Very thorough and well documented. I like the idea of advanced technology making its way into primitive hands. Devices like these remind me of the Prometheus and Bob shorts I watched growing up in the 90s.

See also The Thing That Goes Beep Go to Comment

Just Voted Go to Comment

A usefull little thing. Go to Comment

A solid submission. Go to Comment

I read this again and felt that I had to up my vote a notch. Go to Comment

Great detail and like Pieh, i love the idea of these things falling into the hands of the "uninitiated" of a typical fantasy world.

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Heh, I like this.  I have a "Something Weird" vendor in my gameworld who peddles offbeat things from time to time ... this sounds like something he'd sell.

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I love it for many reasons! It's got personality, it's useful, it's plausible.

Even though I would personally prefer a more "In-Character" description for it, the sub is well written and clear.

Two thumbs up for a very good Item!

:) Go to Comment

Update: I changed a few things, clarified a few things. Thanks for my first comment. =) Go to Comment

Thanks - how do you mean more "in character", Olontur? Go to Comment

Wow, thank you all very much. For a first submission, I very much appreciate the votes; 4.2 out of 5 votes seems like that's pretty good. Go to Comment

Very good. Something to give my players pause when they find it. Go to Comment

I found this to be a very deep and thought-provoking article the first time you showed it to me and, reading it again, I have realized that I do do this. I just don't do it consciously. This is the stuff dreams are made of, for me anyway. I've always been a very vivid dreamer. Going as far as to claim prophetic visions at time, only realizing their meaning when they come to pass. But it can be very hard for a waking mind to escape all of the reality around you and feel the armor around you, the horse beneath you.

I've grown up playing Video Games, I'm of a younger generation, being only 23. But I've always loved and cherished my imagination in ways that no one else ever talked about. I write, mostly for this site or short stories or poetry. I draw, hardly ever with a purpose, I just like to sit down and let a picture form. But, my favorite escape is dreaming. It's like writing or drawing, only my subconscious is in control, I'm not actively thinking of what I want to create. My mind knows what will be the most fun for me and it plays it out. his is how I imagine.

I used to bring this to games, using my analytical mind to devise mechanics for interesting events and descriptions. But, I'm finding that the older I get, the less I want to share my mind. It has become something personal and sacred. Thank you, JP. I think I need to rethink what I do with my imaginary imagery, and maybe enlighten others as to what imagination can be. Go to Comment

Great style of writing, I feel like I could go on reading this forever. I view this as an inspirational and well informed piece executed splendidly. I applaud the good use of quotes and images. Go to Comment

Bumping what deserves more comments. Go to Comment

BUMP, the picture is missing..

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oooh! Pretty picture. But more importantly, great sub!! Well-phrased, well-nuanced, and makes you think, as everyone has already said.

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A lot experienced gamers think the point of gaming is to have fun. As far as fun is defined as pure pleasure I disagree. The social part of gaming should be fun, it should be relaxing but the actual media of the game need not be just fun. It should be challenging, and engrossing. Gaming should make your world larger, allow you to toy with experiences you don’t normally have or could not possibly have. A game need not be just entertainment, it is interaction and imagination. So Brent should be afraid to ask for more from his gaming experience. I know that as GM even as an adult I have been too polite to ask for more from a group, that is not to say I don’t play with great groups, I do play with great groups. But there are always those players who don’t want to bring imagination or creativity to the game, but rather just want to have video game stats and huge base attack bonuses.

But I am thankful for this article, because I often forget to fully realize an object in my imagination. I think the details would make one more invested in the game world and thus would make it more fulfilling. I would like to point out however that in the table top RPG secession however a fully immersed player is not always a good thing. Particularly if that player is more into his head than he is into the game as the other participants are experiencing it.
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Very good sub sir - Really makes one stop and think.

I wish I had an imagination such as yours Pieh - mine is more ponderous and considered, which is one reason my output has fallen off so much.

Need to get back into it I think. Go to Comment

Wow, thought provoking and very accurate when it comes to some players/gm's I;ve seen over the years. Having taken my imagination for granted, (Continually writing novels and short stories will do that to you) I often forget how hard it can be for others to imagine things easily and fluidly.

It would take a bit of work, but an actual rpg book containing a hundred or so of these "short imagination walks" so a gm could read an entry before each game session to help players unlimber their imagination; would be a  huge asset to the rpg community.

Hmm sounds like a worthwhile project actually!

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