Lover Of Stories

Shallan getting stabbed through the chest and shot in the head:

Dalinar @ the Rift:

Me @ the reveal of how Evi died:

Kaladin @ Shallan and Adolin:

Me and Shallan @ the revel:

Shallan, Kaladin and Elhokar having one of (if not the worst) days of their lives :

Me @ Azure using crimson as a curse and her sword draining people of colour:

Me @ Moash doing the Bridge 4 salute:

When we play a TTRPG, every mechanic that involves a die roll is just a game of chance. Sometimes we're able to manipulate that chance to our favour, sometimes we're not.

I've seen aversion to the idea of "flat checks" to determine outcomes, and I myself have even had initial distaste for the OSR's attachment to using a d6 in such circumstances (usually calling for a 4+ or 5+)- but I think it's finally "clicked" in my mind, and I've come to appreciate the virtues of simplifying the mechanic as much as is reasonable.

Let's take an example from Pathfinder 2e, since it's a very math-heavy game (and likely what my audience is most familiar with): The creature building rules provide example ACs for monsters at levels -1 through 24, and while it does vary, generally the values are set such that a dedicated martial, fully investing in their ability to hit creatures, will have a baseline ~50% chance to hit. It's basically a flat check.

Now, we have to inspect and appreciate what nuances are allowed by a system before we can deconstruct it. Just because the values in Pathfinder tend towards a 50% success rate doesn't mean we can just start rolling d6s and hitting on a 4-6. With the example of Pathfinder, using a d20 gives us, well... 20 results. A wide spread of numbers that can then be meaningfully interacted with, as each point of bonus or penalty is worth a 5% statistical modification. Additionally, the +-10 critical success/failure system gives these points secondary values in modifying crit chances, and nat 1s/nat 20s a static 5% bump chance.

If we were to try to reduce the to-hit system down to a d6 then, what do we lose? Or more specifically, what changes? Well, modifiers either become much stronger and potentially much more necessary- each point is now worth 16% (over three times as much!), and depending on the game balance, a high modifier may now be necessary to even hit a creature. Critical results too lose something in this adaptation- maintaining the +-10 system makes modifiers the only way to reasonably achieve critical hits, and dumping it in favour of nat 1/nat 6 once again over triples the chances of a crit one way or the other.

In many important ways here, something quite important has been lost. Much agency and much nuance are jettisoned in favour of smaller numbers.

But let's take another look at Pathfinder now, and specifically its flat checks. Pathfinder has a variety of actions, effects, and miscellania that rely on the roll of a flat d20 to determine their results, usually at DCs 5, 11, and 15 (75%, 50%, 30%). As far as general play is concerned, these DCs don't shift and players don't get modifiers for them, so they function purely as statistical values. In this case, replacing them with a d6 system may in fact function fine. Setting the ranges to 3+, 4+, and 5+ (66%, 50%, 33%) results in nearly identical mathematics, and a functioning game system nonetheless. Flat checks, additionally, do not have critical successes, which leaves the other primary benefit of a d20 system out of the equation.

So why, then, does Pathfinder use a d20? I'm sure there are plenty of reasons. A d20 still has more manipulatable results, allowing for potential DC variance a d6 cannot emulate. A d20 is the primary chance die used elsewhere in the game system. A d20 is iconic.

But to circle back and round out my thoughts here, die rolls are, ultimately, nothing but chance. Without other systems interacting with (and creating results off of) their values, the method of delivery by which you achieve your chance is all but irrelevant. In such cases, what's most important is how easily one can access and adjudicate the levels of chance. A d20 with 5% per value might be quite intuitive to some, while others might prefer the more pie-like 16% of d6s. A 1 and a 20 are relatively rare on a d20, while a 1 and a 6 on a d6 are relatively common.

Side note: This are also possibly the worst type of fan for a franchise to have. The ones that want to replicate what's already been done without even considering a change to the formula. They're non-controversial and genuinely love the franchise (in their own way) so they're usually seen as positive. But their desires will inevitably lead to the stagnation and decline of the franchise as they smother it to death.

I'm honestly not sure about how I feel about this one, as I don't interact with the Metroid fandom, but it's an interesting perspective.

How much can a series change without losing its identity?

Is Metroid Metroid without the suffocating feeling of loneliness, or is it just another metroidvania? Are games like Prime 3, heavily guided and with a rather substantial cast, "real" Metroid games?

It feels like conversations I've seen regarding the Sonic fandom, with factors like the green aesop that got kind of lost in the 2000s, and in the Castlevania fandom, which saw a massive shift in gameplay and aesthetic with SoTN. Obviously Metroid is closer to Sonic than CV in this sense lol.

Personally, I like my Metroid games to have some of that feeling of loneliness and alienation that the first three games nailed very well. Unlike many contemporaries, that made you feel like a strong hero embarking an adventurous journey, Metroid games bank on making you feel vulnerable and lost. That being said, I also enjoyed what Fusion attempted to do by stifling your freedom and making you feel weak in that regard. (funny that I mention this, as I recently saw older threads of people who utterly despised Fusion when it came out precisely because of this lol.) I also already am not too keen on how bombastic ZM was when it recreated M1, with its bright colors and more upbeat music.

(I also have mentioned Prime 3, a game generally disliked for not feeling like Metroid, and yet it has one of the scariest, most Metroid sections in the whole series. Go figure)

On the other other hand, that annoyance then makes me feel guilty for both being kinda ungrateful for the cuteness, and feeling a little bit like a gatekeepy asshole toward Smash-only people. (But it sure is easy to tell apart Samus fanworks based in Smash from Samus fanworks based in the actual series, regardless of the presence or lack of crossover stuff.) Plus in fairness, the only viable girlfriend candidates at present are either Gandrayda or maaaybe Madeline Bergman, and for various reasons, both are pretty easily-overlookable characters even within the fandom, let alone outside it.

But then on the other other other hand, there is a wiki, and people can just look it up...

I also think that for gandrayda and samus could work ,but I think of them more as bitter exes who dated when they were both much younger and more naive due to how mean gandrayda is. And also cus it’s interesting. The rare arts that I do see of them are really good and there should definitely be more stuff about this..

@luna-the-bard I think has a really good oc ship and like has like, a billion words to say about it.(and they literally made up an entire ecosystem for their lore. Like damn that’s some dedication.) I feel like the relationship is very realistic feeling and cute, skeets writes books about her travels and loves exploring the galaxy with samus. I love girlfriends that can both talk about weird looking bugs they found..

But yeah I think it would be really good if samus got a cannon girlfriend but I’m not sure how that would be done in a way that is cohesive with Metroid being the kinda video game series it is. A lot of the appeal is the isolation and environmental storytelling so it’s hard to add new not evil characters.I kinda feel like killing QR so fast after you meet him in dread is like the writers trying to avoid this problem,but obviously there’s no way to be sure. I think there is a way to do this but it would be kinda difficult to figure out.

The evals are simple: how much has the child learned, what do they know, where can we supplement their education, etc. How can we stimulate their curiosity and foster a lifelong love of learning? Have they displayed any skills or passion for any particular subject? How can we encourage their hobbies and interests? Those are the kinds of questions the adults involved in carrying out the evaluation are asking themselves.

The evaluations help parents figure out (or reaffirm what they already know) ways to engage their childrens' interests in a fun or productive way, and how to help their child along the path to success, academic or otherwise. Every child is different: they have their own needs, and while 8 years old isn't old enough for anyone to ascertain exactly what they wanna be when they grow up, the evaluation is a good starting point for the rest of their academic track until their next formative rites.

The next part of the rites is a branching path. The fitness test is typically favored by more outdoorsy or athletic types, as well as children who are afraid of specters or arent very interested in the old ways. That's fine: old people stuff can be boring! The priests go on and on about the ancestors during holidays, but you're eight years-old and you've never seen the ancestors show up before, so big whoop. You've got toys to play and things to learn.

Another general assumption is that children who are likely to grow into steadfast warriors or athletes may pick the fitness test enthusiastically and without thinking about it, but again, this is an evaluation, and the kids are like, eight. Nothing is set in stone. Eight year olds also typically love playing outside.

A number of kids, hearing about all the cool things their elders know and are capable of, or just being curious about what their ancestors might have to teach them, opt for the dream-walk.

The dream-walk involves exposure to psychoactive fumes, but is nonetheless completely safe: the kid is monitored and made as comfortable as possible.

The dream-walk is overseen by priests and doctors. The burners are lit and the trial-goer falls asleep, entering a state similar to lucid dreaming.

Everyone's experience is different. Some kids have profound surreal experiences: others spend the entire time sitting at a table with a long-dead ancestor having a meal. Some kids are shown events from the past by an old ghost: some even experience said event from the perspective of someone who was there when it happened.

For others, the dream is of an old-fashioned hunt, typically guided by a departed grandparent or neighbor. It's not unusual for Mawkin kids to have experienced the act of hunting for food or sport by this point in their lives: many who hunt take their babies out with them on their backs. The quarry during the dream-walk, however, is typically more than your mundane game beast.

Tribal scholars and doctors of psychology have posited that the dream walk largely reflects the experiences of those involved. Formative memories and strong feelings, they believe, greatly affect the appearance of conjured apparitions in the dream. If a kid is fighting any demons at eight years old or harbor any powerful fears, they may very well be forced to face them head-on during this trial.

Therein lies the value of the dream-walk: it's not just a curiosity to get the kids to engage with cultural practices of yore, it has utility in teaching children valuable lessons through experience without actually making them fight the six-eyed serpent of a hundred and seventeen mouths. And they're usually not facing it alone: the ancestors quite literally walk with plenty of kids during these trials.

There are some truths a given child must face alone, and plenty do. But when they wake, they will find themselves among familiar company, the sweet smell of wood smoke permeating the air and a feast awaiting back home to celebrate their first milestone towards becoming an adult.

Some kids don't fight any major bosses or experience the heat death of the universe through the eyes of a slug, instead deriving value from the dream-walk in the form of sensory-guided introspection. The lesson they learn may not even be apparent to them until six years down the line. It doesn't have to be deep: it can just be an experience that gives then a new perspective on the world.

The senses are heightened supremely during the dream-walk, allowing the dreamer to experience the world in a whole new way. Tasting color, feeling the vibration of every sound beneath one's skin, perceiving the shape of every smell. Even if the kid walks away thinking "huh, I've never experienced the world that way before", the trial will have been a success. In the very least, a child should come out of that dark room with a unique memory for them to examine later on.

Several minor rituals and evaluations occur around twelve and fifteen years, but the foremost citizenship rites occur around seventeen, when an individual's stomach is strong enough to handle sap wine in greater quantities without suffering catastrophic liver failure. The dream-walk is a requirement this time around, as well as a combat test. The combat test is the actual rite that determines one's status as an adult: the mandatory dream-walk occurs beforehand as a way to shed all doubts about the strength of one's resolve if they have any insecurities, and perhaps gain some personal insight in the process. Introspection assisted by psychoactive substances.

You may be wondering how those with varying degrees of disability come of age if they can't engage in the rite of combat. There are alternatives to the combat test if the participant doesn't feel able enough to fight, or otherwise can't exert themselves without experiencing undue pain and discomfort.

There are alternative rites for individuals of every combination of physical and cognitive impairment, and all are treated with the same gravity and dignity afforded to the typical rites. Poetry recitals, music, research projects, an oath of maturity: these are a few examples of things disabled Mawkin have done to establish their claim to adulthood in place of the rite of combat. An individual doesn't have to be "good" at something: they just have to show that they accept the responsibility that comes with being an adult, or are otherwise committed to their community and the tribe at large.

For some people, that commitment comes in the form of thriving to the best of their ability. Surviving to the next day, striving for tomorrow to hurt a little less than yesterday. It doesn't matter whether they can "contribute" or be a "productive member of society": all are one, and one serves all. The Mawkin take community very seriously. There's an age-old adage that says something to the effect of "if one is suffering, all are injured", and "when one is deprived of dignity, we are all cast naked face-down into the mud".

I have a very specific request.

Will you tell me about your old OCs? I'm talking like middle school/high school edgy OCs. The ones who make you cringe when you remember them, because they're so awful. The Mary-Sue's, the self-inserts. The ones you would never ever ever resurrect because oh my gods they're irredeemable. The over-powered ones. The dark-haired boys with crooked smiles and ocean orbs. The girls who are so not like those other girls.