Alcoholic characters can absolutely work if done with more tact that "That Guy". In my Dungeon of the Mad Mage game, I'm playing an oathbreaker paladin formerly of Sharess, a halfling who blames her for his drinking problem because he showed his love with the drink. He doesn't bring it up, and is instead the type to answer a challenge of "I bet you wont touch that metal humming door" with "Aight bet" and take 12 points of electric damage.
That Star Wars story hurts my soul, especially because pragmatic Sith who were willing to work with Jedi for the Empire's benefit did exist in the Old Republic era. So That Guy could have very easily and openly played a Sith who was not shy about their origin but was doing what they had to for the sake of a better and stronger Empire. Look up Darth Marr for an example of exactly the kind of Sith I'm talking about
I've seen it argued that "Luna" is a played-out name. But this little tortie's coloring puts me in mind of a harvest moon seen through tree branches; so it fits.
Given her name, I think Luna could be a Twilight Cleric in Doge's party; however, given her background, a Shadow Sorcerer or Grave Cleric could also be a good choice as well.
As a long time Star Wars GM of that system, just a quick PSA for people wanting to be Dark Side users: There is no quicker way to PISS the other PCs off than doing that in excess. If the game is being run properly, once you go down the Dark Side, you are basically forced to use the resources of the entire party to do so, which not only deprives everyone else of the ability to enhance their rolls or make narrative changes or use their most powerful Talents, but it also gives the GM ammo to use against the party. I'm talking stuff like making rolls harder and dropping the Hammer of Bad Luck on them. OH! And good luck getting NPCs to want anything to do with the party! It's a fast way to get your group to beat your ass bloody and leave it in a Sarlacc pit. If you're a halfway decent GM, you will PUNISH that real fast, and that player will get wise quick or be gone by popular demand.
100% agree about the first story. Let them fight the BBEG. Even if it is a forgone conclusion how it will end, let them really feel the power rather than cut scene them. Make it a 4 stage boss fight, and see how far they can make it. Each time the player takes it down, they see the tentacle pulls the remain of the possessed paladin back together, while wrapping itself around him to keep him together, making him stronger, yet more monstrous. If they takes down the BBEG at the last stage (if you are good at what you do, they won’t.) go a little crazy, really unleash your imagination of what a incarnation of a evil wolf god can do borrowing a mortal coil. Have it corrupt the land itself as it fight, putting an aura that expends outwards each turn, and those caught within takes 10 necrotic damage each turn. making the wounds unhealable while corrupting them from within dealing stackable 1d10 necrotic +1d10 psychic +1d10 radiant (it is technically a god after all) with a dc 18 of wis and con to half each turn. And to cap it off, legendary actions to really tear the party asunder. If you feel the party still isn’t losing hard enough (why in the evil Wolf god’s name hasn’t you kill them yet.) have it unleash 1d8 Demi-demon wolf spawns each action (legendary action included), and each of those wolf spawn can kamikaze themself onto the party, dealing massive AoE damage (high save for half) while also giving them disadvantage. And if they still cling to life. (At this point it is just sadistic) have it unleash a blast that has a 1d6+1 action of recharge time, which force a save, or their hp cap get cut in half, while they lose hp equal to the hp cut. All while the BBEG heals for the damage dealt. Now if they manage to take down the BBEG 7 time in total, and after all of that.(like serious, I don’t even know how they could without like the stars align, and gods holding their hand like “we got this”) you still some how want this to go down your script, that is when you god hand it, and do a cut scene. But you better reward them for their effort. Like seriously. A cut scene in the player’s mind can only convey the fear of an ancient evil god so far. But make they truly feel helpless with absolute and unmatched might convey the fear into the being. And if they ever face the god again in the real campaign, they would 1. Understand why it is a force beyond their reach. 2. Make it all the sweeter when they finally find a way to take it down. P.s. I have done far worst for an actual god fights. One of my player wanted to kill a literal god, so I granted his wish. Suffice to say, 1, he was not disappointed. And 2, he learn to never challenge something that can create planes on their home turf.
Reminds me of the one fight we had against The Barkeep. Constantly barraged by furniture, glasses and exploding alcohol bottles that chipped away at dexterity and constitution. Anytime we managed to kill one of him 2 more would take his place, any and all destroyed furniture got assimilated into the ever growing bar gollem that did smash damage and fired high powers whiskey cannons that also chipped away at dex and con as well as leaving us weak to fire damage because the barkeep wasn’t above using the high proof shit. And after we were done getting our asses handed to us we woke in the street stripped of our gear, 2 levels lower than before, and unable to access any inns or taverns for the rest of the campaign. Our first warning against starting shit in the bar should have been the fact that no matter the city or setting or establishment exterior all taverns looked the same on the inside and ran by the same mysterious well dressed man with solid black eyes. Our second warning of serious temporal fuckery should have been meeting characters we’ve played in campaigns that shouldn’t even cross over like cyberpunk characters in a dnd setting, or our vtm characters showing up in a warhammer 40k game. Our third warning the elder dragon that was VERY apologetic about not being able to settle his tab. But our absolute final warning would have been when the dm got that evil look in his eye and asked, “are you sure that’s the action you want to take”
I have to admit, that first story was far better than I was expecting, considering the title and what we normally see in these stories. Frankly, the DM should have done something about that problem players antics. I don't know much about the system, but shit like that is just disruptive for everyone else.
I think it makes it worse when DMs just.. Can't read the room. Don't get me wrong it IS your world, but if nobody is having fun maybe change something? It will never make sense to me.
First Story: Yeah, that first one shot was just another line of the Doom and Gloom Railroad. Choo choo! Some stories are best left as tragic backstories never to be played out in game. A game were winning and/or surviving is impossible is really no fun. Second Story: There is a type of player that always tries to play evil characters. Honestly this should have been stopped at session 0. I don't get why people do this because best case scenario they end up escaping to be NPC minions later. More often than not they are killed by the party. These people want to play against the group in a cooperative game. I just don't get it. Third Story: Yeah, I agree that the guy seemed new to RP. He just picked one character trait and made it his character's whole deal. I think some above table conversations could have helped here, but hopefully he can improve with experience. I think some people are so afraid of creating Mary Sues that they make a character that is exclusively flaws. That can be just as bad.
The sad part is you can 100% play an evil character in a good party. Just play them as intelligent people who don't want to be merced. Got a back up PC that's LE for a 5e game and she will genuinely care about the parties well being because they are tools that give her legitimacy as not being evil and can help her with her goals of becoming a blackmailed that controls the world. She isn't a psycho, just a Mastermind who wants the world to dance on her strings and the party is the means to that end plus the party already wants to deal with other evil people who are in her way so cool, allies.
Regarding the drunk I feel like simply giving him an endless flask with the enchantment that it is whatever alcoholic beverage he most prefers at any given time would have helped tone down his interruptions. He would no longer have a reason to make getting his next drink a aspect of the roleplay. Any time he says he needs to find a drink the DM could simply say monotone and uninterested "you drink" and move on with the story. It's important to make sure the flash is only filled with what he most prefers because it removes his excuse to stop using the flask when he realizes what you have done. Wouldn't fix all of the problems as he was simply obnoxious, but it would remove his easy segway into his interruptions.
Star Wars story, I don't think I've seen a person so blatantly state "I'm the main character and you are all wrong for not doing want I want!". I'm struggling to fathom what was going on in his head to make him think he would actually get his way. First he kept his intent secret from everyone out of character, where not even the dm knew he wanted to play Dark Side and take over the order. Then he pays for mercs to attack everyone, not trying to slip dm a note or anything, just announcing it and relying on meta gaming etiquette to get away with it. Then he attacks a friendly npc and actively tries to ruin what the party wanted to do, only to play victim when it doesn't all go his way? In this "secret" storyline he told no one? The only way I can make sense of it is if this is another case of someone trying to play DND like a videogame. Like how Mass Effect has Renegade and Paragon story paths, he just picked the dark side path and was so focused on the narrative he wanted fulfilled that he forgot other people have free will and don't have to do what he wants. Especially when its just springed on them.
Story #1 - So, basically, the DM ####ed over the Party so his Paladin buddy could gain Ultimate Power. Classy move, dude. As an aside here ... Why is it that, in so many games, PCs trying to defeat an Ultimate Evil always have to either wait for it to get loose or otherwise set it loose themselves? Every time. I mean, the sensible thing to do is find a way to destroy said beings while they are restrained in a de-powered state, but no-o-o-o. As for any MacGuffins needed for that process, don't just park them in different places, If you've no plans to ever use the things again, grind them into dust, or give them the 'Mount Doom Treatment', or encase them in rock and drop them in a deep hole on the bottom of the ocean. Or as many of those different things as possible at once. It gets so tiresome. Story #2 - Another instance of "Why did they put up with That Guy for as long as they did?" Honestly, for the Morality scale, I would not be confined solely to whatever the rules said. Just the betrayal alone should have automatically sent him Dark Side, imo. As for the idea of that Character being a Darksider plotting against the Emperor, that really really needed prior discussion with / clearance from the Referee first. Story #4 - Referee should have dropped Very Bad Things on That Guy. As liquored up as he always claimed to be, there would be all sorts of issues - a lot of which would NOT be at that Player's discretion. I'm talking miscast spells, negatives to skill checks and most saves, memory gaps and blackouts, extremely bad decisions, that sort of thing. Or save everybody else some pain and just boot the doofus completely.
It seems the DM of the player with a alcoholic character could have applied all kinds of penalties to whatever the character did for being drunk. Im sure casting spells isnt easy when you are wasted. Then, when not drinking, true alcoholics go through nasty withdrawal, which means penalities for that as well as passing from alcohol withdraw isnt uncommon. Maybe failing at life like true alcoholics may have made him want to get sober.
Story 1: this all could've easily been solved if 1. dm made it clear not to get attached to the characters as they wont carry over to the main campaign. 2. Instead of forcing the end scene to JUST HAPPEN have the players duke it our with each other or eaven dark copies of themselves (bg3 inspired) and 3. Have it to where the survivor of this battle is the one forced into servitude and not just give it to the easy choice. Heck the 2 fails wisdom saves couldve been forced to fight agains the other two who maybe with the help of a better dmpc cleric had a better fighting chance. Like how cool would it have been if the elf revealed to be a smaller or old god thats weakend and has to fight thw wold god with the parties help. Even if the end wouldve been the same give the illusion of choice a bit.
PVP can get annoying. In my campaign, it's usually because a party member does a beast transformation and loses a wisdom save so we gotta beat some sense into him
Hey, DnD Doge, I'm not defending the subject of this video, but is that fursuiter in the thumbnail them? If not, it's kind of lame to use the image of some innocent rando for your cringebait thumbnail. I'm going to get bodied in the comments here, but that's ok since it'll drive engagement up while you're trying to take care of your poor cat's health, and honestly, this is like the one criticism I've really ever had of you handling stuff like this. Frankly, a lot of people that donated to take care of Luna likely were furries, because animal welfare is the thing they have deep pockets for, behind buying art.
Luna is so sweet and you're actually the sweetest one to save her.
I wish Luna a curious and playful life!
You look like Jack Black. And me too! She's a cute kitty.
May the DM of the first story find that his carpet has been replaced by d4's.
... *_metal_* D4's
… Rusty Metal D4’s.
Vorpal rusty d4s
Vorpal rusty metal 5D10 d4s
And also pointy Lego pieces
Alcoholic characters can absolutely work if done with more tact that "That Guy".
In my Dungeon of the Mad Mage game, I'm playing an oathbreaker paladin formerly of Sharess, a halfling who blames her for his drinking problem because he showed his love with the drink. He doesn't bring it up, and is instead the type to answer a challenge of "I bet you wont touch that metal humming door" with "Aight bet" and take 12 points of electric damage.
That Star Wars story hurts my soul, especially because pragmatic Sith who were willing to work with Jedi for the Empire's benefit did exist in the Old Republic era. So That Guy could have very easily and openly played a Sith who was not shy about their origin but was doing what they had to for the sake of a better and stronger Empire. Look up Darth Marr for an example of exactly the kind of Sith I'm talking about
thats a great name for her. I'm glad you found Luna
I've seen it argued that "Luna" is a played-out name. But this little tortie's coloring puts me in mind of a harvest moon seen through tree branches; so it fits.
@@aquaticcatfey to each their own. I like the name Luna.
A furry incapable of reading the room? I am shocked, shocked I say!
Given her name, I think Luna could be a Twilight Cleric in Doge's party; however, given her background, a Shadow Sorcerer or Grave Cleric could also be a good choice as well.
You had me until the latter half. Too soon, dude.
@@alexloch77 Yeah, you're most likely right on that.
I'm so glad Luna's doing better now
Ahhh Luna looks so happy! ♥
What a pretty name for your new little girl. I'm glad you were able to give her a life of love and family.
Good thing your new little kitten is ding better, Doge is a Cat Wizard papa
So glad Luna is doing well
Great to see how well Luna is doing.
Luna looks so happy! ❤
As a long time Star Wars GM of that system, just a quick PSA for people wanting to be Dark Side users: There is no quicker way to PISS the other PCs off than doing that in excess. If the game is being run properly, once you go down the Dark Side, you are basically forced to use the resources of the entire party to do so, which not only deprives everyone else of the ability to enhance their rolls or make narrative changes or use their most powerful Talents, but it also gives the GM ammo to use against the party. I'm talking stuff like making rolls harder and dropping the Hammer of Bad Luck on them. OH! And good luck getting NPCs to want anything to do with the party! It's a fast way to get your group to beat your ass bloody and leave it in a Sarlacc pit.
If you're a halfway decent GM, you will PUNISH that real fast, and that player will get wise quick or be gone by popular demand.
Thumb up for Luna!
100% agree about the first story. Let them fight the BBEG. Even if it is a forgone conclusion how it will end, let them really feel the power rather than cut scene them. Make it a 4 stage boss fight, and see how far they can make it. Each time the player takes it down, they see the tentacle pulls the remain of the possessed paladin back together, while wrapping itself around him to keep him together, making him stronger, yet more monstrous. If they takes down the BBEG at the last stage (if you are good at what you do, they won’t.) go a little crazy, really unleash your imagination of what a incarnation of a evil wolf god can do borrowing a mortal coil.
Have it corrupt the land itself as it fight, putting an aura that expends outwards each turn, and those caught within takes 10 necrotic damage each turn.
making the wounds unhealable while corrupting them from within dealing stackable 1d10 necrotic +1d10 psychic +1d10 radiant (it is technically a god after all) with a dc 18 of wis and con to half each turn. And to cap it off, legendary actions to really tear the party asunder.
If you feel the party still isn’t losing hard enough (why in the evil Wolf god’s name hasn’t you kill them yet.) have it unleash 1d8 Demi-demon wolf spawns each action (legendary action included), and each of those wolf spawn can kamikaze themself onto the party, dealing massive AoE damage (high save for half) while also giving them disadvantage.
And if they still cling to life. (At this point it is just sadistic) have it unleash a blast that has a 1d6+1 action of recharge time, which force a save, or their hp cap get cut in half, while they lose hp equal to the hp cut. All while the BBEG heals for the damage dealt.
Now if they manage to take down the BBEG 7 time in total, and after all of that.(like serious, I don’t even know how they could without like the stars align, and gods holding their hand like “we got this”) you still some how want this to go down your script, that is when you god hand it, and do a cut scene. But you better reward them for their effort. Like seriously.
A cut scene in the player’s mind can only convey the fear of an ancient evil god so far. But make they truly feel helpless with absolute and unmatched might convey the fear into the being. And if they ever face the god again in the real campaign, they would
1. Understand why it is a force beyond their reach.
2. Make it all the sweeter when they finally find a way to take it down.
P.s. I have done far worst for an actual god fights. One of my player wanted to kill a literal god, so I granted his wish. Suffice to say, 1, he was not disappointed. And 2, he learn to never challenge something that can create planes on their home turf.
Reminds me of the one fight we had against The Barkeep. Constantly barraged by furniture, glasses and exploding alcohol bottles that chipped away at dexterity and constitution.
Anytime we managed to kill one of him 2 more would take his place, any and all destroyed furniture got assimilated into the ever growing bar gollem that did smash damage and fired high powers whiskey cannons that also chipped away at dex and con as well as leaving us weak to fire damage because the barkeep wasn’t above using the high proof shit.
And after we were done getting our asses handed to us we woke in the street stripped of our gear, 2 levels lower than before, and unable to access any inns or taverns for the rest of the campaign.
Our first warning against starting shit in the bar should have been the fact that no matter the city or setting or establishment exterior all taverns looked the same on the inside and ran by the same mysterious well dressed man with solid black eyes. Our second warning of serious temporal fuckery should have been meeting characters we’ve played in campaigns that shouldn’t even cross over like cyberpunk characters in a dnd setting, or our vtm characters showing up in a warhammer 40k game. Our third warning the elder dragon that was VERY apologetic about not being able to settle his tab. But our absolute final warning would have been when the dm got that evil look in his eye and asked, “are you sure that’s the action you want to take”
I’m glad Luna is doing better, she seems so sweet ❤
I have to admit, that first story was far better than I was expecting, considering the title and what we normally see in these stories.
Frankly, the DM should have done something about that problem players antics. I don't know much about the system, but shit like that is just disruptive for everyone else.
I think it makes it worse when DMs just.. Can't read the room. Don't get me wrong it IS your world, but if nobody is having fun maybe change something? It will never make sense to me.
Lol that thumbnail - that's one nervous doge!
I'm so glad the cat is doing well.
So glad Luna is going to be OK!
Luna is such a good name!
Well more like Lunatic once she gets integrated with the game. All jokes aside, it's a beautiful name for a beautiful kitten.
Oh no, I'm scared. Also, DOG TALK TIME
Wizard dog takes wildshape druid as his familiar...new lore drop is wild.
Aww, someone had their arm shaved for a catheter
Cheers to Luna!
First Story: Yeah, that first one shot was just another line of the Doom and Gloom Railroad. Choo choo! Some stories are best left as tragic backstories never to be played out in game. A game were winning and/or surviving is impossible is really no fun.
Second Story: There is a type of player that always tries to play evil characters. Honestly this should have been stopped at session 0. I don't get why people do this because best case scenario they end up escaping to be NPC minions later. More often than not they are killed by the party. These people want to play against the group in a cooperative game. I just don't get it.
Third Story: Yeah, I agree that the guy seemed new to RP. He just picked one character trait and made it his character's whole deal. I think some above table conversations could have helped here, but hopefully he can improve with experience. I think some people are so afraid of creating Mary Sues that they make a character that is exclusively flaws. That can be just as bad.
The sad part is you can 100% play an evil character in a good party. Just play them as intelligent people who don't want to be merced.
Got a back up PC that's LE for a 5e game and she will genuinely care about the parties well being because they are tools that give her legitimacy as not being evil and can help her with her goals of becoming a blackmailed that controls the world.
She isn't a psycho, just a Mastermind who wants the world to dance on her strings and the party is the means to that end plus the party already wants to deal with other evil people who are in her way so cool, allies.
Regarding the drunk I feel like simply giving him an endless flask with the enchantment that it is whatever alcoholic beverage he most prefers at any given time would have helped tone down his interruptions. He would no longer have a reason to make getting his next drink a aspect of the roleplay. Any time he says he needs to find a drink the DM could simply say monotone and uninterested "you drink" and move on with the story. It's important to make sure the flash is only filled with what he most prefers because it removes his excuse to stop using the flask when he realizes what you have done.
Wouldn't fix all of the problems as he was simply obnoxious, but it would remove his easy segway into his interruptions.
Good to see that sweet Luna is doing so much better! Thank you for saving her! ❤
So glad Luna was found by you ❤
Ngl that first story was not nearly as bad as I was expecting with that title
Yay! It's his Dogeness!
I love Luna, she's absolutely precious.
12:30 - Was JJ also going around wearing dark clothing and shouting "I hAtE yOu~!" a lot?
I think every rouge has thw same backstory Born with nothing had to steal to servive
Star Wars story, I don't think I've seen a person so blatantly state "I'm the main character and you are all wrong for not doing want I want!". I'm struggling to fathom what was going on in his head to make him think he would actually get his way.
First he kept his intent secret from everyone out of character, where not even the dm knew he wanted to play Dark Side and take over the order. Then he pays for mercs to attack everyone, not trying to slip dm a note or anything, just announcing it and relying on meta gaming etiquette to get away with it. Then he attacks a friendly npc and actively tries to ruin what the party wanted to do, only to play victim when it doesn't all go his way? In this "secret" storyline he told no one?
The only way I can make sense of it is if this is another case of someone trying to play DND like a videogame. Like how Mass Effect has Renegade and Paragon story paths, he just picked the dark side path and was so focused on the narrative he wanted fulfilled that he forgot other people have free will and don't have to do what he wants. Especially when its just springed on them.
My man in that one story was really trying to play Darth Plagueis the Stupid
KITTY!!
Luna is a cutie. Has she put on some weight? She looks a bit less scrawny. Good to see her doing better.
Oh god that tumbnail
Story #1 - So, basically, the DM ####ed over the Party so his Paladin buddy could gain Ultimate Power. Classy move, dude.
As an aside here ... Why is it that, in so many games, PCs trying to defeat an Ultimate Evil always have to either wait for it to get loose or otherwise set it loose themselves? Every time. I mean, the sensible thing to do is find a way to destroy said beings while they are restrained in a de-powered state, but no-o-o-o.
As for any MacGuffins needed for that process, don't just park them in different places, If you've no plans to ever use the things again, grind them into dust, or give them the 'Mount Doom Treatment', or encase them in rock and drop them in a deep hole on the bottom of the ocean. Or as many of those different things as possible at once. It gets so tiresome.
Story #2 - Another instance of "Why did they put up with That Guy for as long as they did?"
Honestly, for the Morality scale, I would not be confined solely to whatever the rules said. Just the betrayal alone should have automatically sent him Dark Side, imo. As for the idea of that Character being a Darksider plotting against the Emperor, that really really needed prior discussion with / clearance from the Referee first.
Story #4 - Referee should have dropped Very Bad Things on That Guy. As liquored up as he always claimed to be, there would be all sorts of issues - a lot of which would NOT be at that Player's discretion. I'm talking miscast spells, negatives to skill checks and most saves, memory gaps and blackouts, extremely bad decisions, that sort of thing. Or save everybody else some pain and just boot the doofus completely.
It seems the DM of the player with a alcoholic character could have applied all kinds of penalties to whatever the character did for being drunk. Im sure casting spells isnt easy when you are wasted. Then, when not drinking, true alcoholics go through nasty withdrawal, which means penalities for that as well as passing from alcohol withdraw isnt uncommon. Maybe failing at life like true alcoholics may have made him want to get sober.
Story 1: this all could've easily been solved if 1. dm made it clear not to get attached to the characters as they wont carry over to the main campaign. 2. Instead of forcing the end scene to JUST HAPPEN have the players duke it our with each other or eaven dark copies of themselves (bg3 inspired) and 3. Have it to where the survivor of this battle is the one forced into servitude and not just give it to the easy choice. Heck the 2 fails wisdom saves couldve been forced to fight agains the other two who maybe with the help of a better dmpc cleric had a better fighting chance. Like how cool would it have been if the elf revealed to be a smaller or old god thats weakend and has to fight thw wold god with the parties help. Even if the end wouldve been the same give the illusion of choice a bit.
As someone who likes giving characters tentacles - the thumbnail scares me.
*gently pats DnD Doge*
uwu ☺
PVP can get annoying. In my campaign, it's usually because a party member does a beast transformation and loses a wisdom save so we gotta beat some sense into him
Up front, a bad DM with no situational awareness what so ever. Lame.
Uh ohs
Spadoingus
Goofball 0:25
Heyoooo
Hey, DnD Doge, I'm not defending the subject of this video, but is that fursuiter in the thumbnail them? If not, it's kind of lame to use the image of some innocent rando for your cringebait thumbnail.
I'm going to get bodied in the comments here, but that's ok since it'll drive engagement up while you're trying to take care of your poor cat's health, and honestly, this is like the one criticism I've really ever had of you handling stuff like this. Frankly, a lot of people that donated to take care of Luna likely were furries, because animal welfare is the thing they have deep pockets for, behind buying art.
42nd