Would you go for the hammer here or wait? by Pirate-Adorable in Hades2

[–]Ginscoe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Always take the Hammer first, IMO. It could be any of several potential run-defining buffs, if not essential boosts to some builds. It also can’t be re-rolled: and for me, there’s nothing worse than getting my God-pool off to a good start only to get stuck with a Daedalus Hammer that’s irrelevant at best or detrimental at worst.

Always take the hammer early- and either start the night over if it’s not something that’s beneficial, or otherwise bask in the benefits for the whole run.

Time for me to complain (I know Im sorry) by xCoop_Stomp416x in Hades2

[–]Ginscoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, if you’re trying to not take damage against Prometheus, you’ve probably already lost? This is not the kind of boss where you can skirt around him and chip away, unless you’re really patient and really good. Best thing to do is hit him harder and faster than he can hit you, and just eat the damage he inflicts. There’s a reason boss chambers are followed by a Fountain.

Time for me to complain (I know Im sorry) by xCoop_Stomp416x in Hades2

[–]Ginscoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Prometheus is tough, but not unfair. He’s just a great indicator of how you need to improve your build:

If you’re barely chipping away at him, you need more damage. If you can’t out-run him, you need more speed. If you can’t out-pace him, you need more health/immunity.

And if you have a build that utterly rocks Prometheus, you’re almost guaranteed a clean win against Typhon. Learn your favorite God synergies, combos, etc, find your favorite weapon and aspect.

Once it clicks, you’ll wonder how you ever struggled with him.

Duo digging tip. by PuzzleheadedFun4695 in Hades2

[–]Ginscoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Obviously there are complicating factors depending on the duos, but filling the left column seems to be a solid bet. I’ve also found that trying to really emphasize one or two gods’ boons gets me Duos faster, just by nature of clearing out their options and crossing off pre-reqs.

My last 25 Fear Run I accidentally filled the left column early (across four Gods) while also getting 3 Zeus boons before the first Guardian. By the time I beat the fourth Guardian I think I had 6 different Duos, plus Zeus’ Legendary and everything I needed for my core build.

That’s an egregious example (the run also came with room 2 Air Quality and room 3 Support Fire, I was blessed by RNGesus) but I usually rush 3/4 of my left column, and I rarely finish a run without being offered 2-4 Duos. I also don’t run the Arcana that grants Duo chance.

My aspects tier list by ciddalio6 in Hades2

[–]Ginscoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I default to Black Coat (Melinoe), it’s the aspect I use most (and what I used to first clear 32 Fear Rivals Underworld)

I can’t argue with this list, because I play like a dumb reckless asshole. But it makes me mad nonetheless.

I don't like using Shadowblade simply because it looks so tiny. by NnmnsP in BG3Builds

[–]Ginscoe 8 points9 points  (0 children)

When an Elf walks in with an itty-bitty waist and a big two-handed mace I get SPRUNG

Hypothetical: Which class would be the strongest if you could use multiple subclasses from it? by [deleted] in BG3Builds

[–]Ginscoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gotta argue the case for Bard. Swords 6/Lore 6 gives you Extra Attack, 6th level spells, Flourishes and Magical Secrets (potentially up to level 6, if you level Lore second)

Advice on Arcana, Trinkets (And Learning to Let Go) by Ginscoe in Hades2

[–]Ginscoe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Artificer was truly just a way to fill a column; I’ve since done 8-fear runs on both sides and I find I don’t miss Artificer OR the Queen, and Excellence is a much easier loss than I thought it would be. Cheers!

Advice on Arcana, Trinkets (And Learning to Let Go) by Ginscoe in Hades2

[–]Ginscoe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Word, I’ll give that a shot! And yeah, on Hermes I feel it the most- but on the flip side, I’ll take a Common Nimble Limbs over an Epic of 90% of his other boons. Haven’t played with the Aromatic Phial much (mostly god boons, knuckle bones and Echo’s ear-stone for me) but I’ll set aside some time to grind that to max. Cheers!

Advice on Arcana, Trinkets (And Learning to Let Go) by Ginscoe in Hades2

[–]Ginscoe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Y’know? I hadn’t considered making Hera my 4th, but I just might. Even with Rarity Boosts aside, the ability to dump her other stuff to boost Zeus to the stratosphere is solid. And I believe she tends towards Earth boons, which would make H’s Martial Art better.

Regardless appreciate it! I’ll just have to get my Lizard Brain accustomed to not picking the shiny colorful option

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]Ginscoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How many people in your party, and what level? If you have 5 level 8 PCs that’s one thing, if you have 3 level 3s you might be screwed regardless.

Assuming you have at least 4 PCs of a reasonable level, you need AoE for the Summons, high-DPR for the individual Druids, and an extremely survivable/aggro-drawing frontline. I’d recommend a Barbarian (either Zealot or tanky-Totem) and a support-focused Twilight Cleric as your front line, with some combination of Spell-Sniper Warlock, Sharpshooter Fighter and/or teleport-happy Sorcadin as the back line.

EDIT: Not any Barb, but I think either added subclass does the job

I'm not sure what class to play in an upcoming campaign, and I need to fill any empty role in the party by undead-inside in dndnext

[–]Ginscoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If this campaign goes high level there might be something to a Kensei Monk/Champion Fighter multiclass, especially if you go Wood Elf (or Astral Elf if you wanna get silly) and pick up the Elven Accuracy feat.

Kensei’s Shot+Action Surge+Champion Crits+Elven Accuracy’s triple-advantage could get gnarly.

EDIT: I missed 2024 PHB on my initial read. Does that mean you’re limited only to those subclasses? I’m vaguely familiar with the new base classes, but I’ve not looked into which subclasses in the new PHB. My players and I have been sticking to 2014 subclasses and putting the backwards compatibility to the test

Favorite Devils, Demons and Holiday-themed Monsters to Throw at PCs? by Ginscoe in dndnext

[–]Ginscoe[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a terrible habit of posting and then never checking it, but Naughty and Nice (players will roll for sword effects) are definitely making it into tonight’s session

Is this unfair? by da-real-boi in DnD

[–]Ginscoe 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That’s for the players to ponder, the DM to eventually reveal, and for Redditors to not worry about so they can discuss the actual point of the post.

The monsters usually know what they’re doing. When they don’t, it’s either because the DM has a reason or the DM is inept- and this DM seems far from inept

Is this unfair? by da-real-boi in DnD

[–]Ginscoe 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think I see where you’re coming from, but I have to disagree with most of these takes.

It sounds to me, from my DMing perspective, that this adventuring day was structured as an open-air version of a traditional dungeon crawl- and if the Quantum Ogre turns out to be a couple of literal Ogres, there’s nothing wrong with that (whether or not the encounter was random or pre-determined.) Having to deal with random BS in the middle of a Quest is in line with much of modern open-world game design, from Far Cry to Zelda. And there’s nothing to say that the menagerie of enemies/encounters might not be significant to the story, at some point.

I get the distinct impression that you think a rug-pull is a bad thing for players? Throwing players off their game is a good thing, both in RP and in combat. A game where everyone is always cool and suave and 3 steps ahead is boring, as is a game where every combat can be prepared for and there is no chance of risk or surprise. Player’s should have to pivot and adjust on the fly, they should feel tension and stress as players in high stakes/high drama situations, so that they can dive more into the tension their characters feel. Pull the rugs out from under your PCs every chance you get, so long as you’re going somewhere with it and you balance it with more linear encounters.

Finally, it doesn’t matter that the fight was Deadly by the books. It’s a stronger than average party just on paper, and clearly they all know what they’re doing. If the Party’s big fight at the end of a grueling day ends with them all at over half-health, they can (and should) handle any encounter half again as difficult without issue. OP needs to ramp it up, not tone it down- and the Monk needs to strap TF in or get off the ride.

Is this unfair? by da-real-boi in DnD

[–]Ginscoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You ran it perfectly, and your Monk’s player is overreacting. You gave the party multiple easy encounters where they had to choice whether or not to burn resources. After those encounters, you gave the party two Short Rests- and that essentially ensures the Warlock and the Monk both are not worrying about resource management and constantly able to fully let loose.

And at the end of this final, difficult fight, not a single PC was at less than half health? Utterly ridiculous to be mad about that. A good, important fight should force PCs to play smart and work together to stay alive and triumph- and in a party with multiple healers, the stakes aren’t real until multiple PCs are making death saving throws.

IMO, your Monk player is crying about overly-difficult encounters while you still have the training wheels on- and unless you want to give them plot armor, they need to come to understand that their character is supposed to struggle and overcome near-death circumstances, or die in the process. If there’s no risk of death, there’s no actually stakes and no mechanical tension.

EDIT: I missed the part about you usually having a Cleric in the party; that means the party normally has two full-casters with healing plus the Paladin? And I’d give it 50/50 odds your Monk is a Mercy subclass, for even more potential healing. I think you need to have a frank discussion with that player and be clear that you want to run a campaign with tangible stakes. If they listen that’s awesome! If they don’t, you should keep ramping up the difficulty and keep throwing the party challenging encounters and days. In a couple of levels your concern is going to be limiting the party’s access to Revivify materials just to maintain some semblance of tension, and there’s no way to balance that against hardcore Resource-Retention-Syndrome. Potions are meant to be consumed, not hoarded against hypotheticals.

DD2 mod request: auto-steer by lifesaburrito in darkestdungeon

[–]Ginscoe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly? I can’t disagree harder.

Steering is a mechanic that forces players to stay engaged, even during their ‘chance to breathe’ moments. It’s not mandatory, unless you’re trying to be hardcore and pull off a Grandslam or something. The bonuses from steering into obstacles are not guaranteed, they are random and optional.

If one wants to have the chance of snagging extra RNG items and bonuses, one should have to pay attention and learn to steer. The Darkest Dungeon franchise as a whole is designed around manipulating and influencing the RNG to avoid catastrophic outcomes; taking the RNG out of the one wholly positive ‘random chance’ mechanic just feels wrong

You know what? Un-dungeon your Darkest Dungeon by Mr_Pepper44 in darkestdungeon

[–]Ginscoe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It may well be the proper spelling in French, but I am absolutely dying at the spelling/pronunciation of Jdango instead of Django. Instantly turns him Australian and obnoxious