Gromnir

hmmm. act v is what happens in all too many crpgs when the writers, who didn't invest in those unifying annoyances such as theme and symbolism, need deal with chekhov's gun. is a bunch o' companion and rando npc quests and plotlines which need be resolved in act v and is absolute nothing linking them save that the commander is involved. chores. act v is a bunch o' chores. is nothing particular deep or profound going on with wotr, which is ok 'cause many players reflexive click through the dialogues o' longer crpgs regardless, but by the time you get to the last acts o' the owlcat's most recent pathfinder game there is no more big reveals and all the sub-plots, which do need be wrapped up or people would complain for that fail, do little to add to the overall narrative. am not thinking is budget per se. the wotr writing is somewhat limited by the scope o' the pnp adventure, which weren't particular deep... and give credit where is due, owlcat actual tried to add humanity into their narrative by adding the mommy issues for areelu. the thing is, the owlcat writers is most assured not subtle and they weren't trying to break new ground with wotr. would act v have been better if 2x as many resources were devoted to the writing? *shudder* have mentioned previous how the romances and mythics is borderline over-the-top to the point we wonder if is parody... but am increasing convinced there were no parody and is nothing more than a matter o' owlcat craftsmanship is as paint-by-numbers as possible. the writing is not great in wotr, but is quite possible such is conscious choice by owlcat, as difficult as that might be to believe. the developer knows its audience, so we get over-the-top fare and an intentional lack o' anything which could possible confuse. annoy? yeah, but not confuse. is a whole lot happening in wotr but such is a matter o' breadth as 'posed to depth and overall am thinking it works for the intended audience. 'course the lack o' depth and the considerable breadth leads necessarily to the act v situation we see where tens o' hours is spent wrapping up unrelated and largely unsatisfying sub-plots which do nothing to bolster the overall narrative. the writing is not great, but is not gonna keep people from buying the next owlcat release. were nothing divisive 'bout wotr writing save that it were kinda meh and am thinking owlcat is likely ok with that situation. edit: am not making excuses for bad owlcat writing efforts. however, am self-aware enough to recognize from various sources o' wotr feedback that Gromnir is not the target audience owlcat were seeking to satisfy with their writing. good writing is hard, but owlcat knows they don't need be great. would wotr have been better if the gameplay content were sacrificed and altered so as to make for a more compelling narrative? dunno, but am not thinking owlcat takes such risks when they got a formula which works with their audience. HA! Good Fun!

https://pathfinderwrathoftherighteous.wiki.fextralife.com/Bane+of+Spirit is the easily overlooked swarm killing item. costs a free action to convert any party member damage type. can thus instantaneous alter the damage type o' multiple companions (weapon or spell) to force which is not avoided by swarm immunity to physical damage. HA! Good Fun!

what is kinda strange is that the rathergood riff on gay bar is far more tame than the actual official released video, which am also having posted HA! Good Fun!

@majestic rathergood has variations we has posted a few times over the years viking kittens is probable the best known, but... WARNING: sweary etc. am not sure why we chuckle at such stuff, but there it is. HA! Good Fun!

you observe what we see as the crux o' a serious flaw with wotr design. 'cause the game difficulty appears to be tuned down from unfair, boss and sub-boss battles may be prohibitive difficult even on core. the stat bloat on unfair for demon lords, mephistopheles and the various playful darkness incarnations is assuming the player is indeed a master o' mechanics who is able to generate attack bonuses and/or spell dc in the +100 range. the improbable ac and saves for unfair difficulty bosses is not out of reach o' a master o' mechanics. in fact, the boss battles is often easier on unfair than many mob encounters as you may prepare and buff to max for boss encounters which only rare has many foes needing be accounted for at once. mob ambushes with no possibility o' party pre-buffing is the real challenge on unfair. the thing is, on hard and unfair, deskari, baphomet and playful darkness is functional identical to core versions save that ac, ab and saves is having fewer points shaved off their stats. core bosses and sub-bosses got same abilities, immunities and mechanics as unfair iterations. boss scale-down is lazy design and is leading to understandable frustration from the multitude o' players who are not masters o' mechanics... and keep in mind is not even a matter o' being a master o' pathfinder mechanics as owlcat has unique implementations which means you need be a master o' wotr mechanics specific. btw, you likely haven't actual started nenio's quest if you do not have all four masks. most o' the world map puzzle locations is specific related to a non-party npc, although the puzzle mechanics and boss is functional the same as for nenio, which in our mind is unnecessarily repetitive. enigma, once you acquire all four masks, is kinda wotr at it's worst as it forces you to deal with a whole lotta backtracking and filler combat while solving puzzles which feels all too familiar if you already did the world map puzzles only to confront a boss you already kinda-sorta faced. if you aren't doing the secret ending, then am recommending skipping the area unlocked once you have all four masks. we got completion ocd, so we had to finish enigma at least once, but enigma is kinda punishing and uninspired. HA! Good Fun!

poor seasoned, poor aged, poor quality meat and poor cooking is all far too common for something which should be relative ez. if the local family restaurant or your uncle phil's backyard grill is your only experience with steak, then am thinking is understandable why chicken or salmon is gonna be preferred. am knowing is sounding snobby, but you literal cannot buy the best grade o' beef in local grocery stores here in the US and how many o' us is gonna dry age for a month or more? a perfect porterhouse is a thing o' beauty but almost impossible to find as is functional two different cuts in one steak and the strip v. tenderloin is gonna cook at different rates. better than 90% o' the time we order ribeye. our last meal menu might fluctuate a bit, but chances are a constant top-three selection is gonna be an end cut prime rib from someplace we know does right. same cut as ribeye. HA! Good Fun!

a couple from robbie robertson and HA! Good Fun!

same thought. miller's crossing, raising arizona, and no country for old men is likely our three favorite from the coens. am thinking hudsuscker is underrated. lewbowski is a sh!te film. disagreeing with cassidy insofar as ladykillers, but he is spot on with his lewbowski take. also we thought hail caeser! were the kinda self-indulgent hollywood-movie-'bout-hollywood which fails for us 90% o' the time. HA! Good Fun!

that is the saddest thing we has seen or heard today. HA! Good Fun!

have never been bitten by a crawfish. have been pinched more than a few times. do crawfish have teeth? some kinda mandible? and shark... am not too proud to admit am terrified o' sharks. more than once when surfing we felt something large graze against our leg in the water and we likely pee'd our self a small bit in those moments. see a flash o' silver in the water and it might be a school o' fish, or... am personal finding shark delicious (at least every variety we has tried thus far) and is perhaps more enjoyment in knowing that in spite o' the terror they inspire on us, we have eaten far more o' them than they has dined on us. shark is decided less scary on a dinner plate with a lemon wedge. monkfish is 'bout 2/3 head; only the tail and cheeks is usable. the fish is delicious and easy to clean as is only one "bone." all the skin, skull and spine does make for fantastic fish stock, but making fish stock will make your house stink and is maybe not worth the effort unless you got a fancy outdoor grill and a stockpot you don't mind making a dedicated grill vessel. regardless, monkfish is ez in our top five seafood choices. admitted, have never bothered to check its sustainability. HA! Good Fun!

fixed. admitted as a northerner we typical says crayfish, but for culinary purposes, crawfish makes the most sense given the creole and cajun influence on most recipes including the crustacean. crawfish gumbo. yum. aside: we don't much like okra so we lean heavily on roux and file powder. edit: the sacramento crawfish and catfish food and music festival is happening in february, which is odd 'cause it were in september last year. didn't go last year 'cause we had been to farm to fork early september and then some rl stuff happened. am not having a great creole repertoire, so am hoping to pick up a few ideas from festival attendance. HA! Good Fun!

pre 20th century, lobster were used to feed prisoners, slaves and indentured servants. as often as not, lobster were used as fertilizer as 'posed to food. were common for new englanders who worked under contract to have their deals stipulate that they would be fed shellfish no more than 2x a week. times change. tastes change. HA! Good Fun!

tired of shrimp? am s'posing such a thing is possible. admitted, am preferring monk fish in most recipes which call for shrimp, but such don't mean am disliking shrimp. our current ez goto recipe is chicken "curry" served over basmati rice and incorporating whatever veggies we got on hand. is maybe not traditional or authentic curry but our house smells like an indian restaurant during and after cooking, so am calling it curry. sear chicken thighs in olive oil in a dutch oven 'cause we have olive oil. remove thighs and then add a simple veg base o' food processor'd onion, fresh ginger and garlic to the hot pot and scrape up the chicken fond. am using all pre ground spices (sue us) a bit o' tomato puree and coconut milk or heavy cream which is added to the pot in that order. we let the spices bloom even if they is pre ground. am returning our now diced chicken and chicken liquid to the pot plus whatever veggies we gut and then cook on medium and covered for 4ish minutes... or however long the veggies and chicken require. we plate up the curry over rice and top with cilantro and a squeeze o' lime juice. am adding salt in smaller amounts at multiple steps which decreases the likelihood we oversalt. total time for prep and cook is 'bout twenty minutes. 'tween caring for the unwell dog, plus our sprained knee and the busted rib we acquired a couple weeks past, twenty minutes is kinda pushing the envelope on the time am willing to devote to cooking. HA! Good Fun!

*chuckle* is no shame in being wrong, though admitted being wrong is often unnecessary. as we keep pointing out, and zor keeps missing, the question o' the possibility o' russian success were not decided for some considerable time after the invasion and we even had boardies predicting russian victory in less than a week. were a whole lotta unknowns and many folks got wrong. so what? our criticism were o' gaslighting and not the bad guesses. however, much as the linked author michael kofman, am thinking it is foolish to make predictions or blanket judgements based on a paucity o' info. why not wait? is fine to state or share facts as known but is better to refrain from embracing judgments or opinions you may need relinquish when new info appears. recall the jussie smollet situation? more than a few pundits and celebs rushed to mr. smollet's defense. as more info became available, defending jussie looked less admirable, but more than a few folks had become emotional invested and refused to give ground even when facts showed the reality o' the situation were much different than described. make ignornace based assessments o' uvalde standoff or police shootings in wisconsin or comparing early russian ukraine advances to desert storm gains is having a high possibility o' the need for reevaluation once better info is available. whatever. the thing is, once some clowns plant their flag on a hill they is unwilling to budge and they will fight to the death pretending their hill were actual representing a win. that said, and am getting fatigued repeating, it is the gaslighting, deflection and whataboutism some resort to defend their mistakes which turns this thread into a mess. we observed how we were purposeful not indulging in individual finger pointing as it would lead to the kinda predictable stoopid which plagues this thread. and so it goes. watch as some twist self in knots describing how whataboutism isn't what definitions says it is or explaining away their mistaken assessments o' russia's pre invasion threat. is no prize or win for adding your opinions to the interweb. is nothing noble 'bout having the courage to be anonymous and wrong on an internet message board. HA! Good Fun!

am unsure either. is a whole lotta guesses 'bout russian goals and strategy based on captured plans and hastily removed propaganda pieces. the invasion involved a massive and multipronged attack which also caught russian forces off guard as secrecy were maintained up to highest levels no doubt contributing to the charlie fox scenario. so many things could go wrong and did go wrong for the russians, which does make one wonder 'bout why the invasion were attempted. however am repeating 'cause is easily forgotten, russian success were hardly viewed universal as improbable in february and for some time afterwards. the invasion on its face was a not the kinda russian brigandry as described by kofman. even so and regardless o' fact the russians committed nowhere near enough troops to hold all or even a large portion o' ukraine, there were hardly any kinda consensus that russian efforts at regime change were doomed from the get-go. we tend to agree with you that once russian initial efforts failed to meet expectations, there were a return-to-form if you will, which is in part what inspired us to post the link to the article. the form russians returned to is the brigandry described by kofman and am thinking such helps to somewhat explain the difference 'tween the discipline and restraint we expect o' successful western armies compared to russian norms. "brigandry" and "raiding" is viewed negative... in the west. chevaunchee has a long and storied tradition which has only recent, relative speaking, fallen into disfavor. HA! Good Fun!

@xzar_monty hope you see what am talking 'bout. we make a post in which we push back a bit on a @Gorthobservation by noting russians do military different and use tactics circa the 17th century and earlier to achieve goals westerners have difficulty understanding. "they don't fight as a cohesive force, they don't support each other and if something can be raped, pillaged or plundered for personal benefit, it takes priority." is not wrong, but we observed how the situation is more complex than it might first appear on the surface, and in spite o' the perceived shortcomings o' planning and implementation o' the russian campaign in ukraine, "strategic goals were not outta reach until considerable time had elapsed, at which point morale o' troops predictable dropped and discipline eroded. should recall when this all started there were more than a few board pundits predicting ukraine wouldn't last a week, which is likely what russia was hoping to see." were an observation that the russians perceived barbarism is maybe a bit more complicated o' an issue to tackle and we offered an article by michael kofman as reading material which is presenting the much different approach to modern war being embraced in moscow as 'posed to berlin, london, washington d.c. or virtual anywhere in the west. again, in spite o' lack o' discipline and failure to achieve any kinda combined arms operations success, russians still looked to have a chance o' achieving goals and a few boardies even were predicting a quick russian victory. need only look at posts from january 24 if you wish. one day. regardless, maybe russians is doing war wrong, but perceived shortcomings is also 'cause they is doing war fundamental different. ... 'course very quickly we get complete off topic with zor doing the zor thing where he conjures up responses to arguments not made and defending foibles with deflection and... all o' which makes our initial observation 'bout why we didn't wanna indulge look positive prophetic, no? HA! Good Fun!

so you are relying on the strawman bit... again? those as yet unseen posts quoting milley that Gromnir didn't actual criticize anyways? serious? what else is you gonna punch the stuffing outta and the attribute to Gromnir as the source o' your indignation. is particular amusing 'cause in 2014 we did specific quote a harvard economist as 'posed to making the prediction our own, so hypocrisy much? and you do realize you are the guy who once again is trying to change the subject mater in an effort to deflect. serious, you cannot be bothered to review a couple days in february? this tack hasn't worked out well for you in the past. actually, as we has stated so many times, when an issue is uncertain, and there is conflicting reporting, the smart move is to wait. common sense and reasonableness is not somehow confused with lacking courage. nobody (well, almost nobody) is gonna criticize if you post quotes from local police if there is a shooting incident or if you post links to reuters or wapo which quote milley regarding ukraine resistance. those is examples o' facts. milley and the police could be wrong, but the reporting o' what were said is likely factual. nevertheless, zor continues to rush headlong into the breech with his reddit conspiracy theories and misinformation. never learns. and yeah, we brought up a generalized and nonspecific observation 'bout gaslighting and reimaging posts... and you instant saw self as the target. *chuckle* you even invented possible subject matter for our nonspecific observation? pathological. the thing is, as noted, the generalization did apply even if we weren't specific referencing zor. sure enough you were being dismissive o' the reports o' intelligence suggesting an imminent russian invasion. edit: btw, anybody who thinks there is something courageous 'bout anonymous posting internet opinions is either unwell, way too invested in their internet life, or just plain stoopid. HA! Good Fun!

somehow this part got missed. were a whole lotta fog o' war in january and february, so being wrong were hardly a shock and being right were more a matter o' making a lucky guess. being dismissive o' the potential threat? now that were a silly level o' stoopid. regardless, were some doozies in the ukraine thread and reviewing february 23+ is worth chuckles as people with a clear absence o' meaningful info were making all kinda observations and predictions. HA! Good Fun!

actually, exact what we were talking 'bout, but as usual, your reading comprehension, sucks. so yeah, we were including the laughable dismissals o' the very real as it turns out threat posed by russians before the invasion. we did not mention you in the bit 'bout predicting less than a week capitulations, so narcissism much on that, eh? but yeah, lots o' people got stuff wrong, which is why we said in the politics thread before this one splintered that it were silly and misguided to pontificate given the fog o' war. is more than a few examples o' boardie fails 'bout ukraine, and most such stuff is info many people got wrong. btw, takes all o' ten minutes to search february 24 to sees multiple people on this board predicting a quick resolution to the conflict, but zor is satisfied with low effort and a misrepresentation in addition to the aforementioned reading fail again proving our point to @xzar_montythat getting into it with the gas lighters and deflectors just ain't worth it. keep proving us correct. never gets old. HA! Good Fun!

were the ogl responsible for massive wotc growth? have seen it argued the ogl did little to add revenue to wotc/hasbro and its main value were that it was seen as a way to make dnd less palatable to a larger and adversarial publisher who might acquire and then kill, but am honest doing little more than posting stuff we recall posted by ex-wotc bloggers. we got no hard data and am admitting it were never something we followed close. HA! Good Fun!

@xzar_monty see what we mean? guy indulges in blatant strawman and somehow sees as a valid critique. the post we didn't make attacking a poster for quoting milley? rich. *shrug* that said, zor does have a few chuckle-worthy posts from mid february 22 which is dismissive o' the threat o' an imminent russian invasion. not hard to find those links either, eh? 'course he has shown difficulty managing search functions in the past. *eye roll* thanks to zor for once again proving a point for us. HA! Good Fun!

the degree o' gaslighting which took place in this thread is one reason we avoid. posts from immediate before and after the invasion is all too often reimagined or ignored and the lack o' self-awareness by a few is genuine stunning even to a guy who has been posting on these boards for decades. not gonna indulge at this time. HA! Good Fun!

irrevocable is a term o' art 'bout which which multiple courts has written opinions. given the lack o' meaningful consideration, am not seeing a way around this. if some guy from queens is making knock-off dallas cowboys hats and t-shirts in his garage, would be tough to suggest the nfl and dallas cowboys is benefitting 'cause their brand is seeing wider exposure, which were the terribad argument we has seen offered in the past for how the ogl benefits wotc and hasbro and fulfills the consideration aspects o' K (contracts) law. is not specific our area o' expertise, and am not offering our observations as legal advice for those considering legal action 'ganst wotc and hasbro, but recognizing is not something we has considered for years, our initial gut reaction, which is worth absolute Zero, were only surprise it has taken so long for some nogoodnik suit to pull the plug on the fun. HA! Good Fun!

have read nothing save having seen a few headlines saying hasbro/wotc is pulling a darth vader and changing the deal am recalling years past when asked similar we observed/warned that the ogl didn't specify it were "irrevocable," which meant it was in all likelihood revocable at will. as such, the current meltdown has us conflicted as we feel a smidge smug 'bout being proven correct while also experiencing disgust that hasbro/wotc went and did it. and yeah, am a big proponent o' rule zero. we would prefer play than gm, but when we gm am invariably adding a bunch o' house rules and am making clear if we feel is necessary we will change rules on-the-fly. am also open to players suggesting changes if Gromnir homebrew prove unworkable, but rulez lawyering is kinda verboten with us... is exceptions when am thinking the results is clever and amusing w/o breaking the game. HA! Good Fun!

am gonna suggest is a bit more complicated. russia's kleptocracy inevitable results in practical troop strength being overestimated as divisions is rare anywhere near full strength from a western pov. also, putin put his undertrained and poorly equipped army in a less than ideal situation from the get go. nevertheless, in spite o' the monumental charlie fox which were the russian invasion o' ukraine, strategic goals were not outta reach until considerable time had elapsed, at which point morale o' troops predictable dropped and discipline eroded. should recall when this all started there were more than a few board pundits predicting ukraine wouldn't last a week, which is likely what russia was hoping to see. RAIDING AND INTERNATIONAL BRIGANDRY: RUSSIA’S STRATEGY FOR GREAT POWER COMPETITION Raiding is an effective riposte to a strong but distracted opponent, and becomes popular when the technologies of the time create a rift between the political objectives sought and the means available to attain them. This makes traditional forms of warfare too costly, too risky, or unsuitable to the goals desired. Raiding proved prevalent before the modern nation-state system was formed in 1648 and subsequently exported by Europeans to the rest of the world. is an article from 2018. sure, the combined arms operations for russia has been laughable, and is no excuse for such failures, but the russians is capable o' professionalism and discipline on the battlefield as long as one recognizes that one is speaking o' professional raiders and brigands. gorth has western expectations for how soldiers is 'posed to behave on the battlefield and for good reason as there is a whole lotta historical success attributed to well trained and disciplined western armies. the russian military is not embracing the same western traditions. in any event, is an interesting article especial given it were written before the ukraine invasion. HA! Good Fun!