Hello! I’m a huge fan of all things roleplaying (mostly dnd but doing some pathfinder) and figured this’d be a fun spot to dump my post session ramblings.
Also feel free to use this for your own ramblings!
9 Likes
i have been working on a monk subclass for dnd 5e as of two days ago. as someone who has wanted to play any and every other ttrpg, i have no idea how i wound up committed to this project, but i’m trying to make the subclass compensate for the terrible base class.
other than that, i’m in a friend’s dnd 5e campaign (i know right) playing as a human scout rogue, and i accidentally made an edgy loner type but no one else realized this yet.
my rogue is a normal person forced into a world of high magic with a bunch of spellcasting strangers as company, and so they became a voice of reason who led the party in social situations. due to my character’s low charisma and my terrible rolls, that tends to go pretty badly.
secretly, i’ve been planning for my rogue to be a negative influence on the other characters and then get booted after a conflict arises, but everyone loves them so much somehow! they even had a big solo moment in the last session, aided by a buff spell from another player’s character, and that cemented them as an important part of the team!
i guess all in all, i’ve learned to be more careful when i’m making and playing a character so i can make them the correct amount of hateable.
3 Likes
Had a session like night! Our crew went with the local lord to pummel his vampire granpa. It ended up being pretty easy because of npc assistance but all in all it was a really fun sesh. We are finally getting ready to move on from goth city, I’ll be a little sad to leave but excited to hit up a new location!
My girlfriends are putting together a Princess: the Hopeful game, and I’m excited. Magical girls in the World of Darkness!
1 Like
I didn’t actually know there were magical girls in the World of Darkness. I’ve played Vampire: the Masquerade and I’ve heard of some of the others, but not that one. It sounds interesting!
1 Like
It’s a fan-made supplement, like Genius: the Transgression. But it looks really cool. There’s a whole list of charms in it for freeform magic. And it has this in it too:
Which I thought was a kind of cool way to acknowledge trans people mechanically ^^
2 Likes
That’s really cool! I’d love to hear how it goes!
1 Like
I just finished running my D&D session. I’ve been pretty nervous all day since I didn’t feel really prepared since I expected my players to reach a new area I hadn’t fully set up yet. I threw together enough before the session to manage if they got there, but I really wasn’t happy with it.
Then when it came time to have the session they didn’t even reach that area. They had a few complicated combats that took most of the session. I am relieved that I have more time to prepare the new area, but I do also feel kinda bad that most of the session was spent doing combat since I worry a lot of combat can be a bit tedious for the players sometimes
5 Likes
does anybody here have any premade adventures or campaigns that they like to play? I’m looking to help speed up my prep times by borrowing from things others have made and was wondering if anyone had good suggestions. free is obviously preferable but ill take anything really if you like it (I’m running 5e but willing to do conversion from any system)
2 Likes
I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the 5e tools website, but they have a lot of the official adventures available to peruse (and for free)!
It also is just an awesome library of pretty much everything else too, like monsters and magical items. Makes it easy to just grab a monster to use somewhere to spice things up, or give your players a bit better reward than finding a handful of gold or junk to sell for some coins
BUT if this is already a resource you use then I am unfortunately of no help, I usually just grab a map I like and hope for the best xD
4 Likes
There’s one ttrpg i really want to play called lancer. All of my friend’s either don’t play ttrpgs or they’re completely busy. I would really hope to play it one day cause giant mechs my beloved 
5 Likes
Gonna join the ramblings! My life revolves around D&D and I essentially learned to draw so I could draw the characters in one of my parties
My group has played a few different games. My favourites are 5E a and blades in the dark. I've dabbled in TTRPGS as a teenager but it wasn't until I found my current group that it really ignited a passion in me.
I'm DMing one game for them that started with the wild beyond the witch light adventure and has now turned into a huge homebrew campaign that is going to be entering its final act soon and I'm so nervous.
Another member of my group started DMIng Curse of Strahd for us in October 2022 and....hoo boy did that start a hyper fixation of the likes I have never experienced. I immediately fell in love with the dreary doomed world of Barovia and all its inhabitants. The characters everybody made were so cool and interesting. This is the game I learned to draw for because I couldn't stop thinking about it and having two weeks between some sessions was absolute agony lol.
We finished our adventure in Barovia a few months ago and it was such a bitter sweet experience. It affected me on a level I was not ready for. The DM is currently working on a continuation for the campaign with the same characters so I'm just counting down the days until I can step into the shoes of Cynder, my sad fire genasi fighter once again.
I think my ramble is over for now lol. I'd love to hear about your favourite characters that you've played.
3 Likes
I am a long time fan of WoD. I might post snips from my play by chat mage characters. They produce some really cool moments, although I tend to make the descriptions of magick intense on a visceral level.
I tend to get a bit worked up and ranting when I talk about D&D. I don't like it. But if someone wants to hear about why, feel free to directly message me.
I play a lot of different games. I talk about them on my blog and I am currently trying to write my own ttrpg thing
This will be a long one!
I have had many years of playing TTRPG's with my favorite being Pathfinder 2nd Edition. As time goes by and I gain more experience there was some that was a problem from the very first time I made a character. It didn't harm my enjoyment nor devolved the quality of play but it's an unrealized desire of mine.
Becoming Your Character
To the praise and scorn of DMs and Players alike I love going deep into character. I write or brainstorm their lives, ideals, troubles, and vices. Then using all my knowledge and heart to become them. To breathe their air, think their thoughts, feel their emotions. This never gets dull every-time I do it.
But as I play I realize how.... streamlined it all is. Leveling is mere killing enemies for experience. The result of conversations are more determined by luck then the usage of your words. The world is limited by the DMs experience, preparation, and personal taste; Then supplemented by my own imagination.
It is a game at the end of the day, so that is to be expected. Not everything will have depth or be systematically perfect. Plus it is mean to be played with others, and I cannot force into the rabbit hole I desire for myself. So I continue to find other things to distract myself meanwhile.
But the borders of human limitations came closer and closer, my character themes begin to repeat, research becomes tiresome, the DMs while grateful for my investment being to show strain at my pace. My roleplay while at times great will leave others feeling sidelined or subpar. Casual and whimsy play not longer appealed to me.
So I search further, veteran only games, hardcore roleplay, Grim-dark settings with mass PC casualties, riddles and puzzles meant to vex the average man, tables set with dioramas and painted figures to more deeply submerge myself in adventure. The drama of an unfaithful wife, leaving with her son in story, and the desperate action of an important position in another.
But, so few truly have the time, taste, or investment needed for such experiences, the walls come closer and closer. Until finally, I looked upon the walls of roleplay and creation I now stand beside and curse it's ever loathsome presence.
4 Likes
Have you considered trying to do a troupe RP project with other people who have a lot of thoughts on RP? Getting past thinking of "my character" and towards "our story" seems like the avenue that cures the most of your woes.
3 Likes
That has not come to mind no, but I do like the idea and will consider putting it into practice.
2 Likes
We looooove pathfinder (and a partner of ours introduced us to lancer and we're quite a fan of that too) but we struggle to find peeps to play anything with, let alone anyone willing to learn the rather chunky rules load of pathfinder 1e. Ended up just making a whole buncha characters for it that have yet to see the light of day...
2 Likes
idk if this is the right place but i find myself struggling a bit with how to utilize combat in my dming how lethal it should be. heres some thoughts ive had on lethality in general.
additonaly im thinking about the stakes of combat, should every encounter kill or should it take several encounters to start killing players? should i reserve real tpg oppourtunities to big bosses? hmmm so many questions ~moxshpox
3 Likes
Honestly depends on the tone of the game and how comfortable your players are with dying. I think your list is solid and I personally wouldn't change anything. Although for compression, a general rule of thumb for when I DM is simple.
- All combat encounters should pose some risk of death.
- Combat encounters must not be blatantly unfair, UNLESS the encounter was given warning beforehand
- Boss battles must have either mechanical or narrative flair. (A fight in ruins of a city may sport MG nest hidden in buildings. Or spy mission is turned on its head as the boss reveals a big betrayal to the PC's, causing them to question their alliances.)
- Should a battle be a cake walk, try to add some kind of twist
- Should you feel that combat is going too well or poorly, dont be afraid to fudge numbers. (This is ultimately a theater for story, and a little suspense goes a long way.)
Shift and change the rules as you set fit for the setting and group but I believe this is a solid and malleable base to work off of.
2 Likes