D&D Story: That time our characters went to New York City

This is an animated D&D Story from when our characters fell through a warp and ended up in our modern day earth. . . without their powers. We used the d20 modern system while we were on present-day Earth.
End song is "Sunlight Samba" from the KZbin Audio Library.

[@iainhansen1047]

“Saving people......trying to save people” Every DnD campaign ever

[@genijable]

Iain Hansen "At least we didn't make things worse" sounds pretty normal, the only thing missing are some 'real' heroes passing by. And ending up getting convicted by the necromancer that she does the best for the world

[@gameo360]

Or trying to kill people, but somehow helping

[@samuellund1377]

"I throw a throwing hammer" *Rolls 1* DM: You hit one of the gnome children. *rolls damage* "...is it alive?" DM: *rolling* um...No, it was one of the injured ones... you killed it. Me: O.O "...It was an accident?" Gnomish Town: -_-

[@firesoy]

"We were getting board of the traditional fantasy tropes" *>manatee wearing a party hat playing a guitar in a cupboard* Ah yes, that old tried and true standby.

[@underfan7713]

*seal

[@stlchucko]

*playing a ute

[@blatantslander]

It's Bored!

[@NotCthulhu]

If you've seen one manatee wearing a party hat playing a guitar in a cupboard, you've seen em all, amirite?

[@tuckertechnolord6126]

No, it's one of the baby harp seals that's supposed to be guarding malakar

[@JazzJackrabbit]

So you tried to kill the villain... But the villain opened a portal in time... And flung you into the future? Yup, it's Samurai Jack!

[@MrCompassionate01]

Was thinking the exact same thing 'Long ago in a distant land I, the necromantic master of darkness unleashed an UNSPEAKABLE EVIL! But a group of foolish heroes stepped forth to oppose me Before the final blow was struck I tore open a portal in time and flung us all into the future where my sister's evil is law Now the fools seek to return to the past and undo the future'

[@Trefox87]

Jazz Jackrabbit that would be a really good campaign on it's own

[@Rathkryn]

More of a parallel dimension or another planet.

[@Allbendias]

You forgot the most important part where my[Necromancer's sister's] evil is law.

[@udhsids]

Got to get back, back to the past, Puffin Forest! Watch out! Got to get back, back to the past, Puffin Forest! Puffin, Puffin, Puffin, Puffin, Puffin!

[@trygveplaustrum4634]

Detective Savage Rage must have been on all those cases.

[@caveopp7708]

*Detective Detective (Savage) Savage Rage

[@flamesofchaos13]

@@caveopp7708 *Detective Detective Savage "Savage Rage" Rage is his name you daft fool!

[@endersdragon34]

With his new partner Detective Clancy

[@hattyblue1258]

So that’s why they didn’t get caught

[@Kinja427]

Nononono it was obviously Detective Clancy. Worlds greatest detective

[@gizmona1178]

1. Lived in a homeless shelter 2. murdered indiscriminately and a lot by the sounds of it 3. used daggers and bows to do said killing ... Soooo basically your DM just shifted the story so you could go murderhobo for a few session!? fair enough.

[@InfernosReaper]

Guess he felt "murder hobo" needed to be more literal

[@TheEventHorizon909]

gizmona11 Detective: *2 8 S T A B W O U N D S*

[@FeyTheBin]

The Murderhobo Gang. Oi've 'eard of 'em.

[@smegleymunroe863]

It might be REALLY fun to do something like this, but you let them keep all their powers. Having the government try to capture them would be super fun

[@BigMac8000]

Dope. Nets. Cell phones. Drones. Long range snipers. Swat. That'd be a good time.

[@LibraGamesUnlimited]

We did that all the time but I think we, somehow, managed to avoid being captured due to our powers. I know the government tried to kill my character once. I also recall one where our characters met us and we destroyed half the town for some reason. I forget why.

[@keithringer7799]

I've commented on this kinda thing before, I LOVE Puffin Forest, but he CLEARLY doesnt understand how to balance a party. Call me a jerk if you like, but doing something like this ONLY rewards human players, and melee combatants. Barbarian? Monk? Hey! I'm now OP and have lost NOTHING!... ANY KIND OF PURE CASTER? haha... ha... you are 100% useless, and can literally do NOTHING. I'd leave, I'm not playing a game like that. At least the ranger could still shoot a bow, but GODS how terrible of a game that is.

[@GamerTowerDX]

@@keithringer7799 look,puffin is questiable,but this wasnt his campaign,it was by another DM he was playing with

[@keithringer7799]

@@GamerTowerDX that's fair, I suppose i should restate that. My main point was that whoever thought that was a good idea is clearly bad at understanding d&d balance, and I'm surprised that he stayed with such an idea being used.

[@cnlbenmc]

Well that was unexpected. Murder Hobos in a very literal sense.

[@TheInfiniteSheldon]

Before the murder hobos: "Abserd, you are a cop!" After the murder hobos: "You are no longer a cop, Abserd."

[@sagesigman8269]

"Ohhhh....the city is in GREAT danger! We must be battling the great eviiilllll!" - Detective Abserd, NYC 2020

[@ronanhiggz9364]

Huh, that detective sounds familiar. He sounds like he has some... Savage Rage.

[@giladpellaeon1691]

That would be Detective Detective Savage Savage Rage Rage. He should be on that case, they need to call him in from the cesspool that is San Diego. lol

[@dingo_1865]

HAH

[@colorphone5154]

DICK TRACY THE WORLDS GREATEST DETECTIVE

[@naltlan7651]

just in case and just in time are the best detectives

[@brodytoth7902]

He parks like he could be in NYC

[@dynad00d15]

Detective : "85 killed by 37 arrows in two days. New gang arrived a couple of days ago, hanging around with bows and arrows. Lets get to the lab and see what we can find. " *Lab cutscene with ADN tests, fiber comparison and fingerprint analysis, with an upbeat techno music in the background* "Well, the results are in and they all died of natural cause : External bleeding from multiple orifices. Good job everyone."

[@mennograafmans1595]

Also... they used 3145 arrows in that case. Arrows aren't cheap. That's at least $10.000,- they shot away there. You can get 3 handguns with plenty of bullets for that I'm sure.

[@flamerabbit8530]

Funnily Enough even if they did do that Fingerprint analysis on the arrows. it wouldn't show up anything due to them being from a different world. not having their fingerprints on record to compare them too.

[@bretsheeley4034]

I remember the last time I was part of a group that sent their RPG characters to New York. Fpr years, the group had an odd rule that stated that whenever characters traveled to Earth, we would keep events as close to "in sync" time-wise for events. In other words, we would always play whatever "today" was. The next time we meet up, that much time would had past, letting characters sell/buy stuff etc in the meantime (which we would quickly recap/run through at the start of the next sessions). The idea was that while they were in their fantasy home world, time dilation would speed up and slow down around the sessions, so that we were technically always playing what was happening now; but on Earth, the dilation wouldn't happen since... well.. they were "here and it was "now"". We alloted for deviations in the speed of combat vs real time, but we always adjusted things to eventually get time re-synced back up. This wasn't the first time characters had been to Earth in-game (one PC was even from here), but we hadn't done it in a while, so it seemed like a neat idea since several of the characters in the group (but not all) had never been there before. So anyway, that last session. I remember it so clearly. The group just arrived in New York, some of the younger PCs were amazed by everything, and shortly thereafter we ended the session with the idea that the PCs would do some sight seeing and tours for the next week before the next step of story kicked off. That was September 8th, 2001. .... Yeah, we... we quickly abandoned that campaign. ... ... *sigh*

[@Anwelei]

Yikes!!!

[@Jebu911]

Just like the third tower that story collapsed on its own.

[@Taalsman]

"Evil Necromancer" seems to be a recurring theme.

[@johnbrewington2539]

Can't we just toss them a bone once in a while?

[@TheEarthDragoon]

no, seeing what they could do with a bone or two

[@gingecharmander]

Just for once I want to hear about a good necromancer

[@johnwestensnorris6391]

gingecharmander Well part of my story is a guy who was forced to be a lich by an evil god.

[@troodon1096]

Tend not to be too many good necromancers. Being evil is kind of in the job description, usually. Takes a pretty unique moral outlook for a non-evil character to justify practicing necromancy. It can be done maybe, if you're quite creative.

[@Dolnor]

I just recently came back to D&D from a 40 year absence. So this story is from "back in the day..." There was this fantastic DM who created complete worlds, populating them with vast lists of NPC (3-ring binder, 40 pages for NPCs) and ever-shifting challenges. This is back when D&D DMs were mostly just trying to kill the characters in every game. But not him. Same scenario as this video but with a better outcome. He "sensed" that our group (12 people) were getting bored of the same old thing. So we tripped a trap and were teleported to 1920's Chicago during the "Gangster Era". Same thing with everyone turning human. But our weapons were morphed into 1920's weapons...guns, knives, tommy guns, grenades, etc. And we were in an alternate gangster era where the Nazi's won...they were the gangsters...and we were part of the resistance operations. Over the course of the next 6 months of Real Time (1 game per week, 6-8 hours per session), we eventually took over Chicago and parts of New York...until the Nazi created a rift-in-space with their constant meddling with science...and we were teleported back to alternate Rome....where the Mongols crushed the Romans! -) TQQdles™

[@Jebu911]

@@brandonvelde5774 Maybe 40years ago they didn't read history and were just winging it. If i never had internet access and someone said nazis from the 20's it might sound close enough with no ability to double check it.

[@LibraGamesUnlimited]

My DM mostly stole stuff from the Lord of the Rings. :) I kid you not my very first character was named Celebrimbor a name he helped me pick out from the Similirian. We had Sauron (or his version of him) as a recurring enemy and his old D&D character who had died in his brother's games was my character's grandfather and hung around him as a ghost.

[@mobiushelldoctor1423]

I don't want to hurt you but the 1920's Nazi doesn't exist yet 😥😅

[@LibraGamesUnlimited]

@@mobiushelldoctor1423 Its an alternate reality.

[@mobiushelldoctor1423]

@@LibraGamesUnlimited well then that make sens (or it don't but it's an alternate reality so that's acceptable)

[@weaponizedpizza8825]

The bows would probably be a decent choice except for lack of concealment. They're quiet, and people would be easy targets from sheer wtf factor.

[@weaponizedpizza8825]

Also actual murder hobos.

[@Ubersnipe]

I agree. Investing in knives would be a much better plan

[@slomogecko9906]

Bows are very much *not* quiet. The material snapping back into place would make a pretty loud.. well, snap. Compared to guns, though, bows are a whisper

[@weaponizedpizza8825]

@@slomogecko9906 Yes. I was comparing them to guns in the first place.

[@MizantropMan]

I'd make it so only players' souls were transported to diffrent bodies on Earth, thus solving the problem with lack of equipment and a shitty place to stay. Then, when they get back to fantasy world, I'd reveal that the souls were in fact switched and when the party was roaming over Earth, earthlings in their bodies made a mess on the other side. Just imagine all the possible plotlines!

[@barryallen2240]

And stealing this

[@anacoanagoldenflower]

This is such a cool idea!!

[@totesMagotes83]

I heard of a novel with this kind of premise, but purely from the side of real-world people being transported to a fantasy world.

[@vepristhorn8278]

As a modern day target and hunting archer, archery equipment is EXPENSIVE!! Firearm expensive, in fact the new CC sidearm I'm looking at costs less than either my hunting or my target riser, just the riser no limbs no arrows. And my 1 piece hunting weight bows are in the same price range. Also no self-respecting archer doesn't fletch their own arrows. [I finally have something from my RL XP to add!! SQUEEEE!] To be fair suddenly having your species suddenly change is cause for a major reaction.

[@andrewpenn1145]

I know, right? Some of the costs are ridiculous!

[@strider04]

Yes but this is also NYC were first it basically impossible to get guns and second were it's not just about the guns price but also all the expenses that come with ir

[@kevingooley9628]

I know, right? And, they're in Brooklyn! I mean, if they'd come forward to somewhere here in the Midwest, Denver, Cheyenne, sure, finding a decently powerful bow is easy, and maybe cheaper than a low end gun, but i don't think there's a lot of archery stores in Brooklyn. And any hobby archery there is likely slightly exclusive and expensive. Honestly, I'd expect people living on the street in NYC to be able to talk themselves into a cheap firearm, probably one that's already been used in a crime and needs getting rid of, easier than finding a quality bow and hunting arrows.

[@osmium6832]

"no self-respecting archer doesn't fletch their own arrows." I've watched several different famous KZbin archers and personally know people who bow hunt deer every fall for food and none of them fletched their own arrows. I think you're just unusually hardcore about it and only hang out around other equally hardcore and old school archers. Good for you and everything, but yeah, that's not normal. They sell perfectly fine mass-produced arrows nowadays. You don't need to tan your own leather anymore either, btw.

[@catboygremlin]

as a hobby target archer, I know the exact person who fletched my arrows, but then again they cost $100 or so for a dozen, so nearly the price of a decent bow.

[@JustinY.]

Murder hobos are the least of your worries in NYC

[@NcrXnbi]

Justin San, stop spying on me

[@roach9397]

THE MIGHTY JUSTIN Y!

[@tylerp.5004]

Can confirm.

[@krackokrag]

Justin Y. Damn that funny as hell.

[@giladpellaeon1691]

If it was set in the '70's it would be called blending in.

[@thedeserthawk2093]

Alternate Title: Puffin Takes Manhattan

[@thesadisticskitty]

Hey, at least the murder was ACTUALLY in Manhattan and not mostly on a boat.

[@goodsirbear-7579]

And at least the BEST character wasn't suffering from amnesia

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

Are you kidding? Bows and quivers full of arrows are a perfectly normal fashion accessory in New York City. Everyone is wearing them. No one would have noticed. Sporting Goods stores sell them like crazy! People just strap them on their backs and go walking down the city streets all the time! This is New York City we're talking about.

[@tevildo7718]

......I cannot tell if you are being serious or not. *Squints*

[@tevildo7718]

The more I learn the more convinced I am that Americans are weird XD. That said at least that quirk is charming.

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

William Halter: Yeah. You have a point there. People would just think that they're buskers doing... SOMETHING. Haha! The problem is that people would probably crowd around them wondering what wonderful act that they were going to be performing.

[@spooky_scary_3239]

@William Halter San Francisco, a cesspool of crime, but no match for DETECTIVE DETECTIVE SAVAGE RAGE RAGE

[@flamenami]

They went to Brooklyn, not New York😊

[@THINKMACHINE]

Honestly it might've been a lot funnier if you had kept your gear/powers/race; having to deal with how modern people would react to all that would've been a problem all of it's own, also kinda need them to counter almost everyone having guns (seriously even when fighting nobodies your party would realistically have been shot at a LOT).

[@Heritage367]

THINKMACHINE i agree! I think it would be very cool to see Adventures using magic to counter Modern Day stuff. After all, they do have stats for more modern weapons in the DMG!

[@Heritage367]

I've actually started working on a game to run at GenCon in which a party ends up in our world, which secretly has other magical stuff going on; basically it combines fish-out-of-water hijinx with Dresden style urban fantasy. Ran a demo with friends, and while it still needs work, it has lots of potential!

[@Heritage367]

Just rewatched this, and didn't realize I'd COMPLETELY STOLEN the same setup as Puffin described here (necromancer flees to our world). Might need to change it up a bit before GenCon 2019 😀

[@soldiergg199]

Story in short FBI OPEN UP!

[@barryallen2240]

Totally not stealing this shamelessly

[@mr.eeggbert1340]

Yes abserd is at the start

[@justsomenobody1454]

Turtles Animatioms rising against the evil in the direction of which we are rising!

[@mr.eeggbert1340]

Doublex 0mega yes

[@MuchTub3]

Abserd is talking in your head right now because he is a warlock and has the warlocks awoken mind because abserd is very powerful he has very powerful maagiiiiiicsss haahahaaahaaaaha

[@130nu]

I was hoping fir another abserd story when i saw him i love abserd xD

[@ave_maria323]

Omg yes

[@kelticjoshkeltichunter4426]

roflmao "Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shapeshifting Master of Darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil! But a foolish Samurai warrior, wielding a magic sword, stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future, where my evil is law! Now the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is Aku!" lol

[@davianthule2035]

KelticJosh KelticHunter that has to be a setting somewhere lmao

[@colixnaia6512]

@Puffin Forest Lol, I can just imagine you going up against a large city police force with bows and daggers. It would have been such a disaster XD

[@dominusempyreus2383]

CorehnMikkai For the police force, of course. Hey, that rhymes.

[@holyordersol2668]

Mostly bc they are not supposed to shoot before being attacked, first. And not just any attack. It has to be a very clearly life-threatening one, iirc; otherwise it's 'police brutality', and the attacker becomes a martyr for whoever's political agenda it best serves. But I digress. Probably best that wasn't explored in Puffin's game, lol.

[@TheEarthDragoon]

stormtroopers vs ewoks

[@kevinsullivan3448]

You've never played D20 Modern...

[@barrybend7189]

Do a campaign of Abserd in new York.

[@Alpha121198]

Abserd would become a local legend and town hero.

[@Andrew-hf9jz]

At least it isn’t CALIFORNIA!

[@goggles8691]

Florida man invades New York City

[@Ubersnipe]

He would be the weirdest hipster ever

[@9-bitfox]

Necromancer: Long ago in a Dungeons and Dragon Land I the Necromancer unleashed a unspeakable evil But a group Foolish adventurers, wielding their magic spells, Stepped forth to oppose me Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung them into the future; where My sister's evil is law. Now they seek to return to the past, and undo the power that is Necro.

[@h.mansari8802]

9-BitFox hmmm...meh. good attempt though.

[@hanro50]

Samaria jack reference, Really?!

[@9-bitfox]

Hanro50 Fox: nope my little pony. You didn't hear about the season where they get sent to highly advance future by the Quell King and must go on a bloody adventure to find their way home to the magic past?

[@hanro50]

9-BitFox MLP is hard for me to watch. Its a me problem. Could you explain what happened in that episode a bit more...

[@9-bitfox]

Hanro50 Fox: well for one it doesn't exist in this reality but a alternate timeline where the MLP producers got high on bath salts and censors said "Screw it"

[@offkilterstudios6739]

I love that this is one of those cases where a human fighter is largely COMPLETELY unaffected by a change of setting.

[@brycevo]

Your DM is God like to have been able to shift your Story. That's amazing. Thank you for the amazing content.

[@jackmalin2528]

sorry but no. From the way its yold it seems lazy with a terrible execution. What did they change? just the setting and stayed with the murder hobbo mentality

[@Chatedh]

I think the Gm was kinda the oppositte of god like... like crap llike? xD

[@odie4495]

Lol where’s your story

[@josecaceres5658]

Not every food critic is a gourmet chef. Let people critique

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Whats wrong with a bit sidetracking once in a while. Especially with a change in setting but not in character. Not the easiest thing to do.

[@decameter]

I did a similar thing with my group when the adventure was getting stale, I had them transported to a space arena where suddenly all their powers required recharging and they had strange "magic" weapons that fired energy. It was a great diversion and they each got to keep a (albeit useless) souvenir from their adventure in space, that they could show off to towns people for extra buffs to persuasion and bargaining.

[@Boom-fs2ny]

ABSERD IS BEST CHARACTER! At this point, me and my friends quote him all the time

[@nightspawnson-of-luna4936]

Boom1327 I think Trixie starbright is better

[@Boom-fs2ny]

Nightspawn Son-of-luna She is also quoted a bunch in my group

[@BaronSengir1008]

Of course Abserd is best... Just look at all those cantrips he has!

[@alexanderzhmurov9624]

what about that* old prospector Jenkins?

[@DreamPen]

Your DM did that to get you guys to appreciate being in a fantasy setting.

[@jacobneesen7869]

Wow my campaigns cant even get past a few sessions bc SOMEBODY (the same person every time) always chooses choatic evil

[@patrickgambill9326]

RocksHaveFeelings 2 Are you DM? If so, that sounds like you need to talk to the player. If not, mention it to the DM

[@patathatapon]

Usually, the trick to that is to either tell them to stop it or just not invite them to the next game.

[@Chatedh]

Tell him to stop but have a couple of one shot games where everyone can be as murderhobo as they want

[@mada1082]

Or teach them that just being chaotic evil doesn't naturally equal go around stabbing everybody you see at every opportunity.

[@Rathkryn]

Well if it's the same person every time then you should just be "Chaotic Evil" and kill his character during the first long rest.

[@-Big_Big]

had a game with my group kinda like that. we played underdark creatures that ended up in 1950s america. underdark had been ravaged in a single moment, and the magic within messed up and warped, completely all traces of large populations utterly decimated down into small stragglers of survivors. large cities simply evaporated in gigantic magic explosions. I played a mindflayer that was completely solitary the sole survivor and alot of the strong powers unable to function. A drow vampire also was a player and a Duegar mage - who also had his spells wrecked. we all worked together simply to survive (having captured a few smigdes of gnomes and dwarves for food and cannonfodder. but the underdark was wrecked and dangerously chaotic with at first they had the run of the town (newyork) with little to no strong resistance (since underdark had never breached the modern world. vampires were the biggest deal but they were either subjugated or murdered. but then it ramped up. suddenly alot of grisly murders and unexplained events started to happen. and we all figured out that more underdark creatures had broken out to the surface. A beholder that had taken control over a intire mob family/mage group. and then the big bad boss came. the one that we had to unite all the former enemies we had (that were still alive and in a somewhat non aggression pact with. A Shadow Dragon that had followed us from the very beginning wanting to feast on our strong magic abilities. but it lost us when we got above ground. the fight was gruesome but in the end we won - and the world was our playground and we ended the game there. during the game my character (the mindflayer) deduced that the reason that the magic catastrophy happened was due to the first nuklear bomb tests. and the following tests and deployments of the bombs that had caused the magic reaction underground. so my mindflayer had created a large "anti nuke - green earth group" which he had as a side project - simply due to the adverse effect it had on the largest source of magic he knew. (the underdark) and he hoped that if it could be stopped his powers would return. great fun. a Hippy Mindflayer. (even dressed as one) most laugh enducing moment was when my mindflayer had to use a machine gun and could barely hold the gun still as he shot everything around him flailing helplessly (was very weak physically) whilst also impersonating a Black Panther Bandit shooting up a police station (in order to cover up a hit on a mob gangster that had been arrested.) for some reason this made everyone laugh uncontrollably as i shook around while acting out a panicked mindflayer

[@brandonvelde5774]

That's a fucking glorious campaign.

[@Formoka]

I insta-clicked. Puffin Forest always comes first.

[@atlascove1810]

aymen siblin!

[@SanzuRiver]

Formoka can confirm,

[@redknight808]

Fun as always! I just started GMing an historic 12th Century England setting. The characters wanted to play the first story arc when they met as orphan children. They ended up loving it so much we are doing the whole thing with them as kids, currently age 10 and 12. They escaped the orphanage run by basement satanists, were attacked by wolves, prevented the nobleborn Mother Superior of their orphanage from poisoning a widower (to get his children), found a foster family, and recovered from a wolf bite for 6 weeks (we just fast forwarded in time). That was the first adventure. The players are more motivated and in character than I have ever experienced. Most situations is controlled by people twice their size and is very stressful. A wolf or knife is something deadly. The players are INVESTED and tell me that every player should experience something like this. If you ever want to blow your character's minds, have them play powerless kids in a harsh world where a single knife wound could end their lives. It stops being about fighting for gold and becomes the lives of real people trying to do heroic things despite vast difficulties. They are going to play smarter, more in character, and actually care about the place and people around them. It's a world where the dangers of a bad storm, wolf pack, or mean village knight is more dramatic and exciting than they have ever experienced killing a dragon. ;) Note: My players specifically gave props for not using D&D (which is the only RPG they are familiar with) because the high fantasy and level system is unrealistic. They really like the gritty realism. I'm using the Hero System RPG, but mostly for the detailed character building and experience gains. Their characters started out at 12 points, where 75 points is the normal minimum for a heroic level game. Most of their skills are (8-) familiarities, meaning they suck at pretty much everything. Combat is very abstracted. (I am keeping Hero mechanics in my head, but letting the story dictate most everything.) Also, wouldn't such a game make a great video for this channel? :D

[@trogdor8764]

If everyone lost their powers and equipment going through the portal, how was the necromancer able to take over?

[@cdru515]

Doesn't mean that he'll lose his skills and intelligence

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

Or powers

[@notlebronjamesco7850]

Brought enough money for gun

[@andyd.5261]

Modern day D&D (our in my group's case, Monster Of The Week) is honestly insane and amazing. Our DM saves time by not having to create maps and instead looks up stuff in Google Earth, our characters go on Starbucks runs, travel doesn't take weeks of in-game time, we have both swords and sniper rifles, and we can just buy stuff so much easier. My character bought everything they needed for Molotov Cocktails from Walmart. Props to your DM to be able to shift the story so fluidly, and props to your party for not getting caught by the NYPD.

[@itzplant3196]

Your DM should have made you guys do a Deception check to trick someone to believe the gun was loaded.

[@crimson-foxtwitch2581]

Seems like Detective Detective Savage “Savage Rage” Rage is on the case.

[@OptimalOwl]

Wouldn't it have been much more fun to keep all your powers and gear? The magic you brought is the only magic there is, and you've got to think of a way to exploit it to its fullest, while also learning the lay of this new land. Only, the fact that your magic still works implies that maybe the necromancer's powers still work too. Since he's no doubt working towards whatever his goal is (wealth and power in this new world? returning home with an army of the dead and a tech advantage?), this means time is working against you if you want to stop him and/or return home. The one exception I'd make is your ability to commune with the gods, since that undercuts the alienness of the setting a little too much. I'd pull a Ravenloft instead: your divine magic still works, only now it's coming from some unknown source, which is probably going to freak you out in the worst way. What is it that's answering your prayers? Is it blasphemous to speak to it, or to let it work through you? Why isn't it answering, letting you know what it is or what it wants? Also, speak to the nonhuman players OOC, and ask them to decide together whether or not their characters should all keep their nonhuman appearance. Having your distinguishing characteristics arbitrarily taken away sucks, but being stuck in a situation where people always scream and run away sucks more. Let them decide together which bullet to bite.

[@AS-49]

One of my dms put all the groups characters on the moon...somehow everyone was able to breathe... we had a Human Wizard,Gnome Rogue, Dwarf Barbarian, Dragonborn Paladin and my character was a Lycanthrope Druid...it was a weird campaign... I’d just team up with the barbarian and wreck stuff in my beast form...that was fun...

[@okokpokjijpij1242]

Adam S49 This sounds so fun i could almost smile..... but i cant.......

[@giin97]

Oh! Oh! I'm gunna be original with my comment! Ummm... Yeah! "LOL you guys were literal murder hobos!" Yeah... Yeah, that's all I got...

[@karinacarlson2401]

This is another great story! Some day maybe I'll be able to share funny stories about D&D like you, because I just started a campaign. I'm playing as a tiefling wizard named Akili, and I'm about to start my first fight sunday, I hope I don't die.

[@quietdignityandgrace]

So... your troop literally became Murder Hobos. Neat.

[@adiveler]

Would be an actually interesting twist to find yourself in a completely different system, like Call of Cthulhu or World of Darkness!

[@hyphenatedgames2954]

Don't worry Zod, being a human's not all that bad "...If I were still a dragonborn, you would be riding my fus ro dah to the moon..."

[@kirotaka2644]

You posted this on my birthday, thanks for the gift 😁

[@DurandulTycho]

Long ago in a distant land, I, a necromacer unleashed an unspeakable evil on the world, but four foolish adventures stepped up to oppose me, before the final blow was struck, I threw open a portal in time and sent the adventurers where wearing a "I love New York" t-shirts and my evil is law, now the adventurers seek to return to the past and undo the future that is Brooklyn

[@GoldenPenHD]

This is a perfect sitcom.

[@TKDragon75]

0:10 Tell that to one of my players. They were saying stuff like "It's called Dungeons and Dragons, so it should only be about that stuff. Like medieval!" Basically they were saying I was doing it wrong by having the group go to a different planet and use guns. They're like super traditionalist when it comes to D&D, and don't seem to much understand what a homebrew campaign is. And the thing is, nobody complained when we started. I didn't think they realized they could have just not jumped into a mysterious glowing portal.

[@TKDragon75]

My explanation for a portal was that they were being mentally attacked by nature spirits, so one of the PC's prayed with an 18 roll, and opened a "way out".

[@user-td3nc9xc7t]

Hey dude, been watching you for a little while. Just saying your content is great :D You inspired me to try and get my friends back into D&D. Keep up the good work!

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Best result from watching the videos ever!

[@skittlesilly]

I have never even played D&D in my life and now I am legitimately interested in your videos and Tabletop rpgs.

[@AmandaLordofDarknessCh]

This is like a reverse “trapped in another world” anime

[@alexanderzhmurov9624]

"Gate" ?

[@alecro2112]

Alexander Zhmurov for like the first episode. And yeah there were a few later, but it’s not like they were alone

[@Kevin-us4gj]

Every one of these videos you upload makes my week. Yes week, not day, my *entire* week.

[@haleyg8387]

*O O P S* Puffin! That kills people!

[@relkasi5925]

I'm sure he had no idea that stabbing people kills them. Though he may have to do it a few more times to test your theory.

[@SanzuRiver]

Zebra Hack ohh my god, that's fucking dark.

[@relkasi5925]

飛鳥「月」 Look up Llamas with hats. It's a reference.

[@SanzuRiver]

Zebra Hack I have watched llama with hats before... but that was a year ago.

[@DevilFruitZero]

Your videos lead me to believe we might have a similar sense of humor. Wish I could time travel to the next one, but hey it's worth the wait to see your D&D shenanigans.

[@suishcat9407]

Or you nerds could just go outside and have a real adventure. Wait what am I talking about I'm a nerd too and murdering everyone in real life is kinda illegal.

[@feralchangeling97]

David Bob Heard about a trio in Los Santos that get nothing but injuries and just walk out of the hospital so they never actually killed anyone. Great healthcare in LS.

[@syxxvralrock5759]

The cleric can get a job at a hospital if they retained magic or knowledge of healing herbology. The druid could work at an animal shelter. The fighter can become an army man and well... the wizard can go to college and get more debt.

[@jordangibson3910]

Murdering isn't illegal if you don't get caught. I know from experience

[@feralchangeling97]

Jordan Gibson Thanks for admitting to murder on a public website lol

[@genericprofile2381]

and your talking to a bunch of people on the internet

[@nyotamwuaji6484]

I'm not mad you are trying to kill me, I'm mad at the inefficiency of how you are doing it

[@WalkingMarsiupial]

A monk would have been so useful

[@LibraGamesUnlimited]

Back in the day, our group traveled to the real world (or some version of it) all the time. They even met us and got very unhappy at the idea that they were just characters in a game that we made up. I had one character who nearly died when the Army attacked him with a hand grenade but some scientist patched him up with cybernetic parts (including a hand that turned into a buzzsaw) and he even got to keep them in the D&D world. We did get to keep all our D&D stuff in the 'real world' and visa versa so that was cool. Those adventures got really, really wild.

[@clericofchaos1]

I think I would have let you keep your races, gear, and powers just to make the trek that much more alien to you and to make you more conspicuous to the rest of the world...then you get to make the decision on whether or not to ditch that plate armor for a hoodie and cheap sunglasses to hide your hideous form.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

Are you kidding me, you could trade that armor for a car. Have you checked the value of actual weapons & armor?

[@henryearney2997]

I once ran a game where the party members started as hobos and worked their way to wealth. One of the members took a liking to beating people to death with a trash can lid

[@Vonkunken]

You became the true murder hobo.

[@raimbowdash360]

the fact that “murder hobo” is an actual term in dnd is just stupidly hilarious to me, so the detective bit was super funny to me! Keep up the great work puffin!

[@FordPrefict42]

A friend of mine had a similar adventure. He was the wizard of his party. When transported to the future world, he eventually found himself in a department store. He happened upon the magically rectangular black box that made things turn on and off, as well as quieter and louder. He took it. Some time later, he encountered a biker wearing a club cut, who was teasing the wizard for looking so strange. The wizard pulled out his rectangular box and started mashing buttons. Things did not end well for him.

[@DukeMemes6047]

That is the most literal example of the term ‘murder hobo’ I have ever seen

[@dnddude9652]

Monks Monks would be OP in city-land

[@AlwaysEast]

Best animation yet and your humour is on point. Loved it!

[@zane6rown]

#IWasHereBeForrest Only real fans get it PS. I noticed the colored eyes nice touch Puffin

[@kakashiseto4056]

Okla - Bama R we do

[@okokpokjijpij1242]

I was here forrest couldve worked fine already smartass

[@courtneyk9194]

Thank you Puffin Forest for the inspiration for where I will be taking my Monster of the Week campaign! They will be going to the world of DnD!

[@ninjaking6692]

Two words: Cross Bow

[@victorbatista609]

I don't know what's more amazing, that your DM was able to shift realities to the real world or that you think that people walking around with bows and arrows in New York would be weird

[@grugmangaming5152]

came to earth in a silver chrome ufo to probe uranus and see how deep it can go then i gain a boost when i merge with my bro ayy lmao

[@Jeffy_the_J]

B-Beautiful S-Sempai

[@leounknown7316]

Puffin i wanna ty u for getting me in to d&d ive meet some amazing people and have had endless laughs

[@redmegalord]

Hey @Puffin Forest I just moved to San Clemente (about 40 miles north of San Diego) from Virginia, I've never played DnD before but I'm interested so I was wondering if you knew of any groups in the area that would let me observe a couple games to decide if I want to get into it. Your content is great by the way, I just watched the obelisk encounter video and really enjoyed it!

[@SknCommonLisper]

I would love to buy an entire movie sized D&D animated story made by you! Would be epic!

[@maxpowell9079]

love the content puffin

[@themobiustripper]

NYE D&D is great - I got a dropout subscription and the first thing I watched was The Unsleeping City. Brennan Lee Mulligan does a great job bringing New York to life and pumping it full of magic.

[@MetalPcAngel]

Thank le, papa Puffin for that D&D Story.

[@antwan1357]

Nice unexpected storytelling most GM won't go that far out of a magical realm cause most players will rage quit if they lose all magic.

[@micheljavert5923]

Player Characters that became literal murder hobos

[@02UltiMATE02]

We did something similar but we did not change the characters. It was a different system though. After an injury of a party member we got to a hospital. The gnome mechanic actually stole an ambulance and drove it around the building. Could not see well so he crashed it. Got into life saving surgery. The wizard busted in there and pushed the doctors aside to use a full regeneration restoring the gnome. We had other not so subtle moves so it was fun till it lasted. Eventually the army stopped us with tanks and planes.

[@grumpyolasian5960]

Oh, you made it an Isekai.

[@naraferalina2308]

Our warlock dragonborn got turned into a human too. He didn't like the hair and shaved everything. Even his eyebrows. My dragonborn crafted a metal mask for him. It didn't conceal his bald head though. Either way, we went to a market and bought some magic items, the warlock bought protective underware. You know those geriatric supportive underwear. It gave some armor bonus, but only if worn with nothing else. He also wears a cloak of billowing. Fantastic.

[@jurassicblaster2812]

No not humans

[@maksn184]

I noticed that your animation greatly improves in every video! Keep the good work up!!!

[@acarrot9868]

Differently? You can say Homicidal Lunatic-y, probably not demonatized words

[@IchbinX]

These past couple of stories sound familiar. Like something out of Dragon Mag over a decade ago... Hmmm...

[@jennyrosebane8129]

I've would of said "Oh no i've turned into a human the horror." (and I would say it sarcastically). XD

[@MrGlickClick]

You've got a special group there. Special indeed.

[@Zilios]

I'm Guessing You Were Playing Dnd Samurai Jack Edition?

[@trise2033]

"... but before the final blow was struck, I opened a portal in time and flung him into the future, where my evil is LAW!"

[@danstiver9135]

But why did your CLOTHES change? Was that part of the spell?

[@C0C0L0QUIN]

Mr Shambleface Probably some world travelling law of reality, like in Kingdom Hearts. Things that are "out of place" such as magical gear, or things made of materials that do not exist, are transformed into acceptable forms

[@barrybend7189]

Diego Valencia so they even lose their non magical weapons?

[@lelandmartin4060]

My favorite part about this video is how his guy's clothes changed ot make him look like a teacher or druggy hobo. Honestly they sound leagues apart but he could go either way with that look.

[@Jebu911]

@@barrybend7189 Would have been funnier if they still had all of their gear and people just thought they were going to some rp convention.

[@marcialhd]

Diego Valencia ok seriously?, no offense but that sounds contrived as fuck...

[@lukesalter9600]

My players sometimes see meta things, like a giant that talks about the isohedrons and appears mad to other giants

[@zrty6512]

I think you should've of kept the old gear and clothes and the dragon guy it would of made it more interesting, standing out in a city people in odd clothes with a mysterious guy in a cloak hiding that he is not human and have all of you choosing to ether trade in their old gear for new to be more effective in that world or keep your old gear know it won't work so well

[@psychronia]

That sort of setup sounds pretty facinating to me, actually. It's like an Isekai, but one that just sorta merges all sorts of settings together. There's a lot of potential to be had with world-hopping adventures like this.

[@TheEventHorizon909]

Detective: *2 8 S T A B W O U N D S*

[@paulmahoney7619]

TheEventHorizon D I D Y O U F E E L A N G E R

[@EvilPaladin11]

Looks like someone leveled up and either sunk more points into craft(animation), or unlocked some new abilities in their KZbin animator class.

[@LetsPlayCrazy]

"So at least we played something different" yea... something different... instead of fighting with medievil weapons in a magical world you fought with medievil weapons in a shitdumpster... congratulations, you have just earned the "I play class "X" NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES" medal for advanced beginners!

[@CGoody564]

One day, I'm gonna find people who are willing to try playing D&D.with me... Or any tabletop rpg for that manner. I've been wanting to experience D&D (or tabletops in general) for well over 12 years and have yet to be able to do so.

[@benights2867]

How did the DM work the classes once you got to New York? Obviously the fighter was alright, but how about the magic users? Did the DM compensate their lack of powers or were they just left with nothing? I've been planning on doing this sort of idea later in my campaign and was sorta stuck on that myself

[@icelingbolt]

Have them retain basic powers like telepathy or some degree of telekinesis. Not to the point of full-blown reality bending, but things that people *Claim* to be able to do irl.

[@CountDracusVanWolfen]

Just switch to D20 Modern rules. Use stats and closest equivalent for class updates. Then if going back to old school apply levels and skills to appropriate equivalents. That's what my friends and I did when we did a time jump. Our buddy was able to keep his dragon that way too. We left and it was a wyrmling and came out the other side and it was a great wyrm.

[@GeorgeMonet]

It's simple. Make the magic users realize that they have an inner strength of magic and don't need to rely on gods or magic planes to be a strong magic user. They can then bring that knowledge back with them and upset the established status quo when everyone finds out that the gods are actually parasites and not gods at all.

[@CurlyFromTheSwirly]

You dould just leave the rules the same....just incorporate modern weapons, laws, etc.