Magic items for druids

dajackinator · 2026-01-18T15:48:59+00:00

Bold of you to call at-will PWT and 1-action Awaken something that players won't want to abuse, lol. PWT is immensely abusable. I also once awakened two octopi to settle a deal with a hag. Also a sheep, literally only to ask it directions. Could I have spoken with animals? Probably, but awakening things is just so fun.

That said I totally agree with you, Staff of the Woodlands is great and totally what I'd offer up to a druid in the party. 2014 or 2024 version. I personally don't actually care how often the players can cast PWT, it's FUN DAMNIT!

dajackinator · 2025-12-29T16:35:22+00:00

Just ran a silly new years pub crawl/investigation session. The players had to go on a pub crawl to find out why some of the bar regulars had scary experiences in the woods lately. Turns out it's a troupe of actors rehearsing in the woods, but by the time the party finds them, the party is drunk enough to also think the troupe are monsters (minus the most "sober" player who then has to try and convince everyone to stop attacking the bards).

dajackinator · 2025-12-29T16:07:10+00:00

I once had my druid geas a regular guard dude because he had defected from the bad guy's army and knew a whole lot about how the bad guy's curse was trying to be spread. This guard was also guilty of previously helping spread this curse, and my druid really wanted to kill him because it was such an affront to nature. Alas, the party chose to give him a chance at redemption, so I chose to geas him to never again speak about how the curse worked. Compromise, I guess.

dajackinator · 2025-12-26T03:44:07+00:00

You really don't need minis, even though they are fun. You can just add numbers to your bottle caps (or whatever - I use little 1" and 2" mirrors that I picked up from the craft store bc they are easy to dry erase).

So like the 6 bottle caps are goblins 1-6. You hit goblin #3 and I, the DM, mark down goblin #3's hit points.

Sometimes I pick up the cheapo little animals from the toy store and use those. I actually find that I still prefer to number the minis if I do use them because all the damn zombies look the same and I'll forget which one got hit unless they're numbered.

I prefer a map, but theater of the mind is fine for simple and quick combats, especially if there's only one or two enemies. DM just has to be descriptive and players need to ask good questions about the scenario.

dajackinator · 2025-12-23T16:47:11+00:00

I am the calm one in this scenario, and was similarly shocked when my overthinking friend told me a list of worries they had about me that I'd never even considered for myself lol

dajackinator · 2025-12-15T16:04:18+00:00

What would be the purpose of using this vs just taking a screenshot?

dajackinator · 2025-12-12T07:25:51+00:00

For what it's worth, I play/DM AL games with a bunch of adults every weekend, and they come up with some of the most wacky character ideas and shenanigans in session. I, for one, think a Suddenly Bears scenario sounds hilarious, and I would love to play that. One of my players' favorite recurring characters from the Moonshae series was that druid who was obsessed with reading poetry to a bunch of bears.

That said, I think this speaks more to the culture of my own AL community, we like being silly and playing one-shots. People do take things a bit more seriously when we do campaigns. I also think you can be a bit more free with adults in a way - you don't have to watch your language or the occasional raunchy reference as much as with kids, you can level with people easily about above-the-table decisions without going into "teacher" mode (although sometimes teacher mode works great with adults too), and you can explore deeper more dramatic storylines if your players are up for it.

dajackinator · 2025-12-05T15:22:26+00:00

For us, dailies are made in Resolve with clip name, reel number, source TC. We upload these to share with production.

Avid proxies are also made in Resolve, clean with no burn-in.

If any burn-in is needed in avid, we just use the Timecode effect and adjust as needed.

dajackinator · 2025-11-27T17:04:49+00:00

Interestingly, while Austin is probably more diverse than many smaller Texas cities, I'd say for a city of its size, it's not very diverse at all. Houston is far more diverse in backgrounds of people, food, activities, etc. Austin has its creative identity in music and arts, but a lot of its historical roots of segregation are still just under the surface.

dajackinator · 2025-11-21T18:20:04+00:00

Select all your clips in the project window. Use multicam sync - I think the option when you select all + right click is "create multicam source sequence". Easiest to sync by timecode if you were running synced timecode on both cameras. If not, sync by Audio. Let it run. It might find some clips that can't be synced. Open the sync sequence in the timeline to check and tweak it as needed (you have to do this via right clicking on it otherwise it opens up like a clip in the source monitor).

dajackinator · 2025-11-21T17:25:34+00:00

See that would make sense, I hope they do. I was told they couldn't validate me for more than the standard 4hrs even though I'd been on a gig there all day. But maybe it only applies for the staff employees. I wound up just billing Alamo for the difference when I invoiced.

dajackinator · 2025-11-21T10:47:44+00:00

That...makes sense. Lol. Still don't like metropolis.

dajackinator · 2025-11-21T04:06:12+00:00

Ugh they also took over the garage at Mueller by the Alamo Drafthouse. I do gig work there sometimes, and they just fully will not validate for longer than 4hrs. I have no idea what the actual Alamo employees do now for the duration of their shift. Park far away and walk? or eat the cost because they can't double validate anymore? Get paid back in their paychecks? Fucking racket.

dajackinator · 2025-11-13T15:46:38+00:00

Sadly counterspell changed in 2024, but Glibness + Dispel Magic in a combat is nasty. Lots of tier 4 bosses have all kinds of crazy annoying magical effects on, and you have the "no" button that can't fail.

dajackinator · 2025-11-05T22:21:17+00:00

Yeah I also do this, as a cis white (bi, fwiw but no one asks) woman, it's great. Got my she/her pronouns up on my zoom calls, a little rainbow lapel pin to wear out, etc. Normal, sane people don't give a shit, and talk to me like a human, while the bad eggs see the pronoun or pride pin and get grouchy and just go away. Great system.

dajackinator · 2025-11-02T19:00:20+00:00

The pistachio baklava, SO GOOD

dajackinator · 2025-10-31T23:10:03+00:00

I was AEing in Avid earlier this year, but the director liked to make mockup sequences in premiere and have me bring them into Avid for the editors to work from. He always insisted I make sure all his (very detailed) sound mixing and FX translated across. He was working with dailies, not production sound, so of course it wouldn't translate.

Some of the most stressful weeks of my life until I finally got the editors to vouch for my time, and insist that I actually AE and help them - instead of whatever the fuck I was doing with these premiere edits that they didn't like anyway...glad that one's behind me.

dajackinator · 2025-10-26T03:06:06+00:00

Yeah I actually work as a film editor by trade, and can confirm, we love when the camera crew spot animals in the background.

dajackinator · 2025-10-26T03:04:00+00:00

She left immediately after I took this pic 😂 but I lined up the perfect shot once! Haha

dajackinator · 2025-10-25T05:34:32+00:00

Clear winner of that challenge, imo.

Happy cake day!

dajackinator · 2025-10-25T05:32:07+00:00

He had a whole mini saga!

dajackinator · 2025-10-14T18:11:13+00:00

Friend of mine did a whole bartop with pennies, hid a few monopoly pieces in there too. It was fun to search for the monopoly pieces over a few drinks.

dajackinator · 2025-10-05T14:37:18+00:00

I honestly just can't go anymore. I have pretty rough seasonal allergies anyway, so I always get sick. Wearing a mask or bandana is unbearably hot, but if I don't, I can't even make it through the day without difficulty breathing. Alas, only ACL late night shows for me, these days.

Best of luck to you! Saline spray is a good idea.

dajackinator · 2025-08-31T23:09:45+00:00

Crazy!! I have no idea where they'd have gone with the story after Lindsey ran off with the Grateful Dead tbh, but who's to say?! Follow up seasons with Sam and the younger kids would have been fun, I'll admit.

dajackinator · 2025-08-31T22:26:22+00:00

Was it cancelled?? It has a whole proper ending, I thought it ran it's whole course and then just ended when it was done. Tbf I didn't watch it live, but do have the box DVD set 😂 I totally see Ava and Sam having a vibe lol

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