[Macros]

Making me happy

I'm DMing for our group now, still wildly inconsistent, and anyone who ever played any of my mafia games knows how heavily I like to stack the board, BUT, I had a brain fart mind blan and was convinced the encounter I was chucking them into was for level 4, and battered on, it was very combat heavy, granted the fools barged into every room and triggered every NPC attack, somehow all at once, I had to fudge off 2 or 3 vine bights to stop a TPK.....because I realised it was for Level 6 characters and felt bad

ha

but they survived

3 twig bights, 2 vine bights, 7 orcs, anchorite of talos (he didnt lightning bolt, nice DM) all at once, party of 3

"survived"

[Maark Abbott]

Macros, on 05 February 2024 - 10:23 PM, said:

Making me happy

I'm DMing for our group now, still wildly inconsistent, and anyone who ever played any of my mafia games knows how heavily I like to stack the board, BUT, I had a brain fart mind blan and was convinced the encounter I was chucking them into was for level 4, and battered on, it was very combat heavy, granted the fools barged into every room and triggered every NPC attack, somehow all at once, I had to fudge off 2 or 3 vine bights to stop a TPK.....because I realised it was for Level 6 characters and felt bad

ha

but they survived

3 twig bights, 2 vine bights, 7 orcs, anchorite of talos (he didnt lightning bolt, nice DM) all at once, party of 3

"survived"

This is good DMing. You fudged it a little, realised and didn't let the party suffer for a DM mistake. It's easily done but it's how you handle it that makes the difference.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Macros, on 05 February 2024 - 10:23 PM, said:

Making me happy

I'm DMing for our group now, still wildly inconsistent, and anyone who ever played any of my mafia games knows how heavily I like to stack the board, BUT, I had a brain fart mind blan and was convinced the encounter I was chucking them into was for level 4, and battered on, it was very combat heavy, granted the fools barged into every room and triggered every NPC attack, somehow all at once, I had to fudge off 2 or 3 vine bights to stop a TPK.....because I realised it was for Level 6 characters and felt bad

ha

but they survived

3 twig bights, 2 vine bights, 7 orcs, anchorite of talos (he didnt lightning bolt, nice DM) all at once, party of 3

"survived"

Seconding Maark's comment!

The dice may giveth and taketh away.... but so does a good DM when the circumstances warrant it. Adapting is a key skill!

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 06 February 2024 - 11:21 AM

[Tsundoku]

Neeeeeerds.

In other news, wargaming has been added to the list of "sports" we can choose from for our Thursday afternoon sport at my work. A few of the guys are trying to get TTRPGs added to the list as they can represent "tactical teamwork" or some other buzzword shite. Hey, if it works, it ain't stupid.

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This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 06 February 2024 - 12:41 PM

[Maark Abbott]

Yeah if the parties fucks it on bad dice rolls that's the game, but if you've made an oopsie as DM that could compromise the game (i.e. an overleveled encounter) then being merciful to the players is definitely a big strength.

Our DM did that a couple of times because we were a new set of players, at one point we were drowning in an undersea city that had flooded and I on the cuff said I'm gonna implore my god to help, and he'd not planned for it at all but just rolled with it (I fucked the dice roll and we drowned kek).

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Our DM is similar. He's a very "there are consequences" type because as he puts it otherwise there are no stakes, but he will give us a way to solve any big problems too.

Mind you we did wake up an undead frost giant at the end of last session. Took 55 damage from my Circle of Stars druid and the reaction was "insignificant". I may well still end up reporting back that we're all dead

[Cause]

Thought this might be the most appropriate place for this without starting a thread.

Anyone been to europe or anywhere on a contikki tour? I like that its organised, planned out and will hit a lot of highlights but it also seems maybe too fast paced and can I really see a country or even a city in a day? Should I travel all over europe for two weeks or do one week in Italy/Rome and one week in say France/Paris instead.

[Maark Abbott]

Wife started new job today.

[Hetan]

I'm planning a trip ... NZ Later this year. Looking for any recommendations that involve crispy peking duck and chicken dhansak...North or South Island

[Abyss]

Cause, on 12 February 2024 - 02:58 AM, said:

Thought this might be the most appropriate place for this without starting a thread.

Anyone been to europe or anywhere on a contikki tour? I like that its organised, planned out and will hit a lot of highlights but it also seems maybe too fast paced and can I really see a country or even a city in a day? Should I travel all over europe for two weeks or do one week in Italy/Rome and one week in say France/Paris instead.

Contiki -

Good: Near zero stress, everything is planned for you. Show up, follow group. Hang out w your sixteen new bestest friends. Get drunk. Meet the temporary love of your life. See almost everything significant in each location.

Bad: See 'everything', briefly. Want to linger? Can't, we're on a schedule, bus is leaving. Don't feel like partying every night? FOMO. Find out about a neat little side excursion off the beaten track? Nope, bus is leaving, bar at our next stop opens at 6. Want to wander and find a charming place to eat? ...k have fun everyone else is eating at the ok place that feeds the bus driver for free.

Having done solo travel and contiki-style (not specificaly contiki tho i know enough people who did that i'm comfortable w my opinion), i know that i prefer solo because i set my plan, and I can meet people almost anywhere where no one is shooting at me. W Contiki, no, you cannot see a country or a city in a day (other than Monaco), but you can see the highlights and move on, it works and it's typically fun and you know what you're getting. You will almost certainly enjoy yourself. You will see less than you expected. There are smaller tour groups that offer more flex, or shorter tours that leave you a few days to solo.

Two weeks is too short to travel 'all over Europe'. I'd pick a few countries, close together, that i really want to see and plan that. I don't think Rome needs a week, you could do Rome, Florence, and Siena very nicely in a week - Rome for a day, the Vatican for a day, Florence for two, Siena/Tuscany for two, w a brief stop in Pisa for the stupid tower. I could spend a week in Florence, but that's just me. Paris w suburbs and museums could easily fill a week.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

In this era I'd imagine a large % of people taking contiki tours are mainly doing it to get selfies from as wide a range of places as possible to post them for the 'clout'. (Even moreso than from before social media....)

[amphibian]

I spent a week plus in Florence/Tuscany in July 2019. It was amazing and I'd do it again happily. It's easy to get around and explore.

[Maark Abbott]

amphibian, on 21 February 2024 - 04:31 AM, said:

I spent a week plus in Florence/Tuscany in July 2019. It was amazing and I'd do it again happily. It's easy to get around and explore.

I can't see the name Tuscany without thinking of a 20m long song...

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

What is there in Tuscany that you can't (essentially) find in the United States? Many US restaurants now serve very good authentic Tuscan food; while it may be significantly cheaper in Tuscany, the price difference isn't anywhere near large enough to cover the increased cost of traveling from the US to Tuscany. The weather's nice, but it's also nice in California.

Unless you're traveling to 'find your selfies'.... Even then, you could just photoshop yourself in to a convincing and original-seeming scene using AI. If you want to have a convincing story to go with it, have AI draft that for you too, and double-check it for hallucinations. Then an AI-generated AI chat-based role-playing game could quiz you on the details; perhaps in virtual reality via various realistic avatars. For example, a beautiful woman (by what your standards are), scoring you on how 'impressive' your tales of your travels are (perhaps via 'clout points' floating in space; or perhaps via body language or subtle verbal cues which, as part of the game, you'd have to recognize, with numbers floating in virtual space to indicate whether your score has gone up or down).

If you want to see the art, see the sites---there's the internet and virtual reality.

OTOH if you want to chat with random people in Tuscany---again, there's the internet. IDK if there's something like the equivalent of Chatroulette for Tuscany.... But if you want to chat with random people face to face (outdoors of course to minimize the chance of spreading covid and other diseases)---then traveling to Tuscany might be better than going outside in the United States.

[Abyss]

Azath Vitr (D, on 21 February 2024 - 03:20 PM, said:

What is there in Tuscany that you can't (essentially) find in the United States? Many US restaurants now serve very good authentic Tuscan food; while it may be significantly cheaper in Tuscany, the price difference isn't anywhere near large enough to cover the increased cost of traveling from the US to Tuscany. The weather's nice, but it's also nice in California.

Unless you're traveling to 'find your selfies'.... Even then, you could just photoshop yourself in to a convincing and original-seeming scene using AI. If you want to have a convincing story to go with it, have AI draft that for you too, and double-check it for hallucinations. Then an AI-generated AI chat-based role-playing game could quiz you on the details; perhaps in virtual reality via various realistic avatars. For example, a beautiful woman (by what your standards are), scoring you on how 'impressive' your tales of your travels are (perhaps via 'clout points' floating in space; or perhaps via body language or subtle verbal cues which, as part of the game, you'd have to recognize, with numbers floating in virtual space to indicate whether your score has gone up or down).

If you want to see the art, see the sites---there's the internet and virtual reality.

OTOH if you want to chat with random people in Tuscany---again, there's the internet. IDK if there's something like the equivalent of Chatroulette for Tuscany.... But if you want to chat with random people face to face (outdoors of course to minimize the chance of spreading covid and other diseases)---then traveling to Tuscany might be better than going outside in the United States.

You forgot the entire page of smilie jk /s icons this post required.

[Tiste Simeon]

Why get out there and experience life when you can sit and stare at a screen?!

[Tsundoku]

Tiste Simeon, on 21 February 2024 - 04:44 PM, said:

Why get out there and experience life when you can sit and stare at a screen?!

Hey there anyone-born-after-1996 ...

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tiste Simeon, on 21 February 2024 - 04:44 PM, said:

Why get out there and experience life when you can sit and stare at a screen?!

Seeing sculpture, architecture, or some paintings (particularly those that are very large, have a significant 3D element, or are situated in interesting ways) in person can be very different from seeing it on a screen. The 3D aspect, sense of scale, and luminosity of the artwork will get lost or distorted; and many screens display colors differently, so trying to make sure your color display is sufficiently accurate can be difficult.

So if the goal is to experience visual art, you're better off using a high-end VR headset like the Vision Pro. Especially for popular tourist destinations. Instead of being stuck in a massive crowd of people taking flash photographs you get to fly around with an unobstructed view of the art (fly all around the sculpture), zoom in or out as much as you want, look at it in different lighting conditions, adjust the luminosity to your taste, and have as many expert annotations superimposed over the image (directing your attention to key details and providing context---which of course can also be done in a voice of your choosing) as you like.

To be fair, Italy is known for having micro-localized cuisine that may vary substantially even between neighboring villages. So while there are in fact many excellent and authentic Tuscan restaurants in the United States these days (IDK about Canada)---including in places with very nice weather---some of these micro-local cuisines may remain difficult or impossible to find. But you're also not likely to find them if all you're doing is spending a day in Florence.

Augmented reality will actually enhance our ability to experience the world as we move through it. Allow us to observe aspects of empirical reality to which the naked human eye is (so far still) blind. Catch and analyse microexpressions and other body language patterns (including estimates of breathing rates). Perhaps even detect another person's pulse at a distance. (And of course show you exactly where to thrust... though it might be better to let the AI coordinate all that.)

Tsundoku, on 22 February 2024 - 11:42 AM, said:

Hey there anyone-born-after-1996 ...

Seems like most older people I see are fixated on their smartphones too. (It's a bit of an odd experience: in my youth I'd generally be the only one reading and writing while, for example, waiting for public transit---as well as observing the environment, letting my awareness expand as much as possible. Now I'm frequently the only one not constantly scrolling/clicking, as I practice mindful awareness (... in between reading math texts, or writing down ideas).) But don't worry; before too long, instead seeing everyone around you looking down at their phones instead of 'experiencing life' (because they'd rather be experiencing Heaven, as zombies stitched together by the vampiric fangs of SM), you'll be able to see people's eyes looking out at the wider world (... wider than what naked human eyes can see):




... and it will be even better once people start customizing their eyes (to be red, eyes of Sauron, eyes like virtual whirlpools...).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 22 February 2024 - 09:20 PM

[Abyss]

You're missing the part where people want to sex w other people.



... i know what you're thinking of posting... don't go there.... just don't....

[worry]

Please please please post an AI-generated image of the Mona Lisa having sex with Michelangelo's David under the Tuscan sun.