@SJohnRoss@dice.camp
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

SJohnRoss

@SJohnRoss@dice.camp

You examine the S. John closely, but find only a small tag proclaiming him a product of the Frobozz Magic Game Designer Company.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

SJohnRoss, (edited ) to random
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

Ugh. Just saw someone blatantly violating my copyright over on Ye Merrye Drive Thru, to the tune of an entire book.

I strongly suspect it's an innocent mistake, something devoid of malice or sneaky intent ... but ugh. I mostly just hate having to email the DTRPG people; they've never been easy to work with on anything, and previous copyright-violation issues have been minor nightmares.

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

So, looking on the bright side, switching from "reading good RPG books to salve my gloom" to "reading good RPG books to soothe my anxiety attack" does count as a refreshing change of pace, for a certain value of "refreshing." 😂

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

... And I've been cooking, which helps with the anxiety. Kind of a random pasta thing with sweet Italian sausage and fresh bell pepper and some nice creamy vodka sauce and a blend of cheeses ...

And in the ongoing anxiety attack, I've at least gamed out all my possible plays on the matter.

And that helps. Knowing that the outcomes are finite softens the uncertainty. 😓

Still a wreck. But a softer wreck.

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

Sleeping seems like it's out of the question, alas. 😓

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

Okay. Seems to be 95% resolved with only minimal head-desking. 😓

The violating title has been taken down and the publisher seems to mostly understand.

DTRPG did well; I could hardly recognize them.

SJohnRoss, to random
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

It's one of Those Days on here.

Time to perma-Mute half the feed. 😬

SJohnRoss, to random
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

It's been far too long since I've just gone browsing at an office-supplies or art-supplies store, ogling stationery and cartography goodies I don't technically need but viscerally crave.

ta11dave, to random
@ta11dave@dice.camp avatar

https://retiredadventurer.blogspot.com/2021/04/six-cultures-of-play.html

A great essay on the "types" of games we play. I think it also explains a bit, since my library games are 100% neo-trad, but the other styles, especially classic, sound really refreshing.

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@ta11dave All of those sound utterly unpleasant to me and none of them resemble the play I enjoy, but I'm glad those six cultures are also out there, rocking along. Plus dozens of others! ☺️

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@ta11dave Oh, I don't disagree with a citation; I'll take the visits where I can 😁 More power to all gamers and all games, I say.

nickdrawthing, to random
@nickdrawthing@dice.camp avatar

God dammit
God DAMMIT
I'm so mad

This actually looks good.
https://youtu.be/V-mugKDQDlg?si=9uGhE5G8S5Z_rYuq

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@nickdrawthing The vibe I get from this and the teaser is that the ghoul was some kind of corny cowboy-movie actor before the bombs fell, and now he's living in a much wilder west, which is [chef's kiss]-level ghoul background.

It does make me wonder what happened to the girl, though; the one that was with him as he watched Los Angeles get nuked. Is she a kid-ghoul now? Or just dead? Either way I expect some manner of gut-punch ...

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@nickdrawthing I suspect you're right, but Ella Purnell's ability to wring powerful emotion with her voice (as Gwyn in Star Trek: Prodigy, and as Jinx in Arcane) has me really interested in what kind of stuff her character gets up to. I've seen her do live-action before, but mostly I know her as a voice actress.

SJohnRoss, (edited ) to worldbuilding
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

More demographic mapping today. This is an early draft of the four dominant cultural/faith/language clusters as represented by Human inhabitants. There are no "race cultures" in the Candle Islands, though there are plenty of people who believe there are. For example, the spots of red are Saman Humans (Humans who are culturally Fjurin, Rolig or Grazny), which many Imperials dismiss as "Humans who think they're Dwarves I guess?"

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@ChukG Dwarves get a lot of attention in Hammondal because they share a plurality with Humans ... and there's some discussion of what makes a Dwarf "Dwarf Enough" for some formulations of that idea, and of the struggles some face with those presumptions. Meanwhile, half of the Mantoche in the city are Boranese but ALL of them often get treated as IF they're Boranese, and so on. Uresia had this, too, but in a city-focused gameworld it gets ... sharper. 😬

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@ChukG (There are comparable but distinct concerns for all the peoples in the city, but the dance between Human, Dwarf, and Mantoche gets the most ink ... but there's plenty of anxiety left over for the Elves and Barling and Bears and such).

SJohnRoss, to random
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

[briefly perks up at chatter about a new Discworld RPG]

[notices it's Modiphius]

[sighs]

[perks right the fuck back down]

E_T_Smith, to random

Recently retrieved from a giveaway pile, it's possible that free was still too high a price for me to pay. Amazing Engine is a weak RPG system backed by sparse worldbooks, only notable as an artifact of late-stage TSR's flailing attempts to grasp after its diminishing audience. As failures go, I'm not even sure it's an interesting one.

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@Mark_Krawec @E_T_Smith @peteramthor @artikid Yeah; West End Games tried out Masterbook around the same time. There was a bug going around. 😊

I honestly wish all those efforts had succeeded. I'm always more interested in new settings ... but it does need to be done with a bit more verve than TSR was willing to trouble themselves with. 😅

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@artikid @Mark_Krawec @E_T_Smith @peteramthor Torg was a standalone RPG, as was Shatterzone. Masterbook used mechanics from Torg and Shatterzone reimagined as a genre agnostic system for which WEG would publish worlds (like with Amazing Engine, GURPS and others).

SJohnRoss, to random
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

We're moving a bit further down the valley next week, in the name of cheaper rent, shorter commutes and other good and necessary things ... And it's got us back with our favorite landlords from a couple years ago. Just amazing, sweet folks. Signed ye merrye lease today. Feels like a homecoming.

SJohnRoss, to academia
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

Dear academic publishing:

Oh, you.

thegiftofgabes, to SmallWeb

This is wild! I came across this tool and it's great for an open-source, free, alternative to the corporate monoliths taking over.

And it fits a SINGLE ONE INDIVIDUAL FILE!

https://tiddlywiki.com/
1/4

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@thegiftofgabes Yeah, I'm a fan of Tiddlywiki! I organized my earliest Hammondal notes with one. 😊 Good tool.

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@thegiftofgabes It's just good that you found it!

masukomi, to random
@masukomi@dice.camp avatar

Accidentally deleted my post requesting pointers to card-based and card-centric TTRPGs. Fortunately I still have all your lovely replies, and am working my way through the list (unordered):

  1. This Ship Is No Mother
  2. Everway
  3. World Wide Wrestling
  4. Zombie Cinema
  5. Paranoia (only the Red Clearance Edition)
  6. Nine Worlds
  7. Primetime Adventures
  8. Full Deck Roleplaying
  9. Neon Shadows
  10. Castle Falkenstein
  11. Dragonlance the Fifth Age
  12. Unbound

Holler if you know of any others.

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@masukomi Torg used cards. My own Pokéthulhu uses cards in the current edition but didn't in earlier ones. Mainly to make fun of Torg.

SJohnRoss,
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

@masukomi I used to be the Torg Line Reviewer for White Wolf Magazine and Torg books became the bane of my existence for a few years, so I have very specific Torg trauma. 😂

SJohnRoss, to random
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

I know I'm twenty years late to the party but this morning I'm excited about Markdown. 😅

SJohnRoss, to random
@SJohnRoss@dice.camp avatar

Looking back over 2023 and enumerating my favorite achievements:

  1. Didn't die.
  2. Kept right on doing all the "S. John Stuff."

Here's hoping for more of the same in '24! 😁

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