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January 2024 Sly Flourish Patreon Q&A (Patreon)

Published:
2024-01-11 22:25:11
Imported:
2024-01
Tags:
Q&A

Content

Welcome to the Sly Flourish Patreon Questions and Answers thread for January 2024!

Ask your monthly RPG-related question in the comments below!

Every Friday morning I answer every question on this post. Some questions make it to the Lazy RPG Talk Show, an RPG Tip video, or Sly Flourish article. Don't be upset if your question doesn't make it to the show – only a handful do.

As you consider your question for the month, please

Thank you so much for helping me do what I do.

Now bring on the questions!!

Comments

Anonymous

Hey Mike! Have you ever shared info on your procedures or strategies about running a business? I've always been impressed with how efficient you are at delivering videos, articles, and podcasts like clockwork, and with how smoothly your bigger projects run. For example, the Forge of Foes kickstarter was a big success and was also fulfilled quickly and effectively. I know your usual schtick is making DM's lives easier (which is appreciated!), but I bet some folks would be interested in your thoughts on project management, task prioritization, and even financial planning when it comes to being a D&D content creator or when managing a big project like Forge of Foes. Just curious, and thanks!

Anonymous

How do you talk with an inexperienced DM about ways to improve as a DM. A member of my D&D group is running a one shot adventure and the biggest challenges are that he's occasionally taking away player agency and frequently feeding us the plot. Examples include "You're standing outside a building. Now you're in the building," or "You see a box on the table. Do you open it?" What are your thoughts on being tactful with this inexperienced DM?

Anonymous

Hi Mike, you mentioned that you are using Black Flag Roleplaying's Luck mechanic instead of Inspiration in your 5E games. You've also mentioned that you will soon switch your 5E game(s) to Level-Up Advanced 5E rules (or have you already?). In A5E, each PC has an "Inspiration Feature" (it's part of their Destiny). How will you reconcile Luck with the Inspiration Features? Will you run with both Inspiration AND Luck? Will you allow PCs to trigger their Inspiration Feature by spending a certain number of Luck points? Really, I'd rather ask this question after you've switched to A5E, and ask what you did and how it worked; but I know I'll forget. Anyway, something for you to think about. Thanks for everything you're doing for the hobby, Mike! I've been GMing a LOOONG time, but every week you say/write something that makes me go "hmmmm" ((thinking emoji)).

Anonymous

Hi Mike What type of media best describes the games you run if produced as a show/book/movie etc?

Edmund O'Neill

Hi Mike! Loved your BG3 video. My Question is: what do you think about rolling checks for players? Like if they come upon a hidden cache and you want to know if they’ve found it or not without them revealing the number on the die. BG3 does it all the time, as does one of my favorite APs, Blood of the Wild.

c0wfunk

My group has reached the end of Undermountain, 75 sessions in, and we’ve made it to 20th player level. Last session ended amidst the final boss battle with Halaster and so the end is in sight. I’m pretty happy with how the final encounter is coming along and it should be a sufficiently dramatic ending. So now I’m looking to the denouement and I’m worried about wrapping up in a way that feels final and satisfying. By the book, Halaster comes back to life in 1d10 days so the endings suggested in the popular companion often revolve around some kind of twist all of which feel like a rug pull that will leave it feeling open ended. I do plan to ask the players for an “x time later” kind of story but I want to deliver something before that that feels satisfying. Can you give any advice on wrapping up a situation in a way that leaves open some doors narratively but feels really final for the players?

Michael Shea
>>128579786

Normally one would use passive Perception for something like this, which I still recommend. But I think rolling on behalf of a player is a fine way to go for things like searching for a trap and you don't want them to know if they failed the check or if there's really not a trap. More here: https://slyflourish.com/ability_check_toolbox.html

Michael Shea
>>128613315

You can ignore anything the book says. Maybe part of it is figuring out how the characters trap Halaster or force him into a future of good instead of evil somehow so even if he does come back, it's not the same way. They still win. WOTC puts in shit like that because they don't want to cut off their own future storylines but that doesn't mean you can't. You can do whatever you want. Absolutely give the players a strong meaningful conclusion after all that time. Don't pull a switcharoo.