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I hope you're able to get all caught up and get a breather!
Congrats on wrapping up the game! Now time to start all over again with the new ones! They are fun, but definitely a lot of work.
My favorite gift was a pair of shoes my parents gave me. They're neat sneakers but they don't have regular laces. The laces are elastic and don't get tied or untied. So the shoes still grip my feet snuggly like a regular pair of shoes, but also come on and off easily like a pair of slip on shoes. They're pretty great!
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How’s the life of a website moderator treating you?
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It has certainly been a new and different challenge! I have no prior moderation experience so I am learning as I go. Sometimes it is hard to tell if I am using too heavy a hand, or not heavy enough a hand. I suspect the more I do it the better at it I will become.
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Wow! Congratulations! You rock, my dude! :D
So far it seems awesome (though I've managed to avoid regulated threads, so...)!
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It has certainly been a new and different challenge! I have no prior moderation experience so I am learning as I go. Sometimes it is hard to tell if I am using too heavy a hand, or not heavy enough a hand. I suspect the more I do it the better at it I will become.
You're braver than me, but then again you work in Customer Service so you kind of have to be.
FWIW, you look like an old hand to me. I only noticed since I hadn't seen you in the moderator role previously. (Not sure what it says about me that I'm always in the heavily moderated threads! Hmm....). :p
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Wow! Congratulations! You rock, my dude! :D
So far it seems awesome (though I've managed to avoid regulated threads, so...)!
Hey, Tacticslion haven't seen you in the PF2 threads.
What's your thoughts?
EDIT: Okay, since I forgot this is actually an ask Diego thread:
Diego - what are YOUR thoughts? Have you had much time playing around with the playtest rules? What's your favorite change? What's your least favorite? (Hah! Bet you take longer wording the answer to the last question!)
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Thank you all!
It's not a promotion or move in the company or anything. It is something I am occasionally doing in addition to my normal CS duties now that we have a ramp up in folks posting on the boards. You may see Katina or Sharaya doing it as well from time to time.
I have done a little playtesting here and there. Things have changed between the first playtest I did and the most recent one I did. I also have not seen the most recent iteration of the rules so I am not sure what is different right now. I also have not had a chance to read every dev post so I am not 100% certain what has or hasn't been talked about. So I may be vague on stuff I think hasn't been discussed.
I like the way actions work. I really appreciate that I can do 3 things, even if those things would have been similar actions in PF1. I have played a rogue and I enjoyed the mobility it gave me. I could move up, shank a monster sneakily, then move back away from it leaving the fighter to take the hits. Or if it was already near me I could stab it twice and then back off. When I played a fighter I would gauge how reliable my hits were and choose how I wanted to proceed. For something weak I could swing 2 times and raise my shield to mitigate incoming damage (or attack 3 times). I could also do a special attack that allowed me to 'charge' my attack and then swing to hit harder or to be more accurate, then take a second swing, or raise my shield, or drink a potion. When I played a wizard I could cast a spell and then attack with my battleaxe (I was playing a dwarf wizard who didn't know he was a wizard and his spell casting was unconscious reactions, so all summon or enchantment spells). I could spend extra actions to power up my spells. I really felt like it opened a lot of options for me that may not have been possible in PF1.
I also enjoyed character creation a lot. I don't think we have talked much about that though so that may be all I can say about it.
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Still: seems like you're rockin' it, to me!
Also, given that this only has 22k views, I've clearly not done my civic duty and linked it around enough!
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Thanks!
Now it has 2 more, so that should help!
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No one has asked, but I thought that since the backgrounds blog went up and I can talk a little more about the character creation and why I enjoyed it so much.
I really enjoyed it because it really felt to me like I was building a character. I had some numbers to assign, but so much of it felt like I was creating a history for the character. I select an ancestry and it gives me things that are culturally appropriate to that ancestry but still lets me pick and choose things I want. Then I pick a background, and this really was a way for me to think about my characters life before adventuring, or in between adventures. The background I pick gives me a few things as well, so the things my character has done in their life is reflected in what and how they do things now. I pick a class and it gives me some more options to choose from. When I was all done I had a person. It really felt like I was creating a characters history and then had the numbers to go with it when I was done rather than creating the characters history and stats as separate activities.
So what did I do with it? Well...
My dwarf took the bartender background. He also took a feat that was associated with being in the military. His backstory was that he served in the military when he was younger as a cook. After his service he opened a bar, which he currently runs. One day he found a spellbook in one of the empty room, but there was no wizard attached to it. He felt a strange draw to the book and feels compelled to look at it every night. But it is all nonsense to him. He knows how wizards feel about their spellbooks and is carrying it to try to find the wizard who lost it to return it. All of the spells I memorized were summoning spells. Because of the way actions and attack rolls work I could reflect that he was in the military by having him run up and swing his ax. But i could spend some actions to have him summon rat swarms (because bartender) but he didn't know he was doing it. I bought some proficiency with no armor so his AC wasn't too bad, and a proficiency with his ax so he could melee a little (not like the real front liners of course, but enough to execute my character concept).
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Can you spill any more info on how flexible the flavor around the backgrounds will be?
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They were very very close to what Stephen posted in the blog. For instance my Bartender background basically just said that I am a bartender, or that I may own my own bar. They ranged from being related to a more mundane profession like that one, to more military professions like being a scout. Some didn't involve a profession but were more a life experience, like being part of the nobility, or being an orphan. Some were religious in nature, like being church raised. All in all I was very happy with the selection of backgrounds I had available and the bits of story they gave me to build off of. They give you enough to build off, but not so much that you can't be creative with your background. Like maybe an outline or a skeleton to flesh out.
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Mechanically, they all function like what you saw in the blog. My bartender background gave me a specific stat (now a choice between 2) and one I could put anywhere I wanted. It granted me a feat (the feat was one that normally a character wouldn't be able to take right away at level 1, but I am not sure if that has changed between the iteration of the rules at the time and the current version), and gave me proficiency with a skill.
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That all sounds very interesting. I'm looking forward to how this works out. I share some of the concerns that the flavor will be too specific and lock PFS players into specific story lines that may not be easy to adapt.
But for nonPFS characters, this looks great.
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Diego,
So I GOTTA ask...
What did the paper taste like on Saturday night during the Trivia Contest?
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Sounds awesome, my dude! Thanks for letting us know!
Also, if it's normal paper, it doesn't taste like much, at least to me - uh, not that I'd know or anything >.> -, but I wasn't there, so... yeah, curious.
Also, also: hello! Trying to get back into forums!
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The paper wasn't what I would call 'good', but it sure did dull the taste of that pineapple. So better than the pineapple is the answer. Better than the pineapple. And oh god, there were so many pineapples...
For folks who weren't there, like Tacticslion, for some of the drinks the bar had these pineapple cubes soaking in tequila (that seems like a lie, I am pretty sure they were tequila cubes shaped like pineapples). As we got nearer closing time the bartender started putting a bunch of them in the drinks (my last few drinks had 4 each!). Then Thursty went and just got a glass full of them. They were awful. So we ate them. During the trivia a team changed their team name to involve pineapples (and then Transformers which I approve of, but then a pun which made me sad). In my drunkenness I declared that I wanted to eat their answer sheet. So I wrapped one of the pineapples in the answer sheet and ate it.
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... there is so much terror, in that brief sentence. XD
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I'll be honest, I didn't see the pineapple portion of that, which makes it even more terrifying.
As I said elsewhere, the liquor haze was getting me buzzed, and I wasn't drinking!
How did Marvel Alert go?
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Did, uh... did FaWtL break the forums again?
EDIT: nevermind! Looks like it's working again! Yay!
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X-Men Alert went pretty well! My first group seemed to enjoy it (Lem managed to solo the Brood Queen, it was amazing). My group on the second day seemed pretty into it too. One of the players even took home a set of the character sheets I had made. So it seemed like it went well! Now that I have a game of some sort under my belt maybe next year I can do something bigger!
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THAT SOUNDS SO DAGGUM COOL
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Sounds like Diego should limit his intake of alochol when eating a sheet of paper around a pineapple is considered a good idea, but then i remembered that he got sad over a pun... so he should have doubled his intake at that point, or until its funny.
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I don't know that there is any amount of pineapple that can make me be not sad when I hear a pun. But you're right on the first part. PaizoCon has been the one time a year I do any heavy drinking (those years are well behind me), so it hits me pretty fast and hard. I really shouldn't be doing it at all.
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So this time I have a question for all of you, specifically those of you who have or are serving in the military.
I have an uncle who served in the Navy. He was killed in Vietnam. He was a war hero (You can read about him in the namesake section of this page if you'd like). A destroyer in the Navy was named for him. I wasn't born yet when it was commissioned, but at the decommissioning I was given a crew cap.
A while back I was invited to a Facebook group for the crew of the ship (they have invited all of the family to their group) and they invite the whole family to their crew reunions every year (this year they're holding it in my hometown because they want to see where my uncle Phil grew up and visit his grave). A few years ago they created some t-shirts that were made available exclusively to members of their Facebook group, and I bought one. I am very proud of my uncle so I used to wear it a lot.
At my first PaizoCon I was wearing it on Memorial Day and an attendee who had served in the Navy asked me if that was a ship I served on. I explained to him that I have not served in the military and what the background of the shirt was. He thought that was pretty cool. But since then I have wondered if wearing a shirt or crew cap is disrespectful to the people who have served in the military since I have not, so I have not worn either since. I feel like wearing them is maybe misleading and suggests that I did serve when I have not.
It's been on my mind a lot lately. So my question is how do those of you who have served feel about someone who hasn't wearing items like these?
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Suggestion, Diego. We have people from all walks of life hanging out in FAWTL, and I'm sure someone down there has served or knows someone who has. Ask your question there?
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Diego,
I was in the Navy for two years, served on the USS Holland
As the family member of the honored dead, you're an extension of living history that permeates all levels of military service.
This is true if you did not serve, or didn't serve in that branch. It is far from misleading, especially if you tell folks straight up that the vessel in question was named for a relative of yours.
There's been this misconception that's been pushed the past few years to 'love our vets' when we don't do the things that's needed most for them.
After a few rah-rah parades to get the blood pumping and everyone to 'rally around the flag'... vets tend to get the same level of neglect that they've gotten for eons -- it really hasn't changed all that much over the years.
Where the 'disrespect' would come in (imo) is when someone wears material that they have *absolutely no reason* to be wearing.
Wear that shirt and hat with pride. Tell the stories of your uncle!
Your family's blood was shed for it. And anyone that has an issue with that can go take a long hike off a short pier.
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Edit: It is an honest suggestion that I put to ask in FATWL because I know someone who frequents the thread who has served. But with respect to his privacy, I cannot simply just give you his handle without his permission, so the best I could do was to suggest that you pop in the thread and let him choose to answer, or not.
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It's been on my mind a lot lately. So my question is how do those of you who have served feel about someone who hasn't wearing items like these?
I don't recall where I heard it recently, but the phrase "while the soldier serves, the family serves as well" seems to suit this. We object to those who claim honors never actually performed (such as wearing a purple heart as if it were their own), not to those who sacrificed for service. Your family suffered a loss that can never be repaid. It is okay to honor that sacrifice with the items commemorating it.
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Given the many locations that I have seen caps and t-shirts for various ships for sale, I don't think there is a problem with anyone wearing them. As long as you don't wear your uncle's uniform or medals, you should be fine.
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Thank you for the replies everyone! I really appreciate your input, and your service! I am going to start wearing both again.
The medals he was awarded lived in a display in my grandpas house. He had this glass display with 3 glass shelves. It was 4 feet or so tall. On the bottom shelf was a picture of the ship at sea and the bit of planking that was given to my grandparents (I am not sure if it was at the commissioning or the decommissioning). The middle shelf had the folded flag my grandparents were presented with at my uncles funeral, with the Purple Heart and Navy Cross he was awarded posthumously on top of it. The top shelf was a picture of my uncle in his dress uniform. Since my grandpa passed away they went to live at my aunts house (the oldest of my dads siblings). I don't think any of us would ever try to wear the medals.
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Holy carp! Your uncle is awesome, my dude! Thank you for sharing the story!
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The planking was *probably* from commisioning, as those who do a 'shakedown' cruise pre-commisioning are also known as 'plank owners'.
That's pretty amazing, Diego!
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Okay, Diego, query: if you could play a game like Breath of the Wild, but could use a Final Fantasy Tactics-based character instead of Link, which character would you use?
Let’s actualky split this into several questions; which:
... party named character? (Presume their “signature” abilities, and readily available ones that synergies well.)
... non-party named character? (Presume their “signature” abilities, and readily available ones that synergies well.)
... “unique” class (such as a Dark Knight or Assassin; generic character presumed, it feel free to select someone specific of you prefer)?
... “standard” class (such as Squire or Priest; generic character presumed, it feel free to select someone specific of you prefer)?
.... would you choose and why?
(Please choose one answer for each.)
Also: if you could replace the horse-stable system with a “buddy monster” taking system, but only one monster (ex: you could choose chocobos to replace horses since they are also mounts, but you could instead choose goblins for having a combat buddy, or ghosts so your buddy could teleport and ignore all terrain), which would it be and why?
Link functions something like an Onion Knight in that he can equip anything, but has no particular abilities, so I’d suggest his “class” was Onion Knight, but with specific bonus abilities.
Generally speaking, the other classes work similarly: the abilities are broadly “translated” into FFT-like abilities that function “well enough” for BotW gameplay - everyone can climb, for example, but Jump would determine how well they jump/climb and Move would determine their speed; damage dealt is modified by attack power, and a classed favored kind of equipment is readily available, if still more limited. If abilities don’t translate well or at all, they are the mark ally translated. For example, as Chemists don’t have many applicable abilities, and everyone can cook, Chemsits can cook better and extend duration and/or value on their stuff that they make. Magic Points replenish with a sleep (effectively limiting them to a “per day” thing unless you rest). That sort of thing.
Weapons still break with use, resource management is a thing. Everyone gets a glider and Shiekah slate, but instead of the basic abilities, you get your class stuff (example: Wizard spells can make up for a lack of Bombs with Fire spells and a lack of Cryonis with Ice spells, for example, they’d have to get more creative to make up for the loss of Magnesis and Time Stop; unrelated, they also the have to change play style to make up for the loss of Bows/Arrows and lack of stealth inherent to chanting loud magic at people!).
Generally, unlike FFT, class changing isn’t allowed as a free day-to-day thing... but presuppose there are quests or shrines or something that can make it happen. Basically, I’m looking for a fun theme-based thing, rather than a “archer most days, but I class change on Blood Moons to...” sort of thing.
Specifics can otherwise be handwaved, as you think appropriate. Have fun!
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Man, it's been way too long.
Sorry!
How have you been? What's new? Who is best (Star Wars) pilot?
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How busy are you?
(Let you tell me how busy you are!)
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Okay, Diego, query: if you could play a game like Breath of the Wild, but could use a Final Fantasy Tactics-based character instead of Link, which character would you use?
Let’s actualky split this into several questions; which:
... party named character? (Presume their “signature” abilities, and readily available ones that synergies well.)
I would be Ramza because he becomes a chainsaw on legs. Or I would be Rafa because she is my favorite.
... non-party named character? (Presume their “signature” abilities, and readily available ones that synergies well.)
Belias because he is the hardest fight in the game and I would kill enemies a dozen times each before any of them could finally beat me.
... “unique” class (such as a Dark Knight or Assassin; generic character presumed, it feel free to select someone specific of you prefer)?
Princess with Assassin in my secondary job slot. Because that combination gives me all kinds of offensive power with a lot of defensive power as well.
... “standard” class (such as Squire or Priest; generic character presumed, it feel free to select someone specific of you prefer)?
Monk with Geomancer equipped in my secondary job slot. Because I like that combination of abilities.
Also: if you could replace the horse-stable system with a “buddy monster” taking system, but only one monster (ex: you could choose chocobos to replace horses since they are also mounts, but you could instead choose goblins for having a combat buddy, or ghosts so your buddy could teleport and ignore all terrain), which would it be and why?
I would take a herd of red and yellow chocobos so they could just spam choco meteor and choco heal like they do when I fight them.
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Man, it's been way too long.
Sorry!
How have you been? What's new? Who is best (Star Wars) pilot?
Howdy! Sorry I have taken so long to respond.
I have been busy. It has been a very difficult time the last few months. In November I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. After 5 and a half years my dad's cancer finally caught up and between late November and the end of December I had a couple of emergency flights out to be with him because we thought it was the end. He passed away on December 29, just weeks after his 70th birthday (if you're interested you can find his obituary here). There was also some other difficult stuff friends were going through as well.
There is good news as well. I have been doing some freelance writing as well. So far 2 released projects, one announced but unreleased one, and 2 unannounced projects. I even set up a website!
My favorite pilot remains Wedge, but Torra Doza is rapidly rising up the list!
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How busy are you?
(Let you tell me how busy you are!)
Pretty darn busy, but getting to a place where I can slow down a bit to catch my breath.
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Okay, Diego, query: if you could play a game like Breath of the Wild, but could use a Final Fantasy Tactics-based character instead of Link, which character would you use?
Let’s actualky split this into several questions; which:
... party named character? (Presume their “signature” abilities, and readily available ones that synergies well.)
I would be Ramza because he becomes a chainsaw on legs. Or I would be Rafa because she is my favorite.
... non-party named character? (Presume their “signature” abilities, and readily available ones that synergies well.)Belias because he is the hardest fight in the game and I would kill enemies a dozen times each before any of them could finally beat me.
... “unique” class (such as a Dark Knight or Assassin; generic character presumed, it feel free to select someone specific of you prefer)?Princess with Assassin in my secondary job slot. Because that combination gives me all kinds of offensive power with a lot of defensive power as well.
... “standard” class (such as Squire or Priest; generic character presumed, it feel free to select someone specific of you prefer)?Monk with Geomancer equipped in my secondary job slot. Because I like that combination of abilities.
Also: if you could replace the horse-stable system with a “buddy monster” taking system, but only one monster (ex: you could choose chocobos to replace horses since they are also mounts, but you could instead choose goblins for having a combat buddy, or ghosts so your buddy could teleport and ignore all terrain), which would it be and why?I would take a herd of red and yellow chocobos so they could just spam choco meteor and choco heal like they do when I fight them.
Awesome! Excellent choices all-round!
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Man, it's been way too long.
Sorry!
How have you been? What's new? Who is best (Star Wars) pilot?
Howdy! Sorry I have taken so long to respond.
No problem!
I have been busy. It has been a very difficult time the last few months. In November I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. After 5 and a half years my dad's cancer finally caught up and between late November and the end of December I had a couple of emergency flights out to be with him because we thought it was the end. He passed away on December 29, just weeks after his 70th birthday (if you're interested you can find his obituary here). There was also some other difficult stuff friends were going through as well.
Oh, man, my dude, that's... really terrible. I'm so, so sorry.
That's a beautiful obituary; he sounds like a great man, and I'm sorry I've not yet gotten to meet him! Someday I look forward to spending time with him in Heaven!
Diabetes is incredibly rough. My dad also runs with it, though I'm still not super-familiar with all the ins-and-outs of the two types and I always forget which one is which. But! always feel free to complain or even ramble! We're here to listen!
There is good news as well. I have been doing some freelance writing as well. So far 2 released projects, one announced but unreleased one, and 2 unannounced projects. I even set up a website!
OH SNAP! That's AWESOME~!
I don't really play the ACG, but those both look great!!
And I do play Starfinder, so I'mma be pickin' up book three ASAP!
My favorite pilot remains Wedge, but Torra Doza is rapidly rising up the list!
Cool! I had to look her up, but it seems like she's Star Wars: Resistance? I've not seen that series! So it's good?
(Related: I'm really excited to see the next film. I've actually really enjoyed episodes 7 and even 8, so that's hype!)
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Pretty darn busy, but getting to a place where I can slow down a bit to catch my breath.How busy are you?
(Let you tell me how busy you are!)
That's good! I really, really understand. I've half-vanished from around here multiple times, recently. Life can be quite unrelenting!
I hope you can continue to get rest and enjoy, even while doing good work you love!
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Type 2 means my body resists insulin, but still makes it. So it can be controlled with diet. And that is what i am doing. We've seen a tremendous improvement already!
I enjoy the card game so getting to write a couple of scenarios for that was really cool! The best part is I had John Compton, Linda Zayas-Palmer, and the Paizo editors to make them fit for human eyes! The Starfinder aliens were super fun! I did 2 that I hope everyone enjoys!
Rebels is wonderful. I really love it. If you get a chance it is worth watching. I haven't got into Resistance as much but it is growing on me. I do enjoy all the movies. I think 8 was weaker than 7 but I still enjoyed it. I don't have a problem with most of the things it seems like other folks do. I am super looking forward to 9!
Type 2 means my body resists insulin, but still makes it. So it can be controlled with diet. And that is what i am doing. We've seen a tremendous improvement already!
That's awesome! So that's like my dad, then!
I enjoy the card game so getting to write a couple of scenarios for that was really cool! The best part is I had John Compton, Linda Zayas-Palmer, and the Paizo editors to make them fit for human eyes! The Starfinder aliens were super fun! I did 2 that I hope everyone enjoys!
That's so awesome~! Woohoo~!
Rebels is wonderful. I really love it. If you get a chance it is worth watching. I haven't got into Resistance as much but it is growing on me. I do enjoy all the movies. I think 8 was weaker than 7 but I still enjoyed it. I don't have a problem with most of the things it seems like other folks do. I am super looking forward to 9!
Rebels really was great! We just kind of ran out of time. With two kids, it was a wee bit violent for them (as they started wanting to "shoot" everybody... we figured that wasn't a super-great thing to imitate at the time). Instead, we're watching Avatar: the Last Airbender!
(THEY LOVE IT~! THEY LOOOOOOOOVE IT~! This makes me so daggum happy, 'cause I love it, too~!)
I tend to agree with your assessment of the two films. Hype for nine~!
What's your favorite Star Finder alien? (You can mention "my two!" without saying, but I'm also curious about other than those two! You can reveal which two after the book ships! Please!)
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What's your favorite Star Finder alien? (You can mention "my two!" without saying, but I'm also curious about other than those two! You can reveal which two after the book ships! Please!)
It IS my 2! Haha, but I think it would be the Lashunta. Mainly because I feel like I named the iconic. There was a call for suggestions and I sent Raya. Her name ended up being Raia so not quite the same but similar enough that I like to believe my suggestion inspired it (though no one has ever explicitly told me that).