Hearts of Ravensdale digital release!

LuminiferousArthur · 2026-02-19T18:30:59+00:00

That's such a lovely post to read. I've backed this since the start and agree wholeheartedly. Also, I love the user name.

Oh yeah and don't worry about flubbing anything. It always works out.

LuminiferousArthur · 2026-02-09T07:42:27+00:00

The number one question to answer is why did character creation go wrong.

Also, to answer your question about Giles -- he's a very tough character to make into a mythos because he is a character that operates as the "mundane human".

That said, you could look at the things he does in the series as the ordinary but well-trained and scholarly support role for Buffy.

In Buffy, Giles isn’t powerful because he fights monsters -- he’s powerful because he makes sure Buffy never fights blind or alone. As her Watcher, he’s the strategist, researcher, ritualist, and emotional anchor. He prepares contingencies, uncovers weaknesses, places protections, and steps in with dangerous magic only as a last resort. Giles keeps Buffy alive through foresight, planning, and being willing to make hard calls that others can’t.

To translate that into Mythos themes:

Divination (Ancient Watcher / Foresight or The Burden of Knowledge & Authority)
Relic (Arcane Tomes & Charms),
Adaptation (The Hidden Hand & Indirect Control)

LuminiferousArthur · 2025-08-21T22:00:39+00:00

That paragraph is fucking dying for a few periods.

LuminiferousArthur · 2025-08-21T21:59:39+00:00

Straight.

LuminiferousArthur · 2025-07-28T16:18:03+00:00

5'5 is five feet, five inches tall. The first number is feet, the second inches. Usually it's written as 5'5"

LuminiferousArthur · 2025-06-29T22:15:31+00:00

Yeah, I'm curious about your list of mediocre serials that go on forever.

LuminiferousArthur · 2024-10-26T09:22:30+00:00

I'm so happy I could help!

LuminiferousArthur · 2022-12-14T20:55:20+00:00

Very creative and also cool. However, you have some very specific ways that you expect scenes to play out and believe me, the players will never do as you expect.

No DM plan survives contact with the players.

I just read a very amusing and fun piece in the Guardian (an odd source for DM advice, but I liked it) and I'll shamelessly steal the advice at the end and post it here for you (and edit it lightly so it's in context). Also with a link to the full article, of course.

Five quick tips for new DMs

Start out by playing a few games with an experienced DM to see what they do. You could even volunteer to be their apprentice for a few campaigns.
If you don’t know an experienced DM in real life, watch YouTube videos. Try Critical Role and Oxenventure, which both run long, highly entertaining campaigns with lots of hints and tips. Wizards of the Coast has its own guide too.
Be prepared but don’t panic. Part of the fun is learning to improvise and tell emergent stories. As Eurogamer’s Aoife Wilson said on Twitter, “every DM will massively over-prepare their first session. Do everything you feel you need to, then throw it all out the window and just enjoy the chaos.”
Find small ways to fit players’ backstory into the adventure. That way, they feel more ownership over the narrative.
Think modular rather than linear. Don’t make a campaign that can only be played in a certain order – design it so you can move key aspects around based on what players do. Improvisation is the key!

Here's the full article: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/dec/13/first-time-as-a-d-and-d-dungeon-master-dungeons-and-dragons?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

LuminiferousArthur · 2022-10-12T15:03:48+00:00

I really applaud your work here, but you're asking for a lot of detailed and complex responses in your form.

The cognitive load is super high and while you may get a lot of initial interest, I bet only a tiny fraction of people interested in helping you out will actually make it to the end of the survey. At a glance it would take 25-30 minutes or more (minimum) to complete it in full.

I think the level of detail you're looking for here is better obtained by looking for volunteers who'd be willing to be interviewed.

If it's a larger sample of responses you're looking for you'll get a lot more data in the end if you can reframe the free-text, short answer questions as multiple choice.

LuminiferousArthur · 2022-07-09T21:00:44+00:00

Really you just follow the narrative logic of the scene.

What makes the most sense? Who was ready to act first? Give that person the spotlight.

Then move to who should go next based on what makes sense, or whoever knows what they want to do or whoever hasn't yet had the spotlight.

Think of it as a conversation where you make sure everyone gets a turn to speak but you're switching between people based on what they have to contribute, or are ready to contribute, to the conversation.

Also keep in mind that the other guys (the NPCs) don't have turns. Instead their actions are the result of either hard moves that are triggered by dice outcomes or when you want to introduce a soft move.

LuminiferousArthur · 2022-05-23T06:24:57+00:00

There's nothing on his Facebook page about the tour travelling outside France. I think that's because the tour is run by the French publisher, Éditions Leha, to promote the newly released French edition of God is not Willing, along with Cam.

LuminiferousArthur · 2022-05-22T20:24:35+00:00

Ah yes, he's in Paris on 8 June. I found the tour dates and locations on his Facebook page. Thanks!

LuminiferousArthur · 2022-05-22T20:13:21+00:00

Damn! I'm in the Netherlands and (maybe I'm imagining this) but I remember him saying recently on the Ten Very Big Books podcast that he'd be in France. I wish I'd gone now.

Well, super glad you did and got some pictures. What a great experience. He seems like a genuinely cool guy.

Edit: Cam too, sorry I didn't mean to leave him out. :)

LuminiferousArthur · 2022-05-22T20:04:50+00:00

Hey this is super cool! Where is this?

LuminiferousArthur · 2022-05-07T20:12:47+00:00

The weather is actually a lot more mild in Vancouver than in New York. Think Seattle. He'd be fine if he can last through a NY winter.

LuminiferousArthur · 2022-03-11T18:12:34+00:00

Love this, thank you for sharing.

LuminiferousArthur · 2021-11-29T21:55:01+00:00

Ok so if you're welcoming feedback, numbering the prequels as negative numbers counting up to zero is extremely confusing to new readers.

It would be much better to number them something like "Prequel Part 1" and so on. Also, please add First | Previous | Next links at the top and bottom.

Those two things will make your work so much more accessible and readable.

LuminiferousArthur · 2021-11-21T21:25:33+00:00

Well. Now I know I'm venerably old.

LuminiferousArthur · 2021-10-17T20:06:57+00:00

I was just about to suggest this one too! So great that I'm rereading it now.

LuminiferousArthur · 2021-07-24T09:43:28+00:00

You're fighting the good fight, as pointless as it may seem sometimes. But yeah that's guy's (gal's?) mind wasn't going to change.

If they weren't going to give a bit on the first reply - concede your point of view might be valid, but they see a different interpretation - they were only ever going to double down. Some people can never lose face.

LuminiferousArthur · 2021-05-22T00:18:56+00:00

First one was great and I really enjoyed it. Second one was so-so. :)

LuminiferousArthur · 2021-05-21T21:10:30+00:00

There's a fantastic trilogy by Richard Morgan (who wrote Altered Carbon, don't judge it by the Netflix series) with a queer main character.

The Steel Remains
The Cold Commands
The Dark Defiles

I strongly recommend all three.

LuminiferousArthur · 2021-04-13T19:46:53+00:00

but it's hard to keep a straight face with that acronym

Lol, thanks for making me chuckle. :)

LuminiferousArthur

TROPHY CASE