Wisdom of the Masters: Resistance, Vulnerability and Monsters
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred Two on 1st January 2020. Ryu (coughing): Why is there suddenly smoke everywhere? Ostron! What did you do in the workshop? Ostron (muffled): This wasn’t me; I was trying to find a way to charge ROSTRO’s power cells faster and then heard all the coughing. Ryu (still coughing): What is that thing on your face? And can you clear this out? Ostron (muffled): One gust of wind coming up. Wind blowing Ryu (deep breath): Much better. (sarcastically): Oh look. We have one unconscious Lennon lying on the floor with a bunch of open potion bottles and a cauldron. Why am I not surprised? Ostron (pop): Because your memory is still mostly intact. Ryu: What do you mean mostly? Ostron: Never mind. Lennon. Lennon! Lennon: What? It’s not my birthday, you can’t make me! Ryu: Okay…um…ignoring that for the moment, what were you doing? Lennon: Oh…I was trying to figure out how resistances and vulnerabilities might work…
Gnomish Workshop: Level 1 Characters Will Die
This article was first broadcast in Episode One Hundred One on 25th December 2019. Lennon: Um, Ryu? I was given this…paper by one of the Research Beholders. Resurrection Insurance for New Adventurers? Ryu: I am going to be swimming in gold, Lennon. ROSTRO: Given the required temperature to maintain gold in a liquid form, it would be inadvisable- Ryu: Oh shut up! It was a metaphor you overbuilt abacus. Lennon: And that’s why I couldn’t find Ostron earlier. So what exactly is going on? Ryu: So KayDee suggested I try to get to know ROSTRO because you know how we don’t see eye to eye on it. We got to talking about first level adventurers and the facts around them and that’s when I came up with this. Lennon: Okay, but…an insurance scam? How much have you been wearing the hat? Ryu: This is not a scam, Lennon; this is a real need. ROSTRO, can you fill him in? ROSTRO: With your…
Gnomish Workshop: Adventurers are the 1%
This article was first broadcast in Episode Ninety Seven on 20th November 2019. Lennon: And here I was so holding out hope that my day wasn’t going completely downhill. Killer DM: Awww does someone need a hug? Lennon: I will pay you money if you never ever say that again. ROSTRO: Probability analysis suggests you possess insufficient physical currency to facilitate that transaction. Lennon: Yeah, because I’m pretty sure Ryu stole it! Killer DM: Don’t look at me, she was doing that long before my favorite accessory settled upon her brow. ROSTRO: Your current predicament would quite easily be remedied by engaging in a quest or adventuring excursion. Lennon: Really? Killer DM: Oh yes darling there’s gold practically littering the ground out there. Gold has been the primary currency of fantasy settings almost as long as they’ve been around. In D&D, most of the items that can be purchased are priced based on gold, and the greedy ingrates who control the characters…
Gnomish Workshop: House Rules
This article was first broadcast in Episode Ninety Two on 9th October 2019. Ryu: Oh, hey! You’re awake! Ostron: It’s midafternoon, what were you expecting? And the Gnomish Workshop isn’t the safest place to take a nap anyway. Lennon: Yeah, but…I figured since this has to do with rules mechanics…so you really didn’t need to fire up ROSTRO for this one? Ostron: Well there really isn’t a lot of math or stuff from other rulesets. I mean if you think we’ll need it I can just – Ryu & Lennon: No! / Don’t need it / Don’t bother / we’re fine Ostron: Okay, well, I think I’ve got enough to go on here. Many people have pointed out, for a variety of reasons, that D&D 5th edition is a “rules light” system. While the 5th edition rules cover most situations that arise at the table, some feel the way situations are addressed can seem simplistic at times. For…
Gnomish Workshop: Critical Bonuses
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Three on 22nd May 2019. Lennon: Right, so I thought we covered critical hits? ROSTRO: I would classify the information previously discussed as a primer on the general category. If you direct your attention to the display crystals, we can proceed. Lennon: What if I close my eyes and start running? KDM: Then you’ll hit the door, dear, I’ve just locked it. Now come along… As we’ve discussed previously, if they aren’t modified it is easier to score a critical hit in 5e than in any of the previous editions of the game. However, the average damage from the critical hits is also at its lowest point in history. We suggested a few ways that the damage output could be modified, but there are other things that can be done with critical hits to enhance them further. Cautionary notation: reviewing discussed information shows the highest statistical occurrence…
Gnomish Workshop: How Do You Crit?
This article was first broadcast in Episode Seventy Two on 15th May 2019. ROSTRO: Your information on critical hits is alarmingly deficient. Please consult the output crystals and confer with my colleague. Lennon: I think I’d rather go meet with HR. KDM: Lennon, don’t make me use hold person. Critical hits are a primary goal of many players in combat, with good reason; the ability to roll twice as many dice when doing damage usually means the character’s hitting harder than usual. If you have a character such as a rogue making a sneak attack or a paladin using smite, the number of extra dice rolled can cause scrambling even among those with extensive polyhedral collections. The impact of critical hits is such that the basic ruleset provides few methods to improve chances of one occurring. The Fighter’s Champion path is the only overt, class-based ability that modifies the likelihood of a critical hit…
Gnomish Workshop: Hidden Advantages
This article was first broadcast in Episode Sixty-seven on 3rd April 2019. Lennon: By the rollacks of Ralishaz, not again! Ryu: What happened? Lennon: Well, how would you describe… that? Ryu: Well, Ostron’s unconscious neatly laid out on the floor of the Workshop again… there are absolute piles and piles of dice around… so either he miscast a sleep spell and knocked himself out, or… ROSTRO: Ostron’s command of thaumaturgical rituals seems significant enough to make that event unlikely… Ostron needed help with Advantage. It appears the concept is more complex than it would seem at first glance. On the face of it advantage and disadvantage seem simple; if you have advantage or disadvantage on a roll, generally an attack or ability check, more rarely a saving throw, you roll two d20s instead of one. In the case of advantage, the higher of the two dice is chosen. With…
Gnomish Workshop: A Pointed Discussion of Magic
This article was first broadcast in Episode Fifty-Seven on 16th January 2019. Lennon: Ostron? Is…oh. ROSTRO: Greetings Lennon: Recalculating the meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything? ROSTRO: I would not presume to question the conclusions of my peers. Ryu: Lennon, did you find Ostro-…ah ROSTRO: Ostron requested that I assist in an analysis of magic so that his spellcasting can be improved. Lennon: And how did that go? ROSTRO: I have some possible courses of action based on comparative analysis of other systems of magic as they exist in the multiverse. A review with other parties would be welcome at this juncture. Lennon: Okay but Ryu? Poke me every so often and make sure I stay awake. Ryu: How do you know *I’m* going to be awake? Whether or not you think much about how magic works in D&D usually depends on two things: If you play a spellcasting class at all, and whether you’ve played any other tabletop or…
A Short Rest: Gnomish Workshop: Challenge Ratings… We need a bigger analyzer!
This article was first broadcast in Episode Fifty-Two on 12th December 2018. Ryu: Oh no he’s down! Ostron! Lennon: Did the KDM do this? Ryu: Hey! I haven’t worn the hat for…a while now and besides he doesn’t look hurt. He’s sort of more in a trance I think? What’s this thing he’s lying next to? Lennon: Well it’s…wow. It’s taking up a lot more room than I thought at first glance. Oh there’s a label! “Realized Oikumenatal Solution To Removing Obfuscation” ROSTRO: You may refer to me as ROSTRO Ryu & Lennon: GAAAAH! Ryu: What did you do to Ostron? ROSTRO: Nothing. Technically, he did something to me. Lennon: …and what was that? ROSTRO: My activation required additional cognitive energy, therefore he astrally projected himself into my mechanisms. Ryu: How is that even possible? ROSTRO: My internal workings are in practice a small artificial plane formed from mathematical probability. Lennon: That sounds…terrifying ROSTRO: Ostron determined it was necessary for the research project he was…
Gnomish Workshop: Action Economy
This article was first broadcast in Episode Thirty-Two on 18th July 2018. Lennon: 248… 249… 250…. Ryu: Lennon, are you using a slingshot to fire gold pieces at my knife throwing target? Lennon: Yes. Sorry, I should have asked first. Ryu: No, that’s fine but…why? Lennon: Well Ostron said he was going to be doing something with action economy and I thought I could help. Ryu: …You know, I’m always kind of impressed at how amazingly wrong you are about what Ostron’s doing at any given time. Lennon: What do you mean? Ryu: No, I need his notes. Ostron? Gnomish Workshop door opens Ostron: What’s up? Ryu: Action Economy? Ostron: Right, here’s what you need. If you wander into the same sort of discussions that Ostron does on a regular basis, you may have seen or heard the term “action economy” get thrown around, and you’ve probably found at least one person that seems very interested or possibly obsessed with the…