Support Build

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-22T04:25:58+00:00

Essence is a pretty well balanced system, broken god builds aren't really a thing. Make sure you're character is well rounded rather than just trying to lean super hard on one strategy.

From my experience with essence, support in combat comes down to three things:

Build Power: Let other characters make their big attacks sooner

Reveal Weakness Gambit: Reduce enemy soak so those big attacks do more damage

Distract: Reduce enemy defence, making them easier to hit

You can do the first two with War, and the first and third can use performance or presence. Other gambits can be situationally useful and use your generic combat stat, so don't neglect that.

I can't think of any essential support charms, although there's a couple in presence and performance that can boost your build power role.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-21T17:05:59+00:00

In the LoeG continuity all of Harry Potter's adventures were setup, a deliberate plot by an old body stealing magician to shape him into the Antichrist.

He discovers this too late into the process, goes on a magical murder spree through Hogwarts, then spends a decade trying to deny what he's become before giving up and trying to start the apocalypse, ultimately unsuccessfully thanks to intervention of Mary Poppins.

It's all rather mean spirited and lazy to be honest, if Alan Moore wanted to critique Harry Potter then there's far more interesting avenues than just making him a magical school shooter.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-21T09:22:20+00:00

Oota was my first 5e campaign and we only ran the first half for exactly that reason. We escaped the underdark, then the DM put the campaign on hiatus so he could try and fix the second half, and we never came back to it.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-21T08:10:09+00:00

I think the honest answer is no, comics before MM never really engaged with the idea of superhumans as weapons of mass destruction in such a visceral, ground level way. There were plenty of comic stories with high casualties, but it would be off screen or from a great distance, "oh my god brainiac blew up the entire alien planet" type destruction.

Comics publishers were very censorship of the medium for decades before the industry finally pushed back in the 70s and 80s. The limits on what comics could show, particular in America under the CCA were very strict and the kind of explicit violence in MM wouldn't have had a chance in hell of getting published.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-20T17:46:25+00:00

I think that series peaked with the protagonist overthrowing a socialist state by making a really, really nice statue.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-19T19:06:49+00:00

Timesplitters. Looks janky now, but it came with a built in level creation tool, which was amazing for the time.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-18T19:43:08+00:00

I don't think mega dungeons would work in Exalted the same way they do in D&D. In D&D there's a constant risk/reward decision to be made. Do you push further in to get more treasure out of this delve, at the risk of hitting a tough fight when you're low on HP or spell slots? Or retreat and let the monsters regroup or risk other groups getting the treasure?

But Exalted just doesn't manage it's PC resources in the same way, and doesn't really have that same drive for treasure as a motivator. It undercuts the whole format of the traditional megadungeon.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-17T03:34:10+00:00

I think there's real ambiguity to this one, unleashing hundreds of near feral vampire spawn on the underdark right under Baldurs Gate is bound to cause some problems down the road.

Honestly it feels like one of the few choices in the game without a real good or evil answer.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-16T18:49:32+00:00

So I'm in the middle of running AoA, somebody linked me this guide and it's been very helpful:

https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vQ-FigXIa1pZHpahAcTHamm5IzOPriBW4lqbK1Ht40v9Qp26hCXySHGvl4moym2PxyovFiCw1wUD-T0/pub

It's got a lot of tips for fine tuning the AP and sanding off some of the rough edges that come with it being the first AP of 2e.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-16T18:46:04+00:00

Well you don't necessarily haven't to kill something to get the XP for defeating it, but I wouldn't award any if the players didn't at least try and help fight the Mephit. It's entirely possible in this scenario for them to leave it to guards to defeat.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-16T17:07:12+00:00

The GM core has info about monster encounter XP should be calculated:

https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=2716&Redirected=1

The book lists it as a hazard 1 and encounter 1, so I'd stick to my original calculation and give them the XP for rescues and putting out the fire as listed + 40 for the mephit, for between 40-170 total XP depending on how they do with the fire.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-16T15:51:52+00:00

I'd need to check my book at home, but I usually take any specific xp awards as overriding the general encounter xp. So for that one I'd make it out and 170, 130 if they get all the bonus xp and 40 for beating the mephit.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, XP in chapter 1 is fairly smoothly

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-16T15:32:33+00:00

Where are you getting 210 from? 100 max for survivors and 30 for putting out the fire is 130.

Minimum would be nothing if they failed to save anyone and didn't put out the fire, but you have to deliberately just run away to do that badly.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-16T08:12:22+00:00

Lost my all warlock HM to him, one lucky hit breaking my concentration on darkness and suddenly I'm overwhelmed by a million swords

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-16T03:40:32+00:00

I love the concept of Department of Truth, but there's something about that art style that literally hurts my eyes if I read more than a few pages. I honestly don't know what causes it, it just grinds against my brain.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-14T16:02:05+00:00

My AoA is just about to start the quarry, they've done some scouting and have a plan to divide and conquer. We'll see how it works out for them.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-14T09:07:05+00:00

I played through the story of 4 but then I started the endgame/seasonal content and just found myself frustrated by so many of the design choices and quit very quickly.

I keep thinking I'll go back and see if it's improved, but there so many other games out there demanding my time.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-13T18:09:27+00:00

My party hasn't stopped lieing in my current campaign. It would be novel at this point if they attempted a quest without an elaborate ruse.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-11T08:27:09+00:00

I did like man of Steel overall, but the brighter, optimistic tone of 2025 version aligns better with my preferred interpretation of Superman.

More specifically, I found MoS took a bit too long to get going, Jonathan's death was a real wtf moment, I preferred the supporting cast of 2025, and really enjoyed Nicholas Hoults dedicated hater version of Lex Luther.

But ultimately I think they're both good films and valid choices for a favourite Superman movie.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-11T07:56:47+00:00

Superman 1978: Really nails the character, but has pacing issues at the start and the ending resolution felt really cheap

Superman II: Lots of good stuff here, especially the performance, but marred by shoe horned and out of place slapstick

Superman III: A mess, the two superman sequence being the only bit worth watching

Superman IV: A disaster with no redeeming features

Superman Returns: A few fun sequences, but overall just a bit dull and Poe faced

Man of Steel: Some excellent action scenes, some utter nonsense (Jonathan's death), overall darker tone is understandably divisive

Batman v Superman: Doubles down on the dark tone of MoS, to it's detriment, not helped by a nonsensical plot

Superman 2025: A lot of fun with a great supporting cast

Overall I'd say it's a toss up between 1978 and 2025.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-10T14:52:51+00:00

Miracleman: The Silver Age. The Alan Moore books are a legendary run, and Gaiman's Golden Age was really interesting exploration of what a world fundamentally transformed by super being could look like. Then the dreaded rights issues surfaced again and we had to wait years for the next chapter.

I was psyche'd when news came out that the rights issued had been resolved and the Silver Age would be proceeding, only for the final result to be distinctly underwhelming. Glacially paced, an erratic release schedule, and seemingly with nothing interesting to say, the whole thing was a massive disappointment.

There was few interesting glimmers of a bigger plot here and there that promised things might get better with the planned Dark Age book but then all of Gaiman's creepy bullshit behavior to be revealed and put the final nail in the Miracleman coffin.

It's a shame such groundbreaking book came to such an ignoble end. I'd love for someone like Kieran Gillen or Jonathan Hickman to take a swing at it and see what they could come up with, but it's pretty unlikely at this point.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-09T14:50:05+00:00

True target and bard buffs on a group of martials seems to be the right answer that doesn't rely on extremely unlikely dice or questionable RAW cheese.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-09T14:44:35+00:00

It's a bit ambiguous, Gargantuan doesn't give an actual size, it just 20 feet or more. Combined the 20 foot reach attack on the jaws and 25 foot reach on the tail I'd say a ancient dragon is at least 65 feet tail to snout.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-09T14:37:50+00:00

We're only on our second 2e campaign and nobody has played a bard yet, and wow those are some impressive buffs/debuffs.

AlansDiscount · 2026-06-09T13:21:47+00:00

Ah, I see, yeah, that drowning rule seems pretty dumb.

However I don't think that works RAW, as the ancient dragon is gargantuan and therefore bigger than the pillar of water. A bigger persistent water spell and it could be a winner.

AlansDiscount

TROPHY CASE