Of course, you get your s. sword back. Wanderer Held Hostage found his pile of gear among the cart, not yet pawned and spent through his harrowing time. Not much else in the cart except starter mining stuff that Grim Man declared was his.

As for names, have not thought of ones yet. Also, not sure how much longer they will remain beyond their bit parts. Perhaps in the future.

No prob! I'm just keeping track of everyone Hana meets, named or otherwise, since being "of the people" is a big deal for her. Of course, as far as names go, I'm perfectly happy not knowing Grim Man's (TM)

Behind the Screen, with Opaopajr

This episode of Behind the Screen we'll explore the creation of a venomous snake in 5e so as to feel dangerous, garner respect, but not be overly lethal.

Rattlesnakes are potentially lethally venomous, but most of the danger is when people die of shock ahead of proper medical attention. The average death rate currently in the USA is somewhere around <1%, and that's with good medical care, modern hygiene, antivenin, blood pressure monitors & emergency care tech, etc. However there are some challenges to rework the 5e "dead or alive in 30 seconds, then it's ignorable" lethality.

5e tends to offer high healing rates: unless negative Max HP in one blow you just go down to 0 HP, stabilized 0 HP recovers to 1 HP in 1~4 hours, once conscious with 1 HP a Long Rest recovers all HP. However, "Best 3 of 5" Death Saves — all under 30 seconds — are pretty darn fast, and way too intense for a mere rattlesnake bite (and a bit slow for sea cone snails, but whatever). So I looked at WotC monsters to see how they use these mechanics.

Looking at Crystal Shards & Hoard of Dragon Queen we see Giant Centipedes, Ettercaps, Giant Spiders, & Yuan-ti snakes as examples. One of the techniques is an attack that lands usually triggers immediate Poison Damage (usually something like 2d6 or 2d4 or something). Then the Poison Condition stays with them, often for hours, anywhere from 1 to 4 hours. If the Poison dmg knocks them out, they go unconscious but stable. Other things like paralysis and others may occur as well.

So first off, I am not interested in Immediate Onset Poison Damage. It's just a bit much for a natural animal. Something like 1d6-1 minutes seems fair for the first check.

Second, I will keep the damage, and use a moderate CON difficulty for when conscious. Rattlesnakes usually use hemotoxins, which tend to be excruciating, damage tissues, causes bleeding and swelling, etc. CON check DC 15, or take 2d4 damage while conscious, seems fair.

Third, I am going to keep the unconscious but stable, which really cuts down on the immediate lethality once knocked out.

However venom lingers and the threat range during natural healing is anywhere from 8 hours to 1 day. That is intense, and one day is possibly useful for something like a large dosage. Cutting it down with medical attention is important this way.

So to make this venom dangerous while stable, I am making Death Saves each 30 minutes. The CON check lowers to DC 10, and the damage to 1d4, so most people should be relatively safe — however infants and elderly are still in real danger.

Since unconsciousness regains 1 HP in 1d4 hours, it complicates potential death from "Best 3 of 5" Death Saves. There's a 50% chance that you'll wake in two hours, which resets the whole process — if you can survive to the fifth and final save.

Medicine works on lowering Poison Condition Time, possibly curing it outright if you have antivenin. And can also be used to help lower CON DC checks so they are easier to survive. In this way Medicine checks become quite the lifesaver.

Western Rattlesnake
tiny/small beast
HP: 2d4 (5)
AC: 10
DEX +1
"TremorVision" 20'
First Strike: Initiative is +double Proficiency Bonus, and with Advantage.
Poison Bite: +3 atk, 1 damage. Roll 1d6-1 — Target is Poisoned 6x Result Hours, and Onset is in Result minutes, then every 30 minutes thereafter. When conscious CON check DC 15, failure takes 2d4 Poison damage. When unconscious CON check DC 10, failure takes 1d4 damage and 1 failed Death Save. This poison damage knocks one out unconscious yet stable.

It makes for a very weak creature, but one whose venom demands respect.

Good job Opa.

Your links really helped with design. Using RAW ideas, and trying to adhere to the native 5e mechanics was a challenge. But it comes off as robust while not too complicated. That is a welcome DIY sign for the system.

But we'll still have to see it in play.

Yes, nice work.

Thank you! I thought you'd appreciate that I am not completely flying by the seat of my pants with RAW grey areas. I have no intentions of taking advantage of my players' trust for granted.

Nice work! Looking forward to seeing what other encounters you Frankenstein for us!

Oh NO!! Opaopajr Has gone off the reservation!!!

This Isn't RAW

This Isn't What I signed up for!!!





This is completely and utterly a Joke

Thanks for the behind the scenes. It makes the game more interesting to me to see what how the rules can bend without breaking. And what flows well.

Poison and disease are two of the hardest things to simulate in a game it seems. Especially since most people think Poisons were save or die things. They were but only if properly administered under the right circumstances, most animal poisons are just painful and near death causing, mainly cause people are mighty big prey for most poison carriers.  Which now uses up all I know about poisons.

Thanks .

PS Please don't kill me while I'm all alone, I don't wanna die alone

Very true. It took until later 2e poison elaboration that I really liked an RPG representation of a poison. Things that seem obvious now, like method (injest, inject, inhale, contact), onset time, alternative ratios to save v. die, ideas of debilitation, etc., took midway through its lifecycle to bubble up it seems. Disease is similarly hard, but there was interesting system tinkering to hammer out something table-usable.

It is a challenge to translate a certain naturalist feel into an abstract system. I expect many personal failures in the future, along with dissatisfaction about official material. But the good sign is the tools seem easier to tinker with safely from previous WotC offerings without becoming overly taxing.

Oh, and yes, your survival all alone is completely in your hands. See, you're safe! Well, until you stir up some inhuman evil that chases you down like a slasher flick. Avoid candy-like, red buttons!

Well Alric is a hunter, alone shouldn't be something he is afraid of, but I don't think he has quite figured out he has traipsed over into being an adventurer with a whole new set of rules.


Yeah! I, like many people who have played to long, made up my own game and doing poisons and disease developed into using the same rules just treating disease like a long term poison seemed to work.

I had symptoms that developed as you failed or made con checks and virulence penalized your base con. Your con was reduced as you got sicker, And it had different onset times methods of introduction etc. Fun but complicated as was the whole system

Everyone: Do note the difference between your Old Graveyard quest & your New Graveyard mysteries. I do seed dangers & let the chips fall where they may. However never feel bad about feeling you've bitten off more than you can chew.

That's all the GM hand-holding & party leading I'll provide for now. Do your best!

Does anyone know if Endless Flight is OK? Tried to PM him twice and no response. I hope everything is fine and just a very busy few weeks.

Have they been posting in the other forums?

Can we get to 2nd level soon? I really want to learn Find Familiar.

I did see Skywalker post today not sure about Endless Flight though.