I used to run a griup every two weeks with a bunch of friends.
Unfortunately, some of them have now moved away from our city so it's hard to get the grou pgoing again.
Hit me up with suggestions on how we can keep the group going, maybe using Discord, or any other (preferably free) software.
Hello all! First time posting here, and first time dming.
My friends and I used to play a session plus a session zero. One friend and I wanted to play again but the other didn’t. This time I’m trying to DM and need advice on either getting the last friend back in or finding/creating a one shot or campaign for a single player. Any suggestions?
I used to run two weekly-to every two week games on Fantasy Grounds and was having a lot of fun. Then kids became toddlers, then started speaking, then focus shifted multiple times, sliding away from D&D. I miss it.
When I was ready to get back into it, the whole copyright bullshit went down and made me stop what I was doing, despite liking some of the changes they’d been talking about for the 5.5e version. But so much damage was done, I’d decided on principle not to support them. Then the layoffs and departures hit WotC and felt somewhat validated…but I still miss it.
Has this been anyone else’s experience? And did you ever take up the DM mantle again?
Ok, so I’ve been DM for a while but usually only play online and use premade campaigns… but now my friends who also play want to make a podcast and needed a DM. They said they wanted me to make the campaign and so… it’s really confusing even with the millions of podcasts, youtube tutorials, books, and my sleep deprived brain. Here’s what I have so far:
You wake up in a burning seaside market place, the Ocean of Sirens to your east, the Forest of Despair to your south, the Treacherous Mountains (that don’t have a sign telling you the name) to your west, and the Desert of Death to your north. You don’t remember how you got here, what happened to the market place, or where the Demon Countess you’re supposed to be hunting resides. The world doesn’t know about the threat she poses, and they don’t know why you’re asking about her. They just know she’s one of the strongest demons to ever exist. What will you do; how will you survive: Will you try to figure out what happened or will you take a different route.
You are surrounded by the wooden walls and straw roofs of the burning stalls, with smoke filling your lungs. Your eyes are stinging, and tears well up in them as you look around the market square. Ashes and bodies fill the space around as blue fire is raging hotly, opening a portal from the demon realm. Many many many demons are pouring through the gateway, looking around for more souls to feed on. The few surviving townsfolk cower in fear or remain unconscious as the Manes approach.
Manes are the lowest form of demons; souls condemned to the Abyss. Known to shock and frenzied outburst; lash out at creatures weaker than themselves but cower to more powerful demons. When Manes escape from the Abyss they go on reckless rampages and try to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible.
The party is disoriented but not injured (yet)
Decision point:
1) Stay and fight to defend innocent townsfolk
Smoke is filling your lungs, so you are on the verge of collapse.
2) Hide and recuperate (consequence = townsfolk death)
3) Flee to: (consequence = townsfolk death)
North: Desert of Death
West: Mountains without a sign
South: Forest of Despair
East: Ocean of Sirens
Does anyone have any idea about stuff I could add?
A year ago, when I was a new DM, I kept struggling with encounter tracking during in-person sessions.
Initiative was easy enough at first, PCs being 1 level, monsters being simpler, but it got messy when I was trying to remember multiple effects, concentrations, status conditions, reactions, etc.
I was already using my laptop for session notes, so switching back and forth between paper, tabs, and stat blocks kept slowing me down.
So I started building a small encounter tracking tool for myself. Over time it grew around the way my table actually plays, and now my group uses it regularly during our in-person games.
It is still a work in progress, and there are plenty of things I want to improve, but I thought it might be worth sharing here. I will introduce in-app guidelines on how to use it and maybe share some ideas I'm implementing nowadays, later.
You can check it out here; encountermaster.com
I’d love to hear what you think. If you spot any bugs, confusing parts, missing features, highly possible D&D rules mistakes, or ideas that would make it more useful for other DMs, I’d genuinely appreciate the feedback.
Thanks in advance!

Hi all,
So, I am a new DM and first-time player. Running a group of 4 PCs all new to dnd too. It's something we have wanted to do for more than 5 years and are finally doing it. We are 2 sessions into the mines of phandelver, and things are going great. (I thought starting with a premade would be easiest before making my own campaign).
So, the issue is that my friends are crazy. Their characters have their own goals as well, and already, the ideas of setting up businesses, breeding goats, building a capitalist empire, and taking over the town are parts of it.
My issue is this, I don't want to force feed them story threads if they are not asking the questions or pursuing the information. At the same time, I don't want them to completely miss the story and just do their own thing. I'm 100% happy and excited about going off script more, but it is the connecting back to the story part that troubles me.
How do you manage it?
How do you connect them back to the plot without it feeling forced or obvious?
Do you let them just continue whatever they are doing, expanding it out until either they circle back or you find a point to connect it? I feel like this is right but also a really hard balance.
I don't know if I'm overthinking it. I know if they stick to this, I can connect the next immediate part of the story easily. But once the redbrands situation is resolved, I feel like it's going to be difficult to point them in the direction of the story threads.
I'm just looking for general advice about managing a party who are more than likely going to ignore story points and do their own thing.
Also, just to mention, in case it's not clear. I want them to be able to freely do what they want or at least attempt to, I don't want to put them in any boxes.
Thankyou all for reading If you got this far!
Hello, fellow adventurers! Today, we are excited to share an extended preview of magic items from our upcoming Kickstarter project, 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 2024.
Step into a realm of ancient gods, legendary heroes, and forgotten civilizations with Mythological Items, a comprehensive compendium featuring over 300 magical items specifically designed for 5E and its 2024 ruleset update. This manual spans a vast array of cultural traditions, organizing its treasures into regional categories for easy reference and immersive worldbuilding. Each item includes not only full game mechanics, but also lore and background information to integrate it seamlessly into your campaign, whether as treasure, quest rewards, or the key to an unfolding mythic saga. From the storm-summoning weapons of thunder gods to cursed trinkets whispered of in ancient lore, this book brings myth to your table like never before.
This manual offers an extensive collection of magical items that can be incorporated into any campaign, regardless of its connection to specific mythological themes. The items presented in this volume, drawn from a multitude of global legends and folklore, are envisioned to enhance the diversity and depth of any fantasy world. This eclectic array mirrors the inherent blending of elements in many worlds and settings, where influences from various cultures and mythologies coexist harmoniously. For instance, Thor’s Hammer, Mjölnir, could serve as the centerpiece of a divine quest, while Draupnir, the Norse ring of endless wealth, might drive political intrigue or power struggles in a kingdom torn by greed.
Mythological Items also provides a solid foundation for campaigns that wish to delve deeper into the relics of a specific mythology or blend multiple traditions into a larger, interconnected setting. A campaign inspired by Greek mythology could see players donning the Nemean Lion’s Pelt, becoming nearly invulnerable as they take on challenges worthy of Heracles himself, while a campaign drawing from Japanese folklore could involve uncovering the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the fabled grass-cutting sword tied to imperial lineage and divine storms.
We suggest checking our pre-launch page for additional info and an extended 30-page preview of our compendium, scheduled to release in September! Alternatively, you can also subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on upcoming projects, special offers, and important news about our past and future works.
Happy adventuring!
First off, what is a “five room dungeon”?
A Five Room Dungeon is a series of 5 encounters. That’s all. Well, not exactly. It’s a series of five specific types of encounters.
Here’s the template;
Encounter 1: Entrance/Guardian
Encounter 2: Puzzle/Skill challenge
Encounter 3: Twist/Surprise
Encounter 4: Climax/BBEG
Encounter 5: Reward/Cliffhanger
So, for example;
Guardian- the group is passing through a forest, protected by a Dryad who hates humans because they cut down trees and farm animals. She set traps like Tangling Vines and Swarm of Wasps to drive humans out of her glade.
Challenge- the group has to negotiate safe passage with the Dryad. They can try to convince her they aren’t chopping down trees or killing animals. Roll Play challenge.
Surprise- the Dryad falls in love with a human in the group. Now she follows him/her around and praises them for good deeds and scolds them for stepping on plants and other silly stuff. The human needs to try to convince her to stay quiet and just protect her glade.
Big Bad Evil Guy- there is a group of poachers in the glade. They’re the ones actually killing animals and chopping trees. The party has to drive them off either through negotiation/RolePlay or violently through combat.
Reward- the party gets to pass safely through the woods and they now have a Dryad friend they can call on for information or help in the future.
What I’m hoping to do, with your help, is create a five room dungeon one shot for a group of 3-5 first level characters focusing on Cantrips and finishable in about 2 hours, with a hook that grabs the players right from the start.
What ideas do you have!
Here are a few preview pages from Atlantis: War of the Tridents, my 270+ page adventure module for 5E, blending Greek mythology, Atlantean fantasy, underwater exploration, political conflict, and traditional fantasy adventure.
This preview shows a mix of the content included in the book: the Barbarian: Path of the Sea Serpent, an ocean-themed subclass built around aquatic adaptation, serpent-like fury, and sea monster resilience; the Atlantean Elemental Sword, a very rare magic weapon forged with fire, lightning, and water gems; several new ocean-themed spells like Rejuvenating Waters, Water Cyclone, and Tidal Smite; Callista, the High Priestess of Athena in Atlantis; and monsters such as the Brine Sea Serpent and Lesser Stone Golem.
The full adventure includes flexible campaign paths, underwater and surface encounters, new character options, spells, magic items, NPCs, monsters, locations, factions, and extensive VTT resources.
It is designed for campaigns that want mythic adventure, oceanic exploration, Atlantean politics, divine influence, ancient secrets, and dangerous creatures from the depths.
You can explore all my manuals and resources on DriveThruRPG, or through my Linktree, and check out more previews on r/JonnyDM.
I’ve spent the better part of the last 3 months coming up with a campaign to run and I think it looks good but I haven’t been GM-ing for a while and would like some feedback if anyone is interested in checking out what I wrote. I’m also new to Cyberpunk RED and I don’t have stat blocks put in yet just the main notes and everything that would help run it. It takes place in 2045 and is heavily run through the corps of cyberpunk and what people on the street would probably think is happening behind the scenes of them. When I read through it I had a feeling it was a bit too “save the world” and “this is basically a movie” and would love any feedback on what can be done. Comment or DM me and I can send a copy of the Google doc I have it all written in.