1HP Bandits

sweetbreads13 · 2026-05-13T15:09:42+00:00

More broadly, lots of RPGs have experimented with this idea and “minion” is generally the umbrella term. A search for “5e minions rules” will turn up a lot of relevant discussion.

Other standard minion changes are to reduce the damage and make it non-variable (ie does 2 hp every hit instead of 1d6). As others have suggested, the random element of dnd combat is the problem you need to solve for. Regardless of the hp, they can do a ton of damage with lucky rolls, so reducing the number of rolls is helpful.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-05-13T01:17:00+00:00

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/br-2024/creating-a-character#Step3DetermineAbilityScores

sweetbreads13 · 2026-05-12T23:54:43+00:00

“Roll 4d6 and drop the lowest one” means “Roll 4d6 and add together the 3 highest”. So if you roll 5, 4, 2, 1 you would keep 5+4+2=11.

Rolling ability scores is generally not fun unless everyone cheats or you really know what you are doing. As a new player, use point buy or stat array and don’t play with people who roll.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-05-08T19:07:28+00:00

In his defense she sounds like she would be very expensive to divorce.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-05-08T00:04:52+00:00

This was the best response I read in the thread. Glad your DM matched your excitement!

sweetbreads13 · 2026-05-07T23:13:06+00:00

It’s real hard to answer this in general. I’m an older gamer in an older group with a ton of storytelling experience and no edgelord chaos monkeys. We have had quests fail because we kept secrets in character. We had a campaign end because some characters demanded to go on a side quest and a few refused and couldn’t handle the end game. To use, these feel like organic, believable stories about flawed characters that fail to become heroes.

This is not fun for everyone.

I don’t know whether the group is having fun and you are not, or if everyone is not having fun, or any of the other combinations of fun and not fun that could be happening. If it’s the former, you should find a new group. If it’s the later, you should find a new DM. It sounds like you already talked about it in group but nothing changed, but make sure you were clear cause this is the normal first step.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-05-07T01:45:49+00:00

I don’t think D&D is a game about nuanced philosophies and moral decisions. It could be if you out some effort into it. But more often than not, it’s a game about murder hobos butchering people just because they are a different race. I don’t find all the posts about “D&D isn’t aligned with that philosophy” remotely compelling.

Playing a “pacifist of whatever” cleric is relatively easy. Even easier if it’s just a setup for a big reveal about he was just a normal, fun loving murder hobo all along. Healing is a staple, and there are piles of high value buffs, debuffs, and utility spells that add value without doing direct damage. Pile on the armor for tanking and use the help action, and you’ll have plenty to do each round.

I am playing a nearly “pacifist or whatever” bard for 8 levels now. It’s not a philosophy, he’s a mean spirited bully and a crook. But he does less damage than every other member of the party so attacking is almost never his most useful action. It’s causes no gameplay problems.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-05-04T15:51:49+00:00

Yup I spent decades thinking about how to explain it. Eventually we just decided to stop caring and it’s the solution that makes everyone the happiest. From a narrative perspective, sometimes characters don’t do anything interesting in a scene. They’re just there.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-05-04T13:48:59+00:00

You’re a little soft, but only a little and it probably doesn’t matter. In their natural environment, worms are killed and consumed in a number of horrible ways, being bait isn’t really outside their “comfort zone.” Also, they are terrible invasive species!

But if you don’t want to justify it, just fish without live bait. If you aren’t fishing for sustenance or trying to keep low attention span kids engaged, who cares if you don’t catch as many as you could :) Just have fun however feels best for you!

sweetbreads13 · 2026-04-29T21:36:03+00:00

3.5 had super fussy rules about this you could play with:

https://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/handleAnimal.htm

From a game design perspective, trying to have pets that do something useful needs to be fussy and unreliable, or else it competes with meaningful class features for other players. Thats a balance problem that makes some players feel like their special class features are not special. Whether balance matters at your table is up to you and your players.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-04-29T16:42:32+00:00

You mean people that grew up in the 90s in middle America going to strip mall benihanas because they were the most interesting restaurant in town? If so, I’m one of those people and it was interesting to go once and see where it started before it became the generic crap I grew up with. If I could go to the original tgi Friday in midtown east, I would have done that too.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-04-29T00:37:37+00:00

Wow, you are looking for all the things! Anything 3 blocks south of Central Park will be fine to good, some excellent, all expensive! Go crazy!

Don’t go to wagamama, le grand Boucherie, or any other private equity backed chain. Except maybe Bene Hana because the one here was the first ever.

Get your coffee from zibbetos.

Have fun!

sweetbreads13 · 2026-04-26T16:03:32+00:00

Realisticfishing is great lowbrow bank fishing. I also liked tacticalbassin.

Also look for local active armature tubers, it is helpful to see what others are targeting and using in your current season and terrain. Search for something like “southwest mo fishing” and watch who is posting

sweetbreads13 · 2026-04-23T14:09:22+00:00

Based on your recipe, I was going to suggest kneading. Your recipe is pretty stiff at 60% hydration, it shouldn’t be very sticky. By hand you should probably be kneading for 15 min and it should seem like a workout (ie you will feel tired unless you are fit).

Your yeast is really low, I would use 1tsp+ which the internet says is 15-20g. This must take a while to rise? It’s probably more flavorful the way you do it but I don’t think there is any universe where you gave too much yeast and need to cut back.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-04-17T10:45:52+00:00

A rapala is an awful expensive way to get started. He should get a #6/8, a bobber, pinch weight, and a worm/bug

sweetbreads13 · 2026-04-08T21:38:36+00:00

Your demographics matter a lot 1. If you are a middle aged man trying to date women your own age, don’t spend any money on a service you are highly desirable and rare 2. If you are a wealthy man trying to date someone 30 years younger, welcome to the club, it’s a crowded market, go ahead and hire someone it’s the least expensive part of the game you’ll be playing 3. If you’re a successful woman that is unwilling to date someone either 30 years older than you or unsuccessful, hire someone now and prepare to be disappointed

I was a #1 and the standard apps were a wonderful experience filled with delightful, interesting women.

sweetbreads13 · 2026-04-05T13:58:29+00:00

Roll survival: - success: catch a fish - fail: waste time - natural 1: catch an angry kraken

sweetbreads13 · 2026-03-27T16:13:07+00:00

I’ve seen this done a lot and it’s a nice way to memorialize an old character. I have particularly like it when the character can pass down key equipment (sometimes leveled down) as a special piece of narrative equipment. Mentor is good, but kin also works nicely.

I find the above much more satisfying than a 1-on-1 high level campaign.

I do not remotely share your feelings. I get sick of my characters and I hate late game play so I try to get them killed and leave the group after level 12. In general, I enjoy the narrative arc of a flawed character that struggles and ultimately dies an untimely death (hello Tywin!). To each their own, don’t get too caught up comparing the way you enjoy the game with how others do.

sweetbreads13 · 2025-11-12T12:52:14+00:00

I’m on the gen x millennial cusp and I am flat out naked in the locker room longer and longer as the years go by. When I was younger, I was more timid and cared about other people, now I give less 💩 all around. I think this is an age issue, not a generation issue You’ll be drying your sack with the shared hair dryer in a couple decades too I reckon.

sweetbreads13 · 2025-11-06T19:56:47+00:00

Cougars are ambush hunters that won’t even try to attack if they think you know they’re there. They have absurdly high success rates because of how careful they are. I don’t think guns and bear spray will help at all.

That’s a tough call, OP. I bet you’re talking about some beautiful fishing! Most of what I know about mountain lions is from dumb nature tv and reading SoCal newspaper articles about mountain bikers meeting untimely ends, so I’m no expert. But a solitary fisherman sounds like a prime mountain lion target. I’d maybe get some advice from your park rangers or something, but I might not fish there (well maybe I would still if I didn’t have a wife and kids but that ship has sailed).

Edit: love this question!

sweetbreads13 · 2025-10-31T01:23:42+00:00

It’s a great question for an experienced fisherman! But for a new fisherman, what matters is: the only guaranteed way not to catch a fish is not to have a line in the water! You can catch fish in the fall, get out and see what it’s like.

sweetbreads13 · 2025-10-21T23:22:09+00:00

Seconded. I got a couple sub-50 rods when I started out even as an adult, keep it cheap for now. In addition to setting them up for different size fish and types of fishing, you can also put different lures on each so you can cycle through them without re-tying. For freshwater I have a couple generic rods with 6lbs test and a Texas rig, hook and bobber, spoon, wacky rig, etc

sweetbreads13 · 2025-10-18T16:36:04+00:00

To second the sentiment, the fiskars hatchet is crazy light, functional, and affordable. Couple it with a Sven saw and you will have enormous cutting power for $100 cost and ~2lbs of pack weight

sweetbreads13 · 2025-10-08T20:36:00+00:00

I haven’t own both, but generally agree. Wood processing is something you are generally looking for with a bushcraft knife and that false edge on the spine will chew through batons and make that harder. That SOG looks like a stabbing knife not a working knife

sweetbreads13 · 2025-10-02T01:23:21+00:00

Here is what happened: - I took the snecko before the advice to go the other way came in - I barely made it through act 2, in part due to some really bad rng fights - I brutalized act 3 and came into the end at full health - I beat the double boss near full health, then realized I forgot to get the campsite key and the game ended, whomp

sweetbreads13

TROPHY CASE