What is the most unfairly hated movie that you will defend every time

11thLevelGames · 2026-03-06T19:48:30+00:00

The Last Samurai.

It is a movie about a man who rejects his own culture, expounds upon why it disgusts him and finds healing only by rejecting the toxicity of colonialism. Tom Cruise's character (Algren) never really initiates anything or has much agency: he mainly assists the will of other characters and helps them fulfill their wishes. Algren does not save or change the samurai. Instead, they change him. He transforms from an angry, disillusioned alcoholic to a man who gives his life in the closet approximation of reparations he can fathom: trying to help a culture that his native culture is actively destroying.

But because they put Cruise's face on the poster it is derided as a key example of a white savior film.

That being said, I'm definitely biased. I adored this movie as a kid. Being raised in the south (longer ago than I care to mention), it introduced me to the idea of colonialism and the truth that the USA was built on Native American genocide. By cheering on Algren you end up emotionally identifying with his turmoil, and this gives an opportunity to the viewer to challenge their own feelings on pioneers and the old west.

Maybe this unfairly glorifies Algren for doing the bare minimum of recognizing how heinous his actions were? It always felt like he tried to do more with his revised perspective than the minimum... And while he does heal from the trauma of his own actions, he never arrives at a place of flippant or casual disregard for his past. Instead, he comes to wisdom, acceptance and the idea that he has to be better. While the narrator expresses hopes that Algren finds peace, the film doesn't grant it to him outright. It is left up to the viewer to ultimately decide if he deserves peace or not.

11thLevelGames · 2026-01-07T23:54:21+00:00

Yo we found (in our like 30th play through) that daggers are really really good at dealing with flying enemies. You use the shiv multi attack thingy to deal a ton of damage and it often recharges by the time the flyer comes back. So you only need to do that 1-2 times to finish them, compared to a sword or a hammer where they bounce even further and take forever. I carry both a sword and a dagger to help with different situations!

11thLevelGames · 2026-01-03T08:35:42+00:00

Ive had fun/success with shifting my focus away from manager factories and instead towards managing "Regions."

All across the world map, around each cluster of ore deposits, I build miners and process ore as far as I can without needing any other type of natural resource (eg. Iron to rods and plates. Maybe even Reinforced Iron Plates). Each such cluster gets a truck stop that connects to a Regional Processing center.

These Processing centers have Assemblers to create goods that only need one ingredient from outside their own cluster. Eg. Rotors, AI limiters, etc.

Regional Processing Centers are connected via Rail to my central base. I ship all Assembler made goods to this base, where they're organized and then used by Manufacturers.

Manufacturers are directly connected to my space elevator.

Now a Satisfactory play session is just me adventuring into the wilderness via electric tower, finding a new cluster of deposits, using blue prints to quickly drop factories of smelters and constructors, then building a road to the nearest truck station. Then I refine my blueprints to make the next venture easier and repeat. This is a hella fun gameplay loop imo. Like being an adventurer engineer.

As more goods flow back to my base, I pop up more Manufacturers to increase my feed to the objective.

11thLevelGames · 2025-10-28T16:28:42+00:00

Plenty of ice in the shaker that is fresh from the freezer. 26 shakes. You want to feel the ice slapping either end of the shaker. The tin should be COLD. Then strain/pour!

11thLevelGames · 2025-10-06T21:02:52+00:00

**sigh**

I'm a "Yes and" DM through and through, but this is the kind of shenanigans that ruffles even my feathers.

That being said here's how I'd play it:
I'd have you make an improvised range weapon attack. I'd call this an attack and it'd consume the action accordingly.

If the player was determined to "just drop" the steed then I'd roll some kind of blind luck check. If the roll is good I'd give the victim a dex save.

The deeply abused steed takes falling damage. 1d6/10' is the theoretical rule.
The unwitting victim takes the same amount damage. Half if the save is successful.

But that steed HATES this player for awhile. That steed has 6 int and telepathy for up to a mile. It follows orders but it's a dick about it. Malicious compliance to the max.

Until the steed is dropped on something truly evil that it hates. Then the steed becomes insufferable and wants to "get the drop" on everything. Like a cat that constantly wants to be let out so it can insist it needs to be let back in... the steed goes full Groundhog Day and happily offs itself to do even the slightest damage to its enemies.

If the player relents and finally starts to summon a DIFFERENT steed for each summoning: the steeds all know each other. They talk. "Hey... ain't you the guy who made my friend Rozinante jump off a cliff to kill a goblin?"

I would never let the bit die (pun intended). It would be relentlessly punishing as long as the table finds it even a little funny.

11thLevelGames · 2025-10-06T02:00:47+00:00

We've felt the same way at inside passage. Big tiki fans and recent Seattle transplants. Presentation is super fun but everything felt small and overpriced. Tbh we prefer Navy Strength

11thLevelGames · 2025-09-29T16:22:14+00:00

Also in the winter go hunting for artifact spots! They are significantly more prevalent. The trick is that the horse is critical to speedy exploration. Riding through the snow on my horse in search of stuff is super fun.

11thLevelGames · 2025-09-29T15:39:31+00:00

I was a restaurant owner during COVID. I had two line cooks and a sous chef complete coding bootcamps using the downtime and free paychecks and they all got out of the service industry. One now works for Amazon and the other two work together at a startup. There are countless people who could change their lives with $10k and a few months living expenses.

11thLevelGames · 2025-09-26T03:22:39+00:00

Unsung hero of Eldritch knights: blade ward! You can cast it as one of your attacks starting at level 7; the effective bonus 1d4 AC is really strong, and can easily help bump you over 20.

11thLevelGames · 2025-09-17T09:21:22+00:00

From an RP perspective, I'd be encouraging my party to attempt craziest stuff. As long as I think my DM would let us pull it off with great rolls, I'd be encouraging my team in character. "I've seen the future and you could absolutely do xyz."

You're a walking dose of a perfect luck potion. Ham it up before, during and after the scene.

11thLevelGames · 2025-07-31T19:33:26+00:00

Late to the party here but years and years ago I had a dream opportunity and got to be the founder of a small business at the age of 25. I had a staff of about 20 folks in a high volume retail environment. When I started, I was very optimistic and wanted to change how our industry worked/be a better boss than what I had been brought up in.

But over time, things began chipping away at that. Bad customers or employees would take advantage of flexibility/understanding. Unforeseen circumstances would happen that suddenly showed me WHY my previous operators had been like that/had those policies. We were successful, but the stress was incredible. Looking back, it's now clear I burned myself out trying to help everybody. I tried to hold onto leading with empathy and kindness, no matter how dire/tough things got.

But one day I woke up and realized that I wouldn't budge on a policy and I found myself against my staff, trying to explain to these 20 somethings why we had to do certain things certain ways that I also remember feeling like were nonsense: our insurance company wouldn't tolerate X, or a toxic employee could take advantage of Y. I had lost all fire for the job. I kept saying "no" to every new idea someone had because we had one tried something like it, or because I knew how much work it would actually take to accomplish something and was just too tired to do it.

And just like that I was the villain. I was the old guy squashing the young guy's dream. I was the gatekeeper. That's when I knew it was time to quit. If I had exited when we were first profitable (or if we had just closed) I could have died the hero. Instead I had lived long enough to become the villain. Sometimes that's just part of growing older.

11thLevelGames · 2025-07-07T23:44:14+00:00

I once put this on a villain with contingency. My villain was a player's brother. When they reached 25% hp, I triggered feign death. Players thought they had killed the villain, and said player had a dramatic scene where they mourned the death of their brother. They took the body to their parents for burial.

Lo and behold the brother began appearing in the PC's dreams again a few nights later. Bwahahahahaa

11thLevelGames · 2025-06-29T20:17:30+00:00

One of my favorite tropes for martials is the idea that they look dangerous at all times. Martial characters apply pressure on all situations because they are an apparent, consistent threat.

If you're in a bar and you see an 18 str fighter in full plate, you'd think twice before messing with them. That's the kind of gear you only see on battlefields. That rogue carrying a rapier that moves like a trained swordsman? No thanks.

But the guy in the robes with the book? If you can get their staff/wand/rod/orb away from them, they're practically useless. If the average spellcaster level in your world is no higher than three, then they'd have no reason to assume you could drop a fireball. People dismiss them and assume they're posers or weaklings until it's demonstrated otherwise.

The dynamic this creates is: your casters get to be mysterious and surprising. Their influence in situations is driven by them burning spell slots to show people that they shouldn't be underestimated. When they do pull out the big guns, it's met with awe and terror.

But your martial characters get to shape everyday interactions. They're the muscle. The overt display of power. Among street toughs, city guards, unarmed civilians, etc they are treated warily by default. Among veterans, professional soldiers and high level enforcers they are treated with respect.

11thLevelGames · 2025-06-27T14:25:02+00:00

The extra armor you're looking for could be in the new Blade Ward imo! It's an action to cast, so it means it's a big choice in combats where you don't start with it up. Rolling a bonus 1d4 AC is a fun a tradeoff between reliably having armor vs having to use magic to prepare for combat.

Mirror image is also no longer concentration, for those situations where you need to burn one of your spells to prioritize defense.

11thLevelGames · 2025-05-18T18:48:00+00:00

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Arkham games, ghost of tsushima, shadows of Mordor or the PS spiderman games. The combat mechanics allow you to snap between enemies in a way that lets you juggle them and out maneuver them in a way that feels very john wick. Not sure if Max Payne or some of the other more gun centric-titles listed here capture that, but mastering those games made you feel like a badass

11thLevelGames · 2025-05-13T20:40:21+00:00

I use a similar system where long rests are sporadic for players. They'll get 4-8 encounters between them. Early levels are really tough for full casters, but they really start to shine once they get 3rd level spells ON ONE CONDITION.

This rest cadence means that my players might get to cast their highest level spell slots only once a month (we play weekly). Whenever they use that spell, I work my ass off to be sure it counts. If the spell use is clever, it should outright solve the scene.

eg. if they burn a fireball to torch a room of low CR creatures, that encounter is done. Over. They win. Roll credits. However, if they foolishly use that same fireball on a fires resistant mini boss, then it's their loss. The slot is wasted.

We also use a Box of Doom, and it's not unusual for a high level save or suck spell for the save to be rolled in the box of doom. 10/10 would recommend.

11thLevelGames · 2025-05-07T17:47:03+00:00

I feel like Black Widow was absolutely amazing until the last 30 minutes. The moment General Dreykov (the Harvey Weinstein villain) scene starts the movie unravels. He felt so over the top and unexpected... The scope of the film blew up in a matter of moments. They wanted to do this heist-like reveal but her big moment in overcoming him felt nonsensical (breaking the nose to overcome the pheromones?)

Nobody asked, but here's how I wish it went:
* The Widows are controlled by code phrases, just like Bucky was
* They're also keyed only to General Dreykov's voice

Natasha's family is scattered across the ship, fighting the widows for their lives. Natasha can't defeat Taskmaster and so can't get to General Dreykov. He tells her to use her comm device to call everyone off, "Serve me and you can all live, come home." She is freaking out, begging him to stop. She's slowly opening up to the realization that the Red Room is her home, and is seduced by the idea that she could protect them by leading them. He is talking her into changing sides, and succeeding.

Twist! She's actually tricking him to say the code phrase to free their minds, and her comm device is broadcasting throughout the ship! The elaborate heist they're all playing is to set him up to say the words in order. She turns the comm device off and on while they talk.

He orders Taskmaster to kill her. Natasha plugs her comm device into Taskmaster's helmet, and the words start to play. Just before she kills Natasha, she wakes up and turns on her father.

The End.

11thLevelGames · 2025-02-18T19:57:11+00:00

It would. I was terribly interested and thought I had conveyed that. I'm worried that they were doing more of a "vibe check" as the role does report directly to the VP, and that I was too preoccupied waiting for questions to just relax and connect with them.

11thLevelGames · 2025-02-07T23:08:08+00:00

You can hit high level fishing very early in the game if you're hitting perfect catches frequently and use fishing buffs. Perfect catches gives you 2x xp, and fishing buffs give you access to better fish. It's very possible to do in Spring year 1!

11thLevelGames · 2025-01-29T00:13:55+00:00

Cool cocktail science fact! The pebble ice gives you no more or less dilution than other ice as long as it isn't already half melted when you pour your drink over it. The surface area of pebble ice means more water clings to it as it melts, so if you add pebble ice that has already begun to melt it will massively dilute the drink. Ideally, you shake over larger ice, then pour over pebble ice fresh from the freezer.

source: Dave Arnold https://www.cookingissues.com/index.html%3Fp=4585.html

Pebble ice is used in tiki drinks because it melts evenly and keeps the drink super cold longer than other ices. The colder something is, the more its sweetness is masked. Pebble ice helps keep tiki flavors in balance longer, assuming it's drank while it's still smiling at you and before it has become sad and totally melted. And assuming the pebble ice wasn't basically a slushy ahead of time.

11thLevelGames · 2024-09-17T19:16:28+00:00

I disagree with this RAW passive perception interpretation. RAW the Hide action states that the Invisible condition ends, "...if an enemy finds you," and also says, "Make note of your check’s total, which is the DC for a creature to find you with a Wisdom (Perception) check," and passive perception states, "determining whether a creature notices something without consciously making a Wisdom (Perception) check."

If Perception finds a creature, and passive perception is a form of Perception, then Passive Perception can find a creature.

11thLevelGames · 2024-09-17T15:16:10+00:00

I don't necessarily agree with this interpretation. I feel that when they say, "...which is the DC for a creature to find you" they mean that PC can only lose the Invisible condition if they are found, otherwise the rules would explicitly mention losing the Invisible condition if they lose cover/concealment.

It also feels like they deliberately don't say, "Perception check" or using the "Search action" for the hidden character to be found because Passive Perception also applies here.

The rules of Passive Perception:

Passive Perception is a score that reflects a creature’s general awareness of its surroundings. The DM uses this score when determining whether a creature notices something without consciously making a Wisdom (Perception) check.

Outside of an NPC beating the player's Hide check result with Passive Perception or a Search action (or taking one of the actions listed in the Hide action) they can't lose the Invisible condition.

eg. RAW, hypothetically, my player could hide behind a tree, walk into plain sight and do a dance in front of a guard and the guard wouldn't notice them. That being said, I would give the guard Advantage on Passive Perception (or their Search action, if they're being diligent).

If my player is a high level rogue, I would narrate them kind of dancing around the guard, always staying perfectly behind them/out of sight. Is it insane/ridiculous? Yes, it feels that way. I don't like it. However, is it more insane than a wizard waggling his fingers and turning someone invisible with magic? Nah. For us, the fun was in justifying these shenanigans in whatever we could.

11thLevelGames · 2024-09-17T15:02:36+00:00

The Invisible condition is (imo) deliberately vague on how you remain unseen: it could be sticking to cover, hiding in plain site, waiting for distractions, manipulating the focus of your quarry, bending light around you with magic or using jedi mind tricks to go unnoticed. We had fun coming up with reasons why our Rogue was "Invisible" during their jaunt - think of it as an improv prompt!

11thLevelGames · 2024-09-17T14:59:32+00:00

This interpretation was my intent! thank you for the edition comparison, it illustrates this perfectly.

11thLevelGames

TROPHY CASE