#rpgnet

[esperderek]

New RPG.net owner liked tweets from RFK Jr, Tucker Carlson, and more...

Just left RPG.net, that venerable old tabletop rpg forum, a forum that I've been a part of for 20+ years.

Recently (in March), it was bought by RPGMatch, a startup aiming to do matchmaking for TTRPGs. In the past couple of days, despite their many reassurances, I got it into my head to look up the new owner Joaquin Lippincott, and lucky for me he has a Twitter! (Or X, now, I guess.)

Yeah...the first warning bell is that his description calls him a 'Machine learning advocate', and his feed is full of generative AI shit. Oh, sure, he'll throw the fig leaf of 'AI shouldn't take creative jobs.' here and there, but all-in-all he is a full-throated supporter of genAI. Which means that RPGnet's multiple assurances that they will never scrape for AI...suspect at best.

Especially, when you check out his main company, https://www.metaltoad.com/, and find that his company, amongst other services, is all about advising corporations on how to make the best use of generative AI, LLMs, and machine learning. They're not the ones making them, but they sure are are helping corps decide what jobs to cut in favor of genAI. Sorry, they "Solve Business Problems."

This, alone, while leaving a massive bad taste in my mouth, wouldn't be enough, and apart from his clear love of genAI his feed is mostly business stuff and his love of RPGs. Barely talks politics or anything similar.

But then, I decided to check his Likes, the true bane of many a people who have tried to portray themselves as progressive, or at least neutral.

And wow. In lieu of links that can be taken down, I have made screenshots. If you want to check it yourself, just find his Twitter feed, this isn't hidden information. (Yet.)

Here's him liking a conspiracy theory that the War on Ukraine is actually NATO's fault, and it's all a plan by the US to grift and disable Russia!

Here's him liking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praising Tucker Carlson interviewing Vladimir Putin!

Here's him liking a right wing influencer's tweet advancing a conspiracy theory about Hunter Biden!

Former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy talking about how he wants to tear down the Department of Education and the FDA (plus some COVID vaccine conspiracy theory thrown in)

Sure did like this Tucker Carlson video on Robert Kennedy Jr... (Gee, I wonder who this guy is voting for in October.)

Agreeing about a right-wing grifter's conspiracy theories... (that guy's Twitter account is full of awful, awful transphobia, always fun.)

Him liking a tweet about someone using their own fathers death to advance an anti-vaxx agenda! What the fuck! (This guy was pushing anti-vax before his father's death, I checked, if you're wondering.)

So, yes, to sum it up, RPG.net, that prides itself as an inclusive place, protective it's users who are part of vulnerable groups, and extremely supportive of creators, sold out to a techbro (probably)libertarian whose day job is helping companies make use of generative AI and likes tweets that advance conspiracy theories about the Ukraine war, Hunter Biden, vaccines, and others. Big fan of RFKjr, Carlson, and Putin, on the other hand.

And, like, shame on RPG.net, Christopher Allen for selling to this guy, and the various admins and mods who spent ages reassuring everything will be okay (including downplaying Lippincott's involvement in genAI). Like, was no research into this guy done at all? Or did y'all not care?

So I'm gone, and I'm betting while maybe not today or tomorrow, things are going to change for that website, and not for the best for anyone.

[morkaischosen]

Based on something that went past on Discord, and in the full knowledge of the bias inherent in posting this in the context of the rest of my Tumblr, I'm curious as to the relationships between which of (a specific subset of) Jenna Moran's games people have heard of. We'll obviously get a lot (relatively) of "all three" since I'm posting this in a cluster of jennagamers; the interesting output is the differences in the one and two game responses.

This is loose and informal so I'm not too bothered if an individual's answers are "I've heard the name" or "I have some idea of the premise of this game," as long as you're consistent with your own answers.

The games I'm focusing on here are Nobilis; Chuubo's Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine, or CMWGE; and Wisher, Theurge, Fatalist, often abbreviated WTF.

Reblogs appreciated, and notes as to where you've heard about the games would be interesting - part of my thinking here is about the contexts in which the games get talked about. In particular I'd love to compare the dynamics of my corner of Tumblr* against something like the RPGnet crowd, but I recognise the methodology here won't achieve that.

[andaisq]

is seizhi schwan or leonardo da montreal transer greatest debate thread in history of rpgnet forums

[acephysicskarkat]

i should be paid a million dollars for every rpgnet Other Media thread where i'm sorely tempted to complain about spop's problems and don't

[grislyeye]

On the technocratic capture of rpg.net, the whistleblower posted the following, in which he singles out the mods. It's difficult to argue with this, the mods really let the community down:

https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/i-no-longer-feel-comfortable-here-a-goodbye-rpgnets-owners-offsite-beliefs-drawing-legitimate-anger-mod-and-mab-statements-inside.920301/page-16#post-25210203

[possessedscholar]

Best I can give as to why FATAL is Bad-With-A-Capital-B are a few reviews:

I should note the language of both is, let us say, a bit typical for 2010’s Internet Nerd Circles.

[optiwashere]

I am forever mad at Reddit. We could have a forum-like experience but they decide to implement social media mechanics.

I also miss The Trove.

I miss my old VBulletin sites... at least a couple TTRPG sites still have usable forums! EN World and RPGnet still got me...

Oh, and I'll never forgive the WFRP knockoff guy for possibly starting the ball rolling on the Trove. I suppose making sockpuppets on aforementioned forums wasn't good enough for him :/

[pathfinderunlocked]

Invisible Blood Writing - CR0 Haunt and Wondrous Item

A harmless haunt meant to scare people.

Artwork by Beyond Reality at RPGNet Forums.

Sometimes you want to send the players a message, whether it’s a simple warning or some kind of cryptic clue.  In which case, putting some of these candles around an area and then having them light themselves at dramatic times to reveal previously invisible blood writing is a pretty good way to drive them crazy.

I like the idea of having some messages that are cryptic clues and some that are just mean.  I also like the idea of having one message that repeats itself many times across a dungeon.  There’s nothing quite like seeing a few different cryptic warning messages early on before later seeing “You should have been more afraid” written 50 times in blood on every single wall, over and over.

Invisible Blood Writing - CR 0

XP 0 NE haunt (invisible writing on surfaces in 10-ft. radius) Caster Level 1st Notice Perception DC 10 (to notice the unlit candle) hp 1 Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day

EFFECT

A message is written in blood, but the writing is invisible on the material plane.  A see invisibility spell, detect undead spell, or similar effect allows a creature to read the writing.  Creatures on the ethereal plane can see the writing normally.  The light shed by a Ghostlight Candle makes the writing visible on the material plane.

This haunt is linked to a specific Ghostlight Candle.  When the haunt is triggered and manifests, the Ghostlight Candle lights itself.

DESTRUCTION

Destroying the Ghostlight Candle linked to this haunt destroys the haunt.  This haunt is often linked to a specific undead creature, and is destroyed if that creature is destroyed.

Ghostlight Candle - Wondrous Item

Aura faint divination; CL 1; Slot none (unattended item); Price 1 copper

This candle is connected to a specific Invisible Blood Writing haunt.  While within the area of the haunt's manifestation, the candle glows with a blue flame whenever the haunt manifests.  Within a 10-foot radius of this flame, otherwise invisible blood writing becomes visible.  If the haunt is destroyed, the candle becomes nonmagical.

Crafting Requirements cannot be crafted

[aryasamajcourtmarriage1]

Arya Samaj Marriage In Meerut

After the ceremony, couples must register their marriage with the local municipal authority to obtain a marriage certificate. This document is crucial for legal recognition and for any future legal proceedings. Arya Samaj marriages are less elaborate compared to traditional Hindu weddings. They focus on essential Vedic rituals and are usually completed within an hour, unlike the multi-day traditional Hindu ceremonies.

[loki-zen]

this is fun to read wouldn't recommend the actual content tho

Question: Is FATAL (yeah that one) bad in an interesting way? I've heard a lot about it and how infamously terrible it is - but it it terrible in a way where reading it can be interesting or is it just plain old bad in regular, totally bog standard ways.

Short answer: no.

Long answer: system-wise, it's a classic case of a couple of chucklefucks thinking they've got some bright ideas, but ending up repeatedly re-inventing the wheel because their experience with the medium is extraordinarily narrow – and that's before you get to the fact that the text's editing, technical writing, and grasp of elementary statistics are uniformly atrocious, to the extent that it's almost entirely unplayable as written. As for the "humour", it's the sort of sophomoric horseshit you'd expect from an author who never outgrew their "saying slurs is inherently funny" phase; you can't Mystery Science Theatre this shit funny, though some reviews have made a valiant effort.

(Which isn't to say that it's entirely lacking in value, mind. It's definitely a text of historical interest if you're doing a deep dive into a very particular era of tabletop gaming culture. However, it's such an unpleasant read that I wouldn't recommend it for any other purpose.)

[soraavalon]

DM: 'Is Banishment overpowered?' says rpgnet forums. Nathaniel (OOC): Okay, you play by Rule of Cool, is this cool enough? DM: I mean, that's true. Tark (OOC): How funny would it be if--- Nathaniel (OOC): It is kind of funny. Moriarty (OOC): They just look down and the corpse is fucking gone. Tark (OOC): It's gone. Moriarty (OOC): What do you mean, you already have it. Nathaniel (OOC): I haven't done a lot. I've been keeping to myself. [couldn't hear rest] Tark (OOC): How much can we gaslight these dragons? Nathaniel (OOC): They're not paying attention to me. DM: This is true. I will allow it. Nathaniel (OOC): Woo! Moriarty (OOC): Sounds like [something] a giant lizard. DM: Because I think that's really neat and it wastes one of your spell slots. Nathaniel (OOC): It does. It does [seomthing] a spell slot. Tark (OOC): RIP Nathaniel: But I might wait... DM: So yes. Wait till your turn? Nathaniel: Trying to decide if I wait till they leave or if I just do it as soon as possible. Tark (OOC): Well 'cause they want to leave with her corpse. Hunt (OOC): Yeah. Tark (OOC): So if they try--- DM: I mean, you could negotiate but at this point that is what she's asking. Nathaniel: I'm going to give my friends the chance to negotiate and if they fail to negotiate I will just... DM: Okay. Nathaniel: I'll grab it before she's off the ground. DM: Okay. Nathaniel: Or else she's gonna fall. Tark (OOC): *laughs* DM: So we can say that you're, so if you would like you can hold your action to cast Banishment. It will use that spell slot up to hold it, but. Nathaniel (OOC): I will, as a sign of good will, drop Slow. DM: Okay. Eudora (OOC): Thank you.

[acephysicskarkat]

Spider-character I came up with for an rpgnet thread: Pierre Pasquier, the Spectacular Spider-Sleuth

He's a funny little man, in a funny little outfit, who nobody could possibly take seriously. Or: he's a very intelligent man, who uses a silly appearance and attitude to make people underestimate him while he puts together the evidence.

(I figure if there's a Spider-Man for noir, there must be an Agatha Christie equivalent)

[katesfoxhole]

I've been thinking that the Imperium's mania for skulls is like the late medieval central European thing, where they literally built cathedrals out of stacks of bones; it was a way of honoring the dead, showing them respect, maybe mixed with a little envy because it was a shitty time to be alive.

Like people in the time of the Black Death, Imperials see a lot of friends and loved ones dying and they want to find every silver lining they can.

Also like this post from a "40k headcanons" thread at RPGnet:

The Imperium and skulls:

Plastering skulls on everything means different things at different levels of society. At the lower levels it's a way of maintaining a connection with and honoring your ancestors since, especially in a Hive, there's no space for burial and no energy for cremation unless you're part of the elite.

If you're one of those elites, or a major organisation, plastering the skulls of your employees/subjects everywhere shows both your power and benevolence, since you are acting as their family, the caretaker of their remains and memory.

In practice, number of skulls often just end up being a status symbol, and skulls in good condition can fetch a good price.

To a lot of Imperials, a house with no skulls is unsettling, it's a place with no history, no soul.

Servo-skulls have a little bit of human grey matter inside and sometimes retain fragments of their old personality, they can also be fitted with audio sensors and respond to names assigned by their owners.

I love servo skulls sm they’re so neat and EVIL

[hypocrisyofandrewdobson]

Ways Dobson is a Jackass to People #14: Literally Screaming and Cursing at a Non-American for Pointing Out Why Dobson is Wrong About Free Speech

So someone recently responded to Dobson’s morally grandstanding post about how much he supports a forums decision to ban any positive comments made about Donald Trump whatsoever, pointing out the flaws in not debating people and just immediately forbidding actual discussion about a topic.

Fairly solid advice, yeah? Not attacking him or anything, just pointing out exactly what the flaw is in not allowing people to speak their minds.

And Dobson, seeing that this person doesn’t live in America, absolutely blew his fucking shit and started screaming and cursing at the person, and actually comes off as kinda racist.

“Ugh, stupid non-Americans thinking they can have an opinion on things. How stupid are they trying to speak to us about morals?”

Andrew Dobson/Tom Preston, everybody.

[tinamcasey]

Ravelry Pits Needle Arts Against Hate Speech, Wins

Ravelry pits the needle arts against hate speech, wins. What's so hard about that?

RPGnet  #Immigration #Immigrants #ImmigrantsHaveRights #Diversity #CivilRights #EqualRights #Equality #EqualityForAll #HumanRights #HumanRightsViolations #Children

http://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/hate-speech-ravelry-knits-sharp-bright-line/84021/