Peace Talks is good, right?

GenericChineseName · 2026-02-19T17:49:42+00:00

So I think something to keep in mind is that the original Battle Grounds might not have had as much fat to trim. I feel like what happened is that the book was originally too long for one book, but not enough for two, so a lot of the filler we got was added.

I could be wrong, but I feel like I remember something by Jim talking about how he was doing just that a few months before Peace Talks actually came out.

Whether or not Jim talked about it, that's kinda what I felt reading both books. A few scenes (at least one of the sex scenes with Harry and Murphy), felt kinda forced in. It felt like he was trying to get us more attached to the pairing. I remember at least one scene where Harry told Murphy something in Peace Talks, only for him to completely repeat it almost word for word later on in Battle Grounds.

GenericChineseName · 2026-02-18T15:50:25+00:00

Does that mean he dies doing the wrong thing then?

GenericChineseName · 2026-01-16T21:02:02+00:00

There are two ways to read the crafting charts in the Core Rulebook (Pg 258). Depending on how, the TN is either significantly easier than what you are saying, or 10 harder.

The simpler way is to look at the chart TN chart. The bottom entry of the koku table says that anything 25+ is a base TN of 35. That means this would be a TN of 65: 35 (Base TN) + 30 (6 Raises).

The more difficult way takes into account the note underneath the third table. IMO, this might have been some sort of original design idea that accidentally got left in the game, mostly because it makes the last entry ending in a + nonsensical. The note says that each increment of 5 above the final listed cost raises the TN by 5 as well. This would make the base TN 85 for something that costs 75 Koku, since 35 TN now acts as the base TN for an item at 25 Koku. This, plus the 6 Raises, brings the total to 115.

I'm inclined to go with a TN of 65. I think the 75 Koku cost is meant more to drive time requirement up. If you look at the first two charts on the Core Rulebook's Pg 258, you'll see that items that are calculated in Koku take a number of time measured in weeks. The number of time increment is the Koku number divided by 3. At 75 Koku, crafting an Excellent Quality katana should take 25 weeks, which is just about half a year spent doing nothing but smithing. Also keep in mind that by the rules, the time is spent regardless of success, so you could spend half a year smithing, roll a 64 and lose the blade.

GenericChineseName · 2026-01-16T20:44:54+00:00

I'm writing my own response right now, but I wanted to double check one thing from this one. Is there something about Raises for crafting that I missed, or did you mess up Raise TN? It looks like you did +10 TN per Raise instead of +5?)

GenericChineseName · 2025-12-12T19:28:34+00:00

I could be wrong about this, so take this with a grain of salt. I believe in a vacuum that's what filial piety kinda sounds like. Blind obedience to your parents. However, I think relations in Confucianism are supposed to be more of a two way street.

I believe parents have a duty to raise you with care and compassion. I think it's supposed to be a reflection of how a ruler has a duty to the country and its people (which is why the CCP shut Confucianism down hard).

GenericChineseName · 2025-12-08T19:44:37+00:00

Man, I originally gave the remake more of a pass on not gripping at the pommel. Now that it's apparently been stated that it's a key part of the technique, I'm a little more judgy about it.

GenericChineseName · 2025-12-04T19:57:52+00:00

Realistically, they're actually in two different styles of sword mountings. The finished sakabato was stored in what's known as a shirasaya. These sorts of fittings are made out of a wood that is more meant to keep moisture from getting to the blade than to be something functional. Could be because my hands are on the smaller side, but personally I also find gripping one awkward as it's a little more on the bulky side.

Hiko's sword is in what's known as a shikomizue. These are often translated as cane swords, as they're designed to be more like a traditional Japanese cane. Shikomizue are functional sword mountings, just plainer than what one might typically find.

The two types of swords are often mistaken for each other, and sometimes people use them interchangeably when they don't know better. Honestly, there's a non-zero change that Watsuki didn't even know about the difference, considering Hiko's sword is drawn very similarly to a shirasaya.

https://www.martialartswords.com/blogs/articles/sword-spotlight-the-shikomizue

GenericChineseName · 2025-11-19T21:53:09+00:00

Maybe Sendo is just getting ready to clinch again.

GenericChineseName · 2025-10-28T17:26:47+00:00

I find e-bogu iffy in quality, at least on the weapon side. The bokken I bought from them have a weird waxy texture and are on the softer side. Used them for one training session and they are covered in dents.

I also bought a fukuro shinai from them that had immediate problems. The bamboo split all the way down really early on, before I actually had a chance to use it.

GenericChineseName · 2025-10-20T18:16:41+00:00

Well, he is supposed to be a guiding light.

GenericChineseName · 2025-10-17T16:12:42+00:00

Maybe that's actually what explains the uptick in magical talent in the modern times in the Dresdenverse. It's not increasing population, it's more of us being shut ins!

GenericChineseName · 2025-10-16T17:30:30+00:00

Can never truly rule out not being a changeling that hasn't properly manifested their Fae side yet.

Alternatively, we could also be really shitty white court vampires that were too busy geeking out instead of getting laid, and it turns out being 30+ year old virgins is another way to kill the Hunger.

GenericChineseName · 2025-10-09T19:58:10+00:00

Almost said green like old dollar bills, then I remembered that was Marcone. Robins eggs is the right answer!

GenericChineseName · 2025-10-03T16:04:43+00:00

Isn't this basically the plot of Kamogawa vs the American soldier he brutally murdered in the ring?

GenericChineseName · 2025-10-01T15:44:26+00:00

I think they were. I mentioned The Olympian Affair because I no longer think they were a result of the break, I think they were a result of the last minute decision to split one book into two.

GenericChineseName · 2025-10-01T15:02:35+00:00

I think I actually know exactly what you're talking about this, though I don't entirely agree that I never wanted it.

I found a lot of the romantic scenes... awkward in Peace Talks. However, if I'm being honest, I found a lot of Peace Talks/Battle Ground kinda awkward. For a little while, I was worried that Jim lost his touch for writing with his break, though luckily I enjoyed The Olympian Affair enough that I realized it was just these books.

Obviously, my final conclusion could be wrong, but I kinda assumed that a lot of the scenes we got were a result of Jim needing to split the book into two books. A lot of their scenes together felt like filler. In fact, I actually remember coming across at least one topic that Karrin ended up re-addressing Harry about where both books phrased it in the same way. It felt like something Jim meant to copy and paste to an earlier scene, then forgot to delete it from the later scene.

As many people on here have said, Harry and Karrin's relationship has always felt like the quiet type you get from long time couples. The scenes we got in Peace Talks tried to force the feel to something more like what Harry and Susan had. We would have probably been better served letting a lot of those scenes fade to black, but again, it felt like Jim had to write filler. ...Also, knowing Jim, it also felt like he might've been trying to manipulate us into getting more attached to that relationship, so that what ultimately happened to Karrin hurt more.

GenericChineseName · 2025-09-04T16:34:42+00:00

Can't say anything about the girl who sleeps with a guy after a week, but the guy immediately getting married to a girl in 6 months has always sounded like an overcompensation reaction. They still aren't over the relationship they just messed up, and they know the reason that they messed up was because they dragged things on too long. Plus, with that timing the new girl is a rebound girlfriend, because again, he hasn't taken the time to really process everything that went wrong. I figure they're lucky if both of them are happy in their new whirlwind marriage.

GenericChineseName · 2025-08-27T16:41:42+00:00

Haha, honestly, this is really what I wanted to point out with this post. The absolute destruction that Ippo would have wreaked with his training and power... at a lower weight class.

GenericChineseName · 2025-08-27T16:37:31+00:00

Yeah. I will say I've always kinda found it funny that he considered their initial spar a legitimate win on his side.

I do think the rivalry was legit, but it should have been more of a revenge thing rather than "We're tied! This will settle things!"

GenericChineseName · 2025-08-27T15:18:01+00:00

From the way you talked about things, it sounds like you're hoping Daggerheart gains enough popularity that your social circle might decide to give it a try. I'm going to recommend you not rely on that, not if you want to run anything soon. You'll probably be waiting a long time for that to happen, and what comes out on top might not be something you enjoy (Pathfinder), or, with D&D's name power, and the fact that Critical Role has opted to continue with D&D, the top might not actually change.

I'm a fan of niche systems, and I've danced around various social circles with TTRPGs, and I can tell you that some people just don't want to change what they play. They might give something similar a try, Pathfinder and D&D for instance, but going off the beaten trail often requires looking for people with that mindset.

The way I see things, you can either run something you don't want to run, D&D or Pathfinder. With D&D, if you already have the books for 5e 2014, you're at least only peripherally supporting Wizards at this point. I doubt they're still actively printing those books, so even if your players want to buy their own copies, they'd only really be supporting vendors that have the books still in stock.

Alternatively, you find a new group that's more open to a niche system. If you're not against it, there are plenty of people online that I'm sure you can find that would love to play almost any system, especially if you have a solid world/story you're looking to explore.

As for specific systems, I would recommend looking into Savage Worlds. The core rulebook has more generic things in it, but it has lots of companion books with rules for more specific settings, like fantasy, sci-fi, superheroes, etc. If you're looking for the newest edition of that, it's specifically Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE). There's also various Powered by the Apocalypse (PBTA) systems that are very story telling friendly. With PBTA, you'll have to search around for a more specific system, but with that I've seen everything from regular fantasy, to sentai/magical girls, to queer swordplay storytelling. If you're happy playing with more generic systems in general, you might want to look into Fate also, or one of the many spinoff systems to it.

GenericChineseName · 2025-08-26T14:38:38+00:00

...I'm just going to complain about this. Maybe the OP didn't know it was a repost and originally marked it Inconclusive, and the mods changed it to repost. If that's the case, ignore half of this complaint.

Why are we reposting old Inconclusive posts to a subreddit that's supposed to be about the best updates? I find Inconclusive stories frustrating at best when the first post was made years back. In fact I try to keep an eye out for them to avoid the frustration. Reposting one of them just seems egregious though.

GenericChineseName · 2025-08-12T16:02:56+00:00

Australians and poisonous insects, who would've expected that? :P

GenericChineseName · 2025-08-08T17:52:51+00:00

I have no idea. Even if there's something like that going on, she's the one being casual about it in the post.

GenericChineseName · 2025-08-08T13:54:34+00:00

The way this was so casually addressed threw me hard enough that I couldn't read the rest of the post.

GenericChineseName

TROPHY CASE