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  1. Mark Sabalauskas

    There is now 880 episodes of Star Trek and 13 movies

    Interesting, I hadn't realized it was quite so many episodes. I think I'll to cut it a bit more slack when it comes to continuity and tonal shifts, with so many episodes.
  2. Mark Sabalauskas

    What is the least amount of rules you need?

    "Note: for the purposes of this discussion, I think the G part is important." What gets ruled out here? Dread? For the Queen? Neither? Because their are plenty of people who would consider these wonderful RPGs for one shots. So, if they are out of scope, my answer would probably be "these...
  3. Mark Sabalauskas

    Collectivism in Gaming

    Generally, I'd say my friend's practice varies depending on the nature of the game. If it's a campaign, we'll all bring food and drink to share to wherever we are playing. If it's a one shot, it's typical for the GM to be the host and to want to treat this like throwing a party, where they...
  4. Mark Sabalauskas

    Media I got to talk about my Hopepunk RPG and indie games on the Functional Nerds podcast

    I was very excited to have a chance to talk about my space opera RPG Return to the Stars, hopepunk and gaming generally on the Functional Nerds podcast. They often have more literary SFF guests like Becky Chambers, Catherynne Valente, or Cat Rambo, so it was nice to talk about my Fate based game...
  5. Mark Sabalauskas

    Sale Trickster Issue of the Stellar Beacon: resource guide by Jen Kretchmer, Trickster magic for Fate, space opera adventure, more

    Excited to share that a new issue of The Stellar Beacon 'zine is out, featuring: Resources: Accessibility in Tabletop Producer, writer, actor, and streamer Jennifer Kretchmer introduces an extensive set of resources that address accessibility in gaming, streaming, live events, writing, and...
  6. Mark Sabalauskas

    Worlds of Design: Is There a Default Sci-Fi Setting?

    Traveler is a really fun game, and I've spent endless hours in it designing ships and systems. It is a great that it endured, just like it's great that that Glorantha has endured. But it is clearly just one of many SF games at the moment, likely to be mentioned if someone asks about a SciFi...
  7. Mark Sabalauskas

    Worlds of Design: Is There a Default Sci-Fi Setting?

    Comparing this article to the fantasy list really makes clear that there isn't anything at all like a baseline assumption for SF RPG. Which isn't surprising. SF itself is naturally broader and more varied than fantasy--you can at least imagine a generic high fantasy novel. or a fantasy novel...
  8. Mark Sabalauskas

    New RPGs announced from Evil Hat - Apocalypse Keys, Project: Perseus

    Yeah, Balikbayan is so cool. Looking forward to Apocalypse Keys
  9. Mark Sabalauskas

    Free Icebreaker: a sci fi micro RPG

    Thanks! I can't wait until we get the pandemic under control and we can try this at cons!
  10. Mark Sabalauskas

    Free Icebreaker: a sci fi micro RPG

    I released a tiny new game. Icebreaker was created as part of the Pleasure-not-Business Card RPG Jam a contest where you create an “RPG related thing” that can fit on a business card. Icebreaker is micro RPG where you play newcomers to science station on a frozen planet. It is designed...
  11. Mark Sabalauskas

    Press [Chaosium] The Chaosium – releases from 1975 and 1976: 'Out of the Suitcase' with Chaosium president Rick Meints

    Really cool. As a tiny indie RPG creator, it's it is especially fascinating to see the costs of bringing a game into the world, in the days before PDFs and Print on Demand.
  12. Mark Sabalauskas

    Some reasons why people may reject the notion that "System/Rules matter"

    Yes, there is no disputing about taste.
  13. Mark Sabalauskas

    Some reasons why people may reject the notion that "System/Rules matter"

    And that's really cool. You can do really neat things with that sort of expertise. It is an interesting part of the hobby. Part. I've been saying that the players who aren't interested in the impact that rules can have are not saying anything unimaginable, inconceivable or untrue when they...
  14. Mark Sabalauskas

    Some reasons why people may reject the notion that "System/Rules matter"

    I'm saying people are deeply and genuinely involved with the hobby while being profoundly indifferent to the fact that you can't use wildly different systems to achieve an identical play experience. That people using DnD to play the "wrong thing" for "which it is not designed" may not simply...
  15. Mark Sabalauskas

    Some reasons why people may reject the notion that "System/Rules matter"

    Some people do in word and deed asset that system does not matter, or matter much to them. If other people find this to be an almost inexplicable denial of an obvious and inescapable truth, they might consider if their understanding of the breath of purposes within the hobby is incomplete in...
  16. Mark Sabalauskas

    Some reasons why people may reject the notion that "System/Rules matter"

    I was anticipating that a discussion of "why system doesn't matter" (to some people) might be a bit derailing to people are (mostly) having discussion to suss out how system matters (to them). One tries to avoid having "I feel comic books are silly" discussions where people are debating which...
  17. Mark Sabalauskas

    Some reasons why people may reject the notion that "System/Rules matter"

    Just noting that the "hobby" of "DnD" for some people, doesn't involve playing the game at all, and they might be just as happy watching their favorite voice actors telling a story in any arbitrary system---as a viewer, they aren't engaging with the rules, so the rules don't matter to them, even...
  18. Mark Sabalauskas

    Some reasons why people may reject the notion that "System/Rules matter"

    My focus, today, was to mention a variety of lens through which "system doesn't matter" is reasonable way viewing the world. That I, personally, often find that rules matter to me, reinforces a broader point about a variety of tastes and purposes for gaming, which is the work the observation...
  19. Mark Sabalauskas

    Some reasons why people may reject the notion that "System/Rules matter"

    So the "systems matters' discourse has reappeared, like perennial flower, or like a rash that won't go away, depending on your point of view. Given that some people have a hard time even imagining why others reject the importance of system, I'm sharing a list of reasons why people might feel...
  20. Mark Sabalauskas

    D&D General Whom has had a greater impact on D&D? Gygax or Greenwood?

    Sure, Elminster is a blight, but not so much of one that his malign influence has more "impact" than DnD existing.
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