Charles Evans 25's page

...Plus, y'know, the animated comedy thing :)

I thinks it's a thing in comedy, generally, that you don't need a coherent canon.

Hancock's Half Hour was doing comedy with no carry over from week to week (except the actors) decades before The Simpsons first made it onto television screens. (As, arguably, did the Carry On... films, and probably several other productions (Chaplin? Laurel & Hardy?) from the western shores of the Atlantic.)
:)

...Yeah, I think I'm going to drive.

Ah well, I'll check the highways agency at some point for ongoing/scheduled motorway works in the Birmingham area.

:)

Ah-ha! Those able to open/read pdfs will find an approximately accurate map available on the New Street Station website: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/birmingham-new-street-station-map(from28April2 013).pdf
Said map indicates that there is (ostensibly) some sort of 'short stay parking' available.

(edited)
Birmingham New Street Station, Taxis (continued, as of 3rd May, 2013)
There are no taxis around at the south (west) (Hill Street) entrance/exit of the station.
Or rather there are, but deprived of their former habitats they cluster miserably in an out-of-the-way car park several hundred yards away, awaiting permission to proceed by radio control.
What passes for New Street Station's current official taxi rank can be found at present along Navigation Street, in between Pinfold Street and Hill Street.
It should be possible for those with luggage able to stagger that far after escaping the station to acquire a taxi there, but due to the building works, blocked off roads, and (ironically) the chaotic taxi situation causing traffic snarl-ups, expect a potentially longer and thus more likely more expensive taxi trip to Aston University than in previous years.
There is technically a 'drop off point', accessible to private drivers from somewhere along where the station abuts Hill Street.
Oh yes, and the currently available (3rd of May, 2013) Google map zoom-in of the area around New Street Station is out of date. Queen's Drive (if it still exists at all) is *definitely* closed, and there is no public access/parking outside the station to the east of the station.
clarification: What I referred to in my previous post, yesterday, as the 'North' entrance/exit from the station is that at street-level on Stephenson Street. Technically, in theory, it might be possible to get to the pallasades shopping centre too, from the station, assuming the escalators haven't broken down again.

Birmingham New Street Station (as of 2nd May 2013)
The descent from Avernus wood is easy,
Black Dis' door lies open night and day
But to return to the upper air - ah, there is the toil and the strife!
To paraphrase from one translation of the Latin poet Virgil, giving an account of a trip to the underworld...
*******
At least half of the station currently resembles a building site. Breezeblock construction is visible, ventilation and lighting are erratic down on the platforms, workmen in fluorescent jackets and white safety helmets wander around, and entry/exit points are blocked off (or even some platforms entirely). Access to currently in-use platforms has been reduced by about 1/3 I estimate, with half the pre-existing staircases taken out.
Some of the 'new' parts suffer from problems too, with at least one escalator already out of commission this morning, after only four days in service. The layout of the area above the platforms is perhaps a touch confusing, and goodness help the commuter whose train arrives at the *wrong* end of a platform during rush hour on a hot evening...
Oh, and for those who escape New Street Station, currently it's a walk of fifty yards at least, around the north (Aston University) side of the station to attain what laughably passes for a taxi rank. I haven't looked around the south side yet. Maybe there are greater quantities of taxis to be found herding in wider open spaces there, and given the vagaries of the Birmingham city-centre one way system it's possible the current south side station exit is closer by taxi to Aston University anyway.
More reconnaissance to follow, but if present conditions prevail, I advise those travelling via New Street to steel themselves for a possible loss of multiple sanity points.

Also, Birmingham New Street station has a new concourse.

Nice. Especially happy to see that Andrew Shelton's opinion is highlighted. I always value his contributions to station redesigns. And such insight too!

** spoiler omitted **

I should be going in later this week to have a look around. From a practical point of view I don't care too much what it looks like; I'm more interested in ease of platform access, and escalators are Asmodeus designed bottlenecks in rush-hours - especially if they've reduced the total amount of access to platforms. Lifts aside, the old platform design had multiple staircases available and one escalator (the latter invariably going up) from each platform, with most of the access concentrated in the middle. If they've moved all the access to one end due to the ongoing rebuilding work (as I suspect) and it's escalators-only, New Street Station is *not* going to be a nice place to be, if you end up on the wrong end of a platform getting on/off a train, in peak-travel hours.

I live in the hope of being pleasantly surprised, but experience inclines me towards pessimism...

Ah, I miss the Sylvester McCoy doctor.
<Shakes fist at BBC for cancelling the show just when the dynamic with Sophie Aldred's character was getting really interesting...>
For what my opinion's worth (not much given this is the internet, where opinions are a million a penny, at least) of those seen since the series 'revived', I liked the Eccleston character since he had a sense of history and depth of character. I had a sense he was scarred by his experiences (and the horrors of war), and was struggling with himself and his own history at times. I'd have liked to have seen one more season of Eccleston, at least.
The Tennant doctor struck me as a gradually-spiralling-out-of-control megalomaniac (who at times seemed to think of himself as some sort of 'messiah' figure - showcased in 'Last of the Time Lords' where the denouement depended on

), who finally showed his true colours in The Waters of Mars. I didn't *like* the *character*, although there was definitely development in the character as the seasons went by.
Although I appreciate the Smith doctor's frequent sense of fun, some of the situations he's been in seem to be at times contrived - and contrived more often than I'd like to the point of silliness, even given the almost limitless possibilities of time and space. There seem to be frequent spectacles going on, but not always much sense behind them. Although I like the Smith doctor, I missed at least one episode of the previous Smith season, and couldn't care enough about having missed it to try and catch a re-run so far.
(That said, The Great Intelligence seems to me to be an idea whose time has come...)
Anyway, other people's mileage will vary considerably, which is fine by me.

Thomas LeBlanc wrote:

A second dropdown menu with 3-4 obvious rule-breakers and then "Other"?

If it obviously breaks the rules, it's going to be obvious to the judges, and if it's not obvious, "other" doesn't really tell us anything useful.

It's still spending valuable programmer time so you can give us information we can quickly and easily figure out for ourselves.

If someone particularly feels the need to explain why they think something is plagiarism, surely they can just PM the judges, given the Paizo boards actually have a message facility these days?

Demolition/rebuilding work on New Street Station expected to move into a new phase as of the end of April, 2013. Looks like Games Expo may have made a good call deciding to move out to the NEC this year.
Will try to keep an eye on what level of chaos ensues to see how badly impacted those planning on travelling by train via New Street may end up being. At the very least the current taxi rank is disappearing and some of the current station entrances/exits are due to be closed.

Oh yes, and can I just add how much I hate Rhan-Tegoth. Not because it's difficult to win against he/she/it, but because those cultists show up at the most inconvenient times, pushing the terror track way ahead of where it should be, effectively costing 'victory points', and causing investigators who otherwise have perfectly simple story 'targets' (from Innsmouth Horror) to fail them. Ursula Downs recently succombed in a Rhan-Tegoth game after a third cultist showed up inside the first half dozen turns whilst she was still frantically looking for a third monster within movement range to kill, causing her to fail 'The Caper' and acquire a curse. And then Ursula being down and having a curse caused other problems and failures.
Oh yes, Rhan-Tegoth still lost in the end, but the process of getting there was somewhat messier than it should have been, had the terror level not gone up quite so fast quite so early.

Me and my group of players have regularly been trouncing the base game plus a small box expansion. A few weeks ago we had a chance to play a longer session at a game store and added the Kingsport board - got destroyed and I had lost two, count'm two players in that session. First was in a fight I got into (way over my head - devoured) and then my mid-game replacement character getting devoured when the GOO woke up.

We got our asses handed us to. That is why I love this game, just trying to find a good sweet spot on additions/expansions that give a more of even game play (cake walk vs. being overrun).

I am working on my own expansions using Strange Eons - so far I have a traditional horror/Sahwin/Halloween type expansion - new herald, GOO and creatures (don't want to make cards). Some fun creatures like the Headless horsemen, hellhounds, spring heeled jack, Gasman and things of that nature.

Currently working on a new Curse of Yig mini expansion - will make some Serpent men sorcerers, Greater Serpent men, giant snakes and a few other weird encounters. A new mechanic which gives players poison counters that don't heal easy (sum total of health and san in cumulative poison counters and you are devoured). I'm looking to make Yig a bit tougher and addresses play styles (one player milling for elder signs, etc) while still keeping Yig a 10 point GOO.

Take the Elder Signs out of the deck. Can't mill for them if they're not there! Either that or put a crippling movement limit on every Elder Sign - it's impossible (no matter how many times it changes hands) for one to move more than a total of two neighbourhoods + locations in one turn, and any investigator carrying an elder sign can't cast find gate.

Edit:
No using Carcosan Page (from The King in Yellow expansion) to teleport Elder Signs around either!

How did the

fight go, or haven't they seen the yet?

Sean K Reynolds wrote:

If you know a potential judge who

1) knows the PFRPG rules really well,
2) has credentials in the industry,
3) is female,
4) is willing to give up every other weekend for 4 months to review RPG Superstar submissions for no pay,

please have that person contact me. I'd love to have a female judge on the panel. It's hard enough to find qualified judges at all (it's not like we intended it to be a males-only panel...), let alone females.

I'd be interested, Sean.

1) Yes
2) I've been in the gaming industry for 13 years or so. I was an Industry Insider Guest of Honor at GenCon last year, where a Kobold Press Pathfinder product I worked on (Streets of Zobeck) won an Ennie for Best Adventure. I've worked on 4 Paizo products so far, and I've done numerous Pathfinder products for Kobold Press--several of which I was a lead designer on.
3) Yep
4) I'd be willing to do so to represent the women in the industry!

Hurrah!

The 2nd edition Forgotten Realms book 'Powers & Pantheons' had a 3rd level priest (of Shiallia) spell (pages 57-58) 'ease labor' which in the reverse form ('inflict labor') afflicted the target with 'all the pains of labor'. Males got no save aganst it, and females only did if they'd given birth at least once previously. It hit a victim with three phases of suffering. In the first phase a victim was nauseated. In the second phase a victim was fatigued. In the third phase it caused increasing amounts of pain which caused temporary loss of hit points and strength.

hogarth wrote:

This is probably unanswerable due to an NDF, but were there any people or groups in the playtest who just didn't care for the game at all?

The playtesters are not under NDA, and may talk freely about their experiences.

There were a couple groups that didn't care for the game, as well as a couple of individual players who were playing in groups where most others did like the game. It's obviously inaccurate to paint them all with a single brush, but for the sake of generalization, I'd say that most of those people had expectations for the game that didn't mesh with our goals. For example, there were a couple people who essentially said "This won't replace the Pathfinder RPG for me, so why bother?" (Replacing the Pathfinder RPG is *not* a goal for this project!)

I'm reasonably sure I've come across threads where it's been mooted that part of the reason TSR went out of business is that they effectively ended up by competing themselves into bankruptcy. Now this being the internet, such views of how TSR went down may be simplistic at best, or wildly inaccurate at worst, but I'm concerned if some playtesters already see this game as being Paizo essentially competing with itself. (Whether or not it's an actual goal of Paizo to 'replace' Pathfinder RPG with this, apparently in some quarters the game has created a potentially worrying perception that that's what it's doing and designed to do.)

Not having seen the game yet, I'll shut up now on the topic and go away for the next few months until this thing is actually in shops and I can see what it does for myself.

With other things ongoing, I've not had much time to pay attention to the Paizo boards recently, but I'd like to know what the heck happened to all the female RPGSuperstar entrants? Were there any? As far as I know, every single one of the top 32 in this year's [2013] contest were male.
It would be fun for me to pontificate about this, but I think there's been at least one thread that's already thoroughly chewed the cud on that issue already. I would like to post a reminder here, though, that this happened (or didn't happen), even if I don't have the faintest idea if it's credibly possible (or even desirable from the company's perspective) for Paizo to do anything about it.

As an aside, I miss the days when the contestants swapped comments with voters, as it gave a (to me) attractive air of camaraderie to the contest. Ah well, times change, and companies get bigger and more commercial, and can't afford undisciplined approaches...

Congratulations. Apologies for not dropping by with, umm, reviews, after the first round, but I've been somewhat distracted with other things away from the keyboard. Anyway, well done for making it into the top cut (this time), and for doing it in such style too!

What you really could have done with was a way to have 'favoured enemy: slaver or thief', only I suspect there would have been a problem with hitting the word count with that with any clearly defined rule... ;)

While we wait, where would be a good place to post short Golarion fiction? Is that permitted?

EDIT: Not about our archetypes; I mean general Pathfinder fiction.

I think fanfiction.net has a 'dungeons & dragons' category for fiction, or you could always post it as a miscellaneous book or game story over there.

You need to register with fanfiction.net before you can post stories there though.
In theory, I suppose you could always start your own Golarion fiction community to collect Golarion fiction on fanfiction.net.

Other than that outlets I know of are, as Mr. Morton said Pathfinder Chronicler, submitting to Wayfinder, or just sticking something on a random thread here on the boards. Threads here on the boards tend to sink pretty quickly and disappear from site without regular posts, though...

Hah! Your willingness to play the game, and the attention you are evidently paying to feedback just got you a round 2 vote, without my having even read your entry yet. I wasn't planning to do any Round 2 reviews, but there will be one very shortly 'in the post', so to speak.
Please remember not to respond in any manner until it is certain that the judges will not DQ you for doing so, of course...

I hope she's more charitable if you make it to a later round... Best wishes!

Sorry about the review about to come, Darkjoy. It's the avatar you use at the time of posting. It just *annoys* AARPGSS.

Oh yes, and then there were posts by Kobold Cleaver which used the word 'Smurf' round about the time he got a special award from the PMG, and the occasion when Sebastian got his pony avatar...

I found funny anything involving the Bracht Darkhouse or Gulga Cench aliases of their respective owners. (Admittedly since they were made, the PMG instituted the facility which automatically converted any posts in the RPG Superstar forums by a top 32+ contestant into the main identity, so they might not make so much sense now...)

For that matter I found the efforts made by several RPGSuperstar contestants generally, to win votes, in the years before Paizo cracked down on comments, amusing. I still remember one contestant writing a post featuring an Astrumal hold up a sign begging for votes...

Miskatonic Horror mythos cards are disgusting. Especially when you're playing with the Kingsport or Innsmouth board and get the headline which puts a monster in every aquatic location. Urggh.

[mini-grumble] On a separate note, I have been reminded of how spectacularly useless the unique item 'Alien Statue' is, except as a card for discard by the investigator holding it. A copy of 'The King in Yellow' will give an investigator with a halfway decent Lore score twice as many clues for fewer movement points at no Stamina risk in one go. And let's not even go into the fact that 'Old Journal' doesn't even come with a sanity cost normally... [/mini-grumble]

Hmmm. One of the few new things Miskatonic Horror does do, which I missed, was that some of the Dark Pharaoh allies can in theory show up in encounters on expansion boards. That's assuming that they haven't been returned to the box as part of the revised allies rules. Sadly, Dark Pharaoh allies seem to be the only ones doing this I've noticed thus far. No Professor Morgan showing up in Dunwich in a Kingsport/Dunwich game (which might have made sense) or even Professor Armitage appearing in the odd Dunwich encounter.

Institutions seem a mixed bag. Organized Crime pretty useful, Miskatonic University only useful with a large team of investigators (and monster trophies from surges to spare).
Bureau almost useless. At two clues to put an agent token on the street (and ONLY on the street - not in locations where monsters tend to stack up on gates where a pile of agents would be useful) there are better things to do with clues. Like kill monsters. Or simply evade them. Still, playing with [board] expansions, since step 5a where institutions come into play occurs before step 6 where the decks are sorted out, if I understand correctly, the Bureau as an institution means you can load expansion boards right from the start of the game, with allies who would otherwise have been returned to the box in step 6 of setup...

Now that everyone's had a chance to recover from the excitement of 2012, (and get a summer of sport out of the way) it seemed about time to get a thread rolling for PaizoCon UK 2013.
Although PaizoCon UK 2013 is still a ways off yet, I will mention (as Rob does on the PaizoCon UK site) that OddCon is coming up in Telford in mid-October.

I recall Paizo freelancer, Russ Taylor's 'Darkblight' back in the first RPGSuperstar contest being partially Dryad themed. It might need some conversion work (it was designed for 3.5).
*Click here for Link*

Well, it should be all over by now (or at least nearly so, depending on if the hangovers tomorrow morning count).

Usually busy with writing Harry Potter fanfiction these days, when not involved with PaizoCon UK business, but let me know if you need an extra pair of eyes in the proof-reading department for this one.

Weather report from Birmingham, Friday, approx: 15:30.
Currently cautiously warm (by Birmingham standards) with passing clouds and occasional sunshine. Currently no rain.
No guarantee the weather will hold over the weekend of course...

PSUK wrote:

Live Departure Boards is your friend.

I hope you are travelling after 930am and before 3pm when the ticket price is reasonable.

Train ticket is for 3:15 but was still very reasonable.

:-?

Watch out for organised pickpocket gangs in London. Apparently they're in training for the olympics, so keep an eye on luggage/backpacks at all times as far as possible. :(

May be some showers, but by recent West Midlands standards, weather forecast for next few days looks relatively dry; might even be some sunny spells.

Rail travel from Great Malvern or Atherstone on Sunday may be subject to rail replacement bus services this weekend. Otherwise, no scheduled disruptions to rail services during PaizoCon UK in the West Midlands according to information available at my local station. (No information on further afield on scheduled works.)
Edit:
Those with a relatively up to date version of Adobe Acrobat installed can (at the time of this post) check for scheduled railway engineering works in the West Midlands region on this web page: *Link*

Keeping an eye on local news for the status of the canals. There's a stretch near to Bournville which floods an adjacent railway line sometimes, and causes havoc with trains in the West Midlands...
:-?

I've attempted a number of modifications (on an approximately same rarity basis) to try and make the 'Heavenly Inferno' deck a quarter of the way playable.

I removed:
Malfegor (Mythic Rare)
Bladewing the Risen (Rare)
Avatar of Slaughter (Rare)
Reiver Demon (Rare)
Angelic Arbiter (Rare)
Voice of All (Rare)
Anger (uncommon)
Dragon Whelp (uncommon)
Furnace Whelp (uncommon)
Pyrohemia (uncommon)
Righteous Cause (uncommon)
Cleansing Beam (uncommon)
Death by Dragons (uncommon)
Sulfurous Blast (uncommon)
Evincar's Justice (common)

I inserted:
Linvala, Keeper of Silence (Mythic Rare, Rise of the Eldrazi)
Angel of Salvation (Rare, Future Sight)
Firemane Angel (Rare, Ravnica: City of Guilds)
Hunted Dragon (Rare, Ravnica: City of Guilds)
Woebringer Demon (Rare, Ravnica: City of Guilds)
Sunforger (Rare, Ravnica: City of Guilds)
Sunhome Enforcer (uncommon, Ravnica: City of Guilds)
Stun Sniper (uncommon, Alara Reborn)
Serra Advocate (uncommon, Urza's Destiny)
Shepherd of the Lost (uncommon, Zendikar)
Flametongue Kavu (uncommon, Planeshift)
Brass Herald (uncommon, Apocalypse)
Fire Covenant (uncommon, Ice Age)
Lightning Helix (uncommon, Ravnica: City of Guilds)
Bone Harvest (common, Mirage)

I'm not entirely convinced that it's the best result that could be achieved on a like-for-like rarity basis, but it seems to play better than the version out of the box does - and watching Kaalia of the Vast go down to an incinerate, lighting bolt, pyroclasm, or other means of dealing two or more damage no longer leaves a hand of suddenly completely unplayable multi-mana-symbol cards. I removed seven creatures which were angels/dragons/demons, but seven of the replacements are angels/dragons/demons, so at least that tries to stay roughly in keeping with the deck theme and what Kaalia does (on the rare occasions she actually makes it into play and stays there long enough to attack).
Other options which have occured to me are Bogardan Hellkite from Time Spiral as a rare replacement, (although the casting cost is a bit pricy, and has no convoke unlike Angel of Salvation) and Gisela, Blade of Goldnight as the Mythic Rare replacement (although she's pricy both in terms of mana cost and as a single to buy in real terms).
Brass Herald is on the list of replacements as a bit of fun really - it doesn't actually combo off with Bone Harvest that often...
I'm unclear how Sunforger was omitted from the original deck given the number of red and/or white instants actually in the deck which could be accessed by it (even discounting the Comet Storm where 'X' would be treated as 0). Plus, equipping a creature for +4/+0, whilst nowhere near the craziest equipment option around, is something which can still make a significant difference.

Anyway, I hope this post is useful inspiration to anyone out there with this particular preconstructed deck...

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Under a month now...

Thanks for the list :)

I may try and convert my current gaming friends to PFS. We have been playing Kingmaker, so it might be a possibility. The nice thing about PFS was that you didn't know the people so well, so you couldn't just rely on your friend to heal you, and the dynamic of the group was differnt to what I was used to.

PaizoCon UK itself is sold out. Not sure if the Friday night Balti social is full.

Not sure how some of those costume attendees survived in that sun...

It's that time of year again...
Motorway works:
The Highways agency site indicates a number of projects in the Birmingham area which may be ongoing during PaizoCon UK this year:

• M6 junction six structural repair, Gravelly Hill Interchange. (This one should have finished last September according to the projects page, but is still indicated on the map as active. Includes possible closure of link roads including M6 North – Birmingham link.)
  
• M5/M6 junction eight Ray Hall viaduct repairs. (Scheduled to finish November 2012, Highways agency site claims it is unlikely to affect motorway traffic but way impact traffic on the A4031 underneath.)
  
• M6 junctions five to eight, managed motorways scheme. (Scheduled to begin at some point between April and June 2012, involving preparation for a hard shoulder use scheme.)
  
• M42 Junction 6 roundabout resurfacing. (Scheduled to have started in May, and to go on for ‘7 weeks’. Work ostensibly to take place at night time between 22:00 and 05:00.)
  
• M5 Junction 5 widening scheme of A38 southbound carriageway. (Scheduled to have started in February 2012 and to have finished eight weeks later, but still indicated on map as active.)

There are a number of other schemes ongoing throughout the country according to the map, including a line of blobs between Junctions 1 and 2 on the M50, a scheme on Junction 19 of the M1 scheduled to start in mid July, and works on the M6 between Preston and Warrington.
The Highways Agency’s interactive map (as of the time of my posting this) can be found *here*.

I've just looked the tickets up (nothing reserved yet) and looks like its Gatwick.. From what I dug up thus far, trains are much cheaper and have better schedule than the bus.

Unfortunately, although trains run from Gatwick to London, Victoria, there don't seem to be any direct train services from Gatwick to any Birmingham stations at present, and any rail travel will likely involve crossing London by tube from Victoria to Euston.

Regarding travel by rail and tube, it's probably a good idea to avoid travelling during the rush hour on a week day if you can help it, not just because the tube tends to be packed but because some train operators charge extra for travel during 'peak hours'.

I think we're the weekend before the olympic opening ceremony, actually...
Not to say that athletes, etc, might not already be flooding into the country to acclimatise, etc.

As a reminder to anyone coming through Heathrow, queues of three hours or so at immigration control might be experienced by those who aren't from EU countries or other nations where reduced checks apply.

Trains in the West Midlands did not cope well with the relatively extreme rain we had here recently. Cancellations, rail replacement bus services, etc, etc. (Possibly due to one line running adjacent to a canal for a stretch...)
Ah well, maybe it will all be fixed by the end of May...

Hmm. Is the Finnish venture-captain going to make it to PaizoCon UK this year to meet with other European venture-captains and have his brains sucked out by Mr. Richard Pett?
PS
Congratulations on the appointment...

Annnnd, the closing credits have now rolled with the last posts (or last official ones of this year) from Ask A RPGSupersuccubus to the top four. Congratulations to all the top 32+, and thanks for all the time and effort you've put into your entries.

About a week before the deadline, I look at the number of submissions I have, and then I sort of freak out, because I forget that gamers run right up to the deadline.

I've received at least a dozen pieces in the past 48 hrs! There is good news and bad news.

Good news: We have PLENTY of articles to fill the pages now.

Bad news: That means not all of the submissions will get into the issue. It also means I have to actually do that "editor-in-chief" thing and make tough choices of Accept or Reject.

Good news: Lots of people sent me multiple entries, so I can now probably choose 1 submission per person, to maximize the number of people who get their submissions selected.

Bad news: Some of these submissions aren't on theme. Some didn't follow the guidelines. While they are still good, this makes my selection process easier...

Good news: There is a "Maybe" pile. Even if rejected for THIS issue, it may fit with a future issue. We may also use it in the PDF version of this issue.

I approve of the quoted post. Whilst I've given up on writing articles to submit to Wayfinder, I applaud this effort to keep up to date those who are still trying. :)

And, Round 5 reviews up.

Michael Brock wrote:

Plane tickets purchased - check

Bus transfer from London to Birmingham purchased - check
Hotel reservations - check

Looking forward to seeing everyone at this convention :)

Why would you inflict the UK bus system on yourself! Seriously, get the train.

Also, booked the hotel for my first Pathfinder Convention.

Coach might well be cheaper and easier to book than a bargain train ticket - especially if you don't know the differences between various train operators and routes. :)

Edit:
Let's not forget, either, that if (to speculate wildly) he's flying via Heathrow, there are coaches direct from Heathrow to Birmingham, which involve none of the horrors of trying to engage with the Tube system whilst carrying luggage... :D

Aaaand all the Round 4 Ask A RPGSupersuccubus reviews are up, this time before voting closes. Thanks to the top 8 for posting such entries, and apologies regarding the 'financial' question, given the rules seem to state regular (cash) treasure should not be detailed.