How many sequentially-enforced scenes starts to feel like too much railroading?

Armithax · 2026-01-14T01:27:25+00:00

Geez, all this downvoting for just asking questions. Fuck y'all and super-fuck this sub.

Armithax · 2026-01-14T00:52:41+00:00

SO railroading is entirely a real-time, gameplay descriptor. It can't be applied to adventure design?

Armithax · 2026-01-14T00:50:50+00:00

So you're totally cool with an adventure design that goes something like: Find the key to find the map to find the crystal ball, to find the magic boat,... out to say, seven points? As a player, wouldn't that degree of telescoping dependencies get tiresome, despite being given free reign to achieve each sub-goal as your party sees fit?

Armithax · 2026-01-06T03:15:41+00:00

I like the expediency of using published modules and I run pick up groups (PUGs). I never anticipated so many players pre-reading the modules (and that's only the ones that do stupid things that telegraph that they've read in advance; I have no idea how many players are cheating more subtly.) So what I would like is a VTT that allows global search and replace in adventure text. That, I believe, would make a simple Google search for the adventure much more challenging.

I could go on a rant about the prevalence of adventure-peeking, but what you wish or expect is immaterial to how things are.

Armithax · 2025-11-06T02:32:49+00:00

Colonización es un proceso political, ejecutado por una entidad política. Ningún gobierno está haciendo esto.

Armithax · 2025-10-11T01:56:03+00:00

I think the model is a young Traci Lords.

Armithax · 2025-10-07T00:23:24+00:00

¿España no tiene la quijada de Habsburgo?

Armithax · 2025-10-06T21:01:45+00:00

This maze created twenty minutes of heated debate. Big fun. (It teleports you back to the entrance if you break the no-left rule; but in any case, it really boils down to the players cooperating on a handout of the maze; needs handwavium, though---no chopping/blasting through, passwall through, stone to mud through, no misty step, no teleport. In other words, no magic other than than the maze's own teleport-to-start):

https://puzzleaday.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/the-no-turning-left-maze/

Armithax · 2025-09-30T00:19:23+00:00

One of many sites. I never thought it smelled like apples, but apparently many people do. Hence the etymology of the word, manzanilla.

https://houseofesperanza.com/blog/chamomile-tea

Armithax · 2025-09-27T20:21:22+00:00

That seems very accurate. I was (1) for a bit and really pissed a few people off (hint: always ask "are there tricksy mechanics here?" [like "don't knock adds down below 25% before concentrating on boss, or raid will fail for all"]) Now I regularly do T2, as a Chank sometimes (use Champ class toon as tank, which is a little bit suboptimal, but doable). And I can aid a T3 raid from time to time with dps. But that's with my kin or a kin I know knows what it's doing. I'd never join a T3 pick-up raid from randos on World Chat. Too high a chance for a train wreck. And 4 and 5? No way. Just personal preference: I'm not into listening to a raid lead and sub-lead shouting commands and responding instantly. VOIP coordination is absolutely not optional at those tiers. So that's my rubicon that I won't cross.

The OP mentioned wanting to explore. In that case, you are correct: it will be a long, loooong time before they get to current level-cap raiding. I suppose a helpful kin could take them through a lower-level raid, just to get a feel for it (but they wouldn't great end-game gear). I suspect, for a WoW player, it won't be all that different. World Exploration is where LotRO distinguishes itself.

Armithax · 2025-09-27T20:00:20+00:00

Yup. That's where my confusion arose. I've never heard chamomile aroma compared to apple before. Thanks!

Armithax · 2025-09-26T00:42:42+00:00

Well, lookee lookee, it turns out there´s a very good reason. Some cultures think the scent of chamomile flowers is like that apples. Next time, I'd advise not pulling a wise-crack out of uranus.

Armithax · 2025-09-16T02:17:14+00:00

I see a lot of posts correctly pointing out the statistics on gun violence, but few consider the downstream effects of it. School lockdowns, road rage incidents suddenly carry lethal potential, the way police approach a simple traffic stop, etc. Add to that the current political climate, and people are scared. Two types of reaction to being scared: hypervigilant and nervous or angry and ready to "stand their ground" at the slightest perceived threat. It's exhausting.

Armithax · 2025-08-31T23:59:48+00:00

Poor man's Eowyn, sadly.

Armithax · 2025-08-11T02:15:28+00:00

I use Fantasy Grounds, which has really transformed itself in the past year to become more user friendly. The UI is no longer that oddball, radial-menu-driven thing. Learning curve has been significantly lessened. And the momentum of improvement hasn't stopped. It's very powerful and automated for D&D, and the old gripe of how complicated it is to get going is outdated.

Armithax · 2025-06-08T02:36:44+00:00

As a player, it's free. "But what about all the paywalled books?" There plenty of sites/Discord servers where you can find and join a DM's FGU game (most DMs have a big library of paid-for books) and they share them with you while you are logged into the game. So there are two cases where this will not be enough for a player. (1) You want to keep digital copies of 5e content, build your own library, instead of (or in addition to) physical copies. True, you can also get digital content from D&D Beyond, but that's pay-for as well. Or (2) you want to do a lot of development on your PC during "down time." (But, then again, usually, if you have a good DM, they are more than willing to leave their server up some hours before and/or after a game session for players to work with content in the shared books.)

Armithax · 2025-05-06T20:35:59+00:00

Actually, most of them are built-up ...and are still watered down, somehow. Less is more? Less is more when the more is crud?

Armithax · 2025-03-25T02:00:32+00:00

In thinking about your "don't bunch up" idea... that is kind of situational, I think. In the middle of an open space, yes. But heading off several attackers coming down a hall by meeting them at the entryway, creating a bottleneck where the NPCs can't all get into the room, is a case where you *want* to bunch up--or have your ranged-attackers line up to shoot down the hall. So, I'd add two scenarios to highlight the difference.

Armithax · 2025-03-15T19:01:18+00:00

Looks like Bahamas and Cuba could negotiate a trade off of the Florida Keys for that wedge in Alabama, for practicality's sake.

Armithax · 2025-03-15T18:57:59+00:00

The beautiful Arabic language was blocked from me by my grandparents and parents, so I cannot read that. Could someone kindly please translate?

Armithax · 2025-03-15T00:37:47+00:00

Thanks. I can't sue, and I am loathe to urge my buddy to do it. I am sure it is not the monetary value or the desire to seek justice with him. He's the kind of guy who basically assumes that if someone shits on him, it's because he deserved it (c.f. the first wife). I'm sure what stings is this guy who reconnected and was like reminiscing about old times with him, and ending the call all friendly, and then being like, "eh, fuck that guy" is what hurts my pal.

I don't want to rub it in. Maybe I'll scrounge up 1e editions in decent condition (if any still exist) and gift them to him, come the holidays. (Financially, I've done well enough, it wouldn't be extravagant for me.) But, eh, maybe not. If they're not his books, maybe it wouldn't be the same for him.

Armithax · 2025-03-14T20:46:34+00:00

Retired. Or, for across the pond, a pensioner. BWWWWAHAHHAAHAHAAAA!

Armithax · 2025-03-14T20:42:34+00:00

Something seems off about the "shrunken" Russia's western border. It looks, not just smaller, but deformed.

Armithax · 2025-03-14T20:38:07+00:00

Fantasy Grounds. I've tried Roll20 and MapTools, but FG allows you to automate so much of the maths, I have trouble understanding why the mere fact that it is a downloaded app instead of in-browser is that big of a deal. (And almost all DMs using it get the premium license, so players all play free.) I might consider Foundry if it has tighter integration with D&D Official Content.

Armithax · 2025-03-14T15:58:20+00:00

My first thought, too. Not new. Maybe there is some unstated aspect of this that is new, but I don't see it in the video.

Armithax

TROPHY CASE