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goodguy5
goodguy5
7:01 PM
got'eem
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@goodguy5 Now I'm considering answering things just to bait moose into a down vote. Bring that 90% up back towards a more even ratio.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross Funnily enough, I actually have over 2x more "helpful" comment flags than downvotes, so you're not wrong lol
 
Xirema
Xirema
I feel like I could wring half a dozen unique characters out of the Ancients archetype of Paladin alone, and I'm not sure if that's a testament to the flexibility of 5e's character creation system, or a failure of the Oath by way of being too permissive and interpretive.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Xirema great answer btw. You get the rubiksmoose hoof of approval.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
@Xirema Thanks for that answer. You nailed what I was thinking.
 
Xirema
Xirema
7:06 PM
Hehe, my 5e main has been an Ancients Paladin for most of the year. I've spent a lot of time thinking about stuff like this.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
I mean, all of the Paladin Oaths are a little wishywashy
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Xirema Reaction to the stodgy bs that paladins were in previous editions.
 
Xirema
Xirema
TBH, my general sense is that the "flower child of goodness and kindness" aspect of the Ancients Oath probably should have been rolled into the Redemption Paladin Oath instead, but Ancients got published in the PHB whereas Redemption was published in a later sourcebook, so...
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Oath of Vengeance is my favorite. Usually leads to a Punisher style character or story arc.
@Xirema You could also play an eco terrorist oath of ancients
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
"JUSTICE"
 
Xirema
Xirema
7:10 PM
@ColinGross Yeah, that's my sense. And in general, I'm not convinced the old style of Paladin characterization constraints were terribly fun.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
Joker: "Wait, Bats? Are you saying... Just .... us?"
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Xirema They were the opposite. The embodiment of "my guy syndrome"
@goodguy5 Yeah. You didn't know about the batman-joker bromance?
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
that is what I was referencing
Boker? Baker?
Jatman?
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
They end up getting married in all story lines except the darkhorse series.
 
Sir Cinnamon
Sir Cinnamon
@goodguy5 Juce
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
7:12 PM
@SirCinnamon acceptable
then ivy-quinn can go do their own thing
 
Xirema
Xirema
@goodguy5 Best part of the Lego Batman Movie, TBH.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
I'm so excited for the sequel (er... to the lego movie)
 
Josiah Riggan
Josiah Riggan
Yeah!
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
it's... it's not right
I'm playing heartstone
I'm at 12 HP against a druid with malfurion the pestilent
I manage to play a 8/8 taunt, a sludge belcher and a khel'thuzad in the same turn
and he plays malygos, a 1-cost 7 damage spell and a 0 cost 6 damage spell.
And I'm also going to go whine at arqade and maybe at board & card games.
 
GreySage
GreySage
@Zachiel Welcome to Hearthstone, where the cards you play don't matter and your opponent will kill you in one turn no matter what you do, unless you kill them in one turn first.
 
Xirema
Xirema
7:23 PM
@Zachiel Play an Aggro Deck and join the rest of the Hearthstone community in becoming the monster you hate.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Zachiel This must be what it is like when I talk about D&D in front of my non-RPG playing friends...
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@Xirema I usually play a rush deck but I need to play no beasts today
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
I kept trying to play hearthstone and kept re-realizing that I hated it.
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@Rubiksmoose In hearthstone, you can have max 10 mana crystals per turn. You spend crystals to cast spells. Maylgos is a creature that costs 9 and boosts all spell damage by 5, thus turning small, innocuous spells into giant bombs that eat away your face before you get any chance to kill the dragon. I don't have the dragon.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Zachiel I recommend hiring that dragon
 
Xirema
Xirema
7:26 PM
@goodguy5 The trick to having fun with Hearthstone is to focus on gimmicky <10% win rate decks that have absurd win conditions.
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@Xirema Also, I don't craft cards unless I'm 100% sure I need them and I can't find them casually in packs anymore. Which basically means I only crafted the old Dr. Boom.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
@Xirema just trying to get on that one guy's nerves
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Zachiel Have you tried crafting that dragon? Seems like a good dragon to have. 5/5 would dragon again is most ratings in the reviews.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
WHAT DID HE JUST DO?!
That's kind of how I played druid.
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@Xirema well, I'm playing Big Rogue. If that deck isn't gimmicky, I don't know what that is. I just didn't expect to find malygos druids at rank 20
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
7:27 PM
I tried to get 10 mana by round 5
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@ColinGross Malygos is in the basic set, I'm pretty much guaranteed to find it sooner or later
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Zachiel I would like to up vote "sooner"
 
Xirema
Xirema
Like my Val'Anyr deck that focuses on reaching turn 20 where I can dump 3 18/10 Dopplegangsters on the board simultaneously, followed by Loatheb/Rebuke to prevent any spell reactions.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Eurgh, TES lore.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
I heard they got rid of burner decks, which was another favorite
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
7:28 PM
@ColinGross we're talking about Blizzard here, Sooner is their unofficial motto (and also their official one?)
@Xirema uh? How's that possible?
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Zachiel Have you considered playing Dungeons: The Gathering? They've got cards you can get now, a bunch of online content, and a big city called Ravenica
 
Xirema
Xirema
@Zachiel When Val'Anyr gets put on a minion that duplicates itself (Echoing Ooze, Saronite Chain Gang, Dopplegangster, etc.) both copies of the minion will have a copy of the Val'Anyr buff. So when each minion dies, each will reequip a new Val'Anyr (destroying + triggering the deathrattle if you already have one equipped) and give a minion in your hand the 4/2 buff, which itself can stack.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
funny story about hearthstone.....

My friend told me that if you play at all, you should make sure to get to rank.... 25?

because "You get a card-back".

Me: "oh, neat. which card is it?"
him: "What?"
Me: "which card do you get back?"
him: "Oh, no. like a card-back"
Me: "Yea.... which one?"
him: "are you messing with me?"
Me: "no, I don't understand what card you get for reaching rank 25"
him: "THE PRINTED DESIGN ON THE BACK OF THE CARD"
 
Xirema
Xirema
@Zachiel So you just keep chaining the effect on your duplicating minions until all your minions are buffed ludicrously high.
@goodguy5 Third Base!
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
that's what it felt like
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
7:32 PM
@ColinGross It's Ravnica, but I don't really like drawing lands when I need the other cards.
 
Xirema
Xirema
@Zachiel (Combine with cards like Getaway Kodo + Rummaging Kobold to gain extra weapons and extra minions to put the duplication effect upon)
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Zachiel You don't need to draw any of the lands. There are plenty of official and homebrew map packs for that.
 
Xirema
Xirema
Only issue is the lack of Tutor effects in Hearthstone, meaning the deck can screw you if the weapon is buried at the bottom.
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@goodguy5 now you get card backs for winning 5 rankeg games in a season. One season is a month, I'm not kidding you.
@ColinGross uh? What? You lost me. Aren't we talking about the new M:tG game?
@Xirema Tutors for weapon exist, just not for ranger.
Hunter.
Whatever.
 
GreySage
GreySage
@Xirema If you're using tutor effects in a card game, you're playing the wrong game
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
7:35 PM
@Zachiel Sorry. I can't help but play on words. I was turning on the phrase "draw lands". Instead of drawing them as cards from a deck, drawing them artistically as in a top down map or landscape painting etc.
 
Xirema
Xirema
@Zachiel Paladin.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Fun fact about TES lore. TES deities are eternal. They always have been and always will be. You can also become a deity. Given that these rules are contradictory, apotheosis is accompanied with a cosmic retcon.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Yuuki A cosmicon?
 
trogdor
trogdor
that sounds like a huge time paradox
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@Xirema Oh. Right, the ranger one was the one that fills your hand with spells, right.
 
GreySage
GreySage
7:40 PM
@Zachiel And got played exactly twice ever before being dusted by everyone.
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@GreySage dusted? With the risk of randoming it again?
 
GreySage
GreySage
@Zachiel haha, true enough
 
Xirema
Xirema
@GreySage Actually, Spell Hunter has been reasonably popular this expansion. Not quite competitive, but it's been hanging on.
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
@JosiahRiggan was that Cleric's name Pigpen by any chance?
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@trogdor Yeah, they're called Dragon Breaks.
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
7:41 PM
Last legendary I opened is freaking Celestia and I'm keeping it.
 
Xirema
Xirema
@Zachiel I think back when that expansion came out, they didn't have the rule in place that you can't open from a pack a Legendary you already have.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Time goes all wonky and both everything and nothing happens.
 
GreySage
GreySage
@Xirema I got both the Hunter DK and the Hunter legendary weapon, so I figured I'd make a cool spell hunter deck only to realize they're horribly slow and clunky
 
trogdor
trogdor
@Yuuki lol, how appropriate
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
@trogdor I figured you'd like that.
 
Xirema
Xirema
7:42 PM
@GreySage I mean, it's not a deck I play, so I wouldn't know. I do encounter them periodically on ladder though.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Also, in TES lore, time is literally a dragon. That's why time paradoxes are called Dragon Breaks because time (therefore, the dragon) breaks.
 
trogdor
trogdor
@Yuuki you were right, XD
@Yuuki man even better
my kind of setting
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
@Zachiel that is going on in "not wild" also, but a rush deck can sometimes head off the malygos druid cheese.
There is a malygos cleric that does something similar as well.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
My favorite part of TES lore is that you can distill a very important part of the history into a single sentence: "The dwarves created an artificial bronze robot that became a god by shouting 'no' at the world until everything disappeared."
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@KorvinStarmast Velen Malygos most probably
Is TES The Elder Scrolls?
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
7:47 PM
Yes.
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
I played Oblivion once.
Wait, less than once.
I leveled up without farming skills so I was really weak and everything killed me, so I never finished it.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Zachiel I read this as "farming [planting, harvesting, etc] skills" and was really confused how they could be that vital lol
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
The lore gets really weird and the games barely touch the surface.
 
GreySage
GreySage
TES taps deep into the innate human drive to fill bars.
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@Rubiksmoose maybe skills was not the right name. Leveling up stealth and spells and damage etc.
@GreySage A friend of mine had the game run all night long with weights over the keyboard
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
7:50 PM
@Zachiel I think it is correct, I just misread it lol.
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Oblivion was really bad with level scaling though, so you couldn't grind too much either.
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@Rubiksmoose Uh, now I see what you mean
 
Yuuki
Yuuki
Or the enemies would scale with you and it'd be incredibly hard to beat as well.
 
Xirema
Xirema
55 minutes. That might be the fastest I've ever hit my rep cap for the day.
Are we suuuuuuure we want to opt out from HNQ? ;)
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
@Xirema Your "DM's playing gotcha with paladins is the problem" answer is a good one. I'll give you an up vote tomorrow so that the rep cap can't harm you. :) Nice one.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
7:53 PM
@Xirema hah! But I thought that most of the answers were saying "don't opt out"? Especially the top ones.
 
Xirema
Xirema
Because I—speaking from a *totally unbiased position*—am suddenly skeptical about that move. XD
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
I'm not sure, I still want to see RPG links in the HNQ for stackexchange and wikipedia are the only two sites I dare browse with the office's PC
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
@Xirema The consensus on meta is "no, we don't want to opt out" ... so far.
 
Xirema
Xirema
@Rubiksmoose Oh, that's actually surprising to me. I hadn't checked the thread in awhile and had assumed "do opt out" was still the top post.
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
did that change?
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
7:54 PM
@Xirema <thatescalatedquickly.jpg>
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@KorvinStarmast LAst I checked it was heavily in favor of not opting out.
@Xirema It was that way at the beginning and really just veered the other way pretty quickly and heavily.
 
Xirema
Xirema
@Rubiksmoose Yeah, I see.
 
GreySage
GreySage
Nice answer @goodguy5, I was actually really interested in seeing what the result was.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
ouch. the bitter "+8" notification.
 
Xirema
Xirema
My entire position on that debate is, essentially, "I don't think we should opt out." → "But, my perspective is pretty obviously coming from a selfish perspective that prioritizes my fulfillment of the site's Skinner Box design philosophy, and not based on prioritizing what's good for the site" → "Therefore, we should opt out."
Basically, "I'm a terrible person, therefore we should do the opposite of whatever I think we should do."
I don't know which philosopher invented that idea.
I might have to claim it as my own idea if no one else has.
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
8:02 PM
@Xirema Xiremates, wasn't it, that guy who Socrates stole all of the credit from? :)
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@goodguy5 That was rubiks downvoting you.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
knew it
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
Betting against ...
 
GreySage
GreySage
@ColinGross The bitter hoof of disapproval
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
@goodguy5 you got my updoot ...
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
8:04 PM
@GreySage hoof cares about downvotes anyway?
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
d'aw shucks. thanks ^_^
 
Zachiel
Zachiel
@Xirema same here
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@goodguy5 heck yeah. As soon as I saw your answer I auto downvoted. Didn't even read it.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
haha
I put in that bold on will take if you want to boot your comment
thanks for that
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@goodguy5 Sure thing. I think you may want to point it out in words though since that seems to be OP's main point of contention (and the only real counterpoint to your answer IMO)
@HeyICanChan It seems like it should be possible, but I'm not certain whether or not readying an action implies that you are doing something on your turn to get that action ready, such as shifting into an attack stance with your sword (which would obviously require a sword). — Ryan Thompson 4 mins ago
 
KorvinStarmast
KorvinStarmast
8:11 PM
@T.J.L. You have been nommed for Cheeseum Inceptum.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
what do you mean?
Personally, I'm okay with players readying any string of verbs together, possible or otherwise.

"If gerald turns into a unicorn, then groxxnahg will turn into a unicorn"
dm: "okay. we'll see about that, but go ahead. who's next in the initiative?"
\*weird elder being grants both gerald and groxxnahg the ability to turn into unicorns, which gerald utilizes\*
me as dm: well, then. I'll be darned.
 
GreySage
GreySage
@goodguy5 "There's an insurance policy we never expected to pay out..."
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
@Rubiksmoose okay .I've got an idea. one sec
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@goodguy5 I put my own supporting answer down (I had actually most of it written when you posted yours). Just for an alternate take.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
downvoted without even reading
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
8:21 PM
@goodguy5 hahaha as is deserved.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
8:35 PM
@goodguy5 I up dooted yours, but then decided to submit a better answer. Turns out I don't like either answer and I just want to down vote Slag's comments.
 
BESW
BESW
Easier Initiative Cards, by Mike Shea on Sly Flourish.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
1
Q: Is telling players their character's thoughts an appropriate method to help guide their actions?

ErudakiI generally try to keep my campaigns fairly open-ended and avoid railroading my players, or keep it to a minimum when it is performed. Generally they always tend to have a plot hook or two that they can follow, and tend to be invested enough in the presented hooks that I don't have to worry about...

gm-techniques system-agnostic
This needs a system yes?
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
I don't .... think so?
I mean..... there are probably a few systems where it DOESN'T apply to (and I don't know them), but we don't have "not system-x" tags, so...
 
GreySage
GreySage
Arg, don't you hate when you lose a file you know you have somewhere?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@goodguy5 I cannot name an RPG offhand, but this type of discussion varies wildly from table to table with regards to expectations. You don't think the system would also have any effect at all on this discussion?
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
8:46 PM
I do not.... again, unless it's some weird system that has like a ... sand timer or something? as a mechanic? and like... DM assistance is discouraged?
@GreySage yea. I can't decide if it's worse when it's a physical or a digital file
 
BESW
BESW
In Lovecraftesque it's totally inappropriate for the Narrator to tell the Witness what to think or feel.
In A Penny For My Thoughts, the primary mechanic revolves around the spotlighted player asking other participants to tell them what their character does next.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
There goes moose, throwing around his trademark downdoots
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
Downhooves thank you very much :P
 
GreySage
GreySage
@goodguy5 In this case its a digital file containing a list of magic items I curated once upon a time for my players. It is neither on my work computer (where I do most of my DnD idea generation) nor my laptop (which I use when running games).
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
@Rubiksmoose what do I need to say to you to get this downhoof undowned?
are you sure it's not a different drive?

sometimes, when I migrate drives, things end up in weird places.
 
Ben
Ben
8:51 PM
[wave]
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
or an email?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@goodguy5 I accept cash, check, and credit card.
 
GreySage
GreySage
@goodguy5 I'm pretty sure, although I might have emailed myself a copy of it
 
BESW
BESW
In Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple, any time your character gets in trouble the rest of the group collaborates to narrate that story beat without any active input from you.
 
Ben
Ben
@goodguy5 ... PC or mac?
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
8:51 PM
@Rubiksmoose alright. you pay the shipping and I'll send it in pennies
@Ben pc
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
But really what needs to happen is that the OP needs to specify a system. The is no way to write an acceptable answer to the question as written IMO.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
dems the breaks
I'll just live with the -2
 
BESW
BESW
Cthulhu Confidential assumes the GM has pre-determined PC reactions for various situations.
 
goodguy5
goodguy5
alright. shower time. hopefully I can clear some of this garbo out of my head
 
Ben
Ben
@goodguy5 That is very odd..
 
Xirema
Xirema
8:55 PM
So, obviously, I'm not speaking from an unbiased position, but I don't agree with the decision to close that Paladin question. I do think Good Subjective can be applied to it, as-written.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@goodguy5 I had to counterbalance all those +1s I've given you today.
lol
 
BESW
BESW
Lady Blackbird demands the GM ask leading questions about character attitudes and opinions.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@BESW Yeah I just don't see how people can think this is remotely answerable in a way that is applicable to every RPG
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Rubiksmoose Would "generally applicable to character based collaborative story telling" be more palatable?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross all the RPGs that @BESW just listed would fit that description as well. Can you write an answer that covers all of them?
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
9:01 PM
@Rubiksmoose Nope. You definitely can't cover all edge cases. Can't cover the all the corner cases either.
 
BESW
BESW
I think an experience-based answer could work, rooted in "players at my tables have preferred [kind of playstyle] for [reasons] in [circumstances]" rather than "game systems are all [kind of playstyle]."
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross Correct. Which is why we need to know the system here.
 
BESW
BESW
But I'm not confident in the Stack's ability to make that distinction.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Rubiksmoose What are you suggesting? Eliminate the tag? Don't answer the questions? Require OP to pin down to a subset of RPGs?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross #2 and #3
VtC until we get a system (or they lower the scope)
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
9:04 PM
@Rubiksmoose I think avoiding answering the question makes the stack less useful. I think it's onerous to ask the OP to list every single system they want to apply to.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@BESW Even then though that preference is going to be driven in part by the mechanics and expectations of the RPG they are playing right?
 
Xirema
Xirema
Well, here's my question: Let's start with the Null Hypothesis, that "GMs should not be narrating player thoughts to the players [outside of exigent circumstances, aka Charm spells, Mind Control, etc.]" is a solid answer to the question. Now let's disprove it: how many TTRPG game systems can we name where that would not be an appropriate answer to the question?
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Xirema Are you going to weight those by the apparent proportions of players that play the game?
 
BESW
BESW
@Rubiksmoose Yes, because the players are more important than the game and understanding the group's desires and reasoning will help you find a game that fits them.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross how many RPGs do you think they are playing right now? Chances are it is 1 and that background will give the most useful answers to them.
 
Xirema
Xirema
9:05 PM
@ColinGross I think that's fair.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Rubiksmoose To paraphrase one of my favorite puzzle woodland creatures, "What are you basing that assumption on?"
 
Xirema
Xirema
My sense is that if we can name a decent number of decently popular TTRPG systems where that would be a bad answer, then I would agree that the question needs to pin itself to a specific system.
 
BESW
BESW
but ultimately, that question is an XY problem.
 
Xirema
Xirema
But if we can't disprove that hypothesis, then I think the question is probably fine being "System-Agnostic"
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
Just as a sidenote, this question is absolutely HNQ-ripe which is a small part of the reason I want to crack down now.
@Xirema BESW just named 4/5
 
BESW
BESW
9:07 PM
The real problem is:
> some players tend to have what I would equate to a "Well what do we do now that were here?" look. While none of them have explicitly expressed that feeling, when talking to them about the sessions I sometimes feel like they were struggling with deciding how to approach some of the more open ended situations, especially after some time or adventures have passed between receiving their original goal, and having the ability to act upon it.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Rubiksmoose So vote to close. I don't think closing HNQ questions is the right move, but if you do, vote to close.
 
BESW
BESW
The querent has come up with a possible solution (reminding players of their characters' context for the adventure by giving them a quick internal monologue) and is asking if that is okay.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@BESW That's a reasonable question. Here's what I'm thinking of doing, is this alright?
Which is different than, "here's my problem, what is a possible solution?"
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross well it's not one (yet) and closing a HNQ question just because it is HNQ is an extreme reaction (and one only rarely taken in my understanding). That is not why I have VtCed. I VtCed because the question is unclear or too broad without a system.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
Sometimes the OP doesn't want a different solution. Sometimes they just want to know if what they came up with is good or bad according to the stack.
 
Xirema
Xirema
9:10 PM
@BESW That also seems like a much smaller and more permissible action, by my standards at least, than the title necessarily implies.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@BESW oh that is a really good point!
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Rubiksmoose I didn't think so, and I put in what I thought was a reasonable answer. I even changed some of the nouns to be less system suggestive after your comment.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross Well that is fine. We don't all have to agree that is what voting is for.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
I think @goodguy5's answer was even less system specific.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
(appreciate the edit though)
And when the question gets specified to be a d20 system (as it almost always does) I will upvote your answers because they are good responses within a D&D reference point.
 
BESW
BESW
9:14 PM
I think it's slightly bad to normalize the D&D paradigm.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@BESW you mean table variation is high even within D&D? Because I definitely agree with that.
 
GreySage
GreySage
I think there is some dissonance between the title and the body. The actual question looks to me as "Should I remind characters of the knowledge they already know, but the players may have forgotten".
 
Ben
Ben
Quick question - who was I talking to about DC calculations last week? I think it was either @Rubiksmoose or @MikeQ?
 
BESW
BESW
@Rubiksmoose That too, but more than that I think it's bad for the RPG community to act like D&D's norms are normal.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@Ben I don't think it was me. But my memory is awful lol.
 
BESW
BESW
9:17 PM
It'd be like a video game site assuming everybody's playing Counterstrike and answering all questions as if Counterstrike subculture were the default normal for all video games.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@BESW oh yeah. completely agree. That is part of the reason I'm fighting this so hard here. Just kind of assuming that D&D stuff works for all RPGs even when we can point to counterexamples is awful.
 
BESW
BESW
Or a writing site assuming everyone's writing instruction manuals.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@BESW Thanks for pointing out LadyBlackbird. I think I'll try that sometime over the winter break.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
D&D already has an oversized impact on the RPG landscape without everyone assuming that every RPG works the exact same way.
And we should know better.
 
BESW
BESW
@ColinGross Lady Blackbird is awesome and its guidelines for GMing are my new default.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
9:18 PM
@BESW but the player's don't ask the GM what their character is feeling in general. Some outcomes do impose conditions on the player, and a couple of those are "angry" and "tired" but there's no requirement for the player to ask about that.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
But the question is closed now so I can stop yammering on about it.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@BESW How does the "refreshing the scene" strike you in practice? and how do you end up segueing between them?
 
BESW
BESW
The GM asks leading questions based on established characterisation which strongly imply how a character could be expected to feel/think, but gives the players room to defy those expectations (either of which gives XP!).
 
Ben
Ben
Does 3.5 have ASI's?
 
BESW
BESW
@ColinGross We don't use it very often, but I'll remind players of it when they start running low on points, and again if they lament running out. Players seem to only ever take a refresh scene if they want to explore the relationship between the two characters though.
Partly, I think, Lady Blackbird is very good at sharing spotlights and the refresh scene feels like stealing the spotlight so there's some natural reluctance for that.
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
9:22 PM
@ColinGross I really want to try it and it is on my list for next RPGs to try with my group.
 
BESW
BESW
But refresh scenes have been some of the best moments in Lady Blackbird for me, too.
[rummages for notes from con game earlier this year]
> Naomi, who was Injured after a failed attempt to knock out a guard (I know, right? Kale was also injured in that fight--don't kick guys in the nuts if the uniform includes a reinforced codpiece), asked Lady Blackbird "Do you think your not-so-secret pirate king lover Uriah Flint is really worth all this?"
And LB went "....honestly I'm not sure. Probably?"
And this was in a game with Cyrus Vance, who has a secret crush on LB.
 
Glazius
Glazius
@Ben Every 4 levels, yes.
 
Ben
Ben
@Glazius And is there a cap?
 
BESW
BESW
@ColinGross As for segues, I always try to keep it snappy, like a film editor who ends every scene as soon as it's obvious what happens next or we hit a strong emotional closing note. And I often ask the players something about the next scene, which gives them an opportunity to guide it toward a recovery scene or whatever.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@BESW That's clever.
@Ben There's a max bonus, but I don't think the ability scores are explicitly capped.
 
Ben
Ben
9:30 PM
@ColinGross +5 I'm assuming?
Sorry, just want to make sure I've got the specific details for a non-specific answer. Lol
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Ben No, way higher than that. The players handbook lists like 40 or 50 as the end of the stat table and the bonus is more than 10
 
Ben
Ben
@ColinGross Oh wow. I knew 5e had capped it (and potentially previous versions) but I had no idea it was that high! Lol
 
kviiri
kviiri
Had forgotten how intense Finnish police reality TV is
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Ben 3.5 was kind of ridiculous. You basically had no chance against anything that was higher level than you because of their bonuses, and conversely, anything less than your equivalent level wasn't even a mosquito.
 
Glazius
Glazius
@Ben Well, you only get +1 5 times in 20 levels.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
9:33 PM
I remember effective AC's being far over 20. You needed double digit bonuses as a matter of course through the middle and end of the campaigns I was a part of.
 
kviiri
kviiri
This episode started with the police trying to get pastries while waiting for an archipelago ferry, then trying to make a alcometer sting but failing because there wasn't any traffic, and then trying to locate some jailbreakers only to be interrupted to tend to an injured cyclist
 
Glazius
Glazius
I think magic items top out at +6 enhancement and an additional +5 inherent from wishes or stat books.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@Ben in 4e, it's pretty normal for to-hit and defenses to be in the 40's at high levels while hit points are in several hundreds if not thousands... but normal attacks still deal damage around 30's.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@kviiri Yeah, it just didn't scale all that well to be in a 1-20 range. You basically end up rolling the d20 to try to get into crit range. It was hard to scale encounters such that the d20 roll mattered all that much.
 
Ben
Ben
@kviiri That seems... broken?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
9:37 PM
@kviiri hahaha that is thrilling!
 
BESW
BESW
In 3.5: You got your regular every-four-levels +1 ASI, which stacked indefinitely, forever. Regular magic item bonuses to ability scores maxed out at +6, but epic level versions maxxed out at +12. Inherent bonuses (permanent increases acquired from consumables) maxxed at +5.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Ben Depends on your definition of broken. It definitely made for clearly delineated tiers of play.
@BESW consumable increases maxed at +5 ?
 
BESW
BESW
4e had some maths problems, but they were consistent and predictable maths problems that were relatively easily solved.
 
kviiri
kviiri
@Ben Epic level combat was terribly tedious, yes. It was eventually patched
@BESW Essentially this, yep
 
BESW
BESW
@ColinGross Tomes that granted Insight bonuses, yes.
3.5's maths problems were more.... Gordian.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
9:42 PM
@BESW Gotcha. I was pretty sure you could stack magic bonuses for stats to greater than +5, but was struggling to remember how that had been done specifically.
 
BESW
BESW
@ColinGross Regular magic items like cloaks, bracers, etc., gave enhancement bonuses. Those maxxed out that +6/+12 depending on regular/epic. Tomes topped out at +5 but gave inherent bonuses. And all bonuses to the same number stack unless they're of the same type.
So two enhancement bonuses to Str don't stack, but a +6 enhancement bonus stacks with a +5 inherent bonus for a total of an extra +11 to Str.
And occasionally you could get something fancy like an insight bonus, which would also stack with everything other than more insight bonuses.
 
Josiah Riggan
Josiah Riggan
@KorvinStarmast He never gave his character a name for some reason. We just called him "the dirt guy"
 
Ben
Ben
0
A: Developing skillcheck DCs for an adventure

BenI don't believe there is going to be a straightforward answer for this. The reason being is that no one knows what your characters can and cannot do. The suggested DC's start at DC10, for example, set as an "easy" task. This means that at the very least, they need a 10 to pass. However, at level...

 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
9:57 PM
@Ben That answer doesn't jive with my recollection of 3.5. I remember being able to take 10 on rolls.
 
trogdor
trogdor
@kviiri I dunno about thousands of hp, maaaybe some God's or other level 30 bosses had a thousand
Still the rest of that is mostly accurate
The numbers in 4e didn't keep up with each other too well in really high levels
 
Ben
Ben
@ColinGross "Take 10", yeah, that's a possibility in some situations, but for example in chases, or situations where adding 10 to a roll still won't be a pass.
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Rubiksmoose OP tagged it as you'd like rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/136715/…
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@ColinGross perfect! thanks for the ping. VtRO
 
Ben
Ben
@ColinGross Added the "Take 10/Take 20"
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
10:09 PM
@Ben I totally forgot about take 20. I think that's in there because 3.5 allowed so many re-rolls.
 
Josiah Riggan
Josiah Riggan
Random Things!
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Ben In 3.5 DC5 is easy. DC10 is average.
@JosiahRiggan Awwwww, man. You missed it like an hour ago. It was all random things.
 
Ben
Ben
Average, yes, that's the word haha
 
Josiah Riggan
Josiah Riggan
All I say is random things so when I couldn't think of anything to say. . .
 
Ben
Ben
@ColinGross But, for a player with +5 to a skill, that would then (technically) become "easy"
And thanks @MikeQ for the rundown on DC's last week. It has really helped me get a grip on things :D
 
David Coffron
David Coffron
10:17 PM
Anyone know where in the DMG is the rule on stacking multiple effects?
Nvm. Found it
 
A_S00
A_S00
@DavidCoffron There's also that weird-ass "Same effect with different strengths" rule on p. 56 of the XPH
 
David Coffron
David Coffron
@A_S00 XPH?
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@A_S00 I think you mean DMG here?
 
A_S00
A_S00
Expanded Psionics Handbook
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
@A_S00 ah he is talking about 5e.
 
ACuriousMind
ACuriousMind
10:22 PM
Xanathar Player Handbook, exclusively used for those playing Xanathar.
 
A_S00
A_S00
Ah sorry, got distracted by the 3.5 convo going on at the same time and got confused
 
Rubiksmoose
Rubiksmoose
XD
@A_S00 perfectly reasonable honestly
 
David Coffron
David Coffron
@A_S00 Yeah, my fault for not specifying (or reading previous convo)
 
Ben
Ben
@A_S00 D&D - which version are we talking about now...? :P
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Ben I vote for NOT 3.5 as it is a silly place.
 
Ben
Ben
10:55 PM
@ColinGross I have a friend that would strongly disagree with you haha
But this same fellow also thinks that BOTW was a bad game, as it was different to the standard "Zelda" game format
 
Colin Gross
Colin Gross
@Ben Does your friend like to spend more time tabulating situational and effect bonuses than they do anything else in an RPG?
How does your friend feel about combinatoric explosions?
Is your friend actually a computer running Neverwinter Nights?
 
Ben
Ben
@ColinGross I'm starting to believe he is haha
 
CBredlow
CBredlow
asking about if a game system that applies to a particular setting off topic?
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
11:11 PM
@Ben I don't know what you're referring to, but you're very welcome nonetheless
 
Ben
Ben
@MikeQ Ah was asking about how to work out DCs for D&D. You gave me a rundown on how to approach it - calculate them based on user ability. I.e DC 15 - PC has +5 = 50% chance of pass/fail
@CBredlow can you elaborate?
 
CBredlow
CBredlow
11:33 PM
"Is there a game system with x setting?"
 
Ben
Ben
@CBredlow Oh ok.
It should be ok? Effectively, the answer would be "Yes - this is one"
The only downside is that there might be a few, and if everyone only suggests one, it might pile up.
What setting are you looking for?
 
CBredlow
CBredlow
simple steampunk setting that is similar to real world?
 
Ben
Ben
@CBredlow You can make any game with that sort of setting really. The system underneath is just a system. For example you can use D&D - just rename all the weapons (instead of swords and crossbows, you can use machetes and pistols) and just don't use magic. That's one suggestion.
Alternatively, off the top of my head, there's "All Flesh Must Be Eaten" - it's a horror/Zombie survival game, but it does have modern-day items. "Savage Worlds" is another, but that is more "super-hero" inclined.
Those are the ones I have experience with :)
Could someone weigh in on this please? I'm not sure how to explain it, without repeating myself, but I feel like they're just asking for what I've already provided. Either that or they don't want to do the work, they want a source for someone that's already done it, so they can use it.
 
BESW
BESW
@CBredlow Similar to the real world how, given that it's steampunk?
 
David Coffron
David Coffron
Anyone have access to Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica yet? I just need to know if the Peregine Mask requires attunement. I need to know for this question as it could be an alternative to Sentinel Shield for advantage on Initiative checks
 
BESW
BESW
11:47 PM
You might get better responses if you describe what you're looking for specifically, rather than using extremely vague signifiers ("steampunk" is used for just about anything).
 
Mike Q
Mike Q
Some systems don't work as well in some settings
e.g. Shadowrun, Dark Heresy, and other scifi stuff aren't really appropriate for a pseudo-medieval sword & sorcery setting
 
Ben
Ben
@MikeQ Yeah, I don't see D&D being the best for this setting. But in some cases, familiarity with a system can help run a decent game, than running a new system just because it's the right setting.
But, that's a different kettle of fish
@MikeQ For example, the inspiration for my Diablo D&D game actually came from a modern adaptation in the All Flesh system
Your only limit is your imagination :P
 
BESW
BESW
I like some of the setting variant concepts in AFMBE, but the system engine itself felt... overtuned for its purpose.
 
Ben
Ben
Potentially. In truth, my experience of the game was only one or two sessions apiece, with long stretches in-between, so my experience of the system is not in-depth. But I did enjoy the settings that the GM created each time.
 
BESW
BESW
It seemed to imagine a pulp style zombie romp, but it's dedicated too much of its mechanical heft to resource management for that to really click.
 
Ben
Ben
11:57 PM
Each time we played, we all freaked out as soon as we saw/heard a Crow... they were always flesh hungry and came in the hundreds - where there was one - many were soon to follow. Needless to say it created a sense of panic, almost immediately. Haha
 
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