Saint_Meerkat's page

with the remnants of old

KaeYoss wrote:

what could one want more?

A mouth sized red rubber ball ?

Cyrkle would approve.

I can also attest to the Nobleknight guy being a great place to order out of print stuff.

I have found gamer stuff on Alibris and Abebooks when they weren't at any of the other places. (Most notably, the first Rune Lords volume) Try them, too.

We should be asking for a tour of WotC. Specifically, one that goes by the office of the "The PDF-gate Debacle and Massacree* of 2009" dude.

My dad worked for the Post Office for 30+ years, and worked there during the transition from government agency to private company. I grew up in a town of 12,000. Dad walked the same route for fourteen years. The dogs loved him and followed him around. He knew two generations of dogs in that neighborhood, and could tell you who the father was of most of 'em. He had to keep his hair cut short, wear the full seasonal uniform with patches properly placed and shirt tucked in, and he made sure that folks got their Sears Christmas Catalog without a bend on the corner. He hated Christmas and tax form time -- his back hurt for days. Luckily, the federal employees had awesome insurance at the time. (Sorry, Justin...)

Anyway, not only would he have delivered your latest Judges' Guild order from Wargames West (ordered from a typewritten ad in the back of the latest Dragon Magazine), he would have treated it well on the journey. (In fact, I think he told me that Federal law prohibited him from putting mail in a mailbox that was not in good condition.)

You should have heard my dad on my end of the phone when the preacher from the biggest local church called my Dad to tell him that I was going to be possessed by a demon for playing D&D. Dad, a conservative religious man himself, took the guy apart without raising his voice. If I had a transcript I would publish it.

Kept a pulp sci-fi novel or short story collection in his hand if he wasn't working in the yard. I would sneak Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions to my bedroom at night. Being a dad now, I know he knew the whole time.

Anyway, all of my Judge's Guild stuff arrived mint. Wargames West did almost as good a job at getting stuff to you quickly as Cosmo. It was always opened when I got it. 'Cause he opened it on the way home from the P.O.. Never played, but he read all the books. When I came running up in the bookstore with this brand new book with the Dragonlance logo on it, he turned his nose up. He was a sci-fi snob.

Small towns. Good times. Miss you, Dad. You'da loved Planet Stories.

Congrats. Thanks, Gary. And thanks, Erik, for making sure so much good stuff sees print. I love the Planet Stories.

I'm going to lose twenty pounds so I'll look good at *next* year's Origins so I can vote for PATHFINDER RPG, baby!

BTW, Paizo's price is lower than Amazon.

Is anyone working on a comprehensive index for the Pathfinder setting books and adventures? Is that something the fan website guidelines would allow?

Very, very late to this dance, but...

I read and understand the earlier explanations about charging for Player's Guides, but I'd like to see some sort of freebie (one pager?) that that I could offer players I've asked to join my game. I hate spending other people's money for them.

If for no other reason than to let the non-Paizo unwashed masses in on the fact that Paizo production values are awesome.

/Sentence fragments. Frustrate. Me.

I teach middle school, and have had a middle school group going for about half the eighteen years I've been teaching. They love to fudge, as mentioned above, on spell slots and leaners and starting equipment. I grin and bear it, and then have something awful happen (like brown mold) to make all things equal again. (I can fudge rolls, too.)

The most serious of all the things you mentioned, more serious than the cheating, was that the older player was frustrated playing with the younger ones. I dealt with this myself at first. And I've had several high school students and one faculty member who tried, unsuccessfully, to enjoy gaming with my middle school group.

What everyone needs to understand is this: there is more than one way to have fun playing pencil and paper RPG's.

Some groups have a great time laughing and talking off topic between combats. And if they're loving it and coming back for more, I roll with it. Some groups are very into the roleplaying, and like to do lots of the table talk in character. I can DM that. Some groups like dungeon crawls and some like investigatives. As a DM, you can quickly figure out what your group likes best.

If the group likes to roll dice and play with the figs, and the one older person likes less chaos and more gaming, your job is a difficult one. If you try to meet in the middle, no one will enjoy it.

So...I think that is a bigger problem than the cheating. Here are my suggestions.

1. Make sure all of the younger players have a job that keeps them close to "on task".

Have one keep up with the treasure. Award XP on the fly and let one player keep up with it. If one of the younger players has their character go negative HP, let him whack on his friends with one of the bad guys. Let one younger player keep up with initiative order and who's going to go next. If they have a whiteboard, a dry erase marker, and an eraser, they will be in heaven.

2. Address roleplaying opportunities directly to the older player.

Have NPC's talk directly to the older player first. Create leadership opportunities, and railroad him into making decisions for the group. One way of doing this is having NPCs who only speak a language that he took and the younger players didn't.

3. Hold the younger players accountable for their behavior.

Reward the players who stayed on task at the end of the session with house rule XP. Tell them when they are "being good." (Even with adults.) Penalize players for interrupting roleplay (a HP, some gold, or XP). I have seen DMs at cons use wandering monsters to attack players who are off task a lot. Drop people who aren't paying attention to lower in the initiative order. Do these things using a positive affect rather than a scornful or mean words.

Cheating is easy for me to handle. It's the intergroup dynamic that is hard for me.

Long time Skreyn fan (Star Cairns rocked) here.

I was having an ADD trying-to-calm-down-after-work moment when I opened the package with Gods & Magic in it. I couldn't really concentrate yet, so I started reading it backwards. Go figure.

Anyway, when I got to sidebar on page 51, I felt I'd hit a jackpot in the "Other Cults" sidebar. And then I lost 1d4 SAN.

Everything goes better with Great Old Ones.

Sean, is this an Easter Egg along the line of Klarkash-Ton?

Police Robots
Repair Robots
Worker Robots
Dining Servo Robots
Physical Training Androids

Did I miss any?

I think Jack Chick's tracts have been helping to spread misinformation about a wide variety of topics over the years. Halloween is one of his favorites. Some evangelicals read them and immediately swallow his fictional "facts" hook, line, and sinker. David Skal wrote a great book called "Death Makes A Holiday" about Halloween and does a good job of addressing some of the ridiculous claims Chick makes.

Go to First Bite

OR

Go to Boo!

AND

Go to Happy Halloween!

AND

Go to The Devil's Night

And every gamer's favorite:

Go to Dark Dungeons

Thank you very much! I shall put it to good use.

I'm glad you asked this question. I have wondered about mental health issues and healing spells a lot over the last few years.

If the mental health issue was organic in nature, such as chemical imbalances or dyslexia or Tourette's, when a cleric healed you would it disappear? Permanently? Temporarily?

If it was an injury, such as a brain lesion or an orc arrow lobotomy received in combat, healing would permanently take care of that, right?

If the mental health issue was stress or environment induced, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or an abusive childhood, a cure spell would have no effect, right?

Mental health issues that come from a genetic propensity, such as substance abuse, would be unaffected? Or affected in the short term and then relapse?

If a character has Alzheimer's Disease and receives healing magic, is the brain tissue returned to its normal composition and memories restored?

Depending on how the game designer or an individual GM ruled on these questions, the number of asylums (or unmarked mass graves) might vary greatly.

I hope this is the right discussion thread.

I would be interested in purchasing posters or t-shirts with the iconic class portraits on them. I know full color t-shirts are expensive, but I would love to have an Ezren shirt and a Harsk shirt.

Or, on a lighter note, wouldn't it funny to have a t-shirts that say:

I thought I hated Lorraine until I met Hasbro.

I feel like the minority of us that keep reminding you that there is more out there than just the "big name" writers.

Get out of your comfort zone and visit the World Fantasy Awards page. Visit the Edgar Awards Page. Visit the Horror Writers Association awards page. Visit Charles de Lint's reviews on the F&SF pages (they're free to read). Check out reviews on sfsite.com. Black Gate magazine.

While you guys were repeatedly buying and reading the FR novels and whining, I was reading The Black Company series by Glen Cook and loving every minute it.

Those are just off the top of my head. Can anyone add to my list?

China Mieville would be a terrible choice! Did anybody catch the controversial remarks after his young adult novel was released? He totally disrespected the kids, his audience. Imagine what he might say about gamers.

E.E. Knight? Jack Campbell? Kage Baker? They're not A-list authors, but they have strong fan bases for their series in lovingly-developed settings. They might love to write for a new setting, and they might work at affordable prices.

You guys need to quit eating at chain restaurants and check out the local color.

Saint_Meerkat wrote:

Not I. They're leaving us Apple fanboys out in the cold, for whatever reason.

I thought all the initial stuff was web based and multi platform friendly. It's the other stuff that was to be Winders only.

Yes, you're correct. Everything released so far has been multiplatform friendly. But the system requirements listed for the two yet to be released tools -- the ones I'm most interested in -- are PC only.

I'm all for anything that makes character creation easier. I think that is/was the hardest part for a newbie to 3/3.5/Path. Unless you have someone to help you with your first one, it's a daunting task.

I'm told character creation is easier in 4E, but I still won't pay for DDI without access to that app.

Not I. They're leaving us Apple fanboys out in the cold, for whatever reason.

I get your point, but respectfully dissent. At low levels, I think it a necessary annoyance because it adds some enterting realism. In real life, I would have to roll for helping with fixing a car.

Perhaps it could be at the discretion of the DM.

Third, IMHO, Aid Another rolls for skill monkeys become unnecessary by fourth or fifth level because they they had +10 as their modifier in certain skills. That has a real world analog, as well. My Knowledge (Music History) Aid Another would be automatic. I hope, anyway.

I highly recommend for you all take a serious look at the small run magazines, and small press collections and anthologies. There are more good fantasy authors than those who are marketed heavily with big budgets and hardcovers.

Every person who finds this thread interesting needs to read "The Fantasy Writer's Assistant" by Jeffrey Ford. No spoilers -- just find it and read it.

One would think the marquee authors being mentioned in this thread would charge exorbitant fees with very little loyalty to the setting. It we be a wedding with a conspicuous prenuptial arrangement. I'd rather have an author who would be an enthusiastic contributor to the setting rather than a celebrity endorsement.

Four Brothers

Woody Herman

I must correct you , it's the adventures of Juliare and Spark :)

No, no, no. <cue music> It's Black Tom proudly presents The Adventures of Juliare and Spark, featuring the Amazing Saint_Meerkat as Warenhari: the Good Little Druid Boy. <music ends with a big finish> Brought to you by: Barakus Dry Goods, where the customer is always

really sorry guys I have tried posting the last three days!!!!

So sorry I can post once a day maybe more!!!

No apology necessary, friend.

How High The Moon

Ella Fitzgerald

I have enjoyed every issue of Black Gate: Adventures in Fantasy Literature that I have purchased. They've put out some great stories. And I think that editorial staff "gets us." IIRC, there was even a Kingdoms of Kalamar story in one issue. Maybe one of their bright stars might give a go at Golarian.

Is there any way, after the fact, for you to combine my two orders to save shipping? If not, I understand. The numbers are:

1064333
1064335

Thanks for your great products and customer service. Satisfied customer here.

'First thing First !'

'Ok guys , you get the choice : my sap or Brock's axe ... '

"Looks like he wants a piece of you as well, mate."

'Quick , can you please calm Betsy , you seem to understand what happened and you're the one who has dealt with her so far. I'm Juliare . and you are ?

"New around here." Waren grinned. "Warenhari is my nae. Pleasure to meet you."

In a few words, Warenhari, the lady here is Betsy , a streetperson who has given us some informations to help crack a slaver ring. The blondies there have been sent to 'convince' us to stop. No money in it but the satisfaction to stop someone who abuse her power to betray people she is supposed to help.'

"Tch, tch. Well, slaving is it? We don't put much truck with that where I come from either."

Yes, you should create a character for Barakus. Preferably a cowboy. That shoots lasers.

Lasers? That sounds like Blackmoor! More old school goodness!

I have a spot open in my second party if you like. The party is pretty well balanced, so you could play any class. Take a look at the two Barakus threads to see if you're interested.

Thank you very much for the invitation, and I accept. I enjoyed reading through the threads.

I will work up a character today.

Could you expand on what "Euro-fantasy" is?

For some reason it makes me think of "Dutch Girls Must Be Punished for Having Big Boobs". ;-)

You know, I've been thinking about that question every since I read it on Friday, trying to come up with something succinct but accurate.

I think a Euro-fantasy setting might be described as all the characters, NPC's and buildings could be mistaken for a deleted scene from Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies.

I came up with a longer version involving everyone having polysyllabic names, wizards wearing robes and pointy hats, fifty percent of the population are orphans seeking revenge, and lots of stew and rashers. But I'll save that for another time.

Hello, fellow gamers!

I'm an experienced gamer who is interested in getting into any play-by-post game, but I prefer Euro-fantasy and Lovecraft/C.A. Smith weirdness.

I would like to learn and use the current Pathfinder rules as a show of support for Paizo, but I am open to any system. (I don't own 4E books yet.)

My writing and spelling is decent, I play well with others, and I don't try to drive or wreck the plot trolley.

Give me a shout back if you have a game I can join, or if you're willing to run a Pathfinder game for me and any others we can press-gang into service.

S. Meerkat

Oerth Journal is fanfic, not an official publication.

But it's very well researched. I am confident if it was included on this timeline, then it appeared in a canon source somewhere.

On the CY Timeline for Greyhawk in Oerth Journal #1, there is an entry for 580 CY stating that the Magnificent Talking Goat Party was formed in Greyhawk. Can anyone point me toward more information on this organization with a peculiar moniker? Any PDF I can purchase? Or maybe someone just knows what it is and can post here?

Here is the "three night" formula I use for preparing published adventures. It's a patchwork of what I learned in a study skills workshop during college (20+ years ago), what I've learned by being a classroom teacher, and what I've gleaned from hanging around with more experienced DM's (in particular, those from the RPGA/Living Greyhawk).

Night One: I read the adventure background, the adventure synopsis, and the boxed text. If there is no one around, I will read the boxed text out loud. I will also read anything in bold or italics. I purposely skip all the nuts and bolts of the adventure. This takes about thirty to forty minutes.

Night Two: I reread the adventure background and synopsis. I read the boxed text (out loud if no one is around) as I come to it. I highlight in yellow what I want the players to know when the encounter is over. I highlight in green any skill checks that need to be made. I skim the stat blocks and write down on a legal pad all of the unfamiliar spells, feats and abilities.

Night Three: I skim the entire adventure. I choose the four or five most important NPC's and write down three to five things each of them might say during the course of a conversation. I look up the unfamiliar feats, skills, and spells from my list and make short notes on the legal pad beside their name. (The pad goes to the game with me.)

Before the game: I make initiative cards (free from The Game Mechanics) for all the potential combats and then read out loud the things that I wrote down for the NPCs to say.

I have a lot of fun with this method -- especially writing down the things that NPCs might say. When players ask me why I enjoy DM'ing, I always say the same thing. "When I play, I play one night. When I DM, I play all week."

I'm excited about the Dragon Compendium product, and plan on getting it. However, I am really, really pumped about the Best of Oerth Journal Hardback. I hear the original editor-in-chief is coming back to head the project. Is this true?

That was one great periodical.

Oh, and another thing. In high school, our big sports rival was the B.B. Comer High School. The villains in my homebrew campaign are the Khomerhi.

In 26 years of playing, I've never had a player over the age of 10 reverse their name for their character.

ASEO out

Actually, I've been playing for twenty-SEVEN years, and I do it on a regular basis, particularly in online play-by-post games. I feel it's a nice nod to where the game came from. Arneson participated in some of that, too, in his Blackmoor setting (which came before Greyhawk). I feel like it's a great tradition of the game to work in references to one's friends. I grew up not to far from a tiny town called "Grant's Quarry." My homebrew campaign setting is called "Grand Skwa Ree." It smells like fun to me.

Personally, I think adventures MAKE Greyhawk. I would much rather see it remain in the pages of Dungeon where we could continue to get quality adventures.

I agree about the adventures making Greyhawk. For Greyhawk, especially the early days, that was the source of all information, rather than "supplement books." I prefer getting my information about the setting from adventures over reading encyclopedia-ish setting books.

And I don't think that anyone would have to leave anywhere. Paizo would, hopefully, get permission to say the G-word in the magazines and things would rock on as normal. I am not sure that Erik could handle two magazines and be lead on a new product line roll-out. He is where he needs to be, because the magazines are the best they've ever been, and he's sneaking us Greyhawkers our fixes under the radar. I mean, Diamond Lake and the Cairn Hills? The Free City? C'mon. That ain't Sharn they're talking about.

Oh, man, I would LOVE to see Paizo and Erik Mona get hold of Greyhawk. Clearly, from the Adventure Path stuff, we've got some real Greyhawk people at Paizo. Plus, some of Paizo's regulars, Sean Reynolds and Eric Boyd and on and on, are Greyhawk savvy. I think that would be the best thing that could happen to Greyhawk.

As soon as I started reading the first installment, I thought it screamed Greyhawk. It mentions Diamond Lake and the empty mines around it. It mentions the Cairn Hills. And the only Free City that matters to this old boy is Greyhawk.

Not an Eberron hater. Not a Forgotten Realms hater. Love Keith Baker. Love Elmin...umm...Ed Greenwood. But the whole flavor of this adventure path thing fits best in Greyhawk to me.

And as I heard some WotC guy say at Winter Fantasy last year, "It's all Greyhawk."

Playing since '79.

One of the things I don't like about the internet is how it gives the "haters" a big voice. Someone can spend days/weeks/months crafting an adventure/novel/column out on the market for us to enjoy or not enjoy. But the "haters" only take a few seconds to type out "it suxxOr3d" on a message board and all their ilk pile on with "me, too." Before the internet, at least you had to talk someone into giving you a job before you reviewed something.

I really despise how it is currently cool in fan boy circles to get online and malign and tear down. I think the "haters" were partially responsible for the demise of the televison series Enterprise, which is a shame because it was a great offering. And, for crying out loud, it kept sci-fi on television. Ain't It Cool News is another example. Whenever the site owner likes a movie, he instantly gets accused (graphically and obscenely, sometimes) of being in the studio's back pocket. Anyone remember the old Everquest message boards? The internet has done great things for society, but there is bad along with the good. It makes the voice of the small-minded and mean-spirited as loud as the voice of reason. Contrary to some conventional wisdom, everyone IS NOT a critic.

I read Wil Save first every month. I also read Wil's blog. He writes well, and the column resonated with an employed, middle class college graduate parent who doesn't live in his mother's basement. Keep on complaining, haters. Maybe we'll get some of those wonderful Polyhedron columns back.

Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations for good play-by-post Dungeons and Dragons games?

If you don't mind a plug, my current favorite is the Realms of Adventure game(s) hosted at RPOL.net. I won't go into a great amount of detail, but the best part about it (from an experienced play-by-poster's point of view) is that they have a large community of DM's from which a replacement will come if your DM has to quit mid-campaign. You don't have to start over.

They use 3.5 and they do a really good job with the Forgotten Realms setting. Players start at 3rd level, and they're looking for DM's and players now.

The URL for their OOC forum at RPOL.net is:
http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=2212&gn=RoA:+OOC+Forum&date=1105385 467