Graham Wills

I then ran a Mindjammer (Fate) campaign heavily leaning into Iain Banks' culture series (one character played a ship mind). Also recommended, but it is high crunch so mentioning it mostly for other following your post.

My son ran us through a Bulldogs (Fate Core) game and it worked excellently. Contacts and Resources skills were a big feature, zone-based combat suits sci-fi well, and I'm a big fan of making equipment special by giving them aspects (we tagged our spaceship's Fancy Bar so many times ...)

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

"there is no mechanical reason to coordinate" and his belief that initiative systems cause this seems way off. Having played D&D4E / PF2 with very non-RP players, they are most engaged with each other when discussing tactics within the initiative system - there IS a strong mechanical advantage.

I agree -- even in very trad games, if the players engage with each other, I find the GM only interrupts this for pacing reasons, not because they feel the need to be the conduit. Some GMs are unhappy if the players try to create a new story element, but that's really a different issue.

SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in a college applicant's file is blatantly unconstitutional

ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool

Time to read the Silverberg short story ‘Caught in the Organ Draft’ !

“Being Poor,” Ten Years On Ten years ago today, I put the essay “Being Poor” on Whatever. I wrote the piece, as I explained later, in a rage at the after-events of Hurricane Katrina, when so many people asked, so…

2/3 10 years ago today I wrote a retrospective on the "Being Poor" piece, talking about why I wrote it, how it had gone out into the world after I wrote it, and my thoughts on some of the responses to it.

whatever.scalzi.com/2015/09/03/b...

One of the longest stories Jesus told, mentioned in multiple gospels, is in fact exactly this.

Even a quick skim of the Bible shows that pretty much every mention of hell or a rough equivalent is linked to rich people and religious people who didn’t actually care for others. Very explicitly. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise

I ran **Nemesis 382** from this collection at Gen Con the year after it came out and had a fantastic time. Players loved it and it had some seriously strong and emotion-filled moments; pretty rare for a Con game. This pot reminds me I should run another of these at another con!

ANGELS IN AMERICA at the Invictus theater in Chicago — fantastic performances; great direction and a very intimate experience. Highly recommended!

a man in a suit is talking on a phone ALT: a man in a suit is talking on a phone

images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5...

My youngest asserted it to me, and requested I validate her statement. I have pledged so to do.

An odd but satisfying game. I think defeating a mime was one of the peak experiences of the game for me. They are More Than A Little Scary.

Origins game fair day one. My Tengu fighter does well against giant sewer crocodiles, but will fare less well against a pair of Rakshasa spell-casters

Young elves paint paintings and grow gardens. Older elves discuss how to adjust river flow so the mountains will look better in a few millennia.

Maybe the way they perceive time changes as they age (5 minutes is a long time to a toddler, but a week seems to fly by for me). Younger elves are focused on daily life, the older ones are more like Ents; focused on centuries and hard to rouse to action

Students like Emma have been advocating to expand reproductive rights on our public university campuses in Illinois.

We’re eliminating barriers to seeking care due to inaccessibility, and I look forward to signing HB 3709 into law.

I can't remember who said it, but "Americans are a people who will spend 5 dollars to make sure 1 dollar doesn't go to someone who 'doesn't deserve it'," is one of the best descriptions of this problem I've ever seen.

"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." Stephen Jay Gould evolutionary biologist and author, died May 20, 2002

“I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops."

Stephen Jay Gould, 1941 - 2002

Cover of Gunnerkrigg Court volume 2 by Tom Siddell

Discover what mysteries lurk in the halls of Gunnerkrigg in Gunnerkrigg Court Volume 2! Available now in paperback, alongside a limited hardcover edition: bit.ly/4io7F6i

By Tom Siddell (@gunnerkrigg.bsky.social)

Arise knights of Arthur! The Pendragon: Gamemaster's Handbook is now available!

🛡️ Greatly expands the setting
🛡️ System for running Feasts and Battles
🛡️ Two all-new scenarios
🛡️ Plus much more!

Fight for the realm -> buff.ly/DaL3Me0

Preorders are shipping now!

One reason might be comparing the behavior of rich, entitled politicians who have been given millions by their family, with those who grew up with the need to struggle.

🎉 How can we use AI for good in addiction care? Our new study in @NatureMedicine shows an AI tool successfully screens for opioid use disorder—reducing hospital readmissions and costs!
🔗https://lnkd.in/g7--HrPN 🔗https://lnkd.in/gGQmTk9P
📺https://lnkd.in/gaEbh3tx
@NIDAnews @uwhealth.bsky.social

AI screening for opioid use disorder associated with fewer hospital readmissions | National Institute on Drug Abuse NIH-supported clinical trial shows AI tool as effective as healthcare providers in generating referrals to addiction specialists

This project was one of the first I started working on when I joined UW Health -- the team just completed a study on its effectiveness.

Not entirely sure why the NIH added a picture of a dog, but hey, here you go ...

nida.nih.gov/news-events/...

Trump Assures Wall Street He’ll Go Back To Just Fucking Over Poor People Soon

Trump Assures Wall Street He’ll Go Back To Just Fucking Over Poor People Soon
http://theonion.com/...

Cover image for Page Turners. Woman in Regency-era gown reads a book with a robot on the cover. On that cover, the robot also reads a book.

My new game of dramatic, character-driven storytelling for one player and one GM, with scenarios by @sarahsamsaltiel.bsky.social @waderockett.bsky.social, Ruth Tillman and me, is now called Page Turners and headed for publication later this year.

pelgranepress.com/product/page...

THE BLACK BAG - feels like a Le Carré story updated for this decade. Clever, well acted, tightly focused and slick. Hoping it will be very successful and show Hollywood that with a good script, cast and director, you don’t need $100m of CGI to make a successful movie

I ran AGON for a 12-session campaign and it was really fun; one island per session has a star trek vibe, players declaring each dice as they add to their set makes every roll feel epic, and the progression system based on constellations is inspired. ***** will run again!