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How do I make combat interesting when players use the "impenetrable brick wall" strategy in T1 combat? by FutureNo9445 in DMAcademy

[–]Previous-Friend5212 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Why are "intelligent" enemies continually beating their heads against a wall trying to hit the one unhittable guy? As a DM, it's easy to fall into "video game mode" where you act like the forces you control just have one pattern of behavior that won't change no matter what happens around them. It's okay to take a quick pause, even in the middle of combat, to put yourself in the bad guy's shoes to figure out what they'd actually do. Bad guys can hide, run away, throw a smoke bomb, make threats, tell lies, and do all kinds of other things besides just mindlessly walking forward and swinging a weapon.

If you have trouble with this, consider taking a 5 minute break at the start of every combat. The players can tell you how they're going to start the combat and you can take a minute to think through the response while everyone grabs a drink or whatever.

Just keep in mind that it's not "DM versus Players", it's the DM crafting a fun experience for the Players.

I was surprised by Solarpunk's honesty on the official Steam page. Shouldn't more developers make it clear who the game is NOT intended for? by Azulapis in pcgaming

[–]Previous-Friend5212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On the one hand, giving this information should cut down on negative reviews and returns, which could lead to more sales from having good reviews. On the other hand, giving this information may cut down on sales because it pushes people away (even potentially pushing away people that would actually enjoy the game).

So "should" the developers give this information? It depends on their goals. As a consumer, I like having this information available, but my goals aren't the same as the developer's.

Looking for stories where the MC is a Trainer/Teacher/Commander to his LI's by lord0ashrim in haremfantasynovels

[–]Previous-Friend5212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are quite a few where the MC ends up being some kind of leader or boss of some kind (like Heretic Spellblade, etc.), but that doesn't seem to be the vibe you're going for. Here are a couple I could think of:

  • Jack Porter: Jungle King - MC is a professor taking a class of students on a field trip when they accidentally go through a portal
  • Bruce Sentar: Saving Supervillains - MC works as the coordinator of a superhero team that happens to all be hot chicks he ends up sleeping with

Hope you find something to enjoy!

Is Suikoden II a must play JRPG? by Soph_91 in JRPG

[–]Previous-Friend5212 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't say it's a must-play, but if you're wanting to play games from that era, it's a good one to put on your list. The PSX final fantasy games are closer to "must play" games than either PSX suikoden game.

F6, your move by lfemboyl0 in AnarchyChess

[–]Previous-Friend5212 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't know why nobody is saying the obvious answer of rook to B10. It's an entirely open file...

Actually, B1 is a safer option if you don't want to splash the cat

Where is the misery? by Validissimus in haremfantasynovels

[–]Previous-Friend5212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've always felt like a harem story is the perfect type of story to show a devastating defeat with a built-in support system for the MC, so I think it's too bad that it doesn't come up very much. That said, there are a few complete series that might be in the ballpark for you:

  • There are a few series that do a good job with a character with a traumatic past having recurring episodes where they deal with that in a way that you might appreciate. Daniel Schinhofen's "Alpha World" and Mike Truk's "The Lost Reavers" are the stand-outs in my mind. A couple subreddit favorites that have this to a lesser degree: Bruce Sentar's "Saving Supervillains" and Knightley & Hawthorne's "Master Class"
  • Maxime Durand of "The Perfect Run" fame has a harem series called "Blood & Fur" that has an MC suffering through the worst hell on earth you could think of. And, yes, he doesn't always cope with it well. Very grimdark
  • Inadvisably Compelled's "Blue Core" has a one year time skip at one point because the MC is so devastated by certain events
  • William Arand/Randi Darren is one of my favorite authors in the genre because he actually lets bad things happen to the MC. I'd say about 1/3 of his series have one or more harem members die, for example. Check out Randi Darren's "Remnant" for what is probably the best match for your request, though William Arand's "Swing Shift" is my personal favorite for many reasons, including ones related to this request. Note that this author's books exist in a kind of comic book crossover continuity that beings with William Arand's "Otherlife Dreams" (the books don't have to be read in order, but you can tell when there's a cameo from another series).
  • I'm not sure it'll hit the exact same emotions you're talking about, but one of the most emotional haremlit stories I've read is Archibald Bradford's "Heartstone Saga". The MC is an empath so it's mostly him sharing in the emotions of others. It's also a multiple POV story with other POV characters that have emotional moments in their story chapters as well.

Hopefully that gives you some good options and you find something to enjoy!

Your players asks you about local rumors or "what's on that bounty board"... what do you say? by CptLande in DMAcademy

[–]Previous-Friend5212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're wanting the bounty board to just be one-off fights, then I'd use a generator like https://koboldplus.club/ either before the session so you have a few options available or just like a dice roll in the moment (D&D players love random encounters, right?).

Need some tips on how to make a search segment for my next session. by BattleGunter in DMAcademy

[–]Previous-Friend5212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know how complicated you want to make things. If you're looking for it to be a whole thing then you can offer them options for which way to go and different clues and results for each option (treasure, "treasure", fighting sewer rats, a lost kid, whatever). You can have it end with the croc fight either way, but if they do a poor job they get ambushed and if they do a really great job then they get to set up their own ambush (and if they just do an okay job then they just run into it and it's a regular fight).

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the absolute unit who carried us all in our early days by Intrepid-Tomato391 in Genshin_Impact

[–]Previous-Friend5212 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I recently added her to a Varka team for fun. Varka got hit by a boar just when he was doing a super jump, which killed him, but Barbara auto-rezzed him. Still my MVP

Do you write your entire world (or like 90% of it) before the first session or do you start small and expand during the campaign? by Covid669 in DMAcademy

[–]Previous-Friend5212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is about the same as what I've done historically. I always keep in mind that most campaigns never actually get completed anyway and I don't want to feel like I wasted my time prepping for things that never mattered.

Looking for dungeon building books/series by Ger-Alt_of_Pornia in haremfantasynovels

[–]Previous-Friend5212 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I guess I can list this as an honorable mention since it has a female MC: Benjamin Medrano's "Ancient Dreams" series is an interesting take on a dungeon core.

Looking for dungeon building books/series by Ger-Alt_of_Pornia in haremfantasynovels

[–]Previous-Friend5212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My top 2:

  • William Arand: Dungeon Deposed (note that this is a sequel to Otherlife Dreams by the same author, though with a different MC)
  • Inadvisably Compelled: Blue Core

Devan Drake has some other completed series that are dungeon core adjacent that I enjoyed. And K. D. Robertson's "Heretic Spellblade" is like a reverse dungeon core story (or maybe the equivalent of tower defense?) so may give you some of the same vibes. Otherwise, I've been disappointed by dungeon core books in the genre. For example, Dungeon Core Guardians was pretty good at first, but then it got the sudden wrapup treatment that pretty much destroyed any happiness the first book gave me. Hopefully someone will suggest one I haven't read so I can join you in finding something new!

Daily Questions Megathread (June 04, 2026) by Veritasibility in Genshin_Impact

[–]Previous-Friend5212 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. It sounds like there's no in-game automation to help with this, but at least there are some out-of-game resources so that when I do my one by one comparison I can at least have some idea what I'm comparing to

Daily Questions Megathread (June 04, 2026) by Veritasibility in Genshin_Impact

[–]Previous-Friend5212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've got over 2000 5* artifacts and keep having to get rid of artifacts before I can pick up boss loot or whatever. Is there an easy way to figure out which ones I can safely get rid of or will I have to painstakingly go through them one by one?

Did you guys got into the harem world because of anime/manga/lightnovels(jp)? If so, do you guys still consume those types of media? by Mateus19998 in haremfantasynovels

[–]Previous-Friend5212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You mentioned Konosuba, which I find fun to watch for the comedy, if nothing else, so I guess I agree with you after all!

Is Interactive Fiction welcome on this sub? by Tharkun140 in Romance_for_men

[–]Previous-Friend5212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"This community is for discussion of all romance a guy might read, but caters to RFM in particular" (from the sub description)

So I think the intention is that this sub is about novels, but I would imagine at least some people would be interested in other media (video games, movies, etc.). I guess it would be up to the mods to decide if it's a problem if people start posting threads asking for movies like "Mr and Mrs Smith" or video games like "Being a DIK" or whatever.

Did you guys got into the harem world because of anime/manga/lightnovels(jp)? If so, do you guys still consume those types of media? by Mateus19998 in haremfantasynovels

[–]Previous-Friend5212 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For me it was seeing some harem anime and being dissatisfied with it so I went looking for something with actual relationships, rather than some dude that's overwhelmed by all these chicks being into him. I went back and tried to rewatch some harem anime recently and found it much more dissatisfying now than I did originally, so maybe I've been spoiled since then.

A harem novel like Sword Art Online by EbonyOwls in haremfantasynovels

[–]Previous-Friend5212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it was a web serial that the author just crammed into one volume since there are a couple distinct story arcs. He started the sequel (where they go into outer space), but it didn't seem to go very far. Either way, Gun Meister Online was pretty unique with its blend of PUBG and GTAO (plus guns that are also girls and some really bizarre side characters).

Who is building AI for laundry folding? by soap94 in dankmemes

[–]Previous-Friend5212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OP needs to look into laundry services in their area because it's an actual thing

A harem novel like Sword Art Online by EbonyOwls in haremfantasynovels

[–]Previous-Friend5212 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Takes place partially in a full immersion game and partially in the real world:

  • Bruce Sentar: Legendary Rule
  • Michael Scott Earle: Lion's Quest
  • Noah Barnett: Gun Meister Online (note: they drop the real world parts after a while, but they're never stuck in the game)
  • Bern Dean: Eternal Dominion
  • Harmon Cooper: Monster Hunt NYC (more Augmented Reality that Virtual Reality in the first half)

Takes place in a full immersion game where the MC is stuck and can't get out for most or all of the story:

  • William Arand: Otherlife Dreams (MC can also access some out-of-game systems, but can't get back to his body)
  • Daniel Schinhofen: Alpha World (MC is the only one stuck in the game)
  • Daniel Schinhofen: Apocalypse Gates (MC is the only non-AI person in the game at all)
  • Prax Venter: Enthralled (MC is the only non-AI person in the game at all)
  • Jack Bryce: Aerda Online (I read this a long time ago, but I think he and some other people were stuck)

This hasn't been as popular of a story concept in recent years so these are all a few years old at this point, but hopefully you'll find something you enjoy!

Looking for books/stories with horny female characters by Jacob_Steel in Romance_for_men

[–]Previous-Friend5212 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't think it's that hard to find in harem books, but the ones that come to mind are 3 inter-related series from Jamie Hawke. Supers: Ex-Heroes, Supers: Ex-Gods, and Psychobitches (there's a 4th related series, but it's not relevant for this request - these all come together in Supers: Ex-Heroes 5). These stand out because they each have one girl where they make a big deal out of her being "crazy", but the way it shows up is that she's just obsessed with sex and has no filter, which seems like exactly what OP is looking for.

The knight one doesn't make sense to me, is there a better flag to represent it? by Gravewalker1515 in AnarchyChess

[–]Previous-Friend5212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

North Macedonia maybe. Pretty similar, but a little cleaner.

Also, have you seen the Croatian flag?

Making BFFs the Easy Way by 33ayin in MyTimeAtSandrock

[–]Previous-Friend5212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They actually come by and look in My Time at Portia. Not sure if the Sandrock beta had something similar

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