Code. Like, I actually get real pleasure from seeing elegant and well-structured code. I have no idea why, but I’ll almost start salivating at particularly beautiful code.
Anime. Yeah, I’m a walking stereotype, a software developer who likes anime. But have you seen Frieren? It’s so goddamn good.
Philosophy. No, not bullshit continental philosophy. I’m talking real philosophy. Analytic philosophy. Distilled and legitimately useful logic. Which of course leads me to…
Science. My YouTube feed is full of fascinating deep-dives into esoteric mathematical and scientific topics. Fuck yeah.
Tabletop RPGs. Surprisingly, not a huge D&D fan, though it can certainly be fun. These days, I’m much more into story-focused systems, like Fate or Blades in the Dark. Most people I mention that to have never heard of either.
Science fiction and fantasy. I mean, are you surprised at this point?
Writingscience fiction and fantasy. I mean, are you surprised at this point?
Politics. Less so nowadays, since our political system is falling apart and we’re being overrun by fascism, but I still do enjoy a meaty policy discussion.
I’m running a Roll20 campaign for 7 players who are gearing up for a fight with a human who can change size at will.
This is set in the One Piece universe, I assume you’re familiar with it.
I want them to control a giant mecha to fight him on “equal” terms as a final fight.
Got any good RPG systems that might help with that?
Have a lot of players and they are good about following homebrew rules - and I expect this to be a one time mech fight.
I’ll probably add a mechanic for someone to “pilot” the mech and use their Devil Fruit/Haki to affect the entire mech as a full action that gives some sort of stat bonus.
Also btw I love Frieren. It’s so good! The manga is also incredible. Dandadan is fantastic too, and along with TTGL, has inspired this boss fight for me.
Ha! My glob, she was so amazing. I had the opportunity to attend a reading she did from The Lathe of Heaven years ago, and I was struck anew not only by her creativity, but by the philosophical ideas underpinning it. A lot of people think The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is her most philosophical work, but I actually found what Lathe had to say about control, obedience, and power incredibly compelling.
You might be interested in a video game called The Last Sovereign. I discovered it during the recent fiasco around payment processors trying to block lewd stuff, but the nsfw visuals can be turned off if you’re not into that. It’s a very serviceable RPG with turn based combat that is well balanced and engaging. But I’m recommending it because you said philosophy and it’s basically a series of Platonic dialogues between characters discussing life, the nature of man, morality, ethics, sexuality, power, and much more. I’m pleasantly surprised at how often I find myself deeply invested in the conversations. I think the writer(s) must’ve needed an outlet for their philosophical musings and chose this quirky “lewd” RPG as the medium.
I’ll check it out. I’m very much interested in video games that delve into deep topics that way. Have you ever encountered The Talos Principle series? Fantastic games that do surprisingly accessible treatises on philosophical topics while forcing you to think through pretty mind-blowing puzzles. Highly recommended.
What is a good ruleset for a table that absolutely refuses to read more than an index card of rules but will follow the lead of the referee? Freeform, story-forward, ages 14 to 65? Swords and magic.
Unrelated, what do you think about the various versions of Traveller?
Oh, you need Fate Accelerated. Six stats, five descriptive phrases that define your character (one of which is your character’s “trouble,” giving the GM automatic story hooks) and a smattering of stunts your character can perform, and off you go!
Regarding Traveller, I’ve never had the stomach for it. Me and a group once sat down to create characters, and discovered it was so rules-heavy that by the end of two sessions dedicated to character creation, we still didn’t know for sure that we’d done any of the characters correctly.
I’ve read Lord of the Rings a few times. And The Hobbit. And his lesser-known works (e.g., Leaf by Niggle, which is just great). And The Silmarillion. And The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (which, honestly, isn’t his best). And I know what an Istari is (and why Gandalf, being a lesser Ainur, is actually so much more than a mere “wizard”). And I know that while they changed the line from “you cannot pass” to “you shall not pass” for dramatic purposes in the movie, the original line subtly says a whole hell of a lot more about who and what Gandalf is and why the Balrog should have actually been shitting itself.
Oh, goddamn it, this is gonna take a while.
That’s a good list for starters.
I’m running a Roll20 campaign for 7 players who are gearing up for a fight with a human who can change size at will.
This is set in the One Piece universe, I assume you’re familiar with it.
I want them to control a giant mecha to fight him on “equal” terms as a final fight.
Got any good RPG systems that might help with that?
Have a lot of players and they are good about following homebrew rules - and I expect this to be a one time mech fight.
I’ll probably add a mechanic for someone to “pilot” the mech and use their Devil Fruit/Haki to affect the entire mech as a full action that gives some sort of stat bonus.
Also btw I love Frieren. It’s so good! The manga is also incredible. Dandadan is fantastic too, and along with TTGL, has inspired this boss fight for me.
Who is the most criminally under appreciated philosopher/author and why is it Ursula LeGuinn?
Go read Joanna Russ.
imho she writes rings around the popular woman.
I will. Thank you.
https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=joanna+russ
Ha! My glob, she was so amazing. I had the opportunity to attend a reading she did from The Lathe of Heaven years ago, and I was struck anew not only by her creativity, but by the philosophical ideas underpinning it. A lot of people think The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is her most philosophical work, but I actually found what Lathe had to say about control, obedience, and power incredibly compelling.
Agree. AND. Left Hand of Darkness. Dispossessed.
Adventure Time fan as well?
I like it, but I don’t nerd out about it.
You might be interested in a video game called The Last Sovereign. I discovered it during the recent fiasco around payment processors trying to block lewd stuff, but the nsfw visuals can be turned off if you’re not into that. It’s a very serviceable RPG with turn based combat that is well balanced and engaging. But I’m recommending it because you said philosophy and it’s basically a series of Platonic dialogues between characters discussing life, the nature of man, morality, ethics, sexuality, power, and much more. I’m pleasantly surprised at how often I find myself deeply invested in the conversations. I think the writer(s) must’ve needed an outlet for their philosophical musings and chose this quirky “lewd” RPG as the medium.
I’ll check it out. I’m very much interested in video games that delve into deep topics that way. Have you ever encountered The Talos Principle series? Fantastic games that do surprisingly accessible treatises on philosophical topics while forcing you to think through pretty mind-blowing puzzles. Highly recommended.
What is a good ruleset for a table that absolutely refuses to read more than an index card of rules but will follow the lead of the referee? Freeform, story-forward, ages 14 to 65? Swords and magic.
Unrelated, what do you think about the various versions of Traveller?
Oh, you need Fate Accelerated. Six stats, five descriptive phrases that define your character (one of which is your character’s “trouble,” giving the GM automatic story hooks) and a smattering of stunts your character can perform, and off you go!
Regarding Traveller, I’ve never had the stomach for it. Me and a group once sat down to create characters, and discovered it was so rules-heavy that by the end of two sessions dedicated to character creation, we still didn’t know for sure that we’d done any of the characters correctly.
What is your relationship with Tolkien and his corpus?
I’ve read Lord of the Rings a few times. And The Hobbit. And his lesser-known works (e.g., Leaf by Niggle, which is just great). And The Silmarillion. And The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (which, honestly, isn’t his best). And I know what an Istari is (and why Gandalf, being a lesser Ainur, is actually so much more than a mere “wizard”). And I know that while they changed the line from “you cannot pass” to “you shall not pass” for dramatic purposes in the movie, the original line subtly says a whole hell of a lot more about who and what Gandalf is and why the Balrog should have actually been shitting itself.
So you might say I’m passingly familiar with it.