BEST WAYS to Use Terrain in Your D&D Game| Game Master Tips
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- Nerdarchy the News Letter- nerdarchynewsle...
Best Ways to Use Terrain in Your D&D Game| Game Master Tips
Nerdarchist Ted and Dave discuss how to use terrain in your Dungeons and Dragons game. It's up to the Dungeon Master to evoke the emotions and thought of their players at the gaming table. We also give some of our tips to increase tension in your games and how to invoke the imagination of each player in the gaming group. A big part of GMing is painting pictures for your DnD players to better envision the campaign world around them. So join in the discussion of the best ways to use terrain in your D&D game in the comments below!
Please Like, Comment, Share & Subscribe!
Help Support Nerdarchy by Shopping at YOUR Favorites Places
on the Internet. Just use these links and shop as usual. Nothing changes for you-
Amazon- amzn.to/2jf0boA
Nerdarchy the Store- goo.gl/M4YZEQ
Drive Thru RPG- goo.gl/6nf5zh
Easy Roller Dice- goo.gl/1n0M1r
Find Us-
Patreon: / nerdarchy
Website: www.Nerdarchy.com
Facebook: / nerdarchy
Instagram: / nerdarchy
Twitter: / nerdarchy
SnapChat: / nerdarchy
Pinterest: / nerdarchy
Tumblr: / www
Music By- www.soundcloud.com/zerofluxboundary
Help Support Nerdarchy by Shopping at YOUR Favorites Places
on the Internet. Just use these links and shop as usual. Nothing changes for you-
Amazon- amzn.to/2jf0boA
Nerdarchy the Store- goo.gl/M4YZEQ
Drive Thru RPG- goo.gl/6nf5zh
Easy Roller Dice- goo.gl/1n0M1r
Random story to demonstrate the difference terrain can make. Homebrew 5e game, the party had many different agendas among us. Included a rogue/shadow monk who was a high up member of a powerful thieves guild whose loyalty generally went to the guild rather than the party. We had managed to complete the main thrust of the campaign. Exploring a massive dungeon full of time warps and so on, effectively freeing an army from "between time periods", restored the king, who immediately tossed us out. The rogue decided to try to go back and take the keep for his guild. He gathered a massive army and siege engines. Our paladin faced off against him, leading the "rightful" owners' army. My wizard took a look at the surrounding terrain, and on the map was a river of lava that sourced all these forges and so on throughout the complex, and a moat full of water surrounded the keep. As battle was joined, with high level mercenaries flinging spells and so on, my wizard conjured an earth elemental and directed it to open up the path to the lava. Proceeded to cast control water, moving a 100 foot cube worth of water. Emptied the moat and dragged the army into it, as the earth elemental channeled the lava through the now empty bed of the moat. Paying attention to terrain and asking your DM can help one accomplish things that might otherwise seem impossible
Also, little addendum, the bit where we were fighting those Pit Fiends in the 'Temple of Doom' room. Our Ranger dropped a Spike Growth which you surrounded by an Ice Storm. Suck 1/4 movement, Deemons.
imgur.com/a/wNzlU
A campaign session I recently ran took advantage of terrain and weather. The PCs were on a ship during a storm, when attacked by Sahaugin. Just being on the deck of a ship meant tight spaces and obstacles, while the wind and and rain hampered movement. Then the Sahaugin were using harpoons to try and drag the players into the ocean, where lets face it heavily armored fighters don't do so well. Numerically the fight was definitely in the player's favor, but the challenge was in forcing the players to stop and consider more than "How many hit points do I have?", and "How many hit points do they have?"
What I did is place Kobold archers in the trees in my last encounter. So it was fun seeing the characters use their specialties-explosive crossbow bolts and a blink dog totem to knock them around. My usual DM is also fond of these big maps with a lot of terrain features, so the party can get split up, or has to use special tricks to get around. Terrain is a lot of fun.
Love this topic.
I need Teds shirt, that is so awesome
One thing I find interesting about using the five senses in narration is that we would usually assume that _taste_ is one of the least used senses while describing a scene. However -- as far as I remember -- taste, smell and sight are connected with each other. And I don't know you guys, but I always had the sensation that *taste* and *smell* are quite similar.
I know this is fairly old video, but I'm just watching some of the backlog that I haven't seen before, but I was thinking about how you were talking about the bad tastes if something is so rank.
But what about something being so great smelling that the taste is wonderful in your mouth, and it's a trap or monster of some sort that is trying to lure them in. Then they run into the edges of it again later, and they know what is happening, but the first time they making saving throws to resist I think would be interesting to use taste that way.
Don't forget weather, too. One problem with dungeon-centrism is you forget that many parts of the world have four seasons. Feeling cold or hot, or drenched, or dehydrated, are important immersion techniques that have a mechanical impact (Fatigue) as well. If people take weather and terrain hazards seriously, even an unreconstructed ranger will be a highly desirable member of any party.
Boris Stremlin True, but the week before we did a weather vid. Though we only covered a couple of aspects of it.
Nerdarchist Dave
Yes, I should have remembered. I'm a big partisan of weather. The _Wilderness Suvival Guide_ was my favorite non-core rulebook in the AD&D era.
Weather can and should also alter how the PCs _dress_. In great heat, like in a desert or even just during the summer, armor should be terrible to wear. Wearing plate mail should feel like walking around in an oven. Constitution saving throws should be done for anyone trying to wear armor in such conditions. Of course, if they take the armor off, that also means they have less protection when enemies show up.
Winter, meanwhile, is all about layers. A Monk or Barbarian should feel like they need to at least don some padded armor, just to protect against the cold. And that means giving up their Unarmored Defense, which might be more useful to them than the AC they get from wearing armor. On another note, snow can be hell on the eyes during the day. Snow blindness is a thing. Unless the setting has sunglasses or some other kind of light-dampening eyewear, they could be left wandering blind.
The terrain I've loved most is anything involving water.
In the swamp it make paths to traverse. mud paths above the water are safeish to fight in, the water spots outside the path are passable but dangerous, from random extra beasts attacking you to disease checks, as well as slow movement. meanwhile the creatures usually slip around perfectly fine, with no loss of mobility and plenty of cover. great for adding dread and tension
in rain you have slippery terrain, limited visibility. there's the fear that comes from being trapped in heavy rain, and things can sneak up on you. if it's a flash flood, there's the fun of your players having to find a place in a high cave or tree or something, then fight it out with the other creatures seeking refuge. I mean hey, sloths find new trees by swimming down flash floods and attaching to random ones. my dire sloths do the same.Also, any creatures that grapple, knock back, or disarm are MUCH more dangerous all of a sudden. the party always winds up back in the drink trying to save a comrade or dropped item or SOMETHING XD
And of course swimmable water is great if you have a creative party. I just recently put my party in the sea, and they were having a blast. constantly wanting to divebomb into enemies, or breach the surface in flips, or try to surround an enemy from SIX different angles now! hey summoner, make some dolphins to ride on, hey fighter lets try a tandem attack! lets all try to swim around really fast in a circle, and make a water current to mess with that one fish in particular. of course this leads to other interesting tactics from your monsters, who have clear homefield advantage. besides, there are plenty of bizarre, alien-like creatures that come from the deep.
As someone who spent a half hour trying my damnedest to get out of a quarter mile-long thorn brush, that came up to my neck (those should not be legal on the bottom of a cliff on city grounds, but whatever, that's city hall's problem now)...on a hot Texan day....in a jacket (thankfully)...
I will attest to the potential effectiveness and annoyance of terrain.
is there spells that change the terrain? I mean like a Avatar: the Last Air Bender styled powers?
There are loads of spells that change the terrain. Was there a particular bending art you were looking to recreate?
Karpmageddon earth/Metal bender. I know Pyro spells
Being an earthbender in 5e is actually pretty feasible, particularly after the release of the Elemental Evil Player’s Companion. Standout spells from it would be: mold earth, erupting earth, transmute rock and bones of earth. As for the PHB, notable spells include: stone shape, wall of stone, move earth and earthquake.
As for metalbending, the closest spell that comes to mind is heat metal. But that be more along the lines of lavabending. And of course the spell isn't traditionally used for altering terrain but an imaginative user could certainly do such.
Yes! Lots of Earthbending with Druids or a specialized cleric or wizard
A cleric? How so? I could see with the other elements but not earth.
As a Player I tend to use the terrain to my DM's despair after they laid out the battlefield. My 8th level party no longer fears Death Knights, gravity works great.
Gravity: The Greatest Killer of All
Fighting a wind elemental in the elemental plane of air on an island only 80 feet in diameter with just nothing on all sides.
Cresting a hill increases the players' view range. But if they aren't careful, their silhouettes will be highlighted against the skyline, making *them* much easier to spot from a distance. When moving cross-country, does the party go through the open meadow, or take the longer route around through the forest? They can't move paranoid all the time, so they must decide when to be extra careful.
audio is a little lower than usual. nevertheless, I really only use terrain when there is a rockslide, avalanche, or difficult terrain. other than that, it's really not relevant.
Running Out of the Abyss and at the start of the game when the players escape and flee I had the drow chase them. The players came across a ravine that they had to climb down and up the other side while the Drow fired poisoned crossbow bolts at them. While they made it, the wizard did get hit and fell asleep at the top of the other side. The cleric ran back to get him and she too was hit. Fighter had to get both of them and run like hell
I feel bad for you guys because I assume you are trying really hard to get the audio right ;-;
Don't give up! We believe in you! :D
HacaPotato Thanks. I had to nix the audio leveling, because the new mic pics up things like breathing and boosts that. Audio leveling= sounds like dragon in the room. We made some alterations on this weeks recordings. We might have it worked out.
Nerdarchist Dave
Huntsman unfamiliar with the territory? I think not!
*rolls knowledge: geography*
I know that you guys are busy covering many other videos, but i need help with my campaign. ill list the topics i need help with and will accept any answers you guys can dish out. Im starting a campaign heavily based of of the Anime "Berserk". Ive done heavy research on its lore and individual backstorys but im having a hard time placing classes for some of the main NPCs (ie Gutts, Griffith, Caska ect). Also, if you have knowlage of the story, a major change happans in the 3rd story arch and, as expected, the gameplay and feel will need to make drastic changes as well (Mass combat from arc1 -> Hero party styled combat from post arc3 [Berserk 2016 as reference]) also are you fans of cinematic scenes? i want to incorperate the heavy and deep feel of the amazing scenes from the anime into the campaign but am having a rough time trying to think of a way for my players to participate. i have so much more that i wanna ask if you can answer these questions. You guys are awsome!
also, im using 3.5 just as an fyi
Coppery?? Are you guys slaughtering squids or what, cus red blood is full of iron, not copper