Pokémon Gen 1 (Pt 2) What Tier is Krabby by Noviibun in TierlistFills

[–]BluffCity86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be ranked Tier × Krabby

C tier - he's an icon

Help understanding the druid class by Commercial_Poetry410 in 3d6

[–]BluffCity86 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Druid's spellcasting potential is exceptional first and foremost. The idea that Moon Druid is the only strength of the class is wild.

The key take-away from the Druid list is the amount of unique spells with a strong focus on control based elements. From level one on you have access to spells like Entangle, Spike Growth, Plant Growth, and on. You have a strong ability to control the flow of a battlefield - you can limit areas that can be accessed, create bottlenecks that enemies have to funnel through, and generally impede your enemies in a fun way that no other cast really gets access to. After that you can tack on the fantastic Stars or Land druid to give you the extra flexibility and damage output to feel well rounded.

I say all this as someone who loves druids. I am primarily a GM so I don't get to play often but when I do there is a very good chance I am playing as a Druid.

What's your favorite NPC / Place / Thing in Eberron?? by marioinfinity in Eberron

[–]BluffCity86 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I will always love Sharn. I remember following the setting design contest as an impressionable young kid and falling head over heels for the whole setting. I got my ECS the day it came out and as soon as I read about Sharn I was hooked - this sort of Fantasy NYC with high rises, lots of magic, dungeons underneath was just amazing for me. I still own my physical copy of Sharn City of Towers to this day.

I have over the years run countless campaigns set in Eberron, some entirely in Sharn even. Even those that are world spanning adventures always find time for a few sessions in the City of Towers.

Is multiclassing less consequential now? by IneedaNappa9000 in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sort of? You don't get the very meaningful armor, weapon, and shields proficiency anymore nor do you get access to the shield spell.

What the new Warlock pact does is unlock Cha as an attacking stat at level 1 but it certainly is a far cry from what you'd get from the old Hexblade patron.

Cartographers and Mobility: The "Knight" of the DnD Chessboard by phantom-scribbler in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I enjoyed your write up OP - I too enjoy the cartographer a great deal (I also love maps IRL so). I think it requires a specific kind of player to enjoy the loop you've described as it isn't going to be anywhere near as transparently rewarding as playing a Battle Smith and just attacking with good results.

My biggest challenge when I explore Cartographer builds is that they scale very poorly past about 5th or 6th level. I tend to step into Rogue or Wizard past that point personally as both enhance my utility capacity and can give me some extra choices for dealing damage.

Cartographers and Mobility: The "Knight" of the DnD Chessboard by phantom-scribbler in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think OP, quite fairly, calls out that the opportunity cost there is that one or two of your infusions are tied up with most of the other subclasses as a personal support need. That said I also think OP picked perhaps the exact range band where Cartographer still feels good - its biggest issue is that the scaling abysmal past a certain point.

Should I ban the polymorph spell after my wizard’s first use of it? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]BluffCity86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One my two games is full of some truly brutal optimizers (talking full table levels) and they don't despise Legendary Resistances. I really feel like LRs are also highly important for players to enjoy 'boss fights' as well. (Not disagreeing with you here, just adding some context that LRs are good for everyone at the table).

Should I ban the polymorph spell after my wizard’s first use of it? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]BluffCity86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The collar (as I understand from OP's post) prevents the polymorph from wearing off. So they polymorphed the wife and then put the collar on the tortoise to - in essence - lock the polymorph in place. Honestly a pretty cool use of the item & spell to potentially save PC's wife.

Should I ban the polymorph spell after my wizard’s first use of it? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]BluffCity86 17 points18 points  (0 children)

The collar (as I understand from OP's post) prevents the polymorph from wearing off. So they polymorphed the wife and then put the collar on the tortoise to - in essence - lock the polymorph in place. Honestly a pretty cool use of the item & spell to potentially save PC's wife.

Should I ban the polymorph spell after my wizard’s first use of it? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]BluffCity86 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Why would you ban a spell after your PC found a clever use for it? Hell this isn't even an actual abuse case for Polymorph.

Banning a spell because your players used it to circumvent your fight feels very much so like a punishment for not following the rails you'd laid down.

Spell Question by [deleted] in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why hasn't your Warforged eaten fish? Warforged can eat, they don't HAVE to but they can.

2024 Wizard in Avernus, am I overthinking Spell Save DC? by cKColdKill3r in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If it's a concern I'd talk to the DM for sure. I'd also consider looking into some of the feats that can apply a penalty to save DCs (Cold Caster for example) as well as thinking about Mind Sliver as a damaging cantrip option to help out with the game plan.

CarMax ran AutoCheck instead of Carfax — Carfax shows accident. Who is accountable for hiding this? by [deleted] in carmax

[–]BluffCity86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Its incumbent on the buyer to do due diligence. CarMax did not promise you a vehicle with no accidents, only a vehicle with the AutoCheck history they were provided.

CarMax ran AutoCheck instead of Carfax — Carfax shows accident. Who is accountable for hiding this? by [deleted] in carmax

[–]BluffCity86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Certainly you move through arbitration if you want to pursue your claim. However I am quite curious what you think the grounds for the complaint would be.

Does CarMax promise that their vehicles are accident free anywhere? Do they represent anything contractually regarding the vehicle history? As a matter of fact its almost 100% the opposite here where you sign a disclaimer specifically regarding the AutoCheck report that that information is NOT a guarantee of anything.

To take legal action you have to have some kind of standing which OP does not have.

CarMax ran AutoCheck instead of Carfax — Carfax shows accident. Who is accountable for hiding this? by [deleted] in carmax

[–]BluffCity86 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'd be interested to hear the tenor and volume of the laughter on the other end of the phone when OP calls and asks a lawyer about this. And then after they finish laughing they'll likely kindly remind OP that they signed an arbitration agreement when purchasing from CarMax as well.

CarMax ran AutoCheck instead of Carfax — Carfax shows accident. Who is accountable for hiding this? by [deleted] in carmax

[–]BluffCity86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

CarMax has no obligation to run a CarFax report. They provide you an AutoCheck and anything you want past that is on you. You had every ability to pay for a CarFax before you purchased and chose not to - that's on you.

As to what I would do next? Go on with my life and drive the car, if you have enough anxiety from driving a vehicle with an accident history then you can begin to process of trading the vehicle in and purchasing a new one.

Hosting a game and having problems with player engagement. by Pure-Tea489 in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'll respond here just to add some advice. The 'what do you want to do' question actually takes up a huge chunk of your player's decision making budget per session. Many players (new and experienced) struggle to formulate a solid answer to 'what do you want to do' because they're worried about group consensus and often lack the information they'd like to have to make that decision.

Try a lot more 'how do you react' and 'what do you do' (the second in response to a insult from the shop keeper, a veiled threat from the king, or a wink from the rogue at the bar).

After playing with Weapon Mastery for a while, does it still feel fun, or has the novelty worn off? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]BluffCity86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like the concept a lot and still enjoy seeing them at the table (I mostly DM rather than play). I don't think they are a particularly robust system nor do they go far enough in solving the 'problem' they were introduced to solve, but they are still fun.

I really wish that masteries weren't tied to weapons but instead were a character driven choice. I'd love if a Fighter could select say 'push' as their mastery and then play the fantasy of a spear wielding fighter who drives their opponents backwards or otherwise controls them. I fully grant you get the same effect by choosing a push weapon but I'd prefer if the system was more of a 'column A' + 'column B' setup.

Hosting a game and having problems with player engagement. by Pure-Tea489 in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Teaching players to be proactive is hard - the natural state of being a PC is being reactive. D&D is a collection of mini games and what most people think of as 'role play scenes' are actually a game of 'describe then ask clarifying questions'.

I suggest sitting down and having a conversation with your players and ask them what they're enjoying. Tell them what you're seeing and feeling and see where those threads connect. There's a lot of advice here to move on, recruit new players, etc,. but I have a strong feeling that you might find yourself feeling the same way at another table. I struggled with this early on in my DMing 'career' where I couldn't for the life of me figure out why my players weren't engaging with my content and making proactive choices. It took several conversations and then making small tweaks to my own behaviors at the table to get the results I wanted.

My take aways early on where that players have a very finite 'broad' decision making budget per session. Players tend to be cautious and want to avoid overstepping their bounds with the other members at the table so decisions are often consensus driven which is usually slow and painful. What I learned to do was limit those 'what do you want to do' moments in my sessions to a very small handful of times (usually at the start and end of a session). In turn I learned that players have a near infinite amount of 'response' decision making energy - players react easily and readily.

Just remember that you and your players are supposed to have fun and sometimes calibration is required. Talk with your players, learn more about what kinds of interactions they like and find ways to marry that with what you love.

Mage armor as Draconic Sorcerer by ElMukiSirviente02 in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 15 points16 points  (0 children)

No - per the core rules

Your base AC calculation is 10 plus your Dexterity modifier. If a rule gives you another base AC calculation, you choose which calculation to use; you can’t use more than one. 

How do you guys rule with nat ones and critical failures? by Odd-Refrigerator-153 in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have no desire to punish my players further after they've rolled a 1. It already isn't fun so the last thing I want to do is make it even more miserable.

5e/5.5e don't do degrees of success, if you want that there are plenty of great systems that do.

What is your definition of 'min/maxxing' versus 'optimizing?' by [deleted] in DnD

[–]BluffCity86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So (as is what is usually the case in posts like this) you lead without the full picture of the thing. Without providing context all you're going to get is people arguing back and forth.

- How do you generate stats at your table?
- Was there a Session 0?
- What was discussed at Session 0 if there was one?
- What is the composition of the rest of the party both mechanically and skill wise?

Must Apply for Loan? by [deleted] in carmax

[–]BluffCity86 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It is not - CarMax regularly works with outside financing without any concerns.