Ragitsu

https://media3.giphy.com/media/pGx2Z9q2pB4Eo/giphy.mp4

* The strangest coins found in Myth Drannor are the yulthaari, 5-inch-long metal tubes of worked platinum
(worth 3pp solely by their metal content). These are not actual coins so much as a promissory note of payment at
a more convenient date. Smooth and unremarkable on the outside edge, the slim inside is marked with ridges, dots,
and tactile patterns; the elf slips a yulthaar over a fingertip, and these patterns tell an elf, by their fine sense of
touch, the product the presenter of a yulthaar wishes to buy, the amount of payment and its form, and names of the
buyer and seller. Yulthaari are used when making large purchases such as entire shipments of goods (or entire
businesses), and their use is a binding agreement between the two parties. Bids by yulthaari are also common in
silent auctions or among the nobility, where open competition by wealth would be crass and the silent method of
the yulthaari allows those who lose the bids to save face;

What's the difference between ignorance (towards genre conventions) and apathy (towards quest-givers)? I don't know and I don't care.

On 3/12/2024 at 7:58 PM, Lord Liaden said:

I thought at first that Peter Jackson was that person. Then The Hobbit trilogy happened.

Even though the original trilogy is solid filmmaking (divorced from its titles), it still features too much in the way of Hollywood "DNA". Unfortunately, we need someone independently wealthy to organize a series of films much truer to the T man's legacy; otherwise, it is inevitable that corporate and political bodies will stick their fingers deep in the pie and sour the taste.

Long after everything else has faded and withered into nothingness, only hatred endures.

P317b. The floor of this strange alcove is filled with sand. Two sleeping rats lay here. They are actually dead, dehydrated, and perfectly preserved. This is a magical dehydration chamber. On the 2nd and following rounds, anyone here will take 1d4 points of damage.

On 2/11/2024 at 8:48 PM, Old Man said:

 

For a hobby that's been in media crosshairs since the beginning, I can't really fault whatever entity owns D&D for doing what they have to do to ward off the lawyers.  Filing the serial numbers off demons and devils hardly hurt the game, and dispensing with alignment is actually a huge improvement.  I can see how it might be problematic to be perceived as teaching kids that any given humanoid subspecies is fundamentally evil.  That idea could cause serious trouble if extrapolated to, like, reality.

It is not up to entertainment - and one based around entirely fictional realms, to boot - to coddle the impressionable and educate the ignorant; that is why parents and schools exist. Escapism makes for poor tuition. A person who cannot differentiate between goblins and real-life breathing and bleeding human beings is saddled with a problem that goes beyond the scope of a rectangular piece of wood adorned with countless Cheeto stains.

From attempting to placate the fundamentally religious to quelling the fundamentally sensitive, D&D kowtowing has never been a net positive.

On 2/17/2024 at 5:23 PM, Old Man said:

D&D has always needed improvements in balance.  5e did a decent job of improving that

I couldn't disagree more strongly; in fact, were I able to give form to my disagreement, it would win each and every arm-wrestling contest with Heracles. 5e is all too eager to make plainly quantifiable direct damage spells plentiful and easily replenished while neutering if not outright abolishing the more abstract/"absolute" magic such as Charm Person or Harm. By the way, I am glad that more folks are coming to realize that while D&D was inspired - in part - by Tolkien, his collective works were but one source of inspiration among many. Not all arcane arts embody the subtlety of Divination or Enchantment.

While skimming The Sword of the Dales, I stumbled upon this entry for a random encounter ->

This is part of an adventure for characters ranging from Levels 1 to 4, so, even though statistics are provided, the outcome is made plain for all to see. A nice bit of dark humor.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/the-case-against-food-morality-why-theres-no-such-thing-as-good-and-bad-foods/

On 3/9/2024 at 9:28 PM, tkdguy said:

 

I'd be up for a Tolkienesque quest to find The Rightful Creator-Heir...someone who will treat the IP with the utmost respect; an individual able to head a television/film series that is true to JRRT's source material as much possible while they simultaneously ward off interests less than artistic would be worthy of a legendary journey.

On 3/10/2024 at 6:05 PM, Cancer said:

It's generational.

Not to mention occupational; ask a high school chemistry teacher, a nurse circa the early 2020s, a race car driver, a knight and, yes, a professional climax stimulator as to its definition...and you will receive quite the variety.

7 hours ago, dmjalund said:

Dammit Jim! I'm a doctor, not a Paladin!

He's a solid Neutral Good.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/half-inch

On 3/9/2024 at 4:54 PM, tkdguy said:

You can skip the last minute or so, as it's just the sponsor's ad.

 

 

If they're not Lawful Good, they're not the real McCoy.

1 hour ago, Cygnia said:

Gotta have some protection on me in this day & age...

"You and I have very different ideas of what constitutes 'protection'."