I can definitely attest to doing this in both TTRPGs and MMOs. Honestly, it originally started as me getting fed up with dating men who just sucked at wooing. I was convinced that I would be better off as a man because I knew how to treat a lady, how to have respect, and how to just say all the right things lol. But in later years it helped me define more of who I am. Like I am annoyingly demi now and I need to maintain that status with someone in order to keep romantic interest.

@SwampCreature Funniest thing to happen to me was back in my White Wolf days. I was trying to roll for stealth/subterfuge and ended up being mistaken for a prostitute by my target. I was suppose to follow him, not bed him, oh well.

@mianngu I feel this in my bones lol. It is sooooo critical to be flexible as a DM. I have never done it before, but I can definitely see the pitfalls of being to rigid and set on the story you want to tell. I think it would take a master storyteller to successfully manipulate all their players to unknowingly flawlessly follow a script. But then what fun is that? I feel like half the enjoyment from DMing would come from seeing what your players do with what they are given. In my opinion, it is like a performer giving a performance to other performers who are in turn giving one back.

I definitely had a few boring DMs in my day. I think my least favorite is actually when the whole game is nothing but combat. Just straight forward mindless killing of faceless hordes. Week after week. I play for the story, not the fighting.

@TableTopProphet lol actually I am pretty sure it comes from wishing my mom had named me something different. I have spent my whole life having people misread my name and call me "Justin". So naming is just a weird deal for me now. I have learned to live with my brain's self imposed hysterics.

Soooooooo

It's me again.

I am curious, since I think this is more of an MMO thing than a TT thing, but I want to know, what's your opinion on having mounts? Or familiars? Or any kind of beastie companions?

I will admit, that having played in both camps, I really enjoy having creatures you can interact with because it makes the world seem more real to me. I remember when I first got started with Guild Wars (god I'm old) I was weirdly psyched to play a ranger because you could have a wild cat as a companion that would help you tear up enemies. Granted I was 17 and my tastes have slightly changed. But it is what it is.

When I played White Wolf, I always enjoyed mages who got down with the beasties too.

I don't know how feasible it will be to put in ridable creatures if someone's tale called for it, but I would elated to have them in gameplay.

Wondering if anyone else has this ideal for their sample submissions, or just in general?

You may choose to answer one or all three of my questions.

1. Which birthday was your favorite and why? Tell your tale!

2. What do you like to do on your birthday, if you celebrate such things?

3. What would you do for your birthday if you had zero limitations?? Tell me your dreamz.

@SwampCreature Honestly it came from reading more. Like at first all I could do was make cool characters. But I never liked bland fiction that takes place in "our" world so I kept building. It really is a world 10 years in the making lol. I just need the time to write, and ideally, to not feel so stressed as that doesn't help for shit lol

@Alexander-Salkin

I had a few themes back in my childhood. Most memorable was Cookie Monster theme lol.

@mianngu Space would be nice, but man, I would kill to go scuba diving lol. There are some truly beautiful sights underwater and enough creatures that I want to be friends with them all. I love seeing videos of stingrays and eels and octopuses that just love to come hang with divers lol.

If anyone is interested~

I spent my birthday getting not one, but two great dinners and then doing my best to be as lazy as possible lol. Which for me, was not that lazy. I still had to exercise the dogs, clean, and run errands lol. But I tried!

@Alexander-Salkin said in Tell the Truth now!:

My question is have you ever had an unplanned lucid dream that enlightened you to something?

Oh definitely. So even before I started dealing with insomnia as a side effect to meds, I would occasionally have lucid dreams (among day dreaming, regular dreams, and basically just letting my imagination run wild) and there have been several that inspire philosophy, writing, and just creating in general.

I honestly look forward to those moments and try to write down everything I can remember. I suck at trying to trigger them in any way, so when it does happen, I have to be ready and pay attention lol.

They always make me feel small. Not like, small in a bad way. More like, there is so much more to the world. It gives me perspective. There could be great and powerful cosmic forces outside of time and space, and here I am worrying about rent, my job, and whether or not to get pet insurance for my accident prone dog.

My question~
Do you feel most of your "self talk" is mostly positive or negative?

Ok ok, that makes it sound worse than it actually is....

Ok, yea, my dreamy S.O. kinda did dump me and I kinda didn't take it well.

We all know the ridiculous advice we get post breakup, some of useful, all of it well meaning, none of it wanted at the time lol.

So what are your go-to things you try to do when heartbroken? Because lets face it, if you are doing the breaking, that mess rolls off like water off a duck. I am looking for any and all distractions, advice, or hell, even to read about some of the wacky things you were told.

My favorite is that my half sister's mother believes a good sh*t will fix anything. Tired? Go poop. Migraine? Go poop. Stub your toe? Poop. Car won't start? You guessed it....

@Mariano I started with Mistborn too! I keep wanting to get into the Stormlight Archives but they are just so massive that I feel like I never have the time to just read for large blocks of time like I want to lol.

@merlin You know, I vaguely recall seeing the cover for this one I think. Sometimes I am guilty of stockpiling new books but getting hung up on a book I've read 5 or more times lol.

@mianngu I was super excited for HTTYD to come out. I still remember getting out of the hospital and going straight to the theaters for it. Definitely one of my favorites lol. The sequels not so much...

I want all the book recommendations. I love fantasy, epic fantasy, outside the box thinking, and even a little bit sci-fi. I loved The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear. And I'm always looking for something that reminds me of those while we wait another (hopefully not) decade for the third book.

But I would love to hear your favorites.

@merlin I certainly try to keep moving forward, though I have considered some pretty radical things to try and get over this faster because of course he wants to still be "friends" lol.

@mianngu yea my dumb ass shops way ahead for people so I already have his xmas present lol.

And, he still wants to go with me to the event he bought tickets for for my birthday. So. Awko-taco.

I feel like all of my gaming tattoos would either always be small (not because they aren't important, more like an easter egg) or very retro. Honestly with all the tattoos I have, I am surprised that I don't really have any gamer ones. I have two White Wolf tattoos mind you lol. But surprisingly no Zelda, Pokemon, Spyro, Final Fantasy, no Kingdom Hearts lol.

@SwampCreature mine would be at like... 1/2 one heart lol

Ok ok, that makes it sound worse than it actually is....

Ok, yea, my dreamy S.O. kinda did dump me and I kinda didn't take it well.

We all know the ridiculous advice we get post breakup, some of useful, all of it well meaning, none of it wanted at the time lol.

So what are your go-to things you try to do when heartbroken? Because lets face it, if you are doing the breaking, that mess rolls off like water off a duck. I am looking for any and all distractions, advice, or hell, even to read about some of the wacky things you were told.

My favorite is that my half sister's mother believes a good sh*t will fix anything. Tired? Go poop. Migraine? Go poop. Stub your toe? Poop. Car won't start? You guessed it....

@K-O I feel like I should know what this con is....?