Brian Schoner

Take care of yourself first - we'll get there.

This is not a thing I thought I’d ever see, but I’m glad I did.

The proper function of man is to LIVE.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.
- Jack London, "Credo"

Half of my life is gone, and I have let
The years slip from me and have not fulfilled
The aspiration of my youth...
- Longfellow, 'Mezzo Cammin"

There is a knocking in the skull,
An endless silent shout
Of something beating on a wall,
And crying, “Let me out!”
- Ogden Nash, "LISTEN..."

point your hands like a compass to down
and dive off the edge of madagascar
into the tea-warm indian ocean
- Francine Storey, "Instructions for Search"

Singing this to the tune of @jonathancoulton.bsky.social 's "I Crush Everything" now.

Well, I'm watching it NOW. (And enjoying the hell out of it so far.)

I mean, they're the Big Green. Dartmouth is all bad looks.

Ooh, now this has me thinking about a multiple-room, multiple-tower Dread game where some rooms become "the bad place" because the tower there is much less stable. Maybe a game about urban decay and renewal where each tower is a neighborhood? /scribbles notes...

I think it was your episode on "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay" that made me realize just how integral he was to the Stax sound, beyond just being a brilliant guitarist.

Green Onions
Hold On, I'm Comin'
In the Midnight Hour
Knock On Wood
(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay
Soul Man
Try a Little Tenderness

Steve Cropper, Legendary Guitarist for Booker T. & the MG’s, Otis Redding and the Blues Brothers, Dies at 84 Steve Cropper, guitarist for Booker T. & the MG's, Otis Redding, the Blues Brothers and many more, has died. He was 84.

One of the all-time greats - guitarist, songwriter, producer, icon. Rest easy, Steve. variety.com/2025/music/n...

Introduce Yourself in Five #TTRPG Classes:

Bonisagus (Ars Magica)
The Explorer (The Between)
Rigger (Shadowrun)
Starless Knight (Hedge)
Vermissian Knight (Heart)

I'll always remember when the election results were revealed...and the immediate aftermath.

Neralis does great work, folks, and is easy to work with. If this style intrigues you, reach out!

Currently running 3 and playing 4, though several are either about to wrap up or in danger of fading away due to scheduling issues. So...room for more games soon!

It's time to look back at our favorite board games and game-related stuff from The Year That Was. What were your favorites from 2025?

www.ascentofboardgames.com/e/episode-76...

GM Edward Spence as a completely friendly and normal wasteland NPC.

It was delightful on every level!

Really looking forward to this…who wants to try it out with me?

Tactical Breach Wizards is great, but I think it's Windows only (so far).

It was a pretty great gig for me; if I hadn't gotten used to a white-collar IT job salary, I'd probably still be doing something along those lines.

I had a younger and more neuroplastic brain, and a lot of it was filled up with SR lore. The line editor ( @primerunner.bsky.social at that time) was responsible for coordinating the various releases and storylines, and would tell me what I needed to know/hint at/reveal in any given book.

I wrote most of it, so...yes?

At the time, Shadowrun was all about the metaplot, and had a number of sourcebooks that were all setting lore and adventure ideas for GMs. Blood in the Boardroom was one of those; it was tagged as an adventure, but I could not tell you why; I'd call it a sourcebook.

That's impossible to schedule, you know that.

What TTRPG's are you craving?

Here are my top 8 (in no order):

Blades ‘68
Band of Blades
D&D4E
Hollows
Sentinels Comics
Mothership
Amber Diceless
Blue Planet

When has!

When can have?

Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen

BEAT
Jethro Tull
King's X
The Police
Rush

Monktopus?

Cephalopriest?

Octopaladin?

Warlocktopus?

Yours are probably better.

Thank YOU - had a great time! The call back to "you don't need to be nice to the help" was fantastic.

Paging @thirdfloorwars.bsky.social and @amiewebster.bsky.social in case there's interest.