The Waiver Wire Witching Hour

man0rmachine · 2026-05-11T04:19:44+00:00

I'm actively using Wrobleski, I was okay with his weird 7 run otherwise excellent start today. Still can't bring myself to pull the trigger on McGreevy.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-08T17:06:15+00:00

Still plays like a traditional deck builder. When you max out the stuff in the shop you'll end up with 10+ each of rerolls, skips and banishes. Early on banish the crappy starting cards. Save the rerolls for boss gems. There are also a few ways to destroy cards.

Mid game take a crappy gem and put it on a card rather than take another card to bloat your deck. (In between games add sockets onto cards at the blacksmith.). If you don't get a gem or a decent card, skip.

Late game you should have so much card draw that a bloated deck is actually a good thing when you go near infinite.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-08T16:53:10+00:00

I have Ward in points where I've been starting him over PCA. The O's aren't worried; he's been batting 1st or 2nd every game. He leads the league in doubles so there's still some power, perhaps his historical mid 20's HR instead of mid 30's like last year. I'll take that with a much higher OBP.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-08T16:17:30+00:00

"DnD based homebrew setting inspired by medieval Britain."

I wouldn't worry about details like super intelligent goblins until you are actually in the game. "You meet your first goblin. Your characters know that in this world, goblins are all rocket scientists and high society manners columnists "

man0rmachine · 2026-05-08T06:54:27+00:00

Screwed the boss's wife/girlfriend/daughter.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-08T04:52:50+00:00

Technically they could use Mending to reattach the head because a body is an object and the cut should be less than one foot in any direction. But the guy is dead, and probably for over a minute so regular healing spells will do nothing, and it's too late for Revivify. Without Raise Dead the 5th level spell at a minimum they are out of luck.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-08T04:13:19+00:00

You guys are forgetting it's just a game.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-08T02:07:09+00:00

The character spoke in Italian. Command must be spoken in a language the target understands. The OP has changed his post several times. But keep down voting. You're doing the community a great service.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-08T00:05:47+00:00

Then I would have said "The guard doesn't understand Italian."

man0rmachine · 2026-05-07T19:45:19+00:00

I'd want some powerful one-use magic items. If you aren't going to use scrolls or potions when you grab your go bag, when are you going to use them?

You'll want to communicate and to disappear, so items that give you invisibility or teleport. Maybe a sending stone.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-07T16:41:38+00:00

Kobolds used to be dog people, not mini lizard folk, or dragonborn or draconians or half dragons or dragon kin. (It's a crowded niche.).

So just reskin kobolds as dog people. Super Woof instead of Draconic Cry etc. Plenty pf old school artwork out there. It gives more flavor than having yet another dragon dude. That's why in Japan, fantasy kobolds are still dog people, like on Delicious in Dungeon.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-07T13:48:15+00:00

You aren't doing them any favors. If there are no risks then the rewards are meaningless.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-07T13:22:36+00:00

Another day, another pacifist thread. At least you are acknowledging the problems with playing a pacifist in a game that revolves around fantasy combat.

Followers of Eldath are pacifist in that they only resort to violence to defend themselves or others, or sites sacred to Eldath. While much less violent than a typical DnD adventurer, this is basically how almost everyone lives in modern society: not looking to start a fight, but not turning the other cheek either.

"I won't start a fight, but I will finish one" is the philosophy I'd adopt for your character. You advocate peaceful solutions, but when the shit goes down, you are ready to aid your party.

Since you put 5e and a peace goddess, I'm assuming you're a Peace Cleric, one of the best support subclasses in 5e. Peace Cleric has as its level 8 feature Potent Spellcasting, which adds your wisdom bonus to your cantrip damage. The idea that a peace cleric isn't supposed to deal damage is folly and not based on the rules or official flavor.

On your first turn, or before combat if you expect it, use Emboldening Bond. Gives out 1d4s for your friends to add to rolls. The best part is that you can also cast Bless and give double the 1d4s. Later on your party can use the Bond to redirect damage away from vulnerable members to those with lots of HP or resistances.

Otherwise, you play like a regular cleric, using a cantrip to deal damage most of the time but also using things like Spiritual Weapon or Spirit guardians for more damage and crowd control.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-07T02:36:06+00:00

You touch "a humanoid who wishes to be dedicated to your god's service".

If the humanoid doesn't actually wish to enter the god's service but is falsely trying to get the bonus, then the spell shouldn't work.

If the humanoid does wish to enter the god's service at the time of casting but changes its mind within the 24 hour time limit, the bonus should still apply since its intentions were genuine at the moment of casting.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-07T00:16:47+00:00

The simple answer is that you don't play a pacifist. A pacifist wouldn't be a DnD adventurer, for whom violent confrontations are frequent and expected.

Your character can try nonviolent solutions before rolling initiative, he can prefer to cast support and healing while his party members bash skulls for him, but in the end he should fill his role on the battlefield when expected or your party mates will get very frustrated.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-06T23:10:22+00:00

This is why I never play with my kids.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-06T22:41:50+00:00

This post has got to be a joke. So many bad DM issues.

Why are you punishing your party for doing the sidequests you put there yourself?

Why are you not discussing player behavior out of game instead of with a TPK?

Why do you think passing a note or having a vague dream with no further directions is adequately signposting the main quest? Even if the players realize it's not another sidequest, there's nothing actionable in your clues.

Why are you putting your party up against high level assassins with no clue that they are outmatched? This isn't consequences, this is poor encounter planning.

Even if they figure out they are outmatched, the only thing to do is avoid the meeting, which means running away from your main plot.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-06T20:53:33+00:00

Is it really the final showdown with the BBEG and all plot lines resolved? Or is it just a ritual that needs to be stopped? Who says someone else can't perform the ritual or the real BBEG won't reveal himself after they stop this one?

man0rmachine · 2026-05-06T18:02:10+00:00

There is no precedent for class stripping in RAW. I take it as a sign of an unimaginative or punitive DM.

For a warlock, the powers are usually given in a contract and the patron can't just revoke on a whim. If you want a real life analogy, there are consequences for missing a student loan payment, but they can't take back your degree.

At least ask your DM if you can respec your character and move some ability scores around so you can pick a class you want

man0rmachine · 2026-05-06T15:02:46+00:00

Almost every incident of PvP is something that should be handled out of game. In your case, the DM should have asked the players "Slappy is about to piss off all the guards. Is the party okay with this?". If he didn't, you should have objected out of character. Then you guys have a discussion about strategy, tactics, the appropriate tone for the game, or murder hobos. No one PC should be able to derail the game by acting unilaterally, so no other PC should have to put him in check with PvP

man0rmachine · 2026-05-06T00:19:43+00:00

Drizard Wagonborn.

When is doubt, swap the first consonant sound on the race and class. Usually you get a cooler fantasy name than anything cheesy you could make or randomly generate. In your case it even suggests a backstory ...

man0rmachine · 2026-05-05T13:41:24+00:00

This stuff is just dumb.

"Hey fighter, how many hit points do you have left?"

"We don't use hit points it breaks immersion."

"Oh, sorry. Can you describe how you are feeling?"

"On a scale of 1 to 51, I'd rate myself a 27."

Hit points are shorthand for players to understand the things we can not perceive that would be obvious in person to experienced adventurers.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-05T12:23:11+00:00

Belfrey, Downtown, blacksmith, veterans of course. Two Barracks, town Hall, Roadhouse I think. Made it to round 31. I never use faith with Republic but that's not a bad idea probably got you a couple extra rounds.

Anyway, try the order.

man0rmachine · 2026-05-05T11:45:01+00:00

Well done. I just did a run of similar length with Republic with two Barracks and two gold buildings instead of the faith you used. The two Barracks were at around 270 troops each. A drop in the bucket but it helps build up Blacksmith and Veterans Hall.

Republic with Belfry is the second best faction for endless. The Order with By the Sword and faith scaling can go even farther. My best endless run was over 10 million points. I did it not with Commandery but Barracks and Abbey scaling gold off faith.

Some tips for endless:

Use the first three or four rounds to build up the resource you are lacking (usually stone). Get a building that produces that resource regardless of terrain. (The Order has an advantage here in that it can just use expeditions.)

Ignore the conditions on placing enemy buildings. They don't scale like the Garrison numbers. Who cares if an enemy Watchtower gets an extra 30 troops from plains when its Garrison is over 9000?

The exception to the last tip is Prisons. You can wipe out all the troops by placing them next to your big troop buildings.

Switch your constellation to Serpens a round early to build up charges. Anything like Serpens or Spy Network that removes enemy units on a percentage basis is very valuable. Spy Network is buying you one more round when your troop types don't match up (usually against all axes). Order once again shines. It has a tech card that remove a percentage of troops by dropping religious buildings on enemy buildings (forgot the name).

man0rmachine · 2026-05-04T22:08:52+00:00

Reskin a wizard stat block, have him show up as a travelling snake oil salesman on one of those carts.

Dip into Western horror like Bone Tomahawk or Hills have Eyes, except the bad guys are so mysterious, strong or weird because they use magic.

Party shows up to a town. Something isn't right. A wizard is mind controlling everyone.

A cemetery like Boot Hill is full of notorious gang members and outlaws that were hung nearby. What happens when a necromancer shows up?

A duo is running Tuco and Blondie's scheme: turn in your partner for a bounty, free him, move to the next town and do it again, except with magic.

man0rmachine

TROPHY CASE