The secret is to not work from what you’d like to do, but to work backwards from what your players want to do.
Seriously, throw out all the prep you have that isn’t landing, and just ask your players what kinds of things they want to do. Then, make stories inspired by the actions or accomplishments they want to undertake.
… This does require that your players have some idea of what they want to do, though. If you have checked out or uninvested players, there’s essentially nothing you can do I’m afraid.
So now I will soapbox to the players reading this: Your job is to be invested in the game. If you don’t put energy into being invested, you’re not fulfilling your side of the arrangement at the table.
A tale that is perpetually dark in tone becomes tiresome very quickly. It needs to feature the occasional ray of light for contrast and to create a sense of hope. Monsters and other terrors must be offset with creatures that are kind and lovable, giving the characters even more reasons to stand against the darkness. Here are a couple of ways to add glimmers of light to a tragic tale:
In a land as dreary as Barovia, take the time to describe the occasional scene of beauty, such as a pretty flower growing atop a grave.
Make sure that the heroes have contact with NPCs who are honest, friendly, and helpful, such as the Martikovs in Vallaki or the Krezkovs in Krezk.
-Curse of Strahd, Introduction. Marks of Horror. 2016.
Yeah and as smart as anyone is, they aren’t right all the time. As much as you can agree with his messaging, it’s important to critically assess everything said, regardless of who is saying it.
I’ve seen Sealioning used quite a bit in a particular Lemmy instance that would self describe themselves as Pro-Russia & Pro-China, as a way of shutting down discourse between people who disagree with them. There are people who disagree with a particular narrative, and they’re discounted immediately for wanting to know how someone would arrive at a pro-Russian & pro-China position.
Also they’ll just “whatabout!” and change the subject whenever unassailable critiques of these regimes come up. As if its is only possible to hold outrage in a single direction at a time.
I’ll have you know I’m capable of disliking EVERYONE mentioned in a given conversation.
Modern capitalism as we know it began forming in the Renaissance, particularly in colonial European powers who were getting to the Colonization of the rest of the world game earlier than their peers. This notably includes Portugal and the Netherlands, followed swiftly by most everyone else.
There were promissory notes that were carried by travelers prior to this, in the form of Crusaders traveling from Europe to Jerusalem, in the relatively brief period of time that it was conquered. But this did not interact with market economies as we’d know it, and is directly analogous to traveler cheques, meant to make you less of an appealing robbery target on the road.
No, these kinds of shenanigans were concocted rather recently, and are not reflective of baseline normal human behavior. It’s mostly a system that was created by accident, with conventions that were forming being purposeful altered during creation by the people with money, for their own benefit.
Thanks! They look quite slick and have a lot going on. Particularly the void dragons you sent my way.
Each would be more or less perfect for a single-monster encounter, as they are dense with fairly novel mechanics.
Many people think that the WotC statblocks are a bit too boring, but I consider them a good entry point for new GMs. This is clearly a nice way to up your game.
Take another look at the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 in this latest trailer for the upcoming RPG, including creatures, threats, and more that await on your adve...
For the people who have a lot of hours on this game, how well does it play for co-op?
My spouse and I actually dated doing Star Wars the Old Republic co-op, where we could play two different characters going through bespoke personal quest lines while being able to help each other out on their journies.
How easily could we get that experience with this game?
[Satire] Hasbro Executives Report Their Gambling Habit is Under Control, Not Addiction.
When asked for comment, Hasbro Executives report that while they do gamble, what they’re doing is a normal part of their job....
My brain hurts (ttrpg.network)
Evolution of the drow (monyet.cc)
I could write for WotC (comicpress.socksandpuppets.com)
The cowards won’t hire me.
AI does not exist but it will ruin everything anyway (www.youtube.com)
What are tankies? What does sea-lioning mean?
I’ve run across these terms several times, but without enough context to figure out what they mean. Could someone help me out, please?...
Eat the Dragons (imgur.com)
Another meme from Reddit saved to my phone
[War Gamer] Kobold Press slashes prices of monster DnD books (www.wargamer.com)
Baldur’s Gate 3 - Official Release Teaser Trailer (youtu.be)
Take another look at the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 in this latest trailer for the upcoming RPG, including creatures, threats, and more that await on your adve...