My SteamVR games run poorly on Linux. They do run, but it’s a much rougher experience than running them through Windows.

It’s frustrating, because otherwise Linux is my primary gaming system!

Me too! I don’t know what they’re like for everyone else, but I find them intensely bitter.

Olive oil is awesome, tho

Oh! I went looking for more videos like this (my kids love this sort of thing), and I’m pretty sure the source was the first hit: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/lava-sampling-active-lava-flow

Seconding GURPS! I feel like there’s not enough emphasis on diverging from the printed rules. If you’re not sure which target number to use, or exactly what modifier to apply to it, just pick one and go! It won’t break!

“When in doubt, roll and shout!” shows up a few times in the core books, but they really need to emphasize that idea more - people don’t seem to have picked up on it.

I came in to say this! In addition, if you still have the bug to hack/mod whatever system you’re playing, you don’t have to explain the new rules to anyone else; you can change rules on the fly, or even rerun a scene a few different ways to see how things shake out. You can do this for a multiplayer game too (running everyone yourself); but in a solo game, you can try it as soon as you think of it!

Also, to expand slightly on GM Emulators - Mythic is the big one I know of, and they just released a second edition that’s supposed to be rather good!

I’ve seen this a lot in discussion about the Eberron setting - the setting’s author has a blog where he goes over his take on things; but he intentionally leaves a lot of things unanswered (including the cause of the biggest natural disaster in living memory). People often talk about things IME (In My Eberron) when detailing what happened in their games.

It’s a refreshing take on an issue with a published setting.

The Turan Empire fully solidified it’s hold on the continent just four years ago. The rail lines provided by the dwarven clans, along with the gnomes’ airship designs, proved instrumental in moving troops and material about as it expanded to the coasts. While the Emperor (and some noble families) are eyeing expansion across the seas, most are pivoting to using these resources in a more mercantile capacity.

Great lighter-than-air craft, held aloft by “lift-gas” (a gnomish alchemical secret), were used by the Empire to quickly establish forward bases; allowing territory to be taken and held while rail lines were established. These were usually armed with heavy cannon and bombs, and escorted by a mix of ornithopters, smaller LTA craft, and winged mounts (gryphons, wyverns, etc). These mighty vessels now patrol the skies of the Empire, while the rail lines they protected now transport goods throughout the continent. Many of the smaller airships are now privately owned (including one by my players) - but as rail lines haul more goods and the mercantile families contract between themselves to cover air transport, it’s getting harder for independent operators to find legitimate cargo to move.

Methods of transport: Rail lines are becoming the go-to method for moving goods; due to a combination of volume they can handle and the speed of movement. Where that isn’t available, water-based barges can haul bulk goods wherever a body of water goes. Zeppelins are available for cargo that needs to move on demand without regard for the rigors of ground-based travel. Waterways and roadways also continue to be available; and some people have winged bodies (gargoyles, some elves, and certain god-touched types), have winged mounts, or build their own flying machines.

Most of these are available in at least some capacity to the masses; though certain animals (particularly gryphons) cost a great deal to feed and/or are tricky to breed, and heavier-than-air flying machines still tend to be custom built and need skilled maintenance. However, bicycles, boots, and boats are generally available; and zeppelins and trains generally have a “steerage” class available. Certain professions tend to have access to creatures such as wyverns and horses as well.

Speed of transport: While I wanted the option for high-speed aerial dogfighting action in this world, I also really wanted to keep the feel of sometimes needing to travel for weeks to arrive at a destination - and the speeds involved in dogfighting tend to reduce the size of the world too much for that. Most air travel therefore occurs at 20-30MPH, with remarkable craft going as fast as 40+MPH (usually for short times with expensive fuel). Trains can generally get up to 35-40MPH on straight lines, but of course must follow their rails.

Who controls transport: A few dwarven clans allied to convince the growing Empire to rely on rail logistics; the Ironroller clan handles creating and maintaining the lines, and the Steelhammers and Alestones are the premier rail line operators (with several smaller concerns).

A few gnomish families control the distribution of lift-gas. (Gnomish family ties tend to be convoluted to outsiders; so the names wouldn’t mean much here. Generally you set up a contract with someone you’ve been introduced to, or they’ll introduce you to someone else.) Other gnomish families have large zeppelin construction companies as well, though some outsiders are beginning to edge into this market as well (notably the Cloudrunner Corp, a primarily goblin-run group). Incidentally, there’s another group of gnomes who are responsible for all construction of the automaton “clanks” that much of the empire has come to rely on.

Water travel tends to be dominated by small groups of locals wherever a waterway exists - stereotypically, this is generally handled by local halflings, sea-elves (“mermen/mermaids”), and humans. As of yet, no overt moves have been taken to control this ancient form of transport as a whole.

Safety: This is a steampunk world, and safety levels of vehicular travel more or less parallel those of our industrial age - which is to say, what there is tends to be aimed at the comfort of the well-off. That said, it is a world with a low level of magic, and one where the gods still have a weak influence (neither as high as it once was); and between that and modern mechanical marvels, injuries that would have been fatal in our industrial age are now survivable.

**Resources used: **The fuel that most industry is powered by is primarily ordinary coal. Elemental coal is more efficient, along with a few more esoteric sources of power; but it’s ordinary coal that is currently available at the levels needed. The gnomes’ development of the lift-gas process is still a closely guarded secret, and is remarkable as much for its scale as its product.

(I’m still astonished I had forgotten bicycles should be a thing; thanks for the reminder!)

You might skim the offerings at https://1shotadventures.com/ - they’re all one-off GURPS adventures the author writes and makes freely available! Could lower the barrier to trying out the system :) (edit) Each adventure also includes a set of optional character sheets; since character creation is one of the more time consuming parts of GURPS (/edit)

I’m running a GURPS game for some family (Dungeon Fantasy tropes plopped into a Steampunk world, for Firefly-esque fun), and I’m running a solo game of Eberron using GURPS rules as well! For the solo game, I’m using Ironsworn to manage the GM side of things.