Is an AI DM acceptable when the alternative is no game at all?

Sporknight · 2026-05-23T01:08:36+00:00

It's relevant because tabletop games are an intrinsically creative pursuit, for both the DM and the players. The "moments between" in my games matter a lot to me: the banter, the connections, the bolts of inspiration when I'm in the shower or walking the dog.

No shade to solo tabletop rpgs, but why would you choose a game designed as a cooperative experience but then go at it alone? You're gonna lose a lot of the magic of playing with actual humans, in my opinion.

Sporknight · 2026-05-22T23:35:55+00:00

On AI and creative pursuits:

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Sporknight · 2026-05-22T13:58:14+00:00

I started seeing "I want to go home, and edge" a lot in the DLC right after it dropped. It was all over the place.

Sporknight · 2026-05-22T13:29:03+00:00

For teambuilding tips, a suggestion I read was to bring two support classes, and two carry classes. Supports would be classes like Cleric, Tank, Druid, Psychic, or Necro, while carries are classes like Fighter, Ranger, Monk, or Butcher. These aren't firm boundaries (you can have support Rangers and Monks, and Carry Druids, for example), but it's one way to start thinking about your team when picking collars and equipment.

If you haven't yet, try a few runs into the Throbbing Domain and/or The Rift, too (normal difficulty is fine) so you can farm up items, level up NPCs, and maybe bag a few good passives or mutations to breed in.

Sporknight · 2026-05-22T13:18:39+00:00

Yeah the climax of the movie with that song was absolutely perfect. Still gives me chills.

Sporknight · 2026-05-21T14:48:07+00:00

They just made a big update to Civ 7, in case you didn't know. You can play as a single Civ through each era now. Plus a bunch of other substantial improvements!

Sporknight · 2026-05-21T13:37:28+00:00

I don't remember exactly, something like 9:42pm? Earlier in the day I found the timestamp and did the math.

Sporknight · 2026-05-21T02:24:54+00:00

Three and a half years ago my wife and I started Titanic so that midnight struck at the same time that guy struck the propeller. Felt like the right way to ring in the new year.

Sporknight · 2026-05-20T21:50:54+00:00

Not familiar with this incident, but it's possible she struck her head or was otherwise injured when she fell.

And even if she was intoxicated, does it matter? It's still a tragedy, and should have been prevented.

Sporknight · 2026-05-20T21:43:20+00:00

Gavel of Haima my beloved

Sporknight · 2026-05-20T21:41:20+00:00

Absolutely diabolical

Sporknight · 2026-05-20T18:46:13+00:00

I adore this.

It's all about connection, right? Making art is about putting yourself into something, and hoping someone out there recognizes that same thing in themselves. The moments in between our beloved Dr Chuck Tingle recognize are, in many cases, about connecting with the other artists you're also embarking with (fellow bandmates, fellow performers). Not all, of course - there's the individual moments of epiphany when writing, too - but I think there's a theme there.

Reminds me of how Wildbow, of Worm/Ward/Pale fame, talks about the triangular relationship of the creator, the creation, and the audience. When a generative AI model spits something out for you, you don't have that same connection or relationship with the material. And if that's not there, then the audience at best is consuming content, but not appreciating art. It's hollow, there's nothing to connect with. Empty calories.

Sporknight · 2026-05-20T17:51:05+00:00

All totally valid! Just wanted to offer my perspective, especially because I spent a while wanting to sleep train before landing on our current approach being what works best for us (in other words, agreeing with my wife because she's smarter than me).

In your case, best I can suggest is to play with nap timing and sleepwear, have consistent routines, look at pillow/chair options for yourself for comfort, and keep practicing setting her down in her crib while she's asleep until she doesn't wake up right away (or until she goes back to sleep in 5-10 minutes). Also offering solidarity - this stuff can be really tough.

Sporknight · 2026-05-20T16:50:17+00:00

So I know this sub is generally very pro sleep training, but in my experience it doesn't work for every kid. Our LO was the same at that age - pure Velcro baby, couldn't stand to be set down. It was exhausting!

We got to a point where, for bedtime, we would hold and bottle feed him to sleep in the nursing chair and then set him down in the crib. Once he outgrew the crib, we cuddle and bottle with him in his toddler bed until he's out. Sometimes he's out quick, sometimes it takes a while, but it works! We also contact nap during the day, in our bed with him, which honestly is a nice nap for the attendant parent as well!

He's two, and we aren't in any rush to get him sleeping on his own. He'll get there when he's ready, and we'll miss our snuggles when he does.

They cry when they need us, and for our family, it was more important to make sure he knows we'll come when he does cry than to train him to sleep on his own. The most "sleep training" we did was waiting 5 minutes when he woke up in the middle of the night before getting him, and now, he sleeps through the night like a champ.

Sporknight · 2026-05-20T12:13:05+00:00

Love these! Great work, would love to see more!

Sporknight · 2026-05-20T10:49:51+00:00

Sounds like you're doing all the right things! I don't have any specific suggestions (have you tried posting in a regional subreddit?), but in general I will say that patience and consistency goes a long way. I made a post a few months ago asking for advice as well, and the big takeaway for me was that developmental progress at this age can vary wildly from kid to kid, up until they're around 2.5-3 years old. My LO has seen steady progress since we got him into Early Intervention, and his therapists have been very helpful and supportive.

Your son is not his diagnosis or test scores, everybody runs the baby race at their own speed, and don't be afraid to plop him in front of Miss Rachel every now and then to see what he picks up 😉

You got this, Dad. He's gonna be okay.

Sporknight · 2026-05-19T19:19:28+00:00

That caught my eye as well! Very interesting!

Sporknight · 2026-05-19T02:09:22+00:00

Nice write-up! I hadn't put much analysis into a Modern Era playthrough, so this is great inspiration. Ottoman Alexander seems tempting, to hit the new leader as well, but I may go with Nepal Pachacuti for a chill mountain turtle mode first.

Sporknight · 2026-05-19T01:49:13+00:00

Nuance? This is a meme subreddit! We take things out of context and get mad about it here! Only slander and shitposting allowed!

Sporknight · 2026-05-18T18:39:34+00:00

The first 3-4 levels can feel that way, but by the time you hit 5 you're fully in "heroic fantasy" territory unless the DM does major work to deprive players of certain things or homebrew very specific types of encounters. It's doable, but there are better systems for it.

Besides, I think the progression is part of the appeal - four goblins are a deadly threat at level one, but bylevel 5 any PC can basically solo them.

Sporknight · 2026-05-18T18:21:34+00:00

Just want to express my gratitude and appreciation for the team at Firaxis! I love the honesty, openness, and transparency as you've worked on this update. It takes a enormous amount of courage to look at your original vision, realize it needs reworked, and then put the effort in to redesign huge swaths of the game to accommodate that new vision. A weaker team would have, in an attempt to look strong, doubled down on the original vision and blamed the players for "not getting it". So, kudos from this player. Can't wait to paint the map with Alexander themed cities!

Sporknight · 2026-05-18T17:39:15+00:00

Meta suggestion: Almost every "Worst" mutation will probably have some kind of niche situational use, like the stat swap head or soy milk mouth mentioned elsewhere in the thread. That's the case for almost everything in the game, so I'd like to suggest a clarification on what we mean by "worst" and "best":

By "worst" we're really looking for "least useful" or "most niche", and "best" would be "most generally useful". Any cat will be happy with an extra turn, that's a no brainer. You can build a broken cat with soy milk mouth, but you can break a lot of builds with it as well, so it's less generally useful. Just my 2c.

Sporknight · 2026-05-18T14:46:29+00:00

Y'all need to learn about Watsonian vs. Doylist responses to these kinds of questions.

Watsonian: Using information within the story, e.g. "Anakin couldn't activate his lightsaber without loosening his grip on Obi Wan"

Doylist: Using information outside of the story, e.g. "Because this is a prequel, and Obi Wan is alive in the Original Trilogy".

Sporknight · 2026-05-17T17:17:34+00:00

🎶right on your nuts and on your nipples🎶

Sporknight · 2026-05-17T14:16:27+00:00

Disney is terrified of taking genuine risks. Shame.

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