Definitely wasn’t going end the day without posting this little tribute that @pattonoswalt.bsky.social
did for Harlan Ellison back in issue 291 of @heavymetalofficial.bsky.social in which he did a little A-Z list of the man’s many quirks that made him both recognizable, loved and hated.

I'm now imagining something that is half cat and half biblically accurate angel.

Welcome back.

Fuzz cat. Heir of Fluff cat?

Now I'm just thinking of Psychonauts.

While I'm inclined to think they were coming from a good place to make fights more dynamic, I think they undercooked giving reactions that actually accomplish that.

The purebred world is what gave us disastrously unhealthy breeds in pursuit of an insane standard, so that checks out.

Yeah, that's definitely been a concern I've seen raised about the 2024 statblocks.

Or maybe if the player is inclined to switch to cantrips, then baiting the foe into counterspelling a cantrip instead of a leveled spell results in some kind of negative feedback.

About the only way I can think of to make a counterspell fun is that the opportunity cost for the enemy means they can't interfere with some other cool thing from the players, turning the losing a spell to counterspell into a sort of assist.

Which is fiddly and depends on the players' moods.

A counterspell is one thing. Getting repeatedly and consistently counterspelled so that they don't contribute to the encounter at all is another.

There are enough temptations to be on our phones instead of engaged at the table as it is without setting out to have players twiddling their thumbs.

Just rawdogging them pop-tarts, as the kids say.

You can also freeze them or heat them in a non-toaster.

The Thirst is indeed Real.