Domestic D&D - How to get married, run a business, make a home, and more!

[@GinnyDi]

Use the coupon code GINNYGUILD to save 15% off $15+ of DMsGuild community content through Friday 8/13! And grab your copy of THE ADVENTURER'S DOMESTIC HANDBOOK here: www.dmsguild.com/product/311315/The-Adventurers-Domestic-Handbook?src=ginnydi08042021

[@goingpostale]

I made a full family tree, history, and named NPCs for Bathilde, my half-orc bard. Super duper loved watching my DM bring Bathilde’s family into world building scenes. :D

[@fallenjedi3015]

@@goingpostale I did the same thing for a Halfling NPC that my party was close to. I got carried away and accidentally wound up with 144 halflings 🤣

[@evelynnsophia7631]

Hey Ginny! Will Mariska be joining the World Anvil? I'd really love to see her in a POV video or just get to know more about her. ✨

[@Estarfigam]

Got mine lol

[@GinnyDi]

I hope so!! I have a few previous NPCs who are still waiting on their World Anvil pages first, but I'd like to add Mariska as well!!

[@brownbruce27]

Ah yes. The true power fantasy for people my age. Having a business and owning a home.

[@delta-a17]

This might be the best comment on this video haha

[@captainburnos2828]

RIGHT IN THE FEELS!

[@PhyreI3ird]

Bro that was the direction I pushed my games since 11 y/o me first started playing. And now that I think about it, it is _pretty_ messed up that that's still my ideal fantasy game well into adulthood.

[@anthonynorman7545]

So true...so hurtful...

[@elliot2582]

[boots up Sims] "Let's get this bread..." [sobs]

[@Precaricat]

Nowadays I play D&D to do things that I can't do in real life, like: - Exploring new places! - Making a difference in the world! - Experiencing home ownership!

[@Obstreperous_Octopus]

Having your own place and a satisfying job can sometimes seem like an even wilder fantasy than being an adventurer or having magic.

[@helbent4]

Were it a while ago I would add: "find a girlfriend! Get married! Have a kid!"

[@Precaricat]

@@Obstreperous_Octopus My group has just had several players exit our Vampire game (the D&D game is still going strong) because playing a game with a lot of serious themes and people having a bad time was beyond a lot of our group's ability to handle right now. You know, fair. Our D&D game also has us gently reminding the DM that we already live in a crapsack world, we don't need to roleplay living in a second one. Not that our DM necessarily means to do it, but he's not immune to being jaded and it sometimes reflects in his NPC/story choices.

[@zednumar6917]

My power fantasy is a good night's sleep and a house where I can live without roommates.

[@helbent4]

@@Precaricat I tend to run/play in post-apocalypse games, so I tend to take it as evidence our own world could be a lot worse!

[@carolynwilliams5918]

Can confirm, having a character's family in D&D is a lot of fun. I played a noble who's backstory was that she ran away from home to avoid getting married to a suitor of her father's choosing. Over the course of her game she ended up doing the following: - Killing a lot of her suitors, since most of them were very evil. - Uncovering a lot of shady shit her father did, including a very long affair. - Resolving a LOT of issues with her half sister who she didn't know about for 19 years. - Helping her mother leave her father. - Accidentally courting a prince, and falling in love with him. - Getting married to her love, and stabbing the archfey that tried disrupting the wedding. It was very soap-opera-y and glorious.

[@Obstreperous_Octopus]

Oh my god! A game where you're a runaway princess and the villains who show up each story arch are your evil suitors sounds like such an awesome premise!

[@carolynwilliams5918]

@@Obstreperous_Octopus Haha, that's one way of putting it. It was a lot of fun for me for sure! Less fun for her considering her evil suitors were some nasty pieces of work. 1. A paladin from her homeland who was famed for his good looks and martial prowess, and next in line to be Grand General of the All-Conquering Army. Incidentally he was also thrown out of his faith for doing a lot of fucked up shit, and murdered most of another country's royal family (including multiple children). Literally wanted to marry my character for the perks (i.e. Family name, lots of money, access to a ton of weapons manufacturing... she was not from a nice family). My character's arranged engagement to him prompted her to run away from home. Our fighter at the time also LOATHED this man for ruining his life and the rest of the party came to hate him since he tried murdering the royals we were friends with. Our cleric eventually bashed his head in and after interrogating his corpse we threw his body in a furnace. 2. A red dragon. No really. He was the only son of a rather nasty ancient red who was the head of a coalition of chromatic dragons. We ended up allied with said dragons, mostly due to needing allies badly at that point in the campaign. The dragon was actually very into my character, tried a few times to flirt with her and had plans to kidnap her and true polymorph her into a dragon so she could be his queen. She was not into this and also dating the prince she'd eventually marry at this point. Our dragonborn sorcerer also hated this dragon with every fiber of his being, as did our dragonborn paladin. We eventually threw a big airship at the dragon, and the paladin cut his head off. We then gave the head to the metallic dragons who then allied with us. 3. A yugoloth commander who had intentions to conquer the entire world with their army, and by the point they showed up, they weren't terribly interested in marrying my character since she had effectively ruined most of the perks associated with marrying her (i.e. publicly dating the prince, exposing her father's shady dealings, getting very disowned, etc). So instead the commander shape shifted into a very pretty lady, and went after the prince's widowed father instead. They tried to have the prince and the party exiled. No one was happy with this - especially the rest of the royal court who the party was friends with. So we dispelled the charm on the prince's father, and then proceeded to incinerate the yugoloth. Eventually we ended up putting them in an iron flask and chucking it into the desert.

[@Martell364]

I've also got a noble character lined up, but up until now didn't have a reason to fet away from home. The forced marriage is as effective as it is simple, but I hadn't thought of it 'til reading your comment. Thanks mate.

[@carolynwilliams5918]

@@Martell364 Sometimes very simple things can be very effective and turn out more complex than anyone ever realized. Plus I can't take all the credit, the DM was also extremely happy to create all of those suitors. I just got the sheet with them listed, and then panicked when any of their names came up. Happy to have been of some help!

[@futureseniorcitizen646]

It sucks because some of my other players don’t like downtime since they make characters that alway are there to escape so have no reason to use downtime for hobbies or building a life

[@anythingfun13]

In our game our characters share an apartment, have jobs outside of adventuring, go to school, and we have a store front for our adventuring business. The main goal is currently trying to get my character and her NPC boyfriend engaged. When I tell you that slice of life game play is as satisfying as killing a monster, I really mean it.

[@baseupp12]

How do you have enough time for adventuring, going to school and having a regular 9 to 5 job

[@PhyreI3ird]

@@baseupp12 I assume OP was meaning all members of the party do those various things, not all of them do all of those things all the time. But also jobs are not all 9-5 and even for those that are irl even have busy college students working them sometimes. Hard to wrap my head around HOW, but some can actually do it. Also some adventuring parties are in no way "full time" and instead are just groups that - should the occasion arise - will band together. Some settings are more peaceful or at the least slow paced and allow for that kind of deal.

[@wavecentral]

So it's basically "Friends", but with the occasional attack roll?

[@inventor121]

@@PhyreI3ird Caffeine, copious amounts of caffeine...

[@coolbanana165]

@@wavecentral "Quick, Joey, roll an intelligence check"

[@destinytroll1374]

It's going to end up like my first Skyrim playthrough all over again, started off as a powerful dark wizard named DeathStone. Ended up building a house, getting married, raising kids, raising crops and animals and making money mostly from trades and blacksmith work 😂 Why go to war when I can be a successful smith and merchant with a loving wife, 2 lovely daughters and a faithful dog? Never did end up killing Alduin that play through 🤔

[@paulmerritt9352]

Sounds like an interesting character study on moving past and moving on from trauma to creating a more nurturing life and lifestyle.

[@PassionPopsicle]

Play... through...? Never happened to me. Always got sidetracked picking flax

[@destinytroll1374]

@@paulmerritt9352 I've done about 6 characters lol only did the end game 2x though. I've found that it's super fun and immersive to NOT go to Whiterun and start the quest. Instead I'll just head out into the game and enjoy the dragonless skies. So far I've only ONCE not ended up as a quite farmer or merchant though 🤷‍♂️ what an I say? It's relaxing and I get deep into the RP side of it. The most enjoyable way to play the game has been as a master illusionist, you can cast calming spells on EVERYTHING except the 3 bosses of the main quests so you can just run around constantly friends with everyone ^_^

[@paulmerritt9352]

So,... so far, everyone is actually agreeing with me. Collectively speaking, we all know what total war means. The only question that remains is how do we negotiate the peace? Right now the CC0 knows that they are all being collectively targeted. The CCP also know that Xi Jeng Pibg has an axe with his name written on it. How will the lot of you negotiate this future peace?

[@keeperscripts]

reminds me of the playthrough I did as a khajit trying to learn magic in Skyrim. I spent so long as a broke college student that I turned to crime just to make some gold again. I joined up with the thieves guild, made a bunch of money that I then invested into a house. I got married, adopted some kids, helped my wife run her business out of our new home, and retired as the a college drop out turned millionaire every kid dreams of being. Dragonborn? Civil War? Alduin? Never heard about that. I'm just a cat who has gotten to exactly where he needed to be in life.

[@МолчаливыйКлинок]

Mariska: Tells me her whole life story. Me: I didn't even touched my drink yet.

[@katherinethegreat508]

My precious character Ilga was officially retired a few months ago. We had built up a relationship for her for some time and my DM orchestrated it so that her last session was her wedding. She and her partner are now living happily ever after and helping to run the parties tavern. We were able to introduce my new character at the wedding and it was the best possible way to transition characters for me. She's still narratively involved but she was able to wrap up her story once we completed all of her arches.

[@Chelsey.A.L]

I'm really loving Mariska! Also, her dice color palette is perfect!

[@GinnyDi]

It was certainly easy to match her vibe from my own dice collection, haha!! (Part of me was like "these are unrealistic dice to have in a fantasy world..." and then I was like "BUT SEA GLASS!"

[@Chelsey.A.L]

@@GinnyDi dice made from sea glass would look amazing!

[@hippoheadstudios4097]

@@Chelsey.A.L yass I was thinking about making a dice mold I think that would be cool I also have like 600 pieces of sea glass since I live next to the beach 🏝I don’t know how I would melt the class tho cause it’s glass😂

[@Chelsey.A.L]

@@hippoheadstudios4097 melting glass would definitely be difficult, but using small pieces of sea glass as inclusions might work.

[@hippoheadstudios4097]

@@Chelsey.A.L oh ok I see what you meant 👍👍👍

[@archgaden]

The smaller domestic things have often been the biggest deal in many of the games I've played in. Downtime between epic story arcs often ended being more epic to the players because it gave them a chance to explore the home and life their characters without being on the rails of some pre-planned quest. In the more flexible games, a DM would seize upon some small happening to spin it out into a new epic story arc where the players already have a vested interest. Thanks for introducing me to that book. It's going to be the first thing I buy actually advertised by a youtuber.

[@ryanschmidt3319]

HOLY SHIT! The people who put this together are incredible! Some of the pre-written characters are Ace/Demi! Do you know how rare that is!?

[@crypticmedicine]

I was already thrilled but HOLY SHIT is right, now I have to get this!! My husband and I are both ace-spec and I really wanted to give him some squishy domestic downtime in our duet campaign.... this will be so perfect!!

[@nitemarestlk]

Im currently playing a female dwarven sorc that is in a committed relationship with our ship's medic(non magical). i regularly make it a point to spend time with her. i visit her family or go shopping with her during downtime and over about a year of playing i have tried to work with my DM to flesh her out as a character on top of my own. she even has development from a meek medical student just working on ships for practice to a sea hardened but kind and loving trauma medic that will pick up a short sword if backed into a corner. i do plan on marrying the 2 characters at some point. even found a ring in game that i have been holding for the right time.

[@Tesseract_King]

I LOVE this. The ring is such a cool touch.

[@phoenix_raven91]

That is PRECIOUS.

[@Obstreperous_Octopus]

That's very cute, I love it! I was in a Pathfinder game back in the day, and my sorcerer was built around crafting magic items. There were these two NPCs who worked together a lot. As I would often advertise in game, one of the two asked me to make a couple of Rings of Protection. I agreed, thinking nothing of it. Then at some point, he was talking to one of the other PCs and mentioned 'the ceremony', and I (in and out of character, simultaneously) went "ohhHHH! The rings are Engagement Rings of Protection!" Realizing this, I congratulated them, and offered to inscribe the rings free of charge. I was such a sweet and wholesome moment in an otherwise pretty grim campaign.

[@wreng3213]

True wholesomness!

[@ckrazyrandy]

I have never been in a campaign long enough for some like that to happen.

[@DiehardMechWarrior]

>D&D like The Sims >the sounds of digging out pools of water, forcing Sims in, and removing all the ladders to the pool, forcing Sims to panic and drown Yeeeeeeeeeesssssss. In all seriousness, this supplement sounds amazing!

[@Neutral_Tired]

that's why she chose sea elf

[@spongecakes1986]

I was also thinking of the Sims during this. Adventuring and combat is great, but sometimes it's nice to slow down with domestic gameplay

[@TheRainbowZip]

Dude this heaven SENT! My current character's big goal is to open a big fancy restaurant with the earnings from adventuring. He's also looking for crazy dishes from far off lands that he could serve and keeps a small notebook with all the recipes he's collected over the years. t's nice to think that the restaurant doesn't have to be the conclusion of his story

[@elenadezwaan4044]

This is such a genius idea! I hope he gets his restaurant one day!!!

[@KeruuKat]

what's his class???

[@TheRainbowZip]

@@KeruuKat he's a fighter!

[@veng3r663]

Could always try giving Moonstone Tavern a try then...

[@toddkes5890]

Check out the downtime rules in the Pathfinder book "Ultimate Campaign". You can select various rooms and teams of people to make a business, with costs for each. The GM can say that your menu list gives a bonus to profit, but the character also has to ensure a steady supply of the foreign foods/spices needed

[@nicholasromero238]

Destroying a character's home or loved one spurs them to action... once Letting a player foster and build these is a neverending source of hooks. A player of mine decided to romance an npc, and now all I need to do to get the character interested is have her girlfriend take an interest in The Thing (tm) for her reseach or get a little in over her head

[@solsystem1342]

Lol, pro dming strats.

[@notyou2353]

@@solsystem1342 It's like real life but not.

[@kirisim785]

When the cleric in our party learned sending, we ended up calling my character's parents to check in. It was actually a really interesting roleplay moment and now my group desperately wants me to take them to meet my parents once we wrap up our current quest 10/10 would recommend living parents

[@an8strengthkobold360]

I think you should fully flesh out family members regardless of whether or not they're alive. I play a character with the whole dead mother thing but I know exactly who that character is (or more accurately who my character thinks she is (I tend to write what my character knows not necessarily the truth)).

[@proffesornugget1613]

I completely agree with this

[@MandalorV7]

Agree. Because who your character has interacted with and how they have done so defines who they are and how they might see the world.

[@FlapNasty3]

I agree. My character has 3 siblings(half), step mom and father. To him, they all died due to a cult coming to his village and killing everyone. He died first, so when he got revived in the big city, he has no idea they may be alive. I don’t even know. As well, his father arrived at the village a year before my OC’s birth. So whoever the father was in his past, it’s all a mystery that I can’t wait to get revealed. Let alone who his mother is. Btw, did I mention my character is an Aasimar. Lol

[@kblockschwenk]

In a game I ran where everyone was playing a goblin, each character got a fiancee -- various daughters of their goblin Boss. The fianeees provided minor in-game boons. For example, one kept the character well-fed so he got a couple of bonus hit points. Another was an apprentice poisoner so she provided more flexibility of which types of poison the rogue could take, etc. In exchange for these boons, a certain % of each character's income (roughly 20%) had to go toward supporting their fiancee. There was some good role-playing as well. As an aside, one of the players wasn't sure she was straight IRL, so I came up with an in-game reason why each character, regardless of gender, got a female fiancee. When one of the other female characters (another female player) started to protest, the Goblin Boss told her that if if she wasn't into women that wasn't his problem. He didn't care what they did in bed so long as they got married and if they wanted kids they'd just have to steal a few.

[@spongecakes1986]

We love a supportive goblin king

[@Gen_One]

After finishing up a year's long campaign, about half of our table opted to continue on to clean up some unresolved issues from their respective backstories, tie up loose ends, and check out some of the events and locations that our DM had prepped that we had skipped on our adventure. A large chunk of this has been devoted to fleshing out the significant romatic relationships our characters have developed (e.g. Going back to visit the warlock's newborn triplets, the necromancer opening up to her husband about her original intentions for him, the party's resident playboy settling down with a nice rancher, and one of our characters is even expecting). Currently, we're planning the wedding to end all weddings by calling in a bunch of favors from people we helped out over the course of the main campaign and it's been one of the most unique and wonderful experiences we've had at our table. The shift towards a more laidback, domestic focus has also mad it easier for us to play more often given how much less prep it requires compared to more combat or puzzle heavy play styles. 10/10 would recomend for any table looking for a way to keep well-loved characters around and give them their big reward for all the hard work they put in during a campaign.

[@phoenix_raven91]

My most recent character's family is so interesting. She has no mother: she and her younger brother Everan were created artificially by their Warforge father, who is an alchemist. They live happily underneath the cracked boulder where her father built his lab, but Rynna wanted to go out and see the world. I love them.

[@thewingedporpoise]

they've been living under a rock?

[@phoenix_raven91]

@@thewingedporpoise yep! In our first session, she flipped the druid over her shoulder and pinned them to the floor because she's not use to people. 🤣

[@Aaa-bi8ly]

Nice Pun

[@baileyface54]

Shop owning can be fun. I played a game once in a massive city. We tried to purchase some specific items that apparently could not be sold in the quantities we were buying them unless you had a license to own a shop. I ofc came back with one, forged with the roll of a nat 20 and a high bonus, and with a high end disguise. Because of the amazing role of the forgery and it already being tied to my main disguise for the town...the group decided...screw it, how much is it to start this going. It's a long story, but we took 3 full sessions to open this shop and enjoyed every minute of it. We recruited amazing staff, did various things to cover unexpected cost, and even created a marketing budget to build hype for the store while I went around in various disguises spreading word of mouth from "people around the city". It was a blast and we need quite a bit to keep the shop running on it's own after awhile so we could adventure and only need to check in every so often to make big decisions and collect profits.

[@mitchhaelann9215]

One of my characters, an elven druid of all things, owned a tea shop in the capital city. He was a Circle of Spores druid, and mostly sold fungus-based tea, kombucha, and loaves of soft 'breads' that he fed half the slums with. Yes, he had some 'magic mushrooms' on the side. He mass-produced fungus in the basement and almost single-handedly kept the poor parts of town pest and disease free. Just don't ask what's in his basement or what the food was made of.

[@ChrisGladis]

This would be great for the Warlock I thought about the other day - a woman whose patron is an Archfey with auburn hair, emerald green eyes, and ivory skin - Dolly Parton's Jolene. In return for not taking her man, Jolene enlists the warlock into her service, which is largely about meddling in the relationships of other people. I have no idea when or how I could play her, but I expect this book would help.

[@ryn3872]

I absolutely love this

[@mitchhaelann9215]

Flip it, make the archfey the archetype of all women who've ever had a song written about them. Jolene, Lucille (Kenny Rogers), Roxanne, Billie Jean, all of them were secretly the same fickle, heart-breaking fey. She's a dark muse, out there destroying lives and breaking hearts.... just to get more music written. She inspires people to share their pain by causing that pain.

[@annatarsoly941]

​@@mitchhaelann9215This is a genius idea! And I love it even more, because I love poetry and history irl! I'm going to steal it, if you don't mind:)

[@Badusername2000]

The proof that this kinda stuff is great for d&d is nott/veth in CR, her interactions with her family are some of the best moments in the show, and beau and yasha's awkward as hell relationship always makes me happy.

[@davidparkes7741]

Mood. Fjord & Jester (once they actually got together & not when ya know, Jester was being Jester about things lol) were adorable too.

[@Badusername2000]

@@davidparkes7741 true

[@unluckysoul5494]

My character owns a business called the leaking dragon,it is a tavern and is a gambling den where my characters family works as staff,we are currently working on buliding a spa addition to the building

[@sargentwaag1483]

I am starting to be a merchant trader. But I had great plans for an inn. I was going to mint copper coins that have my name and inn on it. That say the first drink is on me. I planned to make them a double weight coin so they stand out. Was going to hand them out to people I meet while away from my town. My inn would be in Phandalin so I need to bring people around.

[@AmariieMaerthos]

Not family related, but in one campaign my party inherited a tavern and we just recruited any NPC who survived first contact with us as staff. We even bought a building across the street as sort of a barracks for them all since most were orphans and/or homeless. We were GREAT for the economy

[@elishafollet5347]

I plan on making my next character a war profiteer

[@captainthorrek262]

Our DM whipped this book out for my wife and I (she wanted her character to have kids, while I kept setting up restaurants). The book added a LOT of fun to the campaign, and even ended up retiring our characters as they ran an orphanage/cooking school (doubled as a monster hunter training school). Definitely a recommended piece!

[@Cotteh2]

I'm in a D&D campaign where I play a bard that came from a pretty happy farming area. I worked with my DM, and my character's family was incorporated into the nearby area. In fact, our DM used that to continue the plot onward to another quest hook, using my character's younger sister. We've been playing for ~2 years, nearly every session has been great.

[@ThatGamerAjax]

This seems like such a good way to make a character so much deeper, definitely sent it to my DM

[@perrydewitte5837]

I’ve always felt awko about sending these types of videos to my DM 😂 I just don’t want it’s to come off shady like I’m not satisfied with the story they’ve made ya know. Good to know that’s a normal thing lol

[@ThatGamerAjax]

@@perrydewitte5837 I always keep an eye out for interesting or unique things that he might appreciate. At the worst, he can just say no!

[@kspsu227]

I'm a DM and just got sent this by a friend who's a player haha

[@toslverr]

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone willingly use my name for anything they like, lol. I genuinely thought my own mother was the only person I'd ever meet that liked the name Mariska.

[@GinnyDi]

whaaa!! I think it's such a beautiful name!! It has such a pretty ring to it that I chose it even though I was worried people would think it was too close to Marisha Ray from Critical Role!

[@Ellarielsiren]

I'm in a play by post game with a small group that stays mainly within the confines of the city they live in, and most of our time is spent doing domestic scenes between characters. Each has their own job, house, and goals along with some romance, friendship, and family stuff going on. And it is so much fun. My character is an apprentice alchemist who's working on becoming a doctor for the city, and he's already managed to help with a plague that was going around. We have another character who does performances in the streets and has been getting his help with his artificer abilities to create special effects.

[@darrenfrazier8560]

This supplement might help advance my daughter's idea. The feral daughter of my goliath barbarian, who wants to learn "the family business". LOL

[@GinnyDi]

I love her already, I hope she achieves her dreams

[@maribakk5546]

My current character is from a traveling circus and my adopted brother (played by another player) is travelling with us. We write letters back to our parents who are still with the circus, telling them about our adventures (The letters double as our session notes). We'll occasionally receive letters from them, containing snacks, extra coin, or healing potions, if the DM is feeling generous. Our parents are actively trying to find my character a husband so she has the secret goal of finding one herself before they choose someone for her.

[@MarcellusGrey]

I love this! I love it when a characters backstory and bonds really come into play like this, it makes the game feel more alive. I play a gnome wizard who works as a scholar at a magic university but is on sabbatical because he hit a dead end in his research. He has been happily married for 75 years and has 2 adult sons. He became an adventurer because his wife told him to get out of the house for a while and do some research in the field. His goal now in his adventures is to learn more about magic and earn some money so he can buy a nicer house for his family.

[@elenadezwaan4044]

My newest character already has a living family and is married. I hope more people choose to write there family alive in there backstorys! Family and relations can bring such a deep and fun aspect to dnd!

[@drskelebone]

That moment when you realize the whole video is an ad, but it's a Ginny Di Ad, and is 1000% wonderful. :D

[@samriedeman6791]

I've been running Lost Mines of Phandelver for my wife one on one and this is exactly what she would love. She's almost there! Next session she gets to decide where to settle down and live with her husband, wife, and goblin friend Droop.

[@fallenjedi3015]

I actually made a whole little Christmas campaign where the party had a vacation with the whole family of a Halfling NPC that fought alongside them. Basically, they were just drinking, dancing, and eating for nearly a whole in-game month 🤣

[@dlfon99]

Ginni: "For example, if you open up to Bastion the human knight about your own past, he may tell you about his troubled relationship with his father." Me: "STOP I ALREADY LOVE HIM"

[@briancollis1809]

I had a bard who wanted to open a neighborhood tavern, and it got so successful it became a renowned performing arts venue!

[@itwasidio1736]

Didn't think a D&D book solely about out of combat mechanics for sub-plots in campaigns would be good, but leave it to Ginny to prove us wrong.

[@emilysmith2965]

Turns out roleplaying games are generally enhanced by roleplaying?

[@itwasidio1736]

@@emilysmith2965 Well, of course. Roleplay is best when talked about between the players and DM, just surprised that she was able to make a good book about narrative mechanics.

[@houndgirl7365]

@@itwasidio1736 I mean she didn't make the book, but man was this amazing. I know one of the people who worked on this project and that person is incredibly humbled and appreciative of how Ginny covered/appreciated this project ^^. Alot of people worked their tails off and still are as future projects are constantly in the works.

[@itwasidio1736]

@@houndgirl7365 Oh wow, sounds cool, I’ll be sure to check it out. Your username’s cool too, I get the reference.

[@garyn8344]

Love this outlook to deeper our character relationships and investment in their characters and histories. Thank you for sharing this, and, beautiful NPC development/costume/sea elf role-playing!

[@MandalorV7]

Actually haven’t killed any of my character’s families in my ideas for their backgrounds. My dwarf Druid’s parents may not have fully understood his contention to nature but were proud of his brewing skills. My half-elf rouge never met his father and has no desire too, but holds no ill will towards him ether. Letting my DM decide if his father will play a role in the story or not.

[@kelkiiii]

This is the kind of thing that can add more living and breathing aspects to a backstory. Things you can visit that make it even more real. Thanks for bringing this to us Ginny 🖤

[@cormorantcolors]

Domestic fantasy makes me so soft. Loving the idea of bringing it to tabletop!

[@anthonynorman7545]

Can you explain "makes me so soft"? I assume it's a good thing from the context, but I'm not sure what it means.

[@cormorantcolors]

@@anthonynorman7545 I’ll try but I’m not very good at explaining this kind of thing haha. Basically it’s just like saying I’m a sucker for it. It makes me emotional and my heart kind of melt. The trope of domestic fantasy just makes me happy but more in an “aww” way than a “yay” way. I hope any of that made sense lol

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@cormorantcolors I think you did a great job. It's like saying heart melt. That makes sense to me!

[@anthonynorman7545]

@@cormorantcolors thank you!

[@cormorantcolors]

@@anthonynorman7545 Np! Glad to help (:

[@joshuadixon6026]

I was just talking about playing a Bard that lives on a ship and plays a Hurdy Gurdy. That collage of the crows nest booklet seems way too on point.

[@Eramiserasmus]

We actively use this and have entire quest lines around family, SO/spouses, and close friends. Makes us more connected to the world and it's people.

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

my now (semi) retired character takes in orphans as well as raise her own. So she does a lot of motherly stuff. she's used unseen servant to help a lot, in a pinch she's created doll golems to protect her charges, transmuted things in to toys, she created and mass produced protection items for them to wear. she's also perfected cleaning spells.

[@aaronfflytyer]

The Blue Rose setting and rules from Green Ronin uses a lot of these same themes. The PCs are encouraged to have connections to a larger group or organization and relationships between characters have actual mechanical benefits. It's also a gorgeous book and I'm loving going through it. Now I just have to find a group interested in that kind of game.

[@raeofsunshine17]

I love all this, what a great way to expand a character in different ways than the ones we're used to! One of my characters is a female human wizard who taught traditional school all her life, and her hobby was studying theoretical arcana on the side. There was a stigma and fear of magic where she lived so she never took it farther than that. But one day in her late 50s she decided to retire and say fuck it and went off adventuring, encouraged by her spouse and children whom she sends trinkets and funds to and occasionally brings along for the ride. I will definitely look into this to deepen this character, thanks for sharing!!

[@fireotters]

One of my first games as a player we were playing Pathfinder, my character was a from a little town called Sandpoint, she was just about that age someone would be looking to move away from home. One of our first adventure was to clear out a haunted lighthouse and I very much surprised the GM when I asked at the end if she could move in! I mean no one was living there anymore… The game didn’t last too many seasons longer but we did at least lay the groundwork for that home base.

[@ShallieDragon]

You've inspired me to look into these things for my campaigns! I've always wanted to have a character with a house. I've never even had a base of operations. Also Mariska looks like an amazing character (and a really impressive make-up look)!

[@littlereading4528]

Domestic DnD: getting a taxidermy bat with the help of firbolg that doesn’t speak common and accidental getting married. Then having halfling-firbolg twins that get taken by a night hag.

[@KeruuKat]

hello yes I would like to hear more!!

[@littlereading4528]

@@KeruuKat So my character is a lightfoot halfing. The party had been on a mission the day before to clear out some mines and Tessa (my char) had obtained a dead bat after an encounter. Wanting the bat stuffed, she went out into town to get some help. She called over a firbolg and they had to communicate through charades because he couldn’t speak common. Anyways apparently sharing a bat heart is the start of a firbolg marriage ritual and next thing I know Tessa is married to a 7ft 9 firbolg. Then she got pregnant and through some rp stuff, she found a midwife in the jungle and well next thing you know shes awake on the beach with no babies.

[@AzLolFun]

@@littlereading4528 What happened to the children? I must know! Lol

[@KeruuKat]

@@littlereading4528 o h b o y lol, that sounds like a wild ride! But isn't D&D always a ride haha.

[@littlereading4528]

@@AzLolFun the Night hag is currently raising them and turned one of the twins into a hexblood.

[@MagicalMedic]

I've been sharing this book around for a while, so glad to see others covering it! I absolutely love the Wedding Ceremonies and the Romanceable NPCs at the end of the book. Nym deserves so much love!

[@katherinegodwin925]

I created an elf that was jilted a week before the wedding and ran away to live with druids. She set out to go adventuring to earn enough money so that she could use her domestic skills and run an over the top luxury resort. The plan was to use the resort also as a way to train women who have run away from rotten situations and needed a job to support themselves.

[@MagusAgrippa8]

I think my favorite thing that has to do with this sort of book and mechanic, is the possibility of two players wanting to start a family together with their characters. Having a romantic relationship with a fellow party member needs to so many interesting set ups. Not to mention indulges the wonderful trope of battle couples.

[@bubblegumbishonen]

I do this every time I make a D&D character already tho 😂 like the backgrounds are always very thorough and sometimes invite my own npcs into the adventure in some way. Like one of my past characters had a fully-fleshed-out husband whose traumatic death gave him PTSD so bad he begged his toxic parents to craft a crown so he’d forget about him (of course, as anyone would’ve guessed, the past came back into play and he was forced to face it at the last battle of the campaign). My Pathfinder character even ran a potions business that he temporarily left to look for materials and help his sudden newfound friends on an adventure while looking for potential clues to find his recently kidnapped husband (at least this husband isn’t dead…hopefully x’D)

[@mandyhitsman1621]

I love having time down from the quests to do mundane things. Shopping for gifts for the holidays, or even forging/crafting them. To me it helps to create a tight knit group.

[@lizzymorang8048]

I have never in my life purchased a sourcebook (or honestly, anything) so immediately and without hesitation. I'm SO EXCITED to read this and adapt it to my game

[@imnoorrs5095]

This really made me start thinking about how dnd races start out as babies I know that sounds silly, of course they come from babies, but think about it. The Dragonborn’s breath weapon is really useful as an adult, but how do you keep the little ones from shocking someone for fun? And elves?!?! Elves don’t sleep and can’t be charmed or magicked to sleep - bless those first time elf parents or ones traveling on the road. This is so fun I love it

[@Daphne1758]

I love this new character! Can't wait to know more about her!

[@keatonr776]

Love this! Currently playing a noble rogue fighting to return to his family after a devastating natural (?) disaster that shattered the world.

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

I always like it when people pick up abilities for story related reasons rather than mechanical ones - that's how I wound up with an extremely durable Warlock. Since her backstory is that she was a clumsy, unusually weak enslaved kobold. Since she didn't really contribute much to her tribe, started volunteering to take punishments on behalf of other more useful members of her tribe, because if THEY got too injured to work the whole tribe's productivity would go down and they'd all get trouble, while her being too injured to work wouldn't really effect much. Because of this I made her two highest stats Charisma and Constitution, as her backstory shows that she is extremely strong willed and can take a beating better than most people, while her Strength and Dexterity were quite low (a 2 and a 6 when I actually played her,) and selected a lot of defense oriented abilities, as those make sense for a character hellbent on charging straight into danger. I also made her something of a healbot, as that also makes sense for someone who constantlyprioritizes the well-being of others above their own (which just so happened to be a good thing, as the party Cleric decided to spend all the fights cowering in the corner without doing much of anything.) I also made her pact of the chainmaster, as I liked the ironic symbolism there. The end result was a teeny tiny meatsheild Warlock running around the battlefield frantically healing all the party members knocked out by the monsters well above our CR level that the DM kept throwing at us, all while taking hits from the same monsters that one-shotted her party members. To the point where the DM ruled that Kenku assassin was intimidated after witnessing a level 4 Warlock take a critical hit from a poisoned arrow, and win the Constitution save against poison without seeming particularly concerned about it. Then run away screaming while said Walock continued to pursue him while firing badly aimed Eldretch Blastz...

[@bakuiel1901]

For someone who doesn't really get to play D&D anymore to your videos are a real treat that I look forward to thank you.

[@euansmith3699]

That accent on the gambler is great. The domestic rules sound tip-top.

[@AmariieMaerthos]

I almost always try to play a character with a happy homelife and living parents. I played one character who had gotten roped into wacky adventures after following his dad's example and joining the military. Some stuff happened on a mission which led to orders that were the backbone of the campaign. His mother, a high level Circle of Moon Druid was not happy with some of those orders and took it up LOUDLY with his superiors, he was constantly sending letters home to assure her he was alright. My current character is Centaur Ranger, he comes from a merchant clan where you go out on excursion upon hitting adulthood, learn about the world, then come back and use what you learned to the betterment of all.

[@chrisanderson6950]

May have to acquire this as the party are always talking about leaving the Undermountain and setting up a bakery... Sadly a bit late for Lily who is technically a runaway betrothed, and has 2 families... Her elf parents from a minor noble house who occasionally try to get her to come home, and her adopted family - a clan of Dwarf battleragers

[@Nazmazh]

"Stolen By a Hag as a Baby" is the background for my current designated backup character in my group's Tomb of Annihilation campaign, so there's a strong chance of her coming into play. She's a Blood Hunter who has a particular thirst for vengeance against hags, due to this hag being responsible for her parents' deaths. So far, my Aasimar Grave Cleric hasn't died yet, but knowing how Tomb of Annihilation can go, it's not unlikely that she'll see real action as a PC someday soon [technically she's interacted with the party as an NPC already, in case we need to explain a sudden, inexplicable appearance. Most of our backup characters have, which is fun.]. I have a very strong fondness for the narrative potential of Hags in backstories. I actually got the inspiration for my Blood Hunter's whole backstory after reading up on Night Hags' life cycle after an encounter with some narratively-important Night Hags. Because - *Shocking twist* - My Blood Hunter is actually the biological daughter of the Hag that "stole" her. She was rescued and raised by her uncle and members of the religious order her family were members of before the transformation from otherwise-apparently-normal-Human into Hag could take place, so theoretically, she *should* be safe from that sort of thing, now that she's reached maturity. But she carries a deep self-loathing, nevertheless - Hence her particular zeal for hunting down Hags and other such fiends.

[@pokemonsonic3243]

I remember in the first campaign my friends and I played, Waterdeep Dragon Heist, we were gifted an old, rundown, haunted tavern. Our DM helped us figure out how to buy and sell goods, we fixed up the place with new furniture and repairs, we had these two npcs that we found help us with the work, and the ghost that haunted the place actually helped keep the tavern clean. Whenever we didn't have to go out on adventures that were important to the story our DM would give us little side quests, like protecting the tavern/our npc friends and keeping the ghost from getting exercised. It was a lot of fun!

[@Phoenixqueen77]

Oo, I need to get this book, it sounds awesome. Also, I love Mariska, she's super cute and her story is really interesting

[@murderedcarrot9684]

Pervy Fondaboo! The strange hobbit and his quest too wear the silver crown! He likes the dark elf maidens. Into it, you know?

[@daewnofthegamer]

Legit was about to make a sea elf warlock pirate of Tymora and KZbin says "this you?" Ahhhhhh so happy but back to the drawing board. Maybe a whale patron for whale song and sea shanties? You make such beautiful creative characters! The runaway betrothed background is awesome! This is karma for laughing when my sister found out her tiefling cleric of the trickery domain with a pet weasel was akin to Jester (she had just started DND and doesn't watch CR). Thankfully I reassured her dupes happen and as long as you distinguish and don't actually copy ur fine ^^.

[@demonicdonut22]

Excellent video! This is something I've rarely seen talked about but my players love it! The amount of work you put into your videos, skits and cosplays is impressive and it really shows that you care and enjoy what you are doing. Keep it up.

[@RayneGrimm1]

My favorite pc rescued an indentured servant , wooed and dated him, married him and then adopted an orphaned child and a hell dog. It was one if the most wholesome long term (took several in game years) events of my life. Enko and silva were so well roleplayed by the dm that I still remeber so much about the. All these years later

[@seamonkey1236]

I just started my second campaign a few weeks ago after my first one broke apart after only a few sessions. In the first session, we cleared out a mine infested with zombies, and after a nat 20 while negotiating our reward afterwards, we managed to get 30% equity in the mine. My quest to find my lost son is now apparently sidetracked by fufilling a middle management arc

[@traitle87]

Ginni this was amazing. The effort you put in is amazing! I'm definitely staying a fan, it's so inspiring in so many ways. The make up was an un-deserving treat. Great work, thankyou so much.

[@eiame77]

I really enjoyed meeting the new character concept, she was great! I love watching your videos, they are so entertaining! I have been playing in a very long running D&D game which split up our group for each of us to have our own one shot...it has been a long time since we went our separate ways and has taken an entire year (in real life) for all the one shots to get completed. I have been using your PoV to get myself back into character, they have really helped! So I just wanted to say thank you for making such great content! Please keep it up!!

[@WildfireMagni]

Might be worth a look. My rogue has a...misbalanced relationship with his dad and would likely yeet his surname off a cliff if not for his sisters, who he loves relentlessly (and they love him back).

[@Piemasta9000]

My first serious foray into 5e was with my Halfling Bard Willits, and his still very much alive family that runs a Tavern called the Crossroads inn :D

[@jonathankessler9853]

I’m about to start a Strixhaven campaign and now I want to give them the option to go apartment hunting after tier 1 of play. Thanks for convincing me to buy something else!

[@lovelandfrog5692]

My absolute favorite thing about my paladin was his family and the culture of his home. I was so happy about his strong relationship with his family, especially his mom and dad. He’d been forced to leave because of the kingdom’s awful treatment of his paladin order and he spent ten years alone, so his reunion with his family and friends was a really emotional moment for the whole party. My favorite NPC was his wife. Watching their relationship grow until they got married and had a baby was the most rewarding part of the whole campaign.

[@Baalek1]

Way back in my high school game, one of the player characters was a retired military officer who had started a family and founded a homestead about a day's ride from out starting city. The idea was that he would occasionally go adventuring with the other characters whenever he found farming too boring. While there were a couple of "save the homestead from raiders!" storyline, we eventually came to use it as a base of operations for our party and there were even a number of adventures that revolved around the homestead in a more mundane fashion.

[@damienfield9287]

I Really need that Book! In a Campaign that I am playing One of my character's is trying to get married to a princess. also in the same campaign me and my friend are trying to build a kingdom and now we have a city. (on an Island) and need more land, so we are trying to start a revolution, but are mostly lost on how to do it (Me my friend and the DM) so I think I will end up buying it. it seems so helpful.

[@naetheai5315]

My character is basically a clone of her Druid mother who is also he patron. There’s literally a bunch of encounters with my “siblings” who are lost clones bc we’re from a lost swamp that moves constantly. All the clones are similar but unique

[@ВладимирМаркевич-э7ю]

Interesting, what could your character look like?

[@naetheai5315]

@@ВладимирМаркевич-э7ю she a green tiefling and with white eyes and fluffy purple hair. She quite southern and a swamp witch

[@NinjaRabies]

I have never actually thought about being a travelling merchant in the sense that you sell the things you carry with you (like loot. That's honestly brilliant.

[@Hughes81]

Had a wonderful campaign where my Tiefling got engaged and married to a young man in the village we would frequently visit. He kind of hounded her, which eventually she found charming. They now run a farm with their two children. Some of the townspeople are less than friendly with her, but she doesn't let it get to her.

[@SpazaliciousChaos]

Ha! MY tragic backstory is that I grew up in a loving household with my parents and siblings, who supported my dreams of starting a band with my friends, who also love and supported me, all while I was persuing a college degree that could secure me a steady day job to fall back on. And as I was walking home, holding hands with my wondeful fiancé after successfully negotiating the down payment on our first house, I got hit by a bus! AND DIED! And then woke up in a tavern talking to you guys! My dreams and my life was taken from me, and I will kill anything and anyone to get it back.

[@rmorganslade]

AHHHHHH Mariska's luck shines down upon me this day!! You're too kind, thank you for the shout out!

[@austinsecrest8887]

My oc has an adopted mother (my wife's oc) and their friend whose a paladin has his whole family. His son wants to be a town guard and the daughter enjoys raising horses on their farm. However, his long trips out of town make them miss him a whole lot

[@Aaa-bi8ly]

Must be hilarious to roleplay

[@EmberGlowTreasures]

I didn’t know this book existed, but I was sick of tragic back stories. I recently created a swashbuckler carjacker who had a full family! Mom and dad who had retired from pirate life, and she has 6 older brothers who all had their own dreams and endeavors but none of them were piracy so she took over the family business. Her closes brother even opened up a traveling dockside restaurant! She is one of my favorite characters! I love how having a family has influenced her!

[@Hannah_Becton]

My husband and I both play with a regular group and pretty much started playing D&D together at the same time when we were still dating. We've never created characters that had some sort of shared backstory; we just create what inspires us, and most of the time, our characters have never really been what I'd call close. Almost a year ago, I got a bad case of alt-itis and swapped out my character in an actively-running game for one I had just fallen head-over-heels for. I soon realized this new character I created - without even intending it - would make an *adorable* couple with my husband's character in that campaign. We talked about it and decided to pursue it. I'm excited for our characters to begin to explore a new romantic relationship with each other!

[@homesteadhero]

I really appreciate you making videos like this. As much as I love me some epic adventures, sometimes I just want to indulge in the mundane. I never would've known any of this existed with you, but I plan to tap into it ASAP! Thanks for caring about us merchant-minded, romance-centric folk too ❤

[@AWindy94]

Ginny Di really has equiped me with so many tools to be a great DM. I'd never have come this far, this quickly, without her

[@claytonshea9146]

I truly wish I could have a compatible group of like minded folks/friends/imagineers who would do such things and discuss like this. Hard enough with the world collapsing in on itself, though it is a great escape and phenomenal way to create long lasting kinships or even just a way to express one another. Well done GD, for doing what you do best, which keeps being awesome. 100 indefinite Charisma to you.

[@jamesroach709]

Back in my d+d days. I had a traveling tavern with a dwarf on a wagon and barrels of ale that traveled with my adventuring groups. It made coin that covered healing costs for the group.

[@PichuAuraGuardian18]

Probably the most fun I’ve ever had as a DM was when one of my players, a Gnome Artificer, writing to his parents, also Artificers, about a Wish potion the party obtained (they got it out of a random potion machine, and it turns out it had gotten in said potion machine on accident and the shopkeeper was wanting it back). The very next session while on downtime, I had the Artificer’s parents show up (embarrassing their boy, of course), and come to find out, the Cleric in the party went to the potion shop and gave the Wish potion back to the shopkeep. The reactions of the Artificer learning the Cleric did this, as well as the parents finding out their son had lost the potion were priceless. XD Honestly, one domestic topic I would like to see tackled would be D&D romance, whether between a PC and an NPC, or two PCs. I’m playing a Water Genasi Cleric currently in an Icewind Dale campaign and one of the other PCs, a Silver Dragonborn Barbarian has a crush on my character. I’m totally fine with the idea of D&D romance. I just have no experience with it, and both I and the character are extremely awkward. XD

[@Evergrey06]

I've had this book from DMs Guild for a bit and it's great, I really love the subclasses in it. Also, Mariska is a treasure.

[@Bwbyars]

My main PC opened a jewelry shop (I also designed & printed out flyers for the other players to see throughout the city). Later, in a one-shot evening, my alternate PC robbed the jewelry shop. When we returned to the main campaign, my main PC had a deal with the fall-out of the robbery. It was fantastic and I have to credit my DM for their incredible improv skills!

[@marcosreed9894]

I really enjoy your content, especially this video. I recently got the domestic PDF and I am looking forward to investing the content into my home-brew world and offering the options to my players. Thank you for your work.

[@gugacampos2531]

Omg this video is bringing so much inspo for future characters (which I really needed) also Mariska is such a cool character!!! The whole gambling theme that is present in her backstory is so clever

[@tradarcherkl]

I'm sorry, I'm not here to comment on the video itself, but I couldn't get over the fact that you are wearing The Locked Tomb, Ninth House t-shirt while doing a video on domestics. This is fantastic and I love it!!

[@StinkerTheFirst]

This sounds like fun. I'm going to try it out. The idea of a warlock-gambler traveling wagon-style with her sisters sounds like a gold mine for RP ideas.