r/DungeonsAndDragons

I’m building a beginner friendly D&D learning app and would love some early feedback.

What is something you would want to see in an app like this, or expect it to help you learn?

I have never played D and D but have always been intrigued by it. Want to start playing it online. Is there any community willing to welcome and teach a newbie?
I am based in India, so Indian time would suit me.

Thanks in advance.

This subreddit has probably had several posts like this in the past, but I couldn't find any.

I'm a new Dungeon Master—a few months—and I mostly play with just one friend, but he's EXTREMELY reckless; I could see it from the start, but he was a Barbarian and it was my first campaign, so I was excited and enjoyed it. But we're three characters down the line and I've noticed this is the most reckless man I've ever seen.

There may have been one time where he had a sense of life and reason and fled. But outside of that, he spends most of his days risking his life by walking into encounters with bosses far beyond his level, jumping from roofs on several occasions, joking around with enemies by doing handstands and jumping on their counters casually like he owns the place.

His last two characters have died in the exact same way, literally: he walks into a dangerous tavern with a hostile species that hates outsiders and gets into heated arguments as expected. Then, he flees when the tavern full of racist creatures tries to kill him, and he dies via brutal beatdown.

The second time, he even had the option to go in with two NPCs who would help fight with him, but he said no and intentionally pissed off this tavern.

I mean, this can't be normal, and I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't getting annoying. I like practicing my improvisation, but I'm not sure what to do when he's interrogating someone with two other NPCs and abruptly leaps onto the counter to take a nap.

Any advice? This is insane.

What are the best cantrips, level 1 spells, and level 2 spells for an Aberrant Sorcery Sorcerer build that fully leans into the psionic/cosmic horror vibe while still being strong in combat and utility? Looking for spells that fit the mind-control, telepathy, psychic damage, and reality-warping theme without breaking character flavor.

If I’m creating NPCs (some of whom become important to the storyline of the campaign and may even temporarily become followers of the party) how should I go about determining their stats? Do I need to create a whole character sheet for them with individual skills and abilities or can I maybe take inspiration from stats from the monster manual?

If the latter how do I know which build / block of stats to go with for the NPC? Trying to make it as balanced as possible for the party, but so they have their own character it’s but don’t blow over in combat?

Also if they end up being in combat do I just run them like I do for the enemies? Where I take their turn but obviously so they’re on the players’ team?

https://preview.redd.it/wap3kfjcva2h1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09538e2260d9787547ea11acf50592cb05085fc0

The question I am concerned with isn't about characters such as Astarion and Karlach, who are clearly part of the Realms lore, now.

I am more curious about (marking for major spoilers to the game, fair warning) --

>!The fact that Balduran was an adventurer who became enslaved to the Dead Three and thus came to be the mind flayer known as 'The Emperor' who in turn murdered his fellow adventurer-lover Ansur, a Bronze Dragon who later became the undead Level 17 Dracolich sleeping under the city, known as The Heart of the Gate.!<

or

>!The history of Orpheus and the githyanki conflict with their Undying Queen Vlaakith (number 157 if memory serves, which would make Orpheus tens of thousand of years old by standard time, although I do understand the flow of time in the Astral Plane is more or less non-existent) and what that means for the future of the githyanki as a whole.!<

or

>!The buried Temple of Bhaal under the sewers of the city (from where Orin, as a known Bhaalspawn, would have once run her Murder Cult, in 1492.)!<

or

>!The destruction of the Temple of Shar and subsequent abandonment of it that would have occurred in approximately 1392 when the Emerald Enclave battled Ketheric, leading to the downfall of Moonrise Towers and the appearance of the Shadow Curse. And about a hundred other details related to those events, but let's just assume they are all bundled together.!<

Realms time is 1501 as of 5.5e so these events would now be fully in the past, nearly a decade.

And yes, I know the basic answer is "A DM can choose whatever parts they want, it's all part of D&D" -- but some of these are truly huge pieces of history (particularly the first one, having major implications to the origins of Baldur's Gate itself.)