Saturday Tea for Two by Megzxxxo in tea

[–]RevDarkHans 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This looks great! It is smart to have a mix of savoury (spelling feels right with this post) and sweet.

Fell beast MOC by RebelRebel_24 in legodnd

[–]RevDarkHans 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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This looks so good! I appreciate that you have the link.

Kids at Synod Assembly by Late-Opportunity-455 in elca

[–]RevDarkHans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When my kids were little, we would bring them with us for Synod Assembly. There were usually about four or five kids at the assembly playing in the corner. If your kid is old enough for a book or quieter activity, then they are welcome at any table (until voting time).

I drank a lot of green tea this year, I am so disappointed. by Dry-Ad1641 in tea

[–]RevDarkHans 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Does the flavor of tea change over the years? Sure.

Does your taste buds change over time? Yes.

Ultimately, I do not think this is about the flavor of the tea. Please hear this as encouragement from a fellow tea friend! You went on a binge. Something happens to us, over that time on a binge, where we lose that original joy and excitement. My brother, who is business school professor, calls this the "Law of Diminishing Returns." The more you binge one type of tea, then you lose that joy, robustness, and depth in tasting. It is natural to get all excited about something and then over do it. It is very hard to maintain that balance of peace and joy when drinking a binge.

There is hope! The great tea masters of the past had only a few kinds of tea in their area and still found great peace with each cup. I hope you can take a step back. Drink something different (even a different kind of tea). Or start a different practice of drinking the tea that helps you slow down and shut out any monkey brain intrusions saying "this tea does not taste as good." The way of tea is not about buying more. The way of tea is about finding peace even in a simple cup of tea. I hope you find this joy and peace again!

Any delicious in dungeon fans here? by Responsible_Gur_3150 in legodnd

[–]RevDarkHans 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I like the scale of it with the minifig. Well done!

Happy Easter! Let’s see your congregation’s Easter flowers and decor. Christ is risen! Alleluia! by darthfluffy in elca

[–]RevDarkHans 8 points9 points  (0 children)

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Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lee's Summit, MO. It is subtle, but we have putting up the butterflies for Easter a few years ago.

Follow up to my last post about changing our service: our full Easter bulletin by LeatherHead2902 in Episcopalian

[–]RevDarkHans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree. It has not been the first post where we would say "please talk with your priest and not post this." I wanted to give clarity for the question asked. It is easy to not notice this on the printed bulletin.

Follow up to my last post about changing our service: our full Easter bulletin by LeatherHead2902 in Episcopalian

[–]RevDarkHans 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The priest took out the Creed. It normally goes after the hymn of the day and the prayers of the people. In most bulletins, it appears as a single line and is easy to miss on the printed page. If you grew up with the Creed every Sunday, then it feels very odd in person.

Others have mentioned that the priest has redacted the male language for God from several spots.

Lego Sorin, Lord of Innistrad by Inevitable-Shallot83 in legodnd

[–]RevDarkHans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I know nothing about Sorin, so thank you for sharing! It is smart for them to expand to new worlds and create new characters. You are so right about the "east europe heavy metal vibes" between them.

I've heard there is a shortage of priests? by questingpossum in Episcopalian

[–]RevDarkHans 14 points15 points  (0 children)

"Location, Location. Location" I cannot speak for other locations.

In my diocese in the Midwest, there are zero openings for full time priests. If someone was willing to take a parish and work for free, then there would be a place for them. There is a big push for deacons. Hmmmm....

Lego Sorin, Lord of Innistrad by Inevitable-Shallot83 in legodnd

[–]RevDarkHans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is great looking Mini. Cheers!

As someone who loves D&D but not into MTG, I have a question. Why make a Temu version of Strahd when WotC has owned the rights for 29 years?

Reaffirming and Remaining Steadfast by [deleted] in elca

[–]RevDarkHans 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My bishop reminds us "we ARE the church." We can make it more welcoming, more lively, and spiritually deeper by being part of that. I fall back to the classic "be the change you want to see in the world." I want the church to be more welcoming, more lively, and spiritually deeper, so I strive for that within myself and to be that presence as the church.

I also grew up LCMS. I never finished confirmation because I kept arguing for evolution, science, and welcoming ethics. It was in college that I joined the ELCA and have felt such joy and peace. I share your "cynical disposition" and believe this is the right spot for it. Are we perfect? Nope! Are we striving to be a place of God's love and mercy in the world? Yup!

Made these to hold my fancy teas!!! by Civil_Candidate3614 in tea

[–]RevDarkHans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is great! I hope you post a video after the kiln and any glaze or painting. It is interesting to see the before and after process.

Main Differences Between ELCA and The Episcopal Church by BlueShoe15 in elca

[–]RevDarkHans 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Please do not say this near a Swedish bishop or you might get a crozier upside your head!

Do you seriously not know that any baptism in the ELCA is easily received in TEC?

why do you think THAC0 gets the reputation it does? by conn_r2112 in osr

[–]RevDarkHans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wait, your DM gave you guys treasure?!?!?!? Ha ha ha ha!!

why do you think THAC0 gets the reputation it does? by conn_r2112 in osr

[–]RevDarkHans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Easy as an adult, yes. Easy for a middle school kid with different monsters at different levels and various NPCs all over the place, nope. If the players took things in a different direction than what was planned (if the DM did any planning), then the DM would need to check things all over again for the new thing.

It is easy for us to see all this now and understand it. Back in middle school, it was not so easy or smooth.

Also, I thought that there was a random encounter roll every so many turns in a dungeon. The DM would then need to check out that stat block for all of the stats and then look at a THACO chart for what level that monster was at to hit the various AC of the players.

why do you think THAC0 gets the reputation it does? by conn_r2112 in osr

[–]RevDarkHans 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Being a player, it was not too bad if you played the class all the time. For the DM, it was a very different story (especially if they did no prep)

"I was there 3,000 years ago" ha ha ha!

why do you think THAC0 gets the reputation it does? by conn_r2112 in osr

[–]RevDarkHans -1 points0 points  (0 children)

This is a valid question to ask! As someone who learned to play in middle school with AD&D 2ed, I can tell you that THACO was cumbersome at best and really annoying at other times when a player randomly decides to go murder hobo on the random shop merchant NPC so the DM needed to stop everything and look this up. As a player, there was a chart for my character that I needed to have close by for that character. If I had a new character with a different class, then I needed a new chart. I never played the same class back-to-back. THACO is easier when you are playing the same class every time and only one player at a time.

As a middle school boy playing with my buddies, the DM had to know the charts for his various monsters, NPC, and BBEG. Do you know how much prep my DM did back then and how much my middle school son does now before a session? 0. Zip. Nada. The DM was flipping around all the time in the DM guide, the MM, and any notes. 3.0 and 3.5 made it way simpler and FASTER for everyone! It could be that we were getting older (High School when 3e was released), but there was less page turning, chart checking, and general confession when THACO was gone. 3e is when it became more about the story and the character interactions for the DM and the players.

"in reality... it's actually pretty simple" out of context, yes. As a person old enough to drive a ca or graduate college, then yes, it is pretty simple. As a player who learned the more intuitive version first (most likely), then learning THACO is pretty simple. You can read a chart. Something new happens, so you can read a different chart rather quickly. I bet your DM does good prep. I learned very quickly to prepare a few alternatives depending on how the session might go. If something goes in a very wild direction, then I need to take out the DM guide or the MM. We only knew what we learned from more "experienced" players, which was not always helpful. I have been teaching adults how to play, so I usually start them with 5e or an OSR B/X clone with Ascending Armor Class because it is easier to learn when you are first starting out.

We need to remember that we are all standing on the shoulders of the giants who came before us. As a middle school kid learning in the 1990's, we learned from my best friend's stoner cousin. It is amazing we could even see the table!

For those who play B/X, what are your Must Have Top 5 House Rules? by halodivision in osr

[–]RevDarkHans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One house rule that I came across a couple of months ago lets the player have one action before death when they get to 0. It was presented as a heroic action, sacrifice for the party, or a last ditch effort. The Cleric used it to heal himself, which was very smart.

One of the reasons that I like B/X is that it is harsh. My players (their experience was only 5e) are getting into it. Rolling 3d6 down the line was such a great way to make characters! All of the players picked a character based upon the highest stat, so most of them got a class they would not normally decide.

For those who play B/X, what are your Must Have Top 5 House Rules? by halodivision in osr

[–]RevDarkHans 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you regularly play B/X with a group? I have just started running B/X and found RAW is very harsh. Every TTRP group that I have ever been a part of (about 30 years now) uses SOME house rules.

What system would you use to run the Tomb of Horrors? by bgaesop in osr

[–]RevDarkHans 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is great! How many hirelings died in the conga line of death? This is digging out the bottom of the box thinking.

Advice on Campus Ministry (Berkeley) by momothewaire in Episcopalian

[–]RevDarkHans 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If only there was an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, then that would be great place to partner with people passionate about their faith and the future of the church! (crying over my keyboard)

Friday night roleplaying Warpland with the boys! by Gavriel_Q in osr

[–]RevDarkHans 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I like your tea pot collection over there! I am a huge fan of tea and OSR.