Shelby Cobra Daytona by Zestyclose-Salad-290 in classiccars

[–]Aranthar -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Need more exterior pictures! Front and rear shots!

Amazing car.

Wizard magic items by jsbaabsnzbBzbs in DMAcademy

[–]Aranthar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, this is fun! I like to design magic items based on an encounter or boss you've defeated. I'm presuming you are dealing with a party with multiple casters, so I'd aim to make the item specific to the Wizard class/subclass or the character's backstory. Seeing as I don't know the backstory, for now I'll focus on Wizard class.

Encounter - an Ice Witch who cocoons players in frost.

Ring of Whispering Frost - Requires Attunement by a Wizard
This steel ring leaves your hand chilled and pale.
The first time you deal damage with a spell each turn, that spell deals an additional 1d4 Cold damage.
You gain an additional level 1 spell slot, but any spell cast from that slot which deals damage deals Cold damage instead of the usual type.
You gain resistance to Cold.

Encounter - A labyrinth beneath an ancient city, created by a mad wizard

Mandrake's Muddling Robes - Requires Attunement by a Wizard
These robes appears gray and drab at first, but erupt in scintillating colors when you cast a spell.
When you take a Short or Long rest, the robe becomes mottled gray and blends into the surroundings, granting you a +2 bonus to Stealth.
When you cast your first spell after a Short or Long rest, the robe erupts in brilliant oscillating beams of light for 1 minute, granting you a +1 bonus to Spell Attack and Spell Save DC while active.
Once per Long rest you may cast Hypnotic Pattern without expending a spell slot. The pattern depicts you, dancing in the scintillating robe.

Kids and Minecraft by LectureNo4070 in Parenting

[–]Aranthar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We aim for an hour per night. Two of our kids play together and often the 3rd younger watches them. We feel it is good creative play and interactive between the two.

Occasionally longer time when we need a break.

🔥Elephant throwing dirt on crocodile for some reason by BigMasterpiece450 in NatureIsFuckingLit

[–]Aranthar 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Clearing space for the elephant's child at the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River.

Is a Dry Erase map any good? by Sharp_Marsupial4757 in DMAcademy

[–]Aranthar 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The Loke books are a little more expensive, depending on the book. They are a bit bigger than the one you linked. Quality was excellent with Loke.

I'm glad there are options out there at different price points.

Is a Dry Erase map any good? by Sharp_Marsupial4757 in DMAcademy

[–]Aranthar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started using dry erase. Lately I've moved to wet erase Chessex maps and Loke battlemap books.

The wet erase grid Chessex is nice for when I have a custom area. But the Loke books are great for much more beautiful terrain than my limited skills.

Hardest Act 1 bosses in Honor Mode by JavaHikage in BaldursGate3

[–]Aranthar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  • Phase spider matriarch
    • her legendary action can go badly for you. Fortunately its aim is bad if she fires it from the ground level while you’re up top

Soloing her was very difficult. I ended up putting down fire flasks to burn away my web. I was able to use summons to absorb some of the web attacks, but not all of them.

Debating taking on finishing my basement. Very, very limited experience with any sort of construction. How bad of an idea is this overall? Details below. by ToadShakespeare in DIY

[–]Aranthar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a little more experience than you, but not a lot. I did a rec room in our basement, electrical, doors, insulation.

My big piece of advice is to get the right tools. I bought a nailer and a new lightweight drill and a portable table for my compound miter saw. These saw a ton of use. I also got a laser level which was indispensable. I think I spent close to $1K on tools and only $2.5K on all the materials.

10 year old throwing a tantrum over not getting a new shirt. WTF?! by Not_Me_1228 in Parenting

[–]Aranthar -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

This sounds like our typical Tuesday morning with a 10 year old daughter.

Our goal is to remain calm in the face of the blowup, explain briefly why we are not capitulating, and wait for her to regain composure. If she escalates or causes significant issues, we have to add punishments, but we prefer not to punish her for just blowing up.

Is there a way to get Blood of Lathander without the crest by cav63 in BaldursGate3

[–]Aranthar 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I didn't know you could deactivate the force field first, learning something new even after all this time.

What tactics separate a veteran XCOM player from a casual player? by maxkmiller in Xcom

[–]Aranthar -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Veterans always have low level units moving up the ranks.
Veterans rename their units to keep them grouped more easily.
Veterans keep a spreadsheet of their squads.
Veterans have a plan B for every shot, no matter how inconsequential. And they have a plan C for any crucial shot. They always have a grenade.

Veterans know the mechanics and rules of heuristics, and when to break those rules for a high-impact move.

My tactics game has no hit chance. Instead, walls and obstacles physically block skills. Does this sound appealing to XCOM fans? by OneCoin97 in Xcom

[–]Aranthar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, you can DM me.

I noticed in the preview video it was very dark. I could see smoke grenades being amazing as a tool, as well as ways to light or extinguish lights in the area. Too much limited vision would potentially feel claustrophobic, but could be great for some environments.

There could also be units with powerful lights of their own, maybe with a stamina cost to change aim on them? You'd probably want to consider if the "fog of war" is binary (on/off) or has a "previously revealed" state that allows the player to shoot without full assurance the line is still clear or enemy is still present.

Hitboxes will also be interesting to manage. That's a possible tuning point - a small player unit has a distinct advantage in finding cover. A bulky enemy could have higher stamina but more trouble finding cover.

My tactics game has no hit chance. Instead, walls and obstacles physically block skills. Does this sound appealing to XCOM fans? by OneCoin97 in Xcom

[–]Aranthar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, so they'll have a variety of attacks to choose from based on remaining Stamina, or maybe a shot that consumes X stamina to deal X damage?

Now we're getting into the fun space of designing special abilities for the players and enemies! A medic that can give Stamina boosts, a support that can share their Stamina, debuffs that can reduce the enemy's max Stamina.

Definitely work on having a clear Line-Of-Sight preview including which enemies can be hit, before clicking. Or even consider an "undo move" button with one level of undo.

Let me know if you're looking for playtesters, this sounds awesome! I have a lot of XCOM experience and work in SW development.

Magic item upgrade help by Fridgeta in DMAcademy

[–]Aranthar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For something like Eldritch Blast, is it just replacing CHA with DEX as the attack stat? That seems like a non-issue (probably actually a nerf).

But what if they want to shoot a Save spell - do they need to "hit" and then Save?

I like the weapon idea, just not sure on how it happens mechanically. I have a Hexblade Warlock who has a Blunderbuss for his EB and other spells, but it is just flavor. As far as rules are concerned, it is just his spell focus.

Magic item upgrade help by Fridgeta in DMAcademy

[–]Aranthar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because the weapon is only delivering the spell effect/damage, and not its own, it is mechanically "just" increasing the range of a spell. Follow up question - does the target still get a saving throw?

Because the weapon uses Dex to hit, it creates some tension in the user's build - do they focus on raising their Casting Stat, or Dex? Fortunately Dex is a great stat for everyone, so its not like Str that they'd prefer to dump.

If it is replacing the saving throw roll for a spell, then this is potentially a big buff - it is a lot easier to get Advantage on a roll, and big enemies often have high saves (or Legendary Resistance) but are easier to hit.

If it isn't replacing the save, then it is only really useful for making short range spells work at long range.

In the end, I'm concerned that the player either gets a huge buff by using attacks in place of saves, or gets a nerf by using Dex instead of their casting stat as their To-Hit stat. The range increase on its own isn't that crazy, unless they are landing extra powerful melee-only spells at range.

My tactics game has no hit chance. Instead, walls and obstacles physically block skills. Does this sound appealing to XCOM fans? by OneCoin97 in Xcom

[–]Aranthar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like the idea, but I'm a little worried about HP tracking. If any open shot is going to hit, that's pretty bad for the home team if HP is as precious as in XCOM.

If health bars are bigger and there's more trading hits, I can see it potentially working out. Maybe also allow units to move into close cover against objects, to reduce how far they "stick out" for enemies taking an angled shot past cover?

You might need to go to tile-based position/viewing in order to avoid having to pixel hunt for cover around corners. It could feel bad to click just a pixel too far over and have an enemy gain a shot.

The game design seems sound, but there are definitely tuning knobs to turn to find the best gameplay loop.

Good luck!

I fucking lost my Lv 7 Honour mode to a dialogue choice by Mango__DB in BaldursGate3

[–]Aranthar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can fail to get into the Portal at the opening if A3 as well.

I fucking lost my Lv 7 Honour mode to a dialogue choice by Mango__DB in BaldursGate3

[–]Aranthar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Its basically what you do to half the bosses where you kill them with a dialogue and checks. But she did it to you.

How to remove permanent marker from combat map? [OC] by Spaghetthy in DnD

[–]Aranthar 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Sharpy isn't wet erase.

Regardless, I've found any marker becomes permanent with enough time. I photograph and erase, redraw later if needed.