"You're attacked by a group of goblins, they are gouging your eyes, biting your ears and dropping scorpions down your plate mail"

WorkingStiff Diogenes
1 hour ago
Two thoughts:
We used to have a home-brew that replaced d20 with a d12 and d8. You totaled them to get your score, but also the d12 determined hit location (12 was head, 6 was right arm, etc.) The d8 determined effects as well as points of damage. For example an 8 was severed. So a roll of 12+8 was 20 points but also a total decapitation--a guaranteed kill.
My current home-brew uses 2d6 vs. target number. There is no roll for damage--the losing side takes the difference in damage. That makes a less swingy system better. Also, 2d6 has a visceral quality--snake eyes just feel terrible and double sixes feel victorious. Advantage for the DM is that in a 2d6 system, a score of 7 is the mean, the median and the mode--very "stable." So to create a suitably-powered enemy, the GM just takes the PC's bonuses and adds 7; that's the target number of the monster.

• 🎲 A game master is not just a storyteller; they are conflict designers in tabletop role-playing games.
• 🎲 In tabletop role-playing games, the game master designs the conflicts, players decide how to approach them, and dice determine the outcomes.
• 🎲 Railroading, or forcing players down a preconceived path, should be avoided in favor of allowing player autonomy and choices.
• 🎲 Dice rolls ultimately determine success or failure in tabletop role-playing games, and respecting the randomness of the dice is important.
• 🎲 Game masters can't plan too far in advance because they don't know if the players will live or die, so they focus on designing the next session.
• 🎲 The veiled society campaign is based on the classic module "The Veiled Society" by Zeb Cook, set in a city with warring merchant families and a murder mystery.
• 🎲 The campaign is designed to have lots of conflicts between factions, and the player characters interject themselves into these conflicts.
• 🎲 The professor uses a random urban scenario generator to create conflict for each session, providing object, antagonist, location, time limit, and reward.
• 🎲 The professor presents players with two potential missions and they choose which one to pursue, giving the campaign a sandbox feel.
• 🎲 The professor focuses on designing unique encounters and locations, not worrying too much about what will happen in future sessions.
• 🎲 The scenarios may have similarities to other stories (e.g., Batman movies or Star Wars), but the players' approach and decisions make them compelling.
• 🎲 The amount of prep time doesn't necessarily correlate with the level of fun the players will have; sometimes, quick scenarios turn out to be the most enjoyable.
• 🎲 The professor encourages viewers to roll out scenarios using the random urban scenario generator and share their experiences.
• 🎲 Links are provided to the Dungeoncraft Facebook group, Patreon, extended video version, and the professor's module "Macdet."

SAVES
Roll d20 equal or below the relevant Virtue.
Failure means negative consequences, not
necessarily a failure of the action itself.

From dungeon-like basements to worldwide phenomenon, ADVENTURE NEVER ENDS: A TABLETOP SAGA explores how tabletop roleplaying games have fought their way through decades of trial by fire to emerge at the height of pop culture— now shaping and bringing together millions of lives through storytelling. The film takes a behind the curtain look at a community of fans and creators, as well as youth programs who use tabletop roleplaying games to promote socialization, team building, and empathy.

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Rolling to return from 5 torches deep

Connections and relationships

These are some sexy D&D minis :)

• 😎 The video discusses the four critical elements for successful adventure design in tabletop role-playing games (RPGs).
• 📝 The four key elements are: objective, location, time limit, and villain.
• 🎯 The objective is what the player characters must accomplish within the game, and it should be made clear to them within the first 10 minutes.
• 🗺️ Locations in the game serve as closed matrices where players can make choices, but ultimately lead to encounters.
• ⏳ Time limits create suspense, urgency, and motivation for the players. They enhance the gaming experience and reduce the use of mechanics like short rests.
• 👿 Villains add tension and create a sense of conflict by having their own objectives, time limits, and motivations.
• 🔀 Originality in adventure design is not as important as having engaging gameplay elements and enjoyable experiences for the players.
• ✅ Having these four key elements does not guarantee a perfect session, but they greatly increase the chances of a successful adventure.
• 🎲 The video encourages viewers to share it with their favorite game masters and bookmark it for future reference.

It's 8...The number is 8. Basically, before bonuses from your main stat, you have to roll an 8, no matter what the level. Because bonuses get higher with level advancement. So basically, the percentage of success remains the same (the chance of rolling an 8).

• 🎲 The difficulty class (DC) in D&D is crucial for setting the right level of challenge.
• 📚 The perfectly balanced DC in 5th edition is around 13, resulting in a 65% chance of success.
• 💪 Character bonuses in 5th edition compensate for the higher DCs compared to previous editions.
• 🧠 Bonuses on character sheets are illusions to make players feel powerful and the game fair.
• 📝 Difficulty classes are determined by the designers and should reflect the expertise of the characters.
• 🎭 The game is inherently arbitrary, so trusting the designers' decisions on DCs is no different.
• ➕ The proficiency bonus and ability scores contribute to determining the target number.
• 🎯 The most common target number in D&D is 8, representing a satisfying 65% success rate.
• 🔢 DCs in D&D typically fall into three bands: 7-8 for experts, 9-11 for skilled, and 13-14 for non-skilled.
• 🛠 Adjustments to DCs can be made based on high armor classes or challenging traps.
• 🗒 The "hard and easy" mechanic in Index Card RPG suggests adjusting DCs by ±3 for simplicity.
• 🎲 Dungeon Masters can rely on gut instincts and make quick calculations for setting DCs.
• ❓ The video encourages viewers to share their thoughts and provides links to additional content and games.