279 Folklore Foes

Episodes
#15

As with most of the other comments it does not matter to me when the episode comes out, AS LONG AS IT DOES!! I am new to the podcast and I am current since August now I am just going through all of the 2019 episodes. My one question that I had after the podcast and watching the videos from Zee Bashew’s. What are some of the Apps, websites, online sites etc… Does everyone use, there seems to be a bazillion out there but what are the trusted or should I say better ones that everyone uses. Thanks to an older episode I found out about Roll 20, I had no idea that was an option and this has given me, a new hobbyist, an opportunity play more.

Thanks to everyone for letting me join your community.

Mike from Idaho

#16

Oh man, yeah, you gotta know about Roll20, Mike. Thanks for listening!

1 Like
#17

Fair enough Sean!
It occurred to me I was expressing an opinion on something I’ve been engaging with for free - which is kind of a dick move - so I just signed up to your Patreon!
So long as you guys don’t take on extra “work” that would distract from work, homelife, gaming time & the existing awesome product!

(your prioritization of the order of the above options may vary).

Keep up the great stuff,
Newest Bs’er - Rory

1 Like
#18

Mike, just speaking for me.

I use Fantasy Grounds vs Roll20 (buying software vs subscription being my deciding factor there), my group uses Hangouts for video on game night, and I use OneNote for notes. That’s about it for me!

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#19

No worries Rory. You don’t have to be a Patreon to continue to get us every week. We find the stream to be a ‘value add’ (ugh, I did corporate speak!!) to those that contribute financially. We’re just happy you actually devote an hour of your time to listen, and some extra time to be part of the community. Thank you!

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#20

This is definitely a good gaming community. I like the neighborhood and plan on keeping my house here. The schools are good, I learn a lot of gaming stuff and theories. The streets are in good shape my, minis never fall over. It pretty peaceful. Except for the sounds of dice rolling and gleeful exclamations the neighborhoods real quiet. Yes sir re, just one of those place’s you glad to call home!

5 Likes
#21

I may need to steal this and put it on a welcome banner. Thanks Thomas!

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#22

Another cracking episode.

On ‘Folklore Foes’ I love incorporating monsters from folklore and legend. I’m actually working on self publishing DCC funnel adventure that incorporates some local legends (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Annis) Of course in many cases D&D and other RPGs ‘got there first’ with their own take on these creatures but it’s fun to research the original legends and try and go in a slightly different direction.

On ‘Averaging damage dice’ : I’m all for making the game your own (no such thing as bad wrong fun etc) but I’ll be having none of that crap at my table, thank you very much! As a player if I’m down to 9 HP and you drop ‘Oh this does 8d8 damage, lets just call it an average of thirty six’ I’m going to want you to roll some dice and hope like hell you come up with eight 1s!

4 Likes
#23

I have sporadically used monsters from folklore… most times when I have just read said folklore and found something particularly inspiring or practically devious considering where the PC’s are at. I didn’t really think about it topically until you guys brought it up though. Good stuff as always.

As to when it comes out, I listen whenever it shows up in my podcatcher. Sometimes it appears weekly, sometimes not. Either way I listen!

4 Likes
#24

Well @Bruce_C, I would agree on your above scenario about dice rolling even when I use averages most of the time. Think of the drama it would build for the players as you roll behind the DM screen. I would probably roll them one at a time just to keep everyone on the edge of their seat. Depending on the exact situation if a player was down to 9 hp and got hit by something doing 8d8, [that’s a pretty good chunk of damage, meaning higher CR] that guy has probably already used up any potions for healing and such. So I might fudge the roll just to see what kind of hail marry he’s going to pull out with only one hp. Now your probably thinking, “run away” right. Not my players, this is just the time they start coming up with the kind of stuff that’s talked about for weeks.
Now some of you may balk at the dice fudging thought. I can just hear @sean saying “yeah take that guy out, man” lol. But from my DM’s seat the most anticlimactic thing that will happen is one of the other PCs uses their turn to save this guy. Which is fine, that builds a little party good will and uses someone turn up. Over the years I have found that when one or more players are really low on HP and the fight might not be going their way, players come up with all kinds of stuff and ideas. Sometimes good, sometimes bad but almost always, a memorial good time.
As a DM my philosophy is to be a fan of my players and player characters. To challenge them all the way to the breaking point allowing them to find ways to shine. [Or kill themselves trying].
I find my real reward as a DM is when in , weeks, months and in some cases years, “that game” I ran is still being brought up and talked about by the people who played in it.

2 Likes
#25

I love those stories too.

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#26

I just wanted to chime in on the “average damage” discussion, because I totally use the average damage listed for monsters in D&D 5e. There are two reasons for this.

  1. As the DM, I’m juggling a lot, and honestly, it frees up a lot more cognitive load and time than you would think once you have started doing it.

  2. I ran enough sessions of Pathfinder where a really scary, dangerous monster continually rolled super low on damage, and an encounter turned into a cakewalk.

Yes, this can happen to players as well, but its the same math that affects a lot of RPGs . . . players are rolling a lot more dice than you are as a DM. Your chances, as a DM, to roll low and not do something impressive with your boss fight are way higher than the entire table of PCs rolling lower for all of their characters.

Plus, there are sill fun moments, like when my big, hulking ogre scored a critical hit, and I did less damage than average ON A CRIT than I would have with a normal attack, because my dice really like to roll 2s for some reason.

2 Likes
#27

So, you’re saying the problem is Pathfinder… /s

#28

One of the games I play that allow you to pick & choose how powerful or powerless the monster is. ICRPG a great game systems. Where you can choose to buy a Index Card from one of the three packs you can buy from DriveThruRPG of a 100 cards per pack. And pick the skills it might have, And a story to go along with the pic. My favorite is the Skeleton caring a Gatling gun wearing an sombrero. What kind of stats would you give him? Also the creature of the game system would be a awesome guy to interview about RPG’s not just about his game too. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/201214/INDEX-CARD-RPG-Vol-1?term=icrpg

#29
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#30

Hi Sean and @Fafhrd thanks for the info during die roll, if I would have had the sticker offer sooner I could have started the cataloging wink wink. I appreciate the feed back from you guys and your listeners they are all fine people.

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#31

your listeners they are all fine people.

Except @Young0ne2. Dude keeps licking my face via discord.

( :smirk: )

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#32

Come on Laramie - you know you love it!
:slight_smile:

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#33

I’m a big fan of average damage values. (I also round up or down damage dealt by PCs to integers of 5. So, I’m strongly on the side of less calculation = better.) I could see it getting boring if the fight is one monster with a single attack, but I find there is plenty of randomness when the PCS are facing multiple enemies (who may also have multiple attacks). So, if 10 gnolls all attack twice for 4 damage per hit, that’s a pretty wide range (from 0 to 40 to 80 damage). I definitely recommend trying it to anyone who’s curious. I have found it really helpful in keeping things moving.

2 Likes
#34

I would use average damage for NPC on NPC conflict.
Say the group is fight against an invading orc horde alongside some city guards - I’d use average damage when the guards hit the orcs or the orcs hit the guards.

You could even use it for summoned critters - that pack of wolves Flaco the Magnificent conjured simply does average damage to foes, foes do average damage to the wolves.
Speeds up combat during summons - but leaves the PCs & monsters to have that swingly stressful time.
It helps if the DM rolls attacks for all NPC’s including those allied or summoned by the players.

Full disclosure - I stole this from Monte Cook - He used this for running large set piece battles - he even agervaged the “to hit” rolls for his NPC’s when running battles where the PC’s called in allies.

:slight_smile:
Rory, not Cory, Weston

3 Likes