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Colin Gross
Colin Gross
7:00 PM
I think the Gygax tradition would be to have many more spell to add to the flavor of the universe without being useful.
Like sneeze. I did like that.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Silent Spell: Snilloc's Snowball Swarm Sans Somatics
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Deep pockets was one that I'd have like to see ported.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
Bee
 
SPavel
SPavel
Snilloc has a punchable name
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Awesome alliteration abilities
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
7:02 PM
@SPavel And a very backwards name
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@MikeQ ohhhhhh. Intentional?
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@Rubiksmoose VTC, designer intent questions are speculative
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
XD
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
I vote we put all of them on hold /s
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
PAUSE EVERYTHING
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
7:03 PM
Internet over.
 
NautArch
NautArch
@Rubiksmoose Bee?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@NautArch Thank you for finding that. That was exactly what I was thinking of.
 
SPavel
SPavel
my goal in life is to be as happy as this cat
Tweeted by catsjpg on May 16, 2018 at 5:19 PM
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@NautArch Those suggestions are underpowered. 1 damage for a bee?
Seems low considering you can wield a bee as an improvised weapon for 1d4 damage
 
SPavel
SPavel
@MikeQ The bee doesn't have a human's muscles
Same way that a longsword, by itself, deals 0 damage, but when wielded deals 1d8
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
7:07 PM
@SPavel did you mean to post to imgur?
 
SPavel
SPavel
@ColinGross No, this chat needs more cat
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@MikeQ "wield a bee" you almost killed me by making me inhale tea.
Cat chat
 
SPavel
SPavel
Birds chat has attracted a cat
Cats for the cat chat, birds for the bird throne
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@SPavel Mildly interesting story: I often cast the eagle stream onto my TV and my cats LOVE it.
Completely unaware that the eagle would easily beat it in a fight lol
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
My cats lost their poo when birds were on TV. I was worried about scratches to the screen.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
7:09 PM
Ok, brainstorm time. Imagine you're a very wealthy member of an evil empire, and you want to conduct a naval campaign to wipe out some pesky pirates. You learn about some sort of magical artifact(s) that you believe will help you with your invasion plans. This is a high magic world where you could easily hire some wizards and druids to cast spells for you. So what's so special about these artifacts?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
I'd almost be more concerned about poo on the floor.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@MikeQ you're not beholden to your casters. with the artifact, YOU hold the power.
It's galling to have to depend on underlings.
It's remarkably difficult to cajole or coerce high level casters.
They have bad reactions to attempts... like 7th level bad reactions. Also, they may have friends or similar power. Best not deal with them.... also you have to pay them. None of them, "do it for the exposure."
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
Hmm... it's technically true, but it doesn't seem like a strong enough motive
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Money and power? What motives are stronger?
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Having options is always good.
 
Axoren
Axoren
7:13 PM
Being liked.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
feelings? bah... a constant stream of calm emotions or wine fixes that.
 
Axoren
Axoren
me_irl
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
And any artifact that can help you wipe out pirates could probably be used to wipe out your own navy.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Yuuki I like the options angle.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
So you might as well get your hands on it before any meddling adventurers get too big for their britches.
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
7:14 PM
@Yuuki Eyepatch seeking missiles
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
The flippancy of evil is often the most disturbing part. "you waged an entire campaign of carnage and acquisition just so you could have farging options?!?!"
@Yuuki My BBEGs view adventurers like start ups. Most die. Some sell out and retire. Very few get big. Best to just ignore them until they become a problem.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@ColinGross If I'm sufficiently wealthy, I could offer the wizard some noble titles and more gold than they can conjure. I could offer the druid expanses of untouched land. No, this artifact needs to do something that most spellcasters can't do.
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
Big bad sacrificing tons of people and resources so he can dimension hop to a dimension where his favorite treat is still made.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@MikeQ sure... they do the job, and get paid. You're out some titles and land. Maybe your limited by available titles and land.
Also, now you don't have much to offer them again.
So it's a one shot deal.
 
doppelgreener
doppelgreener
@MikeQ It spreads a deadly and contagious disease to anyone who's committed murder. You pretty it up and let it get robbed by the pirates.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
7:17 PM
@doppelgreener For details, I'm thinking some kind of nuclear-powered Wind Waker like device
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@doppelgreener I like that. A mcguffin the bad guys don't want. A hot potato mcguffin!
 
Axoren
Axoren
A hook I'm planning for a long-term campaign. Half-dwarf King rises to power in a foreign land. Dies without heirs. Which side of the family (dwarf royalty or human royalty) gets to take over?
 
doppelgreener
doppelgreener
@ColinGross Being the evil empire, you probably can't handle it, so you send some do-gooders out to handle it themselves (and get robbed by pirates).
 
Axoren
Axoren
Dwarves are pretty strict about the rights of royal lineages.
Humans are all about "it's mine because I want it, but it's also kind of actually mine"
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Axoren sounds like a backdrop to smaller more obtainable intrigues. Which side do they choose?
Does your party have dwarves and humans?! That would be sweet.
 
Axoren
Axoren
7:19 PM
Honestly, it's planning for a long-term campaign, there's no one yet.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@Axoren Nobody. A dwarf king without a beard is no king.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
Ok, maybe I should re-frame this: If you're a storm/sea god and have all associated powers, what can you do that a wizard or druid can't do?
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Tailor the human faction to be more amenable to sensibilities of the dwarf characters of the party and visa versa for humans.
@MikeQ a diety level power vs mortal wizard power?
 
doppelgreener
doppelgreener
@MikeQ It summons krakens. Many krakens. A catastrophe of krakens if you will. Potentially but not limited to inside people. Or it makes volcanoes manifest. Don't know if there's a spell for summoning a volcano up through the middle of a pirate ship.
 
Axoren
Axoren
@MikeQ Literally be the sky.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
7:20 PM
@MikeQ Gods tend to be slightly more immune to sneak attacks.
 
doppelgreener
doppelgreener
Or it breaks open a portal to the elemental plane of fire or water at a distance.
 
Axoren
Axoren
Like, not just rule it. Those frenchbois can BE it.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
I don't think you're limited at all by diety level powers.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@doppelgreener Or both thus making a plane of steam!
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
They're more like forces of nature. They drive some mechanic. I don't think I'd set one up to be wielded directly.
@Rubiksmoose you might like the game magicka
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
7:21 PM
@ColinGross If I wield a god does it count as an improvised weapon?
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Improvised god? Isn't that all of them?
 
doppelgreener
doppelgreener
@Rubiksmoose Canonically actually exists in the great wheel cosmology... I think.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
/s
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@doppelgreener Unlike Half-Life 3.
Which sounds about right.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
I'm wielding Thor currently. Writing myself a nice little CLI with it.
Pretty improvisational.
 
Axoren
Axoren
7:23 PM
CLI?
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Country Lemon Irrigation
 
NautArch
NautArch
@Axoren Instrument of the Bards :)
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross Liar.
 
doppelgreener
doppelgreener
@Yuuki 🔥🔥🔥 🚒
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Rubiksmoose whatisthor.com
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
7:24 PM
That joke would have been much better not in text. (liar == lyre)
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
CLI, Conquering Laser Incinerator. You know, for bards!
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
It still wouldn't have been good, but better.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
It's not nice to harp on other people in the chat
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@ColinGross Clavichord.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Never allowed that spell at my table. Too looney toons.
It's all fun and games until a mess of wood, keys, levers, and blades falls on your CR3 encounter.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
7:30 PM
I should also mention that since this is a high magic setting, the pirates (who you're trying to wipe out) also have wizards, druids, and other tricks. So having something that can counter their casters would be useful.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@MikeQ At first I read "tricks" as "ticks" and was going to say that I would just let the lyme disease take care of them.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@MikeQ I'm not sure there's a bartender high-level enough for that.
Then again, spellcasters might have lower CON saves.
 
SPavel
SPavel
@Rubiksmoose But since they are pirates, the lime would just cure their scurvy
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@SPavel Well done lol
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@SPavel Yeah, but lyme disease only cures scurvi.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
7:33 PM
Well played
@MikeQ how much are the players going to see or use that stuff? or can they just hear about it, and the mechanics don't really need to be worked out.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@ColinGross The artifact is currently broken, and the PCs will gradually gain pieces of it
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
It's like moisture vaporators in Star Wars... i have no idea what they are nor do, but I got the impression that you farm with them and it's not very lucrative.
 
SPavel
SPavel
Honestly, I have trouble imagining wizards or druids wanting to be pirates. Pirates were poor and desperate people, by and large. Wizards and druids have no need of knocking about in a ship full of smelly idiots and no fresh food.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
It's a multipart mcguffin ?
@SPavel this is true. High magic doesn't imply wide magic.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@ColinGross Yes. Individually, the pieces provide some cool but limited power.
 
kviiri
kviiri
7:36 PM
Just food for thought, but personally I think secret weapons are at their best when they aren't really weapons at all in the conventional sense but overcome some more fundamental limitation in interacting with the world.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@MikeQ Neat. I'd avoid thinking too in depth about mechanics that the players aren't going to use or encounter directly. I'd describe the effects for color though.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@kviiri Yes, I meant "weapons" in a figurative sense.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@MikeQ And at the end of the adventure, the players refuse to put the artifact together because they like having their own little bits with special powers.
 
kviiri
kviiri
But the problem is, high-level wizards are pretty much unlimited in what they can do already...
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Seems like a fine end to a campaign @Yuuki
They retire with their little bits of god slowly corrupting them.
Makes for nice re-occurring adversaries in subsequent stories.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
7:38 PM
@kviiri And such is the problem with writing ANY plot device in a high-magic setting. "But wizards exist".
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Or a legend to chase for subsequent adventurers
 
kviiri
kviiri
@MikeQ Alas, my solution would be to change the setting...
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
I like Eberron... wide magic.
There's high magic, but it's rare to interact with aside from environment for players.
 
kviiri
kviiri
Although, outside the DnD style of "high magic" which is like REALLY high, you could just impose some serious constraint on it while still preserving a high magic feel.
 
doppelgreener
doppelgreener
 
kviiri
kviiri
7:39 PM
Parenting is tiring work
Adorable :3
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Sometimes those eyes need a rest.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
That "no, I'm awake" head shake.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@kviiri If you want some mechanical terms as a reference point, one of the region's most powerful spellcasters is a 15th level druid with several mythic ranks.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@MikeQ Planar travel maybe? It's something that can be restricted without the world feeling less magical, but would have immense strategic value to those who possess it.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@kviiri Yes, the ability to teleport a fleet of ships would be immensely powerful
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
7:41 PM
@MikeQ There's a single level 15 caster for a region? That sounds reasonable.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@MikeQ Not to mention countless worlds to conquer, to set up secret hideouts in, to mine for resources and exploit for slaves...
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@MikeQ it could be even more benign and still be an absurd advantage at a navy scale. Like being able to predict the direction of the wind for the next week.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@ColinGross It's pathfinder, there are spellcasters everywhere. I was just giving an example of the upper limit.
@ColinGross Why predict the direction of the wind when you can command it :)
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
You can hire the L15 guy?
Also, control weather is pretty localized. Not going to help an entire navy and their supply lines.
Small logistical advantages win war campaigns.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
Okay, so we're looking at... wide-area weather control, the ability to teleport fleets, and command over unspeakable sea horrors. I like this.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
7:45 PM
Sounds like a wet & wild ride.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross no he said "horrors" not...
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
"Hey Wizard, what'cha doing?" "Using Scrying to watch this eagle mom."
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Ha!
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
The little known school of Youtube Wizards.
Channeling a wealth of knowledge and cat antics.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
Yeah so basically the PCs are treasure hunters, racing against a rival treasure hunter (hired by the wealthy imperial baddies) to gather pieces of the macguffin
 
Axoren
Axoren
7:50 PM
... why does this have a bounty on it now? rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/122391/…
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Hobo_warrior decided to put one on there because: "This question has not received enough attention.

Free bounty guys have fun!!!!!"
 
SPavel
SPavel
@Maximillian Hey y'all my name is Dankromancer555 and welcome to my ritual spell, today I'm gonna cast a Locate Object spell for you. Be sure to like and subscribe to my spellbook, and follow me on Snapscroll and Instaffgram.
3
 
Axoren
Axoren
It has an answer with a score of 50 on it.
It's been seen nearly 3,000 times
That's weird, isn't it?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Axoren Neither statistic is that strange honestly on the whole. Posts do reach those numbers not uncommonly IMO
If you mean it seems weird for this question to have that many, then maybe.
 
Axoren
Axoren
Yeah, but don't they usually count as "not received enough attention?"
"This question has not received enough attention."
I disagree.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
7:55 PM
Yeah. Any of the answers seem acceptable.
 
nitsua60
nitsua60
@jpmc26 I went ahead and made a small edit to your comment just so that it's a touch more transparent. There've been a few swaths of answer-in-comment deletions; "related: linkylinky" generally get left alone by mods, and I didn't want your good link to get lost in the shuffle.
 
Axoren
Axoren
Maybe hobo just got enough rep to use the bounty feature and was testing it out
 
GreySage
GreySage
@Rubiksmoose 51 upvotes on an answer isn't enough attention?
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
I really wouldn't bother with questioning bounties. It's someone else's rep and they're free to do what they want with it.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Axoren Ah I see where you are coming from.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
7:55 PM
Maybe he's over from reddit
 
nitsua60
nitsua60
If you don't like my re-wording of it or want it to say something a little different go ahead and ping me and I can edit it again.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Besides, you can also use bounties if you feel like rewarding a particularly good answer.
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
Instaffgram got me to chuckle.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
Yeah the person who posted it said "Free bounty guys have fun!!!!!" so maybe they just chose a reason at random.
 
Axoren
Axoren
Maybe we should start starring every message in chat. Free stars everyone! :P
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
7:56 PM
Who knows.
 
Axoren
Axoren
Starring*?
Starring*!
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Axoren you like the stars? How many pieces of flair do you have on your vest? I think you're required to have at least 13... and your name tag doesn't count. :-p
 
nitsua60
nitsua60
@Axoren Starr ring: what Ken gave to Alice one romantic evening.
2
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
I know you are joking, but just to reiterate, stars are really nice to use as signposts for useful things people say that are worth coming back to if someone pops into chat a day or two later. Let us not spam the star board please because it really diminishes its usefulness.
8
 
Axoren
Axoren
This already got out of hand.
 
kviiri
kviiri
7:58 PM
Please don't ruin the sidebar with wanton starring.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Not anymore. @Axoren started it. you get a star! you get a star!
This is why we can't have nice things.
 
Axoren
Axoren
I may have been the one to set the world on fire, but at least I didn't keep doing it. That's gotta count for something!
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
It's been burning since the world's been turning?
 
SPavel
SPavel
@Rubiksmoose We oughtn't spam the starboard, but can we still spam port?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@SPavel I find port is much more enjoyable in small doses. And definitely not with canned meat.
 
SPavel
SPavel
8:02 PM
@Rubiksmoose For small doses I prefer sherry
Port should be quaffed with gusto
 
nitsua60
nitsua60
@SPavel I think coiffing to port depends on the prevailing winds, no?
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@nitsua60 And also your hat.
Or whether you have a good barber.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
The sheer number of upvotes I'm getting on that question is kind of baffling tbh
There seems to be little correlation between the amount of effort I put into an answer, and how well it is received by the community
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@MikeQ Predicting/explaining how votes/views go on Qs and As is a fools errand.
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
Some people up/downvote as intended. Some users are primordial chaos.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
8:07 PM
@Rubiksmoose Well, I'm a fool, so this does not deter me
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Some people star things just to watch the sidebar burn.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
For a while my highest voted answer was a one sentence answer to a very easy question and I got over 30 upvotes on it.
Apr 5 at 21:58, by Rubiksmoose
@SPavel Stars are not for extended discussion. This conversation has been moved to a random question on the mainsite.
 
nitsua60
nitsua60
Jun 27 '16 at 0:06, by nitsua60
If I repcap on sheep I may have to rage-quit RPGSE. Or at least opt out of the entire reputation system.
You're not alone ^^
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
Sheep were overpowered and left out of 5e.
 
NautArch
NautArch
@Rubiksmoose Heh. Just saw that only 2 out of my top 5 answers have been accepted.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
8:11 PM
Fine! More updoots for you updoot wanters.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@nitsua60 That is an incredible upvote:effort ratio on that answer
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Maximillian Don't you mean cows? There is an entire plane of cows. It's a secret though.
 
NautArch
NautArch
@nitsua60 Can we clean up this chat and move the non-relevant bits somewhere (the stuff about other feats and crossbow xpert, etc.)
a new question is up and it references the discussion in the chat and I don't want to make it hard for folks to read it because of our rambling.
 
SPavel
SPavel
@Maximillian Sheep are underpowered in d20. I have had it with this "masterwork goat" bull****. Sheep deserve better than that. Much, much better. I should know - I commissioned a genuine sheep from New Zealand for 10,000 NZD (that's about $200). I've been practicing with my sheep every day and can even cut through solid fields of grass with my sheep. During WWII, the Japanese targeted the Kiwis first because they feared their sheep of destruction.
 
kviiri
kviiri
My top-voted answer is a class III rules lookup to what is essentially a trivia problem.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
8:13 PM
I'm actually currently pretty happy with my top answer.
 
SPavel
SPavel
My top answer is about holes
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
My best answer was how to deal with a rules lawyer....
 
NautArch
NautArch
@Maximillian you're an expert in dealing with us!
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Maximillian Distract them by sending them to RPG.SE?
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
And my best question goes back to beta, I think.... Differences beetwen PF and 3.5
 
SPavel
SPavel
8:14 PM
@Maximillian That's an easy one, about 20% more SKR
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
@Rubiksmoose For a time that worked, but I'm slowly losing faith in Stack as a whole.
 
SPavel
SPavel
@Maximillian I just come here for the bird chat
I like History stack
 
kviiri
kviiri
> Class I: The rules are exactly where one'd expect to find them.
> Class II: The rules are in a single non-obvious place or a small set of those.
> Class III: The rules exist in a variety of disconnected places with little in common.
> Class IV: The rules theoretically exist but have never been read, because they're in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Maximillian that is sad to hear :(
 
SPavel
SPavel
@kviiri Class V: The rules are published in Crawford tweets
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
8:18 PM
Class VI: The rules are written in blood on a podium beneath the studio of that one game company you do not enjoy.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@SPavel That is sad by true actually lol.
 
kviiri
kviiri
Do you people know the Free Parking rule in Monopoly, where any losses incurred due to taxes, Community Chests or such are deposited in the Free Parking tile, and collected by the player who lands there?
If you don't, congrats, because that rule is actually just a very popular houserule.
(and a very ill-conceived one)
 
SPavel
SPavel
Class VII: The rules have been scattered into several pieces, and the hero and villain race to collect them and use the power of the rule to win the galactic civil war
 
kviiri
kviiri
I wonder if DnD 5e has house rules common enough to be mistaken for actual rules...
 
SPavel
SPavel
@kviiri Fumble charts probably
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
8:20 PM
I hate fumble charts.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@SPavel Critical fails, that's a good example in general
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@kviiri The fact that mounts and riders turns are technically supposed to be separate might be one.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Auto 5% miss is punishment enough.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@kviiri Just earlier here I realized that flanking was not an actual 5e rule
 
SPavel
SPavel
@kviiri Critical fails are not a houserule
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
8:20 PM
Flanking might be optional in 5e?
 
kviiri
kviiri
@ColinGross I tried to hate fumble charts, but I rolled poorly and now I'm married to one
 
SPavel
SPavel
But people do like to make up new ones
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross Optional for sure
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@kviiri ha!
 
kviiri
kviiri
@MikeQ Well, sorta... it's an official rule, as in printed in the book. It's just labeled "optional"
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
8:21 PM
@kviiri And also critical success on skill checks.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Yuuki that and crit fails comes up all the time with my players.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Or really critical success on anything other than an attack roll.
 
kviiri
kviiri
I personally like positioning in combat, but flanking rule just... felt weird to me.
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@Yuuki I see that one all too often in D&D memes and stories
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
Oh boy this again :S
 
kviiri
kviiri
8:22 PM
@MikeQ I wish people'd make more realistic DnD memes
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
There's really only one rule in D&D memes: the rule of funny.
 
kviiri
kviiri
or more varying RPG memes in general
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@SirCinnamon definitely not getting into this again lol
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
@kviiri The requirement of memes is that they have critical mass of understanding, not many tabletop games have that for any memes to spread effectively
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
@SirCinnamon I have a handful of acquaintances whose only perception of D&D is through memes, and their idea is that you either roll a 1 or a 20 and that's the game
 
kviiri
kviiri
8:24 PM
@SirCinnamon Yeah. But it could be sorta system agnostic :)
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
@kviiri Heroes who land on the free parking space do not collect the paid fees and fines of other players.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@MikeQ Quite many of my new players have been like this. But they're usually quite malleable too :)
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
@Maximillian Any magic items not purchased immediately go to auction to the other PCs
It's not strictly an RPG but my copy of Pandemic Legacy arrived today, excited to try and set up a weekly game of that
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@Maximillian Good lord I hate that house rule.
People have so many complaints about how Monopoly is a horrible game that takes forever and then when you ask them about it, you realize that they have a ton of frankly terrible house rules.
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
I just hate Monopoly
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
8:27 PM
@Yuuki Well yeah it kills the economy of the game with pure luck, A player who is essentially out of the game can suddenly be the richest even if they have no property
 
kviiri
kviiri
@Hypersapien I don't recall chatting with you before but I already like you a lot.
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
Anyone for a rousing and stimulating game of Candyland?
So many meaningful choices to make
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
All these "move around the perimeter of the board by the number of spaces on the dice" games all suck.
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
Oh my god, have you ever read the wikipedia page for candyland? It's.... savage
"Due to the design of the game, there is no strategy involved: players are never required to make choices, just follow directions. The winner is predetermined by the shuffle of the cards. A perennial favorite, the game sells about one million copies per year"
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
It's like, dude. Here. Take a look at this game. It's called "Settlers of Catan". It'll seriously change your life.
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
8:29 PM
that is most of the opening paragraph
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Hypersapien Roll and move is a very terrible and lazy mechanic honestly
 
kviiri
kviiri
I just give my players stock warnings when we're about to play DnD: weak characters aren't as fun to play as they seem, being chaotic is neither a license nor an obligation to do anything you like, party splits are a pacing nightmare and enjoying the game is the prime concern, not realism nor faithfulness to the characters' personalities. Gets rid of the memescale better than Cillit Bang.
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
Some people house-rule a hand of three cards into Candyland, at least.
 
Axoren
Axoren
@Rubiksmoose I personally like Roll and Choose games like The Royal Game of Ur and other ancient games.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@SirCinnamon I only heard of Candyland recently (because it was on SMBC or something) and cringed a bit when reading that myself.
 
Axoren
Axoren
8:30 PM
Luck determines the choices you have. Skill determines the choices you make.
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
Candyland is passable for a kid's game because nobody loses due to a lack of skill
 
kviiri
kviiri
@Hypersapien I like to believe that the game is designed to drive children into abolishing themselves from the confines of the rules and doing this.
 
NautArch
NautArch
@MikeQ *most kids games.
 
SPavel
SPavel
Splice in rules from other games
For example, start with a hand of 7 and allow mulligans
Add in counterspell cards
 
kviiri
kviiri
8:32 PM
@Hypersapien Classic Sartre
 
Axoren
Axoren
@SPavel I'll trade 2 Sheep for 1 Blue
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
@SPavel shuffle in a deck of munchkin cards and play on a twister board
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
And if the deck runs out, everyone takes 1 damage per draw until they run out of life points.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@kviiri Wow that really definitely fixes a lot of things if people listen
 
kviiri
kviiri
@Rubiksmoose By my experience it works quite well for new players at least :)
 
SPavel
SPavel
8:34 PM
@Axoren I summon the Jack of Hearts in attack mode
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@SPavel That triggers my trap card. Left hand green.
 
kviiri
kviiri
Me and my father used to argue about solitaire games, because he preferred the classic Klondike solitaire and I Freecell. Gameplay-wise, the chief difference is the chance factors: Klondike is only winnable very roughly half of the time (the exact number is afaik still unknown), and has hidden information that might ruin otherwise winnable games (similar to eg. Minesweeper).
 
Axoren
Axoren
@SPavel Luckily, the time of day is Dusk so Black cards are going to have advantage for the next two turns.
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
@MikeQ You don't have to put up with the foibles of those annoying arcane casters ... that's what's so special about these artifacts. And they can summon loads of dinosaurs to fight on your behalf. :)
 
SPavel
SPavel
@Rubiksmoose I have a hotel on green so I collect 2 fighters and 1 corruption
 
kviiri
kviiri
8:36 PM
Freecell, on the other hand, is almost always winnable to the point where non-winnable games are interesting outliers and there's no hidden information... but my father thinks it's not exciting :(
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@SPavel Well that gives me enough energy to evolve my hotel to a space cruiser. Take 15 damage
 
Axoren
Axoren
I personally like the 99 Cards solitaire when played with a 52 deck.
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
I just wish that Microsoft Freecell let you turn off the automove. You open up a card and suddenly the whole game completes itself. Incredibly anticlimactic.
 
nitsua60
nitsua60
@NautArch what do you mean "clean up"? Do you want stuff selectively deleted?
 
kviiri
kviiri
When I was a kid we played a lot of Afrikan tähti. Far better than Monopoly, if only because it didn't take the whole day and was honest about largely being a game of chance.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
8:38 PM
The best Microsoft game is Hearts when you know nothing about the rules.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@Yuuki It's pretty good even if you do!
 
SPavel
SPavel
@Rubiksmoose I play a white piece on the other side of your damage, turning it into health instead
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@kviiri Nah, it loses some of the wonder.
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
@Yuuki Blatantly ignoring "Minesweeper when you dont know the rules"
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Yuuki hah! I used to do that to and try to figure out the rules from playing it.
 
kviiri
kviiri
8:39 PM
@Yuuki "OKaaaay so I have the most points but I'm losing?"
 
SPavel
SPavel
"Minesweeper when you are just trying to make the smiley face in the middle do funny faces"
 
kviiri
kviiri
The players tour Africa looking for the eponymous diamond the Star of Africa by visiting towns and flipping little cardboard markers. The results can be either lesser jewels for more money, blank for a miss, robber that steals all your money, a horseshoe or the diamond itself. The game is won by whomever finds the diamond and brings it back to Tangiers or Cairo.
 
Axoren
Axoren
You essentially have 4 empty stacks, two "Up" stacks and two "Down" stacks. Each card is ranked by (number, suit). Once you place a card in one of the stacks, that's its starting position. You need to place cards in ascending order in the "up" stacks, and descending order in the "down" stacks. You start by drawing 4 cards. Every turn consists of placing two cards, each on an appropriate stack, and then drawing two cards. If you can't proceed, the game ends and you count up the cards as points.
 
kviiri
kviiri
However, should someone find the diamond, other players can win by finding a horseshoe (which is otherwise worthless) and returning to Cairo/Tangiers beforehand.
Money can be spent on flights or sea travel. Famously, the original rules lacked a rule for sea travel without money, leaving players stranded on Madagascar or St. Helena.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@kviiri Can you find a horseshoe and just camp by one of the cities waiting for a diamond to be found?
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
8:42 PM
@kviiri Is there any point in the game where I can perform a consecration ceremony during the monsoon season?
 
Axoren
Axoren
With the 99 Cards game, there's a "reverse" mechanic where you can go backwards by 10s, but with a 52 deck, you just don't do that rule.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@Rubiksmoose No, only horseshoes found after the Star of Africa count.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@kviiri darn.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@Yuuki No, unless you houseruled it. We always houseruled our own rituals in :)
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@kviiri That's a shame. I, for one, would like to bless the rains down in Africa.
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
8:43 PM
What do you people think of Talisman?
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
The digital version on Steam is fun, but DLC crazy.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Hypersapien I've never played but I've heard pretty divisive things about it.
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
I think it's ok, but the mechanics could have used a little more work before release.
 
Maximillian
Maximillian
I never tried the version made by Fantasy Flight.
 
Axoren
Axoren
It's been recommended be a friend, having found it in stores.
 
kviiri
kviiri
8:43 PM
@Yuuki I always thought Toto was blessing the reigns down in Africa. And that was in the 1980's... a proud supporter of Apartheid, it seemed.
 
Axoren
Axoren
Haven't*
 
SPavel
SPavel
@kviiri Hey, there were other countries in Africa in the 1980s than South Africa
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@SPavel You can't prove that.
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
@Maximillian Then don't head to SF & F stack .... ;-D
 
kviiri
kviiri
@SPavel One would be tempted to believe South Africa didn't encompass all of Africa, yes
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
8:46 PM
Like, instead of moving the number of spaces on the dice, you should be able to move up to the number on the dice. There's one character that can do that normally, they should be able to always move up to 12.
 
Axoren
Axoren
@Rubiksmoose Someone could tell me that all of Africa was a country in the 1960s and I wouldn't be able to prove them wrong. I don't think anyone knows that much about Africa.
 
SPavel
SPavel
@Axoren Wasn't Algiers still part of France in the 60s?
 
Axoren
Axoren
I'd believe it.
 
SPavel
SPavel
That's not even some random country no one's heard of, that's France
 
kviiri
kviiri
I have the Tanzanian socialist leader Julius Nyerere's book in my bookshelf... in Swedish. Socialism i Tanzania.
 
SPavel
SPavel
8:47 PM
Fun fact: France and the Netherlands share a border...in South America
 
Axoren
Axoren
Literally could have fooled me.
 
SPavel
SPavel
Decolonization happened surprisingly recently
Canada closed its last First Nations residential school in the 90s
 
kviiri
kviiri
Yeah, it's not entirely implausible Astro-Brits of 2400's will remember Queen Elizabeth II as the fool who gave away an empire.
 
Hypersapien
Hypersapien
@SPavel Those were disgusting. At one point wasn't it literally illegal to teach native children their own ancestral language?
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@kviiri Oh boy, that'll be fun.
 
kviiri
kviiri
8:50 PM
Cool Soviet animation about borders and border wars.
And escalation I guess.
 
SPavel
SPavel
@Hypersapien And when the children were caught speaking it, they had their mouths washed with soap or lye
 
kviiri
kviiri
"Our soldiers are more than a match for yours!"
 
BESW
BESW
America had similar anti-language policies within living memory, and still has pericolonial holdings with several grades of secondary citizens. And Australia still has groups defending the kidnapping of indigenous children to be raised in white families.
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
Hmm, isn't Politics SE over there? -------------->
 
SPavel
SPavel
@KorvinStarmast This is very clearly History SE
 
kviiri
kviiri
8:54 PM
I wish people were in general more aware of the colonial policies of US
 
SPavel
SPavel
@kviiri Ah yes, the totally subtle greens vs grays
 
BESW
BESW
@kviiri Afrikan tähti looks like it's got some cool mechanics but could use an aggressive re-skin.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@BESW Yeah, generally things about Africa from the 1950's haven't aged well.
@SPavel i cry everytime
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
@SPavel I still drop by History.SE now and again; there's some good things asked and answered among the noise. I really hope it graduates ...
 
SPavel
SPavel
@KorvinStarmast Not anytime soon, too many politically charged "questions"
And middle schoolers fishing for homework questions
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
8:57 PM
@Spavel I try to help with the "community mod" bit where I can, but I think you are right about that second bit... middle schoolers fishing for homework questions 8^D
Speaking of something on topic, for this SE that is, I don't seem to be seeing as many "read the book to me" questions as previously. Anyone else getting that sense, or is this just my perception?
 
kviiri
kviiri
The only stacks I've browsed with significant regularity are SO, Math.SE and this one
Math.SE has, for a relatively quiet SE site, quite a lot of noise.
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
@kviiri I enjoy Christianity.SE and I may ask a few more questions there about that Lutheran group you mentioned from Finnland (Lestadian?) the other day. Again, thanks for that tip.
 
SPavel
SPavel
@kviiri What is this SO? I only know jQuery.stackexchange.com
 
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