GRIFFONS DEN
DM WORKSHOP
RULE CHANGES SUMMARY VIDEO
CONJURE MINOR ELEMENTALS VIDEO
BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY
DEFINITIONS
PROHIBITION ON PvP
– player characters may not VOLUNTARILY fight or engage in conflict with other player characters.
– Exception to this rule only when compelled by some effect such as charm/domination/geas etc.
– Evil player characters are forbidden at the Den.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
– Collaborative improv
– Emergent storytelling
– “Sandbox”: don’t do it! Railroading is good.
MAPPING SETUP
– Grid tiles, grid mats, TV
– my setup for mapping.
– maps & TVs. Gimp or photoshop with layers. Grid mats. Paper grid flip charts.
RESOURCE WEBSITE
– My note-taking for initiative.
TIMEKEEPING
– timing, flow, and ending. You set the pace. Keep it moving.
– if you have a time limit then crack down on idle chitchat.
– When the DM talks everyone else listens.
– Ensure that one or two player don’t completely dominate the conversation and no one is quiet for too long. Use round table to ask what each player is doing and ensure everyone gets their time in.
– Attempts to split party: one section effectively stops playing while the viewpoint frame alternates between sub-groups.
DEATH
– 5e characters are extremely hard to kill
– Death in 5e is Trivial:
– healing potions/goodberry/lay on hands etc.
– Death saves >50% success on their own
– a single hit point resets all X death saves
– Revivify. By level 5 Revivify should make death irrelevant.
– spell casting services table. Cost taken from player’s share of treasure. Debts allowed for “community service” to a temple.
BALANCING
– balancing is pretty easy since it’s so hard to kill characters
– large and small parties
– CR system largely useless
#1 Max hp from the monster stat bloc
#2 add more of same monsters or tougher versions
– ie. goblins to hobgoblins, orcs to Orogs or Ogres.
#3 add other monsters that are thematically similar
– keep in mind, adding numerically more monsters will make the combat take much longer, while upgrading existing monsters to tougher versions with the same overall number of enemies will tend to keep the battle tighter.
DM FUDGING
– don’t do it!
– Stick to the rules and let the chips fall where they may.
– if you fudge negative character events then all future victories become hollow and meaningless.
– if you fudge character victories then you become an adversarial DM who cheats to “win.”
– when players “win” they should reap the rewards of good planning, careful play, clever tactics, good choices, or luck etc.
– when players fail due to poor planning, bad choices, reckless behaviour or bad luck they should also suffer the consequences.
– even luck can and should be managed by the players by making better choices.
– CONSEQUENCES MUST MATTER. If the DM fudges then consequences become untethered to player choices.
PARTY WIPES
– if you party wipe, the story just continues.
– generally the characters are captured and imprisoned, not killed.
– if they are killed then you can easily spin a story that fragments of their bodies were recovered for raise dead, perhaps by other adventurers, rebels within the enemy, extra planar agents, any number of things. This is where you turn it into improve story-telling.
– even a certain amount of hand-waiving is totally fine.
AWARDING LOOT
– always track monetary loot and divvy up even shares at the end of each session. DM tracks money, characters must track magic items and mundane gear, which can be sold at half list price.
MILESTONE LEVELING
– Players only level when you are ready. Easy peasy.
DIFFERENT CAMPAIGN SETTINGS
– Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Greyhawk all good
– No M:TG products
– Other rule systems and editions are totally possible, but you would have to be able to fill a commercial table at membership rates. If you have enough players then I’d love to see something like 1e, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, etc. Even Battletech or 40k.
STARTING A NEW TABLE
– if you can get at least 4 members who want to join we can run almost anything.
COMPATIBILITY
– MTF vs MPMM – eg. compare both Yan-ti versions
– 5.24 & 5.14 compatibility: 2 Options
1. A particular character can use only the 2014 PHB for all elements.
2. A particular character may use both 2024 and 2014 elements, but where an element of the same name exists in 2024 that version must be used. Elements from 2014 with no 2024 element of the same name may use the older versions.
JC SAYS SO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqXakr8RgRs&t=382s
ROTATING DM GAMES
– volunteer for turn-taking mini-campaign for DMs only.
– everyone must bring tier 2 characters, either bring an existing character levels 5-10, or make a new level 5 character, or rebuild an old one using 24 rules.
– every DM will receive a very short “2 hour” single-session AL module. AL modules always take twice as long as they claim, so expect these modules to take a full session.
COMMON (OLD) 5e RULE PITFALLS
Passive skills:
Always on = effective minimum.
Most skills can be passive if repeat attempts are possible or if the dm wants to make hidden checks.
Helping: iff capable of success, help gives advantage.
Alternate ability skill checks: player describes, dm adjudicates.
Traps:
– Wisdom (Perception) checks to find a trap
– Intelligence (Investigation) to determine how best to interact with or disable a trap
– Once the disabling method has been determined, Intelligence (Arcana) for magic traps or Dexterity checks for mechanical traps (if the character has thieves’ tools)
STEALTH & DARKNESS:
Hidden = unseen AND unheard.
In combat all participants are aware at all times.
Unless “hidden” all combatants know the location (square) of all others.
No facing. No back. No front. No flank.
In order to hide must be unseen or unheard. Requires cover/concealment.
Emerging completely from cover usually breaks stealth.
Shooting from cover works but breaks stealth with a hit or miss.
Attack unseen creature = location is know at all times, disadvantage to attack roll.
Target hidden creature = must guess location (square) plus disadvantage on attack. Wrong location = auto miss. DM only says “miss.”
PHB pg 183 “Vision and Light”:
“A heavily obscured area—such as darkness, opaque fog, or dense foliage—blocks vision entirely. A creature effectively suffers from the blinded condition (see appendix A) when trying to see something in that area.”
Blinded Condition: PHB
A blinded creature can’t see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.
Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s Attack rolls have disadvantage.
Unseen Attackers and Targets:
“When you attack a target that you can’t see, you have disadvantage on the attack roll.
When a creature can’t see you, you have advantage on attack rolls against it.”
LOGICAL GRAMMAR SUMMARY:
An attack has advantage if the defender can not see the attacker.
An attack has disadvantage if the attacker can not see the defender.
Opportunity Attacks:
You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of your reach.
Ranged Attacks in Close Combat:
When you make a ranged attack with a weapon, a spell, or some other means, you have disadvantage on the attack roll if you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature who can see you and who isn’t Incapacitated.
PHB p. 177 for Passive Perception penalty in dim light.
PHB 183 for disadvantage on active Perception checks when in dim light
Darkness:
Magical darkness spreads from a point you choose within range to fill a 15-foot radius Sphere for the Duration. The darkness spreads around corners. A creature with Darkvision can’t see through this darkness, and nonmagical light can’t illuminate it. If the point you choose is on an object you are holding or one that isn’t being worn or carried, the darkness emanates from the object and moves with it.
Devil’s Sight:
You can see normally in Darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120 feet.
So to summarize….
A warlock with Devil Sight could cast darkness on himself and:
-gain advantage on all attacks since no one can see him, and if has rogue levels triggering sneak attack once per TURN.
-all attacks against him would have disadvantage, and if hidden would have to guess his actual location or fail automatically.
-can hide anywhere at any time, even while moving in the open.
-immunity to attacks of opportunity.
-may make range attacks in close combat without suffering disadvantage.
shared campaign
CHARACTER CREATION RULES
CREATING A NEW CHARACTER
- All shared campaign characters must use 27-point buy.
- Characters receive maximum HP at 1st level, and average HP each level there-after.
- 2014 characters may choose one of the following background feats at 1st level: Skilled, Tough, or Magic Initiate.
- 2024 characters receive one origin feat at 1st level, as per the 2024 rules.
EVIL CHARACTERS PROHIBITED
D&D is a collaborative game where the party members are expected to cooperate and work together. Playing evil alignment characters and engaging in willful player vs. player conflict is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN and will get you kicked out of the campaign and out of the Griffons Den entirely. PvP is only allowed in situations where it is expressly chosen (such as a battle royale one-shot) or when the monsters enthral and force a party member to do their bidding against their will (such as a vampire or succubus charm effect).
LEVELING UP
All characters receive average HP as listed in the respective class description for each level beyond 1st. No one receives a free magic item at level 5 anymore. Use your money, that's what it's for!
CREATING A CHARACTER ABOVE 1ST LEVEL
If the DM asks you to create a higher level character, follow the usual rules for character creation at 1st level.
- 2014 characters receive additional starting equipment, gold and magic items indicated on the High Magic Campaign column from the Starting at Higher Level table from page 38 of the DMG14. Take the maximum GP indicated, do not roll randomly.
- 2024 characters use the Starting at Higher Levels table on page 43 of the PHB24. Take the maximum GP indicated, do not roll randomly.
REBUILDING A CHARACTER
Any character may be entirely or partly rebuilt between sessions, without limitations. Rebuilt characters retain all gear, treasure, magic items and XP/levels. If and only if you are rebuilding a character from 2014 to 2024 the character may swap magic items on a 1-for-1 rarity basis, drawing their choices from the Valid Source Books below.
VALID SOURCE BOOKS
Shared campaign characters may only draw from the following officially published source books when creating or leveling up a character. This includes the selection of magic items, spells and other character features such as subclass, backgrounds, feats or familiars. Magic items and features from other sources not on the list, such as campaign or adventure hardcovers, may only be acquired while playing those adventures.
- The Player's Handbook (2014 or 2024)
- Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014 or 2024)
- Monster Manual (2014 or 2025)
- Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
- Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
- Volo's Guide to Monsters
- Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes
- Book of Many Things
- Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants
- Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons
- Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse
- Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
- Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
- Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
- Eberron: Rising from the Last War
- Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft
- Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
- Astral Adventurer's Guide
- Sigil and the Outlands
- Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos
- Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frost Maiden
- Hoard of the Dragon Queen
- Tomb of Annihilation