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    2. Arkandel
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    Posts made by Arkandel

    • RE: RL things I love

      I've been reading up on D&D 5E as part of running a new campaign in RL... and it's so much fun. It's a well written system in general - every class looks cool, full of stuff I'd love to play with and work towards.

      Dammit, I wish there was a good 5E MUSH around, or running an online campaign wasn't a pain in the ass due to schedules. It's easier to arrange it iRL since junk food makes for a powerful motivator to get together. 😛

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Random links

      @lisse24 If that's what you want to take from that, sure. But I look at it like this - people appreciate quality stuff but they consume fun stuff.

      We keep complaining about how Hollywood keeps making the latter but from a producer's point of view there is simply no choice to be made; the upside of making content people appreciate but don't watch is very minimal. Like any investment they need to appeal to what the market wants.

      What's even more interesting in this case is that this is Netflix we're talking about. There's no price differential here - both critically acclaimed and guilty-pleasure stuff are a click away, already paid for... yet people still chose the latter.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Random links

      https://qz.com/1188058/netflix-explains-why-badly-reviewed-bright-killed-with-viewers/

      Relevant quote: "Netflix nixed its old star-rating system last year because people used it to rate the quality of the titles, like critics do, rather than how much they enjoyed them. For example, people usually gave movies high ratings, but watched sitcoms more often, Netflix said at the time."

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Internet Attacks? Why?

      You are 80% Socialiser

      You are also:

      80% Achiever

      27% Killer

      13% Explorer

      Who needs exploration, bah. You can google that kind of crap.

      posted in Mildly Constructive
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Comfort Food...

      @fortydeuce said in Comfort Food...:

      I have baklava from Greece, thanks to my Greek housemate who went home for the holidays!

      I never liked balkava. I'm a traitor to my own people.

      Also wth goes to Greece in the winter? Wait for the summer, person!

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Random links

      http://comicbook.com/tv-shows/2018/01/24/supernatural-scooby-doo-crossover-tease/

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: RL Anger

      @tinuviel said in RL Anger:

      I don't think of taxation as taxation. I think of it as 'living in this country rent and fees'.

      How about paying proportionally higher rent and fees than your much richer neighbor?

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Social Awkwardness?

      @sockmonkey said in Social Awkwardness?:

      I appreciate that there are functions available for my more sociable colleagues. Haha, if anything, it gives them an outlet to socialize away from me.

      What I don't like is when work-social events are made to feel like part of the job and that you are damaging your career and chance for advancement when you don't participate.

      Oh, making you go do anything on your own time is quite annoying. Unless you pay me it should my choice whether to invest my time like that or not.

      However I definitely don't consider myself a sociable person per se. If anything I'm an introvert; if you leave me to my own devices I'll choose to go home and play video games, watch TV or any number of solo activities. Even my workout of choice is solitary. I don't even like generically hanging out; I need an activity to tolerate groups larger than a couple of people. But I make it a point to force myself to socialize just because I don't think it's healthy for me to avoid people.

      What I do know is that even like that it's definitely benefited my career so far to socialize. I don't do it for that purpose (there are more efficient ways to go about that) but there's absolutely an upside to knowing people I wouldn't have normally hanged out with by their first names; we get to call on favors, feel better about going over to ask questions and generally we take advantage of this familiarity. It's just how it is.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: RL Anger

      @ganymede said in RL Anger:

      I guess I simply find it luxuriant to pay lip service to how wrong the process is -- you're not incorrect -- when the grim reality is that the benefit is demonstrably worth what is described as a "cost."

      Oh I quite agree it's worth it to the city that 'wins' this. It does. If it didn't, after all, it wouldn't be as sought out as it is - these guys aren't stupid, they've crunched the numbers. Ultimately cities get more than they lose out on.

      What I begrudge so heavily is the long term effect of corporations leveraging themselves into increasing their bottom of line by cutting into society's as a whole. They concede and contribute as little as possible through creative accounting and tax shelters while we all try to beat each other in what is becoming a zero-sum game; some cities win, some lose.

      But also consider the hidden costs of all this. For example say that Amazon comes to your part of the woods! A big win, for sure. However how screwed would you be if you were running a local business and now had to compete on recruitment for the same people as they do? How about if you're not an employee but were hoping to rent (or, worse, own) a house there when the real estate market skyrockets?

      I dunnot. I'll get off my high horse now though. Yee-haw!

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: RL Anger

      @ganymede said in RL Anger:

      I don't mean to start a political argument -- we can do that elsewhere -- but is there something inherently wrong with municipal corporations and/or townships or counties competing against one another to attract employers that will draw in much-needed commercial activity and income taxes?

      I don't think it's a political argument per se since what peeves me is hardly limited to any one party, so I think it still falls within the scope of 'RL anger'.

      But yes, I think there is. It's the part where different cities are racing to the bottom against each other - as if that does anyone but let slightly less water into the boat from one side than the other.

      Almost by definition the gains a township stands to make from their association with large corporations like this is as small as possible; after all, if they had bargained harder they'd have lost the bidding war, since another municipality would have been able to offer a better deal.

      Yes, there are considerable benefits to having a corporation around - well paid, smart people get pulled there, spending their income on local businesses. The positive impact though is significant reduced due to the concessions they need to make so that the company will choose them in the first place. All that's done is trying to replace direct taxation on these companies themselves with income taxes from their employees' salaries.

      In the mean time not only them but everyone is deprived of extra taxes that would cover part of the impact the business has, and over time as the corporation's profit margins wise, everyone else's shrink. The fabled trickle-down effect in the economy is lessened; financial markers might be going up, but personal wealth is reduced for the majority. The middle class taking hits is never a good thing in the long run.

      That's what I find inherently wrong, and why it annoys me.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Freelance NPC Offer

      @coin Maybe something like https://www.windowscentral.com/clatter-all-one-messenger-app-thatll-make-your-life-easier or https://meetfranz.com/ could help?

      posted in A Shout in the Dark
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Social Awkwardness?

      @sockmonkey said in Social Awkwardness?:

      FUCK OFFICE SOCIAL EVENTS.

      Maaan you'd hate me. I'm that guy who set up company basketball games every Friday and keep trying to set up playing in leagues wearing our colors. I go to soccer every Thursday - and I hate soccer. I've bugged my boss to set up lunch time events (volunteer only, of course) with board games, and asked around for bowling, escape rooms and laser tag to see what their group prices are.

      I dunno. I like hanging out with people from work under circumstances which aren't work related. In fact I heavily discourage talking about work-stuff at all during those; it's just an opportunity for us to know each other as people a bit better.

      Even more so I find I bond with and work better with people I've had fun with and give a shit about. It lets me learn more about them; do they whine when they lose and blame their failures on someone else or do they try to play to their strengths and pick on roles they can do better at? Do they celebrate someone else's cool moments and not just their own? Will they defer to others if they're in a better position to score?

      Dunno. I agree though that if these things were forced and/or 'heavily encouraged' it'd be just another chore, and thus horrible. Basically if there's any kind of work hierarchy carried over to the event it's useless to me. You can be a manager elsewhere, but on the court you're just you, and I'm going to drop f-bombs as freely as anywhere else.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: RL Anger

      @dontpanda said in RL Anger:

      @arkandel Taxation is theft in general. The only thing that changes is how deeply into your pockets they'll make you go.

      If the theft in question is proportionate and everyone chips in according to their ability and even general impact on the economy then I'm in favor of it. Someone has to pay for road maintenance, policing and education after all.

      But it just bugs me how much corporations get away with in general. For example consider Amazon's new headquarters soliciting a taxation race to the bottom for cities where a massive corporation is being granted mass favors in order to build their installation somewhere in particular.

      Whichever city wins their favor (and all the other suitors for that matter) will still be among the major market segments the company's products will be sold in, its local infrastructure will bear the weight of all the extra traffic resulting from the logistical impact the mere existence of the headquarters will have, yet they will pay peanuts compared to other local companies who've been there all along. It will be overall better in the long run - but everyone else will be worse for it.

      There's an inequality there that's only getting worse. Which of course is only compounded by studies showing the world's 1% earned 82% of the total wealth generated in 2017, which are really frustrating numbers to look at.

      posted in Tastes Less Game'y
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Goldfish's playlist

      @auspice Is it already open or a work in progress?

      posted in A Shout in the Dark
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: [Original Supernatural/Vampire MUSH] Houses of the Blood MUSH

      @bobotron said in [Original Supernatural/Vampire MUSH] Houses of the Blood MUSH:

      I'm debating whether or not to whirl this out into a full-fledged plot thing.

      It's a cool idea. Resurrected vampires is a strong trope in pop culture (how many times was Dracula brought back in Hammer films?) and no game has explored it much to my knowledge since Final Death was a thing in V:tM and V:tR.

      What you'll need to ask at first is how it's to be utilized. For starters how easy/doable is it? How rare would it be?

      • If it's supposed to be rare then, while it can be a cool plot to bring PCs (or NPCs I suppose) back, how do you make sure it's not done for everyone who croaks?

      • If it's common then how do you maintain the element of risk? If I know my PC can be brought back with a quickie ritual then why not dive head-in every time there's a bad guy in town?

      It also bears mentioning that if the means to prevent bloodsuckers from coming back (say, if it takes part of their ashes) then you can rest assured nearly every plot that ends with someone's destruction will automatically involve vacuum cleaners and quick trips to the nearest toilet as well, trivializing such means.

      Overall I like the direction, not because of resurrection in particular but for thinking out of the box and coming up with stuff White Wolf never tried. It could breathe new life (har-har) into the idea of roleplaying vampires in general. I'd say your biggest risk - if you want to call it that - is that it'd be different enough that people won't give it a chance since it'd involve reading and re-learning how to do familiar things differently.

      posted in Adver-tis-ments
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Armageddon MUD

      @bronn said in Armageddon MUD:

      I don't really care about how many people you managed to rope into signing up for a forum account to jump in and defend Arm's honor. Once someone immerses themselves in Armageddon for a while it becomes blatantly obvious that players - especially the veterans - have formed an exclusive club.

      Please review the forum rules.

      If you wish to criticize the game or those who run it then you - or anyone else - are free to create a new thread in the Constructive or Hog Pit section and please do so there.

      posted in Adver-tis-ments
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Armageddon MUD

      @shaleah I might be misreading it, but please let's not ridicule games because they are played differently than what we're used to.

      posted in Adver-tis-ments
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Armageddon MUD

      @evilcabbage said in Armageddon MUD:

      i am one of the credible sources - in fact, pretty much everybody is credible, because we're not here as players to make you as a newbie feel unwelcome.

      I have no reason to doubt anything you say. But a piece of advice if you will - being either credible or welcoming is one of those things better shown than told.

      it's not that we don't want to help a new player play as a grizzled veteran warrior, but they - like all of us - have to earn that. i still have to earn it, and the earning it is the best part of it for me.

      Hey, to each their own. What you are describing wouldn't be fun for me - playing for eight years and still not 'having earned' something in a game doesn't sound great - but as long as you and your players are entertained more power to y'all.

      posted in Adver-tis-ments
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Armageddon MUD

      @evilcabbage said in Armageddon MUD:

      sure, but by that same token just because you roll into the game as a 40 year old veteran of hunting does not mean we should have to give you knowledge, because you the player haven't even done anything to earn that.

      You (which I assume means 'staff') don't need to give anyone anything. What players have 'earned' is up to the game; some allow more experienced characters to be rolled, some not so much. The one caveat here is that it needs to be universal - if you went and told person A that they haven't earned their stripes so they can't be a veteran, but went ahead and approved person B's veteran character then it'd be a big no-no.

      Either way you have got to make it clear what expectations are from newly rolled characters' skill level. It shouldn't be trial and error (especially if your players will get the impression it's subjective, erroneously or not), this sort of thing ought to be clearly stated ahead of time.

      you just jumped into a world that you are unfamiliar with, in a land you don't understand yet as a person, and you want to start at like, the height of a career.

      By nature newcomers to games don't know much about what's going on, but unless you only roll newcomer characters as well then the latter's IC experience will be greater than their players. For instance if I rolled a peasant on Arx, knowing nothing about Arx OOC, my character will still know way more than I do about the world. You can't escape that fact, even though a well documented friendly web site for your MU* can certainly help.

      but i'm personally not going to tell you where to find ginka fruits or where to get such and such shell that sells for like two thousand coins because it's so ridiculously rare. there's things you have to do yourself, you have to make mistakes and learn from them.

      You get to choose what you tell players, sure. It's your prerogative.

      if you roll in as a new player into the game, you have to take into consideration this: can i, as a new player, believably portray that i am, in fact, a 40 year old hunter?

      A better expectation to have is this: "Am I, as a new player, allowed to roll a 40-year old hunter?" If you make your game's rules what they need to be, ensure they are visible and keep them fairly applied universally then no one gets to complain; they might choose to not play there, that's their prerogative, but you'd have done everything from your end to help them make an educated choice.

      posted in Adver-tis-ments
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
    • RE: Armageddon MUD

      @evilcabbage said in Armageddon MUD:

      so if you're brand new and you roll up a 40 year old, grizzled hunting veteran, should i explain to you as a new player oocly where to find everything

      No, just like if you're brand new on any modern game and you roll up a 22 year old computer hacker, staff doesn't need to explain to them OOC how nmap works.

      Roleplaying is an abstraction. You don't have (or you very rarely do) the information, experience or expertise your characters do. Do you suppose all those doctors on TV have graduated from medical school?

      posted in Adver-tis-ments
      Arkandel
      Arkandel
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