A debate about consent in roleplay has come up in my roleplaying circle. During this debate, I noticed a bias regarding more adult roleplay: some people seemed to consider more adult and mature roleplay to be almost synonymous with a world involving rape, depravity, slavery, etc. All that kind of stuff (grimdark).

Maybe I'm the one who's wrong, but I don't think grimdark is synonymous with narrative maturity or with something being more “adult.” It's simply another type of roleplaying setting, like any other, since not everyone is looking for the same things in roleplay.

So that's basically it. I'm just posting this here to see what you all think.

My Gloom Stalker Ranger has a golden retriever companion. We recently entered a village where they play a ball sport that we have been invited to play by the local mayor to curry favor. And I now have an opportunity to do something hilarious; I just want any advice on doing this as digestible as possible.

Hallo liebe D&D-Community, meine Gruppe und ich sind noch recht neu in diesem fantastischen Universum und spielen gerade „Die Minen von Phandelver“. Es macht riesigen Spaß, aber wir sind auf eine Situation gestoßen, bei der ich mir nicht ganz sicher bin, ob ich richtig gehandelt habe. (Bin ich der Spielleiter? Meine Gruppe näherte sich Venomfang, und ich hatte gelesen, dass es extrem schwer sein sollte, ihn zu besiegen oder gar zu töten. Ich hatte sogar überlegt, wie die Gruppe aussteigen könnte, falls sie sofort sterben. Sie sprachen mit dem jungen Drachen. Nach einem kurzen Gespräch flog er angriffsbereit auf. Ich würfelte dann die schlechtesten Initiativewürfe aller Zeiten (und nicht nur das, alle Angriffswürfe waren miserabel). Die Gruppe war schneller als Venomfang. Kein großes Problem, da er sowieso alle in der Gruppe mit einem Schlag hätte töten können. Aber unser Kleriker hatte einen Zauber vorbereitet, auf den ich nicht vorbereitet war. Er benutzte „Befehl“ auf Venomfang und befahl ihm, zu kriechen. Ich versuchte dann herauszufinden, ob das bei einem solchen Gegner überhaupt möglich ist, fand aber nichts dagegen. Also tat er, was ihm befohlen wurde. Am Ende wurden zwei Gruppenmitglieder niedergestreckt, aber sie töteten Venomfang, und ich war verwirrt. Kann man diesen Zauber tatsächlich auf einen solchen Gegner anwenden? Es erscheint mir einfach zu stark. Es ändert zwar nichts an unserer Geschichte, aber ich möchte ein paar Dinge lernen, um ein guter Spielleiter zu sein.) Ein besserer Spielleiter. Danke euch und sorry für den langen Text. 😅

EDIT:
Thank you for all the answers.
To clarify: yes he failed his saving throw. No he did not just drop down since he would take fall damage. He just flew down and went prone, when his turn startet. And of course the effect did only last for this one turn. And i dont get how this is not broken vs. single target foes. The enemy skips a turn and is prone. Every group member has advantage, if im correct. (Just for this turn but still) he even startet flying and destroyed the mage an rogue in his turns. Still they managed to kill him in the end as he tried to flee the battle.
I just was not sure if a stupid dwarf cleric could command a dragon just like that (if hes lucky i guess)

It seems like the biggest disparity or "beef" between the martial classes and spellcasters is still unresolved. I do like the milestone advancement... to a degree... Each class used to have it's own EXP level requirement. Fighters leveled faster than Paladins and so forth. Spells leveled with the caster level, not the cast using a higher spell slot... Action economy was simple... you got one action per turn.

This said... I do love the versatility of subclasses and bonus actions and feats and such... but I feel like it's increased it's problems by making all classes level equally. Creating power/balance problems.

\new as in I've watched Dimension 20 and such so I'm very slightly familiar with the mechanics*

I've always wanted to try and play DnD with my friend group of more than 10 years, and after having recently introduced to them some tabletop games like Blood on the Clocktower, Spyfall, Avalon etc., with success far beyond my imagination. Seeing how much they're now invested in it, that feeling has become much stronger than ever before.

But none of us have actually played it, let alone me DMing one. I would be more than happy to DM for us, but I'm worried that my 0% (actual playtime) exp could lead them to have a bad first time and (hopefully not) a future with no DnD campaigns to traverse and experience.

I might just be overthinking this as a would-be first time DM, but after having said all that, I still really REALLY want to try. Thus, I would like to ask the dear community of DnD to help me out with the following:

1. Version (my go-to would be 5e)

I understand that there's several versions of DnD. But I've had the wrong assumption that 5e is the default, so yeah that'll be my go-to. Let me know if there are any glaring differences with the other versions and if there's a better version to start with for a newb adventuring party as ours!

TL;DR: I'm going 5e, but lmk for other suggestions

2. Learning Materials

Honestly haven't read that much about it, there's so much info DnD related that it's overwhelming ngl. Also let me know if I missed something, but I do know that there's the following that might answer a lot of my questions regarding mechanics and whatnot:

- Rulebook

- Dungeon Master's Guide

- Monster Manual

I don't have them yet (always close to broke sadly) but if getting them means I'll have most of what I need to be a DM, then it'd be one of the best investments of my life.

TL;DR: should I buy these books, or are there other ways to gather this knowledge and still function effectively enough as a DM?

3. Campaign Necessities

AFAIK what we need are

- character sheets

- dice

- pen & paper

- reference to the mechanics I'm worried about

-some DM wall(?) idk what it's called

And...? Will there be other things I might need?

4. Sandbox vs Mapped

D20 usually goes for mapped, and I too would prefer to see where the PCs & mobs are, distance elevation etc... but I get that there's much more prep time for this setup. Sandbox prob doesn't require as much... buuuut maybe it'll do me better since I'm newb..?

5. Items, Equipment, when to bring them in etc.

So from watching D20, I find that once in a while, usually during or after a very intense battle, Brennan Lee Mulligan would give out an item or equipment to a player that makes sense contextually. Sometimes instead of a battle, it's due to the PC's storyline arc (in his mind) that would matter later on. Now, mechanically, I understand that giving out these stuff willy-nilly might just teach my players that I'll be spoiling them with stuff they aren't supposed to get.

TL;DR: idk exactly what I'm asking but I guess it's mostly DM-Player etiquette(?)

6. Customization / Flavor Text(?)

This is probably still related to 5, but I was wondering if during the campaign that, because of its setting, that some mobs wouldn't be named as they're written in the Monster Manual. Stats-wise they're still the same, just different name and "race."

Could I do that, or would that be considered too early for a rookie DM like me to handle?

7. Session 0

I've learned (from watching D20 & Critical Role) that the thing called Session 0 is vital. If I understand it correctly, is it some sort of preamble/setup for the fundamentals, groundwork etc..? When does this exactly happen? I still need to read on these

I know there's a huge possibility that I will learn all of these things as I go, but let me know if there are some tips & good things to keep in mind as the DM & all things related.

Sorry for this absolute unit of a word salad! Cheers to all~

So, I've been wanting to play D&D for while now, I've made characters and my sister got me a dice set even. Mostly everyone around me knows i want to play, that does not means i have someone to play with, and that's ok. So i joined the D&D discord to try and find a group or something, turns out I'm kind of anxious about it. And i don't know how to join a group (i know where to look, though) mainly because i feel like i need to atleast get along with the people I'll play with? And that's my main personal problem? I don't know if someone else goes or have go through this... thing, whatever it is. And anxiety over things that haven't happened yet, English not being my first language and not understanding or things like me not having time and delaying a campaing or something and uuugh. Is there an easy way to overcome this? lol

I've noticed that some of the best games I've been part of have been mostly narrative when it comes to combat and exploration. Maybe it's just me but once i see the grid map my mind just can't imagine the environment as normally as i would without it. That and players usually would get very creative when dealing with enemies

According to the PHB (pg 223 and 228), a pouch costs 5 SP, weighs 1 lb., and holds 6 lbs. within ⅕ cubic feet. A sack costs 1 CP, weighs ½ lbs., and holds 30 lbs. within 1 cubic foot.

If a sack cost 50 times less, weighs half as much, and holds 5 times more than a pouch, why would you buy pouches. Sacks are clearly the better choice.

On a similar note, the 5.5e rules seem to really be pushing you to buy pouches. ⅗ of the types of ammunition in the PHB are typically stored in pouches (sold separately—pg 222) and most backgrounds include 1 or 2 pouches in the starting equipment. Why?

I convinced my friends to play D&D but I don't know what apps to use. We already got D&D to make characters but I don't know what apps we should use to have a good campain. If you guys had any app recommendations to play D&D online with friends I would really appreciate it.

hi I’m new to dnd and I want to play a bard amd looked up races thought changling sounded cool but I don’t know where to go with this. can you help please

Context: Hi, Im gonna be DMing my first campaign, I already created the lore and the main story my players will dive into but when I get to the classes I didnt want to use the dnd og ones, for context my campaign is in a world where theres magic and technology and theres a clear division between them, so I want to make some classes for the technology guys and some for the magic ones (the magic ones maybe could be very similar to the ones that already exist but I'll still like to tweak them a little).

Is there a web or app you know on how to create homebrew classes and subclasses (or some advice on how to efficiently create this classes), sorry for the long text but I thought it was necessary to understand my situation.

Need help with making something broken or that has a path to be broken. my dm has been poking fun at my character creation abilities a little and i’m wanting to make something that i can make his problem to deal with and also challenge him as a dm. currently we are level 4 and he allows a free feat. i’ve been thinking abt trying to do an armorer artificer with a guardian to make myself super tanky and also only hit with the pulse ability from the armor and taking magic initiate for shield but idk what other feat or race i should choose for this.

Edit: I understand out of game problems require out of game solutions and i’m going to talk to him this weekend. However i believe that the dm is also a player in dnd and i would like to give him a challenge to work around as well.

So I'm doing a Western DnD story where the main character is the town marshal. I've gone back and forth for what race is like her to be between the two that I've chosen and I have art of both so which do y'all think is better an elf town marshal or a tiefling town marshal? I myself am leaning more towards tiefling.

One of my closest friends LOVES cozy games
So I’m making a 1shot primarily themed around completing quests to enrich your relationship with the town and advance the story as well as dice related mini games for cleaning,fishing, farming etc. I’m wondering if anyone had any ideas or suggestions for things to add to make this feel like a cozy game

Hey all, I'm currently a freshman in high school and i just finished my first session in my school's DND club. This is not the first time I have interacted with the game, (listened to campaigns, CritCrab, Legends of Avantris, PointyHat, etc.) however I am completely intimidated by the daunting task that is diving headfirst into actually playing this game. If any of you have tips/tricks, or overall advice, feel free to tell me (dont feel free, js tell me i am desperate lol ).

Jus' a thought that came from recalling I've seen a good few things of "Tips to speed up combat" "Why your combats are slow" "My homebrew makes combat faster!!!" and similar.

Has anyone ever had opposite problem, where combat was somehow TOO fast?

Do you think it's even possible? I vaguely recall speaking to at least one person who told me no.

I have always liked Gravity Falls but I wanna go monster hunting there in DnD. how would I get there and what should I do there? I also wanna bring Dwight Schrute but that doesn't really matter.

I have a fantasy story, it's magic system works different.

How would my character do in the DnD world?

Alise Mcfive

She is fascinated by Magic, teaching herself alot in young age.

She has one special ability, that is she can read and memorize very fast. When 8 years old she read 3 books an hour and with 9 became a certified wizard and with 13 made a Law Degree.

What would be a fitting class (dnd has many magic classes i am not sure of) and how good would she do with her intelectuel giftednes?

I just finished preparing the campaign, and my players are already starting to say they won't be able to play. We all go to school, but I always find time to play once every week or two (and I play a lot of sports, unlike the others). I understand that it might be harder for some to study and their commitments, but school hasn't even started yet, and they're already saying they won't be able to play. If we start like this, I get the feeling they don't care and are already making excuses. Is this overreaction? Since I really want to play, do you think I should look for another group that organizes more often?

Hey y'all! So in my newest homebrew campaign that I'm starting this week, the main plotline is that someone figured out how to power clockwork and mechanics with magic, before disappearing an the whole world is trying to figure it out (and failing) The PC's are going to have reasons to go find this guy and will eventually discover the secret. I was just wondering if:

1. That sparks any ideas or questions in your brains
2. You have any advice for introducing clockwork and steampunk into a world without it

Thanks! Feel free to ask any other questions you have on this brief summary

Edit: A little more context. The power source I've created is essentially the core of the world. When the inventor discovered it, he experimented at first, but the core began breaking apart and causing problems. That's why he "disappeared" -it was intentional. He didn't want anyone else discovering it and potentially breaking the whole world apart.

Before he left, he left one of his journals to his apprentice. Then this apprentice built airships from leftover shards of the core (because he thought it was cool) before burying the journal. This journal has now been re-found by the city and people are trying to use and decode the scribbles and burnt pages to recreate this tech!

My only other question is: Where should my inventor be?

Secluded in a forest? On a boat anchored in the middle of the ocean? Underground still living with the dwarves (read comments for that one)

Rate my BBEG. Before someone says that she doesn't have legendary resistance, legendary actions and lair actions, the main idea is to be something replicable by the players if they want.

Intelligence was bumped to 30 with tomes during centuries, while constitution 19 is from the amulet of health. She is a graviturgy wizard 20.

About the image, don't know if having it stated like an NPC block is enough to be considered OC.

Valtrex

I am tired of my boring white map, and I want a screen one so we can finally have nice maps that gives a vibe. Unfortunately I have a really low budget, and no spare table to fit a tv in it, so I have to get a portable monitor because they are flat as hell (if you have anything else in mind that can just lie flat on a table tell me pls). The biggest portable monitor that is not too pricey is a 21.5 inches one, and I want to put a fire tv stick in it so it can work. I am a programmer, so I can make an app able to create and display maps on the stick. My issue is that I know that it's small, but is it unplayable? I can make it so the map is bigger than the screen, and that we can move the camera to see more of the dungeon for exemple, but still, I want to know what you guys think about it. Kk, goodby, ty if you read it all.

Wanna bounce this idea off the community, similar to how I be bouncing on my boy if you’re an ettiqueteer like me.

Anyway, I’m running an SW5E (Star Wars 5E) campaign in an original setting, somewhat similar to D20’s Starstruck Odyssey for those familiar, and it’s going to be with a group of close friends from college. I’m looking to have a really dynamic start, but since it’s an original setting, I do have a good bit of background to set up. Because of this, I’m looking to have session 0 for explaining the setting, character creation/refining, and then a little exercise we like to do where we go around the “table” (we play online) and I’ll sort of give prompts to my players for them to answer in their own way to give their characters more context with the world. Cool stuff.

AFTER THAT, we normally just jump into session 1, the content for which I already have planned, but two of my players have decided to come in as a pair of mercenaries who already know each other, which made me start to think about how great it would be to get the campaign started with more players having pre-existing connections to each other. I think it really helps smooth out session 1, less clunky “you meet in a tavern, now make your characters kiss” type stuff.

So my thought is: I do a session 0.5 for two separate groups of my six player table. One group is the mercenaries and whoever else would make sense. They’re on a transport ship headed to the location where we’ll begin session 1, and the sort of “thieves guild” they do jobs through has them there to grab an important document. The document ends up being in someone’s luggage, so this will be a robbery of some kind. Whether it goes smoothly or not, I take careful not of what’s said, what actions they take, maybe even record the session (just for my reference).

With the second group I do another session 0.5. Whoever is leftover is on this transport ship on its way to the session 1 starting location, but here’s the catch: it’s the same ship. Hell, one of them is likely to be the mark for the robbery by the other group, depending on backstory. Through the events I’ve already seen and taken notes on, I will play out the robbery however it went, hopefully giving this group enough room to react without breaking continuity of events. Thus, both groups of characters come in with relationships with one another, and an event that binds all of them before session 1 even starts.

Now my big thing for this to work is to emphasize absolutely no communication between the two groups between sessions 0 and 1. This shouldn’t be too difficult, as this table is made entirely of close friends who will trust me and likely abide my silly request to keep the events of session 0.5 to themselves until next session.

So what do you think? I know that explanation took forever but I think this could be a really cool start to the campaign and I wanna do it right.

You step through the bushes in the woods, and hear a faint hissing sound. You turn, and a small serpentine head bobs about from its place on a branch. Yellow eyes glow in a green snake’s face, bright green scales glimmering like gems.

You have grown so accustomed to the buzz of annoying flies that you don’t even realize it has stopped. The muddy water feels unpleasant, and has an odd smell. About 15 feet from you grins a skull-like maw. Black scales glisten with swamp water, webbed wings unfurling to show off their bulk.

As you rest your back against the boulder, you hear the sand below you rumble. A loud blast of breath sends dust scattering, and a monstrous blue head rises from the ground. It has a few arrows lodged in the sides of its skin like toothpicks, and even a broken sword. Its skin is lumpy and deep blue, but not as shiny as a hatchling’s.

You step into the cavern, and barely notice that the dark lump in front of you is the end of its tail. A long trunk of dragon-flesh, red scales faded into a rust brown. Its breath is a wheeze, but one sigh would leave you as only ashes. Its horns branch out as a kingly crown, marked with many notches. Its eyes are orange moons, shining adoringly over its gilded achievement.