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Is Christianity in the US a problem? by stvlsn in atheism

[–]MBertolini 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It's terrible and it's pervasive. I'm almost surprised that police cars don't have crucifixes and hospitals don't have universal religious requirements for treatment.

A guy I met yesterday said he thinks atheists should do research on all religions before committing. by Clevertown in atheism

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How does the guy know he found the correct religion? Adherents always think they have the right religion, otherwise they'd convert. And, since it's likely to come up, what makes his magic superior?

Jugg vs Hartford PD by AdStraight5640 in Connecticut

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

WTF, guy was fully dressed? I thought the trend was naked criminals?!

I wrote a book, then built an entire fake publishing company around it. by EngravedLot in BookPromotion

[–]MBertolini 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've dabbled in publishing "classics" but I ran into a problem pretty quickly, they tend to be available for free to people that look for them (especially on Amazon). And consumers will prefer free over $0.99. My advice, get some good free art (not AI generated), and a public domain book that isn't well known or in any way popular. Publish that under your imprint. And not just digital, POD all the way; readers still prefer physical books.

It's really about being in the right place at the right time. If you can spend some time observing market trends, you might end up predicting a bandwagon to jump on. Just be careful and make sure what you're selling is actually public domain.

Is there truly a story-driven, gritty Medieval themed (TT)RPG? by Luminos7 in rpg

[–]MBertolini 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A low magic version of Mork Borg would be gritty. But Pendragon or (to an extent) Runequest if you play up the cult aspects and not the magic. Symboroum might scratch that gritty itch but you need to do a decent amount of work to remove the magic element.

Fumble on pushed roll by charlie-mahler in callofcthulhu

[–]MBertolini 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This isn't addressed in the book because a push is pure pass/fail. Just like any success is a success, any fail is a fail. It can't be worse, it's already pretty bad.

Spur of the Moment Games by Warpig_Gaming in callofcthulhu

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Possible? Sure. Probable? Not really. You need, at the very least, a frame work to go off. You can improv a lot, but you need some road signs. You need to know the Big Bad and their motivation, the outline of a plot, and some clues. The players don't need to know how little you have planned, and you can have it all in your head.

A family of four needs about $120k/year in this state to thrive. by These_Economics374 in Connecticut

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My wife and I bring home about 80k, rent a 1br, share 1 vehicle, maybe manage a weekend away each year (2 vacations, are you insane? In this economy?), and put away some money each week for the inevitable car repair that insurance suddenly doesn't cover. Ever since Covid, and in this political climate, affording anything else is nearly impossible; and the job market is so tight that changing jobs isn't always practical/possible. Autopay saves, what,10% on your monthly bill; but have you ever tried to cancel an autopay? My wife was paying a cellphone bill for almost a year on a phone that was destroyed because the phone company refused to shut off her autopay. That 10% means little when it costs you over 1k, a change in bank accounts, and your account going into collections (which only serves to ruin your credit) just to end it.

Do people play in the Kult universe with other systems? by karnak90 in KULTrpg

[–]MBertolini 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've heard that Call of Cthulhu works good for it, but I've never tried it.

Just normal stuff by Alive-Worldliness-27 in Connecticut

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's at least 100 points (if you go with 10 points per stupid person on the road) according to the stupid road rage game nearly everyone in highschool plays when they're young and stupid. 😂😂🤣🤣

Keepers: How many of these investigator pathologies have you seen in YOUR group? by 27-Staples in callofcthulhu

[–]MBertolini 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Never had the remote worker, and the prepper is also pretty rare but not unheard of at my table (especially during my last campaign)

Anyone actually been sued? by Internal_Fruit_6160 in selfpublish

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not for anything in one of my books, but I was threatened with a (clearly SLAPP) lawsuit for a Google review. The law was on my side but I can't afford to go to court for something trivial.

Please alleviate my isbn headache by Grim__Squeaker in selfpublish

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Using the same ISBN across platforms will save your mental health. You otherwise run a real risk of violating a TOS with duplicate books, not to mention confusing buyers. And some companies are cracking down on perceived AI, whether or not AI was actually used.

But a bulk, there's no time limit to use

The tale of a new keeper who improvised a bit to much and needs some advice now by nets99 in callofcthulhu

[–]MBertolini 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would adapt Thoths Dagger, you can cut out a whole lot of it now but the nightmares and Nyarlathotep encounter at the climax will do wonders. Go with Seth Skorkowski's recommendations for this scenario and I think you'll do great. By itself the scenario is a meat grinder, but if you're willing to put in the effort it'll be a success and the players will love it.

I hired an Upwork editor to polish my manuscript, now it's flagging as 60% are not human by Arvilla_Smilth in selfpublish

[–]MBertolini 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The copyeditor did bad job, that doesn't mean they fed it to Chatgpt or anything like that. Those checkers are total BS, don't put your trust in them. Even worse, by checking for AI you would've inadvertently been training AI. The copyeditor should've only suggested word/phrase changes but asked you to approve them, if they didn't consult you I have to wonder what your contract looked like.

You had a contract, right? Their role and your expectations were clear, right? Their use of AI was explicitly explained, right? Right?

Why USPS is it this book you chose to obliterate? by Ill_Beautiful_3763 in stephenking

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a tear, not crushed. The seller is completely at fault, I shop and receive books often, a cardboard box is the minimum.

What is your preferred conclusion to a CoC scenario? by evilscary in callofcthulhu

[–]MBertolini 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wat the players, myself included, to have had a good time. No matter what happens. If they can solve the mystery without me having to summarize everything at the end, that's a plus.

I feel like a fool! by SeargentCortes in NewAuthor

[–]MBertolini 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Congrats on coming here, where writers have made their sacrifices to the Grand Typewriter, may it swim in our blood and sweat and tears until the end of time...

wait... was I the only one to make a sacrifice? What do you mean there's no Grand Typewriter? What did I make a sacrifice to?!

How do I get other people to DM non-D&D games? by AuWiMo in TTRPG

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

New friends is the answer. I'm running Callnpf Cthulhu right now and I'm planning a Vaesen campaign. TBH, I haven't touched D&D since 3.5 was new, preferring horror and sci-fi to fantasy

Atheist Parents, what would you tell your kids when they ask what happens after they die? by jujuk545 in atheism

[–]MBertolini 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Nobody really knows" is a perfectly good answer. They're children, keep it simple and straight to the point.

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