GM SpiderBeard's The Divine Delusion: Group Two (Inactive)

Game Master Barvo Delancy

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The padlock drops (and can be retrieved if someone wants it), and a long tunnel yawns before you. Eager to escape this place, the group walks through the tunnel, which angles downwards, for a good half an hour before it finishes at a final secret door. It swings open to reveal you a good 60' up on a cliff, which borders a gigantic lake on its west. A wide path follows the side of the lake before vanishing into the forest below. The cliff continues another 50' upwards, and this path appears to be made by hand, rather than by nature.

The town is much closer now, and appears to be guarded by a somewhat ghastly-looking chateau up on a hill to what you presume is its southeast. To the west of the town a large wood stretches out, and to the east are fens which feed into the lake.

The path itself continues to slowly make its way down the cliff before vanishing into a tunnel near its base.

Well, doesn't THAT look inviting... not."

Is it still raining? What time of day is it?

Crystal is silent the whole time the party is leaving the goblin tunnels.

The sight of the chateau causes her to frown. "Hmm... that doesn't look like a safe place to rest. If anything, I suspect that place may be crawling with undead. Or worse."

Would Crystal recognize that place from her dream?

It is late afternoon. The rain has let up and now the area is simply overcast and dreary.

No, the place in her dream remains unfamiliar. Knowledge local or nobility checks can help you recognize the chateau which is distinctive if anything. The town itself looks like any small town.

Well, we needn't go to the castle. Let's just head into town and look for an inn... and perhaps something more enjoyable than more jerkey.

Determined to make the most of the rest of their day, the group continues traversing their way down the mountain side, enjoying the view of the lake as they can. As the group progresses, the town becomes more distinct. The town certainly appears to have activity, although any details are impossible to make out from this far. It's a walled community with a
surprisingly large church; almost a cathedral.

After a couple of hours down the mountainside, the group finally enter into the tunnel, vanishing below the earth. The tunnel itself turns into ancient, wide stairs which are easy to descend. After a short while, they come to an old metal door, which hangs ajar.

Beyond the door is a spectacular hall with enormous arched ceilings. Statues line this 40' wide hallway in alcoves, which continues on beyond your light spells. A sudden stench assails your nostrils as you look in; a goblin corpse lies to your right, several weeks old.

Further down the hallway, those of you with darkvision can spot two enormous double doors, 15' wide each and at least 40' tall. Lettering has been carved into the doors, which show no seem, keyhole, or means of egress. Two complete suits of armour stand guard beside the doors. A second, more modest door leads southwards,

A new map is up!

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Crystal's eyes widen as she recognizes the gothic architecture of the cathedral. "There--the town has a cathedral of Pharasma." A smile appears on her face. "We may yet find allies there."

The sights of the interior tunnels cause her smile to fade, replaced by its usual serious demeanour. "Hmm... interesting..." She eyes the suits of armour flanking the grand entrance. "I'm not sure I like the sight of those armour suits. They're guarding a pair of double doors up ahead--and they don't seem to have any way to open from here."

Ragnar looks amazed by the sight of the ancient ruins. In some books he read, sketches of places like this were to be seen, but to be here in person, that was fascinating.

Ragnar makes his way to the front of the group and lights three more stones with his spell, throwing them to the left and right of the group and keeping the last one on himself.

"Let me just take a quick look around for any signs of magic, just to be sure. If I fall unconcious, be sure to get my body and run like hell." The Mage says with a smirk.

Ragnar casts light 3 times and then detect magic. He concentrates long enough to see his direct surroundings and especially the dead goblin and the two sets of armour.
I know I will have to get some new fireflies next time we're in town, but casting light spells is the one thing a Mage can shine with early on.

Knowledge (arcana) : 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

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har har. You can only have one light spell active at a time, but you can light up different parts of the room as you go.

Ragnar remains near the west doors, casting light spells to light up different parts of the room before detecting magic.

The enormous metal doors light up like the moon as Ragnar looks them over, shining with the telltale shimmer of abjuration magic, and strong magic at that.

There are no magical auras on or near the dead goblin; it's just dead.

I totally knew that ;-)

"There seems to be some strong magic working on the doors. Abjuration to be accurate. They are protected magically, most likely to keep them shut. We should be cautious, we don't know what killed the goblin. There is no magic aura about him."

As Ragnar scans the room and the door, he takes a step closer. The head on a suit of armour slowly turns to regard Ragnar with an ominous creak.

You didn't tell the armour had a magic aura on it, but I think it was to be expected.

Ragnar takes a slow step backwards.

"You guys saw that? The statue turning its head?"

Let's hope I'm not going insane, Ragnar thinks, while getting ready for possibly being attacked by a statue. Since he isn't really the fighting type, he doesn't draw a weapon or anything, but he is gathering his concentration and getting ready to jump behind his more combat-savvy friends.

"I saw it, Ragnar. Get away from it." Crystal nocks an arrow and moves to within 30 feet of Ragnar.

Armour does not have a magical aura.

That makes it even more interesting!

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The armour remains still, having only moved its head to regard Ragnar. Once Ragnar moves back the head snaps back to stare forwards.

Crystal eyes the armour suit, not convinced it's no longer a threat.

"Between the dead goblin and these suits... I wonder..."

The dwarven script on the door makes her grumble in frustration. "If I still had spells left to cast, I would be able to read what that door says."

"Are you sentient?" Juid asks the suits of armor, feeling very foolish. "May we pass?"

Keeping his distance, Ragnar tries to read the runes. He also translates what his comrade says for the off chance the guardians of this place are sentient and only speak dwarven.

Ragnar speaks dwarven among other languages.

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The armour does not answer. Ragnar's facility with language pays off, however. The runes on the door are ancient Dwarven; more or less intelligible to a modern speaker.

For the glory of the clans and the honour of Torag; Rothstrok brings welcome and plenty to its guests and ruin to its enemies!

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Still on edge regarding the armour suits, Crystal slowly approaches the southern door, keeping an eye out for anything unusual.

Taking 20 for Perception here. Total of 29.

Crystal moves further into the room. The grand hallway ends at a cave-in at the end of the hall. The statues in the alcoves are all marble and of dwarves in various poses, the artwork is extremely good and untouched by the ravages of time.

The south door is of the same metal as the double doors, but has no lock and shows no sign of traps or other tomfoolery.

Not to leave Crystal wandering on her lonesome, Juid follows.

Ragnar follows closely, taking in each impression and trying to read every old rune still readable.

When reaching the cave in, he shakes his head.
"Not getting out this way, maybe the door in the south will take us further? "

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"It appears to be safe..." Crystal reaches the south door and stops before it.

She turns to the half-orc. "Czein, you take point. Let's see what's behind this door."

"ho-ho thinking strategically now are ya? Right then." Czein walks to the doors, trying to make his posture as nonthreatening as possible but still eyeing the armor.

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As the group approach the door the armours' helmets slowly turn to keep watching everyone's pace. However, they do not move beyond that. Czein easily pulls open the south door, which leads into what looks like it was once an ancient storeroom. There is little of note in here, although it looks like two skeletons have been hacked to pieces; their bones litter the floor.

"This all doesn't look too inviting. We should keep our guard up. "

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Ragnar walks into the room, keeping up his concentration to to scan the room with detect magic, especially the door. He then starts examining the dead bones, not particularly hoping to find anything, but you can always get lucky.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Crystal stays behind Ragnar, her bow readied. She looks all around the room.

"Hmm... I wonder if it would be safe to rest here..." She ponders.

Perception: Anything Unusual?: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

Ragnar looks at her a bit disappointedly.

"You do remember I don't have anything to sleep on? If someone could spare a blanket, maybe the one taking the night watch? Just thinking out loud."

"I'd really rather not... As much as I don't like town, we should press on. At the very least we need to know the entirety of our surroundings before we doze off."

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"Especially with that many recently killed things lying around. "

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Crystal starts going over the room and area in detail. Anything that was once in this store room is long since missing, but after some work she manages to find a loose stone. Fitting in her fingers, she pulls it free to reveal a small alcove with a leather bag. The bag ancient and hard as a rock, but within is a beautiful dagger.

The east door does not appear to be trapped or locked. She hears a very, very faint scratching through the door and feels a bit of a breeze coming from under the door.

Crystal holds up the dagger for everyone else to see. "Well, well, well."

Then she hears something behind the east door. "Something's scratching behind the door... it could be rats, or something else entirely." She stands in front of the door, her bow readied.

"May I have a look at that? SOmething that old, still here after such a long time. Fascinating."

Appraise: just trying to get a sense of what it might be worth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Crystal hands the dagger off to Ragnar for him to examine. "Knock yourself out."

At first glance the dagger is clearly of masterwork quality although with simple, functional design. It is also extremely ancient, likely 1,500 - 2,000 years old and of dwarven make. The pommel is a glimmering blue crystal. This could easily sell for a thousand gold.

"This should solve our financial problems quite well, if we find the right buyer for it," Ragnar sais with a satisfied smile before tugging the dagger into his mantle. "I will hold onto this until we find a buyer. I guess we split the profit? Everyone getting his fair share of anything we find on our travels?"

"That seems reasonable, Ragnar. But let's see what Crystal has discovered." Juid listens to the scratching she pointed out, trying to determine if there is any rhyme or reason to it.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Juid listens carefully to the door. The scratching is very quiet and almost impossible to hear. After a moment it stops entirely. It's hard to discern the reason. It was irregular and sounded like someone dragging something lightly across stone.

"If we want to rest here, we need to find out what's behind this door. Maybe if I can... "

Ragnar starts searching for a way to open the door. He won't go through it first, but he doesn't want to stand around idly either. Time isn't really on their side and the sooner he can find a place to sleep, the better. Also, well, he is very curious what lies beyond. This whole place is simply fascinating.

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The door opens easily enough and reveals a hallway leading to an ancient store room. Barren stone shelves line the walls, heading up at least 30'. More interestingly, an open doorframe at the end appears to lead outside. A boulder blocks the way out but a bit of low light shines through. The room appears empty.

Crystal takes a couple of steps into the hallway, her bow still readied for trouble. She looks all around, uncertain as to what's lurking in the room ahead.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Crystal creeps down the hallway. Nothing jumps out at her, metaphorically or literally.

Crystal looks over her shoulder and waves the other party members forward.

Juid double moves into the room before the hallway Crystal has entered, bringing Pisîm with him. He keeps his eye out for trouble, ready to fire a bolt of divine fire at it if need be.

The group begin to file in behind Crystal in the hallway. The room, and apparently an exit from this hall, beckons ahead.

Crystal, satisfied that nothing has tried to jump out and eat them so far, steps toward the door leading out and opens it once everyone else has readied themselves.

Czein places a hand on the door and nods to Crystal to open it together

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Welcome everyone! Take a while to get to know each other. Campaign is still cooking so please be patient.

Checking in. Thanks for the invite!

Welcome everyone! The game's title will be up soon as soon as I find the right verb. For those of you selected with a background for a different campaign, feel free to unhinge it as you need. For everybody, I'm looking for unresolved conflict in your past that I can revisit. You are free to tweak anything you want, even classes at this point, but please discuss with the group so that I don't wake up to find six monks.

Everyone can expect PMs from me at some point asking some questions about their background.

About This Game

I've run a game based on this same principle before in-person but switched to APs when I couldn't keep up with the pace of the game. So hopefully I can stretch this idea out a bit more. This is a campaign and will take you to late game levels if we stick through this. Mythic rules will (eventually) be employed.

About Me

I've been roleplaying for around 20 years with a variety of systems, but seem to have become entrenched in Pathfinder. I work in project management at a northern Canadian university in a remote rural area, huddled against the cold with my wife and dogs.

About how I run things

I try to avoid railroading games, and instead write island style where the PCs visit areas and encounter events/situations/etc. Things will follow a prestructured outline, but I expect you to surprise me in how it all plays out. I occasionally make mistakes and will readily admit to and fix them. I have also been known to bend or break rules where it suits the narrative, but never do so to create unfair situations. If something unfair happens to your characters, it's pre-written and will work out in the end.

Combat and Party Tracking

The group will be levelled up at appropriate areas in the game, and more or less according to a 'fast' experience track. Loot will be tracked in a spreadsheet, and I'd like to encourage the group to make a campaign log to tell their story (an idea I've happily stolen from Fingers). Maps will be hosted in google draw where players can move their own tokens.

Character Creation Guidelines:

This game will use mythic rules, so please familiarize yourself with the paths, and have one in mind.

- You've already been selected with races and classes in mind. Check with me if you want to change either of these core things. My preference is for a well played human fighter over a half-dragon starslayer or something like that.
- You're level one.
- Max hp at first level. Avg +1 hp afetr that.
- 2 traits.
- 150 gold
- 20 point buy. Your stats should figure in to how you play your character.
- The motivation of this game is to work with a group to solve a problem you all have in common.
- Official Paizo only.
- Please post a full stat block.
- Summary detail should be on the class/level section of your profile like so:
Class Level | AC XX T XX F XX | HP XX/XX | F +X R +X W +X | Init +X | Perc +X

Game Expectations

- Posting rate is 1/day, 1/weekend. I GMPC readily and without mercy or apology. If you do not post I will automate your character, particularly in combat.
- Players will be removed after three weeks of unexplained absence, receiving a warning on their second week.
- Please post in the discussion board if you will miss some time.
- Play your character with the fun of the entire party as your first goal. So inter-party drama, sexual themes, or anything like that must be handled with caution.

Would it be too much to ask you to shave? I don't like spiders...

I'd then just be GM nobeard, and nobody wants that. :P

Just dotting

No, seems like I have to make a post in the Gameplay section to get the campaign shown in Wayfinder.

So I'll be in contact with everyone about backstories. If you mentioned you'd be revising/writing more (ahem Cern) then take the time to do so. Also, as far as I'm concerned your crunch doesn't exist yet - if you want to change anything, including class, feel free to provided I get a heads-up so I don't get six summoners or something.

And precisely so, Ragnar. Once you're dotted in gameplay it will track the campaign in Wayfinder and from your "campaigns" screen for your account.

Excited to be here, ladies and gents! Let's solve some puzzles.

Raven Six here, or perhaps you prefer TAFKAR286 (the alchemist formerly known as RAU-286. ;) )

I've tweaked my background story a bit, swapped out the Reactionary trait for Spirit guide, and my scroll case for a cheap holy text of Pharasma... I think that's about it. ^^

Hector, at your service!

I should be able to fill out my fluff soon, In all seriousness this is gonna be awesome!

What class will you be?

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I'll need a bit to get the character idea and concept straight. By now I'm feeling a bit hindered by the rules and am thinking about doing something different all together. But I'll see in the next couple of days.
I'd just like to know everyone else's class and role in the party before deciding finally.

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Well, I'm an Alchemist, specializing in knowledge, disabling devices and ranged attacks. My magic is never going to reach beyond 6th level, even if I reach character level 20, but I can mix up bombs for devastating ranged damage, and mutagens to temporarily trade Int., Wis. or Cha. for Str., Dex. or Con., which means I can be melee support a few times a day.

I think I'll aim for the Master Chymist PrC, if I survive long enough. ^^

Juid is a cleric with miserable combat stats. His focus is straightforward social interaction, i.e. diplomacy not bluff, and on fire and healing magic.

I'm planning on levelling as a straight-up inquisitor, taking knowledges as I level to help with ID'ing monster weaknesses. Most of my spells will be for support & utility purposes.

Skills-wise, I'm going to level Stealth, mostly so I can provide backup to whoever goes scouting, and feats-wise I'm building her mostly around ranged combat.

I'll be doing my best to work as the tank for the party. I can also sit in asan additional party face. I'dlike to help with melee debuffs as well until later when i get my expanded critical range and will then pass my crits off to another member for better damage.

I can share a bit of that tank load, and as a high damage character I can definitely benefit from the passed crits. This is gonna be a fun crew

Are you planning on putting any points into Stealth?

Because Czein & Crystal could be the scouts for the team.

I can, but in medium armor the check penalty can be brutal

We'll see tomorrow when I attack the crunch and see how much Dex I end up with.

I'll take a look at the crunch today. I want to take stealth, but I'm not sure if I can afford it.
I'll stick with the male witch and play him as a debilitater/charmer/illusionist. He will be having relatively high charisma and all social skills. Influencing everyone around him through word, hex and spell. Since most hexes are SU, they will work quite well in negotiations I guessed.
His mentor is the hook for the mythic path to become an Archmage and some other, personal quests.

Is it OK to take a drawback if I want to? Do you allow for Campaign traits if they can be retailored? (I think there was one about being an outcast on the run from one of the APs.

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Or you could take the Additional Traits-feat? That way, you get two bonus traits instead of one and a handicap.

@Crystal- My perception bonus will be lowish, but I can always pick up for stealth as I'll be in light armors anyways. Sorta fits in with my background as well.

@Czein- Well if you are planning to use axes then you will be a great person to follow me up from Butterfly's sting. I may pick it up early (level 3) if I don't need something else instead.

@Everyone- I think I will be planning for the "Champion" mystic path as it offers more synergy for Hector. Also, anyone interested in Teamwork feats (or have room in their build)? I was considering the following feat progression: 3rd- Paired Opportunists, 4th(Bonus feat for me) Butterfly's Sting, 5th- Broken Wing Gambit

Not sure if any other Melee have room for those or not. If there is a ranged person, I can also pick up Wounded Paw Gambit from the Advanced playtest. Same as Broken Wing, but allows a ranged attack as well. Otherwise, I'll taking the improved/greater dirty fighting feats. But the free attacks from Broken Wing Gambit (and at an additional +4 attack) are hard to pass up imho.

Juid seems predestined for the marshall path. He won't be much help with feats that require being in yo face on the battlefield or that have a min physical ability score.

Drawbacks are fine. If the group was more min/maxy I'd disallow them but that's not the case. Campaign traits - check with me - but should be fine. They're typically balanced.

Provided how fast my map-making goes (I'm learning to use image editing software to make fancy maps) I should be ready to start in August. Thankfully, the pace of PbP games means I don't need a dozen levels of gameplay completed right now.

I've got it, fluff and crunch well underway, and Czein is gonna be an infiltrator (ranger archetype) which fills out his backstory very nicely.

One more day.

You know, I think I might shoot for Craft Construct, if we all survive long enough. ^^ It could be a hoot.

I think I'll head for the Trickster Mythic Path.

I have finally settled for a character build. He is a merchant for rare artefacts and has thus travelled far and wide in the north. Before he gained his patron and thus witch powers, he was already a cunning and scheming traveller, merchant and diplomat. Still he wanted more, being only the second son he would never lead the household and his father was more impressed with his brother's strength in battle than Ragnar’s intelligence and charisma.
Ragnar studies in secret and thus gains some insight into how to sneak about and lie his way out of any kind of situation. When Ragnar’s dabbling in the arcane arts was uncovered during a daring ritual, he left his home, mere hours before his father's decision to cast him out.
Today he uses his hexes to manipulate everyone around him even better. His spells are reserved for when he is in a tight spot. Since his physical abilities are weak, but he still has to get close to the enemies for casting most of his magic, he will need good protection and will thus be heading for a trusted hireling (can I get Leadership for my own protection?) as soon as he can.
Furthermore there is a bigger backstory to his familiar and patron, but that I must still figure out completely.

Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (Arcana, Planes), Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Stealth.

Patron: Deception (thus gaining some illusion spells like Invisibility)

Hexes: Evil Eye, Charm and ASAP Cackle

I also speak a 6 different languages, and will later get a hex to understand them all (a few times per day)

I won't do much damage (most of the time none at all). But most Hexes and Spells will make our enemies weaker or take them out of the picture completely.

If I may, I would also apply to be the face of the group. For all anyone will see when looking at me, I am a far-travelled merchant with a knack for curiosities. My true nature will be hidden to all but my companions.

And as I said earlier, I am headed for the Archmage mythic path.

(@Spiderbeard: I will write up a backstory including the quest I'm on. If you may, we could make it into a Story Feat, like in Ultimate Campaign. And I would like to see it as the anchor for entering my mythic path)

Juid is a cleric with miserable combat stats. His focus is straightforward social interaction, i.e. diplomacy not bluff, and on fire and healing magic.

It seems we'll have a lot of overlap in this regard. With his background, Ragnar will certainly be better at handling situations requiring bluff and deception. Juid is much more of the moral politician; he refuses to lie outright (though distraction is another matter entirely).

Ragnar knows both, but even in an entirely diplomatic debate, he will use his hexes to gain the upper hand. Since these are SU, no one will ever know...

Yes, I know how much overlap we have, but this is the only way I can think of this character. As an alternative I would offer to build an outright wizard/sorcerer or a magus. Let me know what you prefer. (Magus would be an addition in close-combat and as a Linnorm-Sorcerer I'd rain frozen death down on our foes or something along those lines).

Since the crunch isn't nearly finished, I can still reimagine Ragnar.

I'm in two, no, more like 14 minds about Ragnar. This is but the second idea for a build I had. But I see how it overlaps with everyone else pretty hard. As a witch I can think of nothing different that would fit my style.
I have never played a sorcerer before (always wizards), could be fun.
Anyone know if Magus is worthwhile? And do you think we need another close-combatant?

Personally, I don't mind overlap. It's always good in combat so why not out of combat. Perhaps there are cool team feats to explore.

On another topic, I've only seen one magus, in our RL game, and he was devastating in combat. Unfortunately, he got a little overconfident at the end and an enormous, tentacled monster grappled him and yanked him into the Abyss.

I played a magus in my group's RL kingmaker. He was fun and did great spike damage. I went kensai and was sad by my unlucky rolls. Hitting was never an issue, but even with +14 to crit confirmation rolls, i rarely confirmed (got lots of <6 die rolls).

I don't mind if there is overlaps ( we'll have like 3-4 party faces), but we are going to really need some utility magic. Ya never know when there will be out of combat obstacles to overcome.

Maybe my favourite class will get another run: Wizard.
Yes, I think that might work quite well. Something like a councillor, with Knowledge Nobility, History, Geography and stuff. OK, sounds like Ezren, but hey...

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Overlap isn't bad. ^^ There are always situations with the potential to knock one or more of us for a loop. Under such circumstances, it's nice to have someone capable of stepping into the breach.

Also, don't underestimate the value of a good support bonus. ;)

Looking good!

What? The witch or the alternatives? ^^

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Do people talk about who they actually are on these forums or is it more of an anonymous thing? I might mention that I'm in Frankfurt, Germany, so I'm on Central European Time (GMT+1).

Funny, I thought that might be the case, due to your posting times. I'm from Trier, Germany too.

I'm not really sure on that matter. You can add your time zone in your profile, so that's no big secret. The rest might be up to the people you are playing or posting with. Everything is visible to the whole internet, so, yeah, you should consider that.
As for me, I like knowing who I'm playing with, to a degree at least, especially at the beginning. If someone wants to remain anonymous, I'm fine with it too.

I find that most people share some personal info, and then how detailed they get is personal preference. Anyone who wanted to find out who I am could do so easily. :) Btw my wife is -delighted- to know there's somebody from Trier in my game. She lived in Wittlich for a summer when she was younger. My only experience in Germany was Aachen as I lived close to the border in the Netherlands.

Anyways, I'm Dave and I'm from northern Alberta (a couple hours out of Edmonton) in Canada. I'm 34 and work in IT at an online university and live with my wife (also a PF player) and dogs.

And I meant that your witch concept sounds solid, Ragnar.

I'll have a focus on utility magics, don't worry.

Incidentally, I'm from Canada--specifically, Nova Scotia. Planning to go back to university in September for an honours equivalency program in Psychology.

I'll have some simple goodies starting at level four to help fill gaps if I need to, I just want a campaign that doesn't get bored before level ten and bail.

I'm working at a small Christian Camp near my home in Western North Carolina, United States until I go back to college this fall in Georgia for Outdoor Leadership and Education. I'm an open book :D

I'm Michael, 28 and in my last year at university. Till December I'm working on my master's thesis in Wirtschaftsinformatik (well, best translates to Business Informatics, it's IT plus Economics, it's a relatively new German discipline) . After that I'm working in IT/Business Intelligence. So if I sometimes have a little less time, you know why ;-)
I'm living with my girlfriend, without kids or pets for the moment.
Wittlich is close by. What brought her here? Funny coincidences. Do you or your wife speak some German?

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@Crystal - Awesome! I have never been to the maritimes and feel I am a poorer person for it. Nova Scotia gave us the donair (for Ragnar and Juid it's a Canadian variation of a doner kebab) and I will love 'em forever for that.

@Czein - I'm in this for the long haul, so no worries there. I tend to post more frequently than most of my players, so the game will go at the pace that works for the group.

@Ragnar - Very cool. My job is moving into IT business analysis, previously I worked in a project management office doing estimations and reporting. I'll read on Business Informatics, sounds interesting. And my wife went when she was 18 to work as a nanny using some sort of program. She keeps practised with her German, but hasn't had to exercise it for years. She's a racing fan so we intend to visit some day for a grand prix, or maybe a rally.

Sadly I have never been to North America. Hopefully finally earning some real money will help with that. I'd love to see Canada especially.

@SpiderBeard - You'll need to be quick with that. They are currently having dwindling sales numbers for the F1 in Germany and the future of big motorsports events isn't very bright at the moment. They even consider closing one of the tracks completely and one other is being sold to a private investor. But I guess it is Germany and we will always find a way to have cars drive around in circles ;-)
Seriously, it's great fun!
Wirtschaftsinformatik is both IT and economics, but more. It has it's own techniques and philosophies, that are more than just an intersection of it's founding disciplines. Outside of Germany there is nothing really comparable. Therefore there is no real translation.

One of my best friends is married to a girl from the US. They met on a semester abroad and she now moved to Germany. I think it’s funny how similar but different our cultures and our ways of thinking are.

I hope this campaign won't just die down, but I have high hopes. I'm more the reliable kind, so expect me to keep my posting schedule or at least announce my absence in advance.

I'm Jim. Born in New York state. I moved to Frankfurt nineteen years ago, a few years after fulfilling my dream: to bicycle around Europe for six months. It was a little challenging and a lot of fantastic. I live with my German 'husband' and our fox terrier Tom Sawyer. I'm a financial translator and an English coach for German managers.

Wow, that's fascinating Jim! I used to mountain bike with my father when I was a child/teenager, but never longer than a day's tour. Which countries did you visit?