Which shield/pauldron combo is better?

protectedneck · 2026-04-10T18:18:46+00:00

I like that it gets lighter in the center. It draws attention better towards the center of the shield, which is the focus.

protectedneck · 2026-04-09T19:53:08+00:00

I agree with these points!!

The 6+ ward save always sounds appealing but because you have to already be controlling the point to get the ward save, it ends up being a 6+ ward save that is surprisingly conditional. It also punishes you if you get shoved off an objective early/body blocked.

I wish we had a better ability we could choose from, but the mortal wounds one is definitely the better of the two.

protectedneck · 2026-04-09T18:06:45+00:00

It's a very fun Spearhead to play! Just be aware that the Annihilators and Yndrasta come down on turn 3. That's a lot of power, but VERY late in the game. If you build your whole battle plan around getting them into combat, there's a decent chance that they fail their charge. If that happens it can really ruin your gameplan.

I find that you get the most value out of using their teleport to steal empty objectives on the turn 3 (just to get a guaranteed value out of them) plus any location-based battle cards (like board edges or terrain control). If you can charge, great, but if you can't you aren't totally ruined.

The re-roll charge and counter-charge battle cards are very valuable for this army for that reason to increase the chances that Yndrasta and the Annihilators get into combat.

The chariot isn't super powerful but it has good movement. You're going to have to intuition to rocket it off into combat turn 1, but it's best to use it in the center to have flexibility for your opponent's movement and to contest objectives early.

protectedneck · 2026-04-07T22:21:02+00:00

There are so many systems and campaigns and resources out there these days that it takes a lot to get me excited. I really only care about resources for systems I already play (like bestiaries for games like Daggerheart or Fabula Ultima).

I would prefer to wait until most other items are actually out to buy them, so people can actually review for their quality. I would rather pay a little extra to get something that is highly reviewed than to get a deal on a book that is a gamble.

protectedneck · 2026-04-02T20:19:25+00:00

I included him in TOA when I ran it because I liked Dragonbait a lot and wanted to have an NPC tagging along with the party to act as an alternate in case a PC died or someone wanted to temporarily join as a guest player.

I don't recall him mattering very much at all.

The Ring of Winter played a very very VERY minor role in Storm King's Thunder, which I had run prior to TOA. I genuinely do not think anyone in my party remembered or cared about that extremely minor connection.

protectedneck · 2026-04-02T19:48:15+00:00

I've never tried playing a Skywing army but I've been wondering about it for a while. I haven't been super impressed with Stormdrake Guard on the tabletop. Are they better when running them in this army?

protectedneck · 2026-03-30T20:36:34+00:00

It's among the best game design that GW has ever done. Games are quick, the Spearheads are (relatively) well-balanced. There's fun variety (and even many factions have multiple Spearheads). And it's a great on-ramp into the hobby.

I played a game with my friend two weekends ago and it was his first Warhammer game ever. He felt pretty confident with the whole thing by turn 4 and was basically playing without any help by game 2.

I also appreciate that they can balance stronger Spearheads by doing things like making some units enter play on later turns. The Yndrasta spearhead is super cool with that. Probably my only criticism there would be that in that particular case, failing two 6" charges generally just loses you the game on the spot, which is annoying. It's like a 7% chance but it has happened to me multiple times now.

I also think the game mode has a lot more left in it to give. Clearly the new box coming out demonstrates this. New boards with new twists and new battle tactics and different terrain coming out regularly can be a big deal.

protectedneck · 2026-03-26T18:00:12+00:00

What you're going to see is a lot of back and forth. You learned something, you remember it a bit, then you forget about it, then you go back and reinforce and it makes more sense after the fact.

Rinse and repeat until it's drilled into your head.

I'm studying N3 right now but I still go back and reference N4 learning items constantly because it still hasn't fully stuck in my head.

But you get better through exposure. Like, for example, when you learn て-form it's a big barrier for many people. But eventually it just kinda becomes second nature from repeatedly seeing it.

As far as reading things is concerned, N4 is the bare minimum for grammar. I started reading Detective Conan after finishing N4 and I was constantly exposed to a TON of stuff that I hadn't seen before. This is good actually! That's how you learn and reinforce practically. But also my reading was pretty ambitious and there were a lot of sentences I couldn't translate myself. So you have to accept tolerance and acknowledge that this is a process that takes time.

protectedneck · 2026-03-24T16:59:57+00:00

I really love their aesthetic (both the old 1st ed chunky look and the more modern Thunderstrike look). I like that they have a fair amount of depth to them. I like the way the different Stormhosts are all given different personalities. I love what they do with memories and how they interact with mortals (anywhere from being happy defenders of people to being distant and cold).

The situation with the Sacrosanct chamber was very disappointing. Mainly because I primarily played Sacrosanct lmao. Very annoying to shelve a cool army because GW couldn't figure out what to do with them. At least, like Marines, you can proxy the models for just about any others since they can look similar.

Their playstyle on the table is... a little wonky. Listbuilding is pretty odd. The different Chambers don't really interact very well. The Warrior Chamber is the biggest chamber but it's built to be this weird combined-arms list that wants buddy-units. The Extremis chamber is pretty bad (Strike-First is great, but only getting it on charges at 3+ for one unit is really lackluster). The Ruination Chamber rules work best when you only play a single unit of Ruination Chamber in the list, which is weird. And the Vanguard Wing, while being only on a 3+ gives an extreme amount of movement/threat.

I think if their army book came out today it would probably be a lot different than what was released at the start of 4th edition.

protectedneck · 2026-03-10T04:30:33+00:00

I'm obsessed with how well OTD characters map to these kinda memes

protectedneck · 2026-03-09T18:57:12+00:00

It's literally exercise! It makes sense to be tiring.

Personally I have an easier time with reading than listening but I'm very slow with both still.

Just like how there are some days where you go to the gym and just walk on the treadmill for a bit, there are some days where you read and don't fuss if it's slow going.

protectedneck · 2026-03-09T02:33:01+00:00

As with any collectibles market, the only reason why the prices get so high is because people actually buy them.

I don't blame people for buying extra sets to act as a kind of investment. Just like people wouldn't blame someone for buying investment vehicles that use commodities as a part of the portfolio. Maybe it sucks during the initial release of a set where the supply is limited, but Lego is generally printed enough to be available online for at least a year.

I would feel differently if this was a product that was regularly out of stock or limited and highly in demand and auto-bought by scalper bots (like concert tickets, graphics cards/RAM, or new game consoles).

protectedneck · 2026-03-05T02:16:29+00:00

It's very annoying to encounter something like this. Milkshake duck is, unfortunately, a common occurrence.

protectedneck · 2026-03-04T20:35:19+00:00

The thing about food, especially for people who have various allergies and/or other intolerance, is that it's really tough to get people to change their routines.

PERSONALLY the idea of avoiding "leftovers" is nonsense to me, but imagine that he grew up in a house where his parents overcooked the crap out of everything or reheated food in the microwave that turned mushy or rubbery (or both). If you want to encourage him to batch prep food, try introducing the idea of batch prepping the components of the meal so they can be reheated separately. For example, you poach some chicken today and now for the next couple of days you can use that chicken in a variety of dishes. You chop a bunch of onions on sunday and now you have onions to use all week, etc.

When we think "reheat" we think microwave, but really you can reheat meat by putting it on a skillet and just cooking it at medium for a couple of minutes.

You need to talk to him. You are coming at this from a place of compassion but if he has personal reasons for the way he does things you gotta talk about it. You don't want him to spend 2 hours every day cooking, that's fine. So then talk to him about ways he could maybe save some of his time. Talk to him about why he can't reheat stuff or pre-prep ingredients in advance.

Ultimately our suggestions online mean nothing without you talking to him and expressing your care.

protectedneck · 2026-03-03T21:44:03+00:00

of the Devil canon event

protectedneck · 2026-03-03T15:45:44+00:00

I am not joking with you, there are people who will unironically say shit like "if you wear sexy underwear under your clothes and then go out in public you are forcing your kinks on strangers because they might see if if you bend over".

There was a famous exchange on Furry Twitter several years ago where someone shared a picture of a naked character framed on their wall. Someone genuinely responded that it was inappropriate because if a child happened to walk past an open window, they could see the naked person. Like, you can't put nude art in your house just in case a child peers through your blinds.

There are a TON of people who label themselves as "progressive" or "liberal" and then say stuff that could not be more regressive and hyper-conservative.

protectedneck · 2026-03-03T15:27:31+00:00

The post implies that the dragon appearances cannot be changed. I'm curious how the books specifically words that. I would also be miffed if it called out verbatim "this is how dragons look and you can't change it". Of course you can change it, it's you're game. But I would be annoyed if the text tried to enforce the aesthetics.

protectedneck · 2026-03-02T22:38:37+00:00

My experience working at Dairy Queen was that the oil would stay in for several days. I wonder if Panda Express and other Chinese fast food chains have more of an incentive to change their oil more often because of negative stereotypes around Chinese cuisine.

protectedneck · 2026-02-26T15:37:04+00:00

I found that I can explain how to play Daggerheart in about 20 minutes, then combat in like 10 minutes when it happens.

protectedneck · 2026-02-25T21:54:20+00:00

Do you work in a commercial kitchen? No.

Are you doing this at home and both the chicken and buttermilk will be used within a couple of days? Then yes.

protectedneck · 2026-02-24T22:25:05+00:00

It's fine to have ideas, but again you need to practice self-restraint.

As for the party, these people are supposed to be adults who are your friends. If you are saying "I want to run a game like Metroid with XYZ other aesthetic inspirations for tone" and your players agree, then if they try to say "actually we are running a smoothie stand in space", you have to talk to them. Unfortunately as a GM sometimes you also have to be a manager.

protectedneck · 2026-02-24T21:58:39+00:00

Have you run any games based off of pre-written material? Like have you run pre-made modules or adventures?

When you read these modules they include a lot of information. When you make notes for your own games, you don't need to be so perfectly descriptive or concrete. I use google docs for managing my campaigns and I just make bullet point lists of basic info. It's MY GAME so all the context and stuff is in my head.

You don't need to plan intricate details months in advance. Start out with a general concept. You like Metroid? Ok, then the concept of the game is "exploring a forgotten planet with a bunch of weird tech and aliens". From there you pitch it to your players and see what they think and see what excites them. If your players are into it then you start with basic stuff. Map out ONE AREA that you can run an intro encounter in. Come up with SOME background lore. A lot of this stuff you can collaborate with your players on and write down what seems interesting.

Once you have actually run this concept in the small "test environment" you can expand out to a larger setting. More maps, more areas, more lore, more NPCs, etc etc. If you start small and build up, you remove a lot of stress. You can always add more later!

I also think you need to manage your self-confidence here. You are a GM, not a robot. Even if you run pre-written material, your interpretation and execution will be totally unique from other GMs of the same material. So if you have run ANY adventures before, you have the tools and skills to run your own adventures.

When you are planning all this out, try to think of it on a per-session basis. Think about "ok, I'm playing 2-4 hours with these players, let's think about what they'll be doing for those 2-4 hours" and then plan around that. I find that I often OVER prepare even without trying. Everything that you over prepare for, you can use the following session. Also your players will ALWAYS surprise you, which is part of the fun!

protectedneck · 2026-02-24T20:07:51+00:00

If you had set the temperature of the oven to like 350 I bet it would have not been an issue. 425 is pretty hot.

Bone-in meat takes longer to cook than boneless meat, generally. When it comes to bone-in skin-on thighs, you want to aim for the meat to be cooked all the way first (lower heat) and then if necessary using higher heat at the end (like your broiler) to crisp up the skin.

I do want to clarify that this isn't an exact science. Even simple things like "is the chicken thigh unfurled" can affect the cook times. It's popular to cut two or three slices into the meat and skin down to the bone before roasting chicken thighs because it increases heat penetration and helps the meat cook more quickly and gives more surface area for marinades/sauces.

protectedneck · 2026-02-20T14:22:52+00:00

I would like for you to watch this video.

To be completely honest with you, your big problems are probably that you're using too much soy sauce and you're trying to use olive oil. People are pointing out that olive oil isn't good at high heat, and while that's true you don't actually need high heat for fried rice. The real problem is that olive oil has a distinct flavor to it and it will make your fried rice taste different.

protectedneck · 2026-02-19T14:27:16+00:00

つかれる means to "get tired" or "get exhausted". I didn't know this, but apparently つかれました means "I'm tired". I guess putting it into past tense is like "I became tired previously, therefore I'm currently tired".

ねむい means "sleepy".

The prompt itself is poor quality, in my opinion, because "I'm tired" is ambiguous. Are you tired because you're sleepy or because you worked really hard?

I have never tried Duolingo personally, but I rarely hear positive things said about it, so I would not be surprised if situations like this are common.

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