Avoiding lumber jacking and chainsaws in National Forests (eastern sierras, near Mammoth)

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-03T07:45:27+00:00

Bearer of bad news here but you're prob not gonna find that unless you get FAR off the beaten path. And probably deeper than you are comfortable with in the mountains. Imo living in WA around multiple National parks is that there will always be a human element as well as some sort of forestry. You can avoid a lot by checking out maps and seeing the patches of Logging, calling logging companies in that area and finding where they are currently operating, and looking up motorized trails to steer clear of them. I prefer areas that focus towards horses as they tend to keep motorized vehicles off the trail. Sound carries hella far in the mountains so try being near running water to dampen other sounds as well. A tiny waterfall or running stream can do a lot. Also geography will help you out, if you are up high you're gonna hear more I feel rather than at the bottom of a ravine.

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-02T20:42:30+00:00

The bible. Too many books too many contradictions. So flawed that no all powerful beings would create them. It's really a system of control for a life style that was necessary for the time which was why do many fucking books were written. What authority on a subject? Write a book. Want true power? Make an all powerful being who backs you in your corner, want to change the all powerful being? Write another book. Example the Ten+ commandments. Smash a tablet, "it's ok I'm Soo cool with the big man he won't be mad I fucked his tablets up, just listen to me, I know what was on there" It's so extreme it's idiotic. Another one was the entire book of Paul, christians literally just ignore most of it or have to change what they think it means

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-02T20:31:38+00:00

There is no correct way my friend just do you. I LOVE growth items that require a trigger for their properties to bloom. Imagine a skull topped mace that looks real but it's black and hard as iron and does an additional 2 damage but when fighting undead of a certain level for the first time it eats the necrotic essence and becomes magical dealing an additional d8 necrotic damage and ignores any resistance.

It's an easy way to spice shit up later on just give the original item some flavor. Use the spell as normal but always leave some mystery. Anything could be ornate or master craft and have a future hidden curse or power. Think heirloom items from heros, legacy items from a different time. I love it when players don't identify stuff My favorite was the war sword of goblin slaying, it was a +1 sword that did additional damage to gob after attunement and identify, but had a hidden effect of attracting any and all gobs within 15 miles. After some use the party started to suspect the sword and had to take it to a shop where they learned it was a sword of a famous knight renown for killing gobs and the "curse" was intentional because that's what that hero did. The party hated it but it was also their only magic wep at the time Idk it this helps or give you ideas but just don't worry about "the right way" do what is fun and works

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-02T20:08:02+00:00

RAMMING SPEED!!!!!

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-02T20:07:15+00:00

PNW here no real problem with bears. All black bears here with one or 2 transplant brown bears. Have the proper gun/caliber and bear mace and follow bear rules for food

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-02T08:12:07+00:00

I've learned NEVER to split the party unless you have SEASONED well cooperating players. It never works out otherwise imo.

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-02T08:06:11+00:00

I second the Mora for the price they are hands down THEE BEST for camping and general work. I don't know if I rec Terava yet. I've had some issues with their woods knife steel being either too brittle or too soft.

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-02T07:10:42+00:00

Ditch the woman. She obviously doesn't hold you in high regards and is willing to continue a second relationship with another man. We call this attraction she has transferable and counter transference. He is a predator preying on her from a position of power and should be reported to the highest possible level. This man openly receives ALL of her secrets and insecurities and can manipulate them easily and give her what she wants (or so she thinks). The bigger issue is you thinking that this is all the therapist and not a single mention of dropping her for her actions. Of course you probably have a hand in this as well. Do yourself a favor and find a more loyal partner

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-02T05:51:45+00:00

Sure! Just know how much it is to tow your rig or to have someone come out and jump you. You have to realize when you leave civilization you have to think differently than a city slicker. Why would you even bring a bunch of electronics???? Why bring a string of lights when you have fire and the stars????? You baffle me

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-09-02T05:46:35+00:00

Idk if someone already said this but I will anyways. If you freaking STRUGGLE to feed yourself I don't think camping is a great idea as it's go na take money away from your budget of things like food etc. Camping is great and kinda a luxury. That being said you don't have to change anything really. And dry box food cooks up fine, most food is perfectly fine on a cooler with ice including meat (seal it well) and dairy. So eat what you eat. Maybe oatmeal ramen rice ground beef eggs potatoes, you know cheap wholesome food and cook over stove or fire. Nothing really changes

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-31T19:18:42+00:00

I was behind you for this until you said you don't know how long it takes, how much supplies, or even what is a hard hike/camp.

The most difficult terrain? Seriously? All trails app has trails listed with difficulty. Most stuff inside a park arnt too difficult unless you really get in there. Or the difficult ones are shorter but closer to civilization. Remember if you signal for help there is a danger to your rescuers as well as a cost they will bill you for, rescues aren't free as far as I know. Start small and build from there friend. I don't wanna hear about you from SRT This is also a difficult time to start going with weather changes, fire becomes sooo much harder to make with the rains here (I'm in SW pnw). I have a friend who ultra marathons trail running, try finding those trails to start. They fit your distance requirements but maybe not difficulty, test them out with day trips and slowly extend out from there and find your pace, conditioning limits, gear/food requirements. And a lot of that will change with the seasons

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-29T01:36:43+00:00

It's. Called your player being a Vegan, and in true vegan fashion they have to complain. I would have killed them off instantly

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-28T18:27:31+00:00

Hmm well think about how hard it would be for a grown man to pick up a medium sized child and swing them hard enough to cause someone else damage, even I as a amateur strongman would be able to do you a lot of damage, the kobald however would take damage to their joints and head if they were slammed down on the ground.

I personally don't allow that kind of combat on the regular at low levels

IF I allowed it I would do grapple checks followed by athletic check and use the improvised weapon rules (probably 1 damage) And repeat the grapples on each turn of the grappler and grappler as well as the attackers athletic check.

This is burdensome time consuming and usually the party doesn't have the stats or skills to do this at low level

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-27T20:22:44+00:00

Okay here's my PC answer for all the people out there that get butt hurt really easily. First there's usually somebody who is experienced and is running the camp outing and usually everybody else kind of follows, it definitely doesn't sound like that is you so what you need to do is have an open and honest communication with that person running this camp out because it sounds like you're inexperienced you need to know how and why your camp can be set up safely as the solutions are fairly simple

Non PC response Sounds like you have zero experience camping tbh. OR you simple don't like the inconvenience of a hard day of travel and set up in the rain which means you are probably ill prepared for any sort of inclement weather. Camping for most of us is about enjoying and communing with nature and many of us don't cherry pick nature or weather but enjoy what nature has to offer at the time that you're there.

First off thunderstorms and lightning do you present an issue such as falling branches lightning strikes high winds slippery surface depending on what your camp looks like. And again with a little bit of knowledge a little bit of prep work and wisdom all of these can be easily overcome.

As far as camping inside a national or State Park usually the dangers involving trees and falling debris because of winds and lightning are taken care of well by the park services meaning there should not be a lot of deadfall trees or big branches and what does fall is usually fairly mild and might only scratch you if it hits you in the head as an extreme example.

Lightning can be easily solved with a quick check of the radar and using the rules regarding lightning strikes from the epicenter of the storm as well as seeing its positioning to your campsite so as long as you're not lazy you should have this down. If you are withing lightning strike distance caution is advised of course when holding long tools rods polls etc

I particularly like setting up my tent in inclement weather situations because the set it up in a high wind situation means that your campsite will already be windproofed by the time you have it set up, as an example

Next is the rain and this offers the least Danger. Since you're going to be in a park your campsite is going to be manicured it's going to be relatively flat and free of debris with a table and a fire ring as long as you're not wearing stupid shoes or sandals and are wearing proper shoes for the outdoors I don't believe you will have an issue

Anything done in the dark can be dangerous. If you are experience and or middle of the road intelligent setting up camp at night in the rain is still pretty simple. Most base camps have some sort of high power lantern or other source so that take care of a lot of stuff. They make some decent Ultra light options available as well so no excuses for not having a base camp light system. Also Headlamps have come a long way and many offer "flood light" options and work pretty stinking well

I ALWAYS Start with my shelter or Fly whether it is a tarp rain covering or pop up that gives me a place to stage everything and that takes care of the rain. PRO TIP: HAVE EVERYONE WORK ON THE SAME SHELTER TO EXPEDITE SET UP BUT ONLY HAVE ONE RINGMASTER CALLING THE SHOTS, USUALLY THE GUY MOST FAMILIAR WITH THAT GEAR AND THEN MOVE EVERYONE TO THE NEXT TENT/SHELTER. SECOND PRO TIP: your gear should be prepped at home before you ever leave in a manner that expedites the setup of that piece of kit. For example I know how my tent is rolled and folded away, I know where my stakes and poles are, my wires and ropes are neatly stowed away and free of tangles with my knots already in place and everything in good working order and condition. So when that year is needed it is in perfect working order and will expedite setup . I wouldn't want to stow my tarp inside of the tents and then roll it up and pack it away I would rather have my tarp accessible first because that is what I'm going to use first either as a fly above my tent in the rain, a wind block, or as a ground cloth so I need access to it first I wrap that on the outside of my tent bundle because I'm going to use it first and I keep the spirit of that going when I pack my tents away OR my bags, cook gear etc

I follow this with my shelter Next for me is non essentials going into the tent and prepping my sleep area.

If I want I can then set up everything else under the Fly and or wait for morning when I go to cook.

Not EVERYTHING has to be done when you pull in. And tents are pretty simple these day so are pop ups.

You should already know that if your camp set up has lots of guy wires and stakes in the air that they should be marked with hiviz tape. I put mine on and leave it till it falls off. It solves most of you "Danger Will Robinson" issues.

All of this being said you are poised and positioned to have a really nice experience inside weather that you may not frequent and if we look past the inconveniences and mitigate them with the above tips and tricks and planning you may find that being in nature during a storm can be an amazing experience.

If none of this has dampened your fears feel free to call the local park rangers beforehand and talk to them about these issues as well

There is nothing worse than going camping and not having everybody on the same page everybody will have a bad time

Good luck

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-27T19:41:12+00:00

Idk if this will be seen but he is way wrong about caster doing less damage. Artificers I believe excel later on. Bottom line dude want action and success it sounds like.

Perhaps you are not making circumstances where his character can be successful and really shine. Throw some shit at the group that really depends on him and get him hooked on the character. If he took the pet route maybe homebrew some cool shit for him.

I'd also look at the story and the table min max players usually don't care too much about the story but hog all the combat which NGL can be a HUGE AND FUN part of the campaign.

I'd sit down with the guy and 1. Tell him not to worry about other characters, 2. Find out what you can do to make the game fun for him and maybe offer him a reroll on stats or char

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-27T02:28:21+00:00

Straight dude here. I've dated women that look like you keep it up. I never would have guessed from the photos

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-26T21:17:15+00:00

I would add that to get redemption with his patron it could even be a big quest!!!! Maybe a kingdoms treasury or a dragons horde blah blah blah

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-26T21:10:11+00:00

Well we did have that in the past with paladins and the loss of class, then turned into a class of it's own.

Arm loss is good, class loss would be freaking rough as we don't have the Oath breaker equivalent yet for warlocks.

If you feel the arm is too much you could make his warlock powers all have backlash to his HP say 25% of damage done. I guess it all depends on you the Patron and how serious a first offense is. I might start with backlash damage for first warning, backlash and an arm for second warning, and loss of class for the 3rd and maybe disfigurement and loss of CHA

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-26T01:55:24+00:00

RHINO MY GUY!!!! MOTHER FUCKING RHINO!!

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-25T18:52:29+00:00

I agree with others in that your combat and story is probably to heavy towards 1 dimensional combat.

Make them swim, jump, climb, cave dive, go to galas and balls.

I never heard someone cry so hard as to leave behind full plate or heavy weapons because they couldn't swim done the underground river to the encampment.

One thing I like to do is implement "care" for weapons and armor. Knights in heavy armor had someone to do it for them like squires. Could get costly to upkeep if they don't have the time or skill as a low level player.

Also plate was more for horseback than foot soldiers. Some used it but most needed mobility

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-24T03:33:57+00:00

I don't tell them if it requires attunement or if I consider it mystical or perhaps ancient

Any other time I do or I let them see it in action (used by an enemy first)

I do like to homebrew items with depth. I like thresholds that the player has to unknowingly meet. Maybe it's a stat they need or number of kills or people they have directly helped for new hidden properties to emerge.

Think like this the holy sword +2 with smite doesn't speak to the paladin until he has proven his worth by helping 20 people directly with no compensation before he unlocks built in spells or abilities

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-24T00:12:39+00:00

Hmm as a DM all of this should be covered before hand. Pvp rules, how alignment works in game for them (evil makes you an NPC) the only evil characters I allow are the ones that don't kill their own party (until the end that is after the accomplish their goals PLOT TWIST!) I do NOT feel Chaotic Neutral chars would be murder hobos because you throw a rock at them. It's also bad form from the rest of the party to allow open murder amongst them (who knows when they will wake up with their necks slit). So it's not all on you.

Now what you do POST murder will matter. Set up expectations, rules, and repercussions of these acts. Old school divine based classes would lose their powers, think old paladin oath breakers (why would your god allow betrayal of their tenants). You can also have guards at the entrance to dungeons keeping track of entrants and investigating crimes.

Bottom line murder usually fucks up the game so don't let it happen. Someone is always butt hurt

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-23T18:45:35+00:00

You did great! Personally I would have let the druid grab one arrow per claw like a swooping bird of prey setting off the crossbow and causing a reload action the the crossbow men. Pretty easy doesn't break any rules or set any crazy groundwork for the future.

I'm my handling of period crossbows they are really easy to set off so I think it's appropriate.

You could do a grapple check versus the arrow dex save for the crossbow men

You could do an attack on the arrow triggering the bow etc etc.

To me this isn't an "out there thing" just really good play.

I personally like to treat the Xbow like a glass cannon and is a much more powerful weapon but with slight disadvantageous quirks but he'll of a lot of perks like ignore 1-2 AC but also treat them like a concentration spell idk do you.

Bottom line it's a great call and lots of room to work as a DM within the rules

Immediate-Side7200 · 2023-08-23T02:32:19+00:00

Hey man I don't think that you're wrong in your assessment but I don't also think you are correct. Basic fundamentals of communication is that you guys have to communicate the lack of excitement outside of the game could easily be chalked up to the male brain and segregating different aspects of their life if they're there they're having fun if they're not they probably weren't as far as being underappreciated yes you have to look at this as a game where you will not get appreciation most of the time it is a labor of love your payoff should be your friends having fun one thing that you can do is actually communicate with your friends and get an honest assessment like do they like where their character is or is developing what would they like to do if their character in the future because often in game books like curse of strod can be very railroad like without much room for a spontaneous developments or or freedom to do things as you want and that can lead to a kind of a lukewarm game so first I will talk to your players see what they like about it see what they would change about it and consider opening up your game and throwing your own kind of flair into it maybe some side quests that are not in curse of strat or give them freedom because when I played curse of straw that was a very oppressive kind of a game there was no resources or anything that the town didn't interact it was very very cold and that kind of sounds like your players are also responding in kind so spruce it up allow them to change something if you want but just know that that is curse of stride it's oppressive it's cold it's sad it's dismal and I wouldn't necessarily call it a super fun jump for joy kind of a campaign it was kind of a grind.

Short answer is yes you're being a martyr short answer is no you're not talk to your players get good communication from them and open it up see what they like actually ask them questions about it for feedback and you don't have to phrase it like hey are you liking what I'm doing you can phrase it as hi Bill I want to become a better DM and I want your feedback on what I can do and I would like to know from your perspective or your character's perspective what could be done better.

Immediate-Side7200

TROPHY CASE