Every time people talk about putting billionaires to the guillotine I’m thinking “in this scenario where you can execute the richest people on the planet you can clearly do whatever you want, so just take their money”
I personally think it would be way funnier to stick Bezos and Musk and them in bland middle class lives like Ray Liotta at the end of Goodfellas, it’s a perfectly good life if you aren’t accustomed to being able to buy entire political parties or go to space or command a herd of creepy little followers who would probably literally kill for you
Want these chumps to suffer? Make them unimportant.
I want billionaires to live a basically comfortable life in a society where no-one, including them, has to worry about food, shelter, healthcare, or transport. I bet that would be miserable for them.
Yup! They would look around and see ordinary people living nice stable lives with their basic needs taken care of, and they would know this was all done with their money but without their input, and they would haaaaaaate it.
Making puzzles is hard! This is definitely a skill I am still working on myself, but here are a few things I’ve learned from experience:
1) Think more Challenge than Puzzle. In my mind, the difference between a Challenge and a Puzzle is that a Puzzle has a single specified solution, whereas a Challenge can be solved in a myriad of ways. As much as possible, I favor challenges over puzzles because A) they give the players more opportunity for choice and creativity and B) I’m not very good at puzzle design and few things are more frustrating for players than a poorly designed puzzle. That being said, if you really want a puzzle…
2) If possible, give your players something to be able to physically manipulate and look at. If your puzzle involves spatial reasoning in any capacity, it will be important to give your players something to observe rather than just verbally describing it. Even if it’s a logic type puzzle, giving your players a blank framework to fill in will be very helpful.
Really, anything more complex than a verbal riddle should probably have a visual/physical component.
3) Don’t be afraid to re-skin puzzles from other sources.
4) Build in opportunities for hints/second chances. You’ll have no way of knowing how hard your players will find your puzzle until they attempt it. Have a plan for what to do if they get stuck.
5) If possible, do an Escape Room. Escape Rooms are full of wonderful ideas for storytelling through puzzles and riddles. You will probably learn a lot or at least get inspired, plus they are a lot of fun.
To quote Brennan from any given moment in a Dimension20 episode, “Incredible”
Finally finishing Crit Role Campaign 2 and starting EXU:C really reminds me how much I adore Brennan Lee Mulligan’s DM style and his flawless execution and description. He paints such a beautiful picture and really utilizes theatre of the mind in a way I’ve never seen a DM do before. I aspire to tell a story like Brennan Lee Mulligan
It’s strange you know?
How those who build you from clay and rain can demolish you in a single breaking breath
And you’re left empty
Not the shell you once were
But without direction and guidence
To what you truly want
Life is hilarious and cruel but rain feels great on drunken flesh
The creator of the original, the animal reference tool, made their own human reference tool which allows you to search based on different body parts and poses!
