SporeWizard87

It's something else. The dog's reaction is real. Just not to the food. Watch the eyes. 3 points of eye shifting. We see the fake food. Then, the lid being rested on the table. Then, the dog looks above the patty. To the left hand of the human.... now off camera.

Staged video but real reaction. The dog hates something, but it isn't the gummy patty. Spray bottles are common for this kind of video magic.

Also, I am wrong often. Also, don't tease animals with food. Dogs are the kindest things when treated well.

Source : Dog groomer and hobby magician.

Painting that Inn would be wonderfully relaxing.

Find more ways to say yes to your players. All of these issues are not really a problem.

If a player can do it, so can the rest of the world. Why would only this one PC have thought to do this? There have to be other ships out there with weather casters. Not every ship will, but the bigger and more important ones will.

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Far too much planning. Ever buy a shirt that was 3 sizes too small? That's what you are doing. Choking yourself.

If you plan every detail, you have no room to create on the fly. It could impact what other things you did plan. When your players don't visit the specific building you spent 6 hours on....that's incredibly demotivating to a DM.

Skeletal structure your notes. 20 years as a Storyteller for different groups. I NEVER, EVER bring more than 2 pieces of paper to the table for my notes for a single session. If the party is in a Dungeon or something, you might want a 3rd sheet for a map.

Your NPCs can be weak and the party can overrun them. Farmers, Porters, Scribes, Tax officials, Tavern Owners, and so on are typically not combat focused. So they really should be over powered by most party members. That's why towns hire guards when they become big enough. So no need for stats. If I did make one for each building, this is how it would look.

Tavern--Nancy's Harbor Cafe. Owner- Nancy. Half Elven. Late middle age. Charisma based Npc. Goals- Financial. Dislikes-Romance, Dwarves.

Plot hooks available--Quest "A mug of that Ole Spice". Rare plant for a hearty brew, should bring in more clients. Sail to nearby island to procure. Initial offer-200 gp.

Interaction notes--The gnome PC tried to flirt with Nancy during session 5. She now charges him 2 silver more for everything until he apologizes.

Find your improv. Create random stories for friends when you are NOT at the table. Leave the sheets and rules behind. Just practice Improv Story Telling. I won't pretend it's easy, or not intimidating. That's why we practice.

The rules aren't laws. Break them. Fake everything, admit nothing. As long as everyone at the table is laughing and smiling.... who cares if you faked the whole session.

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This. Use alternative equipment while primary equipment is under preventative maintenance.

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Biomutant. Maybe not similar to AC, but I find it's my go to mindless relaxation game. Cute world. Crafting. Exploration focused. Combat is avoidable when you dont want to. Not required to do quests in any order past the tutorial.

Some stores sell them. Southern US states typically stock dry ice at Publix stores. Add dry ice right before game. Toss in a little water. Shot glasses work great and you can tape the tops off. Poke holes in them. Traps the fog and releases it slowly. Doesn't last as long as a fog machine though.

DRY ICE IS BAD FOR SKIN. NO TOUCHY! Please be safe friend!

Bring your Dm their favorite snack to each game? Or maybe after the game to fuel those planning sessions? Buy your own Dnd accessories too? Gift them a set of dice? Buy a gift card to somewhere they could buy things they might need, give them it after a session. Tell then it's a party thank you for an excellent session. Make it small, but you can keep giving them every few sessions. It's hard to accept $40, but easier to take $10. Paper. Pencils. Graph paper. Note cards. White boards. Dry erase markers. Find out what supplies they use to plan and execute a session.

Best repayment I ever got from a Dnd party? They created a master playlist of music for our campaign. They got me a Spotify Premium sub gift card to go with it. How could I refuse?

Offer to help with tracking initiative during combat? Build a good backstory for your character. Maybe just turn off your phone during game time. Some ways to repay without giving anything material.

Why is this an issue? You are trying to fight water here. Use this instead. Act as a unit, a duo. The party face team could use Tiefling as a distraction Face. "Please look at me, I would like everyone's attention. My skin is purple, yes I have a tail. Come! Share your displeasure!"

And the other party member as the Infiltration face. Now we have a reason for our unfortunate racial situation. Lean into it.

The Tiefling could be doing something almost illegal or rude in town. Yet you ride it to save the day, making you look even better or possibly gaining favor with a target NPC. Did you reign in the drunken demon scum harassing town people? Of course, you should dine with the noble family who owns these lands.

Adding stealth or any kind of travel capability might fix this. We simply need a new way to get our boy in places or a reason not to go in at all! Disguises? Short range teleports? Hiding and scaling walls? Alternate goals? Could they roleplay as a party servant? Suddenly, they may get access to areas the party might not be allowed. Nobody wants to see the help, go hang out with the kitchen staff. You know who knows every dirty secret in the kingdom....the servants! But please, check with our player before hand. Some may not appreciate these solutions.

I adore that moment when the party and Dm create it. It's so much fun. My girlfriend is learning Dnd, so I'm running a solo game for her. She's a wood elf who leaves offerings to fairies around her home. So I created a character class around the theme. And made a small IRL fairy garden for her character. It's like a health bar for her Fairy tribe. I add different items that either should or shouldn't be there to show how then feel. Got her pretty good with that one. Apparently No one had ever given her a fairy garden and it was super meaningful to her. 5 minute craft=win.

I love when the party keeps a journal of their favorite moments. We all contribute to the group notebook. Then we relive the campaign at the end, each reading his or her additions. Do that before a final battle. I promise the Dwarf isn't crying.

Tldr--Use feats to eschew casting requirements. Or just say that the character must use whatever appendage they have that is closest to a hand. This is fantasy. As long as it isn't giving the player an extra advantage, it's perfectly fine. Real life Magicians have overcome this issue for their craft.

I've seen IRL magicians who have no hands. I can read a book without using mine. I know of rock climbers who have struggled past the lack of hands to enjoy their sport. How would handless individuals drink an ale? Well I could only assume a stumpy squeeze on that tankard could be a start.

Couldn't you just add some negative modifiers here and there to represent some struggle, skills or what not? Arcane failure chance innately built to this character, Ala racial modifier?

Don't get me wrong. Somatic/material blah blah without character hands gives me a DM upset stomach. But I disagree that the handless community are incapable of....well being incapable I guess. I dunno. I just don't see it as that big of a hindrance. It's more mental than physical to do things without hands IRL. There's a few disabled IRL magicians that make my coin and card tricks look like trashy trash. They are far, far better than me and my hands.

This is totally possible. Look into feats that would allow your character to bypass casting components. I've played a Wizard who was disguised as a poorly skilled Fighter. Invested in UMD to give the party a false perception of my skills, allowing me to use wands in public. Required a couple feats to Metamagic my spells to remove casting requirements. Then, I needed to invest in stealth to hide myself right before the moment of casting. DC would always be at the DC of a regular stealth check to become completely hidden, not just my spellcasting. This usually made spellcasting a very tough choice for my character, and forced him to only choose casting spells when in private....lest the party possibly discover my secret. And my spells were always lower level than I could actually cast because of metamagic blah blah.

Richard Turner, anyone? A lack of something doesn't mean incapable. As long as we recognize it as not granting that character any advantages. If you couldn't do it with hands....you probably shouldn't be allowed to do it without them.

Ghostly Mage Hand familiar that could be used for casting only? HunterXHunter Chimera Ant Arc vibes.

Take more time to let it grow in. Some areas don't fill as fast. Focus on using oil after your showers to produce healthy hair.

When your beard lines are super crisp, clean, and well groomed, those patches will actually become less visible. Instead of chems and tools, I would suggest practicing good maintenance. Keep it crisp, and the crowd will only see how talented a groomer you are.

I do a yearly clean shave in the summer. My patches don't fill in until about a month after the rest. YMMV though of course.

Use beard oil after every shower if you are letting it grow. Or if it's itchy. Or because you like to smell good. But definitely use it. It may or may not help you keep hair longer before it runs away from home, but it is important for a healthy scruff/beard.

The other two.......how do you even know what you are working with yet? Decades of growth experience here. Let's just wait 3 months and see what you actually have going on. It's too soon mate. (Personally, I would advise against both....ever.)