Adventurer’s Journal: Preparing for your First Ever Game
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Four on 29th May 2019. Ryu: Yeah, HR said they want to “have a word with” KayDee about how we can’t farm new employees for kidneys. Ostron: I’m sorry, what? Lennon: Doesn’t matter. Speaking of new employees, can you guys look over what I’ve got so far? Ryu: Sure Sitting down for your first ever session of D&D can be a daunting prospect for a lot of people. Assuming you looked through the basic rules or player’s handbook (which, hint, you should have done) you know there’s a lot of information and rules involved with this, and it’s very easy to get overwhelmed. First of all, breathe. It’s not that big of a deal. Even if there are other players who’ve got more experience than you, everyone will know you’re new at this and they’ll understand if you don’t have everything ready to go…
Gnomish Workshop: Critical Bonuses
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Three on 22nd May 2019. Lennon: Right, so I thought we covered critical hits? ROSTRO: I would classify the information previously discussed as a primer on the general category. If you direct your attention to the display crystals, we can proceed. Lennon: What if I close my eyes and start running? KDM: Then you’ll hit the door, dear, I’ve just locked it. Now come along… As we’ve discussed previously, if they aren’t modified it is easier to score a critical hit in 5e than in any of the previous editions of the game. However, the average damage from the critical hits is also at its lowest point in history. We suggested a few ways that the damage output could be modified, but there are other things that can be done with critical hits to enhance them further. Cautionary notation: reviewing discussed information shows the highest statistical occurrence…
Gnomish Workshop: How Do You Crit?
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Two on 15th May 2019. ROSTRO: Your information on critical hits is alarmingly deficient. Please consult the output crystals and confer with my colleague. Lennon: I think I’d rather go meet with HR. KDM: Lennon, don’t make me use hold person. Critical hits are a primary goal of many players in combat, with good reason; the ability to roll twice as many dice when doing damage usually means the character’s hitting harder than usual. If you have a character such as a rogue making a sneak attack or a paladin using smite, the number of extra dice rolled can cause scrambling even among those with extensive polyhedral collections. The impact of critical hits is such that the basic ruleset provides few methods to improve chances of one occurring. The Fighter’s Champion path is the only overt, class-based ability that modifies the likelihood of a critical hit…
Archives of Candlekeep: Spelljammer Part 2: An Overview
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy One on 1st May 2019. Ryu: Okay so now I’m morbidly curious. If Spelljammer’s lore was so crazy, how did that work with gameplay? Lennon: Awesomely, I’m sure. Ostron: Did Spelljammer pay off your mortgage or something? Lennon: So far it’s D&D in space, there are 7ft hippos with muskets and I get to throw Kender out of airlocks. I’m sold. Ostron: Well there weren’t actually airlocks, you know. Spelljammer is presented as a separate campaign setting that uses spaceships, space, and planets to substitute for horses, open plains, and cities. The original sourcebook explains the separation as willful apathy: people in the Forgotten Realms or Dragonlance setting know that there are people cruising around in space, but they don’t really care. Similarly, the people in space really don’t worry about what’s going on in Waterdeep on a regular basis; everyone has their own problems…
Archives of Candlekeep: Spelljammer Part 1: the Lore
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy on 24th April 2019. Lennon: I don’t understand why you’re against it. Ostron: I’m not against it, I just don’t understand why you’re so in favor of it. I mean, what do you actually know about spelljammer? Lennon: It’s D&D…IN SPAAACE Ostron: Other than that. Lennon: Um…it’s got spaceships. Like many modern settings and elements of D&D, Spelljammer’s roots are in 2nd edition, and they owe their existence to a man named Jeff Grubb. As Keith Baker is to Eberron, Jeff Grubb is to Spelljammer, although he doesn’t have the laser focus on his setting Mr.Baker does. Grubb is the author of the first Manual of the Planes and created the forgotten Al-Qadim setting, and is credited as being part of the team that originated the Forgotten Realms itself. Later on, he was also contracted by Wizards to work on d20 Modern,…
Wisdom from the Master: Actual Stealth Missions
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-Nine on 17th April 2019. Lennon: This doesn’t bode well for my idea of having my players run a stealth mission. Ryu: What does that have to do with anything? Lennon: Well the whole party isn’t made up of Rangers, Rogues, and people who can cast “Invisibility” so they’re going to make it what? One, maybe two rounds before the guardhouses are alerted and we’re on the express train to murdertown. Ostron: Well, that depends on how you set up the encounter. If the hype and excitement around the release of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist showed us anything, it’s that a lot of players and DMs are excited about the idea of doing a heist or stealth infiltration encounter in their games. There are probably visions of the characters being a coordinated team of misfits like in Oceans’ 11 or the Italian…
Adventurer’s Journal: Helpful Helping
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-Eight on 10th April 2019. Ryu: Lennon…why are you trying to slide a ruler under the door to the Gnomish Workshop? If you’re trying to pick the lock that’s definitely not the way to do it. Lennon: No I…Ostron locked me out. Ryu: What did you do? Lennon: Nothing! I was just trying to help! Ostron: Standing over my shoulder making random comments is not helping! Lennon: but, I mean, that gives him advantage, doesn’t it? Ryu: Well, no, in combat you’re actually supposed to stand over the *enemy* to grant your allies advantage Lennon: oh….right The easiest situation for D&D players most of the time is if they’re playing with a bunch of people who have about the same experience with D&D as they do. Everyone’s familiar with the same editions, they have a similar take on how to play the game…
Gnomish Workshop: Hidden Advantages
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-seven on 3rd April 2019. Lennon: By the rollacks of Ralishaz, not again! Ryu: What happened? Lennon: Well, how would you describe… that? Ryu: Well, Ostron’s unconscious neatly laid out on the floor of the Workshop again… there are absolute piles and piles of dice around… so either he miscast a sleep spell and knocked himself out, or… ROSTRO: Ostron’s command of thaumaturgical rituals seems significant enough to make that event unlikely… Ostron needed help with Advantage. It appears the concept is more complex than it would seem at first glance. On the face of it advantage and disadvantage seem simple; if you have advantage or disadvantage on a roll, generally an attack or ability check, more rarely a saving throw, you roll two d20s instead of one. In the case of advantage, the higher of the two dice is chosen. With…
Wisdom from the Master: Yes, DM: You, too, can Metagame
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-Six on 20th March 2019. Lennon: No Killer DM today? I figured she’d want to see Ostron since she missed him last time. Ostron: Oh darn, so sorry about that. Ryu: She had a problem with the topic Lennon: Well she was arguing with Mikey about it last time, I thought she had more to say. Ryu: Yeah…how did she put it? Killer DM: You keep telling me I’m not supposed to kill people just because they’re wrong, but I refuse to encourage them when they are wrong. Ostron: Well, actually a lot of people agree with the Killer DM on this one. Because of the way metagaming is regarded in D&D, there is a pervasive assumption that the DM is unable to do it by definition. After all, if metagaming is introducing elements from outside the game and the DM is the ultimate arbiter of what is…
Unearthed Mundana: Metagaming Responsibly
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-Five on 13th March 2019. Killer DM: and you, and you, and definitely you- Lennon: Dare I ask what you’re doing? Killer DM: Since we were talking about metagaming players last week, I figured I’d review my list of the ones I need to…talk with. Mikey: How long do those conversations take? Killer DM: Depends on how proficient they are at dexterity saves. Oh, hi Mikey, glad to see they let you out of the cave again — I do like the way you make me sound… Lennon: Just so we’re on the same page, you do know this is going to talk about how players can stop derailing the game with metagaming, right? Killer DM: I’m well aware of the goal here, Lennon, Ryu does keep me well informed. And if she doesn’t I can always bother Ostron about what’s happening. Mikey: Wait, is that why he’s not here? What do…