Chris Mangum

The calls for trans people to be quieter as we're wiped out are only going to increase, and you owe it to your sisters and brothers to get louder and louder.

Meet Rep. Monty Fritts— a Tennessee lawmaker running for governor. If you’re one of the millions of American women who’s had an abortion, he thinks that you should be given the death penalty

you can't work with Republicans. you can't compromise with them either. you either win or they do.

UnitedHealth uses AI model with 90% error rate to deny care, lawsuit alleges For the largest health insurer in the US, AI's error rate is like a feature, not a bug.

"why are you against progress" I yell confidently as my sloppily-implemented algorithms prematurely murder your grandma

In the concentration camp universe, this is what's known as a filtration camp. A government preemptively takes a whole class of people to interrogate and detain extrajudicially in order to inflict duress on them while arbitrarily assessing their (supposed) culpability.

The left tried for decades to pass green energy subsidies, passed them, the subsidies worked, and now literally the entire planet's electricity grid is going to convert to solar+battery. It just doesn't feel like "tech" because it mostly produces kinda boring blue collar jobs instead of billionaires

Newsom’s siding with the billionaires.

This is a horror show.

Sorry to get radical but I don’t think it’s my job or yours to embrace, accept, understand - and certainly not to use - the thing being sold to us as AI. I don’t like any part of it, so I won’t. I’m missing out? Good, that’s what I want. You’re worried about me missing out? That’s fuckin weird, man.

MAJOR: Twin Cities Tenants joins five labor unions, together repping 25,900 members, to launch a rent strike drive, vowing to withhold rent March 1 if @governorwalz.mn.gov fails to deliver an eviction moratorium and rent relief. If launched, this would be the largest US rent strike in 100+ years.

If you need a reason to stop buying games from @alderaceg.bsky.social , here it is.

COO Ryan Dancey thinks so little of designers that he belives AIs could produce games just as good as AEG releases such as Tiny Towns or Cubitos. And he doesn't bother questioning the ethics of that plagiarism.

Let me tell you what happens when they can’t manufacture enough parts for critical medical equipment: the companies will exit making that equipment and your insurance company will say “too bad, do your best to keep it working”.

Phillips did this with pediatric ventilators.

4 frame comic. it reads, on top of each frame : Give trans kids a chance to be kids without having to fight for the right to exist. first frame shows a kid playing soccer, second shows two kids drawing dinosaurs at a table, third shows a group of friends sitting by a fountain drinking bubble tea and eating chips, fourth shows a kid with long curly hair holding a trans flag.

Give trans kids a chance to be kids.

Heard an interview today where a guy said (and I'm paraphrasing) "LLMs have had years to train on every aspect of chess, read every book and article about it, review every match, but when they play, they STILL makes illegal moves. That tells you everything."

And.

Yup.

Allies, take note! 🙂‍↕️

Spirit Swap: A Slice of Life TTRPG A solo journaling, city witch slice-of-life TTRPG using Tarot and D6.

We’re 494$ away from funding our zine, “Spirit Swap: A Slice of Life TTRPG”! That means we could be reaching for some stretch goals? If you like solo journaling games, tarot and hopeful near future cities where magic blooms… check it out: www.kickstarter.com/projects/sof...

FB post by me in 2023 Someone mentioned in this webinar I'm watching that people making challenges are part of the library's community too, so it is important to not treat them as the enemy. If someone is opposed to gender-affirming books in the library because they are opposed to trans people existing, they actually ARE my enemy. Sorry not sorry, but we can't be neutral or pretend to be on this.

People trying to erase my neighbors are, actually, a problem and I refuse to act otherwise.

Seriously, we need to ask this question more often. If someone takes a medication “for the rest of their lives,” why should that be the concern of anyone else?

The AI bubble RAM crisis is caused for non-existent problems by non-existent money for a non-existent infrastructure to meet non-existent demand to make non-existent business and will utterly destroy real business based on real demand and real infrastructure built with real money for real problems.

in 2023 when I was organizing parents against our archbishop’s transphobic new school guidelines, one dad asked how loud I thought it was prudent for us to be, given how punitive the Archbishop is. I was like “loud enough that all the trans/nb kids at your parish see it” and he was like “…. oh”

The Tumbler Ridge newspaper puts it better than I could

this is exactly why I am absolutely not willing to overlook anyone who was once “advocating for ending USAID” as merely committing a little oopsie-daisy-booboo, by the way

Screenshot of a Pagebound post that reads: Thoughts from 66% (page 373 of Into the Drowning Deep) (Spoilers) The emergency shutters still don’t work. A siren necropsy has happened. The emergency shutters still don’t work. There’s claw marks at the water line of the ship. The emergency shutters still don’t work. The necropsy has found the subject was a male. The emergency shutters still don’t work. Sexual dimorphism is likely; big ladies imminent. The emergency shutters still don’t work. Someone has realized the worlds’ scientific voices on Mermaids are all missing. The emergency shutters still don’t work. There is mucus trailing unseen onto the second floor of the ship. The emergency shutters still don’t work. And everyone is going to die.

Please enjoy this unhinged post about my current feelings on @seananmcguire.bsky.social 's "Into the Drowning Deep" but read it in the cadence of Jacob Wysocki's "You Are A Regular Guy".

The Pentagon just failed its 8th consecutive audit and still got approved for a $1 TRILLION budget without blinking so I'm gonna need every corrupt hypocritical politician complaining about made up food stamp fraud and forcing drug tests and work requirements on poor people to shut up forever. Thx.

Numenera: The Amber Archive is live and funded! __This is a community submitted press release. Our Announcements section is free to post to and free to submit too, please help us keep this valuable industry resource available by__ __subscribing to Rascal__ __.__ BACK NUMENERA NOW! Numenera is a vast and fascinating science-fantasy TTRPG world set a billion (with a "B") years in the future. The people of the Ninth World live on a far-future Earth that has been thoroughly shaped and reformed by prior great civilizations—not once, but time and again over thousands of millennia. Theirs is a medieval world, with the ever-present remnants of the prior worlds as inscrutable—and as powerful—as magic. But while most Ninth Worlders hold the works of the ancients in awe, trepidation, and ignorance, one organization—the Order of the Truth—has dedicated itself to understanding and reverence for science, technology, and the past—to understanding the numenera. Now the Order's perseverance has been rewarded with the discovery of the Amber Archive, a long-lost repository created by none other than High Father Calaval, Amber Pope and Founder of the Citadel of the Conduit and the Order of Truth. Like so many things in the Ninth World, much of the Amber Archive has been altered and decimated by the passage of innumerable millennia, but its depths still contain great multitudes of information, knowledge, and numenera, just waiting for explorers brave and smart enough to seek them out. For you. Numenera's history is nearly as rich as the Ninth World's! The original edition was crowdfunded in 2012 (and published in 2013). At that time, no roleplaying game—and very few tabletop games in general—had ever funded above $100,000; Numenera smashed all records when it reached $517,255. It spawned two board games (Thunderstone Advance: Numenera and The Ninth World), a AAA video game (Torment: Tides of Numenera), a short film (Numenera: Strand), scores of supplements, and many printings of the corebook over two editions. This new version of Numenera draws on that entire legacy, with fully new content that builds on all that lore without relegating, rebooting, or retconning anything that undermines your campaign, your love of the setting, or the existing books. This new version of Numenera is a setting for the Cypher roleplaying game; unlike past editions it isn't a standalone game on its own. The new Cypher corebooks are in production now, and will be out this summer—well ahead of Numenera. You will need the _Cypher Character Rulebook_ (and ideally the _Cypher GM's Guide_ , though that's optional) to play Numenera. You can get these books at a specially discounted backer price as an add-on through this campaign, and they'll be delivered as soon as they're available. Discover Numenera in this new edition that delivers all the mystery, astonishment, danger, and wonder that's defined over a decade of Numenera play—now faster, easier, and with even more to explore. Launch a new campaign or take your existing game to fascinating new places as you unlock the secrets of the Amber Archive! **Numenera.** This hefty hardcover supplement brings the Ninth World to life at your game table. A setting for the Cypher game system (you’ll need the Cypher rules to play), it includes everything you need to build and play Numenera characters; extensive lore and setting information; and loads of weird Ninth World creatures and encounters, cyphers, artifacts, and adventures. This is a meaty book, drawing on years of Numenera gameplay and development but fully updated and filled with new art, creatures, numenera items, and adventures. If you're looking to explore the Ninth World, this is the key book. _We’re making an exclusive, upgraded version of this book just for you, our backers, that's more deluxe than the version you’ll see in stores. But the price is the same—the upgrade is a special reward to thank you for helping bring this new version of Numenera to life. Even better: backers at the**ALL-IN (print and PDF)** pledge level will get autographed books, plus early access as the manuscript is finalized!_ **Beasts of the Amber Archive.** All-new creatures! What strange beasts walk (slide, slither, crawl, or fly) the Ninth World? This bestiary is full of new beings to haunt, stalk, confuse, and intrigue even the most experienced Ninth Worlders—with all the weirdness, mystery, excitement, and danger Numenera encounters are known for. Thanks to new discoveries in the Amber Archive, the creature listings also include details such as lair maps, additional interactions and abilities, and secret knowledge, helping the GM easily conjure the unique Ninth World vibe in cool, memorable encounters. **The Catechism of Lore.** This hefty campaign-length adventure book set your explorers on the path of High Father Calaval, the first Amber Pope and Founder of the Order of Truth. They’ll traverse much of the Ninth World and beyond—from land to sea to the far reaches of the galaxy to places that are only accessible via the clues Father Calaval left behind. Those few smart, brave, and curious enough to make the entirety of the journey may unlock a parallel dimension and be called into the secret fortress of the Aeon Priests—the Citadel of the Conduit! A big hardcover adventure book _The Catechism of Lore_ is specially designed to help new players and GMs step into the Ninth World and discover its mysteries—and then experience a wondrous, fast-paced, full-length campaign. **Calaval’s Eyes! Deck.** _Calaval’s eyes!_ is a common Ninth World curse or reaction of surprise—an exclamation when the dangerous, frightening, or unexpected appears. The Calaval’s Eyes! Deck enhances gameplay, prompts inspiration, and conjures the unique Numenera vibe at the game table. Draw a card and discover something new to add to the story, potently influencing the direction of events in large and small ways. It's a great source of inspiration and ideas during game prep and at the table, and especially useful for building the unique atmosphere of the Ninth World and Numenera play. The digital version of this deck is accessed through the Datasphere Deck Tool (just below). _MCG makes a lot of decks. They're easy to use, save you time in prep and at the table, and are loaded with inspiration. We’ve traditionally offered them, like our books, in PDF as well as print format. PDFs of cards are fine if you want to print your own, but we want our digital decks to match the time-saving and inspirational utility of a print deck. So we’re rolling out the new**Datasphere Deck Tool** that makes our digital decks as useful for online play as the print decks are in at the physical game table. Draw random cards, “hand” them to your players in the form of card images, or copy the card text with the click of a button. Peruse them easily, sort them, or organize your cards as you see fit. And you can still download a PDF from the tool—so if you love the old-fashioned PDFs, that’s still part of the deal! If you back at a level that includes the Calaval’s Eyes! Deck, Amber Archive Deck, the XP Deck, or any other deck product, your digital reward will give you access to the deck on the Datasphere Deck Tool, including the downloadable PDF of the deck._ **Amber Archive Deck.** This 100-card resource deck speeds game prep and play with creatures, cyphers and other numenera items, and GM intrusions drawn from the titles funded by this campaign. Need a quick encounter? Draw a creature card—it has an image to share with the players on one side and stats for the GM on the other. Stumped for a cool intrusion idea? Draw an intrusion card—or draw several, and see which one fits (or inspires your own ideas). A PC has discovered a new cypher? Generate it randomly from the deck, then simply hand the card to your player (saving the time and effort of copying down the effects on their character sheet, only to erase it a few hours later when the cypher is used). The digital version of this deck is accessed through the new Datasphere Deck Tool (above). **XP Deck.** Exploration and discovery are at the heart of Numenera. PCs earn experience points (XP) not for defeating monsters (though danger and peril are often part of exploration!) but for unlocking mysteries, advancing stories, and making discoveries. The GM also rewards players with XP when activating a GM intrusion—a narrative tool that throws an unexpected twist or complication into a scene or story. Players spend XP on advancement between sessions, and also in-game, for their own narrative tools, including rerolls and player intrusions. Because XP comes and goes frequently, it’s handy to have a set of tokens to represent them, and the cards in this 30-card deck are perfect for the job. The digital version of this deck is accessed through the new Digital Deck Tool (above). **Sites Deck.** The Ninth World is filled with wondrous locations, the works of a billion years and eight prior advanced civilizations. Transport your players into the Ninth World with a set of oversized cards featuring stunning sharable art on one side, and useful GM info on the other. Marvel at Ossam’s Traveling Menagerie and Soaring Circus, explore Neverlost, or simply take in the overwhelming presence of the Amber Monolith. This is an awesome tool for immersing your game in the truly unique vibe of the Ninth World! The digital version of this deck is accessed through the new Digital Deck Tool (above). **Glimmers in Amber.** “Glimmers” are short, unpredictable, often incomprehensible bursts of seemingly random information from the datasphere—a vast network crafted by the ancients that permeates the Ninth World. This short zine-format product (with a twist!) gives you dozens of plot hooks and adventure seeds in the form of glimmer transmissions you can share directly with your players. The twist? Glimmers often take the form of ideas beamed directly into the heads of those who receive them, and this zine comes with audio files for each glimmer, so you can bring the experience to life for your players! **Ninth World Explorer’s Pack.** In the Ninth World, savvy explorers know it's wise to carry a pack for essential items—and interesting discoveries they've made along the way. Our Ninth World Explorer's Pack comes with everything you need to survive and thrive, whether at the table or in the Steadfast and Beyond. It starts with a hardy, handy carryall bag big enough for a handful of cyphers, at least one artifact, and even a few game books. Inside you’ll find a discovery passport with unique stamps to mark your achievements; a handy and beautiful travel journal; some smart-ass Numenera pencils; insignia patches from your favorite (or least-favorite) organizations; and more. And who knows what other goodies you’ll add to your bag as this crowdfunding campaign reaches new heights? Sling this awesome pack over your shoulder on your way to your game—or to the far reaches of the Ninth World—and go explore. It's a handy accessory and a unique, campaign-exclusive collectable all in one! **Numenera Dice Set.** Cypher uses a d20, d6, and percentile dice. You can use standard dice, but in Cypher some results, especially on the d20, have special effects—particularly the 1, the 20, and the 17, 18, and 19. These high-quality, sharp-edged resin Numenera dice are specially marked for Cypher results—and they’re beautiful, elegant, and immersive. You’ll love the convenience and ease of the special markings—and really love the way they feel and look at the game table! **EXCLUSIVE BONUS WITH EVERY PLEDGE:** Just as the Ninth World is built upon the innumerable works of the prior worlds, the Numenera game setting is built on thousands of pages of prior editions. Dozens of books and supplements—including hundreds of gorgeous illustrations and maps—have explored it. Want to dive in, or grab a standalone adventure and start playing right away? A huge library of existing Numenera supplements in PDF—roughly 45 products, totaling _around 4500 pages_ —can be yours, free, with your pledge! The new edition of Numenera is largely backward-compatible; you can use creatures and items with very little conversion, and we aren't retconning any of the lore. So you’ll be using these excellent PDFs for years! Plus every pledge level includes the current edition corebooks, which include complete rules for Numenera as a standalone Cypher System game—so you can get playing even before the new edition is available. (These PDFs are all delivered early, shortly after the pledge manager closes.) **Numenera Adventure Collection:** Fourteen titles containing nearly 50 standalone adventures and adventure paths you can run as one-shots or integrate into an ongoing campaign. Titles include the individual adventures _Beyond All Worlds_ ; _Forgetting Doomsday_ ; _Into the Violet Vale_ ; _Shadewalker_ ; _Shards of the Looking Glass_ ; _Skein of Blackbone Bride_ ; _The Hideous Game_ ; _The Thief, the Clave, and the Ultimatum_ ; _Vertices_ ; and _Vortex_ ; campaign books _Slaves of the Machine God_ and _The Devil's Spine_ ; and the collections _Explorer's Keys_ and _Weird Discoveries_ , with a total of twenty instant adventures. **Numenera Sourcebook Collection:** Fifteen books filled with creatures, encounters, cyphers, artifacts, character options, and more! _Artifacts and Oddities_ , _Break the Horizon_ , _Building Tomorrow_ , _Cypher Collection 1_ , _Priests of the Aeons_ , _Technology Compendium: Sir Arthur's Guide to the Numenera_ , and _The Nightcraft_ are filled with items and options; _In Strange Aeons: Lovecraftian Numenera_ , _Injecting the Weird_ , _Love and Sex in the Ninth World_ , and _Taking the Narrative by the Tail: GM Intrusions and Special Effects_ help you run a great Numenera campaign; and _Ninth World Bestiary_ , _Ninth World Bestiary 2_ , _Ninth World Bestiary 3_ , and _The Octopi of the Ninth World_ populate your game with hundreds and hundreds of fascinating encounters. **Numenera Ninth World Collection:** Explore the vast and ever-fascinating Ninth World with fourteen titles that take you across the Earth of a billion years in the future—and far beyond it! Over 1700 pages of content include _Edge of the Sun_ , _Exploring Numenera: Strand_ , _In Alternate Dimensions_ , _Into the Deep_ , _Into the Night_ , _Into the Outside_ , _Jade Colossus_ , _Liminal Shore_ , _Maps of the Ninth World_ , _Maps of the Ninth World 2_ , _The Glimmering Valley_ , _The Ninth World Guidebook_ , _Torment: Tides of Numenera—The Explorer's Guide_ , and _Voices of the Datasphere_. Every pledge also comes with the existing **_Numenera Discovery_** and** _Numenera Destiny_** corebooks in PDF, so you can plan a campaign—or even launch one—right away! Back Numenera Now! It should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway: There’s never any AI in MCG’s products. We make great RPGs because we love making great RPGs, and every word and image comes straight from our 100% human imaginations. We won’t insult your creativity, or ours, by delivering purposeless machine-generated drek, especially when we have so many great visions and ideas we’re excited to share with you! Play entirely online? Prefer to access the game and its rules through your favorite virtual tabletop (VTT)? The VTT implementation of Numenera includes complete compendium access to _Numenera_ , _Beasts of the Amber Archive_ , and _The Catechism of Lore_ along with interactive character sheets, tokens, cards, and other elements, for Roll20 or Alchemy. (You need the Cypher rules, not included, to play Numenera.) There are two ways to get Numenera on VTT: * If that's all you want, there's a pledge level just for you. Pledge at the **NUMENERA ON VTT** level. * If you want other items from this campaign, including the exclusive premium edition of Numenera, the physical Calaval's Eyes Deck, early access, and so on, pledge at the level that includes those items. Then add the Cypher on VTT add-on. The add-on price gives you a substantial discount, so the better deal is to get VTT support as an add-on to a different pledge level. And for the best deal, back at the **ALL-IN (print and PDF)** pledge level for a massive 50% discount when you add on the VTT. Regardless of how you pledge for it, you can get the VTT package for either Roll20 or Alchemy. You'll tell us which one you want in the pledge manager after the campaign ends. (If you want both, simply purchase the add-on again.) Check Out Numenera Now ## Sign up for Rascal News Rascal is a tabletop roleplaying game and culture outlet striving to sustainably publish voicey journalism that is compelling, deeply-reported, and fearlessly honest. We’re also a little cheeky. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

The wondrous and inspiring science-fantasy RPG Numenera returns in a new edition filled with new art, creatures, lore, numenera items, and adventures. Step into the amazing Ninth World—a critically acclaimed, fan-loved RPG setting like none other!

This is a good thread. There is a huge difference between "the court system is still able to provide some positive outcomes in some cases" and "the court system is capable of providing due process and the system is fair."

State Department orders nonprofit libraries to stop processing passport applications The State Department has ordered nonprofit public libraries to stop taking passport applications, cutting off a popular local service.

This scheme to make passports harder to obtain comes as Republicans are trying to make passports one of the few documents that can be presented in order to be permitted to register to vote.

Leguizamo in Romeo and Juliet

I used to go mini viral on Twitter semi regularly by just posting this image of John leguizamo and saying:

Ladies and gentlemen, John leguizamo

Not the flex you think it is.

This is wild.

41 DUI arrests by a Tennessee trooper. All dismissed. 22 drivers were completely sober.

He “resigned”. No explanation. No accountability. No apology. His personnel file doesn’t even mention the cases.

Police departments shouldn’t be in the business of shielding corrupt officers.
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