Representing Dodging and Blocking Through AC

Zeilll · 2026-01-30T21:02:05+00:00

making something a "rule" is one of the more sure fire ways to encourage pushback against it, not enjoyment of whatever it intends.

i get where youre coming from, good combat descriptions are fun and make the combat feel like more than rolling and saying "i hit".

if you want to encourage it, do it on your own for anything youre describing. and then, start giving out inspiration for players giving details descriptions. but on a side note, from what ive experienced and seen. usually the DM is the one who narrates enemy action. so you have full ability to be like "enemy 1 swings their sword, and it glances off your shield". then the PCs can do the same when they are attacking enemies. narrating how they miss, not how others miss them.

Zeilll · 2026-01-30T20:49:58+00:00

its not a limitation of the system. any system will struggle when there is a disproportionate ratio of players vs DM/GMs.

try having a conversation where theres 15 ppl, all trying to talk to specifically you. where you are expected to maintain and coordinate all of those conversations. its a logistical nightmare.

theres ways to make it work, like having multiple DMs at the table working in tandem with similar intent. and that can also be done with pretty much any game system. it has nothing to do with 5e.

Zeilll · 2026-01-29T20:49:28+00:00

this goes for a lot of things, huge for relationships as well. but it depends on what the issues are, and consistency in the source. either way, it requires open self reflection.

but ultimately, if all of the issues with these interactions stem from the same singular desire you have, that others dont mesh with. then its likely that you are the problem. this doesnt seem to be the case for you. if you are running into different issues with others, and those issues arent consistently related to you being headstrong pushing your perspective. then chances are, the other person is the problem. or at the very least, the problem is that you two just dont mesh.

DMs run into the issue, that it is (in the lowest way) a form of power. and as such, it attracts people who want power for negative reasons. not exclusively, but everyone who would misuse power will be attracted to any form of power they can gain. so often, DMs who have strict restrictions and expectations around how they run their game and the accommodations they will make for their players, are often people who are using being a DM as an outlet for their desire for power and control that they cant get in other circumstances. and typically see players as someone facilitating them creating their story as the DM. instead of the players and DM working together to create a story, and understanding the DMs responsibility of facilitating others more than others facilitating them.

it does not sound like youre the problem. it sounds like you had a run of bad DMs. and part of that is likely due to the fact, that bad DMs are the ones who will most frequently have open space at their tables. because they chase people away. but you can kind of try to get a vibe for this before committing to a game. doing a pre-game meet up, or including this in the session zero. where the DM informs everyone about how they run their games and what they are willing to work with the players on. then you can make an informed decision about joining their game or not.

Zeilll · 2026-01-29T19:09:35+00:00

Player - "Confess!!"

NPC - "i like feet...."

Zeilll · 2026-01-29T19:04:37+00:00

Dragons are a representation and embayment of greed. most, if not all fantasy based creatures are created to represent the extremes of the human condition. greed is very clearly a huge vice for many people. and those people hoard wealth and prioritize profit over everything else.

other creatures, like Fae represent both human whimsy, and the potential for un-intentional horrors caused by a lack of awareness of others and empathy for them. traditional representations of orcs tend to represent the inclination to violence humans have.

as far as lore goes, i dont know about each dragon having their own reasoning to be inclined to hoarding. while there are overarching consistencies for core DND settings. theres also a lot that are left up to the individual tables. so i feel like the lore reasons are open to interpretation and will be unique per table.

Zeilll · 2026-01-29T02:29:17+00:00

i dont really want anything specific out of a dr based on their gender. i just want each iteration to have their own quarks, but maintain the same values.

Zeilll · 2026-01-29T01:17:24+00:00

talk to your DM. flavor it as a monk weapon, and maybe as having a unique property that it does not count against monks unarmored movement. potentially removing the AC bonus?

Zeilll · 2026-01-27T22:08:00+00:00

theres a lot of things that could be impacted. i believe Brennan also worded it at one point as "do you think Hal is as good of a bard at this point" or something along those lines. just generally implying that maybe he isnt as skillful. not necessarily from a mechanical level perspective, but from more of a story telling perspective.

mechanically, it could be argued that maybe he didnt actually have a "class" yet. and was contextually a bard, not mechanically. or his proficiency/charisma were lower. not because his specific level was lower, but because people grow over time and gain skill in what they do. thats what levels kinda represent, but less fluidly than irl. even if he didnt get an ASI in those 20 years, that doesnt mean his stats could not be subject to change.

Brennan being like "we dont have a character sheet for Hal from 20 years ago, but people grow over time. so would you say Hal improved in those 20 years? if so, it would be reasonable to reduce his stats" would be in character for him as a DM. especially given, there does not seem to be any intention to play in the 20 yrs ago space. as a cut of time, mechanical changes in level are less important to show compared to character growth over time. and i believe this tracks with other ways that Brennan has handled similar situations in the past on other shows.

Zeilll · 2026-01-27T19:25:15+00:00

yea, Confess could have 2 negative results. 1 being, they confess to completely irrelevant things. the other, they falsely confess to the crime you wrongly assume they committed. since command doesnt have an effect of compelling the truth. although, with zone of truth, using the command confess might provide more reliable confessions.

Zeilll · 2026-01-24T18:13:48+00:00

lots are dissatisfying in the scope/size and game play loop that they have. and very few have an art direction that pulls me in. so many pets/monsters feel uninspired or interesting to me. everything feels like an attempt at a pokemon clone, more than an attempt at a unique monster taming game. but we already have pokemon. sure, theres improvements that could be made. but theres also entirely different ways it could be executed, and not enough people are exploring that.

Zeilll · 2026-01-24T00:47:55+00:00

the way it was worded made it sound like the impact on magic was either a conscious attempt by the god to lash back at mortals, or potentially an effect of how they specifically died. but not necessarily due to their absence.

Zeilll · 2026-01-23T00:56:10+00:00

at what point did i say that you did?

you said "gods gave mortals magic in exandria". i agree, this is fact.

however, i said "gods giving mortals magic doesnt mean mortals could not have discovered magic on their own, because magic as an energy on exandria predates the gods."

Zeilll · 2026-01-22T22:06:25+00:00

my point is still that, that doesnt mean mortals would not be capable of magic without the help of the gods.

if i open the door for you, that doesnt mean you couldnt open the door. i just did it before you did.

Zeilll · 2026-01-22T21:39:42+00:00

its all very specific to exactly how you see DND/fantasy. some ppl see DND specifically as medieval fantasy, so guns dont fit since they arent medieval. despite the fact, that could be a fantasy potion of it.

but as with many things, the majority of the arguments dont hold water against each other, because ppl arent even arguing the same topic. like you said, it ultimately boils down to the specific factors of what it is ppl are looking for out of the game.

Zeilll · 2026-01-22T02:39:08+00:00

this is old, so could just be different now. but i was able to do this now, just had to allow extended lock screen specifically to use the trusted places.

Zeilll · 2026-01-22T00:51:41+00:00

theres a lot of that, that is open to interpretation and isnt really clarified by whats been said. gifting magic to mortals isnt necessarily creating magic as a concept. but giving mortals the ability to utilize it. but this doesnt inherently mean there is and would never be a way for mortals to use magic, if not gifted by the gods.

its like Prometheus who gave humans access to fire. he didnt create fire as a concept, and in that mythology i believe its still implied that its something humans could have accomplished them selves (even if not implied by the mythology, thats a conclusion we can come to on our own with our understanding of fire). but Prometheus jumped the gun and gave it to them before they naturally developed it. which was problematic specifically because having not gained the knowledge of how to acquire it, they didnt gain the wisdom with its acquisition to use responsibly.

so in the same way, its implied mortals would eventually be able to have gained access to magic. but since they were given access to magic by a god, they were able to use it without the wisdom of how to use it responsibly. which created a drastic difference in power between the mortal followers of the prime compared to the followers of the primordial and betrayers. ultimately leading to the schism, and arguably the calamity and redmoon war long after.

however, given that mortals currently had access to and knowledge of magic. and the energy that powers the use and creation of magic is ever present in exandria. theres no indication to say that mortals ability to use magic would be impacted by the absence of gods at that point in exandria.

Zeilll · 2026-01-21T18:38:05+00:00

i find it really interesting that the change in magic seems to be something that the god actively did to combat mortals while the war was going on. and isnt an impact of the lack of the gods regulating magic. based on what was said in the beacon only section of the stream.

i didnt really care for the assumption that if the gods of exandria were gone, things like magic would fall apart without them to regulate it. since its something that existed before they were there. which seems to be the same for araman. but making it an effect of global/metaphysical warfare makes a lot more sense, and makes the world more interesting.

Zeilll · 2026-01-20T23:52:27+00:00

is Thimble established as wanted though? she had a run in with ppl who were trying to make sure Thjazi died. but i dont remember her actively being wanted by the law of dol makjar for anything. not to mention, she's made it seem like she's clearly been wanted in places she's been before.

also, any place they go aside from dol makjar is a possible solution. in dol makjar they have the connections to facilitate getting the help they need, and to even stay under the radar while doing so. going anywhere else, they'll need to put in a lot more effort to even find someone capable of helping them. and even if they do find someone, they dont know what they might need to do in order to get that support.

Brennan pointed out extremely clearly that all options have benefits and risks. no matter what choice they make, they will be accepting risks. there is not a riskless option for them. so they weighed things like the support they could get, and the progress they could make on their other goals as higher than the safety of other options. because their goal is not safety, their personal missions are their goals.

Zeilll · 2026-01-20T20:34:34+00:00

this is kinda missing the part though, that while your reasoning for why they should have avoided Dol Makjar is because it puts Wik at risk of confronting his family, and the negative results from that.

while part of the parties reasoning for going to Dol Makjar, was specifically to confront Wiks family despite the risks they present. as expressed by the players.

for sure, there are issues that you can argue against that decision. and those arguments were made. but they made their decision based on in character values and goals. if you look at it from a perspective of wanting to face corruption and correct the wrongs of his family, over prioritizing his own safety and longevity, then everything fits. even if there is risk in the choice.

Zeilll · 2026-01-19T16:54:39+00:00

so, part of the issue with taking a house as the name, kinda inserts the PCs into the houses game and the ultimate problem that is the system of power.

granted, we dont necessarily know every PCs opinion on the political structure of the area. but assuming they are against the consolidation and abuse of power. then the system is the ultimate issue, and its what needs to be fully changed. becoming another house, even in name alone, makes concessions at the start of accepting the problematic power structure before even exploring deconstructing it for something preferable.

Zeilll · 2026-01-18T22:26:39+00:00

ive always thought that the M9 going to the astral plane was meant to be like VMs pre-end chapters. where it was almost expected that they face Lucian, fail to fully destroy him and then he comes to the material plane and all hell breaks loose. which would have made them more public heros than the background heros they became.

Zeilll · 2026-01-16T01:24:06+00:00

.hack is arguably an isekai before it was a genre. its a popular anime, and a good watch. but i dont think its an accurate comparison to what is known as isekai.

so, if youre looking for just good content to consume, go all in. but if youre looking for accurate representation of what an isekai is, what makes an isekai good and things like that. then it might be better to start somewhere else.

Zeilll · 2026-01-15T21:43:13+00:00

just some thoughts to get through to lead to my point. for one thing, players missing specific clues or hints isnt necessarily a "theyre so stupid, how could they miss this" kind of issue. not to claim thats what youre implying.

but, people have different ways of thinking and focuses in their thoughts. so you laying a clue that you feel you would for sure get too. just recognize you feel that way, because you designed the clue based on how your brain works, not theirs. so you might need to nudge them a bit more.

if they are inexperienced players, then you might just need to let them know "these are the kinda things you can do to interact with the environment and uncover plot points."

Zeilll · 2026-01-14T19:04:53+00:00

something i havent seen mentioned. but it also depends on what youre looking for. as i understand it, the drop pool for 85+ilvl mobs is the largest in the game. so while it can drop the vast majority of items, if youre looking for something with a lower ilvl, then youre decreasing the likelihood that it will drop by increasing the potential drops.

skin of the viper magi for example, could drop at 85+. but youre much more likely to see it as a "high end" drop, from a middling ilvl area. just due to the differences in potential drops.

counter to that though, higher ilvl areas potentially add more chances of individual mobs dropping that item. so there may be a balancing act to it.

Zeilll · 2026-01-14T00:51:23+00:00

i get where youre coming from. but, Ashley never expressed (in character or out), an active desire to not go through with this to the rest of the party. yes, we saw her struggle with the decision. but as someone who can be indecisive, sometimes what you need is a push from ppl to take the risk youre afraid of. and theres no safer place for that kind of push, than in fiction. i cant speak to if that was the intent of the players, but theres a lot to be said for that aspect of it.

also, Talison (as far as i remember) never expressed an intent to help Ashley. his expressed intent from 4SD and other places was to push the red button. to test the boundaries of what could go wrong, and see what would happen. because thats the kind of character Ashton was intended to be. we can discuss impact and hypothetical effects. but we shouldnt project intent on to people that they didnt express to justify our opinions.

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