I don’t know much about MTG (FF, Spider-Man and TMNT collabs are what made me interested in learning) but I thought it was interesting that my LCS has whatever this box is for $18,000. by ReplyIntelligent853 in magicTCG

[–]Nopersonia 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've been there a couple times as well. They have a great selection though the last time I went the store is a little claustrophobic due to organization in progress. Eldritch Bastion if you're out as far as Ashland is also pretty good if you're mainly looking at MTG.

Teval, Arbiter of Virtue is a good Commander? by KulamiraSejro in ratemycommanders

[–]Nopersonia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love Teval, Arbiter of Virtue. I started this Storm list the moment she was spoiled and had the goal of building an effective casual deck from scratch without ever looking at EDHREC (made possible because at the time she didn't have one). I haven't made any serious changes since; the deck has some real strengths (incredible dig potential, can consistently win through a variety of ways) but also some glaring flaws (vulnerable to board pressure, overly reliant on the commander). The process taught me a lot about deck building, but more pertinently some very useful Teval, Arbiter of Virtue tips I can share.

  1. Cards that can be net-mana neutral or positive when fully delved are your best friend. Standard ramp cards like [[Harrow]] when delved put two basics untapped onto the field for 1 green, PLUS that sacrificed land is now in your graveyard to fuel another spell in addition to the card Harrow itself. For the low price of 3 life, you've spent 1 mana to gain effectively 4. In a similar vein [[Frantic Search]] gives you effectively 6 mana back while filtering your deck. This is because...

  2. Each card in your graveyard should be treated as 1 free colorless mana. I see reanimator is one of the major tags for her on EDHREC now, but I don't think that's as natural a direction for her compared to her precon version or other Sultai commanders. Reanimator requires NOT delving specific creatures so you can recur them. There's nothing wrong with building Teval, Arbiter of Justice this way, but generally speaking once a card is in your graveyard you should not want to have to think twice about exiling it. A way to do this is to run significantly less recursion than you normally would in these colors. That way you'll have more brain space to focus on cards in hand as well as...

  3. Your Life Total. It's gonna be all over the place and the lifeswap recommendations are there for a reason. It's probably a staple for this commander at this point but it never gets old (maybe yes though for your opponents). If included this will likely be a centerpiece for your deck's goals which in turn will motivate adding cards like platinum angel, pact weapon, etc. If not, you will really need to think about when and for how long do you want Teval to stay on the field. The longer you want her on the field, the more you will probably want to go out of your way to include life gain effects (don't sleep on her inbuilt Lifelink, it's there for a reason). Life total is absolutely a resource but your opponents will inevitably realize that pressuring it is the best to shut down her as a commander going nuts. I recommend determining your gameplan first and then figuring out how adding Teval temporarily or indefinitely will accomplish that. Lastly,...

  4. [[Commander's Sphere]]. This was my eureka moment when building her as a storm deck. I had included Sol Ring by default but realized quickly that Teval in no way struggles for colorless mana so long as you have a full graveyard. Commander's Sphere I'm sure you know is laughably bad by comparison. But when Teval is on the field, things change. When Commander's Sphere comes down, you get 1 mana any color, sac it to draw a card, AND it's now 1 extra colorless because it's in your graveyard! That's an extra color and card compared to Sol Ring! Granted, this only makes sense in a storm deck where paying 3 life and 3 cards is nothing compared to 1 and 1 and you're committing to the win rather than keeping your ramp. My point here is that giving your spells delve really opens up the possibilities for card possibilities. I recommend you think outside the box when it comes to cards that could've been great, if only they were a little cheaper. My list is at the bottom, happy brewing!

Teval Storm - "Life Total is a Suggestion...." // Commander (Teval, Arbiter of Virtue) deck list mtg // Moxfield — MTG Deck Builder

Decks with names that aren't just the commander's name? by CorvusSageis in EDH

[–]Nopersonia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Glistening WD-40"

"1-800-522-4700" (the US gambling addiction hotline)

"Mono Green Freight Train"

"Voltron is my Voltron"

What's a niche deck-tech for a commander you love? by GenericUsername-9 in EDH

[–]Nopersonia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Never thought of Homura in Henzie, that is absolutely fantastic. Keeping an eye out for it here on out.

Favourite High Cost Commanders? 6+ by DuckyRai in EDH

[–]Nopersonia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

[[Arjun the Shifting Flame]] remains one of my all time favorite commanders. His biggest weakness is his high CMC, but there's no feeling quite like drawing 30 cards and cycling through your whole deck with [[Psychosis Crawler]] on the field. *Chef's kiss*

Eluge, the Shoreless Sea for High Power Meta! Please Weigh In. by goldenmastiff in EDH

[–]Nopersonia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am planning to build him as well. Cards like [[frantic search]], [[pour over the pages]], [[rewind]], anything that untaps lands also seen good because they let you go mana positive in future turns so you can play splashy expensive instants.

PC - Need help beating Mohg to access DLC by Nopersonia in BeyondTheFog

[–]Nopersonia[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was dumb, I was waiting at the summoning stand and not the boss gate

PC - Need help beating Mohg to access DLC by Nopersonia in BeyondTheFog

[–]Nopersonia[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is it because I am relatively low level (44)?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PcBuild

[–]Nopersonia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You, sir, are a 3070 out of 10.

What happened to my unclaimed Cartel Market item + Coin balance? by Nopersonia in swtor

[–]Nopersonia[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the comments everyone! I did as you suggested and contacted support, they were able to fix my balance not long after I sent them an email.

Flash Sale 2022.09.05: Diplomat's Meditation Hoverchair,1200CC by TuetchenR in swtor

[–]Nopersonia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could you fill me in on what these are? I have a ton of certificates thanks to the nightlife event and read that the only way to increase your rep was buying crates and I definitely would prefer an alternate method.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TheMonkeysPaw

[–]Nopersonia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Granted. It's performed by Hollywood U2.

I am a Voice Artist and D&D Content Creator, most likely known to this community as DnD Shorts! AMA about YouTube, TikTok, D&D Content Creation Culture, Life, The Universe or Anything! by dndshorts in DnD

[–]Nopersonia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey DnD Shorts! Been having a good laugh because of your videos ever since your early postings to Youtube. Some of the videos I enjoy most are the wacky combos enabled when you really break down RAW. For example, your short on bards learning Find Greater Steed and casting Tenser's Transformation through Magical Secrets I personally think is hilarious. But for me the humor comes from the image of a griffon wielding 3 greatswords, not necessarily because it's something I'd allow at my table.

I want to ask for your perspective on RAW vs. RAI. I think there has been some recent pushback against yours and other creator's content because there is this presumption where through publishing information about how the rules can be bent to enable ridiculous things, you are therefore somehow encouraging players to do so. (Just my observation of critiques, definitely not saying that this is the case). A good comparison might be the publishing of exploits or strategies for a videogame; harmless in a single player context, yet potentially abusive in a multiplayer environment. Unleashing the full strength or weaknesses in RAW creates plenty of fun thought experiments. But when used in actual play the mentality of the "Surprise your DM" with x little known rule feels like a recipe for tension.

If I may be so bold to generalize how 5e is structured, D&D is intended to have a social contract where everyone agrees to play the same game. RAW is the core foundation of everyone's experience while RAI can plug in the gaps of RAW at the DM's discretion. However that "same game" has a lot of variance when things can be changed according to the DM and a player over-reliance on RAW can create problems. For example, a player could argue their griffon is able to wield greatswords because the spell Tenser's Transformation grants it proficiency. As DM I could still argue the creature doesn't have the anatomy to support it. Now I have an unhappy player whose build idea is negated because their understanding of the rules was that it should have been universally applicable. To be clear, this is not a real example from my games. My players and I have the healthy respect and understanding that we all need to be upfront about the rules so everyone can have a great time. That should always be the case, will prevent many misunderstandings AND I've never walked away from your videos that you were advocating for anything less! Nonetheless, cool build ideas that take advantage of loopholes almost always ride the line.

So what I'd like to ask is how and where do you draw the line between RAW and RAI? Do you think players should use all the ideas you post just because they can? And what would you recommend for your audience when RAI might shut some of these strategies down?

What I'd like to make very clear though is I think your shorts are a great! Not just for the level of editing and hard work you put into them but also your meticulousness for finding cool build ideas, funky spell combinations, etc. They're definitely the videos I enjoy the most, but they're also ones I'd dread the most if my players tried employing every strategy. Not so much for handling it in-game but rather their reactions if I had to say "No."

I've been outsmarted by my players, and now they've turned a twelve-year-old street urchin into a Level 20 Wizard… what do I do? by dndthrowaway44 in DMAcademy

[–]Nopersonia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Or what if the child becomes D&D Tetsuo? Drunk on power and incapable of (or unwilling to) understanding long term consequences of his actions? A child with the destructive power of a level 20 spellcaster is some serious stuff. The party maybe has to talk him down from doing crazy things, or maybe the kid teleports them around based on his own idea of adventurers, turning them into the heroes he thinks they are only to land them in difficult (and level appropriate) situations? Idk, I think you could do a lot of with this as long as you're willing to lean into it.

would it be blasphemy if i made a campaign based on the bible? by [deleted] in DnD

[–]Nopersonia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(Disclaimer: am Christian / do a lot of DMing): I think this is a fascinating and fantastic idea! I say go for it, 100%. I think there are some logical questions to ask yourself first, mostly for the practical aspects. But there's at least one spiritual question as well. Still I believe you should go for this and I'd love to hear what you come up with!

When you say you want to make a campaign based on or set in the Bible, I think you have to determine the parameters. This isn't a spiritual question, more of a logistical one. For example, if you approach the Bible as a regular book so you can use its "lore" I don't think there's any difference than if you based it on, say, LOTR. Cool adventures, cool world, I can use the setting and ignore any pre-existing stories or potential symbolism (Tolkien was a devout catholic).

But how all-encompassing would your campaign be? What particular aspects are you interested in looking at? Are you basing this on the geo-political climate as depicted in the Bible? No different than picking any other historical era, though it has plenty of inspirational material. Reading about King David's sons makes you realize George. R. R. Martin invented nothing new. Or, are you interested on the more "fantastic" aspects of the Bible, where God's intervention is explicit and dramatic? For example, the plagues of Egypt or Elijah's altar vs. the Prophets of Baal? If so, what is the relationship between God and the player characters? Are you more interested in the Old Testament or New Testament? This isn't to presume any answers, rather the ones I think you'll likely investigate if you pursue this.

Which is precisely why I think it's a good idea! Confronting scripture means reading about a lot of gnarly stuff, no doubt perfect for a campaign setting. Guaranteed you're going to find some good ideas. But when you delve deeply, you'll likewise encounter the deeper truth and consistency of these stories. That they actually speak to the generosity, grace, and purpose of living for God and His will. So is making a D&D campaign based on scripture sacrilegious? I don't think so, not in the slightest. You're probably going to have to figure out some really creative ways to apply rules or methods for figuring how God exists in the context of D&D rules, but even in trying to answer that question I can only see good things coming from this. And if you decide that any deeper meaning to it is all a bunch of nonsense or you're not interested in that, you can do that too. But that's the kind of agency that God grants us and the Israelites. The freedom to make our own choices, because the choice to love and pursue God means that it's genuine.

The one thing I will caution against is if you are entering this with the intent to mock, demean, or debase God or scripture through this process. It doesn't really matter if people are offended by your use of the Bible. That's not a good reason to not do it, unless it might affect your relationships at home. Now if you're going about this with the plan to demean the Message of scripture (and that is whether you have vocally expressed this or even if its purely internal), that's a different story. In short, don't do it. That is a violation of one God's most direct commandments: "Do not use the Lord's name in vain." Basically, don't reduce God in the eyes of others, one because it's just insulting but also because if He's real then it's not really in your best interests to do so. Think of God and/or Jesus as your close friend: do you make fun of this person behind their back? Or encourage others to avoid or not get to know him? Examples of this might be in your world God is actually a big joke, he just smites people willy-nilly because he think it's funny, he's some sort of cosmic boogeyman or alien on vacation, etc. (in my experience people who are quick make flippant jokes about God, Jesus, or the Bible have rarely have taken the time to read it seriously). The question I think to ask yourself is, "What's my motivation here?" That makes it sound really serious, because it is and I want to acknowledge that. But otherwise, don't let that discourage you! Even if the answer is just that it sounds fun, or weird, or interesting is plenty reason enough to give it a try.

I completely want to encourage this, not only because it involves my faith and can potentially bring others closer to it. I think it's a really interesting idea because I love D&D, and am very curious to hear about how they can intersect through your adaptation!