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Most large businesses have full docking station and dual monitor setups for laptops at the cubicles for productivity and ergonomics reasons.
Some docking stations (Lenovo comes to mind) have power buttons on them specifically to deal with NH's (legitimate) complaint. USB-based docks are less likely to have that power button.
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Day 2 down in Virginia. For the first time, they also gave me a helper, in this case a guy who's been in the company for a whopping three weeks in a different division. A full-blown FNG.
So he's partially helping and partially getting training. But he's a good guy who's keeping up with me both mentally and physically, asking good questions, and that's more than I could have asked for. The guy is going to work out.
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Most large businesses have full docking station and dual monitor setups for laptops at the cubicles for productivity and ergonomics reasons...
Does over $100 billion market cap count as "large"? :-P
(Yeah, when I say "Global Megacorporation", I mean it.)
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Most large businesses have full docking station and dual monitor setups for laptops at the cubicles for productivity and ergonomics reasons...Does over $100 billion market cap count as "large"?
Duh. ;)
Anything with about 4-5000 employees is easily considered large. I've worked in small, large, and truly massive corporations (100k+ employees, multinational).
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Day 2 down in Virginia. For the first time, they also gave me a helper, in this case a guy who's been in the company for a whopping three weeks in a different division. A full-blown FNG.
So he's partially helping and partially getting training. But he's a good guy who's keeping up with me both mentally and physically, asking good questions, and that's more than I could have asked for. The guy is going to work out.
FREE NEW GREENLAND!
I have no idea the level of the party! I'm just one of the DMs for our pick-up games at the FLGS. Every time I've sat down and asked for a 1-4 group, I've gotten a lvl 6 or 7 straggler tossed into the mix as well. So I'm going with traps because the challenge of "solve the puzzle!" roleplay is going to be more satisfying than "you splat the 6 HP kobold in a single hit."I'm preparing a kobold warren for 5e night this weekend.
** spoiler omitted **
More ideas
and alignment shiftsare welcome!MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
** spoiler omitted **...
All this, of course, depends entirely on the level of your party. Adjust as appropriate. I'm presuming first to third level.
** spoiler omitted **
Cool. Because it's 5e, the DC numbers don't have to change too much, though you'll probably want to skew toward both the high and low ends to get the full psychological effect for a party of potentially-varying levels.
Also, keep in mind typical low-level hit points: 12+Con modifier on the high end and 6+con modifier on the low end generally means a character can survive 6-8 damage with little problem on the low end (though that's putting them close to zero), and 12-16 hit points at the high end. That said, pay attention to your levels and the DCs - because both bonuses and DCs tend to be low in this edition - but DCs tend to be a tad lower than bonuses - you can kind of bank on saves being made by at least some people some of the time.
> Sorcerers and Wizards tend to the 6-8 range (with 3.5 per level thereafter: 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, etc.)
> Bard, Cleric, Druid, Monk, and Rogue tend to the 8-10 range (with 4.5 per level thereafter: 8, 12, 17, 21, 26, 30, 35, etc.)
> Fighter, Paladin, and Ranger tend to the 10-13 range (with 5.5 per level thereafter: 10, 15, 21, 26, 32, 37, 43, etc.)
> Barbarians (of course) tend to the 12-16 range (with 6.5 per level thereafter: 12, 18, 25, 31, 38, 44, 51, etc.)
What this means is "daggers are never dangerous" - not a true statement, but if you're looking for base damage, it's true enough. That said, note that a magic missile can (if focus-fired) take down even a 1st level barbarian who isn't pumping his hit points. Many 2nd level characters, though, and almost all 3rd level characters will not be taken down by a single magic missile.
A skill or saving throw averages a result of 10.5+ability modifier
> ability modifiers tend to be between +3 and -1
> proficiency provides a bonus equal to (1/4 [level-1]) +1 [round up; minimum +2]
> > this slow rate of accrual means you are never going to see a standard proficiency bonus higher than +4 (level 12), and it is very likely to hover between +2 and +3 for you (capping at level 8).
> the result is that you're looking at DCs of 16 for "average" rolls to defeat if someone is very skilled, and 9 for "average" rolls to defeat if someone sucks big time; an average DC of 12-13 means that your players will likely handle the situation (based on averages spread across the party).
So a DC 12-13 is a thing that will probably happen with the party; and a DC 8-9 is a "won't somebody please just say 'Asia'" situation; while a DC 16 is more of a, "is this you're final answer?" sort of nervousness that specialists can thrive on. Keeping all this in mind, a DC 19 is (while still possible for everyone except Sucky McGee) starting to push the envelope (requiring even most folks with proficiency a bit of difficulty), and a DC 23 is a very much so, "Must be this tall to ride." situation - you require that +3 bonus to even have a chance.
Recall automatic success/failure rolls don't work the same way in 5e they did in previous editions.
An important caveat to all of this is the 1st level bless spell which increases an attack or saving throw by d4 above the standard - a significant boost at any level.
> 1) make them paranoid of everything; be wary: they can literally start making checks to see if anything at all you describe is a trap and even things you don't describe - this can be fun, but it can also get tedious; this will likely happen by the end, regardless
> > this can be sped up by describing the obvious visual results of traps that have been expended previously: walls worn smooth by acid (the acid is now gone), corpses pierced repeatedly by tiny-tiny dagger blades, shattered rubble containing the dead, or heavy old scorching (perhaps with accompanying scents) marking an area has having been baaaaaaaaaaaaaad, once
> 2) make them blunder into a trap; this is kind of the goal of having staggered DCs scattered around the map of higher and lower values. One of the best ways of doing this is giving them an initial "surprise" trap, then letting them get into the rhythm of finding and disabling traps of a certain value. The way that you describe who finds what trap can also be helpful... if, for example, everyone rolls to find a trap, but you always narrate only that the highest finds it, regardless of what the DC is (not a bad trend, anyway, for ease of play in general) means that if someone just happens to roll high, it won't spoil later traps (though it may increase wariness if the trap happens to be a deadly one).
> > this is best facilitated by either clearing the place of obvious traps, or indicating to them (by low DCs) that they can easily find the traps, or both. Once they are well within the web of nonsense, then the harder traps spring, leaving them flat-footed and surprised.
> 3) annoy the ever-loving spit out of them; while irritating players is a no-no as a general rule, irritating their characters is not, itself, problematic, so long as there is a healthy distance between character annoyance and player annoyance. It can be a very fine line to walk, however, so as funny as the situation may sound, proceed with extreme caution.
> > to up this to eleven, have the kobolds chittering, constantly, perhaps yipping in a vague laugh-sound at the PCs; also any taunts they can make at them would be ideal (though be sure to specify either character weaknesses that have been on display instead of player mistakes, or just general jokes at the expense of the dumb-dumb scaleless hairy freaks or whatever)
> 4) give them a healthy respect for kobolds; freakish little buggers have a fireball trap - that's deadly enough that everybody under fourth level should tremble in their little adventuring booties and pray to whatever Kurtulmak they believe in that the scaly little freaks only have the one
> > support this by granting kobolds murder holes with long spears: basically tiny holes the kobolds can shove spears through. Note that in cramped chambers, kobolds can gain advantage on stealth checks not to be noticed (small holes, dark beyond, still kobolds) and advantage on attack rolls (shoving spears through a hole at creatures what can't move well), at least until they are disarmed. Attacks against the kobolds suffer disadvantage (the kobolds leave themselves more space to maneuver, as they're small) and may entirely be negated (as they retreat into other tunnels too small for the PCs); PCs may well do something like break through the stone walls and send smaller PCs after the kobolds, but the medium PCs will have to squeeze, slowing them, while the kobolds probably have several switchbacks with similar hole networks and spear-thrusters. This means that smaller PCs can move easily, but become rather easy targets to swarming damage; heavier PCs move slower and... become rather easy targets to swarming damage. If the PCs get tired of this nonsense and just break all the stone, kobolds then employ hit-and-run tactics with crossbows-or-alchemical weapons+retreat; switch tactics based on PC responses
These are very general ideas, and there's a lot that I either wouldn't do, or would do with a heavy grain of salt (maybe even talking ooc to my group, first... depending on the group), but it ultimately depends on your desires as GM and the group dynamic you have or wish to foster.
Anyway, hope that helps!
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So, I know I've tiraded about it before, but I'm going to tirade about it again anyway, because it really does drive me absolutely frigging nuts.
I go to the store. There's a line. Each person in line waits for the checker to scan all their items, bag all their items, give them a total, they present payment, the checker processes the payment, and you move on to the next person. Fine.
We've had discussions about self-bagging before, so just not going there.
Then you have the person who patiently stands in line, watches all the transactions proceeding before him/her, patiently stands there watching while all of his/her items are bagged, and then acts like the payment is a complete and utter surprise!
As in, "Oh, let me get that from my purse/backpack/whatever".
And then, because such people are inevitably horrifically disorganized, we get:
- Search through the big bag for the wallet/billfold/whatever
- Search through the wallet/billfold/whatever for the correct amount of paper money (and don't get me started on how much this incenses certain obsessive-compulsives who actually keep their money in denominational order)
- Decide that they absolutely, positively, HAVE to use change, because getting change is a sin
- Repeat search through big bag for change purse
- Repeat search through change purse for proper change
- Determine that change purse does not contain proper change, so get change anyway
I swear, watching what should be a 30-second transaction turn into a 3-minute ordeal of someone searching their own bag because they hadn't realized they'd actually have to, y'know, pay for the groceries they were buying is more than a little aggravating.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
This is why I have Netflix and Hulu on my phone.
No, no, go ahead, look for your change, Granny, I still have another ten minutes of my episode of Better Call Saul.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
This is why I have Netflix and Hulu on my phone.
No, no, go ahead, look for your change, Granny, I still have another ten minutes of my episode of Better Call Saul.
My phone would last for exactly the three minutes before dying for the next five hours.
| 7 people marked this as a favorite. |
I found a rubber ducky in the middle of County highway C, spotted the poor little bastard driving home, no one behind me, so I stopped, ran over grabbed it (ignoring the weird looks the old people in the car going the opposite way gave me) so now the new truck has a dash duck.
And I proved to co-worker I can find anything, even a rubber ducky in the middle of the highway at 55 mph.
| 6 people marked this as a favorite. |
I found a rubber ducky in the middle of County highway C, spotted the poor little bastard driving home, no one behind me, so I stopped, ran over grabbed it (ignoring the weird looks the old people in the car going the opposite way gave me) so now the new truck has a dash duck.
And I proved to co-worker I can find anything, even a rubber ducky in the middle of the highway at 55 mph.
{in terrible Sam Elliot impersonation:} So begins the folk legend of Johnny Appleseed Cap'n Roadduckie.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Most large businesses have full docking station and dual monitor setups for laptops at the cubicles for productivity and ergonomics reasons.
Some docking stations (Lenovo comes to mind) have power buttons on them specifically to deal with NH's (legitimate) complaint. USB-based docks are less likely to have that power button.
Things I have learned today!
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
This is why I have Netflix and Hulu on my phone.
No, no, go ahead, look for your change, Granny, I still have another ten minutes of my episode of Better Call Saul.
I'm just wondering whether it's a cultural thing: Did they grow up in FreeholdLand and were taught never to get out their wallets until absolutely necessary? It's just bizarre to me to watch people performing a routine chore, then acting taken aback when the completely expected happens.
I guess at least life is interesting for them...
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
My mom was an expert at it.
With her it's just everything going through her head she'd often lose track of what she was doing, and this wasn't exclusive to her older years.
It should be noted, even though she took forever shopping and was late to everything she was also one of the all time best small town investigative reporters in the Midwest.
| 7 people marked this as a favorite. |
Things that just aren't in the parenting manual:
I found my son in the shower this evening with a life-size, inflatable toy electric guitar.
| 7 people marked this as a favorite. |
Random weird coincidence:
You know those snippets of childhood memories that stick with you?
One time when I was in middle school, my mom and I were driving somewhere and I was going on and on about how I was going to be a great detective when I grew up and solve crimes and whatnot (I was stuck on both Trixie Belden and Hercule Poirot at the time) and my mother got fed up with me and said, angrily, "Well, you can start with that poor woman who was murdered right here in Minocqua. They never found who killed her."
I shut up.
For some reason it popped into my head again the other day, and I decided to do a google search on "unsolved murder Minocqua WI".
They just solved the mystery and convicted the victim's ex-husband LAST MONTH. After 37 years.
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
My mom was an expert at it.
With her it's just everything going through her head she'd often lose track of what she was doing, and this wasn't exclusive to her older years.
It should be noted, even though she took forever shopping and was late to everything she was also one of the all time best small town investigative reporters in the Midwest.
I did a little research on your mom a while back when you mentioned she was an investigative reporter. And I really mean just a little. With what little I read, I figured one thing out very quickly.
Your mother was an absolute badass.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
People being unprepared for obvious situations
Similar idea, much larger scale.
We're downsizing the physical office in Virginia because most of the workers are now working remotely. Cost savings. They've been working on getting this planned and executed for well over a year now. Lease is up at the end of September.
Last month when I was out here the management made several comments that they'd be asking for me to come back to help clear out equipment from the side that's getting carved off.
But they still had people sitting over there.
Last week my CIO told me to be out here this week to clean out the equipment, and that there was nobody sitting in that area.
Oh, ok, so they got the people moved out. Cool.
I get here yesterday and started working. One of the managers freaked out and asked what I was doing. I had apparently taken down a computer that someone was remotely using. And I had noted that the people were still sitting in the area.
I explained the situation. I told her they needed to move those people before the end of the week. Once the lease is signed, we have 15 days to completely clear the place out, including all cube walls, wiring, etc. The CEO told the CIO to get our part done and get out of the way.
And so began the hour and a half phone call where the local Virginia management feigned ignorance and outrage with my CIO and my manager that they had zero idea any of this was happening.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
{in terrible Sam Elliot impersonation:} So begins the folk legend ofI found a rubber ducky in the middle of County highway C, spotted the poor little bastard driving home, no one behind me, so I stopped, ran over grabbed it (ignoring the weird looks the old people in the car going the opposite way gave me) so now the new truck has a dash duck.
And I proved to co-worker I can find anything, even a rubber ducky in the middle of the highway at 55 mph.
Johnny AppleseedCap'n Roadduckie.
And his arch-nemesis, Limey SidewalkSnorkel.
(I know it's rained a lot recently, but what that was doing on the pavement on the way to work I don't know)
I’m still asleep!
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Delivering plants which I will then plant.
All while ignoring co-worker bellyache about his toe.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Things that just aren't in the parenting manual:
I found my son in the shower this evening with a life-size, inflatable toy electric guitar.
that doesnt sound especially safe.
That said, is it plugged into the amp? Cuz that would be super unsafe.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Random weird coincidence:
You know those snippets of childhood memories that stick with you?
One time when I was in middle school, my mom and I were driving somewhere and I was going on and on about how I was going to be a great detective when I grew up and solve crimes and whatnot (I was stuck on both Trixie Belden and Hercule Poirot at the time) and my mother got fed up with me and said, angrily, "Well, you can start with that poor woman who was murdered right here in Minocqua. They never found who killed her."
I shut up.
For some reason it popped into my head again the other day, and I decided to do a google search on "unsolved murder Minocqua WI".
They just solved the mystery and convicted the victim's ex-husband LAST MONTH. After 37 years.
that kind of thing makes me think of the throwaway comments we heard from our parents(and make to our kids!) that can alter the course of their lives. I think you would have made an excellent detective, as you have the patient observation for it.
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As I've mentioned before, after spending 4 1/2 years as an undergraduate at U.C. Berkeley, then being a graduate student instructor (GSI) for 4 years, then a college-level math instructor for another 4 years, then being on hiring committees for 20 years, I've had a wee bit of experience with "big name" colleges.
And my conclusion is that for 99% of students, they'd be better off at a smaller, cheaper college where they'd get instructors who cared more about teaching than research, so parents should save their money.
Why do I bring this up today?
Because last night was one of Impus Major's friend's last nights in Albany before he went off to college. And he was really miserable. His dad is a Type A "executive" personality through and through: "If you don't go to the very best schools and get straight A's you'll be a failure and never succeed in life." His mom is an activist lawyer who takes on the biggest corporations and does her best to bring them to heel.
So his parents insisted that he travel all over the country, apply to dozens of schools, and choose the very "best" one. As far as I know, his parents "chose" his school (with a small amount of input from him). And his parents are spending tens of thousands of dollars a year to send him there.
So... guess what? Shipping your kid halfway across the country to go to a school because you think it is better is NOT a formula for success. I wish him luck, but I'm betting that in 10 years when Impus Major's finished his run at community college and a state school, and his friend has finished at his prestigious school, they'll have similar jobs at similar pay grades, and Impus Major will have had a MUCH more pleasant and relaxing college experience.
Just my guess...
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
So, THIS is what utterly sucks about working for a Global Megacorporation that:
(1) Refuses to fire people for incompetence
(2) Refuses to enforce standards, and lets each team 'do its own thing'
Long story short: We record our training. Since we have *one* instructor for *all* of our courses and he's constantly busy, he records the presentations, and we record the practices and demos.
The video production department is appalling.
- In June, he recorded 9 new lessons for a course update. They correctly put in 6, put in a 7th but mislabeled it, and just plain lost the other two recordings
- In spite of missing his two recordings, they found mine and put them up, so a student paying to watch the recordings would find mysterious demonstrations with no lectures to describe what the heck they were watching
- This is NOT a new nor unique issue: Every time we update a course, the video department loses/misplaces/forgets to upload at least one or two videos
Their excuse? We're not following their unwritten, unpublished, internal policies of handing them properly-formatted spreadsheets. Spreadsheets they won't provide us, and they'll reject if they're not in THEIR format.
So, their *only* job is to produce videos for us. And they refuse.
Why are they still employed?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Things that just aren't in the parenting manual:
I found my son in the shower this evening with a life-size, inflatable toy electric guitar.
that doesnt sound especially safe.
That said, is it plugged into the amp? Cuz that would be super unsafe.
(I'm pretty sure it's okay. She said it was inflatable.)
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in FreeholdLand
I'm gonna need clarification - are you referring to New York, Fimbulwinter, the AbscondiCave(tm), or his own internal headspace?
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A rain after a hot, steamy day...
| 7 people marked this as a favorite. |
in FreeholdLandI'm gonna need clarification - are you referring to New York, Fimbulwinter, the AbscondiCave(tm), or his own internal headspace?
Yes.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
in FreeholdLandI'm gonna need clarification - are you referring to New York, Fimbulwinter, the AbscondiCave(tm), or his own internal headspace?
All those things are the same thing.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Ooooh yeaheh.
Mmmhmhmhmhm.
Behbeh, they call me the SIDEWALK SNORKELER.
I'll come snorklin' up to youuuu.
Rub an icecube on my nips, then ream myself with a kazoo.
Woh ho,
You never been snorkeled like this before,
Not even that time in Cleveland,
Back in 1954.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I didn't apply to any of the big ivy league schools. I was reasonably certain that I would get in, but absolutely certain that I couldn't afford it. I applied to U. Florida in Gainesville as my safety because my guidance counselor promised he could get me a scholarship from his alumni association, and one tiny private school that offered a scholarship competition. Which I won. And then pissed off my guidance counselor by giving him the check back and not going to UF.
I couldn't afford a third application fee, so those were my only two.
The small school was good for me, mostly. I mean, it was insular and snobbish and they had an honor code/ratting system similar to BYU because it was a religious school, which wasn't great, but the class sizes and professors were amazing.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My mom was an expert at it.
With her it's just everything going through her head she'd often lose track of what she was doing, and this wasn't exclusive to her older years.
It should be noted, even though she took forever shopping and was late to everything she was also one of the all time best small town investigative reporters in the Midwest.
I did a little research on your mom a while back when you mentioned she was an investigative reporter. And I really mean just a little. With what little I read, I figured one thing out very quickly.
Your mother was an absolute badass.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
What did the scientist say when he accidentally entered a room at absolute zero? This is OK.
hey, I got that one!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So, THIS is what utterly sucks about working for a Global Megacorporation that:
(1) Refuses to fire people for incompetence
(2) Refuses to enforce standards, and lets each team 'do its own thing'Long story short: We record our training. Since we have *one* instructor for *all* of our courses and he's constantly busy, he records the presentations, and we record the practices and demos.
The video production department is appalling.
- In June, he recorded 9 new lessons for a course update. They correctly put in 6, put in a 7th but mislabeled it, and just plain lost the other two recordings
- In spite of missing his two recordings, they found mine and put them up, so a student paying to watch the recordings would find mysterious demonstrations with no lectures to describe what the heck they were watching
- This is NOT a new nor unique issue: Every time we update a course, the video department loses/misplaces/forgets to upload at least one or two videosTheir excuse? We're not following their unwritten, unpublished, internal policies of handing them properly-formatted spreadsheets. Spreadsheets they won't provide us, and they'll reject if they're not in THEIR format.
So, their *only* job is to produce videos for us. And they refuse.
Why are they still employed?
interesting.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
in FreeholdLandI'm gonna need clarification - are you referring to New York, Fimbulwinter, the AbscondiCave(tm), or his own internal headspace?
Yes, all those things are-
Oh wait, Scint(of all people!) and Limey beat me to it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
People being unprepared for obvious situations
Similar idea, much larger scale.
We're downsizing the physical office in Virginia because most of the workers are now working remotely. Cost savings. They've been working on getting this planned and executed for well over a year now. Lease is up at the end of September.
Last month when I was out here the management made several comments that they'd be asking for me to come back to help clear out equipment from the side that's getting carved off.
But they still had people sitting over there.
Last week my CIO told me to be out here this week to clean out the equipment, and that there was nobody sitting in that area.
Oh, ok, so they got the people moved out. Cool.
I get here yesterday and started working. One of the managers freaked out and asked what I was doing. I had apparently taken down a computer that someone was remotely using. And I had noted that the people were still sitting in the area.
I explained the situation. I told her they needed to move those people before the end of the week. Once the lease is signed, we have 15 days to completely clear the place out, including all cube walls, wiring, etc. The CEO told the CIO to get our part done and get out of the way.
And so began the hour and a half phone call where the local Virginia management feigned ignorance and outrage with my CIO and my manager that they had zero idea any of this was happening.
very interesting.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Delivering plants which I will then plant.
All while ignoring co-worker bellyache about his toe.
wouldn't he be toeaching, not bellyaching?
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
in FreeholdLandI'm gonna need clarification - are you referring to New York, Fimbulwinter, the AbscondiCave(tm), or his own internal headspace?Yes, all those things are-
Oh wait, Scint(of all people!) and Limey beat me to it.
I am always up for an unhelpful mathematician's answer.
Amby! Aaaaaaaaaamby! Amby!
The Good Place is back!
Have you seen it, yet?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Is the third season on Netflix yet? I binged through the first two.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Should I go and get some groceries or should I survive until tomorrow on what I have in the fridge?
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I would have to put on pants, boots, and a shirt...
Meh.
I am always up for an unhelpful mathematician's answer.in FreeholdLandI'm gonna need clarification - are you referring to New York, Fimbulwinter, the AbscondiCave(tm), or his own internal headspace?Yes, all those things are-
Oh wait, Scint(of all people!) and Limey beat me to it.
must you find a way to turn even my beloved words against me?