Brian Ballsun-Stanton

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Dr. Brian Ballsun-Stanton is a Philosopher, Information Technologist, and Game Theorist exploring the Philosophy of Data. He has a Ph.D in Philosophy from The University of New South Wales in addition to a MS & BS in Information Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

He has developed a new methodology (The Social Data Flow Network) to explore how individuals in the field understand the nature of data. Currently, his research is exploring the social construction of technology, focusing on the user-driven change of technological tools, in addition to his research of data warehouse ETL strategies for disparate data sets.

Beyond philosophy, Dr. Ballsun-Stanton has experience in haptic research, specifically the use of gesture control of human computer interfaces and an abiding interest in robotics as seen in his flying robotic cable-array manta-ray.

His interests include the academic study of Role-Playing games, the exploration of how science fiction literature transforms reality, and the social consequences of a technological world outpacing society's cultural assimilation of its consequences.

He is a long time gamer, having helped to design the indie game Pax Draconis. He has been running an Ars Magica game for the last 6 years and has extensive experience with indie games and both 3.5 and 4e D&D.

Papers you may be interested in:


1,184 Comments

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14h
 comment How does resist all work versus 1 attack that deals 2 separate damage types?
Related: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/15632/…
15h
 comment How does resist all work versus 1 attack that deals 2 separate damage types?
Comments are not for arguing.
15h
 comment How does resist all work versus 1 attack that deals 2 separate damage types?
Enough with the edits. Chaz, we are trying to make your question a better fit for the site. Sage, cool it. It's his question. With that said, Chaz, if you already know the answer to the question, it's generally not worth asking the question, especially if you're going to disagree with the alternate interpretation. You have left your answer, and now the users of the site will upvote the one they find more correct. If you're looking for a debate, please go to the wizard's forums.
1d
 comment How effective would a mech be in a city environment?
Mechs scale from a little more than human sized to tens to (in extreme cases) hundreds of meters. To pound the city, they wouldn't need to occupy the city.
1d
 comment How effective would a mech be in a city environment?
What scale are we talking about? What objectives? What game?
2d
 comment How should GM deal with 'standing orders'?
Which is why this becomes a question of professionalism, logistics, and the nature of skills in your game, @Extrakun.
May
16
 comment Is there an online service to convert play transcripts into narrative fiction?
If you do use the turk, I'd love for you to post an answer detailing your experiences in this regard.
May
16
 comment Why the bad guys don't just teleport somewhere drop a bomb and teleport back?
These spells sound very... D&Dish.
May
16
 comment What Assassin's class feature should have “hybrid” tag if I were to hybrid it with another class?
Jhyarelle, you have got to start doing your research before posting these questions.
May
15
 comment Creating rules for jumping or climbing onto monsters?
It's probably worth doing a move action instead of a standard action for this. The advantage gained from skipping a round of combat should be significant, and a +2 doesn't work with 4e mechanics.
May
14
 comment Is having multiple Power Jewels overpowered?
If you want broken, use pre-errata salve of power. community.wizards.com/charop/wiki/Broken/Fixed
May
14
 comment Is there an online service to convert play transcripts into narrative fiction?
How much are you willing to pay? And how much time are you willing to invest in organizing this?
May
13
 comment Designing unique architectures
It certainly would be better, but not good. Culture is a hugely broad term. The question then becomes what is actually being communicated.
May
12
 comment How could I get more from sneak attacks?
Not at all. You have to have CA to get sneak attack. But the various feats, mentioned above, provide it without too much trouble.
May
12
 comment Does Versatile Duelist allow sneak attacks without combat advantage?
Background: Gritty Sergeant
May
12
 comment Designing unique architectures
Unfortunately, that request for a huge number of diverse experts is not something we do well here. In light of that clarification, this question would be closed as "not a real question." As it's way too broad for the format of this site.
May
12
 comment Designing unique architectures
Looking at: meta.rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/1604/… It's quite clear that an RPG expert's advise does not provide a domain expert's advise. Here, a professional graphic designer/illustrator/architect would give a much better answer than an role-player.
May
12
 comment Do Duelist's Flurry and Sneak Attack stack?
Please use proper English here, Kai. Those extra 2 keystrokes really do help comprehension. We are happy to help you polish your questions in chat, and can even source some foreign language natives.
May
12
 comment Designing unique architectures
Closed, pending migration. I don't see how this is specific to RPGs.
May
12
 comment Do Duelist's Flurry and Sneak Attack stack?
In the future, Kai, please come to chat so that we may help you with your posts. They contain significant errors. Otherwise, I've edited your question for grammar, spelling, and updated the power to match the most recent errata.
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