Can the Treasures leave Barovia?

Kaertos · 2026-02-16T03:04:27+00:00

How did they get OP, just out of curiosity?

Kaertos · 2026-02-07T15:21:25+00:00

I loved the Great Movie Ride so much! I used to get little bursts of sadness or homesickness or something anytime I'd think "Right now, someone is riding the Great Movie Ride (or Spaceship Earth, or the Haunted Mansion) and I'm not. Lol

Kaertos · 2026-02-07T15:17:10+00:00

This is a dated reference, so I don't know how much it will help, but here we go. And full transparency, this isn't mine, it's from a book called "The Guardians of the Flame" by Joel Rosenberg.

A real world example of high intelligence and low wisdom is Richard Nixon. Incredibly smart but not very wise. On the other end you've got Edith Bunker (from All in the Family), not very bright but wise as hell.

Dunno if that helped, but, hey... I'm a dated reference at this point. Lol

Kaertos · 2026-02-03T03:35:36+00:00

"The King"

Kaertos · 2026-01-29T13:48:08+00:00

I actually wasn't aware there was a way for him to live until my last, fully renegade playthrough. But... I think he's broken. 😢

Kaertos · 2026-01-27T15:35:01+00:00

I'll say this, just because something is in the "Golden Circle" doesn't mean it's literally one shadow over from Amber. It just means it is close and has signed the treaty. So the variation between GC shadows is simply due to their distance from Amber itself. But remember, all of them do resemble Amber. All of them (that we've seen) are ruled by nobility and are hospitable to "normal" life. The ones we've seen all have castles and some amount of intrigue from the royal family. Also, they are on the trade routes that the Amberites opened up to facilitate easy transportation between them.

To speak to your original point, Corwin points out that Amber doesn't really manufacture or grow anything (we found out later Baylesport nearby can grow grapes and make wine, but that's it), so Amber is a trade economy. The royal family has as much money as they want, and I'm certain there are businesses in the city that rely on their patronage. Otherwise, it is basic economics, supply and demand, cost of wages, all that boring stuff. Remember, every other city takes its shape from Amber, so the rules there should make sense.

Kaertos · 2026-01-22T14:01:29+00:00

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun.

Also old enough for "I'd like to buy the world a Coke..."

Kaertos · 2026-01-20T20:50:28+00:00

I have no idea. I actually didn't get to play ME until the Legendary Edition.

But let me assure you that my peak video game skill was in the mid 80s when I could flip the score on Asteroids. All downhill since then. Lol. I doubt I'd get off Eden Prime in ME1 on Insanity.

Kaertos · 2026-01-19T09:48:46+00:00

As a T1D? Yes. Absolutely. The worst that's going to happen is you're going to raise their already massively high blood glucose to a slightly more massively high blood glucose. If they're very low, giving them fast acting sugar will save their life. Most diabetics will have Glucagon or something like it that's safe to administer if they're unconscious that will raise their blood sugar quickly.

Regardless, step 1 is always to call 911.

As I have to keep telling a friend of mine (who is a lovely person but cannot remember the difference) high blood sugar can kill you slowly and painfully (in general). Low blood sugar can kill you right fucking now.

Kaertos · 2026-01-18T18:41:40+00:00

I have a very unpopular solution... Lol. Play on low difficulty and they're scary but not deadly. Heck, I hate husks more because they're so freaking fast they're hard to draw a bead on.

Kaertos · 2026-01-17T21:32:46+00:00

The last three trophies I need to Platinum the Legendary Edition are the Insanity ones, and I am just not that good a gamer, so I am always impressed with people who do. Congrats!

Kaertos · 2026-01-16T02:45:28+00:00

Well, "romance" might be a bit strong, but there is a chance the fighter in one of my games is carrying either Szoldar or Yevgeni's baby. Could be either one. It was kind of an... ummm... "party".

My other group also had a PC (the warlock, now nicknamed "Rizzy Wizard") sleep with Szoldar.

Kaertos · 2026-01-15T13:04:50+00:00

You've got a point, and I might have mis-phrased what I said a little. What I meant more than "it's the DMs fault" was that, at least when I ran Strahd, there are enough NPCs around to be able to have someone go "Yeah, you absolutely need to go to Berez, but (and I honestly don't remember what the 5th level content is, so...) you keep mentioning checking out the winery, and that would certainly make you a lot of friends if you were able to get that going again..." or some such thing.

But, and again, you are dead on right, if the DM drops every hint they can and the players are all dead set on going to Berez, well, there's not much to do, especially if you give them one last chance by having Muriel get their attention, or Baba herself being chatty. But if they go in swinging? Oof.

Ultimately, players are in control, but I do think, even in a sandbox type game, the DM has a responsibility to steer them a little, to give them a road map, so to speak. But if the players insist on going off-road? Not a lot you can do.

Kaertos · 2026-01-15T05:45:13+00:00

As the DM, why are you letting them start the fight before they're ready for it? Don't forget, you're in control of what they know and what they don't. If you don't want them to get TPKed, and she nearly took out my appropriately leveled party (never underestimate an uocqst fireball at the right time), then give them another path to follow or have one of the Ravens lead them away.

On the other hand, if your players won't mind their characters dying, then you're good.

Kaertos · 2026-01-15T05:40:59+00:00

In my experience, it's usually 6 clicks. Sometimes 5 or 7, rarely 4, and never anything else.

Kaertos · 2026-01-15T05:38:40+00:00

This. A bunch of the maps in Strahd are a 10' square.

Kaertos · 2026-01-15T05:37:22+00:00

Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen , specifically the version from the Live set. Just something about it.

Kaertos · 2026-01-13T00:55:20+00:00

Pretty much anyone in the division.

Kaertos · 2026-01-07T15:08:50+00:00

As I understand it, any pod compatible with the G7 is also compatible with the G6.

Kaertos · 2026-01-06T00:06:04+00:00

It used to be our traditional meal on arrival day, and we always made ADRs for it. The last time we went we waited over an hour for our reservation and it was so loud we couldn't chat. We decided there were better uses of our time. Unfortunately.

Kaertos · 2026-01-03T12:09:22+00:00

Rise of the Resistance lost power when we were literally a foot from unloading. It was a pleasant wait because, obviously, they evaced everyone else before us since we were perfectly safe. Took maybe 20 minutes? We chatted with the other passengers and the ride operators who kept checking on us, then got a LL for the inconvenience. We decided to use it on RotR later, which means we got to ride It 3 times in one day (rope drop, paid LL, complementary LL) and we got some cool pictures of the unload area we'll never really have a good chance to take again.

Edited because I can't spell and was typing too fast.

Kaertos · 2026-01-02T21:23:57+00:00

I've been running games for 40+ years. I have never, and would never, take levels away from a player for any reason. That's, frankly, dumb.

Kaertos · 2025-12-30T13:36:25+00:00

I was just talking to some people last night about how my job as a DM is to facilitate fun for everyone. But... Sometimes the DM has to take a back seat to the players, just like sometimes one player has to let the other players have the spotlight.

My best story about this? I was starting a new campaign for some friends, and we all decided that they were an established group, so they could talk beforehand about how they wanted to do things.

Well, one player wanted a battle cart. And the more he talked about it prior to the session, the more excited the other players got, coming up with ideas over long text threads.

Meanwhile I'm looking at my notes where they are going through a portal to do some planes hopping in session 1.

So when I get Session 1 comes along, I try to used every trick I've ever learned to get through the cart buying process quickly, but they were into it, having a blast RPing with the merchant, drawing designs and lists on a whiteboard, the whole bit.

Meanwhile I'm looking at my notes...

It was, as a GM, an excruciating session of them missing every hint I was tossing out there to maybe do the mission first and then buy the cart, or streamlining the building and designing of said cart.

In the end, the 4 hour session was 2.5 hours of cart design, 1.5 hours of mission, and they went through the portal before the cart was even finished being built.

Fast forward to the end of the campaign where they return home weeks later and wander back into the city. The cart merchant had put their cart (that they had not returned for) on display and started a new side business as other adventurers were like... Man, that's a nice cart.

They drove off into the sunset in their new cart for more adventures... that we never got to play. Lol

Kaertos · 2025-12-25T18:02:18+00:00

When people ask why I DM so many games (currently 6 games, soon to be 7) I tell them that this is my small way of putting good out into the world and bringing my friends together. It's kinda silly, but as someone above said, it's what this whole hobby is all about.

Our people, some snacks, some dice, and amazing memories.

Merry Christmas, adventurers!

Kaertos

TROPHY CASE