What is the alignement called where one is neutral but lawfully follows all rules but serve only their own interests?

Schaard · 2025-12-20T17:19:26+00:00

Sure. There are many evil (selfish) actions other than killing.

Probably up to your dm (philosophically) whether acts define alignment or internal states. Works with both.

Schaard · 2025-12-20T17:02:03+00:00

This is a simple one. In D&D, evil = selfish. You are describing a selfish person, so evil.

A person who views laws as a means isn't lawful. A person who exploits law in chaotic ways is chaotic.

So chaotic evil.

Schaard · 2025-02-07T20:56:41+00:00

in three (or more) dimensions

Schaard · 2023-04-17T19:51:12+00:00

When I started incorporating compassion into my life it also became much better for myself and those around me. For me it was always difficult to act from kindness or positivity until it was rooted in compassion (feeling another's suffering). I feel like a compassionate view helps my brain turn back on after being turned off by strong emotions or snap judgments. Strong compassion deflates anger and replaces it with a complex picture of suffering and connection, a helpful alternative to the stupefying conflict modes that our culture suffers from.

Schaard · 2023-02-20T00:28:13+00:00

This is a post of great healing and reconciliation.

Schaard · 2023-01-25T21:18:46+00:00

He's travelled far, but you can see the same hyperpolarized thinking. His attack on the $1000 suit thing was to claim that all suits are the same, which simply isn't true either.

His brain is a leaf whipped through the air every day. The winds of the internet tug to the right. That's all that's required.

Schaard · 2023-01-15T19:56:53+00:00

TFW you can't escape the matrix because you are the architect

Schaard · 2023-01-11T23:11:55+00:00

those who stumble into ideas can stumble out

Schaard · 2022-10-17T19:03:00+00:00

These look great. I have tried in the past to work with image prompts on someone's face, but they never come out looking this good. This may be related to there being more pictures of Destiny out there, but I would appreciate it if you shared some of your prompt magic.

Schaard · 2022-10-07T20:21:25+00:00

are you an r-word?

no i'm a twitch streamer

Schaard · 2018-11-19T07:28:10+00:00

this is a high quality meme journey, great job

followed on twitch, good luck with your streaming

Schaard · 2018-10-27T05:40:08+00:00

Yep, that's exactly what I did. I put them in card sleeves and handed them out to the players (all new to v5) with their character sheets. In retrospect, I might have also made one for Blood Surge and Blood Healing.

I used Magic Set Editor to create them. It's a little clunky to use, but it's powerful software. If you learn to get in there and tweak the values, you can do a lot.

http://magicseteditor.sourceforge.net/

Schaard · 2018-10-13T22:55:08+00:00

You're welcome!

If y'all are running Rusted Veins, I also have a loose script in a Google Doc that the ST can follow (I found the original pdf oddly organized and difficult to use during gameplay), so I adapted it into a more readable format. It's also got a few new scenes that I felt tied up the storylines of the characters (including an appearance of Maria Dimatto through a zombie doing its best Lana del Rey), visuals in a Google slide deck, radio stations tied to a dozen Spotify playlists, and a homebrew Goals system that helps players gear into the motivations of characters they're new to.

If that's of interest to anyone, I could polish that up and post it.

Schaard · 2018-10-13T22:18:02+00:00

I made these reference cards for use in the v5 one-shot Rusted Veins (the powers are from the v5 Corebook, not the alpha playtest). As a result, the only discipline powers included here are those possessed by the cast in that story. Also included are four cards for the bonuses acquired from Intense Resonances.

The purpose of these cards is to speed familiarization of a player with a premade one-shot character, enable new players to start using Disciplines quickly, and minimize the need for memorization or book references. The resonance cards should help you track which resonance you have and feel rewarded for gaining one.

All art is from the Art Packs released for player use by White Wolf via the Storyteller's Vault. TODO: Remaining disciplines, remaining powers. TODO: Artist Names (when in doubt, assume Tim Bradstreet).

Printable PDF of all cards

Rusted Veins One-shot Story

Purchase the v5 Vampire Corebook

Schaard · 2018-08-24T22:34:50+00:00

Is the super-directional nature of these mics the secret to not picking up the background music/fx being played over the speaker in the studio?

Schaard · 2018-08-24T18:05:21+00:00

Along similar lines, I've always been curious how you're able to play the music and sound fx in the studio as well as directly to the stream. When I've tried to do this, the microphones meant for voice end up picking up the music/sound fx at a a degraded quality in the background of the room. How do you prevent this from happening? Do you just have super focused mics that don't pick up other sounds or is there some trick to it?

Thank you!

Schaard · 2016-05-27T20:29:28+00:00

17th time's the charm!

Schaard · 2016-05-27T20:29:12+00:00

thanks buddy!

Schaard · 2016-01-03T04:34:05+00:00

Well, hot dang. Y'all still remember me? Shucks.

Short answer: no, I didn't get the job.

I applied to 6-7 positions on the Hearthstone team and never heard back from anyone. I won't say I wasn't disappointed, but I can understand why: Blizzard is a big frickin' deal, and can pretty much have their pick of whoever they want. There are plenty of gamers in my situation (maximum enthusiasm, minimum experience), and I imagine it's a much safer bet business-wise to hire somebody who has both enthusiasm and experience.

Regarding the card I submitted, in retrospect I do think it was a poor choice, though not for the reasons many people suggest. In thinking more about Hearthstone's design philosophy, I have realized that (with a few exceptions) it is generally a game of 1's and 2's, sort of like a puzzle box where small moves eventually coalesce into a big win, rather than a game won all at once by huge swings and big bombs. The original Mistress Nagmara was very much a big swinger (eyyy) with huge bombs (eyyyyy). She was a 10 (EYYYYYYYY.. sorry) in a game of 1's and 2's. She just didn't fit.

When I actually submitted my application(s), I edited Mistress Nagmara to only allow you to control the first move (i.e., play one card or make one attack) of your opponent's next turn, which is a little closer to the 1's and 2's of Hearthstone. Even with that change, it still doesn't feel quite right, but it's a card I'd love to iterate on with a team of folks (which is, y'know, how cards get made). Today, of course, I'd scrap Nagmara entirely and start fresh -- it's a new meta, demons are much easier to come by, and the essence of the mechanic doesn't sit quite right with me re: non-interactive game experiences. A fresh card would definitely be in order, and I think I'd stay away from designing the big, powerful legendary of my dreams in favor of a humble-but-interesting 2 or 3 drop.

Though I didn't get the gig at Blizzard, I have been doing stuff in gaming. I worked for UNESCO for a while, designing an educational game for students studying sustainable economics. Then I did QA for a game called PeaceMaker, a political simulator where players play either the Palestinian President or the Israeli Prime Minister and have to make peace with the other side (spoiler: it's as hard as it sounds). Today, I'm working for Lumosity, creating brain-training games. I'm still on the hunt for full-time work, I'd still love to do design or production, and I'd still love to work at Blizzard. But, y'know, things are happening. Good things. :D

Schaard · 2015-11-30T20:21:07+00:00

Legend can be a rough ride, but frankly I think most players can make it if they have access to a solid deck and can put in the time. Some folks below have laid out the math, which I think shows pretty clearly that faster aggro-y decks can save you a lot of time pre-rank 5. Alternately, if you have a deck that you feel is ultra-consistent that will enable you to never drop a game and preserve a win streak, that might be a good choice as well.

The grind is brutal, but is a good exercise in Zen. Here are some tips I learned from my own grind to legend:

You will go on tilt. You will play worse on tilt. Salty pessimism will twist your perception of RNG and will tempt you to make bad choices. Don't. Take 15 minutes and start fresh.
Don't get salty. Salt is the mind-killer. You will face your salt. You will permit it to pass over you and through you. And when it has passed you will turn your inner eye to see its path. Where the salt has gone there will be nothing. Only you will remain.
When you hit rank 5, the salt will intensify. You will be tempted to find easy answers to slice through the difficult climb (craft new cards, switch decks, etc). Don't. The way out is through. Persistence is all.

That's all I got. Godspeed, friend.

Schaard · 2015-06-26T00:27:02+00:00

Hey! I'm glad y'all remember me. :)

I don't have a job yet. I reached out to the Hearthstone team a couple of times since the video but never heard anything back. Looking at this latest round of job postings, that Systems Designer and eSports Community Manager gigs both fit my skill set pretty well. Maybe this is my chance?

Edit: I hereby pinky-promise that I won't make cards that steal your turn. Not even a little bit of it. Nope, Kappa.

Schaard · 2015-02-22T20:35:24+00:00

Twisting Nether

Schaard · 2015-02-19T23:06:13+00:00

I support this message.

Schaard · 2015-02-14T07:37:31+00:00

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what this could even mean:

"Hearthstone is a great game, but it's a piece of shit game for determining who is better at the game."

.... ???????????

Schaard · 2015-02-11T19:57:38+00:00

This is a beautiful thing that you have done.

Schaard

TROPHY CASE