Jokemeister

I backed the first Bones KS and went in quite heavily on it. I haven't backed any of the others but that is because I have too many unpainted minis and have a moratorium on any further mini purchases until I clear some of my backlog (at my current rate, I should be done in around 3,000 years). Unf, this also means I won't be backing Bones IV.

Believe it or not but this never actually happened with my group. Even in situations where I only gave them 1 plot hook or said we were playing a published adventure, they always said "OK" and then kept on playing. With that said, this is probably simply a result of that group being primarily a murder hobo group who's main motivation in going around killing monsters was to level up and grab "phat" loot. Given their motivations, I think they would have accepted any plot hook that gave them a chance at murdering monsters. Anyway, if I was in a situation where this happened, I would probably do my best to remove the plot hook entirely. At the end of the day, the game is meant to be fun for everyone and if the players hate that hook, there isn't much point in forcing them through it. If the players did hate a particular hook though, it's worth asking them why they hated the plot hook. Hopefully, it's a very specific issue that can be easily fixed eg "I HATE ogres - most overused enemy EVAH" then the simple solution is just to change the enemy type and keep the hook. I think the big concern is that the PCs are looking for a different style of game entirely. In this case, I think it's worthwhile temporarily stopping the campaign so that everyone can go back to session zero and having a chat around the type of game that everyone wants to play.

A lot of this will come down to how it's handled but if the PCs ignore a quest hook, I would absolutely continue developing that plot in the background and have it spring on the players at some point. It would be at a slower pace (ala TheAuldGrump) but it would continue to develop and even come to fruition if the PCs ignore it enough. The thing is though, even if that nefarious plot continues to develop, it shouldn't result in an end game state for the campaign but simply become another plot hook. The evil plot coming to fruition could mean a variety of different things. It could mean the Ogre bandits burn down a town (new plot hook - someone wants to hire them for revenge). Or it could be the same plot hook but with the Ogre bandits fortifying themselves such that it becomes harder to defeat them in future but hey, the PCs will be more powerful as well having leveled up (the easy option as its the same plot hook as before!). Or it could mean that the Ogre bandits fight other groups of heroes who all say to them, with their dying breath, that the bandits will eventually be defeated by the world famous party of PCs - upon which the Ogre bandits decide to be proactive and come after the PCs. Or if the PCs decide to move to another land, I might have the Ogre bandits ultimately conquer that area of the world and then have neighboring kingdoms setup outposts etc along the border to keep them from raiding into other lands. We never got that far but I recall some high level published adventures dealing with "kingdom" level events where the PCs would run their own barony or duchy or something. I can imagine it would be fun to have that and then have to deal with a land of Ogres that are there simply because the PCs didn't deal with them when they were just Ogre bandits. Either way, it all contributes to the sense of a living breathing world that I like to create for campaigns. My point is that a plot hook coming to fruition doesn't have to be a bad thing. It can simply mean that the events the PCs are dealing with are more interlinked with their own personal stories. In the example above where the PCs have their own land, instead of dealing with some random BBEG that I have to make up, they are now dealing with an Ogre that they have possibly met or even fought before. They are dealing with an Ogre who knows them personally and can taunt them during "diplomatic negotiations" around how cowardly the PCs are. In the unlikely scenario where the PCs actually enter into diplomatic negotiations with the Ogres, it might be harder to convince the Ogres of the PCs good faith as the Ogre believes the PCs will run at the first sign of trouble. That, to me, seems much more fun and interesting a campaign than simply having another "monster of the week". With that said, if the PCs ignore a plot hook in favour of fluffing around enchanting magic items etc, I will give them a warning that those evil plots will continue to develop while they are fluffing around and ask them if they are sure about what they want to do. In this situation, my expectation would be that the PCs get the enchantment started and then come back at a later time to pick up the magic item (although I would be okay with the PCs dealing with a different "lesser" threat while they got ready to deal with the bigger threat - ultimately, my point is that I don't want the PCs lounging around town for months doing nothing while they wait for their super awesome sword of awesome to get enchanted). If the PCs ignore this warning, then the plot points tend to end up being a lot worse for the PCs as a punitive measure. Generally, my group knew that if I put on my serious face and flat out asked them "Are you sure you want to do that?" then they knew that there were potentially going to be serious repercussions for the action that they were considering. Also, it would never bother me that I spent a bunch of time designing traps and puzzles which the PCs avoided as they went for a different plot hook. I guarantee you that those traps and puzzles, once designed, will get reused in a different adventure. Also worth mentioning that I generally only put 2-3 plot hooks in front of my PCs. Generally, they get a choice of 2-3 plot hooks or if I didn't prepare properly, they get 1 plot hook and are told OOC that I didn't have time to fully prepare so they have 1 plot hook for a short adventure now while I prepare options for the future. There were also times where I had a published adventure I wanted to run and just told the group what module we were going to be playing. Being completely candid, my group in those days probably preferred playing published adventures as they were a lot more polished than my own feeble attempts at adventure design (I was a LOT younger then and a LOT less experienced with RPGs ). With that said, if I ever DM again (unlikely), I would think about how I could plan for a longer campaign. I've been watching Critical Role and one of the things I loved was when the Chroma Conclave showed up and I realized that the DM had been putting subtle hints to that threat over the course of the campaign. Not enough to realize what was going to happen but enough so that a lot of things which seemed independent at the time were actually related in some manner. It was pretty awe inspiring when I saw that.

Oh boy! Where do I even start on this. I wish I could say otherwise but my willpower when confronted with a "good deal" is abominable when it comes to hobby related stuff. On the plus side, it's been getting better recently although that may be due to a self-imposed moratorium on any further game or mini related purchases until I clear some of my current horde of plastic. Ah yes, dump stats! I'm very familiar with the concept as I have six of them.

At the start of the weekend, I didn't have any non-adulting type plans beyond hoping to get some paint time. I did manage that (hooray!) which is great as painting has been really slow for me lately. For some reason, I haven't felt much in the mood over the last couple of months. I am still painting but its going really slowly. Painting over the weekend felt good though so with a bit of luck, I'll be back to a regular painting schedule soon.

I recall I was a terrible Monty Haul DM when I first started DMing. That campaign was not fun. Ever since, I've been very careful about what magic items get handed out. Arguably too careful but I always see this as a problem which can be easily fixed (unlike when your PCs already have overpowered magic items).

Nope and nope. We did get the day off work so I spent it with my family but beyond that, didn't really do anything special. And yes, my life really is as dull as that would indicate.

RPGs are fantastic at getting children to read different things which is useful in building vocabulary. I recall using the word ethereal to describe a ghost in a story I was writing in school (many, many moons ago!). My teacher was wandering around the classroom and saw that I had used that word correctly. He was so shocked that I knew such a word and his reaction so extreme that I was initially convinced that I had used it incorrectly. I (naturally) immediately clammed up and got super nervous!

The internet ensures that there is always someone in my life who gets it. Group hug! Technically, given you have been "doing" art since you were a child - wouldn't art be your first spouse?

Thanks for the update Siri. I have no advice as I have no experience with any of the options posted but regardless of what you and your family decide - I wish things work out well. <Hugs>

Blimey! I have absolutely no fashion sense whatsoever so I honestly have no idea how to answer this question other than by admitting that whatever the fashion trend is, I'm pretty sure I would be oblivious to it! I don't see why this is such an issue. I mean, we're already wearing cows, sheep etc. Is chicken so far fetched? Also:

Fingers crossed!

There isn't any book that I would recommend without reservation as the reader should always be considered and there is no such thing as a book that fits everyone. So instead of talking about a book that I would recommend, I'll list one of the books that I massively enjoyed during that period of my own life. Kid - The Hobbit Teen - Belgariad Adult - Can't list anything here as I'm young at heart Okay, okay - I'll take that last one seriously. Lord of the Rings. Believe it or not, I didn't read Lord of the Rings until I was an adult. Or more specifically, I didn't finish reading Lord of the Rings until I was an adult. I initially started trying to read Lord of the Rings after finishing The Hobbit. However, I think I was too young at the time to properly appreciate it. As such, I hated it and couldn't even finish the first book. That coloured my perception of Tolkien for many years. It wasn't until I was in University (over 18 so I'm counting that as adult!) that I gave it another try. I'm glad I did because by that time, I was able to more fully appreciate the effort that Tolkien had invested into building the world of Middle Earth. A book about princesses and brides? Hmm. Is this a kissing book?

I was going to try replying in an Austrian accent but realised I had no idea how to do it other than by going - what he said:

I guess the obvious one would be cultists. That way, you could use any of the "normal" races (ie humans, dwarves, elves etc) as henchmen.

This is Dutch Agent Iron from Galaxy Defenders. I've actually had him finished for a while but hadn't completed the base (instead spending my time painting a different mini!). I finally finished the base so here is the completed Agent Iron. Overall, I'm getting better at finding that mix of quality and speed that I'm happy with and as a whole, I'm fairly happy with the paint job (but have to admit that I really need more practice painting black armour).

That's easy - the unicorn would win. Nevermind a gorilla, even a dire ape has lower stats than the unicorn!

Judging from the fact that it isn't openly available in HK, I'm going to guess it's illegal here. The fact that I'm guessing should probably tell you all you need to know about whether I have any interest in it. As to the question, that's easy - jokemixter. <badum tish>

I watch Critical Role on Geek n Sundry (if you have never heard of it, it's basically a group of voice actors playing D&D), and this is how Matt Mercer, the GM, runs skill challenges. I always felt that the skill challenges on Critical Role were very well done and very exciting.

My last move was approx 12 years ago. As to my next? Part of me hopes the answer is Never. I detest moving home. I hate everything about it from looking for a new flat, to throwing away unwanted crap, packing up wanted crap and arranging for it all to be moved to the new place then having to unpack it all and put it away properly. Blech. Even the thought of it makes me slightly sick in the stomach...

I'm in Hong Kong and we have a relatively simple tax system which in itself is great.

I just found it by googling for mandolin kitchen! Have never seen one of those before but it looks super fun and handy! Wonder why we don't have them in HK...

I had to google that but I think I missed a step somewhere... You have a mandolin in the kitchen? https://www.google.com.hk/search?q=mandolin&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSwfa2n5vTAhUDI5QKHcZxCgQQ_AUIBigB&biw=1280&bih=894 When in doubt, treat it as an instrument of torture...

Level 4 and some healing in the party - they'll be fine! Which isn't to say that letting the snakes bite the rats is a bad idea. After all, if the party can think of a good loophole, that should be encouraged. However, even if they let the snakes bite them, the damage doesn't seem like it would be crippling. With that said, if you really are worried about a TPK as a result of the snake bite, you can try to design the next encounter so that the enemies will get reinforcements midway through the battle. That way, if things are going badly, you can introduce less reinforcements than you were initially planning. This shouldn't be too hard to setup. The party is about to enter the temple itself so you can set it up so that they surprise the Yuan-ti in their next encounter who weren't expecting a party of adventurers in their temple. This could easily let you setup a free surprise round for the PCs or have a weaker than normal starting encounter but then have reinforcements come in midway through the battle as they are drawn by the sound of combat. You can foreshadow the reinforcements by having one of the Yuan-ti yell into the darkness during the first round of combat so that the PCs know they are about to have even more company.

Most used would be my tabletop water boiler. That is used on a daily basis to ensure that we have warm drinking water at all times. Least used would be... I don't actually know. There is a ton of stuff in one of the drawers that never gets used. Now that I think about it, I'm not even sure what is in that drawer anymore...