TRPG General Chat

@Rubiksmoose One of the best moments! And I try not to rank Doctors objectively, but subjectively Four is... not actually usually in my top half of favorites, but the competition is very fierce.

Rubiksmoose

@trogdor heck, you're right. In fact, we should burn ALL THE TAGS!

trogdor

lol

Rubiksmoose

[cackles madly]

trogdor

EXTERMINATE

XD

Rubiksmoose

2:00 AM

@BESW it really is hard to rank them. I like different aspects of different doctors and they all have their highs and lows

though I have fallen off the bandwagon a few years back so I can't even speak to the most recent one or the later half of the last one.

trogdor

That's true but some of them have been tainted by moffatry

I stopped watching much Who for a long time because of that

Rubiksmoose

grrrrrr moffat.

trogdor

I'm hoping now the show will be less annoying without him

And his dumb ideas

Rubiksmoose

I hope so as well. I was super happy when I heard he was out. But then I just couldn't muster the enthusiasm to come back.

I honestly don't know why

I used to love it so much

trogdor

I still can't look at David Tennant's face without getting a little mad and its not his fault

@Rubiksmoose we should start a support group

XD

Rubiksmoose

2:05 AM

@trogdor hahaha we should

and its not a lady doctor thing either. I love that idea and love that they did it. And I wish they had done it sooner.

trogdor

I assumed it wasn't because that's a pretty recent development

And it couldn't have come at a better time (Except way sooner) Because now Moffat doesn't get to write the first Lady Doctor

Rubiksmoose

Thank. Heavens.

trogdor

He's honestly rubbish at writing women

BESW

@Rubiksmoose I encourage you to give the new Doctor a try. It's not perfect, but it's aggressively non-Moffat in ways I really enjoyed. There's a proper old-school team in the TARDIS like New Who never did before. Thirteen is one of the most emotionally intelligent Doctors since Seven, but is adorably socially awkward because... alien.

Rubiksmoose

Moffat did write some good episodes IIRC, but I feel like he screwed up in huge ways that more than reversed his occasional goodness.

trogdor

2:09 AM

@BESW I've liked what I have seen so far

@Rubiksmoose I think he had good individual episodes, he never should have been given full show control though

Rubiksmoose

@BESW I might have to. I want to in theory, but its more like the mood hasn't hit me.

BESW

That's fair.

And it's a different kind of Doctor Who, takes a little while to adjust to the new groove.

trogdor

@Rubiksmoose I mean, being burned out by the show for such a long time will do that

BESW

Not as dramatic as, say, going from Two to Three, though. More Ten-to-Eleven-ish.

Rubiksmoose

I think the tiring part of DW is that it has never been levelly good. It has always been really uneven. And that is irritating because being a now responsible house-hunting adult, my time is even more scarce and generally I like to know that what I am about to watch will be good most of the time you know?

And in the past DW has has infuriatingly bad episodes. Even to my uncritical eye.

trogdor

2:12 AM

I wouldn't argue against that for sure

Anything with the Unspeakable One in it is on my bad list for sure

Rubiksmoose

I still remember the painfully bad episode where the moon was an egg.

BESW

Doctor Who has always been, in the words of Harry Brewis, "a little bit shite." Anybody who goes in expecting it to be consistently good, or even consistently anything, is setting themselves up for disappointment.

Rubiksmoose

And literally nothing made sense. Not even DW sense.

trogdor

Thankfully didn't see the moon egg one

Sounded a little dumb to be sure

Rubiksmoose

I think it was the only time a show has made me so angry at how bad it was.

BESW

2:13 AM

And yeah, I totally get how that's frustrating for people who have very little time and want to spend it on really good stuff.

Rubiksmoose

@BESW hahaha perfectly said.

BESW

Doctor Who's greatest crime, in my opinion, is not when it's bad, but when it's boring.

trogdor

I didn't watch any Capaldi Doctor at all because Moffat

Rubiksmoose

That being said though, it never really bothered me that much until I hit a really rough streak. That moon episode was probably the beginning of the end for me.

BESW

And boring was a lot of Moffat, largely because he repeated himself. Even the moon-egg one was only non-boring in terms of its metanarrative context; the story itself was limp and predictable.

I'm gonna suggest this Twitter account:

Positive Whoniverse

@Positive_Who, A TARDIS 🙂

~~We just love Doctor Who~~ We are here to celebrate and enjoy all that this wonderful show brings us. One thing we ask: say something nice.

1.8k tweets, 1.7k followers, following 1.7k users

Rubiksmoose

2:15 AM

@BESW Can I just have a mini-rant and say how incredibly dumb it was that the moon hatched and was immediately replaced by a new egg for literally no reason in the span of like 5 minutes. In space?

And this knowledge just didn't bother or upset anybody.

@BESW ooooo. I can always do with more postivity. [shuffles papers over the last 5 minutes of my conversation]

trogdor

I don't understand anything anyone ever says about it

BESW

@Rubiksmoose Sure, but I figure it just was grown and laid during the same continuity hole that Moffat lost all of Gallifrey in.

trogdor

The egg getting immediately replaced is up there

Rubiksmoose

I wasn't even aware that the episode was disliked by others besides me honestly.

@BESW hahahaha

trogdor

I hate it and I didn't even see it

:P

BESW

2:19 AM

@Rubiksmoose Oh yes, it is despised by many. Not least because of its hamfisted abortion metaphor.

Rubiksmoose

@BESW yeah there were just so many things about it that were bad.

I felt bad because IIRC it was a first time writer who did it.

@trogdor I usually advocate for judging for yourself...but yeah don't bother lol

trogdor

@Rubiksmoose the thing is, I don't have time to watch an episode of Who that most people hated for reasons I think I would also hate it

XD

Especially one during Moffatry run era

No thanks

Rubiksmoose

I must say moffatry is a great word that I'm stealing

trogdor

That's fine I stole it too

BESW

I will say, I loved the last companion of the Moffat era. Bill was awesome and I wanted more of her, but I was really mad about how they retired the character.

trogdor

2:23 AM

It's made to be stolen

BESW

Almost everyone Moffat cast was excellent, they just got handed some really questionable scripts.

trogdor

Yeah but that's the thing

He ruins good things as a matter of course

Rubiksmoose

@BESW I know I left before Bill, but I remember them being highly regarded in general I think?

trogdor

I'm more than done with him

BESW

I will also recommend this stop-motion YouTube channel:

The Adventures of Doctor Puppet

Rubiksmoose

2:25 AM

@trogdor I love Tenant and not even Moffat can ruin that.

trogdor

That's good

BESW

Tennant's Doctor is hard for me because he's so human and that's not what I want from the Doctor, but I totally get why he's the favorite for a lot of people.

user15026

I really should give Doctor Who another chance again

Rubiksmoose

I'm honestly getting inspired to do so as well.

BESW

@Rubiksmoose Have I shown you the Fate characters I made for a 50th anniversary game?

Rubiksmoose

2:32 AM

a looooong time ago I think. I'd love to look again

trogdor

Like I said before, it's not Tennant's fault, but his face makes me mad now

user15026

I watched the first ep of 13 but then I didn't have money to get the rest and I forgot about it because I am bad at forgetting

Rubiksmoose

<3 K-9

trogdor

Same with the Unspeakable Ones actress

user15026

or really good at forgetting depending on your view

trogdor

2:33 AM

I hated her character, she isn't at fault

Moffatry the dumb man is at fault

He can go away forever

BESW

@Ash I find that Doctor Who tends to be better if you let it sit a while and cool off.

...now I want to go watch Tomb of the Cybermen again.

Rubiksmoose

I just mentioned this convo to my wife and she independtly brought up the egg ep and said it was the reason we stopped watching DW. Funny because I thought that was a realization I had just reached lol

user15026

I haven't watched in an active sense since....somwhere in the 12/Clara sstuff when I got bored and mad

user15026

And I know that it's different now but I just...I dunno

Rubiksmoose

I'm with you and I totally get it.

user15026

2:35 AM

I want to not hate it but I am hesitant to give it space

BESW

Clara is a very reasonable reason to stop watching. That whole era was... challenging...

Rubiksmoose

It has something to do with getting so angry or disappointed at something that something in you flips off.

Even though things before or after may have been much better

I think that is how I am rationalizing what happened to me.

trogdor

The Unspeakable One was the beginning of the end for me

BESW

Makes sense.

Rubiksmoose

I'm not even sure I know what the Unspeakable One is...

BESW

2:36 AM

@Rubiksmoose ....would a Doctor Who/Star Trek crossover be a tempting reintegration point?

@Rubiksmoose Trogdor has deep-rooted anger about River Song.

Rubiksmoose

@BESW You know I have never watched Star Trek. So probably not the best leaping in point.

BESW

@Rubiksmoose Fair enough.

Rubiksmoose

@BESW ohhhhhh ok. I thought it may have been a euphemism at first but then I thought it was something literal lol. I can get that very much. That was not a great period of time.

@BESW Do you have another suggested leaping in point?

1st episode of the lady doctor maybe?

BTW not trying to be dismissive when I say that. I just can't remember #s of the Drs or the name of most of the actors/resses

BESW

Yes, Jodie Whittaker's Doctor (Thirteen) in Series 11 provides a good jumping-on point. There's little-to-no references to anything prior, it's designed to be a good start for new viewers or returning viewers who were disenchanted.

New companions, new plots, you don't even get an old enemy until the New Year's special.

Rubiksmoose

awesome. I might just do that sometime soon.

trogdor

2:42 AM

@BESW not inaccurate

BESW

@Rubiksmoose iTunes has a season pass for $26.

Rubiksmoose

@BESW that's a steal

BESW

Looks like Amazon Prime has the same if you're a Prime Person.

(Netflix and Hulu struck out.)

Rubiksmoose

@BESW I would like to say that I am not, but that would be inaccurate

user15026

@BESW I wonder if that applies here as often those things don't. But the iTunes one might.

BESW

2:47 AM

I do feel like it's important to offer a few warnings; the first episode has a wham moment that felt exploitative for many viewers, and episode 7 is clearly labelled as Full Of Spiders and you really should take the label seriously.

user15026

@BESW oh right okay that's why I feel vaguely angry at it

Rubiksmoose

@BESW Noted.

trogdor

Yeah they aren't kidding about the spiders

BESW

There's also a couple of episodes that really show why Doctor Who historicals are almost impossible to do properly: when the Doctor encounters systemic injustice in the future or far away, she does everything she can to disrupt it immediately. But when she encounters systemic injustice in Earth's past... well, less so.

trogdor

Don't watch that one if that's an issue

user15026

2:49 AM

I might just buy episode 2 and see how that goes, if it won't do the same wham thing to me because that was not cool

user15026

@BESW ah, yes, I recall Twitter ire at the thing

Rubiksmoose

@BESW Not having seen the new ones, I do recall this being a long-running issue with most DW historicals no?

(not that it at all lets it off the hook for continuing it, just checking my memory)

@trogdor goodness, there must be a signifanct amount of spiders lol

trogdor

It's more than that

BESW

@Rubiksmoose yes, though the Old Who historicals often managed to get around it just by the Doctor not being an intergalactic badass, but somebody the locals could bully around like anyone else.

trogdor

They may also, in fact definitely are, uncomfortable sizes

BESW

2:52 AM

And this season is especially prone to the problem: Episode 5 has the TARDIS fam meet Rosa Parks; Episode 11 takes place during the Partition of India; Episode 15 is about 17th century witch-hunting.

Rubiksmoose

oh yeah... I remember hearing scuttlebut about the Rosa Parks one

BESW

It was... the best episode they could have done, I suspect.

Given the constraints of the show's core conceit.

@Ash [checks]

@Ash Aside from moderately scary monsters, people being cruelly selfish, and a hostile environment, I think the only wham you might run into is that there's a queer character who, although they survive the episode, has a backstory of misery and loss which defines them almost completely.

user15026

@BESW okay, so watch spoons a little then.

BESW

I loved the ending of episode 2, though. Literally open-mouthed and bouncy.

user15026

I am so torn then :p

BESW

3:00 AM

Episode 2 is also a good example of how this season aspired to a more cinematic aesthetic while trying to do more Old-Who-style stories.

I think the best way to improve the season would've been to cut the number of stories in half and given each story two episodes to play out.

trogdor

@BESW Except spiders because that's just mean

BESW

@trogdor Maybe spiders would've been one of the stories to cut.

trogdor

Fair

I don't think it was the worst episode, bit I do think making it into two is needlessly cruel to arachnaphobic Dr Who fans

For sure

BESW

4:07 AM

PK Sullivan and Stephen Blackmoore on Fate of Cthulhu and Punching Elder Gods.

trogdor

4:26 AM

Not sure I entirely like the direction of this

Geoffrey Lim

Direction?

trogdor

Well it combines Terminator with Mythos stuff, and as cool as that sounds I feel like that tarnishes both of them

And really a bunch of the ideas they have talked about don't grab me as much as they probably want them to

trogdor

4:46 AM

I also have lost some of my taste for stories that have a bitter Sweet or downright horrible ending

It's not a complete deal breaker but it's not the best foot forward

V2Blast

from my Monday night 5e game. so after our party's (full) Battle Master fighter kicked the BBEG rakshasa prone (with a nat. 20 +15 on Athletics, thanks to expertise from the Prodigy feat), hit him a bit, Action Surged to hit him some more, and grappled him... (my Mastermind rogue 9/Battle Master fighter 6) Vic came in there to do some damage.

(for context, that game has a house-rule where, on crits resulting from a nat. 20, any damage dice that roll the maximum on the die get rolled again and added to the damage, aka "exploding crits.")

BESW

5:38 AM

@trogdor I have recently decided that my goal for horror games is best called "compassionate dread."

trogdor

5:52 AM

@BESW that sounds like a good goal

Hot RPG Questions

6:50 AM

3

Q: Can one use the reaction spell from the War Caster feat to cast Bigby's Hand?

My friend and I are having a debate about this. The War Caster feat (PHB, p. 170) says: When a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature, rather than making an opportunity attack. The spell must have a casti...

Stackstuck

7:09 AM

yo

linksassin

@Stackstuck g'day

Stackstuck

Apparently there's a new fancy mobile chat, which is nice, because I wanted to go off about something, but didn't quite have the time to phrase it in the form of an actionable question on meta, and it is thus: why is the [spell-slots] tag so DnD-centric?

Like, it actively calls out to DnD in the description.

linksassin

For the record "I wanted to go off about something" won't be welcome either on meta or chat. But "have a polite discussion about" is most definitely welcome

Are you referring to the tag-wiki?

Stackstuck

Yes? The description that pops up.

@linksassin it's hyperbole. Not actually planning on a chat-nuking rant sort of thing. But I am slightly irked, nonetheless. [insert shrug here]

linksassin

I'm not a mod so I can't tell you how is got to be that way. But I can look at the tag page: rpg.stackexchange.com/tags/spell-slots/info

@Stackstuck I know it's tongue in cheek, at least I was hoping it was. Sometimes people do come here to rant though.

The tag is likely D&D centric because so far it has been used on 14 questions all of which are also tagged dnd-5e

The tag wiki and except aren't particularly well developed since it isn't a popular tag.

If you suggest an edit to the wiki it will be put into a review queue that high rep users can approve. I would have no issue approving a less D&D-centric tag wiki

Stackstuck

7:20 AM

Mm. I mention this because someone recently tried to tag it onto my question about Anima: Beyond Fantasy's Free Access spells, where I used the word 'slot' a lot. It's not about a casting resource, anyway, but the description not being mostly system-agnostic kind of irks me.

I think I might do that.

BESW

Tag wikis are for describing the tag's use cases. If the use case expands in a reasonable way, the tag wiki should be modified accordingly!

linksassin

Slot =/= spell slot. If you are trying to make it useful for non spell based slots that won't be approved. I'm not familiar with Anima so I can't speak to the particular mechanic you are referring to. 'Spell-slot' should be a particular game term in order use the tag.

Just judging from your question though, Anima's mechanic certainly seems to qualify as a 'spell-slot' and the tag should expand accordingly

BESW

I'll make the change to the wiki. It's reasonable and simple and my rep level means it'll just happen.

Oh you already make the suggestion! [approves]

Stackstuck

@linksassin the question is about learning spells, not so much casting them. To analogize to DnD, it's like saying "I have a spell list that's too short, would it be unbalanced to convert some of my first-level spells known into second-level", except less obviously kinda silly. Anima's got this whole system for learning magic, distinct from casting it.

And the Free Access spells are definitely the weird ones of the bunch.

linksassin

Also approved. I'm not sure how many votes it takes before it is approve. Usually 3 or 5 for most things

BESW

7:30 AM

Thank you for improving the tag wiki! As for this specific case, I think it's best for people familiar with the system at hand, and especially the asker, to take priority in determining how to tag a question. I don't know the system so I can't speak to it.

@linksassin It's gone through.

linksassin

@Stackstuck As BESW said, if you believe it is analagous to spell-slots feel free to tag your question as such. Without knowing the system my opinion doesn't mean much.

Stackstuck

I kind of feel like there should be a tag for like, the Spells Known vs. [spell-slots], but I dunno how to name it. But I don't think Anima has spell slots, because it has a mana bar instead.

Do y'all think [spells-known] is a bit DnD-centric of a term?

linksassin

@Stackstuck You have enough rep to create tags. It is only D&D-centric if no other system uses it. Does Anima have a term for the spells you know?

BESW

Do you think the combination of spells and anima-beyond-fantasy is sufficiently narrow to lead experts in the spell-learning system to your question?

Carcer

@KorvinStarmast yes

linksassin

7:37 AM

Here is a little general list I use to gauge the usefulness of a tag:

Ask yourself how many questions you have about this topic: is this probably the only one or is this a topic you want to ask about more regularly?
Look through the existing questions: how many already use the word or similar words and might profit from the tag?
Look through the existing tags: is one of them already encompassing what you are trying to convey?
Look through Meta: have there been similar requests or precedent cases where something similar has been created/denied?

source: writing.meta.stackexchange.com/a/1498/33442

Stackstuck

@linksassin not directly - there's Path Level for spells from a specific magic path, some of which are Free Access spells which are chosen by the individual caster as you go, but no overall term for your spells known.

Good advice on the tag creating/tag wiki thing.

linksassin

I can't take credit for it. It was written by @Secespitus

Stackstuck

@BESW Eh...Possibly? But like, a) I actually doubt the existence of any experts - my GM has been asking me how things work, and that's never a good sign - and b) I feel like narrowing it with [spell-slots] which Anima doesn't have really is kind of disingenuous. Is there a tag we use for the process of choosing spells?

BESW

character-creation or character-advancement combined with spells?

Stackstuck

hmm

could be

Stackstuck

8:21 AM

Also, I definitely should add [house-rules]...because this is a house rule (in potentia)...

Stackstuck

8:35 AM

Honestly though, I'd be happy to get any answer to half of the A:BF questions I've asked recently. Getting upvotes is nice, but I seem to be getting no answers to half of them. I'm half considering a bounty...

looks at the block of Swiss cheese I believe I've made up here: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/144076/…

BESW

Yeah, I hear ya. I've got entire systems tags I've created and asked multiple questions in but got no answers.

Stackstuck

oof.

BESW

I feel your pain.

Check out ki-khanga.

Stackstuck

8:50 AM

Indeed I can empathize. A poorly written game manual? Check. Nobody seems to be answering questions for it? Check. Weird mechanics? Check, check, and double-check.

I'd offer to try, but, well, I've never heard of this game til now.

BESW

[grin] I backed the Kickstarter because I wanted to support African-sourced fantasy in RPGs and was intrigued by the card-based system.

Unfortunately the execution makes it one of the most unplayable RPGs I've ever actually wanted to play.

trogdor

yeah

that was,.... disapointing

also, I will never let go of that one monster that was broken as hell

it travels in packs, and can paralize everyone in one mile by yelling

and there seems to be no restriction on how long that lasts or how often they can do it or anything

and again,... within a mile? come on man

Hot RPG Questions

11:22 AM

4

Q: Poison Arrows Piercing damage reduced to 0, do you still get poisoned?

I have created a fighter, who is using heavy armor and has the Heavy Armor Master feat. The Heavy Armor Master Feat states that: While you are wearing Heavy Armor, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage that you take from non-magical Weapons is reduced by 3. This character was shot an...

dnd-5e feats damage-reduction

KorvinStarmast

12:14 PM

@Carcer OK. That issue right there was a root cause of some of the friction over that tag that well predates my time at this stack.

BESW

12:27 PM

every time i see the phrase "b&b" i know i'm supposed to think of a bed and breakfast, but thanks to the internet my brain always defaults to "bungeons and bragons"

Tweeted by marysuewriter on April 8, 2019 at 3:49 PM

If a character dying would derail a campaign so you would rather Fudge rolls I offer another option. Take note from a game that uses Countdown Clocks. A Thread https://twitter.com/DungeonCommandr/status/1115318585704849408

Tweeted by evaoddveig on April 8, 2019 at 7:17 PM

Just a reminder: reading a story you love aloud to people you love is a fully sacred thing. Let this be a thing that happens not just between caring adults and the littlest children. Read to each other. It is lovely.

Tweeted by NightSkyGames on April 8, 2019 at 8:19 PM

KorvinStarmast

12:40 PM

@V2Blast What was the final damage done?

nitsua60

@BESW It's not even available to elected mods: meta.stackexchange.com/q/124504/311001

doppelgreener

12:56 PM

@nitsua60 Wow. I thought we had that.

KorvinStarmast

@doppelgreener @nitsua60 As I read through that meta, I appreciated the caution with which that tool was approached. There are certain functions that once energized can't be undone. They want to avoid that.

BESW

David Coffron

@BESW EAD recursion is how I like my muderbots.

BESW

doppelgreener

@KorvinStarmast Same. There's very good reasons to not offer that.

KorvinStarmast

1:09 PM

@doppelgreener I keep getting timed out when I try to make a comment on meta. for your answer on the RAW thing, in your little bullet header It definitely means things to different people I think you meant to write It definitely means different things to different people ...

doppelgreener

Even assuming good intent, it's a pretty dangerous operation. And then you factor in that sometimes moderators go rogue: a SO moderator could do a lot of damage worldwide by deleting the top 10 or so tags on the site.

KorvinStarmast

@doppelgreener For sure. Even an honest mistake could do some damage.

@doppelgreener I am thinking back to a problem in a data cube about 20 years ago where a field got corrupted and about 700 million dollars worth of spare parts simply disappeared from inventory. The people up in Boston (our upstream office) went in trying to find out what happened; one of the ladies who worked in our office was very old school and kept a lot of stuff in print outs ... she forwarded her two previous months work to Boston the old fashioned way

doppelgreener

@KorvinStarmast oops, you're right. thanks!

These are very different statements...

KorvinStarmast

One of our people drove the boxes of stuff to boston. That helped them identify what went wrong, and uncorrupt that thing. (I am not database smart enough to describe that furhter)

vicky_molokh

Since the issue's been raised, are the Four Criteria to begin a burning applicable network-wide, or limited to SO?

doppelgreener

1:14 PM

@vicky_molokh Where are they defined?

KorvinStarmast

@doppelgreener Yeah, and I missed it the first time I read through your "bitten cookie" answer.

doppelgreener

@KorvinStarmast nom nom nom

KorvinStarmast

grin back to RL, ciao.

doppelgreener

@KorvinStarmast Fantastic!

@KorvinStarmast ttfn :)

vicky_molokh

170

A: When to burninate

Before you start doing anything, put a little bit of thought into the request: Does this tag even need to be burninated? There are a lot of burninate-requests posted to various meta sites that are... To put it gently... A complete and utter waste of everyone's time. Some folks will seemingly p...

BESW

1:17 PM

@vicky_molokh Even without knowing the criteria I'm gonna confidently say "not universally mandated but assumed by default unless/until a particular Stack modifies its policies." Because that's how the Stack does these things: there's an immutable structure applied universally to every topic, and variances in the needs of each topic are accommodated through localized policy changes as problems arise.

vicky_molokh

I'm still fuzzy on how to figure if a thing is meant to be network-wide immutable thing or substack-specific.

doppelgreener

It would be assumed SO-specific if it was on Meta.SO

(They have a lot of SO-specific guidance on tag moderation because they need it)

vicky_molokh

If meta.SO is for SO-specific stuff, which one is the network-wide meta?

I suspect I'm missing something obvious.

doppelgreener

Meta Stack Exchange, the one you linked to: it's the meta for the entire network

BESW

With exceptions for behaviorial policies and policies with legal implications for the Stack Overlords (which are immutably universal), all policies on Meta Stack Exchange are universal by default but subject to substack-specific modification on the site's specific meta like Role-playing Games Meta. Truly immutable and universal things are the ones that are coded into the site, like the way flagging and editing and voting work.

vicky_molokh

1:21 PM

Wait . . . I . . . re-checking.

doppelgreener

@BESW Correct

BESW

The thing about tag deletion is that it's hard-coded to be impossible for any substack to handle independently.

vicky_molokh

Yeah, I somehow misread the one I linked.

Sorry for being a nuisance.

doppelgreener

No, that's fine

Anyway, Shog9's guidance there is universal advisory content

GcL

@BESW hard-coded just means it's a more painful refactor.

BESW

1:24 PM

So it's impossible for a substack meta to choose how to delete tags not because they're forbidden to, but because they're prevented from. Manual burnination (removing tags from questions by hand rather than all at once with a big red button), however, is something substacks CAN do and therefore also something they can choose to run policy on at the local level.

doppelgreener

@BESW Well, the community can also say "yep we want the tag deleted", then the moderators tell a staff member "we want the tag deleted, here's the community saying so", then they delete it.

BESW

@doppelgreener Which is still "Mother may I."

The substack has no power except to supplicate.

GcL

Also, it's asking for something that is technically doable by the community, but it's a pain in the A and a kludge to do it manually even with the help of scripts.

vicky_molokh

To follow up on my confusion: I remember reading that for some technical reason there's no distinction between SO and SE for the purposes of metas and it causes some confusion. Is this just outdated info, or did I misremember/misread something?

doppelgreener

@vicky_molokh That was true until early 2014.

vicky_molokh

1:28 PM

Ah.

Thanks.

doppelgreener

In 2013, Meta Stack Exchange did not exist. There was only Meta Stack Overflow. This handled both network-wide policy and Stack Overflow policy.

That caused a lot of problems both ways.

BESW

A dramatic re-enactment:

doppelgreener

Good re-enactment

user15026

@BESW That looks about right.

doppelgreener

In early 2014, Meta Stack Exchange was created and content was divided between the two. Specifically: everything went to Meta Stack Exchange, except for everything that was identified as something that should stay in Meta Stack Overflow.

This means Meta Stack Exchange has a lot of content from 2013 and prior that appears to only be describing Stack Overflow.

... because it was, but it's not important enough to move back

BESW

1:37 PM

Which results in attempts to find things from before the split looking like this:

Rubiksmoose

1:55 PM

@doppelgreener wow it looks like it is even a whole process on their end. I had no idea. I thought the same as BESW that there was a big red diamond mod button with a trogdor sticker.

although I am also fond of the alternate method I came up with.

Hot RPG Questions

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Q: How can I create a character who can assume the widest possible range of creature sizes?

Just for fun, I want to create a character who can vary from really tiny or smaller to huge or bigger. Which is the bigger/smaller combination to create that "Ant Man" style char? It can: Be from any race. Be from any class. Use any magical-item combination. Use temporary buffs/magic, but onl...

dnd-5e creature-size

Rubiksmoose

@V2Blast how do you think exploding crits works as a house rule? I've had vague notions that adding exploding dice to 5e might be fun in some way

BESW

@Rubiksmoose I'm reading a speculative fiction novel where letters are encrypted with passages of poetry as the key; most casual correspondence is just locked with the latest popular poem, to show off that you're up to date on the fashions.

Rubiksmoose

That is pretty great. I love how just that one thing gives a decent idea of several things about the setting. Or at least it paints a bit of picture in my head that I don't know if it correct or not.

BESW

Yeah, the worldbuilding is great; one of the major themes is conflicting cultures.

> This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever fallen in love with a culture that was devouring their own.

3

It's about an ambassador from a tiny border nation, trying to navigate the culture of the expanding empire's capital city and keep her nation from being conquered by the empire.

user15026

2:03 PM

@BESW Oh, that's...feels.

Rubiksmoose

Yeah I'm reading through the summary. It sounds really interesting.

@BESW I must say that I fear my culture as a white caucasian male has always been on the other side of that coin :-/

BESW

@Rubiksmoose I appreciate that the book is putting me in a headspace that I've seen a lot in my friends and neighbours but never really experienced personally.

user15026

@Rubiksmoose Yeah, I am in a similar spot, gender aside :/

Rubiksmoose

@BESW I like that. This book sounds intriguing. Would you recommend it?

@Ash If anything, I'd say that I fall in love with cultures as they are devoured by mine.

user15026

@Rubiksmoose nods I feel a kinship with that statement.

BESW

2:08 PM

@Rubiksmoose I'm only about a fifth of the way into it, but so far yes it's got solid writing and excellent worldbuilding and although the plot's still very nebulous I'm interested in hanging around to see what it'll turn out to be.

Its ways of dealing with culture remind me of Ann Leckie and Aliette de Bodard, which is high praise.

Rubiksmoose

Nice! I'll have to add it to my list

BESW

So many things are coming out now that I want to read...

Anaphory

@BESW Ann Leckie doesn't ring a bell, but Aliette de Bodard is a name that makes me drop my distractions and listen intently when listening to my eveningly Clarkesworld story, so I understand the praise.

KorvinStarmast

In a moment of trivial pursuit, and before someone plays taps for this tag, the stack is one short of 1300 rules-as-written questions based on this peek. (1299) I used it a total of once.

Rubiksmoose

@vicky_molokh Well I can say for sure that that assumption is true for my phrase as it was a distinctly US-centric view of culture.

@KorvinStarmast it actually peaked at 1300 this morning before I removed the tag added to a recent question.

KorvinStarmast

2:14 PM

@Rubiksmoose was that due to superstition over the number 13? :)

Rubiksmoose

@KorvinStarmast nah more just this question doesn't need the tag and maybe saving dev effort to remove it later.

BESW

@Anaphory Leckie's Imperial Radch series is brilliant, I highly recommend it, with the caveat that the first novel (Ancillary Justice) is liable to be a bit confusing because it uses out-of-order narration to push its themes of identity and the relationship between body and mind: the POV character is many different people and also one person, in different ways at different times of her life.

Rubiksmoose

[shrug] it was probably a futile move, but at the least it probably doesn't do any harm (it was a new question so no bumping was done)

doppelgreener

@Rubiksmoose It was also at 1300 last week, but became 1299 this week.

Rubiksmoose

@doppelgreener its a RAWler coaster!

KorvinStarmast

2:17 PM

1300 out of 33,000 questions. @Rubiksmoose Groan!

David Coffron

@KorvinStarmast I also used it once xD

BESW

2:28 PM

→ 11 messages moved to Not a bar, but plays one on TV

→ 1 message moved to Not a bar, but plays one on TV

Xirema

I feel bad for our DM. He tried really hard to rehabilitate Vampires in our last session, and it.... went poorly.

doppelgreener

what'd he do?

Someone_Evil

@Xirema Were they moved to a garlic growing region?

Xirema

Or rather, I should say he tried to rehabilitate the Image of Vampires.

Someone_Evil

More, or less sparkly?

Yuuki

2:36 PM

@Xirema Well that's his first mistake, I don't think vampires have silent image as a racial spell.

Xirema

The essence of what happened is that our Rogue went gambling in a new town we visited, got roped into a secret underground game, and discovered through that game that the entire Ruling Class of the town are basically all secretly Vampires. They use the free lodging in the town as a way to lure in citizens and feed on their blood, although they usually try to do so non-lethally.

doppelgreener

@Xirema I'm guessing the expectation was that they wouldn't all get staked, and in reality they absolutely all got staked.

Xirema

So the way this was supposed to be justified was because the Vampires also built like social services: hospitals, roads, etc. Basically, the town was half-Socialist Utopia and half-Cattle Barn.

Someone_Evil

If I were a Vampire, I'd keep it a secret to avoid all the morder-hobo adventurers

Xirema

@doppelgreener Well, in reality, about 4 Vampires got staked, 1 of which wasn't the party's fault.

goodguy5

2:40 PM

@Someone_Evil yea, just be a cattle herder

Xirema

They did lose two queens in as many weeks though.

The Oracle

0

Q: Is there accessible usage data for RPG SE?

I'm looking for data documenting visits per day, questions, answers and votes per day and any other related data that might be available. Both current and historical. It feels like usage has gone down over the last couple months and I'm curious if that is an historical pattern for this time of ...

discussion stackexchange

Yuuki

@Xirema Given that vampires are not so subtle evocations of the parasitical nature of the noble class, placating the proletariat so they can continue to live off of them doesn't feel very socialist.

Xirema

I think a lot more Vampires might have gotten staked, but our DM doesn't understand the Law of Ninjutsu (as applied to Vampires) so every single Vampire had the CR13 statblock from the monster manual. We're only level 9, and our Druid Nope'd out of there on day one to go find the artifact we'd originally come to the town to find.

@Yuuki Yeeeaaahhhh..... We had to explain that to our DM a few times. XD

Sidebar: I did get to spike the punch at the Queen's coronation with Holy Water. That was a good time. Just barely survived after fighting 10 vampires at the same time.

Basically just got lucky on my 5th Death Saving Throw as my Paladin steed carried my unconscious body out of town.

Yuuki

... why did I say "parasitical" when "parasitic" works? And why didn't auto-correct catch that?

Xirema

2:48 PM

It turns out a boss-tier Vampire, on their own, is not much of a match against a Paladin who can use Protection from Good and Evil and make themselves immune to Charm effects and give them Disadvantage on all their attack rolls. But against 10 vampires, and lots of easily charmable human guards? Less so.

BESW

@Yuuki [pokes glasses up bridge of nose] I have opinions about vampires as allegory.

Vampires haven't been primarily about nobility preying on the poor since at least the 1840s; Varney was (among other things) about mental illness; Carmilla had a strong "noble parasite" vibe but was also about feminine and queer power; Count Dracula was mostly an anti-immigrant allegory combined with a discussion about the importance of modern technology in dispelling old superstition.

kviiri

@Yuuki At least here, the Social Democratic Party was the main enemy of the hardliner communists for this exact reason: they were hindering the revolution by keeping the workers happy! They got healthcare, good wages, affordable yet quality services, free education... having more to lose than one's chains.

Xirema

@BESW Well, Dracula was doing both: functioning as a metaphor for parasitic Aristocrats, but also functioning as a metaphor for scary immigrant... aristocrats... and also there's a thing with sex and sexuality.... Yeah, there's a lot to unpack with Stoker's original work.

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