Ye Olde Custom Workshop: The Way of the Serpent's Tooth Subclass

 Hi everyone, and welcome to the Custom Workshop. Today we're looking at a Monk Subclass known as the Way of the Serpent's Tooth

Often theorised to be an offshoot of the Way of the Open Hand, the Way of the Serpent's Tooth shares many similarities. Even more so that their brethren, they favour unarmed attacks and the like to make themselves deadly to their enemies. However, while the Monks of the Open Hand often use subtlety and meditation to aid them in battle, the Monks of the Serpent's Tooth, like the name suggests, use fast and surgical strikes to not only hurt, but also incapacitate and weaken their opponents.

Monks of the Serpent's Tooth are trained in the art of 'fast/slow'- that is fast strikes, slow effects. To these monks only a fool fights a powerful knight or beast with the same tactics that they would at the end of the battle. Instead, one attempts to hamper limbs and wear down resistances, making the enemy increasingly vulnerable whilst blunting their own weapons. As a result an enemy of these monks can often find themselves feeling they are battling quicksand, where the more they struggle, the more they are swept under. 

Aura of the Spitting Cobra

The Monk is able to channel their Ki in order to inflict fast strikes against any enemy fool enough to swing against them and miss.

At 3rd level, the Monk can Spend 2 Ki points to grant themselves the Aura of the Spitting Cobra for one hour. When this is channelled, any enemy that misses the Monk with a melee attack takes D4 bludgeoning damage immediately (this means if an enemy misses with several attacks in the same turn, they must take several D4s). This DOES NOT COUNT as the Monk's reaction.

At 6th Level, this increases to D6 damage, 11th Level increases to D8, and 17th increases to D10.  

Points of Pain

The Monk can inflict maximum pain for a minimum of risk to the subject's well being- utilising parts of the body to create screams of agony and pleas to cease. Such leverage is useful when attempting to get to the truth of a matter.

At 6th level the Monk can spend a Ki point to use an Action to use the Point of Pain instead of a normal melee attack (with the same modifiers) against any target that is large or smaller. If they hit, the target takes no damage, but must succeed on a CON saving throw. If they fail, the Monk is able to ask them 3 Questions that have to be answered truthfully in the course of one minute. These answers CANNOT be anymore than 10 words each (the target is in agony and can't string a lot of words together!).

Should anything distract the target (such as Combat, a big noise, or something else in the DM's mind that is sufficient), the effect no longer applies. 

Viper's Strike

At 11th level the Monk Channels the Ki into painful, crippling shots that leave the enemy more vulnerable to subsequent attacks, as they find the pain clouding their defensive judgement.

Whenever the monk hits with a melee attack they can channel one to four Ki points to enact the Viper's Strike. The enemy must make a WIS saving throw. If they fail, their armour class drops depending on how many Ki points the Monk channelled into the attack for one minute.

1 Ki= -2 AC

2 Ki= -4 AC

3 Ki=-6 AC

4 Ki= -8 AC

The Venomous Bite

The Monk can channel their Ki into creating weak points in the enemy, to which their allies can exploit.

At 17th Level the Monk can use the Venomous Bite as an action against any enemy in melee range. By doing this they spend at least 3 Ki points (to a Maximum of 12). Until the end of the Monk's next turn any ally who is hitting the enemy gains a Critical Hit on:

19 if the Monk expended 3 Ki

18 if the Monk expended 6 Ki

17 if the Monk expended 9 Ki

and 16 if the Monk expended 12 Ki

Bad DM Habits #2: Puttin' all on the Party

Hello and welcome to the 2nd of these articles! Today we're going to look at what can happen when you heap the burdens on your players too quickly.

Many players relish the idea of the Dungeon Crawl, where players have to manage their spells, HP and other aspects in order to trek through a massive gauntlet full of steel/teeth/fire/eldritch flame where they emerge bloodied, but triumphant. 

However, if you do this session after session...things can get old. And triumphs can seem less important.

How does this happen?

This sort of thing usually happens when the DM wants every session to be an epic one, full of amazing fights and daredevilry. And for some players, that'll be fine. But in the context of a full campaign, with every monster supposed to mean something, it can leave players burned out. 

Why is this a bad thing?

Put simply, a good long term story doesn't have to have the adventurers saving the world every week because that'd get dull and would ruin the stakes you want to make for your players. And what's worse, it can lead to the players not feeling like they're changing anything. Now, in some circumstances the players won't matter because they'll think they are killing bad guys, but if you have a group of players that is more focused on the world, then this can seem a bit...naff?

How can it get worse?

Again, this depends on the player group but there is every possibility that players will lose their immersion in the world if you keep throwing beasts at them, particularly if you begin to run out of ideas. If you follow up a fight with a dragon one week with...three dragons, then your players will soon begin to be turned off the idea of feeling as invested in your world. 

How can it be identified?

Put simply, this can be identified if you are sending the players into battle/dungeon after battle/dungeon and despite your best efforts, they are just beginning to look a bit bored. Another way to identify this is to watch what people do on the first turn of combat. If people continuously utilise the same attacks no matter what (particularly spell casters) then you probably have players who aren't fully focused.

How can it be stopped?

On the face of it, this is simple, give the characters a session for some role play. However this can be difficult depending on how long you've done this. This is because if you suddenly say to the players they can spend some time wandering in the local town, they might be a bit gun-shy after 20+hours of dungeon crawling. So let's look at some ways we can alleviate this:

1. Give the players something to research- Maybe there's a letter or emblem that the players need to know more about at the library or the arcane academy? This gives them some direction whilst perhaps giving you the chance to build the world more.
2. Let's go shopping!- This can often seem intimidating to those who haven't really done it before, so again, give the players some nudges by having a travelling merchant come. You can also make him contain some exotic goods that people can haggle for.
3. Mystery!- Not all mysteries can be solved by fists and blades. Maybe get the players embroiled in a town watch case that they help out on.

So these are just some ideas. I hope this helps!

Bad DM Habits #1: The NPC Fixation

Hello there and welcome to my first of these series of Bad DM Habits. These are things that DMs often do with the best of intentions but actually end up irritating or hurting the game.

Non Player Characters are part and parcel of any tabletop RPG- and D&D is no exception.

There is nothing more able to suck life out of a campaign/one-shot than a limp NPC that has all the charisma of a wet noodle. A good NPC, such as Pumat Sol on Critical Role can create anticipation as their character is fleshed out. They allow the players to ingratiate themselves with the world on a level that feels real and can create all sorts of organic moments. This is not an article that derides them or wishes them to be forsook from the world.

This is an article that looks at what happens when the DM forgets what the NPC's role is.

How does this happen?

Often times, the way that this sort of thing happens is simply because the DM has a PC they used to play with and wants to insert them into their own adventure. This can be a good thing if they have the maturity to realise whose adventure it is, but unfortunately sometimes the prospective DM can forget and what we have instead is an adventure where the actual players can feel like they are supporting actors in the saga of the DM's character.

I was watching a DM once who had a non-player character who he wanted to use as part of his new adventure he was DMing. At first I was interested to see how he would go about it. But as he went along I began to see that much of his time was showing the weaponry he had to his PC allies and the coolness of his moves, which were far superior to the party as a whole. And to top this all off, the game was held up by the DM talking so much about how the NPC felt or what he thought of the situation.

Another way this can happen is if a DM sees a film or a game and wants to emulate that character. Many people want to see Batman, after all, but it's a bit less cool wondering around next to him if you feel that it should be your story (I mean, unless you're Robin I guess...)

Why is this a bad thing?

Again, the issue here is not with the NPC per se, but with a lack of control. If the players feel like they are not integral to their own adventure, then they are going to soon lose interest. Furthermore, things like massive weaponry or massive stats will only cause resentment surrounding the NPC in question. Instead of creating a great adventure that has your players hanging on your every word, you are essentially creating a massive target on the back on your NPC.

How does it get worse?

The real problem is that with this sort of massively overpowered/overemphasised character is that the obvious way that players feel like they can re-establish control is essentially against the NPC. Take the example I said before with the uber-geared NPC. As the game drags on, what is to stop a player simply attempting to stab said NPC in the back to take his stuff? Or casting a spell to make him obey the player's every command? Maybe the players will simply disobey/disregard the NPC, affecting the DM's plans adversely. 

This then leads to a decision for the DM: do they actually allow the player to do harm/ignore the much treasured NPC and perhaps move off from a character who a lot of the plot is usually invested in? Or do they find a way to again deny the player their choice and essentially make them feel like they have less choice in the game than they already do?

See, here's the thing. By investing so much time and effort (and love) in one singular NPC, often DMs will feel constrained by what they can do when these sort of decisions come up. Rather than make the players feel happy, the DM will do what they can to keep the character around and powerful because they believe it is more integral to the adventure.

How can it be identified?

There are a couple of ways to identify if you are on the path to a NPC fixation. A good way to start is to look at how much time you are investing in the NPC in question between sessions and whether this time is actually relevant to the players. If you are spending time thinking about how they will react after the player's latest exploits, that's fine. If you are spending a great deal of time thinking about how they will tell the player of their exploits several decades ago, then there could be a problem.

Another way to tell is to look at how much time these NPCs spend in actual combat/doing checks. If you have a NPC that is continuously in the party, passing checks and dealing killing blows to important enemies, then you are taking away the moments from the players like a Hoover run by the power of buzzkill. 

The final way of finding out is a little more esoteric. Simply imagine that your NPC is removed from the adventure in the next session (due to poisoning/consumption by giant toad/catastrophic bowel movement/ etc.). Then ask yourself how much is the plot and the adventure affected by their disappearance. If the answer is not much and you can rework everything easily, then it's probably fine. If not...you have essentially made your NPC the pillar that holds up your entire house.

The question is then, how you deal with it.

How it can be stopped?

1. Get them out of the way- Put simply one of the best ways to get rid of such a NPC is to give them less to do. Perhaps they are called away on a secret mission or they retire from adventuring? Perhaps they get promoted to a position that sees them away from the battlefield? What you are aiming for here is a scenario where the players can still meet the NPC occasionally but it isn't compulsory.
2. Reverse the Roles- This is potentially a good choice for your uber-armed and levelled NPC. Put simply, put the NPC in a situation where they are helpless and need the player to come rescue them. If you really want to twist the knife in to your poor NPC, you can have their equipment taken and maybe they've been beaten up a bit.
3. The Captain Amazing Route- This is from the film Mystery Men, where Captain Amazing dies to emphasise the diabolical nature of Casanova Frankenstein's machine. If you have a villian you want to make feel powerful and vile, why not feed your NPC to him.
4. The Hercule Route- This requires a little more work, but start making your NPC insufferable and egomaniacal, like they are the best thing since sliced bread. What you are looking for is essentially the D&D version of this guy:
   
   

         Hercule Satan is a ridiculous martial artist in Dragon Ball Z who becomes more and more convinced that he is the chosen one to defeat the android Cell in a tournament. In one of the more memorable moments of the show, Cell simply swats him aside with one blow in a brilliantly shocking and anti-climatic moment. Again, this is a great way to emphasise the power of your villain.

So that's my thoughts on this particular habit. I hope you enjoyed it!

DM Myths...The Trouble with Taverns

Hello and welcome to this series of articles where we challenge a whole bunch of assumptions about DMing. Today we're looking at beginning your adventure in a tavern.

One of the cliches in DnD is that you all begin a big campaign in a tavern or bar. It's as old as the proverbial hills. But here's the thing...I personally think that taverns can be a pretty bad way for some adventurers to commence an adventure and can genuinely start people with a bit of a bad taste in the mouth.

But Vectron!! I hear you cry, Surely the tavern is a great way to sample the local flavour of the area!!

Indeed it is and in my Worldbuilding: Tavern article (which will be up shortly) there is plenty of tips for this, and for several scenarios it can be a great place to start an adventure. However I would do this IF and only IF both the players and the DM are experienced!!!

The issue that I have for taverns for those who do not have experience with DnD is that most of the time it requires both the players and the DM to do some lifting to drive the plot along and both have to kinda rely on each other. The DM may have a great idea for a quest out of the gate by talking to some shadowy figure in the corner, but if the players are kinda overawed by the idea of roleplaying (and let's face it, many new players may be) then the game can stall. Conversely if the players are experienced and start asking heaps of questions of a DM who just wanted to have a little colourful place to begin their adventure, then the game can stall as the poor DM has to think on their feet as they begin talking to the music act for the evening.

It should be stressed that in both scenarios it isn't really either player or DM's fault (admittedly the DM could prepare more and be a little bit more accomodating) but rather the fact that you are really starting the game in a place where both player and DM are assumed to know how to negotiate the setting. 

So what are some alternatives? For me I like the idea of going somewhere, where the players have an idea of a destination and an immediate quest- to get there. A friend of mine did this recently in a game that I was playing and it immediately put all the players at ease- despite the fact we had played before. He had us travelling on a caravan to a city where our real adventure began. By doing this he was able to introduce the more novice players to combat and to experiment with the strengths and weaknesses of their class in a way that felt natural but not pressured.

If you are really wedded to the idea of a tavern, however, then change the circumstances. One idea I have used was to set the first scene in a military tavern, where the players were essentially being signed up to some sort of mercenary militia. Again, this allows players to not feel like they have to take responsibility for driving the plot of the adventure to begin with. Another option is to actually get one of your more experienced (and trustworthy) players to 'bring the quest' with them. That way, players can feel like their party can gel from the get go.

And that's my two cents about this particular myth! Let me know what you think!

Grappling with Player Alignment

Hello everyone and welcome to Grappling with... where I try to show you how to Grapple with various player mechanics. Today it's Alignment

The alignment mechanic in D&D is one of the most thorny for players and DMs. While the 9 sided matrix on the face of it seems sophisticated and intelligent, they can also enable a whole lot of player behaviours that can end up being headaches for DMs and other players. A good way to think of alignment is that it's like alcohol. Some will like to use it occasionally, while others won't and both are ok. When it becomes a problem is when it becomes a crutch for everything else you do when you role play.

An excellent example of this are so-called 'chaotic neutral' or 'chaotic evil' characters who wish to trash everything around them because all they think of is themselves. Or perhaps a lawful neutral character who is so anal about law enforcement that he feels that he has to dob his friends in when they are breaking into a house.

Part of this comes with an overemphasis by veteran D&D players on how important these things are. I have a friend who I respect as a great DM. However, one area that we differ is that he is very into emphasising the alignment system, whereas I (particularly in 5th) feel that there are other tools that are better to encourage role play.

Having said all this, there are plenty of ways for DMs to help players grapple with alignment.

1. Chaotic evil/neutral does not mean chaotic stupid- If you have a character that continues to disrupt the world, then it is up to you to illustrate to them that there will be repercussions. A good role player will either stay their hand or find a clever way to disrupt the world that you can respond to. Otherwise they may be suffering from Sandbox Syndrome (which I'll be discussing in a later article).
2. Lawful Good does not mean 'dull'- Everyone wants to play the bad guys, and it can seem counterintuitive to be the 'good guy', but Lawful Good characters can be exciting too, as they can be great conduits for quests as people will rush to them for aid.
3. Remind players that alignment is a little part of a character- not all of it- Two Lawful Good characters can come to blows- because their background still sets them off. Maybe one is a fanatical anti-magic zealot and another a wizard? In any case, a good aligned party can still have tension and secrets with each other as well as the world.
4. Encourage corruption/redemption- One of the great things about the Alignment system is that it mechanically illustrates a way to show a fall from grace or a way to redeem oneself. As the DM, you should encourage players to feel free to change their alignment should they feel their characters shift one way or the other. This way, the system becomes a proactive tool to enhance role playing.
5. Make sure the world reacts to alignments differently- This seems bleedingly obvious, but different places will see these alignments differently. Chaotic evil may gain a grudging respect in the den of a criminal but will probably be treated with fear and distance in a reputable establishment.

And that's it for now!

Introduction

Or 'Hello'

I love playing Dungeons and Dragons. Though I came to the game relatively late in life (in my late 20s) I think it is a fantastic way to spend a few hours. But I even love DMing more. The idea of crafting a story and challenged that can frustrate, amuse, frighten and/or amaze your friends is a great privilege that I think that any DM should never take for granted. But having worked with budding DMs for a couple of years, as well as honing my own craft has left me realising how daunting this task can be. Furthermore, often small issues with players and DMs can often spiral into bigger problems which can lead to problematic or even toxic tabletop sessions.

This is not a blog that will claim to have all the answers- there are people like Matthew Mercer, Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford who would have plenty to say that I probably would not. However, I think this would be a good starting point for those who want to take the plunge into DMing, or into D&D at all. Furthermore, I will occasionally be talking about my exploits as I explore other game systems such as Call of Cthulhu in order to show how to get to grips with new systems as a veteran DM.

So thank you for visiting and I hope you get something out of it. :)