Deep 6 FaWtL

[Sissyl]

Pool of Radiance? The original one? There is no issue with modifying ability scores. The images are and remain horrible. And memorizing spells is atrocious.

[John Napier 698]

Rysky wrote:

Princess Mononoke is coming back to select theatres in early January.

There's a small theater here in Pittsburgh that shows anime. If it's there, I'll go.

[John Napier 698]

Aranna wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

Couldn't. They're bolted to the concrete floor.

You could have someone sit out there with a hair dryer keeping them warm.

:)

Or, I could accept the fact that these machines were never meant to be exposed to the elements. There's no socket inside to connect a hair dryer to.

[John Napier 698]

Limeylongears wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

Couldn't. They're bolted to the concrete floor.

Did you try lighting fires on top of them?

Wouldn't do a thing. Hot air rises, after all.

[Construction Montage C.Y.]

We had a skid loader that some dumb ass parked in the mud and then we got our first really cold cold spell, so my boss gave me a tarp, extension cord and a hair dryer. :-)

It took me four days to use my hammer and chisel to get enough mud out to drive it out. The hairdryer did nothing.

[Tacticslion]

Tacticslion wrote:

Tacticslion wrote:

Rawr! wrote:

Tacticslion wrote:

Tacticslion wrote:

Tacticslion wrote:

Oh! And reminding FaWtL to sign up for taig's Twelve Days of Third Partymas Year Two! Make it less likely (statistically) that I'll win anything and more likely (statistically) that you will*!

* By virtue of the fact that, at present, if you're not signed up, you're at 0%, and, therefore, any chance whatsoever increases from that. XD

NEW PAGE BUMP~! Doooooooooo iiiiiiiiiiiiit~!

(If you want to.)

PAGE THREE BUMP-BA-BUMP-BUMP~!

Thanks for keeping the fires burning! :D

I'm glad to!

(Subtle part four bump!)

Return of the bump part five!

Also, thank you all for your prayers and well-wishes: it means much to her.

EDIT: spelling!

Son of the return of the bride of the bump! (Part six!)

[Tacticslion]

Sissyl wrote:

Pool of Radiance? The original one? There is no issue with modifying ability scores. The images are and remain horrible. And memorizing spells is atrocious.

I find navigating the items and required class knowledge worse.

But, yeah, it's bad.

So... how many times will I TPK before I win a single battle?! LET'S FIND OUT!

[John Napier 698]

Tacticslion wrote:

For those that have played the game before: is there any reason, whatsoever, to avoid modifying your ability scores?

Like... at all?

Because it doesn't seem that way.

(I'm considering doing so, because I accidentally deleted characters mildly based off of my wife and I, but after we'd written our earlier stats - I'm trying to recreate them and just kind of stumbled across the ability to edit our ability scores.)

Also, deeeeeeeeeefinately not related to anything whatsoever... *cough* >.>

... um... does anyone know how to alter character portraits and little sprites after you've created the character? Thanks!

No, there isn't. The ability score modification was to allow players to "port" their pen-and-paper characters to the game. To the best of my recollection, image and sprite modification is done during the character creation process.

Once you add a character to the party, the Modify Character option becomes available. Select the character in question, then click Modify Character. From there, you can change the character's image and sprite characteristics.

[John Napier 698]

Construction Montage C.Y. wrote:

We had a skid loader that some dumb ass parked in the mud and then we got our first really cold cold spell, so my boss gave me a tarp, extension cord and a hair dryer. :-)

It took me four days to use my hammer and chisel to get enough mud out to drive it out. The hairdryer did nothing.

Yeah, hairdryers don't put out the thermal energy to melt mud quickly. You'd have been better off using a blowtorch. Just avoid the tires.

[Captain Yesterday, Brut Squad]

One guy thought to pipe the exhaust through a hose under the tarp which he used to cover the treads. But he just ended up making himself sick (from looking under the tarp to check it's progress) and melting the plastic hose.

[John Napier 698]

Tacticslion wrote:

Sissyl wrote:

Pool of Radiance? The original one? There is no issue with modifying ability scores. The images are and remain horrible. And memorizing spells is atrocious.

I find navigating the items and required class knowledge worse.

But, yeah, it's bad.

So... how many times will I TPK before I win a single battle?! LET'S FIND OUT!

Here's a piece of advice from a "grognard." Include two wizards in the party, and have them prepare as many sleep spells as they can. Begin by clearing the "Slums" of all random encounters. There should be only ten.

Post the party in the first square past the entrance to the slums and wait. When a fight starts, have the wizards cast sleep, making sure not to catch the front-liners in the AoE. While the front-liners deal with the still-active threats, have the wizards throw darts at the sleeping targets. When the fight's over loot everything. Return to town to sell the loot, rest, heal, and prepare more spells.

Once the random encounters are done, clear out the slums. Save the Textile House for last. In the Southwest corner is a very tough fight involving Trolls and Ogres. You'll need the help of two High-level NPCs, preferably the fourth level fighters. Arrange the party so that the NPCs are front-liners. Once the fight's over, dismiss them, unless they fell during the fight. If that happened, loot them first, then dump them in the gutter. They're Lawful Evil anyways.

Hope this helps, TL.

[Tacticslion]

Tacticslion wrote:

Sissyl wrote:

Pool of Radiance? The original one? There is no issue with modifying ability scores. The images are and remain horrible. And memorizing spells is atrocious.

I find navigating the items and required class knowledge worse.

But, yeah, it's bad.

So... how many times will I TPK before I win a single battle?! LET'S FIND OUT!

Two more, as it turns out.

Also worth noting about the temple of Sune: you can check out any time you want, but you can never leave~! \O.O/

(Like, seriously, I'm stuck in the temple. I wanted to look at temple services, but when I try to exit a door and she wants to know if I want healing - if I say yes, I'm in the temple, if I say no, she boots me "out"... into the temple, where if I try to pass through the doors to leave, she demands to know if I need healing...)

EDIT: Yuuuuuuuuuuup, I've pretty much TPK'd, even though everyone is alive and well. DAGGUMMIT. Sooooooo... on to try at surviving first battle number four...

[John Napier 698]

By the way, TL, to prevent the Trolls from regenerating, place a PC in one of the two squares they occupied until the combat ends.

[Tacticslion]

John Napier 698 wrote:

Tacticslion wrote:

For those that have played the game before: is there any reason, whatsoever, to avoid modifying your ability scores?

Like... at all?

Because it doesn't seem that way.

(I'm considering doing so, because I accidentally deleted characters mildly based off of my wife and I, but after we'd written our earlier stats - I'm trying to recreate them and just kind of stumbled across the ability to edit our ability scores.)

Also, deeeeeeeeeefinately not related to anything whatsoever... *cough* >.>

... um... does anyone know how to alter character portraits and little sprites after you've created the character? Thanks!

No, there isn't. The ability score modification was to allow players to "port" their pen-and-paper characters to the game. To the best of my recollection, image and sprite modification is done during the character creation process.

Once you add a character to the party, the Modify Character option becomes available. Select the character in question, then click Modify Character. From there, you can change the character's image and sprite characteristics.

Thanks!

John Napier 698 wrote:

Tacticslion wrote:

Sissyl wrote:

Pool of Radiance? The original one? There is no issue with modifying ability scores. The images are and remain horrible. And memorizing spells is atrocious.

I find navigating the items and required class knowledge worse.

But, yeah, it's bad.

So... how many times will I TPK before I win a single battle?! LET'S FIND OUT!

Here's a piece of advice from a "grognard." Include two wizards in the party, and have them prepare as many sleep spells as they can. Begin by clearing the "Slums" of all random encounters. There should be only ten.

Post the party in the first square past the entrance to the slums and wait. When a fight starts, have the wizards cast sleep, making sure not to catch the front-liners in the AoE. While the front-liners deal with the still-active threats, have the wizards throw darts at the sleeping targets. When the fight's over loot everything. Return to town to sell the loot, rest, heal, and prepare more spells.

Once the random encounters are done, clear out the slums. Save the Textile House for last. In the Southwest corner is a very tough fight involving Trolls and Ogres. You'll need the help of two High-level NPCs, preferably the fourth level fighters. Arrange the party so that the NPCs are front-liners. Once the fight's over, dismiss them, unless they fell during the fight. If that happened, loot them first, then dump them in the gutter. They're Lawful Evil anyways.

Hope this helps, TL.

Thanks part two!

(Though I was already taking everything not nailed down to sell it. And had two magic users! Huzzah! ... though they're both half-elf multiclassed... so... heh?)

EDIT:

John Napier 698 wrote:

By the way, TL, to prevent the Trolls from regenerating, place a PC in one of the two squares they occupied until the combat ends.

Thanks part three!

[Freehold DM]

John Napier 698 wrote:

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Black Butler? That's a good one.

At least it's not "Black Lagoon", or I should hope not.

hey! I love black lagoon!!

I met the US distributor while cosplaying Dutch. He gave me the first volume for free.

[Freehold DM]

Rysky wrote:

Princess Mononoke is coming back to select theatres in early January.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS

[John Napier 698]

Captain Yesterday, Brut Squad wrote:

One guy thought to pipe the exhaust through a hose under the tarp which he used to cover the treads. But he just ended up making himself sick (from looking under the tarp to check it's progress) and melting the plastic hose.

Yeah, the blowtorch would have definitely been better. You have more control with the 'torch.

[John Napier 698]

No problem, TL.

Once I find the Strategy guide for Pool, I can either make photocopies of the pages and mail them to you, or scan them and email the images to you. Whichever you prefer is fine.

And I won't talk about the time I used Debug to pick apart the character save files. I won't talk about where the attribute and hitpoint fields are located. And I most definitely will not talk about the times I used Debug to modify the characters to give them 25 in every ability, 255 hitpoints, and 32,000 Platinum.

Nope, my mouth is shut on this matter. Being a programmer is such fun. :)

[John Napier 698]

TL,

Don't, I repeat, Do Not tackle the Temple until you have access to Fireball! Using anything less is a guaranteed TPK. Save all the fireball scrolls you can. Start with prepared fireballs, then use the scrolls. Then move on to Stinking Cloud, and finally Sleep. Have the Cleric cast as many Hold Person spells as possible. And, Hire two more NPC front-liners.

[captain yesterday]

The nice thing about being the stay at home parent is you really get to use all the cliche excuses to call in to work, and they're true!

"Yeah, I can't work tonight because my youngest is sick, my oldest has theater club tonight, the dog still needs his poopy walk because he refuses to s+!& in his own yard, and my wife has to work late"

And that's just today! :-)

[John Napier 698]

Freehold DM wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Black Butler? That's a good one.

At least it's not "Black Lagoon", or I should hope not.

hey! I love black lagoon!!

I met the US distributor while cosplaying Dutch. He gave me the first volume for free.

There's nothing wrong with Black Lagoon. It may not be "age appropriate" is all. 'Lagoon is one of my favorites. If you cosplayed Dutch at Tekko, you might win some kind of award, or something. I can't say for certain as it's not my department.

[John Napier 698]

captain yesterday wrote:

The nice thing about being the stay at home parent is you really get to use all the cliche excuses to call I'm to work, and they're true!

"Yeah, I can't work tonight because my youngest is sick, my oldest has theater club tonight, the dog still needs his poopy walk because he refuses to s%@~ in his own yard, and my wife has to work late"

And that's just today! :-)

:) :) :)!

[Cap'n Siskel, FaWtLy Critic]

We don't really control what our kids watch, except maybe prime time network t.v.

That s$*& will rot the brain.

[Tacticslion]

captain yesterday wrote:

The nice thing about being the stay at home parent is you really get to use all the cliche excuses to call in to work, and they're true!

"Yeah, I can't work tonight because my youngest is sick, my oldest has theater club tonight, the dog still needs his poopy walk because he refuses to s@+& in his own yard, and my wife has to work late"

And that's just today! :-)

This man. This man knows!

John Napier 698 wrote:

TL,

Don't, I repeat, Do Not tackle the Temple until you have access to Fireball! Using anything less is a guaranteed TPK. Save all the fireball scrolls you can. Start with prepared fireballs, then use the scrolls. Then move on to Stinking Cloud, and finally Sleep. Have the Cleric cast as many Hold Person spells as possible. And, Hire two more NPC front-liners.

Thanks!

But, uh, I just meant the temple of Sune in town - the one right next to the slums entrance. I just went in to look at their healing prices (outrageously expensive!) and got perma-stuck in the place from, based on what I can tell, a glitch where she kept offering me healing and kicking me out when I said "No" or exited the healing menu... but was really booted "into" the temple instead.

Either way, it's over now. I tried sleeping at the temple and then refusing to "Go" when the town guard demanded I did (trying to comply and "Go" before left me still trapped in the temple, instead of booting me out, like I'd hoped).

So... I TPK'd. A lot. I didn't even fight it. Daggum that was a lot of guards to COMPLETELY MURDER half a dozen bums in a temple. And, you know, I kinda just thought I'd be arrested...

[John Napier 698]

Oh, That temple. I thought you were talking about the one on the other side of the river. Yeah, I'd avoid using temple services if at all possible. Rely on your party's clerics for your healing needs. Just stay in your Inn room or similar safe place until done. It may take time, but you'll save money and avoid pesky "Maybe Bugs."

[captain yesterday]

Freehold DM wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

TriOmegaZero wrote:

Black Butler? That's a good one.

At least it's not "Black Lagoon", or I should hope not.

hey! I love black lagoon!!

I met the US distributor while cosplaying Dutch. He gave me the first volume for free.

It was Black Butler. Her friend told her to avoid episode 18 for graphic reasons , though she wouldn't elaborate (Pea Bear wouldn't elaborate i mean). :-)

[John Napier 698]

Wiki says this about episode 18 of Black Butler:

Angela uses the cinematic record to force Ciel recall his painful past, including the events surrounding his parents' murder. but Ciel eventually rejects her attempt to rewrite his past. Meanwhile, Sebastian and Grell go the Grim Reaper library to see Spears, who tells them that an Angel cannot change the past but rather change the impression of the past. Angela then uses the cinematic record to trap Ciel in a meadow face-to-face with his parents, all in order to achieve purification. Ciel's overwhelming hatred enables him to overcome the angel and re-enter the present world. She later escapes and locks Ciel, Sebastian, Grell, the Undertaker, and Spears in the library. While Angela attempts to purify the members of the cult at the cathedral, the Undertaker uses a death bookmark on the cinematic record of Matilda to transport Sebastian, Grell, and Spears to incapacitate Angela. It is then that Angela destroys the monastery - causing all of the monks and nuns to evacuate, which leads to her evasion.

Bearing in mind that since this is from Wikipedia, it may or may not be accurate.

[Tacticslion]

I tried to say this before, but my internet cut out: daggum, CY! And NH thinks I favorite things fast!

John Napier 698 wrote:

Oh, That temple. I thought you were talking about the one on the other side of the river. Yeah, I'd avoid using temple services if at all possible. Rely on your party's clerics for your healing needs. Just stay in your Inn room or similar safe place until done. It may take time, but you'll save money and avoid pesky "Maybe Bugs."

That sounds... suspicious.

John Napier 698 wrote:

Wiki says this about episode 18 of Black Butler:

Spoiler:

Angela uses the cinematic record to force Ciel recall his painful past, including the events surrounding his parents' murder. but Ciel eventually rejects her attempt to rewrite his past. Meanwhile, Sebastian and Grell go the Grim Reaper library to see Spears, who tells them that an Angel cannot change the past but rather change the impression of the past. Angela then uses the cinematic record to trap Ciel in a meadow face-to-face with his parents, all in order to achieve purification. Ciel's overwhelming hatred enables him to overcome the angel and re-enter the present world. She later escapes and locks Ciel, Sebastian, Grell, the Undertaker, and Spears in the library. While Angela attempts to purify the members of the cult at the cathedral, the Undertaker uses a death bookmark on the cinematic record of Matilda to transport Sebastian, Grell, and Spears to incapacitate Angela. It is then that Angela destroys the monastery - causing all of the monks and nuns to evacuate, which leads to her evasion.

Bearing in mind that since this is from Wikipedia, it may or may not be accurate.

That's accurate.

Having seen them all, I can say that there are certainly (in my opinion) "worse" things than episode 18.

The big bad part of E18 is moderately gruesome, in that:

SPOILER! E18:

... Ciel's mother and father are shown to have been sewed into a literal singular body in a twisted mockery of the, "two shall become one flesh" thing and to let them, "truly be together forever" or some nonsense.

So, pretty horrible, yeah, but nothing major.

That said, the "real" eh... "risque"? - sure, let's go with that - thing in E18 that is different from the other episodes is...

AGAIN!:

... that Sebastian has sex with a woman. You don't see anything graphic, exactly, but you hear them while two people wait (one quite irate, the other mildly put out), and, at the end, see the woman's feet.

Humorously, just due to the nature of anime in general, and this one in specific, I kind of thought they weren't actually having sex until the feet were shown.

... but it's actually a pretty major plot point for the episode.

(Truth be told, I'd kind of forgotten about that, until now.)

So, you know, check it out first, CY, see what you think is (in)appropriate.

Hope that helps!

[captain yesterday]

C'mon! I only favorite'd it like 10 seconds after you posted, I'm sure I can knock off another five seconds off that. :-)

[Tacticslion]

ANYWAY!

So that was attempt number... six? Seven?

Whatever, it was going well, right up until I tried to cast my first sleep spell. Then I couldn't target it right, and aborted and it deleted my sleep spell. THE HECK?!

"Oh, I don't want to do this, I'll do it later."
"SUCKER, YOU LOST THE SPELL FOREVER~!"

That was really sucky.

But it's okay! I had another one!

... except I didn't, because the daggum mage didn't memorize it for some reason!

But it's okay! I had another one!

... and ended up accidentally casting "target" in an attempt to choose where I wanted to target it. And so, cast it upon myself.

But it's okay! I survived the fight!

... only to immediately get caught up in a huge one with no sleep left.

But it's okay! I ran away!

Only to immediately get lost in a maze that I couldn't find my way out of. And into a fight.

But it's okay! I had a cleric!

... and somehow miscast every daggum cure spell on people who were healthy. DAGGUMIT TARGETING!

But it's okay! I won!

... aaaaaaaaaaaand got lost again. And into seven more combats.

But it's okay! I either won or ran away! ... and had only one character with 1 hp left.

But it's okay! I found the exit!

... and ran into four orcs coming into the slums from the city.

...

...

... dang it.

>:I

[Tacticslion]

Sissyl wrote:

Pool of Radiance? The original one? There is no issue with modifying ability scores. The images are and remain horrible. And memorizing spells is atrocious.

Tacticslion wrote:

I find navigating the items and required class knowledge worse.

But, yeah, it's bad.

So... how many times will I TPK before I win a single battle?! LET'S FIND OUT!

I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking. >:I

[Skyrim Rampage Cap'n Yesterday]

Ha! Sounds like me playing Skyrim. :-D

[Aranna]

The only Pool of Radiance I played was the module for NWN 1 which was pretty good.

[captain yesterday]

I read the book.

[Freehold DM]

I hate forgotten realms.

That said I played baldurs gate and icewind Dale 1 and 2 regularly. I like icewind Dale 2.

[Wei Ji the Learner]

World News Tonight...

Blood of Beasts Held Hostage, Day Five!

Local post office has apparently physically had the package containing Blood of Beasts and a few other things since the *third*, STILL waiting for the delivery...

[Sissyl]

Tacticslion wrote:

Sissyl wrote:

Pool of Radiance? The original one? There is no issue with modifying ability scores. The images are and remain horrible. And memorizing spells is atrocious.

Tacticslion wrote:

I find navigating the items and required class knowledge worse.

But, yeah, it's bad.

So... how many times will I TPK before I win a single battle?! LET'S FIND OUT!

I'm starting to come around to your way of thinking. >:I

PoR was far better than earlier gold box games. However, the ones that are actually worth playing are Curse of the Azure Bonds, Champions of Krynn, and Death Knights of Krynn. For a far better offering, Eye of the Beholder is good.

[4 Out of 10 Doctors]

After seeing the General perform acts of incredible mothering and myself trying my damnedest to replicate them and failing, I've determined that giving birth opens up latent super powers.

[Limeylongears]

captain yesterday wrote:

I read the book.

So did I. It wasn't very good.

[Limeylongears]

John Napier 698 wrote:

Limeylongears wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

Couldn't. They're bolted to the concrete floor.

Did you try lighting fires on top of them?

Wouldn't do a thing. Hot air rises, after all.

Did you try lighting upside-down fires on top of them?

[Celestial Healer]

Cap'n Yesterdays Winter Madness wrote:

Highest high temperature for the next comes on Monday, or Tuesday. A sweltering 28 degrees! Otherwise it's only upper teens for the next several days.

At least it isn't getting cold yet. :-)

It's 85 right now in Puerto Rico.

[Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Today]

Limeylongears wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

Limeylongears wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

Couldn't. They're bolted to the concrete floor.

Did you try lighting fires on top of them?

Wouldn't do a thing. Hot air rises, after all.

Did you try lighting upside-down fires on top of them?

Makes sense to me.

[captain yesterday]

Celestial Healer wrote:

Cap'n Yesterdays Winter Madness wrote:

Highest high temperature for the next comes on Monday, or Tuesday. A sweltering 28 degrees! Otherwise it's only upper teens for the next several days.

At least it isn't getting cold yet. :-)

It's 85 right now in Puerto Rico.

We're up to twenty currently. :-)

I hope you're enjoying your honeymoon. :-)

[Cap'n Siskel, FaWtLy Critic]

Limeylongears wrote:

captain yesterday wrote:

I read the book.

So did I. It wasn't very good.

No, no it wasn't. :-)

[Celestial Healer]

captain yesterday wrote:

Celestial Healer wrote:

Cap'n Yesterdays Winter Madness wrote:

Highest high temperature for the next comes on Monday, or Tuesday. A sweltering 28 degrees! Otherwise it's only upper teens for the next several days.

At least it isn't getting cold yet. :-)

It's 85 right now in Puerto Rico.

We're up to twenty currently. :-)

I hope you're enjoying your honeymoon. :-)

Me: Oh... You know what we should be doing right now?

John: What's that?

Me: Absolutely nothing.

Yesssssssss....

[Aranna]

Limeylongears wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

Limeylongears wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

Couldn't. They're bolted to the concrete floor.

Did you try lighting fires on top of them?

Wouldn't do a thing. Hot air rises, after all.

Did you try lighting upside-down fires on top of them?

If the case is metal it would work... a fire on that would turn the insides into an oven.

But you might freak out the customers with a burning machine.

[captain yesterday]

Aranna wrote:

Limeylongears wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

Limeylongears wrote:

John Napier 698 wrote:

Couldn't. They're bolted to the concrete floor.

Did you try lighting fires on top of them?

Wouldn't do a thing. Hot air rises, after all.

Did you try lighting upside-down fires on top of them?

If the case is metal it would work... a fire on that would turn the insides into an oven.

But you might freak out the customers with a burning machine.

Not if he took it to Burning Man. :-)

[captain yesterday]

Sorry Rawr! for using aliases on your contest page, i can't help myself.

If it's a bother i'll stop, i think i've gone through the best cliche disguise jokes anyway. :-)

[TriOmegaZero]

I have one last final to take tonight. Hopefully I will actually study enough this afternoon to get a passing grade. So far, not looking good. :P

[Freehold DM]

Celestial Healer wrote:

Cap'n Yesterdays Winter Madness wrote:

Highest high temperature for the next comes on Monday, or Tuesday. A sweltering 28 degrees! Otherwise it's only upper teens for the next several days.

At least it isn't getting cold yet. :-)

It's 85 right now in Puerto Rico.

shudder