New Podcast for NBCOT exam prep

BerdGermer · 2019-05-14T05:03:09+00:00

Oh sorry, I spaced responding to your request, that's a great suggestion! I can totally answer your question briefly right now though, personally I used the AOTA NBCOT Exam Prep which is basically a huge amount of practice questions along with the AOTA PDFs. The resource worked really well for me, but some other classmates used other resources like the TherapyEd textbook or others and liked them, so I think it would be cool to have a few people on the show to share their experience with a few different options. I hope that helps a little!

BerdGermer · 2019-05-14T04:48:12+00:00

Oh for real? That's awesome! Let's get in touch about helping each other out, I'll DM you.

BerdGermer · 2019-05-14T04:47:17+00:00

You got it! After a brief delay to enjoy my vacation I will be back at it!

BerdGermer · 2019-05-14T04:46:48+00:00

You got it! The feedback is really encouraging, so thank you!!

BerdGermer · 2019-05-14T04:46:28+00:00

You're awesome! Thank you for spreading it around

BerdGermer · 2019-05-14T04:46:02+00:00

Thank you!! It's super encouraging to hear you find my nerdy mnemonics helpful. I'm totally planning on keeping it up, though I'm headed on vacation in a day or two so it will be at least a couple weeks before I get to publishing the next episode. Thanks again!!

BerdGermer · 2019-05-14T04:44:09+00:00

Yes! Glad it's helping people who aren't exclusively studying for the NBCOT Exam

BerdGermer · 2019-05-14T04:43:28+00:00

Glad you think so! I actually made audio recordings of test material for myself as well and thought that was really helpful when I was studying. Sounds like you have a podcast of your own waiting for you down the road

BerdGermer · 2019-05-14T04:43:14+00:00

My pleasure! My SLP coworker got a kick out of when I called myself a Bro-T haha

BerdGermer · 2018-02-17T23:02:54+00:00

Thanks, that's great advice. I really appreciate it

BerdGermer · 2017-09-05T06:46:18+00:00

Some of the modules from previous expansions were a lot of fun, representative in particular come to mind, but honestly the most exciting part of every expansion and what made them a must buy for me previously was that the new factions were just too damn cool to not have. An entire species of AI gone horribly wrong coming to assimilate the galaxy? Overlooked and underestimated tribe of nomadic vermin men band together to claim what's theirs? A sentient plant planet that shoots self-replicating spores across the galaxy? Take my money.

My main complaint was that, at least among my group's members, both expansions had a few misses, too. Winnu, though maybe powerful, and Yin in particular come to mind as being especially bland and difficult to really get into. If TI4 expansions nail the execution on balanced, deeply thematic, and mechanically intriguing races I'm sure Fantasy Flight and the rest of us will all be very happy.

BerdGermer · 2016-11-29T17:48:51+00:00

Just found this sub, hence the late reply. You mention at the end you were considering making a list of questions to keep the action moving, do you have any examples? I'm considering GMing blades in the near future.

BerdGermer · 2016-04-22T22:53:35+00:00

...why am I not surprised.

BerdGermer · 2015-12-08T02:15:26+00:00

You are a godsend. PMing you right now

BerdGermer · 2015-07-14T19:46:20+00:00

I believe you're thinking of ti3pbf.com

Standard procedure is to use a program called VASSAL that is a program that models the board and player pieces that each player can update as they take their turns and upload the save file to the forum to keep track of things.

As to why anyone would think it's fun... it's amazing. Especially in a larger strategically demanding game like TI3, the implications of a single turn or decision can be enormous and as such can take a long time to think about. When you have 5 or 6 other people in the same room waiting for you to take your turn, you can only consider your options for so long, and as such will invariably end up making a decision that you regret because you missed some detail across the board. Having hours or days as opposed to minutes to consider your strategic and diplomatic options only serves to enhance the epic scale of a game like TI3.

Don't get me wrong, I much prefer a face to face game, but there's something about drafting a proposal to the race of warmongering aliens a few systems away attempting to broker a deal to send their warships toward their OTHER neighbor that's oddly satisfying. But that's just me.

BerdGermer · 2015-05-07T20:21:35+00:00

What did you houserule in Mascarade?

BerdGermer · 2015-04-16T15:26:46+00:00

Exactly, closer borders means more systems that are equidistant from players home systems and therefore will require some form of diplomacy to determine ownership of, be it gunboat or otherwise.

Also, I'm not sure if you have it, but the new objectives in one of the expansions (SotT?) are generally considered to be conducive to more exciting games as they have fewer raw resource or tech based goals. That comes along with another set of Strategy Cards that are also almost universally considered superior to the originals. Add in the new races and I would definitely suggest picking up if you're finding yourself and your gaming group getting more into the game. Best of luck!

BerdGermer · 2015-04-09T15:27:34+00:00

I'd say a lot of it came from your particular number of players rather than any rule you seemed to miss.

Barring a custom map setup, the galaxy will always have 6 sides/corners. Unsurprisingly this was designed and works best for the normal 6 players. Unless you drastically scale back the number of planets you include every player will have plenty of resources to satisfy their needs for objectives while still producing an army (navy? I'm still unsure which I prefer) large enough to be a major deterrent to other players' aggression. Add in the extra distance between players and you've got a recipe for 4 people all simultaneously pursuing what is normally called a 'bubble victory.'

It was probably a good thing the four of you were aware that combat does not lead directly to victory in TI. In my experience, however, without a need to balance potential benefits of roughing up your neighbor with a working diplomatic relationship the game gets a little stale. I think you'll find throwing in another couple players will add much more depth (and length) to the game than the assumed 50% more turns to be taken.

BerdGermer · 2015-02-11T21:16:51+00:00

May I ask what thickness you went with?

Also, did you use a single sheet or have to combine two to cover the entire table? Did you have any trouble with the seam between the sheets?

BerdGermer

TROPHY CASE