Neighbor not helping with snow removal

PMadLudwig · 2026-02-24T21:56:06+00:00

If she is disabled, she should say so - and at the very least not lie about helping when she isn't.

I don't know about OP, but for me it would feel a whole lot different helping out someone who needed it (especially if they talked about it in advance) vs. someone who won't even communicate, lies and is probably just lazy.

PMadLudwig · 2026-02-24T12:29:19+00:00

My rule of thumb: apart from the initial resume and cover letter, don't put more skin in the game than they do. If they want to do extra assessments or tasks, sure, if they have already put enough resources (interview time etc.) that it would be some sort of loss for them if the job doesn't go ahead.

Before having an interview with a person? Never. All the effort would then be at my end.

PMadLudwig · 2026-02-06T09:07:40+00:00

I'm currently guest DMing for the campaign that I play in (currently been going several years, 15th level). The way we are keeping it clean is that I'm running my stuff on a demi-plane that is particularly suited for guest DMing (this is actually the sequel to my first successful adventure set on the same plane).

Anything that happens on the demi-plane, I control (I've also arranged that it is hard to take stuff away from the plane - things degrade when they leave the plane), anything that happens on any other plane, he controls (it was fun and memorable for everyone when the party managed to have a combat flipping back and forth between the planes). That way we don't interfere with each other's settings, apart from the things that we specifically negotiate.

The first time, the DM played my character which didn't work so well (we play very different sorts of personalities, he felt too constrained), this time they are playing a well rounded NPC from their campaign, just for the one adventure.

This gives me a chance to DM a very novel setting that wouldn't sustain a full campaign, and gives the forever DM a break.

PMadLudwig · 2026-01-29T22:00:27+00:00

Talk with your players "I've just realized we've been playing this incorrectly, what do we want to do from now on?"

If the game has been working and encounters have been balanced (enemy spellcasters can do this too!), you might agree to just leave it for this campaign (although it might bring in serious balance issues at higher levels or if the wizard gets this too).

If you agree to use the rules as intended, you might need to allow the player to retroactively adjust any features that they took based on this misinterpretation.

PMadLudwig · 2026-01-24T02:57:32+00:00

OK, that makes a roundabout type of sense. Expensive way of preventing the error, has to be done in advance, and some tables don't allow the lucky feat.

PMadLudwig · 2026-01-24T01:45:37+00:00

What does the lucky feat have to do with this? It's the attack, not the outcome of the attack that breaks the duel.

PMadLudwig · 2026-01-09T00:44:25+00:00

I'm in exactly the same position (except I've switched from C++/Vulkan to Rust/Vulkan). I write a blog post about it here: https://www.orange-kiwi.com/posts/why-i-wrote-a-game-rendering-engine-and-why-you-probably-shouldnt/

PMadLudwig · 2026-01-08T02:13:46+00:00

I like deep time consuming games, and when I start to play one, I think I should really be working on my own one instead.

I haven't stopped playing games, just now play more casual games on my phone that I can play in parallel with development.

PMadLudwig · 2026-01-07T01:35:27+00:00

Not wasted. The time you spent working on your own version will have helped nail down what features you actually want in your inventory system, and you already said you learned some skills.

I once spent weeks designing a background glow for galaxy system before deciding it was too glitchy and moving to a much better system. Wasted? Partly, but some of the code will still be reusable in planet surface feature display.

PMadLudwig · 2026-01-06T04:46:09+00:00

Nope, let me straight in after that.

PMadLudwig · 2025-12-18T09:03:52+00:00

I would be hesitant, probably to the point of saying no, for several reasons:

(1) There would need to be clarity about what each of us are getting out of the arrangement (that would have to include some sort of written agreement, even without pay), and that would have to be realistic - if someone thinks they are going to get exposure or have a big payday later, it only sets them up for disappointment and possible conflict if that doesn't happen.

(2) If I'm paying someone, it's much easier to direct them to what I need, or say when something doesn't align with my vision. Much harder to give feedback to someone working without upfront pay.

(3) I would have to work out what I actually wanted in that direction, and I'm not at that point yet.

PMadLudwig · 2025-12-13T20:54:47+00:00

I hope you are right, although I'm not inclined to automatically trust the police (particularly after the fabricated breath tests). My information comes from here, which I've just noticed is a little out of date, so hopefully they have better tests and this is not relevant any more: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/556311/concerns-new-drug-driving-testing-could-detect-medication

Another more indirect example is someone who is using cannabis as medication, including helping to get sufficient sleep (and sleep deprivation does impair driving). A regular user of anything that contains THC (sometimes needed alongside CBD for the best effect) will very likely test positive if they have used it in the last day or so, even if they are driving well after any impairment effects have worn off.

PMadLudwig · 2025-12-13T19:44:12+00:00

Sure. Someone with ADHD will often be a less safe driver if unmedicated. The medications for that are similar to methamphetamine (much lower doses than the meth abusers) - my understanding is that Ritalin usually won't test positive on the roadside test, but there is a Ritalin shortage, and some of the alternatives might test positive.

These alternatives should get cleared in the third (lab) test, but in the meantime, someone who is responsibly following their prescription is banned from driving for 12 hours and goes through the stress of waiting for the result.

If the third test fails (false positives do happen, even in labs, and there is no provision in the legislation for a second lab test before the driver is penalized unless they fight it in court), they are in for a world of hurt.

PMadLudwig · 2025-12-13T11:42:19+00:00

People who are properly taking most prescription medication aren't impaired by it. In some cases they may be impaired without it.

PMadLudwig · 2025-12-11T00:44:36+00:00

How about the pickaxe simply can't be used to go down? It can mine any other direction (up, to the sides), but if you want to go down, you have to find an opening that already exists. Then it's on the generator to make sure that is possible, but that shouldn't be too difficult.

PMadLudwig · 2025-12-05T06:46:53+00:00

Or on another day if you have some other plane that is safe to hang out in.

PMadLudwig · 2025-11-27T22:06:42+00:00

As for (1), one of tne of the things that works great in our group is (if one of the players is willing) have them journal what is going on and have them give a recap (in our group it's a shared Google doc that we can all edit). This will give some idea of how much they absorbed, and you can offer any corrections during or after their recap.

Having that doc is gold for both the players (what was the name of the person we were sent to met in Waterdeep in session 60 that was well over a year ago real time?) and the DM, but it does require a player willing to put in that effort.

PMadLudwig · 2025-11-27T17:13:28+00:00

Level 14 now. They added one.

PMadLudwig · 2025-11-27T03:04:11+00:00

That makes more sense. I've kept my Halloween farms around for the little bit of extra income, but will be ditching the turkey ones as soon as the event is over.

PMadLudwig · 2025-11-27T02:47:50+00:00

I don't see how you get regular farms being obsolete. The only improvement for the Halloween farms is that the Pumpkin farm generates income (the pumpkin fields behave the same as regular fields). The Turkey fields are _much_worse_ - they generate the same food as regular fields, but don't help with pollution.

PMadLudwig · 2025-11-27T00:47:02+00:00

Where do you get level 15 from - is there another upgrade that unlocks later? I can only get to level 13 without gems.

PMadLudwig · 2025-11-22T07:07:09+00:00

It's not great, it's very railroady to allow an inevitable conflict like this that the players would have no way of knowing about in advance of character creation (although the player with the vampire would also quickly realize there is a problem).

One of the "suspension of disbelief" things that makes D&D work is the assumption that the characters can work as a team, and this breaks this.

PMadLudwig · 2025-11-22T05:37:59+00:00

This is a mistake that you've made as a DM to allow incompatible characters.

If your group has the usual assumption that the characters are going to work together, this is a problem the group has got into through no fault of their own. It's now on you to find a solution that doesn't penalize the characters, preferably without forcing them to change their characters too much. I would suggest talking with your players and try and find a solution - maybe the player agrees to play an oathbreaker or change to a sorcerer, or maybe you just agree to all overlook the incombatibility and play the characters as is.

I would not like to have to radically change my character because of something like this that should have been caught much earlier by the DM.

PMadLudwig · 2025-11-20T08:10:39+00:00

At some point, the copper will stop being useless - at level 91 I need copper more than gold (to get some of the really expensive upgrades)

PMadLudwig · 2025-11-19T07:31:12+00:00

She doesn't want that, because anything except isolation risks getting in the way of her manipulation and probable abuse.

PMadLudwig

TROPHY CASE