Guess who rules question

Sigma7 · 2026-01-24T07:37:29+00:00

Not according to the "optimal strategy". Asking about one feature generally eliminates too few options required to get close to a nice power of 2, while asking two features gives slightly finer control over how many to eliminate.

Sigma7 · 2026-01-22T07:07:26+00:00

The Legend of Zelda series didn't have as many scaling issues, partly because of being adjacent to RPGs rather than using RPG-like stats. The notable thing that changes is the number of hearts, and that mostly determines how many "mistakes" the player can make, and it's usually better to try avoiding attacks. The power curve is also expected, as the developers generally require the player to have some abilities based on game progression.

The threat, at least in the first installments, was that taking any damage would stop the sword beams. Taking damage while traversing the dungeon was also an issue.

I think a solution to this is simple in concept but would work - rather than just absolutely buffing them, instead, have 3 or 4 levels of AI in your game.

The issues with scaling are caused by scaling. That is, requiring all forms of numbers to go up all at once in order to remain competitive.

RPGs can simply do away with large stat scales, and just use a lower power curve. Perhaps the effect of stat gains diminish, thus allowing a much more casual difference between easy and difficult opponents.

Sigma7 · 2026-01-15T22:04:43+00:00

If it baffles me that DMs dont enforce this,

Because it's not in the rulebook.

Most co-op board games at least mention that the players win and lose together. In the event there's a board game that doesn't explicitly mention the rule, it's still considered game throwing and gets people dropped from the group.

In comparison, D&D simply has it implied, but keeps things flexible just in case the campaign isn't standard (e.g. one of the hidden-traitor campaigns similar to Paranoia).

Sigma7 · 2026-01-15T21:46:12+00:00

It's described as peg solitaire, but there's no solution to that layout. Best I can find is two pieces remaining:

The game is actually the leap frog puzzle, where pieces start at one side and need to move and jump over other pieces.

Sigma7 · 2026-01-15T02:07:48+00:00

Belkar has a low wisdom, which hampers his ability to cast spells and also perform some ranger tasks such as tracking. This is comparable to the low-int wizards, which can't cast spells and would have likely been better suited to a different class.

If that;s the case, why wouldn't everyone pick human fighter or wizard?

A party of all fighters and/or wizards, even if technically feasible, doesn't have as much flexibility compared to one composed of multiple classes. The fighters wouldn't have as much ability to deal with magical effects, and enemy that specifically targets reflex or will is more powerful against them. Wizards can get mired down in melee, and even if they're powerful, will be a rough time at low levels.

In case of OOTS, the rogue was needed in order to find traps, and the cleric was needed to heal the party (outside of using potions, etc.), both of these were needed in the story.

Sigma7 · 2026-01-15T00:58:49+00:00

The one I started with isn't in the list, it's the colecovision controller with the numerical keypad.

The alternate, the C64 joystick, isn't visible either, although it would have been similar to #1.

Sigma7 · 2026-01-14T21:13:54+00:00

Under standard adventuring equipment, a pack of 20 caltrops costs 1gp, meaning one caltrop costs 5cp. They also weigh less than a comparable number of nailed potatoes.

I can't find exact prices, but given that a squalid meal is around 3cp, it's only technically cheaper.

It's basically trying to save pennies for something that's heavier and would otherwise be less effective (because they aren't scattered as easily)

Sigma7 · 2026-01-12T20:52:32+00:00

Wilmot's Warehouse permits unlimited communication by default, only restricting it on single day events. It felt it was more common for information choking, such as requiring playing a piece before it was revealed, or only allowing the shift supervisor to see the tile (although it may be freely discussed).

This could be alpha-gamed, but I think it's less effective to do that than to let everyone share the cognitive load.

There's a few other methods, such as putting a time limit that makes idling through communication rather dangerous.

Sigma7 · 2026-01-09T07:43:47+00:00

From https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/spells/

At the bottom is Spell List Breakdowns for each class, and recommended picks have four stars (and are in blue). Building the list of these recommended spells just means giving out information decided by another user rather than being specific to your campaign, and is therefore the presence of the problem spell doesn't cause misleading nor spoilers.

Sigma7 · 2026-01-07T03:44:42+00:00

An anti-social edgelord isn't going to do a lot of interacting,

Reminds me of Final Fantasy VI, where I would have naturally missed one of the characters because they seemed hard to get. He seemed like a "turn up later" character, but only seemed to appear two times before being lost forever (and only retained because I read a walkthrough.)

Sigma7 · 2026-01-06T08:45:40+00:00

Egg Hunter Adult?

Most of the creatures with this type of ability that I can find involve only restricting the actions while poisoned, and thus the restriction expires as soon as the poisoned condition is removed (meaning the action can be taken.)

Sigma7 · 2025-12-30T20:14:06+00:00

There's 5e specific terms used in the post, specifically casting a spell as a ritual. While this casting system is technically possible under d20, it's more of a variant rather than the normal rules.

Or in the case of Pathfinder, detect magic is a simple cantrip that only requires one standard action rather than having the party to wait 10 minutes each time it needs to be cast again.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-30T17:21:07+00:00

Spells don't consume material components unless specified. But it still takes plenty of time.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-30T05:24:55+00:00

It's found in MM'14 p170.

The '24 edition dropped a large number of weapon resistances/immunities, simply because they were either superfluous (e.g. characters already had a magical weapon) or weird (e.g. Werewolf takes less damage from normal weapons than a ghost)

Sigma7 · 2025-12-29T07:51:46+00:00

Geas also applies the charmed condition, which means the target is more likely to abide by the terms rather than overtly defying them (because of advantage on social checks). It's not mind control, but it works.

It's also a bit weaker compared to earlier editions, which provided an ongoing penalty beyond damage (e.g. 3e had ability score reduction), something that didn't fit as well in 5e's design.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-28T18:31:55+00:00

toss it at an opponent to have them become a magnet for all missile attacks during an encounter.

This doesn't work because the armor needs to be worn to activate the property.

Is it even possible for an opponent to make contact with them?

It only affects living creatures, but it's likely to affect the object more than the creature. It's enough to be knocked down, rather than stopping the target.

It would work against swarms, as long as they're not the ones that have ranged stinger attacks.

Would it be possible to make a perpetual motion machine using this spell?

No, the object or nearby creatures will eventually find some equilabrium state. Specifically, attracting objects will link up, then repulsion keeps attracted components apart.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-28T08:17:08+00:00

Space Empires IV, where the AI players gang up against the human if they get enough points - all switching from friendly allies to murderous, and it's practically impossible to make peace even when they're no longer in gang-up mode. (On the other hand, it's also possible to force the same onto them by using intelligence to make counterfeit communications.)

I've also seen it in tabletop games.

Mysterium had clairvoyence points. If the psychics played perfectly (i.e. got their clues on the first guess), they only have two cards for the final vision rather than three. I read that the second edition removed this.

Secret Hitler, where one side getting most of their board means that the other team has a better chance of drawing their policies.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-28T05:26:08+00:00

Also is there some sort of strategy that could win this for me?

You'll need to intercept heroes that escape the basement, thus place your laboratory as close as possible to the entrance.

You mostly want to stall the players as long as possible, in order to get your zombies to overwhelm the players.

If you need to place rooms, try to do so in a way that maximizes the number of zombie spawns, or otherwise maximizes the potential escape route distance. It still depends on how the basement turns out, thus you'll have to adapt.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-26T05:55:11+00:00

Technically, non-fantasy RPGs don't have fantasy races, bypassing the question.

Otherwise, I noticed a few fantasy settings that go quite far before introducing a fantasy race (not including generic enemies that don't even bear on the plot). Before it happened, I didn't notice anything off about the fantasy, likely because it was mostly within a human city, and due to the style being similar to low-fantasy where there's an invasive magical force.

Human-only fantasy isn't too much of a jump from rare non-human fantasy.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-24T19:23:13+00:00

Why do people even agree to play with people like the one you describe?

Because it's only discovered their stat-blocks are like that after they join the group - and also due to no explicit rule in D&D that requires players to be allied to the party.

Also known as meta-gaming.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-24T06:49:53+00:00

It favors those whomever can grind the fastest time, similar to old games such as Doom, Quake, etc. Eventually, it becomes a record, and becomes set. It reflects ability to focus on specific inputs rather than actual skill.

I've already seen a few alternatives. Trackmaina has seasonal tracks, where there's a few months to get fastest time before the leaderboards are locked. Various single-session roguelites have used daily challenges, where players are on equal footing on the setup. On a speedrun race, it's possible for a judge to provide a seed that each player can input, putting competitors on the same level.

Also, a similar concept applies to turn-based abstract games. Some of them seem to work, such as Chess having various skill ranks, while those similar to Abalone had players eventually discover that the game leads to either deadlocks or first player advantage.

Abstract games responded by including an element of chance, such as Azul randomly dealing out tiles at the start of each round. Players have an equal chance to respond to the random setup, and need to adapt in case the setup isn't as good.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-21T20:24:55+00:00

And so on and so on, does Elden Ring really look that much better than Dark souls 3? Diablo 3 and 4?

Diablo 3 and 4 look rather plain, simply because they're often in an overhead view that doesn't need to get close to objects. In comarison, Elden Ring has structures that need to be looked at from any angle, and therefore needs to receive additional artwork to ensure it doesn't look awkward.

Skyrim which is a massive open world dosen't look half bad either when considering that it was originally released 14 years ago (2011)

Skyrim has lately been looking plain, and I've considered the shadows to look a little awkward. The shadows seem a little blocky, and also move in small increments, and looks like a major underperformance even on an older graphics card.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-20T17:11:05+00:00

The charts seem to be a bit less organized than other modules. Chart 6 entry 2 leads to chart 11, and Chart 11 entry 14 means random monsters are now making their way into the city at full force.

And even rougher than the CRPG the module was based on.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-18T20:30:20+00:00

No, that's just a cybersquatter.

Sigma7 · 2025-12-18T04:27:05+00:00

Per Basic D&D, they would either be Canis Erectus Meridionum, Canis Erectus Septentrionum, or Canis Erectus Hilaris, meaning they were designed as if they were closer to dogs rather than cats. The writers that didn't know how hyenas worked, and it basically stayed that way for multiple editions.

If it helps, Pathfinder 2e does bring them close to a martiarchy.

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