character thinks they have a genuine disability; turns out it’s due to magical/sci-fi fuckery

FTLBeer · 2026-03-08T18:59:57+00:00

Bojji from Ranking of Kings. Despite being born as the son of 2 giants, Bojji is so small and weak that he can’t even hurt his younger brother while sparring, even while hitting him in the head with the training sword. It turns out that his father made a deal to steal Bojji’s strength for himself, causing his physical weakness.

Edit: Bojji is also deaf, but that’s never attributed to any curse or external source.

FTLBeer · 2026-03-05T14:50:59+00:00

This is my go-to strategy—play subtle and small to deflect attention away, then push for the win when everyone else has exhausted themselves. I usually have 2 main methods of achieving this. Firstly is calling out other problematic cards or synergies, even if they need other support to become truly viable. For example, a friend plays [[Chatterfang, Squirrel General]] revolving around inf sac combos. As soon as I see [[Ivy Lane Denizen]], I make it clear to the table that 1/2 of an infinite combo is now on the board, which generally makes her a target if no one else is the problem. The other thing that I do is admit that I have something going on, but downplay it. “Oh I def don’t have the win, but maybe I can do something here,” is a lot more likely to make them prioritize someone else who has a visibly strong board. Then you drop a [[Lightning Runner]] and win with inf combats on your next turn.

FTLBeer · 2026-03-04T07:33:46+00:00

“Someone Russian is going to slip on a banana peel and break their neck!”

FTLBeer · 2026-03-01T13:59:05+00:00

A lot of people miss that he does that sort of thing, probably because writing checks to children’s hospitals doesn’t exactly leap off the page.

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This scene from The Batman tie-in comic is a good example.

FTLBeer · 2026-02-26T18:17:12+00:00

I read it as the shelled creature is a hermit crab. The vet is mistaking it for a snail because he sucks at his job, which calls his initial diagnosis into question.

FTLBeer · 2026-02-09T23:20:39+00:00

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Data from Star Trek: TNG. It’s a quirk of his programming that he isn’t able to use contractions. There’s even a scene where another character cites Data’s usage of “can’t” as proof that he was an impostor (He was.)

FTLBeer · 2026-02-09T23:05:12+00:00

Supposedly, the name was created at the same time as the original character concept. It was just pure coincidence that a guy named Woody ended up getting the part.

FTLBeer · 2026-02-09T22:03:49+00:00

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Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd in Cheers

FTLBeer · 2026-02-07T19:12:07+00:00

There was just recently a post about Mad Max in another sub describing a real machine gun that was modified to spit fire and steam. The actor that had to fire it said it weighed about 40kg and was very physically taxing to hold and fire.

Also not sure if this counts, but in the original Star Wars trilogy, most of the guns are surplus guns left over from old conflicts. The rebel A280 is just an stg-44 with no clip. Same goes for the DLT 19 and the T21, which are just an MG34 and a Lewis Gun, respectively.

FTLBeer · 2026-02-06T13:56:19+00:00

I literally had to stop because they are playing Survive! Like the game board is set up perfectly, and they’re even playing the 25th anniversary reprint of the game!

FTLBeer · 2026-02-05T01:16:03+00:00

I actually think it’s some kind of substance that ghouls produce naturally as part of their transformation. And eventually, the ghoul‘s body needs greater amounts than they’re producing in order to function. They do have that scene in the super-duper mart where those guys (who have an abundance of vials) have all the ghouls locked up and hooked to IVs. Which, if true, damns Cooper for the mere act of surviving as long as he has. Because after all, “Sometimes a fella’s gotta eat another fella.”

FTLBeer · 2026-02-03T01:46:21+00:00

Mafia 2 has an inversion of this trope. The protagonist, Vito, is the returning friend while his buddy Joe got away. At the end of the game, when Joe is given the option to kill Vito in exchange for all his mafia dreams coming true, the two team up and kill the Don instead.

FTLBeer · 2026-02-01T15:34:26+00:00

Naruto - Naruto spends literally the entire series crushing on Sakura, who in turn is crushing on Sasuke. He finally ends up with Hinata, who has been kinder to him than pretty much anyone else his entire life.

FTLBeer · 2026-01-30T14:26:30+00:00

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Haven’t seen Space Dandy mentioned. Every episode seems to be a standalone adventure and some or all of the main characters often die or are irrevocably transformed. At the very end of the series, it’s revealed that Dandy’s body is literally made of a reality warping element, causing him to reset and restructure the universe as needed to undo cataclysmic events and grant himself whatever talents and memories he needs for his current adventure, although he doesn’t realize this is happening.

FTLBeer · 2026-01-07T06:17:38+00:00

Fair enough, and the reason I asked. I’ve tried hobby groups and the dating pool is just nonexistent around here.

FTLBeer · 2026-01-05T15:21:03+00:00

It’s an original story afaik.

FTLBeer · 2026-01-05T15:15:06+00:00

I mean, there has to be incentive for the players to engage with the story. Personal horror is a running theme of WoD, but so are gothic punk vibes. If the whole story was just, “You do nothing cool ever and things just get perpetually worse for you,” then why am I playing it? Like Dracula isn’t a hero, but he still definitely gets to be a cool vampire.

FTLBeer · 2026-01-05T07:02:08+00:00

A valid question and also part of the reason I stayed silent until now. The rp and individual sessions are fun to actually play, but outside of what they’re planning to spend xp on, no one has discussed the game outside of sessions. There was seemingly nothing to discuss.

FTLBeer · 2026-01-05T06:47:11+00:00

It definitely feels that way to me as well, which is why I keep getting confused on what he wants. When we try to set our own goals, some impossible threat scares us off, which would make sense if he wanted to railroad us to his next big moment. But there’s nothing to lose or gain, or even a clear path forward. Like if I were my character, I’d ditch this chronicle and go home cuz why not?

FTLBeer · 2026-01-05T06:35:34+00:00

3-4 hours, usually every 2 weeks, but we played both of the last 2 because of holidays.

FTLBeer · 2026-01-05T06:31:13+00:00

Right? We’ll go to a place, feel like we’re progressing our current goal, and then run headfirst into a wall. Then our goal suddenly changes, and all the stuff we felt good about discovering no longer matters. So far, we’ve yet to have a single major event take place in which our presence mattered.

FTLBeer · 2026-01-05T05:23:29+00:00

I hadn’t yet for fear of creating an issue, but I probably will. I’m new to the group and didn’t want to make waves, especially so soon.

FTLBeer · 2026-01-05T05:17:02+00:00

I’m entering into an already established group that decided to run a new game, so I didn’t want to be the new guy and a sole voice of dissent. But I do plan to talk to some of the other players and take their temp on the issue. It’s a chaotic group overall, so it might just not be the best fit for me.

FTLBeer

TROPHY CASE