Kasimir

I think there's the flip side which I've commented on on a few occasions: a lot of the volume can be illusory because you get pity sign-ups or overenthusiastic players who don't think through if they can commit and then that plays merry hell with balance and the game dynamic. Everyone is a lich with a phylactery... Or HP system I guess. Ah soddit. I think there's a game we discussed that might work, the one that reminded you of Gunnerkrigg Court, where the goal was to reach a specific informed equilibrium point or something, so dying doesn't end your work in the game. Dunno. They were both BotC expys, what do you expect IT WORKS THANKS Your place or mine? j/k but okay I am referencing a very specific Meta game, which, as all Meta games/distros, was designed to break certain assumptions SE had about how the game was played and that was why it was so effective/fun. It's just not really appealing for a normal game. Sorry, life's been tiring lately and I don't have much significant to add. I think something that can also be considered is replayability - if a game is short but fun, it should be ok for it to be designed to be replayed twice. I'm sort of thinking of something like Araris's Aracle QF. Joining in on this - I think (I don't know if successful) - my Star Wars game takes a slightly different approach, though I'm still trying to adjust a number of interactions. I designed it for 8-12 players but the idea was to take the same walking wincon model from MR2 and MR61 and to use that along with the potential for players to go SK to realistically keep things circulating a bit. The initial idea was to try to create unique and distinct roles that had character, flavour, and interacted and role madness so that even if it ended fast, players would hopefully have a fun experience with a role they enjoyed. I feel like embracing the shortness but packing extra oomph is a valid tack too - at smaller player counts, it's possible to put a bit more care into the roles I think.

One book left to that 52 books goal! Just Finished: -Snakewood I promised to DNF if I hated it but it was actually alright. I liked the worldbuilding, but it was definitely grimdark and I'm not fully sure I'd recommend it. It felt like Kings of the Wyld but with none of the warmth, which makes sense given the setting. The idea of a magic/economy system based around Walter Whites supplying people with (in-world legal) drugs is actually fascinating. People who write about how this reminds them of the East India Company are filthy powindah -Heretics of Dune It's slow-going at first due to the timeskip and I felt a bit underwhelmed, but when it hits you, it hits you. Really liked the shift to studying the powindah scum Bene Gesserit internally in a time of great conflict. Heretics sometimes feels more like set-up and a bit slower than I expect. -Chapterhouse Dune Darwi Odrade, probably my favourite female lead in Dune. She has warmth which is not something I'm used to expecting from a BG protagonist, and the fact the BG are in crisis, precipitated by Leto and his challenge is a plot thread I'm appreciating a lot more when older. I'd probably rank Chapterhouse more highly than Heretics. I'm stopping here as I've read the Brian Anderson and KJA sequels once and that's enough for me. (Anyone who reads KJA's Star Wars should really know better than to let him near Dune.) Currently Reading: -The Winged Histories (re-read) -Tracers in the Dark -????????? If anyone has a nice comfort read rec lemme know. (Thinking of something like Goblin Emperor.) Tracers is pretty dark and I'll probably want something new after it. I'm stalling through Winged Histories mostly because I want to copy down a quote from it and daren't progress until I do it. Edited to add: Nah, just finished Tracers so my 52 books goal is done!

Jedi Leia was good, and so was Saba for sure. The Doylist reasons for Anakin Solo's death annoyed me, cf. ("welp he's scheduled to fall to the Dark Side, fans will totally confuse him with my OG Anakin" - especially in light of Lucas selling off the IP anyway) but I actually liked what it did in-universe, since Myrkr really shook up what we thought was going to happen - Jacen as the idealistic peacemaker who was doomed to die, Jaina as the sassy hotshot, and Anakin as the grandchild on a hero arc. I think they could have leaned into the repercussions more but didn't, and we got weird Tahiri shenanigans as a result. I liked the Cade comics, just didn't mention them because comics. Hands-up some weirdness, not to mention I am tired of uber-healing powers, but I found the political setting of the Cade comics to be top-notch, cf. Sith, Yuuzhan Vong, Fel Empire, Imperial Knights (!!! - we should've seen more like this rather than Inquisitorius smh) and Jedi. Darth Krayt was a fairly interesting antagonist IMO. The One Sith was interesting, yeah. I felt eh about the Lost Tribe because it was back to the 'we will put Sith everywhere' mentality but I liked Vestara, did not so much like Christie Golden's writing, whom I'll forever remember as the writer who excused domestic abuse. Being afraid your girlfriend turned back to the Dark Side does not give you the right to chokeslam her, thank you. Agreed. Especially striking in light of where Pellaeon and Daala respectively started. I really, really felt Daala was almost speaking for the fandom at that point when she made her pitch specifically as it becoming a domestic Jedi (but more importantly, Skywalker) struggle and normal people were getting sick of it. Even if she wasn't, this was a very fascinating arc/tension to build a future series on (what happens when the Jedi need to find a new niche and people are no longer convinced the Order is fit for purpose?), and I'm partly convinced that FotJ squandered that a bit with the Abeloth focus. Liked Jaina and Jagged, not convinced we saw payoff on Sword of the Jedi. Sorry I'm one book away from finishing my 52-books challenge and Hael has semi-talked me into redoing a EU marathon, though I'll likely regret it. High Republic and some of the newer writers like Claudia Grey of Master and Apprentice haven't really worked for me, though I love the Cal Kestis games. I dunno man, I sure missed it, but I also remember the growing fandom disillusionment when they were releasing Joiner, then LotF, then FotJ. Just increasing "what the actual frick are we reading" and "do they really think learning the berserkergang is the solution to all problems." I think I fondly remember the lead-up to the release of TUF but everything after TUF just feels like increasing estrangement, disillusionment, and disappointment. But that's sort of what I mean by EU and pedestals I think. Legends is a bloody awful label though, because it's just turned toxic at this point, and using it reminds people of what they did. They should've let the EU be the EU and made up their own new label since they were going MCU on Star Wars anyway, meaning the whole G-canon/Q-canon et al system could be dropped. In that light, my beef with Disney isn't that they've produced stinkers because I sure as hell felt that LotF was increasingly nonsense. My beef with Disney is that they're milking the franchise without giving things a break, and that kills all the goodwill I've felt towards them. I get gems like Cal Kestis, Andor, and Mando, the books they wrangled out of Zahn and Stover, and then they churn out ever more content thinking I'll get 'em all when I just want to not be bombarded with content to exhaustion point. If people on TheForceNet are actually writing better fanfiction than content that you're producing, you have a market problem, and this was actually happening around Joiner anyway when people decided to make more sense of NJO's plot hooks.

Dislike that term for it but yes with reservations. EU jumped the shark when we hit the bit where Karen Traviss and co wanted Jacen to fall to the Dark Side. LotF was a mess of them trying to God-Emperor of Dune a Sith Lord but also not daring to and taking it back halfway. I enjoyed the character development Ben Skywalker got but LotF got dunked on a lot by the fandom when it was being released for logical reasons. FotJ was a mess too but had the right idea when trying to work with the political setting and potentially de-emphasise Jedi worship. NJO IMO had weak links but was overall fairly strong. This would be the Yuuzhan Vong war arc. Joiner Trilogy feels forgettable after it. Everyone rightfully elevates Thrawn but forget Allegiance and Choices of One. OG Dathomir and Hapes were also some of the best creations but never given sufficient respect especially after TCW. It didn't help the OG EU books were fairly pulpy. TCWMMP had a number of fairly strong books and I'm never completely cool with them all getting jossed. Shatterpoint, Jedi Trial, the Medstar Barriss duology before Filoni decided to abuse her character, the Cestus Deception, just off the top of my head. Dark Rendezvous needed more Yoda-Dooku focus, but I liked us getting Scout as viewpoint character. Traviss's Mando novels are always praised because of what she did for building them as a culture, regardless of her acrimonious parting with what happened in TCW. I find it ironic everyone freely uses her worldbuilding no matter their Star Wars views.

Largely managing to avoid temptation and be good, though MrCypress occasionally has some tempting models >> I admit I chuckled

Disney fans always make it about the EU. The EU had good stuff and bad stuff. I'm forever upset we don't actually get Daala or the warlords era anymore. I don't need to put the EU on a pedestal to not like what Disney did to Star Wars. My controversial opinions are that Disney still thinks trying to MCU Star Wars is the correct strategy and I'm so tired and sick of being fed things that might be good (Andor) or bleh (Book of Boba Fett). Take some damn time to work on things and actually give me something great. And stop pushing Jedi into everything - not everything needs Jedi, and you don't need Sith just because Jedi exist. No one these days seems to be capable of writing Jedi without writing Dark Jedi or a warrior race capable of challenging Jedi because plot and 'nothing can hold a candle to Jedi' and that's just so sad and so tiring. We don't need Mandos, Yuuzhan Vong, Inquisitorius, Dark Jedi, or Sith to tell a satisfying plot with Jedi. Jedi are not demigods and it's fine to build limitations in without needing special pleading. Most controversial opinion ever: Star Wars was at its best when it took a genre and made it Star Wars. Pity so many content producers still aren't learning this lesson. And yeah, I'm done giving it my money. There's lots of other series to follow and stuff to read. I felt zero excitement on seeing the Acolyte trailer, just tired of more content.

Nonsense, it's not about how you do, it's about who we want to sacrifice to them as tribute

100% vibed with the #3 rant but also just came off a book that I don't understand why it was marketed as cosy fantasy so I get it. But yeah, marketing point does stand - I hate it when reviews penalise a book for not being the genre they wanted it to be.

Says the guy who collaborated on a game where you don't know your own alignment

I liked it but I saw why people didn't. Walking headache is the best description ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I actually felt it was the opposite way around - I was okay with it in Tress because of the Princess Bride conceit, but disliked it in Yumi. Agreed with you wrt the storytelling segments in Stormlight though!

Four books left to the goal Hael and I set. Just finished: -Yumi I think I'll like it better the second time around. Hoid narrating is tiresome (back to my problems with Sanderson and banter) and Yumi had to grow on me but really enjoyed Kilahito as a setting. That Sanderlanche was insanely good though. -The Winter Road I have not in a while read a book I should love but really hated and only read because I wanted to see the protagonist suffer. Strong character voice, fascinating setting, protagonist who has Issues but I'm told to root for without the author ever doing the damn work to make me want to. Currently reading: -The Winged Histories (re-read) -Heretics of Dune -Snakewood (promised myself to DNF if I hate it as it's by the same author as TWR and commonly held to be the weaker book.)

Thanks but no thanks. I'd add @StrikerEZ to the list, and probably @Mat and @Experience. Aware Mat is busy but he can decide, as he's been benched for a while.

I'd say you don't really need good handwriting for fountain pens. I've seen people with awful handwriting in r/fountainpens and some of the local pen groups I'll leave it to someone with better handwriting to offer tips here. The most I've seen in my local pen groups is a lot of practice shaping letters and then words in the style you like. Some of them fill whole exercise books - the idea is to do it slow and get it right and then do it more. Fair My friends accuse me of being a pretender because I love broad nibs but my handwriting is so small it ruins the point of going broad God created Plat soft and elastic nibs to train the faithful

Ah sorry, thought you mentioned getting it fixed! Though tbh Sailor feedback is a golden medium for me. I've heard legends of the Plat UEF feedback but I tried it once at a pen meet and immediately gave it back.