#kind of inspired by an rp session

[zeroducks-2]

So this is the concept, now I need some motivation!

[defibrillate-the-hidden]

RP Prompts

Here is a list of RP prompts I'm interested in if anyone has any interest in roleplaying (no order of preference, pinning to my channel) War Hypothermia- (MxF or FxF) war torn country small group of specialist snipers take up a position on the top of a tall building just before a major blizzard. One begins to succumb to hypothermia Sleezy Content Creator- (MxF) content creator grooms and abuses an 18 or 19 year old model in making resus content (Mature subject matter might only do with a partner I trust and have experience with) Gothic revival- (Any on Any) Alternate universe where gothic revival never stopped being in style. Modern amenities but hospitals, clothing etc is in the gothic revival Steam Punk Baywatch- (FxF or FxM) kind of an anime steam punk inspired storyline with a group of female traveling lifeguards in a steampunk setting. (Might require some lead in to establish the universe rules) Deep experimental therapy resus- therapy session where therapist walks someone through their resuscitation by asking questions- experimental not like normal rps General rules- I expect pretty significant contributions I'm not into rping just to wank off I like a story, and emotional weight on consequences. I like well fleshed out characters, you don't need to be an english major but put in real effort I don't expect a constant conversation if you gotta step out or just aren't in the mood just say so and we can pick it up later I will also do the same. I prefer to know a bit about my rp partners so expect to chat a little first before we start the rp

[neverloseguy]

So I decided to do something funny today:

Inspired by RP sessions I had with my in-game friends, I decided that Emilie is now some kind of "Thief-Guardian" hybrid, where she loses access to Shadow Shroud as a Specter, but instead gains Guardian's Virtues of Courage and Resolve, as well as Guardian's utilities like bubble fields and teleportations (which Thieves can also do), but themed after her shadow mage aesthetic.

[itsmissing]

Hi, you said we were allowed to ask random questions, so I wanted to get your take on this if it is ok. I have followed you for years at this point, and your creations are incredible! They inspire me so. I recall some time ago posting a.... reskin? Revamp? Of one of your DnD characters? I know most of your characters are not dnd nor should people use them in their own games, but if I am reading this correctly it means you yourself play or have at least played TTRPGs in the past. So, since you are welcoming questions, I thought it fair to ask an insanely creative person like you.

So I am in many DnD games right now, and most of them are very RP heavy. I find I can articulate myself well digitally when I can edit what I'm saying to make myself look thoughtful and knowledgeable. But when I RP verbally in the moment - particularly characters that have different thought patterns than I do- I flounder and words become difficult.

Suffice to say- how do you approach RP from a creator's stand point? Creating many different characters and making them unique from yourself but still compelling and competent? What is your thought process to RP?

If you do not feel comfortable answering this ask and that is perfectly fine- I realize this is coming out of left field but you did say you were bored and wanted asks, so I thought this line of questions was fair game. Regardless, I do wish to share how insanely creative and incredible I find your works. If you do not mind more questions in the future, I would love to ask a bit more of your inspirations and thought processes towards how you approach art, but instead I'll settle on my odd ask and hope I am not egregiously overstepping.

thanks for the question! bit of a long answer so i'll put it under a Read More.

i've actually played a couple of campaigns of dnd and blades in the dark (tho they were all over discord calls, and none of them ever concluded naturally), and i totally understand where you're coming from! tho i'll be honest, i haven't played ttrpgs in general in a good long while. i definitely had frustrations in my first ever couple of sessions of dnd (using a character i lovingly designed from scratch), and i think a lot of those pain points stemmed from me trying to force a narrative journey i already had in my head, pre-planned, that i imagined during the design phase for that character. but at the end of the day, dnd is improv, and if you're not used to that, your character's going to end up a little different than how you imagined, and that's ok! a session is always going to be a collaborative roleplaying space, where the party's stories as a group and as individuals are crafted gradually, over time, and some of the ideas you had for your character at the start-- their backstory, their personality, the way they talk and think-- are going to be constantly workshopped into something different, naturally, over the course of a campaign as you get more comfortable. i also find it's a lot easier to rp when you stop trying to inhabit The Exact Character That You Made With Love, and instead try to rp with their essence in mind instead. the most important thing for me when roleplaying is to understand the basics of my character-- whether they're nice or mean, outspoken or reserved, polite or straightforward, etc-- more than anything else. more practical, actionable advice is that it helps to ask yourself questions in your off time and try to answer them as best as you can, out loud and in-character. interview yourself as your character! what's their favorite fruit?

thanks for the question, and also the kind words about my art! i had typed a lot more than this out but i felt like it was mostly incoherent rambling. this might still qualify as that, actually. hope this helps in any way!

[thegooddoctorkiebeth]

RP Interactions Want/Will/Won't List

What is a Want / Will / Won't List?

A Want / Will / Won't list is a tool for establishing consent, setting expectations, and enforcing personal boundaries within relationships of all types. I learned it from Sexologist and Clinical Therapist Dr. Lindsay Doe, whose work I'm a general fan of, and find it intensely helpful when communciating both desires and boundaries with a new playmate for any activity from the NSFW kind to DND.

There are a few ways to establish a new Want / Will / Won't list.

1: Make your own and share it publicly ( I'm doing this one right now! )

Making and posting your own list means Defining The Relationship its for ( in this case, RP relationships in general ) and filling out each field with examples of your personal preferences, and posting it where folks can find it.

2: Make your list while a specific individual is making theirs for That Specific Relationship Between You, and share them privately with one another for comparison and discussion.

3: Word Association Game! If making a long ass list that people may not even bother to read sounds like a crock of shit you don't even wanna expend effort on ( been there ) you can also have Want / Will / Won't discussions with the specific person you're getting to know, taking turns putting forward interactions and behaviors for the other person to say if that is a Want, Will, or Won't for them, allowing you to respond in kind where it lands for you, and discussing the nuances of each others boundaries before its their turn to put forward something and have you say Want, Will, or Won't.

This method works best with someone whom you have some rapport with, at least to the point that you're both comfortable laughing off awkwardness.

Alright alright, I hear you saying. Neat idea, Lore, but what do the catagories MEAN?????

Good question! Let's get into it.

WANT is your ideal.

Ideal RP partner behaviors, ideal plots, ideal communication methods and frequency, What Does Getting Everything You Want Look Like To You? List out minimum 30 things about that Absolute Ideal Relationship for you that are Within A Partner's Ability To Contribute to.

For me, off the top of my head, are things that would be on my RP Want List;

RP For Fun

No schedule or reply pressure

Partner is accessable for personal OOC chatting within an aquaitences understanding, no matter how close our characters may be

Partner is EXCITED about Aristel and how she fits into the Batman universe

Partner asks about Aristel and where she was during canon works, and desires to thread within those spaces of thought

Partner cares about character arcs and building relationships

Partner understands I Am An Adult Person With A Hobby

Writing with other adults

Partner Understands I Am Not A Batman Encylopedia And Is Willing To Teach Without Ridicule, and does not Make Me Feel Stupid for never having interacted with a given piece of media.

GOOFING OFF IN OOC CHAT

Planned arcs

Seat of pants interactions

Threads

Askbox interactions

Long replies

Short replies

Dialog heavy threads

Dialog exclusive threads

One off goofs

Starting new things and accepting most threads will not get capped off like novels if "finished" at all

Making art inspired by interactions to be shared privately first and publicly a day or two later

NSFW interactions in a private venue, such as Discord.

Partner willing to articulate their own boundaries BEFORE exploding and starting a fandom wide drama llama herding session.

I could go on, but the above is example of a good start.

WILL is the things You Are Okay With. Sure, I don't mind kinda vibes.

In my case, my Will list would contain

Saying hello or good morning when I've recently replied

Clarifying unclear language for my partner

Editing replies if I forgot or contradicted something

Watching or reading a piece of the Batman canon I'm normally disintetested in, provided it does not cause me distress to interact with

Notifying of absence when I know its coming

Notifying of return when able

Friendly OOC interactions with intent towards building a personal friendship outside of RP

Discussions of trauma and abuse in a private venue

Discussions of writing technique and skill building excercises

Playing with Partners with Icons or who use canon images in threads, provided they understand I Cannot Do The Same Because All Images Of Aristel Must Be Made By My Own Hand and I Don't Got Time For That Shit.

Playing with partners from Non Batman / DC universes

Playing with chatacters of the wider DC canon, understanding I Will Need To Be Taught About Them

Playing with other OCs

WON'T is HARD NO, do not ask me again unless I bring it up.

For me, this list includes;

Posting a schedule.

RPing NSFW with minors, mun or muse

Unplotted violence or violation

Unplotted cheating

Unplotted lying

Gotcha plots, if we are playing I Am Not Interested In Being Tricked At Any Point. If you're playing a Riddler, we need to be able to talk about the puzzle OOC and HOW Aristel might work within it to figure it out.

Explicit NSFW on Tumblr; when I play Ari sexy in a public venue it is the only interaction I see and I Hate It. You want the steamy stuff you need to demonstraight enough respect for her As A Chatacter before I'm willing to get hot n heavy.

That's the gist, and I'll be making more specfic lists in the future both for Aristel and Synapse.

Once I have Completed General Lists, it'll become part of the blog directory planned for the pinned post

[withsideofwings]

I went on a little memory lane regarding my DBZ OC stuff and got reminded that I once made a Majin who was avid manga reader named Karaka (Carrot cake). Felt that she should get a reattempt. She was my way of just dropping some obscure comic and manga trope stuff during RP sessions so she kind of feels closer to me than other OCs I made. She was more or less a tribute to the genre itself and probably wouldnt happen if I didn't read more non-DBZ Toriyama stuff. I'm not good at goodbyes, but all I can say- Stay creative folks and lets inspire others regardless of the size of our influence. Toriyama created and influenced so many characters so lets return our favor and never stop showing our passion for art. Godspeed Mr. Toriyama

[camelliagwerm]

skill and playtest for the player questions and homebrew for the dm questions

Playtest: What class (or subclass) do you want to try out?

This is going to sound like the most 5E DM thing ever, but honestly? Battle Master Fighter. However, I think because of how Fighter is in terms of utility, the likelihood of me ever playing it is slim because a lot of the 5e games I've been in have more of an emphasis on RP overall. They'd probably be my go to if I was to play in a dungeon crawl game though.

I'd also love to give Shadow Sorcerer a proper try and Necromancer Wizard a chance. I don't usually play pure spellcasters unless it's Divine Soul Sorcerer because I like being able to take a hit, so even if I do play a spellcaster, I'm usually playing a martial one.

Skill: Do you prefer RP, combat, or something else? Is there a part of the game you consider yourself best at?

I personally enjoy a mix, just because of how I tend to design my characters and what sort of role I usually end up occupying. Nine times out of ten, I'm usually playing a tank of some kind - no matter what system it is (e.g. a blood hunter in Curse of Strahd whose tankiness lied in his hp, a tempest domain cleric in Icewind Dale, a dex-based investigator in my 2e game, a hilariously tanky decay domain cleric in a Fistful of Flowers, a Tzimisce in my V5 game), so by default I enjoy the combat encounters.

However I do think I'm a fairly solid RPer. I'm an ex-theatre kid, I'll commit to the bit no problem. I'm the sort of RPer who will step up when necessary, but I want to give other players - especially newer players - the opportunity to shine.

Homebrew: Do you have any house rules or homebrews you use? What are they?

I have a few specific house rules as a 5E DM:

First is in regard to keeping players comfortable: if there is something in the game that is making them uncomfortable, the player can DM me privately, and I'll end the scene, no questions asked. I've pretty much exclusively DM'd Ravenloft games, so this is important to me.

The second house rule I have is relating to the Guidance cantrip. I didn't have this implemented before, but I had a player once who abused the fuck out of it and it was not fun for the table. You can use guidance, but consider how it looks to an NPC you're trying to persuade, or how it'd feel if you're using it for stealth as it has a verbal component as well as a somatic. That might not make the check easier, but harder for yourself. It encourages a more...tactical use of it, rather than something that can be spammed. I hate that I had to do it because of one bad egg, but it was unfortunately necessary for the table's sanity.

Rule of Cool - if something isn't what'd be classified as 'strictly legal' (e.g. by the book), I'm willing to throw the rulebook out of the window in favour of 'rule of cool' for that action. I like encouraging creative thinking and want to reward that where I can. I like to offer up the potential of one free inspiration die per player per session as an encouragement for this or rp.

This is an exclusive-to-Ravenloft house rule: I implemented a system that was suggested in Van Richten's Guide for the current Ravenloft game I'm running called Seeds of Fear. I'm fairly sure it runs a little like Call of Cthulhu's fear system. In short, fail a Wisdom saving throw (DC dependent on player's level), and I get to roll a D12 - they get a Seed of Fear. With that in mind, if they come across something that might trigger that fear, they have to roll another Wisdom saving throw. Fail that and they're frightened until the end of their next turn. This ties into the "one earnable inspiration die per player and session" rule - as if the player rps the fear appropriately

D&D Asks

[beels-burger-babe]

Not to be sappy on main, but it being two years since the hive opened hit me a bit hard, a year really goes by quickly. I remember the first time I joined the hive and it was just a few weeks after I joined the obey me fandom, your blog was one of the first I followed.

I absolutely adored your writing, still do, and for the first time in years it inspired me to write a fic. I remember how I re-read Class is in Session, The Day Out, Fool me Twice ( that one was one of my favorites for a while, I brainrotted over that for months good lord ). And I loved reading them, they were so immersive and colourful and easy to understand and imagine so many different plots too.

And then I sent my first ever ask that I'm pretty sure was me splurging on an idea ( either that or it was the Deltarune one ) I got from one of your fics and getting a response that was interested in listening to my idea felt so good, and that's probably the day I became a frequent visitor in the good ol ask box.

Your blog became one of my favorite places to hang out in my free time, the vibes were immaculate and the community was so nice and welcoming and became such a nice place to chill in and screaming in the ask box about whatever silly thought came to mind was so much fun.

And boy oh boy did I love that first hive anniversary event, that was also the first time I ever spoke to you and I absolutely loved it. I was so nervous to actually talk to someone and rp but by the gods that was one of the best experiences I've had. It was so much rping that plot and it felt so natural and you portrayed every character so spot on that and I still think about that chararization to this day, the happy flappys are immense.

The amount of fics and ocs I've created just off of your stories alone are wild and seeing how talented and creative your community is is even wilder. The hive is such a cool place and it's one of the first blogs where I felt like I belonged and had the freedom to actually talk about my interests and learn new things about writing and creating that this place will forever hold a special place in my heart.

I've made so many friends in the hive and I look up to you not only as a creator, but as a person as well. You're a great friend and an even greater person and I couldn't imagine how different my year would've been without your blog and the hive.

Happy two tumblr years!!

- 🌟

RAZZLE 🥺🥺💞💞💞💞 You are too kind and sweet! I'm so so happy the Hive has become a safe space and helped you make friends! That was always one of my biggest goals when I opened it beyond just being a fan fic blog! It truly means the world to hear that! It's been an absolute pleasure getting to know you and hear your thoughts on fics, the game, and so much more! You're a great friend and your asks always make me smile 🥰

[musesbykai]

💭 What does your creative process look like when creating a character?

So a lot of my recent characters have been for DnD, I'll describe the process that comes with that!

After I pick my race and my class, the first thing I tend to think about is what are the main core concepts for this character and how could that tie into their classes. With Oron, since I chose Mech Pilot as his class, naturally he would be someone who knows machines really well so mechanic just came naturally.

Then I would look at the traits I want the character to have and the tropes surrounding them. Oron is Australian, so I wanted to really bring in those tropes of being an outdoors bloke who enjoys his time in the outback. This is the fun part for me. I would also find and draw inspiration from media I like. Achim and Bruce's main inspiration were Kaiju films and Frankenstein, Oron's inspirations were Pacific Rim and Mechagodzilla. Just little bits and pieces that I'll pick out and bring my own spin to it.

Finally, I'll draw up the character design which is it's own process. Again drawing from those inspirations and adding my own flare. This can take so many years and iterations. To this day I'm still designing Achim and Bruce after nearly 15 years lmao

From there, through RP and what feels right for the character they just develop. Sometimes I don't get things right the first time, like originally Oron was picking up ladies at a bar when the first session happened and he didn't have a family back home. Through collaboration and storytelling with my friends, he was able to develop into what he is right now.

A bit of a long post but this is kind of what I have been doing the past couple of years with my group. It's fun, I really enjoy all of the characters I have created both new and old.

[pipittypro]

The session 0 for the skylanders DND campaign is in a couple weeks and the first session is sometime in April. Running a Skylanders inspired and themed dungeons and dragons tabletop RPG camapign has been a dream of mine for years now and i’m so excited to start my first ever tabletop RP campaign Absens Phantasma (otherwise called skylanders game) ^^

(Though im gonna be perfectly honest. This entire campaigns plot is just the plot of Superchargers but I turned it into some??? Kind of AU?? Like I added a few twists and turns and other cool stuff I've had from a personal Skylanders AU for a few years now)

[froggi1337]

Was a little anxious to post this, but here goes.

Who’s your favorite character to write?

Perhaps my favorite character to write was my Mage: The Awakening character: Jonas Moore, shadowname, “John Doe”. He was a rookie cop in the wrong place at the wrong time with his mentor and partner. They walked into a wizard trap and got their shit fucked up, Jonas surviving as unscratched as he did only because his mentor was in front of him as the entered. This awoke his mage powers, however, he awoke in a coma and spent the next week trapped in a world of nightmares. He'd wake up and vanish to parts unknown, returning anonymously with the shadowname “John Doe” some years later to investigate his partner's death. I had a lot of freedoms with that character I hadn't been able to experience through a free-form social media roleplay on Formspring (if anyone remembers that), and I think the game experience has a lot to do with my fondly remembering of this character more than anything.

An alternate take I didn't want to throw out was: My favorite character to write was perhaps Virgil Wayne in a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure roleplay called Port Holiday. It was my first positive roleplay experience after The Cards, even if it was mired by the usual internet drama that follows those kinds of open rp communities. But I digress, I look back on Virgil and the things I got to do there very fondly and I hope to find an experience half as good as the one I had there one day soon. My experience roleplaying Mage beats out Port Holiday mostly because I didn't have my own story arcs indirectly shelved by my friends in my tabletop game as opposed to the fandom roleplay which actively ignored me.

Who’s your least favorite to write?

Off the top, it's Joseph Johnson, aka, the Ace of Hearts. He's always been such a nothing bro character, and I've tried to overhaul him multiple times in the past but getting stuff to stick has been difficult. I've got so far as to consider shelving or outright scrapping the character, and giving his role to one of my more capable characters. Then again, it isn't like I haven't made progress with Joe's development... I just wish his fleshing out process would go smoother!

Who’s your favorite character overall?

This was one fluctuates quite a bit, especially these days as my little universes of characters slowly expand. But honestly, I'd be a fool if I didn't acknowledge my roots and admit I come back to my favorite dirtbag, Francis “Fran” Daniels. She's been with me since I was a wee child, and even transitioned alongside me irl and fellow mainstay OC Victoria Wayne.

Which character(s) do you love to hate?

There's one clear winner by a mile, it's Alan McGregor. I wanted to make Alan as obviously toxic with his personality as possible, for a villain like him. He's taking advantage of a lot of people and a lot of them don't even require his super intrusive telepathy powers. I lifted inspiration from the big name Republican politicians of my time (yes, especially Trump).

What’s the easiest thing to write for you?

I like to think if nothing else that I'm quite good at openers. I love to try and set decent scenes for readers, gives me a chance to build a new scene and place new and interesting characters together that likely haven't met before. What's not to love?

What’s the hardest thing to write for you?

The moment we go beyond an intro, I lose track of the story. Weaving a narrative is much harder than one might make it look. The establishing shot of the story is great and all, but I also have to write the rest of the story and that's the hardest part for me.

Do you plan everything out before you write or do you sit down and go with the flow?

No, my writing sessions have always been more impromptu; although, my goal this year's to improve my relationship with work. I want to try and actively work on planning out what I'm writing more often (not starting not lol).

What songs do you listen to get in the writing mood?

I usually put on a scramble, although suggestions are welcome! Additionally, it's really easy for me to write for Fran when I put on 'Sound of Silver' by LCD Soundsystem or Van Halen/any 80's dad rock. Alan is easier to write or otherwise plan out in my head to musicians like Kanye West or MF DOOM.

Do you have songs that you associate with certain characters?

Buddy I've debated making whole playlists lol

How do you get around a writer’s block, if anything?

Weed.

Is there a certain type of character you favor writing over the others?

The snide bad boy with a soft streak is a personal favorite of mine, I'm also a fan of guy who's a deranged bad ass in spite of the circumstances against them. I love a good underdog story!

What is one character you love but rarely/never write?

I love Tomas O'Valen! My beloved red mask wearing boy rarely sees the sun anymore, and while I'm sure that's fine and dandy for him mommy says he needs his vitamin d

Is there one character that always fights you when you try writing them?

I get a lot of resistance from Leon, I think it's because I've been kind of anxious about him being a little bland compared to everyone else. Compared to everyone else, he feels less finished but I'm not to worried. His part in the story of the world he's in comes much later.

What is your go-to ‘self-indulgent’ genre of writing (such as comfort, angst, enemies to friends, etc.)?

You'd have to find my F-List for that one, and I don't give that out to just anyone I'll have you know.

I kid, I kid. I'm very self-indulgent about fight scenes, I'm that kid always banging their actions figures together. Pushing them to their limits, seeing how much I can make them physically and mentally break each other. Plus seeing two characters at odds go against one another like good vs evil is always fine, even if the characters aren't always morally black & white. Because who cares, this motherfucker carries six pistols because he watched 'The Boondock Saints' in theaters and thought that one guy was “cool as fuck.”

What two characters did you never expect to work together?

I didn't expect Tomas and Fran to have as much equal ground to stand on. Sure, in-lore Tomas knew Francis' grandfather and father but she was never fond of those people (especially her grandpa, he was a sourpuss in his old age by the time they met). And yet, Tomas can be considered a sort of family biographer by now, having personally known and befriended 3+ generations of Fran's family.

What’s one writing weakness you want to work on?

I need more creative stamina or energy while writing, if this questionnaire has taught me anything. Once I'm started it's great, I'm on a roll and I can bang out a start in a heartbeart, most the time. However, it becomes quite clear when I start to lose steam while writing, and I want to work on that. If only to at least hide my exhaustion on paper.

Are you prone to leaving unfinished WIPs or do you strive to finish everything you write?

In hindsight, not as many one might think lol

What is one theme/storyline/idea you wish to write but never have?

Well, a FULL story is any kind of answer. But I jest, I want to write sci-fi. More specifically mecha, I absolutely adore Gundam and I'd love to build dioramas and write little stories centered around them. Hell, I'd love a shot at building my own original setting for a mecha sci-fi. I have a little bit of one Aon paper, but I put in on the back burner due to the scope being a little overwhelming for me at this stage of my writing career.

What is one story idea you have in your head right now?

Francis Daniels throws Drake Morrison in front of a train lol

Random Writer Questions

Can be for canon, non-canon, fanfics, RPs, OCs, or anything in between.

Who’s your favorite character to write?

Who’s your least favorite to write?

Who’s your favorite character overall?

Which character(s) do you love to hate?

What’s the easiest thing to write for you?

What’s the hardest thing to write for you?

Do you plan everything out before you write or do you sit down and go with the flow?

What songs do you listen to get in the writing mood?

Do you have songs that you associate with certain characters?

How do you get around a writer’s block, if anything?

Is there a certain type of character you favor writing over the others?

What is one character you love but rarely/never write? 

Is there one character that always fights you when you try writing them?

What is your go-to ‘self-indulgent’ genre of writing (such as comfort, angst, enemies to friends, etc.)?

What two characters did you never expect to work together?

What’s one writing weakness you want to work on?

Are you prone to leaving unfinished WIPs or do you strive to finish everything you write?

What is one theme/storyline/idea you wish to write but never have?

What is one story idea you have in your head right now?

&- Free slot, ask your own question here.

[hug-protocol]

Villain Within GM's commentary:

The Furies

The Furies werent originally intended to appear more than once or twice in the campaign; instead their concepts were largely intended to just be average examples of supervillains in Delburn- during the events of the first session (elsewhere), The heavy-hitter Grindstone and the leader Nightmare would be killed in the conflict that would effectively mark the inciting incident of the main plotline of the campaign. However while everyone was making their character, Marsh's player told me that he wanted Marsh to have been raised by her aunt, a supervillain who ended up leaving Marsh to die on a mission. Inspiration struck and i made Marsh's aunt Grindstone- it was an elegant fit and ended up laying the foundation for some of my favourite NPCs of the campaign.

Nightmare

Nightmare is perhaps the least developed character whos getting a paragraph, because he only appeared once in the campaign, as a corpse. He has the ability to appear to every person as the creature they fear the most, with physical abilities to match, which i came up with after a little workshopping for 'powerful scary ability thats harder to beat as a team than alone'.

he was largely just a classic evil villain but he also got, like, one oddly interesting piece of charactarisation when i panicked and realised Marsh wouldnt have ever seen his face (because shed see a bigass wolf) so for her to recognise his corpse i made up off the cuff an anecdote about her walking in on him painting a self-portrait. and its like damn. sits down. yeah he would do that wouldnt he.

Also the plot twist of the cancelled halloween oneshot set in the 80s would have been that he used to be this superhero sidekick.

Tlaloc

The New Frontiers character/superpower concept that would go into Tlaloc was referred to as 'tactile homogenous bond property induction' (short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it) with the ability to induce heat, coolness, rigidity, softness etc etc into any material upon touch and was a timid but determined student who would eventually end up being part of proto-link's hivemind.

she had no actual plot significance but i had a pretty sickass animatic planned of her taking on the vastly more skilled proto-evolution in a wizard duel tournament and getting him on the ropes before inevitably being beaten by his bullshit expertise. as a side note every time i say 'o fuck' im referencing the ending sequence of that animatic.

anyway i ended up keeping exactly none of her (imo great) characterisation (i might reuse it tbh) for a planned hero within villain campaign (not Villain Within), where her power would belong to Tlaloc, a suave gentlethem armoured cyborg supervillain with an Aztec theme weilding a macahuitl. I ended up not joining that campaign for scheduling reasons, so i reused the concept for Villain within.

As a subordinate supervillain, i ended up ditching the suaveness in favour of making Tlaloc and Overclock a dynamic duo of standard examples of the kinds of supervillains the setting produced. Tlaloc was a brazillian master thief who got kidnapped by a gang and fled to the US to escape, only to end up confined to a darth-vader style life support armour. (i would later reuse the armour concept for Treacle)

They were intended to be twice the strength of the party initially (so that them and Overclock combined would be the party's match) (matched set do not seperate). in terms of personality, i didnt really have a good feel for them, so i ended up just going for them being a person Marsh just doesnt know very well, but is broadly reliable as a coworker.

A ditched alternative to the joaquin kidnapping arc would have included the party having to go into their mind to escape some brainwashing thing but it was scrapped bc it was more than a little hamfisted.

Overclock

Overclock is one of the many, many characters that came from the same rp character concept. (this is the reason why Overclock's outfit has a wind-up knob on it, while ReWind-up's outfit has a clock on it) Like Tlaloc she was intended to be an average supervillain, having the ability to make things more or less efficient at will, letting her break machinary and grant temporary superspeed.

Inspired by (what else) Worm, i ended up making it so that she joined the Furies as a teenager, and has stayed in it to (young) adulthood. Now the secret sauce to Overclock's charactarisation was that she is, on most accounts, a pretty normal woman. She doesnt have a job or much friends outside of her supervillainy stuff, so she's chummy with her work bestie, Tlaloc, and tried to stay on good terms with her emo coworker Marsh. The sleight of hand lies in the superpower- Overclock speaks at twice normal speed (this was kind of a paint to play) and consequently comes across as enthusiastic and even a little excitable, despite the fact that her actual words and actions are like. relaxed and friendly at most.

A fun setpiece in the campaign involved Marsh getting boosted by Overclock's powers as part of a bank robbery. I kind of failed at making the party like Overclock, despite being imo one of the more personable characters in the campaign, and eventually when Igneous did his big 5D chess manouvre to take control of the city while revealing his identity to the party, she and Tlaloc were unfortunately sacrificed at the alter of narrative stakes and got blown up. Honestly shes like the one character in the campaign that im sad died. She hid Marsh's fuckup from Grindstone!! She was so chill! and for what???

Grindstone

Shes Big. Shes Bad. Shes a Boomer. Shes a horrible person and worse foster parent give it up for- Grindstone!! Proto-grindstone came from a pretty simple gripe that occured to me while concepting New Frontiers; the fact that everybody with superman powerset fights in exactly the same, boring way- fly up to someone and punch, maybe float up slightly higher and punch. maybe throw someone around a bit. God Forbid you kick!! Literally we are dealing with super strength and the ability to levitate and move your body on every axis here!!! Even on the ground, where the humble punch is the most efficient way of delivering a heavy blow to another person, there are a million billion different variations!!!

Proto-grindstone rejected the superman style of forward punching and instead was like a human spinning top- accelerating her body through any and every axis available, doing 720 degree backward kicks to deliver as much built-up momentum on each earthshattering impact as possible. the personality came easily from there- in Frontiers, people built their own superpower for a purpose; it was something that defined you. Proto-grindstone designed her power to be something that let her win as many fights as possible- a mathematically perfect brute.

She ended up being the sister to proto-ghostknight; like an azula+zuko situation, but older, and without Azula's untrustworthy+manipulative swag; Proto-ghostknight was timid because he was uncertain of his right to use his powers, while Proto-grindstone was a blunt object, completely sure of herself.

This characterisation was so perfect for a supervillain that it ended up being put almost verbatim into Villain Within, with only minor changes; Grindstone is in her late 40s, and usually makes a point to avoid going full butterfly knife most the time because its more convenient for her to kill people with more straightforward strikes.

Marsh's player established that Grindstone left March to die and i was like. say less king. and the rest of her personality developed from there. Grindstone is a person who can just straight up kill you. if youre talking to grindstone you are never more than half a second away from your head parting ways with your body. and grindstone is very much used to this!

Grindstone sees herself as being the sole reasonable person in a world gone mad (in typical boomer fashion), and both expects and deeply looks down upon the way people around her make accomodations for her to avoid getting mulched. She threatens people into giving her what she wants and decides afterwards if she was joking. She does not have a single self-reflective bone in her body.

After rolling ridiculously well on perception after the first main fight of the campaign, Marsh miraculously managed to steal a car and drive her way into interrupting the inciting incident of the campaign, and unintentionally caused her Aunt's (supposed) death as the latter attempted to save her from the collateral damage of the fight going on. Frankly this is one my favourite emotional beats in the entire campaign and im so glad it happened. the absolute devestation. it couldnt have gone better.

Anyway Grindstone lived bitch, kidnapped Marsh's roommate to get her attention (causing some lovely relationship drama that i still cannot believe ended as non-badly as it did) (genuinely Nina telling the cops about Marsh was on the cards) and came back to attempt to rekindle the furies and get Marsh back as one of the members.

I got to play Grindstone as the horrible horrible horrible person she is- implicitly threatening at all times, with zero respect for anyone who isnt her, and got to keep her as a near-constant threat in Marsh's life- something she cant beat in a fight, someone she cares about, and which she cant avoid. genuinely shes so perfect as something to show a different side of Marsh it was such a good idea of their player to play up that dynamic.

On the other side of the dynamic ofc was Grindstone- who after taking a massive loss and almost dying was dealing absolutely horribly, although it wasnt so much clear to the players, who instead got to, after the Igenous reveal, see her life going broadly downhill, with her organisation gone and Igneous sending teams to make sure she never got a moment's rest, even if he couldnt outright kill her. This gave me this great wounded predator of a character to play with- the players got to tiptoe around her, unpredictable as both a potential asset and a threat. She didnt show up in the final battle, for various reasons, which suited her character but honestly i am sad i never got to pit her against the party- i had to design her character sheet very in-depth so that she was beatable without compromising her established power level from previous appearences.

One of the more unintended results of Grindstone's characterisation is that she has. unintentionally somewhat effected my irl mannerisms. i play Grindstone by intentionally relaxing my body as much as possble and speaking with a honey-thick confidence, a wide smile and what i can only hope resembles a southern USamerican accent. Now. all of this, minus the accent, is the mannerism i put on when im trying to get friendly with someone i dont know, so once or twice i have tried to get someone to like me and accidently put on a slight accent. this is mortally embarrassing but i dont think anyone has noticed. so far.

[pooma-today]

The National UN Volunteers-India

International Redcross Day - Mat 8, 2024

International Red Cross Day, celebrated on May 8th, is a significant occasion to honor the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The theme for 2024 is "I give with joy, and the joy I give is a reward"², which emphasizes the happiness that comes from giving and helping others. Here are some tips for celebrating this day in schools, colleges, and hospitals:

For Schools and Colleges:

1. Educational Workshops: Organize workshops to educate students about the history and principles of the Red Cross, focusing on the theme of giving with joy.

2. Volunteer Drives: Encourage students to sign up as volunteers for local Red Cross chapters to experience the joy of giving firsthand.

3. Fundraising Events: Host bake sales, charity runs, or art auctions to raise funds for the Red Cross.

4. Health and Safety Training: Provide first aid, CPR, and disaster preparedness training sessions.

5. Social Media Campaign: Use the hashtag #RedCrossDay to join the global conversation and share your school's activities.

For Hospitals:

1. Blood Donation Camps: Organize blood donation drives to support local blood banks and the Red Cross blood services.

2. Thank You Notes: Create thank you cards for Red Cross volunteers and staff, acknowledging their contributions.

3. Health Awareness Booths: Set up booths with information on preventing and treating common diseases, aligning with the Red Cross's health missions.

4. Peace Promotion: Encourage staff and patients to engage in acts of kindness, fostering a sense of community and shared humanity.

🔳

Activity details:

1. Vaccinate a Village: A Call to Action for Students in India

Introduction

Join the global fight against measles and rubella by participating in the "Vaccinate a Village" campaign. As a student, you have the power to make a significant impact in saving lives and supporting the Red Cross mission to eradicate these preventable diseases.

Purpose

Your involvement in this campaign can prevent these unnecessary deaths and contribute to a healthier future for children worldwide.

Getting Started

Step 1: Set Goals and Objectives

Begin by defining clear outcomes for your campaign. Establish measurable goals that will drive your efforts. Remember to incorporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into your campaign strategy.

Plan a Presentation

- Collaborate with your local Red Cross or school club members to educate your peers about the importance of measles and rubella vaccinations.

- Utilize resources such as the M&RP website, infographics, videos, and fact sheets to inform and inspire action.

Step 2: Organize Logistics

Set a Date and Time

Secure a Venue

- Select a high-traffic area like your school, a mall, or a park

Assign Roles

- Encourage volunteers to involve their network in the campaign.

Gather Supplies

- Prepare a list of necessary supplies well in advance to ensure a smooth operation.

Spread the Word

- Promote your campaign through social media, emails, and school announcements to maximize reach and participation.

Step 3: Conduct the Activity

- Arrive early to set up and prepare for the event.

- Use cutout shapes for donors to sign, symbolizing their contribution to the campaign.

- Display these shapes prominently to visualize the collective impact of your efforts.

Step 4: Reflect and Appreciate

- Host a debrief session to share experiences and gather feedback.

- Express gratitude to everyone involved and remind volunteers to log their hours.

Conclusion

As students in India, you are not just the leaders of tomorrow but change-makers today. By rallying together for the "Vaccinate a Village" campaign, you embody the spirit of service and community. Let's unite to protect children from measles and rubella and move closer to a world free of these diseases

🔳

2. Celebrate the Veterans: A Guide for School and College Students

Introduction

Join us in honoring our nation's heroes by organizing a birthday celebration for veterans. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up a memorable event that not only pays tribute to their service but also aligns with the Red Cross mission.

Step 1: Set Clear Goals and Objectives

Begin by defining what you hope to achieve with this event. Whether it's to bring joy to veterans or to raise awareness about the contributions of our armed forces, having clear goals will steer your efforts in the right direction. Remember to consider environmental, social, and governance aspects to make your event sustainable and inclusive.

Step 2: Plan the Details

Reach out to a Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) representative. They can guide you to a local veterans' hospital or program where you can host the celebration. Establishing this connection early is key to a successful event.

Step 3: Coordinate the Logistics

Choose a date and time that works for everyone, ideally completing the event within an hour. Collaborate with the chosen venue to plan engaging activities like trivia, board games, and storytelling. Ensure all volunteers are aware of their roles and the importance of adhering to the facility's protocols.

Step 4: Gather Supplies

Prepare a list of necessary items, including decorations and refreshments. Approach local businesses for sponsorships and be mindful of dietary restrictions when selecting food options. Don't forget to create name tags for volunteers and veterans to foster a friendly atmosphere.

Step 5: Spread the Word

Promote the event through social media, emails, and school announcements to attract volunteers and participants. A reminder close to the date will ensure a good turnout.

Step 6: Debrief and Thank Your Volunteers

After the event, gather feedback and discuss what went well and what could be improved. Express gratitude to everyone involved and encourage volunteers to log their hours with Volunteer Connection.

Conclusion

Organizing a birthday party for veterans is a meaningful way to give back to those who have served our country. It's an opportunity for students to learn, engage with their community, and support a noble cause. Let's make it an event to remember!

🔳

3. Disaster Speaks Event

Purpose:

The Disaster Speaks event aims to personalize the experience of disaster by showcasing stories of individuals who have journeyed through various catastrophic events. Through this, participants can understand the impact of disasters and take proactive steps to prepare for such eventualities. Additionally, hosting this event will help educate peers about Red Cross disaster services and empower them to be better prepared for disasters.

How to Get Started:

Step 1: Set Clear Goals and Objectives

Define specific outcomes for the activity and establish measurable goals and objectives to guide the planning process. It's encouraged to integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations into your activity while being creative in your approaches.

Step 2: Plan the Details

Select compelling disaster stories for the event, such as Disaster Relief (YouTube) Videos, Red Cross News & Events, and local stories.

Step 3: Coordinate the Logistics

- Set a date and time for the event, allocating approximately one hour for its duration.

- Secure a visible venue within the school, adhering to school procedures for permission.

- Assign roles and responsibilities to volunteers for the setup and facilitation of the event.

- Prepare necessary supplies such as large boxes to represent lost homes, printed stories for attaching to the boxes, a display board with event details, and sufficient copies of Emergency Contact Cards.

Spread the Word

Promote the event through various channels, including social media, email, and school announcements. Send reminders with important details leading up to the event.

Step 4: Debrief and Thank Your Volunteers

After the event, invite participants to share their experiences and lessons learned. Express gratitude towards all contributors and participants and encourage volunteers to record their hours through Volunteer Connection.

By following these steps, students and college students can effectively organize and execute a compelling Disaster Speaks event at their school, raising awareness and preparedness for disasters while supporting the Red Cross's mission.

🔳

4. Fire Safety Canvassing Event

Purpose:

Fire Safety Canvassing is an educational initiative that aims to spread awareness about fire safety to help prevent fires and ensure people's safety. This activity encourages volunteers to engage in various fire safety-related activities to educate and empower others.

How to Get Started:

Step 1: Set Clear Goals and Objectives

Define the desired outcomes for the activity and establish measurable goals and objectives aligned with promoting fire safety. Integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations into the planning process while exploring creative approaches.

Step 2: Plan the Details

Develop engaging activity ideas for the event:

- Present the importance of a home fire escape plan and guide participants in creating their escape plans.

- Work in teams to create presentations on fire prevention, preparedness, response actions, recovery after a fire, and share learnings during a Club meeting.

- Assemble emergency preparedness kits and practice creating family emergency plans.

- Invite guest speakers like Red Cross representatives or firefighters for informative sessions.

- Organize a trivia game on fire safety using platforms like Kahoot.

Utilize additional resources for planning:

- Top Tips for Fire Safety

- Fire Safety for Kids

- Pet Fire Safety

- Smoke Alarm Testing and Installation Guidelines

- Participation in the Home Fire Campaign

Step 3: Coordinate the Logistics

- Set a suitable date and time for the event, allocating around an hour for its duration.

- Secure a venue with high foot traffic, or opt for virtual hosting on platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

- Assign volunteer facilitators to lead different components of the event.

- Prepare a supply checklist for necessary materials and ensure timely acquisition.

Spread the Word

- Promote the event through diverse channels such as social media, email, and school announcements.

- Send timely reminders with essential details before the event.

Step 4: Debrief and Thank Your Volunteers

- After the event, encourage participants to share their experiences and lessons learned.

- Express gratitude to all contributors and participants for their involvement.

- Remind volunteers to log their hours through Volunteer Connection for recognition.

By following these steps, students and college students can effectively organize a Fire Safety Canvassing event aimed at raising awareness, educating communities about fire safety, and encouraging proactive measures towards fire prevention and preparedness.

🔳

5. Prepare and Share Kit Drive

Purpose:

The Prepare and Share Kit Drive aims to collect essential preparedness items, assemble them into kits, and distribute them to individuals who may be most vulnerable during disasters. By participating in this activity, individuals can help equip those in need with vital supplies that can potentially save lives during emergencies.

How to Get Started:

Step 1: Set Clear Goals and Objectives

Define the desired outcomes for the activity and establish measurable goals and objectives focusing on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. Be creative in your approaches to ensure a successful kit drive.

Step 2: Plan the Details

Identify the Need:

- Research and select a specific group or community that would benefit from preparedness kits, such as shelters, food banks, churches, or retirement homes.

- Reach out to the chosen location to determine delivery logistics and confirm the required items.

Create a List of Essential Supplies:

- Water

- Non-perishable, easy-to-prepare food items

- Flashlight

- Battery-powered or hand-crank radio

- Extra batteries

- First aid kit

- Multi-purpose tool

- Sanitation and personal hygiene items

- Emergency blanket

- Area map(s)

Determine Collection Methods:

- Set up collection boxes at various locations like schools or community centers to increase awareness.

- Avoid including glitter or expired items that could pose risks to vulnerable individuals.

Step 3: Coordinate the Logistics

Collect Basic Supply Items:

- Set a collection window of 2 to 4 weeks to gather supplies.

- Secure venues for dropping off the collection boxes and inform local stores or organizations about being a collection site.

Package Preparedness Kits:

- Choose a suitable venue for assembling the kits like a school gym or cafeteria.

- Recruit volunteers to assist with outreach, collection, and packaging activities.

- Ensure there are enough boxes for collecting items and reusable bags for packaging the kits.

Spread the Word:

- Utilize social media, email, and school announcements to promote the activity.

- Send reminders with essential details closer to the event.

Step 4: Debrief and Thank Your Volunteers

- Encourage participants to share their experiences and insights.

- Express gratitude to everyone involved in the drive.

- Remind volunteers to log their hours through Volunteer Connection.

🔳

6. Iron-Rich Feast Event

Purpose:

The Iron-Rich Feast is a community dinner event designed to educate and prepare potential blood donors by serving iron-rich foods. Not only does it promote awareness about maintaining healthy iron levels, but it also aims to recruit new donors for an upcoming blood drive, ultimately contributing to the well-being of the community.

How to Get Started:

Step 1: Set Clear Goals and Objectives

Define the desired outcomes for the activity and establish measurable goals and objectives to guide the planning process. Integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into your planning and strive for creative approaches to maximize impact.

Step 2: Plan the Details

Determine Iron-Rich Foods to Serve:

Consider incorporating a variety of iron-rich options such as beef or turkey jerky, broccoli, canned tuna, chickpeas, dark chocolate, raisins, and spinach.

Consider Charging a Small Fee:

Evaluate the option of charging a small attendance fee to cover feast expenses or encourage monetary donations to support the blood drive.

Step 3: Coordinate the Logistics

Set a Date and Time:

Host the activity 30 to 60 minutes before the blood drive to encourage donor participation.

Secure a Venue:

Choose a location in close proximity to the blood drive, such as the school cafeteria, local banquet halls, or recreation centers.

Assign Roles and Responsibilities:

Recruit volunteers to assist with setting up and engaging in conversations with potential donors. Volunteers can also share tips with donors to ensure successful donations, such as staying hydrated, eating a healthy meal, and wearing suitable clothing.

Gather Supplies:

Create a comprehensive list of required supplies and coordinate with local businesses or the school to acquire support for food, drinks, and event essentials. Additionally, gather decorations, plates, napkins, and cups to enrich the atmosphere.

Spread the Word:

Utilize various communication channels like social media, email, and school announcements to promote the event. Consider providing links to resources on blood donation preparation and iron-rich foods to aid potential donors.

Step 5: Debrief and Thank Your Volunteers

Invite participants to share their experiences and capture valuable lessons learned. Express gratitude to everyone involved and remind volunteers to log their hours for recognition.

By following these steps, students and college students can successfully organize an Iron-Rich Feast event, which not only educates potential blood donors about maintaining healthy iron levels but also increases support for upcoming blood drives in the community.

🔳

7. Blood Donation Drive: Use the link given below

https://dalycher2.blogspot.com/2024/05/guidelines-for-blood-donation-daly.html

[vaingloury]

Even more disparate thoughts on Fabula Ultima

Belated write-up: I finally got the chance to bring this game to the table last month...

...for all of one session. 

That’s one more session than most of the indie ttrpgs I own. Still, I bought a physical copy of the rules and I’m a bit disappointed to see it become yet another art book in my collection.

This post isn’t really a review or a judgement of the game’s quality, just some thoughts on why my group bounced off this game after one session and why it might not work for other tables like mine. This also isn’t in response to it winning the Ennie, I just couldn’t find the energy to write this sooner.

Praise first: The art’s great. I know not every project can afford consistent, original art but Fabula’s illustrations do a lot of the heavy lifting (not to say the written material isn’t also solid) in getting you interested in the game and imagining all kinds of characters you might want to portray. The game avoids stock dungeon fantasy classes with unique classes that don’t feel gimmicky for the sake of avoiding dungeon fantasy classes. Class abilities interact with each other, prompting teamwork. I really like the identity/theme/origin section of the character sheet because I’ve been in one too many games where the players want deep character drama but put the work of planting the seeds for that drama on the GM instead of themselves.

But now the criticisms.

This is not a game for the simulationists. Maybe that was obvious to others from the marketing blurbs, but I saw “J(T)RPG” and got excited thinking about how my character’s pockets were going to be overflowing with Mana Potion x99 in preparation for all the boss lairs we were going to be raiding only to be met with a Schrödinger’s inventory system (if you need an item, you just have it (within reason) except for HP/MP potions, which you can only hold a single digit number of) and a GM section on dungeon crawling that can be summed up as “Yeah, maybe don’t?”

My experience with video jrpgs is pretty synonymous with dungeons, random encounters*, and Mana Potion x99s, so not having those things makes me feel naked here. This is going to be a boon to groups who beg for bags of holding in D&D and find playing anything that’s not “the main story” in ttrpgs to be tedious. I get that Fabula wants a more cinematic experience, with the minutiae of adventuring relegated to happening “off-screen”, but without bean-counting to slow things down between set-pieces (Fabula cut the detailed overland travel rules in its conversion from Ryuutama, if you want travel scenes, just freeform rp it baby) I’m left underwhelmed with the remaining two game modes: combat and cutscene.

(*As a side note, Fabula does have random encounters. However, enemies matched to the party’s level can hit fairly hard, thus more than one encounter a travel day would be brutal in a mismatched tone kind of way. From this, I can assume that encounters are supposed to be few and scripted, keeping in line with the aforementioned cinematic experience. GMs experienced with multiple games will notice this but I’m curious about groups coming directly from video games or D&D. Tangentially, Fabula has an Appendix N, listing several games that are heavy on the dungeon/ multiple random encounter/ resource management trifecta. In hindsight, it finally dawned on me that Fabula doesn’t really simulate jrpgs, rather it simulates media inspired by jrpgs.)

This is also not a game for those of us who don’t run games in the small theatre company sort of way, that is to say your games don’t have a route scripted out in advance like three-night play or a television miniseries, where you gotta hit all the plot beats in sequence. When I said cutscene earlier, I meant it literally. The game wants the GM to interlude the narrative with visions of the campaign’s BBEG getting closer to their goal, enemies do that thing from video games where they can escape a fight you were winning because plot armour (which I find funny rather than frustrating, although that leads me to my actual frustration:). This all assumes that the GM has a grand, linear story to tell. Like the random vs scripted encounter thing, this isn’t addressed explicitly from what I can find in the rules. It’s just assumed you’re running this game because that’s your GM style (it is not my GM style). Lightning round of a few more things my group didn’t like:

Economy: I’m not sure how (much) to distribute money in this game. Because Fabula prefers that you didn’t dungeon crawl, you’re not finding money in chests. Turn in twenty bear asses maybe? Do you even need much money (if you’re not playing a Tinker)? Goods and services are dirt cheap, and most things don’t actually have to be bought. Rare weapons can just be dropped by enemies...

The Starter Scenario Boss: I’m willing to concede that I maybe just ran it wrong but the party didn’t stand a chance despite me nerfing the boss duo’s HP and damage. Also combat ranges aren’t a thing in this game, which I think contributed to the difficulty: the enemy can freely use close range attacks on targets they aren’t standing next to (again, “just freeform it”; they somehow run one football field in a few seconds...).

You Can’t Die: Again, I think this is going to be a boon for a certain type of group but mine felt like the risks weren’t real if you can’t die. I’ve already seen the defence of “just use a different consequence that isn’t death” but our characters found themselves in situations where things wouldn’t make sense if they didn’t die without the help of insane levels of deus ex machina.

I’m usually in the “play another game” camp but rather than trying to tailor Fabula to what I find fun, it’d be easier to just take the theme and bond mechanics from this game and graft them onto Pathfinder 2 or something.

[oasis-nadrama]

Cauchemar: Recap Chapter 1 of Alabaster.

[CW mentions of abuse, sex, kinks, harassment and all kinds of violence]

Our story opens on Alternia as the formidable and overambitious troll VAMUIN IKENGA [RP] hacks a copy of the cosmic game SGRUB from a server run by the young Sollux Captor.

Vamuin is the epitome of toxic masculinity and cares about nothing else than power, success and celebrity. We learn he dislikes TENTACLES and is obsessed with FILLING PAILS.

We follow the muscular, moon-tanned surfer through spectacular hunts and learn about his unbeatable quality in every area, marking him as an INSUFFERABLE MARY SUE. We also discover Vamuin's psionic power, SUNBURN EYES, which allows him to burn down any entity he can make eye contact with.

He then engages in a series of conversations with the twin objectives of recruiting Players and get some casual sex. He is most successful in the former, misericordiously less so in the latter. The people Vamuin talks to are:

- GINNEO ADARNA [MP], the oldest of his contacts. As a "grubbyfur", he affirms to be a newborn troll larva constantly. More precisely, a genius troll larva, and also an unigroll, an unique unicorn/dragon/troll hybrid. Deeply disturbed by Ginneo's delusion, Vamuin still recruits him as he provides an efficient and regular ego boost.

- BATORI LOGARO [PR], met on a dating website. Part of the RAYNBOW DRYNKER subculture, she constantly pretends to be an immortal and luminescent creature. Vamuin and Batori immediately understand each other as pail-fillers, and engage in mediocre but apparently fulfilling cybersex before she agrees to join the game.

- SECTRA ZOOKHA [UP], an old acquaintance of Vamuin who asked from the rudimentary Alternian legal system a RESTRAINING ORDER against his harassment. Still confident in the fact she can correct him, she accepts to join the team as the future sixth Player. Sectra's obsession is finding her hearts and spades quadrants in order to ensure both her survival and genetic perpetuation. She believes she can be inspired in such a quest by looking at the MAIN TWELVE - the canon trolls -, a group of kids engaged in endless drama of their own.

- COPYCAT [GC], Sectra's best friend. Copycat is in love with her childhood friend, and she copies the looks and gimmicks of all of the MAIN TWELVE cyclically in the hope to be notice.

- VIA [MR], Vamuin's moirail. She informs him his matesprit, TOZY [PM], has disappeared. We learn from narration elsewhere that Tozy is ALREADY DEAD.

- OPHIUCHUS THE GREAT [UU], the employer of both Sectra and Copycat, the one who originally brought them to start stalking the MAIN TWELVE group. Ophiuchus is a particularly delusional and dangerous troll whose obsession for the Twelvies lead to capture, enslave, disguise and torture a variety of random victims. He brings shipping, bloodswaps and fan theories to life in a most horrific fashion.

Vamuin recalibrates the SGRUBrip game to be played with NO CENSORSHIP, MUNDANE LANGUAGE LEVEL and HIGHEST DIFFICULTY. Additionally, he deactivates all of the potential support for Players, including Exiles and Dream Bubbles. He is aiming for a challenging experience, as well as a COMPLETIONIST game and a SPEEDRUN. We see Vamuin directly lying to Ginneo, manipulating him with the objective to make the grubbyfur gratuitously suffer and to unwind on him. Chapter 1 ends with the observant reader thoroughly convinced that the entire session will be nothing short of a gigantic trainwreck.

[ky-ancom]

Ok, so, I want my Tumblr account to be more geared towards exploring my creativity.

I tried that with Twitter, I had a number of threads I put a good deal of thought into that if I put some more work into them would definitely qualify as a good groundwork for a video essay. But ultimately Twitter is not a good place for that, especially because it is really fecking hard to find your older tweets.

Besides, I highly doubt Twitter would be a place for the kind of creativity that sparked this particular post.

The short version is, for the first time in years, I wrote a poem. I was trying to get to bed the other day, and my thoughts turned to an old TTRPG character I used to play in a game that faded off a while back. And this poem came to me almost in its entirety as something he would have written.

A bit more background: the game was Mutants and Masterminds 3rd Edition (a great, if not incredibly complex system), it was a 1 on 1 game just the GM and myself as the sole PC, and it was set in the Marvel Universe, not the MCU mind you but some numbered universe (I forgot what number my best friend, the GM, gave it). My character was Olly Morgan, who started the game as an ordinary member of Midtown High School's senior class of 2019 (or 2020, I forget exactly) and he was on a friend group consisting of Junior Year students Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Jessica Jones, and Gwen Stacy. And he would go on to become a far left anti-fascist vigilante known as The Red Specter.

How exactly Oliver gained his "powers" is really a story for another post. But what's important as lead up to this poem is that he became bonded with an Onryo (a Japanese spirit of vengeance made most famous internationally by movies like The Grudge and The Ring), who was murdered by members of Hydra during WWII. And due to their shared desire to...render unto fascists the only thing a fascist deserves, the two of them wound up being a very effective duo (mechanically she was a very powerful custom built entity brought into combat by a summoning power on my character sheet, it essentially worked out that I had two character sheets and I would play both mechanically in combat, but in RP and cinematic moments she would be controlled as an NPC by the GM). To explain their situation in game, she would either remain invisible or take on a physical visage of her living form and pose as an exchange student staying with Olly. When they were out solving NYC's neo-nazi problem she adopted a "superheroine" persona of Shin Rei (the name was my friends idea insisting the character would become fascinated by American superheroes and anime after meeting Olly's friend Peter), and together they worked toward the ultimate goal of finding the member of Hydra that had murdered her so that her soul could finally be at rest. And in true Marvel Comics inspired fashion, the two eventually fell in love (my friend is a notorious shipper when it comes to fictional universes).

We never actually played through all of that story, but we did play through a number of flash forwards in The Red Specter's and Shin Rei's story. Including their final farewell after finally avenging her death.

I have only cried I think three or four times due to how moving a TTRPG game/session has gotten. This was one of them. Just thinking about their last day together knowing they would very likely never be together again still rips my heart out in a way very few things outside the works of Mike Flanagan ever have. My friend is really good at doing goofy AF stories, as you no doubt have glimpsed upon in this rambling post, but damn is she a master at knowing just how to hit her players right their cores when the scene calls for it.

And it was to that moment that my mind lingered back to the other day. Specifically in the days after his love's long delayed departure to the afterlife. We only played a scant handful of sessions that took place after this moment, but I knew that Olly would be in a very dark place afterwards for quite some time. And it was thinking about this that the following haiku series came to me, literally as if Olly were reciting it in my mind (apologies in advance if this is about to be as abysmal as Vogon poetry, I haven't written anything like this in YEARS).

For Keiko

Our hard won fights fade

Like the final winter snow

Melts in spring time

Spider lilies grow

Beside and on your grave stone

Marking your passing

Dearest faint spirit

Your memory follows me

Raining like confetti

Rest easy now love

The undiscovered country

Beckons to you now

You know that I would

Follow you beyond the mist

If the living could

Would that I could pass

The test lost Orpheus failed

Just to be with you

Instead I stretch out

My arms wide out in that rain

And tend the lilies