Recent content by Hussar

It's always interesting to see different experiences. See, I play on VTT exclusively. Something like a Twilight cleric doesn't add any time at all - the Twilight Cleric player just clicks a button and can do it while other people are doing their turns without interrupting anything. So, there...

Personally, I would lean into the "more empathy" style setting. Sure, there's lots of bad stuff, but, by and large, given the choice, people will choose empathy over hate. So, the whole, much criticised, "Cantina scene" is not out of place in the setting. Anyone who chooses to "None of those...

I know that you've dropped out of the thread, and fair enough, but, all those works are absolutely SF. "Advanced technology" is not required, at all, for SF. If your (and I mean this as the general you, as in anyone) definition of SF excludes any of those works, that's not a commonly accepted...

But, Space Opera isn't just knights and wizards in space. Allastair Reynolds is a master of Space Opera, but his stories are very strongly grounded in plausible science. Space Opera is characterized by the operatic (sorry) tone. Massive casts, galaxy spanning plots, huge scenes of grandeur...

Well, number one, I was talking to someone specifically about Dune, and not about SF in general. If you wanted to know my definitions, instead of presuming, why not just ask? /edit to add a bit later Thinking about it, I really rather doubt there is any single theme that encompasses all SF...

That's... a really good way to phrase that. Maybe "mythologize" is a better descriptor than romanticize. Not that SF is always about the future, but, again, we're painting with a fairly broad brush. I like that definition.

Sorry, I think you misunderstood. I said that the primary theme of Dune was an exploration of free will in the face of prescience. Not that SF's only theme is free will. I'm not quite sure how you made that jump.

How so? In what way is that wrong? Fantasy as a genre is an outgrowth of folktales, among other things. Folktales are morality stories dealing with questions of good and evil, but, also primarily, as a means of reinforcing social behaviour. Things in the past are good and traditions need to...

Actually, that's the basic definition of the genre. Fantasy is a romantization (I'd argue fetishization) of the past. That's the point of Fantasy stories. Makes sense given the origins of Fantasy as a genre.

Ahhh. I think I see where the problem lies. To me, SF is not defined by trope. Like, at all. You can have SF set in the stone ages (Quest for Fire) and SF set in post-human Doctor Who level magic. That's not what defines SF. SF is defined by theme. Dune is an exploration of what free will...

It's funny. I had a twilight cleric in my campaign. Now, the campaign only went to 8th level, so, maybe the problems occur later, but, I never saw the issue. Sure, tons of healing. Who cares? It's not like that was a big deal anyway. I had zero problems with the Twilight cleric. Now, the...

Crit kills. DOUBLE Max HP.

Good grief. Just once I'd like to say something that is totally uncontroversial and pretty much generally accepted without having to spend pages explaining the point. Is that really too much to ask. I mean, seriously. You are going to challenge THAT statement?

Dune is very much not fantasy. LIke, at all. If you are reading something and thinking it is not political, I'd say right back atcha. Or, maybe you could, instead of being very condescending and presumptuous, actually engage in conversation? Just a thought.

That's pretty true. About the only way you make non-focused fire (unfocused fire?) work is if you add in some sort of death spiral where targets are disadvantaged for not being at full HP. Since D&D doesn't do that, there's no point in damaging two targets to half rather than straight up...