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Dungeons and Dragons
https://www.beexcellenttoeachother.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7014
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Author:  Mimi [ Thu Nov 05, 2020 23:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Giphy "flexible dave":
https://media3.giphy.com/media/l0K45HSIwKq7tZSeY/giphy-loop.mp4

Author:  Zardoz [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 0:13 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

If Mon - Weds is better then those nights should be ok for me too.

Author:  Goddess Jasmine [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 7:53 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I've decided to bow out of this. :(

Thursdays are currently my only free evening and things changed quite a bit at work yesterday. So I don't think it's a good idea for me to commit to something else at the moment.

Shame as I would really like to have joined in. I hope you all have a great time though, and I look forward to reading how you get on. :)

Author:  sdg [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 13:46 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

What about a Sunday night or Monday night, 7-10pm fortnightly? Either of them work for me.

While home working is still the order of the day there shouldn’t be any conflicts but when I’m allowed to travel for work again there might be some rescheduling, although we might be able to handle that ad hoc.

Author:  myp [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 13:51 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I would say you have 6 who have said they can do Thursdays, so please don’t change it on my account as you can’t please everyone.

Book me in for the next one on a Sunday or Monday :)

Author:  sdg [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 14:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I think I only have four: Zardoz, Dave, Vision and Squirt? Have I missed anyone? Can each of you make a Sun or Mon instead?

Author:  Mr Dave [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 14:37 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Sunday can sometimes be awkward, what with it being the weekend and often am busy for the weekend, Monday is fine.

Author:  Squirt [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 14:45 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Yeah, I'm almost always free on Mondays ( because where else am I going to be right now? :D )

Sundays slightly less good for me, but still likely to be clear.

I have the digital version of the Players Handbook on DNDBeyond.com but I'm not sure if I can share it with people. You can use the site to create characters if you don't have any of the guides, but you don't have access to all the stuff ( like only about a third of the subclasses ).

I'm good for any of the adventures, although from what I've heard Lost Mines of Phlapdoodle is as good a place to start as any :)

Author:  Zardoz [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 15:30 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Mondays are fine for me.

Could those who can, link me do to a character creation thing, please.

I'm guessing a party is best off having a range of races/classes?

Help!

Author:  Squirt [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 15:52 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

5e DnD is pretty good in that you don't really need a super-balanced party I reckon, but it is more fun to have one, as then each person gets their little niche that they excel at, rather than all being wizards who are good at the same thing.

Author:  Zardoz [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 16:14 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I found this: https://arcaneeye.com/dm-tools-5e/dnd-5e-classes/

I'll have a mooch over it and get picking.

Author:  Squirt [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 16:27 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Artificers aren't in the core rules, so I don't know if they'll work with the books sdg has!

Author:  Zardoz [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 16:36 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Yeah the more I'm reading the deeper it gets...

SDG! Can you let us know what races / classes we should choose from to keep it manageable for you?

Author:  Zardoz [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 17:34 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I'm leaning towards a Druid.

Author:  Zardoz [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 17:35 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Sorry, wrong forum.

Author:  sdg [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 18:19 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Sorry, been out with the kids. Let me survive the chaos that is dinner and bath time and then I’ll formulate a proper reply! Check DnDBeyond though, spellcasting classes can be a bit overwhelming for your first character but DND beyond makes it a bit easier because it marks of spell slots as you cast them and can roll the dice and calculate final totals for you.

Author:  Mr Dave [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 19:55 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I'm leaning towards Bard

Because comedy rubbish bard.

Author:  Squirt [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 21:04 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Possibly a warlock, because spooky wizard shenanigans.

Author:  sdg [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 21:24 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I’m planning to run the starter set adventure because it’s a great adventure to introduce the game of D&D to new players and it won’t take months to play through it, so if people decide it’s not for them then it’s not a total disaster. If it goes well, and if everyone wants to keep playing, then we could progress into one of the hardback adventures either with the characters from this campaign, or everyone can roll new characters now that they’ve got a sense of what it’s like as a player and are more able to decide what they’d like to play as.

I’m happy for you to roll your own Level 1 character for this adventure if you want to. If you’d rather the simplicity of a pregen, these are the ones included with the starter set.

https://media.wizards.com/downloads/dnd ... acters.pdf

These character sheets are great for first time players because they include instructions on how to level up when the time comes and also have backstory and story hooks related to places, people and events that you might come across during the adventure.

If you want to roll your own character, a great guide is available on DnDBeyond here:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/essentials/cr ... -character

I’m happy to help with any questions you need answered as you go through that.

Alternatively, if you find the character creation process a bit overwhelming (I did for ages, it takes a bit of time but there’s loads of guidance online) but you have a rough idea of what you want them to be like, I could build them for you and then share the character sheet to you. Just let me know in here!

To play, you’ll need a computer/laptop/iPad able to connect to a zoom meeting, a webcam and speakers and mic. You’ll need either a set of polyhedral dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20). If you store your character sheet on DnDBeyond, you can use their electronic dice. You just click the ability you are testing and it rolls a dice on screen, shows the result on the die face and also shows you your total based on stat adjustments, item bonuses, advantages etc. Useful, but it always more fund rolling real dice!

I’m still figuring out if we’ll do ‘theatre of the mind’ for combat or if I’ll get electronic maps and if so, how I’ll share them.

Someone said earlier (I think it was Squirt) that it’s better to have a diverse party and I agree. For it to be a fun game for everyone, as a player you should try to have something that’s your thing, be it healing, checking for traps, being the tank in battle etc. That way there’s a chance for you to shine.

D&D is pretty easy to get into. How it plays depends on the DM and party but it can be funny, silly, serious, role play heavy, zero role play and combat heavy, with character voices, without, whatever you want.

Author:  sdg [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 21:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Mr Dave wrote:
I'm leaning towards Bard

Because comedy rubbish bard.

I nearly went for a bard in the campaign I’m in right now but i didn’t know the other players or PCs and I didn’t know if as a party, they’d work well with a support class so I ended up going for an arcane trickster rouge which is good fun. I usually love playing a cleric- healing and damage what’s not to like!

Author:  Grim... [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 21:39 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Mr Dave wrote:
I'm leaning towards Bard

Because comedy rubbish bard.

Fight, fight, fight the unstoppable tarrasque!

Author:  sdg [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 22:03 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

When we play,the very basic overview is I describe the scene and ask you what you want to do. You tell me what you want to do and I might ask for a roll to decide if you can achieve it. Based on the result of your roll, I'll tell you if you were successful and describe the new scene. Repeat.

For example; you come across a clearing in the forest. A fire is burning in the centre and you see a figure lying on the ground beside it. What do you want to do?

Player 1: I want to check if there's anyone else in the clearing.

DM: Roll perception.

Player 1: 16

DM: You notice another figure patrolling the outside of the clearing on the side opposite you.

Player 2: I sneak round there

DM: Roll stealth

Player 2: 11

DM: You start sneaking round but halfway there, you stumble on a tree root. You catch yourself on a branch which snaps loudly. A voice calls out from the area you saw the patrolling guard "Who's there?"

--------------
As a player, you can download a free ruleset from here:
https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
This includes character creation.

If you enjoy the game and plan to play more, I recommend getting the Player Handbook.

If you want to find out more now, this is a good video series but I'll preface it by saying that you could show up to session one with a pregen character sheet I've shared above, a set of dice, and nothing else including zero understanding of the rules and you'd still be able to play because I'll describe the scene, ask what you want to do, then tell you what you need to do and where to find the numbers on your character sheet to check if you can achieve it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoW2CDgztKY

Author:  Grim... [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 22:32 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Player 3: I want to sneak around there, too

DM: Roll stealth

Player 3: I GOT A TWO

Author:  Cras [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 22:52 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Recon!

Author:  Zardoz [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 22:57 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Cheers for the info dump, I’ll get reading / downloading to get prepped.

I think I will stick to my guns and go for a Druid class. I’ll look into which races might be best fit and roll a character up... if I get stuck I’ll give you a shout :)

I’m guessing with me being a Druid, Squirt going for a Warlock and a Dave choosing a Bard we could do with a Barbarian/Paladin/Rogue to bolster our party.

Author:  sdg [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 23:06 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Yeah a martial class would work well. Bard's and Druid's both have healing so a Cleric isn't essential but still useful, and means the Cleric doesn't feel like they're only for healing magic. A fighter could be good for another PC as well. Matt!

Author:  sdg [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 23:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

@Matt
@myp
@Mr Chonks

Author:  Mr Dave [ Fri Nov 06, 2020 23:58 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I remember having the second edition rulebooks around the house when I was young. Never played.

Bought the players handbook expecting it to be a bit bigger than the one I used to have, but bugger! It's massive.

Time to look into awesome bardliness (before deciding its a massive mistake)

Author:  Trooper [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 9:22 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

When I did this recently, we used discord for uploading maps, pictures of NPCs etc... but also you can install a dice bot, which was very useful.

!roll 1d20 +4 and the like, then everyone gets to see what's going on.

Author:  Zardoz [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 9:32 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

So I could do with getting a 5e Players handbook then?

Author:  Squirt [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 10:37 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

The free rules at dndbeyond or elsewhere will provide pretty much all of what you need for the first few sessions if you're not sure.

Author:  Mr Dave [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 10:53 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Trooper wrote:
When I did this recently, we used discord for uploading maps, pictures of NPCs etc... but also you can install a dice bot, which was very useful.

!roll 1d20 +4 and the like, then everyone gets to see what's going on.

I dunno, I much prefer the physicality of rolling actual dice. And since i have suitable actual dice and a webcam....

Author:  sdg [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 12:07 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Trooper wrote:
When I did this recently, we used discord for uploading maps, pictures of NPCs etc... but also you can install a dice bot, which was very useful.

!roll 1d20 +4 and the like, then everyone gets to see what's going on.

I need to look at this, I’ve heard Roll 20 is good for virtual battle maps but I’ve never used it so I’d need to check how user friendly it is.

Zardoz wrote:
So I could do with getting a 5e Players handbook then?


Not necessary to start playing, the free rules are enough then you could buy the players handbook (PHB) if you liked it. Or, if you’re like me you could buy it now and start to hoard books.

There are three core rulebooks: the PHB, the DMG (dungeon masters guide) and the MM (monster manual.) players really only need the PHB and the DM uses the others. The DM can also buy adventure modules like Curse of Strahd. These are complete adventures that can take months to play through.

As a player, other nice to have accessories are dice (lots and lots of lots of dice! :luv: ), and if you’re playing a spell caster I highly recommend the gale force nine spell cards.
Gale Force Nine GF973917 Dungeons and Dragons Druid Spell Deck Revised Board Game https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MQU4K9U/ ... PFbHH85DW3
These make choosing, managing and casting your spells much simpler and saves you having to flick through the rulebook to find the spell.

Author:  sdg [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 12:08 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Mr Dave wrote:
Trooper wrote:
When I did this recently, we used discord for uploading maps, pictures of NPCs etc... but also you can install a dice bot, which was very useful.

!roll 1d20 +4 and the like, then everyone gets to see what's going on.

I dunno, I much prefer the physicality of rolling actual dice. And since i have suitable actual dice and a webcam....

Me too, I much prefer rolling dice. No need to do it on camera either, I’ll trust your rolls.

Author:  Cras [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 12:24 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

sdg wrote:
I need to look at this, I’ve heard Roll 20 is good for virtual battle maps but I’ve never used it so I’d need to check how user friendly it is.


The best thing about Roll20 is the fully scripted character sheets. Need to roll a constitution save? Click on it in your character sheet and Roll20 does the roll for you. It also has a handy built-in rules reference

Author:  Mr Dave [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 14:29 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I've also thought of a fighterish character that could be a lot of fun to play, if we're lacking in meat shields

Author:  Squirt [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 15:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Cras wrote:
sdg wrote:
I need to look at this, I’ve heard Roll 20 is good for virtual battle maps but I’ve never used it so I’d need to check how user friendly it is.


The best thing about Roll20 is the fully scripted character sheets. Need to roll a constitution save? Click on it in your character sheet and Roll20 does the roll for you. It also has a handy built-in rules reference


I like the on-line character sheets as they automate all the annoying stuff in character building - class gives you 3 proficiencies from this list, and background 2 from that list, and race one from another list, or making sure you have all your +1s in the right place.

Also, a lot of the bookkeeping that can make for some interesting choices - ammo limits, weight carried, lifestyle expenses - is such a faff to do by hand people just ignore it, but these sort them all for you.

Author:  Zardoz [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 17:56 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I like books so I’ll get the PHB.

Author:  Dimrill [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 18:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Pervert Handshandy Bag?

Author:  Zardoz [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 18:24 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

No, you’re my Haunted Knapsack. STAY IN CHARACTER!

The book hath been ordered.

Author:  myp [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 19:03 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

sdg wrote:
@Matt
@myp
@Mr Chonks

Hello!

Author:  Zardoz [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 19:09 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

@Stan

Author:  sdg [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 20:53 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Mr Chonks wrote:
sdg wrote:
@Matt
@myp
@Mr Chonks

Hello!


sdg wrote:
Yeah a martial class would work well. Bard's and Druid's both have healing so a Cleric isn't essential but still useful, and means the Cleric doesn't feel like they're only for healing magic. A fighter could be good for another PC as well. Matt!

Author:  myp [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 21:00 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

I’m a lover not a fighter

Author:  sdg [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 21:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Mr Chonks wrote:
I’m a lover not a fighter

Oh so you’re the bard?

Author:  myp [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 21:29 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Dual bards here we go!

Author:  Zardoz [ Sat Nov 07, 2020 22:47 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

You’re bard.

Author:  Squirt [ Mon Nov 09, 2020 9:52 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Working bard or bardly working, am i right?

Author:  myp [ Mon Nov 09, 2020 10:00 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Squirt wrote:
Working bard or bardly working, am i right?

No

Author:  Squirt [ Mon Nov 09, 2020 10:05 ]
Post subject:  Re: Dungeons and Dragons

Fair enough.

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