Alyssa Visscher (she/they)
@alyssavisscher
Passionate about D&D, TTRPGs, embracing messy middles, faith, and the power of story. Impressively terrible at small talk. 🏳️🌈 AuDHD ♿ Parent of 4 🇨🇦 Fuck GenAI Freelance writer. alyssavisscher.com/about-me/
Canada has had 13 school shootings since 1975. The last one this deadly was 1989. When we say "this doesn't happen here", we are being literal. We have excellent gun control laws, and currently no info on this incident pointing us to actions. Truly, thoughts and prayers are all we have right now.
Oh my GOSH y'all, my husband bought me a fucking PIANO for Christmas?!?!? What in the inner-teen dream come true is even happening?!? I had lessons as a child, then stopped mid Royal Conservatory grade 5, partly because our keyboard was a small 66 notes thing. I've wanted a full piano for 20 years😭
One of my best data points for my longer-term mental health is the family monthly chalkboard. When I'm doing well it gets updated every month. When I'm not... well BEHOLD the calendar on this day of our lord October 27...😂 (It's been a rough couple of months but I think we've found some stability?)
As quick example: this section outlines things to think about when designing a forest creature, and then gives specific applications for the aforementioned systems. So this book is HIGHLY flexible and really useful for way more than just D&D. It's a chonky book (complimentary!) and very practical.
Look what came in the mail today! It's @themonstersknow.com's new book! I'll dig deeper into it, but I already love how this book is about so much more than just D&D. He has specific advice in each section for Pathfinder, Shadowdark, Cypher System, and Cal of Cthulhu, in addition to 2014/2024 D&D.
Well damn. See that blue pill in this morning's organizer that I only just noticed apparently got stuck and not consumed? That's 55 of my 100mg methylphenidate prescription and the reason I was so damn antsy today.
I (and hubby) have to wake up at 3:45 am to get ourselves and four kids out the door by 4 am for their first ever family vacation that includes an airplane. One able-bodied adult, one disabled wheelchair-using adult, four kids (all of whom are neurodivergent) at 4 fucking am. Pray for me y'all 😭😭😭
It's a whole entire 12 (TWELVE!!!) degrees Celsius outside, so I'm enjoying the sun and the pretend spring in the hammock for the first time of the year. It will absolutely get cold and snow again, but I'm soaking up every moment of this warm, sunny reprieve while I can! 💖
I'm sitting down to watch Little Big Things, and I can already tell that I'm going to cry my eyes out at some point in this play.
Apparently we don't have a Jenga tower, so I ordered one right away. Here's hoping it arrives tomorrow so I can recover from this gross cold-from-hell over the weekend while I play this solo RPG!
While we're doom-scrolling, I'll jump on this little Fun Stop. (Also, I haven't done one of these in an age!)
And here we have Alyssa's 2024's Big Bad Con haul. The theme this year appears to have been, "what happens when an overstimulated autistic visits the exhibitors haul an hour before it closes and is hit with ADHD decision paralysis and can't choose so she buys it all." AuDHD strikes again!
Holding this book, seeing my name in the credits, is truly mind boggling. I don't know if I'll ever be able to wrap my mind around working on a book that will be used by countless folks to shape the stories they want to tell. I hope it feels accessible, enables creativity, and gives so much joy. 💖
Big Bad Con, I am here! If scooting around on a very colourful wheelchair with a cotton candy pink electric motor. You should definitely come say hi and chat with me!
Hey new followers! I'm thrilled to meet you here! I'm an ADHD, Autistic, queer disabled writer and designer. I consulted on D&D's 2024 DMG, with a focus on making it friendly for new and neurodivergent DMs. I also write adventures, and the occasional article for D&D Beyond.
I do like it here and this seems like a lovely number.
When you pass your sense of humor onto your teens, this is the kind of birthday gift you get... 😂
Yes! Hiding is now a specific action, and variables like "dim light" are clearly defined. When you successfully hide, you gain the invisible condition—which really streamlines things. Theres a whole section in the first chapter that deals with the light as well (which is referenced in the glossary).
Here's the official list of conditions. They've all been revised so that the wording is much clearer, and the formatting makes everything much easier to understand and also reference quickly!
The rules glossary is really good. Apart from the positives that come from not having the same rule outlined in three different places, it adds things like object AC and hit points from the old DMG, that players have that info. (And yes, that IS "bloodied" sneaking in there!)
Right off the hop, this book is much better organized and laid out and ordered than the 2014 version. Like, it starts off with the basic rules about playing the game in chapter 1, but it doesn't bother the reader down in minute specifics, because appendix c has a rules glossary!
I have so many complex feelings about this. That hair is amazing, and Alyssa 5 years ago had no idea how much their life would change less than a year later. I miss being able to run. There are many beautiful things about disability, but I really do miss being able to run.
It's heeeeere! Happy Disability Pride to me! I've been considering a motorized attachment for my manual chair for a while, so I can leave my house independently for more than a short jaunt. And I finally got one! I am SO THRILLED and can't wait to paint her up to match the rest of my chair!
Happy last day of pride month from a bisexual, ace-ish, autistic-sexual queer enby-adjacent woman-ish. Have a no makeup selfie in lieu of an explanation, because I know who I am and it's perfectly fine for queer identities not to fit themselves neatly into our community's boxes. 💜🏳️🌈
After days in bed dealing with post 'vid exhaustion, I needed a little pick-me-up to keep away the self-pity. A face full of makeup, complete with bright lipstick, was just what I needed. Some days, lipstick is medicine.
When you get a covid AGAIN (likely reinfection from it going through the family 3ish weeks ago) and the only thing that sounds good is orange juice so you instacart it and drink it straight from the bottle and attach a note to make sure your kids absolutely don't drink it...