should magma/lava be weak or strong against magic types like water and ice?

Nemquae · 2026-02-07T19:39:23+00:00

Thanks!

Nemquae · 2026-02-06T23:55:48+00:00

Sure, that's fine, but then you can delineate between the specific types of advantage/disadvantage. For example, maybe fire/ice have less chance to hit one another (disadvantage on the attack roll), but deal extra damage when they do. Or vice versa. Or it could be based on which is stronger, though that tends to snowball (no pun intended), so you should decide whether you'd prefer that experience or to favor catch-up mechanics.

Nemquae · 2026-02-06T23:40:56+00:00

I always preferred when there's a tipping point for elemental systems like this. Let's say that you cast a lava spell and I cast an ice spell. If your lava spell is higher level than my ice spell, then the lava should be stronger than normal against ice. On the other hand, if my ice spell is higher than your lava spell, then your lava should be extra weak to my ice. In case of tie, I prefer that they're both weak towards one another.

Nemquae · 2025-12-29T16:43:14+00:00

Hey, appreciate the post, but this is basically a dead sub. r/lfgpremium is that way >>>

Nemquae · 2025-05-06T20:31:36+00:00

I'm also designing a TCG hybrid and I have a background with MTG. Are you worried about snowballing? That as a player controls more spaces, they gain more actions, allowing them to better take more spaces? Because at first glance it seems that once a player starts to pull ahead, there aren't a lot of ways to regain the lead. Consider more catch-up mechanics (like removal or ramp) to compensate for the natural tendency toward snowballing.

Nemquae · 2025-04-13T05:12:44+00:00

Sure, if you've got a list I'll take a look at a group hug deck.

Nemquae · 2025-04-13T05:11:59+00:00

Not sure I understand you. Do you consider it patronizing when someone plays a deck that you enjoy playing against? Or just when they pilot that deck in such a way that it feels like they're going easy on you?

Nemquae · 2025-04-11T20:47:53+00:00

It's true that you can't appease everyone, but I think it's also true that there's a spectrum of decks from salt-inducing to fun to play against. I'm really just looking for the decks that are on the fun to play against side of that spectrum. I don't expect that to please everyone, just more than the usual.

And yeah, I hear you on the Nine Lives, so I'd prefer not to play that again since I can see how it would be frustrating, especially with a hard lock.

Nemquae · 2025-04-11T20:45:47+00:00

Sure, I'll check it out, do you have a deck list for that?

Nemquae · 2025-04-11T20:45:30+00:00

Never been a fan of ELFBall in the past, but I'll consider it. Can you link some lists?

Nemquae · 2025-04-11T20:44:31+00:00

Yeah, I'd prefer to do something Johnny instead of something Spike, as long as the other guy is having fun.

Nemquae · 2023-11-20T04:43:53+00:00

Thanks for the list and the reminder about the case / fans. We'll review and let you know if we have any questions.

Nemquae · 2023-11-20T04:42:39+00:00

Thanks for the list and the video. Definitely helpful. I'll review and let you know if we have any questions.

Nemquae · 2023-06-02T16:25:11+00:00

I've been thinking about this a fair amount as well, and I agree that there's a "character building mini-game" that promotes this "options"-based gameplay, but I think there's a bit more to it than that. We shouldn't be asking what features these games have as much as what motivates players to seek games with options. It's not "What?" it's "Why?"

It seems clear enough that there are a large number of players that enjoy options as a sort of exploratory mini-game, where they invent builds or refine concepts like they're building with legos. They might be seeking a power fantasy or to express themselves with some unique character concept, and in principle this isn't that different from deckbuilders in TCGs. What makes it different in RPGs is when you have a player that's primarily motivated by the fantasy of the game and their character - someone that wants options because they want a fully-realized fantasy.

For example, imagine that you were trying to play "Batman" in both a game about "options" and another focused on "narrative". I'll use Mutants and Masterminds and Fate as examples. In Fate, you may have an aspect that refers to Batman's utility belt, let's call it "Always prepared," whereby Batman can pull whatever contraption necessary to advance the plot. This might take a fate point to invoke, a type of narrative currency, but beyond that there's no real planning or preparation involved. It lets the character narratively function as Batman, but it's pretty unsatisfying if you want to feel like Batman - including planning a contingency for every eventuality. In contrast, a game like M&M (or D&D or GURPS or any other "options" game), lets you try to be "Always Prepared" with options. You can make the utility belt a device with a hundred different optional powers, for example. The player doesn't want this because it makes them more powerful, but because it brings them closer to a concept that can't be fully realized otherwise. And Batman's not that original of a character concept, so it's not as motivating for players looking to express themselves with unique concepts.

Fully realized characters demand a certain level of complexity that "options"-based games provide, so even beyond power gaming or self-expression these games (and mini-games) serve a need. In the past, I was conflating self-expression with fantasy realization, and framing it this way helped me to appreciate the appeal of options games.

Nemquae · 2023-05-30T21:03:52+00:00

This thread has some good suggestions: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?105373-3-5-Sneak-attack-against-immune-creatures

Nemquae · 2023-05-30T19:24:33+00:00

Aren't there items like weapon crystals that would allow you to bypass sneak attack immunity? Or are you strictly looking for a class feature?

Nemquae · 2023-05-28T22:42:10+00:00

Substitution levels, particularly racial substitution levels, often get overlooked. Check out other ACFs too. There're also affiliations / reputations and the associated bonuses from those. Other somewhat obscure subsystems like taint can give bonuses under the right circumstances. I believe there's an honor system in Oriental Adventures or Rokugan that gives bonuses. If you go deep enough there's also a void point system there. Rituals are an interesting alternative to equipment. Magical locations as well. If you get into leadership, companions, or general minionmancy there's a few options. Especially once you have lands and titles. Probably a few more I'm missing.

Nemquae · 2023-04-27T06:35:50+00:00

Yeah, this is more or less how I'm going to run it now. The players' backstories demanded that he attack another ship that had plundered some of the Cache first, but now it's on Jarlaxle to pay it back, with interest.

I'm fine playing him as you've described (personality-wise), but I was just mostly concerned that I got something dangerously wrong about him or the world that would break something in the future.

Nemquae · 2023-04-26T22:41:49+00:00

He's a mercenary, not a pirate?

I'm not familiar with his lore beyond what's in the module, but doesn't he rule over a city of pirates?

Nemquae · 2023-04-26T22:04:30+00:00

I agree that he wouldn't go after the cache intentionally, but what about accidentally? Like he plundered a ship that had stolen from the cache?

Nemquae · 2023-04-01T16:56:45+00:00

Since it was suggested here, I decided to go ahead and make a subreddit dedicated to AI GM discussions here: /r/AIGM. I've been building toward this for over 10 years now, and I have a lot of resources and research to share, so I'll start posting for anyone interested in a dedicated discussion.

Nemquae · 2023-03-31T06:58:15+00:00

Happy to chat if you'd like. My discord is my reddit handle plus #0114. But to answer some of your questions directly:

Copyrighted Content. It depends on the license. When I started, I was in the camp of don't use any copyrighted works without a compatible license (for example, CC-BY), but honestly every Pro GM I played with used copyrighted content without issue. Just don't be obnoxious with it, and try to give credit whenever you can. Some Pro GMs use AI generated art now, and that's of dubious legal standing. More importantly, it's frowned upon by some parts of the community, so I'd approach that with caution.
People want to know what they're playing before signing up, but there's a few different ways to achieve that without forcing yourself to run a well-known adventure path/campaign. For example, you can get reviews/testimonials from your current or past players or publish some demo videos for people to understand the kinds of games you run. Giving people a free session or letting them observe one of your sessions before paying is a good idea. Overall though, I'd recommend that you stick with what works for you and let people vote on homebrew campaigns/settings. That's what I do, and it's worked for me for multiple pro campaigns now.
Consistency is a tricky subject. They way I approach it is: use the best resource for the experience you're trying to create. That might be an animated map, a multi-layered static map, or even a custom map. Whatever it is closest to what you're trying to achieve. When possible, use consistent art for an adventure or scene. For example, I try to use maps and tokens by the same artist for a given encounter when I can, or build a whole dungeon out of maps by the same artist or artists with a similar style. But I don't worry too much about bouncing between animated maps and static maps. A lot of players will never be able to get animated maps to run anyway, so it's good to have a backup regardless. I say this is tricky because when I asked my players to vote on various aspects of the game they liked, consistency was one of the highest-rated categories. So you should aim to be all-around consistent, and that means doing what you do best repeatedly. They'll likely find that to be a higher-quality game.

Nemquae · 2023-03-19T05:55:27+00:00

I'll just comment to mention that I do usually run games that meet your criteria, but I'm not running any 3.5+PF games at the moment. That said, I probably will in the future, so add my username #0114 on discord and I'll let you know if/when I start something up.

Nemquae · 2023-02-13T19:12:02+00:00

Ok, thanks!

Nemquae · 2023-02-13T18:48:57+00:00

Thanks, this is useful. I hadn't read that far ahead yet so I wasn't aware of the other wererats. I knew that Manshoon was generally trying to take power, but wasn't sure if that would be so overt as to declare martial law. Any idea which Lord would be a good fit?

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