/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>179531 →
>My concern was that liberties were being taken - not specifically by players, but by game designers who don't know the irl mechanics of what theyre designing
Who really cares though? It's fantasy. AC is an abstraction. HP is an abstraction. Just use what's fun and serves your goals.
>>179535 →
>Rosey's player has reason to feel put on, and Im a big reason behind it, but not cuz I wanna piss in their cereal.
I have to say, it really did piss me off
Maybe I'm not one to object because you've been playing for longer than me, but I was doing fine until last week. I had anticipated meeting up with the rest of the party for more than a year, but this has really sucked the enjoyment out of it for me. Idk how to put it into words; maybe I'm just breaking under the weight of my irl struggles, but this has to stop. Let's agree to stop the toxicity.
>Meta/maxxfagging is fucking tedious. And no, new players should never have to.
First of all "try this useful piece of armor from this book" is not tedious. If it were tedious, that would be Tenebrous's problem, not yours. Tenebrous expressed an issue with armor class, so I helped him.
Second of all, "metafagging" is part of the game. It is part of the appeal of the game, and this particular edition of the game.
I can avoid throwing math in your face, it ooc junk is your problem though. I can see how it would be annoying to have math break the immersion of roleplay, but I think I should be able to talk to other characters.
>>179536 →
>He doesn't have a lot of levels in monk so the effects of wearing it aren't severe, but are there any workarounds to wear armor as a monk while retaining all abilities?
Yes, although resource cost is a question. How much do you really care about armor class? There are a lot of alternatives to armor too.
Only low level characters care about AC anyway.
Notice how the cost for +1 armor is less than that for a +1 weapon? It's because this system values defense less than it does offense: You avoid more damage by attacking. Whenever I buy armor enhancements, I go for the special abilities, not AC bonuses.
>Maybe we could just rename those armor pieces to fit the setting?
It doesn't really matter what you call them. They amount to "bracers" and "chestplate".
>I think the whole concern around Posey arises from the fact that none of us, probably including the GM, took notes on her character sheet so we have no idea just what she's capable of.
My character sheet has been public for a long time.
https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets//?id=2789871
>makes it look like powergaming
It really depends what you mean by "power gaming", but I never once denied power gaming. Power fantasy is part of the appeal of d&d.
>>179538 →
There are several ways for Monks to wear armor.
https://dnd.arkalseif.info/classes/argent-fist/index.html
Argent fist is the first one to come to mind, because I've played it.
There are other options, but I don't have them off of the top of my head because they're suboptimal, and Armor Class is a tertiary priority for most characters (Tank Fallacy).
Also worth noting that the Monk has many ACFs, which means most of its armor-restricted features can be traded away for something else. You can trade flurry for Rage or Decisive Strike, neither of which need be unarmored. You can trade evasion for Feign Death, Spell Reflection or Invisible Fist, none of which need be unarmored. This is recommended for Multiclass Monks. Flurry Of Misses is a meme anyway.
https://srd.dndtools.org/srd/classes/baseCore/monk.html#decisive-strike
Monk has a lot of features (most of which meh), which meant it had a lot of features to trade away for ACFs written in various books and magazine issues.
Hunter Monk should be considered, for Multiclass Rangers. By combining Hunter Monk with Ascetic Stalker, you can increase your favored enemy progression faster than normal.
>>179569 →
>Lamilar is grossly underrepresented
No it isn't. It's been in the game since 3.0 A&E.
https://www.realmshelps.net/stores/armor/Lamellar
This was the armor I gave to my Agire statblock, because I wanted a more eastern theme. Among medium armors, it's one of the better ones. Tied with breastplate, and cheaper too. Too bad it can't be dragoncraft.
There's no shortage of avant garde armors in 3.5e. Some of them are good, most of them are meh.

>>179658
>Who really cares though? It's fantasy. AC is an abstraction. HP is an abstraction.
This is true, but please understand that everyone needs to be on the same page with the numbers. We are not. That can be a problem.

>Only low level characters care about AC anyway.
Why?

>I never once denied power gaming. Power fantasy is part of the appeal of d&d.
Please understand that when one enemy encounters two characters, one who is very powerful and wants to be brought near death, and another who is only medium or low powered and does not want to lose their character, there can be an issue in game balancing. This is not a non-existent issue.

Also, for the love of God, please stop trying to show up every other player on how much more powerful your character is than theirs in out of character comments or minor PvP. It pisses me off to no end and makes it extremely difficult to take your statements about taking elements from various books being benign at face value

>>179661
I wouldn't have done the show-off thing if another player hadn't threatened to kill me earlier. I regret doing that.

>>179658
>who cares, it's fantasy
Yes, but. Brie's backstory is more or less structured to be among the the top 3 sneaky ninjas in the world. Now, there are mechanical constraints to that manifestation, mostly supplied by GM.
When building him thence, I went with what made sense to the *already established mindset/build*. This includes a homebrew feat that allowed me to do something I could have done with another build but which didnt fit the backstory/character.
Tl;dr, I could have 2 extra feats if I wanted to go with an optimal build. Everything my character does that is "cool" comes at specific and deliberate expense.
Without having looked at this specific cbaracter, I admit to a prejudice to observing your (as a player) propensity to capitalize on racial/bonus feats, especially where flaws are offered in exchange.
What I'm grtting at is that while GM has permitted me things that he needn't have, it is after I have detailed in thorough why it should be this way, how the rule designers were ignorant/nescient of these aspects, etc. and why he would be advised to tell me no.
Other than such negotiations, I have only told him what I have chosen, and how those choices affect previous ones.

Idk if that helped. But anyway, I had this badass criminal bg and idfk what happened to my character sheet, did I ever have one? I think so, but fuck it, lets roll and a ... 6.
..
.
....
Fuck it, Ill make it work AND make sense, AND be the badass. Yes, I know, that 6 will hur skills,....

So when that happens and yoh try to suck it up and go with it, having someone else SEEM to be flaunting/gloating can have adverse consequences that I might be more adult about in the future?

>>179663
I apologize for that. It wasn't a threat to kill, but thats just semantics. I acknowledge A. That was a bad response even OOC, B. That what Brie would assume would kill Posey would probably be grossly insufficient, in an Alan vs. Tyrant sorta way, and C. if no "good" responses come to mind, I could have not posted.

>>179658
>Lamellar
Funny, you havent posted the 3.5e SRD for Lammelar. Wonder why.

>>179738 →
What SHOULD have happened, having NOT descended from his 100' low altitude observation and NOT taken ANY further action (other than to declare an OOC intent to secure the rope WHEN GAMEPLAY COULD CONTINUE CUZ PLAYERS ARE PRESENT), saw the pony coming a mile away. I now realize I have to be exhaustive in my descriptions so to avoid unnecessary assumptions about what my character is doing, and only GM can carry the action forward from that point. I would have been fine with Brie going further onto the cliff if it makes the encounter easier/better but thats nowhere near what I had declared as action, nor was there any indocation that he was doing the other thing I had indicated he would. In future I will be entirely unambiguous about what my character is doing as well as being less accommodating to players trying to push things past where we reasonably stopped.
Part of the problem is that GM will make sweeping decriptions of things happening - clearly putting time, effort, and care - but will neglect to directly address what I had posted, sometimes several times. I'm left not knowing whether the posts were even seen. This is exascerbated when other players engage in needless cross-posting, ostensibly what the OOC thread is for.
The idea that "I was present right until" and "I should have known play was ongoing" is laughable for several reasons.
1. I expressly asked GM directly and the thread in general for advance notice for VERY specific reasons. There was no notice, egro I Assumed* that this was just horseplay and banter.
2. There were 2.5 (including me) players absent.
>but you were there
Not as a player. I was there, while watching YT, with music and distractions and lots of stuff you DONT do as a player. As a player I would have 1 window open, 2 books, a notepad, and the thread, and no distractions. I assumed* that the assurances I was given were not as flexible as they appear to be.

Lets take stock for a second:
Brie - Me
Silver - Silver
Kira
Rosey - Posey
Tenebrous - Him
Cavaliere - Amber's player
Dust - Noodle appreciator

GM - Alot. Like, ALOT alot.
How many players constitutes a quorum? 2/3 certainly, and 5/6 is debatable. 6/6 is ideal, but lets not kid ourselves about dnd schedules. To that end, I recommend favoring the newer players before seasoned ones, both in scheduling and in general.

>>179743
What should have happened part 2:
The intent was NOT for Brie to have joined the fight; he could be said to be anywhere from 50-100'. What he would have done is signal/call-out something like:
"Eyes on contact, 2 o'clock" or whatever specific direction appropriate, left the mass of ponies to ascertain/deal with the contact, while surveiling for any other approaching contacts.
Brie isnt trying to be everywhere and do all the things I just want him doing the things I said so that he can at least contribute a situational awareness even if not actively engaging.

>>179742
It's not in the SRD. I told you it's in Arms & Equipment.
A&E was printed before the SRD, but unlike the ELH, DD, and XPH, it didn't get the SRD treatment.
SRD only includes DMG1, PHB1, MM1, XPH, ELH, and DD.

Anyway, Lamellar is a top tier medium armor. Would recommend it for Warblades, Barbarians, or Fighters with good dex that isn't maxed, if you wanted a more eastern look instead of breastplate. It's statistically identical to breastplate, except it weighs slightly less and costs 50 gp less. Costing only 150 gp also means that lvl 1 followers may be able to afford it alongside a horse and weapons.
It is, however, partly composed of leather, which means that it would rot away overtime, making it not idea to place as treasure in the bottom of some ancient tomb, when a breastplate would last forever. There are workarounds to that though ("the leather lasts forever because magic and/or immortal monster skin").
Too bad it can't be Dragoncraft. Hide and Scale Mail are the only two medium armors that could be dragoncraft, which is probably due to their avoidance to referencing non-phb items in subsequent books. Lamellar is something like a cross between hide and scale mail, and were it made dragoncraft it would be a superior armor, being light with considerable AC bonus, and fitting for dragon-honoring oriental characters. Mithril is better than dragoncraft for Dex character, but dragoncraft lamellar would look so cool.

>>179658
>Yes, although resource cost is a question. How much do you really care about armor class? There are a lot of alternatives to armor too.
It's not the most important thing, and this character won't wear armor anyway, but I was wondering on a conceptual level since monk is a class that eschews all armor by design. Thank you for sharing!
>Only low level characters care about AC anyway.
OOC, maybe, but in IC it depends on the character and what hit points are meant to be. If they're abstracted as "luck to not receive a deadly wound" then it's not a problem though it steps on the toes of AC. If they're actual health resilience, as they've been presented in the game so far, then aside from a sadist dread necromancer most characters would indeed prefer AC.
It's a roleplay problem. If one's character gets shanked by a hobo, the player is not going to freak out because 1d4 damage is nothing for a level 5 PC. But the character still has to be roleplayed as freaking out because he was just shanked by a hobo, for crying out loud. This creates a dilemma where the optimal play is to just not care about getting hit, but where effective roleplay would have a character prefer not to receive another orifice.
DnD 3.5e is highly generous in terms of hit points since party members are regularly fighting mythical creatures (and often dying to them), but in a grounded setting like OE then even level 5 has characters be absurdly tanky. We saw it in Silver's last dream sequence where he was fighting a war. You could design the campaign where there's a level cap (you mentioned 6e and I talked about it on the game thread) but even if you include more feats, you still lose out on powers, multiclassing, prestige classes, etc. I wish there was an easy solution to this but I don't see one.
>It doesn't really matter what you call them. They amount to "bracers" and "chestplate".
True. I wonder what the horse versions would be?
>hunter monk
>lose 1st level bonus feat
It's tempting, but I like my feats.
>>179745
I'm just curious as to how he would have called out the pony from a hundred feet away, without having a radio. Physically, he could do that by yelling loud enough, but that would be heard by everypony else 100' away.
>>179746
>Too bad it can't be Dragoncraft. Hide and Scale Mail are the only two medium armors that could be dragoncraft, which is probably due to their avoidance to referencing non-phb items in subsequent books. Lamellar is something like a cross between hide and scale mail, and were it made dragoncraft it would be a superior armor, being light with considerable AC bonus, and fitting for dragon-honoring oriental characters. Mithril is better than dragoncraft for Dex character, but dragoncraft lamellar would look so cool.
Officially, you can't, but it would be easy to homebrew it in for a character with a very high armor crafting skill. In OE it would just be awkward to wear in considering dragons have their own country and are capable of co-existing with ponies to some extent.

>>179747
>I'm just curious as to how
In the scenario where he is 100' and looking for anything and thereby notices the approaching pony, he will likewise have a range of vision approaching 270' ground level before white-out conditions at the diagonal, including any other potential incoming. Therefore, he would be perfectly fine calling out to the ponies in 100' range, regardless of anyone else in that 100' range heard him, while looking for other inbound, in case of trap/ambush/etc.

>>179747
>Thank you for sharing!
Anytime. I could talk about this all day.
>IC it depends on the character and what hit points are meant to be
Well, we are low level characters, so we care about AC.
>If they're abstracted as "luck to not receive a deadly wound"
That's how you're supposed to fluff HP. It says so in the DMG.
>If one's character gets shanked by a hobo, the player is not going to freak out because 1d4 damage is nothing for a level 5 PC.
Sounds like a good time to introduce players to Erebus, the god of beggars.
Anyways, a lvl 5 hero narratively shouldn't lose to a lvl 1 commoner hobo with a shank: they should be good enough at fighting to avoid the attack or only be grazed by it, but also narratively their story wouldn't end like that. HP is as much of plot armor as it is physicality or skill at fighting, because players are supposed to win and Frontline fighters are supposed to tank deadly attacks. That's why HP exists.
>This creates a dilemma where the optimal play is to just not care about getting hit, but where effective roleplay would have a character prefer not to receive another orifice.
Optimal play is to kill your enemies before they kill you.
This does remind me of an expert from the Rules Compendium though (pic related).
>DnD 3.5e is highly generous in terms of hit points
I actually disagree with this, especially when compared to other systems, but that's just me.
>In OE it would just be awkward to wear in considering dragons have their own country and are capable of co-existing with ponies to some extent.
Same thing is true in Forgotten Realms and Eberron, but that doesn't stop them.

>My character Amber is on the complete opposite end. I saw the world the DM came up with and wanted to create a character that typified an everymare, even one with many disadvantages.
>My philosophy when playing Amber is to "go with the flow" and have her react realistically toward changing surroundings rather than trying to change the surroundings herself.
Considering that Amber is a Bard, she should have all of the heroic potential as Pinkie Pie. Bards have the power to change the world with their words and songs, and their mere presence can turn the tides of battle.
Even Pinkie Pie in S1E2, who could have been considered a lvl 1 Bard at the time, was able to guide her friends through the Eldritch horrors of Everfree.
Bards aren't just warriors (although they certainly are), they're sages, scholars, and most importantly leaders, not grounded in any one place and spreading their inspiration wherever they go. Bards not only communicate with spirits, but with the emotions of others, and guide the struggling through turmoils both supernatural and mundane. In times of war, a Bard is what everyone needs. Perhaps Amber might not consider herself a warrior, but that doesn't mean she can't be a hero. She might realize that her role may come from supporting and uplifting others, with the power of friendship.
>she'll soon be properly ready for real adventure but I am quite happy with her story and I think others are too.
Well, if you ever want help with your sheet, I'm always available.
Imo, Amber would make for a good Heartfire Fanner, Sublime Chord, or War Chanter. Perhaps she might even go through a sudden Spiritual Awakening, and become a Fire Soul, and inspire all those around her.
https://www.realmshelps.net/monsters/templates/firesouled.shtml
It's +3 LA, but that doesn't really matter in milestone games, plus we have characters that can fly at-will (minimum +2 LA), so nobody cares.
>despite being a generalist at technically level 3.
You haven't seen me play Clerics or Sorcerers, either of which would have made for a more powerful version of Posey. I picked Dread Necromancer because it's a tier 3 class that's good at exactly one thing and one thing only (at lvl 8...), also because she's from the Dread League and therefore must select every character option that has the word "Dread" in it.
Posey has high HP and enhancement bonuses to Str and Dex, but she's also maxed in those regards: she can't improve those with items. I spent two character levels and almost all of my starting gold gaining those traits, because they had to be applied in character creation.

>>179752
Elaborate

>>179753
Amber is more dialogue and social to resolution of circumstances and concerns. Though, for a moment I did get Kira and Amber mixed up in my head

>>179746
Lamellar armor is pretty cool, you basically take a whole bunch of rectangular metal scale and tie them all together into large sheets. Unlike normal scale armor it only has a metal component to it, and requires no backing material like cloth. Kira's lamellar scales are made out of leather rather than metal to preserve lightness, but you can actually make it out of other non-metal materials including bone.

>>179746
>its in this book
So not SRD, got it. I'm not the idiot for not knowing which of the half dozen non-srd lamellar's you may have been referencing.

>>179751
>Perhaps Amber might not consider herself a warrior, but that doesn't mean she can't be a hero. She might realize that her role may come from supporting and uplifting others, with the power of friendship.
That's what I'm going with. She's starting with her coltfriend and he's uh, a work in progress.
>https://www.realmshelps.net/monsters/templates/firesouled.shtml
I'll check these options out. Fire souled seems perfect for a Kirin character since kirins are already attuned with fire. One could bring up other inspiration from the show of actual ponies possessing this, like Twilight burning up in rage or a devout Harmonist becoming radical to the point of welcoming Daybreaker. Food for thought.
>>179757
People also sleep on brigandine as an armor option.

How old was silver before he ate the fruit?

>>179770
He was in his 50s

>>179767
>Fire souled seems perfect for a Kirin character since kirins are already attuned with fire. One could bring up other inspiration from the show of actual ponies possessing this
Becoming Firesouled requires initiation by one who has the template. A Kirin Bard (Autumn Blaze?) would be an ideal mentor for the bonfire ritual.
Also, she's named Amber Sunset. You can't have that kind of name without doing something with fire/light.
>>179771
Middle Age. Got it.

>>179767
Brigandine is plate armor with extra steps

>>179771
That's younger than I assumed. I don't know why he was so obsessed with youth, but I'm not even close to that age myself.
>>179773
I was going for a grain theme (because she is from a farming background) but maybe.
>>179774
It's medium armor but also really cool.

>>179777
>I was going for a grain theme (because she is from a farming background) but maybe.
Could be a Green Whisperer.

>>179780 →
Posey is a character who, if I am expected to keep Brie in a reasonably/respectable line (including not expecting other players/characters to care/accommodate) then it stands to reason,....

>I'm pent up from not killing
Fuck off to ooc with it then

>>179783
>I'm pent up from not killing
Posey is.
>reasonably/respectable line
Is attacking an unresponsive NPC who is attacking us unreasonable?

>>179790
>Posey is
Super. That means fuckall to all not-posey.
>is attacking an whatever NPC
So you're gonna cool it when Brie threatens ponies? Carry on, if it means not getting second guessed and ankle-bitten all the time

>>179790
Nah, it's a fairly reasonable course of action. Personally I wanted to figure out what was going on after not only how weirdly he was acting but also what he is after what I guess was a strength roll with a +4 modifier, but I'm also cool with just straight up murder.

>>179793
I want to take him alive too, and it's why I chose grapple. Posey is acting in-character and isn't unreasonable.

>>179792
>So you're gonna cool it when Brie threatens ponies?
If they're attacking us, yeah.

>>179797
I'll take it!

>>179819 →
Posey was crucimigrated by her Mentor, who through the apprentice feat is an 8th level Dread Necromancer, therefore applying the Undead Mastery feature to her. I marked it as one of her limited favors from her Mentor.

>>179822
Who the fuck thinks another player knows or cares what that means?

>>179823
I was just answering the question that was asked.
It's a temp score because it's enhancement. It does not stack with items.

>>179823
Nah, I'll bear this one out

MOST PLAYERS DONT INTO EXTRA BOOKS

>>179826
You weren't the one who asked.

>>179827
Do you think I ask permission?

>>179822
Oh, that's interesting. But how does that apply +5 dex and str?

>>179833
Pls be nice

>>179835
This is the OOC thread Xp

>>179836
OOC means out of character for your DnD character, not for yourself. Apply your real-life decency here.

Silver's player, could you please post your ability scores? I really want to know.

>>179839
>irl decency
Done! ^_^
Shutup faggit

>>179835
If a Master (8th level) Dread Necromancer creates an undead (in this case, Posey), they increase the undead's HP and also adds an enhancement bonus to Str and Dex.
I'll do the same to you if I get to lvl 8 and I can convince you to die.
>>179833
Then why do you care?

>>179843
Idk. I guess you made a comment about low sperm count. Something that didn't in any way relate to the game at all, but you decided.

And so, I decided. Decide now.

>>179839
>Silver's player, could you please post your ability scores? I really want to know.
His original scores were:
Strength - 16
Dexterity - 17
Constitution - 16
Intelligence - 7
Wisdom - 16
Charisma - 9

Imo, doesn't really reflect how he played, because Silver seemed a lot smarter and more charismatic than that.

>>179844
>>179846
When did they get upgraded? Those are very good stats. And to think you didn't apply age penalties, tsk-tsk

>>179848
Technically the age penalties would only be age bonus, now that he's back to prime age.

>>179848
Intelligence is the only one that actually really got upgraded, and that's because I asked GM pone for it so Silver can actually have some skill points to put into Weaponsmithing and Armorsmithing. Mostly for flavor, but I do have plans for Silver to buy a workshop to turn into a smithy. Not only could it serve as a source of passive income to fund his...expensive newfound hobbies such as NPC collection, but he can use it to make better gear for himself and the various characters. I've already got plans for Silver to make a Titanium Breastplate for himself and a Titanium Chain Shirt for Kira. The rest of them were just some pretty damn good rolls during character creation.