60
votes
Accepted
Creating a campaign that ends with a TPK by design
Surprising your players with this will subvert the expectations the game itself is built upon.
D&D is designed as a fundamentally cooperative story-telling game, and not just in a "the ...
- 111k
29
votes
Creating a campaign that ends with a TPK by design
I have had this done to me before, it is a BAD idea
The basic idea of D&D is that you tell a story with the players, something I see too often on here is a DM who wants to tell a story to their ...
- 26.3k
16
votes
Accepted
Translating in-game between player characters without breaking the game's rhythm
Designate a "translator"
I am playing in a long running WoD round, in the Ahadi setting. We share 2 languages on almost all characters, Kiswahili and English. But we also meet a lot of ...
- 26.9k
16
votes
Creating a campaign that ends with a TPK by design
You need to write a novel, not run an RPG
Since you tag this dnd-5e, I'll reference the rules of that game - PHB p.6:
The DM describes the environment.
The players describe what they want to do.
The ...
- 189k
14
votes
Accepted
How can I add a layer of meaning to an evil campaign?
Take advantage of shared motivations
We have played a chaotic evil campaign. In my experience, the problem is not primarily the campaign story, it is keeping the players from murdering each other's ...
- 25.5k
13
votes
How do I tell my DM that dice don’t need to dictate the story?
First, what your DM does is not wrong. The rules of the game even tell them to use dice however they want (page 236 DMG):
THE ROLE OF DICE
Dice are neutral arbiters. They can determine the outcome ...
- 25.5k
10
votes
How can I add a layer of meaning to an evil campaign?
Imitate the demons: dragoon everyone into working together
The only reason most demons bother to fight in the Blood War specifically (rather than just aimlessly slaughtering whatever’s convenient) is ...
- 322k
9
votes
How can I add a layer of meaning to an evil campaign?
You've written that you want to run a game where:
Though their players sit at the same table, they are not in the same party and their roleplaying is often almost in a vacuum as their story lines are ...
- 78k
8
votes
Handling witty jabs at the DM
My standard is to play it straight.
The player has ripped up the note as a meta-game joke? Totally fine. In this situation it's hard to know exactly what the DM had planned, but if the note were ...
- 5,819
8
votes
How do I tell my DM that dice don’t need to dictate the story?
You've written that you're in a one-on-one game, and:
A roll they'll make is to see if an anime character will show up or not, even though there's been no hints of such character in this world before ...
- 78k
8
votes
Creating a campaign that ends with a TPK by design
You don't need to tell them, but...
You don't need to tell them, and there are definitely advantages to not giving away the ending, but you'll need to soften some of your expectations and do a lot of ...
- 91
7
votes
How can I add a layer of meaning to an evil campaign?
A bit of a detour first.
What is the meaning of Chaotic and/or Evil alignment?
There are a lot of pre-conceptions and caricatures with alignments in D&D, and part of session 0 should be to agree ...
- 9,157
6
votes
Handling witty jabs at the DM
The underlying problem is that Player 3 is being rude
This aspect of D&D is essentially an improv game, and in an improv game it's everybody's responsibility to "yes and" their scene ...
- 43.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Handling witty jabs at the DM
There are two issues here. The first issue is that your player is attempting to narrate actions onto DM-controlled NPCs, which is something they're not allowed to do. The second issue is that your ...
- 78k
4
votes
Creating a campaign that ends with a TPK by design
I agree with all of the other answers that suggest this is a bad idea. It probably is a bad idea, and will likely end poorly. However, if you're set on it, there a few things you can do that might ...
- 7,041
4
votes
Creating a campaign that ends with a TPK by design
Definitely Tell Them
I feel like most of the replies are negative, or saying how you must base a game around players, but I disagree. The campaign idea sounds fun (I'd play it), but as a player I'd ...
- 278
4
votes
Creating a campaign that ends with a TPK by design
Figure out, narratively, what is reminding the players of their mortality.
You have actually asked a very specific question about narrating a certain thing, and you are getting a lot of answers about ...
- 1,585
3
votes
Handling witty jabs at the DM
Option 4. Roll for it.
Roll the contested stealth v. perception to see if they can catch who placed the note. Having found their note regardless of if they catch the figure who placed it, the player ...
- 38k
1
vote
Handling witty jabs at the DM
You use a normal DM skill - Coincidence.
Luck, chance, and fate all play a part in a lot of stories. Used poorly, it's seen as a plot hole or lazy writing - deus ex machina. Used well, and it's seen ...
- 23.2k
1
vote
Creating a campaign that ends with a TPK by design
Do I tell the players up front their characters are going to die in the end, spoiling the story? Or do I try to craft a narrative where [the characters] slowly come to learn their fate?
Yes, both
Any ...
- 1,277
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