Owlbear Cave: The Duck of Many Things
It's Shark Tank for D&D! Join us as the wealthy Owlbears hear your homebrew pitches and decide if they want to invest their eggs.
PS - You can find the Duck of Many Things Table referenced in this episode here.
Comments (78)
Omg didn’t they do the roll of mediocrity in campaign 2? Roxy’s idea
I 100% agree with Murph; I really don't get people complaining about getting nat 20s on Initiative. Going first fucking rules. In one of the games I'm in, the DM rules that rolling a nat 20 puts you at the top of Initiative order, which is huge cause my Harengon Chronurgy wizard that casts Gift of Alacrity on the party each session would all but guarantee multiple party members go first if not for that rule. It feels a little bad when my character with a +18 to Initiative rolls in the 30s but goes after a baddie with a +1 Dex mod cause of a nat 20, but this rule balances out my absurd Initiative bunny.
Could the nat 20 on initiative meaning you get a surprise round be added to the alert feat? Or be a feat of its own?
Rogues can use their sneak attack only once per TURN. They can use it multiple times in a round including as a reaction and when partnered with abilities like from a battlemaster fighter. They also already get a second attack if they're dual wielding. They definitely don't need another attack.
Once per turn means once, during their turn, and not outside of it.
Emily coming up with one of the most powerful noncombat feats in the whole game like it just occurred to her, sure ok lol. The optimizing never stops with this one.
calling them math rocks while refusing to do the math is some kinda irony. the extra attack thing seems like a feat for just rogues to take so they can get an average extra 5 damage a round, which seems pretty okay for a feat. it's not relevant to other classes
I think with the extra attack feat it should work like the normal extra attack class feature where if you reach level 5 in two different classes you don’t get a another attack but if they take the feat at say level 12 you can get the third attack much like a fighter would at 11 if you have a class that has extra attack already.
Posting just now because I just listened to the episode. On the Nat 20 initiative I think you should get to decide where in turn order you go. Like if I’m playing a healer and I roll a bat 20, I can choose to go after the tank so I can heal him after his turn
Was literally just about to post this same thing (even later 😅) I think people would be very excited to get to jump in whenever they wanted and it'd be powerful but not necessarily game breaking. The one concern is that the player with the nat 20 may forget to insert themselves in the order so it may make extra work for the DM but if the players are paying attention it could be lots of fun
Not related to this post at all, just want to shout out some love for long hair Murph! You rock the do my man
I love how much murph kinda hates making this show
Oh my gods! The duck’s side-eye is perfection. I want him to be my straight man as we embark on the vaudeville circuit.
With my revised ranger gloomstalker I absolutely loved going first cuz my first round of combat I get two attacks AND I get advantage on anyone who hasn’t attacked yet. 50+, damage at level 5 for the first round is so fun lmao
What about you roll a nat 20 on initiative and you get to pick when you go in the order?
you can already do that
Lmao the owl noises
Bit too much speak easy nonsense but otherwise good
There is a bar in Boston that you roll a D20 and it determines your drink! You keep to keep track of what you’ve rolled on a card and once you fill it up, you get a custom cocktail that only you can order!
There's a bar in Toronto that does this too!
From my read of the table, it doesn't look like any of the rolls affect the duck. They affect the person who opens the egg. Unless I'm wrong?
On my first read, I assumed "cracker" was the name of the duck (I skimmed and assumed I missed that part), but with your comment I realize its the cracker of the egg. Maybe they made that mistake?
Re: Nat 20 on initiative Letting nat 20s go first punishes the characters who invest in their initiative, like Harengons, Alert Feat users, Gift of Alacrity users, Watchers Paladins, etc. If I'm a Gloomstalker Harengon with the Alert Feat with 13 initiative (5 Dex+5 Alert + 3 Wis) and I roll a 28 (15 on the die, +13), it's gonna be disappointing when 2 goons go before me just because they rolled a nat 20, which let's face it, it's not that special. Also, as a spellcaster going first is HUGE. It means you can buff your allies before their turns, you can throw a Web to the enemies before they get close, you can throw a Hypnotic Pattern and leave a group out of commission. The spellcaster can shape the battlefield to their whim, and getting to do that before the enemy positions themselves is a huge advantage for the party. Going first is virtually getting an extra turn.
You're much more likely to go first though likely eight times out of ten with that much initiative, right? So those other approximately two times, your other team mates can't go first instead? You're also probably going second so it's not really a huge loss, is it? I mean you guys are on the same team. It shouldn't be a competition.
The last one gave me the idea to give treats along with inspiration as an incentive to roleplay, probably Lucky Charm marshmallows ;)
How about this... nat 20 on initiative means you get to choose when you want to go
I was thinking the same during the episode
Shoutout to my buddy Gabe for helping with my homebrew idea as well
I don't know what it is but I cannot stand the owl bear episodes so far. The ideas are really cool and it's great to hear your guy's input on the homebrew ideas but you guys are lost in the tank for half of each episode and it makes it hard for me to listen to.
I feel very similar. Really cool ideas, but not really digging the format
Mixed Bag pitch: patrons submit DnD themed drink recipes for the speakeasy and then The 2 Crew make & review them.
Currently playing a Bladesinger wizard that utilizes Shadowblade and let me tell you 🔥
Apologies if there's been a similar suggestion, but my immediate thought for the initiative conversation is: Nat 20 means you are Hasted for the first round. Nat 1 means you are Slowed for the first round.
Emily mentioned it briefly in the first pitch, but the observant feat is incredible for a non combat feat. Made a divination wizard/mastermind rogue with it, who had a passive perception of 22 at level 3. Such. A. Good. Feat.
Whats funny is there is a homebrewed frost knight fighter subclass I found on reddit
Came here for the duck link. 20 initiative = floating round. As a reaction whenever a creature within 60 feet ends its turn, you begin your turn and your initiative is now their initiative -1.
What if you made the 20 on initiative a portent role? That player can replace any role before their next rest
How do I see the pic of the duck?
Owlamony.
Adding to the bowl of nat 20 treats- they’re skittles and we call them “CRITtles”
Murph was on the money with the rogue paladin, arcane trickster and paladin gives extra spell slots. Adding an extra attack with sneak attack and having some wizard like spells it's a bit over powered. You could also play a Cleric and dip into sorcerer for bonus action spells for a second attack say a healing word while also taking away from the war cleric
To people who don't like going first in initiative, when you go first you still go after everyone but you just get a free turn first. If you don't want to commit anything you can cast a cantrip or hold a reaction, but there are no downsides to going first.
Eager for someone to submit an actual Powerpoint for this.
Happy that my idea was part of the show. I've been thinking about the "Extra Attack" feat for a while now and I haven't found a single way to abuse it with the prerequisite and the limitation. If anyone finds a way, please let me know.
The only class I could see it being a huge bump to would be clerics.
Lol poor Murph's pain at what could have been a good concept devolving into a absolute shitshow.
I think a good theme song for The Owlbear Cave could be an acapella cover of The Who's "Who are you?" (CSI theme song) with liberal whoo whoo's and lyrics about eggs.
Whyyyy did it take me until minute 20 to realize that Emily wasn’t talking about her actual eggs. The first time she said her eggs were throbbing I said out loud “gross.” This is like when I started listening to 8 but book club way too far into the show and being confused by how often they were thrumming.
I wanted to add to the convo about first level/background feats. I’m a paid DM and I use this and I couldn’t recommend it more! Generally, I tell players that they get what I call a “half-feat”, which is a feat that as an ASI of 1 plus another feature; a good example is Observant! Basically you let them have the passive perception and the lip reading but not the increase to Wisdom. Sometimes I’ll homebrew a feat or grant something more powerful if i think it’ll add narrative depth to my campaigns (the Aberrant Dragonmark from Eberron is a good example of strong and narrative feats in my opinion). Honestly it’s been an amazing way for players to get invested in the world and it almost always starts a deeper conversation about the character. I’ve found that even if a bonus feat gives some bonus in combat, it’s worth it to help players feel more powerful and invested in the world!
Somebody really excelled above everyone else at hooting at the end there
May it please the owlbears, I would like to pitch an intro to owl tank, I believe two solid, stern “Hoot hoot”s similarly to dungeon court’s “dun dun” will do wonders on ABC’s ratings. thank you for your time
I already commented this, but I'll reply here for more visibility. they need to do a parody cover of The Who's "Who Are You" but with hoot hoot instead of who who. I may also point out that it's the theme song to a popular crime procedural like Law and Order, so there's continuity.
I'd buy the hell out of a "Who captured who" sticker
Same! This is such a stupid silly merch idea and I love it.
About the middle die, I got curious so I calculated the probability distribution. Posting here in case anyone wonders, as I did. Here's the number (+ if higher than 1/20, - if lower) and probability: - 1 (-): 0.00725 - 2 (-): 0.02075 - 3 (-): 0.03275 - 4 (-): 0.04325 - 5 (+): 0.05225 - 6 (+): 0.05975 - 7 (+): 0.06575 - 8 (+): 0.07025 - 9 (+): 0.07325 - 10 (+): 0.07475 - 11 (+): 0.07475 - 12 (+): 0.07325 - 13 (+): 0.07025 - 14 (+): 0.06575 - 15 (+): 0.05975 - 16 (+): 0.05225 - 17 (-): 0.04325 - 18 (-): 0.03275 - 19 (-): 0.02075 - 20 (-): 0.00725 You're about 7 times less likely to roll a nat 1 or a nat 20. The expected value is the same, but the probability of the extremes is shrunk (so rolling a regular die is a mean-preserving spread of the middle-die roll). This is not really surprising, but I figured it was interesting.
A visual aid: https://anydice.com/program/264f7
I think it would be cool if when you rolled a nat 20 in initiative that you could choose where you wanted to be in the order in the first round (and then have to stay there the rest of the combat ofc).
You are allowed to hold your initiative for a later time when you roll any number
Nothing says “Jake has never played a full caster” as offering a second bonus action 😂 I’m currently playing a level 12 wizard and Bud I GOT no BAs. I can cast Misty Step which I can’t even do twice, or I technically have two-weapon fighting but as a wizard I’m not even doing single weapon fighting! I do see the sadness of rolling a nat 20 on init and not really having anything with it
https://imgur.com/gallery/AcRlICU This is the Duck of Many Things!
Extremely cheeky duck
I feel so fortunate that I can hear those four talk about D&D related stuff while going into random tangents about speakeasies, these segments are always a blast. Also, love the random peeks behind all the patrons' home games! Awesome content, you guys ❤️
Love love love the first pitch! Going to implement it at future sessions! Such a good way to encourage role play. 😊
Oh my goodness! My DM is very happy y’all liked the Duck!! I actually had the Duck as my firbolg Druid’s companion so we never actually rode on the Duck. Also his name was Ferdinand. And once we killed an NPC commoner with a poorly rolled egg!
Where is the duck, guys? I must see the duck.
I have a question—so I got a crown and a fan for Em/TheQueen/Mistress/Supreme Chaos Judge/co-CEO of Owlbear/Miss Business Leader Axford Nee Tanner. I don’t know if she’s gotten it or not, but does she like the gifts? Anywho; if she doesn’t, apologies. Sincerely, Mad (my name)
Where is the Duck? I must see this duck
so who's mr wonderful on this lot
***PETITION TO ADD A GUEST THAT WILL ROLEPLAY AS THE GUESTS(same guest for all parts)SO THEY CAN CHOOSE A INVESTOR(one of the best parts of shark tank is the sharks competing a bit)****
Thx
Works now!
Thanks for the quick fix!
They done saved it gang!
How long it took them to get Caldwell to cough up the SD card
Damn that was a quick turn around.
Wow thanks for fixing that so fast
Thanks for the quick re-up
you guys are lifesavers, i was so dreading my hour long drive this morning 😅