Bob_Loblaw's page

You may be confusing it with the Axe of the Dwarvish Lords. It's abilities doubled the dwarf's abilities in 1st Edition.

In 2E, it had the properties of the dwarven thrower along with several other things.

I'm so sorry to see that Dr Wu. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

I found my Traveller RPG books. They are First edition and First printing. They're in pristine condition, not bad for being 40 years old. Don't have the box they came in, anymore.

They are about my age. I'm not even in pristine condition!

Cindy Robertson wrote:

Selene Spires wrote:

Congrats on the new job...

And way to go dress shopping by yourself...I have not done that yet...I am kinda stalled. :(

I found a store that treats me like a person and not a freak. I had gone there with a friend a few times already so I figured that it was time to see if I could at least go to a familiar place. I won't shop at any other Torrid because I don't know the team at those stores and I'm terrified of how they would treat me. One in particular concerns me because the Lane Bryant in the same mall treats me like I'm some sort of evil.

You ARE a person.

Let NOONE tell you otherwise.

I would report this Lane Bryant...individual...immediately. If you get the name, I will report them anonymously, you need do nothing.

It's more than one Lane Bryant and it's been a few years with one of them and less than a year with another. My friends thought I was being over sensitive because of my fear then they went in with me and before anyone realized that we were shopping for me they treated me like crap. They treated the women just fine. They realized that it was not me being sensitive. I really was treated like some sort of evil even though all I did was walk in the front door.

I make sure to tell the stores that treat me well that I appreciate it. I don't do business with the ones that don't. I'm finding out that companies that seem to have an unwritten policy about how to deal with trans people or crossdressers or anyone who isn't like them don't care and won't make the changes. So I'll just give my money to the companies that want it.

So, my date stood me up but I still went to the game club akd learned a bit of Netrunner. Was fun, though I would've preferred to do it with the guy. Hurts a bit to be stood up, but I'm chatting with another really nice person (and also really cute, waaay out of my league really). Hopefully they won't do the same.

You know, there are a lot of people who thought they were playing out of their league, but then they turned out to be playing in just the right league.

I'm still around, just mostly lurking. I'm following everyone's trials and tribulations. I'm really sorry about what's going on with Selene and John right now. I wish I could do something to help.

My life has gone way down hill, but that's not what I came here to talk about. I came here to talk about something positive that happened to me. I spent the weekend with family. Saturday was with my cousin, her husband, their baby, and 12-year-old son. They completely and 100% accepted me for who I am. They called me Bob instead of Cindy, and I never corrected them. I figured that I could worry about that at another time. I was just happy that they welcomed me into their home as is.

Sunday was spent with another part of the family. This is where I presented as Bob only. I needed to find out if I could come out to them safely instead of assuming the worst. After talking to them, I know who I can trust, who I can't, who would try to make an effort, who wouldn't, and who would not want me involved in family events anymore. To be honest, everyone was exactly who I was expecting them to be. I just wanted to know for sure.

Now that I have this information, I know that I will not be coming out to the rest of the family for a while. They talk to each other almost daily and this is a topic that would definitely come up. My parents were not there and I am not completely certain how my father would react. I think I know how my mother would. My brother already knows and he is completely fine with it. My step brother does not know and I think that he would accept it, but find it difficult to change names and pronouns only because we don't interact much so he would have a hard time breaking a 40 year habit. My step sister and her family are horrible people and I don't care in the slightest what they think. I just know that any family gatherings would be very uncomfortable. She already makes things difficult. No need to make things worse.

So anyway, the positive things were that my cousin got to meet Cindy and that I have information about the rest of the family. Oh, and my best friend made homemade banana bread just for me.

So I have two products in My Downloads that I am unable to download at all.

Sometimes I can see them, sometimes I can't. Right now, I can't. One of them is Pathways #69. It doesn't show up with the other Pathways products either. It's always at the very bottom of the page.

I sincerely hope that everyone had a decent Christmas despite some of the problems several of you have dealt with. I hope that you all have a better year next year than you had this year, even if this year was the best you've ever had.

For anyone looking for an update, I'm couch surfing. I might finally have the fmla taken care of but until then I'm really struggling to pay for my remaining expenses. I might lose my truck if I can't pay for it by Friday.

I'm trying to stay in good spirits but it's really taking it's toll.

I don't understand why people go to someone else's home and complain that they are somehow victims of the homeowner's existence.

It's like going to a gaming forum and complaining that they are talking about games.

I have been very self absorbed lately and I apologize for that. Selene, I hipè your birthday goes off without a hitch. John, I'm glad your mother is getting better. Feytharn, I hope things get better for you soon.

Bob_Loblaw wrote:

I just lost my job because of all the medical problems and the FMLA being screwed up. So far I have never had an FMLA not be screwed up with any company I've worked for. 100% of the time they have screwed things up.

Let's sum things up:

1. Headaches and dizziness so debilitating that I sometimes can't function.
2. VA has taken 8 months to not figure it out, spacing my appointments apart by a month or more every time.
3. No income means I have to move out by the day after Thanksgiving.
4. I am supposed to move into a friend's spare bedroom. So I am losing 99% of everything I own.
5. I have not been let go from a job since 1987. I have left jobs, but never been termed without choosing to leave on my own.
6. Depression is so out of control that I can hardly function.
7. I have to give up almost all of myself through this. I will have virtually nothing of my identity.
8. My family has yet to contact me about any of these things. Not a single one has reached out to me in any way. No phone calls. No text messages. No Facebook messages. No emails. No knock on my door. No hand-written letters. Nothing at all.

People keep telling me to cheer up. I don't even know how anymore.

Find or make a goal you can achieve...see it through. It might be very minor but it will be a victory.

Keep close to your friends...make them your new family.

How are you loosing you identity?

Almost forgot...*hugs*

When I talk about my identity, I mean almost everything about myself. I am going from a 1 bedroom apartment to a spare bedroom. I will have room for a small dresser, my computer, my dice collection, and a few gaming things. I will have nothing else.

I just lost my job because of all the medical problems and the FMLA being screwed up. So far I have never had an FMLA not be screwed up with any company I've worked for. 100% of the time they have screwed things up.

Let's sum things up:

1. Headaches and dizziness so debilitating that I sometimes can't function.
2. VA has taken 8 months to not figure it out, spacing my appointments apart by a month or more every time.
3. No income means I have to move out by the day after Thanksgiving.
4. I am supposed to move into a friend's spare bedroom. So I am losing 99% of everything I own.
5. I have not been let go from a job since 1987. I have left jobs, but never been termed without choosing to leave on my own.
6. Depression is so out of control that I can hardly function.
7. I have to give up almost all of myself through this. I will have virtually nothing of my identity.
8. My family has yet to contact me about any of these things. Not a single one has reached out to me in any way. No phone calls. No text messages. No Facebook messages. No emails. No knock on my door. No hand-written letters. Nothing at all.

People keep telling me to cheer up. I don't even know how anymore.

A lot of people forget that you can take a 5 foot step between attacks. This can really help with some mobility issues if a melee character has reach.

At 6:45, when I got home from Wal-Mart, I found my mother on the kitchen floor, probably from low blood sugar. Gave her some grapes to try to get her levels up.

I hope all is ok.

I got it through DriveThru, but I would like to get it through here if I can. I like to have as much as I can through the same site.

Glad for you, Cindy!

As for Bob, I've been hearing that from other victims. Definitely hard to be potentially reminded of it every day. It's good that we're finally getting to a point where people are coming forward about this, but it'd be good if it was easier to filter it out if we need to.

What I'm finding really difficult about it is that when I try to talk about it, I'm told that this is not about men. It's about women being victims/survivors. Men will have to wait. Seriously, that's exactly what I've been told.

I tried to argue that this is something that men should definitely be a part of because when we stifle the men, we are telling them that they need to toughen up because they are the stronger sex. This leads to them being conditioned to exercising their strength because it's the expectation. Then those men end up continuing the cycle of abuse.

In other words, I firmly believe that when we cut men out of the conversation, we are endangering women in the long run.

Bob_Loblaw wrote:

I see casting time being done incorrectly on a regular basis:

I'm curious what mistakes do you see people making?

(others have noted that many people playing Sorcerers - or actually most spontaneously cast spells- forget that if they apply metamagic feats the spell takes a full round if not already longer)

what other mistakes do you see people making?

(asking as a player and GM)

The difference between 1 round and a full round.

I also have to remind people often that spells that are cast as swift actions don't provoke.

When I was a child I was sexually assaulted several times. I've spent my life trying to deal with it. The details aren't important here.

What I'm really struggling with is all of the revelations of past sexual harassment and assault of people that are just now coming forward. It's very difficult for me to deal with because of the flooding of memories and emotions.

The biggest issues I am struggling with are:

1. Those who are guilty, but are not going to be punished for their crimes. A powerful attorney is probably going to get away with sexually assaulting someone because they know how to avoid leaving evidence or at least in sowing doubt.

2. Those who are guilty, but there is no evidence so they can't be punished for their crimes. Touching someone over or under their clothes leaves no evidence.

3. Those who are blaming the victims/survivors for not coming forward when it happened. 30+ years ago, during the height of the AIDS scare it could be dangerous to come forward as gay even if you were the victim. A teen age girl is unlikely to have the strength, courage, and knowledge to come forth (societal conditioning, lack of experience, and brain still growing) is incredibly unlikely to come forward against a powerful (physically and/or charismatically) perpetrator.

4. Those who are sharing pictures of the victims/survivors without any regard for their emotional well being or safety. For example, sharing stories about women who wanted to remain unknown and end up being doxxed. Those women don't need us to share their images, work places, names, etc. in the name of justice. Also, once a surviver has accepted the apology of the perpetrator, sharing images of women who are being touched inappropriately while they are sleeping is a violation of her privacy and it shows that we aren't willing to accept the survivor's acceptance and the perpetrator's apology and it will only make it harder for people to accept that they were in the wrong and less likely to make amends.

I'm finding it really hard to deal with a lot of this.

I see casting time being done incorrectly on a regular basis:

Casting Time
Most spells have a casting time of 1 standard action. Others take 1 round or more, while a few require only a swift action.

A spell that takes 1 round to cast is a full-round action. It comes into effect just before the beginning of your turn in the round after you began casting the spell. You then act normally after the spell is completed.

A spell that takes 1 minute to cast comes into effect just before your turn 1 minute later (and for each of those 10 rounds, you are casting a spell as a full-round action, just as noted above for 1-round casting times). These actions must be consecutive and uninterrupted, or the spell automatically fails.

When you begin a spell that takes 1 round or longer to cast, you must continue the concentration from the current round to just before your turn in the next round (at least). If you lose concentration before the casting is complete, you lose the spell.

A spell with a casting time of 1 swift action doesn't count against your normal limit of one spell per round. However, you may cast such a spell only once per round. Casting a spell with a casting time of 1 swift action doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity.

You make all pertinent decisions about a spell (range, target, area, effect, version, and so forth) when the spell comes into effect.

It shows up at the bottom of My Downloads, but says that I can't download it.

I have 2 files in on my Downloads page that say that they are unable to download. They are at the very bottom of the page. I know for sure that I put them there. Why can't I download them? One has been there for months and one has been there for a few days.

Have someone sit next to him who has a horrible poker face! I don't cheat, but it's funny when I roll and the guy next to me winces and says, "that's going to suck, Mr Swing and Miss."

Does anyone here use Rogue Genius Games's Anachronistic Adventures?

Hey all! I'm trying to create a bunch of characters for Anachronistic Adventures. They are all level 7. They are all real world historical people. I'm using 15 point buy, no magic, Automatic Bonus Progression (+2 levels since there is no magic). Adjusting stats by age appropriately with their ages on November 1, 1989. I'm not worried about gear. I'll handle all of that.

I just have so many characters I'm trying to create and I'm trying to get a little help. If anyone wants to help out, that would be great. I can answer any questions that may come up.

Robert Tappan Morris (created first computer worm)
Aldrich Ames (CIA officer turned KBG mole)
Rudy Boesch (Navy SEAL)
David Hasselhoff (Actor/Singer)
Jerome Clark (Cryptozoologist)
Martin Cooper (created first mobile phone)
Mark Edward (Cold Reader)
Joaquin Garcia (FBI agent who took down the Gambino family)
Aziz Ab'Saber (Brazilian scientist in geography, geology, ecology and archaeology)
Michael Wolffsohn (German Historian)
Yves Marie-Joseph Congar (Theologian)
Sidney Korshak (Lawyer/Fixer for the Chicago Outfit)
Deng Xiaoping (Chinese revolutionary and politician who played a role in the The Tiananmen Square protests)
"Freeway" Rick Ross (Drug Kingpin from the 1980s)
I already created Dr. Ruth Westheimer

I'm going to have to do it. I need to wait because of some rent issues, but I think I can swing it. I'm probably going to have to start buying my stuff from there instead of Paizo if there are POD options.

I'm ok with softbound.

I'm not exactly which products I'm looking for yet. I know that I can print one that I want. I'm hoping that I can print another, but they are both from Rogue Genius Games.

Right now, I'm just looking to print Anachronistic Adventures and the Skill Challenge Handbook. I'm still going through everything I have and I am looking to see what I want to print out because I'll be using it often. I was just hoping that there was an easy way for me to just have something printed out if I wanted it.

So should I just send a request if something comes up to whichever 3PP I want to print from and see what they can do?

There are quite a few 3pp products that I own or want to own that would be great as physical copies. Is there a way to actually have them printed out?

I would also love to see some compilations of the products put into a single physical copy. I know that it would take a ton of work on the part of the 3pp publishers who are already strapped for time and resources so this is probably just a dream.

Good morning, everyone. Today is my mother's birthday. She turns seventy.

Happy 2nd 35th birthday to your mother!

That's good. I was sincerely concerned.

Can the feds get involved somehow instead of the local authorities who probably don't really care much about it?

*sigh* I have accidentally closed the tab while being somewhere in the first half of more than 1400 unread posts here...

Westley: Who are you? Are we enemies? Why am I on this wall? Where is Buttercup?

I'm taking Cymbalta for migraines and depression. I'm going to need to really start exercising. The one thing I'm actually working on with my therapist is anger management. It's one reason why I'm thinking about waiting until I have more tools available to deal with the changes.

Bob_Loblaw wrote:

So I'm thinking about HRT, but I don't really know much about it and how it will affect my weight loss journey. I don't know what to expect. I don't know if it's covered by the VA. I don't know if it's the right thing for me to do. I don't know what questions to even ask.

I can answer any questions you might have; I haven't started HRT yet (need my repro stuff to be functional for now), but I've definitely looked into it and have a lot of friends that are going through it.

Thanks. As soon as I figure out what questions I have, I'll be asking a lot of people.

One of my biggest concerns is appetite. Since I had the lap sleeve surgery I no longer have much of a stomach. I don't want to reverse the weight loss I've experienced. I'm concerned about appetite and cravings.

I see my psychologist today and I may bring this up with him. I know that I should start talking about it sooner than later. We're right now focused on dealing with anger management. I don't know if I want to make sure that I have those tools in place before I start altering my hormones or if it's something I can work on at the same time.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

So I'm thinking about HRT, but I don't really know much about it and how it will affect my weight loss journey. I don't know what to expect. I don't know if it's covered by the VA. I don't know if it's the right thing for me to do. I don't know what questions to even ask.

Bob_Loblaw wrote:

I'll have to change that part of the history then. I really like the idea of the wall being a prison as well as a divider.

How about you make it necessary that the 'prison' has some sort of stable population? (no, I have no Idea atm how to make that a technical necessity) That would have the stream of refugees that left the GDR prior to the opening of the border endanger the prison and the actual opening one day ahead could be the possible doom you envision - without changing the history.

The Wall itself is the prison. I may need to do a little more research to see how I can incorporate your idea. The one thing I'm trying to avoid is magic or other dimensions. I want this as grounded in reality as possible. I don't know much about the Wall other than what I remember from high school many moons ago.

If you are up for it, would you be willing to aid me with some of my ideas? I don't know how well versed you are in WW2 history and secret societies/locations.

I'll have to change that part of the history then. I really like the idea of the wall being a prison as well as a divider.

This isn't even remotely LGBT related, but I really want to share my idea for an adventure I'm writing using Anachronistic Adventures by Rogue Genius Games.

First, I'm going to be creating the characters for the players for a few reasons. The most important is that I need to make sure that appropriate skills are chosen and I have a couple players who make a lot of mistakes when they create their characters. I also need 4 or 5 characters per player (more on that later).

Second, there is no magic. This is a real world adventure. No high-technology or magic. They might have access to a few things up to 5 years ahead of the general public, but they are still grounded in reality.

The adventure starts off on November 1, 1989. They are brought together by the Bilderberg Group for a discussion on what's going on in Germany and the protests about the Berlin Wall. The party will learn that the wall isn't just meant to separate Germany, but it's also a prison. There is an alien trapped inside that had been captured during WW2. Most of the records on the creature are spread out around the world or have been destroyed intentionally or on purpose. Based on previous events similar to what's going on, the Bilderberg Group estimates that there are approximately 10 to 14 days to gather the information and prepare to transport the creature so that it doesn't escape. They only know that it's very dangerous and killed millions during its short time on Earth.

The players will each choose a character from the pool available and begin their quest of traveling around the world to secret locations and gathering information in a variety of ways. They might speak with prisoners at the ADX Florence federal penitentiary in Colorado. They might need to go to Iron Mountain. They might need to go to Varosha, Famagusta. I'm going to look for 4 or 5 secret locations around the world. Each location will give them some information. It may not be complete or completely understood. It may be in the form of rumors. It may be photographs or film. It may be first hand information. It may be information that needs to be inferred.

After they go to one location, I will "rewind time" and they will take another set of characters to another location. They will do this until each character has gone to each location. I'll probably give them the locations ahead of time so they can choose which characters will be best for each mission.

I don't know how many of you know, but the Berlin Wall was torn down a day early because of a mistranslation. This is 100% true. This also means that the Bilderberg group was correct in their calculations. They just didn't account for a translation error. The Wall is torn down on November 9, 1989.

If the party has enough information, they might be able to get ahead of things. If not, they will have to track down the alien and recapture it.

They will learn that the alien was responsible for the various typhoid outbreaks around the world. It is both vulnerable and resistant to cold and a few other things. (I already created it. I just need to tweak it a bit.) Using WW2 technology it's assumed to be invincible or nearly so. Hopefully 40ish years later they can be better equipped to deal with this threat.

What do you think? I am trying to come up with ideas to make this really fun and interesting. I want to use actual people and events, the more unusual the better.

I share a birthday with Lovecraft. I don't know what that says about me.

It's probably consecrated.

So I'm going to be running an Anachronistic Adventure and it's set during the time the Berlin Wall was torn down. I'm looking for trivia related to WW2 time frame. I need secret societies, locations, people, events, etc.

The basic story that I'm working on so far is that the Wall is not just something that separates Berlin. It actually imprisons a creature. The Wall was torn down early (this is true) and the creature escapes. The party needs to find out about the creature before the wall is torn down. They start learning about this on November 1, 1989. The Bilderberg Group will summon them all to tell them about what they know, but they don't know everything. They need the party to seek out information from around the world. They estimate that there is 2 to 3 weeks before the wall is torn down.

The creature will be an alien that spreads disease similar to typhoid. It is highly contagious, but the onset is slow. It was finally captured in Siberia during the winter shortly before the end of the war. As far as the Bilderberg Group can tell, it can't be killed.

Hi Cindy

First you are completely right to be angry and even enraged. You of all people do not deserve any of this #profanity#

And anyone who ever told you otherwise was just trying to deflect blame

You are very far from overreacting in the slightest. Being who you are, I know that you will not hurt other people even when you are angry. Because you are a deeply loving and caring person. I was worried that you would turn this anger and maybe anguish against yourself but the tone of your posts allays my fears :-)

You do well to surround yourself with good and loving people

And getting rid of people who do not deserve you will open even more space for love and happiness in your life.

In all honesty, I feel you have grown by leaps and bounds since I first read your posts. You are far more centered and self-assured IMO

We love you and we know how lucky we are to have you around here

Thanks a lot

You aren't the first person to tell me that I've grown. I don't see it the way that others do, but maybe I can't see forest through the trees.

I don't know if anyone here knows how important you all are to me. I have spent a lot of time feeling like I don't belong anywhere. When I come here I feel welcome and safe. It has helped me through some very difficult times. Even when I'm not posting or responding to the struggles of others (I do keep up on them), I still feel like I'm part of a group that wants me around. There have been a few times I came here to read people's posts instead of harming myself.