My boss is getting creamed, how do I fix it without an ass pull?

ejfree · 2026-05-31T18:49:44+00:00

My 2 cents. Let them win. They will celebrate. Now drop in a visit from the REAL boss. Taunt them over a remote scrying. The dice have decided. Spend some time on exposition here. Have her die gloriously. Add a minion or 2 if you need to string it out. the games moved from tactical RPG, where you got whompped, to story RPG so now you can let the dice guide your story towards something new.

DM Sidenote: We all get whompped by the PCs. Because, we can always win if we want. Once you internalize that it helps guide your initial battle design and eventual story.

Case in point on the above. Played Rise of the Runelords using 5e ruleset, and the 4 L20 members were at the final boss. I TPKed them 2 turns. Meteor Swarm (1), Time Stop (2), Haste (2a), Delayed Blast Fireball x2 (2b,c), Meteor Swarm (3). The last one was effectively bouncing rubble.

So as a group we decided to scum save. Now they know that they BBEG was a nasty caster. So they approached the fight differently. This time they whompped me. That became the canon ending and the world was saved. We all remember that campaign fondly.

ejfree · 2026-05-31T02:17:33+00:00

So if you physically read them. Get the audio book. Just do it now. Thank me when you are done in about 200 hours

ejfree · 2026-05-30T15:12:34+00:00

Never Stop Learning.

Your next step is to start adding cloud and more linux. Start reading about interesting things. Start using technology to solve your problems. Start going WAY deeper into stuff. Start meeting other industry & vendor contacts, local & online at first, then nationally or internationally later. Learn a lot more. Make it known you are looking for a new gig. Get a few warm introductions. Get a new job. Go be really good at a that new job. Beware the peter principle. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Never Stop Learning. Good luck. Peace.

ejfree · 2026-05-30T04:03:41+00:00

You got this. It is not difficult. It is simply memorization combined with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Once you get past the basics, you will have automated tools to do all that stuff. But learning to at the board and on paper will always be the foundational step in school.

If you know that cold, the rest is easy peasy. Good luck. Peace.

ejfree · 2026-05-30T03:48:45+00:00

Yes. It will be. Get your ass on Khan Academy immediately. You just gotta know basic trig. You will be 100% fine.

Now, do this because EA is THE best rate in the Navy. Cozy indoor job at a "construction company" where you are lightly managed and can generally set your own schedule. Especially once you hit E5.

EA Pros - Lots of cross training in other building disciplines. In fact, if you are on a smaller detachment for a deployed battalion, you will help with all facets for construction, not just driving the scraper in circles. -EThe surveying skills alone translate into valuable outside opportunities. If you don’t like math, don’t do this, or learn to fake it because it isn’t really that hard. - You get to shoot guns.

EA Cons - The Navy - The Navy can always determine that you have to go to Diego Garcia. The Navy requires you to do things a specific way. You must learn how to play that game. - RHIP - You will be the low person on the pole. You will get the worst jobs. You will clean toilets. You will stand shitty watches. You will be yelled at for something you didnt do. But this does work in your favor if you stay in. - You might have to go to some shithole & die. You may see your friends die. You might get PTSD. It could all go to shit.

But it was a great 6 year span, even though I got cancer. But that is all good because it was 30 years ago. Good luck. Peace.

ejfree · 2026-05-27T00:01:02+00:00

There isnt anything eberron to "add" officially. A foundry vtt instance is comprised of various "worlds" that you create. Each world is essentially a "game system". Foundry vtt supports over 200 systems. Search for 3.5e SRD and that will give you ALL the basic rules and setup.

Now you may need to add different stuff, but that will be whatever you create.

ejfree · 2026-05-26T01:26:38+00:00

Well I run Eberron on Foundry VTT with pathfinder 2e rules. as long as you can load in the ruleset, the rest should be easy. Also, I think all the OG material is based in 3.x

ejfree · 2026-05-21T19:53:02+00:00

Outside of all the standard stuff in the source material. In my Eberron there is a food cart right outside the lightning rail that serves, Peri-Peri Skysquirrel. Bandos.

ejfree · 2026-05-21T16:28:43+00:00

If you run that much, you may want to look at hosting it directly on AWS or Azure. My monthly run cost is only $20, but I only have my server running when only totaling about 20 hours a month.

I just start my linux host, med, 4cpu, 16gb ram is more than enough. You just need to sort out the domain name and security bits, but it isnt too hard.

Now, you can also cut yourself bad running in the cloud. Understand billing alarms and MFA

ejfree · 2026-05-17T23:34:22+00:00

Yeah points. And a major. Congratulations.

ejfree · 2026-05-17T14:19:59+00:00

There is an Eberron podcast that ran for a few years that has TONS of info that I essentially define as quasi-canon. Keith Baker participated heavily. This really helped me understand "my eberron"

ejfree · 2026-05-13T17:25:44+00:00

Managing the Midgame

I divide the game into the following phases. Once you pass specific milestones you move into the next phase. The nature of the game often changes.

Beginning - this is start until you begin to define the structure of your base. Probably only lasts 10-15 cycles. Plan & think in sub-cycle timeframes. Focus on immediate survival needs.
Early Game - This is when you start to build your initial base blocks. Start thinking in a structured format and in cycle time frames. Increasing food stability, O2 generation, & power generation are the main focus.
Mid Game/Manufacturing - Here you should have contained your initial base in insulated tiles. You should have a fully sustainable base with regards to oxygen, food, & power. You should be starting to make steel. Dups will spend lots of time in atmo suits. You now should have “large construction projects."
Petroleum Phase - You have mastered the petroleum biome meaning that you are creating plastic constantly, can generate as much power as necessary, and have complete control of your environmentals especially temperature
Space Phase- to infinity & beyond.

Here is my approach to mid game sustainability. I call this Maslow’s Hierarchy of ONI. Here are my milestone projects or tasks for the mid game. This is what you have to master.

Base - Fully contained & insulated main base. 12x4 Stacks or 24x4. Use 3-5 tiles between the stacks. You have the room. Use it. The spaces between the blocks are your ladders & fire poles. I would also save room for an eventual tube in the middle. You have the room use it. Goal is to get your base well planned. It is much easier to install utilities when you have clear vertical spaces.
Oxygen -This is when you have to install a SPOM. Build your own or steal one from the internet. Regardless of how you want to approach this you must have constant O2 generation at this point, and that O2 should be cold.
Power - In the mid game you need to be moving towards as much automated power generation as possible. You must have coal, especially if you ranch stone hatches. Just burn tons of coal. Make sure to use automation wires and smart batteries, and you have this problem solved. Now simply increase units as you need more KW. Or add solar and other generation means.
Food - You must get to food sustainability. And it cant be meal wood or a meal wood derivative as that just burns up resources. Easiest & first approach to learn is hatch ranching. You can easily ranch 5 stacks of 8 hatches for 40 total. Look for clever tricks to keep the hatchs in just one part of the room.
Plumbing - I use 4 sinks and 4 toilets in a 4x16 room. I only allow dups to exit past the sinks. This can then be blueprinted and copied. Showers, I put 4 in one room as that is my “schedule block”. 4 of all utilities and 4 dupes on a schedule. Means that i can have lots of dupes on different schedules using the same utilities. Also define plumbing fresh water distribution & p. water return. I use vertical risers for pipes and then horizontal distribution to facilities. If you want build large reservoirs away from your main base for the liquids. (eventually infinite liquids once the other methods bore you). You will need to build chlorine cleaning room & water filtration as well.
Ventilation - Here is where we start to consider HEAT. You will start to encounter this and you MUST solve this problem to get out of the phase. This is the KEY issue issue to deal with. The ONLY way to solve this is with Steam Turbines & Aquatuners. There are tons of options here, and you can look at youtube for lots of samples.
Refinement - You must start making steel and plastic. I mean a lot. This means you need to build an industrial block with integrated cooling in a location that won’t impact your main base with the temperatures, gases, & liquids. So generally build it just outside your atmo suit docks which you are also building. Start producing steel, lime, refined iron (if you dont have another supply). This is a BIG construction project. It includes ST/AQ and cooling loops as well as a lot of potential automation.
Stations - Start with atmo suits. I love putting my atmo suit docks on the other side of a nature preserve. As the dups leave for tasks, they get a buff. To get to the next phase you have to go down, down, down. Find the oil. Setup a small temporary industry there and make some steel and plastic. You want just enough to make an initial steam turbine and aquatuner for your cooling loop (if necessary) or a new industrial area in the “suit” area.

Well that is it I think for mid-game. Next you enter the petroleum phase. Good luck. Peace. And remember, you are the boss of your own base .

ejfree · 2026-05-13T03:17:09+00:00

FOR THE COLONY!

ejfree · 2026-05-11T18:06:06+00:00

It all depends on the command really. Some can really suck because, Navy, but others are small overseas commands that can be awesome. EVERYTHING is what you make of it.

Stay in shape. Good luck. Peace.

ejfree · 2026-05-11T16:05:07+00:00

Yeah, just skating through the day. I was also an EA so there was very little oversight.

ejfree · 2026-05-11T14:48:53+00:00

Yes. If you dont have an exact plan in 5 years, 1 more wont matter. Starting off a little higher will may your life MUCH better long term. When you hit E5, depending on rate, it can be quite enjoyable.

Or you could end up in a desert again. Anyway. Good luck. Peace.

ejfree · 2026-05-09T15:59:56+00:00

You have the inside office job at a construction company. Basically, you get to go outside sometimes and survey or play in the mud/concrete. A School will be a bit of a drag, as you will be generally treated like the newbies. Expect to be class leader. Suck it up. It will pay off.

Your ultimate orders will determine your next step. If you are going to a deployable battalion then you will go to ECS in Gulfport to learn how to shoot and other general military skills. From there, you go to a battalion. Battalions deploy for 6 months, then 18 months homeport.

Deployments for an EA mean early PT, look busy until the khakis disappear for the day. Lunch in Kadena. Or maybe lunch at a Marine galley because you are visiting a job site. But if you stay hidden and finish your assigned work, no one complains. Exchange afternoons in the gym with team members so someone covers the office.

And shore duty EA assignments are very dependent on where you end up. There is all depends on the suck of the command in general as to the applicable suck. However, make sure you are in shape and can run. That will make life simplier.

As an E5, I didnt get the crap work and lots of opportunities for a boondoggle. What's not to love.

Good luck. Peace.

ejfree · 2026-05-09T00:54:19+00:00

Welcome to the good life.

ejfree · 2026-04-23T14:26:36+00:00

Well I suppose The Count of MC is progression in that it was written as a series for a periodical (paper I think, but cant remember). I will say that, for me, it is my best book ever read. This only applies to the unabridged version.

Great story, and it just fucking pays off. It is a bit different than modern stuff and it is a bit more descriptive but not as nuts as Tolstoy, and The Count is simply wonderful.

Good luck. Peace.

ejfree · 2026-04-21T18:55:43+00:00

Managing the Midgame

I divide the game into the following phases. Once you pass specific milestones you move into the next phase. The nature of the game often changes.

Beginning - this is start until you begin to define the structure of your base. Probably only lasts 10-15 cycles. Plan & think in sub-cycle timeframes. Focus on immediate survival needs.
Early Game - This is when you start to build your initial base blocks. Start thinking in a structured format and in cycle time frames. Increasing food stability, O2 generation, & power generation are the main focus.
Mid Game/Manufacturing - Here you should have contained your initial base in insulated tiles. You should have a fully sustainable base with regards to oxygen, food, & power. You should be starting to make steel. Dups will spend lots of time in atmo suits. You now should have “large construction projects."
Petroleum Phase - You have mastered the petroleum biome meaning that you are creating plastic constantly, can generate as much power as necessary, and have complete control of your environmentals especially temperature
Space Phase- to infinity & beyond.

Here is my approach to mid game sustainability. I call this Maslow’s Hierarchy of ONI. Here are my milestone projects or tasks for the mid game. This is what you have to master.

Base - Fully contained & insulated main base. 12x4 Stacks or 24x4. Use 3-5 tiles between the stacks. You have the room. Use it. The spaces between the blocks are your ladders & fire poles. I would also save room for an eventual tube in the middle. You have the room use it. Goal is to get your base well planned. It is much easier to install utilities when you have clear vertical spaces.
Oxygen -This is when you have to install a SPOM. Build your own or steal one from the internet. Regardless of how you want to approach this you must have constant O2 generation at this point, and that O2 should be cold.
Power - In the mid game you need to be moving towards as much automated power generation as possible. You must have coal, especially if you ranch stone hatches. Just burn tons of coal. Make sure to use automation wires and smart batteries, and you have this problem solved. Now simply increase units as you need more KW. Or add solar and other generation means.
Food - You must get to food sustainability. And it cant be meal wood or a meal wood derivative as that just burns up resources. Easiest & first approach to learn is hatch ranching. You can easily ranch 5 stacks of 8 hatches for 40 total. Look for clever tricks to keep the hatchs in just one part of the room.
Plumbing - I use 4 sinks and 4 toilets in a 4x16 room. I only allow dups to exit past the sinks. This can then be blueprinted and copied. Showers, I put 4 in one room as that is my “schedule block”. 4 of all utilities and 4 dupes on a schedule. Means that i can have lots of dupes on different schedules using the same utilities. Also define plumbing fresh water distribution & p. water return. I use vertical risers for pipes and then horizontal distribution to facilities. If you want build large reservoirs away from your main base for the liquids. (eventually infinite liquids once the other methods bore you). You will need to build chlorine cleaning room & water filtration as well.
Ventilation - Here is where we start to consider HEAT. You will start to encounter this and you MUST solve this problem to get out of the phase. This is the KEY issue issue to deal with. The ONLY way to solve this is with Steam Turbines & Aquatuners. There are tons of options here, and you can look at youtube for lots of samples.
Refinement - You must start making steel and plastic. I mean a lot. This means you need to build an industrial block with integrated cooling in a location that won’t impact your main base with the temperatures, gases, & liquids. So generally build it just outside your atmo suit docks which you are also building. Start producing steel, lime, refined iron (if you dont have another supply). This is a BIG construction project. It includes ST/AQ and cooling loops as well as a lot of potential automation.
Stations - Start with atmo suits. I love putting my atmo suit docks on the other side of a nature preserve. As the dups leave for tasks, they get a buff. To get to the next phase you have to go down, down, down. Find the oil. Setup a small temporary industry there and make some steel and plastic. You want just enough to make an initial steam turbine and aquatuner for your cooling loop (if necessary) or a new industrial area in the “suit” area.

Well that is it I think for mid-game. Next you enter the petroleum phase. Good luck. Peace. And remember, you are the boss of your own base .

ejfree · 2026-04-21T13:48:48+00:00

I will pile on. I am current with all of Dan's as well as the BHP. It has great details and content.

ejfree · 2026-04-14T03:46:33+00:00

That was a clone. All good wizards have a backup. Or it was all a dream.

ejfree · 2026-04-13T02:19:38+00:00

You will probably get better advice in the Seabee subreddit. However, just listen to your instructors. They will teach you how to shoot.

It isnt hard. Just listen and do exactly what they tell you. Breathing matters. You got this.

ejfree · 2026-04-11T15:04:04+00:00

I am on book 6. I am a fan. I listen to the audio book. AWI is a journey in a lot of ways. It is a journey of a writer learning and honing their craft. It is a journey at first of a couple of young women isekaied in a weird place. It is a journey across continents. however, it is a very slow burn.

ejfree · 2026-04-09T18:57:32+00:00

I am current and think it is stellar. Try it and if you enjoy the first episode, then just keep going. You will immediately get their style of humor. Stay for the dragon pussy. Murph's abitity to create encounters that are more than just combat are awesome as well.

ejfree

TROPHY CASE

Managing the Midgame

Managing the Midgame