dnd-discussion

[cerulean monolith]

"nearly infinite support for your allies"
it's 3-26 THP, depending on level and roll. That's nothing compared to equivalent spells

[fickle heart]

I mean, it's also nonconcentration and has a 30-foot radius, while also allowing the ending of Charm and Frighten.

[oak shoal]

Great early game temp hit points supplier. Also removed frighten and cham?

Two of the most nastiest conditions in 5e?

[fickle heart]

With that said, I'd be curious what is being compared to Twilight Domain to make it seem not very powerful.

[oak shoal]

Also the advantage of initiative rolls is crazy. Give that to an assassin rouge and watch them go nuts

[cerulean monolith]

Assuming say a party of 6 including the cleric. At 20th level, Twilight Sanctuary is putting out 126-156 THP per turn. At a level, I should note, where other classes usually have their own ways of supplying themselves with THP. Of course, we could also just cast a 9th level Aid to add a total of 240 actual max HP to the party. You're sponging things up, yeah, and it's a useful ability. But it's not super strong so that you need to start rebalancing your encounters when someone brings it to your table.

[oak shoal]

A bunch of monsters rely on the frighten or charmed condition for there main abilitys

[cerulean monolith]

that's just not true

Tamms might even have a spreadsheet for this, iirc. Tamms has lots of spreadsheets, I lose track lol

[oak shoal]

Yeah that's cool and all except nobody plays at level 20

[fickle heart]

I just want to say that Twilight Sanctuary differs from stuff like 9th level Aid because, at level 20, you can use it 3/SR in 5.14 and 4+SRs Taken in 5.24.

[woven flint]

Also not true lol

[cerulean monolith]

Not true, and the math is worse at 3rd level, when you get it

[oak shoal]

When's the last time you played at level 20?

[woven flint]

I also want to point out that Temp HP doesn't protect you from enemies with HP Draining attack, so.. a good chunk of undead for example

[fickle heart]

Twilight Sanctuary is legitimately one of the few features that really should have been toned down to 1/2 Cleric level, even if the base die went up.

[dusk flume]

What’s everyone’s favorite dnd book

[oak shoal]

Tashas cauldron of everything

[woven flint]

Literally doing 2 1-20 campaigns.
I played a level 20 oneshot like.. a month ago as well (and have played plenty of 20th level Characters)

I've played about... 5 or 6 20th level characters in three years of playing, which doesn't sound like MUCH, but I also didn't play a lot of games.

[cerulean monolith]

24-54 THP per round. At that level, all enemies combined are doing around 40-50 DPR

[dusk flume]

I haven’t read this one yet, I have it but I read xanthars guide to everything and really enjoyed it, what do you like abt Tasha’s?

[oak shoal]

Beastmaster buff

[cerulean monolith]

I ran a campaign that was 11-20 but fell through early on. I'm currently running a game that's 11 to around 16-20. I'm running a 20th-level one shot a week from today. I'm playing in a campaign right now that's going to somewhere around 16 iirc.

[oak shoal]

Your average DND player is usually not going to build a character from 1-3 to level 20

[woven flint]

High level play is... also, often (highly opinionated take here) the best point of play.

[cerulean monolith]

Based on what metric?

This is a server full of nerds (/pos), you have to cite your sources if you're making statistical claims

[oak shoal]

The fact that most modules end at level 11-13

[fickle heart]

Even so, that THP very easily ends up soaking vast amounts of damage over combats and adventuring days. Honestly, there's a few ways that they could have revised Twilight Sanctuary, but the major ones would either be value of dice or size of aura.

[woven flint]

Not everyone ALWAYS plays modules, though

[keen valve]

6-18 seems to be my favorites. What's 20 like?

[oak shoal]

Level 7 is the sweet spot for me

[cerulean monolith]

I don't disagree that THP is a useful ability. My specific point of contention is that's it's so much stronger over its contemporaries that you need to rebalance encounters when it comes into play

[woven flint]

You're considering modules when module dms/players don't make up the entire community
You've got to consider the brewers too

[fickle heart]

I would argue that you do need to involve some rebalancing, yeah, to the point that Twilight is destructive in play as it relates to new DMs.

[woven flint]

Ti-Moth, a well respected dm here, often has pretty high level games and oneshots and majority of what I've seen from him is homebrew

[cerulean monolith]

"well-respected" we glaze ti-moth too much

[oak shoal]

That's not your average DND player is it though?

[woven flint]

I'd say Homebrew is pretty average, actually

[knotty pasture]

Tbh you're probably gonna get more accurate results in #optimization

[cerulean monolith]

i'd say ti-moth is pretty average. excepting his height /lh

[knotty pasture]

Dnd discussion is a general mixing pot and hard to find a consensus over

[fickle heart]

Like, there's a line between "omg this entirely breaks the game" and "this is overrepresented and overperforms", and I think Twilight is very fair to place on that line.

[oak shoal]

A DM who runs high level homebrew campaigns and one shots? Yeah I can't say that's your average DND player

[woven flint]

You clearly haven't met an average dnd player

[cerulean monolith]

based on what? your preconcieved notion that "most people don't play level 20"

[limber trail]

Hello DnDers what stimulating conversation awaits today

[keen valve]

No, I got to agree. We're talking about the casual person who comes in to, at best, play one session bi-weekly? Probably not going to see high level stuff for a long time if at all. Specifically the newer array of people coming in.

[cerulean monolith]

This is circular logic. "Your average D&D player doesn't play level 20. This guy isn't your average D&D player because he plays level 20." what?

[keen valve]

These aren't people who are deep into D&D, so they aren't going to be playing that much, if at all, and definitely are going deep enough to play high level.

[cerulean monolith]

Like, I'm not saying level 20 isn't rarer than lower levels--it is. But plenty of people play it. And you shouldn't disregard it in data because of that rarity

[oak shoal]

To build off what val said, most people play weekly or bi weekly with campaign modules that go to around level 13.

[cerulean monolith]

i don't know how many times i can ask you for a source before i develop an aneurysm so perhaps we should switch topics

[woven flint]

"Most" people?

Out of... billions of people that play D&D?

[cerulean monolith]

billions chat

[woven flint]

Billions, chat...

[cerulean monolith]

~25 million is the general estimate that I like to use.

[limber trail]

Billions might be an overestimation but yeah there’s definitely a solid proportion of players who play up to 20th level.

[oak shoal]

What I said was an exaggerating and I do apologize. But I still believe that your average player who doesn't look to deep into classes and subclasses is going to think twilight domain is a bit overtuned

[hidden stump]

It's not billions, but anyway how often do you guys do D&D games on here.

[fickle heart]

I will say that a better way of phrasing "nobody plays level 20" is "level 20 is not very representative of the most common levels played in the game."

[limber trail]

I would certainly not discard 20th level as “never played”

[woven flint]

It's an overexaggeration ! >:[

[keen valve]

There is no existing metric so as to define the amount of new people coming into D&D, however we do know that 85 million people are estimated to have played the game, I'm gonna do some more searching into that.

[cerulean monolith]

this server isn't used to host games

[limber trail]

Yeah probably a lot closer to the truth

[cerulean monolith]

If you're asking how much we personally play... I DM 3 weekly 1 biweekly and play in 1 weekly 1 biweekly. So DM 4 play 2 total

[limber trail]

Overexaggerate with flair. It’s trillions! They’re playing dungeon of the mad mage in the andromeda galaxy! Chris Perkins is on Jupiter!

[woven flint]

"If nobody plays at level 20, well, I woulda cut off all class features at level 13, wouldn't I!?"

[bronze wave]

Trillions some say

[cerulean monolith]

i thought chris perkins was in the great sandy desert

[oak shoal]

@woven flint

[limber trail]

No; that’s Jeremy Crawford

[keen valve]

However this is overall.
According to some beyond statistics, up to 3 million new characters have been made. This information is outdated since it came out in 2024 iirc.

[oak shoal]

No, that is not solid snake

[cerulean monolith]

hes not playing dnd, though. moved to daggerheart

[oak shoal]

The video game?

[cerulean monolith]

billions are playing daggerheart in rural australia. i checked

[oak shoal]

That's daggerfall mb

[fickle heart]

My issue with Twilight isn't that it appears overtuned. My issue is that it's one of the few subclasses that can accidentally (this is a very important word) have negative effects on the game because of it being overtuned, such that it won't be immediately apparent until the general trend of combats being easier than expected is noticed.

[limber trail]

It’s true I’m thirteen of them

[woven flint]

How large ARE you? /j

[keen valve]

Not saying this is the amount of players playing, but I am estimating that a good amount of people who've made characters aren't coming in and playing. That is something people do.

[limber trail]

:)

[oak shoal]

Rune knight shenanigans

[keen valve]

So even with the amount who are playing, I'm going to guesstimate that a good portion of them are only playing lite adventures, or oneshots, and those are typically going to be beginner experiences.

[regal finch]

chatroom, i have a question to ask all of you to help me make my newest character (if thats alright)

[cerulean monolith]

in 2017, there were 15-17 million active players in the americas

[woven flint]

I love you, friend, despite you being my ENEMY!

You better have been hydrating all 13 of yourselves, ya hear?!

[keen valve]

For 2014, or for D&D overall. That is important.

[oak shoal]

Artificer named Bob the builder

[regal finch]

funny but not what im looking for

[limber trail]

One of them is dehydrated to set an example for the rest

[woven flint]

"Degenerates like you deserve to be dehydrated." 🦊

[cerulean monolith]

Misquote, it was 12-15. And it wasn't said, but in context it could be either

[keen valve]

Also I should note my information is coming from info that WotC has given to news sites like CNBC and so forth.

[keen valve]

I see, I think back then maybe more people could have been doing high level stuff.

[regal finch]

im making an illusion based character thats a sort of smooth talking swindler street rat type, what class do we think is best? im currently picking between illusion wizard and eloquence bard, eloquence bard helps with the charisma based parts of my character, but wizard has easier access to spell slots

[keen valve]

I just think with the newer edition and tons of newer people being brought in, we're not going to see a lot of people playing higher level games until a few years in.

[woven flint]

Weezard

[oak shoal]

I consider 7-9 to be the most fun in DND because it gives everyone that spike in power plus a little more that they want

[bronze wave]

Bard, bard and wiz havr the same spell slots .

[woven flint]

Folks, I have an urge to boot up Fallout: New Vegas and eat Ceasars Leigon.

[keen valve]

Referencing #looking-for-players, a LOT of those experiences are low level games and a LOT of them are definitely falling apart before they reach high levels. No offense to them, it's just that the devils of scheduling are evil.

[woven flint]

Random EVIL thoughts of EVIL

[regal finch]

it does also look like bard has more straight illusion spells over wizards just having insane damage spells lmao

[keen valve]

That's not D&D, Tokii.

[woven flint]

That's its, I'm making a Fallout: New Vegas campaign just to spite you.

And you're not allowed to JOIN!!!!

[keen valve]

That sounds awesome. When I was into Fallout I always wanted to play as a ghoul for a D&D or D&D inspired game.

I also REALLY wanna play a vampire spawn at some point. I like VtM, but I also like D&D, so it's kind of just whichever comes first and is more willing to give me the experience.

[woven flint]

Why, just look in a mirror! /joking

The real Ghoul was the Ghoul inside us all along 😔

[limber trail]

What if people are the real monste- *gunshot*

[woven flint]

Well..
Reborn is a decent way to play a ghoul-esk character if you ask me

Ghouls TECHNICALLY aren't undead, but they have lived for centuries and have memories of their past lives and don't seem to need substance

They also have poison resistance, which you could argue radiation is poison lol

[oak shoal]

Maybe the strahd was friends we made along the way

[hollow stone]

provision one's players a Freeze Dried Mimic In A Can: Just Add Water

[woven flint]

Okay, now that we killed Strahd, I wanna take his immaculate drip.

[keen valve]

I would prefer a vampire spawn who would actively need sustenance and the like.

"I need that blood, and don't let me touch garlic."

"I'll become very ill."

[hollow stone]

dhampir still use ration rules, right?

[oak shoal]

By that point I'd figure you'd already crafted drip better then his to rub it in his face

[woven flint]

Fun Fact, a Dhampirs "Hunger" is purely a psychological need.
They don't have to engage in consumption, but it can be.. beneficial (?) To their mental health

[oak shoal]

If there's anyone who can talk vecna into being a good guy it's a level 20 redemption paladin with that silly capstone ability

[keen valve]

Dhampirs are people who aren't really vampires. They can still do the normal stuff, but with the fact that for some reason they can climb really good, can bite, but that tends to be it.

[woven flint]

Yes, they can eat normal foods as well

[keen valve]

They do have a hunger usually, but it's not exactly enforced through any means.

Which is cool, I get it, but the whole cool part of vampires are the rules, the banes, and the thirst.

[woven flint]

A Dhampir doesn't need to drink blood, eat psychic energy or any of that, they just THINK they do sometimes, but it can be suppressed without harm or foul.

[hollow stone]

but this is a very funny thought, to give players an unlabeled can that's an MRE type "ration", they can open the can and poke at what's in the can and nothing happens, but once they try to add water to it a ball of teeth launches out at them

[woven flint]

Ranger: Chuckles just like grandma used to make!

Lmao

[keen valve]

Yeah, it's a bit meh. VtM has the benefit of existing as a vampire focused game from the start, though I do wish 5e considered the vampire fantasy a bit sooner and put more effort into it than what they ended up doing.

[hollow stone]

oh yea i'm pretty sure the rules on lycanthropy are better than the ones we have for contracting vampirism lmao

[oak shoal]

Gloomstalker ranger that based there entire personality on a stealth archer from Skyrim on skooma

[keen valve]

Lycanthropy in 5e is a nightmare.

Though that's less from rules imo, and more from figuring out what people want when they want to play a lycanthrope.

[oak shoal]

Baby Im preying on you tonight

[uncut sentinel]

any improvement in 5.5e? iyo

[keen valve]

No I don't mean like as in rules, I just mean as in how DMs handle it. Idk if there are rules.

[keen valve]

Players aren't usually clear what they want. Some want to rp a loss of control, others want like a cool super power, but they don't usually realize how to express that until they first try playing a lycanthrope and then fail.

Some just want to play a canine person that wizards for some reason is too stubborn to let happen. Give me Gnolls, wizards, quit holding back.

[oak shoal]

I'd let them continue playing there character but the party would have to deal with them at the end of the day once they transform.

[hollow stone]

i mean my DM had rules set up for it, where every full moon you still had agency over the character in wolf time and you were just generally expected to attack everyone who isn't themselves

[uncut sentinel]

I call this "unsophisticated lycanthropy."

[keen valve]

As said, it's entirely dependent on what the players want, not whatever rules the dm come up with. It needs to be a process of finding that out.

[hollow stone]

you just played using the monster statblock instead of your sheet

[oak shoal]

So no fireball slinging werewolf's?

[uncut sentinel]

Actual wolves are not bloodlust ragebros. They're careful, observant, pack-oriented, and have incredible stamina. Most of their hunts fail. Till they don't.

[bronze wave]

Idk I feel the were wolf whole thing is they can’t control

[oak shoal]

There's also other weres so there's that to consider

[keen valve]

That's more an issue of lore than actual 5e imo.

[bronze wave]

Werewolves are pretty distinct from a wolf tho tbf

[uncut sentinel]

Sure. That's where you get into the "melding pot."

[scenic zinc]

-# not originally. They use to just be people that became wolves

[uncut sentinel]

Who was the PC before the bite? How is that accented by the change?

[keen valve]

They are in some lore cases guardians of gaia and literally just druids. Or straight up wolf people, like wolf guys who hang out and are pretty chill.

[hollow stone]

i mean, it depends on the media but generally werewolves behave similarly to wolves, but because more than one werewolf doesn't happen very often they act like scared wolves

[scenic zinc]

The half person half monstrous wolf being came much later

[uncut sentinel]

Eh. I don't think it's fear. It's strategic behavior.

But highly variable.

All this circles the drain of the central point: it's not adequately articulated in either 5e or 5.5e.

[hollow stone]

again, just depends on the media, but imagine being spawned into a forest full of bipedal deer and some of them are carrying spikes and that's probably what a werewolf feels like being spawned into a city full of people and some of them are carrying spikes

[scenic zinc]

It doesn't really matter how the monster manual defines a generic werewolf. It matters how the table decides to define it.

[uncut sentinel]

We should petition Ed Greenwood en masse to do a lycanthropy writeup for 2026.

[scenic zinc]

Nope

[uncut sentinel]

D:

[scenic zinc]

Not interested in his opinion. Not in the slightest.

[uncut sentinel]

Why is that?

[hollow stone]

we should organize a competition for who can write the best werewolf rules to flood the homebrew market with fresh ideas and if any of them are good ideas then we stare at WoTC until they do something like what we told them to do

[scenic zinc]

Because FR already has too much sway, for one. And secondly, I'm not interested in having a defined set way any given thing should act that's supposed to have a level of autonomy.

[uncut sentinel]

Nothing really changes if lycthanthropy gets a "canonical" treatment officially or quasi-officially. As ever, DMs are free to use, not use, and modify their content to their heart's content, till the cows come home (or don't).

[scenic zinc]

I fully disagree that nothing would change. Too many people are enamored by RAW or "canon".

[uncut sentinel]

RAW?

[unkempt fox]

Hello! Im new and I've been looking into play dnd with my online friends... does anyone know the best way to do so

[scenic zinc]

Rules As Written.

Certain people take that concept and apply it to everything in the game.

[uncut sentinel]

Gotcha. Yeah we're gonna have to agree to disagree in principle and in practice. My view is basic asf: settling the dust for the lazier DMs gives a usable vehicle if so desired, less lazy DMs can tinker with it, and uninterested DMs, such as yerself, are free to ignore it and do as they please.

[scenic zinc]

The DMs are generally not the issue in what I'm talking about. It's ultimately the players who read these descriptions and then believe what is written to be the baseline expectation for lore.

Elves act X way. Dwarves do Y. Etc, etc.

[bronze wave]

I missed some context crazy

[uncut sentinel]

That's why my session 0s have this line:

"Rules as written and canon -- the text of the phb, dmm, and monster man. -- are not sacred, immutable. What we make here together is our own story. i give the freeway, you do the driving with your chars. Lesgo."

[hollow stone]

yea as soon as WOTC publishes something that is the thing and it is default unless it's like, actually one of the worst scripts ever produced by mankind

[scenic zinc]

Which is bad, in my opinion.

[uncut sentinel]

That's less a reflection of WotC and more a reflection of the consumer.

Speaking as a .biz

[scenic zinc]

It should not be viewed as default unless that's what the table has said is true for their game.

[keen valve]

Agreed, nothing in any of the 5e core books should implement rulings or anything subject to FR lore. It should be agnostic, totally and fully.

[hollow stone]

i mean, what are ya gonna do, realistically? they make the game, their rules are the rules approved by the people who made the game

[keen valve]

Anything like that should be adjusted, accounted for, and mentioned in their separate setting books.

[scenic zinc]

Because rules and lore aren't the same thing.

[uncut sentinel]

Today's lecture in Exercises in Futility:

[scenic zinc]

This is the exact issue I'm talking about lol

[hollow stone]

oh if we're talking lore then that's like, top 5 likeliest things to ever "this is one of the worst things i've ever read, i'm not doing that.", that's much more likely an illusion discarded by 97% of people

[uncut sentinel]

Didn't realize I logged into reddit.

[scenic zinc]

That's the exact application of RAW being applied to lore that I said people do that's an issue.

[hollow stone]

like the grung being evil racist frog people, why are they evil and racist? i don't wanna evil and racist :(

[uncut sentinel]

Evil, tho. How do you define it? I've only ever seen one good definition: knowing better, then choosing worse.

[hollow stone]

yea it's generally choosing the more morally depraved thing in more serious contexts

[bronze wave]

I feel this can get into alot of messy territory. More so for spells

But to each table their own

[scenic zinc]

D&D basically puts Good as being pro-society and Evil as anti-society.

It's very surface level morality.

[hollow stone]

i mean the grung are pro-society, just their concept of society organizes people by skin color. this is an actual thing that is actually in the book that the grung are actually in.

[uncut sentinel]

I think you may be misreading me. That's a casual riff. The point is that we have x ruleset, y lore, and z content (DM). Don't worry if it doesn't line up exactly. Just have fun and remember to participate in the theater of the mind. Does that help? In terms of "mid-session mechanics," obviously if I'm doing a D&D insertedhere campaign, I'm gonna be using this or that module / campaign, and all the stuff will be clear, usable, and simple.

[scenic zinc]

Pro "their own society" isn't pro-society.

[olive wasp]

Wait is that really it? Not like morally evil perspectives it’s just straight up if they’re anti society?

[scenic zinc]

Most evil perspectives are anti society.

[olive wasp]

So like if they aim to disband government systems with good intentions it’s evil?

[uncut sentinel]

That's Chaotic Good!

[scenic zinc]

Are those government systems doing good things that help people?

[olive wasp]

Like anarchists would be evil? Because they’re anti societal structure?

[knotty pasture]

No cuz its human nature to eventually exploit it

[scenic zinc]

It's probably evil, despite your intentions if so.

[uncut sentinel]

This is an interesting take. Can you please elaborate? Give me the heady version.

[hollow stone]

yea i feel like pro or anti society better defines lawful and chaotic, good is more like, how inclined they are to operate off of sympathetic and empathetic impulses

[scenic zinc]

Just because an action is intended to be good, doesn't make the result good.

[keen valve]

Yeah I get into that mindset so much. I look at some stuff, recoil and write over it "Yeah... no, that doesn't at all work for my setting."

[olive wasp]

Like if it’s like an ok government. Anarchists want to disband it but it’s not necessarily with evil intent but the fact that it would be anti society is what makes them evil

[scenic zinc]

Law and Chaos is about your source of ethics - whether they're externally defined (law) or internally defined (chaos).

[olive wasp]

Sorry if it seems like I’m pulling straws I’m just trying to wrap my head around it

Because I feel like it is possible to be anti society but not necessarily evil

[uncut sentinel]

Not sure if I agree with this philosophically. You're position is thus (correct?): all ethics resulting from legislation and a judiciary, IE law, is external; all ethics that do not result therefrom, whether individual or communal, are inherent, and therefore chaotic? That doesn't ring true for me. Ahistorical.

[scenic zinc]

Good: Your actions are for the most part taken in order to benefit or help society as a whole.

Evil: Your actions are for the most part taken in order to be detrimental or unhelpful to society as a whole.

[scenic zinc]

You're taking the word law too literally.

[keen valve]

Well yeah, that's why some druids exist who hate civilization, but are generally great people to those who aren't going out of their way to harm nature and destroy it or otherwise sap it of its life.

[scenic zinc]

It doesn't mean "the law"

[uncut sentinel]

The word "law" is a loaded one, a can of worms in itself. If you philosophize at all, you know what I mean lmao

[scenic zinc]

Law in this format just means something external to you that you prescribe to.

[keen valve]

Alignment is pretty nonsensical though, you're better off just ignoring it and treating everyone as individuals with exception to those who are like hiveminds, unless it's a semi-hivemind.

Or a hivemind where individuality exists.

[uncut sentinel]

You mean *subscribe, right? Cuz prescribe makes less sense to me, there.

[scenic zinc]

No. Alignment is just fine. How people treat it is the issue.

It's just a description of how you'd generally be seen based on what you've done. Nothing else.

[scenic zinc]

Yes. That's what I meant.

[hollow stone]

i think i get what you mean, like someone alignment "good" is more inclined to do things because their reward pathways are determined in empathetic ways, like helping other people, whereas someone more "evil" is inclined to do things from reward pathways programmed more materialistically

[keen valve]

I change my mind, I do not care at all for alignment and will not change my stance. So any conversation about it will see no progression nor enlightening purpose.

[uncut sentinel]

And that's why counterfactuals are so fun. You're giving me some inspiration. I think I'm going to invert the societal vibe in the FR campaign I'm about to do. Tyranny, like populism IRL, has taken hold. It's up the players to reduce it. They can't vanquish it, tho.

Thank you. (:

Waterdeep is now Waterdowner

[scenic zinc]

No problem

-# Waterdepression
-# Watersadness
-# Waterawwwwwman

[uncut sentinel]

"The once glorious city of Waterdeep, as storied as Baldur's Gate, is now little more than a vast seat of tyranny. But why? And how?"

[keen valve]

Waterdeep is perfect for a game of Monopoly.

[keen valve]

I know the answer, and it's one word.

[uncut sentinel]

?

[scenic zinc]

Mages.

[keen valve]

Precisely.
(Joking.)

[scenic zinc]

Always the mages.

[uncut sentinel]

I think I'm going to make it a mastermind kobold instead.

[hollow stone]

this is true, people are far too complex and multifaceted to have their nature compressed into two binaries with an additional "neutral" setting

[uncut sentinel]

extraplanar 8head IQ

[scenic zinc]

You no take candle!

-# though that's a WoW kobold

[keen valve]

Agreed, this is just how I always saw alignment, nonsensical binaries.

And as a big nonbinary homie, I'm huge on getting into nonbinaries.

[uncut sentinel]

No one expects...the lone Kobold megamind!

[scenic zinc]

It's... not a binary

It's a generalized descriptor

[uncut sentinel]

binaries are jus two poles no?

[keen valve]

Binary labels is what I mean.

[hollow stone]

so true bestie, reject the two dimensional plane and embrace the hundreds of directions any given person can lean

[uncut sentinel]

01 etc

[scenic zinc]

It's not that, though.

[hollow stone]

yea we have a "middle" but that middle like... means almost nothing

[scenic zinc]

It's just a description of what you generally have acted like.

[hollow stone]

it is almost always used to express apathy towards the provided subject matter

[keen valve]

Yeah and that can be heavily damaging to a person's description.

[scenic zinc]

You don't need to act that way. You just generally have.

[uncut sentinel]

I think we're getting too into the weeds here, and azerick has the right of it. It's a description that the PC is responsible for expressing due to the history that the PC supposedly already has.

[cinder timber]

Hello! How is everyone doing?

[scenic zinc]

Then don't act that way anymore?

[keen valve]

Take a person who sucked a lot in life, did utterly horrible stuff but is doing as much as they can currently to be better.

They're still gonna be called evil if we take their "generalized" description.

[cinder timber]

What did I stumble into?

[uncut sentinel]

Debatelording.

[cinder timber]

@hollow stone hello friend

[scenic zinc]

... no? If they're not being evil anymore, they wouldn't be.

[cinder timber]

Oh ok, how are you?

[keen valve]

I refer back to this.

Generally acted like implies that we are judging them for the whole of their lifetime and behaviours.

[uncut sentinel]

I never know how to answer this, so I'll just use this response today and forever: can blink, so amazing. You?

[cinder timber]

What is greater? To be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort

[cinder timber]

I can breathe so also amazing!

[scenic zinc]

Would you like me to point to exactly where in the phb it literally says you're wrong?

'Cause it does.

[cinder timber]

🤔

[hollow stone]

i mean most people aren't confronted with so many have tos but DND players are a little edgy and give their character's backstories additional have tos that make putting them in a little square based off their historic precedent really hard

[cinder timber]

Is tos, terms of service?

[hollow stone]

hiiii!!!!!! :D

[hollow stone]

tos is the plural of to, as in have to

[cinder timber]

How are you! :)

[scenic zinc]

It says if you act often enough as a differently described alignment, you should change the alignment to that - because it better describes you now.

[cinder timber]

Oh, I didn't read it as such. My brain FRIED

[raven basin]

I put down the alignment and just kinda ignore but its not a big deal
Just kind of an aid for role-playing and character generation. But not everything's black and white
A good character can realistically do evil, and vice versa
Or am I completely missing the topic of the convo idk its 2 am

[uncut sentinel]

Did I ever tell you guys about the time I, Foxiest, beat Coyote at chess? Here's the rub: that's the story since prehistory.

[hollow stone]

vaguely sleepy and my cat is asleep next to me but i'm not sleepy enough to sleep

[keen valve]

You did not at all mention that in your previous statement.

[raven basin]

I cannot sleep because im at work 😭

[cinder timber]

That's what makes them real. Good splashed with evil; evil splashed with good.

[cinder timber]

I also want to sleep. My bed sounds nice

[scenic zinc]

Yes, I did. That's where I've been saying generally. You're reading generally as 'a sum total of all things ever'

[raven basin]

At the end of the day imo alignment is one of the things thats more for people new to DnD than experienced DnDers
Its a baseline addition to help

[scenic zinc]

Which isn't what I said

[uncut sentinel]

wat do you do?

[cinder timber]

Hmm? What do you mean?

[uncut sentinel]

I quoted the wrong message. mb. It's late.

[cinder timber]

Im also at work :(

[uncut sentinel]

What do you do?

[keen valve]

That's just not what generally means.

You should've said currently instead, but that's really just pedantics.

[raven basin]

I am security guard, at a gate collecting information from semis to check them in

[cinder timber]

What is a rakshasha? I've heard it before

[uncut sentinel]

Ah. So drudgery is the word eh?

[scenic zinc]

I didn't mean currently. So I didn't say currently.

[cinder timber]

Nice man! Do you do your prep at work?

[scenic zinc]

I meant generally.

[keen valve]

It would've been more accurate than what you did say.

[raven basin]

My brains too tired to process this my first time in awhile working overnights

[scenic zinc]

I didn't mean historically.

[uncut sentinel]

Mundane. Boring. Autopilot.

[scenic zinc]

It wouldn't.

[cinder timber]

Drudgery is grueling hard work

[keen valve]

Big tiger fiend. They're pretty cool.

I played one once, he was a cool guy, big pirate guy with a divorced husband and kids he wanted to spend time with.

[scenic zinc]

Backward hands tiger demon

[raven basin]

Tbh I'm not really doing anything DnD rn
May do Cyberpunk Red stuff in a bit when I get settled into the night shift schedule again. But scheduling will be hard when I work Wednesday-Sunday 11pm-7am (first 11pm is Wednesday, last 7am is Sunday)

[uncut sentinel]

Incorrect! "Dull, irksome, and tiring work."

[scenic zinc]

Not to be trusted.

[cinder timber]

Ok, thanks mr. Dictionary

[raven basin]

Its, so far and hopefully stays that way, really easy. Just grab ID, get a few numbers to type in, and check trailer and make sure its acceptable for our client

[uncut sentinel]

I like precision in language. Don't you?

[keen valve]

"Alignment depicts currently as to how you behave and act" clarifies the situation far more than "Alignment depicts generally as to how you behave and act" there is no implication for the time frame and thus is left to assumption and misconstruance.

[cinder timber]

How long is your shift?

[raven basin]

11pm-7am

[alpine junco]

Um im new how does this work? the game and stuff

[cinder timber]

Yeah

[raven basin]

Standard 8 hours but I only work I believe 32 hours a week

[cinder timber]

Dam, im here from 6-7

[uncut sentinel]

Time for a DM

[glass granite]

Idk folks, I like donuts, dad jokes and annoying people, language accuracy feels redundant if the other party gets the point

[keen valve]

You can trust me, I am VERY trustworthy. Hand me your purse.

[alpine junco]

Uhm guys how do i start my first dnd adventure?

[raven basin]

I change the meaning of words to whatever makes me right

[scenic zinc]

Current implies prescriptive dictation of how you must act. Generally shows that it's a description of what you've done, not deterministic of what you must do.

[uncut sentinel]

Alas, independent truth value eventually unseats us all.

[cinder timber]

If you know how to play, go to this channel and message people

#looking-for-players

[alpine junco]

Im kinda new so

[raven basin]

What if I somehow combined DnD 5e and Cyberpunk Red

[alpine junco]

I just understand the basic concepts

[raven basin]

And made it needlessly complicated

[cinder timber]

#dnd-newcomers

Here is a channel to explore

[glass granite]

You can be a DM and make a post on #looking-for-players and respond to posts on #looking-for-dm . Flip those steps if you’re a player.

If you’re new, check out the first few chapters of the free basic rules found in #learn-to-play

[alpine junco]

thank u so much

[cinder timber]

Thanks

[scenic zinc]

You'd get an abomination that would be still less rules than pf2e

[glass granite]

All the info you need to find a game is in #find-a-game

[uncut sentinel]

Dammit I already ate dinner and here's this copypasta.

[keen valve]

Current implies no such thing, in that instance that would have the prerequisite of saying: "You must currently behave and act..." specifically you would need to demand it. You can't imply demanded complicitness in that scenario I think.

Wait no I see how you mean.

[raven basin]

So PF2E AND CP:RED
Done

Maybe toss in a bit of Cthulu

[cinder timber]

I've wanted to make a noir theme game 😂

[keen valve]

What about "Alignment best depicts a generalized overview as to how your recent behaviors and actions have been."

[raven basin]

I should actually work on my stories and then use these systems in them
I have a Cyberpunk lite story I am working on, and a modern day fantasy lite one

[uncut sentinel]

In the time of yore, in a land that forgot its name, two lords o' debate once again faced off, adamant that their positions are righteous, correct, unassailable. Mere persistence, the most stubborn keyboard, the most tireless voice in the room, will that once more win the day?

[scenic zinc]

Change "most current" to "recent"

[keen valve]

Yeah that makes sense and I can see how alignment would be acceptable in that circumstance.

I probably still won't use it just cause I don't want my players thinking in generals due to the issues of morality in my stories, but I think in a more simple context I could use it without issue or err.

[scenic zinc]

Yep. And that's essentially how the book describes them and how to use them.

[keen valve]

It would appear that I am simply too often used to how certain DMs implement them haphazardly and as a end-all be-all.

[scenic zinc]

The issue is too many people take it as a prescriptive way they must then play as that character.

Which isn't what the book says lol

[cinder timber]

How do you get those epic dnd tales? Do you have to plan that or something?

[uncut sentinel]

I think your basic point is that the intention behind its design is fluid. The alignment will shift based on what the PC does, decides, how they handle consequences, expected and unexpected. Yes?

[raven basin]

People try not to completely misinterpret the handbooks challenge (impossible)

[keen valve]

Literally.

[scenic zinc]

Yep

[keen valve]

I just feel like if that option of err comes about, maybe it's better to go without then.

[hollow stone]

idk i feel like if alignment is post determined as opposed to pre determined then it's like, 14% of the way to being irrelevant, an illusion i am most inclined to discard, but tbf i do that anyway

[keen valve]

Cause if you cut the source of the issue off, you prevent the issue.

[raven basin]

Tbf a lot of things tend to have that err we just dont notice

[uncut sentinel]

But the spell! Detect alignment!

[scenic zinc]

Just toss all the rules?

[raven basin]

Like I said I usually end up ignoring the alignment or using it as a baseline to rp my character with

[keen valve]

Yeah, let's destroy 5e entirely.
Let's go back to Gurps.

[scenic zinc]

I agree.

[raven basin]

Well thats why Ive tossed in the view that its moreso a way to help newcomers to DnD learn how to rp a character

[frail wasp]

alignment doesn't help newcomers at all

[raven basin]

id disagree because if someone isnt used to the rpg part of a role playing game it can be hard to get into it

[uncut sentinel]

mmm maybe a resolution here is to co-opt alignment this way: we don't use this yet. we figure this out as we go on, based on what you guys gals etc do.

[keen valve]

But nah, I'm sure clarification and nullification could both equally help so long as you drill it into your players. "Your alignment... CHANGES... and it is NOT how you ALWAYS are."

[knotty pasture]

Tbh it is hard to get into dnd as is, with or without alignment

[frail wasp]

I promise less than 5% of newcomers pay attention to the alignment they write on their char sheet, if they write one at all

[hollow stone]

i mean alignment is great as "yea i wrote this down like 4 months ago and it was pretty cool for like an hour and then i forgot about it" text, which can be great to get a newcomer going

[raven basin]

Its a good start point

[uncut sentinel]

ass-math!

[cinder timber]

I don't think i write anything. I jusg play the way I want to play that pc

[fiery perch]

Is there any magic item which allows me to use somatic component of spells even with objects in both of my hands?

[scenic zinc]

I'm of the opinion that players shouldn't write their alignment and that it should be told to them every so often how they're seen by the world (by the DM)

[uncut sentinel]

This is a fun way to go about it. A more responsive tabletop world.

[knotty pasture]

Write down their backstory first, someone else can assign their alignments for them then

[raven basin]

Kinda like the reputation system in CP:Red

[uncut sentinel]

"Actually John, everyone thinks you're Chaotic Evil. Remember that chambermaid you incinerated last week? Well."

[hollow stone]

i mean i give my PCs elaborate backstories but that's literally just me having fun

[raven basin]

"Which one?"
"Exactly, John, exactly."

[scenic zinc]

But... but she was actually an evil witch!

"And did anyone but you know that?"

[raven basin]

Anyways got another truck pulling up brb

[keen valve]

I prefer letting them see how they're seen by the world via reputation for beating up a cave of goblins who were there as a homeless refuge.

Rewriting LMoP is fun.

[uncut sentinel]

I'm going to have to limit how much fun I have in this campaign I'm still spooling. It's Cyric-based, and for it to work, the more I think about it, the more it must be "minimally Cyric." Otherwise, it's just Shaco from League.

[cinder timber]

I do give them elaborate backstories. I just like them having dimension and being rich

[hollow stone]

yea this works. "well most people thought you were a pretty standup guy until you interrupted a man's frontal lobe with a spike in the middle of the town square, now people think you're erratic and unreasonable because you scared them."

[scenic zinc]

It should be cyric, but actually sheogorath

[keen valve]

It should be sheogorath, but actually alice in wonderland.

[cinder timber]

The wabbajack and Jygalagg dude?

[scenic zinc]

-# as shown in oblivion, not skyrim

[uncut sentinel]

It was Cyric, then Sheogorath, then Cthulu, then a Corrupted Helm, then Bane's bastard grandson, but actually just Cyric! Gotcha. Lies.

[cinder timber]

What?

[keen valve]

Skyrim Sheogorath is more alice in wonderland mad hatter.

[uncut sentinel]

Cyric is supposed to be FR's Joker, therefore the closest thing to a humanoid mad hatter turned deity.

[cinder timber]

I like the wabbajack. Ridiculous artifact

[keen valve]

Not if you count archfey and similar powerful beings as being deity-like.

[scenic zinc]

There was an entire expansion where you went to where he lives and experience a much deeper story about him. ||The sheogorath in skyrim is actually your oblivion character, as you became him in that expansion. ||

[uncut sentinel]

The archfey, alas, rule the irrelevant realm this time.

[cinder timber]

That sounds trippy. So, you were once Jygalagg?

[keen valve]

It was a bit unpleasant for the fact of how it removes the agency of your character.

But then Bethesda kind of always sucked at agency in that regard, they really don't do great choice RPGs.

[uncut sentinel]

Bethesda just sucks as writing

[scenic zinc]

i was and am fine with it ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[cinder timber]

They know how to do immersion imo

[raven basin]

Bethesda RPG: only a handful of choices matter!

[uncut sentinel]

Black Isle was the best, then it became Obsidian, and now it's MSoft's profit puppy

humble opinion

[scenic zinc]

Seeing as you are one you're also the other.

[keen valve]

Yeah, I just wish they catered to people who wanted choices as opposed to those who were ok with the general flow of things. Imo it doesn't change the experience much for those players. But it does so much for us.

[cinder timber]

I don't know why I like taking inspiration from Skyrim si much. I just like the quests

[scenic zinc]

That's kinda the whole reveal of that expansion

[uncut sentinel]

I don't understand this after playing Witcher 3 and its xpacs. Like, say what you will about its gameplay, but its writing and sidequests liberally poop on everything Bethesda has done.

[keen valve]

You should try other games. There are so many better options for quest inspiration.

[cinder timber]

Well, I haven't played the Witcher

[raven basin]

Eh they arent all that bad

[keen valve]

I know, the good ones are just far few in between.

[scenic zinc]

Skyrim has garbage storytelling. It's world is great. The stories in that world in that game aren't.

[cinder timber]

Like what? Bg3

[raven basin]

Skyrim though is a lot more of a "good game" than good rpg

[keen valve]

DA:O, BG3, DA:2, ME:1 & 2, Witcher, maybe KC:D?

[raven basin]

RPG nowadays is just soooo broad of a category

[uncut sentinel]

You should check it out, if only when it's on sale for $10 or whatever. It's a great narrative ride. Books are solidly middlebrow too. Think of them as separate, distinct. The actual author loathes what the games and Netflix franchise has done to his storytelling tho lmao

[cinder timber]

I just wish I could evoke the feeling of Skyrim's world (with some quest inspiration)

[cinder timber]

Huh?

[keen valve]

Game acronyms, use google.

[scenic zinc]

Play oblivion or morrowind.

[raven basin]

Thats why we were granted worldbuilding

[cinder timber]

I tried Oblivion and found it kinda awkward.

[raven basin]

Im a lot more of a worldbuilder than anything tbh
Thats where my joy comes from when I do DM (if I do)

[keen valve]

Morrowind is great, still lacking in choice, but it's definitely had far more care put into it and is less simplified for general audiences.

[cinder timber]

What?

[scenic zinc]

Did you try the remastered one?

[raven basin]

But then I accidentally end up railroading...

[cinder timber]

No, the og

[raven basin]

Build your own world before you DM. Flesh it out

Heck your campaigns can take place in different times and influence the world

[scenic zinc]

Try the remastered one. The original is admittedly mechanically clunky.

[cinder timber]

I want to DM first, not worldbuild for months

[scenic zinc]

Huh?

[cinder timber]

I heard Morrowind is good

[uncut sentinel]

I'm more of a tinkerer and passive delegator. I like when everyone else has done the work, then I get to rearrange it howsoever I like. Carefully, whimsically, doesn't matter. Just cut my workload by 3/4s or more, thanks.

[scenic zinc]

Who in their right mind would build the entire world?

[raven basin]

Worldbuilding doesnt have to take months
There's different scales
You can literally just worldbuild a continent

[keen valve]

Read books, watch movies, etc. A lot helps out to inspire if you can't immediately come up with stuff.

[scenic zinc]

Make the parts they see. Nothing more.

[glass granite]

My worldbuilding took, like, a week

[cinder timber]

Im a bum. Whatever the players see is the world 😭

[raven basin]

Like if I DM again it'll just take place on a continent

[glass granite]

At MOST

[keen valve]

Oh also, DMs sleep on this, but let your players help make the world too.

[scenic zinc]

They don't see everything at once

[keen valve]

They will be so much more invested if they can have a hand in it. If they want to.

[cinder timber]

I know

[scenic zinc]

I had a player make an entire Kingdom recently. It's been great

[raven basin]

Worldbuilding doesnt have to be super duper intense if you dont want itnto be

[cinder timber]

I feel like im being lazy doing that tho

[keen valve]

You aren't.

[scenic zinc]

I say recent... it was 6 months ago lol

[glass granite]

One of my players helped created my world’s anti-magic organisation!

[raven basin]

Yea
You can even get your players to make the skeleton then you do the meat and organs

"Hey people! Give me a few kingdoms for a world you guys will play in!"

[cinder timber]

That is why I said feel

[uncut sentinel]

Colville addressed this well in a video I watched recently about railroading player agency and player choice: DM brings content, curiosity / questions, and enthusiasm (not answers, not gatekeeping or railroading), the PCs do all the heavylifting from there.

[raven basin]

Then interconnect it ezpz

[scenic zinc]

It's collaborative storytelling. They're already contributing to the world building.

[keen valve]

Linearity is perfectly fine.

It depends on the audience entirely. I love it, personally.

[raven basin]

Honestly my favorite thing in RP stuff is reminding everyone we are collectively building a story

[cinder timber]

They contribute to what happens in world normally. Not its construction

[glass granite]

The others created the second main paladin order (that’s fallen now), another helped create a very influential archmage forgotten by all but the most powerful

[keen valve]

It's why I love DA and BG, and ME.
(Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate, Mass effect.)

[glass granite]

What about their backstories?

[cinder timber]

I always feel like I need answers when I prep. I be thinking of why this? Why that? How this? How that?

[uncut sentinel]

Oops skipped the abbreviation class again. Sorry had to get my coffee fix.

[keen valve]

I love using acronyms because they're silly.

[raven basin]

DA/ME devs (im tired and forget the name) are prolly the best RPG devs we got imo
Ignore Veilguard (haven't played but haven't heard great things)

[cinder timber]

What of it?

[keen valve]

Veilguard isn't real. I refuse to acknowledge it.

[glass granite]

Why not use them to help you make worldbuilding?

[cinder timber]

I never said I didnt. I just said I feel lazy doing it.

[scenic zinc]

I fully disagree. Their backstory can create places and people. The direction they head can place a town in that area. The choices they make can cause a town to be burnt to ash or flourish because they spent an absurd amount of gold.

That's all world building.

[uncut sentinel]

I embrace the inverse: I'm not responsible for the answers, just the questions. I want a loose, free environment where creative solutions I didn't anticipate can arise organically, then succeed or fail based on die. If everything is known or knowable beforehand, well, that's boring. Like Colville said, might as well just write a novella novel whatever at that point.

[raven basin]

Last time I DMed i didn't get very far because of the people 😭 they were... interesting (why I no longer DM with randoms)

[cinder timber]

As you say

[keen valve]

Yeah it's why my one player's brother is about to show up as a fresh hot shot captain of a guard regiment he abandoned the player for, and awkwardly reencounter him with the power of the regiment he had his brother subscribe to.
I am safe in saying this because he is not up.

[glass granite]

Helping the players feel immersed into the world and having their character’s past have an intractable aspect that gives the players a feeling that they are beings of the world and not random inserts is lazy?

[cinder timber]

I always try to answer obscure questions in mg world 😂

[still plover]

Start with some linear one-shot adventures. Clear goal, on the job, get it done in 3-4 hours. Build a group you can trust, then look at a long game.

[glass granite]

-# Also, holy I need to work on the grammar/punctuation

[cinder timber]

To me if they are building towns and stuff like that

[uncut sentinel]

I don't concern myself with arcana. I'm just the innkeeper, namean?

[raven basin]

For backstories I do like how CP:Red sheets are done
It has a lot more flesh than normal DnD imo

[cinder timber]

Ok

[still plover]

Go right ahead and adapt the framework!

[glass granite]

You’re telling me none of your players have anything of note that can be interesting for worldbuilding?

[raven basin]

Yea
My next campaign imma try to get some people ive known for awhile and start off with one-shots so this world can be more built around them
I just had very different expectations because i was used to DnD with people I knew

[still plover]

Ah, fair.

[cinder timber]

Why are you shoving words in my mouth?

[raven basin]

These guys were also just younger (13-15) and Im used to 17-20

[scenic zinc]

Just because you think of a question doesn't mean they will.

[uncut sentinel]

What exactly went wrong? Short lazyarse version.

[glass granite]

Apologies, that’s just what I’m getting

[scenic zinc]

You can't think of all the questions. Don't bother.

[cinder timber]

Like ive been trying to justify a cave under an abandoned mill for a few days now

[glass granite]

You feel lazy why?

[cinder timber]

Well, read what I said.

[scenic zinc]

Stop trying to do that. They won't care or ask.

[uncut sentinel]

Imagine not embracing the Lazy DM Lifestyle.

[keen valve]

"It just happens to be there."

[cinder timber]

Dam :(

[cinder timber]

I don't want to get caught off guard lol

[keen valve]

Maybe the owners were gnomes and knew it was there. Maybe you can put stuff they had down there. Maybe it's their custom basement.

[raven basin]

It just was hard to go along with because of different styles. I don't remember much but it was hard down to characters and they were all brand-brand new young teenagers (as I said before 13-15)
And at the time I was a 20 year old used to older players who were experienced. It was a cluster from character making

[uncut sentinel]

That's part of the fun of DMing. yowotm8?

[cinder timber]

Cuz i view it as the dms job to make those cities and npcs and what not

[bronze wave]

You make it up on the spot using what you are given

[keen valve]

They won't ask, but that doesn't it mean it doesn't matter. Finding reason can elevate what you create.

[cinder timber]

Yeah, I guess so.

[bronze wave]

I love lying it’s why I dm

[raven basin]

Ngl took me a second to realize you didnt have a stroke at the end of that message lol

[cinder timber]

Then why should I trust what you say? Lol

[keen valve]

Me too! I did a whole meta oneshot where I kept gaslighting players! They were so disturbed after.

[uncut sentinel]

It's an OG internet meme. You wot m8? I'm an old.

[raven basin]

I know xD im just tired atm

[scenic zinc]

I didn't say it doesn't matter. Only that the explanation likely will never be given so don't spend 3 days on it.

[bronze wave]

But you did bc you’d never know. Such is the life

[raven basin]

I still have 4 hours left on my shift and am 😴

[uncut sentinel]

Here's another one for you (the worst meme ever devised):

You just lost the game.

[keen valve]

No I was expanding on what you said, not saying you thought that. Sorry for that.

[cinder timber]

I did what? Trust you?

So, you dms, allow yourselves to also get surprised by what the players do?

[keen valve]

But yeah, doing a preliminary justification is fine. "Because the owners was this" can allow you to come up with what's down there, but if you spend a week at it, and are struggling, then it's better to slow your roll and do other stuff.

[cinder timber]

It doesn't always have to be the way you envisioned

[scenic zinc]

There's no possible way to prepare for every possibility.

[keen valve]

I know that because I tried it! It didn't work.

[uncut sentinel]

Feasibility check: nat1.

[cinder timber]

Yeah, which leads to the bad solution

[raven basin]

A good thing to learn as a DM is learn improvisation!!!
Did your party just get wiped by 4 goblins and a hobgoblin? Time to learn how to improv

[scenic zinc]

I prep modularly.

[keen valve]

You should prepare for the most obvious, and practice improv for when the obvious doesn't happen.

[cinder timber]

How do.you practice improv?

[raven basin]

Also, a fun thing to try is make yourself a random encounter sheet with a d100 or whatever

[keen valve]

Oneshots are great for that imo.

[uncut sentinel]

Explain?

I like tables and other preprepared stuff. Like the Thingonomicon.

[raven basin]

Dangit beat me to it

[keen valve]

Thank you, I am very neat.

[cinder timber]

I dont like them

[keen valve]

How come?

[uncut sentinel]

Thank goodness you aren't self-indulgent either

[cinder timber]

How long do you prep? @scenic zinc ?

[raven basin]

This cam be fun and I tried it.
Make a sheet of different encounters for each possible number and whenever your peeps are traveling roll it
I once had my characters enter a haunted dungeon and awarded them with an axe that does 1d4 fire damage on top of normal damage for avoiding a combat encounter and appeasing the spirit trapped

[glass granite]

Mhm

It’s part of the fun

[raven basin]

Your characters have one thing that makes them very unpredictable:
They're (typically) living breathing people

[glass granite]

If I wanted everything to go exactly how I wanted or expected , dnd isn’t the game for that.

[uncut sentinel]

Let's be real. Can any of us exactly predict even the next 10 minutes around us, every iota or minutae? Hell no.

[cinder timber]

Barring maps and pictures, imma try a strict 1 hr prep limit

[scenic zinc]

Think of it like legos. I come up with ideas, and then based on the story and decisions that are being made, I then take those lego pieces and lay them out. Some pieces are comprised of other pieces already (a dungeon) and some pieces are singular (an npc).

[bronze wave]

All the time, idk how they will play but I have enough of an idea to know what to do and I can always react while they do stuff

[cinder timber]

Bye everyone!

[glass granite]

Cya!

[bronze wave]

Like the players most of the time don’t even interact with me on a dm lvl they talk to a player or the environment

[keen valve]

Like... to NPCs, right? Not just a rock or dirt?

(I am counting plants as NPCs.)

[glass granite]

“Oh rock of the earth, speak thou wisdom to me!
Make a wisdom saving throw”

[uncut sentinel]

I think we all do that more or less, depending on the approach. There's ofc the "stickler" DMs out there who are so by the book that they became the campaign setting itself

[scenic zinc]

The prep I do is usually a week ahead of a campaign, and can last for at least a year of content.

I don't prep between sessions.

[keen valve]

That was a triple blast of comments. Holy crap.

[glass granite]

-# oh WOW Azerick

I could never

[bronze wave]

You’ll never know

[keen valve]

I also don't, but I do make maps and have a plan for things that HAVE to make a presence.
Does that count as prep?
(As in a certain boss has to show up, a plot line has to be started, etc.)

[bronze wave]

I always prep lol. I still like having a basic idea tho my games a bit more linear

It takes anywhere from no time if I still have stuff left over to 3/4 hours if I have to make maps

[uncut sentinel]

I look at it this way. If my prep before Session 0 and between sessions ever exceeds 2 hours, I failed my time management.

[scenic zinc]

Plot related plans yes. Map making... maybe. Depends. (Insofar as what counts as prep)

[keen valve]

The map is mainly just the world, not really specific scenarios.

I do make time-related maps though so I guess that counts.

[glass granite]

I prep randomly, just throughout the day. Just in my head. Sometimes I’ll not it down somewhere

[keen valve]

You guys should try that, it's evolutionary. Making a night, noon, dusk and dawn map I mean.

[bronze wave]

I prep in one sit down. I like doing tbings in blocks

[raven basin]

I have a crap ton of map software I can use

[uncut sentinel]

Same. I'm an incrementalist.

[glass granite]

I hate doing that personally lol.

[keen valve]

Like handling characters all at once and then plot and then other stuff?

[raven basin]

Like $1000 worth I got for $20 off of Humble Bindle
I just need to learn how to use it

[keen valve]

That's amazing.

[raven basin]

Its just a lot to learn though

[bronze wave]

No I do it all together it’s like 2-3 hours if I have nothing left over from a diff session

[scenic zinc]

Most of that week of prep is determining the personalities of the NPCs that will be in that world. Doing that helps me be able to just act as them during play so I don't have to plan what they'll do.

[raven basin]

Its all the ProFantasy stuff

[uncut sentinel]

Random 3rd party q: anyone here ever look at Ehdrigohr? I need to know how rich the lore is.

[raven basin]

Honestly yea the hardest part is getting NPCs ready
Because you definitely need to get some preset but still a lot

[raven basin]

Ngl I tend to make my own worlds so cant help much there

[bronze wave]

I find Npc pretty simple i have a harder time planning out areas

[uncut sentinel]

I have personal reasons for wanting to scope it out. I'm just unsure if it has what I want out of it. Specifically, a dense treatment of a Coyote deity, and maybe a Fox one.

[scenic zinc]

Looks like someone rolled their face on a keyboard to create that setting name

[raven basin]

Ngl I suck with names

I end up having ChatGPT make a list, and mix and match from there

[uncut sentinel]

I'm sure the name is deliberate. An indigenous academic wrote it but didn't use a competent editor (from what I gather). Typical pitfalls.

[raven basin]

Like I can make a solid character, backstory, abilities, appearance
But name them? Yea im lost

[scenic zinc]

It looks like cthulu meets Native American mythology

[uncut sentinel]

There's a lot of love for using it as a reference from the little discussion I've lurked on.

0 exp with Fate Core, and also 0 interest.

[scenic zinc]

Honestly I'd sooner recommend you just play werewolf the apocalypse

[knotty pasture]

I'm worse with surnames, decent with first names

Its easier to name something based on names you like or is based after someone

[uncut sentinel]

Nah. This is research. I'm a lazy postgrad duder, so when something fascinates me, I swim to the very bottom, to the abyss.

[scenic zinc]

-# so you miss name surnames

[knotty pasture]

Wait I don't get it

[scenic zinc]

Miss. Sur. Sir.

[uncut sentinel]

Blimey Jones, wait his name was actually Blimbo Jonoleth? Er

[raven basin]

True surnames tend to be more difficult

[scenic zinc]

It's a very dumb joke that relies on homophones

[uncut sentinel]

The fact that mere shit can amuse no matter how overeducated you become proves its own point.

[knotty pasture]

More or less

I'm also a postgrad graduate but I like isekai slop

[uncut sentinel]

what piece of paper did you get

[knotty pasture]

Like my grades?

[uncut sentinel]

no lol, the degree. not the uni.

[glass granite]

Likely your degree

[scenic zinc]

I assume they mean the degree

[knotty pasture]

Oh right, Education

[uncut sentinel]

M or PhD?

[knotty pasture]

M, PhD's beyond my reach for now to put it simply

[scenic zinc]

Or perhaps I could see that question being interpreted as "what paper did you author"

[uncut sentinel]

Respect. The grad slog sux

[knotty pasture]

Whatever paper I wrote I doubt it went on google scholar, only got a C out of it

[uncut sentinel]

I was supposed to move for mine, then I wound up at ZoomU from 2020-2022

[knotty pasture]

I hope it didn't go on it either, I'd half rewrite it now if I could

[scenic zinc]

Whysoever did this happen? Was something big happening globally perchance?

[uncut sentinel]

Nah. Ordinary times. Nothing interesting.

[scenic zinc]

If only.

[uncut sentinel]

It was p ez for me. As you may guess, I'm inherently solitary.

[scenic zinc]

I blame the downtime from then for chatgpt existing.

[uncut sentinel]

I blame cognitive dissonance for conflating "generative AI" with "general AI"

[scenic zinc]

It shouldn't be called AI at all.

[knotty pasture]

AI slightly carried my academics in postgrad at least

[uncut sentinel]

yes I know lol, totally agree

[scenic zinc]

There's no I there. There's no cognition.

[knotty pasture]

It was only after post-postgrad that I started being more liberal about the usage of AI

[uncut sentinel]

A misnomer.

A misnomer so overhyped that it could collapse the international economy. I've looked into this some. It's "too big to bail."

[glass granite]

-# the convo suddenly got too smart for me

[uncut sentinel]

Don't be insecure. Just google shit. You're gucci.

[glass granite]

No, I’m Nugget. Who’s gucci?

[uncut sentinel]

No idea.

[scenic zinc]

AI being as prevalent as it is is why I haven't gone back to finish my masters. It's not necessarily something I need... but I kinda want to have it :v

[knotty pasture]

Tbh if anything else, overeducation showcased that there's so many people willing to be complacent over situations

The higher you go the more you realize this complacency around you

[scenic zinc]

moving on to dnd though

[lyric viper]

Hello folk, we be talking D&D?

[knotty pasture]

Oop, soz

[scenic zinc]

-# called it

[lyric viper]

[Mod] is typing...
Chat: 👀

[glass granite]

Scarily accurate

[uncut sentinel]

Honestly, didn't notice, and wouldn't. I've been a mod, a senior mod, and an admin. Never again.

[glass granite]

So, ummm, dnd
What are y’all’s favourite non d20 dice?

[lyric viper]

I like my d5

[uncut sentinel]

D1000s are the best, obviously.

[scenic zinc]

d10's

[lyric viper]

it looks like a sweet and I want to eat it

[knotty pasture]

d6s or d8s, mostly because my favourite weapons go with d6s or d8s

[uncut sentinel]

On the real, d12.

[earnest canyon]

I am a fan of d's

[uncut sentinel]

luckofthed

An old user name for Hearthstone.

[scenic zinc]

I want to give someone a d18 and tell them it's a d20. It won't have a 1 or a 20 on it.

[glass granite]

Waiting for someone to make a d101

[lyric viper]

I do have a d22 and I've mistaken it for a d20 whenever it's visibily on the table and not in it's odd dice prison

[scenic zinc]

Why would it be? It's even.

[lyric viper]

It's odd in spirit

[scenic zinc]

Even evens can be odd.

[lyric viper]

odd, isn't it?

[glass granite]

Is it even even at that point?

[lyric viper]

oddly, yes

[glass granite]

If it’s oddly even, is it evenly odd?

[scenic zinc]

My brain is now mush. I think an intellect devourer has assailed me.

[lyric viper]

I can't even anymore.

[scenic zinc]

G'night

[glass granite]

G’nugghight

[knotty pasture]

Because of dnd I started to, for some reason, associate certain things happening to me as if I rolled something bad

Like whatever's happening today, I rolled a nat 1 on my short rest and now I feel terrible and unsatisfied

[uncut sentinel]

I decided to look into the "D1000" and leave the search disappointed. However, there was this reddit exchange that made me chuckle:

Comment a: doubt it exists. A d100 dice is already essentially a ball; I don’t see anyone adding an additional 900 sides without it being prohibitively large and expensive.

Comment b: 10 times the surface area would mean 3.5 times the diameter. Most d100s are golf ball sized so this would be closer to a basketball.

(I love bball for ref)

[keen valve]

I like the d100 that's just a ball.

[uncut sentinel]

On that note, I did a deep dive into quality, handmade diemakers some weeks ago. Learned a lot, then lost interest.

[olive wasp]

And they’re always so big too. Very throwable, like a baseball

[raven basin]

I dont get a d100 to roll but rather as punishment for bad players

Player acting up? Well theres a reason I kept my pitching arm strong post high school

[olive wasp]

What will it be this time? The splitter? Curveball? Knuckleball? Spitball might be illegal in the sport but not at the table, reserve that for the annoying ones

Maybe a fastball, throwing heat of 105 mph

Throw submarine style if you wanna hit their nuts

[glass granite]

I was never a good thrower so…
channels inner artificer and pulls out a portable baseball launcher

[olive wasp]

Hey the pitching machines still can throw 90

[uncut sentinel]

fyi I DMed you.

I don't own a D100. But if I did, I think I would make a list of 100 awful scenarios, with 1 being the least worst and 100 being worst worst, just to subvert die expectations.

[raven basin]

A mini trebuchet

[raven basin]

I used a D100 for my random encounters

[uncut sentinel]

And you pull from tables or some such?

[raven basin]

Yea

It was kinda hard to fill it up so some were repeated but had slight variations

[still plover]

Roll a d10 for the tens, another for the units. All zeros is 100.

[raven basin]

Like "6 goblins" vs "2 goblins and a hobgoblin"
Random merchant vs ambushed merchant

And varying difficulty of dungeons

[uncut sentinel]

Well sure, but if I'm going to go through the trouble of concocting 100 nightmares, I'm going to get a dang d100, and a swag one, at that.

[olive wasp]

A dangerous one too. For consequences and threats

[uncut sentinel]

Nah. It'd be one of them hollow polyhedrals that's lightweight, durable.

[olive wasp]

No fun

[uncut sentinel]

Far more usable.

[raven basin]

I found a d6 set that were bullets i really want

Maybe itll be my belated Christmas present for myself

[olive wasp]

The other one is more usable in other contexts

[uncut sentinel]

I'm a peaceful creature, but not a pacifist. Let's just say, I prefer nonviolence. However, I love confrontation and tension. Let's not excite that trait; it's best for us all. xD

[olive wasp]

Load a d6 in the chamber and shooting it only to find you did 1 damage to it

[olive wasp]

Confrontation is how things get done :D

Well not always but sometimes

[uncut sentinel]

Aggression is how most things get undone in my exp.

[olive wasp]

(I say as the least confrontational person ever)

[uncut sentinel]

Anger matters. It has its place evolutionarily. But it's like a toddler throwing a tantrum in the toy aisle.

[olive wasp]

That toddler may be having a valid crashout. You don’t know you can’t see their perspective

[uncut sentinel]

All toddlers are Napoleons. You can't convince me otherwise.

[olive wasp]

Maybe the toy said something mean about their mama and they can’t be having that

[uncut sentinel]

I've been around swaths.

[raven basin]

Why fight when seduce

[uncut sentinel]

Barding

[raven basin]

We were granted bards for a reason may as well use em

[olive wasp]

I’m not that smooth, and plus maybe I don’t want to seduce them :(

[uncut sentinel]

I'm married. My days as a bard are long since over.

[raven basin]

I am yet to be married but same

[uncut sentinel]

Now I'm a circus monkey.

[olive wasp]

The fool jingles hither

[harsh gulch]

wedding effect

[uncut sentinel]

real

[olive wasp]

With ringing bells on the ends of his shoesies and he has to do the little lad dance

[raven basin]

I still got a year and a half before I can attempt to become a circus monkey 😭

[uncut sentinel]

dang I wish I could spoil that line from Zootopia 2, from the rabbit dad

it's so applicable rn

[olive wasp]

There’s an age requirement on becoming monkeys now?

[raven basin]

Thats why the Disgods gave us ||
|| INSERT SPOILER HERE ||

[olive wasp]

Where did we go wrong

[uncut sentinel]

Of course not. If you exist, you're a simian. It's not debatable lol.

[raven basin]

Well that worked....

[olive wasp]

So my father telling me that I was a monkey who lost his tail my whole life is real?

I was born a monkey

[uncut sentinel]

We all were. Duh.

[olive wasp]

Oh gosh I feel like such a fool now. I denied it as if it were a mere joke. Oh dear, don’t I seem silly

[uncut sentinel]

This lute's strings appear to be missing.

[olive wasp]

I was also born in the year of the monkey

[raven basin]

Man i still got four freaking hours

[olive wasp]

Oh it all makes sense, oh dear

[raven basin]

Wait no three

[uncut sentinel]

I'm awake cuz I'm taking my mumsyinlaw to an airport at 4:45 AM.

[olive wasp]

Pick number 3 my liege 👆

[harsh gulch]

wow

[raven basin]

Dang

[uncut sentinel]

it's nbd

[raven basin]

My phone has to last me for 3 more hours and its at 39% 🙁

[olive wasp]

Well if you put it in the microwave it’ll last for 0 more hours so avoid doing that

[raven basin]

Trucks should pick up at the end of my shift though so it'll probably last me plenty

I should sleep for plenty after I get home though so I shouldnt be as tired at this time tomorrow

[uncut sentinel]

Hmmm, you'll be our fool, will you (read your pro, how cring of me)?

Time to have some fun with this self-definition, so out in the open.

Doth the fool on foolhardy blvd ever remember to remove the ordure on their shoes, wedged in their ear canal, and dripping still from their nose?

[raven basin]

Mmm
Let's play a game
What's my preferred class you guys think

[olive wasp]

Oh that’s a song by Sara devoe a really small artist. It’s “Cindy” it’s pretty cool

Love my indie music

[olive wasp]

As a fool I don’t understand complex language

I can armpit fart though

[uncut sentinel]

Ohhh. Hipster grift and sthick. Got it.

[olive wasp]

Sorcerer

[raven basin]

Incorrect, but thats a fun one

Im BG3 I enjoy sorcerer though because I like charisma

[olive wasp]

I just like indie bands lol

[uncut sentinel]

No idea. Time for a wild guess:

Ranger.

[olive wasp]

And using music quotes for my status. It’s fun, no matter how weird the line is out of context

[raven basin]

Again incorrect

I am a Paladin kinda guy

[olive wasp]

That guess is like throwing the dart at the floor

[raven basin]

Now here's the next one. Guess my preferred race
I have two really so

[uncut sentinel]

That sentence is like putting a period on this one.

[olive wasp]

I’m anti punctuation

Down with big grammar

[olive wasp]

Imma go wood elf

[uncut sentinel]

No, you guess mine. I'm done being your delegate!

[raven basin]

HmmmmmmmMmMM

[olive wasp]

Delegate things to me! I love menial labor!

[raven basin]

You seem like dragon or half elf

[uncut sentinel]

Fun guesses, but no. Satyr.

[olive wasp]

You’ll never guess mine

[raven basin]

Right forgot those exist ngl
Anyways BRB we got a truck

[olive wasp]

Truck on

[olive wasp]

If a satyr makes a joke is it always satyre

[uncut sentinel]

I see what you did there, and now I want to die.

[olive wasp]

Hey I’m not on salary so the jokes you get are free and but are refundable

You just get a whole nothing if you refund it. But it wastes yours and my time and that’s worth something

[uncut sentinel]

Time spent isn't fungible, so that's a lie. For that disservice, I'll be seeing you in small claims in, let's see, 5 months.

[uncut sentinel]

So are you a DM? A player?

[olive wasp]

A player mostly

I’ve had dm aspirations, started making it then fell through, but potential is there

What about you?

[raven basin]

Half orc

[uncut sentinel]

Both.

[raven basin]

But my preferred races are human or tiefling

[olive wasp]

Oh I’m gonna be sick in 5 months sorry

[uncut sentinel]

Tiefling is cool.

[raven basin]

I am not a fan of elves
Fantasy racism is strong for me against them

[olive wasp]

Hey that’s my current character! Good guess. My favorite is changeling. It’s very fun

[uncut sentinel]

Elves are just boring human reskins with pointy ears / shoes, and long lives.

[raven basin]

And people tend to play them the same for some reason

I mean humans are basic but im a human so i like to play characters that feel familiar to me

[olive wasp]

Eladrin are cool id like to play one of those sometime

[raven basin]

Given in my worlds elves are usually Celtic so I can't say much...

[uncut sentinel]

I'm diff. I hate comfort zones, complacency. If I'm going to PC, I want it to be as dissimilar to my lived reality as possible, so as to engender the maximum extent of growth in my RP toolkit.

[raven basin]

But I have a human raised by elves as one of my main story characters

[raven basin]

Thats fair
I do branch out sometimes. Just depends how I feel and how familiar I am with the other players/DM

If I dont know them I tend to stick with the comfort zone at first and if I need a new character then I branch out more

[uncut sentinel]

ya the group dynamic matters a lot

[olive wasp]

I try to have a new race every time I make a new character

[raven basin]

My last DM didnt want flying characters the one thing she asked

[plucky flame]

yup thats why I am thinking of playing a tortle next campaign!

[plucky flame]

just use find familiar

[raven basin]

If I play again Ill do a tiefling
Ive never played a tiefling in a campaign, only video games

[plucky flame]

summon a giant fly

[uncut sentinel]

There's this phenomenon I don't have a name for, so I'll make one up: the mismatch. Some people are great to hang out with but terrible to D&D with, and vice-versa. I don't really know why. Probably just as simple as poor social chemistry at the table.

[olive wasp]

I’ve done changeling twice (weird campaign shenanigans), human, half orc currently, and aasimar is a planned character

[raven basin]

Id agree
I sat in on my friends campaign and this guy who was super chill to hang out with... was a murder hobo...

[olive wasp]

Seems very fun, had one of those in my party. Big bulky fellas

[uncut sentinel]

Then you're like..."how well do I really know you, though..."

[plucky flame]

Or playing a lion man mage seems like a terrible yet cool idea

[raven basin]

Luckily the DM handled him well and just kinda tossed him aside so the party wasnt punished by him and he struggled

[uncut sentinel]

How did the DM handle him exactly?

[plucky flame]

I wonder How DMs manage problem players

[olive wasp]

“He killed that guy in game because he offered a sandwich. I guess I shouldn’t do that lest he does the same to me”

[raven basin]

He got separated from the party and got put in a place he wouldn't endanger the campaign as a whole
While still being able to murder hobo

[plucky flame]

like do you do the ol text-and-drop or?

[olive wasp]

Depends on the problem theyre conveying

[uncut sentinel]

Sometimes there's no handling it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vsv_vC7keA

[plucky flame]

how old was he irl?

[raven basin]

Like 18/19

[plucky flame]

that serves

[raven basin]

It was in person at my old university

Most people were 18/19

[olive wasp]

There’s a very limited age range in universities

[raven basin]

Aye 😆

[uncut sentinel]

Not necessarily. Transfer students.

[plucky flame]

but not all 18/19 players are like that, I met a guy who played a super philosophical bard

[olive wasp]

Unless you play with professors

[uncut sentinel]

Gotta pass that course somehow.

[raven basin]

Most of my friends nowadays are older, my church is mostly my age, my online friends are mostly older, and my girlfriend is 1½ from me. Id say the average age for people im friends with is like 24

[plucky flame]

gotta let prof have 80 hp at lvl 2

[olive wasp]

I don’t think my old orgo professor would play with me though unfortunately. But my old physics professor might he’s definitely a nerd

[raven basin]

I have my high school Spanish teacher on Steam
Spanish 4 was DnD

[olive wasp]

Professor of if I give you a cape of billowing in game may I please get an A

[raven basin]

Literally the whole Spanish 4 class was DnD, entirely in Spanish

[uncut sentinel]

Sorry, chap. You have to earn it. So far, C-.

[olive wasp]

That is kinda awesome sauce

[olive wasp]

RATS

[raven basin]

If you think about it its perfect
DnD has plenty of ways to utilize learning and practicing a language

Nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
Its all used

DnD should be a part of the language learning curriculum!

[olive wasp]

If my German course was a dnd campaign I would’ve been screwed

[uncut sentinel]

The bigger issue isn't whether language is taught, it's when. It's moronic it's 9-12 in the US.

[plucky flame]

quite literally iykyk

[raven basin]

Fair but that's a whole other topic 😆

[olive wasp]

What do you mean by that 👁️👁️

[uncut sentinel]

Da wunderkind misses zeh mark ageen

[plucky flame]

play no heed to the old mans tale mortal

[raven basin]

I had Spanish classes through middle school into HS but I only took Spanish 1, the year COVID hit, and missed the first semester of Spanish 2 so I got dropped
Getting bedridden from a car accident impacts your ability to attend school apparently

[olive wasp]

They had me learning languages my whole life since elementary

[uncut sentinel]

Where are you, then?

[olive wasp]

I grew up in New York

[cerulean monolith]

mods don’t like those kinds of questions

[plucky flame]

me too, I am tri lingual

[uncut sentinel]

that's nu yawk

[olive wasp]

Spanish k-5 was mandatory

[uncut sentinel]

Oh. I'm not doxing. Just asking for a state. mb.

[olive wasp]

I did not retain much skill unfortunately

[olive wasp]

Cawfee and a bacon egg and cheese

[raven basin]

Imma ask all the mods the question (/j, if not obvious)

[plucky flame]

i for a fact did however I couldnt test my skills on feild (you guessed it , france)

[uncut sentinel]

Let's see. That's 3 mod interactions in the last 35ish hours. I think I'm done here.

[olive wasp]

Nah it’s ok id tell them to let you off the hook

[raven basin]

I haven't really had the option to utilize Spanish but I retain a bit here and there. It comes and goes
Currently too tired to speak it but I retain more than people who took multiple years, as someone who took barely a years worth

[olive wasp]

Would you also like the 3 digit code on my credit card

[uncut sentinel]

No lol.

[olive wasp]

And my mother’s maiden name?

[raven basin]

ME! ME! MEEEEE!

[cerulean monolith]

Oh, I’m not a mod, lol. This server just tends to helpfully nudge people back to safety, because mods are pretty zealous in their enforcement of rules.

You can identify mods by their orange shiny names

[olive wasp]

I took 6 years of Spanish (k-5) and a total of 7 years of German

[uncut sentinel]

A junior mod, then. Even so.

[remote wadi]

On that note, it also is a great way to get familiar with basic mathematics, as well as probability calculation

[raven basin]

I haven't seen mods much tbh, but when I have they tend to be very strict 😅

[olive wasp]

I grew bitter to Spanish in elementary

[plucky flame]

brother you should check out the formula 1 server

[uncut sentinel]

how bad is it

[raven basin]

Yea because it was forced on me when I was younger I despised it
But I'd love to learn it now

[plucky flame]

I once got banned for saying "I am gonna crash out"

the mods hate the c word

[raven basin]

Sorry bud its a racing game you cant crash

[uncut sentinel]

I laughed outloud. Legitimately.

[olive wasp]

They would not like dale Earnhardt junior jokes then. I’d be executed posthaste

[plucky flame]

they sure as shit wont

[cerulean monolith]

The mods in this server have to be strict, because this server is ran by Wizards of the Coast and WotC doesn’t like risking chaos in their garden. It’s a corporate thing.

[raven basin]

PRAISE DALE AND RAAAAISE HELL!

[plucky flame]

wait wha.. I thought its an independent server

[uncut sentinel]

do you think they'll like me if I intro myself this way:

"Hey all, name's Crash Baggins. How's it goin'?

You like ovals as much as me or what? Damn."

[raven basin]

Yea I dont blame them just saying they are. Whether they like it or not an official server is overall representative of their business
Ive seen indie devs crash out in other indie dev servers before based off of the action of the members

[cerulean monolith]

Nope! The mods are WotC employees, iirc. LaTia definitely is, at the very least.

[olive wasp]

Revolt! Revolt! Inspire uprising! Maybe we’ll get a cool magic item for it

[raven basin]

The icy™ bag of holding

[plucky flame]

we might just, we have to take down the lord ruler

[uncut sentinel]

Cyric's Cold Hard Stare in the form of an orb that does nothing but create an insufferable sense of unease forever.

[olive wasp]

It’s full of half baked jokes and every time you take something out of it you gotta listen to one. And it makes the ticket muncher sound every time you put something in

[plucky flame]

I was thinking, as I do (a lot), can you empty up an ocean inside a bag of holding?

[raven basin]

An item where your enemy has to roll a constitution save or else they crash out

[cerulean monolith]

No

[olive wasp]

Coins have to go in one by one for a real experience

[raven basin]

Imma do that now
Literal items that serve no purpose, except for psychological warfare by their mere presence

[olive wasp]

Bbeg spotted

[uncut sentinel]

And if the "crashout" save fails, there's a follow-up save: "bottoming out." If that one fails, the PC is committed to a sanatarium.

[plucky flame]

"He burned tin"

[raven basin]

Orderlies show up and carry them away

[olive wasp]

I don’t be knowing, my mind is too small and fragile

[uncut sentinel]

Everyone's favorite mechanic: grappling

[plucky flame]

insert that one stranger things scene

[humble cairn]

My favorite change in mechanics in 2024, to be certain.

[raven basin]

I literally haven't paid any attention to the mechanic changes ngl
Prolly should

[glass granite]

My third favourite thing to do as a monk

[plucky flame]

pardon me for being an ignorant commoner, whats the change?

[raven basin]

Its just I got older books so I have no desire to use it

[plucky flame]

same

[olive wasp]

Grappling is fun because it brings me one step closer to suplexing as a barbarian

[humble cairn]

It's no longer a skill check, it's a saving throws you can impose when you choose to use an unarmed strike.

[raven basin]

Has the new edition even released yet? Is it a new edition?

[olive wasp]

Have you ever suplexed someone into a broken mirror? It’s pretty cool

[uncut sentinel]

It's definitely out, and has been. The three sourcebooks are there (I was gifted them, lucky me). Let me fetch a vid for you.

[plucky flame]

its called 5.5 e so ig

[humble cairn]

And it can be done on any unarmed strike, including OAs, instead of having to be the Attack Action.

[raven basin]

The two saviors of DnD: homebrew, and rule of cool

[remote wadi]

7 years of nat 1 ability checks

[humble cairn]

No new edition is still 5E. It just got a patch update to the core rules in 2024.

[plucky flame]

i gave up at one point

[olive wasp]

It wasn’t broken by me, it was broken by friends “rock of repelling” I just took advantage of it

[plucky flame]

did they "nerf" anyone?

[olive wasp]

Don’t listen to wwe, keep trying it at home

[lyric viper]

Actually many classes got quality of life patches

[plucky flame]

how exactly?

[humble cairn]

Overall everything was brought closer to balance.

[plucky flame]

hmm

[olive wasp]

It’s a secret

[plucky flame]

only patch they need to bring is to stop clerics from doing guiding bolts in small spaces

[uncut sentinel]

I thought I had a vid, don't. I tried searching for a quality one, failed. But I do have this from a private chan on my server:

https://rpgbot.net/dnd-2024-5e-transition-guide-and-change-log-everything-thats-different-in-the-new-players-handbook/

[humble cairn]

I feel like the outliers were normalized. Like the power attack options from GWM & SS were removed.

[plucky flame]

ik i am going to dnd prison for saying this

[olive wasp]

The guards there are usually very suggestible it’s okay

[humble cairn]

I don't agree, I like a lot of the changes in 2024.

[olive wasp]

They always just fall asleep with a key hanging off them it’s so crazy

[raven basin]

I just know they were controversial at least in some aspects

[plucky flame]

dont mind me, just gonna use mage hand real quick

[olive wasp]

Oh wow gosh golly my key is missing. Guess I better go somewhere else to go look for it

Leaving the cell unattended

[glass granite]

Most changes are gonna be seen as controversial by some people, and tbf 2024 made some questionable changes, but tbh it’s the version I prefer

[uncut sentinel]

I'm honestly indifferent and also unresistant to change. I didn't have much time with AD&D or 2014's 5e due to life stuffz, so I'm just going with what's out. I'm a volunteer DM at a library lol.

[plucky flame]

roll for intiative

[olive wasp]

5

[olive wasp]

Libraries are kind of slept on low key

They got books in there it’s nuts

[humble cairn]

I have some issue with about one decision they made. Which ones are you talking about?

[uncut sentinel]

Not at all. Libraries are important hubs for community the world over. Maybe our most precious institution.

[olive wasp]

So you agree with me that they’re underrated

[raven basin]

I honestly dont remember. I believe it was some of the changes with ranger and orcs but cant remember 100%

[plucky flame]

too bad I dont have any near to me in a 40 km radius

[olive wasp]

Wait did I misread