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  1. M

    D&D General Beginning a new campaign advice - foreshadowing and railroading

    Also, if you‘re into JRPGs @Gimby a game called Ys: Lacrimosa of Dana has a similar setup. By chance have you played it? If not, it’s very good.
  2. M

    D&D General Beginning a new campaign advice - foreshadowing and railroading

    The simplest way to do this is decouple the mutiny from the stranding. A mutiny occurs and then a storm or monster shipwrecks them. The PCs may or may not stop the mutiny, but can’t do anything about the ship-wrecking event. You get to start aboard ship, gradually raise tension as the mutiny...
  3. M

    D&D General Homebrew Brainstorm: How Would You Approach a "Descendant Worship" Culture? (+)

    How about making them fantasy Transhumanists? Worshipping the children of the Singularity to come? Their gods are their future ascendant selves. This gives you plenty of space to play with idea 'the gods are just mirrors of ourselves'.
  4. M

    Banned Book Recommendation Thread

    The US are the cargo shorts of North America worn in winter.
  5. M

    Banned Book Recommendation Thread

    After taking a look at the ALA's Top 100, I'm recommending Vaughn's Saga and Satrapi's Persepolis. Both are timely, in their own way... And for old time's sake, Burroughs's Naked Lunch. It's the first banned book I ever bought (at a mall Waldenbooks).
  6. M

    Will the end of Game of Thrones keep you away from House of Dragons?

    Ok, so aside from an instance of obligatory unnecessary violence that bore a distinct resemblance to later seasons of GoT, it was very good. A bit flat in the very beginning, but that gets fixed as soon as Matt Smith pops up (sporting the traditional awful Targaryen wig).
  7. M

    Will the end of Game of Thrones keep you away from House of Dragons?

    I thought I wasn't interested in the prequel series. Turns out I was lying to myself because of course I am. (I'm probably less disappointed in GoT's final season than most of the audience. Whatever mistakes were made, it ended with the same 'punch epic fantasy in the face' attitude that gave...
  8. M

    D&D 5E (2024) First playtest thread! One D&D Character Origins.

    First reactions: The animal-headed celestial race looks great. Because I’ve wanted to play a character based on those cynocephalic St. Christopher paintings for years. Also because I put an entire city of similar creatures in my latest homebrew. Great minds and all… Moving ASIs to Backgrounds...
  9. M

    D&D 5E (2024) 'One D&D' Takes 5E to New & Digital Places

    I like the expanded role of backgrounds and starting feat. It's a little bit of classic Traveller chargen (with the chance of death removed).
  10. M

    "Paper Girls" on Prime (Possible Spoilers)

    I finished it and I've read the comics (which are excellent). In some ways, Amazon's Paper Girls is better than Netflix's Sandman adaptation, and that pains me to say because I have much more affection for Gaiman's seminal work. Not to say Sandman was bad. There's a respect for the characters...
  11. M

    D&D 5E (2014) "Make a Strength (History) roll."

    I think that kind of flexibility shows how the game is best played.
  12. M

    I've introduced my 5th ed group to AD&D 2E

    A 2e game sounds great! Maybe 2e will be our next D&D campaign. We’re playing 5e now after a 2-year 0e (Labyrinth Lord) game and I admit it a nice change of pace to be able to do heroic practically from the start. 2e with the common house rules and all the kits/splatbooks would make a nice...
  13. M

    D&D General [Poll] Metagame justifications for in-character behavior

    Intradiegetic criticism is a species of fan fiction. Sometimes entertaining, sometimes… not.
  14. M

    D&D General [Poll] Metagame justifications for in-character behavior

    The thoughts of a character are a fiction the player authors. Characters exist within the fiction as their players ‘write’ them and as their actions are ratified & reified by the DM and other players.
  15. M

    D&D General [Poll] Metagame justifications for in-character behavior

    Always. The metagame level is the actual world, where all character decisions are ultimately made.
  16. M

    Orville: New Horizons (Spoilers)

    I haven’t finished the final episode yet — didn’t notice it was almost 90 minutes long when I started it late last night — but much respect to Seth for going out on a classic TNG slice-of-life episode. Also, the Kaylon Primarch announcing he’s leaving a small contingent to defend the homeworld...
  17. M

    Streaming Services: Discussion and Power Rankings

    You are not incorrect. A quick right-now ranking: HBOMax (you can watch Our Flag Means Death, Harley Quinn, and Criterion hits, nuff said) Apple+ (best quality/price ratio, Severance, For All Mankind) Netflix (lots of good stuff but too big, the content firehose is bad) Disney/Hulu (lots of...
  18. M

    D&D General "I make a perception check."

    I see this a puzzle/challenge design issue. Is the challenge in finding the THING (valuable, clue, etc.) or in what the what to DO with the THING once it's found? The older I get, the less interested or perhaps able I am to describe the physical details in an imaginary space. At least with the...
  19. M

    D&D General Poll: As a player, I am always justified in pursuing every advantage I find, no matter what.

    I voted 'no'. As a player in a cooperative social game, you are always justified in doing your part to keep things running smoothly, though. Even if means occasionally ignoring the advantage.
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