@james@dice.camp
@james@dice.camp avatar

james

@james@dice.camp

I like too many things to have time for all of them.

If you like TTRPGs, board games, war gaming, tech, coding, FOSS, etc. I think we'll get along!

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james, to boardgames
@james@dice.camp avatar

Is it just me or did something burst the dam on “Baird games based on popular indie video games”?

Mostly kickstarters I think.

I feel like a lot have been popping up and I’m curious why, if they’re good, and who started the trend.

thomasfuchs, to random
@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io avatar

Unpopular opinion: “Potential reuse” (and with it to a lesser extend “avoiding tech debt”) is such a scourge on programming.

It rarely actually happens, because by the time you could maybe actually at least partially reuse something some other new shiny framework is in use so you end up writing it from scratch anyway.
https://hachyderm.io/@hbuchel/112244085024524564

james,
@james@dice.camp avatar

@thomasfuchs I’ve been following the “WET” (Write Everything Twice) idea and it’s helped save us from a lot of useless work trying to make something generic

james, to random
@james@dice.camp avatar

I just saw (and backed) Cairn 2e Kickstarter that must have launched recently!

It’s a cool light weight fantasy system built on the Into the Odd engine with its own twists.

I ran a 1-shot in 1e against a giant enemy crab in a dungeon and it was a blast.
I’ve been running Mausritter (similar system) and it’s been great so I’d love to add this to the shelf of options for games physically!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1557907976/cairn-2e-boxed-set

#kickstarter #crowdfunding #cairnrpg #cairn #cairn2e

ta11dave, to random
@ta11dave@dice.camp avatar

https://retiredadventurer.blogspot.com/2021/04/six-cultures-of-play.html

A great essay on the "types" of games we play. I think it also explains a bit, since my library games are 100% neo-trad, but the other styles, especially classic, sound really refreshing.

james,
@james@dice.camp avatar

@ta11dave I have to give that one a read, this one is interesting and uses bizarre names, so there’s less baggage to each category

https://idiomdrottning.org/riss

#ttrpg

randomwizard, to DnD
@randomwizard@vivaldi.net avatar

Interesting question posed on reddit osr. BECMI or B/X?

https://old.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/1az60a8/becmi_or_bx/

They are very nearly the same game up to level 15. But BECMI had 6 to 9 years where TSR was still publishing material for the game. There are a lot of rule variations published for BECMI in the Gazetteer supplements.

My answer is still probably neither though. There are some things in AD&D, 3E, 4E that I like to incorporate into the game.

james,
@james@dice.camp avatar

@randomwizard System àla carte?

itsfoss, to linux
@itsfoss@mastodon.social avatar

Comment Below! 😜

#linux

james,
@james@dice.camp avatar

@itsfoss not mine but my friend had super heroes for common git commands.

So he’d do stuff like

Batman instead of git fetch or what have you

codemonkeymike, to linux
@codemonkeymike@fosstodon.org avatar

Are any developers here using #sublimetext these days? I thought it was an old defunct Mac editor. But its still a thing, and works on #linux. And it feels fast and smooth.

I'm shocked I'm just now finding this.

james,
@james@dice.camp avatar

@codemonkeymike I used it around 2016 and loved it! It’s a good solid editor and the option for plugins was handy. My work group tried it Atom and VS Code and ended up standardizing in VS Code.

That said I love Sublime Merge as my git GUI tool and I’m using it daily!

architech, to scifi
@architech@savageworlds.social avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @architech I don’t play savage worlds but that’s a great looking sci-fi themed sheet!

    craigofinspiration, to random
    @craigofinspiration@dice.camp avatar

    Dice Label Table: The Ultimate Tool For New Players

    As a dungeon master, I run games for new players often enough that I went ahead and made a Dice Label Table. It can be overwhelming trying to remember all the different types of dice. I tried to make this as simple as I could. Print it out, cut it up, and then put out the dice. The shapes and labels will help players find the dice faster.

    http://pointsofinspiration.com/2023/02/16/dice-label-table-the-ultimate-tool-for-new-players/

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @craigofinspiration The rainbow version could work very well if you're providing sets of dice. One of those "Pound o Dice" might have the right spread that you could build a set to represent each row

    TechConnectify, to random
    @TechConnectify@mas.to avatar

    OK, time for a short* thread** about gas stoves. At this point, I have been thoroughly disillusioned and don't know how I ever thought they were any good. I never want one again***

    • I hope

    ** Please read the whole thing (I'll mark the end) before replying, as I might be touching on your thought!

    *** Wok-users and enjoyers, boy do I have some interesting news for you about plug-in induction woks and how they're getting fairly cheap

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @TechConnectify @Drwave I hadn’t even considered a /double/ oven was a thing I’d look for! Good note to have in my brain as an option.

    I’ve only ever hard the black coils that sometimes warp, induction was enticing now that I know gas isn’t great. Hadn’t really looked at glass tops though.

    Thanks for sharing!

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @TechConnectify less heat required/lower power usage would make me far less embarrassed to use my oven for tiny meals.

    I’d been looking at a convection toaster oven as a companion for those things recently.

    I presume you can set each oven to its own temperature? That would be fantastic for holidays and other big meals!

    james, to random
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    I have to watch some of their other shows but either way just #foundation and #ForAllMankind are enough to justify a semi regular Apple TV+ subscription as a sci fi fan.

    If another one or two hook my I bet I’ll be keeping it for more than a month or two at a time

    james, to random
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    I just caught up with #ForAllMankind and man what a show!

    I heard they have plans for 6 or 7 seasons. And I’m excited for it!

    Lots of fodder for a GM, just makes me want to run Traveller (or Mothership)!

    slyflourish, to DnD
    @slyflourish@chirp.enworld.org avatar

    #dnd tip: Use paper character sheets.

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @slyflourish what are your thoughts on paper character sheets vs something like an iPad?

    I don’t have a stylus so I still like paper but a few friends love digital (when they can scribble on it)

    james, to random
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    Looks like itch.io is down right now if anyone was wondering if it was just them or not

    nixCraft, to random
    @nixCraft@mastodon.social avatar

    Is tmux or gnu/screen worth learning? Be honest.

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @nixCraft imho it is if you’re someone who’s likely to SSH into a box and need to leave something running.

    I personally found tmux easier to use and tmuxcheatsheet.com is a lifesaver. And setting up your shell to launch tmux on connect is very handy to force some learning!

    Screen I learned in uni but didn’t use it often enough to retain.

    Yora, to random
    @Yora@dice.camp avatar

    I could have sworn the #dnd3e adventure was called "Return to Castle Ravenloft"... 🙃

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @Yora wait is that not the name of ANY Racenloft adventure? I also could have sworn it was one but maybe adnd.
    Maybe Return to Castle Wolfenstein or some marketing got stuck in my head…

    Looks like there were only 2 in 3e? (This site is fan made but I think it’s had a good amount of love poured into it)
    https://adventurelookup.com/adventures?edition=3rd%20Edition&setting=Ravenloft

    seedling, to random
    @seedling@dice.camp avatar

    Just remembered that I want to write something for liminal horror
    Or maybe play more liminal horror
    I have so many things I want to do

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @seedling Same.
    My calendar has as few openings as my bookshelf!

    Hoping to turn my primary weekly game into every other week into exploring my systems and modules next year

    SymbolicCity, to random
    @SymbolicCity@dice.camp avatar

    IMO, the Properly Fediverse© way to post links to creative work you have for sale shouldn't be to hide it behind a "self-promo" CW, but rather to tag it with a …ForSale hashtag—e.g. #ArtForSale, #MusicForSale, #GamesForSale—and let anyone who objects mute those tags.

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @SymbolicCity I think literally # SelfPromo would be a good one to include as a starting point.

    I like your ForSale idea as people who want to mute can ignore what they wouldn’t buy but still see the ones they want to (unlike the broad SelfPromo one)

    masukomi, to random
    @masukomi@dice.camp avatar

    Something that I've noticed in Candela Obscura & other recent games is the decision to NOT include character sheets in the book, and instead just link you to the web-site.

    THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA.

    I have games that are over 30yrs old in my bookshelf. Do you really think your web site is going to still be around in that much time? Many of my books link to sites that no longer exist, or downloads that no longer exist.

    1/2

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @rivetgeek @masukomi I also download copies of all sheets for all games I own.

    That said it can still be hard to find the person who has those copies.

    Especially since it would be nice if a random core rule book at a thrift store in 20years was usable

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @rivetgeek @masukomi a fair point!

    Maybe more specifically “games that only have a page or two for sheets”? FitD games do tend to have a lot of sheets!

    BaronCelric, to spelljammer

    PCs: wait? If we end our turn in this beam of light we get effectively disintegrated?
    Me: correct
    PCs: and this is a no-joke looking like a potential TPK?
    Me: it does look pretty deadly…
    Barbarian: we should all cut off a pinky finger then, and put them in a jar, so we can be resurrected…

    The rest of the party: yeah. Good idea. Nice. Agreed

    Me: 😳😳😳
    #Spelljammer #5e

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @BaronCelric weeee didn’t find out about the absolute destruction aspect until round two when two of us were floating in it lol

    james, to scifi
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    Man Apple TV+ is killing it in the sci-fi department. I’m going to have to resub!

    Congrats @marthawells on them announcing the Murderbot series!

    https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/14/24001803/murderbot-series-apple-tv-plus-alexander-skarsgard

    james, to random
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    Why is it sometimes I click on a post that’s mid-thread and sometimes I can scroll back through all the posts and sometimes I can’t?

    Not sure if this is a client problem or a general issue on Mastodon.

    EvlynMoreau, to random
    @EvlynMoreau@dice.camp avatar

    GMing an old school encounter, let say you have a group of 6 skeletons, do you prefer:

    • Roll individual hit points
    • Roll hp, all skeleton use the same result
    • All skeletons get half their maximum hp
    • All skeletons get max HP (kind of nasty)

    I wonder if randomizing the hp bring anything interesting, my feeling is that not really.

    james,
    @james@dice.camp avatar

    @EvlynMoreau most of the time I’d do 2 or 3. And then do 1 on occasion to surprise the players? Depends on your group too!

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