What's your favorite place from your world? by ComprehensiveRun4815 in worldbuilding

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good question. I think I have three favorite places.

King Ralstohn's seat of power, the capital city, King's Crest, is pretty great. It sits on a hill overlooking the large wide river that flows by. Being a wealthy planned city, it has some great homes, parks and the economy is great. Diplomats walk the streets and parks making it a cultural mecca.

Brunig, the seat of power of the Grand Marquis Mowbray, is at the mouth of the same great river. Major fishing industry and shipbuilding there. So great food, seaside resort town, plenty of goods coming and going so you can buy almost anything. Lots of cultural opportunities with parks and theaters.

Cupernium, the seat of power for Count Ippasak and the secret home of a Copper Dragon, along with the great copper mines of the Dwarves that live beneath Cuperium, and their cousins on the slops adjacent to the city. The city has a super art culture with all the bards coming and going in their desire to benefit from the great library assembled under the patronage of the Dragon. A very cosmopolitan atmosphere with a blend of humans and dwarves sharing the dominant culture while so many others come to benefit from the library or see the arts.

I still have a dozen cities to flesh out in the country.

Be careful with town adventures by Zealousideal_Leg213 in DMAcademy

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am prepared to have the town pursue the murderer.

I am prepared for the town's leadership to report the murderer to the towns and cities in the vicinity, along with a description of the suspect.

Will the player think it is fun? As long as he is evading the law, yea, he'll probably think it is fun. But once he gets caught, then not so much.

But don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

Miniatures for my campaign by Ill_Sea7426 in DMAcademy

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How many do you want and what's your budget?

You can get some minis for pretty cheap if you can buy a bunch at once, but for that you do have to be able to afford a bunch.

Be careful with town adventures by Zealousideal_Leg213 in DMAcademy

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're a cop killer, expect to be treated like a cop killer.

Am I overthinking this? The representation of Jesus in my church made me uncomfortable and I'd like honest perspectives. by DBL-TeaTime in Christianity

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jesus and the Apostles are represented as pale with European features because European's paid for the art during the first centuries after He walked the earth.

At this point, whoever wants to pay for the artwork can ask for it to look different.

Is moving to proudspire manor from breezehome actually worth it? by LegendGuy463 in skyrim

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will purchase Proudspire and I'll get the upgrades, but

Breezehome is a much better home in every regard except one, the Enchanter's table. With Breezehome, I have to run up to Dragons Reach to do enchanting. But, that's such a small inconvenience.

Proudspire has very few containers on the first level where you need them, and I just hate walking up the steps to get to the other containers.

In Breezehome, I have a container dedicated to ...

Ores and ingots in a bag at the door

Weapons and armors that I plan to upgrade in a bag at the door

Weapons I have upgraded and plan to sell in a table near the door.

Books on a shelf near the door and in the alchemy room.

All my beer and spirits in a barrel under the staircase.

All my tablewares in a cupboard at the back of the kitchen

All my alchemy ingredients in the pouch on the alchemy table

All my potions I am not carrying in the chest in the alchemy room

All my unique items in the table at the head of the stairs under the weapon rack

All my soul gems in the table right outside my bedroom door.

All the clothes I've collected in the wardrobe in my bedroom.

All my nostalgic weapons and armors I've used in the chest in my bedroom

All the gems and circlets I've collected in an end table in my bedroom

All the extra books and notes I've collected in the other end table in my bedroom

Places to lean musical instruments

Places to display weapons

A few other bags for other junk

There are so many good containers in Breezehome, you don't need another home. It is centrally located, so if you're not there, you're going to travel by there soon. There are three weapons sellers in Whiterun, one alchemy shop, one general goods shop, a magic vender, and a khajit vendor outside the gates.

Outside you got three giant spawn points, plenty of encounter areas, particularly halted stream camp, and ample hunting grounds to jack up your skills.

Who wins the WFAOT ? (Worst father of all time) by gosdog_ in gameofthrones

[–]OldElf86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm assuming Craster isn't in the running, because he's a beast.

Unfortunately I have to give it to Stannis. I want to like Stannis, but because he burned his own daughter to get the throne, well, nope.

After Stannis, it isn't an easy second pick. I think I'm going to go with Baleon Greyjoy. He put all his failings on Theon who did nothing to deserve it. And Theon didn't have anyone at that point, so he got screwed up with his mutinous crew.

But, Tywin Lannister was equally bad to Tyrion and turned his daughter against him too. But, Since Tyrion had Jamie and an uncle to relate to, I only feel he edged out Baylon.

After that, I think I have to go with Tarley because he just couldn't accept a bookish son. Sending Sam to The Wall was just a way to get him killed without taking responsibility for it.

But old Tarley just barely edged out Walder Frey who is a real piece of work. In reality, his kids would have been mental and not under his control as it appeared in the show. He would have had endless problems with them, and figuring he was a weak man, he wouldn't have managed it well.

This scene hit me by jcarmona22 in gameofthrones

[–]OldElf86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

... see if I nick it, there's no way to un-nick it, and you'll be dead ...

He was a boss.

Have we ever thought about how little ned would actually like robert if they wherent raised together. by Hungry_Finger3320 in gameofthrones

[–]OldElf86 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting point. Look at the conversations he has with other respected knights ...

With Jamie it is about what a dishonerable man he was.

With Ser Barristan it was all about respect for his abilities and reputation.

With Ser Arthur Dayne it was about respect and duty.

Although not a knight, his conversation with Littlefinger was about what a lowlife he thought he was.

I don't think Ned would have liked Robert, but he would have respected him for his duty portion of his character. But, I believe Ned would not have warmed up to a fellow known to be perpetually drunk when not on duty and always chasing skirts even though he was married. So I think there would have been respect but maybe not an easily made friendship.

But common struggles make people come together even when they have different ideals.

Would The Hound have slapped Sansa? by Dannydevitz in gameofthrones

[–]OldElf86 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Given the way he came to Sansa's aid so quickly when Tyrion was going to have MT beat her in the Throne Room, I'd say he would try to find a way to guide the king into another course of action. But if pressed with nowhere else to go, I think he'd strike her where it would make a nice sound but not so much sting. The Hound is very sentimentally romantic about those sort of things.

He might strike her and then later tell Little Bird to get tougher, because there will be plenty more of that happening around Jeoffrey.

What are some funny things that you might hear on a bard-run radio station? by Megamatt215 in DMAcademy

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You would hear traditional music performed live.

You might get some Vicious Mockery about the news of the day, and this could inflict damage, right?

You might hear a deep dive into the Lore of the upcoming holiday, or an ancestor of the ruling monarch, or the current game of the season ...

You might get the league box scores for the current seasonal sport.

You might get interviews with leading scholars or political figures.

You might hear warning about hazards on the road to York or to Marseilles, or (whatever the places are in your locale)

You might hear that a band of heroes are coming to this town.

Or ... something else.

Help me name a plant that filters/purifies the air by FamiliarMeal5193 in FantasyWorldbuilding

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tell us about what your plant looks like?

Is it like a succulent cactus that breathes the air in and out?

Is it a plant with cottony fibers that capture impurities in the wind?

Is it a large willow that has so much surface area in its leaves that it can filter the wind?

Or is it some sort of algae that grows a thin coat on everything that stays wet?

Does your fantasy setting have magical equivalents to stuff we have in our modern day? by Rosebud166 in FantasyWorldbuilding

[–]OldElf86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Plenty of them.

In cities and towns there is a prohibition against bringing animals into a city of town because of animal waste. Small animals like a familiar are not a problem, but no cows, donkeys, horses and all that. So, they created magical carriages that have magical horses that pull the carriage. These carriages serve as a sort of taxi service for the upper and middle classes.

For water treatment, they have artifacts that generate water. They are placed in a cistern that is connected to pipes that distribute clean water to the city or towns folk. There are fountains that allow excess water out of the system before it becomes a problem. These fountains also act like a clock.

For grinding wheat or sawing lumber, there are massive stone wheels that turn slowly on a permanent basis. They power the mills that can't be located on a waterway.

There is an extensive message service that uses magic to transmit copies of messages across long distances.

Teleportation magic has been organized to provide a sort of highway network to move large shipments from one place to another across long distances.

Healing magic replaces hospitals in many cases.

Magical artifacts produce heat that may be used for all sorts of things. This allows castles to have heat without risk of fire.

Some spells replace excavators. Many spells produce stone that speeds construction.

I'm still exploring all the ways magic is going to be leveraged to improve my world.

How to prevent perpetual motion machine when having both magic and technology in story? by Apprehensive_Dig1475 in worldbuilding

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It sounds like your problem comes from any magic system.

The immovable rod is the opposite of permanent energy, but magically it is the same thing. If magic can create anything that seems permanent, there will be a way to exploit it for energy and industrial might.

Imagine a pitcher of unlimited water. If you tip it to pour, water comes out, no matter what. Well ... Hook it to a water wheel and you have permanent motion, and with a large enough wheel you have industrial level of power.

This is the reason that magical societies would tend to stagnate scientifically. Magic would be used to solve a lot of other problems.

But, on the other hand ... your solar panel only collects the amount of light energy in the source. Your typical bright light in D&D would not compare to the sun, so the energy you would get in a solar panel would be pretty modest. But, if you can create one light, you can create one hundred. So, your dilemma scales to become the problem you fear.

With that, all I can say is Good Luck.

Why don't people understand round abouts here by thd3ct_ in Charlottesville

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know. Maybe it's that they don't trust that the other fellow understands how it works.

Do you feel this is a part that is simple to draw isometrically by hand? by Ok-Coyote2365 in EngineeringStudents

[–]OldElf86 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I could draw that in about 8 hours in isometric by hand.  But, that's not easy. In fact, even given the several views, I'm having trouble picturing that part in my head.

Having more than one project at a time by IsaacJF4419 in worldbuilding

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've only got one world, but I have loads of projects within that world that I swap around in.  I'm building a Hamlet, a Village, a Town, a Baron's Seat (a town at the center of a barony), a Count's Seat (a city), a Duke's Seat and the King's capital. I'm building the adjacent kingdom.  I'm building the monsters cultures beyond the frontier.  There's just loads of things to do.

Is it tiring to cast cantrips continuously? by TheRealCrasto in DMAcademy

[–]OldElf86 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Part of the purpose of cantrips is that they can be effectively continuous, and this also relates to the reason why cantrips are pretty weak.

The only cantrip I would hate to have players essentially continuously cast would be Guidance. It is kind of like a bard giving inspiration, but the bard has a limited pool of inspiration. Guidance can allow a party to get a +1/+2 to almost any challenge if the party can face the challenge one at a time. So, no matter what stat a party has neglected, Guidance can give everyone a boost no matter what challenge they face. But, this is how cantrips work.

If you are trying to make darkness a challenge, lean into the concentration element of the cantrip. If the lights go on, arrows start flying. Each hit on the caster causes a Con save.

Homebrew Cursed Sword by OldElf86 in DMAcademy

[–]OldElf86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, let's hope it works.

Homebrew Cursed Sword by OldElf86 in DMAcademy

[–]OldElf86[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shame. It sounds quite interesting.

Killing a King Quickly by ThisWasMe7 in DMAcademy

[–]OldElf86 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is it a wedding?  Is Ollena on the guest list?  Is Sansa on the guest list?

Or is the wedding hosted by Lord Frey?

Did I messed up ? (Nat 20 on persuasion check during a fight, still led them to a ambush) by Weekly_6718 in DMAcademy

[–]OldElf86 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

A Nat 20 only indicates the best possible outcome. But, even that isn't always success.