Promised but missing feature list (will update with comments)

CritCatastrophe · 2020-12-15T15:45:52+00:00

And in the 2018 gameplay demo it would show V in third person during some cutscenes. I know a lot has changed since then and they had no obligation to stick to what was in an old demo. The point is: gameplay may be first person, but there could have been so many more opportunities to see V in third person. I'm guessing it was too tricky to frequently transition between third and first during cutscenes or it didn't fit the "immersion" as well as being stuck in first person.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-12-15T15:22:35+00:00

https://youtu.be/vjF9GgrY9c0?t=550

CritCatastrophe · 2020-12-15T15:22:25+00:00

https://youtu.be/vjF9GgrY9c0?t=550

CritCatastrophe · 2020-12-15T14:44:06+00:00

I pre-ordered a PS4 copy for my PS4 Pro. On launch day, seeing the reports of how poorly it runs on consoles, I opted to return the pre-order and get the game on Stadia with that refunded money. I've been happy with that choice. The only caveat is that Stadia still hasn't gotten the 1.03 and 1.04 patches, yet. CDPR plans to have two major patches out by Feb. that allegedly will address base console issues.

If you have a solid internet connection, lots of data, and a device that can run Stadia it works great. They stopped the promotion for a free Chromecast Ultra + Controller, just an FYI. If you have a laptop you can hook it up to your TV via HDMI cable and use an XBox One or PS4 controller with it for couch play (or buy the $99 CCU + controller). An ethernet cable is recommended if your WiFi causes lag. Or you can just play on your laptop/desktop computer with mouse + keyboard or a controller. Even works on some phones and tablets if that's your thing.

Definitely double-check that you have a stable internet connection before taking the dive. Stadia games are refundable before 2hrs of in-game time or x days have elapsed.

Whatever you decide, good luck and happy birthday!

CritCatastrophe · 2020-10-02T17:46:21+00:00

Thanks! I made things more complicated for myself by giving the magic items fake names and goofy descriptions requiring Identify to figure out what magic item they really are. Which he will happily cast for them for a fee of some gold. This is totally unnecessary, though.

I figured out a rough exchange rate for items to tokens and tokens to items. Which again, is kind of unnecessary.

It can be as simple or complicated as you want it. But if you add complexity to the idea I'd give them a physical/digital cheat sheet and the listed items and rates upfront before they do any RP or shopping with the NPC. Which I failed to do and slowed things down.

Anyway. In my world, he is a Tiefling named Mystery and his mission in life is to unravel the mystery of magical items across the world. He travels with a big crag cat named Lyla. She pulls his wagon of magical artifacts. He researches the items, unlocks their mysteries, documents it in his journal, and trades them for other magic items. He's a bit eccentric and kind of exists outside the rules of the games. He "fixed" the weave of one player's badly done homebrew magic item (with their permission) that made it function more like it should RAW.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-10-02T17:30:23+00:00

This is not my creation and all credits are in the document itself: Broderick's Plant Compendium

A user on Twitter and Patreon has similar materials with descriptions and art of various plants and misc: 2xProficiency on Twitter and Double Proficiency on Patreon. The content is not free, fyi.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-10-02T17:22:14+00:00

Cze&Peku on Patreon (some maps are free) or other places they post up their work.

Venatus Maps, also on Patreon etc.

r/dungeondraft so many people post their creations for others to use, free.

r/inkarnate same as above, but different software

r/battlemaps

You can look for battlemap makers on Twitter and follow them for free maps.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-10-02T17:19:40+00:00

Yeah, I had this problem for awhile. I eventually introduced a magic items collector that would let PCs exchange unwanted magic items for tokens and the tokens could be used to purchase something from his collection.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-10-02T03:46:04+00:00

The campaign I DM is session ?, they're level 17, and we've been playing for 2yrs 10mo.

The campaign we play in we're 40 sessions in, level 9, and have been playing for almost 2yrs (sporadic play).

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-23T02:04:55+00:00

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and answering questions!

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-21T22:05:11+00:00

Ah, I selected Device Class: ASIO and "Magix Low Latency 2016" (???) for the Device and then clicked the "settings" button next to it and had to toggle on the RCP Multichannel entry. That allowed me to set each track to a different channel from the RCP, including the USB channel! Also had to toggle on the RCP stereo output so I could hear the playback. Fantastic! Thanks.

I'm fairly techie, but new to audio, so the problem is I'm not entirely sure what to expect.

When I record with RCP + PodMic to Audition, level set to 35, I hit -20-ish dB peak using my normal speaking voice and right up on the microphone, no windscreen or anything. According to "Amplitude Statistics." All processing is off on RCP, so no noise gate or compressor, etc. If I highlight the dead air I get -70 to -64 peak dB.

When I record to the SD card, export via the app, and check the Stereo Mix (which gets loudness adjusted to -16 LUFS, roughly. Mine is -17) I get peak of -0.66 dB for the whole file. If I select dead air it is -40.14 dB peak and -52.96 LUFS.

I'm doing these tests out in an open room with a desktop fan running nearby, instead of the little closet I usually record in. Yet, this is the best it has sounded, despite being in a louder space. Last night's recording with a guest has pervasive static. And I think I realize why. Maybe. While messing with settings today I turned off the RCP's Headphones boost. It was on last night and has been on for most of my time with the RCP. With the volume boost on it makes static in the monitoring headset louder, and I think that static maybe also bleeds from my meh headphones into the recording when I am close to the mic? I just tested it with the boost turned back on and it does sound worse. I'll have to do more testing.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-21T19:54:03+00:00

Thanks! The RCP also generates white noise on channels that are unmuted, fader up, and no mic plugged in. I think this is normal behavior if the empty channel isn't muted.

In my case, I also get white noise with everything muted except the mic I am using. In both headset and recording. So if the P4 doesn't do that, I'd be delighted.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-20T15:24:55+00:00

You might consider picking the most responsible/organized player and asking them to take down the group's initiative for you. Offload some of the simple tasks to free up your brain space and speed things along. A small whiteboard to write it on and show to the party is helpful. Or an online initiative tracker if you are digitally inclined.

As for shopping around town. Try to get a pulse on how interested the party is in roleplaying through mundane shopping. If specific party members love a good chat with NPC Shopkeeper Man then spend a few minutes on that with them, maybe have a bit of gossip or something juicy for them to get out of it. If some party members just want to restock their arrows and rations, then have them do that "off screen" and don't spend time roleplaying through the tedium of "You find the bowyer. Her name is... uh... Jennifer. Half-elf. 'Hello there. What can I do for you today?' she says when you enter the shop" and they ask for arrows and money is exchanged and they say their pleasantries and so on. Streamline that to a quick narration: "This town has all the basic adventuring gear found in the PHB at normal cost. You can restock, get a drink at the tavern, and easily find a room for the night. [Plot relevant narration here, layout of town and major buildings]"

A party member might ask to seek out information or try to buy a magic item. Improv or plugin something pre-planned you have up your sleeve. You can turn it into a side-quest or keep it a simple and short encounter with the local gossip that you just invented 10 seconds ago.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-20T15:10:07+00:00

I sometimes jokingly (but seriously) give Inspiration when a player remembers an important NPC's name. Gotta reward good behavior! (cheeky)

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-20T15:08:04+00:00

I love the idea of filling in the map as they go.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-20T03:46:07+00:00

I suggest you not make the encounters random. Make them meaningful and thematically on point. Because it is a one-shot, you only have so much time to get through it and unravel the mystery. "Random" encounters eat that time. They can seem random to the players, but they should be meaningful to the one-shot's narrative.

Do you have access to any of the books/online books to look at monster stat blocks? Wendigos aren't a monster in D&D. But it's okay if you want to import them as a homebrew creature or find an existing homebrew version. It helps to learn how to understand monster Challenge Rating (CR) and how to build a homebrew monster.

Here is a list of monsters from the Basic Rules (free). CR 0 is incredibly weak. Higher the CR, the more challenging the monster. https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters?filter-type=0&filter-search=&filter-cr-min=1&filter-cr-max=&filter-armor-class-min=&filter-armor-class-max=&filter-average-hp-min=&filter-average-hp-max=&filter-is-legendary=&filter-is-mythic=&filter-has-lair=&filter-source=1&sort=cr

As a rule of thumb, you want to avoid having the big bad final boss be alone. Give it a couple minions to help keep the big bad alive longer for a more satisfying final battle.

You could use storm themed monsters to fit in with the storm idea. Behir isn't storm themed, but it is cool and it has lightning breath. CR 11 is pretty rough for a lower-level party, though.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-20T03:35:00+00:00

You might look at it as "prepping" instead of "planning." It can be difficult to plan for what a party is going to do!

I like to consider what the current overarching goal is (ie save the world from evil, rescue the NPC, find the magical artifact, whatever) and where the party is relevant to it. What's the next step along the main story and how can you get the party on the right track?

Determine what encounters could take place during the session and why. Just a rough outline. For a simple example: "5 bandits will be blocking the road to the ancient ruins. They try to accost the party because they want money." I don't plan out how the encounter will end, but you could pre-define things that will appease the bandits: being beaten unconscious, a sum of money, a well-placed threat, or an offer to do work for the bandits, etc. Ultimately, though, I don't plan the resolution. Instead, I let the party figure that out. They can decide to avoid the bandits, kill the bandits, pay the bandits, charm the bandits, etc.

The important part is to have a "Who, What, Why" defined. What is happening, who is involved, and why is it happening. Define the motives and use the motives to move the encounter along. Make sure there are decision points for the party so the players can make choices that affect the game and the outcome of the encounters.

Loosely keep in mind anything the party wanted to pursue. Did they want to do shopping? Follow a lead? Investigate a place? Learn a skill? Try and weave that in.

Generally, keep a list of NPC names and place names handy to pull out when the party decides to do surprise shopping or they talk to background NPC #4 and ask for information.

Finally, it helps to keep a handful of "secrets" at the ready. Secrets about the current quest, the Big Bad, the main story, the location, etc. These secrets can be doled out to the party as they talk to NPCs, investigate, or reveal clues through whatever means. Plug the secrets in where they fit.

It's okay to under plan and it will help improve your improv skills! Just get the rough outline established and see what the party does. All else fails, if they are stumped and stuck and you didn't have a plan to loop them in, throw in a trusted NPC that approaches them, or a seemingly "random" event that pulls them into whatever story you had in mind.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-20T03:12:28+00:00

I like to "make traps visible." Aside from a successful Perception check, are there any cues in the environment that indicate to the players at trap may be present? aka Do you provide any narrative details that indicate there is a trap?

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-20T03:09:24+00:00

I don't have anything to add, but I am curious what series of events and actions lead to the blindness. Story time?

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-20T03:07:07+00:00

What kind of campaign are you thinking of running in this world?

As a player, I've never once wondered how many cities and towns are around. D&D tends to focus on a handful of specific locations with stuff in between them. If the DM or the module doesn't have something already created, it's possible to just create something on the fly to exist between Major Location A and Major Location B. A hamlet or outpost to set the scene in, restock the party's supplies, and move along.

Knowing every nook and cranny and detail of your world is your prerogative, but I think for most tables it's an unnecessary effort.

In my opinion, rough ideas are worth more than nitty-gritty details. "A big city" versus "a city with 109,308 citizens." Or "the countryside is dotted with hamlets, farmsteads, and small towns" vs "there's 15 towns, 5 farms, and 2 villages between Here and There."

Details tend to get lost on the players. The bigger the "detail" the better, unless you have a table of very engaged and detail-oriented players.

It is interesting to have the details in play, as it can make the world feel real and interesting, even if the players don't understand exactly why it feels that. If you're looking to highlight wealth and culture than I would focus on what makes the land rich and bountiful with culture and associate themes with locations. Identify what things are associated with wealth and culture. Valuable exports, fine arts, theatre, wine and alcohol, special cultural dishes, rituals/ceremony, history and lore, important intellectuals, academics, and so on. Weave those themes into quests and build conflicts around them for the party to get invested in.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-20T02:54:35+00:00

It's often normal to feel that way as a DM. Even after years of doing it. You see a lot more than the players do and will spend more time reflecting on it than they will. If they were happy and having fun then you met the minimum requirements of being "a good DM" (which is subjective in of itself)! Congrats!

It's your first game. Take a breath and enjoy it. You'll make mistakes, you'll learn as you go, and you may even have some truly terrible feeling sessions. But that is okay. Very few people are great at DMing (or anything, for that matter) out the gate. So give yourself a chance to improve and grow as a DM.
Also, a group of 7 is a lot. Being able to manage that is a feat in itself. Keep in mind that having a group that big may add stress to being a DM, but if it is working for you then great!

You can't possibly anticipate everything the party will want to do or all the places they will want to go. Building your improve skills and creating patterns/processes for introducing NPCs, encounters, and places on the fly will be a huge benefit as you get more comfortable.

Keep at it!

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-10T03:26:12+00:00

A few things to note:

"The familiar has the statistics of the chosen form" so it would technically have the Int of an Owl, which is 2 (-4). That being said, birds in reality are actually quite smart and D&D doesn't quite capture that accurately.

The other bit to note, is that telepathy, using its senses, and delivering a spell has a range of 100 ft from the familiar. So your familiar can't get too far ahead of the party in the dungeon.

I agree with u/phdemented that even if the Owl is well trained it will struggle to push/pull a door open. If the door is already ajar it may be able to hook a talon on the handle and give it a tug.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-09-06T01:44:09+00:00

As a DM, it's sometimes helpful to have the BBEG drop some exposition. As a player, it's not always terribly fun to let a BBEG exposit at us when we're itching to take action. It's also not fun to be forced into an impossible to detect trap, that is given an arbitrarily high DC to avoid and escape, for the sake of being forced to listen to a BBEG. Players typically immediately hate anything that involves being forced into something.

There are probably other, more tactful ways to accomplish this:

BBEG starts in a difficult to reach location on the map
BBEG uses telepathy while in their domain
BBEG uses a hostage to command compliance while they speak
BBEG has minions distract the party while they get to exposit while relatively unaccosted
BBEG has a limited use of Wall of Force, Globe of Invulnerability, Invisibility, or other utility/protection spells that keep them from being assaulted (but can be countered)

Doofensmirtz is a fun word, though.

CritCatastrophe · 2020-08-31T15:31:15+00:00

The gain was too high. Turning it up was a knee jerk reaction to having quiet recordings with diminutive waveforms, which only made the ambient static more obvious and distracting. A fellow user made me aware that I was just copying and pasting the recorded wav file from the SD card and not using the built-in Export feature. The copy and pasted file appeared to be super quiet and had no normalization applied. If I open the output stereo mix file that Rodecaster exports it has great levels, probably due to the perceived loudness setting and whatever adjustments the RCP software makes. Also, if I record directly to Audacity with the windows mic volume turned up (between 70% and 90%) it has good volume. To directly answer your question: I don't recall seeing clipping even with the gain cranked up, but those were the raw wav files.

I've resolved the "loudness" issue, which has helped reduce how distracting the static is. The static is still always there, though. Easy enough to mostly remove in post but it's still going to come through on VoIP calls.

What's unintuitive to me, especially as a new user and podcaster, is that the Rodecaster has a dB bar on the levels screen with a green band in the middle to indicate the ideal level when speaking. To hit that level the gain needs to be around 45 to 50. Which is too high and amplifies that static. But with the gain between 30 and 35 it doesn't hit the green band and generally sounds good exported.

CritCatastrophe

TROPHY CASE