Tyranny of Dragons Campaign OOC Thread

TYRANNY OF DRAGONS: THE COMMENCEMENT BEGINS​

starring:
@The Frood Abides as Marian the half-orc paladin
@swirlingflight as Thunder the half-dragon fighter
@Helen of Boy as Salt the lizardfolk ranger
@garden as Honor the human cleric
@NevermorePoe as Vitae the tiefling druid
@KarrinBlue as Kharika the tiefling warlock
and me as literally everyone else

house rules (I'll continue to add more as needed):

• honor system for dice rolls.
• if possible, roll initiative before posting IC turns in combat so as to limit retconning when said turns get out of order. characters should adhere to strict initiative counts as normal, but I might roll initiative for groups of identical monsters as, well, a group.
• in combat, please preemptively make to-hit and damage rolls, i.e., post them in the IC thread before I determine whether the attack hits.
  • I reserve the right to describe the effects of the attack as dramatically as possible, however. >:]
• post those rolls and details of actions (your exact movement, bonus action, and action, including details of weapon attacks/spells) under spoilers in the IC thread.
• questions for me and all other rolls can go in this thread.
• please do not hesitate to protest some of my rulings if you think I've forgotten, like, an actual rule from the reference material, because I inevitably will. I am probably going to do the same to you, so it's turn and turn about, really. I also welcome non-legislative questions from the peanut gallery if you want me to explain something I did.
• I will confer XP not only for combat, but for successful nonviolent resolution of tricky situations. if you do negotiate such a situation successfully, you will receive the same number of XP as you would if you had gone the Kill Everything!!!1 route.
• for roleplaying's sake, I strongly discourage metagaming, i.e., playing your character based on your knowledge, not on what the character would reasonably know. for example, you might've rolled very low on a Perception check, and your character didn't see much. you might want to check again, but your character would have no reason to: that's just what they see. this is not to say, however, that you cannot discuss plans of action or strategies among yourselves OOC—just maintain reasonable doubt, so to speak.
• to facilitate this, and to make the transfer of knowledge within your party more realistic, I will be putting information known only to specific characters under marked spoilers so you have to decide to click before you read it. :P

general game info (likewise updated):

• clichéd summary of campaign themes here. I may eventually be arsed to do an overdramatic writeup, but no promises.
• I will be gratuitously conferring advantage and disadvantage, all the time, to everyone. I really like the mechanic okay
• I will be bolding things, like an asshole, that are either in individual replies but I nonetheless wish to bring to everyone's attention or that are mechanical instructions to particular players.
• I do not like core material categorizations of entire species (or subspecies) as having, like, one personality, and to express this dislike, I am going to fuck around with stereotypes a lot. please feel free to do the same with your characters.
• requests for descriptions of the environment will usually not require Perception checks; don't sweat it when deciding if you should roll preemptively. I am usually willing to exposit indefinitely with very little prompting, so.
• I have stolen a religious system from Lois McMaster Bujold that like only one person is familiar with, but there's a probably-adequate précis here, plus an explanation of my planned adaption for the Sword Coast setting.
• generally speaking, I am going to borrow other people's worldbuilding (and characters) like hell, which, I mean. if I were to play the module completely straight, the whole thing would be someone else's setting, but. brace yourself for supplementary yet hopefully low-profile fanfic, is what I'm saying.
• please forgive my writing sins (except grammar, please correct my IC grammar, perhaps with stylistic allowances) ..... the genre tropes, they beckon... also my writing style changes depending on what I read last sooo
• I totally understand if someone has to step out for however long because of low spoon reserves, etc.
  • (this is also a problem that I have, and while I hope I won't disappear for long stretches of time, I ask for your forbearance if I do. I promise I will not have lost interest in the game.)
  • you don't have to make a long post Justifying your absence, but I'd appreciate it if, when I ask after you here, you'll like it or something instead of leaving me hanging.
  • if you're absent for a while, your character can either leave the party temporarily IC, or I can run your character as a low-flavor NPC for consistency's sake. I promise I won't kill them. :P if I've asked about that and you haven't answered for a while, I'll default to the latter option.

Spoiler: character creation info

• roll 4d6 to generate ability scores, dropping the lowest roll. you may reroll rolls of 1. assign your rolls as you see fit.
• your character may start either with prepackaged class/background equipment or roll for gold to purchase equipment selectively.
• characters will begin at first level.

please see @Helen of Boy's excellent posts here and here for rundowns of key elements of character creation.

• go ahead and make characters of the races they listed as "Common" and "Uncommon." I'm not going to rule any of the other races out unconditionally, but please talk to me if you want your character to be one.
• I'm also open to your drawing from Wizards of the Coast's Unearthed Arcana content, but please discuss your plans with me.
• no class or alignment constrictions, but you better have a damn good reason for your evil character to get along with the rest of the party.
• I'm all for custom backgrounds, but please discuss them with me if possible.
• I'd like at least a few details on your character's background and personality on your character sheet.

 

I recommend random.org's dice roller if you don't have physical ones to use. Both because it's good and random, and because it spat out these for me:

14 16 15 11 13 18

The 16 was a 14 that included a 1, the 1 got rerolled into a 6. I'd be fine putting it back to a 14. (The 18 was three 6s and a 5.)

Real dice have rarely been so good to me. Like, once, maybe, when I rolled a character that got three 18s, but I ended swapping two of those to other players because being too good at everything isn't always super fun.


But dice aside, to repeat what I said in the main D&D thread, I'm good with playing almost any class. Because of that, I wanna let at least a few others (especially those who haven't played as much) settle into concepts first. That way I can fill a missing role without getting in the way of someone else being what they want to be, and there's little chance of me having to play something I don't want to.

 

Oh! This looks neat. I don't think I've ever played D&D for more than a few sessions, though...

 

Ok, play by post is definitely something I can do! Druid don't get animal companions in 5e, so I thiiiink I am going to go with a dark elf bard, if that is ok with people? @esotericPrognosticator you said you'd be cool with custom deities, right? And are we doing 3d6, 4d6 drop 1, or 5d6 drop two for ability scores?

Spoiler: Submitted for the approval of the midnight society

My character concept: a dark elf who was found as a baby on the surface by a cleric of the god of light, maybe? She was taken to a cloister where she was raised, but her race and her tendency to....wander and ask innoppurtube questions made many there find her a pest, or an ill omen. She finally ran away while still very young for an elf, but thankfully had learned how to play the lute and sing in her time at the cloisters. She became a travelling bard, desperate to see the world, wanting to know and be known, like and be liked.

 

is there a class best suited to playing a stab mage (a mage who stabs, and does magic via stabbing, and who can enhance their stabbing via magic)? I know that there's the Hexblade patron for Warlock, but is there a more suitable class?

 

Seems like a neat character concept!

Sounds like you might want a Bladesinger (Wizard specialization from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide). Limited to Elves and Half-Elves, Bladesingers are full-on Wizards that gain access to decent weapons, and can use some of their magic to do a Bladesong, which is similar to a Bard's singing only it boosts them rather than allies. So they can go between being pretty strong arcane casters to deadly swordsfolk and back again in a hurry.

If you want less of the Elfy Tradition stuff and more of the stab-focused stuff, the Fighter has the Eldritch Knight specialization that learns a selection of spells (though only up to 4th-level spells, rather than the full 9), gets ways to boost their weapons with magic, and cast cantrips while also making with the stabs.

The Rogue also has the Arcane Trickster, but they seem more focused on non-stab spells.

EDIT: I hit post to see that I was cross-thread ninja'd. Alas! Alack! Oh well.

 

Should we use the character sheet specifically labelled tyranny of dragons in the character sheet folder? Sorry for so many questions

 

I'm a complete newb to DnD 5e and getting most of my info from the SRD so if you don't mind some hand-holding I have an Interest. (Actually my only Real tabletop experience is Rifts, and we threw out half the rules and made it semi freeform because we got into the storytelling, but I've played a lot of the DnD rpg games so I'm a little familiar with the older mechanics and the setting? I just haven't played the Real Thing before, and definitely not 5e yet)

If you're even still accepting? -yes hello anxiety-

 

For what it's worth, I'm around and willing to answer questions on general D&D 5e stuff. Can't answer anything for @esotericPrognosticator on behalf of this game's specific rules or plans, obviously, but there's some stuff I'm too happy to help with.

Your answer was more detailed than mine, so it worked out like you were clarifying what I said! :P

HECK YEAH, the rerolling of 1s turned what would have been two 5s into a 9 and a 17.

Spoiler: my rolls

( 5 4 3 2 ) = 12

( 3 1 1 1 ) = 5
(reroll = 1 5 6) (reroll again = 6) = 17

( 3 4 1 1 ) = 8
(reroll = 3 4) = 11

( 6 2 3 5 )= 14

( 4 3 6 5 ) = 15

( 1 2 2 1 ) = 5
(reroll = 3 1) (reroll again = 3) = 8

resulting in 12, 17, 11, 14, 15, 9, which is a very nice array for the character idea i've been mulling over. the worst ability scores aren't awful like I'd expected, which could be the result of continuing to train and improve since the time in their life when they were obstacles.

I gotta not even look at the Myth-Weavers character sheet until I decide on more things. It's really terrible as a worksheet, compared to just opening a word doc and noting things down. So far I've got the originally rolled ability scores, class/race/background, some ideas for history and personality, and most of which skill and tool proficiencies I want.

...Mostly. Folk Hero fits best for the vibe I want to go with, for an ex-glassblower-turned-war wizard, but... why would they have Handle Animal or Vehicles (land)? That seems more like holdovers from cliche adventurers hailing from recently burned and unusually socially isolated farming villages.

eta belatedly, how did i record the dice values, see it was an 8, and then type 9 two times?

 

Huzzah! My need for over-detailing saves the day!

Well, if they had some formal military training, or ever took their glassworks to market, those could both be reasons to learn. There are plenty of reasons to learn how to ride a horse, drive a wagon, or deal with either in a broader sense. Even in a city, you might use a cart to get across town rather than always travelling on foot.

 

Hey, that could really work out. I'd been stuck on the question of why a dwarf from a good-sized delve would learn that stuff, but. The paired ideas of it being useful to military logistics, on top of going out with merchant trips to help sell their own glassworks, gives me enough. And it ties in nicely with me wanting them to have the History skill; more familiarity with the history of the region is helpful to going out into the surrounding communities themself. Thank you!

 

My statline is Str: 12, Dex: 16, Con: 13, Int: 14, Wis: 12, Cha: 17- at least before racial mods and such? Does anyone know whether dark elves just use the standard elf racial features or if theres racial features specifically for dark elves (I could only find a bestiary entry for them in 5e)

 

Drow as player characters:

Spoiler

 

You're welcome!

Back in the day I did a lot of RNG-based character stuff, and thought everything had to be justified. So I'd explain why my character had all the stats they did, what that meant, etc.

You get the +2 to Dex that all Elves do, and then also +1 Cha. They should be in the PHB, under the Elf section, but if you're looking at the quickstart stuff they might not be there.

(Mini-EDIT: Ninja'd again! And more fully, this time!)



Anyhow, despite not wanting to make the characters, seeing all the stuff and going through the books gave me some concepts. So I'm going to post them here, free for stealing if anyone wants, or for narrowing in as people pick what they're doing.

• A (feral) tiefling Monk, learning to use the light of their soul to spread peace after getting raised by an old monk for a while;
• An eladrin Monk, mostly because between the racial teleport ability and the Sun Soul monk path they could basically be a DBZ character and I am apparently too 12 to not consider that;
• A half-orc or goliath Barbarian, likely totem warrior, interested in keeping friends safe and sound and getting very upset (and angry) at things that want to make this harder;
• A dragonborn Fighter, mostly to use the Purple Dragon Knight/Banneret specialization as a Dragon and be all inspiring and shit;
• A lizardfolk Barbarian, very uncertain as to what all the mammals are so concerned about but somewhat invested in helping out because if shit goes bad everywhere it goes bad everywhere;
• An [undefined] Sorcerer, probably a storm sorcerer, because who doesn't love thunder and lightning-based magic? maybe another dragonborn, or a tiefling, or even a half-elf, I dunno;
• An [undefined] Cleric who focuses on the Arcana domain, basically someone who got kicked out of Wizard School but believes really hard in magic;
• I like the idea of a Monk that's really cheerful and upbeat but follows the Way of the Long Death and is super into what dying does to things;
• A swashbuckling Rogue, probably human, wielding two swords and just having far too much fun with this whole "adventure" thing.

...assuming I don't get stuck on a yuan-ti pureblood sorcerer or something and need to check, these should all be in the "okay races" section, I think.

But yeah, this is why I said I'd be fine holding off on things. Not lacking for ideas I like.

Hmm. That said, @esotericPrognosticator, are you allowing Feats or are we Feat-free? Changes up how humans stack up as a choice, slightly.

 

Thank you very much!
....Charisma +1 and near universally reviled doesn't make much sense to me but I'll take it!

 

...so right now my thoughts are:

Bladesinger elf, except raised in the elf equivalent of a cult, basically trained to be a guard/warrior for them, but then escaped and discovered that the world is a LOT bigger and weirder and more exciting than previously thought, and

Hexblade Warlock, but whose patron weapon is just. When all the magical sentient god-weapons get together in another plane of existence, her patron is the one that they all spot out of the corner of their eye-decorative-jewels and go 'ugh that guy' at. Every other weapon has history and legends and big dramatic creation stories. and this one is just the least dignified one possible, who only has one measly follower who sasses them half the time anyways.

 

The stat is more about bearing, force of will, things like that. People hate the drow for a bunch of reasons, but that doesn't mean they're not adept at politicking and charming when they want to be... they just don't care about making peace with the awful people on the surface, generally, for many of the reasons why non-drow don't want to be their friends anyway.

 

I missed the notif, but here are my rolls

Trying to decide between charming folksy half-orc paladin of the Bastard and creepy magnetic soft-spoken tabaxi shadowdancer secretly devoted to Tezcatlipoca.
Also have druid, sorcerer, and rogue concepts on the back burner but these are the only ones that really came to life in my head.

 

druids may not get animal companions, but you know about their Wild Shape ability, right? no companion necessary: when they're high enough level, they can transform into any beast with a bonus action 4+ times a day. plus they just soak up damage—any damage taken in animal form doesn't reduce their humanoid form's HP (unless one attack takes their animal form down to zero HP, then deals more damage on top of that, in which case they revert to humanoid form and take that extra damage.) they make really good tanks, tbh.

(also one ranger archetype does get an animal companion, but like @Helen of Boy, I've heard a lot of complaints about 5e rangers, so. feel free to use the modified ranger from Unearthed Arcana, which attempts to be slightly less broken.)

yeah, rustle up your own gods if you want! like I said earlier, though, I am importing a pantheon of sorts into the setting (@The Frood Abides is thinking of playing a paladin of one of those gods), so if you wanna use one of them, that'd be cool (and cohesive)! from what you've said, it sounds like your character might've been raised by a divine of the Daughter of Spring (She's the closest the Quintity has to a light goddess), the Mother of Summer (who's generally just... motherly, plus Her devotees run a lot of hospitals and such), or the Bastard (He governs all things out of season, and actually most of His ministries are orphanages/homes for foundlings, so).

aside from the other suggestions you've gotten, may I bring the Pact of the Blade for warlocks to your attention? it's available for all warlocks regardless of their patrons, I believe, but in combination with a fiendish patron it can get really nasty (think sucking the souls out of opponents with your weapon to boost your own HP). 's cool stuff!

nah, and you don't have to fill out an official formatted character sheet at all, tbh. this is mine from another campaign, and I'd be a-okay with something like that (though don't feel obliged to go into as much detail as I did :P). also, no need to apologize, I like answering questions

sure! we're getting near capacity for the party, tbh, but anyway nothing is locked down yet and people still might leave. :)

...wow, I wasn't sure how that rerolling rule would shake out, but, uh. I'm real glad it kept your character from having two 5s, nobody deserves that shit.

feats are fine, but they won't become relevant for a couple of levels (5e gives you the option to either increase ability scores as you level up or take feats, and I'm good with either). ...I'm not sure what humans have to do with feats, though? as far as I know feats are the same for every race.

[stage-whispers] DO THE PALADIN

 

I mean yes but. I also get squeamish about taking the mean options in video games, so I don't think I'd want a demonic patron.