TRPG General Chat

1:00 PM

I have a coworker that never washes his coffee mug. You could make a cup of coffee by pouring boiling water straight into the mug, there's so much build up in the bottom.

Hot RPG Questions

4

Q: Is the Psi Warrior Fighter's Psionic Strike compatible with the Brace Combat Maneuver?

Psionic Strike. You can propel your weapons with psionic force. Once on each of your turns, immediately after you hit a target within 30 feet of you with an attack and deal damage to it with a weapon, you can expend one Psionic Energy die, rolling it and dealing force damage to the target equal ...

trogdor

I tried cleaning it at that point but whatever it was was persistent and never fully went away

BESW

@trogdor I'm gonna guess it had calcium buildup from the hard water. I soak our kettle in vinegar semi-regularly and then scrub it up.

trogdor

could be

it was mostly white, so that is quite possible

I wasn't keen on using it, regardless of what that stuff happened to be

I kept finding flakes of it coming off in the kettle it was horrible

I'm kinda picky about that kind of thing

BESW

Yup, layers of calcium, probably with a little tea absorbed in it.

trogdor

1:03 PM

I don't like particles in my drinking liquids

BESW

To prevent it from happening again with the new kettle, add some vinegar to (preferably not tap) water and soak the kettle for at least five minutes, then scrub it out immediately. The vinegar softens the calcium so it'll come off. If you've got buildup you'll have to do it a few times as each iteration will expose more calcium that needs to get softened up.

trogdor

mk

BESW

You might find that it helps to add a bit of baking soda to the scrubbing part of the process. It's an abrasive agent that makes the scrubbing more vigorous, but it also reacts with the vinegar to make foaming action that can help lift off the calcium.

Soap wouldn't hurt, but probably isn't going to make the scrubbing noticeably easier either.

Soap works by breaking water tension so that stuff gets swept away more easily because the water isn't smoothing around the edges of things, and that's not really the problem with calcium buildup.

trogdor

how often would you recommend doing this?

BESW

Whenever buildup becomes noticeable. For me it's every week or two, but I think your water comes from the river, not the aquifer, so you probably don't have as much calcium boiling out of the tapwater every time you make tea.

The flakes in your tea mean that you've built up so many layers that the top layers aren't bonded strongly and they get knocked off from the boiling action.

trogdor

1:14 PM

I actually notice them in the kettle first

but yeah

XD

BESW

If you do it when you see the white buildup on the inside of the kettle, you'll never get the flakes threatening your tea.

trogdor

I checked the kettle and it has a little of something or other in there

not nearly as bad obviously

oh, how much vinegar do you typically use?

just a little?

BESW

1 white vinegar to every 3 or 4 water should be more than enough. I usually use 1:2 but that's because I've got 1:2 pre-mixed for cleaning.

And you don't have to fill the kettle, just enough to cover the white buildup (which is usually just on the bottom).

trogdor

yeah

ok that shouldn't be a heck of a lot

BESW

If it doesn't seem to be loosening up the deposits, let it soak longer or increase the ratio.

doppelgreener

1:20 PM

@BESW TIL

trogdor

we have a decently sized jug thing of distilled white vinegar and I'm not sure how much of it we normally use but it doesn't seem like a lot

BESW

@doppelgreener Hm? Baking soda is an excellent "and I really mean it!" additive for scrubbing action, but test it in an inconspicuous place first because it can actually scratch the surface you're scrubbing.

doppelgreener

today i learned i could do that

BESW

It also absorbs odors and colors, so bonus for removing annoying stains.

doppelgreener

i already do the vinegar soak for my kettle, heating the water up somewhat first to help speed up the chemical reactions

BESW

1:23 PM

(The powerful absorbing action is why you put baking soda on the carpet where the cat barfed.)

doppelgreener

nice

BESW

@doppelgreener Ah, yeah. Add baking soda for Science Volcano Action!

trogdor

I am fairly sure cat litter also has backing soda in it

BESW

If you can scrub the little baking soda bits into the cracks in the calcium, the foaming from the vinegar will force the cracks open and help it flake off.

trogdor

I'm not sure how much baking soda we have

I'll check that at some point but I think I need to sleep now XD

BESW

1:25 PM

But, ah. don't pour the vinegar and baking soda down the drain until the foaming stops. You don't want to pop your pipes if it gets too excited down there.

Baking soda just needs a couple pinches.

trogdor

yeah I wasn't exactly planning on using a ton of that

either way

Goodnight!

night

goodnight :)

@BESW I've definitely boiled neat vinegar in a kettle at least once, and it smelt amazing

@trogdor g'night

BESW

1:32 PM

Would not recommend without really good ventilation.

AncientSwordRage

I repeat, it smelt amazing

there may have been water already in there

but I agree, not recommended

NautArch

1:49 PM

o/

I think I've finally lost my fight delaying fortnite for my 8year old.

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch \oo//

@NautArch oh?

NautArch

Yeah, he's been asking for a couple years and I'dr ather he play that than Roblox at this point.

Roblox has a lot of games that entail simply clicking for cash and buying more stuff to click more.

Thomas Markov

My three year old is pretty into mario kart.

NautArch

it's like the worst grinding ever. And it's all about 'getting money'.

awful.

@ThomasMarkov debating on a switch for them for chanukkah.

I'm wedded to my PC for gaming, so a console would be new.

and my old Wii died a couple years ago.

There is Sonic All Star racing on PC that's fun, but not the same

Thomas Markov

She will walk up to me with her hands behind her back and say, "Do you want to.......RACE?" and hold up the two steering wheels.

NautArch

1:56 PM

that's awesome

I hope you are ruthless.

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov so adorable

Thomas Markov

@NautArch The sequel is better.

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov Transformed or the new one?

Thomas Markov

Sonic Allstars Racing Transformed is actually really good.

NautArch

i had heard the lastest wasn't as good.

Thomas Markov

1:56 PM

Transformed is just as good, maybe better than mario kart imo.

NautArch

Yeah, we play Transformed.

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch I thought Fortnite also had that?

NautArch

@AncientSwordRage I literally mean tapping the screen to get money. And then you go and trade in the money for stuff. And go back to clicking. But you click more.

Thomas Markov

@NautArch giving me flashbacks to runescape

NautArch

Fortnite at least has real competition and some hand-eye coordination.

AncientSwordRage

1:58 PM

@NautArch oh, like cookie game (what're they called?)

Thomas Markov

Start him on the classics. Get Doom or Halo: CE.

AncientSwordRage

Cookie Fall? You tap to make cookies fall from the sky, and the more cookies that fall the more power-ups you get to make more cookies fall etc

@ThomasMarkov Quake I

Thomas Markov

Coockie Clicker is the OG cookie game

AncientSwordRage

thats the one

Oh hai @BardicWizard

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov I played a lot of Quake 3 Arena.

Thomas Markov

2:02 PM

I beat Doom for the first time when I was 7.

NautArch

That was during the first bubble burst of the internet in the early 2000s and where I worked would set up lan-games after work (and then during work)

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov thats pretty remarkable

NautArch

At 7 I was playing Aztec Challenge on the Atari 800.

AncientSwordRage

I played a bit of Quake II, but I was more interested in using paint to mix and match body parts from the digital manual

Thomas Markov

@AncientSwordRage (on the easiest difficulty)

NautArch

2:03 PM

But seriously, he does NOT like blood. Heavy pixellated blood is kind of okay, but not great.

Thomas Markov

Oh.

AncientSwordRage

screenshot, paste, select tool, new window, paste, repeat

Thomas Markov

Sonic Adventure is a pretty lit game

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov My uncle completed it on hard with just a shotgun (except the one battle that needs the BFG)

@ThomasMarkov even so

MikeQ

@NautArch Several of my STEM-oriented friends swear Minecraft is the perfect game for their kids. It's like infinite Lego except you only buy it once and the kid ends up learning computer programming.

2

NautArch

2:06 PM

@MikeQ Yeah, we do some minecraft and I set up my own server for them.

But they're not totally into it.

Did get their older cousin (22) into our server, so they're starting to get back.

AncientSwordRage

@MikeQ if they don't make a 64-bit calculator in the first week, ask for a refund

on the child, not the game

NautArch

@MikeQ I also have a lot of programmer friends who really don't want their kids to go into programming.

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch oh really?

Bardic Wizard

@AncientSwordRage good morning

Thomas Markov

I got my start at programming on a TI84 calculator

AncientSwordRage

2:10 PM

@BardicWizard ::applies wake up juice::

Bardic Wizard

@AncientSwordRage it’s the keyboard again though earl gray would be appreciated

AncientSwordRage

Computer, earl grey. Hot.

BESW

"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be ~~Cowboys~~ Code Monkeys"

Thomas Markov

My wake up juice made me ill this morning.

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov oh no

Thomas Markov

2:13 PM

Too much caffeine on an empty stomach.

AncientSwordRage

ahhh

Bardic Wizard

@ThomasMarkov I didn’t start there but I have made a bit of a name for myself at school cause I programmed my ti84 to do the quadratic equation for me as well as other things

AncientSwordRage

My wife read that coffee on an empty stomach and no sleep is bad, so I've been banned from coffee before breakfast

Bardic Wizard

I haven’t actually gotten out of bed yet

AncientSwordRage

@BardicWizard ::jealous::

NautArch

2:17 PM

@ThomasMarkov Did you make the snake game or the drug dealer game?

Bardic Wizard

There’s something to be said for smartphones in there but I’m debating whether I actually want to further my dependence on caffeine or whether I’m going to go do excersice

NautArch

@BardicWizard I didn't start drinking coffee until I had kids :P

RevenantBacon

@BardicWizard Why not both? XD

Thomas Markov

I definitely played a drug dealer game.

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov do I want to know what that is?

Thomas Markov

2:19 PM

@BardicWizard I take caffeine before I exercise.

NautArch

@AncientSwordRage a game involving being a drug dealer :) You had to invest in your inventory, determine distribution, and balance risk of getting caught. Goal is moar money.

drugwars

Thomas Markov

I had a text based RPG of GTA.

kviiri

I played a lot of Dope wars at one point, and re-creating Tai-Pan was one of the first video games I've created

(Tai-Pan is Dope wars except you trade only somewhat in drugs!)

RevenantBacon

@ThomasMarkov you know what's worse than not having a point of origin on a square-shaped spell?

Thomas Markov

Finding a worm in your apple?

RevenantBacon

2:28 PM

Guards and Wards

Thomas Markov

such a weird spell.

RevenantBacon

which has an area expressed in square feet, but can be shaped

If it's "M" shaped, where's the point of origin?

and how does it interact with full cover/line-of-effect?

Thomas Markov

DM: "Hey guys, you know how I spend several hours a week designing dungeons and prepping for the adventure? Here's a spell that lets you do that during the game."

Bardic Wizard

@ThomasMarkov although that’s a true statement, one of my groups would respond with “wait, you’re letting us use guards and wards? Even despite what we did with it last time?”

Thomas Markov

@BardicWizard Facts.

NautArch

2:36 PM

Argh, the more I think about that meta answer comparing game system tags to coke/pepsi, I don't like it.

RevenantBacon

@NautArch I'm sorry, what?

NautArch

7

A: Revisit: Is "5e" a clear enough statement of game system by a question asker to determine that the question is about D&D 5e?

I'm pretty much an outsider nowadays, so this is an outsiders perspective, with little to no regard to policy or how it should work: The brand name "Cola" in my country is being used to describe any kind of drink that is brown, sugary and fizzling. If you order a "Cola" it is assumed you mean Cok...

I'm also very clearly not in agreement with others :P So...normal day.

Thomas Markov

I think the analogy could be improved.

RevenantBacon

@ThomasMarkov Yeah, he's being just a little too hyperbolic

I mostly agree with his point though

NautArch

I get the point (and if you agree with not needing to ask, then you'll agree), but I don't think the analogy is useful or correct.

Thomas Markov

2:46 PM

I think it's more like "A man walks into a bar wearing a bud light shirt, a bud light hat, and a bud light tattoo sleeve, walks up to the bar and orders a 'lite beer'" Does the bartender really need to ask if he means Miller or Bud?

RevenantBacon

@BardicWizard "What do you mean? I don't see how it could be considered 'wrong' to turn the badguys own hideout against him!"

NautArch

The server always confirms what the customer wants.

If anyone from the areas of the US is here where they use 'coke' to mean soda. I'd be interested to hear how servers handle that.

@ThomasMarkov That is a VERY different analogy.

Thomas Markov

@NautArch I agree, and I think its closer to the phenomenon we're trying to approach.

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov I generally believe if someone is asking a question and using quotes or very clear terms that are known, we can probably guess. But if it isn't, I'm not into guessing.

I just don't pretend to know all the games and if there is a game out there that it could be, I don't want to pretend that game doesn't exist.

RevenantBacon

If a question is "how do I make an attack roll in 5e?" I agree that that' too ambiguous

If they ask "How do I use Divine Smite in 5e?" I think that's specific enough

NautArch

2:52 PM

@RevenantBacon I'm honestly not sure. If they quote Divine Smite, yes. But I'm not prepared to guess there isn't a 5e with Divine Smite that isn't D&D.

RevenantBacon

Because the means for making an attack roll in D&D-5e vs Shadowrun-5e is very different (I assume, never played Shadowrun)

AncientSwordRage

@RevenantBacon it is, afair

Bardic Wizard

@RevenantBacon it was our hideout. The words “murder hole” were an understatement

RevenantBacon

@NautArch I'd be willing to risk it. I'm ready to admit that I don't know the rules for every 5th edition game ever made, but the odds that there exists a feature by the exact same name, and that the person isn't asking about the most popular table top game in the world is slim.

AncientSwordRage

::acquires more coffee::

NautArch

2:55 PM

@RevenantBacon Sure, but then we're assuming anything unclear that mentions 5e is D&D.

I'm just not sure I want to make that assumption.

RevenantBacon

@BardicWizard Oh, well that's totally reasonable then. Not the players fault that their enemies decided to attack when they had home-field advantage.

NautArch

And I'm a D&D-centric fool.

@AncientSwordRage I'm still generally a one cup a day guy. Some times I may have some caffeine in the afternoon if I'm planning on staying up and I want a little extra umph.

AncientSwordRage

I always stay up

so it comes in handy

Bardic Wizard

@RevenantBacon we... kinda sat in the hideout and plinked away at the enemies. It’s not one of my favorite bans I’ve caused the creation of, but it was a dialed down plan from the original anyways

RevenantBacon

@BardicWizard By "sat in hideout and plinked away" what exactly do you mean? Like you never left and just sent minions o do stuff for you, or like you were literally just shooting people with bows from the ramparts?

And how did that not completely bite you in the butt?

Bardic Wizard

2:59 PM

@RevenantBacon both.

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov and what's worse about the coke/pepsi thing is that those who wanted Coke, but got Pepsi will accept it, but they're not really happy.

And just because funny is always needed:

nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/…

Bardic Wizard

@RevenantBacon we had made like 20th level characters and were playing around with defensive tactics

RevenantBacon

@NautArch Yeah, but they'll only accept it because they wanted cola, and if a place serves one, it won't serve the other because both of those companies force exclusivity deals(source, work for a place on the weekend that sells one, but can't sell the other)

Bardic Wizard

So it was expected

RevenantBacon

@BardicWizard So what were your goals? Was it just "Sit in the base and lat as long as you can?"

NautArch

3:01 PM

@RevenantBacon So we only serve D&D 5e here? That kinda seems like the natural progression of that analogy.

@BardicWizard 20th level is fuuuun.

So many resources to manage, but so much fun.

RevenantBacon

@NautArch No, that's not where I was going with that

NautArch

@RevenantBacon I know, and that wasn't really fair of me.

But it's fair to the analogy.

Unless you're from a place that doesn't tell you what you're going to get and just expects you to accept it.

RevenantBacon

My point was that the analogy was bad

Which I stated earlier

NautArch

We agree! No coke, pepsi!

Bardic Wizard

@RevenantBacon pretty much. Although as a gm I’m gonna get to use it again anyways cause we’re putting together a military base thing on the location of the “modern” day sandiá base for our it’s-complicated-but-sorta-cyberpunk-sorta-basic-fantasy d&d game

@NautArch indeed

NautArch

3:05 PM

@BardicWizard especially when your DM lets you stack your +3 weapon with a potion of giant strength and oil of sharpness for the final battle (when you've been saving those items for literally in IRL years.)

Bardic Wizard

@NautArch wowzers. I sense experience there...

NautArch

@BardicWizard vengeance pally dropping BIG damage.

RevenantBacon

@BardicWizard unless the entirety of the campaign can be played with the players never leaving their base (ie, their only job is "Protect this one particular spot") Guards and Wards isn't really that good. If they ever have to do something outside their stronghold, then they either have to leave, losing the benefits of the spell, or they have to send NPC minions to do their biding, who could end up captured, killed, or worse, bought off by the enemy.

It can be funny to use it to mess with an enemies stronghold, but they need to A) cast it without getting noticed, and B) know at least part of the layout of the stronghold so that they can shape it appropriately.

Bardic Wizard

True. Our d&d group is really interested in doing weird things with spells so we do tend to do things like this even when it’s not the best idea

AncientSwordRage

3:34 PM

I started thinking up a Ranger monk build, and settled on making a Firbolg Feywanderer/Kensai and now I'm invested in the character, and not the build I'm veering away from being a monk, which is then invalidating the synergy I was trying to exploit/play with

partly because Kensai looks poops (to use a technical term)

RevenantBacon

Fill all the stairwells with webs, then summon a bunch of giant spiders. Walk in after a quarter hour or so, just enough time for the spiders to get noticed, and claim to be the exterminators they called.

Kensai are pretty legit though

AncientSwordRage

oh rly?

RevenantBacon

They're not the strongest monk subclass for sure, but they have some neat tricks

AncientSwordRage

oh yeah true!

I was planning on taking the druidic warrior fighting style, and getting the Shillelagh cantrip

but that may be a non-bo on the kensei weapon

NautArch

@AncientSwordRage Played a kensei, it was pretty fun.

AncientSwordRage

3:37 PM

@NautArch ooh do tell

RevenantBacon

Clubs are fine as a kensai weapon though

and Wis is a focus for both classes

NautArch

@AncientSwordRage Briefly was in a campaign that didn't work out time-wise for me, but played a goblin kensei.

I had a lot of fun with it.

RevenantBacon

I love playing as 5e goblins. Bonus action dash is soooo useful

NautArch

Ranged was never really a big need because my mobility could generally get me to an enemy, but the option wasn't bad for a bonus action to add damage.

AncientSwordRage

(I say poops, because of my reading and also the grade on RPG Bot )

@NautArch goblin anything seems fun

NautArch

3:39 PM

@AncientSwordRage I mean, the goblin part was fun :)

AncientSwordRage

@RevenantBacon thats what I tried to leverage

RevenantBacon

I've read RPGBots' article, and he's right, Kensai doesn't add much over base monk, but it's red in comparison only to the other monk subclasses

NautArch

i often try to optimize my characters to make sure I've got options for actions and bonus actions.

But access to some weapons taht I wouldn't have access to is nice.

It's good front-line monk

the extra AC is nice

AncientSwordRage

@RevenantBacon thats good insight, and also good to see someone else agree with the grading

RevenantBacon

Just because it's the weakest of the set doesn't mean that it's weak overall

NautArch

3:40 PM

And I don't think it's the weakest of the set.

RevenantBacon

Well, I think at the time he wrote the article, only the PHB was out

so the undead-themed and sun themed ones weren't out yet

AncientSwordRage

He's doing a rejig, so the non-updated classes may still get an updated score

RevenantBacon

I actually just went over to the page to re-check it, and I noticed a bunch of stuff from TCoE

NautArch

I also have to admit there's some good things in TCoE :P

AncientSwordRage

they tweet all the updates, and I have notifications switched on, as they don't often tweet

NautArch

3:45 PM

I do not twit

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch I twoo

@ThomasMarkov I have managed to have too much coffee for my stomach, and I can assure you it was not empty

It looks like I may want to go ranger 3/monk 5-7, then I'm open to either samurai or warlock (mainly for flavour reasons)

Thomas Markov

@AncientSwordRage I took 150mg of caffeine and went straight to the gym. Got about 40 minutes of work in before I felt ill.

AncientSwordRage

thats some good going

NautArch

@AncientSwordRage I'm typically not a huge multiclasser unless I know the level range we're playing.

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch I like it too much

like in life, I struggle to focus on just one thing

NautArch

3:49 PM

I really like many of the milestones of the primary class I pick.

Thomas Markov

@NautArch I hear Naut loves a 1 level hexblade multiclass.

NautArch

Delaying is big unless it's not a delay, but a fixed set. In which case, it's more about accepting not getting some things in exchange for other things. How's that for vague?

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch true

that is vague

NautArch

I guess first I want to know if the campaign is going to 20 or not. If it is, then capstones become important.

If not, and it's a fixed end, I can build a design around multiclassing if I'm okay with the tradeoffs.

AncientSwordRage

that makes sense

I haven't actually played in years, so I'm just theory crafting

NautArch

3:51 PM

I'm a bit underwhelmed by some of the Hexblade stuff and am taking a 3 level dip to battlemaster.

AncientSwordRage

battlemaster is just so tempting

NautArch

I delayed my thing to turn a humanoid i kill into a spectre, but i"m not really in love with that ability. So that was okay.

AncientSwordRage

I love options, and it has bajillions

Thomas Markov

@AncientSwordRage I hear the Weapon Master feat synergizes well with Battle Master.

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov hyuck hyuck hyuck

NautArch

3:57 PM

And i'm delaying being able to move my hexblade curse, but that's also okay because I realy like the battlemaster manuevers.

AncientSwordRage

some of the new manuevers looks really nice

NautArch

i took a look, but none were really moving me away from the ones I was looking at. Except for maybe Bait and Switch.

GcL

4:18 PM

I found that assuming UA means Umbrella Academy greatly increases the desirability of UA questions.

NautArch

@GcL oh man, i need to watch the second seasons!

NautArch

4:33 PM

I know serial downvoting is a thing, but is serial upvoting?

Someone_Evil

Certainly both happen, and pretty sure both are supposed to get reverted (when detected).

NautArch

Although I guess serial upvoting is about a single user getting upvoted.

Someone_Evil

573

Q: What is serial voting and how does it affect me?

I just noticed that I lost a bunch of points from my reputation score, and I used the "reputation" tab on my user profile page to try and track down the cause. During my investigation, I noticed there was an unusual event of type "reversal". In the normal place of a question title, it says "voti...

support faq reputation voting serial-voting

NautArch

Yeah, i'm thinking more about someone who just upvotes willy-nilly. But I don't think that's trackable or even really problematic.

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch Brace is meant to be ok?

@NautArch yeah if someone finds you and looks at all your questions/answers and votes on them in quick succession

also it can be sockpuppet behaviour

NautArch

4:45 PM

@AncientSwordRage yeah, that wasn't what I was referencing, but I guess i'm seeing a lot of very questionnably good questions get upvoted. Especially if they are by new users. Which I get wanting a new user to have a good experience, but rewarding not great questions is problematic for me.

Someone_Evil

@NautArch There's some amount of noise to the upvotes. (eg. downvotes on highly upvoted answers and vise versa) As long as it doesn't favour anything particular or a particular user and is less than our signal it's not worth worrying about

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch agreed

NautArch

@Someone_Evil I can see that. I don't think it's a signal/noise issue. Just a personal "what" issue.

Thomas Markov

4:58 PM

I feel weird about answering a question, then finding a duplicate after the fact and closing the question.

NautArch

@ThomasMarkov search first, answer second

AncientSwordRage

@NautArch that generally works, but not always

NautArch

it does mean generally risking losing out on first answer

Thomas Markov

@NautArch ya, im a sucker for enlightened badges.

NautArch

but think of the site!

won't somebody think of the site?!

Thomas Markov

5:06 PM

@AncientSwordRage I added a word to your header

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov Thanks

Yuuki

5:22 PM

I wonder if there's a way to learn/cast raise dead or revivify while also not learning any healing or restoration spell along the way.

AncientSwordRage

I mean you can just choose not to learn some spells right?

Yuuki

Well, Clerics know all their spells so that's right out. And Divine Souls have a class feature that provides healing.

Someone_Evil

Bard?

Thomas Markov

Bards can do that

Yuuki

Hmm... should I revise that to "not having any healing/restoration feature"?

Because Bards do have Song of Rest but that's added on top of existing healing from a short rest.

Someone_Evil

5:27 PM

Cast them through an artefact or other magic item?

Yuuki

tl;dr i'm trying to figure out if i can make this scenario work:

Thomas Markov

In my head canon song of rest isnt magic. It's just being good at playing ballads so your friends can relax better.

Yuuki

> “Doc, my leg is broken! Can you give me a splint?”

> pumps shotgun “no but I can do you one better”

Thomas Markov

@Yuuki i guess magic items dont count?

Yuuki

@ThomasMarkov I mean, that'd be the easiest solution but I was wondering if there was any solution that relied solely on class features.

AncientSwordRage

5:33 PM

@ThomasMarkov A shotgun of resurrection sounds quite magical

it's one up from Usidor's Rock of Healing

Thomas Markov

6:16 PM

That phnatom rogue's ability is heckin weird.

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov yup

Thomas Markov

I remember when I thought a 500 word essay was a lot. My answer on the phantom rogue question is sitting at 680 words.

AncientSwordRage

@ThomasMarkov a lot of that is quotation though, which not only pads, but breaks up section making them easier to write because it fixes the topic

TheDragonOfFlame

@Yuuki I don’t think there is if you don’t count the bard

Five hundred words. Is that a lot? Well, let’s see. So far I have written ten. Make that sixteen. Now nineteen. Twenty. I’ll stop counting them now, but I’m wondering if five hundred words is really that many. I’m going to count again. Twenty one, twenty two twenty three twenty four, twenty five... ok I give up thats too many words

@ThomasMarkov Five hundred words. Is that a lot? Well, let’s see. So far I have written ten. Make that sixteen. Now nineteen. Twenty. I’ll stop counting them now, but I’m wondering if five hundred words is really that many. I’m going to count again. Twenty one, twenty two twenty three twenty four, twenty five... ok I give up thats too many words

Bardic Wizard

@ThomasMarkov 500 words is about a page when double spaced I think; it’s less than I have to write for a history essay but more than I have to write for Spanish class

Thomas Markov

6:25 PM

Sure but when youre 13, just finished 3 pages of math homework, and have a dependency on your PS2, writing 500 words is quite the chore.

Bardic Wizard

Indeed it is. With my dysgraphia, 500 words is still a lot for me but it’s not as bad as when I would write 251 words for a 250 word minimum on my 6th grade papers

It still takes me about an hour to knock out 500 words on nothing and more if I actually have to think about what I’m writing.

AncientSwordRage

@BardicWizard I still remember when I wrote my first whole page of writing, after my mum made me start a diary

it was an A5 page, but still

TheDragonOfFlame

6:44 PM

Honestly for an essay that is short

RevenantBacon

Remind me, in 5e is the general rule "you can't do the thing unless something lets you" or is it "you can do the thing unless something stops you"?

Thomas Markov

@RevenantBacon Its definitely the first.

USually.

But sometimes not.

RevenantBacon

Yeah, no the first one felt right to me, but I was suddenly hit by a wave of doubt

Thomas Markov

> Class is the primary definition of what your character can do.

From the PHB

Carcer

it depends what the thing is, doesn't it

Thomas Markov

6:49 PM

Yeah.

Carcer

can you cast a spell? Well, not unless some feature gives you the ability to cast a spell. Can you fry an egg? Sure, unless for some reason you're specifically forbidden from frying eggs.

the whole system depends heavily on being interpreted through a lens of... let's charitably call it "common sense" as regards what characters can and cannot do within the fiction and the mechanics

MikeQ

Frying an egg counts as crafting, so it would be a downtime activity.

By PF2 rules, it would require 4 days of downtime to fry an egg.

Thomas Markov

Sorry, that would be giving benefits of the Chef feat to characters without it, which is unbalanced.

MikeQ

7:04 PM

Frying an egg is otherwise impossible, because it would deal fire damage to the egg, and you'd have to use the rules for damaging objects.

Thomas Markov

"I whisk the egg" "Okay, make an attack roll" natural 20 "The egg explodes"

RevenantBacon

Critting doesn't mean dealing the most damage, it means getting the best outcome. In this case, you've just whisked that egg to fluffy perfection, giving it the intrinsic property of +1 texture and -1 chewiness

Unless you crit the egg with a microwave

Then it definitely explodes

XD

Thomas Markov

Then I'll do what every good wizard would do: I cast fireball.

RevenantBacon

Good ol' Fireball, nothin' beats that!

Would that make it egg flambe?

KorvinStarmast

7:23 PM

@ThomasMarkov Feds and Heads was one of the first drug dealer games that I can remember.

@ThomasMarkov Fireball sears the outside of the giant elk but leaves the inside rare, raw, and juicy. Food for the whole party, and for the ranger's animal companion, and for the two dire wolves who smelled dinner and came by for a treat ...

... at which point our halfling tried to insta domesticate the dire wolf by using animal handling. Nearly lost a finger, she did.

Dire wolf thought she wanted some if its elk steak, and you know how canines get about their food while they are eating ... protective is a mild term.

For anyone interested, a succinct analysis of Tasha's psi warrior as compared to battle master

TheDragonOfFlame

8:21 PM

I love hate the myth that in rpgs you roll for everything, like athletics to not fall down when you walk etc.

Thomas Markov

That trope probably exists because there are DMs who pull nonsense like that.

NautArch

Drink enough at the bar in game and I may do that :P

Thomas Markov

One of my biggest pet peeves is DMs that call for checks on flavoring actions.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@TheDragonOfFlame I had a GM like that (for a very short time) and so did a friend of mine (also for a very short time).

The former asked for an electronics operation roll to lock/unlock one's own flat's door. The latter asked for dexterity checks for stepping down each step on a stair, with failure risking either tripping or making lots of noise.

But of course, there's the sensationalisation of bad events effect. I.e. just like when a plane crashes and that gets more resonance than many normal flights, so abysmal GMing cases get more talked-about than normal ones.

Thomas Markov

"I do a backflip and kick the wolf in the chin" "Make an acrobatics check" "Okay fine, I attack in the most boring way possible" "Okay roll to hit".

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

8:30 PM

@ThomasMarkov I'm ambivalent about that one. There are reasons both for and against such treatment.

KorvinStarmast

@ThomasMarkov Which is where the game Roll For Shoes seems to have come from originally ...

Thomas Markov

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica What are the reasons for?

KorvinStarmast

@ThomasMarkov the wolf says - I bite off his foot when he tries to kick me on the chin. Woof

So whose cool move gets to work?

Thomas Markov

@KorvinStarmast Funny thing, sometimes I like to put easter egg reactions on some of my monsters. Things with really obscure triggers, just to see if my players can find them.

KorvinStarmast

An Easter Egg hunt is worth losing a foot in, I suppose.

TheDragonOfFlame

8:34 PM

@ThomasMarkov is there something specifically wrong with this? On a failed acrobatics you would attack normally, but on a success you’d get some tactical advantage. Or is that taboo

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@ThomasMarkov 1. Complementary skill rolls (by this or other name): having actual risks and benefits from making such fancy actions (e.g. bonus damage, penalties to enemy defence). 2. Bragging rights; sometimes, PCs do suboptimal things specifically because the players (and/or the PCs themselves) want to show off being able to 'fight left-handed'. 3. Enforcement of initial campaign style by way of appropriate costs/risks to doing cinematic things in a down-to-earth campaign.

RevenantBacon

@ThomasMarkov unfortunately, most peoples acrobatics bonus is lower than their attack bonus :(

I know mine is

XD

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

A long time ago, a player asked to do several jump kicks by tictac'ing between a wall and an enemy. The PC had about enough skill to pull it off, and was successful, ultimately kicking down the enemy and escaping to the roof. The player was rather satisfied about pulling off something like that.

(This was in the kind of game where the tictac altitude gain was a function of one's normal jump height/distance.)

RevenantBacon

8:50 PM

(what is tictacing?)

I assume I've heard of it before by another name and there's about to be an "Ooohhh, we call it this" moment

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@RevenantBacon Kicking off a vertical wall with some gain of altitude. There are regional variations of the definition's finer points of course.

RevenantBacon

OK, so doing wall-jumps then.

Which I agree is the most basic description you can get

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

Definition used in the game:

> A “tic-tac” is a running leap at a vertical surface,
followed by a foot plant and shove to propel you up
and away. This requires a roll against the better of
Acrobatics-4 or Jumping-4. Success gives you
height equal to 1/4 your running broad jump dis-
tance (p. B352) and lets you rebound the same dis-
tance horizontally. Halve distances in combat.
Failure means a fall from the same height; critical
failure inflicts maximum falling damage.
If this moves you into contact with another sur-
face (e.g., a parallel wall), you can push off again.

(I'm also pretty sure there was some liberty taken with the mechanics, but it's been many years since that session.)

Point is, taking something reasonable as a basis, then exceeding the reasonable limits by way of character hypercompetence, and coming off successful nonetheless, can be its own reward, even if it's not the most tactically sound choice.

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