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Daniel Collins

@superdan.net
528 followers 98 following 1.5K posts

Old-school RPG writer at OEDGames.com and deltasdnd.blogspot.com, streamer at wanderingdms.com, lecturer in math & computing at CUNY, ex-PC game programmer.

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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 1h
This is, of course, our modern version of that old Russian joke about Stalin
There's an old Russian joke. A man goes to the newspaper stand every morning and buys Pravda. He looks at the front page, grunts, and throws it in the trash. He does this day after day. One day the newsstand man says, "What are you looking for?" He says, "An obituary." The newsstand man says, "Obituaries aren't on the front page." The man says, "This one will be."
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 29/09/2026
The Advanced D&D (1E, Deities & Demigods) rule for negative Charisma, which arguably explains much of the world today: #dnd #charisma #horror
In certain instances, some divinities are so loathsome and repellent as to actually have negative charisma. This applies only to the truly ghastly divine beings. The horror which their appearance and presence inspires causes creatures in the hit dice or level range noted below to be stunned with fear and detestation until the being is no longer in sight. While in this condition 0 creature can do nothing but defend itself physically against attacks. As with awe power, even if a person were to be given negative charisma through some terrible curse or change, he or she would not acquire the horror ability. The reaction of the average creature to a hypothetical non-divine being with a negative charisma would be a desire to kill it immediately.

[Table of modifiers for Charisma -1 to -7]

Beings with negative charisma will never have henchmen of a normal
nature.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 24/09/2026
Btw, that's Sam Rockwell on the poster, which someone should have told me earlier
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 16/09/2026
A while back I reviewed an utterly embarrassing New Yorker article covering Zhang's breakthrough in prime gaps. The writer they send opens by proudly trumpeting that he cheated through all his high school math classes, and is entirely unable to parse any part of the story or the people involved.
This is not the kind of thing that a drinky, likely coke-blowing, social butterfly bullshit artist has any way of processing. And come on, that's pretty fucking funny; in that regard you almost couldn't make this stuff up. But on the downside it argues that these articles are always thricefold doomed; no journalist will ever write about the practice or results of math in any intelligible or useful way, because they're constitutionally, commercially, and philosophically _opposed_ to it.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 12/09/2026
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 04/09/2026
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 29/08/2026
"The companions of Odysseus rob the cattle of Helios" by Pellegrini Tiballdi, c. 1555 upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 25/08/2026
Oh man, just discovering that Complete Strategist in Manhattan has closed. Construction on an Italian restaurant happening in that space right now #dnd #nyc #history
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 22/08/2026
Earlier this month we had the good fortune to visit the Round Tower with its observatory in central Copenhagen, where Romer worked as the royal mathematician and astronomer, and we checked out the anniversary exhibit there. #travel #denmark #copenhagen
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 20/08/2026
In Copenhagen, we stumbled across the Vor Frelsers Kirke, which has the highest church steeple in the city. The spire reaches 300 feet high and has a very narrow, one-person wide spiral stair around the outside to the top! #travel #copenhagen #church #tower #stairs
Vor Frelsers Kirke in Copenhagen from the street, showing 300-foot tall spire at top with exterior spiral stairs. Photo from Wikipedia (currently the church has repair scaffolding up to base of spire).
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 18/08/2026
We had the good fortune to spend some time in Copenhagen and other super-cool places in the last few weeks. More to come on that. #travel #denmark #copenhagen
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 15/08/2026
Personally what came to mind was this:
Frank Nitti from the Untouchables (1987)
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 27/07/2026
Tesla earnings missed expectations last week, share price is down, and supposedly Musk was terrible on the call. [replacing prior link with correct one from last week] www.marketbeat.com/instant-aler...
Taneja said free cash flow was negative in the quarter, largely because capital expenditures more than doubled sequentially. Tesla continues to expect 2026 CapEx of more than $25 billion, with spending set to rise further in the second half of the year.

He said CapEx will grow for the next two or three years as Tesla expands its Robotaxi fleet, Optimus production capacity, semiconductor fab investments, solar manufacturing capacity, AI compute infrastructure and automotive manufacturing. Tesla is also pursuing debt facilities that could provide borrowing capacity of up to $30 billion to accelerate those investments.

Musk said he has asked Tesla’s team to spend on CapEx “as fast as we can without it being too wasteful,” balancing capital efficiency against speed. He described the current effort as one of the fastest industrial scale-ups in modern U.S. history.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 22/07/2026
Graph on nationwide in-absentia removal orders, Jan 2024 to June 2026. At tail end, shows a sudden jump from around 35,000 in May to 55,000 in June 2026.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 16/07/2026
weather forecast for NYC:
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 14/07/2026
btw, I got your justification for dragon fire right here #dragons
Close-up of a dragon in flight, carrying a bowl of flaming liquid and pouring it down on the Bastille
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 14/07/2026
Happy Bastille Day to all who celebrate #bastille #holiday
Dragons destroy the Bastille on the title page of Bucquoy's Die Bastille oder die Hölle der Lebenden (1719).
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 08/07/2026
Browsing the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction cover archives, and some of them go HARD. (Like this one from December 1957): #fantasy #scifi #pulp #art luminist.org/archives/SF/...
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 06/07/2026
This overhead-press machine at the gym is perfectly calibrated to measure your classic D&D Strength score! #dnd #strength #measurement
Weight machine gradients from 30 to 190, in steps of 20 pounds each (with extra 10 pound adjustment just off camera)
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 02/07/2026
Awesome. But don't forget the beholder on the cover of the earlier D&D Supplement-I "Greyhawk" (1976)!
Armored fighter faces off against a simple beholder with a baleful expression
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 01/07/2026
And more: realmofzhu.blogspot.com/2013/05/trol...
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 29/06/2026
Happy Tau Day, to all who celebrate! #tauday -- tauday.com/state-of-the...
A well-rounded dinner of tacos, tea, and tarts. With a very happy pig puppet.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 27/06/2026
And of course Gary had a whole level in his Greyhawk campaign based on Alice, later published as "Dungeonland"
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 24/06/2026
Taking mandatory ethics training for work, and apparently I just learned that the NYS Gaming Commission regulates D&D dice? The more you know! #dice #law #ethics
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 23/06/2026
From "Getting Started With Color Basic" (1981) #programming
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 03/06/2026
The mad-libs style PC sheet for the Quest character I'm currently playing: Sleenaculus the Blue and his trusty penguin sidekick, Penrose the VI. #quest #wizard #character
Powers unknown to most mortals are at your beck and call, providing you untold strength, but slowly draining you of your BODY HEAT.

Your familiar always takes the form of a PENGUIN, and constantly annoys you with their INSATIABLE HUNGER.

You never remove your pointed wizard hat, stolen from the Evil Wizard MR. FREEZE, because FUCK THAT GUY. It is only a little smelly.

Your name is SEENACULUS THE BLUE.

Gear: 
- Archmage's Staff of FREEZING. Once per session, the very annoyed spirit of the archmage trapped in the staff can produce a unique magical effect. Save, or it also produces a negative effect as well.
- Wicked Wand - Picked up from a previous adventure, this wand is cursed with HAUTE COUTURE GALA COSTUMING. You are trying very hard to get rid of it.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 01/06/2026
Okay, so maybe this image of Queen Ehlissa battling (or maybe summoning) Orcus, Demon Prince of the Undead is acceptable? #death #orcus #battle
Scantily-clad woman with flowing hair and headdress, gesturing over large burning brazier, casts energy at the even larger form of fat goat-headed bat-winged Orcus, taken aback and roaring with surprise from a cloud of smoke amidst candles
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 01/06/2026
50 years on, the original D&D art content for stuff like Eldritch Wizardry is still transgressive enough to be hidden by the Bluesky filter for adult content. Maybe the actual cover art by Deborah Larson fares better? #dnd #art
Nude woman lying supine on a carved block, next to a thin but fiery brazier
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 20/05/2026
Eve (Lex Luthor's girlfriend) in Superman 2025, apparently mindlessly taking selfies, but actually documenting various crimes.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 17/05/2026
Academia 2026, y'all:
The PSC bargaining team achieved their first goal, winning contract language that clearly says all course instructors will be human.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 04/05/2026
Tonight I got to see Sugar in NYC after their 30+ year hiatus. At one point unthinkable that I'd see them live. Such a huge influence (how many people in the room had a band at some point because of them?). Titans of rock. #rock #music @sugarcopperblue.bsky.social
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 25/03/2026
I pass the Mythmere Games booth with the always-amazing @mattfinchmythmere.bsky.social and @mythmeresuzy.bsky.social. They say hey, stop, and hand me a free Mythmere Games tote bag because they're worried I might, quote, "get shanked" for it. Everything they do is awesome!
Mythmere Games tote bag, with illustration of elaborate chimera with mean-looking lion, dragon, and goat heads.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 24/03/2026
Alex & Curtis presented me with the grand prize: A classic AD&D Deities & Demigods hardcover book, complete with the forbidden Cthulhu & Nehwon mythos, signed by all of the designers they could find at the con. Mind-blowing, I never imagined this could even exist, never mind be in my own hands!
Advanced D&D Deities & Demigods coverAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons Deities & Demigods cyclopedia inside cover. Signed by: Doug Niles, Allan Hammack, Jeff Butler, Erol Otus, and more
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 24/03/2026
Chris was a great sport! He made a big heroic bet in Final Jeopardy to close the game. End result of that Championship game:
GaryCon D&D Jeopardy Championship board at game end, with point totals at bottom. Daniel: 8,000; Chris: 1; John: 2,400.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 24/03/2026
Then there's the Championship game early on the last day (Sunday). I take my seat. Curtis announces there'll be a "surprise special guest player". A minute later, he walks in and sits immediately next to me. This turns out to be Chris Cocks, CEO and Director of Hasbro.
GaryCon D&D Jeopardy Championship player's table with Daniel, Chris Cocks, and John. D&D Jeopardy with Curtis G. moderating, Daniel, Chris, and John.D&D Jeopardy Championship with a $200 question to identify a certain module cover.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 24/03/2026
Last story from me at #garycon this year. The awesome Alex & Curtis Guerrero put on a top-notch D&D Jeopardy tournament that lasted the whole week. I snuck in as an alternate on Day 2. Had a champ from a prior con at the table. Result of that game: #dnd #jeopardy
D&D Jeopardy board, questions all cleared, with final points at bottom. Mark: 0; Charlie: 1,800; Daniel: 18,000.
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 23/03/2026
Really amazing seminars all week at #garycon. This one Saturday gave front-row access to Dan Ayoub (new head of D&D franchise), @lukegygax.bsky.social, Justice Arman (new D&D game design director), and more. Did I ask a prickly question? Well, yeah, that's a given. #dnd #wotc #greyhawk
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 23/03/2026
Saturday at #garycon I took over a certain table at the Timber Ridge Lodge for a whole day. Some photos from my Wizards Warzone & Scarlet Stockade (aka Wandering DMs Design Dash created 42 hours earlier) games: #dnd
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 21/03/2026
Honored to be one of the referees at tonight's Legends of Wargaming AD&D Tournament at #garycon (with luminaries such as Harold Johnson and Paul Stormberg). Nearly 200 great, fiercely competitive players. It was a total blast. Great job Team 7! #dnd #tournament
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 20/03/2026
Checking out the incredible Legends of Wargaming hall at #garycon!
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 20/03/2026
Today I got to play Search for the Emporer's Treasure with the legendary designer Tom Wham! #garycon
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 19/03/2026
@lukegygax.bsky.social at the opening ceremony for #garycon!
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 19/03/2026
Walking around the crazy indoor waterpark at the Lake Geneva Timber Lodge late-night before #garycon starts. Space is so in demand they've squeezed in gaming tables all around here, too!
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 18/03/2026
At JFK for my flight to #garycon. I'm totally harnessed for this!
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 13/03/2026
The Outdoor Survival game's Life Level Index Chart, showing a short Water Index and a longer Food Index track
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 10/03/2026
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 02/03/2026
"People don't realize that, when they draw Captain America punching Hitler, it symbolizes their desire to punch every member of the Nazi party"
Captain America #1 cover
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 23/02/2026
Snow sine waves as far as the eye can see #snow #math
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 14/02/2026
Veterinarians recommend feeding your hydra one adventurer per head daily. If you can't do that, get veterinarian-approved Purina Hydra Care
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Daniel Collins @superdan.net · 12/02/2026
If you're in Bay Ridge Brooklyn, there's a Community Care & Defense Conference happening next Saturday Feb-21. Includes workshops on ICE watch, know your rights, supporting detainees, communicating with neighbors, and self-care. #bayridge #brooklyn #nyc #ice #safety
Community Care & Defense Conference: Saturday, February 21st 11AM-4PM. Fourth Avenue, Presbyterian Church, 6753 4th Ave. The Bay Ridge Justice Collective invites you to a day of community building and workshops to learn how to defend and protect our community.
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