Taking 20 Podcast - Ep 120 - Viewer Mailbag #2

Episode Date: April 10, 2022

This week I get to answer some of the questions sent in to me by listeners, from how to work with players who can't game as long as others to the Kender controversy to what my favorite dessert is. You don't have to wait for mailbag episodes if you have questions.  Find me on social media @Taking20Podcast or send them to [e-mail] #AskADM #DungeonsandDragons #Pathfinder #DnD

This week on the Taking20 Podcast. You know I'm all about accommodating players and meeting them where they are so they can participate in this wonderful hobby. If accommodations for this player won't cause a huge problem, I'd say do what you can to work around the player's limitations. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode 120 of the Taking 20 podcast. This week, the viewer mailbag episode number two. Since it's a mailbag episode, this week's sponsor is the Post Office.

Don't worry, I've reached out to the USPS and they've given this joke their stamp of approval. If you like this podcast, please consider telling your friends about it. Also, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. I'm happy to answer questions and I love interacting with you, so come say hi. It's my second Listener Mailbag episode and I've received quite a few questions, actually. Thank you to everyone who sent those questions in and let's jump right in. I did get a goofy question about asking for personal information like my social security number and my mother's maiden name. Funny. I'm a cybersecurity expert. Like I'm going to fall into that trap to tell you my mother's maiden name is

Smith. Oh God, what have I done? Mom, you got to go change your maiden name. I don't know. Figure it out. Next question from Trevor. I have a player in my group that just can't handle playing as long as my other players. The other players are perfectly fine with playing three, even four hours, but the one we're talking about here gets kind of tired of it after an hour. Wow, what a great opening salvo question. I think a lot of DMs have to deal with a variant of this at some point. I sat down and started writing down my answer, but man, this is not as easy as I thought it would be. I'm going to make some assumptions. You prefer three to four hour sessions, you want to keep this player in your game, and the other players don't have a big problem with one player not being as engaged as the others are. You don't want to feel like you're

holding the player hostage and making them play longer than they want to or can, so I completely understand how this situation can get sticky in a hurry. First of all, this may sound callous, but you're there for all of your players, not just this one. If accommodating this one player ruins the fun for the others at your table, you need to have a frank and difficult conversation with the player about the type of game you and the other players want to be in. Some people have medical issues that keep them from being able to focus for an extended period of time or stay awake very late at night. It's not their fault, and their tuning out is not a reflection of the game or you as a GM. Sometimes this is a temporary thing. One of your players works 62 hours that week and is just

wiped, still wants to attend, but just can't play that long. Hell, I did that a few weeks ago at my Saturday night game. From the question though, it sounds like this is a regular occurrence. You know I'm all about accommodating players and meeting them where they are so they can participate in this wonderful hobby. If accommodations for this player won't cause a huge problem, I'd say do what you can to work around the player's limitations. Since you know the player will tire out after about an hour, I'd plan my sessions around that, keep the recap short, jump right into the action, and start with activities that would require the services of that character.

Give them the spotlight early on and let them participate for as long as they can. Talk to the player, ask them if they want to stick around after they get tired. If they do, implement more frequent breaks and let the player step away from the table during parts of combat where they're not involved. If they do want to step away and not be at the gaming session for whatever reason, I think you could almost treat it as a missing player during the time the player isn't available, whether it's for parts of combat or the entire last half of a session. You can run it as a DM PC. You could have the PC disappear for parts of the session because they wandered off, or if the player's willing, have the character sometimes go catatonic or lock up under pressure.

That way you can safely skip their turn, have them snap out of it though if the player wants to return to the table. Most importantly though, if this player is affecting everyone else's fun, talk to the player. Find out to see if there is a root problem that maybe is based on the way the game is going or the way you're DMing, and just open up that line of communication. But be careful and don't press too hard into potential medical issues. Next question from Charles in Pennsylvania. You seem to love your maps. Where exactly do you find them? I mean, yeah, I like maps, but nobody's saying I'm addicted to maps. I can quit anytime I want to. I just don't want to. I just...

Oh, God, I gotta get more maps. Okay, honestly, Reddit has some great subreddits with a huge number of maps. The Battle Maps subreddit, D&D Maps subreddit, Fantasy Maps subreddit, they are all great sources for them. There's also some great map makers I follow on Patreon. Two Minute Tabletop, Daniel's Maps, and I love Tail Maps, even though they release maps really, really slowly, but they're always high quality. I collect all the free maps that I can and try to keep them categorized in my cloud storage. But sometimes

you can't find exactly what you want or need for free. In that case, look at some of the paid map providers that you can find. Look at DriveThruRPG, Pathfinder Infinite, or maybe even have a custom map made at Fiverr if you're willing to pay a little bit more. Find the map that you need, even if it costs you a little more money. I'm all about the time versus money trade-off. If finding a map or paying for a map saves me a few hours of work, then $5 is well worth it. Next question from Liam in Florida. You talk a lot about the different games in your podcast. What game system is your favorite?

Sure, ask me to pick a favorite kid while I'm at it. If I go by amount of time that I've spent playing in a game system, it would probably be D&D 3.5, but I don't think I'd start a new campaign with that version now. It was fantastic for its time, and I loved it, but the newer systems are so much more accessible and, honestly, better. If someone had never played an RPG before and was serious about getting into a hobby like a long-term campaign, I'd nudge them towards 5th edition for accessibility or Pathfinder 2e for customizability. As a gaming veteran, Pathfinder 2E is probably my favorite game system, but there aren't as many tools out

there compared to, say, 5E. 5E is so accessible and so easy to understand. The math doesn't get that deep, the numbers for DCs and attack rolls don't climb that high, and there aren't a ton of modifiers to worry about. Of course, there are other great game systems out there with some unique mechanics, like Dune Twilight Imperium, Delta Green, even Fiasco. Hell, a couple weeks ago, a friend of mine wanted to play a one-page RPG called Administrative Carnage. It's called a one-page RPG because all the rules fit into a single page. It's light, easy to run, and easy to play. Simple. So, there are tons of options out there. Find one that works for you.

Question from Luke in California. Do you have to include a bad pun in every episode? Yes. Yes, Luke, I do. I'm a dad, and dad jokes rule. I find episodes without them like a certain punch. Next question is from Gina from Location Unknown, so I'm going to say the moon of Europa. Thank you for listening all the way out there orbiting Jupiter. What do I think about the Kinder controversy? Okay, if you haven't heard about this, in March,

in the Unearthed Arcana playtest, Wizards of the Coast updated the rules regarding Kinder, a halfling-like race from the Dragonlance setting. They're removing one of the more problematic aspects of the race's description, that they're all raging kleptomaniacs. This description is replaced with a magical ability for Kinders to pull random items from their pocket, and says it's because they have been, quote, mislabeled as thieves. I have no problem with this change whatsoever.

Much of the kinder description came out of the original Dragonlance trilogy of novels, where Tasselhoff Burfoot was a kinder who was a kleptomaniac. Over time, that description expanded to be all kinderer not just Tass as he was affectionately called removing the requirements for all kinder to have this characteristic opens the race up to different types of motivations and role-playing and how can that be a bad thing I understand the traditional view that they want their kinder to be thieves dwarves to always be stoic and have navaphobia and orc tribes to be warrior nomads. I get it. But is it really that bad to allow half-orc scholars, dwarven pirates, or yes, law-abiding kinder without penalizing the

player for not min-maxing? I think more flexibility is always a good thing. In a much more minor change, the kinder now are tied to the feywild rather than the prime material plane, but that's not a huge change for 5e. In a similar question, or at least related question if you will, Stan from Lubbock, Texas asked what I thought of the Dragonlance coming back as a campaign setting. Thank you, Stan. I'm all for it. I want to DM and adventure in it as soon as possible. Please bring back Spelljammer or Dark Sun next.

Question from Marcus in Chicago. Thank you for writing in. I'm planning on starting my first campaign as DM, and the majority of the players have no D&D experience. I want them to feel the freedom to create whatever character they want, but I also don't want to end up in a situation where their proficiencies, abilities, classes, and races are very similar. The question continues,

that happened in the first game that I joined. How should a GM guide players through character creation such that they create a diverse party but still feel freedom to choose what they want? Ooh, I like this question. Okay, let's start with the classes part of it. For those who don't know, the traditional party makeup is a martial character, a healer, a sneaky trap finder, and a spellcaster, or fighter, cleric, rogue, wizard in classical D&D parlance. First of all, I try not to force players to play a certain role. I think you run the risk of ruining fun for them if you do that. I want to play a barbarian. No, you're a cleric because that's what the party

needs. They may never come back to your table, or even worse, may never try to play RPGs again. Same for races and ancestries. If you force them to play a half-orc because that's the min-maxed answer for a barbarian or whatever, but they wanted to play a dwarf, you run the risk of alienating the player. Let players play the characters they want to play, even if it's not an ideal party makeup. But Jeremy, you may be asking, how do I handle it when the party is missing one of these important components? Answer? You're the one behind the screen. Adjust the adventure to fit the party makeup and eliminate dead ends caused by the party not being as diverse. Note, I said dead ends, not difficulties. dead ends, not difficulties. It can be just fine to have character classes and races that might struggle in a particular situation, but could find a way through. It can be hilarious to watch a party

of martial characters who all dump static intelligence try to figure out a way to use the computer to open the door. Let's say your party has no arcane spellcaster and one of the puzzles in the trophy room requires the player to cast a cantrip to open the door. So you change it. Now instead of requiring a cantrip, it requires a pressure plate to be triggered, or a certain phrase to be uttered, or a cleric's holy symbol to be presented. In general, I try to customize the adventure to fit the party as it stands. If the party's missing a cleric, for example, the NPC giving them the adventure may give them extra healing potions. If the party's missing a rogue, I give every party member a chance to notice the trap with a good, simple perception check. If the party's missing

a frontline fighter, I try to have more fights in open areas where the party can't get pinned, and if the party's missing an arcane spellcaster, I might lower resistances to physical damage on the monsters they fight. I love non-optimal parties. If all four players wanted to play the same race, maybe they're part of an elite gnomish fighting unit that's been called to help save the town, or goliath friends who grew up together and are going on their first big adventure. Should you suggest a diverse party to your players? Absolutely.

But I would definitely shy away from forcing it to happen. Brandon in Ontario asks, since you mentioned it multiple times, what kind of dog do you have? Oh, thank you, Brandon. He's a lab mix with a goofy little underbite and his lower teeth show almost all the time. He's a foster dog nobody wanted because, well, he's got this underbite that makes him look a little goofy. He's a dog with black fur. Black pets, I've learned, aren't adopted as often for some reason. I think the adoption centers and kennels call it like the black dog or black cat syndrome, but I am so glad we picked him. He took to this family like a duck to water, and he's this big sn snuggly, 50-pound lap dog, and he's just a big sweetie.

Yeah, I'm talking about you. You're saying, no, no, you can't come in my lap right now. No, no, I'm not on the couch, no. I will give you scritches, though. Here, I'll give you scritches on the ear. What, what, you don't go out? You go out? Yeah, okay, let's go out.

Sorry about that, I'm back. Glad I took him out. He just dropped a deuce and sprinted away from it like he was possessed, and wanted me to chase him. And play fetch with his little stuffed moose when I got him back in the house. The point of this is he's a wonderful dog and I need to get my fat ass back to the gym. Emily in Kentucky asks, I want to reskin my monsters, but I don't want the players to know that I did. How do I do that? Oh, that's a great question, Emily. Thank you. The good news is, is that even veteran players don't pay that question, Emily. Thank you. The good news is, is that even veteran players don't pay that close of attention to what you're doing.

Your only limit is your imagination. Change one thing. Change all the things and give it a different name. We players probably will never know. You want to make a small Yeti for your adventure? Take the gorilla stats, throw on some extra hit points, jack up the AC a bit, cold resistance, bam, you got yourself a Yeti. Love the mechanics of the blink dog, but you want to give it to a beholder? First off, you're a bastard and I love you. Secondly, even if we did figure it out, most of us won't give a crap and we'll enjoy fighting this new monster. Your players definitely won't think less of you because you based Monster X on Monster Y's stats or abilities in the book. Keep a weathered eye on the recommended stats by level for monsters in your gaming system's core rulebook. Reskin to your heart's content. Even if the monster you use for Source is completely different, your players will not care.

Question from Bobby Nores. If you were DMing a game where someone wanted to play a Cavalier Fighter because they wanted to try out perks of mounted combat, how would you let this character gain access to a mount in the early mid-game without spending all of the party's gold? Love this question, Bobby. Thank you for sending it in. Good news is you've got options. As background for listeners, the 5th edition Cavalier is discussed in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, page 30.

That class really comes into its own at third level or so. For Pathfinder 1st edition, the Cavalier gets a mount for free at first level, so that solves that problem. And for Pathfinder 2nd edition, the Cavalier is a fighter archetype that similarly gets a mount at the cost of a second level feat. If the player wants to try out mounted combat at the very beginning of the game though, I'd make the mount an additional part of the initial equipment. Who's to say that the character wasn't a loyal stable hand to a tavern owner or servant to a wealthy family before striking out to become an adventurer? Maybe they gave this character an older horse named, I don't know, Future Glue to start their adventuring career. I'm not sure I'd give the character the best warhorse in the game at level

one, but something functional where they could actually try out mounted combat? Sure, absolutely. And if the player complains about the quality of the mount that you're giving them? Something, something, looking a gift horse in the mouth, something, something. It lets them try out mounted combat and gives them incentive to spend some of that sweet, sweet gold on a big, majestic, intelligent warhorse who becomes like an extension of their own body during combat, charging at foes who can't afford a horse, or honorable combat against a

goblin on a warg. The vast majority of players won't think it's a big deal that one character started with a horse and they didn't. If you're concerned about how the other players will feel about it or about balance, throw an extra starting potion their way and live happily ever after. But remember, it's not just the initial acquisition of the horse that has a cost. Horses are expensive to keep, and the players would have to stable them in a city, feed them on an adventure, etc. If you're going to the Underdark, there's a real risk that the horse could run out of food, water, etc., so they have to stock for it as well. Adding on to this question, what would be a good way for other DMs who, in all caps, don't have a hatred for animal companions to handle this subclass? First off,

you kill the horse the first chance you get. No, bad Jeremy, no donut. Treat the horse like you would any other animal companion. Thing about it is, a size large animal companion may struggle to walk down five foot hallways and it might get them pinned there and goblins will look at it and say, look at all of that meat. Just thinking out loud. Next question. This is kind of random. Eric from Montana asks, what's my favorite dessert? Thank you, Eric. Well, I'm more of a savory than sweet guy. Buttery, salty popcorn's my fucking jam. But for desserts, anything with chocolate and peanut butter.

Reese's Cups, Tagalongs, a square of dark chocolate with peanut butter on it. Good stuff. Hey, I received a couple of questions from Cameron from, well, no location given. So I'm going to say top of Mount Everest. Thank you, Cameron, for writing in. And please be careful on the walk down the mountain. Please watch your step. As a DM, are there character ideas that internally make you despair when you see a player come to the table with it? Good question, Cameron.

The two types of characters that I'd be concerned about would be any character idea that is racist, or any character idea designed to make fun of another player. For example, someone who plays their character as a caricature of one of your other players, emphasizing negative aspects. That would probably result in my asking the player to please make a better selection for their character. On the other side, are there any lesser used concepts that you'd love to see a player willing to run with? I do wish there were more older adventurers out there. Grizzled, old, they've seen some shit, they're living a new life or reinventing themselves later in life. A lot of characters are fresh-faced and young and striking out on their first big quest. In a campaign that I just wrapped up, I played an older woman whose

spouse had passed away and used the part of her third act of her life to travel around the world and have adventures. So I'd love to see more of those types of characters. Thomas from the UK says that audio quality has dramatically improved throughout the life of the show and wants to know what equipment that I use. I have a Shure MV7 microphone that was an upgrade during the pandemic. A couple of Christmases ago, my lovely wife surprised me with a Rode Podcaster Pro as my soundboard, and that's been my audio chassis of choice. I like having all the sound effects right here and handy during recording. chassis of choice. I like having all the sound effects right here and handy during recording.

On the software side, I use Hindenburg Pro, but the only plug-in I ever use right now is DeBreath for when I get too close to the microphone and I sound like Darth Vader. I use built-in compression and equalization for now. I don't need separate plug-ins for those. I'll concede that it's very nice equipment. I acquired it over two and a half years, though. I started with a little $19 USB microphone and Audacity software, which is free. If you're interested in starting a podcast, my advice, use the tools that you have and find better tools along the way. Last question. Alexander from Noblesville, Indiana asks when I'm going to have another giveaway. Since I don't have any sponsors or regular cash flow from the podcast, giveaways will be fairly rare, maybe one to two times per year if I can afford it.

If you know of a company that wants to provide dice, books, etc. for a giveaway, or if you or a company wants to sponsor with some cash or whatever, feel free to donate at my coffee ko-fi.com slash taking20podcast or reach out to me at feedback at taking20podcast.com. Thank you everyone for all the questions and for continuing to listen. These episodes are a little break from my usual heavy amount of research required and it really does help me keep my sanity. Also, some of these answers may get fleshed out into a full-blown episode in the future, so keep an eye out for that. By the way, you don't have to wait for mailbag episodes to send me questions. If you do have a question about RPGs and gaming and what have you, please reach out to me on social media, on Insta, Twitter, Facebook,

or even Taking20Podcast on Reddit. I want people to lose their fear of DMing and playing in this wonderful hobby, and I'd be happy to help you along any way I can. Next week, we're going to have another episode in the lore series. This time, all about an event called Earthfall on the Pathfinder world of Galarian. But before I go, I want to thank our sponsor, The Post Office. If you didn't like the joke at the beginning of the episode, it's probably a problem with the delivery. This has been episode 120 of the Taking 20 podcast, the second viewer mailbag episode.

My name is Jeremy Shelley, and I hope that your next game is your best game. The Taking 20 podcast is a Publishing Cube Media Production. Copyright 2022. References to game system content are copyrighted by their respective publishers.