Me and the DMG

The1True

8, 8, I forget what is for
Hey man, I'm just glad the Kievan bot has gotten out safe and is all set up and back to work in Warsaw now!
 

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
Aren't those two videos identical?
Oops, I will go back and fix that.

Your local game store is Sentry Box? 😲
Yup. I was there on Friday with two of my kids, and have been going there since it was in Marda Loop. I also think I may have been in the original, before Gord bought it, if that was on the lower level of Southcentre Mall.

It's a safe space, for like everybody. Totally nerdy but somehow avoids that creepiness you get in a lot of nerdy stores. Real mix of people, too; on Friday I saw a dude in an Audi wearing a suit and expensive topcoat go in (his blonde partner with the heavily hairsprayed hair opted to stay in the car, though).

DM me if you ever decide to go on a pilgrimage.
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
Last night I used the DMG random insanity table for the first time!

My kids took over control of some NPC to perform a heist while their main PCs were traveling elsewhere (off to a minor war-battle --- which we'd already played out many months ago but they still weren't back). The NPCs I gave them to choose from were all survivors, rescued from a magical prison which left most of them insane. My daughter wanted to play one of the insane ones, so we rolled twice on the DMG table and I let her pick the mental affliction.

First roll was manic-depressive, which was only so-so for the circumstances, but the second was schizoid. Per the DMG (pg 83):

Schizoid: This rather mild insanity form manifests its effects in a
personality loss. The afflicted has no personality of his or her own, so he
or she will select a role model and make every attempt possible to become
like that character. Selection will be based upon as different a person as is
possible with regard to the insane character. Thus an insane magic-user
will begin to follow the habits of a fighter, for example, dressing and
speaking like that character and seeking to be like him or her in all ways.
My daughter, who can sometimes be a very risk-adverse/passive player, leaned hard into this and it was hilarious*.

*Not saying Mental illness is funny...
 

The1True

8, 8, I forget what is for
Per the author's suggestions, we've been playing with insanity tables in Barrowmaze. We've been keeping it strictly cartoonish (Character won't go anywhere alone. Character is deathly afraid of any quantity of water (and starts to die of thirst) etc.). It's lead to some excellent light rrrroleplaying.
Real mental illness is no joke though!
 

Hemlock

Should be playing D&D instead
It's bizarre to me because that's not remotely what being schizoid means. Is this a matter of scientific definitions changing over time, or did the author just not know much about psychology?
I would have to assume the latter: not knowing or caring much about real-world usage, only looking for a game term. Note that real-life phylacteries are also unrelated to persisting beyond death, and real-world Christianity does not distinguish "devils" from "demons" (they are synonymous).
 

Beoric

8, 8, I forget what is for
It's bizarre to me because that's not remotely what being schizoid means. Is this a matter of scientific definitions changing over time, or did the author just not know much about psychology?

I was diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder at the age of 21, incidentally. Dungeons & Dragons became hugely therapeutic in that regard.
Yeah, the insanity table (and pretty much everything else) was based on the popular understanding of various ailments, which were almost universally wrong. Finding correct answers was much more difficult before the internet (as was finding wildly loony conspiratorial answers).
 

squeen

8, 8, I forget what is for
I think that's a great article! Factually correct (a rarity!) about the hobby, and with a tone focused on tactical & strategic thinking. This is what the hobby was all about at the beginning --- not what it has morphed into when it mainstreamed (i.e. fantasy projection of self).

I love this. Takes me back.
 

The1True

8, 8, I forget what is for
not what it has morphed into when it mainstreamed
uch. My knee jerked a little and then I back-spaced through everything, sorry man :p

Greetings from sunny Togo btw. I'm back in Africa again because I apparently hate myself.
 
Top