Stasiscell's page

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Ciaran Barnes wrote:
Create ways where the players learn temporary loop holes in the game, but also implement scenarios where there are glitches in the system, such as system lag, getting "stuck", or slipping underneath the landscape.

Like when a player realizes he can buy ladders from the shopkeep and break them off into 2 10 foot poles selling them for a net profit?


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sieylianna wrote:
Make sure to start using the pit spells with your bad guys as often as possible. Once they see how annoying it is, you may be able to engage them in pit-free detente.

Terrible advice never attack players with a "well you did that to my npcs so see how it feels mentality" that will just make them game harder and things will continue to escalate.

Players will almost always enter a arms race before they ever have the zen like understanding you expect.

plus it just screams sore and whiny gm.


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my best advice is dont give the wizard a 15 minute work day.
Instead of running 4-5 encounters by cr run 8-12 a few lvls below it with a big encounter at the end = to cr.
This will give the other players a chance to shine (the wizard wont be soo keen to expend all his spells on "trash mobs").

Another bit of advice is to play the monsters a bit more tactically whats stopping your big bads from using scry and die? any arch mage type character should be able to scry and teleport when he pleases (with a contingent spell for if he is incapacitated so a sos into a melee kill wont be the outcome) have the monster harry them and hound them like a wolf pack. not letting them sleep and always striking at their worst moments (thats a good use for a lich imo , heck maybe make it so they unwittingly looted his phylactery so now hes hell bent to get it back).

Also cr is just a recommendation if you feel they are stronger than their suggested lvl dont be afraid to up the stakes throwing 7+ equal cr encounters at em and a big fight 2-4 cr over em.

if they complain just tell them the area they are currently in is a hellish place that eats adventurers and craps them out.


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Icyshadow wrote:

Oh, wait. Party level 8 vs three Vrocks?

Asking if you were unfair with Dance of Ruin in that case is like asking if it was a slight overkill to drop a nuke on a guy when you could have just snuck behind him and snapped his neck instead. The whole encounter was so unfair it ain't even funny, so yes, you were being really damned unfair.

This is why we have the optimization communities to put the dice back into the players hands.


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hit them where it hurts the brain bucket design encounters to factor in positioning and elevation an d use hordes of creatures , be sure to use creatures that have a high cmb and use manuevers these penalties will begin to outweight their ac bonus,s.

Prone -4 ac, Flanking +2 attack, Charging +2 attack , elevation + 1 attack.
Dirty trick a less than well known combat manuever can inflict blinded, dazzled, deafened, entangled, shaken, or sickened.
Design a fight in a bar where a bunch of cads swarm them , jump on tables , trip them , spit potent alcohol in their eyes, grapple , flank ,urinate on them "thats where the sickened bit kicks in" and act like rabid monkeys.
Goblins desire to do these things as well.

Nets are a neat thing too ranged touch attack to inflict -4 dex -2 str and entangle them.
Would be funny to see those lil munchkins beaten bloody by the fishermen at the docks.

Also go back to old school gm'ing run traps that make them think outside the box the simpler the better the hardest traps are usually the simplest ones , make it so the party enters a room full of flour and they need to think outside the box to avoid a powder explosion, force them to trek through corridors narrow enough to only allow them to pass single file and trap the hell out of it.

Heres what you should do.

- Sailors
- tomb of horrors
- include more encounters with more creatures

one last thing there are plenty of spells that are touch attacks it may seem sub optimal but run some goblin shamans with corrosive touch / shocking grasp not only is it thematically cool 2-4d6 damage will be noticed over time and will tax party resources best spells for this are Magic missile, Shocking Grasp, Scorching ray.

You are the gm you build encounters differently than players build characters , a player will never use blasts due to the spell slot expenditure as a gm your spells per day is limited only by your discretion make it so they are attacked by a cult of cr 1 adepts , hell if they each only have 1-2 spell slots and dumpy stats you can get away with making them cr 1/2 , run 5 of them with 1 cr3 necromancer.
Magic Missiles from the cultists and scorching rays from the necromancer.
add 6 1/3 skeletons in there for good effect maybe a ghoul.


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peterrco wrote:

Lots of interesting points made here.

First thing to note is that we are playing a game, and that making the party "take the consequences" in a way that is not "game fun" but "game punishment", whilst good in theory, it is not going to make a fun session or two. I've done some stupid things before both as GM and player, but as someone who works and has other committments and plays with other people who work hard and have other committments, wrecking everyones precious downtime is never an option.

Second, turning the children to illusions retroactively is a bad move, let the dice roll is always my policy, but making the best of a bad job, when the players report back their superiors are clearly going to click what actually happened, everything ended well so no harm done, but certainly some "coaching for improvement is in order". This should be pretty much in your face, a few ideas:

1. The "reward" for the party is in the form of a metamagic rod of mercy and a wand of merciful fireballs. If the players are expected to protect civilians as part of their job and don't have a "merciful" capability already then they suck, and suck hard, it's up to you to give them this option.

2. A lecture by a seniour officer, backed by a few threats about the sort of behaviour expected in future.

If, after you have given them the capability to not hurt civilians and warned them in no uncertain terms (in game) that their previous behaviour is unacceptable, the players still act evil and go out of there way to kill civilians, then you should consider asking another member of your group to GM, and close down your campaign.

I agrre with this fully but why close the game? if the players want to act evil make it a bad guys campaign.


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Nerdrage Ooze wrote:
cranewings wrote:
Nerdrage Ooze wrote:
I dislike every class that is in any way connected with that ridiculous thing called "Europe". Really, how am I to take seriously some idiot in plate armor? Who's swinging some barbaric piece of metal only incidentally called "a sword"? European swords were a a pale shade of what glory Japanese smiths could bring forth with their katanas. It doesn't fit with my anime-inspired vision of fantasy at all, and I would really prefer for all those "western" elements to be excised forever. Sadly, there are far too many folks out there who are hung up on their outdated "sword and sorcery" ideas, or even worse, that Tolkien guy. Sheesh. Bring on my guns and katanas!
I'm in physics class right now. You just about made me laugh out loud.
That was a totally serious post, BTW. Nothing works me up like some close-minded SCA neckbeards.

I know right? they are just as bad as those close-minded weaboo's praising the katana over any other edged weapon in history good thing no one here is one of them....they really burn my chops.


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by the ops arguement isnt a melee attack by a standard action pretty overpowered? i mean why have a specialist if you can simply break a lock with a sledge hammer ^_^