DShomshak

My morning newspaper's front-page story on the election was blessedly free of preliminary results that don't actually mean anything, as WA elections cannot fairly be called until all the mail-in ballots arrive. (Blessedly because if something is not known, don't pretend it is.) But it said voting was generally trouble-free across the country, with no major incidents of voter intimidation. The polling places that ran short of ballots were restocked in time, ballots were collected despite glitchy voting machines in an Arizona precinct, a woman taking pictures of voters at a drop box was promptly stopped, etc. I was expecting armed attacks by Proud Boys, so I am pleased. Dean Shomshak

The place where the party never has to end reminds me of the Venusberg from Wagner's Tannhauser. The place of ultimate pleasure... but for Tannhauser even the embrace of the goddess herself palls and he abandons her to seek a higher meaning. Spiffy melodrama, if you've a taste for Wagnerian music and singing. Whereas Hieronymus Bosch supplies a classic name for such a locale: the Garden of Earthy Delights. Dean Shomshak

The Incas also had no form of money, or even proto-money, according to Goldstein's Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing. The state collected all goods produced, then redistributed them to the populace as it saw fit. Of course, all labor was also centrally planned and compulsory. An "existence proof" that such a society can function. I make no judgement as to whether such a political economy is desirable. They also got by without writing, though the knotted-cord "quipu" were a form of record-keeping to manage all the collection and redistribution. All in all, a good source of inspiration for Fantasy or SF societies that go beyond the standard tropes. Dean Shomshak

Still, it would be pretty cool to be able to say, "I am a Cloud Architect." Dean Shomshak

Another article I read says the November full moon is traditionally called the "Beaver Moon." I am not sure I care to speculate on the occult uses of a Blood Beave Moon (or Beaver Blood Moon?) Dean Shomshak

Astonishingly, even the Washington /senate race has become a nailbiter. In July, Patty Murray had a 20-point lead over no-experience Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley, on record as an anti-abortion absolutist. After what must be millions in TV ad buys blaming Murray for inflation, crime, drugs, and everything short of the Reichstag fire, Murray's lead is down to 3 points. Smiley might actually win -- a reminder that Washington is really West Idaho, narrowly overbalanced by Seattle. Dean Shomshak

Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing by Jacob Goldstein A breezy tour through the long, weird story of one of humanity's most important inventions, that is also one of the most misunderstood. Also the contributions of some of the most important people you've probably never heard of, such as John Gay: a Scotsman exiled from England for murder, who became first a gambler, then the inventor of modern(ish) central banking, and perpetrator of one of the world's first stock market bubbles that ended up crashing the economy of France. Also, Luddites, Cypherpunks, mathematicians and some economists and central bankers who have no right to be so interesting. Despite the lightness of style, this book also helped me finally to understand what William Jennings Bryan was about with his famous "Cross of Gold" speech and the Bimetallism controversy in the late 19th century US. And did you know that for several decades in the US, any bank in the US could print its own money? (Including one note blazoned with the image of Santa Claus.) Highly recommended. And yes, there's stuff you can adapts for your Fantasy setting (it wasn't all "gold pieces," folks) and some speculations about the future of money that might become part of your SF setting. Dean Shomshak

A group called Vet the Vote recruits military veterans to serve as poll workers. Many of them have a strong public service ethic; they are trained at learning and following complex and detailed instructions; ...and they don't scare easily. Vet the Vote encourages veterans to help out with the shortage of election workers : NPR Dean Shomshak

Not a space story as such, but here's critic Bob Mondello's reviedw of the documentary Good Night, Oppie, about the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Movie review: 'Good Night Oppy' : NPR Dean Shomshak

I got jabbed with the updated booster and flu vaccine yesterday. So far the only obvious side effect is two slightly sore shoulders. No magnetic powers at ALL, I'm disappointed. (I'm sure the lycanthropy is coincidence.) Dean Shomshak

Terror. The unseen and unknown. Revelation, whether read in the stars or from confronting your greatest fears. What came before the beginning of things, and shall remain after all has ended. The Undermere is a great sinkhole -- a cave whose roof fell in. The bottom holds a pond. Smaller cave-tunnels lead off into darkness. On a moonless night, with no wind to reach the depths of the sinkhole, the Undermere shows a perfect mirror of the night sky. Stars above you and stars below. Look in the Undermere and you shall see the truth you seek. Or maybe the truth you need. Or the truth you fear above all, though the latter two are often the same. The legend that whoever strips and bathes in the Undermere becomes immortal is a metaphor. The Wise would be wary to try the experiment. Dean Shomshak

For the God of Commerce, folklore and literature already provide the Goblin Market: the place where you can buy and sell anything. It is always dangerous. For the foolish or greedy, the price that seems right always turns out to be very, very wrong. But sometimes the pure of heart or quick of wit can buy miracles. (You probably don't want to call it the Goblin Market unless your goblyns, for all they seem to be a significant threat to several societies, bear a special connection to the God of Commerce.) Tales differ about the location of the Market. Some say it's an oasis in a desert beyond five mountain ranges. Others say an island surrounded by five whirlpools, and only a blind steersman can find the way. Some say if you toss a coin into a certain well at the dark of the moon, the path to the Market opens before you. And there are many other tales. Are you clever enough to unriddle the clues, or savvy enough to buy the secret from one who truly knows and not be cheated? Dean Shomshak

Suspicion of the US government is as old as the republic itself, so there's a certain tradition here. But yeah, the 56th time the threat ultimately turns out to be a Sinister Government Agency, whether rogue or sanctioned at the highest levels, that apparently never has to worry about its budget, oversight, public opinion or legal consequence of exposure, well, my eyes roll at the triteness of it all. The Iron Age didn't invent the trope, either, but writers of that time sure leaned into it. Dean Shomshak

Back in my old "Seattle Sentinels" campaign, one of the PCs disguised himself as a villain to make contact with the vampire Lady Twilight (see Creatures of the Night: Horror Enemies). We ran it near Hallowe'en, so calling it "Trick or Treat" was inevitable. A year later, as Oct 31 approached again, I ran "Trick or Treat II: The Movie." The Seattle Sentinels agreed be consultants for a movie inspired by some of their adventures. They ran into some loonies who'd been enthralled by Lady Twilight, engaged in a "Scooby-Doo" scam against the movie (they were upset at her portrayal) -- then a pair of real ghosts, including the Haunt (CotN again) in the old house used as a filming location. In my first "Keystone Konjurors" playtest campaign for Ultimate Supermage, the heroes were trapped in a recursive series of horrific dreamworlds by Tappan Arkwright II (Arcane Adversaries), in "Trick or Treat: The Next Generation." The second Keystone Konjurors campaign ended near Christmas. Coincidentally, one of the PCs was pregnant with an infant that was the focus of a plan by Yahweh to escape Heaven. In the simultaneous escape of Yahweh from Heaven and the PCs from Hell, it was obligatory for the hasty EDM to deposit them in Bethlehem, PA. ADDENDUM: I almost forgot: During the second KK campaign, we gamed on Oct 31 but one of the players couldn't make it. So I just did a short, silly fill-in scenario in which the PCs (and Black Fang, who at this time was merged with his human side for a sane and controlled personality, married to a PC, and effectively an NPC hero) decide to crash the Emperor of Babylon's Hallowe'en party. Hijinks ensued and a good time was had by all. Dean Shomshak

In Real Magic, P. E. I. Bonewitz postulated "Cellular Psychokinesis" and Atomic Psychokinesis." Between them, between them they could achieve feats such as psychic surgery, shapeshifting, and, yes, lightning bolts from one's fingers or materializing objects from thin air. Very much the old wine of magic in the new bottle of "psi." At that point, yeah, "Only Mental Powers" becomes meaningless as a Limitation. One of the PCs in my "Avant Guard" campaign has a small VPP. (There's no way I'd allow a PC to have a *large* VPP, after the stories another player told of gaming at MIT where *every* character had a large VPP.) The SFX is Primal Magic: "I tell the Universe what it is and the Universe conforms, with no backchat, because I am a goddess." The Limitation "Only Magic" gets a -1/4 value, and that only because the character must define any feat must be written out in Ancient Sumerian, in terms that would make sense to someone 5000 years ago. So for instance, I allow the character to make an Enhanced Sense to detect anything made from an alien metal... but she needs an actual sample of that metal so the spell becomes "Guide me to more of this substance, whatever it happens to be." It forces the player to think at least a little. Dean Shomshak

Wow, Dionesh D,Souza is just all class, bragging about Republicans "LAUGHING" (his capitalization) about an an assault on an 82-year-old man. Add "respect for elders" as one more traditional conservative value that "conservatives" no longer believe in. And likewise, I'm not even reading the Republican candidate statements in the voters' pamphlets anymore. Anyone who's still willing to associate with a party that embraces such vileness is at least tqacitly endorsing it, no matter what pious statements they make to the press. Dean Shomshak

Here in WA, it's all mail-in voting. It's worked well for years. I recommend it. Dean Shomshak

One more thought on Danica. Some people from elsewhere will want to avoid Danica because it suffered a curse from the gods. A temporary curse but still... cursed by the gods. OTOH, some people might want to go there, at least to visit, because it's a place where the gods answered a prayer. If one prayer was answered in Danica, maybe other prayers will, too. Especially prayers for vengeance... Story seed: PCs hired to guard a caravan of pilgrims to Danica. They defend it from bandits, or whatever. As for the pilgrims themselves, this could be a version of the Canterbury Tales -- or if your players like mysteries, Murder on the Orient Express! Dean Shomshak

This is it. Fine, you've got the basic nuts'n'bolts of politics and economy. Some economic troubles from circumstances outside the residents' control, some more stress from goblyn attacks, and social stress makes some people double down on the social strictures. Especially the ones that distinguish them from those other people, such as the more egalitarian Aerelios. (They're stealing our women! They're stealing our property! They're reminding us that for half our population, our cherished social rules are total bullpucky!) And then a great and terrible MIRACLE happens. Real, no kidding wrath of (at least one) God. ... And some people still refuse to get the message. On the micro level, this has adventure uses. For a start, female PCs might find themselves under special attention, not all of it friendly. On the macro level, it reminds players that this isn't just a low-tech place with a bit of magic; this is a Fantasy world with active gods, magical down to its bones. Dean Shomshak

... But not surprised. Dean Shomshak Not surprised by this, either. Bleah. Dean Shomshak

Danica mostly seems rather generic and boring (sorry), apart from the Week of Red Blindness. Whatever that was, it's interesting because ir's forcing significant social change... which some people are resisting. Here's your drama; this is worth developing further. LMB addressed the placement of Koy. I'm not even trying to keep track of the geography, so I have no comment on that score. But while the linformation given is necessary, there's nothing very interesting about it. Of course, it may be that there genuinely is nothing very distinctive here. Not every place in the real world is obviously interesting, either. Kerqod has some good social change with the craft guilds supplanting the (mostly dead) aristocracy. Not everyone will be happy with this change, though -- notably whoever's left from the aristocracy, and whoever owed their wealth and status to them -- which is a conflict worth developing. But the city could use something more unusual and distinctive. Ison's pretty good because it's the odd man out, an outpost from a country that's mostly tied to a different region. NBobody's going to trust these guys much, though some people might be cultivating alliances with Ixon against local rivals, on the theory that Faydon has enough power to be a spoiler, but not enough to become locally dominant. Being built/carved into a cliff also makes it "visually" distinctive. And being a Magocracy means visitors can see all sorts of miscellaneous magical coolness. Reuchia is moderately interesting as a collapsed state. Who's making a play for Reuchian territory? Thomar's split between the "official" power elite, convulsed with infighting, and the bureaucracy that actually runs everything, has dramatic potential. But what was the basis of the former ruling class? What are the offices for which people compete? On the other side, how cohesive is the bureaucratic coalition? Is anyone talking about having the high bureaucrats try to sweep away the remnants of the old regime? Diltren: Nothing very interesting or distinctive here. Rasul: Your basic mercantile city, nothing very distinctive here, either. While most of this hits the basic, obligatory marks for Fantasy setting design, a lot of it seems colorless. I don't see much beyond standard tropes. What is unique about each location? It doesn't have to be big or obviously important for adventurers to be memorable for players. (I gather this is based on something published elsewhere? If so, I think you'll have to put a lot more of yourself into it. The setting *will* be better as a result.) Dean Shomshak

SF has long included teleportation among the standard psi powers. See for instance Bester's The Stars My Destination. In McCaffrey's "Pern" series, the dragons of that world teleport and form telepathic bonds to their riders: It's all psi. Dean Shomshak

Speaking of gold rush towns, that brings up another example from Exalted: The city of Gem, in the far South of Creation, is one of that setting's larger cities despite being located in hot, arid mountains with little food or water. But like its name says, Gem is the world's richest source of multiple jewels. It extracts so much wealth that its ruler, the Despot, can actually pay to bring in supplies from thousands of miles away along the aptly-named Diamond Road, with assistan ce from hired sorcerers, gods and demons. It's a design point that the city exists on a knife-edge of disaster, but the money's *so good*... Dean Shomshak

All Things Considered aired a story about the Progressive Caucus letter and Rep. Pramilla Jaipaul's swift retra ction of it, with some mumbling that a staffer had sent the letter before it was "vetted." Um, OK. From the description, it sounds like high-minded dithering by very nice people. Negotiate directly with Russia. But wait, we aren't saying to leave Ukraine out. Oh please, can't we have a diplomatic solution instead of this nasty war? No. At this point, I don't think we (that is, civilized humanity) can, unless the resolution involves Russia renouncing all claims to any Ukrainian territory, including the Crimea, and returning all the kidnapped Ukrainians. Once those concessions are made, the diplomats can go to work. Until then, let Russia reap the disaster it has sown and choke on its own banquet of horrors. Dean Shomshak

That hasn't been reported in my usual media sources (though I find it sadly plausible). Could you tell more about this, please? Dean Shomshak