#and it's worth saying

[pb-dot]

This latest Adventuring Party really drove home my favorite aspect of Brennan's DMing style. He genuinely loves seeing his players succeed, even against odds he considered to be nigh insurmountable.

Let's take the Last Stand as an example. Now, Brennan made no secret out of the Last Stand encounter being very hard, and for people who do not play D&D it may even seem like he overhyped it, but from a mechanics standpoint, the CR, functionally the difficulty rating of this battle royale was sky-high. Yeah, none of the Bad Kids went down, but that is entirely thanks to a combination of excellent strategic play from the Intrepid Heroes and some choice luck.

To mention some of the game changer moves, the Scatter spell really re-defined the battlefield more favorably for the Bad Kids, the disguise self was a value proposition because it split the flying monsters, which was the greatest threat to the proctor by far, in two, functionally halving the threat to the squishy normie, not to mention dealing with the mega-mosquitos in combo with Spirit Guardians. Those little flying bastards would have been such a pain in the ass if Fig didn't bug zapper them to kingdom come. And the bless. Dear god, the Bless saved so many asses in this encounter.

This isn't to say magic was the only thing that defined the battlefield. The single-target damage dealers did some truly astounding numbers and managed their attention and abilities shockingly well. Yeah, Gorgug crit like a madman, but he also tanked like three or four non-barb PCs worth of effective HP damage without going down even once. If he had failed his saves and gotten eaten by the Purple Worm things would have gotten nasty for him, but again, the touch of luck (and bless) saw him through.

So, this is all to say that this was an encounter meant to kick the players' ass. Not an unwinnable one, evidently, but this was supposed to be a considerably worse experience even without getting into the non dice-roll exam questions. And how does Brennan react when the Intrepid Heroes put their game face all the way on, get really smart with their level 1 spell slots, and dismantle the whole thing? He's overjoyed, he's cheering for his strange adventure children, and we're cheering with him because frankly it's rad as hell.

This illustrates one nuance I feel sometimes gets glossed over about the DM-player relationship. A lot of people have talked about how Junior Year is the "Revenge of Brennan" or what have you, and I feel that kind of misses the central appeal of DMing and Brennan's style in D20 in particular. Yes, Mr Mulligan enjoys playing the heel on occasion. It's good fun to play the personification of everything going wrong and the inherent shittiness of the world, but like the wrestler heels, all that wicked charisma is meant to do one thing, and that is build up the faces, or the players in this case.

Now, the ghost of Gary Gygax may come after me for this, but I firmly believe it's not the DMs job to kill the player characters, or even to inconvenience or torment them. A good DM's job is to make it seem like they're going to kill the player characters, as to provide an environment for the players to succeed, a challenge for them to overcome. It's all one big improv exercise (or kink scene if you prefer to view it that way), where the DM derives their (near)absolute authority over the world the PCs inhabit from the shared understanding that they're going to show the players a spectacular, if not on occasion harrowing, time.

This is Brennan's biggest strength as a DM I think. He genuinely wants to make a spectacular time for his friends, and he understands that to do that he must on occasion be the monster they oppose, and on occasion he must be their breathless cheerleader. On occasion, one imagines, he must also be both.

#d20 fhjy #d20 fantasy high #brennan lee mulligan #d20 #fantasy high #So this turned out long huh #but d20 is a good show #and it's worth saying

[qrowpilled]

hate when you find a character whose so infuriatingly Your Type that its embarrassing like yeahg no one is gonna be surprised when i announce this is my new Guy Of The Month

#shush jesse #EDIT from future me: this post was about astarion but im fully a galegirl (gendy neutch) now so idk what that says #he's also my type for what its worth #this post abt astarion #hes just so painfully on brand for me #i know so little about him though is the thing but i still feel insane #but i cant play the game and i dont want to watch anyone play it and i dont want spoilers #so like.....secondhand blorbo right now

[visenyaism]

seven years ago in the name of tolerating free speech from all political perspectives my nasty ass evil university let an army of tiki torch wielding nazis shouting jews will not replace us march through grounds threatening the lives of students and community members with zero police presence. and today they retroactively changed campus policy around tents so they could send in the cops to bust up the gaza memorial vigil. genuinely fucking stomach turning

#admin and the cops do not give a fuck about protecting jewish students and they know it #worth saying that most of the activists in charlottesville who organized against unite the right are now pretty overwhelmingly pro-palestin #because i see a lot of people comparing the protests to unite the right which is. well it feels crazy to me #cw antisemitism

[official-lucifers-child]

still thinking about the brainrot that fast fashion has caused in people, like i made this pair of pants that are black and white with a cool flowery design, and an acquaintance saw them and said "wow i'd pay like 20 dollars for you to make me a pair" and i could barely think with how utterly horrified i was at that; i told them that 20 dollars wouldn't even cover the materials, let alone the hours of work that went into cutting, sewing, ironing, hemming, altering, etc. they just had this look on their face when i told them that, when i said i wouldn't make them a pair for even 100 dollars because that was still way too low of an amount, a look that said "you're crazy for thinking that those cost 100 dollars" and maybe i am crazy but holy shit, 20 dollars for a pair of handmade, durable, lined pants fitted specifically to your measurements? 20 dollars for upwards of 60 hours of work? 20 dollars for several yards of high-quality fabric, thread, and buttons? 20 dollars???

#i mean even fast fashion companies charge more than 20 dollars for their shitty sweatshop jeans with exposed seams and standardised sizes #but in this world my acquaintance thought it was appropriate to tell me that my skill and supplies and labour was worth 20 dollars at most #20 dollars is all i'm worth because apparently that is all that my skill and labour and time is worth #like i can't even begin to describe how blindly angry i was at my friend and at the world that made them say that #anyway

[heritageposts]

The Eurovision song contest is facing intense scrunity and accusations of discrimination after it rebuked Swedish-Palestinian pop star Eric Saade for wearing a Palestinian scarf in the opening act of the semi-finals. Saade, whose father is of Palestinian origin, kicked off the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden on Tuesday evening with a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian and Arab male headdress, wrapped around his wrist. [...] In response, the organisers of the contest, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) released a statement saying it "regretted" that Saade wore the scarf. "The Eurovision Song Contest is a live TV show. All performers are made aware of the rules of the contest, and we regret that Eric Saade chose to compromise the non-political nature of the event," it said. [...] Eurovision later posted clips of the performances of the other two opening acts on its social media pages, but did not share Saade’s, prompting social media users to share the performance on their personal pages to show support for the artist.

Waving Palestinian flags, wearing traditional Palestinian garments, or if we're being honest, just being Palestinian, is now officially "too political" for Eurovision.

Literally, all Saade did was wear a keffiyeh around his wrist—while being Palestinian—and that was enough to get a statement from the EBU, and have his opening performance scrubbed from Youtube.

If you're not already boycotting Eurovision this year, then what the fuck is wrong with you?

Below are two statements from Saade. The first one, giving his reason for participating, was posted a few days ago, and the other was in response to the EBU accusing him of 'compromising the non-political nature' of the Genocide Song Contest:

Reminder again to BOYCOTT EUROVISION 🇵🇸

#mixed feelings to say the least about saade participating in the first place #but i don't think that's really a conversation worth having now (at least by non-palestinians) #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #esc 2024 #eurovision #boycott eurovision #israel #gaza

[borgevino]

the allergy i am seeing grow up around small talk in any form is troubling to me. do you know how to make friends with people in your physical environment? it typically starts with small talk. do you want to live in community? small talk. do you want to have the type of relationship with your neighbors where you can run over and borrow a battery for your smoke detector when it starts beeping at 10pm? small talk!! do you want leeway from your coworkers when you fuck up something small? you gotta be able to build a relationship and that's small talk, baybeee.

"but i don't need friends and i don't care about community!" okay, lone ranger, what about the people in your community who need you? "but i have social anxiety!" me too, bud! we simply must soldier on. making up lists of questions to ask people helps. and people are predisposed to be generous, i've found. even if you make some kind of mistake, what is this but the natural give and take of human interaction? nobody is perfect.

you were not put on this earth to live by yourself and then die. you need people and people need you. treat those around you with curiosity and generousness of spirit and you will gain so much goodwill in return.

#my pharmacist spotted me a weeks worth of meds once when mine were in a building closed for asbestos #because we'd been doing small talk for a couple of months and had a rapport #this is not emotional labor btw. in no way is 'doing small talk' emotional labor. dont say that. #edification #community is a garden

[notemaker]

Getting out of the comfort zone can be uncomfortable.

#i havent finished the manga yet so Im working on vibes only #the vibes say: these two are worth exploring #their dynamic compells me #also these two characters are annoyingly relatable in their own ways #laios touden #the autism knight #I GET IT #I GET IT NOW. WHY HE'S CALLED THAT WAY. I REALLY DO #laios dungeon meshi #laios #dunmeshi laios #laios thorden #laios x kabru #kinda #my art #art post #kabru of utaya #kabru #kabru dungeon meshi #delicious in the dungeon #doodles #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dunmeshi

[spitblaze]

Men and masculinity are not inherently bad or untrustworthy things and I don't mean that in a 'misandry is real and a problem' way, I mean that in a 'I think some of you might have contracted minor radfem poisoning' way

#spitblaze says things #its...not normal or good to look at two gay men living their life and go 'EW GROSS MEN BLEGH DISGUSTING' #being fed up with patriarchal structure and a general 'men' is one thing. i get that shit #disgust and disdain at all who (or DON'T but you think they do) identify as such is uh. worth maybe thinking a lil harder about #doin numbers

[picturejasper20]

I think something worth of pointing out about Danny is how often he uses the words ¨I don't want to fight you¨ or ¨I don't want to hurt you¨ to some of his enemies, specially to Valerie Gray.

Danny usually fights his enemies but if he sees that the situation can be solved without resorting to violence, such as being a misunderstanding or his enemies being manipulated, he would chose to see if he can talk them down. This is because Danny is a very empathetic person and is able to understand when someone isn't evil or they don't have bad intentions. He has gained more than one ally this way, like Wolf and Dani.

To be honest, i'm not sure if Danny even enjoys fighting. It feels like it is something he does to defend his town and family or friends more than anything else.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #For the context in the first he didn't know that Plasmius was Vlad yet #Other situations worth of mentioning is when Kitty was overshadowing Paulina and Danny chose to listen to her #There are a few times in season 3 he says to Vlad that they don't have to fight #and ofc Vlad attacks him because Danny is interfering with his plans

[cj-kenobi]

otter-wan says it's time for BIG yawn and commander cuddles

#why do i only spend time on shit posts hahah what #this took me so long but honestly i'd say worth it #maybe #this is only the second time ive animated in csp and the first time ive ever coloured anything so uhhh be nice #obi wan kenobi #star wars #codywan #my art <3 #commander cody #obi-wan kenobi #otterwan #otter-wan #otterwan kenobi #star wars art #star wars animation #fan animation #gif #cal draws #animation #star wars fanart #star wars the clone wars #star wars shitpost #csp animation

[s0fter-sin]

people are acting like we’re saying creators shouldn’t be paid for their work; they absolutely should. and watcher already is. they have a patreon, they get sponsors, their videos regularly get millions of views which gives them ad revenue, they sell merch; they are getting paid. feeling indignant and disappointed that they’re asking us to pay for content we were already getting for free isn’t entitlement, it’s expected. ​they wanted to make bigger produced shows and now their budget can’t sustain it, that’s not on the viewer to make up for

#im not going to feel as sorry for the company as iam for an artist working out of their bedroom #they went too big and now expect us to make up for it #its normal to feel slighted by that #im not paying over a hundred dollars a year for a guy to eat food another to walk around a house and a puppet to tell a story #im just not #their shows are entertaining theres no doubt about that but can you really say its worth that fee when we are in a cost of living crisis #coming out of my cage and ive been doing just fine.txt #watcher #watcher tv #shane madej #ryan bergara #steven lim #hey there demons it’s me ya boy #ghoul boys

[classichorrorblog]

10 Movies From The 1980s To Consider For October/Halloween

#Horror #Filmedit #Horroredit #An American Werewolf In London #Beetlejuice #Evil Dead 2 #Friday The 13th Part 3 #Hellraiser #Killer Klowns From Outer Space #The Lost Boys #A Nightmare On Elm Street #Night Of The Demons #The Thing #CHB #10 Movies To Consider #I am not saying that these are the best or that they are my favorites. #Just 10 movies that I think are worth watching for the season.

[mipmoth]

Submas VIOLENCE

#submas #emmet goes ON SIGHT #while ingo rolls sleeves and approaches you menacingly #saw someone tag 'submas posetivity'. as opposed to what? submas negativity? submas violance. submas KILL #no hate i think its funny #just realized it might not be obvious put the second picture is ingo dragging emmet away from a fight. #not the one who fought him. the angry look and raised fist is him beinh like WORTH IT? SAY THAT AGAIN?

[stories-by-starlight]

Shout-out this stranger met for while recent, who saw we were AAC user and for whole time:

• made sure we not talked over in conversation

• stopped others from skip over us, and didn’t let them rush us either

• said any words AAC was say wrong verbally for us after we express frustration with that

• didn’t touch our device once or look at screen while using AAC (they were only person who didn’t)

• made sure we comfortable and accommodated whole time was with them

And don’t think any this was even big deal to them. This was first time they even saw AAC, but they still made sure were accommodated for it. Don’t think they realize how much meant to us, and it meant everything to us. To be include and supported so much by total stranger who we would never see again.

Gave us lot hope. Fact that there people like that out there. And wanted put all thoughts that couldn’t put into words when with person here.

Want other AAC users know that there people like that out there, and that there hope.

Edit: Notice this post a lot of people’s first time hear about AAC, want be clear that this person only start say words out loud for us after we made clear that that was something we okay with. Please don’t assume other AAC users want others correct words AAC pronounce different, because many don’t. Every AAC user different person with different preference, please don’t take ours as universal rule.

#warmth #aac #aac user #actually nonverbal #storybook talks #dont know if others actually interest in this but feel worth say even if it give just one person hope

[lineffability]

sometimes I see people calling Aziraphale selfish in an accusatory way, as if it's a flaw that needs to be smoothed out, as if it isn't a trait that is at once defiant and emancipating, as if his selfishness isn't mostly wielded in an empowering and kind way, as if it's categorically bad to want things for yourself, to enjoy them, to have and keep them, as if selfish isn't the most revolutionary thing an angel can be

#good omens #aziraphale #my omens #it's one of my favorite things about him!!!! #don't you like your characters wonderfully complex and contradictory and pure of intention but not pure in execution???? #also crowley loves that he's selfish! look at his angel go sucking the marrow out of life #and being a bastard (worth knowing) #not to say that this trait can not also be negative (obviously) #and impact both az and crowley negatively #but so can many of their traits....mutually... #it's never stopped them from loving each other and neither should it stop you

[faelapis]

crazy seeing rightwing people calling the barbie movie anti-men considering i’m pretty sure the “i’m just ken” song did more good for men’s mental health than any number of their shitty little incel forums combined

#not su / #genuine banger telling men not to define their worth by having a gf or trying to dominate others #and they still can’t handle the movie quipping about the state of gender relations by saying kens will one day be as important in society #as women today (which is an excellent prompt for people to realize how unequal the world still is and be unsettled but people still don’t #get it) and it’s just. So revealing that you can’t handle being treated like you’re not the center of the world for 5 seconds #barbie movie #barbie #barbie 2023