LordPassionFruit

TL;DR: Lost internet mid update, decided to be an idiot and restart my laptop. Turns out it was in the middle of a kernel update, took some puttering to make things work again.

Story time. I have a Mint laptop that I use rarely because of my openSUSE desktop. Because I use it so rarely, every time I turn it on, there will be a kernel update. So today, I turned it on and ran my update script only to have it lose internet halfway through (it was a VPN issue).

Because I can be impatient, I said, "Surely nothing will go wrong," and hard powered off the laptop. Reboot it, and my desktop background is gone. Also, Ctrl+Alt+T isn't working. Actually, nothing except for my desktop icons are accessible. Turns out when I powered off my laptop, it was in the middle of specifically the kernel update (or at least some portion of it).

Through trial and error, I figured out that I got to open exactly one program and have it work as intended. Once I opened a second one, I could no longer go back to the first, and once I opened a third, my keyboard would no longer work.

But I got lucky because I had a folder available on my desktop. I was able to open the file manager, navigate to /usr/bin/gnome-terminal to get that open, and re-run the update script. After rebooting the computer, everything worked as normal, but it was a terrifying moment. Cautionary tale, I guess?

I've been playing DnD since 5e came out, and I've always been a warlock fan. By far my favourite class to play, there's just so much versatility in the class.

I started playing BG3 with my table top group a few weeks ago, and to make sure that I don't miss out on story and stuff I started my own single player campaign. Created a Great Old One/Blade warlock that would mirror one of my favourite builds I've ever done (polearm master hexblade).

I'm now level 10 in game, and my Tav's Eldritch blast is absolutely terrifying. Between magic items and other features, I can pump out a minimum of 39 damage per cast (math at the bottom of this post).

It's just so useful, and allows me to have a proper DnD party where not everyone is combat optimized. I have a Dungeon Delver Astarion for dealing with traps and locked doors, Laezel and Karlach are different kinds of tanks, Gale casts Magic Missile and utility spells. I can actually take my "non-combat companions" into combat and not worry.

Now for the math:

Eldritch Blast:

• 1d10 per beam on hit.

Level 9:

• 3 Beams per cast

Agonizing Blast:

• Add CHA mod damage to each beam.

Magic Clothing from Act 2 (can't remember name or how I got it):

• Add CHA mod damage to every cantrip (basically duplicate of Agonizing blast)

Ring that grants advantage on all attacks:

• Can't miss most targets

Ring that allows you to cast a cantrip as a bonus action once per short rest:

• Double the number of beams

Hat that gives +2 CHA (max 22):

• Gives 22 CHA (+6 mod)

With all of these buffs, eldritch blast becomes:

3 attack rolls +10 to hit /w advantage (1/400 to critical fail, 399/400 minimum 12 to hit) 1d10+12 damage per hit 1/short rest cast twice in one round.

Final damage totals:

Normal round: 39 - 66 (Avg. 54) Double round: 78 - 132 (Avg. 108)

In case anyone sees this and is heading to town this morning, Water St. has been closed, plan on taking Grafton St. or Riverside Dr.

Absolute genius, doing construction on all three routes off the bridge at the same time.