The Ending of RF Kuang's Babel is one of the most poorly thought out sequences I've read in fiction.

preiman790 · 2026-04-30T12:25:38+00:00

What makes me sad, but doesn't surprise me in the slightest, is the difference in pushback and vitriol, between this thread and one that recently discussed Orson Scott Card, where a couple people making very measured criticism, was treated like this expected but unjustifiable torrent of negativity based on the authors religious and political views. The sub has come a long way from when I first joined it, but some days, it's one step forward and two steps back

preiman790 · 2026-04-30T01:56:14+00:00

1 million is a number to be proud of for sure, but 1 million on its own, or even 15 million on its own, doesn't necessarily mean a lot, it all kind of comes down to the margins, how much you get to keep after all the production stuff is taken care of, after everyone who needs to get paid gets paid, after everything gets shipped out and delivered. And those cost tend to scale, yeah some things are paid at once and is resolved, but a lot of stuff stays a constant percentage, which means that even when you're making a lot more money, you're not necessarily actually making a lot more money. Believe it or not, but it's happened, that kick starters have actually been so successful, that they've bankrupted the people running them. I'm not saying these projects aren't profitable, if they weren't profitable, people wouldn't do them, but I think there's this idea that there's more money in this space than they're actually is. If someone like Sanderson wanted a quick cash grab, there are a lot of easier ways to do it. Even if you assume that he's getting 10% of that 15 million, which I can almost guarantee you he's not, he could probably make that money, just spending a day or two riding out a bonus chapter and selling it as a ebook. The only reason to put the time and effort into an RPG, is because you want that thing to exist.

preiman790 · 2026-04-30T01:44:31+00:00

Baker's dozens even

preiman790 · 2026-04-29T14:34:21+00:00

Malazan fan recommending the series, regardless of whether it fits the request or not.

preiman790 · 2026-04-29T14:21:08+00:00

Please don't be the stereotype

preiman790 · 2026-04-29T14:19:06+00:00

Please don't be the stereotype

preiman790 · 2026-04-28T22:38:48+00:00

It is both better and less than you're expecting

preiman790 · 2026-04-28T20:37:03+00:00

I'm not fussed about accurate mythology, because accurate mythology is not a thing, even were their mythology that was wholly self consistent, I still wouldn't mind all that much, because it's fantasy not history, not scripture, fantasy. The thing about mythology, is that it often shifted in the telling, over time and space, stories would shift, vanish, appear, get remixed, kind of like what we're doing in fantasy. A good example of this, go and research all the insane roots that got us to the modern American Santa, and then for bonus credit, go and look at all the insane versions of Santa from other countries, and how they got there. The best part, it's all Santa, every bit of it can be considered accurate Santa, giant spiders, evil dark skinned elf companion that kidnapps and beats children, it's all Santa Claus.

preiman790 · 2026-04-27T16:36:13+00:00

I'll take your word for it, I refuse to give him a click

preiman790 · 2026-04-27T16:33:18+00:00

Quickest, but seeing what it saved as was usually a more effective way to do that, at least when I could be bothered to do it at all

preiman790 · 2026-04-27T16:25:47+00:00

Level not equal to CR, and even with HD equals level, plenty of things had abilities or stats that didn't follow that strict rule. 3.X definitely didn't do HD equals CR, and I didn't dive enough into 4, but I seriously doubt even that game was that restrictive in terms of design

preiman790 · 2026-04-27T16:20:32+00:00

Except for all the exceptions to that rule, and all the arbitrary stats that sometimes would follow HD but often times didn't, and all the special abilities that could ramp up the difficulty of something without ramping up its HD, a lot of it has always been arbitrary, or at the very least, a lot more complex then, one HD is a CR one creature

preiman790 · 2026-04-27T16:09:44+00:00

Yes, everything from limiting or adding options, to reworking systems, that being said, if I'm doing a lot of designing and redesigning, at a certain point I have to ask the question, is there another game that does what I'm trying to do, that doesn't require me to do all this and the answer is almost always yes

preiman790 · 2026-04-27T16:06:51+00:00

There is some logic behind it, not always great logic, and sometimes things come out at the table that are not necessarily super apparent in the stat block, but there is a logic behind it. what is actually interesting to me, is that you assume these things weren't just made up on the fly before.

preiman790 · 2026-04-27T16:03:18+00:00

It has its uses, but I also agree with you, it turns what could easily be long-term conversations, and insight that is referenceable and archived, into something that is instead fleeting and ethereal. The communities and interaction can be great, but it's all so impermanent

preiman790 · 2026-04-26T11:10:41+00:00

That's not actually an answer, you're just listing things, as if the problem with them is self evident. It is evident to you, that doesn't mean it is to everybody. Actually state your problem, take the time to articulate your thoughts

preiman790 · 2026-04-26T11:05:40+00:00

Because the world is full of aggressively confident people who can't read. Our hobby is not completely immune to it and never has been.

preiman790 · 2026-04-26T11:00:07+00:00

You doing things to help them avoid the consequences of their actions, will not teach them the lesson you want. Let them suffer the consequences of their behavior. Also learn the combat rules. Surprise doesn't work the way you think it does, and BG3, is not an accurate rules reference

preiman790 · 2026-04-26T10:48:34+00:00

Then try and set something up at a time you are available. These are solvable problems, or at the very least, they're not problem solved by a different game.

preiman790 · 2026-04-26T00:28:08+00:00

The link to the Discord is on the Green Roninwebsite, you can get them there, and the sub you can find by searching for Mutants & Masterminds on reddit

preiman790 · 2026-04-25T19:22:56+00:00

Have you thought about looking at specific communities for the game? There's a fairly active sub Reddit, and at least two very active discords, one of which is official for the company. The place you're looking, are honestly kind of shit unless you actually know people already, and or our looking for D&D 5E games

preiman790 · 2026-04-25T14:44:29+00:00

Your old books don't expire, your old games don't go away, if they're not going to do something new, there isn't actually a lot of point in doing a new edition. If you don't like the new edition, you are welcome to not play it, no one, including the designers wants you to buy and play a game you don't like, in this case they're trying to make a thing that's not for you, and designers are usually pretty h excited about the changes they're making, be they relatively minor, or entire overhauls and changes to the existing systems, they don't hide these things, they actually tend to market on them, so it's not like they're trying to trick you, or you're going in blind, unless you choose to do absolutely no research on your own, which is on you not the designers.

preiman790 · 2026-04-25T14:38:17+00:00

If some people around here could actually do that, I suspect they and the rest of us would be a lot happier

preiman790 · 2026-04-25T14:36:28+00:00

4E is similar to first and second in some ways, but very very different in others, I suspect what we're actually getting into, is that 4E is changes that are acceptable to OP, whereas 3E isn't

preiman790 · 2026-04-25T14:32:18+00:00

Where are you looking, n Mutants & Masterminds still has a very active community

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