#mind of a gm

[thegoodmorningman]

It's only one rule, man. It's not that hard.

[swordscleric]

I can't stop thinking about the post from a few days ago about how Critical Role has been great at doing personal faith but didn't put the necessary work in to discuss the religious/god angle of c3 in-depth. Like the fact that Cardinal Respa was linked to both the Dawnfather and the Chained Oblivion is, on a personal level, very interesting (fallen/corrupted priest goes hard) but like does that mean that there's a Papacy somewhere in Exandria dedicated to the Dawnfather? If so, are there more cardinals who ordain the bishops of the Dawnfather? Are there Conclave-level intrigues going on in the Dawnfather's Sistine Chapel? Why is the Dawnfather so Christianity-coded in vibes alone if there's no actual outline of his religious organisations? With Downfall the Dawnchild/Dawnfather thing makes the allusions to Christ as Son of God co-existing with the Father textual - was there a Dawnfather Schism around whether the Dawnchild was a separate mortal? Was there a Reformation about how the Dawnfather's Pope kept selling indulgences? Is that why the priest of the Dawnfather Grog & Pike offer a drink to doesn't partake because of a cultural shift between Protestant-Temperance-League-coded and Catholic-coded Dawnfather congregations? Why do I have so many questions about the religious organisation of one of the most important Prime Deities in Exandria and to Critical Role's 3 campaigns? How on earth were the cast (and us as the viewers!) meant to care about the gods if all they had were "really tall kings" instead of interrogating how religious organisations provide both a place of healing and community to a wide range of people and also a place of horrific harm and abuse for a wide range of people?

[rosalie-starfall]

Gunpowder Milkshake

[dvnieldraws]

THAT WAS SO FUN AND SO GOOD? everyone was amazing but LUCIEEE 😭😭🫶

[darc-la-farse]

“....Are you okay?”

“If I weren’t, you’d be able to tell right?”

“Sometimes...Would you still tell me if you weren’t?”

[wylstarion]

i'm stuck awake thinking about a bloodweave fine dining AU with bitchy lead server astarion and a smug sous chef gale. They butt heads a little in the beginning because Gale is a bit of a hard ass about the menu and Astarion doesn't care about anything other than making tips. Astarion pretty quickly wins over Gale though by bringing him drinks and snacks during the rush, always coming with a gift in hand when a table wants a ridiculous modification. Gale starts sneaking food to Astarion when it's slow just to make sure he's eaten because he sees him working long hours with no breaks. Gale finding Astarion crying in the walk in after a particularly hard day and just holding him tight while they both freeze. Taking smoke breaks together to share a cigarette after close. Going for drinks after work and getting a little too tipsy, stumbling home together while laughing about all the ridiculous people they dealt with today. Gale finds himself looking forward to working with Astarion every day. Eventually they stop bickering and just start flirting so much at work that everyone around them is just WAITING for them to finally kiss and get it over with. Also Karlach as a food runner who just has to WATCH them eye fuck eachother every time Astarion comes into the kitchen and she has to refrain from telling them to get a goddamn room.

[brittlebutch]

btw Still thinking about the moment where Tula first realizes she's literally, mechanically unable to keep up with / catch Jaysohn when he bolts and runs his full speed. That revelation that she's not fast enough to stop him, or get alongside him, much less get in front of him to protect him if he needed it. The dread terror of it. :(

[finnoahsource]

I love how much of a film buff Finn is and I love a little nod to the fact Noah's gotten much more into film this year while living in Atlanta too 😋

via Gaten's new interview with THR!

[utilitycaster]

I'm keeping this somewhat on a back burner because I think I need more data, but I feel like a current boundary being tested in actual play, for TTRPGs that are, for lack of a better way to put it, party-based and ostensibly heroic, is exploring in-game whether the PCs might be the bad guys or even just neutral guys who are not up to the task. (For this reason, "evil" campaigns do not count here, since those aren't about exploring it as a possibility but instead are simply stating that's the situation - I'm looking for the doubt and realization).

I feel like fans (and some GMs and players) get really skittish about this as a possibility, which is unfortunate because it's one of the most interesting things you can do.

[aureatchi]

“oh yes, they both reach for the gun” !! BUT IT’S FYOZAI !! 🙂‍↕️ both literally & metaphorically: meursault prison escape & them trying to kill the other + using other ability users, & the song’s actual meaning of the song, how they constantly use manipulation to spin the false narratives on their side to their advantages (EVEN TO THE AUDIENCE — ex. their fake “deaths”.)

[randomnameless]

18 for both billy (couldn’t help myself lol) and cyril!

you're mean lol

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

F!Billy :

I am going to cheat to include Nopes, so Manu!

Billy with all of her own insecurities about how she presents herself and her difficulties to socialise, still managed to ask this woman to help her organise some sort of recital for her dad, and she accepted! She went ahead, and helped her, sure Jerry was an ass afterwards, but I think this interaction kind of summed up their relationship in FE16 - Manu is one of the few who asks Billy how they're doing and/or invites them to talk to her if they feel down.

It felt like Manu is one of the first/closest persons Billy can call a work colleague who became a friend. Sure, it cannot be developped more because the game wanted to push the "Billy -> students" relationships, and not the "someone -> Billy", but as far as it goes, Manu feels like the sympathic coworker who tries to make Billy feel at ease with her new job, and it's something I appreciate!

M!Billy :

I already used Manu for F!Billy so...

Uhh...

Well, I picked F!Billy for Manu because the support doesn't fall in the weird "Manu looks for a hubby" undertones that are both, Manu being Manu, and "protagonist privilege" and to be honest, while Billy is supposed to be easy to talk to, I can't really say I appreciate the relationships they have with the characters given how said relationships cannot really be separated from the doylist "Billy is the player self-insert" so every relationship they have is seen through this lens

(which is why the Manu one became so important, because even in Nopes where it's Barney's time to shine, she still accepts to help Billy!)

Save for the one they have with Jerry, but I don't admire that bond at all. And even if I ignore the S-supports and look at their convos with the nabateans... canon-wise, their relationship is either too muddled in the general wtf about Fodlan's plot aka Billy won't tell them jack about Sothis, or "player character privilege" (aka Seteth giving more fucks about Billy being able to learn his true identity than for Rhea's safety after being caught by Agarthans, Rhea's "alone b4u" support, Sothis' weird bond with them and Flayn's just ends up with "we will protect each other"...) - also, Tru Piss exists so idk how that reflects on Billy's canon character !

So as cliché and uninspired as it sounds... I'll pick Barney.

Sure it's the old af "former enemies become friends", but at least going by what the canon gives us, Barney and Billy are on a good enough basis for Barney to trust Billy about the gremlin in his head, and Billy found a rival but also someone he can confide in about his wishes and lack of aspirations.

I know it's not a lot and what I think about Nopes in general is less than positive lol, but as FE16 was designed, I couldn't appreciate Billy a lot given how the emphasis was all about all the characters reacted to Billy - the player's avatar - and not how Billy reacts to them, bar Rhea (she's the only one they can have an A rank support with before the timeskip!) and yet, as said above, Tru Piss exists...

Headcanon wise though, it's another can of worms lol, but canon-wise, sadly, I don't have a lot of positive things to say about canon!Billy's relationships :(

Cyril :

Canon-wise, his bond with Seteth!

Best Uncle or not, Cyril is the only one Seteth trusts about the "totes secret" intel that he and Rhea are "like family", and during their convo, Seteth manages to pick his words carefully enough to make Cyril realise that he has a life beyond repaying/being grateful to Rhea, without straight out telling him that his feelings are uncalled for and/or weird.

He's the one to make him realise he can do anything he wants, Cyril's grateful and respects Seteth a lot, and in turn, Seteth trusts, worries but relies on him (seen in Nopes when he asks him to look after Rhea!).

I really like their bond, as poorly developed as it is.

(iirc one of FEH's latest 4 komas had Flayn'n'Cyril going on an expedition, and Seteth worrying about them?)

[thegoodmorningman]

All Mornings are Equal, but some Mornings are more Equal than others.

[couthbbg]

get your GM hat on for this one! 🎩

if you are kyle d, will you consider this latest setback as a motive to make a major management/roster move if playoffs are the goal, regardless of how it ends? i’m divided if it’s worth to ditch the long-term plan after the core retires for a short-term gamble, or better restrategize the goal for the rest or the season and open an opportunity to develop younger players and get a higher draft pick. appreciate the insight!

oof I hope you sent this to multiple people bc i'm not really the best person to ask strategy and trade questions to. i have lots of smart and informed mutuals whose opinions i've read but i honestly don't do "smart," i do "is this guy cute" and "do his vibes match our vibes" and "does he have a sparkle in his eyes and certain je ne sais quoi"?

that being said, my one and only opinion for the pens is that they should do absolutely everything in their power to keep the core together until they retire (or as long as they want, which from everything i know is until they retire). that wouldn't work in every franchise/city/fanbase, but i think pittsburgh, from what i can tell, adores them and would put up with a lot before they'd hang them up to dry. so, yeah, i wouldn't do anything crazy re: restructuring and getting high draft picks. I feel like we're not nearly bad enough to try to tank to get a draft pick that would be actually valuable in the next few years, and it would be a disservice to the core to not keep trying to rally good guys around them.

[thekavseklabs]

I have started gming several ttrpgs set on k'war before (and one set in a wombo combo of ffxiv amaurot and indiana jones, yes I made that work in an aesthetically and narratively pleasing way) but never once have I finished one because life keeps getting in the way + players keep quitting on me (not their fault! Again, life in the way) but SOMEDAY. SOMEDAY

[isaacathom]

i just think theres something exceptional in watching the bbeg come visit us, banish our undead spider man, charm our princess of the phoenix bloodline, and be thwarted in todays efforts by a neurotic elf mage whacking them clumsily with a magic staff and sending them to another plane.

[mysticalalleycat]

Okay SPEAKING of dropout shows being fun I'm SO excited for Never Stop Blowing Up I just watched the first ep and it's so incredibly up my alley oh my GOD