The Didact takes a look at how the latest recruitment ads show which militaries, between ours, the Russians, and the Chinese, understand (or at least makes a show of understanding), that war is a serious business. The only thing I would add is that recruiting ads are hardly the only place militaries place propaganda. Consider "Operation Red Sea" in light of the obvious access the Chinese military gave them, and compare that to the similar thorough access granted to films like Top Gun, Hunt for Red October, and why. Then consider that the movie would not be released if it…
First - if you're not familiar with Jeffro Johnson's ideas on 1:1 time and how, at minimum, timekeeping is an overlooked and ignored aspect of roleplaying games that comes directly from its wargaming roots, watch the above video. With that out of the way... What tools do you need? How do you get started? My first piece of advice? Don't overcomplicate things. One beauty of fully 1:1 is that your guide to seasons and time passing is your regular calendar and the world outside your door. But, how do I get started? Ok, I'll admit, it's likely easier…
80 years ago today, on May 27th, 1941, the Bismark was sunk by the British fleet, either directly, or by being scuttled after being rendered immobile.…
Wanting to give Minna Sundberg some support and payback for the pleasure of reading her work, I logged into Hivemill and purchased the first volume of her series, Stand Still, Stay Silent. The books are available in hardcover and ebook. At nearly $40, it isn't cheap, but insofar as what you get, it's a decent value. A thick, hardcover book with heavy, glossy paper. It looks good on my shelf, and her language poster will look good on my wall.…
Most of us in the states grew up believing free speech was a good thing. Given a moment of thought, one can see why. It's hard to know precisely what the truth is. The point, supposedly, is to keep people from being jailed for saying things that offend the powers that be, yet are true, or close enough to the truth that the public should be able to hear it. Nevertheless, while we may not theoretically gag someone in advance, we certainly will, or would, in the past, punish someone for libel and slander, breach of contract, and so forth.…
While a number of people have waxed eloquent about the new webcomics project at Arkhaven.com, I've held off. I know that Razor and Jon Mollison have had good things to say, and a good word from Razor, given his depth of knowledge of comics is certainly worth something. I want to be more tempered. So, first, how is it? It's good. No, not amazing, superlative, spectacular, or anything else like that. In part, because there are definitely features that need to be brought to the table, but in part in the mode of the old Cosby (?) joke, people say…
Maybe it's a sign of the times, but I find myself not disagreeing with Don Lemon, insofar as his take on the shooting of a teenage black girl by a cop, where he was roundly slammed by the self-styled epitomes of compassion and justice at the View. It's a day that ends in "Y", so yes, there's another case where cop has no right choices to make. I, for one, can grok why even a milquetoast like Tim Pool is saying he couldn't give a squirrel's left nut about cops or "back the blue" types if they're not willing to…
Now that I've used it for a couple game sessions, the short version is that I am absolutely sold on how good Foundry is, as in worth every penny. If you don't want to spin up your own server, go buy a seat and pay the guys at Forge to host it. Even if you save nothing, you'll get a lot more value out of it. The below is based on the ACKs rule/world set with a few modules added. I'll try note when something is an add-on or a core feature. GripesI'm going to start with what is…