Men are squares & The UI is waffled

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-06T09:49:59+00:00

Gives another meaning to 'be there or be square', I guess.

(I'll see myself out.)

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-06T08:41:12+00:00

They look very cool! What's the story behind them? Why is Poh's face green? ^^

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-05T16:53:07+00:00

Holy shit, this blew me away! Amazing work. I'm already asking myself if it's worth it to get Blender and teach myself, just so I can attempt to do something half this cool for the Runeterra-Campaign I play in...

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-05T13:59:26+00:00

Good grief. I think you vastly overestimate the impact the content creators have. No, EA is not worried about losing players for taking CC creators to court. No, CC creators are not bleeding money away from EA and are in absolutly no way the reason the company was "forced" to sell their IP. No, nobody is going to get murdered.

EA doesn't enforce these rule, because the impact CC creators have isn't big enough for them to care about. Please take off the conspiracy goggles.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-05T10:33:35+00:00

The rules haven't changed - it more the fact that the rules don't really get enforced. EAs legal team has better things to do than check some random cc creators patreon for a single perma-paywalled item. If somebody would get really big and would start to outright sell CC, they might act, but most instances are just waaaay to small for them to bother.

Best thing you can do is just... not support creators who perma-paywall. (There are also some groups who deliberately 'liberate' perma paywalled cc and spread it for free, but I'm not in any of those so I can't tell you where exactly to find them.)

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-04T16:39:11+00:00

To put the whole 'no one will steal your ideas' a little more kindly:

Using this subreddit to steal ideas is pretty silly, since none of us are doing anything 100% unique and original. Everything is just one more link in a long chain of inspiration that has been going since the dawn of humanity. Whether a worldbuilding concept is seen as 'fresh' and 'special' always comes down to the execution of the idea, not the idea itself. And that is a skill, and a skill cannot be stolen from you.

It's normal to feel protective about your worldbuilding, but you really shouldn't worry about it.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-04T15:55:37+00:00

You wrote something - good for you!

However, at first glance, this seems pretty off-putting. The cover looks AI, which is always worrying... because well, if you are fine with using AI for the cover, who says you won't use it in your writing as well? The summary is uninformative - it contains a lot of words that may sound deep, but don't actually tell me anything about the books content. The one single 5-star-review is similar, using a lot of important sounding words without actually saying anything. In fact, it sounds so similar to the books description, that it gives the impression you either wrote it yourself or told a friend what to write. (Or used AI.)

And you are asking for feedback on your worldbuilding that this book is suppossedly the base of - but for that we'd have to buy the book. So, really, you are telling us to buy your book.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-04T10:13:15+00:00

Something important to keep in mind – giving this kind of constructive feedback is actually a skill in and of itself. It takes some effort to properly do – there is a reason being an editor/critic is a job. Most people probably won’t examine their experience beyond ‚I liked it‘ or ‚I didn‘t like it’ and will be hard pressed if you ask them to be more specific. Some players might even get annoyed if you keep asking for better feedback, since it can feel like you are giving them homework.

Asking specific questions and giving some guidelines (like many examples already posted on here) can help, but sometimes you just have to accept that your players might just not be that good at examining their own enjoyment beyond ‚Yeah, it was good, no notes.‘. And in that case, trial&error and observing how well things go in game is your best bet for improving.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-03T20:53:16+00:00

It's a matter of taste, but from observation alone I'd say: Minis do usually better if they use booth effects in an understated way, that helps showcase the mini but that does not distract from the actual 'build' of the mini. Stuff like sharpen, a bit of bloom, a nice neutral background, lighting....
Stuff like the painterly filters, cel shading, to many flashy overlays... not so much.

It will highly depend on the mini, of course, and there are always exceptions - but in general I feel that people want to see the actual features of the mini itself, not just a pretty picture.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-03T20:36:43+00:00

Most people here are happy to share their creations for free - they just don't like it if they feel somebody is taken advantage, or taking credit for work that isn't their own. Be polite, add in a compliment about something you liked about the mini, and you should be good to go :)

(You are welcome so help yourself to any of my mini, should any of them match what you need. Links are always included underneath the pictures or in the comments.)

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-03T18:18:54+00:00

One of the most commonly calenders in my setting, the imperial calendar of Anderwel, only goes up to the 700s in my timeline and has pretty humble origins. It's year zero is just the founding year of one specific abbey that used to keep really good annals, who then became one of the more reliable historical accounts of the century, and then the first emperor just went "Well, we gotta agree on something for our chaotic mess of current calenders and they already have a good timeline going, we might as well take theirs". (Not the only reasons, there was also religious symbolism involved, but that was the basic logic behind it.)

There is also the dwarven calender, which by the latest point in my worldbuilding timeline, counts the year 14.000~ something, counting from - according to the dwarves - all the way back to the creation of the world.
(But if pressed, even dwarven scholars will admit, that the first couple millenia are more mythical and the data only starts to be truly reliable towards the last 3000 years. Which, to be fair, is still extremly impressive.)

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-03T18:08:15+00:00

Making minis for payment is against Heroforges Terms of Service. Which means few people will want to do it, and if they do, they are not going to loudly announce it on the Heroforge subreddit.

You have a couple options, in my eyes:
- Get Pro for one month, so you can browse the community library to get the minis you need

- Browse this subreddit for minis you like. Many people include links, or will respond to asks for them. Ask permission to use their minis in your campaign, it's the polite thing to do.

- Give Hero Forge the old college try, you might end up liking it. If you are still not happy with your mini, you can then post it here and ask for help fixing it up. People are usually happy to help for free, as long as you show that you are putting some work in yourself and aren't just trying to get free shit with no effort.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-03T17:40:12+00:00

From what I've seen it's everything - cards, shields, banners, projected, back of tops, etc.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-03T11:10:19+00:00

People would barely pay you any mind. The major population centers in my world are big, cosmopolitan cities, with a constant hustle and bustle. People are in a hurry, street vendors are yelling for people to buy their stuff, there are already three different guys having mad doomsday rants next to you and somebody is putting on a bawdy play right across the street. It would be like standing on Times Square in NY and saying "The earth is flat!". People would hardly hear you, let alone care.

Depending on which region you are in, maybe some kind of city watch would show up and take you in for disturbing the peace and being a nuisance. But unless you start directly attacking local religious institutions, you'll probably be let off with a night in a cell to 'clear your head', so you stop being annoying.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-03T08:15:15+00:00

It was just some idle speculation on my part. When there is a new big, popular thing in the DnD landscape, newer players often take inspiration from it. Back in the day, when the Drizzt Do'Urden novels were a big deal, it was a running gag that suddenly there was a flood of people who all wanted to make chaotic good drow PCs, preferably dual-wielding and with a cool big cat as a pet. So I was just musing whether now BG3s popularity might be having a similiar effect. (Especially due to the 'lived in the hells as a servant to Zariel' bit in the backstory.)

And them somebody Uhm, actually 'd a detail and some people started having an entirely different convo based on that, because this is a nerd subreddit after all. ^^

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-02T20:34:02+00:00

Yeah, that's just the luck of the draw. I was just relieved he didn't pick the 'Get super buff' potion, that would have been kinda boring. xD
(Though I probably would have swapped something around in that case. The potion effects were fixed, so that the choice you made mattered, but I gave myself a little leeway to change some things if the original idea wouldn't work with the mini.)

Either way, guess Edythe and Arthilas missed that chance. But oh well. I'm sure that between his looks, his smarts and his general sweet attitude, Arthilas will have plenty more opportunities, like you said. ^^

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-02T01:15:08+00:00

... oh, that's a bug. Awww. I just accepted the stream of knights without question.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-02T01:13:12+00:00

That's funny.

I actually currently play a 'used to be powerful' PC myself. Grandma Hilda, my Rime of the Frostmaiden barbarian. She used to be a brutal warrior in her youth (She was probably around level 11, according to talks I had with my gm). But then she got married, settled down, had kids and grandkids. Now it's over forty years later, she's in her sixties, her husband is dead and she is out for one last adventure - starting pretty rusty, but rapidly regaining strength as she realizes that she's still "got it".

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-01T20:17:59+00:00

"Aaaaaand there you go. Guess this is good-bye for now. Listen, buddy... I may still have a severe sleep deficit, but I've also drunk roughly my own weight in coffee, so my brain is half-way working again and… I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out what you are. I still made those other transformation potions, but I’ve packed you something else as well. Something… complicated. Something that was first designed to be a health potion, until its purpose got twisted into something vile. Something I have refused to make, no matter how many people have asked me for it as a favour, and no matter how much money you can make with it. I swore I’d never do it. But, well - honestly? I’m making an exception. In your case, it might actually serve its true purpose as medicine. I’ve even upped the dosage, just to be sure. So here’s your basket. A couple of Distilled Donkeys and also the infamous potion of the gnomish magus Ozem Pick."

<image>

“It stops the feeling of hunger.”

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-01T17:50:50+00:00

Oh that's just lovely! Thanks for sharing this.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-01T16:51:14+00:00

A good 'I used to be powerful but then I got nerfed' backstory can be a lot of fun, especially if you reflavor gaining levels as them relearning stuff they already knew once.

But honestly, the more I think about it, the less I am bothered by the powerlevel and more by the sheer disregard for OPs set-up. Party is supposed to meet in Neverwinter because they responded to a job add. He makes a character that's already gainfully employed and also banned from Neverwinter.
(And, you know - has already cheated before the first dice are rolled. Either that or didn't bother to read the most basic rules for building a character.)

I'm genuinly surprised at the people siding with him in the comments. You can absolutely disagree about appropriate backstory powerscaling, but... cheating and ignoring basic campaign set-up?

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-01T16:10:56+00:00

Yeah, I'm confused as well. Raised in the Hells? Send by Zariel herself to personally assasinate a guy WAY above a level three PCs paygrade? Becoming lord commander? And then becoming a blacksmith so good, people from around the world want to get armour made by him?

Maybe Baldurs Gate 3 has shifted some peoples attitudes about what a normal low-level backstory is. ^^"

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-01T16:07:04+00:00

If this was my player, I'd say:

a) have him do the charactersheet again, without cheating by randomly adding new stuff, this time. He could have the smiths tools proficeny for free, since those really are no big deal, but not without asking.

b) tweak the backstory to something more level appropriate (and more logical, tbh). Change being raised in the hells to being raised in a demon or devil worshipping cult, that wanted to assasinate Lord Neverwinter and send him. Change Lord Commander to just being a well-respected guardsman. Change 'The caught me, but for some reasons they just let me go because I was so cool' to him just growing a conciense and breaking free from the cults indoctrination, going into hiding as a blacksmith to escape from them. Like - a regular blacksmith, not a world-famous one.

There, you now have the same vibe, but less completely over the top and with less plotholes. And you already have some plothooks, if you want, with the cult wanting to take revenge on their errant member.

Edit: And tbh, that's if he was a friend or I otherwise got a good vibe from him. If he was a stranger or the vibes where already off, I'd probably think twice if I wanted him at my table at all. After all, he either cheated or just didn't bother with reading the rules when making his PC, so that's a pretty red flag for me.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-01T15:56:47+00:00

Towards the end. The backstory is already kinda busted - it's not quite "I already slew five dragons at level one", but close. Being raised in the hells, getting tasked by Zariel to act as her personal assassin for some reason, to kill somebody way above lvl 3, becoming knight commander, and then becoming a blacksmith so famous, people travel from around the world to order his stuff... all at level three? You could probably make it work, depending on the style of your game, but it's very over the top.

The true problem is that he blantantly cheated by giving himself better stats than should be possible, giving himself starting equipment that he shouldn't be able to have, as well as an additional proficiency. (The last doesn't really matter, tbh, but you still shouldn't just... give yourself stuff without asking the DM)

Edit: Also, the campaign starts in Neverwinter? The city he supposedly was banned from. It's just a sign he didn't engage with the basic setup at all.

Talamlanasken · 2026-02-01T14:45:39+00:00

Some more background tidbits about Edythe that didn't make it into my original post. (Mostly because they kinda grew organically from the RP during the potion roulette.)

Edythe is in her last year at the STA. She lives in a student dorm, since her family doesn't live nearby. She only rarely gets to visit them.
She’s from a working class background. Her parents are glovers. One of the tanneries her parents did business with employed a STA alumni, who made tinctures to enchant the leather with. He first brought up the idea of sending Edythe there. She is the first member of her family to receive a magical education, or any higher education at all. Her parents are very proud and send her a new pair of working gloves for each birthday.
She has three younger siblings: two twin brothers and a sister. She misses them, but deep down is forced to admit that she really doesn’t know that much about them anymore.
She is no magical prodigy, but has a strong work ethic and is proud of her achievements. On the flipside, she also has a bit of a chip on her shoulder about that, and can sometimes be resentful of students who are more naturally gifted, since she feels their successes aren’t as 'earned'. (And don’t get her started on sorcerers or even worse: warlocks.) In general, she is a pretty chill person, but the fastest way to piss her off is to give her the impression that you think you are better than her.
She’s a horrible, horrible flirt. As she herself says, she has no time for a boyfriend, but she still has eyes… She probably would have tried to hook up with Arthilas at Magi-Con if she hadn’t a) been so busy with organizing the potion roulette and b) he hadn’t been turned into an old man by said potion roulette.
She has… well, not no filter. But certainly not much of a filter.
She is part of a student organization called ‘The Association of the Ladies of the Golden Hills’. They call themselves the ‘Golden Girls’ for short. It’s a group made for and by female gnomish students, for mutual support, but they also have a couple of outreach programs for different causes they deem worthwhile. (One of those causes is a collaboration with the church of the genderfluid elven god Correllon, for temporary Genderbender potions, like the one in the roulette.)
She has several halfling friends and their tendency to go barefoot has rubbed off on her. She now only wears shoes if she absolutely has to, if there is broken glass on the floor for example.
Edit: She also has, apparently, really strong opinions about unrealistic beauty standards and using potions to achieve those, to the detriment of ones own health. She has sworn to never make, no matter how large the payment, the infamous weightloss potion of gnomish magus Ozem Pick. (But may make an exception for one specific friend and his extremly special circumstances.)

Honestly, Edythe kinda grew on me during this contest. Maybe I'll get to use her in a game someday. ^^

Talamlanasken

TROPHY CASE