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.
Na fuck that be friends bullshit. Burn that bridge.
I can cook, but I prefer to play sous-chef to my husband who loves to cook. I am happy to bake you anything from cakes to bread, but I can't follow a recipe to save my life. Oooo Cinnamon... probably needs some cardamon too. All while my husband looks over my shoulder cringing over my spice dalliances. 
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?
@mianngu
@Hanzilla
@KaeZero
@SwampCreature
Lulu's head whipped up at the abrupt slam of the conference room door, the space empty as the door continued to reverberate in protest. Her lips creased into a thin line as she methodically rearranged the scattered papers before her.
"Val," the word fell from her lips with merciless promise.
"If you break my door, it'll be filing and storage for you all next week. With no lemon juice for your paper-cuts this time." She rolled her head to stare at the Imp over her shoulder and speared her with a dare-to-be defiant stare.
"Can't have you enjoying the experience," she continued with a sweet smile spread wide to reveal glistening fangs then turned back to the rest of her team.
They were scattered about the large U-shaped conference desk but barely filled a quarter of it. Within its center stood a high-backed chair, a monstrosity covered in black velvet, perfectly positioned to allow its occupant reign over the room. Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights covered most of the wall behind it.
"I've gotten word that a new temporal rift is opening. It's smaller than normal, which is good for us... less competition. But, there is a big prize inside."
In an effort to shake the lethargy from her limbs, Lulu rose and paced the room. Sloth demons, damn useful she thought, but she would have to get a 3rd cup of coffee after this meeting. She stopped in front of Lazareth and pushed his legs from the table, his large frame falling forward quickly, and situated herself saucily in their place.
Lulu appreciated the silence that permeated the room, you couldn't cultivate this level of focus, her team knew the stakes. She had bribed a Seer way too much mana for this tip and her silence. They had to pull this off, and soon.
"I've been told it will gateway you to 1961, but not where. Being so close to present days leaves us a lot of leftover transport mana."
With a push from the table, Lulu made her way toward her seat, trailing fingertips over the fringe of Asta's mane. The demoness practically leaned into her touch. Business first. She repeated the mantra a second time before flopping into her seat and draping her leg across the arm.
"You need to secure the mortal, initiate their soul, and seal the deal before anyone else arrives." A glass of viscous red liquor appeared in her hand and she took a sip.
"I don't need to remind you to be frugal. Illusion, compulsion, and pathokinesis will be the most mana efficient."
"Asta," Lulu turned to the negotiator, not missing the bulge of her eyes and her red cheeks turning impossibly more crimson. For a second, Lulu wondered if that color could bloom in other places. A thought for another time.
"I'm sending Bob the analyst with you. If she says it's worth it, do whatever you need to secure the soul."
With a flick of her wrist, she drained the contents of her glass and rose, swooshing her hair in a wide arc.
"Your meeting a senior negotiator in the field, are there any questions?"
The streets of Liverpool were crowded, flooded really, people brushed past in a pace that said they had nowhere to be. Fate glared up through the early morning sun, eyes drawn to the NEMS sign displayed over the storefront and back down again to a clerk busying about a large display of guitars in the window.
Rolled up under his arm is the newest issue of Mersey Beat, the musical magazine all the Beatniks are talking about. With a grimace, he unfurled it. Four youths looked up from the cover, all electric guitars and leather jackets. Fate read again Lulu's message written in elegant script below their stoic expressions.
Locate Bran Stein and get him to The Cavern. If you can secure his soul great, but we need him for the elephant hunt.
The door to the storefront jingled, Fate's eyes slid past the customer exiting, to a man in a suit behind the counter. The familiar pull of fate settled low in his belly, the hunt was on.
Nothing is more frustrating than sitting on a character and being unable to finish them because their name keeps alluding you. In my current campaign, I've started naming evil characters after evil corporations and change the spelling so the inflection is different. My players haven't picked up on it yet, and it gets rid of my writers block.
Omg! Take your time, I hope your partner feels better soon!
I hate Jeeps. They are ugly. And when I say ugly, I mean your sister just tried to stop the egg beater with her hands and now her fingers are wrecked UGLY.
LITERALLY NO ONE, but a select few actually use them for their off roading purpose.
THEY ROLL..... WHO WANTS A CAR THAT ROLLS.
And the culture. It's a jeep thing....ppaaaallleease.
Some of my friends love them, but I don't get it. Whose with me?
TRICK QUESTION!
I would never be a bard.
But I would certainly kill one.
The day the music died.....
Our first gaming system was Sega Genesis, which i think came with sonic? But my favorite games with
Game I could not stand:
ECHO
I still don't know how to beat that damn game. I don't think I even made if off the first level.
I liked Warcraft too! Blizzard has always done a good job with their cinematics. I know it's not the same, but at least it means they know what they want it to look like. I felt that seeing the movie added depth and context to the World of Warcaft game, which I still hold a deep affection for.
