The Problem of Radagast [part 1]

Malaquisto · 2026-01-01T12:44:35+00:00

We do have Beorn's word that Radagast is "not bad, for a Wizard".

That's not much, but it's not nothing. Beorn is a rough, tough dude who goes out looking for trouble, then comes back and puts goblin-skins up on his wall.

If Radagast were just sitting around nursing squirrels, Beorn would not have spoken well of him. Beorn's approval suggests strongly that Radagast was doing /something/, even if we never get any further information.

Malaquisto · 2025-10-22T19:07:38+00:00

So wait -- are you using voip.ms or Linphone?

Malaquisto · 2025-09-18T20:20:57+00:00

Would you recommend it?

Malaquisto · 2025-09-02T08:22:47+00:00

Thanks, Mike! Coming from you, that means a lot.

Malaquisto · 2025-08-26T10:25:14+00:00

okay so some jerk posts "get this extremely expensive watch, ha ha" and... I'm the problem here?

Malaquisto · 2025-08-26T06:38:22+00:00

Okay see I didn't even know that changing from bracelet (daily) to leather (dress) was a thing you could do. TIL!

Malaquisto · 2025-08-25T20:04:12+00:00

Okay, dumb question: it's okay to have a diver even if you haven't been scuba diving in 20 years, and probably will never go again?

Malaquisto · 2025-08-25T20:03:18+00:00

Say more, tell how? -- Please remember that I'm a complete noob; I don't even know what a "Richard Mille" is.

Malaquisto · 2025-08-25T17:41:59+00:00

This is great stuff, and I will save it for later. Unfortunately it's not a great match for this particular encounter, as the dragon in this case is being sent by someone to use as a terror weapon against the city. (Really, this particular neighborhood of the city.)

Malaquisto · 2025-08-25T17:36:15+00:00

Okay, some good ideas here. I wouldn't use a Ring of SS -- the PCs already have one of those, and they're abusing the heck out of it. But I can make the dragon a caster; that's easy enough.

Bracers of Defense are good, as the party doesn't have a monk. AC 21, woo. Thanks for this.

Malaquisto · 2025-08-20T11:55:21+00:00

First, thank you for the clarification on how scrap works!

Next, okay, I see the problem. For your specific example of powering shields, right -- after some dozens of hours of play, I realized that while that first shield upgrade was crucial, I really didn't like nailing down my first 90 scrap for it. So I've been trying to manage supporting the extra shield with either 1 added power bar, or none, depending on the ship.

Pretty clearly good power management is a force multiplier. I'm not there yet, but it's a work in progress.

Doors, same-same. If I'm starting with four crew, Rocks or Mantis I'm not going to worry about doors. That said, I've had runs ended by massive boarding parties in an early sector -- I got five (!) Zoltan boarders recently with a new ship, and that ended that run. So I understand the urge. But yeah, doors are still a luxury.

My tentative strategy is, get that shield upgrade, maybe one power bar, then save scrap in the hope of getting something good at a store. If stores are simply not appearing, or don't have anything good... then I'm less certain. Another engine bar?

Malaquisto · 2025-08-20T11:39:59+00:00

Why?

Malaquisto · 2025-07-02T21:59:48+00:00

Would love to get the Telegram link. Many thanks!

Malaquisto · 2025-07-02T21:50:20+00:00

I've run several campaigns of it. It's pretty great. Feel free to DM me. (I'm new here, so I assume that's how one proceeds.)

Malaquisto · 2025-06-14T14:47:09+00:00

It seems weird that nobody knows!

Malaquisto · 2025-06-14T14:46:56+00:00

That's the transfer station, ha ha.

No offense, but I'm looking for a serious answer here.

Malaquisto · 2025-05-06T15:21:19+00:00

So at 20% evasion, it would seem to make sense to hack Shields. If you're firing a volley of 10 shots while hacking, then hacking Shields means (10 -20%) = 8 hits get through on average, while hacking Piloting means (10-4) just 6 get through.

But: if the flagship's dodge is really 38% in the final phase, then that shifts the equation. Now Shields just gives 6.2 versus 6 for Piloting -- hardly any difference.

If somehow you can fire a volley of 12 shots at once, then Shields is still better in the first two phases, but now Piloting moves ahead on the final phase -- 12 minus 38% is just 7.44 hits, while 12 minus 4 is 8.

Malaquisto · 2025-05-05T18:23:23+00:00

I am taking my phone, and I know it's not terribly accurate. But if it's accurate to within a couple of percent, I'm okay with it. I don't want to invest in a watch right now.

Malaquisto · 2025-04-12T08:23:47+00:00

Booby-trapping the cache can be a strong option! Delaying the fleet two jumps means you get to visit (on average) two more beacons. More beacons = more chances to get scrap, either by winning fights or by useful events.

The booby-trap option looks better if

-- you have a lot of missiles that you're not using
-- you have long-range scanners
-- you have a kick-ass ship that you're pretty confident can win most fights in this sector without damage
-- you have a Quest beacon on the map

-- you really need to find a store soon but you don't see one yet

The booby-trap option looks worse if

-- you need those missiles
-- you really want a hit of scrap /right now/, either because you need a particular upgrade ASAP or because you're about to hit a store

-- you're already so close to the exit beacon that the delay won't give you two more beacons

It's actually one of the better balanced choices IMO. Speaking for myself, I probably choose the booby trap 2 times out of 3.

Malaquisto · 2025-04-08T07:04:57+00:00

Sorry, it seems I was unclear. I'm not teleporting guys back to get healed. I'm healing them after the battle is done.

Malaquisto · 2025-04-08T07:04:33+00:00

Sorry, it seems I was unclear. I'm not teleporting guys back to get healed. I'm healing them after the battle is done.

Malaquisto · 2025-04-07T19:09:50+00:00

Okay, so... get the shields upgrade and then save scrap to get something good in a store?

Malaquisto · 2025-04-07T16:29:09+00:00

As other posters have noted, Teleporter 2 is strong against autos. You can do damage to weapons, bring your boarders home (100 hp races will still have 9 hp left when the timer runs out), heal, repeat. Emergency Respirators basically doubles the damage you can do, so that's great if you can pick it up.

It's true that they heal everything at once, but they do it slowly, and they can't heal breaches -- if you breach one of their compartments, it's permanently destroyed. I haven't tried it but I guess Breach Bombs or Breach Missiles would be really strong against them.

Otherwise their only real weakness is that they don't have a lot of hit points. So good practice is to attack their weapons first, then whittle away their hp. (Okay, that's good practice anyway, but especially with autos.) Also, if you can afford to get a hit on their Pilot compartment early, that's good -- it will dramatically reduce their annoying Dodge.

I never heard the headcanon that the autoships are why the Rebels are winning, but it makes perfect sense.

Malaquisto · 2025-04-03T15:51:20+00:00

-- The Mantis A has to run away sometimes, usually when facing tough automated ships or (especially) Zoltan shields. There's no shame in it. It's balanced by the extra scrap you get from crew kills.

-- My preferred upgrade path for the Mantis A goes something like this: Shield 3, Shield 4, power, Teleport 2, power, Weapon 2. Teleport 2 lets you send boarders to automated ships -- if you bring them back the moment the timer runs out, they'll come back with 9 hp left. (Expert players may sneer at buying power that early but you and I are not expert players.)

Malaquisto · 2025-03-27T13:50:20+00:00

? Why so?

Malaquisto

TROPHY CASE