Topic: The Dungeon and Dragons Thread

We did fit in a D&D session on Sunday. It was a roleplay heavy 4 hour session with no combat. We ended early since I had to get going, plus one of the other players wasn't feeling the best anyway.

We traveled from Talus's abode and made it to Parnast, which didn't really amount to much; just some houses, a stable, and a tavern. Oh, and the very inconspicuous former giant castle docked in a nearby ravine. The drawbridge leading to it was flanked by two armored statues. Wanting some information and a bite to eat - it was almost midday - we stopped off in the tavern. Most of the locals weren't chatty with us since we were wearing some loaned Cult of the Dragon gear, but the orc owner/barkeep was completely fine with paying customers. Our Kobold warlock proceeded to get very drunk off of a self-refilling gold stein of Dwarven make (those in the group that knew Dwarvish figured this out) that the barkeep provided at no extra charge. The stein can refill itself three times a day with some fine ale. The player rolled well enough to not pass out at least, though there was one point when my character was holding him and trying not to let him puke all over everything. Eventually, we ended up outside near the well in the village square, and somehow our Kobold also ran off with and proceeded to mount some Peryton antlers onto his head that I obtained from a previous encounter.

The problem? Our shenanigans (or rather, those of the Kobold) in the bar took awhile, and we made it outside just in time to see the castle starting to rise up. We were starting to panic a bit until I 1. Heard what sounded a lot like Wyverns from the nearby stables and 2. Caught the eye of some guards who were affiliated with the cult. Those with better charisma bonuses bluffed our way through the encounter (it helped that Talus also gave our Dragonborn sorcerer a cult banner, along with the phrase "Tiamat Our Mother and Strength" to get us past some sticky points). We were allowed to take the three Wyverns to the castle since it was too far up for us all to safely reach through other means then.

My character saddled the Wyverns (very lucky successful Animal Handling check; these things are nasty if provoked or mishandled) and obtained just enough info from one via Speak With Animals to know that we needed to land on the roof. The Wyverns knew the way. I successfully guided my steed (the Kobold rode with me; he was still QUITE drunk/sick but thankfully didn't upchuck again. I tried to ask the Wyvern to carry him safely in his claws to prevent a mess above, but I failed a roll and had to retract that mental picture in a hurry). The Dragonborn along with his croc had some trouble, but made it. Our half-elf Bard had a LOT of trouble controlling their steed (the gnome NPC rode with him) to the point where they sustained a lot of damage from the thing's tail before regainijg control.

Making it to the roof, we found some ogres doing some target practice. Using the phrase outlined above, they're now taking us to their leader....That's where we left off for the evening.

@Themagusx1 It did go well, thank you! Between that, a crazy work week, and other goings on IRL, this is the first I'm getting to the forums in a few days. I doubt we'll play again this weekend. Maybe next weekend - not sure yet - but I suspect we'll take a break due to the holidays after that.

@Tasuki Glad your group leveled up and made it to Uthodurn! I'm curious about those leads, but I suppose it's up to the group how things go.

@Tyranexx It's looking like we won't play this weekend due to me working and a few of our players will still be out of town. I can use this time though to set up stuff for the next time we play.

@Tasuki Bummer, but that's understandable. Oh well. More prep time for you then!

Picked up Call of the Netherdeep and Sword Coast Adventures from D&D Beyond. I got both for $21 thanks to their Cyber Monday sale. Now when exactly am I going to use them, who knows but I couldn't pass up a deal.

@Tyranexx The wyvern riding sounds like fun. That sounds like an interesting session with the wyverns and all that. And you are welcome. Think you guys will play this weekend?

I haven't said anything for a while as I haven't had much to contribute lol, we have done a single session in the past 2 months, we've just all been so busy. Love hearing updates on your campaigns though @Tyranexx and @Tasuki they all sound real interesting and fun. It's cool seeing how much variety the game has, there are just infinite scenarios and it's fun hearing about them.
Anyways, we plan on meeting for our biggest campaign this weekend, but we'll see how that goes.

I saw that Cyber Monday deal too, I'm really tempted to grab some books...

The Sword Coast rings a bell, but I'm not completely sure why....I wonder if our random homebrew explorer/new land sessions that come up on rare occasion aren't influenced by that.

@Themagusx1 Interesting AND hilarious! No combat last session, though I suspect that'll change before long. I'm not sure yet if we'll play this weekend; we normally break near the holidays, but we're still far enough away from Christmas/New Years that we may play.

@FroZtedFlake Don't sweat it; that's completely understandable. IRL has been crazy for me over the last week with my mom's surgery and other goings on (Thanksgiving, visitation, haven't been home much, etc.). Glad that I'm keeping you entertained with the campaign I'm in! Last session was a riot at times because of our drunken Kobold lol. Who still needs to return my Peryton antlers....

I hope you and your group are able to meet!

@Tyranexx So after talking it over with my group today, it looks like we will be getting together this weekend. Not sure how much we will play as they players said they wanted to have a session just where we level up their characters so depending on how long that goes, we might not play.

@Tasuki I hope your group gets to play. I didn't realize full sessions could be dedicated to just leveling up.

It's not looking like we'll play this weekend unless a last minute decision is made. There's been some tentative interest for next weekend, but we might end up taking a break until after the holidays if that doesn't pan out either.

@Tyranexx It all depends the size of the group and how much leveling up you have to do. Since they are hitting the 3rd level several of them are getting their subclasses which means alot of work. A few of them will be getting access to spells for the first time so they are going to want to think awhile and probably discuss which ones to take. Our Fighter will be going with the Battle Master subclass so he has maneuvers to choose, all that fun stuff.

@Tasuki Ah, good point on subclasses; there are a lot of decisions to be made there! I didn't enter my main campaign until my character was level 7 to match everyone else; I switched to a Drake Warden later, but there are a lot of similarities to the Beast Master class. In a side campaign we only visit once in a blue moon (and will eventually replace this one), that character hit level 2. I've already been planning what to do with my rogue. I'll likely go the Arcane Trickster with her. It took a bit to find suitable spells and cantrips.

No experience with Fighters in this corner, but has that player discussed what they're considering for maneuvers?

@Tyranexx They are thinking Bait N Switch, which allows the fighter to switch places with a willing subject. Very useful if say your healer gets surrounded. Goading Attack which makes enemies go after you and suffer disadvantage if they go against anyone else and they are quite sure the last maneuver yet.

Ooh yeah those leveling sessions can take a hot minute, especially if there are newer players.
Also, our group has decided to do our main campaign tonight (woohoo) it's taken us much too long and we left off at a pretty big cliffhanger.

@Tasuki Both of those sound like very useful maneuvers. I hope that player is able to make up their mind! A lot of classes seem to have plenty of versatility in D&D. I've already witnessed this with my characters as well as obtained ideas by perusing the Players Handbook.

@FroZtedFlake Have fun! Hopefully it's an entertaining 'un.

I've tried D&D on a couple of different occasions as both DM and player. Never really found it to be as fun or interesting as the concept or its long list of descendents would imply. The tone never feels right to me, I'm expecting epic adventure and I get forced improv comedy. I'd love to be proven wrong and I know the group determines the quality, but I find the rules really arcane and difficult to comprehend (I'm not great at fast math) and it feels like a Herculean effort to find a group only to be disappointed by the game, IF the group ever even starts playing at all.

I've wanted to play it since learning about it when I was young but each passing year it seems to slip further away.

@FroZtedFlake Oh I hate when I am a player and left on a cliffhanger. I hope your group has a good time.

@Tyranexx That's one thing that I like with 5e, with the additions of Subclasses it gives so much variety to classes. You can literally have two Fighters in a group but due to what subclasses they choose can play and help the group in different ways.

@Tyranexx well I hope your group meets up this weekend? Still curious about those Wyverns. Reminds me of one of the times a player tried to cut off the poison tip of the said creature and ended up dying as a result. It was too bad for him.

@Tasuki Some of the subclasses are very interesting and do seem to change up the play styles quite a bit. I've decided on Arcane Trickster over a Misfortune Bringer (Grim Hollow subclass) since some casting ability fits my rogue's background. She's a Tabaxi who has no clue why she's in Etharis (Grim Hollow's setting) and in fact is VERY foreign as far as many of the inhabitants go. I'm not sure what all the DM has planned for her, but I wrote a general background where she was spirited away by the Fey and escaped. Due to a feat (Fey Touched), she already has very limited casting ability.

@Themagusx1 Unfortunately I don't think we're meeting up now; too many sick or busy people unfortunately. Why would a player want to cut off the poison tip? To make it less dangerous? XD

@Tyranexx Lol I think they were trying to collect the poison. Not the smartest move obviously but it cost them in the end! Lol what’s the riskiest thing you have done in your campaign?

@Tyranexx Wyvern tails fetch a good price as spell components and also on the black market for poison.