Friendship is Dragons
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Page 1289 - Pocket Monster
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25 Comments:
I understand what Rarity feels.
I once played a game where all of the 3.5 cheese was allowed, and I played a caster... and MAN was that complicated, even when I was just playing a straight blaster!
... And then someone came along who had abused Astral Seed and Fusion so much that his stats were basically infinite... and he wasn't even the strongest player in that game.
Needless to say, that game quickly ended up becoming a solo affair.
Didn't help that I was the only one that was actually ROLEplaying...
Anyhow, do like that last panel. Shows that while he would challenge them as much as he could, DiscorDM rewards creativity and players surprising him. Admittedly, that's what he encourages them to do anyway... but still. He's not /all/ bad.
Kinda makes me hope he does get a redemption arc in this comic. It would be very interesting to see too.
I once played a game where all of the 3.5 cheese was allowed, and I played a caster... and MAN was that complicated, even when I was just playing a straight blaster!
... And then someone came along who had abused Astral Seed and Fusion so much that his stats were basically infinite... and he wasn't even the strongest player in that game.
Needless to say, that game quickly ended up becoming a solo affair.
Didn't help that I was the only one that was actually ROLEplaying...
Anyhow, do like that last panel. Shows that while he would challenge them as much as he could, DiscorDM rewards creativity and players surprising him. Admittedly, that's what he encourages them to do anyway... but still. He's not /all/ bad.
Kinda makes me hope he does get a redemption arc in this comic. It would be very interesting to see too.
It's odd, my one experience playing a high level caster in Pathfinder boiled down to I occasionally pressed the plot button. 'Phenomenal Cosmic Power' doesn't help suddenly every dungeon has anti-magic properties. What's the point of Overland Flight if I can't even skip climbing a tower? *grumble grumble*
Reminds me of (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1159.html):
"Darn it! Why do all the clerics have that spell prepared?" ("That spell" being invisibility purge.)
"Because invisibility is an exceedingly common battle tactic among adventurers of our level."
"Darn it! Why do all the clerics have that spell prepared?" ("That spell" being invisibility purge.)
"Because invisibility is an exceedingly common battle tactic among adventurers of our level."
In my game, it's Black Tentacles. Seriously, throw down Black Tentacles, and you win. Period. In the Pathfinder version, you can't attack them. They're essentially noncorporeal, but can attack physically from noncorp. and the only way to get away is to beat them on something like a base 25+ defense check, when the average a person will have is 15+ die roll.
The biggest challenge I've been having lately is coming up with something that the mage can't just cheese by throwing down a tentacle attack and laughing all the way to the xp bank.
The biggest challenge I've been having lately is coming up with something that the mage can't just cheese by throwing down a tentacle attack and laughing all the way to the xp bank.
If you throw actual monsters at the party instead of NPC Wizards, it's actually kinda weak. According to the Monster Statistics by CR, the average CMD of a CR 7 enemy should be 26. The Tentacles have a CMB of Caster Level + 5, so at that point the PC is rolling 1d20+12. They can't be rolling a 14+ on that d20 that often. Sure, during subsequent rounds they get an extra +5 against any they've grappled, but as soon as they fail one roll, the grapple breaks and the creature can leave the area. And the enemy can try to break out on its turn as well as a standard action before using the move action to leave, with 1d20+MonsterCMB VS 10+TentacleCMB. The tentacles don't get their +5 there. Still at level/CR 7, the average Monster CMB is 13, so 1d20+13 VS 22 to escape. The only way to increase the tentacle CMB is by boosting Caster Level, so like if he has Spell Specialization or Mage's Tattoo. In that case, he's invested enough into the spell that it really should work. Otherwise though, if the tentacle CMD is 25, that means he's level 10, and appropriate enemies are rocking an average CMD of 32 and CMB of 19. So he'd need to roll a 17 to grapple them.
Btw, writing this reminded me why I hate the grapple rules. Even with the two flowcharts. Or maybe especially because of them.
Yeah, I only ever saw Black Testicles be useful once because big monsters just don't care about them. Now those reflex saves, those I often got through. Course, this was the game where the GM gave the table way too many power boosts imo, so I have no idea where things work at higher levels. Even at level 20 I don't think an Arcanist with 42 Int, 230 hp, and an initiative of 'I go first' is a great idea on either side of the gm screen lol.
For some reason, I'm getting eagle bumps.
*CAW*
Loud ones at that.
*CAW*
Loud ones at that.
I like how AJ's player just jumps right into character like it were nothin'.
We're gonna see Pinkie Pie in front of one of those conspiracy-tracking boards with the thumbtacks and string trying to figure out what Applejack's actual voice is.
Haha, maybe that could be my guest page entry. A picture of pinkie with a white board trying to figure out AJ's true accent, and on the board is pictures of all the Ponies voiced by Ashleigh.
What I imagine happening in the next couple pages:
"So, who could help mess with the Chaos field?"
"What about that Headmare Glimmer?"
DM:"...there's no Headmare, the school hasn't been built yet"
"Yeah, but she's got to be an adult already in the current timeline, right?"
DM:"...I mean..."
"The whole 'repurpose a magic source for your own ends' ritual Cozy Glow used could be very useful here, and given our characters had better chances to figure out how it worked than than Archmage Brains, it seems high-end magic's on the curriculum."
"Well, I suppose unless she got her job through nepotism she has to know a thing or two about friendship as well..."
"She handled the diplomatic nightmare we must have caused just by coming to school."
"Too bad she didn't teach her students about seeing when you're being taken advantage of."
"Cozy Glow still had putting her out of commission on top of her list, think it's fair to say she couldn't have manipulated the students with the Headmare around, while she played along with the Chancellor."
"Oh oh oh, maybe helping stopping Discord is how she got the job! That gotta look good on a resume for a Friendship school."
DM: [increasing distress at the unexpected]
"So, who could help mess with the Chaos field?"
"What about that Headmare Glimmer?"
DM:"...there's no Headmare, the school hasn't been built yet"
"Yeah, but she's got to be an adult already in the current timeline, right?"
DM:"...I mean..."
"The whole 'repurpose a magic source for your own ends' ritual Cozy Glow used could be very useful here, and given our characters had better chances to figure out how it worked than than Archmage Brains, it seems high-end magic's on the curriculum."
"Well, I suppose unless she got her job through nepotism she has to know a thing or two about friendship as well..."
"She handled the diplomatic nightmare we must have caused just by coming to school."
"Too bad she didn't teach her students about seeing when you're being taken advantage of."
"Cozy Glow still had putting her out of commission on top of her list, think it's fair to say she couldn't have manipulated the students with the Headmare around, while she played along with the Chancellor."
"Oh oh oh, maybe helping stopping Discord is how she got the job! That gotta look good on a resume for a Friendship school."
DM: [increasing distress at the unexpected]
DM:The main problem is that she lives very far away. You want to do a long session to end another long session?
AJ:How long are we talking about?
DM:In-game, about 4 to 6 weeks. To us, 3 or 4 meet-ups.
"No"
"Hey no"
"Definitely not"
"Please, no more"
"That is one party I want to reschedule"
"You do that, and I'll activate my rage ability. And I dont mean the game me."
DM:That's what I thought.
AJ:How long are we talking about?
DM:In-game, about 4 to 6 weeks. To us, 3 or 4 meet-ups.
"No"
"Hey no"
"Definitely not"
"Please, no more"
"That is one party I want to reschedule"
"You do that, and I'll activate my rage ability. And I dont mean the game me."
DM:That's what I thought.
Honestly, I'd just rule OOC knowledge on that. As in, even if they aren't roleplaying, there's no logical reason why their characters would go chasing after a person they don't know exists, to recreate a ritual they've never seen before, based on the outcome of a side plot they didn't participate in.
Which isn't the same as saying "no." It's saying "bullshit this to me in a way I can plan another sidequest around."
But that's just me, I guess.
Which isn't the same as saying "no." It's saying "bullshit this to me in a way I can plan another sidequest around."
But that's just me, I guess.
I'm sure there's a whole council of star- and light-themed science and magic ponies.
Ship in a Bottle is a great episode for super villain containment!
"WHY ARE YOU TALKING SOUTHERN AGAIN???"
Gotta hand it to Rarity's player, she could be on Broadway with how naturally she can change accents.
Gotta hand it to Rarity's player, she could be on Broadway with how naturally she can change accents.
Half-expected somepony to add "Of the neutron flow" after panel 4.
We continued our Root campaign this week! It contains the quote "My backstory is tragic, but not for me," so it was a pretty good one overall I think.
Spudventures - The Renegades of Riverhop, Session 2: Podcast | Video