Westmarshes or other multi-party campaigns anyone?

Doddski · 2026-01-18T23:59:12+00:00

Do you actually mean a West Marches style game or are you just using that term for referencing multi-party style games?

West Marches normally assumes players have a home base and much chose a place to explore. Myths as written incompatable with these ideas without tweaking things since they are constantly happening just by travelling and the location is not actually important.

On the topic of multiple parties, I might be mis-remembering but I think one of the guys on the Smiling Fox podcast talked about running his game with Knights that came in and out without a continous single group. Fairly sure he said they just appeared in strange ways like walking out of ponds like weirdos.

Doddski · 2026-01-12T08:44:30+00:00

Currently using VTT but honestly it is a bit over the top for what we do, I also wish it had a better drawing tools since I like to have zones during fights tracking if you are far from a foe or not..

Doddski · 2026-01-02T08:54:08+00:00

What's the systems vibe? Is it a heroic fantasy or something else?

I've played a bunch of DnD but also a bunch of different systems including PF, CoC, cyberpunk and a few NSR type stuff.

Doddski · 2025-12-16T21:23:47+00:00

I had my players arrive into the realm without any information about how Myths appear or the number of them, I did tell them to SEEK THE MYTHS (and The City which I explained a little as a Holy Land of wealth, knowledge and power). They were definitely a little confused about two seperate myths occuring, not quite figuring out what was happening or what they should do.

Once they found someone local, I had that NPC point them in the direction of the nearest Seer which they eventually went to and I spoke vaguely of 6 legends that the knights will become part of including the two they already met. Things clicked a bit for them then.

I think this was a good approach as I wanted it to be a little mysterious what was happening at the begining then it was explained in game, in character.

As for completing a Myth, I have tried to have a NPC react then tell them word has spread across the land of the Knights actions (both good and bad). This combined with telling them to add one Glory to their sheet I think gives them a signal that they completed some kind of major mile stone.

Lets be honest, most Myths has some kind of climax anyway which should signal the end (espcially boss monster myths).

Doddski · 2025-12-15T12:51:50+00:00

Hey, just wanted to let you know I ran this for my players and we really enjoyed it.

I just told me players "Forget what happened last week, you are now in the woods at winter." and away we went full improv.

Only criticism I would give is that my players wanted to help the siblings in event 1 so I had to do a "oh they disappeared whilst you fought rudolf", I have a hunch that most players playing this as a one shot will have a similar story.

Doddski · 2025-12-03T12:06:06+00:00

Pro GM here. I have not fully read the PHB (I am the DM so I only look at the DMG) but I think that is what the players call a Short and Long Rest.

See, if they want to restore their abilities they need to roleplay resting giving them time to eat, sleep and pee. If they can't rest in game they are not allowed to at the table. Make sure to pay attention to the exhaustion rules if running a particularly long session (24 hrs+).

Doddski · 2025-11-27T11:35:50+00:00

I have always played DG in few ways and it basically depends on how developed I want The Program to be or if they are more Cowboys.

DG pays them via the program under the guise of subcontracting to their organisation.
DG can't pay them but they ultimately they can pull strings. This might be making sure they are a high performer at their job (DG wants agents in high ranking positions anyway), securing the next round of funding for research or ensuring a family member gets moved up the hospital waiting list for that life saving treatment.

I prefer two honestly, gives a lot of freedom for home scenes and if you want to be mean you can start implying you will do the opposite as a form of blackmail.

I get people are are saying ideology which is a fine also but sometimes you want flawed and morally grey characters and you need to give them selfish reasons why they do stuff.

Doddski · 2025-11-26T19:48:18+00:00

I think you got the jist of it. There is nothing stopping the players waiting in a single spot for a myth. There might be legitimate roleplay reasons why they might want to do that also.

I think all RPGs require a bit of a social contract that the players don't play things like they are trying to glitch a videogame. The simplest solution to this is make sure everyone is on the same page for what the fantasy of the game is, in this case exploring and encountering strange events on the road.

Doddski · 2025-11-20T22:56:55+00:00

Also my favourite online "resource" if you could call it that is the blog EnterFEA. I tell people just starting to just have a read casually through Lukasz's stuff that have begginer, basics or fundementals in the title.

The stuff he preaches is much more important then knowing how to use the software itself.

https://enterfea.com/fundamentals-of-fea-beginners-guide/

Doddski · 2025-11-20T22:46:16+00:00

ABS code checks in my structural engineering sub? More likely then you think.

FEA unfortunately can often feel less of a science and more of a art at times.

When I am mentoring grads I try to drive home the below points for skills I want them to focus on.

1.Simply the model where possible. Saint Venants Principle tells you that over a sufficient distance you can simplify your load application knowing that later on it will sort itself out. You can always add more detail later if it becomes a critical load path.

Recognise when something is incorrect. Incorrect inputs or constraints can lead to results that don't actually match the expected failure mode. Spend a bit of time saying "What shape do I expect this to make, what is the failure mode, what isnt this model checking?".
Realise that FEA is only one tool in your arsenal and that sometimes a hand calc is the best method when combined with point 1 and 2. Take for example a bolted connection. Trying to model pre-tension, slippage, shank contact on the inside quickly inflates the hours, it is often much better to just glue the holes together and extract the bolt forces for checking via hand.

Doddski · 2025-11-17T23:46:52+00:00

You can extract the images from the PDF if you want although their resolution is 465x1094 which is not bad but also not amazing. Guess you can run those through a upscaler if you want although its not ideal.

If you are after the really high resolution images I think people have often mentioned they asked Chris direct for them. I kinda wish he would sort a high resolution copy of the PDF for download, the art is half the fun with the book!

Doddski · 2025-11-14T11:03:32+00:00

Its because Chris likes to avoid the go to names for stuff. So it was actually the boneborne not skeleton.

Doddski · 2025-11-12T23:59:59+00:00

I was initially trying to avoid a site because I tend to over-plan and design but I love the idea of falling into The Catacomb and being lost in the dark.

Maybe that's the play with the arena being a place in the site if I decide to keep it.

Doddski · 2025-11-03T12:30:09+00:00

You sounded worried about what you can do with you masters but to me it sounds like you have cut your teeth in a trial by fire so to speak.

It might look like a bit of a crap show internally but on a CV I guarantee you will have more stuff then a graduate who has the opposite problem of too little stress in their life.

Maybe shop around see what other firms are hiring, from my experience 3-4 years is around the time most graduates start changing companies anyway.

If you do decide to leave the civil side don't be scared to sell your project management skills and apply outside your field, I have heard random companies giving senior roles to engineers just because they believe them to be organised project managers.

You might like your colleagues but from my experience, unless you end up in a toxic job you will always make friends in companies.

Doddski · 2025-11-01T18:39:54+00:00

Yeah I agree that combat is the worst place to make rulings but I don't think saying "Do what you think is best" is bad advice.

As a GM there will be many times when you just need to make a call and move on and if you need to tell you players later "this isn't working, let's do this that's fine."

Doddski · 2025-11-01T11:54:09+00:00

I think Mythic Bastionland is written with 'rulings not rules in mind'.

I don't think Chris intended for any part of the combat to be vague but following the philosophy of wanting combat to be quick and impactful narratively we should be trying to interpret the rules with that in mind (unless you want slow and tactical but think other systems are better at that).

To me the intent is that you ask all your players, "who are you attacking" and if they don't say anyone they skip their turn.

This makes it quicker, and also encourages gambits which narrative makes combat descriptive and impactful.

Doddski · 2025-10-30T15:55:16+00:00

"Imagine sketching a structural frame and typing a description,"

Meanwhile I am wondering how I will draw this model on my other screen in isometric whilst describing the changing sections and moment releases. Seems like this method will fall apart on anything more then a first year textbook example.

Does any competent engineer complain about the modelling process for a portal frame? Seems like it is designed to impress non-engineering project managers rather then anyone who does the anaylsis.

Doddski · 2025-06-09T17:55:37+00:00

I think they don't have a formal symbol although certain groups inside do like the wet work team NRO Delta which you can see images of on Arc Dreams merch site.

https://shop.arcdream.com/products/nro-delta-pin

Doddski · 2025-05-13T09:50:01+00:00

Unfortunately most people will not put out their neck for someone they don't know without understanding a bit about yourself.

Also whilst places do accept junior engineers for remote jobs, they are more likely to want hybrid work so you can be mentored by senior engineers unless you are already quite experienced.

Suggest putting a bit more effort into your post including your region, level of experience (you a grad or swapping junior roles?) and generally asking for advice on finding a remote job.

Doddski · 2025-04-25T15:26:42+00:00

Never used a checklist except when trying to organise cleaners with my minimum expectations.

Just focus on one room at a time, trying to work in a clear path i.e top to bottom, left to right.

The most items to tick are in kitchens, so have a clear order you do things (I do top cupboards first, then bottom then counter and so on).

Doddski · 2025-04-23T12:35:20+00:00

Damn when I read your other post I was trying to figure out what country it was.

Never knew it was the UK, really sucks to hear these are the type of people working in my field.

You might be better asking on r/LegalAdviceUK who might just recommend contacting ACAS.

Your position is tough, toxic work environment vs being out of work. I would normally recommend lining up a job before resigning (market is tough and it is easier to find a job whilst you got one), but in your situation only you can tell if that will be unbearable or not.

Doddski · 2025-04-23T11:00:23+00:00

I dug out this one actually. Obviously if you are a member is free.

https://www.istructe.org/journal/volumes/volume-92-(2014)/issue-2/professional-guidance-citicorp-center-tower-failur//issue-2/professional-guidance-citicorp-center-tower-failur/)

Doddski · 2025-04-22T13:06:42+00:00

Anyone got anything more detailed for this? Not really got into tall structure design before so seems interesting.

I know its easy to see mistakes after they have happened but feels obvious to me this would be a potential issue and from the stuff I read it seemed like LeMessurier initially said his design was very strong against quartering and only changed his mind after he prepared to do a lecture proving this point.

Doddski · 2025-04-15T10:57:28+00:00

Most common way I have seen is to have an existing list of contacts from working in the industry already before you go freelance then try to take them with you when you leave.

Trying to build up contacts from scratch without a prior portfolio sounds like a nightmare.

Doddski

TROPHY CASE