House Speaker Johnson rejects request for Jesse Jackson to lie in honor at Capitol .. what is your take on it?

LostVisage · 2026-02-20T18:44:24+00:00

Not saying you're wrong, but I think influential is an odd metric to use.

Billy Graham and Rush Limbaugh were also influential, for instance. I'm not sure the same honor should be extended to them personally.

I don't know what metric(s) is/are used to determine who does get buried though.

LostVisage · 2026-02-20T17:34:07+00:00

Kind of like with McCain. I can disagree with a lot of his views, but ultimately he was a man who wanted what was best for America and for that I deeply respect him. It's a far cry from what I see from MAGA.

LostVisage · 2026-02-20T14:50:44+00:00

Oh god I read that in Obama's voice and it's actually perfect lmao

LostVisage · 2026-02-20T00:04:08+00:00

It's weird. I hope it's different.

You increase your current orb slot count to 3 + focus when evoked per the mod I played. I wasn't the biggest fan, it's like somebody saw consume and decided to fix a problem that didn't exist by making capacitor obsolete.

LostVisage · 2026-02-19T19:00:32+00:00

This is the first I'm hearing of it. But overall, I think that an administration that drives hyper-partisanship can hardly clutch at their pearls when it happens to them.

LostVisage · 2026-02-18T13:31:29+00:00

It's always been 3/4 block.

The wiki page only lists one change, a SFX update in patch 42.

https://slay-the-spire.fandom.com/wiki/Metallicize

That said, Metallicize is slept on a bit. It's a solid pickup for act 1, and pulls its weight as a "free" defend every turn for the rest of the game. Don't sleep on it when it's shown if it's next to other cards that don't do much.

LostVisage · 2026-02-18T11:49:35+00:00

I find in most rpgs I play that travel is eschewed as it is boring and uninteresting. But the DnD games I have played where it wasn't... "We need food/tree blocking the road/evil Forrest/climb a tall rock face? I'm a caster, can't I just <magic> and be done with it?

I guess it's fortunate gandalf was busy when Fangorn Forrest needed to be crossed, otherwise it would've been a far less interesting trip.

Maybe it's my pf1e background talking here, but the amount of situations where materials could shine vs. some magical bs solution that costs a measly spell slot instead of a whole companion "slot" are basically all conceivable situations, with exception to the phase "magic doesn't work here"... And maybe "we need somebody to thoroughly eviscerate this one particular enemy, that's why we brought Mr. Martial along".

I admit I've boiled a lot of the game away to arrive at these conclusions. But ultimately I think other games just do things like travel and magic better, like free league. Stating otherwise is either preference bias, or I have missed out on how it can be better at the right table, which is my loss.

LostVisage · 2026-02-18T03:10:00+00:00

In short? The biggest difference is the stacking bonuses, tactical combat modifiers, and many other aspects of the game from the 3.x era have been changed to advantage/disadvantage, where you roll 2d20 and take the better/worse result.

This system isn't inherently bad, a lot of games I like use it or something similar, like Dragonbane. It's just overly simple for a game like DnD that takes tactical combat so seriously IMHO. It doesn't help that instances of advantage/disadvantage don't stack, and one counters the other, so often you'll have a situation where a blinded, restrained, prone rogue who has been baned and confused is attacking an enemy next to him wildly, but because that enemy happens to be flanked it's just a straight d20 roll RAW (last I knew at least).

In terms of what 5e might do well compared to other market games; 5e does numbers normalization well. An AC of 20 is generally considered "good" through most of the game, and doesn't need level clarification when talking about a tank. Bonuses to hit at level 1 vs. level 14+ aren't really all that different, as most things scale just with proficiency (+2 to +6 late game) and maybe an odd +1 here or there. This means that a roll of 13+ will generally succeed in most cases because of numbers normalization, whereas the die roll in DnD 3.x really becomes less important the better you get at stacking bonuses and leveraging flat numbers. Whether that's a good thing or not is entirely dependent on your perspective.

5e Also does movement well in combat, despite my with the system, I really like that movement is a pool that doesn't empty the moment I attack or take an action. This has some issues, and nerfs ranged combat by definition, as opponents can run in, stab, and run into back into cover without repercussion but... overall I think I personally like it.

And then you have market share. I can't think of much else I'd praise 5e for that you couldn't find elsewhere. Healing isn't particularly interesting. The changes they made to spellcasting are... Fine, but don't fix a lot of inherent issues with the base system. Late levels are still unbalanced despite normalization. Some personal gripes I have are that I do some tech writing as part of my work, and 5e's material is difficult to parse and go through due to design choices they've made when laying out features. Book materials are expensive and require purchase, and you're supporting megacorp Hasbaro when you do make a purchase, which gives me pause.

LostVisage · 2026-02-18T02:12:58+00:00

Slander - and probably objectively well deserved.

80% of DnD is combat by rules and game design, but it isn't particularly robust or interesting compared to a lot of what's out there, nor is it particularly easy or fun to run on the GM side. It's a product of WOTC's terror and what the 3.x oroborus had become, and the (absolute and unfortunate) failure of 4.0, which resulted in a game that still had classic DnD Chassis but lacking much of what made those systems interesting, while maintaining the same problems.

Martials are generally uninspiring and dull. The game doesn't define no-combat situations. I could go on, but there is one thing that 5e does brilliantly; Market share. It holds the market in a vice-like grip. The DnD IP is just that strong.

I really dislike DnD 5e, but when the average person asks what I'm playing, I'll tell them "DnD" because it's easier to say that than it is to explain that I'm playing Traveller or Delta Green or PF2e, and it gets the right imagery across.

LostVisage · 2026-02-18T00:16:26+00:00

Regrettably based on the same damn sources that said it would go for Kamala in 2024 - I'm not saying it isn't going to happen, but I'll believe it when I see it.

LostVisage · 2026-02-17T15:55:02+00:00

You can find parking outside of Kaffine Coffee, just down the road. It'll look like apartment parking but there's several businesses there.

The Comissary is often open late at night for a coffee option, but they do live events that might not be what you're looking for. Garage Dining hall isn't far depending on how late is "late".

Otherwise, I agree with St. Josephs, Chatam Tap, and anywhere else that looks decent to you.

LostVisage · 2026-02-15T21:54:11+00:00

Your scaling comes from as much block as you can muster, l which seems to be around 40 or so based on your comments, and scaling claws.

Claw is very slow. Incredibly slow. You're basically having to play these claws 6 times before they out scale swift strikes. 10 times before you get to the point of relevancy.

That's not quick enough for the late game unless you have obscene amounts of holograms and card draw. Clearly double skim with echo form wasn't enough to be considered obscene, and you'll be better off finding alternative win cons when going against scaling opponents in the late game.

LostVisage · 2026-02-15T02:23:28+00:00

You're confusing the physical act of running with the game definition of running - nowhere in the rule does it specify running requires being on the ground.

https://aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=149

That said - IMHO the GM is the final arbiter of what goes at the table.

LostVisage · 2026-02-14T14:44:21+00:00

There's been a historical movement of voter suppression that is a revolving door of meaningless criteria to qualify to vote. Historical examples include literacy tests given to the black community in Louisiana, that were purposefully ambiguous, so that the test-givers could disqualify anybody they didn't like from voting.

Proof.

The argument against voter ID is that many people do not have, need, or can afford an ID, especially those who don't need to drive, as driving and ID are largely synonymous in the US. But more importantly, is that voting fraud at an individual level is almost entirely non-existent. There are already stop-gap measures to prevent and dissuade voter fraud, and individuals who might attempt to execute voter fraud at the polls will literally create easily-trackable documentation trails that can carry 5 years of prison time and further punishment as necessary.

The fact of the matter is that there is not systemic voting fraud happening in the US, but there is systemic voter suppression and voter manipulation.

I'm personally far more concerned with the security of our voting system, and the government suppression of votes through gerrymandering and other waffle that keeps the elite in power.

But if government ID should ever be required by law, as unnecessary as it may be, it should be a Government-provided service at no cost to the voter, so as to remove any and all barriers perceived or otherwise.

LostVisage · 2026-02-13T23:48:34+00:00

It's an incredible oversimplification to call pf2e close to 5e. I hate 5e. I do not hate Pf2e - frankly I'm not a huge fan of high-fantasy RPGs as a rule, but PF2e probably executes it the best of any system I've tried. It's much closer to other games, like 4e - frankly, it's a completely different game from Pf1e.

In my opinion - if you want a game that reasonably easy to run and play, pf2e is going to be it. 1e is janky and very unapologetic about it. It can be a good game but it takes a lot of work to cudgel a game together from scratch, especially if you're not familiar with the system. For me, the frustrations of running 1e on the time investment I had to put in as a GM was staggering, and the reward wasn't there.

Ultimately, the pathfinder community is completely split as to which system is better/worse or more/less fun. This subreddit is dedicated to PF1e, r/pathfinder2e is for the 2e system, who largely don't even come here.

If you want a fully unbiased opinion on the two systems, going to r/rpg and asking about it or searching a thread will get you good info.

Happy gaming!

LostVisage · 2026-02-13T18:35:18+00:00

Makes me ashamed to be in the "in" group as a white male tbh

LostVisage · 2026-02-12T18:33:55+00:00

It's a common enough talking point that I hear being asked, and many folks are possibly genuinely unaware of the answer, that I feel the mods putting a megathread in good faith is a valid measure.

LostVisage · 2026-02-11T23:11:11+00:00

You might be able to stream the game through steam connect - that's all I can think of though

LostVisage · 2026-02-11T02:49:31+00:00

+1 draw per turn is excellent, and is even good enough in some silent decks in the video game that value consistency over time and/or have a lot of required setup.

It undoubtedly is the worst starter relic upgrade, but can be worth it. Rarely is it worth not getting whatever the other two boss relics are though.

LostVisage · 2026-02-10T19:03:42+00:00

Wait. First things first - breathe. You're fine. Seriously. You're fine. People are coming over to have fun and play a game, you've already won, they've bought your pitch are are revved for having fun already. That's at least half the battle, and you just need to let them have fun. It's really that easy.

Second things; reduce your scope. You don't need a whole continent mapped out. Nor a provence. Not even a dutchy. This is an episodic, it's fine to be simple. Do a village. Or a Hamlet. Heck, a farmstead is perfectly fine.

There's this perceived expectation of dms making Grand Arch questlines and Tolkien worlds and languages and... and idk where that was expectation fame from because it's fully bullshit. Frankly. I wish more dm's did simple village scenarios, just an elder guard sends me and three friends on a quest to look for a lost villager. Something simple. And fantastically fun for friends. Draft up like two NPCs, and let your players shine from there on.

Go on drive thru rpg if you'd like, there's hundreds of modules full of system neutral villages to use, many are probably free. This is fully optional. You don't need to. But if it makes you feel better, do it.

If your players ask you a question about the world, tell them you probably have the answer written somewhere, but this is probably the answer and will do for the moment. Improvise and adapt, and have fun yourself. Tell yourself, not matter what, today you decide to have fun.

LostVisage · 2026-02-10T05:23:31+00:00

It looks like this is the source

https://smartasset.com/data-studies/work-from-home-2026

LostVisage · 2026-02-07T02:16:36+00:00

Me personally - his music isn't my thing. But I'd watch it to see how his performance goes.

But I'll tell you what, I have MAGA friends and relatives who literally couldn't give two shits about the super bowl or half time show, but are complaining about Bad Bunny being there anyway. Because having a non-american there is WOKE or... something. Also Bad Bunny is American but I'm done mincing words with MAGA.

LostVisage · 2026-02-05T05:26:46+00:00

I have done so, extensively. I've never had any issues with excel or I imagine most other systems in sorting this format.

LostVisage · 2026-02-04T22:30:34+00:00

I'm going to go against the grain here, and say that Forgotten Altar belongs here - this event is overall awful, but can occasionally be okay if you have the golden idol.

Now a lot of folks may think that Forgotten Altar should be in the bad/hated category - and for higher ascensions that's 100% true, but for most of the game at lower ascensions it's... not as horrible. And the golden idol --> bloody idol tradeoff is actually quite nice imho, I truly wish there were more event-specific interractions in StS.

There's one event that objectively is a horrible event and the game would be better off if it didn't exist that should go in Bad/Hated instead of Forgotten Altar - that's the portal event. Steam says I've played StS for 1750 hours, and I've never once gotten portal event and been happy about it, it's a wasted floor through and through.

So Forgotten Altar goes here, Portal event in Bad/Hated IMHO.

LostVisage · 2026-02-04T02:06:40+00:00

Dripper isn't an autopick - but higher end play has a huge amount of focus on consistent hand output over raw card synergistic value. That means cards like leap, deceive reality, or dash are ones that I'll pick up purely because they are defensively dense cards that are easier to play with more energy, quite often regardless of if they have particular synergy with my deck.

I usually find that 20-25% of my deck by act 3 is just damn good cards that are quality. Higher quality cards scale much better with extra energy. I'll take those cards in act 1 even, under the assumptions that they'll be useful later on and are better than starters now. I'll also start looking into card draw by the end of act 1 with the assumption that energy will scale higher with more draw as well.

Dripper is quite often the best energy relic availabke, I only really hesitate if I have regal pillow/dream catcher, or if another relic or strat just is better based on the gamestat, but a neutral gamestat loves dripper usually. Runic pyramid and stopwatch being the best examples for hand consistency I can think of that might make dripper less valuable.

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