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The Helping Stick
Campaigns, Homebrew, and the Kethos Project
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Friday, July 17, 2026
Saturday, June 27, 2026
Friday, June 26, 2026
Absent Player Character Protection Clause
In consideration of the Player's regrettable but occasionally unavoidable absence, the Game Master hereby extends Limited Narrative Indemnification Coverage (LNIC) to the absent Player Character ("the Covered Character") for the duration of the session.
While this policy remains in force, the Covered Character shall not be killed, permanently maimed, dismembered, enslaved, imprisoned, infected with irreversible plot diseases, transformed into a cyborg, uploaded into hostile software, possessed by extradimensional entities, married without informed consent, promoted to management, or otherwise subjected to any lasting alteration requiring paperwork upon the Player's return.
The Covered Character may, however, sustain reasonable and customary temporary injuries consistent with maintaining narrative credibility. Such injuries may include, but are not limited to: bruises, cuts, burns, mild radiation exposure, temporary unconsciousness, sprains, embarrassment, singed eyebrows, lost dignity, and other non-permanent inconveniences deemed necessary to preserve the illusion that they participated in dangerous events alongside the rest of the party. Recovery is assumed to occur by the beginning of the next session unless otherwise agreed by the Player.
This policy does not guarantee the safety of the Covered Character's equipment, vehicle, hat, reputation, ammunition supply, favorite snack, or any NPCs emotionally attached to them. Acts of dice and acts of Game Master are specifically excluded from property coverage.
Acceptance of this policy constitutes acknowledgement that the Covered Character was present, contributed heroically, and undoubtedly did something extremely impressive just off camera.
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See also: Petersen v. The Dungeon Master, 14 RPG 237 (1989), holding that "the involuntary death of a player character during the player's documented absence constitutes a narrative taking without due process, and is therefore arbitrary, capricious, and kind of a dick move." Subsequent decisions, including Miller v. Thursday Night Group, 3 SWADE App. 12 (2021) and In re Steve's Paladin, 88 F. Supp. (Tabletop) 404 (1997), have consistently upheld the doctrine of Off-Screen Narrative Immunity, while recognizing the Game Master's continuing authority to inflict cosmetic injuries, comedic indignities, and paperwork.
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Cyberpunk 2026: A Trip Around The Bay (Updated with SF Bay Info and Map)
Dr. Simone Yao, a young physics professor with Eddings University.
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Ashen Reach: Wayfarer Class Freighter
Armed Frontier Transport — SWADE / Expanse-Style Traveller Hybrid
The Wayfarer-class Utility Trader is a rugged long-range civilian transport built for the harsh realities of frontier space. Though originally designed as a modular cargo hauler, most ships of the class have been heavily modified over decades of hard service into hybrid freighters, salvage platforms, escort ships, and semi-legal frontier traders. Wayfarers are common along unstable trade routes where reliability matters more than elegance, and crews expect to spend months operating far from major ports or naval protection. Among Belters and frontier spacers, the class has earned a reputation as a stubborn survivor: a ship that can absorb punishment, limp home on improvised repairs, and continue flying long after more sophisticated vessels would be dead in space. Many carry upgraded weapons, reinforced hull plating, expanded workshops, and patched-together systems accumulated across generations of ownership. No two Wayfarers are exactly alike for long.
Friday, May 15, 2026
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Ashen Reach: The Gravesend System (by C. Hill)
Common Spacer Saying
“Aster Vale owns the system.
Gravesend builds it.
Caliban fuels it.
Eirene feeds the Belt.
And the Belt steals whatever’s left.”


