TRPG General Chat

Medix2

22:00

That just sounds like a better (potentially broken) net

Himitsu_no_Yami

Oh wait

I misread part of the net

I thought the last sentence applied to the creature the net restrained

kviiri

@BESW Yeah, it's pretty clear they're not interested in dramatically shaking the established d20 dynamics

:(

Himitsu_no_Yami

But regardless it seems to me like that's exactly what a bola would do

maybe instead of an escape DC the creature just needs to use its action to free itself but it doesn't need a STR check

Red Orca

@Himitsu_no_Yami The weird thing about nets is that they're always thrown at disadvantage. (Unless you have Crossbow Expert, of course!) Adding range would "fix" that little quirk and probably make them too powerful.

38

A: Are attacks with nets always made with disadvantage?

Net attacks RAW are made perpetually with disadvantage. They act as a normal ranged attack, so you are either always throwing them at long range (10-15 feet) and incurring disadvantage, or you are throwing them at short range and as a result are in close combat and throwing them at disadvantage. ...

Himitsu_no_Yami

I understand that but at the same time, nets can be large and unwieldy while a bola is much smaller and likely easier to handle

It'd also only take an action (and no STR check) to get out of one which I think would help

Red Orca

22:16

@Himitsu_no_Yami You could maybe get away with it if you only have them inflict grappled instead of restrained. Could be an interesting [homebrew-review] question.

Himitsu_no_Yami

I don't see how grappled would be better than restrained

Someone_Evil

The general stance is that nets just aren't worth the time, right? (I know we have some questions about trying to make them work)

Red Orca

@Himitsu_no_Yami You don't get advantage on creatures that are grappled, unlike restrained.

Someone_Evil

Grappled also just doesn't work on ranged stuff, does it?

Himitsu_no_Yami

@Someone_Evil I mean you could consider the bola itself to be the grappler

Red Orca

22:18

@Someone_Evil I don't think there's anything that prevents a grapple from happening at range. Though I don't know if anything actually does so in 5e.

Someone_Evil

@Himitsu_no_Yami That sounds like awkward rules quarrelling, I wouldn't design using it

The grappled condition has two conditions which end it, and both of them seem silly with bolas

Red Orca

@Someone_Evil Yeah, you'd probably want the bolas to say "the creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed" without actually inflicting grappled. You could even say that they have no effect if the target is immune to being grappled, so you can't bolas a ghost.

Someone_Evil

But now I want ghost-bolases

Is that the right plural?

Himitsu_no_Yami

Bola is singular, Bolas is plural

Medix2

Bolases is also correct btw

Someone_Evil

22:25

Wikipedia disagrees with you, and agrees with me despite the mouth feel

Medix2

Bolases IIRC is unique to English

But bolas is also used as the singular IIRC and bola wasn't a word last I knew

Hot RPG Questions

6

Q: How can I control the planar traits of a certain spot, and make it any trait I want?

I want to gain some benefits from the traits of other planes, without leaving my home plane. How can I control the planar traits of a certain spot, and make it any trait I want? Being able to turn it on and off and also change which traits from time to time is ideal.

dnd-3.5e

Medix2

Apparently bola is a word... Probably some linguistic history on there that's weird

Someone_Evil

A bolas as you throw it has multiple balls (bola) on it, no?

Himitsu_no_Yami

Ahh the joys of using work computers... computer came slightly unplugged, shut everything off, and reset the entire computer...

Someone_Evil

22:32

I've never round up cattle in the South Americas, so I wouldn't know

Himitsu_no_Yami

@Someone_Evil I consider the balls and chain/string/whatever to be a single thing called a bola

I mainly know of bolas from my time playing Ark though

Someone_Evil

I think my first association is from Dota, so I'm not blaming you

Himitsu_no_Yami

looked it up and origin was "early 19th century: from Spanish and Portuguese, plural of bola ‘ball’."

Medix2

Wait where does boleadoras come from...

Himitsu_no_Yami

what even is that word

nitsua60

22:40

@Himitsu_no_Yami It's older than that--it's got origins all the way back to ancient Greek, as the flight of the bola (which one throws alongside, para) is where the term parabola comes from.

Medix2

The same thing?

nitsua60

Also the term parable, for a story that (metaphorically) travels alongside.

(According, at least, to my expert-in-ancient-Greek religion and biblical studies professors from undergrad.)

Medix2

Well according to the OED: Parabola: Late 16th century modern Latin, from Greek parabolē ‘placing side by side, application’, from para-‘beside’ + bolē ‘a throw’ (from the verb ballein

Words are complicated...

Someone_Evil

It doesn't surprise me that the ancient greek word for throw and the spanish/portugese word for ball (which one often throws) are similar/identical, considering "apple" used to just mean fruit

The meaning of words can change a lot with time and usage

Himitsu_no_Yami

on the topic of words, I just learned I've been pronouncing boolean wrong this whole time

doppelgreener

22:47

@Himitsu_no_Yami ... How were you pronouncing it? How are you supposed to? Have I been pronouncing it wrong?

Medix2

@Someone_Evil And then there's orange

doppelgreener

I pronounce it boo-lee-yan

Medix2

There are a few ways to say it

Himitsu_no_Yami

@doppelgreener I've been saying boo (as in a ghost) lean (you lean against a wall). Correct is Boo-lee-uhn

doppelgreener

Ahhh. That makes sense as a way to read it

It'd be a trip to learn it's just from a mathematician named Boole

Medix2

22:49

It literally is

Himitsu_no_Yami

yep

Now for the question that usually sparks an argument but that I trust you people not to start one about: Pronounce .gif

@doppelgreener George Boole (1815-1864)

Red Orca

@Himitsu_no_Yami It's obviously pronounced gif.

Someone_Evil

@Himitsu_no_Yami gif, or gif if I want to have an argument with someone, which isn't often

Himitsu_no_Yami

@RedOrca Why do I get the feeling we're still pronouncing it differently

Red Orca

@Himitsu_no_Yami Nonsense, we both pronounce it gif :D

doppelgreener

22:54

it's definitely pronounced gif

Himitsu_no_Yami

I'm not sure if I love or hate all of you for this

Lets try it with some clarification. Hard or soft g? (like gift or like Jif peanut butter)

Medix2

@Himitsu_no_Yami I cannot use the cursed pronunciation in this chat

doppelgreener

i pronounce the g as like the g in gif

Medix2

It stands for graphic, do with the information what you will

Himitsu_no_Yami

But the creator actually named it after the peanut butter from what I read

doppelgreener

22:58

the creator does in fact pronounce it with a soft g

Someone_Evil

@Himitsu_no_Yami Jif is a cleaning product in my part of the world. I don't want to try their peanut butter

Medix2

@Himitsu_no_Yami I wonder how many words are no longer pronounced as their creator first did (almost all of them)

Himitsu_no_Yami

@Medix2 it stands for Giraffical Interchange Format

Someone_Evil

@Medix2 Everest is pronounced incorrectly, and that's not a matter of creator, that's just a name

Medix2

@Someone_Evil Whoever first gave it a name, created its name, but also a fair point

Himitsu_no_Yami

23:00

I feel like they missed an opportunity in naming it either ever-rest (as in eternal) or never-rest

doppelgreener

it was named after someone whose surname was Everest, as in Eve, but the mountain is definitely named Everest, as in Ever

Himitsu_no_Yami

@doppelgreener Mount Eve-rest

I'll accept it if someone named Eve is resting there

MikeQ

google: The peak was named after British surveyor George Everest in 1856.

Himitsu_no_Yami

What's with people named George being famous for making or naming things?

*notices star* I'm just gonna leave and accept Giraffical Interchange Format as my legacy

John Offenhartz

Someone_Evil

23:06

@Himitsu_no_Yami Something about the english having kings named George from 1714-1830. There was just a lot of George's around (named in honour of king) at a time they were naming things, or named it for the king

Sum of e D pi

So it 300 years are we going to be complaining about all the space rocks named "Keanu?"

MikeQ

Keanu may still be around in 300 years. The man does not age.

Sum of e D pi

So more time for him to name things.

Someone_Evil

He doesn't seem like the type to name things after himself

Sum of e D pi

Well, given current name trends, I look forward to every point of interest in the solar system being named "Emma"

Himitsu_no_Yami

23:12

I've been watching the Spiffing Brit on Youtube so much that hearing "Keanu Reeves" sounds wrong cus I'm used to his character of "Reanu Keeves"

Hot RPG Questions

7

Q: Can you choose to use abilities like Stunning Strike or Divine Smite after rolling damage?

There are certain abilities that require you to first make a hit, then you can choose whether or not to use that ability. Two examples that I can think of are a monk's Stunning Strike and a paladin's Divine Smite (there are others, but I won't enumerate them all here; an answerer is welcome to if...

dnd-5e class-feature attack

doppelgreener

@Himitsu_no_Yami like george foreman, and the less popular george four horsemen

MikeQ

If George Foreman makes grills, then does George Aftman make coolers?

BESW

@doppelgreener Considering what my roommates did with a George Foreman grill, I'm not convinced those aren't the same person.

Himitsu_no_Yami

@BESW Do tell

BESW

23:22

It's not a particularly entertaining story, just generally gross. Always clean your countertop grill after every use, people.

The grease trap isn't intended to be a permanent solution.

user15026

@BESW eeeergh no it is noooot

kviiri

My cousins' stepdad was a fisherman and my recollection is that his income was both gross income and net income

3

Himitsu_no_Yami

@kviiri *sigh*

doppelgreener

@BESW i don't remember what it was, but i remember a video following a chef preparing some meals, and he says: "other chefs keep asking me, wow, how do you make stuff taste this good? i'm using the same methods and tools and it never comes out that good. and the reason is to just clean your cookware. every single time, clean the surface. everything tastes better cooked off clean tools."

BESW

@doppelgreener With specific exceptions like cast iron which still need to be cared for hygenically but shouldn't be cleaned per se.... yes, this.

doppelgreener

23:29

in his context, he wasn't talking about reusing pans, he had one of those enormous industrial-sized flat-top grills to manage, and he was scraping it down before each thing he cooked on it.

BESW

ah. huh.

Rubiksmoose

Contrary to popular belief it's actually ok to soap up cast iron pans! Though I find I usually don't have to with ours. At the very least, it doesn't hurt them.

(reminds me, some of them need a bit of re-seasoning)

doppelgreener

i mean, the principle absolutely extends to every other piece of cookware

including pans

Rubiksmoose

For sure!

Makes sense.

Himitsu_no_Yami

I need a "quick" way to kill an hour so I can leave work already. Any suggestions?

doppelgreener

23:34

yeah my understanding is you can wash a cast iron pan with soapy water and a soft implement, but you can't soak it, and you need to heat it to remove the moisture afterwards, and re-apply some oil

MikeQ

@Himitsu_no_Yami Do work?

Ben

@Himitsu_no_Yami Take it out to the smoking area on the roof, then lock the door behind it. It's not necessarily quick, but it is blame free.

Rubiksmoose

Mhm. The trick is that the real thing you don't want to the damage is the polymerized carbon coating on the outside. It's not actually oil any more. So no need to worry about soap stripping it away. But always apply light oil after said cleaning as you mentioned.

doppelgreener

@Himitsu_no_Yami are you implying literally eliminating an hour from the progression of the day so as to immediately travel to an hour from now and leave work

Himitsu_no_Yami

@MikeQ no work to do, I work at an inbound call center and there's no business

MikeQ

23:36

Call your work number and have an hour long conversation

BESW

Play a game of We Forest Three?

Himitsu_no_Yami

@doppelgreener I mean that would work. But I mean make it feel as though it's going by faster

Ben

@Himitsu_no_Yami Make a bunch of paper planes and throw them around the office with simple messages like "Dave did it"

Himitsu_no_Yami

@BESW clicked link and it went nope and was blocked

Rubiksmoose

Call random coworkers and talk to them.

Himitsu_no_Yami

23:36

@Ben don't have any paper; as in we're not allowed to have paper on the production floor

Rubiksmoose

@Himitsu_no_Yami play this

Ben

@Himitsu_no_Yami Draw a paper plane in MS Paint and email it to people with simple messages like "Dave did it"?

BESW

Kickstarter: Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall by Wet Ink Games. An RPG of Chinese immigrants running the family restaurant by day, and dealing with the hauntings of Jiangshi by night!

doppelgreener

look up and study a topic you find compelling. three flavors here:
- actual dedicated study on the topic for the purposes of learning and maybe application
- just open the page on wikipedia and start following links
- open the page on tvtropes. like the former, but more intense, and you might find you lost three hours instead of one.

Someone_Evil

@Rubiksmoose Remember to leave work at your desired time. That eats more than an hour

Rubiksmoose

23:38

@Someone_Evil Yes. Yes it does lol

Himitsu_no_Yami

@doppelgreener Option 3 would be ideal if that site wasn't blocked too

Someone_Evil

@doppelgreener Option 4: find a stack if extant?

Ben

@Himitsu_no_Yami Oh wait, no I have it! Ask for suggestions on how to kill time on a chat room and see what kind of both good and horrible suggestions you get, and then write them all down for the next time you need to kill time at work!

Himitsu_no_Yami

@Ben Genius! Why didn't I think of that?

Ben

XD

Rubiksmoose

23:40

But since you don't have paper, just etch the list into your desk with your car keys.

New suggestion: see how many things in the office you can stack. Bonus points if they are alive.

Ben

Or you could see if anyone is interested in a round or two of Long Live the King of Monsters

doppelgreener

@Rubiksmoose na-naaaa, nananananananaaa, katamari damacy

Rubiksmoose

Yessss.

BESW

POCGamer reminds us (twitter link) that Wizards already told us exactly what they think about ownvoices three years ago, and offers some alternative games to start with:

"Four Fantasy Games That Aren't D&D" by Graeme Barber on POCGamer.com.

2

goodguy5

@Rubiksmoose woah woah woah. be careful of the message you're sending to "the youths".

Rubiksmoose

23:52

@goodguy5 hahaha

I apologize for being a bad influence ;-)

Someone_Evil

Not sure if it's just me, but I found "How has RPG.se used protection?" to be particularly amusing with regard to that double meaning

doppelgreener

omg

i hadn't thought about that at all XD

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