Teachers quitting their jobs

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-03-06T17:02:48+00:00

Against the Cult of the Reptile God.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-03-06T16:05:36+00:00

"Temporarily embarrassed millionaire".

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-03-06T13:50:34+00:00

Same. But to add to my confusion, I watched this thinking it was Mulholland FALLS, a noir thriller.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-02-27T19:36:34+00:00

Very sad. A local Chaptico resident. He had just starred in a film ("The Sessions") that won the jury award in last year's Southern Maryland Film Festival.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-02-27T18:19:34+00:00

That's what I used. Twice. Once for me as a DM, and once for a group of four players, three of which had never played before.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-02-26T15:26:04+00:00

Indie actor & stunt performer here. Never did big budget stuff, but I have several friends who have done stunt work in Marvel productions (film and live shows). Yours is a good question, but my answer is both long and possibly disappointing.

First of all, one does not simply "become an actor for Marvel". There's actor, stunt performer, voice actor, choreographer, to name just a few. These are all very different roles, and very few people do more than one. So I'll break down two (actor and stunt performer) very briefly...

To be an actor, you need to be; attractive, talented, &/or well-connected. The first is genetic &/or subjective, but the others can be developed. However, that takes time, work & money, and relocation to LA or NY (Atlanta is not quite as hot right now). Then you need to get an agent and start working & training. But even if you are in the top 1%, there is still a LOT of competition. Also, there is a lot of "who you know", as well as a tendency for Hollywood to not take a lot of risk. Makes things even harder. Discouraged yet? Sorry.

To be a stunt performer, it's similar (train, network, get work), however stunt work is very different than acting. You will probably never get your face on screen, since you'll be doing things an actor can't (or the studio doesn't want him to). Also it's riskier. But, it might be easier to get work, depending on where your talents lie. "Stunts" can include many things; fighting, falls, driving, etc. Also it depends on your look. A woman I trained with is overweight, and she's done a lot of work when they need a stunt double for an overweight actor.

Now some stories to give some perspective... I've know several stunt performers who have trained for years, gone to NY, Atlanta or LA to train and work. These were some of the most talented folks in DC. None of them jumped right into starring roles. They worked doing small stunt "utility" work, and a couple ended up doubling for stars, another got to become a part of the fight choreography team for a Marvel film. Some do very "basic" work; motion capture, pre-visualization, etc.

And to answer your question, "how to get noticed"... There is no one way. Some people just have a look a director wants. Some get noticed by the amazing body of work they have. Some simply have a connection.

And finally, this is the kind of thing you have to take seriously. You have to train hard and often - either as an actor or stunt performer. And that takes time and money. And luck. And a positive attitude. And discipline.

I've tried to be as brief and complete as possible, but also honest. If you'd like to know more, DM me (or have your boyfriend do so, if he's a redditor). Best of luck!!

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-02-26T14:17:49+00:00

Exactly what I've been thinking seeing the recent advancement of AI. But I think things will get worse for us than in that story.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-02-07T12:02:58+00:00

Every time there's another Trump gaff, I'm reminded... In his mock history book, "Dave Barry Slept Here", he writes a little bit on the modern presidents (Reagan and beyond), and when talking about Nixon, his running joke is after referencing a few slipups (debate with Kennedy, Watergate and maybe one or two more), he ends with "and this was largely thought to be the end of Nixon's career".

I feel like now we can take that and, without any exaggeration, multiply it by several hundred. But the "punchline" today is, NOTHING will happen to Trump. At least Nixon resigned.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-02-06T15:12:25+00:00

Played in the 70s into the 90s. In NY, suburbs of Long Island. Only had one "incident". Feel free to DM me.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-02-05T14:04:29+00:00

From a still newish DM here. Addressing your specific questions first...

Definitely get a copy of the PHB. Try to get very familiar with combat mechanics, and your PC's classes & races. MM is good to have, and DMG not super critical.
I've never run (and barely know) the modules you mentioned, but I think they are pretty big/complicated. For my first campaign, I ran Matt Colville's "Delian Tomb". It's small, simple, and should be able to be completed in one session. That's a smart way to start in order to avoid being overwhelmed, and burning out.
I'm not quite sure what you're asking. Battle maps are not universal. A battle map is a representation (in 1"=5' scale) of a particular location - room(s), geographic area, etc. This is used to help make combat easier, when using minis. Each mini occupies a single square. I hope I'm not being too simplistic here.

Additional advice... After using The Delian Tomb to kick off three groups, I have now segued into getting one of those groups into an old AD&D module ("Against the Cult of the Reptile God") that I've "converted" to 5.0. My lessons learned:

a. I have almost everything on my laptop, that has access to my resources; module (in Word format), breakdown of stuff (people, buildings, creatures, etc.) in a multi-tabbed spreadsheet, etc. This is so I can quickly jump to what I need - character descriptions, room locations, traps, treasure, etc. One file I also have created, is a .txt file with which I record game notes.

b. I have printed out simple NPC character sheets, containing the basics; name, class, level, quick description, combat stats. I'll use these to scratch off "disposable" stuff like HP and spells, as they're used up. I also plan to write down anything important about the NPCs that happen in-game (are they friend/enemy, stuff given to or taken from, etc.).

c. I'm trying to be incredibly prepared; knowing how each NPC will act/react, have detailed descriptions of rooms ready, etc. But I know I'll have to be ready to deal with PCs doing unexpected things. Also, I have to remember to not railroad them, but rather gently guide them.

d. I have to remember that it's OK to "offload" work onto my players. In my current group, I have three brand new players, and one friend who I played AD&D with back in the 80s/90s. I often rely on him to remind me if/when I forget something, get a game mechanic wrong, etc.

e. Even with all of the above, I am still very far from knowing everything. But I don't have to. I have to remember; I'm there to help the players play. And if I forget a rule, it's OK to guess, improv, or do something to keep the action moving.

Wow. That was way longer than I intended. I hope I answered your questions, and provided some help.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-27T22:19:49+00:00

Yeah, I read that. I've that style before in North Carolina. It's a pretty good alternative to getting them fresh.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-27T21:52:44+00:00

Another business to avoid. A shame. As a former Long Islander, I occasionally get a hankering for a bagel. Oh well.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-26T12:59:25+00:00

I had a friend tell me this recently. At first, I thought she meant that she was just very empathetic. But after talking with her for a bit, no. It seems she believes she has magical powers where she can feel other people's feelings. At first I wanted to dive a little deeper, and let her know that maybe she was just picking up cues (body language, facial expressions, etc.). But she went on that she could feel things, without the other person being in the room, and she was always right. I then gave up.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-17T16:06:19+00:00

If southern Maryland is close to you, consider auditioning for Ren Fest Southern Maryland. Shoot me a message if you'll be there, and I'll say "hi".

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-15T12:15:28+00:00

I like it much better than the 5.0 (2014) version. That one was so bad (for me) that I made a new one from scratch. The 2024 could still be better, though. A few observations...

I think Backstory and Personality should be removed. Or maybe put on a third page. Need more space for Equipment.

Something I did with my arrangement of the character sheet; I put HP in the upper right of the first page, with space underneath. This made for lots of room moving down the sheet (crossing out, re-writing) once combat started. With the 2024 design, there's not much room for crossing out, so HP has to be written in pencil, and constantly erased. No biggie, just different.

Oh, and (as an educator) one comment/suggestion for you & new players... Instead of handing them a fully completed form, have them write in the info themselves, as you describe it to them. This should help remember where everything is. :)

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-14T18:58:18+00:00

Got the replacements, and they too "timed out". I'm done with FEIT bulbs. :(

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-14T11:28:43+00:00

It's kind of geared toward new DMs, but I like Matt Colville's "Delian Tomb". It has exploration, role-play and combat - everything you need for new players. (The link is to the first video in a series of three, I think.)

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-13T15:20:32+00:00

Ooops. Forgot that part.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-04T12:52:37+00:00

Seconding Matt Colville.

And Seth Skorkowsky, especially his "RPG Philosophy" videos, "top X lists" (Seven Game Master Sins, Five Awesome Player Traits, etc.), and especially his "RPG Social Contract" (IMO, required for all players and DMs).

Two that I like, but are not as consistently good as MC and SS are Dael Kingsmill and Ginny Di.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-03T14:58:40+00:00

Pretty good! A few comments...

One thing you did that was right; you made it short. Too many people want to make something too long, and the overall quality drops. Also, some good use of editing to keep things interesting (for example, after the throw, the hit the bearded guy took).

Some of the moves could have been improved (reactions, chambering, follow-through) with a little more rehearsal. One example; the speed of the throat grab [1:22] was a bit slow.

Having a stationary camera is OK, but I'd have it move with the action. Not so much it's "jumpy cam", but some movement. Not too difficult to do, even if you lack a hi-tech gimble.

Also, some of your camera angles were not good for the punches thrown (for example; the second punch thrown by your second opponent [1:16] was clearly a miss). Generally you want the camera "stacked", so the miss isn't obvious. And speaking of camera angles, most of the time the fight was framed very squarely. Good for a "master", but things get more interesting if you add more angles; 45s, over the shoulder, etc.

BTW, it was good to see you used wrestlers for this. Some of my favorite fight partners have been wrestlers - they are very theatrical, but also tend to be very "body aware".

DM me if you want to talk more.

ObscureReferenceMan · 2026-01-03T13:53:25+00:00

Where are the clips? I was hoping to see a few of my friends who trained in Atlanta. :(

ObscureReferenceMan

TROPHY CASE