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AFTERPARTY?!
Sounds like the perfect time to go pantsless!
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Afterparty, not afterpanty.
The pants go after the parts, generally, though the choice is yours, of course.
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Risen 3 finished.
A neat and fun game, if flawed on many levels (balancing, acting, scripts, loot and quest rewards scaling... and so on and so on).
I started Gothic 3 after 2 years and 9 months hiatus...
Gah, that game is ugly comparing to risen. The main character is ugly.
The combat is meh comparing to Gothic 2.
The inventory management, however, is a miracle of utility comparing to Risen 3...
Loading times are annoying but predictable... Saving times are simply annoying, especially after Risen 3 where Quick Save took a moment almost not interrupting play.
In other news, I might, might have been pampered by modern games...
I know there is a lot of older games I won't be finishing because I can no longer withstand their graphics... (and not merely aesthetically, I get motion sickness, dizziness, and following headache or stomach sensations after playing for longer time... in the past the effect were less pronounced - the quality and the emissions of old CRTs could also be a factor here).
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Afterparty, not afterpanty.
The pants go after the parts, generally, though the choice is yours, of course.
sign me up for the afterpanty afterparty!
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One day closer to spring.
And sunny and forty to boot!
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As long as you don't start walking on sunshine.
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I might.
I could go all Shiny, Happy People walking the dog.
The sun is out, anything can happen.
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Well, Saturday marked a fundamental change in mindset for me as a GM.
After a nearly-60-minute, utterly stupid argument about how Prying Eyes works, I've realized that trying to be a reasonable GM who discusses how things should work with my players only leads to frustration all around.
So now it's, "It's that way because I'm the GM and I say so."
This particularly saddens me because I never once used that argument with my kids. I've always felt that if you can't justify something, you shouldn't be enforcing it.
But after listening to repeated arguments about how pointing is "a gesture, not a command", I just plain give up.
"It is this way. Shut up. The game moves on, with or without you."
*SIGH*. Not an approach I want to take, but Saturday made it clear it's what's needed.
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Time travellers.
Goth Guru taught me recently everything can be justified/blamed on time travellers.
As someone that saw eight archaeologists die in the first dungeon alone, I recommend something else for Mummy's Mask.
Don't get me wrong, it sounds like a great idea. Until you remember all the retainers that died to get Indiana Jones to the Lost Ark.
Oh, no. As noted,
these are not necessarily the optimal/powergame choices, but rather, reflect the AP as a whole in a single class.
... so I'm not trying to say, "This is what you have to do." but rather, "This class reflects the themes of the AP in question very well, from beginning to end."
Heck, if I was going with "survivable" my RotR suggestion would be very, very different, and the same issues you'd have for Arc-Bards in MM, you'd have in SS...
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Time travellers.
Goth Guru taught me recently everything can be justified/blamed on time travellers.
Oh, yeah?!
Well what about... MY FACE~!?
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Well, Saturday marked a fundamental change in mindset for me as a GM.
After a nearly-60-minute, utterly stupid argument about how Prying Eyes works, I've realized that trying to be a reasonable GM who discusses how things should work with my players only leads to frustration all around.
So now it's, "It's that way because I'm the GM and I say so."
This particularly saddens me because I never once used that argument with my kids. I've always felt that if you can't justify something, you shouldn't be enforcing it.
But after listening to repeated arguments about how pointing is "a gesture, not a command", I just plain give up.
"It is this way. Shut up. The game moves on, with or without you."
*SIGH*. Not an approach I want to take, but Saturday made it clear it's what's needed.
You are a very generous GM.
Every GM I've played under and when I've run, if an in-progress-game rules discussion cannot be resolved within ten minutes, it's sort of like 'instant replay' in major sports.
Upon further review, the call on the field stands...
followed by
...if you wish to discuss this briefly after the game, we can approach it, but for now we're running with this.
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One day closer to spring.
And sunny and forty to boot!
Well, Saturday marked a fundamental change in mindset for me as a GM.
After a nearly-60-minute, utterly stupid argument about how Prying Eyes works, I've realized that trying to be a reasonable GM who discusses how things should work with my players only leads to frustration all around.
So now it's, "It's that way because I'm the GM and I say so."
This particularly saddens me because I never once used that argument with my kids. I've always felt that if you can't justify something, you shouldn't be enforcing it.
But after listening to repeated arguments about how pointing is "a gesture, not a command", I just plain give up.
"It is this way. Shut up. The game moves on, with or without you."
*SIGH*. Not an approach I want to take, but Saturday made it clear it's what's needed.
You are a very generous GM.
Every GM I've played under and when I've run, if an in-progress-game rules discussion cannot be resolved within ten minutes, it's sort of like 'instant replay' in major sports.
Upon further review, the call on the field stands...
followed by
...if you wish to discuss this briefly after the game, we can approach it, but for now we're running with this.
That's generally how I handle it, Wei Ji; I think that's probably best, too, though you can more easily discuss things after-the-fact. The problem with that is when it comes into continuous immersion narratives - having the rules suddenly change after the fact can be harmful to that immersion.
But it's probably more important to run the daggum game and get it over with, but be open to discussion, later.
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Time travellers.
Goth Guru taught me recently everything can be justified/blamed on time travellers.
Oh, yeah?!
Well what about... MY FACE~!?
Little did Tacticslion realize, his face had changed three times that day.
In other, The 100 news...
... welp, now you're down to eighty-thr- oop, I guess I mean eighty-two.
EDIT: 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75... at least I think, I kind-of sort-of lost count, they're going so quickly...
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Well, considering that TFY indicated my "player complaints" as one of the reasons he stopped coming to the boards, I hate discussing such things, even on FaWtL.
But it's the "social obligation" game, where, loosely translated, I run for him for the same reasons people have relatives they'd rather not deal with at the Thanksgiving table: There are things more important in life than gaming (*gasp*), and sometimes you do things you don't enjoy due to social requirements.
So it's a situation where I have one player who is the stuff of nightmares, and he really does TRY to behave himself, and he's been MUCH better this campaign, but some days he just goes back to his stubborn old, "*I* think the rule should be run this way, and I don't want the game to proceed until a permanent decision has been made," ways.
So I handled it delicately, I did not cut him off at the knees, I did not endanger a friendship for the sake of a game, and once everyone else had had their food breaks, bathroom breaks, and walks, I ended the discussion politely.
I'm strange; I'd rather have a friend than a game of Monopoly. My problem is that that friend *really* wants to play Monopoly, so occasionally I indulge him, even though I know I won't enjoy it.
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[Insert joke about the 32 varieties of Monopoly currently cluttering the shelves at work.]
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I think my father has become a conspiracy theorist, and I am sad.
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OK. I learned that one of my co-workers (the one who walks ducks while carrying dogs in his pockets) had never seen this video, which is sad, because who doesn't love a strange man singing a nonsensical song in leopard-patterned... pajamas?
So yeah, it's an internet sensation and all, but it turns out he's made more!
Why, world, WHY!!!!!!
EDIT: Managed to fix the links, AFTER TL had favorited!
I worry about you, TL, I truly do!
OK. I learned that one of my co-workers (the one who walks ducks while carrying dogs in his pockets) had never seen this video, which is sad, because who doesn't love a strange man singing a nonsensical song in leopard-patterned... pajamas?
So yeah, it's an internet sensation and all, but it turns out he's made more!
Why, world, WHY!!!!!!
EDIT: Managed to fix the links, AFTER TL had favorited!
I worry about you, TL, I truly do!
Actually... they worked for me?!
(At least the first one did.)
Any way, I've never seen either of them prior to this, either.
EDIT: Oh, I see, the second was also to OJ. Go figure!
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It's a good pistol.
A good pistol.
If I can miss a Lithuanian Tatar that many times at point-blank range with a good pistol, heaven help me if I ever get a bad one.
I was going to ask why you hated democracy, so!
That said, I always suspected you were in league with the local red dragon...
>.>
Hardly modern, the voting "citizens" where minority of approximately 10% of adult male population (exact percentage my vary depending on time and sources, I saw numbers as high as 15-20% but 10% is safer bet).
<.<
>.>
Not going deep into the politics... But history of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth should be an obligatory lecture during History classes in absolutely every democratic nation as an example of "how to not organize democracy".
In fact, in Swedish, if you want to describe a gathering of people arguing so much with each other that nothing ever gets done, you call it a "Polsk riksdag" (Polish Parliament).
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Tiny T-Rex "On the first day of summer vacation I'm going to the water park... WITHOUT my snow gear!"
I'm pretty sure, that's a clarification that's not needed in other parts of the country. :-)
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Also, on the first day of summer vacation, they're both going to the dentist (Not on purpose, a delightful quirk in scheduling). But I'm not telling them that in February. Especially with dreams of water parks dancing through their heads.
|
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Also, on the first day of summer vacation, they're both going to the dentist (Not on purpose, a delightful quirk in scheduling). But I'm not telling them that in February. Especially with dreams of water parks dancing through their heads.
That is mean, cruel, nasty, vicious and evil! I am so proud of you!
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The best part is, we have to drive by the water park to get to the dentist.
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A *very* brief tirade after a bit of an epiphany about Impus Major's homework:
(1) The teachers won't repeat it. If you don't hear it the first time, you're responsible for getting it from your classmates.
(2) Even with a 504 plan, Impus Major's accommodations cannot include written-down homework assignments, as "part of learning to be an adult" is learning to copy down the assignments.
So, can someone PLEASE tell me of ANY JOB IN THE WORLD where your manager asks you to do something later in the day, and you're not allowed to ask, "I'm sorry, I know you asked me to do something. Could you repeat it so I can write it down and make sure I do it right?"
I swear, if I had a worker who produced Impus Major's level of work (3.5+ GPA in classes that actually TELL HIM THE HOMEWORK), I'd be happy to repeat myself once a day and get consistent output.
Instead we get, "Well, in the REAL world people will only ask him to do things once, and expect him to get it done!"
I'm just wondering what "real world" they live in. I work with engineers, QA, and implementation specialists. We usually discuss assignments 3-4 times just to make sure we're all on the same page...
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Tiny T-Rex "On the first day of summer vacation I'm going to the water park... WITHOUT my snow gear!"
I'm pretty sure, that's a clarification that's not needed in other parts of the country. :-)
The worst part of June when I was growing up was that it could be 78 degrees and sunny, but the lake hadn't stratified yet, so we couldn't go in.
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The worst part of June when I was growing up was that it could be 78 degrees and sunny, but the lake hadn't stratified yet, so we couldn't go in.Tiny T-Rex "On the first day of summer vacation I'm going to the water park... WITHOUT my snow gear!"
I'm pretty sure, that's a clarification that's not needed in other parts of the country. :-)
Have I told you the story of me and Loren and the glacial pond? I'm sure it's waaaay up somewhere in FaWtL-land because I've told so many stories, but I don't know whether I shared it at the table.
Short version: We climbed around 2000 feet on a warm-ish day and found a beautiful pond just under a snow melt. It was shallow enough to have been warmed by the sun, so Loren stripped down, jumped in, swam to a small island about 20' in, and told me, "C'mon in! The water's great!"
Other than the ice coating the surface, he was right.
And all those stories about swimming in 32-degree water being nearly impossible? They're true.
I was working out 22 hours a week, including 10-15 hours a week of full-contact sparring. Yet that 20-foot swim exhausted me to the point it took us 3 hours lying in the sun to warm up enough to risk the swim back.
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I need help.
I committed a bad n00b GM error yesterday.
We had finished up a Beginner Box extension module and were in Sandpoint doing wrap-up and level-up. The last thing the module tells you is that the Orc Boss has a message on him in Orcish. The party gives it to Mayor Kendra, she gets a wizard to come in and translate it, and the party asks, "What does it say?"
I realize I hadn't decided what I would tell the party yet.
I look down at the two options on the sheet in front of me, and I see
"Maybe it’s not a message from the orc chieftain, but instead it’s orders from a rogue wizard who was recently banished from Sandpoint for practicing necromancy…one who promises that he will use his knowledge of the area (and an army of the undead) to help the orcs to once and for all destroy the town?"
So I decide, "Hey, yeah, that looks cool," and I run with it.
My Kindergartener asks, "What's necromancy?"
I explain, gently.
My almost-four-year-old says, "Cool! Let's kill it!"
My husband does the Snoopy eyebrows look he does when he feels I've made a reckless decision.
I try to punt, but I'm feeling panicked and my brain and my mouth are on different wavelengths. I ramble on a bit about how Sherriff Hemlock is going to send a squad to scout out the wizard's camp with a couple of mages from Turondarok Academy and report back in a few days' time, and sent the party on yet another random ancillary module to continue to boost up a bit.
NOW WHAT DO I DO?!?
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(Break's over. Have to go back into my classroom, and won't be back online until late tonight.)
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Clarification: Are you trying to avoid exposing them to undead, or do you not have anything prepped?
If you want to avoid undead entirely, I recommend skeletons. Gore-free, still undead, and most young ones love hitting them with sticks because of the satisfying clacking.
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Do they not play Minecraft?
I just make a joke about how it "dropped rotten flesh" (which is, evidently, a Minecraft term) and move on.
If you're super casual or move it long quickly they usually won't pick up on anything.
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I think my father has become a conspiracy theorist, and I am sad.
I had a merry time trying to convince a co-worker why free energy is a load of balls last Friday.
That must mean I'm one of THEM.
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It's my "down day" at work (as if you couldn't tell), so I'm catching up on my corporate training. As always seems to happen, one of the kids is home (Impus Minor this time).
I let him start answering questions. He got me through a section, got 100% correct, and then said, "These questions are stupid. They all say, 'He is following best practices. Is he following best practices?" so the answer is always, 'Yes.'"
And I said, "Yes, but I have to take the training anyway."
"I feel sorry for you, Dad."
EDIT: And an explanation of mitosis I felt worth sharing.
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I think my father has become a conspiracy theorist, and I am sad.I had a merry time trying to convince a co-worker why free energy is a load of balls last Friday.
That must mean I'm one of THEM.
I guess because free energy has been, or could be invented, if not for the nefarious machinations of the fossil fuel industry?
(Conventional utilities are actually in a legal/political battle for profits with solar suppliers here in AZ, but it's an entirely banal situation.)
Spoilered for "politics":
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This just tells me I need to get my "[redacted] is a moldy pumpkin in an expensive suit being controlled by a cabal of Don Bluthian Mice" story out there before someone else does.
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Clarification: Are you trying to avoid exposing them to undead, or do you not have anything prepped?
** spoiler omitted **
If you want to avoid undead entirely, I recommend skeletons. Gore-free, still undead, and most young ones love hitting them with sticks because of the satisfying clacking.
Skeletons are okay.
Concerns are:1. Nightmares.
2. Party readiness (they're 3rd level.)
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Clarification: Are you trying to avoid exposing them to undead, or do you not have anything prepped?
** spoiler omitted **
If you want to avoid undead entirely, I recommend skeletons. Gore-free, still undead, and most young ones love hitting them with sticks because of the satisfying clacking.
Skeletons are okay.
Concerns are:
1. Nightmares.
2. Party readiness (they're 3rd level.)
Also, Lesser Animate Dead is a 2nd-level cleric spell. Maybe this guy is actually just an evil 3rd-level cleric. The party would clean his clock easily.
Just 'cause he dresses in robes and cackles maniacally doesn't make him powerful. Just ask Captain Yesterday!
I'm afraid I can't help with the nightmares...
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My brother does zombie special effects. He was pretty good at giving my kids nightmares. :-)
Well, Pea Bear, not Tiny T-Rex, that kid was born to fight zombies.
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Word of advice... If you are next to an imperial inqusitor, while holding a thermal detonator with dead man switch, consider sacrificing yourself while you can take her down instead of delaying and sacrificing yourself merely to avoid vaporizing the party member.
Another bothan sacrificed for the rebellion rebel wannabes.
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Do they not play Minecraft?
I just make a joke about how it "dropped rotten flesh" (which is, evidently, a Minecraft term) and move on.
If you're super casual or move it long quickly they usually won't pick up on anything.
Too little for Minecraft. We have a "no video games or apps until 1st grade, and even then you will have to spend at least as much time reading, playing out-of-doors, and doing something constructive with your hands as you do on your screen" rule.
To which my daughter has already remarked, "Yeah, but YOU don't follow that rule."
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Do they not play Minecraft?
I just make a joke about how it "dropped rotten flesh" (which is, evidently, a Minecraft term) and move on.
If you're super casual or move it long quickly they usually won't pick up on anything.
Too little for Minecraft. We have a "no video games or apps until 1st grade, and even then you will have to spend at least as much time reading, playing out-of-doors, and doing something constructive with your hands as you do on your screen" rule.
To which my daughter has already remarked, "Yeah, but YOU don't follow that rule."
GASP!!! Heresy!!!!! Burn them! Burn them all!
~grins and runs~
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Oh, and since you're back online and we're e-mailing back and forth, don't forget I have all the APs, most in both PDF and hard copy, so if you want to borrow something a bit more robust you're welcome to any of them.
The kid-friendly AP threads all point at Legacy of Fire as a good, Arabian Knights-themed one, though I'm posting on FaWtL because these people are both silly and wise, and may have better, more recent suggestions. (I know Captain Yesterday was having all kinds of fun with his kids in Iron Gods -- a sci-fi crossover AP.)
You've seen my bookcase. Feel free to borrow freely. For free?
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We have winter.
And both kids have already demonstrated an ability to literally climb the walls. Kids of Tindalos I guess.
Maybe angles are bad after all...
Anyway, if Minecraft keeps the kids happy and out of my hair for an hour a day, then consider me not as crazy.
Besides, in the spring and summer, they hardly come inside, and Minecraft sits forgotten.
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We have winter.
And both kids have already demonstrated an ability to literally climb the walls. Kids of Tindalos I guess.
Maybe angles are bad after all...
Anyway, if Minecraft keeps the kids happy and out of my hair for an hour a day, then consider me not as crazy.
Besides, in the spring and summer, they hardly come inside, and Minecraft sits forgotten.
Yeah, I remember winters like that. I have a photo somewhere of a snowman I made my mom outside the kitchen window as a Mother's Day present. She has saved the photo for almost forty years, I think just to show people. But back in those days, we didn't have video games, so we had to sit around the fireplace and listen to my dad tell bad fart jokes.
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If I post now, it will only be to try to force some other poor s.o.b. to go naked.