I agree. I think most players want to be there for the story the DM intends to tell. The worst thing that usually happens is that the players get over-invested in a throwaway NPC and the DM has to make up some lore.
The one group I was part of that did just want to goof off ended up flaming out after they inadvertently summoned the avatar of Gruumsh, but that's a story for another time.
In the “Big Book,” the foundational document of these programs, “Chapter 4: We Agnostics” tells atheists and agnostics that they are “doomed to alcoholic death” unless they “seek Him.” The chapter characterizes non-believers as “handicapped by obstinacy, sensitiveness, and unreasoning prejudice.”
This really jumped out at me. What a horrible thing to say about someone, especially someone looking for help.
This happens all the time in the military, where NCOs tend to be older and more experienced than the officers they report to, especially at lower levels of the organization. This sometimes causes issues, but when it works, it's because of two things:
My practical advice, then, is this: don't worry so much at first. Your older coworkers may be completely fine with the situation - for example, they may be just fine being line cooks and have no ambitions to move up. If you start getting feelings of resentment from your coworkers, you should address them then.
You can also defer to their greater experience in situations where appropriate. Make sure they understand that while you are acting on their advice, the responsibility still lies with you. If the decision results in an unfavourable outcome, you are the one who will take the blame. However, if the decision results in a favourable outcome instead, be sure to give credit to the advice and experience of your team.
Reporting players for in-game behaviour rarely did anything.
And there was no reporting mechanism at all if they decided to continue harassing you through DMs after the game was over - all you could do was block them.
"Just be yourself and you'll make lots of friends at your new school."
Four years of constant bullying and loneliness later: I have one acquaintance that would eventually become my friend after a few more years. I also have basically no self-confidence, and my social development is set back half a decade as I'm still looking for friends to have sleepovers with when everyone else has moved on to normal teenager stuff.
Truly a hidden gem.
Spells, Swords, & Stealth is a LitRPG where the main characters are actually NPCs who randomly pick up some adventurer gear. Their adventure is actually pretty entertaining, and (spoilers):
hidden stuff
at the very end of the first book it reaches out and touches the "real world", kind of like an in-universe fourth wall break.
The B plot is a group of people in the "real world" who are actually playing the TTRPG (as their own characters, not as the NPCs mentioned above). This, to me, is far less interesting, in the same way that the Abaddon stuff was way less interesting than Lindon's story in Cradle. But whereas Suriel, Makiel, et al were still somewhat compelling, especially now that the series has concluded and its possible to see the full arc of their story, I found the "real world" in Spells, Swords, & Stealth to be kind of cringy to read because a lot of the human characters are overly-stereotyped "nerds". It doesn't help that the series doesn't have the best writing to begin with.
Unfortunately as the series has gone on the "real world" stuff has begun to take up a larger share of the page count. Also, the plot has stopped basically dead in its tracks where I'm at in the fourth book to explain some of the mechanics of the fictional TTRPG, which is probably the worst thing an author can do in a LitRPG.
I'm jealous that you get to experience Will Wright's Cradle series for the first time. I can only hope his new series will be just as good.
I was reading Drew Hayes's Spells, Swords, & Stealth series recently but I'm having trouble getting invested in the fourth book. Actually, my enthusiasm for the series has been waning since the first book ended. The central conceit doesn't feel as fresh and charming now that there are actual canon explanations for things.
You'd think so, but every couple of months there's another post making the rounds on the internet because some oblivious person completely missed the message of their favourite band.
My last haircut + beard trim was about $40 CAD, and I tipped 20%.
Now I tend to go to nicer places, so the price is a bit higher than Magicuts or something. My hair is also a pain to deal with so I generally tip well.
Nope. My 4a is nearly three years old and the only damage is some slight warping.
Of course, I always use a quality screen protector and the heaviest OtterBox case I can find, so my phone is well protected.
"Jesus wants a hug!"