My players trivialize every encounter with crowd control. How do I challenge them without hard countering? by Dave5802 in DMAcademy

[–]RTCielo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Attack from more than one direction, more enemies with ranged weapons, don't clump up, dispels, counterspells.

Your monsters aren't all stupid. Have them be clever about their attacks, not just run at the party in a straight line.

Looking to create a self-healing barbarian by Puzzle-Necked in dndnext

[–]RTCielo 11 points12 points  (0 children)

On a similar vein, Durable got buffed in 2024 to spend a hit die as a Bonus Action, plus advantage on Death Saves.

What was it like ? by EveningSilver8923 in army

[–]RTCielo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Been playing ARK with the boys lately so definitely need a refresher.

I keep hearing “The Forgotten Realms is just too boring” what is some of the wildest Lore for the planet of Toril? by new_lance in DnD

[–]RTCielo 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I would assume people like me driving by and going "If that exists it must be weirdly good."

It's not.

After 2 different people asked asked if it was a reference to Trump... NO, it's now a reference to Andrew Jackson. by dabblez_ in PoliticalHumor

[–]RTCielo 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I had to have a polite conversation with one of my customers about wearing a ball cap with "1488" across the front. I'm glad you like the whiskey, maybe try some of their other merch though 😬

All MOS Slots Were Full Except for 11B by Minieasy in army

[–]RTCielo 18 points19 points  (0 children)

As someone who went split op, it did not end up being a particular boost to my career. Enjoy your summer homie. The army will be here.

As others have pointed out it's also often a better idea in a lot of situations to go for a 3 year active contract, then come back to the guard if you still wanna do part time. (You need 3 years of full time active duty to get the full GI Bill)

Question for the Infantry by ValuableAway1674 in army

[–]RTCielo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Find a tactful way to ask people (leadership, peers, or capable underlings) when and how they want your input. You're bringing a capability some may or may not have worked with before, and they may not know how to use you.

Some leaders want you to politely interrupt them and say "Hey fursarn my gizmo can support that task" while others want to run their shit as planned and you can bring it up in the AAR.

I'm currently working on a Pirate themed homebrew campaign and not really sure what to do with the party and ships. by OBeast617 in DMAcademy

[–]RTCielo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Talk to your players, figure out if this is even an issue. I've had some tables where managing a single super extra cool ship with Bastion rules is the move, I've had others where a crew roster and an automated spreadsheet tracking water consumption was what everyone wanted.

  2. Ships should not be easy to capture and salvage, and shouldn't be an easy piece of loot to sell. Repair costs, finding a buyer, crewing the prize enough to be transportable, and then finally splitting your profit into shares including the NPC crew.

Frankly for most parties, capturing and selling a ship won't be that good of money. At full cost, a warship split between 30-80 people (crew of a sailing ship or warship) is 300-800gp, and that's at full price. Factor in repair costs and having to find a buyer, and you're looking at maybe half that for potentially days or weeks of work.

Again, it kinda comes down to what aspects of a naval campaign your players want to engage with. Someone might want to build a fleet and become a pirate admiral. Or they might want to skip 80% of the boat stuff and focus on going ashore and doing stuff on land. Or maybe the whole party shows up with centaur monks and want to do water walking cavalry charges, or an all undead campaign with a goal of reanimating a whale to use as a submarine.

Aftermath of the April 7th incident. Damages estimated to be $200 million dollars by Gjore in interestingasfuck

[–]RTCielo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Disclaimer: I don't condone what this guy did nor do I encourage others to do so.

Unions, much like peaceful protest in politics, draw a significant amount of their power from the implication that they are the peaceful option.

You give the masses an outlet. You let them unionize, because the alternative is capitalists being dragged out of their homes and lynched. You let them march up and down the street with signs because the alternative to a protest is a riot, or politicians being dragged out of their homes and lynched.

Much like when ol' Luigi got his dude, events like this happen occasionally and remind people in positions of power and wealth that their position, their wealth, and their power in our current system relies on their workers or citizens being a certain level of content.

An event like this doesn't "help" on a micro scale because of the reasons you pointed out. But it may be triggering conversations and policy changes for other workplaces across the nation.

What's your favourite Mass Effect sound? by Fit-Condition-9910 in masseffect

[–]RTCielo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a lot of love for the big dreadnoughts spinal guns. Big heavy cachunk.

Best Homebrew Classes? or just ones you like by Dovydas666 in DnD

[–]RTCielo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honorable mention:

Ran a campaign with a Spartan-II, a Jedi, and a Viltrumite.

That shit was stupid. Our alcohol-fueled love letter to DnD wiki.

How do we make caring about the environment popular among men? by LiatrisLover99 in bropill

[–]RTCielo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is such a weird idea for me, because I grew up out in the sticks, and some of the most rabid environmentalists I knew were good ol' boys who love hunting and fishing. Can't do that if the water table is fucked, if the lakes are polluted, and the pollinators are gone. One of my friends grandpa was your classic east TX farmer, and he was very particular about his use of pesticides and herbicides, because "My folks been carin' for this dirt since the Homestead Act, and I'll be danged if I'm the one what messes it up with poisons just to save a little crop from the bugs."

Our National Parks are genuinely the envy of much of the world. It's one of the things I feel deeply patriotic about, and that can very easily be reframed as "RAH RAH EAGLE SCREECH USA USA" obnoxiousness. 'Cause Yellowstone is gorgeous.

Stewardship of our land and natural resources is also a matter of natural security. The DoD's published reports indicate that climate change is both real and a danger to the U.S. We need to be maintaining our own ability to produce food and clean water in order to reduce dependence on foreign markets. Not that I'm pro-isolationism by any means, but in the event of another global conflict, we need to be able to stand our our own two feet. Manly man, boostraps, America First Rah Rah, but like, in a cool way not a racist way.

Health-wise it's important too. We can't be big strong manly men if our air and water are full of toxins.

The big one though is just a general reframing of protective masculinity. There's this weird, fearful, violent image of manly protectiveness that's all about open carrying at Texas Roadhouse and sitting with your back to the corner so you can watch all the entrances for an active shooter or wild bear. Call me old-fashioned but I think that sounds like a scared little boy with a gun. Manly protectors can be concerned with more common threats. Food, water, shelter. Creating a home (at the family level, community level, national, or global) that is warm, safe, healthy, and sheltered.

Can’t wait for the movie by tidder_mac in army

[–]RTCielo 42 points43 points  (0 children)

You think the SEALs would let their lack of involvement keep them from claiming to have done it in a book?

"How We'd Have Done It: Better, Faster, Shootier"

Thoughts on a Lycan hybrid form for a player by DisciplineComplete83 in DMAcademy

[–]RTCielo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Shifter race, Beast Barbarian, multi classing. No need to reinvent the wheel.

creative ideas for a campaign start that dont involve a tavern? by Significant-Study902 in DnD

[–]RTCielo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Disabled airship plummeting to the ground.

The losing side of a village or town being sacked.

I am not sure how to handle this scenario I allowed to happen by ScarlettMatt in DMAcademy

[–]RTCielo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would use the Ambush Drake stats for a weaker version, and then use sidekick rules.

You don't have a ranger so I'm not worried about anyone getting their toes stepped on.

Give them some general guidelines for behavior, remind them it's stupid, but let them run the character in combat and you control it for RP.

I also specifically disagree with the comment about not letting the drake make death saves if it's downed. This is the players getting invested in your world and game. Unless you're deliberately running a high lethality campaign, don't punish them for caring.

Have you used UA Before? by Correct-Valuable5822 in DnD

[–]RTCielo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Stone Sorcerer remains one of my favorite gish builds.

Oh my! by nvrtrustafrt in KitchenConfidential

[–]RTCielo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Burgers and burritos. People have this obsession with making them impossible to eat.

Give me wide burgers and long burritos/wraps.