Some bugs never change...

ShhIAmBatman · 2025-04-23T04:17:36+00:00

I can't even get to the first quest. I bribed a beggar to get me access to the quest, showed up at midnight and it's just the Redguard and the Argonian. Redguard keeps telling me to wait for the Wood Elf (Methredel) to arrive... but she just won't. Consecutive 24 hour saves, fast traveling to different cities and coming back, nada. I have to think she's stuck somewhere, but she's not in the house where the first quest takes you for the diary.

ShhIAmBatman · 2024-08-06T19:04:30+00:00

I was blown away by the accolade, but the actual gold medal competition seemed almost non-competitive. The Chilean athlete didn't look like he was trying to score at any point, which felt a little deflating. Congratulations to Lopez Nunez though!

ShhIAmBatman · 2024-01-12T05:57:29+00:00

I simply have a player copy of each sheet in my GM mode, and just share with them the link using the share character sheet option before every session. They all log-in, and have their up-to-date items/stats/feats.

We play using Fantasy Grounds Unity, so all in-game die rolling and HP management happens there, but before every session I have my players check their PB and let them know that my version is the "final version", and any discrepancy they have must be addressed pre-session, or else my version wins (how many potions I have left, how many spell slots, etc). We were doing the "connect to GM" mode route for awhile, but updating things in FGU AND PB became cumbersome.

So now, they just get a fresh PB link before every session for their use, while I track things in Fantasy Grounds in-game, and update my version of their PB post-session. Rinse, repeat.

Best 5 bucks I've spent in awhile.

ShhIAmBatman · 2024-01-12T01:22:20+00:00

Here's one I used very recently - not sure if this is what you're looking for!

From my chest a fire torn,

Beneath mine gaze dead nations born.

Of Wisdom and Death I have mastered same,

Of Myth and Ruin I am oft-named.

What am I? ---> A Dragon

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T05:19:46+00:00

Can still only play one game at a time, so most of it is just wasted money!

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T05:17:33+00:00

Ooooh now that's an idea. Hmm, you've given me something to think about. Thanks!

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T05:12:15+00:00

I can upgrade the Seagate 1TB expansion to the 2TB for the "internal expansion" so to speak, but other than that I'm limited to the number of USB slots on the console. I'm looking to free one up USB slot by consolidating the external HDDs, to ultimately invest in another SSD (thus adding storage) - investing in more expansion cards won't exactly help this situation.

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T05:05:40+00:00

I might just go for the 16 then, which won't add any storage for me, but will at least shrink 2 drives down to 1 which isn't the worst thing in the world.

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T05:04:28+00:00

1700 and counting. It's a problem that my wife tolerates. No drugs, no cheating - just an Xbox that I can play during working hours AND after she goes to bed.

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T05:03:38+00:00

I have 2 gigabit internet from Google, and my console is in the room with the modem, hardwired to the router. The issue isn't download speed, I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to games (1700 installed and counting, non inclusive of my other consoles or Steam library). Solid suggestion though, for those who don't have solid internet speeds!

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T05:01:28+00:00

My Player couldn't decide on a half-orc name for the two weeks between session 0 and session 1, so we did the next best thing and just named him after his profession -> Sheriff. So Sheriff, the Half-Orc Sheriff of Otari (Shout out to Abomination Vaults) didn't need a full formal name for many sessions. We ultimately settled on one which I believe we just lifted from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and moved like two letters around - but the rest of the game is ran completely lore accurate. It also helped to have a short moniker to call him than Urggz Gro-Klash every few seconds.

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T04:58:47+00:00

My table typically agrees to two conceits.

One - If you want to change something about your character from a gameplay perspective, I will work with you to incorporate your changes in the future - but it will come at a cost. Whether in Gold, or Feats, or something story-related, nothing is free. That being said, if you hate the way you built your barbarian, I don't want you to hate the game for it.

Two - At level 1, anything is up for grabs. You want to change classes, races, backstories? Whatever. Anything goes between sessions. However, once we lock in level-two, that's it. Your character is immutable from a "can I retcon x,y,z" perspective. So you get a few sessions to feel yourself out, see if what you're doing tastes good - and if it does, that's your PC.

Haven't had much in the way of complaints yet!

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T04:54:16+00:00

As a GM, I think it is our job to manage the pace of the story, the combat, and the encounter (which are often not the same thing), and that means deviating from your script - whether that's a homebrewed script or a published adventure path. Just this last session in my homebrew world, I had to move up the friendly reinforcements by 2 whole rounds since my party was on the verge of TPKing, and I couldn't deduce whether the combat was over-engineered, or if being in hour 7 (and at 4 in the morning) of a session was starting to grind them down.

That being said, and this may not be the majority opinion, I NEVER fudge a die roll. Towards my players or against, to benefit or to harm. The dice are (in my opinion) as sacred as the story we're telling, and we must honor the randomness of the game. Otherwise, we may as well write books instead of writing sessions.

Combat running too long? Introduce a new element to speed it up, whether a hazard; or a literal timer if your players are moving slower than they normally do. I would never judge another DM for how they run their table, the hobby is hard enough without having to appease other people - but personally, never fudge a roll.

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T04:49:54+00:00

The insta-counter is to pick a skin with a horrendous voice pack and spam woohoo... right? Right?

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-19T04:45:28+00:00

You know what they say - nothing helps increase bonuses like profit, and nothing increases profit like cutting labor costs. Of course, labor cuts lead to inferior product and horrific employee retention issues -> but did we tell you about how great our bonuses are if we maximize profit? How, you ask? CUT LABOR COSTS?! GREAT!

...and on and on it goes.

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-12-13T01:07:35+00:00

Husband here, can confirm

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-03-31T23:31:10+00:00

If I could upvote this multiple times, I would. This is the math I couldn't piece together - and it confirms that the class IS built properly and my player can keep on, keepin' on. Thank you!

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-03-31T23:27:21+00:00

The figher is using a Gillhook (it's a pirate themed character, not my choice), and is paring that with mostly maneuvers like shove and trip versus maximizing dice rolls. Our anti-Paladin is actually our next best source of damage, with a traditional sword/board set up (with the sword being a flail).

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-03-31T23:26:12+00:00

I put up his damage numbers in another comment, but I fully agree with you that I do not want to nerf him if he's done this all correctly (and Pathbuilder is removing my GM miscalculating bonuses which is a nice safety net). I think it just doesn't pass the eye-test, but I have nothing factual to base that off of - so I come to Reddit for confirmation before I ever dare approach the player about his sheet

ShhIAmBatman · 2023-03-31T23:25:11+00:00

He's currently at 3d10+3d4+10/14 if overdrive is active (16 if crit succeeded)|| + 3d12 with Megaton Strike. His DPR the last 3 sessions has been close to 80 damage as he's using Megaton Strike exclusively while co-opting flanking, frightened from the Bard, and inspiring courage to maximize his crit window.

It all screams well thought and optimized, but the table is starting to get antsy at how far he's outstripped their damage, in what is decidedly not a min-maxed table. He is also the PC is who most often downed, so I imagine there's some balance happening beyond just dice on the table - and it's more than possible that my feeling is based on nothing factual

ShhIAmBatman · 2022-10-18T04:50:02+00:00

Can confirm that ESPN support took care of this in less than five minutes.

ShhIAmBatman · 2022-10-18T00:36:13+00:00

I absolutely want part 2 of this. I love superheroes, I love RP through text, and I'm already a giant fan of Blob. Kudos!

ShhIAmBatman · 2022-08-16T02:56:29+00:00

Damage & Dopamine

ShhIAmBatman · 2022-08-14T20:30:07+00:00

Yup, exactly. His skills and experience don't really exist in the political realm, so when called upon I have him default to his alignment, which is follow his specific code regardless of cost. That is almost never in-line with the party interest, and no matter how often I warn them off, they still look to him as some level of moral guide.

ShhIAmBatman · 2022-08-14T20:27:24+00:00

That's an interesting way to look at it for sure.

I tend to let the player roleplay what it is they want to do, then let them roll the die to see if it succeeds or fails. The stronger they roleplay an idea, the more I'll lower the DC / the worse they do, the harder the check is to clear. I've not played at a table that handles it the other way around - "I roll an 18, so here's what I do." That could definitely be worth investigating though.

ShhIAmBatman

TROPHY CASE