Blimix

Last year, in a one-shot D&D game, I was playing a halfling (a hobbit). Being a fan of "Irregular Webcomic!" I decided I had to tell a story:

"My uncle Bilbert was exploring a dragon's lair, when he accidentally woke the dragon. It came at him, with smoke and fire pouring from its nose, and then, with a huge claw, it just punted him! He landed a mile away in the ocean. You could say the dragon was smoking before it kicked the hobbit."

We played a continuation of that game today. So of course I had to do another one:

"My uncle Bilbert used to roam the land. The problem was, he would sleep with people in every town he visited. Years later, as he returned to those towns, he found that he had children everywhere. He had discovered too late that sex is hobbit forming."

As I've mentioned before, I have developed a role-playing game. It needs more development, but the playtests have been promising. I am now at the point where I need to nail down the name. It doesn't have to be fixed in stone, but once I take the next step, a change will cost me a bit. I'm pretty happy with the name I've been using, but am hereby opening myself to suggestions. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but the names "Tesla" and "General Electric" communicate something about the companies that "Apple" and "Sony" do not.

I'm wondering whether I/we can construct a name that communicates something about this game. The major selling (and playing) point of the game is that it is easy enough for beginners (and non-math people), while having enough depth of play to satisfy experienced gamers. (Inclusivity also shows up in character creation and even the HTML files, which I've made to follow web accessibility guidelines. I intend that artwork (whenever it happens) will also not exploitatively imply a target audience of straight, white males.) There are also foci on game balance, on making sure that players always have options, and on allowing any realistic items or actions that do not conflict badly with the above. There are (and will be more) on-line aids for playing. All of the rules are on-line, though PDFs and print versions will eventually be available.

Comments are screened; I will unscreen comments that do not contain name suggestions. By suggesting a name, you are giving me permission to use it. I can promise nothing in return, but if my game makes a surprising amount of money with a name you suggested, I'll shoot some your way. (Also, thanks in advance, since I may not be able to reply, "Thanks!" without unscreening your comment.)

Edited to add: The game is not setting-specific. It is already made to work in a modern or historical setting, and I'm writing the expansion for fantasy and space opera now.

We have just started a Shadowrun (5th edition) game. I've never played Shadowrun before. While I love the setting, I feel the need to rant about the atrocious rule book and a few of the most awful rules.

( Behind a cut, of course. )

Recently, I quoted Anita Sarkeesian in an e-mail. A friend of mine wrote back, saying (in short) that he thought she was full of it, and that I should expose myself to some of the materials that purported to debunk her video series, "Damsel in Distress: Tropes vs. Women in Video Games". I had not sought these out before (though I had gathered that there was controversy), simply in the spirit of "Don't read the comments if you want to keep your faith in humanity." I had figured that those who opposed these well documented and educational feminist videos were simply misogynist creeps who perceived Sarkeesian as attacking their favorite video games. But if my friend, an intelligent and experienced gamer, was on their side, then I'd better see what they had to say.

So I clicked the link he gave me, with an open mind.

It was like walking into a heap of pig manure with an open mouth.

I took notes as I watched, so that I could send my friend a rebuttal of this rebuttal video. ( It's behind the cut. )

My friend's response was brief and disappointing.

I'd like to know what my other friends, especially my gamer friends and female friends, and most especially my female gamer friends, have to say on the subject. Should I pay any further attention to the "controversy" over these videos? Is there any rational debate out there that I should check out? Is there something that I have gotten very wrong (or very right)?

I'm making this post public in case it is needed. Abuse and/or trolling will be unceremoniously deleted.

Last night, we invented Telephone Fictionary. The mechanics are just like Telephone Oracle, but instead of questions and answers, you alternate words and definitions, mostly made up or obscure. (The mechanics: You pass the papers around the table, folding them so that the next person can see only what you wrote.)

( Our short game... )

Happy (upcoming) birthdays to redfishie, ukelele and mistress_nomad!

I've just added our Settlers of Catan house rules to my web site. (A bit of local jargon not mentioned on that page: To "white man" a player (or the board) is to play in a manner that cuts off access to more of the board than you are using. (This could involve hemming in a player to keep them from building, or unnecessarily placing settlements an odd number of road segments apart (thus preventing some hexes from ever getting three settlements).))

Gratuitous links: Another of those "Fail / Owned" videos, but this one had me laughing hard. Also, a silly Batman and Iron Man video. (Thanks, unclephil2k!)

slipjig wants you to contribute a list of movies that you think everyone should see (or have seen), to help him build a meme.

I really hadn't meant to do this so soon. I just mentioned to Jay my intention to eventually gather people to fix the "Order of the Stick" game, and got roped into discussing it right then and there. We hammered out a bunch of ideas. And because I can't bring myself to publish something unpolished, my attempt to clean it up for my website turned into many hours of further creation. I'm rather proud of some of my shtick ideas.

Anyway, here you go: House Rules for "Order of the Stick: The Dungeon of Dorukan"

It is yet unfinished. I still need more input, more ideas. But it's a good chunk of work done.