My group just got into Carnevale, and came across these lore videos. Really well done! Seems sad that there haven't been any updates following on some of the other factions. :(
I started WDDH last January, and it felt epic - helping me expand my campaign into a big sprawl across the Sword Coast. Thanks for this info, Mystra has always been on my radar. There are a lot of important figures on the Coast with a lot of differing opinions! Thanks for developing Laeral a bit more for me
That was excelent, so gald I found these Carnevale videos, looking forward to seeing the others next. I'm about to start writing up a new Campaign System for this game. It will involve a Brand New faction I'm working on and how the City responds to their arrival... all purely for my own group but who knows (i've been in print before😉)... Anyway, I subbed to you, look forward to some more Carnevale stuff, so little around, keep up the good work.
Some of the maps you used are actually homebrewed alternates made by this guy: www.reddit.com/r/Eberron/comments/eg1h6r/homebrewed_khorvaire_revised_map/ Was a bit confused until I figured that out.
I killed him off in my campaign because my PC’s buddied up with the doom raiders who wanted to take over control of the zhents which they are a part of
This was amazing, I’m ran dragon heist and now running dungeon of the mad mage and one of my players worked under vahjra. Wouldve been great to know a little more about their relationship before but you killed it with this video thank you
I'm very curious about how this transition is going to turn out and exactly how backwards compatible it's going to be, because there is A LOT of content in 5e so what would the 'new' 6e books contain that isn't just reused content? The new Mordenkainen is already reprinting old options but with new rules so isn't that already 'replacing' the older versions?
yeah Hobgoblins are pretty great. I've always wanted to play as one but never had the chance. I think they could easily be player characters or "neutral" NPCs. I don' t know all the Forgotten Realms lore, but it seems to me hobgoblins aren't mentioned much. In a homebrew i DMed in high school i imagined the eastern continent of my campaign ruled by a vast empire with Hobgoblins as the warrior caste and nobles, after they succeded in invading a human empire. In that world, while more militaristic and harsh than the human rulers, they gave stability and order and mantained the peace. Well,just some ramblings, have a nice one
That’s way cool! Thanks so much for sharing. We definitely think they are underused if just going to be cannon fodder for your PC’s. Really interesting way you used them above - thanks again for posting 👍
@@eddiebaby1982 well, it was some years ago tbh..it was a bit based off the Ming empire(that was invaded by the Manchu), so probably something on those lines. In that campaign there was also an archipelago of islands inhabited by goblins that were pirates and merchants(of stolen goods) and had a tradition of incredibly sophisticated social interactions with clans, families and political intrigues, that mainly served the purpose of not stabbing each other in the back immediately(goblins will be goblins after all),but rather pay an assassin like a proper civilized person.That one was inspired by a mix of arabian and indonesian countries. They even had a wizard school that specialized on spells to improve seafaring and deception. That country was called Palembang, which was a real state in Indonesia but my friends didn't know so..anyway,sorry for the long post, nowadays i spend waaay less time on world building and i believe in a " less is more " approach
I thought 4th ed was a fun game designed to lure new players with its card system for powers. However, I agree with you that this latest ed is fantastic and great to play !! Love your content!
I love me some hobgoblins too, they are goblinoids with discipline and strategy, great for evil armies and enemies with a sort of warrior honor. Goblinoids in general are more interesting than Orcs i think. (depends on the setting tbf)
First time visitor... I'll LIKE and SUBSCRIBE, just because. But anyway... One of my 2 groups will be encountering a Rakshasa in their next session. Having dealt with the creature before, it totally sucks in combat, even with its immunities and resistances. It's real power is keeping its identity hidden. In my setting, he's not the BBEG. Not even close. However, for the past few centuries, he's disguised himself as a dwarf and is the king of a dwarven nation. He keeps his minions (the dwarves) constantly trained and ready for battle, even though there are no "apparent" threats to him or his country. He, however, has it in for the current ruler of the underworld (which I call "Hehl"). This person, a mortal named Vigila, has subjugated all the demons and devils in Hehl, and is currently considered an ally to the PCs. The last thing the Rakshasa wants is to be killed, because he knows that Vigila would destroy him immediately if he were to reconstitute there. Consequently, he keeps himself surrounded by loyal followers (none of which carry piercing weapons!) However, his followers are unaware of his true nature. He has an artifact the PCs want, and he'd be willing to trade it for something he believes is better. Getting to my question: In the prior groups (I'm current running groups 5 and 7 in my setting; group 5 is the party about to meet him, they are level 11, meaning they can easily take the Rakshasa unless I modify him significantly) I've felt that this encounter hasn't been as good as it could have been. I'm not great at "Drama" in the sense the Rakshasa would want to stir up, so I'd be open to some ideas and suggestions on how to run him better than I have in the past.
Hi Scott! First off I love the name of your underworld and the situation it is in with a mortal ruling over it. This is why reaching level 10 and higher can get so cool. I should have said, that the Rakshasa would be a good BBEG for a lower level party, but as you say at level 11 the party would not find one very challenging. I think you have set it up perfectly tbh. By having him surrounded by his minions at all times, he should never be caught alone. Did you ever play 4e? They had a great mechanic for minions where they were, let’s say, normal Dwarf warriors but with one HP. This means you can have swarms of them, which can be very deadly, but easy to kill. This can lead to really cinematic action, as the heroes cut a swathe through the masses of enemies. A powerful mage or Cleric as a lieutenant and a couple of heavies and I think you have a cracking encounter. If the party know his true self then perhaps the party may try to talk their way out of a fight. I always reward this kind of tactic with an actual opportunity to convince the guards, or perhaps the lieutenant, by judging the actual argument and the speech that is given as well as a performance or charisma check of you sort. Hope this helps Scott, good luck and let us know what you ended up going with. Keep slaying!
@@eddiebaby1982 The session with the Rakshasa was last Friday. Here's what happened - They arrived in the city and after convincing the soldiers/guards that they needed to see the king, they were escorted to the castle. The city is built for war - Multiple layers of walls, and throughout the city are grand towers with ballistae, and everything is manned and ready. There are no taverns, inns, or anything (this is a city of DWARVES, by the way!) When a PC offered the captain a drink, the captain scoffed, "Drinking dulls the senses. We can't afford such distractions." Wow. When they came to the castle, under heavy escort (and having been relieved of their weapons), they were searched again (finding more weapons on the rogue, of course) and brought in to audience with the "king." He wants what he wants. He has an artifact that they want. They try using insight checks, but with his +10 deception, he's pretty good with his lies and misdirection. The druid in the party, however, wants to know why he hates the witch ruling Hehl so much. He goes into this diatribe talking about the great war between demons and devils, and how that before she arrived in Hehl, they co-ruled (not peacefully, of course) the realm. She subjugated both and took her place. He feels that the situation is untenable, and that fiends should be allowed to pursue their own destiny, and not be ruled by a mortal. During the conversation, he intentionally reveals his true nature... When serving brandy to the party members from his credenza, he drops the illusion on his hand that is holding the decanter. Of course, his "body guard" is standing right behind him the whole time - a modified version of the "Mighty Servant of Leuk-O". One of the descriptors I included is that the dwarves are very much like the duergar, but are just fine working and training in day light. The party actually agreed to the terms of his trade and the deal was made. He got what he wanted. They got what they wanted, and they left in peace. Though, in his parting words, he said, "It won't be you coming to me asking for my help, it will be you coming to me asking how you can help me."
Loved this. Running Waterdeep Dragon Heist right now. This was my first campaign and honestly didn't expect us to get past a few sessions. Buttttttttt..... session 50 is tonight and the group is exploring a pyramid that grew out of a magic bean. Waterdeep module has been an awesome template for us to tell our own story and I really want to tie Halaster and the DotMM to finish it all up, eventually. Thanks for the insight!
Sounds like a great campaign and glad we could help! Let us and the wider Dirty20 community know if there are any particularly memorable moments as we love to share stories. A pyramid from a magic bean sounds like fun =)
hey, good video. I have the same issues with overpowered NPCs. I tend to leave them behind the curtain, doing their own stuff and rarely interacting with the PCs. It makes sense in a high fantasy setting,after all even if a cop or firefighter or whatever saves lives, they won't become buddies with the president or with the ceo of amazon(for example). In medieval/renessaince times the King(or queen or prince or whatever) had around them a court of sycophants, lobbyists, nobles and functionaries that battled for a place in the sun,you would have to go through a lot of them just to see the sovereign, let alone speak to them. Granted, some of them had a more direct approach, but still.. So unless you aren't buddies with one of the masked lords ( whether you know it or not), you would need a pretty special reason to gain access to Laeral. In the Tyranny of dragons campaign you meet her but only because you are a well known hero and she happens to be there as a representative. Maybe she doesn't even like you so much. After all she has met hundreds of adventurers in her time, for her you are just a parvenu, bound to disappear or die very soon. Why should she even care. Yes, you saved the day, to you it was the adventure of a lifetime, for her it's just tuesday.
I use solo oneshots as "auditions" for players joining my games. lets them see my DMing style and lets me get better insight into how they play before throwing them into my groups, and also is a good way to tease out any questions they may have.
I had a PC I played in one game that I turned into an NPC in most of the games I ran later. Khoske, a 6'8" human ranger/fighter who grew up in the woods until his parents sent him off to study at a church in town when he was 12. but he was always a wild kid and he *tried* to avoid going to school by sleeping in a burnt out house outside the town and only going in the walls to have a bit of fun stealing. poor Khoske! he was already too big to escape notice that easily, and while he was able to avoid the town guards for a good couple months, he was eventually brought to heel and the priest who taught the local children formally adopted him in order to keep a better eye on him. lol as the years passed, Khoske befriended the guards and eventually joined them, earning respect for his perceptiveness in the woods and toward his comrades. by the age of 25, he was commanding the town guard and at 34, he was summoned to join the king's personal guard. in my largest setting, he's the personal attendant to the disgraced Emperor of an isolated mountain nation called Wend. in Wend, the University holds the real political power and is responsible for an edict that the nation remain closed off from the world. the Emperor is ostensibly the holder of Wend's cultural traditions, so when he began to express a desire to know more about the rest of the world, he was exiled to a dismal little tower on a barren peak. Whenever new players enter that setting, Khoske is the first person they meet, a thoroughly unignorable giant of a man standing out in a city square, awkwardly trying to hawk for adventurers to bring the Emperor tales of the outside world.
This was a really fun episode. I definitely have to check those campaigns out! Also, the zooming in/ editing made this one super easy to watch on mobile.
with regards to the dungeons and doggies/cats and catacombs, there is an ongoing kickstarter campaign which is focussed on the faraway sea. may be worth checking out
Maybe an odd note, but I can't thank you enough for not using background music while you speak. T^T It's getting so much harder to find TTRPG content that doesn't overload my senses.
I think my favourite villain to run was a tiefling crimelord called Titus Crane, who persued the party over the oceans for destroying his stronghold instead of dying in his arena like good little prisoners
Hey, its the MBTM guys, I've just found your PODcasts and I'm working my way backwards (of course). I'll be heading to your YT Channel when I'm done here 😃...
