#dm ideas

[sparkdew-dnd]

Today I attempted to use artificial intelligence to beat my writers block and it was not entirely successful

#dnd #dnd 5e #dnd inspiration #dnd 5th edition #dungeon master #dm ideas #dungeons and dragons #ai #artificial intelligence #magic item

[saccharineomens]

I’ve been having a lot of Dungeon Meshi ideas lately, too many to be able to execute at once, so I’m going to share them. I really, really want to turn this specific idea into a full comic.

I was thinking about how Laios’ ending to the manga is his own personal hell, and how he’s basically just grinning and bearing it through his kingly duties. He has advisors and friends to help carry the burden, but he can’t even take a break from ruling for a while to engage in some dungeon crawling. Not to mention the fact that monsters inherently flee from his presence.

It’s certainly noticeable by those closest to him, namely Marcille and Kabru. (Yaad is aware of the stress Laios is under but isn’t emotionally close enough to him to be able to meaningfully assist.) After some time, the two of them surprise Laios with something that will delight him: his own private garden filled with monster plants. “Falin brought the seeds from one of her adventures.” “Since they’re plants, they can’t run away from you like the monsters will.” “We walled this area so nobody will come in by mistake, but each of us have a copy of the key.”

This of course delights Laios. I just want him to feel loved by his friends and have them engage in his special interests for once. And it brings everything full circle from when Marcille burned Laios’ monster plant seeds at the beginning of the story.

Possible consequences could occur when the Lion’s curse manifests in the monster plants dying, rather than fleeing like the animals do.

I also like the idea of Laios and Marcille collaborating on researching/dissecting Izutsumi’s kills together, and the two of them writing books about dungeon monsters and the monsters’ ecosystems. Marcille also gets to continue researching on making domestic dungeons. While the infinite universe of mana is no longer accessible, there is still mana in the world. And the dungeoniums from the beginning of the manga show that it can make its own enclosed, self-sustaining ecosystem.

Also, Laios collaborating with Senshi on making a monster cookbook that’s much more accurate than the one he’d gotten as a kid.

#I swear I will get around to it someday. I swear. #Labru #laimar #(yes I write it with those relationships explicitly the focus) #Dungeon meshi #laios touden #marcille donato #kabru of utaya #senshi of izganda #Dungeon meshi spoilers #dunmesh #dunmesh spoilers #Dm laios #Dm senshi #dm kabru #dm marcille #Op #dm ideas #delicious in dungeon

[dungeonsandkobolds]

Master Post of My Fave NPCs in My Campaign:

Old Man Riddles

(Can appear anywhere and it'll make sense)

Entire deal is he sits in a puddle of mud splashing about and throws mud at the party if they get a riddle wrong

Chester

(Again can appear anywhere without explanation)

A mimic that talks! He takes the form of a chest, you throw 10 gold into his mouth and he spits out a random, maybe useful potion. He does not know what any of the potions do

Sofa

Chester's best friend. Essentially a dog. Licks everything, but mimics are adhesive so he gets stuck to things a lot.

The Meat Traders

(Found on the road)

Curse by the meat witch to trade meat for meat. They can ONLY accept meat in payment and only have meat to trade.

Frat Boy Doomsday Cult

Having a massive rager to celebrate the end of the world. The world doesn't end. They fight with lacrosse sticks

Billy McGee

Local old man that does tours of the catacombs. All of his ancestors are in the your, having died of riding animals such as "2 dragons". When asked how they were riding multiple animals at once, his answer is "badly"

Thray

(Owns Thray's Curiousities)

Gay vampire that runs an Antiques Store. Refuses to uncurse the cursed items cause they're more fun the way they are. Beefs with all other arcane practitioners, currently banned from the wizards uni.

I'll add more as I remember more

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #dungeonsandkobolds #dungeon master #dm #dungeonsandkobolds campaign #dungeonsandkobolds dms #dnd stories #dm inspo #dnd ideas #npc #npcs #homebrew setting #dm ideas #dnd npcs #campaign ideas #ttrpg

[yamchaisawesome]

DnD antagonist idea: a cult that worships the DM.

They see everyone and everything in their world, including the gods, as extensions of the will of a God Above Gods. However, there are a select few people who aren’t born of its will. Beings created and controlled by other higher beings.

Unlike the avatars of gods, they aren’t too far off from an ordinary being. However when they kill, they grow more powerful. The cult calls these beings Violators.

Their greatest goal is to kill these Violators and give the God Above Gods full power over its own realm. Only problem is that they don’t know who they are, but they do know they lurk among the common people…

They’ve narrowed it down to those who kill as a profession and mass murderers, since a being who grows stronger through killing would logically want to kill more. In areas that lack mercenaries and militaries, this cult actually acts as a secretive peacekeeping force.

#dnd #writing prompts #ttrpg #dm ideas #dungeon master #worldbuilding #antagonists

[horizoneffect]

2d6 table for law enforcement methods in D&D

So recently I've been thinking about how to portray dystopias in D&D, which is something that's harder for me to do well than it sounds. Most of the cruelly authoritarian governments I'm familiar with existed post-1900, which doesn't vibe with D&D's fantasy setting... So I've been dredging up my historical knowledge of awful governments, and as someone working on a thievery campaign, this has made me think of different methods of law enforcement.

Feel free to use the table below either as a 2d6 table, or simply as a list of ideas. Something I realized while making this is that methods of law enforcement are intricately connected with details about the town in question: who lives there? What kind of life do they live? Urban or pastoral setting? Large town or small town? What is the town like, socially -- do people put a lot of credence in religion, their neighbors, their in-group or family, the law, reason, or technology? For this reason the table below is intentionally generic.

If anyone has recommendations for other possible methods of fantastical law enforcement (trial by ordeal involving a dark cave and a dragon?), please add them below. Also please share if you have historical inspiration for awful governments (1700s Britain, 1500s Italy, the entire history of colonialism -- seriously, the concept of the existence of a company given monarchical and therefore divine right to rule over an entire nation is ripe for inspiration imo.)

In this town, lawbreakers are detected and apprehended in the following way (roll 2d6):

2 - Everybody knows and likes everybody. There's no need for any sort of law enforcement.

3 - When a crime is committed, the members of the victim's family are honor-bound to discover the perpetrator.

4 - A religious order divines information about criminals in cases of particularly heinous or sacrilegious crime. Then, the order's knights are sent to apprehend the suspects.

5 - Wealthy noble families, who have taken on the role of steward of the town, court mercenary groups to provide security as a favor to the public.

6 - The town is policed by members of the military, who are taken from the ranks of the imperial army, or the army of an occupying power.

7 - Town guards patrol the city. In smaller towns they simply keep an eye out for trouble; in larger towns they are given a set beat; in still larger cities they are assigned to separate locations and perhaps assisted with magical defense systems.

8 - Any citizen who has been wronged can submit an appeal for aid to their lord, who, in exchange for fealty, is in charge of marshaling forces to catch the perpetrator.

9 - Roll again, ignoring other rolls of 9. One of the other systems here is in place, but has gone wrong. Citizens often rely on hiring adventurers to solve crimes, and they must contend with the danger that a corrupt form of justice poses.

10 - Vigilante organizations have formed, which keep order in return for the citizens' respect. Whether or not those organizations themselves are legal is an open question.

11 - There is no real law enforcement to speak of, because no one follows the laws. Citizens pay protection money to the city's emboldened crime syndicates, which compete for territory, subjects, and power.

12 - Crime? What crime? Under the Dread-queen, all is peace.

#dnd #dnd campaign #dnd ideas #dm ideas #history

[quinnyyyleft]

DM Tip - The constraints of D&D skill checks are not limited to 5e. Have them make a "Clumsy" check, or a "Clown" check or even a "Chaos" check. The only limits are the ones you put on yourself.

#dungeons and dragons #lol #being a dm #cant make this shit up #out of context stuff #critical role #brennan lee mulligan #DM tips #DM ideas #Funny #Bad advice

[nat1lifestyle]

CHARACTER CONCEPT

I heard once that a good answer to one of the wishes that a genie grants should be that every time you place your hand in your pocket you have exactly the right amount of money to pay for something.

Great idea, but make it a warlock.

This patron's pact has allowed the Warlock to place their hand in their pocket to get exactly what they need for any given situation. However, the warlock didn't stipulate in the contract with their patron who it was that decided what it is that the warlock needs.

So, the patron decides. Obviously the patron wouldn't want their warlock to die, but what they think they need may vary greatly from what the warlock believes they need at the moment. Definitely would have to limit it per day or make it mainly hinge during roleplay and definitely require a roll of some kind (arcana? religion? straight rizz?), unless narratively important. Could be a great mechanic to help move story along.

Some examples: the warlock is interacting with an orphan who needs special medicine or they will die. The warlock, being kind and good, reaches into their pocket calling on their patron to help. Instead, they find a magic dagger instead. The child is a shapeshifter and out to assassinate them (the patron protec).

The warlock is attempting to persuade a guard to let them pass into the city by producing forged documents but instead produces a wanted portrait of themselves. Their patron is upset at them because they didn't talk to them that morning and the crime will only set them back some gold (the patron attac).

#d&d #5e #dnd #pathfinder #warlock #character concept #dm ideas #dungeonsanddragons5e #dungeon and dragons

[gyrrakavian]

NPC and plothook idea

Ratface the goblin has been insisting he's a human and demanding to go to some city the goblins in his clan are unfamiliar with for around a week now. He won't respond to any name but 'Gregory; or 'Greg', and his siblings Catscratch and Fleabite are getting worried about him. One of the siblings is starting to wonder if they should have raided the stuff from that dead adventuring party since that's when Ratface started acting weird. Ratface/Greg wants to go back to the site and grab more stuff.

Personally, I like the idea of a cursed pendant that slowly transforms the wearer into a wizard/warlock named Gregory. Give him blotches on his skin that match a human skin tone, or come up with another reason for why Ratface is acting odd and go from there.

#npc d&d #npc pathfinder #npc idea #goblin npc #dm ideas #plot hooks

[plutothegreatt]

a dnd campaign. in the backrooms

hear me out. a group of people, all from vastly different time periods and backgrounds, form a collective as they encounter each other having found themselves in the backrooms. they are brought together by fear and as they are forced to work together to survive they start thinking of themselves less as strangers and more as one group or even somewhat of a family. a squad perchance.

you have the 50s unhappy housewife who turns out to be a badass and maybe a little gay

you have the fearless warrior woman who dressed up like a man to become a soldier in ancient china who's maybe in love with the housewife maybe a little

you have the late 80s aspiring musician who's career fell flat and drinks way too much

the 2190s pilot who was stranded in deep space after an unknown collision

the scene teenage girl from 2008

the errand boy from renaissance era italy who is trying to teach himself how to read

+add ur own there are infinite possibilities

#dnd #dnd campaign #dnd character #the backrooms #backrooms oc #ideas #dm ideas

[portraitoftheoddity]

I was talking with a friend about DMing the other day and an interesting tactic he shared with me for getting his players to build shared backstories was to offer players who created a backstory together that was more than just “we met in a tavern and now we kill stuff” a feat. He (the DM) would determine what feat to give each of them, depending on said backstory and what made sense. But it encouraged some actual character collaboration that lead to better roleplaying between members of the party, gave him the opportunity to tie in events in the campaign into more than one character’s background, and gave players who really liked crunchy stat stuff a mechanical reward for engaging with story. 

#dnd #dm ideas #mostly sharing it here so I don't forget

[sparkdew-dnd]

Just a set of fun ideas to spice up your good old town guard :)

#dnd #dungeons and dragons #dnd homebrew #dnd 5e #dungeon master #dnd campaign #dnd inspiration #dnd inspo #dnd 5th edition #dm ideas #might want to workshop the name

[lupe-loops]

DnD ideas that I use in my campaign

So, as the Forever DM(tm), I quite struggle when it comes to search puzzles or when I need inspiration. Then I thought it would be cool if I shared some of mine that I liked the most.

Enjoy!

Charades

The classic puzzle. But I make my own. Usually, I think a theme and how the room is, the purpose, and then make a little poem.

For exemple:

Last week, the party were in a small aquatic themed temple searching for an artifact. In the first room, they founded a door with this carving:

"The lily, the fire, the child

The water, the river that flows, the white silk

The key corrupted and lost in the waters of time"

The theme for this one was "purity", so I searched everything that were related. The lily is the flower that resembles purity; the fire was also something that was interlinked with the pure, same as water, and children.

Homebrewed alphabets

I made this one just to mess up with my party but turns out that they freaking loved!

I thought that it would be harder if all of the puzzles were in ancient runes and, before solving, they needed to decode the whole thing first.

Initially, they would have to figure out what symbols each letter were, but instead I allowed them to do researches for a week and roll a History check to decode. I gave them the alphabet but they wouldn't be able to just "roll and magically find out what is written".

It also helps to keep your players immersed and focused.

Short quests & Large quest

I find out that my players enjoy more short quest than a large one. They tend to be tired and get lost in what they are doing in the first place, so I started making small ones that they can choose.

For example, I always think of three quests that can be resolved in three to four sessions. Like a scouting mission or missing cases in a little town. Nothing much complex.

Then I give a resume of the quest, like an letter of someone asking for help, the location and the reward if they complete successfully. Like a contract.

Then, I put one of them in the way of the larger quest, which will help providing improvements, or information, anything.

Since my players can choose, they discuss if they need more money, items, or they want to go to a specific city. And also they are constantly reminded that they need to fulfill the large quest.

You can also put moral choices. For example, one leads the group to where they need, but choosing them, a small village will be exterminated. Choosing the village, they receive fewer or no rewards.

Past helps present

Didn't use this one yet, but I pretend to. It was a suggestion of one of my players.

It's a puzzle where they just can solve with the help of the past, like their parents who were adventurers like them, or an old party who also tried this puzzle but failed. You choose. But the players travel back and forth to the past and present.

I thought something like they found a dungeon where no one ever came back. Then they play as PCs of that party and everything they do in the past, the current PCs in the present sees happening and can cooperate. Obviously, it has flaws with timelines, but it's a cool idea.

#hope that helps! #its some silly thoughts but it helped me a lot to plan my campaigns #of course each party is unique so think what your players like the most #dnd stuff #dnd #dungeons and dragons #dm ideas #d&d #role-playing game #lupe dndtalks

[rainbowbageloverlord]

I’m currently running a short campaign where I let my players do random suggestions of everyday stuff that seems like it should be bastardized and turned into D&D things. It’s an apology for the TPK I did three weeks ago lol. But now I’ve got these gems

big bad guy: Nerak (write it backwards) an ancient demon who attacks merchants 

Apple of information: an apple that you can ask questions to, but DM rolls a D8 to determine how accurate the information is (d&d iPhone with misinformation built in lol)

and my favorite suggestion:

“All NPCs have names pulled from white mom Facebook baby name groups.” leading to NPCs like

-Derre’k (Derrick)

-Jewliey (Julie)

-Veensent (Vincent)

-and Quarool (carol apparently??)

#d&d #dm ideas

[tired-spider]

Curse of Strahd Update (:

If you happen to be a player in a CoS party w/ Hunter Belmont, a dhampir Bloodhunter, and a dwarven artificer, first: how did you find my tumblr? And second, don't read any further. (:

Content warning for the usual CoS stuff: kidnapping, torture- Strahd is a possessive, abusive creep and I have no plans on shying away from that.

Context: The party attended the Festival of the Blazing Sun, where Strahd showed up to barter for Ireena. The party handed her over without any fight. As a result, Strahd invited to dinner at Ravenloft.

Overall, the dinner went okay. Unfortunately, while Strahd has an 18 for Charisma, I, the DM, do not, and struggled with the RP, even with the small list of talking points I had prepped ahead of time. However, all the consorts were introduced, each of them getting a little bit of a chance to interact with the party.

Consort Interactions Durring Dinner:

One of the players, likely in an attempt to flatter him, commented on Escher looking particularly young, and everyone picked up on Strahd's distaste towards the topic, and hopefully also Escher's discomfort around Strahd.

Ludmilla mentioned studying magic, similarly to Strahd. However, she also was inspired by the Abbot's work, and made the massive flesh golem that the party had encountered with Rahadin.

Volenta remained silent through the dinner, simply watching the party. She and Escher will likely be the two consorts the party interacts with the most before they leave the castle.

Anastrasya expressed her love for the town of Vallaki, the chapel in particular.

Note: Ireena, while currently in the castle, was not present at the dinner. When the party offered a gift for her (a small jewelry box w/ a hidden compartment + healing potion for her) Strahd had Rahadin take it to give her later. As you might expect, she won't be getting it.

After the party finished eating, Strahd offered to show the party around some of the castle before they retired for the night. He showed them the audience hall, the chapel, and his study, along with giving them a warning to not go into the dungeon/catacombs, or his private chambers. The dungeons are dangerous, and he wants no harm coming to one of his guests. And his chambers are private. He left them in his study, to do as they wish before they turn in for the night.

There they found his diary, and a biography of Queen Ravenovia. From the biography, they learned about Strahd having a brother named Sergei, and his wedding was mentioned, as part of her legacy. This is about where the session ended.

Next Session:

Escher retreats to the lounge after the dinner, just outside the study, where the player can hear him practicing on his lyre. Now that he's away from Strahd, he's a bit more open to talk, and offer the following information:

Strahd keeps a close eye on his consorts. They all know that eventually they will be replaced, and with Ireena here, it's only a matter of time.

He thinks Anastrasya is the least liked at the moment, though he feels like is a close second.

This is the third time he's seen a reincarnation of Tatyana, but this is the furthest progress he's seen Strahd make with her in a long time.

Ireena was being kept in Strahd's quarters this morning, but saw Rahadin* taking her into the dungeons. He doesn't know exactly why, but it can't be good.

He won't do anything that will directly harm Strahd, despite fearing him. He will give directions to the dungeons, though.

From here, the party can do as they wish. But they'll probably want to find Ireena, who is not having a good time in Castle Ravenloft's torture chamber.

Strahd's Plan™:

Of course, Strahd does not want to kill Ireena, or cause her more harm than is necessary. But in his eyes, she does not grasp that she is safest when with him, and that he alone is fit to take care of her. But there is a way to show her.

Take Ireena to his personal quarters (K42), with Gertruda, who has been treated quite well, and might help convince Ireena he won't hurt her.

While not present, Rahadin takes her down to the torture chamber the day of the dinner.

Rahadin is under orders to keep her alive and not leave any long-lasting damage, but to scare her as much as possible. Modify Memory and Charm give Strahd the opportunity to bite her twice without damaging his image as her protector, and can shift the blame to Escher for everything*.

He leaves her through the dinner, but spends the night scrying on her to insure her safety.

Once the players leave, he "rescues" her from the torture chamber, faking distress and concern for her wellbeing, commenting how the party never asked about Ireena (a lie). He assures her he will be a much better protector than them. Should it be needed, he can always charm her again, or modify her memory to extend her time in the torture chamber until she finally accepts him.

*The players can notice a difference between what Escher said happened and what Ireena says happened, giving them the opportunity to catch on to potential trickery. Escher also makes a good scapegoat as Strahd is pissed with him after the dinner, but also what he's being blamed for will seem pretty out of character, compared to what the party has seen so far.

As long as the party finds the torture chamber before leaving Ravenloft, they will find Ireena before Strahd moves to step five. From there, they can try to get her out of the castle, with no small amount of persuasion, and plenty of trouble from Strahd. After all, they did hand her over in the first place. You can't just take back a gift like that.

Should the players decide to leave, or just fail to get her out of the castle, with the help of Charm and violence, Ireena will eventually give in, and it will be time to start wedding preparations.

Also, if they leave the castle without causing any major issues, Strahd will gift the artificer his set of animated armor, enchanted to fit him properly.

#DM ideas #curse of strahd #strahd von zarovich #dnd strahd #cos ireena #cos dnd #cos spoilers #and to my players (should they have found this): may the dark powers favor you #especially given that you may have trouble getting help from the Abbot at this point

[punk-pangolins]

Cleric PC wouldnt come up with a name for their god so we went with Nuseht (thesuN)

#shitpost #dnd ideas #dnd #dnd story #dnd character #upsetting the dm #dm ideas

[clanker-66]

So, I've never played DnD before, and neither have my family. I'm planning on DMing are first session and have been gathering ideas and writing a plot. Bellow this text is the plot, and most of said ideas are included but some are missing because i can only post 10 images. Any ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advane!

(Also the reward is given to the players by the village chief themself and is a rare dead bird with feathers that sell for alot)

#dnd #dnd ideas #dm ideas #d&d #d&d ideas #dungeons and dragons #dungeon master #dungeon master ideas #chance time #dungeons and dragons ideas #seeking advice #rpg #rpg ideas #dank memes