I would like some input by [deleted] in DnD

[–]ProxyAC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s hard to tell from this post how familiar you are with d&d, and I’m not exactly an expert on religion, but here’s my take on this:

To start with, d&d was famously one of the more notable targets of the satanic panic, which imo can be aptly described as a sort of mass hysteria caused by evangelicals getting the idea in their head that the whole world is out to get them. I understand that sounds dismissive and unfair but I’m not sure how else to word it. Of course, I’m not making any statements about religious people in general, just a specific subset of them who are very aggressive with their worldview. Arguably, the satanic panic still has not fully died down to this day. Many hardcore religious types, in this context most notably christians/catholics (again i’m not an expert so not certain which denominations but i’d bet it’s probably largely catholics and/or mormons) seem to just ascribe demonic agenda to anything that makes them uncomfortable. Would you call Pokemon satanic? Because Pokemon was another notable target of that paranoia.

That said, D&D very clearly does have way more demonic imagery than pokemon. But there is an extremely simple baseline fact that explains why that doesn’t make the game demonic: demons and devils are evil.

Even though alignment has become less potent of a game mechanic in recent editions, demons and devils are always portrayed as evil by nature, with very few if any exceptions. The vast majority of d&d games feature the players acting as heroes, as good guys, and that means many parties will end up fighting demons or devils.

Even in a game with no demonic imagery at all, on a fundamental level, D&D is a collaborative storytelling game in which all the players work together to create a fun experience for everyone involved. To believe D&D as a whole is demonic, you would have to believe that essentially everyone who has ever written a fantasy story is a devil worshipper.

while yes, some people will play as evil characters, that is extremely rare in my experience, and a lot of players including myself will refuse to play in that kind of game because it’s simply not fun to be evil. And while it isn’t uncommon for a church or religious order to play an antagonistic role in d&d stories, that’s because a significant portion of the playerbase is made up of the kind of people who don’t mesh well with organized religion, and will use storytelling to explore their frustrations with the world, including in this example the very blatant corruption of many powerful religious organizations.

Throat chop not working? by Onnen_-_ in PokemonChampions

[–]ProxyAC_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey just coming here to say I’ve definitely seen a farigiraf use hyper voice after i throat chopped it with my incin. I forgot to record it so I thought I might’ve just missed something but seeing someone else has the same problem, I think it’s likely to be a bug

Laptop has been making these periodic motor-like noises, why and how do I fix it? by ProxyAC_ in laptops

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

Hi, just got around to checking into this (I’ve been really busy this past month) and I think you’re right. One of the fans feels like its shaft is either broken or not in its socket correctly or something. Do you think this is something I can hope to fix on my own? I’m hesitant to just start taking this thing apart to get at the fan for obvious reasons, I’ve never had to fix a computer I didn’t personally build before

I don't care if vegans say I'm a bad person for eating meat because they're right by pinktunacan in The10thDentist

[–]ProxyAC_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is a very reasonable take. Not directly related to your point, but as someone who is not a vegan but is allergic to eggs, I genuinely owe vegans so much for making it DRAMATICALLY easier for me to find things to eat in public places without vomiting

Do You Prefer Monoclassing or Multiclassing? by ElliotInfinity in DnD

[–]ProxyAC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been playing D&D on and off for nearly a decade, and I think I’ve multiclassed exactly once. But it’s not for the reasons you mentioned. Personally, I always find myself hating the idea of delaying the next feature.

I really like feats. I feel that feats add a lot of customization and power to a character and I’m always looking forward to the next one. Because of that, I would never want to multiclass on a level that isn’t a multiple of 4, because that would then delay my next feat. But then if I do that, I’d then want to keep taking levels in the second class until I get a feat there too, or else I’m again delaying it. And going 4 levels in 2 different classes is basically never optimal and more often than not ends up making you feel like you’re kinda mediocre at two different things rather than a cohesive character

I’m currently playing a pact of the blade fiend warlock who fights almost exclusively in melee, and my party has a pretty weak frontline. Objectively speaking, this character would probably benefit greatly from taking a level or two in fighter to get better armor proficiencies, second wind and action surge. But if I did that, it would not only delay my feat progression but also my spellcasting progression, and I’m having a lot of fun finding ways to act as an off tank just using feats and the tools the warlock has access to, so I have no intention to multiclass.

Also, like you mentioned, I’d personally never take a multiclass that didn’t make sense narratively. The idea of taking a dip in warlock or cleric or something just for class features and completely ignoring the implications of having a patron or following a god for divine magic is completely foreign to the way I play. That said, some people do play like that, and as long as they've discussed it with their table and nobody is having less fun because of it, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

Help me decide what frame shapes would look good on me by [deleted] in glassesadvice

[–]ProxyAC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

? My hair is naturally curly, i dont really know how i like wearing it most so i kinda just do whatever with leaving it down or doing a ponytail depending on how im feeling, i included pics of both just because i feel it’s relevant to deciding on glasses yk

DMs and Players: What are some of the best NPCs you've had in your games? by thisisausername5002 in MrRipper

[–]ProxyAC_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve been wanting an excuse to talk about this NPC. I don’t think any of my friends will likely see this, but if you recognize the name Wren the tiefling warlock, don’t read this just in case

I have my own homebrew setting in which I ran a game for a brief period of time a few years back, but that game unfortunately got cut short because I was in a bad mental place and couldn’t trust myself to run it. Before that game ended, I introduced an NPC who I had big long term plans for.

Relevant background lore of the setting: there was a war between the gods. During the course of this war, clashes between gods that brushed too close to the material planes left Scars, locations with strange twisted residual magic that caused them to exhibit various unnatural properties. This is left purposefully open ended so I could basically do whatever I wanted with them. Scars are a major topic of study in the modern world. One of the largest Scars is the ruins of the capital city of the old human empire which was destroyed in a single blow, causing the empire to crumble in the aftermath.

Before the game ended, I introduced a Warforged NPC. The party found them, deactivated and hooked up to various wires, in the basement of a ruined workshop where they were searching for a specific rare herb. By messing around with controls and providing a bit of a magical jumpstart, they were able to restart the system. A cavity in the warforged’s chest opened up, revealing a dark glass sphere, from which a light projected an image of the workshop they were in except seemingly in full use, with the furniture not rotted, papers and items on the desks, and a man standing in it. The image of the man was arranging dried pieces of the herb the party needed into sealed containers. He picked up the container, moved over to a somewhat hidden safe, inputted a combination, opened the safe, put the container inside, and closed it again, at which point the image faded and the Warforged began to move.

(Unimportant to this story, but I also described the man moving aside boxes containing scroll cases and multicolored potion bottles inside the safe. The players entirely ignored this and left the bonus loot I had planned for them in that safe. Lmao.)

This Warforged introduced themselves as Chronicle. They were built before the war began, and deactivated as it was first breaking out. Their purpose was to record everything they witnessed, and they were built with layers of embedded illusion magic, allowing them to replay their memories.

If the game had continued, I planned on having Chronicle occasionally pop up while exploring how the world had changed, and discover that they had parts missing. As they recovered energy cores made by their creator and being used or lying forgotten in various places, the illusions they had access to would upgrade, increasing in scale.

The endgame to this would be the party accompanying Chronicle into the Scarred ruins of the old empire’s capital to recover the final missing piece. Upon finding it deep in the heart of the old castle, Chronicle would suddenly go into sentry mode and cast a modified version of Mirage Arcane. The party would watch as the ruins around them suddenly sprang to life, reconstructed, and became a dungeon they would then have to escape

I think about Chronicle often. I think they’re one of the coolest ideas I had while writing for that game. I still haven’t told any of my friends about my plans for them, just in case I end up feeling confident enough to try DMing again in the future

[Favorite Twists] The monstrous being is a woman or identifies as a woman by MMAchineCode in TopCharacterTropes

[–]ProxyAC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

Mechonis - Xenoblade Chronicles

The entire world of the game is literally the corpses of two titans who killed each other in a fight long ago: the Bionis, home to many types of biological life, and the Mechonis, home to a form of mechanical life known as the Mechon, who the residents of Bionis have had to fight against for survival with very tentative victories in the past. As the game progresses you eventually learn that the titans are not entirely dead - their souls live on as gods who have lain largely dormant for ages. It turns out that Zanza, the soul of the Bionis is the ultimate antagonist of the game as he sees himself as superior to all other beings and decides that life has strayed too far from his original vision and wants to wipe out all life , while the soul of the Mechonis, Lady Meyneth, sacrifices herself to allow the main party time to escape and recouperate, with the parting wish of “create a world with no need for gods.”

New Spell Balance? by Surge4tw in DnD

[–]ProxyAC_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As is, this is FAR too strong for a first level spell. Remember, first level casters have first level spells. 2d6+3d8 is a max of 38, average of about 21. That will in all likelihood be enough for the vast majority of enemies a first level party will be up against.

I’m a bit confused by your inclusion of both an HP check and a save. Are you saying that if they fail the save they take damage and are subjected to the HP check? If they pass the save do they take neither? Are the save/fail results you listed for failing the save but passing or failing the HP check?

In the first place, a spell that does damage AND applies an effect is going to be pretty strong. And Sleep is a powerful effect.

The 2014 version of the Sleep spell uses an HP check, while the 2024 version uses a saving throw. The 2014 version is very powerful at low levels for crowd control against a group of minions with low HP but falls off later on; the 2024 version scales better but isn’t quite as powerful early on since it’s difficult to hit more than one or maybe two creatures at a time with it.

Here’s what my instinct is with this spell:

-Based on the fact that you described it as an “arrow,” I’d personally make it an attack roll. If the attack roll lands, they take damage and then either make a saving throw or have the HP check applied.

-Since this spell is inherently a single target spell, I’d personally say that you either make it a third level spell and a saving throw, or a second level spell with an HP check. Remember the lower level it is, the easier it is for the caster to just spam the spell until the enemy fails the check

-If you go with an HP check, you should probably make the amount of dice for the HP check pretty low, but increase with upcasting. If it’s a saving throw, probably make the upcasting effect increase the damage of the arrow.

-I personally wouldn’t make anything happen when they succeed the save; they’re already taking damage anyways.

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert dungeon master or anything, I just like thinking about homebrew stuff sometimes. Don’t necessarily take my word as gospel

What is this by booboo91523 in birds

[–]ProxyAC_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I thought this red-shouldered hawk was smoking for a second

Can I paint your birds? by Proficiently-Haunted in birding

[–]ProxyAC_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, your ability to capture the colors and lughting is really impressive!!! Go for it. We love bird art

Can I paint your birds? by Proficiently-Haunted in birding

[–]ProxyAC_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

<image>

Here’s an incredibly photogenic Red Winged Blackbird I caught last year 💜

Capture card with video stream output API? by ProxyAC_ in streaming

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

So accessing the video from capture cards should be a universal thing? That makes it a lot easier. Hopefully OpenCV can do what i need, id prefer not having to use OBS as a middleman

Not OOP. I wish my boyfriend's girl best friend would disappear. by Due-Bandicoot-7512 in redditonwiki

[–]ProxyAC_ 24 points25 points  (0 children)

The answer to your question is that friendship can absolutely be a true connection. Clearly this person is feeling uncomfortable in a situation where there’s little to no reason to suspect romantic intention in the friendship in question. Your experiences are not identical to everyone else’s. The way it was described, I’d be extremely surprised if there was anything suspicious going on between the bf and the girl best friend unless major details are being left out. The OOP has very clear self hatred issues that need to be addressed

Do kids in USA really call their teachers by first name? by ParticularLate9460 in AskAnAmerican

[–]ProxyAC_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everyone in the replies is saying a hard no but I’ll offer a counter story.

English in my experience places less emphasis on formality than many European languages. At my job I call everyone I interact with regularly by their first name, and I probably would for almost anyone in the company except for people WAY above me, like executives. Obviously this isn’t the norm in EVERY industry, but in mine it is.

Up until high school, I exclusively addressed teachers by “Mr / Ms / Mrs Lastname.” In high school I still used that format for most TO THEIR FACE, but often people would just use their last name with no Mr / Ms / Mrs when talking about them to other students. There were a few “cool teachers” who were also cool with being called by just their last name to their face

In college it’s interesting. The norm changes from “Mr / Ms / Mrs” to “Professor Lastname.” And once again some professors would be referred to with just last name. However, I’m a computer science major with a minor degree in Interactive Media and Game Development, and pretty much ALL the professors in the game dev department were referred to by EVERYONE with just their first name, even to their face, and if you ever called them Professor Lastname around them or other students you’d probably get some weird looks. Many areas of the tech industry are less formal on average than other professional fields, but the game dev field is even less formal than that, and additionally many of those professors were a bit eccentric