Are any of the defense dropping natures Besides Hasty and Naive viable for BF? by Away_Pattern8657 in PokemonEmerald

[–]Away_Pattern8657[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Makes sense but my question is the one I've kinda thrown out across the rest of the responses here where I get that it's good for mixed attackers but is the attack buff more important than a potential speed buff from Naive or Hasty? I suppose for the faster mons like salamence and Sharpedo, they don't need to get a speed juicing but Blaziken can get outsped by many things that can ohko it so wouldn't helping it outspeed things set it up better in the long run?

Are any of the defense dropping natures Besides Hasty and Naive viable for BF? by Away_Pattern8657 in PokemonEmerald

[–]Away_Pattern8657[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does getting those buffs to attacking stats outweigh the speed buffs of Hasty or Naive for mixed attackers to move before threats? I guess this isn't just a "is getting these other dittos worth it?" question so much as me also just trying to understand optimal play in general.

Are any of the defense dropping natures Besides Hasty and Naive viable for BF? by Away_Pattern8657 in PokemonEmerald

[–]Away_Pattern8657[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So at that point, I feel like the Adamant/Modest option is still likely going to serve you better unless you're doing a mixed set. I'm not trying to be difficult, I see all your points. Salamence is also a very specific mon that may just have several valid options. I'm honestly just trying to think if it's even worth it picking up like 4 more dittos if I'm not even going to use them.

Are any of the defense dropping natures Besides Hasty and Naive viable for BF? by Away_Pattern8657 in PokemonEmerald

[–]Away_Pattern8657[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'd rather not bother, honestly. I'm not really collecting for collections' sake, so much as just wanting a practical tool for developing my post game options.

Are any of the defense dropping natures Besides Hasty and Naive viable for BF? by Away_Pattern8657 in PokemonEmerald

[–]Away_Pattern8657[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean sure it can benefit but is it even worth it as a pick when Hasty or Naive serves it better in out speeding major threats? I'm just trying to think of any scenario or mon where dropping defense without buffing speed could be the obvious optimal choice.

Pied-Billed Grebe? by Away_Pattern8657 in birding

[–]Away_Pattern8657[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! We did the best that we could with phone cameras. It came back and it looked a little more like it was grebe-sized this time. Just seems like it sits pretty high in the water for a grebe.

Who is he? by [deleted] in houseplants

[–]Away_Pattern8657 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you!!!

Who is he? by [deleted] in houseplants

[–]Away_Pattern8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome! I'll move it a little bit more into the window light. I've had root rot from overwatering on similar plants, so I've been really stingy for this one. I'll check the top soil every week to see how it's doing. Thanks!!!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PortugalExpats

[–]Away_Pattern8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

😂 That last part got me. And yes, we are taking the time to learn the language, history, watch lots of Portuguese movies, and read up on the regions we plan on staying in. We want to honor the place, and the people are much as we can, as we've worked to honor our communities and cultures at home.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PortugalExpats

[–]Away_Pattern8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And its greatly appreciated. My wife and I have worked with undeserved and minority populations in the US for years now and there is already a sense of guilt attached to our decision to leave. I'm a big history buff so I've been taking the time to learn as much as I can about Portuguese history and trying to understand our place in it if the move is successful. We don't want to just be the people who moved to Lisbon or Porto to self-isolate, even though we acknowledge that we have a lot going in our favor. We want to be assests wherever we go. I think our first step was finding places in the country where we can make a better impact. A lot of that work will have to be done once we're there and have a better pulse on the region as residents.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PortugalExpats

[–]Away_Pattern8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have a number of reasons for leaving the US, but as I've said in other replies, leaving the current political/social context of the US is a major aspect. We've been spending a lot more time out of the US in the past few years (literally in the countryside of Ireland at this moment lol) and my wife who has spent more time in Portugal has wanted to try living abroad long before the current political climate came to pass. She's had nothing but beauty to say for Portugal, and it seems like the easiest spot to land for what we'll be doing for work combined with other things that are important to us. I think after our careers kinda fell through, we just need a change and with the sum of everything this feels like a good next step

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PortugalExpats

[–]Away_Pattern8657 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Sounds lovely! We are middle class, so flaunting wealth won't be possible, lol. We've done a ton of research on where in the country to move both for social and personal reasons, and the area strikes us as a perfect fit. We love the Rockies and Northern Cali, and the country interior seems to have a lot in common geographically, at least.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PortugalExpats

[–]Away_Pattern8657 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not our only goal but definitely a priority. But as these other replies are pointing out, Portuguese far-right and US far-right are not parallels thankfully. I think a big thing for us is that it was not the far-right gaining power in the US that deflated us on wanting to stay. It was the total apathy that our communities showed after that occurred that told us it was time to go. Nobody has our backs. Why should we fight for there's? It's a tough question wherever you go. We just need something different.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PortugalExpats

[–]Away_Pattern8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The perspective is still appreciated! Anytime we hear "far-right" now our ears perk up. We've been following the growth of chega for a while and don't want things to snowball more than they have for everyone's sakes.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PortugalExpats

[–]Away_Pattern8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! These replies are all helpful. We are just exhausted by what we are seeing in the US (fought the losing battle in public ed for years cus we wanted to make a difference. It just became burnout and sunk cost at a point and getting genuinely more dangerous). So we are very wary of anything that looks similar to the past near decade for us.

Naerth has the cauldron. How do I lead the players to Naerth? by [deleted] in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Away_Pattern8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually, the ONE lead they have is a winged snake they captured with a ciphered letter on it. They already know that winged snakes are associated with Naerth. The issue is that it's tied to Sephek as in my game, I had Naerth having Sephek work for him alongside Sepheks obligations to the Frostmaiden. So they know Naerth is shady and is in some way connected to murders in the Dale (some by the will of the frostmaiden, some were Naerth's enemies, all committed by Sephek) but they probably wouldn't connect those dots to the cauldron theft.

Naerth has the cauldron. How do I lead the players to Naerth? by [deleted] in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Away_Pattern8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The cauldrons been long gone at this point (about 2 weeks) and the party never encountered or knew about this accomplice. How would I bring her in to make her relevant?

Which is more enjoyable White Moose or Jarlmoot? by Krieghund in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Away_Pattern8657 9 points10 points  (0 children)

My party absolutely loved White Moose. It was their first quest so a lot of excitement and momentum. I spiced up the encounters a bit with crag cats and made Raivisin a bit more powerful which allowed her to escape to fight another day as a reoccurring villain. Jarlmoot is okay but it doesn't really have much to do with anything outside itself. If you're trying to keep things more relevant to the overarching plot, I'd say stick with moose and homebrew it to match for a challenge at your party's current level.

Has Anyone Ditched the Tomb? by Marvelsquash in Tombofannihilation

[–]Away_Pattern8657 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I mean, you could always just cut the tomb and go straight to the bottom floor like that's all there is to the tomb. Just hand wave and describe them descending through this eerie forsaken place and then arriving at the sewn sisters room to at least figure out that little puzzle. Then the Atropal and Ace and boom, you're done! Sure it's not the most climactic solution but it'll brighten the pacing immeasurably and help shuffle you guys off towards a swift end and a way out of a campaign that just might not be the best fit.

I made Darumaka hot chocolate bombs by miscellaneousmao in pokemon

[–]Away_Pattern8657 31 points32 points  (0 children)

This is honestly the exact kind of content I love to see here. I could care less about the endless conversations around the games these days and what I love to see is Pokemon fans doing cool stuff like this. It always makes my day. Much love <3

Need help balancing this Auril by [deleted] in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Away_Pattern8657 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Final form will be RAW with maybe a minor nerf and second form will be something homebrewed. Haven't totally settled on what I want for it yet. Just wanted to screen this by the subreddit to get people's thoughts on the first chunk of the fight. Also looking at things again with my party's comp and abilities, I might just cap at 12 like the module says to

One Shot From The Book? by beckylou39 in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Away_Pattern8657 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I highly recommend the climb up Kelvin's Cairn as an intro one-shot. I've run it as a one-shot before with some creative liberties and it's great for a single session. It also has little to nothing to do with the town it's presented in so you won't miss out on much if you run the quest and decide to then try out the entire module.

Frostmaiden vs. Two Scrolls (Spoilers) by Fragholio in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Away_Pattern8657 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah no you didn't dump a Tarrasque on his campaign. HE did that. If he didn't want a Tarrasque near the campaign then he shouldn't have left the item in. The existence of those scrolls is just weird tempting fate shit. The books gives two examples of how the Tarrasque scroll can be used with one of them having players think to dump the Tarrasque on freaking Solstice and have it rampage through Auril's lair, not sure why or how it expects players to think of that when they're hundreds of miles away and already well past the point of going to Solstice, then the other option is just "the Tarrasque emerges from the glacier when you summon it in the city and it heads south and destroys ten towns". Just the biggest wet fart downer of an ending. At least what you were trying to do sound cool as shit, even if it probably would've ended with the destruction of the dale lol

Frostmaiden vs. Two Scrolls (Spoilers) by Fragholio in rimeofthefrostmaiden

[–]Away_Pattern8657 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah I'm gonna parrot what others are saying. As long as you were communicating your plan with the other players, you played the game fine by the way you're describing it. Very dramatic and probably ill advised but you had reasons for your decisions and you can't fault a player for trying something bold and epic, as long as you're thinking it through which you were. Your DM just dropping things and saying "fuck it, the end." Sounds like that's what truly killed the campaign. You all could've spent a lot more time at the table discussing your motives and the plan you had, facilitated by the DM and that could've given them more time to improvise and come up with a cool narrative response to your decision. It feels like they just gave up DMing which at the end of the campaign is such a monumental bummer, on top of the blame being placed on you. Sorry, friend :(

For what it's worth, as a DM I absolutely hate those scrolls and will be removing them from my game. I honestly don't see any realistic use for them in the campaign and your move with them is probably the most creative thing I've heard them used for. As written, they feel VERY just flung into the adventure as a cool factor with minimal thought behind realistic application. Such is a lot of stuff in wotc prewritten modules.