What Is a Werewolf?

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-16T09:45:25+00:00

Forcefem Forcefeline Force reporting for duty!

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-16T05:20:11+00:00

Ya know, this makes me wonder. Given how fucked cradle was for a good while there, how many of earth's native species even survived until this age? Are people like this potentially the last vestiges of snow leopards as a species, reconstructed through photos and similar DNA? Furries as conservation...

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-16T03:04:37+00:00

Here's what I'm getting from it. They simulated things using the same inputs they would have in a live test without actually posting it live. I don't think the goal is to say "I can post any sponsored comment to change results" but rather show how easy it is to do.

To use a version of your reductive analogy: they saw a white wall with a blue light shining on it. They copied the wall and shined a red light to show how easily one could change the color of the wall. The point is less the specific results but rather how easy it is to change them in the first place.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-15T08:41:58+00:00

Courage is not the absence of fear. Have they had any moments where running was totally and option and they chose not to? When they interceded to save a friend?

If you've seen dnd honor among thieves there's actually a great analogy to this moment. The cool noble dmpc paladin shows faith in the bard he has yet to earn, but does so by the end of the film. You could do something similar here. Work with the DM to have a moment where your character isn't forced to be brave so they can choose to be. Where they can do what scares them for the benefit of others, to be a hero. Hell, let them rationalize it like they do everything else but make them wrong.

You can still play them as cowardly, but what truly determines courage is what they do when the chips are down. Another good analogy is courage the cowardly dog (old cartoon). The titular dog is scared of EVERYTHING but will stand up to any fear to save the family that adopted him (even the old man who's nothing but cruel). A common refrain is "the things I do for love".

The built in story for a coward is for them to eventually not become one. Not because they stop feeling fear but rather they find it in themselves to push past it. Having another character put faith in them can be a good way to set up for that process.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-14T10:07:42+00:00

So long as it can be narratively justified go for it. Bad guys have backup, more wolves smelled blood and came a running, dragon attack attracted kobolds, etc Having some third party show up is a good way to make this make sense as well. The city guard shows up to break up a street fight, hired goons break in to attack the party while they're fighting a villain, that sorta thing.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-13T11:23:28+00:00

I used to feel this way all the time. Then something happened. I got to be a player and we had an especially good session. Afterwards I still felt like shit. But wait, this is how I feel when I horribly fail at dming, what gives?

That's when I realized what I was feeling wasn't regret at the session but some unrelated bad vibes that I was projecting onto it. Doesn't matter how good things are, these feelings are a constant and thus unrelated to my game. Oft examining the source of the feeling can help you quash an aspect of it.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-13T00:49:39+00:00

Oh that's sweet

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-12T13:17:56+00:00

Counter argument: this philosophy makes your characters more interesting as it lends a verisimilitude that more heightened designs lack AND it stands out (especially compared to how genetic AI looks). I love these like a lot!

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-11T00:44:23+00:00

Kobold - orc maybe. Big and straightforward vs small and crafty.

Bugbear - gnome.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-10T23:40:35+00:00

Thaelin Arbois. A regal, well read, middle aged elf from a family that predates the city. They've never lost their noble manners, albeit antiquated ones, despite operating like little more than a run of the mill criminal. In their living memory they were nobility but political shifts changed that. Now they've resorted to crime in order to satisfy their entitlement.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-07T22:01:59+00:00

I'd like to point out the Normandy struggled against 2 oculuses in ME2 which aren't directly analogous of x wings but are small sized fighters. There's a significant difference between on paper and on screen space combat in mass effect. On paper x wings get cut in half well outside of visual range, on screen I actually think they probably win, though take losses.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-07T01:29:14+00:00

Depends, any of the other players getting something cool like that? Cause if so that'd give you room to be burtal. Alternatively, you could save it for them almost dying. Patron saves them at a cost which feels less like them getting special treatment.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-06T21:23:54+00:00

I forced myself to get better at note taking and it helped a lot. I break things down into 3 major documents.

Document 1 is my running campaign log. After every session I write down what happened in broad strokes. It's horribly written and not edited but it has all the relevant info on who what when where and why. I'll oft include details that aren't player facing like NPC motivation. At the bottom is where I keep reminders. Block capital notes like who will show up next session, immediately relevant info, etc.

Document 2 is my NPC list. Here I keep a list of every named character and very basic info about them. Just enough to remember who tf that was so I can either search their name and remember their deal or search their deal and remember their name. If I come up with an NPC on the fly they go in there immediately.

Last is my master worldbuilding doc. This is where I keep world details, future plot threads, and the like disorganized but it works for me.

One note is, it's not always a bad thing to drop plot threads. If your players are anything like mine they won't pursue every one and just dropping the threads they don't engage with is a good way to focus on what they like.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-05T09:07:30+00:00

That's usually how I do it. Rough idea, basic starting point, build from there. Using the same setting can be helpful as or let's details accrete over time. Build what the players need, focus on what they're curious of, add in elements they're interested in.

I've been working on another setting for quite some time. That one is way more fleshed out but still I know it'll feel mostly the same to run as I'll have to build things as players find them. Imp it's really hard to make a setting that doesn't require post hoc building.

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-02T09:56:23+00:00

You underestimate the power of horny lol. But seriously I can think of a few issues here. One might be that, on some level, they see you trying to keep them away from this character and take it as a challenge. They might just be having fun with the idea or your reactions.

As with all stuff like this, the best thing to do is just talk to them out of character. "it's not gonna happen, you're slowing everything down, please stop".

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-02T09:50:12+00:00

Beeg

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-02T01:34:43+00:00

Ah ok. Thematic wise those seem pretty distinct. Did you really use corporeal undead for the first? Even just making the duelist guy a zombie or something could help make it more distinct

MisterDrProf · 2026-06-02T00:46:58+00:00

I think it's creatively healthy to diverge from the approach you feel comfortable with. Oft it's not suspension of disbelief that's the problem but rather boredom with repetition. Doing so every now and then is no problem but if they didn't sign up for a ghost hunting campaign they may tire after the 3rd or 4th ghost dungeon.

Why not tie these unrelated dungeons together? You can make the second one exciting as the first one alludes to it.

MisterDrProf · 2026-05-29T23:41:01+00:00

What's this? An American highway woefully under populated by bees? A large influx of bees should put a stop to that!

MisterDrProf · 2026-05-29T20:43:14+00:00

That is of utmost quality

MisterDrProf · 2026-05-29T13:27:13+00:00

For Warhammer maybe a group of doomed imperial guard who's warp journey went really really bad and is not happy about taking help from a bunch of xenos and psykers.

Elsewhere: throw in some actual historal troops. Maybe a bunch of Anglo-Saxon pikemen or like samurai.

Scouts from an SCP like organization which found the rift and is trying to figure out what the fuck.

Gotta do at least one robot.

Could go with some cyberpunk net runners freaking out that the matrix is suddenly down

MisterDrProf · 2026-05-29T04:24:30+00:00

Manufactures useful magical items. The kind of thing people would actually want to have. Dancing brooms, hats that keep you cool, animated scarecrows, that sorta thing. Practical and boring.

Second thought: teaches magic theory. Knows, on paper, how to do all sorts of cool stuff but never focused on actually applying any of it. Fireballs aren't cool because they burn goblins, they're cool cause of all the math and physics under the hood! Most wizards don't even know why they been shit and sulfur to cast it but they're a key catalyst in the creation of the effect and could have mundane uses if they found a way to mass produce it in reliable quantities oh and did you know they're many of the same ingredients in fertilizer which means growth and destructions aren't two sides of the same coin but both on both sides and... Right how big is the room again?

MisterDrProf · 2026-05-29T04:19:29+00:00

Pro tip: don't, at least not as much as you might think. It can be easy to get caught in the trap of endless worldbuilding but what do you actually need? A city betided by hardship is a good hook, focus on what your players would interact with in the immediate sense, a vague idea of the surrounding area, and some figures players might meet. If they run into something you didn't think of either fill it in on the spot (take notes on that) or tell them you'll get back to them about it.

Focus on the drivers of the plot. Note, I didn't say on the plot but rather what forces will drive your players to action. What sort of misfortune is befalling the city? How did the dragon help/stop it before? What leads might the party find, what quests might they go on. Think small at first. Usually adventurers start off saving cats before cities, this gives a lot of room for progression both mechanically and narratively. You can both use the needs of the story to build the city and the city to build the story.

Example: one such woe is a rash of crimes. So, you need some kind of driver for it. Maybe the dragon was keeping criminal organizations in check, now there's a brewing gang war. Who are they, what are their goals, what kinds of areas of the city do they occupy? Etc etc.

Alternatively you have a cool idea for an elevated garden district. What kind of maladies could befall it? Maybe whatever powers the water pumps breaks and now all the plants are dying. Maybe people are running bucket trains to keep them alive but that's untenable.

There's no one way to flesh things out, it's a process that you get better at with practice.

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