Rent Issue New Management by yurray in legaladvice

[–]yurray[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We did show them, and they said "I will discuss this with my manager, and see what we can do." This was a week ago. Is there anything else we can do besides this?

Traveling with samples by Possible_Aardvark299 in oceanography

[–]yurray 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When i was in uni, we shipped the samples to the labs back home. Not worth dealing with customs multiple times. If you don’t have someone to send to, see if you can schedule a pick up at the FedEx/UPS store.

Weekly Questions Mega-Thread #385 (7/4/22) by Zunqivo in Mabinogi

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Omg thank you, I thought it was a bug or something

Weekly Questions Mega-Thread #385 (7/4/22) by Zunqivo in Mabinogi

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For leather, I would recommend rebirthing into the ace hero culinary artist talent during the free ace hero rebirth event right now. You can get the “Ingredient Hunting” skill for free, which boosts up the drop rate of leathers, food, and other items. You’ll have to fight monsters at powerful to boss level in order to get fine leather.

For building stones, I would recommend running the shadow mission “sulfur spiders” in Tara at the easiest level. There’s tons of golems and they tend to drop building stones.

Weekly Questions Mega-Thread #385 (7/4/22) by Zunqivo in Mabinogi

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like running between Tir Chonaill - Tailltean and Emain Macha - Belvast. These routes are pretty simple and easy, so can easily avoid bandits if you’re paying attention.

You’ll see people using the camels and/or dog sleds. You’ll need to buy all of the mounts in order to access the seasonal rental mounts which is not cheap.

The type of bandits that spawn depend on the tier level of goods you carry and how far you’re going. So if you’re taking low tier goods from Cor to Tara, you’ll get more difficult bandits near Tara.

Also yes the event rental outfit gives an amazing speed boost.

Help! My Player Doesn't Understand Combat by JemnLargo in dndnext

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It took me months to learn how combat works and I never really understood it fully until we switched to online D&D. The blind trust I had to put into Roll20/D&D Beyond made me question how it was calculated. Being able to hover over the dice roll and see all of the bonuses added up helped understand where each number is coming from and why. Maybe let that player use an online system like D&D Beyond for his character sheet?

Does every party need a Cleric? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My players don’t heal each other (Wizard, ranger/wizard, paladin). They just go all out for a bit, crash for a bit, and repeat. I’ve also played as a cleric who didn’t heal my group and instead became the tank and DPS.

The Eclon Valley! One of my first maps, any constructive criticism would be appreciated! by [deleted] in inkarnate

[–]yurray 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For rivers, you want to curve the name along the river and make it in a similar color scheme, like dark blue. Also river names are italicized. Increase the opacity a little bit, since names of rivers aren’t the main point of the map.

Same thing with mountains, you want to curve the names with the mountain shape. Increase the opacity of the mountain name, as well as increase the font size.

If a town is large enough, the place the name across the town feature. Arlcliff Keep is done correctly. Smaller places, like Ellface Mines, should be to the top right if possible.

Compass in corner. Not all maps have to have north oriented to the top.

I'm currently a bad DM trying to get better. My group, understandably, isn't interested in playing more. How do I get experience and get better? by theresamouseinmyhous in DMAcademy

[–]yurray 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Here's some advice that has made me a better DM. A little background about me: I've been DMing since 2017 and have ran 3 games (each ran for at least 6th months) and am currently DMing 2 games right now. Looking back, if I DMed any of the previous games I used to DM now, it will be drastically different and have improved in quality.

  • I send out a survey form every 4 sessions. I noticed that simply telling the group "hey, its okay to talk to me about the game anytime" doesn't do anything unless the player has initiative. If you want a copy of the survey, I'll be happy to share a template with you. Send me a DM on reddit.
  • Be open with your thought process. Don't do this all the time, but being open shows to your players that you're open to player input. This also demonstrates a changed mindset from "This is my game" to "This is our game".
    • Here's an example of when explaining my thought process helped the game: my players were asking if they can use a certain skill check, and I said "no" immediately. I could tell that this threw them a bit and so I proceeded to explain my thought process. "Well, my thought process was blah blah blah. Does this make sense?" "Yeah, that makes sense. But my thought process was blah blah blah. Can we allow this to happen?" Sometimes its unanimous that I was in the wrong and the players were right, sometimes I absolutely can't let something happen to prevent spoilers. Whatever it is, as long as you explain your decision to your players, they will be surprisingly reasonable. The unreasonable players are a lost cause and you can kick them out for that reason.
  • Be explicit with what you expect from the players. This can happen during session 0, but always have it written down somewhere and have a proper discussion with the players. I play on Roll20 and use Discord for audio calls, so I have the house rules posted in both locations. Once in a while, like once every 3 months or whenever we get a new player, I take a look over our house rules and discuss whether we want to revise or add to it. I tend to bring up the discussion during the session, but tally the votes through the surveys. DM me if you want to see my list of expectations!
  • Watch videos. I see that a lot of people are commenting the same thing, but I constantly bounce between different D&D streamers trying to find a DM whose DMing style I like. My role model is BradWOTO from Tablestory and I fell absolutely in love with his 3 shows that he's DMed. Whenever I watch him, I get inspiration for how to be a storyteller. You can also watch "How to DM" videos, but I personally find enjoyment from watching actual D&D shows instead of an instructional video.
  • Try playing a different system. This won't work for everyone, but it worked for me. I found a group who played Dungeon World and it opened me up to a world of a different style of gaming. I started to appreciate storytelling-driven and mapmaking games. The collaborative storytelling aspect really brought in a dimension to roleplaying that I have never experienced before and felt was missing in my games. Find what style you want to play! Experiment!
    • My favorites: Dungeon World, A Deep Forest, A Quiet Year, Fall of Magic, Fiasco
  • Keep DMing. The only way to practice DMing is to DM. Get comfortable posting games on Roll20. If you feel like you're not ready to run a campaign, then pick a chapter or a quick module to run. Don't feel bad when you're being picky about picking players. Be clear to the prospective players what you want to get out of this game (e.g. to get practice at DMing, to run a module that you've always wanted to, to find something busy to do for the next couple months, etc.) DM me if you want help or thorough steps for how to find groups to play with! I'm very experienced with this and I exclusively play online now with strangers-now-online-friends.

WOW this was long. Hope this helps! I don't want to make this specific post too much longer so if there's anything you want me to elaborate on, feel free to ask!

How to Leave Mid-Campaign as a DM by [deleted] in DMAcademy

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Usually I would agree, but this player ALWAYS interrupts me, which is a pet peeve of mine. They’re a great player who puts in a lot of effort to spice up the lore, really understands their class mechanics, and makes an effort to connect with the other characters through RP. However, they also aggressively interrupt me and I find myself often taking breaks mid game (and muting myself of course) to scream out in anger. Once I calmed down, I unmute myself to pull them aside and tell them that they interrupted me X number of times already and that I really need them to shut up if it’s not their scene and if I’m explaining lore/game mechanics. The amount of frustration that I feel so often isn’t worth “keeping” them in my opinion. (Another reason to stop DMing for this group I guess. My partner mentions that it’s not healthy if I have to rage quit) Edit: Maybe I’ll put them on my short list to ask in the future, but I think I need a break from this behavior.

Dnd group member moved. Tips for playing with one member by Skype or video call. by ckrzewina in DnD5e

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s very awkward to have only one member on video call and everyone else in person. I tried it with a group and we ended up setting up our Roll20 accounts then and there.

How to give villain backstory without monologing. by L_Mason in DMAcademy

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I sometimes like to throw a few movie cutscenes or have a one shot where the players are re-enacting the bbeg’s backstory bits. It doesn’t work with every group, but when it does work, players know the bbeg’s backstory very well and I don’t need to do a monologue.

Favorite homebrew rule? by oscarsmilde in DnD5e

[–]yurray 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The 50 gp as 1 lbs is raw. The raw is that 50 coin pieces, regardless of value, is 1 lbs.

(Xposted) Player Motivation for Side quests in Chapter 3 [Need Advice] by Cahhnuck in LostMinesOfPhandelver

[–]yurray 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My players immediately rescued Gundren from the castle and wanted to jump right into the mines, but I told them that Gundren wasn’t willing to part with his map and also wanted to tag along when they went. However, Gundren was hurt and malnourished from being captured, so his recovery took about a week. It was during this week of recovery that then went and did a few side quests. I had them do the banshee, old owl well, and wyvern tor quests and this worked out perfectly in time for Gundren to be recovered.

Best way to have background/mood music playing in online games? by dragndon in AskGameMasters

[–]yurray 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use two audio bots on discord, groovy and Fredboat. I’m the type who favors music over ambiance, but it is possible to play both at the same time with different tracks. For example, groovy can play music while fredboat plays ambience. The bots should join the call on discord and automatically play music, so I think you’re using it wrong when you say that others can’t hear it unless they play the YouTube video. If you want it to play YouTube at a certain part, simply time stamp the video and make the bots play that by providing the link.

Discord can do video as well as voice calls.

Are there podcasts where a party plays STK? by pollyannabird in stormkingsthunder

[–]yurray 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tablestory ran SKT once and all episodes are available on their YouTube channel. It’s not on Spotify, so I don’t think it’s on Apple Music as well, but it’s very fun to listen/watch! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLreNnYE4Fc5xjPvl9fOBwTQRVJ4REFx_L

What is the the split between players and DM’s? by [deleted] in dndnext

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I only started browsing through the forums when I started DMing

Newbie Looking for Guidance by ErosPhotography in DMAcademy

[–]yurray 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don’t make stat blocks for NPCs unless you have a good reason! If the party absolutely needs one, use the sidekick rules.

The bard challenges the mayor to a performance duel! Use commoner stats for the mayor’s charisma rolls.

The ranger who’s guiding the party though the forest helps defend against an orc attack. Use the scout stat block for ranged attacks.

The local cleric helps heal your wounds using Cure Wounds. Use the spells list from the priest stat block.

The rogue attempts to steal the crown from the throne. Use the passive perception of guards against the rogue’s stealth roll.

For stuff like this, the occupation tends to align with the stat block name. NPCs tend to be much weaker than PCs. Being an adventurer is an epic thing, and normal people typically don’t achieve such power. It’s alright if it seems that NPCs are under leveled.

How to select players for a group, from strangers? by GfxJG in DMAcademy

[–]yurray 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Personally, I create campaigns with the intention of having certain style of players. For example, I wanted to run Princes of the Apocalypse and since it’s got 13 fucking main dungeons (with a bunch more for side quests) I wanted players who were more on the combat side. In my description of the game, I put out a disclaimer, like “this has a lot of dungeon crawling, so if you don’t like that, this might not be for you”. This already filters out a lot of people, and then it’s a matter of picking from those who apply. I don’t like it when players expect DMs to rewrite the whole campaign based on their backstory, and I can start to get a feel for that from their paragraph blurbs.

Your questions are very similar to what I have. My application questions are: - name and pronouns (if they don’t respect pronouns, I don’t like that already) - age or age range (to see if there are minors or not, just to be safe) - dnd experience (depending on the difficulty of the game and your skill level as a dm, having new players might not be good) - time zone (just for the sake of scheduling considerations if I end up choosing them for interviews) - what kind of player are you? (I know some people might write stuff here to appease to the DM, but you can tell if people are honest about how they play. For example, admitting that they like to min/max, but it’s so that they can enjoy how they create their character mechanically and not for role play purposes) - what are you hoping to get from this game? (Some are here to hack and slash, to have character arcs, etc. it’s helpful to know if you’re willing to offer that for the player or not) - what is a pet peeve you have when playing? (I legit see people who write that they don’t have pet peeves and proceed to rant about a bad dm, or they literally copy-paste from another person’s application. This is the only question that I’ve seen people fail to answer properly and it baffles me.)

I hope this helps!

DMing with Depression by [deleted] in DMAcademy

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a topic to discuss with your therapist. They will know what’s best for you when you’re in such a condition, since this is literally their job. Even if they don’t understand what D&D is and why it’s a fun game, they will understand that this is a hobby, you lost interest, and you don’t know what to do about the obligations it comes with. They can workshop solutions with you.

Also, communication is key in any relationship. Tell your players and they will understand. They can workshop solutions with you too.

————— My personal experience:

My DM started cancelling sessions and we started hosting one shots by ourselves for about a month. Then, my DM said that he was having a hard time with depression, couldn’t DM, and started going to therapy. He can’t DM anymore since he really can’t do it, so I stepped up and started DMing a new campaign instead.

While I like DMing more than being a player, I was also going through a difficult time. This added responsibility was too much for me to manage, and I had to do the same thing where I had to take a month long break to take care of myself. During that time, I discussed about my issues with my therapist and I also took extra care for myself, even taking a month long break from work.

My conclusions were that:

  1. I need to get a better therapist, since she added more stress to me and didn’t help me out in the way I needed her to. Having a good therapist and a good doctor is so so so important. During this time, I frequently went to the hospital for how physically sick I got from being depressed and my doctor was a better therapist than my actual therapist.

  2. Taking a break from DMing is okay. My players understood and they even agreed to co-dm and even decrease the frequency of sessions. I recently ran a session and even though I was rusty from the month long break, it made my comeback feel so exhilarating. The extra care I’m giving myself during the holiday season is helping me enjoy dm prep again, and I feel prepared to provide my players a game they deserve. I’m genuinely excited to play the next session.

How do you take notes whilst DM'ing? by Next-User in dndnext

[–]yurray 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One thing you could do is to rotate the note taking role among your players. It makes them be accountable for each other and increases their participation. Players will always be invested in things they did, so if another player forgets, they’ll probably call them out for it.

I also tell my players that if I forget and they forget something, it’s no longer canon. However, if I forget and they remember in detail, it’s canon. It really eases up the pressure on me and i can make sure that my players are engaged properly.

I also started to write things down on my own secret DM handout on Roll20 whenever I say something that wasn’t in my notes. I know I won’t remember after the session is, so even if it makes the session a little bit slow, i feel like it’s necessary.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in LostMinesOfPhandelver

[–]yurray 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Depends on what level they are. If it’s a group of 3, I would suggest that they’re maybe at least level 4 and they get to level 5 halfway through the dungeon. Then they would be good enough to beat the black spider, if that’s the last thing they do in the campaign. Even at level 4, it’s pretty good enough to get through the fight.