Pingo Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 7 minutes ago, TheAuldGrump said: Somehow, in a dream last night, the dragon had a radical change in personality - developed a Scots accent, and a collection of rude garden gnomes.... I am... thinking about making the changes official. Also, for some reason, the gnomes were made by a medusa... not by petrification, but with a chisel and blocks of stone. Another statue, outside her lair, has look of exaggerated horror, a collection of smoked spectacles and a sign saying 'Please Wear These'. (If the players ever encounter her, and don't wear the glasses, well... she is a medusa....) She... is not that great a sculptor, but her sculpts do have personality. No, I have no idea why my mind came up with that... but she seems a happy enough abomination. The Auld Grump - I blame Old Man Henderson for the gnomes.... A medusa with a hobby and a conscience! Why not? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitchen_wolf Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Hobby, anyway. No information on where the cut-to-smaller-than-human-size blocks of stone came from... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowley Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 1 hour ago, TheAuldGrump said: Somehow, in a dream last night, the dragon had a radical change in personality - developed a Scots accent, and a collection of rude garden gnomes.... I am... thinking about making the changes official. Also, for some reason, the gnomes were made by a medusa... not by petrification, but with a chisel and blocks of stone. Another statue, outside her lair, has look of exaggerated horror, a collection of smoked spectacles and a sign saying 'Please Wear These'. (If the players ever encounter her, and don't wear the glasses, well... she is a medusa....) She... is not that great a sculptor, but her sculpts do have personality. No, I have no idea why my mind came up with that... but she seems a happy enough abomination. The Auld Grump - I blame Old Man Henderson for the gnomes.... And now the medusa in Stonehell has a hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knarthex Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 7 hours ago, TheAuldGrump said: Somehow, in a dream last night, the dragon had a radical change in personality - developed a Scots accent, and a collection of rude garden gnomes.... I am... thinking about making the changes official. Also, for some reason, the gnomes were made by a medusa... not by petrification, but with a chisel and blocks of stone. Another statue, outside her lair, has look of exaggerated horror, a collection of smoked spectacles and a sign saying 'Please Wear These'. (If the players ever encounter her, and don't wear the glasses, well... she is a medusa....) She... is not that great a sculptor, but her sculpts do have personality. No, I have no idea why my mind came up with that... but she seems a happy enough abomination. The Auld Grump - I blame Old Man Henderson for the gnomes.... Elfing COOL! idea! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingTornado Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 What's the best way to hint at the presence of a green slime trap, giving the players a chance to spot it without making it blatant there's a trap there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylverthorne Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Noticing a damp floor is not as easy as people claim; the number of times I've stepped in something the cat left me suggests a faint glisten of moisture will catch the attention of a savvy character. Or you could just roll the perception check for the trap-savvy character. *shrug* 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingTornado Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 11 minutes ago, Sylverthorne said: Noticing a damp floor is not as easy as people claim; the number of times I've stepped in something the cat left me suggests a faint glisten of moisture will catch the attention of a savvy character. Or you could just roll the perception check for the trap-savvy character. *shrug* 5th Edition Green Slime doesn't hang on the floor but on the ceiling though... It also doesn't give me a DC for spotting the slime... just a DC to avoid it if it's spotted. :/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylverthorne Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Then .. make one up. 'Up' is even worse than 'down' - /no one ever checks the ceiling/ - for noticing stuff. I don't know from 5e, but usually rogues get some kind of bonus to notice something being hinky. If 5e doesn't do that, call it 'the IHABF' roll, and make up a DC. And if they miss it, slime them and move on with the survivors. ^^; *I have a bad feeling - FLW of many an intrepid adventuring party... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowley Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 In my basic D&D game, I use slimes like that as traps, rather than as monsters. If the party succeeds in it's search for traps, they spot it. If not, they missed it. if they miss it, the trap is sprung, roll saving throw. Doesn't 5e have a passive awareness number? It's been a couple of years since I played/ran it, but I remember that being a thing. Assign the slime a hide score, check against the passive score. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingTornado Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 1 hour ago, David Brawley said: In my basic D&D game, I use slimes like that as traps, rather than as monsters. If the party succeeds in it's search for traps, they spot it. If not, they missed it. if they miss it, the trap is sprung, roll saving throw. Doesn't 5e have a passive awareness number? It's been a couple of years since I played/ran it, but I remember that being a thing. Assign the slime a hide score, check against the passive score. Yeah in 5th Edition it's considered a trap (or rather a "dungeon hazard") along with yellow mold, rather than a monster. It threw off a number of people that, myself included, searched the monster manual for those creatures' stats rather than the DMG. Passive Perception is kind of bad IMO. All it takes is a decent wisdom score + proficiency (or worse yet, expertise) and nothing ever takes that character unaware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowley Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 10 minutes ago, BlazingTornado said: Yeah in 5th Edition it's considered a trap (or rather a "dungeon hazard") along with yellow mold, rather than a monster. It threw off a number of people that, myself included, searched the monster manual for those creatures' stats rather than the DMG. Passive Perception is kind of bad IMO. All it takes is a decent wisdom score + proficiency (or worse yet, expertise) and nothing ever takes that character unaware. That's what situational factors are for, isn't it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VitM Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 5 hours ago, BlazingTornado said: Yeah in 5th Edition it's considered a trap (or rather a "dungeon hazard") along with yellow mold, rather than a monster. It threw off a number of people that, myself included, searched the monster manual for those creatures' stats rather than the DMG. Passive Perception is kind of bad IMO. All it takes is a decent wisdom score + proficiency (or worse yet, expertise) and nothing ever takes that character unaware. And if someone wants to make a character that nothing can get the drop on, what of it? How is it any different from Elves being immune to sleep, or typically more aware than normal anyway? Or any of the other ways characters can become indifferent to certain threats? What's the difference in going from "functionally immune" to "totally immune" in something? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingTornado Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 9 hours ago, VitM said: And if someone wants to make a character that nothing can get the drop on, what of it? How is it any different from Elves being immune to sleep, or typically more aware than normal anyway? Or any of the other ways characters can become indifferent to certain threats? What's the difference in going from "functionally immune" to "totally immune" in something? Sleep'll come up a LOT less than surprise honestly. I had a witch cast it at a higher level recently and it only managed to down two of the player characters. Fortunately I poked around the handbook and saw Passive Perception's sole official use: spotting a hiding creature without actively looking for them. In that regard I can totally work with passive perception. As for the Green Slime, I think I'll just note the ground close to its dropping point feels a bit mushier, and see what the players do with that info. I just found a new fantastic map that opens the path to the temple proper and it has just like tons of bones and then this one alcove with a treasure chest full of gold. Like... Given the sheer amount of corpses around and not really any traps or encounters aside from the Spectator that pops out after the doorway is unlocked... Is it wrong of me to have the gold be an insta-kill trap that just near instantly rots the creature that touches it down to the skeleton instantly, fake Holy Grail-style? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocPiske Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Insta-kill traps like that rarely go over well with players. Maybe have a skeleton or two actually touching the treasure will help make the point. Adding a magical, golden glow that makes it impossible to miss the treasure will help warn the players that it's too good to be true. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuldGrump Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 40 minutes ago, DocPiske said: Insta-kill traps like that rarely go over well with players. Maybe have a skeleton or two actually touching the treasure will help make the point. Adding a magical, golden glow that makes it impossible to miss the treasure will help warn the players that it's too good to be true. Teleport trap - bright flash, then an illusion of a smoking skeleton where the PC was might be fun. As for how well insta-kill traps go over... Only in Paranoia do the players really appreciate them. (Often the insta-kill trap has been issued to the PCs as equipment by R&D....) No combat at all in the kids game last night They are running around getting equipment and talking to people about the dragon - they are utterly convinced that talking to him will lead to a more exciting adventure than attacking him. So, they are rigging a parley pole*, and are buying a flock of sheep to open trade. The Auld Grump * A parley pole is a stick topped with an animal skull, or, more often, a white flag... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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