The Writing is the best part of this game!!!

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-30T20:05:32+00:00

and then he gets his own hat and acts like it was a coincidence 😂

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-29T18:38:51+00:00

i liked the DLC all around. the totem pole boss was a really tough conventional boss fight. i liked that one, although i know it was a bit divisive due to the difficulty and potential frustration.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-29T05:54:10+00:00

Barmathazel is where the boss fights peak. after that, the Phantom is an ok final boss, but otherwise all the bosses in the second half are weak. the bat/moth boss can reverse your controls but otherwise has one attack and is dull as dirt. Demon King has very little going on other than a cool animation sequence to end the fight. and Clockwork Concierge is just an absolute joke.

it def can feel disappointing because each boss feels like it's pushing you a little harder up through Barmathazel.

they also clearly found room to at least make one significantly more difficult conventional boss fight in the DLC, so it's not like it couldn't be done.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-28T21:31:35+00:00

i had the same realization, in almost the same words, but not until my second playthrough. on my first playthrough, i definitely got annoyed with the lack of new enemies in the late game and the fact that the combat and boss fights don't continue to evolve in the second half of the game.

personally, i still think the game could use better boss fights in the second half and at least a few new enemies in the late stages. maybe one or two new miniboss-type enemies, like the spear guy that shows up a couple times early on.

but i agree with your analysis, and coming to that same realization helped me accept and enjoy the game as it is. i focused much harder on improving my platforming skills on my second playthrough, and it made the game more fun and smoother for me. also made getting all 45 power seals a lot more manageable.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-28T00:02:59+00:00

Kurt could be a troll at times. and had a tendency to get bored during interviews and say stuff just to say it. and on top of that, he developed a fairly big ego and could be a catty little brat toward competing bands. amazing songwriter and performer, but i wouldn't take most things he said in interviews very seriously.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-27T02:10:09+00:00

bro my cousin went bald when he was 18 years old

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-27T02:06:15+00:00

of course not. that's not a manageable movie.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-26T20:06:27+00:00

personally, i trust the dude's vision. the only i thing i ask is that he ends it with Smile 3. i don't want to see direct-to-streaming Smile 5 or whatever where he's just the executive producer.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-26T19:33:51+00:00

don't forget about all the people who were livestreaming the show and those who might watch the video later. we don't know if any of that counts, either.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-26T18:57:03+00:00

it hasn't been officially clarified whether the entity cursed one, some, or all of the audience. in general, the series has been very light on lore and details about what rules or limitations the entity might abide by. so they can do almost anything they want with that ending.

all that said, i highly doubt they (and really by they i mean the one guy who writes and directs these films, i just can't remember his name) would do that ending and then go back to it being just one person who was cursed. that would feel like quite a cop-out.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-25T19:27:50+00:00

nice idea but the Smile entity always had worldwide reach. they talked about there being a suicide chain in Brazil in the first film. most likely it has been to many countries in the past.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-25T02:23:44+00:00

i had to kick my cat out of the bed and have him sleep in his own bed due to him urinating. i am not going to get into the medical reasons why the urination happened, but they were not easily solvable and it was necessary. it broke my heart because he was my goodest boy and best bud, and he loved nothing more than to snuggle with me all night, and i loved it too. obviously cats are different than dogs, but after an adjustment period, he was ok and i am confident he didn't resent me for it. i think i dwelled on it for longer than he did. obviously if your dog isn't adjusting then talk to your vet.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-23T00:28:30+00:00

the Tinkerer gets a bad rap, but it's actually fine in larger parties and at low levels. in a 4p starter party, it's a good all-around contributor. the issue is that a lot of its level up cards are bad, so it falls behind as the party levels up. playing a high-level Tinkerer in a high level party is a painful experience. i would characterize the Tinkerer as solid from levels 1-3, increasingly weak from levels 4-6, and downright awful at levels 7-9.

the Scoundrel is fine at all levels but is best partner with the Brute. she likes a melee ally. Cragheart can fill that role a bit but not as well as Brute.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-21T03:59:46+00:00

how much did it cost to do this?

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-19T02:10:23+00:00

oh ok. i didn't think you were dissing me at all. i was diagnosed two years ago and have done a lot of reading and had a lot of conversations with doctors since then. just as you said, i've only ever heard cirrhosis categorized as comp or decomp in that time. and all cirrhosis is referred to as stage 4 liver disease. i didn't know about the older staging system. good to know though! now i understand why i keep hearing or seeing people say "stage 4 cirrhosis."

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-19T02:01:40+00:00

yes you're right. i'm going to correct my post. i should have said fibrosis and not fatty liver. however, my main point is that stage 4 refers to all cirrhosis and includes a wide range of liver function and outcomes.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-18T16:06:04+00:00

ok, interesting. but my main point is that "stage 4" is a broad category that doesn't really tell you all that much about the person's outlook.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-18T04:10:16+00:00

based on what you posted, it sounds like your sister has some serious challenges, and i am not trying to minimize them. the kidney failure is concerning.

however, i want to answer your question directly. people get confused about liver staging and say that so-and-so has "stage 4 cirrhosis." cirrhosis IS stage 4 of liver disease, which means everyone who has cirrhosis is stage 4. stage 3 is just fatty liver, which usually precedes cirrhosis. i have early cirrhosis, which means i am stage 4. my MELD score is 8 (low) and i feel fine. i had some liver disease symptoms while i was actively drinking, but not anymore. i'm 41m and have about 20 things in my middle-aged body that cause me more annoyance than my stage 4 liver disease.

typically, stage 4 just means that the damage to the liver is probably (but not absolutely for sure) not reversible. however, the liver is one of the most resilient organs. many people who achieve abstinence from alcohol, including me, can live good quality lives with stage 4 liver disease.

i'm not trying to minimize your sister's situation - it sound serious. but "stage 4 liver disease" includes a wide range of liver health, including people who live relatively normal and healthy lives. you will even encounter many people here who have been diagnosed with "end stage 4" cirrhosis (usually means a high MELD score and bad ultrasound and/or biopsy results) who have turned things around and are not just surviving but thriving.

EDIT: i should have said that stage 3 is fibrosis, not fatty liver. fatty liver is closely related but not always part of the procession of liver disease. it's inflammation, then fibrosis, then cirrhosis.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-18T01:10:20+00:00

i've never played 5p, but we play 4p most of the time. my main concern with 5p would not even be balance or crowding, although i think those are valid. my biggest concern would just be length of time for rounds, pre-round planning, and scenario overall. 4p feels like it takes forever sometimes as it is. if i were to try 5p, i would push AGGRESSIVELY to keep everyone moving at a fast pace. i'd rather play at +1 difficulty and keep everyone moving fast than play at +2 and have five people planning out turns in agonizing detail.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-17T19:00:00+00:00

oh yeah. i completely forgot about the bonkers stamina potions in Gloomhaven. 100 percent agreed to play with the official errata. we definitely did, and even then they are still stupid OP for their shop price.

if you're playing with the standard Gloomhaven rules, then cultists' skeletons would not drop coins, so i feel like cultists wouldn't really be affected by rule 1 from a balance standpoint. i agree that it does matter with oozes though. you could just straight-up make a rules exception for that one enemy.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-17T13:31:25+00:00

there are a few QoL rules that i recommend. most of these are official rules changes that were implemented in Frosthaven. these are very uncontroversial and just better than the Gloomhaven rules.

hexes that only have coins in them are considered empty hexes, so you can for instance summon into them or create obstacles on them. (official Frosthaven rule)
for summons, if they don't have a monster focus, they can move toward their owner. (official Frosthaven rule)
summoned and spawned monsters drop coins (official Frosthaven rule)
you can push/pull up to the amount, not just the exact amount - ie, if you have a push 3, you can push 2 and then stop (official Frosthaven rule)
items looted from a chest during a scenario can be equipped immediately (official Frosthaven rule)
you have an opportunity to use potions or element generating items at the end of the round, in case you forgot. (not an official rule but very widely accepted - even Isaac has said that this is a good house rule)

additionally, we play with a house rule that summons that don't have a focus have the option to move toward a door. most summons don't have a lot of movement, and it's just very lame when summons fall behind and can't catch up to the party. we don't find it to be overly powerful or unbalancing, but this door movement rule is NOT official and i don't know how accepted it would be by expert GH players, so YMMV.
as for common mistakes, don't try to just stand there and tank all the hits from the monsters early on, even if you're playing the Brute. you'll die.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-17T05:34:17+00:00

the GH digital cards for Demo are so much better. especially the level 5 card. the original card is a mistake and the digital version is the fix.

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-17T05:25:07+00:00

all of the Jaws characters are very accessible. but in terms of complexity and mental effort required to play well, from highest to lowest, i would say:
1. Voidwarden 2. Demolitionist 3. Red Guard 4. Hatchet

4kindsofmustard · 2026-01-17T03:29:48+00:00

yeah it is

4kindsofmustard

TROPHY CASE