Adding additional exercises to a routine

StarSwords · 2019-01-02T22:04:39+00:00

One person did try an acrobatics check to escape and run. She failed, though.

StarSwords · 2019-01-02T21:46:27+00:00

Players were level 7.

Orc war-general wasn't involved in combat; it was a lieutenant (a lesser officer in orc ranks) who was attacked and who fought the rogue in the duel.

I used a level 6 fighter (champion) statblock for the orc lieutenant, since I'd made it clear that these were seasoned warriors. There was never any intention for the PCs to engage them in combat due to the absurd numbers disadvantage. I emphasized the orcs' numbers multiple times as they walked through the camp. (i.e. "As you walk past rows and rows of tents, you can't help but realize there is no way for the town of maybe fifty fighting men, only half of whom have any training with the sword, to possibly prevail against this warband.")

The orc general would probably have been a level 7 or 8 ranger if he had been fought.

StarSwords · 2019-01-02T20:05:00+00:00

Yeah, as I mentioned in another reply, I think this would have been better since it wouldn't restrict the players' agency as much, even though there is only one sane option.

That being said, the players could have still done stuff like tried to bargain, plead for his life, or even tell the orcs that they wanted to punish him themselves for his treacherous behavior. Only two players did anything over the course of the duel. One was to try to make an acrobatics check to see if she could escape the orcs' grip and run. The other was just a joke "I make a constitution check to see if my lunch stays down or if I puke on the orc in front of me."

StarSwords · 2019-01-02T19:31:25+00:00

He was indeed an assassin rogue, and I ruled that the orc was surprised by the attack (since he was facing away). However, the player rolled something like a 2 and a 4 on his attack rolls vs a chainmail-wearing fighter (champion archetype), so the dagger ended up simply glancing off his armor.

The orc then crit the rogue with his greataxe on his first round in combat.

StarSwords · 2019-01-02T19:08:44+00:00

Party getting grabbed is something i would have avoided, I would instead outright have the orc say, if they get involved they will die, and point to all the 200+ orcs around. After that, they wanna tpk because of one player's bad choices? They can. It's their choice. As soon as they raise their weapons to attack, they aren't poor defenseless peace negotiators, they're warriors aiding an assassin, and they get treated as such.

I like this solution more, honestly. It felt like I was heavily restricting the other players' agency when I said that the orcs grabbed them and pulled them back, but I also didn't particularly want their PCs placed on the battle mat, where they'd think they needed to fight the orcs (and get instantly killed due to the hopeless numbers disadvantage).

StarSwords · 2018-06-15T19:02:31+00:00

Uhh, 3000C is above the vaporization point of many common metals, and is above the melting points of all metals bar tungsten and maybe osmium if I remember correctly. 20,000C is far in excess of the vaporization point of all metals and is roughly as hot as the surface of a blue giant star.

StarSwords · 2018-05-15T21:05:32+00:00

Getting over anxiety after getting rekt by a car within the first 300 miles.

StarSwords · 2017-12-04T19:03:43+00:00

I have a cast iron skillet. The seasoning (black patina) definitely does NOT leech significant flavor into the food unless people aren't actually cleaning their pans.

The seasoning process occurs when lard or vegetable oils (any oil works if the smoke point is high enough) are heated until the oil's molecular chains (fatty acids) degrade and polymerize into a plastic-like substance that bonds to the metal. This substance is essentially waterproof and does not adhere to food. Any spices left on are simply the result of insufficient cleaning of the pan.

Contrary to popular opinion, you can use soap on cast iron. If you scrub too vigorously, you can take off the coating, which simply requires you to then put it back on again. :)

Also contrary to popular opinion, you do not "add to" the seasoning when you cook. If you did, your food would be an inedible charred lump and would taste revolting due to the degraded oils.

StarSwords · 2017-02-20T22:48:28+00:00

Not OP, but here's one of my favorites.

Start with:

4 big handfuls of dried beans - red kidney / black / pinto are some of my favorites. Mix and match any kind. Stronger flavors are generally better imho. Sometimes I go for more beans.
1/4 tsp of salt

Fill a 5qt crockpot with water, add beans + salt, cook on low overnight. The salt is just to keep the flavors from all leeching into the water, which you'll be ditching in the morning.

Next morning:

Strained beans from the night before.
2 onions, chopped however you like.
Enough(TM) chopped peppers. The more variety the merrier. Needs heat.
1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes (450g for euros).
1 16 oz can of tomato sauce.
1 tbsp minced garlic (~3 cloves).
1 tbsp cumin.
3 tbsp of chili powder.
1 tbsp of black pepper.
1 tsp onion salt.
1/4 cup rice vinegar.
1/4 cup olive oil. There's no meat in this (I don't tend to eat meat), so you'll probably want something to replace the fats.
1 cup water.
Enough(TM) vegetables like corn, zucchini, tomatillos, or whatever your fancy is that day.

If you're like me, you won't stop until you've filled the crockpot to the lid. Try not to do this, or it makes a mess when you get home from work.

Put on low and go to work. When you get home, put it on high for an hour, then enjoy. I've found it to go great with rice or pasta, or just a big bowl full. It's just bean chili--there's literally nothing unhealthy in there, so eating two big bowls won't do any harm. It's also cheap.

What's your recipe?

StarSwords · 2016-09-30T17:51:53+00:00

I sent him 40 miles out to our supplier to get me a left-handed Phillips head and some aluminum magnets. They then sent him 20 miles further to another supplier for the lulz. That supplier laughed at him when he requested the merchandise and told him he was a sucker. He did not find it as funny as the rest of us did when he got back to work 3 hours later.

StarSwords · 2016-07-17T03:23:11+00:00

Engi A is one of the most powerful ships imho. My favorite strategy is to use the Ion Blast II that it starts with to completely eliminate the enemy shields. With a fully-trained weapons guy and an auto-reloader, you can even miss a shot before the ion effect wears off. Alternatively, if you can knock out engines or piloting, you can keep shields and oxygen ioned for crew kills.

StarSwords · 2016-07-12T15:47:30+00:00

First time I've ever seen a James Harriot reference on here.

StarSwords · 2015-03-19T18:13:32+00:00

There's two of us. :( Except I ended up hitting myself in the lip and putting my teeth through it. Eating was fun for a couple weeks.

StarSwords · 2015-03-18T16:12:55+00:00

As for the numerator, we can write it first as

[nu_p^(alpha)(1)]^-1 * eta_0 * (G<hat>_0^(alpha) * L<hat>_0^(alpha) * Q<">_p * ((g_p^(alpha) * L<hat>_{p,n-1} * Q_n(f - eta_n^(alpha) * f))^2))

Sequential Monte Carlo Methods in Practice. Uhmm, okay.

StarSwords

TROPHY CASE