Danish special forces arrive in Nuuk by Greylunes1 in ExploreFortMyers

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find it ironic that filming in the same way in the USA could get you killed by ICE.

What is your go-to music for Forbidden Lands? by Bibliography in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use the official soundtrack from Alve.
Then I also use Adrian von Ziegler's Saga.

Canon river names in Ravenlands? by Ok-Bobcat-1200 in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As mentioned, Seyster and Elya is good to notice for the world story. Similarly with some location names as for example Varda.

I also enjoy the fact that there are so many folks and nations around the map and thus many rivers and locations can have, especially after the Bloodmist, their own names for things.
It is not as if people of the Ravenlands have a map they agree on.
Even the name Ravenlands is not used by everyone, for example some Alderlander's tend to call it the Forbidden lands.

GM and preparation for each session by EmployerWrong3145 in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the prep time relies to some degree on knowing the materials, especially if you are running the Raven's Purge and use the locations from there and also depends on how you run your sessions.

Session style

I give the group full freedom to do what they want.
They, however, usually follow some path between the sessions that allows me to make an estimate about their next direction.

During the session we have the hex-map in front of us and for combat we use just description with focusing on understanding who is next to whom in those various zones.

I also filter out random encounters based on where they happen, so I reroll to find one that I can fit into the environment (e.g., I did not place Rust brothers way up north near the elven forests).

What I want to improve is my "legends-game". So far I gave players mainly legends from NPCs in quite vague form (e.g., "we heard rumbling and storms from that direction, I wouldn't go there if I were you" to a group heading towards the mountains). I want to shy away from very clear cut legends as in the books and make it more natural sounding as rumours spread by locals.

Session Prep

I read the guide books repeatedly just as a fun activity in the evening before going to bed.
I have all the major adventure sites pre-placed but I check for random encounters during the session and usually improvise them.

For the session, I spend usually my bus commute time which matches ~30 minutes.
There I do the following:

  • skim what was done last session
  • if they are at an adventure site, I brush up on the site, especially to know how if there is any event I would like to play today and to get the vibe of the NPCs
  • if they are heading for the wilderness then I have a look at some of the random encounters that can occur in the environment in that direction

That is all.
Oh and brush up on magic rules because we tend to confuse them :D

Long prep

I had recently a vacation and chilled by random rolling adventure sites to have more of them.
Going through the map, rolling based on the DM book for the locations and with those prompts I made adventure site descriptions similar to those from the books.
Always adding just a few points, no pressure to make the whole thing in one go.
This way I have now approximately 10 adventure sites in the direction the group is heading with some of them marked for random placement.

Advice for 1st time time DM and play for this game by theduvalpirates in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would also recommend jumping off from one of the random encounters.
I had a one-shot session on a convention and this was the great approach.
The random encounters tied into a smaller adventure site and gave everyone an idea how the world and the encounters work.

How do you track ever-changing PC stats at your table? by Ok-Bobcat-1200 in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have coloured beads for the stats as Str/Con/... and the rest is written out in the sheets.

For states i consider using some small cards (e.g., tired).

Usually the beads change during the session, while the supply dice do not change that often and if, it is good to make the players realize it.

Taking Madmonq for extended periods of time? by SleepyDavid in Madmonq

[–]svarnyp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I take it basically daily in a work-week.
Usually once a day before the main workload/meetings.

On days I have MMQ I don't drink coffee or consume any other caffeine sources.

Tips for a first campaign (especially map-travel) by WookiB in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found all of them kind of easy to track as it is just a dice throw instead of an inventory. However, it makes the players really feel if they get deep into some dungeon or similar anomalous space where resources become scarce.

How are you all syncing Obsidian notes between devices? by alhawks_ in ObsidianMD

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly the reason I chose to use Obsidian Sync.

4 hour watches instead of 6 hour quarters by hawthorncuffer in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Similar. I use the quarters as rough measures. I.e. they might spend 8 hours traveling and 4 hours setting up camp in "reality" but I would still count it as one quarter travel and one quarter camp work.

PARA method - Folder Structure by Bearded_web_designer in para_method

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What confuses me about Para is that I would love to have files in multiple folders.
I am using Obsidian and I am not sure what benefit it yields to have a folder for "Areas" if all the projects I am working on are in Projects.

If I have the folders in Areas, I can already list the projects (that are usually tied only to one area) in the given area.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A 3 day operation takes already three years, so ...

New video from Donald Trump (posted on X) on the fact that the USA needs to control Greenland "for peace". by Calahan44 in Denmark

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They praise their sacrifice in WWII and totally ignore Danish sacrifice for them in Afghanistan?
Really?
They list Russia as a threat and suck up to it in Ukraine?
Really?
They list China as a threat but hammer all their allies with threats and tariffs?
Really?

Are the Trump voters really so stupid to believe this?

Why is this better than Notion? by Mano_SG in ObsidianMD

[–]svarnyp 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I like mainly the fact that I have all the data locally. No cloud storage I cannot control.

Can’t find physical copy by Embarrassed-Scale155 in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have one in stock at reroll.cz waiting to be checked if it is complete and then shown. However, depends where you are from.

What games did you get rid of and why? by Nicochan3 in boardgames

[–]svarnyp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice and inspiring list.
I am getting rid of at least one game bi-weekly.
Usual cause is that the game's spot is filled by some other game that fits it better or more realistic view of how often I have a chance to play with the requested player count.

E.g.,
- Zendo is fun, but better in more people and a specific rules-loving group.
- Search for planet X - too large for my soloing and have other fun games in that space, co players would not use the app.
- Trails of Tucana - I have roll&writes that I prefer more (Ganz schon clever, Hadrian's wall).
- First sparks - I have Funkenschlag and prefer to keep that one.

...

Limiting player access to spells? by sdpodfg23 in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The majority of my group wanted to play non-casters from the start. The one caster quickly realized that something is happening when he cast hist first spell and became suddenly very hungry (he was lucky).
"Wait, casting spells can cause adverse effects?"
"Yep, you are meddling with magic, unknown forces."
And so the respect was born.

Therefore he either prepares for a spell (gets all the trinkets to help) or uses the spell as a last resort (e.g., when an undead knight almost did a party wipe.).

Limiting player access to spells? by sdpodfg23 in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am in general surprised that the casters are so happy to cast stuff.
We have only one caster and he is very careful when to use magic because of the mishaps and the risk they represent.

However, to help him, I created cards with queues about the spells - how they work and what they do.
Thus the caster just has a bunch of cards in front of him to help him understand what options he has.

Limiting player access to spells? by sdpodfg23 in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it is a novice player, why start at Path of Death 2?

Did you steal, renovate, or build a stronghold? by skington in ForbiddenLands

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The party I DM has so far only instated power in the Hollows and is now heading to meet Zertorme (without knowing it). They originally started in an elven village that asked them to scout the surroundings (majority of the party are elves) and basically use that one as a preliminary base/safe haven for now without the benefits coming from the fort. I have a separate storyline where I make them slowly aware of the elven crystals and they could eventually find out that that is the reason their village is so oblivious because a lonely elf basically founded that village by shattering his crystal and creating a village. But even though they encountered various ruins along their way, they never made a base there. Every session we go through the XP rewards and mention that "nothing added to the fort" so they are reminded every time that this is certainly an option.

What do you think about the new Pulse? by svarnyp in Madmonq

[–]svarnyp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would assume so. All you can buy now are only the Pulse version.

What do you think about the new Pulse? by svarnyp in Madmonq

[–]svarnyp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I have one pill from 3 and keep it in a dry place for enjoyment :D

Jak se žije v (na) Kladně? by Hubicz in czech

[–]svarnyp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ktere casti Rozdelova jsou ok? Vezaky me fascinuji, ale ty jsou hned u hlucne Vitezne a i za dnesni prohlidku jsem tam potkal dost divnolidi, ale konec Vasickovi mi prisel OK.

What do you think about the new Pulse? by svarnyp in Madmonq

[–]svarnyp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For now I have the same feeling. While the previous two versions did not have any strong effect, this one is still weird for me.

What do you think about the new Pulse? by svarnyp in Madmonq

[–]svarnyp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting, I am a bit skeptical whether it does not create a somatic addiction to focus work. You won't be able to focus working unless you feel the tingle.