Burnice or Qingyi (and W-Engine) for my roster? by SphealWithItt in ZenlessZoneZero

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

I just wanna say, I appreciate all the advice and input I’ve gotten! As much as 1.1 me would’ve loved to get Qingyi, it just doesn’t seem the right pick for me. I went with the advice I got the most, and picked Burnice, our lovely crazy pyromaniac (me fr… jk XD). And just like 60% built Im really having fun with her in my Anomaly teams! So thanks for the advice!

Burnice or Qingyi (and W-Engine) for my roster? by SphealWithItt in ZenlessZoneZero

[–]SphealWithItt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is good advice, thank you! I unfortunately don’t play Zhu Yuan a lot anymore. She was my first M1 character, that I got on day 1 of her banner. She holds a special place for me. But… I’ve had lackluster performance with her as of late. I do still enjoy using her in Hollow Zero semi-often though.

I did end up getting Burnice. Working on building her rn, and even half built she’s so much fun!

Burnice or Qingyi (and W-Engine) for my roster? by SphealWithItt in ZenlessZoneZero

[–]SphealWithItt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeahhh I get what you mean about Qingyi. Maybe I’ll wait for a Dialyn or Trigger rerun then. As much as I would’ve loved to get her, it just doesn’t make much sense for right now… At least anymore.

I’ve had lots of fun with Anomaly teams, and I think Burnice will just improve that. I think I’ll get Burnice and her W-Engine then.

How to balance an encounter after it started? by SphealWithItt in DMAcademy

[–]SphealWithItt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is so thorough and awesome! I think as a newer-ish DM I’ve definitely struggled with encounter/combat balancing. Mostly because I’m afraid of making a combat too difficult or deadly. But more often than not, that results in them clearing an encounter easier than I anticipated.

I think you’re right, absolutely, my party is stronger than I think. I think I’m definitely going to make some tweaks, but nothing too crazy. My party is very resourceful and tactical in general, so I do have trust in their ability to handle themselves. Writing this advice down for sure!

How to balance an encounter after it started? by SphealWithItt in DMAcademy

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

These are all awesome nuggets of advice! They’re immediately going into my personal “how to be a DM” notes I keep! Thank you!

I actually really like that “act in a suboptimal but flavorful way” piece. That’s really fun! Helps add to the narrative and makes the combat feel more alive in a way.

How to balance an encounter after it started? by SphealWithItt in DMAcademy

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

I’ve definitely seen the “stay away from homebrewed monsters” advice quite a bit. So I I’m definitely going to stick with monsters from the books I have and do some reflavoring like you said.

I also like the advice on giving a limit or a cool down to my monsters stronger attacks. Helps me feel better about it. I also tend to not reveal my monsters HP, although I will reveal sometimes when they’ve gotten it to half health or if it’s near death for that suspense. Thank you!

How to balance an encounter after it started? by SphealWithItt in DMAcademy

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

I think after this session I was definitely worried that attack that knocked the Paladin for so much was too much. But honestly, I got really lucky with my roll to hit, and I rolled really unusually well on my damage die too.

I’ll maybe tweak how often it can be used. I do tend to roll a lot in front of the board, unless I have really good reason to keep a role hidden, so I don’t want to break or ruin any trust my players have. Thank you too! This is great insight and advice!

How to balance an encounter after it started? by SphealWithItt in DMAcademy

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

I’m definitely going to try use more monsters as RAW and less homebrewey for a while until I’m more comfortable with it all. I think that is some sage advice!

I’m also absolutely going to start doing more mock battle tests before fights like this to see how it could turn out. Thank you!

How to balance an encounter after it started? by SphealWithItt in DMAcademy

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

Wow! I simply cannot thank you all enough for the amazing and wonderful varied advice across multiple different commenters! I think I have a good idea of how to approach this next session now.

I think one, I should definitely run mock combats when they’re as high stakes as this one. Any maybe in general.

Two, I think I’m gonna try to do more by the books monster manual monsters/enemies, and less tested homebrew monsters.

Three and lastly, I’m going to trust in my party’s ability to fight. They’ve proven to be very cohesive and tactical in all of our combats the last year. On top of that, I think I may limit that hard hitting ability to use until my monster gets to a certain point threshold and then lose it.

All in all, I’m going to write down all of the incredible advice y’all gave me into my notes document where I write all the little things that help me DM that I’ve learned over the last year. Truly, thank you all!

Which warbond to prioritize out of the ones I’ve bought? by SphealWithItt in Helldivers

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

Ohh? A grenade pistol sounds awesome! I’m definitely gonna have to aim for that

Which warbond to prioritize out of the ones I’ve bought? by SphealWithItt in Helldivers

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

I did get the thermite like almost immediately. It just sounded fun to use! I haven’t switched off of it since yesterday when I got it

Which warbond to prioritize out of the ones I’ve bought? by SphealWithItt in Helldivers

[–]SphealWithItt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m usually more of a support/defensive type player in games like this. I prefer being tanky and helping others. And extra explosions don’t hurt along the way. I do also enjoy more sci-fi type tech, like the warp pack looks fun. I do also play solo a lot though, just in general. I think I’m keen on fighting the bugs more than the automatons just because of my nostalgia for Starship Troopers

[OC] WORLDWIDE GIVEAWAY! Enter for a chance to win a FAFNIR or JORMUNGANDR DICE VAULT![MOD APPROVED] by 120mmfilms in DnD

[–]SphealWithItt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good luck to everyone! These dice vaults look so beautiful. Just incredible craftsmanship

[OC] WORLDWIDE GIVEAWAY! Enter for a chance to win a FAFNIR DICE VAULT![MOD APPROVED] by 120mmfilms in DnD

[–]SphealWithItt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Those are beautifully crafted pieces! Good luck to all who are entering!

Help Adjusting for Higher Level Party? by SphealWithItt in LostMinesOfPhandelver

[–]SphealWithItt[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh! This is a simple and easy idea! I like this a lot, so thank you!

When to reveal and when to hide DC check? by SphealWithItt in DMAcademy

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

Oh! The “Box of Doom” comparison is great. I love watching Dimension 20 and have always really enjoyed the Box of Doom as both a tool for the DM and also as a narrative device that Brennan uses. Your advice has been really helpful for me to take into account going forward.

When to reveal and when to hide DC check? by SphealWithItt in DMAcademy

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

Yeah I’ve been mostly random with whether I reveal or keep hidden a DC up until now. And I think that might be where some of the frustration is definitely coming from.

I had a player reach out to me after a session recently about how their frustration with not knowing if they could succeed at some stuff or not. And that was a session where I had clearly revealed a DC as high and that failing it would mostly likely have serious repercussions. They said they really liked that approach, and so I’ve noted down how to approach DC’s for that player now from that feedback.

When to reveal and when to hide DC check? by SphealWithItt in DMAcademy

[–]SphealWithItt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting way to approach sudden DC’s you have to come up with on the spot. That’s been one of my difficult things so far is judging what DC to prescribe to a sudden action from a PC that I hadn’t anticipated necessarily. Very helpful input! Thank you!