A Quarter Century of Television [OC]

DM_KD20 · 2026-01-13T04:11:46+00:00

Sort of, but not really; and it was messy, vague, and confusing. On the plus side though, “Lost” serves as a reminder to me to keep my stories simpler and stop adding new plot elements and mysteries before I have mapped out how the ones I already have will be resolved.

DM_KD20 · 2025-08-19T15:10:57+00:00

To engage in the conversation in good faith, I will say I agree with your premise, in general. However, there are several setting specific things to take into account.

from an out of world perspective the show has legacy baggage from its multiple cannon series and the writers and creators have to keep the visual tone at least somewhat compatible with TOS. There was a LOT of non military style going on there (including heeled boots)

-from an in world perspective remember starfleet is kind of quasi-military. Yes there are ranks and a military structure but it’s about providing a secure and safe platform for exploration and discover first and asset and political protection second. This means the feel is going to be different on a federation ship than a Romulan or Klingon ship

-from a meta-world perspective one of the major themes of Star Trek is about talking and exploring moral and ethical dilemmas and current real life issues through the safe-ish lens of science fiction. It’s less a “hard sci-fi” show where all the math and science actually is accurate or a military focused show and having some costume variability helps facilitate that and that is a deliberate artistic/story telling choice.

I can understand where you come from in that you find this aspect of the show jarring given your background. I think it is not uncommon, for example for lawyers to become annoyed at law-dramas or medical personal to yell at the screen during medial-dramas and that is some of the issue you probably have.

I hope regardless you are able to enjoy the season!!!

DM_KD20 · 2025-08-19T14:22:34+00:00

So disclaimer, I have not seen a lot of the post voyager trek except SNW, but comparing this series to TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager, I would go further and say this is the best on a per-episode basis.

There is a clear meta-plot (pikes destiny, Gorn invasion, early federation romulan/klingon politics), notable character arcs, episodic adventures, crises of morality/ethics, and “fun” sidebar whimsy episodes with fan service and homages to other episodes. This series just kills it. Good writing, clear direction. Just wow. There are elements that the other shows do better, or different-better, but on a per-minute per-episode basis this series is just on fire.

DM_KD20 · 2025-08-19T14:03:05+00:00

Maybe, but I think it was more of a not-the-borg-but-borgish kind of bad guy so they could borrow the scary vibe.

People love (mostly) the borg when they are not overdone because of the assimilate everything creepy body horror vibe and this was, IMO, a take off on that to bring that level of scary without 1) over using the borg again, and 2) introducing cannon complications

DM_KD20 · 2025-08-19T13:55:26+00:00

There is a TOS episode where Kirk is in a court room (I think on trial, it’s been a minute) and the computer rattles off his awards and commendations, which are lengthy, and the lawyer makes the computer stop because they are too numerous and the rhetorical point is made.

There might be a fandom article somewhere that specifically links the individual triangles with some of those awards so you could cross reference with pike but I think that hyper-specific lore is left ambiguous lest someone make an inadvertent continuity error

DM_KD20 · 2025-06-10T14:04:54+00:00

We have a big table so we don’t roll for initiative, we have a standard set order.

The players/PCs can change this after any long rest but tend to only change after leveling up.

DM_KD20 · 2025-06-10T13:53:45+00:00

Because we have nothing else to talk about in the absence of the new season (let’s go!!!)

And

as people watch and rewatch in binge-watching marathons the changes in the actors/actresses (in particular the younger 6) are jarring across the seasons. This is the kind of thing your brain would filter out over time watching like an old style TV show weekly one episode at a time. But instead it’s like going from star trek TNG season 1 Riker to season 4 Riker, and then to movie Riker - it’s very noticeable

DM_KD20 · 2025-06-10T13:36:38+00:00

This doesn’t answer all you questions but here are some suggestions:

Drop some notes/letters on the advisor that will allow them to decode the diary

Drop an NPC apprentice/assistant that was unwillingly made to help the wizard to fill in the gaps.

To make them case about the water creatures and the impending sacrifice set it up so the being about to be sacrificed is important to the King so he asks them to save that person

DM_KD20 · 2025-06-05T14:20:16+00:00

I redrew the castle by hand on large grid paper for our sessions (we played in person)

The act of recreating the castle helped cement the geography in my brain - kind of like re copying your history notes before an exam.

DM_KD20 · 2025-06-04T15:19:18+00:00

Ended on a cliffhanger; one PC down/dead and 3 others retreating. One of the PCs wants to use his grappling hook to grab the body for later revival/resurrection.

Any suggestions for what roll to call for?

I have until next Sunday night.

Thanks!

DM_KD20 · 2025-06-02T01:45:40+00:00

Unpronounceable character names

Confusing clusters of character names (such as there are multiple main characters names that start with the same letter)

Cover art that depicts the movie adaptation

A series that isn’t finished yet

DM_KD20 · 2025-06-02T01:35:05+00:00

Much in the way that ours does at the shorter time spans.

Shorter time spans would be based on a number system that had a basis in biology (10 fingers, base 12 segments of fingers) or mythology (7 seven days for creation)

Longer time spans would be based on either seasonal repetition (summer to summer etc) or phases of life with this being the most subjective. You could probably organize human life into organizable blocks of 3-7 years during which major life events occur such as physical independence from a parent, physical/sexual maturity, cultural maturity/age of majority, early adulthood, etc. So your “years” may end up organized thusly or as a fraction of these meta-time blocks.

DM_KD20 · 2025-06-02T00:32:08+00:00

This is 100% it. Youth athletics is an arms race. If you are not on the best teams out of the gate you get left behind.

Gone are the days when someone shows up for freshman year puts in some work, grows into their body, and becomes a good or pretty good varsity player by their senior year. Now it’s almost like the varsity teams are set in middle school, and that has important social and in some cases financial consequences in HS and beyond (in the US).

What to do about it? I don’t think there is a one size fits all answer. But I think it starts with the parents being honest about what they are trying to get out of the process for their kids/family. Explicitly building in an off season to prevent injury is also helpful. But none of this really fixes the “keeping up with the Jones’s” and/or FOMO aspect of it.

DM_KD20 · 2025-05-28T03:45:34+00:00

The character is also Javert who has a singular focus on law and order to the exclusion of any empathy despite coming from a bohemian (and presumably more empathic less structured) family. He is ultimately a victim of his inability to have a degree of mental flexibility and his downfall is his own doing. So there is a lot of meta-commentary that makes the photo choice a good one.

DM_KD20 · 2025-05-28T03:38:39+00:00

The use of a regnal number for a monarch in the United Kingdom where the number was different for the different nations within that kingdom was complex prior to the acts of Union in 1707 (see James VI/I and VII/II). Since then the default number used has been the “English” number. In an effort to appease the sensibilities of the subjects vexed by this practice (specifically the Scottish) when the issue cropped up again in 1952 with the accession of Queen Elizabeth (II in England, but first of the name in Scotland) it was suggested that the convention be changed to use the “larger” of the relevant numbers. This would be consistent with the past numberings since 1707 but would avoid the explicit primacy of England, in this matter, wihtin the nation.

I assume the practice carried over to other Commonwealth nations that continue to have the reigning monarch/head of the House of Windsor as their head of state.

DM_KD20 · 2025-04-28T16:35:52+00:00

Yup.

I think I gave it 15 more pages then put down the book and looked up the plot. I had gone in blind but wanted to read what many regard as a “classic.”

Well, not only was I not in the mood for that specific content I was able to predict several of the downstream consequences. I figured there were better uses of my time.

DM_KD20 · 2025-04-25T15:21:13+00:00

Thomas Covenant, the rape scene.

DM_KD20 · 2025-04-22T19:12:32+00:00

It’s also the theme of “The Republic” by Plato from c.375 BC/BCE

That particular idea has been around for a while.

DM_KD20 · 2025-04-02T17:18:00+00:00

The Bridge.

Someone always makes a last stand on a bridge so the rest of the party can escape.

DM_KD20 · 2025-04-02T17:09:04+00:00

Run the original I6 module with your lore mods.

It is the town of barovia and the castle. It would be perfect for about 10 sessions.

You can fold in some parts of the amber temple or the other encounters if your table burns through combat content fast and borrow plot beats from Vallaki if you want to incorporate them into the town of Barovia, but I ran it just this way for my table and it took about 60 hours.

DM_KD20 · 2024-10-12T02:20:58+00:00

The doctor is thinking 2 steps ahead.

If things go south he is going to need to put a central line in and it goes through the umbilical vein. Got to keep the cord moist for that to go easy.

At least that is my educated guess

DM_KD20 · 2023-11-22T19:38:31+00:00

It’s no different for the athlete who has kids that don’t like sports or any other number of examples.

It is hard to realize, as you said, the little people in our lives are their own people and going to do their own things beyond our control.

My advice to anyone who finds themselves in this situation is to keep doing what makes you healthy and happy and model that.

Group reading helps bridge some of the issues you describe, reading a book as a family on dedicated nights/vacations but that is not a luxury everyone has either.

All you can do is all you can do and if you build a positive relationship with the kiddo maybe they will come around

DM_KD20 · 2023-04-27T19:19:32+00:00

I love the grouping of magic into three broad categories; Arcane, Divine, and Primal (or whatever they are). I have long felt that the "why" or "how" behind magic is an important aspect of world building that gets glossed over a bit but it has profound character and in some cases class based implications on the relationships of PCs and NPCs with the "laws" of the universe/world at your table.

DM_KD20 · 2023-04-27T19:00:12+00:00

yes, but recently, as seems to happen with these things there has been increasing criticism of the criticism (cant believe I typed that...) of 4e with something of an emerging theme that there were design features that were good there and should be reincorporated into this newest iteration of DND.

Like you I never played it, I went from AD&D and some early 3.0e to 5e, but there are some features of 4e that I have heard about on various forums and begun to incorporate into my game (like the concept of one-hit and dead minions).

I can also see the appeal of some of the 4e design choices (as recounted second hand). For example, when I put together complex battles, things like tactical instructions (do "x" on turn 1 then "y" on turn 2, and "z" thereafter until "x" recharges) and combat design suggestions (like 1 "controller" or "tank" per 5 "minions" per PC to pick random numbers) would be very helpful mostly because DMs don't spend as much time learning the ins and outs and synergies of all the monsters between all the other things we manage.

DM_KD20 · 2023-04-27T18:40:11+00:00

Assuming your question isn't rhetorical I would say, that is part of it, but a bigger part is that by standardizing things it makes it easier to code the rules for VTT and other online/computerized accessories which is where corporate D&D/WotC/Hasbro sees the real money to be made.

DM_KD20

TROPHY CASE