#TR & AR

[theoutcastrogue]

Rogues in fantasy TTRPGs that aren't Dungeons & Dragons

Sometimes it's called Rogue, sometimes it's called Thief. It can be a class, or a template, or a sample build for a classless system. It can be pigeonholed to a couple of roles and specialties, or wide open to interpretations and extensive customisation.

But any self-respecting fantasy game, chock-full as it may be with mighty warriors and powerful wizards, needs a disreputable little shit: the rogue, the thief, the scoundrel, the one who strays. And it's a truly universal archetype. The people in the margins are the salt of the earth, and a setting without them is just… unseasoned.

"The thief gives us a chance to play someone closer to heart, someone who's not strong or possessed of magical talents, someone who has to rely on wit and stealth to survive. Someone, we can imagine, who might very well be just like us. And in being more like us, it's clear that the thief is not just a column of percentile chances to pick locks and disarm traps; she is blessed with as many different skills and appearances as there are crimes to be committed. And that's quite a lot." [x]

So here's a sneak peek at the Thief/Rogue in:

Shadowdark (2023) - gridmark and rules-light dungeoncrawl

Tales of the Valiant (2024) - a D&D 5e variant

Rolemaster Unified (2022) - famously crunchy and customisable

GURPS 4e Dungeon Fantasy (2007) - classic classless system

Ars Magica 5th Edition (2004) - the historically grounded one (in Europe 1200 AD), very customisable

Four Against Darkness (2017) - solo dungeoncrawl

Blades in the Dark (2017) - where everyone's a rogue!

Pathfinder 2e (2024) - a million rules and it's all 3.5's fault

Lankhmar: City of Thieves (2015) - the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser setting, with the Savage Worlds system

[apoemaday]

Ars Poetica?

by Czeslaw Milosz tr. Czeslaw Milosz and Lillian Vallee

I have always aspired to a more spacious form that would be free from the claims of poetry or prose and would let us understand each other without exposing the author or reader to sublime agonies.

In the very essence of poetry there is something indecent: a thing is brought forth which we didn’t know we had in us, so we blink our eyes, as if a tiger had sprung out and stood in the light, lashing his tail.

That’s why poetry is rightly said to be dictated by a daimonion, though its an exaggeration to maintain that he must be an angel. It’s hard to guess where that pride of poets comes from, when so often they’re put to shame by the disclosure of their frailty.

What reasonable man would like to be a city of demons, who behave as if they were at home, speak in many tongues, and who, not satisfied with stealing his lips or hand, work at changing his destiny for their convenience?

It’s true that what is morbid is highly valued today, and so you may think that I am only joking or that I’ve devised just one more means of praising Art with the help of irony.

There was a time when only wise books were read helping us to bear our pain and misery. This, after all, is not quite the same as leafing through a thousand works fresh from psychiatric clinics.

And yet the world is different from what it seems to be and we are other than how we see ourselves in our ravings. People therefore preserve silent integrity thus earning the respect of their relatives and neighbors.

The purpose of poetry is to remind us how difficult it is to remain just one person, for our house is open, there are no keys in the doors, and invisible guests come in and out at will.

What I’m saying here is not, I agree, poetry, as poems should be written rarely and reluctantly, under unbearable duress and only with the hope that good spirits, not evil ones, choose us for their instrument.

[mantarobin]

late night doodles

[king-nyx]

THIS SHIT IS SO FUNNY WHY DID MAR JUST TAG APOLLO LMAOOO

Also, Georgie drop them please 🙏🙏

[empressyu123]

lil idea i had

[snezi]

Hi @my-snz-blog! I’m your secret Santa this year! I wrote you a tiny Star Trek fic featuring Kirk and McCoy - I wasn’t sure what your preferred pairings were, so I hope that’s okay! :) Snz spellings are inspired by hessickjim.

(Also tagging @softsnzstuff to be sure this gets to you!)

Midterms were finally over at the Starfleet academy, and Jim was pumped! After days of all-nighters and practically being glued to the chair in the library, slogging through brain-boggling amounts of material, he couldn’t wait to see Bones again and go out for some drinks. They had a long weekend now, since they always got a short fall break after exams, and Jim was determined to have as much fun as was humanly possible.

The air had turned bitterly cold lately, and Jim could see his breath as he hurried across campus towards Leonard’s room. The biting frost combined with the euphoria of the break had Kirk feeling electric. Had it really only been 3 days since he’d seen the man? It felt more like an eternity.

Bounding up the stairs to the private room, he rapped quickly on the door.

“Who is it?” Called a voice that almost sounded…hoarse?

“Bones…?” Jim replied hesitantly, slightly confused. “It’s me!”

A shuffling from inside, and then Leonard appeared, opening the door only part way. He looked haggard, his eyes red-rimmed, face pale, and hair mussed. He clutched a quilt around his shoulders.

For a moment, Jim just stood there in shock. “Whoa, Bones, you look like hell.”

The older man scoffed out a laugh that quickly turned into a dry, raspy cough. “You say the nicest things to me,” he muttered, his voice gravelly. “Whadda ya want?”

“Well, I haven’t seen you in forever, so I wanted to check on you! And also to see if you wanted to go out tonight. But never mind that, we can just hang out here!”

He took a step toward Leonard, who immediately pulled the door further closed. “I don’t think so. I don’t want…want you c-catching…thi-hhhhhh’AHSCHHhuuh!” He ducked away, releasing a massive sneeze into his quilt-covered arm, blinking blearily in the aftermath.

“Bless you,” Kirk winced.

The sick man released a garbled, scraping sound as he cleared his throat. “As I said, I don’t want you catching this.”

“Yeah, you sound terrible. Which is why you need me around to help! I’ll be fine! Please?” He unleashed his best big-blue-puppy-eyes look.

“Absolutely n-no-hhhuh’AHTCSHhu!” This second sneeze bent the med student nearly in half, his grip on the door the only thing keeping him upright.

Jim quickly ducked under Leonard’s arm, keeping it around his neck while wrapping his own arm around his waist. “Easy, Bones. Why don’t you sit down?”

Forced to keep the blanket clamped to his mouth and nose in the aftermath of his drenching, messy sneeze, the med student had no choice but to relent. Jim gently guided him back to his bed, where he immediately grabbed a wad of tissues and cleaned up.

“I’m serious, kid, you should get out of here,” he rasped again, before dissolving into a crackly coughing fit that made his lungs ache.

It hurt Jim’s heart to see him like this. He rubbed circles into Bones’s chest until the fit abated, and the man leaned back against his headboard, looking spent.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he insisted, his blue eyes meeting Leonard’s hazel ones.

Something vulnerable seemed to flash through the older man’s gaze, but before he could respond, he succumbed to another fit of coughing that refused to subside. Jim ran to get a glass of water, his heart rate spiking as icy tendrils of anxiety gripped his gut. What if Bones needed medical attention? He was no doctor! Would he even be able to convince him to go?

The cold water seemed to help, though, and finally Leonard got control of his lungs back.

“Can I get you anything? More water? Tea? Medicine?” Kirk asked, a bit more frantically than he intended.

Still breathing raggedly, Bones reached out and grabbed his wrist, momentarily halting his spiraling thoughts. “I’m alright, darlin’.”

“But maybe we should go to the clinic? What if you get worse?” Jim murmured, biting down hard on his bottom lip.

Leonard frowned. “Hey, don’t do that. C’mere.” He opened his arms and Jim dove into them, snuggling his face into Bones’s neck as he enveloped them both in the blanket. “What’s got you so worked up, now, hmm?”

“You’re sick, Bones,” Jim mumbled, reflexively squeezing him tighter. “I’m worried about you.”

The older man affectionately ruffled Jim’s hair, grateful he couldn’t see how much he was blushing. “You know, you can be pretty sweet when you’re not being a huge pain in my ass,” he teased.

Jim swatted him, grinning in spite of himself. “I’m serious.”

“And I appreciate your concern, darlin’. I’ve got a nasty bug, but that’s all it is. Okay?”

Jim leaned back to look searchingly into Leonard’s eyes, brow pinched in a slight frown. “You do feel really warm, though, Bones,” he fretted, placing a palm to his forehead, and then the back of his hand to the hollow of his neck. “I’m going to grab a cold cloth.”

Before McCoy could protest, he had leapt up and sprinted into the bathroom.

“Slow down, kid, before you trip and fall!” Leonard groused, a few tickly coughs bursting out after.

Completely ignoring the scolding, Jim came running back into the room, skidding to a stop next to the bed. He carefully folded the wet rag, and gently laid it against the back of Leonard’s neck.

“Damn that’s cold,” the med student hissed, wincing as a shiver suddenly ripped through him.

He barely had time to open his arms again before Jim was diving back into place against his chest.

“I’m sorry, Bones,” Kirk murmured softly, clutching him tightly. “I wish I was better at taking care of you.”

Leonard wrapped his arms around him, heart melting. “Hey, now, you’re doing great. I’m really alright, darlin’, okay?” He nudged Jim a bit, forcing him to sit up and meet his gaze.

Those big blue eyes were so trusting, it nearly broke Leonard’s heart. “Okay,” Kirk said.

“Good. Now, I don’t…w-wait, Jim-” But it was too late, Jim had already curled back into Bones’s neck, and any attempt to pry him off was not happening. Bones quickly covered Jim’s head and face with the quilt before he snapped to the side with a large, “HHH’MFFSSHHuh!”

“Bless you, Bones,” Jim smiled, peeking out from the blanket cocoon.

Leonard flushed as he sniffled wetly. “Ugh. You are definitely going to catch this.”

“Worth it,” Jim replied, hugging him tighter as he leaned up to kiss Bones’s cheek.

If anyone asked, his blush was definitely from the fever…

[keeps-ache]

things to do (that i decided need to be done at 11:52 a.m.);

find that black shirt with the good texture

how draw clothe?? figure out

organize that one playlist

write, if fortune is kind

find music to lose my mind to at 3 a.m. so i can actually write for once

reread old draft

start sketch

make new sketch, last one sucked

work on anatomy

stare at art i like until my brain melts and i absorb the Vibes

[king-nyx]

Aphrodite. Aphrodite would call Dionysus all the cute pet names (darling, sweetheart, sweetie, dio, bacchus, dear) and mean it in a deragatory way. Then they turn to Ares, call him an idiot, a fool, dumbass, dickhead, asshole and that's how he knows Aphrodite still loves him.

[frets-kessler]

re: last reblog, like i get that with this economy it's rather difficult for someone to live by themselves, but 1.) this is not an issue/experience unique to ar0/4ce people, and 2.) the issue is not that single people are oppressed for being single, it's that capitalism makes it hard for anyone to live comfortably!

[frog707]

Happy 60th!

BASIC was my first programming language.

[unicornheadnebula]

Economics Formulas

Microeconomics Formulas Total Revenue (TR): Calculated as Price (P) multiplied by Quantity (Q). It’s the total income a firm receives from selling its goods or services. Marginal Revenue (MR): The additional revenue gained from selling one more unit. It’s the change in TR divided by the change in Q. Average Revenue (AR): TR divided by Q. It’s the revenue per unit sold, essentially the price of…

[king-nyx]

Aphrodite/Ares and Apollo/Dionysus from the Rising Son.

(x)

[king-nyx]

Broke: Heaphustus was an abusive mysoginist who forced Aphrodite into a bad marriage

Woke: Hephaestus and Aphrodite both suffered from the marriage because Zeus orchestrated it

Bespoke: Hephaestus and Aphrodite are good friends and they tried to make their marriage work in spite of the fact that Aphrodite was in love with Ares

[apatheticanachronism]

(qm) anon, "bottomfeeder" means a seadweller that has a quad or multiple quads with a low blood. anon- anon youre calling him a lowblood fucker (atleast where im from)

Yes, that is the widely used defiiniiti☸n, hahaha.

Pers☸na11y, I never underst☸☸d the stingma, but sti11, I d☸n't sea what a pers☸n's (assumed) quadrant preferences have t☸ d☸ with apparently "being a cl☸wn"

[taichissu]

wish there was a way on ao3 to sub to an author but only for like one fandom

[hungwy]

wiktionary answered this for me (it is indeed one syllable) and this is now more like surprise that french could have codal (?) consonant clusters like that

is Sartre supposed to be one syllable in French