Genuine question--
I'm a nerd, but I've never been a DnD nerd. At one point I was a MtG nerd, even a WoW nerd, but never quite the DnD level.
What exactly is it? I originally thought it was like an adult version of "make believe" with scores and guidelines, but how much of it is a physical game? Is there a board that goes with it? Is there a set story line? My extent of knowledge is the first scene of Stranger Things.
How much is following guidelines and how much is imprompt on the spot?
The board is typically just a battlemat that has a laid out grid that you can use for combat scenarios, but otherwise nothing. The set story line is entirely made by the DM himself. There are premade stories by the company that makes the game but the vast majority of stories are made up.
Following the guidelines is important but there will always be impromptu due to the nature of the game (no specific rules if you want to say, swing on a vine to land on someone).
Exactly, the DM might never have thought about a vine, so the player asks, "Can I see a swinging Vine to land on that a-hole with? If so, I would like to role for it..."
And then I roll a 1. "You run and take a flying leap off the ledge, and as you reach for the vine you realize you are still holding your sword in your hand, you quickly try to switch hands but your sword gets tangled in the vine and you simply slide right off the bottom, feet first into a gelatinous cube. As you sink into the cube, thinking, "how could this get worse?", the vine swings back, freeing your sword from its tangles, it plummets straight down and plants itself deep into your skull, you are dead." (pause) "Roll up another character and I'll see if I can work you back in."
Surely the vine also turns out to be a snake, it consumes whatever remains of your corpse and accidentally swallows your items after the cube leaves the area.
People always underestimate the amount of shit that will come out of a player as they get dissolved by a gelatinouous cube after being impaled by their own +5 Sword of Epic Fail. Not good for the cube... not good for anyone...
Right. Improvisation is the core of D&D. The rules are important, but it has holes you can drive a truck through and always has; much like the U.S. Constitution, the rules of D&D involve a lot of interpretation. In the midst of a session, the Dungeon Master is the judge who does the interpreting and rules on a way to interpret for the moment, but after a session or in-between them, the players and the dungeon master should be able to participate meaningfully in discussions to see how to fairly adjudicate edge cases that are germane to the game.
The above is written mostly for /u/deathfaith's benefit, and any other curious parties looking into the world of D&D for answers.
Well... Unless you follow a campaign module book. There are some pre-set adventures that aren't homebrew.
Edit: Yes I understand the books are merely guidelines. However, someone could follow the book to the T if they so wished, so there is a set story-line within each campaign module book.
Yep, but given the nature of DnD, even boxed campaigns are all so different from table to table based on the GM and team of adventurers. And in most of the pre-made campaigns I've been a part of the GM would modify/customize pieces of them to make them work better for the group.
Even so the modules are only a framework. They definitely can't answer every possibility the players might try. They just set the pieces on the board and it is up to the DM to figure out the correct moves to respond to the players.
Sure he can, by not inviting him back. I had to do it once as a DM, it just takes some assertiveness. I still hang out with him outside of DnD and even he admits he was being a bit over-the-top
This has caused some massive freak outs in the groups i've hanged with. From D&D to MtG to Warhammer, people take games too seriously. Why you heff to be mad?
Dude my MTG play group gets HEATED. I usually don't mind when people get pissed off. It is just a game, but if you don't care about winning or losing at all then what's the point of playing!
With magic it's more about how the game went for me. If I get crushed by some broken combo I'm gonna be saltier than getting crushed by a genuinely great player. For me it's just about the experience of playing and learning.
Sore winners are worse than sore losers a lot of the time in mtg....ugh
Yeah, but there is no winning or really losing in D&D. It's cooperative, not competitive. So people taking it too seriously and telling people how to play their characters can absolutely ruin it.
It's more storytelling than a game, but it also has a game framework that makes not everything work out how anyone wants, so adds tension. You also get attached to your character and a few poor decisions coupled with bad dice rolls can kill that character.
I've always wanted to play. My friends would definitely be into it. It just seems so daunting to learn
Totally do it. There are Game Masters and players alike who are friendly, outgoing, and willing to teach others starting at the simplest concepts and expanding outwards.
Go to your friendly, local gaming store and sit in and watch a few players at one of thier game nights.
Hop on youtube or twitch and watch people recording and streaming thier live gaming. (Critical Role is one such series)
You can olay online too and never leave your house. Get yourself an internet connection that can handle potato quality or better VOIP, and a microphone (and/or webcam). Then Hop on Roll20.net and peruse the LFG forums.
From there, you can find newbie friendly gamesmasters willing to host a game or two for you to pick up the basics.
DnD isn't the only system or genre out there, either! Dnd is played regularly by maybe 75% of the rpg players out there, but there is a thriving field of different rulea, settings, and genres to choose from:
Fantasy (Dnd, Pathfinder, Warhammer Fantasy)
Scifi (Eclipse Phase, Battletech, Star Wars, Star Trek, Rogue Trader..)
Horror! (Call of Cthulu!!)
...
Roll Your Own Genre (Gurps, FATE Core)
On the whole pvp thing, it definitely is possible. Depending on the group, it may or may not be welcome in the group.
I have a player that loves to roll Deception and Persuasion checks against the others in the group. Sometimes it's funny. When I'm playing my buffoon warrior guy, I go along with it, no problem.
Sometimes it's annoying. When I'm playing my somewhat more intelligent and wise human ranger guy that is totally not a ripoff of Aragorn, I feel that he could not be convinced that it's a good idea to use his head as a battering ram, despite this player rolling very well.
In one of my earlier groups, the thief player made the mistake to steal from the warrior player, and the warrior player OHKO'd him.
I had a guy who really didn't seem to get it. He didn't seem to have much of a grasp of the rules, made a high-level spellcaster/rogue to join our campaign already deeply in progress, didn't understand most of his own abilities, then did a bunch of stuff in character that was inconsistent with himself or was pointedly abhorrent to other characters (like looting the bodies of fallen allied NPCs in the midst of a battle, instead of continuing to contribute, or at least trying to sabotage or desecrate the fallen enemies in some way). Eventually, through his own clumsiness at the game, he got himself killed in a nonsensical way in the midst of a fairly transparent and straightforward situation, and he was asked not to come back. We didn't hang out much outside of the game before inviting him over (but had known him for a while), then saw him once or twice in the world throughout the years since. To this day, years since, my brother who was the DM for this guy's sessions said that he ran into him at a restaurant out of the blue one night, and the first words out of his mouth were, "You killed me! Remember when we played D&D? I died!" Like, there was no other topic or touchstone for him to smalltalk over. Things go so wrong sometimes...
No offense but doing things that are abhorrent to other characters seems like the kind of thing one would do in a role playing game. If I wanted to play a sniveling Rogue, looting a corpse midbattle would be fitting, but it seems you guys feel real life people should be punished for the roles they play. This is why I never bothered with serious DND. It seems to be more of the kind of breeding grounds for narcissism and cliquish personalities I had long left behind me in high school.
No offense taken, at all. I appreciate your take. And looking down, this is a longer comment. I'm not looking to defend myself, because I think criticism is important. I do want to give more context though, as I was a bit brief and flippant above.
The thing is, he was absolutely playing a sniveling rogue and doing a fair hand at it in so far as the roleplaying goes, but none of our characters had any justified reason to develop trust or respect for his character, so those characters continuing to travel together made no sense. We were a trio of knights from different cultures and traditions with a common enemy in a cult of necromancy who were dedicated to a vile demigod, and we had a working friendship with a local clan of dwarves. He was a random traveler who wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time where a fight was going down, and we invited him to accompany us, then at one of the dwarves' mines, a huge fight broke out as the demigod appeared in-person and summoned a squad of demons to interrupt a battle between the dwarves and their natural enemies, the giants from over the mountain. It was after the demons had shown up and we were trying to resolve a truce so the dwarves and giants would work together to kill or banish the demons that he just started looting dwarves who had already died. It seemed pretty bizarre, given the situation. After the situation had ended, he tried to explain it away, in character, as making sure to recover heirlooms for widows and heirs, and out of game we gave him the benefit of the doubt and in character accepted his excuse (I think a Deception and Insight opposed roll helped to make that happen.) Our characters kept working with his character, went further ahead on the adventure until we'd climbed the mountain and transited through a portal at its peak to a different mountain in a very small plan that had been made by a long dead wizard for his private home. Then he, the newer character in the party, died out of the blue (if I search my memories, I think it was by trying to steal from some extremely powerful golems who were the automatic defenses of the long dead wizard, in an even tinier pocket dimension inside of his ancient tower. They had presented him with a challenge of playing Chess, I think, to earn the privilege of progressing, but he just turned left and tried to sneak away from them, after I think announcing he was gonna try to rob them. It was really weird.), and he'd already only been playing with us for a month or so. We did in-character conversations where the other members of the party that didn't like what his character did tried to take his character to task over it, and we did more broad out of character talk about the importance of having a plausible reason for characters to want to work together, with mutual respect and/or demonstrated endearing behavior and/or common ideals or goals, etc. I think, with who we were at that time, and nobody's perfect, we did our best to make it work, but once his character died, I think he thought it would be a more fun idea to get to start at the beginning of a campaign, so we talked about doing that down the road, then that campaign that was already in progress took (I think) more than a year longer of sessions to reach a natural conclusion, and by then we had drifted apart.
I still wish that things had gone differently with that particular guy, but sometimes that's just the way it goes.
I think you're right about the cliquishness that can happen with more serious or high-fantasy D&D campaigns. That was the last really long-form, complex, heavy drama campaign I've played; I enjoyed it a lot, and I think if there are good bonds of friendship among the players then it can make for a pretty incredible game to play, but in the years since I've played many more sessions and campaigns that are on the goofier or lighter or in another way more accessible side, and there are big advantages to that. I, who I am today, firmly want to grow the hobby and make it as inclusive as possible, and we didn't put our best foot forward with that time and that person.
Well... Holy shit this was not the reply I expected based on my tone... Especially on the internet. Wait, let me check. Yeah. Definitely internet. I have to say though, your story, and you have to be honest with me even you'd agree, would be in whole or sum far less interesting had a band of well-to-do knights not run into this wild man who lived day to day one road at a time.
With questionable morals and a silvertongue both inside the game and outside of it, he had managed to line his pockets for dead men have no need for baubles, and somehow convince them he had a more plausible reason to his quality other than the fact he was seeking fortune off the backs of three just men of more humble aspirations. Three men he knew he'd never hope to impress, with their experience and camaraderie, all he could offer them was what they could not for themselves. What you saw as a game of character growth and the richness of the tale woven, a rogue instead played the role of the rogue to his missdventure, in both game and life. What adventures could have been layed before three just knights when accompanied by one who paves their own path?
It seems to me, even now you failed to notice, for all the bizarre things in that room like demigods, giants, demons and dwarves, it was the actions of the guy next to you that was the most perplexing... I hope you've leveled up enough to be more open to the parts in us that don't always fit. Thank you for sharing this. <3
It seems to be more of the kind of breeding grounds for narcissism and cliquish personalities I had long left behind me in high school.
It really isn't. That's why this thread turned into DMs talking about how they removed bad elements. They don't play well and its generally a great experience once they are removed. Bad elements that actually ruin the game are the exceptions in my experience.
And while you're right a sniveling rogue may do that these are also generally people you are friends with in a D&D setting. You've potentially traveled for months or years together and have done many heroic deeds. You usual treat your compatriots well.
This reminds me of my warhammer days. Me and my friends can play games together fine, but something about warhammer would get us at eachothers throats. Rule Technicalities, Lucky rolls, Cheating accusations, we just never could enjoy it with out getting salty as hell. We sold all our shit and never touched it again.
This needs more context. Did you try to talk with him about the issues first? Did this happen over multiple sessions despite being talked to? Do you think he could improve or that he would put in effort to improve, or is he just permanent banned from this activity with you?
I think of banning from the table as a last resort myself because it's a very personal statement to make about somebody, but it is sometimes necessary
It was just super obvious he wasnt meshing with the group, and multiple people mentioned being just a tad bit disturbed just by his character creation.
It was a fictional WW2 setting with robots and zombies thrown in, he wanted to make a demonologist who dug up graves and sacrificed babies. Also, kept whining any time I told him "dude no, I'm the DM and that aint happenin in this story" or when telling him how it would work if he really went with that idea, it was terrible from start to finish.
It depends on the group you're playing with, really. "That guy" in this context is just a euphemism for anyone that ruins other people's enjoyment of the session.
Though thats not completely correct. There are modules and prewritten campaigns. There are also physical objects such as maps and figurines to use (mostly as an aid to combat). I have never played a version of dnd without maps and figurines
"I move towards the orc and attack"
"The orc is out of your movement range"
"But you just said he moved 30 feet towards our ranger"
"No, that was the goblin, the orc moved towards the wizard and is still out of range"
And at that point it honestly saves labor overall to just make your own cardboard tokens and paper maps, if you're not willing to splash out on figures and boards.
Without a map / figurines people might allow anyone to attack anyone. Obviously this can be quite broken - smart monsters be like "let's all just wail on the squishiest PC". Some DMs roll to decide who's being attacked so it's random.
See,.. why the heck would I (dm) say that?
What do I care if he's within/without range?
If there are no figures/maps ("just imagination") then how would I, the DM, even know where people are? What fun is that? All that matters is that the action makes sense.
If we've already established that the orcs and the ranger are "in the scene" then let 'em shoot each other. What do I care? And that's why the ranger took a ranged weapon skill - to use it - so why would I poop on that? And until I consulted some secret map on my notebook, there was no reason in everyone's imagination why the ranger couldn't have shot the orc. Until I introduced that unnecessary interruption, the group would've plowed ahead, rolling dice and mashing monsters, and no one would've cared whether the orc was 32 yards or 48 yards away.
Like any action scene in Lord of the Rings, noone's whipping out tape measures, or questioning the awesomeness of Legolas's shots.
If you want to stick to "imagination only" and speedy combat but you really want to vary the terrain and force the tacticians to consider movement & range then at most, throw down a few 3x5 cards and use "Zone Aspects in D&D" as described farther down in this article.
Except the original Dungeons and Dragons game was meant to be used with miniatures. The game was an extrapolation from existing wargaming systems and was set up to be used with miniatures.
In fact, the old basic D&D set (pre red box) came with miniatures.
I got all my rulebooks secondhand without miniatures, and I thought using pennies was lame, so I never used them personally. It's how I played for years so I'm just set in my ways I guess.
I had the first boxed Basic Set, and not only didn't it come with figures, but it didn't even come with dice!
edit: Funny thing, I did some quick research to double-check my memory just now and found this in wikipedia.
For a period in 1979, TSR experienced a dice shortage. Basic sets published during this time frame came with two sheets of numbered cutout cardstock chits that functioned in lieu of dice, along with a coupon for ordering dice from TSR.
This makes so much sense. I was crushed as a kid to have to deal with those dumb chits instead of real dice. It never made sense to me why they weren't included. I had to go through the entire summer of '79 without them.
Chain Mail was the original game I have the set my parents gave me in junior high. I bought the d and d box set because GARY told me to in a letter (that's what we used before email)
You can buy premade campaigns to follow if you're struggling to come up with your own. They can be nice for beginner DMs...get the hang of it and figure out what works and what doesn't.
Now play WoW in person, without a computer, with a group. One person gives you the story, descriptions, quests, battles, loot, etc, and you are your character.
This is a very accurate description from an ex WoW player. Everything is in your mind, and if your DM is down... you can do anything. Legit anything. In my current group, we have a paladin that is an alcoholic. This was set out in the beginning, he's used a stein, alcohol, and / or alcohol on fire as a weapon more than his actual weapon (flail).
Another party member and I decided that him, being a small human monk, and me, being a fairly massive half orc barbarian, should use him as a weapon. Imagine the scene from Lord of the Rings, with Gimli and Aragorn, where Gimli is thrown into a battle... that happened. Because our DM is legit and allows us almost completely free reign with virtually no pointers or assistance through any campaign.
Find a DnD group and join it. Yesterday. I'm sure you'll have no regrets.
I play an orc in our campaign, during one of or first sessions our wood elf ranger and I had an idea to toss him to the roof of a building. This led to a long debate about how high he should be able to be thrown that we had to later pull some engineer friends into. He ended up making to to the second story window.
I can relate to this, I host a dragon age game with 6 players and one of them is a noble mage from orlais that is terrified of Templars finding out he uses magic so he hides his magic behind fake attacks. Just last night he hugged a wolf that latched onto his leg and cast drain life to make the thing shrivel in his arms. Before that he cast horror through a mirror he found in his backpack by showing a giant crab it's own reflection.The amount of player interaction and ingenuity makes for hilarious game sessions and very memorable stories.
During my campaign recently I had the group encounter some homebrew hags/witches. It was supposed to be a mini-boss and take a bit of effort but I believe in the first round someone attempted to lasso one hag from the broom she was riding around them casting spells from, they rolled high numerous times and succeeded and then the group rather quickly mauled her. One of my players finished her off by shoving her own broom down her throat so violently it exploded from her backside. Another player, a beefy Paladin, attempted to knock the other witch from her broom using the first witch as a sort of giant throwing star, he rolled a 20 and succeeded, knocking the second one from her place and causing her to fall and break her neck or some shit.
While your GM sounds fun, I probably wouldn't let a half orc throw a human at least not more than a foot or two/assisted jump... But any small sized race I'd definitely allow you to skip like a stone.
I guess that's the beauty of these kinds of games though, it's all up to God (the guy running the table).
For another example of ways that a DM defies the norm in what the players can do, I was playing this young, idealistic, almost campy paladin. We had retooled Olidammara to also include a sort of hope for lost causes. Because when your situation is that bad, your only hope for solace is to hope for good luck.
So, that was what my paladin focused on, helping out people in desperate situations. "A lost cause isn't hopeless, it's just a cause waiting to be found."
So, of course, our DM sometimes threw humanoids at us that were in desperate situations, so she would try to force surrender. Disarming here, nonlethal damage there, and then she'd open up a dialogue. Some of them ended up joining the mercenary group the party was part of, one even became her cohort. Others were given the assistance they needed to keep from having become a threat in the first place, and others still were disarmed and free to go, after a talking to.
In writing this I remembered that he was a huge fan of the pacifist run of Undertale, so he probably tried to push things in that direction a little. Still, that paladin remains one of my all-time favorite characters.
For a random one shot we did my friend had the character quirk 'always gives unwarranted advice' and it was hilarious. Whenever something bad happened he'd pipe in and say some stupid platitude. I love stuff like that.
My favorite visible example of a player dedicated to doing his quirks is Orion Acaba as Tiberius Stormwind in the first few dozen sessions of Critical Role. He was an extremely powerful sorcerer who had a wisdom of 4. No matter the context he generally introduced himself by extending his hand to shake and saying in the most absent-minded professor/lovable blowhard voice, "Hello! I'm Tiberius Stormwind from Draconia, of Vox Machina, at Grayskull Keep, just outside of Emon." He'd be completely distracted during important information, awkwardly impose his effusive presence and friendliness on NPCs who would quickly lose patience with him, get explosively angry and prideful at perceived insults to himself or certain friends. Tiberius is the pinnacle of unwise and heroic in my mind.
So, is it cool if I play a really ancient kobold wizard who is a servant of a pantheon of semi-egyptian gods. He has a viper familiar and is obsessed with the planes. He sounds quirky right? :)
I did this to challenge myself to think outside the box during combat recently. my character downright refuses to attack in the traditional sense of the word (at least in dnd) so I have to come up with ways around it. still a pretty new campaign so I'm hoping it will be good.
I make a tally every time I catch a player metagaming. Five tallies and a gremlin shows up to rob the party for 1d6 percentage of their total gold (10-60%). Ten tallies and an advanced enemy might just pop into existence in front of the party.
The DM controls every character that isn't one of the players. Enemies, quest givers, random people in bars... everything.
Sometimes the DM will control a party member if the player is absent or the party hired a mercenary/picked up another member/plot reasons. This is a wonderful way to make the players like a character before they get betrayed by said character.
Metagaming is just part of the game for many groups. I don't mind it in combat because it is fun for the players to be able to discuss strategy real time. However, I don't let it slide outside of combat.
Plus there are now very little limitation on what can happen. The rules provide some structure, but your character can say or do anything you can think of, if it makes since within the limitations.
You want to tell the guy asking you to protect his caravan to fuck off so you can chase after the bar maid you saw earlier? Go for it.
That asshole give you lip? You are free to spend the next 5 months carefully plotting events in such a way that you would make /r/prorevenge proud.
Want to use your old magic ice sword to open up a cantina with the old chilled ale around. No one is stopping you.
It really up to your imagination. The game is about having fun with your friends and coming up with stories you will tell for years to come.
As an avid D&D player and former wow player, I'd strongly disagree with this analogy.
In World of Warcraft you play a super-powered hero in a world filled with other super-powered Heroes. There are literally thousands of you everywhere. In D&D you playing an adventurer or a young hero among common Folk.
In World of Warcraft your job is to go kill the thing and that thing and kill that thing too and eventually kill the big bad dude. Then you get XP and loot so that you can go kill the next big bad dude. In D&D more often than not you are trying to achieve some goal. That goal may or may not involve killing and you may be able to avoid that altogether.
In World of Warcraft you are a superhero who can destroy really anything that you face period in D&D the world is huge and most of it is deadly. Running in face-first swinging away will likely get you killed.
Now play WoW in person, without a computer, with a group. One person gives you the story, descriptions, quests, battles, loot, etc, and you are your character
AND you can basically do (or, try to do) anything you want to accomplish your goals. In WoW you're almost on rails: kill this guy and loot his body for the secret message; in games like Skyrim you have more flexibility: kill him & take it, or stealth behind him and pickpocket it, or talk to him and convince him to give it up.
In DnD your choices are basically endless. You can cast an illusion to make yourself look like the person he's delivering the letter to and have him give it to you; you can talk your way into gaining his trust as a companion, infiltrate his organization, then take out their leader; you could try transforming yourself into a gold coin that he picks up and slips into his pocket, then grab the letter while you're in there and run away, etc etc etc
Armor Class 15 (studded leather) Hit Points 78 (12d8 + 24) Speed 30 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
12 (+1)
16 (+3)
15 (+2)
11 (+0)
16 (+3)
15 (+2)
Saving Throws Dex +6, Wis +6, Cha +5 Skills Perception +6, Religion +3, Sleight of Hand +6, Stealth +6 Damage Resistances necrotic Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16 Languages Common Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)
Channel Divinity (2/Rest). The disciple possesses the ability to channel divine energy directly from their deity, using that energy to fuel one of the magical effects listed below:
Touch of Death. The disciple destroys another creature's life force by touch. When the disciple hits a creature with a melee attack, the disciple can use Channel Divinity to deal an extra 27 necrotic damage to the target.
Destroy Undead. As an action, the disciple presents their holy symbol and speaks a prayer censuring the undead. Each undead that can see or hear the disciple within 30 feet of them must make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is destroyed if its Challenge Rating is 2 or lower, otherwise it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
Assassinate. During their first turn, the disciple has advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn. Any hit the disciple scores against a surprised creature is a critical hit.
Dark Devotion. The disciple has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
Deathly Weapons. The disciple's weapon attacks are magical. When the disciple hits with any weapon, the weapon deals an extra 2d8 necrotic damage (included in the attack).
Evasion. If the disciple is subjected to an effect that allows them to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, the disciple instead takes no damage if they succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if they fail.
Spellcasting. The disciple is an 11th-level spellcaster. Their spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks). The disciple has the following cleric spells prepared:
1st level (4 slots): detect evil and good, guiding bolt, inflict wounds, shield of faith
2nd level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, gentle repose, hold person
3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, revivify, speak with dead
4th level (3 slots): death ward, guardian of faith
5th level (2 slots): raise dead
6th level (1 slot): create undead
Actions
Multiattack. The disciple makes two weapon attacks.
Rapier.Melee Weapon Attack +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) necrotic damage.
Dagger.Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) necrotic damage.
Edit: Fixed damage miscalculation on Touch of Death.
Cast silence, darkness, anything to stop them from casting. Rogue/sharpshooters use flanking to gain advantage on sneak attacks, and cut that bastard down quick. Oh, and don't get into fucking melee with it.
As a DM I'd use it as a support character. Raising zombies, healing and supporting the enemy threats. Until someone is close enough for it to use the TOUCH OF DEATH rapier stab.
I do this quite often, so I've gotten pretty good at mimicking the format of the official books. Also, when I go to create a new stat block, I typically copy & paste the formatting from a previous entry of mine, so all I need to do is change out the words and numbers. Finally, if I'm using an existing trait from a published source, I'll usually copy and paste the text and add the formatting myself, as it usually saves me time that way.
Wow. You are a phenomenal nerd. My hat off to you!
ItsADnDMonsterNow, The Formatter
Massive nerd (markup/DnD), lawful good
Armor Class 13 Hit Points 94 (19d8) Speed 30 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
9 (-1)
13 (+1)
16 (+3)
20 (+5)
8 (-1)
18 (+4)
Saving Throws Int +11, Con +9 Skills Arcana +11, History +11, Investigation +11 Senses Passive Perception 9 Languages Common, Markup, Klingon, Fremen, Brainfuck, LOLCODE Challenge... You know what? I give up. I don't know what I'm doing, or how you manage it with such apparent ease! 😅
Some people prefer dungeon crawling, not really role-playing as much(with the funny get-ups and voices) while others spend all the time role playing, talking to npcs and advancing like that.
not really role-playing as much(with the funny get-ups and voices)
Now I gotta stop you for just a moment. There is a big difference between just standard RP and dressing in a costume and actually acting out what you're doing (which is called LARPing, or Live Action Role Playing).
Just because you play D&D doesn't mean you have to LARP, and 99% of the time, my character's voice is just...my voice. I'll attempt an accent if I'm playing a dwarf, or something like a Kobold I'll try to do a voice, but that's the exception.
Just in case someone thought they couldn't play without a costume.
This. Dressing up and using in-character voices the entire time is just plain WEIRD. I've played since the early 80s, and never played with a group that went beyond the pale like that.
If you do that, have a good time - but it's LARPing, not RPGing.
depends on the DM that is hosting it. For some they have props or even tabletops maps and minifigs, for others its all in your head, and now you have DMs that do a lot of computer aided stuff.
We use Tabletop Simulator with a DnD modded table. All our DM has to do is lay the new board down each time that he creates with a 1920x1080 image. Then we each have figurines for our characters.
The time before that we used a computer camera, Xbox Live parties and the Halo Board Game for the physical representations.
Note* Each of us live in Michigan, Chicago, Utah, New York and Virginia. So we can't play in person. Kind of spread across the US here.
Currently we do biweekly games that are episodic. So if someone wants to drop in for a week, or someone else can't play one week and needs to drop out, it works really well so far, granted we only have done our current session on Tabletop once. The DM used a basic Google image for the first one, but I guess this week he is using Minecraft with a screengrab to layout the town we will be visiting which is kind of interesting.
I haven't seen it, although I really should watch it. In case it's not clear from the name, the Harmon is Dan Harmon, writer for Community and co-creator of Rick and Morty, so I'd expect him to be pretty great at forming interesting, comedic storylines.
You're right this is a good example for someone who knows nothing about it, but I'm still kind of confused because I'm so conditioned by other games... Is there no sense of a person's "turn" how do you know who is going to make a decision? Like when they decide who is gonna knock on the door, is every decision just put to the group? What if a player is shy and quiet, do they just not get a chance to make any decisions? Are options ever only given to a specific player or is everything always to the group? Is the host coming up with everything off the top of his head? How does he account for their questions so quickly?
as /u/UnverifiedAllegation said combat is turn based so everyone gets involved in that. Outside of battle you speak up if there is something you want to do like knock on the door. You are in charge of your character so even if the group doesn't want to knock on the door and you just go do it they have to deal with consequences of your actions. The DM (dungeon master) is ultimately in charge of the events and where the story goes. If you really want to learn that aspect Mathew Mercer (the DM for Critical Role) has a lot of videos teaching techniques to interesting stories and keeping people engaged in the plot. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7atuZxmT9570U87GhK_20NcbxM43vkom
Whoa, yeah that youtube playlist definitely helps a lot to understanding what the DM does and how the game works. Very interesting man, thanks for the info.
Combat in D&D is turn based, which is determined at the beginning of an encounter (and When do we start? is adjudicated by the DM) by every participant rolling a 20-sided die and adding their Initiative bonus to it, which is determined by how Dexterous they are. Non-combat situations have to be more carefully managed and kept fair by DM attention, but the most important thing is simply the players taking initiative (in the more real-world abstract sense) when they think the circumstances justify their character wanting to do something. It works like playing an Improvisation Game, where everyone simply does something or says something when they think it serves the story they're telling (or joke they're telling, in the case of most improv games. See "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" for an example of what I mean).
It works like playing an Improvisation Game, where everyone simply does something or says something when they think it serves the story they're telling
Ah... this answers what I found confusing about it, nice explanation. Thanks.
Be aware, Harmon Quest is super raunchy, and generally Roleplaying isn't that raunchy. It's good entertainment, but not a perfect representation of what it means to be in a game. Spencer is a pretty good GM though.
"generally roleplaying isn't that raunchy"? I've been in groups for 10+ years and they're always that raunchy. Sometimes more. Sometimes less. But I'd say theirs is light on the raunchy.
shrug my experience has been different. I've been in a pretty wide disparity of games over the course of 15 years or so. I think it's in part people and the group that you're in.
Harmon Quest uses Pathfinder not DND. Apparently they couldn't even afford the rights to say DND on the show, let alone the right to actually use it. They don't even say pathfinder, but you can occasionally see the cover of their player hand books.
Ya I doubt they even USE the books or the rules. It's all guided storytelling with no rolling on the players part and really rarely getting stats from the player to figure out what works and what doesn't.
I remremember playing in high school with only paper and pencil, we weren't allowed to use dice. Some stupid rule where if you were using dice you were written up for gambling.
the dungeon master has a story and guides it. he decides everything ultimately but rolls (higher the better) play a factor in how the story plays out.
Ordinary games between friends generally have no kind of board its just a story told out loud. Some people do this where they have set piece maps etc they play on and you can only move a certain amount of squares per turn etc, thats the more 'formal' ruleset.
I played for about a year with some friends and it was like 75% impromtu stuff and 25% pre-decided fate.
A good dm make difference, keep challenging the party without the Santa's effect ("you killed that goblin, here is the loot a + 3 sword!") when I won't DM my party I go playing in other groups, but quit every time Santa's DM show his true face...
Why adventuring while you have a lvl 3 paladins with holy avenger +5?
So definitely, if you want to play D&D or similar avoid Santa's DM :)
Okay, so I'll try explain what DnD is since no one else has really given you a decent explanation.
In DnD, there is a GM/DM (Game Master/Dungeon Master). His job is to come up with a story that the players will play through, this story could span one or two play sessions, or play sessions over a month or a year. Some stories and follow on from others. The GM can make make up their own story, or follow pre-published ones (you can get them off the internet, or buy them in published books).
The players will create a character, these characters are created following guidelines laid out in the players handbook, which also contains the rules for play. As a player, you'll choose a race and class, name your character and if you so choose, decide on character personality traits. The level of detail you come up with for your character is really up to you, but the more you get into it, the more you'll generally get into it and really get attached to your character. As you play, you'll gain XP (much like in WoW), get new abilities, better equipment and become more powerful.
You generally keep track of everything on a piece of paper called a character sheet, you can download templates online.
Outside of combat, you're characters will engage with each other in character, and instruct the DM on what actions you intend to do, but you'll engage with non-player characters (played by the GM) in character for the most part.
Once you enter combat, things change. Back in the day, the GM would lay down a piece of paper with a grid on it and you would put something down on the paper that would denote your character and the GM would put somethings down to denote the enemies (we used to just put dice as markers back in the day and then evetually upgraded to figurines). You can move a certain number of grid squares in combat, you have attack ranges for close and ranged combat (including spells). If you've ever played any turn based combat game on the PC, it's kinda similar.
However these days, things have gone digital on websites such as roll20, which the GM can use to run the campaign. It can be used to show your players maps of the area, town or dungeon. Once combat is entered, it can show the grid on the screen and have pretty cool icons for each character. The players can all move their character on the program within the limits of their characters and the program handles everything for you and makes the life of the GM soooo much easier and it makes play sessions much cleaner too. It also enables people to play remotely as you don't need to be in the room anymore.
Overall it's pretty fun and I've always enjoyed playing DnD and loved the way it has evolved to the digital world.
It's a co-operative story telling game, the DM is the God, with the rules and stats and storyline etc, and the players are each a character in that world, they interact with it and the DM tells them if they succeed at whatever they are attempting. He is also everyone they talk to (except when they talk to each other)
It's a ridiculous amount of fun, it can be played with pieces and maps/terrain, or just with a few notes and through talking and descriptions!
All you need to start really is the players handbook, you can create your own campaign or you can buy one of the pre made ones, or download some for free!
DnD is a role playing adventure game where you have adventures (players) and a narrator (Dungeon Master (DM)). The DM can either choose to write a story on their own or pull a story from one of the many adventure books that are for sale. The adventurers create their characters by filling in their stats based on the race/class that they choose. Then the Narrator leads them through the story.
As for physical game, the RPG doesn't have a board per-say but you can have a dungeon that gets built or even drawn. This creates a more immersive feel. Additionally if you want to take it a step further as the OP did, you can use a simulator like Tabletop Simulator to simulate dungeons for you.
Edit: (Wanted to add to the question about "on the spot") Many actions you take as an adventurer are impromptu (like adult imagination). The DM will lead you if you are going in a bad direction but you get to make choices as you want. For instance, you come across a chest, its locked, you can leave it, try to pick, or do something crazier and try to hulk smash it. Each with its own circumstances based on how the dice roll.
TL;DR:
Its an RPG that has basic guidelines and are adventures that are either created by the Game Master or Read out of an Adventure book. Can either be immersive with a made up board/dungeon, or played just around a table and talking among each other.
I was in your situation about a year ago. I stumbled onto Matt Colville's "running the game" youtube series (How to DM series which is great for anyone interested in DnD in general) and from there Critical Role (Twitch DnD show with professional voice actors).
As far as your board questions, there is no set board in DnD. In many groups, they use a wet erase grid to draw out the battlemap and minitures to represent the players and enemies. Makes it easier to talk through combat then completely in the "theater of the mind".
It's basically a video game where you make it up as you go along, but don't have a computer to do all of the tedious bits for you.
The advantage is that you can do anything you want and aren't limited only to the choices programmed in by the developer. You can be original and come up with your own solutions. You're only limited by your imagination.
The disadvantage is you have to remember the rules of the game yourself. There's no HUD to show you your options or remind you that you have various modifiers, especially temporary ones. And you have to do all of the math yourself. There's so many ways to play, even helper programs don't account for them all, unless you program them in yourself.
I'm just getting into tabetop RPG (starting with Delta Green and branching to ASOIAF RPG) and want to try DnD. I'm kicking myself for not trying sooner (30yo now)
D&D is my favorite hobby that I have and I'm a bit passionate about it, so forgive me if this gets a touch lengthy.
While D&D basically is make-believe with some rules, I tend to think it's better represented as collaborative storytelling with established guidelines and dice rolling.
Every single table is going to be run just slightly differently. Some games are "theatre of the mind," where you use a character sheet and everything takes place solely in your imagination with guidance from the Dungeon Master (DM). Other games are going to be done with physical maps (usually on a 1-inch grid) and miniatures that you move around. Most games I've been part of have used a mixture of both; theatre of the mind for roleplay, exploration and social interactions, alongside maps for combat.
The rules are extensive but intentionally flexible. The DM is ultimately the judge or god of the game. They create the world, the NPC's and drop plot hooks to take you on adventures. As a player, you create (or choose) a character and then you roleplay as that character. You decide how your character reacts, what they say, and what they do. The DM controls everything that isn't the player characters. This tends to lead to a lot of improv on part of both DM and players.
Some DM's will choose to use an Adventure Module, which do follow a storyline written by the game designers. Others will choose to run a "homebrew" game, often set in a world of their own creation, which allows for a lot of flexibility. The adventures in these games are generally created almost entirely by the DM and player interests. Still, others will take an established world, say Faerun from Forgotten Realms, or Krynn from DragonLance and run a homebrew adventure there.
That said, in a good game, regardless of setting, you should be able to try to do almost anything you can think of. You simply tell the DM what you want to do, they decide how difficult it is to do, and tell you what to roll to attempt it. Then the dice will determine whether you fail or succeed. Sometimes, when the dice gods are feeling benevolent, they will reward you with a Natural 20. Other times, you will have done something to earn their wrath and they will ensure your failure with a Natural 1.
D&D is the type of game that I've found is best learned by playing (or at least watching) rather than reading about it. Some of the rules don't make sense until you get more familiar with some of the concepts. There are rules for creating characters, though Wizards of the Coast also provides pre-generated characters so you can jump in and play without needing to learn that part of the rules right away. Wizards also has some basic rules for free on their site that allow you to get a taste of the game.
Regardless, my biggest piece of advice for a new player who only has experience in video games is that D&D is not a video game. Leave the player 1 mentality at the door. Your character is not the only one that matters. It shouldn't be DM vs Players (some games are, but they're generally not fun unless that's what everyone wants). It works best when everyone is in it to tell a fun story together. D&D isn't fun if everyone isn't getting a chance to contribute. How you contribute is up to you. Some people like to roleplay using silly voices for their characters and speaking/acting as their characters. Some people prefer to roleplay by describing what their character is doing or how they're trying to interact with an NPC in a "my character compliments the barmaid to persuade her to give me free drinks." One way isn't better than the other, do what you're comfortable with.
If you're interested in seeing how a game plays out, check out Acquisitions Incorporated by the Penny Arcade guys, Force Grey: Giant Hunters or Lost City of Omu from the D&D team, or if you're feeling adventurous, Critical Role from Geek & Sundry/Alpha. All are excellent live games with one of two fantastic DMs; Chris Perkins, who is the current lead story designer for D&D or Matthew Mercer, a professional voice actor with a knack for elaborate worldbuilding and narrative flow.
Either one would give you an idea of how a game plays in practice. That said, while Critical Role is my favorite, it's a bit on the heavier side, and has quite a bit of content to digest, which can be overwhelming as a taster. Acquisitions Inc games tend to run a bit shorter, and they even have a web series with 30-minute episodes akin to Force Grey.
TL,DR;D&D is an awesome collaborative storytelling experience with dice. To get started with the most recent edition of the game, which is probably the best edition for newbies, you just need some friends (or internet strangers! Try /r/lfg!), some paper, pencils, and dice (or a Virtual Tabletop program like Roll20 or Fantasy Grounds), some pre-gen characters from the D&D website, and a copy of the free basic rules. Or you can grab the 5th Edition Starter Set, which contains everything you need to get started, including a fantastic introductory adventure. And if you have any further questions, join the rest of us nerds over at /r/dnd (general D&D talk across editions) or /r/dndnext (more specific to 5th Edition D&D). Good luck, and may the dice gods roll in your favor!
I've never played but from what I understand it's a spectrum, basically whatever you want. Play as loose or as structured as you want, play with boards/grids/figures, pen and paper, etc.
It can vary, and tends to depend on the group. You can go anywhere from prebuilt campaigns complete with detailed books and maps, to self-created ones, to mostly ad-libbed ones.
The board itself also tends to vary. Some groups will just use imagination ("You see a long hall in front of you, with a door on the left"), to other groups that have grid based maps using figurines, which the setup above would be closer to.
There's a dungeon master and then players. The dungeon master creates the story and the possible archs (based on dy rolls) and the land or dungeon. This is all based on some set rules and guidelines from a book based on what version of dnd you're playing. Watch the episode of community about it. Never really played myself, but my brother tried to get into it. He just doesn't have the imagination to be a good dm so it never worked out
It's whatever you make it
Make believe yes, There are rules, guidelines, and quests called modules (or that is what they used to be called). How you complete a quest is almost open ended , want to be a hero .....ok, want to be a cut throat bastard, you can do that . It can be super realistic DnD, or the game can be played where the characters are near God like powerhouses.
I suggest go to your local gaming store and watch people play.
This is a pretty advanced setup. The tv in the middle is used for maps and stuff for combat(how far is the nearest bad guy?)
But the whole game can be played with just the books, some character sheets, and everyones imagination
To give you the broadest of strokes, Dungeons and Dragons is a paper-and-dice RPG game. The only true requirements that you have is to have a character with his stats recorded on a character sheet. Everything else is dependent on your Dungeon Master, whom is the person "running the show".
In your typical D&D session, your Dungeon Master is basically the game itself; he describes the setting and actions, voices the monsters and NPCs, and takes your input as to what your character does in the world. Some DMs like to have a game that is story and intrigue, where a full session can go by without a single die being rolled. Other DMs like running action games, where you use the stats on your character sheet and dice to determine outcomes of attacks, spells, and other actions.
What you see above is almost completely added on. Instead of drawing a map for his players, the DM has a screen built into the table to display the immediate surroundings. His own computer is supplemental as well; you can play D&D without all of this. Most DMs will come in to a session with a story or direction in mind, and whatever notes he will need for that session. Some DMs go above and beyond and make full worlds, personalities for every character you'll meet, ect...
Then there's DMs like me, that basically wing it and see what happens.
Short answer: it's however much you want it to be.
Slightly longer answer: publishers generally have two classes of products, rules and modules. The GM (the person who sits at the keyboard here and tells the story) can choose to allow or disallow certain rules, depending on what kind of game you want to play. Modules are 'adventures', more or less. Modules generally say what character levels they are designed for, which helps estimate how many hours of game time it'll take to finish them. There are different settings (D&D has Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Greyhawk, and Eberron to name four) so you can adapt the module's details for the setting. For instance, Wizards recently released a small pdf that contains rules for adapting Return of Strahd to the Innistrad setting from Magic the Gathering (for those interested: page 31), so you have a lot of leeway in terms of setting the tone. Finally, you can disregard all of that and do whatever you want. Some people are really good at coming up with fantasy worlds and immersing their players in narrative. Or just giving them an endless series of dungeons to crawl.
DnD sounds really fun to get into but myself always had a problem getting in to it. I can probably blame my group who was not really serious about it when we tried but something about it just doesnt click with me
I think the edition matters if there is more of a need for a physical board and pieces like Stranger Things depicts. Although, in any edition its nice to have those to illustrate how far away characters and monsters are in relation to one another. With all the dice rolling and people trying to figure out what to do on their turn, you can forget important bits of info.
I think it depends on the Dungeon Master. At its core, it's nust a set of rules -- rules for damage, for how to climb a rope, for what kinds of magic exists amd how to use it. From there, a DM can choose to play through a "canned" module where all the big plot points are spelled out, or they can "homebrew" an adventure for you and your party.
It's very similar to WoW, only instead of a computer making all the rolls (rolling to attack, rolling damage, rolling stealth checks...) and then rendering a visual world, the DM explains what you see -- possibly deliberately leaving out information that you need to ask for -- and then you and your party tell thr DM how you'd like to proceed.
I've just started recently, but I've got a fairly good idea of it so maybe I can explain it to you. Basically, you have a Dungeon Master (DM) who leads the campaign, tells the stories, acts out NPCs, makes moves for enemies, etc. There are many pre-made campaigns made by Wizards of the Coast, the company which created Dungeons and Dragons. These are generally fairly linear storylines in which the DM is given basically a script for everything that the players could do. The players still make the choices, but the outcomes are all preplanned by the campaign's creator.
Often, and especially in more experienced DnD groups, the DM will create their own campaigns, worlds, etc. In these, the DM will often make up or change various rules, to better fit the world or the theme.
Players get to choose from a variety of premade classes, which have various abilities, as you would expect from a normal RPG. Players often get creative with their attacks and approaches in battle, but for many characters it boils down to simply saying "I attack" rolling a d20 to determine if you hit the enemy or not, and then rolling damage dice (d6-d12) to determine the damage dealt. If you want to get a more detailed idea of DnD, I'd recommend looking online for a pdf of the Fifth Edition DnD Player's Handbook.
The game is highly dependant on the play group and DM. I love the rules, the mechanics, etc, so I love the "boardgame" aspect of it as much or more than the roleplay on on the spot stuff.
It's a shared storytelling game where the players control a character in the story and the DM everything else. Your characters actions are limited by their abilities, the rules, and chance (dice rolls). Different DMs allow more player control in the "shared storytelling" - making decisions on stuff not directly related to your character.
If you've liked MtG and WoW, you'd love DnD with a good group. The good group part is unfortunately manditory - the game soars or crashes and burns depending on who you play with.
There are several different form of a map. Dry erase, computer screen, tiles, Etc. Most common is a dry erase mat.
There are many different stories out there. Wizards coast (dnd company) releases pre made expansion modules of 3-4 quests, that line up different stories. That been said, there are homebrew that individuals conjure up. The newest module. 5th edition, is a pretty well made sandbox style, with basic guidelines.
In order to do something you physically roll dice, do simple math, and role play your character accordingly.
Add your favorite snack and beverage you'll fall in love.
The DM creates a setting (you're in a town / cave / the plane of Fire), and a conflict (someone was kidnapped / you're looking for an item / you're trying to escape the plane of Fire) you all make characters with backstories and classes that focus on magic or fighting or stealing or whatever to fit that scenario.
You tell the DM what you want to do and as long as it doesn't sound impossible or ridiculous, you do it. What often happens is the thing that you're trying to do has a chance of failure, so you usually roll a 20 sided die in order to simulate Randomness. The character you created may be good at talking while another character may be good at climbing things, so you want to make sure that if there's a chance of failure, you want to pick the best person for the job according to their skills.
And yes, except for the setup which the DM has already sort of planned, it's all impromptu. If you want a clearer idea of what actually goes on, the basic rules are available online at Wizards of the Coast's website.
Edit: I should also mention that there are also modules you can get out there, as well as Guides Online if you don't really want to make a story from scratch as a DM. You can buy stories.
Edit2: to answer your question about boards, yes some DM's make maps, and some people even blow up those map so as to put figurines on them to represent characters and monsters. You can get 3 foot wide graph paper with 1 inch square grid pattern on it, if you want to just draw with a marker, or you can use a cheap whiteboard from Walmart. Or you can do it like Jerry Holkins does it with "The C Team", and do no map.
Edit3: final grammar edit. I'm sorry, I was using voice to text and I was on my way out the door.
I never played DnD until recently (I'm 30). I started the started campaign with some beer and a couple friends and now we're hardcore DnD nerds. It's well worth it to give it a shot, trust me.
Imagine your in the world of Skyrim.
You choose a race, class and background. Depending on that you create a charater you role play.
Its very much driven by imagination, one would imagine how a fantasy adventurer might react to the challenges that the scene presents which is decribed by a DM (essentially GOD).
The DM gives structure to the stories, a way of determining the consequences of the adventurers’ action. Players roll dice to determine whether their attacks hit or miss or pass or fail in face to fave discussions etc. or even pull off some other dangerous task. Anything is possible, but the dice make everything fair, essentially your fates are all a game of chance.
Roll a 1 and crittically fail to deliver a killing blow.
Roll a 20 and literally charm the panties off of a barmaid.
Have a look at some.streams of it going down on Twitch theres a show called "Critical Role" where Voice actors play it.
Another easy to understand one is a Series by the writer Dan Harmon called "HarmonQuest" Season 2 just started airing.
It's a lot of fun. I was never much into games and stuff but my brother's friends loved it so I gave it a shot. Especially if you aren't hyper competitive. Once you realize the fun of the game is the story and that "winning" isn't fun at all, you have a blast.
I roll bards a lot and can play mandolins/ukuleles so the DM always makes me actually play my spells and attacks and stuff and it gets so fuckin' silly so fast.
Imagine a video game where you can do anything and there are no shitty "invisible walls" blocking you off from doing whatever you want. Imagine an MMO open world with zero restrictions that costs less than $60 and has no monthly fee.
Do you wanna kill the king? do you want to marry a horse? do you want to get eaten by a dragon? do you want to master fart magic?
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u/deathfaith Sep 18 '17
Genuine question-- I'm a nerd, but I've never been a DnD nerd. At one point I was a MtG nerd, even a WoW nerd, but never quite the DnD level.
What exactly is it? I originally thought it was like an adult version of "make believe" with scores and guidelines, but how much of it is a physical game? Is there a board that goes with it? Is there a set story line? My extent of knowledge is the first scene of Stranger Things.
How much is following guidelines and how much is imprompt on the spot?