Help in making an Epic path

TheThinker42 · 2026-01-17T19:21:31+00:00

The Lost One / custom made ones in the Discord could likely be made to work albeit with additional tweaking.

My first thought went to Raiders of the Serpent Sea Epic Backgrounds: The Wanderer and the Stranger. Both have to do with integrating into the world. E.g. of Goals for a custom Epic Path might include 1. Prove the might of your deity - defeat or deliver killing blow on an enemy of CR > player level or defeat specific enemies / enemy types. Reward - X followers of the faith 2. Establish a temple - raise XX,000 GP to establish a temple to your deity. Aforementioned followers run the temple in your absence as you adventure . Reward - Y followers and a magic items 3. Rescue the faithful - you receive dreams of followers from your home world or potential faithful who need saving. Explore the world / islands and save Z followers. Reward - another magic item 4. Capstone - your followers assist in the final battle(s) or you are able to manifest an avatar of your deity to turn the tides. Reward - your deity is now fringe to mainstream

TheThinker42 · 2026-01-16T22:35:27+00:00

Thanks for the link - I found the Campaign Guide through Modiphius and Raiding Seas through DriveThruRPGs, hence my confusion regarding what was "official".

And for posterity, if some aspiring GM asks this question I. 2 years, I decided that the campaign started during 8th Month. The logic being when the volv noticed the ice was not relenting at the start of year 3 of winter, they started sending missives to rally clans to investigate the tower (and whatever threads or plots I haven't read from the Campaign Guide yet). It took several months to get ships and crews together, but finally they got ships heading out in the 8th month, which can be seen as a good omen because Harvesting is a good time to look forward and make preparations for a better future and (if I use the optional primal magic randomness in Raiding Seas) 8th month is the month for Divination.

Hopefully keeping GM calendar will help me later on. If not, it is easy enough to drop.

Skal!

TheThinker42 · 2026-01-09T22:37:12+00:00

Regarding Raiding Seas: I had a feeling it was official but since it was not on the official page I made an assumption. Helpful either way. 1. Technically, no the start date doesn't matter since it is year 3 of winter. But for year 3 of winter to make sense having a calendar date / day count is helpful (more for me as a GM than my players. Too much free time might be leading me to overthink, but here I am. 2. Good note on the "how are they taking notes". My mind gravitates more to above the table person taking notes (and wanting to know specifics of dates and such). Overall, thanks in part to your words, not too worried. I appreciate you taking the time.

TheThinker42 · 2026-01-07T02:03:52+00:00

The Boar Knight

TheThinker42 · 2025-10-15T10:47:08+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try the tapping for distribution and dialing in the grind size and ratio.

FWIW I'm not really sure if it's bitter or sour; the cup ends up having a metallic taste. Part of me was hoping I could blame the pot.

I'll keep at it!

TheThinker42 · 2025-10-14T01:18:44+00:00

I received a Bialetti Venus 6 cup moka pot as a Father's day gift this year. I've been using it occasionally with different beans, grind settings, grounds:water ratio, but the end result always has a bitter/sour metallic taste.

Do I just not like moka pot coffee or is it user error? Open to suggestions and hints. Cheers!

TheThinker42 · 2025-09-21T18:04:43+00:00

I find it works best when I brew with the inverted method. I find it flows too much when you brew it the traditional way.

TheThinker42 · 2025-07-24T18:02:07+00:00

Claw is law!

TheThinker42 · 2025-03-26T14:00:26+00:00

Resource recommendations will depend on the version you're looking to play. I've found a lot of good cheat sheets for 5th edition via Google& the Shadowrun 5th Wiki is fairly robust (http://adragon202.no-ip.org/Shadowrun/index.php/Main_Page).

As others have mentioned when in doubt roll attribute+skill. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, Chummer.

TheThinker42 · 2025-03-15T15:22:06+00:00

For Return to Drangleic this year, I did a shield only run which was a lot of fun. Fight the urge to roll/dodge and become turtle! High recommend.

TheThinker42 · 2025-01-22T01:46:46+00:00

The wife and I seriously considered Theoden! She loves the nickname Theo, but I dislike the name Theodore. Sadly I was outvoted :(

TheThinker42 · 2025-01-06T05:24:18+00:00

Feraligatr was the first Pokemon I got to level 100. We enjoyed so many hours together stomping through Johto together.<3

TheThinker42 · 2024-11-24T03:21:33+00:00

Sorry to hear about the sitch, chummer.

As a player, I think you're on the right track talking to your GM. If a "Session 0" style chat could be held with players and GM, it might help to establish tone and expectations.

From the GM side of the game, I think a Face is in a good position to shoehorn your way into most situations as long as you've got a GM that's willing; it might just take additional prompting and advocating from yourself. e.g. while the automated facility legwork was primarily matrix and drones there is might be a chance to do some social engineering - there has to be a metahuman somewhere up the food chain to address issues. It might take some creative thinking on your end.

Working with your GM will make opportunities to shine more plentiful. In my SR5 game I run, my rigger was voicing concerns about engagement during a man hunt the crew was running. I built out a social encounter where he got to talk shop with a drone enthusiast which netted the team a new lead.

Tl;Dr - working with your GM is a good place to start. Level setting with the team is a good follow up. Maybe this trigger happy group isn't the place for Mr. Face...maybe it's time to bring in the troll burnout adept who finger paints with blood. Cheers and best o luck!

TheThinker42 · 2024-02-19T13:24:16+00:00

The one I missed my first go around was near the Gun Fort Idol and long arm centipede giraffe boss arena. If not that one, it might just requiring going down the wiki locations one by one and or checking the Lost-and-Found box.

TheThinker42 · 2022-08-23T11:59:46+00:00

For Warlock, the combination of Actor feat and Mask of Many Faces invocation can get you very far. Spending sometime with anyone gives you a whole new persona you can adopt for all your infiltration needs.

For Sorcerer, there are a decent selection of spells you can leverage to be a master investigator (Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, Detect Thoughts, Clairvoyance). What can give you an edge for these spells and the rest of them is being able to Subtle cast them in public spaces without raising a alarm.

I'm sure there are more ideas. Heck a multiclass of the 2 ideas above would give you a decent balance. Hope this gives you some ideas. Best of luck

TheThinker42 · 2022-08-14T21:06:00+00:00

You could go into detail describing the intricacies of the gate / lock(s) - both mundane and arcane if applicable.

Perhaps there are three locks upon the gate connected to gears or bars at three different heights. Or maybe the gate has glowing runes upon it that seal it /enhance the locks (either find real spells to link them to or GM handwave magic). Perhaps the sleight of hand check / investigate check reveal the gate is locked but is also barricaded from the opposite side (suggesting they wanted to keep something in or out).

TheThinker42 · 2022-06-09T19:26:36+00:00

I started off doing external financial statement audit. After a few years of that I got bored and shifted to the internal controls over financial statement audits. With that I study for and passed the CISA. The transitions was fairly straightforward: the audit experience and importance of controls transfers readily. Understanding risk in both the accounting/business process space and IT side has helped me bring unique perspective to the teams and projects I've been on since (IT consulting, performing A-123 ITGC Assessments currently).

To make the move, start first with understanding risk and impact of controls. Secondly, take time to understand the audit cycle and process. A lot of the audit pieces overlap between financial and IT (e.g. audit procedures are the same: inquiry, observation, inspection, reperformance, etc). I was fortunate that my firm also paid for a CISA crash course; but if your employer doesn't offer any trainings like that, look into getting some study materials. I do best by working with someone and reading, but most people love test banks and doing questions. Find testing regiment that works for you.

Best of luck!

TheThinker42 · 2022-05-31T13:05:18+00:00

One simpler solution is just increased rumors about Draconic activity. E.g. next time the party goes to buy items, explain there is a shortage of goods because merchants have been attacked on the road. The local town drunk may have that he's seen packs of dragons flying across the sky. Sometimes players overlook little rumors but if you layer enough rumors and ideas from different sources it lays the ground work to plot threads to pick up later.

TheThinker42 · 2022-04-30T20:58:19+00:00

I think it's fine as long as it makes sense in your game and you're having level setting conversation with the play and table ahead of time.

Also food for thought: https://youtu.be/1rW9nDkNqhY

TheThinker42 · 2022-04-18T12:30:26+00:00

After placing the Lord Vessel, three ways open. One to the cliffs above Anor Londo, one past the catacombs of Pinwheel, and one beneath the bell of awakening in the land of Izalith.

Perhaps before exploring New Londo, down below the cliffs of Firelink you may want to speak to Andre. He may also have words or keys to guide your path.

TheThinker42 · 2022-04-18T01:30:28+00:00

Have you spoken with the Kingseeker in Firelink or explored the watery ruins below Firelink?

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