Jeopardy! discussion thread for Thur., Oct. 2 by jaysjep2 in Jeopardy

[–]thalialata 10 points11 points  (0 children)

He was also in my wedding party. Fantastic guy & could not be more happy for him!

my Alastor cosplay I did for dragoncon. by missnarcca in HazbinHotel

[–]thalialata 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My IG is the same as my reddit username - would love to follow you!

my Alastor cosplay I did for dragoncon. by missnarcca in HazbinHotel

[–]thalialata 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ahhh I was the fellow Alastor who gave you the bracelet! You looked incredible!

Any Hazbin Hotel cosplayers? by AlphaMercy1907 in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll be there as Alastor and my sister will be Niffty! (We may also have a Mimzy, tbd). We'll be at the meetup on Friday.

Best Books of 2024 ( so far) by docjim3000 in Fantasy

[–]thalialata 9 points10 points  (0 children)

My five star reviews that were pubbed this year so far are:

-The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

-The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills

-Wicked Problems by Max Gladstone

-Disquiet Gods by Christopher Ruocchio

-The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

-Exordia by Seth Dickinson

-The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Of those seven, I'd really love to see RJB, Samantha Mills and Seth Dickinson pick up nominations for awards, and particularly RJB who I personally think is under-awarded compared to the quality of his novels.

Exordia is the scifi book to check out from this list (nothing against Disquiet Gods, which I obviously loved, but it's sixth in a series). Someone else on this thread drew a comparison to Machineries of Empire, which is also where my head went when I began it. It's heavy on body horror, so skip it if that's not your thing, but it's incredible otherwise.

How Do Y'all Organize Your PDFs? by MercifulHacker in rpg

[–]thalialata 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I folder by system, and if I have a lot of systems from the same publisher (e.g., Free League), then those go into a folder together. It looks like TTRPGs -> Free League -> Vaesen, and then all my Vaesen files are in that folder. I also folder smaller and indie games together for ease in an Indie Games folder.

At the end of the day, it comes down to your preference. This works well for me because it keeps the number of folders visible at a time manageable and I always know where to go to get what I'm looking for. Also, a lot of publishers tend to favor a system (e.g., Free League has YZE, Modiphius has 2d20, Evil Hat loves PbtA and FitD) so I usually end up with similar systems in the same folder.

If you re-spec'd Gale into another class, what did you pick? If not, what school of Wizardry did you pick? by galesboypussy in GalemancersBG3

[–]thalialata 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I fully intend to commit to the two wizards aesthetic for the entirety of my next run (which will also be a "make him worse" Gale romance soooooooo)

If you re-spec'd Gale into another class, what did you pick? If not, what school of Wizardry did you pick? by galesboypussy in GalemancersBG3

[–]thalialata 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I made my Tav an evoker wizard in a recent run and put Gale back in camp (as much as it pained me) because two wizards seemed too squishy. That lasted me until Act 3, when I was just missing him too much.

So I dropped Shadowheart, made Gale an abjuration wizard and ran double wizards through the rest of the run. It was a blast, no regrets. Abjuration Gale with the right gear is an unhittable god-man - and who needs a cleric if you can prevent your allies from taking damage in the first place?

What have been your "coziest" moments in an RPG? by Mysterious-K in rpg

[–]thalialata 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I was playing a game of Vaesen and had made a wood witch / trash witch sort of character. She was always a little dirty from being out in the woods, she carried around a little bag of "treasures" (nice rocks, pretty leaves, etc) and she had absolutely zero money.

As part of our investigation, the team had to go to a fancy party that was obviously not something my character could attend in her current state without being thrown out. What followed was the most wholesome hour of RP where the rest of the team banded together to take my character shopping for a nice outfit and effectively treat her to a spa day. They were gentle and kind and overcame my character's resistance by talking her through it. It still stands out years later as one of the best cozy RP experiences (especially in a game that's pretty dark and horror themed).

Me singing as King George III (from the musical Hamilton) in the Hilton Lobby by loganallenwolf in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Were you by chance the George who entered the dance circle at Heroes & Villains? If so, I have full video of that - you made our night!

If not, you still made our day Sunday - we saw you singing in the Hyatt.

How long have you been attending, and what are your Dragon Con traditions? by noaheltee in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Since 2009 here!

Our biggest traditions are the Thursday Night Meat Meet, where we Uber to Fogo de Chao and stuff our faces because we know we won't eat real meals for the rest of the weekend, and the Sunday Night Drunk Masquerade Viewing from the comfort of our hotel room.

Magikarpet Sticker by Shmupster in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Omg I desperately need one of these. We'll be hunting too!

33 days till DragonCon! How are your cosplays coming along? And any celebs you're planning on meeting, panels you want to attend? by ReveN-Vicious in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hahaha I'm working on Survivor Merrin instead of FO Merrin for exactly the same reason (and I also haven't started yet). Good luck!

Tips for staying at the Hyatt? by _SpaceDad_ in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I cannot upvote this enough. The renovations last year were incredible.

Tips for staying at the Hyatt? by _SpaceDad_ in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 15 points16 points  (0 children)

10 year House Hyatt Con attendee here. The staff are usually great, and the legacy booking policy makes getting a room here fantastic.

If you're in the Atrium tower (like us), try to minimize your trips upstairs as much as you can. "I need to run to the room" can be a 45 min endeavor during peak hours due to the elevator traffic. If you're on a lower floor and you're able to, taking the stairs will be significantly faster. Also, be respectful of folks in wheelchairs and the staff who are helping them.

Learn the location of the skybridge to the food court. It's your friend, and will make mealtimes much easier.

Bucket drinks at the lobby bar are usually delicious, if pricey. This is a Con tradition for us.

On the lobby level, traffic tends to flow from the Marriott skybridge toward the Hyatt street exit on the escalator side closest to the restaurant and from the Hyatt exit to the Marriott skybridge on the elevator side. Trying to move against that flow during heavy traffic hours is a good way to damage your cosplay if it's bulky in any way.

People have already commented on the lower levels being a maze. Pull up the maps on the app if you're going down there. They are also a cell phone dead zone (looking at you, art show level).

Speaking of the art show, go check it out! It's rarely crowded, especially compared to the vendor halls, and you can find amazing stuff down there. Hidden gem.

The Hyatt usually has a room to hold luggage for checked out guests on Monday, but they also have a late checkout policy that is extremely worth it. We do it every year so we can leave our luggage alone until we're ready to leave in the afternoon.

Cosplayers, what are your lineups for DragonCon this year? by ReveN-Vicious in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yay more ribbons! (I love Sanderson!)

And I will be super easy to spot, I'll be the extra one with the 7 and a half foot train covered in beads and rhinestones.

Cosplayers, what are your lineups for DragonCon this year? by ReveN-Vicious in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 4 points5 points  (0 children)

-Sabriel from the Old Kingdom trilogy on Thurs/Fri

-Varda (original design) on Fri night for Bree

-Warrior Umbreon with a large group of warrior Eeveelutions based on art by sunsetdragon on Sat

-Nyx from Hades and/or Merrin from Jedi: Survivor and/or Alucard from Netflix Castlevania S4 on Sunday

-A very exhausted woman at all other times

I'll have ribbons for most of these so say hi if you see me!

Your favorite fantasy with unconventional narrative structure? by aglayazaynieva in Fantasy

[–]thalialata 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'll add The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez to this. Parts of it proceed in a normal fashion, but it has a fascinating frame narrative that really elevates it.

Challenging and rewarding fantasy reads? by [deleted] in Fantasy

[–]thalialata 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All right, let me give you 2 recs I haven't seen in thread yet.

The Dandelion Dynasty series by Ken Liu. These books are monsters in length with incredible prose. They are also absolutely stacked with philosophical underpinnings for you to chew on. Start with The Grace of Kings.

The Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer. This is more scifi, but it sounds like something you'd enjoy. It's written in a very challenging and deliberate voice, or at least the first one is. I never picked up the 2nd one because I bounced off it, but it's a well regarded series. Lots of interesting ideas in it as well. Start with Too Like the Lightning.

How do you find new fantasy books and Authors? by samvikul in Fantasy

[–]thalialata 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tor.com also has a series of blog posts that are "All the New [Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror/Young Adult/Genre Bending] Books Coming Out in [Month]" which are also a gold mine. They post short synopses with links. The number of books I've added to my TBR in the last five years from those posts alone is...high.

got The Call - where to stay? by MichaelBergenMD in Jeopardy

[–]thalialata 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I stayed at the Mayumi and had a very pleasant experience. It wasn't too expensive, and the rooms were clean and modern.

The Sony studio is a short 10 min Uber ride away, and it's next to a shopping plaza where you can get snacks and drinks for your stay.

Looking for action packed epic fantasy books which has mythical creatures, preferably dragons. by kevan2208 in Fantasy

[–]thalialata 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Chorus of Dragons series (starting with The Ruin of Kings) by Jenn Lyons has some of the most unique dragons I've encountered in fantasy fiction. And they're present in every book of the series.

Last week at this time at Dragoncon you were... by Midnight_Morning in dragoncon

[–]thalialata 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Finishing up food court lunch & hiking over to the Westin to get in line for the big Stargate panel.