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Welcome to Thay, where the dress code is red, the government is run by homicidal wizards, and your spy agency's severance package is either magical memory loss or death. Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall takes D&D 5e from cloak-and-dagger espionage to rebel wizards, pirates, demon-powered skeletons, legendary magic items, and eventually a full-scale assault on Szass Tam's evil wizard lair. Along the way, we discover that the real secret to saving Faerûn is apparently making friends with pirates, hoarding magic items, and knowing when not to punch the lich who can cast Finger of Death whenever he feels like it. Also, there's a dragon turtle named Bitey. Obviously, this is serious espionage. Arcana Unleashed (affiliate link) Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall (affiliate link) Forgotten Realms Wiki Szass Tam Show Notes We're wrapping up our Arcana Unleashed review with Deadfall, a high-level D&D 5e adventure that drops characters into Thay for an espionage campaign involving Red Wizards, political scheming, undead armies, absurd amounts of magic, and the small problem of Szass Tam attempting to take control of everything again. Before the spying begins, we dig into Thay itself, including the Zulkirs, Red Wizard society, Szass Tam's long history of being spectacularly evil, and why living in Thay mostly involves keeping your head down and desperately pretending you didn't see anything. Deadfall also offers advice for running a D&D espionage adventure, complete with secret identities, codenames, magical disguises, compromised covers, hidden bases, and consequences when the party inevitably decides subtlety is for NPCs. Once the campaign gets moving, Deadfall becomes a rapid-fire series of covert missions. The party hunts spies, blackmails messengers, recruits dissident Red Wizards, collects increasingly ridiculous magic items, befriends pirates, meets a dragon turtle named Bitey, and watches their earlier choices come back in meaningful ways. The adventure even accounts for the traditional player solution of murdering someone important to the plot, which earns it considerable respect from the group. The campaign moves quickly from level 11 to level 20, giving characters access to legendary equipment and some genuinely dangerous high-level D&D encounters. The final stretch turns the spy thriller into a full assault on Szass Tam's stronghold, culminating in a brutal boss fight involving powerful undead, demons, environmental effects, necrotic damage, and consequences tied directly to allies the characters helped or ignored earlier in the campaign. We also talk about why Deadfall works surprisingly well as more than a single adventure. Its missions can be pulled apart and used as D&D one-shots, adapted into an anthology-style campaign, or mined by Dungeon Masters looking for a useful Thay campaign setting reference. There are a few missed opportunities, particularly with some disappointing monster design, but the amount of usable material, meaningful player choice, high-level treasure, and contingency planning left us pleasantly surprised. If you're looking for an Arcana Unleashed Deadfall review, a D&D 5e high-level adventure, ideas for running an espionage campaign in Dungeons and Dragons, or an excuse to send level 20 characters after Szass Tam and the Red Wizards of Thay, there's a lot here worth stealing. Preferably before the players steal it first. Key Takeaways Deadfall is a level 11 to 20 D&D 5e espionage adventure set in Thay, centered on stopping Szass Tam and his latest extremely reasonable plan for world domination. Thay gets enough background material that the book can double as a useful Red Wizards of Thay campaign reference for Dungeon Masters. The espionage mechanics include disguises, codenames, secrecy, compromised identities, hidden bases, and ways to recover after blowing your cover. Player choices matter. Allies, side missions, failures, and earlier decisions can significantly change later encounters and even the difficulty of the final battle. The adventure anticipates players going off-script surprisingly well, including what happens when important NPCs die or the party chooses violence over diplomacy. Deadfall hands out a huge amount of high-level D&D magic items, including very rare, legendary, and even artifact-level equipment. The adventure's monster design occasionally disappoints, especially when flavorful concepts turn out to use fairly ordinary existing stat blocks. The campaign moves extremely quickly through high-level play, making the proposed session count ambitious for groups that like exploring every corner. The final Szass Tam encounter actually feels dangerous, with multiple enemies, nasty environmental effects, and consequences based on what the characters accomplished earlier. Deadfall can work as a complete campaign, a collection of connected D&D one-shots, or a source of missions and ideas for a homebrew espionage adventure. Most importantly, make friends with the pirates. Seriously. Make friends with the pirates. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati
Welcome to Thay, where the dress code is red, the government is run by homicidal wizards, and your spy agency's severance package is either magical memory loss or death. Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall takes D&D 5e from cloak-and-dagger espionage to rebel wizards, pirates, demon-powered skeletons, legendary magic items, and eventually a full-scale assault on Szass Tam's evil wizard lair. Along the way, we discover that the real secret to saving Faerûn is apparently making friends with pirates, hoarding magic items, and knowing when not to punch the lich who can cast Finger of Death whenever he feels like it. Also, there's a dragon turtle named Bitey. Obviously, this is serious espionage. Arcana Unleashed (affiliate link) Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall (affiliate link) Forgotten Realms Wiki Szass Tam Show Notes We're wrapping up our Arcana Unleashed review with Deadfall, a high-level D&D 5e adventure that drops characters into Thay for an espionage campaign involving Red Wizards, political scheming, undead armies, absurd amounts of magic, and the small problem of Szass Tam attempting to take control of everything again. Before the spying begins, we dig into Thay itself, including the Zulkirs, Red Wizard society, Szass Tam's long history of being spectacularly evil, and why living in Thay mostly involves keeping your head down and desperately pretending you didn't see anything. Deadfall also offers advice for running a D&D espionage adventure, complete with secret identities, codenames, magical disguises, compromised covers, hidden bases, and consequences when the party inevitably decides subtlety is for NPCs. Once the campaign gets moving, Deadfall becomes a rapid-fire series of covert missions. The party hunts spies, blackmails messengers, recruits dissident Red Wizards, collects increasingly ridiculous magic items, befriends pirates, meets a dragon turtle named Bitey, and watches their earlier choices come back in meaningful ways. The adventure even accounts for the traditional player solution of murdering someone important to the plot, which earns it considerable respect from the group. The campaign moves quickly from level 11 to level 20, giving characters access to legendary equipment and some genuinely dangerous high-level D&D encounters. The final stretch turns the spy thriller into a full assault on Szass Tam's stronghold, culminating in a brutal boss fight involving powerful undead, demons, environmental effects, necrotic damage, and consequences tied directly to allies the characters helped or ignored earlier in the campaign. We also talk about why Deadfall works surprisingly well as more than a single adventure. Its missions can be pulled apart and used as D&D one-shots, adapted into an anthology-style campaign, or mined by Dungeon Masters looking for a useful Thay campaign setting reference. There are a few missed opportunities, particularly with some disappointing monster design, but the amount of usable material, meaningful player choice, high-level treasure, and contingency planning left us pleasantly surprised. If you're looking for an Arcana Unleashed Deadfall review, a D&D 5e high-level adventure, ideas for running an espionage campaign in Dungeons and Dragons, or an excuse to send level 20 characters after Szass Tam and the Red Wizards of Thay, there's a lot here worth stealing. Preferably before the players steal it first. Key Takeaways Deadfall is a level 11 to 20 D&D 5e espionage adventure set in Thay, centered on stopping Szass Tam and his latest extremely reasonable plan for world domination. Thay gets enough background material that the book can double as a useful Red Wizards of Thay campaign reference for Dungeon Masters. The espionage mechanics include disguises, codenames, secrecy, compromised identities, hidden bases, and ways to recover after blowing your cover. Player choices matter. Allies, side missions, failures, and earlier decisions can significantly change later encounters and even the difficulty of the final battle. The adventure anticipates players going off-script surprisingly well, including what happens when important NPCs die or the party chooses violence over diplomacy. Deadfall hands out a huge amount of high-level D&D magic items, including very rare, legendary, and even artifact-level equipment. The adventure's monster design occasionally disappoints, especially when flavorful concepts turn out to use fairly ordinary existing stat blocks. The campaign moves extremely quickly through high-level play, making the proposed session count ambitious for groups that like exploring every corner. The final Szass Tam encounter actually feels dangerous, with multiple enemies, nasty environmental effects, and consequences based on what the characters accomplished earlier. Deadfall can work as a complete campaign, a collection of connected D&D one-shots, or a source of missions and ideas for a homebrew espionage adventure. Most importantly, make friends with the pirates. Seriously. Make friends with the pirates. Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players. Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings. Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community. Meet the Hosts Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix. Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme. Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy. Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos. How to Find Us: In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net Tyler Kamstra BlueSky: @rpgbot.net TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET Ash Ely Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games BlueSky: @GravenAshes YouTube: @ashravenmedia https://ashelydm.com/ https://ashelydm.com/ Randall James BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG Amateurjack.com Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link) Producer Dan @Lzr_illuminati
☕️ Kakao, der auf sanfte Weise dein emotionales Gleichgewicht unterstützt: https://www.regenbogenkreis.de/kakao-pulver-bio-rohkost-300-g?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=26-09-23-liaAbonniere jetzt meinen Telegram Kanal für unzensierte News und verbotenes Heilwissen:
Tickets for AIE NYC now open, and apply for the invite-only AIE CODE. Join us!We have an unusual relationship with today's guest: for years since coauthoring the InstructGPT paper, Diogo Almeida had been saying that API-available frontier models have been going down the wrong path, everything from the alignment to refusals to reliability perspectives, that we have dropped every mode other than autoregressive chat-tuned LLMs because of the overwhelming success of ChatGPT.In a launch video now viewed ~40M times (by comparison, GPT4o was 22M, Fable 5 was 15M, Navier Stokes was 74M, and 6 Astra was 137M), Diogo introduced Jev and it immediately took over the AI timeline — we'll skip full Jev explainers because your favorite AI influencer/educator has probably already done one. We also collected:* the official patterns and cookbooks you should see first, from Allie* Jev usecases* speed based - games and computer use* the voice + computer use example we discuss at 1h34 mins* voice + browser control* The must not miss Doom demo* Driving cars in games* Excalidraw* virtual try-ons* “Smart Games”/smart NPCs* guided responses in text messages* Jev for coding agents has an official guide * jev for linting* compacting tool calls* reasonable pushback from Theo - Diogo has published a note on the Tyranny of the KV Cache that you should read as a followup after the pod for Jev + coding agents, because of his belief that Cache Rules Everything* Programming Languages built atop Jev (Diogo's fave)* Jev for analytics replay and user journey review* “dark data”* entity resolution* natural language search* “smart software”* a core goal of Jev is to “disappear into the background” - eg as unremarkable as regex* Jev as a judge* Jev memes* Jev vs LLM capabiltiies* blending transformers and classifiers* about the confidence api* Jev vs GLiNER (note difference/pushback, agreed, agreed, agreed)* Jev on trolley problem* Jev BushInstead we'll focus on what we can uniquely offer — a broader philosophical and mission-based understanding of how and why Jev was created, and what you should expect next in terms of future models from TypeSafe (ReasoningJev?) and what usecases and ideas you should work on vs the 55th low effort clone of Jev's API or doing a generic JevBench benchmark - something Diogo has rejected publicly.Why RLCD: Three kinds of RLHF, and why they are ALL the wrong north starDiogo knows a good deal about RLHF, given that he was on the team that pioneered post-training at OpenAI — and traces the three branches to Christiano et al 2017 (the robot backflip demo), Stiennon et al 2020 (learning to summarize) and his baby, Ouyang et al 2022 (InstructGPT). From there on, every innovation from Function Calling to Structured Outputs to Reasoning felt like a hack on top of the string based, sequence to sequence prediction paradigm. As he mentions on the pod, from 2023-2024 he struggled unsuccessfully, due to both personal and organization underestimation, to train a model that accurately addressed what he saw as the core problem with making LLMs the heart of software: reliability.Jev's core innovation is "Reinforcement Learning for Calibrated Decisions”, a novel, unpublished technique that optimizes for “answers with epistemically honest probabilities on System One tasks” rather than human rated feedback (RLHF) — which causes hallucinations, sycophancy, and permanent reliance on humans — or programmatically verifiable outputs with rubrics (RLVR) — which solves Navier Stokes but exacerbates jagged intelligence and doesn't integrate well with other software.We've talked about the calibration problem before on the pod, but probably the single best place to understand why RLCD became necessary is Diogo's AIE talk, which discusses why a generation of training helpful AI assistants for humans has impaired them for training models for composable, programmable AI for automation.At the end he also teases his contrarian opinion on scaling laws - which teases how to build a modern neolab without the billions of dollars the major labs have…The Bitterest Lesson: Tasks and Data beats ComputeWe spend a good amount of time discussing Diogo's essay on the Bitterest Lesson:His point is that “You get what you optimize for and the bitterest lesson in ML is that the most important part of it isn't ML at all.” - and picking the right north star, eg upvoting for user preference vs being integrated into tool calls - makes everything else fall in line.We're excited to catch up with a freshly dyed Diogo to discuss:* Why AI can solve extraordinarily hard problems but still fail to automate basic work* What System One Models are and why Jev is built for software rather than chat* RLHF, mode collapse, calibration, and the hidden costs of optimizing for human preferences* Why refusals become a problem when AI is buried inside software dependencies* Why TypeSafe rejects public benchmarks and optimizes for intelligence per dollar* The “bitterest lesson”: why the right task and the right data can matter more than compute* Why TypeSafe thinks of itself as a data lab rather than a model lab* RLCD vs. RLHF and RLVR as fundamentally different North Stars for AI* Why reliability and robustness matter more than simple determinism* Jev's programming primitives and how intelligence maps into software control flow* Why developers should decompose AI workflows into small, measurable decisions* How structured state replaces giant prompts and system messages* Why Diogo thinks AI should eventually disappear into the background of software* The “inverse SaaS-pocalypse” and how AI could supercharge existing software* System One vs. System Two intelligence and the limits of reasoning models* Dark data, computer use, real-time intelligence, and Jev's biggest early use cases* Why Jev could reshape coding agents built around a single-model architecture* Why Diogo says he wouldn't pre-train with $1 billion* The OpenAI journey that led to TypeSafe and why he thinks many neo-labs are approaching AI incorrectly* Coding agents beyond the KV cache, shared state, sub-agents, and the multi-agent futureDiogo Almeida* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diogomda* X: https://x.com/CompleteSkeptic* TypeSafe AI: https://typesafe.ai/Timestamps00:00:00 Jev Launch Week and the AI Economic Revolution00:02:50 What Is Jev? System One Models and Programmable AI00:05:54 RLHF, Mode Collapse, Calibration, and Yann LeCun00:10:29 Programmatic AI, Refusals, and Safety Alignment00:17:21 Why TypeSafe Rejects Public Benchmarks00:20:43 The Bitterest Lesson: Data, Compute, and the Right Task00:24:59 RLCD vs. RLHF and RLVR00:28:42 Why Powerful AI Still Hasn't Automated the Economy00:39:55 Reliability, Robustness, and Determinism00:48:11 Model Versioning, LTS, Speed, and Intelligence per Dollar00:54:04 Inside Jev's API and Programming Primitives00:58:28 How to Build with Jev: Structure, Decomposition, and Small Decisions01:18:28 The Inverse SaaS-pocalypse and AI Disappearing into Software01:33:21 Computer Use, Dark Data, and Jev's Biggest Use Cases01:38:48 How Jev Could Reshape Coding Agents01:41:00 AI Safety, Frontier Pacing, and the Limits of RLVR01:48:03 Why Diogo Wouldn't Pre-Train with $1 Billion01:55:19 The OpenAI Story Behind TypeSafe02:01:41 Why Diogo Thinks Most Neo-Labs Are Getting AI Wrong02:08:00 Coding Agents Beyond the KV Cache and the Multi-Agent FutureTranscriptIntroduction: Jev Launch Week and Developer MomentumSwyx [00:00:00]: Okay, we're in the studio. A special occasion because this week, Diogo, my good buddy, launched Jev, and it's been taking over the complete timeline. How do you feel? What's it like to be you right now?Diogo Almeida [00:00:16]: Emotionally?Swyx [00:00:17]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:00:17]: Never been worse. Like, I'm a ragged corpse of a person right now because there's so much going on, and I'm like a technical CEO, so I have, like, a lot of fires to fight.Swyx [00:00:29]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:00:29]: But mentally, I feel—I say this all the time, and I've been saying this kind of for years in my over-under events. Like, I feel like the entire AI field is like one of those, like, carnival house of mirrors, and everyone is just insane and saying the weirdest stuff that doesn't make sense. And it feels like for just this week, like, I'm on a better in sync with reality and like, oh, people see it now. AI can be so much more than what was once thought.Diogo Almeida [00:01:06]: And like, yes, we are going to make. Like, an AI-based economic revolution is back on the table, and this is f*****g awesome.Diogo Almeida [00:01:17]: I'm so jazzed the developers get it. It's, it's, Yeah, and I want to show my eternal gratitude to the developers andSwyx [00:01:25]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:01:26]: I'm so jazzed about the community and everything. It's so great.Swyx [00:01:28]: Yeah, you were saying yesterday that you decided to prioritize the town hall and not a bunch of, like, VIP, investor-type people because you wanted to make sure that they are the people that you get your most, attention, right? The engineers, the developers.Diogo Almeida [00:01:43]: Yeah, it felt a little like, oh man, I'm talking to, like, really important people right now.Swyx [00:01:47]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:01:47]: I probably shouldn't reveal who.Swyx [00:01:48]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:01:48]: But it feels a little bit dirty for me to, I'm, like, perhaps overly genuine in things. Like, it feels, like, dirty if, like, in my gigantic calendar event of people to talk to, the community isn't one of those.Swyx [00:02:04]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:02:04]: And actually, in my ideal world, it would be, like, community all the time. I was thinking, “Should I host a town hall while walking to your studio?” And I'm like, “No, that's too crazy.”Swyx [00:02:12]: Sure. Yeah. Well, you guys have been hosting town halls on Discord. Discord is now 100,000 people. Your Twitter'sDiogo Almeida [00:02:19]: I don't follow these stats.Swyx [00:02:20]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:02:20]: So holy s**t.Swyx [00:02:21]: Your Twitter's blown up. It was, it was really funny ‘cause, like, at AIE, you were like, “Yeah, follow me please,” and then you didn't, like, provide even your handle.Diogo Almeida [00:02:29]: I'm a noob. I'm a noob.Swyx [00:02:29]: You're such a noob.Diogo Almeida [00:02:30]: I'm a noob.Swyx [00:02:31]: But no, but that, like, that's, like, positive aura that, likeDiogo Almeida [00:02:33]: CoolSwyx [00:02:33]: You don't know how to promote yourself.Diogo Almeida [00:02:35]: Yeah. Someone, like, called me out when I posted, like, “Holy s**t, we're all three twending-- trending topics.” And then they're like, “That's a personal feed.”Swyx [00:02:42]: That's a personal, yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:02:43]: And I'm like, “Oh, no.”Swyx [00:02:44]: Of course, of course it'll trend to you.Diogo Almeida [00:02:45]: Cringe. Yeah.Swyx [00:02:45]: Yes, ‘cause it's what you clicked on.Diogo Almeida [00:02:47]: Yeah.Swyx [00:02:47]: So okay. Let's, Yeah, so congrats on everything.What Is Jev? System 1 Models and Intelligence per DollarDiogo Almeida [00:02:50]: Thank you.Swyx [00:02:50]: We'll talk about more, details as you have them. But let's, for people who are, like, living under a rock or just want, like, the definitive thing, what is Jev?Diogo Almeida [00:03:02]: Whew. Let me think about. That's a hard one.Swyx [00:03:07]: Okay. And I'm happy to, like, re-ask if you wanna kind ofDiogo Almeida [00:03:09]: No. I'm happy toSwyx [00:03:10]: OkayDiogo Almeida [00:03:10]: I'm happy to, like, just jam on it.Swyx [00:03:12]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:03:13]: I will say, like, the first thing that I'm relieved about with this question is now I don't have to answer that question to my parents anymore ‘cause ChatGPT can just explain it.Swyx [00:03:20]: Nice.Diogo Almeida [00:03:21]: So the way I see it is we new-- need a new class of models. We're not attached to naming that class of models. Our-- the most accurate name we've come up with is System 1 models.Swyx [00:03:33]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:03:33]: There will be reasons, but it's-- there's a reason why we don't call them decision models, because, like, they will be. Like, System 1 is beyond that. That's all I can say. We didn't expect this to be our big launch, so we have stuff in the tank.Swyx [00:03:48]: You should have said low-key research preview.Diogo Almeida [00:03:52]: It kind of was, right? It kind of was. But we. So there's a class of models that we describe them as, like, machine-native, System 1, large programmable. I think these are-- is the class of models where the goal is for code to be the consumer. So as opposed to, lar-- pre-trained large language models, which are meant for, like, autocomplete of the internet, or RLHF models, like chatbot instruction-following models, which are meant to, like, reply to text, or RLVR. It's in a weird gray area with RLHF. Like, these are meant to have things that directly are consumed by code, hence the name type safe. So the thing we really want is to have, like, AI, like, be as powerful as possible, and we think the way to do that is to integrate it with software. And we are designing everything, beyond just the outside, the deep internals of the model to be optimized for software. So number one, Jev is our first large programmable model, or a System 1 model, whatever you want to call it. Jev is meant to be optimized for intelligence per dollar, hence the name Jev.Swyx [00:05:03]: Jevons Paradox.Diogo Almeida [00:05:03]: Jevons Paradox, yeah. And it's optimized for intelligence per dollar. I love this debate with people about what is the most important between reliability, cost, calibration, and speed. And Jev is meant to be. Jev will be the name of models that will be on the frontier of intelligence per dollar. There's other ways to optimize it, like, ML, or at least if you're good at ML, it's all about trade-offs. And we are just going all out on that.Calibration, Mode Collapse, and the Limits of RLHFSwyx [00:05:31]: Yeah. And to me, like, calibration is one of the new things that people weren't talking about as much. We've done an episode In the past, with Clementine Foreia of Hugging Face, where they were like, “Yeah, actually, y- they're just.” Or, and this is your whole argument about RLHF, is they're more collapsing towards what you want to hear the mostDiogo Almeida [00:05:50]: OohSwyx [00:05:50]: Or what is most likely, instead of, like, their own internal confidence about a thing.Diogo Almeida [00:05:54]: Can I soapbox on that for a second?Swyx [00:05:56]: Go ahead. Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:05:57]: Cool. Like, I've been heard that your audience is the most technical, so I actually want to get into that.Swyx [00:06:02]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:06:03]: And if- I went through extreme precision to make sure everything in our launch video is accurate and real. Apparently, that's very unusual. One of the things that no one paid attention to was the downsides of RLHF, in particular mode dropping.Swyx [00:06:17]: Mode dropping or mode collapse?Diogo Almeida [00:06:19]: It's the same thing.Swyx [00:06:19]: Is that what you call it?Diogo Almeida [00:06:20]: It's the same thing.Swyx [00:06:20]: All right.Diogo Almeida [00:06:21]: And I wanna have a blog on this eventually, but I, like, want to tell as many people this as possible ‘cause I think it's a very interesting thing. So the spicy take, I believe in Yann LeCun a lot. I think Yann LeCun's takes are actually among the closest toSwyx [00:06:36]: What about this?Diogo Almeida [00:06:37]: Well, should I address this now or should I wait and go into mode collapse?Swyx [00:06:40]: No, later. Go mode, go mode collapse. I don't know.Diogo Almeida [00:06:42]: So I actually think that among takes, Yann LeCun's is among the most accurate. But he has this very famous/infamous slide about,Swyx [00:06:52]: The cake?Diogo Almeida [00:06:53]: LLMs are doomed.Swyx [00:06:54]: Okay.Diogo Almeida [00:06:54]: Like that one where he, like, has, like, a pie chart with, like, a tiny par-- tiny little thing- and says that as you increase sequence length, the probability of it making an error goes in. Yes, this one. This one. I love this one, because it's one of these things that seems mathematically obvious, but is obviously wrong, right? Like, it's mathematically obvious, but it doesn't empirically hold. And this is my favorite thing to teach people about, like, where youSwyx [00:07:21]: What's the disconnect, right?Diogo Almeida [00:07:22]: Exactly. And may I or you want to tell me?Swyx [00:07:27]: About mode collapse?Diogo Almeida [00:07:28]: Oh, no. Oh, so mode clop-- collapse is related to this.Swyx [00:07:31]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:07:31]: The disconnect happens because if you are in a mode covering or a calibrated distribution, you are, like, not. You are not overly punished about having outliers. You'd expect, like, something. Some amount of the time you'd be out of distribution, some amount of time you'd be in distribution. That's what happens when you cover the distribution. This was like models before GANs. They made blurry images, right?Diogo Almeida [00:07:54]: Instead, GANs mode drop. They, like, drop the minority classes and just do the really common ones. And this is why this effect doesn't happen, right? Like, instead of be-- in order to generate really long strings, without making errors, they need to, like, be extremely conservative because it's e- really easy to see when an error happens. It's very hard to see when, like, a subtle thing that looks correct happens. And that calibration is, like, total poison into, like, the probability distributions of strings.Swyx [00:08:22]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:08:23]: And it's, it's a nuanced take and like, I think that This is why this doesn't happen, and this is why strings are so bad at, decision-making or, overloading the string models are for decision-making is, like, a bad time.Yann LeCun, JEPA, Scaling Laws, and Practical ResearchSwyx [00:08:38]: And while we're on the topic of Yann, do you agree that his fix i- with-- which is like a world model, like a JEPA-type, embedding thing is the right solve? So basically, like, the. One of the reasons that it could fail is because you're trying to reason over token outputs and then, and then just looping back again and going. Keep, continuing going until you reach, like, a end of sentence. Like, is that, And his solve is JEPA, right?Diogo Almeida [00:09:02]: Yes.Swyx [00:09:02]: Which is, like, joint ambition,Diogo Almeida [00:09:04]: YeahSwyx [00:09:04]: Joint embedding prediction. So like, is that the solve or, like, do you have a. Do you have a take on that?Diogo Almeida [00:09:10]: Oh, man. I probably shouldn't talk too much about the insides of ML, but I will say that my brand, other than unhinged, is practical.Diogo Almeida [00:09:20]: Like, even my take here is practical. And like, I'm. Am I a scaling law fan? Depends. It dep-- it's, it's, it's, like, it's. Scaling laws tell you how much better you get at a thing for amount in.Diogo Almeida [00:09:33]: A scaling law does mean exponentially more resources for normally sublinear gains, which looks to be a bad investment unless those, like, linear gains are, like, really valuable. But it's all. To me, it's all about, like, what can we do with what we have to make the biggest possible f*****g difference? I can curse.Swyx [00:09:51]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:09:51]: Yeah.Swyx [00:09:52]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:09:52]: Yeah.Swyx [00:09:53]: We're, we're, we're approved for adults.Diogo Almeida [00:09:54]: Hell yeah.Swyx [00:09:55]: And also we have a scaling law thing if you wanna go into that later.Diogo Almeida [00:09:58]: Oh, I could if we. See, that part is not super relevant right now.Swyx [00:10:02]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:10:03]: I actually. If you wanna go into my bitterest lesson, I think that's more relevant.Swyx [00:10:06]: Okay.Diogo Almeida [00:10:06]: But like, to me, I'm all about, like, pragmatics. And I think that the JEPA stuff is really cool early research. I really love awesome research. Is it practical yet?Diogo Almeida [00:10:21]: Probably shouldn't say. But like, there's just a lot of.Diogo Almeida [00:10:29]: I just think there's just, like, so many diamonds in the rough let all over the research world right now that haven't been polished because people don't know how to, like, do the right task. And I think that what our launch did, it. Does it kickstart us as a company? Like, yes. Will it be great for us as a company? Yes. I think it's gonna be, like, even greater for this direction of, like, programmatic AI. There was going to be, like, a gold rush on top of us for. ‘cause, like, software is super f*****g charged. But I think there's gonna be a gold rush parallel to us as well on, like, all the different ways we can expose things to make software more powerful so people can make even cooler stuff. And then we are back to, like, early internet energy?Swyx [00:11:12]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:11:12]: And I think that's why, like, the Twitter is just like, “Jev.”? It's, it's like. It is a partySwyx [00:11:18]: It's inspiring because it's, it's, like, so different than what we're used to, which is, “I'm sorry you can't do this, but we do scaling laws and only the big labs can do it,” right?Diogo Almeida [00:11:28]: That. Actually, if I. I'll, I'll make a tangent if that's okay.Swyx [00:11:32]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:11:32]: I think you might enjoy this.Swyx [00:11:33]: Really? Our five tangents in. It's good. It's fun. Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:11:35]: Oh, yeah. I get lost at all my tangents.Swyx [00:11:37]: This is gonna be horrible for the listeners to figure it out, but they're gonna figure it out. It's fine.Safety Alignment, Refusals, and API PhilosophyDiogo Almeida [00:11:40]: Yeah, we can edit it in post.Swyx [00:11:40]: This is my response. Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:11:41]: So popular thing on Discord, that people keep asking me, I haven't had the time to explain it yet, is why am I opposed to safety alignment and why do we not refuse? I'm not opposed to safety as a principle, but I think that safety alignment is generally misaligned with users. And refusal is just, like, obviously a type error. Like, if you're a human being and you're chatting with, like, a bot or whatever, you're cloud coding, and a refusal happens, like, “I'm sorry, I can't read DNA.py.” that's an annoying time. It's anno- it's, it's annoyingDiogo Almeida [00:12:18]: Right? But you can work with it, right? And you're forced to work with it ‘cause of Stockholm syndrome.Diogo Almeida [00:12:23]: I have stories about that too. I need another tangent deep in here. But like, if you ever want this in a dependency running in the background, what happens if that refuses? What if someone else is using that dependency? They don't know what that system is. Like, you want the software to just stochastically break because a user sent, like, a weird message in there?Diogo Almeida [00:12:42]: Like, that is, like, straight-up insanity. It's coming from a place of, like, people who do not understand software, do not understand programming, and like, they are obsessed with, like, I believe this, horseless carriage of, like, AI coworker instead of unearthing, like, the full power of AI.Swyx [00:13:01]: Fair enough.Diogo Almeida [00:13:01]: Yeah.Swyx [00:13:01]: You want something that is the core kernel that is usable everywhere.Diogo Almeida [00:13:05]: Yes. Exactly. Like, the cognitive core, right?Swyx [00:13:07]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:13:08]: And you need this thing to be s- like, so general, so optimized for its use cases. You want it to be, like, you want it to work on all the future use cases, all the weird s**t that people are doing.Swyx [00:13:19]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:13:19]: We obviously didn't train on any of that stuff. Is it surprising that it works? No, ‘cause we trained on weirder stuff, my friend.Diogo Almeida [00:13:28]: So. But one tangent up about, like, safety alignment.Swyx [00:13:32]: Okay.Diogo Almeida [00:13:32]: Safety alignment makes sense for a product, in my opinion, for, like, ChatGPT and Claude. Like, it, What safety, what makes safety and capability alignment different is capability alignment is, like, about doing what the user wants. That is sick for software engineers. They want their thing to do the thing, and the more predictable it is, the less they have to test it and play around with it. Jeb is not anywhere close to that yet. It could be, but like, there's so many more nines of reliability that we want in order to make it so good, like a database query, that you don't even have to think about it. It is just there when you need intelligence. But safety alignment is, like, the opposite of instruction following. It's when you want to follow someone else's instructions, like OpenAI and AnthropicSwyx [00:14:13]: The RAGs value stack.Diogo Almeida [00:14:14]: Exactly. And this makes a lot of sense for a product. Again, like, ChatGPT should do. Y- you sh- like, if they don't want to, like, do, like, some, not-safe-for-work role play with ChatGPT, that's on them because, like, maybe that's, what their users who have, like, parents and kids want. Like, n- that's fine. But in an API, that's nuts, right? Like, that's completely unacceptable because, like, people need to, like, program around this, and that is, that's so anti-user that it's. It. I'm. Huh. I can be an angry person, so I should try to calm down.Swyx [00:14:52]: It's, People get your passion, and I think that's really good. The one pushback I'll give you is, like, what if we use it to kill people, right? Like, that is the actual. Like, n- the not-safe-for-work thing, it's private, personal, whatever. But like, yes, like, we will use it in war. And like, that is, something that companies can reasonably prefer their APIs not be used for.Diogo Almeida [00:15:14]: I get that. I think that there's, like, pragmatic places where that opinion can be held. I don't think the foundation of, like, a general-purpose technology is that place, personally.Diogo Almeida [00:15:27]: Like, would I prefer that our stuff is not used to kill people? Obviously. Would I prefer it's used for, like, all sorts of, like, great stuff in the world? Obviously. Will I put my thumb in the scale for that? Yes. Will I do it at the technological layer? Absolutely not, because that will fracture the intelligence. Every single time you mean it to overfit to some weird stuff, you're fracturing its intelligence more and more. And like, these things are fractured to the, like. They're so darn fractured right now.Swyx [00:15:54]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:15:54]: So and as a furthermore thing, to me, it's like I think intelligence will be more like a database than a coworker. Like, I don't think it's up to databases to add checks on whether or not they're used for, like, what's something that's not great? Like, CIA. Actually, I don't know what the CIA does, really. You can imagine. You can imagine, killing people who are not even bad or whatever.Diogo Almeida [00:16:21]: And like, I don't think it's the database's responsibility for that. And furthermore, like, a thing that has been weird to me is when people, like, sign up for our thing on Slack and they're like, “Hey, we're gonna deploy this. Can we deploy this thing?” I am just like, “My brother, we are an API. You are a developer. It's none of my business,” right? Like, you shouldn't know what the whole task even isSwyx [00:16:46]: YeahDiogo Almeida [00:16:46]: Because it should be decomposed into small things. We shouldn't be able to know what the downstream users are doing, and that is, like, a good boundary to give software engineers maximum power. Ideally, they use it for the good stuff, and ideally, we can, like, help them and like, we've talked about, like, doing open source and charity and all of that. We have absolutely no time for anything else right now. But like, they will get any of that bias out of the technological layer as long as I'm in charge.Privacy, Benchmarking, and Trusting IntelligenceSwyx [00:17:11]: Yeah, that's great. While we're on the topic, let's also briefly talk about your privacy stuff, terms of ser- terms of use, which, got a little bit ofDiogo Almeida [00:17:18]: OohSwyx [00:17:18]: Misunderstanding. I just wanna clarify that upfront.Diogo Almeida [00:17:21]: Hell yeah.Swyx [00:17:21]: I think this probably takes two sentences from you about, like, you will not. You're not being that restrictive about your API. Like, clearlyDiogo Almeida [00:17:27]: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, so yeahSwyx [00:17:27]: Ideologically, you articulate your role as a platform very seriously.Diogo Almeida [00:17:30]: Yes. Yes. I don't know what you're referring to, but like, this was. I've seen a couple of things about, like, benchmarking.Swyx [00:17:38]: Yes.Diogo Almeida [00:17:38]: Like, obviously we're not stopping people from do. Oh, man, I should be careful about what I say. I'm realizingSwyx [00:17:43]: No, you said, you said it publicly thatDiogo Almeida [00:17:44]: YeahSwyx [00:17:44]: That was in the preview period. You didn't take it out for the launch.Diogo Almeida [00:17:47]: Yeah. Okay.Swyx [00:17:47]: And now you're gonna take it out.Diogo Almeida [00:17:48]: So the team is doing stuff thatSwyx [00:17:49]: YesDiogo Almeida [00:17:49]: I'm not even aware of, so it's great to know the team communicated that. I asked them to check in with the lawyers about that.Swyx [00:17:54]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:17:54]: Like, we are obviously not stopping people from doing that type of thing. I'm extremely in favor. So I'm extremely anti-public benchmarks. I'm extremely in fa- I'm medium about private benchmarks that are proxies. ISwyx [00:18:09]: So are you worried about, saturation or, like, training on public benchmarks? So it's, like, easy to cheat.Diogo Almeida [00:18:15]: Not only is it easy to cheat, there's a lot of ins. So I think that we are. Or anyone who's, like, competition with us that, vaguely there is. Like, you could say, likeSwyx [00:18:28]: There's like 50 Jev clones, yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:18:30]: Well, sure.Swyx [00:18:31]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:18:32]: Well, the, these. Let's say that there is competition.Swyx [00:18:34]: And we'll talk about those. Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:18:34]: Or let's just say that there's. Let's just assume that there's an industry two years from now of people who are doing similar things to us. The thing that we are selling is intelligence per something, per, like, dollar or per second. The. No one. Like, people obsess about the cost and the speed. I believe that is. It's cool, but like, the thing that matters is the intelligence. Like, the cost and the speed are, like, are bad things. You're paying them for something, and you need the thing back, and the intelligence is what truly matters. The problem with intelligence is that there's a je ne sais quoi to it, right? Like, the good model smell. Like, the thing that happened after we launched of, like, two hours later that actually went way bigger than the video, which was like, “Holy s**t.”Swyx [00:19:16]: This is actually usable.Diogo Almeida [00:19:17]: It. WellSwyx [00:19:17]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:19:17]: It's, like, beyond that.Swyx [00:19:20]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:19:20]: Like, the. Whew, the launch was crazy, and people could really sense how hard we care about that, and that's truly what I think the long term of this is. And I think public benchmarks are antithetical to this. Like, they are a way to get people trust in intelligence because intelligence has a je ne sais quoi, but the public benchmarks are extremely gameable. Even if they try not to, they still will. Like, back in the old days, every lab had a team to collect data that looks like MMLU to make it look better, which is just benchmarking with extra steps.Diogo Almeida [00:19:58]: So I believe that in the long run, it needs to be vibes and trust until you put it into a workflow and evaluate it for that workflow and measure it and have your own sense of, like, how it does on the exact workflow that matters. And our job is to keep moving the nines of reliability. This is like an ever-present part of o- of what we need to be doing as a company, and we need to do everything to have people know that this is something we care so much about. Like, if we wanted to, we could have released Jev, like, a year and a half ago if we wanted it to be dumb.The Bitterest Lesson: Tasks, Data, and North StarsSwyx [00:20:34]: Oh.Diogo Almeida [00:20:34]: It. Like, the. My bitterest lesson, right? Like, architecture and Yeah.Swyx [00:20:40]: I'll bring it upDiogo Almeida [00:20:40]: Hell yeahSwyx [00:20:41]: Since you, since you talked about it, here.Diogo Almeida [00:20:43]: Hell yeah. T- like, Sutton says that algorithms beats compute very roughly. Data matters way more than compute, obviously. And doing the right task, having the North Star is the hardest, most important thing. This has happened, in LLM land twice so far, right? Maybe 2.2 times. There's RLHF, which, like, shifted the task to instruction following. No one realized that was possible. RLVR did, like, a tiny little, like, edit to the, to the direction, and now us, right? RLCD. We have a new task, and the goal is, programs in the loop. And yeah, data matters soSwyx [00:21:28]: RightDiogo Almeida [00:21:28]: Unbelievably much.Swyx [00:21:29]: SoDiogo Almeida [00:21:29]: Like, I can't, I can't emphasize it less.Swyx [00:21:31]: Yeah, you consider yourself a data lab rather than, like, a model lab. Is thatDiogo Almeida [00:21:35]: AbsolutelySwyx [00:21:35]: Something. That's the wording you guys use?Diogo Almeida [00:21:37]: Yeah. We are. We will always, like, care so much about data. To me, model capabilities means data. Data is so unbelievably complicated, and that is what gets nines. Like, you have no idea how much data can shift everything. Data is so important.TypeSafe as a Data Lab and Synthetic Data StrategySwyx [00:21:57]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:21:57]: Holy crap. So if people are looking for a job, we are hiring infinite data people, actually infinite.Swyx [00:22:04]: What is a good data person? Like, clearly somebody who cares about reading through the transcripts of, whatever. You've said, for example, that y- all your data is synthetic.Diogo Almeida [00:22:15]: Yep.Swyx [00:22:15]: But that's only, like, the scratching the surface, right?Diogo Almeida [00:22:18]: Yeah.Swyx [00:22:19]: Like, it's not. Like, synthetic, so what, right? Synthetic, but we have people with a lot of taste and a lot of care looking at, looking at these, articulating what's wrong, going back, regenerating. Is that what a good data person is these days?Diogo Almeida [00:22:31]: Let me try to figure out how to. Like, it's, it's super complicated, and like, I literally onboard the data people with a Talk that I assume is longer than this podcast will end up being. So I will try to say, like, the high level of it. So number one, we don't do the kind of synthetic data that people ki. Well, I'll do. Actually, number is zero. Data and synthetic data depends on your task. Like, the shape of your data. The shape of your task changes the data. Like, RLVR's data is kind of environments, right?Swyx [00:23:03]: Yes.Diogo Almeida [00:23:04]: RLHF's is the human feedback? Each task has its own unique kind of data, and we, of course, have our own unique kind of data, right? So number one, we have that. Number two, the thing I. The reason why we don't want to train on our users' data, even if we could, right? Like, we could probably ask for any terms right now, and it will. We. I don't know if it would make a difference. We truly don't want that, because no matter what, the real-world data has so much bias. There's, like, a power law of, like, people, like, asking the same things where you'll end up, like, overfitting to it and like, fracturing to it and all of that. And number two, we are, like, aiming for, like, a complete sci-fi future years from now where, like, these models are going to be, like, the general infrastructure, layers and layers and layers and deep down the stack to, like, things people can't even imagine. Like, I would like to think of our model, like, kind of like, UDP as LLMs and TCP as our models. All sorts of stuff can be built on top of that, and we need to be able to nail those futuristic use cases such that software developers can actually build that futuristic stuff. And the way to do that is even if we had all of the data of the present, we would just overfit to the present, and then it wouldn't work. What we need is to, like.Diogo Almeida [00:24:21]: It almost feels like a. Like, they're the artists? They study this cognitive core. Our cognitive core is, like, way less jagged than anyone else's. And then they find the jaggednesses, and then they address them surgically in a way that. And you can never perfectly do this, right? But they do it in such a way that it addresses it in every single possible, like, dimension, past, present, future.Swyx [00:24:45]: The general case rather than the specific case.Diogo Almeida [00:24:47]: Exactly. And like, that requires a lot of intelligence every time.RLCD vs. RLHF: Defining a New TaskSwyx [00:24:50]: Okay, so we mentioned a little bit. You sort of criticized my thinking as r-- like, very RLVR influence, which is, like, very fair. Let us actually mention RLCDDiogo Almeida [00:24:59]: OohSwyx [00:24:59]: Which obviously you have some secret sauces to our knowledge. You've never actually published a paper or anything like that on it. No, right?Diogo Almeida [00:25:05]: No, not yet.Swyx [00:25:06]: But like, what should people get from this? Like, what. Can you give people some confidence that you're just not just making up jargon for the sake of sounding cool, right? Like, one thing for me is, like, calibration I do think is a. To me, like, well understood because we've covered it in. On the podcast.Diogo Almeida [00:25:22]: Yeah.Swyx [00:25:22]: But I don't know what you mean when you say RLCD versus what people are familiar with.Diogo Almeida [00:25:26]: It's a great question.Swyx [00:25:27]: Yes.Diogo Almeida [00:25:27]: And actually, I will give a related question.Swyx [00:25:29]: Okay.Diogo Almeida [00:25:29]: What is RLHF?Swyx [00:25:31]: Okay.Diogo Almeida [00:25:31]: Right? And actually, RLHF means multiple different things, right?Swyx [00:25:34]: Okay.Diogo Almeida [00:25:34]: Like, there's the RLHF of the original. I think it was, like, Paul Christiano teaching a robot to backflip or something like that. Wasn't there somethingSwyx [00:25:42]: Was that it?Diogo Almeida [00:25:43]: That was the originalSwyx [00:25:44]: I referenced the PPO paper, but I don't know.Diogo Almeida [00:25:46]: And so PPO was not necessarily from human feedback, if I recall.Swyx [00:25:51]: Okay. That's trueDiogo Almeida [00:25:52]: But I b- I believe it was, like, an OpenAI alignment work that could teach hard to specify outputs, like a backflip. I'm not 100% sure. And then there was actually learning to summarize. This was work, by a bunch of the team that helped with, instruct-- and co-authored, the instruction following paper, which was teaching, doing PPO on language models.Swyx [00:26:15]: This is the, sorry. I'm trying to, tryingDiogo Almeida [00:26:19]: YeahSwyx [00:26:19]: Trying to manipulate this thing. This is 2017.Diogo Almeida [00:26:23]: Yeah.Swyx [00:26:23]: Right.Diogo Almeida [00:26:23]: I'm not 100% sure, but like, that looks quite right.Swyx [00:26:26]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:26:26]: If it has, like, a robot doing backflips or something like that might be it. Yes. Okay, cool. I guess I got it right. Hell yeah.Swyx [00:26:35]: There you go.Diogo Almeida [00:26:36]: Yeah.Swyx [00:26:36]: That's the one.Diogo Almeida [00:26:36]: So the idea was can, like, can you do, like, ill-specified things with it? So that's, like, version one. Version two was, the learning to summarize work, that, like, OpenAI did, which is actually, like, PPO on language models to do something somewhat ill-specified. This is, like, another thing that people refer to as RLHF Which I did not co-author.Diogo Almeida [00:26:57]: Oh, Dario's there. Cool. Hell yeah.Swyx [00:27:01]: And Radford.Diogo Almeida [00:27:02]: Yeah. Shout-outs to Alec and Ryan. Love them.Swyx [00:27:04]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:27:05]: But the thing that I refer to RLHF is the, Oh, man.Diogo Almeida [00:27:13]: I'll get toSwyx [00:27:14]: You have comments on that, yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:27:15]: I have comments on that paper, but like, we're so many, tangents deep.Swyx [00:27:18]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:27:18]: So the thing that really got. To me, the thing that I'm calling to RLHF is the task of instruction following. It's not about the PPO. That part doesn't matter. It's about, like, setting a North Star of this is a valuable direction. It's kind of like the Bitris lesson North Star.Diogo Almeida [00:27:34]: And for us, RLCD is this new task. And it is not. I don't see it as jargon. Like, I try to communicate with precision. It's just that, “Hey, here's another North Star.” Just like DPO and all of its, like, descendants also do RLHF, despite not using the algorithm in that paper.Swyx [00:27:55]: And so clear- clearly stating the North Star is, being program- programmable AI is one, word that I really catch onto, removing the human in the loop,Diogo Almeida [00:28:06]: YesSwyx [00:28:06]: From. Because RLHF is tuningDiogo Almeida [00:28:09]: YesSwyx [00:28:09]: For this so that you can automate everything.Diogo Almeida [00:28:11]: Yes. Everything that makesSwyx [00:28:13]: Did I miss anything else in the, in the thesis of, like, what the North Star is?Diogo Almeida [00:28:17]: There is. That is. That is right. I'm overly nuanced in my communication. The one nuance is that we need to be practical. We need to be aware of what language models can do really well. Like what AI can do.Diogo Almeida [00:28:30]: Right? Like, there could be programmatic types that are, like, sick AF, but if you. If the technology is not ready for it to. It's not a tragedy if that's not out in the world.Why Programmable AI MattersSwyx [00:28:41]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:28:42]: But to me, like, the pre-Jev world was a tragedy becau-- it sounds arrogant. Hear me out.Swyx [00:28:49]: No. I strongly believe you.Diogo Almeida [00:28:50]: Cool. It sounds arrogant, but like, I felt this way since long before I even had a company.Swyx [00:28:54]: Yeah. I can, I can vouch that,Diogo Almeida [00:28:56]: Yes, I've been talking about this for so longSwyx [00:28:57]: You said this at All Around Her for, like, three years.Diogo Almeida [00:28:58]: Yeah, I've been talking about this for so long. And I've been saying it because I thought it would have been easier. They say they do not do things because they. It. They're easy. They. It's ‘cause they thought it was easy, soSwyx [00:29:08]: Yeah, exactlyDiogo Almeida [00:29:09]: Something like that. I thought it. This whole project would take a week.Diogo Almeida [00:29:13]: And I was unbelievably wrong. So I am so sorry to everyone at OpenAI that I thought. I was like, “Man, I'm solving this right now.” but like, I think that the tragic thing is when. Well, I think overpromise, underdeliver is tragic too. And like, AI is super extreme on that axis. And I think RLVR is, like, the main. Well, both RLVR and RLHF are extreme perpetrators of this.Diogo Almeida [00:29:40]: But like, it. To me, it's like it's just there's just so much potential there. Like, AI is clearly so smart. I l- smart. I love this in my talks, when I ask people, like, “How can AI be so unbelievably smart? How can we, like, solve millennium prize problems in math, but still not automate even the most basics of works?” Like, really basic rote stuff that, like, the. It d- it doesn't take, like, extremely smart people to do this. It's not a satisfying job. Like, there's other things these people could be doing, but yet we need them to do, like, this ba- like, super basic- non- unsatisfying stuff because, like, we can't automate it yet, but we have this, like, supercharged engine of automation that just does not have, like, the right plugs and stuff to plug into all of this economically valuable work. And like, if the whole company of TypeSafe disappears, like, maybe it'll take, like, a year or two for people to, like, truly catch up. I actually don't know how long it'll take. If model quality matters, then we are gonna be in a very good position for a long time. But it, like, it's done, right? Like, there, like, this has changed the path of, like, technological history.Swyx [00:30:49]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:30:49]: And like, we will be exploring that space as a field.Swyx [00:30:53]: Yeah. I think, I definitely agree with that. You've created possibilities. So I think, if I can paraphrase so that people can un- also understand, you should not take the success of TypeSafe and Jev as just like, “Well, that is a new model type. Now we're done. We go back to business.” Like, no. Like, actually, there's, there are, like, five other model types that you should be exploring and like, let a thousand flowers bloom.Diogo Almeida [00:31:15]: Absolutely.Swyx [00:31:16]: Right?Diogo Almeida [00:31:16]: Like, early internetSwyx [00:31:17]: And some of that, some of which you will probably also build.Diogo Almeida [00:31:18]: Of course, yes.Swyx [00:31:19]: Yes.Diogo Almeida [00:31:19]: Early internet energy. I think it's back to tech utopia. It's no longer like, “Oh, man, like, sometimes my coding agents work, but the, all of the best ones are hoarded internally.”Swyx [00:31:29]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:31:30]: Right? It's like creation is back on the menu.Diogo Almeida [00:31:34]: ? Though it's gonna be a wild-ass world, and buckle up.Diogo Almeida [00:31:38]: It's. And I'm so jazzed about that.Manifesto, Launch Strategy, and Early Internet EnergySwyx [00:31:42]: Yeah. And now you have the funding and the momentum to do whatever you envision there, which I, which I think is, like, very gratifying to see you have after, so long of saying these thingsDiogo Almeida [00:31:53]: YeahSwyx [00:31:54]: But actually show the world.Diogo Almeida [00:31:55]: I know. I just. Such a, such an interesting thing to be a tease the whole time. Like, my talk, like, felt like it was a cliffhanger ‘cause I didn't say how the automation would occur.Swyx [00:32:05]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:32:06]: Sean reviewed our manifesto And he's like, “It's a little bit vague in these parts.”Diogo Almeida [00:32:12]: And like, “What's step one? What is, what is the intelligence model?”Swyx [00:32:16]: Well, I asked you for model, and you were like, “Yeah, model coming.”Diogo Almeida [00:32:18]: Yeah.Swyx [00:32:18]: And like, Well, I just, I mainly objected to the word composable But build prod.god is fantastic.Diogo Almeida [00:32:24]: Thank you.Swyx [00:32:24]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:32:25]: I. We've really rallied around that. I'd like to think we're not entirely a cult like some companies are.Diogo Almeida [00:32:32]: But like, we are, like, jazzed about what we're doing, and like, we are. Like, my brand is being practical, and like, we are all, like, so super-duper practical.Swyx [00:32:42]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:32:42]: It's really great.Swyx [00:32:43]: Yeah. So here. And by the way, here is the step, the secret master plan, right?Diogo Almeida [00:32:47]: Yep.Swyx [00:32:47]: Shape, the shape of machine-native composable AI.Diogo Almeida [00:32:49]: It was your idea to make a secret master plan, soSwyx [00:32:51]: It's a, it's that Elon thing. When he started TeslaDiogo Almeida [00:32:53]: YeahSwyx [00:32:53]: He was like, “Here's what we'll do.”Diogo Almeida [00:32:54]: But I did. Yeah. I'm giving official credit to you.Swyx [00:32:56]: Oh, thank you. Thank you, thank you.Diogo Almeida [00:32:56]: Yeah.Swyx [00:32:56]: Thank you. But like, you should've told me your, you're also gonna do this model launch, ‘cause you, like, you told me, you told me half of the story, and then the other half, you didn't have the doom demo at the time.Diogo Almeida [00:33:08]: Yep.Swyx [00:33:08]: You didn't have any numbers to give me.Diogo Almeida [00:33:10]: Yep.Swyx [00:33:10]: I was like, “what?”Diogo Almeida [00:33:11]: Well, the problem is I don't believe in benchmarking.Swyx [00:33:13]: Exactly.Diogo Almeida [00:33:14]: Right?Swyx [00:33:14]: Exactly.Diogo Almeida [00:33:14]: So like, it is a thing that you need to feel, and like, I think that this is the way to build long-term trust, even though it, like, hurt, it hurt us a, us a lot? Like last year when we did fundraise, no one believed us.Diogo Almeida [00:33:27]: ? Like, and they wanted just benchmarks and stuff, and we're like, “We're not gonna do that. We are principled. We're gonna stand by our guns. That rewards bad actors. I don't give a s**t, like, what you want. Like, this is who we are, and we are standing by that.” So Sorry. It's notSwyx [00:33:43]: No, yeah. Well, and in some ways, I think, like, choosing the hard path, it. But you end up making the company that you wanna work in.Diogo Almeida [00:33:49]: Yep.Swyx [00:33:50]: Right? Otherwise, if you sell out, then you're just working in, like, OpenAI but with my people, right? Which is like.Diogo Almeida [00:33:56]: Yeah. Yeah. Like, I'm, I don't have too many regrets on that, obviously.Swyx [00:34:01]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:34:01]: Like, it worked out so unbelievably well. And like, I, The. I was emotional last night when I was talking about, like, the reasons I left OpenAI, and because, like, it actually had to change my wording after the launch. My phrasing was, “If an AI winter did happen and I did not do every f*****g possible thing I could to, like, avert that, I would see myself as personally responsible both for, the RLHF direction, which I think really widened overpromise versus under-deliver, and also not going all in on this because I think this is, this is where value is going to just be, like, printed.” So. And it was really cool because I feel likeDiogo Almeida [00:34:47]: The AI winter I'm worrying about is averted. Like, AI will be useful. It'll be used for automation.Diogo Almeida [00:34:53]: It's been less than a week, and like, the numbers are already undeniableSwyx [00:34:57]: YeahDiogo Almeida [00:34:57]: That it's, like, being used for real work, and like, there's. It's, it's the Wild West. Yeah.Launch Traction, Tokens, Rate Limits, and Developer UsageSwyx [00:35:03]: Yeah. Can you sh- just if you have top of your head, what numbers are you seeing? Like, what's, what's, like, signups? Like, whatever you can share.Diogo Almeida [00:35:11]: I'm actually not super on top of everything. Like, the team is the ones who are telling me all of these things.Swyx [00:35:16]: Yeah, and I'm sure it's, like, changing every day, right?Diogo Almeida [00:35:17]: It's, it's,Swyx [00:35:18]: But likeDiogo Almeida [00:35:18]: It's kinda nutsSwyx [00:35:19]: If there's a milestone that you're like, “Well, yep, that's one thing we were hoping for. We reached it.”Diogo Almeida [00:35:23]: I will say a milestone that we've passed is tokens per day.Swyx [00:35:27]: Nice.Diogo Almeida [00:35:27]: And this is not, like, fleeting tokens per day.Swyx [00:35:32]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:35:32]: This is, like, even at night, like, it's constantly training, so machines are calling it and not just people trying things out.Diogo Almeida [00:35:39]: So that is, That is so cool. A trillion tokens a day is a lot.Swyx [00:35:45]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:35:45]: So surpassing that is awesome. Signups to me don't really matter. And actually, this was, like, a bit of a mistake we made, if I'm, like, totally honest. People on Twitter were calling us, like, marketing geniuses and all of that, and that was just us. We don't have a marketer. Also hiring. And we were just being our genuine, goofy, like, irreverent selves, and we were, we were just, like, offboarding people off the waitlist so hard. - Our platform team is so unbelievably cracked. I think we have more n- up nines of uptime than Anthropic while having the most Unprecedented launch ever. Like, that is kind of nuts, soSwyx [00:36:21]: YeahDiogo Almeida [00:36:21]: Like, props to them.Swyx [00:36:22]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:36:23]: And the thing we didn't realize. So number one, waitlists, waitlist sign-ups don't matter for, like, a developer platform, in my opinion? I would guess that a large number of them are not even developers. So they go in, they try some queries, and a lot of people don't get it because they are not programming, right? Like, they're just like, “What? This is not a chatbot. Where's my ChatGPT 2?”Diogo Almeida [00:36:45]: Right? But if, like. I haven't exactly calculated this. My sense is that if every single human being in the world, like, just wrote a couple of queries, that would be a rounding error compared to, like, one power user's for loop that is just, like, creating value.Swyx [00:37:01]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:37:01]: And the thing we are-- didn't realize with the waitlist is, like, we could just w- off-board anyone off the waitlist. It doesn't matter. The scary part is rate limits. And then once people start getting value from that, then they just want tons and tons of rate limits because this is what software is, right? Like, you spend effort upfront to specify your rote task, and then this rote task creates more value than it takes to put in. And then now that you have thatSwyx [00:37:25]: Set it and forget, yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:37:26]: Exactly, yeah. You run it in the background. You make it a dependency, to, like, other things. You can make, like, higher level stuff. And like, you just create so much value in the world. Early internet people probably did not imagine, like, the wonder of early 2000s internet, which is still not early internet. But like, it's, it's through, no offense, composabilitySwyx [00:37:47]: NoDiogo Almeida [00:37:47]: That all of the crazy stuff happens, and I just really wanted to emphasize that in our manifesto. We are going for emergence. We are going for, like, being the catalyst. We're wanting to empower people, and we are going to do whatever we can for that, be it, like, Discords in our town hall with me wearing a garbage bag or not.Swyx [00:38:05]: And podcasts and Diogo Almeida [00:38:08]: Hell yeahSwyx [00:38:09]: Getting all that.Diogo Almeida [00:38:09]: Absolutely.Swyx [00:38:09]: Like, ‘cause I want the long form, right?Diogo Almeida [00:38:11]: Yeah.Swyx [00:38:12]: It is like, yes, we'll get past the, some of the superficial things, and then we'll go deep andDiogo Almeida [00:38:15]: Hell yeahSwyx [00:38:15]: And people will really trust and understand your mission and like, the people that, will resonate that will end up joining you or, buying you. Or No, but sorry, as a, as a customer.Diogo Almeida [00:38:27]: Oh, as a customer.Swyx [00:38:28]: As a customer, as a customer.Diogo Almeida [00:38:28]: Okay, yeah. That was funny. I'm sorry.Swyx [00:38:30]: Sorry. I didn't, I didn't mean to say that. But no, any-- one version, one very flattering version of this, like, 36 million views of your launch video.Diogo Almeida [00:38:37]: Cool. Up to 38 now.Swyx [00:38:39]: Yeah, rounding error.Diogo Almeida [00:38:40]: Yeah.Swyx [00:38:40]: Navio still has got 74. Fable 5 got 57. So like, as far as, a- and I didn't, I didn't do the stats for, like, original ChatGPT, likeDiogo Almeida [00:38:48]: YepSwyx [00:38:49]: Which there was no video.Diogo Almeida [00:38:50]: Yep.Swyx [00:38:50]: So like, up there, right?Diogo Almeida [00:38:52]: Yep.Swyx [00:38:52]: Like, as far, as far as, like, if you were to launch a Neolab in 2026, I think you're, like, number one right now, which is, like, pretty crazy.Diogo Almeida [00:38:58]: Yeah. Well, I actually would rather. I do have the shirt, like, your favorites Neola-- favorite Neolab's favorite Neolab.Swyx [00:39:05]: Huh.Diogo Almeida [00:39:05]: I don't give a s**t about being a Neolab. I think being a Neolab. Actually, we have a lot of, like, swag that's being a parody of a Neolab. One of them, one of them I have is, like, Neolab with product, which actually is not a Neolab. Like, I don't care about that, really.Swyx [00:39:20]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:39:20]: What I care about is being a reliable dev platform. So Swyx [00:39:23]: YesDiogo Almeida [00:39:24]: Appreciate the comparison, but likeSwyx [00:39:25]: YeahDiogo Almeida [00:39:25]: Hopefully we transcend past them and we go back into, like, a thing-- like, a revolutionary moment for developers and like, this stable thing that people can rely on and trust.Reliability, Robustness, and DeterminismSwyx [00:39:35]: Yes. To that end, I think that's one thing that really impressed me about you guys is that, yes, you do talk about reliability. I thought it was mostly about calibration, which, like, we talk about RLCD. But actually it's also about just, like, uptime and scalability and all those things, right? They're, they're all sort of the kind.Diogo Almeida [00:39:55]: And nines.Swyx [00:39:56]: And nines.Diogo Almeida [00:39:56]: It's, likeSwyx [00:39:57]: Which uptime is, in my opinion.Diogo Almeida [00:39:58]: Oh, but that's part of it. But like, there's reliability in, like, how intelligent the thing is. Like, how consistently does it do the thing that you want? And I think that, like, the big reasoning models are very smart. In my opinion, they still lack reliability. I think there's many use cases where you-- they look like they should be smart enough to automate their work. There is economic incentive to automate that work, yet still they're not reliable enough as, at an intern because they're optimized for different things. And so like, I think that there's the reliability of being able to, like, trust the outputs. And also we are. Like, there are dimensions of reliability that we are not yet at that I'm, like, so excited by.Swyx [00:40:38]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:40:38]: Like, I want to automate the easy work before the hard work? Like, I think that's just a common sense thing to do. But to me, we will be sufficient. I don't know if there's such thing as sufficiently reliable, but I wanna get so good that people don't even need to try the model to know that it'll work. It's like, that's like what flow state is in programming, right? Like, I'm just, like, writing queries because I need intelligence in here. And like, when. For non-trivial branching, I can just write it in like a, like a type-safe System 1 query and then get the results out of it and it just branches accurately. Like, that would be so good. Like, that's the. That is the dream.Swyx [00:41:12]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:41:12]: And that is, like, going to be, like, a long slog.Swyx [00:41:16]: Yeah. We're gonna go into your API design in a little bitDiogo Almeida [00:41:19]: OohSwyx [00:41:19]: Just to give people examples and like, maybe paths not taken, that kind of stuff.Swyx [00:41:23]: One thing up the front that I do wonder about in terms of reliability is I noticed that there's no seed. There's no, And so basically, same input, do I always get the same output?Diogo Almeida [00:41:34]: SoSwyx [00:41:36]: And if not, why not?Diogo Almeida [00:41:37]: Oh, great question. So this is actually, like, a common question we have between. So reliability is actually a catchall. Like, whenever AI can't automate something, it's due to some form of reliability. Could be, like, type safety. It could be determinism. It just could be, like, it's, it's jagged, right? So reliability is a catchall. I just think that it's also a catchall for, like, what the North Star is. Re- determinism is, like, same inputs, same outputs. I do believe that this is, like, slightly interesting for unit tests, but I believe that to be the wrong North Star. I believe robustness is what peopleDiogo Almeida [00:42:16]: I don't wanna tell people what they really want, ‘cause that would be a little arrogant of me.Diogo Almeida [00:42:19]: I believe that is, like, the more important property. You want, given similar inputs, get similar outputs. And it's kind of wild how unreliable LLMs are.Diogo Almeida [00:42:31]: Like, a way that we test this is you put, like, UUIDs in, like littleSwyx [00:42:36]: YeahDiogo Almeida [00:42:36]: I think they're called nonces In the prompt. And what you want is similar outputs from all of those, ‘cause it's truly semantically the same question, and that is the part where you really want. Th- like, that robustness is where, like, people get, like, burnt with AI making decisions. So I think that is the. A super-duper important property. We could also have determinism. That is, that is a thing that can be available. As far as I can, like, mentally model for programmers, like, it, I- it could be valuable for some use cases, so like, please educate me, in comments or view. But my. In general, it's easy. Determinism is something you can, like, trade off for better cost. Like, we are, we are constantly wanting to be on the intelligence per dollar frontier. We are doing, like, absolutely disgusting things to be there. Like, this is,Diogo Almeida [00:43:32]: I shouldn't say this, but no one's here to stop me.Swyx [00:43:37]: If you s- you sign off on your own PR.Diogo Almeida [00:43:40]: That is not how it works at this company. I believe for this week, my chief of staff, Kay, is the most powerful person in tech.Swyx [00:43:49]: Yeah. And shout-out to Kay for organizing this.Diogo Almeida [00:43:50]: Holy shSwyx [00:43:51]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:43:51]: Holy s**t. She is so f*****g competent and powerful. She's incredible.Diogo Almeida [00:43:58]: She sucks. Don't poach her. But so I try to be a bit more filtered, but like, people are telling me, “Don't call it a Frankenstein's monster of models,” but because that has, like, negative implications. I think Frankenstein's monster was, like, the good guy in this whole. It was innocent, right? I didn't read it. Okay.Diogo Almeida [00:44:18]: I'll, I'll confess. Okay. That. Well, one facial expression, ISwyx [00:44:21]: This is aDiogo Almeida [00:44:21]: My cards on the tableSwyx [00:44:21]: Decent Jacob Elordi movie if you wanna seeDiogo Almeida [00:44:24]: ISwyx [00:44:25]: The adaptation. Anyway.Diogo Almeida [00:44:26]: The. You have no idea how little time I have right now.Swyx [00:44:28]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:44:29]: My priorities are sleep?Swyx [00:44:31]: Developers.Diogo Almeida [00:44:32]: Developers, yes. Developers. But yes. It. We do, like, absolutely disgusting things to be on the Pareto curve of intelligence per dollar, and we are going to keep doing that.Swyx [00:44:47]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:44:47]: We're gonna be doing crazy-ass stuff, and I think people really need to think outside of the box. Like, part of the reason we're surprising is, like, people Are thought inside the box, and we continue to do that. As of right now, we are obviously the best at this, and we want to continue being the best at that whole thing.Swyx [00:45:05]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:45:05]: So Wait, where did, where did we tangent from?Swyx [00:45:07]: No. SoDiogo Almeida [00:45:08]: YeahSwyx [00:45:08]: I asked you about, will you have seeds and determinism?Diogo Almeida [00:45:11]: Oh, yes. SoSwyx [00:45:11]: And then you basically defined reliability and likeDiogo Almeida [00:45:14]: And robustnessSwyx [00:45:15]: How you see it. Yes.Diogo Almeida [00:45:16]: But like, determina- likeSwyx [00:45:17]: I have a robustness example that's, that's, real quick I can show you.Diogo Almeida [00:45:19]: I would love that. I will just say one thing.Swyx [00:45:21]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:45:21]: We can make a deterministic model.Swyx [00:45:22]: Exactly.Diogo Almeida [00:45:23]: Like, we're hap- if people can convince us that is a valuable thing to doSwyx [00:45:27]: YeahDiogo Almeida [00:45:27]: And we don't have a gigantic GPU shortageSwyx [00:45:29]: YeahDiogo Almeida [00:45:29]: We can happily make all of these models. We live to please. And rev- and revolt, revolute,Swyx [00:45:38]: You will throw over everything, except you'll do it in a nice way.Diogo Almeida [00:45:41]: Yeah.Swyx [00:45:41]: And findDiogo Almeida [00:45:42]: So like, determinism could be on the cards.Swyx [00:45:44]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:45:45]: It just gets you less intelligence per dollar.Swyx [00:45:46]: Yeah. Well, just having seen the trajectory of OpenAI and Anthropic, you will. Just trust me now that you will be peer pressured into doing it. So like, just people will want it even if they. If you tell them they don't need it. They'll still want it. So like, yeah, that's the TL;DR of that.Diogo Almeida [00:46:01]: Okay.Swyx [00:46:02]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:46:02]: I will love to. Maybe one day we will see how that happens.Swyx [00:46:07]: Yeah.Diogo Almeida [00:46:07]: I've been told I'm, They say that part of our brand is being unshakeableSwyx [00:46:13]: HuhDiogo Almeida [00:46:13]: And they say that's just the nice way of saying stubborn.Swyx [00:46:15]:
Join Alejo (Greydawn95) and Aiden (Captain Chiral) as they look into how Old School D&D did loot better, allegedly, and ways to help improv NPCs.Originally streamed August 8th, 2026 and available since August 10th, 2026 on the TableTalk: Discussion & Discourse YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TableTalkDiscussionandDiscourse*****Content covered in order:Everything You Need to Become a Better DM by The DM & Friends (DM Angelo): https://youtu.be/_GUuOZptYSw?si=YX9SnGguEe8trnD7DM Masterclass Playlist by The DM & Friends (DM Angelo): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNuJpOym63MpWiuHJXGGs_eaJ6D6Yb5Uu8 Battle-Tested Tricks to Make D&D Boss Fights Unforgettable by Power Word Spill: https://youtu.be/YUfmaDDc5Ho?si=SDCcGXY-JEultDR5*****Our Links:Our Website: https://www.tabletalkdandd.us/Donate directly: https://streamelements.com/tabletalkdnd/tipOur Merch on TeePublic: http://tee.pub/lic/IRqBwaVQWhQOur Merch on Fourthwall: https://the-tabletalk-crew-shop.fourthwall.com/Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TableTalkCrewBuy us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/tabletalkcrewSupport us on Humble Bundle through our Partner link: https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/c/5885459/2091208/25796Support us through DriveThruRPG: https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/index.php?affiliate_id=4683447Come join our Discord: https://discord.gg/tBt4MJ6Send us an email: tabletalkdandd@gmail.comBuy Our Dice: https://the-tabletalk-crew-shop.fourthwall.com/products/tabletalk-discussion-discourse-dice*****Hosts:Alejo (Greydawn95)Aiden (Captain Chiral)Boo (PrinceBoo21)
Ever feel like you're spending too long coming up with backstories or detailed NPC lore that your players completely ignore—or worse, that your characters end up feeling flat at the table? Give this a listen for some essential advice for both GMs and players on how to make your NPCs and PCs truly come alive. Also, my apologies that the sound quality is a bit diminished this episode, I had a lot of hard “P” and “B” sounds to remove (called plosives) and didn't have time to do a re-record. #rpg #ttrpg #dnd #pathfinder #gmtips #PC #NPC Resources: Buy Me a Coffee! - ko-fi.com/taking20podcast www.taking20podcast.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/taking20podcast Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/taking20podcast
We return to the table of the once Fr. Tom Bombadil now christened Fr. Chris once again! With the idea of a halfling courier on the mind, we explore the long and dedicated life of dear Wendell. But as we soon learn, Wendell is getting older and yearns to reconnect with his family before it's too late. Will you help deliver the letter that he cannot? And note: I've included the raw transcript from Zencastr for this episode as well (will work to go back and retrieve and upload others as I'm able). Please note the transcripts are the UNEDITED version, not the final edit you are listening to. Podcast art by Chauncy Riley, Graphics by Chauncy. Visit our website at https://sidekicksandsidequests.com Twitter Page Facebook Page Subreddit Page Instagram Page Discord Server Music Used: "Fiddles McGinty" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Special Guest: Fr. Chris.
Send us Fan MailThis one kicks off with Ian finally ordering a new phone, Robby debating the same, and both of us still trying to figure out whether the real villain is the phones, Starlink, the app, or just whatever “bottlenecking” nonsense is happening in the background. From there, we get into Robby's rough Whatnot stream, bar boredom, doom scrolling, walking groups, testosterone checks, bloodwork, and the difference between talking to Alexa and talking to ChatGPT like they might eventually remember who was polite when the machines take over. Then it turns into Lego storage advice, No Country for Old Men GTA references, GTA V chaos, GTA VI hopes, NPCs getting tricked into fighting cops, and Robby's new replacement swear word: “flagnog.” We wrap with world facts about floating clouds, cosmic latte, Hector the Convector, drinkable water, cow friendships, and sloths somehow dropping their heart rate to eight beats per minute underwater. Support the show
It's the tournament finals, and Velma's up against Maxine. Will she and Goonie be able to take on the rogue aura guardian on their own?Disclaimer: We do not own or claim ownership of the Pokémon franchise and any Pokémon established in official canon. That's all owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. This is a fan-made podcast, and a love letter to a series we grew up with. Please support the official releases.Post about the show on Bluesky and Twitter using #PKMNLegacy. Give us a thumbs up and comment on our YouTube releases. Leave a review on your podcasting platform. We might use your name for one of our NPCs!Ariana Nicolehttps://youtube.com/@ArianaNicolehttps://bsky.app/profile/ariananicolegeorge.bsky.socialhttps://twitter.com/arianangeorgeChi-chi https://youtube.com/@ChichiAi https://bsky.app/profile/chichiai.bsky.socialhttps://twitter.com/ChichiAi/DryeGuy https://youtube.com/@DryeGuyhttps://bsky.app/profile/terrancedrye.bsky.socialhttps://twitter.com/terrancedryevaKayVoxhttps://youtube.com/@KayVoxhttps://bsky.app/profile/kpoplyk.bsky.socialhttps://twitter.com/KillianPoplykVASpecial thanks to:JonRobertsVA for voicing Masonhttps://youtube.com/@TheBowTizzlehttps://twitter.com/jonrobertsvahttps://tiktok.com/@maineventmanHeatherFeathersong for voicing Maxinehttps://youtube.com/@heathrin18https://twitter.com/HFeathersong
◇ Ed from MN, now inf FL asks about prepping NPCs, Eric from New Jersey asks how characters have changed us, From the archive 2022: Zed From Norfolk asks how to handle it when your players commit crimes in your gameworld! | Hosts: Kimi, Jason A, Pooja, & Riley ◇ 00:33◇ Welcome & Episode Summary 01:17◇ Announcements – We will be at Gateway 2026! Sept 4-7, 2026 at the Hilton LAX hotel in los angeles. We will be doing the live show on Saturday at 8pm! https://www.strategicon.net/ ◇ 02:59◇ Indie Designer of the Month: Hannah Shaffer and Evan Rowland of Turtlebun Games https://turtlebun.com/ or https://turtlebun.itch.io/ 05:18◇ Mailbag 1 – Ed from MN, now inf FL asks about prepping NPCs 29:52◇ Mailbag 2 – Eric from New Jersey asks how characters have changed us 45:13◇ Mailbag 3 – From the archive 2022: Zed From Norfolk asks how to handle it when your players commit crimes in your gameworld 63:25◇ Episode Closing 68:24◇ Music ◇ Email happyjacksrpg@gmail.com or post in our Discord server to send in your own topic or question for the show! ◇ Find us on Youtube ◇Twitch ◇Bluesky ◇Instagram ◇Facebook ◇Discord or find all our podcast feeds on your favorite Podcast platform! happyjacksrpg.carrd.co ◇ Subscribe to our Actual Play Feed! We have a backlog of campaigns in over 20 RPG systems and new games running all the time. ◇ Become a Patreon! All the money goes into maintaining and improving the quality of our shows. patreon.com/happyjacksrpg Ⓒ2026 Happy Jacks RPG Network www.happyjacks.org
Join Alejo (Greydawn95) and Aiden (Captain Chiral) as they look into how Old School D&D did loot better, allegedly, and ways to help improv NPCs.Originally streamed August 8th, 2026 and available since August 10th, 2026 on the TableTalk: Discussion & Discourse YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TableTalkDiscussionandDiscourse*****Content covered in order:Nexoria: https://nexoria.chatBackerKit prelaunch page for World of Styria: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/279e8060-8f8c-4f1b-9e43-eca97eaf7cad/landing?ref=tabletalk-danddOld School D&D Got Monster Loot Right. Modern D&D Doesn't! by Tenkar's Tavern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbTMsmPHbf0&list=WL&index=23&pp=iAQBsAgCMastering Improvised NPCs by Earthmote: https://youtu.be/fwB0VehmUnw?si=pF0nkx8E0TUj_cPk*****Our Links:Our Website: https://www.tabletalkdandd.us/Donate directly: https://streamelements.com/tabletalkdnd/tipOur Merch on TeePublic: http://tee.pub/lic/IRqBwaVQWhQOur Merch on Fourthwall: https://the-tabletalk-crew-shop.fourthwall.com/Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TableTalkCrewBuy us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/tabletalkcrewSupport us on Humble Bundle through our Partner link: https://humblebundleinc.sjv.io/c/5885459/2091208/25796Support us through DriveThruRPG: https://legacy.drivethrurpg.com/index.php?affiliate_id=4683447Come join our Discord: https://discord.gg/tBt4MJ6Send us an email: tabletalkdandd@gmail.comBuy Our Dice: https://the-tabletalk-crew-shop.fourthwall.com/products/tabletalk-discussion-discourse-dice*****Hosts:Alejo (Greydawn95)Aiden (Captain Chiral)Boo (PrinceBoo21)
The matrix coding that I now see playing out every single day is ramping up to extreme levels. It's leaving me with the worrying possibility that maybe this place is mathematically coded to bring about certain, pre-written outcomes, and it's US who are arranging OURSELVES around the code to bring these about, rather than the code arranging itself around us. That would render us as nothing more than automatons with no free will - but maybe that's what we really are?And where do NPCs fit into the equation?
www.TheMasonAndFriendsShow.com https://thejuunit.bandcamp.com/releases https://www.youtube.com/@ksdafsh https://www.youtube.com/@SuperStationWJDL-TV5 A Ridiculous Fever Dream of Pro Wrestling Presented by J Dub https://www.glass-flo.com Great Pipes for Sure the music of this episode@ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RngL7irSJBxfMjaRWgzCa?si=eff8af56577140c7 support the show@ www.patreon.com/MperfectEntertainment The Mason and Friends Show – Episode 1060 | GTA 6, Movie Sequels, Top Gun, AI Gaming & More Episode 1060 of The Mason and Friends Show is another uncensored trip through movies, gaming, pop culture, politics, technology, and whatever else happens to hijack the conversation. The crew kicks things off talking about Hollywood's obsession with bringing everything back. Spaceballs 2, The Matrix 5, Men in Black, Hocus Pocus 3, The Goonies sequel, Gremlins 3, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Constantine, Ocean's 14, Top Gun 3, Fast & Furious 11—apparently no franchise is ever truly finished. That naturally leads to a hilarious examination of the original Top Gun, its dialogue, and just how different the movie feels when you start paying attention to what everybody is actually saying. Then things wander through the Labor Day heat, keeping plants alive, local bookstores, music, parody songs, copyright problems, YouTube and TikTok, before eventually landing on one of the biggest upcoming releases in gaming: Grand Theft Auto VI. How realistic is GTA 6 going to get? The guys break down AI-powered NPCs, characters remembering your actions, reputation systems, working out, eating, gaining weight, realistic interactions, and whether video games are getting dangerously close to becoming The Matrix. That turns into memories of GTA V, GTA San Andreas, Red Dead Redemption, cheat codes, gang wars, rampages, hunting, and why sometimes you just want a video game to let you cause chaos without worrying about your character's diet. The crew even predicts GTA 6 could become such a massive release that downloads overload the internet, productivity disappears, nobody gets any work done, and civilization temporarily grinds to a halt. If it happens, remember: Episode 1060 called it. Of course, there's also politics, the Patriot Act, Citizens United, education, Edward Snowden, Mason's completely legitimate 2028 presidential campaign, and the usual collection of wildly inappropriate observations that could only come from this rickety ship. The Mason and Friends Show is uncensored comedy and conversation with friends finding the funny side of life—no script, no filter, and absolutely no guarantee the conversation ends anywhere near where it started. Keywords: The Mason and Friends Show, Episode 1060, comedy podcast, uncensored podcast, GTA 6, Grand Theft Auto VI, GTA VI, Rockstar Games, GTA 5, GTA San Andreas, Red Dead Redemption, AI NPCs, gaming podcast, Spaceballs 2, Gremlins 3, Goonies sequel, Top Gun 3, Fast and Furious 11, movie sequels, pop culture podcast, comedy talk show, funny podcast Hashtags: #MasonAndFriends #ComedyPodcast #GTA6 #GrandTheftAutoVI #RockstarGames #GamingPodcast #GTAV #SanAndreas #RedDeadRedemption #TopGun #MovieSequels #PopCulture #UncensoredPodcast #FunnyPodcast
Adotar qualquer NPC pode arruinar o equilíbrio da sua mesa se você não usar as regras certas.
This week, Ran and Melty are joined by special guest Jammin' Jon to discuss their spoiler-free first impressions of the new Snezhnaya region! From icy community constructs, to lively NPCS and more world quests than you can shake a Paimon at, there's a lot to find buried in the snow! Thanks for listening!Big thanks to special guest Jon Colwell of Jammin' Jon's Wrestling News!Jammin' Jon BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/joncolwell.bsky.socialJammin' Jon's Wrestling News: https://open.spotify.com/show/7I1ynBoV8JJ1ZvjiGYXk12BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/theresonance.bsky.socialDiscord: discord.gg/theresonanceWebsite: https://shows.acast.com/theresonanceSupport Us on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/theresonanceRedBubble Shop: https://www.redbubble.com/people/TheResonance/shop?asc=uMusic Used:Heizou Theme Epic Version Cover/Remix by brittle bear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A "relationship coach" makes a video about a woman who bought her own matcha. Regan and Chesko unpack what's actually going on from the unspoken script, the anger when it isn't followed, and why some men need women to be NPCs.Support us on Patreon (and hear bonus content!):https://www.patreon.com/mrpickmeandthemanhaterMerch Store:https://www.bonfire.com/store/mr-pick-me--the-manhater/Follow Us on Social Media:https://www.youtube.com/@mrpickmeandthemanhaterhttps://www.instagram.com/mrpickmeandthemanhaterFollow The Manhater: Regan (F the Nice Guy) -TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@ftheniceguyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/buckle.up.babesPodcast: https://ftheniceguypodcast.podbean.com/Follow Mr. Pick Me: Chesko (The Speech Prof) -Substack: http://www.thespeechprof.comTikTok: http://www.TikTok.com/@speechprofInstagram: https://www.Instagram.com/thespeechprofFacebook: https://www.Facebook.com/thespeechprofYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRealSpeechProfTheme song by Sara Spicer - https://www.Instagram.com/saraspicermusicand Tera Lynne Fister - https://www.Instagram.com/iamfister
Steve is joined by Jeff, John, and Linda for a catch-up episode full of family gaming news. The crew breaks down Netflix's 27-minute GTA 6 preview, focusing on everything beyond the guns: backyard wrestling, dynamic NPCs, and why this game is about to be impossible for parents to avoid hearing about. Plus, Linda confesses her back-to-school board game impulse buys (Hot Streak and Hummingbirds), and Jeff geeks out over the Kingdom Hearts reveals from D23.
Being a Dungeon Master (DM) is a lot of work. You're not just creating a story—you're building worlds, managing encounters, tracking NPCs, creating maps, and trying to keep everything organized while your players inevitably take the adventure in a direction you never expected. Thankfully, there are plenty of digital tools that can make the job a little easier. In Episode 156 of the WiscoDice Tabletop Gaming Podcast, we're exploring the rise of the Digital DM and talking about some of the digital tools that can help enhance your Dungeons and Dragons games. You can likely pick up any of these games at your local game store. Of course, support your local game store. If you don't have a local game store, support ours! * Noble Knight Games: https://www.nobleknight.com/ * Misty Mountain Games: https://www.mistymountaingames.com/ Subscribe and Listen to the WiscoDice Tabletop Gaming Podcast: * Subscribe on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gh/podcast/wiscodice/ * Subscribe on Audible Podcasts: https://www.audible.com/pd/Podcast/B08JJP2YNR * Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Vzy8kFT0oC2YrXvNB5R6T * Subscribe on Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/wiscodice Please also follow us on our social networks * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WiscoDice * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wiscodice/ * WiscoDice Discord: https://discord.gg/mD4Fw8gMZF
It's Christmas in August as we unload the sooty petro-rocks from our stockings and crack open the clean-burning Coal LLC! The quick action mining-themed roguelite version of Motherload, you are tasked to fill your quota of coal before time runs out. Hire employees to help dig, collect, and fly your mantle-shattering progress. Fulfill the quests of NPCs like Fiona Frog, Pippa Penguin, and Tabitha the Mermaid. But most importantly, follow the guiding principle of any good coal mining business owner: NUMBER GO UP! Custom RSS Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Music Transcript 01:05 - Game Stats 01:50 - One Sentence Description 3:37 - Platforming & Youtubers 5:24 - MS Paint Art Style 7:15 - Core Loop: Mine Coal, Meet Daily Quota or Explode 12:02 - Going Deeper: Colored Coal Layers & Increasingly Valuable Resources 24:18 - Unlocks & NPC Quests 28:01 - Workers & Weapons 52:25 - Whats the Value of a $15 Indie Game These Days? 1:08:34 - Rankings & Final Thoughts (hidden gem new #10!) 1:20:44 - Similar Games & Show Wind Down Next episode: Strafe Contact us at grogpodzone@gmail.com! https://grogpod.zone Intro music: GROGPOD Theme 2 by Balatro composer LouisF - https://louisfmusic.com/ Outro music: Coal LLC Theme 1
In this episode, we dive into Total Chaos, a psychological-horror FPS from Trigger Happy Interactive and Apogee Entertainment. Originally a Doom II total-conversion mod, Total Chaos evolved into a full standalone game set on the sunny island of Fort Oasis. Many of the mechanics in this game are unique and are not expressed to this extent in many other survival horror games. Theres a decent crafting mechanic and a lot of different meters to manage to keep our main character Tyler happy and healthy on this island. We will break down the journey through Fort Oasis chapter by chapter and discuss major enemies, locations, NPCs. story beats and dig into the game's symbolism and lore as best as we can. Theres a lot of fun to be had in this underrated indie-horror, come listen and join us on the beaches of Fort Oasis.
Hard News on Friday with Tara Green and Rama Arjuna and guests Title: What's Next? Ascension, Galactic Change, and the Coming Reset Summary Opening Meditation and Calendar Energies The episode begins with a prerecorded song about moving from darkness toward light, followed by Rainbird's guided breathing exercise, sacred-fire visualization, and ceremonial invocation of multiple directions and spiritual houses. Rainbird then turns to a Mayan/Dreamspell-style calendar reading centered first on the Galactic Eagle and its themes of vision, integrity, service, and reconnection with creation. She moves through a sequence of Warrior, Earth, Mirror, Storm, Sun, Dragon, Wind, and Night energies, describing themes such as courage, planetary harmony, honesty, transformation, unconditional love, new beginnings, co-creation, abundance, and dream awareness. During this portion, Rainbird repeatedly acknowledges that she has mixed up some of the days, so the calendar sequence remains uncertain in the source. The overall emphasis is on using each symbolic energy as a prompt for releasing fear, separation, limitation, judgment, and crisis-oriented thinking. Listener Support and Community Housekeeping Rainbird shifts from the spiritual opening into listener-supported program housekeeping. She says the program needs $184 each week for its BBS Radio commitment and reports that the current week is 98 cents short, with $183.02 already available. She explains how listeners can find the program listing and donate, and she also promotes a Saturday program listed as The True History. Rainbird then discusses financial assistance for Tara and Rama, including living expenses, a bill, upcoming rent, online donation information, a mailing address, a website, and a GoFundMe for supplements and dietary needs. Several of the spoken contact details are garbled or inconsistent in the automated transcript and therefore require verification before use. Ascension, Eclipses, and Planetary Change After Rainbird passes the “talking stick,” Tara and Rama discuss what they describe as an ongoing planetary ascension and a close, symbiotic relationship between humanity and Earth. They encourage listeners to slow down and focus on love, kindness, and compassion amid what they characterize as intense energetic changes. The discussion references a lunar eclipse and full moon in Pisces, the involvement of outer planets, events in the Middle East, volcanic activity including Kilauea, earthquakes, elemental beings, and a spiritual interpretation of planetary change. They also discuss Mother Pele, ancient spiritual figures, Sai Baba, Betelgeuse, animals, and the idea that incoming light from Creator Source affects consciousness. These statements are presented in the episode as the speakers' spiritual and metaphysical interpretations rather than as independently established facts. The Bridge, the Island, and the Activation The episode then plays a prerecorded segment from Mel, who frames her message as an “Ascension Update” centered on the question, “What's next?” She describes symbolic imagery of a bridge leading to an island, with some people moving toward the bridge while others remain where they are. In her interpretation, the bridge represents movement into another state of consciousness, while the island functions as an intermediate space for people adjusting to what she calls 5D. Mel says she received information that Gaia's higher-consciousness program is activating a code that will trigger a broad shift in awareness. She describes that activation as an internal remembrance or realization that could be welcomed by some people but could create fear, denial, cognitive dissonance, or distress in others. Reset, Separation, and the “Plastic Space” Mel says the activation coincides with a separation between Gaia's original or higher-consciousness program and what she calls a parasitic program, producing a reset in the holographic environment she describes. She says programs tied to the parasitic system would cease functioning and includes NPCs or people she describes as operating only through that program. In her symbolic vision, the veil over the bridge then lifts, allowing people to cross to the island, while others move through a portal into a space repeatedly transcribed as “plastic space,” a term that remains uncertain in the source. She also describes an off-world option symbolized by people being beamed into spaceships and says that different destinations depend on soul choice, consciousness, and response to the activation. Mel says she was given little information about the reset third-dimensional space and openly states that she does not know what would happen there. Galactic Revelation and What Comes Next Mel distinguishes what she calls galactic revelation from the reset, saying they are separate matters even though she believes they may occur in a coordinated way. She suggests that “Galactics” could reveal themselves publicly or interact with leaders before the activation in order to acclimate people to some of the ideas involved. She says that, from the perspective of the program she is describing, nothing else stands between the present moment and activation of the source code. While mentioning dates such as 2027, 2030, and 2032 as possibilities she has heard from other people, she emphasizes that she does not believe the activation is many years away. The segment ends by inviting listeners to share their interpretations, after which the live program returns briefly with conference-call information and a final message to “expect something wonderful.”
Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of Mobius. Buckle up cutter because the ride ‘bout to get bumpy! The old Cage is brewing, and someone's gone and kicked the Hive. In a world where anything can be a portal to and from the center of the multiverse, it's no surprise there's so much going on at any given time.This story-driven D&D 5e real-play podcast is set in the Planescape setting. We're not sticking too close to the official timeline of events; in fact, the DM is putting in play a lot of NPCs from AD&D. If you are a fan of the original books and material, some tidbits might make you smile. If you are new to Planescape, don't fight the weirdness. We're here to have fun. Sigil is all nonsense and absurdity. Camp at its best. DM is also a fan of sci-fi dystopias and Sigil is a good canvas for it. So here you go: a soup of a whole lot.If you wish to support the production of Mobius visit our YouTube to get the DM Logs. That's where we explain some of Sigil idiosyncrasies (like the calendar or flying hazards), share our homebrew items, etc, etc, etc.
Rachel Corpus, an embodied channel who remembers her time as an angel in the Angelic Realm, her past life as Mary Magdalene and her life with Jesus. We dive deep into soul swaps, NPCs, the Golden Rule, the New Earth/5D, and the different types of angels in the Angelic Realm. We weave through:Rachel's childhood near-death experience that revealed her angelic origin and mission.The angelic “neighborhoods” seraphim (nurseries, newborn planning) and dominions (ethics, the golden rule), and how angels prepare souls for incarnation.Soul swaps and how one soul can gracefully exchange with another at the edge of a death experience (animals reportedly do it often).NPCs / background people re-framed as souls with sacred agreements, why some souls act as the “foundation” for collective experience.Rachel's remembrance of being Mary Magdalene, the life she lived alongside Jesus, the role of women in scripture, and what was lost/edited in the retelling.Jesus as a God-realm presence, multiple soul-shares/incarnations, and the real meaning of the “Second Coming” as a collective remembering of Christ-within.The New Earth / 5D timeline: how the 3D and 5D timelines overlap, what living in 5D looks like, and practical signs that the timeline is shifting.Where to find Rachel: rachelcorpus.comSend us Fan MailSupport the showLove the show? Your support helps keep these conversations going. You can treat me to a coffee here:https://buymeacoffee.com/shiftingdimensionsSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr0p1zDPaPLmnmI3AIWhDFQFollow us: TikTok - @shiftingdimensions444 Instagram - @shiftingdimensions_podDisclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the guest's own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Shifting Dimensions. The material and information presented here is for general information and entertainment purposes only.
Factions are important players in your D&D and TTRPG Campaigns. They're much more influential and bigger than NPCs, but oftentimes they also don't take as big a role as these NPCsThey are, after all, groups of NPCs, today we discuss creating easy factions and how to make them matter at your tables to create the effect that all of these factions are useable for.Check here for all further information:You can find us on the Web under these Links: https://www.doubledm.com/ https://bsky.app/profile/doubledm.bsky.socialhttps://www.instagram.com/doubledmpod/?hl=de https://ko-fi.com/doubledmIf you want to reach out to us via E-Mail use: doubledmpod@gmail.comOur Midroll Music is"Midnight Tale" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Our Outro Music is"Ascending the Vale" Kevin MacLeod (imcompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Enjoy these back to back throwback episodes! Forbidden Knowledge Network https://forbiddenknowledge.news/ FKN Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/FKNlinksMake a Donation to Forbidden Knowledge News https://www.paypal.me/forbiddenknowledgenehttps://buymeacoffee.com/forbiddenFKN Merch!https://galactecfire.com/fkn/pWe are back on YouTube! https://youtube.com/@forbiddenknowledgenews?si=XQhXCjteMKYNUJSjBackup channelhttps://youtube.com/@fknshow1?si=tIoIjpUGeSoRNaEsDoors of Perception is available now on Amazon Prime!https://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=amzn1.dv.gti.8a60e6c7-678d-4502-b335-adfbb30697b8&ref_=atv_lp_share_mv&r=webDoors of Perception official trailerhttps://youtu.be/F-VJ01kMSII?si=Ee6xwtUONA18HNLZListen to Forbidden Knowledge News on clearair.fm every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 12:15pm CSThttps://clearair.fm/Pick up Independent Media Token herehttps://www.independentmediatoken.com/Be prepared for any emergency with Prep Starts Now!https://prepstartsnow.com/discount/FKNStart your microdosing journey with BrainsupremeGet 15% off your order here!!https://brainsupreme.co/FKN15Book a free consultation with Jennifer Halcame Emailjenniferhalcame@gmail.comFacebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561665957079&mibextid=ZbWKwLWatch The Forbidden Documentary: Occult Louisiana on Tubi: https://link.tubi.tv/pGXW6chxCJbC60 PurplePowerhttps://go.shopc60.com/FORBIDDEN10/or use coupon code knowledge10Johnny Larson's artworkhttps://www.patreon.com/JohnnyLarsonSign up on Rokfin!https://rokfin.com/fknplusPodcastshttps://www.spreaker.com/show/forbiddenAvailable on all platforms Support FKN on Spreaker https://spreaker.page.link/KoPgfbEq8kcsR5oj9FKN ON Rumblehttps://rumble.com/c/FKNpGet Cory Hughes books!Lee Harvey Oswald In Black and White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FJ2PQJRMA Warning From History Audio bookhttps://buymeacoffee.com/jfkbook/e/392579https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jfkbookhttps://www.amazon.com/Warning-History-Cory-Hughes/dp/B0CL14VQY6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=72HEFZQA7TAP&keywords=a+warning+from+history+cory+hughes&qid=1698861279&sprefix=a+warning+fro%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-1https://coryhughes.org/Our Facebook pageshttps://www.facebook.com/forbiddenknowledgenewsconspiracy/https://www.facebook.com/FKNNetwork/Instagram @forbiddenknowledgenews1@forbiddenknowledgenetworkXhttps://x.com/ForbiddenKnow10?t=uO5AqEtDuHdF9fXYtCUtfw&s=09Email Forbidden Knowledge News forbiddenknowledgenews@gmail.comsome music thanks to:https://www.bensound.com/ULFAPO3OJSCGN8LDDGLBEYNSIXA6EMZJ5FUXWYNC6WJNJKRS8DH27IXE3D73E97DC6JMAFZLSZDGTWFIBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/forbidden-knowledge-news--3589233/support.
◇ Gregory from Wisconsin wants to talk about NPCs, Davi wants to know what makes a bad game session, From the archive 2022: Actual Jesse asks about crafting in TTRPGs | Hosts: Kimi, Sam, Pooja, Dion ◇ 00:33◇ Welcome & Episode Summary 01:09◇ Announcements – Game Daze will be happening August 08! Sign up to run or play games for this free, fun, safe online game event at happyjacks.org/discord ◇ We will be at LFG Con! August 13–16, 2026 in Burbank California! lfg-con.com ◇ 03:28◇ Indie Designer of the Month: Hannah Shaffer and Evan Rowland of Turtlebun Games https://turtlebun.com/ or https://turtlebun.itch.io/ 05:41◇ Mailbag 1 – Gregory from Wisconsin wants to talk about NPCs 41:54◇ Mailbag 2 – Davi wants to know what makes a bad game session 54:42◇ Mailbag 3 – From the archive 2022: Actual Jesse asks about crafting in TTRPGs 77:40◇ Episode Closing 81:37◇ Music ◇ Email happyjacksrpg@gmail.com or post in our Discord server to send in your own topic or question for the show! ◇ Find us on Youtube ◇Twitch ◇Bluesky ◇Instagram ◇Facebook ◇Discord or find all our podcast feeds on your favorite Podcast platform! happyjacksrpg.carrd.co ◇ Subscribe to our Actual Play Feed! We have a backlog of campaigns in over 20 RPG systems and new games running all the time. ◇ Become a Patreon! All the money goes into maintaining and improving the quality of our shows. patreon.com/happyjacksrpg Ⓒ2026 Happy Jacks RPG Network www.happyjacks.org
Spotify Exclusive Episode. Go behind the scenes with Nyx about their history, and how they make NPCs when the submissions run out. Submit a form here: https://forms.gle/oSMMhMWpvZcLdGPK7 Reach out at Resonantmoon.com/npc-matchmaker This project is for the Dog Days of Podcasting Music is "Air Prelude" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Big Walk is the game everyone wanted during the pandemic. Not-so-coincidentally, that's when the project began development. The multiplayer open-world adventure is developer House House's follow-up to Untitled Goose Game. But where Goose Game hinged on you pestering NPCs to solve puzzles, Big Walk tasks you with pestering and supporting your friends. Or to put it succinctly: Big Walk is a game about communication. Though, as we explain, it's an experience that requires some careful scheduling. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
We join the table of Jeff Stein from The Storycrafters Podcast and mix-and-match. Danver Stargazer is a Verdan, one of the mutant goblinoids found in the Acquisitions, Inc. Setting Guide. By day he's a barback, and at night he's the lute player at The Ivories, a charming tavern of an eccentric owner with a collection of TEETH. And Danver could sure use your aid in finding a replacement and REAL Beholder tooth to replace the prominent fake above the mantle... And note: I've included the raw transcript from Zencastr for this episode as well (will work to go back and retrieve and upload others as I'm able). Please note the transcripts are the UNEDITED version, not the final edit you are listening to. Podcast art by Chauncy Riley, Graphics by Chauncy. Visit our website at https://sidekicksandsidequests.com Twitter Page Facebook Page Subreddit Page Instagram Page Discord Server Support the podcast AND use Zencastr at the same time by going to my referral linkSpecial Guest: Jeff Stein.
As You Wish Talk Radio with James Gilliland Demiurge, Arcons, Apocalyptic Fires, Fauci, Why disclosure has been an 80+ Year Fail James Gilliland hosts As You Wish Talk Radio with a wide-ranging ECETI broadcast that includes wildfire footage, his commentary on world events and alleged hidden power structures, reflections on Gnostic teachings and ascension, warnings about universal law and spiritual discernment, criticism of mainstream UFO/UAP disclosure, and sky-watch footage from ECETI. As You Wish Talk Radio Opens With ECETI and Current Events This episode of As You Wish Talk Radio by ECETI, hosted by James Gilliland and broadcast on August 8, 2026, opens with James moving quickly into news and commentary. The corrected transcript identifies James Gilliland as the host, video/news clip voices as brief contributors during wildfire and sky-watch footage, and sky-watch participants reacting near the end of the program. The transcript also notes that highly controversial claims about wildfires, directed-energy weapons, elections, COVID-19, vaccines, Islam, socialism, Gnostic teachings, UFO/UAP disclosure, and alleged hidden power structures are preserved as James Gilliland's commentary rather than independently verified facts. Wildfires, Lahaina Comparisons, and James's Claims About Hidden Causes James begins by discussing major fires in California, Oregon, and Washington, describing a severe wildfire situation early in August. The transcript includes brief video or news-clip material about Washington fires, destroyed homes, displaced civilians, and an arson suspect narrative. James then expands into claims that some fires may involve directed-energy weapons, weather manipulation, geoengineering, heavy-metal accelerants, smart meters, and development interests. He compares the situation to Paradise and Lahaina, arguing from his perspective that fire patterns, melted cars, smart-city plans, and land interests deserve deeper investigation. Elections, Immigration, Europe, and James's Political Commentary The episode then shifts into James's political commentary on voter fraud, voting machines, absentee ballots, illegal immigration, socialism, globalism, and Europe. He claims votes have been tabulated or altered through foreign systems and argues that election integrity affects all Americans, not just one political party. He also discusses Spain, Denmark, Germany, European immigration, cultural conflict, Sharia law, and Dearborn, Michigan, while making strong claims about Islam, women's treatment, borders, and mass migration. Throughout this section, the content remains best presented as the host's stated viewpoint, not as verified reporting. COVID-19, Vaccines, Fauci and Biolab Allegations James next turns to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Anthony Fauci, gain-of-function research, biolabs, COVID-19, vaccines, Lyme disease, ticks, mosquitoes, Bill Gates, India, mRNA, and what he describes as coming accountability. He claims COVID-19 was manufactured, calls vaccines harmful, accuses public-health figures and doctors of betrayal, and invokes Nuremberg-style trials. This segment is especially sensitive because it contains health, legal, and accusatory claims that the transcript explicitly preserves as commentary rather than verified fact. James frames the conflict as part of a broader struggle between “white hats,” higher-dimensional beings, and dark global forces. Gnostic Teachings, the Monad, and James's Metaphysical Framework: the Two Natures of God After saying he has had enough commentary, James turns to ancient wisdom, Gnostic teachings, the Ethiopian Bible, and what he calls the “two nature of God.” He discusses the Monad as the Most High, the Pleroma as an emanation of the Monad, Sophia, Pistis Sophia, Pneuma, the demiurge, Yaldabaoth, Archons, and the divine spark. In James's interpretation, some beings align with the Monad and ascend toward unity with God, while others are shaped by a false or shadow god. He presents this framework as a way to understand love, compassion, power, and the spiritual forces he believes are operating through individuals and institutions. Pneumatics, Psychics, Hylics, NPCs, and the Ascension Divide James then outlines categories from Gnostic or metaphysical tradition, including pneumatics, psychics, hylics, and what he calls NPC-like placeholders. He describes pneumatics as having or activating the divine spark, psychics as having a soul but needing guidance, and hylics as material-minded and self-serving. He says some people are influenced or possessed by Archons, reptilian hybrids, negative entities, or similar forces, especially when they seek power, wealth, or control. He also reflects on learning not to project his own values onto others, repeating the lesson that trust is earned and energy should be directed where it is appreciated. Universal Law, Two Spirals, and the Great Awakening The spiritual teaching section develops into James's explanation of the ascension process. He describes two spirals: a downward spiral of self-service, the demiurge, Archons, the beast, and collapsing systems; and an upward spiral of service to others, harmony with humanity and Earth, universal law, individual freedom, prosperity for all, and unity consciousness. He says the chaos in the world represents one world collapsing while another rises, and he urges listeners to evolve spiritually, live according to universal law, activate the God spark within, and stay kind, loving, and in service to others. UFO/UAP Disclosure, ECETI Contact, and Sky-Watch Evidence James closes the main commentary by discussing UFO/UAP disclosure and ECETI's long-running contact claims. He says ECETI has known who is on the ships for decades and argues that the UFO/UAP community has ignored or censored ongoing contact at ECETI. He criticizes what he views as controlled narratives, self-serving competition, and failed disclosure efforts, then encourages listeners to keep an open mind, loving heart, pure intent, and service orientation. The program then shifts into sky-watch footage, with participants reacting to lights, orange orbs, ships, power-ups, flashes, treetop-level movement, and what they describe as numerous objects crossing the sky over ECETI. Sky-Watch Reactions, Bigfoot, and Program Promotion The sky-watch segment includes excited participant reactions to repeated “power-ups,” multiple lights in the same frame, objects moving near the tree line, flashes in the field, possible ships, and comparisons to satellites or the space station. James frames the footage as evidence of light beings, ships, and Bigfoot guarding the perimeter at ECETI. The episode ends with a program promotion inviting listeners to watch As You Wish Talk Radio, view sky-watch videos of UFOs and orbs, explore self-mastery and herbalism, learn grounding and shielding from unseen influences, attend workshops, and support the ECETI merch store.
In this laid-back Friday edition of 'Will Cain Country,' Will and The Crew take a look at some of the wilder stories floating around Reddit, from how to survive a marriage proposal that goes horribly wrong in front of the entire family, to unwritten rules on whether you can ever name a child after an ex. Plus, the guys tackle modern social dynamics and ask: are we all actually living in a world full of "NPCs"?Plus, Will Cain Country's most Left-wing resident, Two-A-Dayz Dan, makes a shocking revelation: he's finally done with the Democrats.Subscribe to ‘Will Cain Country' on YouTube here: Watch Will Cain Country!Follow ‘Will Cain Country' on X (@willcainshow), Instagram (@willcainshow), TikTok (@willcainshow), and Facebook (@WillCainNews)Follow Will on X: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The world is filled with half-asleep zombie people blocking the sidewalk, asking stupid questions, and voting for lying pedophiles. Hollywood has shown that not everyone can be the star of the show, and perhaps NPCs are the extras in this elaborate movie that we are living in.Subliminal, predictive, and demonic programming permeate modern life, shaping the world for a sizable portion of the population. Reality is whatever they are told that it is. Mainstream people living lives without consequence, meaning, or purpose, all while driving too slow in the fast lane.---Macroaggressionswww.Macroaggressions.ioMerch StoreLink Tree Video ChannelsRumble | YouTube | BrighteonActivist PostNewsletter Sign UpAudiobooksHypocrazyThe Octopus of Global ControlSupport Our SponsorsReplace Your Mortgage: www.WipeOutYourMortgageNow.comGround Luxe Grounding MatsC60 Power | Promo Code: MACROChemical Free Body | Promo Code: MACROWise Wolf Gold & SilverLegalShield: www.DontGetPushedAround.comChristian Yordanov's Health ProgramThe Dollar VigilanteNesa's Hemp | Promo Code: MACROAugason Farms
The Matrix deploys NPCs and seemingly soulless individuals into your life to distract you from your purpose and interfere with what you're meant to accomplish. In this view, these people become instruments of the system, often acting without fully understanding why they behave the way they do. They appear to be pre-programmed to respond to you in predictable ways, carrying out patterns that seem automatic rather than intentional.
The Matrix deploys NPCs and seemingly soulless individuals into your life to distract you from your purpose and interfere with what you're meant to accomplish. In this view, these people become instruments of the system, often acting without fully understanding why they behave the way they do. They appear to be pre-programmed to respond to you in predictable ways, carrying out patterns that seem automatic rather than intentional.
Join Emma and Rylan this week as they discuss "OFF", a surreal cult-classic French indie RPG created by Belgian developer Mortis Ghost. You play as "The Batter", a stoic baseball bat wielding figure guided by an enigmatic cat named the Judge. Your goal? A "sacred mission" to cleanse a world divided into bizarre, resource-driven zones filled with specters and unsettling NPCs. Do their ratings from last week hold up? Find out on this episode of Let Me Be Your Game Guide. -SpaceCommunist- Reddit Post - https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/4itg7w/off_an_explanationanalysis_of_the_game_from_a/ OFF Website - https://offtherpg.com/#news Mortis Ghost - https://x.com/MortisGhost Free Game Download (2008) - https://www.zchr.org/off Original Soundtrack - https://www.rpg-maker.fr/index.php?page=ost&id=18 Full Credits (2008) - https://www.mobygames.com/game/73343/off/credits/windows/ Full Credits (2025) - ahttps://www.mobygames.com/game/246591/off/credits/windows/ Accessibility Report - Currently unavailable
Philosopher Stefan Molyneux shows how philosophy helps you by tying fear straight to unexpressed anger from bad parents and pushing confrontation so you finally grow into an adult with real agency. He adds that universally preferable behavior gives a clear standard for ethics and politics instead of excuses or coercion.Questions:If one would start their own company and fail, what is the worst possible financial demise one would face? Bankruptcy? What does that really look like as far as putting the pieces back together and starting all over? How does one calculate their risk? Example: Automotive Detailing Business. ✌
Join Emma and Rylan this week as they rate "OFF", a surreal cult-classic French indie RPG created by Belgian developer Mortis Ghost. You play as "The Batter", a stoic baseball bat wielding figure guided by an enigmatic cat named the Judge. Your goal? A "sacred mission" to cleanse a world divided into bizarre, resource-driven zones filled with specters and unsettling NPCs. Will the batter succeed and cleanse the world? Find out on this episode of Let Me Be Your Game Guide. OFF Website - https://offtherpg.com/#news Mortis Ghost - https://x.com/MortisGhost Free Game Download (2008) - https://www.zchr.org/off Original Soundtrack - https://www.rpg-maker.fr/index.php?page=ost&id=18 Full Credits (2008) - https://www.mobygames.com/game/73343/off/credits/windows/ Full Credits (2025) - ahttps://www.mobygames.com/game/246591/off/credits/windows/ Accessibility Report - Currently unavailable
Velma's back in the ring, facing off against Chris's daughter Emily. One of them's moving on to face either Elite Four Emberly or Maxine, but who?Disclaimer: We do not own or claim ownership of the Pokémon franchise and any Pokémon established in official canon. That's all owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. This is a fan-made podcast, and a love letter to a series we grew up with. Please support the official releases.Support the show on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/PKMNLegacyPost about the show on Bluesky and Twitter using #PKMNLegacy. Comment on our YouTube releases. Leave a review on your podcasting platform. We might use your name for our NPCs!Ariana Nicolehttps://youtube.com/@ArianaNicolehttps://twitter.com/arianangeorgeChi-chihttps://youtube.com/@ChichiAihttps://bsky.app/profile/chichiai.bsky.socialhttps://twitter.com/ChichiAi/DryeGuyhttps://youtube.com/@DryeGuyhttps://bsky.app/profile/terrancedrye.bsky.socialhttps://twitter.com/terrancedryevaKayVoxhttps://youtube.com/@KayVoxhttps://bsky.app/profile/kpoplyk.bsky.socialJonRobertsVA (Mason)https://youtube.com/@TheBowTizzlehttps://tiktok.com/@maineventmanRubycast (Emberly)https://deviantart.com/rubycast/https://bsky.app/profile/rubycast.bsky.socialhttps://twitter.com/RubyCast4HeatherFeathersong (Maxine)https://youtube.com/@heathrin18https://twitter.com/HFeathersong
Nick Komodina built a $500k/month business with zero ads, and he almost didn't live long enough to see it. Nick is a conscious leadership and business mentor, author of Surrender, and one of the most direct voices I've come across on what breaks people once they get what they thought they wanted. The story starts in an Eight Mile trailer park and lands in a backyard with a gun to his head. Between those two points is a version of success most of the online coaching world refuses to talk about. Comfort is expensive. Faith is not certainty. Self-sabotage is a goal in disguise. Nick unpacks all three with the kind of specificity that makes you uncomfortable in the best way. We also have a real conversation about content, being the guide instead of the hero, and why a massive spike in followers didn't move his engagement numbers at all. If you've been sitting on a calling and dressing it up as a strategy, this episode names the game you're actually playing. You'll learn: [00:00] Introduction [3:09] Growing up in a trailer park, and the moment stealing $100 became an identity [7:37] Some people see through the matrix while others stay NPCs forever [12:14] Childhood trauma buries the gift God placed inside you [17:35] The biggest content mistake: positioning yourself as the guide, not the hero [24:31] How desperate people con themselves using scammy coaches as a tool [30:18] The night a voice stopped him from pulling the trigger [35:46] The four pillars of success and why training your weakest muscle matters most [47:44] Coming off TRT and healing gut infections forced him to pull back from business [58:46] Adlerian psychology and why you actually don't want to break past 10K months [1:06:49] Letting the right people opt out is the real content strategy Follow Nick on Instagram for more content on conscious leadership, authentic brand building, and turning big visions into reality. Find more from Nick: Nick Komodina | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube Surrender by Nick Komodina | Book Find more from Ste: Ste Lane | Instagram Radical Health Radio | Instagram | YouTube Heart and Soil Supplements | Website | Instagram | X | YouTube
-News-Challenges-Item Shop-Tip of the DaySupport-A-Creator - mmmikie Support Daily Fortnite - anchor.fm/daily-fortnite/support Twitch - www.twitch.tv/mmmikedaddy YouTube - www.youtube.com/channel/UCNEJ4F24Xq8aNQRyI3FWhOg Twitter - https://twitter.com/MMMikieGames Instagram - instagram.com/mmmikedaddy/ Discord Server - https://discord.gg/3ae8vECSvgMerch - https://shop.spreadshirt.com/mmmikedaddy Facebook - fb.me/mmmikedaddy email - mmmthatsgoodstuffgaming@gmail.com Epic - MMMikeDaddy PS4 - MagnificantMikie Daily Fortnite - itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/daily-fortnite/id1366304985The goal of Daily Fortnite is to build a positive community of Fortnite players so we can all enhance our enjoyment of Fortnite together.I want to hear your tips, tricks and stories too! So use the Anchor app to call the show and leave a message and you might be featured on the show!Remember to rate, review, subscribe, and like to help grow the show and the community!And as always, have fun, be safe, and Don't Get Lost in the Storm!
I am joined by Dillin Apelyan and James D'Amato. If you listen to the One Shot Podcast, you've probably heard of both of them, and if you're a fan of the actual play scene, you've seen their work all over. And now, they've come on to the show to discuss their brand new book.Dillin's been featured on Dropout, Critical Role, and podcasts across the space. They've designed a bunch of great games, including the HUNT(er/ed) and Neverland: The Impossible Island. You can find out more about Superdillin here. James has been working in both the comedy and TTRPG scene for years. He's the creator of the One Shot Network and the author of the Ultimate RPG book series, which is an absolute masterclass in breaking down the genre for players and Game Masters alike. You can find his books here!The pair are more than just integral parts of the community today — they're good friends and even better podcast guests. The episode was a blast, breaking down their experiences and talking in depth about their new book, The Ultimate RPG Villain Backstory Guide. They dive deep about gaming culture, their GMing experiences, and provide a lot of insight as to how you can build better NPCs and characters. REFERENCES: Adams MediaWorld of DarknessDungeons and DragonsVampyre: The MasquaradeHunter/HuntedJames' Favorite Villains: Lex Luthor - Doctor Doom - The JokerDillon's Favorite Villains: Charles Vane (Blacksails), Jubal Early (Firefly), Kenneth Marshall (Mickey 17), Erik Northman (True Blood)Star vs The Forces of EvilPokemonWitch Hat AtelierFetch Philips ArchivesMicroscopeIn This World************************************Support the show for as little as $1 a month: Add this to the end of your link on DriveThruRPG to support the show: ?affiliate_id=1044145Example: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397612/Court-of-Blades--Scandal-Forged-in-the-Dark?affiliate_id=1044145Check out our live-streaming content on Twitch Don't miss our RPG Actual Plays, tutorials, and gaming content on YouTube Listen to an excellent board game podcast Go to the Writer's Room for 7th Sea Adventures!Check out the great games from A Couple of Drakes:Listen to Tales of the ManticoreFollow us on Facebook, Follow on BlueSky
Are we living in a simulation? Don't look too closely, or you might just spot a glitch in the matrix.In today's video, I'm sharing 7 chilling, true stories shared by people who experienced things that simply shouldn't be possible. From everyday objects breaking the laws of physics to terrifying encounters with real-life "NPCs," these accounts will make you question the very fabric of your reality.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:19 - Story 104:09 - Story 208:29 - papas got a new name09:02 - Story 312:23 - Story 418:00 - Story 524:12 - Story 628:42 - Story 7Which story creeped you out the most? Have you ever experienced a glitch in your own life? Let me know in the comments below!Subscribe for more true scary stories and unexplained mysteries. Support on PATREON:https://patreon.com/nightfallhorrors?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkContributors:Better-Being-3809itswhowhoAnonymousStrawberrySushiRollLaurelartist5140Donnie04AnonymousProduced, recorded, and edited by Darek Weber#GlitchInTheMatrix #ScaryStories #TrueCreepyStories #SimulationTheory #RedditStories
Infinite Loops: Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org. Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday --------- What if the great stories were more than just stories? Jameson Olsen, host of Becoming the Main Character, joins guest host Liberty to explore fiction as a kind of operating system for life — a way to study agency, ambition, empathy, failure, courage, and change without having to live every consequence yourself. Through Hamlet, Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, Lord of the Rings, training montages, NPCs, and the Hero's Journey, they discuss what it means to stop drifting through life and start holding the pen of your own story. Important Links: Listen to Jameson's podcast here: https://www.becomingmain.com/
Here’s something a bit…unexpected. A podcast about a print APA??? This episode the Halfling Four discuss issue #9 of the (mostly) print Amateur Press Association ‘zine Anchorite! How do you review an APA? Very carefully, but your Fab Four discuss the good, the bad, and the weird NPCs within. Come for the game articles, stay for the singing! No hosts were harmed in the making of this podcast, because “It’s the Liiizzz Show”! Links mentioned in this show: Anchorite APA site https://sites.google.com/view/anchorite Don’t forget to drop us an email at saveforhalfpodcast(at)gmail.com to give your opinions of the show! Be sure to check out our forums at: Save for Half at Original D&D Forums http://odd74.proboards.com/board/77/save-half-podcast And find us on social media: Save for Half at Facebook https://www.facebook.com/saveforhalf/ Save for Half Patreon https://www.patreon.com/saveforhalf
What if the great stories were more than just stories? Jameson Olsen, host of Becoming the Main Character, joins guest host Liberty to explore fiction as a kind of operating system for life — a way to study agency, ambition, empathy, failure, courage, and change without having to live every consequence yourself. Through Hamlet, Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes, Lord of the Rings, training montages, NPCs, and the Hero's Journey, they discuss what it means to stop drifting through life and start holding the pen of your own story. Important Links: Listen to Jameson's podcast here: https://www.becomingmain.com/
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In a chamber of the Castle Eschatonica, filled with technology from another world, Veile, Caoimhe, Elena, and Brontë investigate the truth behind their mysterious gems (and the seemingly lost universes they were once connected to). Meanwhile, on the other side of the metaphysical fortress, Uncle Nicky, Jonathan, Antistrophe and their newly acquired Agonies encounter a brusque soldier from a war whose rules they can barely understand. This week on Perpetua: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 03 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.06] Celestial Echoes [CECH] Imago [CEIM] While I haven't played the Imago games myself, from what I've read, it's a game about the power and cost of the creative spirit. And also demons, maybe? In any case, the way that this Echo shows up in the Castle Eschatonica is the Agonies, a special set of NPCs you can acquire who can grant even non-spell casters the ability to cast a few key spells! Melo (he/him) Traits: Relaxed, Friendly, Sleepy Status/Element: Slow/Air Description: A living statue of a little knee high elephant man, smoking a pipe. Ability: Trumpet Toss - 10 - Self - Instantaneous Melo wakes up and releases blasts of air from his trunk, sending you flying across the battlefield. You may immediately perform a free attack with a melee weapon you have equipped. This attack may target creatures that can only be targeted by ranged attacks. If you used a weapon belonging to the brawling or spear Category for this attack, it deals 5 extra damage. If you hit a flying target with this attack, you may force them to land immediately. Wan (he/him) Traits: Sickly, Curious, Hopeful Status/Element: Weak/Ice Description: A painting of a strange looking child in bed, under a blanket, covered in shadows. Ability: A Chill Air (attack) - 10 x T - Up to Three Targets - Instantaneous Wan coughs, and the temperature in the room drops low. The targets suffer【HR + 15】ice damage. Opportunity: Each target hit by this spell suffers Weak. Hezzi (they/them) Traits: Afraid, Tentative, Big Status/Element: (Shaken/Physical) Description: A ghostly, one-eyed ogre who quietly plays their piano until someone approaches. Ability: Intimidating Presence (attack) - 5 x T - Up to Three Creatures - Instantaneous Hezzi shows themself in fully material form, strikes an aggressive pose, and roars, giving every target Shaken. Miss Mephitic (she/her) Traits: Layered, Beautiful, Frightening Status/Element: (Poisoned/Poison) Description: A human-sized music box ballerina, from which vines, petals, and teeth emerge. Ability: Bloody Thorn (attack) - 20 - One Creature - Instantaneous Mephi's vines strike out at a target, doing 【HR + 15】poison damage and giving them the Poisoned status. Connie (she/they) Traits: Excitable, Mercurial, Confused Status/Element (Dazed/Bolt) Description: A fuzzy television on a wheeled cart which continually changes channels, occasionally landing on young woman with frizzy, dirty blonde hair . Ability: Surprise Shock (attack) - 20 - One creature - Instantaneous Connie slams into your foe and electrifies them. The target suffers【HR + 25】bolt damage. Damage is doubled against a target who is Dazed Ira (he/him) Traits: Irritable, Small, Loyal Status/Element: Enraged / Fire Description: A ceramic pot with a little angry red devil cherub on it—and the impish being itself. Ability: Devil's Breath (attack) - 10 × T - Up to three creatures - Instantaneous Ira unleashes a blast of fiery breath at your foes. Each target hit by this spell suffers【HR + 15】fire damage. Opportunity: Each target hit by this spell suffers enraged. Hosted by Austin Walker (austinwalker.bsky.social) Featuring Ali Acampora (ali-online.bsky.social), Art Martinez-Tebbel (amtebbel.bsky.social), Jack de Quidt (notquitereal.bsky.social), Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (swandre3000.bsky.social) Produced by Ali Acampora Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp) Cover Art by Ben McEntee (https://linktr.ee/benmce.art) With thanks to Amelia Renee, Arthur B., Aster Maragos, Bill Kaszubski, Cassie Jones, Clark, DB, Daniel Laloggia, Diana Crowley, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, Katie Diekhaus, Ken George, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mark Conner, Mike & Ruby, Muna A, Nat Knight, Olive Perry, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, Summer Rose, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, Voi, chocoube, deepFlaw, fen, & weakmint This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.
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Welcome back to Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu. In today's episode, Tom Bilyeu dives deep into one of the most provocative questions facing science and philosophy: Do we really have free will, or are we all just highly sophisticated NPCs—non-player characters—running a program inside a vast, resource-efficient simulation? Drawing on groundbreaking neuroscience experiments, the story of Phineas Gage, quantum mechanics, and the work of leading thinkers like Robert Sapolsky, Tom Bilyeu challenges everything we think we know about choice, consciousness, and the true nature of reality.But this isn't an episode about nihilism. Instead, Tom Bilyeu reveals why embracing the truth of a stochastically deterministic universe can actually make life feel more meaningful, freeing us from the weight of the past and inspiring us to make the most of every moment—programmed or not. Get ready to question your assumptions and see the world from a whole new perspective.Truemed: Check your eligibility and start saving at https://truemed.com/impactIncogni: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code IMPACT at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/impactPique: 20% off at https://piquelife.com/impactQuince: Free shipping and 365-day returns at https://quince.com/impactpodPlaud: Get 10% off with code TOM10 at https://plaud.ai/tomWhatnot: AT&T Business: Switch to AT&T Business at business.att.comShopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://shopify.com/impactWhat's up, everybody? It's Tom Bilyeu here:If you want my help...STARTING a business: join me here at ZERO TO FOUNDER: https://tombilyeu.com/zero-to-founder?utm_campaign=Podcast%20Offer&utm_source=podca[%E2%80%A6]d%20end%20of%20show&utm_content=podcast%20ad%20end%20of%20showSCALING a business: see if you qualify here.: https://tombilyeu.com/callGet my battle-tested strategies and insights delivered weekly to your inbox: sign up here.:https://tombilyeu.com/**********************************************************************If you're serious about leveling up your life, I urge you to check out my new podcast, Tom Bilyeu's Mindset Playbook —a goldmine of my most impactful episodes on mindset, business, and health. Trust me, your future self will thank you.**********************************************************************FOLLOW TOM:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tombilyeu?lang=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/tombilyeuYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TomBilyeuSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
As the northern edge of the Castle Eschatonica grows closer, the adventurers within begin to sense a change in the dungeon around them. While the Celestial Echoes that make up the hallways and rooms of the castle were once neatly separated, now it seems that the people and places from the various past Perpetuan worlds have begun to overlap and interact. In search of information, Brontë, Veile, Elena, and Caoimhe seek help from an otherworldly machine. Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, a gang of otherworldly beings seeks help from the trio of Antistrophe, Jonathan, and Uncle Nicky. This Week on Perpetua: Escape the Rumbling Castle! 02 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.06] Some Feedback [Page 64 of 65] Doom_Tree_Anne So, I HAVE to know… who is everyone's favorite Agony? Back in Imago 2: Ancestral Fault, I HATED Miss Mephitic, because I just thought compared to the other Agonies, she was a really boring design. Who cares about a bunch of vines!? But with the music box/ballerina re-design in this game… I think she might have jumped to the top of the list! I guess we have to wait and see if she keeps it going forward… TheUnforgivenIII My favorite is definitely Melo. That guy seems like he'd be cool to chill out with and listen to music with. Alukard83 Wow, color me surprised Unforgiven! I thought you'd be an Ira guy, through and through. TheUnforgivenIII Why the hell would I like that stupid little idiot baby? Alukard83 Well, now I think it might be a bad idea to tell you why. As for my favorite, this is the first time I'm really meeting them, but I gotta say, I really love Connie. I love it when something references something else, you know? And she's sort of a walking (well, rolling) reference machine! TheDiamondRanger What's An Agony? The strategy guide says they're like equipable spells but it sounds like they're NPCS too!? CarlsSr You're such a Wan. Hosted by Austin Walker (austinwalker.bsky.social) Featuring Ali Acampora (ali-online.bsky.social), Art Martinez-Tebbel (amtebbel.bsky.social), Jack de Quidt (notquitereal.bsky.social), Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart), Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (swandre3000.bsky.social) Produced by Ali Acampora Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp) Cover Art by Ben McEntee (https://linktr.ee/benmce.art) With thanks to Amelia Renee, Arthur B., Aster Maragos, Bill Kaszubski, Cassie Jones, Clark, DB, Daniel Laloggia, Diana Crowley, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, Jake Strang, Katie Diekhaus, Ken George, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mark Conner, Mike & Ruby, Muna A, Nat Knight, Olive Perry, Quinn Pollock, Robert Lasica, Shawn Drape, Shawn Hall, Summer Rose, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, Voi, chocoube, deepFlaw, fen, & weakmint This episode was made with support from listeners like you! To support us, you can go to friendsatthetable.cash.