Wandering Adventure Party

OMNOMNOM#drawing #dinosaur #WIP

RE: https://dice.camp/@KeithAmmann/115628451701181768FANTASTIC books! Every GM should own at least one, if not all!

I'm arriving Thursday afternoon (thus free for dinner) and leaving midday Sunday (thus free for breakfast/brunch), so I probably won't set foot in the convention center on Sunday except by prior arrangement. Let's make plans ahead of time!

I know a lot of folks have been going on about it, but Steam's latest hardware announcement has been utterly insane for the day and age in which we live.Consider that they didn't hype it up with a launch event. They didn't sell a bunch of hype and buzzwords. All they did was release a ~6 minute video that effectively described the hardware and what it would provide, and had a webpage with *actual specs on it*. They invited a bunch of tech reporters/YouTubers to their HQ, but they let them talk to *engineers*, not marketing people. The discussions focused on real capabilities of the hardware, and actual demonstrations. No vapor and promises. Not glitz and glam.They made it clear this is all SteamOS driven, and that they have a focus of getting *existing x86 Windows software* running not only on Linux, but on ARM and in VR!!They aren't pitching a closed ecosystem. They said, outright, "This is your hardware, you can do whatever you want with it".THEY DIDN'T MENTION AI ONCE.And they're _already_ making a bigger splash than any competitor ever did, even though those competitors have gobs more money they've thrown at this stuff, and tremendously more staff.It's flabbergasting. I hope they make enough of an impact with all this that people sit up and take notice.

Amazing: NYC gov't released a #DnD one-shot designed to teach ethics rules to city employees. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/coib/downloads/pdf2/puzzler/escape-from-the-dinkins-building.pdf

New #dnd / #rpg post from EN World: D&D & Tabletop RPG News & Reviews:GURPS 4th Edition Revised Announcedhttps://www.enworld.org/threads/gurps-4th-edition-revised-announced.715856/

Making my way through @KeithAmmann’s Making Enemies and it’s slow going — not because it’s badly written but because it’s so DENSE with ideas that I keep needing to take a break and process.Reading his Monsters Know What They’re Doing books was like attending conference talks: easily digestible and you take away some useful skills that you can put to work immediately. This is like taking a college course: more difficult, but it will fundamentally transform your understanding of #ttrpg monsters.

"Does the news reflect what we die from?" https://ourworldindata.org/does-the-news-reflect-what-we-die-from

RPG tip from the archive: Whenever you have questions, dive back into the story and the NPCs in it. Think through their eyes. What would they do?#dnd #ttrpg

"TTENTION [competitor fname]PRODUCTION has unearthed a cache of Limited Edition copies for the DEATHMATCH ISLAND #ttrpg As of this writing there are ONLY 25 AVAILABLE.Players wishing to secure a copy must use CHALLENGE BEAST Capabilities.COMPTETITORS. The event begins NOW:https://evilhat.com/product-category/product-lines/deathmatch-island/

Carolina mantis, found on the tire of a parked car and relocated to our backyard where I hope she finds snacks and maybe leaves us the gift of more mantises#insects #MacroPhotography

Oh hello there#insects #MacroPhotography

“What makes a perfect monster?” The Borg Collective is my answer, for “the ultimate terror they pose is that they monstrify those whom they assimilate.”Check out my essay in Reactor Magazine for the #psychology of how we think about cyborgs and more.THRILLED to have published an essay on Trek.1/3#sff #StarTrek #TNG #AI histsci #histmedhttps://reactormag.com/star-trek-tng-borg-collective-is-the-perfect-monster-for-our-time/

still really impressed about the discovery that the japanese water beetle can survive getting eaten by frogs because it combines its natural tendencies with just straight up walking through the entire digestive system at a brisk jog. like they just fucking say no thank you and leave. this feels like one of the most insanely powerful adaptations i can imagine a creature having. like nah i can't do anything to stop the voracious predator of my biome from consuming me. Doesn't Mean I Give Up

I’ve been noodling around with this sculpture for many months

City ripped up a whole tree for utility work and dropped it in the street so I did some investigating and gathered a bunch of gall-covered leaves. I’m assuming they overwinter, and I think the big ones are psyllid galls, but I welcome info from bug experts

@BigJackBrass I have gotten my daughter into CD collecting, so she’s half and half with that and Spotify.

My date with an octopusA funny thing happened to me this week. After trusting a dating app to arrange dinner with a suitably vivacious and intelligent lady, I arrived at the restaurant at the appointed time to find that in fact my date was with an octopus. For the avoidance of doubt, everything in the paragraph above is untrue. I am not on the dating market, there was no octopus and nothing funny evehttps://timharford.com/2025/09/my-date-with-an-octopus/#UndercoverEconomist

@Alphastream Nom nom nom

At open house the 6 y/o spotted a house centipede scurrying around and chased it, gently scooped it up, cradled it, and released it into a dark corner.Not a single call to "kill it!" or panicked scream, only curious kids watching.Just a small, nice moment.