TRPG General Chat

12:03 AM

@MarkWells Nope. my celestial warlock patron is LG Solar. I am CG. Tension a plenty.

@MarkWells Strongly suggest RA McAvoy Damiano, Damiano's Lute, and Raphael. Trilogy, each book is short, a warlock makes a pack with an archangel. book published over 40 years ago. Beautifully written

V2Blast

12:45 AM

interesting

btw did anyone post the most recent UA here yet?

from last week

KorvinStarmast

12:59 AM

@V2Blast I read it and the tattoos need to each eat an attunement slot. As written, it is sloppy bloat

V2Blast

I haven't really read it yet :P

KorvinStarmast

The concept, tattoos conferring magical powers, I like a lot.

KorvinStarmast

1:17 AM

An interesting take on how comments influence SE denizens

nitsua60

1:33 AM

> Here's my approach - for every comment you leave, you give one of your rep points to the person on whose post you leave that comment. The rationale is simple - the post has attracted your attention, so it's worthy of additional reputation.
But, if you have a good idea, then the OP will update their post and you can safely delete your comment, regaining your rep point (but leaving a rep point with the OP). If nothing happens, and you leave your comment there, you lose your rep point and if it is eventually deleted by a Mod, you lose it permanently.

That's an interesting idea I don't think I've seen before.

BESW

Modiphius continues to be gross about its Conan franchise.

Colludium Three - small press games is a quarterly bundle highlighting the work of indie tabletop and live-action roleplaying game creators. Hosted by Blue Golem Games with content from 16 creators.

nitsua60

"HIMELIANS." Wow.

I think there are a couple of sentences that don't use the word "exotic," too. looks for "contact webmaster" link...

Iranistan!? Is that original to Howard, or is this a brand-new bit of obnoxiery?

BESW

I "like" how literally a third of the character archetypes are indigent people.

@nitsua60 It first appeared in a book by another author based on a Howard novel, which is often credited to both of them.... except that 100 years earlier it was coined by PT Barnum as the name of one of his many boondoggles.

nitsua60

Blech.

BESW

So it's got a long proud history of Orientalism and cultural exploitation, from some of the best in that business!

nitsua60

1:48 AM

On the other hand, once I told my kids (who were learning "The Alphabet of Nations" and wondering about the Kazakhstan-Pakistan rhyme) that -stan meant "place" or "land" (functionally), they had a *lot* of fun demi-translating a lot of countries' names.
Engstan. Icestan. Greenstan. Deutschstan. New Engstan--where we live.
So I'm not sure I'm really one to be throwing stones =\

BESW

I don't think that's really the same at all.

nitsua60

Still. Throwing stones is dangerous business =)

I'm sitting here looking at 4 guitars, a viola, a piano, three trumpets, two french horns, two flutes, and a piccolo. No stone-throwing for me!

trogdor

Afghulistan,... wtf

BESW

I think it's super useful to deconstruct familiar name formations so that we become more aware of them. Like, contrasting how Greek mythic names are untranslated vs Native American mythic names that get transliterated, is nigh impossible until we start noticing how transliteration would modify our own familiar phrases.

trogdor

I wish that lady on the cover would just turn around and stab him to death already

nitsua60

1:54 AM

@BESW I believe you, and am not sure I'm aware of examples I've run across. Do you have one or two in mind?

BESW

Or, in your case, noticing that patterns which might seem odd ("why do all these countries have the same suffix?") are actually just familiar patterns seen through a different lens.

nitsua60

@trogdor I think the elephant with wings and hands is just trying too hard.

trogdor

they deserve horrible death just for Afgulistan though

Hot RPG Questions

6

Q: How can I as a DM make a low-level melee rogue feel useful in combat when the party has no tank that triggers sneak attack for her?

I'm going to DM a short adventure for two players who have little experience with pen and paper role-playing games. One will be a druid, one will be a dual wielding melee rogue, and we will start at level 1. I'm a bit worried that the rogue will feel weak in combat since without a tank next to he...

BESW

@nitsua60 Well, imagine if we called Odysseus "Hated One" or "Son of Pain." And if we called thunderbirds Wakyą or Animikii.

nitsua60

1:58 AM

@BESW Gotcha.

BESW

(This is sometimes --and very dramatically but not incorrectly-- called "semantic imperialism:" the idea that some languages "should" be translated or they'll be confusing to the audience, while other languages would be confusing to the audience if they were translated.)

V2Blast

Interesting

nitsua60

I like "son of Son-of-Red-Earth." But that may be because my son and I refer to a certain four-time World's Strongest Man as "Biggest-Guy son of Son-of-Biggest-Guy."

V2Blast

@nitsua60 How can Biggest Guy's father be his son? :P

nitsua60

> Magnús owns a powerlifting and strongman gym in Reykjavík called Jakaból (Nest Of Giants).

I just love so many things about this planet!

BESW

2:11 AM

(Imagine if we called Arthur Pendragon "Noble Chief Leader.")

nitsua60

@BESW (I'm sorry, but you're making me do it:

Monty Python "Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune"

►

V2Blast

For any IRL GMs with access to a 3d printer: the Humble 3D Printable Dungeons & Dragon Lairs Terrain Bundle is available for the next 3 weeks!

2

BESW

@V2Blast [grin] The relative malleability of names in different cultures is also a big thing that often gets glossed over!

Ben

4:05 AM

So I just spent an hour explaining that a simple "no record found" is easier than redesigning an entire system to allow for every possible circumstance in a one-off system, and it's stressed me out.

I'm now deciding if I want to play D3 and level up my Lightning Templar, Doom for some cathartic "shoot the bads", or some exciting FF7 remake gameply

Hot RPG Questions

4:48 AM

3

Q: Is this Way of the Kensei monk built and usage correct?

Level: 6 Race: Wood Elf Class: Monk, Way of the Kensei Monk Weapons: Longsword, Longbow Str: 8 Dex: 18 (14 point buy, 2 wood elf, 2 ASI) Con: 14 Int: 10 Wis: 16 (15 point buy, 1 wood elf) Cha: 10 Way of the Kensei Agile parry states: If you make an unarmed strike as part of the Attack ac...

dnd-5e monk

Ben

6:39 AM

Gameply: this effect is applied when you play a game that both soothes and invigorates the spirit. +2 to stress relief rolls until your next short rest

Hot RPG Questions

3

Q: Is it possible to emulate all dice rolls required for a D&D5e game using just a d6, and if so, how?

This is a question that I've asked myself numerous times, but I've never gotten a really satisfying result. The issue is this: let's assume we only have one or multiple d6 dice (arguably the most common type of dice outside of pen & paper), but we still want to play D&D 5e or another RPG game. T...

system-agnostic dice statistics

Hot RPG Questions

7:20 AM

3

Q: As a DM how can I manage a group with different amounts of free time?

I've started playing D&D 5e with a group of friend recently. I'm the DM and there are 4 players. In this time of crisis, one is still working and is only available during weekends and the other 3 (and me) have quite a lot of spare time and are eager to play on a daily basis. Is there a viable...

dnd-5e gm-preparation

BESW

8:35 AM

I don't even know what article to link, just... please Google Zoom security news before you use Zoom, friends.

V2Blast

9:12 AM

@BESW Is there new news since the thing mentioned in the pins?

usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/04/01/…

> Uninvited guests who "zoom-bomb" online gatherings on Zoom have become a big enough problem that the FBI is on the case. Zoom had to update its software to prevent it from sending data from iOS device users to Facebook.

Zoom faces two additional security flaws that could be used to hijack a Zoom user’s Mac computer and access the webcam and microphone. Patrick Wardle, a former NSA hacker who works with Jamf, an Apple enterprise management software firm, revealed the bugs on his blog, first reported by TechCrunch.

> Zoom has other security issues. A flaw identified by Matthew Hickey of cybersecurity firm Hacker House and first reported Wednesday by tech site iTnews could let a hacker get credential data and remotely access Windows computers on corporate networks.

Tech news site Motherboard reported Wednesday that Zoom was sharing the email address and photos of at least thousands of Zoom users who signed up with an email address sharing the same domain.

Pierre Cathé

9:40 AM

Hi all, I haven't been here in a while, hope everyone's safe

BESW

9:59 AM

@PierreCathé [wave] Welcome!

kviiri

11:32 AM

@PierreCathé Hiya, same to you :)

Pierre Cathé

12:00 PM

@kviiri I'm well, thanks, been confined to home for a couple weeks (France) but it's cool, I'm with my family

Hot RPG Questions

3

Q: What are Hero Points in DnD5e

I've just Downloaded an Excel Character Sheet and it has a slot for Hero Points. I have Players Handbook, MM, DMG, SCAG, VGtM, MToF, XGtE and I'm fairly sure it isn't in any of them. Is it Homebrew, or from a different realm, is it just a different name for something I know about or am I just be...

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