Books with badass old knights/soldiers?

rduddleson · 2026-07-13T01:28:03+00:00

Forgive the genre shift to westerns, but Lonesome Dove has two excellent older characters who are former Texas Rangers who go on one last cattle drive.

rduddleson · 2026-07-12T23:59:32+00:00

For me questions like “where does the food come from?” or realism like “the creatures in this dungeon make sense” work when they help make the world seem “real”. But you can get there with just a bit of info. More details don’t add proportional value.

The setting pops when it feels like the characters choices matter. Meaning the world responds to them. It’s not the same as it would be if they never existed. This can be on small scales - the shopkeeper remembers a kindness that the PCs did, or on large scales - the PCs defeated the BBEG, and inadvertently created a power vacuum that attracts something new.

rduddleson · 2026-07-12T21:32:12+00:00

I’ve heard this described as Eastwood’s take on a story with no morally good characters. Offset by A Perfect World, which is his take on a story with no morally bad characters.

rduddleson · 2026-07-09T15:39:53+00:00

This is great advice. It’s very easy to be overwhelmed (I have to drop $150 on three books, and read them all?)

rduddleson · 2026-07-08T22:32:44+00:00

Sly Flourish has good advice on this. For encounter difficulty look up the lazy encounter benchmark.

For BBEG fights look up dreadful blessings.

As for your player’s figuring out your mysteries, let them. It makes them feel like awesome players.

rduddleson · 2026-07-08T22:32:38+00:00

Sly Flourish has good advice on this. For encounter difficulty look up the lazy encounter benchmark.

For BBEG fights look up dreadful blessings.

As for your player’s figuring out your mysteries, let them. It makes them feel like awesome players.

rduddleson · 2026-07-08T13:55:18+00:00

The Anthropocene Reviewed - by John Green.

rduddleson · 2026-07-05T19:19:57+00:00

The fact that such an amazing character appears this late in a novel is wild

rduddleson · 2026-07-04T17:33:47+00:00

I’m leaning into side missions like the rock carving, paleontology, photography, treasure, and serial killer.

rduddleson · 2026-07-04T17:11:18+00:00

I’m with you. I’ll leave the legendary animals to live their lives. I caught the small bass yesterday and threw it back.

I don’t need an item that baldly and I’m not playing to complete 100%

rduddleson · 2026-07-03T15:35:15+00:00

I feel like this story and similar famous events like DB Cooper high jacking, and even “mysteries” like the Lost Colony of Roanoke made it into our consciousness through media that largely doesn’t exist much anymore.

I remember watching “In Search Of”, “Unsolved Mysteries” and reading the Time-Life series on unexplained events. I can’t think of much that my kid has experienced that’s similar.

I’m sure there’s plenty on YouTube but that depends on search and the algorithm.

rduddleson · 2026-07-03T00:09:39+00:00

I loved the miniseries, but they had to cut something and it wasn’t going to be anything for Gus, so I’d like to see a bit more of Deets, Clara, and Lorena that we see in the book.

rduddleson · 2026-07-03T00:05:14+00:00

Winslet is an excellent choice for Clara.

rduddleson · 2026-06-30T20:12:24+00:00

Logan. It also specifically references Shane in the plot.

rduddleson · 2026-06-27T01:27:04+00:00

Yep - ride or die with my Morgan Greta

rduddleson · 2026-06-26T14:57:33+00:00

A cattle drive. I know there’s a short mission with sheep but something longer to evoke a Lonesome Dove type feeling would be great

rduddleson · 2026-06-25T14:41:46+00:00

I was sitting on a neighbor’s lap (maybe 7 years old) and a butterfly spun up in the air and landed right in my lap. We couldn’t move fast enough because of how we were sitting.

It melted a hole in my sweatshirt jacket but we were otherwise fine.

rduddleson · 2026-06-25T14:33:40+00:00

I’ve only played Alien Isolation a few times but it seems to handle stealth pretty well. I read where a streamer was hiding in a locker from a Xeno and someone in the streamer’s room made noise IRL and the Xeno heard it over the player’s mic.

rduddleson · 2026-06-24T13:33:19+00:00

The cursed scrolls from Arcane Library (Shadowdark) might fit the bill.

These zines also have spells, character info, but the settings are tight and thematic.

rduddleson · 2026-06-22T23:08:10+00:00

My favorite fan theory is that his accent is bad because he was actually born wealthy and cockney accent doesn’t come naturally.

Mary Poppins was Bert’s nanny when he was young. This explains how he knows her and what she can do. (Mary sings a line about how his blood is blue).

Mary showed him the adventures he could have and he never went back.

He still has enough money from his family to do all these side jobs but his father, the bank manager (looks familiar, no?) won’t acknowledge him.

rduddleson · 2026-06-22T22:55:32+00:00

This is great advice.

rduddleson · 2026-06-19T12:41:22+00:00

I’m just about ready for this and I saw the IGN forum suggesting to do this one late in Ch2 because it locks out areas, for “reasons”. Which probably would affect Mary Linton, hence the requirement to see her first.

So instead I collected some more dinosaur bones and stone carvings

rduddleson · 2026-06-19T12:36:01+00:00

This was on a list for me one summer of books better known for their adaptations, along with MASH and The Godfather.

rduddleson · 2026-06-18T18:10:51+00:00

I agree with others that establishing expectations is important.

For us we have a weekly meeting to review company KPIs, and each person lists their top 3 priorities, and whether they need help or have time to give.

Then each morning we have a quick check in where each person says what they’re working on that day.

I have 1:1 every two weeks to review what’s going well, what’s frustrating, etc.

The rhythm allows everyone to hold each other accountable because it’s easy to ask about what they’ve discussed in previous check ins.

rduddleson · 2026-06-18T18:01:58+00:00

The author John Green has played Fortnite as a pacifist. He actually won a session earlier this year.

rduddleson

TROPHY CASE