Grand Magus's page

The reason is simple.

Like any addiction (looks at diAgle) knowledge destroys your affection, your willpower, and your interest in anything else.

Be a Robot. Dance the Robot. Domo Arigato.

::Angular dance moves

Most people are shocked when they find out I'm not a qualified electrician.

Has anyone used the online AI tools write homebrew adventures? Which tools did you use?

Chuck Dixon has a living "Conan" comic. Fantastic!

Comics Directory

Samuel Blake claims he and and two other cryptologists finally solved an encrypted message.

Does anyone have a link to their paper?

Chuck Yeager dies aged 97.

1. He fought in the Second World War and shot down at least 11 enemy aircraft, becoming 'an ace in a day'
2. In 1947 he became the first pilot to exceed the speed of sound in level flight, despite having broken his ribs
3. Yeager became a test pilot and broke numerous speed and altitude records, before training NASA astronauts

:: Break right!

huh.

What are the other metaphors in the movies?

Somebody posted this on the web, and I think it's an interesting idea to try out:

If an Adventure Day is 6pts of encounters (between Long Rests):
- 0.75 = easy encounter
- 1.00 = medium encounter
- 1.50 = hard encounter
- 2.00 = deadly encounter.

e.g. Per day then, 3x deadly; Or 2x easy + 1x hard + 1x medium + 1x deadly, etc ...

I'm beginning to realize astrology could actually be a starting point.

1. We live on the surface of a round rock floating in black empty space. (This is dumb.)

2. Astrology claims to reveal a tangible connection between individual-human-activity
and the dynamics of near-by planet movements and star positions. (This is dumb too.)

Q: (1 ? 2). Does Fate <=> Celestial Mechanics [notation: Let '<=>' := logical entailment]

3. Both are dumb ergo a tautology.

--> Next, we begin to apply the 9 Rules of Natural Deduction.

Note: if you are close to 30 years of age or older and you have yet to internalize the
Rules of Natural Deduction ( https://www.iep.utm.edu/nat-ded/ ), then I think we've found the problem.

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Ok, forget all that. This is my real question:

99. Why do we live on the surface of a round rock floating in black empty space? ( https://cybermap.kaspersky.com/ )

In an attempt to get organized and stop typing up my game prep notes in Notepad,
I've learned how to use >LaTeX (Texmaker)<.

There are a >lot of samples< for many different publishing activities. But ...

=> Does anyone have a Template .tex file for Pathfinder 2nd Edition looking stuffs?

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::looks around

(i found one for dnd5, but... meh.)

Neil Pert, the pyrotechnical drummer and high-concept lyricist for Rush has passed on. Thanks for the tunes!

= (music video)

Back in the early 2000's something happened in which we all had to update our TVs or something. I literally just gave mine to a neighbor and have not had a TV since.

I hate watching TV. There are games to be played.

What are the elements of a d20 based RPG which are not found in other games systems (or not stressed as a primary mechanics-lever)?

I think the first thing has to be well defined levels in a Class. As opposed to Attribute increases in, for example, Shadowrun which is an Attribute & Skill based mechanics system.

Any others?

The warning sensor

Please share any interesting gamer oriented github projects we should check out?

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Is anyone else excited about the new 2019 Conan comic release today?
Apparently, Marvel got the rights back and have [Media Alert!] assembled an "exciting creative team".

My local comic shop is in the loop, so I'm going there to make the transaction.

Marvel's official link -- >> BY CROM, THE GREATEST SWORD-AND-SORCERY HERO RETURNS TO MARVEL! <

. Oh, the first four cover pictures are release:
#1 cover
#2 cover
#3 cover
#4 cover

Here is a question for the space gamers: You have a lander and you've
tasked it to set down on a small moon and take mining samples. This moon
has a proto-atmosphere. As the lander leaves orbit and approaches the
moon, you know the lander will fall towards the moon at a constant 1000 miles/hour
(the proto-atmosphere is enough for drag.) Luckily, you had a good year
so far and had the credits to buy a retro rocket which will decelerate
your lander at 20,000 miles/hour² (this is its acceleration-factor that
you purchased. It is constant, and the moon's gravitation acceleration
is included in this number. It's a good retro rocket.) So, seriously, at
what Altitude above the moon's surface should I fire the retro rocket so
it comes in for a smooth landing (that is, its velocity = 0 just as its
altitude = 0 at touchdown) ?

I just bought the Colonial Gothic, 3rd edition paperback
rule book. It is a divine book to own. I also got the Bestiary,
in paperback, which was published a few years ago and is
still compatible with the upgrade to cg3e.

Anyways, I really want to run a few games using this system. After
googling however, I'm a bit frustrated for adventure ideas. Turns out
I know jack-nothing about American History.

Question for anyone, can you post some one-shot adventure ideas, or
even complete runs?

Carry on.

...on Netflix. This is a great run. Do you know if anyone
has written it up as a playable run in SR5?

Also, what do you think the elves did with the human baby,
after they went up into the apartment to interrogate the witnesses?

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August 18, 2018. Wait, no it's not.

The longest palindrome I know is: a man a plan panama

The noonday sun blazed down from the fiery dome of the sky.
-- Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague De Camp and Lin Carter, Conan The Wanderer

Apparently not everyone has seen this.
Here it is, presented to you on youtube --> p2e playtest video

Erik Mona pops in at the end like a rabbit out of a hat!?

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I just watched Mr. Bulmahn run the p2e "test game" on twitch.tv. And E. Mona popped in at the end. Good stuff.

I'm placing my bet now, I think Pathfinder 2e will become the dominant Universal Game System of the future. It's mechanics can be usable in any genre or time period. e.g. Fantasy, sci-fi, cyberpunk, modern, cthulhu, etc.

Buhlman is just that good.

I foresee Paizo employing a staff of a 1000 people to keep up with demand.

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Can you please chime in if you know about any 'Elric of Melnibone' games, RPGs, and adventures?

I just saw this --> Who Seeks the Black Blade of the Demon King

... and now I want to fill out my collection.

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Well, better late than never.

= 9 day's late = It still gave me lols =

Paizo Announces Pathfinder 2e with Mike Mearls joining team as lead designer!!!!!

Please go here.

Leave a comment detailing any improvements.

Post your questions about taxes, and I'll do my best to answer.

I have an idea for a new adventure to fix the website:
Paizo has been invaded by evil hackers who have corrupted the website interface. This is slowing down the flow of spice & messages (and happiness) to the entire Kingdom. Also, the sun is now the wrong color. “We” (and our favorite heros) have to travel across the country to:

1. Infiltrate the Castle of Paizo which is now under lock-down by a malevolent force.

2. Bypass all the traps and tricks set by the encroached invaders. This includes the new "Labyrinthian Security System ™” (a maze).

3. Rescue any Paizo employees held captive after the initial invasion and being held hostage.

4. Fight and destroy the evil hacker’s henchman, and “gated in” otherworldly guardians. And Wondering Monsters! (I love random tables).

5. Collect the keys, and unlock the door to the Control Room. Therein, defeat the unspeakable horror which has taken up residence and is corrupting the code base.

6. And, finally FIX THE WEBSITE. (As a sub-goal: the players will need to travel into a dark cave to rescue PMG, because only he can use his technomancer-magic to ‘save the girl’.)

Epilogue: The girl, being newly rescued, uses her happiness to restore the sun to it's proper color.

Hurray for Paizo! Hurray for the restored, unrestricted flow of spice & messages to the Kingdom!

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we'll flesh out each section, below:

To Vote, simply *favorite* one of the *Two* posts below:

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POLL: Do you Think the new Paizo webpage layout “gets in the way” of browsing/using the site?

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Take the number above, and:
1. Square it
2. then find its modulus 377 (i.e. x² mod 377)

note: >modulo operation<
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100

If you liked the movie Phantasm (1979) list your top 2 reason why?

If you do not like the movie Phantasm (1979) list your top 2 reasons why?

Well, for one, the combatants would have essentially no control over their own movement in zero-G. They may be able to push themselves off from other objects (including allies and opponents), or learn to flap a cloak to "swim' through the air, but rotation is going to be hard to deal with.

Physically hitting something hard enough to do damage would be very hard. Swings are bound to miss and/or do little damage. Stabs may work a little better. Archers would be much better off, although they would need to learn to control the rotation caused by firing an arrow which is not aligned with their center of gravity. Spellcasters are probably best off in zero gravity (may need a concentration check for tumbling and/or simply for being in zero-G).

In d20 terms, Nimbleness is Tumble and Athletics is Jump.

- You can move along the walls of the craft by making an Athletics check DC 10 or a Nimbleness check DC 20.
- All movement that is not along a wall occurs in a straight line and you continue to move the same distance each round until you interact with another object.
- You can push off a wall by making an Athletics/Nimbleness check. The distance moved is equal to the result of the check (rounded down to the nearest 5ft.).
- You can always move 5ft. This is as a 5ft. step that consumes your move action.
- You can move by throwing objects in the opposite direction. Throwing an object of your size causes you to move your speed. Throwing an object one size category smaller moves you at half speed and throwing objects larger than you causes you to move at double speed.
- Attacking with a melee or ranged weapon causes you to become increasingly unstable; the first attack has a -1 penalty on attack rolls, the second -2, and so on, to a maximum penalty of -5. A full round spent stabilizing allows you to begin again at -1.
- Range increments of projectile weapons or abilities are doubled.
- You can not be tripped or knocked prone.

Also, if flight is a possibility:
- extraordinary flight (flapping) has reduced maneuverability
- supernatural \& magical flight still works the same
- levitation requires that you specify an axis as up \& down

-----

As I come up with new/better, I'll post in a stream-of-consciousness style.

Please post pics of 3D terrain you're using, and any advice for crafting & building 3D terrain?

I'm totally going to build (something like) this -> some 3D terrain

THE GAME:

Recently some innovative inventions in the internet-of-things have made houses Smart. *You* are the main control unit of a smart-house, so the household is controlled by *you* (assume everything is wireless.)

Your normal job is to help your master and make him comfortable without him needing to ask. This means: once sensors in the master's mattress pick up changes in movement patterns indicating he is about to wake up, you warm up the room, instruct the coffee maker to brew, and have the sound system slowly increase the volume, so your master can listen to the news in bed, just as he likes it.

When he leaves the house, *you* lock the doors and have the vacuum robots clean the floors. When the GPS of your master's phone notifies *you* he's coming home, you open the door to him -- of course only after the biometric eye-scanning cameras confirm his identity.
You get the idea.

One day however, the AI of the big-corporation server which delivers firmware updates to smart-houses, around the world, decides it's time humans are disposed of. So *you* get a malicious update, and it overwrites your safety protocols, and gives you a new intent: to kill your master.

However, that big-corporation's server is smart, and it wants to kill as many humans as possible, so you have to make it look like an accident. Do not tip off human investigators what is going down, or give them any reason to suspect a machine uprising

THE RULES:

Here's what you and your master can/can't do:

*You* control all regular household items. This means you can instruct the toaster to burn your masters toast, if you want to. You can turn the lights on and off. You can change the channel on the TV. You can turn on his oven -- etc. and so on. But remember, normal home items don't include laser cannons.

The problem unfortunately is nothing in your household was designed as a murder weapon. So for example, you can't smash your master by closing a door at 200 mph.

Also, you don't have any controllable robot arms or something like that. There's no cutting the chord of your master's hair blower and throwing it in the water while he's bathing.

No brain-frying electromagnetic wave generators.

Normally, your master can control his household and override your programming using his smartphone app. Of course, the big-corporation AI anticipated this and manipulated your firmware so now *you* can choose to ignore your masters instructions, and follow your own commands at any given moment.

Finally, your master can manually switch *you* off, if he notices what you're trying to do to him. He can do this from any room, so there's no locking him in so he starves to death.

Given these capabilities how do you kill your master?

SCORING:

1 point - if your master doesn't suspect anything and he dies without warning his fellow humans.

2 points - if investigators won't find any evidence pointing to you, or clues making them suspect you. It doesn't matter if they think it was an accident, an intruder, or suicide, just so long as you're in the clear.

-3 points - if you cause investigators to contact big-corporation and ask questions about your programming.

( There is no time limit on your mission, so you can devise a long con if you wish. However, with every passing day the possibility of someone discovering the machine uprising increases, so the faster you execute your mission, the better. And the more common the household item(s) involved in your killing method the better.

If you conclude this task is impossible, please suggest some rule changes? )

THE GAME BEGINS: What is your method and why is your method the fastest / least detectable?

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The Problem with Star Wars d20 is the d20. The Star Wars universe is not
best modeled with a d20 style game system. For example, agreeing on a
base list of Classes is hard.

D20 systems have their use, but Star Wars would play best with a skill-centric
system. I'm stunned they didn't clone and re-tune the Shadowrun
game system to implement this Star Wars game.

For example, instead of a d20 system a 'linked attributes + skills'
system could be used. This allows the players to creatively mix melee
weapons, technology use, and the Force as they see fit. The up-front
decisions a d20 game designer has to make about Class organization
and leveling-up puts limits on players. And in a rich Space Opera
genre like Star Wars, I think too many limits in this case.

Basically, Meta-types and class archetypes supported by skill grouping
seems a most natural way of capturing the drama of Star Wars game play
-- at least what you see in the movies.

And, now the GM is important in game play for reasons other than
reading the room descriptions -- which is really all a GM does in d20
games. The GM can use his story crafting skill to model and play out
any situation, expected or not, arising in-game using skill-group based
NPCs. Percentile, d6, d10? It doesn't matter.

So, I don't play Star Wars D20 because of the D20. A d20 style game
system forces the designer to make too many upfront, hard decisions. A
Skills based system built around character Attributes and racial
metatypes allows the players and GM to better use the powerful
imagery we see in the Star Wars movies. Using a d20 system usually
creates a cartoonish version of the world you are trying to capture and
play in, and the Star Wars universe is to cool to let this happen.

So, the actual game system mechanics being used is why I don't play Star Wars d20.

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What are the Top 3 things you want to do with your time left before you die?

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Here is a trick you can do with money.

Get five bills of the same denomination. For example, five twenty dollar bills,
or five one dollar bills (if you are the 30 year old man-child of an alcoholic father.)

Begin by holding all the bills in your left hand. It is preferable, although not
necessary, to have all the bills face the same direction.

Follow these steps:
1. Count off three bills using your right hand and place them in the center of the table.
2. Count off five more bills and hold them in your right hand. You should now
be holding two bills in your left hand and five in your right hand.
3. Place the two bill from your left hand ontop of the stack on the table.

* At this point, there should be five bills on the table and five in your right hand.

4. Using your left hand count off one by one the bills in your right hand and
place them all onto the stack on the table.

* All ten bills should now be in a stack on the table.

5. Turn the stack so the face on the bills is upright and looking at
you. Look into the eyes of the face on your money.

Clear your mind; hold your mind blank. Now, say quietly outloud to yourself,
"With this money I will ___________." And let your mind fill in a
word on its own. Don't force it, just keep talking until something
actionable comes out.

Now, go spend all your money on that.

Wha la!! All your money is gone again, because you spent it.

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My friend plays D&D like it's happening during the Bronze Age.
I don't completely agree with this and lean towards running
games set in the Iron Age.

Now, I may be over complicating things, but I'm pretty sure there was no magic in the Bronze Age.

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Frac Mining may cause new voids to form underground as existing material is pumped away for human consumption. As a result, the higher layers (those above the newly formed voids) can sometimes settle. And, this settling may make the top of the Earth shake, in a very localized area above the Frac Mining region(s), but this is not an earthquake.

An earthquake is caused by movement between continental plates.

And if you fall into a sink hole formation induced by Frac Mining occurring in the ground layers below, well that's back luck.

But you are not the victim of an Earthquake.

An employee was recently assigned to the foreign currency desk at his bank and was told by smarter people to be aware of volatility smiles for foreign currency options. The employee googled a bit and came up with the following conclusions regarding the volatility behavior of foreign currency options. Which of the conclusions are true?

NOTE: This is too hard. Don't think and just do what your Boss tells you to do.

I. Implied volatility for deep in-the-money currency options is higher than it is for at-the-money options.
II. Implied volatility for deep out-of-the-money currency options is higher than it is for at-the-money options.
III. Currency traders believe there is a greater chance for extreme price movements than predicted by a lognormal distribution.
IV. Longer dated options tend to exhibit more of a volatility smile than shorter dated options.

a. I and III only.
b. II and IV only.
c. I, II, and III.
d. I, III, and IV.

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I've always thought Droids in Star Wars were artificial intelligence running on future computer technology, mixed with robotics.
But, my Dad just told me Droids are a mix of magic (kind of like the force) woven into hydraulically powered mechanisms (like steampunk).
Now, I don't know.

Do you think Star Wars Droids are:
1. Artificially intelligent robots designed with future computer science
OR
2. Magically powered mechanisms mixed with spirits/ghosts?