Josh Roby You got your unackbared version of the Hardhholder? Can ya post a linky?

Hardhholder, Waterbearer, Maestro D, and a Hocus are all on a spaceship.

Hardhholder, Waterbearer, Maestro D, and a Hocus are all on a spaceship.

Tell me about that spaceship.

[ Assume each has whatever they need for their playbook: Hardhholder has civilians and a gang, water-bearer has a Source, Maestro D has an establishment, Hocus has a cult. All on the same ship. ]

Another day, another spaceship post.

Another day, another spaceship post.

This is much more about tabletop RPGs. On a spaceship.

Known Assumptions and preliminaries:
1) The characters chosen determine really important details about the spaceship.
2) This is something like apocalypse world.
3) This spaceship needs to make money somehow: maybe there's a mortgage that needs to be paid, or corporate overlords. Either way, there's continuous economic pressure.

I'm interested in exploring what the addition or removal of playbooks as player characters does to the setting.

Some obvious examples:
Hardhholder: If there's something like a hardhholder, then the ship will have a large gang and a group of people who are in need of protection.
Gunlugger: With a gunlugger or similar, guns and crap are an important way for this ship to solve problems.
Maestro D: If Guinan or Quark is onboard, then talking through issues is important and there is a sufficient crowd and sufficient wealth to justify a bar.

Firefly has something like a mechanic, a battlebabe, a skinner, and a brainer. And the show is about the ship braking, being on the losing side of fights, sex and privilege to solve problems, and using your brain to melt eyeballs.

Here's a different set:
Waterbearer, The News, Hocus, Driver

What sort of spaceship centers around these four? What type of story gets told?

What type of story are you interested in onboard a spaceship?

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

Am I even half as smart as I think I am?

Another day, another spaceship post.

Another day, another spaceship post.

As Jonathan Beverley pointed out, the two primary problems with spaceships are:
1. Holding in the air.
2. Preventing radiation.

To hold in the air, you need rounded everything. To prevent radiation, you need tons and tons and tons of rock.

I am envisioning a spaceship that's all rounded like a sphere and made up of around 6 x 10 ^ 24 kg of mostly rock & water.

Other than not having a lot of maneuverability, what problems are there with this big ole' spaceship?

Would anyone like to recommend a political charity other than the ACLU?

April 27 - After working out, 209.7 Down 1.3 pounds from yesterday.

April 27 - After working out, 209.7 Down 1.3 pounds from yesterday.

Yes, like 2 pounds of that is water weight. What's your point?

And yes, I breathed out REALLY HARD before weighing. What's your point?

Here's my point: That's a measurement below 210 such that I won the bet. My economist friend (economists are the only people with just the right measure of evil to trust with blackmail material) should be destroying the check to Comstock today. That's the VA-10 house rep, and she is terrible.

As soon as I have evidence of that, I'll donate the same amount to the ACLU -- unless I am convinced of another charity or political cause.

As a historical note: My weight one year ago today was 229.1. That's an over 20 pounds difference, or just about 8.5% of my then body weight.

Lie to me about America.

Lie to me about America.

Say only nice things.

Tell me pretty false hoods.

Make it seem alright.

A reminder, as it has been a while.

A reminder, as it has been a while.

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/


http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/

Dear friends

Dear friends,

How have you made the world safer for your neighbors this past fortnight or so?

We attended the science march. I continue to use ResistBot, pointing out that Trump has committed high crimes and misdemeanors and ought to be removed. I try a few other tactics as well, though those guys are all on this side of the aisle. In a few days, I am hopeful I'll be able to donate more to the ACLU.

I saw some deplorabes in red caps on metro today, lost and confused and uncertain how to get on a train. I got away from them as quickly and politely as possible, as I could feel anger rising and didn't want to do anything terrible -- like a shove, a closed fist punch, or just snide remarks. None of which would have improved the world, and all of which went through my mind.

The Virginia governors race is this year. We're starting to field candidates, and it should be a doozy. I'm wondering how much I should pay attention to the primary.

Love to you and yours! He will not divide us.

Another day, another post about spaceships.

Another day, another post about spaceships.

Imagine a civilization that values modular design, simplicity, and things working together.

I've got this notion of cylinders inside of cylinders. Standard systems core as a 10m long, 10m in circumference cylinder. Standard hab module going around that, so having 20m circumference at the outside. The maybe storage and cargo in the 20m to 30m section, meaning an outside surface that's 30m by 10m with a couple of hard points.

Constant acceleration, but low (like 0.01G), and trading partners -- either planets or habitation stations -- close to each other, like a half an AU. That gives a travel time of ~3 weeks, without the need for FTL.

Make it modular so you can attach another ring segment outward, or extend outward. You could get some funky looking ships.

This making any sense to anybody?

mathletes, quick check:

mathletes, quick check:

Assuming constant acceleration of 0.1 G, zero initial velocity ...

Do I wind up with t = sqrt (D / a), where t is in seconds, D is distance travelled in meters, a is constant acceleration in meters per second per second?

Then, assuming I am travelling 0.5 AU (74.8 billion meters) before turnaround at an acceleration of 0.1 G (0.981 m/s^2), does it take me ~3.2 days (~276,000 seconds)?

Such that to travel 1 AU at 0.1 G constant acceleration, with turn around in the middle and arriving having shed my velocity takes ~6.4 days?

Is that about right?

April 26 -- I'm at 211.

April 26 -- I'm at 211.

I've got a pound left. Wish me luck.

I'm down 2.1 pounds overnight. Almost there!

Seeking: an easy to use & free drawing tool to draw the insides of spaceships.

Hunger is experienced as pain for me.

Robert Pirsig died.

Robert Pirsig died.

He had an effect on my younger years. Helped me break away from some bullshit, and enter into some other bullshit.

I am sad now.

Unpopular opinion: Far from erasing the work of supplying a kitchen, Blue Apron outsources it, giving it a cost when...

Unpopular opinion: Far from erasing the work of supplying a kitchen, Blue Apron outsources it, giving it a cost when it was given a value of zero. As housework is often done for free by women without men having any idea it even occurs, Blue Apron is feminist.

Edit: I'm an idiot and used a term of art without meaning to. That's what I get for posting while hungry.

Another day, another spaceship thread.

Another day, another spaceship thread.

Yesterday, I used the following categories:
-- The single-person spaceship (X-wing)
-- The Family Ship (Serenity, The Falcon, The Roci)
-- The Larger Than Life Ship (Star Destroyers, Death Stars, Enterprise)

The consensus from everyone except me seems to be that Correllion Corvette is a bit big for use as a family ship, and is larger than life.

Maybe!

Using a series of ship's no one knows about, let's test the hypothesis.

Go to here: http://endless-sky.wikia.com/wiki/Ships

And tell me which ship you think is:
a) A great family ship.
b) the closest equivalent to a Correllion Corvette.

I'll reserve my answers.
http://endless-sky.wikia.com/wiki/Ships

tl;dr - Does a Corellian Corvette make sense as PCs main ship?

tl;dr - Does a Corellian Corvette make sense as PCs main ship?

As an admission, I think a lot about space ships.

In media and RPGs, there's a few ones that show up time and time again, in broad categories:

-- The single-person spaceship (X-wing)
-- The Family Ship (Serenity, The Falcon, The Roci)
-- The Larger Than Life Ship (Star Destroyers, Death Stars, Enterprise)

Of these, my absolute favorite is the family ship. Single person craft don't lead to enough drama, and the larger than life ship make it too weird for PCs to be meaningful.

Serenity is a home more than she is a ship, able to haul some cargo and provide the right level of privacy for drama. She's great and I love her. The Roci is a cheating PC ship, faster and with better guns than anyone else her size; this let's her crew matter in the politics of the Solar System.

The Falcon is the examplar case, but its not really a home. Its a bachelor pad for Han and Chewie, and I can't imagine Leia spending much time onboard. Or that there's room for bedrooms.

If you want to run blockades and have space for a princess in Star Wars, the obvious ship is the Correllion Corvette. I'm biased and love this ship more than I really ought; do you think it a Family Ship, or a Larger Than Life Ship?

What happens next in the world where North Korea sinks the the Carl Vinson?

What happens next in the world where North Korea sinks the the Carl Vinson?

I know what I think happens next, and it's not pretty.

Science March DC.

Science March DC.

April 21 - Up pounds.

April 21 - Up pounds.

Something weird is going on. Bodies are weird.

Hopeful that a good breakfast + soylent lunch + pre-dinner workout will do some magic.

I was hoping to be ahead today and to be able to reasonably have a beer or two. This did not happen, and now I am sad.

What's different in the world where Hillary Clinton become President on Jan 20, 2017?

If Girls is a game of Monsterhearts

If Girls is a game of Monsterhearts,
and if Leverage is a game of, well, Leverage,
and if The Expanse is a game of, maybe, Traveler
and if Star Trek is a game of, say, GURPS
and if The 100 is Apocalypse World

Then what is Gilmore Girls? Grace & Frankie? Halt & Catch Fire? Cheers?

What do these five have in common? Other than the fact that I like them, what similarity do you see in each?

Here's an easy one: There's a set of really important characters, but room for the characters in any particular session to go in and out.

[ If you don't buy into the premise, that's OK! But this isn't the thread to discuss that. Each of these five has very particular aspects that I want. ]

Tried Hello Fresh.

Tried Hello Fresh.

As compared to Blue Apron:
-- More of the work is done for you
-- The meals are easier
-- The meals are blander
-- The ingredients seems less fresh.

Here's an example:
-- One of our Hello Fresh meals was a baked tortellini with asparagus and pesto.

The Hello Fresh box contained: asparagus, tortellini, vegetable stock concentrate, 2 cloves garlic, a pesto sauce, and a crunchy topping.

That is: they made the pesto, they cut the garlic, they made the topping, they made the veggie stock.

I learned nothing, and the meal was no better than trader joe's cheap pasta. If anything, it seemed saltier.

Conversely, a Blue Apron version would (probably) contain: asparagus, tortellini, whatever goes into veggie stock, a head of garlic, basil, and whatever goes into the crunchy topping.

I would have learned what goes into veggie stock, gotten more practice smashing garlic, and made both a pesto sauce and the crunchy topping.

I can make pasta, sauce, and a veg. I do a couple nights a week.

But, making pesto? Making a veggie stock? Learning how to make a crunchy topping?

That's what I'm paying for.

So, goodbye Hello Fresh.

Custom move:

Custom move:
Examination: When checking out a bustup up space ship, roll 2d6 + Sharp.

On a 10+, find a problem and resolve it in a way that makes you look awesome.
On a 7-9, find a problem and don't know how to solve it.
On a 6-, you don't find the problems, but they'll find you and soon!

The 6- has an implied hard move for later: Something is wrong, and it'll go wrong at just the wrong time.

Whatcha think?

James Iles

James Iles

Personality Multiplex
This module allows you to support the full suite of human emotion. With it deactivated, you can only do one of the following at any one moment:
• Understand that other individuals have their own wants, needs and rights.
• Value intangibles such as religion, loyalty, honour and patriotism.
• Understand that you are an individual with your own wants, needs and rights.

... This is from Ghost Ship by James Iles. I'm not altogether certain my personality multiplex module is active.

VOTE GEORGIA

VOTE GEORGIA

Originally shared by Ed Christian

Novel: Revenger

Novel: Revenger
Author: Alastair Reynolds

I am in the middle of this novel. It promises to be Serenity meets Pirates of the Caribbean.

It is not.

Elements that make it seem like it is:
-- spaceships!
-- small crew!
-- Lots of planets!
-- Technology no one understands!
-- Jobs that largely consist of being scavengers on the remnants of precurser civilizations.
-- Solar sales!
-- A young woman protagonist setting out on her own in space with her slightly older sister!
-- Perfectly good plot excuse for why space ships need green folks who know nothing!
-- An overprotective father!

All that is basically fantastic, and exactly what I wanted. Then, about fifty pages in ...



the ship is attacked, the crew are murdered. Our protagonist's sister is taken hostage. Our protagonist is left alone, and becomes jaded and mean. She's taken back to her father under protest, and escapes. In the escaping, her dad dies of a heart attack.

What the actual fuck. I'll finish it, but I am not pleased. My dislike of Reynolds continues, now with more evidence.

April 18 - Down two pounds from last night.

April 18 - Down two pounds from last night.

Wait, I hear you ask: What happened after your anniversary dinner?

The morning of our anniversary, I was at 212. The morning after 214. Then another party and I was at 217. Then 216, then 215. I'm back to 213. That is, I'm still up a pound from last Wednesday.

I've got 3 pounds and 6 weeks. I'd like to get're done this week or next, and if I can continue to drop 1% of my body mass for a day or two that shouldn't be too harsh. And, to be clear, I acknowledge and respect that this sort of weight loss is rather contingent on a lot of factors and privilege.

We've got an event tonight, and if I can avoid drinking then I expect I'll finish this bet out relatively soon.

a game of pretend.

a game of pretend.

You've won the powerball; 600 million dollars or so.

What do you?

Tell me about cool moments involving space ships and games, or stories. Please.

Warning: I am in a foul mood.

Warning: I am in a foul mood.

I blame the weather. Engage with caution.

Wanted: an RPG system such that:

Wanted: an RPG system such that:
-- the largest component is about interaction, and dealing with "drama" as opposed to life and death decisions (think Gilmore Girls or Love)

-- a surrounding cast who could become PCs (think Cheers)

-- inner thoughts matter as much as what you say and do (think Halt and Catch Fire or, more classically, Hamlet)

-- the rest of the world has problems, and the PCs have a reason to care (think 30 rock)

Basically, an RPG that can do something like sitcoms.

I've got an idea or two, and am looking for suggestions.

Benadryl FTW.

Benadryl FTW.

It is distinctly spring, which among all the beautiful things, also means I'll be sitting on the couch waiting for the pain to go away.

That moment when you've watched the Star Wars trailer, and can still hear the music.

That moment when you've watched the Star Wars trailer, and can still hear the music.

Close your eyes. Reach out with your feelings. Do you hear it?

Perhaps I do not understand the ramifications; can someone please explain to me why dropping the MOAB is such a big...

Perhaps I do not understand the ramifications; can someone please explain to me why dropping the MOAB is such a big deal?

Thoughts in comments.

Dear friends

Dear friends,

Its been a while since I've checked in. How have you made the world safer for your neighbors this past fortnight?

I continue to use Resistbot, and call our rep. Lately, those letters have changed from regarding impeachment to preventing an illegal war, and removing actual nazis.

There's a march scheduled this weekend downtown, to protest the traitor not handing over his tax returns. We should be at that.

Love to you and yours!

April 13 - Down two pounds.

April 13 - Down two pounds.

Yogurt breakfast, Soylent for lunch, afternoon iced latte, Blue Apron dinner, glass of wine & single scoop of gellato.

This won't last tonight is our wedding anniversary, and we're going to a fancy place we adore. Still, right now I have less than 2.5 pounds to go and more than six week to do it in.

April 12 - Down over a pound.

April 12 - Down over a pound.

Soylent for lunch FTW.

Even with booze with dinner, still down. That's interesting.

April 11 - Up nearly a pound and a half.

April 11 - Up nearly a pound and a half.

This is what happens when I eat chipotle. This is actually a good thing; I'd been slightly concerned the physical laws of the universe had stopped applying.

I'll work out tonight and have a smaller lunch. Should be fine.

This is one of about eight thousand reasons Southwest has one type of plane.

This is one of about eight thousand reasons Southwest has one type of plane.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2017/04/10/video-shows-man-forcibly-removed-united-flight-chicago-louisville/100274374/
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2017/04/10/video-shows-man-forcibly-removed-united-flight-chicago-louisville/100274374/

Tell me how a scene from Star Wars is resolved in your favorite RPG system. Or your most hated, that's OK, too.

Tell me how a scene from Star Wars is resolved in your favorite RPG system. Or your most hated, that's OK, too.

For example, in AW:
Luke: How did my father die?

Alec as Kenobi: He was hunted down and destroyed by Darth Vader, a pupil of mine until he turned to evil--

George as MC: Hold on. You're lying out of your ass. Is this some jedi shit?

Alex: Nah, just manipulation. I've decided Kenobi is an asshole, who wants to manipulate the kid. I'll roll! I rolled an 7, cool. I'll need concrete --

Anthony as C3P0: Hey, can I help?

George: Sure, but how?

Anthony: C3P0 interrupts, telling Master Luke he's going to shut down for a while, which distracts Luke from the obvious lie.

George: Fine. Roll.

Anthony: I'll roll with Hx with Master Luke, which is at +3. Hey, I got a 10+. I've got a move that says I add 3 when I help, so its a 10+

Alex: Woot! The kid believes me!

Mark: Can I interfere?

George: No problem. Go ahead and roll, as Luke tries to see through the bullshit.

Mark: I rolled a 2.

George: Hah. You believe them and ... ::thinks offscreen:: Heh, I know exactly what's going to happen.

Mark: I hate you. Fine, Luke decides that he's going to run away with Kenobi. His voice changes slightly, "I can take you as far as Anchorhead". He's playing coy, but knows he's leaving.

Alex as Kenobi: You must do what you feel is right, of course.

April 10 - Down over a pound overnight. Again.

April 10 - Down over a pound overnight. Again.

I was steady on Sunday morning, and dropped another pound as of this morning.

For the record: I am eating! Eggs and potatoes for breakfast, pasta, sauce & veg for lunch, afternoon snack of blueberry muffins, dinner of cheese & crackers. Then more blueberry muffins. Even a few drinks.

Also: Homemade blueberry muffins are a delight. I highly recommend marrying someone who enjoys baking.

Saturday night was spent at a bar; I indulged within appropriate limits.

And yet, I'm down a pound. I've got four pounds left, and more than six weeks to do it in.

Sounds easy. We'll see.

My dear internet

My dear internet,

Karen Steele is planning her first Gen Con.

I've never been; many of you have. My understanding is gen con is sooo huge you can straight up get lost.

She loves board games; please help her figure out what to try out!

April 7 - Down 0.1 pounds.

April 7 - Down 0.1 pounds.

I ate out for lunch, then had a cupcake. There was work cake. Then we had pizza & booze & dessert.

And yet, my weight was basically stayed constant. Bodies are weird.

April 6 - Up 0.8 pounds.

April 6 - Up 0.8 pounds.

And this is what happens when I'm not on a bet / go to our public game event and eat too much crap.

I'm seeing my trusted evil economist friend this weekend. Figure I can hand him a check.

April 5 - Down another 1.1 pounds overnight.

April 5 - Down another 1.1 pounds overnight.

Diet, I guess? Small breakfast & lunch, a pre-dinner snack of brie & crackers, followed by frozen TJ's indian foods. Then all the carbs in the world at game night.

As I'm now under the 215 goal, I've torn up the check. Instead, I just gave the same money to the ACLU.

Take that, Comstock! Take that, traitorous fuckwad in the Oval.

Next goal, same stakes, 210. I'm going to wait a day or so to set that up, but it'll be mid May.

Work printers are pretty dang amazing.

Do you have a Republican Senator?

Do you have a Republican Senator?

Maybe send them a line, maybe with ResistBot or a postcard, to let 'em know that Senate procedures should continue to require 60 votes for cloture.

A thread is going about like this:

A thread is going about like this:

OP: Here's evidence of proposition A! Isn't that neat?
Court Jester: Hey, the picture is silly!
Me: Hey, cool. I don't have access to the original academic article, do you?
Idiot: Hey, that rigorous scientific evidence goes against the anecdotal evidence I gathered in an entirely different domain. You're evidence is wrong.

Even six months ago, I would have run that idiot through with a verbal sword. Not today.

But man do I want to.

They fixxed it! Clicking into the text of a post is no longer moving to the comments.

They fixxed it! Clicking into the text of a post is no longer moving to the comments.

Huzzah.

April 5 - Down 1.1 pounds overnight.

April 5 - Down 1.1 pounds overnight.

Walked a mile or so, but no real exercise.

Less than half a pound to go. The first little bit of weight loss is remarkably different than the end.

Basically, instead of beer I'm drinking unsweetened iced tea. And boom, weight falls right off. This'll get me through the early parts of weight loss, but for sure not the end.

HAMILTON

April 4 - Down 0.4 pounds overnight.

April 4 - Down 0.4 pounds overnight.

Slept better. I didn't work out, as my knee felt wrong and that's one thing I'm not willing to mess with.

1.5 pounds to go. Astonishing what happens when you stop drinking.

I presnted these options for my Mage's experience trigger: Endanger yourself for magic, Act on secrets to benefit a...

I presnted these options for my Mage's experience trigger: Endanger yourself for magic, Act on secrets to benefit a group, Refuse the easy solution.

A player might ask, "So ... mages can't gain XP from using violence to protect magic?

I ask you, internet: Can these mages gain XP from using violence to protect magic?

[ As a note: The first of these actually happened. They have gotten further from what's happened at the table as we've gone along. ]

April 3 - Down 1.8 pounds overnight.

April 3 - Down 1.8 pounds overnight.

I didn't sleep well, which explains a lot of that. My metabolism never quite shut down. That I also ate reasonably and exercises cannot explain a nearly two pounds swing.

That'll come back, but it is a nice way to start the week. Less than 2 pounds to go, and essentially all month left.

I presnted these options for my Mage's reason for being a squatter: crimes convicted, left for dead, mental illness,...

I presnted these options for my Mage's reason for being a squatter: crimes convicted, left for dead, mental illness, serious injury, many events

A player might ask, "So ... mages can't be a squatter because of a lack of education?

I ask you, internet: Can these mages be squatters due to a lack of education?

[ As a note: The first of these _actually happened. They have gotten further from what's happened at the table as we've gone along. ]_

April 2

April 2

Last year, I lost a bunch of weight thanks to creating a financial incentive. That is, last year I arranged it such that I'd either lose weight, or give money to the local catholic church for social activism. I lost nearly 30 pounds, almost 20 of which is back.

Now that it is warm outside, I wanted to do another such bet. The catholic church has a new arch bishop, and are no longer shitbags. I mean, I'm sure they still do shitty things but they no longer broadcast it.

The member of the US house of representatives one seat over is Comstock. She's terrible. She had a billboard about overturning the ACA, which she was unable to being down after they failed so miserably.

By the end of April, I will be at 215 pounds or else Comstock gets $200 of my money. If I succeed, I plan to give the same money to the ACLU.

All of this will be in my Bad Bets collection, which is easy enough to opt out of if this sort of thing squicks you out.

Would back.

Would back.

Originally shared by Willow Palecek

Presenting: Powered by the Apocalypse World

A roleplaying game about roleplaying games, and the people who write them.

Powered by the Apocalypse.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ub1g2u9qg9plupo/PbtaW.pdf?dl=0