I agree. Everything she said was extremely smart, insightful, articulate, and level-headed. I’m impressed. I’m tempted to listen to it again so that I don’t forget any of her points.

I really like this episode. I’m not sure why, but this one and “There All The Honor Lies” have always had special places in my heart as kind of 2nd-tier favorites of season 2.

Thom Tillis is my senator (unfortunately), and for every time he does something decent, rational, or admirable, he does another 10 to 12 things that annoy me. I see he’s still being consistent. I’m sorry. I didn’t vote for him.

It's like, somewhere along the lines, people just forgot about protecting their reputation, getting their way without coming off as extremely petty and small. I guess it's a Trump thing. He's petty and small so everyone's allowed to be now.

Yes, I’m co-host and editor of “Discerning Geeks Portal.” I’m also working on editing the first episode of a political podcast that I’m probably going to call “The Political Escape Pod.” I’m in the middle of something, so I might have to come back with the link.

1. Hit points are dull & abstract; 2. Crafting rules require too much playtime that I can’t imagine players investing in. What methods make damage/wounds/injuries more cinematic & risky without being too deadly? How can alchemy, herbalism, etc. be faster & more interesting without being too easy?

Good advice & partly why I’m inclined to mini-modules and/or homebrew. I’m worried about player directions changing the long term goal of a pre-written story. Also, I make a better editor than creator, so I want to see which directions players would go before planning out each subsequent step.

This is great advice, and this is something I already feel strongly about. The story should be a group effort. I guess there are two things I’m afraid of: 1. Not making the world or the story interesting enough in the first place; 2. Not improvising well enough when players do throw a curve ball.

What is the best, most helpful, and most realistic advice for someone who would like to start Dungeon Mastering but is intimidated by published adventures & gets bogged down in details of a homebrew world, needing help coming up plot lines & hooks that will satisfy players without over-preparing?

Happy New Year. I don’t even get to play D&D as much as I’d like, but I love your channel anyway. I *might* be playing D&D on Thursday. No guarantees, but if we get a gaming rhythm going, I might DM for the first time in 2025. I hope it’s a great year in every way.

Malcolm Barrett from “Timeless” and Tracie Thoms from “9-1-1,” correct? Nice circle friends and nice costumes. :) Happy New Year.

I have both books but haven’t gotten around to reading them yet. I plan to start soon. With one being a prequel to the other, which order is best to read them in, publication order or story order?

And, am I crazy, or was that admiral’s attitude, Maddox’s intentions with Data, and Louvois’ interpretation of the case all completely out of character for the Star Trek universe? As good as that episode is in some ways, for certain moments, it also gets so much wrong.

…Just in case we do a year-in-review on Discerning Geeks Portal, I’ve already started a top TV of 2024 list. Unless I change my mind later , I’ve got #SupermanAndLois at #1, above #AManOnTheInside, #HighPotential, #AgathaAllAlong, and #Shogun.

Which one are you watching?