Handle NPC battles off-screen

January 20, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

#dnd tip: Handle NPC battles off-screen. Describe the results rather than roll dice against yourself.

— SlyFlourish.com (@SlyFlourish) August 13, 2021

#dnd tip: Give players time between sessions to consider their downtime activities.

— SlyFlourish.com (@SlyFlourish) August 15, 2021

Tips to manage Downtime

January 19, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

#dnd tip: Run turns for downtime scenes for each character like you would for any other scene. Make sure every character gets to do something and doesn’t take too much of the spotlight.

— SlyFlourish.com (@SlyFlourish) August 20, 2021

#dnd tip: Warn players ahead of time that you’ll be including a downtime scene so they can prepare ahead of time.

— SlyFlourish.com (@SlyFlourish) August 21, 2021

Skill check: I just ask you to roll to see how well you do/if you get extras

January 15, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

DM Tip:

Sometimes I know whatever you’re going to do is going to succeed, I just ask you to roll to see how well you do/if you get extras. I tend to do this too and then get burned on Nat 1s and hiding needed info behind rolls. So first rule is don’t ask for a roll for info players need.

— Robert Ekendahl (@rekendahl) October 15, 2021

Doesn’t matter what they roll, the baseline assumption in this instance is success, the roll just determines any extra or maybe an unexpected mishap

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) October 16, 2021

The point is to earn more, not less. They will know x and y, no roll needed. I ask them to roll, and if they do well, I give them z. It’s a way to get bonus info.

— Alphastream (@Alphastream) October 16, 2021

I suspect that these rolls feels better for me the DM than the players. I feel smart in only revealing x & y but players being unaware of z simply feel the roll is empty (and suspect we made y up on the spot anyway) I find players like rolling dice. I do it to engage them. “Your wizard may know more. Make me an Arcana check.”

— Alphastream (@Alphastream) October 16, 2021

If you know Gumshoe, it’s a bit like that. You know the important clues. But with a roll, you could get extra hints (like spending a point in Gumshoe).

— Alphastream (@Alphastream) October 16, 2021

Would the same approach work if you knew they couldn’t succeed and just wanted to gauge how poorly they failed? Certainly could!

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) October 16, 2021

DM Tip:

Sometimes I’ll throw a challenge at the players that can only be solved with an ability someone just got for leveling up.

Just to see the joy when they go “OMG YES I JUST GOT THAT ABILITY” That’s the good stuff

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) October 16, 2021

Not sure about this yet.

If they roll bad, do they succeed but a complication arises?

In other words you get a ‘Yes, but…’ result. Depends. And this isn't a thing I do across the board, necessarily.

Say for instance I know they're going to get a piece of lore or information that furthers the plot. They're GOING to get it. But I want them to make an Intelligence (Arcana) check and if they roll well, extra.

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) October 16, 2021

And if they roll poorly, consequence?

As you said..they’re getting the info anyway but asking for a dice roll means there must be a success or a failure to move the story forward No it doesn't. If the story moving forward is a foregone conclusion, the die roll can determine degree of information gained that could propel them further, or in other directions.

That said, sure, poor rolls could mean mishaps or consequences or costs.

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) October 16, 2021

151 D&D Achievements!

January 12, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

5th Edition Achievements Update – higher quality, 151 total achievements, non-campaign specific. First of all, thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on this project. It’s been a lot of fun making these, and I hope they see some good use in campaigns across the world. You guys are radical, truly.Now, the nitty gritty. Here is where you can download all 151 achievements. They are put in alphabetical order of requirement. This link includes the achievement list, the requirement list, and a more “clean” version.As for implementation, use them however you want. Discuss in comments, please! I usually have them trade in-able for 50-200 XP, depending on difficulty, or let players use 2-3 for bonus action on their turn. However, they’re still just fun as placemarkers for fun moments (i.e. “Hey remember when James seduced that elf girl and woke up poisoned?”) For the more negative ones, you may want to keep requirements a secret, depending on your players’ evilness. After all, you don’t want someone striving to cause a total party kill for an achievement.In any case, this was a lot of fun to do. Have fun, everyone! Acquire a mount. • Act as the party translator. • Amass 1,000 gold pieces. • Argue with the DM over a dice roll. • Ask a deity for a favor. • Be deaf and blind simultaneously. • Be ignored by the DM when citing rules. • Be the first person to the game. • Be the last person to the game. • Be the only person to roll 20 at a session. • Beat a performance check while in disguise. • Beat the campaign. • Become deified. • Betray the party for your own gain. • Break up an NPC marriage or relationship. • Burst through a wall. • Call out a lying NPC. • Cause a total party kill. • Come back from 0 HP. • Commit genocide. • Convert an NPC’s religion. • Correctly predict another PC’s death. • Deal 20 overkill damage to 1 enemy. • Deal no damage in an encounter. • Decapitate 20 enemies. • Defeat an enemy using only social skills. • Deliver 10 coups de grace. • Destroy an item necessary for a quest. • Destroy the planet. • Die for the first time. • Die for the second time. • Die for the third time. • Die from a puzzle. • Disarm an NPC. • Discover a trap before it discovers you. • Don’t take damage in an encounter. • Enslave a people. • Expect sexual favors for saving an NPC. • Experience a total party kill. • Experience a transmutation. • Experience revenge from an old enemy. • Fall for a red herring. • Finish a dungeon. • Finish an encounter with 10 rounds. • Flank and kill an unsuspecting enemy. • Free 20 captive people. • Get a better set of armor. • Get a map. • Get a permanent deformity. • Get a worse result on a reroll. • Get dismembered. • Get kicked out of a public establishment. • Get your entire party dragged into trouble. • Go 3 days without a long rest. • Go a full session without touching your dice. • Go broke. • Grapple enemies 3 times in 1 encounter. • Have 3 types of impairing conditions at once. • Have the party gang up on a single enemy. • Hit an enemy in complete darkness. • Ignore a crucial plot point. • Kick someone off a ledge to their death. • Kill 3 enemies at half health in 1 encounter. • Kill a deity. • Kill a dragon. • Kill a loved political figure. • Kill a monster with a holy weapon. • Kill all enemies in an encounter by yourself. • Kill an annoying NPC. • Kill an enemy using only skill checks. • Kill an enemy with an animal. • Kill an enemy with an improv weapon. • Kill an enemy with no overkill damage. • Kill an NPC without being seen or heard. • Kill an undead enemy with a head shot. • Kill and replace a sovereign leader. • Kill someone in a public place. • Kill someone in the name of a god. • Kill someone using the environment. • Knowingly activate a trap. • Legitimately achieve high political status. • Let a fellow PC die for your personal gain. • Lob a flaming projectile at an enemy. • Lose the campaign. • Make a success/fail difference with a +1 buff. • Meet with a recurring villain. • Miscount gold while splitting loot. • Mix player and character knowledge. • Open a shop in a settlement. • Overthrow a government. • Perform a combo with a fellow PC. • Practice cannibalism. • Reach 0 HP from a fumbled attack roll. • Reach 0 HP twice in 1 encounter. • Receive divine direction. • Reconcile differences between mortal enemies. • Remain prone for 3 consecutive rounds. • Resolve a religious conflict nonviolently. • Retreat from 5 battles. • Retrieve a MacGuffin. • Revive an NPC just to kill them yourself. • Roleplay your character exceptionally. • Roll 1 on a deception check. • Roll 1 on a spell cast. • Roll 1 on an initiative roll. • Roll 1 on an intelligence check. • Roll 2 1’s in a row. • Roll 2 1’s on an advantaged roll. • Roll 2 20’s in a row. • Roll 2 20’s on a disadvantaged roll. • Roll 20 on a persuasion check. • Roll 20 on an acrobatics check. • Roll 20 on an animal handling check. • Roll 20 on an intimidation check. • Sacrifice yourself. • Save a PC in need. • Score 3 melee misses in 1 encounter. • Score 3 ranged misses in 1 encounter. • Seduce an NPC. • Shift your alignment to chaotic. • Shift your alignment to evil. • Simply walk into a well guarded place. • Solo a large monster. • Spend more than 30 minutes on a puzzle. • Split the party. • Stabilize a dying character. • Start a war between 2 or more countries. • Steal more than 100 gold. • Succeed only because you rolled a 20. • Successfully defend a royal life. • Successfully interrogate an NPC. • Survive 3 rounds of ongoing fire damage. • Survive 50 points of poison damage. • Survive a crit. • Survive a fight with a sea monster. • Survive a shipwreck. • Survive an encounter with 1/4th HP. • Survive being petrified. • Take advantage of a talkative villain. • Take an artifact from a dungeon. • Take and/or give 10 bribes • Take drugs in the game. • Talk out of character for a full minute. • Taunt an enemy to get their attention. • Team up with an NPC sidekick. • Trigger an enemy’s vulnerability. • Use poor logic in a persuasion check. • Verbally abuse a fellow PC. • Willingly remove a limb. • Win a drinking contest. Win a legal case.

Adding monsters is the way to make a fight more dangerous

January 8, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

#dnd tip: Adding monsters is the easiest way to make a fight more dangerous.

— SlyFlourish.com (@SlyFlourish) July 29, 2021

#dnd tip: Highlight the important points of your narration and keep it brief and focused.

— SlyFlourish.com (@SlyFlourish) July 30, 2021

A kid-friendly D&D character sheet

January 6, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

A kid-friendly / Beginners D&D character sheet #DnD #dnd5e #dungeonsanddragons https://t.co/I5ASytBtYW

— Zoltar SageAdvice 🔮🐲🎲 (@SageAdviceDnD) January 4, 2022

Keeping ideas coming in any creative writing venture can be difficult

December 4, 2021Zoltar Leave a comment

Keeping the words and ideas coming in any creative writing venture can be difficult. Use whatever tools you have to keep them flowing. Also, know when to step back for a bit and recharge. That blood you think you're squeezing from a stone might actually be your own. #dnd

— Shawn Merwin (@shawnmerwin) July 8, 2021

Do you have any tips for keeping character voices the same for random npcs?

November 29, 2021Zoltar Leave a comment

I make small notes next to NPC names with shorthand for what they sounds like. Akin to “Gentle, higher voice. Slight southern” or “low, gruff, mild Eastern European. Quick to frustration.” Things that can help dial me close to what was established at a glance.

— Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) October 13, 2021

D&D Sage Advice

Questions on Dungeons & Dragons answered by game designers

Widgets

DM Tips

Handle NPC battles off-screen

Tips to manage Downtime

Skill check: I just ask you to roll to see how well you do/if you get extras

151 D&D Achievements!

Adding monsters is the way to make a fight more dangerous

A kid-friendly D&D character sheet

Keeping ideas coming in any creative writing venture can be difficult

Do you have any tips for keeping character voices the same for random npcs?

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: