TRPG General Chat

Shalvenay

12:00 AM

@Rubiksmoose ah. I generally do short-form stuff although I have a mini-campaign in the works, just need to find a suitable playergroup to be my first set of guinea pigs for it

Rubiksmoose

@Shalvenay I do love short stuff and one-shots

Shalvenay

@Rubiksmoose yeah, bite-sized stuff can be quite fun :)

my issue with campaigns so far has been organizing

BESW

Party Of One is a really interesting concept for an Actual Play: a self-contained one shot with 1 GM and 1 Player. This session features Monster Of The Week! Check it out: https://twitter.com/PartyOfOnePod/status/951097749713379329

Tweeted by EvilHatOfficial on January 10, 2018 at 3:09 PM

tryin to make heads or tails of blades in the dark because i still wanna play crispin but there's no bard class equivalent

Tweeted by corruptedgem on January 10, 2018 at 3:17 AM

Rubiksmoose

@Shalvenay Yeah I'm lucky to have a very tenacious group

Shalvenay

@Rubiksmoose I find myself drawing players from several circles, if you will, and often developing adventures/campaigns not with a specific group in mind per se, but wanting to try them on several groups to see a breadth of reactions to them

BESW

12:09 AM

> Crunchy snack. You have armor:4 against physical attacks, but can be compelled because you're just so tasty.

Rubiksmoose

@Shalvenay thats a neat way to do it!

BESW

> Pointy. When you take a consequence from a melee physical attack, the attacker must spend a fate point or fill their lowest available consequence slot with an aspect representing how they had to get up close and personal with your spiky and pointy exoskeleton.

> Camouflage skin. You can use Physique instead of Stealth to create advantages by hiding. You get +2 when doing so, but aspects created this way only work in the zone where you created them.

BESW

1:27 AM

@kviiri I'd like to take a moment and thank you for your contributions on the meta side of the site. It's appreciated.

BESW

1:38 AM

Cephalopod Cognition would be a good name for a band, or possibly an Eclipse Phase adventure.

Big news, doggos fans! I'm excited to announce that DnDoggos is now on PATREON! You can directly support the creation of the comic by becoming a patron and get some exclusive rewards! https://www.patreon.com/dndoggos

Tweeted by dndoggos on January 10, 2018 at 5:27 PM

I think I have a new NPC:

@UrsulaV @ksonney Leave it to Ursula to find a dentist who moonlights as a clothier to poultry.

Tweeted by edschweppe on January 10, 2018 at 5:44 PM in reply to UrsulaV

@trogdor It's not a dragon, but it's dragon-adjacent:

I made...a kobold barbarian....

Tweeted by trisketched on January 10, 2018 at 1:32 AM

BESW

2:32 AM

Typo of the day: "The X-Foils."

BESW

3:14 AM

Giant extinct burrowing bat discovered in South Island https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/100478460/giant-extinct-burrowing-bat-discovered-in-south-island

Tweeted by TomHoltzPaleo on January 10, 2018 at 1:37 PM

Ben

3:29 AM

Setting up databases.... such an involved process...

ATaco

Thunderwave Forcefully tosses objects around the room when cast in 5e, so you could theoretically save a casting of it to use as a reaction when an arrow is fired at you to deflect it.

BESW

I'm not familiar enough with 5e, but in all the D&D I do know, a reactionary action happens after the triggering action completes.

You'd need an interrupting action, which are usually much harder to come by.

ATaco

I believe the Warcaster feat lets you interrupt.

Oh, that's just a spell attack of opportunity, not a generic reaction.

Hmm, I still think there might be away to blast away arrows should one try hard enough.

Ben

@BESW Though, that would be different to a Held Action?

BESW

@Ben Depends on the specific context.

ATaco

3:38 AM

Reactions, unless timing is otherwise specified, happen after the triggering action.

Miniman

@Ben For example, there are lots of reactions that happen when something attacks, but the Shield spell actually interrupts the attack and affects the outcome.

ATaco

You could say "When a bow is fired", but Thunderwave takes 6 seconds to cast, so it's unlikely that will be fast enough.

@Miniman That does have a specific timing associated however.

Ben

So, in this example, if you held your action to cast Thunderwave, then someone fires an arrow, you could cast Thunderwave to interrupt that action, yes?

Miniman

@ATaco That's my point, yeah.

BESW

> Stop hitting yourself. Once per scene you can turn a ranged attack back on the attacker and force them to defend against their own action.

Miniman

3:39 AM

@ATaco When you Ready a spell, you cast it at that time, and just don't release it until the trigger.

ATaco

In this example you can't, because the bow is fired, then it takes 6 seconds for your thunderwave to cast, (1 action), so it could not interrupt successfully.

Ben

@ATaco Well, lets avoid going into the debate on exactly how a round is actually panned out in real time XD

ATaco

Oh, you're correct. It does ready it until you want to use it.

So theoretically you could say "When a bow is fired", and then instantly thunderwave.

Miniman

@Ben You can't hold an action, remember, you can only Ready one with a specific trigger. So if you can come up with a perceivable trigger that your DM accepts allows you to Thunderwave while the arrow is mid-flight, yes.

ATaco

Arrows move slower than sound and light, so if you're perceptive enough, you should be able to thunderwave faster than the arrow can hit you.

Just be careful not to thunderwave your own rogue's arrow.

Miniman

3:42 AM

But what BESW was saying was that, in general, reactions (which includes readied actions) happen after their triggers, not during. So a Readied action to Thunderwave when an attack is made with a ranged weapon, for example, would only Thunderwave after the arrow had already hit or missed anyway.

@ATaco I mean, assuming your DM accepts that you can react to the arrow being in flight, yes.

ATaco

Depending on the DM of course, you might get away with being triggered on the sound / sight of a bow firing ,with some potentially difficult skill checks required. All to parry one arrow.

BESW

5e is a bit more narrative than 3.5 or 4e, so a narrative trigger like "a bow is fired" has a little more leeway? But mechanically, actions tend to be indivisible unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Ben

@Miniman Without going into real world physics, I'd say the time it takes for an arrow to reach its target over a 30ft distance would at least be a few seconds, so that's ample time to release a prepared spell.

ATaco

All of this at the cost of, atleast a level 1 spell slot, potentially wasting it if no-one shoots you, potentially hitting your allies because 15ft cube, potentially failing anyway because it's an arrow and hard to see coming and looking pretty stupid.

Ben

@Miniman And forgive my ignorance, but in my mind "Held" and "Readied" are in this context the same, in my mind?

ATaco

3:47 AM

You might have more luck parrying a thrown weapon...

Ben

@ATaco Honestly, that's reminding me of someone that couldn't control their Psyker surges

BESW

> Freakout. Once per session you can ignore a ranged attack and attack everyone in your zone with Will instead.

Miniman

@Ben Well, "held" isn't a defined term in 5e, but generally when I hear people asking if they can hold their actions, what they want to do is what 3.5 called delay, not ready.

ATaco

In our group, we use held and ready'd interchangeably, as there's no way to delay an action.

Miniman

And as much as I miss them, delayed actions are decidedly not a thing in 5e, so I like to make sure everyone's on the same page with ready.

ATaco

3:50 AM

I often have difficulties deciding what i want to do, but don't want to waste my action, which makes not being able to delay sad.

My fallback favourite is however "I want to hammer them if they get in range" to which the normal response is, "This creature has a 10ft range"

Miniman

Yeah, I don't see why they removed it, honestly. Other than a general desire to ~~limit tactical options~~ simplify the game.

Ben

@Miniman Ok, yeah I follow that logic. I suppose since I haven't played 3.5 to any real extent (effectively 3 sessions in total) that leads to the interchangeability of those two

ATaco

Flail Snail > Crag Stonecrusher.

Ben

@Miniman well... there's no real reason to not bring it back in if the group allows it, no?

ATaco

Of course, because Homebrew.

Ben

3:54 AM

In homebrew, everyone can win

ATaco

I don't mind not having it, because having a consistent time among everyone allows some sense that it's all happening at the same time, rather than each player doing something for six seconds, then waiting politely for all their enemies to bash their skulls in.

It still feels that way regardless, but less so...

BESW

> Flail Snail. Your flail attacks have weapon:2 and once per scene you can re-roll an attack for free, but you can be compelled for being late to arrive or leave when speed is a factor.

Miniman

@Ben I mean, potentially. But my group doesn't tend to create houserules, and I don't miss them enough to push for it.

ATaco

Even though i was KO'd by the Flail-Snail, we won out, and now we have a magic shell and soon to be anti-magic shield.

Ben

@Miniman Sounds like a question to be put to @daze :D

ATaco

3:57 AM

The DM is continuously surprised by how often our group first asks "Maybe this is a FRIENDLY evil monster"

Ben

@ATaco Well, you never know.

Shalvenay

@ATaco heheh. didn't turn it into escargot while you were at it, eh?

Ben

Honestly in our last game, we ran into a bunch of Snake ppl. Even though They reached fro their swords, I still think that I jumped the gun by throwing slugs at them and hacking them up with my Greatsword.

ATaco

The first goblin we found was impartial to us, and we traded it for a magic ring. So you never know.

Shalvenay

@Ben you wake up to find a naga snuggled up to you

Miniman

4:03 AM

@Ben Technically that would be jumping the slug, wouldn't it?

Ben

lol

nitsua60

@Miniman My understanding was a general preference for combat to pass in O(n) time rather than O(n^2) time.

Ben

@nitsua60 and for those of us that repressed anything algebraic since 2007?

:P

nitsua60

If on each turn only one player has to make decisions then the time combat takes scales linearly with the number of participants. If on each turn every player has to make decisions, then the time combat takes scales quadratically with the number of participants. It's my vague memory that with the basic combat mechanics of D&DNext worked out there was a lotta A/B testing of some standardized scenarios with "delay" present or absent.

And "delay" lost out.

BESW

[amused]

nitsua60

4:17 AM

(Obviously with the existence of reactions the 5e situation is a little bit superlinear, and if we assume not everyone delays every turn then delay_enabled is a bit subquadratic, but the gist is there.)

Ben

So, what you're getting at is the problem is that if Miniman decides to delay, but then I decide well, I want to see what he's doing, so I'll delay, etc and so on...?

BESW

One of the things I really liked about 4e was that it was possible to have most of your character's decisions and actions take place during other peoples' turns, if you wanted.

And yes, it took a lot of time, but that wasn't because players made decisions every turn instead of just on their own.

nitsua60

@Ben Not so much that as if two people delay and turn 3 comes, now three people are actively evaluating the situation and deciding what to do. Only player 3 acts, though, so we're on to turn 4 and there are still 3 people deciding. Player 4 acts. Turn 5, player 5 delays. Turn 6, 4 people need to decide--2 act. Turn 7, 2 need to decide....

And I don't know it's a problem, but it's certainly a tradeoff.

Ben

Yeah. I get ya

BESW

O(n^2) is only true in particular kinds of systems, I think.

ATaco

4:20 AM

Reactions at most increase the time to O(2n), so linear scaling, as you're only holding an action, and when the trigger fires, can choose to enact it or not.

nitsua60

Well, reactions increase to T \propto n * \sum_k=1^n {r_k}, where the r_k are the number of reactions available to each participant. But you're right in the general point that r*n is still linear scaling.

ATaco

Ben

ATaco

Numbers become bigger numbers at the same rate.

nitsua60

But take this all with a grain of salt: I've never played an edition of D&D that had "delay," so I'm going off of hearsay. And developer commentary.

Ben

4:25 AM

@ATaco Is that a legitimate explanation of that equation? XD

nitsua60

I've heard tell that 4e was the best tactical miniatures game any RPG company has ever released.

ATaco

I don't think it would pass in an academic scene to be frank.

Ben

@nitsua60 4e is also one of the best systems for videogame adaptations

ATaco

4e had things like minions which worked well in the system and made the DM's life easier, but removed from the individuality of the creatures.

Sure this generic goblin is easy enough to kill in a single hit with the Rod of Destroying Lifeforms, but I want to know who he is!

Ben

D&D 4th Edition: Tiefling & the Gnome

►

BESW

4:27 AM

@ATaco And the instant you sit down and talk to him, he stops being a minion.

Ben

Who said minions couldn't have character

daze413

@Ben I haven't tried allowing Delay, but having seen Critical Role play with that mechanic enough, I didn't immediately say: "hey, i gotta try that!"

BESW

The paradigm shift in 4e is that the mechanics are based on the role the NPC has in the story: if the role can change, the mechanics are also mutable.

ATaco

"Alright, before we raid this camp, we need to watch it for 7 days to know the individual lives of every goblin."

BESW

So the same goblin can start out a minion who runs away from the fight, and come back two levels later as a solo because he swore vengeance on you.

Ben

4:29 AM

@daze413 Yeah, we've been discussing the benfit/drawbacks of the system

ATaco

"Turns out their only source of food is this one fisher-goblin, we cut him out of the equation and they starve, dismantling the entire camp!"

daze413

Ah, like that Darths and Droids comic where Anakin starts out as a generic kid NPC

Ben

@BESW [Comes back, flourishing a badge: "Gragnak, Vengeful Minion"]

ATaco

The only reason critical role started doing it in 5e is because the players forget that isn't a thing people can do in 5e and Matt didn't want to correct them, so he homebrewed it a bit instead.

BESW

@daze413 Kind of, yes. It's like in Fate where the complexity of the mechanics applied to a thing are directly proportional to how much time you want it to take up in the story.

daze413

4:31 AM

oooh RSS feed

ATaco

And remember, Monologueing is not limited to linear time.

daze413

@ATaco like he couldn't take away most of their magic items :D haha Man, those guys ended up being ridiculously strong. I'm glad they decided to start another campaign for this year. Has it been out yet- the new campaign?

BESW

When we fought a hive of giant crystal termites, the Apocalypse Guardians were just one "character" mechanic for each zone. When one of the PCs lassoed an Apocalypse Guardian and used his mental powers to tame it, that particular crystal termite got its own stat block.

ATaco

Comes out Today or Tomorrow IIRC.

Critical Role was never about the stats though, it was always about the adventure.

Sam Rigel's character had to be one of my favourite characters to see played, despite him functionally not being very powerful.

Ben

@ATaco Grug Grug's Diary, entry 311. The other orcs still laugh at me for my ability to think, read, write, and create. I'm at my wit's end, and have already made plans to leave this place. I seek adventire, danger, glory, and most importantly, friendship.

daze413

4:35 AM

@ATaco Aye. I'll miss his songs and little ditties. I hope he does something similar next campaign

BESW

The termite didn't change in the narrative, just our focus on it changed. That's how 4e's minion/standard/elite/solo mechanic works: you basically choose one depending on how much you want that character to matter in the particular fight you're designing.

ATaco

Grug teams up with a particularly friendly Goblin, a mud loving High-Elf, and a Claustrophobic Underdark Dwarf.

BESW

If you want the character to matter more or less in a later fight, you change the role.

ATaco

I like 5e's CR mechanic personally, even if in places it can be a little skewed, as it allows for homebrewers to quickly build fights leveled to their players, and use creatures in a correctly scaling way.

The downside of course being there were often less enemies, and battles might take longer just to do HP maths.

Ben

@ATaco Grug Grug's Diary, entry 413. Jiblet, Fioren and Frump are unique creatures, and the best friends I could have ever hoped for. We might be misfits in our own lands, but together, we are family

daze413

4:39 AM

@ATaco Yeah, and there's a UA for encounter building I've been using now, it works ok. I used to open up a spreadsheet to calculate encounter budgets, no more!

ATaco

Grug's Gang, Roming the plains, being kicked out of Inns, protecting defenseless animals against creatures of the night.

daze413

@Ben Jiblet's diary, entry 4 (this is in fact entry 1 but Jiblet still has trouble counting) I'm trying what Grug Grug says about keeping a diary. I don't see the point. Oh, I put a worm in Frump's stew, he didn't notice.

ATaco

I barely know this group and I already love them.

BESW

@ATaco For quick and easy encounter design, there's nothing so beautiful as an entirely player-facing system.

Ben

Fioren's Diary is just a collection of handprints of mud.

daze413

4:43 AM

@Ben DM notes: casting Druidcraft reveals the contents

ATaco

Frump doesn't have a diary, but keeps a sketchbook filled with drawings of great landscapes that he sees.

BESW

@daze413 I assume druidcraft is a spell that assembles a druid from nearby natural components, and then the druid can read the book to you.

Ben

I'm sold.

ATaco

I'd like to assume Frump doesn't do much speaking, but clearly dislikes the name "Frumpy"

daze413

@BESW haha! too strong for a cantrip!

ATaco

4:46 AM

@daze413 And then the druid will only read the book to you.

Ben

As a bedtime story

BESW

Only castable in an area with enough natural material to assemble a person-sized homunculus.

ATaco

"Oh no! The ancient dragon Al'Ga'Thor! I'm out of options! I know, I'll build a Druid!" Druid magically appears from mud and sticks "Ahh! A dragon!" Fades back into the mud

daze413

Meanwhile, in the Druid book-reader reservoir...

ATaco

I'm a Level 20 Druidic Book Reader. It's a level 9 spell to summon me. I can read an entire encyclopedia. And will not stop reading.

BESW

4:50 AM

You emit a constant aura of boring lecture (Will 25, fail: sleep; success: fatigue; language-based mind-affecting) to a radius of 30 feet.

Ben

"Fioren's Diary, Chapter 3. Silt, dried moss, and traces of owlbear excrement." [Fioren coos gently]

BESW

Knowledge checks made within the aura have advantage and +2.

ATaco

Fioren denies knowing magic of any sort, and resorts to hiding in the event of an attack, however you're sure there's no edible berries around for miles...

BESW

(And of course, Druidcraft is just one in a school of classcraft spells.)

Ben

@ATaco But when backed into a corner, he will resort to screeching and tossing mud. Regardless of where he is...

BESW

4:52 AM

Provided there are enough free drinks nearby, one could cast Bardcraft.

ATaco

Roguecraft looks like it doesn't work, but it has a 100% success, it simply hides for it's duration.

daze413

@BESW Bardcraft. Shove drinks down your mates gullet until he starts singing

3

ATaco

Dwarves are the first and only bardcrafters, it's used as a punishment for lightweights.

daze413

Alcohol brings out the bardic spirit in everyone

Ben

I wonder if anyone has ever created a bard based on Cacofonix

ATaco

4:55 AM

Clericcraft is incredibly useful should you need a qualified priest for a wedding or funeral service.

Ben

The only problem with the casting (or application) of Bardcraft is that it can sometimes lead to Barbariancraft.

daze413

hahaha

BESW

Barbariancraft is what happens when you cast Bardcraft, but the drinks aren't free.

Ben

"Here's your bill" [Barabariancraft takes effect]

ATaco

Grug Grug, Level 2 Orc Bard. Friendship is Magic.
Jiblet, Level 2 Goblin Rogue. Sneaks gold into other's pockets.
Fioren, Level 2 High-elven coward(druid). Herbal remedies for his friends.
Frump(y), Level 2 Ranger. Favoured terrain is not inside.

ATaco

5:27 AM

Idea: Tribe of orcs who all have two syllable names, and they name their children by swapping the syllables in the order depending on the gender of the child. So if the Mother, Gru'ug and the father Tho'dar have a boy, it would be named Tho'ug, and for a girl, Gru'dar. Multple children can be counted with a constant number system, so if Tho'dar and Gru'ug had two boys, they could be named Gru'ug Ash and Gru'ug Shun based on These Numbers

Bastard Orcs could be given just their mothers first Syllable as a sign of dishonor, and disowned children could be given entirely knew syllables to show they deny relation to the child.

Ben

So what's Grug Grug's situation then?

ATaco

(The boys should be Gru'dar Ash and Gru'dar Shun, not Gru'ug...)

Grug'Grug, or Grug Grug is simply the child of ___'Grug and Grug'____, whatever their other names may be.

Or, more likely, is an outcast, because of his booksmarts.

BESW

A lot of cultures mash up parents' names to get the kids' names, but even the ones with rules for it don't often follow the rules super strictly.

Ben

5:55 AM

...Following the rules @ATaco stated, my daughter's name would be "Jamjam"

Or, no... worse. "Jaja"

inthemanual

@Ben how do you get Ben from jam?

Ben

Well, the rule is for girls, first syllable from mother's name (Jamie), and second syllable from father's name. My actual name is "Benjamin"

BESW

By squeezing him really hard.

...wait, no, that's jam from Ben.

inthemanual

Oh, derp. Forgot Ben had a full version

Ben

inthemanual

6:01 AM

I'd get Javin for a son and Trenine for a daughter

user15026

Ashton or Wesley, here (Which is...remarkably boring)

BESW

[first name has only one syllable]

Ben

@Ash But, on the bright side, far less possibility of bullying. Because kids are monsters like that

user15026

@Ben True! :P

ATaco

So I Simulated a population of these Orks and quickly found that names quickly lose their individuality, and populations alternate between two sets of names for the females and the males.

Ben

6:15 AM

@ATaco Well, How many people do you know called "John"? Personally, I know 5 "Bens" that I went to school with, within a 3-year age gap (1-yr older and one year younger than I)

And, often in these civilisations, the whole "Son of Dave, Son of Doug.." etc is big part of your identity anyway

So I'd say this accurately captures all of that?

ATaco

Seems to, but this particular simulation ignores mutations

Ben

Well, I think it might be because you have "Starts" and "Ends" of names; not "Male" and "female" names. I.e. "Jaja" and "Benmie" - female and male variations of my children's names. Very different.

It'd add an extra step to your program, having to split the names based on gender, but it may have an effect

ATaco

6:32 AM

The names seem to naturally diverge into male and female, due to the starts having a consistent path down genders. Ends on the other hand are still consistent, but swap genders every generation

trogdor

6:48 AM

@BESW I actually love this

very nice kobold barbarian expressions

almost have to play a kobold barbarian now

(but there is too much of "almost have to play this thing" for our current capacity)

@Ben BUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRNNN it

kviiri

7:10 AM

@BESW The pleasure's all mine :)

BESW

Hey, don't hog it all for yourself! Give some of that pleasure back.

trogdor

no, do not

he must learn his lesson

kviiri

Oh no, acute pleasure overload!

trogdor

hehehehe

BESW

A cute pleasure is the most dangerously pleasing kind of pleasure!

RollingFeles

7:16 AM

@ATaco reutrn ? :) Check your "name" function.

trogdor

@BESW how is that strictly more dangerous?

Ben

Because its acute

trogdor

other than the turn of phrase I do not understand the amusement of this one

ATaco

@RollingFeles doesn’t matter anyway, Funky implicitely returns the last expression of a function, and reurtn doesn’t cause errors

Ben

trogdor

7:27 AM

@Ben GRRRRRR

:P

BESW

kviiri

7:57 AM

imgur.com/a/giQoC

Personal space!

BESW

@kviiri That's a very shaky potato.

Ben

Oh right... I was staring at it like... "Am I missing something?"

kviiri

@BESW Yea, I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't have the time to get my potato tripod :)

I can always claim it's an intentional effect to protect the privacy of the good folks involved.

Then again, no one'd buy that.

Ben

imgur.com/gallery/SGspg

I want to do this

trogdor

8:44 AM

@BESW was what a reference?

BESW

trogdor

ok sure wtv, just thought maybe you were referring to an actual specific thing

kviiri

@BESW amused reaction

Ben

9:42 AM

@BESW appropriate reaction based on the contents, and context of the joke.

Because no joke is not funny - it's all about the audience.

trogdor

10:22 AM

blargle

oh I see how it is, no one laughs at mine

BESW

10:57 AM

BESW

11:33 AM

Done ...for now. #unusualunicorns

Tweeted by bobbychiu on January 7, 2018 at 3:42 AM

This is why we will deserve the AI uprising.

Meet the Elasmotherium, a big hairy unicorn that existed as early as 29,000 years ago

Tweeted by NatureisScary on January 11, 2018 at 3:07 AM

Peter Cooper Jr.

1:11 PM

I recently hit the magic 2k reputation, which means I can start causing a bunch of damage at once. :) Would there be any problems with me adding the storm-kings-thunder tag to several questions that look to be about it but aren't tagged for it? Or is there anything controversial about published-adventure-specific tagging?

I guess it was just a couple questions I found that needed it, so I went ahead and added them.

KorvinStarmast

@Rubiksmoose It looks to me as though NautArch has done a better job of concisely putting a similar position into an answer. As soon as he framed his answer with proxy, before your question edits, and his revisions, I had the old "why didn't I think of that?" response.

@Ben Yeah, we had a guy do that Cacaphonix Bard in 2e and he was very much the comic relief character. Campaign ended before 6th level, for all of the usual reasons, but we had two cases of being run out of a tavern because his music was so bad ...

Rubiksmoose

1:48 PM

@KorvinStarmast I just want to say that I'm really sorry if it seemed like I was jerking you around

@KorvinStarmast And I really do appreciate your patience and help and a very good answer. If you look back on chat you can see that I was asking for advice, general and specific about how I write questions and I think I know where I am going wrong. So I am sorry for being unclear first and foremost and then "changing" the question on you.

KorvinStarmast

@Rubiksmoose No apologies needed at all. This is not the first time I've seen this happen, where the question started in one place, and as it worked out the feedback in comments didn't help revise the question, but seeing how the answers shaped up got the question to come into better clarity. No worries, your feedback also got me to cut quite a bit of flab from the answer.

It could probably still use another edit for liposuction, as it is rather lengthy.

Rubiksmoose

I do think your final form answer did make a lot of improvements and your point became very clear and convincing. I think yours is the best way to argue that position at least that I can think of.

KorvinStarmast

Indeed, one of my early questions was sort of rocky until SevenSidedDie edited in a better "bottom line" to my "a good answer will" at the end of the question.

@Rubiksmoose Glad to be of help.

Rubiksmoose

@KorvinStarmast Yeah I had one very dramatic question myself "Death by leveling" that ended with SSD basically coming in and cutting like 3 paragraphs down to like one sentence and the good answers started coming in.

In future I'm probably going to workshop the question in chat before releasing it so I don't have to do so much live revision

(If I think it might be necessary)

NautArch

top o the morn!

Rubiksmoose

2:00 PM

@NautArch hey!

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose howdy howdy. What's up @KorvinStarmast?

haven't seen you around in awhile.

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch That might be due to me being suspended for a month.

@Rubiksmoose Not a bad idea depending on the complexity of a question. Seen it done successfully a number of times, to workshop a bit in chat first.

Rubiksmoose

@KorvinStarmast oh.... did you murder a mod?

KorvinStarmast

@Rubiksmoose Probably best not to go there ;)

Rubiksmoose

@KorvinStarmast hardily agree. This is what happens when I internet before tea.

KorvinStarmast

2:13 PM

:) When I internet before coffee, or after a few pints, similar results ...

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast ohmy. Well, glad to have you back!

sorry for stealing the thunder on Rubik's question :) When discussing it with him here I came up with the idea of the proxy answer.

NautArch

2:31 PM

@Rubiksmoose added an update.

SPavel

Spacing: execution by throwing someone out of an airlock. No 'police' or 'military' spaceship would be allowed to do it! Why? Because that's an 80kg+ projectile with no heat signature drifting at orbital velocities. Who is responsible for the gigajoule 'accident' afterwards?

Tweeted by ToughSf on January 11, 2018 at 11:21 AM

@KorvinStarmast Drink coffee stout, this will fix your problem (for certain values of fix)

NautArch

@SPavel good point

and @Rubiksmoose got inspiration for my rhyme last night - which it turns out I had to rap...to Jay Z's Give it To Me.

a song I do not know :)

SPavel

3:45 PM

Thesis: Avatar: The Last Airbender and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are the same show

Jake : Aang
Amy : Katara
Toph : Rosa
Sokka : Charles
The Boulder : Terry
Roku : Holt

Same characters

NautArch

I'm not an adam sandberg fan so haven't really watched 99. Nor have I watched Avatar :(. shame on me.

GreySage

4:07 PM

I just looked down and found my desk covered in blood. Apparently I am bleeding

NautArch

@GreySage that's...not good.

nose?

are you okay?

GreySage

@SPavel While the characters may be the same, it falls apart because Avatar has a story and a goal, while 99 is just screwing around

@NautArch Yeah, I got my finger caught in the chair mechanism of my car when I got out, just a small cut.

NautArch

@GreySage ah. good. That's similar to last year when I was putting on some new snowshoes and I looked down and my finger was dripping blood all over the snow. Took me awhile to figure out I cut it...still not sure where.

NautArch

4:21 PM

WHOOP! Looks like I was successful in replacing our secondary gaming group from just another D&D campaign to using that group to try out new systems.

Szega

@NautArch Is that the one with that GM?

NautArch

@Szega It is...but I'm hoping he won't be GMing any of those (but i'm sure he will at some point..and his standard shenanigans will continue.) If so, I can just not be available when he's GMing. Shame to miss an opportunity to play a new game, but not if it's the normal crap he pulls.

Szega

@NautArch What will you guys try?

NautArch

@Szega One of my other buddy's has been itching to try Savage Worlds: The Tomorrow Legion. but his availability is minimal. SO that may have to wait.

I immediately suggested FATE :)

Szega

@NautArch Well, you need a certain attitude / familiarity with the RIFTS world for that

It did not win us over when we tried it, even though some have played lots of Rifts

But it might have been due to other factors

NautArch

4:35 PM

@Szega Haven't played it yet, but did create 2 characters. explained the world is very over the top and expect big hits, big damage, and death :)

Szega

@NautArch And do not expect any mention of economics or logistics of any sorts. The lack of consistency in the world is the pet peeve of one of my friends

If you want to feel how over-the-top it is, maybe try normal SW too. But as all that firepower is balanced out... Is it actually there?

NautArch

@Szega good point. I'm not sure. But the builds are crazy powerful. I have no idea what the enemies are like, though. Do you mean lack of consistency in Savage Worlds or in the Rift universe?

Szega

@NautArch Rifts world

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch heck yeah! I don't know it either! Mad props.

NautArch

@Szega ah. given that we've not played any other Rifts game - i'm not too worried about that (but a real concern should we like it and want to expand.)

Szega

4:41 PM

I have noticed that I never get Shaken, because either I resist all damage or get a wound if the gun is big enough...

NautArch

@Szega I built a couple characters. But one takes a few rounds to build up to it's crazy damage potential. My friend says most fights will end in a few rounds, so I'm not sure i'll play that guy.

Szega

@NautArch Well, you can take multiple actions if you can deal with the penalty

NautArch

4:57 PM

@Szega Yeah, this was my general plan for how i'd approach combat without getting to prepare for it:

Unprepared Combat:
1)Draw Chainswords (Agility Roll -2.
Fail, then can't attack.)+ Activate
Fiery Aura
2)Cast Armor/Smite+(2xAttack or
Flame Bolt) at -2
3)Cast Armor/Smite+2xAttack at -2

Yuuki

@GreySage And yet 99 is by far the better show. *ducks*

Szega

@NautArch Dual-wielding is still a mutiaction, you just mitigate the malus on the attacks. Not on anything else you might do

GreySage

@Yuuki 99 is a nice show to have on in the background, when you are doing something that doesn't require your full attention. I have it on while gaming (video) a lot

NautArch

@Szega er...what do you mean? Did I have something wrong in my actions and penalties?

Yuuki

> Everything's Better With Chains: You can attach rotating chains to any weapon, increasing its critical multiplier by 1 while adding a fumble chance on rolls of 1.

> Everything's Better With Chains, Pt. 2: You are more susceptible to romantic overtures when your movement is restricted.

doppelgreener

5:08 PM

i enjoy that the fate stunt thing we do has gone beyond the scope of fate entirely :D

NautArch

Thanks for moving those comments to chat, @doppelgreener. they were getting out of hand :)

doppelgreener

no problem! i am always happy to shift/baleet comments that need cleaning up

Yuuki

@doppelgreener To be fair, I have no experience with Fate so I have no clue how to write stuff for it.

I just wanted to get in on the fun.

doppelgreener

it is good fun and requires no functioning knowledge of fate XD

Szega

@NautArch If you attack twice with swords, your casting roll will be at -6 for using 3 actions, your attacks will be at -2 (if you have the proper edges)

AFAIR

RollingFeles

5:20 PM

Hello chatizens!

doppelgreener

Greetings!

NautArch

Howdy

RollingFeles

Long time no see :)

One more time I hope that I will hang out here more often.

NautArch

@Szega I'll check my edges. But I thought I got this right...

RollingFeles

I'm doing some worbuilding for my upcoming campaign. If anyone feeling for some imagination workout, I invite you to join me.

NautArch

5:23 PM

At lunch, but will let you know the edges when I get back.

RollingFeles

The campaign is called One Hundred Dawn Caravan. That's because party is invited to escort very important caravan that should traverse several kingdoms in order to deliver some very important goods to powerful monarch. And caravan master must deliver it in 100 days(but I try to count everything in game in dawns). And players are in blood debt with caravan master, so he asks them to help.

Yuuki

Will there be hot-air balloons involved?

RollingFeles

I dunno. It would be fantasy setting with some mechanics shenaningans. But I wouldn't like to involve steam or any kind of combustion for now :)

They start in a big trading city called The Great Baezaar (I'm not sure about "e". I want to add it for modified sound, because Bazaar in Russian does sound mundane and dull)

And yes, it's a giant bazaar. Something like Middle Eastern place.

SPavel

@RollingFeles If you want a more exotic word, use Agora instead of Bazaar

Also Baezaar sounds like a portmanteau of bazaar and bae, which you probably don't want

RollingFeles

@SPavel That's great! Thanks!

Yuuki

5:30 PM

Or souq.

RollingFeles

@SPavel ahaha, I didn't think of that.

SPavel

@Yuuki If you do that, be prepared for your players to say "you souq"

(also in Russian that means "knot in a tree")

GreySage

@SPavel "Baezaar": When your Significant Other drags you to a market to browse and shop for hours for things which don't interest you in the slightest.

SPavel

(we have all the words covered, you can't escape)

RollingFeles

@Yuuki that would be hillarious in russian, because it sound like swear word :)

SPavel

5:32 PM

Сук

Сук — многозначный термин: Сук — полностью одревесневший (в отличие от ветви) боковой побег дерева. Сук — рынок в арабских странах. СУК (солнечный указатель курса) — авиационный прибор для навигации над Северным полюсом, использовавшийся в 1930-х годах. == Топоним == Сук — город на юго-западе Ирана, в провинции Кохгилуйе и Бойерахмед. Сук (Шек) — бывшая столица Сокотры во времена прихода португальцев в XVI веке. Сегодня районный центр. == Фамилия == Сук, Вячеслав Иванович (1861—1933) — дирижёр, композитор. Сук, Григорий Эдуардович (1896—1917) — русский лётчик-ас Первой мировой войны Российской…

Not a swear word

Yuuki

@GreySage That's certainly better than the alternative interpretation.

The only words I know in Russian are "cyka blat". Thanks, CS:GO.

I'm pretty sure that's a swear phrase.

SPavel

Technically it isn't, "blat" is criminal slang for illegal connections

RollingFeles

@Yuuki souq sounds like cut version of "cyka". Yes, both of them are swear.

SPavel

But that is only because it needs to be ya instead of a

RollingFeles

@SPavel I'm pretty sure CS:GO slang use "blyat".

SPavel

5:34 PM

CS:GO is correct in that case

RollingFeles

I digress. Cut to the point: I want this city to be in state called "Ishid-Khanate", which in turn is a part of "Great Khanate" (yeah, many Great things. I'll think how about another big words) but I don't want to use "Khanate". I want to came up with a new word for this, coming from title of local rulers(just like Khans).

So, I'm thinking about title that will sound good.

Gael L

Hello there !

RollingFeles

@GaelL Hello! :)

Gael L

Would someone here have enough experience with Adventurers League to answer this question ?

1

Q: How do you calculate DM XP reward for a non-hardcover AL session without a prescribed time?

I recently started DMing Adventurers League sessions, and I've been told about DM rewards, being particularly interested in the XP I get after each DMed session. Reading the AL DM guide, I understand that the XP is given in accordance to [a value corresponding to the average party level] * [a nu...

SPavel

@RollingFeles A Khanate cannot be inside another Khanate

They could have a tributary relationship, but one can't be sovereign over another

A khanate could exist inside a khaganate

RollingFeles

5:43 PM

@SPavel thanks! I missed the difference between them. Well, then Khanates and Khaganate alternatives and all that derived from the title.

SPavel

You could also call the top-level title Ulus of [ruler]

Patterned after the Ulus of Jochi, the Golden Horde

RollingFeles

Aha. That's great!

@Yuuki I'm so slow :D Yes, I thought about Phileas Fogg a bit :)

Rubiksmoose

@GaelL I have modified my answer to your metamagic/glyph question. Give it a look over when you get a chance to make sure you still agree with it.

GreySage

Alright, I need some creature suggestions. I am planning a DnD5e encounter for a group of 5 level 7 characters. Context is they are exploring a ruined temple/cave complex, mostly filled with random feral monsters, but the deeper levels are controlled by Aboleths.

Yuuki

Mermaids.

GreySage

5:55 PM

They will need to come back to the cave later in the campaign, but for now, when they get to a certain point an alarm will sounds and a big monster will chase them. They won't have time to fully explore the caves, but by running away they will escape.

Yuuki

But fish torsos and human legs.

GreySage

I want something big and scary, something they won't be able to kill

RollingFeles

So, I found en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahib. Sahib/Sahibat. Or maybe Salib/Salibat?

Yuuki

@GreySage Their sense of self-doubt.

GreySage

Ideally when they come back ~level 10 they WILL be able to kill it, but I can always fudge its stats to make it an appropriate encounter

RollingFeles

5:58 PM

Can someone suggest prefixes that mean "above"/"over"? I want it for the word with meaning "King of the Kings".

SPavel

@RollingFeles Uber is a classic one

RollingFeles

@GreySage do you need stats or just idea for a creature?

GreySage

@RollingFeles Just the idea

SPavel

Imagine meeting this guy, right, and he introduces himself as Uberkaiser

That's pretty intimidating

GreySage

Not a dragon, not an Aboleth

Yuuki

5:59 PM

@SPavel Alternately, not intimidating at all.

SPavel

"Arch" is pretty standard too - Archduke, Arch-chancellor

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