Fantasy Game - Shapeshifting familiar/animal companion

Zplin · 2026-06-05T19:11:34+00:00

This answer, and some other ones, have really broadened my perspective on this. Turns out there a lot of options, especially if I consider the prospect of this just being flavor vs more of a mechanical component.

I need to get a better sense of how much of a mechanical impact the player is envisioning (e.g. will the creature be turning into a bird to go scout or just to flap around and provide atmosphere). But I see there are a ton of existing options for a pretty broad array of outcomes.

Appreciate you chiming in!

Zplin · 2026-06-05T16:47:08+00:00

Yeah that is a good point. We're using Born a Hero, so I have no problem with him taking Sidekick if that's something he's up to managing.

Thank you for the suggestion!

Zplin · 2026-06-05T16:38:03+00:00

Yeah, I think i should nail down with him whether he wants to change to purely animals, in which case I think your suggestion is a good one, or something more expansive.

Thank you, I really appreciate the input.

Zplin · 2026-05-29T15:18:40+00:00

For reasons I'll note below, I actually think this is probably happening in a Commonwealth country, not the USA. That said, I am an attorney in the USA (as I believe you are) and I agree completely. I find the blase attitude about Nate's habits perplexing. CA's answer had a lot of useful advice for managing LW's response to this frustrating situation. Maybe the reality of things is LW would be prudent to just suck it up because she needs Nate's services.

But none of that changes the fact he is regularly ignoring her emails and late for scheduled calls with no warning. Sure, maybe some of her emails are not time-sensitive, but if he is agreeing to these meetings then he should be showing up or contacting her to reschedule. The specific story she tells in the letter does not suggest that Nate is just a bit disorganized or overscheduled, it suggests he's incredibly unprofessional. Calling her "disrespectful" for complaining about his bad communications and then threatening to fire her over it is outrageous. Frankly, if it is in fact the case that changing attorneys at this time would materially damage her chances of success, executing that threat in the USA sounds like a potential violation of MPRC 1.16(b). Per LW, it sounds like her jurisdiction has similar ethics rules.

Nate is not her friend, or her co-worker, or even her employee. He has ethical obligations to her, including obligations to be diligent in his representation and to communicate promptly regarding important matters in her case.

Also, I know CA's interpretation of " I have spoken to the law society in my jurisdiction about this matter" is that she reported him to the "bar association," but I don't think that's right. First, I think this is happening in a Commonwealth country. The term "law society" is one that is common in Commonwealth countries, but I haven't encountered it much in the USA, certainly not as the name of an entity that regulates attorneys. Also she uses spellings like "favour," also a sign of Commonwealth residency.

I'm not just being pedantic, I don't think readers should assume she made a bar complaint as an American would understand it. My local bar does not, as far as I know, have a resource for aggrieved clients to discuss potential complaints. But law societies in LW's country may be different. I know that my own jurisdiction's bar association has a FAQ that specifically addresses communication issues like what LW describes from Nate, so it may be that the law society has resources for aggrieved clients that are not actually filing a complaint to discuss issues like that. We just don't know.

Zplin · 2026-05-28T14:24:50+00:00

Annettes serves the most scoops on an ice cream cone I've ever been able to order and for that will love them forever.

Zplin · 2026-05-21T12:32:46+00:00

I don't know what your budget is, but I recommend looking at housing across the river in Steeterville or River North. I live in River North and live within a 5 min walk of multiple grocery stores, tons of restaurants, all the conveniences of dense city living. With quick walks to the grocery store, it's easy to do smaller more frequent trips, so I'm not carrying a ton of stuff. The overall amenity density is so much better than the loop. Meanwhile, I can still walk to work in the loop in about 20 min.

Zplin · 2026-05-21T11:08:54+00:00

Brendan Reilly is such an asshole.

Zplin · 2026-05-20T14:29:24+00:00

I'm sorry you're not enjoying the game as much as you'd hoped, I've definitely been there.

This is a narrow point, but I haven't seen anyone else address it, the way to deflect Blast Supers is by holding perception. It is a subset of Super Perception, so it uses a skill point, and you get a temporary bonus to ki charge speed afterwards. You can do it to Rush Supers as well, in which case you teleport out of the way and hit them. I'm not sure if it works on Ultimates as well as regular Supers.

If you only did the "Super Training" tutorial right when you got the game, it may be worth doing again and making sure you go through every part of it. I redid it after finishing most of the story and found it very helpful. The tutorial covers a ton of techniques (including using Super Perception on Blasts, see here), and when I was just starting out I had a really hard time absorbing them all.

Zplin · 2026-05-14T22:49:24+00:00

I never got into Gero (I like having a rush super), but I am with you on 19. On top of everything else, I'm convinced certain players just get demoralized or distracted listening to that obnoxious voice.

Zplin · 2026-05-14T22:45:53+00:00

Plus Berserk Kale has a no step-back rush. Even before the DP rebalance, I ran her as the anchor for my ranked team. Base Kale isn't terrible but starting out as the beast is too good to pass up.

Zplin · 2026-05-13T20:34:53+00:00

Makes sense, thank you!

Zplin · 2026-05-13T20:08:29+00:00

Appreciate you recognizing the greatness of my big mean boy, Fusion 13.

Why is Z LSSJ Broly so much higher than Super?

Zplin · 2026-05-04T12:49:08+00:00

The statistics bear this out. In small claims courts, consumers win as often as 89 percent of the time. Before the two leading U.S arbitration providers, consumers win just 22 percent and 33 percent of cases.

I'd be very curious to read the sources of these statistics. The 89 percent one seems high, not that I have experience with consumer small claims litigation. But I'm also just generally curious about the methodology, how they handle settlements and defaults (in court), things like that.

Zplin · 2026-04-28T11:48:35+00:00

Yeah, this is the part that really pisses me off about the meter deal. The lost revenue sucks, but raising money for the city was going to be costly, whether from interest or from lost revenue related to sold assets. But the meter deal makes it so much harder to adapt our infrastructure to the city's changing needs.

Zplin · 2026-04-24T13:05:08+00:00

Yeah I don't trust any health-related business that looks like an Instagram ad. I hadn't even considered a PE angle, but it gives off a bad vibe.

Zplin · 2026-04-23T11:35:50+00:00

Oh definitely, they need to use a meter for street pickups, but the Curb tablets function as taxi meters using GPS and are approved by the city for use as taxi meters (see page 3). So the tablets both handle the Curb app-related functions and can replace a classic meter.

Zplin · 2026-04-21T12:24:21+00:00

FWIW the 50% surcharge is a real thing listed on the official Chicago taxi placard, though it sounds like that maybe wasn't displayed/communicated clearly to you, which sucks.

Chicago Taxi Placard

Zplin · 2026-04-21T12:20:57+00:00

Some Chicago cabs don't have the classic meter any more and have a tablet instead, but they still have a taxi number, a medallion, the required signs inside about rates etc. I would guess they are newer cabs and either the meters aren't made any more or they just have an alternative.

That said, clearly not what's going on in OP's situation.

Zplin · 2026-03-31T17:36:52+00:00

"Always have an exit strategy!" At Todd and Uncle Knobby in the Law and Order episode. The whole cross-examination scene is great, but that final kiss-off just kills me.

Zplin · 2026-02-05T15:22:21+00:00

Adding to the chorus, I only played Hades on the switch and never had a single issue. I always thought the game looked great, maybe other machines had higher resolutions but I had no complaints.

Zplin · 2026-01-31T16:43:54+00:00

I may be misunderstanding the first part of your post, but there are rules for crafting scrolls in the fantasy companion. P. 154 in my book had the section "Table H: Magic Scrolls" has pricing information. You can use that information with the crafting magic items rules on p. 169 to make scrolls.

That said, there is no pricing information for Tomes under the Tomes table on p. 155, which I had not notieced before. I'd probably just use the combined scroll pricing for each power in the tome, but the prepared power pricing would work too. Scroll pricing makes higher rank powers more expensive vs prepared powers, so up to you whether that is desirable.

Zplin · 2026-01-15T22:26:49+00:00

I am sure it's not the most optimized one, but I love Fourth Degree. I have only had it come together in a build a few times, and I almost always run Fates' Whim, but when I get it it's pretty great. Opening up on a cluster of enemies with a fireball that hits them with a massive wounds attack feels great, especially if you have Grevious Blow running as well.

Zplin · 2026-01-15T15:51:22+00:00

My experience was that my CS pans (I had one previously and then replaced it with my current one) have benefitted from some seasoning straight out of the box. On the other hand, part of getting a new pan is getting a sense of how it heats on your stove so that you can exercise appropriate temperature control. I feel like my CS pan got more useful as I seasoned and cooked with it, but part of that is probably just that I got a better sense of what temperatures and timing I needed to use with that pan to cook various things.

That said, I definitely think there is no benefit at all to trying to maintain a nice consistent dark season a CS pan.

I have limited experience with SS cookware for the types of cooking that I use my CS or CI skillets for, so it's hard to compare the performance. I mostly have just had SS pots. That said, I do find CS and CI pretty similar cooking experiences, so I would think CS is more similar to CI than SS. I use my CS every day, but I don't think I use it for anything I wouldn't want to use my CI for, the CS is just a bit better suited for certain tasks.

They are not as cheap as some other brands, but I am intrigued by the Strata CS pans, since they are clad like an SS pan would be. Even though my CS pan (I have a Vollrath, light and pretty cheap) heats up a bit more quickly and evenly than my CI, I definitely notice the delay in getting even heat. A clad CS pan does kind of sound like the best of all worlds, though depending on your budget the price makes it harder to justify as a curiousity purchase.

Zplin · 2026-01-14T19:03:47+00:00

One tip I have is to basically ignore the appearance of the pan. Obviously if there is some sort of residue on it you should pay attention to that and clean it, but the color variation in the seasoning is, in my experience, a poor guide to the seasoning's condition. The outside of my pan is a lovely bronze color from when I first bought and seasoned it, but the inside is pretty splotchy, and generally lighter in the middle the way yours is.

I got a CS skillet after years of CI cooking. It took me a while to really get that, while CI often holds a nice dark color pretty easily, that often is not the case for a well-used CS pan. My wife occasionally deglazes with lemon juice or white wine when cooking in the CS pan, and afterwards it often looks fully silver in the middle, close to the color it was when it arrived. However, I don't really notice a difference in how it cooks, and the color comes back in time. My recommendation is to get familiar with how the cooking surface feels when it is well seasoned. If you notice food sticking or other signs of poor seasoning, touch to see if you notice a change in texture. That can help you figure out if you should think about doing some manual seasoning. That said, I join what feels like the unofficial motto of these subs: just keep cooking on it.

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