TRPG General Chat

Miniman

05:01

@BESW Hmmm....Maybe they're meant to be used as a divination tool? Throw a bunch on to a surface and see what word they spell.

Pixie

@trogdor Yes, sorry. This was a Mutants & Masterminds game with my usual group, and Skype is bad at things, so I evidently have a huge chunk of logs missing in the middle of my chat. It was in the room I thought it was in. xD

trogdor

ah ok

BESW

@Miniman ...divination for cats. MEW MEW EEM WEM MEW.

trogdor

I was confused about it because the room is labeled, and I also went back and read it because I wasn't here to try it out

seemed like an easy problem to fix XD

Miniman

@BESW "You will throw up because M&Ms are bad for cats" ?

doppelgreener

05:04

@BESW Haha, I like this one.

trogdor

@BESW you forgot MEE

Pixie

@trogdor I can understand the confusion, definitely. I honestly forget that people are calling that Maids & Mares because I just call it Pony Maid. ... in part because when someone says M&M, I think Mutants & Masterminds. :P

trogdor

I can understand that

I never played the original Maids, so my mindset isn't there

doppelgreener

@Miniman well you'd have digestive problems if you ate the divination bones, too

BESW

@doppelgreener As not-a-cat you're probably less likely to eat your divination tools, though.

Pixie

05:07

Especially if you're used to kibble reading.

doppelgreener

@BESW Hahaha, that is true

BESW

Kibble's kinda salty.

At least, the kind I ate was.

trogdor

I imagine most of it is similar

but I have not taste tested any so that is just a guess

:P

BESW

Well, I'm pretty sure I had the cheap stuff.

Pixie

I have never been brave enough to attempt it, although sometimes I mistake boxes of wet food pouches for human food briefly until I examine them more closely. Our cats get fancy food... =w=

trogdor

05:11

ours get the cheap stuff,.. my dad is the one buying for them and all he cares about is that they don't starve XD

BESW

I grew up with kids who'd fill their pockets with kibble for snacks while we were out playing in the boonies.

It would have been impolite not to share.

Pixie

Some of ours suffer intensely if they eat the cheap stuff, unfortunately.

doppelgreener

@Pixie Sounds like people!

Pixie

Heh!

trogdor

mine are boonie cats, they love the cheap stuff

Pixie

05:12

There is throwing up of blood here.

trogdor

I think we even offered them some fancy stuff a few times and they snubbed it XD

@Pixie ouhg

that certainly isn't cool

doppelgreener

@Pixie Wow dang ok not so much like people ;_;

Pixie

Peanut is veeery sensitive (allergies, IBS, thyroid issues simultaneously).

The ones who stay in my room are not as bad, but they just cannot keep certain things down.

Adeptus

Our cat was quite picky. If we didn't give her enough variety in flavours, she'd be "I'm not eating that again, I had it yesterday!"

doppelgreener

@Pixie Why would you name a cat with allergies Peanut

I hope it is unrelated!

Pixie

05:15

@Adeptus We have eight (my mother is a cat lady), so it tends to work out that half of them decide not to eat their wet food (they have dry also) and the other half eat everyone else's.

@doppelgreener I did not want to name her Peanut. :I (We also did not know at the time. xD)

doppelgreener

@Pixie Oh XD Alright

Pixie

She was a stray kitten my mom found near her work, and she had brown eyes that made my mom think of peanuts and ice cream sundaes. xD

trogdor

my cats are Chairman Meow and Madam Meow,... in my defence I had no say in us even having cats

Pixie

We have... [deep sigh]

Adeptus

unfortunately we had to put ours down after easter. She went suddenly blind & her back legs kept going wobbly. We think she had a stroke or something. (She was very old - 22 years)

doppelgreener

05:18

@trogdor Do they have a meow council

Pixie

@Adeptus Aww, yeah. That is very old for a kitty.

doppelgreener

Aw T_T

trogdor

@doppelgreener they do not

Adeptus

She was a Devon Rex too, which tend to live shorter than moggies

BESW

....one of my friends has a cat named Pancake.

Pixie

05:18

Shadow, Baby (whom I have called Bat off and on as I found Baby too plain but I have given in), Mama (ditto, I have called this cat Eris but lost that battle), Peanut, Prince, Asteroid, Lolita, and George.

doppelgreener

@trogdor ... I'm suddenly remembering Secret Lives of Cats, and now I am sure they do, only none of us would know it.

trogdor

@doppelgreener our cats don't even go outside anymore

doppelgreener

@Pixie You have a cat named Asteroid!!

I am excited about this name.

Miniman

@Pixie If you can teach Asteroid to play Asteroids you win a million internets.

trogdor

one of our friends who cat sat for us fed a stray because she didn't know any better

doppelgreener

05:19

Also did the name Lolita have anything to do with you? :P

trogdor

now that stray hangs out outside our house and bullies our cats

Pixie

@doppelgreener We didn't name her, but it is my favorite. She came from the shelter. They spelled it Astroid like the math thing but I have rebelled against it. And, surprisingly, no! My sister named her Lolita thinking "it sounded like a name that you would like." xD

trogdor

they smell him out there and don't want to go outside anymore

Pixie

She didn't really know about the fashion or the book, though, and was like TwT when she realized the book existed...

doppelgreener

@Pixie I have now learned there is a mathematical thing called an astroid. And d'awww, so thoughtful XD

Pixie

05:28

@doppelgreener I didn't know before we got her. :P

We were like, "Maybe they meant to spell it that way, but she's basically as big as an asteroid, so... Asteroid."

doppelgreener

Ha! Fat cat?

Pixie

She's heavily Persian. SO FLUFFY. And now she's fat on top of that, but it was just fluff when we got her. :P

Miniman

I have this image of a giant Persian hurtling through space now.

Pixie

doppelgreener

the internet was ready for this

BESW

05:34

doppelgreener

it's true

BESW

doppelgreener

@BESW adorable!

aaa

today has too much cute going on in it XD

BESW

...I can fix that.

doppelgreener

no this is not a problem that needs fixing! haha

trogdor

05:41

I don't like the way you said that XD

BESW

Are you sure? I've got it right here.

Nyoze

Too much cute is never a problem, only the solution :)

BESW

BTW, @trogdor, if you wanted to drop by this afternoon/evening, it wouldn't be taken amiss.

trogdor

@BESW ok

sounds good to me honestly

doppelgreener

@BESW is it creepy / horrifying

trogdor

05:49

I need an hour or two, but I will most likely take you up on that later

BESW

@doppelgreener ...it's a cat. Have you read Transmetropolitan?

doppelgreener

@BESW I haven't

WAIT

YES, I have. It's great. Disregard the lies just prior.

BESW

Then here, have a Cat.

doppelgreener

It's been a while though.

@BESW That cat is still adorable. Even if it's messed up.

BESW

It is not, however, cute.

Nyoze

05:59

I want this cat...

trogdor

@BESW it is scary, but will die early of cancer because it is a smoking cat

sooo

Nyoze

I want to love him and pet him and squeeze him and call him george :)

Sandwich

If no one answers my question before the bounty runs out does it roll back into my reputation?

trogdor

@Sandwich yes, as I understand it

you are only wagering that rep to get someone to answer, it kinda defeats the purpose to take your rep away if no one works to get the bounty from you

BESW

> If you do not award the bounty within 24 hours of the bounty period ending, half the bounty value will be automatically awarded to the top voted answer posted after the bounty start, provided it has a score of at least 2. If no new answer matches this requirement, no reputation will be awarded at all, and the reputation used on the bounty will be lost forever. (source)

trogdor

06:05

ah ok

that makes some sense too

it just goes away? that seems,... off to me

BESW

> Please note that once a bounty is started, the reputation is non-refundable under any circumstances.

@trogdor Here, have some meta on the subject.

trogdor

@BESW thanks

ok I see

it is so you don't cheat the featured tab

I can fully understand that

perhaps if we had 2 different types of bounties,.... but I understand that would at the very least be some real work for mods and such

BESW

> It's always a trap! When an ambush or trap is revealed during a scene you're in, regardless of how it's discovered, you immediately gain the boost Locked & loaded.

doppelgreener

@trogdor yes, and so you get absolutely no benefit out of not awarding a bounty

so you put those points on the line, and you might as well hand them out 'cause they're not yours to keep anymore

(* you don't get the points back if you give it to one of your own answers, either)

trogdor

like, if we were to implement it (which again I stress I am not in any way pushing for because I am sure it would be complicated at the least) we could have like, these normal bounties and then a lighter bounty that is actually like, refundable (still not if you answer it though, probably)

doppelgreener

06:15

@BESW Boost should be Saw it coming or alternately I saw what you were going to do there (subtle meme reference! meme double-up!)

unless being metaphorically locked and loaded is fine!

BESW

@doppelgreener I think more specific is better.

Locked & loaded, even metaphorically, means your approach to ambushes is offensive rather than defensive.

doppelgreener

@BESW Oh, sounds good :D

BESW

It's hard to spend Locked & loaded on defence against a surprise attack--that's not the point. The point is to make the surprise attack sorry it happened.

doppelgreener

@trogdor a bounty lighter than 50 rep is probably not worth acting on

trogdor

@doppelgreener what I mean by light is actually that it would not pop up on the featured tab

it would literally just be a rep bounty

and I understand that that is not exceptionally helpful to the question being bountied

I am just sorta thinking out loud on this thing

it is by no means like, an actual suggestion for the site to do something

for all the reasons I have mentioned and most likely more I have not even thought of

Sandwich

06:35

Oh man todays Theyetee tee shirt copies the AD&D Sourcebook

I love this

"Airships & Summons Players Manual"

Nyoze

@Sandwich Thanks, bookmared :D

Sandwich

The shirt is only available for 1 day though

Nyoze

Yeah, just like TeeFury.

Sandwich

07:03

@doppelgreener is going to be outraged

I created two tags to post this question

Nyoze

I saw that :o

I almost wanted to comment saying off-topic, but I'm not really sure if it is.

It's not technically about RPGs, but at the same time, it is.

Sandwich

5k more rep till I get mod tools access!

doppelgreener

@Sandwich I'm not outraged, that's fine

boop, dice added

Sandwich

I have a feeling this is going to be my highest rated question

BESW

I'm not sure loaded-dice is a necessary tag separate from dice, but we'll let the folksonomy sort it out.

Sandwich

07:09

Loaded-dice is totally different :O

doppelgreener

it is an area of expertise of sorts

Sandwich

If you had someone roll 4d6 would you want them to be loaded-dice or dice

doppelgreener

dice cheating make a lot of sense alone

but i agree with BESW, I'm not going to dive in to remove either

Sandwich

I found this while I was doing research for the question

Nyoze

Tag-synonym :)

Sandwich

07:11

amazon.com/Koplow-Games-01703-Character-Builder/dp/B001N1JIU8

Nyoze

Dress up your look but stay flat on your feet in the Qupid Ramsey-01 wedge. This pointy toe slingback flat has sophisticated feminine charm.

... What?

Sandwich

Except Amazon messed up the description for the dice

Nyoze

Yeah. That's what I was thinking. Good job Amazon.

Sandwich

That's the description for a womens shoe

I wonder what description the shoe has

Nyoze

amazon.com/Qupid-Ramsey-01-Pointy-Office-Fuchsia/dp/B008BI7AQK/…

Nothing, it's empty.

doppelgreener

07:14

Ha!

Nyoze

Those dice are cheaters all right!

doppelgreener

I can't say no to dice with pointed toes and adjustable buckles

Sandwich

For a second I was like "That seems like a strange way to carry dice..."

Jimmy reaches into his tennis shoe and pulls out a set of translucent Chessex dice. "Roll for Initiative!"

BESW

@Sandwich Hey, it worked for Sherlock and his opium.

I'm going to try that salt-water-and-dice thing.

Nyoze

I would try, but... I don't have any loaded dice to test.

Sandwich

07:17

Pfff

You probably own a couple Nyoze

BESW

I have dice that do roll consistently high or low, and I have both regular and epsom salts.

Nyoze

@Sandwich I actually don't own a single D20 :O

I have a couple of D6's from monopoly floating around the house, but that's it.

BESW

My tapwater is very hard, but that shouldn't influence it too much.

Sandwich

@BESW Just remember that cold water is more dense than warm water

Looking forward to seeing the results of your test

Tape it

So I can watch it on the youtubes

BESW

Hahah no.

Sandwich

07:21

Dang

I wanted to see what your dice look like

Mine are made of black ribbon-plastic

BESW

Sandwich

Looks like you're gonna be up all night

doppelgreener

I don't think he's going to be testing all of them.

Sandwich

Well if you're gonna do the test once you might as well do it 100 times

..or more.

Nyoze

That's a lot of dice...

Sandwich

07:24

I have about thirty dice

I'm assuming that the small fireball-dice would be the easiest to test

Because you can just pour them into the cup

doppelgreener

But then they'd go out

BESW

So, the first thing I can say is, bring ALL your salt.

Sandwich

@BESW Dang

BESW

I dunno if my dice are freakishly heavy or what.

But I've put in salt until I can't see the bottom of the cup through the brackish water, and they ain't floatin'.

My Fate dice don't float either.

Sandwich

You might have to heat up the solution and actually dissolve the salt into the water

BESW

07:33

Wait, no, the solid one floats!

....barely.

Sandwich

Adding salt to warm water and stirring "might" be sufficient

But I doubt it

BESW

Mmm. Look at his water.

Sandwich

Just to be sure I'd probably boil the water first

BESW

Microwaving the salt water while commencing sub-operation Ow Ow I Didn't Know I Had A Cut On My Finger.

Sandwich

Lol

Nyoze

07:37

Ow :\

At least you know it's clean :)

Adeptus

> When I said salt water let me clarify I used room temp water with a ton of salt. I used a little more than 1/3 cup of water but I had about 6+ table spoons of water. Heavier dice might take more to float.

(from the video's comments)

BESW

So, at "the dice are hot when I take 'em out" temperatures of water, with enough salt that it's precipitating out... still no floaty.

I could add more salt, but--it's precipitating out.

doppelgreener

I'm gonna guess that second one was tablespoons of salt

Adeptus

Next step, bottled water?

BESW

Next step, epsom salts.

Nyoze

07:43

I just tried to read Maths.SE and Stats.SE tests for loaded dice. I couldn't.

Oh, that's interesting...

@Sandwich @BESW Most dice that are unbalanced will reveal their nature if you drop them in a glass of water. Loaded dice will turn over as they sink and come to rest with the loaded side down. Floaters, or dice that lighten one side will usually float, hence their name. A balanced die will sink without turning. The taller the water column through which the die sinks, the more reliable the test.

BESW

I'll try that next.

Epsom salts... let my other kind of Fudge die float.

d20s are still stubbornly bottom-dwelling.

Sandwich

Hot water is less dense than cold water

Throw your other solution in the freezer

It wont freeze because of the salt concentration

BESW

mmm. trying it, but room temp with ALL THE SALT doesn't do a thing.

doppelgreener

Do not actually throw it, it will make a mess

Place it carefully in a stable position

BESW

Thank you for your wisdom born of experience.

Sandwich

07:55

The water in the video doesnt seem to be smoking

doppelgreener

You are welcome

Sandwich

So you can assume its either room temp or cold

BESW

Would "A Stable Position" be a good name for a band?

Nyoze

No more so then "Carefully in a Stable"

BESW

I was thinking they might be a One Direction imitation.

So, dropping a die into a foot-tall carafe just makes it bounce.

Nyoze

07:59

Does it tumble on the way down, or is it stable?

BESW

It's almost impossible to let it go perfectly.

Sandwich

What happens if you let the dice go while they're submerged?

Nyoze

If it's skewed, it shouldn't matter. It should stablise itself on the way down. A fair dice should tumble all the way.

BESW

@Nyoze That's exactly what you didn't say earlier.

Nyoze

Oh hang on.

A balanced die will sink without turning. You're right... That is exactly the opposite of what I would expect.

doppelgreener

08:02

It is not important whether it turns or not.

Nyoze

Ignore me, continue with your experiments, I'm off to google again.

BESW

I think what's meant is that a balanced die will not change its movement pattern on the way down.

Sandwich

I think @BESW Should get some water from the ocean and retest

The ocean is hella salt and hella dense

BESW

It's also hella not coming anywhere near the cut on my finger.

doppelgreener

What is important is whether it turns in a regular fashion, probably. If it rolls, fine. If it seems to right itself somehow, and go against its own momentum, that would indicate other factors are at play.

Sandwich

08:03

The video states that injection molded opaque dice from chessex suffer from the problem more than any

doppelgreener

The question though is whether such factors are important enough to influence its movement significantly in water.

Sandwich

In the video when he cracks it open it looks like the beads inside the die didn't even melt except on the outside

BESW

One problem--I don't have any translucent/parent d20s.

My dice are mostly hand-me-downs and gifts from friends, especially the d20s.

doppelgreener

Conclusion seems to be it does not work in general. Whether it works for specific types of dice is another matter.

Sandwich

Maybe you can use both types of salt

To create a SUPER DENSE SOLUTION RAAAGH

Or you could use uh

Vegetable oil or something

BESW

08:07

I do have some probably-gone-bad coconut oil.

If that doesn't float dice, nothing will.

But I kinda don't want to sink my dice in rancid coconut oil.

Sandwich

engineeringtoolbox.com/liquids-densities-d_743.html

BESW

Mail me some of yours.

Okay, trying the cold salt water now.

Sandwich

I was under the impression that a liquid had to be more dense to float things in it

Oh right

Oil floats ontop of water

So its less dense

Nevermind, disregard

BESW

M'rr.

No floaty dice.

Sandwich

Grrr

Screw you Engineering toolbox

What kind of modern site doesn't allow you to sort by a column

Oh!

Syrup!

Syrup is dense!

It also doesn't smell like old coconut oil

BESW

08:18

...the closest stuff I have to syrup is molasses and honey, and neither of those is gonna work (and they're expensive).

Mail me some syrup.

Sandwich

Molasses is dense

And you can reuse it

BESW

0

A: Is the Saltwater Float represented in this question a good way to test for loaded dice?

I tried this, and the dice didn't float. I dissolved salt into heated water until it was precipitating out, and none of my D&D polyhedrons floated. I don't have any translucent ones, but it sounds like the solid ones are the most buggy. The only kind of dice that did float were my Fudge dice fro...

Sandwich

Just wash the dice first, test them and then put the molasses back

This is about SCIENCE NOW SON

BESW

Nope. You asked the wrong question.

You asked a "yes/no?" question, rather than a "how do I?" question.

I've answered your question as best I can: Nope, that doesn't seem like a reliable way to check for weighted dice.

Hahahno. "Bonus point" questions tacked onto the end of a yes/no aren't cool. Ask a separate question.

Sandwich

Hmm

That video included instructions

1. I put the water in a small jam jar
2. dumped 2 tablespoons of epson salt into the water, put the lid on it and shook it till it dissolved
3. dumped 2 more tablespoons of epson salt into the water and put the lid on it and shook it till it dissolved.
4. Added the last 2 tablespoons of epson salt, microwaved the water on high floor 30 seconds.
5. Put the lid on it and shook it till it dissolved(use a dish towl to hold this, it is hot at this point)
6. Once dissolved i set the closed container in a cold water bath until it cooled back down to a little cooler than room temp.

BESW

08:24

...ahah. I see that now.

Sandwich

So it seems like the Epson salt was right

But it wasn't done correctly I guess

BESW

If I have the time and energy and can find a jar like that, I might try it later.

Sandwich

You could use a mason jar

Or just use a regular jar and a coaster

BESW

I'm well aware of the sort of jar I could use.

It's finding one that's not in use that's the issue.

We don't exactly have a shelf of empty mason jars sitting around.

Sandwich

1/4 cup water and 6 tablespoons of Epson salt

That's a super-concentrated solution

MrLemon

08:33

G'Morning

Never mind the mason jars, but why do you have Epsom Salt lying around?

BESW

For soaking my chronic ingrown toenail.

Ask Lovecraft invites Carl Sagan from beyond the grave to comment on the New Horizons project.

Nyoze

@Sandwich Beat the loaded dice - Roll your dice with this

Sandwich

Oooooh

BESW

I made this single page dice tower out of corrugated cardboard.

I strongly suggest making the accompanying corral, as they come shooting out very fast.

Sandwich

I wonder if firing the dice out of a dice gun would improve random rolls

BESW

08:38

"The biggest piece with a recognisable number is the result of your 'roll.'"

Nyoze

No recognisable number? You rolled a zero and you don't get to roll again, period.

MrLemon

Out of dice? Your character is now unable to perform any action requiring a die roll.

Sandwich

That would make D&D Arguably more fun though

MrLemon

Incidentally, this does not affect PF witches.

Sandwich

It would require a lot of dice however

Nyoze

08:45

@Sandwich Wait until your players start shooting the dice at you, then tell me that again.

Sandwich

"Hey don't blame me for the result of your dice gun"

Nyoze

Nerf Dice rolling - Each limb is worth a number.

Sandwich

goo.gl/i9aBur

Ooooooh

doppelgreener

> 5 in 1 Precision Aluminum Alloy Solid Metal Dice Poker Party Game Toy Portable Dice Man Boyfriend Gift

that is some title

Sandwich

Yeah I was looking at that

Nyoze

08:48

amazon.com/Solid-Zinc-Alloy-Metal-Dice/dp/B00TERLH48/…

Those are prettier.

Sandwich

I want dice made out of gallium now

With a mold

Nyoze

Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some species are informally known as bedstraw.

Sandwich

So I can actually make them back into dice

Nyoze

How do you make dice from a plant?

Sandwich

Gallium

Gallium is a chemical element with symbol Ga and atomic number 31. Elemental gallium does not occur in free form in nature, but as the gallium(III) compounds that are in trace amounts in zinc ores and in bauxite. Gallium is a soft, silvery metal, and elemental gallium is a brittle solid at low temperatures, and melts at 29.76 °C (85.57 °F) (slightly above room temperature). The melting point of gallium is used as a temperature reference point. The alloy galinstan (68.5% gallium, 21.5% indium, and 10% tin) has an even lower melting point of −19 °C (−2 °F), well below the freezing point of water...

doppelgreener

08:50

Pick them up and they'll melt in your hand. :D

Leave them out of the fridge on a warm day and you'll never see them again.

(just the pool of liquid they've become)

Bismuth

Bismuth is a chemical element with symbol Bi and atomic number 83. Bismuth, a pentavalent post-transition metal, chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. Elemental bismuth may occur naturally, although its sulfide and oxide form important commercial ores. The free element is 86% as dense as lead. It is a brittle metal with a silvery white color when freshly produced, but is often seen in air with a pink tinge owing to surface oxidation. Bismuth is the most naturally diamagnetic element, and has one of the lowest values of thermal conductivity among metals. Bismuth metal has been known from ancient...

What about carefully grown Bismuth dice?