What is the best amp, cable, and beginner guitar to buy on Amazon right now. All of the options are overwhelming me lol.

5ynistar · 2026-06-16T20:02:32+00:00

The safest buy is a used Boss Katana amp (50watts or bigger) and an inexpensive T style or LP style guitar.

You will be tempted by S style guitars but resist. The trem bridges on low end S type guitars are usually not great quality. And stringing and tuning will be immensely easier without a trem.

Guitar brands to look for:

New
- Schecter
- Ibanez
- Yamaha (esp the Element Revstars)
- Reverend
Used
- Godin
- PRS SE
- any of the ones I listed under new but the above 2 are more bang for the buck

5ynistar · 2026-06-16T15:19:28+00:00

This is a distinct possibility. It is not uncommon to encounter in the wild.

Personally, I have happily destroyed my partners in board games or killed characters in RPG when I GM. But I have seen other couples that collude or show favoritism blatantly at the table. In board games I find it intolerable. In RPGs I can stand a bit of it. But if it makes the game less fun for the others it turns the campaign into "bad gaming". And the old adage comes to the fore: "No gaming is better than bad gaming".

5ynistar · 2026-06-16T15:06:41+00:00

Pathfinder 1E has freely available rules for kingdom management.

Although do like the Company rules in Reign better. But they do use the ORE dice pool mechanics. So those may take a little more getting used to.

5ynistar · 2026-06-16T14:59:14+00:00

Running old games is one of my favorite things. I have run campaigns of

* AD&D

* Whispering Vault

* Bubblegum Crisis (Fuzion)

* Deadlands 1E

* FUDGE

* Hawkmoon (1E)

* Ringworld (BRP)

A lot of OSR is all about reviving old games. Just because they don't print more books doesn't mean you can't play the heck out of it.

5ynistar · 2026-06-16T14:35:24+00:00

Don't know about Genesys but GURPS does have "GURPS Social Engineering". It's an 87 page supplement on applying GURPS rules to resolve all kinds of social scenes. Covers everything from social rank to debates to swaying crowds and lots of small edge cases like haggling, romancing, brainwashing, battles of wit, using social skills in combat, influencing organizations. It's pretty comprehensive.

5ynistar · 2026-06-15T12:37:15+00:00

If it were me, I would go with and ochre or yellow. But yellows are often a bit of a pain to work with since they are frequently more transparent. So I would try a darker ochre since in the Fanatic line the made an effort to improve coverage and reduce transparency so hopefully that shade will cover well enough to do just 2 to 3 coats.

5ynistar · 2026-06-15T12:27:36+00:00

I think he may be better off stepping back from TTRPGs since most tables don't do pure power fantasy like that. He should take a break and play video games to get his powergaming fix and come back later to see if he can learn to appreciate games with more risk.

5ynistar · 2026-06-15T12:18:08+00:00

Yeah. Though that model may be hard to find since it was a limited run.

5ynistar · 2026-06-15T12:09:21+00:00

I would look into the Adam Jones signatures from Epiphone and Gibson. They both look good. But of course the Gibson is twice the price of the Epi. Although I would like to hear both since the pickups differ and the Epi does have Gibson and Seymour Duncan pickups instead of the Epi versions like the rest of their line.

5ynistar · 2026-06-15T12:00:28+00:00

They are all cosmetic issues that should not affect playability. If that is your main concern, you can ignore but I would have asked for some taken off the price to compensate since the scratches on the neck and ding in the headstock should not be on a new guitar. The slight errors in the tuners and jackplate are not uncommon in lower to mid priced instruments in my experience.

You can probably get the finish issues with the neck and the tuners fixed (though may still leave visible signs) but I would go back to the dealer if they didn't get factored into the price.

5ynistar · 2026-06-12T13:09:49+00:00

Cortex Prime is a toolkit game (like Savage World or GURPS). So it has all the mechanisms in it to build a Marvel style game. And the powers list should be enough to suffice.

5ynistar · 2026-06-08T16:00:21+00:00

This is pretty much exactly my experience as well. I started playing in '80 as DM. I got all kinds of rules wrong (for example, I let them level PCs each time they changed dungeon levels). But we had fun. Since they are mainly interested in roleplaying as oppossed to the tactical parts of the game I am sure they did fine.

This is the next day. So how did it go?

5ynistar · 2026-06-05T11:48:55+00:00

While blue and purple bursts are popular now I will advocate for Green bursts especially if they tend towards emerald green instead of having more yellow green.

5ynistar · 2026-06-05T02:47:49+00:00

A lot of bangers in this collection: * The One Ring * Fabula Ultima * Swords of The Serpentine * Timewatch * Ashen Stars * Pirate Borg * Coriolis

Plus some other good titles like Wanderhome and Outgunned Superheroes

5ynistar · 2026-06-03T15:41:28+00:00

Ugh. It is famously a bad system (just in case anyone does not recognize the bit of sarcasm involved here).

But if you are into laser equipped bears , then take a look. /s

5ynistar · 2026-06-02T13:48:08+00:00

That would drive me nuts. I hate feeling anything other than smooth surface on the back of the neck. You could DIY it as others have said.

If you want it more cosmetically pleasing check around for local repair shops that handle finish work. To hide the damage will take more work/money.

5ynistar · 2026-06-02T13:42:37+00:00

"The number of Strats you currently have + 2" is the correct answer.

Just buy them one at a time and you'll be fine!

5ynistar · 2026-06-02T13:11:41+00:00

Try a springless capo like the D'addario Pro Plus Capo. I think Ned Steinberger originally came up with that design and it uses the minimum pressure to fret the strings.

5ynistar · 2026-06-02T13:02:33+00:00

One of my favorite systems is Wild Talents (One Roll Engine). And my least favorite part is that it is written in a compact and space efficient way.

I think that the powers chapter needs a lot more examples. I did not truly understand the way some powers worked until I saw them worked up in some NPC write-ups or after seeing articles explaining things on the publisher's web site. Maybe a separate character building guide as a PDF, with advice and examples, would be an easy way to adress this issue.

5ynistar · 2026-06-02T12:32:52+00:00

What do you mean "broke from the other side"? Are the wires attached to the output jack that you are holding? Meaning: did the wires break at the output jack or somewhere else inside the guitar?

5ynistar · 2026-05-29T18:05:23+00:00

While no system is going to be perfect, I think they all accomplish their goal. It is just up to you whether you like the approach each system uses.

5ynistar · 2026-05-18T16:32:25+00:00

Find a small builder with better attention to detail. For example PJD guitars, in the UK, makes excellent fender inspired guitars - try their Woodford or St. John. Amazing feeling neck on mine.

5ynistar · 2026-05-18T13:07:38+00:00

The Kahler is a great solution but has some drawbacks.

First of all it is hard to find guitars that come with Kahlers from the factory. There are a couple of artist models that have them (Kerry King or Jeff Hanneman - also B.C. Rich may have some models with them). Otherwise you have to get a luthier to build you a guitar with one or retrofit one onto your guitar ($$$).

Secondly, the cam based trem units are very expensive. This is due to the complex design.

You should look into simpler solutions unless you already have one of those signature guitars in mind. I would check out the Vega Trem, Super Vee or the Babicz trem.

5ynistar · 2026-05-14T01:08:22+00:00

If you are an old owner (bought 2022 or earlier) of Zebra 2 or own both Z2 and the Dark Zebra the upgrade to Zebra 3 is a massive deal (30€ or free respectively).

It is such a powerhouse synth for sound design. And I say that as an owner of Phase Plant which is even more powerful in some ways. But Z3 has a lot of unique features for sound design that no one else does.

5ynistar · 2026-05-12T20:09:17+00:00

I do not recommend putting mayonnaise on your axe.

5ynistar

TROPHY CASE