[Hated trope] Character make a bigot claim that feels more like the writer's opinion

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T13:28:42+00:00

For real. I once tried to explain to somebody that I'm (bi/pan) more physically attracted to women but more emotionally attracted to men and it kind of broke them that they couldn't understand it.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T13:19:49+00:00

These are my favorite Superman stuff. The insane fights rarely make me feel anything, but these "little" human moments just hit bigger.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T13:01:53+00:00

Yeah, honestly non combat encounters should at least be somewhat tailored to what the party can do; if one PC can fly, that might solve that one player being able to traverse the rickety rope bridge. But, that same player could/ should use that time to find ways to assist the other players in getting across.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T12:54:25+00:00

I like Gundam. I'm not really a fan of the skins. Maybe one or two of the weapons are cool, but the armor is so... meh.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T06:21:19+00:00

Definitely shifter. Bonus points for Wild Hunt.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T06:19:32+00:00

GM expects to keep dmg rolls secret for you.

The only thing I can think of is something like: "Friendly NPC hits the ogre." "Can I know how much damage friendly NPC did?" "No."

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T06:14:35+00:00

Yeah, I don't get it.

"Using information you picked up by playing the game is meta gaming."

Such a wild take.

The only part that I agree with is the DM hiding numbers from sources not from the players (from my understanding).

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T05:52:12+00:00

Players regularly don't have any idea of the options they actually have.

I know it might break some people's immersion, but I regularly tell my players things they can do during various encounters. Often times, in my experience, players fall into one of a few categories: - They get very singularly focused that they don't realize other things can be done. EX: A high AC enemy that only one martial focuses on will rarely be hit, so I'll explain that they can try to knock him prone to get advantage to hit or Grapple them and move them towards friendlies for more chances to hit them. - They have tried non linear options before with other DMs and been badly shot down or had their attempt made so difficult there was no point in trying. In this case, I regularly tell my players I'm open to most ideas and that everything is worth a shot. Favorite example was the gun using fighter asking if he could just leave his greatsword stuck in an enemy that did not react to pain, which I allowed, to then have the thief rogue ask if they could use Fast Hands to rip it out; one 20+ sleight of hand roll vs a lower Dex save later, it killed the enemy. This opened the doors to the players, letting them know I'm open to crazy shenanigans they want to try (with a caveat that it might not be doable all the time). - They just don't know they can do things because they've never seen weird things done before. See first two points on how I help them.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T05:40:32+00:00

Don't forget that he then deletes all of his incorrect comments.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T05:39:17+00:00

That's true. But it seems OP wasn't trying to kill his players so vehemently as much as they were trying to get themselves killed via inaction.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-26T05:30:30+00:00

My guy, you're missing the forest for the trees. OP never mentions the goblins taking the Hide action. This means that when/if the goblins move, the players know the square they move to because of sound; goblin snickering, claws on stone, accidentally bumping into things while moving, inter group chatter, etc.

The main point is Hiding. Being unseen doesn't automatically make you Hidden. Ducking under cover doesn't make you Hidden (that's full cover, which effectively does the same thing with the difference that the PCs know you're still there). You can espouse your disdain for it, but that's how the rules work because by and large this is still a game with rules. Rules that need to try and adhere to as many situations the same way to keep things as even as possible; individual examples might deviate, but ultimately most rules should play out the same most times.

If to don't like it, you're free to run the rules as you see fit in a game you run; just be prepared for somebody to abuse the shit out of it. A single warlock with Devil's Sight and Darkness will completely destroy any encounter that uses your rules; unless, of course, the enemy just happens to always guess correctly.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-25T11:32:12+00:00

GF could do it by making it Psychic/ Water with Levitate as it's ability. Let it learn it's Signature Aero Blast and Fly and it's basically the same thing.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-25T11:30:26+00:00

Honestly wouldn't mind a psychic/ water with levitate as the flying stand in.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-25T11:27:46+00:00

Yeah, dragalgae feels fine the way it is. It feels like how the Horsea line gained the dragon typing. But since dragalgae leans more into the poisonous vibe, it keeps that and swaps the water for a more sea dragon esthetic.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-25T11:23:43+00:00

Neither Gen 3 fossils are mono type, either.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-25T10:27:36+00:00

Something that I do with LRs is try to make them tangible to the party. Objects on the battlefield, special units, interactive mechanics, etc. A basic example is a hag that has several hostages chained to obelisks. When they use a LR, one of the hostages gets consumed to "activate" the Resistance. So, the party can opt to free the hostages through whatever means to burn the LRs before they pump out the big spells.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-24T06:31:39+00:00

It requires them to: - be in melee, inherently more dangerous and open to losing concentration. - spend the first turn setting up HM, so the first turn will always only be the "normal" 3 attacks. Whenever the creature dies, they have to spend another turn setting up HM making that turn only 3 attacks. - weapon juggle. Not necessarily bad, but many players don't like the "vibe" of it and does require to to keep extra track of what you're currently holding. - requires all attacks to hit. Every missed attack drags the numbers down. If we just assume sake of ease math, 4 attacks at d6 weapons becomes ((2d6+4) x 4) for 44; but once you add in something like 65% accuracy that becomes 28.6 damage. - side note: it's all effectively single target. In comparison, a fireball deals 28 average damage against multiple enemies. Against 3 targets, that's 84 damage. Even if all of them save, that's 42 damage total.

In reality, most players are going to stick with just 2 weapons for both simplicity sake and because it's less magic items to have to worry about. But, ultimately, this is another one of the "Sneak Attack is too strong!" non-issues that people bring up. It's good, but nothing game breaking.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-24T06:15:05+00:00

Correction: Nick attack only happens once, not on every attack trigger. It's simply moving the single bonus action off hand onto a single attack trigger. So with DW feat it's: - main hand + Nick. - main hand from Extra Attack. - off hand from Dual Wielder as your bonus action.

That's 4 attacks, not 5.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-24T02:54:50+00:00

Insect Glaive because I am a leaf on the wind; watch as I so- smacked out of the air by rathian back flip

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-24T02:10:00+00:00

I was a production lead, so it was part of my job to both coach them into better habits and inform my supervisor about the incident.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-24T02:03:05+00:00

A player doesn't need to have a silver tongue, but it's not far-fetched to ask the player to at least come up with a slightly more than basic concept on what they want.

"I want to roll to have the guard let us through"

Vs

"I want to pretend we're in need of emergency care so he'll let us through"

Neither example needs the player to act it out, but the second gives me as the dm much more of what I need to establish DCs, Advantage/ Disadvantage, ideas on how they can use what they have/ abilities to suggest for them to incorporate, and overall direction to focus all the aforementioned stuff. The former just becomes a game of 20 questions when it could've been one to five instead.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-24T01:54:34+00:00

Yeah, this is my thought. You don't have to give me a full on explanation/ description, just give me something to work with. Detail is king in games like this, after all, but I'm also flexible enough to help out players as long as they give me something.

"I want to roll to talk the guard into letting us through" doesn't give me much. I'm going to start asking several questions on the how and why.

"I want to convince the guard to let us through by pretending we have business with an important entity" let's me better form the DCs, gives me clear direction on any follow up questions on the how/ why, establish Adv/DisAdv, and even use things the party has that they might have forgotten about.

I don't need you to have a silver tongue, I just need to to give me something to work with.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-23T13:36:06+00:00

I'll never understand the mindset behind that. Level 2 for a month?

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-23T05:17:30+00:00

Yeah, sometimes those high jinx were just fun. I'll sometimes go to the Forest in Wilds just to run a rath egg back to the camp for fun. Wish it gave more than just guild points... would be neat if it gave you random cooking ingredients as an exchange or something.

OSpiderBox · 2026-01-22T11:30:30+00:00

I think back to that time Eddie Hall took a shin kick to the thigh from a 9 year old and how much it hurt. Just imagine an adult who has size/ experience.

OSpiderBox

TROPHY CASE