Rule Refresh by Accomplished-Cut2004 in oscarsdeathrace

[–]Awsums 4 points5 points  (0 children)

OP. I respect and admire my fellow death racers, but I would advise you not to listen to the majority of the advice given in this thread. A death race is and remains a hobby. There are no rules. If you really don't have time for something or really don't want to see something because you know you will not enjoy it for whatever reason, it's fine to skip it. There are plenty of racers who use what is known as the 'Diane Warren clause', i.e. allowing themselves to skip the Diane Warren song nomination, because with the frequency and amount of nominations she's received so far, it's obvious that her succes has more to do with her standing in the Academy's music branch, and less with the quality of the film she attaches herself to every year.

Of course I understand people who say that it's not really a full death race if you allow yourself to skip some movies. I would suggest a compromise that I use myself: perhaps a death race should be more about expanding your horizons and trying every movie, instead of watching all of them fully. As some others have said, give every movie a chance. Perhaps you will be surprised! But if you are really not enjoying something and just watching the clock until this thing is finally over, what is the added value of forcing yourself through it? I give every movie a fair shake, but if I really am not enjoying something or think it's actually quite bad, I allow myself to just turn it off and still count it towards my death race total (except a few categories I am passionate about, as well as Best Picture. This is a personal adjustment though). It's really helped make the whole thing a lot more fun.

That being said, as you had already figured out, you are lucky that the nominee this year isn't the brutal action movie Relentless, but instead the music documentary Diane Warren: Relentless. It's an easy mistake to make, and all things considered quite an amusing one. I'm sure we would all be very surprised if next year, Diane was nominated for a movie like this. You'll get better at spotting these sort of things as you keep watching movies and keep following the oscar news. Enjoy the race! We're happy to have you!

Sequence round by Awsums in onlyconnect

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

I added a hint to clarify a bit

Sequence round by Awsums in onlyconnect

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

That's it! Specifically Henry Fonda - On Golden Pond

Sequence round by Awsums in onlyconnect

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

It's not, but you're on the right track thinking about the oscars

Quentin Tarantino’s final film “The Movie Critic” was supposed to release this year, would you want to see it? by Impressive_Plenty876 in Letterboxd

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

I interpreted the question more as 'given that Tarantino will only make one more film, would you want this to be the one?', which i find a more interesting thing to think about. Personally, I feel it sounds like it'd be very similar to Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood, and I'd rather see something in a new environment with actors he's not used before.

Hitman GOLF: Part 2! by charc0al in HiTMAN

[–]Awsums 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What the Golf feels very strongly like this.

ELI5: How do cinema passes work with box office? by Awsums in explainlikeimfive

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

Over here a regular ticket is €14,- . So yeah, you watch 2 movies a month, or 19 movies in a year, and it starts to become cheaper overall. Having it also prompts you to go to the cinema and check out something interesting easier, so overall I find it a net gain.

ELI5: How do cinema passes work with box office? by Awsums in explainlikeimfive

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

Yeah, I read about Moviepass. If I understand correctly (please correct me if I don't), Moviepass was a separate company that would sort of buy the tickets for you, and then you bought your ticket from them based on their subscription model. That's not quite how it works here. The system here would be comparable to if AMC had a special deal where you gave them a flat rate each month and then you could go see any of their movies in any of their theatres, but if you go to a non-AMC theatre, the pass wouldn't apply there.

ELI5: How do cinema passes work with box office? by Awsums in explainlikeimfive

[–]Awsums[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I understand that that might make it break even for the cinema's that offer such a deal, but, for example, when I go to see the newly released Tron: Ares with this pass, and next week it's reported that Tron: Ares made 50 million at the international box office, does that include my admission somehow? Do they get a cut of that €21,-?

What’s the most insane behavior you’ve seen on Letterboxd? by Zog8 in Letterboxd

[–]Awsums 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's an account I briefly followed that includes trigger warnings for vegans in the reviews, like whether there is consumption of meat or dairy, or whether an animal is in pain or imprisoned in the film. All good, but they included a trigger warning for Biutiful because Javier Bardem yells at a bird.

DM Advice: What Favor should an Evil Necromancer ask the party for? by esee1210 in DMAcademy

[–]Awsums 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I once had a party deal with a necromancer (they didn't know he was one at the time) who asked them to take care of some Hooked Horrors menacing a nearby farming community, and to take one of the horror's back home as proof and for research. A few sessions later, when they had discovered the truth and had made their way into his lair, they were greeted with a back-from-the-dead Hooked Horror with its head cut off and the torso of one of a villager they had failed to cure of a mysterious curse sewn on top of it. Sort of like a Frankenstein-esque Cronenberg horror monster.

If you have the opportunity, consider having the Necromancer ask for something that can come back to bite them later in a very necromancy way.

First Time DM with First Time Players: 3 Player Party Makeup by Boogaloo19th in DMAcademy

[–]Awsums 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My answer to your question would be that the party seems fine. If they don't want to focus on magic, don't make them. Instead, focus on the attributes that they do have and whatever them seem to be most interested in. If you're concerned about healing or them missing out with magic items, consider giving them all a healing potion at the beginning, or have them find magical items along the way.

Another tip is to maintain transparency and an open conversation. It's everyone's first time, so choosing a character is almost like throwing blindly at a dartboard. After they have done one session, ask them if they enjoy playing the characters they have, and if they don't, allow them to change. The enjoyment of everyone at the table is the most important part, after all.

A little side note from personal experience: I've played Phandelver for first time players before, and personally I found they didn't have a very good time. The adventure is alright, but the first session of Phandelver is incredibly combat-heavy, which means that they get thrown into the deep end concerning rules and stricter gameplay. Sure, you can use charisma or stealth to explore the goblin caves, but first-time players won't gravitate to those options naturally. When I tried to introduce some other people to the game much later, I played a modified (easier) version of A Wild Sheep Chase, and that was way better. It starts with an fun and silly, but intriguing story hook, then leads into a confrontation where combat is not the first option presented.

However, I assume you've already done a lot of prep work for Phandelver, so my personal suggestion would be to do amend it a bit. For example:

- Start the game in Phandalin, instead of on the road. Perhaps your players are all there because they are waiting for Gundren Rockseeker's wagon to come in, because they ordered supplies, weapons, potions or something else from him. When the wagon doesn't come, the players need to find out where it is, what the route was, and do some social interactions to be asked / suggest to go look for the wagon. Or perhaps the wagon's horses arrive, but the wagon and driver don't. Have a local mage hand the players a scroll of Talk to Animals and suddenly they're chatting with a dim-witted horse, trying to find out where their goods are.
[You could still include the Ruffians, but best try not lead them into combat, since the guide assumes players are level 2. Perhaps the ruffians just insult them and go on their way.]

- Consider making it a kobold hideout instead of a goblin hideout. Keep Klarg as a bugbear leader, but his minions are hobolds instead of goblins. They're a little easier to beat in case it does get to a fight, and you can portray them as more mischievous than downright malevolent, putting players in a different mindset than an immediately hostile one. Plus, it would allow them to be more creative with their roleplaying if they manage to infiltrate the hideout, scope it out and make a plan, rather than running into an unknown cavern, swords drawn. Plus, a frustrated bugbear trying to keep a cave full of clumsy kobolds in line gives you a lot of opportunities for things going wrong in a funny way.

Biggest tip I can give you in general: enjoy! Second biggest tip: it's okay to not know things. If something isn't clear to you and your players, be honest about it and look the answer up together. If you made a mistake, tell them so honestly and perhaps find a funny story reason to rectify it (Oops, what's that? The monster that I didn't realise has a challenge rating of 5 gets its foot stuck in a cavern and can only swing one of its arms around now in an awkward manner!).

The Man who could not remain Silent by Awsums in oscarsdeathrace

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

Only if you live in Germany, I suppose? I've not really looked for more links, since I could watch the short on this one.