vivi-the-goblin

[vivi-the-goblin]

I have rarely had an experience as bone-chilling as youtube asking me if I thought the subscriptions tab was helpful for finding videos of people I'm subbed to. Don't you goddamn DARE touch the sub feed.

Like maybe this is just me being terrified, but between changing thier curation to the default page and making you hit the sub bells, I feel like they've slowly been trying to remove the sub feature for a long time. Most people still use it, like 63% go there first in my last poll on the matter. But they worded it and scaled it in a way that I KNOW people will hit "no." Because sub boxes just don't always show you all your videos, and realistically people just skim over thumbnails and think they didn't appear when they did. so they're going to hit "No." Youtube could take that data as proof that people don't want the sub feed, and thier history makes me think they might. They've also just openly been working on algorithm and trying to compete with tiktok.

I just...I have 400 people I'm subbed to. Most only post once a month, or once every few months. Some are ones who've been gone for years but I'm holding on in case they come back (it happens more often that you think). I CANT go through all those every day. Realistically, most people won't go through 40 every day!

It's already so hard to maintain a following when you can't upload weekly. I've got a job and I do longer form stuff, I fucking CANT. most DnD tubers who do weekly are part of a team to handle editing and such, and the ones who don't post unresearched or short-form vids. I struggle to get a video out every 3-4 weeks, and I only take like 3 days off a MONTH. Without sub feeds, my own subscribers would barely be able to find my things. The algorithm kills your reach after a week, hell it starts killing it after 3 days without uploads. Like I don't care about my sub numbers, but I want the people who like me to be able to find me. and to find the people I like! You know, whats always been the primary function of a video site...

#vivi rambles

[vivi-the-goblin]

Remember those PF1e Gremlins that got left behind? I converted them, and then made them all D&D 5e too! Stats below video :3

It's been like I HAD gremlins while working on this episode and these monsters for it. But 4 weeks for 20+ statblocks and a 20 minute video's not bad when your people keep having to crawling in your walls and ceiling.

Please be gentle on the PF2e ones, it's only my second shot making them. I learned a lot in the process though! First the 5e ones

And now the PF2e ones

I hope you enjoy! :D

Oh, and pdf link for 5e. I still need to figure out a good way to host and share statblocks for PF2e. Monster.pf2.tools is great for building, but that's all I got for sharing, you know?

https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/ddl0ytAcet-A

#dnd 5e #vivi rambles #pathfinder #pathfinder 2e #dnd 5e homebrew #5e d&d #d&d

[vivi-the-goblin]

That moment in the edit where I remember I have to cut down 20 minutes of unscripted slander about the Gangrif gremlin. For having 2 jaws and no bite. For looking like a goblin got decapitated and the head just scurried off. "It's like Kirby ate Jastor Gallywix, look at this Twonky lookin ass." Idk why, I like these things. But like. Look at them!

#vivi rambles

[vivi-the-goblin]

Different sizes!

MORE SIZESE! MORE AND MBORE!

It is finished.

...because I must sleep. war will continue when I awake I suppose XD

#vivi rambles

[vivi-the-goblin]

It is finished.

...because I must sleep. war will continue when I awake I suppose XD

#vivi rambles

[vivi-the-goblin]

Ok, I've got...17 statblocks for 5e and 7 for Pf2e on the way. Decided I'd do an episode on gremlins!...except those aren't in D&D at all, and PF1e left some behind in the edition change. and 1 or 2 turned into...all...oh boy.

So in like 2 weeks look forward to that I guess XD

#vivi rambles

[vivi-the-goblin]

Paizo is changing all golem names! They are going to be remaking all of them in a new way, making more, but they'll be different and specifically not GOLEMS anymore. Because actual golems are a very specific thing from jewish folklore, not just the generic name for ancient magic robots. Frankly most "golems" in media (including d&d/pathfinder) don't really have that much to do with actual golems. So...win yet again for Paizo. especially since they seem to be taking this mass rework to shunt things closer to their original mythology instead of the pop-culture everyone expects. You scream about something to WotC and on the rare chance it's acknowledged the "fix" (which doesn't address most things and removes random unrelated stuff) will be behind an even bigger paywall. But Pazio seems to be just taking the rework as an opportunity to fix things that few were even asking for. At least nobody my cursory search could find.

#pathfinder #vivi rambles

[vivi-the-goblin]

Slowly but surely we creep toward the finish line. Just 3 left! I honestly really like ranger, and I'm glad they've gotten more love and power over the years. Especially the Beastmaster. The first class I ever actually got to play was a PF1e druid back when it was new, and my favorite part was the Animal Companion. A boar, and by some luck it almost never missed. meanwhile the halfling riding it took like 3 hours to roll a double digit number. Love a good animal rider. Anyway, 5e Rangers have had an amazing glow up!

#Youtube

[vivi-the-goblin]

Just thinking about the poetic nature of the Gith

Originally, there was just one species that broke free of the mindflayers and turned to bloody rebellion. In the aftermath the Githyanki (those who follow Gith) formed a new militaristic culture based on their inherant superiority, while the Githzerai rebelled against becoming like thier old masters and left (those who spurn Gith). The Githyanki live in the Astral Sea, a place where nothing ages or changes unless change is forced upon it. The world is vibrant, sure, and it IS constantly changing, but only through force and intrusion.

The Githzerai live in Limbo, a land of infinite chaos where even the fabric of reality might turn from air to bread to napalm in a second. It is only through massive willpower and active dedication that you can craft anything, and that needs to be actively and constantly maintained.

The Githyanki have not changed. They became their old masters. They have slaves of their own. They're coping with the scars of their enslavement by making sure THEY'RE the ones on top this time. Though they still identify themselves around wiping out their old masters, the system never fell. tyranny just gained a new face and explanation. The same face, the leader has been the same bloodline even since those times beyond measure, with the current one being an undead immortal ruling for thousands of years, unaging even when in places that do change. Githyanki are forced to occasionally explore to have kids and let them grow to adulthood. But they leave the encampment only to plunder resources, keeping the kids as secluded as possible and dragging them back ASAP to double down on indoctrination. Nobody moves on, and the youth who attempt to are met with force.

The Githzerai have changed so much they're no longer the same species, even if they are still externally recognizable. They left for a land where everything changes. However, through introspection and dedication to ensuring personal freedom, they thrive. Specifically, it's from their leaders giving up that freedom to eternally power their chunk of safety in the storm. Literally sitting in a sarcophagus for eternity, the death of self. You'd think would be horrible, given the whole point was escape from eternal labor and gaining freedom! But the difference is that it's willing, it's their choice, one they were free to make or decline. They chose to make a home others could grow up in safely, a place that would still remain for them even if they left for a time. These elders are also don't age...but they're the ones who came to terms with their trauma, fought, and decided to move beyond. They even lost the initial war, but persisted and kept working to break the system. And they do so by supporting those that come next, trusting they'll keep fighting to stop this cycle of oppression.

The Githyanki are conquering the stars but haven't really moved an inch. The Githzerai are living in an ever-moving and actively hostile world, but came to terms with themselves and their past and moved ever forward.. Beautiful.

...

I'm also thinking about how the Githzerai names a city Susanowo. Like the brother of Amaterasu. Like, in-universe named that after actual スサノヲfrom actual Japan. Because Earth exists, and the various gods USED to exist there. An old empire kept kidnaping people from Earth, and the gods followed their believers but got stuck. I keep running into bits of lore that tie into that and it hits me like a truck every time.

#d&d #dnd #githyanki #githzerai

[vivi-the-goblin]

you know I hate reblogging non-ttrpg stuff to this blog, but this one's important.

Reminder for artists and writers to OPT-OUT of Tumblr giving your posts to companies to train AI programs

Each of your side-blogs has to enable the "Prevent sharing" setting. It's not account-wide

#vivi rambles

[vivi-the-goblin]

New video on the basics of mixing environments and encounters. Ngl, this is the prototype, a testing ground for a new series. The back/forth will be a lot more seamless in future version, I've figured something out, as well as a lot of fun new techniques from working on this! When I next bring this format back, it'll be the return of my My old monster lore/abitilites/design/homebrew vidoes, mashed with my encounter making videos. This time is more of a testbed of format. and honestly? most fun I've had making a video in a while. I forgot how much I LOVE all the little editing stuff, moving characters around!

#youtube #pathfinder #pathfinder 2e #dnd

[vivi-the-goblin]

Ok, I went a little...indulgent on all the gags and character bits this time, but it's all to serve a purpose of learning the program for my NEW series! It'll be less research heavy, more encounter design heavy, and I know I'll need editing to make it visually interesting. That said, went to the newest version of Davinci resolve and it was FIGHTING me. It kept changing the sizes of text without actually changing the value, or swapping blur types, or changing the timings on my slides! Idk what the hell is up with that, eventually decided this was as good as I was getting and launched.

Honestly not much commentary to give this time. I fucking love rogues despite never really playing them. And 5e mostly got them right, just banger after banger with these. Only one I'm iffy on is Mastermind. The direction just feels...confused? like I'd expect "mastermind" to have intelligence based abilities. It's all just social based, and also...kinda just bad? Like its only use is...maybe watch a monster for 2 minutes so you can MAYBE tell your caster thier lowest stat? And getting to fool zone of truth is not a LEVEL 17 ABILITY. You could make that level 9 and nobody would bat an eye. Don't get me wrong, I've got one statted up. Was originally going to be one of the squads making regular appearances here. Little Kenku named Mwaha, with constant over the top evil plans...because he's a kenku, he remixes and repeats what he's heard. So it's all stuff you'd find in a cartoon, or a comic book, or a serialized villain of the week anime. Hence why his name is the classic villain laugh, MWAHAHAHAHA!

Other than that though, rogues are great. got a fun tactical risk/reward gameplay, good without being busted. it was apparently the class with the fewest complaints by a notable margin, and I can see why.

...soon though. only 4 more in this series. then finally moving on. or rather back to what I came here to do. Maybe I'll go into PF2e classes, but it'll likely be a bit if I do.

#youtube #vivi rambles #5e d&d #dnd #dnd 5e

[vivi-the-goblin]

I'm actually really excited for a project again! I think I've figured out a way to combine all the best parts of my old stuff with my new stuff. Monster ecology and lore, statblock conversions and custom monsters, encounter design, free encounters and one-shots, storytelling! I'm going to test drive part of the format in my next video on dungeon design (not the video out tomorrow, the one after). then, after another 5e class video or two so I can be done with the series already!

basic idea is to go over a monster, in the framework of us on a quest. I'll give an overview of the species to the rest of the party, and we'll begin. Each encounter will be set up to show off strengths or weakness of a particular type, cool combinations with others, etc. As the fight goes on I'll also be explaining the story behind that. Maybe as a knowledge check giving me a pokedex-style cutaway, maybe as a "the fuck was that" in the aftermath, depends on what fits best. I'll also throw in custom monsters for some of the encounters, my own versions and/or conversions from something else. and if I'm using pathfinder monsters, I'll whip up 5e conversions as well. So for example, my first is going to be gremlins. the school's been invaded because someone fucked up a portal to the feywild *cough* Amelia *cough*. I'll give a quick rundown on gremlins as a species, then we'll go through 2 or 3 encounters. show off gremlins, explain what X type we're facing do, show how they interact in different combinations and with the environment, and throw in a few that were lost in the edition change to keep PF2e people on thier toes. This gives you a few to string together for a session, or at least gives ideas on how to use thier abilities in fun ways. That particular one will take a few parts, giving me a good way to refine things too. I'm excited! I think it's something I got that others aren't doing. and keep things interesting with a little narrative story of the adventuring party. You know I love my little narratives, it's why I put a little aside between the characters at the end of my videos.

#vivi rambles #youtube #sidenote #someone with FAR more reach kinda did like...everything I was going to do at the same time as me. #like either launched while I was writing script #or a week or two after I made a video #and like made every shift I did while I was doing it for like a year. #so if you see someone do this thing soon know I was not copying XD

[vivi-the-goblin]

I wish that filters would actually account for your notifications. Like I'm running a poll tournament thing, and there are people who like...They haven't done shit to me, I'm just consistently annoyed by thier tags. So I don't want to block them, remove them from a game they love playing, but they're some aggressive kid with shit taste who I don't want to see shit talking the opposing side. It'd feel weird to ban someone from my game because they don't like the things I'm into, especially when exclusively posting to the sanctity of thier own blog. Even moreso since they have friends who play, so they'd continue to see my stuff every day and just not be allowed to see the results or vote. like ouch, that's harsh for just liking one of the poll options a bit too much. But that's also horrible outside this context. if someone puts my filtered tags into something, or sends me an ask with filtered words, why does it still appear in my notifications? cause that's kinda fucked up if it only filters out the stuff not directly targeted at you. "ok I'll hide your triggers, unless someone's specifically using them toward you in particular, gotta let you know when someone's accidentally harming you specifically." That's fucked up.

#vivi rambles

[vivi-the-goblin]

Game Masters writing endless backstory and worldbuilding and complexity that nobody ever sees are so valid. Even if that building never sees the light of day, it's fun! And it's practice, Besides, it's like an artist drawing hands for hours on end, filling a notebook or wearing out thier stylus nib. You'll never see the actual work, but everyone will see the results!

#ttrpg #dnd #pathfinder

[vivi-the-goblin]

what are 5 things that make u happy answer or dont then send this to 10 of ur moots

Food, both the creation and the consumption. one of my favorite things!

Friends! Even when they piss me off at times, the good times together are worth.

Games, probably my biggest hobby. I like a few examples of most genres, but my favorite are ones where you can see the passion on display. If you failed but I can sure as hell tell you tried, I'll probably stick it out just to see where this goes.

Music! I find there are very few genres I wholesale don't enjoy, it's more specific styles or techniques I find displeasing. My biggest spotify playlist is 1320 songs long, and I use more than just spotify

Visual Art, especially passionate stuff! I'm sadly past the time where I can keep up with 3000+ artists at once. or where I can keep up with around 2000ish while trying to boost and help smaller ones. I struggle with less than 1000 now tbh. but I LOVE it. while I trend toward either cute/energetic or subtle and dark, and ESPECIALLY fanart, varying your tastes is healthy! ...especially weird smut, even stuff I'm not into. The stuff where you can tell someone thought "This is my passion, and nobody makes it, so I guess I'll have to make myself." If it's just love of creation you love to see, that's one of the easiest places to go!

#vivi rambles

[vivi-the-goblin]

What I love about shared playlists is that people have assumptions based on titles, especially if your tastes seem similar. "Songs to Chill/DM to" is what you'd expect it to be, about 600 tracks for when I'm working on a session or episode. Except a few songs, like "Champion Cynthia," whose intro piano sends many people my age into blind panic. It's fine for me because it helps me focus, but there's nothing quite like having someone suddenly question you on why the hell X is here.