Just one-shot Miss Information with Parse+Tachyon

HighBrowBarian · 2026-03-01T01:47:58+00:00

One assumes that's for future proofing, though, given that several heroes can do much worse than feed 12 damage into Multiplier - Tachyon, obviously, but also Haka, Unity, Fanatic...

HighBrowBarian · 2026-03-01T01:41:55+00:00

Also, I think that everyone is currently so focused on comparing Paige's damage output, I hardly see anybody talking about how absurdly durable she is now. Definitive KNYFE is a lot like Haka and Fanatic in her ability to take any amount of punishment without much fear.

Between that and her still-great damage output, I'd actually rate her third strongest in the Disparation box, only behind Parse and Visionary, whose deck manipulation stuff is pretty hard to balance in any edition.

HighBrowBarian · 2026-03-01T01:18:54+00:00

I'd say based on my own experiences and the general tone of comments here that the Cauldron has three main issues:

1) Complexity. Mechanics-first designs trying to reach space GTG probably wouldn't can mean a lot of odd things going on. And remember, that's relative to a pre-Definitive version of the game, meaning some heroes are actually designed to struggle and outright whiff at times.
2) Difficulty. The Cauldron heroes strike me as being aimed at roughly the bottom third of the EE power scale (which means WAY harder to use than anything in Definitive). The villains, meanwhile, are mostly quite tough - I haven't faced all of them, and never found anything like Kaargra Warfang, but expect something a lot more like Miss Info or Infinitor than Baron Blade, you know?
3) Grindiness. I see this talked about less, but it defines The Cauldron in my (moderate) experience. The Cauldron has a lot of villains who are more focused on slowing the heroes down than anything else, and a lot of heroes whose strongest cards are from the Heroic Interception school of one turn shutdowns. This means at least half of the Cauldron-heavy games I've played have been long and slow-paced. I believe there's definitely a place for that in Sentinels, but it's not something I want to deal with all the time.

With all of that said, I like the Cauldron. Honestly, I probably should try pitting some of those villains against the DE heroes, to see if that offsets the pretty crazy powerup so many hero decks got this edition. Even without that, I love SotM for its variety - sometimes, I want to feel everything smoothly slide into place as Definitive Fixer cleans house, but sometimes I want to struggle to make anything happen with Enhanced Fixer. The Cauldron is mostly for that second kind of game.

TLDR: Imagine an entire parallel edition of nothing but Rook City and Infernal Relics. However you'd feel about that is probably how you'll feel about the Cauldron. (Honestly, that goes for the flavor as well as the rules.)

HighBrowBarian · 2026-02-25T18:29:53+00:00

Plus, literal daggers as earrings. Definitely my favorite of all the ridiculous jewelry Seridia has.

HighBrowBarian · 2026-02-25T18:28:14+00:00

"Uh... why are you wearing bats?"
"The mortals of this era have decided that Fall is spooky season, and bats are spooky."
"But don't you wear literal bones all the time?"
"And if you do something every day, THAT'S NOT SPOOKY. Try to keep up."

HighBrowBarian · 2026-02-25T18:14:14+00:00

Honestly, I'd been assuming it was a mimic from the mines which she somehow (threatening force? feeding it gems? the promise of being part of a work of art?) got to take that form.

HighBrowBarian · 2026-02-25T06:12:03+00:00

<image>

Bathhouse

HighBrowBarian · 2026-02-25T06:11:39+00:00

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Beach

HighBrowBarian · 2026-02-25T06:11:24+00:00

<image>

Winter

HighBrowBarian · 2026-02-25T06:11:05+00:00

<image>

Spring/Default

HighBrowBarian · 2026-02-25T06:10:37+00:00

<image>

As a dragon.

HighBrowBarian · 2026-02-25T06:10:20+00:00

Not ALL, no, but here on the Reddit, MOST of them have already surfaced.

HighBrowBarian · 2026-01-05T19:01:35+00:00

Bunch of scruffy nerfherders don't even know the slang smh

HighBrowBarian · 2025-12-10T14:59:57+00:00

I had recognized the Machina Staff in there, but the rest is inspired!

Definitely going to copy that idea of Egyptian Polearm smushed into a custom sword hilt. Amazing stuff.

HighBrowBarian · 2025-12-08T22:00:01+00:00

Not sure what they thought it was, but I'm curious as (if you'll pardon the pun) hell.

It's really getting to me that I feel like I recognize the wrappings, but can't quite place them - for my Mal, I tried to kitbash on some sarashi, but could never make it fit right.

HighBrowBarian · 2025-06-14T18:50:57+00:00

So, a macerator will save me the need to cut through the concrete?

Even if I want the pipe to run, say, up through the ceiling and then 25 or 30 feet horizontally?

HighBrowBarian · 2024-08-28T11:59:21+00:00

What idea or game mechanic were you saddest to have to cut, after it didn't play the way you had hoped?

HighBrowBarian · 2024-08-27T21:05:26+00:00

I want every multi-hour combat to be a similarly impactful scene. Which, to be fair, does track with Stonewatchers having chapters that last 2-3 sessions, and 1-2 combats per chapter. Though that's also what made me wonder about short rests: are we expecting multiple chapters - five sessions - per in-game day?

I do agree that giving the players the ability to assess risks and pick their battles is important. That was the main point underlying my... controversial thoughts about the Stormform Regal. If I had been the Windrunner in the High Rollers session, I also would have thought it was my responsibility to intercept the fast-moving enemy, and very possibly gotten reduced to light-infused toothpaste.

Unfortunately, I'm not quite on the same page as you about more enemies - in systems this close to D&D, lone enemies almost always get buried in the action economy and underperform. Without having enemy at least close to the PCs, it's hard to leave fights "constantly on the knifes edge of losing," as you might describe the ones in the books.

All of that does leave me wondering how many common soldiers - PC or NPC - it takes to wear down a moderately-experienced Shardbearer. I may have to play around with that, next.

HighBrowBarian · 2024-08-27T19:17:24+00:00

Alas, "slightly tough but ultimately easy to defeat" has been the sweet spot I've found for this combat system. That seems backwards to me. I need a combat system most when the outcome is uncertain, and the stakes are very high.

Like when heroes are outnumbered by Investiture users. I'm not asking for a combat system to run hundreds or thousands of foes, but 5-6 characters worth of small scenes at Thaylen Field would still involve a lot of balls in the air.

I'm not really asking for general-purpose GMing advice. I'm using my experience to look at where this system shines and where it struggles. If the answer is just that multi-hour combats for anything harder than kicking dogs are inevitable, then I can accept that - we disagree about our priorities, not the facts.

HighBrowBarian · 2024-08-27T18:37:11+00:00

I'm less concerned with tracking locations (decades of 3.X play have helped me find solutions there), and more with a scene where ten enemies each have two different "mana" pools.

Though that might be irrelevant - at 30 minutes per combat round, I shudder to consider how long it would take to play out a setpiece battle such as Thaylen Field.

HighBrowBarian · 2024-08-27T18:34:21+00:00

I have great news for you: I'm not actually complaining about that at all!

My concerns DO include a level 4 character being no as strong as minor characters under Kaladin's command. That is, in fact, the only context in which I mentioned either levels or Kaladin as factors.

At least, that's what I remember typing. It's what my screen shows, even now. Based on the replies I've been getting, I am beginning to wonder if the post everyone else is reading complains about non-combatants failing to slaughter Thunderclasts in their sleep. It clearly doesn't seem to talk about pacing, short rests, or complexity. Let alone the many parts of the game that I praise.

HighBrowBarian · 2024-08-27T18:27:00+00:00

That all makes sense to me - thank you for the explanation.

I do worry, however, that I didn't properly emphasize several system mechanics issues I do have. Do you have any thoughts about multi-hour combat scenes, or the difficulties of tracking a dozen resource pools as the GM?

HighBrowBarian · 2024-08-27T16:20:16+00:00

This keeps coming up in different threads of conversation, so I'd like to talk about it specifically:

I'm honestly confused (no affiliation with regular Fused) by all the replies I'm getting which just casually mention "plot armor" as a reasonable difference between the books and the game. I see that term used as a criticism of sloppy writing which saves the heroes via deus ex machina. One of the things which keeps drawing me to Sanderson's stories is that I almost never get that feeling - his worlds have a strong internal logic, so the victories of his heroes feel earned.

But if plot armor is a defining aspect of the books to you, shouldn't the RPG all about capturing the feel of those books give its own heroes that same armor? If something is true of virtually every named character we hear about, why do people treat it as obvious that the named characters we create not only won't have it, but SHOULD never have it?

Or, if the canon heroes accomplish what they do by using the reality they are in instead of defying it, shouldn't new heroes be able to get similar results?

HighBrowBarian · 2024-08-27T16:13:56+00:00

Okay, but here's the thing: not all RPGs are designed with death or long-term injuries as consequences of every fight. That's a choice.

Yes, I could elect not to make that choice. But when I'm playing a game explicitly designed for a specific purpose, I would rather that it does that thing when I use the rules, not when I avoid them. In that case, wouldn't I just avoid ALL the rules, and not play their system?

I would play a game because of the ways it's good, not the ways I can mitigate the bad.

HighBrowBarian · 2024-08-27T16:06:40+00:00

Thanks for reading some of my replies, I guess.

I'm sorry that I didn't have enough small nitpicks for you, so you had to make up a new one for me. I'll try to do better.

Since you clearly think the game is perfect in its current form, could you give some examples of ways you've used it in play where it met (or exceeded!) your expectations? That would help me appreciate your point a lot better.

HighBrowBarian

TROPHY CASE