I love this idea.

Just make sure at least one member of the party is in a compromised position when they bite it. Example: not wearing any pants.

That’s a smart player. You wouldn’t believe what a parking space costs in Waterdeep.

Exactly. I was asked by my players at campaign start what the rules were for food, encumbrance, etc. I basically said that as long as nothing was going on that was out of whack with reality, we’re not bothering with any of that. The only exception would be to avoid being game-breaking. Like traversing a desert on foot, I’d shift gears to track food and water. Or if they find a dragon’s treasure horde, we’re absolutely tracking encumbrance.

I attempt to negotiate with the pack of kobolds.

Parleley, parlelellyleloooo, par le nee, partner, par… snip, parsley… parlay?

Eh, I stick to “video game rules” for the most part in my campaigns. This lets the party focus on the more game-y aspects of DnD instead of the simulation-like elements. Otherwise, it devolves into a game of “simon says”.

You didn’t mention anything about putting your armor back on before breakfast. You’ve been ambushed, you’re in your pajamas, and you’re not getting to those eggs before they get cold. Roll initiative.

stack of blank character sheets?

/me produces a stack of Bard character sheets.

Sorry to hear about your friend. While I’m no doctor, that seems to fit the bill to me. I’ve known people that had other trauma when young, and yeah, maintaining healthy relationships seems to be the hardest thing for them. Your story reminded me of a lot.

Yes, but it’s a little worse than that. One might take that to mean environmental, congenital, or even genetic factors. But there’s more. Consider the role that trauma has to play here as it can directly cause arrested psychological development:

https://psychcentral.com/ptsd/signs-trauma-has-you-stuck

You’re not alone. I recall getting sniped from every direction at some points, with very tough 1:1 battles and boss battles that just kinda “happen” out in the open.

I mean, maybe if you bake a stone cold potato that was in the fridge and then cook it for two hours? But even then we’re probably talking about a handful of minutes at the most.

Which car company bar did you say you work for?

A major one.

I’d go looking for another mindflayer offering “spotless mind” services and pay to have those memories removed. Assuming they can be trusted, of course. The hard part being that they’re still mindflayers.

I’ve seen this! But I didn’t recall that until I saw this scene. Must have been on cable in the early 90’s? Good times.

Yes and no. I used to do this back under 2nd ed. (Advanced D&D). All the later editions put a LOT more emphasis on measurement, making a play mat/map necessary. It’s now close to impossible to keep track of flanking, cones of effect, blast radius, range, etc. for more than 5 or so creatures that way. You’d have to toss a lot of that out and streamline the game, but that might upset the play balance since a lot of tactics go bye-bye along with that.

TL;DR: I got really angry writing this. Anyone not in the US: please send help.

I get the mixed messaging this sends, but it actually fits in with their whole social philosophy.

This mob is all about hierarchy. A deep, entrenched, white rich guys at the top, caste system complete with a robust underclass with a palatable amount of slavery thrown in.

In this scheme, “Undesirables” are allowed to have their place as long as they maintain a low station in society. Black musicians, gay comedians, non-binary authors, all great as long as they don’t disrupt the status quo, sway the masses, attempt to run anything, or otherwise fail at being a good punching bag. The key takeaway here is that everyone has a predestined station in this disgusting hierarchy they’ve dreamed up, and everything is fair game for those on top.

There’s also a subtext of “thinking is for those in charge”, so reading into things when consuming media is just not how this works.

So within this framework, co-opting music written by people of a lower station is fine, including re-contextualizing the message to line up with the performance and not the author. And like the people that produce such media, the media itself is disposable and will be replaced when it is convenient since this group also doesn’t value personal integrity or consistency over time.

Respectfully, you need to work on your sarcasm. Your comment didn’t have enough hyperbole to clock for most people.

Should full-throated support for Trump qualify as hyperbole, especially on Lemmy? Yes, but the reality is that isn’t the first time we’ve seen things that read like genuine support around here.

Thank you. My first impression was: “wait, do these guys side with capital and leave it at that?” I suppose that’s nothing new, but it stings a little to see it displayed so openly.

I must be missing something. How would Google be at all liable for restoring funds stolen by software that they themselves didn’t furnish, on a device that’s out of their control?

Exactly. I tell this story to remind people that cynics aren’t just old cranks on internet forums. They’re also salespeople that decided to make some cash on our way to (consumer) hell, and they’re entitled to a turn at holding the pitchfork.

Slow down there, Satan. I kid you not, I had someone approach me to help develop technology like this a long time ago. The idea was to break into video streams at the ISP and insert advertising on the fly w/o prior approval.

My reaction, after realizing this person wanted to turn the internet into an ad-encrusted wasteland*, was: “What happens when that video stream is something live with a LOT of money behind it, like the Superbowl?” The legal and professional ramifications didn’t even clock with this guy. It was squarely in the “not my problem” category.

(* More-so than it is now. I’m not saying we’re getting off light, but this guy was a-okay with making everything look like the hallway bulletin board in a college dorm.)