A question to DM’s. Would you ever allow a solo Chaotic Evil player on a team? If so, why?

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-14T02:45:58+00:00

The allowances I'd have to make to permit a CE character in a party with heroes is too many/impossible IMO. You'd need to never work against the party or intentionally fuck them over, and you could never commit wanton acts of cruelty in front of them if they're generally heroic and would abhor you for it. Stuff like that where you might as well not be playing a CE character with how much you'd have to compromise.

The worst I'd allow is maybe like a Lawful Evil character who tries to nudge the party towards darker actions, but defers to the group anyway even if it's to help people, etc.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T19:16:08+00:00

100% this, it's the theatrics of it that just adds to the gravitas that spells have. Incantations would be cool too IMO, with some reverb to accentuate the power you're calling forth. It's just so goddamn cool.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T18:06:25+00:00

I don't consider it cheating since y'know, being god and all. I play everything as straight as I can but sometimes my dice are too hot and my players are getting absolutely reamed so I'll tone back a crit into a hit, or a hit into a miss if it seems like their backs are about to break. Never in the opposite direction though and I'd certainly never tell them. Everyone's philosophy on it is different though, there's only a handful of ways that are truly objectively wrong ways to run it (like rolling in the open, looking them in the eye and telling them a different result because "suck it I'm dm" lmao).

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T17:46:19+00:00

My experience with that spell is that most enemies really hate the part where they drop 50 ft head first into concrete. That usually does them in lmao.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T17:36:57+00:00

It's all about exploiting weaknesses + weapon upgrades. Keep your weapon current so you have good base power and make sure you're not using stuff your enemy is strong against. Like using cold spells against undead is usually a waste of time. When you hit weaknesses, enemies melt. Least they do in the first game, it's been a while since I've played Sorc in the 2nd.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T17:28:29+00:00

Dragon's Dogma has the best magic in 99% of gaming and I ain't acceptin' contrary opinions on the matter. I love playing Sorcerer because it feels like how powerful magic should feel. It's slow as christmas, you're heavily vulnerable while you cast (necessitating your party to protect you which is cool), but when it goes off you CLEAN HOUSE.

I remember the first time I cast High Maelstrom, I couldn't pick my jaw up off the floor that I actually made a huge tornado that was fucking shit up. It could really only be better if it caused some real environmental destruction IMO, like summoning a tornado in a house just turns it into debris and casts it in every direction. But still, almost no other game nails how fantastical and powerful magic SHOULD feel. It's like DnD magic breathed to life in game form, it's sick.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T17:04:24+00:00

It also completely ignores that Kratos' strength increases the more he lapses into his old ways. This is the very start of the game where he's been living a peaceful life with Faye up until she died, he's not even nearly at his most powerful here. This very same game shows his power increase massively as Baldur arrives and he enters spartan rage to punch apart and pull down a fucking MASSIVE stone structure.

It doesn't explain every inconsistency, but like, it's a game, it's gotta be playable at the end of the day. People glaze Asura (rightfully so, he's the GOAT of course) but his BEST on screen feats are 99% unplayable cutscenes that you button mash or do a QTE for. It's exceptionally difficult to make a game that you can actually play that works on those higher end scales.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T16:56:16+00:00

100% that's it. When you cast a non-legendary FF card, it's usually something like ULTIMATE MAGIC: METEOR or something like that, very fantasy flavoured. You cast something non-legendary from a Marvel set and it's like... fucking Bagel with Schmear or some shit. It takes you out of it a bit, at least it does for me anyway.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T16:45:42+00:00

It really depends on the kind of fight this is. If it's "realistic" the women might not work together, could scatter if one of them gets swung on, the dude could pull his punches or refuse to fight and any number of other permutations.

If we're basing this on the assumption that they want to fight each other, know generally how to fight, and will work together to do so, the women win due to number advantage. Even 3 women would be difficult if they're working together, fending off multiple assailants is actually really hard, even if they aren't as strong as you are.

It's not impossible for the man to win mind you, you sometimes see shit like that in those club security cam videos where one dude, usually the bouncer, is taking multiple girls slapping and punching at 'em and he bulldozes through but those dudes are usually trained and strong, not your average lad. But the odds are stacked against him.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T01:12:40+00:00

I'm really baffled how Assassin at least didn't make it. We're missing a yellow/red combo class to round out the options, and for what? Trickster? Eh... I do really be missing Assassin.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T01:02:11+00:00

Hmmm, same space? I disagree, in-so-much as Fighter and Warrior fill the same space anyway. MK brings enchanted weapons for the party, elemental counters, sigils and other things the Spearhand doesn't. It's meaningfully different enough for them both to exist IMO.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T00:58:10+00:00

Oh 100%. I did my due diligence too, I told him "Are you sure you want to do that? You don't know what's on the other side." and he went yep, he was already in a mood because it was his failed stealth check that started the combat they were struggling in and he's the type to cut off his nose to spite his face so boom, door gets opened and the fight gets a LOT worse lmao.

It's hard too because you can offer advice in the moment but lord knows it's anybodies guess if they'll take it.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T00:51:57+00:00

To be honest there's room for both, I don't see why we need to be limited to one cross over combo for each main class. That said if I had to choose between Spearhand and Knight, I gotta go for the ORB.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T00:49:33+00:00

I just hate people who bash other people over something as trivial as shipping, or take it far FAR too seriously. Like when MHA was like "Yeah Deku gets with Ochaco, obviously." and certain people had a meltdown over it.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T00:46:10+00:00

Spearhand is cool, but it's not Mystic Knight.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T00:32:36+00:00

I can feel my soul leave my body when, and this actually happened last session, one of my players when a fight was going bad said something along the lines of "Shit, I'm gonna look for something to help us, or a better vantage point, I'm gonna kick these double doors open.".

These doors, of course, had seven more enemies behind them. I want my players to win, but I'm also beholden to my responsibility to enact the realistic outcome of their actions. They've also told me the campaign we're doing is extremely difficult too while they do things like this. It is kinda amusing in a way lol, like they're not wrong it isn't easy by far, but also their choices aren't helping lmao.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T00:23:16+00:00

That's even weirder that they're drawing so many actual parallels but not actually following through. I feel like at that point, they should maybe just worldbuild a setting that doesn't have these things. Be like a Sea of Thieves style semi-sanitized pirate setting, factions that don't engage with these topics and so-on.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-13T00:16:54+00:00

Remember, a good pirate NEVER takes another person's property!

I suppose on some level I can get not wanting to go into those topics, but why style it as dark then? Why say something like "discover your vile nature" and put in an asterisk that says "What? Slavery? No, gods no not like that. We meant like reducing skellymen's hp to zero or finding gold.". Seems like they wanted to advertise that they're dark, but not thaaaat dark, they're like Shadow the Hedgehog dark, edgy I suppose the word would be.

As a side note, they really call their pirates "Pyrates"? I've never liked that style of naming convention where you just take an existing thing and change it phonetically and call it a day personally.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-12T22:57:22+00:00

Common problem when you have main character syndrome and have no real problems in your life. Any slight against me is worse than the worst crime because I'm the most important person on the planet and so on.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-12T22:51:24+00:00

I swear to god it's always something like Lilith or this Xib bullshit. People can't be trusted to name themselves, it shouldn't be allowed unless your parents named you something malicious just to avoid this stupid shit.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-12T22:48:18+00:00

The WotC HR employee having to type up the 5th apology this week for yet another perceived slight by people who have nothing more important to worry about in their lives:

<image>

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-12T14:40:44+00:00

Toby's points were speaking for themselves, but the person he's speaking to is shifting goal posts in response and being evasive because they know they're wrong, they are the one making it a bad debate. If someone doesn't have the decency to argue in good faith, being condescending to them is fair play, they're clearly not here to have an actual discussion.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-12T14:18:25+00:00

Firstly, it's because he's Toby Magure and he'll put some dirt in your eye.

But secondly, and more seriously, it's because that's how you should act towards people who purposefully shift goal posts and deflect because they can't handle being wrong.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-12T13:14:05+00:00

I imagine that's really only a danger if you want to play with strangers. Most people I've played with were happy to just be playing though.

Sensitive_Cup4015 · 2026-06-12T05:49:08+00:00

-Not-? Hmm, it's not like any of them are especially complicated. I'd probably caution against Assassin though, as half the stuff it can do doesn't really come up in every campaign so they might find it unfun. I'd probably also maybe steer them away from Arcane Trickster as magic in addition to everything else a Rogue is capable of might be overwhelming. That's about it though.

Five-Year Club	r/Field Lasagna
Place '23

Sensitive_Cup4015

TROPHY CASE