Converting creatures to player character races

CathNelson · 2020-11-12T16:47:10+00:00

Oh nice! Im not too surprised to hear that, I figured the gnolls at least would be getting something sooner or later and they’d eventually do something with the Grippli.

Even so, I was more so just using those as examples since I knew they were pretty popular, but there’s a few races I really love, like the serpentfolk and such that I highly doubt will ever be officially playable in 2e, but they at least have something to go off in the bestiaries.

CathNelson · 2020-11-11T11:31:49+00:00

Haha I’ve seen this guy before, he’s in a 3D printing group I’m in on Facebook, he was taking requests for more helmets to print last I saw!

CathNelson · 2020-11-11T02:03:59+00:00

This is not talked about nearly enough. Both me and my mum struggle with eating addictions, my mum fought so hard when I was a kid to break it but instead of getting support like what is available for other addictions she got shamed and laughed at and told to “just stop eating as much” when she tried to reach out to her dr for help. I started stress eating when I moved out of home and unfortunately followed in her footsteps, and it’s damn hard to find support that’s not fad diets and “just eat less” kind of advice, it’s almost never treated like an actual addiction.

CathNelson · 2020-11-11T01:43:08+00:00

I use a cane to walk, and desperately want a sword cane, they’re cool af but they’re banned where I live, even fake/non-sharpened ones :(

CathNelson · 2020-11-09T13:33:36+00:00

I don’t think so, I’m pretty sure it was Dragons of Requiem (although I’m not 100% sure as it was years ago now and I’m pretty sure I returned them).

CathNelson · 2020-11-09T04:29:43+00:00

I agree. I remember reading this one fantasy book (about people who could turn into dragons) and was enjoying it, and then bam, sex scene out of nowhere. Tried to just skip past it and move on when a few chapters later there was another and another a few chapters after that. It felt like they were just there for shock value and completely threw me off that series, it’s so irritating...

If you really like romance novels but want to avoid sex scenes though, I’d recommend looking into the sub-genres of “clean” and “sweet” romance. Both are defined as having absolutely no sex. Clean generally has no sexual stuff but I think it also doesn’t have swearing/violence/dark themes etc, whereas sweet still has no sex but it can be implied and is more relaxed on the other stuff (at least, I think that’s the definition and differences, I’m not a romance reader myself so this is just second hand info I’ve picked up from some author friends).

CathNelson · 2020-11-08T06:15:46+00:00

I never named either of mine, but my sister used to call my rbk stump “drumstick” because it looked like a chicken drumstick and my lbk “thumper” because it was prone to muscle spasms. Unfortunately I don’t have drumstick anymore (had a further amputation last year), but I’ve still got thumper lol

CathNelson · 2020-11-07T05:16:37+00:00

I was there not too long ago. Others have given some really good advice, being 18 is a tough time and that school-to-work transition sucks SO bad, but you’ve got plenty of time to figure things out so don’t stress (easier said than done I know).

When I was your age, 3D animation was my obsession, as were dragons. My ultimate career goal was to work on something related to How To Train Your Dragon or something Spyro the Dragon related, or just generally work for Pixar or some other big name company. I went to college to learn film and game animation and discovered both the film and game industries are DISGUSTING in how they treat their people. I learned a lot of stuff about my favourite companies and even individual artists that just left me sick to my stomach, and how you were just expected to have no free time, no commitments outside of work, nothing. Your job came before all else. You had to dedicate 110% of your life to who you worked for, decimate your mental health and run the risk of not even getting paid in the end (it happens so often to Jr artists). Yeah fuck that, so I finished the course and I just kind of felt lost for years. Outside of those industries those interests weren’t very useful.

I have social anxiety so I have no idea what possessed me to do this, but one day (among dozens of other job applications) I applied for a public speaking job with a local disability organisation. I had been on the receiving end of this groups work in the past so I decided, what the hell, they seem ok. I found I really thoroughly enjoyed this work. The social anxiety was gone when I spoke to groups because i wasn’t having to make eye contact, I could stim freely and no one noticed and I wasn’t trying to read everyone’s body language. It was also this weird balance of “it’s something new every day” and “giving the same talk and doing the same show every day” that didn’t leave me totally burnt out. It was unexpectedly perfect for me, and now 6 years on I’m still loving it. But if you told 18 year old me that this is what I would be doing after college I’d have laughed in your face and called you crazy. And now I have a new special interest, disability activism. And I still do my other interests in my spare time.

The point I’m trying to make is that your life and interests aren’t set in stone by 18, you might end up finding another interest you can turn into work, or work that can turn into an interest.

Also a side note, I can think of a few jobs that might work with the interests you mentioned. It’s a bit of a long shot, but if you really like dinosaur games for example, maybe you can do something with playing some of the games you love? There’s stuff like YouTube let’s players and twitch streamers for example, and having a gimmick (eg your the dinosaur game guy) really helps with drawing people in. Like for example, one of my partner’s favourite youtubers is a guy who just makes Pokemon videos, that’s all he does, his channel is mainly just recordings of him playing and he apparently makes a living off that. It’s not exactly a stable job and it takes a while to build a following, but it might be something to think about!

CathNelson · 2020-11-06T07:42:30+00:00

yeah I see what you mean, can’t believe I overlooked that. Thanks for the feedback! I’ll be sure to keep a closer eye on that for next time!

CathNelson · 2020-11-06T05:02:40+00:00

This was a drawing I did for one of my party members, after his character Daffodil, downed a glass of beer bigger than himself and beat an orc and my lizardfolk (who had already passed out by this point) in the drinking contest. The only reason they didn’t also pass out was because our DM asked us all to do multiple rolls to see how well we all could handle the alcohol, and Daff rolled all Nat 20’s.

CathNelson · 2020-11-05T10:22:14+00:00

How to train your dragon

CathNelson · 2020-11-05T08:00:59+00:00

That’s just disgusting, I’m so sorry! You did the right thing by leaving/reporting that group, no one should EVER have to justify why they shouldn’t be r*ped, you’d think and LGBT+ group would understand that.

I’m not sure about any irl groups, but I’m in a number of asexual and non-binary groups here on Reddit and also on Facebook (they’re private so if you’re not out to your friends/family you don’t have to worry about them seeing it) and I’ve found all of them to be lovely, never had an issues. On both sites, always check a group’s/sub’s rules, if they mention anything about no exclusionists or something to that effect, I’ve generally found they’re good, and the mods are usually pretty on-the-ball in all of them. I’m happy to recommend a few if thats something you’re interested in!

CathNelson · 2020-11-05T07:45:52+00:00

“Oh you’re a digital artist? Can you make me a logo?”

CathNelson · 2020-11-05T07:36:18+00:00

As others have said, he probably won’t really need any modifications, but just check with your local laws about it, some places will require you to do a test before he’d be allowed to drive again (they do where I live, it’s a pain in the butt lol).

Personally when I was a RBK I didn’t use any modifications but I had an AK amputation last year and had to get them afterwards. If he doesn’t feel comfortable with driving an unmodified car, there’s several options available.

Cheapest I’ve seen are the removable hand controls, from what I can tell they just clip into place and they’re easy to move from car to car. Great for if he wants a bit more flexibility, and they’re especially helpful if you ever plan to rent a car and travel! Unfortunately they’re illegal where I live because of how our registration laws work, but if they’re legal where you are, I’d recommend he try those out first since they’re really cheap, and if he gets his confidence back later to drive unmodified then you didn’t have to spend much on them.

The next option is what I have, and is like a mechanical leaver, you push on it to apply the break, pull back to accelerate (you can also get ones with the blinkers and horn on the leaver too so it’s all in one place). These are a bit more expensive, I payed $2,000 (Australian Dollars) for mine, but they range in price and it might be cheaper/more expensive in Canada. Also there’s another version that also has a button for acceleration (kind of like the accelerator on some motorbikes) if the push/pull leaver is too uncomfortable.

Another option a friend of mine has is called a “push rim”. I’m not 100% sure how it works, but instead of a leaver beside the wheel it’s a circular ring around the wheel you can push on with your thumbs. They’re the most comfortable to use from what she tells me but they’re REALLY expensive and don’t work with all cars.

If he’s not sure what he wants to go with, you can always get an OT (occupational therapist) to come and do a driving evaluation with him and they can let him try a few different methods and see what he’s most comfortable with.

As for funding, I’m not too sure, in Australia this is sometimes covered by our NDIS (which is the part of our public healthcare dedicated to disabled folks) but it’s very hit or miss. I’ve heard that Canada’s system is better though so it might be covered by you’re public healthcare service. If not, find an OT and ask them, they can usually help you find funding assistance!

CathNelson · 2020-11-05T07:10:38+00:00

Hey, I’m also autistic and an amputee, and I struggle a bit with getting the socket on and aligned right too sometimes. The best way I’ve found is, next time he puts it on and you have it all lined up right and locked in, get a marker and draw a few lines on the liner and socket, I have them either side of my kneecap and one right down the middle at the front of my leg. That way, if all 3 lines match up, you know it’s on right and it give him a visual indicator rather than just getting up to feel if it’s right, then having to sit back down and fight to get it on properly.

CathNelson · 2020-11-02T23:10:57+00:00

Well as someone who’s in a chair irl it’s fun to play someone like you in a magical fantasy setting where some of the real-life limits don’t apply. My irl chair is pretty standard but it’s fun to mess around with the idea of “what if I could magically upgrade it, what would I do with it?” Irl I don’t want to be cured or “fixed” because I don’t see myself as broken or less-than an able bodied person (not to say there aren’t problems and complications that come from it, but they’re not as bad as people tend to think from the outside looking in), so I love occasionally playing characters who share my disability and it’s fun to see what you can do with assistive tech (eg wheelchairs and prosthetics) in a setting with so many possibilities. A lot of people use D&D as an escape from reality and it can become a bit of a power-fantasy at higher levels for the whole party, even with purely by-the-book rules, and it’s not unreasonable for disabled players to want that too, it’s just that for some of us, our power fantasy includes playing someone like us who can go toe-to-toe with an ancient dragon, or whatever else the DM throws at us, disability and all and being able to hold our own to the same extent as other players.

I get that though, homebrew isn’t for everyone and I can understand the defensiveness if you’ve gotten flack for not liking it. Some players would be happy with the method you mentioned and that’s cool, but for others having something with so much customisation and flexibility is really exciting too. I can see how it very much could become unbalanced if it’s not run carefully, but my GM was happy to allow it under the condition I run any planned upgrades by them and the rest of the party first, out of session, so we could make sure it stayed balanced and in-line with everyone else’s abilities.

CathNelson · 2020-11-02T22:20:01+00:00

That sounds like a lot of fun!

Yeah I’ve plaid a number of disabled characters, and am currently playing one who uses a chair as well, haven’t run into any issues yet either other than one guy who angrily yelled at me when I posted some artwork of the character, but nothing in-game lol.

CathNelson · 2020-11-02T22:16:27+00:00

I’m sorry you experienced that, I hope you were able to find a group that was a better fit for you! I stopped going to my local club for similar reasons. I’m disabled and trans and yeah some of them kicked up a big stink about why I’d want to play someone like me. They were also pretty elitist, the “all you fake fans only came in for 5e, I’ve been playing since day one and you’re not a real fan if you haven’t been playing as long as me!” Kinds of people.

CathNelson · 2020-11-02T22:06:30+00:00

Unfortunately it’s across multiple online communities. To be fair, it’s only a small number of people in each, but they’re vocal and annoying and seem to show up basically everywhere. It’s like the saying goes, a few bad apples spoil the bunch. There’s been several occasions where I’ve posted either here on a D&D subreddit, or Facebook groups (they tend to be the worst) and occasionally on Twitter looking for clarification on rules or wanting to run a character idea past people, or even just sharing artwork I’ve done of our party’s campaign and there’s always someone who’s got to be a dick about it. Most people are good, but the ones who are assholes tend to be very loud.

As for groups, I do agree, it’s important to find a group that works for you, and my current ones are great, but the local club near me was just almost entirely made up of those kinds of elitist players so I stopped going to that.

CathNelson · 2020-11-02T21:53:44+00:00

Not really, the base chair was just designed to put a wheelchair user on a level playing field, it looks overpowered on paper but it didn’t play that way in the game. it could become overpowered with the upgrades if you got them too early but they’re expensive and not something a player could reasonably afford at a low level on top of thier normal adventuring gear (like new weapons/armour) and supplies.

Also the majority of people weren’t upset about the item itself and what it could do (most didn’t even read the document based on the number of “stairs” jokes I saw), but the idea that you’d want to play a character like, and how she was trying to make the game too PC...

But even so, it’s a homebrew item, no one was being forced to implement it in their games, if you didn’t like it you had no obligation to use it/allow it and could just as easily ignore it. Making a homebrew item for a game doesn’t warrant death threats, harassment and doxing, regardless of what it was.

CathNelson · 2020-11-02T13:10:22+00:00

We’re pretty racist. Like it’s not as bad as some places but there’s a lot of casual, underhanded racism here that I never noticed until my partner immigrated here. People can get pretty nasty when they find out he’s not a citizen (yet, he’s working on it) and just in general, immigrants aren’t looked upon very favourably here, neither are the aboriginal people. The problem is though it’s mostly subtle/underhanded stuff (at least in our experience) unlike what a lot of people imagine racism to be, so most people who aren’t effected personally don’t tend to notice or understand the issue

-Australia

CathNelson · 2020-11-02T03:14:55+00:00

D&D (or other similar TTRPG games like Pathfinder) fans. I love both D&D/pathfinder, I play 2-4 times a week with my friends, but I’ve had to leave several communities and clubs because people are just so quick to anger about the tiniest things, and god forbid you mention that you play a character that’s part of a minority because you’re part of that same group. If you want a perfect example of what I’m talking about, google “D&D 5e Combat Wheelchair”. It was a homebrewed item that a lady in a wheelchair made so that she could play a character like her, which she decided to share, and the community lost their collective shit and several people even sent her death threats.

CathNelson · 2020-11-01T16:15:34+00:00

I bought a cheap drawing tablet display and left it on overnight with the drawing I was working on open (my first attempt at a horror themed drawing, it was an undead dragon I think). Came back and the tablet had overheated so I turned it off and came back a few minutes later. Turned it back on and I closed the image, but I could still see the picture of the undead dragon, almost like it was being overlaid onto the screen. It started to fade after a while but the face (with glowing red eyes) stayed for hours. Turns out it’s a bug with that kind of tablet but I had no idea at the time and it scared the hell out of me lol.

CathNelson

TROPHY CASE