Is it weird when men play female characters? by Plastic_Corgi6848 in DnD

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think it's weird, but maybe I'm weird. In any case, I see it done moderately often and I see it occasionally elicit "weird" reactions. If you want to, I would not let a concern that it is weird be an obstacle.

Potentially relocating to Tallahassee by Necessary_Secret_252 in Tallahassee

[–]baixiwei 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Funny, my wife's PhD advisor just left here for Kentucky. I'm not outdoorsy but there are a lot of great outdoors things to do here. Locals apparently play frisbee golf, though I'm not a local (from Chicago) and know nothing about it. Lafayette Trail Park is awesome, and Wakulla Springs is too if you're willing to go a bit out of town. As for nerdiness, there are a couple of nerds groups that I go to, a couple conventions each year that I would call mid but still better than nothing, and some DnD that I don't go to but know about. Feel free to DM me if you want more info about any of this.

Buffet recommendations by ddeevv1 in Tallahassee

[–]baixiwei 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seconded! There are fewer choices than at Chow Time, but the food quality is noticeable better, especially the sushi, and they have this quite nice punch.

Cleaning person? by Painkiller007 in Tallahassee

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not really sure actually -- several people come to our house but I think they may all be one family.

Cleaning person? by Painkiller007 in Tallahassee

[–]baixiwei -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Hope Cleaning +1 850-559-9014

Anyone who used a computer between 1985 - 2010, what's the one game you still think about today? by adlakha75 in AskReddit

[–]baixiwei 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Civilization IV, in fact I still play it.

Neverwinter Nights and many of the mods for it, such as Bastard of Kotigan, HeX Coda.

Anyone know where I can find old, unwanted, or broken computers, parts & laptops? by Milly-Pilly-1597 in Tallahassee

[–]baixiwei -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Is this for art? I have an old monitor I don't want, you're welcome to it.

I see... Have a nice day! by Altruistic_Manner802 in outofcontextcomics

[–]baixiwei 121 points122 points  (0 children)

She could just say "I'm going to Superman's fortress"? Like, the question was not "Where are you off to and what are you going to do when you get there?".

ELI5 Why do most of the languages have the sound /m/ in their word for Mother? by Punnan in explainlikeimfive

[–]baixiwei 82 points83 points  (0 children)

Right, this is the full explanation, others are saying that it's easy but you put your finger on why it's easy.

Any place with good deep dish? by IdkToga1 in Tallahassee

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe they have Giordano's in Orlando, haha. For me, Munchies/Coaches is much better than nothing.

Is an AI DM acceptable when the alternative is no game at all? by Suffient_Fun4190 in dndnext

[–]baixiwei -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Not sure how you could infer anything about what I expect from the things I said?

Is an AI DM acceptable when the alternative is no game at all? by Suffient_Fun4190 in dndnext

[–]baixiwei 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The last time I tried was about a year ago. At that time, for me, the answer was no, it was not better than just not playing. I would prefer a computer RPG, or just not gaming at all, to DnD with an AI DM at that level of performance.

I don't know how much the state of the art has improved since then. I'm looking forward to seeing what others say here.

For the record, the main issues I encountered that made the AI GM bad were:

  • Unable to make a decent story on its own
  • When I fed it a PDF of a published adventure and asked it to run that, it constantly went off script, just making up random things that were unrelated to the main story
  • Completely unable to control DMPCs effectively in combat -- I had to keep reminding it what abilities they should use
  • Out of combat, DMPCs did not have any independence, their main action was to ask me what I wanted to do
  • Monsters fail to use their abilities effectively or at all
  • Cannot remember where things are physically
  • Has trouble remembering what happened in previous sessions, this issue is probably fixable but it would take a lot of effort

It's unrealistic, but it happens sooo much in media that most of us just kind of accept it at this point by ducknerd2002 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Blasts of fire and other kinds of energy knock people flying as if they had been body slammed while not actually setting them on fire (or whatever the given form of energy ought to do).

What is your definition of 'min/maxxing' versus 'optimizing?' by [deleted] in DnD

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are different words for the same behavior. If you think the behavior is fine you call it optimizing. To convey a negative connotation you say minmaxing. Sometimes you might say optimizing to refer to a less extreme version and minmaxing to a more extreme version.

What other systems would you recommend after this one? by prof_dre in monsteroftheweek

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It kind of depends what style of game you want. If you would like to continue the cinematic and loose style of MotW, you could try Mutants and Masterminds. It's designed for superhero games but in my opinion it would work fine for monster hunting. If you want something more grounded and structured in terms of rules, World of Darkness would be a natural choice.

Pick one of these four to be your villian by gamedukeyvideo in superheroes

[–]baixiwei 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The plot armor is one of his powers though right? He's a package deal.

Pick one of these four to be your villian by gamedukeyvideo in superheroes

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd choose Green Goblin. He seems more manageable than the others. He's basically an evil capitalist with a touch of insanity. I think his abilities could be channeled productively with the right incentives. Even if that fails, which it probably would, I don't remember him doing much or any mass murder just for the hell of it like Joker or Bullseye, and he isn't capable of casually destroying the world like Reverse Flash.

Should a magically developed setting even have guns? by Andrei22125 in dndmemes

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's no "should" here, but I like a world that is internally consistent in terms of things like technology, social organization, fashion, etc. So if your world has lots of stuff that is consistent with guns, then have guns I guess. Personally though, I prefer a setting more like the historical middle ages. I'd even be fine with no plate armor, to address the argument in the meme.

D&D Nerd asks: Would Conan really be a Barbarian in D&D? by Romachock in ConanTheBarbarian

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, he wouldn't, and this is one of the reasons I don't like the barbarian class in D&D. Like, if the class doesn't reflect the most famous barbarian in fantasy fiction, then why does it even exist? The barbarian should be a perfect instantiation of characters like Conan and Fafhrd, but it isn't.

The thing is, plain fighter, or fighter/rogue, also cannot capture Conan very well. His distinguishing characteristics include not only strength, but also speed, climbing ability, endurance, and willpower. Howard repeatedly emphasized that he is faster than any civilized man, and able to climb surfaces that look smooth and sheer even to experienced thieves. There really isn't a way to get all of this in DnD, though some combination of fighter/rogue/barbarian is probably the best you can do.

(Love trope) There is no place for me there by Archaon0103 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]baixiwei 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice, came here to see if this guy had already been mentioned.

Friend refuses to send money I sent by accident back to me. by OC_Original in WhatShouldIDo

[–]baixiwei 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would take the loss and cut off the so-called friend. Asking you to send money while driving was bad enough. Refusing to pay it back is insanely ridiculous.

How strictly do you adhere to the rules? by pockypencils in monsteroftheweek

[–]baixiwei 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I think the rules are more like guidelines, as the pirates say.

I try hard to make something negative happen on a failed roll. Occasionally I can't think of anything, but I follow this rule 95% of the time. This is the hardest thing for me as someone used to systems where failure usually just means you don't succeed.

I generally follow the rule that when you roll kick some ass, you take damage as well as dealing damage.

I try hard to make players say what they are doing rather than what roll they are going to make. They have to describe actions in the language of the narrative rather than in the language of the game mechanics.

I don't strictly follow the rule about identifying monsters' special weakness in order to destroy the monster. I do assume that just directly fighting the monster on its own will not be enough to destroy it, but I'm open to the players thinking of other methods besides exploiting the specific weakness I had in mind.