TRPG General Chat

Mike Q

00:02

@goodguy5 Good evening/night/morning/day

trogdor

Happy time of orbital sphere nonsense

Ben

00:22

Mornin all

Evening others

Afternoon for everyone in between

Todo: Develop a script that replaces a <tag> with the appropriate phrase based on recipient's clock

And the default tag (for all those not using the script) is "Gutten<tag>"

Because I like puns

Shalvenay

00:42

btw -- I wonder how effective a plumber's snake would be if a gelatinous cube got stuck in your drains :P

goodguy5

00:55

well, I don't think it could squeeze that much, but I suppose if it could....

plumber snake does at least 1 damage, and cubes don't have regeneration (afaik).... so eventually....

but, as a better mental image....

a small carton of mini gelatinous cubes. like drain sized. You pour one in the sink and he'd clean the sucker right out.

Shalvenay

@goodguy5 LOL

until "square cube, round pipe" turns into "drain stoppage"

goodguy5

1: just use gelatinous cylinders.
2: they can squeeze, I think

100% voted another answer, in hopes of getting the populist badge lol

trogdor

Better question, how do they get in there if they can't get out?

goodguy5

^+!

Shalvenay

@trogdor they squeeze and squeeze, but eventually pipe friction overcomes their movement ability and they get stuck? :P

trogdor

01:17

Lol

Greg Faust

No, clearly, the tiny gelatinous cube works its way down the drain into the sewer, where it grows and grows. What, did you think gelatinous cubes reproduced on their own? They're totally synthetic.

Ben

02:38

@trogdor The same way kids get their heads caught in the fence

trogdor

@Ben do you know how they manage that?

Ben

@trogdor I believe it is often referred to as "skill"

BESW

@trogdor The same way cats get into trees but can't get down.

trogdor

Lol

That doesn't seem like quite the same thing anymore

Ben

Kids Stuck In Stuff

►

trogdor

02:47

Dear princess dictator Celestia, TIL that cats, children, and gelatinous cubes all have the same magic powers

End of espionage report

nitsua60

@DavidCoffron Yeah, I've got a bunch of those DM rewards just burning a hole in my GM-log spreadsheet =)

[speaking of which, off to log tonight's session. "Dear diary, tonight I almost pulled off that TPK that's been eluding me all those years. Let me tell you the story...."]

@Yuuki Heck, you can barely even know alignment in 5e.

trogdor

I'll,.... Know,.... Your.. alignment

Dang doesn't work for that one

nitsua60

03:09

Stack Exchange updates Terms of Service

4

Shalvenay

grrr, what is with adhesion-contract-drafters and demanding arbitration clauses at every last turn?!

trogdor

I have literally no idea

BESW

03:33

@nitsua60 ....arbitration clause.

trogdor

Wait, those are in the terms of service now?

( I can't really read that till I get home)

BESW

> We're changing our Terms Of Service (ToS) shortly to address two things:
1. Stack Overflow For Teams is launching soon, and we need to include stuff that talks about us expecting people to pay for it, and,
2. GDPR is coming, and ---none will be spared its wrath--- we need to get ready for that.
3. The new terms include an arbitration clause.

(No, that's not a typo. They apparently think that's a list of two things.)

Also they only posted about it 8 hours before it went live.

...that's not shady at all, guys.

trogdor

Wow

Joel Harmon

03:50

Grateful Dread Public Radio - truly, none will be spared.

trogdor

Why would they do this now?

BESW

"Okay, here's your work assignments. Team A, you're tasked with helping us become a more welcoming, inclusive company that listens to its users and acts on their concerns. Team B, you've gotta cover our butts for when we inevitably ignore Team A's recommendations and get sued to kingdom come."

Joel Harmon

Because it's almost May 25th, and Europe

BESW

> Arbitration is pretty standard for free online products, but if you really don’t like it, we included a way you can opt out.

The old "All my friends are stuffing dead bodies in their car trunks, why shouldn't I?" defense.

trogdor

Lol

Yuuki

04:15

Also, wew posting this at 7PM CST to make double sure that everyone in the US is home instead of at their work computers when they're on SE.

BESW

At least they didn't post it on a Friday evening?

Yuuki

Never mind, "edited 4 hours ago".

Was posted 12 hours ago.

BESW

05:28

@SeanNittner @EvilHatOfficial @Zelgadas @ruanna3 @LulaVampiro @MadJayZero @joshuayearsley AND I'll have my famous character sheet ready.

Tweeted by DarthKrzysztof on May 2, 2018 at 9:49 PM in reply to DarthKrzysztof

hohenheim

07:26

@BESW My English is below average and I'm not a lawyer. Can someone explain to me (in simple terms) what an arbitration clause is? Is that something bad? Are we doomed?

BESW

@hohenheim It means that if we want to take legal action against the Stack Exchange/Overflow company (like suing them), we've agreed that instead of using a government's court systems we'll have to settle our problem with them using a private system of their choosing.

hohenheim

Is Stack Exchange/Overflow expecting to be sued by us?

BESW

Every company expects to be sued, we live in a litigious culture.

But this is a way to completely bypass governmental justice when that happens, which is... arguably not ethical or good faith, but an increasingly common practice for Internet services, which many governments are still trying to figure out how to deal with because it kind of undermines their authority.

hohenheim

07:47

Hmm, this kinda makes sense to me from a company perspective. If I were to provide a free service on the internet, I wouldn't want to be sued either. Complicated.

BESW

Yes, well. The European Union doesn't honor arbitration clauses, and will punish companies that try to enforce one on EU citizens.

Unfortunately America's a lot more lenient about letting companies bypass the rule of law.

hohenheim

Thank God I live in the EU, where all the bad stuff from Murica can't reach me ^^.

Tiggerous

08:10

I like living in the EU very much. I'm sad that I soon won't be :(.

kviiri

08:22

EU rocks

Too bad they get a lot of flak for every bit of trouble they bring but little or no praise for things they do right :<

Tiggerous

Yeah, Brexit makes me very sad.

kviiri

Us too

Today's game was cancelled :< but that leaves me more time to work on campaign design

And my thesis, and Paris by Rutherfurd.

Tiggerous

So busy busy nonetheless.

kviiri

08:38

Yep :)

Tiggerous

I feel like campaign design and a thesis are both never ending tasks. At some point you just have to decide that they are done 'enough' and stop working.

kviiri

hah, yes

BESW

@Tiggerous This is one reason I moved to games/styles that actively punish too much advance prep.

kviiri

I prefer them too, but... every now and then I just feel like crafting an intricate dungeon adventure.

Tiggerous

I've not yet learnt these lessons :P.

kviiri

08:51

Also, I signed up to run a little impromptu game of Apocalypse World next Tuesday

I wonder what I should pull

It's themed "Post-Walpurgis-calyptic" so maybe something along those lines

kviiri

09:05

Chatizens note, Stack Exchange is tightening its stance on chat moderation. It's unlikely to be relevant here, since we are quite good at being Nice, but something to be aware of anyway.

5

BESW

09:53

@Sdjz Hi!

Sdjz

@BESW Hello

kviiri

Sup!

Miniman

10:35

@kviiri I suspect whoever picked the theme is a Madoka Magicka fan.

goodguy5

10:47

Populist badge!

Tiggerous

Congrats !

hohenheim

11:11

While exploring a dungeon, the party stumbled across a hidden room with a pedestal in the middle. Atop the pedestal, they found a hand-sized sphere, the upper part of it red, the lower part white. The rogue tried to grab the sphere, but upon touching it, it released a giant spider. This caught the party on the wrong foot, but they managed to defeat the giant spider.

Afterwards, the wizard carefully identified the sphere, in order to avoid further arachnid-related surprises. He found out, that this magic sphere could be thrown at an unconscious beast of challenge rating equal to half the thrower’s level. If the beast fails a Wisdom save, it is captured within the sphere. The beast could later be released from the sphere and would be under the control of the person attuned to it.

The party loves this magic sphere. Their new motto is “Gotta Catch 'Em All“.

goodguy5

11:49

/clap

nitsua60

@kviiri If anything, we're one of the examples held up Network-wide as to how to do chat well. Thank you all for patience, kindness, for caring to express yourselves clearly, for gently correcting others, and for always Assuming Good Faith.

goodguy5

@Tiggerous (tbh have always read "triggerous" until now)

It may be worth adding the Lucky feat to that Brilliant Mind answer.

a simple reskin of luck points to be "planning points"

doesn't seem worth my own answer when yours is already pretty thorough

Tiggerous

@goodguy5 I've already included that, but as a more minor point, lower down the answer. Perhaps I'll make it more prominent, if you didn't notice it was there.

goodguy5

oh huh.... so it is. yea. I thought that paragraph was part of the portent blurb

Tiggerous

I'll jazz it up a bit, formatting-wise.

kviiri

12:07

@nitsua60 I'll drink to that

@Miniman Naa, Walpurgis night is a big student event here and its passing is often met with a certain mixture of relief and sadness.

Like Christmas for the kids :P

nitsua60

12:39

@doppelgreener howdy, sheriff

doppelgreener

\o/!

nitsua60

Everyone else: watch yourselves. There're (literally!) two new sheriffs in chat.

doppelgreener

we have sheriff badgers!

Rubiksmoose

I'm star struck!

NautArch

badgers? we don't need no stinkin' badgers!

Rubiksmoose

12:43

But if we did, sheriff badgers would be the ones I would want.

Tiggerous

Cull the badgers! They're spreading bovine TB...

doppelgreener

don't let the sheriff badgers hear you talking about them like that

not because they'll do anything, because badgers don't understand spoken language, but it would be mean to be like that to an animal.

Mike Q

@nitsua60 Uh oh. Is this chat big enough for the two of them?

NautArch

goodguy5

cute!

could someone do me a favor and look at my second section on that strength sneak attack question

I think I make sense, but it's the morning and I've only had one cup of coffee

doppelgreener

12:47

the thing that stands out to me is edits shouldn't be signalled in text -- much like wikipedia articles, or written essays, you wouldn't expect to read anything that has an "EDIT: also" section.

if your stuff doesn't conflict with what was written before, you can delete the edit acknowledgement. if it does, what was written before should be updated to be accurate rather than merely errata'd further down (and the edit acknowledgement should be deleted).

NautArch

^agreed

But the content does look good. Thug rogue :)

I'v also learned my lesson and will no longer be explaining my downvotes.

goodguy5

I thought about that and generally agree.

But I don't want to change the format of my answer to match the question.

I could change the text to be more explanatory in why it's formatted like that, rather than why it's edited like that

doppelgreener

you can do whatever you like with the format of it -- but the idea is your answer should look like the final revision, or like it was that way all along, at any given revision.

goodguy5

ah fair

sure

Then ignore that part and I'll adjust it

Tiggerous

@NautArch Why is it bad to explain downvotes?

NautArch

12:53

@Tiggerous Probably not bad, but when other users attack me for my reasoning, i decided that's not a battle I want to engage in.

doppelgreener

that's pretty normal, and not explaining your downvotes is fine & preferable

David Coffron

@NautArch You aren't like my players then; they engage in every battle possible

@doppelgreener *preferable unless you have some constructive criticism. Leaving that is welcome

doppelgreener

yup, totally.

Tiggerous

@NautArch I think it's fine to explain your downvote and then not engage any further.

NautArch

@doppelgreener yah. I thought it would be helpful (i usually don't), so of course the first time I do it's countered.

doppelgreener

12:55

it is preferable to not explain the downvote at all.

David Coffron

Usually I have two modes of attack for Q/A's I don't like. If I think it can be made better, I comment with advise OR If I think it is a lost cause I downvote

kviiri

I think explaining one's downvote has value in cases where there is a non-obvious flaw in the question/answer. I don't like to be a bitter person, but it gives me some pain when a superficially good but otherwise rotten answer or question has a positive score because people didn't take the time to read and digest it. At least the comment might alert others to be apprehensive about the question/answer.

doppelgreener

If you have actionable feedback, that's helpful. If you do not, probably your reason for downvoting is just "this is wrong" or "i personally disagree" or so on -- and that starts arguments. Either the author, or someone on their behalf, will defend the answer from your criticism of it. Then either you, or someone on your behalf, will defend your criticism from them. That frequently gets heated, and frequently becomes a discussion comments aren't for.

NautArch

this question is one I can actually answer with in-game experience. But I guess that still qualifies as opinion-based?

David Coffron

@NautArch Yes, since he specifically asked for opinions. If he changes the frame then you are free to answer (once its reopened)

doppelgreener

12:58

@NautArch They're suggesting options and looking for more options; whilst there's potential good answers to it, the question isn't workable as an opinion survey.

NautArch

@doppelgreener I left what I thought was constructive feedback, but another user challenged. And that's where that cycle was going to go :) So instead of leaving my comment up and responding, I Just removed and walked away.

goodguy5

Warlock question seems like a fine candidate for chat

David Coffron

@goodguy5 Agreed, but John might not arrive to discuss (but I have great ideas backed up with experience too)

NautArch

@doppelgreener gotcha. Hopefully they'll hop in. Happened to one of our characters where he was petrified at a point and place where we didn't have greater restoration yet and no access to it elsewhere.

doppelgreener

(I'm editing that just because it's going to ping a completely different John otherwise)

David Coffron

13:00

@doppelgreener oh yeah, I forgot that shortnames work

doppelgreener

@dav yup

kviiri

For instance, I have an instinct to upvote questions about less-known systems even if I don't know these systems too well. Many other people do too, I'd believe. But sometimes, based on systems I myself know, they are nothing but "read the book to me" and I think it's important for people to realize that

NautArch

Much later in the game, the DM introduced the petrified statue and we restored him. DM gave the player the choice to continue with his new sorcerer (at a higher level) or bring back his barbarian.

David Coffron

Apparently JohnB is the John it would ping...

goodguy5

rickety rekt

David Coffron

13:02

@NautArch I did a similar thing, but the old PC became a villanous NPC down the line. My players loved it (but it was so far into the campaign that the original player didn't even think to want his old character back, so it is a bit different)

NautArch

@DavidCoffron this character was about 4 or so levels behind, I think.

But the older character was also one of the last remaining original characters from the start of the campaign (there's only 2 including him...I didn't join until level 5).

Rubiksmoose

@doppelgreener I'm not sure if I should do anything more than I have done here: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/121671/…

I've had some interesting feedback just in the couple of days I've been leaving comments in response to answer comments. I think I may bring some interesting observations/questions to meta after a bit.

doppelgreener

Thank you for leaving those comments. Seeing their response I'll add some context: I removed that comment because it was flagged, I left your comment so they would see it. (Removing it too soon would defeat the point -- we want people to know they answered in comments & see our policy about it.)

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose Interesting is a nice word :)

David Coffron

@NautArch So is noncomformist (I don't know the details of whatever situation, but answers don't go in comments)

SPavel

13:09

mornning

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch I do always try to be Nice :)

SPavel

The coffee machine at work is broken so no work is being done

NautArch

@SPavel Just a lot of people holding their head in their hands?

David Coffron

@SPavel Trying to fix the coffee machine would count as work

SPavel

@DavidCoffron The maintenance staff are on it

goodguy5

13:12

I find it very interesting that the listed commands for dominate are all three words

Rubiksmoose

@doppelgreener I figured that was what whoever handled the flag was thinking which I liked because that was my hope for these type of comments.

David Coffron

@SPavel I wish my work had a maintenance staff. I had to go out and buy one of those timer strips (day/night things) to make our coffee machine not stay on all night (there is a short)

goodguy5

@Rubiksmoose would it be bordering on an answer comment to say that?

David Coffron

@goodguy5 It's the basic imperative sentence structure: Predicate + (Adverb)+Object

goodguy5

"I find it very interesting that the listed commands for dominate are all three words"

David Coffron

13:16

That doesn't sound like what comments are for. If you have anything to add that would help the asker, answerers, or yourself understand the question, answer, or background then make a comment. Otherwise, it doesn't really fit

SPavel

@DavidCoffron Chug the bees

goodguy5

Fair enough, I'm trying to not engage in comments anyway

Rubiksmoose

@goodguy5 here's my guideline for determining if a comment is answering: "Is this comment trying to improve the question?" If not, then I seriously give a thought to if leaving the comment is adhering to policy if not plain unhelpful.

David Coffron

@SPavel Yeah, except usually "chug those bees" (unless which bees is obvious, which it likely will be as I doubt you will be in a situation where multiple sets of bees are in a position to bee... teehee... chugged)

SPavel

@DavidCoffron I can't imagine a situation in which I would want my dominated subject to chug fewer than all the available bees

Unless I have multiple, and wish to divide the bees equitably among them

goodguy5

13:19

guys. I cracked the code....

David Coffron

@SPavel I just laughed so hard my girlfriend woke up. Thanks

NautArch

@goodguy5 uhoh. get some sovereign glue.

goodguy5

the dominate spells are just the hold spell + haste

and the spell levels line up as well

SPavel

@goodguy5 Don't move, quickly

David Coffron

@NautArch It's alright I've got mending is it one crack or two?

goodguy5

13:20

You're generally restricted to the severity of action that you could accomplish with haste

oh man. I was just going to put up a snarky answer, but I think I have a real one.

SPavel

@DavidCoffron "One crack, please" -drug addict

goodguy5

I've never felt so alive!

David Coffron

Is it bad that I kind of want to search roll20 for games that DON'T welcome new players. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with novice games but after a long time of DM'ing my coworkers (who had almost no rpg experience at the time) I just want a high quality game for my return to DM'ing

NautArch

@DavidCoffron experience does not necessarily mean high quality :)

but i hear ya

kviiri

By my experience, new players are often easier to work with than old ones.

David Coffron

13:23

@NautArch Valid and I had lots of fun with my coworkers, I just couldn't think of a better term than high-quality

kviiri

They have less baggage :P

Rubiksmoose

@DavidCoffron Do you just mean you want a grittier crunchier RPG system?

David Coffron

@Rubiksmoose No, just players that I don't have to chaperone

Rubiksmoose

@DavidCoffron ohhhhh I see what you mean.

David Coffron

(as much)

When the group you were scheduled to chat with (to see if they want me to DM) still hasn't sent me the discord 2 hours before the time

goodguy5

13:31

*hopes his answer doesn't get downvoted for being weird*

David Coffron

@goodguy5 How does Dominate give you a free action?

goodguy5

because you're commanding something with your mind as a nonaction

David Coffron

@goodguy5 It's a fine answer, but I disagree. WHy couldn't you, for example, say 'Cast light' (if it is a spellcaster)

goodguy5

edited to make that clearer

Colin Gross

@kviiri Yeah, and new players don't flip out over wights the same was ad&d players do.

Rubiksmoose

13:36

What question are we talking about here?

goodguy5

0

A: How detailed can the description of the course of action for a dominated creature be?

Buckle up, this takes some following. Dominate "X" is limited to the severity of action allowed by the Haste extra action Action economy is very important in 5th edition. And thus, so is the number of enemies on each side. The difference between 4 creatures of a relevant level and 5 creatures o...

Rubiksmoose

nvm figured it out

thanks :)

goodguy5

@DavidCoffron because I don't want players having monsters cast 7th level fireballs or whatever.

(oversimplification)

David Coffron

@goodguy5 Then instead if I say "light up the room" and the only option the NPC had is the light spell would you allow it?

goodguy5

I'd have to think on it more, but maybe

David Coffron

13:38

I like HellSaint's answer a lot. It explains his reasoning and seems to line up with the power level intended (its also how I've ruled in the past incidentally)

goodguy5

brb

Colin Gross

13:58

I like that answer as well. Action, Target, Method... pick two of the three.

goodguy5

Nice if you all to wait

NautArch

@goodguy5 I'm also going to second the concern around spellcasting.

Colin Gross

I like the spell casting combined with the pick two approach. "Cast a spell at that guy" or "Cast web" but not "Cast web at that guy"

David Coffron

@NautArch I understand that but if my general command is kill the Rakshashas and the only things the monster has to do that is his level 7 fireball, why wouldn't it do that

Rubiksmoose

@goodguy5 no worries I put the entire site on hold while you left.

goodguy5

14:02

XD

Rubiksmoose

I didn't want you to miss anything

Colin Gross

@DavidCoffron Dominate doesn't affect the WIS score of the target nor their INT? correct?

NautArch

@DavidCoffron Because there is more than one option?

David Coffron

"it does its best to obey"

NautArch

Or is @goodguy5 saying that the general command is like a Haste action, but taking the person over gives you full control over the Action?

David Coffron

14:03

That is this spellcasters only option to deal with the rakshashas that it knows is immune to its other spells

goodguy5

@NautArch yes. the general command is like a hast action

NautArch

@goodguy5 I think you may need to clarify the difference

Colin Gross

Haste seems like a pretty specific spell.

goodguy5

@NautArch doing that now

NautArch

@goodguy5 ...and out of curiosity, I do wonder if you could use single word Commands (like the Command spell) as a general directive?

goodguy5

14:07

I don't see why not

David Coffron

I think your answer is an interesting obeservation @goodguy5 but it has no soild evidence provided to lend to that conclusion (it's all circumstantial). There is no adding of spell levels in 5e, nothing says the general command is restricted in that way, and hold person has nothing to do with dominate person (without a command the dominated is not paralyzed)

NautArch

@goodguy5 that runs counter to your answer, though (maybe?)

goodguy5

@NautArch then I'm misunderstanding you

NautArch

@goodguy5 If I can use a Command-like direcdtive as a general directive, then that is NOT one of the Haste options.

goodguy5

I mostly meant for it to be an interesting observation.

But you're being too specific. Sure they're paralyzed, but what's that accomplishing in terms of battlefield mechanics? It's reducing the number of enemies.

@NautArch "drop", "flee", "hide"? I don't get it. that seems within scope

NautArch

14:12

@goodguy5 Except that it also ends their turn as soon as that action is completed. It's Go Prone, take no further actions or movement."

goodguy5

@NautArch I'm not getting the difference. Sorry. I'm not trying to be dense

NautArch

@goodguy5 because haste limits you to very specific actions. Command is doing more than one thing. It's okay if you'r saying that a Command type command (sorry) would fall under taking control of the creature with your own action, but if your're saying it's a general action, then it's more.

goodguy5

Oh!!!!!!!

You're saying prolonged things.

Like with Command, I can tell something to leave, and it will keep doing that every round without further input.

vs Dominate where I would have to "remind" it every round "keep fleeing".

I thought you were talking about an inter-round scale, rather than a macro-action scale.

right?

NautArch

errr. no. same round. But the Command does more than one thing. Haste only does one thing.

So I don't know if that's, in your terms, a general command or not. Or if that's a DM decision.

goodguy5

Can you give me an example of a Command that would not fall under my supposition? Maybe that will help me understand

Colin Gross

14:23

You wouldn't have to remind with Dominate. Given a general course of action, the dominated target will try it's best to accomplish that. "Kill that guy" might take many rounds to accomplish.

goodguy5

Good point

Colin Gross

I did not equate "general course of action" with "action" in the mechanical sense.

NautArch

@goodguy5 We can use the one I gave before. Where Prone drops them prone and ends their turn without an opportunity for movement or bonus actions.

I think it may have been suggested otherwise that if the command is general enough, it still provides freedom for those things. Like "attack bob" could allow them to attack bob, then take an OA and move away. Or use a bonus Action to do something else.

goodguy5

@NautArch that seems fine. If you wanted them to do other things, you can word it better.

Colin Gross

@NautArch The dominated target could do that move if it thought that was the best way for it to accomplish "attack bob"

Question, "would the dominated target continue to attack bob? or attack bob once?"

In the vein of general course of action, when the course of action is still available, does the dominated target continue to do it?

goodguy5

14:46

whoever gave me that upvote. thank you, but it was unneeded. I just wanted to get my ramblings onscreen

David Coffron

15:00

Sigh. I guess I won't be playing D&D today. (the group still hasn't contacted me to maybe DM)

(even though they said they would)

goodguy5

And let this be an important lesson. People are unreliable liars.

Unreliars

David Coffron

I was offering to DM their setting. That is rare on roll20. Least they could do is send me a "Hey nevermind"

nitsua60

@BESW and others who'd expressed concern:

11

Q: We're Examining The Implementation Of Arbitration In The 2018 ToS Update

This is an addendum to our announcement about a recent ToS update concerning Stack Overflow For Teams and GDPR; I'm starting a separate discussion because concerns about the third bullet, an introduction of an arbitration clause, has caused consternation to rise to a level that we quite frankly d...

NautArch

what's also interesting is that GDPR isn't just about being able to opt-out, but also opting in.

My company is actually choosing not to sell directly in europe.

goodguy5

oh god, noooo. Pixel plz don't accept my weird answer. I'd feel so bad.

he called it a "great answer"

unrelated: Trader Joe's Ghost Pepper potato chips are weaksauce af

NautArch

15:16

@goodguy5 old man tummy no longer accepts spicy food.

so sad

goodguy5

that'll be a sad day for me.

I love spicy food

NautArch

same here

my exit strategy for spicy food is no good, though.

goodguy5

ha

that's when I know it's too spicy

fire poops are non-optional

I wish summoner was less difficult to have be a thing in 5e.

Mike Q

@goodguy5 What do you mean?

goodguy5

I mean a character that focuses on summoning things.

Druids make the best summoners, but it's still awkward.

kviiri

15:28

I feel the summoner is a rather annoying character to have at the table

A nightmare of pacing to have someone start looking up stat blocks and introducing more monsters in the initiative order

goodguy5

I mean likely, yea. that doesn't make it less of an archtype.

kviiri

It doesn't, true. It just means it's not very well implemented.

Mike Q

@goodguy5 Okay, I wasn't sure if you meant Pathfinder's "Summoner" or non-system-specific "spellcaster who summons things"

goodguy5

Personally, I would tell the player that they get their turn to do that. If they're not ready, then they can't do it.

kviiri

Wild shape is a similar but lesser issue, if the druid player isn't savvy enough to keep their stat blocks at hand at all times.

goodguy5

15:29

@MikeQ I meant either, tbh. But my initial thought was non-sytem specific.

kviiri

Wild shape is also among those things that are similarly bad in Dungeon World which otherwise addresses many of DnD's problems...

NautArch

@kviiri it's also why i rarely cast Animate Objects (but I save it for when it's necessary)

Mike Q

@goodguy5 There's a difference. Pathfinder's Summoner class has a permanent pokemon-butler that becomes a customizable juggernaut. Imagine a single player who controls both a sorcerer and a 6-armed Hulk. It would require a significant amount of toning-down to translate into 5e.

kviiri

@NautArch It's a bit frustrating when meta crawls into normal gameplay like that. The reason I picked Slow and not Haste is that having the GM remember the (rather complex) rules for the spell seemed much easier than having everyone else do it.

In retrospect, I should've just created a cardboard card with the spell's description on it.

And hand it to whoever was hasted at the time.

goodguy5

@MikeQ oh yea. I totally understand. Summoner (pathfinder) is a huge balancing headache.

Mike Q

15:33

@goodguy5 Compare that to 5e's general problem with summoning creatures, because it requires concentration

goodguy5

right.

But, like I said. I was initially just thinking about ways to summon stuff before level 5

NautArch

@kviiri We usually just write it down on the battlemap (unless it's me, in which case I can track it myself)

goodguy5

some sort of minor conjure animals

Mike Q

@goodguy5 The bag of tricks kinda does that. To a very, very limited degree.

NautArch

@kviiri but when I do Animate, I'm usually doing the 10 Tiny...and it's a lot to manage for everyone.

@MikeQ got me one of those, too :)

goodguy5

15:36

If I were to houserule/homebrew it, I'd likely reverse engineer how the spell works.
3rd level spell with double creatures for 2 extra spell levels
half creatures for 2 fewer spell levels.

Maybe even quarter

Mike Q

@goodguy5 It would probably be simpler to make a separate homebrew spell

NautArch

@goodguy5 also note that you as DM pick the animals conjured.

goodguy5

@MikeQ well yea. I was just saying as mechanical basis

bah. IT guy. afk

GreySage

@nitsua60 Seems like our tyrannical stack overloads are at it again. sigh

nitsua60

@GreySage yeah, though at times like this I do try to remember that they're running a company which has decided to host hundreds of instances of their product to serve niche interests, all for free.

goodguy5

15:52

well, "free"

wait a minute... Is there a revenue stream?

I can't think of one

Maximillian

I'm a little concerned about the fact that Stack adopted mandatory binding arbitration.

GreySage

@Maximillian And made it very difficult and cumbersome to opt out of it (if you know to do that at all).

Maximillian

While it's standard for any US business that sells a service or plans to sell a service, it's immensely disappointing.

goodguy5

suggested comment for that profession question

Would it be proper to say that your question is "How can I create profession-based classes?"?

NautArch

Slagmoth's answer was what i was thinking when i read it

goodguy5

16:22

My answer would have been "don't. Dnd isn't built for it"

Rubiksmoose

0

Q: How do I promote the use of crossbows instead of bows in LARP?

Around my area (Russia), the bow and crossbow energy in LARP is mostly limited by their draw weight, which is around 16 kg for bows and 18 kg for crossbows. However, bows usually have a lot longer draw length than the crossbows, e.g. 60-80 cm for bows, which usually is not limited by the rules, a...

larp props

I'm very confused by this question.

Mike Q

@Rubiksmoose it's the same user who wanted to modify their bows to hit harder

Rubiksmoose

@MikeQ Yeah I remember :-/

But it seems like this is probably a valid question. I'm just confused about just about everything about it.

Mike Q

@goodguy5 I left a comment along those lines, but I'm not entirely sure what is being asked. Do they want to come up with a new class? Do they want to avoid using classes? Or are they assuming that a character's profession and backstory has some limitation on their class choice?

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose per my comment, i don't think it's valid as it's written right now.

Rubiksmoose

16:28

@NautArch ?

NautArch

^added a link

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch ah yeah. I was talking about another question lol

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose my bad. thought that was a followup from your response to MikeQ :)

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch It was lol

Maximillian

Hmm. For that crossbow question, most definitely do NOT do the following:

Make it Real: RED HOT REBAR CROSSBOW (HALF-LIFE)

►

NautArch

16:32

@Rubiksmoose so confused. isn't he talking about the question to the comment I linked to?

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch nope chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/44386477#44386477

Mike Q

My apologies for accidentally casting Confusion in the chat

Rubiksmoose

It was super effective lol

NautArch

we all failed our saves

Rubiksmoose

But yeah that crossbow question should probably be closed as unclear. Unless anybody has a read on what they actually want.

@Maximillian Yeah I'm pretty sure this violates like every LARP regulation lol

And maybe several actual laws

Maximillian

16:43

If your LARP violates the Geneva Convention, reconsider your plan.

kviiri

17:24

@Rubiksmoose This actually reminds me of a discussion I had once (in a sauna, like many good discussions happen) regarding the role of crossbows in DnD-style tabletop RPGs.

In European history, crossbows rocked mainly because of one reason: their outstanding ease of use.

goodguy5

aiweirdness.com/post/173546448332/…

D&D character names (and classes) generated by neural network

kviiri

Sure, they had a lot of penetrative power and a decent range, but so did a longbow. Crossbows were just so easy to use - one could basically give one to a peasant and they'd be capable of using the weapon passably well within minutes. Mercenaries and other trained warriors would still unleash more shots, and with greater accuracy, but the power curve was far smoother than with the longbow.

Mike Q

@goodguy5 "E Ch BISHL NEBe Garte II Cr D McLGHJ T U E AA t Rat lek TF Horn hand tree Whistle - half-orc barbarian" will be my next character

goodguy5

that's so funny. that's the exact one that I pulled out and linked in my discord

kviiri

This makes crossbow a rather weird choice of weapon for a DnD character, because they're the elite of the elite who have rather little reason to settle for anything but the weapons of the elite. Unless they're of a type who doesn't primarily use weapons.

goodguy5

17:35

"eee'ch bishil neebgart eye'cried mclauhj tuh'e'aht rattlek tif"

kviiri

@goodguy5 eye'cried everytiem.

GreySage

@kviiri Like a low level wizard/sorcerer

kviiri

@GreySage But they usually have bolts of another kind available

GreySage

@kviiri My 2nd level sorcerer has almost the same tohit and more damage on a light crossbow than firebolt

goodguy5

low-level non-martials have better sources now.

It was older editions that needed crossbows

sage makes a semivalid point, but I still generally rely on firebolt than crossbow

kviiri

17:38

To hit is usually worth more than damage on hit (depends on the magnitude of course)

GreySage

Once you get to level 5 the cantrips are clearly a better choice since they get more dice (and can benefit from certain feats/class features)

Rubiksmoose

0

Q: How do I level up?

Just trying to get rep so I can answer lots of questions for other people

dnd-5e dungeons-and-dragons

oh dear

goodguy5

that crashed and burned quickly

nitsua60

At least three mods had converged on it.

goodguy5

it was like lions on a sick antelope

kviiri

17:48

I'm only a demimod

Rubiksmoose

@nitsua60 it was closed before I could finish typing out my off-topic flag reason lol

Anybody know what they were trying to do that required 50 rep?

Clearly wasn't answering a question right?

GreySage

Probably comment

kviiri

I wish the mod comments were more welcoming though. It was a terrible first post but I like to think my approach was better assuming the user did have nothing but honest intentions (which I don't think we have a reason to doubt)

Rubiksmoose

@GreySage ah SSD got it. It was a protected question

goodguy5

should have been moved to meta

GreySage

17:51

As a new user it IS really frustrating not being able to comment, but at the same time comments aren't what new users think they are

goodguy5

yea, it's easy to view comments as reddit

Rubiksmoose

@GreySage When I first started I was really frustrated about not being able to comment. Once I gained experience though I was a little relieved because I would have been completely misusing them.

nitsua60

@kviiri True, however... in situations like that (where a new user may be stubbing their toe and someone's already "on it," so to say) I, personally, like to ping that commenter in chat and say something rather than leave my own comment. I feel like sometimes help-piles can be overwhelming.

kviiri

@nitsua60 Sure thing, but well... if one of the mods had left a comment that was welcoming, told the user that they can already answer, and that they shouldn't post non-content on main site, I wouldn't have posted mine.

I'm advocating for quality here, it's quantity that makes a help-pile.

Maximillian

I forget, new users can comment on their own questions, right?

goodguy5

17:59

@Maximillian you may or not need someone else to comment first, but yes

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