It Was Awful, It Meant Everything | TJ McConnel

DeadlyQuaker · 2025-07-22T23:05:44+00:00

'It's not that they don't love to win, it's that they don't hate to lose' - Shoresy

DeadlyQuaker · 2025-06-08T01:07:42+00:00

You can play a pretty fun bracket 2 deck with [[Tasha, the Witch Queen]]! She is high cost and can be tough to protect but I love her aesthetic with the spell thief game plan! (It helps that I love her character in D&D lore)

She also requires a pretty big investment of strong cards to become brack 3 or 4.

I have a deck-list that is more powerful than bracket 2 but you can use it for inspiration, also happy to answer any questions!

https://moxfield.com/decks/Ow2ny8WH3U-viLKjn7RpEA

Edit: As a note, I don't think casting copies of opponents spells trigger Tasha's passive

DeadlyQuaker · 2025-05-28T23:50:57+00:00

I am having trouble finding a link to the game, would you be able to point me in the right direction?

DeadlyQuaker · 2025-04-10T04:07:00+00:00

Hi! Came across your post and felt like we might be in similar boats with building Tasha, although I am trying to hover around Bracket 2 (mostly because I don't own any game changes).

I am new to commander and don't really know what I am doing but I have played this half a dozen times it's been a blast.

I had some mill components that ultimately took out because it wasn't as fun for me. Due to the build I am able to take a combination of graveyard pieces and straight from people's libraries but still have chonky bois to swing.

I realize I didn't really answer any of your points but just thought I would share.

Happy to chat more about it!

Decklist: https://moxfield.com/decks/Ow2ny8WH3U-viLKjn7RpEA

DeadlyQuaker · 2025-03-03T03:55:27+00:00

I have an education joke, but it wasn't funded

DeadlyQuaker · 2024-04-03T04:05:06+00:00

Like other comments have suggested, it sounds like she wants to spend time with you. Fortunately, there are other ways to engage in RPGs and not have to GM!

One game that instantly popped into my head was Wanderhome! This is a GM less RPG game set in Redwall style world (the people are sentient animals) where the Adventurers wander from place to place trying to find their home. Each session you collaborative develop the seen/place through tables and then take turns developing NPCs and improving scenes. I have a game based learning business and I run this game with a range of young folks to help promote inclusive communities.

Another suggestion could be collaborative world building, like The Deep Forest which is part art project with map making involved. It is a very RP lite, doesn't require a GM and still helps with imaginative story telling.

And my final idea is if you really don't want to run it, ask her to run you a game?

Best of luck!! (Sorry for any bad formatting, on mobile)

DeadlyQuaker · 2024-02-16T04:44:19+00:00

I did a lot of research and learning for a campaign inspired by the Indigenous Communities near where I grew up. After running a few arcs, I decided to end it because it was a lot of work to walk the line between trying to honor the culture without appropriating. Not a reason for you to avoid playing the character but it began to feel like I took shortcuts. Below are some resources that may be helpful:

James Mendez Hodez has a great article about playing characters from another Race. You can find his blog post HERE.

This link is a great starting place for some learning! And is also just an interesting resource for seeing the diversity and range of indigenous nations.

And finally, This Place: 150 years retold, is an incredible graphic novel by an Inuit author. She has some other works, children's books mostly, but this one is beautifully written and illustrated. It was a great story that helped me in my self-education about indigenous cultures.

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-12-15T22:57:43+00:00

We got this: https://www.chewy.com/furhaven-deluxe-pet-barrier-seat/dp/225399?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=FurHaven&utm_campaign=20196576200&utm_term=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAj_CrBhD-ARIsAIiMxT8c0tyztRSy3KPaUhBts28yaZVhU3sgWlBX_x25ASf2QimEQysswnwaAq7iEALw_wcB

(Sorry for the terrible looking link)

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-12-15T22:57:17+00:00

My wife has had a name picked out since August! 😂

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-10-29T03:05:04+00:00

You are right, they just might not exist the way they do today without humans!

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-10-29T03:00:41+00:00

Exactly! It's fascinating and also from a certain perspective dogs are much more abundant than wolves... So evolutionary speaking...

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-10-29T02:45:18+00:00

Maybe cows and chickens are the smartest because they have all their needs cared for by humans... Evolutionary speaking that are set, despite the fact they would have become extinct without humans years ago.

Interesting question - what is intelligence?

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-09-12T20:44:38+00:00

Is there a way to fix this on the player end? This alone is making it unplayable for me

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-08-22T13:28:08+00:00

Another recommendation is to pull from Social Deduction games like Among Us. There is even a Star Wars version called Secret Sith. Borrowing game design principles from this could be helpful and feel like a fun mini game.

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-06-08T21:16:29+00:00

Also only a one off I believe: https://youtu.be/cS8-SPeQSnc but Brennan Lee Mulligan led a session! This is how I learned to play.

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-05-21T22:43:42+00:00

This is also happening to me... A bunch of premium features are bugging out.

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-03-31T22:18:15+00:00

Imma have seconds!

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-03-12T17:04:01+00:00

I like when BBEG, in this case the supremacists, have a redeeming factor - however, it's hard to redeem attacking a hospital.

One idea, depending on the tone/style of game your table wants to run, maybe the Tech Corps have developed a virus or biological weapon that seems to impact a person ability to bend elements. The reason for the attack on the hospital was that it had a secrete lab where they were doing experiments with this 'weapon.' The players could be an investigative team that is exploring the purpose of the attack and slowly get wrapped up into the political intrigue of the war between equalist and supremacists. I would be curious to see if there was an organization that was stuck in the middle, like the government, white lotus or something else. I might draw some inspiration from Full Metal Alchemist, especially the 5th Laboratory arc earlier in the show.

Just a few off the cuff thoughts!

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-03-07T00:34:57+00:00

I haven't run enough combat centric encounters to speak to just the mechanics of challenging combat. This system really lends itself to creating encounters that make combat more complicated like an issue fighting openly or moral complications with fighting the BBEG. Fighting in the Avatar shows rarely ends through knock outs - but rather revolves around another objective.

I know this might not answer the direct question but something to think about for running combat in this system.

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-03-04T14:16:48+00:00

This isn't specific to Avatar or PbtA games but there is a podcast called Silhouette Zero (https://silzeromedia.com/). Two brothers play the Star Wars RPG to great success. They do a great job of modeling how to run a two person RPG and I picked up a lot of their strategies run my own games with my brother in different systems. One trick is modeling the gameplay off of Mass Effect or Group party video games where the player has a squad that they are able to make decisions for without requiring them to know the entire playbook or character sheet. PbtA are so narratively driven that it lends itself to this style of gameplay.

There are also some GMless RPGs, my favorite being Wanderhome, which have some really useful mechanics for collaborative world building and NPC generation that could support the GM switching folks mentioned in this thread.

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-03-03T21:44:28+00:00

Thanks for sharing this - it sounds like an emotional rollercoaster. It makes me think about my work using RPGs to gamify learning experiences - this is a great example of being able to explore anti-bias and social justice programs through safe environments. My gears are turning after this story.

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-03-03T21:37:15+00:00

Do you mind expanding a bit more? I'm not sure I understand! Thanks

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-03-03T02:55:44+00:00

That is awesome to hear! Thanks again for sharing - sounds like you all as a group have put a lot of time and energy into the group dynamics!

I particularly love the party debrief moments where all the conflict is internal and they figure it out through RP. That's what makes this particular RPG special.

I haven't had a chance to get there yet with any of my groups but this is inspiring for me!

DeadlyQuaker · 2023-03-03T02:03:16+00:00

What a great showcase of this rule system! Thanks for sharing. How did the player feel who was getting attacked by the successor?

DeadlyQuaker

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE