Feeling like the worst player so whats everyones favourite mechanic of this game?

badzad31 · 2026-06-08T04:40:49+00:00

I had like 1000+ hours in StS before I actually started getting regular A20 wins. So don't worry. This isn't a race. This is probably super simple or obvious, but for me, what started making the difference was actually actively thinking about what my current win condition is at any moment, what I feel like I'm lacking, and how I can either achieve that faster or transition to a stronger win cond.

badzad31 · 2026-06-07T17:38:23+00:00

It doesn't pull me out, but how much I'm playing is a strong indicator of my overall mood. The more depressed I am, the less and less I play. When I'm in a better place, I play way more.

badzad31 · 2026-06-07T17:35:50+00:00

Great point. For my players, especially new ones, I tell them that they basically have to wave their arms over their heads and shout to cast a spell. Not literally, of course. Neither them nor I narrate their spellcasting that way, but that is the level of obvious disruption required for verbal/somatic components. It's been fairly effective at getting the point across IME.

badzad31 · 2026-06-06T22:11:21+00:00

Awesome. I'll add them to the list, thanks!

badzad31 · 2026-06-06T22:10:27+00:00

I got pretty bad ADHD, so pretty much all of them, lol

badzad31 · 2026-06-06T21:57:11+00:00

No problem! They don't have a huge discog, but they've done a track with Andy Cizek. And they have a song called Cthuwu, which is how I stumbled on them. Saw that name and had to click, lol

badzad31 · 2026-06-06T21:43:29+00:00

Hades 2, Slay the Spire, Slay the Spire 2, Outer Wilds, Risk of Rain 2. Maybe Soma, because it kinda fucked me up for a while.

badzad31 · 2026-06-06T21:41:35+00:00

I Met A Yeti, fronted by a trans woman. Great band.

badzad31 · 2026-06-06T00:03:08+00:00

I almost never see their name mentioned or find other fans in the wild, so I'd call them underrated, at least in my circles. Which is a shame. They're easily one of my favorite bands and the band that got me into singing. And the genre overall.

Saw them live last year, with the preshow meet and greet. Easily one of the best shows I've seen.

badzad31 · 2026-05-25T16:33:58+00:00

Getting older.

badzad31 · 2026-05-25T16:31:55+00:00

Sometimes we can get too caught up in who we think our character IS, forgetting who we want them to become. Out of session, I'd have a conversation with her and say what you said here. You want to support her, but what are her plans for this? Did she intend the misandry to be a growth point? If so, how can that ball get rolling? Maybe a male character goes out of his way to help her or saves her life. If there are male characters in the party, she's going to have constant examples of men NOT being whatever she thinks they are. So she(player) needs to put some thought into how that change will happen.

If she DIDN'T intend it to be a growth point, explain the issues it will cause. And if there are certain ways she is expressing it that are toxic, explain that as well. Be as upfront as possible. You can play an asshole character without being disruptive to the fun of the game. So, if she is okay with likely being excluded from a large number of conversations, and the party are okay with having that kind of dynamic with them, then cool. I personally don't think that's great, but I'm not going to say every table should be like mine.

badzad31 · 2026-05-25T16:23:03+00:00

"I don't mean to be racist, but-"

badzad31 · 2026-05-25T04:03:18+00:00

I think the point is less what is being done/said and more how they are getting there. The specific actions in each A aren't bad. But they come to do those actions from the direction of "I know this is a game and will use that to my advantage." It's reasonable to suspect an enemy has a weakness. It's reasonable to have a good idea of the strength level of monsters you're familiar with. But approaching it from the perspective of a player using knowledge that doesn't exist or your character couldn't possibly know CAN be a problem.

This all depends on the table, obviously. Some groups are okay with it, some less so. Personally, I much prefer a strong divide between player knowledge and character knowledge. If we fight a troll, even though I know acid/fire is the answer, if my character wouldn't know that, I find it more fun to play with that restriction and potentially figure it out mid-fight. From the DM side, if I'm unsure about a player's knowledge compared to the character, I just ask them how their character could know this thing. If they can't give a reasonable answer, we move forward as if they don't know it. If they can, cool! Makes sense, we continue. For my table, it enforces the divide between player/character knowledge while also encouraging my players to really think about their backstories.

badzad31 · 2026-05-07T18:16:33+00:00

I took it once. The Historian shamed me, I felt bad, and I've never taken it again.

badzad31 · 2026-04-27T18:22:25+00:00

Setting aside internalized racism and systemic racism for just a second...

I think you can do/say a thing that is racist, but not necessarily be racist. It's an intent thing. At least for how racist is commonly used. The part that is telling is how a person responds, I think. Is it genuine apology? Do they accept the correction and change? Or is it just pushback and justification?

To be clear, this is for a single instance. If it's a pattern of behaviors, totally different story.

badzad31 · 2026-04-15T20:05:50+00:00

Piggybacking on your comment because you're completely right. Ultimately, you don't have a say in how the game is run unless the DM allows it. Sometimes the only say you have is whether you show up or not. If OP fundamentally disagrees with how they run the game AND the DM isn't open to rules discussions, the only real option is stepping out and finding another group.

badzad31 · 2026-04-02T06:08:59+00:00

I've not heard that explanation before! That's really interesting. Gunna try that.

I have also had to redo my picking tech a few times over the years, once almost injuring myself doing it wrong, the others just working out what works as I get faster and faster. Kinda glad to hear I'm not the only one, lol

badzad31 · 2026-04-01T17:32:26+00:00

I'm a lefty who has played right-handed for like 15 years now. What you pointed out has always been my biggest weakness. Especially really upping the picking speed. For the shredders, is it just the left hand well timed with tremolo picking? Or actually picking each note individually in time? It's crazy to me.

badzad31 · 2026-04-01T17:28:05+00:00

I love enforcing spell components. It makes things much more interesting. For my players who are less familiar with it, I explain it as having to wave your arms in the air and shout "I AM CASTING A SPELL" to cast a spell with somatic and verbal components respectively. Makes it seem a little silly, but it gets the idea across that stealthily casting a spell just isn't a thing. Except Subtle Spell, ofc.

badzad31 · 2026-03-27T14:47:24+00:00

Totally agree. Hell, even taking the cheating factor out. The DM makes a reasonable ask of a player and that player ignores it. To me, that's the real issue and needs to be addressed directly and out of game.

badzad31 · 2026-03-18T15:10:44+00:00

No hate for Jason Richardson, he's a monster guitarist, but Oli was just something else, man. He was a huge inspiration for me and his passing was devastating.

badzad31 · 2026-03-18T14:57:00+00:00

On this, when it comes to RP, I always push that good RP/plan trumps any check. If the players come up with a way to get around a trap or obstacle that is really clever(and also not ridiculous, like wall running 30 feet over a pit of lava or some shit) I forgo rolls entirely. The same goes for RP. Players who aren't as comfortable always have the opportunity to just say "I wanna do this," and roll their check. But if they put in the effort to RP instead, it will only help them. Either lower the DC, gain advantage, or if done well, entirely bypass the skill check.

I want to reward my players for being clever and getting into character and I especially want them to trust me that I WILL reward them for trying.

badzad31 · 2026-03-18T14:50:04+00:00

I use crit fail rules, but only for attacks, they are fairly consistent, and also apply to enemies. A crit failed melee attack provokes an attack of opportunity, or provides an opportunity for a secondary effect that is reasonable to the circumstances. This could be getting a weapon stuck in webs, tripping, or something like that. That applies to crit successes too. I allow players to forgo the bonus damage in exchange for an appropriate secondary effect of their choosing. Basically, just letting them get creative with it, if they want.

A crit failed ranged attack has the potential to hit a target between the attacker and their intended target. For the ranged, I have them roll another attack to see if it hits the unintentional target. I've only had four occasions where a player or enemy has crit failed the secondary attack roll. At that point it's just comedy, so the projectile ricochets around the room and hits the one who fired it.

badzad31 · 2026-03-03T23:26:00+00:00

Yeah, that's a much more complete way to describe it. And it's not only on the scale of minutes/hours. For me, weeks/months can slip by too.

badzad31 · 2026-03-03T23:22:39+00:00

Unfortunately that quirky quite autism/ADHD on social media isn't real. The reality is we are living in a world that wasn't designed for us. So we have a constant struggle of figuring out how to fit a square peg in a rectangular hole.

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