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:


1,187 Comments

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Dec
9
 comment I'm running a demo Esoterrorists game later this week; what resources do I need to prepare?
Good questions. 3 very experienced gamers, they enjoy a variety of things (one instigator, one generalist, one social). I'd like to provide them with what amounts to a "classic" esoterrorists experience. Is the GUMSHOE book required?
Dec
9
 comment How can I encourage my D&D Encounters group to do more role playing?
Cool. And I'm happy to chat with you about specific strategies that may be useful for your encounters game.
Dec
8
 comment How can I modify a solo for a 2 player party in Dungeons and Dragons 4e?
Amusingly. I ran the encounter I have planned in a solo game where one player was controlling 3 characters. It was a complete wipe (both sides taken out by ongoing damage, then failed death saves.) and I'm rather proud of that...
Dec
8
 comment How can I modify a solo for a 2 player party in Dungeons and Dragons 4e?
PCs generally have Level+8 or so attacks against AC. Enemies have Level+14 AC. Level 7 versus level 2 means +15 versus 16 AC. 95% hit rate, give or take. Have you tried this out?
Dec
7
 comment Biggest GM pitfalls for new GMs?
Well, a limp-noodle is in many ways worse than a bazooka. While a short amount of making sure the noodle doesn't get into trouble is fun, unless it turns into a "March Upcountry" (by Weber) style saga, it's not entertaining in the long run. But this conversation illustrates quite neatly that extremes on either direction are just boring. :)
Dec
6
 comment How to create a D&D4 Drizz't Do'Urden?
Fantastic. I'm happy to try to customize flavour with another question when you have more details.
Dec
6
 comment How to create a D&D4 Drizz't Do'Urden?
@dpatch I'd like some feedback on either of my answers, based on the requirements of your future campaign. While surprisingly the battlemind recommendation of my last answer is incredibly counterintuitive, I think it fits the flowing style of Drizzt remarkably well, being a tossup between that and monk.
Dec
5
 comment Unconsciousness, dying, and temporary hp
Feel free to make a house rule that THP can stabilize the dying :)
Dec
5
 comment Are there good game mechanics/systems for a timetravel-heavy game/character?
That ... mostly removes the beauty of time-travel. Moving into your own past, causing gemini incidents, and handling the as/as-nots that result makes for a time traveller. If you can timetravel without consequence, there is no real point.
Dec
5
 comment Are there good game mechanics/systems for a timetravel-heavy game/character?
There are ... resources... available. The concept of span and frag is actually simple enough that it can be its own question. It'll just have a looong answer, and won't cover combat between spanners.
Dec
5
 comment In D&D 4th Edition, how numerically close should party member levels be? What happens if they aren't?
@CRoss You can get away with level -2 in 4e, but it's just about as far as I'd be willing to go? And it would have to be an intentional choice on the player's part.
Dec
4
 comment Are there good game mechanics/systems for a timetravel-heavy game/character?
+1 for useful time-travel mechanics. By grafting on span and frag to any game system, you too can give yourself headaches. From a combat perspective: spanners always win. Make sure you're OK with this before introducing time-travel into your game.
Dec
4
 comment In D&D 4th Edition, how numerically close should party member levels be? What happens if they aren't?
The fundamental problem of being a minion is that it's boring. If the enemies can ignore you or drop you in one hit from an AoE, there's no point in being at the table. In earlier editions, you could still make useful contributions because level had far far less to do with enemy defenses. In 4e, the best you'll do is aid-another and be a flanking buddy until some monster decides to lash out at you for fun.
Dec
4
 comment In D&D 4th Edition, how numerically close should party member levels be? What happens if they aren't?
One of the central mechanical components of D&D is that the relationships between the numbers (to-hit v. defense, damage v. hp) stay quite equal as the levels progress. (there are a few fiddily bits that are corrected by weapon expertise at some levels, but that's not relevant. If you use a game of 4e that *doesn't scale by level for anyone, and merely gives out a few more HP and new powers, then a level gap makes sense: the 1st level character can still contribute, be threatened, but not be auto-killed. (The mechanics of removing scaling should be asked in a different question.)
Dec
3
 comment Skill Checks in 4e — specific help
Also, your title doesn't actually reflect the question. And re-reading the question, it feels like socratic flamebait.
Dec
3
 comment Skill Checks in 4e — specific help
Take a look at: dungeonsmaster.com/2010/11/… for what I think you're trying to ask.
Dec
3
 comment Skill Checks in 4e — specific help
I think your question is: "why does skill difficulty scale with level?" And the answer for that, in context of your scenario is that it's a DC set by the level of the encounter, not the quantum interactions of the character.
Nov
28
 comment How to be a Centaur PC?
As this is strictly worse than the elf (one of the more broken races out there) I would have no problems with running it, or playing it for flavour. The thing to look out for is a charge-happy build, which this would be a really fantastic race for. (Charge in as a barb, get flanked, get free IR, charge again, repeat)
Nov
28
 comment Does sneak attack damage do max damage on a critical hit?
Correct :) Or is there an error in my explanation?
Nov
27
 comment What are the effects of drunkenness on a humanoid in D&D 4e?
did you mean slowed instead of weakened for the speed reduction? also, save reductions seem a bit... redundant on a minion. Weakened + 1 damage = why bother? Just a weakened minion is... silly. to-hit is also laughable. What triggers the THP?
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