OneDnD - 5e UA Material/Discussion

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A place to discuss the playtest content for the 2024 version of 5e D&D, known by its codename OneD&D.

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Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

White Plume Mountain is an absolute classic Adventure for level 8 players; one that has been talked about for years and has been redone time and again. Heck, it was even ranked the 9th greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventure of all time by Dungeon magazine in 2004. This is the perfect Adventure for those of you who are looking for a bit of combat and a whole lot of puzzle!

Three magical weapons have been stolen recently. Clues in the form of a poem lead those in power to believe the weapons have been brought to a volcano which was once the hideout of a powerful wizard named Keraptis. These are no mere magical weapons, but sentient artifacts. Can your players survive the perils of White Plume Mountain and retrieve them!?

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • Spellsheets for all relevant encounters
  • Note from Krepatis and Hiring Letter Handouts
  • Custom Battle Maps

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

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Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk stems from The Lost Mine of Phandelver a classic and beloved starter set that many new DMs run. Even with this being the most recent release it still has an issue, the same as with many others...it doesn't describe the best way to transform the book's contents into an actual session. The Book-to-session conversion can be difficult between figuring out when things should happen, understanding motivations, and even organizing encounters.

Well, fortunately for you, 99% of that work is done! Only a few things are really left:

  • Read the book, I know surprising, but it can be extremely confusing when you don't know where everything leads to.
  • Consider the needs of your group. As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign, you'll have to make tweaks here and there.
  • These notes aren't meant to be the end-all-be-all. Tweak to your heart's content, and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things were meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience, though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Without further ado:

Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk Act 1

Included in my posts are:

  • A Word document for each part of Act 1 for Phandelver and Below with detailed notes for running a perfect session including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDFs for every encounter. This includes all the enemies' stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP.
  • Additional PDFs for allies and commoners
  • A variety of maps for each part of the campaign
  • Spell lists for all relevant fights
  • Handouts for various spell scrolls throughout the campaign
  • A playlist for each section!

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

Campaign Info: As of today, I've officially completed Act One of Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk! I've also compiled all of my prep for it in a single easy-to-access post which is available to all my Heroes and Legends. You can find it HERE!

I've discussed this on Discord as well as answered a few questions and thought I would clarify some information here; campaigns are super time intensive, so I have to choose wisely which ones I prep. The first half PaB:TSO is an updated version of The Lost Mine of Phandelver which I had already fully prepped; so, I thought I would go through all my prep and update it to match and help all those who are starting to run the campaign! I may one day prep the second half; however, I'm trying to focus on the more popular Campaigns such as Curse of Strahd, before I work on others.

With what I've released, you'll have a great kickstart through most of the campaign and there are plenty of helpful members both on Reddit and on my Discord that can guide you along the rest of the way! I hope that with what I've prepped so far you can have a truly Amazing campaign!!!

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

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cross-posted from: https://ttrpg.network/post/7655321

All premieres at 9am PDT:

  • Monday, July 1st - Spells Tuesday
  • July 2nd - Crafting Sneak Peek (this is a short video; no premiere)
  • Monday, July 8th - Monk
  • Tuesday, July 9th - Sorcerer
  • Wednesday, July 10th - Cleric Thursday
  • July 11th - Bard Friday
  • July 12th - New Dragon Designs
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Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

We're back at it again with another Fully Prepped Mini-Campaign; Dragon of Icespire Peak, A level 1-6 Adventure that's a bit frosty! This is part of the Essentials Kit; released between Dragon of Stormwreck Isle and The Lost Mine of Phandelver all created by WoTC.

Dragon of Icespire Peak is a bit different from the other two I've prepped; not only is it more of a sandbox, but it also has the ability to be run with just one player which is a huge plus for those of you who can't get larger groups together! I'll be incorporating the recommendations from both Bob the World Builder and Sly Flourish along with my own tweaks to make this one of the best experiences you can have running this Mini-Campaign!

If you've used my previous notes you'll know that I take adventures such as these and do all the difficult and time-consuming book-to-session conversions so you don't have to! I do my best to include ambiance for every scene, custom battle maps, handouts when needed, spell sheets, encounter sheets, and more!

This may all sound familiar, but seeing as this is a Starter/Essentials Kit, I think it's important to reiterate:

  • Read the Adventure: I know surprising, but it can be extremely confusing when you don't know where everything leads to.
  • Consider the needs of your group: As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign, you'll have to make tweaks here and there.
  • These notes aren't meant to be the end-all-be-all: Tweak to your heart's content, and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things are meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience, though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Custom Map of Phandalin

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

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2024 Player's Handbook Reveals (all premieres at 9am PDT)

Monday, June 24th - The Rogue Tuesday, June 25th - The Warlock Wednesday, June 26th - The Druid Thursday, June 27th - The Wizard Friday, June 28th - The Ranger

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Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

Don't Say Vecna is a level 20 One-Shot by Michael Galvis and Mike Bernier that will have your players tasked with investigating a wizard tower that mysteriously disappeared from the Material Plane. Their exploration will reveal the forbidden secrets three scholars discovered and what fates befell them. Will your player be able to handle the might of Vecna!?

Fortunately, even if they can, there's a modified stat block to really throw the full power of the Arch-lich himself!

*Estimated Session Length: 4-6hrs

*Important Note: If using the revised statblock it is recommended to allow your players to pick the following Magic items:

  • Legendary/Artifact x1
  • Very Rare x2
  • Rare x3
  • Uncommon x 4

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • Revised Vecna Statblock for those who want a greater challenge
  • Custom Maps of Cientia Tower

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

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Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

Dragons of Stormwreck Isle, is a level 1-3 Adventure, the most recent Starter Set, and successor to The Lost Mine of Phandelver released by WoTC. In it, your players will sail to Stormwreck Isle, an island shaped by an age of conflict between Chromatic and Metallic Dragons. They'll be able to befriend kobolds, explore fungal grottos, fight those twisted by Orcus, and perhaps save the very island itself!

Have your players create their own characters or jump right in using the Pre-Gens that are built with backstories integrated into the plot!

If you've used my previous notes, you'll know that I take Adventures such as these and do all the difficult and time-consuming book-to-session conversions, so you don't have to! I do my best to include Ambiance for every scene, custom battle maps, handouts when needed, spell sheets, encounter sheets, and more!

This may all sound familiar, but seeing as this is a Starter Set, I think it's important to reiterate:

  • Read the Adventure: I know surprising, but it can be extremely confusing when you don't know where everything leads to.
  • Consider the needs of your group: As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign, you'll have to make tweaks here and there.
  • These notes aren't meant to be the end-all-be-all: Tweak to your heart's content, and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things are meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience, though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Without further ado:

Index & FAQ:

Dragons of Stormwreck Isle:

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

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Key points:

  • SDR 5.2 will be made available under Creative Commons.
  • It will release within weeks of the 2025 Monster Manual (which will release February 18th, 2025).
  • It will contain information from all three core rulebooks (PHB, Monster Manual, DMG).
  • It will be localized in all officially supported languages.
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Welcome to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

The Lost Mine of Phandelver is a classic, one of the very first Mini-Campaigns that new DM's run. Heck, it's part of the starter set after all! The issue though, as with many other modules, is that it doesn't describe the best way to transform the contents of the book into an actual session. The Book-to-session conversion can be difficult. Between figuring out when things should happen, understanding motivations and even balancing encounters.

Well fortunately for you 99% of that work is done! Only a few things are really left:

  1. Consider the needs of your group. As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign you'll have to make tweaks here and there. (Bonus points if you include your players' backstory)
  2. These notes aren't meant to be end-all-be-all. Tweak to your heart's content and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me, having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things were meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Included in my posts are:

  • A Word document for each part of the LMoP with detailed notes for running a perfect session including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDFs for every encounter. This includes all the enemies' stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP.
  • Additional PDFs for allies and commoners
  • A variety of maps for each part of the campaign
  • Spell lists for all relevant fights
  • Handouts for various spell scrolls throughout the campaign
  • A playlist for each part of the Mini-Campaign!

Without further ado:

Index:

The Lost Mine of Phandelver Index

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

11
 
 

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible! With Easter fast approaching, I've prepped a Bunny Day Holiday Special:

From the creator of The Night Before Wintermas comes another level 5 Neutral/Evil One-Shot. Set in the same town as the original; your players will once again meet with Quentin Happyjoy who is getting into the confectionery business. Apparently, there's a lot of money in fat kids, especially when your toffee is 80% nicotine. He wants your players to cripple his competitors, House Estyr, makers of the world-famous "Chocolate Ovoids", by staging a heist on their heavily secured and fortified bank.

Will your players be able to come together to sneak or smash their way through the banks' defenses and come out with The Egg of Estyr?

This One-Shot has quite a lot to it. Your players will have multiple options when it comes to how they would like to tackle this heist which each leads to a very different experience. Theirs a full town to explore as well, with multiple unique vendors and magic items. I'm genuinely impressed with all there is to do!

I've also improved the design of the puzzle and included a section for handouts to make this session that much more immersive! I hope your players have as wild a time as mine did!

*Approximate time to complete

  • Speed Run - 2hrs
  • Quiet Option 4-6hrs
  • Loud Option/Full Completion 6-8hrs

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • An updated and improved puzzle along with a guided solution
  • Spell Cards for Guards
  • Organized Tables
  • Handouts for both Heist Pathways

Index:

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

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Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

Delivery Witches Apply Within is a level 3 One-Shot for 1-2 players. Inspired by Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki and Kiki's Delivery Service your player will meet a strange black cat who leads them to the Kat and Cake Bakery where they'll try to prove themselves worthy of the title Delivery Witch by delivering a set of packages. These aren't just any ordinary deliveries, throughout you'll run into a slew of interesting characters and events including a druid posing as a cat, a silver dragon, mists that try to teleport you elsewhere, and ghostly apparitions!

Brittney Hay has done an absolutely fantastic job creating this One-Shot. You really feel like you're in a magical lighthearted world. This One-Shot is a far cry from my usual preps, being for only 1-2 players you'll have the opportunity to really engage your players. The music is right from Kiki's Delivery Service and blends perfectly with your adventure! I couldn't be happier with how this one turned out!

This One-Shot is from an anthology of One-Shots inspired by Studio Ghibli; Eyes Unclouded, If you like this one I'm sure you'll find plenty more to fall in love with! Perhaps if this is popular enough I'll consider prepping even more of them!

*Average Sessions Length: 2-3hrs

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A downloadable copy of all my notes, which includes links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat block organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • A Battle Map for the City

Index:

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,Advent

13
 
 

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

The results are in and I'm excited to announce that Nyx and Alanna (AJ) are the 1st and 2nd place winners of Advent's One-Shot Challenge! The goal was simple, to find people who could prep in a style similar to mine so that I could work with them and expand Advent's Amazing Advice! I was blown away with the results and I'm proud to show you what they've come up with!

The Delian Tomb is a Level 1 Introductory One-Shot based on Matt Colville's first episode of his Running the Game series on YouTube.

This adventure begins in the backwaters of a small kingdom, it's a quiet place...most of the time. Recently, there has been an influx of goblins in the region and some of the foul creatures have even begun attacking the farms in the outskirts of the village. Your players are all friends, just traveling through, in search of adventure. It isn't long before they find themselves mixed up in the business of Goblins and pursuing a kidnapped child into the depths of a long-forgotten tomb. This is their opportunity to prove themselves, and to rescue someone in need...if they can survive the perils of The Delian Tomb!

Below you'll find the winner's notes updated by me with all the tweaks and formatting you've come to know and love.

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • Spellsheet Handout for the Goblin Shaman
  • Custom Maps (Credits: u/sladank, uchideshi34 (Jon), grant1derlin, CragtheLAD)

Index:

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

It was such a fantastic experience working with others on this! You'll see plenty more of Nyx and Alanna in the future!

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers, Advent

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cross-posted from: https://ttrpg.network/post/3803122

Discussion with crawford concerning the playtest feedback from the most recent playtest

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Hey, everyone my name is Advent, and I run a Patreon called Advent's Amazing Advice! I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc., and fully prep them for New and Busy DMs. My prep includes detailed notes, music, ambiance, maps, encounter sheets, handouts, and tweaks so you can run the best sessions with the least stress possible!

I've been working on Advent's Amazing Advice for well over a year now! Thanks to all the support of my Patrons, I'm finally in the position where I can add someone to the team to lighten the load of prepping! With their assistance, I'll be able to expand the ways I can help everyone!

In order to find the perfect person, I'm creating a contest. The rules are simple. The person who can prep a One-Shot in a style most similar to mine will be the winner. I'll be judging this based on the following:

Main Criteria

  • Formatting: How close you can match my style
  • Improvements: Includes additions; as well as flow, ease of use, etc.
  • Music Selection: Picking the perfect tracks to match each scene (*Create a YouTube playlist)
  • Including additional resources: ie. maps, handouts, encounters sheets, etc. (Be sure to properly credit)
  • Packaging: Delivering the Prep the same way I would (ie. Folder Organization)

The One-Shot that contestants will be working on will be The Delian Tomb. I've chosen this one because it's short, has multiple versions, and is made for beginners to D&D. How you choose to prep will allow me to see how well you can get into the mind of a new DM; ensuring they have all the tools at their disposal to run an Amazing session!!!

Not only will the winner be joining the team*, but there will be prizes! Additionally, if 2nd and 3rd place impress me enough with their quality, they might just find themselves being called up to collaborate in the future!

Prizes

  • 1st - $100 and have your prep featured on Advent's Amazing Advice
  • 2nd - $50
  • 3rd - $25

Deadline - 1/15/24

If this sounds like something you're interested in, you can get started by downloading the Contest Resources by Clicking Here or Here. Once you've finished, you can upload your files to Google Docs and send an email with the link, as well as to the YouTube playlist that you created!

Email - [email protected]

For those of you who haven't seen my work before, you'll find an example of my Into Ivy Mansion prep in the Contest Resources Pack. I've also included additional examples of my prep below.

Position Info

  • Pay: I’m offering the same amount that I charge for commissions, so $100 for each One-Shot Prepped; with up to a bonus $100 for each completed project based on how closely the person can match my style. If the person is good enough, then they’ll eventually be able to switch over to receiving a percentage of all profits from Advent’s Amazing Advice instead! Payment is via Venmo, but other ways can be worked out if needed!
  • Content Production/Hours: - I’m looking for someone who can fully prep between 1-2 One-Shots a month, you can choose when, where, and how to complete the work! I’ll be guiding the person to match my style and be there to help with anything that pops up along the way.

I can't wait to see how this turns out and I'm so excited to have the chance to be able to do something like this. Thank you all so much, without you, I could never have imagined coming this far! If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask!

Cheers,

Advent

* Joining the team is contingent on producing high-quality content and being a person others would want to work with!

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I hope everyone is having a Fantastic December! With the Holidays in full swing, I wanted to give everyone here a present, by doing all the prep work for a fantastic Holiday One-Shot for you! Then, in turn, you can gift that experience to your players! And what better gift is there for players who have been so good, than an opportunity to let loose and be evil for a change! Yes, that's right, The Night before Wintermas is specifically designed for Level 5 Evil/Neutral aligned players.

Thanks to the creative mind of jmanc, you'll bring your players to The Town of Frosthold and join a morally bankrupt Toy and Tabacco company to put an end to Santa's charitable operations by Infiltrating his workshop and dealing with the problem for good!

Experience holiday music to fit every scene, face your favorite Christmas Characters...in a battle to the death, earn unique magic items to help you take on the fat man, and live vicariously through your newly evil characters! This is a One-Shot you won't want to miss!

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for the encounter. This includes the enemy stat block organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • An Alternate encounter PDF for Frosty and The Snowmen *(Updated 2023)
  • Custom Maps for Santa's Grotto
  • Custom Boss Fight Music
  • Handouts for the Scrolls of Haste and Invisibility
  • A Preview PDF of Flee Mortals

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! If you have any advice on how I can improve my notes further, please let me know either here or leave a comment on the Google doc itself! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

17
 
 

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

We're back at it again with another Level 1+ One-Shot, this time by the amazing Jennifer Adcock! Grammy's Country Apple Pie is the perfect One-Shot to run for a group of kids who are looking to just have some fun. They can go in the hard way and try to fight everything or they can try to practice those bard-like skills and converse their way through the challenges!

In Grammy's Country Apple Pie, a wizard named Tyndareus develops a craving for a special treat from his childhood, he will stop at nothing to get his hands on the best apple pie in the whole world. He hires your group to seek out the bakery that once produced the wonderful dessert – unfortunately for them, the bakery has long since been overrun by goblins. But all is not as it seems at Grammy’s Bakery, and Tyndareus isn’t the only one who’d do anything for those pies.

Parents and Teachers can oftentimes be even busier than the rest of us and with this Fully Prepped One-Shot I hope I can help get families together and bring new generations of players to the table!

Without further ado:

Included in The AAA Collection is:

  • A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
  • Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
  • Custom Maps of Grammy's Bakery

Other One Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,

Advent

18
 
 

Quick summary: the bastion system are rules to create a personal home / guild hall / fortress for your party with prices and special abilities.

19
 
 

Previously, I hated the constant "Remove Hunter's Mark" posts, or rolled my eyes at the sheer number of people all pointing out the obvious issue of your core feature just being a 1st-level spell, but I've finally switched over to the extreme that the Hunter's Mark spell just shouldn't exist at all.

My only defense for keeping it was that it has the clear thematic identity of "Choose your prey, and hunt them down over time," which I liked for Rangers, (Especially over "Yeah, you're either mediocre under hyper-specific circumstances, or literally invalidate the rules of the very encounters you're supposed to be good at.") but something about it still left me unsatisfied. I've finally realized the solution that should have been obvious: Focus on that identity for a feature, but make it something better than "Could I offer you a d6 in these trying times?"

Favored Foe, or Favored Enemy, or even Hunter's Mark if you really like the name, should take the concept of select a target and apply a personal debuff for a duration, but make it give something other than strictly damage. Have a bonus to hit, or some utility options, or whatever. Make the Ranger's true damage come from some of the amazing spells they have, but updated to be more usable, like the new Paladin's Smite feature.

20
 
 

Like, I know it’s better that it was, and it’s probably quite strong mathematically. But… just getting to add extra to your attack and damage rolls doesn’t feel very cool flavor-wise or mechanics-wise. I’m a 20th level character; I want a power that makes me feel like some kind of demigod. Not something that just makes number go up.

I think it stems from a lack of class identity in the base ranger: nobody, least of all WotC, can quite decide what it should be. If your idea of the ranger is focused on having a pet, then an ability that helps with fighting monsters isn’t very good. But if you are a monster hunter, then something that boosts companion animals is useless.

So what’s the solution? Given that so much of the ranger’s identity comes from the subclass, I think the ranger should take a page from the paladin’s book (er, chapter) and make the capstone ability a subclass feature.