#cr subreddit is….something else

[avalencias]

home can be a person too

shoutout to @kienava for just suggesting drawing them in bed

[wardensantoineandevka]

It's actually wild that people are acting like subreddits (including fan-run ones that have no relation to the company) and Discord servers dedicated to actual plays and TTRPG companies prohibiting discussion is suppressing and indicative of a company's official opinion on the OGL draft, when the reality is that these spaces are actively trying to limit the fear-mongering, circular arguments, and misinformation that dominate this discussion, which is usually off-topic for these spaces.

Because a LOT of the response right now is emotional about stuff that does not actually exist in the draft, rather than focusing on what the draft actually says. It does not actually help to become afraid about made-up things. It actually takes focus away from more legitimate concerns that are struggling to be articulated beneath all the misinformation and fearmongering. It is so difficult to understand what these changes mean under the burden of the misunderstandings dominating the discussions. So naturally, these spaces are seeking to not contribute to this climate of fearmongering.

It isn't actually "evidence of their support for the OGL" or "proof that they're traitors" even as some are saying, but it's an attempt to keep these spaces on-topic, free of misinformation and fearmongering, and discourage open conflict.

[samuraiko]

CRITICAL ROLE C3E77 Spoilery Opinion [SPOILERS AHOY]

YES I'M POSTING SOMETHING ELSE

SPOILERS INCOMING

LOREM IPSUM

---

I am actually copypastaing something I wrote over on the CR subreddit LATE last night, just in case you're wondering if you might have seen this elsewhere. I just want to throw it out again here just in case the mods over there nuke that entire thread because of DRAMA™.

---

This is pure speculation on my part - I make *NO* claims whatsoever into any special insight on how Taliesin plays his characters, and I fully embrace the possibility that a) I am wrong, and b) no one is obligated whatsoever to agree with me. :)

That said.

Twice before now, Ashton was granted some weird, who-knows-what-the-hell-it-is power through acts that he had NOTHING to do with.

His father screwed up a rite - BOOM, Ashton is transformed into an earth genasi.

The Jiana Hexum robbery went sideways and Milo freaked out and dumped a whatever-the-hells-this-might-be potion (yes *I* know what it is) in Ashton's skull - BOOM, Ashton gets his rage powers.

But this time, there's an incredibly dangerous power that could maybe save the world AND the gods but hopefully most of all his friends... and this IS something that Ashton can control.

This *IS* a choice he can make for himself.

HE chose to dive into the lava after this shard.

HE chose to respect Fearne's repeated denials that she didn't want it.

HE chose to take it into himself.

This was something going sideways that HE COULD CONTROL.

And don't forget - Ashton being a reckless gambler was established all the way back in the very earliest episodes of the campaign.

Do I agree with Fearne kicking him in the face afterward? ABSOLUTELY. He just scared fifty years off her life with that stunt, and as someone who has loudly proclaimed that she is DONE losing people, this must have been her second-worst nightmare (her worst being losing Orym).

So do I understand him doing this? Yes, I do. I think he could have handled it a lot better, but let's hear it for that 6 Charisma.

And I think that he's going to get an absolute EARFUL from all of the Hells (and so he should). And more than anyone else, I hope Orym is the one to really chew him out, because if Ashton seems to respect anyone as authority in the Hells, it's Orym.

[mareastrorum]

This past two weeks has been really fascinating to observe. I've only been on Tumblr for about a year and a half, and only following stream liveblogs for about half that time. I don't usually tag dive because it really can be a slog, but I did for the discourse regarding FCG's death, Otohan generally, and the sudden shift to the Crownkeepers.

This isn't directed at anyone specifically, and I'm saying that for a reason: this website is really well designed for people who disagree to talk past each other. It's considered rude to reply to someone's take directly if you disagree, and often same for sending an ask to that person -- and I'm not saying it shouldn't be, that is simply the culture. In turn, when people write out their own takes on their own blogs, a significant amount of those semi- or fully-responsive posts are written to a strawman. Then when people read those posts, they recognize the general flow (though perhaps not the exact posts the author saw), and the pattern continues until everyone's burnt out on their arguments to a wall instead of to each other. Worse, even the most well-written and comprehensive discourse post is going to miss some small point or nuance, and that of course will be the subject of an offshoot set of posts.

Compare to reddit, which (on well-moderated subs, anyway) funnels discussion to specific threads, and the only way you can effectively respond to a currently-popular take is to take the risk of downvotes by actually replying to that take or to another reply under it. Attempts to address an issue separately are more likely to be lost in the shuffle, and honestly, most people who respond indirectly (citing someone else's arguments but not replying in their thread or to their comment) often earn a hearty amount of downvotes for cowardice even if the mods do nothing. The only way to bitch about some other redditor's take "safely" is to flee to another subreddit, but only if someone doesn't point out what Bitchpants McGee hoped no one would notice. (Are witch hunts against TOS? Yeah. They've been against TOS for a while; what's your point?) The culture is much more confrontational, though the level of politeness and civility is sub-dependent. I was on Reddit for about 13 years before Tumblr, so I've been in subreddits of all kinds, and I find all that to be incredibly entertaining, even if the mobile experience is rather annoying these days.

I don't mean this as a criticism of Tumblr or people who prefer to discuss or read about CR on Tumblr. It is definitely not an endorsement of critical role subs on Reddit either -- I came to Tumblr, too, after all. My point is that, on Tumblr, you can't be sure who someone is responding to, what takes they have read, whether they tag dive, what's on their dash, etc. There's no common thread that everyone is reading and reacting to except for the show itself.

Most CR discourse hasn't been all that bad, but there's some really patronizing and insulting takes in the tags that are effectively shotgun blasts at anyone who disagrees with them. If you want to foster good dialogue about a topic, don't do that, and more importantly, don't take others seriously if those are the tactics they employ. Let those threads die. Don't feed the trolls.

Lastly, this isn't a plea for people to act a certain way on their own blog. Do as you please. But it's a reminder that you're going to talk past people, and they're going to talk past you. If you want that conversation to be worthwhile, then keep focused on what the point of your own post is. Are you trying to defend something? Defend it. Are you trying to deconstruct a misunderstanding? Stick to that. Bitching and venting? Go ahead. But if you've tacked on other stuff to that same post, don't be surprised when you're used as fodder for the people who are intentionally having that side conversation.

[wenamedthedogkylo]

I saw something in the CR subreddit the other night that a good number of people in the fandom are irritated by the party's decision paralysis or "analysis paralysis". And on the one hand I kinda understand getting frustrated with how that slows things down. But on the other hand, I also fully understand why the group is spending more time agonizing over decisions and stuff.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a party and a campaign that particularly has even more reason than ever to utterly distrust every single person they meet. These are characters who, for various reasons, have developed even greater amounts of distrust of the various establishments around them, on top of knowing better than to blindly trust the shadier elements that they often have to deal with. And the Hells especially have a track record for regularly meeting and aligning temporarily with people they have no reason to trust long-term.

So it makes perfect sense to me that the group is taking more time to analyze their decisions and figure out how to minimize how fucked over they get by everyone around them. Especially with how big the stakes are right now, they need to ensure that they cover their asses and everyone else's as much as possible, so that at the very least if they do get fucked over, they've kind of planned for it and can mitigate and/or escape in one piece.

[burr-ell]

Hello! It's New Fan again. I hope you're doing well. I'm still slowly making my way through Campaign 1 of CT but I have a concern.

When you said that One Guy will go away soon, how soon are we talking about? It wasn't bad at first and I found Tiberius to be a bit charming but there are moments when it feels like it is not roleplay anymore and the player is genuinely being a dick.

Maybe I'm getting confused because they are pro-VAs and he's just really into it but I just cannot stop the bad feeling.

I'm debating on whether I should skip until he's gone or just endure it.

it's never that bad at first, is it

The thing about Tiberius is that the cast had been playing together for two years prior to the start of the stream and had known each other for longer because they were colleagues. And while I can't speak to who they are as people, they at least seem genuinely kind and forgiving, especially Matt, which is probably why Orion was allowed to stick around as long as he did. (And in fairness, Orion was also dealing with cancer and substance abuse issues during this period, which doesn't excuse his behavior but also helps explain why the cast gave him so many chances.)

But you are not at all alone in feeling that way, anon. I feel secondhand embarrassment sometimes even thinking about what he was like and how uncomfortable some of his behavior made everyone. For what it's worth, to give you a timeframe, Orion leaves after episode 27, and episodes 18 and 19 also don't have him (and the change in vibe is palpable). His last episode is really the nadir and it's pretty skippable. Personally, I'm messy and live for drama and found that reading people's salty YouTube comments helped get me through it (as well as the fact that I always listen to the show while I'm doing something—early C1 was for either portfolio work or support grinding in FE Awakening), but it's not for everyone.

If it gets to be too much? Skip to 18 and 19, then to either 24 or 28 depending on what you think you're up for. 24 is the actual start of the Briarwood arc and it opens with the scene where Percy reveals his backstory, which is excellent, and as an added bonus, Tiberius isn't in that part at all because when Vex said they should all go down to the workshop to check on their friend Tiberius just left to go do his own thing. (A microcosm, if you will.) 28 is when he's actually gone, and again—the change in atmosphere is pretty visceral. 25 is also worth watching, in my opinion; Orion tries metagaming with the Briarwood fight and Matt immediately has Delilah hit him with Feeblemind to take him out, and then #NoMercyPercy reveals himself and it's just as incredible as it is in the animated show—honestly, in my view it hits even harder.

If you want my opinion, the Orion episodes are still worth watching at some point...but no one in the fandom blames you if you don't, or if you decide to skip all his episodes and then go back and watch them later if you like everyone else enough to suffer through him. If you do decide to skip ahead, this reddit post has a pretty good rundown of what happened (with a few incorrect minor irrelevant details); it's not on the CR subreddit because fun fact! Discussions of Orion got banned in any context there outside of the first 27 episodes.

[otdderamin]

Transcript: Characterizing the Bright Queen's cycle of retaliation – TM for CR C2 Ep63 0:34:41

The Mighty Nein mischaracterized their last meeting with the Bright Queen. They felt she was bloodthirsty, not interested in peace, and out to kill everyone in the empire. It struck me as harsh, too, at first, but I think the Bright Queen is more nuanced and neutral than that. It's not far off from Taliesin's comments on Talks about Caduceus' philosophy.

"[Caduceus] is not a pacifist. I know he gives the vibe of a pacifist. He's… a naturalist? […] He wouldn’t have had a second thought about grinding them into paste if it had come down to it because nature is cruel and indifferent to such things. […] I mean, you watch a nature video, there’s a whole Nature is Metal subreddit that is just like, 'Oh wow, yeah, that happens in the world.’ […] And you’re like, 'Oh my god!’ But accepting it and letting that be part of it along the lines of flowers are beautiful, mushrooms are fascinating, rot is beautiful, and the swamp smells great. Also, alligators fucking eat a baby. And you’re like, 'And it’s all part of the tapestry.’” (TM for CR C2 Ep59 0:20:37)

Bright Queen: "Because life is pain for many. Jealousy, strife, some need to conquer. There will always be those that will do whatever it takes to get one over the man, or woman, or otherwise to their left and right."

Caduceus: "Are you talking about yourself or the Empire right now?"

Bright Queen: "I'm talking about anything that draws breath. And it is our duty to acknowledge that and try to keep those base designs at bay. But one cannot bow down when others to not show that same will of understanding or else we will lie slaughtered."

The Bright Queen means approximately the same thing as Caduceus. Life is inherently pretty selfish because it has to be to keep going. Vegan or carnivore you still kill other organisms to sustain yourself; that's the essence of eating. Even plants fight for territory, sunlight, & mineral access. Life takes what it needs if its faster or stronger or smarter than other life. It's immutable that something will take too much at some point and need to be beaten back. People are no different than alligators at their base instincts, but we're at our best when we override those instincts with a desire to not hurt others. There will always be people not checking those impulses, who do seek to dominate and take what they want at any cost. You either have to fight them or die. That's the cycle she's talking about.

She says, "The cycle cannot be broken until there is nothing living. All we can do is our best to keep it slow." She doesn't mean all life or everyone in the Empire needs to be eliminated, which is what TMN were afraid she meant. She means, you have to learn to live with this reality and be prepared to defend yourself. By "keeping it slow" she means try to negotiate peacefully as long as possible with the understanding that one day it will be impossible.

She says, "This will continue until one side cannot retaliate, and we hope that with a swift enough and well-planned plot laid out with this information, perhaps we can keep them from being able to retaliate for some time." She means, if they can overcome the armies of the Empire swiftly, they'll be able to end the war sooner with many fewer lives lost than a protracted battle.

Think about how old she is: 1200 years. In our time she's have witnessed every cycle of peace and war since Charlemagne in the early Middle Ages. I believe she hopes for this war to end as swiftly as possible, for peace to reign for a long time, but eventually that peace will be broken again. That's what she means by not being able to break the cycle.

It's like trying to stop natural disasters. You do what you can to mitigate their damage, but their causes are so much larger than what you can control. Trying to prevent them entirely is a foolish waste of time and energy. All you can do is protect those you care about the best that you can and do what you have to when it happens.

There are two ways the war can end: Fight until one side is too weak to hit back and has to surrender to keep from being destroyed or fight until both sides agree to stop retaliating. Most likely it'll be a combination: fight until both sides don't think they have a clear upper hand and negotiate both of them stepping back.

Destroying the Cerberus would greatly weaken the Empire making it more likely they'll yield to the Kryn. I don't know what that looks for either nation. I don't think Leylas Kryn is a cruel woman, but she is determined to protect her people from a nation that has been a problem for hundreds of years. The Mighty Nein are going to have to decide how much they trust the kindness she has shown them vs. the hardness she's shown the Empire.

 Scene runs:

1. The cycle of retaliation 0:34:41 to 0:38:44

2. TMN review the meeting 0:43:07 to 0:44:34.

1. The cycle of retaliation

0:34:41 Beau: "If I may offer one more word, my lady, being of the empire, what we can for sure tell you is they don't take kindly to being bested or embarrassed, and they will retaliate with the full force of everything they've been working towards."

Bright Queen: "If I am correct in my beliefs, this is retaliation for our retaliation."

Beau: "Yes, it's a lot of retaliation."

Bright Queen: "This will continue until one side cannot retaliate, and we hope that with a swift enough and well-planned plot laid out with this information, perhaps we can keep them from being able to retaliate for some time."

…

0:36:59 Caleb: "And I know I am retreading past ground, but I hope as you protect your people and your kingdom you will consider, instead of utter destruction, there are people on the other side of those mountains who are not happy with the ones running the show. Use us. Use us for your ends. Use us to find this other missing relic. Use us and our contacts to help supplant the Cerberus."

Beau: "We can help you break the cycle."

Bright Queen: "The cycle cannot be broken until there is nothing living. All we can do is our best to keep it slow."

Jester: "Why can't the cycle be broken?"

Bright Queen: "Because life is pain for many. Jealousy, strife, some need to conquer. There will always be those that will do whatever it takes to get one over the man, or woman, or otherwise to their left and right."

Caduceus: "Are you talking about yourself or the Empire right now?"

Bright Queen: "I'm talking about anything that draws breath."

Caduceus: "Hm."

Bright Queen: "And it is our duty to acknowledge that and try to keep those base designs at bay. But one cannot bow down when others to not show that same will of understanding or else we will lie slaughtered."

0:38:44

  2. TMN review the meeting

0:43:07 Fjord: "I would hope there would be more of an audience for reason. I mean, in a fight, if you can take away the weapons of both sides, you're forced to use alternate means to resolve your differences. The Cerberus Assembly is a weapon I would prefer to attack that then wipe a nation of it's people."

Caleb: "Correct. We are agreed."

Jester: "Was she saying she's gonna kill everybody in the Empire."

Fjord: "She's saying until no one else draws breath."

Caleb: "She seems very bloodthirsty."

Beau: "And mentioned them not respecting the life? What does she, what does the meant by that?"

Fjord: "I dunno. That's a very wide, wide net she's casting."

Jester: "What if everybody, you know, in the Empire, like, bends the knee. That's what they say, right?"

Nott: 'I've heard that recently."

Jester: "What if they all do that and then they're part of Xhorhas, and then she doesn't have to kill them. And then is all one happy, happy country."

Beau: "It felt like that that's what she was alluding to, but not necessarily bending the knee to her. Bend thing the knee to their beliefs, their Luxon is what it felt like."

Fjord: "Yeah."

Beau: "You know, if they believe in this cycle, believe in their intrinsic attachment to the dodecahedrons I could only imagine they could only benefit from having more people attached to that, right?"

Fjord: "Well, we're just guessing at this point."

0:44:34

If you enjoy my work, consider supporting me through ko-fi, Patreon, or my shop. I'm severely disabled and it all helps justify my time spent on this project. Learn more about how and why to support me, including links.

[criticalrolo]

I am going to DM for a couple of my friends for the first time here soon, so uh do you have any bits of advice for a new DM?

Someone asked about this a while ago too, so here’s my attempt at advice:

First of all. Deep breaths. DMing is SO much fun and it seems a lot harder than it actually is before you just sit down and do it. So don’t worry about completely ruining the game or anything, because that’s almost certainly not going to happen. You’re gonna be TOTALLY fine and you’ll (hopefully) have a great time doing the most fun part of dnd.

I think the number one thing to remember when you're a DM before you even get started preparing ANYTHING is that your job is to make the game as entertaining as possible for your players. That means keeping in mind what their interests are and what they want to be doing in the game. The way I did this, and in my opinion the easiest way, is to have a session zero and talk with your players about what exactly they want to have happen. Are they all about action with little actual plot, or would they want to be interacting with NPCs all the time? Do they like puzzles and riddles, or do they absolutely hate them? My players happen to really like figuring out the puzzles I throw at them, so when I was designing a cave system at one point, I leaned more heavily towards puzzles than just straight up combat. I also asked them before I started planning out the next leg of their journey if they would be interested in exploring their character's backgrounds or not, and once I got a positive answer I started to incorporate them more. Even when we're in the middle of a session, I'll check in with them and make sure they're all having fun. Even brutal encounters that leave them just a few hit points away from dying or intense moral dilemmas that leave them scrambling should still be FUN on some level, even if that's a little morbid. To summarize: if the players are having fun, then you're doing your job right, so check in with them to make sure everything is going well.

Okay, on to the rest of it. Here's another important thing to remember: no matter how carefully you plan out something ahead of time, your players WILL find some new solution to the situation you didn't plan on. My first session with my current group, I ended up improvising a story for a solid hour and a half because instead of the party sneakily stealing a map in the dead of night like I'd naively assumed they'd do, they just grabbed it right out of the owner's hand and demanded information from him, which lead to a lot of key information being revealed WAY ahead of schedule. My point is this: get used to improvising, and don't get too attached to the story you have prepared. Sometimes your players will come up with something better than what you wrote. Don't squash down their idea just because you wrote something else ahead of time! Get ready to make stuff up on the fly, and reward creative solutions. Or, if they're making bad decisions and messing up something you thought wouldn't be a problem, let the natural consequences of their actions happen in game. NOTHING is set in stone, and the game is more fun that way. You'd be surprised at some of the really awesome stuff you can come up with under pressure. So let your story evolve based on what your players decide to do, and don't be afraid of improvisation.

What else, what else... okay, another important thing is to avoid a TPK early on, especially if you're all new, but not to be afraid to rough your players up because the game isn't any fun if they automatically win everything. Sometimes it can be really tricky to find the balance. Erring on the side of too easy is probably the way to go early on, because if you're all new and figuring this all out together you're all going to start out by making some pretty dumb mistakes and having your first ever character die in their first battle isn't the best introduction to dnd ever. Plus, it's fun to feel like a badass when you totally destroy something sometimes. On the other hand, if you make an encounter way too hard, there are ways to come back from that as well. Don't let your players get away unscathed, but maybe your monster "forgets" to recharge their breath weapon, or an NPC ends up rolling 10 points of damage instead of 22. Or, maybe someone finds an old potion of healing inside a chest that you definitely planned on being there ahead of time. Just remember that THEY don't know exactly what you have in your notes, and adjust accordingly. The Kobold Fight Club is your best friend for encounters, by the way. Sometimes the CR is a bit off, especially for larger groups, but it's been really useful for me to help scale encounters so far.

As for inspiration for planning the story, I've found that pulling from character's back stories is great. It grounds your players in the setting, and helps them feel like they really are incorporated in the game instead of being random murder hobos. I've also gotten inspiration from poking around the dnd subreddit and the tag on tumblr. You probably shouldn't copy other people's ideas directly, but there's nothing wrong with using elements in them as a stepping stone towards your own campaign's plot. Think about what you find interesting in a story, and TALK TO YOUR PLAYERS about what they would find interesting. Just run little things by them, like, "Hey, how would you all feel about doing a murder mystery arc" or "Would you like to really get into so-and-so's origin story?" Getting a direction to go in from your players can be fantastic, both for you and for them.

Last point I'm gonna make since this got pretty long (sorry about that lol): DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP! I ask people (who aren't my players) for help planning the campaign all. the. time. My twelve year old sister knows EVERYTHING I have planned since I've used her as a soundboard for different ideas so often. If you scroll through my dnd tag, you can see all the times I've asked my followers and other blogs for help planning and running a campaign. There are tons of people on tumblr and Reddit and all over the internet that would be more than happy to help you with any specific questions you have. If you feel stuck - feel free to ask for advice! There's probably someone else out there who had the same question at one point and would be willing to help you out.

GOOD LUCK YOU CAN DO THIS I BELIEVE IN YOU

[takenews-blog1]

Captain Flowers talks about being a caster, find out how to play Zoe and constructing boots on Skarner

New Post has been published on https://takenews.net/captain-flowers-talks-about-being-a-caster-find-out-how-to-play-zoe-and-constructing-boots-on-skarner/

Captain Flowers talks about being a caster, find out how to play Zoe and constructing boots on Skarner

It’s at all times arduous to evaluate how followers will react when a brand new character is added to the casters’ desk. With new expertise coming in it means making room for what individuals already get pleasure from and nowhere is that extra true than the NA LCS, the place among the identical individuals have labored on the published crew because it began again in 2013.

So when Clayton “Captain Flowers” Raines joined the NA LCS broadcast in the beginning of 2017, nobody fairly knew what sort of reception he would obtain. Nonetheless after only one sequence on the desk, Raines’ dedication, arduous work and expertise shined by instantly and he was showered with praises from the notoriously arduous to please NA LCS crowd.

Now, nearly a yr after his journey as a Riot caster started, Rift Herald had an opportunity to sit down down with Raines on the 2017 All-Star Occasion to speak about how it began, what it was prefer to go from beginner leagues to worlds and his ideas on the preseason.

The Rift Herald: How did you get into, not simply casting basically, however Riot casting and League of Legends casting?

Clayton Raines: I did my first solid in the summertime of 2015 and again then, I wasn’t satisfied I had any enterprise doing it, however on the advice of family and friends, trigger I used to be at some extent in my life I had simply graduated school and I didn’t know what I wished to do, they advised doing this. And I initially thought, “There ain’t no approach in hell.” However the very first thing I did, for a month straight I solely watched pals taking part in solo queue and performed my voice over it and I performed these again for myself. No person else bought to listen to these!

Then I moved on to placing a pair movies on YouTube, I regarded on the boards, I moved onto an beginner group, stuff like that and the entire time I wished to do League of Legends, trigger it was a sport that I performed since 2009. As quickly as this sport was launched from beta I used to be taking part in this sport. It’s one of many only a few video games I’ve come again to time and time once more. It’s a sport I really like.

So, I figured if that is one thing you will do, if that is one thing you will give an trustworthy shot at, you possibly can’t go midway, and be like, “League of Legends is just too large.” Trigger that was my unique thought, you realize, ‘this sport is just too large, it has essentially the most views on Twitch.’ You had these guys like Phreak and Kobe and Jatt which were in it for years and years. What kinda enterprise do I’ve getting into right here? However I figured, I’m trolling by attempting to speak about video video games for a residing anyway, I would as nicely go for it…

TRH: You may as nicely shoot for the celebs?

CR: Proper, yeah, if you’re already going to house you may as nicely shoot for the most important, brightest star on the market. So, for some time I began casting for an beginner org that was principally like, ‘LCS for the remainder of us,’ groups full of men which can be like plat and diamond. And I feel they common like 70 viewers on a weekend, so it’s fairly small time.

However there was one clip from that, like their preseason, the place there was one crew that was all Masters tier guys, destined to win all the pieces, so a lot better than everybody else. However there was one other crew that was a pair Diamond one guys and a few Diamond 5 guys and so they beat em. And I had a Baron name the place the lesser crew had a 3v5 and beat em and I misplaced it. And that clip went to primary on the subreddit in a single day and that was my large break.

The subsequent day, and I say this with no exaggeration, no phrase play, I noticed a Riot Video games electronic mail in my inbox and I fell out of my chair. I kicked myself again from my desk and fell out of my chair. Trigger I believed, there’s no approach. There’s no approach Riot noticed that and wished to speak, however they did and so they did. And after many interviews and plenty of many months I finally discovered myself right here.

TRH: Have you ever been stunned by the group response too you from that preliminary small video to Worlds?

CR: Yeah, like I stated, after I began right here I believed I no enterprise being right here. I’ve no formal broadcasting coaching. I did radio for a yr in school and theater and improv, however I’ve by no means had broadcaster, shoutcaster, commentator coaching. So, I believed i’d have a pair individuals say, “Yeah that’s okay,” however everybody else could be like, “Get off the stage.”

However the reception to the preliminary YouTube video was actually constructive and the truth that Riot got here to speak to me was an enormous thumbs up, however by the point I bought the LCS, I had no concept what to anticipate from the higher reception. Trigger you realize, when somebody new exhibits up on the scene, it’s arduous for individuals. They only suppose, “Why is that this man right here, the place’s the man we all know?” So, I didn’t know what to anticipate. However the first day was unimaginable.

TRH: Do you suppose it makes a distinction that there aren’t many casters in North America that got here from a League of Legends background, or that units you aside in anyway?

CR: I feel that’s form of simply indicative of the state of the sport on the time that we got here in. I feel Quickshot used to play aggressive Name of Obligation or one thing, and Phreak used to play semi-pro Warcraft three, Kobe and Jatt had been each execs early on in League. However League wasn’t large again then. I keep in mind studying that their purpose was 10,000 concurrent gamers. So, it was sufficiently small that folks weren’t prone to come from there. However these guys have been round for the reason that starting, it is sensible that they got here from elsewhere.

However for me, who had performed the sport for thus lengthy, we’re in season 7 occurring season eight, it’s been round for a sizzling minute. So, the truth that I really like the sport as a lot as I do made me extra of somebody that they wished to come back into the scene.

TRH: Outdoors of that kinda stuff, I wished to get some ideas on the preseason from you. Have new runes modified the way in which you have a look at issues or put together for casts?

CR: The cool factor about new runes is that it throws this large query mark into all the pieces. Preseason at all times shakes issues up, modifications to the objects or the jungle or no matter, however it is a large change. It is a change to one thing that has been within the sport up up to now. In order that signifies that all the pieces, all of the metas all of the methods all the final consistencies that you just had at the moment, are out the window.

And to me, that’s so enjoyable. So that you get to see individuals do issues which can be like, “I don’t know if that is gonna work however we’re gonna attempt it anyway.” That experimentation part to me, in any sport I play not simply League of Legends, however I feel one of many funnest issues to do is that principle crafting and that experimentation attempting to determine what makes it work, trigger whenever you lastly do discover what works, it feels so sick.

TRH: Have you ever seen something to date that you just had been stunned by and thought, “I by no means would have anticipated this, how am I even going to speak about this?”

CR: There’s been a few attention-grabbing ones. I keep in mind when Aery first got here out I used to be like, wait a minute this factor is extremely robust, what is that this? However the one I used to be most excited for, trigger I’m a Skarner one trick, I solely play Skarner, so I used to be extra excited for the free boots mastery, or rune I ought to say, than I used to be for any of the others. Simply because it synergizes so nicely with the way in which that I play the sport.

So, anytime I see someone else take it, like I used to be watching a stream the opposite day of TFBlade, that tremendous good Akali participant, primary or two on the Challenger ladder, and he took the boots and I used to be like, ‘this man is aware of what’s up!’

TRH: It’s nearly like a secret membership. While you see another person utilizing the runes that solely you want, it’s like, ‘you perceive.’

CR: Yeah, and that’s the idea crafting that I used to be speaking about, you may get forward of the curve. It really feel even higher when everyone begins taking it, and it turns into the norm. Is that gonna occur with boots, I haven no concept, but when it does, you finest imagine I’m gonna pull on these victory glasses and be like, ‘again earlier than it was cool.’

TRH: So, final query, Zoe. What do you consider her, what do you consider casting her, does it make for a kind totally different expertise from the rest within the sport?

CR: Zoe could be very very robust. Clearly individuals have totally different opinions on Zoe, some individuals actually like her some individuals don’t. The bubble, I feel, is exceptionally robust as a CC potential. As a result of, should you miss it, there’s nonetheless crap on the bottom. Yesterday, I used to be so glad we bought to see Bjergsen play it, as a result of I actually like watching him as a participant and he showcased precisely what I wished to see type that champion. So he positioned them in a approach that introduced a alternative. You both have to choose a facet or dodge it, and should you dodge it it’s now a entice in a spot you possibly can’t stroll previous. He arrange the bounces on the Paddle Star very well, which I favored.

TRH: And Fofo, once they took targets was putting bubbles within the attempt brush of both Baron or Dragon.

CR: Yeah, yeah, actually showcasing what that champion can do. It was a champion that I noticed and I believed, this champion goes to be so extremely robust as soon as the professionals determine find out how to use it. Trigger, clearly, you need to transfer the factor and do your pool shooter trick shot and be taught to push the bubble by terrain correctly. However when you do nicely… I feel within the 2018 season, when it begins, you’re going to see numerous Zoe bans and numerous Ornn bans.

TRH: Are these sorts of champions enjoyable so that you can solid? Champions which can be so totally different from all the pieces else within the sport?

CR: Oh yeah. Champions which can be totally different from the sport are enjoyable becasue they convey you new alternatives to be enthusiastic about that you just couldn’t be enthusiastic about earlier than. If Zoe banks a shot off a 75 diploma angle and kills a man in a approach you by no means thought was potential, into fog of conflict, it’s superior. It’s one thing you by no means anticipated.

TRH: And it allows you to get enthusiastic about previous issues in new methods.

CR: Proper, each new factor isn’t just its personal factor, the way it interacts with all the pieces else there, I imply, sky’s the restrict.

[criticalrolo]

so i heard you're a dm-- i'm trying to assemble my party and write a story but i have no clue what i'm doing. do you have any tips???

I’m gonna start this with a disclaimer: I’m a pretty new DM myself, so if that makes you want to take this with a grain of salt, that’s totally fair and I would definitely recommend getting advice from a bunch of people. That being said, here we go:

I think the number one thing to remember when you’re a DM before you even get started preparing ANYTHING is that your job is to make the game as entertaining as possible for your players. That means keeping in mind what their interests are and what they want to be doing in the game. The way I did this, and in my opinion the easiest way, is to have a session zero and talk with your players about what exactly they want to have happen. Are they all about action with little actual plot, or would they want to be interacting with NPCs all the time? Do they like puzzles and riddles, or do they absolutely hate them? My players happen to really like figuring out the puzzles I throw at them, so when I was designing a cave system at one point, I leaned more heavily towards puzzles than just straight up combat. I also asked them before I started planning out the next leg of their journey if they would be interested in exploring their character’s backgrounds or not, and once I got a positive answer I started to incorporate them more. Even when we’re in the middle of a session, I’ll check in with them and make sure they’re all having fun. Even brutal encounters that leave them just a few hit points away from dying or intense moral dilemmas that leave them scrambling should still be FUN on some level, even if that’s a little morbid. To summarize: if the players are having fun, then you’re doing your job right, so check in with them to make sure everything is going well.

Okay, on to the rest of it. Here’s another important thing to remember: no matter how carefully you plan out something ahead of time, your players WILL find some new solution to the situation you didn’t plan on. My first session with my current group, I ended up improvising a story for a solid hour and a half because instead of the party sneakily stealing a map in the dead of night like I’d naively assumed they’d do, they just grabbed it right out of the owner’s hand and demanded information from him, which lead to a lot of key information being revealed WAY ahead of schedule. My point is this: get used to improvising, and don’t get too attached to the story you have prepared. Sometimes your players will come up with something better than what you wrote. Don’t squash down their idea just because you wrote something else ahead of time! Get ready to make stuff up on the fly, and reward creative solutions. Or, if they’re making bad decisions and messing up something you thought wouldn’t be a problem, let the natural consequences of their actions happen in game. NOTHING is set in stone, and the game is more fun that way. You’d be surprised at some of the really awesome stuff you can come up with under pressure. So let your story evolve based on what your players decide to do, and don’t be afraid of improvisation.

What else, what else… okay, another important thing is to avoid a TPK early on, especially if you’re all new, but not to be afraid to rough your players up because the game isn’t any fun if they automatically win everything. Sometimes it can be really tricky to find the balance. Erring on the side of too easy is probably the way to go early on, because if you’re all new and figuring this all out together you’re all going to start out by making some pretty dumb mistakes and having your first ever character die in their first battle isn’t the best introduction to dnd ever. Plus, it’s fun to feel like a badass when you totally destroy something sometimes. On the other hand, if you make an encounter way too hard, there are ways to come back from that as well. Don’t let your players get away unscathed, but maybe your monster “forgets” to recharge their breath weapon, or an NPC ends up rolling 10 points of damage instead of 22. Or, maybe someone finds an old potion of healing inside a chest that you definitely planned on being there ahead of time. Just remember that THEY don’t know exactly what you have in your notes, and adjust accordingly. The Kobold Fight Club is your best friend for encounters, by the way. Sometimes the CR is a bit off, especially for larger groups, but it’s been really useful for me to help scale encounters so far.

As for inspiration for planning the story, I’ve found that pulling from character’s back stories is great. It grounds your players in the setting, and helps them feel like they really are incorporated in the game instead of being random murder hobos. I’ve also gotten inspiration from poking around the dnd subreddit and the tag on tumblr. You probably shouldn’t copy other people’s ideas directly, but there’s nothing wrong with using elements in them as a stepping stone towards your own campaign’s plot. Think about what you find interesting in a story, and TALK TO YOUR PLAYERS about what they would find interesting. Just run little things by them, like, “Hey, how would you all feel about doing a murder mystery arc” or “Would you like to really get into so-and-so’s origin story?” Getting a direction to go in from your players can be fantastic, both for you and for them.

Last point I’m gonna make since this got pretty long (sorry about that lol): DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP! I ask people (who aren’t my players) for help planning the campaign all. the. time. My twelve year old sister knows EVERYTHING I have planned since I’ve used her as a soundboard for different ideas so often. If you scroll through my dnd tag, you can see all the times I’ve asked my followers and other blogs for help planning and running a campaign. There are tons of people on tumblr and Reddit and all over the internet that would be more than happy to help you with any specific questions you have. If you feel stuck - feel free to ask for advice! There’s probably someone else out there who had the same question at one point and would be willing to help you out.

GOOD LUCK YOU CAN DO THIS I BELIEVE IN YOU