#The more you prewrite the adventure the more you are just writing a story that the players have to follow

[ikatako38]

You heard that right!

[Back to the masterpost]

Three and Eight are going on another adventure, this time featuring Hyousuke, Milo, Liam, and Beatrix from @insert-cephalopod-joke’s Ask the Lads series! Here’s what we know so far:

The fic is a crossover between the This Place We Called Home and the Ask the Lads!

I’ll be consulting CJ on how to write their characters, so I consider it a collaboration between us! CJ has also agreed to draw the cover once we have a better idea of how the story will go.

It’s currently titled If I Were U!

It most likely be a two-shot, somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 words!

I will start prewriting for it after I finish TPWCH Chapter 18!

Depending on how prewriting goes and how long I end up making it, part one will most likely be up somewhere from January to March! (I’ll of course give more updates as it gets closer.)

All your favorite agents from both series will appear, including my Four and my Neo Three! More information about my Neo Three to come! (Deep Cut will also make a cameo.)

This fic is just going to be CJ and I having fun with our characters! It’s not going to be a super deep fleshed-out story. But you can bet there will be plenty of comedy and fluff! ;)

The fic will be posted to AO3 when it’s ready!

I’m really excited for this fic, and I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as CJ and I are making it!

Edit: The title of the crossover has been changed multiple times.

#splatoon #this place we called home #tpwchxatl #tako’s updates

[noncombativednd]

The Problem with Not Rolling in D&D

Hey guys... you know what else can have zero combat and no rolls? Your imagination. Why on EARTH are you claiming D&D helped you do this? Give yourselves credit! Just please, don’t think the system is doing you any good... by not having rolls. You may think because I lean heavy on storytelling vs combat I’d be “anti-rolling”, but rolls are the only thing the system does to help you tell a story.

Rolls are what make a system shine. They make it so neither Player nor DM knows for sure what will happen. Yes, you don’t want to roll for everything, but without rolls... it’s just DM Fiat! Player says they do something, DM arbitrarily determines if it does or doesn’t work out. Without a Roll, the player is at the whim of DM’s fancy. Worse, this means the DM just... doesn’t get any way to add tension to the story... specially for themselves! Most other TTRPGs focus heavily on trying to make sure the DM is just as surprised about outcomes as players. It’s not just “Will they or will they not defeat that bad guy”, other systems focus heavily on having the players choose the whole directions of stories!

Now you may be asking, but wait.. how do you make rolls if everyone is just talking? Crazy story here, but if in 4 hours (average dnd session) you only roll two times... why call it D&D? You’re just basically in a RP chatroom.

But wait! Maybe it’s because you CAN’T find rolls in situations that aren’t dangerous combat and tense negotiations! Sorry, other TTRPGs show that you can and should roll more often for more things. Players need rolls so that they can help make actual changes to the story that the DM can’t just veto. If the only options they have that can’t be vetoed are either “Combat” or “Negotiate”, the players only have those two ways to make sure their rolls matter. 

Other games have rolls for things like “Hit the Streets” that allow you to find someone to get the stuff you need. Roll succeeds, the DM can’t just stop them from getting what they need. Other games have “Pierce the Mask” Where you roll to see the real person underneath someone you are talking about. On a hit the DM HAS to answer a few questions the player chooses from a list. This doesn’t just have to be “Other games” this can be D&D!

Find ways to offer rolls. They say “Man, I wonder why the really care about us finding that lost shipment” Offer for them to roll insight to seem if they can tell if it’s because their brother was helping ship it, or if their intention is just to steal all the gold because it’s not really their lost shipment! Are they stumped with what’s the best way to get in or out of this dungeon? Have them roll a dungeonering check to notice patterns that prove that there is a secret exit that’s much safer to use! Don’t stop giving them options to make rolls that force you, the DM, to change your plans! That man probably never HAD a brother until someone rolled to check their motive. That Dungeon may not have had an easy shortcut until they rolled to try and find one. Don’t let the game be so set in stone that you are okay with not doing rolls. Because, if you’re not doing rolls, then you’re not letting your players help tell the story.

P.S. There are diceless systems, but they just determine outcomes with things other then dice. It would work the same way, why use this diceless system if you’re not trading resources or offering deals like system has built in.

#DnD #D&D #Dungeons and Dragons #5e #ttrpg #ttrpgs #I can not stress how important it is that the DM is not choosing what does or doesn't work #The DM should be just as surprised as to where the story is going and not just "how they get to eventually kill the BBEG #The more you prewrite the adventure the more you are just writing a story that the players have to follow #That's not a TTRPG it's just a regular RPG and you might as well just play better computer games about those.