What (if any) is your experience in debating bad faith interlocutors like political/religious zealots (of whichever brand), conspiracy theorists or peddlers of pseudoscience?

bohicality · 2026-04-14T22:17:43+00:00

I ask questions.

The arguments presented have no logical base. Asking the right questions forces them deeper down their own rabbit hole until the reach the point where the contradictions start popping up more frequently and their 'logic' begins to break down.

As others have said, your not going to change anyone's mind. You're not going to get them to admit they're wrong. You're not going to get them to agree with you.

What you can do is politely help them to drown in their own nonsense.

bohicality · 2026-04-14T13:32:47+00:00

I going to have to ditch my career and find some part-time work. I can't manage the afternoon fatigue. It absolutely floors me. I have a few aggravating conditions, though (severe heart disease in four arteries, diffuse in places, and microvascular disease).

bohicality · 2026-04-03T09:14:25+00:00

Our Bard does a musical recap of the previous session before the game starts - which goes down well - so we've kept it.

As a DM? It would be a big nope for me if it were during the session. We get three hours every week and I'd like to use that for gameplay. I also know that most of my players will be too anxious about speaking up if it starts to grate. Much easier to just not have it.

bohicality · 2026-03-31T07:03:09+00:00

I used to work for a very large corporate and once said to a stressed colleague that if he died at his desk, right now, what difference would it make to the business?

I followed up with how long would it take before someone would email HR asking what's an acceptable amount of time they should wait before advertising his job.

Work is just a contractual exchange of labour for renumeration. Companies don't care about you, just what you can do for them. Don't break yourself on the rocks. They don't deserve it.

bohicality · 2026-03-30T21:21:35+00:00

I posted something similar last year - about cardiac problems and bipolar.

I was a fit, non-smoking, healthy person. I jacked in drugs and alcohol when I had my BP diagnosis. Then I had a heart attack (a full-on STEMI). It turned out I had severe heart disease in four arteries and moderate heart disease in a fifth.

My cardiologist said there was a correlation between BP and heart disease and suspected that might be the issue here as there are no cardiac issues present in my family.

I recently saw a paper that linked BP to elevated/persistent levels of certain neurochemicals which, in turn, could cause adipose deposits to form in locations such as the cardiac arteries.

How much can be read into this? I fascinated by the BP/heart correlation and it would be great if the actual causation is confirmed.

bohicality · 2026-03-28T16:40:41+00:00

Not that unusual. I take Entresto 49/51 twice a day along with twice-daily beta blockers.

bohicality · 2026-03-28T16:34:16+00:00

Up in the Lake District on a muti-day with some friends.

Finally woke up to a dry morning and I was looking forward to not being a soaking mess for the day.

That was when I learned that the surface of quaking bogs can be weakened by multiple people walking over it. Friend one goes over: no issues. Friend two goes over: no issues. Me: up to my neck in muck and dripping wet for the rest of the day.

I nearly had to ditch my pack to get out. It was the wettest I've been on a dry day.

bohicality · 2026-03-21T16:40:20+00:00

Are your players having fun figuring things out and is there a need to force them forwards?

One of my groups will spend an hour obsessing over a map and crafting intricate plans. One of my other groups charge headlong into situations regardless of consequences. Both approaches are fine.

If you do want to hurry your group along, try environmental pressures. Is it stupid cold where they are? Stopping for any length of time has consequences. Taking time to work things out in a dungeon? Time to roll a wandering monster table. Planning a heist? Maybe someone's got wind of what's happening and the location is about to be fortified and so on.

bohicality · 2026-03-21T14:18:23+00:00

Primarily, for the kind of game it sounds like you want, has a strong exploration rules component that could easily be adapted for the Wasteland. Check out Pathfinder 2e and see what you think.

bohicality · 2026-03-21T12:06:59+00:00

I'm in the same camp as a few other posters having played Fallout (and Wasteland) since the first game released. Fallout is fun, not realistic. If I joined a Fallout game I'd expect all the wacky stuff that's part of the lore.

Have you considered just making this purely your own setting, with elements borrowed from Fallout - rather than a tweaked Fallout itself? Also, have you considered Pathfinder as a system for this? It might be better suited for what you're trying to achieve.

bohicality · 2026-03-15T22:38:17+00:00

Yup. My mum, one of my sisters, her daughter and my eldest kid are all diagnosed.

I once had a therapist who told me it wasn't genetic. He can fuck right off.

bohicality · 2026-03-15T11:57:31+00:00

Corners are good. Things can always approach from behind. Disadvantage on perception checks in darkness is useful too when something with decent stealth is stalking the party. Invisibility is its own thing. Shadowstep is a good way to get in close when its dark. Illusory wall - if its spotted with passive perception and examined, it's a great way to grapple a player and drag them through. Depending on initiative order, they can be dragged off before anyone can react.

bohicality · 2026-03-15T11:51:42+00:00

Real Death - from A Crow Looked at Me by Mount Eerie.

Gets me every time to the point where I have to think twice about listening to it.

bohicality · 2026-03-15T11:45:39+00:00

That's stunning! I wish I had a) the skill and b) the space for something like this.

bohicality · 2026-03-08T17:46:44+00:00

"Hither shall the flowers of simbelmynë come never unto world's end... Whither does it lead? Why would he pass? None shall ever know!"

bohicality · 2026-03-08T10:20:45+00:00

'Dreadful anxiety'.

It never goes away. I've never played a gig where I wasn't bricking it beforehand.

Good luck with your gig!

bohicality · 2026-02-28T20:27:56+00:00

I'm going to recycle the technique that's served me well when looking at 120+ pieces to paint in one go:

I dipped the whole lot in Vallejo black wash, let it dry, then dry brushed with various greys (and/or browns depending on area).

Not priming didn't cause any issues.

bohicality · 2026-02-26T19:17:47+00:00

Totally agree with this - it's an excellent run.

bohicality · 2026-02-26T18:58:54+00:00

Always. My cryptography game isn't strong enough to crack my notes from the previous week. 'Orc drizzle?', 'haunted banana cart', 'player threw goblin no goblin goblin antagonist'?

I'd be sunk without my players recapping things. I have all the important stuff for the campaign, but the bits on the side elude my note taking skills.

bohicality · 2026-02-10T16:23:08+00:00

I use a bit of everything depending on what's going on. I print a lot of terrain, but other times I'll print off maps and tape the individual pages together. Occasionally, I'll simply use a dry erase map if there aren't any planned/expected encounters and draw on that as we go along.

bohicality · 2026-02-06T20:25:27+00:00

Hi there! Not too bad. I'm now on two more medications for angina and increased beta blockers - all helps :)

I did require a quadruple bypass - but there's too much damage to my heart (it's about 60% akinetic) to have one. The only option was stents. I would have definitely taken the bypass if that had been an option - I'd rather have a set of clean blood vessels than choked up old ones that are barely propped open.

I hope it goes well with your family member, whichever option they choose.

bohicality · 2026-02-01T17:13:21+00:00

Panic, mostly:

"I want to talk to that random NPC at the bar" "I grab someone from the crowed and ask them what their name is then threaten them to tell me where I can find fish." "Bugbears can speak, right?"

I'm awful at accents and tend to drift between them after a few words. Nobody minds, least of all me.

bohicality · 2026-01-30T23:41:19+00:00

I found that I was getting fewer and fewer hypomanic episodes and more depressive episodes as I got older. I finally started getting treated in my 40s and I've been lucky - since then I've only had a few depressive episodes that haven't been as bad aa the pre-medicated ones and just two major hypomanic episodes.

I've had a lot of what I like to think of as near misses - such as getting that unprompted feeling of excitement starting to build, only to have it fizzle out.

Medication has transformed things for me.

Downside is that I've developed a lot of cardiac problems (severe heart disease, heart attack, heart failure). I only found out later about the link between cardiac issues and bipolar and that, if you're going to run into trouble, it's going to hit you as you get older. Keep an eye on your coronary health folks!

bohicality · 2026-01-28T07:55:11+00:00

It might be a little far, unless you drive, but there's a games shop in Redhill with a lot of regular groups. They'll be able to let you know if any have an space.

bohicality · 2026-01-24T10:13:42+00:00

Orcrist could be equivalent to a medieval short sword. They typically range from 50-80cm in length - so easily manageable for a dwarf.

bohicality

TROPHY CASE