Building Combat Encounters for Dungeons and Dragons 5e: Creating Environments (Part 3 of 3)
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- Опубликовано: 6 июл 2024
- MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to Kickstarter March 26th, 2024: www.kickstarter.com/projects/... In Part 3 of our series on designing combat encounters for Dungeons and Dragons 5e, we’re discuss how to set the stage for a dramatic showdown by designing a great environment for the encounter.
Find the first parts of this series here:
Part I: Concept & Conflict - • Building Combat Encoun...
Part II: Mechanics & Difficulty - • Building Combat Encoun...
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Игры
*hears Darkest Dungeons*
Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow, and insidious killer
The last bit reminded me of an encounter I ran for some of my players. They visited a black market supposedly owned by an ancient blue dragon. It was rumored that if you stole from the market or didn't give your share of the profits, you'd face his wrath. Of course, my players, assuming they'd see a creature of that size, pulled a con.
Those two up-pointed stones they passed at the entrance? Yeah, those were his horns. He was burrowed underground; listening. The market was on his back.
I'm usually terribly at running combat (hence why I'm looking at advice right now lol) but that was definitely a memorable one.
This was a great series and really stoked my imagination! I'd love to see "Adventure Design" as the next 3-part series.
Seconded.
Aye!
Do it, Dudes!
My favorite encounter I've had as a player began with my moon druid-rogue (only 2 levels of druid) being thrown off the top of a giant spire by a guard captain. I tried clicking an immovable rod to catch myself, but my grip wasn't strong enough. So I continued to plummet. I turned myself into a flying squirrel to slow myself down, so my crash into the ground didn't immediately kill me. But I was stuck 100 feet beneath the entrance to the tower whose entrance was a drawbridge, with no wild shape uses left. Fortunately, the bottom level of the tower was an open stable where some nobles had been raising hippogriffs. We had ridden the hippogriffs earlier on a hunt and I formed a bond with one. So I threw a goodberry up to the hippogriff (thank you Nat 20). It caught it, recognized me and flew down to pick me up after some animal handling checks. While all this was happening, my party members were fighting a battle a man down and it was looking a little rough. I mounted my hippogriff and flew up to the top of the tower where the heat of the battle raged. Angry, I swept down, picked up the guard captain in the hippogriffs talons and flung him off the tower. That karmic retribution felt SOOO good.
the little quip and stories about games you guys have taken part of, makes the video a lot more entertaining and informative. thank you
As a negative Nancy to miniature and terrain play, your transition description makes sense. I like to describe a scene and then grant each player a question to ask about the scene as a "we create the scene together" and allows what they are thinking to come into play and see what they are interested in when the scene was described to them. I say yes and describe and see in a few rounds where they go or why they asked and because they asked they often are thinking and using these visions. Empowering, not restricting. Usually only a No when it just doesn't fit the vision but if I didn't think of it, why not? The sky is the limit if your character in the scene would want to look for it quickly because the player had an idea. Great Vid Dudes. And I throw people out windows all the time, off ledges to a not yet known ledge right below.
I play with a GM who likes to take things a bit further. Every scene, and nearly every encounter, he likes to go around the table to each player and ask each player "Tell me something about this NPC/room/city." I feel it really makes the games a lot more fun as a player, and really showcases how well he can roll with the punches when we mess with his plans. He also likes to give us in-game rewards (such as inspiration) when we make an encounter or scene harder on ourselves.
The Legend of Zelda!
I like your taste in shirts, Kelly!
Thank you! Zelda and Star Wars make up a large portion of my shirt collection.
Love all your videos! My vote is for a 3 parter on adventure building. Keep up the great work dudes
Guys I loved this video. You made an amazing point about having real structures in game. Looking at squares makes it hard to think tactically or creatively, but looking at a diorama of combat puts you there, makes you start thinking about the possibilities instead of the rut of attack attack attack.
Just had a session last week where goblins in the forest had set up traps and other things in the trees.
The fight was so memorable mostly because of how fun it was to interact with the environment . Thanks for this awesome video!
- Innkeeper Vase Odin
Loved this video format with the 3 parts! I'd love to see a series on either adventure or dungeon design though I feel like Monty would have some particularly great advice for dungeon design (no pressure lol).
Also: "making dnd encounters more environmentally conscious" was a great line.
My favorite chapter of this by far. I love these ideas. All my future encounters will be so much more flavorful. Thank you
One thing I have implemented for some complex traps, actions, or other semi-reactable events like falling long distances is to say something happens on either Initiative Count X or Initiative Count -X.
So, say a flying creature drops a party member from a distance of about 100 feet. And the creature that dropped them acted on initiative count 14. I will say that the fall completes at X - 10. So at initiative count 4, the player hits the ground. That gives players a chance to react. If the thing takes a really long time, like a 200 foot fall, I will either have it take a full round, or happen at Count 0. Also some triggered traps with large actions or area effects, like a huge boulder that rolls down an entire staircase. It is sort of a "season to taste" sort of rule.
Not every battle can be a volcano on the back of a dragon.
Indeed. We 100% agree which is why we talked about this specifically.
@@DungeonDudes I just love the sentiment because you won't find that as a taking point anywhere else!
Fuck that don’t tread on my dreams Hahahaha jk. I want to fight a volcano on the back of a dragon turtle!!!! Where the lava is it’s blood!!! Muhahahaha. Ok I am done sorry ha.
Sorry, but all my dragons have volcanoes on their backs. They also make you cry a lot, at dragon-back mountain.
Ok Mr Negative aka campaign wrecker 2.0.
Love your videos! It's so helpful for a DM who's going from 2-3 players to suddenly 10.
This has been really awesome. I'm coming back to DnD after about a decade hiatus, have a group of all new players and this has helped a lot to build good encounters.
Two stories. I had a dragon encounter once for the party with a blue dragon on soft earth burrowing under the players while his shambling mounds fought the party. Once the mound had absorbed a player the dragon would rise up and light blast both the PC and the shambling mound. Damages PC and heals the mound. Hehehe
Second story is back to pathfinder days of “Rise of the Rune Lords” battling goblins in a glass workshop. I did a bulrush into a goblin and shoved it right into the molten glass vat. Glorious
OMG. Dragon on the ceiling in the dark ... out of range of Darkvision. Evil Genius, I love it!
bits That’s why I love being a wizard with an owl familiar, which has 120 ft dark vision and advantage on perception.
Love your videos. Even refer peeps to them. One thing that will help make them even better are not just the bullet points but pics of what you are referring too. In other words, visuals. That helps those of us that are more visual oriented to understand better what you are saying. Don’t have to have a ton of visuals but some sprinkled throughout would be good. Thanks for the hard work you put in to making these AND keeping it easy to understand.
Thanks for the series, it's been helpful for me as a DM. I would like to learn more creating dungeons from scratch and how to fit them into a campaign in a way that keeps them fun and challenging.
I’m planning a campaign where the first arc (balanced for 3rd or 4th level characters) is the players clearing out undead from a fort in a mountain pass on the border of a kingdom. The inhabitants were cut off from supplies and died from starvation and exposure. The only enemies I’m using are skeletons, skeleton horses, and a wraith boss. All the interesting parts of the combat is coming from siege weapons, fortress battlements, the keep’s defenses, and the environment. This is going to be a very influential guide on my encounters for this arc.
I like to add some environment stuff from shadow of war so that I save the best environment ideas for the most important battles, but the regular fights aren't just people rolling the same weapon or cantrip for the whole game
I had a campaign map where the party was forced to split and one had to take a high route, and the others had to take a low (and dangerous route). There were items on the high route like ballistas and braziers that could be used to take out many of the enemies below and items they could release to provide cover from enemy arrows.
Just found your channel, & have been binging on you, Dael, & How to be a Great DM.
I love the fact that you include links to relevant prior episodes and to resources you mention in each episode! Top notch work! And giving me so much help now that I’m DM’g again after a 10+yr hiatus from gaming. Thanks!
TriMarkC try Matt Colville
Thanks guys! Your videos are very enjoyable to watch and give me, as someone new to the game and interested in both the DM and player perspectives, lots of creative inspiration - this video especially. Cheers!
I built an encounter in a kobold den. Pretty standard low-level stuff. I had a Dragonborn barbarian with 18 strength. The Dragonborn ran into melee range with a kobold and asked "Hey how high are is the ceiling in here?" I said it's a large cavern and the ceiling is anywhere between 60 and 80 feet high depending on where you are in the cavern. He then grappled the kobold, which failed to break free on its turn, and the Dragonborn proceeded to ask if he could try to throw the kobold into the ceiling. I was like "sure, make an athletics check" which he rolled a nat 20 on, bringing his check to a 26 total. I allowed that throw to kill the kobold due to bludgeoning damage from impacting the ceiling + fall damage from the 60 feet fall back to the ground.
I love the idea of the faces that randomly spit acid. Definitely something that I'll be using at some point!
Fantastic series guys. So much great advice that I'm already putting to use!
Really amazing series of videos. I hope to incorporate the things I have learned in the next game I run.
Thanks for this, this really helps!
Guys again amazing vid! Alot of incredible ideas what i will for sure use in my campaing. Keed doing amazing job! :)
If you're a player who wants to encourage your DM to think about the combat environment and throw some curveballs and tactical puzzles your way, here are some fun options. (DMs can also use these to get their creative juices flowing.)
*> Druidcraft* lets you predict the weather for the next 24 hours. It's a cantrip, so you can ask your DM on any day you plan to be outdoors what the weather is going to be. That will encourage the DM to think about precipitation, wind, fog, etc. You can ask leading questions about visibility, difficult terrain, and how the weather is affecting stealth.
*> Mold Earth* is another cantrip with a lot of practical uses, if you give it some thought. You can't move stone, but you can move earth/dirt/soil/clay. And it only has somatic components, so you can do this all silently, over and over again.
You can use it to create instant cover. ("Archers, eh? I dig a hole 10 feet out, and move a 5-foot cube of soil to create a pile of heavy earth right next to me.")
If you have a little time, you can set up a whole fortification, like to make your camp safer for the night or to prepare an ambush. Dig a trench, build up breastworks and walls, create difficult terrain at a chokepoint that will last an hour (and which you can freely refresh or dismiss because it's just a cantrip). Maybe even dig a tunnel, if the soil will support it.
In combat, you can suddenly dig a hole underneath an enemy-and if you use Quicken Spell metamagic or your ally also has _Mold Earth,_ you can fill in the hole while your enemy is in it. Remember, loose earth weighs about 75 pounds per cubic foot, so a 5-foot cube (125 cubic feet) weighs more than 9000 pounds.
If you find a dungeon with one entrance, you can always block the entrance with literally tons of heavy soil and see what they do about it. Maybe they try to dig through. Maybe they suffocate. Maybe they have a second exit.
Just like _Fly_ and _Levitate_ and _Spider Climb_ get you asking the DM how high the ceilings are, _Mold Earth_ gets you asking what the ground is like: stone, soil, bog, etc.
*>* Before you gain access to _Fireball_ and _Lightning Bolt_ to set objects on fire, *Shatter* can be great for blasting apart objects your enemies are using as cover, or collapsing a weak ceiling, or destroying a rope bridge that enemies are traversing, or busting a hole in a non-reinforced structure. You should talk with your DM first, so the DM can make decisions about the toughness of various objects in the environment instead of trying to make up numbers on the spot. That'll force the DM to think about the environments he creates and invite some creativity about which objects are placed in the environment for you to smash.
*> Stone Shape* can create a hole in all but the thickest stone walls, floors, and ceilings, allowing you to bypass doors in stone fortresses and dungeons. Or you can seal off a narrow passage (with a new stone door) or a room (by jamming the door shut) to cut off pursuing enemies, divide a group of enemies, or just seal a room so you can take a long rest in peace.
*> Animate Objects* can weaponize the objects in the environment. It can turn an object used for cover into an attacking creature. It can make an object hover, so you can stand on it to float into the air, out of reach of enemies. And because (a.) spaces occupied by other creatures are difficult terrain and (b.) you can't willingly end your turn in another creature's space, you can create a bunch of Small or Tiny creatures and use them to control movement on the battlefield. (This can be a tremendous pain for a DM because you're adding so many creatures to the battlefield, so try to make it as easy on the DM as possible. Find efficient ways of rolling lots of attacks, for example, like using online dice rollers.)
If you're a DM, you can have your NPCs use these spells to demonstrate their value to players or just to spice up an encounter. If you want to encourage your players to use the spells but they can't or won't use up the spell slot, you can always give them a magic item that casts the spell, or an ally who casts it for them. For example, giving your players a "magic weathervane" that performs that _Druidcraft_ effect could serve as a reminder to keep varying the weather to keep things interesting. ("The weathervane conjures the image of an opaque cloud settling down. There will be _tule fog_ in the morning. Even in daylight hours, visibility will range from 120 feet as if in dim light to heavily obscured.")
I'm quite speechless 👍
Still yet to run out... The advice is very much appreciated.😁
I’ve always wanted to do a highly political strife set piece that takes place in a major city where there are factions, backstabbing, changes in political power, espionage, trials, and deception. Where “combat” is more so on the skill challenges like making a disposition in court, escaping, convincing an influencer, smuggling, who to trust, and where the wrong winner of an election for the next Duke just put a Drow in disguise in power and his plans are to transform the city into his next stronghold from the inside out without him or his allies being found out.
I’m not really sure where to begin, but a 3 part series would be cool!
Thank you for making these guides, Dudes, they are fun, informative and well made :D Also location, location, location *lol*
Great video, if mostly to just confirm that the way I run my sessions online with Maps, that range from simple to complex, is best. I also have a huge Bank of, photos of landscapes, castles, ruins, etc..
I'd like to see a three part series on designing one shots or story arcs. I think you'd nail it. I've been thinking a LOT about how to design and pace one shots and short arcs and it would be cool to pick your brains about it
another video packed with good content, dudes.. I as a dm, agree on all those topics and its great that you give this advice.. great to hear about some of your own implementation on those ideas, too
If people want ideas for interesting mechanics. check out the turn based PC game called Blackguards. might help to get some ideas started when it comes to moving blades, traps and such.
Harsh weather elements are also cool. Fighting near a tornado with the wind pushing you back, heavy sand storm etc.
"players often forget about windows in buildings"
so true. I remember running a sci-fi like one shot. They went into a torn apart building looking for some documents. It was inside a dark cavern. On the second floor the sniper looked out of the window straight into the eyes of a re-skinned behir. Which was hanging upside down the cavernous ceiling. Fun fight enseud :)
--- Playing with darkvision can also lead to comedy moments in RP fashion. Party went ahead to explore. Was scared of all the sounds and such. Behind them they heard sound of something stomping towards them rapidly. Not waiting two people shot arrows with disadvantage towards the light and sound source and still managed to hit for massive damage. Loud scream was heard.... it was the dwarf barbarian trying to catch up with his buddies and was now laying on the floor at 1hp remaining :P
Awesome video my dudes!
Laughed out loud at 12:12. I've watched Dungeons of Drakkenheim and thought, "Veo and Oscar would strongly disagree." :D
That was a fantastic video. It really got the wheels spinning... I am getting ready to run a Strahd game, so the already interesting environment will give me a lot to draw on.
Do you play with models, game mat, or digital?
@@TheDungineer I am traditionally a theater of the mind style of dm, but I have been working up a supply of miniatures and have been considering using them for it. Especially since my buddy has the invisible Strahd miniature. It is just so cool.
@@Jonhainey dang that is a cool mini! It can be daunting to implement, but minis and maps can really help paint a picture in the minds of players.
its really not that hard to incorporate miniatures just dont do it for everything, I only run them in combat encounters or times when I need to create tension. I'm creating Castle Ravenloft with dungeon tiles and I'm going to lay it out as they move through it with their miniatures so they can map it for themselves and it will create the tension you need for a place like Ravenloft where danger lurks around every corner.
Thanks guys you have inspired me to run a game and throw some creative things at my players.
I remember playing a level 17 bear totem barbarian and we were on a ship. We were attacked by tritons, and I got hasted by the wizard. I used my first action to attack and my second to throw creatures off the boat. The Dm ruled I could do this with one hand because my strength score was 27. Every time they would get to me, I'd just chuck one. It was the most fun I have ever had as a player.
my friend design a gladiator area in the DARK SUN world, where 10' hexagon towers were all side by side and randomly rose or fell 10' all the while fighting other combatants, there was literial 3-4 four turns where i was stuck 30 ' down watching my companion get slashed, we did win but barely thanks to psionics
Love your content! You're the best! This is my obligatory content to improve your results in the RUclips algorithm. :)
love these videos
Spoilers for lost mines of phandelver
When we were fighting Klarg in the Cragmaw caves, the trash chute hidden behind the wolves made the encounter so much more interesting. Once I had somehow installed my pitons into the chute walls without having any of our party getting caught, we were able to climb up and down it much more easily. This let us pop out, attack Klarg and his guys, and go back down before he could grab us. After falling off our pitons a couple times and almost not making it back into the tunnel a few times, we managed to take them out.
There as a game I ran where the players had to navigate a Dragon's lair at the behest of the dragon who lived there. The dragon explained to them that something was moving through his lair and that he was too busy to go looking for uninvited guests, especially ones that hadn't attempted to take his treasure. However, these creatures were destroying parts of the lair and he wanted them stopped. This particular dragon lair was a Labyrinth. The walls were lined with several magical effects. Specifically, the walls were imbued with antimagic, therefore could not be destroyed by a fireball or a shape stone effect, and there was also a layer of pseudo-force that acted as a cushion to stop any physical attacks against the wall so that the maze had to be navigated manually. In order to get around this effect, the players talked it out, made several Arcana checks, sacrifices a total of 12 levels of spells (party of 5, 4 spellcasters sacrificing a level 3 spell slot) and formed the raw magic into an abjuration effect. The player who's idea it was then took the abjuration magic in its raw form, and with another check melded it into the wall in front of part of the wall they knew to be a secret door (but didn't know how to open). With one last check, they tore the magic from that part of the wall and let it dissipate. Thoroughly impressed, I let it happen, and the players opened the door by force and entered the next room. They later found the creatures that the dragon sent them after and defeated a nest of kythons that I'd converted to 5th.
In a more recent boss encounter, I had minions of the boss working at alchemist stations when the players entered the room. There were also several stalagmites and stalactites in the room. During the encounter, as lair actions I had the alchemist stations launch explosive potions into the room as well as the stalagmites erupt poison gas. The boss encounter was a hard encounter by himself, but adding those environment effects turned the encounter deadly and three of six players were rendered unconscious as well as an animal companion. There were no deaths, but it was a very close encounter in which the boss almost escaped as well.
Me personally as a DM, I create usually 2-3 solutions to getting past an encounter. I'd say maybe about 50% of the time the PCs use those solutions. Most of the time they have their own solutions, and they're awesome. As long as their solutions make sense, I absolutely allow it.
I had a combat take place during a resurrection ritual in a Temple of Waukeen. Players had be careful not to break things because they were being charged for using the space.
24:35 Bruce Willis takes a short rest and regains his Action Surge and uses his Hit Dice, lol
Great ideas. I never noticed how much theater of the mind seems linear. 3D terrain must be awesome for adding dimensions to players' minds.
Monsters, adventures. Im down for either.
While watching your video I was designing the encounter my players will face in an hour. (I know last minute😂) my players are in the desert and I was having a hard time coming up with any interesting elements. But I came up with illusory terrain of the desert sand except in the middle of the battlefield are 4 wooden posts 2 and 2 lined up with each other with ropes connecting them under the sand. What’s really there is a 40 foot chasm with a rope bridge across it. They will be fighting a bone devil here.
A easy environment to add in for deserts are cacti, In desert areas there should always be a few cacti for a combat . Epic chasms should be used for special foes like bone devil's. Good job!
Since I like adding inscentive for using environment , cacti should do 1d12 peircing, but it's technically unrealistic for a cacti do do more damage then short swords
Dungeon Dudes: teaching us real estate and D&D 2:13
This makes me want to make a home alone house with kobolds
I mean face it in every aspect, kobolds are Kevin McAlister
I have one PC that loves to start fires in EVERY environment they’re in so I’m working on an encounter that calls back to all the fires they started but never put out. Basically they unintentionally created a fire elemental that’s now rampaging near the town
Love that Legend of Zelda shirt!
Clear, damp and muddy with gusty winds
One good way to think about it:
Dnd is not an action mmo, it's xcom
I can’t think of a series. Each one I think of already has a video.
Maybe you could expand a series you’ve already done? Like items and home brewing or how to deal with bad players and turn the game into a positive experience?
About dwarven forge... if I would try to buy a set, which you would recommend ? A set of sets that would be usefull in almost every campaign?
My first set was the Game Tiles Set from the painted classic dungeons, which has been discontinued, I would say if you grab a “starter dungeon” and maybe a floor pack and some additional walls.... the classic dungeons work in almost every adventure.
I also make using the environment do a bit unrealistic damage, like sure, in real life getting hit with a barrel of apples rolling down a hill isn't going to hurt more then 2 short sword attacks, but it's definitely more cool so I'll give my players an incentive to not just keep using there sword and damage cantrip.
Usually keeping a single, maybe two ways to beat an encounter should be enough. There's always a way you as the DM haven't thought of. They are many, they are legion, basically. Your players are going to outsmart you 7 out of 8 times
I haven't DMd in many years, but I watched this video because I'm such a fan of the work you guys do. The next time I am fortunate enough to play D&D my experience will be enhanced because of the factors you guys brought to my attention.
I would love to see you gentlemen tackle multi-class builds. Not just build where you dip 1 to 4 levels but true multi-class builds, or even build with more than two classes. For instance I think to make a well-rounded Archer you would need at least three classes.
My current idea is (Battlemaster 11/ Pact of the Chain Warlock 3/ Gloomstalker 3/ Assassin 3). I won't list all the benefits, but this is an absolute Beast in the first round. Action Surge, and an extra attack in the first round. Wisdom to initiative, Assassin Benefits. 120' Darkvision that can see through darkness and the character is invisible I the use of Darkvision. The ability to disarm, trip, push back, and two or three other things at an Archers range. An Imp that you can communicate with telepathically and whose senses you can look through as long as they are on the same plane as you... A lot of chances for advantage as well...
I imagine a lot of people will scream munchkin, and min max!! As long as it's well-crafted within the story and the backstory I don't see the problem with making as close to your vision for a character as possible. I've been fortunate enough to have DM's who agree that the classes are more tools to help you make the character that you envision. I wanted an all-around Archer, I explained this to my DM explain what I wanted to do and gave him a well thought-out backstory and was completely open to his suggestions for it.
*May that day come soon, noble DM*
Honestly I don't see the point in level 20 builds, because most campaigns will be over by then anyway. So you've really just got a Battlemaster archer which is definitely a good build, though you've missed the really awesome synergy of Goading Attack with ranged weapons with a party with a tank with Sentinel. Gloomstalker and Warlock benefits aren't as good as a second action surge and more Indomitables (your first round bonuses mean squat if you get paralyzed or charmed straight off the bat), and more feats - Alert will get you a better initiative bonus than what is likely a mediocre wisdom modifier. You can get darkvision from tons of races or magic items. Assassin is great but situational, you've got a good sniper build but not the best all-round archer.
Love your videos guys. Do you have any experience running large groups of players? We play once a month with 7-9 players on a regular basis. On a typical encounter, our high AC characters will charge into combat, protecting the strikers and casters so they can target enemy bosses. The bosses normally drop first. Our DM has difficulty making the encounters challenging. His strategy has been to give the monsters max HP. But that seems to drag out the combats without really making them feel threatening. A typical big encounter may last 2 or more hours. I'm an old-school player with 1st Edition experience where we had 8-10 player groups with challenging encounters that ran 30 minutes to maybe an hour. Granted, it was theatre-of-the-mind play. At any rate, I'd love to get your insights into how to craft good combat encounters for large groups of players in 5e. Thanks!
Ken Palmer I run a group of 7 players frequently. For the major battle each night, I tend to use 1-2 creatures of CR = 1.2-1.5 X avg PC level. So 7 players all at level 5, means creatures would be CR 6-8. PLUS I add 2-6 minions of 1/4-1/2 the major creature’s CR. OR instead of minions I add in unusual terrain to include some kind of trap/area effect/area damage stuff.
With so many players, they always have the advantage of turn economy. So by bumping up the CR, adding unusual terrain, and allowing my creatures to have natural cunning/strategy, the whole scenario becomes more tense, more exciting.
Yes, I’ve killed 2 PC this way, but they’ve killed far more of my bosses!!
Turn player strategies against them. When players encounter a large group of enemies they usually try to either divide and conquor, area effect them, or use battlefield control to takes some out of the fight. Use the same against your players if you have a big group. Have an enemy spellcaster throw up a wall of force splitting the party in two, have some enemies teleport or fly past the front lines to the squishies, have enemies charm or paralyze or stun some of the party, use terrain like multiple levels to split up the party, have some area of effect traps or lair actions, or have an ambush where the boss call in reinforcements who come in behind the party where the squishies are. For maximum fun, you don't want to be taking PCs out for the whole combat just one or two rounds at a time, so makes sure they can save at the end of each turn, or scale that pit trap, or climb the stairs to get back in the fight.
My environment ideas: Acidic Bog, Cursed Desert, Crystal Volcano, Coral Jungle, the Iron Keep, and all of the base game locations. 😁, and those are just the locations in my campaign, each area has a set table of monsters that can spawn there, my campaign will be called The Iron Keep, there will be 2 story books as well
Final Fantasy tactics has amazing maps, abit blocky but I’d love to copy some maps for d&d
I've always had a problem with falling in a lot of games. In a real life, falling 4 feet will break a bone and can even kill a person, let alone falling 1-3 stories. Falling on a soft surface, loose dirt, layered leaves, etc, can change the math a little bit. Maybe the dm can do things like put trees up against buildings where they might hit the branches and slow them down on the way down but is then far away from any healer. But especially in heavy armor I highly doubt any character would survive ever falling out a third story window or higher.
Remember that by the mid-to-high levels, D&D characters possess superhuman resilience. When the characters battle massive creatures such as giants and dragons, the attacks of those creatures would kill any normal person as well - but the player characters aren’t normal.
I'll have to say something D&D doesn't often hear - when designing an encounter map and planning encounters for sessions, you have to think like a shooter or action game level designer. Much vitriol seems to get thrown at "those pesky video games" for ruining player and GM perceptions, but I think that's a big fallacy myself. Even examples cited here of "dodge fireballs and sawblades" are not in every game nor every game type, they're more like platformer obstacle course fodder where the course is the real enemy. Instead, think of how competent FPS designers plan out levels - level design controls the pacing of gameplay both in video games and in D&D. Look at any well-designed game of these genres - the gameplay will be consciously paced out, there'll be tense parts and crazy arenas and boss fights and there'll be lulls and breaks and slow parts that give you time to rest and recuperate AS A PLAYER or prepare you for what comes next. Use these lessons in your planning, pace your combat-heavy session - don't let it get grindy nor dull.
When on the topic of fight arenas, though, something wonderful, in my opinion, is giving players a fighting area where the enemies have use of some terrain features and objects (say, ballistae) which the players can - but are not required to - use for themselves if they're creative enough to think of it. Giving players many ways to fight an encounter should usually be a good thing, at least in my inexperienced opinion.
Cat Trucker maybe there is something lost in translation but the platforms can support eachother
"We never thought about windows and urban environments".
Some of y'all need to visit MOUT town and it shows.
When is Dungeons of Drakenheim coming back to RUclips?
The 14th of January, give or take.
We will be back on MONDAY the 14th and again the following Monday before switching back to the regular Tuesday viewings, the episodes will be posted on RUclips the same Friday after the Monday/Tuesday Livestream.
We all had very busy holidays and a lot of people had to travel to visit family, so we are all getting back to it soon, sadly Monty has some work commitments that mean for two weeks we have to do a Monday stream instead of Tuesday.
Hope you’re as excited as we are to get back to the ruins!
19:12 moderen
0:10 be like TPK over and over
Lol a barometer measures atmospheric pressure. Good video though
barometer noun
ba·rom·e·ter | \bə-ˈrä-mə-tər \
Definition of barometer
1 : an instrument for determining the pressure of the atmosphere and hence for assisting in forecasting weather and for determining altitude (see ALTITUDE sense 1a)
2 : something that indicates fluctuations (as in public opinion)
housing sales and other economic barometers
3 : STANDARD, TEST
a barometer to measure high school talent
- Jeff Fellenzer
"Patter-in" hehehehe.
Love you guys, Drakenhime campaign is great as well. I do have 1 small critique for Kelly. My bro you do a lot of nodding every time Monty is talking in these vids. It's probably subconscious, but I figured I'd mention it. Kinda like having a Kelly bobble head.
Kelly, are you related to Alan Rickman?
No, but I’ll take it as a compliment as that man is forever a legend in my books and I would like to think I’m half as cool as he is. - Kelly
Dungeon dudes, I have a question that I couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to. Is it possible for a wizard to have more than one familiar? Not from the spell find familiar, but a creature that bonds with them to become the wizards familiar. I looked everywhere I could think of, but I’m not sure if I missed it or if it just wasn’t thought of
Not by the rules as written, but I don’t see why the DM couldn’t homebrew some cool rules for it.
So by the rules as listed, one familiar is the limit, even if it’s not from the spell but from just a magical creature bonding with a wizard?
A magical creature bonding to the wizard is already DM discretion.
Dungeon Dudes I didn’t even think of that. Thank you
Familiar is probably limited to one imo, but voluntary bonds, service contracts, companionships, pets, trained critters....could have a mini zoo associated with a single character before you even get to mounts. Tricky part would be dealing with critter death possibilities, since familiars just get resummoned but other critters wouldn't. Perhaps a homebrew creature resurrection at lesser cost?
My party's cleric was able to befriend a young dire wolf, so I'm homebrewing that he can learn the "ceremony" spell to bind the wolf as his "find greater steed" (limited to just the wolf) to deal with possibility of his wolf pup dying.
Monty, please wear a different T-shirt at some point. It makes me feel like you only have one and it doesn’t get washed....
This is probably my own fault for binging your amazing content though. So feel free to tell me to do one. Lol
Monty and myself joke often that I have a whole wardrobe that I show off, and he has a favourite sweatshirt that is more or less his “signature”. Pretty sure he washes it sometimes. I hope.
Did....did the man say egress? I think the man said egress.
Legend of Zelda and cuphead shirt, nice.
Cuphead was the happiest time I ever spent getting my ass handed to me :)
Let's not sugarcoat it,if you do nothing but theater of the mind in combat situations,you're just lazy. You don't even need minis,just print out tokens and put some sort of a paper with a grid on it and show that to your players. Unless everyone in your game is purely martial character with no magic at all,players really need the grid to know how they can even use their spells properly.
Barokai Rein i always preferred TotM play to minis or tokens. I find the “real thing” limiting to my natural mental imagery. But that may sound lazy to those without such vivid envisionings
It's not a matter of not being willing to acquire miniatures or an equivalent, it's a matter of miniatures potentially becoming a distraction from what you're imagining.