[Question] Play by post D&D 5e on Halforums?

MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
got it..I hadda google it up. It's an "Explorer's pack" (dungeoneer's pack, priest's pack, etc) in 5e. If you add it in the equipment section, it'll add all the individual items to your inventory. I didn't see any other place/way to add it--no drop box or checkbox.
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Ah. I wonder if you took gold instead of starting gear. Not a huge deal if that's what happened.
 
phil

phil

I've been making a few tweaks to my equipment. I'm not sure if my size effects things a lot. Like if I weigh 40 lbs and I'm carrying like 45 that...feels off. But maybe I can fudge it since my equipment would be halfling sized? I'll finalize it tomorrow and join the campaign.
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

grub said:
On dndbeyond, I cant add all the things from the phb unless i buy it from the marketplace.
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I can help. What are you after?
Post automatically merged:

phil said:
I've been making a few tweaks to my equipment. I'm not sure if my size effects things a lot. Like if I weigh 40 lbs and I'm carrying like 45 that...feels off. But maybe I can fudge it since my equipment would be halfling sized? I'll finalize it tomorrow and join the campaign.
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Your STR affects how much you can carry. Buff little halfling!
 
Wahad

Wahad

MindDetective said:
And we are off! Here is the game thread. Begin with just a little bit about your character and establish any relationships you have (if any) with each other or with the NPCs in the tavern. https://www.halforums.com/threads/halforums-heist.33162/

And @Wahad , you can give your character 15 gp. Or add your character to the campaign, linked above, and I can tweak little things like that as I see fit.

Dive in!
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I did that, but now I can't add Sentinel as my chosen feat for being a VarHuman.
 
HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Are bennies part of the game? (Bennie is local slang for a single use reroll for any roll as a reward)
 
HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Sheep
Medium Beast, Unaligned

Armor Class: 10
Hit Points 4 (1d8)
Speed: 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
12 (+1) 10 (0) 11 (0) 2 (-4) 10 (0) 5 (-3)
Senses: passive Perception 10
Languages: –
Challenge: 0 (10 XP)

Special Traits

Sure-Footed: A sheep has advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws made against effects that would knock it prone.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

I'm not against buying some digital content from dndbeyond. I used to have a whole horde of AD&D books, back in the day.

@MindDetective , are you using Xanthar's? Can I use stuff in Xanthar's if I get it? Do you have any advice/rulings/suggestions on other digital content in the future? I'm not sure how this stuff works in a shared environment like a dndbeyond campaign.

(I know some DM's have preferences...many in the past didn't like me using psionics, for instance, because it was pretty far outside what they were used to dealing with) and they didn't want to buy additional rule books.
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

Tinwhistler said:
I'm not against buying some digital content from dndbeyond. I used to have a whole horde of AD&D books, back in the day.

@MindDetective , are you using Xanthar's? Can I use stuff in Xanthar's if I get it? Do you have any advice/rulings/suggestions on other digital content in the future? I'm not sure how this stuff works in a shared environment like a dndbeyond campaign.

(I know some DM's have preferences...many in the past didn't like me using psionics, for instance, because it was pretty far outside what they were used to dealing with) and they didn't want to buy additional rule books.
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I'm open to pretty much every expansion book, although I think Eberron's wouldn't fit well for a good chunk of the content. So Xanathar's is just fine by me. If you are just after a single feat or a subclass, I might be able to make a knockoff version using dndbeyond's homebrew tools. I can't share knockoffs with the community but I CAN share them with my campaigns. I did that for a feat already for...Charity I think it was. Unfortunately, I cannot share any content I have purchased, which isn't much anyway, because I am not a paying subscriber to dndbeyond at the moment. Maybe someday, but I don't have enough need for it yet.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Would you prefer OOC comments and spectator's remarks and such to be made there, here, nowhere at all 'cause buzz of you bunch of twits, in a separate thread,...?
Nothing much had happened yet, of course, but knowing this place were may or may not end up holding a two-page discussion on the merits of rams over ewes in the middle of a diplomatic conservation :p (I'd like to think we wouldn't disturb the game but you never know)
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

Bubble181 said:
Would you prefer OOC comments and spectator's remarks and such to be made there, here, nowhere at all 'cause buzz of you bunch of twits, in a separate thread,...?
Nothing much had happened yet, of course, but knowing this place were may or may not end up holding a two-page discussion on the merits of rams over ewes in the middle of a diplomatic conservation :p (I'd like to think we wouldn't disturb the game but you never know)
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I prefer spectators and lengthy ooc comments here. Players can make short ones in the game thread.
 
HCGLNS

HCGLNS

@phil relax, you're a halfling, it's almost impossible to roll a natural 1 when attacking. With advantage the odds are 1 in 160,000. Leave the fantastic missing to me :)
 
phil

phil

Oh man, I never play halflings. I forgot I can reroll a 1.

Though with how Ran has been rolling maybe that doesn't need to apply to him haha
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Just a question about DM styles, but how many persuasion checks can they make against the bird? I'm more or less used to one try, maybe one more as an assist (good cop bad cop style) and then you'll just have to try something else (intimidation, what have you). Can each player make a separate attempt?
 
MindDetective

MindDetective

Bubble181 said:
Just a question about DM styles, but how many persuasion checks can they make against the bird? I'm more or less used to one try, maybe one more as an assist (good cop bad cop style) and then you'll just have to try something else (intimidation, what have you). Can each player make a separate attempt?
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One or two is my limit as well.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

By some arbitrary measure of "successful". ;) As far as most are concerned, I probably wouldn't fit that definition.

I'm mostly comfortable writing with a POV that's tightly coupled to one character. You see what the character sees. You don't see what they don't. You don't know anyone else's feelings, motivations, etc.

I'm not sure that style lends itself to a broader cast of main characters. If I were to do it, I'd probably go 3rd person omniscient. Start of focused on one character, and then add others' viewpoints and thoughts as they come together as a group due to the bar fight. As the book progressed, I'd add the occasional scene from the villain's point of view, but without giving too much away. Though I'm not sure I'd do a great job at it, personally.

Edit: A D&D game plays out a lot differently than a novel. Each player is their own person, with their own individuality and story direction in their mind. And while that's great to add personality and flavor to the character, writing a campaign as a novel would necessitate altering characters and events somewhat so as to fit the story's narrative and the tradtional story structure. A good campaign or big adventure *should* have a good narrative arc--but that doesn't mean that all the players are going to play within that framework all the time.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

While I'm homebound because of the corona, maybe I'll try to write up a little something from the Yawning Portal scene, and see how it goes. Who knows, maybe people will like it. No promises. ;)

Another point of note: There's a genre called LitRPG. It's a fantasy subgenre where the emphasis is on the "game" aspect of RPGs...talking of levels, stat points, etc, is common in this genre. The webcomic ErfWorld (while it existed) was an example of the genre. I liked ErfWorld, but I am not a big fan of the style in general. I've played a lot of D&D in my youth, but when I write, I try to divorce as much game mechanic from the narrative as possible. If I were to write up a chapter for fun, you wouldn't hear anything like "We should take a long rest to recoup our spells and hitpoints." :p

It's just not my style.
 
Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

So, I started taking some notes about the first scenes of what I see as the first minor story arc in the adventure, as well as some notes about where to flesh out, as well as some problems I have to ponder before I can get started.
  1. Describe the Yawning Portal
  2. The characters are all at the bar. Why?
  3. A fight breaks out. Characters get involved and choose sides. Ascribe motivations.
  4. Troll rises. Characters come together to save everyone. Make super dangerous. Characters are little more than suped up townspeople at this point.
  5. Have some conversation with Yagra? Maybe put some info about the gang war going on in town.
  6. Volo introduces himself, and characters take on the job to find his friend. Ascribe motivations to flesh out character personalities.
  7. Street thugs arrest. Make more important? Flesh out? Link to gang war? Is this even important?
  8. Old Xoblob's shop? Cut? Make more important? Flesh out?
  9. Skewered Dragon. Flesh out. This is where we get our first big clue. It should have a lot more going on because of it.
  10. Zhent hideout. Flesh out. Esp interaction with Kenku, Ranear and the guards.
  11. Sewers. Flesh out descriptions a bit..add some suspense as we're looking for the hideout, so that running into the gazer is more of a jump scare.
  12. Actual hideout: We kinda breezed through this. Major flesh out.
  13. Conclusion: flesh out and make a big deal of Floon's return. In the game, he's just kinda 'turned in' like a World of Warcraft quest reward ;)

Problems:
  • I don't know what's going to be actually important later, so it's hard to throw in foreshadowing or where to focus on detail because it might become important later in the story. I risk focusing on something like say Xoblob, and it turning out to be nothing.
  • I don't have all the information. Why is there a gang war in town? Who/what is a Xanathar? How do I tie that into the story?
  • I have to draw on ooc knowledge to flesh out scenes. Why don't the Kenku talk, that kind of thing. This isn't that big of a deal, but it requires more research. The greater danger is if I research things like the Yawning Portal or Volo and risk running into spoilers for the adventure.
  • We're kinda tearing through the fights right now. As a player, I don't mind. As a writer, I want to make these more dangerous. Turn-based combat doesn't translate to writing very well, so I'll want to analyze each fight so I can capture the flavor of what the characters do without turning into LitRPG, or a very boring "she did this, then he did that, then he did that, and then the monster fell" kind of narrative, which is pretty dull.
The problems are pretty big for writing up the entire first arc. So if I write anything at all, it'll probably just be the first bar scene, since it's mostly action and doesn't rely on too much cohesiveness with the story as a whole other than as a vehicle to get things started.
 
phil

phil

Don't suppose anyone would be interested in getting the band back together, eh? Got the itch again.
 
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