jocundthejolly's page

Although I WOULD get a lot of Audible.com quality time in on the drive...

Have you ever tried librivox.org? Huge and ever-growing collection, and all public domain, so all free.

I personally just picked this avatar because I thought looked cool, not because I like heavy armor.

Does that mean that you like heavy armor but didn't pick your avatar because of it, or that you don't like heavy armor?

I chose this avatar as I am hideously deformed and live in an abandoned opera house.

Is hideously deformed the same as hideously malformed?

Just an observation.

It's reached the point where I don't even look at screen names. If it's a guy with a helmet, I automatically expect to read a pro-oldschool/anti-radical-changes point of view.

What's up with that, anyway?

I would say that donning the armor and helmet is a symbolic phallicization of the body (perhaps in response to fear of female control).

what kind do you want to play? do you want to focus on healing? do you want to be a holy warrior? what deity? There are many ways to skin a cat and play a cleric

It seems as if most people think of cleric as tank or healer, but there are so many ways you can go. How about a wily, sneaky Trickery/Luck or even Travel cleric or multiclass cleric?

For example, if clerics gain the ability to use, say, a spear or a dagger, it doesn't really invalidate a cleric running around with a mace. Similarly, letting dwarves be wizards doesn't mean that an existing dwarf fighter has changed any, or if a gnome has a different favored class that it changes a gnome illusionist any.

After 10 years I'm still not entirely comfortable with clerics using edged weapons and dwarves tossing wizard spells. Just feels icky.

Anyone receive the book from Amazon yet? I preordered it months ago but no notice of it's mailing and at the website says delivery anticipated in mid-sept?

Mine supposedly left DE for NJ at 230 AM Monday, so it should be in the box today.

OK, I finally quit yesterday. After months of being persecuted in my low-paying job, I was written up and put on probo over some trumped-up you-know-what, and I finally walked out. If you are unemployed also (your job disappeared, you disappeared, you got fired/downsized/smartsized/rightsized, reduced, disintegrated, worsteconomyevered, whatevered),

drop it here--rants about bosses, interview horror stories, fears about making ends meet, advice for fellow travelers, hopes and prospects, supportive words for others here. We're all in the same boat, we're all supporting each other, and we're all trying to figure out a way to make a decent, honest living and get by in a world that seems crazier by the day.

The Flash would kick your ass.

If you have super speed, you must also have super strength. Strength is essentially how much force your body can exert.

Force = mass times velocity

If velocity is off the charts, force must also be (assuming mass isn't minuscule, of course). If your arms and legs can move ridiculously fast, they must also be able to exert ridiculous amounts of force.

2. There are no must-have classes in a party. You want to cover the roles, but there are any number of ways to do that. The best example is that in 3.5, for the most part you need a cleric. Other classes can heal, but none do it as well. In 4e, any leader will do.

I dislike this. I want classes to be distinctive. The fighter used to be fun because his sheer combat prowess was the best. In 4E if I play a fighter the sneak in the group fights just as well as I do. It is possible to balance the classes without making them the same.

Age?
Occupation?
Type of Person?
Interesting Points?
Gaming Style?
Favorite Module ever?
Most unbalanced character you ran?

31 years old

Motorcycle insurance claims department factotum (making payments, making checks, etc.)

I'm a vegan, bookworm, mini painter, big blood donor, classical music buff. I have a BS in Evolutionary Anthropology and am working toward an advanced degree in Classics. Just recently broke into the RPG industry as a freelancer with some contributions to an upcoming Goodman release.

I like a balance of role-playing, problem-solving, and good action.

Favorite module, possibly 'Spinecastle' from Dungeon 148.

Never been a fan of playing supermen.

Learn to Paint (minis) kits. I haven't found a really good one for rank beginners. I've learned by screwing up a lot of things and by doing outside research, much that could and should have been mentioned in any decent set for the complete novice (for example, the first Reaper kit didn't even mention anything about basic brush care.)

Debussy's fascinating and strange 'Martyre de Saint Sebastien.' Not performed or recorded too often, but well worth experiencing. Besides just being drop-dead brilliant, Debussy must rank among the most daring, original maverick composers who ever lived.

So I finally manage to come up with an awesome Call of Cthulu game idea, something truly horrifying and awesome if I do say so myself. I try to gather my old group together for a game and it turns out they've all kinda given up gaming. So here I sit writing game ideas down, crafting an awesome plot that I'll never get to use. Anyone else empathize?

Yeah, I always think my old buddies are going to reunite for a game, but it always falls through. Why don't you try doing some of your stuff up more formally and pitching it to a publisher? One really great thing about the RPG industry is that, even though it is small, many publishers are open to new freelance talent. Chaosium is like that, KQ fields queries from subscribers, Paizo has open calls. I made my first sale by tossing my hat into the ring for an open call Goodman was doing. If you have quality work, you will break in eventually if you keep trying.

Asmodeur wrote:

On the other hand, Secrets of the Shadowdale, is a niche product. It's actually a niche of a niche of a niche of a niche of a niche product, or something like that. (of all D&D players, Secrets is a DM book. Of all DM's, Secrets is really only interesting if you play FR. Of all interested DM's who play FR; only a fraction will be interested in a book about Shadowdale..)

This is the unfortunate truth. The audience for such a book is too small for such a product as to make it a less attractive option to produce. The aim is to make products with a broader appeal. I have picked up both Player's Guides so far, but have avoided the Campaign Guides and adventures for lack of interest. That being said, the audience for a book like the campaign guide is still larger than most audiences for most other RPGs in general which is why it is somewhat worthwhile to produce something rather than nothing at all. We just will not be inundated with books on the campaigns.

Perhaps you are underestimating the scavenging and tinkering abilities/proclivities of DMs. I think many DMs are creative opportunists who adapt and synthesize bits from various sources (along with inventing some stuff of their own) to make a fun game.

I've read that this AP probably shouldn't be tackled by novice DMs and players. What do people think about that? Also, just flipping through and eyeballing, I'm concerned about level progression. Is it accurate to describe progression in this AP as 'if the PCs happen to survive, they should be x level at the start of this chapter?' Does anyone else have problems with the PCs surviving and being at the right level for each new chapter?

True neutrality is hard to play, as it requires a dedicated effort to balance between good and evil, law and chaos, viewed over the long-term. It's one more reason why I don't care for alignment.

Not necessarily. Principled philosophical neutrals are quite rare, but I think that most people (real-world) are neutrals-more or less by default. Most people go about their business, do their job and family thing or whatever, and don't go to much trouble to help or hurt others. Most people do things that are decent sometimes, and things that are not so decent other times. Most people aren't markedly benevolent or malicious/destructive. They are neutrals.

One of the stated goals of the 4E designers was to increase PC survivability, particularly at low levels. This is/was in the service of making the game more fun, according to them because it is not much fun if PCs are getting blown away left and right and you have to keep stopping your game and starting something new. They did achieve this goal. Whether or not you believe it was a goal worth achieving is a separate question.

I tend to prefer your point of view. I've always felt that one of the coolest things about having higher-level characters is knowing that you made it through the first couple, when a single shot could have killed you. It doesn't mean as much if you know that your survival was never much in doubt. One the other hand, one thing I dislike about Call of Cthulhu is that you know your characters are nearly always going to be overmatched, and that if you fight you will almost certainly be destroyed, even at higher levels. High-level characters in CoC are still quite vulnerable. Also, you know that eventually your investigator will probably go insane.

Regardless of edition, however, I think that controlling information is one of the keys to good GMing. I don't like the idea of fudging rolls constantly or lying to your players all the time, but I think that some judicious 'what the players don't know....' is important.

Anyone interested in this thread who hasn't seen it, check this out

http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/theshow/

Highest possible recommendation: Michael Wood really does a bang-up job, and his enthusiasm for Shakespeare's life and work are quite infectious.

I do understand that if you've been brought up to believe that an unlettered villager wrote the greatest works of the English language that there is no medicine for your foolish superstition. So I'll be civil and won't kick you around for your ignorance.

Are you kidding? Do you have any idea how intensive education was in those days? Do you have any idea how much classical literature a 14 year old schoolboy (age at which Shakespeare stopped formal education) in those days had? And had committed to memory?

[Rant on]

To warn others..

Citibank is really starting to piss me off..

First the raise my credit card APR from U.S. Prime Rate + 9.99% , no minimal *Little over 13% right now* To..

U.S. Prime Rate + 13.99% with a minimal 19.99% Apr.

that is a 7% raise!!.. That should be illegal!!

Hope this doesn't make you even angrier..but actually that is a 40+ percent raise. It is a 6 percentage point raise.

Anything is possible, but I think we need to lay a lot of groundwork first so that people are excited about a specific dungeon. With all of the maps and potential for boring grind with a product like this, it'd have to be REALLY good.

And for it to be REALLY good we'd need a LOT of people to buy it in order to cover the higher-than-normal costs.

I dunno. I think it would be popular and I want to get to it eventually, but I think we need some smaller adventures and solid campaigns while everyone is still getting used to the Pathfinder RPG rules.

Any suggestions for a mega-dungeon product?

Maybe you could offer a package special-Megadungeon needs mega game aids. Mondomats are kind of expensive, but if I had the option to get a Mondomat at a bit of a discount if I bought the really cool megadungeon module (high five if you still refer to 'scenarios' as 'modules'), I might go for it.

for this discussion we have to believe that hitpoints are not just a grand total of cuts and bruises one can take. If that was so, then a Fighter crit with a scythe, and taking 70 of his 95 hitpoints would still be able to fight with his neck cut open like a pez dispenser. hipoints are also ones ability to make more severe blows less deadly (a ogre club swing that would have broken his ribs into his heart gets turned into a hairline fracture due to the Characters experience.

so lets have to characters equally wounded, the same nasty stab wound to the gut, both are down to half of their maximum hitpoints, the sorcerer is 6/12 and the Fighter is 12/24. the third level cleric cast a cure light wounds on both and rolls average, 7hps. on the sorcerer the wound totally vanishes, but for some reason the wound is still open on the Fighter, even though the same amount of positive energy passes though him. Is the Fighter naturally resistant to healing? or what?

By no means is this a fix, but it sure helps. instead of the 1d8 that healing spells usually use, you get die equal to your hitdie. so a cure critical wounds heals 4d6+7 to a wizard, and heals the Barbarian for 4d12+7.

I think the confusion here stems from the premise that an equal percentage HP loss means that equal punishment has been suffered. I would reason that the sorcerer and fighter in your example, having suffered the same wound (imagine: same die rolls-in your example, the dice are different. The fighter is at half, despite having suffered twice as much damage, because he is badder), would not have equal hit points. The sorcerer, who isn't as durable, would be more seriously hurt by a 6 HP loss (which happens to put him at at half HP), while the fighter would be at 18 HP, or 3/4 full. Because he is tougher, it would take 3 more such hits to bring him down, while the sorceror would be felled by just one more.

One of my friends that I used to do simple RPs with wants to convert one of his characters to DnD. The character is a rogueish, dagger-wielding fighter type. Problem is, he has the ability to freely manipulate electricity. We don't know how to properly include that in the character. Including being able to heat things and create bolts of lightning, he can also manipulate positive and negative energy (scientifically), and he has a nifty, if draining, teleport ability. Any ideas on how this can be done? It's one of the few character concepts we thought of that I'm unsure of how to do.

Edit: After thinking for abit, I came to a conclusion for a base class to modify, if necesarry. Ranger. He dual-wields, uses small weapons, and prefers speed and dexterity to brute force, but would rather go toe-to-toe (more or less) with an enemy than be sneaky and back-stabby about it. And it won't be too hard figuring out what to drop from the class to incorporate the new abilities. But I'm still unsure of how to add those, exactly.

My first reaction for balancing something like that would be implementing a system similar to wild magic. It can be really powerful, but you're playing with fire (no pun intended). It's useful sometimes to include everyone in the group on these kinds of decisions. Not every group wants something dangerous and unpredictable. A benefit of this kind of group decision-making is that the DM can establish meaningful consequences for everyone in the group (the characters you guys love could be fried), which essentially means being able to make a decision without looking like THE bad guy.

But, this is my first campaign with this DM, and I don't think he would be too happy about my decision to retire my current character and pick up another. Especially if it might happen again.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Similar problems? Maybe some little tricks to keep my own attention?

Why don't you ask him about it? It's not good for anyone if there are players who aren't interested in the game because they dislike their characters. Most DMs are therefore willing to work with their players to address that issue, in order to create a game that is enjoyable for everyone.

If a character goes from 15 to 16 constitution at 4th level, is the new hit point bonus retroactive from 1st level or does he get +3 from 4 level on only?

I can see the logic of either side here. You could pick one stance or take a compromise position: for example, you only get 1/2 credit for retro CON bonuses. For another perspective, the much-maligned 4th edition (gasp!) PHB says that,"If you increased your CON score, increase you hit points by 1 (as if you had your new CON score when you were at 1st level)."

Clark, Sean and anyone else inclined to comment, please do so. :)

Any feedback is appreciated, even the brutal kind.

Bracelet of Hand Detachment

My critical thoughts, without looking at mechanics (trying not to be hurtful, just commenting on what I see that might have hurt your chances): there's a bit of a silliness factor in disembodied parts wandering around, and also there's a major pop culture connection that probably didn't work in your favor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thing_(The_Addams_Family)

Another consideration is, would a character really use this item? Would you choose to mutilate yourself by parting with a hand, even temporarily? Also, the back story to me feels like a gratuitous Pathfinder nod.

I was wondering if anyone has done or knows of a Dune RPG conversion. d20 typed or other system.

Looks as if some kind of d20 Modern/Future homebrew might be your best bet.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11518.phtml

I'm thinking the RPG products would be an attraction for customers but really not a big profit product.

I don't have enough money to consider it seriously at present, but if I start considering it as a pipe-dream, I can at least have a point of reference for what I'll need.

Congratulations to you for considering starting your business, and good luck to you. Regarding start-up: I am not sure what conditions are like right now, since obviously the economy is crazy, but you might consider researching a small business loan. I think that is how most people who are not independently wealthy get off the ground.

I think the important thing for that kind of store is to have events, stuff going on, not just stuff sitting on the shelves.

The one in my town (http://www.littleshopofcomics.com)has a pretty small RPG shelf. They have a pretty big shelf with board games (Catan and ilk), lots of comic books, including tons of the compilations that companies put out nowadays, some Games Workshop stuff, and lots of cards.
I've never been into Magic, or whatever it is that kids are playing now, but that seems to be their big draw. They have one room off the actual store that always seems to have about 20 adolescent boys packed in playing something or other. That's what they seem to use to keep bodies coming into the store, and I think they charge fees for organizing and hosting games.

http://www.littleshopofcomics.com/Events.aspx

E+; His blatant violation of federal and constitutional laws and starting a disastrous preemptive war are the main reasons for his grade. Congress also gets an E+ for letting Bush and Co. get away with the s%$t they pulled.

As your post suggests, only Congress can issue a declaration of war; so it's their fault for abdicating their authority by basically giving him carte blanche to invade Iraq. That said, and making it clear that the Iraq War has been in many ways terribly handled, we did liberate millions from one of the most brutal dictatorships on the planet, and we continue to help establish a stable, basically liberal democracy in the Middle East. And we have also neutralized large numbers of militants and terrorists, many of whom left relative safety elsewhere to fight in Iraq. Those are significant accomplishments. Furthermore, if you recall what Saddam used to pull in the 90s and early 00s (repeatedly allowing weapons inspectors in and then kicking them out), he gave the world every reason to believe that he was hiding WMDs.

My point is only this: if you want to get rich, do something (ANYTHING!) besides write. With the exceptions of Steven King, J.K. Rowling and a few other luminaries, it's a BAD way to make a living that involves solid-gold yachts.

A lot of people don't consider supply and demand when contemplating a writing career. Fiction I guess is sexier than non-fiction, and if you hit it big with novels you can really hit it big. But anyone who wants to make a living writing would do well to realize that the overwhelming bulk of everything written for pay is non-fiction. I would estimate over 90%, maybe more than 95% of all writing anyone gets paid for is non-fiction.

The whole Gaza/Israel thread (not even going to attempt to type Ahdamenajed's name--oops, there it is--as I have no idea how to spell it), brings to mind for me the differences between polytheism and monotheism.

To me it seems that the religious ideology of both sides is a large part of the problem. The hardcore Jews are often disparaged as Zionists while the fanatical Muslims are disparaged as Jihadists. What I am saying is that "Zionists" believe that the Holy Land was given to them by their G-d and that they have the sacred right to defend it at all costs, and "Jihadists" believe that Allah has charged them with religious expansion and also given them the Holy Land.

Couple of comments:

1)I don't think you meant any offense, but I would be careful about using the term 'hardcore Jews.' I would say it's at least mildly inflammatory.

2)Many extremely devout Jews opposed the creation of a secular Jewish state, and so far as I know some still oppose the existence of a Jewish state. I am not an expert on Judaism, but my understanding is that their religious texts indicate that the Jewish homeland will/should not be established until the coming of the messiah. A popular movie which touched on this was 'The Chosen.'

As always Bob, you bring up an interesting point.

What would happen if you got two submissions that had exactly the same word count but one is half a page longer than the other because they use larger words?

What would you (any of you Publishers/Editors, not just Clark) do if something like this happened for a Submission for a contracted piece (be it article or adventure)? You got the submission in and it ran two pages longer than the space you have available because larger words were used? From an Editor's point, would you just pull out the Thesaurus and correct, or send it back for a re-write?

I always assumed Word counted WPM, i.e., 5-letter word units. On a typing test, one 20 letter word would be the same as 4 5-letter words.

One thing I wanted to see changed from 3.5 was Ride-use untrained. I tried riding an 'easy' horse once, and it wasn't all that easy. And I certainly wouldn't have been able to stay mounted at speed, AND do something else, like fight. Learning how to do that would require some...doing. I suppose you could argue that denizens of most fantasy worlds have spent more time around horses than most of us in the industrialized west. But in 3.5 and Pathfinder, someone with no experience at all riding would not only be able to ride a horse, but have a good chance of making a Fight with Warhorse check. I just don't think that's reasonable.

anyone know, my googlefu is weak.

Rules in what sense? I have quite a bit of Latin.

Starglim wrote:

Mongoose had a couple of different versions of a Noble - one in Conan RPG (not a bad-looking combat class, but you might have to do some extra world-building, as it's strongly culture-specific) and a considerably different version as one of the Power Classes series.

For some reason I get the feeling that the Conan one would be kind of a noble/cavalier type hybrid, or am I off base?

The Conan RPG noble is a CHA/social class, with a couple of leadership abilities along the lines of the 4E warlord (i.e., that would be useful in dungeon/combat).

Skill points are pretty low, atk bonuses as 3.5 rogue, saves like 3.5 wizard, starting wealth really high, HP good (barbarians get d10, nobles d8). Also has proficiency in all simple and martial, and with light, medium, and heavy armor, and shields.

... and shoot the first thing I see when I open the door.

At least, that's the standard operating procedure of one of my players. At. Every. Single. Door.

His intent, obviously, is to essentially gain a surprise round action where he is the sole participant - assuming any creatures on the other side fail their listen checks while he's doing his rogue activities.

I'm curious to hear how other people rule actions like this.

Should opening the door make any creatures on the other side "aware" therefore nullifying the surprise round?

Is there something I'm missing that would make this kind of activity less of the 'free attack on anything' action that is seems to be?

Aside from putting an innocent NPC behind the door as a guilt target, I can't think of any other way within the context of the rules to limit the effectiveness of this particular maneuver.

It shouldn't give any advantage. Just think about it logically, without even considering game mechanics. First, there's the noise. Then there's the moment when you open the door and you're vulnerable because you're just standing there with one hand occupied...opening the door. Then you have to stand there for a few moments and scan your surroundings. Now let's say you see something you want to kill. It's slower than ripping a door open and charging in like a berserker, brandishing a club or mace. Once you ID a target, you have to bring the weapon into position, aim it, and fire it.

The nature of publishing is such that large numbers of good books are forced out of print all the time, so I was thrilled to find that Richard Herley's works are freely available for download. I recommend him to everyone, but be sure to leave him some dough if you download and appreciate his work. I would start with 'The Penal Colony' or 'The Stone Arrow.'

Well, with the major credit crisis, and the loss of jobs of some of your customer, and now the layoffs at "Wizards of the Coast" how is paizo doing. Are you guys doing okay? I'd hate for anything to happen to my favorite gaming materials. Only because honestly IMHO your pathfinder products beat the crap out of anything coming fro Wizards right now.

Considering that gaming gets you away from the unpleasant realities of everyday life (which is completely healthy, so long as you don't go overboard), I wouldn't be surprised if demand remains relatively stable (compared to demand for certain other kinds of products)-even during a serious downturn. Also, gaming can be a fairly inexpensive hobby. Think about how many hours of enjoyment you can get with just a few books. $200 might buy you a few video games that you play for a while and forget about, but that much start-up for RPG products can go a long, long way. It's a huge return on investment.

Mystendanian wrote:

Although I read many of threads from last year's contest before submitting my item, I just came across something that makes me think my item will be rejected.

My potential downfall? I read in a thread from last year that it is a no-no to "bypass class restrictions or other restrictions built into the game (artifacts do that)." So I am paranoid my item will be immediately construed as an artifact.

Any of the rest of you in a similar situation?

I am paranoid that my MS Word count was 199.....so if the judges use a differ version of Word or even a different program it might show my word count over the limit which would suck. :(

Don't sweat that. Everyone is aware that there might be word processing differences of a few words here or there. I wouldn't be concerned unless you clocked in at or above 210. If you're already 5% over and you pick up 5-10 words in translation, then I would say you might be in trouble.

Bad Polymorph items? Is that basically any item that allows any type of polymorph? The item I'm designing has a 1/day polymorph that fits perfectly into the concept, but if it results in me shooting myself in the foot, I'll go with a different design.

I think the idea is that polymorph has been done a million times, and that some people think they're coming up with something original when they make a shape change item. But there's just not much niche space left there.

I got a sweater.

It's a nice one, with some Italian name; it was cheaper than it was supposed to be. Waaaay cheaper. WalMart cheap. It was supposed to be spensive.
And this lady at work, she gave me a tin of cookies; I thought they was danish butter cookies and I opened it up and it was a plethora of home baked cookies of all manner.
NOBODY cooks and bakes as well as my grandmother did, but this lady is on the same nebulous plateau as my grandmother. She's got a cookie baking kung fu is STRONG. MMMMMMMMMMMM........these are primo da shiznit.

I bought myself B&N's complete Lovecraft fiction-1098 pages of weird gorgeosity for only 12.95, and edited by S.T. Joshi, whose knowledge alone is worth the price of admission.

Does this Erik Mona come with 'Real-Feel Skin'(TM)?

That's just creepy.

Just wondering, about the legality of downloading videos from youtube. There are several programs out there that let you permanently download a video from youtube to a computer. Legal?

Thanks in advance,
Shenzoe

If you look at section F in Part 5 of the Terms of Use.

F. You agree not to circumvent, disable or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the YouTube Website or features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any Content or enforce limitations on use of the YouTube Website or the Content therein.

I'm guessing what you are talking about might fall under that. Would anyone know or care? Would anyone care enough to initiate legal action against you? Those are separate questions which I can't answer.

Thanks for the Season Greeting Paizo!!!!!..

Quick question does the 10% off work in conjunction with our subscription Discount?

It's in the small print at the bottom. 'Offer valid on non-subscription, non-preorder products only.'

...I just don't know which wondrous item to use. I've been sitting on 4 since November. Advice? Tips? Heckling? Random commentary?? Anyone????

Hard to know without specifics, but when I have a serious problem choosing among alternatives (in life) I like to remind myself that it must be because one choice is about as good as another. If there were a big disparity, it wouldn't be a hard choice. When I think of it that way, it's much easier just to pick one, push the button, and move on.

JoelF847 wrote:

Well, last year was about 850 entries, and this year there's more word of mouth, and interest based on the success of last year's contest. I know I got 2 people to enter this year that didn't last year. If everyone who did enter last year averages 1 recruit, and then some more people enter on their own after simply missing out on it last year, I'm going to guess about 2000, but in honor of the approaching new year I'll make my formal guess 2009.

Ah, but there are some--like me--who entered last year but are not entering this year. So it's not entirely cumulative. Which somehow reminds me of this here.

You also have to consider that this contest involves game design for a different game. That changes things.

You'll get a lot more chatter from me soon, I promise. Any particular questions on your mind?

Thanks for sharing thoughts with us, WB. One thing I am wondering about is one you mentioned on your bad item stereotype list from last year-The Yet More Crafting Item. I don't know what that means, but I think I just made one. Care to elaborate?

Make sure to save some time to visit Ground Zero, and the Statue of Liberty. I would also suggest Ellis Island if you have the time and money. #3 Cherry Street is also a must see. While the building is no longer there, it is now a park and was the site of the "White House" when George Washington was President. Also visit the U.S.S. Intrepid museum if you have the time. Also check out Club Free Time which is updated everyday with free and inexpensive things to do, that even most locals might not know about. And here is another website with lots of free activities as well

I have mixed feelings about tourists putting Ground Zero on their to-do list, particularly since I live close to the city (and was born and raised there). I can understand why you might want to go, but please remember that you're visiting a mass grave (of people who were put to death horribly, quite recently), not a theme park.

Personally, I love downtown. South Street Seaport is wonderful, although it may be a bit chilly when you are in town. You probably know that the city started downtown and gradually built up, which means there is a lot of history down there. I think it is worth seeing city hall, and also the financial district. Who knows whether New York will maintain primacy in the wake of everything we're going through, but it's quite remarkable to visit the financial capital of the world.

Thanks for the feedback, gents! Whenever I watch the Blue Planet episode about the creatures of the deep ocean, I feel sorry for them (the creatures). I can't imagine animals living their entire lives in that dark world, with eyes adapted to pick up the tiny amounts of light that filter down, and then a submersible goes down there blazing light. It must be searing agony.