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💃 DnD 5e 🎲 FATE RPG 🌙 Sailor Moon ♟️Board Games 📚 Fanfiction 📺 Fantasy
Join me for a free-to-play DnD 5e One-Shot hosted on Discord by Livetale on July 26th starting at 6 pm ET. The first 4 people to sign up will get to play, but you can also join us on to watch and participate in the gameplay via chat! Sign up below and I will PM you in Discord to discuss your character and the game!
Was there ever a time when the Dungeon Master (DM) did something that completely ruined the experience for you?
This is a thread of caution and wisdom for all DMs. An insight into what ruins campaigns for players and how to avoid them.
I had a DM who did everything in their power (which was considerable since ya know they are the DM) to prevent me from obtaining a bag of holding. For those who don't know, a bag of holding is a magical item that looks like a normal bag but can magically hold much more. In DnD 5e (5th Edition and the one the campaign was set in), a bag of holding is an uncommon magical item that costs between 100gp-500gp (DMG p135).
It was a fresh campaign, we had played maybe one or two sessions, and I had mentioned that I would be looking for a bag of holding. Every major city after that, any place that looked like it could have something interesting or magical I would look. The DM made me roll constitution checks, notice checks, investigate, and perception. I could never roll high enough. My character would get exhausted just from looking. Other players would be able to find anything they needed right away, with no need to slog around the city.
It got to the point where I stopped asking, stopped looking. But the DM couldn't let it go, they would bait me.
"Hey did you have anything you wanted to look for?", rousing me to find the unobtainable.
"No, I don't want it anymore."
My dismissal produced a look of cutting disappointment across their face, and I realized that they enjoyed denying me. That I was never going to get it.
The DMs twisted quest for power all over this one bag of holding completely turned me off the campaign, and it wasn't long before I decided I was out. A DM, who says no without reason, just for the joy of saying no, is a bad DM.
I ended up leaving 5e behind and starting a FATE campaign, which has been wonderful. One of the best tabletop roleplay systems for those who want roleplay as the main course and not just a little roleplay salad with their combat meal.
The elevator dinged an obnoxious falsetto, torturing it's well tailored occupants as they struggled to escape the tiny prison. Faust felt his needling frustration cascade into rage as the doors jammed, forcing him to hold his breath and squeeze out sideways. A sharp yank halted him, his briefcase catching on the closing doors. With a snap and a ding, it was lost to him, descending back down the 666 floors to the lobby below.
"Fucking Hell," he muttered.
Grinding his jaw and running his hands through his chestnut locks, he cooled his high brows into impassiveness. Across the polished obsidian floors and mundane cubicles, the red mountains of ice loomed in the distance. Plumes of sulfur belch from the ground casting the sprawling metropolis before them in a tartar stained ichor.
(Original art created in December 2022 by D. Christopher.)
"The deal you made with Brady, it has too many postponement clauses. It's a legal nightmare."
Faust couldn't suppress the groan tumbling from his pinched lips, glaring to his right at Heina's quick approach. Her suit clasping in her assault across the tile foyer, red heels leaving scorch marks in their wake. He turned on his heel as she reached him, cutting off her beratement and forcing her to follow him. Let her stew, he thought, I really could have gone without the slither of eels this morning. Purposely, he strode toward the conference room.
"Good morning, Heina," he called keepings his pace brisk, barely stopping to dodge the tiny underling drudes. Disgusting little vermin, he thought, watching as they scurried across the office carrying memos and coffee. .
"Don't good morning me," she replied. The tingle of flames hissed at Faust's elbow, as she hounded his steps. "We will be incapable of collecting on him for decades!"
Muttering he turned past the water coolers. "Sounds like a problem for legal."
Faust growled at being yanked for a second time in one day, and pivoted so hard Heina almost crashed against him.
Despite her abrupt stop, she speared him with a glare. Her bright eyes promising dealth by slow lapidation, a positively thrilling prospect.
"You have your sights set high, Faust, don't piss me off."
Faust had had enough of her hounding for today. The darkness pulled to him and he loomed over her, his pulse clamoring for first blood.
"He wanted the addendum, so he got the addendum," he growled. She took a step back, fear blossoming in her eyes.
"How could I say no to the return of the notorious Brady Thom to the NFL? And Heina," he paused to throw the words over his shoulder. "He won't live decades anyway, greed is hard at work and now I've got my elephant".
Faust cast his gaze forward, reaching the conference room doors, black shapes visible through their frosted glass. Muffled voices indicated the meeting had already begun. Fuck, he thought. The boss was eager to land the next big one. Schooling his features once again, he clasped the handles moving confidently across the threshold. With a smug grin he thought, it's time to hunt.
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Welcome to Brimstone and Co, the up and coming soul collection agency. For thousands of years, demons have been corrupting mortals and using their souls to power the intrinsic magics within the fifth dimension known as Hell. Demons must carefully locate potential souls, souls who have the capacity to achieve infamy. The more renowned or reviled the mortal becomes the more powerful their soul will be. Beware rival demons aren't above poaching potential souls and the costs of achieving a mortals dreams must be weighed against their souls worth. Everything comes with a price, but prestige and power lie with those capable and cunning enough to delivery the most potent souls .
This is where you come in!
Brimstone is located in downtown Shaitan and is run by the ambitious Lulu Kaachu, a power-suit filled with persuasion and topped with cascading ivory locks. Her relentless drive has propelled Brimstone from a distiller of backwater souls to the new heavy contender in Hell's soul scene.
Lulu Kaachu
Twitter: YD@ydh2101 THE CEO
Demons come in any and all specialties. Using their unique abilities they must locate souls and initiate first contact. These souls have the potential for infamy and the wider they are known the larger your score. Barter, persuade, and haggle them into eternal damnation. The key is to convince them can never reach the potential they dream of without YOUR help.
Examples of Potential Demons:
Soul Seeker - These demons have the ability to sense and locate mortals who display the necessarily talents and vices to propel them into the collective conscious of mankind. There souls are imbued with the cerebral energy, creating super wells of mystical energy.
Negotiator - These demons fill any space with an aura of charm and charisma. Using their honey coated voices, they disarm mortals, luring them into eternal traps.
Illusionist - Using mystical energy they are capable of changing realty to suit their vision, but even small changes come at a steep price.
Fighter - These demons preventing the poaching of assets by competing corporations.
Whether you are a veteran hunter or new hire, negotiator or a soul seeker, Lulu considers you a valuable asset to the team. Work your way up the corporate ladder, go out into the hunting fields of mortal Earth and get those signatures… signatures of blood.
Welcome to the team!
Character Name:
Demon Species and/or Sin Choice:
Appearance:
Personality Type:
Gender/Pronouns:
Position/ job/responsibilities:
Key Ability* :
Goals:
Secret:
*need not be magical, examples - illusions, human possession, tracking, soul analyst, fighter (watch out for rival demons), persuasion, sin specialist (uses a select sin to push the mortal to greater potential) , if you have something else in mind go for it!
You're right, the trademark of an amazing DM is how well they adapt to the spontaneity of their players while maintaining a coherent storyline. I think I fail in this particular regard, as my players love to spiral into murderous little 2 years olds bent on making dragon transformers (oh please ask so I can tell you) out of deception rolls. Maybe they see I have created a holy sanctuary, rife with proof that there are fouler games afoot. But they don't investigate (probably my fault, my breadcrumbs are too small) and even I'm surprised when they just blow it up, consequences be damned. But I just love to watch them work.
I like to think that my approach at least makes everyone happy, and they aren't sitting around waiting to die. Wait.... Do you think they blow stuff up because they are WAITING TO DIE?
My dearest Professor Waddlesboro, I am in desperate need of your assistance!
Dr. Amelia Diggsdeep, is an elven archeologist of the highest caliber, academically speaking of course.
Library within the Tower of Lightsworn
Long devoted to the ancient texts within the academic tower of Lightsworn. She has dug deep within its volumes and through rigorous diligence uncovered the location of the ancient halfling city of Snacking.
She has recently abandoned her beloved library on a quest to discover the hidden treasures within the city, but her exuberant youth can only take her so far. She has sent you a letter requesting your aid with the many riddles and puzzles that her books just can't seem to answer. Enclosed within her letters, you are titillated to discover, are all the clues needed to solve these puzzles. Using her vast network of colleague's and magical correspondence, she hopes you can help her unlock the ancient city's secrets and maybe those of some other colleagues as well!
Cordially yours,
Amelia
Character Name:
Character description(physical, race, age, ect) :
Background/schooling:
Gender/Pronouns:
Area of Expertise (ie linguistics, epigraphy, fossils, dwarfs, dragons ect):
Trouble (vice):
Fun fact:
This is a non-GM-led game. Please feel free to contact one of your colleagues if you need assistance with a project or a dig that has you particularly befuddled.
I love how Wow turned part of the game into basically pokemon and let you battle your vanity pets. I could spend hours on it just going around collecting them.
Oh I didn't think about the Paladin overshadowing them. My partner was going to play a paladin because of the versatility. But maybe now he should reconsider. Thank you!
I woke them up in a cave, how very DnD of me. They got to explore, fight (baby owlbears), and stumbled upon a secret door. Who would have thought? I was a little disappointed though. I had a color puzzle that I had seen on reddit and thought was fun and simple. Purple Door - Red/Blue/Yellow Torches. Light the right ones (red+blue = purple) the door opens. I didn't even get done describing the room before they had figured out the puzzle. Shrugs. Could have been worse. At least they got it.
Tell me about the most beautiful place you have ever been. Somewhere that took your breath away and never gave it back!
When I was in college, I spent one summer in Costa Rica volunteering and exploring. A large chunk of time was spent at an eco-lodge in the jungle. We had to hike in to get there. There were solar lights and water via a gravity spring. We stayed with researchers helping to mist net and worked with locals doing jobs like building wells. The eco lodge sat at the summit of a group of rolling hills and on one side it hung over a cliff, the rainforest stretching out below you for miles. It was the most beautiful place I've ever been and I'm so grateful for my time there.
Oooo I really want a fey dragon from World of Warcraft! I met my partner in the game, and at our wedding, the tables were continents from Azoroth. I want to round it our with Fey dragons in my kids birth stone colors.
So I have three kids and no time. Getting through games takes significant investment, even then my partner and I take turns playing the same game account because we share the same boat in life. We recently got to BotW, and I'm incredibly impressed. I want a fantasy game, and there was so much buzz around it (especially since Tears of Kingdom recently came out) that we decided to try it.
I love the open world and the elements the design team ran with. I could climb mountains for HOURS. I love the environmental elements and gameplay is simple enough that if we don't pick it up for a week we still remember the controls. DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE WITCHER CONTROLS! Gush to me about your experience and your gripes!!! What's your favorite shrine? Or the thing one tip that you found really useful!
@Alexander-Salkin 
Actual image of my Drake Companion.
@Alexander-Salkin WHAT???!!!!!! I have never heard of this! So I googled it and the source is Fizban's Treasury of Dragons which came out in October 2021 and I have been exculsively DMing since March of 2021 in the FATE system. And to be honest I haven't really looked back at DnD since. QUICK SOMEONE THROW TOGETHER A GAME I NEED A DRAGON!
@Mariano I have a rule that I have to eat it >.> I made it or ordered it... gotta eat it.
@Alexander-Salkin I love this! I love that this group of friends formed around your story! How has the campaign been going? Do they love the story as much as we do? Also please say more about that amazing dice bag!!!!!
Every DnD campaign I play in I want a pet dragon. I can never get a pet dragon. Not even a baby. Why is that?!!!
Thats so true! The moment they started handing our Dire wolves I was like me me me me me!!!! And then they started killing them.....
I was having a delightful conversation with a community member, where we were happily one-upping each other with nerdy ways in which we honor the fandoms in our lives. I was telling them that at my wedding our table names were zones from World of Warcraft and how I walked down the aisle to "Across the Stars" and back up to the "Imperial March". We had a John Williams Power hour, with guests guessing what movie went to with each song. Our children all have a ridiculous amount of middle names from fandoms ranging from Star Wars and Pride & Prejudice to Sailor Moon and Harry Potter. I don't have any tattoos yet but I would love to get some.
How do you honor your fandoms?
I remember watching the show, but I think what sat with me the most was the Power Rangers Movie - Secret of the Ooze. I loved the villain and fondly remember them playing Van Halen in the credits. Though today I learned that Saban treated the cast and production crew like garbage.
@Mariano said in Starfield!:
Bethesda
It looks beautiful and the premise sounds intriguing. My husband was following it for a long time, and he grew tired of the toxic Bethesda fanboy culture surrounding it. So I've kind of brushed it off as not my game.
