That's an excellent question! For writer's block, freewriting usually solves the problem. I sit down and just write whatever pops into my head, even if it's unrelated. To get the ball rolling, I start almost all of these sessions with "Okay, so here's what I'm thinking..." If I can't think of anything at all, I'll write "I have no thoughts" over and over until I have one. If I'm really stuck, I take my notebook and go somewhere else, ideally outside or somewhere public. But even moving from the office to my living room works. Derailments are the opposite problem. When I realize I'm getting off-topic, I stop and ask myself "What is this adventure really about?" Then, I cut out anything that is outside that central focus. If that forces me to cut something I love, I'll paste that part into a separate document for use in a later project.
The group I used to play with loved power gaming. They had a system to assign points where they could reroll the dice a certain number of times, and anything lower than a certain number was an instant free reroll that didn't subtract from your original rerolls. It was overly complex, pointless, and over powered. I never got a character with stats below three 17s and three 18s. The characters were so overpowered that there was no point in taking any threat seriously.
If you really want to make encounters SPICY, allow me to introduce the goblin railgun. No, it's not a line of goblins throwing a spear, it's an ogre throwing goblins with readied action grapple.
On the setting traps point, Kobalds in particular are well known for traps. If you’ve got a chromatic dragon, there’s a good chance it’s got kobalds protecting it, and they’ve rigged every hall with traps, maybe even make some maintenance/engineer kobalds are in one of the halls and can be interrogated or convinced to defuse a trap or two, maybe with a hint of treachery if you’re sneaky enough
A great example of a "what" that drives a character to adventure and a great choice for a player looking to give their character room to grow as a person. Thanks for sharing!
@@rjcurrer My pleasure! It's also why the GM let me be the exception to the "no evil characters" rule. I won't murderhobo, because my character thinks on a scale far larger, but is stuck surviving on a far smaller scale. The paladin is more of a murderhobo than the literal devil of the party.
I stumbled on this accidentally: my half ork ranger driven from mixed human and dwarf society just wants to belong. Starts worshiping an obscure goddess names Snu who multiplies the warband through reproduction adoption recruitment abduction purchase (enslavement) he is thrilled when she sells his soul to a recovery company who sends him on missions with a team of new friends. He might adopt an entire orphanage later to thank her.
The desire to belong is a powerful motivator. A character adventuring in the hopes of making friends is a great example of something a character thinks will bring them ultimate happiness. Thanks for sharing!
It also gives them time to connect with the other characters (and their own) so that if they go down in a fight, it feels more real and dangerous. During battles I tend to focus on mechanics, but if my imaginary brother or boyfriend or friend who final caught a break is dying, I may choose to let the bbeg go to save them instead
Great question! A non-sequitur is a comment that suddenly shifts the conversation topic and which seems unrelated to the original topic. For example, if someone said, "It's raining out." And you responded, "I never did care for running." In a dialogue between characters, non-sequiturs can be used to make dramatic shifts in the conversation and reveal hidden linkages between two seemingly unrelated topics.
All solid advice. I had to turn my volume all the way up to hear it and I still kind of struggled to understand you because you're basically mumbling. But, great advice just the same. :)
Thanks for asking! The audio levels on that one were the same as the last few which are leveled louder than my previous videos. Hopefully you were still able to hear it well enough. 😊
Finding a DM can be a serious struggle sometimes. Have you considered looking on the D&D Beyond forums or Discord channel? I've had good luck finding players there in the past. You might be able to find a DM who's a good fit as well.
Gale from Baldurs Gate 3 is a great example of an eloquent low charisma character. he talks and carries himself with the upmost confidence... and everyone knows he's a dweeb immediately
I was actually thinking this was a really good way to describe the difference between Wyll and Astarion they have almost the exact kind of dynamic described here but Gale also works
Always remember that your combat encounters don’t always need a reason. Sometimes you just come across random things happening. Don’t stress yourself to come up with a reason behind every npc and why they’re there.
Absolutely true! Random encounters do happen. And those encounters can be much easier to roleplay on the fly if there's something the NPCs want to get out of combat, even if that is just to survive it.
I think one thing a lot of DMs forget to do, is add environmental aspects to combat. Goblins ambush you...fighting in the open. No. As you pass beneath the derelict castle walls, you hear a rumbling. Goblins are dropping stones from above. Roll Dex to evade, and use this roll to determine initiative.
Excellent advice! Intelligent attackers would use every advantage available to them, including the environment. Plus, it adds a lot more drama and excitement.
@@rjcurrerI'm a DM who loves his tactics. Good Combat is more than a Final Fantasy-esque turn based fight. It should have multiple aspects. The Dragon doesnt just fly about and breathe fire. The fire melts the stone. Its wings create massive gusts that push against the party, forcing strength saves to stay on their feet. The Ogre doesnt just swing its club. A miss just means the club doesnt hit the player. It may strike the ground, raising a cloud of dust, or swing wide and topple a tree that falls towards another member of the party. Combat should be at minimum 3 dimensional, if not 4.
Thanks! It feels like such a simple thing in hindsight, but it dramatically improved my encounter-building when I started doing it. I hope it helps you, too!
I actually have a fun story that may be relevant. We played Descend into Avernus, and since my character died in hell I needed the replacement. I rolled a high elf sorcerer with amnesia so its easy for DM to just drop him in hell and maybe get him some backstory later. All I gave him is that I remember I am or were happily married but no memories of my wife. We saved Elthurel, and as we ascend from hell the curse lifts and I suddenly remembered. Of course I am a patriar from Baldurs Gate by name of Vanthampur. If you played DIA you probably know yhis name. Long story short: The party (my previous character in particular) killed my wife and son (both were my now dead rogue victims) and bragged about it when they told me their story. That was kind of a shock of course but I understand why they did it... Now the plot twist that happens after is that when we go visit "my house" turns out my wife is still there... and plotting... because she is a literal devil now. I took a lot of conflicting emotions this day :P
It absolutely could be! However, I find making them NPCs gives your DM more to work with. Using an object as a motivator for your character means the DM might have to dangle it as a carrot, but letting your character obtain it removes its usefulness as a motivator. Yet, if they do this too many times, it gets frustrating. NPCs can have shifting motivations of their own, making them more versatile in the long run.
