ahdok

ahdok OP , 19 days ago

When drawing this, I eyeballed it, but I tried to aim it to leave these tiny portions - because that's more accurate to the CAPTCHA experience.

ahdok OP , 19 days ago

I did do that about 800 comics ago ;)

ahdok OP , 18 days ago

What if the guard answers "I don't know" ?

ahdok OP , 25 days ago

I suppose you should have a bonus Konsi. Just a tiny one though.

https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/f815c579-ff6d-461e-b533-fa0d9d55b359.jpeg

ahdok OP , 25 days ago

https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/eac1d642-7460-4a5e-bdbc-72509648cf04.jpeg

ahdok OP , 24 days ago

It's a very dangerous power to have people underestimate you.

ahdok OP , 23 days ago

That's why her hairpin is a sewing needle :)

ahdok OP , 26 days ago

https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/66cb6b42-3773-46e7-b3e9-4f77b34a4438.jpeg

Extra Konsi for the comments.

ahdok OP , 26 days ago

Never gamble against a Tymoran.

ahdok OP , 26 days ago

https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/b3da592c-5301-4766-968f-2bf8559306dc.jpeg

ahdok OP , 26 days ago

It's her level 20 capstone power.

ahdok OP , 26 days ago

I do have a plan to do another piece of pride art this year, but for now, here's a token

https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/5405173f-2c89-43e0-9e6e-a7ad86a1c4a0.png

ahdok OP , 1 month ago

We basically run a system where we deal texas hold'em, and if you succeed at a relevant skill check, you get handed an extra card to use. It's not quite the same outcome for skill use as it would be, but it's a reasonable method to "skew the odds" in your favour.

ahdok OP , 1 month ago

And somehow my favourite character is still Dusa.

ahdok OP , 1 month ago

https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/05a4b29a-dd9d-45f0-832c-c767fe998244.png

ahdok , 1 month ago

https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/1d301a3a-c463-4911-8ce7-19536337aa81.png

ahdok , 1 month ago

https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/bda62a22-6d39-45f5-aa37-5a97871a2fe7.jpeg

ahdok , 2 months ago

Why hello Mr. Elminster.

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

This one's gonna take a hell of a persuasion check, Raz.

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

That's not enough to overcome Konsi's crippling embarrassment :)

although... Razira does have Heroism prepared.

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

as a DM, I normally give situational advantage to anyone who makes an argument that appeals to the values of the person to be convinced.

ahdok OP , 1 month ago

I don't have a huge following, but the link in the watermark should show you the rest of my comics :)

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

The gambling angle is pretty much a Tower of Luck (the temple of Tymora in Waterdeep) orthodoxy. While gambling is somewhat in Tymora's purview, it's not a common focus of her followers, which tends to be more "fortune/fate/karma/adventure" focused. Most Tymora worship is done at small traveller's shrines, hoping for fortune or safety on a journey.

The tower of Luck in Waterdeep is unusual for Tymoran worship, it's the largest temple to Tymora in Faerun (and the only one that's remotely close is in Suzail) - part of the money for such a large institution comes from placing it in the noble quarter of town (the Sea Ward) and... not dissuading nobles that donate huge sums of money in the hope of it "buying" them fortune and luck in the future.

The other part comes from the temple sponsoring and supervising gambling houses in the city - most official gambling establishments have a resident Tymoran priest who blesses the proceedings, and is there to assure punters that the house is running a fair game, and not stacking the deck. There are non-sanctioned gambling houses in the city, and they often offer better returns on bets, but... they don't come with these assurances... so really if you go there you're making a different kind of gamble.

This relationship between the church and "sanctioned gambling establishments" might explain why, our of the extensive list of guilds in the city, there isn't a guild of gamblers or gambling houses.

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As for Konsi herself, while she recognizes that gambling represents a form of worship to Tymora, she much more subscribes to the "good karma" theory of fortune and fate. Those who do good deeds will be smiled upon by Lady Luck, and their good deeds will be repaid in kind. She doesn't tend to go in for gambling games too much, because they tend to require a bit more calculation and mathematics than she's comfortable with, and thus her knowledge of these games is a little sub-par for the wishes of the church.

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It's a fun religion, they even have a casino floor in the church itself where you can just hang out and play some chill cards.

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

Side Note: If you read any of the 5e official books, they say the temple of Tymora is in the Castle Ward, not the Sea Ward... Despite the temples of Gond and Sune (which the Temple of Tymora sits between) being in the Sea Ward.

Here's a map.
https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/895cf956-06d6-4bfa-b3ce-fc2190848991.png

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

in 5e, Geas is a level 5 spell that compels someone to either do something, or refrain from doing something - the compulsion is in the form of the threat of massive damage for disobedience.

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

Point of order, the spell on her spell list is called Geas. It's a 5th level cleric spell in 5e DnD

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

This is the study room in their house, although that's not super clear from the art. That's why it has a map table in the middle and some of them are wearing more casual clothes.

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

I think for 5th edition they started with 3.5e and basically ignored everything in 4e other than death saves.

ahdok OP , 2 months ago

Oh, I'm just talking about the lineage of the rules systems, there isn't really a good concept of "changing something from 4th to 5th edition" because 5th edition comes from 3.5. 4th is an offshoot really.

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It does make some sense to ditch "quest" I think - partly because the spell can be "don't do (x)" and that's not really much of a quest, and partly just for simplicity in rules.

ahdok , 3 months ago

Deception specialist with 1 charisma, let's go.

ahdok OP , 3 months ago

I'll make a nice transparancied version and post it :)

ahdok OP , 3 months ago

I think the illusory duplicates made by the magic are designed to "move around in your space" to make it hard to tell which one is actually you - the purpose of the spell is to make you harder to hit, so it's behaviour probably works to let that happen. It'd also be very difficult to get away with it in a social setting because you have to cast the spell first, it makes four duplicates, and they don't last that long...

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Now on the other hand... Trickery Cleric "invoke duplicity" allows you to control the movements of the duplicate (which is incorporeal), so it might be possible to hide it inside you if you were really practiced. Konsi sometimes summons it in her exact position while standing still, then uses her second channel divinity slot to turn invisible and run away.

It'll only give you cover for a moment, but if they're doing some sort of "check every visitor for vampirism" check on the door, it might get you past.

ahdok OP , 3 months ago

I don't I can make a good case for "looking in a mirror" to use the "attack" rules. If it's an attack you'd have to make an attack roll (if you're not making an attack roll, it's not an attack.)

Likely, if there was a d20 roll involved, it'd be a perception check.

ahdok , 3 months ago

Oh no! the last remaining soul who knew the hiding place of a holy avenger... guess it's lost forever.

ahdok , 3 months ago

This is why you polymorph the fastball into something small and fuzzy first.

https://ttrpg.network/pictrs/image/4cf7001a-45bb-4909-9dcf-c1a28df556af.png

ahdok , 3 months ago

It's true. The fastball special is all about positioning, and closing the gap.

ahdok , 3 months ago

I'm not talking about the single outliers at the top, but about the "billionaire class" in general, it's a pretty modern concept. There's a reason I said "Average" and not "Richest"

Yes, if we go back to before 1900 the wealthiest people had more of the pie, but this is largely a product of the bottom of society having, essentially, nothing. 1800s societies were capable of producing enough for (most people) to survive, and there wasn't much excess "wealth" to go around. While the rich collected most of that, the difference is in the scale of "available resources." It's not a comparable system when most of your population are serfs.

I don't find it encouraging to say "oh well, this isn't unique, look it used to be like this 100 years ago!" when 100 years ago the quality of life for regular people was abysmal.

The fact that your graphs show wealth inequality steadily growing is the major concern. We had a more equitable society in the 1970s by a long shot. Our current state isn't inevitable, it's a result of the policies we've implemented. With current trends, do we want our society to return to those dynamics of the1800s? In a world where we've so much automation and wealth in the world that we could care for everyone why do people still have to work 40+ hours a week just to get by?

Funny you should say "we" and "American History" though :) Maybe the American model is the problem here.

ahdok , 3 months ago

There were some fairly major studies in the UK last year, across many companies and multiple industries, where they reduced the 5 day workweek to a 4 day workweek, whilst keeping the compensation of workers the same overall (i.e. salaried workers got the same salary, hourly workers got 25% more per hour)

The majority of companies involved in the study found that their workers were significantly healthier and happier after adjusting to the new schedule... and as a result significantly more "productive". Profits even went up despite the reduced working time. Most of them elected to keep with the new system once the study ended.

Obviously you can't do this with every industry, certain industries need 24/7 coverage or the like... you can't run an ER 4 days out of 7 - but the takeaway is that it'd be better to employ more people for less time and pay them well - you'll get better results than you will with an exhausted and depressed workforce

ahdok , 3 months ago

Your first argument is, again, very American-centric - yes the rate that wealth inequality is growing in the USA is less pronounced than in other places, but it was always pretty bad in the USA. The argument that "trends are similar in almost every developed country" is also a little disingenuous - it's true for the G8. In many European countries, they're actually taxing the wealthy sensibly and putting that money into public services to make everyone's lives better, the wealth gap is much smaller and the quality of life and happiness of regular people is better.

Again "a century ago" or longer doesn't matter because it's pre-industrial revolution. The total amount of "wealth to go around" was much smaller, and we were living under very different systems.

If a king or an emperor owns 50% of the wealth of a nation, and everyone else is equal, then yes, your graph will show "the top 1% have 50% of the wealth" but also your system is specifically designed to give all the money to one person. Arguing "well 100 or 200 years ago this was worse" is moot, because we're comparing different systems... Unless your point is that our current system is also designed to deprive all wealth and comfort to the masses to enrich a select few, and we should be "thankful" that it's less good at it.

We have to compare within the same system, and look for the best we can do. Unless you're specifically arguing that the wealth distribution in the 1970s is unsustainable, then that's an example of when we were capable of doing better, and it's okay to find that as something to aspire and build towards.

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Lobbying your representatives for better worker protections is a joke, especially in America. Many representatives in the USA don't even hold surgeries, you can't talk to them directly. You can write them a letter, which they ignore. Rich corporations pay our representatives massive donations to their campaigns (or in other countries, they pay them via more circuitous routes), and they get the policy that benefits them.

Here's an example - Back at the start of the Trump administration, a bill was written by the house to make it legal for ISPs to sell your private information and browsing history to corporations for their own profits. A number of polling institutions went around and took some credible large-scale polls of public opinion about this. 98% of respondents opposed the bill. The legislation passed congress and is now law. Who's "lobbying" of congress matters? individuals, or Comcast?

There are a very small number of US representatives who refuse to take money from large corporations - and those, in general, seem to hold the interests of the people to heart. Before "lobbying your representatives" can work, there needs to be widespread grassroots movements to elect more of these people. Until that happens, there aren't representatives, there are rulers.

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It's not inflammatory to argue for better systems. It's not a lie that while we've had a massive industrial revolution that increased the productivity of workers, those benefits have not been seen by the workers. We still work just as long, and just as hard, for an ever diminishing amount of the pie. You can say "oh but you have a fancy car" but... just look at the percentage of people who own their own home by generation. The current trends are extremely concerning and need to change.

ahdok OP , 3 months ago

Yeah, she has a few goblinoid features, larger ears, lack of pronounced tusky teeth. She's taller and prettier than most goblins (4ft) because she's free of Maglubiyet's hold, which twists and corrupts his servants.

ahdok , 3 months ago

It shows extreme confidence to draw that many horses... One of the three impossible artist feats.