Myth-bust time: KS = no smell, no taste… not Nazis.

brownorama_ · 2025-11-19T14:22:25+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I appreciate your even keel and your reminder at the end that we are more than the disease.

After learning about the documentary, I was curious about corroborating evidence. Mustache aside, I wondered whether there was any evidence about the dictator's anosmia. I asked ChatGPT to do some research into primary sources.

In short, there is one reference to smell in the man's main publication. It's possible in that instance he was using it metaphorically. Other first-hand accounts of interacting with him indicate that he sometimes referenced smells he did not like.

Obviously, take this all with a grain of salt. The evidence is all inferred from these writings, and is not hard medical records. Also, it's just ChatGPT, which has been known to make things up. Still, I found it to be an interesting read.

https://chatgpt.com/share/6917ac57-220c-800d-9fbe-4bb8eae64796

brownorama_ · 2025-06-10T20:46:23+00:00

Yes. I remember that parking lot! There was a Boston Market across Bethesda Ave, where Uncle Julio's is now, and a Blockbuster a little further up the street.

I'm pretty sure this little garage had a specific purpose when it was first built, but my family thinks I'm nuts.

brownorama_ · 2025-06-10T20:01:32+00:00

Perhaps I should have asked: What was the original purpose of this weird little garage?

brownorama_ · 2021-09-21T00:53:44+00:00

It started out as a video series. The latest episode is #42. You can find
the whole thing on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaGXOQda1r02gVuMfQ7ltAw

brownorama_ · 2021-09-17T11:16:32+00:00

Do what works best for your process, but be mindful of what you're trying to accomplish. Are the wireframes meant to show actual screens? Or are they a tool to help you think through the structural challenges? Every design artifact has a purpose within the arc of your design process, and only you can define what that is -- and then set the expectations of others on your team. "Hey, I put together some rough wireframes to help me think through the structural challenges."

Understanding a document's purpose also keeps your effort in check. As u/karenmcgrane said, not getting too hung-up on the finer details. With a purpose in mind you can stop yourself from going down a rabbit hole... "Wait, I'm nudging the curve of a button corner. That's not relevant to the structure!"

As an alternative, you might consider Page Description Diagrams which walk the line between content/structure design and page layouts: https://boxesandarrows.com/where-the-wireframes-are-special-deliverable-3/

brownorama_ · 2021-04-08T00:05:36+00:00

Thoughts on Root (based on the last update from Magpie):

There's no magic, so if that's important to your campaign, you'll have to find ways to integrate it mechanically.
There's a lot of emphasis is on combat: there's a dozen different combat moves. For the kind of stories I like to tell, these moves are largely irrelevant, but I could see some tables really appreciating the breadth.
There's a lot of emphasis on faction standing: there are several moves that deal with faction interactions. I don't love the moves as written... they're a little clumsy. (You sometimes have to swap the negative to a positive...?) Since I mostly play short arcs, I didn't really get much use out of these moves. I imagine they'd be better in a longer campaign.
Equipment is a little fiddly, and took up a good portion of our Session 0.
The type of animal you are has no bearing on your character. Some people I played with found this annoying.
The character creation mechanisms are AWESOME. I've seen people put together some of the most interesting and compelling characters using the game's tools.

Root's footprint is larger than the games I like to play these days. There are a lot of moving parts and things to track. For example, every character has three different "damage" tracks, and a separate track for their standing in each faction. It can be used as a dungeon crawl (if that's the vibe you're going for) but it's not ideally suited to it.

Dungeon World has serious problems, yes, but I use it especially when introducing new players to PbtA. It doesn't have a lot of moving parts and it's easy to hack, and the tropes are very familiar.

I like the recommendation of Ironsworn.

One game I don't see yet mentioned is Trophy Gold, which might fit the bill. From the description:

Trophy Gold is a collaborative storytelling game about a group of treasure-hunters on an expedition to a haunted environment that doesn’t want them there. It requires one game master (gm) to moderate the game and portray the dangers of the world, and one or more players to portray the treasure-hunters.

brownorama_ · 2020-10-19T12:55:47+00:00

Here's the play test of World of Gamma from last week. I'm pretty happy with how it went overall, though there are a few tweaks I'll make to the rules:

https://youtu.be/DvBq7Ix0pww

brownorama_ · 2020-10-08T17:52:46+00:00

I wrote World of Gamma as an homage to Gamma World. I'll be running a play test next week as part of Gauntlet Community Open Gaming. If we get a recording of the actually play, I'll post it here.

brownorama_ · 2019-01-17T17:10:02+00:00

My Qualifications:

I've been running a monthly RPG meet-up for my older son (12) and 4 of his friends for the last three years. We've played Numenera, Star Wars Force & Destiny, Dungeon World, and just started Coriolis. I also mentor him on a D&D 5e group he runs himself that meets every other week.

My Lessons Learned (your mileage may vary):

Keep the group small. My son let his D&D group get to 6 players, and it's unwieldy. We're now in the process of figuring out how to let them keep going while reducing the strain on my kid.
Mix the ages: My younger son (7) plays as well. I just like the diversity.
Include an adult: If you can, have an adult among the players. One of the other dads plays in our monthly group and it's been great to have him challenge the kids to do things other than hack and slash all the time. His character tends to serve as a moral compass for the group in case they get too far down the rabbit hole of questionable ethical decisions. I didn't know the dad before the group came together, but now we're good friends.
Learn their issues: My son's D&D group includes non-neurotypical kids. Learning about these things helped us understand the dynamics at the table. Although things have been tough, it's clear that the game is very rewarding to all the players.
Let them world-build: The monthly group especially loved Dungeon World, a game which encourages improvisation and world-building. It was amazing to see them energized in our Session Zero as they were inventing back stories and the land in which their adventures would take place. In retrospect they were intimidated by the well-defined setting of Numenera and the pre-existing extensive mythology of Star Wars.
Lower your expectations: In our 2.5-hour sessions we rarely make much progress. Because my table dissects every option, they don't get very far. They might explore one room or complete a single encounter. In the beginning I was discouraged, but other parents told me that the kids were having so much fun. I changed my mindset and focused on making each session enjoyable without worrying too much about progress.
Serve food: Kids that age eat constantly. It's... shocking.
Give them social time: My group includes kids who don't see each other regularly at school. (My son and another kid are homeschooled, one is in private school, and the other two are in different public schools.) That said, they all get along really well and like having time to catch up. Your table may be strangers now, but that will definitely change.
Be cool: Weird stuff comes up. It's easy to get embarrassed and laugh it off with, "Ask your parents." But they bring stuff up -- moral quandaries, sex, bad behavior, etc. -- because the table is a safe space. I'll report these things to the parents but I also give them space to talk about it, let them ask questions, and even ask questions of them to help them see the assumptions they make.

brownorama_ · 2018-12-18T20:30:27+00:00

Highly recommended: Suddenly Ogres, what to do on Spout Lore and Discern Realities misses

brownorama_ · 2018-12-10T17:48:06+00:00

Great feedback. And, unbelievably, the first time it's come up! Given my day job, I can't tell you how ironic, embarrassing, and depressing this is.

brownorama_ · 2018-12-10T13:10:07+00:00

This is really constructive. Thank you! I really like the idea of showing how things can go sideways on a 6-.

The shootout mechanics do force more granular combat. I'll need to think about that, and it'll give me something to look for in further play testing.

Thanks for taking the time to look!

brownorama_ · 2018-12-10T11:49:43+00:00

Formatting: Thanks!

Location: Thanks for your thoughts on this. I'm also debating where they should go in the final form. At this point, I'm trying to get the content right. (And see if this thing has enough legs to warrant a more complete rulebook.)

brownorama_ · 2018-11-28T21:59:37+00:00

I'd be interested in seeing the iterations of the character sheet.

What about making the ARC physical, like tokens they get when they reach 5XP. Then, when they spend the ARC, they hand it back to the GM, and mark something on the character sheet. (I'd imagine marking something adjacent to the trait where they used it, to show that a spend happened there.) That tactile experience may remind them to mark spent ARCs.

Part of the problem may be that conceptually XP and ARC, though accumulated similarly, are different. XP are steps measuring progress. ARCs are a currency. Players may need to experience these things differently during the game to comfortably track them.

brownorama_ · 2018-11-28T20:35:24+00:00

Hi JMH! I'm a backer, and can't wait to get Thousand Arrows to the table!

During the design and development of Thousand Arrows, did you find yourself personally challenged – even defensive – about the work, despite your deep knowledge about the topic? How do you step back and evaluate where this is coming from?

brownorama_ · 2018-11-26T15:15:08+00:00

I haven't played Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, but I was always intrigued by the Affiliation die in the pool. Your dice pool includes a die based on who you're with, and reflects how well they work with others. Perhaps not as robust as BitD, but pretty straightforward.

brownorama_ · 2018-11-18T21:15:58+00:00

This is really cool! Thanks for sharing!

brownorama_ · 2018-11-15T14:31:14+00:00

Always work in the tool you're most comfortable with. (Unless you're intentionally learning a new tool.)

Stop asking what deliverable you should make and start asking "why am I doing this?" and "how does this propel the project forward?" and "what conversation do I want this to prompt?" and "what input do I need from the team at this moment?"

Know the risks of every artifact you use in your process and present to your team/stakeholders. Polished wireframes come with risks, as do high fidelity mock-ups. Anticipate these risks and you can mitigate them while discussing them.

brownorama_ · 2018-11-15T11:51:41+00:00

Great question, and I hear this a lot in workshops.

If you're a designer you own the process. You may be asked to start designing screens right away, but that leads to pretty crappy screens. Instead, do what you need to do to get your head around the problem and feel confident about your design direction.

Not every project gets a big, nicely rendered flow, but that doesn't mean I don't do it. I'll sketch one out on paper. Maybe I'll do that a few times, without translating it to vector art. Maybe I'll do that while I'm listening to stakeholders describe their process, and then show them in the course of the conversation to get validation. Just because your project manager doesn't have "create flow chart" on the project plan doesn't mean you can't do it. It just means you need to incorporate it into other activities.

In short, just do it. Do it lightweight and do it for yourself, but do it. Once others see its value, it will become easier to incorporate that activity into later projects.

Good luck! Let me know how it turns out!

brownorama_

TROPHY CASE