{
  "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
  "title": "Take on Rules",
  "home_page_url": "https://takeonrules.com/",
  "description": "Recent content for Take on Rules",
  "feed_url": "https://takeonrules.com/feed.json",
  "favicon": "https://takeonrules.com/favicon.ico",
  "author": {
    "name": "Jeremy Friesen"
  },
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/08/30/re-appreciate-blogger-while-you-can/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/08/30/re-appreciate-blogger-while-you-can/",
      "title": "Re: Appreciate Blogger While You Can",
      "date_published": "2026-08-30T10:49:24-04:00",
      "tags": "responses, technologies",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime datetime=\"2026-08-30\" title=\"2026-08-30\"\u003eThis morning\u003c/time\u003e with coffee in hand, I pulled up my \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS\"\u003eRich Site Summary\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Rich Site Summary\"\u003eRSS\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Rich Site Summary”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Rich Site Summary”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-RSS\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n feed and read.  A few posts\nin I read \u003ca href=\"https://brandons-journal.com/post/blogger-will-most-likely-be-the-next-geocities\"\u003eAppreciate Blogger While You Can\u003c/a\u003e.  This struck a deep nerve.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe live in an era of ever encroaching light pollution.  The night skies of\ncenturies ago are different from what the night skies most of us experience\nthese days.  As light pollution encroaches, once faint stars disappear.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve been blogging since \u003ctime datetime=\"2011-02-02\" title=\"2011-02-02\"\u003e2011\u003c/time\u003e.  I’ve witnessed moving towards platforms that\ninvariably collapse once capital has extracted and strip-mined their value.  I\nread of folks lambasting Google+ but for the \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game\"\u003eRole Playing Game\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Role Playing Game\"\u003eRPG\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Role Playing Game”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Role Playing Game”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-RPG\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n scene, this was the platform\nwhere conversation, experimentation, and play happened.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd when Google sunset Google+, there was no obvious successor.  And folks\nscattered.  Finding the odd and unique has become harder.  And the state of\nconnection, more precarious, as capital seeks to create walled gardens (waves at\nDiscord and Facebook) while also assaulting the open (hello aggressive\n\u003cspan\u003eLarge Language Model\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Large Language Model\"\u003eLLM\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Large Language Model”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Large Language Model”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-LLM\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n-feeding agents)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalfe%27s_law\"\u003eMetcalfe\u0026rsquo;s law\u003c/a\u003e states: “the financial value or influence of a telecommunications\nnetwork is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the\nsystem (n^2).”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe open internet struggles to survive the assault of capital because the value\nis not directly something that can be captured.  There is a concerted effort to\ninduce internet serfdom.  And as Brandon says, appreciate blogger while you\nstill can, because anyone that’s watched Google knows that it will end that\nproduct.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe stars that I see twinkling on the internet are one light pollution event\naway from disappearing.  The night sky will be the poorer for their absence, but\nat least the shareholder’s valuation will increase.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/08/26/the-subtle-brilliance-of-mythic-bastionlands-time/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/08/26/the-subtle-brilliance-of-mythic-bastionlands-time/",
      "title": "The (Subtle?) Brilliance of Mythic Bastionland’s Time",
      "date_published": "2026-08-26T16:58:39-04:00",
      "tags": "rpgs",
      "content_html": "\u003cblockquote class=\"quote epigraph\" data-id=\"the-high-value-put-upon-every-minute-of\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThe high value put upon every minute of time, the idea of hurry-hurry as the most important objective of living, is unquestionably the most dangerous enemy of joy.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfooter\u003e\u0026#8213; Hermann Hesse\u003c/footer\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve been thinking a lot about \u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/514996/mythic-bastionland?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Mythic Bastionland”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Mythic Bastionland”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-MYTHIC-BASTIONLAND\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n, in particular time.  And serendipitously this aligns with the September\n2026 RPG Blog Carnival \u003ca href=\"https://ofdiceanddragons.com/roll-for-initative-next-tuesday-at-7pm/\"\u003eRoll for Initative… Next Tuesday at 7pm? – of Dice and\nDragons\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m thinking about \u003ca href=\"https://www.3d6downtheline.com/mythicbastionland\"\u003eMythic Bastionland — 3d6 Down the Line\u003c/a\u003e, in which they skip a\nseason between episode 6 “The Black Boar of Darkholt” and episode 7\n“Croylehenge.”  I like that they skipped to the next season.  Yet I bristled a\nbit as to what all they packed into that skip.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut I digress and don’t want to linger on other people’s approach.  Instead,\nI’ll pivot to my \u003ca href=\"https://takeonrules.com/2026/08/10/first-session-of-running-mythic-bastionland-for-others/\"\u003eFirst Session of Running Mythic Bastionland for Others\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI didn’t ask the group at the end of the session how we should advance time,\nthough I recall my initial inclination was that they would pursue resolving the\ncurse.  But, as I sat with it, letting some actual time pass, I think the better\napproach would be to advance time a few weeks, moving to Sceptermass.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"keeping-modernity-out-of-my-myth\"\u003eKeeping Modernity out of My Myth\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom a narrative perspective, it’s hard to envision the host of a tournament\nheading out the next day to address the curse.  There’s petitioners to hear,\nbusiness to tend to, and that general erosion of time that all “leaders”\nexperience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecond, the imposition of Sceptermass, and the ritual of renewing vows of\nloyalty imposes a subtle conflict for the knights.  Renewing vows of loyalty\ndoes not directly conform to a knight’s oath.  Yet one can perhaps see a line\nthat to those oaths by way of the solidarity of renewing vows of fealty.  That\nis having many aligned that have sworn to protect the realm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe unasked question becomes: “Do you take direct action to protect the realm”\nor “Do you take what you hope to be indirect action by way of giving legitimacy\nto the state?”  Do you want to operate in the arena of action or influence?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen running as an even subtler undercurrent is character oath’s interplay with\nthe myths we the players know from our real world.  And how in agreeing, as\nplayers, that our characters will “Seek the Myths“ that we, as players, will\nconsider our real world myths.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat is are we, as players, bringing into the game our shared desire to quest\nfor Camelot?  In which King Arthur is a steward and protector of a noble ideal?\nAnd what lurks in our ancestral memory?  And how does this game invoke those\nmemories?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"where-theres-a-whip\"\u003eWhere There’s a Whip\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoving directly (in campaign time) from one activity to another mirrors an\n“always on” life style.  I’ve witnessed Dungeon and Dragons games that are\nplayed out over the course of a year or two, but the elapsed in game time was\nless than a month.  Not even enough time for the blossoms to bear fruit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInstead everything was full of earth shattering changes and rapid character\n“build” advancement.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe underlying in-game driver feels like urgency and scarcity; move quickly to\nsolve the world shattering apocalypse.  Which feels like the whip of\nneo-liberalism lashing at the back of the characters.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePerhaps we do this in those games because we don’t have rules and guidance\notherwise?  Perhaps we do this because temporal continuity is easier to handle?\nOr maybe its the thrill of always being in motion?  Or maybe the corporate\nnature of the production of the game is telling us something about labour?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf note, I see that games are (again?) tending towards including downtime\nactivities.  But I’m wondering about procedures that move characters into that\nsubsystem; and more importantly that move explicitly move the campaign calendar.\nThat is to say many of the Dungeons and Dragons games I’ve played in and\nwitnessed were run as though no one gets any downtime.\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e How very American?!?\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"theres-a-way\"\u003eThere’s a Way\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo my knowledge \u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n is rather unique in that it has a Session\nprocedure for \u003cem\u003eAdvancing Time\u003c/em\u003e.  The procedure is as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the end of each session, or during a natural break in their journey, the\ngroup decides how much time will reasonably pass:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNone:\u003c/strong\u003e Pick up where you left off.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeeks:\u003c/strong\u003e Continue to the next significant seasonal event.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMonths:\u003c/strong\u003e Move to the next Season.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYears:\u003c/strong\u003e Begin a new Age in Spring.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf uncertain roll a d6:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1:\u003c/strong\u003e Season or Age turns \u003cstrong\u003enow\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2–3:\u003c/strong\u003e Season or Age turns \u003cstrong\u003eafter next session\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4–6:\u003c/strong\u003e The Season or Age \u003cstrong\u003econtinues\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe procedure then leads into simplified pursuits that can be somewhat quickly\nadjudicated.  These pursuits are generally not unique compared to other games\nwith downtime activities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother benefit of advancing a season or age, is that the characters restore all\nof their Virtues, which are a reflection of their ability to endure and\naccomplish heroic tasks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"perversion-of-gygaxs-admonition\"\u003ePerversion of Gygax’s Admonition\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsider Gygax’s often quoted and referenced passage: “YOU CAN NOT HAVE A\nMEANINGFUL CAMPAIGN IF STRICT TIME RECORDS ARE NOT KEPT.”\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e Emphasis Gary’s, in fact this is the only place in the Dungeon Master’s\nGuide that uses all caps.  Perhaps not then meant as screaming, but let’s\npretend it means that now.\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think \u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n’s section on Time (p17) addresses the admonition in a\nslightly askew manner.  First, it provides a campaign calendar, of 3 seasons,\neach with 3 events, which creates a year with 9 milestones.  This concrete\ncalendar does fantastic heavy lifting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach of those events have campaign significance, which relate to other aspects\nof the game.  For knights errant, the collection events ending each season are\nof little consequence, but they become more important as those knights become\nrulers of a domain.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFurther, the procedure moves the register of time from the mundane into the epic\npoem.  That is where the time lapse between one stanza of a poem and the next\ncan be a moment, season, year, age.  And it is for the reader to puzzle through\nand derive meaning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"a-sort-of-homecoming\"\u003eA Sort of Homecoming\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGames that involve dungeon exploration often seem to have a home base, and as\nsuch create a place for downtime.  And dungeon problems \u003cem\u003ethat stay in the dungeon\u003c/em\u003e\nfoster conditions for downtime outside the dungeon.  Letting the world breath at\nits own pace.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConsider that starting characters in \u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n likely lack a home base.\nNor are they heading into the dungeon, though mechanically traveling in the\nrealm mechanically behaves as the dungeon (that is the random encounters happen\nthere).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce the knights enter a dwelling or holding, the realm’s exploration procedure\nhalts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’d be hard pressed to say “Yup, we’re out exploring the realm and the session\nends, let’s randomly advance time.”  But I could see that while exploring we\nadvance to the next event of the season, and have found the thing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut “We’re in a holding engaging in politics” seems like a ripe moment to\nconsider advancing the season or even the age.  In part to highlight that as\nmuch as we try to exert control and influence, time and entropy also have a role\nto play.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eAdvancing Time\u003c/em\u003e procedure is a nod towards having a discussion at the table,\none that asks “Are we having fun with the current moment?”  As the realm play is\na different kind of game compared to the exploration.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"a-brief-and-incomplete-survey-of-tracking-time\"\u003eA Brief and Incomplete Survey of Tracking Time\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI want to briefly look at a few other games, lets first look at some of the\nSelected Inspirations of \u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n, namely Cairn and \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/2/chaosium?keyword=pendragon?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003ePendragon\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Pendragon”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Pendragon”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-PENDRAGON\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n.  There\nare others but I’m less familiar with them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCairn provides downtime activities and places them as character facing; namely\nif they want downtime, they need to seek it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePendragon\u003c/span\u003e\n provides an entire mini-game for downtime, namely the lauded \u003cem\u003eWinter\nPhase\u003c/em\u003e in which characters check to see what all they advance by way of what all\nthey did during their adventure(s) for the year.  Part of \u003cspan\u003ePendragon\u003c/span\u003e\n is providing\na framing for the year to year ebb and flow of fortunes and family.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoving very far afield, there’s \u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/448187/Burning-Wheel-Gold-Revised?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eBurning Wheel Gold\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Burning Wheel Gold”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Burning Wheel Gold”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-BURNING-WHEEL-GOLD\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n, which includes guidance on\nhow long some skill checks might take, how long it takes to train for a test,\nand how long wounds take to recover.  There’s an implication that character\nrecovery will necessarily create the conditions for the passage of time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd there’s \u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/370267/The-One-RingTM-Core-Rules?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eThe One Ring\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “The One Ring”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “The One Ring”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-TOR\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n, which moves between Adventuring Phase and Fellowship\nPhase; where the completion of an adventure means the characters get their\nnecessary respite and recovery.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, we have Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, in which a complete recovery\nis achieved after a full rest.  Which, I think, does a lot to inform the broader\nplay culture of always being on, moving from one urgency to another.  And I\nwonder how much the corporate nature of the “caretakers” of Dungeons and Dragons\ninforms/necessitates that play style.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso consider that Dungeons and Dragons has very much eschewed the more granular\ntime tracking, namely random encounter checks each turn in the dungeon.  It is\nas though the overhead of tracking time gets in the way of the urgency of\njumping from one crisis to another.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"all-your-bases-are-belong-to-us\"\u003eAll Your Bases Are Belong To Us\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe flow of time in \u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n functions as a home-base, one in which\nthe troubles of the world do not directly interfere.  It is a place where we,\nthe players, should not spend long.\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e We are, after all, not playing \u003cem\u003ePapers and Paychecks\u003c/em\u003e.\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n And that place is for mechanical\nrecovery but not without cost: aging and events moving forward.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThose events progressing should not do so at a punitive rate but instead at a\npoint where the mechanical cost of time advancing plus the player internalized\ncost of advancing time is less than the perceived benefit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"once-the-number-three-being-the-third-number-be-reached\"\u003eOnce the Number Three, Being the Third Number, Be Reached\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n, as a game, operates in a different register—the poetic—than\nmost other games I’ve read and played.  It moves with its own logic, that of\nfairy tale.  In which time is of vital importance but behaves as its own\ncharacter and meaning maker.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n operates in threes, an oft used number in myth and fairy\ntale.  We can look to \u003ca href=\"https://www.bastionland.com/2017/09/bastions-triple-rule.html\"\u003eBastion\u0026rsquo;s Triple Rule\u003c/a\u003e and see its influence in \u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n’s design.  Consider the following threes:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeasons per Year (e.g. spring, harvest, winter)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEvents per Season\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhases of the Day (e.g. morning, afternoon, night)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpeeds of travel\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCharacter ages (e.g. young, mature, old)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRarities (e.g. common, uncommon, rare)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOften table results (e.g. results for 1, 2–3, and 4–6)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVirtues (e.g. Vigour, Clarity, and Spirit)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFeats (e.g. Smite, Focus, and Deny)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOaths\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is also the Knight, Seer, Myth triad.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI consider this reinforcement of the number three to be a load-bearing pillar of\n\u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"conclusion\"\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve written this before, and will continue to write this again: I regularly\nthink about Milan Kundera’s quote from \u003ccite data-id=\"C2F8BF31-362C-4F0D-A4F2-8F6B1927CB1A\"\u003eSlowness\u003c/cite\u003e: “There is a secret bond\nbetween slowness and memory, between speed and forgetting.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen I want to remember something, I’ll go more slowly, pulling out paper and\npencil, going for a walk, daydreaming for a bit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’d say \u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n implies that we, as players, seek our collective\nmyths (e.g. exhume our collective memory) and thus the game must support a\nslowness.  One in which character’s accomplishments and actions roll out slowly\nacross the fabric of time which is the ages unfurling.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd in that slowness, there is a speed, at which calendar time moves fast.  One\nin which we the players never see all that is not important.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/08/22/questing-for-camelot/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/08/22/questing-for-camelot/",
      "title": "Questing for Camelot",
      "date_published": "2026-08-22T09:20:02-04:00",
      "tags": "personal, reflections",
      "content_html": "\u003cblockquote class=\"quote epigraph\" data-id=\"20221009T120429\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nFor the world is only a tissue of masks and veils; And when the veils are\nlifted, in birth or death or the other ecstasies, we look beyond them, and see\nfaces that we already know, but cannot bear to look at for long.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfooter\u003e\u0026#8213;Simon Heywood, \u003ccite\u003eThe Legend of Vortigern\u003c/cite\u003e\u003c/footer\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSparked, in part, by pulling out and playing \u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/514996/mythic-bastionland?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Mythic Bastionland”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Mythic Bastionland”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-MYTHIC-BASTIONLAND\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n, I have again\nfelt the warmth of embers rekindled; I once more delve into my fondness of\nArthuriana.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart of that fondness is questing for books (and \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game\"\u003eRole Playing Games\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Role Playing Games\"\u003eRPGs\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Role Playing Games”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Role Playing Games”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-RPG\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n) that would fill me with\nwonder.  One past attempt was \u003ccite data-id=\"37F1A94E-E29E-4745-8C05-FD507311E2C9\"\u003eThe Mists of Avalon\u003c/cite\u003e by Marion Zimmer Bradley,\nanother \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9780316585118\"\u003eThe Faerie Morgana\u003c/cite\u003e by Louisa Morgan.  Both focusing on Morgan le Fey,\nproviding an interesting perspective that humanizes a woman often cast as\nvillain.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI had read, and adored, \u003ccite data-id=\"A6B3DC34-C462-46BC-8CD7-D89BDC31D6EB\"\u003eThe Once and Future King\u003c/cite\u003e by T.H. White, which gave\nfull and fair treatment of Guineverre; whereas \u003ccite data-id=\"37F1A94E-E29E-4745-8C05-FD507311E2C9\"\u003eThe Mists of Avalon\u003c/cite\u003e was one of\nwoman tears down another woman.  And \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9780316585118\"\u003eThe Faerie Morgana\u003c/cite\u003e is passable, but\nthere’s little economy of language.  I stumble on an observed pattern of several\ndifferent paragraphs that are comprised of several sentences that are in essence\nreiteration of emotions, which lands heavy as mailed gauntlet.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThrough serendipity, I recently found \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9781951872700\"\u003eGalahad and the Grail\u003c/cite\u003e by Malcolm Guite,\na lyrical ballad.  I’ve been etching heraldric shields on pink erasures and\nstamping them in my campaign journal; seeing the woodcut illustrations\nthroughout the book (and as the author’s biographical photo), I felt\nprovidence’s pull.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne in which I’ve considered revisiting \u003ccite data-id=\"39A47196-13AE-44F2-B7DC-601871B6072B\"\u003eThe Fall of Arthur\u003c/cite\u003e by J.R.R. Tolkien,\nto again hear and feel the poetry of a myth.  To find and feel the Truth in this\nfictive story.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime datetime=\"2026-08-20\" title=\"2026-08-20\"\u003eLast night\u003c/time\u003e I read the introduction of \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9781951872700\"\u003eGalahad and the Grail\u003c/cite\u003e and some of the\nappendices.  I saw that this could be a very Christ-centered retelling.  I might\nnormally cringe at such things, but withheld judgment.  As I read further, the\nauthor is concerned with symbolism, mysticism, and stewardship of the land.\nThat I can appreciate and embrace.  It follows in my well-trod mental pathways\nof Tolkien.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think about my present reading of \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9780316585118\"\u003eThe Faerie Morgana\u003c/cite\u003e and weigh it against my\nrecent read of \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9781250363688\"\u003eThe River Has Roots\u003c/cite\u003e by Amal El-Mohtar.  When reading \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9780316585118\"\u003eThe Faerie Morgana\u003c/cite\u003e I find myself setting the book down somewhat tired of the story\nand composition.  While reading \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9781250363688\"\u003eThe River Has Roots\u003c/cite\u003e, I found myself setting\ndown the book with a sense of fullness.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI don’t think this setting down of books is related to my attention span; I\nspent several consecutive hours reading \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9780593820254\"\u003eDungeon Crawler Carl\u003c/cite\u003e by Matt Dinniman.\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e A book (and series) that I marvel at being far better than it should be.\nSomeone recently posited to me that this series may well be a/the Don Quixote of\nour era.\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe interplay of grammar, word-play, transubstantiation, conjugation, lyricism,\nand tonal register of \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9781250363688\"\u003eThe River Has Roots\u003c/cite\u003e invokes a sense of splendor, magic,\neternal cycles, and loss.  I felt the slowness of soft flowing river reshaping\nmy brain.  Fighting against the digital attention capturing colonization I’ve\nallowed to seep and squirm into my brain.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese are not tales of sustained progress, that manifest propagandized myth we\nreceive and amply, but instead of the natural rise and fall, of waves coming to\nshore and receding.  That once and future, present here and now in its telling.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI also think of the queerness of other Arthurian stories I read: \u003ccite data-id=\"B18FF3E3-E506-4883-9F81-C4BB74B32E80\"\u003eSpear\u003c/cite\u003e by Nicola Griffith and \u003ccite data-id=\"C63CD739-9932-4CE4-98AE-2361E8A9A8F5\"\u003eLancelot and the Lord of the Distant Isles\u003c/cite\u003e by Samuel N. Rosenberg and Patricia Terry.  Both holding models\nof tender (non-toxic) masculinity, something faded and beleaguered from\npatriarchy’s constant assault.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eArthuriana tells of the questing beast but is itself a questing beast.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/08/10/first-session-of-running-mythic-bastionland-for-others/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/08/10/first-session-of-running-mythic-bastionland-for-others/",
      "title": "First Session of Running Mythic Bastionland for Others",
      "date_published": "2026-08-10T20:39:29-04:00",
      "tags": "rpgs, sessions",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eOn \u003ctime datetime=\"2026-08-08\" title=\"2026-08-08\"\u003eSaturday\u003c/time\u003e I ran a face to face game of \u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/514996/mythic-bastionland?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Mythic Bastionland”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Mythic Bastionland”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-MYTHIC-BASTIONLAND\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n for two players.\nThe players opted to start as knight tenants (e.g., middle-aged knights).  We\nhad:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSer Denish the Tiger Knight\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSer Larkin the Fox Knight\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI asked Ser Denish what animals he had bested at their strengths.  He responded:\nhorses, wolves, and hawk.\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e I secretly rolled a d6, getting a 3, and kept asking him to name an animal.\nThis left some ambiguity as to how many he would get.\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n And I called for a \u003cem\u003eSpirit\u003c/em\u003e check—which he\nsucceeded—to add elk.  In each case, I asked what their strength was and how he\nhad bested them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor Ser Larkin, I read off the three available holdings and their woes, asking\nthem to choose which one he would be lord of:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDolemion:\u003c/strong\u003e a fortress overseeing an isle of dolmens; with the woe of “unseen\nrevolt”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReint:\u003c/strong\u003e a village with earthen banks, many gates, gridded streets, and a cage\nfor evil does; with the woe of “vast abduction”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCuseint:\u003c/strong\u003e a tower with fierce defenders of an ancient language; woe of\n“sanctioned killing“\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSer Larkin chose Dolemion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe talked through the roles of Ser Larkin’s council.  I recommended either the\nmarshal or the sheriff for Ser Denish.  The steward, responsible for overseeing\nthe holding in the lord’s absence, made little sense.  Ser Denish opted for the\nsheriff.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDolemion’s steward was the venerable Abron, the long-standing steward of\nDolemion.  The other roles—marshal and envoy—were vacant.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI then explained that the age of the Barren Coven had passed and we were now in\nan unnamed age.\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e To name the ages, I rolled on the Nature \u0026gt; Land \u0026gt; Character spark table and\na random myth.\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n Both knights were married, Ser Larkin with two children and\nSer Denish with three.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI had the characters choose what action they would take as part of the turning\nof the age: perform a great work or name a successor.  Both Ser Larkin and Ser\nDenish opted to name a successor.  I quickly rolled up their children’s stats,\nand by the luck of the draw both of their youngest children had virtues that\nbest suited them as successors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThus was knighted Ser Maldita the Willow Knight, successor of Ser Larkin.  And\nSer Torin, the Rat Knight, successor of Ser Denish.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI then explained the progression of time within an age; the three seasons within\neach year and the three phases within each season.  Ser Larkin, realizing the\nneed for filling his council, opted to host a tournament.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI made the decision, that the domain could raise the required taxes, tithes, and\nlevies without issue.  However, any additional endeavors, that might draw from\nthose resources, would require action from the lord or council.  Thus, in\nhosting a tournament, Ser Larkin would need to collect more taxes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI had found rules for running tournaments, but found them inadequate.  When we\nnext run a tournament, for non-combat events, I’ll be using the auction mechanic\nfrom \u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/348152/Whitehack-Third-Edition?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eWhitehack\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Whitehack”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Whitehack”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-WHITEHACK\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, the highlight of the tournament was the joust—part because Ser\nDenish opted to use his animal affinity to tilt the odds in his favor.\nTradition said that each knight, leading their horse, would shake hands in a\nshow of sportsmanship, and show honor to both knight and steed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSer Denish, with an affinity for horses, soothed the horse, providing a d8\nadvantage die for the first volley.  Which proved to nudge the results in his\nfavor.  But not without consequences, as his semi-final joust with Ser Maldita\nresulted in a few things: first, Ser Maldita noticed something off about her\nhorse (succeeded in a Clarity check), Ser Maldita was scarred in the joust, and\nultimately lost.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI followed a strict order of progression on feat usage:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeclare \u003cem\u003eSmite\u003c/em\u003e and then make a Vigor save.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeclare \u003cem\u003eFocus\u003c/em\u003e and then make a Clarity save.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeclare \u003cem\u003eDeny\u003c/em\u003e and then make a Spirit save.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you failed your Vigor save you were not allowed to \u003cem\u003eFocus\u003c/em\u003e nor \u003cem\u003eDeny\u003c/em\u003e.  This\nresulted in most victories coming from a dismounting (as they were rolling\nd4+d10 and a possible d12).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeaning Ser Larkin’s successor—Ser Maldita—knows that sheriff Ser Denish\ncheated, and will almost certainly create complications in Dolemion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the winner’s Ser Larkin found a marshal and a wedded couple for envoy.\nThey also talked about how they might lift the curse that plagues the route\nbetween Dolemion and Reint.  With the groundwork laid for the new age, we\nwrapped our session.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m contemplating moving the calendar to the next phase of Spring; which would\nput some pressure on collecting taxes.  And also lean into the idea of a slower\npace of life; which runs contrary to this modern life of ours.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"reflections\"\u003eReflections\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m thankful that instead of starting \u003cem\u003een media res\u003c/em\u003e I went with some up front\nquestions, drawing attention to some problems, and then letting the players pick\nwhere to focus.  Also, in having a joust, with heavier armor, we were able to\nplay at the combat system.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd having re-read \u003ca href=\"https://oldmenrunningtheworld.com/the-mythic-bastionland-gm-oaths/\"\u003eThe Mythic Bastionland GM Oaths\u003c/a\u003e, I’m excited to dive into\nmore situation prep; namely the present and recent past of some of the knights\nof the realm.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/26/questions-as-flashback-tech/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/26/questions-as-flashback-tech/",
      "title": "Questions as Flashback Tech",
      "date_published": "2026-07-26T18:36:37-04:00",
      "tags": "rpgs",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eIn our Stonetop campaign, one of the character’s tall-tales involved sneaking to\nthe ruined tower with her friend, finding some magic tablets, feeling a sense\nthat they had become barren, and then burying those tablets in the outer berm of\nthe ruined tower.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the 2nd session, the characters recovered the tablets and as we wrapped\nup indicated that they were going to delve further into the ruined tower.  Which\nhad me wondering, where and how did the character discover the tablets?  Also,\nhow do I reveal that these tablets may serve an important purpose?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFurther, everyone wants the characters to get back to Stonetop, such that the\nplayers thought that the 3rd session should end with their return.  And the 4th\nsession should really be about spring in the village.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI envision (establish?) that the original housing for the tablets would be\ndeeper underground.  Yet, I don’t want such a deep delve so early in the\ncampaign.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith that in mind, I set about writing up questions around the character’s\nchildhood visit to the ruined tower.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"questions-from-session-two\"\u003eQuestions from Session Two\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst, let’s revisit the second session question I asked of the player\ncharacter:\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\nHow will you remember the location of the runic tablets you buried outside the\nRuined Tower amidst the overgrown outer berm?\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe question I asked guided the player on where I assumed they would’ve stashed\nthe tablets.  Instead of me asking the player “where did you stash this thing”\nand requiring them to consider the entire location, which is less relevant to\nplay, I opted to create a more murky situation; namely having the character\nshare how they’d remember.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis also made finding the tablet a straight forward mechanical move.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn session, we settled on the \u003cem\u003eSeek Insight\u003c/em\u003e move for finding the tablets some 20\nyears later.  Were I to do it again, I think I would have chosen a \u003cem\u003eDefy Danger\u003c/em\u003e\nmove.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"questions-for-session-three\"\u003eQuestions for Session Three\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_character\"\u003ePlayer Characters\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Player Characters\"\u003ePCs\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Player Characters”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Player Characters”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-PC\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n intending to visit the ruined tower, and we’ve established that in\nthe player character’s past they found the tables, I started wondering how I’d\nlet their character’s background memories influence the play at the table.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo I built out a series of directed and constraining questions that would show\nand share with the present characters the past actions of that character.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\nWithout torch or lantern, that score or so years ago, you chose to ascend the\nsecond floor…and then the third…why did you almost turn back after the second\nfloor?\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis question set the state for sneaking into the tower, giving space for\nreconsideration.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\nThat night on the third floor, sleeping beside Mair what noise told you there\nwere wicked men at the ground floor?\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis highlighted the danger of the ruins, and that others visit the location.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\nTell me what flashed through your mind when the screams of their deaths pierced\nyour dreams?\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd now to pivot, highlighting the danger.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\nAs you descended in the morning what word or two comes to mind of the shape you\nsaw receding into the lower levels…satisfied with fulfilling its murderous duty?\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd give space for the Tesatu’s player to paint a bit of a picture regarding a\npossible future threat.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\nWhat do you must remember of the wicked looking pendant on one of the dead men\nat the ground floor?\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA little bit of color, drawing attention to a possible artifact.  But\ndiscouraging picking it up (out of superstition).\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\nWhat was it about the runic tablets that caught your attention?\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis was the thing that struck Tesatu barren.  It was the thing she buried in\nthe berm.  Why did she pick it up?\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\nWhen did the dreamlike memories of this scene of carnage finally abate?\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd now to ask about the lingering weight of this encounter.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote  class=\"h-cite\"\u003e\n\nHow do you feel as you recount these memories to your friends?\n\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThen to draw the characters back into the present and give knowledge to all of\nthe player characters.  In hindsight, I forced the character to choose, which\nviolates the principle of consent.  I should’ve asked if they were sharing this.\nBut the player received it with grace, and we gained some deeper insight into\nthe pathos of Tesatu.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"conclusion\"\u003eConclusion\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese directed questions helped my players relieve a past moment, without\ndwelling on it, and instead filling them with vignettes.  And from that, further\nsoft and hard moves naturally flowed.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/22/system-hacks-the-long-defeat/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/22/system-hacks-the-long-defeat/",
      "title": "System Hacks: The Long Defeat",
      "date_published": "2026-07-22T21:41:12-04:00",
      "tags": "rpgs",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime datetime=\"2026-07-21\" title=\"2026-07-21\"\u003eYesterday\u003c/time\u003e I stumbled upon Mick’s \u003ca href=\"https://advancedmysteryandmanners.blogspot.com/2026/06/together-through-ages-of-world.html\"\u003eAdvanced Mystery \u0026amp; Manners: Together Through\nAges of the World…\u003c/a\u003e.  In which the author shared \u003ca href=\"https://wiseblood-games.itch.io/the-long-defeat\"\u003eThe Long Defeat\u003c/a\u003e, a hack of\n\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/484480/mothership-deluxe-set-bundle?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eMothership\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Mothership”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Mothership”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-MOTHERSHIP\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n, that can swap out the rules engine of \u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/370267/The-One-RingTM-Core-Rules?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eThe One Ring\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “The One Ring”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “The One Ring”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-TOR\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n, while preserving\nmuch of the source material of that system.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving recently picked up \u003ccite\u003eMothership\u003c/cite\u003e\n and having played solo sessions—The Travels\nof Duinhir Tailwind— of \u003ccite\u003eThe One Ring\u003c/cite\u003e\n, I was curious.  I downloaded the 10 or so\npage manual and gave it a read.  And it does seem to do a good job at rules\ndistillation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom there, I pulled out the \u003ccite\u003eWarden’s Manual\u003c/cite\u003eof \u003ccite\u003eMothership\u003c/cite\u003e\n and\nstarted reading.  I’m not one for horror in movies, but invariably, I find\nmyself drawn to how I might invoke dread and fear in role-playing games.  And\nthe \u003ccite\u003eWarden’s Manual\u003c/cite\u003eprovides that guidance and more.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI found myself nodding along with Mick’s analysis; namely that the narrative\nprocedures and game pillars of \u003ccite\u003eMothership\u003c/cite\u003e\n align well with Tolkien’s narrative\narc of Middle Earth.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think of the era of d20, in which we saw a rush towards universal systems.\nAnd contrast to this era, where we have a plethora of available systems, and can\nconnect “tech” from different systems to different “genres” to try to tease out\nsomething that works for our individual play cultures.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet it goes beyond that.  \u003ca href=\"https://wiseblood-games.itch.io/the-long-defeat\"\u003eThe Long Defeat\u003c/a\u003e is what happens when designers don’t\nsimply put forward mechanics, but also bring forward agendas and principles—to\ninvoke \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powered_by_the_Apocalypse\"\u003ePowered by the Apocalypse\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Powered by the Apocalypse\"\u003ePbtA\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Powered by the Apocalypse”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Powered by the Apocalypse”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-PBTA\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n-from which they then build approaches and considerations for running\nthe game.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have, for awhile now, been in an era of visibility regarding \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game\"\u003eRole Playing Games\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Role Playing Games\"\u003eRPGs\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Role Playing Games”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Role Playing Games”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-RPG\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n.  We have\nopen source systems, session reports, actual play recordings, discourse about\ngame-play, and academic studies of these games of ours.  I think to my personal\nstyle of facilitating games, something that I developed by way playing in games\nrun by other people; and often those others were ones that were players in my\ngames.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeaning we created a localized play culture.  From which I developed the\nfoundations of how I facilitate games.  And overtime, as I’ve studied other\nfolks approaches, I’ve metabolized some of those approaches.  Assembling a\nperson toolkit of approaches.  And \u003ca href=\"https://wiseblood-games.itch.io/the-long-defeat\"\u003eThe Long Defeat\u003c/a\u003e is that mindset, now codified\ninto a playtest document.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/17/back-to-powered-by-the-apocalypse/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/17/back-to-powered-by-the-apocalypse/",
      "title": "Back to Powered by the Apocalypse",
      "date_published": "2026-07-17T21:41:12-04:00",
      "tags": "reflections, rpgs",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eIt has been over a decade since I’ve run a \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powered_by_the_Apocalypse\"\u003ePowered by the Apocalypse\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Powered by the Apocalypse\"\u003ePbtA\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Powered by the Apocalypse”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Powered by the Apocalypse”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-PBTA\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n game.  In that time I’ve run the\nfollowing:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/331118/Black-Sword-Hack?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eThe Black Sword Hack\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"The Black Sword Hack\"\u003eBSH\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “The Black Sword Hack”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “The Black Sword Hack”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-THE-BLACK-SWORD-HACK\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/448187/Burning-Wheel-Gold-Revised?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eBurning Wheel Gold\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Burning Wheel Gold”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Burning Wheel Gold”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-BURNING-WHEEL-GOLD\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/101050/Dungeon-Crawl-Classics-RPG-DCC-RPG?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eDungeon Crawl Classics\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Dungeon Crawl Classics\"\u003eDCC\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Dungeon Crawl Classics”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Dungeon Crawl Classics”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-DUNGEON-CRAWL-CLASSICS\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eDungeons and Dragons: Fifth Edition\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Dungeons and Dragons: Fifth Edition”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Dungeons and Dragons: Fifth Edition”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-5E\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/391653/ironsworn-starforged?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eIronsworn: Starforged\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Ironsworn: Starforged”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Ironsworn: Starforged”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-IRONSWORN-STARFORGED\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/514996/mythic-bastionland?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Mythic Bastionland”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Mythic Bastionland”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-MYTHIC-BASTIONLAND\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/370267/The-One-RingTM-Core-Rules?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eThe One Ring\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"The One Ring\"\u003eTOR\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “The One Ring”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “The One Ring”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-TOR\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/226996/Stars-Without-Number-Revised-Edition?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eStars without Number: Revised Edition\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Stars without Number: Revised Edition\"\u003eSWN\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Stars without Number: Revised Edition”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Stars without Number: Revised Edition”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-SWN\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/348791/Worlds-Without-Number?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eWorlds without Number\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Worlds without Number\"\u003eWWN\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Worlds without Number”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Worlds without Number”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-WWN\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome of those (\u003cabbr title=\"The Black Sword Hack\"\u003eBSH\u003c/abbr\u003e\n, \u003ccite\u003eIronsworn: Starforged\u003c/cite\u003e\n, \u003ccite\u003eMythic Bastionland\u003c/cite\u003e\n, and \u003cabbr title=\"The One Ring\"\u003eTOR\u003c/abbr\u003e\n) were\nsolo games, which means I might return to those games if/when the mood strikes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI recall when I last ran a game of \u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/108028/Dungeon-World?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eDungeon World\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Dungeon World”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Dungeon World”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-DUNGEON-WORLD\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n, I had derisive thoughts that\n“This game is really about using a bunch of parlor tricks.”  Yet I didn’t write\nabout that.  Instead I wrote about this in \u003ca href=\"https://takeonrules.com/2017/02/26/randomness-i-forgot-that-i-needed-you/\"\u003eRandomness, I Forgot that I Needed\nYou\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"parlor-tricks-or-entertaining-a-group-of-people\"\u003eParlor Tricks or Entertaining a Group of People\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat did I mean by parlor tricks?  Namely that you ask leading questions to\nbuild towards agenda.  Which in real life is a bad idea, and hence my derision.\nBut at a game table parlor tricks is what we’ve signed up for.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRegarding my other issues with \u003ccite\u003eDungeon World\u003c/cite\u003e\n, there were two:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethe initial bonds\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethe lack of randomness\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGiven Stonetop’s deep interweaving of setting and rules, the initial character\nrelations are far more natural feeling.  They appear later in the character\ngeneration process, and naturally flow from previous information.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd the lack of randomness?  Stonetop provides character facing questions that\ngive them narrative agency, which is a bit like adding randomness.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"randomness-and-cognitive-load\"\u003eRandomness and Cognitive Load\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA goal of the randomness is to introduce and then incorporate the unexpected\ninto the fiction; that is to be surprised by the direction the story takes.  I\nalso think more important still is to callback to that unexpected.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRandomness, via reaction rolls, encounter tables, and morale are available\nconcepts to incorporate.  One could even make a random move table to consult.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet randomness and its incorporation comes with a cognitive toll.  Having run\none session of Stonetop, I am now remembering that games with the equivalent of\n\u003cem\u003eDiscern Reality\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eSpout Lore\u003c/em\u003e introduce significant cognitive load.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI recently talked with a fellow forever \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamemaster\"\u003eGame Master\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Game Master\"\u003eGM\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Game Master”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Game Master”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-GM\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n friend and asked if he too felt an\nalmost compulsion to fill “dead air” with conversation.\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e I’m wondering if there are other forever game facilitators who feel this\nsame compulsion?\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n I explained that as\nan often \u003cabbr title=\"Game Master\"\u003eGM\u003c/abbr\u003e\n since \u003ctime datetime=\"1988\" title=\"1988\"\u003e1988\u003c/time\u003e, I had conditioned myself that in a group setting, when\nthere was silence, I should talk.  After all, the \u003cabbr title=\"Game Master\"\u003eGM\u003c/abbr\u003e\n is the conduit for the\ngroup to interact with the game.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhich is gets to the load I feel from moves like \u003cem\u003eDiscern Reality\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eSpout Lore\u003c/em\u003e;\nI have a compulsion to answer quickly.  And sometimes, the players make those\nmoves in unexpected places, and I have little prep work to help answer that.  So\nI feel an almost physiological discomfort of the silence and expectation of\nfilling that silence.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"carrying-the-cognitive-load\"\u003eCarrying the Cognitive Load\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am favoring an analogue approach for campaign management.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBetween sessions, I review the last session, look for threats and ask questions\nthat I’m curious about.  This is where I explore the situation.  I write, I\ndoodle, I let my pencil wander on the page.  As much as a map, this is where our\nlocalized quantum state of Stonetop takes shape.\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e It is during the session at the table where our localized actual Stonetop takes shape.\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI also have an old army green metal case for note cards that contains threats\nand \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-player_character\"\u003eNon-Player Characters\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Non-Player Characters\"\u003eNPCs\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Non-Player Characters”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Non-Player Characters”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-NPC\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n.  During preparation, I review each of those threats and make any notes\nor updates on the note card or in my notebook.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring play, I have a large dot notebook open to a two page spread.  The left\npage is primarily for prep, the right page is for notes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the left page, I mount a two column print out, with margins removed, of my\npreparation.  This leaves a narrow column on the right of that left page (11\ncolumns wide) and a narrow footer (roughly 9 rows for writing).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve committed to transcribing relevant information onto these pages.  For\nexample, for session 2, I hand-wrote the weather table for early spring.  That\nway as they travel, I can introduce weather accordingly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe act of “formalizing” my prep, by printing out a page, serves two purposes.\nFirst, it is analogous to writing up a paper based on research notes.  Second,\nthe act of mounting the print out to a page in the notebook signifies a\ncompletion of preparation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs stated in \u003ca href=\"https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/10/session-zero-of-stonetop/\"\u003eSession Zero of Stonetop\u003c/a\u003e, one goal is to have a durable artifact\nfor this game.  Another goal is that in favoring handwriting, and according to\nresearch, I’m favoring conditions for better synthesis of the game.  That is,\nI’ll hopefully have more in my head, at the expense of not having it quickly\nmachine searchable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"remembering-the-good\"\u003eRemembering the Good\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy job, software engineer, is to look around corners for the edge cases; where\nthings break or become fragile.  And this work has created default pessimistic\ntendencies in my approaches.  Which is to say, that this post addressed the\nnegative but did not yet account for the positive.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI love that Stonetop and \u003cabbr title=\"Powered by the Apocalypse\"\u003ePbtA\u003c/abbr\u003e\n games focus on asking questions, which is not to\nsay that other \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game\"\u003eRole Playing Games\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Role Playing Games\"\u003eRPGs\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Role Playing Games”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Role Playing Games”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-RPG\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n don’t, but instead that \u003cabbr title=\"Powered by the Apocalypse\"\u003ePbtA\u003c/abbr\u003e\n’s focus on conversation and\nfiction triggerign moves, creates, for me, immersive games.  Ones where I\nsuspect the shared vision of the game tends towards greater alignment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd Stonetop, with its setting book, doubles down on the questions; equipping\nthe game facilitator with a plethora of questions that help meld the shared\nvision of the players with the designer’s vision.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is a magic in play with the questions provided within the books—focusing\non developing a care and concern for the community of Stonetop.  Which is an\nactivity that each game group playing Stonetop will engage in.  And thus\ncreating a myriad of iron age villages that each group cares about and which\ncarries similarities and differences with each other.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProviding a common touchstone of comparison and story telling between game\ngroups.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother aspect I love about \u003cabbr title=\"Powered by the Apocalypse\"\u003ePbtA\u003c/abbr\u003e\n games is how “decisive” they can be; I think of\ntheir contrast with mid-level d20 combat slogs.  I don’t want to spend 45\nminutes, or more, on a single combat.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI also love how the moves of \u003cabbr title=\"Powered by the Apocalypse\"\u003ePbtA\u003c/abbr\u003e\n games tend to create a myriad of sub-systems\nthat have the same interface at the table; namely the fiction triggers the move\nand de-prioritizes one approach over another.  That is, there is no \u003cem\u003eroll for\ninitiative\u003c/em\u003e signifying that we start playing a different kind of game.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd then there is the baseline resolution system, with it’s “negotiated\nsuccess.”  I love systems that move away from the binary resolution towards a\nmore nuanced resolution.  Our world is not binary, why should our games resolve\nas such?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"conclusion\"\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor now, I’ll hold off on randomness, as I get back to running a face to face\n\u003cabbr title=\"Powered by the Apocalypse\"\u003ePbtA\u003c/abbr\u003e\n.  What I know to be different is that Stonetop provides a rich setting that\nsurprises me as I prepare my game.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m also a different person than when I last ran games.  I have worked to become\na better active listener.  I have accumulated quite a bit more tips and tricks\nof play; in part thanks to the burgeoning \u003cabbr title=\"Role Playing Game\"\u003eRPG\u003c/abbr\u003e\n podcast culture of actual play and\ndiscussions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve listened to quite a few actual play podcasts and thought, “Oh, as the \u003cabbr title=\"Game Master\"\u003eGM\u003c/abbr\u003e\n I\nwouldn’t have responded that way but instead this way.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’ve also run several different games and flexed my solo-play skills, something\nthat has helped me better respond to the unexpected.  In part, because I have no\npreparation for any of those solo games, and instead rely on oracles and other\nsupporting materials for solo play.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhich reminds me that I should take inventory of those solo games, the tools\nthey provide, and look at what I might be missing from my assumptive Stonetop\ntoolkit.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/17/stonetop-session-1-preparation/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/17/stonetop-session-1-preparation/",
      "title": "Stonetop Session 1 Preparation",
      "date_published": "2026-07-17T08:00:58-04:00",
      "tags": "rpgs",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eAfter writing \u003ca href=\"https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/10/session-zero-of-stonetop/\"\u003eSession Zero of Stonetop\u003c/a\u003e, I sat down with pencil and paper and\nwrote down four headings:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e“I Wonder” Questions\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePossible Threats\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOpening Scenes\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFollow-up Situations\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI read over my notes to form the “I wonder” questions.  Then started thinking\nabout the notes and discussion from \u003ctime datetime=\"2026-07-08\" title=\"2026-07-08\"\u003elast night\u003c/time\u003e, and what might be in motion.\nThis started shaping my possible threats.  I put character initials beside each\nthreat to see the representation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith those written down, I came up with opening scenes that I can use to gently\nintroduce the characters into the world.  These are framing questions and mostly\nexpository.  With a purpose of expanding the list of \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-player_character\"\u003eNon-Player Characters\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Non-Player Characters\"\u003eNPCs\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Non-Player Characters”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Non-Player Characters”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-NPC\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese opening questions are about \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Player_character\"\u003ePlayer Characters\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Player Characters\"\u003ePCs\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Player Characters”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Player Characters”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-PC\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n interacting with character’s they’ve named\nand introduced.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso, while writing those scenes, I thought about follow-up situations.  These\nare ones that have each character briefly interact with \u003cabbr title=\"Non-Player Characters\"\u003eNPCs\u003c/abbr\u003e\n introduced by\nanother player.  The idea being to get everyone “caring” about more people.\nThese interactions are also about asking loaded questions and making soft moves\nto hint at threats.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are other threats not discussed that I’ll introduce through soft moves.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m beginning to see a shape of the first situation that will pull them out of\nStonetop.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"notes\"\u003eNotes\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat follows are my initial notes I used for our first session.  I printed them\nout and taped them into my notebook, which I then wrote notes throughout the\nsession.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"opening-questions\"\u003eOpening Questions\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHiltrude:\u003c/strong\u003e what memento of Griff’s do catch him looking at with a sense of\nsadness?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEzra:\u003c/strong\u003e who moved out to make room for you?  And why was it their idea?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTesatu:\u003c/strong\u003e you’re having dinner with your cousins, what dish reminds you of your\ndad’s cooking?  And who are you surprised is absent?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"first-day-vignettes\"\u003eFirst Day Vignettes\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEzra:\u003c/strong\u003e Mair comes seeking a remedy for her fertility.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHiltrude:\u003c/strong\u003e Eurwen asking you: “are you ever scared?”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTesatu:\u003c/strong\u003e Griff returning something you gave him before you left.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout the day, you eye the western road, leading to the crossroads.  Its\nancient slabs of basalt stretching on.  Snowmelt trickles amongst gutters.\nNever do seeds, dust, nor leaves land on these stones.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAll:\u003c/strong\u003e The magic of the roads—the wards against violence, evil, and decay—how do\nthey make each of you feel?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"packing-up-the-evening\"\u003ePacking up the Evening\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe waning gibbous moon, smiling like a knowing fiend, rides amidst the field of\nstars.  A damp and chilly breeze whips up from the Great Wood.  The night is\nrestless, the very land roiling, searching.  Far off, the wolves wake, howling,\nnow winter worn and hungry.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEzra:\u003c/strong\u003e who amongst the villagers fills your dreams?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTesatu:\u003c/strong\u003e who amongst your family in Barrier Pass do you wish were here with you\ntonight?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHiltrude:\u003c/strong\u003e on a night such as this, why does resting yourself against the runic\nstone bring you comfort?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou snap out of your reverie with the sound of howls still far off yet drawing\ncloser.  What do you do?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAll:\u003c/strong\u003e Each of you name one of the village folk on watch this evening.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAny:\u003c/strong\u003e What noises, likely a mile off, tells you the pack found their prey?  How\ndo you know that the prey were not an animals?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"a-broken-morning\"\u003eA Broken Morning\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHiltrude:\u003c/strong\u003e Once sleep came, dreams of you running, close to the ground, along\nthe great road, scared, heart and legs pumping.  Before you a giant rose, what\nreminded you of Urgben in that moment?  How did you avoid him?  Why were you\nsurprised he didn’t chase you?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTesatu:\u003c/strong\u003e What odd noise do you now remember hearing last night that was most\ncertainly Crinwin within the village?  What is it said to mean?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEzra:\u003c/strong\u003e Even before Eurwen’s mom Fion was at your door, how did you know it was\nabout Eurwen?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"on-the-road\"\u003eOn the Road\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAny:\u003c/strong\u003e what tell-tale signs do you find that Eurwen escaped the clutches of some\ncrinwin and took to the western road?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“From the distance you see a man weary and struggling to carry another man.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHiltrude:\u003c/strong\u003e even from this distance, what unmistakable feature of the ambulatory\nman tells you this is Urgben?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUrgben (to win any fight he starts) has a bloody wolf pelt draped over his\nshoulders.  In his arms, he’s carrying a haphazardly bandaged and naked Fflur (a\nhermit who lives outside Stonetop).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTesatu:\u003c/strong\u003e what memory do you have of the hermit, Fflur, who lived in the village\nbefore you left.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUrgben walking on road, he was hearing noises (wolf howls and callback to\nTesatu’s answer regarding Crinwin).  A running boy approached, spooked, darted\noff the road.  Then noises (callback to answer about finding their prey).  I\nfollowed the boy, and bloody caranage everywhere.  These short child-sized\ncreatures, torn to ribbons, this man naked and tattered except for a wolf pelt.\nI searched, and there was no sign of the boy.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/10/session-zero-of-stonetop/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/07/10/session-zero-of-stonetop/",
      "title": "Session Zero of Stonetop",
      "date_published": "2026-07-10T10:37:41-04:00",
      "tags": "rpgs",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime datetime=\"2026-07-08\" title=\"2026-07-08\"\u003eLast night\u003c/time\u003e Teddy and Tricia hosted Brian and I for our first session of\n\u003ccite\u003eStonetop\u003c/cite\u003e.  Teddy had prepared an amazing taco salad spread, which we\nenjoyed before getting down to co-creating the characters and community.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy task for \u003ctime datetime=\"2026-07-09\" title=\"2026-07-09\"\u003etoday\u003c/time\u003e is to synthesize my notes, everyone else’s characters, and\nbegin to develop the initial threats and starting adventure/situation.  I’m\nopting to use a bound notebook for all of my notes.  My goal is to create a\ndurable artifact that I can keep on my shelf as a reminder of time well spent\nwith friends.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"brief-overview\"\u003eBrief Overview\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout the character session, we were all asking questions of each other’s\ncharacters.  And offering world-building recommendations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInterestingly, all of the characters were new to Stonetop.  Ezra (Seeker) from\nLygos.  Tomatu (Fox) originally from Stonetop but recently returned from decades\nin Barrier Pass.  And Hiltrude (Heavy) from the northern-most Manmarch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEzra had arrived the summer prior.  Tomatu returned a couple of years ago.  And\nHiltrude arrived a month from the start date during a winter blizzard.  And in\nthe \u003cem\u003eSpring burst forth on the land\u003c/em\u003e move, we got a \u003cstrong\u003e6-\u003c/strong\u003e; I’m wondering if the\nvillage might have a bit of a “now prove your worth” attitude towards the new\nmouths to feed?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"notetaking\"\u003eNotetaking\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m now thinking about how I’ll be using the bound notebook for preparing and\nrunning the game.  It makes sense that while running I have a spread (that is\ntwo pages).  I envision a portion of one page of the spread as having questions\nand textures to include in the session.  Leaving the majority of space for the\nnotes I take during play.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWorking backwards, any draft work for the upcoming session would be on pages\nafter the previous session’s notes.  The notebook I chose for session 0 did not\nhave a dedicated index page and I opted to start my notes on the first page.\nWhich leaves me feeling a bit uneasy about the notebook I chose.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"were-i-to-use-my-computer-for-notes\"\u003eWere I to Use My Computer for Notes\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m inclined to not use my computer for the note-taking; in part because I’m not\ngoing to be using it during game-play.  Were I to use my computer for\nnote-taking, I’d want to “print out” the session preparation page; leaving space\non those pages notes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFurther, those preparatory notes would be a subset of my total set of notes.\nAll of which begins to sound like premature optimization and turning fun into\ntoil.  So I’m holding off and instead “playing” with pencil and paper.  In part\nbecause paper and pencil have greater liberties.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso, I spend enough time on a computer.  And feel like I should explore another\nspace.  Doodle on my notes.  Let the page be more of a canvas.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"rituals\"\u003eRituals\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m also reading \u003ccite data-id=\"1A1FF400-CAC2-4955-ADC4-FF346E3E4D20\"\u003eThe Disappearance of Rituals\u003c/cite\u003e by Byung-Chul Han.  As I write I’m thinking about Yes Indie’d Pod’s interview “10\nYears of Making Stonetop” with Jeremy Strandberg—creator of\n\u003ccite\u003eStonetop\u003c/cite\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJeremy Strandberg highlighted that the homecoming procedure—dare I say\nritual—was crucial for creating connections between the player characters and\ntheir community.  In games where they skipped that procedure, the characters\nseemed to have a weaker attachment to the village.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI carried both this interview and my reading into our first session.  I used\n\u003ccite\u003eStonetop\u003c/cite\u003ealmost as a liturgical text, guiding us through our\ncharacter creation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"conclusion\"\u003eConclusion\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is my first face to face game since running \u003ccite\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/400164/Errant?affiliate_id=318171\"\u003eErrant\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/cite\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Errant”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Errant”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-ERRANT\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e\n in \u003ctime datetime=\"2023\" title=\"2023\"\u003e2023\u003c/time\u003e.  It felt good\nto return to a \u003cspan\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powered_by_the_Apocalypse\"\u003ePowered by the Apocalypse\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Powered by the Apocalypse\"\u003ePbtA\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Powered by the Apocalypse”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Powered by the Apocalypse”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-PBTA\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n game that is questions forward; by which I mean these\nquestions draw the players into the world, by giving them authority, but also in\ntheir framing declaring what is somewhat established.  The questions provide the\nlines, the answers provide the color.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther games can and do do this, but in the case of \u003ccite\u003eStonetope\u003c/cite\u003e, the\ngame continues to be questions forward.  Not just with the ubiquitous “What do\nyou do?” but all throughout its setting book.  Thus making it easier to “play to\nfind out.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m excited to get about the work of synthesizing, but used this post as a means\nto think a bit about how I’m going to approach note taking.  Further, as I was\nwriting, I found my background thoughts beginning to draw connections and wonder\nmore about the nutrient rich material we worked through \u003ctime datetime=\"2026-07-08\" title=\"2026-07-08\"\u003eyesterday\u003c/time\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/06/27/on-listening-to-an-entire-album/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/06/27/on-listening-to-an-entire-album/",
      "title": "On Listening to an Entire Album",
      "date_published": "2026-06-27T19:30:16-04:00",
      "tags": "personal",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eA few months ago, we stopped in at a pop-up shop that had lots of music\nequipment. A musician was downsizing and had some fantastic stereo equipment for\nsale. We purchased it and \u003ctime datetime=\"2026-06-23\" title=\"2026-06-23\"\u003etwo days ago\u003c/time\u003e I set up the stereo in the basement\nrecently cleared and cleaned by Jenny and her friend.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI dug through our \u003cspan\u003eCompact Discs\u003c/span\u003e (\u003cabbr title=\"Compact Discs\"\u003eCDs\u003c/abbr\u003e \u003csmall\u003e\u003ca class=\"ref\" rel=\"tag opener\" aria-label=\"Other site-wide references of “Compact Discs”\" title=\"Other site-wide references of “Compact Discs”\" href=\"/site-map/glossary/#abbr-dfn-GLOSSARY-COMPACT-DISC\"\u003e\u0026#128214;\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/small\u003e)\n and pulled out a cardboard album holder containing U2\u0026rsquo;s\n\u003ccite\u003eAchtung Baby\u003c/cite\u003e; the first \u003cabbr title=\"Compact Disc\"\u003eCD\u003c/abbr\u003e\n that I owned.  A fitting test for this\nnewly assembled system.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI inserted the \u003cabbr title=\"Compact Disc\"\u003eCD\u003c/abbr\u003e\n, pressed play, and dialed the volume about a third of the way\nup and listened as the distortion of \u003ccite\u003eZoo Station\u003c/cite\u003eburst from the\nspeakers.  In that moment I felt as though I were communing with my past self;\npresent both as a teenager and a gray haired middle-aged man.  Filling with a\nmemory of place—of hardwood floors and oak trim I helped strip that first summer\nwe moved to Goshen.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the album now spinning, I sat in the recliner, I didn’t pull out any\ndevices as habits and reflexes of-late demand.  Instead I listened to the full\nsound.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs I listened, I thought of Austin, for whom I dubbed a cassette tape of the\nalbum.  The day after I gave it to him, he returned the tape saying something\nwas off in the recording.  I recorded again, then gave it back to him.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe problem: the first track, \u003ccite\u003eZoo Station\u003c/cite\u003e, with its distortion and\nstatic, was such a departure from \u003cem\u003eJoshua Tree\u003c/em\u003e that Austin thought there was\nsomething wrong with the recording.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI also thought of Matt, who lamented that in the first year of \u003ccite\u003eAchtung Baby\u003c/cite\u003ethat his friends played it incessantly.  I played it as it was my only\n\u003cabbr title=\"Compact Disc\"\u003eCD\u003c/abbr\u003e\n.  Jeremy played it to help cope with a recent break-up.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI no longer interact with Matt nor Jeremy, as that season of life has now drawn\nfully to a close.  Austin and I had already drifted apart in high school, and\nI’ve only seen him once in the last decade; for our 20th high school reunion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime datetime=\"2026-06-24\" title=\"2026-06-24\"\u003eYesterday\u003c/time\u003e, I pulled out INXS\u0026rsquo;s \u003ccite\u003eWelcome to Wherever You Are\u003c/cite\u003e(my\nsecond \u003cabbr title=\"Compact Disc\"\u003eCD\u003c/abbr\u003e\n).  I don’t remember listening to it in our living room.  But instead I\nrecall listening to it on a portable \u003cabbr title=\"Compact Disc\"\u003eCD\u003c/abbr\u003e\n player.  Yet I have no memory of the\nspace in which I listened.  It was as though that portable and personal player\nstripped me of my anchoring in the physical world.  Perhaps that—had I been\nattuned—would have been a harbinger of things to come.  One that portended a\nloss of connection to location.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eListening to a single \u003cabbr title=\"Compact Disc\"\u003eCD\u003c/abbr\u003e\n with my body several feet away from the player, I found\nmyself sticking with the album as constructed.  Were I listening on a portable\ndevice with either device-local files and/or streaming services, I might choose\nto skip a song, or jump to another album entirely.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI’m not an audiophile, but the system with its analogue dials, produced a warm,\nbroad, and expansive sound.  With music filling the room, instead of just my\nears, I felt as though I were connecting just a bit more with the artists and\nproducers that composed the album.  Listening to something intentionally crafted\ninto a complete experience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnfortunately I no longer own the physical media for my third album: R.E.M.’s\n\u003ccite\u003eAutomatic for the People\u003c/cite\u003e.\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e After writing this paragraph, but before publishing, I did in fact find my\noriginal copy of \u003ccite\u003eAutomatic for the People\u003c/cite\u003e.  I spun it up\nimmediately.\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n One that I purchased in Chicago during\na class trip for my junior year of high school.  Several years ago, we had a\ngarage sale, and I opted to sell off many of my \u003cabbr title=\"Compact Discs\"\u003eCDs\u003c/abbr\u003e\n; rationalizing that they\ntook up space and I could \u003cem\u003ealways\u003c/em\u003e stream them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet in shifting from one medium to another, I lost a bit of something—cohesion.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes, I could stream and listen to an album in it’s entirety, but in that\nstreaming medium, an album is not something discrete but instead an arbitrary\nslice of the gluttonous infinite; one in which the rent-seeking vampiric systems\nattempt to project the eternal and inevitable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI find myself thinking about this newly cleared basement, a kind of listening\nand observation room.  A place where the stereo and the physical media players\nare a key feature.  I’m wondering how this activity of placing a \u003cabbr title=\"Compact Disc\"\u003eCD\u003c/abbr\u003e\n into the\nplayer brings about a different experience than sifting through a Borgesian\ninfinity?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI contemplate finitude: a reminder that seasons pass, as does everything, just\nin its own time and way.  I think of the times I had streamed and listened to\n\u003ccite\u003eAchtung Baby\u003c/cite\u003e; how it failed to bring about that state of communion.\nYet listening to the \u003cabbr title=\"Compact Disc\"\u003eCD\u003c/abbr\u003e\n on a stereo invoked those memories.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd I’m left wondering.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat are some albums, were you to listen to completion, might invoke a memory of\ntime and place?  How old is that memory?\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/05/16/life-and-how-to-live-it/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/05/16/life-and-how-to-live-it/",
      "title": "Life and How to Live It",
      "date_published": "2026-05-16T09:23:20-04:00",
      "tags": "personal, poetry",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eI’m in a bit of a blogging desert.  In part because my daily life feels full and\nrich.  I’ve been learning about my attachment styles and working hard on\nbecoming a better person.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis has meant lots of crying; of digging through my multitudes; of talking and\nlistening; of being vulnerable and trusting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrowing pains, once I felt in youth the ache in my knees.  Now, I feel it in my\nsoul.  A discomfort that I know is my traversing a path towards a greater self.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecently, I was sharing with my partner that I feel as though I am both the oak\nand the acorn.  And at present, resonating most with the acorn.  I carry the\nmemories of that oak tree, but am experiencing a spiritual rebirth and\nawakening.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet I am still that oak tree, slowly healing the damages of wind storms that\nonce rended my limbs.  I carry those scars and that seedling-that-is-me sees\nthat old-oak-that-is-me, acknowledging the scars yet feeling a tender\nsuppleness as those stormy winds mean something different.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote class=\"verse\" data-id=\"haiku-attr-shortcode-date-2026-05-16\"\u003e\nConfident oak leaf\u003cbr /\u003e\nUnfurl and breath deep this day\u003cbr /\u003e\nSapling see your sire\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/04/21/osprey-on-the-lake/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/04/21/osprey-on-the-lake/",
      "title": "Osprey on the Lake",
      "date_published": "2026-04-21T20:25:32-04:00",
      "tags": "personal, poetry",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime datetime=\"2026-04-20\" title=\"2026-04-20\"\u003eYesterday\u003c/time\u003e, mid-day I saw a large bird land and perch on a tree across the lake.\nI grabbed our binoculars, stepping onto the porch to identify the bird.  Was it\na bald eagle or an osprey or something else.  No white head and I the white\nshoulder markings and recognized an osprey.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePaddling on our shore were two Canada geese and their six goslings.  The osprey\ntook flight and we quickly searched “Do osprey eat other birds” and received a\nyes.  The goslings were possible prey.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs if on answer to the question, the osprey took flight, above the lake and\nbegan circling.  The hunt, or so we thought, was on.  The geese I think took\nnotice and ushered their goslings to safety.  The osprey continued circling for\nawhile then left our line of site.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen, an hour before the golden hour, I took our two border collies out to play\nfrisbee and to search for morel mushrooms in our yard.  After the first throw, I\nagain noticed an osprey circling the lake.  I abandoned my search for morels and\ndistractedly threw a few more times with the dogs.  All while the osprey\ncircled.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen another joined the field, both giving space for each other to hunt.  Likely\na mated pair.  I noticed a flash of ones shoulder whites, and the circling\nchanged.  The dive and strike had begun.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI moved for a better view.  That moment when it crashed noisily on the lake\nsparked my heart and soul.  I had seen before one plunge and emerge, but never\nheard the clap of an osprey breaking the surface.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs quick as it struck it emerged victorious, I think, as it made its way towards\nwhere osprey have nested in prior years.  As the first exited the stage, the\nsecond began its dive.  Crash and splash, emerging without prize, flying low\nalong the water, then climbing again to circle.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI called to Jenny, to come and look.  And we watched as the osprey dove again.\nCrash then rose, circled a bit, and dove once more.  On its fourth try it\nretired towards its mate, it had given up or succeeded in capturing something\nsmall enough.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"verse\"\u003e\nOsprey circles near\u003cbr /\u003e\nGoslings led on safe retreat\u003cbr /\u003e\nFish loses this one\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/02/27/local-library-programming/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/02/27/local-library-programming/",
      "title": "Local Library Programming",
      "date_published": "2026-02-27T08:12:48-05:00",
      "tags": "personal, poetry",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eAs I understand it, in mid-\u003ctime datetime=\"2025\" title=\"2025\"\u003e2025\u003c/time\u003e the topic of personal curriculum started\nemerging on TikTok.  Jenny, then working at a small local library, sought to add\na Personal Curriculum segment to the library programming.  The schedule up until\nthe turn of the year was packed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo they scheduled a session for January; but due to inclement weather, postponed\nthe inaugural session until \u003ctime datetime=\"2026-02-26\" title=\"2026-02-26\"\u003eyesterday\u003c/time\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere were five attendees with Jenny facilitating.  She introduced the concept\nwith a presentation, a mix of examples and videos, highlighting the breadth of\nwhat others had considered as well as how to write a curriculum:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003etopic\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003elearning objectives and tangible outputs\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003esecondary outcomes\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003epotential resources\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eschedule of activity\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJenny emphasized that the topic should be of interest, one in which you have\nsome basic knowledge, and identifying a goal to achieve.  Everything else was in\nsupport of enriching a personal interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJenny gave her example: Color Theory.  With a list of weekly activities.  And a\nfinal outcome.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe others of us shared our ideas:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBassoon reed making\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMushroom foraging\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEither ancient history or true crime\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor myself, I came with a list of possibilities:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003epoetry\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003estanding up a media server\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ereading chonky books\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003edoodling\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd while we were discussing our topics, I began narrowing mine.  I knew that I\nwanted to avoid technology for my first foray; after all I’m on a computer all\nday.  I looked to my other topics and narrowed poetry to haiku and chonky books\nto \u003ccite data-id=\"works-don-quixote\"\u003eDon Quixote\u003c/cite\u003e; with secondary sources.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe had a great shared conversation, I asked the young patron about their\ninterest in ancient history.  And knowing she was a young mother, made mention\nof Dan Carlin’s \u003cem\u003eHardcore History\u003c/em\u003e.  Something she could listen to in those\nmoments between parenting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs the session wound down I settled on a 4 week exploration of Haiku.  We also\nagreed to meet in 4 weeks to check-in and report back.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"started-a-personal-curriculum-haiku\"\u003eSTARTED A Personal Curriculum: Haiku\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOutcome:\u003c/strong\u003e Assemble a small haiku zine (8 or so)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSecondary Outcomes:\u003c/strong\u003e Read classic haikus.  Read on writing haiku.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTimeframe:\u003c/strong\u003e 4 weeks\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThroughout:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWrite with pen and pencil on paper; one goal is to disconnect from my\ncomputer.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlways carry a pen and paper.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSeek to always carry \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-1400041287\"\u003eHaiku\u003c/cite\u003e and read from,\ninstead of glancing at my phone.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSchedule:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeek 1: Read \u003ca href=\"work:how-to-haiku-a-writers-guide-to-haiku-and-related-forms-by-bruce-ross::author\"\u003e«How to Haiku» by Bruce Ross\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeek 2: Read introduction and excerpts of \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9784805318454\"\u003eSōseki Natsume\u0026rsquo;s Collected Haiku\u003c/cite\u003e translated by Erik R. Lofgren\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeek 3: Review past haiku’s written to find samples.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeek 4: Assemble hand-written haiku zine pamphlet, reproduce 20 copies.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"the-morning-after\"\u003eThe Morning After\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen we got home from the library, I started reading \u003ccite data-id=\"isbn-9781462916757\"\u003eHow to Haiku\u003c/cite\u003e.  I wrote a\nfew in pencil.  We went to bed early, and around 5am \u003ctime datetime=\"2026-02-27\" title=\"2026-02-27\"\u003ethis morning\u003c/time\u003e I found myself\nwaking, a short poem at the tip of my thought.\u003csmall class=\"side-container\"\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side-label\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e(\u003c/span\u003eSidenote\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n  \u003cspan class=\"side\" role=\"note\"\u003e Not some \u003cem\u003eKubla Kahn\u003c/em\u003e, just myself parsing out a haiku.\u003cspan class=\"hidden\"\u003e)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/small\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI needed to capture that moment:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"verse\"\u003e\nquiet early morn\u003cbr /\u003e\ncommuter cars growl on by\u003cbr /\u003e\nold dog curls on chair\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom which I found myself awake, and thinking of Don Quixote, and of \u003ccite data-id=\"03083A4E-4FEA-4E30-811D-700CE2EB071A\"\u003eBorges and Me\u003c/cite\u003e by Jay Parini, and of Terry Gilliam; and a dawn readying itself to burst upon a still frozen lake.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy phone rattled, I had a before the dawn text from my father.  \u003ctime datetime=\"2026-02-26\" title=\"2026-02-26\"\u003eYesterday\u003c/time\u003e he had\nsold off his entire wood working setup; he’s moving and downsizing.  His whole\nlife, fixing things has been his identity, and the wood shop his means of\nbecoming.  The morning text being a follow up, saying that he has had to get\ncomfortable with reading during daylight hours.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/02/10/a-poetry-handbook-by-mary-oliver/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/02/10/a-poetry-handbook-by-mary-oliver/",
      "title": "«A Poetry Handbook» by Mary Oliver",
      "date_published": "2026-02-10T19:33:35-05:00",
      "tags": "poetry",
      "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eI’ve been reading more poetry, and scratching out efforts at poetry.  \u003ctime datetime=\"2026-02-10\" title=\"2026-02-10\"\u003eToday\u003c/time\u003e I\nfinished reading \u003ccite data-id=\"a-poetry-handbook-by-mary-oliver\"\u003eA Poetry Handbook\u003c/cite\u003e by Mary Oliver.  A compact guide into the\nwriting and reading poetry; describing the basics, presenting a few examples,\nand most importantly giving bits of advice.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf one must choose between reading poetry and attending a workshop, choose\nreading.  (Though consider a workshop)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA poem must be complete; that is it contains all that it must and is atomic,\nthough may reference/allude to other things.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe process of writing a poem is vulnerable to interruptions; flow state is a\ngood thing.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRevise and revisit.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn reading, I haven’t gotten beyond subvocalization.  That is I say “in my mind”\nthe words I’m reading.  This, I think, helps in my read of poetry.  Because I\ncan almost imagine the breaths.  But subvocalizing poems, when I have the option\nto read aloud, does a disservice.  I don’t feel the flip of my tongue, nor the\nbreath leaving.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMary Oliver’s \u003ccite data-id=\"a-poetry-handbook-by-mary-oliver\"\u003eA Poetry Handbook\u003c/cite\u003e provides this and more, delving into\nphilosophy.  I read the following and my mind cracked open:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote class=\"quote epigraph\" data-id=\"literature-is-the-apparatus-through-which-the-world\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nLiterature is the apparatus through which the world tries to keep intact its\nimportant ideas and feelings.\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfooter\u003e\u0026#8213;Mary Oliver, \u003ccite\u003eA Poetry Handbook\u003c/cite\u003e\u003c/footer\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes, this definition of literature excludes the reality of oral tradition, which\nI think is unfortunate.  But a quick substitution of “story” for “literature”\nand we hit at the heart of things.  And by cracked open, I read that passage as\nputting words to a known truth.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe write, narrate, and tell tales to convey that which we find important.  And\nthe act of re-telling and reading and listening is engaging in that\n“preservation.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePoetry is my present fascination, wrestling with the sound, shape, and shadow of\nwords.  The books that bind these poems I keep close, filling the cherry\nbookshelf made by my father.  Throughout the days, I pull a book out, thumb to a\nrandom page, and read a poem or three.  With 7 or so linear feet of poetry, I\nfind this to be a wonderful and sustaining grazing.\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    },
    {
      "id": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/02/08/prairie-poor/",
      "url": "https://takeonrules.com/2026/02/08/prairie-poor/",
      "title": "Prairie Poor",
      "date_published": "2026-02-08T10:22:07-05:00",
      "tags": "poetry",
      "content_html": "\u003cp class=\"verse\"\u003e\nMy ancestors carried with them a lowland language,\u003cbr /\u003e\nFrom flat Frisia to the banks of Motława,\u003cbr /\u003e\nlater amongst the golden fields of Ukraine,\u003cbr /\u003e\nthen, with treasured seed in tow, the prairie of Nebraska.\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003cbr /\u003e\nListening to my father, aunt, and uncle speak\u003cbr /\u003e\nTheir low German, I hear my poverty revealed.\u003cbr /\u003e\nThis past year, I recorded them one night;\u003cbr /\u003e\nVisions of zweibach and veranika danced in my head.\u003cbr /\u003e\nTheir accents and cadences invoking\u003cbr /\u003e\nthe first of three spirits visiting that old miser,\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003cbr /\u003e\nThey were telling tales of yore,\u003cbr /\u003e\ndredging as only the Dutch might,\u003cbr /\u003e\nlaughter from the depths of half an age ago.\u003cbr /\u003e\nMischief that spoke of simpler times\u003cbr /\u003e\n(At least that’s what nostalgia would have me say).\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003cbr /\u003e\nAs paternal lineage goes,\u003cbr /\u003e\nI’m first generation English-as-a-first-language.\u003cbr /\u003e\nRaised on the prairie, fed a new language too,\u003cbr /\u003e\nI see now, as second generation, a privation\u003cbr /\u003e\nOf language and lore.  I learned the simple new words\u003cbr /\u003e\nof these not-so-simple folk.\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003cbr /\u003e\nYet, old Scrooge and I, we’re much the same.\u003cbr /\u003e\nWith our impoverished lexicon, near bankrupt\u003cbr /\u003e\nas we fail to name much more\u003cbr /\u003e\nbeyond accounts and ledgers.\u003cbr /\u003e\nWere that I had the native tongue,\u003cbr /\u003e\nI might know more than corn fields and cricks.\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003cbr /\u003e\nThese days I read poetry, hoping to learn the song\u003cbr /\u003e\nI know still and once sung.  Reading Heaney, Shepherd,\u003cbr /\u003e\nand many others, I feel again my poverty.\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003cbr /\u003e\nI’m too new to this language\u003cbr /\u003e\n(though it is my only one),\u003cbr /\u003e\nthe one not of my father,\u003cbr /\u003e\nbut of a land fed on red, black, and brown blood.\u003cbr /\u003e\nA language (and land) that borrows, robs, and steals.\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003cbr /\u003e\nAn’ I wonder, to which (or whom) am I cognate?\u003cbr /\u003e\nMe, a settler adrift on these amber waves.\u003cbr /\u003e\n\u003c/p\u003e\n"
    }
  ]
}