aabicus – Page 3 – The Daily SPUF

Why You Should Try D&D 1st Edition

April 5, 2023July 2, 2023 aabicus 0 Comments 1st edition, 1st edition D&D, cleric, d&d, Dungeons & Dragons, dungeons and dragons, gary mack, OD&D, roleplay, roleplaying

Dungeons & Dragons has come a long way from its early days. When OD&D first came out in 1974, it quickly caught fire and spread throughout the wargaming community. Almost five decades later, it’s still recognizably the game we love, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t also massively evolved. My only goal with this article is to encourage you to seize any opportunity to experience the singular wildness of old-school D&D. How? No idea, that’s probably the hardest part. I’ve only ever had one opportunity, and it was in 2011, while I was a professional Traveller GM for Strategicon. One… [Continue Reading]

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[Planetside 2] Searching For Saviors

February 21, 2023March 7, 2023 aabicus 0 Comments battle medic, grind, grinding, planetside 2, savior kills

Today, February 21st, is an important milestone in my Planetside 2 career. Exactly 10 years ago, I first donned my spandex and took my earliest steps onto Auraxis’ battle-scarred continents. I can’t remember much about those beginning days beyond what I chronicled in older articles. But without even knowing it, I’d unwittingly started what would eventually prove to be the longest and slowest grind I have ever attempted in a video game. Your Mission, Soldier In 2014, Daybreak Games added the Directives system into their MMOFPS to provide some rewards for mastering the various facets of combat. Now you could… [Continue Reading]

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Control (2019) Review

February 12, 2023March 14, 2024 aabicus 0 Comments Alan Wake, control, criticism, music, review, shooter

When I bought Control back in 2019, I told myself I wouldn’t release a review until I’d completed the game. This wasn’t an unusual stance for me, as why would I review a game I hadn’t finished? However, 3½ years later and after countless attempts to revive my playthrough after taking multi-month breaks, I’m giving up. According to the Wiki I’m on story mission 7 of 10, and that’s where I’m calling it. Sorry. I want to add a large caveat that my complaints with this game are extremely subjective. Most of my friends enjoyed it, and you’ll probably like… [Continue Reading]

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Call of Cthulhu: My 5 Favorite Under-Used Skills

November 22, 2022January 15, 2024 aabicus 0 Comments 6, 7, advice, Call of Cthulhu, list, roleplay, roleplaying, skill

By far the toughest part of Call of Cthulhu is how few skillpoints it gives you. When every skill uses a percentile and you only get a couple-hundred points to allocate, it’s really difficult to excel at more than a few checks. This naturally leads to the most obviously-useful skills (Spot Hidden, Library Use, Firearms, Stealth) seeing massive use across the playerbase. But today I wanted to talk about some rarer skills that I’ve nonetheless found worth investing in. Many times they can save you skillpoints in other areas, or unlock niche-but-effective playstyles. You certainly can’t pick them all, but at… [Continue Reading]

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Pokemon: Much Ado About Breloom

November 11, 2022May 31, 2023 aabicus 0 Comments breloom, Filler, mushroom, pokemon, shroomish

I’ve written articles about my two favorite Pokémon already, but we humans just can’t resist making Top 3s of everything, can we? While Rotom is still my favorite battle Pokémon, Breloom is usually far easier to find in the games it appears. Its pre-evolution Shroomish is a common sight in early-game grassy routes, with its adorable stubby legs and grumpy face. I can’t look at its unamused little frown without smiling. Breloom (along with Shroomish) is clearly a fungus Pokémon, but I like how much more interesting its design gets than just that. Sure its mushroom hat is awesome, but… [Continue Reading]

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Planetside 2 Breaks Its Own World Record

November 7, 2022November 6, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments event, history, planetside 2, recap, record, shooter, world record

Last week Planetside 2 made a bold announcement. On November 5th, they invited everyone to connect to the Public Test Server and break their own record for “Most Players in a Single FPS Battle.” The current record, 1158, was already held by them and achieved in 2015. For anyone who missed that milestone, this was an exciting opportunity to play a part in Planetside 2 history. Now, despite playing Planetside 2 since 2013, I’d skipped the previous world record attempt and knew I didn’t want to miss this one. So I preloaded the test client and generated a PTS character in advance.… [Continue Reading]

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CTF_Crasher, the Most Interesting New TF2 Map in Years

October 22, 2022October 22, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments Classes, ctf, guide, halloween, loadout, loadouts, scream fortress, Team Fortress 2

I’ve found myself occasionally leaping back into TF2 these days. I’m not sure why, maybe I just miss the mixture of arena shooter mechanics and incredible character design/writing. But anyway, with Scream Fortress 2022 in full swing, I’ve had a chance to play all the new maps, and I really really like ctf_crasher. Overview For those who haven’t tried it, ctf_crasher is the first ‘new’ game mode we’ve received in years. While nominally Capture the Flag, it’s actually ‘reverse CTF’ in that both teams are trying to deliver their bomb to the enemy camp. And whichever character carries their team’s… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: A Guide to Playing Level 0 Characters

October 14, 2022April 23, 2024 aabicus 0 Comments analysis, breakdown, Dungeons & Dragons, dungeons and dragons, guide, level 0, roleplaying, rules

Did you know D&D 5e actually has an official method for generating 0th-level characters? The Adventurer’s League module “What’s Past is Prologue” stars classless characters, and you can view the rules for generating your own in the free preview. I was pretty excited to learn this, as the ‘level 0 session’ is a popular unofficial method for playing underpowered ‘commoner runs.’ Today I wanted to talk about this niche ruleset, its pros and cons, and whether you should use it. Should you use Level 0 characters? My first caveat is that you should not run level 0 characters for beginning… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: How to Build an Effective Naked Character

October 12, 2022February 13, 2025 aabicus 0 Comments armour, builds, d&d, D&D unarmored builds, Dungeons & Dragons, dungeons and dragons, guide, nudity, roleplay, unarmored

Okay, you don’t literally have to be naked, but this article is about unarmored builds and how to craft one that doesn’t sacrifice effectiveness or survivability. I always find myself gravitating to unarmored characters because it fits my personal fantasy of a heroic protagonist. From shirtless barbarians to suit-wearing badasses to unlucky everyman survivors… Fiction is filled with characters who take on the world without a shred of protection beyond their skills and smarts. But unfortunately, D&D’s primary form of AC is equipping armor (heck, the acronym literally means ‘Armor Class.’) Which means you need to keep some things in mind… [Continue Reading]

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D&D 5e: Why You Should Play a Dex Paladin

September 21, 2022September 29, 2022 aabicus 0 Comments Classes, d&d, Dungeons & Dragons, Paladin, paladins, roleplaying

Paladin is an incredible class, possibly the most reliable all-rounder in D&D. Between their tankiness, damage output, healing output, magic steed, and sky-high Charisma, they’re an incredible choice for new and old players. When I GMed a solo adventure to introduce the system to my boyfriend, I knew Paladin was the best class to let him experience everything D&D has to offer. But there’s one Paladin playstyle I don’t hear talked about often, and that’s the Dex Paladin. Normally, Paladins are the iconic Strength class, thanks to their heavy armor and predilection for melee combat. But I happen to believe… [Continue Reading]