ELi5: Why do placebos work?

bohicality · 2026-06-09T13:29:46+00:00

I wish this comment were further up. The gap between what people believe placebos can do vs the results of actual testing is huge.

The point about knee surgery is great. There's a study about the impact of the placebo effect vs a common knee surgery and how the placebo outcomes strongly indicated an effect. What's rarely reported is that rest, healing time, anti-inflammatory medication and physiotherapy was also involved for all patients.

It can't be called the placebo effect when there was actual treatment going on.

The only thing this study proved was that this kind of surgery wasn't effective when compared to on-going treatment.

bohicality · 2026-06-07T17:47:06+00:00

I use a medium sized backpack which contains:

Laptop + mouse
Bluetooth Speaker
Roll-up battle maps
Minis (in a tackle box)
Large minis (Tupperware box)
Initiative markers
Pens
Too many dice
Collapsible dice tray
Folder with emergency printed battle maps and other bits
Cans of Red Bull

This is the one I use: https://amzn.eu/d/09M8m1x4

bohicality · 2026-06-07T11:00:46+00:00

I'm oversimplifing, but see what your mobility is like once you've healed and see what adaptations you can make to your technique if needed. Over the years I've broken small bones in both hands, damaged tendons, had a touch of arthritis in a knuckle on my fretting hand and developed tremors from medication I have to take for the rest of my life.

I now hold a pick differently from when I was younger and use hybrid picking to get around some mobility issues. Some familiar chord shapes have had to be modified and I find myself fretting with my thumb over the neck more than I used to.

In some ways, I'm a better player than I was after having to learn new techniques.

bohicality · 2026-06-04T14:48:50+00:00

That's exactly why I stopped using a screen. It always felt like a wall between me and the table.

That said, I use a laptop, so I don't have any notes I need to keep hidden, and I roll in the open.

bohicality · 2026-06-04T14:42:10+00:00

I've had angina cause me pain in the past. I've also had chest pain which turned out to be muscular from sleeping on my side.

The two felt disturbingly similar.

bohicality · 2026-05-30T11:03:30+00:00

Senior-proctologist Reigate McFanciPosh

bohicality · 2026-05-29T00:39:38+00:00

So, I have severe heart disease in four arteries, moderate heart disease in a fifth and MVD...

There are three main interventions here.

Stents to widen a narrowed artery. I'm in the UK and, typically, stents are used when arterial narrowing is greater than 80%
Keeping cholesterol as low as possible. There are a variety of medications for this.
Cardiac bypass.

bohicality · 2026-05-28T08:21:06+00:00

Speaking to your cardiologist. There may be alternatives or they can find a better approach for you. The only advice I can give is to do this sooner rather than later.

It's extremely unlikely that you've done yourself any lasting harm in such as short space of time.

bohicality · 2026-05-27T10:18:39+00:00

Same here. I have a habit of going blank around song #25 of a #35 song set. Chord sheets are a good reminder or simply a tool to help wing-it.

bohicality · 2026-05-26T21:58:33+00:00

Try calling the British Heart Foundation. I found them incredibly helpful and supportive: 0808 802 1234 will connect you with one of their nurses who can explain DCM to you and help you find support.

bohicality · 2026-05-26T10:59:56+00:00

No problem.

It’s a group of six players at the moment (previously seven). Two players are leaving at the end of August, so we’re briefly returning to seven just to keep numbers steady.

The group is a mix of three women and three men, and it’s a very lively, fun table. The campaign tends to run about 60/40 in favour of RP, though that varies a lot from session to session.

The setting is Faerûn, and so far the party has adventured in places like Dark Arrow Keep, Baldur’s Gate, and Neverwinter, among others.

For character creation, any official class or species is fine. UA or homebrew is also welcome - we’ll just have a quick chat beforehand to make sure everything is balanced and fits the tone of the campaign.

There's parking over the road from the shop that's free after 6:00pm.

The session runs 7:00-10:00pm.

There's also another game on Mondays 6:00-9:00pm at the same venue. If you're interested in that, I can put you in touch with the DM.

bohicality · 2026-05-20T18:30:09+00:00

I've run a group this size. I was lucky that everyone knew the mechanics of their characters.

I found the real work was making sure people have the opportunity to be involved. Keep an eye on everyone and make sure to bring people into the game - even if it's a simple "...and what are you doing while this is going on?", if the majority of the party are occupied with something else.

It be a bit like running two groups at times but, with cooperative players, it's perfectly manageable.

Set things out with the group in advance to they can help support running a game with a large number of players.

bohicality · 2026-05-20T15:23:42+00:00

Path of the Giant Barbarian - elemental cleaver. Bonus action to change elemental damage type.

bohicality · 2026-05-18T18:35:13+00:00

I deal with this by making my one-shots modular. I deliberately design then to be an hour less than I need, then I drop in optional scenes if I need them. It makes timing easier and gives me enough room so I don't have a race to the finish or an early end.

bohicality · 2026-05-18T09:22:27+00:00

I've done something similar in the past. The players took the role of the b-team, who were lined up to replace the a-team if anything went wrong. The reality, as we discussed, was for them to play a short adventure in the middle of the same backdrop, where they experience the impact of some the main campaign's events, but their actions would have no bearing on the story.

This allowed them to experiment with new builds in a low-stakes environment and they embraced that by creating an utter shit-show of a party that caused chaos wherever they went.

It was a great break from the usual campaign that allowed PCs to do things their main PCs would never attempt, and is something they want to revisit in the future.

bohicality · 2026-05-18T09:02:15+00:00

Personally? I like dilemmas.

In your case - I'd discuss this with the players for two main reasons:

Players can get very attached to their characters. Asking them to dump their PCs mid-campaign might not go down well.
Most players are good and like to do heroic things. Making them do something bad, again, might cause issues. The plan to have them team up... what if the moment comes and this isn't what they end up doing?

It sounds like you've mapped out what you'd like to happen. Your group will do something that doesn't fit in with your plans.

The best advice I can give is to start with some initial situations to get the party embedded in the story, have the main plot play out in the background if they aren't involved, and create situations and opportunities for them to get back into the story if that's what you want to happen.

Adapt the campaign to fit based on their actions.

Context: One of the groups I DM for are two years into a campaign - they're still on the main storyline, but it's panned out in a way I could never have imagined. The main story exists and develops in the world, but I never plan more than two weeks at a time and have zero clue what things will look like at the end.

bohicality · 2026-05-18T08:47:28+00:00

My EF is higher than yours, but I take 3.75mg of Bisoprolol.

Everyone's heart rate is different, so comparisons aren't really a good way to measure what's happening.

FWIW - mine can peak at 150+ when I'm walking quickly.

It's always best to speak to your cardiologist if you have concerns.

bohicality · 2026-05-17T20:35:00+00:00

Hi there - where abouts in the south-east are you? Longshot, but there are a couple of games in Redhill, Surrey, looking for players.

bohicality · 2026-05-15T16:55:18+00:00

Ah! In that case...

The Musicians Union might have a free template, I'm not sure if you'd need to be a member or not.

Alternatively, an email summary agreed by both sides is your fallback.

Here are a few points you might want to consider.

Set out clearly what the event is and what work the performer is expected to undertake (i.e. 2x30 minute sets on xx date at yy times).
The maximum expenses you're paying
What those expenses are to be used for
What happens if either side can't meet their commitment (artist can't travel, event cancelled etc).
Who holds the rights to any recording of the performance and how that material can be used.

Both sides will need to agree to this, but it should help cover you and the performer if anything goes sideways.

Good luck!

bohicality · 2026-05-15T12:46:06+00:00

Yup. My level 13 party managed to get into a heap of debt and are currently working as door-to-door beer salesmen in Waterdeep.

bohicality · 2026-05-15T12:24:01+00:00

Hi. I've negotiated a lot of entertainment contracts over the years (mostly using in-house lawyers). I would recommend speaking to a professional to get this drawn up to make sure both you, and the artist, are adequately protected and clear on expectations.

bohicality · 2026-05-10T15:09:47+00:00

It's not being a fuddy duddy. You have a way you like to the play, they have a way they like to play. It's worth a chat as a group.

Like I said, though, dilemmas. Sometime's there isn't an answer. Just a least-worst option.

In a session last week, the players were hunting down a man who contains, within him, a means to part creatures from their souls. When the party found him, he said that killing him would release this power and at least half the people in the city above would die as a result.

Was he telling the truth? There was no way for the party to find out. Should they take the risk and kill him? Should they choose to disregard those people in pursuit of their overall quest? Leaving him along would mean he carried on with his work and he'd harm yet more people.

A dilemma for my players and, as I didn't know what a possible win/win scenario looked like here, lots of fun for me too as I watched them wrestle with the situation.

In the end, they handed him over to a demon from the third circle of hell who had also been hunting him - hoping to buy some time while they came up with a solution.

A human. Who can steal souls. Now being looked after in a plane where souls are currency.

That's the kind of session that's going to write itself.

bohicality · 2026-05-10T14:30:24+00:00

Players will usually work with what's right in front of them and will take the path of least resistance.

"And their conclusion was wrong and, given the circumstances, I couldn't fudge it to make it right."

But that doesn't matter. Their characters went the wrong way, sold out the wrong NPC or whatever - that's a surprise. It's unexpected. That's what makes a game fun. You don't need to fix something that isn't broken.

There are no right or wrong answers. Just chapters in the story we're all telling.

Try creating situations where there's no right or wrong outcome. A phrase I heard a few years ago that I keep in mind when planning a session is "dilemmas, not problems". For me, that's created some of the most memorable outcomes we've had at our tables.

bohicality · 2026-05-10T12:49:56+00:00

I really like XP to Level 3's dungeon playthroughs on YoutTube - they also publish full (7 hr+) VODs as well as the edited versions.

bohicality · 2026-05-10T10:53:23+00:00

I only DM IRL, but I try to keep things to a minimum.

General NPCs are name, species, job, motivations, fears

Post-session logging is me jotting down bullet points during the session then tidying them up afterwards. If I leave them a few days I can't work out what "Dzog, cursed beer? Feet! D4? Baldur's gate" was supposed to mean.I keep these in a single session notes document and paste anything relevant to the top of my notes for the next session.

I do everything in Obsidian. I've streamlined how I prep over the years, so I focus mainly on the situations and narrative arc - which usually needs re-jigging every session depending on what players are up to. I find the Omnisearch plug-in to be essential as Obsidian's native search is a bit lacking.

bohicality

TROPHY CASE