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That is really not true. New Zealand is a Parliamentary democracy, which means the PM doesn’t actually have much power - Parliament does. Which is why the latest lockdown didn’t happen when the PM wanted it to - but instead it was imposed after Cabinet sat around the table and reached agreement...

I have backed 38 Kickstarters, all RPG-related and all (except 1) with physical rewards. For me, being located in New Zealand, a key driver is shipping. The variation in shipping costs is insane, particularly where the creator is based in the US. Often the cost of shipping can be US$40...

That seems reasonable in most circumstances. The original case being talked about originated in New Zealand though, so that case almost certainly could not be made by the sacked workers.

I don’t think it is too different from any other safety requirement. A builder who refused to wear a hard hat on a demolition site shouldn’t be permitted on the site. A worker dealing with the public who is not vaccinated should not be dealing with the public. If neither are able to do their...

No-one dies of “old age”, legally at least. The mechanism of death must be included on a death certificate - and certainly in New Zealand the law requires that this has to be a specific disease or injury (or a combination of either). I imagine most parts of the world have the same requirements.

This is very much a tangent, but I keep hearing statements like this and they really annoy me. Lots of countries, including my own, have laws restricting speech for the public good and they work fine - and have worked fine for very long periods of time. Sure, you can find dodgy cases of...

I hope this doesn’t stray into politics, but I thought this 4 minute interview was a great example of how to deal with Covid conspiracy theorists. By way of context, the person being interviewed is a New Zealand politician who was thrown out of his (mainstream) party and so joined a pandemic...

The Bill of Rights can be trumped by any other piece of legislation if need be. But only after the draft has passed through a special committee appointed by the Ministry of Justice, and that committee agrees (I was once part of a team that drafted a Bill and had to take it before that committee...

A single case of reinfection is pretty meaningless. For a start, one of those tests could easily have been a false-positive. Secondly, there are always exceptions to the rule when it comes to illness. Having measles is meant to provide lifelong immunity to that disease, but there are a tiny...

So Trudvang does look amazing, but can anyone comment more on the content? In particular, is the fluff inspiring and does the world have a solid feel to it? I like settings that are well-written and make me feel that they are real. I am guessing the vibe is dark, gritty and cold right?

Here in New Zealand the government’s position has been that three things are vital: testing; quarantine of those who test positive and close contacts; and rapid contact tracing. I am wondering how well contact tracing is going in countries with large numbers (eg over 100,000) of cases? Can...

The Spinoff’s coverage of Covid-19 has been brilliant. Especially Dr Wiles’ stuff, and Toby Morris’ graphical representations of data. But also their daily data analyses.

Here is a microbiologist’s take on those reports of asymptomatic Covid 19 carriers. The lowdown? The issue has been horribly overblown, and there aren’t many reported cases at all...

I really like that second idea. Thanks!

That is probably fair. I guess the point I was trying to make was that “no group attacks” is a key rule - and that it’s origin probably stems from a desire to make the site inclusive. But it is applied across the board (although I have noticed that they are a little less likely to use it when...

The false “choices” in the main quest in Mytros really annoy me. It basically reads like a railroad which pretends there are actually a bunch of alternate paths. If I were to run this for my group, I would have to change that significantly. Any suggestions that don’t also involve writing a whole...

I like both RPGNet and Enworld. The moderation at Big Purple is strict, but I get it. They have a number of LBGTA members and want to make it a safe place for them, and further they are primarily a board for people who play games and want to prevent hostility between members over topics like...

I am based in New Zealand, and for some reason the ebook is not in our Amazon storefront, and the paperback only seems available via third party services that don’t ship here. Although, I see that the audio version is now available. So maybe that is something I can listen to while we are in...

I have always wanted to read Gore Vidal’s novel about Julian, but it seems impossible to get hold of. Such a fascinating figure. In terms of the game, here are some other thoughts that you could squeeze in: Automata Greek fire and organs used to make noises to terrify the enemy an emphasis on...

Another favourite Byzantine figure of mine is Basil I. Born a (probably illiterate) peasant who gained a little renown as a wrestler, he came to the notice of emperor Michael ‘The Drunkard’ when he witnessed Basil knock a horse unconscious with a single punch. Basil became a drinking buddy of...