Below are the 7 most recent journal entries recorded in Darths & Droids' InsaneJournal:

Thursday, October 12th, 2023
9:11 am	Episode 2373: Aboard This Whiny Ship https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2373.html The good thing about establishing local wildlife as part of the scenery is that later you can use them in increasingly significant ways. You can consider doing this if you have a plan for using seemingly innocuous animals as a threat or annoyance later. Introduce them in advance and let your players think they're harmless. Only to discover later on that they leach magical power from all their items, or they suck blood at night, or whatever. Or maybe they become useful in other ways, as an emergency food source, or a way to send a message or something. aurilee writes: Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie) Or we could go back to Achoo again. It's been a little while since we've seen Chewbacca, however, so that's nice. And I see the porgs have been designated the little mascots for this part of the movie, otherwise they'd probably have been left off screen. Artoo must be busy plugged into the ship or something as well, though he also doesn't need more screen time in order to be merchanisable. Porg plushies probably were pushed a bit before Baby Yoda took over. That thing was impossible to avoid, though I do know now that's not from the movies at least. Huge progress extremely rapidly could be extremely interesting! With results such as "where's the nearest refueling station" or "where'd half the ship go"! I do wonder about the radio silence part. Chewie wouldn't need a headset on if he's just doing ship repairs or tests. Hmmm. Maybe Ben will take the advice to heart and just leave the planet! Admittedly, this would mean we're leaving Luke behind for no reason and simply snipping off the training plot thread on the movie side, but that'd be extremely amusing from the comic point of view. Transcript (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 1st, 2023
9:11 am	Episode 2368: The Fathier Adventures of Robbers on Canto https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2368.html Every science fiction or fantasy world needs a good horse-analogue. It's impossible to have a fictional setting without some sort of riding animal. So if you don't want standard Earth horses, you have to invent something else that can serve the purpose. It might conceivably be borderline possible to imagine a fictional world without riding animals... But that's basically crazy talk. Get out of here! aurilee writes: Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie) Ahh, so Ben's playing the dumb one this time. Heisting a casino? That's all fun and games. Going back to spend it at the same casino? That's begging to get caught. Interesting that there's a red highlight over the fathier jockey. It makes me think there's an info tidbit on that particular racer, or perhaps the odds of that one winning. I wonder what the writing actually means as well. This being Star Wars, I'd be shocked if it was nonsense lettering, but that still leaves room for easter egg text or something more meaningful. Also? There are some pretty good expressions here, especially the last panel. I can just feel how snarky Annie's question is with how Finn's looking at the camera. Transcript (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023
9:11 am	Episode 2369: Manumission Impossible https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2369.html Showing the seedy underbelly of places is a great way to set a mood and demonstrate to the players that this is a real, gritty place, where wealth and prosperity are built on a foundation of lower classes and suffering. Some types of games typically tend to gloss over this sort of stuff - for example the typical pseudo-medieval fantasy world where the peasants are all well-fed and happy, or simply never referred to. If your players are comfortable in the illusion that there is no lower class suffering in your campaign setting, putting it front and centre can be a way to shock their worldview and inspire new types of adventures. aurilee writes: Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie) Oooooookay? Yet again, not where I would have expected the story to go. Definitely playing up the "this casino is just a shiny lights and sound show" angle. Maybe Rose and Finn are here to rob the place for something? The scene would help the audience feel better about having the place robbed as well. Or blown up. I could also see the casino getting blown up as part of an escape. The lighting from the lightning on the four-armed alien helps sell the idea that the people in charge suck. That face looks like a pile of ground beef on gravel! And while judging people by their appearances isn't good, it's definitely something that comes up frequently anyway, even when not paired with animal cruelty. Also? Wow, that's a heck of a callback. And here I was trying to remember what other campaigns or movies that could have been referring to before I recalled specifically Annie's previous characters prior to Finn. Transcript (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 5th, 2023
9:11 am	Episode 2370: Con, Troll, and Chaos https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2370.html The con job is a classic story plot. And it's perfect for a roleplaying game scenario too. So. Many. Things that could possibly go wrong! aurilee writes: Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie) Who are you and what have you done with Ben? Have you been talking with Jim too much lately? This sounds like one of his ideas! Are we sure Ben doesn't need psychiatric treatment for a broken brain instead? Anyway, it rather seems like BB-8's come to get the other characters moving again. I really doubt the psychiatrist plan is going to be used as that's not a Star-Wars-like thing. Cut to the shuttle for a change of plans scene perhaps? This balcony has some nice architecture, but it lacks for privacy, and for a place to gear up. Transcript (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 8th, 2023
9:11 am	Episode 2371: Dressed for Failure https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2371.html The white tuxedo is always a symbol of class. Players don't often think about the specifics of clothing in games, but it plays a big role in social expectations and interactions in real life, so it makes sense that it should in a campaign world too. If you establish that the majority of people typically wear grubby, rumpled, homespun stuff in a dozen exciting shades of brown, then the simple act of describing a person wearing immaculate clothing in crisp, neatly tailored lines with vibrant hues of sky blue and pale yellow instantly makes them stand out from the crowd and conveys that this is someone important. aurilee writes: Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie) Ooooooh dear. Hey Ben, here's the perfect opportunity to top Jim's plan improv! Finn's even getting the white glove treatment! Oh, sorry; I just noticed Rose is falling over in the last panel too. Anyway, it took the patrons long enough to notice the problem with the outfits. It's extremely amusing that Finn points someone out, or something out, just before immediately getting spotted for that. There's probably some other reason Finn and Rose are getting called out, like Finn getting called out for being First Order again, but imagine if the clothing is actually the main reason! Weapons though? I don't think I spotted any weapons so far. Maybe Finn's got a blaster on him in the third panel, but it's hard to tell for sure. No droids makes sense at least. A casino wouldn't want anyone to be able to tell the odds of winning too easily, and a droid can probably hack things faster than a biological person can. Transcript (Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 10th, 2023
9:11 am	Episode 2372: Dungeons and Draggins https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2372.html In games with sentient or sentient-seeming robots, there are societal questions to be considered about their status. Are they treated like citizens with full rights, just like organic beings? Are they lower-class citizens, with restricted rights? Are they discriminated against, or accepted for who they are? Are they treated as property, with no rights of their own at all? This leads to many secondary questions about robots: Can they be called upon to give evidence in court? Can they have a job and earn money? Can they vote? Can they sue people? Can they marry? If your game has robots, ask some of these questions. And don't necessarily take what you think is the more obvious answer. Try taking the other answer, or say, "This is something that society is currently struggling with." aurilee writes: Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie) Heh, that's almost the same phrase used way back in Episode IV! That's a pretty strong guard as well; Finn and Rey had to lift BB down into the hiding spot on the Falcon last episode. Of course, the guard probably doesn't care if BB gets damaged, so perhaps that explains it a little. BB-8's also lucky he didn't lose his head again. Time for a change of scenery now? This has the feel of a finished scene signaled by the sound, and Finn and Rose still need to be dragged off somewhere. So where to next? It's been a little bit since we've seen the First Order along with Sally, so perhaps there? Alternatively, we get to see what Poe's up to. I think it'll be extremely amusing if Poe's gone chasing after Rey and Chewie. Transcript (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 28th, 2023
9:11 am	Episode 2367: Shaken, Trots Spurred https://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/2367.html Sometimes things can be noticed through unconventional means. The GM usually describes things of importance in a game as seen, or perhaps heard. But we have plenty of other ways of noticing things. Sensing vibrations and low rumbling indicates something big and heavy moving nearby, which can be significant in many ways. In a technological setting it could be a large vehicle. While in a low-tech setting it probably indicates something potentially more dangerous, such as a large monster, a rampaging horde, or magic at work. Consider a group of fantasy heroes relaxing in a local tavern. When suddenly the room starts shaking and a thunderous roar is heard from outside. You know something epic is about to go down! aurilee writes: Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie) Alright. MST3K mantra, engage! This is hitting lots of the parts of a casino I'd expect to see in a movie. The drinks must be pretty cheap as well, or free, if the patrons don't seem to care about the spillage. All that's left is an oversized fish tank or an expansive restaurant of some kind. And of course, the vaults. It'd be really strange to have a casino show up without seeing the vaults or a giant vault door at least. So what are we going to have next? Random betting on the horse things? Dice, cards, and one-arm bandits slot machines aren't as exciting to watch as a race. BB-8 getting chased by the little alien, still attempting to stuff the droid full of coinage? That'd be an amusing way for them to get free money to start with, so that seems likely. Time to move to a heist sequence? Perhaps we need to see how bets are being placed first. And while it'd make a lot of sense for a heist sequence, I doubt that we'd get a bunch of flashbacks/flashforwards to different planning or action parts; there's too many other plot threads happening elsewhere in the Galaxy. Funny sidenote; on my first look through, I mostly just saw the images, so I'd thought there was a glowing fish thing levitating in the third panel until I actually read what was happening. Transcript (Comment on this)