I think I’ll try this. Thanks for sharing!

You are welcome. I think the awareness of potential deals outweighs the risk of being spammy.

One of the player characters is a clone that was grown in a mindflayer laboratory.

If you’re a Cyberpunk RED player, please skip this post - it contains spoilers for Tales of the Red: Reaping the Reaper.

Well now I’m going to come back and read this extra hard.

Great resource. Thank you!

I’m sad that this post has been up for a couple days and there haven’t been any replies. I wish there was more engagement on here aside from the memes. Thank you for taking the time to post it.

I was vaguely aware that this existed in the DMG, but I have never used it. I do like how it extrapolates the likelihood of hits based on the creature mechanics. In the rare cases I’ve ran mass combat, I just roll like single combat, but I apply the d20s for batches of baddies and apply average damage. I might divide the group into quarters and then roll 4 d20s for their collective attacks. There is also Mike Shea’s assume a quarter succeed guideline, which is a similar deal but with no rolling.

What I struggle with is what mechanics to use when the characters are overwhelmed. It’s one thing to use streamlined mechanics for when the characters are wading through enemies, cutting them down. But, if they get themselves into a situation where they are overwhelmed and on the ropes, the mechanics used could be life or death. I would hate to use a streamlined mechanic in those situations and have it result in a character death or a party wipe. Would the outcome have been different if I had used rolls for each monster? Who knows. It’s just something I would think about in those circumstances.

Damn is that how it worked? I don’t remember any of that, but it was a long time ago now.

Of the responses so far, this one brought me the most joy.

We call this cocktail hour.

That’s hilarious. Is the item still floating around in there?

How did you come to play a gelatinous cube? What do the other players play?

This is excellent. Most of the answers here are what game to play, in other words, what mechanics can be used to force the horror feeling. This is purely about narrative, which can apply to any system. Thank you for sharing.

That paperclip looks about as handmade as the map!

Yes, I agree. As far as I can tell, these are compiled by an actual human, Darryl Mott, and the quality shows.

I’m mostly in the same boat as you. I have tried several times to get into Critical Role since everyone raves about it, plus a few others. It’s not for me. I suppose it’s because I don’t have any emotional connection with the actual play where I would have that investment with my own game. I will say that I did enjoy Dungeons & Daddies though, but that show is more like listening to a comedy podcast about fantasy rather than an actual play.

Thanks for taking the time to write that.

I bought the PDFs when they were on sale but have not yet played. This was helpful, thanks!

I haven’t played in person seriously for many years. We’re starting a new in-person group here soon, so I’m going to have to figure something out. I have a boatload of 3 ring binders so I will probably do the clear sleeve thing like you do, Mike. And then promptly pull them all out to spread around the table because I am a loose-leaf person at heart.

Damn that’s kinda great.

I go to try out different systems or to play systems my regular group doesn’t play. Also, to remind myself why I have a regular group and how fortunate I am that they are mostly sane and adjusted people.