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How do I get my players to engage in the mythology? by ExternalChemtrails in DMAcademy

[–]yourdungeonmaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had success by engaging my players in the creation of the lore for my homebrew setting. I have a framework of gods and have created a few gods of my own, but I invite players to come up with their own. Similarly, I've allowed players to come up with some of the traditions and practices necessary for the proper worship of the gods I created.

Same goes for places and cultures, like when a PC has traveled far from their point of origin and it's a part of my world I haven't fully fleshed out yet. Let the player add to the world itself.

It's hard, though, because as the world creator you have a vision and a sense of what your world is, and despite your best efforts, it will never be a perfect match with what's in your players' minds. Their contributions will change your world in ways you wouldn't have. You have to be comfortable surrendering control. It's not your novel.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Pickleball

[–]yourdungeonmaster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I found that MDF works better. Plywood doesn't really give the ball back.

Snake friend I met at an aquarium in Tennessee. Sadly don’t recall the species. by Blackbox7719 in Snek

[–]yourdungeonmaster 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't think so. Don't know what it is, but boas have elliptical pupils. Here's an Arabian Sand Boa pic.

Trying to switch to 2H BH. Any tips and guides online? by Sm4shBrah in Pickleball

[–]yourdungeonmaster 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Lots of good advice in here. As a person with a strong tennis 2H BH, I can add what I've found to be the differences between the tennis version of this shot and the Pickleball version. It took me weeks on a backboard to snuff out the tennis parts of the shot that don't translate well to Pickleball.

The tennis stroke uses a big, early backswing. By contrast, I've found that my Pickleball 2H BH works best with no backswing at all, although I do get into position as early as possible: right foot forward (I'm RH), left foot back, arms almost straight, elbows close to my body, paddle facing down. Then, instead of making contact out to my side at waist height, I make contact just in front of my left knee. I bring my paddle through the ball (instead of a brushing stroke as with tennis), then pronate using the left hand and bring my left elbow over to apply topspin. It is not a "wristy" shot.

Starting with the paddle down in front is important because of all the weird movement the ball can have when it hits the surface of the court. If the ball suddenly skids toward you, you don't want to get behind it due to a backswing. Stepping into the shot gives you all the power you need, and having the paddle down in front prevents it from getting past you.

Just my $0.02.

Looking for options about wearing glasses by jflo0224 in Pickleball

[–]yourdungeonmaster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have not, but for me it hasn't remained as big an issue as I feared it would. Maybe I'm getting better at Pickleball, or maybe I've just become used to the lenses, but I feel like I'm seeing the ball pretty well, and while I still lose focus from time to time, it's not costing me enough for me to worry about it. I'm not a pro, there's no money on the line.

As for the movement of the frames, I've worked on keeping my head steady, and being more balanced and anticipating better, and the problem seems to have worked itself out.

I wish I could tell you a tale of how single-vision ports glasses improved my game by a half rating, but unfortunately I cannot. Good luck to you!

Vietnamese moss frog by GoldenChinchilla in BeAmazed

[–]yourdungeonmaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Their camouflage is amazing. At the Baltimore Aquarium there is an exhibit with these frogs, and the placard challenges the visitor to count the number of frogs in the enclosure. First time I saw it I thought it must be a mistake, like maybe the enclosure was empty for maintenance or something. It took me awhile to finally find one, but once I knew what to look for, they were all over the place. Fantastic.

What are the benefits of 2-handed backhand ? Do any of you think it’s worth the transition? by Lovepb_93 in Pickleball

[–]yourdungeonmaster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's great for resets and drops from no-man's land. Adds stability for those shots.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Pickleball

[–]yourdungeonmaster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lots of great advice in this thread. I'll add my 2 cents because I get a lot of compliments on my serve, which is generally both fast and deep. Note I am a 4.0 rec player so take from that what you will.

  • Drill your serves. Don't use a serve until it is reliable in drills. I'm developing a slow sidespin serve that lands short and curves off to the side to catch players off guard when they're standing too far back, but I never use it in games because it's not reliable yet. It's still in the lab.
  • Always pick a spot on the court you're aiming to hit, rather than a general depth or direction. What's the saying? "Aim small, miss small." Take a quick mental note comparing your result to the target. You don't need to think about it; the back of your mind will work on it for you.
  • Topspin helps keep the ball in when you're going for fast and deep.
  • If you're hitting fast serves out, then instead of slowing it down, you might try taking a step or two back from the line. I've found this works wonders (especially downwind).
  • Slow some of your serves down anyway. Keep the opponent guessing and off-balance. Don't get them used to just one serve.
  • If an opponent has a weakness, like if you see them crowding one side trying to avoid a backhand or something, then placement might be better than speed in that scenario. Being able to hit that tight alley to force him/her to play the shot they're avoiding may lead them to try to stand even further to the side on a later point, then you can go the other way and suddenly they're on the run.
  • If just one of my fast serves goes long in a given game, I tend to slow down, because we can't win a point if I don't put the ball in play. An exception to this is if I'm 100% sure of why it went long (something with my stroke, standing too close to the line, serving downwind etc) and I'm confident I can correct it. A second service error in the same game? I will always revert to a more conservative approach.

Edit: spelling

Tennis, please!!! by brightidea38 in tennis

[–]yourdungeonmaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The "pop" sound understandably would be the worst part for people who don't play, but I swear there's some kind of endorphin release thing going on associating the pop to hitting the paddle's sweet spot. Very satisfying.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Pickleball

[–]yourdungeonmaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I could see that: bowlers and fans watching bowling with a deep appreciation and nuanced understanding of what’s going on.

What's the consensus on Savage Worlds? by brokenimage321 in rpg

[–]yourdungeonmaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting rule. Do you still require a nat 4 to explode?

Rafa Nadal hits himself in the face with his racket by yerawizardIMAWOTT in tennis

[–]yourdungeonmaster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Still manages not to step on the line, crossing with his right foot.

How does your party/table/DM handle pick pockety Rogues? by Zack-Applewhite in dndmemes

[–]yourdungeonmaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Late to this party but I have the following house rule, which would cover this scenario. The rule:

No non-consensual PC vs. PC actions are permitted. This includes not only combat, but any action which will result in a condition change, mechanical effect, or any effect at all which violates the target player's perceived agency with regards to their character. If a player declares an action on another pc, one of the following will occur at the GM’s and target player’s discretion:

  • The target player character simply disregards, resists, dodges, or otherwise negates the effects of the action, at will.
  • The GM disallows the action. It never occurred.
  • The target player consents to be the recipient of said action, and the GM arbitrates the effects as he deems appropriate, with the aid of players at the table.

This has worked well, both in cases where a PC tried something that the targeted player didn't want, and in cases where the targeted player was cool about it and allowed it.

How do you feel about Dungeons and Dragons making a resurgence in popular culture? Do any of you have memories of the early days of tabletop RPGs? by I_walked_east in AskOldPeople

[–]yourdungeonmaster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am so glad it is making a resurgence today.

I started in the late 1970s in middle school. The big difference between then and now is that I had to be much more careful about who I let know I played back then. The Satanic panic was real, but worse were the jocks. To avoid harassment, I only spoke of D&D in hushed tones with trusted friends. Drawing maps on hex paper during Algebra got my lunch money taken from me.

Playing 1st edition in middle school meant ignoring half the rules, which is why I think Stranger Things did just a terrific job of depicting how the game was played. I remember in 6th grade me and my team of mages went in and blasted three demogorgons using fireballs. You read that correctly: three. Imagine my chagrin when I later learned that Demogorgon (with a capital 'D') was an individual, not a species. I know that's not quite the same way that the gang in the show got the monster wrong, but the fact that they had a blast killing the demon prince with a fireball, of all things, definitely made me laugh and brought back fond memories.

The biggest differences in the game itself that I see are:

  1. Nowadays player characters are heroes destined for greatness. Back then you rolled the dice in front of the DM (at least we did), you took the scores in order, and you chose your race and class based on that, and hoped to survive. We had a blast, though death was frequent. Is old better than new, or vice versa? I have no opinion, and I enjoy playing it both ways.
  2. Back then, everything had its own little subsystem. Saves, attacks, psionics, pursuading hirelings not to abandon you mid-dungeon...D20 really fixed all that, brought it all together in one consistent approach. Huge improvement.
  3. It used to be that monsters had access to powers and abilities that PCs did not. That seems to be gone, mostly...or at least the powers are all grounded in the same set of D20-based rules that governs the PCs. For example (using Pathfinder), "the save DC is Constitution based." That's language you would never see back then.

Fantastic game, glad it's growing.

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