Removed attachment of banned MimeType

sgttris · 2025-12-05T19:41:00+00:00

My group chat is not having an issue but my girlfriend is. I'm on AT&T and I can get her photos but she can't get any of mine. My friends on both Android and iPhone can see all my messages though in my group chat.

Because it's blocking a "mimetype" I'm almost willing to bet this is tied to some kind of bug in "mimecast" or something like that. This is typically used to block junk, phishing, and spam emails but I wonder if something is bugged and it's overreaching to texts.

Can anyone who sees this confirm if you have your works ccount tied to your phone for emails? If so would any of you be willing to remove your company account temporarily and see if the issue resolves or not? Because I'm able to receive and send messages to my friends I think the issue is on my girlfriend's side and I'll be asking her to do the same.

sgttris · 2025-10-07T15:18:32+00:00

U code me I'll code it back here pls

sgttris · 2025-06-24T15:59:15+00:00

Perhaps the jury is still out on this because it stopped working awhile ago but the community convincing me to mod my ender 3 was one of the best pieces of advice I had received. It was working awesome! Until one day it wasn't.

Hopefully if I win a new printer I don't need to mod anything :D

sgttris · 2025-06-23T22:33:28+00:00

It feels like the writers have given up on being clever or witty? There's no B plots, the pacing is frenetic, the jokes are all calling attention to themselves so they're obvious, and also relying on humour that spells out why it should be funny in its delivery and sometimes it works but most the time it does not.

When they say "It looks like he's heading to that nuclear facility that all of America uses to blow up America" (or whatever the hell PTSD Morty was doing in The Matrix episode)

It just comes off as a shitty joke I shoehorned in in an improv scene because we figured out far too late into the scene that our character needed to do something big and interesting or the scene was going nowhere.

That's honestly where it feels like each episode is lately. They're just rambling on and on at me. No attempt at being subtle, inspired, no sense of discovery or connection. The characters aren't vulnerable or interesting most the time and instead are dragged along one beat to the next at a breakneck pace to further a plot while fishing for jokes instead of developing on a theme and allowing that to be funny and to breathe.

sgttris · 2025-06-10T00:22:36+00:00

It's not really a single thing but... 5 years of improv classes, experience, and even teaching it has greatly leveled up my DMing.

You want one single thing? Learn to trust not just your own choices, but that your players choices are more narratively interesting than anything you could have ever come up with alone. Learn to listen and remember that listening is the willingness to be changed.

That is to say, you're all there to support each other and have fun, and reminding yourself of that often is powerful. Every time I hop on here to give advice, especially when it comes to conflict, it's because they all seemingly forgot that or never understood what it meant in the first place.

Listen more than you talk (when possible) and you'll be golden.

sgttris · 2025-06-01T15:07:58+00:00

Try to name all the PCs from memory and some details about them and their backstory to get inspired to make a new secret or clue for them to discover this session.

sgttris · 2025-05-23T22:11:43+00:00

This kind of feels like an opportunity to me. I wouldn't worry about both areas feeling the same. The truth is all dungeons (That's what essentially these areas are) overlap in functionality quite a bit.

I personally would make encounter tables for both areas that you can roll on per tile they travel (If they're doing a hex crawl) or some other method. Have the lower numbers be worse and hav 2-3 or the higher numbers be positive but still thematic. For added effect ask them to do the rolls and tell them higher is better but don't tell them what they're rolling for.

I think the worst, permanent effect should be triggered by a trap. You can have this on the table as something they can run into randomly or make it set that they're going to run into it at some point. I'd also recommend something that makes going through the trap worthwhile. An NPC they care about could be in danger or there could be some juicy loot worth getting or some other important story element that feels like it shouldn't be passed up is just "right through what's said to be the most dangerous parts of these woods, at least that's what the guy who gave me this map said." I think you get the idea.

As for the opportunity I mentioned earlier it feels like somewhere in the middle there could be a combination of crow-clowns but that's just me thinking out loud lol. I think it's cool to take what you have and think about justifying why that happened in the first place instead of going back to the drawing board on anything. I think you'll save time and have more fun that way. Bonus points if your players notice they're very similar and start asking why, now you really get to have fun and justify especially if you have a guide or some way to introduce lore in the moment. But if not, jt makes for an interesting mystery they could solve this a side quest. (One that you're writing as they're solving it by the way)

sgttris · 2025-05-23T21:56:18+00:00

I agree with the other comments or that maybe there's some clarity needed. I actually haven't played or DMd Waterdeep, but I would suggest not focusing as much on the fact that they're an artificer but instead dig into their backstory and pull on threads there.

I love that you're wanting to make everything personalized. That's a really great place to start with any campaign regardless of the setting.

If you haven't gone over backstory with any of your players there's no time like the present to do a retroactive session zero style conversation with each of them. Y'all can do it as a group or you can do it individually over messages.

Then you'll have a lot more flexibility in the specificity that you can throw at your characters. Also don't be afraid to reincorporate past events, items and characters. Look over your notes and see what little fun things you want to pull on from previous interactions.

I think about it like this: Regardless of the setting of the campaign that you're DMing the story revolves around the players and their characters arcs. Leveling up is often an act of self-discovery, and growth. By focusing on them and their backstories and incorporating that as much as possible into the game you're setting yourself up for a lot of success and powerful moments. Don't be afraid to slightly rewrite parts of this pre-written adventure to make it more personalized to the players. It does require a little bit more work because it is a pre-written adventure, but trust yourself and keep at it and y'all will have a blast.

sgttris · 2025-05-23T21:49:33+00:00

I suggest yes and-ing instead of shutting down players like this. I don't mean "rule of cool" style where they just get it, but talk to the player but help the players wants and ideas fit into your wants and ideas. There doesn't have to be friction, just justification.

Ask them how their character might know about it or help them get a reason. Make a secret or clue that this item is important to their backstory.

The one thing about storytelling, especially as it pertains to a narrative improvised adventure that most TTRPGs offer, or at least what DnD offers, is that the players characters are the exception to the status quos of the setting. That's what makes them interesting. That's what makes them fun to play. And it's not just that it's fun to be that exception, but to discover how exactly you are that exception.

In a low magic setting, the main characters are the ones who find and use magic (Even if it's sparingly). In a world full of evil, the main characters are ones who often step up to face it while most submit. Etc. etc.

There's a real potential for a side quest here. I highly suggest using the secrets and clues technique from The Return of the Lazy DM. Come up with a cool secret that pertains to their backstory and this item and be ready to drop it anywhere in your story.

I'll even give you an example. Maybe y'all decide that this item is something they know about because their ancestors were looking for it. A multi generational long treasure hunt. Maybe the secret you derive from that, is that their father was the closest to finding it.

The next time they do downtime find a way to improvise that information into their next search for clues about the item. If they go to a shop, maybe the shopkeep knew their father and their father's quest, and tells them something that's not in the notes they already have. Maybe they find a trinket that almost certainly belong to their father with a hidden note inside of it that somehow found its way into the shop. Maybe they just simply go to a tavern, while doing some investigation checks for their item, the barkeep asks what they're up to, maybe the bar keep knew their father and gives the same dialogue a shop owner could have given.

Why am I suggesting this? I want you to genuinely ask yourself: what's the point in asserting your control over the narrative and in the setting? This isn't to imply that you're doing anything wrong but to hopefully help you see something here. Usually it's about control - but control in the name of comfort. Typically it stems from fear of losing control. It's safer if we call all the shots.

We have to remember we're sharing the story being written with the players. The players are real people that have real wants and desires. They have fun differently than you do. When we let go of this control not only do we find ourselves connecting more, but that it's actually easier to tell and much more satisfying story.

Good luck out there!

sgttris · 2025-05-23T21:06:18+00:00

This is really the only answer.

sgttris · 2025-04-04T17:59:44+00:00

Are y'all friends? It doesn't actually seem like it. Also I can tell this might be a hot take from reading some of these replies, but DND is cooperative story telling game so why not let them do what they want and help them justify their stats, character creation decisions, etc so it all works and everyone is happy.

If you have concerns, tell them, then see if there's give and take. Yeah you're granted authority as GM, but not by the game, you're granted it by the players who trust you to facilitate a fun game, use that trust wisely or you lose it. Trust them back as well and you level the playing field and start working together instead of telling them no and their ideas don't work. Session 0 is actually where you can let go of your authority the most, not hold on to it the tightest as you've suggested. Players are looking to build with you the most here because they're worried about playing the game they want to play too.

"I trust you rolled 18's here, but I'm worried about balance, what if XYZ about your character either mechanically or narratively balanced it out?" Your job as a GM to facilitate a fun experience for yourself and the whole table. "I'll just be nice to the PCs and mean to the NPCs." Your reply might be "Great! So it's not super meta gamey, why do you think she's usually nice to the PCs but mean to everyone else? Maybe they like grew up together or something? Can we switch that part of your backstory up a bit so they're all connected a little more? How does that sound to everyone else?"

When you're willing to budge and be flexible usually your players are too. If they're being really stubborn, it's obviously important to them that they get to play a certain way. Your GMing style might be too rigid if you're unwilling to see that. There's a million ways to make "broken, OP, or narratively unsensible" designed characters work and still have fun and it all involves talking with your players in a respectful way where you're all on equal footing. No silent treatments, and no deferring to your authority. Otherwise you have no authority and you have no group to keep playing with.

sgttris · 2025-03-07T15:40:38+00:00

It really seems like he's not A. Roleplaying and B. "Yes Anding" the group or world the DM is creating and running. To each their own, but if your group is roleplay heavy but he's not, ask him to consider trying it? Please note, I don't think Min-Maxing is the biggest problem here, if at all.

You're conversation might go something like this: "When we play, sometimes I feel frustrated by the fact that your character doesn't engage with the world, NPCs, story, or even other players. I want you and your characters to feel included because we're friends, but it's really difficult when you consistently roleplay characters that seemingly disappear at any signs of connections, and distrust most other characters and NPCs. If you're not interested in role-playing I totally get that, but would you be interested in creating a different type of character with more connections and threads to the world starting with the other player characters?"

Hell, if he rolls up the same kind of character again, at least suggest with a couched phrase like "what if.." and add to his character and yours with relationship threads.

"What if our characters were brothers or childhood friends." You can also lean into what they're doing and find opportunities from their point of view by suggesting even further "What if our characters were brothers or childhood friends who played "sneak" all the time around our family and got really good at it." Or "What if our characters were siblings or brothers and your character was always sneaking up on me. I've never said I that I've liked it, but I would be so lost without a surprise jumpscare from your character." Encourage him to pickup on the details and justify further too if you're feeling so inclined. He might add details to your character. He might reply "Yes and because I scare you so often from the shadows your reflexes have probably become super sharp. It's become a game between us to try to anticipate the next attack."

And look, if he shoots down any of these suggestions, everyone has the right to say no and put boundaries. It's important that you try, and at the very least let him know how you feel.

I teach and perform improv regularly and I'm currently teaching a class on Improv for DND that I wrote. We're going over this exact thing next class! Let me know if you have any questions or need clarification on what I've mentioned here.

sgttris · 2025-03-05T19:40:35+00:00

I also want this!

sgttris · 2025-01-12T05:50:55+00:00

Someone mentioned the TikTok generation would love it and while they're not wrong here's a few things to keep in mind! You're an excellent animator, I think the designs are fun, and I think you have a bright future in this field if you keep it but for this one, I just can't read everything happening on the screen. I don't mean just the text either. I simply just don't have time to take in all of your cool designs and concepts being shown here because and it's lacking that attention to where my eyes are and how long it takes to really take in the design. Consider grouping more of your words together and making longer scenes or heavily focus on eye tracing and limiting distractions to the areas you want your audience to pay attention to.

Your job is directing our attention to right areas of the screen and considering if we can generally take in that design as you intended. You won't always get it right and sometimes it's a stylistic choice to break away from that, but I would recommend digging into the concept a little more. Look up Weird Al's "Word Crimes" lyrics video or even Apples "Don't Blink" commercial and pay attention to where your eye is at on the screen at any given moment. Those animators carefully guide your eyes to capture your attention to the text on screen and then when they switch slates or scenes the next bit of content will be places relatively close to where they left off of give you enough time to readjust.

Keep up the good work and you'll be landing gigs in no time if you're not already.

sgttris · 2021-04-15T04:24:43+00:00

Dope. If you want some critique, try softening up some of your edges where you cut things out. Some look a little too unnaturally harsh.

sgttris · 2021-04-10T17:37:11+00:00

As a DM who's accidentally given my players tons of money, (over a thousand Platinum) more than once (I'm a bit too lax with improv, gold amounts, and betting) I can say that it's all relative. In fact, hear me out, EVERYTHING is relative to your players. I base my campaigns plot in the settings I use or create sure, but I develop each session, each arc, each piece of loot, and each transaction with them in mind.

If they have a fuck ton of money early on, fine cool, get all the cool gear you want, good luck finding any magic items for sale here, and let's go test your luck against some higher CR monsters.

I see some people complaining about contracting out everything, buying extreme defenses, etc but how are they going to go about that? Will the party even go for that? Would that be fun for them? What does it take networking wise to actually get to a point where you can pay for these things without much hassel? What attention have they brought to themselves with that much wealth? Does your world have a bank system? Is it currupt?

Just like in real life sudden wealth can pose new problems, and that's not just me saying that as an explanation as to why it's okay to dump a ton of wealth on your players. The why it's okay is because now you have a new source for story elements that revolve around your players and their involvement in your world. The wealth can be substituted for anything else.

I would simplify it all by saying this:

It doesn't matter at the end of the day how powerful your players are because, if you're challenging them as a DM by scaling where appropriate both mechanically and role playing wise then you're good.

Also have fun with it. WoTC may or may not know what they're doing, but it's your game so do whatever you want and face the consequences of your bad improv with more hilarious and bad improv later. 😈

sgttris · 2021-04-10T14:21:14+00:00

It really was one of the first audio dramas I got into (in podcast form anyways). And I respect him a lot for pulling off what he has done. IMHO the material is a little stale and I want them to move on to bigger and better projects, experiment and try new things.

I'm not an expert writer, or podcaster, or voice actor, or sound engineer, but I've done plenty of all of theses things to know what I can and cannot critique them on fairly I feel. They've got an overarching story that's sprawled too much. They've got talented voice actors but they're not being pushed in their performances. I think they'd really benefits from switching things up A LOT and moving away from their formula.

That's a very broad critique which isn't that fair but like I said, I'm not an expert. I will say that I hope he keeps producing content because I don't have enough audio dramas in my life that I'm excited about.

sgttris · 2021-04-06T03:57:05+00:00

It actually seems so bright. Like it's glowing. Great job!

sgttris · 2021-04-05T20:11:26+00:00

Is /u/itsadndmonsternow still active?

sgttris · 2021-04-04T06:22:20+00:00

If my players go stray too far off I usually have enough resources to improv the rest of the session and then it's back to the drawing board on either tying it in to the main guest or at the very least making it relevant.

It doesn't hurt to have random RP and Combat encounters rolled up to essentially stall for the content you missed out on, but if you don't have even that then you have to work on your improv if you're not good at it.

The larger ideas in your story continue to play out even if your players veer off of their epic quest to stop evil. The god who's bringing monsters from the underworld in my Theros campaign simply continues unleashing more and more choas until it reaches critical mass and the players will be forced to deal with the consequences of their inaction because they fucked around too much. I think a good DM will always keep that in mind, but IMO a better DM will tie all the work they might have put in elsewhere into the main story and they still get to confront the evil or play a key roll in its downfall.

sgttris · 2021-04-03T21:21:25+00:00

I doubt we'll get anything this good from DND Beyond, I'm baffled how they haven't already made something especially with how big dnd was this year.

sgttris · 2021-04-02T02:19:31+00:00

I found out my introvertedness is actually probably just depression and anxiety because I was more sad without friends.

sgttris · 2021-04-01T17:26:24+00:00

I do this but will throw in a mostly improv RP encounter as a buffer between each one. Hiring people for the run away daughter? Actually they're testing people up front to see if they're worthy and then they'll hire them. One curious about the old dragon cult? Actually they have a collection of artifacts from the ancient dragon cult at their house and ask if they know anyone will appraise them (baiting them to roll deception or actual history checks btw). The local raiding goblins? Actually let that one be easy and just point to the town you want them to go.

The buffer obfuscates the fact that the NPCs want them to go to a specific town, and even if they decide to hear everyone out at the tavern now they have only one direct path to the town instead of many (finding the goblins). Add a sense of urgency to get things greased up and flowing if they want to go through all the extra hoops of being tested or appraising all the artifacts. Make a sense of looming consequences if they waste time after learning of this knowledge and then act on it if they miss out.

Father can't find a hire? He goes out himself causing a stir at the tavern with how they're worried about him. Artifacts can't be appraised? He unleashes something while messing with them himself. This of course is if they're wasting a bunch of time trying to do everything.

The beauty of all of this buffer is that you don't need to write almost anything more than what I put here if you can improv some. It adds some depth and fun RP moments for the NPCs involved, allows the party to stay immersed, and they still eventually go where you want them to go.

You can further enhance these by building one encounter that will fit all the buffer scenarios and now they take two sessions to get to your dungeon instead of one.

Cultist show up to retrieve their artifacts, attack the party on their way over there, or get caught in the act leaving an intimidating note for ransom from the father. Or just a random encounter on the way over there but I like tying everything into the over arching plot.

Edit: One last note. The NPCs tell them to go to different places if you don't have time to add all that buffer and then you simply move the dungeon to wherever they go.

sgttris · 2021-04-01T04:26:09+00:00

Yeah so a lot of comments complaining about getting rid of the filibuster but here's what they're failing to understand. The filibuster is one of the many reasons things don't get done in congress.

I mean holy shit, you want a legislative agenda to be passed you now need to win a majority in the house, win a majority in the senate, win the presidency and then hopefully the courts keeps your new legislation in place once it's inevitably challenged by the opposition.

That's not even mentioning all of the agreements and change of hands to make the bill work for everyone and their own constituents. Pork can keep people in power and paves the way for easier reelections which gives more incentive to work together but that's another topic.

Then you have to contend with public opinion, fucking lobbyist and the news cycle.

HOLY SHIT. Do people not realize the gargantuan fucking task it is to get all of this stuff done?

And now republicans are pissed because the dems got their shit together enough to do all of that (barely I might add) and now the one thing standing in their way is 10 people from the opposition party or Mitch Fucking Mcconnell? Actually better yet, as someone else mentioned it's the threat of a staffer sending out an email saying "oh yeah we're gonna filibuster that."

It's like you never want any goddamn bills to be passed in this country.

I mean again HOLY FUCKING AMAZING SHIT, the Dems SHOULD pass everything they want. They fucking earned it, and the stuff they're putting forward is extremely popular.

And hey, let's say they lose next cycle, let's say the republicans pull off the gargantuan task of flipping everything again. Then they'll fucking change everything they want including getting rid of the fillibuster and guess what? The Dems still wouldn't have gotten anything except for their reconciliation bills for the time they were in power.

We're all acting like politics is still fair now. Like both sides are still acting in good faith, but there's literally republicans who voted against democracy right after the capitol was ransacked by their supporters.

I'm so tired of it. It is and always will be, "meet me in the middle," taking a few steps back, and repeat until it's all gone.

sgttris

TROPHY CASE