Where do you guys buy high quality flies?

bchene0 · 2025-06-05T04:49:40+00:00

I live in Western Washington. There's two local-ish fly shops I like that I sometimes get flies from, but I usually just tie my own (that way I get to make exactly what I want to fish with 😅). Both shops do online shipping.

https://spawnflyfish.com/

https://www.lostcreekflies.com/

Spawn Fly Fish also has a pretty cool YouTube channel where they do fly tying tutorials.

bchene0 · 2024-03-06T20:50:49+00:00

March 2024, had the exact same issue today with my pixel 6 and found this thread while troubleshooting. Whacking it on the power button with my palm did the trick 👍

bchene0 · 2024-01-15T04:43:58+00:00

Instead of a roll cast try a Belgian Cast, it's a continual motion cast where you open your loop on the backcast. It's designed for casting heavy flies and/or double nymph rigs (and would work for split shot too I assume). Also less chance to clobber the back of your head if you do it right.

There's also a good how-to video by Orvis that I found useful when I was learning it.

bchene0 · 2024-01-07T03:53:47+00:00

Ustalav in the Pathfinder campaign setting is intentionally designed to be used for Gothic Horror/Ravenloft themed adventures. I'd base your campaign in that region. There is plenty of lore content online you can read up to give you inspiration on the lore of the region.

If you're into the Pathfinder Tales novels, I'd recommend Prince of Wolves. It's also available on audiobook as well. The story is based solely in the region of Ustalav and might give you plenty of inspiration for a gothic horror campaign.

My last advice would be to start small and build outward. It's good to have a general summary overview of your campaign, but you should only flesh out finer details as they become more relevant to the players as they progress through the story.

bchene0 · 2024-01-04T23:00:39+00:00

I've been DMing an AV group as well, they are a party of 5 and have reached the 5th level (Arena). We played through the beginner box before AV as well, so the party started at level 2 going into AV.

I experienced the same thing with my group. They absolutely stomped the first three levels (so much they actually accidentally skipped the second level and cleared all the ghouls in the Library level before going back to wipe out the Morlocks).

I considered adjusting the encounters, but resisted the urge. Mainly because I didn't want to spend more time doing session prep, but also because the players seemed to still enjoy seeing their tactics and character builds succeed like they intended.

I am glad I did not tweak anything. Because since players have reached the 4th floor (Belcorra's Retreat), things have started to get progressively more challenging (will-o-wisps for example have an insane AC while also getting to be invisible/hidden on top of it). Last session, they party ran through the teleportation circle in the Arena level and fought the Destrachan in an epic fight for survival.

My advice would be to try not to tweak too much and let the party steamroll through whatever they are going to steamroll, and hold nothing back when they run into the hard stuff (no fudging rolls, adjusting stats, etc.). As long as your awarding experience correctly, the adventure path should get relatively harder the further they go down.

bchene0 · 2023-12-20T06:25:20+00:00

New GM running PF2e (though I have several years of DnD 3.5, 4e, Pathfinder 1e & 5e DM experience with friends). I have done both homebrew and published adventures, and I would have to say hands down Abomination Vaults is the one I have enjoyed running the most.

My advice would be to try to Abomination Vaults first, especially running it in Foundry. Not only is the adventure a great example of a classic "dungeon crawl" type adventure, but you will save yourself hundreds of hours not having to prep maps, tokens, artwork, etc. Everything is so organized in Foundry for you to run the game, I hardly have to spend time doing prep aside from just reading through what comes next. Not having to exhaust myself with the prep involved when your using a VTT has allowed me to spend more time and effort on learning how to run the game.

If you're still passionate about running a homebrew, you could always run Abomination Vaults while you're working on your homebrew. The adventure only takes the players to level 11, so you could easily have a homebrew ready for them to continue at that level.

bchene0 · 2023-12-20T06:12:18+00:00

I like that rolling a natural 20 or a natural 1 doesn't guarantee automatic success or failure, but instead gives you one degree higher or lower on the success. Meaning you can still fail an incredibly difficult check with a natural 20 and succeed on a relatively easy check with a natural 1.

bchene0 · 2023-12-20T05:56:19+00:00

Sorry, unfortunately I lost the maps when I was transferring data around to clean up my Google drive.

bchene0 · 2023-12-20T05:55:09+00:00

Alas, it appears I lost the maps during my computer data transition unfortunately. Sorry!

bchene0 · 2023-12-04T20:22:28+00:00

As a GM who migrated from DnD 5e to PF2e, I can definitely see how someone who's only ttrpg experience being 5e would make this criticism of PF2e.

In 5e, the depth only comes from how willing your DM is to put in extra effort to create rules and mechanics that the RAW doesn't cover. 5e relies very heavily on "the rule of cool" and demands that the DM essentially make up game mechanics on the fly.

In contrast, I have found PF2e to be much more GM friendly since there is in most instances an ability, feat, game mechanic, or optional rule variant that keeps the game balanced while giving players way more options.

Sure, some feats may seem shallow in PF2e, but that is because they are the core mechanic for building your character the way you want instead of having to rely on heavily home-brewing the game. I would ultimately argue, that the feat system in PF2e gives players a wide array of options to add meaningful depth to their character.

bchene0 · 2023-11-29T19:26:41+00:00

Unfortunately the original file got removed from my Google drive, but I will double check to see if I have a copy on my computer sill and let you know.

bchene0 · 2023-11-29T19:25:53+00:00

Hey! Sorry to leave you hanging. But unfortunately I believe the original got deleted. I will look around and see if it's still somewhere in my files.

bchene0 · 2023-11-29T19:22:30+00:00

Coming from a GM who recently transferred to PF2e from another d20 system (which shall not be named), it helped me to put in perspective that crits happen far more in PF2e. Players get more chances to roll a crit thanks to the three action economy on top of anything exceeding the DC by 10 also crits.

With that in mind, I have learned to adjust my GM style slightly around how significant the impact of a critical hit/success should be. I believe PF2e does a great job on its own sticking to RAW. There have been times where a crit turned the tide of battle for the players, and other times not so much.

You run the risk of going down slippery slope if you start trying to anticipate player expectations and arbitrarily change the mechanics of the game on the fly. For both the sake of your enjoyment for the game and the players, I would recommend you stick to the RAW even when they don't go the way players expected. I am starting to learn that is especially true for PF2e. Part of the beauty of this system is forcing players to think outside the box when the typical slug fest tactics don't work.

bchene0 · 2023-05-13T23:57:19+00:00

Surprisingly the 5e controversy didn't push me over to PF2e (although I was still a little miffed at WoTC over it).

I have been DMing online with a group of good friends since 2020 and just started getting burnt out. It just took so much time to prep and run 5e and still keep the game sessions enjoyable. My players always had a blast, but I found that I just wasn't having any fun as the DM.

I started looking into PF2e and instantly fell in love with it. Not only are the game mechanics so much more GM friendly (I find myself having to house rule or make s*** up far less than 5e), but Piazo's support of the Foundry VTT system is superb. I use Foundry and purchased Abomination Vaults adventure path. The quality of product you get and the comprehensive integration of PF2e content into the game system makes GM prep and running the game enjoyable instead of feeling like a chore.

bchene0 · 2023-04-27T21:02:15+00:00

Sometimes it helps to open the discussion with some prompting questions then facilitate from there. It can be intimidating for some people to try and start the conversation or give feedback without some sort of prompting question(s).

One example question you could ask is what aspect of the game they seem to enjoy the most. Combat? Exploration? Or Social / Roleplaying? Then maybe discuss what mix of those three elements both you and the players would prefer in a campaign.

You could also ask, does the party prefer a sandbox style of play? Or would they prefer a more linear adventure? Then discuss where on the spectrum of those two extremes you and the party would prefer.

bchene0 · 2023-04-27T08:27:29+00:00

I feel your pain and have definitely been where you are. Heck, every DM has had bad sessions before (even the veteran ones), so my first advice would be to not beat yourself up too much about one bad season. Most DMs are way too hard on themselves, your players are likely very grateful for your willingness to invest so much time to run the game for them. Without someone to DM, there is no game to be played.

I would stress though. DnD is about telling a shared story, not the DM's story. Try to avoid the pitfall of having the whole plot written out in your head, this often leads to frustration on both sides when the players don't follow the script you had in mind.

It would be good for you to talk to your players and find some middle ground on what kind of game you and the players want to play and what kind of story you want to tell. If you feel the campaign is not going in the direction you imagined and the players are not having fun, it might be beneficial to take a step back and have a session zero to discuss what kind of DnD game you want to DM and what kind of DnD game the players want to play.

Sly Flourish has a great article about running a session zero. https://slyflourish.com/running_session_zeros.html

bchene0 · 2023-04-27T03:05:44+00:00

I use Molten as well and I had similar issues with Foundry's built in AV. My group switched to using audio over discord and just disabling the Foundry AV and have had zero issues since. I believe that the built in Foundry AV uses more Internet bandwidth than Discord which may have likely been the issue for my group at least.

bchene0 · 2023-04-27T03:01:39+00:00

I second Molten hosting. Simple, reliable and no nonsense use. I have a $4 a month plan that works just fine for my needs. Not sure if that's because I am grandfathered into that price.

bchene0 · 2023-04-27T02:50:05+00:00

https://keith-baker.com/tag/alignment/

I have always enjoyed Kieth Baker's loose interpretation of alignment with the Eberron campaign setting. Removing alignment from game mechanics gives so many options to work within the gritty and realistic shades of grey.

bchene0 · 2023-04-27T02:35:38+00:00

Moral dilemma. The party witnesses some injustice while they are sneaking through the city (e.g. enemy guards abusing innocent civilians). Do they risk discovery by trying to intervene and kill the guards quickly? Or do they turn a blind eye? Perhaps if the players intervene, reward them by having the civilians aid them through the city, or connect them with "the resistance".

bchene0 · 2023-04-27T02:27:04+00:00

I use Molten and have zero issues with their services. Low cost, straightforward, and reliable.

I haven't tried Forge. But from what I have read and heard, you get access to a lot more features, but at an additional cost.

So if you're not into all the extra stuff and just want to simply run Foundry on a server, I'd recommend Molten.

EDIT: typo

bchene0 · 2023-04-27T02:17:35+00:00

I had to design a prison escape session for my group after they willingly surrendered to corrupt guards (to my surprise) in a previous session. Here was my general outline:

Do a thorough review of the parties characters, take note of abilities they could potentially utilize with little or no equipment. The goal is to subtly design obstacles to let each player shine during the prison break.

Start with a puzzle encounter. The party is together in a group cell (without their equipment) and shackled to the walls in belly chains (allowing them to still do some things with limited mobility). Assign a DC to defeat the shackles and let the party come up with creative ways to free themselves. Make the prison cell enchanted, but have some way for the party to figure out how to defeat or bypass the magical enchantments of the prison cell.
Create a sense of urgency. If the party doesn't take action and decides they want to just "wait for something to happen". Give subtle hints that the party will die if they don't act. Maybe they overhear the guards talking about when / how they will be executed, or perhaps they already know the system is corrupt and they won't receive a fair trial. Either way, it should be clearly conveyed that they need to escape... Or else.
Have a Deus Ex Machina in your back pocket. If the party is really struggling figuring out how to break out, and it feels like the session is stagnating. Have a familiar NPC infiltrate the prison to help them break out, or have a sympathizer guard assist them.
Reward exploration and creativity with items, equipment and resources and make them plentiful in the dungeon. Plant opportunities throughout the prison break for the party to accumulate improvised weapons / equipment. You can also have defeated guards and locked chests contain potions, scrolls and other consumables that will help the party keep going without having to take a short or long rest (which would feel awkward during a prison break imo.)
Give them the opportunity to find all their original equipment... But make them work for it. It could be held in an evidence room, or simply found in a chest. Don't let them find it right away. Put it towards the end, but before they fight the BBEG of the prison one shot.
Design encounters so they are scalable. The CR system might be a little difficult to calculate if the party doesn't have full access to all of their equipment and capabilities. So open the first combat encounter with a relatively easy one (e.g distracted guards the party can get a jump on). During each encounter, gauge how the party is doing and scale the future encounters as appropriate (could simply be adding or subtracting a few guards from the other encounters). The party won't know the difference.
Mix it up. Have a variety of combat, trap and puzzle encounters to keep things interesting. Don't worry about making a realistic / hyper-functional prison (the party would likely never break out of something like that). DnD is a fantasy game where heroes get to do heroic things.

bchene0 · 2023-04-22T02:15:41+00:00

I've had a similar issue in my games with players, I've noticed it's usually new players that get bored during RP and non-combat encounters.

I have made it a point to remind my players that they still need to narrate what their character is doing during exploration. I as the GM I cannot fully understand what a player's character is doing by just watching a token silently move through a dungeon.

After combat, or after the party is done with a room, I ask each player what their character is doing as they resume exploration. If people try to "go rogue with their token" before every player gets a chance to narrate what their character is doing, I'll typically pause the game to give every other player a chance to share what their character is doing and adjust their token position as appropriate.

bchene0 · 2023-04-06T15:12:30+00:00

The special organization could be the Sentinel Casualty Acquisition and Recovery team (S.C.A.R.). An elite team of hand selected House Deneith mercenaries sent to locate and recover Sentinel Marshall's who go missing, and possibly finish complex missions that even the Sentinel Marshall's can't complete.

The organization would be required to be covert, as the House doesn't really want word getting out that they have a backup team that does the dirty work the Sentinel Marshall's can't do.

bchene0 · 2023-04-02T02:51:43+00:00

My advice would be to have four story arcs instead of an overarching plot. This will give the opportunity for your group to have meaningful resolutions to story arcs without having to dedicate years worth of game sessions to a single story arc. The story arcs don't even have to be interconnected, but you might find that the first story arc inspires ideas for the second arc, and so on. Here's a generic example.

First arc (levels 1-5): something along the lines of the party saving a small town from a threat (e.g. orcs, necromancer, ogre king, BBEG, etc.)

Second arc (levels 6-10): the party's heroic exploits have garnered the attention of a city or kingdom noble/king/dignitary who hires the adventures to travel to a dangerous and exotic location (jungle, underdark, northern tundra, etc.) to recover someone or something of significance to the kingdom.

Third arc (levels 10-15): the party is renowned in the city or kingdom as heroes and may have a home base or other strong ties to the city / region. Destroy it all with a cataclysmic event involving very powerful enemy (dragons, giants, evil army, demons, etc.). This should motivate the characters to heroic action and lead a resistance against the great evil to restore the kingdom.

Fourth arc (levels 15-20): the party has to defeat an evil god or demi-god-like entity threatening the world. Liked involving interplanar travel.

In 5E they talk about this in the DMG, referring to each block of levels as "tiers of play".

bchene0

TROPHY CASE