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All reindeer are equal, but some reindeer are more equal than others.
Word, dawg. Shout out to my boy, Rudy thee Beacon.
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Last night's game showed off the best and worst of AP writing in a single evening.
Even though what I have to say is entirely predictable and not particularly surprising, I'm going to
There was a really nice trap near the entry that I won't spoiler at all because it was so well done.
But then came the stupid.
"You've entered a demiplane where if you try to teleport or fly you die instantly."
Really? Really?!?!? I'm totally OK with, "You've entered a demiplane where teleportation magic doesn't work." I mislike the, "We disable flight and climbing magic as well," because it shows lazy dungeon design. But, "If you do this, you die," is just being a d***.
Similarly, "You're in a long passage. You get one Perception roll to spot traps, then you're done."
So of course none of us rolled over a 5 on 1d20 and we had a hapless party walking down a long passage, fully aware that there were pressure plates all along the passage, but because we rolled poorly and there was no way to reroll or otherwise mitigate things (Detect Traps was similarly disabled by the demiplane), we had to stupidly walk through a bunch of traps that we knew were there. It was unbelievably frustrating.
Such a juxtaposition of very good vs. very bad writing in one 4-hour session was striking.
EDIT: I really feel that Scarwall did it SO much better.
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Well, we'll see whether my time in Tomb of Annihilation is done.
I spoke to the GM at length about what I thought was good and bad about last night. He informed me that our issues with the traps were because we were lazy.
It turns out that in 5e they completely redid not only trap disarming (which we knew about), but trapfinding as well -- it's not supposed to involve rolling dice at all, but rather describing how you're looking for them.
Yes, it's a better method. I like it.
But not mentioning this to your players so they were relying on their now-incorrect experiences of 40+ years to fail utterly, then calling them lazy for not knowing the rules had changed?
In my opinion, as a GM, if you start running people in a new game version and there are some fundamental, critical changes to how things are normally done and it's obvious your players are unaware of these changes, you have an obligation to let them know.
I regret getting my kids addicted to playing Connections. It took me three days to put together 20 holiday-themed puzzles. They've blitzed through most of them in the span of an hour.
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Poetry for Neanderthals is the best purchase I ever made for class.
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Poetry for Neanderthals is the best purchase I ever made for class.
The kids who come over love that game SOOOOO much! It is sheer brilliance.
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I picked it up because I'm now our public speaking teacher, and I figure it can be a good object lesson in "how hard is it to communicate when you're not allowed to use the words you want?" possibly as a lead-in to our nonverbal communication unit.
But mostly it's been used to keep junior high kids busy, and today, my homeroom was curious enough to try it out before Uno. That was an hour ago, and they're still going.
It turns out that in 5e they completely redid not only trap disarming (which we knew about), but trapfinding as well -- it's not supposed to involve rolling dice at all, but rather describing how you're looking for them.
That's how it worked in the original D&D, except with more "you described wrong action! you die! muhahaha!" and "you described checking the door, but not the floor in front of door! you die! muhahahaha!"
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20 questions is a terrible game.
what about d20 questions?
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Last night's game showed off the best and worst of AP writing in a single evening.
Even though what I have to say is entirely predictable and not particularly surprising, I'm going to
** spoiler omitted **...
I loved Scarwall.
I loved Scarwall.Last night's game showed off the best and worst of AP writing in a single evening.
Even though what I have to say is entirely predictable and not particularly surprising, I'm going to
** spoiler omitted **...
Which impresses me because you went through the "revised into abject crappiness" version. But I tried my best.
Survived the penultimate day of school plus the winter concert in the evening.
Someone decided that the best way to handle seating for an evening concert was to have the children sit grouped with the teachers all night, well past bedtime at my grade level, while their parents sat many rows away.
There was crying, and fidgeting, and whining, and when it was all over, we had to load the instruments back in the truck to take back to campus.
I'm in bed with wine.
Tomorrow is half-day and the faculty luncheon.
Then I get to do laundry, pack, and drop the dog with the sitters.
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I will always remember Scarwall as the place where the babynerds Looney Tunes'd themselves.
One of them was throwing around walls of stone to try and fence in and separate their enemies. What this actually did was keep all of them in a 20' radius because they couldn't spread out anymore... and the AP gave the caster here some pit spells...
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So, the meat shop I mentioned with the suspiciously absent reindeer for Santa's sleigh also boasts a large "under new management" banner.
Now, I'm not saying what exactly these specialty meats are...
Bad coding has given me a new favorite hobby.
Know how they have those surveys at the start of every YouTube session? Turns out they don't validate your responses.
"Which laundry detergents do you have a positive opinion of?
(a) Tide
(b) Era
(c) All
(d) None of the above"
Turns out you can select all 4 answers and submit, though it's more fun to really mess with their data and randomly leave one out.
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GothBard: So what if they're not actually interested in the answers, but they're more interested in seeing who answers so they can target them with more surveys or ads?
NobodysHome: So... imagine them targeting me with a survey or ad...
GothBard:
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If anyone within driving distance of Los Angeles would like to assist me in setting a server on fire...
If anyone within driving distance of Los Angeles would like to assist me in setting a server on fire...
I'm technically "within driving distance", but hoo boy Winter Break just started for me and the chore list is staggering. I may have some free time by New Year's.
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If anyone within driving distance of Los Angeles would like to assist me in setting a server on fire...I'm technically "within driving distance", but hoo boy Winter Break just started for me and the chore list is staggering. I may have some free time by New Year's.
By then it may have finished rebooting.
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Operation Pretend The Kids Are Both 15 So We Can All Watch 'Die Hard' At The Cinema was a success.
Not the snappiest name for an op, but very accurate.
Got home from the faculty luncheon fully intending to do laundry and start packing, sat down on my couch, and zonked out for two hours.
Could nap all afternoon as well, but we have a dinner with WW's dad and stepmother tonight, so I have to go to the market and make a fancy salad. I'm thinking something with apple, candied pecans, goat cheese, and a honey vinaigrette.
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First snow run of the season!
First house, I try to start my blower and immediately the cord snaps, then a second blower refuses to blow snow for some reason so I broke it further as an example to the others.
We did not have any further issues.
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So, I was at the sushi joint for lunch today. Sitting at the table next to us was a kid. 1st grader I’m guessing. He was dressed in a swamp thing suit. As we were leaving, I said to my co-worker: “It might be dangerous for a swamp thing to show up at a sushi restaurant. You could end up on the menu.”
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Waterhammer gets cookies.
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Happy birthday, you giant testicle.
(I do say the nicest things to my friends.)
So, I was at the sushi joint for lunch today. Sitting at the table next to us was a kid. 1st grader I’m guessing. He was dressed in a swamp thing suit. As we were leaving, I said to my co-worker: “It might be dangerous for a swamp thing to show up at a sushi restaurant. You could end up on the menu.”
uhmm.. are you sure he wasn't supposed to be a christmas tree?
Weirdest piece of knowledge:local in the hudson valley...
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Happy birthday, you giant testicle.
(I do say the nicest things to my friends.)
is there anything manlier than a giant testicle? I think not!
Happy many revolutions around the sun, Freehold!
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And now begins, "What idiocy does the universe have in store for me this winter?"
Flu vaccine, COVID vaccine, and tetanus booster: Check.
Still-up-to-date smallpox, MMR, pneumonia, and polio vaccines: Check.
I figure I'm going to get either rabies, Lyme disease, mpox, or Ebola. Time will tell.
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Happy SINMAS!
Ouch, that was a helluva ride...
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RUNS AROUND THREAD MAKING FIRE ENGINE NOISES
Flappy bathrobe, Freehold!
(There should be more music videos featuring tulwars, I feel)
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Inne other newes, hear ye, hear ye, my Ward cometh unto my chamber and sayeth, Sire, thou hast Sequestered mine Devices and I wish them Return'd, that I may play at being ye Azure Hedge-Pigge that doth runneth at greate Speed.
Quoth I, thy devices have been Sequester'd owing to Crimes of which ye World may remain ignorant, but thou knowest well what they are, and shall notte be retvrned until ye Morrow.
Said he, Sire, then shall we play at Swords? If thou be ye victor, so be it, but if it be I, thou shalt Return mine Devices unto me?
This was Acceptable to me, so we did play at Swords, to V Strikes, and ye Lad was notte victoriuos, but yet he persisted, in Fun, or so I thoughteth, until he had ii swords and I had none. Then he did stryke me v times, saying that he had Won, ye act of an Very Dastard, and so I did tell him to get him gone, and his Devices remaineth apart from him until Sonday, as before.
And now begins, "What idiocy does the universe have in store for me this winter?"
Flu vaccine, COVID vaccine, and tetanus booster: Check.
Still-up-to-date smallpox, MMR, pneumonia, and polio vaccines: Check.I figure I'm going to get either rabies, Lyme disease, mpox, or Ebola. Time will tell.
I was told that the smallpox vaccine works on mpox as well.
I had a nasty bout of the “common cold “ post Thanksgiving. My company policy calls for a doctor’s note after 2 sick days. So I was back at work on the third day, even though I wasn’t really ready. I’m pretty sure it prolonged my symptoms.
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I was told that the smallpox vaccine works on mpox as well.And now begins, "What idiocy does the universe have in store for me this winter?"
Flu vaccine, COVID vaccine, and tetanus booster: Check.
Still-up-to-date smallpox, MMR, pneumonia, and polio vaccines: Check.I figure I'm going to get either rabies, Lyme disease, mpox, or Ebola. Time will tell.
You were not misinformed; it provides "good cross-protection". (The AI says the number is 39% reduction in severe symptoms, but I trust the AI as much as I can throw its server clusters.) But I learned something new today! Thank you!
I had a nasty bout of the “common cold “ post Thanksgiving. My company policy calls for a doctor’s note after 2 sick days. So I was back at work on the third day, even though I wasn’t really ready. I’m pretty sure it prolonged my symptoms.
Don't. Get. Me. Started. AGAIN.
Even more robust than the research on passwords is the research on sick leave. The TL;DR version: Not giving your employees adequate sick leave costs your company money because they infect their fellow employees and productivity goes into the toilet. It doesn't matter what industry you're in, from $250k/year software engineers to $10/hour fast food workers, paid sick leave saves your company money.
Have I mentioned recently how much I want every executive trained in 1970s-style management to deleted for my own legal protection just go away?
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Oh, that’s the funny part. I have around 1,500 hours of sick time. I just didn’t want to go to the doctor for a cold. Doctors can get sick too. Would have been best for me to just stay home till I was feeling better.
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Oh, that’s the funny part. I have around 1,500 hours of sick time. I just didn’t want to go to the doctor for a cold. Doctors can get sick too. Would have been best for me to just stay home till I was feeling better.
The school started demanding doctor's notes for Impus Minor every time he missed a day. The doctor's office got fed up and gave us a few fill-in-the-date notes so we wouldn't waste their time and our money.
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And in the realm of, "I am all astonishment," a couple of months ago GothBard got her jury summons... for the week of December 23. She said, "Yeah, I'm keeping that one."
Sure enough, she does not have to report tomorrow...
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And now begins, "What idiocy does the universe have in store for me this winter?"
Flu vaccine, COVID vaccine, and tetanus booster: Check.
Still-up-to-date smallpox, MMR, pneumonia, and polio vaccines: Check.I figure I'm going to get either rabies, Lyme disease, mpox, or Ebola. Time will tell.
They make rabies shots (shows off tag) . But its actually cheaper to fly to thailand get the shot vacation there and fly back than it is to get the shots in the US
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I know that people, myself included, complain about it all the time, yet every time I see it I'm still baffled.
The South Korean show Sweet Home is based off the manhwa of the same name. The show started off really strong, then slowly fell apart towards the end of Season 1, and Season 2 is, in my opinion, unwatchable. So I started reading the manhwa. And sure enough, just when the show starts to go downhill is when it separates itself from the manhwa. Virtually all modern movies or TV series based on print (or digital) media take something beloved and rewrite it, ruining it.
And I am always left wondering: Do you honestly believe you're a better writer than the original author? Do you really think fans of the original would prefer it if you changed things up? If the original resonated so well with people, do you really feel you need to change it to make it appeal to a wider audience, or maybe, just maybe, are you underestimating or misinterpreting audiences' tastes?
I am eternally baffled and frustrated by this absolute need to change things. Peter Jackson put it well (and I'm paraphrasing, or may even be misremembering exactly how he put it): "You can't film every page line-by-line because you'll end up with an incredibly boring movie. But you need to stick as closely as possible with the original story."
I am angry with him because he didn't listen to his own advice vis-a-vis the characters, and beloved classics are frequently (usually) more about the characters than the plot. But I digress.
If you're going to make a movie or a TV series based on a book, manga, or manhwa, try keeping the original story and characters. You may be surprised to find it's more profitable and gets better ratings.
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And now begins, "What idiocy does the universe have in store for me this winter?"
Flu vaccine, COVID vaccine, and tetanus booster: Check.
Still-up-to-date smallpox, MMR, pneumonia, and polio vaccines: Check.I figure I'm going to get either rabies, Lyme disease, mpox, or Ebola. Time will tell.
They make rabies shots (shows off tag) . But its actually cheaper to fly to thailand get the shot vacation there and fly back than it is to get the shots in the US
That is just fundamentally depressing. But I looked it up. You're supposed to start with 2 shots a week apart at $1200 per shot, so $2400 vs. a week in Thailand is a fairly reasonable comparison.
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If anyone within driving distance of Los Angeles would like to assist me in setting a server on fire...
I shall be with you in spirit.
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Have I mentioned recently how much I want every executive trained in 1970s-style management todeleted for my own legal protectionjust go away?
One hopes there is a special hell reserved specifically for Jack Welch.
I have finished The (first) Surge...
It went much better than the first attempt where I bounced off early in the game. There are some good things, and in some ways the combat felt slightly better than the second game. There is a lot and lots of tedious, annoying, or outright messed fights, though. Exploration was fun. Bosses were meh. The final zone was a tangle of complicated tunnels with lots and lots of pathways to find, but it had some really nasty, annoying, and glitchy enemies (apparently there was repeated complaint on the contextual action necessary to finish them not triggering properly, which I have experienced myself to some degree).
The final boss fist phase was atrocious with extended attacks that I found impossible to dodge and I wasn't even seeing some of the attacks. The second phase was cheating as well, being faster and striking with attacks that reached you after dodging as well.
I simply went with healing a lot, going into fight with... 18 heals, I think. Yay for brute-forcing toughing through the final boss.
Again.
The New Game Plus started with a seriously overpowered enemy attacking me at the very start. Another one was patrolling an early zone.
Nope. Not worth the tedium.
The weapon I got from the final boss was nice, though like absolutely every frigging weapon in this game, the main character always overextends and overcommits when swinging it...
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A wise worm has all the answers you will ever need...