• 1 Post
  • 24 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: July 9th, 2023
  • swordsmanluke@programming.devtoPrivacy@lemmy.ml•Microsoft is silently installing Copilot onto Windows Server 2022
    72·
    6 months ago

    If not vanilla Ubuntu, I’d still suggest trying an Ubuntu derivative like Linux Mint or POP! OS. Ubuntu has a huge community, so in the event you run into issues it’ll be easier to find fixes for it.

    What you’ll find is that Linux distros are roughly grouped by a “family” (my term for it anyway). Anyone can (theoretically, anyway) start from a given kernel and roll their own distro, but most distros are modified versions of a handful of base distros.

    The major families at the moment are

    • Debian: A classic all-rounder that prioritizes stability over all else. Ubuntu is descended from Debian.

    • Fedora: Another classic all-rounder. I haven’t used it in a decade, so I won’t say much about it here.

    • Arch: If Linux nerds were car people, Arch is for the hot rodders. You can tune and control pretty much any aspect of your system. … Not a good 1st distro if you want to just get something going.

    There are many others, but these are the major desktop-PC distro families at the moment.

    The importance of these families is that techniques that work in one (say) Debian-based distro will tend to work in other Debian-based distros… But not necessarily in distros from other families.

  • swordsmanluke@programming.devtoRPGMemes @ttrpg.network•New friends acquired
    35·
    6 months ago

    I DM for my kids. Our first dungeon ended with an ogre-mage sending undead after the party.

    The heroes made quick work of most of the zombies and skeletons - and critted the ogre-mage so fast that the dungeon was cleared in record time…

    And then the party’s necromancer (My oldest) decided to raise the ogre-mage. And made them his undead lich-thrall, with instructions to rule the dungeon until the necromancer’s return to the region…

    Huh.

  • swordsmanluke@programming.devtoRPGMemes @ttrpg.network•One tieflings trash is another dragons treasure
    2·
    10 months ago

    One thing I’ve been experimenting with is creating archetypal characters ahead of time and then handing each player a couple sheets to choose from. If they don’t like either one, they can grab a sheet someone else discards.

    I leave backstory details blank, but the basic mechanics of each character is already laid out.

    In theory, it seems like I’m setting myself up for fights with my players, but in practice it hasn’t been a problem.

    …of course this might be because my players are all either adults or preteens.

  • swordsmanluke@programming.devtoRPGMemes @ttrpg.network•Fuck autofailing skill checks
    2·
    10 months ago

    …yes, but that also has the trade-off of moving your rolls from a flat distribution where every value between 1-20 have equal weight, to a bell curve that peaks at 10.5.

    Many of your rolls are gonna end up right around that 10-11 mark as a result. Which can be fine! #alldicearebeautiful

    But it’s not gonna be a great drop in replacement for D&D. D&D’s skill checks are built around beating numbers that you’re not going to reach as easily with 3d6 vs a flat d20.

    Basically, more dice = more predictability and fewer wild swings of fortune. That is a more accurate model of reality… But arguably less fun in a game.

    Imagine the difference in dramatic tension in a game where the boss has 50 HP. In one scenario, you deal a consistent 5.5 HP each round. In the other, you deal 1d10 damage each round.

    In the long run, you’ll deal the same amount of damage in either system. But the randomness of a 1d10 creates more dramatic tension and excitement! When you roll a 1, it’s a crushing setback. A 10? Instant jubilation.

  • swordsmanluke@programming.devtoRPGMemes @ttrpg.network•This is why you don't murderhobo
    46·
    11 months ago

    Welcome to Bartovia. Our little burg on the edge of nowhere. It would be completely unknown but for one fact: Bartovia is home to the largest, unexplored ruin known to exist. Every year, dozens of would-be heroes try their luck and every year the lucky ones go home empty-handed, but a little wiser maybe.

    Once a decade - or less - someone escapes with real treasure. A time-hopping artifact crafted by a half-mad wizard with an unspeakable name. A sword that speaks the date and hour of your death when drawn.

    And that always starts another frenzy among the desperate, stupid, or both, who flock here to die in those cursed halls.

    Of course, in their haze of greed and increasing desperation, more than one dumb bastard has tried their hand at robbing the inhabitants of our humble home. The young fools never stop to wonder - who would stay here? But for the ruins there’s no industry. Too cold to grow most crops; No precious ores to mine; Nowhere near any of the good trade routes.

    They don’t realize - we are them. The same fools and try-hards of years past. We’re the ones who pushed too hard; exhausted our funds; got injured; or just never learned to let go. We couldn’t leave. But couldn’t go on, either. We sold what we could part with…and then the rest. We got jobs. Opened taverns, inns, and supply stores to fleece the next round of idiots. Nevertheless, we are an entire city - if a small one - of adventurers.

    Certainly, some of us are a bit long in the tooth - but woe betide the next poor bastard who thinks to pick a pocket in Bartovia.