DDOCentral

When a party encounters a monster, players often ask, “what do I know about this monster?”

This may be because the player has no idea what the monster may be, and wants to leverage any information their character might have. Alternatively, a player well-studied on fantasy fauna stat blocks may be screening their player knowledge from their character knowledge. I know that trolls are scared of fire, but does my character know that?

Either way, the player is seeking guidance on how to inform their character choices.

This resolves with an Intelligence check, adding a skill modifier such as Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion. But, the success of that roll and the amount of information provided is largely dependent on DM fiat. In order to apply this consistently, the DM needs guidance on what information to give out at different Difficulty Classes (DCs).

So, we’ve developed a system that you…

Due to the COVID pandemic, all my gaming has moved online, and while that in it of itself is not a bad thing, it has generally changed my prep and the way I run games, even if it has allowed for greater consistency in our scheduling. 

One of the things I find the most challenging when running games, is determining the area of effects of certain spells. The 5e core rule books provide a way to do it, and it works quite well, but Xanathar’s expanded on it with the introduction of the “template” method. The template method essentially lets you drop certain geometric shapes on the battlemap, to represent the areas of effects, it’s easy enough. 

When playing virtually, this becomes easier, as the grid allows you to drop template graphics on it, making adjudicating areas of effect a very simple process. 

I use Roll20, and I went ahead…