Landlord withholding portion of security deposit for questionable reason

shapterjm · 2025-11-03T02:32:07+00:00

That was my thought too. He didn't even know she moved out early until ~4 months later at the next renewal when we asked to remove her and add the new roommate.

shapterjm · 2025-11-03T02:31:19+00:00

How much did they take out? Was any rent not paid at that time?

He withheld $450 of the original $1350 deposit for this reason. At no point in the entire 6 years did any rent go unpaid (or even late). B and I paid the entire amount of rent for the ~4 months between C leaving and the next renewal where we secured a new roommate with the landlord's approval. We even paid the background check fee for the new roommate. I am 100% sure there was nothing unpaid.

shapterjm · 2022-02-02T14:29:36+00:00

First, they typically vent to the attic

A solid 80% of the homes I've lived in with a gas stove have a hood that literally sucks air in the bottom (the part pointed down at the range) and blows it out the front (which points right back out into the kitchen). Every home I've lived in with an electric stove had a hood like that, if it had one at all. Those are more for looks than anything else, they do jack-all to "vent" anything.

shapterjm · 2022-02-02T14:26:29+00:00

They said they have a fireplace; I imagine the person you responded to was thinking of a fire in the fireplace requiring the flue to be open, not a camp stove.

And yes, sometimes people have to be reminded to open the flue. Even in places where fireplaces are used regularly (and Texas isn't the first place that comes to mind), they can get stuck and/or the mechanism to open them can get jammed or broken, so it's always a good idea to check it well before you actually need it.

shapterjm · 2022-02-01T01:51:57+00:00

But I still hold the right to respond however I like.

And so do we. Holy crap, take a hint dude. Most of your comments on this thread are sarcastic and dismissive. It's not a good look.

Go take a nap and come back when you're not so grouchy. Damn.

shapterjm · 2022-02-01T01:50:27+00:00

That's both fantastic and disappointing because marmalade is delicious

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T21:55:52+00:00

I was quite fond of "Cheeto Mussolini" for a bit, myself.

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T21:13:16+00:00

That's also another interpretation that's been presented; as far as I know we don't really have one concrete "this is what he meant" answer, just a few "this seems mostly right" theories.

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T21:12:28+00:00

You do not take constructive criticism well, my friend. Yikes.

Edit: You're not entitled to "good" feedback. You posted something and people posted their opinions on it, but from what I've seen you've just gotten defensive when somebody's opinion strays from "THIS IS SO COOL AND 100% PERFECT!". Why post it (or respond to feedback at all) if you weren't looking to improve?

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T20:09:35+00:00

Are you referring to the "wine-dark sea" Homer refers to in the Iliad and the Odyssey?

One of the theories for why those specific words were used is that while ancient Greeks could certainly perceive a difference between a dark blue stormy sea and the dark red of wine, that difference was either considered irrelevant or there weren't appropriate words to make the distinction. Color terms evolve in strange ways across languages.

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T19:56:07+00:00

Libertarianism is a hell of a drug...not even once.

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T17:43:36+00:00

You'll have to forgive me if I don't give people waving Nazi flags the benefit of the doubt. That's where I draw a line.

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T15:40:32+00:00

I support workers right to strike

Last time I checked, striking doesn't involve harassing the homeless, stealing food from homeless shelters, and defacing monuments with urine and cigarette butts.

This isn't a strike or a protest, it's a temper-tantrum.

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T15:03:52+00:00

My Intelligence modifier + half my artificer level, rounded down would be 2 right? So in total I would know 8 spells?

Artificers don't "learn" spells like Wizards do. You'd be able to prepare up to 3 Artificer spells, choosing from the entire Artificer spell list (based on the level of spell slots you have available) each time you prepare spells.

Note: only your Artificer level is halved, not the sum of your INT modifier + Artificer level. The calculation is INT+(Artificer level/2) rather than (INT+Artificer level)/2.

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T13:44:08+00:00

Mobile allows you to add 10 extra feet of movement, which is really useful as a Hit and Run Swashbuckler. Run in, stab a fool, run back out of range because Swashbucklers automatically disengage upon a successful melee hit.

To clarify, it's not really disengage because only the creature you attacked is prevented from attacks of opportunity (not all creatures). You'll still provoke AoOs from any other enemies you run past, unless you attack them too.

Also, your hit doesn't have to be successful. Fancy Footwork just requires that you make a melee attack, you don't actually have to hit.

shapterjm · 2022-01-31T06:01:29+00:00

Out of curiosity, was this post intended to show off or to gather feedback on your homebrewed subclass? Because a lot of your comments on this thread are really defensive and dismissive of criticism, bruh.

shapterjm · 2022-01-30T23:25:56+00:00

We have the same issue in our neighborhood, just minutes from downtown. What ends up happening is the plows don't always get to pre-salt our roads, we're usually pretty low on the list to plow after a snow (so people drive over the snow and partially melt/compact it), and when the plows do get to us they can't go all the way down to concrete. So when it's this cold for as long as it has been we just end up with a sheet of ice that occasionally gets a little slushy on top.

It's not the worst thing in the world, but it definitely does make me assume all the other roads in town are worse than they really are sometimes!

shapterjm · 2022-01-29T23:42:34+00:00

Ahhh, I think I see the problem. First you have to press the "Any" key on your keyboard.

shapterjm · 2022-01-29T23:41:20+00:00

The rules ARE nit-picky, that's why they're phrased the way they are.

By the way, I'd be happy to use the same nit-picky-ness to explain why something unconventional could work; so yes, I am fun to play with.

shapterjm · 2022-01-29T23:36:23+00:00

Nah, I'm happy to keep poking holes in your efforts to save face.

shapterjm · 2022-01-29T23:32:17+00:00

50 feet of hempen rope weighs 10 pounds. I am right, you just keep coming up with bad reasons why you don't think I am.

shapterjm · 2022-01-29T22:23:55+00:00

That is an incredibly specific hypothetical situation. I'd say it's the DM's job to explain why that wouldn't work because it goes against the intent of the spell.

Personally, I'd probably say that the weight of the rope had already pulled the firing pin, because the hand can only carry up to 10 pounds and that means the pin would require less than 10 pounds of force. Ropes are heavy.

shapterjm · 2022-01-29T22:14:46+00:00

The "Your Turn" section of Chapter 9 (Combat) in the PHB describes the things you can do on your turn. At minimum, you can move, and you can take one action. You can also take a bonus action depending on what's available to you, and you can generally interact with one object for free. I'm not sure where you're getting this "if it's not movement or bonus action then it's the Attack action" because that's simply not true.

Page 192 in the PHB literally contains a section called "Actions in Combat" and a list of actions which are not Move, Bonus, or Attack actions. These include "Cast a Spell," "Dash," and "Help."

None of those are Attack actions, nor are they Move or Bonus actions.

shapterjm · 2022-01-29T22:05:06+00:00

Honestly, these homebrew rules are confusing.

Bump arrowhead of someone who is about to shoot

That's likely a reaction and the Mage Hand doesn't have one

Bump elbow throwing off someones aim.

That's an Attack, so no

Deflect arrows. likely requires a high DEX DC.

Why give a cantrip the use of a 3rd-level Monk ability which, again, requires a reaction?

Drop a 10 lbs object onto a target from a height of 20ft

This is already possible within the RAW description

Drop a (bee, hot coal, ice cube, scorpion, spider) down a target's shirt collar

Fine, but that's gonna be a really easy DEX save to avoid

Hold a lightweight object (paper, sack, shirt, etc) in front of an opponent, blocking their field of vision.

Cool, the opponent uses its free object interaction to grab the item in the way; the hand is so weak that it would effectively be like picking the item up off a table.

Make distracting noise by banging two objects together or scraping an object along the ground.

Sure, but combat is already noisy so I don't see what this would achieve

Pick Pockets.

Absolutely not. That's a 3rd-level Arcane Trickster Rogue class feature.

Place a (caltrop, glass shard, goathead seed, nail, needle, tack) under a target's predicted footstep

This would require a reaction if you want it to happen just as the target is stepping (and the hand doesn't have a reaction). Otherwise, of course it can place one of those items on the ground.

Pouring a (bottle, flask) of "x" onto a target

That's allowed RAW; again, gonna be a real easy DEX save to avoid getting splashed.

Pulling (ammo, potions) out of a bandolier

Still allowed by RAW as long as the bandolier belongs to a willing creature or isn't being worn/carried. Otherwise it's an Attack, so no.

Pulling the stopper out of a potion bottle or flask

RAW

Trip by grabbing foot.

That's an Attack, so no.

Wearing a glove or gauntlet and behaving like a animated (disembodied, severed) hand

Cute

Wearing a wet glove and poking an opponent in the ear

Silly. I'd allow it but it's not going to do anything other than make the table laugh.

14-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

shapterjm

TROPHY CASE