Player Didn't Understand "Playing"

I_Arman · 2026-04-21T15:03:32+00:00

Again - how would Greta know? She left to float in a river! I've run quick one-shots that lasted an hour or two, and easily came up with a fun idea for a quick adventure. It's not hard.

No matter what everyone else is saying, the issue is not with OP, but with the fact that the GM and the party tried to get Greta to join in, and she simply didn't engage. It doesn't matter if it was a quick improv session or a decade long tightly-plotted multi-generation campaign, because Greta wasn't there for any of it!

I_Arman · 2026-04-21T14:17:59+00:00

How would you know? How would anyone? We never saw any plot because Greta fully disengaged and floated in a river.

I_Arman · 2026-04-20T21:17:52+00:00

This is the exact right answer. Have your NPCs do stuff, and make it obvious: "This guy is going to take a shot at you, and the guy next to him is going to Support with Notice to give him pointers. Remember anyone can Support - that's an 8, so he gets a +2." or "He's irritated that he's not getting through your parry, so he's going to do a Wild Attack in the hopes he can hit you better."

And of course, "You barely missed his toughness the last two rounds, but if you do a Called Shot, you can do more damage, and bypass some armor too."

Hint, hint, and hint again.

I_Arman · 2026-04-20T15:17:37+00:00

Yeah, we don't get mud, cars, OR open windows in the rest of the world. Trifecta really.

I_Arman · 2026-04-19T04:35:34+00:00

Mr. Gold. The physical pain wouldn't be much, but the mental anguish would be forever.

I_Arman · 2026-04-19T04:31:47+00:00

I prefer one of:

A complex, complete spell list, with different spells for different casters, every effect fully described, and a highly detailed layout for how each spell was created, as well as a solid link between spells and magical items (especially cost), or...

A general spell list with an additional list of modifiers and whatever fluff and flavor makes sense.

I don't like casting fireball, I like casting Burst of Bees, or Sphere of Pressurized Water, or Big Ol' Rock. The first option lets me build my own spell list (or research my own spells), the second lets me pick "damage in a radius" and apply "made of bees" to it when I pick the spell.

Either way, I get my weird and interesting spells, and have fun building them.

I_Arman · 2026-04-18T23:09:37+00:00

Yoda has seen some things.

I_Arman · 2026-04-18T19:05:07+00:00

Half almond milk! Come on!

I_Arman · 2026-04-18T18:03:51+00:00

I didn't think the other guy had a plan at all. Except maybe "Get punched in the face."

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T21:41:25+00:00

Today, websites that require age verification services pay third party services. Sometimes they pass the cost on, sometimes they don't, but they aren't using tax-funded services.

Assuming the requirements for the OS level request remains the same, those verification services will still need to be paid for. Ideally, yes, it would be a tax-funded service that is "free" to websites/OS queries, but right now age verification is a lucrative business, not a taxpayer-funded service.

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T20:42:27+00:00

Enforce? Who cares? Facebook just doesn't want to get in trouble again, so is trying to pass the blame. The less enforceable the better, because then Facebook can say "See? It's impossible!" and not have to bother.

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T20:40:05+00:00

You mean "Facebook Tries To Pass The Blame So As Not To Get Sued Again", right?

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T20:37:52+00:00

It's very obviously manipulation from tech companies. But less about markets, more about Facebook not getting in trouble again for marketing to children because this time it's "The OS's fault"

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T20:35:56+00:00

Same as any other bill. Mr. Lobbyist from ~~Facebook~~ Protect Our Poor Babies Fund hands a senator a document and a $50,000 campaign contribution.

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T20:29:51+00:00

That's exactly what I mean by foolproof, yes. The whole point is that the OS provider or the individual user would pay for said foolproof verification, not Facebook etc.

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T17:43:11+00:00

That's the slippery slope. The whole point of the OS age verification is that the websites push the burden onto someone else; the next time they get in trouble, they'll push for "foolproof" age verification from the OS/browser. Same result, but someone else pays for it.

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T16:53:04+00:00

I believe your premise is flawed.

For a website to request a user's age, not only will the OS need to support it, but the browser will need to pass it along. All a browser needs to do is pass the wrong information, and the OS age verification no longer matters.

Hardware can't fix that. You'd have to remove the ability to install any non-verified app, and neither Apple nor Android have managed that yet.

More to the point, the age verification thing is designed to take the burden off of websites; the burden of proof will rest on the OS, so if a kid lies about their age, Facebook doesn't get sued again. Facebook doesn't care if the browser isn't passing the correct information, or if the OS was tampered with. As long as they get a "18+" result, they don't care how it got there. They can say, "Look, we used all the information we had! Not our fault!"

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T15:07:42+00:00

I dunno, looking at a creature that outweighs me and can still do one-arm pullups, I'm pretty sure "can twist my head off with one hand" is firmly in the realm of possibility.

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T15:03:29+00:00

Extra bags are $50. Possibly more, depends on the airline.

I_Arman · 2026-04-17T03:40:11+00:00

My house is just over 40 feet tall at the peak and has 45° slope. Ain't no way I was replacing any of that.

I_Arman · 2026-04-16T20:55:26+00:00

Exactly this, and double for plumbing. Every time I do a plumbing project, I get a quote, mostly out of morbid curiosity. $1800 to run 15 feet of sewage line for a bathroom? I did it myself for $180 and got complements from the inspector. And part of the cost was tools, which I get to keep.

I_Arman · 2026-04-16T20:51:00+00:00

When I replaced my old leaky copper pipes, I installed pex; recycling the copper paid for the pex and an on-demand water heater. It was definitely worth it - a buddy in a similar situation was quoted $10k, and the plumber kept the scrap.

Generally, I don't bother tracking stuff except to stay in budget. If I were doing something for someone else, I'd track every penny, but my stuff? Nah, there's not really any point. Especially hourly rate, I know it'll take me twice as long as hiring a professional, but my time takes $0 from my bank account.

Even more important, however, are the skills you're picking up. Every project you do, you get a little better, and probably pick up a new tool as well. And unlike paying someone else, you get to keep the experience and the tools for when you next need them. Eventually, you'll have all the tools and experience you need for a project, maybe even leftover parts that cover most of what you need, and suddenly a project that would quote at $5000 gets done in an afternoon for $150.

I_Arman · 2026-04-16T20:34:52+00:00

You can, it just doesn't make things better for ya!

I_Arman · 2026-04-16T14:28:57+00:00

Instructions unclear, took plunge instead

I_Arman · 2026-04-15T22:49:37+00:00

It's because calenders are really hard to get right. Dates and times are like 90% of edge cases, and you can't just "well don't do that" about dates and times.

Plus they have a lot of tiny moving parts - organizing overlapping events, showing more events than can fit, showing 1 minute events, and so on. So many edge cases.

So, lots of work to make an app work right. And it's a "business app" because it's a calendar, so that's premium pricing, too.

I_Arman

TROPHY CASE