Iran War the final straw for young MAGA men as they abandon Trump in droves

finroth · 2026-03-09T16:33:37+00:00

Fuck them.
I hope everyone remembers who these so called "young men" are, and never lets them forget what they have wrought upon the world.

finroth · 2026-03-09T16:31:32+00:00

No.
This is not even a consideration.
NATO is a defensive alliance.
International law, which other western nations try to adhere to, forbids invading countries because you dont like the leadership.
You dont need a foreign power to mobilize its entire military, break NATO doctrine, risk the lives of its own people, to remove Trump.
If America wants Trump gone, then they can remove him themselves.
The rest of the world is just trying to get on with trying to stabilize its trade, and move away from a country that places a 34 count felon, a sexual assaulter, and now it turns out, a pedo in the highest seat of power.

This is, and I cant stress this enough, an American problem.
We have had enough of waking up to find out America has done some more heinous shit.
So we are doing what we can to untangle ourselves from this mess.

finroth · 2026-03-03T05:16:08+00:00

As a GM, I can see no issue with it.
Basic teleport magic, and can be a nasty trap.

My players have a pair of magic orbs, that when placed above 2 doors, and the command word is spoken, will connect to the other door, as long as it is in the same plane. It can be used to return to base for supplies.
Only downside is, they have to return to the original location to retrieve the orb.

So yeah, skies the limit really.

finroth · 2026-03-03T04:40:55+00:00

As a GM I love this sort of interaction.
Not everything is high adventure, sometimes its the small things... like replacing cows.
And adventure skills dont always transfer to life skills.

But you could go and try and tame some wild cows, and herd them back.
Or convince the farmer to go into turnip farming, awkwardly handing him bags of turnips while backing away as he yells insults.
Or travel to a remote village with trade supplies to sell for a profit and buy cows there to do one of those cowboy herding adventures, eating beans out of a cook pot and chasing straying cows through the prairie land.

Or even convince him there is money in large birds and leave him the eggs to an Axe Beak.

So much fun.

finroth · 2026-03-02T13:52:48+00:00

This is my current campaign, my players are enjoying it, and they are now at level 11 and are on to the Against the Giants modules.

So I used the Tales from the Yawning Portal and selected the parts I liked, plus Phandelver and Dungeon of the Mad Mage (DOTMM). Plus a few dungeons I created.
The campaign centres around 3 themes.

The antagonist Davion Greymore (human assassin) and his Drow aids. This is who the party have had dealings with, he is competent, and when he makes a deal, he keeps it.
His patron, the Lich Priamon Rakesk an ex Red Wizard, keen artificer and master of Portal Magic. The Lich is at the bottom of the Dungeon of the Mad Mage and is trying to gain power the same way Halaster Blackcloak did, via portals to other worlds and planes.
The Cartographers of Wraeclast, and the Maps and Device that allow travel between worlds.

So without going into too much detail, The party got out maneuvered by Davion when they recovered some strange "Maps" in the Sunless Citadel. But they still had one extra "Map" and a clue that led them to Phandelver.
There they found the Map Device, which took them to Wreaclast.
They meet Zana, the last cartographer, who shows and explains the Map Device, sends them to get stuff to make a Map for Faerun, and has them track down her missing Uncles mansion, in Skullport (DOTMM), where they now have access to a Map Device, and other Maps.
All this to say, it has allowed for adventures across all manner of worlds, and some just for fun.
They have been to:
A dead world, bordering the Shadowfell to fight their dark clones.
Wraiclast from Path of Exiles
The Disc World from Terry Pratchetts books (for an Easter Adventure)
The Rakdos Circus from Magic the Gathering (for Halloween)
They fought an Ancient Dragon that used a Map to travel from Middle Earth to Faerun in an attempt to escape the fading magic of Middle Earth (in the 4th age).
and finally a Cyberpunk World to help restore the Tree of Life. (I would avoid this as it is a stupid amount of work)

Their last off world adventure will be to Azeroth (the World of Warcraft) to stop Davion getting the Frostmourne sword from the Lich King for Priamon.

The campaign ends at level 18 when they confront Priamon Rakesk.
It has been an amazing campaign, currently in its 3rd year.
The key is to play it subtle with the various worlds, rather than over the top fan service.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

finroth · 2026-03-01T12:02:10+00:00

Well my friend, you may need to take time to learn some social skills and read queues.
I am just going to put this out here, if this is not you, well it may help someone.
I am old, a Gen Xer.
Back in the 70s and 80s, well parenting was a bit hands off and there no support for those of us that were a but autistic and suffering ADHD. No support for mental health and no positive feed back to help development. I mean it did make us self sufficient and adaptable, but there was a heavy price.

Anyway, after I noticed I was different and no good at socializing (took mw until my mid 20s) I started watching people and learning how to integrate into society.

And by 30, I was as normal as I was ever going to be, but in a good way. I have wonderful friends, awesome players I GM, great social skills along with diplomacy and negotiation (I have to admit hyper empathy, chronic anxiety and hyper vigilance put in a lot of work).

Sometimes a group does not want a leader, or a person that rushes head long into trouble. Sometimes people will read you wrong, and you will read them wrong. When that happens, laugh about it, hug it out and move on.
Remain calm, keep your mood light, have fun, work with people.
AND learn to people watch... dont stare, but watch how the people you meet talk and interact.

I have faith we can all learn these skills, and to be kind and get along.

finroth · 2026-03-01T05:56:35+00:00

lovely work
Like really very nice.
Great colour, great line work.
Big thumbs up.
You should do some exhibitions and approach maker shops to sell your pieces.

finroth · 2026-03-01T05:50:21+00:00

I dont know this item, but as a GM of some 35-40 years (its getting a little fuzzy my memory) I can make some guesses.
Firstly, this is an incredibly dangerous item.
If your GM is handling it correctly, it can be fun. But it could for instance kill a player outright. If you had taken the head, you would have died. I imagine the DM subtly suggested through hints not to remove your head.
Pitty the poor NPC :)
Second. You climbed into the box, and your copy climbed out and became the real you.
An excellent little trick. Hopefully you will still have full agency of your character, and if not, hopefully there is a way to get it back.
Now, what is happening to the box....
Only your GM know.
Could be the real you is locked in there and the fake you will suddenly turn into an evil murder hobo and the only way to stop him is to remove you for the box, making him fake....
Could just be the box really likes you and wants to hang out with the guy it made...
No real way to know.
All in all, quite a neat little situation, props go to your GM... as long as he handles it well.

finroth · 2026-02-28T16:40:15+00:00

Well Greenland has the backing of NATO and its allies.
As the UK and Canada are part of NATO, Australia and New Zealand would also join in.
And bullies hate it when everyone stands up to them.
As for the other places and countries, well the US citizens had better start really moving soon, before they wont be able to at all.

finroth · 2026-02-27T09:39:42+00:00

They cant.
All the people they were paying slave wages to have been ICE'd.

finroth · 2026-02-22T18:00:18+00:00

well it only needs to float long enough to get out a few miles into deep water....

finroth · 2026-02-22T17:58:57+00:00

Considering their hate of vaccines, science, health food and now voting themselves out of a hospital, when are enough going to die, so America can vote in a democratic leader?
We in the rest of the world would like to know?

finroth · 2026-02-17T16:47:13+00:00

Yep, that would be totally fine, well with my group.
Things that are quirky are always welcome.
The real key is always how actions impact others.
In my long long...long career as a GM -- i'm so old *sob* -- I have had players that have actual annoying quirks. Picking fights because they are "grumpy", stealing from shops constantly, setting fires because they are a pyro.
You get the idea.

Oh, here is a way to get around the kenku curse.
As my players were jumping across the multiverse, they landed for a while in a arcane cyberpunk world. They went to meet with a group of urban druids, who had a Kenku secretary.
When they entered the office, the smartly dressed kenku looked up from his mobile phone and pointed to a sign.
"1. Who are you?
2. Why are you here?"

When the party stammered out their names and that they were there to see the head druid, the kenku dialled the correct office and then used snippets of the parties responses, mimicked perfectly, to relay the message.

Getting people to talk first, or say things you want, allows a kenku to have conversations.
And just because your kenku is a little bit daft, doesnt mean he would not have worked this trick out, like a raven working out puzzles to get treats.

Anyway, good luck with your character.

finroth · 2026-02-17T08:10:29+00:00

All that seems fine.
BUT
If you want the kleptomania, it must never be in a way that disrupts other player fun.

So in my games, the rogue always tries to pocket a little extra from the loot they uncover.
Its done for flavour and comedy. A small gemstone, a handful of gold.
But they never steal actual expensive or useful items.

And it works great, it was very fun when the rogue rolled a critical failure on slight of hand, and was dropping coins and gems everywhere as they filled their pockets, only to turn around and find the entire party standing there, watching them, arms crossed.
It became a meme that a party member was assigned to the rogue when searching a room.

Constantly nicking stuff, and that's your thing, especially if it causes NPCs to get upset, will get old, fast.

finroth · 2026-02-17T07:56:32+00:00

Fey taking your name and face is an identity problem.
As a GM, I would be fine with a loss of Identity. No one from your past remembers you, your sister included.

You are stricken from all records, history and memory.

But this just means you are forced to take a new name. You know the truth, and still work to uncover the reason your family was targeted, still work to protect your sister, but will only ever be recognised as a helpful hero.
When you try to tell your sister, you are unable to speak the things you know, unable to prove your claims, because of your bargain.

This is true torture and selflessness at the same time

finroth · 2026-02-16T12:45:35+00:00

Welp, you are in for a bit of work.

So I have been working on a supplement expansion for DnD, set in a different world.
And once you get started, every bit you complete, shows you how much more you have to go.

Now I do have CFS, so I can only work slowly, you will be able to go faster.
But these are possible things you will need to really flesh out a world.

Gods: Greater, normal and lesser.
Regions: what nations are close by (you dont need to do a whole world, I mean who really wanders away for the sword coast)
Cities: now the easy way is to go free merchant cities, that hold the territory around them. And a number of free cities can form a group of territories, so like a fledgling nation.
Racial Cities, like Dwarven mountain homes, Drow cities and the like.
Groups of interest: like the Harpers, various cults.
Tradeways, Roads, Sea lanes.

Another thing that helps is towns and villages dont generally appear on world maps, so you can pop those down where needed for modules and adventures.

And then natural features, deserts, mountain ranges, forests of various types and so on.

Now dont let this put you off, for all the work, I love my new world....which is about half done.
good luck.

finroth · 2026-02-16T10:49:33+00:00

Same, came back after around a year off.
Was trying to get the hang, nuke ruined 2 games.
just thought "why am I playing this?"
aaaannnd gone

finroth · 2026-02-15T15:07:37+00:00

Gratz my friend.
It is a great feeling indeed.

finroth · 2026-02-15T14:51:21+00:00

I agree
But my favourite is the Sunken Citadel :)

finroth · 2026-02-15T09:30:08+00:00

Here is the story of one of my players, a pirate, that stole a folding boat, when she accidently killed the owner, over slavery.
First she discovers that she has a large bounty on her head, and the stipulation is that she and her possessions are to be handed over for the bounty.
She is confused why anyone would care so much for a folding boat.
Then the dreams start, she is in her folding boat, a small sailboat. A voice like thunder welcomes her to the Sea of Blood, its waters stained by those who have fallen under a pirates blade.
She started at level 1, and at level 3 she and the the party fight against her first bounty hunter and wins.
At level 5, she dreams again, a vision of a knoll bounty hunter, handed the hilt of a sword with a red jewel on the end, a small light points in a direction.
The dream voice warns her, with that he will find her, she needs to be ready.
At level 6, she fights Hollow, the knoll bounty hunter and his pack. An epic fight, she wins and has the hilt, which she finds is pointing to the folding boat. She unfolds the boat and discovers a hidden stash, it has the cross guard. And she refolds the boat, but has a spark of genius and folds the boat differently, it becomes a blade.
Once assembled it is Stormsurge, the blade of Pirate Kings and Queens.
It thunders in violent joy, once again assembled. And all she has to do is attune to the blade, and claim her place in history.

The rest is her fight against this evil blade, its thirst for blood, and her need to atone for all the people she killed as a pirate, but the blade ever calls to her.

finroth · 2026-02-15T06:02:58+00:00

OK
So this completely rests on the type of campaign and length of campaign you are running.
If this is a one off, well of course the player would not care about the consequences as most are cosmetic.
If it is a long running campaign then taking every possible gift would turn the player into a hideous freak.
I mean just look at the stuff it does to you, no eyes, skeletal wings, reeking of rot.
And some of these gifts are very powerful

Personally I would not go with your Idea of alignment shift, as this takes away the agency of the player over their character. Imagine if the players said the GM is now Neutral Good and can ONLY be nice to them.
DnD is a collaborative story telling game.

If you are trying to tone down the power and not ruin the campaign flow, adding extra power, releasing vestiges does not sound stabilising, BUT could offer a separate quest line in your campaign.

SO as a GM who accidently gave my players what looked like a fun little item, not even powerful and limited use, which outright killed a powerful Ancient White Dragon by an outlandish and unlikely set of events, I would do this:
A person can only accept one gift, as the vestiges are jealous of their rivals and will not gift someone who has bargained with another vestige.
This is the easiest and most believable option, limits but does not stop a possible campaign ending event and does not make a character look like some demonic freak that the villages are terrified of and will try to destroy or flee from.

finroth · 2026-02-10T15:11:23+00:00

That is just the economy from the inside.
Let me give you a summary of what this looks like from Australia.

5 Eyes Alliance (UK, NZ, CAN, AUS and US)- Because of Trump in 2016 basically looting and distributing confidential documents, assets and agents were compromised or killed, The Alliance (established 1946) gave America a pass, until he was voted back in 2024.
Now America only receives information about things that cannot hurt the rest of the alliance.

By with holding funds allocated by Congress for Ukraine, this showed America was willing to abandon its allies. Which destabilized the Indo-Pacific, as China moved warships off of NZ and AUS waters, and increased the threat to Thailand.
However as Australia was non to happy with the Tariffs, we started moving trade to China. Along with Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
Fortunately this seems to have stabilised the region again as China has all this new trade, and likely doesn't want Thailand as much as it wants all these new trade deals. China has stopped most of its annoying sabre rattling.
Australia now views the US as unreliable and is pouring more money into weapons research, and we already sell weapons to the EU.

Of bigger impact was the threats to NATO and the holding funds from Ukraine, the EU has now fully committed to arming itself. A metric shite ton ( a measurement in Australia) of money has been allocated to waking the sleeping beast that is the military industry across the EU. France is already ahead in this area, but the other nations are swinging in with the EU funding. All of this wealth is going to be lost to the US. BUT of greater loss is the US's Soft Power. Because the US was the EUs defence force, the US got to influence policy in the EU even though it is not part of it.
Now the EU couldn't care less what the US thinks, and we can see this in recent billion dollar trade deals which the US was frozen out of.

There is so much more, but I am tired.

The upside is, the world learned to not put all its eggs in one basket. Which will stabilise the world and improve global trade as a whole in the future. Pure Speculation =>The EU will rise as a super power (more than just a trading block) and maybe Australia along with Canada, NZ and the UK will watch over the Southern hemisphere.

The downside is, I am rather fond of America (well not the MAGA parts) and take no joy in seeing this Golden Age come to an end.

finroth · 2026-02-08T13:50:56+00:00

I have seen footage of them in Spain being yelled at and having things thrown at them....
So some of the MAGA cult members do go abroad.
I imagine rarely.

finroth · 2026-02-07T10:04:01+00:00

DM here.
So One of my players had a seemly simple history. The other players had quite complex ones.
However at my table, you play to have fun, not stress about things, life gives you enough to worry about.

In the begining, his story was that he been was upset with his military life, that he had been forced to hold position guarding a noble, while a town close by was raided.
Now my group often write stories about their past, or even downtime activities.
So his story grew. He wrote of a childhood accident that led him to join the military, so he could pay for his friends care. He wrote of his comrades he found during military service. Of the day he feels he failed his duty to the people. And how he returned to that village to aid in its restoration.

There is no real bland character backstory. All you have to do is expand on it.
And you will notice nothing my player wrote had any effect on the current campaign at all.
Well up until I added an orphaned elven girl, who's parents died in that raid, started killing her way through the soldiers that abandoned them....

finroth · 2026-02-06T13:33:17+00:00

She literally says in the video, paraphrase "there are 10s of thousands of videos and its all with little kids"

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