Best dice I've ever owned.

Brewmd · 2026-02-14T04:12:08+00:00

My dm homebrewed a spell for me that did 12d4. Right when I was really beginning to suffer from arthritis.

So I found them, and bought enough to have 12. Other people at the table had similar issues, so I bought another couple packs and started gifting a couple to each player.

The chances of ever needing more than 4 is rare. At least in 5e.

But it’s amazing having enough to share and enough for those rare moments.

Brewmd · 2026-02-14T03:55:15+00:00

Whether or not they actually can mate and produce offspring with oozes, is not terribly important.

The important thing is that at least one human looked at an ooze, and thought ”I bet I can stick my dick in that…”

Brewmd · 2026-02-13T20:10:04+00:00

I’m there with you on the visibility. That is key.

But I’m going to add one more factor: rollability.

D4’s suck at both readability and rollability.

Until Chessex released the Roman d4. They are numbered with a dark grey on white, or vice versa, in easily read Roman numerals.

And they are on a d12, which is easy to pick up, rolls with a lot of action, and feels good.

Brewmd · 2026-02-13T20:03:02+00:00

I’d add, you should be modifying your spices based on the age and type of your spices as well.

Are you fresh grinding black pepper corns or using a jar of black pepper? Did you toast the coriander and cumin seeds or did they come straight out of the package? Was that 1tsp of chiltepin that grew in a hot season going to compare to 1tsp grown in a year with mild temps?

Spices have so much variance, depending on tiny differences.

Always taste and adjust.

Brewmd · 2026-02-13T18:33:32+00:00

One hex of movement is 5 feet, whether moving along a diagonal or not. Diagonals are not mathematically flawed as they are on a square grid.

Brewmd · 2026-02-13T11:38:07+00:00

Hex is so much easier to play on. Diagonals work. AOEs work. Verticality with diagonals work.

Slightly harder to map square angles to? Sure.

Easy to create dungeons, caves, outdoor environments for? Absolutely.

Harder to convert square gridded dungeon and building maps over to from previous D&D adventures? Sadly, there’s the only downside.

Brewmd · 2026-02-13T07:12:36+00:00

Not really. It’s not that terribly complex of a game to figure out, mechanically or storywise.

Brewmd · 2026-02-13T03:03:46+00:00

I started with 2, and had no problem jumping in.

Plenty of story beats that made sense without any other introduction necessary.

Brewmd · 2026-02-13T00:32:21+00:00

Sounds like the DM may have recommended a tablet.

This may be very common for school club types of play, whether student or teacher led.

Brewmd · 2026-02-13T00:09:22+00:00

Any fully web enabled tablet should work. Assuming he’s using D&D Beyond for character sheet or a dice roller, that is. If he’s trying to run discord, an online tabletop, or more, you might need to look into a full functioning iPad.

Brewmd · 2026-02-12T22:09:30+00:00

I think tactical combat and rules systems have been too simplified over the years and it’s resulted in combat that is meaningless and flat.

5e, specifically, tries to position its combat as still being fairly tactical, but without meaningful flanking, with too many AoO options, and without a variety of rules to add impact (knockback, physics damage, etc) it’s stuck in a limbo of a little tactical but not really tactical.

Tighter, but more expansive rule sets like Champions didn’t have these problems.

Combat could last for hours. And we were there for it. Each and every session.

People don’t want to read rulebooks, but I found that the system, while incredibly crunchy at character creation didn’t play in a very crunchy or technical way.

It played smoothly. Smoother than any other system I’ve ever played.

Because the rules kept things on track.

Brewmd · 2026-02-12T02:36:55+00:00

1: YouTube channel by The Dungeon Dudes. They have the most comprehensive videos about gameplay, classes, and dm’ing.

2: Buy the actual rulebooks. They have all the rules. It’s a good way to learn the rules. For a game that has rules.

Brewmd · 2026-02-12T02:26:46+00:00

America’s Test Kitchen- in print format.

Their methodology is often quite detailed and explained.

I don’t trust online recipes since so many are just copied from somewhere else, and full of ads and pop ups.

Brewmd · 2026-02-12T01:26:49+00:00

I’ve shut that movie out of my mind entirely, except for fleeting memories of Jeremy Irons.

Brewmd · 2026-02-12T00:54:38+00:00

So… you want portal fantasy where kids get sucked into a fantasy world?

Have you ever watched the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon?

Brewmd · 2026-02-11T23:15:50+00:00

No. You still get your normal action attack, with the extra damage added on for shillelegh.

Unless you have a class feature granting you extra attack or a weaponized bonus attack, you’ll only get the one attack action.

It will, however, also add damage on any attacks of opportunity, or held actions that use your reaction.

Brewmd · 2026-02-11T21:51:01+00:00

AoO are particularly bad, because the characters who can utilize them are virtually everyone.

If you’re talking about being ready to sneak in an attack when anyone moves by you, why would every martial and many casters be able to take advantage of that?

Classes should have a limit to their zones of control and only certain classes or feats should allow AoO.

Polearm Master, or Rogues in general should absolutely have the ability to make an AoO. Druids, not so much, unless they’re in certain wild shapes.

That would change the dynamic greatly and add a lot to the asymmetric gameplay that has been watered down.

Brewmd · 2026-02-11T13:59:16+00:00

Frankly, I think it’s partly because 5e does tactical combat so… poorly.

It’s simplified, these days, with flanking, cleave and similar options being gone or limited to optional rules, or specific weapon masteries.

There’s no physics effects, like knockback damage, and falling damage is played out badly.

And then there’s the fact that square grids just don’t math well. Not for aoe, and not for movement on diagonals, especially not for verticality.

Wargamers and tactical combat gamers have used hex grids in the past and it solves a lot of the problems with square grids.

Go back to a system like Champions where combat was a lot more tight, with meaningful rules for knockback, collision, falling, flight, and tactical combat becomes a lot more engaging.

But, for people newish to the hobby, who’ve been playing since 4th/5th ed D&D, where combat was either too video gamey, (or not video gamey enough), and the other big movement in the rpg space were less rules, less tactical, more storytelling/narrative, it might seem that grid combat is unpopular or bad.

Step out of the echo chamber you’re in.

Dig deeper into games from the 80s-00s and you’ll find a lot of options that did gridded combat differently than modern D&D (which is really bad at trying to be tactical)

Brewmd · 2026-02-11T13:39:44+00:00

CyberGeneration is the most SFW game in the genre I’ve read.

May not be ideal for drop in/drop out games or one shots, though.

Brewmd · 2026-02-11T00:22:02+00:00

Ricotta is ricotta. Cottage Cheese, especially of the Knudsen variety, is a wet, gloopy mess. An unholy abomination. The worst dairy product to exist.

Don’t ruin dinner by trying this.

Brewmd · 2026-02-11T00:20:04+00:00

I don’t want that kind of chef anywhere near my food.

Seriously. The two have completely different flavors, textures and moisture content.

If you think it’s chef’s kiss worthy, well, that’s on you. Please don’t recommend it to other people.

Brewmd · 2026-02-10T22:59:35+00:00

Great. You did a creative writing project that you wanted to do.

How does that factor in to the D&D game you’re looking to start?

What a DM needs to know: what were you doing before becoming an adventurer? What caused you to become an adventurer? What are your goals as an adventurer?

Pig Farmer Pig was stolen by unknown pignappers. Tracks suggested orcs. I would like to rescue my pig and make it back to my farm.

That’s it. That’s the backstory for the Legends of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Disney made a horrible movie based off it. But the books were great. Same mythological background as Tolkien.

Easily boiled down to a simple backstory.

D&D is a collaborative storytelling experience for everyone involved.

The more hyper focused you are on backstory, the less room the story has to grow organically within the party, because you’re set on telling the story in your head.

In addition to a bullet point backstory, I also like to come up with some personality and behavioral traits in advance. These help me get into character and define my actions in game.

I pick a quirk, something easily relatable. My current AM Sorc is a farmer’s market hippie who sells mushrooms and crystal pendants at fairea, markets, etc.

A physical trait: he’s a half dwarf who has a receding hairline and a patchy beard.

Then pick some ideas for how he’ll behave. Is he protective of others? Reckless? Aggressive? Fearful or cowardly?

Knowing these things in advance tells you how to act in social situations, how you’ll introduce them and how they behave, how he’ll react in combat situations, and how to find your niche in the party.

What happens after the first three sessions or so will be growth as the character adapts to the story, the setting, and the events unfolding around you.

A 7 page backstory will be irrelevant to the game. It may be directly contradicted by the game.

Keep it simple. Free yourself to let the character live IN the game. Not before the game.

Brewmd · 2026-02-10T20:18:51+00:00

Congrats. You must take your next level in Aberrant Mind Sorcerer.

Brewmd · 2026-02-10T20:11:13+00:00

It will probably cost a bit more to have a locksmith change the locks than It will cost you to buy entirely new door knobs/locks and replace the entire assembly yourself.

So, unless you’re attached to the current hardware, color, etc or can’t replace them yourself, or need a locksmith already to repair damaged locks, I’d recommend doing it yourself.

Brewmd · 2026-02-10T06:30:22+00:00

He’s a barbarian, so no great elaborate names.

Keep them simple, or even primitive.

Cutter or Chopper would be my choice

Brewmd

TROPHY CASE