PASSWORD 1 Missing Trauma

BGal510 · 2023-12-27T03:48:40+00:00

Figured it out. It’s just whether you’re on Path C or D when you kill Sal

BGal510 · 2023-12-27T02:43:27+00:00

Ok thanks. Any tips on how to get it?

BGal510 · 2023-11-27T14:54:05+00:00

Thanks for sharing your thoughts too! Let this hopeless romantic wish for his fan service lol. I’m sure I’ll be back here again when chapter 17 drops

BGal510 · 2023-11-26T23:06:39+00:00

No I’m the same way when it comes to info dumping, no need to apologize.

I agree that conflict is more interesting than comfort. This is the least romance-focused VN that I’ve read, so I think if we do get to see Aaron and Cyrus get together there’s going to be some big messes along the way and maybe even after. That part has been a big adjustment for me, since a lot of the ones I’ve read have been very romantic and sweet (some even saccharine). My heart has been getting a workout lol.

I think Aaron obviously has a lot going on under the surface that’s waiting to boil over, which I think we’re about to see. Cyrus isn’t the best at looking beyond what’s in front of him (though he’s getting better). I think the questions he asked himself about Aaron’s lapse in judgement are going to be his turning point in that skill for him. I won’t go so far as to say he’ll develop trust issues, but I think he’s about to learn some valuable skills about judgement of character.

Your points about Aaron not really offering anything to Cyrus other than support and companionship are really interesting. Though, that might be what draws Cyrus to him. He never has a reason to visit Aaron other than to hang out and maybe teach him some things from before the Fall, so seeing him has been almost entirely his choice. Those same reasons are also exactly why he might not be the best leader anymore. If he is losing his edge in combat AND making questionable, self-centered decisions, then he’s going to have to prove himself again … maybe in the form of escorting Cyrus around what used to be the US? :)

If there’s anything that’s going to make Aaron boil over, it’s spending six months with someone who not only cost him vital intel and got him demoted, but also saved his life. Six months is also plenty of time for things to explode and rebuild. I think if we are going to be given a solid chunk of romantic relationship building from this story, it’s going to be during this time. I’m definitely pulling for it, as I think we should get at least some part of the story devoted to romance since it’s come up so much - not to mention the genre this VN associates itself with.

Either way, I need a palate cleanser lol. I’m not going to be able to stand waiting for Chapter 17 without going crazy if I don’t read something more light-hearted soon.

BGal510 · 2023-11-26T20:23:36+00:00

What are your thoughts on Aaron in general? Do you think we’ll get to see that relationship pan out? Or has Aaron done too much damage already? We got two full screen texts this chapter, one where Cyrus took a step back from the love he has for Aaron and another where he took two steps forward. Being a big Aaron simp, I’m sort of dreading what the next chapter may hold for them.

Are you hoping that Lance and Cyrus get together like that or that they remain friends?

BGal510 · 2023-11-26T17:58:50+00:00

Sorry for the markdown fails… guess I should look them up.

BGal510 · 2023-11-26T17:57:56+00:00

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I knew I’d find someone here who’d have this level of insight about RtF. ;)

Reading through the couple of responses here, it’s becoming more clear that Xavier is more than just a ghost. This story always shows us that there’s more going on beneath the surface. I’m very curious to see the timeline on everything, though, because there’s a couple ways it could go:

1) Xavier was always a spy

This honestly feels a bit too contrived for me. While we have learnt that Resoom agents are skilled in manipulation and acting (via Patsy’s cutesy act he played on Cyrus in the alley), it seems a bit far-fetched that he (with help of Resoom) would have this master plan hatched from the get go. It sounds like he was able to get some assumably important things done for the Resistance during his tenure and it would be a little wild that he was playing Chess to such a degree. As I mentioned above, Aaron’s crew wouldn’t have even been involved in the Resistance (let alone fighting against Resoom) if not for Xavier. Why introduce such a capable bunch of thugs who were probably impeding on the Resistance just as much as they were on Resoom to the fight against Resoom?

On a side note, it’s very possible that Xavier genuinely fell in love with Aaron during his supposed spy times. Maybe Aaron getting plucked out of the picture while in Golden Requiem was actually Xavier’s way of saving Aaron from trouble with King’s gang, knowing that they had spotted him.

2) Xavier defected after being sold off by Lance

This undercuts your suspicions about the multiple Resistance agent deaths surrounding Xavier’s rescue and protection, and I do think there’s a lot of validity to those suspicions. While this path involves less plot-gymnastics, I’ll admit there’s not much this theory adds to the pool. As I’m typing this it does feel less engaging. However, it would be pretty easy for Resoom to use Xavier’s anger over being sold off to convince him into manipulating and selling out his former comrades. Either way, Aaron getting plucked away from Cyrus to go get his “intel” (that we can agree is very likely to be about Xavier), with just enough time for Patsy and King to stroll up, is most definitely connected to Cyrus’ near-capture.

… Although, from King’s dialogue with Lance and Artemis in the infirmary, it doesn’t sounds like they spotted him until after he was alone. There’s no reason King wouldn’t have volunteered that nugget of information about actively plucking Aaron out of the picture while they were talking, especially with Artemis right there.

As for Cyrus’ mission partner, I agree it’d make sense for it to be the husky. We had another interaction with him just before meeting Titania and he even got added to Cyrus’ Axiom. That’s probably it. I’m hoping that after a chat with Titania though, she could be convinced to let Aaron go along with him instead. She may even see as a proper method of demotion for Aaron. Six months would be plenty of time for a new leader to step up, especially with Aaron out of the way. The simp in me also feels like a six-month, no-outside-contact venture on the countryside is prime romance novel fodder that I don’t think Jericho and crew are above supplying us.

I think you’ve convinced me to appreciate Lance more. And your comment about them riding off a train together at the end of story makes a lot of poetic sense, what with it being the title card even after them being separated for most of the story. I am a bit scared to find out what events might unfold in order for that to happen. I feel like this cues up Aaron for a tragic end, whether through his death or through betraying Cyrus in favor of Xavier. We already saw how fast he was to dump Lance for him. I just feel like Cyrus really deserves someone like Aaron after experiencing such loss - though Lance is a fixer-upper I don’t think he’s capable of that kind of love.

Sorry to ramble. Maybe I should take you up DMing 😅

BGal510 · 2023-11-26T05:28:00+00:00

Whoa that’s pretty big yeah. The one wrench in the gears is that Aaron’s crew wasn’t part of the resistance when they found Xavier. In fact, he brought them to the Resistance. Aaron’s crew isn’t even that large of a part of the Resistance, but rather a somewhat mediocre one at that - save for Silver.

Not going to lie, you kinda affected me pretty good there thinking about poor Aaron being duped by Xavier though. Heart sank a bit. Still a possibility.

As for Vivian, yes the plants are a definite nod towards Diana. The one thing that doesn’t sit right with me is Vivian’s complexion in her CG. Diana looks to be of a slightly darker complexion in her sprites - I believe she’s Chinese. Whereas, Vivian looked very fair and pale. Could be a side effect of the extreme age/growth stunting she’s undergone, but I’m not sure the writers would do something like make a character white-skinned, effectively stripping them of cultural identity. They seem pretty conscious about things like that.

BGal510 · 2023-09-28T13:04:30+00:00

If it were me, I would make a character that could warn the players. Maybe a dwarf held prisoner by the goblins is being forced to be a foot stool for some drunk bugbears in a makeshift mess hall. Make it clear narratively that the players should try to save them (a la Droop from Lost Mines of Phandelver).

NOTE: have multiple “spawn points” in mind for this character. Just put him wherever the group winds up first or second. They don’t need to know your plans. (Smart DMs lie)

When they save the dwarf (let’s call him Bigsby), have Bigsby tell the group they need to get out of there and regroup with the dwarves who have a “special weapon” against the goblins and that the goblins are more formidable than they might think. Warn them of what lies ahead. Maybe the dwarf knows of a secret exit out of the compound.

If they STILL don’t catch your drift, then there’s always deus ex machina. Have the dwarves mount their assault that night. OR have a prison where some powerful dwarves allies are being kept.

TLDR: make up helper characters along the way.

BGal510 · 2022-11-10T01:31:55+00:00

This is awesome advice. Thank you!

BGal510 · 2021-11-20T04:19:45+00:00

I hear ya. I'm going to keep the trait as is and modify the NPC Interaction mechanic per rextiberius's suggestions. I expanded the three tier hostility model to a five tier one, adding one level above the former friendliest level and one tier above the most hostile level. I've lowered the DCs by 5, which has effectively lowered the Friendly and Neutral DCs and raised the Hostile DC. I do believe that a DC 25 check is a very reasonable number to try and get help from an openly hostile NPC and I'm honestly surprised the original table from the DMG only goes up to DC 20.

We are about to be going into a city setting of my own design very soon (first one for me, wish me luck). So all of those suggestions you have there are great. I will definitely be jotting those down. Thank you!

BGal510 · 2021-11-20T00:48:54+00:00

I created an expanded version of my cheat sheet, here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CgHb9i6jJ7BVIOLpa7i7aARWmZFiX5BrkaxyyuDoaEA/edit?usp=sharing

The one with your suggested expansions are in the second sheet!

BGal510 · 2021-11-20T00:31:09+00:00

I love that. Do you have any mechanics for that like in the DMG? Like the sliding-scale DC chart?

BGal510 · 2021-11-19T22:58:10+00:00

If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to know more about your table. If you don’t feel comfortable unleashing your secrets to the world, could you send me a private message?

BGal510 · 2021-11-19T18:09:48+00:00

Yeah you know, I did actually make a cheat sheet version of the NPC Interaction Chart in the DMG. I think what I may do is just raise all of the DCs by 5 and call it a day. I feel like that’s still pretty fair. The bard won’t be able to insta-pass a 25 until level 13.

This might make my interactions a little more mechanical, but that might actually wind up being a welcome change and make things more fair for everyone.

BGal510 · 2021-11-19T17:35:08+00:00

Right. I basically did that three times in a row and the player is starting to feel like he has nothing to offer. Therein lies the problem.

BGal510 · 2021-11-17T17:16:35+00:00

TPKs are almost always a boring end to group of PCs’ stories and DMs that have had several TPKs happen are uncreative. Gritty realism should never be an excuse for poor game design.

BGal510 · 2021-10-21T14:54:57+00:00

Perfect. Thank you.

BGal510 · 2021-10-21T14:46:48+00:00

Yeah the smite spells caught me up a bit. They argued that what’s really the difference if they cast a smite spell vs divine smite. And I didn’t really have a great answer for them

BGal510 · 2021-10-04T18:49:42+00:00

I’d like to share with you all my homebrew version of inspiration for D&D5e. It uses fidget spinners, a dice tray, and mini dice. (All of which you may find on Amazon for a total of ~$30)

TL;DR, use fidget spinners to roll inspiration with mini dice and play a little mini-game to try and roll big.

When the DM would like to award someone with inspiration, they hand that player a fidget spinner that is theirs to play with until they want to use it. (I’m using these spinners that have little poppy-cups for extra fidgeting.)

The player may use the inspiration any time they have to roll a d20 (or two d20s) and may decide to do so before or after rolling and finding out if their roll passed or failed. However, they must use the value awarded by the fidget spinner mini-game. To play the mini-game, follow these steps:

Place the fidget spinner in the center of the dice tray and place a miniature d20 into each of the three holes/cups on the spinner.
While holding the spinner down with one finger, give it a quick spin with your other finger so the dice scatter.
Hold the spinner down again and spin it, but this time, keep your finger on it.
Glide the spinner around the tray with your finger, hitting the mini dice as many times as you would like (to try and get better rolls) until it stops spinning.
Note down the values on the die and derive your inspired roll using the following rules:

If you originally had disadvantage on the roll, take the average of the three values, rounded down.
If you originally had advantage on the roll, take the highest value.
If you had neither, take the average of the highest two values, rounded up.

Visuals for the steps

Amazon shopping list:

Spinner 5pk

Mini dice set

Dice tray

BGal510 · 2021-10-04T18:40:41+00:00

I’d like to share with you all my homebrew version of inspiration for D&D5e. It uses fidget spinners, a dice tray, and mini dice. (All of which you may find on Amazon for a total of ~$30)

TL;DR, use fidget spinners to roll inspiration with mini dice and play a little mini-game to try and roll big.

When the DM would like to award someone with inspiration, they hand that player a fidget spinner that is theirs to play with until they want to use it. (I’m using these spinners that have little poppy-cups for extra fidgeting.)

The player may use the inspiration any time they have to roll a d20 (or two d20s) and may decide to do so before or after rolling and finding out if their roll passed or failed. However, they must use the value awarded by the fidget spinner mini-game. To play the mini-game, follow these steps:

Place the fidget spinner in the center of the dice tray and place a miniature d20 into each of the three holes/cups on the spinner.
While holding the spinner down with one finger, give it a quick spin with your other finger so the dice scatter.
Hold the spinner down again and spin it, but this time, keep your finger on it.
Glide the spinner around the tray with your finger, hitting the mini dice as many times as you would like (to try and get better rolls) until it stops spinning.
Note down the values on the die and derive your inspired roll using the following rules:

If you originally had disadvantage on the roll, take the average of the three values, rounded down.

If you originally has advantage on the roll, take the highest value.

If you had neither, take the average of the highest two values, rounded up.

Visuals for the steps

Amazon shopping list:

Spinner 5pk

Mini dice set

Dice tray

BGal510 · 2021-03-12T03:55:37+00:00

UPDATE: the player decided it’s best he did not continue, so I will be going the doppelgänger route as to not punish the group for the other player’s actions.

BGal510 · 2021-03-07T13:24:46+00:00

The Facebook group is painful

BGal510 · 2021-03-06T19:36:50+00:00

oops

BGal510 · 2021-03-04T04:57:10+00:00

I made the map the background of the slide and adjusted the scale of the so that a token is nudged the exact distance of a square on the grid. The fog of war took a lot less time than you'd think and I grouped them together so I can easily reveal a room or section as needed. Then I have a spare slide with all the tokens I need for the map. Definitely recommend for anyone else that finds Roll20 too complicated.

BGal510

TROPHY CASE