A lot of people conceptualize random encounters as the party encountering the monsters, but they make more sense the other way: the monsters encounter the party. Below is a thread on what most people get wrong about encounter activities and what there is to be done about it. (1/14)

I’d be happy with just the sandwich, TBQH

Introducing my new TTRPG: The Cheese XPerience

I am once AGAIN asking that everyone use ALT text in their images. I see a lot of good stuff I'd like to repost but I won't if it's not accessible. So please take a moment and do so when you put up a pic. Thank you.

“Made” $41.22 yesterday by exporting power from our battery and solar during an artificial price spike in electricity. This is an unserious way to run an essential service. We should be swimming in utility-level storage, using the excess solar the power companies whine about to fill it…

The problem with this argument (and it's paywalled so perhaps the actual article makes more sense idk) is that no one *needs* to be using Twitter/X. It isn't your school or your workplace. It isn't your local supermarket. It isn't a basic utility you rely on.

Update your Backerkit password.

And to be clear, I am not arguing the position that mining for batteries is harmless. There are lots of reasons that statement is not true But every gram of material we get out of those mines is going to go into a battery which will last 20+ years and will still be there when the battery wears out

I am pretty well into a script titled "you are being misled about renewable energy" Not gonna pull out studies. Don't need to go over climate change. Just a simple, plain conversation where we look at the realities of renewables vs. fossil fuels and I say "stop letting Republicans lie to you"

I'm going to just keep posting about this... #Archaeology 🏺 www.edp24.co.uk/news/nationa...

In the age of AI-generated code, the real engineering advantage is in flow, feedback & deployment discipline. My free Continuous Delivery Fundamentals course is a GREAT start for anyone serious about modern software engineering. Find out more ➡️ courses.cd.training/courses/cd-f...

They call it “Elon Mode.”

They call it “Elon Mode.”

C’mon people. “Pissimist” was right there.

Use the term “touch grass” to indicate that someone needs to seek out reality, use the term “touch moss” to indicate that they need to seek out ancient forest magic beyond their mortal comprehension.

For sale: men’s trousers. 38, 36.

I'm well past making players 'act' in social situations. Sure, tell me your tact, even tell me the words you use, but you don't need to act it out. Heck you can even do it all in third person. Just like every other skilled challenge in the game.

It’s not an important take. It’s exclusionary and it’s tired. Nobody expects the person playing the wizard to do actual magic. Why should we expect the person playing the bard to play a rousing tune on a lute?

For sale: men’s trousers. 38, 36.

Did a gen AI write this?

Lol. “Cognitive amplifier”… I stand by what I said last year. AI is a Dunning-Kruger accelerator.

A late-winter afternoon in Monahans Sandhills State Park. One of my own photos, taken a few years ago. It's quite a magical place for photographers.

How about business leaders first institute all the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry?

It’s no guarantee but the first thing you should do if you see an outrageous story that’s just an image or screenshot or video with no link to a reputable source is to check the replies and see if someone is saying “that’s an AI fake.” And then don’t spread it either way because it’s not sourced.

Next up: Birds-of-paradise are stunners to look at, but in 2025 scientists discovered that these birds are even more stunning when viewed in UV light—their feathers and some body parts glow yellow-green, an effect that's usually invisible to human eyes

Most of last year was about The Book, but I did lots more science writing, too! Here's a 🧵of a few of my favorite stories, one for each month of 2025. The first is about geochemists solving a centuries old "cold case," identifying the volcano that erupted in 1831 and cooled the planet 🧪

Be aware - pretty much everyone in the press gallery calling for a Royal Commission into antisemitism is doing it because they are completely annoyed the government is not "listen to meeeeeeeeee".

If your 2026 resolution is to read more, may I suggest you adopt my friend's brilliant rule. Take your age. Subtract it from 100. That's how many pages you read before you decide to DNF. The older you get, the fewer pages you should read before you give up. Time is too precious!

Kind of weird that they’d ban these two specific devices from Mamdani’s inauguration, but not any of the countless other similar devices, many of which are way more concerning from a security perspective.

Old enough to remember when text messages on NYE would overload the phone system and you’d get an SMS sent from a friend at midnight at around 12:30.

Remember Erebor, the mountain where Smaug killed the dwarves and stole all their money? And then every nation in the world fought a bloody war to try to get their money back? Techrbos named their new bank after it.

This Hark!, a Vagrant comic does a good overview of why this sucks. www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id...

This is MTG'w bill. She personally authored. It's happening now, not in the past. Spare me her redemption arc.

Somehow we’ve ended up in a position where the richest most powerful people in the world are innocent benevolent bystanders while a college professor with no tenure is part of a decadent and corrupt establishment that controls everything

This, combined with "vice signaling" (taking pride in antisocial behavior) has given us the reign of the Stupid Asshole, something most people are against, but can only be remedied if we're not too polite to talk about it

💯

The first patient I had die in the ICU was a previously healthy patient in their early 50s-from Influenza A. They were NOT vaccinated-they didn’t think they needed it. Get vaccinated. It could mean the difference between life and death.

Every single person who has talked up ChatGPT as having 'sparks of AGI', especially from a position of authority, needs to feel endless shame and atone for years.

I understood that not taking an extreme stance against AI would mean losing credibility in certain circles. I thought about my actual stance for a long time. And I made peace with the fact that I would lose some people who used to respect me.

Next up, a jewellery company catering to billionaires calling itself The Nine.

Surprising absolutely nobody 😂

Wild for an industry to admit that its business model is based on scamming customers #auspol #scams

Interested in the things I make, like my TTRPGs? Pick up Darkened Hill & Dale, TERMINUS, and more at shop.patchworkfez.games Sign up to my rare general newsletter at buttondown.email/PatchworkFez General info at patchworkfez.games

Buttons are back. Knobs are back. Dumb devices are back. Own-it-forever software is back. Print is back. Personal websites and chronological feeds are back. Touching grass is back. People keep saying 2015, but it’s not far enough. The entire 2010s were a mistake. We must retvrn to… 2009.

another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls

RFK: “Where did all this autism come from? It never existed when I was a kid!” “A Christmas Story”, a 1983 movie based on a 1971 memoir about a childhood in the 1930s: “This is my brother Ralphie. He has a ton of sensory issues and behaviors we don’t understand. Every family has a child like him.”

I'm wishing to bring tidings of comfort and joy with this new video. Or at least comfort and slightly reduced stress levels! www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCVs...

🎄🎁 Ruby 4.0.0 Released www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2025...