TRPG General Chat

12:07 AM

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica This is something about being an adult that's from a webcomic series that's deep deep into the Scott McCloud longscroller vibe. It's a bit of a commitment and the good part starts when the panels go dark but it's best if you can read the whole thing. viruscomix.com/page588.html

Glazius

12:19 AM

Admittedly, xkcd did it quicker. xkcd.com/1741

Ben

12:29 AM

@trogdor I see what you did there.

trogdor

lol

Ben

I just read the answer to the dice question... and gee whiz. What monster thought that would be a good idea? Lol

BESW

12:46 AM

@BardicWizard Ooof I'm sorry to hear that.

Glazius

Yeah, I noticed all the numbers could be expressed as the product of single-digit numbers, but I didn't really know how useful that would be.

Hot RPG Questions

5

Q: Does a Character with a Custom Lineage belong to a race, for the purposes of racial requirements?

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything introduces new character options. In the Customizing Your Origin subsection, there is a side panel that details the Custom Lineage options. This option allows you to, "instead of choosing one of the game's races for your character at 1st level", select among a few o...

Hot RPG Questions

1:13 AM

3

Q: Natural 20 vs higher AC

If a character or creature has an AC that with all bonuses requires a 20 to hit does that mean that every hit is a crit? Or alternately the creatures AC is so high that with all bonuses no hit would be possible except that a 20 always hits. So if a nat 20 is rolled you hit and crit and then the ...

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Hot RPG Questions

2:03 AM

5

Q: Does triggering an effect of a spell count as casting a spell?

Spells like Moonbeam, Flaming Sphere, and Call Lightning allows you to use either an Action or a Bonus Action (depending on the spell) to trigger a specific effect on subsequent turns. Does triggering these effects count as casting a spell? I'm fairly sure that one can't Counterspell them once it...

dnd-5e spellcasting

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov I've never come across this where I work 🤷🏻‍♂️

BESW

@AncientSwordRage Somebody decided I was sleeping with one of her friends but I wouldn't sleep with her. So she tried to get me fired from an unrelated job.

trogdor

:/

I really hate when someone decides something about me

Bardic Wizard

@BESW yeah... it was a bad idea but we were put in breakout rooms, I got the class jerk and his best friend as my only partners, they teased me about dating my platonic best friend, I denied it, and they were like “what are you, gay?”. I made the idiotic decision to respond with “Well....” so now I’m anxiously hoping they don’t out me to anyone else at school

trogdor

@BESW I would be really mad if that happened to me

nitsua60

2:12 AM

\o/

trogdor

@BardicWizard X(

BESW

@trogdor Oh, I was pretty hopping mad, she definitely burned that bridge. Luckily my reputation is such that there's no reasonable way she could've actually gotten me taken off the job.

trogdor

@BardicWizard I'm sorry people like that still exist

Bardic Wizard

(I’m attracted to people of the same gender as the way I present; it’s easier not to explain my gender non-conformity)

BESW

@nitsua60 [tackleglomp]

nitsua60

2:13 AM

I don't know that word, but I'll assume good things =)

trogdor

its a very aggressive hug

I would hate it XD

I have it on some kind of authority or other maybe other people sometimes like it though

Shalvenay

hey there @nitsua60

Bardic Wizard

@trogdor so am I. And if I get outed there is the very real possibility I could be in hot water with the administration since it’s a religious school and not exactly tolerant of non-cishet people. It’s not likely to get me expelled but I already have enough issues

trogdor

oh god

I went to a religious high school myself and it wasn't great

nitsua60

@trogdor OMG it's the hug I step out of work to go get every afternoon. I might have a picture... might drop something into the SBPR if I find it. And can figure out how to get IG and Discord to talk....

@Shalvenay hiya

Shalvenay

2:18 AM

@nitsua60 how're things going?

trogdor

@nitsua60 lol

I've learned to enjoy very brief hugs that I know are coming and that the other person stops as soon as I start squirming to get away

one of those would not be great though

nitsua60

Basically, watching a yellow school bus pull up to my workplace and have two miniature humans come give me a high-speed jumping hug is the best thing ever.

@Shalvenay That's a tough one to answer. Intense, in many directions. (Some good, some not.) You?

Adeptus

@nitsua60 You have hobbits?

Bardic Wizard

@trogdor same. My best friend tends to sneak up behind people and hug them but he quickly learned that if you don’t warn me I swing my head around and my braid hits you in the face

Shalvenay

@nitsua60 alright here

trogdor

2:23 AM

lol

nitsua60

@Adeptus Three! (Only two still run to hug me, though. The elder hobbit's too cool for that. In public, at least.)

trogdor

@BardicWizard as a kid I just immediately started trying to escape, as an adult I haven't been much better XD

IE I start trying to escape like, a couple seconds after the hug starts assuming I wasn't immediately surprised

nitsua60

@BardicWizard I broke someone's nose once when they snuck up behind me. Didn't mean to, but I learned something about what "direction" my startle reflex points. ("Attack!" being the direction.)

Felt bad and strangely good/accomplished, I did.

@Adeptus You have a couple, too, right?

Adeptus

@BardicWizard My wife was on anti-anxiety meds for a while, that did the exact opposite of what they're supposed to. I walked up behind her (not trying to sneak) and hugged her, and just about got headbutted in the face when she jumped...

@nitsua60 I have a singular. Who is no longer hobbit-sized at all.

Bardic Wizard

My hair measures 15 inches from the nape of my neck to the ribbon when it’s braided, plus about two inches curling beyond the ribbon. I have it on good authority that it hurts like getting hit by a whirling whip when I turn my head quickly

AncientSwordRage

2:30 AM

@BESW wow.

trogdor

@BardicWizard I've been hit by braided hair before (by accident as far as I know)

AncientSwordRage

@trogdor I got over excited and lifted someone up once and got an elbow to the face. I probably deserved that

trogdor

lol

AncientSwordRage

@trogdor I've not, but I don't think I'm missing out

trogdor

I mean it wasn't like I got badly injured but it was harder and tougher than I would have giving it credit for beforehand XD

Bardic Wizard

2:38 AM

@trogdor my not-blood-but-effectively-the-same-thing sister and I used to make a competition out of whose hair could hit whom more times during pirouette or fouetté work when we were like 10. I lost more often than I won because she had longer hair and more control over her spinning, but I tended to hurt more when I hit her

trogdor

ouch

BESW

3:31 AM

@BardicWizard [jealous] I just started growing my hair out for the first time in thirteen years, this March.

It'd be a little longer if I didn't have a small undercut to keep the back of my neck cool, but it's just barely reaching my shirtcollar now.

Not that I'll ever be able to braid it, my hair is too thin and smooth for braids to hold.

Bardic Wizard

@BESW I think the last time I cut my hair more than an inch to keep it from breaking was in fourth grade. It reaches past the small of my back in a braid and, since it’s curly, it probably has at least three more inches tied up in the braid, since braiding shortens the effective length

I like long hair, it makes a good weapon and a good back-up cats cradle loop

BESW

Hah!

I just feel more me-ish with longer hair. Never got it much past my shoulders in the past, Because Reasons.

trogdor

I prefer just not doing anything with my hair although if I could get it to stop growing so fast that would be neat XD

Bardic Wizard

@BESW same. My friends who actually know how I self-identify tend to tease me for basically presenting extremely female 75% of the time, and it’s only because I feel better in a skirt than I do in pants. Besides, I can sew skirts and put pockets in them and you can’t get good pockets these days

and I wear my hair in pretty much a braid all the time

It’s wierd

trogdor

honestly I might braid it if I wasn't sure that was still more work than I am willing to do XD

it might let me get away with not getting it cut short all the time

BESW

3:47 AM

I live in a place where long hair isn't automatically non-masculine, so it's not quite so discongruent with my masc presentation as it might be in some places.

trogdor

yeah

although my parents would probably grill me about why I was braiding my hair now

they aren't great at leaving stuff like that alone

Shalvenay

I knew a kid in elementary school who had hair down to his waist

BESW

When I first started growing my hair out, my mother just said "So long as you keep it clean."

trogdor

I think that's one of the problems I would have if I ever intentionally grew out my hair

TheDragonOfFlame

Ehh my hair is middle back length

(he/him)

Bardic Wizard

3:57 AM

@BESW lucky you

@Shalvenay that’s what I want to have just so I can be able to hit someone with it while adhering to social distancing

TheDragonOfFlame

People call me a girl surprisingly often, given I’m 6 feet tall and have broad shoulders and a square chin but whatever

Shalvenay

@BardicWizard hm...I'm almost getting a Scottish vibe from that, between the braid and the taste in clothing

(not that that's a bad thing, mind you!)

Bardic Wizard

@trogdor :-( offers virtual hug and consolation

@Shalvenay Wrong country and wrong ancestry, sorry. My family came from New Mexico on one side and the other side is mostly white and eastern European Jews. My fashion sense is an anomaly in my family

@BESW your mother must be a wonderful person. My mom tells me I should cut my hair about four times a semester (though she’s amazing anyways)

Shalvenay

4:16 AM

@BardicWizard ah, interesting then

trogdor

@BardicWizard thanks

TheDragonOfFlame

:56208404

Oops

@BardicWizard I wish I could wear skirts but I live in redneck country where the people are straight, binary, “wear what where born too”, and don’t wear masks, so

Also did they update chat or something? It’s way different

Someone_Evil

4:35 AM

Different how? (not seeing any changes on my end)

TheDragonOfFlame

It’s way more streamlined, the edit buttons are different and the send button is too

No?

Someone_Evil

Are you using the mobile version?

trogdor

I was about to say

the mobile version is very different

so if you switched between them that could have changed a lot

BESW

@TheDragonOfFlame I'd probably wear lavalava if I didn't feel like it'd be kinda weird because of power dynamics between where I live (and where I'm from) and the nearby places where lavalava is more traditional.

TheDragonOfFlame

I have been on mobile the whole time

It just changed

BESW

4:46 AM

But that's not gender conforming, lavalavas are gender-neutral (although the length and how you hang the knot can be gender-adjacent depending on which culture you're in).

Someone_Evil

@TheDragonOfFlame Have your browser updated such that it supports the "new" version? (it's from '16)

trogdor

@TheDragonOfFlame is it perhaps a new phone? because that happened to me when I got the phone I have now

KorvinStarmast

@ThomasMarkov So Much This

@ThomasMarkov I get to have Cap'n Crunch for supper if I want to. (but only if my wife is out of town)

@Glazius xkcd is a whinging wimp. Try helicopter design. 😯

@nitsua60 that's the good part of being dad. College tuition? Not so much.

Ben

5:09 AM

5 hours in, 4 meetings, 24 phonecalls, 16 emails, 3 re-p;rioritzations, and 3 minor task distractions. Roll to maintain cool for the next 4 hours:

d20

Dice Service

11

Ben

[Tension raises]

TheDragonOfFlame

5:23 AM

@Ben sounds like high school but worse

@trogdor i just reloaded the page 0n my old eyepad and it changed

idk

trogdor

hmm

TheDragonOfFlame

its fine just a bit odd

Someone_Evil

There should be a setting to use the old version if you'd prefer to go back

TheDragonOfFlame

nah its alright

Ben

@TheDragonOfFlame Take me back XD

I mean, the bonus is I get paid, and I am in control (I technically am running my own business, so I do the work I want to do), but at the same time, there is a lot to do.

TheDragonOfFlame

5:37 AM

@Ben a lot to do in high school too, especially with a part time but still probably less

Ben

Time to workload ratio is probably similar.

Bardic Wizard

@Ben probably; I have 2 essays, 23 trig problems, 2 workbook pages for Spanish, and a recording for choir to do this weekend, alongside educational testing. I’m pretty certain I will get it done in about 36-40 hours of work. Is it similar for adults?

TheDragonOfFlame

@BardicWizard what grade, 11?

Ben

Average is 40 hour work week, yeah

Bardic Wizard

@TheDragonOfFlame 10. It’s just approximately 6 hours of educational testing and the fact that the WHAP teacher and honors english teacher both assigned essays that makes it horrid

TheDragonOfFlame

5:43 AM

around 34 hours in school, + homework

@BardicWizard ah. grade 11 only gets worse i can tell you

Bardic Wizard

@Ben this is my (admittedly abnormal) weekend load. I stay up until after 10pm most nights to get stuff done

TheDragonOfFlame

i stay up till 11 to chat with strangers in online chat rooms (its 11 here lol)

Ben

To be fair I also have my own "Home work". Cooking, cleaning, etc. XD

TheDragonOfFlame

true lol

i cook too but not too often (and noone is alowed in my room oh my its a mess)

Ben

@BardicWizard that made it sound like a surprise attack or something

WHAP I expect 600 words by tuesday

@TheDragonOfFlame There is a comfort in having the safety net of other's disgust. People complain, but they don't come in...

TheDragonOfFlame

5:51 AM

lol yes what does WHAP stand for

@Ben XD

Ben

Then when you finally clean it (because they won't stop complaining), then they come in all the time!

Bardic Wizard

It’s AP world history, which everyone calls whap. The teacher pretty much said “oh yeah, you get an essay prompt friday, due Monday morning, three pages, and it’s continuity and change over time”

TheDragonOfFlame

wants to be author; cant write essays

Ben

@TheDragonOfFlame FEEL

omg... so much

XD

TheDragonOfFlame

why is ther no creative writing in high school

Ben

5:54 AM

I spend more time writing instructional documentation

@TheDragonOfFlame Well, I wouldn't say that. I had a couple of assignments where I had to use my creative talents.

TheDragonOfFlame

@Ben only creativity i have is in math class..... XD

(lies im actually good at math but i couldnt pass up the joke)

Ben

One was an adaptation/rewrite of a Hamlet play; another was to adapt a poem into a song (I chose The Raven by E.A Poe and System of A Down); and another was to write a post-apocalyptic short story about the potential effects of a modern-day issue like global warming, cloning, etc.

@TheDragonOfFlame I once attempted calculate the algorithm for sin cos and tan. It did not go well. Got kudos for trying though lol

TheDragonOfFlame

jealosy I have had to write essays in every single class except math

and nothing but essays\

Ben

Lmae

Slightly off topic, I saw a video discussing "writer's block". And it gave the reply that "writer's block" doesn't exist, so long as you keep at it. Sometimes the ideas come, sometimes they don't.

It was frustrating because it worked off the assumption that people that deal with "writer's block" have the time to dedicate themselves to the task of writing, so that you can move past it quickly. It's no so similar when you do it as a hobby

Bardic Wizard

I’m writing an essay on Estella (from Great expectations) and her inner strength. I’d rather be writing one on how Estella is like Carmen (from the opera) or something else interesting. This essay is pain, suffering, and due Tuesday

BESW

6:05 AM

@Ben I have Opinions About This, would you like them?

Ben

Sure :)

BESW

in The Ink Spot, Nov 10 '19 at 2:38, by BESW

@curious This is related to what I mentioned above: that people tend to give obviously artistic professions some mystique that doesn't actually exist, which creates resistance against actually understanding our own processes. "Writer's block" turns specific targetable obstacles into a mystical un-explainable force with obscures out ability to overcome them.

in The Ink Spot, Nov 10 '19 at 2:29, by BESW

@curious Nnedi Okorafor on writer's block is r🐘.

Oct 23 '19 at 13:32, by BESW

I know what's up with my block. I'm exhausted, anxious, have trouble with prioritizing and scheduling, and more to do than I can possibly do. When I sit down for a creative task all the other things seem more pressing and important, and I'm too sleep-deprived and anxious to focus on my art anyway.

Ben

I do see the value in that. It's part of the job, since writing (creative or otherwise) is a "job". I guess what I'm meaning is not that this is unhelpful or irrelevant; more so that what I was looking for (e.g ways to inspire thought processes perhaps) was addressed by simply "stick at it"

@BESW This one is especially relevant to me. I know what I need to do to get to where I want to be, but there's a lot of work involved in getting there. Nothing comes easily, and certainly not for free.

So anything that I might not be aware of that might help, would certainly be welcome

BESW

6:20 AM

That can be very specific to each person. Some people find it useful to have a half-dozen different projects so they usually feel like working on one of them. Some people write DUMBEST VERSION at the top of the page. Some people have rituals that get something done in order to jump-start the process.

Some writers swear by just starting writing anything, even if it's a description of their lunch or how frustrated they are about not knowing what to write.

I feel like Brenda Ueland's 1938 book If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit can be super helpful if the block is at all related to confidence or anxiety.

Also, it's amazing how much transition rituals help. Just something like moving from one room to another, or washing the hands and face, or making tea, can flip switches in the brain.

Ben

@BESW Yeah. This is what I want to do. Set up a room/space for my writing to happen.

@BESW That's on Scribd, so I'll give it a look!

BESW

@Ben If you can't make a space-related transition, make an action-related one!

Wash your face, change the music, say a prayer, step outside for five minutes, ring a bell, it doesn't have to be dramatic so long as it draws a line in your brain for you to step over.

@Ben Ueland's great, she's so enthusiastic and supportive and opinionated, and I wish I could write like she does.

Ben

ACtively changing your mindset in some way - yeah

BESW

> I learned...that inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic, energetic striving, but it comes into us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly and every day give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness.

> No writing is a waste of time – no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work. With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good.

Adeptus

6:49 AM

The most creative thing I've done recently is design & build a NPC house in Terraria. It's the first time I've gone for a "proper house" design, rather than a minimalist apartment/dormitory/hotel. (I was prodded to it by the recent-ish update that gave NPCs a happiness rating. They don't like overcrowding, so I've got to group them into no more than 3 in close proximity.)

Ben

7:05 AM

@Adeptus Minecraft is my guilty pleasure lol. I'm halfway there with a multi-room, multi story house

But again, last time i did anything with that was over 2 weeks ago lol

Derpy

9:13 AM

@Adeptus Remember. The Pinkie should get the nicest one.

And don't you dare thinking about getting the Happy Grenades.

AncientSwordRage

10:38 AM

@BardicWizard I think some people just have their 'thing' they don't budge about

My mum is amazing, but plainly says men shouldn't wear pink

more over 'doesn't' look right more than anythign worse

RevenantBacon

1:01 PM

@Ben Why feel guilty about it? It's a perfectly reasonable game to enjoy. I've loved playing Minecraft for the past 8 or so years

NautArch

@Ben On top of the fantastic advice from BESW, your concern around time is a real one. But writing is like a 'job'. You should dedicate time each day to sit and try to write. You don't need to succeed, but setting aside time for it and getting into a rhythm helps 'train' your brain.

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