Sure, the first year (or two) of COVID were wretched, but most of those barriers have since cleared — yet I’m still struggling. I’ve noticed the same with a number of people within my family and neighbourhood....
I mean, the point of the special is to find meaning in the holidays regardless of the rampant consumerism, but the impact of the message is dampened a bit by Hallmark putting out new charlie brown Christmas tree ornaments every year.
That said, it’s also okay not to have holiday spirit if you don’t find anything about this time of year meaningful. For many who aren’t practicing Christians, it’s a time to be with family because most companies tend to give days off anyway, but for those of us who have cut ties and don’t see the significance of decorating and whatnot, it’s perfectly fine to enjoy the time off without feeling festive.
Almost as dumb as Nintendo patenting the concept of a sanity meter and then not fucking doing anything with it since Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem.
WTF I picked up a finance textbook and now I’m in debt for like eighty billion dollars?! And I have to buy the online portal code separately!? What a rip-off!
“Adding a d% roll to an 18 Strength roll is hardly complicated. It was done because Strength was the only stat that needed to be increased in steps by the d% mechanic so as to improve fighters to hit and damage chances. So that was used because I favor interesting play over any imagined elegance, that being quite unlikely in an RPG in my view. RPGs are games, not art, and I don’t give myself airs.” “Can you imaging the increases of stats going into the 20s needed in order to get the same result as 18/00? The human norm bell curve of 3-18 down the tubes in a jiffy. Not elegant at all, and simply foolish ;-)”
The issue with this kind of thing is almost never the actual challenge or moral dilemma, wherever and however it may spring up - it’s usually about trying to narratively ‘pants’ a character with a poorly contrived But Thou Must or Sophie’s Choice, and the most generous interpretation of that action is that the GM feels that the suffering of a PC will help tell a good story. I find more often that these scenarios pop up in Humiliation Conga campaigns, where the GM just gets a kick out of creating worlds and encounters that primarily serve to inflict pain and misery on the PCs, and sometimes even the players themselves. And that’s not to say that those kinds of stories and settings can’t work or be enjoyable (Paranoia and the character-focused 40K games like Rogue Trader come to mind) but it has to be the kind of story that everyone at the table wants to tell.
I mean, it does also illustrate how the empire’s strength lies in numbers and resources, and not in superior skill. There’s some evidence that stormtrooper accuracy is a lot better than popular media gives credit for (e.g. “these blast points are far too accurate for sand-people,”) and the only reason stormtroopers miss as much as they do in the movies is because they are under Vader’s orders not to injure Luke and Leia, which may or may not be true, but the battle on endor shows how susceptible the armor is to guerilla warfare that does, in fact, utilize those lower-tech weapons. I’m sure if the empire cared enough about the efficacy of the armor, they could develop a suit that incorporated shield technology and win battles with a fraction of the troops they use, but again, the suit’s primary function is to mark these shock troops as the face of an insurmountably vast empire. I would not be surprised if the poor defensive qualities of the armor are intentional, to foster a strategic message to the empire’s enemies that says “we don’t care how many you kill, there will always be more.”
In D&D I can live out my fantasies of having enough agency in my life to do something about the end of the world brought about by megalomaniacal bastards, and having positive net worth.
In a short story, the monkey’s paw is an artifact that grants three wishes of the person who holds it, albeit in the worst way possible.
The story goes that a pensioner and his wife receive the paw from some guy who warns them that the paw twists the wishes, but they pay the warning no mind and wish for a sum of money. A finger on the paw curls, and a factory foreman shows up with the money explaining that their son has died of a horrific mutilating accident in the factory. The insurance policy pays the money out to the surviving members of the family.
The wife wishes that their son were alive again, another finger curls, and a few hours later they hear another knock at the door. The wife rushes to welcome their son, however, recalling the stranger’s warning and imagining how terrifying the mutilated body of their son might look, the father uses the last finger to wish the son dead and buried again. Incidentally, there doesn’t appear to be a negative on that wish apart from the horror that’s already been visited on them.
Of course without committing a crime before and without saying anything else.
You will probably commit a crime or misdemeanor unknowingly on the way to the station. There is a reason you do not talk to the police, even if you think you’re completely innocent.
Used to work in a painting hangar and guys would regularly pilfer supplies. For most people it was just touch up brushes or minijet cups for minor stuff at home, but some people would be stealing whole rolls of masking tape, suits and hoods, sandpaper, bottles of rubbing alcohol and acetone, etc.
I know at least one guy who confided in me that he made a mint stealing supplies and painting cars on the side. He said the only thing he paid for was paint. I think the only reason nobody ever got called out on it was because our work was so good we were a preferred painter for UAE and Qatar planes, so everyone in the C-Suite was making millions of dollars and paying jack shit to the workers, and I’m guessing they figured the shrinkage was an acceptable cost of doing business.
I think there’s a misconception, especially among less-experienced DMs, that the only valid interaction a PC can have with elements of their backstory is through conflict and/or resultant trauma, and while it is certainly a tool in the GM’s toolbox to create tension and give real stakes to the campaign, it tends to create a world where nothing is worth investing in emotionally, and the character’s personality and actions will reflect that. I mean, imagine you have a family or a community, and it gets torched by the fire-breathing dragon on the mountain. That can certainly foment a strong motivation to go slay the dragon, and if they succeed, maybe the character moves on from the loss (or they don’t,) but either way the next time the opportunity for comfort and belonging comes up, they’ll be more loathe to engage, because it opens up the possibility of getting hurt again. You effectively push the character (and possibly all that player’s future characters) one step closer to being an edgelord rogue with no acquaintances who broods in the dark corner of every tavern.
It is perfectly okay for a PC to visit their hometown and spend quality time with their family with no incident whatsoever. You can also make this family a source of information or plot hooks - if they know their adventurer child is on a mission from god, certainly they’d be keeping their ear to the ground for tidbits whenever any adventurous passersby come through to rest, right? Or perhaps the PC left on bad terms, and this is an opportunity to patch the relationship (or summon the conviction to cut ties altogether, in the case of harmful relationships.) Even without loss, or the threat of loss, a PC can be reminded of why they became an adventurer in the first place and get some character development.
You know the best thing about this rule? It’s not even realistic - historically the Italians just cooked their pasta ration in the sauce that came in the cans.
Donald Trump got caught red-handed during his $250 million New York bank fraud trial on Monday when lawyers for the New York attorney general’s office revealed Trump had long ago signed financial documents with the clear intent that they would be used to curry favor with banks....
I mean it might help their value proposition to not attempt to sell monitor stands for a thousand dollars. I will never forget the audience’s collective incredulous gasp at that reveal.
Are you kidding ??? What the **** are you talking about man ? You are a biggest looser i ever seen in my life ! You was doing PIPI in your pampers when i was beating players much more stronger then you! You are not proffesional, because proffesionals knew how to lose and congratulate opponents, you are like a girl crying after i beat you! Be brave, be honest to yourself and stop this trush talkings!!! Everybody know that i am very good blitz player, i can win anyone in the world in single game! And "w"esley "s"o is nobody for me, just a player who are crying every single time when loosing, ( remember what you say about Firouzja ) !!! Stop playing with my name, i deserve to have a good name during whole my chess carrier, I am Officially inviting you to OTB blitz match with the Prize fund! Both of us will invest 5000$ and winner takes it all! I suggest all other people who’s intrested in this situation, just take a look at my results in 2016 and 2017 Blitz World championships, and that should be enough… No need to listen for every crying babe, Tigran Petrosyan is always play Fair ! And if someone will continue Officially talk about me like that, we will meet in Court! God bless with true! True will never die ! Liers will kicked off…
I’m torn between those two, the looming financial crisis as the housing market collapses like 2008 all over again, and WWIII getting underway as we speak. It’s a real Apocalypse How in this bitch.
I always feel really dumb when reading it because it’s clear the author is an astrophysicist, but I still enjoy it because it’s quite warm and does a really good job of developing the characters. Honestly I think the only real one-note character is Kornada and he’s very deliberately that because he represents a grey goo machine in the form of unchecked capitalism.
Fast casual (lemmy.world)
Is it just my circle, or has it been a challenge getting into the Christmas/holiday spirit the last couple of years?
Sure, the first year (or two) of COVID were wretched, but most of those barriers have since cleared — yet I’m still struggling. I’ve noticed the same with a number of people within my family and neighbourhood....
Sony Patent Aims To Change Game Difficulty In Real Time As You Play (insider-gaming.com)
He posts after 2.5 hours of sleep (startrek.website)
Business Rule (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
It's not just COVID anymore, or a triple-demic. Welcome to the 'new norm' of seasonal illnesses (www.cbc.ca)
With enough strength, encumberance isn't an issue. (ttrpg.network)
Deservedly so (a.l3n.co)
What are some strange and interesting websites you have found?
Nothing nsfw please
They aren't, and I'm sick of being told they are (lemmy.world)
When your aunt gets you The Star Trek Game for secret Santa (startrek.website)
Write your own oaths, paladin friends. It's easier that way. (lemmy.world)
Sabriel vibes (startrek.website)
Sabriel is a great book. Go read it! About a dope 18 year old woman who has to save her father by being a reverse necromancer. So so good.
Most DMs will adjust to your AC... (startrek.website)
We're both traumatized to the breaking point but at least he's strong, attractive and has friends. (startrek.website)
You get 3 wishes. No monkey paw twisting it to hurt you mechanic. What do you wish for?
What could happen if you would just walk into a police station and say: I want to turn myself in and I take the 5th.
Of course without committing a crime before and without saying anything else.
Have you ever taken something home from a workplace without permission, to keep it? (kbin.social)
Big or small, cheap or expensive....
Good times...I think (ttrpg.network)
Her home, bar, and underground speakeasy that she shared with a clan of otterfolk. It’s…it’s fine, everyone made it out… it’s fine…
Rule (sh.itjust.works)
Warlock Problems (lemmy.world)
I like taking lines from tabletop games out of context. (ttrpg.network)
Bingo: Trump Admits Intent to “Induce Lending” With Financial Statements (newrepublic.com)
Donald Trump got caught red-handed during his $250 million New York bank fraud trial on Monday when lawyers for the New York attorney general’s office revealed Trump had long ago signed financial documents with the clear intent that they would be used to curry favor with banks....
Freedom Rule (lemmy.ohaa.xyz)
Mac Sales are Down (www.theverge.com)
Mac sales are down....
Welp, I guess I'll just die then (ttrpg.network)
Lazy people are just very efficient people
Training hard (startrek.website)
Who was holding the bags of holding again? (ttrpg.network)
FCC to propose a minimum 100mbps to qualify as broadband, with a future goal of 1gbps (docs.fcc.gov)
loophole rule (files.catbox.moe)
In my language "Janeway" means "death". (lemmy.world)
Here. Take this. You may need it for your journey, weary traveller (startrek.website)
Another one in the wall (startrek.website)
Shit would have gone down differently on the biggest continent, just sayin'. (sh.itjust.works)
PEACHES COME FROM A CAN (i.postimg.cc)
For the young ones
15,000 Scientists Warn Society Could 'Collapse' This Century In Dire Climate Report (www.vice.com)
Vice.com
What was your best purchase?
I don't know where this is from rule (sh.itjust.works)
can I see your rule? (sh.itjust.works)