Omens Better Left Lost: An Age of Worms Campaign

Game Master Kobold Catgirl

Yesterday was not a good day to die, I guess. :)

Briar tilts her head down as if a librarian glancing over glasses

<stares in librarian>

:)

I am a glasses wearer myself and I’ve used that very look many times, especially since I was a TA and used to tutor. Entirely for effect, as my eyes are bad enough that I couldn’t read a screen six inches from my face without glasses.

I'll look to get the update post up later tonight, with the scouts (and rest of the party) entering the hallway down below.

Briar Vervain wrote:

Briar tilts her head down as if a librarian glancing over glasses

<stares in librarian>

:)

Noooo! Not Librarian Stare! My greatest weakness! :)

I've never quite managed it: too nervous to make it believable. Maybe there's a course for that in library school? Something I'm keeping in mind, maybe, depending on how my current program works out.

I got middling marks in staring class, but made up for it with exemplary shushing and tutting.

Many librarians, at least here in the US, start in the profession as a second career, so it is a perfect career to keep in your back pocket in case you decide to make a change. Depending on what you other degree work is, that can be a boon too, allowing you to become a social sciences librarian, arts & humanities librarian, etc.

I’m lucky to have inherited good eyes for The Stare.

My sister actually wanted to be a research librarian for a long time, but my mom pushed her away from it *sigh*

There's good reasons to avoid librarianship; low pay relative to peer professions, rapid change in the profession as digitization has upended everything, automation (though this is more an issue with catalogers and technical staff).

That said, I've found it very rewarding and enjoyable. As an archivist I work with rare and unique materials, get to contextualize them through exhibitions, get to try out interesting tech, get to work with communities to document their experiences, and learn a lot of interesting things through work with communities and collections materials. I could for example probably give an hour-long talk off the cuff about all the ways you die during steamboat travel, which is something I'd know nothing about were it not for my work with river-related collections at a former job.

10/10 would recommend being an archivist.

It sounds lovely. I think both me and my sister would have enjoyed it. I spent so many years in libraries and book stores that they just feel like a home away from home at this point.

I’m glad you love your work. It’s good work!

*Feels the pull towards the dark side.* :)

I’ll try to keep room in my back pocket. Library Club was one of my favourite things in high school (Why, yes, I was absolutely one of the queen bees in my time, making mere cheerleaders and their ilk quail, why do you ask? [/Tongue-in-cheek]), and I lucked into a few summer positions back home, but to get really serious about it… Well, I have friends and family to consult who made that leap, if and when. We’ll see how things go in the next few years, I guess.

So my laptop might be broken, which is okay but likely will mean me not posting super reliably for a bit if true.

Oh, and Alaïs, Tanglebriar might exist in some capacity. I'm trying to cut back on Pathfinder's several dozen different potential sources of apocalypse, but I think Tanglebriar could find a home if need be.

So my laptop might be broken, which is okay but likely will mean me not posting super reliably for a bit if true.

Oh no! I wish you luck getting it fixed <3

Blerg! Good luck with the laptop issues, Dungeon Madam!

Oh, and Alaïs, Tanglebriar might exist in some capacity. I'm trying to cut back on Pathfinder's several dozen different potential sources of apocalypse, but I think Tanglebriar could find a home if need be.

No worries, I just thought I'd ask before assuming and mouthing off in-character about it. Maybe it could just be a "We hates elveses and don't believe in faeries!" section of the Worldwound, since the latter is on our map of a smaller Golarion? Or it could just not be a thing. Whatever works best.

Anyway, I hope your laptop feels better soon. I know I work the poor creatures in my own stable pretty hard. :/

I hope your in-house witchcraft practitioner can perform the necessary necromantic rites on your laptop. Mine’s up and running, but I’m being a bit deliberate about what I install. Not everything I had before needs to come back...

Computer woes are a pain these days. It amazes me to think back to my own youth when the internet was only the realm of research universities and the military, and having a computer in your home got (me) labeled a loser-nerd.

Nowadays, not having internet access is like not having electricity or indoor plumbing.

Also wishing you the best of luck with your computer. Crossing my fingers that it's not actually broken and/or the fix is super easy.

Okay, computer's back up and running (my girlfriend woke me up at around 1am to show me she got it working), just in time to be house-sitting. I'm working on a post now, but expect posting to get a little spotty for a patch.

Sorry, I had to take a couple days off the internet, but I should have let y'all know sooner. All is well--I just felt a little burned out between work and hobbies. I'll be back tomorrow.

No worries! Thanks for letting us know, but take as much time as you need, always.

Definitely be mindful of burnout!

I’m chilling and excited to get back to it when you’re less burnt out!

Nice thing about a Play-by-post: Time stands still as long as you need.

Freeze this moment a little bit longer....

Thanks for touching base and keeping us in the loop.

Aye, a pause in PBP is always an option and doesn't need to harm the game. Thanks for the update, we'll be ready when you are.

Take however long you need :)

Sorry about the radio silence, everyone. Things got really rough in my personal life for a few weeks and I've been putting everything into my work to try to at least get one source of stress under control. My situation has eased up a little, and I'm close to caught up on commissions. We'll be back June 1st.

Hey, y'all, I wanted to let you know that my access to the forums may be reduced over the next week as we take a little road trip. Most years, I'm actually more available because I'm not at work, but if you are trying to get a response from me and not getting it, that's probably why. I'm always open to having my character botted to keep the story moving forward, so if you feel you must, go for it. Normal posting delays (i.e., work and general normal RL) will resume a week from now.

Looking forward to seeing the game resume even if I'm not immediately available!

Writing a report for a grant we just finished and it is taking a bit longer than anticipated. I may be absent a couple of days as the deadline approaches.

Really rocky day today. Nothing serious, just the bad kind of hyperfocus turning into a full 14 hours of nonstop anxiety. I'll try to get a post up tomorrow evening.

Sorry to hear that, GM. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Thanks for the update, KC. Hang in there, you're among friends.

For the record, things are still rocky but the source of the unwanted hyperfocus has been removed, so they should hopefully get better soon. I'll try to get that post up tonight.

Also, my style of GMing generally seeks out "Perception checks for particular areas". That said, I'm not trying to trick people. So far, I'm considering the party to have searched the bedroom, the workroom, and effectively the main "foyer".

That’s fine. Not my preference, but that’s your style. Could we perhaps have a list of what we haven’t searched yet then? It makes it easier than having to delve back through post history to try to search through each room’s description for specifics we may have missed.

Sure, I'll try to get that up today or tomorrow. Sorry, I understand if it's not everyone's cup of tea, and we can change it if it's really cumbersome - I like it because it encourages more interaction with the environment, and makes it easier for me to know what someone is looking for and what they might find than a "I search the three rooms", which leaves things pretty vague for me.

That said, if someone had said they searched the three rooms, I would've given them something for it! But if someone says they search the parlor, I'm not going to even think to tell them what's in the bedroom, and every Perception check I saw was described like that - searching the closets, searching the workroom, etc.

I appreciate that instinct and I don’t disagree. We’ve just been in this set of rooms for fair number of RL days (not a criticism), and I legitimately don’t remember all the details of each room off-hand anymore and need to thread search to try to scrounge it up.

No, it's completely understandable. We lagged a lot here. I'll just say up-front that I don't believe anyone's searched the bathroom area. Understandably.

Okay, things are starting to calm down around here at long last. Thank you all for your patience. I think I can get things moving again tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Sunday? Did I say Sunday? I meant "someday", as in "some time this week".

I appreciate everyone's patience here. It helps to know that people aren't tapping their watches and scowling impatiently.

In a very real way, getting work done on time would be so, so much easier if I didn't care if it was late. The guilt-anxiety-panic-delay spiral would be funny if it wasn't so frustrating. Like many people, I am fine at keeping a steady schedule, but absolutely dreadful at breaking a hiatus.

I’m a patient person by nature. My astrology friends say it’s all the Taurus in my chart. I’ve also been creatively drained lately and am only now getting back into the swing of things, so I understand.

In a very real way, getting work done on time would be so, so much easier if I didn't care if it was late. The guilt-anxiety-panic-delay spiral would be funny if it wasn't so frustrating. Like many people, I am fine at keeping a steady schedule, but absolutely dreadful at breaking a hiatus.

Gosh, this is so true for me as well. Take your time, DM!

I literally thought about posting Thursday, but figured, "nah, I have three more days, better to focus on work instead. Not like some horrible great dome of upwards of 114-degree days and 85-degree nights is gonna mess with my productivity."

I'll do my best, but if things get pushed back to more like Tuesday or Wednesday, it's because my energy is being rationed for major priorities.

Oh yeah, forgot where you're located. That's bananas. I hope you're staying as cool as possible?

We did okay - a few days were absolute hell, but Tuesday and Wednesday were huge improvements. As long as you can open the windows at night, it's not so bad.

Of course, now I have clients cross with me about late commissions, but I'm pretty sure I can get the posts up tomorrow morning or early noon as long as nothing else blows up in my face. I give it pretty good odds--let's say 7/10.

Good luck, and I'm sorry about your clients. Are they not getting just how awful the heat is? My mum narrowly avoided the worst of it in BC, where she spent the last week dealing with *waves hands vaguely* family issues that I won't get into here.

Commissioners run the gamut from "take as much time as you need, no stress" to "hi it's been three days, any word yet" to "I deserve a 20% discount because my birthday was three months ago".

Anyways, things are stabilizing. I'm finally seeing my therapist again after a forced 1.5-month hiatus, so that's excellent. I'm planning a post sometime between the 28th and the 5th of August, after I'm back from a trip to Bellevue I'm making to see a friend.

If I'm not able to resume by the end of the first week of August, I may have to consider ending this game, just because it's frankly not responsible of me to keep everyone waiting multiple months if I don't really have a plan to resume. That said, right now I'm optimistic. Knock on wood!

It might be on the later end of that range - persevering through this second heat dome, which is basically an unimaginative sequel to the first one.

All good, dear!

Absolutely, take your time so you are ready the way you want to be.

Y'all are getting a second wave up there? Good luck staying cool!