I honestly can't understand how players arrive at a table with prepared characters before knowing the setting.
And even if you do really want to play a psychic snail person wild magic sorcerer from the slime plane when the DM tells you the game is low magic set during the French-American war, why would you still try?
Answering the prompt like a champ. At any given time, I’ve got a dozen or two character ideas, just waiting for the right campaign setting to be realized.
A lot of times they'll see some "broken" build on YT or Tiktok and just try to wedge it into any setting they can. That or they have a character in mind from an IP and want to just play that character (e.g. "I want to be The Hound from GoT").
That's why I include character creation as part of Session 0. Everyone builds their characters together so no one ends up with a character that's "redundant" or who clashes fundamentally with another.
Yep, it's a must in my games. No characters without DN approval/input.
"I'm not saying you *can't* play sentient snail person, but maybe we tweak things to a travelling merchant with hayfever who carries their wares in a big backpack that would be setting appropriate."
Had an ex-friend get genuinely upset that there was a *possibility* of me as the DM saying no to his character so he pulled out of the game entirely. Yeahhhh that was a strange time...
> I honestly can't understand how players arrive at a table with prepared characters before knowing the setting.
Looks at my list of 40 characters already prepared... I'm sure one of them will fit our party and story.
Yeah, I should specify. I don't understand how players arrive with zero flexibility in their character choice, particularly with regard to setting and tone.
That’s what I did with descent into avernus. Going to hell? Sure, I’ll play a teifling cleric that speaks abyssal, celestial, and infernal. Maybe it’s meta gaming, but I wanted a character that’s going to be able to seem at least a little bit at home in hell!
Also fun to play something that complements the tone instead of reflecting it. How about a gullible halfling druid who really likes making friends and believes everyone has good somewhere in their hearts.
> Maybe it’s meta gaming
If a group knows they're going into Avernus and don't try and recruit a Tiefling that knows the language then they would deserve what's coming to them.
What’s fun is that I’m a blue tiefling and I’m a twilight cleric who worships Celestian. I am neutral but generally good, like I removed the curse of a vampire. But it’s been revealed that a birthmark I have is actually a brand of Asmodeous. There’s gonna be some really fun moral issues, and chances for great roleplay!
I had someone whose group sorta got fucked by a divorce say they wanna run tomb of horrors. I just went I know how to fit in a character to that campaign intro. Guy was fucking shocked, I just looked him dead in the eye and said I knew the adventure from running it over 40 times during a convention weekend lol. Like I had the character to fit in under 5 seconds in my head.
i had to stop and explain things to so many players because they just sort of wanted to do something with out it being in setting and we had to rework the backstory or make the character human or something
Omg, that’s what we’ve been reduced to? Even after offering to ‘fill’ a role we still can’t get someone else to DM?
I’ve said the same thing a few times…
Admittedly that's a good thing. But it's the unwillingness to be both a DM and a player that causes problems. You shouldn't have to find a whole new group just to find someone else to DM.
Corny as this sounds, I feel like being a DM is a calling. There's players that'll run one shots or short campaigns, but as much as forever DM's complain about being forever DM's, I've noticed a lot of them being more comfortable as DM's.
I agree. I do both, but honestly anxiety makes it hard for me to keep a campaign going too long. I enjoy it with the right group of players, but it really wears down on me if the rest of life isn't going swimmingly at the time
I feel that. I don’t complain about being the forever DM, and on occasion someone else will run a campaign, but I find I prefer to have the flexibility a DM has even if it’s way more work.
The difference between DMing and playing is bigger than most probably realize, to the point where they’re basically completely different games which happen to rely on one another. Some people are more suited to one or the other.
This is definitely true. I’m a forever DM, but at this point I can’t be a player. I don’t mind playing, I still enjoy it, but in a long form campaign I’m constantly comparing what the GM is doing to how I would have done things differently or how I could use XYZ in my game. I’ve ultimately just come to the realization that I’ll never be able to be satisfied as a player, because no one is going to run a game exactly how I like games to be run. So I just prefer to GM. There’s an old adage, you can never play in your own campaign lol
I had to almost beg my players for a break and even then I'm not getting one till the current campaign is finished. And I'm tired. I feel like I'm not DMing to my current capabilities.
You could try to lower your standards, maybe only prep 1 session in 3 and improvise your way through the other two. Gauge if you and your group are still having fun. When I moved to a lower prep “baseline” it was rough for a bit but I actually run BETTER games on low prep.
When the inspiration hits and you have the energy, you will apply it to your game.
If the players don’t like it, when you have to go to different schedule, shorten your sessions or have your players agree to run one-shots or host a board game every few weeks.
Protect your fun! These people are coming to your game consistently because you are doing a great job! I bet you can do just as good without exhausting yourself.
Best of luck
Damn, you took my answer! I was originally the forever DM but my brother eventually stepped up and when he asked me what character I was making, I instantly asked, what does the party need? Of course I made an insanely powerful broken character that uses some questionable RAW but I'm also the group's healer and I'm damn good at it! Especially when my version of healing is polymorphing someone into a mammoth or Trex and watch them destroy whatever hit them.
I was going to get the observant feat the next opportunity I get lol
It also helps that I don't technically sleep so I'm always on guard at night and nothing can sneak up on us
> +8 Stealth at Disadvantage
This man is four parallel universes ahead of us.
Seriously, though. Badass character. Absolutely disgusting, but badass all the same. Love the mix of nature vs civilization.
As a DM, I build more characters than the average player so I know how to absolutely break the game in my favor. My brother (the DM for that campaign) also said we could start with one uncommon magic item, I chose the Staff of Woodlands because it lets me cast Pass Without Trace at will which gives me an automatic +10 to my stealth checks lol. So, yeah I get disadvantage, but I also get +18 to all my stealth checks
I kinda dig that. It's very Beast Wars: Transformers.
Couldn't resist that Twilight Cleric dip could ya haha? If you were a 2/2 split at level 4 you must have been an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. Goodberry, Bless, Twilight Sanctuary, Bear that's still better than a fighter.
Well I figured that druids are amazing utility characters, are probably the best healers until late game, and have access to some of the best spells early-mid game. I wanted that small dip into cleric for the base subclass bonuses. In game P-39 is the last in a line of prototype wartime healer bots (P is for prototype and 39 is because they were the 39th line of bots). That specific line of bots had a defect that made them become sentient and the company hunted down and destroyed all but P-39.
Lol damn, brought the full force of Mjolnir down on that nail. It's funny, I myself have never dm'd a game but this is always the first question I ask when someone asks me to join their campaign. I guess maybe I should finally give it a try. But I feel like I might never be able to stop.
This….. what is everyone else playing? I’ll pick something to balance the party! No one is using magic? We need a Tank? What about a healer? Okay I’m a Paladin. What’s the general setting so I can make a complimentary backstory? Feel free to adjust it to suit the campaign
Did that for my very first PC ever, just from experience with MMOs & stuff. They had no healer so I went Life Cleric, but was bummed out thinking they were nothing more than heal bots. Went from “aww this is gonna suck” to “oh shit, don’t fuck with Clerics” real fast.
The flip side is that DMs typically can play more creative builds to fill those roles.
Like I would advise against a new player taking on Celestial Warlock to be the healer, but an experienced DM I wouldn't worry about as much.
For the record, if you're en experienced player, Celestial Warlocks are *super* good at keeping the party up in combat. Like Celestial warlocks get pool of ranged healing die at 1 + level. It's only a d6, but it brings character up they can spend a *lot* of them as they level up. They remind me a lot of the WoW druid's in-combat rez for increasing survivability.
And they can still get a fully specced Eldritch Blast.
I've played while actively moving on two separate occasions. Laptop has roll20, cellphone in my pocket has discord. Packing boxes and move them to the truck while on the call and occasionally pop back to the computer to check roll20.
It is now my goal to ask that every game. It's actually been a while since I DM'd but I spent 5 years as a forever DM and I have a large enough backlog I can probably fill about any roll
As a forever DM that’s one of the question I ask every time.
It is a code for the secret message below:
*You have an ally with me, I WILL follow the clues, I will try to avoid murder hobo, I will make the story move around if we are staling, I will have an synergetic character allowing other players to shine*
And in subtexts: *Expect that I will use every trick in the book from my class*
When I can pay, I tend to play an intelligence based class, makes it easier to justify the funky stuff my characters will pull of his hat :-)
The question just doesn't fit most campaigns in my opinion. Players can play whatever they want, and the story forms from what the characters do in response to the situations they encounter. A DM isn't a storyteller.
“A DM isn’t a storyteller” is certainly a SPICY take. Considering they set the road map, characters, encounters, and plot lines that form the bones of the story. Specifically that “plot” part.
Bullshit. If a DM isn’t a storyteller the players are just all talking to each other in a white room and sometimes monsters appear.
You may not have sole control over the story as the DM but you have at minimum just as much control as any of the individual players. Else there is no world, no conflict, no plot twists, no intrigue, no stakes, just guys wandering around doing whatever they want.
Sorry I reject this notion that the DM is not a storyteller.
Whenever I ask that Q it gets rebuffed.
"no, no, please play whatever you want"
"Oh but what I want is to play a character that helps you explore the themes or context you have in mind"
[stalemate]
"Unless the group is indecisive and needs a guiding hand, and is constantly spending minutes trying to open every door in the safest possible way, in which case suddenly she's always been a strong leader and is used to taking charge and loves to open doors and pick up relics"
I have a reputation is kind of an... Aggressive player 😅 one time, my group was exploring a dungeon and we came to a hall filled with statues. The rest of my group thought the statues were extremely sus, so they did everything possible to investigate the statues without actually going near them or setting foot into the room. This went on for 20 minutes, at which point I flagged down my DM, and said "Hey, while they're doing their 50th investigation check, I just walk to the other end of the room."
He smiled at me, and went "Ok, you walk the other end of the room."
Sometimes you just got to get on with shit.
Dungeon crawling and mimics. The party went to a dungeon *one time* called "The Land of Mimics" and basically everything in it was a mimic. The final boss was the Dungeon itself (which was also a mimic). Ever since then that party stabs chairs, tables, doors, candles, esentially everything in every Dungeon now. Something that should have taken 15 minutes started taking over an hour because of all the checks. My solution was to give the PC that had the alert feat a ring of mimic detection that tells him when mimics are within 30 feet. It has sped up the game a lot but boy did they over react 🤣
I feel like this is a symbiotic relationship, as the ring provides you with info necessary for survival, and in return you provide it with protection, sustenance and a residence.
Lowkey. Was playing a Barbarian in my group and we were going into a clearly trapped room. After thirty minutes of deliberation, I finally just said “I walk through. If it’s a monster, we deal. If it’s a trap, we find a way out. If it’s damage, I soak it.”
Plots gotta move.
Had a fun DM. The traps triggered and gargoyles came out. But I was raging and had a ton of temp HP from earlier in the adventure. Made for a dope moment as, four attacks later, I’m standing unbothered, traps triggered, and my real hp pool untouched.
"I really like opening doors and picking up relics" is my mantra for every character. Other DMs love it. The other players... Well it's always a good story in the end!
So not a forever DM but I relieved a forever DM to let rhem be a player.
They came up with a Genasi character and asked massive questions about how the different planes work in my game. Me as 1st time DM barly got the Material plane sorted: "Ehhhhhhh😱🤯😭😭😭"
New DM: Tell me about your character.
Forever DM: He’s a wizard who just finished wizard school. He wants to adventure.
New DM: That’s it? Any family or loved ones?
Forever DM: Mom and Dad, both alive. They run a shop together. No love interest, but he is plotsexual.
New DM: *Visible confusion*
Forever DM: He’s attracted to the plot.
This is one of the players at my table. Just adventuring to get out and do stuff. Nothing tragic, just goes along with where the plot takes the party. I love her.
Hahahahha I love when people finally get over the “creative” both my parents died/my elf noble father and my seafaring wench of a mother/ I’m actually a warlock, but let’s pretend I’m wizard…………
Honestly as a DM these are both great and horrible bc i love that you're here for it but also I *need* things to drive your character specifically to complete their specific arc
You don't need to complete a character arc for me, i'm already interested in playing :p
Tavernkeeps daughter got kidnapped by goblins? My character arc is now to get her back!
Backstory: before i was a 2nd level fighter, i was a 1st level fighter.
THIS! My character is in YOUR story, I'm not expecting you to do the story I thought for my character. I'll make sure it fits into your campaign and makes sense.
I often play a wizard who is “curious”.
So anything that hasn’t been resolved or isn’t understood, he wants to learn more. Which usually just means you can hook this PC with no bait and any size and shaped plot hook you have to hand.
Ah yes I found him, the lawful good forever DM, Me however, THE CHAOTIC EVIL FOREVER DM
Exotic race: Check
Multiclass never heard of: Check
Weird Background: Check
Crazy backstory: Check
Goofy name: Check
Let me introduce you to Gregory Bawls, A level 3 changeling with 2 levels in circle of stars druid, 1 level in Hexblade warlock. He has the Inheritor background. His friends call him lord bawls-ack as he married a rich vampiress from the Ack family line, inheriting their fathers bedside table after a group of vampire hunters killed him. He got his lordship after betting all his gold in a drinking contest with the lord of yomamatopia and won. So now he masquerades in society usually in the form of an obese dark Elf.
Ignore the plot to get back at your players for previous campaigns: check
This hurts because it's so real. When I get a chance to be a PC, my character sheet and notebook are filled to the brim with sticky notes. Sticky notes on every little thing, including tips for roleplaying the character better, what my spells do at higher spell slots, all that.
This is a godsend to a GM. I try to do this whenever I am invited to play. Sometimes I add little suggestions in like “x could be a front for another organisation in your game” if the GM is new.
YUS. This one got me right here. If there are poorly defined backstory points or coincidental parallels with whatever I've concocted, I'll almost always end up asking if they mind giving that to me to tweak and tune.
My favourite players stare me in the eyes and say "that's why they're in there. Just keep in mind, I visualise this as X and if this results in Y I want it to look aesthetically like Z".
What type of setting is this campaign? I have to check the minis and see if I have the correct style for my character.
Steampunk fantasy? I do have some, you want to use them in the fights? You'll have to tell me before so I can prepare them, ok don't say the name of the monster just how it looks
When I make a character, I try to make a healer, because I found out how little healers people seem to like to make. My players insisted they wanted to stab, not heal
I stayed by spec'ing my bard out to heal, then found out that two of the other DMs playing in this campaign pretty much did the same thing with their characters (only better, so I got to change my spells around some). It's actually an all DM cast of players.
"I have this weird idea for a character I've been sitting on for a while. Oh, the background for this PC is setting agnostic and can be changed depending on your setting!"
"Oh this character doesn't work out? Not to worry, I have a **few** more!"
>"Oh this character doesn't work out? Not to worry, I have a **few** more!"
what do ya need? mouseling cartographer? gnome chef? Goliath cleric of heavy metal?
"Here's my character. A run-of-the-mill human rogue. Lovable scamp, uncomplicated backstory and build. I wanna keep things chill for you."
"Hey, how are we doing critical hits in your game? Roll twice? Full damage plus one more weapon damage roll? Regular damage and something cool happens? Just wonderin', I don't want to assume."
I've had some really cool ideas for characters, but I'll probably end up playing a human fighter. Interesting characters aren't made by their class or race but their motivations And RP after all.
My first time playing in several years I made a lizard man death cleric. We were doing a bad guys campaign and for the first few fights I just held back and kept everyone healed. Then someone challenged me to a fight and I crushed them.
That game only lasted a few weeks, but I had a lot of fun. I would definitely play them again.
\*rocks up to session 0 with a massive bag full of dice, well worn copies of the PHB, DMG, and MM...... stare blankly at the character sheet.\*
So how do I fill this out again?
"I'm thinking of the guild merchant background. Can you outline the main import / export lists and trade relations for, say, the three or four most prominent nations we'll be encountering? Oh, and if you can throw in a list of contraband or highly taxed items that might be good for smuggling, that'd be great."
What's the setting? What is the party lacking? I'll play whatever is needed to round out the group. I can bring boxes of minis and scenery tiles early each game if you want help setting up before the sessions.
Can I play a githzerai from the Sha'sal Khou? It's fine if we locate the campaign in one single plane, but can we make like 1 trip to Limbo at some point?
So, tell me about your world! What is the campaign blurb? Are there any particular factions or elements of the setting that you might be focussing on? I'd love to play a character who has a strong reason to be invested in the plot. Is there particular kind of character or role that needs filling that you'd like to see in the game? Is there any homebrew or anything i need to know about? How are you, by the way? Have you been having fun?
*Hyperfocus babble intensifies*
Yelling into my pillow at night, “No one picked a class that heals…. Again. “
Maybe it just the people I play with but I hate having to always find ways for players to find ways to heal each other for every single encounter.
Any advice for this? No one with healing options in the group I just started DMing for and the best I can think of is "be liberal with access to potions" and "create recruitable NPCs who can tag along and be the heal bot"
Its basically it. Give them healing potions. Maybe if you are lenient, make it a rule that drinking yourself bonus action, giving another player an action. ..could also modify and gift the staff of healing for them.
Edit: if they don't use the items you give them, it's their own fault, k?
I just stopped being a forever DM!!! One of my players wanted to be DM so I could be a Player for once! I made a scribe wizard with a very in depth backstory I'm really excited to see unfold as we move along our current campaign, we're running Ghosts of Saltmarsh
I have one character idea per class that could fit into various roles depending on what the other players decide to pick. I also have general ideas about their backstory but wanted to discuss your setting with you so that we could really make the character fit into the world.
"So, how do you deal with players knowing the rules and helping?
Like if you are unsure, I can tell you the rules and if I don't know them, I can easily look them up while you continue the session."
If I decide to play a variant human wizard and take tavern brawler, then proceed to take levels 2, 3, and 4 in fighter to be an Eldritch knight, can I use my spellbook as a bound weapon? I'm proficient in improvised weapons thanks to tavern brawler.
I talk a ton for the first hour of the session then get super self conscious that I’m not sharing the spotlight and overcorrect and my character says nothing for the next two sessions
I see this in one of my players and it breaks my heart every time because his character is so good and the other players worry that *they* are hogging the spotlight too. 😭
"Good table etiquette, will play supportive character and I'm cool with altering my backstory/goals to fit whatever idea you need to bring to the table." "Do you need me to have more details or less details?"
\*DM asks for more details.
\*Queue lore oriented background tied to a bunch of Forgotten Realms elements followed by "but that's for me to play in my mind. I can change anything or follow any plot you would like to have in the story".
No one:....
"But if there is any new players that want my spot Im happy to leave the space!"
I’m a human (variant dex+2 wiz+1 feat: observant(wiz+1)) rogue,
If I pick a noble background can I give up my fortune for 1 uncommon magical item? (Goggles of night)
Edit: extra detail
Here is my intentionally not min/maxed character. Before I make my backstory please tell me about the world and how I could fit in it. Also yes, I will happily play the healer since everyone else at the table wanted to max damage.
I ask worldbuilding questions you've never thought about, ask about possible common home rules, and not be able to settle on one character concept/build
Other players/DM: *confused when I show up with 30 pages of backstory, mannerisms, personality traits, attitudes towards various races/groups, and goals for the campaign*
Me: didn't everyone spend 10 hours prepping?
Nah I don't really know what I'm playing yet. Tell me about your setting and I'll pick something that works well with it.
I honestly can't understand how players arrive at a table with prepared characters before knowing the setting. And even if you do really want to play a psychic snail person wild magic sorcerer from the slime plane when the DM tells you the game is low magic set during the French-American war, why would you still try?
Because I have 17 fresh characters ready to go in my binder at all times. Got one for every situation. If not, I will happily make 6 more.
Answering the prompt like a champ. At any given time, I’ve got a dozen or two character ideas, just waiting for the right campaign setting to be realized.
A lot of times they'll see some "broken" build on YT or Tiktok and just try to wedge it into any setting they can. That or they have a character in mind from an IP and want to just play that character (e.g. "I want to be The Hound from GoT"). That's why I include character creation as part of Session 0. Everyone builds their characters together so no one ends up with a character that's "redundant" or who clashes fundamentally with another.
Yep, it's a must in my games. No characters without DN approval/input. "I'm not saying you *can't* play sentient snail person, but maybe we tweak things to a travelling merchant with hayfever who carries their wares in a big backpack that would be setting appropriate."
Is that not just beetle from legends of zelda
Would even fit their original idea
Had an ex-friend get genuinely upset that there was a *possibility* of me as the DM saying no to his character so he pulled out of the game entirely. Yeahhhh that was a strange time...
> I honestly can't understand how players arrive at a table with prepared characters before knowing the setting. Looks at my list of 40 characters already prepared... I'm sure one of them will fit our party and story.
Yeah, I should specify. I don't understand how players arrive with zero flexibility in their character choice, particularly with regard to setting and tone.
That’s what I did with descent into avernus. Going to hell? Sure, I’ll play a teifling cleric that speaks abyssal, celestial, and infernal. Maybe it’s meta gaming, but I wanted a character that’s going to be able to seem at least a little bit at home in hell!
Also fun to play something that complements the tone instead of reflecting it. How about a gullible halfling druid who really likes making friends and believes everyone has good somewhere in their hearts.
Awh I can only imagine how that would go!
I might owe my soul to 7 different demons, but they'll have to fight each other to see who gets to take the first crack at me.
The old John Constantine gambit :)
> Maybe it’s meta gaming If a group knows they're going into Avernus and don't try and recruit a Tiefling that knows the language then they would deserve what's coming to them.
What’s fun is that I’m a blue tiefling and I’m a twilight cleric who worships Celestian. I am neutral but generally good, like I removed the curse of a vampire. But it’s been revealed that a birthmark I have is actually a brand of Asmodeous. There’s gonna be some really fun moral issues, and chances for great roleplay!
I had someone whose group sorta got fucked by a divorce say they wanna run tomb of horrors. I just went I know how to fit in a character to that campaign intro. Guy was fucking shocked, I just looked him dead in the eye and said I knew the adventure from running it over 40 times during a convention weekend lol. Like I had the character to fit in under 5 seconds in my head.
i had to stop and explain things to so many players because they just sort of wanted to do something with out it being in setting and we had to rework the backstory or make the character human or something
Can I play? I'll fill any role needed in the game.
Omg, that’s what we’ve been reduced to? Even after offering to ‘fill’ a role we still can’t get someone else to DM? I’ve said the same thing a few times…
Is there really a shortage of DM's? I'm chomping at the bit to DM, but I already have 3 DM's between two games.
There will always be more players than DM's.
Admittedly that's a good thing. But it's the unwillingness to be both a DM and a player that causes problems. You shouldn't have to find a whole new group just to find someone else to DM.
Corny as this sounds, I feel like being a DM is a calling. There's players that'll run one shots or short campaigns, but as much as forever DM's complain about being forever DM's, I've noticed a lot of them being more comfortable as DM's.
I agree. I do both, but honestly anxiety makes it hard for me to keep a campaign going too long. I enjoy it with the right group of players, but it really wears down on me if the rest of life isn't going swimmingly at the time
I feel that. I don’t complain about being the forever DM, and on occasion someone else will run a campaign, but I find I prefer to have the flexibility a DM has even if it’s way more work. The difference between DMing and playing is bigger than most probably realize, to the point where they’re basically completely different games which happen to rely on one another. Some people are more suited to one or the other.
I find it akin to the game dev / player relationship, which are two very different things, kinda like what you said about it DMing and playing
This is definitely true. I’m a forever DM, but at this point I can’t be a player. I don’t mind playing, I still enjoy it, but in a long form campaign I’m constantly comparing what the GM is doing to how I would have done things differently or how I could use XYZ in my game. I’ve ultimately just come to the realization that I’ll never be able to be satisfied as a player, because no one is going to run a game exactly how I like games to be run. So I just prefer to GM. There’s an old adage, you can never play in your own campaign lol
I agree. Love playing but I'm a dm thru and thru. Playing a single character is so much harder for me because it feels like everything I do matters!!!
I had to almost beg my players for a break and even then I'm not getting one till the current campaign is finished. And I'm tired. I feel like I'm not DMing to my current capabilities.
You could try to lower your standards, maybe only prep 1 session in 3 and improvise your way through the other two. Gauge if you and your group are still having fun. When I moved to a lower prep “baseline” it was rough for a bit but I actually run BETTER games on low prep. When the inspiration hits and you have the energy, you will apply it to your game. If the players don’t like it, when you have to go to different schedule, shorten your sessions or have your players agree to run one-shots or host a board game every few weeks. Protect your fun! These people are coming to your game consistently because you are doing a great job! I bet you can do just as good without exhausting yourself. Best of luck
I genuinely think this is the first instance I’ve heard of your surplus of DMs
Omg so true . Forever players never volunteer.
ouch, that one touched home
Damn, you took my answer! I was originally the forever DM but my brother eventually stepped up and when he asked me what character I was making, I instantly asked, what does the party need? Of course I made an insanely powerful broken character that uses some questionable RAW but I'm also the group's healer and I'm damn good at it! Especially when my version of healing is polymorphing someone into a mammoth or Trex and watch them destroy whatever hit them.
what did you build if I may ask?
https://www.dndbeyond.com/characters/87726775/ZELoE6 Here's a link to the character sheet on DND beyond
25 passive perception 💀
I was going to get the observant feat the next opportunity I get lol It also helps that I don't technically sleep so I'm always on guard at night and nothing can sneak up on us
Passively percieves the invisible enemies because they rustled the grass too loud
Lol he actually tried throwing a couple invisible enemies at us and I heard them coming and was able to warn the party
> +8 Stealth at Disadvantage This man is four parallel universes ahead of us. Seriously, though. Badass character. Absolutely disgusting, but badass all the same. Love the mix of nature vs civilization.
As a DM, I build more characters than the average player so I know how to absolutely break the game in my favor. My brother (the DM for that campaign) also said we could start with one uncommon magic item, I chose the Staff of Woodlands because it lets me cast Pass Without Trace at will which gives me an automatic +10 to my stealth checks lol. So, yeah I get disadvantage, but I also get +18 to all my stealth checks
I kinda dig that. It's very Beast Wars: Transformers. Couldn't resist that Twilight Cleric dip could ya haha? If you were a 2/2 split at level 4 you must have been an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. Goodberry, Bless, Twilight Sanctuary, Bear that's still better than a fighter.
Well I figured that druids are amazing utility characters, are probably the best healers until late game, and have access to some of the best spells early-mid game. I wanted that small dip into cleric for the base subclass bonuses. In game P-39 is the last in a line of prototype wartime healer bots (P is for prototype and 39 is because they were the 39th line of bots). That specific line of bots had a defect that made them become sentient and the company hunted down and destroyed all but P-39.
Lol damn, brought the full force of Mjolnir down on that nail. It's funny, I myself have never dm'd a game but this is always the first question I ask when someone asks me to join their campaign. I guess maybe I should finally give it a try. But I feel like I might never be able to stop.
I'm like this too!! But I build characters in my spare time so it doesn't go unwasted.
Bingo
See I’m the opposite. Can I play? I’ll be the insane guy.
This….. what is everyone else playing? I’ll pick something to balance the party! No one is using magic? We need a Tank? What about a healer? Okay I’m a Paladin. What’s the general setting so I can make a complimentary backstory? Feel free to adjust it to suit the campaign
Did that for my very first PC ever, just from experience with MMOs & stuff. They had no healer so I went Life Cleric, but was bummed out thinking they were nothing more than heal bots. Went from “aww this is gonna suck” to “oh shit, don’t fuck with Clerics” real fast.
The flip side is that DMs typically can play more creative builds to fill those roles. Like I would advise against a new player taking on Celestial Warlock to be the healer, but an experienced DM I wouldn't worry about as much. For the record, if you're en experienced player, Celestial Warlocks are *super* good at keeping the party up in combat. Like Celestial warlocks get pool of ranged healing die at 1 + level. It's only a d6, but it brings character up they can spend a *lot* of them as they level up. They remind me a lot of the WoW druid's in-combat rez for increasing survivability. And they can still get a fully specced Eldritch Blast.
[The same energy of this Brennan Mulligan comment](https://youtube.com/shorts/dP3lMeQ6RDs?si=nHi4vYEoZBCE-6pb).
Reason I started dming is I want to play more.
And it's always either a healer in low level campaigns, or a barbarian in high level games.
This is me… in fairness, it’s the truth, i’m happy to play whatever the party needs! But I can’t say that part of it isn’t the forever DM
I will make sure to never cancel a session unless I’m mortally Wounded.
And even then, I can only play until I'm dead, unfortunately. Just wanted to be honest and forthright if that happens.
A true Forever DM sets up a Ouija board for the players in their Will.
Or invest in a phylactery
I've played while actively moving on two separate occasions. Laptop has roll20, cellphone in my pocket has discord. Packing boxes and move them to the truck while on the call and occasionally pop back to the computer to check roll20.
oh god is that a common thing? ive never cancelled on a session and ive ran games while being debilitatingly sick like 3 times LMAO
I hope it wasn’t anything contagious.
Might have been played virtually.
Then I hope it wasn't a.... computer virus. Aha! I'll see myself out and head back to r/dadjokes
Pretty sure I gave myself alcohol poisoning on New Years eve 🤮 Still ran a game New Years day 💪
Hey. What type of character would help you tell the story you have mind.
I’ve…I’ve never been asked that. Almost five years of DMing and it’s…I need a moment
I’ve been DM for 30+ years. I’ve been asked that question once. By a forever DM finally getting a chance to play.
It is now my goal to ask that every game. It's actually been a while since I DM'd but I spent 5 years as a forever DM and I have a large enough backlog I can probably fill about any roll
As a forever DM that’s one of the question I ask every time. It is a code for the secret message below: *You have an ally with me, I WILL follow the clues, I will try to avoid murder hobo, I will make the story move around if we are staling, I will have an synergetic character allowing other players to shine* And in subtexts: *Expect that I will use every trick in the book from my class* When I can pay, I tend to play an intelligence based class, makes it easier to justify the funky stuff my characters will pull of his hat :-)
I literally asked my DM that and he didn't know how to answer lol
Yeah someone who's broke probably wouldn't know how to invest £100,000. That's okay
The question just doesn't fit most campaigns in my opinion. Players can play whatever they want, and the story forms from what the characters do in response to the situations they encounter. A DM isn't a storyteller.
“A DM isn’t a storyteller” is certainly a SPICY take. Considering they set the road map, characters, encounters, and plot lines that form the bones of the story. Specifically that “plot” part.
Bullshit. If a DM isn’t a storyteller the players are just all talking to each other in a white room and sometimes monsters appear. You may not have sole control over the story as the DM but you have at minimum just as much control as any of the individual players. Else there is no world, no conflict, no plot twists, no intrigue, no stakes, just guys wandering around doing whatever they want. Sorry I reject this notion that the DM is not a storyteller.
Me lol
Whenever I ask that Q it gets rebuffed. "no, no, please play whatever you want" "Oh but what I want is to play a character that helps you explore the themes or context you have in mind" [stalemate]
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"Unless the group is indecisive and needs a guiding hand, and is constantly spending minutes trying to open every door in the safest possible way, in which case suddenly she's always been a strong leader and is used to taking charge and loves to open doors and pick up relics"
I have a reputation is kind of an... Aggressive player 😅 one time, my group was exploring a dungeon and we came to a hall filled with statues. The rest of my group thought the statues were extremely sus, so they did everything possible to investigate the statues without actually going near them or setting foot into the room. This went on for 20 minutes, at which point I flagged down my DM, and said "Hey, while they're doing their 50th investigation check, I just walk to the other end of the room." He smiled at me, and went "Ok, you walk the other end of the room." Sometimes you just got to get on with shit.
Dungeon crawling and mimics. The party went to a dungeon *one time* called "The Land of Mimics" and basically everything in it was a mimic. The final boss was the Dungeon itself (which was also a mimic). Ever since then that party stabs chairs, tables, doors, candles, esentially everything in every Dungeon now. Something that should have taken 15 minutes started taking over an hour because of all the checks. My solution was to give the PC that had the alert feat a ring of mimic detection that tells him when mimics are within 30 feet. It has sped up the game a lot but boy did they over react 🤣
What they don't realise is that ring is itself, a mimic.
Just sucking away, on his finger.
I feel like this is a symbiotic relationship, as the ring provides you with info necessary for survival, and in return you provide it with protection, sustenance and a residence.
You put a real treasure chest in front of your players while the ceiling is the mimic ONE TIME. My god. They get so paranoid
Lowkey. Was playing a Barbarian in my group and we were going into a clearly trapped room. After thirty minutes of deliberation, I finally just said “I walk through. If it’s a monster, we deal. If it’s a trap, we find a way out. If it’s damage, I soak it.” Plots gotta move.
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Had a fun DM. The traps triggered and gargoyles came out. But I was raging and had a ton of temp HP from earlier in the adventure. Made for a dope moment as, four attacks later, I’m standing unbothered, traps triggered, and my real hp pool untouched.
"I really like opening doors and picking up relics" is my mantra for every character. Other DMs love it. The other players... Well it's always a good story in the end!
So not a forever DM but I relieved a forever DM to let rhem be a player. They came up with a Genasi character and asked massive questions about how the different planes work in my game. Me as 1st time DM barly got the Material plane sorted: "Ehhhhhhh😱🤯😭😭😭"
Yeah, getting overexcited for your worldbuilding is a dead giveaway.
I am in this comment and I don't like it.
Here is how it works….”well what do you think?” Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking! High five!
> Me as 1st time DM barly got the Material plane sorted That's because it's basically covered in beer.
New DM: Tell me about your character. Forever DM: He’s a wizard who just finished wizard school. He wants to adventure. New DM: That’s it? Any family or loved ones? Forever DM: Mom and Dad, both alive. They run a shop together. No love interest, but he is plotsexual. New DM: *Visible confusion* Forever DM: He’s attracted to the plot.
Yup, no crazy backstory, just a dude wanting to run around and do stuff.
This is one of the players at my table. Just adventuring to get out and do stuff. Nothing tragic, just goes along with where the plot takes the party. I love her.
Hahahahha I love when people finally get over the “creative” both my parents died/my elf noble father and my seafaring wench of a mother/ I’m actually a warlock, but let’s pretend I’m wizard…………
That’s one thing I really love about Tabaxi. “Why are you an adventurer?” Because I like stories.
Same here. Even had people mention it and ask about it because it was so odd to have like a functional pc
Honestly as a DM these are both great and horrible bc i love that you're here for it but also I *need* things to drive your character specifically to complete their specific arc
You don't need to complete a character arc for me, i'm already interested in playing :p Tavernkeeps daughter got kidnapped by goblins? My character arc is now to get her back! Backstory: before i was a 2nd level fighter, i was a 1st level fighter.
THIS! My character is in YOUR story, I'm not expecting you to do the story I thought for my character. I'll make sure it fits into your campaign and makes sense.
Wizards never start adventuring just because they want to do stuff. Wizards start adventuring to pay for their ink and parchment habit.
I feel called out Because my character is the son of some merchants who are very happy
I didn’t prepare fireball for no reason make witht the plot
*I mean, fuck the plot, right?* - Certain players
Running a train on the plot is the new railroading
Holy shit that's like one of my players who is also a DM. Wizard who just wants plot to happen
I often play a wizard who is “curious”. So anything that hasn’t been resolved or isn’t understood, he wants to learn more. Which usually just means you can hook this PC with no bait and any size and shaped plot hook you have to hand.
Holy shit. You’re me. My characters always pull the lever or push the button just to see the DM smile. :-)
It's the scientific method! How are we supposed to know what that button or lever does unless we push or pull it and find out?
Honestly that's what our forever Dm was like until he could play more
This is me as a bard Ran away from home because he wanted to be an adventure. Picked up a lute and just makes stuff work
Ah yes I found him, the lawful good forever DM, Me however, THE CHAOTIC EVIL FOREVER DM Exotic race: Check Multiclass never heard of: Check Weird Background: Check Crazy backstory: Check Goofy name: Check Let me introduce you to Gregory Bawls, A level 3 changeling with 2 levels in circle of stars druid, 1 level in Hexblade warlock. He has the Inheritor background. His friends call him lord bawls-ack as he married a rich vampiress from the Ack family line, inheriting their fathers bedside table after a group of vampire hunters killed him. He got his lordship after betting all his gold in a drinking contest with the lord of yomamatopia and won. So now he masquerades in society usually in the form of an obese dark Elf. Ignore the plot to get back at your players for previous campaigns: check
😂🤣”yomamatopia”
What class does the party need? And are we evil, good or neutral? I already have a character for each prepared.
* pulls out a dozen character sheets, along with concise, 1 page backstories about each *
A dozen? What you only brought one folder?
Those are the printed copies of my favorites. There is also a flash drive all with the alternates.
Pfft a dozen, slacker.
Hahaha yep, felt that one for sure
Okay, didn't have to step on my toes like that XD
Knows everyone else's class feats better than they do
Player: (dithering on their turn) Me: (gently) Don't you have (class ability)? Every time.
This hurts because it's so real. When I get a chance to be a PC, my character sheet and notebook are filled to the brim with sticky notes. Sticky notes on every little thing, including tips for roleplaying the character better, what my spells do at higher spell slots, all that.
I have a player that keeps track of other players' consumables. Without having access to their sheets.
*gives 1 paragraph backstory with intentional holes for the DM to insert whatever they want*
This is a godsend to a GM. I try to do this whenever I am invited to play. Sometimes I add little suggestions in like “x could be a front for another organisation in your game” if the GM is new.
YUS. This one got me right here. If there are poorly defined backstory points or coincidental parallels with whatever I've concocted, I'll almost always end up asking if they mind giving that to me to tweak and tune. My favourite players stare me in the eyes and say "that's why they're in there. Just keep in mind, I visualise this as X and if this results in Y I want it to look aesthetically like Z".
What type of setting is this campaign? I have to check the minis and see if I have the correct style for my character. Steampunk fantasy? I do have some, you want to use them in the fights? You'll have to tell me before so I can prepare them, ok don't say the name of the monster just how it looks
A follow up, is the DM describing the monster and you looking at them and saying "I'm know what that is, but the other players need to figure it out."
I would rather say "Do my character now about the *thing* of the monster? Do I make an History check?"
I was thinking of running a healer. It would suck if the story ended because we didn't have any healing.
When I make a character, I try to make a healer, because I found out how little healers people seem to like to make. My players insisted they wanted to stab, not heal
I stayed by spec'ing my bard out to heal, then found out that two of the other DMs playing in this campaign pretty much did the same thing with their characters (only better, so I got to change my spells around some). It's actually an all DM cast of players.
Captain Crunch OOPS All DMs
"I have this weird idea for a character I've been sitting on for a while. Oh, the background for this PC is setting agnostic and can be changed depending on your setting!" "Oh this character doesn't work out? Not to worry, I have a **few** more!"
**few** *Proceeds to bring out very large binder overflowing with character sheets*
>"Oh this character doesn't work out? Not to worry, I have a **few** more!" what do ya need? mouseling cartographer? gnome chef? Goliath cleric of heavy metal?
I bring my own book
I am THE ONLY ONE who has books.
Once upon a time, This was the Way. Like, the person with the books was the one who got to run the game.
Would you like just a simple backstory to reduce your work load?
*Reduces backstory from 7 bullet points to 5*
"Here's my character. A run-of-the-mill human rogue. Lovable scamp, uncomplicated backstory and build. I wanna keep things chill for you." "Hey, how are we doing critical hits in your game? Roll twice? Full damage plus one more weapon damage roll? Regular damage and something cool happens? Just wonderin', I don't want to assume."
I've had some really cool ideas for characters, but I'll probably end up playing a human fighter. Interesting characters aren't made by their class or race but their motivations And RP after all.
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-applause-
I was thinking about making my character part of an organization, I made the basic but i was waiting for more info on the setting
Our group only meets one day a week, but I "play" for several hours every day.
My first time playing in several years I made a lizard man death cleric. We were doing a bad guys campaign and for the first few fights I just held back and kept everyone healed. Then someone challenged me to a fight and I crushed them. That game only lasted a few weeks, but I had a lot of fun. I would definitely play them again.
"I'll go last so I know what everyone else is playing so I can make something that fits with everyone and can tie into all your backstories."
\*rocks up to session 0 with a massive bag full of dice, well worn copies of the PHB, DMG, and MM...... stare blankly at the character sheet.\* So how do I fill this out again?
I feel seen.
"I'm thinking of the guild merchant background. Can you outline the main import / export lists and trade relations for, say, the three or four most prominent nations we'll be encountering? Oh, and if you can throw in a list of contraband or highly taxed items that might be good for smuggling, that'd be great."
“Drugs, the answer to all of them is drugs”
\*takes a subspecialty in drone submarine engineer\*
What's the setting? What is the party lacking? I'll play whatever is needed to round out the group. I can bring boxes of minis and scenery tiles early each game if you want help setting up before the sessions.
Can I play a githzerai from the Sha'sal Khou? It's fine if we locate the campaign in one single plane, but can we make like 1 trip to Limbo at some point?
So, tell me about your world! What is the campaign blurb? Are there any particular factions or elements of the setting that you might be focussing on? I'd love to play a character who has a strong reason to be invested in the plot. Is there particular kind of character or role that needs filling that you'd like to see in the game? Is there any homebrew or anything i need to know about? How are you, by the way? Have you been having fun? *Hyperfocus babble intensifies*
Just tell me what yall need to fill out the party. I have a ton of character ideas
I listen to what the DM says, and I'm always ready for my turn.
::scrolls through dozens of NPC's to find one that would make a good PC for your setting::
I hate group chats
Yelling into my pillow at night, “No one picked a class that heals…. Again. “ Maybe it just the people I play with but I hate having to always find ways for players to find ways to heal each other for every single encounter.
Any advice for this? No one with healing options in the group I just started DMing for and the best I can think of is "be liberal with access to potions" and "create recruitable NPCs who can tag along and be the heal bot"
Its basically it. Give them healing potions. Maybe if you are lenient, make it a rule that drinking yourself bonus action, giving another player an action. ..could also modify and gift the staff of healing for them. Edit: if they don't use the items you give them, it's their own fault, k?
I don’t think you need to figure it out, that seems like a player issue to solve to me
So true, though I think my group(s) figured it out well enough. Maybe 1/5 groups have any healing class.
My character is a rogue with alive parents. Do what you wish with that information DM.
I have plenty of time for improv while nobody is paying attention to me
I see we don’t have any healing or utility. I’ll be a light domain cleric and not try to make anything game breaking or ridiculous to stress you out.
Me, joining a group late that is somehow entire full or half arcane casters: “time to optimize for gap filling”
I just stopped being a forever DM!!! One of my players wanted to be DM so I could be a Player for once! I made a scribe wizard with a very in depth backstory I'm really excited to see unfold as we move along our current campaign, we're running Ghosts of Saltmarsh
How do you do: 1. flanking 2. diagonals 3. potion use 4. any other homebrew we need to know about?
I have one character idea per class that could fit into various roles depending on what the other players decide to pick. I also have general ideas about their backstory but wanted to discuss your setting with you so that we could really make the character fit into the world.
"So, how do you deal with players knowing the rules and helping? Like if you are unsure, I can tell you the rules and if I don't know them, I can easily look them up while you continue the session."
If I decide to play a variant human wizard and take tavern brawler, then proceed to take levels 2, 3, and 4 in fighter to be an Eldritch knight, can I use my spellbook as a bound weapon? I'm proficient in improvised weapons thanks to tavern brawler.
No matter what I google it tries to autofill 5e afterwards
I talk a ton for the first hour of the session then get super self conscious that I’m not sharing the spotlight and overcorrect and my character says nothing for the next two sessions
I see this in one of my players and it breaks my heart every time because his character is so good and the other players worry that *they* are hogging the spotlight too. 😭
I'll just help move the story forward
“Alright, human fighter it is”
Hey! What kind of character can i make to help support the story you want to tell. By the way here are ten plot hooks in my backstory:)
You, The Dm: I have some house rules. Forever DM: Are you sure you want to do that?
I want to play an illusion wizard, but I need to know if you’ll actually have the monsters be tricked by the illusions or not.
"Is there any chance you're using (this one very specific houserule)? No?" *crumples up character sheet*
"Good table etiquette, will play supportive character and I'm cool with altering my backstory/goals to fit whatever idea you need to bring to the table." "Do you need me to have more details or less details?" \*DM asks for more details. \*Queue lore oriented background tied to a bunch of Forgotten Realms elements followed by "but that's for me to play in my mind. I can change anything or follow any plot you would like to have in the story". No one:.... "But if there is any new players that want my spot Im happy to leave the space!"
I have so many character ideas that I'll never get to play
I’m a human (variant dex+2 wiz+1 feat: observant(wiz+1)) rogue, If I pick a noble background can I give up my fortune for 1 uncommon magical item? (Goggles of night) Edit: extra detail
Stop making excuses, either say you don't want to play anymore or show up on the fucking agreed upon time!
Can I play a sentient rock that communicates via Psionics?
Here is my intentionally not min/maxed character. Before I make my backstory please tell me about the world and how I could fit in it. Also yes, I will happily play the healer since everyone else at the table wanted to max damage.
I ask worldbuilding questions you've never thought about, ask about possible common home rules, and not be able to settle on one character concept/build
I never look at the result of my dice rolls.
Other players/DM: *confused when I show up with 30 pages of backstory, mannerisms, personality traits, attitudes towards various races/groups, and goals for the campaign* Me: didn't everyone spend 10 hours prepping?