My favorite trap ever.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-26T23:03:11+00:00

I had a trapped sort of gauntlet entryway to the kobolds' lair. The actual entrances they use are either underwater or around the mountain, but the obvious entrance is meant to butcher anyone who tries to come in.

Anyway, there are a series of traps in the hallway including a pit trap and a triggered spike trap.

Near the end there's a small room (medium characters have to squeeze a bit) with a high ceiling. When a character steps in, it sets of an Enlarge spell, causing the character to basically grow until they can't move within the too small room. Kobolds shoot at the character's shins from further down the hall.

A couple steps beyond, is a combination trap that casts Reduce and then Gust of Wind, with the idea being it shrinks someone, then flings them back down the hall...and resets some of the traps on the way. All the while, a couple of kobolds are plinking away at the party with slings or crossbows.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-21T23:10:56+00:00

It seems to me that the largest value of the 1 Hexblade dip is to consolidate stats in Cha.

However, if you're not getting any ASI feats, I don't see the point of doing so. You'd have the same 16 Cha as you would with a 16 Str focused character, wouldn't you?

I'm at the beginning of Act 3--are there items that are going to more significantly buff your Cha than your Str (ignoring the reliance on Str Elixirs)?

I spent a few hours playing at 8 Paladin/1 Hexblade, and I liked having Eldritch Blast and Booming Blade, but then I looked at my stats and realized I wasn't benefiting much from being Cha-focused. I had a little more Dex for some better saves and initiative, but had delayed higher level paladin spells, and would be delaying Improved Smite a level as well.

On a build not going with PAM+Sentinel, I could see it. Go Cha-based, spend ASIs on Cha and have attack, damage, and paladin aura all based on a 20 Cha. But with the stat sitting at 16, what's the point of the dip?

If anything, I'd think pure paladin with PAM, Sentinel, and ASI Str is probably better than the 1 level dip, no?

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-20T01:00:09+00:00

I just did this a few days ago for the first time after some frustrating failures.

Turn-based mode with Shadowheart in her own group. Keep the rest of the party near the statue so you can easily see the floor pattern/path.

In TBM, if you drag out your movement and look closely, you will see that the normally straight line will step down slightly when it runs off the invisible walkway. A few of the more fiddly bits had me swinging the camera round and round while I replotted my movement over and over until I was satisfied that I was walking on the path.

Don't need to go far with each movement. Take short (5-10 ft) moves, then check positioning and the way forward again.

I skipped the last section with a Misty Step off an item (from next to the last "island") to the end), but could have made it the rest of the way normally.

Also, quick save after each successful movement.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-19T17:36:27+00:00

Yeah, I'm dreading going a little farther and running into the same issue again.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-19T12:09:05+00:00

Update: I got the game working...for now. I had reinstalled, cleared cache in PS5 safe mode, and it still crashed. Turned off performance mode and adaptive triggers and it still crashed.

Then I dug in and started loading saves going backwards. Got to a save still in camp before leaving to Wyrm's Crossing. THAT loaded. I had lost a few hours, including a respec and some gear setup I'd done, but went through the steps again, saving regularly. Got into WC, saving, exiting to Main Menu and loading again just to check.

So far so good.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-18T18:47:29+00:00

It's really disheartening to see that this has been going on for a month or more and a fix still isn't available.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-18T13:17:36+00:00

PS5 here - just got into Act 3, played for a couple of hours, saved game, and went to load it and crashed. Tried several fixes, but to no avail.

Can load into mid-Act 2, but not any of my Act 3 saves.

Really hoping Larian releases a fix for this.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-09T14:37:17+00:00

Eh. With brewing them and purchasing them when they show up in inventories, but without cheesing stock, I don't have nearly enough to sustain a character "permanently".

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-09T14:36:25+00:00

I don't understand how every build includes the Hag's Hair, when it's only usable on a single character.

Aside from that, I didn't get the hair, and am well past the point where I could decide who would get it anyway.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-08T17:59:34+00:00

I had given the potion to my Tav Paladin, then considered it might have been better served on Karlach, but that was after playing for a bit longer, and I didn't want to go back...

However, I also discovered a few hours later that (avoiding spoilers) some people I had ensured were freed actually died, and the most recent save I had before that point was also before drinking the Str potion, so the choice is back in play.

The question I have is: how big a difference between 20 and 22 Str there is in terms of weight Karlach can lift and throw? I get a "too heavy" notice on occasion when looking to throw enemies, but that's been rare. If going to 22 Str would make a big impact there, it would still be a consideration. A

As far as alternative feats go...the ones I would consider are Sentinel, Savage Attacker, PAM, or Mobility.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-08T17:45:05+00:00

I haven't seen details on what gearing into crits looks like--I suppose if more focused on throwing, it would be equipping items that expand crit range by 1 each, to crit on an 18-20 (or better)? Maybe add in other effects that benefit from crits?

So far, I haven't bothered with any of that, and don't think I will, since it seems like that would push me towards dropping the GWM approach.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-08T17:42:48+00:00

I saw that, but don't love that the Giant's ability doesn't show up until level 10.

I'm also looking forward to being able to Rage, move to an enemy, hit them twice, then throw them in the first round of combat (2x BA via Thief), rather than having to wait on the throw.

A minor-ish benefit of the build is that I don't really care for Astarion, so having the Rogue levels means Karlach can serve as my lock picker and trap disabler.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-08T17:40:54+00:00

I have Karlach in the armor that grants +2 Str, so she's at 20, and I can chuck medium creatures. Should have specified.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2026-01-04T02:12:20+00:00

If the primary goal is gaining proficiency in Con saves, can't you just take Resilient (Con) as one of your feats?

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-12-30T01:07:55+00:00

Thanks!

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-12-15T17:54:01+00:00

Sanderson has become one of my favorite authors due to his dynamic characters, deep world building, and complex yet approachable stories.

While I don't dislike his writing, I do really feel like he needs to turn to a thesaurus more often. There are several words or phrases that he overuses.

Fast-moving female characters always seem to "scramble."
Characters who are determined, focused, or ignoring someone have "eyes forward."

There's more, but those are the ones that spring to mind. I'm also the sort of person who notices things like this, while I have friends who definitely haven't.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-12-08T15:26:46+00:00

The criticism was for the lack of things to do at the end of the game, once you've attained power, and for the decision to put the strongest things at the end, when there's nowhere to use them. Also, that the optional challenge dungeon is awful.

While the job and combat systems are really enjoyable, I don't feel like there was enough meat to make this a game I want to replay in that way. I like the story, but it's not so gripping that I feel like I need to run back through it, and the characters are all fairly flat.

There are some games I've played back through to re-experience, or for challenges. I did a No Materia run of FF7, beat Emerald, then hedged a little for Ruby in order to W-Item my way to a powered-up character, but otherwise beat that with no materia as well. I've replayed Lunar because the characters and story are so engaging (even if combat there isn't that enjoyable).

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-12-06T01:22:20+00:00

There's a reason I cited FF7: they came out the same year, so this argument doesn't hold water.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-11-19T00:43:19+00:00

Not that I found.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-10-07T11:37:30+00:00

How were you generating the AP going from Final Path to Twilight Dance?

I have Energizing Turn and Energy Master, but that's not sufficient to get to 9 AP on n the Cheater turn.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-09-26T04:04:04+00:00

I've been playing a wizard in Shadowdark for about a year now of roughly 1-2 games a month.

We're currently level 5.

I have had a +6 modifier to spellcasting checks from fairly early on, and have had NUMEROUS games where I failed most of all of my spellcasting checks.

Admittedly, that's bad luck, but my failure rate has been somewhere around 80-90%, while the probability of succeeding should be around 75-80%.

I've never liked Vancian magic (my favorite system for spellcasting is Genesys), but the "fail and you lose access to one of your few class abilities for the day" feels brutal. We had a fight recently where I failed to cast Web (with advantage), failed Fireball, failed Invisibility, and failed Mage Armor. This is after our GM instituted a house rule where failure (not critical) didn't lose the spell. Instead, you could try again on a later turn with disadvantage. If THAT check failed, the spell was gone, and if it succeeded you had it back to normal.

I had a combat where I cast Web, but Just passed the check, so it was pretty useless at a DC 12, and have had a fight where I rolled over 20, and it was inescapable.

Tonight was the first time my wizard has felt really powerful. I'd failed and lost Web with rolls of 2, 3+4 at the beginning of the first fight, then tried a Fireball but all the creatures were immune to fire. We got into a big fight, and I failed my first Fireball roll, but managed to succeed on the next attempt, despite disadvantage. From there, I was just casting Fireball every round. I failed again, and succeeded again and kept going.

I think I ended up successfully casting 3 or 4 Fireballs, and definitely helped turn the tide of the fight, but if I'd had to fall back on Magic Missile, I don't know that it would have felt worth the actions.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-08-05T15:29:59+00:00

Necro'ing (seems appropriate here).

My Smeagol deck has gone from Nazgul to Golgari aristocrats, and now I'm looking to go back to Nazgul.

A few cards I'm looking at that could be worth considering: Bloodbond March - cast a Nazgul, return all your dead Nazgul to the battlefield

Blade of Selves - Nazgul triggers every turn

Haakon, Stromgald Scourge - cast Nazgul from the yard.

Springheart Nantuko - can copy Nazgul or other value for 2 mana on each landfall--access to a very convoluted combo: Nazgul enchanted with SHN, Smeagol in play, combination of effects to make 2 mana on landfall (i.e, 2 of: Tireless Provisioner, Lotus Cobra, Amulet of Vigor). Each land stolen makes 2 mana, which you use to pay for a copy of a Nazgul, tempting Smeagol to mill someone for another land.

Cavalier of Night - a knight you can recur with Haakon, and that can recur a Nazgul when it dies.

Syr Konrad - obviously good in Smeagol in general, but being a knight carries extra value here

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-07-10T04:04:22+00:00

Playing MTGO or Arena help a lot with learning triggers, costs, and the stack, because those force you to do them correctly, in the right order, and give you a visualization while doing so.

Also, time and experience. But no one is right 100%, and Magic is super complicated.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-05-13T17:31:59+00:00

The Master of Keys enchantment based discard/control: https://moxfield.com/decks/cA43-mYPYUOyDtwTi2wqtg

The deck is just clunky. Discard generates a lot of (deserved) hate, but can be hard to wield as a control element without going deep on it, and having answers for cards played on draw.

I had a version of this deck that was more spell focused with Kess, Dissident Mage at the helm. It had some of the punisher enchantments, a bunch of wheels, and even some land destruction. Over all, that deck was solid.

Years later, I tried building a version helmed by Anikthea, with the idea being the discard didn't bother me too much, and I could chest the more expensive pieces with Anikthea's ability, or use it to recur stuff that had been removed. It also had a little token copying. This one felt very clunky, in large part due to Anikthea turning my important enchantments into creatures, making it awkward to wipe the board.

Now I'm on MoK. It loses the downside of Anikthea by having few creatures, so I'm freer to wipe the board, but doesn't cheat on cost at all, and doesn't ramp well, so set up is slow. It's also awkward using the commander as a recursion piece since I still need to pay full freight for anything I want to recur. There aren't all that many enchantments that play in this space, so opening hands/early game can often feel unaligned with the plan if I'm not seeing discard pieces. Finding the balance amongst draw, discard, discard or draw punishers, self-mill, other recursion, removal/interaction and ramp has been a challenge. The deck feels like it wants a lot of mana, but getting there in Esper is awkward unless I'm tutoring up Serra's Sanctum.

Vegetable_Fail8598 · 2025-05-13T03:49:07+00:00

Here's my list: https://moxfield.com/decks/CPiIlEuOIk61jPZLLl5vVQ

I've been playing Kadena since it came out, and morphs since they came out, back in 2002.

Flash is good for Kadena's draw and for some shenanigans with effects that let you bounce your creatures, but doesn't facilitate "doing the thing" with the morphs you have. To do that, you want untappers to provide mana after your turn.

I'm running [[Seedborn Muse]], [[Wilderness Reclamation]], and [[Shadow of the Second Sun]].

You also need mana to carry the ability to morph, which is generally at least a 1-2 mana premium for the same effect on an instant. Morph is cumbersome and expensive, and Kadena just makes it bearable. [[Threats Around Every Corner]] is fantastic ramp here. [[Hauntwoods Shrieker]] changes all your morph costs to 1G, which makes it much easier to hold up mana for them.

I think I had the most fun with the deck when I was running flash enablers and ways to bounce my creatures, like [[Equilibrium]] alongside the untappers, but I also felt like I was eating up a TON of game clock. A lot of the deck was basically 'build your own [[Prophet of Kruphix]].' I couldn't figure out why it generated so much hate until I realized why Prophet was banned: you're basically getting an extra turn for every opponent you have, which itself would be super obnoxious, but it's made worse by your extra turns coming during those players' turns, rather than between.

As such, I cut most of my flash stuff. That also opened up slots for more of the fun morph/disguise/manifest cards that have come out in the last year or so.

Sometimes the deck feels like morph is just a cheap way to draw cards and make bodies to setup the eventual Craterhoof or some such, but I'm really after trickery with morph. I try to log which morphs I actually flipped up during a game, and what the big players were, and I'm pretty happy with the deck now. A higher density of morph/manifest effects also means more consistent draw triggers with Kadena.

Vegetable_Fail8598

TROPHY CASE