Cheeseweasel's page

I've often been the Evil Teammate (not a Token anything, thank you, just evil and a teammate).

Usually L/E, because, at heart, I'm lawful, so it comes easily.

Evil isn't (shouldn't be) stupidly-duplicitous, or constitutionally-incapable of cooperative effort, or necessarily-nasty. Evil can and, imo, should be charming, urbane, helpful and -- usually -- honest, as far as the party goes; and, mostly, to NPCs as well.

It isn't profitable to broadcast a psychotic/tyrannical vibe.

Even if you do plan to rule the world, getting there is half the fun...

I'll be honest. I hate giving out magical treasure nearly every game. But the players in my Thursday group practically pout if there's only money, gems, or other mundane treasure. The way I GM giving out magic doohickeys is the quickest way towards power bloat, and I don't like that style of play. I try to give out some magic every game, but they're starting to complain; "In my other game the GM gives us blah blah blah....".

What's a guy to do?

Sigh. My knee-jerk response is to cut off the "In my other game" lament with "That's nice, but this isn't your other game."

Which isn't really an helpful impulse.

Once more, this seems like an "enhance communication" issue. I.e., sitting down and discussing the expectations -- yours, theirs -- and trying to reach a place where the slow accumulation of magic doohickeys is OK, or (maybe) spitting out a few more expendables to sweeten the pot for them, with the assurance that they'll get to more magic later? YMMV...

"I don't always play a Paladin...

... but when I do, s/he's an obnoxious prig."

I realize you don't want a new system, but Hama's right: 3rd ed GURPS is (one of) the best classless gaming options available, and trying to "de-class" Pathfinder is (imo) at LEAST as difficult as learning a new system...

145. Because you want an undead donkey.

Lawful/Evil.

That way, I can be a dependable, team player with my party and a vicious schmuck to the rest of the world.

In other news, had lunch with my ex this last Monday; managed to not go all fanboy on him, lol. Had a good time hanging out, catching up on my medical cr@p and his new job, etc. All in all, a nice break from my medical cr@p.

XD

Y'know, I'm an atheist, but it really bugs me when anti-LGBT people attempt to co-opt all of religion, or all of Christianity to their cause. A lot of the people in my life who are supportive of me have religious beliefs of one degree or another, and have been supportive of LGB folk as well.

I waffle between athiesm and agnosticism, myself; I tend to go with atheism as an identifier more frequently, because there are more of "us" that way -- and atheists are generally fellow-travelers so far as being proponents of Reason as raison d'etre.

But my family is pretty faithful, and are awesome about my sexuality, always supportive, want to meet the new bf, etc. And >ahem< "some of my best friends are faith-based."

I think there is a disconnect regarding the schismatic nature of religion in this country (U.S.), and a tendency to want dumbed-down, black-and-white, binary descriptives doesn't help.

Before we can really examine the "faith vs. LGBT" thing, we really need to look at just how different various faiths are, and recognise that -- like alignment -- religious faith is not a straightjacket. There are LOTS of religious folks with whom I consider myself allied, and they're as irked by the "right-wing," "funamentalist" types as I am -- or moreso, since I don't have to worry about the antis presuming to speak for ME.

This has been terribly good information to be receiving; just found out a close friend of mine is on the trans* spectrum (somewhere -- we haven't really had a lot of time to hang out lately, so we haven't had more than the bare exposition).

But I feel like I'm much better-prepped to hear about it, grasp what I'm told, and ask questions that don't make me sound like a dweeb when I need clarification. So, thanks again, guys, gals, and others!

Aaaand, Happy Friday, everybody!

Love from the (not so) Frozen North,

Cheeseweasel.

Best description of the attraction I've ever found was in the Guardians of the Flame series (by Joel Rosenberg).

In the opening chapter of the first book, a player is reflecting on his gaming habit, and his take is something on the order of,

"You can say, 'I heft my axe, stride across the room, and bash an orc' and everyone reacts exactly as if you had done it."

Drifting off-topic for a moment...

Bought a heart-shaped box of chocolates today; first Saint Valentine's Day in a number of years I've had cause. Feeling warm and fuzzy about it (and him) and just delighted, generally, with the buzz of romantic inclinations.

[/starry-eyed Badger mode]

MagusJanus wrote:

No works of OSC can be found in my house. That is all I can say of my opinion of the man without violating forum rules.

Who he?

Sci Fi/Fantasy author; pretty anti-gay. Sad, good writer, generally. Orson Scott Card.

No works of OSC can be found in my house. That is all I can say of my opinion of the man without violating forum rules.

See, I'll still own and read Xenocide. But never again Songmaster. And if you've ever read Treason... let's just say the guy seems a little conflicted and leave it there.

Not pointing fingers of shame, here; I refuse to have anything to do with Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. Their "Rose of the Prophet" trilogy left me almost trembling-furious.

>eyes wide<

Uh, thanks; like Kryzbyn, appreciate the look in (and thanks, Kryz, for being the point man and asking).

...whole 'nother set of layers on diverging from expectations, and dealing with expectations that don't fit.

Heh. And I thought growing up queer was confusing.

Thanks again!

Take care when you argue with trolls, lest a troll you become, and remember that as you gaze upon the internet, it gazes back at you.

Sutekh, there are mornings when you are just too many things.

:)

"It should be obvious..."

I'd have to disagree on that one; while I've grown a bit more obvious as I've grown older (less patience with the social anxieties of the conservabubblers, etc.) I've been a stealth fairy most of my life. Beginning with a conscious act while in the closet, but continuing as a part of the "leave me the hell alone" vibe I tend to give off. Which, it seems, translates into "straight, aggressive, possibly-violent if approached" guy.

Now -- obviously (heh, wordplay) -- if we're looking at a TV/movie character, their orientation needs to be... ah, call it "discoverable;" the audience needs to be able to figure it out. But I don't know that "obvious" is really a perfect choice, given how I, and those like me, slip through the average day without pinging anybody's gaydar.

But depending upon the setting (work, friends and family, public spaces, etc.) it's conceivable that a LGBT character might not exhibit their orientation/queerness/whatever -- at least not in a fashion that anyone not already in the know would notice.

Eh. I'm just glad that there are more of us showing up; the sterotypes make more of a splash, yah. But I do think that sterotypes are often all we can expect from mass media: they're playing to the lowest common denominator.

Perhaps kobolds have a clean genome: no nasty recessives to worry about.

Or possibly they eat their young.

;)

Given that it's nearly impossible to get any two handsfuls of people to agree what are "modern values" -- in the Postmodern era, it seems (to me) a little ridiculous to try to decide whether or not they have a place in fantasy gaming. YMMV.

How about just deciding what values are in place and not nitpicking about whether they're suitably "fantastic."

And go pick up a Dresden Files novel: "modern" and "fantasy" aren't mutually exclusive...

:P

Oops Jaelithe, I missed the reference.... ?

Snidely Whiplash is the name of the [cartoon? melodrama?] villain who standardized the mustache-twirling of villains.

Took me a while to get comfy with the Alchemist's Discoveries (after getting there, love the class).

And figuring out some of the more obscure (to me) Feat chains, and absorbing Feats out of the supplemental (non-Core) books has been challenging, but I've found there are things I absolutely love out there. With the Eldritch Heritage (Arcane Bloodline) Feat, even my Rogues can end up with an Imp familiar! Too awesome.

TS

I figured out that I was different from the other boys, and how, very early-on in my life -- no later than 5, 6 yrs old.

But this wasn't an "epiphany" -- I was always attracted to my own gender, even before I realized not everybody was.

There are [established] races which I enjoy playing, and others I wouldn't play with someone else's dice. Likewise, tinkering with the cultural "norms" of said races can produce either intriguing or repulsive results.

But I'm failing to see the problem, especially now that the ARG is out; if you can't stand standard races, spend a half an hour statting out a new race and then a day or two cobbling a history and culture together (or skip that if you're in an RP-lite campaign).

Eh.

Simple twists on old stuff can be fun:

Elves are fascist bastards who think being the last people to have had face-to-face conversations with the gods makes them inherently-better-suited to run the world than everyone else, and should let them tell everyone what magic they can and cannot use.

Dwarves are still in the midst of a race-wide migration, nomads, thanks to an elven intervention that sank their homeland beneath the sea. Still gruff, bitter -- like standard dwarf stereotypes -- but now they actually have a good reason to be that way.

Gnomes and halflings are subspecies of each other, essentially. Best entertainment ever, watching a gnome and a halfling try to one-up each other in any field. They will band together to deal with threats from the Tall Folk when needful, but generally try to avoid having to deal with each other, while convincing the other races that THEIR branch of the family is best, and the others' is full of inbred halfwits.

...and so on.

I tend to nix the half-breeds. Though Orcs are a perfectly acceptible race, so the Orcish genome is still available. (REPRESENT!)

And humans, well... it's all a matter of cultures, since they're kinda the baseline by which other races get measured. And that's fine, imo.

Lawful/Neutral

Its despite never varies; it ALWAYS reacts the same way to everyone: rather lawful (orderly, habitual, reliable) displeasure. And it hasn't displayed anything that would (to me) indicate a bias on the good/evil axis. I mean, if you CATCH it sacrificing orphans to inflict curses on people who bother it, maybe...

1. I think so, though this is based on Richie, a character from the TV show.

2. Stop asking logical questions, it's a nasty habit.

But I DO have a theory: cutting the head off of a "dead" immortal might not transfer the [power/mojo/Quickening/whatever] to the decapitator; maybe only killing a live immortal gets you the juice.

3. Imma vote Gilgamesh. No show/movie-based reason, just feeling Gilgameshy.

:)

Hope this suggests some useful directions for you. And how's that 5e treating you?

A teleport trap that drops them a thousand miles into wasteland... only good for those w/o their own teleport and w/o access to create food and drink.

Starvation... pvp leading to cannibalism... dead PCs rising as revenants to kill off the (freshly-full and food-comatose) living PCs.

Good times...

Selling arms to all sides of a conflict.

I guess mine has to be players who take their characters' chaotic alignments seriously...

I don't use electronic simulators and I don't like it when others do; if I'm running a game, it's real dice only, so sorry. I just grimace a lot when I'm playing in a game where electronics are allowed.

But then, many of my friends take a perverse pleasure in referring to me as a Luddite, so take my objections with a grain of Lot's wife, I guess...

:/

"We are NOT going to war!"

"It's like the pirate band; if we call it a war we will annoy Nova."

(Excerpt from, ah, I believe the book is I DARE, a Liaden Universe [tm] novel.)

You can, I hope, see the application to this conversation? If we call them murderhobos...

Cheeseweasel wrote:

Had a buddy who named his sword "Sarcasmus" once.

Had a character who went Spelljamming (back in AD&D), named her ship "Hellsheart;" it was built out of iron from the Nine Hells...

That is excellent. "From Hellsheart, I stab at thee!"

"Cheeseweasel" is also a good name for a ship.

Eh, I always think it'd be best for a sentient garrote...

:)

Had a buddy who named his sword "Sarcasmus" once.

Had a character who went Spelljamming (back in AD&D), named her ship "Hellsheart;" it was built out of iron from the Nine Hells...

Hooray for increasing light!

(Living in the north, we loose about 5 minutes or so a day from the summer solstice to the winter solstice; now we're gaining that 5+ minutes a day... makes for much easier happiness.)

Bump. Tired of hunting in Gamer Talk. Happy Thanksgiving to those living in the U.S. (Well, to the rest of you, too...)

I've included a lot of named weapons in various campaigns, and some of my players have taken up the theme, naming their own.

The problematic thing, with the constant upgrading of gear, is the question, do you just assign the name to whatever you're currently wielding, or do you have a succession of different weapons with different names? Usually, it seems like we end up with only high-level items getting names -- once it seems like it's something that won't get replaced for a while. YMMV.

You ought always to avoid using "never," and it's never a good idea to use "always."

:)

Moro,

I believe the words you are scrabbling desperately for are subtle and understated. I understand that not making every little thing blatantly obvious by hanging a neon sign around it shouting out "plot point" or thinking that talking in an obnoxiously loud voice is acceptable in standard conversation may well be somewhat foreign concepts to a blssted colonial American. However, to disparage the realm of Albion for your deficiencies, while understandable, is simply not acceptable. It's a wonder the Times hasn't published one of my strongly-worded letters yet. Nevertheless, you may be honoured to be included in the latest missive.
Pip pip.

...and people wonder why I love the English language. >sigh<

How many eeps for taming a gazebo?

Hey everybody:

Just wanted to mention how glad I am to have this thread, and all of you in it, as a part of my virtual life. It's really great to be able to come here, with news, or when I'm bored -- or when I need a break from the relentless pace of life. I always get what I need here. So thanks.

Sincerely,

Cheeseweasel

Come to Australia! It's a pleasant 26C (~78.8F) today. And half the country is NOT currently on fire (unlike a month ago). :)

Home to 14 of the world's 15 deadliest snakes, no?

O.o

ACK! THE FURNACE IS BROKEN!

I live in Anchorage, for those who may have forgotten (or didn't know) so this is a rather crucial piece of household equipment. The furnace mechanics are coming back Wednesday. I'm going to a friend's house tomorrow, to wait out the repair hiatus in something approaching warmth!

Curse you, winter demons!!

Quote:

Why can't things just work right without having to talk about them?!

Like if talking about things made them work right... *rolls eyes*

Heh. Well, it isn't guaranteed, but I do find that discussion tends towards a better chance of things working right. YMMV, of course.

:)

Cheeseweasel: It is not okay for him to treat you, or anyone that way. Talk is becoming necessary. I would say you are right in assuming that he is gay, but for some reason doesn't want to accept that. Now, sexuality is not something we can control. Not to any large degree. So, in you, a friend, he found the perfect solution. He probably regards himself as a man who has sex with other men - this is a very common situation, common enough that you need to specify this in STD awareness campaigns and such, just to reach people. In essence, he gets the sex, but doesn't need to come out or deal with any of the hassles of being gay socially, where he has a clear identity already.

Perfect, right? Well, to him. I would say the driving force of this is fear. Fear, despite the fact that admitting he's gay probably would solve a lot of the stuff he sees as problems.

Just be aware that he is desperate for a simple reason: You are probably a necessary part of it. Without you, he has no other options. Be prepared, because his reactions could get stronger than you think. Okay?

Of course, this could just be me rambling...

Eh, if you're rambling, you manage to ramble around the point rather well. Yeah, conversation will be needful. >bleah< Why can't things just work right without having to talk about them?! [/male cowardice]

On the... well, not really plus side... but "easy," we haven't seen each other since my initial post on the subject, so I haven't had to have the confrontation yet. I think he finally "got" that the intial weeks post-surgery just aren't a good time for rabid weasel sex.

:/

PS to Jessica:

Thanks for the kind wishes. Aside from healing up from surgery, we (my docs and I) are concentrating our efforts on reigning in my blood sugar levels -- not off the charts, but perniciously-high. Had my first post-op appointment today, and we're raising my insulin dosage (as well as adding several blood-sugar level tests to my daily routine, to track it a little more closely. It's an excellent thing I don't suffer from aichmophobia [fear of sharp things]).

Anyway -- appreciate the support.

Drejk,

Ah, I'm just irritated -- with him, with myself, with the basic situation. "It seemed like a good idea at the time..."

I try -- I try really hard, against my own inclination in the matter -- to accept peoples' self-identifying in the matter of orientation. Started as a desire to avoid wasting time and energy chasing "straight" guys. Figure, my gaydar aside, if they want to i.d. as heterosexual there's little but heartache to be had in trying to seduce them against the grain of their own persona. Sometimes, it turned out I was right about their actual orientation -- but it is ALWAYS better, in my experience, to let someone figure out and accept that about themselves than to struggle with their self-closeting.

In this specific case, I was actually completely blindsided by his "conversion;" he'd been straight well enough, long enough, that when he decided to jump me, I was well and truly bushwhacked. And under the circumstances, his insistence on being straight was -- initially -- No Big Deal, to me. Even now, it's just mildly annoying: the frequency and stridency of his insistence, like he doesn't think I'll believe him or something.

Which begs all sorts of questions about what he actually thinks and feels on the subject; I mean, I have to admit that I'm being made skeptical of the claim because, trumeted so often, it rings brassy and hollow.

But this is tangential to my main problem, which is his turning into a psycho hosebeast/turboslut/I'm-not-even-sure-WHAT-to-call-it.

As has been mentioned by several wise people, obviously some conversation is in order. I'm trying to determine a good angle of attack -- to avoid tripping the switch on what I suspect to be an extremely-tense bundle of inner conflict. I really don't want to have him melt down or huff up because I'm trying to brush him off a little.

And trying to decide how much or even IF I want to pursue a continuing liaison with him. Kinda depends on how he takes my request that he chillax a bit with the constant demands for sex, I guess.

And at THIS point, I really don't trust him to react rationally and reasonably, because he's like a textbook case of "adolescent emo dramabomber."

Arg. I'm just gonna find a Dionysian monastary to which I can retire.

The irony of this thing is palpable: I'm CERTAIN I would be finding this HILARIOUS if it were happening with someone else's lust-life in the focus.

>sigh<

So, I have an unusual problem.

A little background:
I've got a friend of several years who had been staunchly-straight for the entirety of our friendship (which was sad, him being cute in all the right ways for my preferred 'type'). He recently (well, as far as I know this was a recent switch, though I have no idea how long he may have been ruminating over it) decided that he really wanted me to take him to bed.
Aaaaand, well, long story short, I did. (Duh.) Was happy to do it, we had a couple of delightful evenings... and now it's like there was some twisted Djinn granting my wish, because it's become a freaking nightmare. He won't leave me alone. I mean, every night he's not stuck at work, he calls and wheedles and whines about wanting to take me to bed again, and he sulks if I turn him down. (All this, mind you, while insisting that he's straight. Which I wouldn't CARE about except he feels it needful to make this assertion several times before, during, and after... sigh.)
I've been hiding behind "I'm still too fragile to fool around, while my breastbone knits," but that's (at best) a three-month solution...

It's getting to the point that I'm regretting ruining a pleasant friendship.

So, has anybody got one of those Men in Black flashy-things, so I can make him forget this ever happened?

Arg. Not really expecting anyone to solve this: distinctly "own damn fault" event, as well as "not fixable" kind of affair; no way to unf*ck things, him, our friendship. Just in case anyone needs it, remember to be careful what you wish for...

Just wanted to complain a little to sympathetic audience; can't really talk to anyone in hometown, since on top of everything else, he's completely closeted. :/

About to run my darklight sisterhood game today.

Oh, wait: you said RUN. For a second, I READ "ruin," and thought "Why are you ruining your game?"

Then my brain caught up with my eyes and I saw you were running your game, which makes much more sense.

>sigh<

I blame percocet.

Haz fun!

@Cheeseweasel:

Congrats on the successful surgery. Hope your recovery goes well too.

Brilliant smiles all 'round!

Am I dirty for asking if you at least wiped off the head shape once you were done shooting for it?

>whistling innocently at approaching Inquisitors of the Great Summer Sausage God while slowly stepping over to clothesline to drop to street level and vanish into tea shop<

:)