megane-kun

This! The only time I had my bard perform (use performance) is when I was trying to solicit help from someone, but telling the plain truth (as my character has been doing so far) would put the party at risk, so I told the DM:

I will tell the story as if it were an epic tale told across generations of bards. Can I use performance for this?

The DM allowed it. I rolled the die and got a fairly high roll. The person I was asking help from was so moved they swore they’d help the party with the utmost of their abilities.

Besides, the DM has just told the table the same story (targeted to my character, but the rest of the table had a listen), and it’s just annoying hearing me recite that same story they just heard from the DM (who is far better than me at telling stories).

The only time I acted out in character (in the main story in that campaign, and that other time was debatable, as it’s more of a caricature than in-character) was in a fairly impromptu scene between me and another character. The rest of the table, including the DM, was just too shocked at the impromptu act. In hindsight, it played out like one of those romcom anime scenes. And I came out of it all: “wtf was that?!”

That’s a great idea! Probably stealing it for when I next play a wizard-like spellcaster.

There was one time I had to play double-duty as utility and party healer. I thought it was a good idea to keep track of everyone’s health. In my head, it makes for deciding when to “switch to healing” far easier. So I had this sheet of paper keeping track of everyone’s total HP and current HP. At some point, I’ll switch to being the medic and physically pull out a card that says “Beacon of Hope” with a description of what it does (full HP dealt with healing spells and potions, among other things), and start doling out healing spells.

Aside from keeping track of everyone’s HP (which, in hindsight, shouldn’t be my job anyways), it was kinda simple. Even before my turn, I already have an idea what to do, usually trying to keep some idiot in the party alive. It’s just a matter which idiot I would try to save first (and for most situations, I just go for the one with the least current HP).

I used to print out spell sheets and put them into some sort of a spell booklet for reasons like this. It also helps that I played a bard when I did that and so there wasn’t a whole lot of spells that I needed to keep track of.

The last time I played a wizard, I just relied on a similar tactic (one-spell sheets compiled into some sort of a booklet), but instead of printing it out, they just stayed as files that I move to a directory on my phone called “prepared spells”.

I always thought “PM” stands for “Personal Message”, which is more or less an okay description. You send a message to someone “personally”, not in-person, but close enough, I suppose.

I used to ask people to tell me if they need healing, but I found it easier to just keep track of it all myself so that I can plan when to switch roles from buff to heal.

Combat encounters usually have me bringing out a calculator and a sheet of paper where everyone’s hp is being tracked.