unrelated: The Netflix series The Night Agent would make a really kick ass "save the king" style story.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
So, yes, it is exactly how you describe it -- you are very much right. It also means they have favorites, and they are willing to give cleric spells and they will do things like yank a character back from the edge of death. All of which are really hard to justify with detached, disinterested powers who avoid direct engagement.
I think it's relatively easy to justify in such a setting. The gods exert their will on the material plane by giving clerics a miniscule fragment of their power, but otherwise let mortals do as they please. They aren't dropping down from the heavens to save their adherents from death or defeat. They don't go out of their way to make their worshippers much better off. In the Elder Scrolls, this leads many to a) wonder whether the gods exist and b) look for alternative sources of power such as the daedric (demon) princes. In TES, the gods do intervene, but generally in a subtle way. That makes the extremely rare cases where they do intervene in an awesome display, such as at the end of Oblivion or during the Dragon Break, more impactful.
How do you make Players feel like the Gods of your World are "real" and "present"?
My world has no gods. Instead it has Immortals, and they actually walk among the people. They often go incognito, but they’re there. They don’t actually need worshippers, but they do benefit from worship.
How do you make Players feel like the Gods of your World are "real" and "present"?
My world has no gods. Instead it has Immortals, and they actually walk among the people. They often go incognito, but they’re there. They don’t actually need worshippers, but they do benefit from worship.
How do you make Players feel like the Gods of your World are "real" and "present"?
My world has no gods. Instead it has Immortals, and they actually walk among the people. They often go incognito, but they’re there. They don’t actually need worshippers, but they do benefit from worship.
How would you rule this? Rogue strikes an enemy (let's say an orc) with melee daggers, then on their bonus action uses cunning action to Hide (and rolls a Stealth). Now say they roll a 19 on their Stealth roll. How do you have the orc potentially roll to spot the Rogue? Are they doing a Wisdom (Perception) check and need to exceed the 19? Is it at Advantage, since the Rogue didn't disengage (and is still technically within the threat zone)? Rules state, that someone can't hide if the enemy sees them - but in what case then, would cunning action hide be beneficial? Only from a distance type attack? Where they might be able to hide behind shrubbery?
RAW, from what you described the rogue could not Hide in that circumstance. If there was cover nearby, or if they risked an opportunity attack, or if as you said they were using ranged attacks, then the Hide could be used.
There was a player who was a cleric who refused to give to his deities' own church - so in the middle of a fight - he went to cast a spell and I said, "As you channel your divine energy and extend your hand... nothing happens."
Wait wait wait...
You don't give spells levels. The powerful spells just cost more mojo to cast. As you level up you get more mojo. There you go PC level doesn't have to equal spell level =)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
How would you rule this? Rogue strikes an enemy (let's say an orc) with melee daggers, then on their bonus action uses cunning action to Hide (and rolls a Stealth). Now say they roll a 19 on their Stealth roll. How do you have the orc potentially roll to spot the Rogue? Are they doing a Wisdom (Perception) check and need to exceed the 19? Is it at Advantage, since the Rogue didn't disengage (and is still technically within the threat zone)? Rules state, that someone can't hide if the enemy sees them - but in what case then, would cunning action hide be beneficial? Only from a distance type attack? Where they might be able to hide behind shrubbery?
There would have to be another factor like darkness or Staff of Swarming Insects.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Video game Question: How do you think graphics will evolve in the next 20-25 years?
Quickly, and without remorse for my poor PC.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny. Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
Video game Question: How do you think graphics will evolve in the next 20-25 years?
Well, I used to stay present in terms of XBOX Consoles... but, my life has changed, in regards to finances....
So, not even remotely caring what Graphics for PCs or XBOX (or Consoles in general)...
Because of the financial shift in my life, I spend more time doing D&D (for which I am eternally thankful for, because enjoying the company of friends rather than being alone playing a game)...
25 years ago was 1999, and we were all partying. 1999 was a major year, because 3D video game graphics, using 3D models instead of simply sorta making them seem that way in 2D format, became a new standard. Shaders were still mostly theoretical and the use of low resolution bitmaps was not even a thing yet. So everything was directly colored (using RGB codes, mostly).
25 years before that we had high end graphics to make Pong still being worked on.
That is past.
Shaders, point diffusion systems (modeling without surfaces), particles, general physics, hair and clothing, water and wind, and the ongoing quest to find the outlines of the uncanny valley will continue and likely be solved by 2030 for consumer level formats. Likely two to three more system generations will happen.
The big probability is the shift to the AI systems, as one of the major underlying elements there is to reduce the cost and time of creating a AAA game. THis is part of the reason for the push to develop effective descriptive image generation through LLMs -- they will be able to key in on certain standard keywords and generate a model base that can then be adjusted for practical effects. THis is very important for PDS, as it allows for a lighter load and therefore more fluidity -- imagine a game map that is practically endless.
One of the most important breakthroughs that still needs to happen for the sci-fi enthusiasts is immersive Virtual and practical Augmented -- the "real world is the game world" augmented and the lie in bed and dream it out. THis is still in infancy -- roughly equivalent to the 1980 to 1990 time frame. A breakthrough there is probable within the 25 year time frame for one or both of those, but of them, the most likely is Augmented, in part because of the data collected by Niantic and the essential commercial value outside the gaming space. Going grocery shopping in person and being able to pay as you shop with simple gestures is likely a goal.
The M-H Interface systems goal that is necessary for that "dream it" form of Virtual is likely outside the time frame unless a major discovery comes up. One of the factors not often discussed is that brain mapping gives us an idea of roughly where people store things and what different things do, but every person is slightly different in both precise location and specific mechanism -- the problem is that people are just as individual in their brains as they are in physical appearance.
However, conscious Virtual is likely going to be the primary beneficiary of the PDS effort, as it will allow for much reduced load since all environments will be generated on the fly, reducing overall load on the system (instead of 100GB, file size is expected to drop to 15 to 20GB, because generating the map will be done wholly procedurally on the fly through the use of AI systems proscribed only by the structures of consistency and design goals).
As a note, I mention what I do for the UN on occasion, and this is about a 1/100th of a standard report from me, lol, because all those letters after my name are there to support predictive modeling of human systems. THis is all off the top of my head from past reports I've read, conversations with folks in the industry (most of whom are now in managerial roles), and my own general curiosity.
Visually, in 20 years, a PC or Console likely won't be too much involved -- likely two to three generations of major chip improvements (we've reached much of the upper limit of design, both physical and codewise, so it is more about improving throughput) combined with new consoles about two years after, depending on the adoption rates in the PC segment -- simply because the goal is to increase the acuity at this point, and reduce the load.
So, more procedural games that create more realistic procedural environments that are also more predictable -- that is, when you visit an area you have been to before, the terrain will still be familiar and look much the same, but it will all have been created a you move into it on the fly. AI will handle that, and there is a likelihood of some games adapting the terrain specifically to the player -- your visual experience of the latest Assassin's Creed may be different from another player's, even though the actual game play is the same.
Closer to home, WotC's effort to develop a #D VTT using unreal engine is already opening a floodbox, and unreal and Unity engines are in exceptional danger right now, as things like the third generation Decima engine and its contemporaries all begin projects to port them externally for the same ultimate purpose (commercial level design and development, IOW film and television). Sony, for example, has some half dozen engines in the pipelines to "blow Unreal and Unity out of the water".
Unity at least recognizes this, as they just shifted overall goals. Epic is a little more egocentric and stubborn.
Small foundry games (the single developer, little games) are going to have access to everything available at present on the high end probably within the next ten, so there will be a blooming of them, and that is likely to shift the perception of what AAA means as a designator.
BUt, that's the just the mad ramblings of one not-so-little old lady in the desert, so do with it what ya will.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Unrelated: has anybody else read the Monstress comics written by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by Sana Takeda? It's beautifully done, and would interest folks who enjoy fantasy settings.
Unrelated: has anybody else read the Monstress comics written by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by Sana Takeda? It's beautifully done, and would interest folks who enjoy fantasy settings.
I haven't read it but I have seen it around a lot.
Unrelated: has anybody else read the Monstress comics written by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by Sana Takeda? It's beautifully done, and would interest folks who enjoy fantasy settings.
I snagged a copy when it first came out at a con, been following iit ever since. I do like it a lot.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Unrelated: has anybody else read the Monstress comics written by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by Sana Takeda? It's beautifully done, and would interest folks who enjoy fantasy settings.
The whole point of this thread is everything is unrelated.
That said, no. I used to collect comics hardcore (especially Marvel) - but in 2020, life changed - and that had to stop.
So not picked up anything new since then (Marvel, or otherwise) in the comic book realm.
A related question to the unrelated question which is actually a related question in this thread of unrelated questions:
What are your favorite comics? Is there a comic book publisher, artist, or writer that you especially love? Is there a series that you have followed/collected?
My favorite comic writer and artist is Mike Mignola and I devour everything of his that I can get my hands on. Hellboy is the greatest comic I have ever read. A few other comics I enjoy are Concrete, Manifest Destiny, Trese, Sandman, and V is for Vendetta. I really like the smaller indie stuff over the big name publishers. That being said, I still like a lot of Marvel stuff like Moon Knight, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, and X-men. I actually own the original origin story for the Watcher, the Owl, Crimson Dynamo, and the Puppet Master. I haven't read much DC. The only Batman series I have ever read was by Mike Mignola and he turned it into a cosmic horror.
unrelated: The Netflix series The Night Agent would make a really kick ass "save the king" style story.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I think it's relatively easy to justify in such a setting. The gods exert their will on the material plane by giving clerics a miniscule fragment of their power, but otherwise let mortals do as they please. They aren't dropping down from the heavens to save their adherents from death or defeat. They don't go out of their way to make their worshippers much better off. In the Elder Scrolls, this leads many to a) wonder whether the gods exist and b) look for alternative sources of power such as the daedric (demon) princes. In TES, the gods do intervene, but generally in a subtle way. That makes the extremely rare cases where they do intervene in an awesome display, such as at the end of Oblivion or during the Dragon Break, more impactful.
My world has no gods. Instead it has Immortals, and they actually walk among the people. They often go incognito, but they’re there. They don’t actually need worshippers, but they do benefit from worship.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Mods! Sposta just doxxed me!
🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Question...
How would you rule this?
Rogue strikes an enemy (let's say an orc) with melee daggers, then on their bonus action uses cunning action to Hide (and rolls a Stealth).
Now say they roll a 19 on their Stealth roll.
How do you have the orc potentially roll to spot the Rogue?
Are they doing a Wisdom (Perception) check and need to exceed the 19?
Is it at Advantage, since the Rogue didn't disengage (and is still technically within the threat zone)?
Rules state, that someone can't hide if the enemy sees them - but in what case then, would cunning action hide be beneficial?
Only from a distance type attack? Where they might be able to hide behind shrubbery?
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
RAW, from what you described the rogue could not Hide in that circumstance. If there was cover nearby, or if they risked an opportunity attack, or if as you said they were using ranged attacks, then the Hide could be used.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Wait wait wait...
You don't give spells levels. The powerful spells just cost more mojo to cast. As you level up you get more mojo. There you go PC level doesn't have to equal spell level =)
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
There would have to be another factor like darkness or Staff of Swarming Insects.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Video game Question: How do you think graphics will evolve in the next 20-25 years?
Hi, I’m DrakenBrine, here’s my Sig and characters
I am The Grand Envisioner!
Quickly, and without remorse for my poor PC.
Look at what you've done. You spoiled it. You have nobody to blame but yourself. Go sit and think about your actions.
Don't be mean. Rudeness is a vicious cycle, and it has to stop somewhere. Exceptions for things that are funny.
Go to the current Competition of the Finest 'Brews! It's a cool place where cool people make cool things.
How I'm posting based on text formatting: Mod Hat Off - Mod Hat Also Off (I'm not a mod)
I am right there with you. In addition it will be sloppy writing so as to take up hundreds of gigs.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Well, I used to stay present in terms of XBOX Consoles... but, my life has changed, in regards to finances....
So, not even remotely caring what Graphics for PCs or XBOX (or Consoles in general)...
Because of the financial shift in my life, I spend more time doing D&D (for which I am eternally thankful for, because enjoying the company of friends rather than being alone playing a game)...
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
Past is prologue...
25 years ago was 1999, and we were all partying. 1999 was a major year, because 3D video game graphics, using 3D models instead of simply sorta making them seem that way in 2D format, became a new standard. Shaders were still mostly theoretical and the use of low resolution bitmaps was not even a thing yet. So everything was directly colored (using RGB codes, mostly).
Consumer level 3d creation tools were still very much in their infancy, and if you look at the Ocarina of Time and FF 8 today, you will um, chuckle. Especially given their current iterations. Here's an article: https://www.mic.com/articles/77537/7-video-games-that-looked-totally-realistic-in-1999
25 years before that we had high end graphics to make Pong still being worked on.
That is past.
Shaders, point diffusion systems (modeling without surfaces), particles, general physics, hair and clothing, water and wind, and the ongoing quest to find the outlines of the uncanny valley will continue and likely be solved by 2030 for consumer level formats. Likely two to three more system generations will happen.
The big probability is the shift to the AI systems, as one of the major underlying elements there is to reduce the cost and time of creating a AAA game. THis is part of the reason for the push to develop effective descriptive image generation through LLMs -- they will be able to key in on certain standard keywords and generate a model base that can then be adjusted for practical effects. THis is very important for PDS, as it allows for a lighter load and therefore more fluidity -- imagine a game map that is practically endless.
One of the most important breakthroughs that still needs to happen for the sci-fi enthusiasts is immersive Virtual and practical Augmented -- the "real world is the game world" augmented and the lie in bed and dream it out. THis is still in infancy -- roughly equivalent to the 1980 to 1990 time frame. A breakthrough there is probable within the 25 year time frame for one or both of those, but of them, the most likely is Augmented, in part because of the data collected by Niantic and the essential commercial value outside the gaming space. Going grocery shopping in person and being able to pay as you shop with simple gestures is likely a goal.
The M-H Interface systems goal that is necessary for that "dream it" form of Virtual is likely outside the time frame unless a major discovery comes up. One of the factors not often discussed is that brain mapping gives us an idea of roughly where people store things and what different things do, but every person is slightly different in both precise location and specific mechanism -- the problem is that people are just as individual in their brains as they are in physical appearance.
However, conscious Virtual is likely going to be the primary beneficiary of the PDS effort, as it will allow for much reduced load since all environments will be generated on the fly, reducing overall load on the system (instead of 100GB, file size is expected to drop to 15 to 20GB, because generating the map will be done wholly procedurally on the fly through the use of AI systems proscribed only by the structures of consistency and design goals).
As a note, I mention what I do for the UN on occasion, and this is about a 1/100th of a standard report from me, lol, because all those letters after my name are there to support predictive modeling of human systems. THis is all off the top of my head from past reports I've read, conversations with folks in the industry (most of whom are now in managerial roles), and my own general curiosity.
Visually, in 20 years, a PC or Console likely won't be too much involved -- likely two to three generations of major chip improvements (we've reached much of the upper limit of design, both physical and codewise, so it is more about improving throughput) combined with new consoles about two years after, depending on the adoption rates in the PC segment -- simply because the goal is to increase the acuity at this point, and reduce the load.
So, more procedural games that create more realistic procedural environments that are also more predictable -- that is, when you visit an area you have been to before, the terrain will still be familiar and look much the same, but it will all have been created a you move into it on the fly. AI will handle that, and there is a likelihood of some games adapting the terrain specifically to the player -- your visual experience of the latest Assassin's Creed may be different from another player's, even though the actual game play is the same.
Closer to home, WotC's effort to develop a #D VTT using unreal engine is already opening a floodbox, and unreal and Unity engines are in exceptional danger right now, as things like the third generation Decima engine and its contemporaries all begin projects to port them externally for the same ultimate purpose (commercial level design and development, IOW film and television). Sony, for example, has some half dozen engines in the pipelines to "blow Unreal and Unity out of the water".
Unity at least recognizes this, as they just shifted overall goals. Epic is a little more egocentric and stubborn.
Small foundry games (the single developer, little games) are going to have access to everything available at present on the high end probably within the next ten, so there will be a blooming of them, and that is likely to shift the perception of what AAA means as a designator.
BUt, that's the just the mad ramblings of one not-so-little old lady in the desert, so do with it what ya will.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Also, ooops, I did it again...
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
Unrelated: has anybody else read the Monstress comics written by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by Sana Takeda? It's beautifully done, and would interest folks who enjoy fantasy settings.
I haven't read it but I have seen it around a lot.
I snagged a copy when it first came out at a con, been following iit ever since. I do like it a lot.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
The whole point of this thread is everything is unrelated.
That said, no. I used to collect comics hardcore (especially Marvel) - but in 2020, life changed - and that had to stop.
So not picked up anything new since then (Marvel, or otherwise) in the comic book realm.
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
A related question to the unrelated question which is actually a related question in this thread of unrelated questions:
What are your favorite comics? Is there a comic book publisher, artist, or writer that you especially love? Is there a series that you have followed/collected?
My favorite comic writer and artist is Mike Mignola and I devour everything of his that I can get my hands on. Hellboy is the greatest comic I have ever read. A few other comics I enjoy are Concrete, Manifest Destiny, Trese, Sandman, and V is for Vendetta. I really like the smaller indie stuff over the big name publishers. That being said, I still like a lot of Marvel stuff like Moon Knight, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, and X-men. I actually own the original origin story for the Watcher, the Owl, Crimson Dynamo, and the Puppet Master. I haven't read much DC. The only Batman series I have ever read was by Mike Mignola and he turned it into a cosmic horror.