TRPG General Chat

trogdor

12:00 AM

Is he/she/are/they supernatural? XP

KorvinStarmast

12:32 AM

@Delioth Prop 48 was a formal attempt by the system to recognize that the system's momentum encouraged the wrong outcome after about a generation of people had been used by that system. Your comment seems to have been made in ignorance.

BESW

1:09 AM

Or it's a legit response to framing a systemic problem of shaming the uneducated into silence or they'll be left even further behind, as described in your linked article, as the choice of the uneducated individuals to not "take full advantage" of the systems that will be taken away from them if they're honest about their needs.

"Unified (QT)POC Standard Requirements," a document formulated to assist (QT)POC individuals in the TTRPG space in having a consistent and fair standard of payment and participation in their workspaces. And a short Twitter thread about its ongoing impact.

KorvinStarmast

No shaming involved. He reached a point in his life where he faced a hard choice and did an impressive thing. He swallowed his pride and did for himself what was a choice that wasn't exercised before (and as the article points out, no laurels to be handed out to OSU, since mentors and tutors were a thing in most Div I programs of long standing reaching back to the 70's (and before, depending on the institution)). There were football players where I went to university who used tutors extensively to keep their heads above water.

What has happened at the secondary school level is that a lot more scrutiny is placed on "can John the star player read" - which scrutiny was certainly not as common when Dex was in secondary school.

BESW

1:30 AM

Instead of focusing on celebrating his achievement, you chose to add the "there was a time when" framing device. That's what Del was responding to. Not the details, the choice of framing. Accusations of ignorance are uncalled for, since they aren't even responding to the thing you're saying they're ignorant of.

Maybe just take it as constructive criticism about how important presentation is when communicating information, and not something that needs to be riposted.

KorvinStarmast

2:05 AM

@BESW I responded to a riposte in the currency paid. The statement was made in ignorance. Maybe you should chide someone else.

@BESW The generational difference is significant, but not a matter of age. During that generation, the money that got pumpted into professional and collegiate sports ramped up by orders of magnitude. From the mid 60's to the 90's, the impact that had (on people, social systems, and even on public law) was non trivial. I am rather well educated on that era as I not only lived through it, I followed with great interest the changes.

There are tens of thousands of pages of Congressional testimony on this stuff, court cases a plenty, and as much printed material as anyone would ever wish to read.

BESW

I'm not arguing your facts, and neither was Del. That's all I'm saying.

KorvinStarmast

@BESW OK, then best we drop this, thanks.

KorvinStarmast

2:18 AM

On a more lighthearted note, if schadenfreude is to be used in a light-hearted sense ...

youtube.com/embed/0BLsYRfgHWI

BESW

2:51 AM

Good name for a band: "Juicy Gouache."

nitsua60

3:29 AM

@BESW Ooh, I like this. I'm stealing it for my "creating a setting? Ask these questions..." list.

linksassin

@nitsua60 That sounds like an interesting list. What else is on it?

Shalvenay

hey there @linksassin, how're things going?

linksassin

@Shalvenay G'day, not too bad. Yourself?

Shalvenay

@linksassin alright here, had a good time with the Fellowship demo and also made some more progress in DW :)

linksassin

@Shalvenay Did you guys end up finding enough players?

nitsua60

3:38 AM

@linksassin How big an area we going to talk about, what's the tech level, how saturated/rare is magic, what're gods (if any) like, what story style(s) are we trying to tell/play, how are the societies organized (incl. law, if any), what settlement "level" is there, densely/sparsely populated, resources abundant/scarce, geography/topography, how insular/open to others are groups/societies, are militaries a thing? (Sorry, had to rummage a bit.)

Shalvenay

@linksassin we did! we had to juggle some timeslots from the original plan to do so (and also basically reuse an existing player group :) but we basically fit it in as Glazius guest-DMing for nits's ToA group while nits was out dealing with RL (tending the flock? XD)

linksassin

3:49 AM

@nitsua60 Nice list. I would suggest adding a question about wealth distribution, and possibly education.

@Shalvenay That's good. It went well then?

Shalvenay

@linksassin yes, quite. party was me as a wood elf, Korvin as an Orc plainsman, and Mike as our woods-witch/druid Harbinger

with a swarmlord/verminlord type Overlord

we ran out of time though (of course), so will be picking back up next weekend hopefully

Hot RPG Questions

4:20 AM

6

Q: As a DM of a 4-player group, would it be appropriate for me to run a private 1-on-1 session so that one PC can act secretly?

I'm currently running a campaign with a fairly typical group of 4 players. Everyone gets along pretty well, however one of my player's Rogue has been struggling to find his niche in the party. To remedy this I had an NPC secretly give him a thief/spy "quest" for him to complete with or without he...

linksassin

@Shalvenay What good session doesn't? I don't think I have a single memorable session that ended on time.

kviiri

5:45 AM

@linksassin I've had many, but I think it depends a bit on system

BESW

Yeah, I've been getting a lot better at pacing games so they fit their session times, and it's a combination of practice and choosing systems that fit the pacing.

kviiri

My usual comparison here is that the PbtA games I've played easily fit a two-hour movie into a three-hour session

linksassin

@kviiri I was perhaps over-generalizing. I have definitely had enjoyable sessions that ended on time. Just isn't the norm.

kviiri

6:01 AM

I'm bringing various home-bagged teas to work today

Trying to strenghten the bonds between myself and the rest of Tea-lovers' Bloc

V2Blast

@kviiri Haha, nice. I enjoy tea but I'm definitely not the kind to do the work myself :P

kviiri

6:19 AM

@V2Blast This is a first for me too :) but in all seriousness I've been thinking of leveling up my tea hobby a bit.

kviiri

6:33 AM

RPGs are kinda waning in my hobby life, while music, tea and board games are waxing

Hot RPG Questions

8:20 AM

4

Q: Do Dragonborns get unarmored defense?

Now, I might just be stupid or not have seen it but, I’ve been looking and saw that draconic bloodline sorcerers get unarmored defense for “draconic bloodline”. But, do Dragonborns get this for being Dragonborn? Like I said, it’s a simple question but I can’t find the answer and my Dragonborn pla...

dnd-5e armor-class dragonborn

Derpy

morning

@kviiri tea?

kviiri

8:39 AM

@Derpy Matcha is okay but I am leaning more towards learning the gongfu infusion technique

Derpy

@kviiri and forego the wagashi? You monster. :P

kviiri

yes

Pierre Cathé

8:55 AM

my favorite tea ceremony is plopping a bag of earl grey in a mug of hot water

kviiri

Well it ain't a bad one

Pierre Cathé

So far it's worked for me every morning for 5 years ;)

kviiri

I've mostly been leveling up my tea selection, not as much my equipment or technique

BESW

@nitsua60 Like, a D&D-like setting based on any Indigenous cosmology I'm familiar with, but which retains multiple planes of existence? Just an aesthetic palette-swap.

If there are supernatural forces or beings that we can't see or interact with, it's usually because we're too ignorant to notice them or know how to deal with them, not because they're sequestered in another kind of reality.

SmokeDetector

10:28 AM

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Bad keyword in answer, bad keyword with email in answer, email in answer, pattern-matching email in answer, potentially bad keyword in answer (347): How to handle not being able to attend as often as I'd like by Dr Sangare on rpg.SE

kviiri

Dr Sangare doesn't know that the number 1 trick to credibly praising the works of Dr Sangare is to not do it under the name "Dr Sangare".

Hot RPG Questions

11:40 AM

4

Q: Can an attack of opportunity be made against a net if the restrained creature is being moved?

A creature, other than the one restrained by the net, can make an attack against the net (AC 10) which by dealing at least 5 slashing damage will free the restrained creature. If a player restrained by a net - who is adjacent to another player - is grappled by some creature and carried away, cou...

dnd-5e weapons opportunity-attack conditions targeting

Sirv

So turns out a Goristro critting on a charge attack is a good way to instantly kill a character

BESW

Anybody here read Improv for Gamers?

BESW

12:04 PM

Every time someone buys a copy of Dee Pennyway's The Unfolk at list price or higher (5$USD), they add another community copy that anyone can claim for free if needed with no questions asked.

BESW

12:20 PM

Short Twitter thread by K Lam about "Payment in Kindness" as a method to overcome stigma preventing those in need from feeling comfortable accepting free things.

"Rules themselves are about having a line of demarcation between player decision and outcome." A short reflection on the purpose of rules by ryan.i.guess Twitter.

KorvinStarmast

@BESW One of us was new to the PBTA schema (me) and a few of the resolution tools took "showing" for me to grasp. Only one of us (me) had already completed chargen, so that did set us back, as did my RL out of town visitors/wife taking some of my time during our alloted session. But for all that, I really liked this and am very glad Glazius offered to GM this for us. Goodness is a thing.

Yuuki

@BESW Ooooooooo

goodguy5

12:41 PM

@Sirv really? that's only 157 damage

kviiri

@goodguy5 I'm not sure what "instant death" means in this particular circumstance, but characters with lesser hit dice and who don't particularly invest in con won't have enough max HP to survive that if they're already injured

goodguy5

CR17?

What would a standard wizard have? usually 12 con. maybe character level 15.
7 + 70 = 77

oh wow yea. nevermind. that's a dead

even a level 20 wizard would only be sitting at 102 health.

kviiri

1:17 PM

In 4e one'd get to triple digits really soon

Not in damage, though.

goodguy5

I thought we had a highest hp question....

I mean, it's easy enough to calculate, but still.

kviiri

May 12 '18 at 18:47, by kviiri

The big guy Orcus himself has over 1500 hp. His attack deals something like 2d12+12 iirc.

4e Orcus :)

goodguy5

Hill Dwarf Barb 20, 24 con, tough feat.
22 for level 1
17 per level
22 + 17*19 = 345 hp

Wow. an HP "optimized" character has more than triple the hp of an average wizard.

NautArch

@goodguy5 well, the damage die itself is double that of a wizard :)

goodguy5

don't bring your logic into this!

NautArch

1:26 PM

even though that drunken master homebrew question isn't technically for 5e, I kinda want to try and finish a homebrew for it

goodguy5

@NautArch it isn't!?

NautArch

@goodguy5 No, ended up with the realization it's for a very related system (heros & dragons)

but it got me thinking that it could actually be a really fun class to play/build

goodguy5

isn't that just a rip of D&D in French?

NautArch

even though folks seem to generally like the drunken master subclass that's legit

@goodguy5 It started off that way, but they added content. rpg.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/9291/…

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch Glad you did that meta, and I liked KRyan's answer. Learn something new each day.

NautArch

1:30 PM

@KorvinStarmast Yeah, the correlation to Pathfinder was really interesting.

goodguy5

well, hot dog

I don't think there's a good way to play a luchador in 5e, is there?

Pathfinder had the wrestling monk, and tbh, the drunken master homebrew for HeD looks pretty good, sans the drinking

user15026

@BESW oh yes. More of this

MikeQ

@goodguy5 There's a bunch of homebrew martial subclasses about grappling and perform

NautArch

@goodguy5 I think I can simplify it and still make it interesting

goodguy5

My favorite moment playing a luchador in PF was when I suplexed a giant scorpion.

NautArch

1:35 PM

Grappling is just so underwhelming right now.

David Coffron

@goodguy5 I've had success by reflavoring a Battle Master with the grappler feat

goodguy5

as a reminder, you get a defensive bonus against that sort of thing for every set of legs you have

@DavidCoffron oooh. I'll think on that

Sir Cinnamon

Do they have to be attached legs?

goodguy5

maybe even grab a few monk levels

@SirCinnamon yes, and I think they also have to work as legs, but I'm actually less sure of that last point

Sir Cinnamon

Shoot

goodguy5

1:36 PM

the specific wording on CMD in pathfinder might just let you fuse a bunch of legs to yourself to get a bonus

though, I'd expect that sort of sloppiness from 3.0, rather than PF

kviiri

@NautArch I was kinda sad to learn that even monks don't have any special grappling goodies

Or maybe Open Hand monks do? Can't remember.

goodguy5

Whenever you hit a creature with one of the attacks granted by your Flurry of Blows, you can impose one of the following effects on that target.

It must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.

NautArch

@kviiri I don't think so? Need to check, but the monk is more about strikes.

Mark Wells

@goodguy5 Yeah, that's the one I used a lot with my 5e grappler monk

David Coffron

I feel like most things a luchador does can just be explained through narration. Just describe your unarmed strike that knocks prone slightly differently and you can get a wide range of grapples and the like

Mark Wells

1:41 PM

Flavored as "insert whatever judo throw I'm thinking of right now"

NautArch

@MarkWells One thing I've noticed is that when you run a game with the optional flanking rules, knocking prone really isn't as useful.

in fact, it can make things harder because of the disadvantage on ranged attacks against it

David Coffron

@NautArch Wholly agree, which is why I dislike using flanking rules

goodguy5

yes, but damage!

And the "pinning" "rules" suck in 5e

NautArch

@DavidCoffron Yeah. I don't use them in the game I run because of that. And it also generally makes it much easier for advantage mechanics to key off. WHich is fun, but definitely skews things.

David Coffron

@goodguy5 Does a grapple really do more damage than a strike?

goodguy5

1:42 PM

@DavidCoffron oh, heavens no

I was saying that I want more damage

I want to suplex someone and it to do something

David Coffron

@NautArch Eh. I struggle with the realism of the melee where somehow a character can be facing 4 opponents and defend just as effectively

NautArch

@DavidCoffron fantasy, mang. How many movies/books have you seen and read where they do just that?

Mark Wells

@DavidCoffron That seems like it should stop mattering once you're past level 4 or so

Because heroes

MikeQ

@goodguy5 So some kinda super-strong actions you can choose while you're grappling a creature? e.g. knock prone, auto-crit damage, throw, etc

goodguy5

not super strong, just not actively bad or mediocre.

something that feels good without being amazing

especially because you're doing unarmed strike damage

Mark Wells

1:45 PM

I just want having a creature grappled to prevent them from casting spells somehow

goodguy5

@MarkWells you can restrain them if you have the grappler feat

Mark Wells

Because that would give it a tactical niche

Sir Cinnamon

technically they have disadvantage I think?

Yeah disadvantage on spell attack rolls

NautArch

@MarkWells I get that - but my bigger concern is it being done to PCs. For the most part, PCs as spellcasters are much more common than monsters they fight as spellcasters. But everyone can grapple. If you could just grapple a caster to stop them, then spellcasters would be in much worse shape.

@SirCinnamon So they'd just cast spells requiring saving throws instead.

Sir Cinnamon

@NautArch Yeah. But it's something

kviiri

1:47 PM

I liked how 4e defender classes have an actual toolset to keep enemies pinned or punished, more than just the rather-underwhelming opportunity attack of 5e.

MikeQ

@NautArch That's not necessarily a bad thing. Nudge the martial characters to help out their grappled caster allies.

NautArch

@MikeQ As a caster, I'd feel it was bad thing :) WE're already squishy. Now we're squishy and we can be locked down by something we're not good at generally?

Sir Cinnamon

Sentinel feat is probably the best tool for a tank. Compelled duel is good

goodguy5

holding a caster?

NautArch

@SirCinnamon depends on how you read tank. Damage tank, yes. HP soak tank...maybe not.

Sir Cinnamon

1:50 PM

@NautArch Why not?

NautArch

@SirCinnamon From what I've seen in 5e, you have two paths: damage or AC. It's rare you can get both. Focus on damage, and you can be brought done easier. Focus on AC, you'll stay up, buty ou won't bring enemies down faster.

Sir Cinnamon

Isnt sentinel good for both paths though?

G. Moylan

Tanks in D&D are not RPG tanks that soak, they're more like tanks in something like Overwatch. OW tanks are designed to have huge impact on the field and create openings for the other players to take advantage of

goodguy5

The weirdest thing about the grappler feat "pin" option is that you can already knock them prone to get almost the exact same benefit without being yourself restrained.

MikeQ

@NautArch Yes, and thus it's more exciting when that happens. Also, it encourages the PCs to coordinate tactics and look out for each other.

goodguy5

1:53 PM

prone and grappled = advantage on melee attacks against them and they have disadvantage on attacks against everything else.

NautArch

@SirCinnamon Sentinel doesn't boost AC. It gives you another opportunity at times to attack. There may be other things you can do instead of that feat for AC/survivability.

David Coffron

@goodguy5 Except they can't just stand up next turn

Sir Cinnamon

@NautArch But it prevents movement, which is a really good tool for tanks

NautArch

@MikeQ Not totally disagreeing. But this definitely makes casters even more at risk.

goodguy5

@DavidCoffron they already can't because their speed is 0 from being grappled

NautArch

1:55 PM

@SirCinnamon Depends on how often you have enemies provoking OAs.

Sir Cinnamon

@NautArch Well that depends on your positioning - and sentinel creates extra opportunities for thos OAs

goodguy5

Literally the only reason to use the "pin" is for the goku-raditz scenario. You've got someone with a big 'ol ranged attack and you need to hit the grapplee with it.

NautArch

@SirCinnamon I'm not sure I understand. How does positioning affect whether or not an enemy attempts to get away?

MikeQ

@NautArch Another concern is how to implement this mechanically, without prompting too many extra d20 rolls whenever they want to cast.

Sir Cinnamon

@NautArch If you the tank, are blocking the path to your ranged teammates, the enemy will try and get past you and provoke OAs

David Coffron

1:58 PM

@goodguy5 Ah true...

G. Moylan

if your definition of tank is BF control, Abjurers make pretty good tanks. If it's more like 1v1 somebody, you'll probably want a BM fighter or a Barb. If your definition of tank is ~M A S S I V E D A M A G E~, then you can accomplish that in a number of ways. There aren't really Tank/DPS/Healer roles in D&D, it just doesn't work like that. for anyone to solely devote their character to a role like that without variance seems like an inefficient (and resource intensive) way to approach a fight.

NautArch

@SirCinnamon I dunno. It feels like in most games i've played and DM'd, once engaged my monsters generally stay engaged unless they have a reason to GTFO.

Sir Cinnamon

@goodguy5 I remember when Captain Kirk solved the Goku-Raditz

goodguy5

huh

Sir Cinnamon

just a dumb joke en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru

NautArch

2:00 PM

@G.Moylan And there's the issue that once a monster realizes they can't hit someone, they will likely move on (and that's where sentinel may be a factor). But that's a really really high AC that is very hard to achieve.

Sir Cinnamon

@NautArch The entire enemy group attacks the tank the entire time?

goodguy5

@SirCinnamon ah, that was my best guess, but I wasn't sure.

my other guess was fighting the ... uh.... lizard man.... name escapes me

NautArch

@SirCinnamon No, but they don't go through the tank to get where they want. They go around them or bypass them entirely.

kviiri

@NautArch Same here, but I think it's driven by an irrationally high fear of being opportunity attacked over actual mechanics.

I mean, it's a single attack and not even guaranteed to hit.

G. Moylan

@NautArch right. There are certain very specific builds that lend themselves to the MMO-style "tank" archetype, but they're weird and don't really come online until way after it needs to have mattered. Playing that style isn't going to work. It's like playing healer and only casting heal spells. it just doesn't work like that

Sir Cinnamon

2:01 PM

@NautArch Which is why the tank needs to position smart, create a choke point or otherwise prevent that, maybe its not always possible but I've found my players use it effectively against me often

goodguy5

That's why I like Barbarians as tanks, because they also do a bunch of damage.
"attack me or I'll kill you"

G. Moylan

@SirCinnamon that's just good tactical combat, that doesn't necessarily mean that the "tank" is the one who has to hold everyone back

goodguy5

A shield wall is easily bypassable

Mark Wells

@NautArch You say that like it's a bad thing

G. Moylan

there's no such thing as "threat" or "aggro" so there's literally no way to maintain that

David Coffron

2:03 PM

@G.Moylan Yeah anyone can fill the "tank" role in a choke point. Your tank should be taking the dodge action to be maximally effective in that situation anyway

Sir Cinnamon

@G.Moylan Well D&D doesnt have a "tank" role, I dont think any class is so 1-dimensional. By my working definition, if you are holding them back like that, you are the tank, in a way

G. Moylan

@SirCinnamon same goes for healer. If you're healing in combat that's pretty inefficient. D&D healing is all about prep work. Temp HP, resistances, etc. There are a few clutch things you can do, but for the most part trying to outheal the amount of damage going out on a given turn is a losing battle. It's more effective for you to help remove the threat that to attempt to outpace it.

Sir Cinnamon

@G.Moylan 100% agree

Yuuki

@SirCinnamon I mean, you could get downed in the opening rounds of combat but that's a different kind of "tanking".

And I'm not sure if it's applicable because it's not like you'll get first draft for next combat.

kviiri

@G.Moylan 4e has more "healery" classes, but even they seldom do just healing. They have a Minor Action healing power (kinda like a less tame Healing Word) and then spend their Major Action doing either damage, buffs or more healing :)

Sir Cinnamon

2:09 PM

Plus everyone had second wind

Mark Wells

@SirCinnamon Classically, the abstraction that made "tanking" kinda sorta work was the marching order.

G. Moylan

4e reads like a video game

Delioth

That's why I play Pathfinder. If you can't force the enemy to stand and fight you, you can use a chain of like 5 feats to charge someone who's at your back line, smash them, fling them around to the other side of yourself, and then hurl them 20' and trip them

nitsua60

@G.Moylan I'd call out healing word as an exception, though. Using just a bonus action to change someone else's state from inactive to active (at least, until they take another hit) can be a pretty good use of a bonus action, situationally.

kviiri

@G.Moylan It definitely takes inspiration from the MMO scene.

Delioth

2:10 PM

Someone who's prone and 20' away isn't a threat this round

G. Moylan

@nitsua60 oh for sure. There are definitely situation where healing in combat is the correct call, but it should never be all you do

JuSt CaSt FaSt FrIeNdS, gUyS!

kviiri

@nitsua60 Sure, but that's not what people usually mean by "healer" as a party role. At least in my circles people assume a healer is someone who devotes most of their time negating damage to keep them from going KO, rather than mostly doing other stuff when emergency rescues aren't needed.

Mark Wells

I've always wanted to play with a group that doesn't have a healer of any kind, just to see how it changes their thinking.

kviiri

@G.Moylan But turns out many of those design choices worked quite well on the tabletop.

G. Moylan

@G.Moylan I would lump getting someone back in the fight under the "few clutch things you can do" category

@MarkWells it'll work out. there's enough overlap that if each person takes a single heal spell or buff or something then it's not as efficient but it definitely can work

These guys do a good job breaking down D&D healing: youtube.com/watch?v=Vbax51T813A

Delioth

2:13 PM

Conspiracy time: 4e existed only so that they could make a few video games with the system, but it was so poorly received that they didn't want to ruin their vidya game reputation with systems bearing its name

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 I have a DM who calls that "Whackamole" combat. Since most of us in that game are in Texas, we now call it "guacamole combat"

Delioth

Since AFAIK, Neverwinter is the only one

KorvinStarmast

@Delioth I thought that NWN was built on the 3.x engine? (Or was there a follow up?)

G. Moylan

@KorvinStarmast Neverwinter is an (still fairly popular) MMORPG that uses 4e. Neverwinter Nights is a different game series that uses 3.X

JohnP

That ^^

Wasn't NWN the first MORPG with graphics? Ran on AOL, IIRC.

kviiri

2:18 PM

@KorvinStarmast Y'know how the Healer feat allows one to spend healer kit charges to restore KO'd characters to a single hp? We exhausted an entire Healer's kit in the CoS "prologue" adventure.

KorvinStarmast

@kviiri I know that, but Healing word works at range. ;) In the middle of a fight. As a bonus action.

G. Moylan

@JohnP idk. I mean World of Warcraft came out in 2004, and Everquest before that

JohnP

@KorvinStarmast NWN was built with the Gold Box engine IIRC. The ones that they used for Pool of Radiance, etc.

KorvinStarmast

@G.Moylan @kviiri Our group's tempest cleric took the healer feat at level 1. :) Very handy, that was.

kviiri

@KorvinStarmast yeah, this was just for anecdote

JohnP

2:20 PM

@G.Moylan NWN came out in the early 1990's sometime.

Sir Cinnamon

@kviiri That prologue is a great way to TPK a level 2 party

kviiri

We emerged with two hit points spread across a four character party. No casualties but damn.

KorvinStarmast

@G.Moylan Ah, thanks, I forgot that Neverwinter came out when I was away from D&D. Wasn't DDO also a 4e product?

G. Moylan

@KorvinStarmast DDO is 3.x and still kickin

KorvinStarmast

@JohnP You talking about the one that came out in the early 00's? I was under the impression that was 3. something. (Darn, memory foggy)

JohnP

2:22 PM

@KorvinStarmast No, the original original release. I remember playing it using AOHell hacks in the AF, so that would have been in the 93-97 timeframe.

KorvinStarmast

@G.Moylan Aha, thanks, I still have that in a box somewhere. We never installed. (Due to me hanging up the D&D cleats for a while a while after it came out.

@JohnP OK, Neverwinter Nights came out after Diablo II (the one I am thinking about) and it was that NWN that my son played for a while before going on to other games. (Also was the topic of a murder investigation that a cop I know was involved with, that's a different story)

kviiri

@SirCinnamon At least by what our GM told us, it's not very likely to kill everyone since hover for spoiler

G. Moylan

@KorvinStarmast STORY TIME!

JohnP

@KorvinStarmast Yeah, that was the Bioware version. The original version was a Stormfront/SSI collaboration. Bioware version was around 2002-4, somewhere in there.

Sir Cinnamon

@kviiri I don't recall that but maybe

kviiri

2:25 PM

@SirCinnamon I'm actually about to leave work anyway, I can check if I have access to the book on Beyond through my campaign dealings

KorvinStarmast

@GMoylan Readers Digest Condensed Version: guy meats girl through on line NWN activity. On line relationship ensues. X time passes. Guy meats girl IRL. Guy kills girl. Buries girl. Heads to a different state. I know a cop who got tagged to assist the cross state borders investigation, and he knew I had that game onour PC.

Derpy

@G.Moylan technically, the first MMORPG would be Ultima. Richard Garriot was the one who invented the word MMORPG in '97, so NW doesn't qualify because it wasn't yet called MMORPG :P

JohnP

@KorvinStarmast "meats" girl. Unintended typo pun?

KorvinStarmast

@G.Moylan Long story short, they found the shovels and rakes in his car in our state after a warrant, and they were tied by some fancy forensics back to the grave site.

@G.Moylan Cops nab the perp, ends up in prison.

G. Moylan

@KorvinStarmast was it a drow prison?

Derpy

2:27 PM

more seriously, yep.. Neverwinter Nights was the first one

KorvinStarmast

@JohnP Hmm, I suppose there was both meets and meats .. uh, oops?

JohnP

@Derpy Just because they hadn't invented the word, doesn't mean it was the first. Meridian 59 predates Ultima by a year or two.

KorvinStarmast

@G.Moylan Nah, I think the prison is ... like ... Arizona? Maybe a federal pen?

Xirema

So last night I almost killed half of my level 2 party by having the sole enemy NPC cast Thunder Step too close to the players, AMA. XD

G. Moylan

@Xirema lol my DM nearly did the same with Cone of Cold. downed me in one shot and put the other player to like 10

KorvinStarmast

2:28 PM

@JohnP I think I have the gold box still somewhere in the attic.

G. Moylan

@G.Moylan except we're level 7

JohnP

@Derpy and depending on how you define it, door games on BBS's in the 80's were wildly popular, and as mentioned, NWN original was 91. There wasn't the the infrastructure to support MM's, just M's.

Derpy

@JohnP let me search.. where I'd put that sign.... oh, it's right there.

G. Moylan

Club Penguin is the ultimate MMORPG experience

kviiri

@SirCinnamon Huh, it seems my GM was wrong. Specifically, another spoiler So yeah, I guess TPKs are still quite likely by the book :P

Xirema

2:30 PM

@G.Moylan My party all have really high Constitution scores, so usually I can get away with punching a little above the power curve, but I wasn't expecting a 3d10 roll to roll a GD 27. >_<

KorvinStarmast

@JohnP OH, that's when my brother was playing it in Detroit.

G. Moylan

@Xirema oof

KorvinStarmast

@kviiri Goodness, that's a hard fight.

Sir Cinnamon

@kviiri Not wrong so much as kind - I didn't run the house at all because i thought it would be a lame way to lose a character

JohnP

@KorvinStarmast Probably worth in the neighborhood of $75-100 depending on condition.

KorvinStarmast

2:32 PM

@JohnP Note to Self now where did I Put that thing?

kviiri

@SirCinnamon It never came to that though, so I doubt it was about kindness

KorvinStarmast

Once I start cleaning out the attick, I suspect Momma will pile on and ask for other attic tasks ... and it's still rather hot here in Texas.

kviiri

@KorvinStarmast The fights are the easy part :)

(brb)

Xirema

@G.Moylan On the plus side, I think they've learned that if they see two orcs having a picnic, they shouldn't try to bother them. =D

Sir Cinnamon

@kviiri Fair

JohnP

2:33 PM

@KorvinStarmast Same here in Az. Attics are forbidden territory until at least September.

NautArch

@kviiri Yeah, and I think PCs are more willing because it's them. That, and often times in 5e, monsters generally seem to hit harder but have lower HP. So getting hit may take them out of the fight and it's "smarter" to stay engaged and do damage then it is to die.

@MarkWells as someone currently playing in a wizard, I do think it's a bad thing:) I can already get hit pretty easily. And I've got ways to try and mitigate that. But if I can get hit and have that hit basically take me out of combat, that's a big difference. And starts to shift towards unfun.

JohnP

@nitsua60 - Hey, question - I have a char that I (sort of) developed on the DNDBeyond portal. Was curious if you could review it sometime, and if there are any openings coming up in the game I'd like to see about getting in line to play.

Although I have been playing with it, not sure if it is a final version yet.

NautArch

@nitsua60 I'm actually considering picking up Magic Initiate after Resilient(CON) so that I can get a 1/LR healing word (and two more cantrips)

NautArch

2:54 PM

@JohnP you may need to send him the shareable link. Not sure he can see other characters. Can you see sheets from others?

JohnP

@NautArch sure.

kviiri

@KorvinStarmast So uh, to elaborate a bit. One more hover spoiler.

KorvinStarmast

@kviiri well that sounds like fun. (For certain values of the word "fun" of course)

nitsua60

@KorvinStarmast It's a pretty predictable emergent behavior from HP rules, IMO. Also, guacamole goes pretty well with everything, even a demoralizing beat-down =)

KorvinStarmast

@kviiri If the SM goes through the blades, does that make it into cole slaw or a smoothie that the PC's can drink?

@nitsua60 My wife's home made guacamole recipe is quite mature, and it's really good. And I always get to be the taste tester if she's making it for a prty somewhere else. Yummmm

kviiri

2:59 PM

@KorvinStarmast Dunno :D

KorvinStarmast

Probably best not to stick around and find out at that level ...

nitsua60

@JohnP Happy to look, feel free to drop a link. (Though it'll be later in the afternoon before I can.) We're sorting out what the next "season" of the chatizen game looks like right now. I'd suggest you star "The Back Room" and you'll be able to have your finger on the pulse of what we're playing, whether you might be interested, timing, &c.

@NautArch I really liked Magic Initiate when I played a ranged striker--throw a bless on the front-liners, sit back and snipe, not have to make too many concentration checks =)

NautArch

@nitsua60 Yeah, I heavily considered Bless, but my concentration may better on other spells. The healing word seemed more like the emergency lifeline for if our normal healers go down.

JohnP

@nitsua60 thx, done

@nitsua60 Kalderian - Character concept is basically an optimized monk, things may be a bit whonky because I keep playing with different stats, races, etc.

NautArch

3:16 PM

@JohnP shadow monks are very cool. I'd think (maybe?) that there's lots of shadows in a jungle.

JohnP

@NautArch Usually. :p

Is that where the next one is? Or the finalization of the current?

NautArch

I'm not sure how deep they are into ToA, but I don't think they're that far.

One downside to the build is that when in darkness...you can't see. Silly v.Human.

JohnP

@NautArch I had a nightvision race originally, the vhuman is about the 8th different race I've played with for stat/feat differences. If I actually play it, I'd change back to a night vision race. Aarakocra, hill dwarf are listed highly in a lot of build lsitings.

NautArch

@JohnP I don't think he's allowing aarokocra. Hill Dwarf monk is giving me a chuckle when I imagine it.

MikeQ

@NautArch The current party has an aarakocra monk (V2's character)

NautArch

3:24 PM

@MikeQ well, then. I stand corrected! Fly on @JohnP!

@JohnP Did I share my goblin Kensei build with you?

JohnP

@MikeQ Oh, then I'd probably change it up to bolster a need in the party (If there is one).

@NautArch I...think so?

MikeQ

@JohnP There's a decent chance the party and campaign may be shuffled around soon, so... I have no idea what will or won't be needed. Talk to nitsua about it.

NautArch

@JohnP neat little build that always had good bonus action option :)

JohnP

3:44 PM

@MikeQ I think that is what he suggested in the back room.

NautArch

3:59 PM

Had to change the picture on that dice ID question. There were some things in the background OP probably didn't want.

Xirema

4:15 PM

@goodguy5 Did some sanity checking on the most recent answer to your damage optimization question. I think my method is underestimating the overall damage output a little, but the basic math seems to check out otherwise.

NautArch

4:31 PM

When folks ask lore questions, what's the thoughts on non-official lore?

David Coffron

@NautArch Well in this specific case the querent requested "according to official D&D lore"

Xirema

Different version/edition of the game: "Ehh, I guess that's fine."

Different game/setting altogether: "No, we shouldn't be using that as a reference".

NautArch

@DavidCoffron okay :(

@Xirema i'm looking more at quadratic's answer

the source isn't official

David Coffron

@NautArch Yeah, probably not a great answer. I don't think its downvote worthy personally, but it doesn't cover the official lore requirement. If there is no official lore, and it said "nothing official, but here's something close to official" that would be different, but I'm not sure if there isn't anything official

NautArch

@DavidCoffron yeah, that's where i'm at right now. Asked QW to support the answer as official.

Carcer

4:37 PM

the problem there is that it's hard to prove a negative

David Coffron

@Carcer True; I guess you just do your best to look and then come back with a "I haven't found anything official"

JohnP

4:58 PM

This is the only official thing I've found so far:

> A centaur is a creature with the head, arms,
and upper body of a man joined to the body and
legs of a horse. They are of average human intelligence and often carry weapons (clubs, lances,
and bows; one weapon per creature). A centaur
may use a charge attack with a lance

That gets repeated ad infinitum in various sources.

David Coffron

@JohnP Well, it is open to all editions, and there is a lot of sources that can be pulled from (older editions especially often went into more detail about anatomies sometimes). There might be something obscure out there

JohnP

@DavidCoffron Which I think I have found.

NautArch

Kobold Quarterly looks pretty far from official.

JohnP

5:14 PM

@NautArch - Dragon magazine #103 had an entire article on Centaurs, included a description of the anatomy.

archive.org/stream/DragonMagazine260_201801/…

NautArch

@JohnP get thee to the answers!

JohnP

@NautArch what am I, new? I posted the answer before I posted that here. :)

NautArch

@JohnP hehehe. My 7 year old son asked me yesterday if I was a noob.

JohnP

@NautArch I haven't gotten that, yet! LOL

NautArch

@JohnP "I am a noob in some areas, and not in others. I will pwn you in any game we play, though."

Yuuki

5:21 PM

@NautArch Tell him that you're a nooblord.

NautArch

@Yuuki How old am I that I've never heard that term?

Xirema

@NautArch Either 50 or 10.

NautArch

Trying to find the meta on how to handle folks who say they are the author of a RPG.

19

Q: Is there an established way to handle a game's designer on the site?

I'm asking due to this question in particular. It's a question about the 7th Sea 2e RPG, and we have a new user who was a designer for the game. Currently the answer he's supplied has a post notice requiring additional references, which seems a little absurd. Is there a method to handle users li...

discussion game-designers

Now I'm trying to figure out how to nicely ask them to back up their answer :(. Maybe i'll just flag for a mod :P

Delioth

I love it when a 2-year-old answer gets accepted

JohnP

@NautArch hrm...you'd think an rpg author that takes the time to answer on an rpg site wouldn't do so from an unregistered account...

NautArch

5:37 PM

@JohnP I put in a friendly comment (i hope!)

@Delioth nice! feels good, eh?

Delioth

Yeah - I mean, the answer's been getting upvotes and stands at ~60 or so votes... but it's nice to get those badges

JohnP

@Delioth To be technical, it's not quite two years old yet...

Delioth

Within a couple weeks is close enough for me, it's a fuzzy search

JohnP

Huh. The "deleted X chars from body" message in edit histories doesn't count properly.

rpg.stackexchange.com/posts/152281/revisions - By my count, deleting "(ETA:"and ")" is 6 characters.

Delioth

5:52 PM

Looks like 3 whitespace characters were added

I mean I'm still not sure how it ended up with 4, I'd expect it to see either (6 deleted - 3 added = 3 deleted), or (5 deleted, 1 changed, 2 added = 3 deleted) or similar

JohnP

@Delioth Same. I only see one white space added, at the end, and then one was deleted at the beginning. Obv there is something I'm not seeing, but weird.

Delioth

Unless changing one character counts as a deletion, but not an associated addition (i.e. changing "xyz" to "xzz" counts as "deleted 1 char from body)?

At which point it's (5 chars deleted, ')'>' ' = 1 char deleted, +2 whitespace added), which would be 6 deletions counted and 2 additions counted, which ends up at 4 "deleted"

Either way that's pretty dumb, and the system should probably just say "6 chars deleted, 3 chars added"

Yuuki

"things happened, you figure it out"

Delioth

Just make it a required field, if you can't say what you made better you shouldn't be editing

Where "typos" is perfectly valid

Rubiksmoose

6:48 PM

Awww man. I let my bounty expire without giving it to the answer I wanted to :-/

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose smooth move, ex-lax.

Rubiksmoose

Lol

Right?

Well at least they got some bounty upvotes as a result

I'm pretty peeved at myself though

Don't even remember seeing the 24 grace period notification but I must have.

Someone_Evil

@JohnP There's a space after the colon, which was also deleted, making it 7 deleted and 3 added, to a net 4 deleted; it may have been preferable if it gave those two counts instead as the net difference isn't much use to anyone

David Coffron

Ugh. I'm so close @goodguy5 If only I had cat dinosaurs I could pull it off

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