Mine is comics. It was a fluctuating hobby since childhood but it finally ended for good this year. I just couldn’t get into them again and didn’t dedicate any amount of time to indulge on what I had around me. Like I used to have a stack of Hellblazer comics, I had a couple of Spider-Gwen graphic novels, a few Batman ones including A Death in the Family and Frank Miller’s Dark Knight graphic novels.

But regardless, nothing stuck anymore. I’ve actually grown exhausted by how overwhelming the comic ecosystem has gotten, even when trying to take it in moderately. I got tired of continuity fractures in many characters that I liked, I got tired of the pointless power-leveling debates between which versions of characters, I never really liked overpowered characters to begin with and I haven’t even scratched the surface as to how politically and socially involved comics has gotten into. And I’m so over with overly redundant story tropes and all of these multiverses and alternate universes that are just used as lazy writing pathways to excuse writers who’ve cornered themselves and are afraid to stick to bold, coherent arcs of some characters.

I hadn’t even touched also on the many, many movies that we’ve been seeing released. Not to mention how many blown chances that has happened because of politics and shit.

So many things that contributed to me just exiting myself from comics entirely, I donated nearly all of the comics I had and then some. I still stick with manga volumes because those are a little different to me than traditional comics, so I have a handful of those around.

I don’t foresee myself coming back to the comic universe any day soon.

  • jtrek@startrek.website
    2·
    2 days ago

    I hear pathfinder 2e is a big improvement, but still has some of the stuff I’m sick of.

    • rolling a single die means flat probability. Equal odds of getting the worst or best possible outcome
    • spells per day is anti-fun for me. I want to do cool stuff, not feel pressured to hold onto it “in case I need it later”
    • class and level is very coarse, and makes some concepts impractical, impossible, or awkward to execute
    • I’m not as interested in “numbers go up big” anymore, and that’s kind of the default.
    • I’m not really in the mood for fantasy. I’d rather do modern day occult
    • count_duckula@discuss.tchncs.de
      2·
      2 days ago

      For the first point, you could use a random generator and make it pick from a Gaussian or Poisson or other probability distribution depending on the situation.

      For the rest, I do not know. I have been wanting to play a tabletop game with my board game group. But knowing them, I would have to be dungeon master and that seems intimidating since I have never played before.

      • jtrek@startrek.website
        2·
        2 days ago

        For the first point, you could use a random generator and make it pick from a Gaussian or Poisson or other probability distribution depending on the situation.

        Many RPGs that aren’t so closely related to DND use a dice pool. Instead of like 1d20, you might roll 3d6. Now you’re more likely to get an average result. Only one way to roll 3, but a bunch of ways to roll 10.

        The nWoD games you roll d10s and count how many come up 8,9, 10. Very fast, and once you’re good at a task you know you’ll generally succeed. It’s more a question of how well you’ll succeed and how strong the opposition is.

        I’m not mathy enough to talk beyond that, but I find it much more satisfying.

      • Simon_Shitewood@lemmy.ml
        1·
        2 days ago

        Playing under someone more experienced can build confidence, but the only way to learn how to run a ttrpg is to start running one. Find some one page RPGs with really simple rules that can be learnt in a few minutes and played over an hour or two. No one has to invest in anything, you can switch between different ones to find what people like, and there’s no pressure to keep running a campaign if you find it too much. Once you have an idea of what it’s like running a game you and your friends can decide if you want to play a long adventure.

    • Simon_Shitewood@lemmy.ml
      1·
      2 days ago

      PF2e does a surprisingly good job at both unequaling the odds with it’s degrees of success mechanic and making class and level a much more flexible system through feats, but probably not to the degree you’re wanting, and I can’t argue with the rest.
      Delta Green isn’t a perfect fit for your requirements as it uses a single die, but it’s degrees of success system also unequals the odds, so it might still work for you. VtM and it’s relatives are probably a better fit, but I personally find them a bit melodramatic. I’ve found it pretty easy to find a VtM group by hanging around Goths, but haven’t had any luck with Delta Green yet.

      • jtrek@startrek.website
        2·
        2 days ago

        I had a really fun game of Vampire back in like 2016. I’d love to have another go at that, or Mage. The dice pool system always felt simple but exciting. Characters started out competent and being able to buy individual skills or powers was more satisfying than waiting for whole levels.

        I’ve heard good things about Delta green, but never looked into it.

        Alas, my college days where “hey you look nerdy you wanna play vampire?” are long gone.