[-] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago

All the spaces there are all the possible locations for the electrons.

Close, but not quite - the spaces are the most likely locations for the electrons at any moment in time. There is always a small chance they've fucked off over the street for a nanosecond when you take your measurement.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

Perhaps I'm being paranoid but if the country is disappointed with Labour I don't want them to resort to electing an even more right wing version of the Tories further down the line.

Red Tories have indicated an absolute commitment to maintaining the status quo, which is why I've been saying for the past few months that the government after this one will be reform regardless of the outcome of the recent election.

And let's be real, we completely deserve it.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 6 days ago

I had both of these in A-level biology somehow. One week we were taught by the ex nurse who was constantly exasperated by us not knowing stuff like how coronary bypass surgeries are performed, and the next a former primary school teacher who would have us doing cutting and sticking exercises on ATP transfer or DNA sequencing. Neither particularly improved our understanding of biology.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

I mean it's meant to be illegal in Austria, but I still saw a fuckload of Nazis when I went to a football game there.

[-] [email protected] 32 points 2 months ago

So is the guy with a big ol' rifle a spotter too?

Maybe if you'd considered what spotters are for you wouldn't be baselessly asserting that US police aren't preparing to use unreasonable force.

[-] [email protected] 58 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

>fights off 5 ringwraiths while protecting a gang of hobbits
>kills like a hundred magically engineered supersoldiers so hobbits can cross a river
>kills an unreasonable number more at Helm's Deep
>beats up an actual ghost
>just one of those supersoldiers could easily kill like 10 regular humans, but here he is again just mowing them down
>charges the entirety of mordor on foot: survives

But yeah, I'm sure the regular human of above average skill will be fine.

1
submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

Looks like Palworld has established "game that shouldn't have guns (with guns)" as a genre, so what games are we looking forward to seeing the treatment? Animal Crossing with guns? Football Manager with guns? Disco Elysium with guns?

1
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

I've got competitive tree felling, log flume riding, and caber tossing. There's archery and boxing/wrestling. There's chess, there's a pie eating competition, even an obstacle course.

That gives me all the mechanics I'm interested in settling the players into immediately - ranged and melee attacks, skill checks, saves, skill challenges, and roleplay - but I need more fun side bits to help set the scene. There's food stalls, a bar, a little gambling, and I'm probably going to have a children's storytime place the players can go and make up wild tales, but what other kinds of flavour do you pepper around your festivals for the players to interact with?

The campaign is Abomination Vaults for anyone with setting specific ideas.

1
submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

I'm not interested in your PCs (or PCs you've heard/seen elsewhere), I want to know what the best PC someone else has played at a table with you is.

One of my friends doesn't have lots of TTRPG time, so generally just joins the odd fantasy game with the same character at different levels: Himbo Clerrick. Himbo lives up to his first name, being utterly gorgeous (think young Fabio on the cover of some sword and sorcery romance novel), incredibly heroic, and incredibly dense and oblivious, but not to his second name, being a Paladin.
Himbo had been a simple monk who had taken a vow of chastity to serve his god, but his incredible looks put the other monks' and nuns' vows in danger, so they gave him some weapons and armour, told him to go fight the forces of evil for his god, and then took a very cold bath. Powered by his devotion to his god and complete asexuality, he now travels the land looking for evils to defeat and goods to do.

Now, I'll admit the player has an impressive CV to begin with (experience in film and TV leading to setting up his own media company, Cambridge Law degree, nationally ranked cross country runner, decent jazz saxophonist, amateur boxer, etc), but Himbo inventively combines and subverts tropes in a way I only otherwise see from very experienced players, and the player has been happy to dive into and engage with the worlds as Himbo from the word go. Makes a great change from the people whose first character is Half-Elf Ranger #3752 and are scared to say or do anything even when directly asked.

1
submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

When we moved in our neighbours told us he had moved in with his girlfriend years ago and not sold the house, on the basis that the relationship might not work out and he'd need somewhere to move back to.

Has it been long enough to say his relationship worked out and I can knock the wall through to steal his bedroom to expand my own? I'd like more space and with my desk and wardrobe this room is pretty cramped.

1
submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

I'm 10 or so hours in and have stolen high tech from a corporation (cool), resurrected a dead terrorist (possibly cool, still don't know his motivations), and drive-by-hacked various cops' cyberware while travelling the city (funny).

Outside of that, the side content seems to be entirely social services oriented. Batman the cyberpsychos. Judge Dredd the crimes in progress. Ambulance a guy to a doctor. Social Worker a cop having a mental breakdown. Chat to various people. Is there some sort of "do cool crimes" set of side content that I've missed, or did CDPR just make another sheriff sim?

1
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

I am SICK of having my incredible accomplishments (rolling dice and making up stories about them) dismissed as mere "luck". I HATE listening to people complain about how badly they roll. Today, I am going to reveal to you the secrets of how to make the most of your rolls and pull off incredible gaming achievements:

rule 1: Believe in the Heart of the Dice

Just like Yugioh from hit children's cartoon series Yu-gi-oh!, you need to believe in your dice, and they need to know that you believe in them. When they roll poorly, don't swap them out, keep using them, demonstrate that you believe they can do it. Punishments like Dice Jails won't help them reform their behaviour, so instead show the dice you care for them: cradle them in your hand, even when you don't intend to roll; find them private furnishings where they can relax with their closest friends between sessions; whisper affirmations to them while they're sleeping - show them you love them.
DO NOT FUCK THE DICE: Not only will it result in a very embarrassing hospital visit where you have to explain that you proceeded to engage in sexual intercourse with one or more small polyhedrons despite being warned not to by an owl that's a professor, but it will also result in a permanently awkward vibe between you and your dice, and you'll have to get rid of all of them and buy new ones that don't know about the whole dice-fucking situation.

rule 2: Stack the deck

Just because you're doing something dangerous doesn't mean it has to be difficult. Did my Paladin manage to 1v1 a Purple Worm despite the party giving up all hope because I rolled nothing but 20's? No, he won because 5e's rules are so unbalanced that he didn't need to roll higher than an 8 on a d20 to hit. Also a moment of tactical genuis where he leapt down its throat so it couldn't keep hitting him with its incredibly damaging tail sting, but mainly the low chance to fail.
You can't expect your dice to always bring out their absolute best, so give them lower targets they can hit consistantly. They will appreciate it, and pay you back by giving it their all when it really counts.
NB: You may find people claiming that this is a simple matter of probability; These people work for Big Statistics and are liars. Your dice do have feelings and appropriate targets are important for their growth.

rule 3: Once you do take a risk, make it an outrageous risk

Dice can't resist the tension of a high stakes roll, so raise those stakes as high as you can. Dramatic tension is key to keeping a die's interest, so if you need a really high roll for a plan to work, make sure it's really life or death.
Imagine the scene: A colossal dragon blue dragon is swooping and attacking a ship, far from land, surrounded by churning waves. A handful of arrows and magical rays fly from the deck, but if they are hurting her, she's undeterred - she seems determined to see this ship and its inhabitants reach the bottom of the ocean. On the deck stands a Minotaur Warden, frustrated as the dragon's speed keeps her far from his reach. He eyes her as she lines up her next swoop, starts running to where he thinks she'll attack, and takes a mighty leap - but where?
If you think he might grab her leg to hold on, or onto her wing to pin her and bring her down, you do not undestand drama. He jumped directly into her mouth, so he could hit her in the face. Obviously this prompted her to crunch down on the tasty morsel, but the dice were determined to see him live long enough to see his absurd scheme though, so, clinging onto consciousness by a handful of HP, he was still able to deliver one final blow with his warshovel.
Of course the die rolled a natural 20 and ensured it was a killing blow. In a situation that tense, who wouldn't? Just like you, the dice want something to really get excited for - you just need to give them the opportunity.

That's it.

Encouragement, achieveable goals, and stimulation. That's everything you need to almost guarantee your dice will always give you their best numbers. They will of course sometimes make mistakes, but these 3 rules will ensure that those mistakes never spiral out of control, and a critical success is never too far away.

 


mods I don't know what the hell this is but I needed it out of my head so feel free to delete

[-] [email protected] 29 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

If you're gonna do RP shopping, you gotta establish before the session that's gonna be what's happening so everyone can come up with ways to interact with the scenario.

You also absolutely have to (looking at you in particular, 5e) establish availabilities and exact prices beforehand. The back and forth of "how much does X cost -> I can't afford that" is the biggest waste of time when shopping.

[-] [email protected] 82 points 7 months ago

If you're gonna make jokes about niche internet personalities in public you're gonna have to get used to explaining the joke.

[-] [email protected] 50 points 7 months ago

Wow, fuck you very much. Trump's FAILED coup is more dangerous and egregious that Bush's SUCCESSFUL coup? Trump's complete lack of power is more dangerous than Bush redestroying the middle east on false pretences of chemical and nuclear weapons, mobilising terrorist attacks and organisations worldwide?

The only excuse for such a pathetically stupid statement is that you're a little baby who wasn't around for any of the last 2 decades and are just making things up based on vibes. "wah wah wah, I can't remember bush so nothing must have happened". You are an embarrassment. Delete your account and jump in the ocean.

1
submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

Maybe it's about a system, a specific mechanic, lore, builds, types of players, ttrpg-adjacent products - whatever they are, share them.

1
submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

My boss's girlfriend just came up to me and gave me a heads up that my boss would throw a strop about some bags of clothes being left in reception to be picked up tomorrow, with the classic gem of "you can see how it looks untidy, can't you?"

No, I can't. I walk in and I see an office block that's a hub of activity and facilitates it's tenants. A place for meetings where staff are happy to help with requests, or an office where you don't have to fight with the landlords (because that's ultimately what we are) to get small concessions. A place that cares more about improving the community (which as a social enterprise is our purpose) than minor appearances. I'd probably think it was untidy if it was in the way for days on end, but the bags are gonna be back against the wall, behind the reception desk, for less than 12 hours.

What is it with people valuing things being out of sight? There's a pragmatic element to general neatness, making it easier to clean, getting hazards out of the way, and looking nicer, but I don't understand people throwing a fit because things are temporary less neat.

Anyway I moved the bags all of 5 metres into a meeting room next to reception. See if he whines about them making a mess of a room that isn't being used until the middle of next week.

[-] [email protected] 23 points 9 months ago

20mph zones are generally around schools or heavily pedestrianised areas. Children are going to die as a result of blanket removal of 20mph zones.

[-] [email protected] 23 points 10 months ago

You don't know the difference between a demsoc and a socdem. You're not any kind of socialist, just a lib who likes the idea of being seen as leftist.

[-] [email protected] 35 points 10 months ago

Quantum superpositioning. Schrödinger was right, it's absolutely ridiculous and the cat can't be alive and dead at the same time, box or not.

The problem is it provably does work that way, or at least in a way that is indistinguishable from it, ridiculous or not, and we don't really know why. We've learnt many of the rules, managed to trap particles in superimposed states, even discovered that plants take advantage of it to transport energy more efficiently, and it's just a thing that happens, an apparently fundamental rule of existence. And it doesn't make any fucking sense.

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ProfessorOwl_PhD

joined 10 months ago