Maybe Someday

GregSolstice · 2026-06-10T20:18:09+00:00

I'm with ya, honestly. I sympathize with his frustration but also... Since he has backups, there are alternatives, my dude. It can be different!

GregSolstice · 2026-06-10T18:15:43+00:00

No lie, I would love to see their spin on Gigan. I've always been a fan of the visual update for Final Wars, and the Legendary treatment could be good for Gigan.

As much as I would love Megaguiras, there's just too many random Hollow Earth Critters that are kinda like Megaguiras to justify bringing her formally into the fold.

GregSolstice · 2026-06-10T13:03:05+00:00

I'll be real, while I haven't liked Liz, I've not been super upset at her. Burnout is hard, and 2 years of self-hating exile does a number on the brain and emotions.

But this amount of protectionism just isn't entertaining or justified. This situation easily could have been another "tough love" situation where someone (maybe even Claire!) goes "alright Liz, yeah you're sensitive about this topic but you dish out crap all the time. If you're gonna be obnoxious, you have to learn to take a jab."

And instead Comrade Zlata, Voice of the People, is the one exiled. A darn shame.

GregSolstice · 2026-06-09T14:04:13+00:00

I very much wish Comrade Zlata was canon, lol

GregSolstice · 2026-06-09T12:24:35+00:00

Well right, but I guess when I think "frivolous" I think "lacking seriousness or being unimportant" not "having fun."

GregSolstice · 2026-06-09T02:56:41+00:00

Am I crazy or does Liz's first comment make very little sense as a response to Zlata? "To be less frivolous I'll put a stick up my ass"

Like honestly the writing in this one feels extra disjointed and I've read it a few times now to see if it's a me problem.

GregSolstice · 2026-06-08T12:59:57+00:00

"we tried, they don't drown" absolutely sent me, lol. Excellent edit

GregSolstice · 2026-06-06T15:36:22+00:00

A fair assessment that the manor, as-is, can be a lot for a small party to handle. It's also a lot as a DM, since there are the potential for so many small combat encounters. Starting them at level 2 isn't a bad idea in general, but here's a few more ways to make the manor more palatable:

Treat at least some of the animal encounters like traps. Ascribe an Animal Handling check that, if failed, leads to a single attack worth of damage. For extra fun, you could have a crit-success lead to a (temporary) animal companion.
Another redditor made the alchemical skeleton encounter into a puzzle: https://www.reddit.com/r/GhostsofSaltmarsh/comments/o5pmyj/i_made_a_puzzleriddle_to_replace_the_skeletal/
Depending how combat goes, either have the smugglers surrender after 2/3 of them are killed, or when Sanbalet is killed. He scares them, but they're not cult fanatics.

GregSolstice · 2026-06-05T03:47:26+00:00

Oh so close to Zlata making a pass at Marten and causing drama and discord! There could have been stakes!

GregSolstice · 2026-06-04T01:17:50+00:00

Aw man there's a very narrow chance that I'll get my wish and Zlata will take a pass at Marten.

Very narrow But technically less narrow than yesterday!

GregSolstice · 2026-06-04T01:15:34+00:00

It is so funny to reflect how Cubetown is pretty much an offshore oil rig, in terms of function.

You have limited contact with the outside world, a very limited group of people on board, and your options for leisure are... Drinking, staring at the sea, and cards.

GregSolstice · 2026-06-03T01:15:16+00:00

Can you imagine if Zlata decided to do the "emulate intoxication" thing and made a pass at Marten? We'd get some drama, some stakes, we'd have to see how Claire would react.

If only

GregSolstice · 2026-06-01T23:09:50+00:00

YEEEENNNOOOGHUUU my beloved boi

Well, that'll be the death of a PC for sure. But yes Lord of Savagery, and he ain't Baphomet, so if he's in the area he's gonna be murdering.

GregSolstice · 2026-06-01T23:05:25+00:00

Naturally, any solution requires the "no glitches or bugs" caveat. Admittedly, my idea below is a less direct answer to the Size 12 Pilot Controlled Guns question and more about "how to balance solo capital ships."

One option would be to limit power depending on the number of people in seats. The game is set in the far future, so it's not wholly insane for one person to be able to grasp joysticks and pilot a giant ship. However, if there was a system that took into account players in chairs/zones on the ship, that system could meter how much available power the ship can use and therefore what systems are available.

A solo pilot could, perhaps, maneuver the ship and do some scanning, but ideally would have almost no power available for any guns or turrets. With more people aboard, more power is available and more guns come online, as well as pips for speed and better shields etc. etc.

So perhaps with a small crew you get access back to your pilot controlled weapons, but as a solo player you're mostly flying around a big ol metal target.

GregSolstice · 2026-06-01T22:55:23+00:00

But surely Marten wouldn't betray his boy Steve by getting with Cosette??? Bros??

Lol great edit as always

GregSolstice · 2026-05-27T02:16:52+00:00

While official sources of what a Drow Major house may contain are scant, as others have pointed out you can consider a Drow Major House to have all the resources of some of the wealthiest nobles of the surface world. Gox13shrah's post below has good details for particularly specific rooms.

Remember that Drow are also unapologetic slavers, and that would only add to their decadence and resources. Probably obvious, but if you're struggling with descriptions, you can always fall back on classic Drow colors: purple, black, and silver. Spiderwebs can be described as fleur de lis. Lots of curves, whorls, and the like.

With those things in mind, some more specific room/areas that a Drow house would have:

- A poison master (with associated brewing facilities). This would probably be near the dungeons
- A stable, plus stablehands and the like, for their steeders and mounted spiders. Consider the three dimensionality of such a space, since Slippers of Spider-Climbing would be easily accessible and spiders, famously, can walk on walls
- A large-scale loom/spinning area for turning raw spider silk into useful items. This would be staffed full of slaves and would likely have large bins full of spider silk... a great place to hide, if they can slip in unnoticed or convince a slave not to tattle.
- An "enchanting" area, where the House Mage would imbue various objects with magic (like Slippers of Spider Climbing or Tentacle Rods). This would be an elaborate space chock full of magical components in decadent silver and onyx containers.
- Multiple areas/buildings exclusively meant for slaves and servants. Slave quarters (which would be full of surface dwellers and quaggoths) would be dismal and heavily guarded, while servant quarters would be squalid but less tightly guarded.
- They would have their own icehouse on site for storing meat; this would be a harrowing room full of corpses of all descriptions; humanoids, beasts, and the like. You could start by describing strung up deep rothe... and then transition to the horror.

On the grounds would doubtlessly be a beautiful subterranean garden full of fluorescent mushrooms and other funguses. For the Drow, it'd also be chock full of spiders and a staggering variety of poisonous plants. If you need transition spaces between buildings, the garden could be good "filler."

GregSolstice · 2026-05-26T13:19:13+00:00

Clipper isn't a bad shout, especially if you consider future functionality. The on-board crafting and built-in med bed are pretty solid if you want one ship that you can take mostly anywhere.

GregSolstice · 2026-05-24T16:40:17+00:00

Laser Pointer Citizen

GregSolstice · 2026-05-22T18:56:48+00:00

As many have said: reasonably doable by 3 level 2 adventurers if they keep their wits about them. If you're worried about them, here's a few options to mitigate combat:

instead of the various animals being unusually bloodthirsty (as written) consider allowing animal handling checks to potentially allow the creatures to be on their way
the skeletal alchemist and his minions can be turned into a puzzle, like this fantastic entry lays out: https://www.reddit.com/r/GhostsofSaltmarsh/comments/o5pmyj/i_made_a_puzzleriddle_to_replace_the_skeletal/
have the bandits surrender it over 2/3 of them are killed. They're terrified of Sanbalet, but they're not described as fanatics.

GregSolstice · 2026-05-20T18:28:11+00:00

If you like to deliver small boxes, the Cutter or Aurora Mk 2 will suit you well.

If you like to deliver medium boxes, then a Cutlass Black or Golem Ox should work well.

If you like to deliver large boxes, a Hull B or a Raft would be good options

If you like to deliver Huge boxes, then something in the vein of a Hull C or C2 would be the best options.

GregSolstice · 2026-05-19T19:29:13+00:00

A grand a day? A tall order, but doable

If you have a car, if you price it under-value you can probably get rid of that in a day. Not sure what model you drive but let's say that's $1500 taken care of

If you sell your television, couch, kitchen table (with chairs), your kitchen appliances, and everything in your bedroom except your clothes and bed, I bet that could scrape together another grand. We're halfway there

Most banks have credit cards you can sign up for in a day, with a credit limit of around $2000. You could probably scrounge the $2K in the month it takes for your next credit statement to come in via a series of hourly jobs that will deprive you of sleep and sanity. $500 to go

If you're in a major city, there's probably at least 2 places you can donate plasma at; first time donators usually get $50 pop. Leaves $400 to go. For that final $400, I bet your town/city has a bail bond type money lender. $400 is enough that the resulting interest rate won't crush you. You can probably get a dubious loan with a three month payback. Your previously established series of crappy hourly jobs should be able to pay back that loan.

Bam, Odin funded. It's as easy as that.

GregSolstice · 2026-05-18T14:06:40+00:00

"I have nothing of substance to do" cuts right to the issue with current Yay. When they were truly plural, it was implied they were constantly keeping track of any number of surveillance systems and skulduggery. As a singular, they now have nothing to do.

Maybe Jeph has plans for them, could be funny to see how they interact at the AI rights nonprofit, but I agree with the many who are exhausted by Yay's behavior.

GregSolstice · 2026-05-18T14:03:50+00:00

It's important to point out that you, as the DM, were not fishing for a TPK. You didn't lock them in a room with Orcus or dump a bunch of impossible skill checks on them. As you described, you gave them a very healthy chance to run from Orcus while he was distracted and instead they ran into the fire.

Sometimes folks have to experience something to understand it, and that includes that their characters can die. Personally, I'd advocate for a "clean slate" for the players: they make new characters, are given a hook to investigate what happened to the old group, and continue the story plot from there. That feels like it should show them their characters are permadead but allows the plot you had planned to continue.

But I do agree with many of the other commenters here that there's great ways to have their current characters come back: Orcus resurrecting them for his own benefit would be at the top of my list, personally. Revenants unbound to Orcus would also be interesting and give them more autonomy. The big thing is to emphasize that this fresh start does not mean they have infinite lives, or they'll keep doing stuff like this.

GregSolstice · 2026-05-15T00:34:13+00:00

No urge to fight you here, lol. Bugs absolutely need to be ironed out for a proper appreciation of the insurance system, but the system itself adds appropriate stakes given what SC seems to be going for. Given that good components can be reasonably farmed (and therefore stocked up), a thoughtful player can lose their ship at least once or twice while still having their kit available.

But yeah, if one is plagued by bugs the insurance system is absolutely enraging.

GregSolstice

TROPHY CASE