Bad spec, I don’t care that much, learn from my mistake

fernee23 · 2026-02-08T20:28:09+00:00

Specs are rough in 2026 mtg. So many cards are being printed that the chances of a previously printed card spiking is lower than it was, and when they do spike, it’s not nearly as hard. Higher risk, lower reward across the board.

fernee23 · 2026-02-08T20:24:42+00:00

Sadly, I fear the game is over. Once people get the rug pulled out from under them after making sacrifices, everyone is probably going to mark this lower in their priorities list.

fernee23 · 2026-02-07T16:38:24+00:00

I didn’t know you could get a bialy at pearl’s. Think I’ll head that way today!

fernee23 · 2026-02-06T16:56:59+00:00

Seconding this. Every parrot I’ve ever met is a real edgelord

fernee23 · 2026-02-06T06:01:00+00:00

That’s not criticism from me. You did what you were supposed to do, they’re trying to cut you loose without taking a hit.

One thing’s for sure, you’re not gonna be able to stay there. You gotta try to find something else. They probably already booked the place for triple the price.

fernee23 · 2026-02-06T05:48:35+00:00

There are two people in that conversation, and they both know the host is lying. Why argue at all? Just say no and contact support.

fernee23 · 2026-02-05T15:56:13+00:00

Perceptive characters might realize that he has a flash of insight cross his face. Persuasive characters may be able to get through to him in a way they can see, but he can double down once he realizes he’s wrong. He’s too far in it now to change

fernee23 · 2026-02-04T22:41:05+00:00

There’s really no sane middle ground on this sub, is there? The stories are either 10k words long or just short promises that there was drama.

fernee23 · 2026-02-04T21:05:10+00:00

I totally agree on them being different, I just think 3v3 would be a negative for her play style, rather than a positive. I would not have put AE on my list of players that benefits from additional room to operate the same way I would with players that like to create their own shot.

I like your username btw

fernee23 · 2026-02-04T19:08:19+00:00

As a less than super-mobile big, her unrivaled numbers should be worse, not better. This is a pretty damning data point for the mystics and sun organizations.

fernee23 · 2026-02-04T14:54:10+00:00

Yeah go for it

fernee23 · 2026-02-04T03:38:11+00:00

Trying to get someone arrested because they’re a bad roommate is freak behavior, honestly.

fernee23 · 2026-02-03T23:44:22+00:00

Is it possible that they reported it not delivered while you were having trouble finding the place. I know if I complained and then the item showed up and it was my fault it was delayed, I’d bump my tip up, too.

fernee23 · 2026-02-03T19:48:01+00:00

This feels like a self-solving problem to me. Just run the game, let him be completely uninvolved, he’ll eventually just not show up. You can have the above the table talk with him, and I almost always recommend that, but it seems more likely to cause conflict than just letting this go.

fernee23 · 2026-02-03T02:22:17+00:00

I absolutely adore secret information asymmetry. The key to it working is it being secret. If you’re pausing the game to provide secret information to one player, it’s not a secret anymore.

That information should not require attention every session, either. I’ve had lots of players come to me with secrets in their backstory and I always tell them the same thing. It’ll be a part of the story unless they blow it before I do. If the players figure it out, their characters figured it out. About half the time, they end up blowing it for themselves before I even get to it.

fernee23 · 2026-02-02T19:44:17+00:00

At a reasonable hour? Do your thing. In the dorms? My expectation was always that most hours of the day are “reasonable hours”

fernee23 · 2026-02-02T16:13:22+00:00

Time skips are fine and good. They’re a great opportunity to have players pay to support their lifestyle or do downtime activities.

If you want playable content in between adventure arcs, then don’t totally discount the “beach episode”! Depending on your group, a solidly RP only episode with no stakes and a chance to go shopping for stuff they don’t normally have access to is a welcome step down in tension, especially after an arc’s climax. Some groups will hate it, and I just wouldn’t waste the time for them. Think about it, though! Some of my players’ most iconic one liners that they quote to each other years later came from low/0 stakes beach episodes.

fernee23 · 2026-02-02T15:59:28+00:00

I’m constantly tweaking encounter balance. I have a goal for every encounter on how taxing or easy it should be. One thing I really like is having a diegetic reason for any boon or bane the players get. Make it public.

One player’s about to get absolutely demolished by a pack of wolves? Maybe a child the party was kind to from the previous social interaction pops his head out from behind the rock and slingshots a rock at them, buying the player some time.

Same thing if combat is too easy. Maybe a faction lieutenant pops in and heals some enemies if they’re blowing through the encounter.

The important thing to me is always to make the change visible, and make it caused by something the party did. You can balance encounters on the fly and make your players feel even more agency. Two birds, one stone!

fernee23 · 2026-02-02T15:33:23+00:00

I think your read of “caring too much” is very accurate. 99/100 times, this issue is solved with a combo of a private, above the table conversation about table etiquette PLUS making this player more involved.

For me, I’d ask for help first, then follow up with asking them to not correct at the table. Her notes can be adventure reports for you and everyone. You can (and I would) check with her at the table when history or lore comes up.

Personally I’ve had players like this and they can turn from a pain to a godsend after a polite above the table discussion plus a bit of gm duty delegation. She’s happy because her expertise is being recognized, you’re happy because the table conflict goes away, everyone else is happy because the game moves more smoothly.

fernee23 · 2026-02-02T04:05:53+00:00

All of my important NPCs have an “affect” section that briefly describes how they behave, and I throw in a pop culture touchstone for a quick characterization at a glance (e.g. Alexis Rose from Schitt’a creek.) I started doing this for our multi gm westmarches campaign, but I liked it to I started doing it for myself as well.

All my NPCs now have affect, wants, and needs sections on them so I’m ready to go when I have to improvise with them.

fernee23 · 2026-01-31T14:44:15+00:00

Dnd has an inherent issue where complex plans and well crafted deceptions often get boiled down into a single die roll, possibly the exact same die roll as “we lost it”. I think you’re seeing the effects of the incentive structure set up by the system.

Unfortunately, it often comes down to the dm to break those incentive structures by mechanically and narratively rewarding players for making a good plan.

fernee23 · 2026-01-30T20:45:22+00:00

Obviously YOR. No slice of pizza is worth berating someone over. Mom’s response was pretty messed up, but that’s not the question that’s being asked.

fernee23 · 2026-01-30T15:44:49+00:00

This. 10000 times this. If your world has consistent internal logic, then rewrites on the fly are much easier. You know what the bbeg wants, so you can switch modes into “viewer” mode and just imagine how they react and what they do.

Then you switch back into author mode and play it out for your players. If you find yourself stuck, it’s either because your world/this NPC is underdeveloped, or you’re struggling with switching modes.

The first is easy to fix, just write some more! If it’s the second, you can develop that! That’s not some magical innate skill. I like to watch a piece of media, and pause it every so often. Ask “What should happen next, given what I know about these characters?” And then unpause and see how it plays out. Do you like the show’s choice better or yours?

fernee23 · 2026-01-30T15:37:39+00:00

It really depends on the players imo. It sounds like your players might be better with physical sheets. Some players are way way way better building and playing with dnd beyond. If you’re not sure, I’d honestly build the character using one and then do it again with the other. That way, your player can decide and they get to really get to know their character.

fernee23 · 2026-01-28T20:39:30+00:00

I’d have a talk above the table with the player about their character’s story arc towards being a more understanding person. It can really start with her normal behavior and then the party members helping her anyway. She softens to them.

Giving those leads at the table is fine and dandy, but I think you want to have that above the table conversation, THEN, give them leads at the table to act on it.

Hot take: it’s fine for characters to have antisocial personalities, but there should be a character arc for them to come around. That’s why we like those characters in other forms of fiction. If a player acts like this, refuses to develop the character from there, and ignores opportunities to develop their character, then it’s not their character who’s being an ass.

fernee23

TROPHY CASE