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Post by DnDPaladin on Jan 21, 2017 13:26:31 GMT
I read all your stuff still... though we do not see eye to eye. i like reading your stories and the prep too. even made me want to do the same and make a thread about my group... but i dont trust my homemade stories too much. but keep going, you got a few readers XD
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Post by voodoo on Jan 21, 2017 15:52:36 GMT
Redbrand Hideout is complete but due to the sheer amount of pics I put it in it's own thread. dmscraft.proboards.com/thread/4198/redbrand-hideout-pic-heavyI did pickup a new addition to the game room yesterday though. I went to Costco yesterday to pickup a new TV for my living room. While I was there I saw they had a 50" Vizio E-Series 4K LED TV (Display Model) that was sitting on a cart listed at $339. I thought that would make a great TV for my game room wall so I started talking to the guy about it. Next thing I know he says "Lemme go see if we can do better on the price". He comes back with the price sheet crossed off and marked down to $299. I just couldn't pass it up. I already have one of my desktop PCs (the 3d print server) hooked up to it with wireless keyboard and mouse so I can use it at the game table, Time Warner cable, Fire TV Stick with Kodi installed, and my old modded PS3 that has been sitting in a closet since I got the PS4. I have a feeling it's going to get a lot of use. I have just about every D&D PDF as well as tons of different resources for the game, which I can now display on the TV. Will be nice while we are learning to rules to highlight stuff for all the players to see. I am also thinking about putting Roll20 or another tool for me to display certain scenarios. I am still working out all I am going to use it for....besides football Wow I love all the different tools you use with your group. Roll 20 is a great tool to use. Thanks for posting your stuff. Love reading threads like yours, very inspirational. Your pcs are spoiled! cheers!
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Post by Meph on Jan 22, 2017 3:05:50 GMT
Back in the 90s I was big into 1E and eventually 2E. In 1E I allowed most of the Unearthed Arcana classes but I was very much of the opinion that they were fairly overpowered. In all fairness though, when compared to the by-the-book 1E classes, they were overpowered. In 2E I doubled down and was pretty much against most kits from the complete handbooks. I remember thinking how they were overpowered and really unbalanced the game. In retrospect, they really only gave the character some background info, a couple free non-weapon proficiencies, and some more realistic weapon proficiencies. These days I am finding myself going to opposite direction and allowing the players to try out just about anything. Between the PHB, the new backgrounds and archtypes in the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide, the new races in Volos, the new races, archtypes, spells in the assorted adventure paths, and all the playtest stuff available from Unearthed Arcana, the players have a LOT of options available. My party really knows nothing about any of these options. I have all of the books available to them but I most haven't looked at them. I have pointed out some of the Unearthed Arcana stuff to specific players and they have tried some of it out. Last night I decided to take it a step further and print out all of the Unearthed Arcana stuff. I think I am missing one article but I printed all of the rest. I am really looking forward to the 3rd Mystic (Psionic) update coming by the end of this month. I put all of these in a binder and plan to sort them all by class. I am putting these out tomorrow for the players to look at. You can lead a horse to water....let's see if they'll drink!
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Post by DnDPaladin on Jan 23, 2017 11:58:25 GMT
Well i do the same now... but im trying to add more depth by also trying to create some archetype which are basically just swaps of abilities between things. exemple im playing an NPC which is a sorceress but with a cleric domain and a cleric spell list. basically a divine sorceress ! makes for a great healer considering cur wounds with metamagic distant spell. but it doesn't have the versatility of clerics.
in any case 5e is well started now. but seeing the number of unearted arcana betas in the last 3 months... i think they are doing a second PHB for this years book. can't wait to see the artificer and mystic become the new classes.
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Post by curufin on Jan 23, 2017 14:09:51 GMT
I absolutely love the Unearthed Arcana! That was the first time I played a cavalier. Tons and tons of great info crammed in that book. But the thing I always loved the most was it took what was arguably the least important low level spell and turned it into a spell that I absolutely couldn't live without...the cantrip.
Awesome, Meph. I really enjoy hearing about your game and seeing all the different tests and changes you try out to evolve your game into the best experience you can have. It's always something new with you. Keep it up!
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geroblue
Cardboard Collector
My apologies for not dropping by more often.
Posts: 26
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Post by geroblue on Jan 23, 2017 15:12:26 GMT
Nice maps and floor tiles. I use part of UA, I did do away with non-human level limits as my game world isn't humanocentric.
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Post by Meph on Jan 29, 2017 18:33:53 GMT
Tonight the party should be finishing up Wave Echo Cave and Lost Mine of Phandelver. I really enjoyed this adventure. I think WOTC did a great job with a starter adventure for 5E and I see why it gets such praise. I am looking forward to running some smaller scale stuff (1-2 sessions each) since my party is all old guys (42-50) and seem to suffer from long term memory loss Tonight is session 10 and they have had to be reminded MANY times of what their objectives were, so I will be running much shorter adventures in the future. As for tonight, I have all of Wave Echo Cave done up in Photoshop along with Fog of War which I showed some of last week. Since then I added counters for every monster in the dungeon so I can also reveal them individually as needed. We will still be doing combat on the table using a grid. Last week they spotted the Flaming Skull in the forge area and decided to go another way. Knowing this party, they wont leave without exploring everything. I don't have a Flaming Skull mini so I decided to print one this morning. I painted it in the color scheme from the Monster Manual. Between a Flaming Skull, Spectator, Wraith, Ghouls, Zombies, Skeletons, Bugbears, Dopplegangers, and a Drow Wizard....we'll see how the party fares the night. Might be rolling new characters in my world of Thoros next week, we'll see.
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Post by tauster on Jan 29, 2017 18:52:00 GMT
The skull looks really cool, ...but. What I don't like about 3D prints, and this is not limited to that skull but a general remark, is the lines/ridges. I wouldn't have the patience to file those lines away. I understand that it's a technological problem that seems to be unavoidable at the current level of printing, but it is one of the things that keeps me from pulling the trigger (although printer prices are the main reason to be honest). Have fun tonight. Please share how it went!
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Post by Meph on Jan 29, 2017 19:01:11 GMT
There are a couple ways to tackle those lines. Some people use an acetone wash the "melt" the lines but I think it makes most prints look to "soft" after that. Me, I just print and play. One thing about that skull is its pretty damn small. It's smaller than your average mini so that picture is zoomed in pretty close. To be honest, once it's sitting on the table in play you don't even see/notice the lines.
I will be updating my game thread either tonight after the game or more likely tomorrow after work.
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Post by adamsouza on Jan 29, 2017 19:37:05 GMT
It's one of those situations where the 2ft rule save the day.
We use the UA's in our games as well.
The Warlock has the Undying Light Patron and we have a half Elf Mystic (D&D 5e's Psionicist)
I've also rolled up an Artificer, as a back up character, but he hasn't seen the table yet.
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Post by Meph on Jan 30, 2017 2:27:58 GMT
I don't know if this is starting a trend but the last two weeks, my Wife and Daughter have gone out shopping on Sunday mornings and both time they have brought me back something new for my game room. Last week was the Pathfinder Goblin bank and this week was a LED Light up Potion lamp. The lamp changes color on touch or be set to change automatically. I gotta admit, I like this new trend.
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Post by margaret on Jan 30, 2017 2:31:41 GMT
Nice finds! You must have some really good stores nearby.
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Post by dragon722 on Jan 30, 2017 16:02:34 GMT
I love the bank. Where did they find that!!! Congrats
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Post by Meph on Jan 30, 2017 22:15:59 GMT
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Post by Meph on Feb 19, 2017 0:13:50 GMT
My group is finishing up Lost Mine of Phandelver tomorrow and moving on to Storm Kings Thunder. They will be moving right into Chapter 2 which is where the story begins. Chapter 1 is all about speed leveling a party to level 5 so this will be a better transition. Chapter 2 has 3 possible starting areas; Bryn Shander, Goldenfields, or Triboar. Since they are in Phandelver, just of the Triboar trail, it's the obvious starting location. So the Sword Coast map from the starter set worked well for LMoP but it's missing a lot of locations for SKT. Mike Scheley made an awesome full Sword Coast map for the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide and even released the high res version for free. While it had much more detail, it left out the small villages that were detailed in LMoP and some of the other adventures. Someone decided to take it upon themselves to correct that and I printed myself a copy of it today. Instead of a poster print I decided to check out Staples Engineering prints and I couldn't be happier. I see MANY more engineering prints in the future for world maps, town/city maps, or even full size battle maps. I printed it full size which was 48"x36" in color and it cost me under $11. The paper weight is plenty heavy enough and I think it looks fantastic. It's the perfect mix of quality and price I feel.
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Post by dragonheart305 on Feb 19, 2017 14:57:07 GMT
On your screen would be fine, guess you are going to use a second monitor option so you can erase the Fog of War before the players actually see it???
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Post by Meph on Feb 19, 2017 15:12:45 GMT
Which are you referring to? This map is a physical printed 3'x4' map. If you look at my Weekly 5E Game thread you will see that I have been using my 50" TV mounted on the wall to show Wave Echo Cavern and even used fog of war, but to tell you the truth i'm not thrilled. While the initial wow factor is there, it quickly wears off and just doesn't compare to having physical 3D terrain on the table to play with. Not saying I wont ever do it but right now I am planning to keep it old school. I will still use the TV every session to display all types of pictures, rules, anything needed to assist when a visual representation is needed. I just don't know that I want to go full on LCD/Roll20/Tokens....it seems a bit bland to me once the wow factor wears off.
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Post by Sam on Feb 19, 2017 16:05:01 GMT
The maps look awesome. I prefer 'old school', but I'm almost an ancient mariner. I remember using a Commodore 64 and three different programs to print maps and literature 'props'. Sometimes running the same piece of paper thru the printer three times. Ah, the not so good old days. I remember 'Hunt the Wumpus' and Star Trek when the stars looked like this *.
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Post by jennifer on Feb 19, 2017 20:20:02 GMT
That is so sweet looking combo of Wyloch and 3D. I like your use of the TV for maps too.
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Post by jennifer on Feb 19, 2017 20:26:12 GMT
The skull looks really cool, ...but. What I don't like about 3D prints, and this is not limited to that skull but a general remark, is the lines/ridges. I wouldn't have the patience to file those lines away. I understand that it's a technological problem that seems to be unavoidable at the current level of printing, but it is one of the things that keeps me from pulling the trigger (although printer prices are the main reason to be honest). Have fun tonight. Please share how it went! It looks like he printed the skull at .2 layer height. I printed mine at .1 and the lines aren't as noticeable.
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