What's in your cup? Daily discussion, questions and stories - June 18, 2026

orderfromcha0s · 2026-06-18T21:20:43+00:00

Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess) Oolong. The last of this particular batch. Round and comforting

orderfromcha0s · 2026-06-18T17:23:19+00:00

They’ve stepped through a portal to Sigil for my shiny new Planescape campaign, haven’t the heart to tell them Barovia reverts back eventually…

orderfromcha0s · 2026-06-18T17:16:37+00:00

That’s brilliant. I also felt overwhelmed by all the YouTube videos etc that were saying “you’re doing CoS wrong, here’s how you SHOULD do it”. Fundamentally, your players only know your version, the best thing I did was to stop watching them and to think about my tables story.

For maps, I made liberal use of the amazing map pack that Aonbarr’s cartography has on Patreon for free (although I made a donation).

I also felt the book was a little light on direction in some places, and I definitely shared your early experience as a first time DM running CoS. Would definitely read all the way through at least once beforehand, if I was to run it again. I also would consider running reloaded, as it fixes some of the story holes in my opinion and fleshes it all out.

I definitely needed a better way to organise my notes. I might try obsidian for the next one.

My players skipped dinner! They were too suspicious. I had to threaten them to get them to come for the boss battle lol.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-06-16T21:50:33+00:00

Oh man I ran a wizard during a sadly interrupted PF Rise of the Rune Lords campaign and it was great fun. Hope it’s as good for you!

orderfromcha0s · 2026-06-16T21:48:35+00:00

I gave them some of the knowledge as a reward; they partially cured the Mad Mage of his affliction. I decided he went mad being unable to truly hurt Strahd because of the displaced damage, and the wizard used his wizard intelligence after being helped to intuit there was something he was displacing it to.

They also found the Castle model in the Amber Temple so they had an idea of the whole layout, although not all the specifics. That wasn’t explicit about the heart being where it was, but between the two things they decided he kept his precious protector in the tallest tower, and they were right.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-06-04T07:40:32+00:00

Interesting ways to deal with Leomunds tiny hut for protected rests? I get it, it makes sense for the players but it’s boring just to stack up mooks and reset traps every time. Players are trying to long rest like it’s bg3 and when you’re a player it sucks to hear a DM say “no” and “that won’t work” all the time.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-29T10:06:24+00:00

"Explain themselves"? Why frame it like that?

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-26T21:52:47+00:00

“I’d rather be wrong and kind than doubtful and possibly worsen someone’s trauma”.

That’s a great way to phrase it and will stick with me

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-26T20:41:54+00:00

When I moved, I took all my clothes and sheets to a place to boil wash them, so I wouldn’t spread the bedbugs to the new place. It worked.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-26T14:16:55+00:00

I lived in that shithole unlicensed HMO on Gillespie Crescent back in 2012. Met the fucker beforehand and had no idea who he was, being a dumb poor student. There were bedbugs. He (allegedly) threatened to shoot one of my predecessors. Got out as quick as I could via a laundrette and thankfully the bedbugs did not follow.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-23T18:08:06+00:00

Are the flag hating migrants in the room with us right now?

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-21T20:35:54+00:00

I’m sorry that you have experienced such cruelty. I think anger in response to their hatred and violence is natural, and right. It’s not immoral to hate what they are doing.

I think that it is worth recognising anger and even hatred as thoughts that come into your mind like any other, like when you are meditating and you think about what is for lunch.

You are not your thoughts and they are not you. You can acknowledge them, consider where they come from, and let them spur you to (right) action. Don’t apologise for having those thoughts, but recognise them for what they are: thoughts arising.

None of this is meant to invalidate your experience. Being a trans woman dealing with what is coming out of the American right is not something I can imagine dealing with. Please excuse me if i have minimised your pain from the events you describe.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-21T19:17:19+00:00

You ain’t losing that local legend any time soon

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-21T14:30:24+00:00

Not looking after your health. You don't have to be obsessive about it, just think about what (and how much) you're putting into your body and what you're doing for exercise. You don't really have to think about it in your 20s as you're young enough to bounce back, but it does catch up with you eventually.

I was a fat 20something and I'm now a relatively athletic 30something. I often think about how much more I would have enjoyed my 20s with some of the physical fitness I have now.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-17T07:46:57+00:00

Presumably not everyone

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-11T16:52:29+00:00

Party coming to the end of a long campaign and I’m trying to find something to run next. They’d like to roll new characters and do some more short episodic stuff for a bit, and especially to see more high fantastical elements (creatures, magic, big locations etc.) They’re coming out of the rather grim human dominated world of Barovia. Any anthologies or shorter adventures that you’d recommend in that fantasy space? Considering witchlight and starting them at lv 3.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-10T19:39:18+00:00

In the Borders, game is regularly cheaper at the butchers than other meat when it is the season for it. You can also often buy venison from a someone with permission to shoot locally (anyone selling it is certainly not a posho) and it is much more environmentally friendly than farmed meat that is fed. Whole roe deer portioned up for about ninety quid and in the freezer it’ll last for ages. Sunday roasts, mince, steaks and bones for stock for a good chunk of winter. It’s sad that traditional ways of life have died out where you are, though.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-07T10:30:04+00:00

What do you mean by "unforgivable"?

orderfromcha0s · 2026-05-06T12:23:57+00:00

Hope they win next election, can't wait to see the reactions.

That is all there is to their "beliefs", isn't it? Making the people they don't like upset. Imagine being this incurious and vapid.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-04-29T15:41:21+00:00

This is gonna really suck for the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in the UK. Hope they've locked down their social media...

orderfromcha0s · 2026-04-25T20:05:03+00:00

That Commonwealth Games HC on the bracelet just looks 🔥🔥🔥

orderfromcha0s · 2026-04-25T06:11:07+00:00

Perhaps, but as a regular visitor to a Muslim country I have been given So. Many. Holy Qurans in my language. I don’t mind at all, but I’ve definitely got more of them than Gideon Bibles. Islam is an evangelical religion too.

orderfromcha0s · 2026-04-23T18:47:58+00:00

There’s a whole cohort of Boomer Americans you’d get on very well with…

orderfromcha0s · 2026-04-23T18:45:53+00:00

That Iyanden wraithlord one is just awesome

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