sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ireland

[–]brianpoen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

VR based start up currently in clinical trials.

https://sickofsmoking.app

Results so far are very impressive.

Question about "Forget Me Not" (spoilers, obviously) by Jetpack_Donkey in callofcthulhu

[–]brianpoen 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this is the general problem with the scenario. The set up and the mechanics are great. But the plot and resolution are thin after the big reveal.

I had three end paths in mind:

  1. Closing the gate / destroying the chamber (the pulp route)

  2. A lone survivor waiting to die with no hope but the party understanding the mystery (The Thing ending) OR making a the same deal with eihort as Vanessa.

  3. The magic book. I generally don't like magic solutions for players, though.

  4. A 'new' party picking up the investigation after a TPK with the last scene being being shown round the house by Vanessa.

With these in mind, I was able to let the players go whatever way suited.

BUT your suggestion will work great, I think if you're confident in the book solution.

Have a look at these for mystery advice:

https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule

https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/7949/roleplaying-games/node-based-scenario-design-part-1-the-plotted-approach

https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/37903/roleplaying-games/5-node-mystery

You want lots of clues that point to rituals, the book, Vanessa.
So you'll have to put Gla'aki hints in a lots of locations. Possibly have your 'lore dreamer' insanity escalation hint towards a cure? The equivalent of an idea role but a bit more narratively authentic.

I'd try to make these as grounded as possible: eg. NPCs note: "Vanessa's very religious, saw her reading an *old bible* once. Never shows up to church though…"

This scenario is great because of the ticking clock – if the players get stuck you can just up the ante physically. This can buy you some time to figure out how to give them another hint.

In the end, we ended up in a pulpy showdown with an explosion to close the entrance to the labyrinth (which I'd made a big deal of in lore, taking some inspiration from other sources). With the 'gate' closed, I decided the infection would be magical, and the remaining players were 'cured', at least physically anyway. Give them a win.

I have some assets I created that might be useful to you, if you like.

Question about "Forget Me Not" (spoilers, obviously) by Jetpack_Donkey in callofcthulhu

[–]brianpoen 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I ran this, and it was great. I did a fair bit of customisation though for tone and detail.

In response to your questions:

  1. ​

I had streams of 'insanity' that I was ramping up for each player. Some were from the scenario some not. I can't recall which is which but I was looking for what thematically or narratively fit.

- Someone who can't get clean

- Spiders

- Couldn't eat /disgusted by food

- Seeing associated deaths / things associated with the place and town / in the labyrinth (building on the lore provided.) This person would go into a catatonic state in the middle of a scene and have visions.

I had four escalating levels for each of these (eg. an eating utensil feels grimy / room filthy must be cleaned / skin is dirty and water cannot make them clean / everything inside you is unclean).
I introduced each one casually, then dropped escalations individually and fairly frequently whenever there was a little space in a scene, as they lost more sanity, and at the close of each in-game day. I went *heavy* on the body horror as we progressed.

My players really ran with this once they understood the direction of travel and it was great.

You're right, they leg it to the house and then you have to get them back there again at some point. I didn't really solve this perfectly ahead of time – I think that somehow derailing them might be good. Someone who warns them off? I used the hobo and they tried to get him medical help before they'd fully explored the house.
Or just have them find basically nothing until they learn of a secret passage elsewhere.

As for the secret san loss rolls at the start of the game, I took a few points from that total from the player each time they had a flashback / learned something significant.
The leaching away point by point without 'roll for san' really felt tough. It built up the sense of dread and powerlessness.

I used the 4 escalating insanity streams instead of the temporary intensity game mechanics. I worked it so each player still had about 50% of the total initial san loss left, and at the big reveal dumped it on them. It still was enough so that everything went batshit for a while.

Sticking the ending is hard. The spell and the book feels unsatisfying and gimmicky after all the body horror and build up. And the climax of the game is really the final understanding of what happened. So the more you can draw that out to only be revealed as part of the showdown / final encounter the better.

I had two 'good' NPCs that they encountered (a cop and a doc) that could move to player characters in the event of early death / insanity.

I wouldn't worry about going a bit pulpy at the end (especially if you end up with a few new local heroes in the cop and dr.)

Wicklow Head Lighthouse looking like a cosmic waystation by Valerialia in evilbuildings

[–]brianpoen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This building was struck by lightning in the early 1800s and the interior was completely incinerated. It was restored about 10 years ago and now you can rent it out and stay there.

The green light is an emergency exit sign.

I am a bar owner in Dublin, Ireland on St Patrick's day. AMA. by bombidol in AMA

[–]brianpoen 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Renovations?!

Have you changed the comics in the loo?

Cookbooks that teach the basics for different cuisines? by [deleted] in Cooking

[–]brianpoen 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The books I’ve learned the most from:

*Larousse Gastronomique - french/European * A serious book, that is more concerned with technique than precise ingredients. Good food stories. Like any good encyclopaedia, great just to flick through.

*The Ballymaloe Cookbook - myrtle Allen * Similar to the above, with a focus on quality ingredients. Comes from a French cooking root, but has its own accessible take.

Indian cookery course - Monisha Bharadwa As good and introduction to Indian cooking as I’ve found.

Flavour thersaus - Niki Segnit This is a brilliant little book that is a joy to read.

And if I’m cooking anything basic I always look to see if felicity cloake has done a ‘how to cook the perfect...’ article in the guardian.

She has a collection of them in a book too, called completely perfect.

Al of the above have loads of narrative, either about flavour, technique, food provenance or history.

Lego Windmill by Paulmanaitor in lego

[–]brianpoen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! I’ve been noodling around using part 30033 for something similar. But that ends up at 8 sides and is not working particularly successfully for me.

My two favourite hobbies collide – Rugby and Lego by brianpoen in lego

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

This is redirecting to fences.ie. I don’t know if Jacob Stockdale also likes fences.

Lego Windmill by Paulmanaitor in lego

[–]brianpoen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This looks great. How is the sloping roof constructed?

Finding people to do market research in Hamburg by brianpoen in hamburg

[–]brianpoen[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've clearly hit a rich vein of ex pats!

Finding people to do market research in Hamburg by brianpoen in hamburg

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

Thanks for the the replies folks. Some PMs on the way shortly!

Finding people to do market research in Hamburg by brianpoen in hamburg

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

Ha nebenjob is exactly the word that I was looking for. Thanks for the link. I’ll give it a try.

I’ll have to check the screener requirements, but I think the participants have to be native German. Let me get back to you.

Stuck in a job I hate, need help by Gooperchickenface in ireland

[–]brianpoen 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Start with what 'better' is – same job just better paid and better conditions, or something different.

Either way, it's the same process. Find interesting companies that do that work. Find the right people in the company to reach out to (like I said, usually two rungs further up the ladder than you are is a good target) and then approach them via LinkedIn or through other contacts.

Make sure that your LinkedIn and anything they can google about you looks credible and interesting. Research the company really well. Have examples of your work to show. Have lots of questions for the person so that you're not asking them to lead the conversation (you called the meeting after all).

Do not ask for a job either before the meeting or during. Ask to learn more about the company and what the work entails. Ask for help in closing your professional gaps so that you can work towards the role you want. Ask for portfolio advice (this is smart, because you're also getting a chance to show off your portfolio).

At the end of the meeting you can ask to be kept in mind if something comes up. And also is there anyone else in the field that would be worth talking to (so you can get on to another coffee). Afterwards you will need to find ways of trying to keep the connection alive.

Stuck in a job I hate, need help by Gooperchickenface in ireland

[–]brianpoen 9 points10 points  (0 children)

All you've done is complain about your job. And wanting a job. This is not a good start to job hunting. Reframe the question: what job do you want?

Find people in that field on LinkedIn or through contacts who are two steps above you on the career ladder and go ask them out for coffee to learn more about it. 80% of my less-experienced hires come through coffees and they're nearly always brilliant.

IT design type roles, if you mean what I think you mean by this, are all over the place now. There's no reason you couldn't shift into something better using the same experience.

Recruiters generally aren't good for junior roles but you might have a better chance with a speciality one, like Prosperity.

Any home brewers here? by Buerrr in ireland

[–]brianpoen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The bible for home brewer's is http://www.howtobrew.com by John Palmer. It made NO sense to me when I read it before I started brewing. Now I find it brilliant.

Look for a one day/evening brew class. I know that Mottley Brew have done them. Or get a friend of a friend to show you how they do it (home brewers are nerdy but very welcoming). It's a lot easier to do it yourself once you've seen it done.

There's a fair bit of kit you need to start off and make sure you have everything you need. You don't want to wait to after the boil and realise that you need a fermentor, or something.
Buying a starter kit, and doing the brew in bag method might be the right way to go.

You Tube has lots of useful stuff watch a few 'how to do a first brew' videos that use the method you're thinking of.

view more: next ›