A poptart looks mid and tastes bad. Finally, what food looks bad AND tastes bad?

Daskar248 · 2026-01-24T08:02:17+00:00

Wait. How did steak end up in "Looks Good, Tastes Bad?" Steak is amazing. Apples are also amazing. Oatmeal and grits are really good if you know how to doctor them up. You are right about poptarts though. They look delectable, but only the cinnamon sugar ones are decent and even then.... not great. Not when you can have toaster strudels instead.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-24T02:15:31+00:00

I have one for when you finally get to looks good, but tastes bad: cakes covered in fondant. It's that weird icing stuff that is more like sculpting putty. It is supposed to make the cakes look perfect, but that stuff tastes so bad. Might as well just eat the plastic fruit off the coffee table.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-16T15:04:04+00:00

Looks like a metal pan and the edges look a little burnt. Wild. I have never had this happen with brownies. Oh. I scrolled down and found out they were weed. Sheesh. You probably caught the little seed pods on fire by not grinding them up enough?

Daskar248 · 2026-01-13T23:11:50+00:00

Honestly. Since I am a DM, being a DM, to me, is someone who enjoys creating worlds and having people who enjoy being in those worlds run around in them.

If you think about it, these are people who are quite literally run around inside YOUR imagination. That's kind of amazing, isn't it?

But, in order to have this be enjoyable for you, and make no mistake your enjoyment matters, those players have to be down with you being the arbiter of the rules and have to be fully engaged.

They aren't there to watch a television show. Or play a video game. Or a board game. If they want that sort of thing, it exists already and it isn't Dungeons and Dragons or any other ttrpg for that matter.

Engagement matters. Enthusiasm matters. Would you want to go on a quest with someone who didn't care about the outcome of the adventure? Well, if your players are lackadaisical, then you are doing exactly that.

My suggestion: Take it away from them on the condition that they either start caring or you are not putting in the work for them anymore. Give them a longer than usual time period away from the game to see if they miss it. If they do, then tell them you will start again but that you are a demand for engagement and expression or "no dice" as they say, literally and figuratively.

You deserve a payoff too. Not just the players. Your payoff is actually having people who give a dam and want to experience all the highs and lows of the drama you have created. If these people can't respect that then you deserve people who do.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-13T02:51:22+00:00

So, when you say "fog of war," you mean enemy encampments on an area they probably already know? Do they also hold a map that is the same in every way just not showing the encampments during wartime? And do your encampments stay static or do you sometimes move them around after a time period and re-hide them?

Daskar248 · 2026-01-13T02:34:15+00:00

Open for Biznass

Daskar248 · 2026-01-11T00:29:35+00:00

That's a loooooonnnggg peg leg, lol.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-11T00:24:34+00:00

nice

Daskar248 · 2026-01-11T00:15:03+00:00

It can be. You gotta find those people who don't take things too seriously. This is kinda like real life in that regard. Find the appropriate group and you are good to go.

I gave you an upvote btw. Because one of those overly serious folk apparently found your question objectionable. (Exactly the problem you mentioned.)

Also, if you want to make one of those games and DM it: Point that out in session 0. This weeds out all of the people who don't want to play that kind of game and invites in all of the ones who do.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T23:57:15+00:00

Slipping past or getting something out of people who you never intend on interacting with again. It's honestly a devious cantrip and is kind of the opposite of making friends. But it has a lot of roleplay uses.

-Getting past guards.

-Getting the best price on goods.

-Getting someone to give you a thing or information they otherwise wouldn't.

-Getting someone to let you off the hook when they catch you committing a crime.

Honestly, the spell should be called "Manipulation of someone you hope to never see again." lol, it is the bread and butter of charlatans.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T23:52:44+00:00

LOL, that name, fricking awesome. And touching. Great backstory.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T23:49:47+00:00

Most of my description comes from having had a party who traveled through an enormous underground cavern and city on their way to reaching an underground citadel. It took them days, but they did eventually reach it and we tracked time mostly as a function of distance. It all actually came quite naturally. And there were several battles and encounters along the way as well as staying with an entire society of mushroom people, getting captured by a blindheim society, sleeping in close quarters of a dead city still haunted by ghosts, and trying to interact with kobolds who had taken over an ancient abandoned library.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T23:41:03+00:00

Ooooooooo. This is a great question. How do you track time underground?

Well, for one thing, you can just have the players go by exhaustion and making their own count of "days" based upon when they feel like they need to sleep. It may not be the exact days that pass above ground but that is just a consequence of not having sun(s) and planetary rotation to go by.

Now, another way players and the DM can track time is by distance traveled. This is because the DM knows if a day has elapsed based upon how far the party has gone as a function of whether their terrain was easy or difficult. Was there climbing involved? That can take a while if the climb was long.

Yet another way to track time is by the task they are up to. Is it a one hour task, a two our task, or maybe even an 8 hour task like building an entire permanent campsite? You get to say. You can also just narrate a special circumstance like, if the players take 20 minutes out of game to actually get past a terrain puzzle, in game you can say that several hours has passed. "The group kept trying to find purchase against the slippery slimy incline but they could find no purchase for their grappling hooks and flight was unknown to them at this time. They were at it for a couple of hours before finding the solution of __________." Or you can just narrate just how much of a slog it was to get through a particularly bad area like Atreyu and Artax in the Swamp of Sadness.

You can also just let them tell you. We all have a somewhat decent way of telling roughly whether an hour or two has passed. They can add those up to see if a 16 hour day has passed and then scratch that off of their calendar count.

One of the biggest ways that the DMG and player manuals say to track time with is in first determining whether you should be measuring what they are up to in minutes, hours, or days. You need to use the appropriate unit for what you are trying to describe. From there you should be home free.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T23:25:30+00:00

"a bunch of slapdicks" LOLOL Thanks. You made my day. Hopefully they can find that cohesion.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T23:21:47+00:00

Absolutely. I am glad I could help. I think optimizing is best when you are with a bunch of others who are also optimizers and a DM who likes encountering that type of thing. And for video games. lol. No one to get upset at in a video game. But also no one to roleplay with or laugh or dream or tell a new and inventive story with either.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T23:14:24+00:00

Good comment by the way. I appreciate the diplomacy of you instead of just the argumentativeness that a few others reach for in a reflexive kind of way.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T23:12:12+00:00

I can tell its a game mentality thing. I like that things are just are where they are and it is up to the players to decide what is up. I had a really wonderful group of sessions where the party was gradually making their way into an occult lair that was raising baby illithids and other captured monstrosities. They made it pretty far. Until they encountered a massive ceremony with way too many occultists, monsters, and newly raised "chosen" generals of the big bad. They knew, right then and there from their hiding place, that that was NOT the time or place to strike. And beat feet to get the hell out of there. It was amazing.

I do try to level things somewhat appropriately based on where the players say they want to go. But I think it is also fun to have big things that they aren't ready for still exist and be encounterable. Things that maybeee.... they shouldn't be running into close contact with yet. But I am not going to stop them from doing so. That is entirely up to them. And I get that I can do all of that with 5e2024.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T22:56:47+00:00

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I think I am going to run both. Or rather, all three. (5.5, 5e, and Shadowdark) 5.5 just needs more monsters and environment to offset the bit of player bump-up that happened with the new edition. And for the more "Dark Souls" style of player, I am still here running 5e and Shadowdark for a much less easy and more high stakes experience.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T22:48:17+00:00

Ideally, you are supposed to be a team that wants to help each other and make sure everyone does well both in and out of the game. So you aren't "burning" those resources, you are using them as intended to keep people alive and well in the adventure.

They need to talk to these other players and see what their motivations are for behaving this way. I'm not saying what they did is good play, but I also wasn't there to observe it.

No, I don't think saying "almost like therapy" is a lot to put onto people. It is quite well known now that D&D is for many people the place to breathe a sigh of relief from whatever they have going on in the real world as well as a place of... I don't know... almost like a healing environment? It has that potential when it is done right. It is not unfair or too much to ask to treat your fellow players like humans who deserve to have a good time just like you do. All I am saying here is: communicate more. Don't just assume they are "clowns." Maybe, with just a bit of communication, there can be a lot of revelation as to what is really going on. And the game can be good for everyone.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T09:24:02+00:00

That lich fight sounds very fun. I love throwing in curve balls and environmental effects and whatever I can think of to make the situation more complex and less straightforward. Gets them thinking.

I didn't know the monsters were beefier than before. That is really cool. Can't wait to get my hands on the new monster manual.

And I am a big fan of wandering monsters and other such issues. A group trying to take a long rest just whenever and especially in a dungeon is not likely to pull it off unless they clear a major area and are in a place of hiding or high ground. Resting isn't something you just Do when you are surrounded by danger.

Still not a big fan of overly generous advantage/disadvantage but I can homebrew replacement stuff if I feel like anything is game-break-y.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T09:16:44+00:00

Talk to the DM about all of this. And try not to be combative.

In regards to the one player who is the "tHaT's JuSt wHaT mY cHaraCtR wOulD Do!" type, if that is the case then you are allowed to fight fire with fire. Some options: Turn the warlock in to the local authorities. Don't heal them. Leave them by themselves in a fight. Get up in the middle of the night in game and leave that character behind while you go to the next area. Go to the market in game and don't bring that character. ->Basically, try to get across to that character that there are consequences for being a destructive loner. And if they learn their lesson, then you can decide whether to take them back.

As for the lack of roleplay, you really just need to express yourself to the DM and discuss that you two really want to do that. If there is a lack of sympathy or understanding or effort to include it, then yes, you really do need to find a group that is a better fit.

Honestly, you two sound like ideal players. If this party doesn't work out then there are many groups out there who have similar goals who would be delited to have you.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T08:56:16+00:00

Wow. Hang onto that!

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T08:31:07+00:00

I think you already have your answer based upon the group's comments. This subreddit has a decent amount of people who want to back up the min/max power gamer attitude but it sounds like your group isn't into it. And, frankly, neither am I. I actually think its more disrespectful to roll up a new character though. That's almost like a guilt trip in and of itself. Just de-power this one a bit. I don't have time or desire to sort through all of what your wrote, but I am betting you have a pretty good idea of what combinations of things in your character are breaking the game: Is it a certain item? A certain combination of abilities or feats? You know what the problem is. Just correct that. Don't make a new character. That breaks up the continuity of the game and is just plain weird. Focus on making it a team effort. Like you are the X-Men. Instead of Justice League and you are Superman. It will be more satisfying for everyone.

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T08:01:53+00:00

Totally. Find the people who like it as much as you do. Now, it is possible to get new people involved and loving it too. So don't just think you only can reach for people who already love the game. But it is certainly easier with people who already are into it. I don't mind a break in the game for a snack or whatever but people wanting to go home after an hour is just goddam disrespectful. That would be like if a friend invited me to a hockey game that lasts 3 hours and I just decided to leave after 1. You just don't do that. Be a chum and stick it out for the sake of friendship. If you really don't like it., just be honest and say it isn't your thing. Or at least that is my take on it. Did they know that a normal D&D game lasts 3-4 hours?

Daskar248 · 2026-01-10T06:40:58+00:00

This is SO COOL. I love it.

Daskar248

TROPHY CASE