Basic Moves for Full Hearts:

Basic Moves for Full Hearts:
Turn That Frown Upside Down When you cheer someone up, roll with hugs. On a 10 up, your pleas turn the situation around. • On a 7-9, they choose one: reveal a new problem, promise something they think you want, act happy. On a 6-, there’s no hug!

Bring Around an NPC When you bring an NPC around to your point of view, roll with Hugs. On a 10 up, they’ll do what you want if you give them a cookies, a hug, or a reason. • On a 7-9, the MC will tell you what it’ll take to get the NPC to do what you want. Do it and they will. 

Show An Unwelcome Truth When you show someone something they don’t want to know, roll with Grumps. On a 10 up, choose one: give them the [sad] or [grump] condition. • On a 7-9, you each give a Condition to one another.

Keep Cool When you keep your cool in a scary or tense situation, roll with Grumps. On a 10 up, you keep your cool, and choose one: ask the MC a question about the situation; carry 1 forward during this scene. • On a 7-9, choose: you keep your cool; pick an option from the 10 up list but also gain the Condition [sad]

Lash Out Physically When you lash out physically, roll with Fiery. On a 10 up, you give them a condition and choose one: add another condition; they need to Keep Cool before they can retaliate (during this scene). • On a 7-9, you give them a condition but choose 1: they give you a condition, or you become your Meanest Self. 

Run Away When you run away from a problem or situation, roll with Fiery. On a 10 up, you get away, and end up in a safe place. On a 7-9, you get away, but choose one: you cause a big scene; you run directly into something worse.

Think Deeply When you gaze at the audience and think about something deeply, roll with Feels. On a successful roll, you get flashbacks helping you understand the situation. On a 10 up, choose two: the visions are lucid and detailed; the visions show you what you must do, and you carry 1 forward to doing it; the visions cure you, removing a Condition. • On a 7-9, choose one: the visions are confusing and alarming; the visions are lucid and detailed but they leave you with the Condition grumpy.

The thing about Andrew Medeiros ?

The thing about Andrew Medeiros ?

He combines system knowledge, a deft hand with dangerous themes, and insight that allows him to create more hacks than seem possible.

Originally shared by Andrew Medeiros

I had planned to do this in a month's time but Patreon's referral program is forcing my hand to do this now. :)

tldr; I have a Patreon now, check it out if you like.

I've created a Patreon to create Powered by the Apocalypse hacks and live action games/scenarios. The PBTA hacks are pretty simple; playbooks, move sheets, and MC materials, but they're totally functional for anyone who has previous knowledge of the system. I do have a goal setup to create 'quick start' rules for each game so that new players to the system can join in as well. I have my first project's playtest documents already posted in the Patreon for patrons to look over/sample.

As mentioned, I'll be writing some LARPs as well but at a slower pace; probably 1 for every 3 RPGs completed.

If that sounds like something you'd be interested in, take a look at my creator page and see what you think. Thanks for reading.
https://www.patreon.com/medeiros

The only thing worse than running is not being able to run.

The only thing worse than running is not being able to run.

-- From the holy shit I'm glad everything works again department.

Fuller House >> New X-Files

This is on my short list for games I want at Nerdly, and top of the list of games I can't run.

This is on my short list for games I want at Nerdly, and top of the list of games I can't run.

As in, it won't work if I am primary facilitator. It needs to be facilitated by someone who normally performs femininity. I could co-facilitate, but I cannot facilitate it.

Volunteers?

Originally shared by Anna Kreider

At Dreamation, I got to run Autonomy with the help of co-conspirator, er, facilitator Mikael Andersson. It went really well and gave me the motivation that I needed to polish up the layout and put it up for sale, because Autonomy is finished, polished, and does EXACTLY what it is designed to do.

What is Autonomy? Autonomy is a LARP that allows men to have an embodied experience of sexism through reversing the gendered scripts of socialization and power dynamics. It accommodates 6-9 players plus 2 facilitators and requires 2 - 2.5 hours to play.

If you'd like to know more about what the experience of playing it is like, the wonderful Tara Clapper talks about it here at about 50 minutes in: https://blab.im/tara-m-clapper-rollforgeekinit-presents-larp-chat-live-dreamation-wrap-up-1 or you can read this post I wrote on my blog about my experiences in running the first playtest: http://tinyurl.com/j2f76w4

Autonomy is Pay What You What, and is available through my storefront on PayHip. Pay as much or as little as you feel it's worth - all I ask is that if you choose to pay me for it, please pay at least $1 because the PayPal fees get really nuisancy below that level.
https://payhip.com/b/KvbG

Dreamation thoughts: organization, accessibility, etc. This post is specifically not about games.

Dreamation thoughts: organization, accessibility, etc. This post is specifically not about games.

tl;dr - Dreamation was fantastic. The IT nearly caused a panic attack. Enforcement of the harasssment policy is really hard. I doubt this is new stuff.

Preface: Dreamation was super awesome! Everything said here is from a place of love and adoration. I had some really great experiences at Dreamation, both games and meeting new friends. 

Comments that express concerns are very much welcome; comments that are, effectively, "this sucks, Avie and Vinnie suck, bathrooms should always be gendered" will be deleted. Comments that tell me I'm wrong, and how, are awesome.

Second preface: I'm a cis gendered straight white dude. Married, with disposable income. Pretty much the only privilege I'm missing is religious, and I can fake that pretty well. I also have a (minor) invisible physical impairment that makes me aware that spoons exist, and a (very) minor mental one that makes mazes near impossible.

Some positives:
-- Degendered bathrooms, but not on the bottom floor. Maybe so there's an option for those who want gendered bathrooms? In which case, kudos!
-- water water everywhere! I'd get thirsty and look around, and there was water coolers! Hooray. Even so, by Sunday the dryness of the hotel was really getting to me.
-- the right anti-harassment policy!

Some negatives:
Prereg: I went through 22 emails with Vinny trying to schedule my games. I didn't have just the usual complaints about the website: for whatever reason I literally could not understand what time games were at, or what might overlap. I had to spreadsheet it to get it done. It was triggery, calling back to mind events from 25 years ago. Sitting at work, I nearly had a panic attack. Even so, I didn't really know where I was going from session to session, as the names of the games were no where on the schedule. I went to the wrong time slot of The Watch, accidentally ditching out on Posthuman Pathways because I can't schedule.

What's worse: I know I am not the only one. I've heard from multiple people that this caused panic attacks, or that they simply don't do it because it seems impossible.

The Big Board: Going from 2 feet off the ground to what, 6 foot? I find it physically painful to kneel for any duration, so dropping a knee to find a game is not a viable option. Anyone much shorter than me may find the top row equally inaccessible. I'd also be concerned about stalker behavior -- publicly showing where everyone will be sounds like it'll allow for bad things.

Finding Spaces: I got so lost! That hotel is a maze, and my general solution was to find someone i know and follow them. This works, but it costs them mental energy and time, and it cost me a sense of independence. I almost ditched out on a game because I couldn't find where that particular room was; I was two floors off.

Safe(r) Space: I heard from others of some harassment. No one was alerted, due to the mental energy it would take. When it is a GM being harassed, there's the added concern that you are contracted to provide entertainment for these people.  That is, the best policy in the world doesn't do anything if the mental tax to enforce it is too high.

Where's my Credit Card: On Friday or Saturday, I noticed my CC was not where it belongs. I assumed I'd put it in the wrong bag and that it'd turn up. On Sunday, roommates notice there's a voicemail in the hotel saying someone found it. There's no contact info. Neither the con nor hotel have any idea. Still not found. Similarly, I witnessed at least one person try to find her gaming folder, which was safe but not very accessible.

Suggestions for improvement, from my perspective:
Pre-reg: Revamped website (possibly with Convent, Fear The Con, or another con management software), and an app. Near as I can tell, the Gold Standard (cvent) is ~$10,000 a year for an organization. You can do multiple events, so that'd cover all of Dexposure's events. The grapevine tells me this almost happened this year, but there were Problems.

The Big Board: an app, and disposable tablets available for use at the reg desk. That is, if you express a need, get handed a tablet to do reg. Then bring it back. Easy enough for reg desk to hold onto your ID while you hold onto the tablet (or, a chromebook. Whatever.)

Finding Spaces: App, with a bloody map inside it. And directions to every room available from any other room. Or, at least, every major space to every room.

Safer Space: Maybe security folks in uniformly colored shirts, strolling around. And, of course, a big red button inside the aforementioned app. Maybe also a yellow button for things that don't need to be immediately dealt with.

Missing Credit Card: All calls should include contact information, and the organization you are with. And stuff that is found should be given over to security, either hotel or con. I understand this is volunteers, but that's why we have scripts. 

Edit: Security is 24 hours. Good!

Let me stress once again: Dreamation was fabulous. I played wonderful games, I met wonderful people. I never was never sure where I was supposed to be, or if I was standing someone up by accident.

This is a public post. Feel free to tag in anyone. i don't imagine these ideas are fresh, but the perspective on how triggering registration was mighhhhhhht be? Probably not.

After playing Work:The Larp for a couple days ...

After playing Work:The Larp for a couple days ...

Con feels are hard to process. They'd be downright impossible to handle if we didn't have damn good safety equipment. That is, everyone I had intense scenes with knows about cut and break, knows they can walk out, and knows they are valued more than the experience. After the fact, I've had conversations that would be unsafe if not for safety protocol.

My particular job is pretty safe. There's respect on all sides.

I've been in jobs where there isn't. This isn't the place for details, but I once saw someone reduced to tears by the tyrannical dictates of her mentor/supervisor. At the time, I did nothing. And felt morally reprehensible for not. I didn't have the equipment -- I didn't have the moves at hand. I did mention, later, that this was unacceptable. But, I should have done something then.

I said my resolution for the year was to point out intimidation tactics when I saw them, and felt safe to do so.

So, here's a couple AW-style moves:
Move: Leadership
When you lead a meeting, start by saying "We all respect each other. Each of us is more important than this project, both to the company and to each other. If at any time, you do not feel it is safe for you to continue, the door is open. No questions will be asked, and you are welcome to rejoin when you feel safe. Similarly, if a situation is heading in a direction you cannot handle, please say "break" or "cut". If you say break, we will discuss the situation before continuing. If you say cut, the meeting is over until we feel it is safe to continue."

That is probably too long. Options for shorter? And yeah, this isn't quite what break and cut mean, and I am open for other ideas!

Move: Protection of others
When you are in a meeting, and the workplace is unsafe for someone other than yourself, say "Break. We need to discuss how is affecting . I do not feel it is safe to continue until we have done so."

My concern with this move? It feels imperialistic as hell. 

Lastly:
Move: Protection of self
When you are in a meeting and it is unsafe for you to continue, leave.

Chief concern here is folks who have to choose continued employment over safety. Fucking capitalism.

I'm going to start trying this, for a safe(r) working environment.

I'm interested in feedback, thoughts, criticisms, etc.

On the distinction between fucks and spoons.

On the distinction between fucks and spoons.

tl;dr - If you can do it but don’t want to then you’re short on fucks, not spoons.

This is my current thinking, and I'd be happy to amend it. I think there's an important conversation to be had.

Prelude: Most of the time, I don’t count my spoons. Most of the time, I can do the things I want to do, and then some. Most of the time. Sometimes it is not; a year and a half ago I suffered an injury that left me unable to readily leave the house. Or shower. Or do a variety of other normal activities. At that point, I was counting my spoons.

Which is to say: I’m not just talking from a place of privilege, but I am talking to privilege. Mostly.

There’s been some call of late for able bodied and well people to not use the spoon metaphor when describing our lives, as it becomes appropriation and ableist bullshit. This is important, but erases components of the initial metaphor. In the original metaphor, everyone has spoons. Some spoons come back faster than others, some people have a lot more spoons. Some people have unlimited spoons. But, everybody has spoons.

Still, there is an important distinction to be made. I know I’ve started talking about spoons, and using the metaphor to describe situations where I absolutely can do something,, and I simply view it as a burdensome hassle.

And, well, that’s not being out of spoons. That’s having no fucks left to give. From here, the two can feel the same -- because it is so easy to forget what it is to be low on spoons.

Examples, from my own life:
"I have no more fucks left to give!" -- said when I choose not to engage with a topic because it won't be productive, and will siphon off energy that I want to hoard.

"I don't have the spoons for that." -- used when I cannot bring myself to do a thing, whether due to pain or energy or cognitive limitations or other things. One example: When i had to buy a shower bench because I could not stand for long enough to bathe.

Question is: If you want to not be guilty of appropriation, which should you use?
1. If coffee, ibuprofen, or other OTC medications would solve the problem, then fucks. For example, before my morning coffee I give no fucks; I want the coffee and everything else fades from mind. But, I absolutely could solve other problems if necessary.

2. Did you stop reading this, because you don’t give two fucks on the difference between spoons and fucks? Then fucks.

3. If you are at a place where the two seem like the same thing? Use spoons. That is, if not wanting to do something and not being able to seem only minorly different, you probably have low spoons.

4. Was getting out of bed painful, and did you have just enough spoons to feed the cat? Did you then fall down, and wish it could end? You are low on spoons.

5. Were you unable to read this, because it took a spoon you didn’t have? Spoons.

That's where I'm at, anyway.

Shared public. I'll moderate comments if needed. No jerfacery.

Shared public. I'll moderate comments if needed. No jerfacery.

http://qz.com/622306/men-think-they-need-to-eat-meat-to-be-manly-and-its-making-them-sick/
http://qz.com/622306/men-think-they-need-to-eat-meat-to-be-manly-and-its-making-them-sick/

Excess cognition is fueled by fossills.

Things I brought to Dreamation that were super useful and non-obvious:

Things I brought to Dreamation that were super useful and non-obvious:

1. Bag of apples
2. Box of food bars
3. OTC drugs for a variety of minor maladies.

What i wish I'd had:
A. Easier access to coffee.

I never learned how to use the room's coffee machine, because it was easy enough to get downstairs. Fine. 

The last day, there were a few things I needed to see to before breakfast, which we had at the buffet. They bring coffee out slowly.

While waiting, my need for coffee was such that I said "I have no more fucks left to give" when confronting something minorly annoying.

Which, come to think of it, spawned a really good conversation on "fucks" versus "spoons". I'm attempting to use "fucks" when I absolutely could do something, but it is obnoxious and I don't want to.

For example:
"I have no more fucks left to give!" -- said when I choose not to engage with a topic because it won't be productive, and will siphon off energy that I want to hoard.

"I don't have the spoons for that." -- used when I cannot bring myself to do a thing, whether due to pain or energy or cognitive limitations or other things.

When I got my coffee, there was an instant change in my perception of the world, as well as my demeanor. It was, as someone else put it, a "fuck multiplier". But, certainly not a spoon multiplier.

Dreamation recap, without my notes in front of me. This is super long!

Dreamation recap, without my notes in front of me. This is super long!

tl;dr - everything was amazing. I cried twice, was horrified at least once, and used a threat of religious violence to affect global politics!

Thursday 8PM: Lovecraftesque with Misha B : Can Mr. Giggles Come To Dinner?
-- A lovely starting game. GMless Cthulian horror. No character ownership, as playing the victim (err... witness) rotates, as do the other positions. Really great! in our game, a single mom deals with a daughter who has an imaginary friend who ... isn't so imaginary.  Horrifying and delightful!

I choose games as much for GM as for content: Misha B is fantastic! And, as my starting game, this got me really well situated and feeling like I was among friends. It helped that I knew half the people playing, of course.

Friday 9AM: The Starlit Kingdom with Anna Kreider 
-- This was the start of my accidental "Anna Track." I got to play a mysoinist, in a world where women are much, much more powerful than men. Also GMless, this one had a bit more character ownership; the main characters are owned by a player, but the supporting cast moves around.

Friday 2PM: Apportment with Jason Morningstar 
-- I played the Exarch: the leader of the largest religious organization, which is supported by the largest ethnic demographic. I was the pope! Apportionment is all about drawing a line down a map to make countries. Only 3 people get to decide this; the other 10 of us can talk to them and have to live with the consequences.

Playing pope is a bit of a stretch for me, because organized religion. Still, I think I got into it pretty well. Those deciding things made it plain early on they would not give me a religious state; instead, I manipulated Lizzie Stark's maybe Hitler-esque President character into letting me make sure all presidents of her country are of my religion, and giving me control of some holy sites.

I was really pleased with how: I noticed the President wasn't getting a particular city she wanted from the Deciders. The Pope has a super power to get the faithful of a particular city to have religious demonstrations. I had a nice chat with her, explaining I could have the faithful in that city have a nice little religious demonstrating, making the Deciders have to deal with religion. She quickly threatened to send her military to my holy sites; I revised how I was stating the demontration to be also pro her government.

Then, I had a nice chat with the Deciders, explaining that I didn't really care how they draw a line, I just wanted to be the official religion of Lizzie's country. I'd get it if they did Y, and if they didn't do Y, I'd drop the religious bomb. They were moved, and it worked!

Hooray for threats of sectarian demonstrations changing the political landscape! Oh, wait .... 

Friday 8PM: The Watch with Andrew Medeiros and Anna Kreider 
Imagine a world where men are likely to succumb to violence, so women have to take up arms to defend themselves. All PCs are women, and "Cis" is rarely the first option.

Friday 12AM+: The Forgotten with Andrew Medeiros 
kickstarter here:  (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1287928832/the-forgotten-a-live-action-game)

So good! The game plays out in days as turns, where you send people out of a bunker to search for food and supplies.

The last night, my lover, played by Misha B  was sent out. The only people left were wounded; I told Jay Treat I was pretty sure they weren't coming down. That they were leaving the wounded to die.

Just as this happens, they come back. Misha B is mortally wounded, but got food for all of us. We wait there, and die together as everyone else escapes to safety. Broken by love at 2 AM.

Saturday 9AM: WAR BIRDS; "We Were WASP" with Patty Kirsch 
-- The first time I wept at Dreamation. We cried over a plane.

Patty was a brilliant facilitator, from character assignment onwards. In this, you play badass american women pilots from WW2. And no, it isn't related to Night Witches.

Character assignment is "here's a fictionalized short biography of a real person". OMG. It was me and three women; Patty right handed me the character who ignores gender roles the most; the instructions even say "if there's one man at the table, hand this one to him". Hooray!

Everything else is fantastic! This is great.

Saturday 2PM: War Birds; "Keep the Candles Lit" with James Stuart 
Mo Jave is the goddamn devil -- the highest praise I can give.

The game content is a family of jewish women --- grandmother, mother, and daughter -- trying to survive the holocaust and maintain their religious traditions.

This game ended in weeping, uncontrollably. 

Saturday: Dinner time slot got canceled, the last run of The Forgotten was too full. Ah well ...

Sunday: Ditched out on anything organized. Talked about Intersectionality, con experiences, and privilege. I'm going to do an entirely different post later on organization, accessibility, etc.

Absolutely glorious! 
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1287928832/the-forgotten-a-live-action-game

After Dreamation, the Metro is a weird, misogynistic place.

After Dreamation, the Metro is a weird, misogynistic place.

Walking down the escalator, several people played follow the white-male at the exact same pace. This included me.

Standing on the first train included watching a white man hog a pole, while 4 women held onto another one. I was the only other person on the dude's pole he was hogging, and very consciously made him uncomfortable by making it impossible for him to lean his whole body against it.

Getting off that train, also a lesson: a white dude closed his moleskine, put it in his briefcase, then walked do the door while others -- including myself! -- parted in front of him. I start laughing.

Second train -- everybody gets a seat! -- I look around. The people sitting in seats of their own are all men, while every woman is sharing a seat. Meanwhile, I am, of course, sitting alone in a chair.

Actual recap later.

Novel: Wool

Novel: Wool
Author: Hugh Howey
Rating: 4 of 5
Spoiler-free synopsis: The earth is wrecked, all humanity lives inside an underground vault called a "silo". The earth cannot support life, and the air is unbreathable.

SPOILER filled review:
If you control access to information, you control thought. If you control thought, you control action.

Wool is a pun; both for the steel wool used to clean, and to pull the wool over ones eyes. In the world of Wool, information is controlled and disseminated only to key members of IT. No one else knows anything.

The world is actually wrecked, but this doesn't really matter. The novel turns on the ability to continue to control generation after generation by remorselessly destroying their access to information.

As that, it is brilliant. I've not seen such an Orwellian world since ... Animal Farm. Even Newspeak has nothing on this, where to even think about "going outside" merits a death sentence.

That's what wool gets right. It does that beautifully. What I didn't enjoy was changing POV characters not once, not twice, but three times. I'd get accustomed to a character, and then they'd die. I don't enjoy that.

It also violates a rule from Asimov: start as late in the story as possible. This story could easily have started a hundred pages in.

Still, quite good.

My first dreamation.

My first dreamation.

Hell, my first con that isn't Nerdly.

I have clothes, medicines (ibuprofen, daily allergy, weak allergy, alert allergy, sleepy allergy), dice, pens and pencils, paper.

I have snacks.

I don't have any coffee. Is there coffee in the rooms?

I'm not running anything.

What else am I missing?

Dreamation events!

Dreamation events!

(now with even more Andrew Medeiros , apparently!)

Thursday 8PM: Lovecraftesque with  Misha B 

Friday 9AM: The Starlit Kingdom with Anna Kreider 
Friday 2PM: Apportment with Jason Morningstar 
Friday 8PM: Posthuman Pathways with Jason Pitre 
Friday 12AM+: The Forgotten with Andrew Medeiros 

Saturday 9AM: WAR BIRDS; "We Were WASP with Patty Kirsch 
Saturday 2PM: The Watch with Andrew Medeiros 
Saturday 8PM: War Birds with Andrew Medeiros 

Sunday 11AM: Breakfast with Misha, James and Jason
Sunday 12PM: "#Feminism Nanogame Sampler" presented by James Stuart (I think that James Stuart)

That's 10 games! Woohoo.

There are some big blocks left blank. Any suggestions?

One thing in Undying that I've seen a few times?

One thing in Undying that I've seen a few times?

Anatomy of a playbook.

I first saw this in ... Dream Asqew, probably ... and it is so great. It makes everything easier and better! Good tech!

My ideal scenario:

My ideal scenario:

1. Congress acts like a bunch of dickbags.
2. Obama sues the assholes, for violation of separation of powers.
3. The court with original jurisdiction is the Supremes. They pick it up.
4. The Court issues a mandamus, telling them to give a straight up or down vote on all appointees within 90 days, both those waiting for years and those who will be appointed in the future.

5. We have courts again!

Dear Lazywebs

Dear Lazywebs,

I have a day alone. There is white stuff falling out of the sky. What should I read / watch / do?

The undying pdf dropped. What an enjoyable thing to read!

The undying pdf dropped. What an enjoyable thing to read!

It is very well put together. The words are crisp and delightful. The system makes me think of WoD, but is definetly pbta.

The difference between nightly moves and downtime moves are great, and the sort of thing I've rarely seen in pbta.

Hooray!

#36in16, intermediate.

#36in16, intermediate.

This has not gone as quickly as I expected. Luckily, Dreamation is upcoming.

#4: AW2e with Ethan on February 11
#3: Splendor on January 2, played with Joe.
#2: Between Two Cities on January 2, played with Elizabeth.
#1: Cat Scientists on January 2, played with a bunch of people.

I have been pleased at the death of two people. Osama and Scalia.

I have been pleased at the death of two people. Osama and Scalia.

Both times, I legit feel awful about the fact that I feel pleased about the death of a human being.

And yet, I do feel that way.

I can rationalize this as not being they are dead, but that their evil can no longer threaten the world. Maybe. But, really, I'm just happy the fucker is dead and my president gets to nominate a real justice.

The third episode of the new X files?

The third episode of the new X files?

It may be the single greatest episode of television in the history of the medium.

Last night, on #Aw2

Last night, on #Aw2  

Aurora the battlebabe paid for his upkeep with bags of blood, given to the Beshie the fishmonster so he could stay at goldring's brothel (barter 2 lifestyle).
Frank the angel faked a checkup on old man floutpruner for a jingle.
Dillon the savvyhead sold LSD to Hope, the matriarch and human barbie of 'venttown, which used to be an amusement park.
Larry the driver made deliveries, and had two chickens as two barter.

The green girl, working for Hope, got aurora to take dillon to LDland, the next folks to get addicted to her drugs. This'd extend Hope's rulership. Larry drove, Frank came along.  Larry's the driver, and had a badass RV rigged with a sniper rifle.

VIOLENCE! LDLand sent runners up to stop the convoy. Aurora, on bike, took out the first armadillo car with his AP shotgun. (WHAT?), and the second by divying into it, and wrapping them assholes in his 12 foot long chain. They died, and now aurora had a car.

They stopped by farmer bob and bob's boyz bartered for chickens. They offered sally, their 13 year old sister, who was wearing a pristine perfect white tailored suit. Larry took the suit instead of time with the girl.

More violence, as Aurora was left in charge of chastity -- the 7 year old girl who contains all of dillon's lsd in her hands, surgically implanted. Chastity touched people and they became hers, for a time. Aurora followed her, as did Bob's boyz.

Bob of Bob's Boyz confronts Dillon, asking him to work for him instead of Hope. That does not go well, and he winds up on the ceiling, coveralls magnetically attached to the roof. Don't mess with a savvyhead.

A few hard moves later, there was a free for all. Everybody takes 3 damage, and roll +Cool. The driver calms the situation, but Aurora makes it worse enough that driver and angel take damage. Then aurora leaves.

Dillon leaves, in the driver's RV. Aurora follows, still on detail. Angel and Driver are left on the farm, with dead and rotting corpses all around.

--- some notes ---
We used over half the battles moves, and it was glorious. We boarded movign cars, put down fire, used a car as a weapon, etc. Saw some minor typos, but things went pretty well.

Some people (Tony Lower-Basch ) really brought the apocalyptic imagery, others kept pushing the game towards dogs instead of AW.

We didn't see a single PC death, but would have by using the chaotic free for all move -- but the driver calmed things down.

on Dream Askew by Avery Mcdaldno.

on Dream Askew by Avery Mcdaldno.

Some thoughts:
1. I am not the target demographic, and that is awesome. A lot of this is at the edge of my standard comforts, and forces me to think. I like that, but it is harder.

2. No stats, no dice, and no GM. This is beautiful. I can play this with three people.

3. Wait, Raven? What's Raven? What does gargoyle mean? Uh oh.

4. with only 4 questions to ask each other, we have to repeat. More would be nice.

5. With the distributed fronts, I gt the Queer Enclave. I need to write down a bunch of names (of course), and there's not a good place to do it.

Basically, for a short hack of AW playable in a single session about what happens when the end of the world comes, and how people react? Absolutely fantastic.

Not quite what I was looking for when I stumbled across it. That it is so close to the apocalypse makes the characters much more relateable, which is great. Still, I want playbooks like the hard holder -- which I'm not sure can exist within the queer enclave.

There are stories that this makes possible that are hard, if not impossible, in standard AW. There's a sense of equality among the players that you don't get in a game with a GM. Still, there are stories I want that aren't here.

Rowan Cota , who asked.

listening to the Offspring's 1994 Album Smash....

listening to the Offspring's 1994 Album Smash....

I know all of these words. Like, I know them better my wedding vows of the lyrics to Les Mis. I know them better than I know 10+ is a success. But, I only know them when the music plays.

Bizzarre how memory works.

Also, I used to listen to this? So much so that I know all the words?

It goes the same as a thousand before ...
no ones getting smarter no ones learning the score...

Query: Is it generally preferable in show workplace annoyance up, down, sideways, or not at all?

wow. That's noblesse oblige

wow. That's noblesse oblige

Originally shared by Sarah Perry-Shipp

I wish more people knew how to write Superman properly, for whatever value you hold "properly" to have.

(remember #nerdy9th  and if you feel the urge to be negative, post up your favorite superhero stories)
http://fipindustries.tumblr.com/post/75204856930/incognitomoustache-catbountry-nerdgerhl

I'm backer number two!

I'm backer number two!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1287928832/the-forgotten-a-live-action-game
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1287928832/the-forgotten-a-live-action-game

On the glory of Trader Joe's.

On the glory of Trader Joe's.

Category 1: Foods & Drink
TJ's wine is sourced from overstock wine, and the Trader sell the wine for $3 a bottle.  This is entirely satisfactory wine.  Think that's cheap? Ditch the bottle, buy it by the box (same wine), and its $10.

Many foods in TJ's are their private label. These are all remarkably good, especially for the money. Whether that's the guac from Trader Jose, the stuffed pasta from Trader Giotto, or the beer from JosephsBrau -- you know you are buying quality at a low, low price. The coffee selection is fantastic. We can buy shade grown ethiopian medium roast highfalutin coffee for $8 a pound.

The private label foods? No artificial flavors, preservatives, rGBT, etc. If you are worried about it, they probably cover it.

They have standard gluten free and veggie and vegan labels used throughout the store. No guess work!

Category 2: Business practices
TJ's pays their workers a living wage. Full Stop.

Supervisory crew can start at 45k-75k, and store managers can make in the low six figures. They contribute to most employees 401(k) plans. They pay for health insurance (and did so before ObamaCare). Entry level pay is $10 to $20 an hour.

Generally, TJs foods and drinks will be cheaper than the alternative. You pay less, and the employees make more.

Category 3: The Line
TJs has been moving towards a single line system. That is, you don't choose a lane -- everyone waits in the same line, and gets access to the purchasing line without having to worry that the line they choose will move slowly. Hallelujah!

What do you love about TJs?

This post exists for Brianna Sheldon , who asked.

Are you getting a tax refund?

Are you getting a tax refund?

Some (boring) ideas for what to do with it: 
1. SAVE it. A rainy day fund, emergency fund, or "fuck off fund" are super great! Having a thousand bucks is super fantastic, prevents a lot of problems, and makes impossible problems into mere annoyances.

2. Pay down debt! Getting rid of high interest debt not only feels like a weight off the shoulders, but makes life much simpler.

3. Have you maxed out your roth ira for 2015? You've got until April!

4. Have you maxed out your roth ira for 2016? Now's the time to get started.

5. Do you give money to charity? The Gates Foundation and GiveDirectly both do real, measurable good in the world.

6. Speaking of that emergency fund, boosting it to 3 months if its not there is always a good move.

7. Oh, right. Games. Buy a board game, or back something on kickstarter! Or, maybe even a trip!

Other suggestions? Are these dumb, wrong, or objectionable? Disagree with the order of things?

I know nothing about Wrestling. I never really watched it.

I know nothing about Wrestling. I never really watched it.

I ADORE this game.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ndpaoletta/world-wide-wrestling-rpg-international-incident
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ndpaoletta/world-wide-wrestling-rpg-international-incident

This is one of those important and true things that we overlook much to often.

This is one of those important and true things that we overlook much to often.

Originally shared by Brie “Beau” Sheldon

This twitter thing is awesome.

http://snyderman37.tumblr.com/post/138807845977/cockatielcutie-robotmoxie-got-to-talking-over
http://snyderman37.tumblr.com/post/138807845977/cockatielcutie-robotmoxie-got-to-talking-over

TONIGHT in the comments, I'll be live commenting while doing my taxes. Which ... is something I quite enjoy.

This is pretty much exactly how I've felt about this election, written professionally:

This is pretty much exactly how I've felt about this election, written professionally:

Some folks have asked me if I have any thoughts on the most recent Democratic debate, and the answer is no, not really, for reasons that I mentioned earlier: Basically, Sanders and Clinton represent two flavors of “perfectly acceptable” to me, both in terms of their general positions and relative to whomever the Republicans eventually cough up on their side, so, really, the debates are at this point generally superfluous for one such as myself.

-- Scalzi
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2016/02/05/various-and-sundry-2516/

Resharing publicly, as that seems to be the norm.

Resharing publicly, as that seems to be the norm.

Originally shared by William Nichols

The man said to share this far and wide: AW 2E Playbook preview pdfs.

http://apocalypse-world.com/AW2ndEdPlaybooksPreview.pdf

If you are seeing this, then I think we have met and played a game together.
http://apocalypse-world.com/AW2ndEdPlaybooksPreview.pdf

To the CDC: You're supposed to be the adult in the room. What's this crap?

I loled so hard.

I loled so hard.

Originally shared by Grégory Pogorzelski