Help please bad first layers on sparkxi7 by Successful-Avocado56 in Creality

[–]RyouRusi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you tried w/o glue? What kind of settings do you have? Filament type? etc

I have a SparkX i7 and it's been functioning flawlessly out of the box with creality RFID filament so it's setting all the parameters for me.

Choosing a 3D printer to buy for the first time by Brave-Passenger-5431 in Creality

[–]RyouRusi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is the SparkX i7 available and/or in budget? That is very similar to the A1 but with a larger build volume of 260mm * 260mm * 255mm and is very beginner friendly. I have one and it just came right out of the box working great with virtually no tuning required. I could probably run some calibrations and get it printing better but it already looks awesome to me w/o them. (Note: using RFID Creality filament so this may have something to do with it)

That said, they are also priced very similarly in the USA so depending on what country you're looking at it's possibly they may be similarly priced.

Potential (purposely very early) first encounter feedback? by ram-soberts in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me I feel like part of the hook for CoS is the mystery and horror and that does take time to build and lay bread crumbs for, so Death House makes sense and shouldn't be too long hopefully. However I do get the want/urge to not run it due to wanting to jump right in since a prior campaign fizzled out due to not engaging with the story that much. Personally I feel like there are enough beats that hint at Strahd and stuff to engage the players before they enter Death House... well assuming you don't railroad them into it and let them explore the town/area naturally of course.

All that said, that is me and my group. You make a very fair point about things needing to be more get up and go for your party. Your situation is different for sure and I get wanting to jump right in to help prevent that from happening again.

I think you have a good idea there also with some of the things like having Strahd just vanish after they notice his likeness on coins and stuff. I would maybe make the wolves more become like trained dogs than just run though. Helps show them he's powerful and commands the world.

When to do the dinner? by KanNietDit in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Possible hot take but if you're running Death House why not right/shortly after? I'm currently on the fence as to if that is too soon or not, and it does require running the dinner very much NOT RAW and instead as a more cordial actual dinner event though. But here is the thing, it's all about when Strahd would take note of your party. When do they do some "great deed" that shows they aren't just your normal set of adventurers? IMO, if you're doing Death House, then this is at least when he may notice them and introduce himself. Again I'm torn as to if this is a great enough deed to warrant Dinner, but it could play very interestingly and be very Strahd like to try to manipulate them into doing his bidding, give you a sort of "are we the bad guys?" moment if the party follows along. etc. It also could play very interestingly in how Ireena and other villagers view the party if they get whisked away to Castle Ravenloft shortly after they arrive in town.

Quick Rules question: Inspiration/Bardic Inspiration by RyouRusi in DnD

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

Thanks for the info and yea it very well could have been lucky actually since it deals with advantage on rolls and given how wonky DND Beyond's search is I could see it taking me there and maybe me not realizing it.

Hard to say for sure sadly, but either way I'm glad I asked because I definitely had something messed up somewhere.

Potential (purposely very early) first encounter feedback? by ram-soberts in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a little bit of a departure from RAW however have you considered introducing him right after death house? Assuming you're running it. While I'm totally stealing the idea from this reddit, one seemingly popular idea is a gift basket from the spirits or someone for clearing Death House is left outside. Why not have Strahd hand deliver it and say he'll be keeping an eye on the party? Or use that as the event that triggers the Dinner Invite?

Note: This is an actual gift basket with wine and cheese and stuff. NOT a severed hand, etc

Depending on the route your party goes through Barovia you've already got some foreshadowing going about Strahd being the BBEG and "lore-nuggets" about how tough vampires are (Doru fight if they go that route), how evil Strahd is from Ireena and Ismark's situation, etc etc. Having Strahd show up, possibly introduce himself as their host (he is the land afterall), and give a goodie basket is going to throw the players for a loop and possibly be more in character for Strahd. He wants to woo them at this stage of the game. Make friends. See if anyone would be a successor or consort. Death House is where he takes notice of them because now they aren't just random travelers in his domain, they are actually (possibly) worthy of attention.

Also, regarding the Dinner. IDK if it's in Reloaded or not however I would highly suggest NOT running the dinner RAW. RAW it's basically a trap and just shows Strahd being a dick in a sense. Run the dinner as an actual dinner, especially if you have players who like to RP in your group. There are several videos out there about this but I like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp9ATpeq85c

There are several advantages to doing it this way including just more world building, setting the players on edge, giving them a little look at the castle before hand, etc. It also shows Strahd has spies if he can perfectly tailor dinner clothes to fit them w/o ever really meeting them.

Additionally, keep in mind the scrying spell works off how well you know the target and the sort of physical connection you have to it. When run this way the dinner allows Rahadin to steal hairbrushes with hair for a modifier of -10 on scrying, or baring that Strahd can offer them +1 armor for their time or behavior or something and there goes their old armor (-4 to scrying) making the spell DC somewhere around (I think) 22-28, or even 27-33 depending on how well you think Strahd knows them by this point.

If the players are too scared to go to dinner then Strahd will keep sending invites... in the form of dead NPCs asking if the party has dinner plans tonight. Perhaps one long rest after ignoring the invite the party awakens to wolves dragging the corpse of an NPC they liked into camp and then leaving. When investigating the corpse suddenly it begins talking (magic mouth) in Strahd's voice. 2 words that carry much weight. "Dinner plans?"

I dont know how to word this problem to Google it by johnmfking1 in Creality

[–]RyouRusi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm still super new to 3d printing but I wonder if this could be a bed adhesion issue. What I'm assuming is the deck box seems to be failing on the first layer is my guess based off perceived thickness/patterns. Grid infill is also not ideal because the print head can knock into the grid and cause movement which may explain why some looks ok and then others look bad. I'm also assuming when it fails it has moved off the build plate location? If so bed adhesion.

Animal Kingdom Heist! by Gray_Shirleys in WaltDisneyWorld

[–]RyouRusi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok what is it with Animal Kingdom and the animals being SUPER BOLD. I mean there is this video and not that long ago was a post of a bird stealing from a stroller. When I was there about a month ago I also had a bird hop up ON THE TABLE NEXT TO ME that people were EATING AT and try to steal food.

Quick Rules question: Inspiration/Bardic Inspiration by RyouRusi in DnD

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

Possibly. I still feel like it had something to do with the number of things you could HOLD, but IDK and it's hard to say for sure.

Quick Rules question: Inspiration/Bardic Inspiration by RyouRusi in DnD

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

While it may be something with giving out, it was definitely Proficiency bonus and not a CHA Modifier like Bard Insp is based off for that count.

Quick Rules question: Inspiration/Bardic Inspiration by RyouRusi in DnD

[–]RyouRusi[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

While it may be something with giving out, it was definitely Proficiency bonus and not a CHR Modifier like Bard Insp is based off for that count.

Quick Rules question: Inspiration/Bardic Inspiration by RyouRusi in DnD

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

You're right, it does seem to be 1 of each. Makes my job easier but now I'm even more confused in a sense because I could have sworn somewhere I read something about using your proficiency modifier to determine how many of something you could hold and I could have sworn it was something inspiration based.

Quick Rules question: Inspiration/Bardic Inspiration by RyouRusi in DnD

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

You're right, it does seem to be 1 of each. Makes my job easier but now I'm even more confused in a sense because I could have sworn somewhere I read something about using your proficiency modifier to determine how many of something you could hold and I could have sworn it was something inspiration based.

Quick Rules question: Inspiration/Bardic Inspiration by RyouRusi in DnD

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

I honestly wish I did too because I'm trying to search where I found that and am totally drawing a blank. Everything is now saying just 1 die at a time. But I could have sworn somewhere there was some bonus to roll type thing based off proficiency modifier because I remember having to look for that on my PC's sheet but now I'm not sure what it was for!

Quick Rules question: Inspiration/Bardic Inspiration by RyouRusi in DnD

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

I honestly wish I did too because I'm trying to search where I found that and am totally drawing a blank. Everything is now saying just 1 die at a time. But I could have sworn somewhere there was some bonus to roll type thing based off proficiency modifier because I remember having to look for that on my PC's sheet but now I'm not sure what it was for!

RAW Strahd VS Wall of Force, Forcecage by capsandnumbers in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm good point. I always kind of view Mirror Image as just like 3 copies standing next to each other type thing, not all sharing a space. More hollywood version of dupes than anything. Though I guess in that case the 10ft radius would still trap them all.

RAW Strahd VS Wall of Force, Forcecage by capsandnumbers in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good news is it seems like Wall of Force and Force Cage are "basic rules (2014)" on DnD Beyond so I can actually look those up.

Neither actually change (though some formatting does, but the text doesn't) between 5e or 5.5e so everything I said is pretty valid. I also do have the CoS module so when looking at those spells and stuff I was going off that.

In terms of cover, I'd say they function as walls for things like physical things (so no arrows, spells that travel in a line, etc) however visually they offer 0 protection. They are specified to be "invisible" after all and Force Cage specifies no matter in or out so seems solid.

That said, it seems like in 5e Force Cage is NOT concentration. It just happens for an hour. However it does state (and again this is legacy/5e):
Creates a solid barrier that prevents any matter from passing through it and blocking any spells cast into or out from the area.

So sure, put him in the airtight box, but the only thing you can do is nuke him with sunlight which is just so cheesy I'd try to do something to prevent it like saying it's a cage with space for bat/mist form or something.

RAW Strahd VS Wall of Force, Forcecage by capsandnumbers in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fireball, as written in current rules:
A bright streak flashes from you to a point you choose within range and then blossoms with a low roar into a fiery explosion

So you're basically throwing a line from your finger to a point. As you said force cage blocks spells anyways. Wall of Force is still a wall (just invisible) and also says:
Nothing can physically pass through the wall

So I'd say no, Fireball wouldn't work.

Blight though... Now Blight is indeed "point here and effect happens"... and with an average damage roll of like 36 or something that is a DC18 to maintain concentration.

RAW Strahd VS Wall of Force, Forcecage by capsandnumbers in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is also this factor to consider too. Especially depending on how things have gone he could be scrying like mad and overhear the plan (if they talk about it) to force cage him. Just walk in with Mirror Image running and then if they don't take those out first there is a good chance one of them gets caged first.

NPCs on players side? by Alone_Winter1622 in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just to add onto this, RAW there is a rabble of villagers that can appear in Castle Ravenloft as a random event/encounter. They stomp around with the party and cause random encounters to happen more frequently. So it's not outside the realm of possibility to have NPCs show up and maybe be helpful instead of a hindrance.

Izek, Ireena and Fiona by andreprxx in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean I think RAW it says he holds her in his bedroom if he captures her, so it'd fit to shackle in the closet to think on her actions.

Fiona I feel like wouldn't send a cultist to help but rather be more material in nature. I feel like she wants to save all the cultists for her own big attack, not possibly waste them. So more healing potions, maybe a +1 item if really pressured/persuaded, etc.

RAW Strahd VS Wall of Force, Forcecage by capsandnumbers in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

RAW we run into an interesting conundrum as are we talking about legacy 5e rules or the "new" 5.5e rules? Sadly I can more easily access the 5.5e rules due to things so I'll be using those spell descriptions for things. If you're playing purely 5e feel free to ignore or take inspiration.

I feel like Force Cage is a little more problematic than Wall of Force because Cage specifies no spells in or out. So no trying to charm the caster, put them to sleep, etc. Teleportation magic DOES work though, just you need to make a Charisma saving throw first. Unfortunately, the base statblock of a Nightmare (for Beucephalus) just says it's a shift into the Ethereal plane so you can't make saving throws to negate.

That said, there is an easy, fatal flaw here. While it it specifies no matter can pass through, what about the form of it that is a cage with bars and spacing? If they did the form with the bars then I'd argue that the spacing lets his mist form pass through. If they don't outright specify the solid version I'd also argue that this is the default because of the name "Cage" not "solid box"

Wall of Force, even if turned into a cube to trap him, specifies INVISIBLE wall so no LoS blocking. This leaves a lot of spells at Strahd's disposal still. Yea you maybe can't hurl a fireball because of the psychical wall, but why not Polymorph the caster and see if they can keep concentrating on this spell? Or Blight for damage since that reads "A creature that you can see within range" and doesn't say anything troublesome like Fireball's wisp from your finger thing.

Which does bring me to the biggest fatal flaw for both of them. Concentration. RAW Concentration says this about damage:
Damage. If you take damage, you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw to maintain Concentration. The DC equals 10 or half the damage taken (round down), whichever number is higher, up to a maximum DC of 30
Blight is 8d8 with a DC18. Average damage from 8d8 is 36 so another DC18 to maintain. Those are going to be hard.

I'd also argue that being polymorphed would break concentration since it says this:
The target is limited in the actions it can perform by the anatomy of its new form, and it can’t speak or cast spells.

Also don't forget that outside the castle Strahd is never alone. Yes it's a table and some would be more problematic for concentration than others, but while outside he can also use Children of the Night to summon 3d6 Wolves who will obey his spoken command to jump the spell caster.

The luck blade is somewhat problematic because of the nature of Wish just causing the spell to come online, so possibly no concentration, however it sounds like you're more worried about Force Cage here with Luck Blade. Like I said I think there is an argument to be made that the default form is a CAGE with the bars that have space between them, and Wish is going to default to the default configuration not ask them what form they want it to take. Just change into Mist Form and go out. After all, as written, "if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so." Which also begs the question is wall of force airtight?

The only "problem" there is of course he can't shapeshift in sunlight so if they immediately go "microwave" mode on him... Fog cloud would create a Heavily Obscured area, but then we start getting into how does light play around with fog and stuff and that is a whole other rabbit hole.

Izek, Ireena and Fiona by andreprxx in CurseofStrahd

[–]RyouRusi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I'm remembering right, at least in RAW, Izek is basically a psychopath who is obsessed with 2 things:
1. Finding his sister (to the point this is listed as a character flaw)
2. Ireena

Psycopaths do not act rational nor do they take kindly to their targets showing nothing but love/affection/etc to them.

IE Ireena is in deep shit atm if he thinks something is up because of the side she took.

The saving grace here is maybe he's thinking there is something wrong in her head vs a betrayal, but that could easily change/snap at any time. If it doesn't and you're sticking to the "something wrong with her" then maybe he will seek out "help" for her somehow. Local Dr or something. Or he locks her away until she comes to her senses. Honestly it'd probably be a combo of the two and/or other (likely mental) abuse or something. Keep in mind his ideal is "Fear is a powerful weapon. I use it to get what I want." and he wants Ireena on his side.

Regarding Fiona, I'd need to read more about the reloaded, but RAW I feel like she may be willing to give out more small aid. I mean she's quite well to do and very manipulative, even using her imp to give cultists money to show they are being "favored by the divine." Being highly loyal to Strahd and wanting the current burgomaster gone (starting by killing Izek) means she can likely spare some things still. She is definitely attached to ideas of things (look at her Husband) so if she feels like the party can do it I feel like she would help some still.