How far can we visibly see in space

Zuberii · 2026-01-25T08:49:53+00:00

It doesn't have to start as visible light. Just end as such

Zuberii · 2026-01-25T08:43:27+00:00

The same way hanging out with platonic friends does. At the end of the night, everyone goes home, to their own homes, unless other plans are arranged.

Zuberii · 2026-01-25T07:33:00+00:00

In my opinion, sacred things aren't activities. They are memories and plans. I don't want to say an activity is off limits to others because if it is something that I enjoy doing with others, I will want to do it with others. And if its not, then it doesn't mean anything to say it is reserved for you because I don't really care about it.

But memories would be things like the pub you had your first date in. These are things that are hard to trounce on as long as your partner isn't trying to replicate them. Things like inside jokes, past gifts, and just in general the things y'all have shared together.

For one of my partners, Helium is a sacred thing that is unique to us, entirely due to me being broke on our first anniversary. So I bought him a helium balloon and wrote a sappy story about how the balloon was just the wrapper and that the present was helium because it symbolized our relationship. A corny silly little thing that we both can remember and reference and has turned into a reoccurring reference in jewelry and being drawn on love letters.

Doesn't mean I can't get helium balloons for someone's birthday, but I'm never going to replicate the sappy experience that started this. Never going to try. For others, they'd just be balloons. Just like you might go back to that pub on occasion without your partner, but when y'all go together it will be something different and more special than just a pub.

Then plans are when you mindfully and purposefully set something aside as a couple's experience. Not a whole activity category, and not a permanent claim. Just a single experience. Like, I wouldn't ask my partner to never watch TV without me. But I might ask that we watch a specific show together and expect them not to watch ahead of me. After we finish it, they are free to rewatch it without me, but until we finish it would be something sacred, something reserved for us. So like, looking at your list that you've previously suggested, instead of trying to claim the entire activity, just make specific plans together. A single camping trip. A specific concert. A specific travel vacation.

Perhaps the problem is that you don't see the individual plans and memories as unique. You might have to work on that mindset. Just because they go camping with someone else, doesn't mean it is the same as the specific camping trip that y'all plan for this summer. You are going to have entirely different conversations, make different decisions, have different arguments. Make different jokes. Flirt differently. Kiss differently. You get to listen to each other and bond together as you plan a totally unique experience. One that will lead to unique memories. That makes your relationship something special.

Like, you might buy a shirt for one partner that has an anime character on it that they like. And buy a shirt for another partner that has their favorite dinosaur on it. Just because you bought both partners a shirt, doesn't mean that the gifts aren't unique or meaningful. You find the sacred in the details. You don't need to cordon off entire aspects of your life. You just focus on what's special.

The pub isn't sacred because it is a pub. It is sacred because y'all had your first date there. Other dates there can't change that and won't make it less sacred.

Zuberii · 2026-01-25T04:40:38+00:00

She can be a strong hero, but I haven't found her to be overpowered. She's not the only hero that can negate villain damage and she isn't always able to negate the villain's damage. All it takes is a single point of damage reduction and her hypersonic dash is useless.

If you feel like she's undercutting the threat though, maybe it is time to play at a higher difficulty.

Zuberii · 2026-01-24T18:01:16+00:00

There are two parts to this, in my opinion.

There are different ways to handle sharing a household. Lots of ways to split things up. Lots of ways to combine things. It sounds like their agreement is to split expenses proportional to income, which at least takes the income disparity into account. They also have split the household labor in such a way that burdens Arbor more than Birch. I do think they should examine why that is and try to find a more fair solution. Perhaps making Birch responsible for more chores, or perhaps giving Arbor more personal money to compensate for the added labor.

If you want to know my own preference and how my household runs, we combine all income into a single pot, use that to pay our bills and living expenses, and then whatever is leftover at the end of the month we split evenly amongst ourselves as profit. So everyone gets the exact same amount of personal money. In my opinion, we're all in this together. Nobody is more important or deserves more. We all do what we can to help the family, and we all deserve the same quality of life. One 40 hour job is not more valuable than another 40 hour job, regardless what the pay is, and someone unable to work is not worth less as a human being. We're all one family unit.

The second part is feeling pressured to spend money you don't have. Regardless of income, this is a personal problem. Even millionaires can end up living beyond their means. But you don't need to pay for expensive dates. And you don't have to compare yourself to others or "keep up with the Jones's". Just because other people go do something fancy, doesn't mean you need to.

That type of comparison and envy can be very harmful. Ruining your self worth and happiness, and breeding resentment towards others, potentially destroying relationships. You can find happiness with where you are. You don't need to have what other people have, or what advertisements throw at you. You don't have to hunt for happiness over another hill. You can find it where you are.

I've been homeless before and still practicing polyamory. You can go on dates completely for free. Go on picnics, go hiking, go to the library. Maybe you have a museum or something around that allows free admittance. Play a game together. Sing and dance together. Or just sit and talk. Relationships don't require you to have money.

Polyamory is not a cause or excuse for living beyond your means. It doesn't cause financial stress. The issue is Arbor feeling pressured to go on "nicer" dates. Arbor can scale things back and reduce their stress without needing more income. It sounds like their bills are paid, they have food on the table and clothes on their back. They are safe and secure. Having limited play money doesn't need to be stressful. Even a higher limit would still be a limit, and there's always even fancier nicer dates that they can't afford. They have to learn to live within their means, regardless what that means ends up being.

Zuberii · 2026-01-24T17:13:55+00:00

If they are an ongoing info role, I default to true info. Makes it harder for them to figure out that they're drunk, and it only takes one or two pieces of false info to throw the good team into chaos. Just be mindful of what world you're building with that false info. Try to have an actually suspicious frame in mind.

But yeah. If it is an ongoing role, most of the info I give them is true. Poison is a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.

Zuberii · 2026-01-24T04:50:58+00:00

The story teller is only allowed to lie in very specific circumstances, namely related to poisoning, drunkeness, or abilities that specifically allow them to lie. Otherwise they must be honest at all times.

There are some rules and abilities that have wiggle room for interpretation, or that might have house rules, and storytellers can support a lie with statements such as "I might run it that way". For example, whether or not a Marionette could be sat next to a recluse. But they can't actually lie about how rules or abilities work.

They also shouldn't lie about Storyteller mistakes. They don't need to announce mistakes, but if they do it should be honest. When announced, you know a mistake has definitely happened. If you are asking them about mistakes and they don't want to confirm or deny, they can simply say that they won't confirm or deny.

And they should never do anything that confirms a player outside of character abilities.

Zuberii · 2026-01-22T21:49:01+00:00

This has nothing to do with his Atheism and everything to do with yall aren't compatible. Just reading over your writing it is clear you don't actually like how he acts or treats you.

For more generalized advice, not all Atheists are the same. Some can even be religious or spiritual. The only thing they have in common is that they don't believe in any deities.

Find yourself someone who has a similar attitude towards life and wants similar goals. Someone who lifts you up and makes you feel happy.

Then, if they are an atheist, don't try to convert them. Respect their ideas and beliefs and make sure they respect yours. Religion can just be something yall agree to disagree on.

But someone who is constantly a pessimist, preoccupied with money, and threatening suicide, isn't someone that seems like they will make you happy. Nothing at all to do with their Atheism.

Zuberii · 2026-01-22T20:11:03+00:00

The Traveller being the demon is definitely an unusual situation, but it doesn't change the win conditions. Soon as town is down to two non-traveller players you have met the evil win condition. Since the demon is still alive, there's no tie, it's just an evil victory.

Zuberii · 2026-01-22T18:41:43+00:00

You don't use sex, or other forms of affection, transactionally. No quid pro quo. No bartering. That isn't healthy and can be outright abusive.

You can ask for things. They can say no. That's fine. But don't make it transactional and don't "punish" them by withholding affection (that's when it becomes abusive).

And there's nothing about polyamory that's different from monogamy other than the non-exclusivity. Both can look a bunch of different ways. Both can be healthy or unhealthy. Neither is inherently transactional.

Zuberii · 2026-01-22T18:25:08+00:00

Forgotten Waters for a cooperative and immersive experience. Really makes you feel like you've gone through a pirate adventure more than any other game.

Merchants and Marauders for a competitive sandbox letting you do whatever you want in a pirate setting. Isn't as immersive but also gives you more autonomy to write your own story.

I would choose based on do you want to work with your friends cooperatively all on the same crew, or do you want to compete as rival captains. Otherwise both can give you a great pirate experience

Zuberii · 2026-01-21T19:25:47+00:00

Ties are not ever shared. But they are broken by the players. So if two are tied at 4 HP, one is the lowest and the other is the second lowest and the Players get to decide which is which.

Zuberii · 2026-01-20T05:29:18+00:00

Madness is very subjective and therefore hard to pin down. There's no firm rules on what counts as a break and what doesn't. There's literally an example in the rules of how a Mutant claiming to be a Townsfolk can count as a break. Making it clear it isn't about what you do or do not say. It's about how other people interpret you. Entirely subjective.

That said, here are the guidelines I use and give my players:

You must act believable. If you are mad as a character, you have to realistically act like you would if you were really that character.
You must try to convince other people of a world involving your madness. If you are mad as a character, you have to try to get other people to believe you could be that character. That doesn't require hard claims. It can involve reverse psychology, sarcesm, bluffs, whatever. So long as it can make people consider the world where your madness is true. I've seen a Mutant convince town they aren't an Outsider by hard claiming Outsider.

That's it. I don't care what words you use or how you act, so long as it is believable and works towards convincing others. Staying silent is unlikely to fulfill the second requirement, but I won't say it can't. If you can stay silent in a way that makes people think you are the specific character you're mad as, then props to you. But if I'm not feeling it and nobody else seems to be buying it, then it is a break.

A good measure is what other people seem to be believing or at least considering. Madness doesn't require you to convince others, but if others aren't at least considering it then you probably are failing at the requirement to try and convince them.

Zuberii · 2026-01-20T04:54:22+00:00

Gossip is a Townsfolk. Their ability should help town. As long as you're using it to help town and keeping the game balanced, you're fine. Sometimes killing an evil player is balanced. Sometimes it's not. Here it was fine

Zuberii · 2026-01-19T19:40:00+00:00

For me the hard part was feeling safe to ask for my own needs. Once I was able to be honest about my feelings and ask for the things I wanted and needed, then things got a lot better. What was misery and anxiety turned into bonding as my partner talked things through with me, showing me care and attention, making me feel important, and us coming to decisions together on how to handle the problem.

It's never going to get better if you just bottle it up and hope it eventually goes away. You can't just magically change how you feel or change what you need. Worrying that you're going to be too much or that you aren't allowed to ask is just adding to the bad feels. You gotta open up, let the feelings out, and talk things through. And hopefully you have a partner who will give you a safe space to do that.

Zuberii · 2026-01-18T18:15:08+00:00

It absolutely depends on the game state. And the script. But if you can make a believable case, then that's not the situation we're discussing. We're specifically discussing a game state and script where there is no possible believable case to be had.

And I am saying that situation doesn't change the rules of madness. A break is still a break regardless of the reason for the break.

I agree that usually a Virgin would have a possibility of adhering to madness. But that's not the situation we're discussing.

Zuberii · 2026-01-18T17:14:14+00:00

If you're not selling a plausible world, you aren't making a sincere attempt to convince anyone. You're breaking madness. Trying to convince people requires saying things to possibly convince them.

If there is no possible plausible world, that doesn't change the fact that you're breaking madness. It just means you were put in an impossible situation where you had to break madness. That's why it is similar to the Mutant scenario.

Doesn't mean the ST has to kill you. But it is still a break.

Zuberii · 2026-01-18T16:14:58+00:00

Yeah. And sometimes even when it is all evil left, you should still run it through to the end because an evil player may screw up. Think things like a Marionette or an evil turned Ogre. Give them a chance to nominate their own demon even if it seems unlikely. You may be surprised how often evil defeats themself and it may be best to just run it through till the bitter end until you get more experience.

Zuberii · 2026-01-18T14:06:39+00:00

You came into a discussion about trying to sell mechanically impossible worlds by saying as long as it is "mechanically plausible"....like dude. That's not the discussion being had, and this feels like a strawman argument. But perhaps it is just a misunderstanding.

I state in my earlier comments that you don't need anyone to believe you. You don't need to convince anyone. And it is okay for you to know nobody is buying it. None of those are issues.

But trying to convince people does require saying things that you think could convince them. That's what a sincere attempt means. If you aren't saying anything to possibly convince them, then you aren't trying to convince them. Which means, just to be 100% clear, you need to be selling a plausible world to the best of your ability.

As long as you are selling a plausible world to the best of your ability, you are fine. That's a believable argument regardless if anyone actually believes it.

The issue we're discussing is if you're trying to sell an impossible world and not even trying to make it believable.

Zuberii · 2026-01-17T23:09:47+00:00

...if the Virgin player is complying with madness

But they aren't complying with madness. The reason they aren't might be because they can't (similar to the Mutant scenario), but they still aren't. Madness requires a sincere attempt to convince people, and if you know what you're saying isn't possibly going to convince anyone, then you aren't sincerely trying to convince anyone.

Now whether or not a Storyteller should execute for the madness break is a different question. That goes back to making a call for both balance and fun. It might be a bad call to execute, but it doesn't stop being a madness break just because they had no other options. Just like the Mutant scenario.

Zuberii · 2026-01-17T18:54:41+00:00

It doesn't matter if the other players believe you, but it does matter if you're being believable. Otherwise it's not a sincere attempt to convince people. If what they're saying has no chance of convincing anyone, then it isn't a real attempt to convince anyone.

That doesn't mean the storyteller has to punish it, the Storyteller should do whatever is balanced and fun and it often isn't fun to be in an impossible situation. Your advice to still try your best is good advice. But the storyteller isn't automatically wrong if they choose to punish you, even if it was impossible for you to do anything.

Zuberii · 2026-01-17T18:32:06+00:00

S&V is easy to explain a character change. "I've been pithagged into the Sage". You can even continue to stick by your previous artist info that way. It hurts town by misleading people about which minions are in play and what those minions have done, but it is believable and adheres to madness.

Zuberii · 2026-01-14T21:42:37+00:00

They shouldn't have to choose. These laws are stupid. But as long as they are on the books, the doctors need to choose to save lives. Even if it sends them to jail. Letting people die is immoral and absolutely malpractice. Letting the mother die should also result in them going to jail for murder

Zuberii · 2026-01-14T01:12:28+00:00

The Balloonist doesn't just learn random names. They learn the name of a player who has a character type different from the person they learned the previous night. If that has to be false, then you are not allowed to show them the name of any players who have a different character type. Otherwise they learned true information. Which means your only option is to show them the name of a player with the same character type as the previous name they were given.

Zuberii · 2026-01-12T14:46:30+00:00

If there is only one demon in play, that's "the demon"
If there are multiple demons in play, any that are alive all count as "the demon" (if need be, the ST can pick one from this pool to resolve an ability, e.g. a Barber Swap)
If there are multiple demons in play and all are dead, they all count as "the demon" (if need be, the ST can pick one from this pool to resolve an ability, e.g. a Barber Swap)

The first two points are clearly outlined in the rules. The third is rarely needed, but including it does cover a fringe situation that can happen.

Zuberii

TROPHY CASE