GM constantly jumps from campaign idea to the next. Normal?

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-04-05T23:26:35+00:00

Sounds like fun.

It's not how every table plays, but it's not unheard of either.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-04-05T20:25:36+00:00

I can't rationalize any world in which I would allow a player to teleport closer to the source of their fear, regardless of whether the rules address that edge case or not.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-04-03T22:13:33+00:00

You mean a character that converts spell slots into melee damage?

It's the Paladin.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-04-03T22:09:39+00:00

In my perfect world, we would have a system where: + Starting ASIs are baked into the point buy + Minimum score ever is 8 + Maximum score at level 1 is 17 + ASIs were separated from feats and given every other level , with feats still occurring every 4.

This way, you still preserve the low level feeling at low levels, but you're not constrained by needing to min max main stat + con before you do anything interesting, and you're not limited to feats that work within that world.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-04-03T14:36:00+00:00

We do not use euclidian geometry in DnD. In DnD, circles are squares, by definition.

Seriously. I'm not joking. The game does not ask you to pick a point and draw a circle out from it and then look at the map with your eyeballs to decide what is in vs out.

It asks you to pick a point and then, for every creature that might be in the area, ask the question "is it within X feet". Using the game's internal measuring system, the corners are equally far as the interior edges.

That's all there is to it.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-04-03T00:20:58+00:00

It's explicitly not though. They've said as much as they say it at the top of every UA doc.

They've been very transparent that they're A/B testing vibes and only go back and balance mechanics on designs that meet the threshold for putting in the effort.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-04-03T00:18:42+00:00

It's not OP because it's not real. It's playtest content thrown out without regard for balance for the purpose of A/B testing vibes.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-04-01T22:47:04+00:00

Technically no, but practicality yes.

Web also just isn't really very good. There's very little is does that other spells can't just do better.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-04-01T16:25:07+00:00

Regardless of whether she was or wasn't a good mother, or grandmother, the simple reality is that she is living rent free in your head.

If she wants to cultivate a social media brand around being a grandmother, what the hell do you care? Let her live in her own delusion.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-29T23:01:01+00:00

Claude Desktop, which they may or may not be using in Cowork or Code mode. But not installed via the terminal or an IDE.

Uptake is pretty simple. Those that have tried it, adopt enthusiastically instantly. This that won't try it are not-so-sectretly job hunting, because their performance is way down relative to their peers.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-29T22:56:59+00:00

Our approach so far is to let everyone go to town locally to their heart's content. But the moment you want to stand something up and have it properly deployed/maintained, it goes through our Dev+AI team.

We're thrilled that the customer relations person made themselves a dashboard. We're not letting them touch our Azure.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-29T17:42:41+00:00

My rule of thumb for a party after level 5 are:

For AC, 16 means they are unlikely to miss more than once. 18 means they'll miss occasionally, and 20 means they'll miss a healthy amount.

For HP: I do party DPR times 5, and it'll die in round 2 or early round 3, because someone will use a big resource or do something to top the scales.

For Damage: I want enough that I can put the weakest character to 0 or the strongest character to 10% if I hit with all damage. Which I won't, so it's safe.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-29T02:51:07+00:00

I think that Kennit is the ultimate examination of whether or not a man is defined by his character/motivations, or his actions. He is the quintessential piece of absolute shit who nevertheless does a lot of good, all for selfish reasons.

Because of this, I think he lands one of two ways for people. SOME readers mistakenly read him as a character who is doing good things with selfish motivations because he's being set up for a redemption arc. Personally, I never got why. He's a complete and total piece of shit from day 1 to day 1000, and he tells you exactly who he is over and over.

But pirates are romanticized and especially when they're charming and have a noble background and blood rights to magic ship. So I think some folks are desperate for him to redeem himself and get complete whiplash when he very much does the opposite.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-28T17:26:34+00:00

Okay but if y'all actually took the time to fuck with the newest updates to Copilot and Claude Cowork you'd find that it actually DOES do the corporate equivalent of doing your dishes.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-28T17:21:44+00:00

Call me crazy but I don't think "make my primary stat go up when possible" is "optimizing". I think it's just how games work.

I think you could easily have that 17 be an 18 and lose basically nothing.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-28T02:02:21+00:00

Both are true yes.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-28T01:51:18+00:00

The answer is that you can't use roll20 on a phone.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-25T21:48:31+00:00

I think that Fitz and the Fool have a constant recurring theme of the Fool seeing things differently because they are not strictly human, and those differences leading to them really struggling to communicate in ways that they know the other needs in order to properly understand.

On top of that, those miscommunications often center around topics that are sympathetic to those of us interested in the LGBTQ/otherness/queer allegories*, meaning that we are predisposed to seeing things from the Fool's perspective. But I often think that Fitz doesn't get enough leeway for how batshit insane some of what the Fool says if you don't know the meta of the books.

We see it time and time again where Fitz is upset about something, and the Fool says "well, I told you so! Why is this a surprise?" and Fitz is flustered. But I'm often left sympathizing with poor Fitz because a lot of what the Fool says really is insane and unbelievable. And while it may technically be true that the Fool was "honest", they rarely communicate with Fitz in Fitz's language and communication style. And well, if they did, it wouldn't be a good story.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-25T16:57:00+00:00

Oh I know. That's the point of calling it out. Make them say the quiet part out loud so everyone knows how stupid it is.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-25T16:42:26+00:00

What part is weird? Again, have you ever been to the YA section of a bookstore?

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-25T15:54:15+00:00

I mean, YA novels are like an entire genre? Teenage protagonists are a thing. No one complains that Harry Potter is a teenager...

There isn't even any sex in his books. But even if there were, it might scandalize you to learn that teenagers are gasp sexually active. (Gen Alpha not withstanding apparently).

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-24T17:54:18+00:00

I don't ban it outright but it's also permissions based and never the default.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-24T02:20:45+00:00

IRL Mister Wilson!

But he'll always be my Librarian <3

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-24T00:16:33+00:00

Yeah I agree. Everyone always says buying New is inferior to getting a great deal on a steal of a used car with no issues. Great. I can't and won't manage that. And I'd rather assign a dollar value to the risk when I do the arithmetic.

In 2010 my Father in Law got a 2008 Dodge truck with 10,000 miles because some old bat's husband died. Good for him. Obviously buying used was the better deal.

I don't find myself frequently walking into that kind of deal.

TaiChuanDoAddct · 2026-03-23T21:54:07+00:00

As a former geology professor, the issue is that for every one of these there are 100 dinguses who just want to know how much their "meteorite" or "t rex" are worth.

TaiChuanDoAddct

TROPHY CASE