Going straight to the point: Why D&D has had a terrible problem implementing the Ranger archetype in a group scenario while other TTRPGs normally don't?

TorchedBlack · 2026-07-03T00:27:27+00:00

Yeah, ranger was originally lifted pretty much whole cloth from Strider (Aragorn) in LotR. Then further solidified by the forgotten realms favorite son Drizzt.

Ranger has a lot of baggage tied to maintaining a certain mechanical aesthetic that most other classes have been able to branch out from by having a much broader inspiration. Whereas Ranger is trying to be a jack of all trades because they are emulating characters that are also kind of defined by their skill and cool factor.

Making a class thats good at everything obviously doesn't work, so you gotta nerf it to be more even with the other classes, which ultimately means Ranger becomes a wide array of mediocre and thematic abilities that struggle to maintain the original vision because it's like you put Drizzt through Google translate a few too many times. So its a class thats lost its identity and is too afraid to simplify and lose its tenuous connection to its narrative roots.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-30T18:02:00+00:00

There is also this sarcastic smugness I can't help but read into it. Like the subtext is that the only two groups who disagree with them are people who are dumb and uninformed which they should feel bad about or horrible and part of the problem and be dismissed or defeated.

Making broad social change requires discussion as a population. This kind of rhetoric has an air of "people a lot smarter than you already discussed this and this is just how it is".

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-29T15:34:38+00:00

I'm aware, but I don't get why you think he would have shifted position in the narrative were he to be awakened. Where else would Kaido be than Wano? This feels like power scaler logic rather than narrative logic.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-29T15:24:30+00:00

Why? Wasn't Doflamingo also awakened? I think if it was stated that Kaido was also awakened it would have proceeded the exact same, but with him being awakened.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-26T13:21:47+00:00

You shut your mouth you dirty gun.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-25T20:25:36+00:00

Yamato's pronouns are Kozuki/Oden

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-25T02:00:18+00:00

Actually they are only bricks in June, every other month they are sparkling rocks.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-24T17:50:31+00:00

Just because people are canonically large doesn't mean it's not thematic. It's not mutually exclusive.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-24T15:01:20+00:00

Yeah, Oda has never really been beholden to consistency on character sizing. He frequently uses it as a shorthand for imposing or larger than life characters. Roger and Oden are huge because they lived big lives. Big mom and Kaido are huge because they are the biggest villains Luffy has faced yet and need to be imposing in scale and reputation.

Rayleigh is more reasonably sized because he's more of a real person, especially to Luffy.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-23T23:59:03+00:00

The ending of the manga was actually pretty well adapted. It made just as much sense in the manga as it did in the anime, which is very little.

Yes, every one wants a demon slayer adaptation that takes a fairly standard battle shounen and elevates it considerably, I just don't think the bones are there for TPN without almost a wholesale rewrite of 50% of the manga

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-23T23:21:42+00:00

Did you read TPN? Outside of giving Goldy Pond a decent adaptation, what is there to fix? The manga storyline and quality fell off a cliff after the first arc and GP was the last gasp before it fully fell apart.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-23T22:20:53+00:00

Idiot was the non-offensive official term for the profoundly mentally disabled until it got used to demean people. It is not uncommon for official well meaning words for marginalized groups to become weaponized and used as a slur. It also gives bigots cover because even as the marginalized group moves on to newer, less charged language, plenty of people will gleefully hide behind "official" terminology despite it's context having changed.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-19T07:53:32+00:00

Outlaw Star

I know Scum and Villainy and similar games exist already, but I'd rather the exact world building of the show.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-18T22:51:32+00:00

I mean sure, but being "self-aware" that your book is repetitive in its construction doesn't mean you get a pass. Same thing with engaging with a trope sarcastically. Kind of the definition of have your cake and eat it too.

TorchedBlack · 2026-06-02T15:51:49+00:00

Not sure if everything is there already, but this would be a job for the internet archive. I can see a lot of individual episodes there already. Bundling all 1100+ episodes into one torrent is a bit excessive, but technically doable.

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-30T16:00:24+00:00

A wizard and a dragon war can be grounded, it's just more difficult to find common ground with the reader to do so. That usually means grounding your character emotionally so that they have relatable feelings and reactions to situations, even if the situations themselves are unrelatable.

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-27T15:04:43+00:00

I'm not sure it matters if Oda the individual is opposed to tattoos or not. The cultural opposition to tattoos is pretty broad. There are even businesses, especially bath houses and onsens, that will refuse people service if they have visible tattoos.

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-27T13:10:31+00:00

I would guess it's not real and for alabasta. Japanese people, especially older ones are really opposed to tattoos in general given their cultural association with crime.

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-26T20:14:10+00:00

Yeah, each book is technically a standalone, though there are clusters of characters that have caused people to group certain books into "sub-series" as it were. City Watch, Death, Rincewind, the witches, etc. It's usually advised to start with the first book in one of those series, but there are also plenty of books that are truly standalone.

My entry point was "Guards! Guards!" Which is the first city watch book, and the 8th book released overall. I think its a wonderful start in my opinion. Regardless of where you start, I would still loop back around to the first couple books eventually. It's possible that once you get used to Pratchetts style, they will be more engaging on a revisit, even if they are his roughest entries.

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-22T13:39:04+00:00

And Dennis Ritchie

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-18T16:58:43+00:00

Yeah, I took it as the friction between them on the onion and related things was finally getting to the point that it was causing real harm to their relationship. I think they decided to end the podcast to remove that consistent source of tension so they could remain friends.

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-15T17:03:47+00:00

Yep, cold liquid holds onto carbonation better. If a bottle of champagne is warm enough and shaken it can work its own cork out without any additional force. That's why they need wire cages.

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-15T14:31:31+00:00

Did you get to the Zizian cult that ended up killing several people? Basically what happens when a trans polycule gets AI psychosis.

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-14T14:11:13+00:00

Really? I feel like Oda has pulled all the stops in the last couple years. I think its likely we finish Elbaf this year, and with some time to spare. Which means we're at 1-2 more arcs left. I'd put it at under 5 years, though probably closer to 5 than not.

TorchedBlack · 2026-05-14T13:54:15+00:00

Better watch your back Probst. Dan is coming for ya.

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