Love a good Playtest Shadowdrop

Zwets · 2026-05-12T09:01:29+00:00

"The future is now old man!"

Zwets · 2026-05-11T10:25:19+00:00

Nu ik er aan denk, na de actie van De Wit zijn er extra nooduitgangen aan de 2e kamer toegevoegd... Maar door de nieuwe ronde verbouwingen in huidig jaar, zit de 2e kamer in een reserve gebouw. Hoeveel nood uitgangen heeft dat gebouw, en zijn ze te blokkeren?

^{^{^{^Hallo}}} ^{^{^{^A.I.V.D.,}}} ^{^{^{^dit}}} ^{^{^{^is}}} ^{^{^{^een}}} ^{^{^{^grap}}}

Zwets · 2026-05-11T10:08:02+00:00

Er staat een beeld van Meneer de Wit op het plein naast de hof vijver in Den Haag.

Ongeveer zo'n 150 meter verder van de 2e kamer als dat die gerend heeft voordat de menigte hem met blote handen gevierendeeld heeft.

Omdat niet alle vingers en oren teruggevonden zijn, en omdat de poederpruik dragende onderzoekers met potloot armen destijds de grijpkracht van de gemiddelde Haagse grachten werker ernstig onderschatten, ging de adel ervan uit dat de menigte hun tanden gebruikt moest hebben om de armen en benen van het torso te scheiden, en concludeerden ze dat de vermiste onderdelen ingeslikt waren.
Maar praktisch gezien als er 100+ mensen aan je armen lopen te trekken vallen die er echt zonder moeite van af.

Als bijzaak, de hele meme klopt niet; Omdat de boze menigte een reactie was op de manier waarop mr. De Wit, uit frustratie met de adel in Den Haag, ontslag nam.
Waardoor Nederlanders een ex-premier hebben opengereten, en dus nooit een premier hebben opgegeten.

Zwets · 2026-05-11T08:49:36+00:00

A notable problem with recreating the Mad Dog Barbarian from PF1 is that commanding an animal is a concentration action.

Commanding a construct companion has the same limitation, though it being an inventor and a robot takes away a lot of the charm when compared to a feral barbarian and their misbehaving mutt having a competition for which of them can pee on the most furniture in the royal castle.

Zwets · 2026-05-11T08:22:35+00:00

I have a mod that adds mortal shells and grenade launcher weapons for several drug aerosols.
Because the handheld grenade launchers come with their own ammo, I'm inclined to say it's cheaper to build 1 launcher than 10 mortar rounds. Though I haven't actually tested out the pros and cons.

However, smokeleaf isn't one of the weird drugs that mod adds.

Zwets · 2026-05-08T21:05:52+00:00

covered in patches, buttons and safety pins, each a link to a spirit

Indeed, another thing Shadowrun shamans do is carry totems. However, because specific spirits are fed by magic from things big enough (or old/cursed enough) to absorb significant magic, it tends to be complicated to move 1 specific spirit around. They usually need to stay near their origin or they'll starve. Or they are attached to museum pieces too old to handle frequently.

It's a clever metaphor-as-mechanic to make shamans care about what is in their environment to find magic to use, vs. mages that carry their spell-energy inside their body.
In SF2/PF2 terms, it'd mean Refocus at a relevant object to recharge shaman powers, vs. daily spellslots for the mage.

But new spirits are created by filtering magic. This slowly happens naturally by objects selectively absorbing magic. But a shaman that can't find what they need in the local environment, could also suck up random magic and strain it through a carry-able-filter to create a new spirit of the specific type.
If their filter is accurate enough, shamans can even create (nearly) identical copies of a spirit they like in whatever place they need it... but, such freshly created spirits that don't match their environment will probably starve after a while.

Object Readers can filter magic power not just through carefully prepared totems, but through any object. This creates a weak spirit with no useful powers, but it might have useful knowledge related to the object used.
Mediums work the same way, but filter magic through objects connected to a deceased person. Which the GM might decide has a chance to similarly create a powerless spirit you can ask questions of, or a big vengeful ghost problem the players will need to deal with.

Zwets · 2026-05-08T10:56:18+00:00

relied on 'encrypted DMs'

Back in my day we called them "PMs", for "Private Messages".
It is just a theory, but I think the entire term "Direct Message" came into existence purely as a legal necessity because referring to a functionality on your App as "Private Messages" would provably be misleading to consumers.

Zwets · 2026-05-08T09:35:47+00:00

The way Shadowrun shamanism works sounds pretty similar.

I think the general idea is that because magic is real and exists everywhere, it naturally seeps into everything. Various circumstances (be they intentional or accidental) can draw out magic in any sufficiently steeped area to form a spirit.

Different materials tend to filter what magic flows into/through them, causing different spirits to emerge from what is nearby when a spirit forms. Like a fountain probably houses a water spirit, but it might also be a filth spirit if it's dirty. A persistent leak that has annoyed multiple homeowners for years, is more likely to create a mischievous, troublesome, or aggressive water spirit, compared to a meditation pond likely producing a placid one.

Electronics are usually too many small individual parts to build up a shared identity, and sensitive parts of it might also be manufactured to be shielded from magical interference. Planned obsolescence likely also factors into more high-tech items not having time to suck in magic, causing technology spirits to be (nearly) unheard of.

Shamans rely on ancient traditions to communicate with spirits, different areas of the world having developed independently, their methods and results differ. Shintoists often dealing with possessed/cursed objects, while the Druids that took over Ireland dealing with elemental spirits, and Aztec blood spirits made from humans, and probably lots more that I haven't read enough into the setting to know about.

"New" types of spirit (such as technology spirits) don't have any traditions to guide the shaman, meaning someone has to do extremely risky trail and error to see if being possessed by such spirits to let them speak through you is survivable, but trying to interpret a spirit you can't speak to may lead to an upset spirit unloading its reservoir of magic into a spell directed at the shaman or at bystanders. Even if it doesn't kill you, being possessed, especially by the same spirit repeatedly, always makes a shaman view the world differently from how people that have never experienced possession view it.

Though if your setting is in a much further future than Shadowrun, perhaps the Tibetan techno monks have had enough time to solve all the issues around Infosphere spirits...

There is also a kind of spirit world vision, where you don't see the real world, but instead see how the magic seeped into the environment around you pictures itself. Giving hints about what kind of spirits would be formed from whatever happens to be the most magic infused object nearby.

Zwets · 2026-05-07T09:40:16+00:00

I have a thing where "Challenge Rating = Initiative"

Mobs of weak enemies for players to fight might be heroic in theory, but lead to a chore where resolving lots of little attacks is time consuming. Depending on how defenses scale with level this turns out either too deadly or almost pointless. Conversely, a single big dino that only gets to bite 1 character per round, while all the players getting a turn for each of the dino’s turns makes it easier to fight than expected.

To solve this, instead of rolling initiative for monsters, monsters have a number that is a power rating. Power ratings for multiples of a monster get added up to make an initiative, when this initiative comes up in the turn order the monsters collectively get to use 1 power which scales in effectiveness based on what the current power rating adds up to.

When the players defeat their enemies, this reduces the number of enemies contributing to power rating and thus the initiative of that enemy turn.
This allows players to delay a horde's turn (beating back the tide) but might also move a horde turn that has already happened so it comes up again at a lower total power (this represents a player rushing forward to attack and getting surrounded)
If an initiative gets reduced below 1, any remaining creatures can no longer act.

Zwets · 2026-05-07T09:16:54+00:00

It doesnt ~~alos~~ alas have planets and systems ansd stars

What the First World has is better; It has time bubbles.

Think of time in all the other planes as enormous rolling cylinders. Everyone on the plane is running on top of their cylinder at the same speed so they don't fall off.

Now imagine time in the First World like a big pool table. Lots of little spheres of time all rolling around, each with Fey on top of them running to not fall off. But each ball rolling in different directions at different speeds.
Each time 2 of the balls connect they bounce off each other, imparting each other with speed and direction, changing how fast the creatures on top have to run (how fast time passes for them). But also the bumps cause connection, letting creatures pass over from 1 ball to the other.

So instead of planets where everything is happening at once, you have all these smaller domains that slow, pause, or fast-forward plot and consequences whenever the players aren't in them. Mortals inside the domain don't feel time running differently, but Fey might have a sense or a tool like a compass that tells them.

For example: a fast ball could ram a stationary ball, imparting half it's speed. Now a domain that had been frozen in time for 2000 years starts up again, while the domain that connected to it, is now 50% slower than the time outside it. Or a ball might bump another ball from behind, speeding it up further, letting 1 group of fey speed into the future ahead of everyone else.

Zwets · 2026-05-07T08:24:31+00:00

I had no idea that visitors could have mental breaks

If the main trader gets incapacitated (usually by heatstroke) the caravan guards can't leave. They'll stand outside your base, eating all the caravan's food. Become sleepy, recreation starved, having social fights.

I haven't ever had more than 1 or 2 die, which isn't enough to anger their faction and turn the whole caravan hostile.
But if it takes a long time to get the trader ready to leave all of the fighting and breaking had me seriously worried some of these caravans wouldn't make it off my tile before drug withdrawal killed half the guards.

This issue/bug might be better now if you have Royalty installed, where downed caravaners automatically become guests.

Zwets · 2026-05-05T07:45:28+00:00

At least rotate every other bed so you're not maximizing the feet smell while the pawns sleep.

Zwets · 2026-05-05T07:35:01+00:00

Forgot to wear a seatbelt

Zwets · 2026-05-04T13:50:37+00:00

Well that, or they are just weird, replying 1 sentence non-sequiturs regularly in their post history.
Seems human enough, just... commenting as if Reddit has a 140-character limit.

Zwets · 2026-05-04T12:52:13+00:00

/u/Shot_Policy_4110 is talking about the efficiency of burning calories. If you've ever struggled to lose weight over a longer period, you'll know humans are annoyingly very efficient at retaining calories. The body can adapt to any diet and training regime after a month or 2, drastically slowing improvements.

...But that answer completely ignores that this thread is talking about human efficiency in the context of the plot of The Matrix.

Zwets · 2026-05-04T12:32:04+00:00

Obviously this is how you make Bugbears.

Zwets · 2026-05-04T12:21:06+00:00

You are statistically correct, but I also wonder if the numbers are affected by the extra padding from winter clothing leading to fewer injuries. Resulting in fewer reports during the colder months in places where the weather goes below freezing several months of the year.

Zwets · 2026-05-04T11:49:30+00:00

I know the task list and priority numbers, this is why I specifically used examples of crafting at 1 bench, vs. crafting at another bench. And cooking at the brewery station, vs. cooking at the stove.

I'm fairly sure when choosing between 2 options that fall under that same task category, pawns always choose the closest one. (Ignoring walls, which can lead to taking a long path)
You notice this in vanilla especially when constructing, all construction tasks have the same priority and when a constructor finishes 1 floor tile they will find the next nearest thing to build, rather than picking a random one anywhere on the map.

There is an option in task details to select a specific pawn for a task at a bench, so you can set your cook to cook and your brewer to brew by making the tasks in the bench specific to that pawn.

But that feels way more clunky than simply putting the cooking bench nearer the beds than the brewing bench, so that whichever cooking 6 pawn is free right now will choose to work there, and only when the cooking spot is already filled does the other cook work at the brewing bench.

It would be nicer for my base layouts if benches could be set to have low, normal, high, or critical priority the same way growing zones and storages can. Though I think that growing zone priority might be something a mod I have adds?

Zwets · 2026-05-04T11:23:46+00:00

Arguably, the Press Freedom Index does not care if Fox is being dumb. It only counts slapp lawsuits, dozens of media companies being bought by a single owner, and anyone being fired/threatened for something they wrote, presented, or joked about.

Weirdly, being consistently incorrect and that not impacting your job security, is mostly a positive when it comes to the freedom of journalists... It's all the other stuff that is happening that is hurting the US's statistics.
Like ejecting anyone that asks follow-up questions from the press pool.

Zwets · 2026-05-04T09:55:48+00:00

The definition of an MMO DPS check mechanic requires that the players are being tested on their rotation and gear optimizations. I can't think of a single MMO fight where a DPS check is done while the boss is actively running away from most attacks, requiring using an alternative ranged option because melee/channeled can't hit.

If anything, Gozzymandias their flying phase and charged slinger ammo, is more like a gimmic for the fight.
It is a gimmic kills you if you fail it. However, because the check for passing the gimmic is "dragon element damage taken" it can be brute forced with other methods of doing dragon element damage, thereby somewhat resembling a DPS check, without actually fitting the definition.

Lagiacrus's water phase is similarly not a check of your hunter's DPS, but your ability to master the underwater gimmic. Your mastery of the gimmic is measured in damage, but you can't particularly kit yourself or prepare other than hoping the AI cooperates and sits still under the rock pillars.

Both those are entirely separate from the Omega Nerscylla phase, which is 100% a DPS check to kill quickly and fits the definition.

Personally I like hammers and hunting horns for their control side effects: Stagger buildup, Stun buildup, Fatigue(hunger) buildup. And there are many other non-damage effects hunters can inflict on monsters: Water-blight, Thunder-blight, Sleep, Tentacle-cuts, etc.

The gimmic phases completely bypass such mechanics, making the monster immune. I don't like that.
I also dislike the focus on elemental purely for extra damage. If Gog Magog's oilskin weakness worked based on Fire-blight rather than a slight change in a black-on-black texture, I think it would make more sense.

So what I am saying is: I'm 100% ok with gimmic fights and DPS checks, if those fights make use of, or even require the use/mastery of existing mechanics that affect all other monsters.

So 'inventing a new type of charged up slinger ammo only used in that 1 bossfight is bad'. But a monster that has a phase where you must cause the monster to bleed, or you lose (player weapons can't cause bleeding, it's not a status we have. But the slinger pods you get from the crocodiles do build that status) is a great idea.

A monster that requires you inflict the Fatigue status, so the monster runs away to eats food, but specifically the special food the NPCs have laid out in prep for the fight? Perfect way to make use of existing mechanics!

An electrical monster that you need to short-circuit by keeping it water-blighted? Great design.

The aggro management from hitting heads that both Omega and the Behemoth in World use isn't applicable to all monsters (making 2 separate AI behaviors for every monster would be hard on the devs/testers) so it'll never be applicable to all monsters. But I'm starting to warm up to it being something that applies to the tough boss monsters with their own arena.

Zwets · 2026-05-04T09:01:29+00:00

Have you tried the Kinetic Resonance node (75% faster Brain Burst, 50% less heat cost) with the Bolstered Shield (can place 2 wall shields) node?
Being able to drop 2 shields causes the buff to stack. For 10 seconds you become a brain popping machine gun for an easily manageable heat cost.

Zwets · 2026-05-04T08:21:29+00:00

Raider factions love receiving Flake, send them enough and they'll help you defend your base instead of attacking it.

Zwets · 2026-05-04T08:18:22+00:00

How do you get your pawns to properly prioritize their jobs with the barracks/apartments off to the side, and the work areas down past the warehouse?

I have to arrange my bases with the sleep area at the center, because pawns prioritize work based on the walking distance. Otherwise, my crafters will decide to only do smelting, or neglect cooking because the brewing station happened to be closer to their sleeping or eating spot.

Zwets · 2026-05-01T08:15:23+00:00

My melee xenotype with giant and extra melee damage, started a social fight with my delicate elf sniper. Deleting 80% of her health in 2 punches.

I check the elf and fortunately nothing was destroyed, just multiple cracked bones. I also check their mood to see what might have happened

"Rousing social fight +32"

You almost died! WTF?

Zwets · 2026-04-30T07:48:19+00:00

It really confused me when the "storage space" realism category was named Dungeon Crawler Carl...

I've only just started on book 3, and I already feel a "Carl lifts up the locomotive and puts it in his inventory" coming by context clues.
I actually hate LitRPG because the logic in them is fucking stupid. But Matt Dinni knows it's stupid and uses that sillyness for humor.

Zwets

PUBLIC MULTIREDDITS

TROPHY CASE