@kensanata @phf @lkh For some reason, I want to run a Star Frontiers game, trying to capture that '80s sci-fi aesthetic.
I'm initially thinking simple rules for characters (no skills/PSAs) but using the advanced rules for some equipment and for advancement (essentially just increasing stats).
I don't know if SF ever was popular in Europe - it wasn't particularly popular in the US but I did play it and actually quite like it.
Any interest at all?
I’m feeling like in that joke from Soviet times (or so I heard) about somebody looking at the obituaries on the front page of the newspaper. “They are in the back,” the vendor says. “The one I’m waiting for will be on the front page,” is the reply.
I can’t wait. Sadly, there’s more than one I’m waiting for. And we still have to fix the media ownership, and the tax-free billionaires, and the bought justices, and teach the next generation to choose and vote and decide with wisdom and knowledge.
It’s a big ask, I know. Luckily we have all the remaining days of our life.
Not sure what emoji to use here.
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I saw something on a profile that makes good fedi etiquette: “Post reach is at my discretion. Do not alter it by replying public to a private post or by adding hashtags in reply to a public one.”
This is the same sentiment I have about people tagging accounts being talked about when the original post didn’t tag them. If it was an oversight, it is probably no big deal. If it was on purpose, adding it is akin to snitching. Don’t do it.
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@alex Sadly the first thing happens to me all the time. There are people who post almost everything "Followers only" and that's of course fine. It's just that I am so trained to change from "Followers only" to "Quiet public" when I write a reply, sometimes I do it on autopilot and not intentionally. And sometimes I only notice a long time after I did it. 😞
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@phf Hm, why do you change it in the first place? Because you want to reply to public posts with quiet public? Is this something I should be doing? 🤔
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@alex Yep, that's what I do. I usually want to reply to the thread, but not broadcast my reply like I would a fresh post I make. 🤷
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@phf Hm. Don't the defaults of most clients prevent replies from showing up unless people follow both people? I think that's why I never cared about it.
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@alex fediquette?
Also, I assumed the privacy defaulted to match the OP. Is that not the case? (I do not use tags because I do not want to be discovered...)
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@robbo Yes, I think the defaults are OK. Nevertheless there are people who widen the reach of the original conversation indirectly, by writing replies that have wider reach, e.g. by adding a tag. That’s the part I object to.
Das ist einer der stärksten Blogartikel der letzten 10 Jahre, welchen ich gelesen habe. Er spricht mir als GenX so massiv aus der Seele, ich wünschte ich hätte selbst diese Worte gefunden.
Das schlimme, da fehlen noch locker 30%. Aber jenes welches hier in Worte gefasst wurde, kann ich so unterschreiben.
Diesen Link hatte @dde in seinem Blog geteilt.
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@evan Yes, but it isn't a cut and dry, across the board answer
There are issues with social media in general with the sheer amount of access that anyone can have to an onslaught of information
But that's also an important part of allowing people to find themselves
@evan I never felt like SoundCloud was unhealthy, or IRC back in my days. But yes the so called social media that is just algorithmic based spitting out horseshit of content and bullshit ads absolutely are.
@evan Yes.
Most are already unhealthy for adults, and minors have even fewer psychological tools than adults to protect themselves from the harm they cause.
So, they're even more unhealthy for minors.
Yesterday my online #ttrpg group had some major issues with our voice chat, and I thought that might be a good way to get them to move something else. But boy, the sound quality of the Jitsi instance we were using was horrible. Possible that it was just this instance? What are some other decent options for pure voice chat other people are using? (We're doing regular chat etc. in a VTT anyways).
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@mhd tbh i never encountered a jitsi instance that didnt have the sound of a discarded Softdrink can.
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CC: @mhd@tilde.zone
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@lkh @SalemsLot I might give that a try. I mean, in the end basically everything is WebRTC, and it probably depends on the preprocessing how good the sound quality is. Or I might need to investigate if Mumble is still a thing…
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@mhd @lkh @SalemsLot
I think that server bandwidth has an effect on the quality. If you use a free service, they might have a limited and shared bandwidth.
well, good news mostly for me, as I finally managed to get my selfhosted instance of the Convos #IRC web portal running again.
it's available on https://convos.wilderland.ovh and gives access to our little #osr #ttrpg community
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screenshot of irc web portal focused on #talknix channel
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mind you, I say little, but we have a few dozen users and it's more active than most other ttrpg-focused IRC networks I've come across
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now mind you, what I've set out to do before was make a bridge between #minecraft and #irc for my kids' server.
And I still haven't managed that.
Man I get distracted so easily
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but it is actually a bit of an issue as it seems everybody doing IRC plugins for minecraft just stopped ten years ago.
well.
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@kyonshi
Ten years ago? Odd, I've seen a functional IRC-Minecraft chat bridge as recently as six and a half years ago... though that involved a very isolated community I want nothing to do with anymore, full of coders of its own, so they might have done it themselves for all I know.
There was one refreshing exception however: when a pirate vessel was encountered, and parleyed with, a character was confronted with his secret past and the partial reveal that followed was played out to the groups enterainment and surprise.
Still, the result of our flailing around sounds like a decent scenario for our next, final session. The crew, in coalition with said pirates, wants to take their captured drone ship armada, and a hired mercenary landing battalion to finally secure the campaigns prize: the massively valuable rogue planet Satan's World.
@phf @alex @lkh I'm also curious - asking for a friend >.>
::EDIT:: the server is running snac, so someone would have to create a user for us. I ran snac a while ago - I'm not really impressed with it so I'll pass, I think. 🙁
::EDIT (2):: what the hell - since snac is really about the local timeline, if @lkh is willing, I'd be happy to get a snac account on grenzland.club too.
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CC: @frotz@mastodon.sdf.org @phf@tabletop.social @alex@grenzland.club
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CC: @lkh@grenzland.club @frotz@mastodon.sdf.org @phf@tabletop.social @alex@grenzland.club
Poking around the AD&D GM’s Guide definitely has advice I feel is very counter to a lot of neo-old school thinking.
“The final word, then, is the game. Read how and why the system is as if is, follow the parameters, and then cut portions as needed to maintain excitement.”
1/4
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“For example, the rules call for wandering monsters, but these can be not only irritating - if not deadly - but the appearance of such con actually spoil a game by interfering with an orderly expedition. You have set up an area full of clever tricks and traps, populated it with well-thought-out creature complexes, given clues about it to pique players’ interest,“
2/4
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“and the group has worked hard to supply themselves with everything by way of information and equipment they will need to face and overcome the imagined perils. They are gathered together and eager to spend an enjoyable evening playing their favorite game, with the expectation of going to a new, strange area and doing their best to triumph. They are willing to accept the hazards of the dice, be it loss of items, wounding, insanity, disease, death, as long as the process is exciting.”
3/4
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“But lo!, everytime you throw the ”monster die” a wandering nasty is indicated, and the party’s strength is spent trying to fight their way into the area. Spells expended, battered and wounded, the characters trek back to their base. Expectations have been dashed, and probably interest too, by random chance. Rather than spoil such an otherwise enjoyable time, omit the wandering monsters indicated by the die.” AD&D GMG
How very not OSR that is. 🤣
4/4
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“A few brief words are necessary to insure that the reader has actually obtained a game form which he or she desires. Of the two approaches to hobby games today, one is best defined as the realism-simulation school and the other as the game school. AD&D is assuredly on adherent of the latter school. It does not stress any realism (in the author’s opinion an absurd effort at best considering the topic!). It does little to attempt to simulate anything either.”
5/6
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“ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is first and foremost a game for the fun and enjoyment of those who seek to use imagination and creativity.”
6/6
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@deinol I use to bring this point up to osr enthusiasts back in the day. They are pining for a game that was rarely, if ever, played the way they expound upon.
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@randomwizard it has been interesting to revisit the book I learned from 40 years ago. Certainly my tastes have changed.
“An example of the use of wisdom can be given by noting that while the intelligent character will know that smoking is harmful to him, he may well lack the wisdom to stop (this writer may well fall into this category).”
7/7
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@deinol OSR people can be a bit like "Thought for the Day" ministers on the radio. They're terribly prone to "What I think Jesus meant to say was..." type thinking. They're devoted to a concept, but it wasn't actually the concept they were devoted to.
Older...
@deinol
I have always stood by the principal that the "rules" of any roleplaying game are, at best, "guidelines".
Anyone who says otherwise is missing the point.
This is also why "RPG" video games always fall so flat. There is no nuance to them, no flexibility, no (dare I say it) soul, no matter how good the storytelling.
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Oftentimes, especially with older rules sets, it can be hard to guess what a particular rule might do, but it usually comes together when applied consistently at the table and as far as the classic D&D's are concerned especially so in the long form, multi-faction campaign game. Consistency is probably the key here.
I know I have been disappointed as a player when I noticed rules being disregarded, when they could have been applied easily and it would have made sense to apply them. And I don't mean this in a rules lawyery way. When I know the GM is making a conscious choice - or ruling - in a way that's consistent and supporting the diegetic reality, I'm all fine with it. That's the GM's job. But when e.g movement allowance or shall we say fictional positioning doesn't even have a meaning, what am I here for? That's breaking immersion, and ultimately taking away degrees of freedom. Aren't those games about choice and player decisions?
Pulling off an amazing feat because we all thought it's a fun idea is one thing (and not to bad a one really), but pulling it off within the bounds and constraints of the rules, that's a game for me, and quite a story to tell.
Trust is also an issue, when it comes to my own GMing. I'm tired of rules futzing. I want my rules system to work out of the box, so I don't have to question everything when I try to apply the tules. That's why I'm so fond of GURPS - it eases my mind, I know I can trust it. What Gygax was writing in parts of the DMG might have been an effort to add consistency and trustworthiness to the hot mess that OD&D had become at that time. I think he succeeded for the most part, but failed here and there.
So yeah, consistency, trust, maximum degrees of freedom within a dependable framework of boundaries.
Alright, I could go on, sorry didn't mean to rant. And I don't mind if I'm missing the point here. Happily so I guess, cheers 🍻
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Trust and consistency is definitely important. But role-playing isn’t magic. And even magic there are sets of rules you can decide to play. Magic commander and standard and draft all operate differently.
Or GURPS is an even more perfect example. GURPS is a toolkit to build a game from. Every time you run a GURPS game you leave more than half the system off the table. Are you using space ships? Psionics? Magic? Super powers? Martial arts?
@lkh @rdm @deinol Indeed. That reminds me of the people who say that the reason by Monopoly takes so long and causes so many fights is because of all the house rules.
The rules were written for a reason, and when you think it's fun to add things like "Landing on Free Parking gives you all the money in the middle" (it doesn't; it just means you don't have to pay anyone, which is a godsend in the late game), or landing on Go means collecting double, you're asking for trouble.
The game is carefully balanced to play in a certain length of time, and anything that increases the amount of money in circulation will automatically increase the length of time that the average game takes, which will naturally increase everyone's frustration and irritability.
If you understand that, and you still want to add those house rules, then go ahead, and do it with your eyes open.
It's the same with TTPGS. Rules are *rules*. And they've been carefully and thoroughly playtested and the designers know all the reasons they exist and the implications of them being there. Before you houserule, understand exactly what and why and what effect it's going to have on your game.
In my opinion. :-)
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"in the example above it is assumed that they are doing everythingThe author does not suggest to generally dispose of random encounters. Also:
possible to travel quickly and quietly to their planned destination."
Know the game systems, and you will know how and when to take uponWell, I don't dig that babbling about ultimate power to be sure, but he definitely is onto something with "know your game systems".
yourself the ultimate power. To become the final arbiter, rather than the
interpreter of the rules, can be a difficult and demanding task [...],
for your players expect to play this game, not one made up on the spot.
Also, I do have experienced bad vibes with Monopoly RAW. To my mind it still serves best to demonstrate how disruptive capitalism can be, and if I'm not mistaken, this was the original intent of Elizabeth Magie's "The Landlord Game".
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@lkh @rdm @deinol you're right. And it does so brutally effectively. Particularly the "all properties must be auctioned" rule, which is designed to make the game flow quicker. Unless you get really unlucky with your rolls, it only takes a few goes around before all the properties are owned. At which point, the fate of the one who owns the least of them is generally sealed.
It's not all that much fun, and someone on the old Dicebreaker YouTube channel once commented that the reason he doesn't like it is because there's literally zero player agency; it's all luck. But I put it to you that that's kinda the point. ;-)
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Try my Monopoly Legacy variant!
After each game, record which player owns each property. Next game, you play your children. Start with $200 and the deeds to your parent’s properties.
Enjoy!
@deinol The Old School Renaissance IMO has a lot in common with the original Renaissance, where in an effort to recapture the glories of an earlier era they accidentally dramatically improve on the original, but also reject a lot of innovations from the intervening era that were worth keeping.
Warum ist das nicht in den Schlagzeilen: In Offenbach a.M. hat die AfD ihr Ergebnis HALBIERT. Wenn sofort "AfD stärkste Kraft!" kommt, wenn sie in einem Wahlkreis knapp mit 25 % auf Platz 1 liegt, warum werden ihre Niederlagen verschwiegen? Warum sind es nur News, wenn die AfD gewinnt? https://www.volksverpetzer.de/analyse/kommunalwahl-ergebnis-ioffenbach-halbiert/?utm_source=mstdn
Default administrative users on a system should be named
| root: | 6 |
| Administrator: | 3 |
| baron: | 6 |
| supervisor: | 0 |
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Just learned about these two (UK-only?) miniature sets. Loving the cover! One can almost see that Games Workshop was on the cusp of releasing Warhammer Fantasy Role Play, no? 😉 (Picture stolen from some Japanese site, sorry!) #citadel #miniatures #RetroDnD #UKDnD
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Two boxes of miniatures with a cover that goes together: Adventurers to the left, monsters to the right. I hear there's a poster of this image somewhere as well.
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@randomwizard @lkh So one line is a rather high but mostly gradual increase? Or is most of the maps rather low hills (or steep cliffs)?
Anyway, you could pick up a few "prime fortification spots", where you have both a source of water and some high defensive position nearby and place some settlements and/or fortifications.
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50 oder 100 m per elevation line might make sense.
Btw, where did you find this map? I really like the approach!
CC: @randomwizard@vivaldi.net @FrankBlack78@social.tchncs.de
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@lkh @mhd @FrankBlack78 I copied the lines from topagraphic maps available at
https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/#4/39.98/-100.06
Although, I did not copy the all the lines, just the major ones. And I did not copy them exactly.
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@randomwizard @lkh @mhd @FrankBlack78 I wonder if there's a way to configure Open Street Map (e.g. via OsmAnd) such that it produces a map without streets, without buildings, etc.
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@kensanata @randomwizard @lkh @FrankBlack78 I'm not sure how much OSM etc. pre-render into their tiles and/or how easy it is to render your own without that.
I do know that some people are using the (quite complex, IMHO) GIS tools like QGIS for mapping, e.g. this one https://idraluna-archives.bearblog.dev/a-tutorial-for-making-hexcrawl-maps-in-qgis/
(They also made a few real-world maps including a high-res version of Antarctica: https://idraluna-archives.itch.io )
Am Wochenende haben wir in Mainz die #PinkPonyOfDeath No. 2 Mini #osr Con ausgerichtet. Es war total schön, mit Leuten aus der ganzen Republik, ein Wochenende lang old schoolige #pnpde zu spielen. Es waren etliche Leute dabei, die ich über Mastodon kennen gelernt habe ❤️
Hier reift derweil der Plan, die PPoD 3 vielleicht mal etwas größer aufzuziehen? 1/2
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An Systemen gab es auf der #pinkponyofdeath con:
#Adnd1e #SwordsAndWizardry #Shadowdark #LiminalHorror #BlackHack #Odnd (LBB + Chainmail + Outdoor Survial), #Warlock #Mothership #StayFrosty #Mausritter #Cyborg …und ich hab bestimmt was vergessen (?)
2/2
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Outdoor Survival Spielbox
Alt...
Auslage auf der Pony Con mit selbstgedruckten „Tattoos“ und Zines
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Those three valleys to the northwest of that bend in the river look interesting, kind of like a claw. There are two islands a bit downriver, too. The river may be fordable at the larger island. A likely place for a settlement.
It's a days hike to get from Riverford to the Three Claw Valleys, a place of worship for the three forces of creation. Mystics say, this is where the Ur-Dragon left it's footprint in the landscape.
Auf der Suche nach einer Discord-Alternative sind wir bei pnpde.social grade dabei ein Forum auf Basis von Discourse zu etablieren.
Unser Ziel: kleineren #pnpde Communities ein selbst verwaltetes* Zuhause ermöglichen
Wir glauben, dass diese gemeinsame Plattform Raum für Individualität gibt und gleichzeitig den Austausch zwischen Communities beflügelt.
Wir suchen jetzt Leute, die sich vorstellen können, dort mit ihrer Community einzuziehen. Lust auf Unabhängigkeit von Discord? Schreib uns!
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@dnddeutsch Ich melde mal Interesse für „Rollenspiel in Münster“ an. Wir haben zZ 80 Menschen in der Signalgruppe.
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@dnddeutsch ich würde mir das gerne für unseren Verein Mal anschauen. Hast du eine Test Community um Mal die Funktionalität zu sehen? 🤓
I’m trying to find a hard copy of “Commodore 64 Whole Memory Guide” by Tim Arnot. I know… hard to find but if anyone has any leads, please pass them along 🙏🏻
#c64 #RetroComputing #RetroProgramming
Another clue that may indicate that the Temple of Elemental Evil was linked to the Drow series and the Eldar Elemental God.
In G3, there is this passage
"If the drum is beaten, the chimes rung, and the triangle struck while the altar is changed, a glowing golden eye will swim into view from the stone's writhing center." and "If a second summoning of this Elder Elemental God is made within the same day, it will act as follows (d 12):"
Now compare the symbols on the chests of the warriors on the original cover of T1 The Village of Hommlet.
#dnd #rpg #ttrpg #osr #gygax #toee
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@randomwizard One of the players in my Barrowmaze game has a shield like that... 😇 Took it off of a zombie they found who wore an outfit like that... 🧟 @lkh
I really dig snac2's threaded view.
As a side effect, I see the need to unfollow a couple of accounts to uncrowd the time line. Which doesn't mean I don't like those people anymore. I'm still seeing what they're posting in reply to other people's posts and when their posts are boosted by people I follow.
Like, on reddit (while I was there) you don't follow every user you're interacting with, neither on G+ (while it was there).
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- follow: show me everything a person posts, boosts and every thread (in it's entirety, with all its participants) they're interacting with 🤗
- neither follow, nor block: we're good, I don't see everything you post, but still a lot if you're interacting with my friends, and I will happily interact with you 🙂
- block: for whatever reason, I don't want to see anything you post or boost 😞
on grenzland.club. I like it so much, that I'm in the process of
migrating my tabletop.social account to this snac2 instance.
I'm writing this post in ed(1) on the command line btw. 🤓
Uhh, Samstag und Sonntag ist wieder die #PinkPonyOfDeath-#Con, diesmal in Mainz.
Ich werde den Dungeoncrawler #Grotten anbieten und freue mich wie ein Schnitzel, Leute vom #OpenTable in Person wiederzusehen und Leute wie @madmoses , die ich auf der #LoFiCon letztes Jahr kennenlernen durfte. Ich werde aus Kostengründen über Nacht fahren und Samstag Morgen wahrscheinlich ziemlich verknittert da ankommen. ^^ Da werd ich dann auf reinem Adrenalin auf der Con fahren :D
Biete nur eine Runde an, damit ich bei den anderen viel mitzocken kann. <3
Recent discussions got me to thinking back on the Gazeteer series again. Every now and then, I lament the point that Basic D&D was looked down upon in the 80s. Everyone cool was playing Advanced D&D.
But Basic had a lot of stuff going on in it. It tried all kinds of crazy rules, settings. It was a more open canvas.
The Five Shires finally gave halflings their due. Written by Ed Greenwood. Lot of interesting ideas for the setting.
In addition, it provided a way for halfing's to become the protector of the forests. They got a mix of druid and magic-user spells, as well as some completely new spells.
This idea was like prestige classes before 3e ever existed.
Ed Greenwood has hinted in the past that the Five Shires would fit comfortably within the Forgotten Realms, within the halfling kingdom of Luiren.
https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/16980/gaz8-the-five-shires-basic
Don't know exactly why, but I really love this.
Source: https://old.reddit.com/r/mapmaking/comments/1rr6sxd/upside_down_mediterranean/
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A map of the region stretching from just above the British isles to the Ghana/Nigeria coast from north to south, and from Cape Verde to Afghanistan on the west-east axis.
But here's the twist: The Mediterranean region is flipped upside down, so the Italian "boot" is emerging out of north Africa etc.
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So today, I spent hours figuring out how to build an AI character in GURPS. This character will be able to upload themselves (literally) onto other computers of high enough complexity. It can have duplicates, which can share memory when they make contact, however it's also reprogrammable which is an inherent danger, and it's got no manipulators, no legs and depends on electricity - daydreaming about transhumanity 🤯
I feel I'm well prepared for tonights chargen session 🤓
If you've ever wanted a more relaxed, contemplative place to talk about TTRPGs, Alarums & Excursions' legacy continues with https://everanon.org/ _Ever and Anon_ -- a free collective/collated fanzine (also known as an APA), compiled once a month! We've been getting a lot of OSR new contributors over the last month, but APA hacking isn't really about nostalgia; it's a different flow and approach to conversation and creation, and I'd love to see more people trying it! #ttrpg #apa #rpg
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Glimmermark session 45: first time since 2024 they dared to go further down into Castle Dyson. That is, after finding the goblin castle encroached by rather nasty undead at night.
(Which they caused but they don't know that)
A fight with gargoyles turned out to be much more difficult than they had hoped (4 attacks per round!), but it was a surprise attack by a wererat on the rear during the fight the nearly saw two of them go down.
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Actually two of them DID go down, but some lucky rolls on the death and dismemberment chart only knocked them out.
(Funnily just before we had a discussion of how soft my game is having that at all, in stock odnd these would have been deaths)
And then the wererat decided to abduct one of the KOd characters.
Not that this character doesn't have issues anyway, according to the rules poor Sturlo contracted lycantrophy from all that.
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RSS
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GIVE ME YOUR FEEDS
i want to subscribe to your blog
i will read it, and every once in a while i will even email you to let you know i enjoyed your blog post
give! me! your! feeds!
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about not using a smartphone: https://lkh.sdf-eu.org/flipphone/
rss links provided 🙂
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@lkh Remember that every fedi instance install “burns” a domain name because other instances remember the public keys and a new instance install changes. So don’t switch lightly!
I also like how the list of people (followed and followers) shows their bios by default. Of course the list becomes much more wordy like this, but also more informative at a glance. And I feel somewhat encouraged to think about who I really want to follow :-o