Recent content by Umbran

Yes, but everything we know about how time travel might possibly work also involves materials that don't exist, and/or that we cannot manipulate, in configurations that should not be physically stable. Like, infinitely long, rapidly rotating cylinders of neutronium. How we think it "might...

Having not been there, I of course cannot say with any certainty. But... connotations matter. If you point out to them that they just asked a question, that's one thing. If you point out to them that they've been disrupting play with several picayune questions, that's another. And, with...

Well, humans literally (and this is literally-literally, not figuratively-literally) process judgements about others with different parts of the brain than they judge themselves. So, folks can very much have a different opinion of their own behavior than they would have of someone else doing...

Well, that's the thing, isn't it? Since we don't know how to do it, we first have to posit how complex and power-hungry it is. So, you are rejecting a posit, based on another posit. Not exactly the most stable of bases for an argument.

Correction - people who actually show up consistently AND ARE FREE TO PLAY IN YOUR GAME may be unicorns. It is like asking, "Where are all the truly awesome people who want to be in long-term relationships? I want one of them!" Well, sorry, but they are mostly in long-term relationships...

Always welcome! Celebrate your pets!

My wife is a veterinarian that does hospice, end of life, and palliative care exclusively. She is, as I type this, at a house call helping a client say goodbye to their pet. And what you say above is not her recommendation to her clients. (Edit to add: When she got home from the house call, I...

My understanding is that there's a shortage of games. Period. The number of folks who are willing to run games is small compared to the number of folks who want to play games. I don't think there is an identifiable set of "best practices" for this. The people and situations vary too much...

Eh, no. If there's a problem it is in the mismatch - that you and the player want different things. But that doesn't mean that what either of you want, in and of itself, is a problem.

So, on the medical front... Meds are holding up, for now. The cat's not hiding, and is staying social, feels good enough to get on the bed herself, and so on, which is great. We've spoken with an oncologist, and have a game plan. We will be going with chemotherapy. Rather than speak in...

No, man. Making an Oreo taste like meat is the crime against humanity.

So, any hook is a great hook if everyone puts in a little work. Even the tavern one. While it has since been clarified, the original statement didn't speak to that work. If the original statement had been, "I prefer a fully fleshed out central origin for all the characters," we could have...

I find it the opposite. "You're all part of a Thieves' Guild" is right up there with "you all meet in a tavern" unless you put some solid work into the guild and its role in the world and its relationship to the PCs. Heck, even if everyone does start in the same guild, I'd want them to each...

One of my original 1e characters made it to lvl 18 (Elven Magic-User).