So premise of SKT is that Annam "dissolved the Ordning" and threw giant society into chaos. My question is what exactly does that mean and how do any of the giants know what happened? Kind of the central point of giant lore, and especially storm giants, is that Annam has abandoned them and doesn't answer prayers. All of the lore on storm giants in Volo's says they're basically so desparate to "bring him back" that they devote their entire lives to searching for even a clue to a hint to a single part of how to bring him back. But then apparently he's still so invested in their doings that he sends a message that the single unifying thing among the giant races just doesn't apply any more? And apparently the Ordning being dissolved is more important to everyone than actual contact with the guy they've all been trying to contact for thousands of years. And then not only that but it sounds like he basically just told them the answer "I'm pissed because you guys are too busy doing your own thing instead of taking over the world" which also seems obvious since he abandoned them in the first place because they let their empire fall.

I'm going to be running a campaign soon that will utilize primarily random encounter rolls (basically I have many encounters planned, but the order and timing will be based on rolls and how the players approach). I have always hated the "roll a d20, monsters show up on 18+" or similar, and so I'm interested in hearing other ideas. My current ideas include:

• Every roll is SOMETHING: This is a system I wrote myself for a previous campaign. Basically, every "period of time" (depending on danger of the area, usually 2 hours of travel, or 10 minutes in a dungeon) you roll 2d10.
  • 2-8 is a complication -- maybe a combat, or an obstacle in the road, or the weather gets worse, etc. 2 is hardest, 3-5 medium, and 6-8 easy
  • 9-14 is a "safe travel" world-building encounter -- no real mechanical effect, just some easter eggs about the world (e.g. they spot a dragon hunting in the distance, or they find a lost love letter in the woods, etc.).
  • 15-20 is a lucky break -- they find a helpful traveler, or a lost magic item, etc. 15 is the most benign, 20 is the best.
  • My problem with this one was that it ended up difficult to create enough unique encounters to keep it interesting, especially with 6-14 coming up so much more often than anything else.
    • I also recently came up with the idea to add in Daggerheart's "Hope" and "Fear" dice to adjust encounters -- for instance if they roll a 6 but the fear die is higher, they might be ambushed, but if the hope die is higher they might spot the enemy in advance -- but I haven't actually tried implementing it yet, so I don't know if it works.
• AngryGM's Tension Pool: Every time the players take a time consuming or reckless action, roll the Time Pool (starts as a d6, adds one more die as more actions happen). If a 1 is rolled, an encounter happens.
  • I really like how this keeps tension building, and allows players to control the rolls by choosing when to take more time consuming actions. My one issue with it is I don't want every random encounter to be a combat/obstacle -- I want some good encounters, like the "15-20" above -- but those feel weird to be adding to building tension.
• Deck of Cards: I heard about this one online a few years ago, basically you have a deck of cards with various encounters (both positive, negative, mixed, and many blank), and whenever "time passes" you draw one card.
  • This one was intriguing because every monster and every treasure was somewhere in the deck. It was up to the party how far to push to find the treasures before needing to leave.

So, what methods do others use? Are there any other cool ideas out there to borrow and share?

I have a question about using polymorph on a beast sidekick: would I be able to transform them into another beast based on their stat block CR or based on their sidekick level?

For context, I am a level 7 druid (the whole party is level 7) and have a white rabbit as a sidekick with the warrior sidekick class. The polymorph spell description says

The new form can be any beast whose challenge rating is equal to or less than the target's (or the target's level, if it doesn't have a challenge rating)

The rabbit has both a CR of 0 and level of 7, so which can I use for the transformation? I just got access to polymorph and really want to turn this little rabbit into a CR7 giant ape

Edit: We are using the sidekick rules from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything

I’ve only played in one campaign so far (its still ongoing lol) but my character is a Bard, and since bards are a jack of all trades (well most. they don’t usually tank) it’s helped me to figure out what roles I like working with.

I’d really like playing as:

• Scout (best non-combat role ever change my mind /lh) (sneaky stealthy stuff is super fun though)
• Blaster (I do wish my bard had more damage stuff)
• Healer (every party needs one and I like helping people stay alive)

And the role that I would hate to play as is:

• Face (funnily enough my bard is NOT the face. that honor goes to our swashbuckler rogue)

Generally speaking, when it comes to roleplay I like being able to get high rolls on skills (so yeah maybe add Skill Monkey lol), and although the spotlight can be on me occasionally, I don’t want it so much as to become the Face or the Main Character. I want to be useful, but I don’t want the pressure of having everything Depend On Me.

also sorry I dont want to play Paladin that would be the worst possibility for me lol

Also even though there isnt a lot of rush or anything, the reason I made this post is because I always want to be prepared. I don’t know WHEN I’ll be in another campaign, but I want to be able to make the right decision for said campaign.

Also also. Keep in mind I’ve only played D&D once (aka this ongoing first campaign), and have only played a Bard before.

EDIT: I should’ve clarified im ok with only having 2 out of 3 roles lol

I had specifically struggled to choose between Cleric, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer and Warlock because Druid and Wizard seem pretty hard to play for a now-1st timer, someday-to-be-2nd timer lol. I also don’t want to multiclass

I'm building my character for our next campaign and I think I'm gonna go with Sorcerer (unless I change my mind again because I'm changing a bunch of stuff in this character already).

Besides the official subclasses I've looked at laserllama's Sorcerous Origins. Even though they are from 5e, I think they'd convert well enough and some are pretty cool.

But I digress. So, do you have any in mind? =D

For context Vaaz is a lv 3 gnoll Ranger his stats are: Str 8, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 16, Cha 9.

Hp is: 21

AC: 16

The rest of the party consists of: 2 paladins, 1 barbarian, 2 warlocks and a fighter.

Mostly in Combat vaaz uses his 2 cleavers (reflavored shortsword and scimitar) and likes to get in melee. Using nick and vex he gets 2 attacks and has advantage on one of them. All in all i like being in melee. Ive tried the whole long range ranger and I found it effective but slightly boring. So I go out of my way to usually be in melee cleavers out as it were.

Last session we leveled up and im just having trouble deciding what subclass to pick:

Hallowed warden seems like the better choice fkr a tanky in your face type of ranger subclass. With the AC bonus and the frightened status on peeps within 10 feet evey turn seems kind of cool if slightly hit or miss due to it being a save. However the campaign im playing vaaz in is more fae wild pilled and more on the semi comedic side. And I fear that hallow warden might be too edgy for the setting. I feel like I'd have to tone it down a bit.

While beastmaster is appealing to lean more into Vaaz being a gnoll. As most gnoll monsters usually have hyenas that they use akin to hunting hounds or guard dogs. The only problem with this is I played a beastmaster like 6 years ago and absolutely hated it lol. I know the class has gotten a huge overhaul since then especially with 5.5 but still I'd really hate it if like in 5 or so levels my primal companion becomes useless outside of help action farming due to its health and damage not scaling well.

Any help or opinions yall have are welcomed and thanks in advance 🙏

Been playing D&D for almost a year now and wanted to try DMing a campaign among close friends based on Assassin's Creed system of having a high-tech modern day character entering a simulation of their ancestors, with the time period of their ancestors being a high fantasy late-Neolithic period (transitioning into the Chalcolithic age).
- Meaning no writing, no mass spread currency, most technology doesn't exist.
- However, the same monsters, dinosaurs, and other prehistorical creatures all exist at the same time.
Wanted some help worldbuilding and deciding how to go about reworking mechanics for DND to match both a high-tech and also primal setting. If there's a better system, I'm somewhat open to running it, though my group is most comfortable with DND 5e.

General lore ideas:

Modern Age:
- Magic in the is dying, Gods are alive but silent, & technology overpowers magic.
- Magic flows through focus points in the world and PCs are tasked with finding a way to bring back magic.
- Most races other than humans are isolationists that hide away.

Prehistoric Age:
- Magic is ancient and an unknown mystery left by a previous fallen higher tech civilization (this civilization will be around the same technology as official DND aka medieval fantasy)
- This ancient civilization built those magic focus points that are fading in the modern setting.
- Humanity are barely starting villages and farming.
- Elves have existed longest, are more civilized, higher tech, and utilize magic better than any other race.
- Dwarves second longest living race, are greedy miners and recently discovered metallurgy.
- Other races will have more defining traits (example: Tritons are basically Atlanteans that guard old submerged ruins)

Gameplay mechanics:
- The players will make two characters and swap between each character when big story beats happen in each world.
- Loot and level ups gained by the ancestor will be learned, replicated and upgraded by the descendant, meaning they'll both gain power.
- The descendant playing the ancestor won't have outside knowledge of the time they're from.
Example: Ancestor gets a wand, the descendant fabricates that same wand and mounts it onto a power-enhancing weapon frame.
- Time spent in the simulation moves slower but still passes. If the ancestor dies, they'll swap to another ancestor in the same family. The descendant will rarely be in life threatening scenarios but if they die, revival means are available (like cloning with long-term consequences).

Hello!! This is just for personal fun, I'd like to play a character based off of a photo of an albino porcupine!! He's a very soft, round, white little guy, and immediately inspired me.

I'm not the biggest fan of bugbears as they're typically portrayed, and a porcupine doesn't much fit a firbolg, but I'd like the character to be about that size. Any input?

porcupine for anyone who would like to see

I want to make this PC the ultimate Eldritch Blaster. He pretty much only has that and face skills going for him. The problem is, I'm struggling to see how continuing to level up as Pure Warlock is going to improve that for him much further.

Currently, Lv 5 Archfey Patron Warlock, 18 Cha, 16 Dex.

Invocations: Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast, Pact of the Tome, Lessons of the First Ones, One with Shadows.

Feats: Alert (background,) Lucky (Invocation,) Spell Sniper (Lv 4.)

I chose not to do the Devil's Sight/Darkness combo to avoid fucking over the rest of my party as we are on a lengthy dungeon crawl atm. I can get first round advantage (one attack) if I am invisible, and advantage on one attack per round with my Owl familiar.

My dream loadout (Tier 4 play obviously) would be Robe of the Archmagi, +3 Rod of the Pact Keeper, and Illusionist's Bracers. But my DM already denied me taking legacy Elven Accuracy as a feat, and reading the online discourse on the Bracers, I feel fairly confident he would shoot down that idea. Despite being non-legacy, I have also heard that many consider the Robe OP as well. So I can't even be certain that that is in the cards. I have a +1 Rod currently so I think I'll eventually get the +3.

Basically, I know 3 things will for sure happen: 1) CHA will get to 20, giving +1 to Hit/Damage per beam; 2) by level 7, I'll hopefully have legacy Shadow of Moil, worst case Greater Invisibility, and be getting permanent advantage on my attacks and disadvantage to attacks coming at me; and 3) if we make it to Level 11 or 17, one additional beam at each level.

Here's the thing: 2 only requires 2 more warlock levels, and 1 and 3 are not dependent on progressing as a warlock. The warlock capstone is

So if I can't count on the Bracers and possibly Robe in my future, my question is, would it be worth it to explore other options for level progression? What route would actually make me a better blaster, and how steep of a level investment is required.

I thought Rogue would be cool since my Bonus Action usually doesn't get used, but then I discovered that Sneak Attack can't be applied to spells. I know that Sorcerer is a popular choice but now that SP can't be above Sorcerer level the "Coffeelock" is limited in usefulness, especially early on. Fighter might be worth it for the Medium Armor, Shields, and Fighting Style (assuming I won't get the Robe), although the only way it helps my build offensively is Action Surge and that’s only once per short rest. actually not at all since Magic Actions are excluded.

Open to ideas, things I hadn't considered, or better strategies.

Context & Background:

Okay so I'll start this by saying I'm a writer, and do a lot of character work with my dnd characters. Like in depth stuff, and a lot of that goes into how I flavor the damages they deal, espically if those images haunt them afterwards.

I've also always been weirdly intriquied by any games damage types system. I'm the weird one who gets excited in elden ring when an enemy is in water and im able to feel smart by swapping my fire spells for lightning spells lol. Dnd is no exception, but thing about the system of damage types halving or doubling incoming, its understanbly a system used sparingly (resistences and vulnerability outside of say, poison on every other monster lol, is uncommon) and dont get me started on the uselesses of the slashing/piercing/bludgeoning damage types being different is the only thing about them that ever matter is the OCCASIONAL need for bludgeoning specifically.

What I'd like Input on:

Anyhow, what I am hoping to gather insight on is how these damage types litteraly work. The vibes are the main thing I realize. Radiant damage is "light" or "holy" damage, while necrotic is "dark" or "unholy" damage, but wtf does that actually mean for what it physically DOES to you?

I play a lot of healer characters, and like to describe how they go about tending to injured friends/foes, which means explaining how their damage is being treated beyond the boring gameplay numbers of HP.

The Main Offenders:

• necrotic (fungus dissolves via acid, and plenty of other damage types would cause necrosis)
• radiant (radiation is the big techincal excuse, but that also casues necrosis sooooo?)
• force (are we spatial distortions? I tend to think it as like a localized gravity blender)
• thunder (force and thunder are both often described as shockwaves)
• acid (some overlap with necrotic and poison often creep up whenever its not a green liquid)

In Short:

I'm looking to start a deep dive on the in-world effects, healing processes, and methods of how exactly the different dnd damage types actually cause damage to things (organic things especially)!

First things first: I know. Using AI to write code is controversial. But I can't code, and realistically, this is the only way I could ever bring this idea to life.

I've been playing D&D for years, and there's something that's always bothered me. When it comes to digital D&D experiences, there seem to be two main categories:

1. Virtual tabletops, like Tabletop Simulator. They're essentially digital recreations of a physical tabletop, sometimes with a few extra visual effects.

2. Games like Baldur's Gate 3. Fully realized D&D experiences with automated mechanics, impressive visuals, and everything you'd expect from a proper video game. But they're built around their own campaigns and stories.

What I want is something in between.

Imagine a D&D combat sandbox where you can build your own arenas, create maps, import characters, customize spells and their visual effects, and just... fight.

Something where the rules are handled automatically. You don't have to remember every complicated spell interaction, calculate everything manually, or constantly stop to check the rulebook.

You click a spell, see exactly where it's going to hit, cast it, and the game handles the saving throws, damage, conditions, concentration, and everything else.

Basically, the combat mechanics of BG3, but with the freedom of a tabletop sandbox.

So I sat down and started building it with AI.

And holy hell, it's been a lot more work than I expected.

I'm not using some expensive professional AI setup, and regression bugs seem to be an almost inevitable part of development. Fix one thing, break another. So a huge part of the process is testing everything and making sure previously working features stay working.

But despite that, I've actually managed to make some progress.

Here's what I've got so far:

• P2P multiplayer for up to 6 players, with plans to expand that limit.
• Fog of War for both characters and terrain, each of which can be toggled independently.
• The core spells 2024 from the freely available D&D rules (SRD), with mechanics and visual effects. The system uses simple, readable text files, so players will be able to use AI to generate definitions for additional spells or create entirely new ones. I'll provide instructions.
• Automatic tracking of movement, HP, spell resources, concentration, and other common D&D mechanics.
• Custom STL model imports, limited to around 7,000 triangles per model to maintain a consistent, simple low-poly style. If you import a higher-detail model, the system automatically reduces its polygon count to fit the limit. Models can also be repainted.
• A built-in map creator and editor, with 256 different block colors.
• A built-in 3D model creator and editor, allowing players to create, simplify, and paint low-poly models. This feature is still VERY early in development.
• A custom spell creator and editor, where players can define their own spells, mechanics, and visual effects without having to actually program them.
• Animation support for characters and effects.

The idea is to make the whole thing as customizable as possible, while keeping the actual gameplay simple and automated.

Now for the part I'm struggling with.

My original plan was to eventually release this on Steam for something like €5. Not because I expect to get rich, but because I've already invested a ridiculous amount of time into it, and I'd love for the project to become something other people could enjoy.

But I'm starting to wonder whether there's actually an audience for this.

Would you personally be interested in something like this? Would you pay €5 for it?

And more importantly:

What feature would absolutely HAVE to be included for you to consider it worth playing?

I'm also genuinely interested in criticism. If you think the whole concept is flawed, there's already something better out there, or I'm completely underestimating what this would take, I'd like to hear that too.

I just want to know whether I'm building something other D&D players actually want, or whether I've spent all this time creating a solution to a problem that only exists in my head.