jocundthejolly's page

Wondering if any groups use one, loose or strict, and what standards you use. We all know stuff happens and people have more important things than RPGing going on, and we don't want to exclude good players who are friends, but at some point you just become a drag on everyone if you miss too many sessions. If you miss more than, like, once every couple of months (let's say more than 10-15% of sessions), I think you are becoming a problem, especially in a long-term campaign. Thoughts?

From Hamlet I:i

Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.

Thomas Hardy's "The Oxen":

Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.
"Now they are all on their knees,"
An elder said as we sat in a flock
By the embers in hearthside ease.

We pictured the meek mild creatures where
They dwelt in their strawy pen,
Nor did it occur to one of us there
To doubt they were kneeling then.

So fair a fancy few would weave
In these years! Yet, I feel,
If someone said on Christmas Eve,
"Come; see the oxen kneel,

"In the lonely barton by yonder coomb
Our childhood used to know,"
I should go with him in the gloom,
Hoping it might be so.

I want to be able quickly and easily to catch up with posts of fellow Paizonians whose messages I often find interesting/intelligent/provocative/generally worth checking out. Any ideas?

Ow!

Incredulous

to be exhumed

to be a police officer nowadays. Distressing.

The other day I was looking for Whitley Strieber's books about aliens, and I realized I had no idea where books like that would be.
Turns out that 001 is 'Knowledge' (really informative, right?).
For some reason, 001.942 is for books about aliens-but, interestingly, I realized, only if they purport to document actual events. An admitted fiction, of course, is shelved in the fiction section. This raises the question also of how we should regard authorial averrals. Can an author posit the wildest fiction imaginable and still see his book shelved in non-fiction 001, if he swears to the authenticity of the events detailed in the book?

...resist energy before taking out the dog.

I'm assuming Con Ed has fixed this ?

Superbugs.

I thought it would be fun to compile a list of your favorite actors who are, well, creepy. The fun thing about this is that many of them are highly recognizable actors, but their names are often unfamiliar.

Just list a couple per post.

I'll start

Bill Duke

Ronald Lacey

at 6:30.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OfY-SYK9qo&feature=fvw

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.

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?

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.

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.'

Here's what I'm wondering:

If you're in a dark room with a window, your eyes adjust gradually to utilize whatever light is available. But if you're deep underground, far distant and cut off from any light source (I suppose there must still be a few photons bouncing around)-if it's completely dark, do your eyes adjust? Maybe it's a question of degree, but don't you need something to adjust to?

Mr. Baur, you've been quiet on the RPG Supe boards. Before the serious judging gets underway, what can you tell us to amaze, tantalize, horrify? How are you feeling about the contest this year? Reflections, observations, predictions, comparisons....
Give us some fodder for discussion! Give us some RPG SUPERSTAR cud to munch on!

Well, we've heard a lot from Clark, but as far as I can see this year's new judge is maintaining an air of mystery. Sean, will you weigh in with something quotable? Are you pumped to be judging? What kind of judging rubric can we expect from you? Before this baby gets underway, what bit of advice would you offer this year's contestants? Give the Paizo Nation something to chew on!

Hello Cos and Paizo team,

Just received order 1080806. Unfortunately, GRR1409, The Black Company Campaign Setting, is not in the box. If you still have a copy, is it possible you could ship it with the order I have pending, when it's ready?

Thank you,

CK

Hello Cos and Paizo crew,

Since you offer $10 off shipping on orders of $100 or more, could I get $20 off if I order over $200 worth of merchandise?
I would rather do one big order, but I would get $10 each order if I split into 2 orders of over $100 each, right?

Thank you,

JtJ

I know I'm not the only one on here who looked at the 4E Deluxe books and wondered why they have to be leather-bound. VEGAN HOLLA IF YA HEAR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As far as I know, it's never been terribly popular. Any ideas why?

How can a 1st level character be an 'accomplished battle leader?' A 1st level character, isn't an accomplished anything. While I'm at it, the first paragraph is a great example of the poor quality of the writing in the PHB.

"Warlords are accomplished and competent (competent doesn't belong here, since you already said they are accomplished, which tells you they are competent) battle leaders. Warlords stand on the front line issuing commands and bolstering their allies while leading the battle with weapon in hand. Warlords know how to rally a team to win a fight."

Vary the sentences. Use pronouns. Starting each one with 'warlords' is really poor prose style.

Aside from the obvious differences (geography, famous NPCs, pantheons, etc.), what distinguishes a real Greyhawk campaign from a Realms campaign or a campaign in another setting? How do you define Greyhawk essence or spirit for yourself? Nowadays, obviously, there's a strong emphasis on making adventures portable, so they're useful to the largest number of gamers. What would you add to a generic adventure to make it really Greyhawk?

Any thoughts welcome and appreciated.

So Wizards has officially decided not to support Greyhawk any more....so what happens to it? Wizards still controls it, which means no one else can publish anything Greyhawk, right? So it just sits, unless another company buys the rights or gets a license? I hope that someone who knows the industry and understands the legal issues can enlighten me.

That part of Perception DC made me giggle:

Smoke or an ogre 0
Perfume or an orc 5
Fresh air or a dwarf 10
Sweat or a human 15
Blood or an elf 20

(Insert 'we don't need no stinkin' joke here)

Nowhere in the d20srd or in the PHB can I find rules for adjudicating ranged attack misses. Let’s face it, if wimpy zombies are advancing four abreast in a 20-foot wide corridor, anyone who isn’t an utter nincompoop with a bow has a (pretty good) chance to hit at least one, even if the shot goes wide of the target. How do you handle situations like this? I am sure others have pointed this out; however, this appears to be a major lacuna in the rules system, considering how common this sort of scenario must be. Ideas?

Polling the collective intelligence and creativity of my fellow Paizonians:

Assuming the PCs can find a spellcaster powerful enough to cast the spell(s) they seek, how do you play it? Do you pretty much handle it the way you would if the PCs were buying something mundane, like rope and torches (i.e., just look up the cost in the rulebook, adjust the character sheet, and away you go), or do you flesh it out? If so, how much? Do you keep NPC spellcaster or wizard guild information on hand for these kinds of situations? Any input appreciated.

Looking for an existing gaming group, or to start one.
Open to just about any kind of RPGing.
I'm 20 minutes west of Newark on 22.

ck

Let's say I have some kind of horrid bloodsucker, like a leech or a tick, locked onto my flesh. Would a Magic Missile (cast by a buddy, presumably) obliterate it without causing me any damage, even if it's small? Does the missile size down for a very small target?

Can someone explain why dropping your guard to cast a spell that takes 1 minute to cast provokes attacks of opportunity, but in the subsequent rounds, (before you complete casting, and assuming you don't get hit and lose the spell) while you're concentrating, you don't provoke attacks of opportunity? That doesn't quite make sense to me. In fact, I would think you would be least vulnerable when you begin casting; since you're still basically in the land of the living, whereas in subsequent rounds you're deep in concentration.

Also, if you cast a touch spell that costs a standard action: you can cast that spell, make one touch attack that round...and also move half your speed? Maybe I missed that part somewhere, or maybe it seems a bit silly because that's a pretty busy round. I know you can cast a standard action spell and move half your speed; that's one standard+
one move, which is usually a full round's worth of activity. If you cast a standard action touch spell, you also get in one spellslap, which is considerd an armed attack? That seems to be 2 standard actions + 1 move.

Hi Cos, Vic, and crew,

Received 843893 (with a pack o' cards!), for which I thank you.
I want to let you know about 843597: it was two $4 downloads, but my credit card statement only reads $4.10. Just felt I should tell you.
If you need me to do something to authorize the difference, just let me know.

c

Does anyone know what WotC has planned for d20 Mod? Is that being reimagined also, or is it only the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game?

Cosmo, could you delete the Medieval PHB, which is holding up my order, so it can ship?

Thank you very much,

c

Cosmo, would you please add GR's 'Damnation Decade' to order
843893? Seems as if it will be a while before it ships because GR's 'Medieval' is holding things up.

Thank you in advance.

ck

I was just flipping through a 2E Greyhawk module called 'Puppets.'
Wow, that's brutal stuff. You're fighting a leprechaun named Freddy McKruger and a wererat named Jason. Made me think, what's the worst module you ever played or tried to DM?

Good luck, everyone! Well, good luck to 31 of you, at least!

Messieurs Bulmahn and McArtor,

I just received a response yesterday from Mr. McArtor regarding a proposal I sent a couple of months ago (particular class theme campaign ideas). I had submitted it for "Class Acts," but Mr. McArtor advised that I submit it to Mr. Bulmahn at dragon@paizo.com for consideration as a feature.
Does this mean I should simply relabel it as "feature" and resend it? I'm hoping it won't have to go back to the bottom of the stack.

Thanks for your help,

CWK III

You the player know that your unarmed fighter could mash the peasant waving the rusty short sword with both hands tied behind his back, and that the peasant has zero chance of killing your character. But, if you are the fighter in that situation, would you really take the chance of being run through?

He is listed as Ftr 10/Bbn1/Rgr 5. So, presumably he was Ftr 10 when he left Menzo and became a barbarian. According to the books, he survived alone in the Underdark for 10 years. It doesn't really make sense that he only has one Bbn level. There was a huge amount of XP in the books alone, never mind the stuff that wasn't treated. That bugs me.

Thinking of buying that bad boy, but the old one came out over 4 years ago. By today's WotC standards, that was eons and eons ago. I figure a new one will be coming out soon, if only so they can sell more books. Should I wait?

Anyone in Union/N Middlesex/Somerset/Morris looking for players?

Every time I try to download the submission style sheets, Windows tells me "Malicious Script Detected," and I have to shut IE down. Any ideas?