TRPG General Chat

12:00 AM

uh

I love Godzilla but I don't really care about him fighting Kong very much

so like, sorta half?

I feel like going from fighting King Ghidora and Rodan with Mothra to,.... fighting Kong alone is a huge de-escalation XD

MikeQ

Spoiler: Godzilla and Kong fight but then realize that both of their mothers are named Martha, so they become friends

2

Ben

They've already got heaps of "additional info" by breaking down the trailer, and even theories as to what's going on.

@trogdor For sure, KoM was Epic, but this is more of a 1v1, no extra power ups, or weird magical abilities, just brain v brawn.

So it's different, not better or worse, imo

@MikeQ I am sensing a "enemy of my enemy is my friend" vibe, which, if that's the case, would be a bit of a wet blanket

MikeQ

Maybe they team up against Mechagodzilla, made by evil corporate cardboard-cutouts as part of some contrived "indomitus rex" scenario

Ben

12:16 AM

@MikeQ Well, the way KoM ended, there would have to be something there.

BESW

I hope it's more KoM than Skull Island, at least. Skull Island's writing was... well, Cold Crash Pictures says "Whenever it wants you to feel something, it just IMITATES something you’ve already seen in some other film." And I have a hard time disagreeing.

Ben

I would agree with that in so far as I feel it was really just a "set up" movie?

"This is Kong. Everyone should know him, but just in case, here he is. We're just gonna leave this here, we're going to be using it again later"

BESW

Yeah, it's another of those "We fundamentally failed to understand how Marvel built its cinematic juggernaut" franchise builders.

Ben

trogdor

12:33 AM

@Ben well it's more than that to me, it used characters in a similar configuration to a Godzilla movie I already really liked

BESW

How to Make a Martha || Zack Snyder, Part 3

►

trogdor

Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah were already in a really good Godzilla movie all together before

I really liked it and I enjoyed that they did a modern movie with all four of those Kaiju in it

Ben

@trogdor I legit read that as "Godzilla, Martha, Rodan and Ghidorah" XD

trogdor

lol

I have nothing specifically against Kong, but he just isn't a major draw for me

I'm not particularly hyped about a movie where Godzilla and Kong fight

I would be way more into it if it was a movie with say, Mechagodzilla in it

Ben

@trogdor Oh yeah, and I do agree that GvK would definitely need to be done right to not end up as a Batman v Superman, and even then, it is a step down. I would actually enjoy it more if they didn't try to make it better.

Do you wanna know something I know?

trogdor

12:39 AM

uh sure

I mean, basically, I'm not saying I won't watch it, but I don't expect to like it nearly as much as the previous movie

Ben

I mean, I don't want to give anything away, but it is in the trailer anyway

@trogdor Yeah for sure

trogdor

I may have just watched that trailer

XD

Ben

trogdor

ok I could go for that

if they pull a Mechagodzilla out of this one it could be good

BESW

12:56 AM

Proposal: an MCU/Monsterverse crossover in which Mechagodzilla is possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance and becomes the new Ghost Rider. Working title, Heckagodzilla.

trogdor

lol

you say that as a joke but there is at least one movie where Mechagodzilla gets possessed by the spirit of the previous dead Godzilla whos bones were used to build it

and then starts destroying Tokyo with the current Godzilla

XD

BESW

It's only a joke because, as a machine, Mechagodzilla should be the Ghost Rider's flaming ride rather than being the Ghost Rider himself.

MikeQ

With the back-and-forth transfer of Spiderman movie rights, can they make a Spiderman vs Godzilla now?

BESW

I'm waiting for the monoplistic accumulation of franchises to spit out Godzilla vs Daleks.

Carcer

I'm sure it's happened in a comic

BESW

1:08 AM

So far as the usually very comprehensive TARDIS wikia knows, it has not happened.

Adeptus

We've seen the Doctor meet dinosaurs at least twice, so... kind of close-ish

once on a spaceship, once in Victorian London

BESW

Mark of the Rani, Doctor Who and the Silurians, Time and the Rani, Earthshock (off-screen), Invasion of the Dinosaurs...

And SO MANY COMICS. [rummages]

Adeptus

I did say at least...

BESW

(That last one is just a promotional photo shoot in the Crystal Palace. If it were really Ace meeting Iguanodons, she'd be blowing them up with Nitro-9.)

Ben

2:38 AM

@BESW Kickstarter

I mean, that's technically how we got Deadpool. Lol

Hot RPG Questions

4:59 AM

1

Q: How much force can the Shape Water cantrip exert?

The Shape Water cantrip never mentions the force it can produce. The only limit I can see is the line: [...] doesn’t have enough force to cause damage. Otherwise there is no limit to the force. Hence, I would assume that it can exert an amount of force not more than to cause damage to the objec...

Ben

6:19 AM

@C.A.Jones [wave]

C. A. Jones

6:37 AM

@Ben Hi!

Ben

How's it going?

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8:24 AM

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Q: Which instrument of the Bards correspond to which Bard college?

The DMG entry for the Instrument of the Bards says: Seven types of these instruments exist, each named after a legendary bard college. Do the colleges mentioned here refer to "Bard college" as in the D&D 5e Bard subclasses? If yes, which college does correspond to which instrument?

dnd-5e lore bard

Thomas Markov

10:45 AM

Need an undelete vote here: rpg.stackexchange.com/q/179939/62294

Hot RPG Questions

10:58 AM

3

Q: Can a Rod of Absorption absorb cantrips?

A Rod of Absorption enables the user to absorb incoming single-target spells as a reaction and store those spell levels for later use: While holding this rod, you can use your reaction to absorb a spell that is targeting only you and not with an area of effect. The absorbed spell's effect is can...

dnd-5e spells magic-items cantrips

AncientSwordRage

12:40 PM

@ThomasMarkov can we get it tidied up first?

I've done a bit, but could still do with another pass

Thomas Markov

12:57 PM

It's still not ready to reopen, I don't think. I'll look it over and get some more comment son there.

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov oh I just noticed it's now ready for reopen and no longer needing undeleting

KorvinStarmast

2:01 PM

@BESW Doesn't that become a Transformers movie somewhere in the middle? 😎

KorvinStarmast

2:19 PM

@MikeQ After the second spiderman movie, they lost me. Didn't like the first one (Toby McGuire/Dunst) much, and it went down hill from there. To me spiderman is still the strip from the 60's and the 70's; it was in the papers every day (in black and white) and in the Sunday comics in color. I do appreciate the efforts to bring it up to date. Just didn't work for me.

The re imaginings of Batman have, for me, been far more satisfactory. An improvement on the Batman and the Boy Wonder - "Holy Birthdaycakes, Batman!" - stuff from what I was first exposed to.

AncientSwordRage

@KorvinStarmast I think my views on batman differ, but that's probably a very political line of discussion that I'm not well read enough to discuss

RevenantBacon

@KorvinStarmast Adam West as Batman was one of the goofiest things I've ever watched, but I think the remake with Christian Bale was very well done. Those and Iron Man are what pulled super-hero movies back into the main stream

KorvinStarmast

2:44 PM

@RevenantBacon I agree. The Bale batman struck a chord with me, as did the Iron Man re-tread. The 60's campy batman (which I saw on TV a few times as a kid) was good fun for kids, but for an adult they were just silly when I watched a few episodes again years later with my kids.

RevenantBacon

@KorvinStarmast shark repellent bat-spray

TylerH

4:08 PM

Well this is exciting news twitter.com/WeisMargaret/status/1353734464724226048

RevenantBacon

@TylerH I am tentatively optimistic. The phrase "a new strong character" sets off warning bells

not because new characters are bad, mind you

TylerH

True, I hope it isn't something just to tick boxes for publishers

RevenantBacon

My concern is that it's usually code for "A new main protagonist that's a woman, and we're going to make a big deal about them being a woman, and if you don't like her, you're sexist"

Hopefully, I am mistaken about the second two thirds of that statement

Because if I am, the first third will be irrelevant

Thomas Markov

That this had to be a legal fight at all is still somewhat upsetting.

TylerH

I think she did alright with Mina in the Amber trilogy (though it has been like a decade since I read that trilogy)

RevenantBacon

4:15 PM

Wait, which one was Mina?

TylerH

link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber_and_Ashes

RevenantBacon

Ah, I don't think I've read that one

TylerH

that was the last set I read of Dragonlance (or any D&D setting book aside from ttrpg D&D books) until last year when I picked up the Drizzt special edition books for Forgotten Realms. Currently going through the 3rd "3 in 1" book now.

KorvinStarmast

4:36 PM

@ThomasMarkov You may want to ask Gary and Dave about how upsetting a legal fight was

My one regret about DL getting new books is: the Return of the Kender. By the time I got done with the first trilogy, I wanted to cast a disintegrate spell on Tass, and all kender in Krynn. It was such a lousy implementation of a hobbit (though I generally enjoyed the books - Tanis and Kit in particular). I like their Darksword Trilogy well enough.

TylerH

4:54 PM

Is Return of the Kender the name of a book/series?

or do you just mean new books means more Kender characters and you dislike the implementation of that race altogether

I enjoyed Tas well enough and feel like the Kender are fairly similar to, say, halflings (at least as R.A. Salvatore has written them over the 7.5 or so books I've read thus far) in Forgotten Realms

as that's clearly the D&D trope... diminutive species, carefree but great at stealth/thievery, typically averse to combat, needs protection/saving oftenbut might save the day in an unexpected situation, etc.

RevenantBacon

@TylerH Almost definitely this. The Kender are widely regarded as one of the most annoying races to have been given life through books. And they're ever worse in any games played in the Dragnlance setting because they literally have to steal from the party.

Carcer

5:15 PM

yeah, they're infamously obnoxious as a concept

AncientSwordRage

6:06 PM

@ThomasMarkov doesn't the thief get to ignore class gubbins, so could also (ab)use Bloodwell Vial?

Thomas Markov

Yeah, but "take 13 levels of rogue" seems like a rather unfeasible solution for a 14th level Artificer.

AncientSwordRage

So the heading in your answer should read "You have found the only way for an artificer to restore the Metamagic Adept SP apart from a long rest."

I read that as "... for anyone ..."

AncientSwordRage

6:25 PM

Thats a good edit

TylerH

@RevenantBacon That sounds like a bad implementation of the book race, but I can understand their obnoxiousness

Thomas Markov

@RevenantBacon Sounds more like my guy syndrome than canon.

TylerH

@ThomasMarkov I do recall from the books Tasslehoff (a kender) constantly apologizing to the main characters in his party for things "accidentally" finding their way into his possession. Almost as if it were an unconscious aspect of being a Kender

But seems like it'd be easy to just... decide not to do that when you are playing a Kender in a TTRPG

I also imagine as D&D5 modules get updated to remove negative race-based traits, if anyone bothers to do a Dragonlance module update, that might be one that gets revisited (or at least I would hope it is).

Medix2

Wait, do you have to be attuned to the vial to regain the sorcerery points?

Thomas Markov

@Medix2 It requires attunement, so yeah

Medix2

6:38 PM

@ThomasMarkov But doesn't that only mean benefits that require you to be attuned are activated? Does 5e not have "you gain these while attuned and these no matter what" magic items?

Thomas Markov

"Without becoming attuned to an item that requires attunement, a creature gains only its nonmagical benefits, unless its description states otherwise."

Medix2

But it does? "While carrying this item"?

I guess that's not all too explicit; I wonder if any item is

Thomas Markov

Regaining sorcery points is a nonmagical benefit?

Medix2

No but the description sorta states otherwise. It doesn't say you need to be attuned to gain the points; only that you need to be carrying it

But now I'm just wondering if any magic item explicitly states otherwise and what that looks like...

Thomas Markov

The rules for attunement state that a description must state that you dont have to be attuned, else all benefits require attunment.

Medix2

6:41 PM

Yes I know; time to google

Thomas Markov

dndbeyond.com/magic-items/spell-gem-amber

"While holding the gem, you can cast the spell from it as an action if you know the spell or if the spell is on your class’s spell list. Doing so doesn’t require any components and doesn’t require attunement."

You have to be attuned to the gem to store spells, but not to cast them from the gem.

Medix2

Ah so it's gotta be really explicit; good

Thomas Markov

This "check the baby's sex" question is getting pretty weird.

TylerH

@ThomasMarkov getting?

NautArch

It's almost like it's generating ideas or something.

RevenantBacon

6:49 PM

@ThomasMarkov A few quotes from the Dragonlance Campaign Setting for D&D

Their propensity to act on impulse at the expense of common sense makes them reckless in dangerous situations
Nothing on Krynn is as dangerous as a bored Kender or as terrifying as hearing a kender say 'oops'
Kender appropriate absolutely anything that catches their eye. Physical boundaries or notions of privacy are both alien concepts to them
Kender cannot keep secrets to save their lives and happily blurt out intensely personal information about themselves or anyone else
Even the threat of imminent demise does not deter kender

Mark Wells

@ThomasMarkov I like this question! I'm proud to be a part of it!

Thomas Markov

@RevenantBacon That's....ill conceived.

Medix2

Sounds like something for a session 0 the second anybody even thinks about playing one

Mark Wells

(I had never considered before that medical clerics would have daylight prepped all the time but it seems so obvious now.)

Thomas Markov

@Medix2 furiously scribbles "kender" right below Aaracokra on my list of banned races

Medix2

6:53 PM

@ThomasMarkov I never really got the Aaracokra ban... I have always found it refreshingly easy to plan around them

Thomas Markov

@MarkWells Welcome to the Waterdeep University School of Obstetric Arcanology.

Medix2

I think about this question's many frame challeges a lot

RevenantBacon

@ThomasMarkov It gets worse, somewhere, there's a chart to roll on for what you just stole from the party

TylerH

That's sounding more and more like sloppy campaign guide design.

Mark Wells

Kender were notoriously awful in the 2e era. There's a whole family of early memes about how much everyone hates kender.

TylerH

7:02 PM

I'm bummed to see Margaret as an author there with a description like that but I'm sure there's a lot more going into it than just that... and I'm also sure she was probably more of a source consultant than a rules writer.

I do feel better knowing that guide is for 3.5 though, and not for 5

Medix2

@ThomasMarkov I debate close voting...

Thomas Markov

100% we should preemptively protect it because it is fertile (heh) ground for witch doctor bots.

RevenantBacon

They were originally written in the OG 1e era, where inter-party conflicts were considered the norm

Medix2

@ThomasMarkov Depends who you ask on that one; I know somewhere there's a Meta answer about "pre-emptive protection is the worst idea ever"

Thomas Markov

@RevenantBacon The same era where the guidance for DMs was basically, "You are god. Your players are your pawns. Do with them as you wish"

@Medix2 Maybe, but did they consider questions with sensitive topics and keywords about fertility and childbirth in the question and every answer?

RevenantBacon

7:08 PM

@ThomasMarkov Yep, that's pretty much my point.

Someone_Evil

Huh, how has that question not hit the HNQ?

RevenantBacon

All in all, not really a great era

Thomas Markov

@Someone_Evil I would have thought it hit it as soon as it aged 8 hours

Medix2

@Someone_Evil It only has 280 views if that means anything

TylerH

@Someone_Evil The baby one? If so, it has (that's how I found it first)

Thomas Markov

7:10 PM

It is not presently a HNQ

Someone_Evil

@TylerH It is not marked as having hit it

Thomas Markov

rpg.stackexchange.com/posts/179952/timeline

Does not appear on the timeline.

TylerH

Hmm, I must have it from a related questions list then; same general location on the page

KorvinStarmast

@Someone_Evil How do you tell someone "Sorry, you are wrong?" - I am trying to be gracious, but I may not have pulled it off. Comments under my answer on figuring out the foetus's gender with magic mouth.

Medix2

@KorvinStarmast I will say; the spell being able to determine effectively anything is... interesting

NautArch

7:17 PM

@KorvinStarmast full cover isn't an issue there?

KorvinStarmast

@Medix2 Yes; there are virtually no limits. Check out the linked GiTP thread to see how far the shennanigans can go.

Medix2

> The triggering circumstance can be as general or as detailed as you like, though it must be based on visual or audible conditions that occur within 30 feet of the object.

NautArch

@Medix2 That doesn't seem like a fetus is a viable trigger.

Neither audible nor visual.

MikeQ

Don't we already have a Q&A that establishes that D&D doesn't really handle pregnancy, so it's more up to the group to decide what works for them rather than relying on the built-in mechanics of a combat game?

NautArch

@MikeQ I thought we agreed to forget about that question :P

KorvinStarmast

7:18 PM

@NautArch No, it isn't. The caster has to see the object the spell is cast on. Any other condition. "If a lady who is pregnant with a baby girl walks by" is a condition that can be met.

Mark Wells

@KorvinStarmast I don't buy this "no limits" reasoning. There are no stated limits.

Thomas Markov

@MikeQ Maybe, but pregancy really isnt the issue here. This question is just "how can I use magic to check the box for Schroedinger's cat?"

Mark Wells

(the fact that there's a GiTP thread on this is, if anything, evidence against it)

Thomas Markov

@KorvinStarmast Half that condition is neither visual nor audible.

KorvinStarmast

@ThomasMarkov Irrelevant.

Thomas Markov

7:19 PM

@KorvinStarmast I think its highly relevant since the spell requires it.

Someone_Evil

@MikeQ Like this one: Are there any magical contraceptive birth control options available??

Medix2

I literally quoted why it is relevant

KorvinStarmast

@ThomasMarkov No, it does not. You are free to disagree.

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