TRPG General Chat

Thomas Markov

12:09 AM

A question that is closed and locked says it is accepting answers and it is not accepting answers.

Medix2

@ThomasMarkov IIRC there's a MSE feature request on that interaction somewhere

HellSaint

@ThomasMarkov that's a comment-locked locked, not a locked-locked locked

Still interesting that they even say "but it is still accepting answers". It could just state "it doesn't accept comments". No reason someone would think it also doesn't accept answers just because it doesn't accept comments...... I think?

Ben

@ThomasMarkov These are both default notifications, but the Closed takes priority.

Locked means you can't comment, but can post answers, if you have enough rep

Closed means you can't post answers, regardless.

So basically, this is not going to be receiving any new posts until it gets reopened.

HellSaint

Yeah but why would the comment-locked notice even say "it is still accepting answers"?

The Closed doesn't mention "But it still accepts comments!"

Although generally a closed question would still accept comments

Ben

@HellSaint because that's the default functionality.

HellSaint

12:22 AM

@Ben I am aware. I am questioning why the default functionality has that statement. People don't link "can't answer => can't comment" in the Closed notice, why would people link "can't comment => can't answer" in the comment-lock case?

I mean, the "Submit an answer" button is still there.

Ben

@HellSaint Not on the main site (mobile does have some issues sometimes)

Either way, like @Medix2 says, there is apparently a post on Meta.SE about it, so you could potentially bring attention to it.

Medix2

@Ben I just know there are a few posts on simultaneous and conflicting notification and infoboxes. Not sure if that specific one exists though

Rubiksmoose

@HellSaint Ah yes, my years as SquareDeer were wonderful. So youthful and carefree.

Medix2

@Rubiksmoose What new Abilities or Type did you get?

Thomas Markov

1:00 AM

@Rubiksmoose When do you evolve into HypercubeElk?

Rubiksmoose

@ThomasMarkov There are only rumors and speculation, but I hear it has something to do with moving a truck...

Joshua

An illusion of Medusa isn't fatal right?

Rubiksmoose

@Joshua what was the illusion made with?

Joshua

First level spell cast from a high slot so it lasts for days.

Rubiksmoose

@Joshua Silent Image?

Oh wait 5e or something else?

Joshua

1:15 AM

yeah silent image is the one

MikeQ

If you're asking about D&D 5e, then no, it's just an illusion. Illusory creatures don't get the features in the corresponding stat block.

Rubiksmoose

Note that you also can't upcast silent image as far as I remember assuming this is D&D5e

but yeah illusions don't get stats or effects unless something in the spell says they do.

Joshua

Enh; programmed illusion will do a better job anyway.

I wonder how quickly characters should realize it's an illusion.

linksassin

@Rubiksmoose You can cast it with a higher level slot but it gains no benefit from doing so.

Rubiksmoose

Good point.

HellSaint

1:20 AM

We actually had a very similar question in the main site lol

I'm trying to find it

I believe it asked about Umber Hulk's gaze, though?

linksassin

@Joshua A creature that uses its action to investigate it. So they are least need to actively check it

Joshua

I was wondering whether or not "didn't turn into stone" would be a dead giveaway.

Bardic Wizard

Hey, unrelated: how do the GMs here deal with disruptive players “testing” a new gm (not new overall, new to the group), by doing disruptive stuff and making bad decisions? I had a frustrating session and all the librarian and I came up with is to remind him of the group rules, and, failing that, kill his character off because of those decisions.

HellSaint

@BardicWizard we will need specific* examples

NautArch

@Joshua that would be a pretty good giveaway. But overall, it's up to the GM and determine how long a NPC will fall for it and why

HellSaint

1:24 AM

and how exactly are you sure that they are doing that to test the GM?

Bardic Wizard

Alright, context.

HellSaint

@NautArch I mean, probably the characters will react almost instantly by not looking into the Medusa's direction, so it may actually take some time.

"Hey let's look at it to check whether we turn into stone or not (and thus whether it's an illusion or not)!" doesn't seem an appropriate way of handling it.

Bardic Wizard

So my home library runs two D&D5e games on alternate mondays. A friend of mine, call him S, has GMed one for almost a year. I started one in the alternate weeks just about a month ago, although our first session was chargen. Today was our second session of actual play.

linksassin

@BardicWizard Killing off a character to punish player behaviour is very rarely a good solution.

Joshua

I'm trying to put together a new traps dungeon but good ideas are very slow.

Bardic Wizard

1:28 AM

The player in question, G, doesn’t disrupt the other game (I know, bc I’m a player in it and S and I coordinate a lot for house rules and levels and stuff)

BESW

@BardicWizard Story-level actions don't solve social-level problems.

Bardic Wizard

@linksassin I know. But G does stuff like attacking something that every single other player realizes is going to kill them (like a green dragon at lvl 1) and purposely tuning out the game, attacking other players even though we have a rule preventing it

@BESW yeah I can assume

NautArch

@HellSaint ha! Excellent point...but there's always one PC who will look :p

MikeQ

If a player is actively breaking the social contract, I'd "pause" the gameplay and talk to the players to remind them of those agreements

BESW

Okay, so real question: why does a player saying "I do [obviously disruptive thing that will make everyone miserable]" not stop the game immediately?

MikeQ

1:32 AM

If the player character is just making bad decisions, I'd just ask something like "You're going to do that? Is everyone ok with that decision?"

Bardic Wizard

So we’ve talked to him (we being S, me, and the librarIan) and told him to quit it, about six times in 3 sessions.

BESW

Like. This is what safety tools are for.

linksassin

@BardicWizard At that point they aren't playing the game you agree to play. So trying to impact their behaviour in game is unlikely to work.

Bardic Wizard

@MikeQ I tried the first time he attacked the aarocrockra pc

NautArch

@Joshua do you have access to any modules? I've recently started running them rather than pure homebrew and there's a lot of great ideas to be found.

Bardic Wizard

1:33 AM

Didn’t work

linksassin

@BardicWizard Told him to quit it? Or explained to him the impact of his actions and the consequences if he continues?

MikeQ

What do you mean didn't work?

Joshua

@NautArch: Nope!

MikeQ

If the rule is No PvP, and a character attempts it anyway, then the DM can say "No, your character doesn't do that. We talked about this."

Bardic Wizard

Both, actually. And he still wanted to attack until I told him no way

BESW

1:34 AM

He can't attack other players unless the rest of the group lets him. If I said my level 1 character casts wish nobody would go "well, he said it happened so I guess it happens."

2

linksassin

@BardicWizard "Until I told him no way" - No way should be your first response. If you have a no PvP rule then he can't do that and there is no point pandering to it.

MikeQ

Otherwise, if the player can't agree to the basic social contract of the group, then they should not be playing in that game.

linksassin

@BESW It's a bit different when it is something your character would be physically capable of but the game dictates you can't do.

BESW

Use Script Change so everybody can have a say on how the story goes and the GM isn't saddled with the pressure of legislating social problems.

@linksassin I know it seems different, but "no PvP" is a game rule just like "wish isn't a level one spell" is a game rule. The only difference is who made the rule.

NautArch

@BardicWizard We had a new player join our table who was playing a rogue. First session he tried to steal from a shop and the DM immediately just said "no, we don't do that at our table. This isn't an evil campaign."

BESW

1:37 AM

The only reason for a group to treat them as different is that the group doesn't respect its own ability to control its space.

Joshua

Hmmm; a level 1 wish wouldn't be that bad; cast any cantrip that isn't in a prohibited school using a first level spell slot.

Rubiksmoose

@BESW And/or maybe the context of the rule. RPGs should have social "rules" or norms and those should be held to a greater degree honestly then book rules.

BESW

@NautArch "We Don't Do That Here" by Aja Hammerly.

@Rubiksmoose Exactly!

Bardic Wizard

Makes sense, thanks everyone

MikeQ

The needs of the table should always take priority over the needs of the fiction.

Rubiksmoose

1:39 AM

@Joshua Wish doesn't RAW change the level of the spell allowed based on the level it is cast at FWIW. It also has some good effects besides that one.

BESW

(I've been trying to use "we don't do that here" principles in various online spaces, and it's very telling when saying "we don't do that" gets read as "you are a bad person.")

Joshua

@Rubiksmoose: I thought "what might a level 1 wish be like?"

Rubiksmoose

@Joshua Gotcha!

BESW

Jun 4 '19 at 10:13, by BESW

The TTRPG Safety Toolkit (Google Drive folder link) by Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk. It contains the TTRPG Quick Reference Guide v.2.0 (now called the TTRPG Safety Toolkit Guide), copies and links to other safety resources, and printable XNO cards.

Rubiksmoose

(nominated for an ENnie) ^

HellSaint

1:41 AM

@BardicWizard The problem is that for me it is unclear what "it" is.

MikeQ

Also, if changing the group isn't an option, then you could consider changing the game.

HellSaint

@NautArch Dungeon of the mad mage has bandits pretending to be vampires to charge money on adventurers wandering around the first level of the dungeon. I LOVED THAT.

Bardic Wizard

I will send out another reminder of social rules, and the librarian said she’d talk to him (again, hopefully better reactions this time now that he’s seen that I will not get annoyed)

BESW

The rules of a game should never be used to justify making the real people playing the game miserable.

Bardic Wizard

@HellSaint “it” refers to destructive behavior

@MikeQ unfourtunately neither is an option rn

HellSaint

1:45 AM

@BardicWizard Yeah but what destructive behavior? From "bad decisions" to "hitting one other PC" to "stabbing them while they sleep", there are levels of destructive behavior and I think the way to handle them is usually different.

Although the general advice here was good :P

@NautArch HEY HEY

Bardic Wizard

The library has a 3 strike rule: three separate problems and we can kick you out. He’s had 2 strikes

HellSaint

My Wizard using Invisibility to steal a shop because we are completely out of money in our campaign doesn't make us evil, okay? :(

BESW

@BardicWizard That sounds like it's a self-solving problem in the immediate future, and you can take lessons from it to try and avoid similar problems later on with other people/groups.

HellSaint

(in short, our party is Wanted by the Kingdom we are in, because we found out the kingdom is entirely corrupt and wants to kill us off. So we are pretty much screwed and having to steal and live in the alleys to survive haha)

Bardic Wizard

@HellSaint destructive meaning questioning my rulings, engaging in pvp, spamming the chat

Joshua

1:52 AM

I'm pretty sure no PvP means I can't use a citybuster.

MikeQ

For questioning rulings, if it's too disruptive, you could just say that rules discussions are reserved for the end of the session

HellSaint

@BardicWizard Engaging PvP has been answered: if the game has a no PvP rule, then there's nothing else to be said. I have no idea what a player spamming the chat even looks like, but I would ban them out like instantly.

Assuming spamming actually means spamming, and not just typing the way I do with lots of Enters in between phrases haha

MikeQ

My guess is that the player comes from a gaming background where these habits are expected, and they might not register how the behavior is problematic.

HellSaint

@MikeQ And that. Players questioning rulings, especially ones that are made in a way that didn't favor them, is pretty much the usual.

But if it gets too annoying, tell them to do it after the session or, well, they will be kicked.

BESW

When I was running games where rules debates happened semi-regularly, we established that I'd make a ruling to keep the session moving, but it wouldn't have any weight of precedent and we'd look up the details afterward to arrive at a conclusion for going forward.

But that required my players to trust me that the rulings I'd make wouldn't be vicious.

HellSaint

1:58 AM

Personally, last time I had players doing it, I told them it was annoying me as hell and that I don't need to justify every damn rule to them about monsters they have no idea about the features or scenarios that have more than what their characters see. If they can't trust me to be a fair DM, then I have no intention of DMing to them.

BESW

Yeeeah. If you don't trust your GM, why are you playing with them?

nitsua60

@BESW Well, except for Monopoly, right? <ducks and runs>

BESW

@nitsua60 cf The Problem With The Forge

HellSaint

@doppelgreener Btw I guess just like a d100, rolling a d200 is just rolling a d20 + a d10?

nitsua60

@HellSaint Roll 2d100 to get results from 1-10000, and drop anything above 200 =)

HellSaint

2:08 AM

There's also: roll a d100, then toss a coin. Heads you add 100 to the result of the d100, tails you don't.

nitsua60

Snap poll: 12 y-o (who has enjoyed much Stephen King, the Hitchhiker ~~Trilogy~~ ~~Quintilogy~~ Whatever, and the original Ender books) wants to start Pratchett. Which one are you going to give him first? (Bonus points if it's one of the 2/3 or so that are already on my shelf.)

MikeQ

Colour of Magic, or Going Postal. Either is a good intro for the series.

HellSaint

@nitsua60 You have a 12 y/o who actually reads in 2020? looks visibly perplexed

Thomas Markov

@HellSaint thanks for havin my back there haha

nitsua60

@MikeQ Two bonus points for Mike!

@HellSaint Reads thousand-pagers, for that matter.

Thomas Markov

2:11 AM

@HellSaint I also thoroughly enjoyed your book report on goats. Good stuff.

nitsua60

He was 8 or 9 when he read 11/22/63.

Rubiksmoose

@nitsua60 Equal Rites, also a good start. But starting at the beginning is not a the worst here. As long as your kid can get over a bit of clunkiness XD

Yuuki

What about Mort?

Hilariously enough, my first Pratchett novel was actually Going Postal.

Not exactly great for following continuity.

MikeQ

I found that the early storylines with discount cosmic horror (the Dungeon Dimension) didn't feel quite right with the rest of the Discworld aesthetic. Equal Rites, Sourcery, maybe a few others. The Auditors were much more fitting villains.

Yuuki

Actually, I think my first Pratchett novel might have been Monstrous Regiment...

Bardic Wizard

2:23 AM

I started with Unseen academicals around the time I was 15.25

Also thanks everyone for the advice; I’m gonna talk to him and remind him of group rules.

MikeQ

@nitsua60 Small Gods is also a possible starting point, since it has no prerequisite storylines

Bardic Wizard

2:46 AM

Or the wee free men which is sort of a standalone — I forgot that that was what I actually started with, as a bedtime story when I was probably 10?

nitsua60

I think Hogfather was my first. Or maybe The Fifth Elephant. In any case, eventually going back to grab some of the early ones was nice to fill in some holes.

I feel like Discworld's remarkably... enter-able for a setting with so many established narratives, though.

Rubiksmoose

@nitsua60 I feel like Pratchett went out of the way to explain things in every book so it would at least be somewhat plausible for somone to jump in and not be lost.

BESW

3:11 AM

Ajey Pandey wrote a twitter thread about "what edginess does for media, how it can go wrong, and why marketing something as edgy tends to set off alarms for me."

2

Medix2

Socratic get!

user15026

3:28 AM

@BESW oh I like this thread a lot.

BESW

@Medix2 Hm?

Medix2

@BESW Got a random badge apparently

linksassin

@Medix2 You are a gentleperson and a scholar!

Medix2

@linksassin I'm kinda sad that it took me a significant amount of time to figure out what in the world a gentlepersom was...

linksassin

@Medix2 I was going to say "You are a scholar amongst men" but then realised that isn't a great turn of phrase and I should stop using it. Took me three attempts to find a better phrase.

Medix2

3:41 AM

@linksassin humankind?

Humankind can also have some issues... But that's best discussed elsewhere

linksassin

@Medix2 Doesn't quite have the same panache.

BESW

I have a friend who just says "humans." I like that because it's accurate, inclusive, and subtly suggests you might not be human yourself.

(Also, Shakespeare used "gentles" instead of "gentlemen.")

Medix2

@BESW Oh I hadn't thought of that subtle suggestion... Might fix the problems I've seen

BESW

And some idioms that don't scan right with more inclusive language, can just wither and die.

Medix2

@BESW Or be made to scan right through repeated exposure and use

BESW

3:48 AM

Speaking of scanning, in this specific case, "You are a scholar among friends" would rhyme and scan.

Medix2

@BESW And it fixes the human thing 0_0 I'm using that phrase now

Though that has a different meaning for me, hmmm

For me "Scholar amongst friends" --> a scholar who is currently surrounded by friends.

BESW

In the context of getting a badger and talking about it in this room... yes, accurate?

Medix2

But I'm usually the oddball when it comes to interpreting English so don't count that as any strong evidence or common process

user15026

@BESW but yknow, this is entirely a modern thing, wanting to not always have gendered language. :p

linksassin

@BESW I like that. Though it does imply I like the person :P

BESW

3:58 AM

> Gentles, do not reprehend:
If you pardon, we will mend:

(At the time, it was more of a class statement than a gender statement. "Gentle" was nearly synonymous with noble but Shakespeare's crowds tended to be stuffed with the lowest-class people. Addressing his audience as gentles is Robin Goodfellow spreading the flattery on thick in a speech that basically boils down to "please clap even if you didn't like the play.")

(You may be familiar with the term "landed gentry.")

user15026

Ah yes!

Rubiksmoose

@nitsua60 Wee free men is actually really good starting point I think. And actually a bit more kid-oriented. I <3 Tiffany Aching as well. But maybe previous witch knowledge would help?

user15026

4:27 AM

I read the Tiffany Aching books without reading anything but the Bromeliad Trilogy of his beforehand (which is not Discworld at all), so I don't think it needs much help

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nitsua60

@BESW btw I finally got around to dropping a small package in the mail to Guam today. (Our mail center during May/June became the hub for packing and shipping 500 students' belongings, unexpectedly abandoned on campus when we closed down. I figured this was low-enough urgency that I'd wait until they finished that heavy lift, I hope you don't mind.)

BESW

Oh thanks! And yeah, totally no rush.

@Yuuki Maaaaybe let's not go there, okay?

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Adeptus

6:00 AM

@linksassin Now I'm thinking about the phraseology of "scholar amongst men" vs "rose amongst thorns"... is the first implying men are the near-opposite to scholars?

gszavae

I'm pretty sure about this, but wanted to get a second opinion: RAI answers are definitely allowed right?

linksassin

@Adeptus Not quite so negatively connotations. But similar. Everyone else is a normal person. It's a compliment,

Adeptus

@gszavae unless the person specifies RAW, yes. (Even then, maybe.)

gszavae

@Adeptus Cool, cheers, just needed sanity check :thumbsup:

linksassin

@gszavae It depends how well you support it. RAI as code for "This is how I interpret is and any other way is wrong" isn't ok. But when its pretty clear how something was meant (intended) to work but a weird oversite means it technically doesn't work that way by RAW, using RAI and supporting it is fine.

Adeptus

6:10 AM

eg, 5e RAW, medium creatures can't squeeze... because you can squeeze into the space of one size smaller. Medium creatures occupy 5'. So do small creatures.

gszavae

@linksassin Nah, just designer reasons. I do not support RAI being hijacked for "IMO"

linksassin

@gszavae Cool. I wasn't saying you were just putting that clarification out there for general community awareness.

gszavae

@linksassin No worries

linksassin

Unfortunately we do have users who think they know the answer to something and say things like "The rules don't support this but this is what they intended" with no real evidence that the designers did intend it that way.

linksassin

6:25 AM

@gszavae Nice answer on that Use Magic Device question btw. You seem to be the only one that has actually grasped what the question is asking.

kviiri

@BESW I've recently adopted the intentionally silly "fren friends" (or the Finnish equivalent thereof) although I should develop an even more casual form because I don't want to dilute the term of "friend" too much ^_^

gszavae

@linksassin That's always the risk in adding "examples", people will always find it easier to rule 1 situation than a general rule. There has been a lot of edits and the question isn't worded very cleanly, the OP could easily have said they were interested in something else.

linksassin

@gszavae The question could perhaps be clearer but I don't want to edit it now that is has answers. It's really asking "How do I know if the Rogues L13 feature grants a specific benefits from a magic item?"

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HellSaint

7:57 AM

@nitsua60 since you are a sheep, I think you are the one with most expertise on the Goat question. We wait for your input.

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doppelgreener

10:40 AM

@HellSaint You know, I had to do some thinking about that, and that would actually do the job perfectly.

@BESW TIL!!

BESW

11:00 AM

@doppelgreener There's a theory that he wrote, or re-wrote, that particular play with a royal audience in mind, but I don't really think there's a lot to it. Robin Goodfellow's speech is just so comically unctuous that "gentles" as an address above the station of the audience makes more sense than as an address which undershoots the audience's station.

doppelgreener

11:24 AM

Yeah I more buy him tongue-in-cheek addressing a crowd of the commons

that seems very british

Thomas Markov

11:45 AM

howdy

Someone_Evil

Hya!

doppelgreener

12:04 PM

o/

AncientSwordRage

12:29 PM

@ThomasMarkov \oo//

@MikeQ I heard people struggle with CoM, my vote (@nitsua60) is to go with the Tiffany Aching Books, which don't rely on the witches series

Then I'd move onto, idk, the guards series then maybe do the wizards starting at CoM etc

The issue with the Going Postal series, is that ther Disc is so much more industrialised by then it would feel weird going backwards

MikeQ

Really? I thought it was all within the same time period, which has both magic and some industry.

AncientSwordRage

@MikeQ From Moving pictures onwards, things advance very swiftly

Reading Order Guide

Someone_Evil

A couple of the books are about new technologies (newspaper, clacks) and do change the feel of the city a fair bit

AncientSwordRage

So, in theory it's all the same time period (maybe 20 years?) things do feel different towards the end

Definitely each strand should be read in order

Someone_Evil

The guards series does the same, although not tech wise I suppose

AncientSwordRage

12:35 PM

@Someone_Evil I agree

all the novels work stand alone, but they're better read in series

NautArch

12:53 PM

@linksassin Which RAI are you referring to? Intended or Interpreted?

Thomas Markov

@NautArch Isnt every ruling ever going to be rules as interpreted?

NautArch

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Q: Please avoid using the RAI acronym, or use it carefully & be clear in context

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discussion terminology

Thomas Markov

Yeah, I know. I was pointing out that every ruling is an interpretation of the rules, so rules as interpreted is meaningless.

2

NautArch

unless it's not an interpretation but a straight reading.

Medix2

@ThomasMarkov RAW is a form of interpretation, that's kinda all it is. A specific way of interpreting things with specific expectations that not everyone agrees on

Thomas Markov

12:56 PM

@Medix2 Yeah, thats basically what I said

NautArch

But if everything is pure interpretation, then there really isn't much to have a Q&A site because everything is up to the reader and why does our viewpoint matter more than others?

Medix2

@ThomasMarkov RAI can be used for "IMO" and also for "See these 17 citations from the designers"

Thomas Markov

@NautArch That's fair. I teach bible, and sometimes its frustrating when people say "thats just your interpretation" when all I did was quote a verse.

Someone_Evil

And therein lies the problem

Medix2

I just say "according to the designers" and "how this GM would rule" XD

@ThomasMarkov Hermeneutics... The world is complex

@ThomasMarkov Well tbf the exact translation of that verse and the intonation and tone you use are the interpretation you're choosing. Though I haven't meant many people who actually mean it that way :(

NautArch

1:03 PM

For that mirror image question...Why would this be different than normal spellcasting for determining CR?

Someone_Evil

Doesn't normal spellcasting depend on which spells you have for the CR?

Thomas Markov

@NautArch I think theres something to be said about accounting for the particular spells known to get a more precise/accurate CR calculation.

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov Maybe? Given that you can swap out any spells for a spellcasting creature, it doesn't seem like the DMG really accounts for it that granularly(sic).

Thomas Markov

Yeah, I agree with that. I think the goal there is to improve upon the guidance from the DMG by accounting for variables the DMG typically packages into one variable.

I think.

NautArch

That seems like it could be opinion-based, though.

I dunno.

I like the HP options, but it's a very different feel than the spell.

Thomas Markov

1:08 PM

@NautArch Either way, the numbers don't lend themselves to the calculation in the way OP was hoping.

NautArch

Yeah

Thomas Markov

succinctly, the adjustment varies according to factors independent of the caster.

Medix2

You can certainly calculate the average number of hits the spell prevents, I just gave up because it's early and I don't remember how to math yet

NautArch

Do we know the AC of the mirror images?

Thomas Markov

@Medix2 which I think was more the spirit of Szega's answer.

Medix2

1:09 PM

Or the hit bonus of the attackers...

Thomas Markov

10+ your DEX mod

something my answer didnt even take into account, so its even more widely variable

Medix2

So somewhere between 5 and 20

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov Yes, we know the formula, but do we know the dex mod?

Thomas Markov

oh lol

no, "some of my monsters" was designated as what would be casting the spell

Someone_Evil

@Medix2 You can roughly assume that from CR, no? (basically what level the PCs are expected to be and thus roughly what the to hit mod will be)

Medix2

1:13 PM

@Someone_Evil But I don't like doing that XD I'd just sooner calculate how mirror image helps when attackers need to roll X+ to hit regularly and Y+ to hit mirrors

Someone_Evil

tbf, I think the answers it got are a better way to deal with the issue

NautArch

@Someone_Evil Maybe? Too many variables. How were stats rolled? Prevalence of magic items. Custom monster or not?

lots of options there

Someone_Evil

@NautArch Sure, but then you're looking at too much detail and are trying to get a much more accurate estimate than CR supports (there's a fair chunk of wiggle room build into it)

NautArch

@Someone_Evil Er. isn't that what this question is asking? GIven that spellcasting already provides CR?

They want something more specific.

Someone_Evil

Uhm... does spellcasting give a way to calculate CR? I was pretty sure you needed to look at the spells that could be cast and figure out what defensive and offensive capabilities those conferred

NautArch

1:18 PM

@Someone_Evil given that you can swap out spells normally without changing CR, I think it generalizes that.

Someone_Evil

@NautArch I disagree that you just can as a general rule. Is there somewhere that addresses this (stack, or sourcebook)?

NautArch

5

Q: How do spell-casting monsters prepare and recover their spells?

For example. a Spirit Naga is a "10th level spellcaster", and "has the following wizard spells prepared". The text explains that the DM may substitute other spells for the ones given, but it is not clear whether such substitutions are permanent for that individual or simply represent the creatur...

dnd-5e spells monsters

heh, we're both kinda right :P

So yes, you can change them up, but it may affect their offensive/defense capabilities beyond their CR.

Also, given the user I'm hesitant to say something, but isn't this question kind of a request for idea generation?

Someone_Evil

Hmm... I guess I kinda read it as a lore question and then it sorta slipped of my radar. I'll do some asking

Thomas Markov

@NautArch It definitely is, and treating it differently because of who posted it is at least in principle, ironic favoritism.

Medix2

@NautArch You can't close bountied questions, right?

Thomas Markov

1:30 PM

Maybe partiality is a better word than favoritism.

NautArch

Or not wanting to create a situation between users.

kviiri

@NautArch heh, for some reason I thought you'd get a DnD 5e answer on your question

NautArch

@Medix2 I don't think so.

kviiri

...and I was right

Medix2

I don't know if it's idea generation though considering things like.... Gotta go find the example I like

NautArch

1:31 PM

@kviiri yep. I think it's my first non-5e question...maybe.

@kviiri interesting answer, though!

@Medix2 It feels more like "Help me design my encounter"

kviiri

Yup it was a good question and the answer is good

Thomas Markov

@NautArch Yeah, I totally get this.

Medix2

This one: "How can I, as a DM, keep an Aarakocra player in check?

kviiri

@Medix2 usually queens and rooks

Someone_Evil

The line between technique and idea-gen can tricky to find

kviiri

1:33 PM

That'd be funnier if it was "as a GM"

Someone_Evil

@Medix2 No, but it's possible to remove the bounty if necessary. Though I can't say it's proven itself to attract a flood of poor answers

NautArch

I see no reason to remove the bounty.

THat seems it would cause more trouble than it would solve

Medix2

@Someone_Evil No you can't close bountied questions or no you can?

Someone_Evil

@Medix2 Pretty sure they can't be closed

Thomas Markov

I can get all the way to the VTC button...but I didnt press it to find out.

Someone_Evil

1:38 PM

> What happens if a bounty question is closed or deleted? / Why can't I vote to close or migrate a bounty question?

Bounty questions cannot be closed directly.

However, diamond moderators can clear bounties, which would effectively remove the bounty and clear its history. The bounty owner's reputation would be recalculated as if they had never placed that bounty. This would then allow it to be closed, migrated, or deleted like any other question. (source)

From MSE FAQ

Medix2

@Someone_Evil Yeah I've seen that... Differences between "what should I..." and "How have others..." And other such starts can cause very different opinions about closing and sometimes also different types of answers

Thomas Markov

@Someone_Evil so we would have to collectively decide it should be closed before we can collectively vote to close it.

Someone_Evil

@ThomasMarkov Well, you'd have to convince a diamond moderator it needs to be closed

Thomas Markov

@Someone_Evil Yeah, and Im assuming you'd want some consensus from some others before making that move.

Rubiksmoose

That's one reason why you can't bounty a question right away FWIW. So people can't abuse bounties to keep questions open.

Someone_Evil

1:42 PM

This is very rarely a problem around here (I'm sure someone with a longer history on the stack can attest) as most questions get their due attention in the 2d after asking (before it can be bountied)

Rubiksmoose

It would be an extremely rare case for us to ever even consider clearing a bounty

Medix2

@Rubiksmoose 0_0 Wow, that actually sounds like a great reason, I'm impressed

Thomas Markov

After a couple more reads, I think the question is probably salvageable. It seems OP wants to know, "What can I put in the Cave that is consistent with the setting's lore?" Which can be answered with facts. It's the question, "What are there motivations" that seems to be opinion based/idea generation.

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov I'd agree with that. It's like asking "what monsters are native to X"

it's sort of a do the work for me question, but folks do answer those.

I've been known to :)

Thomas Markov

@NautArch I answered one today :p but it was more of a "whats the math here".

So remember how I asked about reposting a closed question. I've read through the question several times, and there is actually a really good question in there, and I really want to know now, and I'm not sure about how the rules should parse out for the interaction.

NautArch

1:50 PM

@ThomasMarkov what's the math is harder. Math is hard!

but just "look up and organize this for me"...

Thomas Markov

We're almost a week out and OP hasnt returned to comment. Can I rewrite the question for myself now?

NautArch

It's kind of up to you, but i'm on the side of hellsaint with their answer.

Thomas Markov

@NautArch It was actually a neat exercise, had to flex my excel a bit. A flexcel, if you will.

NautArch

And almost a week of not being here isn't much for 'normal' users ;P

Thomas Markov

@NautArch Fine, Ill be participating in a one shot next week where the boss will almost certainly have legendary resistance, Ill make a chronurgy wizard for it and flabbergast my dm :P:P:P

Medix2

1:54 PM

@NautArch But Thomas is having that same problem, no? Since it's a problem of rules conflict

NautArch

I don't feel like going deep into this and Hellsaint's answer covers my response.

Thomas Markov

Having to actually orchestrate a game wherein I have a problem making the ruling just seems like a weird prerequisite.

AncientSwordRage

I thought we agreed you didn't have to have faced the problem in situ to ask it?

doppelgreener

@BESW Did you ever wind up checking out Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency?

Medix2

@AncientSwordRage Eh I doubt we even need a consensus, you can do what you want XD

BESW

1:58 PM

@doppelgreener Yeah, it was. okay.

NautArch

hmm, i wonder if monsters have changed backgrounds/habitats across D&D editions.

BESW

I don't have a lot of patience with Douglas Adams but the adaptation made it a bit easier to appreciate the appreciatable stuff.

doppelgreener

I remember that coming up as the reason you hadn't

and someone talked about the show diluting the Adamisms down

just on account of how many hands and minds it filtered through necessarily transformed it into something else

Medix2

@ThomasMarkov I think you have every right to just ignore HellSaint's answer and repost it. People just might not like that you did it

And the "problem" here, at least to me, feels entirely understandable even if you've never experienced the situation in question. It's just a clashing of rules that lots of people can see

Thomas Markov

@Medix2 Yeah, I don't want to do that though. I've much respect for him and want to take his answer seriously. I'll err on the side of caution and wait. I'll have a chance to actually rule this at a table soon enough, and Ill be able to bring that experience to the question, which will make for a better question.

And maybe the guy will come back and edit his question.

Medix2

2:05 PM

@ThomasMarkov Oh yeah agreed, just saying it's an available option

doppelgreener

(Adamisms? Adams-isms?)

Medix2

Oh, it exists!

The Oracle

2

Q: How should question protection be used on RPG.SE?

Goal for this discussion Following a recent event, it became clear that RPG.SE lacks sufficient guidance and community consensus on how the protection system should be used here. The moderation team has created this meta to facilitate a discussion that we hope will result in establishing what bes...

discussion featured protected-questions

AncientSwordRage

@BESW Adaptation? I loved HHGG, but struggled to read DGHDA

doppelgreener

@Rubiksmoose Hooray!

@AncientSwordRage The Netflix TV series

AncientSwordRage

2:14 PM

@doppelgreener shocked_pikachu.jpg

didn't realise it was on netflix

doppelgreener

It is!

Rubiksmoose

@doppelgreener :) The team was able to come together, write, and revise this over yesterday and this morning.

@AncientSwordRage Same.

doppelgreener

.... does ADHD have a word for having a secondary thing to provide attention to and stimulation so that you can get on with the primary task, without which you can't do the primary task?

or is there like a general word for that

because i am in fact watching Dirk Gently's right now for that thing

NautArch

@doppelgreener Isn't that what fidget spinners and sitting on yoga balls/bouncing is for?

doppelgreener

Yes

NautArch

2:18 PM

there's gotta be a name for that activity.

Rubiksmoose

@doppelgreener oh man, I'd love a word for this. It's so hard to describe to people why I listen to podcast even when I'm only doing some thing for a short period of time.

I recently threw on the Fast and Furious movies while I worked. I really enjoyed the first one.

Medix2

@doppelgreener Fidgeting? Perceptual Load? Studies are rather mixed though on the effectiveness

AncientSwordRage

@doppelgreener I call it background

NautArch

@Rubiksmoose those are really quite fun

AncientSwordRage

but the technical term is Continuous Partial Attention

Rubiksmoose

2:21 PM

That's what I heard! From here IIRC. So that's the only reason I tried them out.

#2 and #3 definitely also fall into the "plot-lite" category of movie so made pretty perfect background

Medix2

Most studies on attention are very mixed because they're near impossible to control and vary from person-to-person... There's a lot more of a "see if it works for you"

BESW

@doppelgreener Stimming.

Medix2

@BESW No. That is far more specific and is almost always repetitive and movement-based, it also is, as far as I'm aware, used exclusively when talking about the autism spectrum

Rubiksmoose

My wife came in several times and asked who this or that was and most of the time I said "it doesn't really matter, that's the bad guy, the people driving are good guys" lol

AncientSwordRage

@BESW Stimming is more tied to physical stimulation, as well as being more of an autism/asd thing

Rubiksmoose

2:24 PM

@doppelgreener Wonder if there is anywhere on SE one could ask that question...

AncientSwordRage

@Rubiksmoose there must be

doppelgreener

I am asking a neurodivergence chat too

Rubiksmoose

@AncientSwordRage You'd think so!

AncientSwordRage

@Rubiksmoose let us know if you find one

Medix2

Is there not a Stack for "find me a word that means X"?

Someone_Evil

2:28 PM

English language, does that I think

doppelgreener

@Someone_Evil sometimes begrudgingly :P

NautArch

2:44 PM

@Someone_Evil For that dragonlance question, can the opinion request be removed from the bounty?

Someone_Evil

@NautArch Not unless there's some arcane tool I'm unaware of. closest is removing the post notice entirely, which doesn't seem too helpful

NautArch

@Someone_Evil yeah, that wouldn't be helpful.

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Some ability to do that might be coming though. This old feature req. got status review back in feb

Not sure that'll include mod ability to edit it later too, but maybe

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@Rubiksmoose Is it worth putting up an answer that no matter what process we come up with, it shouldn't be any single user making the call for a massive amount of questions?

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