What’s the highest eval you’ve seen for a position without it being mate in a real game? Got this position in a bullet game and saw the eval and wondered if this was my highest evaluated position without it being a mate in X.
As a DM, I often sometimes find it hard to take part in my players’ excitement outside of the game. I feel as though I can’t say “Wow, I was completely improvising there and I can’t believe it worked out” without ruining some of the magic behind the world. And I feel like I can’t just say things like “Man, you guys really messed it up this time” without feeling like I’m steering them a certain way.
How do I take part in my players’ excitement about the campaign outside of it in my day to day life? Do y’all do that or do you just have other non-players in your life to talk about the game to?
Hi, I'm running a scenario in which my players are fighting their way through a mine until coming upon the gates of an ancient dwarven city that's been long closed. I'd like to end the dungeon with a fun combat but I am needing some advice.
My thoughts were to have some kind of remains of a dwarven golem still be guarding the door that they have to fight their way through however golems are at a higher CR level and I'm wondering how to tone it down while still 1.) Keeping the theme of a golem/statue and 2.) having a dynamic fight. I was thinking having the golem be left with just one or two arms as it drags itself around and forces the PCs to make DEX saving throws from being crushed after the golem drags itself over. However, I would like to incorporate some kind of themes of it being a once powerful golem without it overpowering the PCs.
Making it no longer immune or resistant to some damage types seems possible but quite small and not that fun. Just dropping the AC would make the battle seem like a slog still. I was thinking of maybe allowing the PCs to drop a stalagtite on top of it to kill it however I'm looking for other ideas that could create a dynamic combat for them.
My players are a group of 5 players, they're at Level 2 and the classes are: Barbarian, Druid, Monk, Paladin, and Sorceror.
I’m in the market for a new car and there’s a lot of cars in my area from individual sellers. What are things a non-car guy can look at while examining a car to make sure it’s not a dud while taking a look in person?
I don’t expect to be able to be able to take it to a shop and run a full diagnostic but I’d like to learn how to evaluate whether or not it’s in a decent condition besides just opening up the hood and going “yup, that looks like an engine maybe”. What are things I can look into beforehand or basic checks to make while actually at the car?
Before you go too crazy, this is not an attempt to completely disregard the players' enjoyment and agency. I simply want to be able to challenge specific aspects of my players' characters and create a challenging encounter(s).
For context, my players are starting to gain fame/notoriety against a group of local bandits in the region after thwarting many of their plans. So in retribution, the bandits have taken to hiring/creating a special group of bounty hunters that are specially suited to taking on my party. This would ideally mean each member of the hunters would have some gimmick or plan against each PC's class. This would have the point of trying to create some interesting problem solving during the encounter.
For example, having some kind of bounty hunter that's gimmick is trying to stop our barbarian's rage if the PC fails a save or two. I'm not sure if I'd want that hunter to either restrict the barbarian from attacking so he loses his rage or some kind of alchemist/potions that could be used to "calm" the barbarian out of the rage if he gets too close or fails a save. This would ideally force the barbarian to have to switch targets or rely on the other members of the party to handle his hunter. The party consists of a barbarian, sorceror, monk, and bard (but other players join in with different classes too)
My issue is I don't know of other ways that would be able to "target" the other classes while not feeling mean spirited or without going too overboard. Other ideas of how I could counter other classes besides "just stay out of range or counterspell" as well would also be helpful.
Hi everyone, I’m currently running a more sandbox style game where the PCs explore about and each location they find may have some kind of simple quest or even self-contained adventure. It got me thinking about pulling in some of my favorite quests to use in campaigns but many of my players have already done these before. So do you all have some favorite quests or encounters that you love to use and even reuse with different parties?
Since it feels rude not to offer up some of my own:
The PCs come across a small town where slowly each NPC is getting replaced/mind controlled. The exact culprits can range from cultists to dopplegangers to deep scion depending on the environment of the world.
The “Rat King” - a local crime spree has started due to a cult living in the sewers collecting treasures and kidnapping people all worshipping something they call the “Rat King”. The twist ends up being that this Rat King is just some sort of very young dragon trying to increase its hoard or even a wyvern that the cultists believe to be a dragon and the cultists are trying to “appease” this wild animal.
Risky Business - The PCs are hired by a reputable business owner to take something from a competitor. This can branch off to be the owner wanting to retrieve something that was stolen or a crime of passion due to something not business related. I usually like to add a stipulation of the PCs must do this without shedding blood as otherwise the business owner may quit the industry or be arrested and the PCs face backlash from the public.