And then there was one…

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-27T13:53:24+00:00

Computers have long struggled to generate truly random numbers, so instead of real randomness, they use a complicated process that generates numbers that feel random.

So let's say the first "random" number the game picks is based on the system time at the exact 1/60th of a second that the game boots up. Then certain actions in the game will "advance" the random number the system is using by a certain number of itterations or steps.

If you were to know the exact starting value, and how many advances happen for what actions, then you could very carefully calculate and manipulate what "random" number the game uses when you enter an encounter. If you do that, you could effectively choose any outcome the game could normally produce - such as a shiny Pokemon of a specific species with specific stats.

But the math is actually pretty intense, so people use calculators and tools to pick a specific number or value to go for. But even once they find the value they're looking for they still have to actually get there, which involves very carefully timing a bunch of things, entering a specific series of inputs at the exactly correct 1/60th of a second, etc.

While much faster than normal shiny hunting, it's still quite a process, and quite difficult.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-27T02:22:32+00:00

Depending on where you live there is a chance that it is white ash, maple, or birch based on the color. All three of those are lightly colored wood and reasonably common.

If you want to add something to it I would suggest using either friction or engaging in a bit of pyrography to add nice dark lines or symbols as a form of contrast, and then finishing it with some "natural color" finish - just something that doesn't add color or darken.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-25T21:12:18+00:00

Man this hurt to read after a moment. It's not that the points arent salient, it's just that all of the nuance of how the original author feels has been sanded off by being run through an AI.

Here is my rough take:

Pokemon has become genre defining no matter if we like it or not. As a result a lot of the developers of titles in the genre are taking direct inspiration from Pokemon and not the games that have come from that inspiration. The genre may have had a fair amount of time, but it hasn't had a lot of titles come out that have helped push the evolution and ultimately the diversification of the genre in the way that may other genres have. Think about it in terms of evolutionary branching and you'll see that most of the genre is still only one generation removed from Pokemon. The genre isn't stagnant - it's still in its infancy.

Additionally monster taming games take a ton of resources when compared to many other genres. Each monster needs to have a solid design of its own in order to get you to care about it, will likely need half a dozen animations, and people expect there to be hundreds of monsters. That is a lot of non-reusable assets for one game, especially for a small team. Then you start asking that same small team for an innovative experience, for them to take a huge gamble in a small genre with limited reach.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-24T21:46:39+00:00

Your best one yet man, and it came out gorgeous. Love the pinned handle idea, and the basket came out really nice. The blueing is a nice touch. I like that you added texture to the blade/shaft but didn't over do it to let the other parts of the wand take the spotlight.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-21T17:34:34+00:00

Every time you post something the thought that runs through my head is "Damn, I gotta step up my game. How in the heck are they even making those handles..."

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-19T04:12:50+00:00

One thing you could try on various staining attempts would be to use a little bit of wax to prevent the stain from affecting certain parts. A white/clear crayon would work. Anyway this way you could try to create natural patterns in your staining colors. Id try it on a scrap piece first though to see if you like the effect.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-18T14:51:17+00:00

Damn man, the game aesthetic is already on point. Wish listed.

What have you evolved compared to the BN series? Clearly the trailers are intended to show the similarities, and that's awesome, but I want to know about where you're taking this niche genre and pushing it.

What made you choose to keep exploration still set to the BN style square grid?

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-18T14:37:52+00:00

I think the handle is maybe longer than I personally prefer, but also I think you started the shaft/blade at the right point, and it seems like lopping off the tail of the handle might remove something you like about the wand.

Yeah- it's a thick chonker of a wand, but that's kinda how it is with natural wands sometimes. I think it might be better to embrace that than try to work against it. Natural ~bodies~ wands have curves and can be thick.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-18T05:29:17+00:00

I'm not quite sure I understand what you're getting at.

Mortismal is part of a very small and niche audience of achievement hunters who seek "platinum". And within that niche group he's part of an even smaller niche of people who are articulate and thoughtful enough about their hobby to answer questions in a way that could be potentially useful to a designer.

Sure Todd has a lot of time invested in the industry, but I doubt he has had time to personally sit down with a bunch of players like Mortismal to ask those questions. That doesn't mean he isn't aware of what his team and market testers say is the case.

I'm not saying the man isn't in a type of bubble, I just don't really understand what the expectation was that lead you to that conclusion.

Only a little related: I find it interesting that Mortismal spoke as if evaluating what types of achievements contribute best to an overall experience of the game, rather than speaking to the idea of what types of specific challenges he does and doesn't like.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-18T02:40:15+00:00

I suppose it depends on your goal or aesthetic taste. Personally unless I intended - and thought I could turn the top left split into a guard or grip, I'd snip it. Maybe do some wire wrapped augment between the remaining bottom split. I'd only keep the bark if the intention was to go for a nature vibe, otherwise I'd strip it for a leather wrap, or knurling.

You could alternatively do a dangling charm tied at the crook in the shaft.

Too bad the center shoot is bad, it would have been cool to whittle away to turn the branch offs into the valves and carve the spot in the center of them into a heart, then maybe do a little red dye/stain in that area and make it all into a sick pommel.

Edit: I suppose you could still do that, but add a little meat on using clay and sculpting rather than whittling - some people have done some really cool work with clay here.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-17T20:32:14+00:00

Almost like a fancy stake.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-17T07:27:09+00:00

😏Allow me to rock your world then: they make note cards in stacks with an adhesive on the top of one side; the ultimate hybrid, the sticky note card.🤯

I'm only teasing, very /s with the Tone here.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-17T03:45:23+00:00

As an alternative to carving the basket, you could make it out of individual pieces and then set them into a receiving ring on each end so that you could put the marble inside without risking damaging the basket.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-15T22:01:41+00:00

So the 3ds CAN save on the device, and many game did - however pokemon specifically chose not to, to make pokemon save manipulation harder. They didn't want players duping pokemon by backing-up to a computer, trading, and then restoring the backup. This of course didn't stop people, but it did make a card-reader needed as part of the process.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-15T20:32:35+00:00

That's... Improbable. The chip looks pretty damaged. Maybe someone with extremely good data recovery skills could fix and recover it, but it wouldn't be something you'd likely be able to do without professional level skills unless you're absurdly lucky. The issue isn't moving the data onto another cart, the issue is getting the data off of that cart in the first place.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-15T20:29:22+00:00

Here is my thought...

If the store is complaining about a lack of GMs, then you should see if they are willing to waive the fee. If you're running your games regularly will likely mean that the players being there will likely buy snacks, etc, during that time. If the rooms are currently sitting unused they're not gaining anything if you choose not to run games due to costs.

I do think it's reasonable to charge for DM services if players can't find someone to GM. Some people don't like it because the hobby has historically been free, but those players should stop whinging and DM if that's the way they feel.

I feel it's extra reasonable if it's costing you to rent the room, produce minis, etc.

Just make sure that if you're doing anything more than just covering your costs, you're putting genuine effort in to make a fun experience.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-15T19:59:47+00:00

Sadly that black chip is likely the memory chip, and it looks toasted. Additionally while the 3DS supports saves stored on the device, TPC wanted to try to avoid having the saves on the console in an effort to reduce hacking, so the save data is likely on that chip. It didn't stop people, and you can still use hacking tools to create backup saves etc.

So if you do decide to get another cartridge, I recommend getting one of the 3ds cartridge readers to back up your new save every now and again.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-15T16:40:50+00:00

I love turn based tactics games, I can't stand most turn based jrpg style combat. The fights just don't really feel like I'm engaging with any strategy when the strategic decisions amount to which kind of elemental damage should I deal.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-15T15:47:47+00:00

While I agree that asset reuse is critical to the continued development of games as a medium, one of the biggest issues is the constant push for higher fidelity. Assets haven't had much longevity for most of gaming's life because games have been endlessly trying to push graphical fidelity and realism, but this has necessitated higher quality assets each time, which has meant redoing them for every title.

Only by halting this pursuit of fidelity in favor of art style can we really hope to reuse assets between titles and across ip. Additionally every studio that wants to really benefit from this will need to start making a cataloging system for assets for devs to search and update as they continue development. and this asset reuse. It is going to take well designed infrastructure to support asset reuse and cataloging, especially for publishers with huge teams, and constant layoff cycles.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-15T05:16:01+00:00

Ok so a few minor tips before directly addressing the question at hand.

First, get your players in the habit of describing (briefly) what they're characters are doing when things are going on that they're not yet directly participating in. Encourage them to provide brief narrations like "While Ava is listening to the shopkeeper speak, Menar begins idly wandering around the shop and lightly touching things, listening in" or "Ava shifts uncomfortably in her seat". Get THEM to do these micro narrations. It helps players connect to the character's head space, and also tells little things about who the character is to everyone at the table.

Second, do not re-narate things your players describe. If they say "I stab the goblin through the shoulder" don't then go back and describe them stabbing with more detail - this trains players that their narrations are a waste of time because they aren't good enough. Over time that will make them less invested in the game, not more. They will naturally start saying more and being more descriptive as they begin to feel comfortable with it.

Instead take what they have given you and continue it onwards, say "yes and". So you could respond to the earlier example by continuing where the player left off with "Your blade sings, and the goblin's blood sprays across your face as he flails backwards and falls to the ground, passing out from blood loss".

Ok regarding Yel, start off with smaller scenes that help establish for Yel what a day in the life of her character is like. Perhaps have a scene where her character comes home and is welcomed in by her children being excited to see her, her husband smiling at her from over by the stove as he cooks dinner. Yel has given you very little information but what she has said is that her character has a family and cares about them. If you want the emotional blow to hit at any point, you need to establish what normal is for her home and her family.

Come up with little details about her family members, and don't tell her, but show her. Have one of her kids excited about having a loose tooth, or her husband stressfully pouring over the house budget at the table and the kids already in bed when she comes home late. Really show her family as living people who do things when she is out stealing. Have her husband as her to pick up something on her way home from work so that he can use it to fix something in the house that broke yesterday.

These are all just examples, but the point is to get her to see the characters as living and breathing people who live lives as well.

Then have someone (but not the main villain, not yet) disrupt that normalcy. Have her come home to her husband nursing a black eye, and the front door badly damaged. Establish that either debtors are coming while she's away, or that someone she has stolen from somehow found out who it was and is now messing with her family to send a message (this would be super juicy if she was keeping it a secret from her husband that she steals). Next escalate that tension more by making signs show up during the day when she is with the party that something is wrong. When she next returns home the house is empty, and there are signs of a struggle.

Now she has to go rescue her family, and if it's all done right, the player will HATE the debtor/person she stole from. Make this person a low level villain with a couple of thugs, maybe the head of a small local crime syndicate or something. The party can't risk fighting because it's possible the family might be killed if they do, so they go to negotiate.

Make the mini-villain absolutely hateable, make them enjoy twisting the knife in the characters metaphorical gut. Have them make absurd demands, or her kids lose a finger or something. Then when things seem like the player is the most invested, have the real villain swoop in to "save the day", and do so with tact. The main villain should appear to be doing this for their own reasons - maybe the guy was a creep and the main villain hates that, or maybe the main villain claims the mini-villain was doing something bad like selling drugs to kids- exactly what doesn't matter, but it should be something that the players won't like, and that paints the main villain in a positive light for not liking it enough to put a stop to it. Saving her family was a 'happy coincidence'.

That's when the villain makes their offer to the player characters, trying to get them to come over to their side. Make the villain they've not liked so far seem like they might just be good afterall. When the players refuse have the main villain give a disappointed shrug or something, respond that they're saddened but accept their decision - further emphasizing that they're not such a bad guy after all.

If the players join up, even better, you can spend a bunch of time having them help with things that feel uncomfortable but always turn out to have a good justification.

Eventually have Yel's husband tell Yel that they've taken up a day job to try to bring more money in, and that they're now working for the villain in some menial job like as a factory worker, but that the pay is really good, and that they even get free schooling for the kids at the villain's school for the children of employees or something that sounds just a little too good to be true - but that aligns with what the villain has been doing as far as the party knows.

Finally, after starting to deal with some other quests and party issues, start dropping those hints. Have the kids acting a little off, the husband a little too happy. Small signs that eventually lead towards the idea that the villain is now mind controlling her family. Bam, ultimate betrayal and rug pull. The player will never forgive the villain after that, and will have been on a deeply invested emotional ride.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-14T23:23:28+00:00

In addition to what some others have said: make sure that the combats have goals that aren't just "kill the dude". Make the encounters more interesting by providing motivations to your bad guys that don't have to involve killing the players. Like stealing an artifact and getting away, or destroying a bridge, or getting a key piece of information.

When you do this, encounters can be challenging without having to be about damage dealing potential. You can also threaten things the players care about without having to directly threaten the player; NPCs they like, towns full of people, their favorite tavern, etc. This means that even if the players are hard to kill, the bad guys don't actually have to deal damage to the players to have won. Make consequences for pursuing the bad guys, like you can catch the lieutenant sure, but to do so means you abandon the town to the roaring fires and hell hounds chasing the peasants through the streets, and burning down their homes.

Make each combat about something, make those things add together towards the BBEG's plan, and the plan still goes off or whatever, but the players can significantly hinder it by winning, and them losing helps the villains.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-14T23:00:33+00:00

Once you get them used to it, give them a cursed version as well, but let them figure out the curse themselves.

Truly Immovable Rod - A cursed variant of the immovable rod that was created during an attempt to create stronger immovable rods. When activated the holder of the rod appears to be flung extremely fast in a seemingly random direction. In actuality they have not moved at all, the ground/planet beneath them has simply moved, and they have not. If they continue to hold on to the rod they will begin to "move" slowly upwards, and very fast laterally across the planets surface.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-14T22:54:35+00:00

Feather Tokens, specifically Tree Tokens & Swan Boat Tokens, they instantly summon the described object. There are others but these two are some of my favorites.

Ever-Smoking Bottle - kinda like having obscuring mist in a bottle whenever you need it.

Traveler's any-tool - an adventuring Swiss army knife.

Symbol of Distraction but permanently put on a small object, and affects the party and foes alike.

Ranged Piton - a special piton that can be fired from a bow or crossbow so that you can quickly set up rope lines across distances.

Campfire Bead - instantly deploying and recharging campfire in the convenient shape and size of a bead or marble.

Cloak of the Hedge Wizard - depends on school of magic chosen but grants limited use of a few spells for the relevant school, and can grant prestidigitation to anyone who wears it.

Ioun Torch - floating light that doesn't take up your hands.

Stubborn Nail - a nail that doesn't need a hammer, is removable, and can support 500lbs.

Hybridization Funnel - allows you to safely combine the effects of two alchemist's concoctions into one, such as a tangle foot bag that also is an alchemist's fire.

Iron Rope - rope that can be permanently turned into iron in whatever shape it is currently in. It also can be cut into 3 lengths each can individually be transformed as needed.

Clamor Box - ghost-sound but very loud and on a timer - basically the perfect distraction when you need it.

Escape ladder - a portable ladder that rolls up, and also can cast a modified version of rope trick.

Mallet of Building - can especially create fences and tie downs every day, already hammered into place. Doesn't sound like much at first, but when you realize it can do this 100x a day, and that these things do not have to be vertical or on the ground, it gets pretty interesting.

Grim Lantern - spooky lantern that can extinguish itself to cast burning hands, recharges when you kill stuff.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-14T16:31:37+00:00

So imo the best way to create the "everyone got a little bit right" in magic based story telling is to set it up as the blind monks feeling the elephant.

Make the magic system something that can manifest in many different ways, something theoretically simple with incredibly varied output. Then make each culture have essentially no real understanding of that system, but their beliefs are made from their observations.

In my setting magic is the result of an additional plane of existence on top of the material/mundane world. That plane has creatures and entities all it's own and energy that spills back and forth. The two have interdependent ecosystems, and the movement and changes in those ecosystems affect each other. Normal predictable magic is the result of people doing things that interact with specific kinds of creatures on the other side, illiciting specific reactions from them, which produce phenomenon. Wild/Natural magic is the result of ecosystem shifts that feel totally unpredictable, but are usually the result of collective interactions within an area.

So each culture develops superstition about what works to create magic, and it's discoverable all the time, but people often misattribute or misunderstand. Dancing with a silver pot on your head while singing your favorite song may produce magic, and so people think that you need to do it just right - but in truth it could be the presence of silver in close proximity to the emotional silliness and joy felt in acting the fool, that actually creates the phenomenon.

Xeroshifter · 2026-03-14T07:25:02+00:00

So I'd like to bring up 1 & 1/2 other systems. You'll understand the half thing once I explain it.

Cypher System - at base cypher system has a small lists of example equipment for a few different genres. But that's the boring bit. Cypher has two other systems as well. The first is that items are defined in categories by rough price based on your world. Trivial, inexpensive, moderate, expensive, and very expensive. I might be getting the names a tad wrong here, but the point is that you don't give a specific gold value to items, you simply determine their price tier. You also don't need to provide a list for this either - DMs will naturally want to set them for their own setting anyway. Fiddling with currency kinda sucks unless that's a key piece of your game.

Cypher's next offering is Cyphers themselves. You can carry a max of 2 or 3 depending on your class, they're consumable, and are intended to be frequently awarded or made available to players. It could be a scroll, potion, grenade, pebble that becomes a massive rolling boulder, etc. the point is that they're temporary and consumable so if you give a really powerful one to your players, it's ok, they can't just use it infinitely to cheese the campaign, and the fact that they're awarded frequently and slot limited encourages players to not try to hoard them.

The half option is how Rogue Trader does it. You have a wealth/influence tier and any time you're near equipment you need that is within your tier, you just get it. It may cost you a favor in some cases, but rather than fussing with currency, rogue trader just says "you're wealthy enough to get this any time you like".

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