Posts

Toxic Planet

This planet is inconceivably beautiful, but I do not wish that you were here. You said, my love, that you'd read my reports but we both know that you won't. They're dull and dry, and quite frankly I'd be startled if anyone other than my colleagues at the Academy of Planetary Science managed to struggle through them. But what we've discovered here is fascinating, and I'd love to share them with you, if I may, in slightly more straightforward nonscientific language. Let me start with the mundane details. This planet, designated DK-3270b, is one of the few extrasolar planets we have yet found with abunant macroscopic life, and the first humanity has actually set out to explore. We arrived almost exactly one planetary year ago, which is about the same as a year and a half on Earth, and spent the first weeks establishing our habitat. There have been challenges, even tragedies, but we are finally able to begin the task of cataloguing the lfe we found here.

The Eternal City

There is only the City. The City is ancient, vast. The City came before everyone in it, and will remain after everyone is dead. At the centre of the City is a mountain, and upon the mountain is the Palace, and it can be seen from the Walls. Inside the palace is the Queen, though very few alive can claim to have seen her. She rules the City with an iron grip. The Queen's Mandarins carry her decrees to the Court and represent petitioners for her mercy. They go about masked and none know their true identity, and they never leave the Palace. Much is whispered about the Queen, though never within earshot of Her Constables. Surrounding the Palace is the High City, a district of wealth and culture, where dilletantes carouse with courtesans and merchant princes shuffle wealth amongst themselves like pieces on a chessboard. Their villas are tall and luxurious, festooned with lights and banners. Every day is a festival in the High City, and its lights glitter across the waters

How 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Works

Introduction This post is for people who are new to 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons - particularly those who have played earlier editions. The 5th edition of the game has a number of differences from earlier versions, and my intention is to give an overview of how the game works. This is not intended for people without any knowledge of roleplaying games in general. I will not be defining basic concepts - a certain amount of knowledge will be assumed. It is assumed that the reader knows the "d" convention for naming polyhedral dice, is familiar with the six Abilities (Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha), and has a basic knowledge of how Race and Class are used in the game. This article does not go into full detail, and is not intended to replace the Player's Handbook. There are a bunch of rules that apply to specific situations that I will not go into here. Specific rules always override general rules. Roll d20 Most rolls in the game are made with a single d20. All of

Urine

Urine can be one of three colours. Dark yellow, bright yellow, or clear. It can also be brown, but that's bad news because that means that you're bleeding down there. You should see a doctor about that. If your urine is dark yellow, that means that you are dehydrated, You should drink some water. Water is best. It is, after all, what you need. Anything that isn't just water will have other things in it that your body may or may not need. Some of those things, like caffeine, can dehydrate you even more. Don't drink stuff with caffeine in it when you're dehydrated. Drink water. Water is best. Your hydration level is shown by how dark your urine is. The more dehydrated you are, the darker your urine. As you drink more water, the colour of your urine gets lighter, until when you are fully hydrated your urine is clear. If you continue to drink water after this point, you may become overhydrated. This means that you pee. A lot. Your bladder will just keep refilling