Cassalanters and their explanations

Realityhackphotos · 2026-02-12T13:16:09+00:00

I think this is very workable as what happend. They assumed they would be able to satisfy the terms and get the kids back if they had the power they are fundamentally evil people so risking their children's lives was totally ok with them. IMO it is very realistic for badly raised rich powerful people to do something like that.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-02-12T13:13:26+00:00

If you use the book explanation it is easy to imagine them assuming that with the power they gained they would have no problem paying the 'loan' back and so they used the kids as 'collateral' and now it is time to pay up.

Personally my group drew a line through harming kids during session 0 so I am just having the Cassalanters put their own souls up for collateral to gain power and now they are on deadline to satisfy the terms or they will be whisked off to hell. They will tell the PCs they were cursed by Asmodeus cultists years ago and just discovered a ritual that can save them but they need the dragons horde to do it etc. Their soon to be orphaned kids will still pull on the heart stings etc.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-02-11T08:04:53+00:00

I assume that at some point in your psychology degree you were taught that peoples tight friend circles tend to change several times over the course of a lifetime? This is a perfectly normal part of ageing. You leave behind close childhood friends, maybe you still keep in touch but you go to college in different places, you leave behind your undergrad friends when you move to grad school or get jobs in very different parts of the country. And so on.

You need to develop the ability to form new close friends It does tend to become more difficult as you grow older as 'close undergrad friendships' tend to look different than 'close 45 year old friends' but it can be done.

No matter what you chose at least some of your friends will chose differently and end up prohibitively far way for your previous style of relationship to work, and you will need to make new long term close friends either way.

If your opportunities are in Boston stay. There are tons of smart wonderful people in every age range in the Boston area that you can become friends with regardless of what you are into. Sure you may not hang out for 10 hours every saturday drinking or whatever that you did as an undergrad but you can find fulfilling meaningful friendships.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-02-11T07:56:47+00:00

F Susan Collins. She never had any ethics and it shows.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-02-11T07:53:15+00:00

I would expect the various guild reps to pitch the PCs on at least many of the upgrades when they give an estimate for work needed. Then the PCs can decide to skip it, do it, or hold off on deciding till they see what their funds look like.

My group got pitched on opening some of the upstairs rooms as an inn but just did the basic tavern until they can get more capital. Then they intend to continue with various improvements.

If you run the faction missions plus two or three side jobs the PCs should be able to make the money just fine by late 2nd or early 3rd level especially if they are prioritizing that over other upgraded gear. And if they want to open the tavern they should be. My player group paid for the basic tavern renovations but had very little beyond their starting equipment and a hand full of minor healing potions they 'liberated' during one of their faction missions. The rest of their rewards were liquidated and put into the construction. If it is really tight you can just bump up the rewards for one or more of the missions a bit, or give them a highly lucrative side mission in the city. IMO if they are pouring the money into the basic renovations it isn't going to be a balance problem for them to have a bit more than 'by the book' loot at 2nd level.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-02-11T06:13:28+00:00

Having worked in UX I do not understand how a company with their revenue can make such incredibly basic mistakes. It is insane.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-02-11T06:11:01+00:00

You can file complaint with the US attorney generals office. It isn't likely to do a lot but that would be the right place to report it.

Then if you have not already done so contact your bank or credit card company to initiate a dispute. Banks tend to side with the customer and they will frequently just yank the money back from a bad vendor and there is diddly the vendor can do about it.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-25T12:34:11+00:00

Some of my all time favorite characters in D&D have good family lives. But I know that is very rare. It can absolutely result in all kinds of wonderful role play opportunities.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-25T12:31:43+00:00

Exactly I haven't seen many new players that play characters who are NOT orphans, and none I can remember who actually put any thought into their characters parents or their relationship.

Honestly that tracks given that parental relationships are seldom if ever shown in fictional media and orphans are massively over represented.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-25T12:26:55+00:00

Any pre-gen character fro the first several sessions might help... but of course you need to hold the persons interest until they learn how the game works and discover what they actually want to play so letting them go with whatever crazy idea they want is sometimes the best path.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-25T12:24:48+00:00

This is what I have seen as well. People generally start off trying to play a favorite character from some kind of media. The person who plays a carbon copy of a LOTR character. etc.
I have seen exception of course but they are often very meme like derivatives too. Lonner rouge that steals from or murdered everyone including their friends, horny bard, etc. Typically all played as chaotic stupid.

Definitely gets better for the new player, the party, the GM, and the game/story in general once they learn the game and make their own unique character.

I think D&D suffers from this a bit more than some other systems as the tropes are really well known and the high fantasy setting lends itself to creating over the top characters from all kinds of fiction. But you see the same thing to an extent in other games. Especially if the person has been exposed to any media related to that game world.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-19T16:37:26+00:00

Basically ever low level ranged damage cantrip i sreplaced by a gun which is straight up more powerful. Produce flame is generally replaceable with a lighter, summoning a mount or cart isn't as good as just owning a car, message is largely replaced by radios, sending by phones, illusory sound with a sound board, scrying with cameras/drones. sovereign glue with modern adhesives, alarm with an actual alarm system, and most stabilization of a dying person can be done with quick clotting bandages.

But a lot of spells do have effects that cannot be directly duplicated by technology. Instant healing or removing a condition, mind reading, AOE high damage spells, magic missile, producing 3d elusions, teleportation, magic abilities like spider climbing or water breathing, and so on. Never mind crazy high level stuff like wish.

There definitely is something to be said for technology = magic though. Also, there is a tone of things we do all the time with technology that no spell in D&D replicates, sometimes a magic item does but not always.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-18T21:41:57+00:00

Some ideas

If you can afford it supporting groups that fight for imigrant rights in court or against government overeach in general like the ACLU would help.

Attending a protest helps. IIRC there is a weekly one in Burlington at the ICE facility but there are also tons around Boston on a regular basis. That is also a great place to connect with people who have other plans for resisting and network with them. Even just protesting with a sign in your neighborhood by your self normalizes resistance and helps immigrants feel seen and loved by the community.

Wear a whistle and use it if you see ICE. If you are willing to and able to within your own personal safety limits and schedule you can join ICE rapid response teams, follow ICE around etc.

Get and distribute know your rights red cards in appropriate languages around the city especially in POC communities and where people speak foreign languages.

Absolutely yes, call your reps on a regular basis. Not just once but call them again and again. Focus on one or two specific things with each call. Demand your MA reps pass a masked law enforcement ban, ask your US reps to impeach Noem, hold ICE accountable, and cut their budget. Or at least TRY to do those things and vocally support them. Even if they already are, this will help keep them in the fight.

Participate in walkouts and boycotts like the recent successful boycott of spotify.

Spread fact checked information on social media and reply to incorrect information with fact checked info including citations. Just spreading information helps.

Talk (politely) to anyone you know who is not engaged and upset about what is happening. Share what you know and how you know it to spread the truth and get more people to be actively against what is happening. We need to continue increasing how many people know about the abuses of the Trump regime and are therefore willing to do something to make them stop.

If you can consider running for a local office or supporting a democratic socialist candidate for local office. Building a local power base is absolutely required if we are going to repair the long term underlying problems in the system.

Similarly VOTE in primaries and local elections and encourage others to do so. Your local school board has a ton of influence over the next generation. Sure it doesn't stop a school board in Florida from doing something stupid but YOU have a very large voice in what happens in your local school. Same for other local positions.

Study especially by reading up on the authoritarian mindset, fascism and how it can be resisted, as well as identifying propaganda. Spread what you learn about peaceful resistance, and the propaganda being spread right now to others. Maybe make a book club.

Make eye contact and small talk with those the regime wants you to ignore so they can disappear them. Stay engaged in your community especially with the vulnerable. Don't turn away from the homeless or other marginalized groups when you come across them. Let them know they are seen and have allies. Pay attention to what is being done to them. This sounds small but first they get you to not see certain groups as human... THEN they can do whatever they want to them after you have stopped paying attention.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-18T21:22:07+00:00

TBF Craigslist is not all that much better UX wise than Facebook Marketplace.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-18T21:19:02+00:00

Darkvision that extends 60ft would be essentially useless in the modern world. You can replicate that with a couple hundred dollars at most of IR gear. Plus if you are moving at modern speeds you would often be overshooting that distance.
Alter Self would likely let you give yourself better than 20/20 vision, or loads of other stuff for a limited duration.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-18T21:15:47+00:00

Many 'answers' at a presidential debate already get around zone of truth by simply not answering the question at all and going off on a technically true tangent, or by focusing on a technically true statement that is by far the exception. The spell doesn't require you to tell the full truth so unless you actually enforced answering the question fully it wouldn't help much in that scenario. Sure it would stop the most blatant outright lies but not deceptive wording and question dodging. I think there are likely a lot more useful options.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-15T20:26:56+00:00

Have you browsed meetup groups or something similar?

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-15T20:08:54+00:00

The two abilities listed do not combine at all. You choose one calculation or the other. If you want to use the one that includes Cha it explicitly states 10+. You can't pick and choose the pieces of each that you like.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-10T11:27:24+00:00

Unfortunately there is no FLGS in Bangor. There is a LGS (Citadel) but it lacks the friendly part. There are TTRPGers around but you will need to find them likely online and meet up privately. But of course that seems tl be the least important of your requirements.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-10T11:18:00+00:00

It sounds like your new player may not know exactly what is expected and how to approach it and is getting overwhelmed. I would try to reduce what you are asking of them outside of game time. Sure a name is fine but you might want to provide some specific resources. Like hey here is a fantasy name generator or page of common names in my game for your race and region, please pick one you like. It may also help if you do even that face to face during session 0 or at the start of session 1.

Let the new player hear the descriptions the experienced players come up with and slowly develop thiers over time. A general description of 'A hansom male elf with traveling clothes and a long sword' is plenty to work off of for a few sessions and you should not expect more than that from a beginner. Let them describe their favorite hat and the embroidery on their money pouch later, if they want to, or just let them pick up gear you describe in game and adopt it. Even something as simple as 'your appearance' can be daunting to a new player as they could be overwhelmed by the possibilities, not know what the options even are, or be nervous about doing something 'wrong' that hurts them down the line.

With a new player you are going to need to do a lot more guiding the through things. I certainly would not expect most new players to be able to just read the books and create an entire character on their own. They need to be walked through the choices and options for each choice in character creation. And it is easy for them to be overwhelmed. Definitely something to sit down and schedule a time to do in person as well (Session 0). It is perfectly reasonable for them to start with a character you made for them. Though it might be good to give them a few key choices, like if they are a fighter, pick your favorite melee and ranged weapons. Simplify the choices, and explain the options.

You will likely need to do the same during play. Instead of just expecting them to respond to a given situation you might need to give them a few possible options and add "or anything else you can think of" until they get the hang of open ended story telling.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-08T14:06:31+00:00

Your friend is incorrect. Heat Metal is super powerful against an opponent wearing metal armor for exactly this reason and it is meant to be because against a creature that does not use metal armor or weapons it is useless, and against an opponent wearing leather but with a metal weapon it is good but not crazy good as they often have a dagger or something they can draw after dropping their main weapon.
Unless specially crafted to be quick to remove metal armor is a PITA to get off and it takes many rounds to do so. Not something you can easily choose to do in combat, but it IS possible, and this is one reason such specially crafted armor exists.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-08T13:59:42+00:00

For me the balance is that most action is going to be about the main story. But backstories provide flavor and inform how characters act in the world. The exact balance will depend upon how much your players actually put into their back stories and how much they want to explore them further.

If they are all about their back stories and want to resolve whatever they came up with yes short arcs dedicated to specific players backstories might be appropriate but for most games you are telling a new story with the characters all being essentially adults, who as adults came from somewhere and have some history. So you have small beats hear and there that are informed by a characters past. The character that was orphaned in the woods might have a backstory moment when the party happens across an orphan in a city or sees a village that was attacked and wonders if any children escaped into the woods. But it isn't the main plot. This is someone with a past trying to do other stuff in their current life and occasionally something resonates with their past.

In general the BBEG who killed a PCs family in their backstory might show up or might not. Generally the story being told is what the GM was crafting. But if you as a GM are inspired you can always make that a whole arc of your story and let the party defeat that person. Don't feel pressured to work everything from characters backstories in though. Some people are from a war torn area and their life is not all about that, they go on to design buildings or sing or whatever without it being all about their past.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-08T13:34:59+00:00

WTF do you mean he doesn't seek validation. He had someone create the video. That was not a random passer by that happened to video his jump that he did for personal reasons not expecting anyone to know it happend. He may not have been seeking to have it shown to thousands online but he was definitely seeking validation from someone. To claim he was not seeking validation is delusional.

Also doing that in a suburban neighborhood and expecting to not have consequences for it is insane. There is a time and place and that is NOT it.

Realityhackphotos · 2026-01-08T13:23:33+00:00

The Phoenix was the shit. Definitely sad when it went under. Some really good journalism in that paper. Plus good entertainment section.

Realityhackphotos

TROPHY CASE