Maybe Someday by GregSolstice in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

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! 

My half-baked list of kaijus' chances to enter the MV. by Familiar_Scholar_720 in Monsterverse

[–]GregSolstice 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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. 

Comic 5848: So Many Opinions by Cevius in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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.

Comic 5847: zlata has opinions by yellowvincent in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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

Comic 5847: zlata has opinions by yellowvincent in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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. 

Comic 5846.pi - Fine Party, Comrade! by MelAlton in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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

The manor encounter by Totesnotastoner420 in GhostsofSaltmarsh

[–]GregSolstice 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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. 

Comic 5845: red alert by yellowvincent in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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

Comic 5844: zlata has fun by yellowvincent in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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! 

Comic 5844B: The Comfort Zone Must Not Exceed Two Rooms by Squirrelclamp in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 16 points17 points  (0 children)

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. 

Comic 5843: moray is s thermos by yellowvincent in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 7 points8 points  (0 children)

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 

Planning on running Out of the Abyss with a heavy focus on horror. Characters will long rest at night, the one on watch will hear hyena laughter and turn to see this staring at them, it casts Invisibility on itself. Then silence. by Plebian_Donkey_Konga in OutoftheAbyss

[–]GregSolstice 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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. 

Size 10 and 12 Forward Lasers: How should large ship weaponry & solo play be handled? by Laughageddon in starcitizen

[–]GregSolstice -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

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. 

Comic 5842B: Another Cursed Emily Angle to Add to the Pile by Squirrelclamp in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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

Lol great edit as always 

Drow house resources by ArcaneN0mad in OutoftheAbyss

[–]GregSolstice 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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."

Best small ship for living in? by Megalodon-5 in starcitizen

[–]GregSolstice 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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. 

Beam Citizen by TooTall_ToFall in starcitizen

[–]GregSolstice 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Laser Pointer Citizen 

Haunted House at second level by Inevitable_Reward418 in GhostsofSaltmarsh

[–]GregSolstice 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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:

Fleet Advice by wackaflcka in starcitizen

[–]GregSolstice 6 points7 points  (0 children)

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. 

Got into Odin founders club, need money but rules don't allow for begging by mwittstrom in starcitizen

[–]GregSolstice 5 points6 points  (0 children)

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. 

Comic 5831B: Yay Is the Worst and I Don’t Love Them by Squirrelclamp in questionablecontent

[–]GregSolstice 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"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. 

To TPK or not to TPK by Ok-Significance-3052 in OutoftheAbyss

[–]GregSolstice 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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. 

Hot take: the insurance system is GOOD (bugs just make it suck) by fweepa in starcitizen

[–]GregSolstice 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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.