TRPG General Chat

Adeptus

12:11 AM

There's some debate whether a Grease spell creates actual grease, or just a magical slippery substance

Miniman

12:26 AM

@Adeptus Given that it has a duration, it definitely doesn't create actual grease.

BESW

Perhaps it summons grease from the Elemental Plane of Grease, which returns to its source when the spell expires.

doppelgreener

@BESW From the Forgotten Realms Great Wheel cosmology I'd posit Grease comes from the elemental plane of Ooze, probably somewhere Waterwards.

BESW

Surely Grease is Travoltawards of Ooze.

Adeptus

Heh. I have a new plan. Replace my step 3 above with Lightning Bolt. Call the entire attack "Greased Lightning"

Miniman

@BESW You'll have to show me the compass you use sometime.

BESW

12:34 AM

"Waterwards of Ooze" would be a good name for an album.

doppelgreener

@BESW Last I heard the elemental plane of Travolta was still just a theory, though there is a building case that John was a spontaneous planar outsider visitation manifested through interplanar tectonic pressures.

Shalvenay

@BESW hahah, yes :D

(although -- could you light the Elemental Plane of Grease on fire?)

doppelgreener

@Shalvenay Interplanar mass destruction is thought to be beyond the power of most creatures who'd think to do it, and beyond the thoughts of most creatures with the power to do it.[adjusts wizarding glasses]

Shalvenay

@doppelgreener actually, come to think of it, I wonder if the term "Grease" for what the spell summons is really a misnomer. Could it be like this stuff?

Modern Weapons: Anti Traction Mobility Denial System

►

doppelgreener

@Shalvenay From an out-of-game perspective, the name 'grease' is a bit of a problem (and possible misnomer) because the spell doesn't say the goop has all the properties we know grease usually has, like the fact it can burn. 'Slippery slime' would make a pretty fun spell name.

Shalvenay

12:45 AM

@doppelgreener I agree

BESW

@Weaveworker89 Hi!

doppelgreener

In-universe, what it summons is grease or close enough, and the capacity to burn may not be a universal property of grease.

Adeptus

1:00 AM

For real-world lubricants commonly known as grease, are there non-flammable varieties?

BESW

Google "high-temperature lubricant."

(Everything is flammable if you try hard enough.)

2

The catch, generally, is that something with a flash point in excess of 400C is going to probably be a solid at room temperatures.

Shalvenay

@Adeptus yeah -- most industrial greases will burn smokily if you try hard enough (such as in the context of a seized bearing)

(i.e. hydrocarbon based greases)

(silicones or fluorocarbon greases, ofc, have much better high-temp performance)

doppelgreener

@BESW good rule. :D

Shalvenay

above that temperature, you're stuck with things like graphitic lubes

BESW

Useful to note:
- flash point = the oil is hot enough to vaporise so that a nearby flame will ignite the vapors.
- fire point = the oil is hot enough that the vapours will continue to burn when the ignition source is removed.
- autoignition = the oil is hot enough that the vapours burst into flames without a nearby flame.

Shalvenay

1:14 AM

yeah -- those are all very important things to know

kerosene and diesel, for instance, don't pose major vapor risks the way gasoline does because they have high flash points

BESW

Of course, none of that is actually relephant to a D&D context, where there's "on fire" and "not on fire."

Shalvenay

(you can drop a burning match into a bucket of kerosene or diesel, and....nothing.)

@BESW well, it could be relevant depending on what you make your lamp oil from

BESW

"I use oil in my lamp. What do you mean, 'what kind of oil?'"

Shalvenay

@BESW could be vegetable oil, animal-fat-based oil, or petroleum oil

(if their lanterns are like ours, it's the last one -- RL oil lamps are kerosene burners)

BESW

D&D doesn't differentiate on its own.

doppelgreener

1:25 AM

D&D just has "oil", is what BESW's suggesting.

BESW

The oil burns according to the same rules regardless.

Shalvenay

@BESW true. I'm willing to go with the assumption that "lamp oil = kerosene" (although that does imply that FR/Greyhawk/... have the full set of fossil fuels at their disposal)

BESW

It will always burn for the same amount of time and have the same difficulty of ignition and deal the same damage and emit the same light.

doppelgreener

@Shalvenay that's a problematic assumption to make

BESW

D&D's "oil" gives no indication that they have the same distinctions and categories that we do. The rules for fire and ignition ignore concepts like flash point vs fire point.

The world's physics and materials are simplified.

KorvinStarmast

3:34 AM

@BESW FWIW, I posted a text file name on the collect data meta for raw tag, if i interests you.

@doppelgreener FWIW, I posted a text file name on the collect data meta for raw tag, if i interests you.

BESW

Thanks. I hope more people find it useful.

I'm curious re: the four answers which asked for RAW in-text, and how their answer content/quality compared to those which didn't.

KorvinStarmast

@doppelgreener Might be more yarn theory than string theory, depending on the quality of the weave, even thread theory ... hopefully not like the thread in Pern.

3

BESW

"Yarn theory" sounds about right. Thick and fuzzy.

Tends to fall apart if you twist it the wrong way.

KorvinStarmast

@BESW The four that I noted as GGE had very stringent comments about RAW and make sure not to give me anything else, the others asked for RAW by name and not just "how does it work."

@BESW If I get the time, I'll do April and May as well, as I am curious to see more variations on the theme. Not sure if tomorrow time will permit.

BESW

I appreciate the time and energy you're putting into this.

KorvinStarmast

3:42 AM

@BESW I figure that if we get some data and try to discuss something on that basis, the answer to mxy's original 'is it ok or is it junk' might get a better answer so we can say "fix it" or "don't fix what ain't broke."

@BESW My deep regret is that my question spawned yet another round of comment wars. I suppose I should have predicted that.

@BESW Nite, and best wishes to all.

BESW

ttfn

nitsua60

4:17 AM

@KorvinStarmast ditto the appreciating your hard work.

Shalvenay

5:02 AM

@KorvinStarmast GGE?

doppelgreener

5:58 AM

Where's that typo goblins doc?

BESW

The Misspell Goblins

The Oracle

2

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