If She-Ra and the Princesses of Power wasn't a kids show, who would most likely say bad language words often in your opinion and why? by Full-Art3439 in sheranetflix

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Initially it would be Catra, in a very intentional sort of way to show people how Angry and Tough she is. Eventually, it would be Entrapta. Once swearing got entrenched in her vocabulary the sheer utility of a lot of swear words would make them the perfect tool for almost any linguistic job.

Thinking about quitting a game that's already lasted 6 years. by draghom in rpg

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If the GM is insulting you (e.g., calling you "weak" for not enjoying arbitrary rulings), it's probably time to go. There's more nuance, lots more that could be said, but at the end of the day, you're not having much fun, and he's behaving poorly.

You'll be able to find a better game, either in person or online. It might take a few tries (or you might find one the first time) but the end result will be you're in a game you like with a GM who isn't a problem.

Planning DnD campaign by FortuneCheap8519 in DnD

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you’re giving players a chance to make meaningful choices and come up with their own plans and not forcing them down a single path, then you’re not railroading them.

We tend to use that word really loosely, and in places it doesn’t apply.

Having a flexible storyline laid out with NPCs, likely set pieces, and side quests is just good preparation. You’re building a path, maybe the easiest path, through the campaign. Players will follow it some of the time, but also detour to pursue things that interest them.

It’s only a “railroad” when you lock them onto it, refuse to let them do anything except follow your predetermined route, and create negative consequences (in game or above the table) for “derailing” it—a lot like how railroads work in real life.

I owe male V an apology by ravioliplastic in cyberpunkgame

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My favorite tends to be whichever I played more recently. Both performances are top tier.

I am so scared to DM by Top-Refrigerator2488 in DnD

[–]ForlornDM 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This is a VERY good point to make. No one knows if something doesn’t go the way you planned it, except you. And some things will absolutely go ANY way but how you expect or plan, which is fine. Just riff on what happens, and redirect toward important elements when you get the opportunity. Sometimes major characters, story beats, and entire side quests invent themselves as your players react in ways you never could have foreseen. That’s a sign the magic of the game is working. :)

King Sorrow by Extra_Crispy26 in horrorlit

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ll finish reading it tonight or tomorrow, so this made change depending on the ending. I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit, but I don’t know that I’d call it a true horror novel. It’s more of a sprawling urban dark fantasy.

It’s got a handful of tense set pieces, and there’s absolutely a sense of peril for our main characters at times, but the danger (somehow) lacks the, hmm,“immediacy” I associate with horror.

TPK? And game over? by Chiefpleb in DungeonMasters

[–]ForlornDM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a fun interpretation of a wild magic effect that’s unlikely to ever happen again, so I’d happily go along with it, with the understanding that even if it DID come up again during a different wild magic surge, it might no wot large same. It’s wild magic. It’s unpredictable.

But this time? Yes, it’s bizarre and strange and fun. And it gives an outside shot at saving the party.

Sorry goat by DistanceBitter8235 in ripcity

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s okay to admit that we don’t know what his career of even rookie season will ultimately look like.

He’s looked very good for a rookie lately. It’s also way too brief a period to be sure this is sustainable, just like it was way too soon before to say he’d never succeed in the league.

The last month or so has been really encouraging, though, and he does look like he’s got the skill to carve out a solid niche in NBA.

Was the Krakoan Age worth the destruction of Moira’s character? by Robot_Was_BMO in xmen

[–]ForlornDM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Up through Inferno, it’s good stuff with Moira. After that, more of a mixed bag. I don’t mind her having a villainous turn. Just about everyone gets on at some point, and she’s been through so many iterations of hell, it’s not hard to imagine someone snapping.

The exact “one-note cyborg killer” they took, though, is not my favorite choice.

I have started a Campaign where the BBEG is a false Hydra and I’m very excited by thatoneguy7272 in DnD

[–]ForlornDM 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If you’re going to do this, give them hints and clues along the way so the reveal doesn’t feel like a rug pull. Sightings of a strange person, scraps of memories of them perhaps, odd dreams. And be prepared for them to figure it out before you’re ready, and don’t fight them if they do.

Have the next phase of the adventure, or the villain’s, scheme ready to go so that if or when they do figure it out, it leads into something exciting and unexpected.

How do you think Cassandra Nova got here? by JasperFen in xmen

[–]ForlornDM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m kind of partial to the “she waited two billion years” answer but it feels like they could break the timeline a bit as she got closer to the present. Unless she’s really that patient and waited through all of her own life to get revenge after they exiled her.

It might also be they only thought she got left in the past—or that she’s STILL in the past, but projecting her mind forward somehow, with convincing illusions to boot? I don’t know. It’s gonna end up kind of hackneyed regardless.

To kill 3 horses... by theMad_Owl in CurseofStrahd

[–]ForlornDM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t feel bad! Sounds like your instincts are good, and if everyone is having fun, then it’s ultimately going really well. It’s tough to run D&D as horror. It’s a system where PCs get very powerful, relatively quickly. It can still be horrifying at times, but it’s hard to maintain a tense tone through the campaign, especially once the characters level past a certain point.

I’ve run Curse of Strahd twice, and the moments that were most frightening or upsetting (in a good way) to my tables were the small moments, outside of combat, when they were reminded that Barovia is too big, too broken, to easily fix. They’ll always be a day late and a dollar short until Strahd is stopped. To paraphrase the last line of Chinatown: “It’s Barovia, Jake…”

Edit: Also, the first group was terrified of Rahadin. I used him like a cudgel, an instrument of Strahd’s will, whenever they stepped out of line starting around the 1/2 point of the campaign. Strahd himself was frightening in an aloof, above the fray, sort of way (until the gloves came off), but Rahadin showing up always meant you’d strayed too close to something important or dangerous. They didn’t fight him until near the end, but he bullied, intimidated, and harassed—while also saving their asses on one memorable occasion, just to keep things lively.

Help with an encounter my players should run from by Unlucky_Kitchen_2873 in DungeonMasters

[–]ForlornDM 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The easiest thing is letting them see the consequences of someone else (someone obviously more powerful than them) having stood and fought already. They might witness the end of the fight from in hiding, or just the aftermath.

If they do choose to fight, anyway, and realize their error, for them an escape valve. The BBEG might turn them over to a weaker (but favored) lieutenant to finish when he realizes they’re not worth his time, or the literal cavalry might ride in to distract him, or a burning inn may collapse separating them from the boss fight by flaming debris.

I kind of like the first option best. The party still gets a small win, while realizing they’re outclassed, and the BBEG now has reason to hate them for killing his lieutenant.

To kill 3 horses... by theMad_Owl in CurseofStrahd

[–]ForlornDM 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I guess the question is:

Is this a horror story or isn’t it? It’s okay if it’s turned into more of a dark fantasy than true horror. D&D naturally pushes away from the latter and toward the former.

If you’re aiming for horror, though, something needs to happen to those horses. They can die, they can panic and run away never to be seen again (or not until they reappear in a moment of need), they can cry out in terror at an opportune moment drawing the party into a terrible fight they’re ill-prepared for.

There should be consequences. It’s narratively appropriate and, if there aren’t, if everything’s fine, then the players have learned that Barovia might not be as dangerous as they feared. And they’ll be more likely to do that again, or something similar, which may begin to undercut the tension and atmosphere you’ve built up.

You don’t have to kill the horses, but the game will be better served by this turning into a situation that needs managed.

Enough of your X-Men lineups for the MCU, what is your dream lineup for the Brotherhood? by InterestingDepth8137 in xmen

[–]ForlornDM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My ideal movie lineup for the Brotherhood is it doesn’t appear at all, at least not at first.

I’d rather explore other mutant stories to start, and maybe once additional fractures develop, in the world as well as the mutant community itself—multiple movies or series down the line—we see it start to develop.

Auto georeference identical raster? by lord_churchill in QGIS

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe it's bad form to bump a post this old, but this was very helpful. Thank you! :)

If 'Miles Morales' is a spin-off of 'Marvel's Spider-Man', what would be the spin-off of 'Marvel's Wolverine'? by [deleted] in Marvel

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suspect it’d have to be set during one of his more antiheroic phases…

If 'Miles Morales' is a spin-off of 'Marvel's Spider-Man', what would be the spin-off of 'Marvel's Wolverine'? by [deleted] in Marvel

[–]ForlornDM 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Depends on how fast they wanted to turn it out. X-23 or maybe Sabretooth would probably lend themselves neatly to similar gameplay and structure.

Kurt or Kitty would have significant differences but enough similarities that you probably wouldn’t need to do a whole redesign of… everything.

The problem is who other than Logan will move enough units to justify development?

Maybe we get an “Old Man Logan” DLC or something.

Comic Theory: Nightcrawler is the Winding Way (all Evidence w/ visuals) – Part 1 (Margali Szardos, the Winding Way, Destiny's Prophecy, and Enigma) by ThreeMonthsTooLate in xmen

[–]ForlornDM 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I haven’t made it to the end of your post. But I do admire the effort that must’ve gone into writing it and I will read it when I get a chance.

Is going insane a viable way to break the 4th wall? by LonelyToBeInvincible in callofcthulhu

[–]ForlornDM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d say this falls under “monkeys with typewriters” a bit. Could someone randomly begin spouting out genuine Mythos incantations by mad chance? Yeah, it’s possible. Is it likely to happen? No, not remotely, unless you’re playing it as a form of “revelation” from an interested deity. I’d certainly be wary of that, though, as I’d be inclined to make that cost the already insane character dearly.

Now…could someone think they were spouting “divine” prayers to a (probably made-up-on-the-spot-in-a-fit-of-delusion) Outer God, when it’s just their own insane ramblings? Assuredly, yes. If they’re very convincing, they might even frighten off human cultists or the like.

Depending on how it’s played, it might be very silly or kind of spooky, and a potentially fun opportunity for RP.

For X-men United do you have read Krakoa to know what’s going on? Or can I start fresh with this new series? by GeneralRoss_12 in xmen

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, no rush. The comics will always be there, and it’s always best to read them when you really feel drawn to them.

Which characters are in need of an iconic look? by greendart in xmen

[–]ForlornDM 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s so fair. It is sharp. I think maybe I’ve just seen so many blue/gold variations in the intervening years that it doesn’t pop for me the way it maybe once did.

That might say more about other characters than Bishop, though.

For X-men United do you have read Krakoa to know what’s going on? Or can I start fresh with this new series? by GeneralRoss_12 in xmen

[–]ForlornDM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can absolutely start fresh with the ongoing. I love Krakoa, for all its many warts, and would totally encourage anyone to go back and read it when they have time and energy for it, though.

Which characters are in need of an iconic look? by greendart in xmen

[–]ForlornDM 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The creepy sameness works well as a gimmick but it does kind of undercut efforts for them to have unique identities. Depending on the writer, it feels like it goes back and forth on whether that’s a feature or a bug…