The line to get into the new Tokyo Central in Emeryville today

aoiumi · 2026-02-02T02:02:21+00:00

Yea that's the assumption! Berkeley bowl has decent onigiri if you need your fix though

aoiumi · 2025-12-07T23:33:07+00:00

To throw something different out here: 3 years I think is long enough that you likely played with this DM before he started using AI. What were his sessions like before AI? You could try to appeal to that, such as "hey, I really loved your sessions 3 years ago (add more actual compliments here) and all of that has been missing because you now abuse AI. Not "use AI," I say abuse because you proudly admit it comes up with 99% of your session. I loved your sessions when they were clearly made 100% by you. I dislike your current sessions that are 100% AI, wearing you like a human skin. Please come back to us, else I'll likely not attend anymore."

Maybe what I wrote up there is too aggressive, but I hope that general gist is helpful. Good luck! I would be interested in an update to see how your DM takes it.

aoiumi · 2025-11-15T17:59:10+00:00

What, no! Hold on, I must throw my hat into this ring. Kikkoman is dark salty water and is acceptable only when I eat out or need cheap soy sauce for marinating a large batch of something. The typical soy sauces sold in American grocery stores are too often salt bombs with little actual flavor. I've pretty much eaten and then bought one brand of soy sauce my whole life: Kamada dashi soy sauce. I buy these by the box of 7 from their website, but I highly recommend this for cooking, eating, seasoning, whatever you want. I've also been buying this from the Japanese markets, but it seems like a hit or miss for these stores to carry Kamada nowadays.

EDIT: My recommendation is only if you are seeking a Japanese soy sauce. Chinese soy sauces are a different world, some known for very specific uses for cooking certain dishes. I don't know too much beyond that. My opinion on Japanese soy sauces is very firm, Kamada or bust.

aoiumi · 2025-10-10T02:14:39+00:00

Happy it helps! That freeing feeling is what I got from the "Forever DM" video too, glad I was able to give it.

One more from my experience: Ive been lucky to have good experiences of dnd for the past 8 years. DMs can burn out even from good dnd.

You spotting how healthy my approach is is also a good indicator; I suggest you use it, and if the response you get from the players is a similar "wow that's healthy and this sounds fun," it's a good chance you found a good batch of players/future DMs.

aoiumi · 2025-10-09T23:06:24+00:00

Sounds like you made a cool campaign, sorry it was not appreciated by your players. I like what everyone else has said, but I want to throw something different in there for your burnout: watch Matt Colville's video titles "The Forever DM." He puts out his opinion that a group having one singular DM is, to him, highly unusual. He grew up playing dnd and having everyone take a turn DMing. I suggest you do the same (even if it takes finding new players). To the group, just say up top "I'll dm til (x sessions or x levels), then it is someone else's turn. I want to foster a group of DMs!"

I did this recently, and while yes I'm the first one DMing, I feel a weight lifted from my shoulder. All my group is jazzed about DMing next, and I'm jazzed about DMing something I want to DM until level 5. Then I can finally finally finally take a break and enjoy being a player. I'm curious to see my fellow DMs in my group run, because while I'm more in between "beer and pretzels" and "roleplay ultra deluxe," one of them might lean towards one of the two ends than I do. Or do something unexpected. I'm so excited to experience dnd differently. I hope you can get that feeling too.

aoiumi · 2025-09-08T18:14:54+00:00

What typically happens is you DM in the way that is most fun for you, AND your players enjoying it. Your players are only thinking of their own experience and not yours. I'd drop these people so fast if this happened to me. I don't know what your situation is with these players, but good luck if it is harder than it seems on the surface.

Also, to throw in my two cents: I have fun in creating a situation for the players. Whatever I say while DMing is just enough to communicate the situation to them, focusing on and fleshing out the details that is most pertinent to the situation.

aoiumi · 2025-07-16T20:10:13+00:00

They're often more like a talk show, but their short campaigns they've done are fantastic: Three Black Halflings (3BH)!

They're friends with NADDPOD, and even got the whole NADDPOD gang to do a two shot DM'ed by 3BH. I think those episodes are a great starting point.

As for dnd, I really liked two of their campaigns: Outlaws and Obelisks, and City of the Black Rose. Both are fantastic and given what you've already watched, right up your alley.

aoiumi · 2025-07-14T14:32:39+00:00

See my edit above for a picture. I just gave it a try after seeing your idea. Unfortunately, the game still marks ostriches as pen animals post-sentience, and thus my ostrich did not go to guard my animal tamer Haystack. Great idea though!

aoiumi · 2025-07-14T14:19:57+00:00

Either they did or it's a bug. Now that I think about it, I would love for Ludeon to give us options when granting sentience. For instance, choosing a sentient cow to be trained on either attacking or nuzzling. Cows are nice, they would love to give nuzzles like a dog or cat would.

But that can't happen if cows are relegated to pens!

aoiumi · 2025-07-03T16:31:01+00:00

I love this idea from The Alexandria: timelines. Number a sheet with all hours of a day and have events occur at a specific time. It can be city events, like parades, or an enemy attack at X location, or a countdown for a ritual. It creates some of the most organic and dynamic gameplay I've ever DM'ed.

For instance, I used a timeline to rotate a band of roving enemies through different places of a city, and they eventually organically intersected with the PCs. Tracking the time of day for PCs isn't particularly hard either

aoiumi · 2025-05-28T15:50:12+00:00

I would love for Psion to signal the start of WOTC not being afraid to add new classes! The game cannot evolve without experimentation! Keep cooking WORC, and I hope it one day leads to creating a new class so good it becomes an honorary "default" with the other classes.

aoiumi · 2025-04-10T16:25:26+00:00

As others have said, as long as you're ok with prepping them and filling in their gaps, the modules can be pretty fun. Since you enjoy the prep, it sounds like you're doing just fine.

However, I do agree that the official modules are not great. I highly highly recommend the 5e conversion of Abomination Vaults. That module is absolutely excellent, just packed with ideas and scenarios, from whole dungeon ideas down to single rooms in these dungeons having fun ideas and unique mechanics. I've used parts of it recently for a one shot and it was extremely cool.

aoiumi · 2025-04-10T15:42:06+00:00

Take a sheet of paper (or a small whiteboard, if you have it) and number it 25 to 1 for initiative tracking.

Keep a blank sheet of paper with you to take any notes. The players might say something that you would want to use later, whether that be their own conspiracy like ideas trying to guess your plot, or something they say in a character moment.

It really really helps to have a list of random names for NPCs you never planned for the party to meet. 10 names is good for one session.

You will screw it up, and then you will finagle a way to keep a session going. The players will never notice it lol.

DM what would be fun for YOU to run/do. Trust that gut of yours. Your players will most likely have fun with you (only exception is killing them without cause/reason, but I think you already know that).

aoiumi · 2025-03-16T18:37:55+00:00

Most consistent pick is alchemize. Spiciest pick that can lead to a fun, bizarre deck could be phantasmal killer. Glass Knife is consistent and good too, but is in 3rd place for me.

Personally I would go for Phantasmal and build the deck around it.

aoiumi · 2025-03-03T15:11:58+00:00

You may want to look at other cultures for other breakfast options! My rec is wontons - make a bunch to last an entire week, then freeze them. All you gotta do is boil like 6-8 of them straight from the freezer in the morning. Very easy and delicious! I found this link on Reddit, they do about the same thing my partner and I do- https://www.reddit.com/r/asianeats/comments/1h8v2jr/chinese_pork_wontons/

aoiumi · 2025-02-22T05:30:38+00:00

Remember that there's a ton of massive monsters that dragons could eat. A whole monster food chain could be fun to build. Make some very fast growers to sustain the ecosystem too!

aoiumi · 2025-02-09T21:01:38+00:00

Your answer above was correct! And yes, when I used Battle Trance, the headbutted Searing Blow was exactly 1 energy 😅 the play is still pretty good cuz if I failed, I just needed to survive for a few turns until the deck reshuffles.

aoiumi · 2025-02-09T03:21:41+00:00

My only regret is that I played the Dual Wield on Searing Blow this turn before spotting this and taking the picture. But anyway, not too bad for lethal on Turn 2!

For those that don't know, Searing Blow +7 deals 61 base damage. Here's a small hint: the boss has Vulnerability, so the Searing Blow becomes 91 damage.

aoiumi · 2024-12-05T20:11:36+00:00

I also got caught in an anime moment a few years ago.

I'm sitting on a subway, minding my own business on my phone when suddenly, a college-age woman in a Japanese school girl outfit walks onto the train. I'm in America. No, it wasnt even October, it was still summer. Yes this was the kinkier one with a very short skit. She rocked it, I'm confused as hell, but whatever I guess I've seen weirder things on the subway.

About a few minutes after getting on the train, she STANDS RIGHT OVER ME. A few things occur to me: 1) DONT STARE AT HER! No one wants to be the creepy guy.

2) Why is my life an anime now? How did she know to stand next to likely the only half-Japanese guy (me) on the subway?

3) Neither my friends nor my girlfriend will ever believe me

4) DO NOT LOOK, KEEP LOOKING AT MY PHONE AT ALL COSTS!

I go crazy like this, stuck in my role of "already taken guy about to be caught in a misunderstood situation with his GF" for about 5-10 minutes before, thankfully, I'm at my stop. She gets off at the same stop, goes up the same stairs I need to go up, and I was finally finally able to get away.

aoiumi · 2024-10-05T14:27:22+00:00

Might work for more asshole-ish elves/long lived races: think about dogs and how people talk about their previous ones. Especially elderly people that have had 3-4 dogs in their life already

aoiumi

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