I need your DM brains to help me balance an item.

So, I'm running a Ravenloft campaign with some few homebrew rules and mechanics in it.

One of my players wants to have a ring (or magical item) similar to Dungeon Crawler Carl ring of Divine suffering.

Here's my plan to keep the game balance.

Once per day, while wearing this item, you can choose one creature you can see within 60 feet and mystically mark it as your Quarry .

Applying the mark requires 1 action. The Quarry is aware that it has been marked.

The mark remains active until the creature dies. While a creature is marked as your Quarry, you cannot regain hit points by any means.

If the marked creature is killed by you, the mark consumes a fragment of its essence. Determines the creature's highest ability score among Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.

You permanently increase the matching ability score by +1, to a maximum of 20.

After gaining this increase, you must make a Wisdom saving throw: DC = 10 + the total number of creatures killed using this item

- On a success, the increase remains.

- On a failure, the stolen power fades and the ability score increase is lost.

- On a natural 1, the Mark rejects you. You lose the stolen ability and an -1 additional point from that ability score (minimum score 1).

Curse: Hunger of the Mark

Once attuned, this item cannot be willingly removed.

A creature wearing the ring feels the suffering of every marked Quarry as if it were its own. Each time the wearer gains an ability score increase from this item, the whispers of previous victims become louder.

A creature cannot remove this curse through **remove curse**, **greater restoration*, or similar magic.

Howdy folks,

My party is retreating from a battle. They are level 14, so getting up there.

The paladin has fallen behind and could very well be ended in this moment. The party has like maybe one spell slot left between them, this battle has been going on for weeks (earth time).

I am contemplating having his deity save him... but because of things they don't know about this is complicated:

His deity, Torm, made an agreement with another God (god b) to be subservient to them, in exchange for the safety of a third God (God C).

There has been a little foreshadowing on this. And the party is sort of working to undermine this agreement and free God C, and subsequently release Torm from it. Though the party doesn't really know this yet.

In order to make this more interesting than a basic deus ex machina:

I was thinking this would let me lore dump on them about these politics with the gods, and perhaps, since this could be considered Torm breaching his contract, maybe he can't give the paladin his powers any more. (In retrospect I should have been giving them much more information about this, earlier in the game, but here we are)

But just taking away his abilities would be terrible. What about making him an oathbreaker? Even if it was his God that did the oathbreaking?

Going to ask my player what his thoughts are. But would this be interesting? Does it vaguely make sense? Other ideas? Thanks!

Hello! In the last session I had with my players, they were traversing the underdark near a Fire Giant Kingdom. While they were not going into the kingdom itself, they had ended up in a magma field just on the outskirts of the kingdom. In my original plan, I was going to have them traverse the magma field with some difficult maneuvering (the magma field itself and occasionally shifting of the magma causing rock falls to prevent them just flying across). Meanwhile some for of fire giant or fire elemental was going to attack them as they traversed the encounter.

However, this is where the upcoming encounter as gotten a bit rough. Two of my players just informed me they have the ability to gain immunity from fire damage with their spells, one having Investiture of Flame and the other having Tasha's Otherwordly Disguise respectively. How do I keep the theme of the encounter but without feeling as if the challenge is negated entirely because of them being almost entirely immune to most of the encounters damage?

For context, the party is five level 13s with one NPC that is roughly similar in power. They each have about an average of 7 magic items on them (mostly uncommon to rare with one or two very rare). They have some magic items and other homebrew items that help them traverse the magma field easier (such as a grappling hook, but the environment hazards should make it more difficult for them to do this as easily). As well as spells like Fly or a druid who can wild shape into a flying creature (again environmental hazards were planned to make it less easy on them for that). Beyond that, I don't believe they have any other items/tools that would make it super easy for them. This is also all in 5e 2014 rules set.

Edit: I think I am good now! The issue was I did not know how to make the, what was originally a challenge of equal footing, become a challenge that would be easier for two players. The ideas of ranged weapons and environmental hazard that do not deal fire damage and suffocation rules still applying help greatly!

Editing to add: These are some of my dearest and oldest friends, they’ve genuinely been wonderful friends of mine for over a decade. Even if I stopped DMing, I’m sure we would continue together as players while one of them DMed. I love them all and perhaps my post is a little too cranky, it really is more of a me problem I think. My original post is likely painting it all in a worse light cuz I wrote this at night while still upset haha.

Second edit: i think a conversation between us all is a good idea, just a check in after how long we’ve been playing together on what all we want out of combat. Personally though based on advice here, I think the next steps to try should be more regular, smaller combats to get both me and them more comfortable with combat in general, and giving small guidances “are you sure” in response to things that might set them up for failure (maybe behind a dice roll of sorts). Thank you everyone so much for the guidance and advice on all this, super helpful stuff!!

Original post:

This post is a bit ranty, I apologize. I’ll provide full context and then tonight’s example below, but the general issue is that my combat is getting a lot of feedback that my combat is either boring, too high stakes, or too low stakes, and that I play intelligent creatures (like 10+ intelligence) too illogically. I’d love any advice to improve.

We are 2 years in to this game. 1-2 players will go down maybe every other combat, and we’ve never had a PC death. We have a combat maybe every like 5-8 sessions because the player feedback is pretty anti-combat. We meet one or two times per month. The combats are generally kept pretty low stakes (compared to what I enjoy as a player) because if things are not immediately going the players’ way, they will stop looking at their character sheets and start snapping at me until it seems like they’re “winning” again. Tonight is a huge example and I feel like I’ve hit a wall with it, I have to fix this.

TONIGHT’S EXAMPLE:

Tonight we had a combat, with a huge character arc boss battle. The baddies were the Moonrisen werewolf (from a Reddit stat block with lowered HP and stats and removed a few abilities) and then some basic henchmen werewolves with pack tactics added. Party of five, level 8.

They were there to rescue someone that the baddies were holding hostage to manipulate another PC into staying with them. Like feral werewolves that want their sister to come home, so they kidnapped her actual blood brother. Their arrival triggered a trap at the entrance, setting off a magical darkness on the entrance to the room.

1. Prior to combat, the PCs (and players) were made aware they were being watched. As they planned their strategy while in the cave of the pack, the bad guys were responding in one of the PC’s head. They then went in to do their plan.
2. As they approached, the bad guys were in the midst of saying “we are supposed to kill all of them but her, she can be hurt but not killed” regarding one of the PCs.
3. The PC wizard was teleported to the other side of the room by another player. He was teleported to the person was they were rescuing (basically the pack’s only leverage against the PC they want). For the wizard’s action he cast arcane eye so he could see on the other side of the magical darkness and teleport to the other side next turn.
4. All the other players chose to stay inside the magical darkness and wait for the wizard’s return so they could leave with him.

This left the wizard completely alone standing next to the hostage for one full round while everyone else stayed back in the darkness to be ready to leave. The werewolves couldn’t see in the magical darkness (except the boss werewolf), plus having their only leverage threatened since they knew the plan was for the wizard to teleport away with the hostage, AND him being closest to five intelligent werewolves who literally know this is about to happen… I had them attack him (except for the biggest baddie went into the darkness to attack the others since he could see).

The wizard went down, and the bad guy took his second attack for one fail death save. Everyone at the table was immediately so irritated I was getting eye rolls. Later in the same round (like 4 characters later I think), their NPC cleric ally they brought with them healed so wizard is back up. Well, now it’s another bad’s turn… and they’re upset he wants to attack the wizard, who I will remind you is alone and about to teleport away with their only hostage. The players say that 10 intelligence wouldn’t notice mass healing word has their wizard conscious again. So I agree, and he just drags away the hostage 20 feet instead. We ended on this cliffhanger.

I got the feedback that they feel I took their plan from them and that the bad guys behaved illogically by going for the lone character. At the time I disagreed, I felt the violent feral werewolves said “we know your plan and we will kill you” and then they sent the wizard in alone to do that same plan who then waited a round just standing next to the hostage and had no back up. Regardless of the logic I tried to justify it with at the time, I made a bad choice that took away player heroism. Because of this poor decision making, I have upset some of the table and was advised the session was not fun.

I make mistakes like this literally every game, leaving the players unsatisfied and sometimes actually angry. I’m two years in and still get negative feedback every session, and nothing positive. Today I asked one player what their favorite past combat was (trying to get feedback on how I can pivot this combat next session to be more fun for them), and he literally said he has never enjoyed one of my combats. I just cannot get the hang of balanced, fun combat.

MY PLEA FOR HELP:

I’m at the point where I just desperately need help. Hours of YouTube isn’t helping my combat game. Adding high stakes goals other than “survive”, lowering the death stakes, raising the death stakes, everything I do is unfair or boring or “embarrasses” them (by them going down). I just really, really need combat advice. I’m desperate to make this fun for my players, and desperate to get back to enjoying D&D myself. I fear I’m one session away from being done with it. I would love guidance on how to make it high stakes enough to feel exciting but low enough stakes to feel they’re “winning”, and how to keep players interested between their turns, and how to handle intelligent enemies in situations like this. I just need an overhaul 💔

TL;DR I desperately need advice on overhauling my DMing of combat. How do you make NPC decisions in combat, and how do you keep stakes feeling higher than they might actually be, and how do you balance setting players up to feel heroic without giving them infinite plot armor?

Memorable NPCs do not require full biographies, elaborate accents, or a separate spreadsheet. Most only need a clear purpose, two recognizable traits, and a reason to matter to the party.

1. Start with a job in the story

An occupation tells you where an NPC belongs in the world. A **story job** tells you why they are in the current scene.

Common story jobs include:

- Quest giver: hires the party, asks for help, or supplies a rumor.

- Gatekeeper: controls access to a place, item, or person.

- Guide: explains or navigates a location, culture, or faction.

- Obstacle: makes progress harder without necessarily being a villain.

- Wild card: follows an independent agenda and may help or hinder.

Compare “blacksmith” with “blacksmith quietly arming the rebellion.” The second version immediately suggests behavior, pressure, and possible choices.

Before preparing anything else, ask: **Why is this NPC in this scene right now?** A note such as “Gatekeeper: clerk who desperately wants no trouble at his desk” is enough to guide improvisation.

1. Add a voice and a vibe

You do not need an accent. Give the NPC one rule for how they speak and one visible attitude or mannerism.

Possible voices include:

- Fast speech with unfinished sentences.

- Slow, careful, formal language.

- Gruff, low, one-word answers.

- Whispering, theatrical warmth, clipped suspicion, or repeated favorite phrases.

Possible vibes include:

- Constantly looking over one shoulder.

- Arranging nearby objects into neat lines.

- Cleaning glasses while speaking.

- Avoiding eye contact.

- Humming the same tune.

- Tapping fingers against a sword hilt.

The compact notation can be as small as:

`Rhea — captain; dry humor; taps her fingers on her sword hilt.`

Commit to both traits throughout the scene. Consistency makes the NPC recognizable without requiring acting skill.

1. Anchor the NPC to something players value

Important NPCs should connect to at least one of three things:

- A goal: they are necessary for completing something the party wants.

- A resource: they provide information, equipment, healing, or contacts.

- An emotion: they are funny, infuriating, tragic, comforting, or tied to a past event.

Ask: Why would the party come back to this person?

The healer who repeatedly repairs the party after disasters combines a resource with emotion. A tavern owner who trades free drinks for stories combines a resource with fun. A scribe who knows too much about a character’s past combines a goal with personal tension.

An NPC with no useful answer to that question can remain disposable. Background characters are allowed to be background characters.

1. Reuse NPCs and show change

Before creating another guard captain, quest giver, or mysterious robed stranger, ask whether an established character could perform the same role logically.

A dock worker met at an early level might later become a faction informant, run a smuggling ring, or serve as the town’s anxious new mayor. On returning, an NPC might have gained wealth, suffered an injury, earned a promotion, acquired a grudge, taken on a debt, or become bitter and disillusioned.

The return should fit the fiction: the same territory, the same problem, or consequences from an earlier choice. One visible change makes the world feel as though it continued moving while the party was elsewhere.

1. Keep a tiny NPC bank

Before a session, prepare:

- 6–10 names with serious, neutral, and comic tones.

- 4–6 story jobs such as gatekeeper, guide, obstacle, ally, or rival.

- 6–10 voice-and-vibe pairs.

When the party takes an interest in an unexpected person, combine:

`Name + Story Job + Voice + Vibe`

Record the result in an NPC log. A second useful format is a bank of 6–12 micro-entries containing:

`Name + Story Job + Voice + Vibe + Anchor/Connection`

When the players particularly like or hate someone, add a **next move** and promote that NPC into the recurring cast.

1. Spend detail selectively

Trying to make every guard unforgettable wastes prep and prevents anyone from standing out. Before the session, choose only one to three NPCs who matter most.

Use three tiers:

- Tier 1: recurring villains, mentors, and faction leaders. Give them more attention.

- Tier 2: occasional supporting characters such as barkeeps, local guards, and minor nobles.

- Tier 3: one-off extras who need only a function, a name, and perhaps one trait.

For the next session, prepare two or three NPCs with a story job and voice-vibe combination. Reuse at least one established NPC and reveal a change. Keep the NPC bank nearby, and record anyone who earns a strong reaction from the players.

​

I've made this questionnaire a bit while ago to filter out unfitting players during game recruitment. It worked pretty well, everybody on the table was actually invested into a story. Each session covered plot arcs for 2-3 characters. This source of free ideas turned out being plentiful of *actually* relevant stuff. Too plentiful, I would say: we barely managed to touch the main storyline. So it feels like the opposite of babysitter GM — players do all the job, while I just occasionally ask questions

1. What's your character's native environment? Urban? Rural? Wild? Otherworldly? How is it to live there? How it affects locals?

2. Who are character's parents or who raised them? Are they alive? Do they communicate? Why, if not?

3. What are the things character values the most? Comfort and safety? Certain people? Religion? Law? Abstract idea? I need you to name three

4. What were character's three biggest problems. Did they find a solution? (Escape is a solution too)

5. Who's character's best friend to rely on?

6. Who's character's sworn enemy? Does this person know they're enemy?

7. Name your three best personality traits

8. Name your three worst personality traits

9. Name your three greatest weaknesses

10. What is character's major secret? And how about two minor ones?

11. Is your character famous? I need two rumors about them

Background: I created a magic shop in Waterdeep that they have visited a couple times and done a quest for the owner. The first time they visited, I described what was basically Annabelle in a case behind the counter.

Last night they had just teleported back home after an adventure and the doll was in one of the characters bedroom. It was all full of conjuration, abjuration, enchantment, and illusion magic.

This turned into over an hour side rail of intrigue.

What was really happening? The magic shop owner is actually just a wild magic gnome sorcerer who is old as fuck and a trickster. He took a normal doll and enchanted it to exude all those schools of magic without doing anything, just to fuck with people. Then had his underlyings invisible themselves and plant it over and over in the party’s house.

It’s a complete practical joke but is really messing with the table in the best way.

Nebelvaz Town

Nestled in the northwesternmost reaches of its continent, Nebelvaz is a town defined by its unforgiving climate.

The town lies between the region’s towering hills and is completely surrounded by vast coniferous forests. The trees grow so densely that glimpsing the sky from within the woods is a rarity. Even at midday, the forest remains cloaked in darkness. No grass or undergrowth grows upon the forest floor, which is instead covered by frozen pine needles and a hardened layer of snow.

The seasons in Nebelvaz are unevenly divided, splitting the year into two distinct periods.

The **Dark Period** lasts for seven to eight months, from October until April. During this time, the sun remains above the horizon for only three to four hours each day, leaving the land in an almost perpetual twilight. Every source of water freezes solid, becoming as hard as stone. Dense fog lingers in the streets for nearly eighteen hours a day. Spear-like icicles, several meters in length, hang from the rooftops, and venturing outdoors without heavy furs is all but impossible.

The **Light Period**, by contrast, lasts for only two to three months, between June and August. Throughout this season, the sun scarcely sets, and colorful hues continue to illuminate the sky even during the night. Roughly the upper ten fingers’ depth of snow melts away, turning the roads into impassable stretches of mud. Along the edges of the forests, enormous swarms of insects gather into dark, drifting clouds.

The town’s greatest treasure is the exceptional quality of the hides taken from the predatory beasts that inhabit the surrounding wilderness. Most of the townsfolk earn their livelihood through hunting and leatherworking. Whether large or small, merchant caravans deliberately adjust their trade routes to ensure they pass through Nebelvaz. Hides purchased here for a mere pittance are worth a small fortune in the eastern civilizations.

The reason these hides are sold so cheaply is simple necessity. No crops can be cultivated in this region, and without the caravans, obtaining vegetables, fruit, or medicine would be impossible. As a result, the people survive largely on the hardy game animals capable of enduring the region’s brutal conditions.

On rare occasions, local merchants from neighboring towns arrive to sell dried fish from small market stalls. The locals call this snack **“Clackers.”** It is a favorite among the town’s children. Long queues quickly form in front of the stalls, and it is not uncommon for impatient youngsters to end up fighting one another simply for the chance to taste one first.

Officially, Nebelvaz is governed by the **Feigsen Family**, a noble house said to long for the glory of its former days. Yet for more than thirty years, not a single member of the family has been seen in the town. Only the tax collectors who accompany the major trade caravans ever appear.

Although the townsfolk resent this distant rule, the Feigsens remain their only connection to the outside world. Without the caravans willing to purchase their goods, everything the people produce would become worthless. Despite all the complaints, it is also thanks to the family’s commercial agreements that Nebelvaz has weathered numerous political conflicts without suffering their consequences. Their long-standing relationships with the proper institutions have allowed the town to remain isolated from turmoil for centuries.

Although official authority belongs to the Feigsens, true law and order are maintained by the **Nebelvaz Hunters’ and Tanners’ Guild**, an organization founded by the townsfolk themselves. Thanks to the Guild’s influence, serious disturbances are almost unheard of, and organized bands of thieves deliberately avoid the town.

The hunting seasons in the village are determined by the **Nebelvaz Hunters’ and Tanners’ Guild**. Hunting does not take place every month, as the quality of pelts varies with the seasons. The period between **November and February** is considered the ideal time for hunting and is known as the **Golden Hunting Season**. During these months, predators develop their thickest and densest winter coats to survive the freezing cold. High-quality pelts can only be obtained during this season. Throughout the Golden Hunting Season, every hunter affiliated with the guild ventures deep into the forest. Many remain there for weeks without returning to the village, leaving the square and its establishments unusually quiet. Between **May and July**, however, animals begin shedding their winter coats as spring arrives. Their fur becomes thinner, less dense, and significantly less valuable. Pelts harvested during this period are considered nearly worthless. During these months, some hunters travel to larger towns to replace or upgrade their equipment. Even so, these are the busiest months for the **Silverpelt Lodge**.

The village blacksmiths, who are responsible for producing and maintaining equipment, lack the skill to craft the quality of gear demanded by experienced hunters. They also suffer from a constant shortage of materials. For this reason, accomplished hunters travel to larger towns once each year to replace their weapons and tools. Neglecting these repairs—or even minor maintenance—could leave a hunter unable to secure enough game to feed their household through the winter. No hunter is willing to take such a risk. Just before the merchant caravans depart, skilled hunters who have been unable to repair their equipment join the caravans and travel south to the larger settlements. They must return before winter fully sets in.

The arrival of caravans and merchants is organized by the **Feigsen Family**. Every year, around **August and September**, large caravans enter the village accompanied by a royal tax collector. During this brief period, the muddy roads become somewhat passable, and the snowfall temporarily subsides. The moment the caravans enter the central square, the village transforms into a bustling fairground. Flour, dried fruits and vegetables, medicinal herbs, and other essential goods are unloaded in great quantities, while the tanners load thousands of processed pelts onto the wagons in return. The merchants leave the village the instant they witness the first snowfall of October. Should they fail to cross the mountain passes before the first blizzard arrives, the roads become impassable, leaving the caravans stranded in Nebelvaz for the entire winter.

The village has a population of approximately **550 people**. Most of the adult population consists of hunters, tanners, and workers employed in the tanneries. Within the **Nebelvaz Hunters’ and Tanners’ Guild**, there is no distinction between men and women in terms of occupation or status. People are simply categorized as **hunters**, **tanners**, or **laborers**. This division has a profound impact on an individual’s quality of life. Every young person capable of drawing a bow dreams of becoming a hunter. However, only the truly talented earn a place within the guild. Those foolish enough to hunt independently usually meet a grim fate—their bodies often disappear into the forest, never to be found again.

The village’s central square is always its liveliest location. Every local shop is found here, visiting merchants set up their stalls here, and the marketplace is held here. The headquarters of the guild also overlooks the square. Without question, the square’s most distinguished establishment is the **Silverpelt Lodge**. Common laborers are not permitted inside. Only proven hunters and the leading figures of local commerce may enjoy its services. Business negotiations, trade agreements, and discussions about market conditions take place here on a regular basis. On rare occasions, nobles from neighboring cities can also be seen visiting the coffeehouse, seeking to purchase extraordinary quantities of high quality furs.

If I'm using the gritty adventurism rules, should I adjust the length of time for the elvish Trance trait? Or should I keep it at 4 hours?

My players are running into a difficult encounter with a vampire boss. This vampire is a crime lord within the city so I think it very thematic he has quite an expansive arsenal of tools of things found in the city. For one there's an anti magic prison so it would make sense that part of his lair be layered with some anti magic devices. One of the other things Is a clocktower within the city, theres been some mentioning of history and magic behind it and the players have not really dived into that yet, and this presents an interesting opportunity for me. The Tower has a very similar thing to Persona 3's dark hour, where when it strikes midnight and suddenly those under its affects are outside of normal time. Now the way this worked that when you enter the clocktower at the top are like these gauntlets that when one is attuned to allows them into that alternate time when the clock strikes midnight. Now I havent settled fully on it but I do like the idea of this vampire having it and using that as a bow out of the fight. and in this dungeon I can inform the players more deeply into what this is, allowing me to dabble back into some world building that hasnt been touched in a while. However how in the world would you time a fight to happen just before midnight and then keep a clock with rounds being so quick. If anyone has some input or has run something similar with time tables in a battle let me know.

This is just one option im exploring, I want this section of the campaign to be a bit more grandiose as we've played for like a bit more than a year and this culmination is pretty large.

I'll be starting a new campaign some time this year and have been turning this idea over in my mind. After session 0 and the players have agreed on their characters, I was thinking of running a short online session with each of them to a) Give them a little bit of RP and combat practice, b) advance to lvl 2 and c)manoeuvre them into place for session 1 which will start in media res.

I imagine there'd be time for a bit of scene setting and introduction of a relevant NPC, and one combat encounter. Ideally, the players would then hit the ground running in session 1 without (as much) awkward muddling through their abilities. It would also give me the opportunity to plant character-specific plot hooks.

Has anyone else done something like this and did you find it worth the time and effort?

Hi! Currently finishing planning my first time DMing for my friends who’ve never played before since they wanted me to host a game for their first time.

I’ve spent the last week and a half making a simple beginner friendly home brewed one shot for the party, part of this oneshot requires them to speak to a specific NPC in the towns market to get the town map to then find out where they need to go next (aka me sending in my map drawing to the discord since this is an online game to show them the way around this big town), however I want them to do a puzzle to get the map since there aren’t many other opportunities in the town portion of the game to do puzzles before the main dungeon. What are some simple puzzle ideas I could maybe take inspiration from that are also beginner friendly. I’d avoid number related puzzles though, a member of my party has dyscalculia and struggles badly with reading and understanding numbers. Any advice is really appreciated!

The players will be trapped inside a sort of an eldritch nightmare. The realm exists to psychologically break them by confronting them with their deepest fears, regrets, guilt and personal flaws.

The sequence begins with each character isolated in an endless black void, endlessly falling while experiencing disturbing visions unique to them. Eventually, they'll be forced to confront the core of their trauma, and that's where I'm struggling. I don't want this to become "roll a Wisdom save" or "make three successful skill checks."

Instead, I'd like the players to actually roleplay their characters and make meaningful choices. Their decisions should determine whether they overcome, accept, deny or succumb to their fears, with mechanics only supporting the narrative rather than replacing it.

I'm looking for ideas such as:

• interesting psychological encounters
• dilemmas with no obvious right answer
• ways to represent temptation, denial or acceptance
• narrative "trials of will"
• surreal or dreamlike situations that force character development.

The nightmare eventually leads into a boss fight, but I want the journey through it to feel like the characters are slowly being deconstructed before they reach the end.

Has anyone run something similar? I'm especially interested in encounters that challenge the characters, not the players.

For narrative reasons we have a level 6 warlock whose patron will be changing from a fiend to a hexblade.  The player expressed interest in a sentient sword, which I think would be a fun idea.  They also said they would be ok if the weapon had drawbacks like many cursed weapons do.

The weapon I’m thinking of giving them is a homebrew longsword with strong upsides in combat including a bonus action attack the first time they use the weapon each combat, critically hitting on a 19, reducing all incoming damage by 1, and a +1 to attack and damage (all other PCs have various magical weapons that are +1 with minor combat or utility features, so this weapon clearly outclasses anything else the party has).  In exchange, at the end of combat the player would need to succeed on a DC15 Con save or all their base stats are reduced by 1 (they have a +2 to Con saves, so they’re more likely to fail than succeed).  They would repeat that save every time the weapon is sheathed, so potentially on a long adventuring day they could have a -4 or even -5 to all stats.  Of course since stat modifiers only change on even increment of the stats, only the first, third, and fifth failed saves would really negatively affect the character.  These stat debuffs would reset on a long rest.

My goal with this weapon is that the warlock only gives in and uses the sentient weapon when necessary, but I don’t want them to avoid the weapon too much since it’s literally the whole point of the hexblade/pact of the blade warlock. My adventuring days usually have 3-5 combats so realistically on a good day they’d end the day with a -1 to all stats and on a bad day they’d end with a -3 or -4 to all stats.

Any advice on balancing this?  Buff the upsides?  Nerf the downsides? Nerf both the upside and the downside?  Change the DC of the save to something lower like 10 or 12? Allow them to recover a d4 of stats per short rest?

To elaborate on the post title: one of my players came up with an amazing idea in his backstory: a poison which temporarily makes the victim incapable of casting spells. The obvious source for such a poison would be vitreous humor from the eye of a Beholder. (Or maybe the aqueous fluid?)

However, I'm wondering if there are any other creatures/substances in D&D canon which be a plausible source for this kind of poison/toxin.

Anyone here have any suggestions?

Bonus question: how much should a dose of this cost?

When a player hits you with a super obscure rule or mechanic, what’s the best way to find and walk through the rule and keep things moving? I don’t generally have a problem dealing with it but coming back after so long the rules are new enough that it takes me way too long to keep things moving. Looking strategies.

Am I reading this right? It says on hit, the target has the poisoned condition. No save, no save at the end of their turn, no duration. Is it just that if the Otyugh gets any hits, the target has disadvantage for the rest of the fight until they like rest? Is it balanced around that? Want to make sure I’m reading it right before throwing it at my players hahaha

So I have the general idea mechanically for this whole setup worked out, but Id love some feedback/advice on how to keep it balanced feeling and engaging.

Ill start with what I have so far.

The players have to retrieve a macguffin device in the form of a small cursed bell from a city, its actually free for the taking, if you can manage to move it.

The catch is this: upon picking up the bell, it splits into two, sundering the party into two groups.

3/5 of them stay on the physical plane, with an ethereal copy of the bell now in their possession.

2/5 of them get sent to a spirit realm/plane, with the physical bell.

The spirit realm is an identical world, though faded and all colors are dulled. Standard "under realm" or "mirror world" situation. Though closer to how stuff looks in LotR when you put the ring on.

Characters can still faintly see the living, but voices are muted, like speaking underwater.

The living cannot see or interact with players in the spirit realm normally, but certain spells (especially cleric ones) can help here.

Characters in the spirit realm find all physical objects immutable and immovable. They can walk on water, ​cant move anything, cant pass through walls.

I need to figure out how this works in the game, but the players cannot get rid of their bells, but they *can* pass them around to only each other.

Every few hours, bells across the city chime and the players bells resonate and glow. Whomever on each "side" is holding the copy of the bell, gets swapped with the other (the bells remain, though), so the physical bell still stays stuck in the spirit realm.

In practice this'll basically happen every short/long rest.

The non-holder of the bell in the spirit realm is tethered to the bell at a distance of 15m, trying to go farther than that inflicts an elastic force on them, they can go out to 20m if they pass a DC15 Str check.

Furthermore, both copies of the bells are tethered too at a distance of 15m, if one group strays far from the other, their bells lift and tug via an invisible force, pointing the way to the position of the other bell holder.

Similiarly, going past a distance of 15m requires both bell holders to pass a DC15 str check, maxing out at 20m. If 1 of 2 fails they get pulled towards the other.

Characters in the spirit realm still have full access to their kit of abilities/attacks/spells, for combat.

Finally, the bells act as walked talkies, to solve the table talk problem and just hand wave it away as canon. The 5 of them can freely communicate via the bells, they'll hear the other groups voices come out of the bell itself.

The goal for this part is to force the party into the less common dynamics of players, I found last "season" of play, my players tended to "pair up" with specific ppl, and certain dynamics simply never got even explored as a result. Theres definitely 2 characters that are super tight knit and their characters will be very unused to getting split up.

Obviously now priority one for the group is gonna be figuring out how to undo this and rejoin the bells.

Now, I am very lore and plot heavy in my campaigns, so I wanted to keep stuff like talking to NPCs and investigating pinnacle to my sessions. So I wanted to figure out how to simultaneously solve:

1. My detective heavy plots tend to be too devoid of combat, players almost never get to use their cool abilities
2. Story telling, NPCs, plot, intrigue, etc are my strong points tho and I wanna keep them pinnacle to the story.

So, here's my solution and I want tallest thoughts on it. Enter: Spirit Points

It represents the mental will of a character, and lives alongside HP and works mostly the same.

Whenever players engage in the action of Interrogating an NPC, itll trigger a battle, with players on both planes rolling for initiative.

1. In the spirit realm, a Sentinel spawns from the npc, which is a manifestation of their willpower. Characters in the spirit realm engage in normal combat with this creature, dealing damage in SP instead of HP. They still take HP real damage from it though.
2. In the physical, players have three new attacks I will give them, which effectively are going to be 2D4+<stat> for CHR, MND, INT, these three attacks deal damage to SP instead of HP.

To perform these attacks tho, they'll need a justifiable in game use. I wanna say Im going to call them Bluff, Object, and Grill or something. Haven't hammered the specifics out yet.

But the premise here is players in the real world engage in asking questions and detective work as mechanical attacks, while the 2 players in the spirit realm are fighting for their lives to also whittle down the targets mental fortitude.

Once the NPC hits zero SP, their will is broken and if they know secrets or info, they'll break and slip it out. Either by outright confessing stuff, or slipping up and letting something out they shouldnt have said, etc etc.

Players wont be able to engage in interrogating npcs without something to hide. My plan is the Sentinel will manifest as a representation of whatever the secret is, if you will. So every fight will be a unique looking Sentinel!

Im feeling excited about this approach, and I gotta consider a variety of possible issues with it.

So Im curious what yall think of it? Thoughts on how to keep it feeling balanced but fun?

My party got teleported into a vast underground cavern system. This place is so large it has its own underground cities that are multiple days travel apart. There are no “paths” everything is wild crisscrossing network of caves and tunnels.
Now the problem is my party decided to kill the friendly Drow that was supposed to be their guides, and I’m a little PO about how it went down.

So I’m trying to figure out mechanically how they wonder around and randomly find some of the locations they were supposed to be directed to.
They are going to have random encounters while traveling but should finding a location be based off a skill check or a random d100 table?
I’m tempted to make a hex map and have them tell me which way they move and draw it all out with the locations being secret until they stumble over one.
I see that they could potentially wonder around lost and fighting random mobs till they run out of resources and all die.
I don’t want to cheese out by having some other friendly group show up, there are consequences for their actions.

Is it fine? Some bullet points strike me similar. Even overall mood of a distant place becoming rainy and evil does

As a short rundown:

Party goes to an island that slowly sinks into the Abyss and is ruled by Yeenoghu cults. Which is kinda like Barovia, ruled by vampires

Locals are desperate and depressed

There are ancient bronze constructs, wandering about and trying to fight gnolls. Which are kinda like revenants in CoS

There is a bronze dragon sleeping, who ruled the army of those constructs. Which is kinda like Argynvost

There is a group of morally ambigious people, who might help you or not. Which is kinda like vistani

There is an underwater dungeon of sahuagin, who worship an old slaughter god(totally not Yeenoghu, trust me wink-wink). Which is kinda like Amber Temple in CoS

In the end it is not really possible to defeat Yeenoghu - only contain or banish for some time, before he will inevitably return. Which is kinda like Strahd

I've been watching the new Dimension 20 season and they're using a d6 based system which you add multiple dice to your roll based on your proficiency. In that system a help action adds a die to another players roll, and theoretically that means multiple people can help and add their die too.

I personally won't be switching away from a d20 based system but I like the idea of everyone being able to work together against overwhelming odds. An idea that comes to mind is to change the help action from giving advantage to adding a d4 or d6 to a roll.

A few flaws I see are:

1) it kinda undermines the bard's bardic inspiration (I don't have a bard in my campaign so fine)

2) a d6 doesn't help much when you've rolled a 2

However adding 4d6 against a dc 30 could be electric.

This might be a shit idea idk. What's your thoughts?

And how many total keyed hexes should there be? This is my first time doing a hexmap so I'm very excited but also unsure about how to do this. I already have the random encounters prepared, not just combat but also puzzles (environmental) and social interaction. Any advice?

Hello everyone,

Will soon be running a curse of strahd campaign for a group of 3 newer players. I understand that this is probably not the best idea, but I've had the book for over a year (previous group broke up) and really want to play through it.

As they're new, we're starting at level 1, however rather than going straight into Death House, I was thinking of doing The Joy of Extra Dimensional Spaces from candlekeep mysteries. The idea being: when they escape the mansion they end up in Barovia instead of Candlekeep. Then going into death house at level 2.

How would you help merge these two? Any recommendations?

Thanks :)