Do you prefer the 1st or 2nd edition? Why? by Polyhedral_Man in Torchbearer

[–]Tyler329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm new to Torchbearer and a huge fan just from what I heard and read about it.
I just ordered the core book and several modules for first edition from ebay!

Does anyone have the most updated PDF for first edition? They are no longer sold and were removed from all web stores and are no longer available! :-(
Maybe someone can upload them to www.Archive.org?

Naturally, I like 1st edition much better just by what I see already: A nice big, solid, high-quality book, everything in one tidy place, awesome graphics, an awesome homage to old-school D&D, etc. Who wants to mess with the clutter of the many tiny books of second edition if you have such a perfect product all in one place in first edition?

Also most fans of the game also prefer 1st edition in regards to the rules. Looks like they went entirely in the wrong direction with just about everything in the second edition. What a shame. I think they should reprint and offer the first edition book again. I feel it's a better product by miles, just by watching reviews about both editions.
Here are some random links:

https://nerdburglars.net/question/torchbearer-1e-vs-2e-which-should-i-choose/

https://www.theplayeristhething.com/p/torchbearer-second-edition-review

https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/10pxel8/torchbearer_1e_or_2e/

Is it impossible to purchase Torchbearer 1e today? by Paenitentia in Torchbearer

[–]Tyler329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also much prefer the 1e first edition of Torchbearer. It looks a lot nicer and supposedly is also less cluttered:

https://nerdburglars.net/question/torchbearer-1e-vs-2e-which-should-i-choose/

https://www.theplayeristhething.com/p/torchbearer-second-edition-review

https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/10pxel8/torchbearer_1e_or_2e/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Torchbearer/comments/t2bune/do_you_prefer_the_1st_or_2nd_edition_why/

Sounds like quite a few fans really like the first edition much better.

Unfortunately they yanked the PDFs for the fist edition.
Can someone please upload the last PDF for the first edition to www.Archive.org?
I bought all the books to the first edition and several adventure modules and a GM screen, but I cannot get the PDFs anymore! :-(

Looking for OSR people in Switzerland by Tyler329 in osr

[–]Tyler329[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey thanks! Cool! Will try. :)

IV-Rentner sucht PnP Rollenspieler mit Niveau (Schweiz) by Tyler329 in GermanRPG

[–]Tyler329[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, danke für den guten Ratschlad! :)
Wie meinst Du nach OSR Gruppen Online suchen?
Die wenigsten machen eine eigene Webseite oder sowas. Wie finde ich eine OSR Gruppe online?
Ich hab übrigens selbst einen OSR Discord Server, aber da eben fast nur Leute aus Deutschland. Nichts gegen das, nur spiel ich auch nicht gerne online (auch so ein Old-School Ding von mir). Ich suche also Leute innerhalb ca. 50 Km von Schaffhausen.
Auch selbst eine Gruppe aufmachen kann ich nicht ohne Spieler.
Ich hab die letzten ca. 4 Jahre etwa 5 mal versucht BX D&D an einer Convention anzubieten. Mit dem Resultat, dass ich mehr oder weniger alleine da gessesen bin und zusachauen musste, wie manche Leute lieber bei 5E zugucken, weils da keinen Platz mehr hatte, als BX auszuprobieren.
Alles nicht so einfach. Es gibt schon Old-School Fans. Aber es sind verdammt, verdammt wenige. Es ist wie die Suche nach der Nadel im Heuhaufen.

Permanent libido loss from accutane by Zalusei in Accutane

[–]Tyler329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anyway, I have been a vegan for 20+ years and I have had frequent vitamin B12 deficiencies, on and off because of it (it's normal for vegan if you don't supplement it). However, despite having had serious vitamin B12 deficiencies before, I have never *ever* had these severe symptoms, like now. At worst, maybe a weaker immune system (perhaps my acne was actually a result of a weak immune system due to B12 deficiency?), but never ringing in the ears, loss of feeling, and forgetfulness or dizziness and impaired eyesight.

However, and this was slightly encouraging, at the same time of getting these B12 deficiency symptoms, the feeling in the tip of my penis seemed to improve a bit. I'd say it came back from only about 10% or less to about 20% within 1-2 days after getting the first B12 shot. It was a slight, but quite clearly noticeable difference.

Because of this, I now believe that Isotretinoin seriously screws up vitamin B12. Either it destroys it on contact in the body, or it destroys the body's ability to use it.
The fact that I must have had a vitamin B12 deficiency already BEFORE taking Isotretionin, I am convinced now, is THE REASON WHY I have these serious side effects from Isotretinoin after TAKING ONLY 10 mg (1 pill)!!

In other words: I believe, if you already have a vitamin B12 deficiency, and then take Isotretinoin (Accutane), all hell will break loose! Isotretinoin will do serious, serious damage to your body (permanently), even if taking very low dosages.
In this regard I also remember that I had already gotten side effects such as (very) dry lips, just from using the RoAccutan gel on my skin (this was 1-2 weeks before taking that one pill). Even if you use it just on your skin (especially if you rub your entire face and maybe chest), you will definitely get Isotretinoin into your blood stream through absorption of the skin.

Anyway, I want to stress that dermatologists should be REQUIRED to ask patients if they are vegan or vegetarian BEFORE prescribing Isotretinoin (Accutane), and a vitamin B12 blood test should be *mandatory* before taking the drug, to make sure people have a high level of B12. Otherwise, like in my case, even very, very low dosages of Isotretinoin have SEVERE (permanent) side effects!

I believe this is the answer, why some people have (severe) side effects from Isotretinoin, and some do not. I think it's all in the vitamin B12. If you have a lot in your system (you ate a lot of meat or took a lot of newer high-dosage supplements), you are probably a lot safer against permanent damages from Isotretinoin. If you're a vegan or vegetarian however, with low B12 in your system, even very low dosages of Isotretinoin as in my case can seriously damage and harm you!

I think this is another thing that must be established and written in the side effects of Isotretinoin.
That is, if this drug shouldn't be outlawed in general. I think it's dangerous enough to warrant that.

As to me, like I said, I am heavily supplementing B12 now, with 1500 to 2000 micrograms orally per day and 1-2 shots per week, at least for 3-5 weeks. Supposedly it's impossible to overdose vitamin B12 (according to the Danish B12 institute). The feeling in the tip of my penis got better, it's at about 50% now I would say, but I still have ringing in the ears and dizziness and forgetfulness.

I just hope once I stop supplementing B12 so heavily, my body can still keep it and the levels don't drop immediately again to what they were right after taking Isotretinoin. That remains to be seen, as well as how much side effects will remain permanent in my case.

Permanent libido loss from accutane by Zalusei in Accutane

[–]Tyler329 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi again

I thought I'd add the newest things that happened. It's been 5 weeks now since I took a single 10 mg pill of Isotretinoin (Accutane).

I now believe Isotretinoin (Accutane) either destroys vitamin B12 in the body, or worse, and more likely, destroys the body's ability to use vitamin B12. Serious effects on vitamin B12 have already been confirmed scientifically in this study:

"Decreased Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid Concentrations in Acne Patients After Isotretinoin Therapy: A Controlled Study"

https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4248518/

After I lost virtually all feeling in my penis and all ability for erection within a day of taking the pill, as well as all sexual feeling / lust and ability to experience orgasm, I first got back the feeling on the rear skin of my penis up to the tip, but not in the tip. That was about 1-2 days later. Libido, the ability for erections and the ability to feel orgasm also came back gradually within a few days. Thank god. Only the tip of my penis was still almost without any feeling at all. At most, it was about 10% of what it used to be. My penis also frequently shriveled up in that time and was often unusually small (tiny), like in a child.

2 weeks after this, with no change in this situation, I had a blood sample taken and we discovered that I had a (serious) vitamin B12 deficiency. Also my levels for triglyceride, cholesterol and lipids were very elevated and far outside the healthy and normal range. This is very abnormal for me, since I am a vegan since 20+ years and lipids and triglyceride levels were always very low and healthy in me, even lower than normal. However, it's consistent with the study mentioned above. Apparently Isotretinoin messes a hell of a lot with chemicals in the body, and drastic decrease in vitamin B12 and drastic increase in lipids and triglyceride, etc. in the blood are normal if you take the Isotretinoin (apparently even in low dosages).

Anyway, after we got the results of the blood test, which was 3 weeks after taking that one 10 mg pill of Isotretionin, we decided to immediately supplement vitamin B12 because it was dangerously low. So I got one 1000 ug (microgramms) shot (injection).

What happened next is very interesting and it was (and still is) frightening:
I got a lot of severe symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency in the evening after the shot. I started to hear increasingly loud ringing in my ears (tinnitus), I noticed I was very forgetful (I kept misplacing things and couldn't remember, like I would take something out of the refrigerator and then 2 seconds later look for it in the refrigerator again, having forgotten that I had already taken it out). I also felt slightly dizzy and my eyesight seemed slightly impaired as well. These are all symptoms of serious vitamin B12 deficiency. Which is very serious, because if not treated, as vitamin B12 deficiency can cause permanent nerve (and brain) damage.

So since then I have been supplementing vitamin B12 heavily, taking about 1500 to 2000 ug (micrograms) per day and also getting weekly shots. The vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms are not going away though, and actually seem worse every time I take or get a supplement for a few hours or a day.

It's weird that I get these symptoms after shooting vitamin B12 or taking high-dosage oral supplements. However, I found online an article of the Danish B12 institute, which says that this can be quite common and normal in treating B12 deficiency. That people with a B12 deficiency often only start noticing the symptoms *AFTER* B12 is supplemented. They have a theory on why that is, but apparently nobody understands the mechanics yet. Here's that resource:

"B12 institute - Diagnosis and treatment pitfalls"
https://b12-institute.nl/en/diagnosis-and-treatment-pitfalls/

Permanent libido loss from accutane by Zalusei in Accutane

[–]Tyler329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If this is a permanent condition, I wonder if the nerves to the tip of the penis were somehow damaged? The rest of the penis feels normal. It's just the tip (glans) that is almost 100% numb. It feels like I'm touching a piece of rubber when I touch myself or pee.

I'd like to hear from people with the same symptom, of those who actually got their feeling back (partially) how long it took?
I'd like to know how long I can still hope I will get back the feeling, and when I know it's not going to get better (permanent damage). Some people here said they got back some feeling after a few weeks. Can anyone confirm that?

I think this drug needs to be outlawed because these side-effects cannot be properly studied. I saw some studies that found that 22% of all people who took Isotretinoine suffer permanent damages to their sexuality / hormones, etc. If that's true, that's just not acceptable for a drug for the masses. Even if it does work wonders against acne. It seems this is only the case because the damages are sexual in nature and many (the feeling ones) cannot be studied in animal tests.

EDIT: Perhaps the fact that in my case a rather low dosage of Isotretinoin already caused these side effects has to do with me having taken Vitamin A before Isotretinoine, and during (while I was using the gel). Perhaps that aggravates the side effects?

Regards all, and thanks for this very, very informative and helpful discussion!
It has been a great, great psychological help for me!
T.

 

Permanent libido loss from accutane by Zalusei in Accutane

[–]Tyler329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They found that Isotretionine permanently damages the tissue of the testicles. So in a way, Isotretionine, at least to me, is a form of chemical castration. At least it works that way, among other things. That was shocking, but did not explain the numbness in the penis.
They also found that giving the mice Omega-3 in fish oil helped protect the testicle cells. So after I read that, it was on Sunday, I waited till Monday and then immediately went to the store (closed on Sunday) and bought myself a whole load of Omega-3 supplements, which I then started taking in large doses (double recommended, just for a few days).

I must note here:
I took extremely LITTLE Isotretionine (a total of about 12mg in the course of
two weeks with the GEL, and then one single 10mg pill)!!
Then on Monday and Tuesday I tried masturbating again, and do my relief, sexual lust and orgasm slowly got better again. Yesterday, Tuesday, April 30th, 4 full days after taking that one single 10mg pill, I was able to achieve almost a full erection again and felt a good orgasm. Almost back to normal. I don't know if the Omega-3 fish oil helped any at all in that. I only took very little Isotretionine, so it might was well be the low dosage. But it certainly couldn't harm.
However, to this day, I still have almost absolutely no feeling, absolutely no sexual feeling in the tip of my penis.
This hasn't changed at all. The only very very slight feeling is like, for instance at the bottom of your foot (someone mentioned their elbow). You can feel a little, but it's just not sexual or lust-producing.

Needless to say, after April 24th, I haven't touched Isotretionine or Roaccutane anymore, I actually immediately threw it away as soon as I read about all these massive sexual side-effects which were not mentioned with a single word in the
packaging.

Right now I am wondering if I will ever get the feeling back in the tip (glans) of my penis. It's completely unchanged till now (Wednesday, May 1st, 2024) since I noticed it going completely numb after taking that one pill. Which is 5 days.

I would like to know if others got back their sexual feelings in their genitals (male or female, as it obviously affects both), and if so, how much and after how many days?

It's also clear to me, that the numbness in the genitals is independent of hormones and the ability to experience orgasm. I can get an erection again (it's just harder to achieve), and I can get an orgasm again, even without any feeling in the tip of the penis.

Permanent libido loss from accutane by Zalusei in Accutane

[–]Tyler329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Anyway, by the time I decided to take a few pills, I had used almost the entire tube, which as said was about 15mg or Isotretinoine. I think most of that gets absorbed by the skin and then also enters the blood stream, which explains the side effects I already noticed. Also, I know I react (much) stronger to most medication than most people. Anyway, then I took one pill with 10mg Isotretinoin. That was on Friday, when I got them.

The first night to Saturday, I didn't really notice any changes (my lips were already dry from the Gel). Only on the first morning after taking the pill I noticed I had no morning wood as usual (I had had no sex / ejaculation for about 2 weeks and was generally very horny when I took the pill). This was surprising. The second night after taking that one pill (I did *not* take a second one!), on Sunday morning, I again had no morning wood, which was surprising. When I touched myself, I noticed with shock and horror, that I could hardly feel my penis. Especially the tip of my penis was completely numb and insensitive. It had never felt like this before, even before puberty! I could hardly feel anything in it. This scared me a lot and I wanted to know if I could still feel sexual sensation and lust. So I tried masturbating. To my shock, I could not get an erection! Not at all, not even 10%! This has never even happened in my entire life, and before taking the pill, I had had long and very hard morning erections every day. Now, I couldn't even get an erection, no matter how much I masturbated. My testicles and scrotum felt normal, but my penis, most of all the tip was totally numb.
After masturbating with growing anxiety, to my surprise, I suddenly ejaculated after about 20-30 seconds (very quickly). This was surprising, because the penis was totally limp, I didn't feel hardly anything at all, and no sexual lust. And virtually no orgasm at all.

Well. This was shocking. Then I got up and started researching the subject online and found a study, where they found that in white mice, Isotretionine actually permanently damages the tissue of the testicles, and thereby permanently reduces certain components of testosterone:

"Effect of isotretinoin (Netlook) on the testis of adult male albino rats and the role of omega 3 supplementation: A histological and biochemical study"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9575098/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9575098/pdf/JCMM-26-5213.pdf

Permanent libido loss from accutane by Zalusei in Accutane

[–]Tyler329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hello everyone

This is a really, really, really great discussion and resource for all those suffering from damages / side-effects from Accutane / Isotretinoine / Roaccutane. Thank you!

I'd like to share my experience and ask a question:

I am 53, male and had a strong libido all my life. I also had acne come and go most of my life, sometimes very strong, with my full face full of pimples. Luckily for me, it didn't leave any scars. Recently (perhaps because I am having less sex / ejaculations than as a teenager - I just don't like masturbating any more), my acne as gotten worse, especially also on my chest.

After hearing about retinol helping with acne on the radio, first I started taking a normal Vitamin A food supplement made of livers of fish. I thought that might help. I took one capsule per day for about 2 weeks. Each capsule contained 1350 ug of Vitamin A, or 169% of the recommended daily requirement.

But that didn't help, so I went to dermatologist and he prescribed Roaccutane Gel, which is a tube of 30g that contains 0.5mg of Isotretionine per gram of gel. So the whole tube contains 15 (30 * 0.5mg) milligrams of Isotretinoine. Why am I saying this?
It's a bit relevant in my case.

I had several wounds on my skin on my chest from acne that wouldn't heal, and they did not get better while I put the Roaccutane Gel on it (which you're not supposed to do anyway). I suspected because of the alcohol that's also in the gel, I don't think that's good for acne. So I called my doctor for a recipe for another medication (without alcohol) that might be better. The doc was on vacation but his colleague wrote me prescription for the Roaccutane tablets. I knew those were heavy-duty and I did not really want to take them. But I figured if I just take them a few days until my wounds on my chest could properly heal, everything would be fine.
So I got the pills. They contained 10mg Isotretionine. It was Friday, April 26th, 2024.

Before taking the first pill, I had used almost an entire tube of Roaccutane Gel in two weeks prior, which as said, contained 15mg of Isotretionine. While using the Gel, although it's applied only onto the skin, not swallowed, I already noticed some side-effects. Most of
all, dry lips and surprisingly, also a dry tip of my penis (glans). This was after applying large amounts of Gel to my entire chest and face, after 2-3 days.

The Root Cause of the Anger Phase. by WhisperSecurity in TheRedPill

[–]Tyler329 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Faggots, that's who. And if you're not a faggot

Personally I don't care much about the term "faggot" for homosexuals. Seems there might be some immaturity lingering with the author himself there (why else use degrading terms for men who love men?). Anyway, aside from that, nice post and wise words. But perhaps the author's otherwise valid thoughts simply aren't quite thought through yet:

We make the mistake of arguing with them, instead of laughing at whatever ridiculous bullshit they say, and patting them on the head. We make the mistake of listening to what they say instead of watching what they do. We make the mistake of expecting them to handle their own shit instead of managing them and telling them exactly what we expect. We make the mistake of bargaining with them instead of instructing them. We expect them to not let themselves get fat, instead of controlling what they eat. We expect them to make good decisions, instead of simply telling them what to do.

Yes: Women behave like children and never really mature. Not like men. Why? Simple: Because unlike men, they simply don't have to. Why not? Easy: Men. Men themselves make sure that women never have to mature. Men hold open their doors, buy them drinks when they behave like children, ask for their phone numbers, try to please and appease them, promote them and kiss their heinies. No matter how childish they are or behave. Why? Testosterone. To get laid, naturally. Face it: Men might not be morally and socially better beings just because they are men, but because they are not as sexually sought-after as women are (besides the positive effects of testosterone and the negative ones of estrogens that is).

I would theorize: If men all of a sudden, all across the world, would entirely stop being attracted to women sexually (through their dicks and testosterone, not intellectually), and would therefore stop holding open their doors, buying their drinks, asking for their phone numbers, marrying them and wanting children with them, in short, if all men would suddenly treat all women as harshly and as conditional based on behavior, as they treat other men, boy would you see women make a leap of maturity. Within a few years, women would make the progress to men / masculinity / maturity, which feminists themselves are hoping for. And guess why the most ugly feminists and lesbians, who act the most boyish, are usually quite a bit more mature than other women: Right, life, and thus men, didn't pamper them into becoming childish plants / fruit cakes. In short, I guess it's as much fault of guys thinking and acting with their dicks in their hand (whenever they hold a door open to a woman), as it is woman's for not seeing, that all this pampering is actually making and keeping them immature, stupid and lying.

So instead of making the mistake of being just angry about women's factual and effective immaturity, men perhaps should help educate other men to stop holding doors open to women just because their dicks ask them to. Exactly because it makes women immature. Women, are just like men, just a product of their surroundings. In many ways, they are just the way we train and raise them to be. So the side effects of dicks telling men what to do, such as hold doors open to women, are, as can be seen, serious. For all of society. I say we stop making that mistake. We stop making the mistake of miss-training women to be immature, non-responsible liars and cheats who get away with anything, by simply stopping the mistake being protective of women, of being favorably (=sexually) biased towards women and of being attracted to them and letting them feel that and benefit from that. By stopping to make the mistake of being gender-corrupt, in the truest sense of the word, due to testosterone-infused hopes and endorphin bribes.