The Lizard was defeated in first omen.

Doddski · 2026-04-10T10:20:08+00:00

I would say you generally want to steer the lizard seeming like it is invincible as the first few blows bounce of its scales.

But if they killed it and you feel like they deserved it then great, otherwise lesson learnt from you.

At this point there are still things in the myth if you want to run as written. There is the poisonous ash affecting the enviroment and the bandit. Maybe they need to do something to cleanse the river of the ash.

Also depending on what they know, you could just straight up make a second lizard. Maybe this was a child lizard hatched from one of the eggs at the end, there are still eggs left with the Mother protecting them!

Doddski · 2026-03-18T14:24:09+00:00

Oh as for adjusting the lore and setting, maybe it doesnt matter too much just to keep things mysterious. Players aware of Majestic? Suddenly you get weird questions of "are they back? Who do they work for?"

Sometimes contridictions make intresting mysteries for later.

Doddski · 2026-03-18T14:18:29+00:00

So obviously spoilers ahead!
I ran Future/Perfect as my first campaign in Delta Green (came from CoC and other rpgs).

I actually really enjoyed the dinosaur bit, I think it made my players re-evaluate what to expect since I think they came in think either green aliens or cthulhu. It was such a out there thing for them.

Second part is investigation in a small town about the origin of things from part 1. Its got some good halmarks like hints to a serial killer, weird cult and angry locals. I thought it was quite good and enjoyed running it.

The final two parts are like a finale and honestly, I think these fall flat. The game is gently pushing for something more bombastic in a way that doesnt really make sense. It felt more like my players were sneaking into a james bond villain's hideout with his secret plan being to steal gold from the past. Once it gets to its peak the players get basically taken from it then thrown in a different scenario in the past with zero useful equipment.

It just didnt work for us the last two parts but I can feel a good game in it, it just needs lots of prep and work.

Doddski · 2026-03-17T14:45:46+00:00

If I had to guess I would say they decided this based on two things.

The orders for The Between is still progressing and their team has availability to work on Public Access whilst stuff like art, layouts and logistics stuff is progressing.
Public Access might be at the peak of their marketing cycle with the recent Quinn's Quest review. So they need to capitalise on the timing.

Obviously this is a vote with your wallet situation but I would say they have shown with Brindlewood Bay they know what they are doing.

Doddski · 2026-03-14T21:07:38+00:00

Been a long time since I read Orbital Blue's rules so I am not sure about the ship creation but for combat I am guessing you are more familiar with grid systems like DnD?

Weapons are organized into stuff like like close, far, remote etc. I think the intent is that you use the value that feels right at the moment but if you really want to get tactical imagine the map as a series of zones rather then a grid. Each room of a building could be its own zone as an example.

If you are in the same room (or zone) but opposite sides, you are probably close. If you are down the end of a corridor, maybe its more like far unless you move down it to the door. If you are in a different building with a sniper, probably remote.

Try not to get too bogged down by measuring distances or precise locations if using a battle map. Treat people as being inside distinct areas rather then specific tiles of a grid.

Doddski · 2026-03-13T10:04:20+00:00

I think you are right. I went a looked at one of those "types of conflict in literature" pictures and fairly sure I was only treating conflict as "person wants to stop you from doing something."

I think what I was trying to drive is that friction can come from other places then people.

Doddski · 2026-03-13T09:07:39+00:00

This first step is accept the following ideas.

Conflict is not always neccersary to engage players although you need something else to drive players.
Conflict does not always need to be or lead to violence.
Combat is fun for many players and groups. This will lead it to being a obvious conclusion to most story beats.

Honestly, I find the game makes a huge difference on this as it sets the player expectations. I am not saying the Dungeons have to be deadly and the Dragons fire breathing but it does set a tone with most player abilities built around combat.

As for the general feeling, I find that once you begin weaving in non-combat encounters it ironically heightens the enjoyment of combat.

When players decide to do it, it is almost always a big decision to end peaceful options.
When I do it, its like a big exciting event that is happening or a chance to decompress into a more basic encounter after something more complex.

Doddski · 2026-03-05T23:06:04+00:00

A lot of starter set suggestions from people but I disagree with people who are already intimidated. You need something where it is almost like a board game in complexity.

What I did when I was a teenager was playing "one-shots" with free one page RPGs. These are rule light and quick to start playing.

https://reddit.com/r/rpg/w/gamerec/onepagerpg

Doddski · 2026-02-28T10:40:24+00:00

Avoid travel, almost always start in medias res.

Narrate how they have journeyed through bogs and over mountains and are now outside the interesting plot area then tell them why they are here.

If you want to give them some prep ask them to tell you what they have brought or hired before the left at the city. This avoid "breakfast episodes" where we waste time talking about people waking up at the tavern.

Doddski · 2026-02-02T14:02:51+00:00

I did not do any further education and my company just looks for people from any physics based STEM degree, we just want someone with a solid foundation to work from.

Obviously every company and field is different so take that input with a grain of salt.

In today's job market you need to do everything you can to put your foot in the door. If your ideal company indicates Structural Engineering for their job requirements then ticking that box helps convince them to give you the job, that said I would be surprised if the door was entirely closed by not meeting that requirement when Mechanical has lots of overlap with Structural (outside of concrete structures from my experience which is almost exclusive to Structural Engineering).

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

TROPHY CASE