RPGs, much like SF, have always been a mechanism to explore social issues in philosophy, governance, and thought. In Human society I don’t personally believe that “politics” can be avoided in any group anywhere. —of course that’s just one man’s opinion.

The iPad has a variety of sizes up to 13”.

My amazing iPad does this well. You can get a 10th generation starting about US$250. ALSO, look out for November deals.

Scatter ideas… players are unlikely to move in any specific order or direction because that’s what’s expected. Most experienced players are terrified to do what the GM wants because they believe they’ll all die. Players and GMs are commonly perceived as adversaries, but they should be collaborators. So the GM can scatter ideas and little bits of business al over the place and then the group can choose. Members of the group can ask for elements and the GM can choose. Create the series together, allow the players to affect change in the setting, and never let an NPC do what a player does. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Hollow World wasn’t strange from either perspective. There have always been fantasies involving the hidden civilizations under the earth. There was also among designers a fetish for the pulpy adventure stories. See also, Doc Savage, the Nile Empire for TORG, Justice Inc and Lands of Mystery, various Buck Roger’s iterations, Thrilling Places, Hollow Earth Expeditions, Spirit of the Century, as well as a few dozen others. Hell, even Traveller is based on the pulpy SF like Dumarest and Lensman.

Back in the 80s we were just guessing most of the time. At least until Akira was released in the United States in 1988 and only then white people started realizing there was a market.

Notes, and links, etc: UpNote Fantastic app, Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android; Markdown support.

I very much appreciate UpNote for three reasons. First it is a flexible and straightforward notes app. Second, there is a one time purchase option. Third, I can use it for Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Nothing else combines these value propositions.

I was an Evernote user since version 2 but it has just become a bloated terrible experience, and it’s egregiously expensive. UpNote gives me those key features without any cruft.

Some people just love to removed, especially if that’s all they do. James Wallis said (IIRC) “Game designs aren’t tools, but some game designers are”.