TRPG General Chat

linksassin

12:06 AM

@Shalvenay Face to face. I haven't really played online at all.

Hot RPG Questions

12:20 AM

12

Q: How does a Potion of Poison work?

A compatriot of mine and myself are in a disagreement about the way Potion of Poison works. He is a bit of a rules lawyer, and I trust his judgement, but I don't agree with his assessment of this item. He believes: Drink the potion, take 3d6 damage, roll the save. On a success you are not poiso...

BESW

@HotRPGQuestions Yes, because sometimes you can drink poison and just be like [smacks lips] "Spicy."

V2Blast

Can anyone else look over this question and determine whether it's a tool recommendation or not - and if it is, whether/how it could be edited to be allowed here?

1

Q: How can I set up interactive spoilers for a PBP?

I am setting up a Play by Post forum to manage a large mystery/exploration based campaign. But I want to set up a way to give the players a direct response when they perform a suggested action that warrants such a direct response. For example Pull lever B Grab treasure walk around said corner ...

tools play-by-post

linksassin

@V2Blast Hmm... I see why you asked for a second opinion. It does feel a little tool-rec but they have made every attempt to make it not so.

They don't specifically ask for a tool. Instead they are asking "how can I achieve this thing, that happens to require a tool?"

BESW

12:46 AM

From a purely Stackly perspective, not having context for the subject, it seems okay.

They've got a problem and are describing it very carefully.

It's always okay if a tool recommendation is the best answer. Questions just can't be asking for that.

linksassin

I think that's a good line to take. They could have asked "what tool can do this?" but they didn't and that probably makes it a reasonable question.

Ben

Quick, I need an excuse to not be at work today.

Because everything is going wrong and I don't want to be here

Lol

BESW

An ancient family curse!

Ben

Strong start. I'm liking this

V2Blast

1:03 AM

your dog turned out to be your distant ancestor cursed to watch over the family in dog form for eternity

he also ate your homework

Ben

This is good, but I think deflecting from my need to not be at work

V2Blast

If you don't save him from the curse by the end of the day, you too will befall the same curse

Ben

Ahhhh plot twist

trogdor

Boss I'm feeling really sick all of a sudden

cough cough

Black Spike

Put a big poster on the wall: Chekov's Gun. Remind everyone that if we're all still here by 3pm, it WILL be used!

Ben

1:06 AM

@trogdor I once had a coworker/housemate that came up with any reason under the sun not to come into work. This included tinea and malaria

@BlackSpike We don't have anyone named Chekov working here.

:P

Black Spike

@Ben distinct lack of preparation there :(

trogdor

@Ben I don't really do that

XD

I have called in to work that I actually was sick and couldn't come in

Also they don't usually pry into what you are sick with in my experience

Black Spike

My boss never believes me when I call in sick #selfEmployed

trogdor

Lol

I'm sure you could convince them

You know them better than anyone after all XP

Ben

@BlackSpike I have this exact issue

Black Spike

1:11 AM

I tried, but he seems to have some way of knowing when I'm swinging the lead

linksassin

@Ben You're australian. We lost to england last night. That's more than enough reason for a sick day.

trogdor

XD

Black Spike

Me: <cough> I can't come in today <cough> I'm sick
Also Me: You lying toe-rag! Get your ass here, or I'm docking your pay!

@linksassin He'd hardly get any work done, for that! :D

linksassin

@trogdor It's pretty common to require a sick certificate on mondays or fridays though.

trogdor

Specifically on those days?

Ben

1:14 AM

@trogdor "long weekend-itis"

trogdor

I guess

linksassin

@trogdor Yeah. If you take a sick day tuesday to thursday you can have 1 day without a certificate. If it backs on to a weekend or public holiday. You need a certificate.

trogdor

Ok well,.. I simultaneously get that and also think it's a little weird

Black Spike

My dad had to have a certificate if he took Holiday, and then had a sick day before or after

Back-in-the-day, a work-colleague got a severe reprimand for getting his mate to phone-in a bomb-threat (late 80s. Irish Troubles were big thing. We had the occasional genuine threat)

Ben

I can see that being an issue haha

trogdor

1:21 AM

Yeah bomb threats are just bad

linksassin

@BlackSpike "Severe reprimand" sounds like an under-reaction to that.

trogdor

And of course worse if they distract from actuall bombs

Black Spike

@linksassin He wasn't actually sacked ...

linksassin

@BlackSpike If you pulled that today you'd be lucky to avoid gaol.

Black Spike

@linksassin true

Ben

1:24 AM

@linksassin do we actually still spell it that way..?

linksassin

@Ben I think officially yes? Default rule is british spelling I think.

Black Spike

UK hasn't used "gaol" since , like, forever!

linksassin

Apparently not: lifehacker.com.au/2014/06/…

Ben

I liked it because it was like the opposite of a "goal" haha

Black Spike

@Ben haha

trogdor

1:28 AM

Lol

linksassin

@Ben That's the way I always remembered it too.

Black Spike

Spell it how you like. Us Brits do'nt mind. Empire was mainly about sailing around the word, teaching people how to beat us at sports, and murder our language :D

linksassin

@BlackSpike And finding somewhere to hide your criminals.

Ben

Black Spike

:D

BESW

1:35 AM

@Ben paraphrased from James Nicoll on Usenet rec.arts.sf-lovers in 1990.

> The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary.

Ben

One I saw was "loose verbs and spare grammar" haha

BESW

It gets paraphrased and mis-attributed alot.

Ben

I'd bet haha

Black Spike

English isn't a language, it is 3 other languages stood on each other, in a long coat

V2Blast

@linksassin I've never encountered that in my limited experience. But I've seen it usually as if you are out for multiple days in a row you might need documentation of your illness

@BESW I see "alot" typed so often

It bothers me when I see it but it means I get to link Hyperbole and a Half to someone

Ben

1:40 AM

linksassin

@V2Blast It's a pretty common rule in australia. But that might be due to our national culture of "chucking a sickie"

Ben

@V2Blast I am guilty of this 324% of the time

Black Spike

I see it alittle

Ben

@BlackSpike Well done... very well done

BESW

People argue about whether English counts as a creole, and technically it probably doesn't but it's an interesting discussion, especially as English develops an increasing number of dialects across geographic and cultural boundaries--to the point that there's now also discussions about whether some of them now qualify as unique languages themselves.

Black Spike

1:46 AM

Even within mainland Britain, there are so many dialects and variations .. we can hardly understand each other!

Miniman

@BESW Alot of irony?

linksassin

@BlackSpike Australia the difference isn't so much dialect (though there is some) as terminology. Queensland and victoria speech very differently.

Black Spike

Cockneys and Brummies, Geordies, Scousers, Yorkshire, Lancs, and then you've got the Scots and the Welsh ...

Ben

@BESW I really do like this Alot

linksassin

@BlackSpike I'm not going to list the names we use for the different groups... I think it would be a violation of the "be nice" policy.

Ben

1:49 AM

@linksassin Juiceboxes/poppers... Thongs/Flip flops

BESW

Black Spike

I'm watching a facebook thread right now, about which bit of Scotland calls a sausage cob a "roll on sausage"" ...

linksassin

@BlackSpike Sausage cob? Do you mean Sausage roll?

nitsua60

@DavidCoffron Thanks for that. I'm just catching up on today's chat and was starting to worry about the conversation straying away from kindness. (cc: @MikeQ)

Black Spike

@linksassin bap. batch. Roll. round bit of bread.

linksassin

1:50 AM

@BlackSpike Ah... a Bunnings Sausage :P or just sausage because there is no other acceptable way to have it.

Ben

@BlackSpike This sounds different to both a sausage roll, and a hotdog

Black Spike

@Ben yes very different to either

BESW

People interested in these subjects might like the NativLang YouTube channel.

Black Spike

Ben

Mar 19 at 0:58, by Ben

@Ash Bunnings (the Australian Hardware name) often has sausage sizzles to raise money for local clubs, etc. Lately, they have started putting the onion (or relish) underneath the sausage, so that it reduces the risk of dropping, creating slip hazards.

Black Spike

1:53 AM

@Ben What heresy is this?!? onions underneath the sausage? How dare they?

linksassin

@BlackSpike It was the sauce of great public outcry last yeah. Nanny-state gone mad.

Ben

Someone did suggest threading the sausage through the onion. That way it could both be on top, and reduce slip hazards

Black Spike

I did see a "lifehack" wher you use a paper-clip to scoop out the middle of a hotdog, and put onions in . So the onions don't fall all down the sides ...

Too many onions falling off hotdogs, causing a slip-hazard? Need more saw-dust on the floor! Simples!

Ben

@BlackSpike Create mess to avoid mess. Problem solved :P

Shalvenay

@linksassin I did get your response re: face-to-face vs. online on freeform -- I've never done truly freeform play face-to-face, all of the stuff I've done in that vein was online

linksassin

2:09 AM

@Shalvenay That's cool. As I said I haven't really played online. I also don't think we ever really set out to play freeform. I just think that what we played was so far from any rule system that I barely call it that.

It was far more like collaborative story telling than an RPG.

Shalvenay

ah, yeah, freeform when it works well can be very interesting and fun, but it's very hard to make work

linksassin

The DM was a writer by trade and didn't like bad rolls getting in the way of a good story.

I also use that tag to describe the games I've run for large groups. They are vaguely D&D-esque but I simplified and cherry-picked the rules to make it work for large groups.

V2Blast

@Shalvenay I did some freeform roleplaying on forums online, back when I was a young teenager

BESW

I remember HP LJ RPs...

Ben

@BESW Hot Pocket Lil Jon Rap Perfomances

Shalvenay

2:19 AM

@V2Blast ah. yeah, I've done forums RP and freeform RP, but never mixed the two to speak of

(all my freeform stuff was in a proto-MMO/MP-CRPG, basically, and my one serious dabbling with forum RP used Fate Accelerated)

V2Blast

regarding the recent question about rebuilding a character, I was wondering why we didn't have a tag for questions about rebuilding/retraining/respec-ing characters... and I found that we do: retraining

It just hasn't been used very often

To help with discoverability, I wanted to add synonyms for it, but I had a conundrum: should "respec" be hyphenated or not? i.e. re-spec or respec?

Tanner Swett

So, I've only posted one answer, and it has a score of 30. This means that RPG.SE is the site where I have the highest average answer score. :D

Something tells me that that average isn't going to last, though, if I post more answers.

V2Blast

Make sure to post more good answers! ;)

Tanner Swett

2:35 AM

That answer was definitely an outlier for me since I actually have no experience whatsoever with resolving interpersonal issues in RPGs.

I just read the question and thought: wait, I think I know the problem.

2

BESW

A reasonable and compassionate interpersonal answer tends to get votes.

A lot of my rep here is from the many different ways it's possible to say "Don't be a jerk, talk to each other like friends."

V2Blast

Most of my answers are just to rules questions since the interpersonal issues questions usually get answered by someone else first, saying what I'd say but more eloquently than I would :P

Hot RPG Questions

11

Q: Does the Dispel Magic spell work on the Mirror Image spell?

Looking at both this question about how faerie fire interacts with mirror image and this question about whether you can target the illusory duplicates themselves, I saw that both quote this section of mirror image: A duplicate can be destroyed only by an attack that hits it. It ignores all ot...

dnd-5e spells targeting illusion

BESW

I also have a depressing amount of rep from navigating the intricacies of systems that I don't play because of those intricacies.

trogdor

:(

;)

linksassin

2:49 AM

@TannerSwett TBH I think that is the best possible motivation for answering a question. You didn't answer for the sake of answering but because you recognised the real issue and wanted to help. I commend you for it!

V2Blast

Any opinions on my question above about the hyphenation of "respec" or lack thereof? Googling seems to suggest it's commonly left unhyphenated

Ben

@V2Blast I think the only problem is that it is a fairly edge-case thing. It can be useful, and if using a more common keyword will at least help with usage, I don't see why not

V2Blast

@Ben I was just wondering, "should I include the hyphen or not in my suggested synonym?"

Ben

@V2Blast "respec" works

My cousing 3d printed herself a dice/miniature stand

V2Blast

the topic's been asked about using "retrain", "rebuild", and "respec", but most questions about it don't have the tag (probably cause it's newer? but also probably the different terms)

@Ben ooh, very cool!

looks great

anyway I suggested character-rebuild (since "rebuild"/"rebuilding" on its own seems a little ambiguous) and respec as synonyms for retraining

trogdor

3:01 AM

@Ben i was halfway through identifying all the dice before I realized they have specific spots marked for them and thier namesake turned upward so you can read it XD

Ben

Haha

I'll say that the d8 spot looks odder than it should

V2Blast

3:13 AM

new version of that alignment-related question:

0

Q: How can I integrate a Chaotic Evil character into a Good-aligned party without disrupting the party dynamics?

I have had a recent interest in playing a Chaotic Evil character, but most campaigns I have run into are decidedly not Chaotic Evil-aligned. The Chaotic-aligned parties are usually also Good-aligned, while the Evil-aligned parties are usually also Lawful-aligned, and of course there are quite a f...

pathfinder alignment party

linksassin

@V2Blast I think this version is a pretty major improvement, though a fairly different question. I think this is answerable.

V2Blast

@linksassin Agreed :)

linksassin

@V2Blast I have some ideas but having not played a CE character I'm not qualified to answer it. Will be interested in the answers though.

Novak

I'm still mulling it over. My first impression is that it's exactly the opposite side of the coin and therefore still a survey question.

It's still quite hypothetical; there's no actual character being integrated into no actual group.

linksassin

@Novak This version isn't a survey. It is asking a clear question that people with experience playing a CE character in a Good party can answer. This is a case of Good Subjective. Answers will need to back up what they did with how it worked out. That's why I'm not answering.

Novak

3:26 AM

I am skeptical. I am not voting close yet (since I'm more tolerant than the average voter anyway) but it still seems like a survey. Just as there might be people with experience doing this, there might also be people with experience on the GM side of it. Changing it from what can the GM do to what can the player do does not strike me as a large change.

linksassin

@Novak The issue with the first one was that is was asking for an unbound list of potential issues. This one is asking for techniques to prevent issues from occurring. Those are very different questions.

Novak

Hmm. Okay, I see your point. I'm not sure it's enough, but I see your point.

user15026

@Ben oh this is very cool

Novak

@Ben that is very cool, and now I must make one just like it, except (in best tradition) it is a Gazebo Monster

Ben

Lol

I think they used a downloadable design online for it.

They certainly didn't develop it themselves, but I know that they printed it out themselves haha

Novak

3:37 AM

I have access to CAD software. The limiting factor would be my total lack of artistic ability.

linksassin

@Novak I've have reasonable success with MeshMixer and combining two models to get what I want in that past.

Couldn't find an appropriate mini model for my druid's companion animal. Found a model of a fox and mixed it with a mini base I liked and printed it out. Worked great.

Ben

6:47 AM

Hmm... so I'm not sure I made an accurate comparison

What's quieter; a 4 year old trying to be sneaky, or a Space Marine at full sprint?

Carcer

7:04 AM

space marines are surprisingly stealthy

the setting has sometimes portrayed them using some sort of active sound-cancellation technology (it's available as equipment in the Deathwatch RPG for instance)

but honestly in the Astartes fanwork it seems like the sound dampening is a secondary effect of being in the psychic forcefield the psykers are projecting, because it's damping all energy seemingly. I wouldn't be surprised if someone digs up a canonical example of some sort of psyker sensory deprivation focus though, there's a lot of material to draw on

V2Blast

@Ben hmmmm

Carcer

stummers, that's what I was thinking of

Ben

8:05 AM

@Carcer that's sort of what I was thinking. Along those lines at least

But I completely forgot about all the stealth tech there is in the 40k universe

Hot RPG Questions

8:21 AM

8

Q: What balance pitfalls result from this house rule modifying the Shield Master feat?

For an upcoming game, I'm weighing Shield Master as a feat selection. The closer I look at it (and recent rulings on it), however, the more lackluster I find it in comparison to other choices like Great Weapon Master, Polearm Master, Sharpshooter, and even Dual Wielder. Shield Master's third ben...

dnd-5e feats house-rules shield

kviiri

8:36 AM

God morgon

trogdor

yes, that time of day, that it certainly is

XD

greetings

Carcer

nu

it is bad morn

I woke up at 4am and hayfever is kicking me in the face

trogdor

oh

that's not cool at all

kviiri

9:09 AM

There was just a news story on the radio of the Odysseus LARP

It was a scifi adventure in a school just 10 minutes from where I lived as a kid. Kinda neat it made news!

trogdor

9:41 AM

:)

Hot RPG Questions

10:01 AM

9

Q: Would letting a multiclass character rebuild their character to be single-classed be game-breaking?

One of my players is a Warlock 3/Fighter 2 multiclass Half-Elf. We haven't played for a while as we have all been either busy or away on vacation and so she decided to take the opportunity to reconsider her "in-game" life choices. She asked me if I could let her "drop" the two fighter levels and ...

dnd-5e multi-classing class retraining

KorvinStarmast

12:19 PM

@V2Blast your respect/retrain/rebuild looks like a good call

Ben

@KorvinStarmast respect is always a good plan :P

KorvinStarmast

12:43 PM

@Ben Aretha Franklin agrees with you.

NautArch

1:11 PM

Not sure I understand this question. Being strict RAW doesn't isn't related to difficult encounters.

Someone_Evil

@NautArch Ehh... If you equate Strict RAW to Follows the Book exactly and then use a module book that is intended for higher level characters you get (unfun) difficult encounters.

NautArch

@Someone_Evil Counterpoint: you're not strict RAW if you ignore the level requirement :D

4 vs 14, though? that's not going to go well.

unless there's a cleric

G. Moylan

or small critters, like rats or something

or they're minions

Someone_Evil

I donno, one of the most memorable fights we've ever had was a 4th level barbarian using several rounds on a Crawling Claw (CR0), though that's more of a the-dice-hate-you-today.

Carcer

that's the plot of Evil Dead 2, isn't it?

G. Moylan

1:31 PM

@Rubiksmoose some of those comments I think are still directly relevant to the question. I flagged the ones that weren't anymore

@G.Moylan I see you handled it. Thank you!

Rubiksmoose

@G.Moylan [heroic pose] all in a day's work citizen!

G. Moylan

@Rubiksmoose Ad Victoriam, brother!

David Coffron

@G.Moylan Add Victoria... Hmm... Add to what... The mysteries of the eras gone.

Akixkisu

@NautArch the question is a mess, I considered flagging for deletion but I think with a lot of work it might be salvagable.

NautArch

@Akixkisu I think the base is clear, but the question itself is not.

Akixkisu

1:41 PM

@NautArch yes, I regret retracting my VTC as unclear vote.

NautArch

@Akixkisu I still think their primry concern is clear, and Theik's answer is addresses it. But I also think there are other issues regarding the DM.

Akixkisu

@NautArch I think Theik's answer addresses one of many issues. And OP might think that the question is now good enough, after all they got an answer.

G. Moylan

I'm trying to clean it up bit by bit but it is somewhat of a word salad

NautArch

I also want to ask what module. Maybe @Rubiksmoose can include it in their question comment.

THere's a lot out outstanding questions in comments and it's starting to turn into a help pile

Akixkisu

@G.Moylan See my edits, on the fly I spot another 12 grammatical issues, but there is so much information lacking that editing them now would merely improve readability.

Rubiksmoose

1:46 PM

@NautArch Good thinking. I was just thinking about asking the exact same thing but that solution had not occurred to me.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose I'm honestly not sure how relevant it all is if the root problem is RP vs Combat focus.

Akixkisu

But is that the root problem?

It might be, it might not be.

Op also is willing to compromise a lot.

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch Not sure either, but I think that those details can only serve to make the question clearer at least.

NautArch

Given this question, I'm planning on running a bulette encounter next session and was planning on the bulette popping up and attacking. Should they not get advantage? I guess it can be up to me, but I'm unsure now.

@Rubiksmoose absolutely- as long as OP doesn't get overwhelmed with the requests.

Rubiksmoose

@NautArch Indeed.

G. Moylan

1:49 PM

@Akixkisu I'm not so worried about grammar just yet. The part with the zombie encounter is a little confusing. I can't truly tell if the OP died once or twice, even looking at the original text.

GcL

@NautArch If it's surprise, don't they get a surprise round?

Akixkisu

@NautArch a sandhole with a deadly leap with adv against the check for that surprise round make for a gritty encounter.

G. Moylan

@GcL ~~a surprise round~~ Surprised

@G.Moylan there is no surprise round in 5E

Akixkisu

Yes, there is none, this means the round in which creatures are surprised.

Not a mechanic.

G. Moylan

I just think it gets confusing quickly for people that don't know any better, and it's definitely a confusing rule for people as it is

Akixkisu

1:56 PM

This is the main chat, not an answer.

G. Moylan

so I try to avoid saying "surprise round" unless I actually mean that

GcL

>"If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and you can’t take a reaction until that turn ends. A member of a group can be surprised even if the other members aren’t."

Sir Cinnamon

Kind of splitting hairs, but yeah. The "Surprise Round" is the first round of combat, where one or more creatures may be surprised

it's not an official term

NautArch

@Akixkisu Yeah, the advantage may be a bit much. Just have it pop out and leap onto one of the wagons.

G. Moylan

but it was in previous editions, which is my sticking point. It creates confusion.

NautArch

1:57 PM

There's 4 NPCs and I was going to target them first.

G. Moylan

@G.Moylan Surprise already has the biggest chunk of info in the SAC aside from dragon breath attacks because people use the term "surprise round" all the time and people can't keep track of what that actually means

Akixkisu

@NautArch I think it is great and apt, since there will only be 1 creature unless mating (or spiced up) which gives that real sense of immediate danger.

GcL

Essentially, the first round of combat where everyone but the bulette is surprised, is the surprise round. Granted, it just the first round of combat where nobody else gets to act, but I find "surprise round" an easier short hand.

G. Moylan

@GcL but it's still edition bleed and confusing for people. but whatever, I'm not dying on this hill

GcL

Yeah. The phrase is definitely edition bleed.

Akixkisu

2:03 PM

@G.Moylan one is a descriptive term, and the other is a mechanical term, the issue strictly stems from an equivocated reading of one as the other, which is why I wouldn't use that term in an answer but have no qualms about using it in this chat.

goodguy5

2:20 PM

I work with someone who's name is "Girlie" and I always feel super awkward typing it.

G. Moylan

Hey Girlie

GcL

@goodguy5 I have problems with a Matt with one t. Mat. Auto-correct always wants it lower case. Which makes corrected sentences read like they're about an encounter with a rug of smothering

goodguy5

haha

@G.Moylan which is something that I affectionately say to my wife on occasion.

G. Moylan

I had a friend named Patric. No k. was not a fun auto-correct experience

David Coffron

@G.Moylan Can't you just add words you use frequently to your dictionary?

G. Moylan

2:34 PM

@DavidCoffron I wasn't that familiar with the feature at the time. I haven't talked to him in... 3 years? ... so it's no longer relevant

Carcer

wot, not Pádraig

G. Moylan

@Carcer u wot?

goodguy5

Anyone know of a way to auto send emails in outlook? My new manager wants a separate status update rather than just looking at the ticketing software we use. <eyeroll>

G. Moylan

@goodguy5 not without a plugin

@goodguy5 actually, wait...

you can set a rule to do this:

Carcer

@G.Moylan in my opinion if you're going to be a patrick you should either be Patrick or Pádraig. Being one of the ones in the middle is just confusing for everyone

G. Moylan

2:43 PM

goodguy5

@Carcer I love hearing people say "porig"

@G.Moylan but can I set it to autosend?

as in.... like... on a timer?

Carcer

G. Moylan

@goodguy5 if you can trigger an email to your inbox, you can set that rule to fire. Otherwise, you'll have to use a plugin

goodguy5

hrm....

My last two managers gave me a pretty high amount of autonomy. And also used the ticketing software.

So this one wanting to hold my hand is really bothersome

G. Moylan

@goodguy5 I would just tell them it's a waste of my time to create two entries. I'm currently doing that across 3 systems and it is the BIGGEST waste of my time. I've told my boss as much. We haven't transitioned to a centralized/linked system yet, but we do plan to

but I don't know your workplace dynamic so that may not be an option

goodguy5

2:48 PM

Every time I hint to her that "I feel that the ticketing software is sufficient" she says she needs the update.

Just got this gem:

"I am not getting your updates everyday so please make sure that they are sent every day. Let me send you a sample of the daily updates from others on the team. I will talk to you to explain why it is important. Till then please send them in the asked format."

G. Moylan

sounds like a power trip to me

You can create a templated email but you still have to manually send it each day

goodguy5

our next meeting I already have to bring up our performance objectives, half of which are completely out of my team's control.

"Make sure that no more than X% of our clients stop using our product"

LIKE WHAT

I'm a data engineer, for the record, I have zero impact on that

@V2Blast Happy late birthday

G. Moylan

oof

goodguy5

I mean, our customer attrition is usually pretty low, so it's theoretically a freebie, but we're also finishing up a bunch of migrations, so people might just as easily decide "nah, I don't like it here anymore"

@G.Moylan I set up a daily task reminder. close enough

afk. mj meeting

KorvinStarmast

4:08 PM

@NautArch When I ran a bullette encounter, the characters had to make a perception check to discern that movement in the ground. I put a pretty high DC on it. If they don't perceive it, tghe bullete gets surprise when it pops up to attack. If they don't, normal initiative. Someone rolled a 19 (IIRC the barbarian) so they were "whoa, get ready, something's happening here" and we just rolled initive. Bulletes get that jump attack, which can whittle HP down rather quickly ...

goodguy5

Do you think that it makes molehill-like events?

or just that it causes slight quakes?

KorvinStarmast

@goodguy perception uses all senses. not just sight. Touch/feel is a sense.

hearing is a sense.

goodguy5

no no, you're missing my point

KorvinStarmast

OK, sorry, what did I miss?

goodguy5

I'm asking you, how do you believe that the bullette manifests itself?

purely a question of your interpretation

G. Moylan

4:14 PM

as a dirt whale

KorvinStarmast

It swims through the ground a little bit like a shark through water. Sometimes its dorsal fin might project, other times not.

It then erupts out of the ground to attack its prey.

goodguy5

tee hee

so the dirt remains smooth?

G. Moylan

does it even have a dorsal fin?

Carcer

landshark landshark

goodguy5

uh... is youtube down?

KorvinStarmast

4:15 PM

Well, there is likely a small, perceptible disturbance ... hence the perception check.

G. Moylan

@goodguy5 I had to close and reopen tabs. unsure if related

Sdjz

@goodguy5 No, works fine here

KorvinStarmast

Having had moles in the yard, I think I see where you are going with this. Sorta, maybe.

goodguy5

@KorvinStarmast okay, what does that disturbance look like?

KorvinStarmast

It feels like a faint vibration, and the dirt might rise a little bit. Like I said, have had moles in the yard.

goodguy5

4:17 PM

I'm basically imagining Graboids from Tremors. That's how I've always run them

KorvinStarmast

heh, my reference on that is zero. :(

goodguy5

As soon as I can get youtube working....

KorvinStarmast

Ankheg does something similar to tremors ....

I just checked IMDB, I think my wife was watching that on amazon prime a few years ago.

goodguy5

wouldn't surprise me

I think I've seen all of them unless they've released the 8th one already

nope, not yet

Though, I suppose that one is a prequel, so it'll technically be 7

Now, I'm realizing that I need to run a Tremors riff.

G. Moylan

how difficult is it to convert an existing campaign into a West Marches style? Has anyone tried that? or is it more o fa "scrap this campaign, make a new one" kind of thing?

I could just stack that, I suppose

goodguy5

4:28 PM

@G.Moylan written WotC campaign? or homebrew?

G. Moylan

OOtA

so, like, the toughest one

to convert

Out of the Abyss, in case the acronym was vague. Published WotC book

goodguy5

I don't know from experience, but it seems like it'd be difficult to convert a published adventure.

non published is easy enough, so long as everyone's on board.

G. Moylan

the group just doesn't meet very often (out of town players) and I have issues motivating myself to keep DMing that campaign. I enjoy the subject matter but the pace is SLOW

I want to DM for them, I want them to get the game they want, but I feel like pausing the game for weeks at a time just breaks any cohesiveness we might have had

Out of the Abyss uses a lot of "weird crap is happening" tropes, some of which are pretty subtle, some not, but I feel like we're missing out on a lot of the nuance because we aren't really that enganged in what's going on. "what were we doing two months ago? oh yeah..."

GcL

I get the same thing with my online group. Getting together more than once a month is tough.

G. Moylan

but I have literally no idea how to West March a group of prison escapees in the underdark

goodguy5

4:45 PM

1 thing you could do, would be different characters.

There are different things happening in the world. some of them involve these characters, some do not.

That's what we're doing in the game I'm playing in.

Which has the fun effect of hearing about your "main" character's exploits every so often

Mark Wells

5:10 PM

@goodguy5 That was a brilliant movie, and highly recommended if you're DMing anything with burrowing monsters

goodguy5

I told my wife that I was getting my Mew Jersey license, and she didn't get it.

Mark Wells

@G.Moylan coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2018/05/osr-veinscrawl.html ?

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast It'll be (hopefully) a short encounter where they can get wail on it :)

I see that the ruthless DM gave 14 zombies to a party with a cleric who must not have tried to turn undead.

GcL

@NautArch I like having a cleric in a party. I throw all sorts of undead for them to trounce. A cleric without undead to turn just seems underutilized in the story to me.

I used to like the ad&d rules where if you were high enough and they were low enough level, they got turned to dust.

NautArch

@GcL ANd if their cleric didn't, that explains the TPK. DM likely expected that to happen. And honestly, playing zombies 'strictly' probably does mean after a creature goes down they start eating rather than moving onto next target.

KorvinStarmast

5:25 PM

@GcL that rule also exists in 5e

Mark Wells

@KorvinStarmast and in 3e

goodguy5

@NautArch do D&D zombies canonically eat people?

KorvinStarmast

Destroy Undead
Starting at 5th level, when an undead fails its saving
throw against your Turn Undead feature, the creature is
instantly destroyed if its challenge rating is at or below a
certain threshold, as shown in the Destroy Undead table.

Goes back to Men and Magic, FWIW

NautArch

@goodguy5 I...don't know?

I"d say no

they don't require food

they're fighting machines

so the DM also probably integrated modern zombie lore which also made it more deadly than it should have been

although I guess modern zombies also don't need food. They just like it?

goodguy5

I'm not sure if "like" is the right word

KorvinStarmast

5:30 PM

From Men and Magic page 22: T = Monster turned away, up to two dice in number.
D = Dispelled/dissolved, up to two dice in number. N = No Effect. There was a table where, after you rolled 2d6, you compared your level to the undead kind and you either turned it, dispelled it, or had no effect on it.

goodguy5

@NautArch I think it's more "are driven to consume it"

NautArch

5:48 PM

@goodguy5 And they're also called 'mindless soldiers'. Soldiers will move on to the next target once they've finished off the one in front of them.

goodguy5

@NautArch depends on the soldier. plenty of soldiers kill downed opponents

NautArch

@goodguy5 True. Double-tap.

But that's generally a smart soldier. Make sur ethey don't get up.

The double tap means you know enough to keep going to make sure.

goodguy5

generally, I think it's viewed as poor DM etiquette to double tap PCs, but it should really happen more.

NautArch

Zombie knocks someone down, they likely assume they're down and move onto something else.

@goodguy5 Yeah, it very much depends on the monster intelligence for me.

But also even a smart monster understands actions are better spent taking out the next one. And a smart enemy will take out healers first :)

DOn't have to double tap if you know they can't be healed.

goodguy5

so, you're saying double tap the healer

NautArch

5:56 PM

@goodguy5 Probably. But if the healer is down, a doubletap isn't necessary either.

No one will be healing them.

THey'll need a crit to get back up.

goodguy5

@NautArch 5% chance of spontaneous combat effectiveness is too high.

NautArch

@goodguy5 then take 'em out!

goodguy5

Now, I want to have a guy hiding around during a combat and the first time someone is healed, they just pop out and yell "that's the healer. Kill them"

Can one person and a number of assistants effectively take20 on a stealth check?

"I'm going to hide. tell me if you can see me or not"

NautArch

@goodguy5 Big Bad just has a guy with Invisibility.

Mark Wells

@goodguy5 The "poor DM etiquette" thing is a problem, and I thought one of the reasons why 5e introduced death saves, to take the final decision out of the DM's hands a little bit

but not quite enough

goodguy5

6:06 PM

oh wow. I just realized that being downed in a hunger of hadar invokes two instances of damage

If that's what downs you, you can die in one turn

45%

Mark Wells

Hadar is kind of a jerk that way :)

goodguy5

Getting downed by the initial damage is even worse, because then it's the end of your turn and you take more damage.

1 turn countdown. super dire

NautArch

@goodguy5 any area effect that has continuos damage should do that., right?

goodguy5

yea, but most don't do two ticks a turn

GcL

oh yeah, one at the start and one at the end. brutal

kviiri

6:19 PM

@MarkWells 5e didn't introduce them, they're almost identical to the ones in 4e.

Mark Wells

@kviiri my mistake

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