JSL's Runelords - Discussion


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Shadow Lodge

Male Human (Sometimes) Gamer/Writer/Husband

The board is eating posts again...

Dark Archive

JSL wrote:


This is close. The line drawn between the two flankers must pass through opposite sides or corners of the opponent's space. For opponents that occupy one square, the flankers must be diametrically opposite. However, if the opponent occupies more than one square, it is possible to flank without being exactly opposite your ally.

The operative word being opposite. I must be getting dyslexic, I've skipped right over that word. Several times. Okay, so if Vesh is in E, Salome must be in W. Got it.


@JSL -
Maybe it's just me, but I'm a little confused about starting points, directions, etc. on map. Would it be possible to add a compass to the map (windows to west at top?) and a little "you are here" star so we can quickly reference and agree to orientation? Thanks!


PsionicFox wrote:
The board is eating posts again...

I just assumed that the Slidell post I quoted (yea for copy-paste) was taken back by the author for an edit. But who knows?

santinj@ wrote:

How about (going two-across) marching North (top of screen):

Corran | Ehlissa
Malcolm | Salome
Vesh | Veren
Slidell (and Veran)

Input?

From what little I know, this looks good to me. I'm wondering if there would be any advantage to Malcolm or Vesh opening the doors (take a quick look, if they can Spot anything?) or even Veran flying through the doors and getting a (pardon) bird's-eye-view of the enemy's positions.

I hate to sound like I'm beating this into the ground (I may also be procrastinating), but JSL knows his stuff! And he's good at it. We're definitely playing on his turf, and anything we can do to level the field will help.

The next question to ask before we go rushing in is: What do we know about these goblins and how they work? (Besides the fact that they like to sing goofy goblin songs while they fight!)

Salome wasn't there for the last fight... I think I have an idea for a campaign post. See you tomorrow.


Also, don't forget our old friend "Aid Another".
Unlike Flanking, Aid Another requires only that you be close enough to help (IE-threaten the opponent) SO, if you "give up" your attack (not so bad if your facing a BBG you don't think you can hit anyway says the mage!)
Then you roll to give your buddy a +2 to his/her chance to hit. If I'm not mistaken, you can also do this while fighting defensively, for your own protection. (+2 deflection bonus to AC I think)

COrrect me if I'm wrong. I've only started using "Aid ANother" actions in the last 3 months!

Dark Archive

Ragadolf wrote:


COrrect me if I'm wrong. I've only started using "Aid ANother" actions in the last 3 months!

After the whole flanking debacle, I'll no longer be correcting anybody. But, I think you're correct. Or, we could just take a look, here.


Just got new internet connection up and running - will post later tonight.

Shadow Lodge

Male Human (Sometimes) Gamer/Writer/Husband

We cracked 700 posts!

Huzzah!


@PsionicFox -

PsionicFox wrote:
Salome wrote:


Initiative (1d20+1=2)
Worst roll ever. I feel really bad for you, lol.

Not at all. I'm off the hook for making major decisions the first round. And when it comes time to make a defense, there will be an action to defend. Personally, I'm glad I'm not in charge! Go Ehlissa! (Oh, wait, that's you, isn't it?) ;)


Male Human Unfortunately, I appear to be an Expert, not anything cool :-(

I'm sorry to have to do this, but I have to withdraw from the campaign. (If you haven't kicked me out for non-posting already, which would be understandable)

I've been swamped with work lately, and I thought I had everything cleared away at the holidays... but now its back to the level where I haven't got the time to play in my weekly real-life DnD campaign, let alone keep up with and participate PbPs... at least not for the next couple months. (I don't think I've even posted on Paizo in the last couple weeks)

Thanks again for the fun while it lasted. Maybe Corran can join the Sandpoint Militia or something.

Dark Archive

Talion09 wrote:

I'm sorry to have to do this, but I have to withdraw from the campaign. (If you haven't kicked me out for non-posting already, which would be understandable)

I've been swamped with work lately, and I thought I had everything cleared away at the holidays... but now its back to the level where I haven't got the time to play in my weekly real-life DnD campaign, let alone keep up with and participate PbPs... at least not for the next couple months. (I don't think I've even posted on Paizo in the last couple weeks)

Thanks again for the fun while it lasted. Maybe Corran can join the Sandpoint Militia or something.

Hey! I'm just glad to know that you're okay. I've been ghost-writing Corran (rather poorly). I would encourage you to not make a hasty decision (not that you are), but would rather see Corran move off-screen for a while and come back at a later date if and when you are less busy in a few months.

BTW, what do you do for work, again? Just curious.

Thanks for checking-in, though. Seriously better than thinking something bad happened!


Ack. I just got another pile of crap dumped on me at work. And the printer just made a horrible screeching sound on my job! Not good.

Unless I'm able to deflect some of this elsewhere I won't be able to post until late tonight. Sorry.

Talion,

We'll retire Corran to the city guard after this encounter sequence. If you wish to come back when you have time, you're always welcome.

Dark Archive

JSL wrote:

Ack. I just got another pile of crap dumped on me at work. And the printer just made a horrible screeching sound on my job! Not good.

This'll be a therapeutic video for you then (song lyrics are NSFW unless you work where I work, so turn down the volume): CLICK HERE! It's 2 minutes long but oh so worth it!


Talion,
Glad to hear that your ok!
Sorry to see you go!
I second the motion, come back if you can!

Best of luck with work, I know the buried feeling!

:D

Shadow Lodge

Male Human (Sometimes) Gamer/Writer/Husband

I agree with the above - we'll miss you buddy. Come back if/when you can.

In other news, does anyone know if/when Fabes is coming back?


I remember he said he would be gone for a while,... two weeks or so wasn't it?
I can't find his last post to make sure.


Male Impoverished Student 2/Amateur Chef 3
Ragadolf wrote:

I remember he said he would be gone for a while,... two weeks or so wasn't it?

I can't find his last post to make sure.

Sorry to see you go Talion; perhaps Corran can return sometime.

Fabes said he wasn't going to be posting for a couple of weeks and I think he should be returning soon.

Dark Archive

Hope those for whom it applies are having a good three-day weekend. I'll be back into the posting swing on Tues. afternoon, PST.


I'm still in that new player ooh!-I-wonder-if-anything-has-happened-since-I-checked-in-last phase that I imagine some of you were experiencing back in October when the game first started. When I was just following along, I'd read a page of posts in one sitting, every few weeks. So it hasn't hit me until now that PbP combat is SLOW!

I was wondering if there is/should be a protocol for combat situations to keep things moving along?

Obviously, we're all busy with our real lives, and sometimes things come up (expectedly or unexpectedly) that keep us away from the game for short or long periods of time. During regular role-play, it looks like it has been pretty effective to occupy, ghost-write, or just bring along the PC of an absent player, but that's a little more difficult during combat with individual stats, rules, etc. (I hardly know how to run my own character!) How do we want to deal with that?

This is me just thinking aloud (comment or disregard as you wish):
- How frequenty should a player be expected to post during combat? (1x/24 hrs on weekdays, no obligation on weekends?)
- How long an absence justifies other players taking action on behalf of/because of/in lieu of that character's action?
- Should we require an estimated date of return for prolonged (planned) absences?
- Let's say we're in the middle of a battle, and someone falls off the end of the earth. Then what? Do we (a) cross our fingers, say a prayer, and/or hope they're OK; (b) wait until they get back; (c) drop their initiative to the end of the round; (d) put that character in "stasis" - present but neither moving nor a target (or on some other plane of existence for a time); (e) proceed as if that character were "paralyzed" - present and a target who needs to be defended; or (f) something completely different?
- How do other PbP groups handle this sort of thing? What works/doesn't work?

I guess I'm still pretty green and somewhat clueless. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

Dark Archive

Dreamer wrote:

I'm still in that new player ooh!-I-wonder-if-anything-has-happened-since-I-checked-in-last phase that I imagine some of you were experiencing back in October when the game first started. When I was just following along, I'd read a page of posts in one sitting, every few weeks. So it hasn't hit me until now that PbP combat is SLOW!

It can be excruciating. I did read your whole post, so please don't read my brevity as flippant. I agree with your assessment, and I also think we need to find a way to make combat go faster. Theoretically, if we all post once in a 24-hour period, there's no reason we couldn't burn through one round of combat per "day." Most combat situations would resolved in about a week or so. At this rate, we're not going to finish round one until tomorrow or Wednesday...or never.

I can't address all the things you listed, but I do like the post-once-per-24-hour-period suggestion, at least on weekdays. Weekends get filled up pretty fast for everyone it seems, and I know I can only post once the kiddos go down on weekends. Aside from that, things come up, but it would be nice if anticipated absences would be brought up on this board. "Not gonna be around for the next few days, someone want to pilot my character? etc." That kind of thing.

What does everyone else think?


Male Impoverished Student 2/Amateur Chef 3
Dreamer wrote:

I'm still in that new player ooh!-I-wonder-if-anything-has-happened-since-I-checked-in-last phase that I imagine some of you were experiencing back in October when the game first started. When I was just following along, I'd read a page of posts in one sitting, every few weeks. So it hasn't hit me until now that PbP combat is SLOW!

I was wondering if there is/should be a protocol for combat situations to keep things moving along?

Obviously, we're all busy with our real lives, and sometimes things come up (expectedly or unexpectedly) that keep us away from the game for short or long periods of time. During regular role-play, it looks like it has been pretty effective to occupy, ghost-write, or just bring along the PC of an absent player, but that's a little more difficult during combat with individual stats, rules, etc. (I hardly know how to run my own character!) How do we want to deal with that?

This is me just thinking aloud (comment or disregard as you wish):
- How frequenty should a player be expected to post during combat? (1x/24 hrs on weekdays, no obligation on weekends?)
- How long an absence justifies other players taking action on behalf of/because of/in lieu of that character's action?
- Should we require an estimated date of return for prolonged (planned) absences?
- Let's say we're in the middle of a battle, and someone falls off the end of the earth. Then what? Do we (a) cross our fingers, say a prayer, and/or hope they're OK; (b) wait until they get back; (c) drop their initiative to the end of the round; (d) put that character in "stasis" - present but neither moving nor a target (or on some other plane of existence for a time); (e) proceed as if that character were "paralyzed" - present and a target who needs to be defended; or (f) something completely different?
- How do other PbP groups handle this sort of thing? What works/doesn't work?

I guess I'm still pretty green and somewhat clueless. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

PbP combat can be very slow. In the game that I DM, if a player doesn't post in combat within a reaosnable amount of time since they're turn was announced, I bump them to the bottom of the initiative count. If they don't respond to that for a while I just NPC them for that round.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Dreamer wrote:
- How do other PbP groups handle this sort of thing? What works/doesn't work?

Hello! I apologize for dropping in uninvited. I'm just a lurker who's been following along with both JSL's Rise of the Runelords game and discussion thread, and your question made me think of something I've used when running combat in a previous PbP. I thought I'd share it here, if you don't mind?

Keep in mind, I didn't run my game here on Paizo's boards. I've only recently joined my first PbP game here at Paizo. But I'm enjoying myself immensely as well as the entertainment of reading along in some of the other games here...including yours...but I digress...

Anyway, as we all know, combat is the one part of PbP or PbEM games that slows things down considerably. So, instead of trying to incorporate combat into the forum posts, I actually requested the players convene once every other weekend (usually on a Saturday) in a chatroom. Someone would load an online dice-roller script that people could access. And we would run our combats via live-chat.

It's not for everyone. And I admit, I was uncomfortable trying to run a session via chat at first. But, once I got a few sessions under my belt, I hit my groove and I have to say it's THE way to go with online gaming...and especially for combat sessions. Live chat is almost as good as being at the table together when it's time to roll the dice. But forum posting greatly magnifies the roleplaying opportunity when it's time to put the dice down. As such, I think a hybrid forum-chat game is ideal.

The DM just keeps an eye on the pacing of the forum posts...and generally tries to hold off the combat situations until the live-chat session is coming up. It's not an exact science, of course. Even if a combat situation isn't coming up, you can still meet in a chatroom and roleplay through some of your interaction. Usually, I'd take the transcript of those sessions and rewrite them as a lead-off post in the forum for the next couple of weeks.

Now, that still doesn't answer the question of what to do when a player can't make your session (whether it's the live-chat or the ongoing forum posting). But, it's really the same situation you'd run into if a player couldn't make your face-to-face game. You either decide to NPC the guy...or postpone that night's session. And, if you've got chronic no-show problems, eventually you may have to ask a player to bow out or be replaced (much as JSL seems to have done lately). Again, as a DM, you'd have to do that even if it were a live game at your kitchen table.

Just my respectful two-cents,
(great game, by the way!)
--Neil

Dark Archive

I've always wondered if there were lurkers on our thread! I feel like I'll have to shave before I post now. No more posting in my PJs. Hungover.

Thanks for writing Neil! I've always wanted to try a RP session by chat; I think that'd be fun. Unfortunately, I think it'd be fun in the same way that I think playing in my co-worker's weekly home game would be fun: Fun, but never going to happen. I lied to myself for weeks thinking that I'd finally found a local game that I could take part in, and every week something came up that prevented me from going. Eventually I gave into the reality that D&D and being a responsible 34 year old don't always go together and that, when they don't, being the responsible 34 year old wins out...and is almost always less fun.

Turns out that neither my kids nor my wife really have an appreciation for RPGs the way that I do (which is to say, at all). So, posting snippets of this or that during my (alleged) work day, or after the kids go down, is what I'm limited to on weekdays. Any weekend posting is frosting on the cake. As a result, posting by IM would be fun...and is never going to happen. At least until the kids are 18 and out of the house. By then, we might have actually finished Skinsaw.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

santinj@ wrote:
I've always wondered if there were lurkers on our thread! ....Thanks for writing Neil!

Of course you have lurkers. Most everyone playing in a PbP here in these forums casually checks out what's going on in other games.

I'm currently in Sean's Rise of the Runelords...and I'm playing the same part that Rags portrays with Slidell...in that I'm the party wizard with a raven familiar. The similarities end there, however. But I think my characterization is providing at least a little bit of entertainment. Unfortunately, my raven familiar (Blackwing) is kind of overshadowing his mistress. It's kind of that whole, who's really the master and who's the pet debate...at least in his mind. ;)

--Neil


Hey Spicer, thanks for the nice words! (I haunt a few other threads myself, in my copious spare time,... HAH!) I like your Idea of the chat session, but have to agree with Santinj~ that at this point in my life (A little more than 34 in my case,) it aint gonna happen.

For a while there I WAS playing in a game with my friends in Oklahoma online. They were around a table in Tulsa and I was on my webcam in New Orleans. (Yes, I was the 'webcam guy' in the webcomic by the Nodwick creator.) And that worked pretty well. For a while. But it's been almost 2 years since we have been able to play that game. Real life issues.

But, like your chat room, for some people they work out, and though this and a couple of other PbP's are currently my only form of game fix, I still have high hopes that SOMEday I will ride the webcam again to gaming glory!

BUt I digress,....


That's why I brought this up. Real life happens, whether it's mundane (job, family, flaky service providers), special (vacation, time with S.O.), or unexpected (family emergency, a sudden project in crisis-mode). In acknowledgment of that, is there some way we can give warning or have a plan to carry the game even if someone is temporarily unavailable?

I wonder what it would look like for JSL and me to be IMing simultaneously? That could get messy...


Male Impoverished Student 2/Amateur Chef 3

Hey NSpicer. There's something cool about knowing that people follow our adventures. We're famous everybody!
A IM RPG would be interesting, although I'm not the fastest typist around so that might not work so well for the slower typists around.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

Ragadolf wrote:
I like your Idea of the chat session, but have to agree with Santinj~ that at this point in my life (A little more than 34 in my case,) it aint gonna happen.

I can relate to you guys. I'm 38, married, and have two small children (ages 2 and 3), so I know the constraints. But it's usually not that hard to show up for a 1-2 hour chat session every 2 weeks on a weekend afternoon. And you'd be surprised how much that bit of time can help advance a PbP game, especially when it comes to running combats.

Dreamer wrote:
That's why I brought this up. Real life happens, whether it's mundane (job, family, flaky service providers), special (vacation, time with S.O.), or unexpected (family emergency, a sudden project in crisis-mode). In acknowledgment of that, is there some way we can give warning or have a plan to carry the game even if someone is temporarily unavailable?

I've actually been really impressed with how well you guys have handled player absences in your game. Having someone substitute and post for another player definitely speeds things along. And, maybe if everyone includes a Tactics section for their characters that describes their tendencies "Before Combat," "During Combat," and in "Morale" situations, that would help guide anyone that serves as a proxy when they're out of town. Just playing alongside someone in the game should eventually give you a greater sense of what they'd likely do in any given situation. So I think you're handling it the right way, from my perspective.

The only time you really need to take a different angle is when you have a player with a sustained absence. And that's when the DM and that player need to reassess their ability to actively participate. If the situation isn't likely to improve, you generally ask the player to step out of the game. Sometimes, the character can continue, though...either by having a new player pick up and run with the same character...or having an existing player string it along as a second character...or the DM simply NPC'ing the character the rest of the way. All of those are valid options, I think. Another way is to simply retire the character by having them move on...e.g., the way you handled Naelah. And I think both methods let you bring the character back if the original player returns.

So again, it would seem to me that you're light-years ahead of some of the other PbP games here at Paizo and elsewhere. You're handling it about as well as one can expect given the limitations of PbP gaming.

But that's just my two-cents,
--Neil

Shadow Lodge

Male Human (Sometimes) Gamer/Writer/Husband
NSpicer wrote:
the way you handled Naelah.

I got handled!? Santj, if you 'handle' me again, Veren is going to eat a certain vital body part of yours, lol.

--------------

Thatnks for the kind words NS, and I'll chip in my own brief 2cp that 24 hours after the DM posts the end of round post players get NPC'ed.

I'll be writing up a tactics section for Naelah now. Just in case.


Male Impoverished Student 2/Amateur Chef 3
PsionicFox wrote:
NSpicer wrote:
the way you handled Naelah.

I got handled!? Santj, if you 'handle' me again, Veren is going to eat a certain vital body part of yours, lol.

Lol, RPGs bring up such interesting phrases.

I'll get a Morale and Tactics section up at some point. Maybe tomarrow.


NSpicer,

Glad to hear you are enjoying it. I think everyone has put alot of effort into their character's personalities and that allows the RP aspects of the game to be deeper and more entertaining.

In terms of speeding up combat, I've mostly done that organically by reducing the number of combat encounters from what is given in the module and making the roleplaying aspects more significant and rewarding (I hope). So while the individual encounters may take a long time, there are probably fewer than 10 in the adventure.

As for players coming and going, I don't mind so much. I prefer not to NPC someone long term because it is a lot of extra work. The only problem I have with comings and goings is somewhat secondary - it makes things tougher for the rest of the party and makes it a little tougher for me to set the difficulty level of the encounters.

I think we slowed down a bit between Thanksgiving and the New Year, but have picked up speed since.

Dark Archive

PsionicFox wrote:
NSpicer wrote:
the way you handled Naelah.

I got handled!? Santj, if you 'handle' me again, Veren is going to eat a certain vital body part of yours, lol.

Handling Naelah and handling you...oh never mind. I probably shouldn't complete that thought, so I won't. ;)

Suffice to say, I don't mind subbing now and again. Oh, and yeah for the thirty-somethings! Go toddlers! Go bedtimes! Everybody say ha-ay, ho-oh!


santinj@ wrote:
I've always wondered if there were lurkers on our thread!

I was a lurker? I guess it's better than being a troller...

santinj@ wrote:
Turns out that neither my kids nor my wife really have an appreciation for RPGs the way that I do (which is to say, at all).

It seems to me like there has been a lot angst and concern for years about the lack of new gamers and how to attract people to D&D. (I used to read someone's Dragon--it seemed like a natural extension of reading my brothers' Boys' Life--until they started using "edginess" and "unreadability" as selling points. Then the subscription lapsed.)

If you start playing D&D with your buddies in middle school and high school (when you have a higher time-to-responsibility ratio), who do you play with after you graduate? And what attracts people to this in the first place?


Dreamer wrote:
I was a lurker? I guess it's better than being a troller...

Nope. As per Robert Aspirin's "Myth Inc." series, that would make you a 'Trollop".

(A female from the dimension of Trollia)

(sigh) Yes, I went there.

DON'T HURT ME! It's NOT my fault that authors write this funny stuff and it sticks in my head!

(I'm NEVER getting a heal, am I?)
:D

As far as what attracts people to this,...

For me it was just a natural extension of reading Comics, Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and being a performer. Where else but RPG's do you get to be a mighty warrior, a crafty wizard, or a daring superhero? And unlike the stage, since you create your characters yourself, you are always guaranteed a good part!


Male Human - dash of elf Miniature painter/ Heroic

Ho noble friends! (to quote Mazzy from Baldur's Gate II)

I'm the last person in the office (shhh!) at my new job...
Ehlissa's stand-in wrote Ehlissa better than me - I hate you! :D
I haven't read the game thread but sounds like that warned-of combat is up.

If I can't get to contribute, remember Ehlissa can't gain flanking bonuses (that dang code) and will attempt to grant flanking bonuses to Corran as well as protect Vesh and the spellcasters (just cos vesh is ranged guy not that she has a crush or anything...)


Fabes, good to have you back. Ehlissa has basically recovered from her illness so you don't have to worry about those penalties. Let me know if there is anything else you need to get caught up on. Otherwise, I think you are up after the red goblins. Though if I remember correctly, the nearest goblin is blue, so go ahead and hit it now if you want.

Dark Archive

Ragadolf wrote:
For me it was just a natural extension of reading Comics, Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and being a performer. Where else but RPG's do you get to be a mighty warrior, a crafty wizard, or a daring superhero? And unlike the stage, since you create your characters yourself, you are always guaranteed a good part!

I resonate with what Rags wrote, here. The progression went something like this: A neighbor handed me a copy of the Hobbit when I was, maybe, ten or so. (My life--my reading and imaginative life--would never be the same). At about the same time, my older brother had a bunch of guys over and they played through Keep on the Borderlands. It was part of that old box set with the Wizard and the snakey looking dragon thing by Erol Otis. My brother's friend left the box set at my house, and the die was cast (no pun intended). In late elementary school I met the guy who would later DM my favorite character (bastard sword wielding Ranger) through ToEE. He introduced me to guys who would form my first (and last--until now) gaming group that would play almost every week from seventh grade to about the 10th. Almost 18 years later, I'm noodling around on the Paizo boards, lurking on PbPs, and the rest is history.


Corran's attack and damage (for reference)

Base Attack Bonus: +2
Strength Bonus: +3
Feats: Agile Shield Fighter, Weapon Focus (longsword)
Attack Options: Power Attack, Favored Enemy (fey) +2

Melee: Longsword +6 (1d8+3)
or
Melee: Longsword +4 (1d8+3) and Hvy. Mithral Shield +3 (1d4+1)

Currently blessed so +1 to attacks.

Dark Archive

FabesMinis wrote:

Ho noble friends! (to quote Mazzy from Baldur's Gate II)

I'm the last person in the office (shhh!) at my new job...
Ehlissa's stand-in wrote Ehlissa better than me - I hate you! :D
I haven't read the game thread but sounds like that warned-of combat is up.

If I can't get to contribute, remember Ehlissa can't gain flanking bonuses (that dang code) and will attempt to grant flanking bonuses to Corran as well as protect Vesh and the spellcasters (just cos vesh is ranged guy not that she has a crush or anything...)

Welcome back Fabes! Good to see you posting again. *sigh* no one has a crush on Vesh...always the bridesmaid, etc.


YAY FABES!
Er,... enough said.
:D


To paraphrase John Wayne, "Don't make me hafta shoot ya, Rags."

I grew up with four brothers; I'm pretty tough. But I should check the rules... Can a good cleric cast inflict wounds? (Oops! Wrong potion! Sorry, mate. Been nice knowin' ya.) ;)

Dark Archive

JSL wrote:

Corran's attack and damage (for reference)

Base Attack Bonus: +2
Strength Bonus: +3
Feats: Agile Shield Fighter, Weapon Focus (longsword)
Attack Options: Power Attack, Favored Enemy (fey) +2

Melee: Longsword +6 (1d8+3)
or
Melee: Longsword +4 (1d8+3) and Hvy. Mithral Shield +3 (1d4+1)

Currently blessed so +1 to attacks.

THANK YOU!!! Didn't mean to shout, but you can't believe how helpful this is.


While I'm waiting for my turn, I'm going to answer my own question - how I got involved in D&D, and how it all looks to a female semi-outsider. If you didn't know better, you'd think I was actually feeding lines to Rags--could it be possible?

I grew up in a game-centric family. My sibs probably played everything but D&D (Fortress America, Axis & Allies, Rail Baron, Settlers of Catan; Wizardry, Warcraft/Starcraft, etc.). While I'm not interested in war games and tactics, Zzzz...I think I just offended someone...Zzzz I think I picked a lot up by osmosis. And I read a lot (as I imagine most gamers do), including, but not limited to, fantasy/sci-fi/adventure. Then I married a guy who not only knows D&D inside and out, but also speaks fluent Joseph Campbell. So I'm familiar with game archetypes and theory.

Why aren't there more women involved? Adolescent females generally don't bond over games; it's not part of their "cultural experience." Later, when life hits, it hits with a vengeance. As I imagine your S.O.'s are, I'm BUSY! I do not have a 2-4 hour block in my week when I can sit around a game board. My free time comes in fits and spurts, and is at the mercy of everyone else's needs and schedules. Kid just woke up, there goes that plan... When I do have some free time, I want that time to MYSELF.

My interest in D&D, aside from being theoretical, is also more toward the psycho-literary. (Jungian analyses of "The Neverending Story" and "The Dark Crystal" available on request; Disney's "The Jungle Book" costs extra because it's Freudian.) It's also a chance to support my spouse's interests and be able to talk about them intelligently.

In Anglo-American culture (or whatever you want to call it), it seems to me that there are few acceptable forums for men to socialize that don't involve beer and/or sports. No problem with beer and sports, but that's very limited range of shared experience and creative expression. I believe there is much good in D&D. It allows people to dip into archetypes -- heroism, good vs. evil, etc. -- and play out the important stories we tell ourselves. (If the hero's journey isn't significant, then why do we keep retelling it?) It's a chance to try out new roles (not "rolls," as one guy I know keeps trying to do -- until he gets the one he wants), play with fantasy worlds, culture, gender, magic, and maybe even explore one's shadow. I think it's a terrific creative outlet, especially when played well.

The PbP format suits me well, and so far I'm having fun.

Shadow Lodge

Male Human (Sometimes) Gamer/Writer/Husband

Welcome back Fabes! And as to writing better than you, I disagree - your rendition of Ehlissa is much better than mine. I just tried to do her justice, which, judging by your reaction, I've succeeded in. Thanks.

On the subject of getting started, I've been reading since I was little, and have eagerly devoured many a Fantasy/Sci-Fi novel. I was invited to a friends house after school one day to participate in a game of Dungeons and Dragons, which I had only ever heard about (I used to play Magic: The Gathering with some friends at school, and heard about DnD through them).

I started playing second edition, and as soon as 3.0 came out, I bought the books, and proceeded to read each one from start to finish. From there I DM'ed that group though a published adventure, played in a few, and then 3.5 came out. I now have a group of friends that like the games as much as I, although we play rather sporadically.

At the moment (having just got my hands on Pathfinder #5), I'm planning on running RotRL myself, trying to forge a once-a-week group together.

I'll let you know how it pans out.

Dark Archive

Hey PsiFox, a while back I was asking if you used an online translator for Naelah's Shoanti. If so, which one do you use?

Shadow Lodge

Male Human (Sometimes) Gamer/Writer/Husband

I use this translator. It works really well - gives a solid, exotic feel to the language.

Dark Archive

PsionicFox wrote:
I use this translator. It works really well - gives a solid, exotic feel to the language.

Hilarious! I've been using the same one. P.S. I like the rest of the stuff on that site. Pretty cool Eberron stuff.

Shadow Lodge

Male Human (Sometimes) Gamer/Writer/Husband
santinj@ wrote:
PsionicFox wrote:
I use this translator. It works really well - gives a solid, exotic feel to the language.
Hilarious! I've been using the same one. P.S. I like the rest of the stuff on that site. Pretty cool Eberron stuff.

I know.

I was originally using the Elven Translator on the same site (which I think Rags is using for Slidell's spells). When I realized we were using the same one, I agreed to switch to the Quor Translator.

Around that time, you started using the same translator to speak Shoanti.

See? It all makes sense. And you have to blame Rags.

Spoiler:

Just kidding Rags, I love your work!

Dark Archive

PsionicFox wrote:


See? It all makes sense. And you have to blame Rags.

He is the center of the universe. Virtually.


Of course I,.. er , that is, HE is!
I, I mean HE, is a legend in his own mind! :D

Psi, can you link the HOME page of that eberron site? I can't seem to find it. And I'd like to see what else they have.

Thanks.

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