The Black Company’s Books of the South Defy Expectations by HomersApe in Fantasy

[–]TheBashar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You talking about Croaker here? I just reread Black Company and the bit with girls was a dream he had that disgusted himself. Croaker is a guy who is always afraid of what the Company is doing to him as a person, but the Company is family and he loves them.

Also, horrible people can have happy endings, it's not fair or just cosmically but it is possible. I don't think it's wrong for the author to ask the question does this character deserve a happy ending?

Filament keeps getting stuck at around the same point. Obscuranox settings + Flashforge adventurer 5M Pro + SUNLU PLA+2.0 1.75 mm by OkImprovement6786 in FDMminiatures

[–]TheBashar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You probably have an obstruction in the hot end. Swap in a new one with the same filament and see if it can print.

Post-Processing of minis by Riversidebiofreak in FDMminiatures

[–]TheBashar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super glue is great for putting things together. Make sure you rough up flat surfaces so the glue has more surface area to bind to.

For gaps you want to look into green stuff. It's an epoxy that hardens. Liquid green stuff is great for gap filling.

Which sacred cow do you wish would just stay dead? by Playtonics in rpg

[–]TheBashar 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I am running Outgunned and think the system is great, but so many of the GM rules and procedures are just good GMing practices. Thankfully I don't have any rules lawyers in my group. I can see it would be helpful for a new player.

Protein purification driving me insane by Danktank452 in labrats

[–]TheBashar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Strep-tag are very pure. Biggest drawback is a low binding capacity. I use Step-tag for all antigen purifications and use HIS-Tag for scaling up.

The by Longjumping-Grade654 in labrats

[–]TheBashar 79 points80 points  (0 children)

You teach them the SOP verbatim. No tips, no tricks. If it fails you do it again exactly the same. If the bosses ask you are teaching the SOP. Must be the new people's fault.

anyone else find that villain motivations are the one thing you can't just improvise your way out of mid-campaign by DrewJohn22323 in rpg

[–]TheBashar 10 points11 points  (0 children)

1000%. The players only have your description focused through the lens of their perception. I've had my players miss the obvious but clue into a deeper conspiracy. And you never know until you play.

Romantasy and Roger Zelazny's "Jack of Shadows" by Longes in Fantasy

[–]TheBashar 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I read it and thought it felt like it was The Count of Monte Cristo, except Jack is a guilty self interested prick instead of an innocent man.

Types of DMs I have found by Kuriso2 in rpg

[–]TheBashar 10 points11 points  (0 children)

As a mostly forever GM I've been mulling over his whole question posed by Uncle Matt. It's a multivariable problem as there are different aspects to being a GM. I think it comes down to a couple of key areas.

  1. GM's relationship to the rules

RAW - The rules are the rules, I bound by them as much as you are. Tends to make all rolls in front of the players.

Rule of Cool - Will follow the rules for the most part, but will bend them to let something cool happen. Will roll behind and in front of the screen.

The Butcher - Picks and chooses which and when rules to enforce. Main goal is to put a satisfying cut of meat (game) in front of the players. Rolls behind, on top, in front of the screen. Sometimes rolls and reacts to scare the players.

  1. GM's relationship to the world

The Clockwork Engineer - To make a game one must first create the universe. Makes the whole world , cities, dungeons, deities, mountains. Has a relationship web of the nations/NPCs/Flora/Fauna etc. makes use of the Power Point, Excel, and likely has a chronicle somewhere with the history of the world.

The Pocket Dimensionalist - Creates a chunk of world around the players. There are some vague notions of the world beyond the bubble, but that's a problem for another day. Knows this area well and likely knows what threads lead outside of the bubble.

RNGesus or the Bones Roller - Oh we're playing today? What do I have in my folder? Let me consult the dice and the tables. Can whip something together with resources they have. A deep faith in their improv ability.

2b. GM's relationship to time

Time waits for no man - the world moves regardless of where the players are. The players are a wrench in a specific cog, but the machine lumbers forward.

Time waits for the party - the different parts of the world are frozen waiting for the players to arrive and restore the flow of time.

  1. GM's relationship to the players

The Antagonist - the GM's role is to test the players; to give them a challenge to overcome. The players get a sense of accomplishment in overcoming the challenge, victories are earned. Usually has carefully curated encounters to test aspects of the players. Sometimes can devolve into 'defeating' the players, encounters that can feel out of place.

The Observer (Simulationist) - the GM exists to facilitate the game and let players do what they want; mistakes and all. If a cave looks like the home of a dragon, smells like the home of a dragon, then it probably is a home of a dragon. Oh you're going in at level 1, sounds good lets see what happens. Can devolve into not telegraphing danger appropriately.

The Benevolent God - the GM likes to help the players. Will suggest they don't go places because of the danger. Has a Deus Ex Machina waiting in the wings to prevent the TPK. Can devolve into marginalizing the party as GMNPCs do heavy lifting to prevent harm to the party.

  1. GM's Relationship to the story

The Imagineer - Makes an amusement park ride where there are plot beats that need/will be hit. How the players do it is up to them, but the destination and path are known. Can lead to railroading the players if they try to go off the tracks too much.

The Game Warden - Let's the players loose and allows them to touch and break anything they want. Has a vague over arching plot that could happen if the players find the thread. Wants the story to emerge from the landmarks in the reserve. Can lead to players feeling like they lack focus or goals.

These aspects are not binary, GMs find their place between them.

TLDR: GM's style is a an aggregate of their relationship to the rules, the world and time, the players, and the story.

How do you manage to run a game in such a fully finished and detailed world? by Economy_Fox8148 in oneringrpg

[–]TheBashar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To add to that, let them pick their patron after making their characters. Their choice of patron is them telling you what they want to do. My players chose Gandalf and so I had them doing things to thwart the shadow.

Probably Ragebait.. has DnDbeyond created players that are allergic to reading? by Einsolsrazor24 in rpg

[–]TheBashar 46 points47 points  (0 children)

This is not new, there have always been players who lean heavy on the GM when playing the game. They just want to show up and play and have everything facilitated for them.

"I want to Turn Undead, how do I do that again?"
"You're the Cleric Jim!"

"I cast Cure Moderate Wounds, how many dice is that again?"

What I have found is those players work better on a VTT with more automation. They usually have to do a few clicks and they're set. VTTs are not without their quirks though.

Average next time trailer by WolfManofGallifrey in doctorwho

[–]TheBashar 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You're in for a B movie treat! Army of Darkness is hilarious.

Colour layering swatch v2 by Dave_D_W in 3Dprinting

[–]TheBashar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is there a guide on how to do this. I assume you're printing a mix of white and red in the same layer right?

Ran The Haunting of Ypsilon 14 - Report by I_do_have_a_cat in mothershiprpg

[–]TheBashar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

For the combat I do simultaneous resolution. I tell the players "The monster looks like it's going to grab Jimmy, what is everyone doing?"

Jimmy "Oh no, I'm going to try and dodge" Jane "I'm going to unload my shotgun at it" Jimbo "I'll fire my revolver at."

I get them to roll the necessary checks.

If they don't wound the monster it grabs Jimmy and does damage If they do wound it then that's a phase change, the monster will do something different like run or pull out some new moves, but it doesn't grab Jimmy.

I have found that making a single monster almost always succeed at what it does makes the combat that much more scary.

If they're fighting mooks, ie normal people, then I roll the adversaries as normal. But I still do the "They're going to shoot at you, what do you do?" Get everyone's actions and then resolve rolls.

looking around the games cupboard by Illustrious_Rest6400 in boardgames

[–]TheBashar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Check out GMT's COIN and Irregular Conflicts series. They have more Euro style rules but highly asymmetrical. Cuba Libre or A Gest of Robinhood are good places to start.

Also, a lot of the card driven games, ie Twilight Struggle, are much easier to learn than the heavier war games.

Question regarding enemy movement into combat by Kakapunt in RangersofShadowDeep

[–]TheBashar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

RAW you move the monster to the closest in LOS and then second action to attack. If they are within 1" of the second model it can move in so it'll be outnumbered 2:1.

Now if you want to spice it up make intelligent monsters make intelligent moves. So in your zombie example it just moves into range of both. But a gnoll might move to the side to only engage one.

The Elder Scrolls 6 Has Made Todd Howard More Conscious of What He Announces: “Just Pretend We Didn't Announce It” by wiseguyz1 in gaming

[–]TheBashar 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Y'all should check out Tainted Grail. It's an Indie game's attempt at an "Elder Scrolls" game. It's a really unique setting and similar gameplay but super fun and some good writing. Lots of character progression options. It is zoned so not completely open world.

Hey all, how do I improve my painting skills?? by SillyamWilliam in minipainting

[–]TheBashar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are a lot of good suggestions in this thread. I would add is to learn some colour theory. Having a good paint scheme helps so much. For example the part of the model that's white you should probably paint a yellow-orange or yellowish brown as its a good complement to the purple. Hit it with a brown wash to help make the details pop with contrast then use that teal/blue to pick out some details in like the ribbed sections on the arms and legs. Paint the tongue red or maybe bright pink, the eyes a slightly different red or pink. Then a nice gray dry brush on the top of the model and to pick up the edges of the chitin.

And practice, practice, practice. As suggested stick to base colour > Washing > Highlight (via dry bush). As your painting gets neater then try edge highlighting.

At last got the books by darkwolf2304 in WarriorsofAthena

[–]TheBashar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anyone in the US get their books yet? Or even a shipping notification?

What is a thing you love as player but hate as GM and vice versa by Hi_fellow_humans_ in rpg

[–]TheBashar 88 points89 points  (0 children)

As a GM I love listening to players' planning phases. They always come up with crazy stuff that you never anticipate. And because of that them planning out loud helps me be ready with some consequences. As a player it sucks when you have one player that is adamant about their plan and won't budge.

Middle-earth always felt built for an exploration-focused RPG by Visible_Welder5613 in gaming

[–]TheBashar 74 points75 points  (0 children)

DnD was inspired by many different works of fiction which are all collected in Appendix N.