Mark Casiglio

Overheard today at the Verizon Store:

Sales Associate: "Can I get your e-mail address?"
Older Customer: "I don't have e-mail."
SA: "Oh, uh ..." starts to mention ways to get past not having an e-mail address.
OC: "I don't have e-mail. But I do have G-mail, will that work?"

What if it really was The Rapture yesterday, but just nobody qualified?

Mmmmm... canned fishes! <3

Tales of Hilarity: Unexpected Guests Funny RPG Stories? I've got a million of them.

Another amusing (I hope) anecdote from my ttrpg playing career.

Logan’s Run needs a sequel where people who had their food, shelter, clothing, child bearing and parenting, etc. done for them - suddenly getting “freedom” from AI never knowing anything more than recreation and pleasure.

It's a “that happy ending isn’t as happy as you think” kind of film.

We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk If the far-right misogynist with a bad haircut wants to villainize independent women, Jezebel is more than happy to be the hag of his nightmares.

Holy shit, it worked! :o

Looking for Lessons from a Difficult Game Session. From 1988. A memorable session - but for the right or wrong reasons?

This week's Rulings, Not Rules - looking for lessons from a campaign session 37 years in the past.

Tales of Hilarity: The Noxzema Incident Funny RPG stories? I got a million of them

Old man shares funny story from the old days.

SOLD!

My Orcs Are Going to Be Whatever I Want Them to Be, Thank You Very Much. A fresh take on an old argument? Probably not.

My latest column dredges up a tired subject after a positive discussion on Discord gives me hope for better conversation. #RulingsnotRules #Shadowdark

#Shadowdark

A puddle of blood floating on top of a pool of water.

This was the NPC a few rounds later.

Two Nat Ones.

NPC meant to throw a PC into a hot spring filled with dangerous creatures. He got advantage on the check. This was his roll.

I needed a name for an NPC in a game. I picked Gronthrop. So thanks!

Witch-Lords of Skull Mountain #2: Malkova Wilds #Zinequest Issue #2 of the sword & sorcery hexcrawl #zinequest for Shadowdark, DCC RPG, and OSR games

Going to be honest, I backed #1 with a "Whatever. It's not expensive, why not?" approach. But it really blew me away! Definitely an "under the radar" Shadowdark zine.

Very much looking forward to #2.

Big, big fan of YCBN adventures. AND art.

I am a big fan of YCBN's adventures!

Abstracting Travel in my West Marches Campaign An abstract system for my Schadengard campaign (Shadowdark) to get us into the dungeon crawl as quickly as possible.

Latest installment of Rulings, Not Rules gets into extended travel in a West Marches campaign.

I've got no issue with Critical Role or D&D 5e. But regardless, this was maybe the best and most intense AP I've ever watched. (And shorter than a season of CR).

My wife: "Not everything they say on my crafting shows is a double-entendre!"

Woman on crafting show: "I prefer 10" in the front, and 12" in the rear."

Complexity is a Grid, Not a Line An inelegant article about TTRPG complexity

Rulings, Not Rules - Thinking about what makes a TTRPG complex or not.

But again, some people get their fun from mastering the system to get what they want done. I can fun with that sometimes, too. I'm glad there's all kinds. 7/7

So I guess I'm defining a good game by what it *doesn't* do - try to anticipate everything with a mechanic. If we were using a game like Shadowdark or Cairn or Kids on Bikes I *might* ask for a skill check. Or I might just say "that's a good plan, it works". 6/7

Deny reduces someone else's exposure. One problem ... the "innocents" were NPCs. They didn't have exposure for me to reduce. My GM decided to give my successes to a different PC who was further behind (even though that had nothing to do with my action). 5/7

Not understanding which action/stat to use, I made a Sneak roll, which reduces *my* exposure. But I wasn't trying to reduce my exposure. I was trying to hide the innocents from the bad guys. My GM correctly pointed out that I wasn't taking a Fade Action, I was taking a Deny Action. 4/7

You have four stats: Judgement, Guile, Valor, Aggression. In an Evasion scene you can take one of four actions: Fade (Judgement), Sneak (Guile), Deny (Valor), or Rush (Aggression).

My character wanted to get away, but was concerned about the innocents. So I tried to cover for them. 3/7

We were playing an "Evasion" scene. Our hideout was being stormed and there were innocent civilians to worry about. You start with a number of "Exposure" and have to generate a number of "Waypoints" before you your Exposure maxes out. Success and you get away. Failure and it triggers a fight. 2/7

For me - it's any game where the mechanics stay out of the way. When I think about what my character would do, I want it to be easy for me to just do that.

Let me be specific about the incident in Sigmata that I reference but didn't detail (which was in the interest of keeping it short) 1/7

I Prefer Mechanics that Reflect Role Play Not the other way around - an anecdote about a minor epiphany about my preferred gaming style

Rulings, Not Rules today discussing game mechanics supporting role play, and not role play that supports game mechanics.

Thieves, Traps, and Tells in Shadowdark Retraining my brain to eliminate perception checks

New Rulings, Not Rules column takes on one of my favorite classes in one of my favorite games. #rulingsnotrules #shadowdark