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  • No, the name is not a typo.  Superhero:44 is the name of a game so rare that most people who kn...
    · Jun 17 '22
  • Another exploration of a dramatic situation from Polti's The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situatio ns.  W...
    · Dec 14 '21
  • Continuing in The Thirty-Six, based on Georges Polti's The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, today's s...
    1 comments · Dec 13 '21

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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked hairylarry's photo
    Here I am Guerilla Livestreaming Beatles Park in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas on the 4th of July. https://youtu.be/q2n6n5y1y9M I got my picture in the paper. Then we enjoyed family game day at Eclectic Geekery. It was a good 4th for us.
    Jul 9 '22
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked hairylarry's photo
    Reminders Of Home
    Feb 15 '22
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    hairylarry
    Feb 17 '22
    I met the artist on Mastodon and got permission to post. I like the aquarian background.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL
    Happy New Year!
    Jan 31 '22
    1 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Feb 3 '22
    Happy New Year to you too.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked that austin_grafx joined our site
    Jan 21 '22
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Two of Thirty-Six
    Continuing in the series I'm calling The Thirty-Six, based on Georges Polti's The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations (original version and a modernized ta...
    hairylarry
    Dec 19 '21
    Sometimes the DM has to send a rescuer to avert a TPK. This can seem like the hand of God tweaking the PC's nose. So, best if the rescuer fits into the narrative, somehow, and it's also best if the rescuer helps the party survive rather than single handedly waltz in and save the day.
    ZDL
    Dec 20 '21
    Yep. It can be done correctly, but it's very easy to Tom Bombadil a rescue.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL created a new blog post
    Three of Thirty-Six
    Continuing in The Thirty-Six, based on Georges Polti's The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, today's situation is "vengeance of a crime" in which an "av...
    hairylarry
    Dec 20 '21
    Like Hamlet, "I must avenge my father's death." A ghost story with vengeance as a dramatic situation. Definitely medieval and it ends in a TPK as a dramatic resolution.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    Tabletop Games for Thanksgiving Gatherings.

    It used to be poker or Monopoly. Or maybe hearts if it wasn't a poker family.

    What do you play now? Here's two of our favorites.

    Apples To Apples
    D&D Family Game

    Please post your game suggestions for Thanksgiving in the comments.
    ZDL
    Nov 22 '21
    TICKET TO RIDE! CARCASSONNE!

    Two of the best games ever made, in my view.

    (For the first, I like the Europe version best.)
    hairylarry
    Nov 23 '21
    We love Ticket To Ride but I've never played Carcassonne.
    ZDL
    Nov 23 '21
    Carcassonne is a tile-laying game where you try to place limited meeples to control resources that are revealed as the tiles are laid out. You have to balance playing the long game (risking losing access to meeples) against the short game (getting sparse resources but keeping meeple flexibility).

    I've only ever played the base game or used "The River" expansion. Both are good, though I actually think the river does a good job of keeping things localised.
    hairylarry
    Nov 24 '21
    I will ask my kids about Carcassonne. They turned me onto Ticket To Ride.
    hairylarry
    Nov 25 '21
    This Thanksgiving it was Doodle Dice and Qwirkle. For Black Friday it's family game.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    I added our aggregated feed to the right column on the Main page. So when you post it hits Gamer+. If you have a gaming blog, vlog, channel, etc. with an RSS feed let me know and I'll add your feed.
    ZDL
    Nov 14 '21
    Why did I read that as "aggravated"?
    hairylarry
    Nov 15 '21
    Good to hear from you ZDL. Vivian and I agree that aggravated feed fits. I also added our tumblr feed just below the aggravated feed.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    Next Monday night on Inspired Unreality our opening topic will be Science Fiction and Fantasy literature. If you have favorites or opinions please comment here and I will use this thread as a resource for the discussion.
    Jul 7 '21
    7 0
    ZDL
    Jul 1 '21
    An alarming trend I noticed over my life—though I haven't read much recent SF or fantasy so I don't know if it's continued—is the inexorable change of speculative fiction from being largely optimistic to largely pessimistic, at least in western specfic.

    Old-timey SF in particular was, even if branded as "horror", still pretty positive at least in terms of the setting. Sure THESE PEOPLE may have died horribly, but the world at large was doing fine, and the reason these people could die horribly was because the world was doing well and humanity was spreading out to the stars!

    Slowly, but surely, across the '70s and into the '80s and '90s that positivity faded. The world was going to be obliterated in nuclear suicide. The world was going to be an unremitting corporate-driven Hellhole of crime and corruption. We were all doomed and the protagonists of stories were the unlucky ones who'd survived.

    Like I said I haven't kept up, so maybe this trend eventually reversed itself (though the popularity of shows like Rick & Morty suggest to me that existential dread and straight-up nihilism still rule the roost). But if it has, that's still nigh-on 50 years of social depression so serious it mimics clinical depression in its feel and its impact.

    Is that something worth discussing?
    hairylarry
    Jul 3 '21
    N. K. Jemison just won three Hugos in a row for her Broken Earth trilogy which was deeply dystopian. So the trend hasn't reversed. I do think there is more variety today then at any time in the past but mostly post apocalytic and totalitarian corporacratacies rule.
    ZDL
    Jul 5 '21
    Do you find this as troublesome as I do?

    In our superheroes we've moved to anti-heroes and psychopaths (I consider post-Dark Knight Returns Batman as a psychopath). In our visions of the future we only seem to be able to picture dystopias.

    There doesn't appear to be hope for anything in popular entertainment. It reminds me of the endlessly depressing post-holocaust fiction of the '80s.
    hairylarry
    Jul 5 '21
    Troubling, maybe. Realistic, probably.
    ZDL
    Jul 6 '21
    I'm not sure "realism" is a net good in this genre. SF used to be a vision of hope. Unrealistic hope, yes, but it gave ideals to strive for. When (not "if"!), in the process of striving for said ideals you fell short, you still made the world a better place in the process.

    We've lot ideals. We're wallowing in cynicism and self-pity. And it reflects in the world around us: people are more self-involved, nihilistic, and short-term focused.
    hairylarry
    Jul 7 '21
    Yes, Megan brought this up in the discussion. This isn't just happening in Science Fiction. Comedys used to be funny or they wouldn't last. Now cringeworthy is a goal that somehow is supposed to have humor embedded in it.
    ZDL
    Jul 7 '21
    She's ... not wrong. Comedies in general haven't been funny in ages. It's been more frat boy pranks and sorority "mean girls" for ages now.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    We had a good chat last night about Science Fiction and Fantasy literature starting with a discussion about Science Fiction as a late nineteenth and twentieth century phenomenon where Fantasy literature encompasses all of literature going back to the earliest written words. Now they are often indistinguishable. Then we discussed the dystopian trend in Science Fiction. The Golden Age (thirties and forties) saw mostly optimistic science fiction stories but in the second half of the twentieth century starting with the New Wave through today there has been a darker trend with many dystopian and post apocalyptic stories. Then closing the chat we each discussed our first experiences in Science Fiction. Viv and I both started reading SF in the fifties. I mentioned A.E. Van Vogt and Robert Heinlein and Viv mentioned Clifford D. Simak, Andre Norton, and Ursula K. Leguinn. Megan started Science Fiction with the TV series Farscape. What a difference 40 years makes. Please post your introduction to Science Fiction and Fantasy in the comments.
    Jul 7 '21
    6 0
    ZDL
    Jul 6 '21
    The Star Trek (original) TV series was my introduction to SF. Then I kind of spread forward and backward from that: the New Wave stuff in one direction (as it was published) and the Golden Age stuff in the other, chiefly Asimov, Heinlein, etc. for that bunch.
    hairylarry
    Jul 7 '21
    Yeah, I was books first and when there was science fiction television I thought, "Oh, wow!" but it rarely lived up to expectations. Except for "The Trouble With Tribbles". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trouble_with_Tribbles
    ZDL
    Jul 7 '21
    I was books first in general, but my parents weren't much for SF so I didn't have SF books until after I got exposed to the very notion of it via Star Trek.
    hairylarry
    Jul 7 '21
    I worked at the library shelving books and after I read through all the SF in the children's area I started checking out the Science Fiction they had upstairs. Now I read on my Kindle using Overdrive so still a library patron.
    sound
    Jul 9 '21
    Books have always enthralled me. When I was approaching my teen years A well written story would keep me reading till I fell asleep with the book in my hand. Mother complained about it but she never denied me access to books. We lost my father when I was in 7th grade. It was a traumatic time for us but we survived. When I reached Jr.High School I volunteered to help with the school library. It was a great way to learn just how libraries operate and why books have to be shelved in the right place for things to run smoothly.
    hairylarry
    Jul 11 '21
    I still read at night until I fall asleep. Sometimes I have to reread a page or two in the morning. And what am I reading now? The new N.K. Jemisin Hugo nominee, "The City We Became".
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Deep Dive: OSR Critique
    Our little hobby is filled with intriguing oddities.  One of the most persistent such oddities is our weird tendency to take what is already a fr...
    Jun 30 '21
    21 0
    robertsconley
    Jun 28 '21
    Without going into a lot of the detail. OD&D was written for the miniature wargaming community of the early 1970s. This was a community used to running sophiscated multi-session campaign. As there was almost no commercial rulesets, people made their system cobbled together from existing games like Diplomacy, miniature wargames, and above all their own experience in coming up with rules for a specific scenario based on historical or in case fiction.

    What rules were written were usually typed and mimeographed. Mostly used as a reference (charts, tables, etc) relying on the referee or players of the campaign for the explanations of how to use them.

    OD&D was written as a set of guidelines to explain to miniature wargamers how they could run similar campaigns to what they heard was happening in the Twin Cities and Lake Geneva. It was not intended to be for novices picking up a game for the first time off of a bookshelf.

    It subsequent popularity outside of this wargaming community caught Gygax off guard and he and later TSR recognized the issue and started correcting it once they had the resources to do so. For example the Holmes Basic Rules.

    I recommend reading books like Playing at the World, Hawk & Moor, and the Elusive Shift to get a sense of what was happened and why OD&D was what it was.
    robertsconley
    Jun 28 '21
    This is also important why there are big fans of OD&D. It not because of nostalgia or because it was first. It because it represents that early mindset of the hobby. When people understood that there was great fun to be had with gaming but because of the lack of commercial products* had to come up with their own to play.

    OD&D is represent that for tabletop roleplaying. A set of guidelines to be used as foundation for one own campaign. It was understood by its initial buyer in 1974 and 1975 as a starting point for their own campaign. Hobbyists like that idea and build on it for themselves and love how OD&D enables this.

    For example how one weaves a basket in a campaign? In a more recent edition or currently published RPG, likely there is an answer in the system. In OD&D, you would have to come up with your own take. Decide which factor the system already has that is important, attributes? class? level? Or perhaps come up something new for characters like a skill system or my own ability system for the Majestic Fantasy RPG.

    OD&D by its nature forces the referee and players to come up with their own answers. Gygax when writing used his experience running wargames campaign to put in what he felt would be the most useful material. Most of which are lists of stuff (monsters, items, etc.), tables, and charts.

    The characters mechanics were bare bones because wargame campaigns relied heavily on either how reality worked or how it was described in fiction. So if somebody wanted know how far they could jump, then they would look at sports statistics and knowing that a 10 Strength was average figure out what a 15 strength character could do from there. This can be seen in the attitude that Gygax, Arneson, and other referees of the era have about the trend of ever more complex system. One of common answer "Why don't you just look it up in a book or encyclopedia?" Which reflects what they did back in the day.

    Overall my view that this is a style of play, not THE style nor a worse style. Some folks don't have the time to the research like they had to circa 1970. They don't have the leisure time and appreciate authors that take the time to do the work and lay it out nicely in a rulebook. Bonus points if it also straightforward and quick to use and find.

    It helpful to have a through rulebook when the players and referees are novices as well.

    But it doesn't change the fact that for many OD&D does work 'as is'. But it helps to understands the early 70s wargaming mindset to better understand what OD&D does and does not do as a system. In that context OD&D is fine 'as is'.

    *One of the few commercially available ruleset for wargaming was Chainmail. Because of that it will well-known among the small wargaming community of the early 70s. Because it focus on medieval combat, along with the fantasy addenum, and also because Gygax was one of the author. It was mention for use with OD&D as a resource to use.
    ZDL
    Jun 28 '21
    "I have played at tables running B/X or Holmes and, like always if the DM was good the game was good."

    There is an element of truth to this that, however, obfuscates an important fact. I'll illustrate by way of analogy.

    I know a person here who does magical things with wood to the point I call him "the wood whisperer". I have seen him create wonderful works of art with a pen knife and a repurposed screwdriver. So obviously that's all you need for woodworking, right? Because in the right hands a pen knife and a screwdriver are great woodworking tools!

    Wrong.

    He wouldn't even agree with that. His workshop has about, conservatively guessing, 50 gazillion chisels alone: not one of which is a repurposed screwdriver.

    The fact that a good craftsman *can* make miracles with subpar tools doesn't mean that a) they should, or b) they'd want to.

    Yes, some truly great campaigns have been run with Gary Gygax's dross, whether that was OD&D, AD&D, or even ... I don't know ... Cyborg Commando. But every time I hear of these, I wonder inside (and sometimes vocally) how much better they could have been had the GM been using tools that aided him in success instead of gaining success despite the tools at hand.

    You're a musician. Imagine being told "a good enough musician can get by with a penny whistle" and as a result being forced to only ever do music with a penny whistle. That penny whistle is the OSR as it presents itself in my eyes.
    hairylarry
    Jun 28 '21
    Core takeaway. " I think there is room for the OSR concept: simple, fun-focused, hack-and-slash or exploration-oriented, pick-up-and-play games that also have room for depth and soul but that don't have a need for the millions of pages of rules for every contingency." My OSR experience starts with Rules Cyclopedia. I have earlier rulesets but only to collect and browse. I have played at tables running B/X or Holmes and, like always if the DM was good the game was good.
    hairylarry
    Jun 28 '21
    I think part of the thought process behind love of OSR is players remembering their early experiences and how much they loved the game when they started playing. The problem is that each of these players is remembering the game as it was played at their table and it was played differently at every table.
    ZDL
    Jun 28 '21
    I've never actually used the full Cyclopedia, but I did follow the Basic/Expert/whatever the next level was called stack up to that point and found it pretty decent. It was a bit limiting and had some things that really grated on me (like "elf" being a class, or "dwarf") but the information presentation was good and the system was mostly clean, if limited in scope.

    It did lack, however, things that other games had (like elves who weren't 100% fighter/magic-users!:D), like that coherent framework for governing situations not specified in the rules. I understand that was finally added on much later, but by then I was already tearing through dozens of other games and really had left D&D behind entirely.

    What I really want from an "Old School Revolution" is something that has that simple, pick-up-quick vibe of the Basic/Expert/whatever chain but informed by nearly half a century of subsequent game design. Something with a single core mechanism, say, that covers combat, social situations (like hiring henchmen, or bargaining), physical feats, etc. in a single unifying mechanism.

    Like, say, the Cepheus line of rules. Those are looking pretty nice these days.
    robertsconley
    Jun 29 '21
    @ZDL
    1) My overall thesis is that the initial release of OD&D was sufficiently coherent for its audience. And unlike 15 years ago, we have folks like Jon Peterson who done the research and documented what was going on. Which is often at odds with what people remember.

    The problem with OD&D is that it quickly escaped the confines of that audience. Gygax and TSR played catch up throughout the 70s as a result.

    2) I am not sure how you read "Rules for everything" in my comments on what good for novices. But I think we can agree that if you want to write a book that teaches people who never gamed how to play tabletop roleplaying, then you have to more than just be a concise reference for a system however simple or complex it may be.

    Original OD&D was not written for novices to the miniature wargaming hobby at the time.
    robertsconley
    Jun 29 '21
    @ZDL
    As for the format of OD&D, of course it could be better. We are fifty years in and as a hobby and industry we learned a lot about how to explain and present OD&D.

    THE issue of OD&D is that it assume the reader is part of the miniature wargaming community of the early 70s. If the reader wasn't then it a lot of important context was lost.

    For that audience, OD&D was a superior presentation compared to what was currently available. It far more coherent than the other rulebooks for miniature wargaming that I read from that time period.

    To say that Gygax should have done better assume that he had knew or planned for his game to spread beyond the miniature wargaming community.

    Nor is comparing it to publishing standards outside of the wargaming community valid. The wargaming community of the time was it own world and publisher did what they could with the time and budget they had.

    And today in 2021, we know so much more about what happening and what was being done. Thanks to collectors zines, games, and other material from the era has been found and documented.

    As a result OD&D wasn't some poor first attempt but an important step and revolutionary in its own right. And because we have things better documented we can fill in the missing context and enjoy the game 'as is'.

    And to clear there is no "lost' manuscript of missing rules out there. No additional rules. What documented that referee of the time used the rules as a framework and added their own research.
    robertsconley
    Jun 29 '21
    @Hairlarry
    "Do you have any handle on pre D&D rules sets, scans or text files? Thanks."

    I would sign up for the OD&D discussion forum or one of the old school facebook groups. There is https://www.acaeum.com/

    Also the Comeback Inn for Arneson and Blackmoor.
    https://blackmoor.mystara.net/forums/

    Prepare to be disappointed if you are looking for rules. The pre-D&D manuscript are pretty much what in the 3 LBBs of OD&D but specific details added or omitted as Gygax tried out things in his Greyhawk campaign.

    Or in some cases some enterprising playtester got a copy and make their own take.

    Don't get me wrong it is interesting and worthwhile to read and discuss about. But in the end in my opinion it all amount to what I outlined before. They thought of something to play, did the research, assembled or wrote some rules, played, tweaked and played again. Then repeat for something else.

    Because of that most of what there are references, charts, and tables that supported this stuff. Everything else was word of mouth or ad-hoc inspiration.
    ZDL
    Jun 28 '21
    "It helpful to have a through rulebook when the players and referees are novices as well."

    More helpful is a coherent core system upon which people can hang consistent decisions.

    I mean I EXPLICITLY SAID that "having a rule for everything" was insanity.

    There is a huge difference between "having a rule for everything" and "having a rules framework that can cover everything".

    Perhaps it might be best to read what you're replying to before you churn out two responses almost as long each as the original piece? You might not then feel the need to 'splain history I mentioned I was there for most of. Or to answer issues already addressed in the piece.
    ZDL
    Jun 28 '21
    (I note also that you utterly failed to address another key point: that even within the milieu of the time, OD&D's writing was INCOHERENT ROT. It was crap writing just from straight information presentation perspectives.)
    hairylarry
    Jun 28 '21
    Thanks to everyone for their comments. Looks like we've got a hot button issue here. All opinions welcome. Please share.
    hairylarry
    Jun 28 '21
    Specifically for ZDL. I started on Rules Cyclopedia and a mix of that with AD&D. Do you think that Rules Cyclopedia, the whole game in one book, accomplished it's task? By the time it was published everyone knew there was mass market potential.
    hairylarry
    Jun 28 '21
    robertsconley - I played Gettysburg and other war games in the sixties but I was never in a club. Then I skipped forward to Rules Cyclopedia and AD&D because, life. Vivian aka sound played fantasy role playing with miniatures in the early seventies from some of the mimeograph sheets you mentioned. This was in Beebe, Arkansas. Carl helped us research on the internet and we found a war gaming club with a zine that had three or four pages about fantasy role playing. This was pre D&D. Do you have any handle on pre D&D rules sets, scans or text files? Thanks.
    hairylarry
    Jun 29 '21
    @robertsconley "Thanks to collectors zines, games, and other material from the era has been found and documented." This is what interests me. Do you have links, book titles, ...?
    robertsconley
    Jun 29 '21
    @hairlarry

    I recommend right off

    Playing at the World by Peterson.
    Warning: Very Academic and very through.

    Hawk and Moor by Kelly
    Gets more into the personalities not as academically rigorous as Playing at the World but far more readable and approachable.

    The Elusive Shift by Peterson
    Documents what happened to the hobby after the introduction of Dungeons and Dragons. It charts the emerging concept of tabletop roleplaying as something distinct from wargaming.

    Also more relevant to how the hobby is today than the pre-D&D era because of the fact that D&D was written with an audience of miniature wargamers in mind. As a result everybody outside of that like hex and counter wargamers and science fiction fandom developed their own interpretation of what the game meant. And the consequences of these interpretations remain to us this day.

    And it documents those who have some of the exact same objection about OD&D that that ZDL's article has. As well responses to those objections.
    hairylarry
    Jun 29 '21
    thanks
    robertsconley
    Jun 29 '21
    No problem, I don't expect folks to always agree with me but folks should be aware of the wealth of documented history we now have. That it is there for folks to read and draw their own conclusions if interested.
    ZDL
    Jun 29 '21
    > Original OD&D was not written for novices to the miniature wargaming hobby at the time.

    Again, *I KNOW THIS*. This is why OD&D is *NOT* a good thing to fall back on for "simplicity". It is literally a set of guidelines written for a very small group of people in a very narrow area who'd been presumed to know certain things already (like Arneson's long-running proto-RPG campaigns), who had access to specific rulesets (Chainmail, chiefly), and thus knew what Gygax was talking about once you got through his absolutely terrible writing.

    My thesis wasn't "OD&D was a bad thing for its time and place". It wasn't (Gygax's writing notwithstanding). It's a bad thing for *NOW*.

    The goals of the OSR are laudable. Their weird worship of an incoherent mass of lore is not one of those laudable things. That is the point.
    robertsconley
    Jun 30 '21
    Thanks that clarifies the thesis of your original post.

    As for folks and OD&D in the present, what you are not taking into account is that w now know about that "small group of people in a narrow area".

    It not a mystery to the OD&D community and more than a few folks including myself wrote out about it.

    For example Philotomy's Musings.
    http://www.grey-elf.com/philotomy.pdf

    Or Finch's Old School Primer
    https://www.lulu.com/...age=1&pageSize=4


    Folks talked to folks who ran successful OD&D campaign from back in the day and the few that continued to present.

    It not 1995, when people only had the 3 LBB to go by and scratched their head at what looked like a incoherent mass of lore. By 2005 those who didn't dismiss OD&D found out there was more to its story, including myself.

    By 2015 that story had become well known enough that folks figured out and expanded on the different ways to approach OD&D and it had regained some popularity and was supported again. Largely because OD&D did not turned out as incoherent as people thought.

    So unless what had happened for past 20 years is addressed I don't see how a thesis that OD&D is a bad fit for *NOW* can be supported.
    ZDL
    Jun 30 '21
    I think I'm going to just start replying by quoting things already said that you apparently didn't bother reading.

    ===========

    I know a person here who does magical things with wood to the point I call him "the wood whisperer". I have seen him create wonderful works of art with a pen knife and a repurposed screwdriver. So obviously that's all you need for woodworking, right? Because in the right hands a pen knife and a screwdriver are great woodworking tools!

    Wrong.

    He wouldn't even agree with that. His workshop has about, conservatively guessing, 50 gazillion chisels alone: not one of which is a repurposed screwdriver.

    The fact that a good craftsman *can* make miracles with subpar tools doesn't mean that a) they should, or b) they'd want to.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their status
    One of the interesting things that has been brought up is "aulde skoole" gaming and its fond veneration in some memories. It's my opinion (as someone who started in 1977 with the "blue book" edition) that a lot of people are using seriously pink-tinted lenses when thinking back to those early days.

    Which sounds to me like a new kind of blog entry: a historical deep dive.

    Stay tuned!
    hairylarry
    Jun 21 '21
    Sounds interesting
    ZDL
    Jun 21 '21
    Well, I started writing it and then computers did computers and I lost an hour's work.

    I'll try again later.

    I hate these things.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    Mixed parties.

    D&D games today tend to have parties where all the PCs are at the same level. Often the whole party takes an evening to level up.

    In earlier times parties were often mixed. Leveling up was done per person based on XP and XP was doled out by the DM at the end of the evening based on PC performance. Players took notes to remind the DM, I killed that troll or I cast that spell trying to maximize XP earned. Also different classes leveled up at different XP so there was almost never an entire party leveling up at the same time. This took a lot of bookkeeping but that's the kind of geeks we were.

    Also when a PC was killed the player would roll a new character at level 1. So a party of four could have a level 3 thief, a level 4 fighter, a level 2 wizard, and a level 1 cleric. (Who used to be the best fighter until he died.)

    I like this. It adds a certain grittiness to the game and it certainly affects battle tactics. But when I wrote Just Quest as a minimal rules OSR I wrote, "The characters level up on successful completion of a quest". A simple rule for a game designed to be easy to play.

    Where do you stand on this? Do you enjoy playing in mixed parties? If you're a DM do you try to keep your parties at about the same level or do you embrace the idea of mixed parties?

    We may discuss this on Inspired Unreality Monday night or we may just drink some tea with the Milyagon witch and see what happens next.
    Jun 21 '21
    10 0
    Draklorx
    Jun 18 '21
    I think this is a cool aspect of old school games that isn't common anymore. I love the grittiness of it, and the mixed levels never bothered me when I played. I remember even having some guest players over who brought over their level 9 character to our 5th level campaign. It never bothered us.

    That said, for a dungeon master it's much easier to do milestone leveling and have all the players be the same level. It's a lot less to keep up with, and certainly for writing adventures I think it takes a load off the DM if they only have to worry about writing it for 4-6 players of 3rd level, than 4-6 players of 2nd-5th level.
    hairylarry
    Jun 18 '21
    Less bookkeeping for players too. Pencil and paper used to be required. And tasks were assigned. Map making, accounting, ...
    ZDL
    Jun 18 '21
    There are several aspects of old school games I like, most notably the increased diversity that randomness tended to cause.

    The wildly divergent capabilities of characters, however, was not one of them. In the presence of most GMs, having the weakest character meant a) dying, or b) not having anything to do. Neither of these is really conducive to enjoyment.

    There are a handful of GMs I've met in my life who could give equal "screen time" to characters of wildly divergent capabilities, but those are few and far between.

    Mixing levels amplifies this already-existing problem tenfold in my books. (Never mind that levels measure nothing meaningful in D&D; that's a rant for another day.) If you're the first level magic user in a group of 3-5th level other things, your entire gaming session consists of cowering in the corner and hoping you don't get noticed. You have nothing you can do that helps anybody (unless you're lucky enough to have gotten Sleep -- in which case you got to do one thing that might have slightly contributed), and this will also very badly impact your ability to level up to a point where you can be useful.
    hairylarry
    Jun 19 '21
    Points well taken. (and I really want to hear your rant for another day, that levels measure nothing meaningful in D&D.) Some things a DM can do to address your points are to start the new character at second or third level but still in the bottom ranks of the party. Level the character up quickly by adjudicating extra XP for doing well in spite of the low level disadvantage. Help the low level character out with found spells or magic armor/weapons.
    hairylarry
    Jun 19 '21
    And then there's the whole non combat side. The role playing, puzzle solving, exploration part where characters of all levels are more equal and the results depend more on the player than on PC stats. And DMs can award XP for good performance in non combat situations.
    hairylarry
    Jun 19 '21
    There is a built in premise in OSR games. PCs need XP to level up. You get XP by killing monsters. So, let's go kill some monsters. At a lot of tables that is the game. To me, it's a side show and as I get older I run more games that are all exploration and role play without any combat at all.
    hairylarry
    Jun 20 '21
    Liz wrote: "Just wanted to add something since I'm not sure i can even make it Monday. Mom at one point started a drop-in drop-out/open play DCC campaign (it didn't last very long due to where we lived) so I have a little experience.
    What she did was give each player that was there their 4 level 0 characters for the funnel. After that, we all picked a character to level to level 1. The idea would be that it took 1 game to get to level 1, 2 additional games to get to level 2, 3 games for level 3, etc.
    If a player was to have their character die, they'd start again with either 4 level 0s or a level 1.
    So figuring out when you level is easy, since you only have to count the number of games you were able to play in. But you would still eventuality get level differences, as players die or miss games (again, this was supposed to be for open play)"
    CarlHeyl
    Jun 20 '21
    I'd like to add that in the oldest of old school most of your XP came from earning treasure not killing monsters. Which means two things 1. You don't have to fight that big bad monster if there was a way around it to get the treasure behind it. and 2. Your lower level character would level very rapidly because of the amount of gold the higher level party was able to procure.

    I appreciate the comments about mixed level parties being difficult to adjudicate for. But one thing that is different for old school (unless I am mistaken they changed this in later editions) is that any magic user could use any scroll. Even if they are not high enough level to cast that spell. So if you have a low level wizard among your 5th level parties dropping a few scrolls changes the whole dynamic.
    hairylarry
    Jun 20 '21
    I didn't know that. When I mentioned scrolls I was thinking of more spells per day not stronger spells. Also when I was first playing D&D we got almost all our hit points from killing monsters just because the game wasn't treasure oriented. Generally speaking group XP is always the lion's share and will help low level characters level up fast.
    ZDL
    Jun 21 '21
    You may level up quicker sure.

    Provided you don't get instakilled by the first creature larger than a kitten that takes a swipe at you.

    Provided you don't get BORED being relegated to the sideline for multiple grueling hours of watching OTHER PEOPLE have fun.

    I mean my calculus is simple: I play games for fun. If I'm not having fun, I don't go to that game anymore. I don't plan fun on spec. It's fun out the door or I move on.

    The non-combat things that hairylarry mentioned can ameliorate this, but in my experience those tended to be few and far between in most campaigns. You'd have a short time in the village talking to the villagers and then it's the next fifteen sessions in the dungeon.

    There are a great many things to praise in the old school. The way mixed-level parties worked was not one of them. Some GMs could figure it out. Most couldn't, leaving the low-levelled character's player bored and/or frustrated and, very likely, absent next week.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on FollowMeAndDie's status
    This week I took the plunge and tried my first serious effort at solo RPG play.
    Episode 196 - Solo RPGs
    hairylarry
    Apr 25 '21
    We've discussed solo play here before. I guess I'll have to try it to get it. I am definitely into 1 DM and 1 player. Viv and I did that for an Ari and Caper adventure. Ari, the PC, had a smart wild cat, Tude, for a pet. Her sidekick, Caper, was an NPC so I ran the game and 1 NPC in the party and Viv ran Ari and Tude. That really worked well.
    hairylarry
    Apr 25 '21
    Just had an interesting listen. Gamers chuckdee and Peter_R are both into solo gaming. https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/7
    ZDL
    Apr 26 '21
    I use a system called "Mythic" as a capstone system to do solo RP. It works quite well, the really cringe-inducing illustrations notwithstanding.
    ZDL
    Apr 26 '21
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    I got this new game on Sunday last, got a chance to play it today. And, unlike most strategy games I play against SO, I won! 😂
    Apr 17 '21
    9 1
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    hairylarry
    Apr 12 '21
    Beautiful and simple setup. What's the strategy?
    ZDL
    Apr 12 '21
    The game is a prettier version of the game Gobblet, it turns out. (https://www.boardspace.net/gobblet/english/gobblet_rules.pdf) Each player has three stacks of nesting cylinders (12 pieces total) and the board is 4×4. In alternating turns each player may choose one of:

    1. Take the TOP piece of an off-board stack (i.e. the largest) and place it on a blank space.
    2. As #1, but place it over (any, regardless of colour) SMALLER piece already on the board.
    3. Move any showing piece of that player's colour to a blank space on the board.
    4. As #3, but place it over a smaller piece.

    The goal is to get four in a row of your own colour: horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. If you touch any piece in play that you can play (on the board, not in your stacks), you *must* play it. If lifting up a piece reveals a line of four of the opposing colour, and your move doesn't stop that line of four from completing, you lose. (In other words there's a memory component to the game.)

    It's fast (a long game is 15 minutes) and it's simple to learn. It may be a perfect "we've got a few spare minutes, let's play!" game.
    hairylarry
    Apr 13 '21
    I like the simplicity of the rules.
    ZDL
    Apr 13 '21
    It's suited to fairly young children, yet has depth that kept two adults playing a few times on the first trial.
    hairylarry
    Apr 14 '21
    Or maybe a grandparent and grandchild. In our hopefully soon post pandemic world.
    ZDL
    Apr 14 '21
    I'll be playing it with a 13 year old boy sometime this weekend. I'll let you know.
    sound
    Apr 15 '21
    Hi ZDL, how are you? Sounds like you have been busy. We have been doing a little rearranging here. Seems like we do it every spring. Makes the house feel enough different that we enjoy the effort. Hope you have some time to enjoy the rest of the week.
    ZDL
    Apr 17 '21
    I'm less busy at work now (back to five day weeks) so much more busy over weekends finally. :D
    sound
    Apr 19 '21
    I'm looking forward to warmer weather just not hot weather. That being said I cant wait to to see our flowers blooming all over our yard. Spring begins here tomorrow.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked hairylarry's status
    Family Game tonight! Woot!
    Apr 9 '21
    1 1
    ZDL likes this
    hairylarry
    Apr 10 '21
    I liked it too. Looks like we're going up against a Frost Giant. Gonna have to be clever. The direct approach doesn't seem wise.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's blog post
    Four Webcomics
    Here's four webcomics that I like and some of them even have something to do with gaming.
    I don't like rom com movies much. In fact I don't like movi...
    Apr 4 '21
    8 0
    ZDL
    Mar 28 '21
    I used to read OOTS almost compulsively. It's been around for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.

    I'll check out the other ones starting with Gunnerkrigg.
    hairylarry
    Mar 29 '21
    Do you have any other favorite webcomics? I love that part where you're going through the archives and it seems like the goodness will never end. But before you notice you're waiting for the next episode and you only get to enjoy one or two episodes at a time.
    ZDL
    Mar 29 '21
    There was one I enjoyed (Sluggy Freelance) until it went a bit too far off the rails for my tastes.
    hairylarry
    Mar 30 '21
    Thanks. I found it. Looks interesting.
    ZDL
    Mar 30 '21
    Gunnerkrigg is really very good!
    ZDL
    Apr 3 '21
    And I'm caught up on Gunnerkrigg. Wow is that an interesting storyline!
    hairylarry
    Apr 4 '21
    I"m enjoying it too. Kind of a modern day fantasy with gothic art.
    ZDL
    Apr 4 '21
    With a hint of native American flavouring that is kind of nice too, yes.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    My last set of literal gem dice. This is my favourite semi-precious stone: bloodstone. This gives me a full set of unakite (selected because it's basically indestructible, being essentially granite), a full set of bloodstone, and a "mongrel" set of a variety of stones (shown earlier). And a full set of dice made from dichromic prisms.
    Mar 21 '21
    2 1
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    hairylarry
    Mar 20 '21
    Not as shiny but in some ways the coolest. Are they pretty heavy?
    ZDL
    Mar 21 '21
    Yes. They're quite heavy.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's photo
    Here's my icosahedron. It's part of my recording studio, acoustic room, vocal booth, out of control room. I'm going to make a sign that says Roll To Hit. A double double-entendre.
    Mar 15 '21
    5 1
    ZDL likes this
    ZDL
    Mar 14 '21
    Isn't this a dodecahedron? Icosahedrons are the 12-siders, no?
    hairylarry
    Mar 15 '21
    I know it's counter intuitive but dodecahedrons are 12 siders and icosahedrons are 20 siders.
    ZDL
    Mar 15 '21
    But you mentioned "icosahedron with the hieroglyphs" in my gem dice picture and that's a 12-sider.
    hairylarry
    Mar 15 '21
    My mistake. Glancing at the photo I thought it was a 20 sider. So what are the hieroglyphs for, anyway?
    hairylarry
    Mar 15 '21
    I see you already answered this question.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    More new dice. These are literal gem dice.
    hairylarry
    Mar 14 '21
    Thanks. I like the icosahedron with the hieroglyphs.
    ZDL
    Mar 14 '21
    That's an astrology d12: those are the sun signs or whatever those are called. The stone for that one is "blue sandstone". In person the stone has odd depths. The gold flecks are such that they give the illusion of being layered. Quite nice.

    The d4 is a stone I can't find the English term for: it's literal translation is "natural black wood grain gemstone". It *might* be a petrified wood, but if it is it's smoother and more amorphous than any of those I've ever seen.

    The d6 is blue turquoise (sintered, obviously: a real chunk that size would cost more than a car!), the d8 is a brown tiger eye, the 0-9 is lapis lazuli, the 00-90 is something that translates as "red sandstone" -- it's gold-flecked like the blue one -- the d12 is opal, and the d20 is green malachite.

    The d6 with the weird glyphs in the foreground is something translated as "colourful jade" and that's one half of a pair of Tibetan divination dice. (The other half is still being etched. It will be made of "egg yolk opal".)
    hairylarry
    Mar 15 '21
    Yep, the hieroglyphic dice have pentagons for faces = 12 sider.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's blog post
    Gamer+ News March 8, 2021
    After a couple of fun chat sessions we are returning to Ember tonight for some more actual play. The Chronicles Of Ember is set in a unique role playi...
    Mar 8 '21
    4 0
    hairylarry
    Mar 8 '21
    I followed you.
    ZDL
    Mar 8 '21
    Followed back. I think. (I'm still not used to it.)
    hairylarry
    Mar 9 '21
    Anyone else using the fediverse?
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on sound's status
    Hey, how's things?
    ZDL
    Feb 25 '21
    Things are OK. You?
    sound
    Feb 26 '21
    Getting there. The older I get the longer things take. Hope you are doing fine.
    ZDL
    Feb 26 '21
    Well, 2020 was a year of two months of terror followed by 9 months of 6-day workweeks, so glad to see the back end of that year going away.
    hairylarry
    Feb 27 '21
    2020 was a year of staying home for us.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on FollowMeAndDie's status
    My thoughts on Getting Started with Science Fiction RPGs.

    https://followmeanddie.com/...cience-fiction-rpgs/
    ZDL
    Feb 23 '21
    I used to have real trouble with SF as a gaming genre outside of space opera. The solution turned out to be in the very problem statement.

    As you identified, there's just so much bewildering *variety* in science fiction in terms of genres, tones, scales, et al that it's almost, but not quite, a useless term.

    Once I figured out that the reason I had problems with the genre outside of space opera was precisely because space opera is a very specific subset of science fiction, the rest fell into place: now I don't play science fiction games. I play "space exploration". Or "world settlement". Or "interplanetary trade". The key was always in my hand, without my recognizing it: focus.

    Nice article that brings back so many years of frustration and its eventual resolution for me.
    hairylarry
    Feb 24 '21
    I didn't really understand SF gaming until I played in RoboG's game. I went for a computer technician and loved making up all kinds of stuff with cyber jargon. It's like you get to be a hacker without having to do all the work. Essentially every computer, data jack, cable, or robot became a path to more information. I enjoyed that.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on FollowMeAndDie's status
    Hopefully nothing else comes out of the blue and delays things this year.

    https://followmeanddie.com/...-with-the-card-game/
    Feb 19 '21
    3 1
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    hairylarry
    Feb 17 '21
    I don't do card games but I'm interested in yours when it's available.
    FollowMeAndDie
    Feb 17 '21
    Thanks! - I wasn't a card game guy until I invented one.
    ZDL
    Feb 19 '21
    I'm a huge fan of card games, but more of the traditional variety (though I play a lot of commercial ones too). Currently I'm a fan of "Six Tigers".
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked FollowMeAndDie's status
    I've added a new tag on my blog: Download for all the posts with a link to download a PDF or Google Sheet, or one of my PDFs on DriveThruRPG.

    If there's something on my blog you'd like me to make a PDF or spreadsheet available, please let me know which blog post.

    https://followmeanddie.com/tag/download/
    Feb 14 '21
    0 1
    ZDL likes this
  • ZDL
    ZDL
    新年快乐! (Happy New Year!)
    Feb 11 '21
    0 2
    MyrddinWyllt and hairylarry like this
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on MyrddinWyllt's status
    I've been running a game of Lords of Olympus for the last 5 months. If anyone here likes Greek Mythology and enjoys the idea of playing Gods and Demigods in an infinite Multiverse I would highly recommend it.
    Feb 8 '21
    11 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Nov 15 '20
    Does it work for a one off or only as a campaign?
    MyrddinWyllt
    Nov 15 '20
    I suppose it could work as a One Shot... But the game seems to work better as a campaign.
    hairylarry
    Feb 6 '21
    I wonder if ZDL has played it.
    ZDL
    Feb 6 '21
    Nope. It has two strikes against it: first it's based on Amber which is really not my cup of tea, second it was made by someone who I would never wish to support financially in any way.

    I like Precis Intermedia, the publisher, but one of the authors Brett Bernstein champions leaves me absolutely cold.
    hairylarry
    Feb 6 '21
    Roger Zelazny's Amber?
    ZDL
    Feb 6 '21
    There was (ages ago!) an RPG based on Zelazny's books. This is the same system, just retooled for Greek mythology.
    hairylarry
    Feb 7 '21
    So I guess it's the Amber game system you don't like. The Amber books are great. SF/Fantasy adventure narrative. One issue with the book is that the protagonist is actually Hitler or should I say was Hitler since the series starts just after that unfortunate episode (from the point of view of the Amberites). The reason I don't think the magic system is good for RPGs is because walking in shadows and walking the pattern are solitary endeavors so it's diffiucult for a party when every time the magic system is invoked they go their seperate ways. Maybe ok for a single player and a GM.
    ZDL
    Feb 7 '21
    Yes, I meant the Amber game specifically, yes. I really didn't like it at all, and this game is that same game with a Grecian skin.
    MyrddinWyllt
    Feb 7 '21
    It's actually somewhat different. The Magic is different, the setting is different and the rules are based more on the unpublished Amber 2e. As to Pundit, I agree with not liking him, like at all. However I really like his games which by and large are divorced from his idiotic nonsense.
    ZDL
    Feb 8 '21
    I have no opinion on the quality of his games because no money will ever leave my hands to buy them, nor will any of my valuable time be wasted on examining them.

    I generally don't buy from people I despise.
    MyrddinWyllt
    Feb 9 '21
    Fair enough
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on MyrddinWyllt's status
    So I have bee roped into running Hollow Earth Expedition. Luckily I really like the game. I just hope that I have a better time running it than that aborted attempt years ago.
    Feb 7 '21
    3 0
    ZDL
    Feb 6 '21
    I had it (in its first edition, I think?) and liked it and couldn't get anybody else interested in playing it. :(
    hairylarry
    Feb 6 '21
    Is it based on "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" or is it just inspired by it?
    ZDL
    Feb 7 '21
    Inspired by a whole lot of fiction including JttCotE, yes.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked hairylarry's photo
    Feb 7 '21
    2 1
    ZDL likes this
    sound
    Feb 6 '21
    Great job on these guys!
    hairylarry
    Feb 7 '21
    And thanks for the little houses.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    food is good and that doesn't rhyme even though it should
    Feb 6 '21
    4 0
    ZDL
    Feb 5 '21
    There's a whole poem about things that should and shouldn't rhyme that don't and do respectively.

    http://ncf.idallen.com/english.html

    English is a failed experiment. We need to find a better language!
    hairylarry
    Feb 6 '21
    That's cool. I got to the second verse and I had to express my pet peeve about the Wheel Of Time books. There is a major city called Tear. But how is it pronounced? How hard world it have been to spell it Teer or Tare? What was Robert Jordon thinking? How can I be nitpicking such a fantasy classic? Well ... I can.
    hairylarry
    Feb 6 '21
    Synchronicty is running strong this morning. Anyway I added Chaos to MixRemix. https://mixremix.cc/...erard-nolst-trenite/
    ZDL
    Feb 6 '21
    When I was teaching oral English (16 years!) I had a standing challenge: if you could recite The Chaos (reading or memorized, I didn't care!) without a mistake you got an automatic A and didn't have to come back to class ever.

    I never, in 16 years, had a student pass that test. :D
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  • ZDL
    ZDL created a new blog post
    Fringe Review: Bloodshadows: Fantasy-Noir Roleplaying
    Full disclosure: I was given this game for free by its publisher.  This was not done for purposes of review (more out of pity!), but it would not...
    Feb 3 '21
    0 1
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on FollowMeAndDie's status
    Some musings on solving challenges with less combat.

    https://followmeanddie.com/2021/01/26/non-combat-solutions/
    Feb 2 '21
    11 2
    ZDL and hairylarry like this
    hairylarry
    Jan 27 '21
    I like to write non combat modules or combat light modules where there is a possibility of combat but it isn't baked in.

    Fortunately Vivian likes to play non combat.

    For many players the combat is the game. I'm with you. I avoid combat. And when I do combat I prefer tactics, plan B, tricks and general sneakiness.

    But if I'm at a table where the players love combat. Roll for initiative.

    Thanks
    ZDL
    Jan 27 '21
    I had my Great Awakening in the early '80s, and that actually led me away from the D&D family because so many people not only just assumed combat, but assumed combat to the death with no quarter, no fleeing: just grinding down hit points to 0 on one side or the other then moving on to the next hit point grind.
    hairylarry
    Jan 28 '21
    And D&D doesn't have to be played that way but it is common. And more common in 5e with more powerful characters out of the box and death saves.
    ZDL
    Jan 29 '21
    Yes, I know it didn't have to be. :( My "great awakening" was the realization that there was more to life than rolling d20+d<damage> non-stop. But I couldn't find others who thought that way in the AD&D circles I frequented, so I moved on to DragonQuest (where I knew players who did non-combat).
    sound
    Jan 30 '21
    As a DM who got involved in the early days of roll playing I tried to prohibit the idea that if you were in combat it must end with somebody dead. The thought that maybe this situation could be resolved by talking through it rather than hacking and slashing wasn't usually employed. I often docked points from those who just wanted to kill without any other choices made available. Real life sometimes seems to follow that route now and then and I think using it as entertainment is just asking for increasing bad choices in our youth.
    ZDL
    Jan 30 '21
    I think the problem was that a lot of early role-players stepped into it from the world of war gaming. (I didn't.) I'm positive a lot of the people I gamed with in the early days just viewed the characters as complicated playing pieces to optimize the movements of, not as characters in a setting.
    hairylarry
    Jan 31 '21
    And that's the kind of combat I like to play. Where you use strategy and work as a team to win the combat. If that means they run away or surrender you still win. But I prefer avoiding combat most of all and as a player try to roll dice as least as I can.
    FollowMeAndDie
    Jan 31 '21
    Yeah, figuring out how not to use all your resources in one fight so you have enough to accomplish your goal. Less fighting leads to less time wasting healing up and going back to town empty handed.
    hairylarry
    Feb 1 '21
    Especially if there is a time element. You must retrieve the potion before the full moon to keep your friend from turning into a werewolf ... Can't waste time fighting and healing. Let's figure out a way to sneak around those kobolds.
    ZDL
    Feb 2 '21
    Time pressure is a GM tool more GMs should use more often.
    hairylarry
    Feb 2 '21
    I agree and I build it into my modules when I can. For instance the party was tasked with gathering medicine and with the people in the neighboring village sick they needed it by tomorrow. In my latest quest the party has to get a branch off the ancestor tree in a magic forest with about a bajillion hills and a big old tree at the top of every one. The catch was the ancestor tree glowed with a fey glow when the moon was full. So you know that only happens every 28 days so they had to be in the right place at the right time.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on FollowMeAndDie's status
    If you have data on your computer you consider important, now is a great time to back it up!

    I use Backblaze online backup for $6.00 per month. If my PC dies and the hard drives fail, I can get my data back.

    All my RPG stuff in electronic format, including my blog backups are all safe!

    You can get a free month and help me get a free month if you decide to buy the service using my link:

    https://secure.backblaze.com/r/01cjx8
    Feb 2 '21
    5 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Jan 31 '21
    Good backups are essential. My brother uses a similar service called Carbonite and he swears by it.
    FollowMeAndDie
    Jan 31 '21
    Yes, no matter what you want to keep, back it up.
    hairylarry
    Feb 1 '21
    I'm never sure so I back up all of our home directories. We mainly use Xubuntu Linux so that's all of our personal data. I back up in house to two backup servers. I rsync everything to one server with 11 TB. I am working on my second server using a backup program called Restic. I recommend this approach only if you are a retired computer consultant who builds machines for fun and is always looking for something to do with them. I'm literally surrounded by computers. To my right is the Hairy Larry Rocks server running Yunohost. https://hairylarry.rocks To my left is my HP workstation where I do most of my work and my MixRemix server running a LAMP stack. http://mixremix.cc And in front of me is my proxy server directing web traffic for my server subnet and an extra big UPS to keep things running when the lights go out. If you don't really understand everything I'm talking about here you might want to use an online backup service like Follow Me And Die does. (I'm not just a gaming geek, I'm a computer geek too.) Cheers!
    ZDL
    Feb 2 '21
    SO has set up something that backs up my personal stuff onto a network thing every hour and that thing itself backs up the critical stuff to Baidu Cloud daily.

    He did this the day after he had to spend three weeks painstakingly recovering a decade of pictures from a hard disk that broke... :-/
    hairylarry
    Feb 2 '21
    Yep, the only thing harder than making good backups is not making backups. It's not if you lose your data it's when. I don't know how many times I've preached this. When I would take on a new client the first thing I made them do was put a backup system in place. And then I would check it. I wouldn't do anything until then because I have been known to make mistakes too. The last thing I wanted to happen was them telling people that their new computer guy lost their data.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on sound's status
    Winter is upon us and it's a good thing to have distractions like Gamer+ to help us keep busy and active. Hope all of you are staying warm and content. ... Sound.
    Jan 28 '21
    3 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Jan 25 '21
    Winter is coming.
    ZDL
    Jan 28 '21
    Winter is only breathing hard here. :-/ I miss snow.
    hairylarry
    Jan 28 '21
    It snowed here last week. But it didn't stick. Anymore we go through a lot of winters without snow. And then there was the ice storm where everybody lost electric for weeks.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's photo
    sound
    Jan 17 '21
    This is a rather head scratching pic for me. The robin seems to be perfectly calm or maybe it is just so stunned and perplexed it can't move.
    hairylarry
    Jan 17 '21
    The robin is ensorcelled by the necklace.
    sound
    Jan 23 '21
    I see. Well that explains it I reckon.
    ZDL
    Jan 24 '21
    There is rather a lot going on in this picture...
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their status
    I'll just post this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ybWOBckIGI

    Enjoy!
    古琴电音,赛博朋克!《大夏2049》时运多艰,人力不弃!天真·自得3.0——自得琴社跨年音乐会live - YouTube
    《大夏》原是上古时期歌颂夏禹治水之乐舞。昔洪水天降,生灵罹难。禹治山河,以利黔首。而今临时疫,万力同心。苦雨终晴,斗转尽昼。枯木前迹,万木待春。生生不息,是谓大德。今以此为感,重拟新声。作曲:唐彬 编曲:梅卓、郑琳电古琴:唐彬 电子音乐:梅卓 原声古琴:白无瑕 古筝:蔡珊琵琶:古津宁 ...
    Jan 9 '21
    3 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Jan 9 '21
    This is cool. Like a big rock show.
    ZDL
    Jan 9 '21
    This group does recreations of ancient works, new works done in ancient styles, modern-style orchestration with ancient instruments, and off-the-wall stuff like one of their orchestral pieces where a didgeridoo is a prominent instrument.

    I love them!
    sound
    Jan 10 '21
    Oriental music often wings off into interesting combinations of instruments and self expression. I believe this is a good thing and a way to add form to sound.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on FollowMeAndDie's status
    Since 2020 was the year of disappointment, I'm not bothered by missing my goal of 1,000 YouTube subscribers.
    I made it to 969, and today it is 970.
    I think I can manage 30 subs in 12 months.

    https://www.youtube.com/c/Followmeanddie
    Follow Me, And Die! - YouTube
    The YouTube Channel for my RPG blog, Follow Me, And Die! I talk about RPGs, games, and other geeky stuff: reviews, how-tos, advice, and GM tips
    Jan 2 '21
    4 0
    hairylarry
    Jan 2 '21
    2021 will bring you to over 2000 subscribers.
    ZDL
    Jan 2 '21
    Unless whatever 2021 has in store for us depopulates the planet to under 2000 people. But, I mean, that goes without saying.
    hairylarry
    Jan 4 '21
    Always the optimist. I blame it on too much dystopian gaming.
    FollowMeAndDie
    Jan 4 '21
    lol
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  • ZDL
    ZDL
    A Hippy's New Ear to one and all!
    Dec 31 '20
    2 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Dec 31 '20
    I just watched Megan on twitch.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's blog post
    Gamer+ News December 28, 2020
    Inspired Unreality open game chat, tonight at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Our opening topic will be "And Wh...
    hairylarry
    Dec 30 '20
    Well we brought the past into the present and pushed the present a little bit into the future but we still can't wait for that screen door to hit 2020 on the ass.
    ZDL
    Dec 31 '20
    2020 houndsight: "That was a rough seven years!"
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's photo
    hairylarry
    Dec 30 '20
    I love the crane terrorizing those fish.
    ZDL
    Dec 31 '20
    That's lovely and evocative.
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on FollowMeAndDie's status
    I made a Worldbuilding cheatsheet on Cheatography. I didn't realize that a draft was visible until I started getting emails that it was seen 50, 100, and now 200 times.

    Let me know what you think.

    I've got edits in mind, but the Cheatography interface is counterintuitive

    https://cheatography.com/...eets/world-building/
    World Building Cheat Sheet by Larry Hamilton - Download free from Cheatography - Cheatography.com: Cheat Sheets For Every Occasion
    World Building Cheat Sheet by Larry Hamilton - Download free from Cheatography - Cheatography.com: Cheat Sheets For Every Occasion
    Building a world for RPGs (Role Playing Games) has several steps to consider and two general approaches for how to implement those steps. The general methods are top down and bottom up.
    Dec 28 '20
    6 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Dec 26 '20
    We played Microscope on a Related to Geeks video. It is a world building RPG where you play out scenarios to build the world. Surprisingly it is top down and bottom up at the same time. And fun to play too.
    FollowMeAndDie
    Dec 26 '20
    I've read about Microscope, but have yet to get or play it.
    ZDL
    Dec 28 '20
    If I didn't have Spark, I'd likely use Microscope as my favourite game instead.
    hairylarry
    Dec 28 '20
    Is Spark world building too?
    ZDL
    Dec 28 '20
    Yes. The very first thing you do in a proper (non-prefab setting) Spark game is build the world. It's glossed over in my review.
    FollowMeAndDie
    Dec 29 '20
    How To Build a Dungeon is world building related to dungeons, but is more a mental exercise for the GM than a stand alone game.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    I like to tell Dad jokes. Sometimes he gets them.
    ZDL
    Dec 12 '20
    I hate you.
    hairylarry
    Dec 13 '20
    My granddaughter told me that.
    hairylarry
    Dec 13 '20
    Except she said sometimes he laughs.
    hairylarry
    Dec 13 '20
    We've got a whole thing about how "I don't get it" is a punch line.
    sound
    Dec 15 '20
    No kidding every kid got to experience that one.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL
    So yesterday I posed a "wrong answers only" challenge (https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3068?ft=site) on a picture. I said that there was a gaming-related point that I'd explore later.

    Later is now.

    That is something that is pitched as an "eternal pen" (or sometimes "eternal pencil"). It writes like a pencil, but is about as difficult to erase as an ink pen, hence the inconsistency in names. And while not "eternal", it will outlast me. If I wrote a lot daily using only that pen, in a decade's time I might start noticing a bit of wear at the tip. If I rotate the tip as I use it—say between pages—I may not ever notice wear over the rest of my lifespan.

    So how is this potentially gaming-related? This "new invention" that got a lot of press a while back (like ... 2015 or so?) is really just the latest rendition of something called "silverpoint" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverpoint) What's old is new.

    Before pencils existed, metalpoint did. The metal used could be lead (hence "pencil leads" – the first pencils used lead for the core), copper, brass, or, as the name suggests, silver. The technology and tooling fell by the wayside over the years as pens that carried their own ink (instead of requiring inkwells) and erasable pencils showed up. The former were more flexible than metalpoint while the latter had the advantage, from the seller's standpoint, of constantly requiring updates. You didn't buy one and use it for decades. You bought one and used it for a few weeks and bought another. And another. And another. Also metalpoint required tough papers and was rough on the hands. (Writer's cramp is a very real problem with silverpoint...)

    But now, with newer alloys, the writer's cramp angle is going away and with a cultural shift away from environmentally-hostile disposable culture, silverpoint, or a close kissing cousin, is making a comeback.

    Past technologies are a gorgeous ideas mine. A lot of amazing things were made in the past that fell by the wayside for a variety of reasons, not all of them having fallen to superior alternatives. (I'd argue that silverpoint is one of these: I like my metalpoint devices like this one better than pencils. Erasure is a non-starter for me. I don't make mistakes…) As a GM, part of doing good world-building is to look at alternative courses of technological evolution. What would the world look like if metalpoint were kept as the foundational writing/drawing form? What would the world look like if shipping had expanded from junks instead of caravels? There's a huge mine of ideas in history just waiting for someone to go spelunking through it.
    Gamer+ - social networking
    Gamer+ - social networking
    ZDL uploaded 1 new photo to Newsfeed Photos album
    Dec 10 '20
    0 1
    hairylarry likes this
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    What is this? (Wrong answers only, please.)
    Dec 8 '20
    3 0
    ZDL
    Dec 8 '20
    There is a point to this, gaming-wise, that I'll expound upon after laughing at some of your suggestions.

    This falls into the realm of "lost inventions" and those are a treasure trove of ideas for gaming.
    sound
    Dec 9 '20
    Celery square dancing.
    hairylarry
    Dec 9 '20
    a lamp pull
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    Rule 1 - don't whistle on Discord
    Dec 2 '20
    7 0
    ZDL
    Nov 29 '20
    What, not even Dixie?
    hairylarry
    Nov 29 '20
    Especially not "Dixie"!
    ZDL
    Nov 30 '20
    I shall look away then.
    hairylarry
    Nov 30 '20
    I get it!
    ZDL
    Nov 30 '20
    :D I was wondering if anybody would. Some call my jokes "too subtle". Those not trying to be polite call them "terrible".
    hairylarry
    Dec 1 '20
    My idea of the perfect joke is one that goes over everybody's head except for one person who is Rolling On The Floor Laughing His Ass Off.
    ZDL
    Dec 2 '20
    I've pulled those off once or twice in my life only. It generally requires a three-language pun or the like.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on sound's status
    I need some zippity dodaday, but it hasn't shown up yet. Maybe it's dragging it's appearance in the hope I will miraculously come up with some without help.
    hairylarry
    Nov 27 '20
    Jiminy Crickets Sound! I'm in the same boat.
    sound
    Nov 28 '20
    I managed without it so I guess I managed without help.
    ZDL
    Nov 28 '20
    I'd love to help, but my get-up-and-go got up and went. :-/
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: The Terran Trade Authority Roleplaying Game
    This one is a weird one folks, so strap in and get ready.

    Today's game is The Terran Trade Authority Roleplaying Game (henceforth TTARPG ...
    Oct 9 '20
    6 0
    hairylarry
    Oct 8 '20
    Probably not as bad as you say. Most people don't read most of the rule books anyway. And they're going to page forward to character generation. I agree. They shouldn't have to. And given the book I would likely give up before I found character generation. But that's me.
    hairylarry
    Oct 8 '20
    I think the real unanswered question is who's going to play this game? There's no established fandom or compelling feature set.
    ZDL
    Oct 8 '20
    That's a mystery to me too.

    In the '70s and '80s there would have been a HUGE fandom based on the popularity of the TTA books. Those books were DYNAMITE and probably helped set the feel of SF gaming despite never being directly used. (You can see a lot of TTA look and feel in Traveller...)

    By 2006 there was no demand for this book and, as their attempt to rejuvenate the series would have shown them, there was no way to make demand. Anybody who wanted to game in the TTA universe was already doing so with other games--a task rendered simple by virtue of the fact that the books were almost ruthlessly focused on SPACESHIPS and installations, not people. You could fit almost any game system and it would work. Add in the terrible editing on the new book, plus the terrible information design of the game itself, and, well, there's a reason why this is a fringe game.

    And believe me, it is as bad as I say. Stuff players need to make characters and actually play is mixed in with setting information and fluff in ways that makes it difficult to find. And, indeed, so difficult to find that even if you do use the ToC to get to character generation, you'll still need information in the info dumps to proceed ... with no cross-referencing nor easy stand-out way to spot it.
    hairylarry
    Oct 9 '20
    I see.
    hairylarry
    Oct 9 '20
    I've only done SF gaming a couple of times but I enjoyed playing a computer geek.
    ZDL
    Oct 9 '20
    In SF games I tend to play badass types. Gunners. Infantry. Rocket riders (fighter pilots). That kind of thing.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's blog post
    Gamer+ News September 21, 2020
    Gamer+ News September 21, 2020

    Happy Autumn. Fall is here. Summer is over. Winter is coming.

    Tonight on Inspired Unreality we continue our quest...
    Sep 21 '20
    1 1
    MyrddinWyllt likes this
    ZDL
    Sep 21 '20
    It's been autumn for a while! Mid-Autumn festival is in 8 days and it's a bit later than usual this year!
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: Story Engine
    Today's review is going to come from the weird side of game publishing.  The game is Story Engine and it has a fairly convoluted history tha...
    hairylarry
    Sep 19 '20
    Everything is imperfect. Sounds interesting. The only similar game I have played is Microscope which is world building a scene at a time. I enjoyed that a lot. I also find the dice pool interesting. You get curves and you get to roll a lot of dice at once which is always fun.
    ZDL
    Sep 20 '20
    The dice pool mechanism in *Engine* (not *Bones*) with its aspects and rolling ones thing is actually very nice. It's quick. It's easy to explain and understand. The "auto ones" thing for skills is a clever way of having skills make you more reliable at certain jobs instead of playing the escalation of difficulties and penalties game.
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: Starships & Spacemen
    We're reaching deep into the wayback machine for this review.  Today's fringe gem is another game from the (in)famous game publisher Fantasy Game...
    hairylarry
    Sep 16 '20
    Interesting. I don't know about dramatist but i am more interested in role playing a story with character development than I am in fighting. This is still a minority position. Most games I play in seem to be one combat encounter after another which I can enjoy even though it's not my preferred play style. Thanks again for sharing this history with us.
    ZDL
    Sep 16 '20
    There's a lot of little gems in the early days of RP (1974-1984, call it) that didn't survive not because they were bad but because they were ahead of their times: the public wasn't ready for the ideas, and of course they were breaking new ground and made mis-steps.
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's blog post
    Too Much Information Or Maybe Not Enough?
    Some D&D players meet a stranger on the road and start into talking and just blurt it all out. I mean, "He seems nice enough." is not a good excus...
    ZDL
    Sep 10 '20
    Can't you train them out of that by just having them get bitten a few times?
    hairylarry
    Sep 10 '20
    Only if I'm the DM. And when I'm the DM I hate to have the NPCs lead the PCs. I have played in games where the DM just said it outloud. I can't answer questions you don't ask. Worst come to worst the NPC can just blurt out the important info for no reason but I don't like that either.
    hairylarry
    Sep 10 '20
    If only every player at my table knew exactly what I was hoping they would do. Wait. That's not good either.
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    Please welcome Alan, the creator of The Chronicles Of Ember, a unique role playing experience.

    https://chroniclesofember.com/

    https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Alan
    ZDL
    Jul 24 '20
    Hello, Alan!
    Alan
    Jul 26 '20
    Heyoi! Good to be here!
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    hairylarry
    Jul 20 '20
    Looks like they magnetize into hex patterns too.
    ZDL
    Jul 20 '20
    They do. They magnetize into a stack for storage and deploy into magnetically-arranged layouts at need. It's a pretty nifty thing. I'm getting a set. :D
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    hairylarry
    Jul 20 '20
    Is this the same kit as the first picture? I like the yin yang one.
    ZDL
    Jul 20 '20
    The first picture is my dice tower/dice tray combo. The second is these things stacked for storage (held together by magnets top and bottom). The third picture is the trays deployed for use (held in whatever configuration you arranged them in by magnet again).
    hairylarry
    Jul 21 '20
    Thanks
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    The best good luck charm EVAR!
    Jul 7 '20
    3 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Jul 6 '20
    As a DnD monster we can call it a round centipede. Amazing speed downhill.
    ZDL
    Jul 6 '20
    I'm going to call mine Arthur. Arthur is king, see, and kings wear crowns. Corona means crown so...
    ZDL
    Jul 7 '20
    Someone else recommended Covfefe instead... I may go with it.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    Jul 2 '20
    2 0
    hairylarry
    Jul 2 '20
    On Inspired Unreality I told Vivian I would rather roll a 1 than a 20.
    ZDL
    Jul 2 '20
    I like BIG failure better than "meh" failures myself, yes. If you're going to fail, FAIL BIG! :D
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: Mythic
    Mythic is, to quote the game's introduction, "a universal, improvisational role-playing game".  Designed by Tana Pigeon, a name you've likely nev...
    hairylarry
    Jun 25 '20
    This game sounds really interesting to me. The print copy is about $20.
    ZDL
    Jun 25 '20
    It's also available on Drive-By.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    We're supposed to start a campaign at DnD Beyond Friday. We already made characters. Has anyone used DnD Beyond?
    ZDL
    Jun 25 '20
    What is DnD Beyond?
    hairylarry
    Jun 25 '20
    It's an online system for playing 5e. https://www.dndbeyond.com/
    ZDL
    Jun 25 '20
    Ah. I don't even have D&D5. :D
    hairylarry
    Jun 25 '20
    Me either. My son, Kier (Draklorx), is DM. We just go online and play, I guess. So far we made characters. We played a 5e campaign in person for about a year (which I prefer) but now we're going to play online so we can all stay home.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    I just posted some Battle For Wesnoth pics over at Tabletop Inspiration.

    https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/35
    Tabletop Inspiration | Gamer+
    Tabletop Inspiration | Gamer+
    This is a group for sharing pictures that can inspire ideas for places and characters in tabletop role-playing games.&amp;amp;nbsp; Come share your mos...
    Jun 1 '20
    3 0
    ZDL
    Jun 1 '20
    Nice choices!
    ZDL
    Jun 1 '20
    (I need to add a few more now.)
    hairylarry
    Jun 1 '20
    looking forward to seeing them
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL liked hairylarry's photo
    I used this for Yon Rogar in our Milyagon adventures.
    May 25 '20
    0 1
    ZDL likes this
  • ZDL
    ZDL created new group
    Tabletop Inspiration
    Tabletop Inspiration
    This is a group for sharing pictures that can inspire ideas for places and characters in tabletop role-playing games.  Come share your most inspi...
    Total users: 2
    hairylarry
    ZDL
  • ZDL
    ZDL uploaded 1 new photo to Ready for the Zombie Apocalypse album
    52%ABV (104 proof) Luzhou-style baijiu.
    Apr 14 '20
    0 1
    hairylarry likes this
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    hairylarry
    Apr 13 '20
    I used to drink Wild Turkey 101. 136 proof is ridiculous.
    ZDL
    Apr 13 '20
    You mis-spelled "awesome!". They have a 60%/120 proof product that I've tried and it was actually weird. Though it was definitively a "IT TASTES LIKE BURNING!" liquor, it also tasted GOOD. Like really good. So I'm giving their 68% stuff a shot.
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: CORPS
    Today's review is gong to be from the person I consider the James Brown of game design.  Which is to say the hardest-working man in game design.&...
    Mar 23 '20
    4 1
    hairylarry likes this
    RobboG
    Mar 23 '20
    //In exchange you're a "hobbyist" grade in all liberal arts, "professional" grade in art, and "world class" in sculpture// I think you meant world class in art and professional grade in art. If I understand the system,
    hairylarry
    Mar 23 '20
    Both of these are going out in Gamer+ News today.
    ZDL
    Mar 23 '20
    RobboG: Not in the way I splayed that tree, no. Liberal arts is the primary skill and that's at 3 (hobbyist). Art is the secondary skill and that's at +4 for a total of 7 (professional). Sculpture is the tertiary skill and that's at +3 for a total of 10 (world class).
    ZDL
    Mar 23 '20
    hairylarry: Glad you're enjoying the reviews. More to come.
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: High Adventure Role Playing (HARP)
    Rolemaster

    No history of RPGs would ever be complete without discussion of Iron Crown Enterprises' Rolemaster line of game products.  Despite ...
    Mar 23 '20
    4 1
    RobboG likes this
    RobboG
    Mar 22 '20
    I envy your talent for summarizing complex rules systems so concisely and logically.
    ZDL
    Mar 22 '20
    The secret is to ignore most of them. :D
    hairylarry
    Mar 23 '20
    This is a good read. Recommended.
    ZDL
    Mar 23 '20
    Thanks. :D
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on FollowMeAndDie's status
    Podcast 175 - Building The Deck For A Card Game

    I discuss what I've learned building the deck for my card game and ordering a play test deck from two POD services GameCrafter and DriveThruCards.

    https://anchor.fm/...r-A-Card-Game-ebbut3
    Mar 17 '20
    10 0
    ZDL
    Mar 10 '20
    There's a company I buy things from (pre-made card decks) that will do very high quality bespoke PVC cards. This pic is an example of their work (not bespoke). The cards are a good thickness, basically indestructible, and have a slightly-pebbled surface to keep them from slipping against each other when held (a problem I have with some of my other PVC cards).
    FollowMeAndDie
    Mar 10 '20
    What's the name of the company?
    ZDL
    Mar 10 '20
    Their name is 妖风道骨桌游. :) I deal with them through https://wohstudio.taobao.com/search.htm
    ZDL
    Mar 10 '20
    And this is the link for the bespoke cards purchase: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=574541237352
    hairylarry
    Mar 14 '20
    That's a cool looking website. Too bad I can't read anything on it except DIY.
    ZDL
    Mar 14 '20
    Chrome has an auto-translate mode that does well enough for figuring things out (along with some really funny mistranslations).
    hairylarry
    Mar 16 '20
    I'll try it.
    ZDL
    Mar 17 '20
    Be aware that Taobao is a huge time sink. You'll find the weirdest things there, and they'll link to even weirder things until you're in the dark corners where people sell live giant hornets in bulk.
    hairylarry
    Mar 17 '20
    Live giant hornets can come in handy on some quests.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their status
    Wuhan Clan World Tour Products from glatkistan | Teespring
    Wuhan Clan World Tour Products from glatkistan | Teespring
    Discover Wuhan Clan World Tour T-Shirt from glatkistan, a custom product made just for you by Teespring. With world-class production and customer support, your satisfaction is guaranteed. - The Wuhan Clan is touring the whole world in...
    hairylarry
    Feb 11 '20
    Ok now ...
    ZDL
    Feb 11 '20
    Sorry. Dark humour is the only thing keeping what few scraps of sanity I have left. :-/
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their status
    So, I've made a decision.

    Once this virus plays out here, I'm going to start the process of negotiating a locally-licensed brewing of Corona beer called Wuhan Corona.

    The slogans write themselves! The ads will go viral!

    Wuhan Corona: Killer taste!
    Wuhan Corona: Catch it while you can!
    Wuhan Corona: Spread the … word!
    Wuhan Corona: Convalesce with a glass!
    Wuhan Corona: Just add a twist of Lyme!
    Feb 3 '20
    3 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Feb 2 '20
    That's dark.
    ZDL
    Feb 3 '20
    Gallows humour is a popular thing here. :D
    RobboG
    Feb 9 '20
    Wait till your commercial for it goes viral.
    You need to sign in to comment
  • ZDL
    Jan 31 '20
    4 1
    hairylarry likes this
    RobboG
    Jan 30 '20
    ZDL
    Jan 31 '20
    I'll swap you your book for 1,000,000 Wuhan 2019-nCoV viruses!
    ZDL
    Jan 31 '20
    (Alternatively I'll swap you your book for NOT sending you 1,000,000 Wuhan 2019-nCoV viruses.)
    RobboG
    Feb 1 '20
    Wuhan du yu think yu are? :D
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their status
    So, because of the Wuhan Plague I'm getting an extra week of holidays! (Maybe even more!)
    hairylarry
    Jan 27 '20
    Well that's good news. Kind of. I mean I never root for a plague. But I'm glad you're getting some time off.
    ZDL
    Jan 28 '20
    More time off. I was on holiday starting the 18th. :D I was due to go back on the 3rd, but now it's the 10th.
    hairylarry
    Jan 28 '20
    Well, I hope you get to go back to work soon. And I hope they find an innoculation.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked RobboG's photo
    Hey all, I've not been active here because I was relearning publishing–layouts, editing and all that. I also redid Universe Unleashed. I'm pretty happy with the new version for publishing and I'm ready to run some more stories on Main Mission as they hurtle out of the Solar System!
    Jan 25 '20
    4 2
    hairylarry and ZDL like this
    hairylarry
    Jan 24 '20
    cool
    hairylarry
    Jan 25 '20
    Let me know when you want to play. I'll play if I can.
    hairylarry
    Jan 25 '20
    Larian's been doing a Thursday night game on the Ember Discord.
    RobboG
    Jan 25 '20
    I should get in on that. I love what I've read so far.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL
    Happy New Year!
    Jan 24 '20
    0 1
    RobboG likes this
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's photo
    Jan 9 '20
    3 0
    hairylarry
    Jan 8 '20
    This is the one that convinced me.
    ZDL
    Jan 9 '20
    Convinced you of what? I'm confused.
    hairylarry
    Jan 10 '20
    Convinced me that this guy has something going on.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    So, I've opened a new branch in my musical instruments collection. Hitherto limited to woodwinds, reeds, and members of the ocarina family, this is my first foray into plucked instruments. Woohoo! More money sinks!
    Jan 8 '20
    6 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Jan 6 '20
    So is that a +3 Hammer of Death?
    ZDL
    Jan 6 '20
    Sadly it's only a +1 Hammer of Tuning. :(
    hairylarry
    Jan 7 '20
    You tune with a hammer?
    ZDL
    Jan 8 '20
    Yep. If you want to sharpen you hammer on the long end. If you want to flatten, you hammer on the short end. That shifts the little tine through the clamp.
    hairylarry
    Jan 8 '20
    When tuning a marimba you can shorten the key to make it higher in pitch. To make it lower in pitch you carve out more from under the bottom of the key.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on JesseQ's photo
    Happy new year, nerds.
    ZDL
    Dec 31 '19
    Back at you. ;)
    hairylarry
    Dec 31 '19
    I still have almost 3 hours to go. And I'll be asleep by then so it won't matter. Since the end of the sixties the decades seem less important
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    https returns! The cert would expire on Christmas!
    Dec 26 '19
    1 1
    ZDL likes this
    ZDL
    Dec 26 '19
    I'm sure it was a wonderful Christmas present! :D
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    Following in ZDL's "Footprints" I will tell you my joke.

    What's worse than Christmas Music?

    Jazz Christmas Music.

    I made up that joke after recordings two excellent jazz Christmas concerts. So it's not always true.

    For example.

    Dec 24 '19
    3 1
    DarthDuke likes this
    DarthDuke
    Dec 23 '19
    Jazz music is okay as long as it's only instrumental and no one tries to jazz sing. Can't stand it, especially when they scat. I love instrumental jazz though. :)
    hairylarry
    Dec 23 '19
    I sing. I scat. Oh well. Sorry.
    ZDL
    Dec 24 '19
    Crothers? Is that you?
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: 1PG/Hero Force
    Unlike my previous, starkly negative review I'm switching back to the generally positive again.  Today's fringe game is actually a game line, one...
    Dec 21 '19
    5 2
    RobboG and hairylarry like this
    RobboG
    Dec 20 '19
    You like me! You really like me!
    ZDL
    Dec 20 '19
    No, I like the book you wrote. :P
    hairylarry
    Dec 21 '19
    This review makes me want to play in RobboG's charming setting.
    ZDL
    Dec 21 '19
    RobboG has an eye for interesting characters.
    hairylarry
    Dec 21 '19
    In gaming, as in fiction, the character is most important.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: Powers & Perils
    In my last, third, review I waxed reminiscently about the "halcyon years" of RPGs in the '80s, using Psi World, one of my favourite games ever, as an ...
    Dec 18 '19
    2 1
    RobboG likes this
    hairylarry
    Dec 18 '19
    Ok then. That was hard to read and it's just the review. I think you convinced me not to download it. I am way to unruly for a game like this.
    ZDL
    Dec 18 '19
    I tried my hardest to get the insanity down coherently in this review. The books are ... waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more incoherent than even this review. :-o
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked FollowMeAndDie's status
    Wandering Thoughts

    If I were ever to open an RPG themed restaurant I'd have to call it "Follow Me, And Dine."
    Dec 16 '19
    0 2
    hairylarry and ZDL like this
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's status
    I'm going to the NEA Gamers Guild Christmas Potluck tonight. And I'm taking peanut butter fudge. Everybody gonna like me.
    ZDL
    Dec 15 '19
    Except the people with peanut allergies, but that goes without saying. ;)

    And the people not there who are now dying of jealousy. (MAIL ME SOME!)
    hairylarry
    Dec 15 '19
    It was a cool party with a dirty santa game where your rolled a d6 and then took an action from a table.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on JesseQ's status
    Since I have trouble getting folks together to play any sort of western, I will now be changing my game pitches to include "like _The Mandalorian_, but in 19th Century North America."
    Dec 11 '19
    5 2
    ZDL and hairylarry like this
    hairylarry
    Dec 11 '19
    I want to play Wayne and Wax. Riftworld Magic in a gun totin steampunk era. And I never thought I would want guns in DnD.
    ZDL
    Dec 11 '19
    I occasionally get the urge to play in a western game, to be honest, though I'd likely lean in the direction of playing Cat Balou which would probably upset the GM. :D
    JesseQ
    Dec 12 '19
    Unless we can get a Nat King Cole impersonator to GM, I'll have to warm up my singing voice.
    hairylarry
    Dec 12 '19
    Car Balou in Mistworld.
    hairylarry
    Dec 12 '19
    Sorry about the Rift above. Getting my Sanderson magic systems confused.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's blog post
    Gamer+ News December 9, 2019
    Gamer+ News December 9, 2019

    After we recorded the Related To Geeks Podcast last Monday Vivian (sound on Gamer+) fell in the house and broke her kn...
    ZDL
    Dec 11 '19
    The mobile site is very close to being useless. You can't read blogs from it. You can't go to groups. The dashboard only gives you messages and such, not what the dashboard desktop gives. The only really usable spots are Main and Photos and Users.
    hairylarry
    Dec 11 '19
    Exactly. Blogs should be easy to improve. Click a link and read a block of text. It could have more features than that but just being able to read the text would be great compared to getting a two sentence teaser and then being told to use the desktop app.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their photo
    I don't know if this pin is advertising or mockery. It makes me laugh either way! I will never unsee this interpretation of the Adobe Reader logo.
    Dec 9 '19
    3 1
    RobboG likes this
    hairylarry
    Dec 8 '19
    Bizarre and somewhat scandalous.
    ZDL
    Dec 9 '19
    It is bizarre. It is somewhat scandalous. And it is on my wool coat's lapel right now.

    At the office, the only person who noticed was our designer and he started laughing so hard I was concerned for his continued breathing. I suspect he's ordering one.

    (He uses a million Adobe products every day, so he's both a fan and a hater at the same time, which makes this pin perfect for him!)
    hairylarry
    Dec 9 '19
    I started my video editing career with Premiere years and years ago. I have since migrated to open source solutions mostly Blender and Open Shot. My daughters, Megan and Gretchen, use Adobe products all the time for journalism and design. So I get the fan and hater at the same time comment.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: Psi World
    The 1980s were halcyon years for RPGs in many ways.  There was insane diversity of subject matter as every conceivable niche and sub-niche was ex...
    Dec 1 '19
    4 1
    RobboG likes this
    hairylarry
    Dec 1 '19
    Another excellent commentary on an interesting game. I'm thinking if you do 10 or 12 of these you've got a book. Especially if you can get permission to use some of the artwork.
    ZDL
    Dec 1 '19
    10 or 12? At this rate I'm going to be book-ready by the end of December! :D
    ZDL
    Dec 1 '19
    I dread my next one, however. Because it will be starkly negative (which I'm not a fan of doing) and because to review it I'll have to read it again (which I REALLY don't want to do! :D)
    hairylarry
    Dec 2 '19
    That's why I avoid writing negative reviews.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked RobboG's status
    Here's wishing everyone a Happy thanksgiving, whether you celebrate it or not! Have a great day.
    Nov 29 '19
    2 2
    hairylarry and ZDL like this
    hairylarry
    Nov 28 '19
    We celebrate it all right. But I didn't get to play family game like I hoped.
    hairylarry
    Dec 1 '19
    We did play family game yesterday before my gig at the library. New Jazz In Jonesboro is now done for this year. As far as next year goes, that's in the future. Do you think I have 2020 vision?
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: Mazes & Minotaurs
    Continuing my little experiment in reviewing little-known RPGs, past and present, I'd like to go in a direction directly opposite of my last review.&n...
    RobboG
    Nov 26 '19
    Thanks for a very thoughtful and detailed review. I'm a fan of M&M and I'm going to break out my pdfs.
    ZDL
    Nov 26 '19
    I fell in love with that game ... sometime in 2005? The jokes were funny, the game charming, and yet oh-so-playable. It was a joke, but not ONLY a joke. (Unlike Hackmaster which is only a joke and playing it is ... performance art?)
    hairylarry
    Nov 26 '19
    I have heard of this game and I seem to remember the cover art but I have never played it. I go for the militantly free.
    hairylarry
    Nov 26 '19
    I posted at MixRemix and included a link to this review. https://mixremix.cc/2019/11/27/mazes-and-minotaurs/
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  • ZDL
    ZDL joined group
    OSR
    OSR
    This is group for OSR Community here on Gamersplus.
    Total users: 47
    ZDL
    hairylarry
    CarlHeyl
    Sarah
    Peter_R
  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on their blog post
    Fringe Review: Spark
    This is an experiment.  I'd like to start reviewing little-known RPGs, past and present, as a way of introducing concepts and ideas that are not ...
    Nov 23 '19
    2 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Nov 23 '19
    Sounds interesting. I'm into collaborative fiction and this sounds a bit like that. The world building part reminded me of a game I played called Microscope where you play out scenarios to answer questions about the history of world you are building. The scenarios are a lot like role playing but in every scenario you play a different character. I enjoyed playing it and would be glad to try it again but like Spark, probably not for everyone.
    ZDL
    Nov 23 '19
    This is like RPG meets collaborative fiction with a dash of improv, yes. Not for everybody but definitely for me. :)
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  • ZDL
    ZDL
    So I'm trying out play-by-post for the first time at https://rpol.net. I was trying out two games: one by our very own @DavidVC, and another by someone else.

    DavidVC's game is a 20s-era Gangbusters B/X game (made by our very own @Mark) and, despite my newness to the genre *and* my lack of knowledge of the actual game, the process of getting a character made has been largely smooth and comprehensible.

    The other game...

    Well, note that I said I *WAS* trying two games out. Past tense. Despite this game being unusual even for play-by-post, and despite the rules that state people must post at least once daily, the owner of the game was largely absentee. Questions asked about process were given vague answers and finally, once I figured out where I thought I should begin (I'm still not clear on whether or not I was right!), I got no feedback at all for five days.

    But boy was the game owner quick to respond with booting me from the game when I asked to be removed from it! :D

    Somehow I don't think that game will be doing very well. In the meantime, I think DavidVC's game is already doing quite well if the posts are anything to go by.
    RolePlay onLine!  Welcome to RPoL
    RolePlay onLine! Welcome to RPoL
    RolePlay onLine is a custom made, free web based message board community that anyone can create a game on. It supports internal private messages, groups and multiple aliases, character sheets and descriptions, plus a game map, intro and url. Your email address is kept private and is only used for verification.
    Nov 22 '19
    1 1
    hairylarry likes this
    hairylarry
    Nov 22 '19
    I've never done play by post. In the early 90s we had a bbs with a DnD game area but it wasn't playing DnD. Just collaborative fantasy fiction in a DnD setting. Which was pretty cool but not play by post.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on hairylarry's photo
    I just read "The Variable Man" by Philip K. Dick. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32154/32154-h/32154-h.htm
    Nov 20 '19
    3 1
    ZDL likes this
    hairylarry
    Nov 20 '19
    It's an interesting story but very early and not as good as the Andre Norton book I'm reading now.
    ZDL
    Nov 20 '19
    This was before he got fed up with the genre and started to bend it. :D
    hairylarry
    Nov 21 '19
    Yes, it is a genre piece written for the pulps with competent protagonists and an evil villian.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on RobboG's status
    Mount up you rannies! You're 'a burning daylight!
    https://www.drivethrurpg.com/...eweed-Tales-Volume-3
    Tumbleweed Tales Volume 3 - Surreal Estate Games | DriveThruRPG.com
    Tumbleweed Tales Volume 3 - Surreal Estate Games | DriveThruRPG.com
    Tumbleweed Tales Volume 3 - Welcome to the Four Color Western. Inspired by the garishly colored and fast paced comic books of the 40
    Nov 14 '19
    3 3
    ZDL, hairylarry and Mark like this
    RobboG
    Nov 13 '19
    Yeah the paste function isn't loving my jpegs. :D
    hairylarry
    Nov 13 '19
    Love the cover art.
    ZDL
    Nov 14 '19
    I love the contents. We've had words about the layout... ;)
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  • ZDL
    ZDL commented on DavidVC's status
    Running a B/X game and starting a Gangbusters B/X game on rpol.net. Message me if you'd like to get in on the action!
    Nov 13 '19
    6 1
    Mark likes this
    Reidzilla
    Nov 5 '19
    tempted...
    DavidVC
    Nov 13 '19
    ...we have cookies...
    ZDL
    Nov 13 '19
    What's a B/X?
    Mark
    Nov 13 '19
    Dang I missed it!
    DavidVC
    Nov 14 '19
    ZDL: Basic/Expert, the early 80's format for low-mid level D&D booklets.
    DavidVC
    Nov 14 '19
    Mark, I'll be happy to add you. Hell I'd sit back and let you be GM!
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked RobboG's status
    Is there any interest in me running more Universe Unleashed?
    Nov 13 '19
    1 3
    ZDL, RobboG and Mark like this
    hairylarry
    Nov 11 '19
    I would like to play again.
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  • ZDL
    ZDL liked hairylarry's photo
    Elven tree house by DM Crafty.