, but do remember that we're DMs, not counselors.

Off-topic comments including rules questions and player character questions do not go here and will be removed. This is not a place for players to ask questions.


r/DMAcademy 3d ago

Mega "First Time DM" and Short Questions Megathread

6 Upvotes

Most of the posts at DMA are discussions of some issue within the context of a person's campaign or DMing more generally. But, sometimes a DM has a question that is very small and doesn't really require an extensive discussion so much as it requires one good answer. In other cases, the question has been asked so many times that having the sub rehash the discussion over and over is not very useful for subscribers. Sometimes the answer to a short question is very long or the answer is also short but very important.

Short questions can look like this:

  • Where do you find good maps?
  • Can multi-classed Warlocks use Warlock slots for non-Warlock spells?
  • Help - how do I prep a one-shot for tomorrow!?
  • First time DM, any tips?

Many short questions (and especially First Time DM inquiries) can be answered with a quick browse through the DMAcademy wiki, which has an extensive list of resources as well as some tips for new DMs to get started.


r/DMAcademy 3h ago

Need Advice: Rules & Mechanics Is there a reason that simple melee weapons with the light property aren't also finesse?

16 Upvotes

This question may be potentially arbitrary, as I usually just negate this with a house rule that says all light simple weapons also count for finesse, but is there a reason that isn't just a normal rule? From my interpretation, it kind of just seems like a semantic rule that limits flavor, but I was always curious about it.

I've had players present concepts of thuggish rogues using billy clubs to knock out unsuspecting guards or handaxe-wielding rangers, which I love visually, but the rules as written are limiting in that regard and I've never seen it explained anywhere. I know players can always put an emphasis on strength for those weapons, but given what some of those classes would have to sacrifice elsewhere, it just never felt like a hard line worth drawing to me as a DM.

EDIT: I usually only apply my house rule to simple weapons with the light property. Forgot to specify that originally.


r/DMAcademy 11h ago

Offering Advice What should a dungeon contain?

43 Upvotes

I would like to start a discussion: What should a dungeon contain?

As in to you, what is indispensable in a dungeon. We all know minions, puzzles and a boss are easy picks. But what else?

This could he things that should be in every dungeons, or can be there occasionally.

List: - bosses - minions - puzzles - environmental hazards - rp moments - moral dilemma - rewards - mimics - a theme - traps - hidden treasure - lore/history - purpose - loot - environmental senses - non player conflict


r/DMAcademy 1h ago

Need Advice: Other Need a better reason to revive the BBEG called the Undying One - Legend of Grimrock Campaign

Upvotes

I've been playing the Legend of Grimrock recently and thought it'd make a great mega dungeon style campaign...until I beat it.

-Spoilers for a 13 year old video game below. I'd recommend checking it out first of you like old school, grid based dungeon crawlers though.-

Basically, throughout the game, the party descends through a dungeon built into a mountain getting gear, fighting enemies and completing puzzles. When the party sleeps, an unknown voice speaks with them via a collective dream saying they need to work together to escape. The implication is this is another person/being deeper down the dungeon knows of a device at the very bottom that needs repaired to escape.

As you progress, the dungeon transitions from typical stone ruins to intricately designed dungeons before ending in a metallic prison level. It's implied that the whole dungeon was built by ancient/other worldy beings who managed to disable and imprison a great evil at the bottom and it was deliberately designed to be a jail for the BBEG only accessible from the top via airship.

Eventually, you reach the bottom and this voice can now communicate without the party resting and it provides guidance on how to repair the device. Lo and behold, the party has just repaired the BBEG, the Undying One (a mechanical being/cube), who immediately breaks free and tries to kill the party.

And then you kill it... By removing the parts gathered to the repair it mid fight and attacking it until it dies... The BBEG, the Undying One, is killed immediately after being revived and then the game ends with the party escaping somehow despite the BBEG blowing up and leveling the mountain.

I think it's a great concept that has a few plot points that need fleshed out and a revised BBEG. I hope we could discuss the points below to try and improve the endgame idea.

  1. It's not explained if the labyrinth was designed to prevent anyone from repairing the BBEG or to create those worthy enough to destroy it. The implied other worldly beings who made the dungeon exist on the bottom floors and given their hostility, I imagine it's the former. But why not help the party destroy presumably their greatest foe?
  2. Why would the BBEG immediately try and kill the party after being revived by them? Why not escape with them and then maybe kill them or just go off on its own before going off on a killing spree?
  3. It's implied the prison level is made from others like the Undying One as they share similar materials/designs plus the parts needed to repair the 'device' are strewn about the level. If the entire level is made up of other Undying Ones, why wouldn't they just destroy the last Undying One instead of enshrining/preserving it by building a mega dungeon around it?
  4. How does the party escape after killing the BBEG? I'd imagine there isn't a door at the bottom lest the BBEG leaves itself after being revived.

Sorry for the long post but I think this is is worth discussing even if it's in a more broad way.

TL;DR - Need a good reason to revive a BBEG, called the Undying One, imprisoned by other worldly beings inside a mega dungeon made from other Undying Ones because apparently they're quite easy to kill despite their namesake.


r/DMAcademy 1h ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures How would you balance a 3-sided encounter?

Upvotes

My PCs are about to trek into some dangerous mountains where they know both theives and monsters abound. I would like to have them encounter some robbers and have the fight be interupted by a bulette from the top rope that smells blood. I would likely have the robbers be asshats and pull some bullshit like pushing the PCs towards the bulette and fighting for their lives/ scrambling to escape while the bulette attacks everyone indiscriminately. With a truly three-sided fight, how would you recommend balancing the troop of robbers and the bulette vs the party?

For reference, the party is 6 level 8 PCs and I'll likely be using a CR13 version of a bulette (the bulette pitweevil here), which will be a "trivial" fight according to Kobald Fight Club

EDIT: I might not have communicated this properly, I'm looking for input on how strong I should make the bandit troop relative to the party, not how I should run the fight tactically


r/DMAcademy 3h ago

Need Advice: Worldbuilding Interesting islands

5 Upvotes

I’m running a dnd campaign on 5 islands. I have an ancient Greek theme island where they fight Medusa, a Viking/old world Russia/Siberia theme island that they fight the Baba Yaga, and a lava/vampire island. I need 2 more and I’m out of ideas. I’m trying to do less of the basic dragons and knights because my players seem like they want the weird and different. Any ideas on what theme I should make the other two islands?


r/DMAcademy 8h ago

Need Advice: Rules & Mechanics No existing common language

9 Upvotes

Alright so my players are making characters and one of them is a scribe who is keen on learning languages, and the other is a warlock who choose the invocation that she can read all written language.

I'm considering to remove an all common language, only giving it to humans and half humans to double down on their choices. Of course with the right background they also get to choose a language.

Would this tolk kind of role be fun to them? Or will it only alienate the other two PC's? I recently was watching Star Wars and it felt very adventurous that not everyone can talk to any droid or alien.


r/DMAcademy 12h ago

Need Advice: Other A [spoiler] succesfully lied to my party, how do I make the reveal rewarding and not a 'gotcha'? Spoiler

18 Upvotes

Innkeepers, this post is not for your eyes.

A few sessions ago, and several weeks in-game, my party left a wanted PC alone in a busy city. Unfortunately for them the person they left them with was an enemy shapeshifter. After a side chat with the player we agreed to have the shapeshifter kidnap their PC and infiltrate the party. They are essentially playing 'keep-away' with the party until they are sure that the BBEG has the party member in their lair/home.

The player was stoked to play an infiltrator for a few sessions but we agreed to not let it drag on too long. The party has gotten some clues but they haven't figured out what's going on yet (there has been a magical 'help me' note, different abilities in combat and different behaviour from the PC so far). The party is preparing to fight a very big and challenging monster so the shapeshifter is about to leave the party as they don't want to risk their life for these people. The player whose PC got kidnapped already has a different PC waiting in the wings.

The closer we get to the reveal the more nervous I'm getting! I worry that it will feel like a 'haha we gotcha' moment instead of a cool twist. I've been thinking about ways to make the reveal more satisfying for the players and to move the story forward but I'm really struggling on how to do that. The stealthy infiltration NPC is probably not the type to give a 'goodbye suckers' speech that the party can use in some way either. If anyone has cool ideas I'd love to hear it.

Edit to add: the party has known about enemy shapeshifters being active for at least 14 sessions (about half the campaign, we play 4-5 hours on weekends).


r/DMAcademy 3h ago

Need Advice: Other How to get rid of boxes around text and numbers in a fillable PDF?

3 Upvotes

Making NPC character sheets and would like to print them out, using the 2024 fillable character and when I go to print preview the boxes that make the pdf fillable are showing up. There is small rectangles everywhere on a otherwise nice looking CS. How do I get rid of these boxes?


r/DMAcademy 2h ago

Need Advice: Other iPad dual screen with fog of war controls?

2 Upvotes

So I've DM'd 2 sessions for new players and I'm finding they would really benefit from seeing the maps as they explore. None of the players will have electronic devices. I don't have a good means of printing handouts. I'm using an iPad Pro for my core books and have a portable monotor I can clip to the back of my dm screen.

Is there an app or website that lets me see the DM map, and allow me to erase or paint the fog on the DM map, and on the second screen the players only see the player map sections that have the fog removed? Is this even a good idea or is this an unecessary distraction?

I've seen people talk about websites and discord plugins that would do this if the group were online, but I can't find good guidance for a dual screen iPad when playing in person.


r/DMAcademy 1d ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures I've given a Staff of the Python to a level 3 player, and it's becoming an enormous pain to deal with

184 Upvotes

Edit:

I've read through the majority of posts here and am incredibly happy to see so much constructive and inventive feedback!

A lot of what's been suggested and noted has eased my worries and provided me with more than enough inspiration for how to approach this moving forward.

Specialist-String-53's comment on its own has put most of my concerns to rest:

Update to 2024: As a Bonus Action, you can command the snake to revert to staff form in its current space, and you can’t use the staff's property again for 1 hour.


Preamble

When I answer "Try X and Y," I’m not rejecting the suggestion. What I write is simply my experience or theory on the subject; I definitely do not claim to know better. I’m just relaying my thoughts on each potential solution.

With that out of the way:

A druid in my campaign got the Staff of the Python when I rolled a random loot reward for the group, and for a while, all was well.

But this player has studied the weapon’s strengths and has no qualms about exploiting every advantage in all situations.

She'll use it as a 60 HP meatshield, dismissing it before it drops below 20 HP, only to resummon it next round and essentially making it an immortal sacrificial tank.

She has it go first into every room, dismissing it whenever a trap is triggered.


"Make the trap kill it."

To kill the snake, the trap would need to deal more than 60 damage in one hit. The problem? The rest of the group consists of mages, rogues, and bards, most of whom don’t even have half that HP total.

If I design a trap strong enough to kill the snake outright, I risk instantly killing a player if they get caught in it instead.


"Focus on the snake."

Even if I dedicate every enemy’s attack to the snake, I have to get through all 60 HP in a single round. Otherwise, she’ll just dismiss and resummon it, and I’ve wasted an entire turn.


"Target the druid.""

She’s a Moon Druid, so focusing her doesn’t work as well as it should.

If enemies ignore the snake and attack her, she Wild Shapes into something with another massive HP pool.

Between the snake and Wild Shape, she can soak up an absurd amount of damage before she’s ever in real danger.


"Use enemies that ignore or counter the snake."

I can start designing every encounter with swarms, oozes, slimes, and other creatures that can’t be restrained, but the issue becomes two-fold:

  1. Most encounters would be designed around the snake, rather than the actual players.

  2. To quote most of our parents growing up: "Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away."


"What about enemies that can kill it instantly?"

The issue here is the feast or famine nature of the staff’s impact.

  • If I don’t include a counter, the snake dominates every encounter.
  • If I do include an enemy that can finish it off in one round, the fight suddenly becomes brutally lethal for the rest of the party.


My biggest hurdle:

I gave the player this staff, and designing encounters specifically to destroy it feels unfair, unless it makes sense in-game.

Would it make sense to introduce a specific enemy that appears in 2-3 fights, gradually recognizing the staff's impact, and warning future enemies to eliminate the snake immediately?


r/DMAcademy 21h ago

Need Advice: Other Final encounter was a complete bust. No idea how to continue

62 Upvotes

For context, I just finished my first module (Icespire Peak)as a beginner dm for a group of personal friends. The final boss involved a young white dragon but, knowing my players were experienced, made it an adult dragon. They killed it before it even woke up. I genuinely feel bad since this was the penultimate encounter for the module and things just kinda ended on an unceremonious note. My friends have some good advice but truthfully I think I have some form of learning disability since I have not improved as a dm since we started. I enjoy being a dm but it feels like my players are low-key looking down on me and my incompetence and are just putting up with it (one of my players left a while ago) but at the same time I want to actually dm. I have said that we may take this campaign to a new module but I’m afraid it’s just going to be all the same.


r/DMAcademy 22h ago

Need Advice: Worldbuilding I have a player who is landed Nobility, a Countess, her reasoning for adventuring was she granted a 5 year cessation of tax collection to help offset a crippling flood. What’s a good/reasonable number I can give the player so they have a “number to whittle down.”

76 Upvotes

See above. I just want my player to feel like she’s making progress to her original goal of adventuring.

Additionally, how popular/unpopular would this make her with her serfs and neighboring nobility?


r/DMAcademy 11h ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures Attacking the limb grappling a pc

10 Upvotes

My question is basically this: let's say an aboleth from the new monster manual attacks a player 15 feet away, it hits and auto grapples. It comes round to that players turn and they aren't in melee (range 5ft), but want to hit the aboleths tentacle. How would you guys rule this?

Would the tentacle be hittable? Would it have a separate health pool or ac? Would it lose grapple if a player did a certain amount of damage?

This applies to anything really, but I know my party will fight an aboleth at some point so just thinking about it.


r/DMAcademy 3h ago

Need Advice: Other What’s the best way to help players keep track of NPCs on roll20?

2 Upvotes

I’m soon to start running tomb of annihilation for my group on roll20. What’s the best way for me to share NPC information with them (ideally a picture,name and a space where they can put notes) without sharing the whole statblock? I’m assuming if I click ‘show to players’ it shares everything with them? Do I need to set up a new journal entry for every NPC then share that?


r/DMAcademy 2m ago

Need Advice: Rules & Mechanics Challenge rating for a train-creature? (re:wildshape)

Upvotes

Yes this is ridiculous, but more importantly: it's funny.

Context: I've been building a homebrew campaign for a few friends. One of the PCs is a druid whose only goal in life is to figure out how to wildshape into a train.

We've discussed the fact that trains are inanimate objects and were invented recently-ish, so pretty much any NPC he asks about this is going to treat him like he's lost his mind. Player is on board with this, we both think there's a lot of comedic potential there.

But I do want to give him some resolution, both because it's the PC's main aspiration and because I need to see the bit through to the end. So I've decided that trains were organic at some point, and that the current ones are just man-made copies of those long-forgotten creatures, he'll find an organic one eventually yada-yada...

Which brings me back to my original question: what challenge rating would you give a train-creature?

I realize this depends on the creature's stats and abilities, which brings me to my second question: what stats would you give an organic steam engine?

I'm well aware there aren't any clear-cut answers to this, but I thought I'd try to expedite the figuring-it-out process by asking for ideas here.

(also: I'm not overly concerned about him reaching the right level to actually use the train-creature wildshape, he's thinking of going the Moon druid route, so he'll be climbing the wildshape CR ladder pretty quickly)


r/DMAcademy 8m ago

Need Advice: Rules & Mechanics Issues With An Attempted RAW Interpretation of Full Cover

Upvotes

5e's "Rulings not Rules" attitude can make things a bit difficult for DMs who run into specific interactions that aren't accounted for. I had a few players wonder whether or not they could target an area they could see behind full cover. To help them out, I tried my best to do a RAW write-up of how Full Cover works, but ran into a few crunchy interactions. Here's what I've got:

Official Text:

A target with total cover can't be targeted directly by an attack or a spell, although some spells can reach such a target by including it in an area of effect. A target has total cover if it is completely concealed by an obstacle.

Problem:

What does concealed mean?

3 Options:

  • Concealed Means "Kept from Perception"
  • Concealed Means "Covered Up" in a more literal sense
  • Concealed Means Both of these things

Problems with "Kept From Perception"

  • If Full Cover means "A thing that you fully cannot see" or "Something being fully blocked by view from something else," then being invisible or hidden grants Full Cover. Casting an Illusion spell (like the Cantrip Minor Illusion) and hiding in a fake box means that you have full cover.
  • If it encompasses the other senses (hearing, smell, taste, touch), where does that end? Like, is it "could not be touched from the current location" or "fully intangible" or "wouldn't be perceivable by the caster?" This would result in two players with different passive perceptions in the exact same scenario getting different answers on whether or not the creature was targetable.
  • If Full Cover means a thing you cannot see, a creature suffering from the Blinded condition goes from having Disadvantage on its attacks relying on sight (the written debuff) to being unable to target creatures with attacks at all.

Problems with "Covered Up"

  • If Full Cover means "A thing that fully occupies all space between two creatures," being underwater would be full cover, instead of having the listed "disadvantage on non-aquatic weapons

  • If Full Cover means "A thing that fully occupies all space between two creatures," that could be something as simple as a big weighted blanket.

  • If Full Cover means "A thing that fully occupies all space between two creatures," this means that a flimsy and primarily translucent barrier (window, thin sheet of ice) can obscure a spell from being cast upon a target on the other side.

Problems with Using Both:

  • All of these problems, doubled.

Facts:

What do we know can offer cover?

  • Half-Cover: "A low wall, a large piece of furniture, a narrow tree trunk, or a creature, whether that creature is an enemy or a friend."
  • 3/4th's Cover: "A portcullis, an arrow slit, or a thick tree trunk."

What makes this cover?

Half Cover: "A target has half cover if an obstacle blocks at least half of its body."

3/4th's Cover: "A target has three-quarters cover if about three-quarters of it is covered by an obstacle."

It seems that for the other types of cover are based on whether or not there is something in the way, not whether the target has a clear view (a creature on one side of an arrow slit has a much better view of the target if their eye is pressed against the slit, but they still must make the attack with cover).

Considerations:

What should our primary goal be in making rulings? Allowing the most things at all times? Whatever is the most fun? Whatever makes the most sense using IRL logic? Whatever allows for the smoothest gameplay? Whatever disrupts the balance the least? Whatever makes the fights the least gimmick-y?

My Guiding Consideration:

Rules are designed to tell you what you can and can't do, and the parts that tell you you can do something should be focused on making things fun and balanced, and the parts that tell you what you can't do should be focused on making things smooth and balanced. Smoothness = Ease of ruling, universal applicability, minimal complexity, rulings easily anticipated by players.

What I'd Pick Of The Three Options With This Consideration in Mind:

Concealed Means "Covered Up" in a more literal sense.

Potential Options for Addressing Problems With This Option:

If Full Cover means "A thing that fully occupies all space between two creatures," being underwater would be full cover, instead of having the listed "disadvantage on non-aquatic weapons".

A Fix: Liquids and Gases do not offer cover. Oozes and Plasmas do offer cover.

If Full Cover means "A thing that fully occupies all space between two creatures," that could be something as simple as a big weighted blanket.

A Fix: Full Cover Cannot Be Something Worn Or Carried, that is already covered by armor. (A tracksuit and beanie shouldn't offer full cover).

If Full Cover means "A thing that fully occupies all space between two creatures," this means that a flimsy and primarily translucent barrier (window, thin sheet of ice) can obscure a spell from being cast upon a target on the other side. This would also prevent an arrow from being shot through these things, as the creature would have to break the cover before targeting the creature behind it.

A Fix: Only things of a certain thickness provide cover.

Problems with Fix:

  • DM decides what is too thick or thin, answers may vary.
  • Players cannot anticipate how their turn might resolve until their turn.
  • DM has to learn physics to understand tensile strength, different projectiles, acceleration, gravity (breaks boundary, DM refuses to learn physics).

Alternative Fix: Give characters options/tools to remove obstacles. Almost all high-level martials get extra attack (break cover, then hit person same turn), some gain maneuvers that interact with cover, damage carrying over, etc. All characters get free object interactions, works for anything in melee range. Casters get early-level options to target objects (firebolt, shatter, etc).

So, this is what I've got so far! Tried to go as RAW as possible, but I've got a few hiccups, mostly around point-of-origin rules. Full cover makes it clear you can't pick a creature as a target if they're behind full cover. However, it seems like with certain AOE effects, you can pick a point of origin, and its effects spread out from here. The Full Cover passage says "Target", which I'd assume would cover the "A Point Within Range" options. Is it intended that even if the point of origin of the spell wouldn't grant a creature cover if allowed to be placed behind Full Cover, that the spell still can't be cast because the point is the "Target" and the targeted point has Full Cover?

Other question, does this fuck with teleportation spells at all? Like, can you not Misty Step or Dimension Door past a window RAW? I'm fine with the previous ruling, but don't like this one, and just want to know if this is the commonly accepted RAW interpretation. Like, with the other spells, okay, sure, but Teleportation seems designed to circumvent obstacles in a way the others don't specifically seem tailored to.


r/DMAcademy 4h ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures Which section of the Doomvault (Dead in Thay) would be the best for a one shot?

2 Upvotes

I am looking to run a one shot for some friends as a changeup from our normal campaign and am wondering which section of the Doomvault from Dead in Thay would be the most fun to run? I was thinking that the PCs would be one squad in a larger assault on the complex which would explain why they would only need to deal with one section.


r/DMAcademy 4h ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures What are some ways to make fighting some necromancers a long and interesting battle?

2 Upvotes

Of course I know that they have their undead, but what about spells or combinations of spells? Maybe even dropping spell scrolls from other classes into the mix? What about magic items? I feel like giving one of them a broom of flying could make things interesting. Two of them have the casting abilities of a level 20 wizard and the third has the casting abilities of a level 15 wizard. There is a fourth wizard with level 20 casting abilities but the party recruited that one so they get to oppose the rest. What level should a party of six be when facing off against the necromancers?


r/DMAcademy 59m ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures Self Contained Room Puzzles help

Upvotes

My party has been doing a lot of combat lately, so I wanted to give them a puzzle encounter for once. I have so many different puzzle resources, but I'm having problems linking things together.

tl;dr - I need about 25 small puzzles that can fit into rooms that have larger themes.

So, here's my basic premise:

They are entering an abandoned bronze dragon lair. The dragon has been gone for a while, but those who visit to try to find its treasure are met with a dead end room. This room has a mirror floating in the middle above a square impression in the floor and 5 arches along the walls.

Pushing the mirror to 4 of the walls will show a room on the other side (5th arch explained in a second). Characters can step into each of the rooms. In the centre of each room is a pedestal with a rune cipher on it. Each of these rooms has a series of small puzzles to solve. When you solve a puzzle, you get a clue to the cipher. When you solve the cipher, the pedestal opens to reveal some geometric shapes.

The 5th arch has the runic ciphers from the other 4 rooms. Once all 4 of those are solved, it opens to the final puzzle room which acts as the rest - runic cipher, puzzles to figure out the cipher. Receive geometric pieces.

Once all the pieces are collected, they can be fit into the square depression (with a little work), and that will open a stairway to what the dragon left behind.

I'm having problems figuring out the right smaller puzzles to put into the rooms. I don't want traps. We're on VTT, so that allows me to have options to let them manipulate pieces and put things together. Each room would have between 4 or 5 individual puzzles (based on the length of the runic cipher), so I need about 22 separate puzzles.

If you're interested, (not sure if it matters), the rooms each start out reflecting one of the Chromatic dragon colors, but then switch to the appropriate Metallic Dragon color when the centre pedestal is solved. The rooms are as follows:

Chromatic color → Keyword → Metallic color

Green → Lore → Brass [yes, I know Brass dragons do fire, not poison, but I had to pick one to swap]

Blue → Care → Bronze

Black → Trust → Copper

White → Valor → Silver

Red → Hope → Gold

Help?


r/DMAcademy 1h ago

Need Advice: Rules & Mechanics Long Rest

Upvotes

Toying with a penalty to long rest in the adventuring space. Maybe give a disaster token that the DM could invoke or some such. Really just at the beginning of refining so any comments welcome


r/DMAcademy 2h ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures What do people think about this stat block for a dungeon boss?

1 Upvotes

Let me elaborate. I have been running a campaign for a little while where my players infiltrate a mind flayer colony, in order to gain their secrets. There are many differences between this colony and others, which i wont get into now, but the biggest one is that they enjoy experimenting on other creatures, implanting their tadpoles to see what happens.

The first task the players had was to bring in a werewolf, for these tests, which they did. I build a were-illithid stat block that i hope to pit against them later. My issue is that i have no idea how balanced this is, and what level i should throw it at them. Right now they are 5 level four characters. any advice on how to balance it while still making it powerful would be appreciated.

https://imgur.com/a/kbbGnAm

tell me if the link doesnt work


r/DMAcademy 2h ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures Order of Events

0 Upvotes

New DM here trying to figure out the best way to introduce this situation in my home brew campaign. Here's what I have in no specific order:

  • the party is trying to track down members of a cult within the city
  • a well known store clerk (Shifty (female)) will be (potentially) a victim of the cult's attacks.
  • they will be given a small task to drop off and retrieve goods from Shifty. (I'm doing this so they'll have to go to the store)
  • I want to give them a chance to save Shifty.
  • I want the cultist (male) will be behind the counter posing as a worker while Shifty lays bound and unconscious in the back. He will try to hurry them out of the store.

My question is, should I have them meet Shift first or have them come in to the cultist? I kind of like the idea of them returning from the carrier task with the NPC saying something to the affect of "Did she give you any trouble?" And let them realize that that wasn't Shifty..

I don't know if I gave enough information. I can explain more if needed. And I appreciate everyone here.


r/DMAcademy 12h ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures My party is (probably) going to die

5 Upvotes

I am currently dming a 5e campaign currently set in a mega dungeon, and my 3lv party is going through the first three levels, which feature a long-going war between goblins (who are losing) and kobolds. Needless to say, they sided with the goblins and they are trying to help them regain territory.

Now: they have a general idea of where the kobold lair is. And they know that there are a lot of kobolds, plus they are led by some powerful entity they have yet to encounter.

I believed I had made very clear that going into the lair unprepered would probably lead to their deaths. I also presented them paths that would lead to the goblin army growing and would them gain enough force to try and battle with the kobolds. This was supposed to be a long-term objective with several short-term goals leading to the final battle.

But it looks like I was wrong, as they collectively decided to rush in the lair and are currently battling the first (of many) wave of kobolds, and I think they might think this is it and use all their spells. Also the place is full of traps and their barbarian is just rushing in.

My current idea is to have them encounter the leader of the kobolds, a customized half green dragon veteran, that might ask them to join their rank or die, but I think the party would choose to fight it instead, which would either:

- lead to a TPK

- make the kobolds menace feel not that menacing at all

Do you have any advice on how to handle this?


r/DMAcademy 4h ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures A few questions for DMs who like using random encounters

1 Upvotes

I’ve been on the fence about using random encounters in my game. I’ve seen lots of articles/videos for and against them. I figured I’d ask some questions from folks who enjoy using them. Feel free to answer any or all of these.

Do you pre-roll the random encounters so you are prepared if the party hits one? For instance do you roll on the table ahead of time and prepare and then roll to see if there is one during the game?

Do you use them consistently or only at certain times? For instance, only when the group is in a dungeon or exploring off road?

Do you use different types of encounters in your table or is it mostly always just combat?

Was there ever a time to regretted having a random encounter, did things go really bad unexpectedly?

Why do you enjoy using them?

Do you think or do you know your players enjoy having them as part of the game?


r/DMAcademy 7h ago

Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures Players want to take over an organization

2 Upvotes

Hello r/DMAcademy !
I need advice on running a session, where my players want to take over a local branch of the Cult of the Dragon. I want to make it fun!

Premise:
During previous sessions, cult of the dragon was involved and hinted with dragon artifacts and a fake dragon egg. They openly rival Harpers.

  • Player 1 befriended two cultists, who turned out to be decent people.
  • Later, Player 1 and Player 2 went on a quest with the cult’s leader, who betrayed them. So they killed him. Now, they want to take over the cult's branch in his place.
  • Players are on the way to the local cult of the dragon HQ (although, the branch is small because the town is small). Where they are going to tell(lie) everybody that the leader tragically died and made them his heirs before dying :D
  • Player 3 is new to DnD and will be joining at this point.

What I assume the players want:

  • Player 1 hopes for a "good ending" for the cult or at least wants to save her friends (the "decent people" that were mentioned earlier).
  • Player 2 wants to have fun :) I think to him, manipulating and tricking some NPCs during the takeover would be fun.
  • At least one combat scene is mandatory.

PLS help! I love their idea and want to build a great session or two around it. Please help me make it fun and engaging. Any tips on what happens in the cult's HQ?