nrtrandahl's page

Hello, I need to cancel my pending order #2212100. I will make the order at a later time. Thank you.

Thank you, folks! Those are the three countries I thought were the best. We'll probably do Andoran! Thanks again!

So my gaming group is finally getting together and we decided to do Pathfinder as opposed to D&D 3.5 or any other edition. I already own all the core rulebooks and everything for Pathfinder, but have none of the setting specific stuff because I typically have made homebrew settings.
This time I wanted to run something straight out of Golarion so I want to order the Inner Sea World Guide, but we're making characters tomorrow so I don't really have time to learn about all the different regions of the setting yet. I need to figure out where in the Inner Sea I'm going to begin my characters. We are all hardcore fans of classic Heartlands Forgotten Realms stuff.
Does Golarion have a quaint pastoral type farming/woodland temperate region that has that charming flavor of the Dales in Forgotten Realms? That's the type of place I want to begin my players and that's a type of place that I know that they'll appreciate. I already have the ideas for the first couple plot hooks that would fit into such a place, but I just need somebody that knows more of the setting to direct me to the right country. I have the Inner Sea Primer but haven't really been able to find something with that flavor yet? Thank you!

Asian-themed fantasy stuff.
Dinosaurs.
Evil or sociopathic PCs.

nrtrandahl wrote:

I was introduced and began playing 2E in 1996. I've DMing ever since. Sometimes we do a Pathfinder campaign or WoD or something. But I get thejus most enjoyment out of DMing 2E Forgotten Realms set in the Dalelands and Cormanthor. I even have an online group dedicated to AD&D 2E on the Wizards website. Best system and best roleplaying experieinces I've ever hand ever. I'm a 2E Devotee for life.

Awesome :) J started playing tabletop games in 2000 with AD&D in a homebrew world (the defunct Thardferr) but 2e Realms continues to be my D&D setting of choice .

I wonder if there would be interest for a 2e game on the boards and would definitely like to run one although I can't commit to doing so for another year or so probably

Still it's great to see people are playing 2e and having a blast :)

I'd be interested in ssing something like this come into fruition in the future as well.

I was introduced and began playing 2E in 1996. I've DMing ever since. Sometimes we do a Pathfinder campaign or WoD or something. But I get the most enjoyment out of DMing 2E Forgotten Realms set in the Dalelands and Cormanthor. I even have an online group dedicated to AD&D 2E on the Wizards website. Best system and best roleplaying experieinces I've ever hand ever. I'm a 2E Devotee for life.

Hi nrtrandahl! waves Still at Bliss?

Hey, Curtin!! I told Fortune you said Hi a looooong time ago! Then I kind of dropped out of the rpg scene when I was deployed ot the Middle East. I'm back home now in Wyoming and officially a veteran. It's good to be outta the Army and outta the Sandbox.

I've been letting some of my players try their hand at GMing thier own homebrew ideas for awhile, but I'm about to start DMing again (Thankfully). We'll be using my new homebrew setting for Pathfinder, using all the current Pathfinder hardcovers.
The setting is an island called the West Province, which is a trio of forested rugged baronies off of the rainy northwest coast of the Kingdom of Kastmoor (Another homebrew setting). The world has its own lore and gods. We'll be making good use of Gamemastery flipmats, item cards, plot twist cards, and npc cards. It looks to be a good time.

Running: Sagas of the West Province (Homebrew Setting using Pathfinder).

Running: Liber Angelus (World of Darkness Mortals).

Playing: A buddy's homebrew Pathfinder campaign.

Playing: Another buddy's World of Darkness Mortals campaign.

Aside from awarding hero points from the APG, I tend to award xp for good roleplaying and problem solving. Up the xp for an especially good cirmcumstance.

I was introduced to rpgs when in like 1997 I purchased a new issue of Inquest, like issue 14 or something. It had stuff about rpgs and Magic cards in it. I was instantly hooked. A few issues later a small pamphlet of the rules of Vampire the Masquerade was included in the issue, so my friends and I could actually start to game. It was only a couple months later when I got the new-ish black-covered 2nd Edition D&D books and was able to start running fantasy games for my friends every week. Good times.

nrtrandahl wrote:

In my campaigns, I can't stand players that are texting the whole session and take calls during the session. I have recently outlawed cell phones at my gaming table.

The last three or four sessions, one of my players has disappeared for about an hour a session to talk on the phone. And it's not even an urgent call...I'm reasonably certain he's talking to this girl he's been pursuing. I don't think it's unreasonable for me to say that this shows a total lack of respect for myself and the other players.

I briefly considered just packing up and leaving when he does it, but that wouldn't be fair to the others. So last week I waited until a few minutes after he walked out, and told the others that his character collapsed just before his turn in the combat round. When the player returned, he was told what happened, and was quite paranoid when he found out that he'd collapsed with seemingly no reason at all.

I plan to continue this as long as he keeps taking phone calls in game. I might have some other stuff happen too, like the character disappears and returns with no memory of what happened.

Very good idea. I may just use it!

I keep reading thread after thread about "The Problems" and "Gaps" but I find that whenever I have though something overpowered, I read the rule and realized I missed a limitation, or I watch it in game and realize it doesn't actually work as well on the board as it does on the page.

And on the other side, when I thought a class to weak, I saw someone else play it using a build that made it work really well, using combination that had not occurred to me to be really powerful and effective in game.

And in the games I run, each class seems to be able to do well enough most of the time, with moments where they absolutely shine and moments where they are vulnerable.

Does anyone else fear power creep more than any perceived weaknesses in given classes?

Does anyone else just think people who complain about classes being weak haven't put in the book time to see how the class works. And does anyone else think the people who claim god builds generally have really flawed characters with huge exposed weaknesses?

Is anyone with me in the "If you read the rules and play by them the game works great" camp?

I agree with you 100%. All my campaigns have run smoothly and fine using the books as is.

Shakor wrote:

There are two OGL Adventures I can think of that may be suitable:

Flight of the Red Raven

River into Darkness.

Both appear to have wilderness contents. Of the two, I am leaning to Red Raven because of the reviews on the premise, the action and the encounters. Both of these modules are listed as being for Level 4, but they appear to be written for D&D 3.5ed: That means that it should be on-par for 3rd level PFRPG characters.

Hope this helps.

Thanks! I'll take a look at them. nrtrandahl, not at all opposed to creating my own. Time constraints are my enemy though.

That they are, my friend.

GMs that are usually just bad players that want to try their hand at Dming, but they refuse to learn the rules or buy the books, and thus have to use my rules knowledge and my books and screen since I am usually the DM.

In my campaigns, I can't stand players that are texting the whole session and take calls during the session. I have recently outlawed cell phones at my gaming table.
I also can't stand players that have no grasp of the rules and never ever buy any of the books ever. Any rpg book any of my players has ever had I have given them or bought for them. And they don't even bother to learn the rules when they have the books. They awesome the rules are only the DMs responsibility.
This goes with the above player I have mentioned. I can't stand it when players have no idea how to read or fill out their character sheet themselves after dozens of campaigns. They just refuse to learn.

Are you opposed to writing your own adventure? I tend to find that more satisfying than running a module. Unless of course, there are time-constraints or you're too busy.
I know there is a wilderness adventure for low levels from Gamemastery here on this site. I beleive it's the Haunted Forest or something. You could likely tailor that to 3rd level.

Congrats!! It feels great to finish up a Pathfinder campaign, equally as good as starting another one!

Actually I believe Master work could represent something along the lines of a weapon being perfectly balanced.

This is how i view it as well.

Thanks for the responses, folks! Well,Ringtail, your post gives me hope. My campaigns are admittedly not very player-driven. They are usually good at just letting me tell the story and going along with it. With this campaign I would like them to remain in the Barony but I'm going to give them options on which adventuring sites and jobs they want to explore in whatever order they want. I also got the Plot Twist gamemastery cards for this cmapaign so they can help shape the plot for once. i like the idea of memorable NPCs, shops, pubs, and locals so they stakes are higher when they are threatened.
We shall just wait and see if they get bored with the Barony later on. Thanks again!

We're about to fire up a new Pathfinder campaign, and for the first time I've decided to just detail a small local barony as a homebase for adventuring around the surrounding countryside, as opposed to what I usually do: designing entire settings from scratch. I think this approach will be good, and i have a ton of local adventures and adventuring sites lined up. The area of the barony is about 80 miles north to south and just under 100 miles east to west. Anyways, I was wondering how many levels you think I can keep the PCs in this local region without having them expand too far outward to other baronies and provinces? I do have plenty to work with in this local area but I don't want them to get too burnt out with it. Thoughts?

Thank you Thank you!! We are now one session deep into the next campaign which I'm writing to be the most epic high-stakes campaign I've written! We have a weird group right now too, but it is a typical group in my high-fantasy human-free homebrew!

-A Gnome Cleric of Niwalen (A Woodland god of forests and fey in my setting)
-An Elf Rogue/Draconic Sorcerer
-An Elf Abberant Sorcerer
-A Dwarf Druid (House-ruled his animal companion so he could use a bee swarm as his companion. He carries a beehive on the end of his staff)

This is gonna be a big one!

Last night I finished running my first complete campaign using the Pathfinder rules for my homebrew setting Arko (9 years old this year)! My players all loved the campaign and next week we are jumping right into the next. I have 1 week to get some sessions written between sleep and work! Thank you Pathfinder!

Metal, Magic, and Lore is the best fantasy rpg I've ever seen. The rules are amazing and allow a very realistic and mature approach to adventure such as the rarity and deadliness of monsters and the way the realistic combat flows. Its just an excellent game. And 5th Epoch Publishing who produced and created the game truly care about their fans and what their fans would like to see in the MML product line. It is really a diamond in the rough with all the superhero video game-esque high fantasy crap on the market today. I dont wanna see a mess of new books and supplements for my rpg every month, and with MML I dont. All you really will need is the core book and maybe some downloads that you can get right here at Paizo.

I have a daughter on the verge of 4 years old and another that is only 1 but my 3 year old is obsessed with fairies and fantasy. Her bedroom has been completely redone to look like Pixie Hollow. She also has her own large d20 that she picked out from Paizo and we ordered it for her. It sounds like this game will be a definite within the next year or so.

Im still not sure what Im gonna do setting-wise for MML. Due to lack of creativity at the moment I cannot seem to make headway on creating my own setting. If I had more info on the Northern Kingdoms or distant Northern Reaches from the MML world map I would consider a campaign in those regions.

To me the coinage system is a major plus for MML. When I would run campaigns in other rpgs I would always houserule a coin system to make gold really rare again unlike DnD where everyone seems to be carrying around a sackfull. I havent got to play MML yet but I would imagine that dangling a small reward in gold in front of some players (especially in a spartan campaign) would be an excellent motivator!

My guess would be that the Artificer creates a construct out of whatever's handy. Like a construct of stone and dirt tears itself out of the ground if they are outside.

http://www.MetalMagicandLore.com I have found that this has been my saviour for a game that is not D&D but allows me to have a game in this type of setting, and require intelligence!

I am very happy with MML!! I hope that one day I actually get to play it!

It's too bad you can't fraternize with Sgt. Fortune. He's a rabid gamer, although now that he is married with chillun I think he does the high-level WoW stuff more these days. Lazy berk still hasn't sent me the bag of dice I left with him in 2000....

Yeah he seemed to be pretty much just a WoW gamer when I left the States in March.

Thanks everyone, and I really do hope that one day I'll be able to find a really good group and be able to run some campaigns again. The military makes it pretty hard to do though. Maybe when im out in Jan 2012 and move back home my old group will get back together (if they are still around that is!!) Otherwise Ill have to wait till my kiddies are old enough. I do think I will still sell my books though, because a little extra cash in these crappy times wouldnt hurt the wife and I have a ton of mint condition books. There are people over here in the Sandbox that have wanted to buy my books (Nobody I would consider playing with by any means!!!!) so Ill probably get rid of them. I still feel like a gamer though after all the years Ive put into world-building and running campaigns and stories for my friends. I just needed those good times to keep coming i think.

I havent really thought about playing any other genres than fantasy aside from WoD which Ive been a Storyteller of numerous chronicles. I did play the sci fi rpg Alternity years ago and me and my buddies had alot of fun with it. But a major problem is that i never really get to play rpgs anymore. Thats understandable over here at war in the middle east but even stateside i never get to play anymore. I dont really get to have any new rpg experiences that had always kept me intrigued and in love with the hobby. I feel too busy with my wife and kids and work and everything. And I dont know any gamers where Im stationed in El Paso.
I get to go on R&R in a couple days in the town that my wife and I grew up in and my friends back home insist that we play something so maybe that will rekindle a new interest in gaming for me. But right now it's just like .... blah, you know.

Hello. I have 4 items pre-ordered that I need canceled. I have the PFRPG, PFRPG Bestiary, Cheliax: Empire of Devils, and Princes of Darkness needing to be canceled. Thank you very much.

Ive been told that it would happen for 11 years now and I think it is. Im falling out of gaming and alot of fantasy! Fantasy and rpgs have been a staple in my life now for over a decade and Im a husband, a father of two daughters, and a soldier deployed in a war zone. I dont know if it was priorities or views or what but I cant seem to get interested in rpgs or writing fantasy anymore. I cant think of any new creative ideas or concepts and I dont feel like using anyone elses. All the rules and new games and stuff are beginning to wear on me and I havent had a group to game with in about a couple years. I still read only fantasy novels when i get a chance to read over here. I couldnt survive without Glen Cook's Black Company and Dread Empire. I want to just get rid of all my games and supplies and groups of forgotten realms novels. Ill remain a fan of Metal, Magic, and Lore because I think it is the most groundbreaking rpg out there but I doubt I will ever get the chance to play it and I lack the energy to create a story or setting for it. My wife may like this turn of events because she has said in the past that I was into rpgs too much. Oh well. better late than never! Farewell, roleplaying games!! You made the last decade a thing of fun and magic, but I think I have to move on. My energy and focus has to reside with my family, my responsibilities and my safety in this war.

Ok! It just hit me. I now know how to mesh Arko, my magical Elfin isle of adventure and myth, with the homebrew world of MML. It is mentioned in the rulebook that the ancestors of the Elfin peoples were the High Elves, but nobody knows what happened to them or where they vanished to. According to me they went to Arko, a magical Elfin realm of powerful magic and breathtaking wonder. Using ancient High Elfin magics that were old even in the First Epoch they created this realm as a refuge from the world that was to be inherited by their Gray Elf and Tribal Elf children. So as the world slipped through the Epochs, enduring the rise and fall of civilizations, great wars, and the cataclysm, the High Elf people of Arko remained safe and timeless in a magical realm tucked away from reality. But shadows from other realms tucked away from the world are beginning to seep into the woods and mountain vales of Arko, and the long-endured peace of the High Elfin refuge may be coming to an end.
Arko is back!!

Go with Arko or create the frontier Persian-Norse setting? What do ya think?

The Gazetteer sounds like a great idea! I usually write out my campaign settings in a long arduous process that takes a couple months but i really like having a format to go by. I will definitely start typing this up asap! I've had quite a few more creative breakthroughs, especially after speaking with some former players of mine, and I really like what I've come up with. Everyone's having a hard time letting me put Arko to rest, but they seem to be ok with me recreating it in MML, so it seems that I may be veering again in that direction. To tell you the truth, if I could find a way to create Arko again using MML it would be the best of both worlds and pretty much the only rpg I would ever play!

Ok I have a lull in the good fight over here in the Sandbox so I'm really gonna get down to the grit and construct my MML setting. At first I had considered redoing my Arko campign setting to MML. The Arko idea was an attempt to bring my oldest homebrew setting into the MML themes and ruleset, but now I have decided against that in favor of designing a new setting for it from the bedrock up. I had also decided I was gonna do a setting of urban fantasy and rapier-wielding swashbucklers a la Ellen Kushner's novels, but I have decided to take a different road from this also. I want my setting to have a rich history and realism you know. Kinda what I felt when I first explored Middle-Earth in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings or Glen Cook's Dread Empire. And I want it to be harsh and rugged and unforgiving. Arko ended having a very awesome history too because every campaign my players did since I built it 2001 got added into the history and I would move the timeline forward some so by the final campaigns it had a rich detailed history that my players knew very well and felt like they were apart of. My players all kept campaign journals for their characters and they knew the names of Arko's months and holidays and rulers and everything. it was fantastic. I want to create something in the same vein you know. Something that my next players and I could settle down in since I have officially put Arko to rest.
So themes Im thinking of are:

-Cold majestic snow-capped peaks and deep earthy pine woods

-Frontier-mindset of the human inhabitants

-Only like 1 major settlement and a handful of small logging and mining villages dispersed in the widespread rugged land

-Humans the only playable race

-A bunch of ancient ruins scattered throughout the land from a race of giants called Trolls who lived forever and used rune magic. They died out some how and their underground giant-sized cities fell to ruin. I read that 5th Epoch has plans for a Rune Magic system in the future so when that is done I'll have my players discover the secret of the Troll's rune magic in one of the ruins. ;)

-Life-Elementalism will be the only obtainable magic and it will be very very rare but come at great cost. Because of the rarity i know some players will want this magic to just be unique and since it will most definitely be a spartan setting Life-elementalism will be almost required to keep characters alive.

-I want very few monsters. i love undead so ill have to include skeletons somehow, and i picture this setting having some ice-age-esque beasts of burden. I would also like a biped culture of wolf-headed humanoids called Vargr that dwell in the deepest parts of the pine forests.

-These are just the basic ideas i can think of right now, and as you can see Im very inspired by Old Norse and Old Icelandic sagas and culture (It was my major in college and my heritage!)

-Another thought I had was combining Norse and Persian flavours. As in a Persian empire from lands far to the south is trying to settle this frigid northern land as a province. Characters would be settlers and adventurers from this Persian land intent on settling or conquering this cold land of wild harsh beauty.

Im mainly looking for help from the authors of MML that I've been in contact with: Andy, Vito, and Ryan. Let me know what you think and fell free to add and/or subtract from my ideas! Thanks again!!

Duncan & Dragons wrote:

Alright, I did not see anyone say it.. why buy it when you can get it for free? I have the DDI and we get downloads fast. I have not bought a hardcopy book yet, even the core books. I feel the subscription is worth the ability to make characters with pre-populated power cards. So I 'feel' that all books are essentially free. I just cannot take them to the park with me ...

Maybe I should word it this way, DDI lets you test ride for free.

Because no matter how far this hobby comes electronically, it is still about the books for me. If I can not hold it in my hands, flipping through he pages, reading this or that little tidbit whenever I want, then it isn't useful to me. The day that the hobby becomes more predominantly electronic will, in all likelihood, be the day I stop keeping up with anything current about it and stick with my older stuff.

Exactly! I have to have my books! Im deployed in the Middle East right now and I still have my 4E library in my wall locker.

Arcane Power is pretty much the heart of my Arcane-based setting that's in the works. I love it! My favorite 4E book so far.

A Preface to Arko

The most powerful of all the races of the world, Elves, has fallen. Driven from their homelands by Mankind and seperated from the magic that had once thrived in their immortal minds, the final tattered remenants of Elfkind left the shores of the Great East Continent and disappeared into the Sea. And they all but vanished from the memories of Men.
But Elfkind didn't perish on the High Seas as was commonly thought. They finally, after treacherous months asail, landed upon the rocky shores of an abandoned wild island. This island they named Arko, the ancient word for 'Home', and they found it to be a place of vast primeval woodlands, quiet jagged mountains, dark ancient ruins, thick roiling mists, and sinister fleeting fae.
As Elfkind traveled deeper into the heart of the old oak and aspen woods they called the Arkwood they came upon a single oak tree in a wide meadow. This oak had bark as white as clouds and leaves of glorious yellow and orange, even in summer, winter, or spring. The Gifting Tree, as they came to call it, was found to never change color nor grow, and it was found to grant a few very rare Elves that touched its magical bark the ability to use life elementalism.
Thought to be the greatest secret of the world the Elves of Arko built the walled city Norych, 'Guardian' in the Ancient Elvish tongue, around the Gifting Tree and it became the true heart of Arko, last stronghold of the final Elves of the world.
Centuries of peace followed, and now the children of Arko's settlers have grown into adulthood. Their sagas are about to begin ...

Next will be the physical details of the actual island itself.

Hey everyone! This is where im gonna post the step by step creation of my homebrew campaign setting for use with Metal, Magic, and Lore (the finest rpg I've seen thus far!). Ok, as maybe a few folks may know I've been using my setting Arko for 8 years now and it has been a high fantasy setting of Elves and magic and fey and high adventure. My tastes have changed in the rules I want to use and the settings I like to GM. MML (Metal, Magic, and Lore) is a very realistic ruleset where combat is very dangerous and bloody and even a simple monster like a skeleton can pose a serious challenge for a character.
So I've tooling around with ideas and concepts for a new gritty real setting for use with MML, but my heart keeps returning to Arko. I've spoken with some players of mine back in the states and I've decided to just pretty much redo Arko from the framework up to make it compatible with MML.
It will still be solely about Elves and their place in the world but a darkness and seriousness underlies their situation. Magic has left the world except for a single magical tree in the island of Arko, and the Elvish inhabitants of Arko, the last Elves in the world, defend it at all costs. Fae dwell in the shadows of the wild island of fog-shrouded woods and jagged peaks, but they arent the mischievious free-spirited faeries and unicorns from other rpgs. They are dark and sinister and alien and spoken of in whispers and bared blades by the Elves of Arko.
My goal with Arko using MML is to show a land where Elves can be shown in a more gritty and realistic light in a darker more mysterious island than before in a world bled dry of it's magic.
While im deployed Im going to start a pbp on this forum to playtest the mood of the setting while not really using MML rules yet. It will be more of a combined storytelling effort. I will begin the playtest using an alias called Arko GM.

So I will start with only a brief description of the setting as a primer. Enjoy!

Thanks Andy, Vito, and Ryan for such a wonderful rpg! MML pays emphasis to realism (especially when it comes to combat) from what Ive seen, and that is exactly what I want in a game. I like when my players are hesitant about combat. The setting im considering creating for use with MML will be in a realistic post-medieval (1500s-1600s) land. And most of the campaign setting will detail a vast urban metropolis where the wealthy and noble live in extravagence and the poor suffer from poverty and disease in the city's poorer districts. Some random thoughts I have when thinking about the setting are realistic swordfights with rapiers, little to no armor except for some ceremonial varieties seen on king's knights, little to no magic except maybe some life elementalism which is kept hidden from the city's populace, clothing and customs appropriate to Reniassance-era Earth, breakthroughs in science, architecture, and art, a vast scholar's college in the city, no races except for Men. This setting would be very very heavily-inspired by Ellen Kushner's fantasy series (Swordspoint, Privelage of the Sword, and Fall of Kings).
I know MML is written for the medieval fantasy setting of the Middle Kingdoms as a default but I just want to take the rules to a more realistic and advanced timeframe. Just wanted to know if something like Im thinking is possible with MML?

Good stuff, Vito! Keep it coming. I love MML.

As for my favorite Saga's I have to say The Volsunga Saga, and Arrow-Odd.

The Saga of the Volsungs is great!! A magic ring and magic sword, werewolves, and a dragon! Its a really good one.

Lol, I kind of get the feeling that I should put some Norse aspects into at least a portion of the labyrinth...

Uh oh! i may get lost in it!!

Me too! I really love the Vinland Sagas and Hrafnakel's Saga.

YES! I finally got MML and my expensive leather journal to write up a campaign setting in!! This is the best roleplaying game I've ever seen! The paper and art are crisp and gorgeous and it instantly inspired me and filled me with ideas. And I love the simplicity of the cover. It just looks and feels like an old tome. I have got to get writing now! Im looking forward to the forum on your website as well as future supplements that'll suit my setting! Thank you for this product, 5th Epoch!!

Meldiriel wrote:

Sounds good! These first ones are the ones that we did on facebook and we are trying to transfer them over. It might take a bit to do since we only get to every once in awhile.

Thats fine. In the meantime I can work fleshing out my background. Think I will add in the slavers idea you put in as well. That I need to rescue a female drow who was my partner when I entered the labyrinth with. Joined with this other group that disappeared. So I am back at the tavern trying to recruit more people to help me. Course I don't know the difference between a Dark elf and a High elf. They are all just children of Frey.

Really enjoy how you both are setting the tone and the atmosphere. Feels like I am reading a novel more than being in a pbp.

Im glad you're enjoying it, man! That's kinda what we were going for. we want it about the story first and foremost. Im a Norse freak myself by the way. I speak some Old Icelandic and everything!

Absorbing the information just then bestowed on him and his new companion, the man, now garbed in a ragged loincloth fashioned from the tatters of the old woman's shawl, took a moment to realize that the gazes of the two women, old and young, layed upon him. He shrugged and spoke in his thick accented voice, "I don't know where else to go nor what else I should do. And Meldiriel," he spoke to her now, "I will do what I can to assist you in escaping the labyrinth if you assist me in finding out the reasons for my being here."
He accepted a serving of the odorous brown porridge and swallowed it down for no other reason other that to fill his empty stomache. The roasting hare made his gut growl still more, and when it was done he took his fill of the cooked delicious meat, being sure to save enough for the two women that he shared the campfire with. He pushed himself to his feet and looked down approvingly at his atheletic well-cut form concealed behind naught but his loincloth. At least his body was not frail in the face of the dangerous adventures he and his companion were likely to face in their quest, he thought to himself. And brushing some stray strands of his long brown hair that had become trapped on his moist lips he stepped closer to the Elfin woman, Meldiriel, and spoke, "If it's the same to you, Meldiriel , we had better get a move on. The sun, bleak as it is, is sure to get bleaker as dusk approaches. And it seems we have many many miles to journey."
His eyes quickly took in the darkening oak woods to the north over the shoulder of Meldiriel before coming back down into her own as he awaited her reply.

Thanks for the support everybody! This is why I love the Paizo community and roleplayers in general. I'm in a good crowd here with you fellows ;). I think im pretty well settled in now in my location over here. My wife and two daughters seem to be doing well back home so things are good. I just shipped my oldest daughter her very first d20 (34mm) and her very own dice bag that she had picked out before i even left. She's gonna be so freakin excited. When my buddies and I would game back in the world the sessions usually ended in her crying cuz she didnt have any dice. Now she does!