TRPG General Chat

Yuuki

00:00

Nah, I was just noticing that the hand crossbow is the only non-thrown ranged weapon that can benefit from Hexblade's CHA damage. Oh and the sling.

Blowgun too, but it does 1 damage so kinda ignoring it.

Net does no damage but can you do 0+CHA untyped damage?

I doubt it.

V2Blast

No

Crawford has (unofficially) clarified that things that don't do damage in the first place can't do "extra" damage

at least that's the intent

I don't think that ruling's in the Sage Advice Compendium

Indeed, it's not in the SAC. Crawford confirms it here (SageAdvice.eu link for context because the original tweet was seemingly deleted): sageadvice.eu/2015/04/15/net-attack

twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/586414191495393282

Ben

00:41

Morning all, how are we today

trogdor

Pretty ok

It's the first work day of the week though so i can't quite say fantastic :P

Ben

I had a huge weekend. Had games night on Friday straight after work, a Gatsby themed party on Saturday night, and then a full day out at archery on Sunday.

I am exhausted, and I was out of town for work all last week, so there's so much to do today

trogdor

My weekend was mostly staying at home trying not to go crazy

XD

Ben

Of the two, well, I wouldn't swap them cos it was the most fun weekend I've had in a donkey's age, but I have a few things I have been working on that I just haven't had the time to do haha

A couple of stories, a few game systems

V2Blast

01:18

quiet weekend here

KorvinStarmast

02:51

I went to an oyster festival saturday night. Did yardwork today. Cooked Mrs Starmast dinner. Helped out at the homeless shelter saturday morning. And most importantly, worked with V2 on his character! 8^D

Ben

Sounds like a productive weekend!

nitsua60

West Wing Lord Marburry whiskey cures

►

Ben

03:18

@nitsua60 whiskey helps the world go awound.

Ben

03:44

Or at least give you the illusion

Hot RPG Questions

07:29

4

Q: What happens if an Arcane Archer fighter's Banishing Arrow hits a mounted combatant?

I’ve an Arcane Archer character who chose the Banishing Arrow option for the Arcane Shot feature. In our campaign, we often come across hobgoblins riding worgs. I’m having trouble interpreting what will happen if I banish the hobgoblin. If I wanted to really put a thorn in the side of the en...

6

Q: What is the "value" of an item for the purposes of Artisan's Blessing?

The subject of this question is the Forge Cleric's debatably useful Channel Divinity ability, "Artisan's Blessing" You conduct an hour-long ritual that crafts a nonmagical item that must include some metal: a simple or martial weapon, a suit of armor, ten pieces of ammunition, a set of tools,...

dnd-5e crafting

kviiri

07:53

Does anyone else read non-RPG stacks and get the "tsk, missing system tag" gut reaction to posts?

Just had that looking at a physics stack question about Moon... although I guess the Earth-Moon system is a system too. (wasn't tagged as such though)

Akixkisu

08:27

@V2Blast To what reason did you change the fan abbreviation to the official abbreviation? rpg.stackexchange.com/q/166055/44723

V2Blast

09:14

@Akixkisu That was just personal preference, mostly because that inconsistency between the two questions annoyed me a little :P

Feel free to change it back if you want

Hot RPG Questions

09:41

8

Q: Would it be better to target a rider or mount with a banishing arrow?

I’ve an Arcane Archer character who chose the Banishing Arrow option for the Arcane Shot feature. In our campaign we often come across hobgoblins riding worgs. If I wanted to really put a thorn in the side of the enemy, when the mount and rider are charging into combat, would it be better to ta...

dnd-5e targeting mounted-combat

Akixkisu

@V2Blast it is fine, regarding the message in Dice rollers, that was cognitive dissonance anyway (it was asked on Feb 10; my brain translated 2010 - which is why I flagged it after deletion time transpired, wrong channel and false call to action)

kviiri

09:58

Hm, I'm going in the subplot loop thinking about my (maybe) upcoming DnD campaign

Suddenly I realize I've made a side-quest plotline that'd be a good seed for a campaign of its own, but the main campaign content is still quite bare outside the side-quest in question.

So if I de-coupled the side-quest, I'd have to start over x)

Akixkisu

10:31

@kviiri I tend to run sandboxy games, unless asked otherwise, and this happens frequently. Generally where te players want to be is where I put my focus.

kviiri

My game is not going to be very sandboxy, at least in the usual sense

I'm hacking a sort of RPG-strategy game hybrid out of 4e

Akixkisu

10:50

The one that you are running for your wife?

kviiri

Yes, hopefully. Although there's still a huuuuge amount of troubles to resolve before we can actually start x)

Eg. where do we find players

Akixkisu

12:01

When looking at a bounty id, is there some way to see what the bounty's type and text was?

Sdjz

Where are you getting the bounty id from?

Someone_Evil

@Akixkisu Go to the question's timeline, it should at least give the bounty type

The id listed on the "bounty awarded" entry is just the question id

Akixkisu

@Someone_Evil where in the timeline do you see the type?

Ben

12:16

So, I have hit a conundrum in my current game.

Akixkisu

@Sdjz from an external query that sorts by bounty gain.

The id is created by the query, so the point of using that is moot.

Ben

I could ask about it on main site, but it does involved a rather dark choice, so I'm not sure if I could ask it

@Akixkisu moot*?

Akixkisu

@Someone_Evil ah, it makes sense that I didn't see it for an old bounty where a different bounty system was in place, problem solved :)

@Ben or a mood.

Ben

Lol

Akixkisu

Same mood as preparing seitan in this "new" way that I read in an article.

It combines the worst of steaming and boiling.

Thus it is catapulting itself at the top of worst ways to prepare seitan, toppling using an oven at 200°C, with ease.

Hot RPG Questions

12:32

5

Q: Are there stats for a generic fish creature?

I've been looking everywhere for stats for generic fish stats. Fish like trout, bass, carps, and ones of the like. I don't know if there are any already out there and I can't seem to find any in the Monster Manual. I only have the 3 core rulebooks so I'm not sure if there are other stats out the...

dnd-5e monsters

KorvinStarmast

12:47

@Ben what do you need help with, Ben?

Ben

So the situation is that my character was recently discovered to be a clone. We all decided to go rescue him.

Autocorrect haha

KorvinStarmast

hah, that had me puzzled to be sure. :)

@Ben Wait, what game system is this clone in?

Ben

Savage worlds

KorvinStarmast

Ok, with you so far

Ben

So, my character is an ex-military dishonourable discharge. Sent to secret military project to remove that discharge, which ended up with super powers.

KorvinStarmast

12:51

The original PC is somewhere else, and his clone + the rest of the party is going to go look for him.

Ben

Yeah

KorvinStarmast

I get a vibe of "evil version of Captain America" but I may be missing a beat there

What's the dark part that's bugging you?

Ben

So we went to this facility. It was overrun with failed clone experiments, leading to all sorts of part spider, part man creatures.

KorvinStarmast

Cool, mad scientist / tech meets Dr Moreau.

Ben

There was a situation which led to a 50/50 vote. My character has a history of "losing control", and has had situations where he ended up killing people, simply because I legitimately forgot to use the "non lethal" option (which is a thing)

In this situation, the vote was going nowhere, time was of the essence, so I took the dark path

One players response was to immediately kick me from the group, because I made the active decision to kill someone we didn't know, that was on the brink of death, in order to save my original

To clarify - not from the IRL group

From our vigilante hero group

Carcer

13:00

seems like standard vigilante hero drama

AncientSwordRage

I'm not seeing a dark part yet

Ben

The dark part was the decision

AncientSwordRage

@Ben I think you could still ask that on the main site, but whats the question?

Ben

How to deal with it. It was an in-game decision, but I think it got a very real life response

AncientSwordRage

@Ben You'll need to articulate the RL problems it caused. Do people not what to play with each other any more? Is there something else that needs to be addressed?

KorvinStarmast

13:10

@Ben was this due to them feeling that you were meta gaming? Was that the objection?

ALso, what does this mean? One players response was to immediately kick me from the group how does one player eject you from the group?

Ben

So I made the decision, and the reaction to kick my character from the group, I believe, was more real than in game. I have no real clue why.

AncientSwordRage

or is the question now "how do we continue playing as an IRL group, if in game we aren't in the same group"?

@Ben have you asked the person who 'kicked' your character?

KorvinStarmast

@Ben We have a wizard in our group who has messed up any number of situations with his "patience my a$$, I'm going to kill something" as the other PCs are doing the RP or dealing with various NPCs.

Ben

Their reaction was to constantly challenge me about the decision. "Your character is military; I think you're misunderstanding what that means" and so on

Haven't spoken to her yet about it

KorvinStarmast

@Ben OK, so you have a group of fellow players who are telling you that you are role playing your character wrongly. Is that the problem?

Ben

13:17

I think so? Also maybe that they are having an extreme reaction to an in game situation

KorvinStarmast

Immersion can be a good thing -, over identifying with in story characters is IME a problem in itself. (Or can be) It's a two edged sword.

Ben

@KorvinStarmast my guy?

NautArch

o/

KorvinStarmast

@Ben not really.

Taking in play stuff personally due to how closely on associates one's self with one's PC.
(Which your "I will kick you" fellow player seems to be doing, maybe).

I mean, your original was experimented on by government scientists; is your fellow player expecting you to be Wolverine?

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast clearly not, Wolverine would have killed the target, too.

KorvinStarmast

13:22

@Ben In your campaign, are clones exact duplicates, are are there some distinctions between the Clone and the Original?

NautArch

Honestly, it sounds like there are other issues going on here, @Ben

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch I note a case of "none of you can make a decision, I am taking action." Been seeing this in RPGs since I began playing them; it was lethal in one of our original Traveller games ... but since we had all rolled up multiple characters anyway, GM was able to reset rather quickly.

Ben

This is a new development in the story. I only found out my character was a clone tonight too. We don't know how clones really work.

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch (Of course, the next month we started playing SpaceQuest and the Traveller campaign never got going again)

NautArch

@Ben Have you had problematic interactions in RL or in character before?

Ben

13:27

There have been some situations where there was a "link" between the clone and the original, and the DM asked if the original felt the same way about the decision, and I said yes

KorvinStarmast

@Ben OK, she says "you are doing it wrong" but nobody in character knows how clones work. scratching head I think Naut's right, there's something else going on here.

Ben

@NautArch no, not really. We've had some 50/50 situations, but we've always gone one way or another. This is the first time I jumped the gun to get my way

KorvinStarmast

@Ben Is your typical group norm not to kill NPCs unless it's an obvious fight situation?

Hot RPG Questions

11

Q: When did Warlocks make their first appearance in D&D and how do they differ between editions?

I'm gathering lore about Warlock class origins in D&D. A quality answer would have more than just a release date, and would ideally cover what makes each edition's version different from other editions. When did Warlocks make their first appearance in D&D and how do they differ between editions?

dungeons-and-dragons warlock lore edition-comparison

Ben

And I even stated that I didn't like the decision I made, I just didn't want to waste more time

NautArch

13:29

@Ben Is your DM willing to 'remind' you about non-lethal damage. We've done the sme at our 5e table and it's frustrating when you mean to, but forgot.

Ben

@KorvinStarmast yeah. This is the first time I've actually actively chosen to kill someone.

@NautArch he does remind me, but after the fact. Lol

NautArch

@Ben that's...not reminding. It's punishing after the fact.

Ben

I don't actually have weapons. I'm just genetically engineered to have a stronger skeleton, with excessive strength, meaning that it's ruled as lethal

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch FWIW, As I DM, I frequently prompt/ask about "are you trying to kill them, or are you knocking them out" because I want the player to tell me.

Ben

@NautArch no I know that. If does get frustrating.

NautArch

13:31

^ Especially in situations where it's clear they would (or should)

@Ben It just seems odd to get such a visceral reaction, which suggests to me there's more going on.

KorvinStarmast

@Ben Is the other player upset with you that you forgot that you can do non lethal damage?

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast That might make sense...frustration that Ben keeps forgetting.

@Ben Since it's fairly important at your table, maybe just make a 3x5 card that says "DON'T FORGET ABOUT NON-LETHAL!" and keep it in front of you.

Ben

@KorvinStarmast in this situation I had a weapon (for use with the monsters) so it was an active decision

@NautArch that is a good idea

KorvinStarmast

I had to clear the air about six months ago with our D&D group. I (mentioned in chat) had come into the game just as the group had killed a bunch of guards. My life cleric tried to make the Preserve life channel divinity fix that (one was "dead dead" the others at 0 HP) and then I prevailed upon the others (RP wise) to collect money to pay a weregild. The wizard player mentioned above was not too keen on that; his point was "people need to know not to mess with us."

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast Allowing players to make decisions, either positive negative, is important. But so is making sure they understand that there will be repercussions (both positive and negative) for their decisions.

KorvinStarmast

13:36

@Ben OK, the rest of the group know that you are liable to kill stuff if they can't make up their minds. Make that a point of departure for your next in character discussion. "If you can't make up your minds, time keeps on ticking ..."

see where that conversation goes.

@NautArch My life cleric has since retired from that group, and is working on upgrading the shrine, and becoming a part of the community. While this all happened due to a random die roll (what, I'm pregnant?) I am far happier with her not being in the group since there was another Life cleric (who is as bloody handed as the wizard) and I felt a need to change characters. It has worked out fine, except the cleric is now a statue.

Ben

That was the reason for the decision. Time was of the essence. I didn't like it, I didn't do it because I wanted to do it, I did it because it was an impedence to something I saw was more important, as well as opening is up to other liabilities in the meantime

KorvinStarmast

@Ben You guys need to have this conversation. How many players in the group?

AncientSwordRage

@Ben you've made your in game/out of game motivation clear but I think that needs to be discusssed with the other players

Carcer

unrelatedly, does the warlock description in Complete Arcane read as incoherently inconsistent to anyone else?

Ben

I started to mention it, and tried to clarify my point, but they were getting very defensive.

NautArch

13:44

@Ben DId the DM intervene at all?

Ben

@KorvinStarmast there are 4 of us in total, plus the DM

AncientSwordRage

@Ben it might be a good start to ask them to explain themselves, in an obviously non-threatening way, so they can get it off their chest and clear the air

BESW

New default headcanon for fantasy settings with orcs: "Orc" was the name of a really upstanding goblin who was just astonishingly nice to be around, and now many goblins and goblin-friends use "orc" as an honorific or superlative. Other groups are confused by this and have their own assumptions about the word.

Ben

@NautArch he allowed a dice roll to try and stop me. 2 players tried. One didn't bother.

NautArch

@Ben But he didn't intervene in the table argument?

AncientSwordRage

13:46

@BESW ????

Ben

@NautArch no

BESW

@AncientSwordRage !!!

AncientSwordRage

@BESW ‽ ‽ ‽ ‽

NautArch

@Ben I would talk with your DM about that. Part of their role is to keep the table running smoothly. They need to mediate.

Ben

It wasn't exactly an argument. We weren't angry or telling at each other. It was more like a !"not cool, you are misguided" vs "time was of the essence, I didn't like it but I felt it was necessary because we were wasting time"

AncientSwordRage

13:50

@Ben then there doesn't seem to be much of a problem then...?

@BESW My head cannon for orcs is that they behave very much like elephants. When the male 'Bull' elephant is old enough it departs from the patriarcal group and starts roaming on it's own looking for trouble/females to mate with

along with Orcish Musth

Musth

Musth or must (an Urdu word, from Persian: literally drunk) is a periodic condition in bull (male) elephants characterized by highly aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones. Testosterone levels in an elephant in musth can be on average 60 times greater than in the same elephant at other times (in specific individuals these testosterone levels can even reach as much as 140 times the normal). However, whether this hormonal surge is the sole cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor, is unknown. Scientific investigation of musth is problematic because even...

Ben

I feel like there is, some pent up frustration at something, and maybe that lack of control in that moment hit a bit of a trigger?

KorvinStarmast

@AncientSwordRage Neat take on orcs. My orc clans tend to follow a strong leader until someone can challenge him in a trial by combat ... unless the shaman intervenes and puts a stop to it for the good of the clan.

BESW

I try to avoid using animalistic and self-control-reducing tropes for my sapient characters.

4

KorvinStarmast

@Ben yeah

Carcer

@BESW put far more eloquently than I was typing that sentiment

Ben

13:54

I've also been told there's a work for "not quite a trigger", generally used in literature. Like getting a very strong reaction to something, but not to the point where you need to leave of anything

BESW

@Ben I think we need to revive the word squick.

AncientSwordRage

@BESW thats probably a good idea, but I do like the idea

KorvinStarmast

@Ben "annoyance" is a term that seems to fit. Exasperation.

AncientSwordRage

@BESW I wonder if there is a balance to be had

Ben

@BESW that was it.

Carcer

13:55

@BESW "squick" has the connotations of a disgusted reaction though, right?

Ben

@Carcer yeah.

Carcer

or is it just generally used to convey uncomfortableness

Ben

The reaction on this situation doesn't fit. It wasn't a trigger (I don't think, or at least hope not), but it wasn't a squick

BESW

@Carcer Yes, but getting squicked doesn't describe a serious mental health condition the way being triggered does.

Carcer

@BESW not disagreeing, I just don't see it as a general term that works for not-quite-triggering

BESW

13:57

One of the earliest citations for it is "someone else's kink." It's a neutral term describing personal dispreference without judgement for others' different reactions.

Of course, as a fandom term, it's got a lot of localization going on.

Carcer

now my brain is going "micro-trigger" but I don't think anyone actually uses that.

@BESW >For example, some fans may have an embarrassment squick, and do not enjoy works where a character is embarrassed or in an awkward situation.

feeling personally attacked right now

still, fair enough

I guess the context I've seen the term in was pretty much always conveying some kind of disgust, but I accept it could be more general

BESW

Oh yeah, I squick hard at almost any kind of narrative which centers around a character's discomfort for its own sake--humiliation, awkwardness, embarrassment, whatever.

AncientSwordRage

sheepishly raises hand

same

BESW

(Especially if it's being played for laughs. There's a whole category of "comedy" that I just nope out on.)

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

I do have an impression people often use 'squick' in a vaguely judgemental manner.

(Sometimes not-so-vaguely.)

BESW

14:02

(After watching several of his movies due to peer pressure, I now feel uncomfortable just seeing Adam Sandler's face in any context.)

NautArch

@BESW are you a fan of Larry David?

BESW

I think I've heard the name?

user15026

@BESW eeeergh yes. Worst thing.

Sir Cinnamon

Creator of seinfeld essentially (among other things)

Carcer

my response seems to vary a lot but I have on many occasions found myself getting up and at least needing to walk around if not leave the room because of secondhand embarassment

BESW

14:04

What very little I know of Seinfeld has led me to avoid it at every opportunity.

AncientSwordRage

NautArch

@BESW I'm one of the few that didn't love it, and I can't stand Curb Your Enthusiasm. For very much similar reasons around discomfort for it's own sake. It's his schtick.

Carcer

@NautArch it seems like you probably knew the answer to that question before you asked it then

NautArch

@Carcer I was setting a BESW trap, don't ruin it! :P

Carcer

ackbar.gif

AncientSwordRage

14:07

The worst one I can think of in this category is the 'Get someone to dress up as a woman in infiltrate, then someone falls for them in drag, and the cross-gendered dressed person is embaressed about this' trope

KorvinStarmast

@BESW a reasonable reaction

AncientSwordRage

thats a nope-trope for me

NautArch

@AncientSwordRage also known as , the Bugs Bunny.

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch bugs can pull this off without acting embarressed enough to make it squicky

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch I never cared for the show; Seinfeld's stand up comedy I usually enjoyed.

BESW

14:10

oof, Bugs is a whole other can of worms, let's not get into that one.

Ben

Well thankyou for the assistance everyone. Helped me gather my thoughts and get a way to move one what to focus on :)

BESW

Good luck!

Ben

Won't be seeing them for another week, and I think it'll be something we do in person rather than over text. But thankee

kviiri

In my currently-in-works DnD game the closest orc-equivalent are loose communities of people who live around The Wound (name not final), a place hit by some particularly nasty magicks in the Tri-Wizard war and still bursting with residual magics to the point most of the other people won't go there. They're also the descendants of the precursor empire that created the magical gear the Wizard Tytrants are using, but only their eldest remember any of this tradition.

AncientSwordRage

@Ben one last thing - it might be worth resolving before the next session, so as not to disrupt that session for everyone else

BESW

14:23

@kviiri This is somewhat reminiscent of orcs in The Thousand Cousins; they're the descendants of the noble families closest to the magical cataclysm, and they've preserved their inherited noble traditions... and their sense that the nation should be reunited around their banner, by force if necessary since the other cousins seem content with the niches they've found in the world in the thousand years since the cataclysm.

Yuuki

@kviiri something something tri-wizard tournament

kviiri

They're staying in The Wound because its magical "background radiation" drowns out any attempts of the Wizard Tyrants to spy on them through magic and the lingering effects of the humongously destructive spells make the area somewhat inhospitable which deters others from intruding. They will imprison or if need be, kill intruders, because they fear the wizards are sending their spies to reclaim their lost magical stuff in there.

NautArch

Weird, I just lost 10 rep on the adventurer's league question.

I guess someone undid a vote

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch Oh dear, maybe the honey moon is over?

AncientSwordRage

@kviiri somewhat reminiscent of Yoda on Dagobah

Yuuki

14:31

@AncientSwordRage The imprisoning/killing of intruders or fearing the (space) wizard trying to reclaim his (future) lost ~~stuff~~ wife?

AncientSwordRage

@Yuuki hiding in the background magical radiation/dark force shadow

starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Side_Cave

kviiri

I try to evoke some Cold War ideas in the setting, eg. a culture hit hard by a conflict that's not even ultimately about them. The Wound is essentially a magical nuclear strike ground zero.

Yuuki

@BESW Funnily enough, isn't the Two Orcs' Tower a firewatch station? Thus making it a protagonist's space?

GcL

14:49

@kviiri Sounds like Eberron's Mournland

You could probably yoink some ideas from that. Like living spells manifesting and running amok

kviiri

@GcL Never played Eberron, and the only description of the setting I've ever heard was delivered by a rather over-enthusiastic fellow and I zoned out well before halfway :P

oh hey, I remember he mentioned living spells

GcL

@kviiri You don't need the whole kit and caboodle, but some aspects of it might be useful. It's a large magical calamity that has residual side effects, makes magic go wonky, and has hostile residents

And is filled with valuable artifacts

KorvinStarmast

@kviiri cool idea

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast To not further derail the comments on Kryan's guessing the system answer, my point was more that the chatizens in general are more open to trying new things out.

As opposed to folks who simply use mainsite.

KorvinStarmast

15:07

@NautArch could be, don't know, and someday we need to do a roll for shoes game I think.

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast My point is that we're already somewhat primed to try new things. The 'average' stackizen coming with a 5e question may not be (or at least they don't even know if they are.)

NautArch

15:22

Also if anyone wants to see one of the most michael bay movies ever, it's 6 underground on netflix.

goodguy5

I really want to watch that.

@KorvinStarmast I volunteer as tribute

@NautArch what is the statistical average for a stackizen? (any stack or rpg stack?)

Yuuki

@NautArch Is that the one with the absolutely horrible understanding of what it means to be legally dead?

NautArch

@goodguy5 Go into expecting over the top michael bay. And you'll mostly enjoy it. But there's some pretty awful things in it.

@Yuuki yeah

Yuuki

For at least a week, I read the title as "Gunderground" until someone mentioned it at work.

"oh that's a six?" - yuuki, circa 2020

NautArch

I mean, it's got everything michael bay. Unnecessary explosions. Unnecessary lingerie. Unnecessary story.

goodguy5

15:26

count me in! 6 times, even!

Yuuki

@NautArch Unnecessary central plot device that has no basis in reality.

NautArch

@Yuuki What is the dictionary definition of Michael Bay?

Yuuki

In this case, that somehow being legally dead makes you invisible to bureaucracy. Pretty sure if you're legally dead and you show up at an airport security checkpoint, they're going to bring you in for questioning.

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch I read you 5 and 5, all good! :-)

NautArch

@Yuuki that's why he flies his private plane. From his private airport. ANd lands...somewhere also private? Stop asking questions.

KorvinStarmast

15:33

@Yuuki nah, they will think you died of corona virus and push you away with ten foot poles

Yuuki

@NautArch Ah yes, being legally dead also makes ATCs ignore the fact that there's an unidentified object that's clearly being piloted without a filed flight plan on radar.

KorvinStarmast

@Yuuki dead parrots do not squawk (Monty Python Ref), thus ATC would not see the squawk (Transponder), thus it would be invisible

NautArch

@Yuuki Don't make me warn you again! Do not poke holes in michael bay movies. Just watch the explosions, listen to the hopefully dialogue (thank you ryan reynolds), and turn off your brain.

CollinB

Random Statement of the Day:

A human is just a brain, piloting a bone mech with meat armor

NautArch

@CollinB i've definitely heard this before.

Hot RPG Questions

15:42

10

Q: How does grappling interact with the Armor of Agathys spell?

The description of the Armor of Agathys spell says (PHB 215, emphasis mine): A protective magical force surrounds you, manifesting as a spectral frost that covers you and your gear. You gain 5 temporary hit points for the duration. If a creature hits you with a melee attack while you have the...

dnd-5e spells attack grapple melee-combat

kviiri

Surprising how it turns out to be legible English despite being random

I guess the need for it to be English was implicit though

Yuuki

@NautArch I honestly wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't such a central narrative device. Like the whole thing is about "ghosts". If the premise was just "oh, super billionaire puts together a group of mercenaries to do good", it would be so much easier to turn off my brain and enjoy.

But they have to constantly talk about how they're technically dead and how freeing that is and how that lets them do the things they do.

goodguy5

"legally dead" != "technically dead"

Carcer

I mean, it works if the end of the film reveals the twist that they actually all are genuinely dead and they're ghosts who just didn't realise it.

just fully sixth sense it

NautArch

@Carcer i was really hoping/expecting a twist...

CollinB

16:01

@NautArch most of these aren't original, you probably have

NautArch

didn't we used to have a spoil-lair?

was going to move rooms to discuss the movie without spoiling

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch and yet you knew it was a Michael Bay production...

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch If you build it, they will come.

NautArch

@AncientSwordRage i know, i know. It still really seemed like an obvious twist was happening.

@KorvinStarmast So my brain just made it up? I really could have sworn there was one.

KorvinStarmast

@NautArch I have a vague memory of the same thing, no idea where it may have wandered off to

NautArch

16:12

I figure a specific spoil room may be helpful...but maybe not? Just use NAB?

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch they do exist, but for DND products

NautArch

I mean, spoiling for one thing is fine, but if it's spoiling anything then that may still not work.

AncientSwordRage

Theres the 'Time and Relative Dimensions in Spoilers'

but it's frozen and may only be for Dr Who

NautArch

16:39

Yeah, i dunno. It is just a silly michael bay movie, so I'll just discuss in NAB if anyone wants to join.

MikeQ

Michael bay filmography is sufficiently off topic for the main rpg chat room

AncientSwordRage

NAB?

MikeQ

No I mean it is within bounds of the off topic stuff we discuss here

NautArch

@AncientSwordRage Our other chatroom, Not a bar, but plays one on TV

@MikeQ Oh, i didn't think it was off-topic. Just didn't want to get into details that might be spoilerish.

goodguy5

oh no! My daycare has a kid with hand foot and mouth disease

AncientSwordRage

16:51

@NautArch ahhh

NautArch

@goodguy5 coxsackie!

my favorite disease name

goodguy5

@NautArch How concerned should I be?

NautArch

@goodguy5 not at all

not a big deal

superdupercommon

kviiri

@NautArch I once googled what "ascorbic" in "ascorbic acid", aka Vitamin C, means

Turns out it just means "against scurvy".

NautArch

@kviiri TIL!

kviiri

16:54

@NautArch And to think it took the sailors of Europe so long to figure out how to prevent scurvy, when they could've just noticed the name! :---)

NautArch

@kviiri silly sailors

kviiri

but speaking of diseases, I have a segue on NAB

NautArch

Any fans of metal music on here?

goodguy5

depends on what kind of metal, but yea

Some of it sounds kinda tinny

NautArch

Check out the comedian Brian Pohsen's new album Grandpa Metal.

it's pretty funny and the music is legit

goodguy5

17:01

cool!

NautArch

not safe for work/kids.

kviiri

17:12

not safe for wetworks

Did anyone ever play Master of Magic?

I had a daydream about it, maybe because it's quite close in feel to what I want my DnD campaign to be like :-)

It's the original "Civilization... with magic!" plus some other neat innovations --- sadly also, stupid-poor AI and horrible balancing even by the day's standards.

NautArch

@kviiri Nope, but it immediately triggered the theme song to a cartoon from my youth (Defenders of the Earth)

kviiri

@NautArch ...I had absolutely zero idea that The Phantom was in a superhero team.

NautArch

@kviiri I used to love that show

Clearly since I have the theme song memorized

kviiri

That seems quite epic yes

For kids of the eighties around here, the Phantom magazine was the hottest thing ever. Of particular note, you could join the "Phantoms Club" and get a Phantom ring and your picture in the paper. One of my friends still wears his ring.

I was a bit outside the age range of its popularity peak, I've only second-hand knowledge of the phenomenon.

NautArch

@kviiri that's awesome and your friend is awesome.

kviiri

17:23

There was also occasionally some older jokester --- or who knows, sincere phantomeer! who joined the Phantom club. The magazine published their membership photos without making any ado about it, which is also really fun and cool

Carcer

argh the quote formatting just changed

illustro

Did the style of quotes change on the site?

NautArch

@Carcer i was just about to ask about that. no like.

illustro

That formatting change makes quotes much less clearly defined

NautArch

@illustro Yeah, i'm hoping it's a CSS error.

illustro

17:26

35

Q: Quotes should look different from spoilers

Spoilers are usually not quotes. But currently spoilers (after clicking) look exactly like blockquotes. So the reader has to memorize which paragraphs he clicked (spoilers), and which were already visible (quotes). Such memorization is distracting and the need for it can be avoided. Compare: ...

feature-request bug design spoilers blockquote

Related to that I assume

35

Q: Some improvements to blockquotes

Update Sorry for the delay! I’ve been thinking about this feedback in between my other projects, and I’ve landed where I’ve started 😕 I’ve made sure to continue highlighting spoilers in gray. The differentiation from normal blockquotes is super important since their behavior is so different. I...

discussion design blockquote

NautArch

17:42

I don't get how spoilers were getting confused. One has content andone has no content unless you roll over.

kviiri

@NautArch If you're on the site for the first time, or seeing spoilers only rarely, it'll take you a while to figure out what's with the empty box.

it's not clear.

Someone_Evil

It is now an empty box with a line on one side, it isn't much clearer imo

kviiri

That I agree with,

Xirema

17:58

@NautArch Yeah, I can confirm that the behavior of spoiler boxes on the site tripped me up the first time I encountered them.

@Someone_Evil I also agree with this.

TBH I'm somewhat unconvinced you can design a useful "Spoiler Block" interface without adding some kind of indicator, like I did in that mock-up.

kviiri

I would add an explicit, possibly customizable indicator.

Yuuki

@kviiri Pretty sure we want to avoid explicit indicators.

kviiri

@Yuuki Oh har har x)

RevenantBacon

18:35

What are peoples opinions on the Called Shot mechanics in Pathfinder?

goodguy5

going through it. It's alright, but the take on me parody is amazing.

And all of the joke parts are great, of course. (about half through it)

@RevenantBacon I find called shot mechanics to add unnecessary cumber

Yuuki

@goodguy5 Can you queue multiple called shots at once?

Would that be unnecessary queued cumber?

goodguy5

@Yuuki no? I don't think so, if I understand what you're saying.

Like, cascading "I'll try for x, but then settle for y"?
or
"can I hit his hand, eye, and heart all at once?"?
or something else?

NautArch

@goodguy5 THe Take on Me cover is amazing. I haven't gotten too much further, but the Grandpa Metal song is like metal grognard.

@goodguy5 Do you mean hit his hand, foot, mouth? :D

goodguy5

D:

Akixkisu

18:42

The real question is why is it so horrible on one's eyes?

goodguy5

@NautArch just got to that one, and it's pretty good, as well.

Yuuki

@goodguy5 More like trying to make an attempt at "cucumber".

goodguy5

oh, I get it lol

sorry

NautArch

@goodguy5 the lyrics are great on that one, but the arrangement in Take On Me is crazy good.

Yuuki

Eh, not getting a pun isn't really a fault of the person to whom the pun is made. It shows a lack of skill on the part of the punmaker.

NautArch

18:45

On the local radio, the DJs interviewed him and I think the guitarist from Fallout Boy is on the album. And Brian hates Fallout Boy. He was saying "He's a really good guitarist, but you'd never know it from his band"

Yuuki

@NautArch I'm trying to remember some of instrumentalists (or even vocalists) who most people don't recognize as insanely gifted or talented because their main project isn't really a showcase for it.

I wanna say there's at least one member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers who's basically this.

But I can't remember who.

Also Imagine Dragons apparently?

Supposedly, Imagine Dragons as a whole are all really good musicians but they play the sort of rote and unimaginative music that they do because 1) it sells really well and 2) they just have fun doing it.

Rubiksmoose

Looks like the blockquote style update is rolling out today. It's already live.

4

goodguy5

yea, it seems like the album is backloaded, or maybe midloaded.

Wasn't digging it at all until 1/4 viking.

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose not a fan.

@Yuuki I actually liked the band until i saw them during that halftime show performance. I had wanted to see them live. Now I don't.

I mean, i still like the music.

but no way would i go see them live

KorvinStarmast

@Rubiksmoose I am not sure why it was thought to be necessary, bu I did read the meta and decided that I have no dog in the fight.

Rubiksmoose

18:56

@NautArch Yeah I'm not super into it either.

illustro

@Rubiksmoose I've just voiced my opinion on the change: meta.stackexchange.com/a/344849/388810

2

NautArch

@KorvinStarmast As useful as that phrase is, I've actually stopped myself from using it here and trying elsewhere.

illustro

It makes posts with a lot of quotes, or large quotes harder to read and differentiate than they were before the change

goodguy5

XD 😂 metal what does the fox say

Rubiksmoose

@illustro Well said.

KorvinStarmast

18:59

@NautArch It ain't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog is a truism that long precedes a certain quarterback getting sent to jail. It's a colorful metaphor; I'd use the term cock (meaning rooster) rather than dog, but the double entendre potential is just too high.

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