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https://actionnetwork.org/forms/uwotcpetition/

Edit. Reading the first responses i wanted to clarify. i am not one of the workers at WOTC. I just saw this coming by and think it's important to share.

Did you ever see Deborah Ann Woll adlibbing a D&D opening scene for Jon Bernthal?

Could you do something similar; DM for about 30 minutes for someone (or even a small group) who has never played. Just an index card for character notes, and a d20. No special effects, not much more than a coffee table to play on?

Do you have a specific module virtually memorised, or could you freestyle a short session off the top of the dome!?

What kind of thing would you run?

[Edit: What great answers, everybody is like "Yes, Easy!" which warms my chaotic heart. I have a follow up question but I need to work out how to phrase it]

Then the hobgoblin riding on his back threw a bead of fireball at the rest of our party. It was the funniest enemy turn I’ve seen in a bit. They had disappeared for a round after we killed the giants pet lion and when the GM said we were able to see the giant again 100 feet in the air I lost it. Then I rolled a nat 1 on my Dex save to avoid the rock.

Surprisingly I didn’t die and kept concentration on my hex spell. (Level six draconic Sorcerer, took 38 points of damage)

Trying to teach myself to draw and thought I’d try to capture the scene as I imagined it.

"With the fall of Vazan, the ascent of the Oni Emperor, the disobedience of Kaltoven, and the general discontent of their subjects, Xiyun and Fulgurai came to understand just how precarious their situation really was. Drastic measures were not only warranted but existentially necessary, and so they hatched a plan: they would fuse and become a single demigod, mightier than even Vazan, and powerful enough to defeat both the Oni Emperor and Kaltoven. Moreover, if they achieved the complete unity of Supremacy, they would mend Satokai’s ethereal dimension, bringing an end to the blights of the Narak.

Thus, it was settled. With Xiyun’s tomes of ancient necromancy and Fulgurai’s raw magical power, they devised a ritual of fusion to combine their souls and bodies. The guiding principle of alchemy is that all is one and one is all; from that maxim is derived the idea that, with proper technique, you can transmute anything into anything else. Even if true, practice has often shown the limits of that philosophy, and the soul fusion of the dynast twins was no exception. It resulted in an unholy serpentine draconid that, despite having elements of both Xiyun and Fulgurai, was entirely unrecognizable as either of them, so disfiguring was the process. But worse than its appearance was its personality, which combined their flaws while keeping little of their virtues. A temperamental, impulsive, cruel, and tyrannical creature, herald of a new age of turmoil for Satokai."

Hey there, DnD internaut! This incredible piece was made by one of our main artists, Nikita Kapitunov! The Wyrm of Blasphemy is one of our legendary bosses, of which we made about 17, all of them beyond CR 30, ready to face players of 20th level or higher.

If you're interested in high-level DnD and the mechanics behind these monsters, maybe you'd like to check us out! We're working on a whole Kickstarter about it, and we're still accepting preorders!!!

Cheers and Happy Threadseeking!

COMMISSION INFO

Hi everyone, my commissions are open; here are my portfolio and prices!

PORTFOLIO - Wolfkerg

BUST - $105

HALF BODY BASIC/COMPLEX - $125/155

FULL BODY BASIC/COMPLEX- $155/175

BACKGROUNDS - It depends on the difficulty, but it starts at $100.

NSFW - You can ask about it.

PAYMENT - Payment in advance via PayPal or Ko-fi.

Any ask, send me a DM!

Foshkrra Axiik Kritzash , Lizardfolk Path of the Beast Barbarian Commission I recently had the pleasure of making :)

He is an Ignan, a homebrewed lizardfolk with fire affinity.

When he goes into a rage, there’s a fire like glow under his scales, and whatever weapon he is channeling into has flames jetting out or off them. (Path of the beast can choose claws, tail, or fangs when raging)

Personality is one of a protector, and a deep seated grudge passed down through the generations of his people. He is kind, yet stoic with those he wishes to protect, but a machine of rage and violence towards those that threaten them.

Hope you guys like him, he was a blast to draw!

COMMISSION INFO

I'm currently accepting commissions, if you'd like your characters, npc's or parties brought to life contact me trough chat or the platform of your choice!

If you like my work and would like to see more character art you can find me below:

Portfolio - Azrael

Bust - $200

Half Body - $250

Full body - $300

Backgrounds - extra depending on how complex. A simple single colour background is included for free if you don't want a specific background. +- $250

NSFW is fine, but might cost extra depending on what's being asked.

Payments are to be made up front using PAYPAL.

You can contact me via chat, DM or through the DMs on other sites in my portfolio links :)

Hey Buddies, Im back with even more art of my character. In my previous art post of her, we had Clover with her mother, brother and sister. This time its of her and her two father figures/teachers. Starting on the left, we have the dwarf Legamen Brighthammer, Captian of Fallineir's Frost Guard and Clover's instructor for all things relating to martial combat. On the right is the high elf Galleal Lothlora, Right Hand Advisor and oldest known friend of Fallineir. He served as Clovers teacher for most things from basic education, manners and etiquette to responsibility and the proper use of the various types of magics and spells found across Faeruun.

I love how this came out as amazing as all other peices ive had done by this artist. They do so amazing work and I cant wait to have even more art done of my characters and their many adventures. An when they are done, best believe ill share them with all of yall.

Wanted to share my girl, she's a political spy for a blue dragon (which currently only one party member knows about) and obsessed with stars 🙂‍↕️

After playing a wild magic sorcerer for two years, which was genuinely, even if fun, just pure chaos, it's kinda nice to finally have a rather competent and smart character. Just a pity that I myself am not very good at political intrigue lmao

Super happy to share this latest Portrait commission ! this is Lorna my latest client character and i loved working on this super proud to share it here !

the client did not specified their class but i do see them as a studious magician, very dedicated with a serious personality despite their young age .

my commissions are open so if you are interested feel free to send a message for more infos !

So as the title says. We got spells like Steel Wind Strike, Booming Blade, Green Flame Blade, True Strike etc that let casters emulate martials or even surpass what a martial is even capable of (like with Steel Wind Strike). When martials are so limited by "realism and grit" should casters have the ability to do what martials do as well?

Lets be honest a Goose is already scary enough, but one that is a Wizard. Its game over. ^^

Its time to get ready for some Halloween one shot with the kid, So I create a new Paper tile set, A graveyard. New tiles, walls, accessories even a mausoleum! There is a lot of stuff, but i still feel i can expand it more in the future, with Corn maze tiles or field, more pumpkins for sure, but that's for later^^

As always its all paper, sometimes i use magnets to connect the tiles or the minis ^^

Enjoy!

So this is the work-in progress for drawing my party of seven for the new Neon Odyssey settings.

There is T1N-C4N aka Tin Can, my anitron juggernaut (barbarian) he was originally a deposit security bot, but after getting severely damaged, he was dumped in a junkyard. One of the other players, an Oozoid Mechanist, eventually found him, pulled him out of the junkyard, and reprogrammed him.

We also have Mold the Oozoid mechanist my friend's character who created and reprogrammed Tin Can.

Theweapon dealer, Beetle BJ Juice the nematoan gridrunner.

And a suarian oracle, Yu Long

There will be three more characters added later, being: nilari disciple, zorbrak tracer, and the amanite cryptist

Hello everyone! I’m excited to share this commission I had the pleasure of working on ✨ This character isn’t one of my original characters, but a commission for a client. Meet Nerina, a Sea Elf Paladin! I had a wonderful time bringing her to life through this piece, and I hope you love how she turned out as much as I enjoyed creating her. Thank you so much for your support and for taking the time to check out my work! 💜✨

She belongs to my friend, we've been slowly burning a maybe-romance between our characters, and this was a doodle long overdue. I adore them so much.

Meet the lovely Theo! A life cleric on a pilgrimage with no end in sight. Or so she says. Though one does get rather far when the only goal is to "Help others", especially when there is no end to war and strife.

She is a mystery to my character, Mesmeth, but kind. You could do no better with her by your side.

I've been having a blast as a first time player and am very thankful I was invited. We skipped a session and for the last 2 weeks I've been giddy thinking up interactions to develop with other players, drawing my character and planning to do so for the rest of the party, maybe sketching out depictions of major story beats that have happened thus far.

But it just occurred to me that the DM isn't necessarily getting to experience that. They don't get to have their own player character. They don't get the mystery of a story unfolding in front of them because they already know where the story is headed. They don't get to build their class or anything.

It's left me wondering if DMs enjoy their role or if its something they just do out of necessity. And if its the latter is there anything I can do to help?

I feel a bit guilty the DM offers up all this and all I do is show up and bring occasional snacks...

Edit: Very happy to see an overwhelming majority saying they do 😊 I will also try to give my DM more positive feedback on things I've really liked so far so that that they know its appreciated!

It's been a while since I uploaded anything here and i wanted to design a character sheet for the campaign of Waterdeep Dragon Heist. I wanted to show Ash's backstory alongside his greatest fears and his accomplishments like being able to cast a strange familiar that acts a pride warrior, supporting Ashtray in his adventures and misadventures that are always taking place in the sewers. 🫠

Backstory: Ashtray is an albino kenku raised by a hag who used him and others as spies and thieves in Waterdeep. Disguised as a human child, Ash never quite fit in. He heard a voice inside his head that felt like his own, something the others never seemed to have.

When he tried to escape with his brother Finch, Finch betrayed him and stabbed him. Ash fought back in fear, unleashing magic that killed his brother. Left for dead, he was saved by Obaya Uday, a cleric whose kindness showed him that not everyone wanted something from him. As an act of respect he wears clerical robes that are reminiscent of the one who saved him. He learns language and magic through stolen books, carves wooden toys to calm himself, and avoids violence whenever possible. Yet the power that saved him is also the power he fears most.

Now, through trials and tribulations (mostly being in the darkest and dampest corners of Waterdeep’s sewers), he has learned a lot about his own, and what it means to be a part of a group and not a tool for the sake of being useful. He's learning to fight and study magic with the help of his friends and his familiar; a mysterious Tressym that teaches Ash how to be brave, even when one's afraid. His goal is to free his kin from the criminal organizations that uses them and build a place where they can be free.

I once played in a monster one-shot that was rather flexible with character creation. So, using yuan-ti as a base, I created Kaliya, son of the Mother of Monsters. The Silver Serpent, Hunter's Bane.

He is mostly known as a giant snake that preys on the careless who wander into his territory.

Kaliya is a lamia/naga, with the torso of a humanoid and the lower body of a massive serpent. At the time, he was about 30 feet long and probably weighed somewhere near a ton.

Size Large, because the DM suggested I could do so. So of course I did. XD

Class-wise? Druid. Land Druid, specifically, because I liked the spell selection for a monster that can disappear into the woods. Literally.

He only wildshapes into different snakes, because, well, dude is a snake. The pretty humanoid part is mostly there to lure prey, if he cares to use it. Which he usually doesn't, because he's a dumbass with -1 INT.

I also took Dragon Hide (with the DM's permission), because the natural armor worked perfectly for the concept. So there he was, a massive snake with 18 AC, two scimitars, and absolutely no business being as effective in melee as he was.

Damn he was fun to play.

And of course, Kaliya eventually inspired me to write more stories of my own about Echidna, the Mother of Monsters, and her son, the Silver Serpent.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this.

I’ve been dming for a few years now but I haven’t really altered a race before and for my next project, one of my players wants to be a warforged (5.5e version) with four arms. My general idea is to give them the Secondary Arms from the Thri-Kreen. I guess my question is how would you do it? Would it be tooooo op? If it is op, what’s the right call to make? Should I give little buffs to my other players so they’re all at the same range? Thanks in advance, friends!

Kind of a ramble, kind of a cry for help, maybe you'll relate to some of my experiences, or laugh at my hubris. Either way i hope this somewhat entertains.

I started DMing because i'd always wanted to play DnD, but none of my friends wanted to run, so I binged a whole lot of Matt Coleville and other content creators, wrote a horrendously bad grim dark setting with a plague creeping down a river because grandfather nurgle loves all, a couple of dungeons and got going. It went ok, I had a few cool ideas but on the whole it was pretty much a dead campaign walking, it didn't help I was using a heavily modded and janky Table Top Simulator as a VTT but looking back on it, it had its charm.

So I did a rejig, organised my game around High Roller DM Mara Hulmes's location based note structure and fired up again in a watered down setting with the same players, we ran a few homebrew adventures before we realised there wasn't really a central plot, the players had some memorable interactions with some NPCs and a few good Nat 20's, but the lack of plot beyond the players sort of just doing stuff didn't have enough staying power and the game collapsed....ok not great.

I bought Justin Alexanders So You Want To Be a Game Master(SYWTBAG), which gave me a lot of insight into structure, but I found a lot of his recommendations quite crunchy and difficult to implement to a table that doesn't really know what its doing, my players barely knew how to play DnD, and I knew about as much as they did, probably less from the playing side of the table. I started designing some dungeons but then got a pretty high pressure job and couldn't devote the same amount of time to writing adventures. So I found Sly Flourishes Lazy DM prep method and its been working well for me ever since, it's taught me how to improvise and gives me everything I need to run a session of DnD. but for the life of me I still can't write an adventure, or really a story.

Next series of games went ok, again entirely homebrewed, but a lot looser. my pacing was absolutely terrible, partially because I had (have?) no idea how to pace a story and partly because the goal of the campaign was quite nebulous ."Stop the inquisition" sounds cool and has a lot of story opportunities but I don't think I gave my players enough tools to move them forward. But I could pull a game out of my ass each week that the players enjoyed, and continued showing up for. that campaign died due to a problem player and general life stuff for multiple people but I learned a lot from it and got to run an Inquisitor of the Sword with Bury The Light playing in the background so it wasn't THAT bad.

Now i'm running a homebrew nautical campaign. We're currently in a hub tied to a PC's backstory where the characters have a lot of decisions to make and several factions to ally/make enemies with. And i'm still pulling things out of my ass, but frontloaded a lot of that information so they have multiple situations and objectives that they can tackle at their own pace. No 5 room dungeons, no node based adventures, no real PLOT aside from "what do your characters want to achieve next session". I write out adventure hooks that I can throw in but they're not really developed beyond that, it's effectivley partially procedurally generated by my players choices. I have no idea whats going to happen, hell I don't even know who the BBEG is, or if there even is one? Maybe the BBEG's are the ones we make along the way.

My point is, I skipped running hardcovers/modules and jumped straight into homebrew. I put my PC's goals front and centre and improvise each session, but i'm frustrated by my lack of ability to write ADVENTURES. This was compounded by me watching Sly Flourishes Eberron Campaign Prep, I forget which episode, where he discusses the difficulty of homebrew and how the lack of module structure leaves him feeling like he's pulling a game out of his ass with no real direction.

.....

oh. you mean how I feel right now?

So now i'm in a bit of a dilemma, is the lazy dm method the best tool for the job to run a homebrew campaign? can I use it in isolation like i have been or do I need something separate to supplement it? Am I even DMing "Correctly"????

Honestly I don't know the answers, I'm currently re reading SYWTBAG and trying to write something, but after improvising for so long it feels alien and my fear of writing something for my make believe fantasy pirate game with shiny math rocks "incorrectly" gives me writers block every time I sit down to write something.

Any tips, tricks, feedback or suggestions would be massively appreciated

Been idly wondering about DMing for a minute, and it seems like almost everyone recommends a first time DM start with Lost Mines of Phandelver to get a handle on the game mechanics. My problem is a) that was the first campaign I played in and that ended kinda messily so I'm not really ready to revisit it and b) it also just doesn't excite me much storywise. Are there any other good short adventures that are relatively simple to run while also having cool interesting story concepts to play with?