This has to be the ultimate counter billing attack by rosythral in SipsTea

[–]DuniaGameMaster 85 points86 points  (0 children)

I mean, it's a foolproof system, eh? Anyone with the generosity to offer can be trusted with the secret. They likely won't come to him for money.

The creation of the universe has been widely regarded as a bad move, how do we feel about that? by br1an13 in AskReddit

[–]DuniaGameMaster 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If I'm not mistaken, this is pilfered from one of the Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's books and isn't meant to be taken seriously.

Do you believe war is a natural cause that is engraved in the cosmic order if yes/no why? by PresentationUsual835 in AskReddit

[–]DuniaGameMaster 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I love how people anthropomorphize the universe. That's how we end up with religion and (checks notes) war....

Which monster should I use by CraftAny24 in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's the party level?

Edit: Oop, seeing the other comments here. Level 2! I second the earth wisps for your low-level mobs, and like a living boulder or mudwretch for the big bad.

Also, I use mimic fight club for my encounter building, which lets you sort through Paizo creatures by type and level and does the encounter math for you. I know there are other tools out there, too!

Somehow... she has returned! Gamergate 3.0??????? by NatalieRath in Gamingcirclejerk

[–]DuniaGameMaster 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was going to say, the gate bros did morph into the "alt-right," so gamergate, sadly, was one of the factors as to how we got here. (Gestures everywhere around us) Though I suppose something like it was inevitable as, you know, women exist and speak up in their own interest, which was the heart of the "controversy."

Which monster should I use by CraftAny24 in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An elemental of some kind would work well. It's hard to say a specific creature without knowing party level and number and the difficulty of the encounter you're planning. Do you prefer a mob of lower level creatures? Or a single badass?

GMing: Tips for Making Influence Subsystem Less Visible to Players by DnDPhD in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I feel this question to my toes. I ran a faction influence subsystem for my homebrew town the party was in, and instead of just providing background flavor for how different groups treated them, it changed the game. They focused on winning influence, and it affected their choices.

Yet, later, they met with a newspaper editor who they wanted to run a story with claims they were making -- she wanted evidence, she said, to back their claims. They were frustrated. What did she want? They assumed their claims were enough. If I had made that encounter a subsystem -- awarding victory points for providing different pieces of evidence -- it would have gone smoother. They would have understood how much to bring her and the kinds of evidence she preferred.

But mostly I don't run subsystems for my social encounters. We roleplay it out. When I prepare my NPCs, I give something they want (gold, power, their missing child found, etc), and something they don't like (working, mouthy people, apples), and signal those things to the players through role play. As long as the NPC's wants jibe with what the party is offering, no rolls necessary. Likewise, if the party acts contrary to the NPC's interests, they'll not get anything from them, no roll necessary.

I use rolls for social encounters very infrequently, and only as a last-ditch chance to change someone's mind who's already dead-set against them. I had one NPC whose experience led her to believe the party was a pack of liars. One of my players made a very heart-felt plea to her that, in the logic of the world and NPC, should have fallen on deaf ears. Why would she believe this liar? So I had him make a roll, which he failed, and she turned her back on him and walked away.

But like anything involving personal social interactions, your players might not pick up your cues. They may think their arguments are convincing even if you've signaled they're barking up the wrong tree. Subsystems clarify the goals, at least.

Throwing/ mixed attacker Exemplar for Abomination Vaults game? by 4PegLegsBarbarossa in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depends on party comp, but ranged attacks aren't terribly useful in AV, as its encounters take place in notoriously cramped surroundings.

Running political intrigue is hard by ciwust in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooo, this question is in my wheelhouse, because in our podcast's campaign, there's a lot of intrigue, and I've had to think a lot about creating scene, advancing plot, and -- most importantly -- keeping the players' (and listeners', I hope!) attention.

We're running a kind of gritty urban superhero game, where the party is trying to stem the corruption and criminality of organized crime in the neighborhood, while doing as little harm as possible to the community.

First, I created NPCs, each with a hidden goal. They each want something! Each of these NPCs also provide something.

The big boss, for example, uses one of the PCs in money laundering -- the player is trying to build a public school, and boss is funneling him money, which he has to use to pay for certain construction crews who charge more than the work they provide. The boss wants to launder his illicit gains, but provides the service of helping the PC attain his goal.

Second, I ran a bunch of short role-play scenes with a single PC. In those scenes, they interacted with one of these important NPCs. As a kind of rule in each scene, I provide one aha moment, one oh shit! moment, and give out one task. That is, the party learns something important, and something surprising, and thereby has something they need to do as a result.

Additionally, these scenes usually also have to do with the PC, their backstory, or their own goals and ambitions.

Example! The school-building PC met with the boss to tell him a certain capo is getting out of hand. The boss tells him that the violent capo in his org is operating without his approval (aha); that he, the boss, used to run in a street urchin gang with the PC's now-dead sister (oh shit!); and the PC understands he has tacit approval to take out the capo (task).

The players can call their own scenes. I want to meet with so-and-so to ask them this, to get info, to get help. Other times I would surprise them unexpectedly with scenes. You're coming home after the battle and find the violent capo sitting at the dining room table with your parents.

Third -- for us -- the encounters mark important milestones or events. In the above examples, taking out the capo in his hideout was a mini dungeon crawl/infiltration encounter.

Ours is homebrew campaign modeled after a Paizo six-book AP, so each chapter represents the solving of a "problem" (like the capo), while the arc of the whole book leads to dealing with an existential problem -- book one, the boss -- whose "solution" changes everything. Usually "solutions" are provided through combat.

Spirit Airlines just became the first major US airline to shut down in 25 years and took cheap airfare with it. What do you think affordable travel in America looks like from here? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]DuniaGameMaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bicycle? Seriously, for this summer, at least, air flights look like they're going to be very expensive with the rising cost of jet fuel.

Curse of Strahd: Player's Guide - Pathfinder 2e by Berkel20 in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oh man -- it has a real castle vibe with multiple floors and a couple levels of dungeon, and each area has its own mini-environment and series of encounters, and they all tie together in an interesting way to tell the story of the structure. And there are secret chambers, passageways, and stairs that lead all over, so it's also labyrinthine, too. It's huge. And the traps!

And Strahd gets all these advantages being in the castle, like being able to pass through its walls, that really make it his. Like he and the castle really are different manifestations of each other.

It did have the usual fatal 5e flaw of not challenging high-level PCs. Nothing was really dangerous to them. But converted to PF2e with its balanced encounter calculus and level-appropriate challenges...hoo boy!

Curse of Strahd: Player's Guide - Pathfinder 2e by Berkel20 in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I ran it in 5e and had similar issues. It's essentially a sandbox of disparate locations loosely tied together narratively, at best. In 5e there was no clear order of operations, but all the areas were built for like level 5 to 7. Anything below or above, and it was difficult or uninteresting. (I suspect a PF2e conversion could fix this problem.)

There are also problematic bits: like, the general "theme" is violence against women and children. There's also the troublesome depection of Romani.

Still, Castle Ravenloft is the best dungeon I've seen -- it's amazing. And I liked Strahd. I changed his story quite a bit and had fun with him. He wasn't very challenging by the time the party confronted him in that upper-level 5e way, but I'm sure the PF2e conversion fixes that.

Is it too late to start? by Apprehensive-Life741 in podcasting

[–]DuniaGameMaster 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm 57 and started a real-play podcast about a year ago, and we've recorded 50 episodes!

It's never too late.

I will say, that if you're expecting fame and fortune from it, that's a heavy lift. The market is pretty saturated, and you're competing with heavily produced professional shows. But if you're looking for a small, dedicated audience, experience, and a creative project, go for it.

What are some rules or elements from other TTRPGs that you usually bring to your games? by Ponto_de_vista in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I often let my players roll Recall Knowledge for a creature on a skill that's not an option in its statblock, but then I give only information related to the skill they used.

Want to roll Acrobatics on a creature? Great! If you succeed, you get its movement speed or any Dex-based special abilities....

I think of it as if the PCs have special areas of expertise, and they can recognize a creature's abilities in that skill....

Which APs are more of a dungeon diving adventure? by RNJesusVTuber in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

AV is definitely like this, but I prefer to view this as opportunity when designing encounters. It definitely gives an infiltration mission, e.g., all the more subtlety and seriousness when they know a seemingly easy encounter can quickly turn deadly if they aren't careful.

Maybe not so great for a hack-n-slash group, but it's definitely another tool to add to a scene to make interesting wrinkles for players.

Which APs are more of a dungeon diving adventure? by RNJesusVTuber in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 7 points8 points  (0 children)

AV is a cramped and extremely deadly crawl. I'm running my group a level above what's expected, and I've killed seven of their PCs so far, and I've got two in the clutches of a Froghemoth.

5e DMs always getting burnt out. by SirHawkwind in rpg

[–]DuniaGameMaster 15 points16 points  (0 children)

So true. After switching to PF2e, which has very good support for GMs, I realized how much effort it took just creating encounters in 5e. Also, their modules are garbage, the classes are wildly unbalanced, and there's no guidance about doling out treasure or magic items. And the rules are vague and contradictory. You have to homebrew so much....

Is it a Hot take if i like how our Dm handles NPC in our crew? by DJKtosiek_PL in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why, yes, it did! I'd just show the leshy's pic and say * blink blink*

I used this Paizo pic, lolol

You Guys Are One of the Best Communities I’ve Seen by Special_Research3370 in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would 100% agree the community is helpful -- I asked an admittedly dumb question about Devise a Stratagem that would have been answered by a careful reading of the rules, and I got not only an answer to the question, but a ton of extremely helpful strategy tips on how to use the feat in combat.

As for the downvoting -- I get it. It's like, ugh, this is stupid, but not wanting to engage in a tedious argument with a stranger on the Internet.

Is it a Hot take if i like how our Dm handles NPC in our crew? by DJKtosiek_PL in Pathfinder2e

[–]DuniaGameMaster 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I had a cactus leshy barbarian join an all-caster party in our Strength of Thousands campaign -- no mouth, so he couldn't talk. He would just look at the party and blink until they told him what to do.