This is easy to get around.

Just start any order with “In my capacity as president, I decree that…”

Noted

Agreed, it is super useful when you are trying to be sneaky.

Not all spells require material components.

Totally true; there are some massively powerful spells that don’t have components. But it could make a big difference to the right encounter.

Exactly, you should be able to use disarm to remove an important item from a wizard. I see that as no different than taking the sword from a fighter.

Science: wow that is a nice animal you have there; have you seen out Large Hadron Collider, it accelerates clouds of particles up to close to the limit of causality and slams them into specially designed targets. We do this to probe the secrets of the universe at the edges of imagination and plausibility.

Magic: I can kill people by pointing my stick at them…

Science: yeah, we have that also…how big do yours get? We have a problem where we went too far and now can destroy the world, but because everyone has these weapons we live in an uneasy tension called mutually assured destruction, so no one uses their most powerful weapons for fear that others will also.

Magic: I can make it rain when I want.

Science: ok now that would be useful, you have to teach me how to do that.

That is a good idea, I’ll give it a try

I am playing a druid, the RAW interpretation is a bit boring and relegates wildshape to a secondary ability (in my opinion) when it should be front and center.

I have changed the mechanic to be more similar to sorcery points or ki points.

You get 4 WS points per druid level (+8 points if mood druid)
Transformation is the CR x 4; min 1 point
Time in the form is 15min per point.

So for a mood druid transforming into a dire wolf (CR1), it would be 4 points to transform, and 1 point for the first 15 minutes. Spending a minimum of 5 points; out of your initial 16 point pool at level 2.

Non-moon druid transforms into a cat (CR 1/8), would cost the minimum 1 point to transform and 1 point for the first 15 minutes. Spending a minimum of 2 points; out of the 8 point pool at level 2.

The points still reset on a short rest.

At level 4 when non-moon druids get CR 1/2; the non-moon druid has 16 points; the moon druid has 24. At level 6 when a moon druid gets CR2 transformation they have 32 points. A CR2 transformation costs a minimum of 9 points for the first 15 minutes.

I like this because it means that wild shape becomes a resource to be used and managed like spell slots/ki points/sorcery points etc…it also seems more progressive, as you become more experienced as a druid you can do more with the wild shape.

It also avoids the “wasted” wild shape feeling, so instead of thinking is it worth transforming into a rat to follow this target through a sewer, when I could become a crocodile later to mess up what they are heading toward…I think, rat for the next 30 / 45 minutes is only 4 points total, leaving me with 12 points in my pool because I was a horse an hour ago.

That last line…deep breath…

Relative newbie, 7 years.

For a Windows user, Linux Mint is a nice alternative, similar interface and very stable.

Especially if you are mostly using browser based tools.

Relevant XKCD - https://xkcd.com/37/

90-9-1 rule says that you may in fact be correct.

90% are probably lurkers. But there is a good argument to be made that a lot of the recent growth is from the 9% of contributors on Reddit, and some of the 1% also.

Currently I suspect that much less than 90% here are lurkers, but that should balance out over time just due to how social communities work.

Yes and no…I am on lemmy.nz and browsing by local / subscribed eliminates all of the memes and bullshit.

I do browse by all every now and then…but it is not my preferred setting.

Lemmy.nz here

I think it is cool that it is coming up on nearly 2 million across all ~1200 instances.

Also are waiting on boost 43yo engineer, automatic and industrial control…

Some subs are awesome, r/olkb, r/linuxmint to name 2. But bigger more general subs… They can be shocking, I generally didn’t bother with them.