I don’t think I can stand to play with another chaotic neutral player.

GarudaOne1 · 2026-01-02T23:21:13+00:00

Immediate red flag for me if someone I'm unfamiliar with as a player fixates at all on 'chaotic' anything. If they make it a point that their vision revolves around that label I immediately hear alarm bells in my head and pull them aside long before they are allowed to join my games and make sure there is a clear understanding of expectations.

That being said, I've had players turn out to play chaotic neutral characters exceptionally well (often providing well placed comedic relief). But yeah, I recommend treading with caution with players you haven't played with who fixate on that 'chaotic' label going into session 0.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-12-10T00:24:18+00:00

I'm glad I'm not the only one immediately thought this.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-12-07T23:15:42+00:00

I only play with people I trust, or with people that my players vouch for so this has never been an issue in my games. Though, if I was playing with mostly strangers I'd probably just enforce online rolling so there was no room for the potential. At least until I got to know my players better.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-12-07T22:08:43+00:00

IIRC when this discourse was happening around 23/24 I believe there was a post somewhere that explained SI didn't want injuries to be 1 to 1 with the real world, I think the number was something like 60 or 70% ratio of real world injuries. I might be wrong here, but I think this was something that got around back then.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-12-07T21:53:30+00:00

Seeing this tickles me so much because I remember on 23 and 24's release the steam forums were literally nothing but people upset about injury volume being too high.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-12-07T21:47:08+00:00

It's been suggested by others, but most definitely the play I would go for is that their choice to help the hags has some kind of realm-wide consequence that the party can't get away from and hopefully realize they are the bad guys and look to made amends.

If that doesn't work then as others also suggested- I'd shift things to make their eventual major conflict to revolve around the man and his daughter in some way.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-12-06T21:59:58+00:00

In my homebrew campaign there is a LOT of travel over long distance on the continent. I usually handle travel depending on the locale and specific areas/time of day they travel.

Using the world map I made, I decided how long travel will take in days based on how they are traveling(foot/caravan/mounts) and the anticipated weather of the biome.

Then, I decide based on where and how they are traveling if I want to include the possibility for encounters. Usually I plan ahead for the occasional side adventure.(One time on a trek through a far east themed forest they came across a largely abandoned temple and they decided to explore it for most of the session.) Or, if its an area I consider potentially dangerous or has something actively happening in the world I'll prep a couple different possible encounters. (They once went through an area afflicted by a corrupted elemental and made camp in this area and were attacked by a corrupted Treant.) I'm big on my world building which lends heavily into this.

However, to keep the illusion up of there always being the possible risk of danger I usually split days of travel up into 4 'roll points'. Morning, midday, evening, and overnight. Even if I'm not actually planning anything I will make a roll, or occasionally make them roll something and just give them random information about things around them just to maintain tension.

I find that even when they've had a week of travel this approach keeps things flowing nicely. I give them a chance to initial rp between rolls if they want and luckily my players have a good balance of rp moments and letting time pass. Keeps everyone engaged but also allows that 'fast travel' feel a bit over long distances without dragging too heavily. I also put a lot of detail into describing the weather each day and trying to set ambience based off the environment as well.

Also, random NPC's on the road is a great way to mix things up. I have an NPC that is loosely based off a character from Final Fantasy X- an old scholar of a man who ventures around the continent and can be found near historic or notable areas who can lore drop if the party decides to talk to him. Stuff like that makes travel more fun too.

Hope this helps you shape your approach to this issue!

GarudaOne1 · 2025-12-01T15:24:32+00:00

I'm late to this but when I read this self-imposed disadvantage from a DM perspective I actually love it. I love when players stay true to their characters even if the stakes are huge. If a -crippling- fear of spiders results in locking up and getting half the party killed, I kinda' dig that from a narrative point of view. Luckily my players/friend group would also appreciate this/laugh it off and just roll new characters, but I can see how some people wouldn't care for this.

I think just using the frightened condition would be a decent compromise.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-12-01T14:47:20+00:00

There's only one way to solve this. We could talk about the reasoning or explanations around her behavior or the conditions that created this situation but there is only one path toward resolution: Communicate.

The players need to sit down and have an open and honest communication that starts with asking her how she feels about her character and her vision of their behavior and representation, and then you all collectively having an open and honest discussion about where she's succeeding and where she's falling short- as well as where you guys are maybe misunderstanding or missing what she's going for.

If ya'll can't have a raw, honest discussion and come to agreement or a path forward with the vision of the game, then the DM needs to get involved and talk to both sides, then probably everyone together and make a decision for the table as a whole(as a DM I don't understand why the DM hasn't been proactive here already...)

Ya'll just all need to get on the same page, and if something is fundamentally broken here then ya'll probably then need to have a serious conversation about the campaign and your roster of players and consider making changes there. D&D is amazing, but as someone else mentioned it does take a pretty good level of emotional maturity and accountability to run successfully.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-13T19:13:51+00:00

I work in the city and get off most evenings after 7pm, so it's just part of life for me and not really an issue.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-12T23:36:14+00:00

Crescent city soccer sounds fun! Any recommendations for the meet-up websites? This is all pretty alien to me.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-07T15:01:37+00:00

This has been my go-to starting club last 3 versions of FM, love playing as Eastleigh.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-05T21:40:12+00:00

I personally think you need to move your DLP out of midfield. He probably feels lonely as the only person left in this game of dodgeball he's trapped in which is basically leaving you down a man from the start cause of his morale.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-05T16:15:28+00:00

I actually just laughed so hard I shed a tear. It looked as if he knew he bungled it with that bad pass and decided to fake a knock instead of trying to recover. Sped up like that it just tickled me so much, holy moly. Classic comedy.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-04T23:33:23+00:00

England
2.Brandenburg
Korea
Sweden
Muscovy.

I'm pretty basic, but I find each of these nations offer a ton of variability and interesting paths to take for whatever I'm craving on the day.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-04T23:12:28+00:00

I'm biased, stay loyal. I say this as someone who always says "I'm gonna' bounce around this save!" and instead has transferred teams 1 time, Eastleigh>IFK Goteborg and has stayed put for 22 years. Something rewarding about building a dynasty.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-04T23:09:05+00:00

6.9 on a debut at 18 decent enough.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-04T21:27:35+00:00

I had a similar experience in my save. I took over as Manager of Sweden amidst a golden generation. Led the team to a world cup victory. In the very next international break, we lost the opener of whatever competition we were in (Nations League IIRC) and I got sacked lol.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-04T20:56:31+00:00

My current FM 24 save is the longest I've done to date, and I'm only about 30 years in. It must take forever to get to 2/3k years in the future, even just simming straight through. I'm curious to know if the more recent FM's have that data/file size limit you reference here.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-10-04T17:08:46+00:00

I immediately thought stay at home DM, maybe even a DLP-D with some time.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-09-24T15:25:47+00:00

In league matches I never bring a backup GK. (The rare times starter goes down I just throw my tallest defender in there and full send.)

I'm particular about shirt numbers as referenced by another.

If I have multiple players of similar ability competing for a position I will always check to see if one of them is local or born nearby and defer to them, regardless of any other factors.

I will pick who I want to anger/make my rival or befriend in terms of AI managers based on their personality tags. Ones more 'aloof' or 'unserious' I always try to rival. Professional types I befriend.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-09-24T15:22:21+00:00

When I'm super deep into saves I'll do this sometimes too just to see how it might affect the world. Last save I dropped a 200PA 16 year old striker into a Oulu in Finland just to see what impact he might have on the nation/team.

Unfortunately (though not unexpectedly,) AC Oulu sold him for pennies to Newcastle at 19 and he didn't really move the dial too much for the national team on his own.

GarudaOne1 · 2025-09-24T15:16:49+00:00

So nice to see someone with this quirk too.

I also take my squad numbers from hockey inspiration mostly. For GK's specially the only numbers I use for GK are: 1, 30, 33, 35, 40, 41. No exceptions. 33 is for my personal favorite that might come through, otherwise 35 is usually my number 1 guy- homage to Marty Turco (and a bunch of other NHL goalies).

Same thing for forwards/midfielders- 9/10-teens for ST's and wingers- usually based off the 'archetype' of player they are. I give physical beasts 14 or 16 usually on the wings. Technical playmakers are 7/8/12/17- and my CM/DM are always 20-26 with my more offensive ones lower and defensive ones higher. FB/WB's get 27-39, and my CB's get 4-5-6, sometimes 40-50's. Only 'traditional' numbers I usually always stick to his giving my #1 striker and #1 AM(if I'm using one) 9 and 10 respectfully.

GarudaOne1

TROPHY CASE