D&D 5E Discussion

[Ismaul]

it's a nice story

It is.

But you have to wonder, when the GM/redditor is named "Catlord_Rexfelis", if the guy is going to be a good influence or a gateway to degenerate furrydom.

Also, his cat supremacy agenda is quite obvious, given he's having the PCs hunt rats to start. Training the litter, is he?

 

[mediocrepoet]

it's a nice story

It is.

But you have to wonder, when the GM/redditor is named "Catlord_Rexfelis", if the guy is going to be a good influence or a gateway to degenerate furrydom.

Also, his cat supremacy agenda is quite obvious, given he's having the PCs hunt rats to start. Training the litter, is he?

I leave the conspiracy theory shit to fans of GD. Regardless, there really is a well received similar program run by a local librarian around here and I think he(?) may have some of the same traits that a lot of Codexers shriek about. If not, certainly some of the library staff do.

 

[halfchad]

Since we're talking about players and DM's, can I ask some advice? Where can I go to find players for my own campaign? I am a boomer that has been out of the gaming loop for a long time and haven't been able to find a group in my time zone. So I've been kicking around a fun concept to DM myself. Sort of a CoCthulhu lite meets Stranger Things (never watched the show). Sort of a monster of the week with an overarching plot, like X-files but set in a university in 1985. I have some homebrew ideas, but not sure what system would work best (nothing too lethal, so no CoC)

 

[mediocrepoet]

Since we're talking about players and DM's, can I ask some advice? Where can I go to find players for my own campaign? I am a boomer that has been out of the gaming loop for a long time and haven't been able to find a group in my time zone. So I've been kicking around a fun concept to DM myself. Sort of a CoCthulhu lite meets Stranger Things (never watched the show). Sort of a monster of the week with an overarching plot, like X-files but set in a university in 1985. I have some homebrew ideas, but not sure what system would work best (nothing too lethal, so no CoC)

Gaming stores sometimes have bulletin boards where you can post a note about looking for players. I've seen ads like that also on just regular online bulletin boards like Craigslist or Kijiji for your city.

 

[SoupNazi]

Since we're talking about players and DM's, can I ask some advice? Where can I go to find players for my own campaign? I am a boomer that has been out of the gaming loop for a long time and haven't been able to find a group in my time zone. So I've been kicking around a fun concept to DM myself. Sort of a CoCthulhu lite meets Stranger Things (never watched the show). Sort of a monster of the week with an overarching plot, like X-files but set in a university in 1985. I have some homebrew ideas, but not sure what system would work best (nothing too lethal, so no CoC)

One option is Reddit l4g, roll20, etc. Heaps and heaps of trash and trash hidden behind a disguise and lots of disappointment awaits. But surely there's someone out there. It's the easiest in terms of masses of people seeing your advert, but you'd probably get filtered out with such a vague idea and no system in hand.

Another option is to look at communities you're already a part of (like here), ideally with similar interests, and trying to get interest there. You probably share at least something with those. You'll still need to come up with a more concrete concept and idea if people are familiar with TTRPGs or RPGs at all - ruleset is important, especially among gnognards.

I think mediocrepoet's idea is valid, but only in certain countries. We don't have gaming stores here anymore, for example. And I imagine you end up not being able to filter out stupid people and end up with idiots that you then have to kick out, which can create drama. I wouldn't recommend it myself, but I also have no experience with it.

My ideal way was finding people local to my area (via youtube, people who watch D&D streamers. small communities, just dozens or hundreds viewers at most, and their communities) and introducing them to my particular flavor of TTRPGs slowly. I got to know them first, then invited the people I meshed with in for a game. It worked out. Again, you have to have a concept in time and there is a time investment in getting to know those people, at least virtually.

Finally, there's introducing new people to the game. The good news is, you can get away with little preparation, those people rarely know any better. The bad thing is, you'll again get people who are simply not suitable for the game with a difficult task of filtering them out. It depends on how well you know each other and how honest you can be.

 

[halfchad]

Since we're talking about players and DM's, can I ask some advice? Where can I go to find players for my own campaign? I am a boomer that has been out of the gaming loop for a long time and haven't been able to find a group in my time zone. So I've been kicking around a fun concept to DM myself. Sort of a CoCthulhu lite meets Stranger Things (never watched the show). Sort of a monster of the week with an overarching plot, like X-files but set in a university in 1985. I have some homebrew ideas, but not sure what system would work best (nothing too lethal, so no CoC)

One option is Reddit l4g, roll20, etc. Heaps and heaps of trash and trash hidden behind a disguise and lots of disappointment awaits. But surely there's someone out there. It's the easiest in terms of masses of people seeing your advert, but you'd probably get filtered out with such a vague idea and no system in hand.

Another option is to look at communities you're already a part of (like here), ideally with similar interests, and trying to get interest there. You probably share at least something with those. You'll still need to come up with a more concrete concept and idea if people are familiar with TTRPGs or RPGs at all - ruleset is important, especially among gnognards.

I think mediocrepoet's idea is valid, but only in certain countries. We don't have gaming stores here anymore, for example. And I imagine you end up not being able to filter out stupid people and end up with idiots that you then have to kick out, which can create drama. I wouldn't recommend it myself, but I also have no experience with it.

My ideal way was finding people local to my area (via youtube, people who watch D&D streamers. small communities, just dozens or hundreds viewers at most, and their communities) and introducing them to my particular flavor of TTRPGs slowly. I got to know them first, then invited the people I meshed with in for a game. It worked out. Again, you have to have a concept in time and there is a time investment in getting to know those people, at least virtually.

Finally, there's introducing new people to the game. The good news is, you can get away with little preparation, those people rarely know any better. The bad thing is, you'll again get people who are simply not suitable for the game with a difficult task of filtering them out. It depends on how well you know each other and how honest you can be.

Yeah, I am living in a very remote place and there are no gaming stores or possible players in my physical vicinity, unfortunately. I was hoping there was a better answer than Reddit or roll20. Maybe more hobby oriented forums, other than here. My job is interviewing people so I have no issues with sorting through people to find the kind I want. It seems like the world has changed from active participants to mostly passive consumers who just want to watch or read about ttrpgs.

 

[halfchad]

I didn't mean to kill the conversation. It seems like not many hobbies survived lockdowns, not just ttrpg's. Did the bump in online platforms die out now that things are back to "normal"?

 

[JamesDixon]

I didn't mean to kill the conversation. It seems like not many hobbies survived lockdowns, not just ttrpg's. Did the bump in online platforms die out now that things are back to "normal"?

DANDINO 5.0 isn't that popular here from what I've seen. Many of us old timers enjoy AD&D 1E & 2E and earlier editions of D&D i.e. Real D&D. We absolutely hate DANDINO with a passion. Best of luck in finding a game.

 

[Ninjerk]

What was the health of tabletop before the lockdowns? I have some RL friends (yes, really) that ran (possibly still running) a long 5E campaign during that time and I noticed a lot of popular attention on that edition prior to lockdowns.

 

[0wca]

Since we're talking about players and DM's, can I ask some advice? Where can I go to find players for my own campaign? I am a boomer that has been out of the gaming loop for a long time and haven't been able to find a group in my time zone. So I've been kicking around a fun concept to DM myself. Sort of a CoCthulhu lite meets Stranger Things (never watched the show). Sort of a monster of the week with an overarching plot, like X-files but set in a university in 1985. I have some homebrew ideas, but not sure what system would work best (nothing too lethal, so no CoC)

I've ran quite a lot of D&D games in the past 2 years but I've always had a steady online group now since 2018, which I've met on Roll20 (yes, I know, I'm surprised they weren't retarded as well). The group has 2 of its original members remaining from 2018 while the rest are now relatives/friends of the remaining two. So I guess I got pretty lucky.

Here's what you can do though. Run a one-shot once per week on Roll20. Either make it a pick up game (so anyone can join) or sift through applications every week. If you run a group every week my experience is you'll get the following:
50% of players who will probably like D&D and/or your DMing, but probably won't return for another,
30% of players who should be hospitalized for clinical retardation,
20% of players who would actually be willing to join a campaign.

You run the one-shot a couple of weeks with different groups and then hopefully you can get a group together that way. Just be prepared to deal with some real fucking weirdos, Roll20 has become insane over the years with its playerbase...

 

[halfchad]

I didn't mean to kill the conversation. It seems like not many hobbies survived lockdowns, not just ttrpg's. Did the bump in online platforms die out now that things are back to "normal"?

DANDINO 5.0 isn't that popular here from what I've seen. Many of us old timers enjoy AD&D 1E & 2E and earlier editions of D&D i.e. Real D&D. We absolutely hate DANDINO with a passion. Best of luck in finding a game.

I started with 2nd edition myself. I was surprised to see that the mostly storytelling element is what took off in popularity recently. I fear even looking at DANDINO 5.0. If I do something it will be either Cyberpunk Red, CoC, or Gurps.

Since we're talking about players and DM's, can I ask some advice? Where can I go to find players for my own campaign? I am a boomer that has been out of the gaming loop for a long time and haven't been able to find a group in my time zone. So I've been kicking around a fun concept to DM myself. Sort of a CoCthulhu lite meets Stranger Things (never watched the show). Sort of a monster of the week with an overarching plot, like X-files but set in a university in 1985. I have some homebrew ideas, but not sure what system would work best (nothing too lethal, so no CoC)

I've ran quite a lot of D&D games in the past 2 years but I've always had a steady online group now since 2018, which I've met on Roll20 (yes, I know, I'm surprised they weren't retarded as well). The group has 2 of its original members remaining from 2018 while the rest are now relatives/friends of the remaining two. So I guess I got pretty lucky.

Here's what you can do though. Run a one-shot once per week on Roll20. Either make it a pick up game (so anyone can join) or sift through applications every week. If you run a group every week my experience is you'll get the following:
50% of players who will probably like D&D and/or your DMing, but probably won't return for another,
30% of players who should be hospitalized for clinical retardation,
20% of players who would actually be willing to join a campaign.

You run the one-shot a couple of weeks with different groups and then hopefully you can get a group together that way. Just be prepared to deal with some real fucking weirdos, Roll20 has become insane over the years with its playerbase...

Thanks. I have run into a few weirdos on Roll20. That's why I want to run my own game. I did meet a lot of Russian players on Roll20 that took the game seriously, they were the only ones to.

 

[Mebrilia the Viera Queen]

Since we're talking about players and DM's, can I ask some advice? Where can I go to find players for my own campaign? I am a boomer that has been out of the gaming loop for a long time and haven't been able to find a group in my time zone. So I've been kicking around a fun concept to DM myself. Sort of a CoCthulhu lite meets Stranger Things (never watched the show). Sort of a monster of the week with an overarching plot, like X-files but set in a university in 1985. I have some homebrew ideas, but not sure what system would work best (nothing too lethal, so no CoC)

You may if you fancy to play tabletop from your computer of course, go over foundry. They have a robust system to play tabletop online as well an huge community to find players from. Quite late on the answer but i hope it helps.

 

[halfchad]

Since we're talking about players and DM's, can I ask some advice? Where can I go to find players for my own campaign? I am a boomer that has been out of the gaming loop for a long time and haven't been able to find a group in my time zone. So I've been kicking around a fun concept to DM myself. Sort of a CoCthulhu lite meets Stranger Things (never watched the show). Sort of a monster of the week with an overarching plot, like X-files but set in a university in 1985. I have some homebrew ideas, but not sure what system would work best (nothing too lethal, so no CoC)

You may if you fancy to play tabletop from your computer of course, go over foundry. They have a robust system to play tabletop online as well an huge community to find players from. Quite late on the answer but i hope it helps.

Thanks, I was going to ask if Foundry has player search forums. I thought only DM's used it because I heard only DM's pay for it.

 

[Mebrilia the Viera Queen]

Since we're talking about players and DM's, can I ask some advice? Where can I go to find players for my own campaign? I am a boomer that has been out of the gaming loop for a long time and haven't been able to find a group in my time zone. So I've been kicking around a fun concept to DM myself. Sort of a CoCthulhu lite meets Stranger Things (never watched the show). Sort of a monster of the week with an overarching plot, like X-files but set in a university in 1985. I have some homebrew ideas, but not sure what system would work best (nothing too lethal, so no CoC)

You may if you fancy to play tabletop from your computer of course, go over foundry. They have a robust system to play tabletop online as well an huge community to find players from. Quite late on the answer but i hope it helps.

Thanks, I was going to ask if Foundry has player search forums. I thought only DM's used it because I heard only DM's pay for it.

Go in theyr discord

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Let's check in on the top post on the top place for WotC target audience for 5e:


The current state of 'regular' consumer media discussion outlets is hilarious. They can complain about the product, but they simply aren't allowed to ask why the product is that way and they must consoom more product.
Not one of them will raise a theory as to why now all the modules are bad, but it was not so before. At best, you'll get some angry grumblings about "rich executives" or something.

...Could it perhaps be that the people making the content are just bad at their jobs?
Could it, maybe, perhaps, be that the people hired to do these jobs are in fact incompetent and not hired based on merit?
And that the people who used to write these books were hired based solely on merit?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

And that the people who used to write these books were hired based solely on merit?

You sure about that dude? Seems a hell of an assumption to make.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

And that the people who used to write these books were hired based solely on merit?

You sure about that dude? Seems a hell of an assumption to make.

at least one or two surely

 

[Larianshill]

I frankly don't know who to blame - the jannies controlling the discussion, or the consumers, who'll happily look everywhere except for the actual issue. It's the healthy mix of both, to be sure, but I don't know who's to blame more.

 

[Reinhardt]

But you have to wonder, when the GM/redditor is named "Catlord_Rexfelis", if the guy is going to be a good influence or a gateway to degenerate furrydom.

CG and now her other ‘cool’ friends are now joining in.
‘OMG how can you not see the point? Look how great my character is I just showed THEM to you

where do you think she learned it?

 

[halfchad]

I was wondering about this a lot lately. Is there a market for well made modules and content? Is there a self published non system specific module industry? I was trying to come up with a way to bring past knowledge and experience to todays zoomers. A lot of us remember the old days and what quality gaming was like. The one thing that amazes me with teenagers now is their lack of imagination.
When I was a kid, some writers became very successful just rehashing action movie plots into fantasy settings. How do I publish a module? Can I hire an artist and combine it with a comic, to make it more like old school Dragon Magazine article mini modules?

 

[Larianshill]

People sell modules and content on DMsGuild all the time, but I don't know how lucrative it is.

 

[Caim]

People sell modules and content on DMsGuild all the time, but I don't know how lucrative it is.

On DMG (which is just DTRPG with a different skin) you get levels based on how many sales you have. The highest level I can see for an unofficial module is Adamantine for The Armorer's Handbook. Adamantine means at least 5k sales, and with that book being $10 you're look at a total of $50k. That's not bad, but it's not the kind of money you can make a living from.

 

[halfchad]

People sell modules and content on DMsGuild all the time, but I don't know how lucrative it is.

On DMG (which is just DTRPG with a different skin) you get levels based on how many sales you have. The highest level I can see for an unofficial module is Adamantine for The Armorer's Handbook. Adamantine means at least 5k sales, and with that book being $10 you're look at a total of $50k. That's not bad, but it's not the kind of money you can make a living from.

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out a solution to the lack of talent and imagination with WotC writers have. The best way would be to use talent and imagination to bring better products to market. We know they suck, they know they suck. How can I prove it with creative efforts?

 

[Caim]

People sell modules and content on DMsGuild all the time, but I don't know how lucrative it is.

On DMG (which is just DTRPG with a different skin) you get levels based on how many sales you have. The highest level I can see for an unofficial module is Adamantine for The Armorer's Handbook. Adamantine means at least 5k sales, and with that book being $10 you're look at a total of $50k. That's not bad, but it's not the kind of money you can make a living from.

Yeah, I'm trying to figure out a solution to the lack of talent and imagination with WotC writers have. The best way would be to use talent and imagination to bring better products to market. We know they suck, they know they suck. How can I prove it with creative efforts?

Offering the WotC crowd something better doesn't work since if they wanted to play something better they wouldn't be playing D&D. So if you want them to give you money you'll want to cater to that crowd. Give them something new that they can add to their own campaigns. You know how in 3e they had all those books for games in a specific setting like It's Hot/Cold/Wet/Busy/Dark/Not Outside with books for playing in the desert, arctic, ocean, city, underground or dungeon? Run with that. Conceive every possible setting you can think of and run with it. Or go look up what shows, cartoons, books and movies the normies like and/or grew up with, then shamelessly rip it off. Not-Supernatural for D&D! Not-Steven Universe for D&D! Not-Marvel for D&D! Not-Funko Pops for D&D! And so on and so forth. Make new things all the time, put it out, and move on. Keep cranking out the thinly-veiled ripoffs and you'll be rolling in dough in no time. Just don't run your mouth and get cancelled.

Sure it'll kill your soul, but if you want to make money off of supplements for D&D it's kinda what you're signing up for.

 

[Larianshill]

A while ago Wizards of the Cost have released some playtest material containing a Runecrafter Wizard. A bunch of people on the internet - I dare even say majority - opined that wizard has no business having this subclass, and maybe Artificer, the class all about crafting, should get it instead.
Today Wizards released new material, in which they've demonstrated that they gutted the subclass and turned it into a bunch of separate features... That are still unavailable to artificer, but are available to wizard.