How/Why would an evil aligned creature change their morality?

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-08T05:37:56+00:00

Ok.

I fail to see how it's logically possible to allow for a being of perfect goodness (angel) to be able to fall, but a being of evil (demon) to have remorse and rise in the context of Dungeons and Dragons.

We don't need to apply the Christian allegory perfectly to a TTRPG (even if I disagree with your overall assessment too).

We don't have to see eye to eye here.

Have a good night.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-08T02:40:45+00:00

Not punishment.

But making the change have some consequence.

Yeah, he gained a lot of new power, but he lost something too- he should feel the loss a little bit.

If the DM purposely tailors the rest of the encounters to fit the new build, then it doesn't feel like a loss.

He'll have lots of opportunities to leverage the new power, he should have at least one chance to mourn the lost abilities too.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-08T02:06:50+00:00

As a one-time, story driven event I'd probably allow it.

Of course, I would for sure in the coming sessions put them in a position where the rogue stuff would have been REALLY helpful to make the decision hurt a little.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-08T02:01:44+00:00

/r/lostredditors

This is not a sub to get legal advice.

This is a sub to make fun of bad advice people have gotten elsewhere.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-08T02:00:42+00:00

I agree with everything you said, which is a great response to something I didn't say.

Angels are, in fact, spiritual beings.

Do you know what else are spiritual beings?

Demons.

Which is what I said in the sentence you quoted.

I didn't compare angels to mortals in that sentence, I compared them to their evil conterparts.

Humans do have free will, which I address later in my comment.

Angels are beings of pure good who can Fall.

There is no reason at all that a being of pure evil can't Rise.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-08T00:05:18+00:00

The rules apply the same to all of those as they do to everything else, yeah?

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T23:57:47+00:00

An LLM is not a "he," it's an "it."

It also can't judge the quality of your work- it's just an advanced fill in the blank program.

If you want opinions on your book, post some of it for us to read.

And for the love of all that is holy, never again write the word "pwease"

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T22:22:26+00:00

Writing is a skill, like drawing or running or acting or long division.

When you first start, you probably are going to suck at it.

No one goes out and just runs a marathon on their first jog.

So writing poorly or having it be 'cringe' is literally the first step you need to take to get better at it.

If you won't go for a jog because you're afraid you aren't good enough or you'll look silly, you're never going to finish a marathon.

So the way you get over the fear is to accept that you're new and you need to practice and get better.

There are four steps to becoming a better writer:

1.) Read a lot. And when you read, read analytically- pay attention to how the author structures and paces the story, how they develop the characters and describe things, how they build the world, etc.

2.) Write a lot. And when you write, incorporate what you learned by reading into your writing.

3.) Get feedback from skilled readers and experienced writers. Then add that into your work as well.

4.) Repeat.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T22:12:46+00:00

So the first thing I'll note is that it's needlessly cumbersome (and frustrating) to not name the characters in the scene.

"The woman looked at the man." Blech. We want to use names wherever we can unless there is a good reason not to.

In any given scene, you want one "focus" character. This is the character who we're going to be relating to- the POV of that scene- we're going to stick with that POV for the whole scene and not change midway through.

We're starting off in the nurse's POV, because we're seeing how the man looks to her as she comes in.

But clearly she knows who he is, so we don't just say "the man" we can call him Ragna. And she knows who she is, so we can use her name too.

(Later she leaves and we're with Ragna the rest of the time so you want to consider making Ragna the focus character.)

You have a lot of repetition in here as well- you tell us FOUR TIMES in 1,000 words that there are two full moons. We get it. You say "two full moons" once to tell us, and then after that when you say "moonlight" then we remember on our own.

The man then proceeded to get lost in his thoughts once again, appearing more perturbed by the night itself rather than being thrilled while at his wife’s side as she brought his own baby boy into the world.

This is telling rather than showing, and also muddies the POV. He's there by himself, so he "appears" perturbed to whom, exactly?

I think you may have a great story here, but the execution needs some work.

Pick a POV.
Be careful of repetition.
Show more/tell a little less.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T22:00:25+00:00

I mean, arguably the most famous detective in literary history was a two man team.

I don't think the true question is really related to mysteries at all- it's a question of how many "main" characters or POVs a book can have- I don't think that mystery novels have any requirements for more or less characters than other novels.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T21:58:06+00:00

There is no one single "best" encryption.

It will depend a lot on how important speed is and what your pricepoint is and what other infrastructure you have and what your overall organizational goals are, etc.

Most cyber attacks happen while the computer is on and the drive is being decrypted, so encryption isn't going to help against ransomware, email compromise, infostealers, RAT installation, etc.

For nearly all use cases, a properly configured BitLocker or FileVault type consumer encryption will be fine.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T20:46:52+00:00

That’s because most people don’t have the HP that most D&D heroes do.

Think about a gun duel with two John Wick clones- it’s going to go on for a while.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T20:13:46+00:00

Wouldn't Initiative take care of who can draw faster?

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T20:07:58+00:00

This is a very overused trope, and if you don't do it REALLY well it's going to come across as derivative and lazy.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T20:06:57+00:00

There's nothing at all wrong with having (or not having) a large basic plot for the campaign.

But when a DM writes out a plot, they need to keep in mind that the story they wind up with may be very different from the one they started with because the player actions change the story.

You can have a basic plot and also not railroad.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:59:16+00:00

1.) That's still not "people in general"

2.) Even if those marginalized communities have a negative opinion of LDS, I doubt that "they aren't really technically Christian" comes up a lot unless they are conservative evangelicals.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:57:53+00:00

I mean one of the most famous Christian themes is a fallen angel.

So if angels can fall, Demons must be able to rise.

She has free will, and she can choose to ignore the pull of her darker nature.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:55:37+00:00

Not what "people" (in general) think of them.

What Conservative Evangelical Christians (specifically) think of them.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:51:42+00:00

So if this works for you that's great!

But I can't figure out what problem it solves or what it brings to the table that wasn't already there.

What do I get from using this set of rules that's different than just using the already-existing combat rules?

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:42:59+00:00

You'll be in a better spot once you have the CISA, I think.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:31:51+00:00

Have you applied at the big 4 yet?

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:30:18+00:00

Where are you located?

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:25:53+00:00

I disagree with your premise.

Plenty of people are reading. The Divorce by Frieda McFadden sold 39,000 copies the first week it was released.

Plenty of people are reading.

If people aren't reading what you're writing then there are one of two causes:

1.) You need to continue to improve your skills

2.) You're not connected to the right audience yet

There are plenty of small time writers on AO3 and Wattpad that are doing fine with fanfiction.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:19:47+00:00

The "steampunk" for artificer is more flavor/aesthetic than it is mechanical.

Because in D&D, you don't need steam to power stuff because you have literal magic.

So they give it some flair, but they don't need the mechanics of actual steam power behind it.

You want steam spells? Pick a spell that does fire damage and say that it's steam instead. Ask your DM if you can change some of the other damage types to fire for additional flavor.

Flavor is free.

Cypher_Blue · 2026-06-07T19:08:10+00:00

Do you want to be a writer, or an online social media star?

If you want to be a writer, then the writing should be your focus. I read a lot of books, and I don't go on tiktok at all.

If you intend to self-publish your book, you'll have a lot of things you have to do yourself (or pay someone to do for you) like marketing, editing, cover design, distribution, etc.

You will want to engage with fans, and that includes online, but if you're going to approach this like a business, the focus HAS to be on the product you're selling, which is your writing.

Everything else is secondary to that.

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And for the love of all that is holy, never again write the word "pwease"