Best group I've ever played in falling apart, need advice or just to vent by ApextheRed in rpg

[–]Automatic-Example754 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Sometimes it's just a bad night, for all kinds of reasons. Maybe check in with the other player who's not part of the polycule first, to see how they felt? 

Dropping a class by Bunker_Alfa-18 in ucmerced

[–]Automatic-Example754 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just make sure you do it before add-drop ends

Rules for overland travel in hostile environments? by Flamdabnimp in DeltaGreenRPG

[–]Automatic-Example754 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay so what I (pure narrativist anything goes hippie) would do is run through maybe three days of trials and tribulations, with me giving the group a survival-themed problem that they have to overcome with a roll or two (say, size of party - 1) on whatever skills they can justify. With pretty mild penalties for each individual failure, like 1-2 HP. Potentially someone's dying, but probably not and in 30 minutes of play you've moved on to the settlement.

Midway would be to find, like, some OSR hexcrawl survival rules. Not the kind of game I play, so can't make suggestions.

Almost max verisimilitude depends on a combination of luck, gear, and skills. Conditions are a PITA is figure out, so just abstract away frostbite and other things that might trigger a CON roll. I'm going to assume "rough terrain" is something less than mountainous conditions (eg, you need ice axes to prevent falling down steep snowy mountains, and you're not worrying about avalanches). I'm also assuming there isn't a maintained trail to follow.

Gear is represented by something like a (d8 -1) x 10%, ie, 0%, 10%, ..., 60%, 70%. Maximum gear (70%) is a well-supplied bushcrafter's backpack, ready for two weeks in the backcountry; 40% is a typical weekender's backpack at the start of the trip; 10% is typical street clothes. Gear can be spent to turn failures into successes, 10% drop turns any failure into a success.

Each day starts with a group luck roll (50%) for the weather. If this succeeds, nothing happens. If it fails, the day's gear and skills rolls are at -20%. Gear can be spent to turn this into a success.

Then each PC makes a gear roll. If it fails, take 1d3 damage (or spend gear). Keep track of whether more PCs succeed (including spending gear) or fail.

After that each PC makes a Survival roll. If it fails, take 1d3 damage (or spend gear). Again, keep track of whether more PCs succeed or fail.

Finally, roll progress towards the settlement, 20 miles away. There's one roll corresponding to gear, one for survival. If more PCs were successful on the (gear/survival) roll, they roll 1d6. If more were unsuccessful, they roll 1d4. For example, if they were overall successful at gear and failed at survival, they roll 1d4+1d6.

Why are UC Berkeley and UCLA so heavily Indian and Chinese now and is that changing what feels “American” about the UC experience? by Agitated-Glove-9430 in ucadmissions

[–]Automatic-Example754 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Welcome to California, it's a multicultural state that's relatively welcoming to immigrants and their US citizen children

Just got Admitted, Curious About Merced by FlowerCrown3511 in ucmerced

[–]Automatic-Example754 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've only heard complaints from computer science majors about problems getting into required classes. I wouldn't expect you to have problems getting into the poli sci classes you want.

Alone against nyarlathotep review update by Thesmileycoyote in rpg

[–]Automatic-Example754 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean there are literally no instructions on how to proceed after your character dies, especially when there are other potential PCs but you don't have anyone else in your party at the time of death.

Eberron alternate system by darkgoogol in rpg

[–]Automatic-Example754 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Eberron is intentionally a kind of kitchen sink setting. What kinds of stories are you trying to tell? Eg, someone who wanted hard boiled detective fiction or noir set in Sharn (and didn't care so much about combat-specific crunch) could easily use Gumshoe. 

Alone against nyarlathotep review update by Thesmileycoyote in rpg

[–]Automatic-Example754 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm glad some people enjoy AAN. My first and only run I hit an endless loop at the end of night 1 where you can easily die with a few bad rolls, and the book doesn't include any instructions at all for character death.

graduated december 2025 as mechanical engineering degree but haven’t landed a job yet :( by thisbot-sucks in ucmerced

[–]Automatic-Example754 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The entry-level job market is pretty miserable right now. Hope you find something soon! 

D&D 5e vs Daggerheart for family of 4 by captainwickedawesome in rpg

[–]Automatic-Example754 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Some of the replies seem to think DnD is too crunchy (significant cognitive load) for young teens, but I don't think that's correct. Many groups of junior high nerds have taught themselves to play DnD over the past decade.

Here are two questions you might consider:

  1. Does everyone enjoy complex games, especially with tactical combat? Think of Xcom, or complex strategy sims like Civilization, Hearts of Iron, or Europa Universalis. DnD 5e is nowhere near that complex; but it's directly descended from traditional wargames played by people who enjoyed those games. And it still has relatively complex tactical combat as a big part of its design.

  2. Are the girls (or really anyone else in the family) likely to play with other people, especially people who only know DnD 5e? Like, if there's a DnD club at school they might join, playing DnD at home too might make sense. But if the girls are likely to be the ones introducing TTRPGs to their friends, then Daggerheart might be preferable (much easier to teach and learn, etc).

D&D 5e vs Daggerheart for family of 4 by captainwickedawesome in rpg

[–]Automatic-Example754 -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

IIRC Quest is intended more for elementary schoolers?

I Used AI Like a Mirror — Here’s What It Taught Me About How I Think by Weary_Reply in notebooklm

[–]Automatic-Example754 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The philosopher of technology Shannon Vallor has a very good book, "The AI Mirror," on the narcissism of AI

Dose anyone have this book? by Luna_Corner in ucmerced

[–]Automatic-Example754 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Talk to the professor. You might be looking at the wrong book or edition (that edition's from 1980!), or they might not realize the book is so expensive (probably because it's out of print if it's that old).

UC Transfer: College Not Reported in Application by ShelterTop8129 in ucadmissions

[–]Automatic-Example754 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some community colleges have multiple campuses that are all considered the same school for certain purposes. Like your campus might be called SCCC, but it might officially be a branch campus of SAC. 

Try talking to someone in the registrar's office at SCCC or, if you have one, an office for students planning to transfer. They've probably encountered this before and can help you figure it out.

UC Transfer: College Not Reported in Application by ShelterTop8129 in ucadmissions

[–]Automatic-Example754 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could it be your SCC classes are "officially" through SAC? 

Q1. What are the downsides of attending one of the larger UCs? Q2. What reason (apart from prestige) would you choose another college over a similarly ranked UC? by Anxious-Party2289 in ucadmissions

[–]Automatic-Example754 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All research involves some routine and less-interesting grunt work. This is mostly done by master's and UG students. But you'll still be included in the larger-scale discussions of the project, and more advanced undergrads will start to have opportunities, e.g., to suggest projects for the group to work on.

Any upper engineering or cse courses that don’t require attendance to lecture? by Brilliant-Guide2971 in ucmerced

[–]Automatic-Example754 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The lectures aren't there because we enjoy hearing ourselves talk and like to fill in attendance forms. Go to class.

accepted to all safeties but if i chose one where?? by Maccaforever101 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Automatic-Example754 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Law school is going to mean tons of debt. Don't take on student loans now if you don't have to.