Fresh Starts

Hello!

My name is Ella (she/they) and this is my new tumblr acc. I’ve been a regular tumblr for well over a decade and my previous blog, @geekintrainingj, has served me well since at least 2014. But I’m no longer a teenager, and I want a clean slate to start using this site regularly again, so here we are!

I plan to use this blog for a semi-curated feed surrounding my current BIG interests, as well as original posts and potentially some art too. Follow here for posts on

- LARP

- TTRPGs

- My own OCs

- A sprinkling of Hermitcraft/Life Series

- Any video games, books, or other media I’ve been particularly enjoying!

I’ve also got an archive blog @aspynjayearchive which will be a less curated feed of anything that comes across my feed that I enjoy enough to share. If you’re following from my last blog, it’ll be pretty much what I did over there

I love this site and it’s weird niche of subculture, and I’m excited to use this space to start using it again <3

ALT

quick wave studies.

ALT

quick wave studies.

I was too lazy to render the end crystals I’m sorry 😔

I was too lazy to render the end crystals I’m sorry 😔

I'm by no means a hater, but DnD in general has been frustrating me lately, especially with the boom of new RPGs that are dedicated to certain aspects of the TTRPGs (Shadowdark, Daggerheart, Draw Steel).

My gripe is that DnD, especially 2024, doesn't really do things it wants to do well, because it wants to do EVERYTHING TTRPGs have to offer.

You can fight monsters in DnD! Is the fighting good? Not really, you're either overhelmingly strong or underpowered and everything is luck based, a lot of strategy have been waved away for not being "fun".

You can build your own character! Is it good? Not really, bunch of premade boxes with no interesting downsides you have to commit yourself and players have been trying to break free of those by homebrew or multiclass for ages.

You can roleplay in the game! Is it any good? Not really, as in, there is no mechanics inherently that make RP that more engaging and what benefits you gain for actions are always at DMs discretion. Flirting with a barmaid uses the same mechanics as climbing a tree if we go by RAW.

You can explore hidden dungeons! Is it any good? Not really, most characters have darkvision and there is nothing inherently incentivizing stuff like resource managment or terrain awareness.

You can travel the world! Is it any good? Not really, not RAW at least, again you don't have to track anything and no interesting traveling mechanic have been introduced.

You can have fun with DnD and I do to, but more we play I start to realize that we're not having fun, because we're playing DnD, we're having fun, because we're roleplaying in a game and we can really do that with any system.

I'm by no means a hater, but DnD in general has been frustrating me lately, especially with the boom of new RPGs that are dedicated to certain aspects of the TTRPGs (Shadowdark, Daggerheart, Draw Steel).

My gripe is that DnD, especially 2024, doesn't really do things it wants to do well, because it wants to do EVERYTHING TTRPGs have to offer.

You can fight monsters in DnD! Is the fighting good? Not really, you're either overhelmingly strong or underpowered and everything is luck based, a lot of strategy have been waved away for not being "fun".

You can build your own character! Is it good? Not really, bunch of premade boxes with no interesting downsides you have to commit yourself and players have been trying to break free of those by homebrew or multiclass for ages.

You can roleplay in the game! Is it any good? Not really, as in, there is no mechanics inherently that make RP that more engaging and what benefits you gain for actions are always at DMs discretion. Flirting with a barmaid uses the same mechanics as climbing a tree if we go by RAW.

You can explore hidden dungeons! Is it any good? Not really, most characters have darkvision and there is nothing inherently incentivizing stuff like resource managment or terrain awareness.

You can travel the world! Is it any good? Not really, not RAW at least, again you don't have to track anything and no interesting traveling mechanic have been introduced.

You can have fun with DnD and I do to, but more we play I start to realize that we're not having fun, because we're playing DnD, we're having fun, because we're roleplaying in a game and we can really do that with any system.

A wonderful little mood brightener created by indiarosecrawford

A wonderful little mood brightener created by indiarosecrawford

screamed and cheered so much today that my throat hurts and I have a headache but hey the pink parrots won

So imagine a DnD character who’s whole motivation is ‘X guy killed my parents and I need to find them’ and the party just thinks ‘ok, revenge quest, that’s normal’

But when they finally find the guy the person with dead parents is just like “Hey buddy, long time no see. It’s a shame we got separated, here’s some money” and they’re super chill.

The party is just confused and goes “Wait, why are you giving him gold?”

The guy just goes “Cause I owe him money?”

The party “But he killed your parents???”

“That’s why I owe him money!”

So imagine a DnD character who’s whole motivation is ‘X guy killed my parents and I need to find them’ and the party just thinks ‘ok, revenge quest, that’s normal’

But when they finally find the guy the person with dead parents is just like “Hey buddy, long time no see. It’s a shame we got separated, here’s some money” and they’re super chill.

The party is just confused and goes “Wait, why are you giving him gold?”

The guy just goes “Cause I owe him money?”

The party “But he killed your parents???”

“That’s why I owe him money!”

What I love about this is that it implies that the assassin, for whatever reason, was forced to skip town before collecting what he was owed, and this guy full-on went on a quest to track him down and pay him. Like.

Assassin: You know most times if I get run out before collecting, people are just, yay, now I don’t have to pay him! Some of them even arrange to put heat on me just so they can weasel out.

Dude, with full, paladin-like gravitas: What do I look like, a cheat? A cheapskate? You did me a service, and I can never repay you, but I will honour the debt!

Assassin: … Hey, you ever need anybody else knocked off, here’s my card!

[Image description: a comment by tagrasso which says: Add to it by occasionally making comments like “there is a debt that needs to be settled” and “they will get what they deserve”]

you have a disgusting storytelling addiction

you have a disgusting storytelling addiction

It’s true. It goes back a long way, too. It all started when…

you gotta watch out when theres an animal cause you literally might get sniffed

you gotta watch out when theres an animal cause you literally might get sniffed