nate lange's page

My wife started seeing a new ‘doctor’ (I’m not sure what kind of doctoral degree he has, or how reputable it is) that does a lot with like homeopathic remedies and nutrition and stuff... I’m a bit skeptical about it all (though, in fairness, I’m a bit skeptical about a lot of typical western medicine too), but he’s putting her on a new diet that happens to be almost exactly the same the list of foods that I want to be eating for my diet!

The downside is that we’re going to spend the next week eating garbage (because we can’t afford to throw it all out), but once that’s cleared out it’s going to be waaaaay easier to eat right. And, hopefully, it’ll help her feel better too.

So, funny story... apparently high stress levels (and not doing well with my diet) can trigger gout attacks. The upside is that I'm having to really get my diet back under control to clear it up, then I just need to stay on track with it. I'll try to remember to do another weigh-in/update before too long.

I prefer "large man" to "big boy"...

I'm really sorry for going quiet for so long. RL has been insane. I hate to say this, especially after you all put so much work into your characters (and did such a great job) but I think I'm going to have to hold off on starting this game for a while. I mean, not just this game, I'm basically going to be away from the boards for a while. Once things calm down a little bit for me I'll PM everyone and see who's still interested, but that may be a while. Again, I'm really sorry about this.

Sorry for the long delay.

I've been slammed at work, school's been busier than I anticipated, and we've had a ton of family stuff going on. I hate to do this (again) but I think I'm going to have to pause this game for a little bit. I'm hoping it'll only be a couple (more) weeks, but it could be as long as until the end of the semester (mid May).

If anyone can't wait, I understand (and won't take it personally). I'll PM everyone as soon as it looks like things might be calming down.

sorry for the long silence... RL's been kicking my ass a bit.

current weight: 357
since last post: gained like 10, maybe
overall: still down 7 or 8, I tihnk

I don't know how many of you remember the show Cheers but it had one of my favorite lines ever. Norm (a regular at the bar where the show is set) walks in and Sam (the bartender) asks, "Hey, what are you up to Norm?" to which he answers, "My ideal weight if I were eleven feet tall..."

my diet and exercise have been an utter disaster the past week or two... I'm a stress eater, plus the way I eat to lose weight is really tough to do when we lose power or I'm constantly on the run (both of which have been going on). I'll try to post an actual update over the weekend (though I'm sure it'll be terrible news).

sorry for the long delay, RL's been crazy with the big winter storm up here and all, plus I lost a bunch of the stuff I had put together for this campaign when I restored my computer.

nonetheless, I'm hoping to get things started on monday, if everyone's still around...

lol- I could go for some cake right now

sorry for the long delay, RL's been crazy (wife's sick, kids've been off school from the weather, had another funeral come up at work, etc). I'm hoping to get things back on track on monday.

So, the high yesterday got up to like 7 degrees, and with windchill I don't think it ever got above zero.

The power did stay back on, unfortunately I think my computer may have been in the middle of updates when it went out so now I'm having all kinds of problems with it... I'm trying to get it working right today, but I'll be away for grad school Wed and Thursday, so I might not be able to post a real update until Friday. Sorry. I'll try to get something up sooner if at all possible.

It was, lol. The high yesterday was like 7 degrees, and with windchill I don't think it ever got above zero. The power is back on, unfortunately I think my computer may have been in the middle of updates when it went out so now I'm having all kinds of problems with it. I'm trying to get it working right today, but I'll be away for grad school Wed and Thursday, so I might not be able to post a real update until Friday. Sorry. I'll try to get something up sooner if possible.

My diet is not going great this week either... it turns out eating healthy is super hard when you can’t open the fridge or turn on the stove because the power keeps going out :(

We’ve gotten as high as 3 today, but the wind chill is still sitting around -15. We got a little over a foot of snow over the weekend so I was outside for almost 2 hours digging out. Power’s been on and off 4 times since last night; it’s on right now (thankfully) but I’m not turning my computer on until I’m somewhat confident it’s actually going to stay on this time.

My whole area is currently without power... hopefully it’ll be back on soon but if not my posting may be delayed for a while

My whole area is without power... hopefully it’ll be back on today but if not my posting may be delayed for a while

Well, that should be everyone... if you've got any questions feel free to ask them. It looks like we should be good to get started tomorrow though!

lol- I'll take that under consideration

I logged on all ready to post in every game and after checking two threads have absolutely zero motivation left...

I miss when gaming used to just be fun.

@Jereru- I thought about that but I don't like the idea of just taking abilities from one list and adding them to another (that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having paths, or the dual path feat for that matter). As for the stat dependence, I keyed it off Cha because that stat is very often associated with those abilities (and because I was trying to develop an ability that would help bring Indrana's AC in line with the rest of the party). Wis casters already have options for similar AC boosts if they need them (like a dip in monk, or the sacred fist warpriest archetype).

@Indrana- I'm glad that worked out. Again, I don't want you to feel like you need to take it if you don't think it's necessary, or aren't really satisfied with the ability, but I wanted to make it an option if you wanted it.

@Everyone- we lost heat at work yesterday amidst some fairly heavy snowfall, so that turned into a whole thing. As a result I'm not as far through audits as I planned to be, but I am still planning to get through everyone else today and hopefully still start tomorrow!

edit:
@Jonuli- I was using Gavin as an example of someone who probably wouldn't want to take it... I tried to design the ability so that it would benefit someone like Indrana who can't really wear armor but not be worth taking for someone like Gavin who could just throw on full plate (I was trying to design it in such a way that it couldn't be abused by a paladin in fullplate to get an obnoxious AC).

Thanks for chiming in- sorry I didn’t get an update in today, I had planned to but we lost heat at work and there’s a decent snowfall going on here right now so that turned into a whole thing... it’s fixed now and everything’s set for tomorrow, but I need some sleep.

3rd tier Univesal Path ability
Deific Defense (Su)- You have learned to trust in your emerging divine nature, rather than traditional defenses, to protect you. You gain your Charisma modifier as a bonus to your armor class, but cannot fully benefit from armor bonuses or class abilities such as canny defense or the monk's AC bonus that provide dodge or untyped bonuses. This bonus will stack with such bonuses only to a maximum of your current tier (you gain the better of either your Cha modifier plus up to your tier in armor and associated bonus, or your normal bonuses plus up to your tier in Cha bonus). Natural armor and deflection bonuses are not limited by this ability.

For you (Indrana) that would just add your Cha to your AC, since your armor bonus is less than your tier, but if Gavin (just as an example) wanted to take it he would only gain +4 because he could only stack 3 points of his armor bonus with his (impressive) Cha bonus. Let me know what you think?

Thanks, but it wasn't anyone I was personally close with- I work as a pastor and am often called upon to perform funerals for people who used to attend the church I serve, or for family members of people who currently have some connection. It's still emotionally taxing because I spend a significant amount of time with the family in their grief but it definitely isn't the same as losing someone yourself.

Week 2 Update
Current Weight: 346
Weekly Change: -4 pounds (-1%)
Overall Change: -18 pounds (-5%)

Obviously I would have loved to have posted a bigger loss, but its still progress! The week actually went better than it looks on paper... I may have overindulged last cheat day, and gained 5 pounds. So, clearly I need to exercise a little more restraint today than I did last week, but I kind of lost 9 pounds this week so I'm going to be encouraged by that, lol.

Hope you're feeling better Adam!

“Necquine” lol

Also, we’ve been going with the rule of two (I move things along once two people agree on a course of action) so I’m waiting for someone else to chime in on the route?

Thanks, Jonuli. I had to do a funeral this morning so I’m not as far on audits as I planned but I’ll finish them this weekend and (unless there are any objections) we’ll officially get started on Monday.

I don’t want to be overly particular about how you all do your banners but it would be really helpful for me if you could please all include the following information in them somewhere:
Current hp/Max hp
AC (tAC/ffAC)
CMD
Saves
Perception (special senses)
Sense Motive
Initiative

please include distances with special senses, something like “perception (darkvision 60’) +17” would be great.

@Jonuli- I don't believe we do have anyone with trapfinding... I think there might be a couple spells that could help with that if anyone is worried enough to take them, or you can have Gavin check doors and trust his high saves (and healing ability) to 'deal' with any traps? (Or somebody could switch to an archetype with trapfinding if they really want to?)

@Everyone- It sounds like you're all pretty settled with changes and picking the things you hadn't finalized yet? If that's the case, I'll start auditing character sheets today and we should be able to get gameplay going by the end of the week!

Yeah, thqt's not usually my go to tactic but I'm trying something new...
It seemed like the way to go for a worshiper of Achaekek?

sorry- I saw... I have a funeral coming up on Friday and its thrown my schedule all out of whack

gonna go post now

@Jonuli- you're welcome to keep the race if you want, I was specifically pointing out tieflings as an option because with your build always having claws (even if they're less effective than your 'real claws') could be pretty helpful and you wouldn't really need to change your background (because enslaving and mistreating tieflings is probably just as common, or more common, than doing so with suli). Just a thought.

*Regarding Spells*
Between the 5 of you, we have: two 9-level divine casters, a 6-level divine caster, and a 4-level divine caster; plus, two 9-level arcane casters and two 6-level arcane casters. That's a lot of spells, lol. Please feel free to discuss what kind of spells you hope/plan to cast with each other so we don't end up with a ton of overlap and some glaring holes (or don't, what's the worst that could happen).

Yay! Keep up the good work.

You two probably have the most overlap, but it sounds like you’re both naturally gravitating in the directions I guessed/hoped you would (Gavin adding some more melee and Indrana some extra utility/control). Let me know if there’s any way I can help either of you!

I don't have a character to write about but I'm a long time roleplayer with a fair bit of PbP experience. I've been playing TT games for longer than I care to admit (probably 27-28 years now) and have played quite a few systems (every D&D from basic to 3.x; a bunch of palladium games; several white wolf games; GURPS, just to name a few of the more popular/common ones). I started playing pathfinder while it was in beta and its been the thing I've played most since then. I started doing PbP about 4 years ago when I moved away from the people I'd been playing with IRL. I'm currently playing in a couple games and running one that's a modified version of Rise of the Runelords (we're into book 2).

I don't shy away from combat, and will try to keep the game moving, but I really enjoy the RP elements and like it when people take the time to be descriptive in their posts (I'm also a big fan of players sharing their inner monologues). I hope to run an adventure that will be fun and exciting, and will provide opportunities for you all to do the things you enjoy about the game.

Cheat day on Saturday was pretty awesome, but having to eat right again today was disappointing. I had to keep reminding myself, “only 6 more days until next cheat day,” lol.

Yes, absolutely. DM posts are always harder than player posts (for me at least) when I’m not feeling super motivated.

Week 1 Update
Current Weight: 350
Weekly Change: -14 pounds (-4%)
Overall Change: -14 pounds (-4%)

Cheat day is going well- I’m currently finishing some chocolate I got for Christmas :)

Got it Trawets, with an hour to spare!

Lol- I’ve had to eat out several times in the last couple days and that’s been pretty challenging, but I’ve done a pretty good job staying on the wagon. It’s really difficult to estimate the calories in dishes sometimes, and occasionally I have to guess which things are really in my program (like the random sauces on all the different Chinese dishes my parents ordered yesterday). I suspect those things slowed down my week a little, but I think it’s still going pretty well over all.

I’m definitely looking forward to cheat day tomorrow.

@Amelia- I’m not too worried about Lilly’s build; in a regular game your pet is a really significant part of your overall character but gestalt and mythic both reduce that and both together makes it not a huge deal.

If we’re all doing updates different days then I’ll do mine on Saturdays, since that’ll be the 1 week mark (plus Sundays tend to be busier for me). I do want to say though, in the past when I’ve done this the first week is usually a pretty big drop and then it tapers down to a more reasonable rate as my body acclimates... I just want to put that out there so that if the pattern holds nobody will be worried that I’m overdoing it, or discouraged if they got off to a slower start.

Ae- I did PM you back (which you may have seen already), unfortunately it’s not great news... the psychic stuff is alright (I don’t object to it, I’m just not as familiar with it as I am with arcane and divine magic) but I think you may need to adjust your Druid archetypes (and possibly tweak your background) to fit with the feel of this game. Sorry.

@bigrig- That’s kind of a vague question... If you’re asking about mechanics: that particular combo doesn’t add anything to the mesmerist base stats (you’d still have the same BAB/saves/skill points), but there’s good Cha synergy and you’d have a handful of tricks up your sleeve; it’s not ideal, but it’s certainly not bad. If you’re asking about the concept: I don’t see any problem with a mesmerist being an Oracle, or vice versa.

@bigrig- I see. Kitsune are also known for manipulation and enchantments, and beastbrood tieflings are deceptive and manipulative... and both are associated with changing shape (and both have +2 Dex/Cha)... Those are both on the list of approved races, is there a reason neither of them work?

@bigrig- that sounds like an interesting concept... is there any reason you couldn't do it with a pre-approved race? Nagaji are allowed if you're really into the serpent thing... or a tiefling might bring some of what you're looking for? I'll consider allowing a vishkanya but you'll have to post here or PM me with a reason why that race is crucial to your character. Also, there may be some opportunities in the adventure spy/secret agent type stuff but if you overspecialize on that you may find yourself less effective/useful than you could be a lot of the time (plus, the paladin god-king that the knights serve isn't really alright with assassinations).

I’d like to write more... I have a couple ideas for books (non-fiction), but between family, work, and school I never seem to have the time.

Oh, I forgot about hard boiled eggs- I like those too. I actually will use those for ‘snacks’ sometimes too (although, I don’t really do snacks when I eat like this, but I’ll use them in meals).

I’m eating a lot of eggs right now (with 2 meals before noon and no cereal, pancakes, waffles, etc.) so I’m into variety. Over easy is my go to, but I like scrambled too. My wife is kind of, sort of, trying to eat better too (some of the time) so we made some egg cup things- they’re breakfast sausage shaped into a cup in muffin tin with a piece of cheese and one egg dropped inside, then baked. They’re actually pretty good and you make them a dozen at a time so they’re easy to grab later.

The first couple days of eating better were a little rough- I was getting headaches either from detoxing from sugar or maybe as my body’s protest against the drop in calories, but they seem to have passed now. Hope it’s going well for everyone else!

@Jovich- I looked over your PM... I’d prefer you stick with the approved races. The shady upbringing/redemption angle could be done in a number of different ways within those options (you mentioned maybe being human- you could have been raised as a Nidalese slaver, or a Chelaxian devil-worshiper?)

@GrinningJester- I said you can work up as many characters as you want; I’ll answer questions about all of them, and you can see how they might compliment (or compare to) other submissions, but you have to choose which one is your official submission by the deadline.

@Jovich- the alignment isn't a big deal, as long as its fixed by the time I go through to make decisions. I took a quick look at your background (to see why being a drow was necessary) but honestly its longer than I have time to read right now. If you're up to PMing me just a couple sentences about why its critical to the build I'll get back to you next time I'm on, otherwise I'll read through what you've got when I have time and get back to you after that.

@Jovich- yes, you subtract the cost of the normal enhancement bonus from things like mistmail. Unfortunately, there are a couple issues with your character right off the bat. Chaotic Neutral is on the list of prohibited alignments, and drow are not on the list of approved races.

@scottg0- you can pick a yellow gem if you prefer... or, you can stick with white/diamond and worship Sarenrae- you don’t need to match your gem to one of your god’s colors

or, in this case, two golden treasures
(although, remember- "All that is gold does not glitter...")