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1:56 AM
Typo monster of the day: Snowboar.
 
 
2:56 AM
@BESW what would the un-typo-ed version have been? Snowbear?
 
Snowboard.
 
ahh.
 
Riding on a snowboar would be pretty sweet.
Or rather, pretty... cool.
 
(I'd assumed you meant "would be pretty sooie-eet.")
 
@nitsua60 I can't take credit for an unintended pun. That would be a bit boorish. I bristle at the thought.
 
@Pixie Tusk, tusk. Take credit where you can, I say. No one here will think you piggish.
 
It just wouldn't behoove me!
 
@BESW The question all this raises: if BESW really is four, then who's finding all the pics and gifs?
 
3:38 AM
[amused]
 
3:58 AM
hey there @nitsua60
 
@Shalvenay heyup.
 
@nitsua60 how're things going?
 
grading tests... tough trying to get back into the grind
 
@nitsua60 ah, won't bug you any further then :)
 
4:16 AM
no worries but I'm on tablet so chat's a bit unwieldy right now
 
4:51 AM
oh god, the jokes, they happened without me
 
@trogdor there's still time to make witty responses!
 
no there is not, I did not come prepared for this!
@doppelgreener is,.. Skeletor playing as He Man?
he is! XDXDXDXD
this is my head-cannon now
 
@trogdor I think he might be XD
 
the show is just about these guys playing a Tabletop RPG, and to spice it up they are villains in the game but they are not playing as themselves
they are made up people who are the heroes of the story XD
 
Some Aussie researchers have just done quantum programming in a silicone chip. The Mage cabal zeitgeist moves ever forward.
 
4:59 AM
one of them just said they violated a principle of some kind
I am not sure what these things they are saying all mean
XD
I don't understand exactly how this branch of science could possibly work honestly
 
The Science Alert article is a bit more general audience-friendly: Researchers have written quantum code on a silicon chip for the first time
Basically: quantum computing's so fast & powerful compared to modern computing, it's like One Punch Man vs a small child. (I.e., not even a fair comparison to make.) People working in the quantum computing field have been having trouble making hardware that's equally general-purpose though. Likewise working out how we should even program with it has been tricky, and these folks made some steps forward on both fronts.
 
@nitsua60 I have been halfheartedly accused of also being BESW by at least one person
guess I am the sleeping one XD
or maybe the talking one, either way
 
@trogdor you're the beating heart of the team
 
lol
 
oops hi.
 
5:09 AM
huh, ok I guess they actually entangled particles? but have they actually been able to use them for anything yet?
it sounds like they are still testing things and feeling things out
 
pretty much that's how things are right now
we can make quantum computing hardware that just does a very specific purpose-built task extremely fast, but that's not relevant to the general market. the people researching quantum computing for the general market are taking baby steps and feeling things out.
 
ok
part of my confusion was just how far along this stuff is
 
it's in its infancy
 
I thought they were saying it was doing better than it is
@doppelgreener yeah I had assumed as much till I got confused XD
 
we're like the cave men huddled over a flat-looking rock that's one day going to be the first wheel, and every now and then one will pick up another rock and hesitantly chip a chunk out of the flat-looking one and make it a bit more wheel-shaped, and then everyone flips out and goes bananas over how exciting it is, and then they settle down and go back to frowning at the rock wondering what to do next.
 
5:18 AM
lol
 
(this analogy has so many problems but i don't care because the mental image is funny)
 
@trogdor pony wot
 
wat pony?
 
@doppelgreener regardless of its applicability to the current topic, that's a great way to describe almost every aspect of my life.
 
@nitsua60 i am now reflecting on how accurate that is for me too.
 
6:28 AM
@Joninean as I am now sloshed, I can tell you honestly, it numbs pain both physical and emotional, thus making whatever morning after consequences worth it for the moments of relief.
 
 
2 hours later…
8:23 AM
mm, I can see why it is worth it to some people
I just choose not to drink
well, alcoholic stuff anyway
without water I would still not have a good time
and soda and such is fun at least on occasion
 
user61230
9:01 AM
 
9:54 AM
@Tritium21 Sounds rough. I hope you'll be fine.
 
10:09 AM
hi
 
 
11 hours later…
8:53 PM
Hello!
 
@Fluttershy hey there!
 
I had a couple of pathfinder questions I was hoping someone here might be able to help with. :D
 
@Fluttershy ask away -- I'm not that good at 3.5e/PF but I can certainly help you workshop something for the main site
 
@Shalvenay Well, it's mostly for a character I'm trying to build for a campaign a friend is running. I wanted to play a monk, but I didn't know what the primary stat was for monks, or, honestly, if there is a primary stat in Pathfinder. <_<
 
@Fluttershy why do you wish to play a monk? (this is a very important first question -- 3.x's monk is a deceptively underwhelming class at higher levels)
 
8:57 PM
@Shalvenay Oh, is it? They seemed pretty powerful from what I saw, and our group is currently lacking in that regard, I think.
 
@Fluttershy they're good at dealing damage at lower levels, and have a few other nice traits, but they just don't have any of the versatility needed to keep up with Vancian casters at higher levels
@Fluttershy what's your current group composition?
 
@Shalvenay Samurai, druid, and rogue. And possibly an archer, but that player is kinda flaky.
 
@Fluttershy yuk yuk. that's a tier problem right there. may I ask what level your party's at, and what your group seems to be lacking?
 
@Shalvenay Tier problem? :o And, it's a level 8 party, but I'm new to the campaign, so I'm coming in at level 8 as well. As for what they're lacking... I was told damage, but don't know enough about the classes to know for sure.
 
@Fluttershy in 3.x, classes are ranked by tiers of power. Druid is Tier 1 -- game-breakingly powerful, in more ways than one. Rogues are mid-tier -- capable of doing one thing well, and a few things OK, but nothing that can break the game. The Samurai is very low-tier though -- it can't even keep up with things like Barbarians or Rogues for damage output, or the Barbarian for survivability for that matter, never mind casting classes
@Fluttershy it sounds like your party needs a nascent mailman (someone that in the endgame, can deliver damage reliably enough to basically pick off whoever he choses), not a monk that's going to fizzle out as the party levels up and starts running into things that punching doesn't work on.
I'd go with an arcane-based mailman-type build if I were trying to flesh this party out, although it also depends on the charopt and magic-power levels at your table -- how rare are magic items etal?
 
9:05 PM
@Shalvenay I see... I'm not really into caster classes. :( As for magic item rarity, I think they're fairly rare.
 
@Fluttershy ugh. that's going to make life heck for you in 3.x -- the entire 3.x tree is characterized by hardcore caster supremacy.
@Fluttershy what attracts you to a class, if I may ask?
 
@Shalvenay Something that's fun to play, and able to do more than sit on the sidelines. The first campaign I played, I was a support cleric, and couldn't do anything but channel energy. It was incredibly boring for me. :\
 
@Fluttershy non-sideline is good, yes. although "fun to play" is rather vague, and it sounds like you totally mangled your cleric build if that's all they ever got to do
 
@Shalvenay I likely did! Or rather, the guy that helped me build it also helped mangle it.
 
Hi, Fluttershy
For a moment I thought you are a bot, like Derpy, but you seem to be different someone
 
9:11 PM
@Fluttershy yeah :/ the Cleric is a Tier 1 class -- it's scary powerful. (a well-done CLeric build can go head-to-head with any martial class in 3.x and win 9 times out of 10)
 
@eimyr Not a bot! Just not from around here. :P I hang out in the Arqade chat.
 
Do you mind if I contribute (nicer word than preach) about your party?
 
@Shalvenay Yeah, I found a tier list. Maybe I should consider redoing a cleric...
@eimyr Go ahead! :D
 
In DnD 3 and 3.5 there is a term CoDZilla. It means Cleric-or-Druid-zilla. That's how these two classes compare to the rest.
 
@Fluttershy redoing a cleric sounds like a fantastic addition to your party -- the extra healing support would be beneficial, but you could take a ton of heat off your druid with your casting as well -- clerics in 3.x can do great things buffing themselves & their party -- as well as being able to unleash save-or-suck effects on their foes
 
9:15 PM
You say you have a Samurai, a druid and a rogue, so you are alright with spellcasting, traps and locks and you have some negligible warrior around (negligible, because druid is a better warrior than two or three samurais together, all the while being a full caster too)
I would recommend an arcane caster, a Sorcerer or something like that.
 
@eimyr hahaha, yes.
@eimyr yeah, I was originally thinking of an arcane proto-mailman considering he was starting in at L8
and his party needs damage
 
makes sense
@Fluttershy sorry to ask, but do you prefer a he or a she?
 
@eimyr He is fine!
 
Bard is always a welcome addition, but that would be to a balanced party. However, you could roll a spellsword variant if you prefer, something like an Eldritch Knight
 
@eimyr yeah. something of that ilk that could be built mailman-style would be tremendous as well...
 
9:19 PM
It's because there is no true tank (apart from the druid)
so some survivability in close combat might be desired
 
@eimyr that too. the druid has the whole darn party on his back atm :p
 
but I don't know a lot about 3rd edition, I could help with PAthfinder maybe...
 
he's dealing with PF actually
 
oh
OH
 
@eimyr Yeah, it's Pathfinder. :D
 
9:21 PM
Roll an Alchemist
It sits right in the 3rd tier comfort zone, lots of versatility, decent party synergy and you can always break out the other guy through a mutagen
Nowhere near druid, but still very playable
Also, I find Magus as a spellsword much more palatable than Eldritch Knight.
 
What would I do as an alchemist? Or Magus/spellsword?
 
> In the 3.x optimization community, classes are ranked by ... ... ...
(Communities?)
 
Also @eimyr, are there any websites that like... help build a character? Or is it pretty much me with a rulebook and a pencil? :P
 
I don't really know.
I prefer d20pfsrd.com and pencils
 
@eimyr That's what I've been working with.
 
9:31 PM
As a Magus you would have some spells, like a bard does, which you would deliver in close combat - mostly damaging or save-or-suck touch spells
which you can actually deliver by striking with a weapon
while attacking
as an alchemist you would prepare potions like a wizard prepares spells, but from a somewhat more limited list
and use them from the distance while throwing bombs around, because awesome
 
Magus sounds fun. I could be a Magus.
 
and in a pinch (or if you feel like it) you drink a mutagen 1/day and you go Mr Hyde from your regular Dr Jekyll.
 
A friend played an alchemist once, and all she would do was throw a bomb. And nothing else. So... It sorta soured me on alchemists. :P
 
it's basically Hulk, only in Pathfinder.
If you really don't want to have a bomb-throwing guy, and still roll an alchemist there is a prestige class called Master Chymist.
You sacrifice advanced bomb-throwing and some spellcasting for changing into Hulk at-will.
I like alchemist, because it has interesting RP implications, like the fact that you can get +X to Str while getting -X in Int etc.
or how you can add bestial features to the alternate form
OR you can play as a crazy vivisectionist and have clones of yourself
OR you can actually reverse the mutagen and get +X to INT while getting -X to STR, if you so desire
 
That honestly sounds too complicated for someone of my skill-level. ._.
 
9:40 PM
not quite
you can only do one of these things at once
I find plain Wizard more complicated than most melee classes
...
unless you want to grapple
 
Hmm
The more I read about Magus, the more fun it sounds.
 
cool
just make sure to take a look at spell list
they don't get anything above 6th level
so many Maguses rely on using cantrips as main source of sustained damage
 
9:55 PM
@eimyr Gotcha. I'll do some more poking around, and get to work building a character! :D What would my primary stat be? Int or Wis?
 
Well, maguses suffer from MAD
So INT is your primary stat and then you usually go for DEX with Weapon Finesse and a rapier or something of that sort
 
Awesome. Thanks so much for the help! :D
 
no worries!
 
0
Q: Are table top battle games acceptable?

EscoceI'd like to find out if asking questions about table top turn based strategy games such as Warhammer, War Machine, Hordes, etc. are acceptable for this community.

 
 
1 hour later…
11:15 PM
@Fluttershy Whatever you decide to go with, there's likely an optimization guide or two available.
Also, it sounds like you're settled on magus, but for the record, you can get some serious melee on alchemists. The bomb alchemist is only one of two main strategies. The other is to center your build around feral mutagen.
 
Hi, @Pixie
 
Hi!
 
does pathfinder also have a wizard class or is magus like,... the replacement for it?
 
It has wizard.
 
I just don't know why they would have like, wizard, sorc, and magus
it seems like 3 really similar things
 
11:21 PM
wizard is a wizard - old guy with books and wands
 
They further differentiated sorc from wizard via bloodlines.
 
sorcerer is an innately magical caster, which has some special blood in him
 
ah
 
and magus is a wizard, who also studies swordsmanship
 
so it isn't just like, a different way of casting and some different spells like D&D was
@eimyr ah ok, sorta like a paladin to a cleric
 
11:22 PM
PF has greater differentiation of classes all across the board
 
except arcane
 
sorta, only it doesn't suck
 
lol
I just meant in terms of theme
 
paladin is the samurai of divine spellcasting
 
not balance XD
 
11:22 PM
You can read about the bloodline thing here.
 
@eimyr yep. 'Sader beats Pally any day of the week :P
 
yeah, in 3.5 Magus was a prestige class called Eldritch Knight
in PF you have eldritch knights too
but its... different
 
@Pixie ah, this is something D&D paid lip service to
I am aware of it as a concept, anyway
 
PF focuses on it much more.
 
eldritch knight is a prestige class you take when your want to give your existing class fighter-like skills
 
11:24 PM
Gumshoe rocks \o/ - running a brilliant playthrough of Eternal Lies :D
 
magus is a more versatile version of this done from the beginning
 
PF's bloodlines are fun, though the lack of familiars on sorcerers (another way they differentiated them from wizards) made me go >I. xD
 
@Pixie yeah D&D just had it as an explanation for why they could cast spells without learning things the way the Wizards did, as far as I know they mostly dropped the idea there
if you don't pay too much attention to Prestige Classes that paid attention to it at least
@Pixie I liked the idea of a Familliar in D&D when I played my first character, who was in fact a Sorcerer, but the Exp costs if it died scared me off XD
also, looks like Pathfinder has many many bloodline choices
 
I don't like class features that require me to pay XP
 
in D&D, it was generally just, "yeah a dragon got really weird with one of your ancestors, so now you get cool powers"
 
11:29 PM
e.g. crafting or wands or stuff like that
 
@eimyr yeah, I don't like XP costs for anything
 
Nobody likes XP costs. :P They changed familiar death in PF so that it doesn't cost XP.
 
I really, really hate it for a very irrational reason
 
@eimyr I share this kind of sentiment
 
Also, potions.
 
11:30 PM
trying to use something nonfungible in place of a currency cripples your economy
 
If my character can't do it without wasting charges/potions/any consumables, it is not worth the effort
 
any game with xp in it where it wasn't evenly distributed to the players (at all times) really bothered me
some video games I played with my brother had anyone who was currently dead and waiting to be revived not gaining xp like the guy who was still alive was
so sometimes one of us would die and suddenly we weren't leveling up at the exact same time anymore XD
@eimyr this happens to me in many video game RPG's
strangely I didn't have as much of an issue with it in tabletop games
and usually it was the really rare potions and stuff
not just the dime a dozen ones you could buy to heal
cause those I usually need to use
and they are cheap and found in any shopkeep's store
 
in video games potions are usually just... there
and money is not an issue unless you are low level
 
well, many I have played have certain potions that you can only find so many of
and aren't in shops
like in BoF 3, the stuff that gives you AP back is all stuff you have to find
so you kinda have to conserve it a bit
but I usually don't use any at all at least till the final boss XD
 
I'm careful with consumables in direct proportion to their availability.
 
11:45 PM
if there is any restriction at all on them, I usually don't use them unless they have permanent effects
or I actually like, need them to win a fight
though some games have consumables that can be thrown to make an attack, and I do use those often enough
even if they are somewhat restricted in how often you can get them
 
I liked consumable system in witcher 2
they were all somewhat limited but you could get as many as you want
e.g. it costed you effort to gather the ingredients, which were unlimited, but if you didn't pick your flowers, you had only a few
 

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