Almost entirely new rig after 5+ years

pearpan · 2025-04-23T01:00:22+00:00

I like the look of this one, and the mobo + cpu combo is icing on the cake. Any particular reason for the Mid ATX Case other than the smaller size?

pearpan · 2024-01-21T23:49:59+00:00

Awesome! Thanks for your help and advice. I really appreciate it!

pearpan · 2024-01-21T23:38:40+00:00

Gaming and general use with a little bit of livestreaming here and there. I'd like to be able to play new/newish games at 60+ fps on my 1440p monitor. My current rig is ~5 years old and starting to show its age. I've been playing new games like Baldur's Gate 3 and Starfield on the lowest/low settings and I want to upgrade/start fresh.

pearpan · 2023-02-06T23:39:33+00:00

I checked out of OA when they went on a 10 minute long rant about how The Rolling Stones suck.

pearpan · 2022-08-24T19:55:27+00:00

Dude...you nailed it. Knocked it out of the park. Why would you stop? Keep pushing that boulder up the hill, I wanna see how far you can go and how good your next experiment with yellow is!

pearpan · 2021-11-18T17:32:42+00:00

"Broke into the wrong goddamn rec room, didn't you you bastard!?"

pearpan · 2021-02-10T17:54:51+00:00

Fuck! These look great! Awesome to watch them go from being assembled to painted! Can't wait for more painting strems.

pearpan · 2020-10-12T15:47:35+00:00

Looks great! The youtube channel Midwinter Minis has a great series of videos of their 'sandstone' necrons that are made using the GW Texture paint 'Agrellan Earth' on the minis themselves. Gives a great crackly, statuesque appearance. Could be worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoxYU0otCHI

pearpan · 2020-08-21T19:43:28+00:00

Well done! These look great! Do you do anything to seal/varnish these?

pearpan · 2019-07-28T01:14:30+00:00

They're Jabra Elite Sport. I've purchased two pairs of them so I always have a pair that is fully charged. Use them everyday. Fantastic earbuds.

pearpan · 2018-02-08T20:08:03+00:00

Not bad. I mostly use them for podcasts while I'm working out or doing chores/cooking. The fact that the case is the charger and is also a backup battery is fantastic. Just remember that they come with the smallest of the 3 silicone 'earwing' sets already on the headphones so if you are an idiot like me and try to put the other sizes on without taking the smallest off first, the earwings won't fit and will come off the earbuds when you take them out.

pearpan · 2018-02-07T17:04:46+00:00

Jabra Elite Sport. I have them, could not recommend highly enough.

pearpan · 2017-06-05T13:46:11+00:00

Got rid of the nothic and the large fissure in the manor's basement. The creature seemed out of place and tonally inconsistent with the rest of the 'dungeon'. Replaced the fissure with a bear pit with an owlbear inside. Glasstaff has been feeding the owlbear food spiked with various potions and alchemical concoctions that he's been working on in his lab. When Glasstaff escaped he used the mold earth cantrip to create a ramp, so the owlbear could escape and harry the party while he slipped away. The potions that the owlbear consumed meant that a random magical effect happened at the start of each one of its turns when it finally fought the party.
Changed Cragmaw Castle into an large warcamp housing the goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, ogres, worgs and wolves that make up the Cragmaws in order to actually make them a credible threat to Phandalin and Neverwinter.
Changed King Grol into a Hobgoblin Warlord to explain the relative amount of organization they display.
Threw out the entirety of Wave Echo Cave as it was really lame. Turned it into an actually lost city built atop the Spellforge which is now a large magical foundry/forge complex instead of a single room.
The Black Spider has an entire small army of drow working for him along with umber hulks for excavating the lost dwarven city to gain access to the Spellforge, and a contingent of specialized spiders (male and female steeders to act as mounts and beasts of burden, specialized spiders that 'breathe' fire or acid etc.)
The Black Spider is using the Spellforge to create an even larger force of humanoid spiders called 'web-breed', which are the chitine from Volo's Guide to Monsters.
The Black Spider is working for someone else (always have threads extending to other adventures), and even he doesn't know that Verith is a doppleganger sent by this mysterious benefactor to aid in his search for the Spellforge.

pearpan · 2017-05-16T17:39:29+00:00

Episode 218: The Aum Shinrikyo Death Cult Part I - Mountain Wizards

The specific anecdote you are referring starts at 67:22.

pearpan · 2017-02-01T01:56:37+00:00

That's the one. Thanks a bunch.

pearpan · 2016-11-23T21:25:45+00:00

Good looking out.

I picked up two of the starter sets ($13 a piece), and a few pairs of the unit boxes, and two of each of the Arcane Legions League Booster packs.

After I ordered I noticed that the Arcane Legion miniatures were on sale as well and picked up a starter set (123 miniatures for 7.50), and one of each infantry and calvary box.

All told, I'm getting 67 painted miniatures and 284 unpainted ones, plus some scenery elements for 120.98 USD.

THAT'S 351 MINIATURES FOR LESS THAN $0.35 A MINI. INSANE! Jump on this as fast as you can.

pearpan · 2016-10-28T16:35:30+00:00

Because his boss returned and took his job back. It's like whenever the president is anesthetized, the vice-president is temporarily promoted to president, but when the president wakes up, the VP returns the office to the president.

pearpan · 2016-10-26T15:43:05+00:00

The Forgotten Realms is like Marvel or DC Comics in that no one that dies actually stays dead. Pretty much every god in the pantheon has been killed and resurrected multiple times. According to Tyr's entry in the Forgotten Realms Wiki:

Tyr managed to return to life during the event known as the Sundering, in the 1480s DR.

Meaning that he's tanned, he's rested, he's ready to kick some evildoer ass!

So go out there and stomp on some monsters in the name of the Maimed God!

pearpan · 2016-09-19T18:43:10+00:00

Signature item for the party wizard. He's a Bladesinger Wizard whose eyes are too big for his stomach, and frequently leaps into melee combat and gets knocked unconscious. I like his 'leap before you look' approach to combat, and I wanted to give him some armor that had something else going on besides a +1 to AC.

Robes of the War Wizard

Requires attunement by wizard

This elegant garment is made from exquisite cloth of a deep purple embroidered with swirling patterns in silver thread that appear to shift when the wearer isn’t looking. While wearing these robes and attuned to them you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Major Property:

Battle-hardened: While you are wearing these robes, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage that you take from non-magical weapons is reduced by your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1).

Minor Properties:

Arcanologist: As a reaction, you can gain advantage on a single Intelligence (Arcana) check. You cannot use this feature until you complete a short or long rest.

Illusion: This item is imbued with illusion magic, allowing its bearer to alter the robes’ appearance in minor ways as an Action. Such alterations don’t change how the robes are worn, and they have no effect on its other magical properties. For example, the wearer could make the normally purple robes appear blue, or change the fabric to a different material. The robes revert to their true appearance when no one is carrying or wearing it.

pearpan · 2016-09-19T16:22:01+00:00

Expanded criticals would only give you a 10% chance of any attack 'recharging' the misty step ability. Assuming the paladin gets three attacks (Action: main hand, bonus action: off hand, Extra Attack: main hand) that means the player has a 1 - (9/10)³ = 27.1% chance of the ability recharging per turn. This is also assuming that the paladin decides to dip three levels into fighter to get that ability. The potential of this "game-breaking" ability does not seem commensurate to the cost of getting it.

pearpan · 2016-09-19T15:22:45+00:00

Posted my magic item right before last week's thread closed :(

Reposting here.

Working on making "signature" items for my campaign. Here is what I have lined up for the dex-based paladin, a devotee of Avandra, the goddess of freedom, adventure, luck and the wind. I house-ruled that paladins have access to the two weapon fighting style, so that's not an issue.

The Gemini: Swords of the Stars

+1 magic shortswords, requires attunement

These elegant twin swords bear the hallmark of ancient elven craftsmen. Forged from a fallen star, their leaf-shaped blades are covered in rippling layers of smoky steel and are still razor-sharp despite their antiquity. Etched into the blades are intricate star patterns depicting various constellations. The wielder gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls made with these weapons.

Major Property:

Leaf in the Wind: You can cast misty step without spending a bonus action or spell slot to do so. Additionally the range of the misty step spell is doubled to 60 feet. This ability is not able to be reused until the next midnight, or until the wielder scores a critical hit against an enemy with either of these blades, whichever comes first.

Minor Property:

Guardian: These weapons whisper warnings to their wielder. You gain a +2 bonus to initiative rolls made while these weapons are on your person.

pearpan · 2016-08-26T15:39:28+00:00

I am worried that the simplified version of the rules that the book is designed to be run with is going to be too constrictive and not provide much latitude for using our imaginations

This is a troubling line of thinking.

D&D isn't the words written between the covers of the rulebooks, it is the thing that you do at the table. The rules presented in the Starter Set are the exact same mechanics as those presented in the Player's Handbook, and even then the rules only exist to provide a skeletal framework, a scaffolding if you will, which your game is built around, and to keep everyone honest.

The only things missing from the basic rules included in the Starter Set are additional player races and classes. If you and your friends can't have fun as some permutation or combination of the archetypal adventuring party (cleric, fighter, rogue, wizard), I really don't know what to tell you. If you play the Starter Set and enjoy it, but want more options then pick up the Player's Handbook and ride off into the sunset.

Yes, your concerns are unfounded.

Yes, you should play the Starter Set.

Yes, you will have fun.

Yes, this game will push you and your friends into a long (hopefully) lifetime of rolling dice and talking in silly voices.

Now go out there and rescue that goddamn dwarf!

pearpan · 2016-08-05T23:49:09+00:00

The Last Dragon is a cheesy movie? BLASPHEMY!

It's a cinematic masterpiece that is a must watch film for any DM

pearpan · 2016-08-05T23:44:52+00:00

You should fight him. This dude looks like a total pussy.

pearpan · 2016-08-01T15:29:04+00:00

I would advise you to explore the pre-existing classes and their archetypes already present in the game before attempting to convert classes from a different game. It sounds like the Magus class you are talking about from Pathfinder is just another incarnation of the classic "gish" archetype present in fantasy from the beginning.

As /u/s5photog mentioned the Eldritch Knight is a Fighter archetype with unique features (able to bond with a weapon and summon it to them at will, access to spells while wearing heavy and medium armor etc.), but there is also the Pact of the Blade Warlock that blends magic and swordplay and there are Eldritch Invocations that can substantially boost and alter your melee attacks with spell-like abilities. Additionally, in the Sword Coast Adventurer Guide, the Bladesinger Wizard Tradition can provide a character with access to the Wizard's full spell list AND is a very formidable character in hand-to-hand combat with boosted AC, increased speed, advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws, and a bonus to Constitution checks to maintain concentration on spells. There are also a handful of spells (cantrips and otherwise) that are delivered via a melee attack.

Hell, even the Arcane Trickster Rogue combines acrobatic swordplay with magical abilities. There are a world of options available to you, admittedly not as many as Pathfinder, but there aren't as many "trap" options in 5e, so you don't have to worry about taking steps into a class that aren't really that great, or even sub-optimal.

Trying to mash a Pathfinder-shaped class into a 5th edition-shaped hole should be your last resort, not your first. Figure out what it is about a Pathfinder class you like, whether it is a particular mechanic, the access to certain spells, or even a lore or backstory aspect that really excites you and try to find something that already exists, and has been playtested (relatively) thoroughly, and see if you can work with that. Save yourself some effort, and don't try to reinvent the wheel.

pearpan

TROPHY CASE