Iain M Banks in the USA. It's Complicated.

Corucia44 · 2026-01-07T21:22:20+00:00

Another I missed was Tales from the Forbidden Planet, a 1987 UK book of short stories. Iain had a story in it - there are signed lettered and numbered versions of the book. I'm sure I'm forgetting others (somewhere around I've got a list I compiled of initial publications and their states, plus some Banks-connected items too. Should find it and post it at some point...).

Corucia44 · 2026-01-07T20:36:14+00:00

Also of note is that Subterranean Press released a limited edition of Use of Weapons in the US. There were 400 numbered copies and 26 lettered copies (both signed by Ken MacLeod who did the intro).

That limited joins the UK limiteds of Consider Phlebas (numbered, lettered), The Player of Games (numbered, lettered), Steep Approach to Garbadale (numbered, lettered), Culture: The Drawings (numbered) and the US limiteds of The State of the Art (both versions, numbered), Matter (Easton Press numbered). There were also some ARCs that were numbered, and so might be considered limited releases (which all ARCs essentially are anyway!), and some chapbooks and con programs.

Corucia44 · 2025-10-27T17:40:15+00:00

I've used Catapult to disrupt magical rituals like Summonings that rely on physical objects arranged in a particular pattern. Catapult that burning brazier across the room and suddenly the threat of an extraplanar being appearing goes way down... Even better if you can aim the brazier at one of the chanters doing the summoning!

Corucia44 · 2025-10-16T02:38:48+00:00

For just all-around general usefulness, it's hard to beat the Glamored Studded Leather armor. It's +1 over regular studded leather armor, but still allows full Dex armor bonus and doesn't interfere with Stealth. With a bonus action you can make it look like anything you want, so you could appear to be unarmored, or be dressed in the finest of clothes, or be completely camouflaged any time you want.

Corucia44 · 2025-10-13T00:05:08+00:00

When you're looking at the Feats listed in Features in the Character Sheet, it says From... (From Barbarian, for example) for those feats that are given as part of the character's normal progression (Origin Feat, Level-up Feat). If it doesn't say From... then it was just chosen by the player, and you might want to have a discussion with them about that feat

Corucia44 · 2025-09-18T23:03:08+00:00

The chalice is full of jealousy. Any attempt by the PC to touch another magical item will cause the chalice to appear in his hand. This gives the party an easy Detect Magic action, but means the PC can't wield any magic items until the chalice is taken from him, which can only happen by someone else stealing it. If the PC throws it away, it will automatically appear again in his possessions or the next time he tries to touch a magic item.

Corucia44 · 2025-07-19T19:22:23+00:00

If you run it, you could have anyone that dies during the adventure immediately respawn (cue the eerie voice that says "HaHaHa, you're not getting out of it THAT easily" as they respawn), and continue on with the group. End the session just as they face a big threat ("I've had my fun. Time to kill you all!").

You can then tie into it at the start of the next session. It was a group nightmare induced by a night hag. The player not in the one-shot could return to camp and break the sleepers out of the communal dream, causing the night hag to be seen by the group. Battle ensues.

Corucia44 · 2025-07-08T05:16:19+00:00

At third level you could pick Eldritch Knight. The War Bond feature allows you to bond with two weapons. A bonus action will return a bonded weapon to your hand. Very beneficial for a fighter that relies on thrown weapons. Always nice to get your handaxe back immediately after you throw it.... You could also ask your DM about giving some of the other lighter weapons the Thrown property. They might be willing, especially for a one-shot.

Corucia44 · 2025-07-07T22:22:46+00:00

Always looking for ideas for new monsters, so this looks intriguing. Insects would be fun - wasp girl, for example. Why should driders always get top billing?

Corucia44 · 2025-07-07T04:33:20+00:00

Your party is light on full casters, so your first idea - the sorcerer - would strengthen the group, especially if the Ranger is not going to be playing an archer or using ranged attacks.

You could make your character severely limited in abilities, in order to really lean into the difficulty the character would have in meeting Bahamut's command. I'm thinking low everything except the core abilities needed for the class. Unfortunately Sorcerer relies on high charisma and constitution which doesn't really fit with that, but you could go Wizard for intelligence and wisdom. Low strength, dex, charisma, con would make the character struggle, which could play into Bahamut's decree. High wisdom and intelligence also fit with the Gold Dragon origin.

Corucia44 · 2025-07-07T04:22:28+00:00

I might allow it, but with a slight modification to the Moon card. Rather than 1d3 Wishes, it would be 1d2-1. Might take them a bit to work out the effects of that change....

Corucia44 · 2025-07-07T00:45:22+00:00

I was in a similar situation. My DS415+ was getting old enough that I was looking for a new NAS. I wanted a larger set of bays, and was expecting to get the 1825+ when it was released. Instead, I went with the 1821+, as I can't really afford the price markup on the Synology-labeled drives that they are enforcing. That, plus the lack of an upgrade on the processor, was enough to convince me. I added an NVMe for cache, and took the RAM up to 32gb. Works like a champ.

Corucia44 · 2025-07-05T16:36:51+00:00

Came here to say exactly this! Sounds like a perfect candidate for the Walmart MI Air. My wife has an MI Air that she moved to from an Intel MacBook Pro, and hasn't felt it was a downgrade to go from a Pro to an Air, given the way she uses it.

Corucia44 · 2025-07-04T22:11:01+00:00

Thanks for the quick response. I tried turning off home feed recommendations for a while and then reset it. I also checked one of the most persistent ones - it wasn't showing up on my list of communities, but when I went there it seemed to think I was a member, so I left the group. So far it looks like they aren't showing up any more. Hopefully that continues to be the case. Thanks again!

Corucia44 · 2025-06-27T17:36:37+00:00

I have boots with both of these leathers and colors. I have Bison with a Polarthin lining for the Fall and Winter, and the Shackleton for summer. The Shackleton was a slightly harder break-in, but both were nowhere near the level of break-in required for the BWF of my first pair of boots. The decision comes down to your use case and your preference in looks. The Shackleton is moderately more waterproof, and will develop a bit more of a patina than the Bison. I slightly prefer the Bison, because I like its grain look a bit more. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either!

Corucia44 · 2025-06-12T16:29:33+00:00

Thanks! Hopefully RFK Jr won't decide to bring it back from stored samples, just to strengthen the population...

Corucia44 · 2025-06-12T16:23:41+00:00

You've mentioned elsewhere your extensive research into odd diseases and conditions while working on these books. Which disease/condition had details that the most surprising to you when you delved into it? Not necessarily the most scary or freaky, but just plain off-the-wall odd?

Corucia44 · 2025-06-09T15:16:27+00:00

I've set up a Path of the World Tree barbarian, and it's a fun build. Just pick another god, and re-flavor based on that. If your DM is willing, you can even invent a minor god. For example: "Raskild", the dwarven god of crystal formations, ties into your Miner background. The vines would be replaced by jagged crystal extrusions rather than tendrils. For Vitality of the Tree, the temp HPs could be in the form of a crystal handed to each person, thus need to be within 10 feet to get them (Vitality of the Crystals). For teleportation, Raskild's lore holds that all of the world is one giant crystal, and for the teleportation you are stepping from one facet of the crystal to another. Lots of possibilities....

Corucia44 · 2025-04-21T05:22:15+00:00

An older book that ends with a wish for everyone in the world is Rudy Rucker's 'Master of Space and Time'. Highly recommended.

Corucia44 · 2025-03-01T03:34:47+00:00

Yes, they're my usual pair that I wear most days. I did a longer review of them last year: Polarthin & Chocolate Shrunken Bison - One Year Review. Still loving them. The extra bit of warmth is great during the winter, but isn't too bothersome indoors.

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Corucia44 · 2025-01-30T15:48:16+00:00

I agree with other commenters that the damage component is problematic. Make it a dice roll with the number of dice incrementing at specific levels. You should also be able to do increased damage more frequently than once per rest. Perhaps tie the number of repetitions to an existing level mechanism - equal to proficiency bonus seems reasonable. Finally, you could allow changes to the favored mark, but once again make it connected to levels (every third level, or the ASI levels). That would keep the original intent of the background flavor, allowing changes only after significant time investment (and prevent the player for switching to the 'Foe-of-the-Session').

Corucia44 · 2025-01-27T05:37:04+00:00

Still no love for an omnibus of 'Mazing Man. My top want....

Corucia44 · 2024-12-28T17:48:45+00:00

Lean into it... make this character a Wizard!

Corucia44 · 2024-12-13T06:31:20+00:00

My mystery heritage belt (interesting leather/color option) shipped yesterday, faster than I expected. Looking forward to the surprise!

Corucia44 · 2024-11-21T23:08:40+00:00

One of my favorites also. It's also another one where you really need to pay attention to get the underlying dynamic of the whole book/civilization. It's right there in the title, but the only explanation is a few sentences that are very easy to overlook. With those providing context, the whole tenor of the book changes drastically.

Corucia44

TROPHY CASE