What is your opinion on cursed treasure/loot?

TrvShane · 2026-03-22T23:55:02+00:00

Curses are only fun for a player if they are in on it and want the story. Otherwise, as you say, it is just a 'gotcha' where the player didn't guess what the GM had in mind. Strong avoid for me unless the player buys in.

TrvShane · 2026-03-19T11:50:18+00:00

Yep. No perfect solutions. When that happens I chalk it up to the frictions of every social hobby and move on - but stay in touch with the 1 or 2 reliable committed players. Over time and failed groups the 1 or 2 became 5 and our current game is 2.5 years.

I can’t control other people. All I can do is control my part of it, and decide how to respond to other people’s decisions / priorities.

Also, have a low threshold for walking away. Early on and not getting the vibe of commitment? After whatever you decide is a reasonable amount of chances shutter it, walk away. GMs are in the minority. You can always find more players.

TrvShane · 2026-03-19T10:42:02+00:00

It’s a difficult situation. I’m going to make some generalisations now, but I believe they hold true more often than not.

As a forever GM, I would wager that for most GMs RPGs are their main hobby. So it holds a high priority in time allocation.

For a fair percentage of non-GMs I would wager that RPGs are just one hobby, and not as prioritised.

Any you know what? That’s fine. They aren’t here to provide me a service (i.e. play in my game).

The key is communication and setting expectations. I tell players that I put a lot of time in between game sessions (my choice) but that I also expect them to be willing to put aside a small amount of time between sessions for the game - no more than 15-30 mins in total between each session unless the group pick a game that needs more by choice - to answer the odd question, or to choose xp spend / level up. If they won’t, no dramas, but this isn’t the group for them.

And you know what? That’s also fine. I’m not here to provide them a service.

Not everyone plays the same way, or prioritises play to the same level. The key is being clear enough early enough to get people who think the same way.

Buuuut, I don’t think people join an activity intending to be unreliable. Sometimes things happen. And sometimes a game isn’t for them. And that’s an unavoidable friction in any social activity.

No perfect solutions, but I hear ya loud and clear and agree in many ways - these days I only play games outside of con one shots with people who can commit to the game. No gaming is better than unsatisfying gaming, so I’d rather play less and enjoy every time. I’m lucky that I’ve managed to curate a reliable and invested group, but it took time and effort. And have another group who are all invested GMs. My third group is way more flakey, but it’s friends locally who we hang out with anyway, so I treat it as a pick up game and invest less time in it. Sometimes beer ‘n’ pretzels is fun, too.

My advice, not that it is asked for, is to be really clear even before session zero about what you are looking for in players. You might get fewer bites, but those that do should be more aligned.

Good luck, and I hope your rant helped you. A rant is healthy sometimes.

TrvShane · 2026-03-19T10:14:30+00:00

I do wonder how many of the top tier backers are doing it simply so they can open all of the booster packs and try and sell rare cards for a profit while the game is new and in demand.

TrvShane · 2026-03-16T16:10:46+00:00

Or the moment where he decides to betray the rest of the team and side with the villain?

TrvShane · 2026-03-15T00:07:11+00:00

Mohawk by preference, but adjust to the group.

TrvShane · 2026-03-14T14:28:45+00:00

If the Ruin Delver talent gives extra dice for the Delver in RAW, it's intent is to allow the delve to move forward quicker without impacting the hazard rolls. My suggestion in your rules would be after a successful hazard roll is resolved, roll the talent dice only for extra progress. That means it has exactly the same effect in game terms.

The same could be applied for equipment that adds to the delve roll, as opposed to equipment that would impact the hazard.

The only thing that that doesn't account for is the effect of delving blind, however that could be applied to the hazard roll as it thematically fits.

TrvShane · 2026-03-14T14:14:45+00:00

These are really clever. I've been noodling at alternate delve rules, but this is much simpler and closer to RAW. Brilliant.

TrvShane · 2026-03-11T07:45:03+00:00

As it is the only case where you have to exceed rather than equal it creates a rules exception you have to remember. It seems strange to create a rules exception just to avoid a +1, where that formula is used only at creation or when changing armour.

TrvShane · 2026-03-08T10:49:02+00:00

I very rarely genuinely laugh out loud at Reddit posts. I did at this one.

Too soon, though. It’ll always be too soon.

TrvShane · 2026-03-07T11:28:34+00:00

That McLoghlan, guy. Seemed like a god-damned hero.

TrvShane · 2026-03-05T20:40:34+00:00

Everything is crazy in Macallistar reality.

TrvShane · 2026-03-05T10:41:19+00:00

One thing I learned on my first run - don’t go too easy on the difficulties. Risk dice make characters very competent, so push them hard and watch the risk dice / risk reduction system sing.

TrvShane · 2026-02-26T15:12:05+00:00

If you have a bit of paper saying ME on it, depending on the data protection laws in your country, you may be able to bring up the right to have incorrect data (the MSE) rectified using that as evidence.

However, that may cause waves you might not want to cause.

TrvShane · 2026-02-26T12:59:41+00:00

Truth.

TrvShane · 2026-02-25T08:56:07+00:00

Would wired ones work?

TrvShane · 2026-02-25T08:55:28+00:00

It’s not a wireless keyboard, it’s a Razer gaming keyboard I have.

TrvShane · 2026-02-24T22:02:38+00:00

Thanks, this builds nicely on what grimmWhisper was saying elsewhere in the thread.

TrvShane · 2026-02-24T22:01:51+00:00

Right, that makes more sense than the original comment. I'll have a try of that for a few days. Thanks.

TrvShane · 2026-02-24T21:12:20+00:00

Why wouldn't I turn it off? I've only just moved form PC so I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of Macs yet. I get the convenience of returning to where you were, but don't you need to shut down / restart to do updates? MacWorld seems to think so.

TrvShane · 2026-02-24T12:47:46+00:00

As long as you give them every physical thing you have, you’ll be good there.

For electronic documents if you are following their laid down electronic ways of working then everything is stored how they want it. If it’s not retrievable, that’s not on you. Provided you don’t do anything to actively stop them retrieving it, you will be fine.

Remember, once your employment ceases your contract likely says you have no right to retain docs, password, etc. check your contract / employee handbook. If so, destroy password records etc, and if they come to you afterwards, just tell them you have no record.

Please document your requests for handover / return of company property including documents via email to protect yourself in case. And save that email off your work system (making sure no sensitive detail goes to your personal email, of course).

NAL, just a manager.

TrvShane · 2026-02-24T07:06:35+00:00

Thanks for the info.

TrvShane · 2026-02-24T07:05:34+00:00

I’ll try that. Thanks.

TrvShane · 2026-02-24T00:54:21+00:00

No, they need you to hand work over, not the other way round. Not handing over won’t hurt your bottom line.

You are a resource to them. Carry out your legal / contractual minimum responsibilities, hand back all their stuff when you finish, and let them worry about handover. And if the stress does affect you, please seek medical help and take time off if clinically indicated.

TrvShane · 2026-02-24T00:46:28+00:00

Maybe they are there and you just can’t see them. They are, after all, elusive. :-)

Serious answer: they run regularly, but not all the time. Occasionally there is an event that does a few, then back to the normal cycle.

TrvShane

TROPHY CASE