#even when its as straightforward as making a plan to hang out with someone irl

[rampant-testiculitis]

i used to be extremely sensitive to anything and even a slight consequence would push me to fix the issue but now not even the worst things happening will get me to do anything about it

[comicteaparty]

December 21st-December 27th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from December 21st, 2019 to December 27th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

Without heavy spoilers, describe the worst thing you’ve put one of your characters through?

carcarchu

for a comic i haven't released yet (this happens in literally the first chapter so i don't really consider it a spoiler) the main character in this story has a rough life. she's saddled with enormous debts and gets fired from her job, then when things finally start looking up for her she gets hit by a car and "dies" the whole premise of the story is that people who die and get brought back to life by doctors (dead for just a few seconds) get powers

Cronaj

Hmmm.... I won't say whose, but probably the death of their child, and I've done some awful things to my characters. For some reason, all the pain and suffering in the world does not amount to the loss of one's child. To be fair, I don't usually consider it my fault that these horrible things occur in the story, because I couldn't change it if I wanted to. To do so would feel like a lie. These stories exist in my mind independent of what I want, and I'm simply telling them to the world. But yes... that child is the saddest creature I've written.

eli [a winged tale]

Torn apart, watched their friends die, forced to live forever... you name it, we got it In all seriousness, I also like focusing on the small (but not insignificant things) like not having your love reciprocated and questioning your worth. Sometimes it’s the small things that can collectively be destructive.

Capitania do Azar

In some ways, I think I have already done the worst I possibly could to my characters (war, being unable to help and losing their loved ones in darkness and loneliness). But on the other hand, I do plan to extend the mechanics of mind intrusion to the point of completely mangling up people's psyches, so I guess I'll have to wait and see which one feels worse

FeatherNotes

So far in GJS, we've had a character go through some, well, explosive limb loss There's quite a lot of hard things the chars go through / will go through, but i def see the brutality of the leg loss as something pretty huge for the character!

taterviking

I threw my main character under a semi, off a cliff, and shoved a tree branch into his brain. And then when he woke up I gave him long term memory loss and stole 80% of his memories from before he was 12

Kelsey (Kurio)

Boy am I glad none of us are gods heh

taterviking

I kind of treat writing like the Sims: which one am i torturing and which two did I build specifically to get naked together.

eli [a winged tale]

Omg Tater that’s a perfect analogy (edited)

taterviking

the only difference is that I can follow them to work and they're alllllll the money slave/work horse

Also, Viking is my father's name, you can call me Tater ;P

snuffysam

the worst thing that has happened to one of my characters canonically is something i have not and will not describe in-comic, so i'm not about to describe it here. there are certain... types of trauma... where even if a story depicts things realistically, respectfully, and with properly directed condemnation, fans romanticize the hell out of it. and i want no part of that. so, like, i'm keeping this stuff in the character's backstory, because i want to depict living with and growing past traumatic experiences, but i refuse to actually describe/depict what happened so fans don't get the wrong takeaway. the important thing isn't what happened, it's how she deals with it. as for things that actually happen in the comic - one character does get tortured by a government for information?

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Oh boy. So I am rather known for torturing my characters. I don’t even know what the worst thing is, but ‘dying horribly’ or ‘very dark and tragic backstory involving abuse and/ or terrible loss’ describes 95% of my casts.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Several of my characters get horribly bitten/eaten by hungry spirits. If they aren't already completely wrecked by the attack, the resulting cursed bite leads to quarantine and ostracization. Even little kids get abandoned or sent away. And those who are eventually totally consumed by the curse... basically become half-dead. ...Yeah, I got a lot of 'worse than death' stuff going on

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Won't say who, but i don't think i could do much worse than giving a character the perfect life and then taking it and everyone they've ever loved away from them in one fell swoop, leaving them to wander aimlessly.

Deo101

I've put all of my characters through different things that I think aren't really comparable as far as saying one is "worse" than the other. Though, I think that I'll probably say making one of them essentially live through a genocide is pretty undeniably the worst thing, and also the only one that I've really canonically discussed.

DanitheCarutor

I'm lowkey into character torture porn, so I like putting my OCs through some shit. Apollo probably has the most cushy life of every character I've ever made, the spoiled brat! The worst thing that will happen, in TGtaHR at least, will be related to death and/or near death. Not so much the subject in itself but how it is used, which may or may not be the worst thing from a reader perspective, but from the character's perspective. I mean...? I guess anything relating to death is pretty bad, but I've kind of seen situations where the person would have considered it a luxury, soooo. I don't know where I'm going with this!(edited)

Deo101

sounds like you're going towards "my comic is the meanest thing I've put my characters through"

you big meanie.

DanitheCarutor

Ah! I'm such a bully! Nothing like putting your characters through the worst to make the positive payoff more worth it.

khkddn

is psychological or physical pain more impactful to readers? prolly depends heavily on the context huh

anyway for my comic I think it is a tie between a psychologically hurtful thing and a physically hurtful thing

the psychological one is a little something I like to call The Dress Arc, and the physical one is called Cold Swiss Cheese

Deo101

Incredible

khkddn

what is the point of having painful scenes if one does not give them cool names amirite

Deo101

Absolutely. You know whats up

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I’d say psychological pain is much worse. A broken leg can heal in a month, but trauma stays with you. Of course, the former can cause the latter, but I always find it much more emotional when the character is feeling internally tortured rather than externally.

DanitheCarutor

I'm no expert but from personal experience with my comic, it's kind of depends on the reader? But physical is more universally comprehensible. A lot of the pain depicted in my story so far is psychological, with a little physical, and I've noticed people who have experience and/or are educated with the psychological aspect are more impacted by that than people who have never experienced or learned about it. Or to be more straightforward, people who have never experienced or have no knowledge of mental/emotional abuse have no idea what's going on in the story. Although when I had a scene where my frail, mentally unstable MC got punched in the face, everyone flipped out equally.

Of course this is just relating to abuse, when it comes to other stuff relating to pain I can't really give an opinion. I would say it's similar, since most people generally need to have a certain level of understanding of something to be impacted by its depiction of fiction, but I have no idea. Lol(edited)

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

No, you make a really good point. People generally can’t comprehend a pain they haven’t experienced, so I admit it would make sense to only feel empathy for physical pain if you’ve never known psychological trauma.

DanitheCarutor

Yeah, it's a douchey thing to do since this is subjective (there are people who have experienced trauma who lack the ability to empathize with others who go through something similar and vice versa), but I like to make a game out of figuring out who has and hasn't been in a really bad relationship based on how they respond to my comic irl, and online to an extent. Admittedly I'm hardcore into getting feedback half due to wanting to psychologically evaluate my readerbase.

Kelsey (Kurio)

Wait what?

DanitheCarutor

"What what" what? Don't worry, I don't do anything or judge based on stuff like that since it's so little info, I just like psychology... even if I may not be very good at it.

But yeah, I'm kind of a creep.

DanitheCarutor

Oh yeah, don't be scared to go back to posting in this channel? Thing? I won't be hanging out here, unless someone talks to me directly. I just responded originally because I had a tiny bit of knowledge on the subject asked.

Cronaj

I get that. I'm also kind of creepy. Plus, I kind of feel like webcomics are a bit of a social experience to begin with, which often involves a lot of studying the readers' emotional responses to the story.

keii4ii

Human beings automatically judge each other alllll the time, so part of it is inevitable. I think the most important thing is to acknowledge that you can be a little, very, or even totally wrong. ...The other important thing is, I do think there's a difference between subconsciously judging others and actively looking forward to it? If you are actively looking forward to judging others, that sort of turns your comment section into a social experiment of sorts, and I don't feel comfortable about that. If I knew the creator of a comic I follow was like that, I would be like "uhhhh you do you, but I want no part in that" and never comment.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Just.... ideally should be consensual?

I know some people who actually enjoy that kinda stuff, like even if they found out, they'd be like "ohhhhh SMART! :D"... Then there are people who would feel upset if they found out. So yeah, ideally this would be all consensual so people can opt in or out, but I don't know how you can do this while fully informing prospective participants.

DanitheCarutor

It sounds like a lie, but really, I don't judge. I make up fantastical concepts of what kind of person this is based on the little info I get from body language, facial expressions, what they say, and tone of voice but it's all thrown out the window because people are more complicated than that. At the end of the day I'd rather actually get to know the person before I truly judge their character. Also when it comes to normal comments I don't analyze unless the commenter is analyzing, usually the "judging" is when I ask for feedback... like, more than a couple sentences worth to get a good idea of how the story is mentally processed by that person. For example when I was asking for feedback after finishing chapter 4. While I was asking for critique, I also wanted to know how the story affected that person, get a vague idea of what kind of people the story draws in or what kind of people it drives away, etc. And yeah, I kinda go the extra mile with it because that's just how my brain works, it just runs all the time. I assume that person consents to me analyzing them and their experience when they respond to me asking for their opinion, but I dunno. Maybe I'll just... teach myself to not think when it comes to my comic or audience, I don't want to scare people off just because I'm an overly analytical weirdo. <_<'

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

I like when you use the physical pain for psychological pain. like someone is in heavy dangers, and comes out with only a broken leg. the other characters can feel guilty, hurt, etc other feelings. For me, physical pain is not enough, it is the reaction it sparks

DanitheCarutor

Oh uh, also @keii4ii, I can vouch that being analytical doesn't make you smart. My dad is like that and he's a complete moron, also I'm not the brightest bulb in the box either, I'm just a slave to my thoughts. Sorry, just wanted to clear things up to make myself look less bad.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I can understand that side of analysing. I’m often curious about my readers because I don’t have very many; my comics tend to be quite niche. So I wonder about what sort of demographic I’m attracting. From the people who have commented and shared a bit about themselves, it seems to be a lot of European and American adults in the 20-40 range who have received higher education (med students, professors, people in STEM, etc), which to me is kind of wild because I’m not writing ‘smart’ comics. There’s no real science or anything in my dark and morbid fantasy comics, so I’ve wondered what about them appeals to this demographic. This isn’t counting my new WT audience I’ve gained over the last couple of years, which is a very different demographic from those who follow on my site, but it’s really interesting to think about ‘What kinds of stories appeal to certain groups of people?’.

keii4ii

@DanitheCarutor Oh, I didn't mean to imply it was a bad thing. I apologize if that's how it came across. I meant it as a "thing I want vs thing I don't want." Just because I don't want a thing for myself, doesn't make it a bad thing.

Re: demographic analysis, more power to you if you're naturally into it. I'm like 'no..... let me just sit here and make this comic in peace.........' and even that's hard enough!

I do think about that stuff from time to time, but when I do, it's usually because I'm sad and am trying to think of non-worst-case-scenario explanations. So yeah, not something I enjoy pondering.(edited)

DanitheCarutor

@Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios) Same, even though my comic has gotten more readers than I imagined, it's still niche. Honestly don't know the age range, but I've gotten a range from psychology and medical students, or people with PHDs to normal 9to5ers who've been through similar experiences. (People who live with schizophrenia or clinical depression, or who have been in bad toxic relationships.) It's really interesting too because some of the readers who comment are very open about sharing intimate stuff about their lives without me even asking, which I'm not sure is due to the type of comic it is or because they relate to it? Either way I don't mind, it's kinda nice that someone feels comfortable enough to share that kind of info despite me being a total stranger. That's really interesting with your comic, though! Like, it's cool the types of people your work can attract, maybe your comic is smarter than you think. Lol

@keii4ii Yeah, but I don't want to discourage readers from interacting with my comic just because I'm into that stuff. Even though the work itself is far from safe I want people to feel comfortable enough to leave comments or discuss amongst each other.

keii4ii

Yeah, I think that's the dream for pretty much all of us, cultivating a comment section where everyone feels comfortable and welcome to interact

keii4ii

Getting back to the question, I really don't think I could answer, given the theme of my comic: "your pain matters, even if it doesn't affect the fate of the world/ even if it seems insignificant in the grand scheme of things." I don't have it in me to go against that and say to my characters, hey, guess what! Your pain pales in comparison to [this other character]'s!

Cronaj

That's an interesting thought. I mean, I spoke of what I consider the saddest scene, but really, in regards to the characters, they might not see it that way. That scene makes me cry, (and probably the character(s) directly involved), but the other characters have other sorrows weighing on their hearts, and those sorrows are also powerful in their own way.

[kfdirector]

What to Learn From Every RPG Campaign I’ve GMed* or Played In

(All campaigns that lasted more than three sessions that I’ve ever played in, in chronological order; marked by a * were me as GM.  All others were me as player.)

Denver Arcana (0*)  (d20 Modern, Urban Arcana, Extensive Supplements and Homebrew, Kitchen Sink Urban Fantasy)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Self-insert PCs are perfectly doable, but don’t include other real-life people as NPCs.  Especially if any PC IRL has a thing for any of the NPCs.  Double-especially if the GM kinda does too.

Clyde Lake (d20 Modern, pure, contemporary horror)

LESSON FOR THE GM:  Before launching a horror game, have a pretty good idea what the source of the horror actually is.

Plaguelands (D&D 3.5e, classic fantasy with Oriental Adventures influences)

LESSON FOR THE GM: If you get a guy who ALWAYS TAKES THE BAIT, knowingly and gladly, great!  Just…have a plan for when he takes the bait.  A plan that lets the campaign keep going, maybe?

LESSON FOR THE PLAYER: When using illusions to persuade people, consider the audience.  Maybe consider very carefully whether your choice of illusion, while persuasive to your target, might also cause a wave of panic and mass suicide.

 d20 Tropico* (d20 Modern, pure, action-adventure)

LESSON FOR THE GM: A little more research is needed for setting a campaign in a war-torn Caribbean island nation than just…playing Tropico.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYER: If you play an INT 5 bruiser and the campaign is not 100% combat, you’re going to be locked out of a lot of playing.

 Thaumapunk*  (d20 Modern, Extensive supplements and homebrew, kitchen sink sci-fi/magitech)

LESSON FOR MY PLAYERS: I am not afraid to TPK your asses.

LESSON FOR THE GM: A bad ending goes down so much smoother with a hastily-written sequel hook in the epilogue that makes the players think that at least everything they did didn’t amount to a complete waste of time.

 Apocalypse Arcana* (D&D 3,5e, mostly official supplements, post-apocalyptic North America fantasy)

LESSON FOR THE GM: It’s okay to fudge things if you misestimate an encounter.  But consider being more subtle than having all the henchdemons announce that it’s time for their union-mandated lunch break and quit the field, leaving only their boss to fight the party.

LESSON FOR EVERYONE: If someone accidentally plays a furry when they’re vehemently not a furry, never, ever, let them live it down.  (Real actual furries get a pass in my book; y’all do you.)

 Denver Arcana (I, II, III) (d20 Modern, Urban Arcana, few supplements, kitchen sink urban fantasy)

LESSON FOR THE PLAYER: Characters really are fun when they’re actually characters, not just self-inserts or piles of stats for launching fireballs!  Make sure the campaign is going to last before commissioning artwork of them, though. Or else you’ll wonder if you’ve got your money’s worth.

LESSON FOR THE GM: If you continually reboot a campaign at low levels because you don’t know how to cope with your PCs once they reach high levels – don’t be surprised if they start finding level-independent ways to fuck with your shit.

 Thaumapunk X* (d20 Modern, extensive supplements, a bit less homebrew, better-thought-out kitchen sink sci-fi/magitech)

LESSON FOR THE PLAYER: If the GM interrupts your convoluted attempts at planning with an alien invasion, that means he disapproved of something.  Possibly that you were taking two hours to plan something unimportant.

LESSON FOR THE GM: It’s okay if the players know who the final boss is in advance (because he’s the guy who TPKed them last time), but they’ll understand if his stats aren’t identical to what they were centuries before.  They’ll accept the change if it means you don’t feel compelled to spring the final boss on them 75% of the way through the apparent story because you realized that it wouldn’t be a challenge for their over-optimized builds if things ran their course.

 Strangeworld (D&D 3.5e, mostly official supplements, weird primal-feeling fantasy that turned out to have huge space-fantasy elements just out of view for most of the game)

LESSON FOR THE GM: What would be awesome in twenty or thirty sessions will be a soul-sucking mess if it takes eighty.

 Diaspora* (D&D 3.5e, mostly official supplements, rapidly escalating to fight mythological-class threats and thwart a multi-pantheon plot to unmake the world, which somehow entailed overthrowing a powerful dwarven nation to build a giant-ass steampunk cannon to launch yourself to the moon so you could fight the Chariot of All Evil before it could bring its terrible power too close to the world’s many doomsday cults)

LESSON FOR THE GM: If there’s a chance that one player will realize that he doesn’t like the epilogue that he’s on track for, give him a heads up in advance.  So you’re not re-writing the ending at very moment that the ending is happening.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYER: If you gaining demigod status as your retirement plan depends on the cooperation of the rest of the party, clear everything with them 100% first.  Explain any possible hang-ups to the satisfaction of the Paladin  before the moment of truth.

 Braveworld (D&D 3.5e, mostly official supplements, standard medieval western fantasy)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Players say they just want a normal campaign as a breather after a crazy one, but they lie.  Boredom sets in fast, and that deprives you of the critical enthusiasm needed to overcome repeated scheduling problems or player conflicts.

 Magnum Opus* (d20 Modern, massive supplements, a crossover involving every previous campaign on this list and others that never got off the drawing board, starting with the PCs on their first day of high school and culminating in them saving literally every universe)

LESSON FOR THE GM: You get to push a system to its maximum extent until it pretty much burns out everyone’s desire to play it because there’s nothing else to accomplish, once.  Make it worth it!

OTHER LESSON FOR THE GM: If you set plot-critical rolls with a difficulty so high that they’re mathematically unachievable without extra measures, remember to hint at those other measures to the player in question.  He might not be firing on all cylinders tonight and if he gets literally every party member killed (even if temporarily) because as far as he could tell you wanted him to roll a 22 on a 20-sided dice, you’re getting the blame for that.

OTHER, OTHER LESSON FOR THE GM: No player ever needs a ring of three wishes.  Not even with a single wish left on it.  If there’s any charges left on that sucker it will fuck up your epilogue right good.

 Omoikane (D&D 3.5e, very Oriental-Adventures-themed, lots of demigod-tier enemies running around)

LESSON FOR THE GM: If a player seems to fundamentally misunderstand how a rule works, and seems to have built his character around that misunderstanding, correct him early.  At a critical moment when he’s trying to save the entire party based on a heroic effort he thinks the rules let him do is a bit too late.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: If the way you play a character is so effective that future GMs ban the entire class for the rest of time, you’ve mostly cheated yourself out of something cool.

 The Low Road (D&D 3.5e, standard medieval western fantasy but the PCs are evil and in pursuit of cosmic power; culminating in one character [uh, mine] becoming the replacement source of all evil in the world after his original plan fell through due to his god not existing)

LESSON FOR THE GM: “An Evil campaign” means different things to different players.  You’re not going to get a consistent vision of how to proceed with an evil scheme if your only criteria is “make an evil PC”.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: Evil cultist PCs planning to betray their parties at the last moment to further their eldritch-horror-patron’s plans should probably first verify that their patron exists.

 Swoboda (Early Pathfinder, campaign was supposed to be based on a fantasy version of WW2, with the PCs Fantasy!Polish volunteers in the Fantasy!Spanish Civil War with the meta-game expectation that we’d later be leading the resistance against the Fantasy!Nazi invasion of Fantasy!Poland).

LESSON FOR THE GM: Maybe don’t make the second session of the game a mission to commit atrocities against civilians, even if you are going for a “horrors of war” theme.

LESSON FOR THE GM: And maybe have a plan to continue the game if the PCs refuse orders.

 Sullapolis Survivor* (GURPS, zombie-horror but with extradimensional monsters rather than actual zombies, in a contemporary fictional city)

LESSON FOR MY PLAYERS:  No, seriously, I will TPK you if you fuck around in the finale.

LESSON FOR THE GM: Keep your conspiratorial horror a little more straightforward.  Too many elements just leaves the players unfocused and uninterested.

 The Dark Lords Errand (D&D 3.5e, classic medieval fantasy)

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: I’m not the only GM in the group willing to TPK us if we’re idiots.

LESSON FOR THE GM: It can be hard to communicate to players the difference between a situation where a heroic stand is demanded and where subterfuge and feigned acquiescence is called for.  But it’s worth making the extra effort if you liked the campaign.

 Orc Quest (D&D 3.5e, orcish tribes crusading against the law and the light)

SEE RECAP HERE.  

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: If you can’t be useful, be entertaining.

LESSON FOR THE GM: If one of the players has cheesed the rules so effectively as to tame the Tarrasque at level 8, and you let this happen, it’s barely your campaign any more – you’re just as much along for the ride as everyone not playing a Tarrasque-tamer.

 Saviors of Camden (GURPS; low-point value, basically playing the Boondock Saints)

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: Don’t build characters who have to be persuaded into the basic concept of the campaign.

LESSON FOR THE GM: If you planned a “kill ‘em all” epilogue, be prepared for the possibility of one PC cheating death.  Surround the skyscraper with cops?  Someone might critically succeed on a parasailing roll…

 Living in Darkness (D&D 3.5e, mixed supplements, classic fantasy that seemed to take place in the centuries-later aftermath of The Low Road)

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: If your GM’s style is best described as “Homestuck narrator”, you’re gonna have a bad time.

LESSON FOR THE GM: “How to keep an enemy mage in custody” should be a solved problem on most worlds.  Tell your players the accepted protocol.  Don’t make them invent it on their own and then have NPCs criticize them for unnecessary abuse after the fact.

LESSON FOR THE GM: You’re running a tabletop campaign, not narrating a satirical text adventure game.  Or if you are, you need to advertise that shit first.

 Valos IV (d20 Modern, Future, and then GURPS, involuntary pioneers sent by a tyrannical Earth government to an alien planet)

LESSON FOR THE GM: It’s a rare campaign that can survive a change in game systems.

 Adlera* (D&D 3.5e, Fantasy!Roman Republican PCs help Fantasy!Caesar invade Fantasy!India by killing any of the thousands of local demigods that get in the way of the Fantasy!Roman Legions, only to clash with an invading Fantasy!China, deal with backstabbing intrigue from home, and deal with the ancient techno-magical-biological prison for ten billion souls in a way that kept them from either reincarnating into an evil god or a horde of angry demons)

LESSON FOR THE GM: If when some PCs excel at what they do it’s regarded as heroic, and when others excel it’s regarded as a war crime, that leads to resentment.  Just be aware of that.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: Read the lore. If it says something only really weird could justify X in this setting, and you make X an explicit part of your character, don’t be surprised if you get dragged into some really weird shit.  Like having Fantasy!Samuel L. Jackson be your reincarnated boss, throughout all eternity, and locking you out of the epilogue that all the other players get because get back to work, bitch!

 Twenty Twenty Five* (GURPS, post-apocalypse based on an alternate history, like if Fallout was based on the late-80s/early-90s instead of the 50s, and also all the PCs were alive before the fall and woke up from a coma after the fall)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Do not allow any player to take Secret: Largely Responsible for the Apocalypse.  The campaign then becomes About That Player, no matter who else was in the party or what else you had going.

 The Sands of Mars (d20 Modern, Future, space opera with no psi or magic set on a Mars that has been cut off from Earth centuries after a robot rebellion or something)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Don’t pitch a sandbox game if you aren’t running a sandbox game. If there’s a main plot players are expected to participate in, don’t be coy about it in the pitch.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: If your character hates lying and you as a player don’t grok the concept of lying by omission, maybe don’t be the only one to take ranks in Bluff.

 Embracing Defeat (I, II)* (GURPS, martial arts/kinda-dieselpunk world where the PCs are the scions of nobility in a crushed and occupied country, trying to restore the honor of their defeated nation)

LESSON FOR THE GM: If someone keeps pitching character concepts that seem to really not quite fit the campaign, that means they probably don’t get what the campaign is going to be and you should explain it better so the character they eventually make doesn’t turn out completely useless.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: Maybe don’t pick a fight with an entire regiment of retired combat veterans at once if only one of you knows which end of a sword goes in the other guy.

LESSON FOR THE GM: A promising concept can be revived with new players if you write things properly.  But you still need a new plan for the story after nearly-TPKing the first set of characters and their associated stories.

 The Wheel (D&D 3.5e, a sequel to The Dark Lord’s Errand, the Low Road, Living in Darkness – every ten sessions or so the campaign world would change dramatically as one world ended and another was born, the heroes reincarnated into new but similar forms in a mecha setting, a post-apoc setting, a dark low fantasy, etc.)

LESSON FOR THE GM: You may have been planning this one for eight years, but that’s no excuse to drag the game itself on for three years.  PACING! No story worth telling requires 82 four-hour-average sessions.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: Clearly communicate to the GM your expectations for the game.  For instance, tell him politely, but firmly, which plot twists will result in you making a road trip across America to hang him with the strings of his own dice bag.  When threats are credible, this improves the game for everyone.

 The Firm* (GURPS, high-action, players are stylized GTA-type mafia guys taking over a fictional contemporary American city)

LESSON FOR THE GM: You make a game that calls for dick player characters, they’re going to do dick things.  You give them a high point value, they’re going to be good at doing dick things.  Be psychologically prepared for that.

 Valdeer no Senshi (GURPS, Magical Girls in a frankly awesome alt-history city that goes miles to justify the San-Fransokyo blend of West Coast and Japanese culture)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Less time writing Japanese characters that don’t display on most people’s US-layout IRC clients, more time writing awesome set piece battles and hilarious anime-inspired scenes.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: A group of mostly twenty-something dudes is either going to barely bother to roleplay a teenage girl or way too good at it.  Gaming is more productive when it’s the former; memories are made when it’s the latter.  There is no such thing as a happy medium.

 The Great Heathen Army* (Pathfinder; Fantasy!Vikings invade Fantasy!England, each PC having their own noble house and army, carving out their respective kingdoms as they conquer the land and fight both the natives and each other)

LESSON FOR THE GM: There is a maximum number of spreadsheets you can use to run a game after which there is no way it will be fun. Try to work out that number ahead of time.

LESSON FOR THE GM: If you have a hard time imagining what would cause an actual tabletop session to be needed to advance the game, you have not actually designed a D&D-style campaign but a play-by-post strategy with cobbled-together-rules.  And if those rules kind of suck, wow you have wasted a lot of time.

 Harbingers of Justice (Pathfinder with all kinds of homebrew, modern superheroes in a contemporary fictional setting)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Don’t run a superhero campaign if you actually hate superheroes.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: Don’t build an Elvis-themed superhero if you have no interest and little knowledge of Elvis

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: The most effective way for a level 3 rogue to do damage in a battle on a city street is a Disable Device check to hotwire the nearest car and drive it into an enemy.

 Knights of the Stag* (GURPS, Infinite Worlds world-hopping beginning with the wizard attendees at a magical college in England in the days of Richard the Lionheart)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Don’t base a campaign on cool alternate-history ideas if you’re the only one in your group who reads or cares about history.  You’ll burn out long before you can get to the finish if you don’t have the positive feedback from people who get the references.

LESSON FOR THE GM: GURPS makes the better system when you need to learn new languages, know hundreds of utility spells, and solve problems in crazy creative ways.  D&D makes the better system when you want to throw dragons at the party.  Both are pretty doable when the opposition is Evil Time Nazis, though.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYER: Do the assigned reading. Don’t be the idiot claiming to be an English noble in 11th Century England who speaks only…English.

 Resistance* (d20 Modern; entirely fictional setting; no science fiction or magic; ROTC students try to organize a resistance after a surprise coup and invasion of their country, Red Dawn style)

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: If it’s an explicitly modern-military themed game, and absolutely every single enemy is going to have at least an assault rifle…this probably isn’t the game to run your expert boxer who specializes in doing unarmed nonlethal damage, especially given d20 Modern’s heavy nerfs to nonlethal damage.

 Angels of Ashtabula (GURPS, sequel to Saviors of Camden, only set in the Rust Belt)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Don’t let someone take Anonymous as an 18-pt contact.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: Don’t take Anonymous as an 18-pt contact.

  The New World (D&D 5e, standard medieval western fantasy kingdoms colonize fantasy!North America)

LESSON FOR THE GM: If the (white colonialist) sponsors are all assholes, and the indigenous peoples are all sympathetic, it should be expected that eventually the PCs are going to stop wanting to work for the colonialists.

LESSON FOR THE OTHER PLAYERS: If you didn’t want me negotiating with the lich, leading to efforts of mutual translation and me telling the lich how to take advantage of our own laws and the Paladin’s code of honor to get treated as a sovereign nation rather than a monster, maybe y’all should have just attacked instead of waiting for it to make the first move and then it waiting for us to make the first move and an awkward silence ensuing that I decided to insert myself into as the SOCIAL JUSTICE ROGUE.

  Journey to Svalbard (GURPS; post-apocalypse; survivors from Edmonton, Canada, make their way across the ruins of Canada and then the Atlantic to the Svalbard Doomsday Seed Vault to restart agriculture, ongoing)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Eight players is probably more than comfortably fit into an RPG group at once.  It’s definitely more than fit comfortably into the bush plane at once.

LESSON FOR THE GM: If the only NPCs who get physical descriptions are the ones who turn out to be the key to saving the world, it’s kind of hard to keep the mystery going.

LESSON FOR THE PLAYERS: If the GM keeps dropping hints, someone should probably take notes, yeah?

 Journey from Everfree* (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy; class of modern high school students thrust into fantasy setting)

LESSON FOR THE GM: You should probably take some notes yourself, asshole.

 Heroes of Applewood Heights* (Genesys, Superheroes, contemporary, ongoing)

LESSON FOR THE GM: Whatever it is, I haven’t learned it yet.

[goldiesugar]

The 10 Golden Rules of Sugaring

No one else enjoys the sweet life the way a sugar baby does. But living THE lifestyle doesn’t come easy, as every sugar baby will tell you.

1. Commit to an identity online and IRL.

Are you a southern belle? A hard-working small-town girl eager to leave her roots behind? A collegiate with big-time professional aspirations? The girl next door? A vixen who happens to prefer older men? A fun-loving young woman eager to travel and see the world? Zero in on how you want to portray yourself and curate your online profile accordingly, making sure to highlight your most desirable traits. The idea isn’t to play a role but to be consistent and commit to an identity that’s a genuine expression of your true persona—to be the best version of your authentic self. For example, if you deem yourself a girl-next-door, don’t show up to meet a prospective sugar daddy in five-inch heels and a dress with a plunging neckline. Wear something modest. You should always feel comfortable, but there’s value in committing to an identity badge as long as it mirrors who you actually are on some level. Believe me, they’ll be able to sniff out the phonies.

2. Do the work, and be patient.

The initial phase of sugar dating is a lot like regular dating in that you have to find someone you genuinely like and want to spend time with. But a sugar daddy also has to be someone who can meet your specific needs. That extra layer of criteria (connection + the ability to meet your needs) requires yet more time and energy than dating the “normal” way, but it’s usually worth it. Sift through profiles, communicate with as many potential candidates as possible, and assume you’ll have to go on a lot of first dates before you meet the right guy.

3. Be straightforward.

A lot of successful men choose sugar dating because they value efficiency and they don’t want to waste their time, so sugar babies should be straightforward about their needs and expectations. They should also feel free to ask as many questions as necessary to figure out whether a specific sugar daddy’s desired approach, intentions, and expectations match theirs. Early on, a sugar baby should address how often she’s available and/or willing to meet, and exactly what she expects in terms of gifts, shopping sprees, allowance, help with tuition, credit card payments, vacations, housing, mentorship, etc. She should also be honest about why she’s choosing the sugar baby lifestyle. Sugar daddies like to know exactly how they’re helping out so they can feel good about their contribution to a young woman’s life.

4. Outline a specific, mutually beneficial agreement.

If a sugar baby and sugar daddy click and their needs are aligned, the next step is to solidify the exact terms of the relationship. The more specific the agreement, the easier it will be for both parties to know exactly what their obligations are. Consider the following:

What time of day will you meet up, and for how many hours?

Where exactly will you meet (hotel, sugar baby’s place, sugar daddy’s home)?

What will a typical date entail (theatre, lunch, travel, long walks, cocktail parties, movies)?

Will you hang out alone, or will you be seen in public together?

When will you receive payment/gifts/etc.?

How long do you anticipate the relationship will last?

What does each of you consider a dealbreaker (failure to make timely payments, a last minute cancellation, the discovery that you’re not exclusively dating each other, or a request deemed too greedy?

5. Never get too comfortable.

Months into dating the “normal” way, you might start to get comfortable and put less effort into how you dress and/or behave, but a sugar baby can never slack off if she wants the relationship to last. Be your best-looking, most pleasant self at all times. The goal is to be a top-notch companion. That doesn’t mean you can’t express that you’ve had a bad day, but it does mean that you can’t meet your sugar daddy wearing your favorite sweats (unless that’s what your daddy wants, of course).

6. Stick to the agreement.

It’s a bad idea to cancel on a sugar daddy or to show up late or to change the terms of the existing arrangement. The point of establishing a concrete agreement is to avoid unwanted surprises. At the same time, rich older men tend to be extremely busy, so sugar babies should be prepared to be flexible about changes in their schedules. That might seem unfair, but it’s part of the unwritten code of sugar dating. Be accommodating—but only up to a certain extent. A sugar daddy should be wealthy enough to provide his sugar baby with her allowance or gifts or whatever is agreed to in a timely fashion no matter what. If at any point payment/gift giving is stalled, consider it a red flag.

7. Be discrete.

Discretion is the key to dating an older, wealthy, powerful man. Always play it safe and assume that a sugar daddy doesn’t want you posting photos of them to your social media newsfeeds or discussing the specific terms of your relationship with anyone else. You can make an exception if any of your friends are in the Sugar Bowl, they know the rules of the game.

8. Maximize the relationship.

The advantages of dating a sugar daddy go beyond the initial terms of your arrangement. As you get to know him, figure out how you can use his expertise, influence, and industry contacts to help you get ahead, not just financially but through networking and relationship building. Think of your sugar daddy as a mentor, advisor, friend, and confidante—someone to learn from as well as a romantic partner. But never ever get too attached, or fall in love with them. Also you can see other SDs at the same time.

9. Manage your expectations.

It’s natural to develop romantic feelings for a sugar daddy, but keep in mind that this relationship is transactional foremost and romantic second. You might very well fall in love with each other, but you’re better off remembering that this is primarily about satisfying immediate, mutual needs. Stay open-minded without getting too attached. To keep your emotions in check, keep a journal so you can monitor the evolution of the relationship from your perspective. Ask yourself: How do I feel about him and our relationship? Am I getting everything I need? What would I do if he dumped me? If you feel like you’re in love, end the arrangement and move on.

10. Always have a Plan-B-Z.

A sugar dating relationship can end at any time, so sugar babies shouldn’t count on never-ending support from any given sugar daddy. It’s wise to avoid being 100 per cent reliant on anyone. You should always have a plan B. So keep a day job or find an additional source of income, even if its in the form of another sugar daddy, and always save a percentage of your earnings.

         ~ Bleuet 

[dyketectivecomics]

Video game head canon time:

in which Wayne Enterprises has a division in entertainment/technology which includes consoles & game development & totally worked to have a Hand in making the Arkham series /& it exists bc:

-Bruce’s name was mentioned as one of the (discredited) suspects & everyone thought it would be hilarious to develop the game’s story & premise based around the CEO being the Batman

-”cmon, can u even imagine Bruce running on rooftops at night??? hilarious” “hmm he’d have to be really brooding tho, rlly serious. let’s dial up the angst to 11″ “great idea”

-little does anyone one know that this is all an elaborate plot for bruce to get his kids to play the games & see who would best be fit for the cowl. their reactions & his general notes kinda go:

Dick: when he was younger he got easily distracted by the side missions (esp the hunt for the riddler trophies in Asylum. he didn't face joker until he had them all first & all the challenges beaten), but whenever he goes back to play after a year or two, he just focuses on the story & lets the side missions happen more naturally. a lot more hands on & confrontational for some areas that require stealth, but learns from his mistakes.

Jason: worse in that regard. goes out of his way to stop every goon on the way to the next objective. dies a lot bc of this but also levels up rlly easily. was NOT amused by how on the nose Knight was, (”bruce. did you tell them??? what happened to secrecy??” -jay u literally told me to fight you five times at the last gala. let the developers have their fun- “touche”) still enjoyed the game. never finds all the riddler trophies bc he's stubborn about them being impossible

Barbara: is constantly accused of hacking the game or exploiting glitches. which she only does after completing the game through & being the first one to post walkthroughs online. no one knows that she does that, but she feels a moral obligation to help others through the game esp when those trophies aren't straightforward. completes side missions as they're assigned but never quite gets through them before the story is finished

Tim: is shameless about taking advantage of glitches and tries to beat barbara to the punch on writing up walkthroughs (he’s always juuuuust behind on that front). takes time with side missions before progressing through the story again. Somehow is able to find all the trophies before completion??? (everyone thinks he cheats somehow but he just??? gets right on them)

Cass: Pure story mode for asylum, Tim still doesnt understand how she beat the story mode and refused to pick up a single riddler trophy. City & Knight were more natural for her to make her way through the side missions but she still prioritizes the main story. very careful about balancing head-on confrontations & strategizing her attacks.

Steph: Plays all the games on easy bc she's there for a good time & to see what everyone’s complaining about with the riddler trophies. Can and will have someone else help her when she gets stuck on a really tricky one “steph. u need the freeze gadget for this” ‘what freeze gadget’ “... back at the studio.. its sitting like. right there” ‘motherfu-’ wants to wrap up side missions before getting back to the story, but for City she didn't even unlock some & play thru 50% of the story mode without those ones

Damian: NEVER plays if theres another sibling there that might be watching him (”Grayson doesnt count”) but tries to complete it the fastest. his speed runs are legendary. & he skips every cutscene that he can. ran all over gotham in Knight bc he couldn't find a riddler informant to show him the locations of the last few trophies or screen grabs he needed.

Duke: balances the side missions really well with the story but the riddler trophies are super easy for him. actually known to find maps & hints only after finding 80% of the trophies in the first place. everyone swears its witchcraft but hey! it’s kinda how he started with all this bat-business after all. usually is the one who’s ready to make a deal in asking for help. (’i’ll get you that trophy but you need to help me with this one boss fight i cant get past. the batmobile is impossible to navigate’)

Harper: she & cullen had no idea that the games were part of bruce’s plan to see how fit they were for the crusade. & they actually ruined the experiment bc they switch off who’s actually playing & take turns while also making fun of the game (its for their let’s play channel: Gotham Gay-mers. they’re p popular)

...

the batkids somehow convince the batadults to play (& UNDERSTAND THE PAIN)

bruce: once he gets the hang of the controls he’s a natural at it. focuses mostly on the story & the mission at hand, except in knight when its easier to balance those missions. realizes that it may not be such a good test after all. when the fam gathers to watch him play he asks irl alfred & oracle for help and back-up much too regularly. when babs was fridged in knight they all cried as a family & bruce kept denying it (up to a certain point when he really hit acceptance & it was immediately dashed by the Twist) Still would ‘call Oracle’ irl for Babs advice or hints with the side missions

kate: very heavy story focus, but knows how most of the puzzles work from catching some of the kids playing every once in awhile. not super stoked when she gets stuck on something & very stubborn abt completing the task when she is.

selina: doesnt even entertain the thought of playing the full games, but loves watching the kids playing. has been known to take controllers to play her own stints in City (”bc who knows what i’ll do better than me?”) helps them out with her trophies bc she's watched & played enough to know exactly where they are

alfred: “unfortunately i have no such time for those, but I am grateful for your concern Master Dick” -similar response for various batkids when they ask for his opinion/help/advice while thinking ‘alfred knows everything.

[survivorbahamas]

FIC Results and Rites of Passage

Dana has won individual immunity and guaranteed herself a spot in final tribal council and a chance to argue her case in front of the jury.

Now, on to rites of passage.

JULIA’S ROP

Chris- sucks you went out because of a crazy idol! you were coming after me so you had it coming ;/

Rob- god I love u so much and I was soo upset when you walked!! I hope you're doing okay!

Jenna- we were never on the same tribe but it sucks you never made merge!

Adrian- I love u to death and I really wish I was awake during the time you were voted out so I could've made sure no one flipped on you! you were such a good ally and I was really upset to see you go so soon.

Jaiden- you were probably my favorite person to align with! although you were lowkey crazy and unpredictable I knew you always had my back and I am happy to say I never went against you. playing this game with you was so much fun and I'm glad it brought us closer!

Gage- we never talked much because you always went MISSING AHHH!! but when we did talk, you were really fun and you being voted out really shocked me

Willa- you were so fun to talk to and I'm really glad we got to play this game together! the only thing I remember about you being voted out is that I was afraid someone had an idol. you were truly robbed!

Nicholas- argh u are a terrible ally to have but its ok,,, ily and im so glad to say I finally outlasted u in a game aha!

Lily- we never talked much because I felt like you were against me. you're a really sweet gal and im glad to say I never lied to you but if you made it to the end you would've won!

Bodhi- im so glad that I got to play this game with you. since the beginning, I feel like we really connected and im so happy we got to become friends. you were someone I knew I could rely on and you were really robbed. im sorry that the vote was either me or you and i lowkey wish it was me. love u!

Brian- ahhhh! during the beginning of the game, i felt like you were someone i could count on and actually become friends with! even though during merge we stopped talking as much, you played such a spectacular game and im happy i got to play it with you. i tried to save you last minute but it didn't work. you're a smart player and it sucks you were voted out!

KAI’S ROP

Madison - Voted out first for being inactive.

Kylie - Don't know who this is.

Chris - I had no idea who he was and then he tried to vote me out for no reason xD so I didn't like him too much.

Mitch - Don't know who this is.

Rob - Rob was such a sweet heart.. I'm sad that he had to leave the game (heart) I would've loved to work with him.

Jenna - Dana just told me that shes now on the jury and I feel bad because I have literally no idea who she is :( 

Adrian - I think hes probably a really nice guy but I also think he tried to vote me out along side chris and therefore It made me lose trust In him

Jaiden - quite a funny guy when you talk to him. however within this game he was absolutely crazy. he also saved me on the Chris vote which I'm very appreciative of.

Gage - he was a very quiet person but I'm sure he was lovely too.. its a shame he had to go the way he did because of idols n stuff... 

Willa - quite a nice guy, it was fun to work with him xD not many people knew about that which was pretty cool. We would've gone far 

Nicholas - I was with Nicholas in my starting tribe and he is such a sweet guy (heart) like I did like him and then he flipped on our alliance and it kind of made me lose trust in him so...

Lily - she was literally the one of the only reasons I made it this far within the game I swear to god! Coming into the game as a beginner and not knowing anybody Lily was very sweet and helped me through it and sort of gave me tips on how to play a good game so I genuinely wouldn't have been able to make it here without her.. (heart) (heart)

Bodhi - once again another person who helped me through the game. Bodhi was one of the people I trusted most as well until he started making plans and votes without me. but hes Bodhi so ive still gotta love him no matter what ya feel xD

Brian - the final person who I would never have been able to make it this far without. he was also another person who was giving me hints and tips on how to play the game.

DANA’S ROP

Madison- You were wrong. Cake was not the winner of the season, it was worm on a string and I love her.  

Kylie- Hope you had a good time playin the game!

Chris- Chips! What a nice guy. Talking to you on original Ysabela was great. Honestly? Your selfie scavenger hunt skills are admirable.

Mitch- Poor ailing Mitch. Very sorry you had to go while you were suffering from Pneumonia. You were such a nice guy. I realized too late that you’re v into candles and I’m sad we never got to talk about them because I am a hoe for candles.

Rob- Bobby! I’m SO sad we never got to play in this game together because I was really looking forward to it. My OG TS Survivor friend and my first ever ally. Can’t wait to host with you and Daisy, our only other friend.

Jenna- Ahh Jenna! Nobody has more wild stories to tell in tribe chat than you. Playing with you was super fun and you definitely kept me entertained. I’m sorry we couldn’t have gone further into the game together!

Adrian- What a pal. I’m SO sorry I left you alone on Ponderosa, but I came back to S L A Y for both of us robbed queens. I’ll make it up to you and we can go on a lit beach vacation together when we get out of the Bahamas.

Jaiden- Chaos Jaiden. You definitely made this game more interesting and terrifying for everyone involved.  Playing this game with you made everything…unpredictable to say the least, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Maybe you can find another advantage out there to bring yourself back to the jury?

Gage- The missing icon. Honestly I was always SO excited to work with you in this game, and inevitably every round you would leave me for that bitch the triangle. I’m sorry I eventually got jealous and had to vote you out of this game.

Willa- Willa Willa Willa. My half of the super idol twin. Honestly I miss you quite a lot. Your way of playing this game straightforward was something I was SO envious of in this game. I hope they have plenty of kpop bops for you to listen to @ Ponderosa.

Nicholas- QUEEN NICHOLAS! My hero and fellow wine mom. You’re honestly a fav and you deserved better. I’m super glad I decided to befriend you in this game, honestly one of the best choices I made. Can’t wait to get lit and ruin lives with you in future games.

Lily- <3 AHH I miss talking to you SO much. You’re such a great friend and we have so much in common, which made talking to you in this game incredibly enjoyable and just like I was hanging out with my irl friends. Keep living your best life my fellow sorority girl and party princess. Also pls say hello to your cute dog for me. Thank you.

Bodhi- I am SO sad you aren’t sitting here with me right now in the final four, because you deserve it so much. Playing this game with you was honestly one of the best times I’ve ever had in a game and I’m going to miss our alliance a crazy amount. You play the best UTR game, one that I’m INCREDIBLY jealous of. I’m always fascinated by the crazy plans you think up and USUALLY successfully implement. It’s been a great time and so much of that was because of you, so thanks!  

Brian- By far one of the hardest votes for me in this game. I’m so thankful you brought me back into this game and took a chance on someone you didn’t know that well at the time. Your decision to bring me back allowed me to have one of the best times I’ve ever had playing in a game before, so thank you. Unfortunately, you became SO threatening. Your pulse on what was going on in this game was close to perfect and your ability to see through other people’s plans was uncanny. You’re an awesome guy and I can’t wait to visit in Toronto!

ZACH’S ROP

Madison Although we don’t see eye to eye all the time, I still wish you would’ve been more active and could’ve stayed longer!

Kylie Queen of self voting! We didn’t talk, you were inactive and i’m not sure if you even accepted my friend request hehe.

Chris I heard your tribal was fairly… intense. We barely got to play this game together, but i’m glad with the little time we had!

Mitch This was a sad vote. I’m so sorry you came up with an illness :( I really enjoyed your presence and am glad to have gotten the opportunity to play with you! I wish we could’ve still continued though.

Rob We were close early on, and i’m glad we got to become good friends! It’s unfortunate you had to walk though :( I was hoping to continue our game together later on! I hope we get to meet again soon.

Jenna The definition of robbed. We were pals and I was so sad to see you go. I tried to force a tie but the votes just weren’t there. I’m super glad you were moved onto jury though!

Adrian This vote had me stressed out. You deserved to stay longer, but it’s unfortunate that the tiebreaker wasn’t in your favour. I wish we could’ve played together and actually went semi-far as allies and not be opposing forces, which was something we kind of achieved here, so i’m thankful to have played with you.

Jaiden You’re one crazy baby child. Although you made me stressed and made tribals hectic one after another, it was a fun experience and you made this whole overall adventure more chaotic. I’m sad to see you leave jury :(

Gage We never really connected, but i’m glad to have gotten a chance to play with you and meet you! Perhaps one day down the road we could play again and work together more effectively.

Willa At this point, this was the hardest vote I had to make. You were such a social threat and Brian was fortunately removed from the tribe (via the bermuda triangle!) so it had to be you. Thank you for talking to me though and giving me hope, and comforting me regularly. I really appreciate you and am thankful to have this opportunity shared with you.

Nicholas ADIOS NICHOLAS! You leaving pissed me the frick off. I was… blindsided… but in the end, it was fun to play with you and i’m glad we had a fun experience again. Malibu is shaking!

Lily I am grateful to have played with you again, and rekindle our friendship a little bit to say the least. You were a likeable and social threat, and my paranoid ass decided splitting the vote was the best idea, which resulted in you leaving. I’m truly apologetic. I will say though that I did enjoy your company, and you were a fun person to talk to throughout the game.

Bodhi The vote where I… cried? This was so hard because I wanted to keep you but the vote may have tied, therefore sending me out by rocks and it just wasn’t optional. I’m thankful to have gotten to build a personal relationship with you, and become friends that hopefully will extend outside this game. Thank you for all the help you provided.

Brian Okay this vote was messy. I’m sorry to see you go. We never really connected until the end, but it was too risky taking an underdog story like yours to the end. You were a great magician with your frequent “i’m playing my idol” tricks, and truly you made me one hell of a paranoid freak. Thank you for a fun game.