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D&D Character
Smacktard

Moonsprout Beandirt
Smacktard
Connoisseur of fine video games
(Ben) Dungeon Master said:
One thing I do need to bring up with @Smacktard is Moonsprout's height. In going back through the character sheets and trying to think about them more long-term, as in what your characters could do beyond this campaign, I actually registered this time that Moonsprout's height was listed at 4'11".

But halflings are small, with their height maxing out around 3'. At 4'11" you'd be a veritable giant among other halflings. And though I can't find it, I could swear I saw you describe Moonsprout as slightly shorter than average.

As such, I bumped Moonsprout's height down to 2'11" and his weight to 45lbs, to actually fit what it should be as a halfling. If you want to change it some we can do that too, but I think we need to recalibrate the idea of what size halflings are. You're closer in height to the Gnome than to the Dwarf.

My fault for not giving the sheets more scrutiny in session 0.

I do 100% want our halflings to just be regular proportioned people, just sized down. I'm not all about the actual D&D "canon" for halflings, which is either 1970s LOTR cartoon Bilbo, or the weird baby-hands bobble-head thing they've got going on in 5e.

View attachment 11947View attachment 11946

Halflings were literally supposed to be hobbits though... I think in the original editions, they were called Hobbits, until the Tolkien estate rolled a nat-20 on their copyright intimidation.
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Didn't even realize my character sheet said I was 4'11. In my mind, I was slightly smaller than Short Order even
 
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Ben

Dungeon Master
Ben
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Turns out a ship isn't the best application of this... It'd work much better for dungeon/building... But I did find a way to make 3D versions of maps... I also used AI to generate 3D models for the characters, so while they look pretty terrible... They're still kinda neat.

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Ben

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Ben
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So something we kind of neglected to flesh out in the very very start, "campaign 0", is really what your characters are trying to accomplish in the game.

None of us really had a good idea of how to build that to start with, but I think we've probably got a better feel for the characters and what they might be wanting to do in the world. The long-term plan is for you to be able to continue to play these characters in other campaigns, even custom ones tailored to exploring certain character-arcs you've got in mind.

Is there a character from your past that you're interested in meeting? Do you have an enemy who's pursuing you? Are you looking for a certain magical relic, knowledge, etc?

It could be anything, but we should start trying to nail that stuff down, so that I can then sprinkle bits of it into the story as we go.
 
D&D Character
Smacktard

Moonsprout Beandirt
Smacktard
Connoisseur of fine video games
Is "Moonsprout goes wherever his whimsy takes him" not a good enough motivation? Or maybe just "looking for that next big high"

I had an idea for a different character with a very strong motivation, but I'm a bit stuck thinking of something compelling for Moonsprout.
 
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Ben

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Ben
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For instance;
  • Nac could be trying to find out about his parents death, before he was taken in by a priest.
  • Zesty could be looking for a fabled invention schematic/inventor.
  • I actually have a pretty good idea for Aims but I'm not sure if I want to reveal it or make it a surprise...
  • Short does have his quest to find some magical item to get crunk off of, but you could take it elsewhere, like trying to unravel why you're such a weird fuckin' druid.
  • Moonsprout is tricky, and the "I have no idea what to do in life I'm just vibing" is something we could work with. If you're open to like, anything interesting, I could probably think of something.
These are of course all the things I've considered for moving you guys forward, but I'm open to anything.
 
D&D Character
A Baby Maker

Short Order
A Baby Maker
puppy haver
(Ben) Dungeon Master said:
Short does have his quest to find some magical item to get crunk off of, but you could take it elsewhere, like trying to unravel why you're such a weird fuckin' druid.
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Took some bad mind altering substance while younger and threw him off kilter into a killer. Looking to find a magical item that will give him the ability to cure that feeling through some solution...it creates a drug that needs to be taken every so often in order to be a normal druid?
 
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(An Obligatory Name Change) Short Order said:
Took some bad mind altering substance while younger and threw him off kilter into a killer. Looking to find a magical item that will give him the ability to cure that feeling through some solution...it creates a drug that needs to be taken every so often in order to be a normal druid?
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I dig this. A druid who was lured into cities by some alluring drug dealer, and left as a strung-out murder hobo, has some angles. It could be an item that'll help get you clean, or just finding a connection to nature again and becoming a druid.

Also Short and Moonsprout have a lot of the same rustic/farmy/crack-fiend vibes so I there's a chance to combine something there.
 
D&D Character
Jon

Zesty Zapcrackle
Jon
Diplomatic Immunity
So one of the things the character creator did for me and I don't even really remember, is I have a letter in my inventory from a dead colleague posing a question I've yet to answer.

I think that's a good motivation. To find that answer. But I don't know the question. I love the idea it's invention related.
 
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Ben
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Me: Man, I feel kinda bad for chewing up these player characters with good rolls.

Also me:
Do It Episode 3 GIF by Star Wars


(But also 0 hp doesn't automatically mean dead, so... No harm in scaring you a bit.)
 
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Ben
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(Jon) Zesty Zapcrackle said:
Ben just admitted he was trying to kill me and I don't know how I feel about it.
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I mean, not really... The Ghoul could have chased you if I was really being evil. I'm just impressed that I had this big plan to ambush someone, paralyze them, and get them away from the group (at the suggestion of the adventure book, I'm just an innocent follower of narrative!) while the others were busy with the zombies, but you managed to shake off both those attempts.

The whole "how much do I murder the party" thing is a DM calibration thing that's pretty tricky. There's definitely times I've gone too easy on the party just following the rules-as-written (like the Fire Snake.)

But the chances that I actually kill every single one of your characters for a total-party-kill are slim... Right? 🤔
 
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Ben

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Ben
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@Smacktard When it comes up, a Bardic Inspiration would definitely apply to Short's CON roll to break paralysis, just FYI.

@An Obligatory Name Change I think the thing that fucked you there was the Ghoul going right after you did. Otherwise it would have been prone for longer and gotten beat more. 🫤

And please don't anyone get disillusioned over taking a good beating this time. Just means I got better at calibrating battles to make them hard but still winnable! I legit am not currently worried things will go badly.
 
D&D Character
Jon

Zesty Zapcrackle
Jon
Diplomatic Immunity
(Ben) Dungeon Master said:
@Smacktard When it comes up, a Bardic Inspiration would definitely apply to Short's CON roll to break paralysis, just FYI.

@An Obligatory Name Change I think the thing that fucked you there was the Ghoul going right after you did. Otherwise it would have been prone for longer and gotten beat more. 🫤

And please don't anyone get disillusioned over taking a good beating this time. Just means I got better at calibrating battles to make them hard but still winnable! I legit am not currently worried things will go badly.
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Says the one that KNOWS what's coming. :link

May need a short rest after this though.
 
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finlandguy

Aims'Orreh Mwuh'Bwadd
finlandguy
The Ritualist
(Ben) Dungeon Master said:
I actually have a pretty good idea for Aims but I'm not sure if I want to reveal it or make it a surprise...
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I completely forgot to come read this thread again. Been unread since like... Sunday lol.

I'm cool if you throw anything my way that's neat lore building for Aims. And keep it under wraps until the moment. I'm not super hc trying to stick to a specific route for my progression. If you found a new angle or something related to the little I wrote already, run with it. We'll see what happens when it happens.
 
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A Baby Maker

Short Order
A Baby Maker
puppy haver
So for me, the wolf is at about half health, but Short Order is at full health? So even if the ghoul attacks again I basically have a second life waiting?

Maybe I should have done the badger though to get the extra damage from the multi attack.
 
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Ben
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(An Obligatory Name Change) Short Order said:
So for me, the wolf is at about half health, but Short Order is at full health? So even if the ghoul attacks again I basically have a second life waiting?

Maybe I should have done the badger though to get the extra damage from the multi attack.
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Yeah, that's right.

The way I see D&D druids working, it's less shapeshifting in that your body is transforming physically, it would seem to function more like summoning/possession.

  • When you take a wild shape, you magically become that thing without a timely/painful transition akin to a werewolf. It's more a "poof and you're the thing" than "watch your skull crack and stretch".
  • You take on its stat block and health pool, effectively becoming that creature for the duration of the wild shape. You can't cast spells while in this form (until higher level), so it's like Short Order and their powers temporarily blip out.
  • When "that creature" is killed, its like the summon vanishes and you pop back into reality as Short Order at whatever state you were before you shifted. So if you shift at 10/15 HP and are then brought to 0/11 as a wolf, you return as Short Order at 10/15.
It's a little more blurry at higher levels, but that's perhaps akin to just being able to exert your Short Order power on top of maintaining the "replacement".

There is a distinct difference between a druid's wild shape and legit shapeshifters like werewolves, werebears, etc. and I'd say this is where it lies. You're not yourself physically becoming the beast, you're functionally more magically summoning/creating it.
 
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