D&D 5E Discussion

[Larianshill]

Yeah, we know, those are the news from a month ago.

 

[Alex]

Forgotten Realms is the definition of a kitchen sink setting, and it's not done in a good way. Even some of the more exotic settings were integrated into FR, like Al Qadim being a continent on the same planet, Planescape being connected to the FR, and Spelljammer being connected to it too... even though planeswalkers and spelljammers appear extremely rarely in your average vanilla FR campaign.

Spelljammers are usually rare in any non spelljamming setting. This is for obvious reasons, but the assumed explanation is that spelljamming civilisations keep to themselves mostly.

As for planar people, truth is, people that hop across planes are usually a rare sight anywhere. At the end of the day, the spells needed to do that by yourself are rather high level. Now, you do have planar doors in the Planescape setting that would allow anyone to move across the planes but, consider this: Sigil is supposedly the greates concentration of doors in the multiverse. But, despite often being described as huge, sprawling and incredibly diverse; the truth of the matter is that Sigil is tiny. There are probably bigger cities in Forgotten Realms and while I can't check that right now, I think Waterdeep might actually be bigger, in area at least. My point is that the number of people who know and use doors with any frequency is actually rather small if you compare to the numbers of people in prime material worlds. Add to that that those planars are usually more concerned with the politics in the outers planes than what they see as backwater prime worlds and it isn't too much of a stretch to think they are mostly unheard there.

 

[JamesDixon]

https://www.geekwire.com/2022/wizards-of-the-coast-reveals-upcoming-projects-for-dungeons-dragons/

Their are some great new D&D projects coming out that include some Spelljammer content

They all look like SJW shit. I wouldn't even waste the bandwidth to pirate them. Besides it's DANDINO which itself is shit.

 

[Stella Brando]

Does anyone know how to get hold of the Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition "green books?"

They had separate books about historical settings - 1600s Europe, the Crusades etc.

I'd love to have to have a look at them, if I could.

Thank you so much.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Does anyone know how to get hold of the Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition "green books?"

They had separate books about historical settings - 1600s Europe, the Crusades etc.

I'd love to have to have a look at them, if I could.

Thank you so much.

Looking fer these, Jack?
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/110324

 

[Stella Brando]

Thanks ERFY, those are the ones.

Just need to find a way to get my hands on them.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Does anyone know how to get hold of the Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition "green books?"

They had separate books about historical settings - 1600s Europe, the Crusades etc.

I'd love to have to have a look at them, if I could.

Thank you so much.

Of the Historical Reference Campaign Sourcebooks, I own physical versions of all but one and have digitized versions of all.

 

[halkony2012]

Posted in this thread a while ago about being new to DnD and though I'd share my experience so far.

I joined a 5e group with mutual friends. The DM has a decent bit of homebrew content, designs the settings himself, and is a really animated and interesting guy. Mid-twenties, did theatre in college, came from one of those "pursue your art" kind of families. Met a couple people like him in my life. Same age as me, which is a plus.

Our group of players are all amateurs like me. I find this feeling hard to pin down, but I'm subtly irritated by the listlessness of the group. Everyone's playing the game and enjoying themselves (including me), but the pacing and communication between us feels really off. Partly weed and booze, partly the way people want to enjoy the game. In session, I get the feeling that it's more of a "DM paints the story for each player to enjoy their character" instead of "creatively solve problems together and interact with the world in front of you." This is more a reflection of what I find interesting about DnD and not a bad thing on its own. I don't know to what degree DMs are comfortable with open ended campaigns that can go "off the rails," but the path forward is certainly cookie cutter and lacks suspense. Could just be what our DM does with less experienced groups, or maybe he doesn't tell those kinds of narratives.

I've observed that some players relish the autonomy of DnD to act out improbable or otherwise inappropriate circumstances they secretly want in their life. My first thought was "duh, it's roleplay. you're something you're not, that's the point," though I find it interesting to glean personality from the way people choose to play DnD. For example, one girl in our group captured a bugbear as a bounty and kept roleplaying weird shit when taking him back to town. She stroked his hair, read portions of her romance novel to him, gagged him, put up her bare feet on him while on horseback. Kept rolling to seduce him. And not in a "haha, the group thinks its funny," kind of way. She seemed kind of desperate to impress the NPC. The fuck? I can suspend my judgement (it's just a game, go crazy), but she did that when her character was alone and that took up ~40 minutes of the session. Her mouth said, "I'm treating the bugbear tenderly to get him to like me," but what I heard was "I'd like to be desirable to the point of being powerful," which kind of describes her as a person.

My guy friend who just dropped out of college in frustration is playing a gnome with super high int. The other girl is self conscious about the way she talks IRL and likes to play high charisma characters. It's interesting to think of DnD in a way that lets us explore our perceived shortcomings as people. I'm a generally organized person, so thinking of all this in the context of my trash-loving dwarf character made me laugh.

From what I can tell, my group sees their characters as ideal versions of themselves and treats their characters as agents of their personal will (which seems like a totally fine, common way to play the game). Reflecting on what I want from DnD, I'd like to use the game to explore the character I created. I'd like to give my character's a life of their own so I can learn more about their perspective and choices. I can sense a bit of friction with the group; I tend to avoid "obvious" plot choices because my character simply wouldn't make that decision with his information and temperament. Maybe I'm expecting too much from the group, but I like to think about this stuff so I can learn more about what I want from the roleplay experience.

I joined a 2e group, but the DM had poor organizational skills and kinda weirded me out over text. Probably gonna drop that. Found another one today and the DM seems more professional about interacting with strangers. I'm sure that 2e will select for a more mature audience, which I think I'd enjoy more.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

I joined a 2e group, but the DM had poor organizational skills and kinda weirded me out over text. Probably gonna drop that.

More detail would be interesting.

Found another one today and the DM seems more professional about interacting with strangers. I'm sure that 2e will select for a more mature audience, which I think I'd enjoy more.

Good luck!

 

[halkony2012]

I joined a 2e group, but the DM had poor organizational skills and kinda weirded me out over text. Probably gonna drop that.

More detail would be interesting.

He got a full group going, but he's been texting each member individually over the past month, people keep having to push back, and it's really hard to coordinate Session 0.

That's not the weird part though -- when I texted him he said my number was already in his phone. I asked him how he had it, and he said he met me at some hobby shop a few months ago (I haven't been there in over a year). Said we talked about DnD, even though I didn't get into it until recently. Talked about meeting his wife there. Swear to God, I had no idea what he was talking about.

I sent a follow up text a week after my first one. He must have added me to his phone in that week, then drawn the dots incorrectly when he answered my follow up. Guy just gave off "I'm generally confused about life" kind of vibes.

Found another one today and the DM seems more professional about interacting with strangers. I'm sure that 2e will select for a more mature audience, which I think I'd enjoy more.

Good luck!

Thanks!

 

[JamesDixon]

I joined a 2e group, but the DM had poor organizational skills and kinda weirded me out over text. Probably gonna drop that.

More detail would be interesting.

He got a full group going, but he's been texting each member individually over the past month, people keep having to push back, and it's really hard to coordinate Session 0.

That's not the weird part though -- when I texted him he said my number was already in his phone. I asked him how he had it, and he said he met me at some hobby shop a few months ago (I haven't been there in over a year). Said we talked about DnD, even though I didn't get into it until recently. Talked about meeting his wife there. Swear to God, I had no idea what he was talking about.

I sent a follow up text a week after my first one. He must have added me to his phone in that week, then drawn the dots incorrectly when he answered my follow up. Guy just gave off "I'm generally confused about life" kind of vibes.

Found another one today and the DM seems more professional about interacting with strangers. I'm sure that 2e will select for a more mature audience, which I think I'd enjoy more.

Good luck!

Thanks!

So you're weirded out over a DM trying to coordinate session 0 for a game that you signed up for and he thought you were someone else? Why are you all a group of douchebags wasting his fucking time? I have no patience for flakes and you certainly fit the bill of being one.

It used to be that when you made a commitment that you followed through with it. People like you don't feel obligated to keep your commitments and blame others for your fuck ups. This is why I stopped recruiting players from places like reddit. Out of all the players I recruited for my online games only the ones from the Codex didn't flake.

This situation is a you problem. To think I actually gave serious thought about putting together an AD&D 2E game for you and others. I'd rather save myself the headache.

 

[Stella Brando]

 

[halkony2012]

I joined a 2e group, but the DM had poor organizational skills and kinda weirded me out over text. Probably gonna drop that.

More detail would be interesting.

He got a full group going, but he's been texting each member individually over the past month, people keep having to push back, and it's really hard to coordinate Session 0.

That's not the weird part though -- when I texted him he said my number was already in his phone. I asked him how he had it, and he said he met me at some hobby shop a few months ago (I haven't been there in over a year). Said we talked about DnD, even though I didn't get into it until recently. Talked about meeting his wife there. Swear to God, I had no idea what he was talking about.

I sent a follow up text a week after my first one. He must have added me to his phone in that week, then drawn the dots incorrectly when he answered my follow up. Guy just gave off "I'm generally confused about life" kind of vibes.

Found another one today and the DM seems more professional about interacting with strangers. I'm sure that 2e will select for a more mature audience, which I think I'd enjoy more.

Good luck!

Thanks!

So you're weirded out over a DM trying to coordinate session 0 for a game that you signed up for and he thought you were someone else? Why are you all a group of douchebags wasting his fucking time? I have no patience for flakes and you certainly fit the bill of being one.

It used to be that when you made a commitment that you followed through with it. People like you don't feel obligated to keep your commitments and blame others for your fuck ups. This is why I stopped recruiting players from places like reddit. Out of all the players I recruited for my online games only the ones from the Codex didn't flake.

This situation is a you problem. To think I actually gave serious thought about putting together an AD&D 2E game for you and others. I'd rather save myself the headache.

Okay? It seems you've had negative experiences with this in the past. It must suck to put a lot of work into something and have it treated flippantly by other people. There's more to my interactions with the DM than what I described... bottom line: if I feel uncomfortable, I don't intend to follow through with the campaign. It is a me problem. So I'm gonna pursue campaigns where I feel comfortable.

You know what you want out of your players, and I'd appreciate your patience as I learn to navigate roleplaying games in general and share my experiences here. It is very possible I will share TTRPG faux pas here from time to time.

It is nice to hear you considered starting a 2e campaign for people like me. I'm sure you're a very motivated person.

 

[JamesDixon]

Okay? It seems you've had negative experiences with this in the past. It must suck to put a lot of work into something and have it treated flippantly by other people. There's more to my interactions with the DM than what I described... bottom line: if I feel uncomfortable, I don't intend to follow through with the campaign. It is a me problem. So I'm gonna pursue campaigns where I feel comfortable.

You know what you want out of your players, and I'd appreciate your patience as I learn to navigate roleplaying games in general and share my experiences here. It is very possible I will share TTRPG faux pas here from time to time.

It is nice to hear you considered starting a 2e campaign for people like me. I'm sure you're a very motivated person.

It's nice to know that everything I said was true.

JarlFrank, Ninjerk, Alienman, and Ismaul can attest to the fact that I am very motivated. I go out of my way to work with my players to give them the game they want. So far we're having a blast.

 

[JarlFrank]

yeah he's a good DM, fun sessions

 

[ERYFKRAD]

yeah he's a good DM, fun sessions

You guys got session summaries going anywhere? Wouldn't mind having a read.

 

[JamesDixon]

yeah he's a good DM, fun sessions

You guys got session summaries going anywhere? Wouldn't mind having a read.

Here's a screenplay of the first session written by Ninjerk. It's a great read.

 

[Stella Brando]

A space adventure? Looks interesting. I've wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition ever since Baldur's Gate invented it.

 

[Ninjerk]

halkony2012

JamesDixon is a thoughtful and conscientious GM. If you don't like the way your character is going, he's quite understanding. His RL buddy that plays with us is cool. JarlFrank is our fearless leader and I think Ismaul wants to get drunk and recreate the movie Payback in Star Wars.

 

[Ismaul]

To be fair, I think halkony2012 does have a point.

You have to try out PnP before you figure out what you like, what systems, what type of GM and players, what type of story and moment-to-moment gameplay. The only commitment is to try it out. And it's not a bad idea to try different GMs and styles, before settling in for a campaign.

The only issue is the GM's commitment and prep time, which you have to be respectful of. But a GM has to learn that not every player will stick with it, and not every campaign will make it to some kind of ending, especially if playing with strangers. Therefore, a GM must prep only as much as necessary, and only as much as he's comfortable preping. Start small, then expand if it makes the landing and people want to stick around. Flesh it out as you go in response to the players. If you prep too much, it's on you. Do it only if enjoy the prep itself.

There's also the possibility of testing out games and GM styles with one-shots and short adventures. It doesn't always give you the feel of a campaign though, so inevitably you also have to try to do that, even if it might not pan out, for you or for the GM and group you're joining.

The main thing is just to make it clear to the GM and group what you're in for: trying it out, testing a ruleset, short term only, long term if you mesh well with the group, etc. That way you manage expectations and there's no undue emotion if you don't stick around, and the GM knows not to put in too much prep effort there.

 

[JamesDixon]

To be fair, I think halkony2012 does have a point.

You have to try out PnP before you figure out what you like, what systems, what type of GM and players, what type of story and moment-to-moment gameplay. The only commitment is to try it out. And it's not a bad idea to try different GMs and styles, before settling in for a campaign.

The only issue is the GM's commitment and prep time, which you have to be respectful of. But a GM has to learn that not every player will stick with it, and not every campaign will make it to some kind of ending, especially if playing with strangers. Therefore, a GM must prep only as much as necessary, and only as much as he's comfortable preping. Start small, then expand if it makes the landing and people want to stick around. Flesh it out as you go in response to the players. If you prep too much, it's on you. Do it only if enjoy the prep itself.

There's also the possibility of testing out games and GM styles with one-shots and short adventures. It doesn't always give you the feel of a campaign though, so inevitably you also have to try to do that, even if it might not pan out, for you or for the GM and group you're joining.

The main thing is just to make it clear to the GM and group what you're in for: trying it out, testing a ruleset, short term only, long term if you mesh well with the group, etc. That way you manage expectations and there's no undue emotion if you don't stick around, and the GM knows not to put in too much prep effort there.

Except he never got that far to do the actual trying out. He flaked on the DM and left him hanging without even telling the DM he was leaving the game. That's a him problem and a shitty way to deal with people.

Besides, I tagged you to let him know what kind of GM I am since he seemed to not believe that I was thinking about running an AD&D 2E campaign.

 

[Ismaul]

He flaked on the DM and left him hanging without even telling the DM he was leaving the game.

Oh... yeah, you don't do that.

 

[halkony2012]

To be fair, I think halkony2012 does have a point.

You have to try out PnP before you figure out what you like, what systems, what type of GM and players, what type of story and moment-to-moment gameplay. The only commitment is to try it out. And it's not a bad idea to try different GMs and styles, before settling in for a campaign.

The only issue is the GM's commitment and prep time, which you have to be respectful of. But a GM has to learn that not every player will stick with it, and not every campaign will make it to some kind of ending, especially if playing with strangers. Therefore, a GM must prep only as much as necessary, and only as much as he's comfortable preping. Start small, then expand if it makes the landing and people want to stick around. Flesh it out as you go in response to the players. If you prep too much, it's on you. Do it only if enjoy the prep itself.

There's also the possibility of testing out games and GM styles with one-shots and short adventures. It doesn't always give you the feel of a campaign though, so inevitably you also have to try to do that, even if it might not pan out, for you or for the GM and group you're joining.

The main thing is just to make it clear to the GM and group what you're in for: trying it out, testing a ruleset, short term only, long term if you mesh well with the group, etc. That way you manage expectations and there's no undue emotion if you don't stick around, and the GM knows not to put in too much prep effort there.

Except he never got that far to do the actual trying out. He flaked on the DM and left him hanging without even telling the DM he was leaving the game. That's a him problem and a shitty way to deal with people.

Besides, I tagged you to let him know what kind of GM I am since he seemed to not believe that I was thinking about running an AD&D 2E campaign.

That is false. I texted him that I wasn't interested anymore after 3 weeks of back and forth. He cancelled each session personally. I don't know why you are so angry about what I've posted.

I have no reason to believe you aren't a competent GM? I guess you think my posts are sarcastic. I meant what I said, I said I was glad to hear you considered starting a campaign for amateurs. I don't know why you claim to dislike me but at the same time want to work for my approval.

 

[halkony2012]

To be fair, I think halkony2012 does have a point.

You have to try out PnP before you figure out what you like, what systems, what type of GM and players, what type of story and moment-to-moment gameplay. The only commitment is to try it out. And it's not a bad idea to try different GMs and styles, before settling in for a campaign.

The only issue is the GM's commitment and prep time, which you have to be respectful of. But a GM has to learn that not every player will stick with it, and not every campaign will make it to some kind of ending, especially if playing with strangers. Therefore, a GM must prep only as much as necessary, and only as much as he's comfortable preping. Start small, then expand if it makes the landing and people want to stick around. Flesh it out as you go in response to the players. If you prep too much, it's on you. Do it only if enjoy the prep itself.

There's also the possibility of testing out games and GM styles with one-shots and short adventures. It doesn't always give you the feel of a campaign though, so inevitably you also have to try to do that, even if it might not pan out, for you or for the GM and group you're joining.

The main thing is just to make it clear to the GM and group what you're in for: trying it out, testing a ruleset, short term only, long term if you mesh well with the group, etc. That way you manage expectations and there's no undue emotion if you don't stick around, and the GM knows not to put in too much prep effort there.

I appreciate the thoughtful reply. There seems to be some miscommunication in this thread about professionalism, which is what JamesDixon is angry about.

 

[JamesDixon]

That is false. I texted him that I wasn't interested anymore after 3 weeks of back and forth. He cancelled each session personally. I don't know why you are so angry about what I've posted.

I have no reason to believe you aren't a competent GM? I guess you think my posts are sarcastic. I meant what I said, I said I was glad to hear you considered starting a campaign for amateurs. I don't know why you claim to dislike me but at the same time want to work for my approval.

I appreciate the thoughtful reply. There seems to be some miscommunication in this thread about professionalism, which is what JamesDixon is angry about.

You left that out of your tale of woe which is a you problem. My statements are in regards to what you specifically wrote. If you failed to provide the necessary information that is on you.

I don't dislike you. I don't even know who you are which is a requirement for me to be angry/dislike someone. You could be an advanced AI for all I know. I choose not to assume anything about anyone until I know them better.

This is the Codex. Everyone is sarcastic. Not everyone is angry. I most certainly am not.

What I found distasteful in you and your tale of woe is how you flaked on someone after they put in the effort to work you into their game. You didn't even try from your account. These are your words, so if you're leaving something out that is a you problem.

I really do try to work with players and help them to join the game. I bend over backwards and walk them through the process of character creation. However, there are a large group of Millennials and Gen Z that don't give one shit about you or your time. They'll put off doing stuff then disappear or they'll just flake and never join the game.

I had one player for a month straight put me off in joining my game. First was his nightly Fortnite bullshit and his being called away for a family member for a week. The night before the last game I asked him if he was going to listen. He said he forgot about the game, impossible since I use the Events in Discord to remind people, and invited all of his friends over to watch UFC. I told him off about wasting my time and tying up a slot at my table for a month. I made it clear that he was being rude to me about it. I kicked him from the Discord server and left his. He made 6 players in a row from Reddit that flaked.

These actions not only impact me as the GM, but all of my players. So when someone flakes they're not just doing it to me, but the other players in the game who are expecting new people to show up when they say they will.

I was raised that once you give your word you do what you can to keep it. I expect nothing less from my players and in my friends. Do I require my players to be there every session? Nope, just that you try to make half of them while giving me advance notice of what's going on. That's the respectful thing to do.