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In other news, Hermione ran her first game last night after dinner.
She opened the gaming cabinet, assigned us each minis, told us what our character was/could do, then pulled out a notebook in which she'd written a very short adventure and a double-sided map. Full color.I was an elf rogue who could transform into an Ewok.
Val was an Air Elemental named "Mental" who had a gargoyle companion. Also he can transform into a giant spider.
Hermione (as NPC) and WW were both CG gnoll clerics. WW could transform into a king cobra and Hermione's NPC could transform into some other kind of reptilian.
The first half of the game concerned fighting evil giant salamanders on an island in a boiling lake of lava "one and a half times as wide as our house". The second half (after we found the hidden staircase) was about figuring out what was illusion and what wasn't and dispelling it.
She did a damned fine job for her first try.
Sounds amazing!

Orthos |
7 people marked this as a favorite. |

In other news, Hermione ran her first game last night after dinner.
She opened the gaming cabinet, assigned us each minis, told us what our character was/could do, then pulled out a notebook in which she'd written a very short adventure and a double-sided map. Full color.I was an elf rogue who could transform into an Ewok.
Val was an Air Elemental named "Mental" who had a gargoyle companion. Also he can transform into a giant spider.
Hermione (as NPC) and WW were both CG gnoll clerics. WW could transform into a king cobra and Hermione's NPC could transform into some other kind of reptilian.
The first half of the game concerned fighting evil giant salamanders on an island in a boiling lake of lava "one and a half times as wide as our house". The second half (after we found the hidden staircase) was about figuring out what was illusion and what wasn't and dispelling it.
She did a damned fine job for her first try.
ONE OF US
ONE OF USONE OF US

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1 person marked this as a favorite. |

lisamarlene wrote:Hey, NH, I've missed you!
Particularly missed you and Goth Bard and the Impii on New Years Eve/Day.
(Also Shiro, and Hi, and the Ersatz Russian, and the Ersatz Russian's wife...)
Not to mention her corned beef, I'm sure! :-P
It was a low-key affair, with lots of Telestrations because letting me and Impus Minor draw anything inevitably leads to hilarity, but you were definitely missed!
Our summer plans are still gelling (Shiro has to take a month-long sabbatical from his job, so we're trying to coordinate a 2-4 week trip to Europe with him and Hi, but *we* actually have to worry about affording such a thing), but let us know when your Oregon trip is and we'll see whether we can't do at least a weekend in Ashland to meet up with you. Because Ashland.
Let me know if you make it to the Netherlands :)

Orthos |

After many years of GM'ing, I've come to the conclusion that homebrew is significantly easier than APs, because you don't have to deal with the author's bizarre rulesets or story lines. Think up a few encounters, build a story around them that progresses the overall plotline, add NPCs as necessary, integrate them into your existing world, and run. In APs you have to familiarize yourself with someone else's world, which for me is significantly harder.
I think years of playing and DMing NWN has gotten me really used to running APs and making adjustments to fit them into whatever world I'm playing in at the time.
It's become much harder for me to fully put together my own plots as a result, as I always end up comparing them to the APs and feeling like I consistently come up short.

lisamarlene |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |

Not promising:
The guy who showed up was *not* a plumber, but rather an advance scout that works for the management company that owns the house. He determines whether a plumber actually needs to be called.
He said, "Wow! I've never seen *that* before! Looks like you need a plumber!"
Considering that we first called them on New Year's Day, well, yeah, we knew that.
So he took some pictures and made a phone call and left.
Here's the problem:
On *most* toilet installations, the supply line to fill the tank comes out of the wall.
For some reason, when they renovated our house to rent it, they put the supply line coming up through the floor.
Which they then covered in Spanish tile, and poured cement around the fill line (I'm guessing because they couldn't cut the tile to fit properly.)
Now the water is seeping *up through the concrete around the supply line/valve*.
So in order to fix it, they will have to smash through the tile and concrete in order to even see what's going on.
(Yes, there are spare boxes of the tile in the garage, but wow.)

captain yesterday |
7 people marked this as a favorite. |

The lady with the crosses in every window and mirrors strategically placed on the outside of her house, which she splashes with boiling water.
Apparently, the mail people have stopped delivering mail because she screams at them for being Illuminati assassins and she also called the cops on the maintenance guy for also being an assassin.
Yet, when I walk by with the dog she'll occasionally open her door, smile, say hi and then disappear again.
Interesting.

NobodysHome |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

Well, it says more about the property owner than anything else.
I got an e-mail from a neighbor of our rental house: "Your downspouts are clogged and flooding our property."
My e-mail to the manager was simply, "Get this fixed ASAP" and there was a professional repair company there that day.
It's once you get corporate-owned buildings or absentee landlords that abuses like LM's start to pile up. I went out of my way to select a property management company with a good reputation for property upkeep. I think it says a great deal that other landlords I knew said, "Don't use them! They spend too much on upkeep!"
Y'know what? I'll take the hit.

Vanykrye |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

It says something unpleasant about the world we live in that a management middleman position like that exists and is the one to make the call over whether or not something gets professionally repaired.
I don't like it either...but I get it. Granted, I have little/no faith in LM's particular management company, but I can see where a management company would allow renters to call in the pros on their own and send the management company the bill would lead to a big argument of what was done, how much they're charging, what was actually necessary to do the job, etc.
And that's not even really getting into the cases where the renters might be calling in not for repairs, but for renovations. Or repairs that are simply fixed without the need for a pro to come in.
It's annoying when it's very clear that a pro needs to come in and they take their sweet time to get someone out there to go "Yup. You need a plumber." But from their point of view, that's better than the 15 other people that would have called in a plumber for a clogged toilet.

Freehold DM |

(1) Condolences, LM, that sucks!
(2) I just got a PM from someone with no posting history, no profile, nor any favorites, asking me for "school advice". Nooooo... this couldn't possibly be some kind of phishing scheme, could it?
(3) Until proven otherwise, I am making the assumption that Odd Fellow is Gary's AI bot. Because that works for me.
(4) LM, congrats on Hermione's first run! I wish Impus Major would get his act together and run MORE THAN TWO TOTAL SESSIONS OF A CAMPAIGN!
(5) After many years of GM'ing, I've come to the conclusion that homebrew is significantly easier than APs, because you don't have to deal with the author's bizarre rulesets or story lines. Think up a few encounters, build a story around them that progresses the overall plotline, add NPCs as necessary, integrate them into your existing world, and run. In APs you have to familiarize yourself with someone else's world, which for me is significantly harder.
(6) Yesterday I went shopping. 24 frozen lunches, 2 frozen pizzas, and a gallon of ice cream later and I am convinced that the new fridge uses Tardis technology. It's only 1" taller and 3" deeper than the previous fridge, yet all that stuff didn't even half fill the freezer. And a stupid excess of Chinese food from New Year's Day didn't even fill a shelf. It's scary huge! And tomorrow we get a water hook-up! Woot!
(7) I finished the major drywalling in WhimseyShire over the break. Now it's just the whole, "Use mud and tape to make it look decent and then paint it."
That should only be another 2 years...
say WHAT?

Freehold DM |

The lady with the crosses in every window and mirrors strategically placed on the outside of her house, which she splashes with boiling water.
Apparently, the mail people have stopped delivering mail because she screams at them for being Illuminati assassins and she also called the cops on the maintenance guy for also being an assassin.
Yet, when I walk by with the dog she'll occasionally open her door, smile, say hi and then disappear again.
Interesting.
I really hope she gets help, and soon.

Vanykrye |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

captain yesterday wrote:I really hope she gets help, and soon.The lady with the crosses in every window and mirrors strategically placed on the outside of her house, which she splashes with boiling water.
Apparently, the mail people have stopped delivering mail because she screams at them for being Illuminati assassins and she also called the cops on the maintenance guy for also being an assassin.
Yet, when I walk by with the dog she'll occasionally open her door, smile, say hi and then disappear again.
Interesting.
I don't foresee that happening without a court order.

Dark Lord Scintillatrix |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

The lady with the crosses in every window and mirrors strategically placed on the outside of her house, which she splashes with boiling water.
Apparently, the mail people have stopped delivering mail because she screams at them for being Illuminati assassins and she also called the cops on the maintenance guy for also being an assassin.
Yet, when I walk by with the dog she'll occasionally open her door, smile, say hi and then disappear again.
Interesting.
It is most fortuitous you are in position.

captain yesterday |

captain yesterday wrote:I really hope she gets help, and soon.The lady with the crosses in every window and mirrors strategically placed on the outside of her house, which she splashes with boiling water.
Apparently, the mail people have stopped delivering mail because she screams at them for being Illuminati assassins and she also called the cops on the maintenance guy for also being an assassin.
Yet, when I walk by with the dog she'll occasionally open her door, smile, say hi and then disappear again.
Interesting.
Yup!

Orthos |

Skela Tur Veir-Barrin, a wild princess appears!
Do your druids ignore the rule of "must have a neutral component in their alignment" or is that a typo and she should be NG or CN?

Drejk |

Drejk wrote:Skela Tur Veir-Barrin, a wild princess appears!Do your druids ignore the rule of "must have a neutral component in their alignment" or is that a typo and she should be NG or CN?
<.<
>.>

Orthos |

Orthos wrote:Drejk wrote:Skela Tur Veir-Barrin, a wild princess appears!Do your druids ignore the rule of "must have a neutral component in their alignment" or is that a typo and she should be NG or CN?<.<
>.>
** spoiler omitted **
Heh, no worries. I'm never sure if its an honest mistake or if I'm running into a house rule or archetype exception.

Cover Turtle |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

It is the dawn of the new FAWTL. The old one is gone forever, sunk by the overwhelming mass of data placed upon it. But there is hope! A new FAWTL appears, one with more hope and promises, fertile land ripe for claiming! It is time for me to step out of the shadows. Fate has given me a chance for a voice. I will cease my silent observations of the threads and speak out now. I reveal myself to the world!
Hey guys! It's me, Odd Fellow! Yeehaw!
*Waves and gives a 'hello' gesture*
Cover Turtle wrote:
*wiggles Turtle-butt at Mort, daring her to use her whip*
*whips Cover Turtle’s butt a few times for mooning at her*
*Makes several inappropriate moans while wiggling his eyebrows at Mort*
Cover Turtle wrote:
Hmmm…
So you’re saying you’re not a vampitty?
Still needs more tests I say!
*Snap a rubber glove on his Turtle-foot, puts on his stethoscope and sheepishly asks Mort to unbutton/pull up her shirt*
*Tells Cover Turtle to cover his eyes first, and puts the stethoscope where her heart is*
Hey, with a stethoscope, you only need to hear, you don’t need to look, right?
*Looks disappointed, but quickly starts looking thoughtful and strokes his Turtle-beard*
So what you're saying is that I need to develop some sort of echolocation...so I can 'hear' your chest right?!
*Starts coming up with echolocation-related pick-up lines...*
Just a Mort wrote:Or at the very least a somewhat flawed one…
I’m beginning to think there’s some truth in that. Considering this is the second year I’m doing this.*Growly noise*
Don't let some jerkish players discourage you kitten!
*Gives Mort plenty of nuzzles and scratchies*
In other news, Hermione ran her first game last night after dinner.
She opened the gaming cabinet, assigned us each minis, told us what our character was/could do, then pulled out a notebook in which she'd written a very short adventure and a double-sided map. Full color.I was an elf rogue who could transform into an Ewok.
Val was an Air Elemental named "Mental" who had a gargoyle companion. Also he can transform into a giant spider.
Hermione (as NPC) and WW were both CG gnoll clerics. WW could transform into a king cobra and Hermione's NPC could transform into some other kind of reptilian.
The first half of the game concerned fighting evil giant salamanders on an island in a boiling lake of lava "one and a half times as wide as our house". The second half (after we found the hidden staircase) was about figuring out what was illusion and what wasn't and dispelling it.
She did a damned fine job for her first try.
Incredibly creative!
Love the child-like wonder and imagination of it...it's something I don't do well myself. I'm much more well-versed in the dark, gritty, menacing and nihilistic parts of fantasy, it's what I do well. So give your daughter a pat on the head from me…we need people who can still look at fantasy with a tilted head and a look of wonder, instead of just doom and gloom.
(5) After many years of GM'ing, I've come to the conclusion that homebrew is significantly easier than APs, because you don't have to deal with the author's bizarre rulesets or story lines. Think up a few encounters, build a story around them that progresses the overall plotline, add NPCs as necessary, integrate them into your existing world, and run. In APs you have to familiarize yourself with someone else's world, which for me is significantly harder.
*Nods in agreement*
Yup I kind of have an easier time of winging things when they aren't set to a tight storyline with rather well calculated considerations of everything from encounters to Npc relations. It simply feels easier to leave some of those considerations less well defined and open to development while things work along with the players own crazy ideas and motivations.
Then again I might just be a winging it kind of guy ^^'
The lady with the crosses in every window and mirrors strategically placed on the outside of her house, which she splashes with boiling water.
Apparently, the mail people have stopped delivering mail because she screams at them for being Illuminati assassins and she also called the cops on the maintenance guy for also being an assassin.
Yet, when I walk by with the dog she'll occasionally open her door, smile, say hi and then disappear again.
Interesting.
That's both troubling, weird and quite sad.
1 year anniversary with girlfriend tomorrow. She is special. :-) Make divorced life better than married life in many ways.
Also am sick. Unrelated. Bad head cold. Very bad.
This talk how feel. Brain hate me.
First off congratulations!
Secondly…*Hands VE a glass of Rum and gives him a back pat*
NobodysHome wrote:Let me know if you make it to the Netherlands :)lisamarlene wrote:Hey, NH, I've missed you!
Particularly missed you and Goth Bard and the Impii on New Years Eve/Day.
(Also Shiro, and Hi, and the Ersatz Russian, and the Ersatz Russian's wife...)
Not to mention her corned beef, I'm sure! :-P
It was a low-key affair, with lots of Telestrations because letting me and Impus Minor draw anything inevitably leads to hilarity, but you were definitely missed!
Our summer plans are still gelling (Shiro has to take a month-long sabbatical from his job, so we're trying to coordinate a 2-4 week trip to Europe with him and Hi, but *we* actually have to worry about affording such a thing), but let us know when your Oregon trip is and we'll see whether we can't do at least a weekend in Ashland to meet up with you. Because Ashland.
Ditto if anyone ever got to Denmark ^^
I was feeling better during the day, but i'm feeling real crappy tonight. Going to turn in early.
*Gives Woran a nuzzle and passes her a glass of Rum*

NobodysHome |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |

Woran wrote:Let me know if you make it to the Netherlands :)Ditto if anyone ever got to Denmark ^^
Unfortunately rather unlikely simply due to time and everyone's stated preferences. We must return to Scotland, London, and Paris. And we're likely to putter around a large number of old castle ruins in northern Britain. Once we leave Great Britain, NobodysWife loves Paris, so we'll probably do at least a couple of days there. After that, I'm afraid that since Sabaton is from Sweden, and Battle Beast and Korpiklaani are Finnish, we may "follow the bands". Plus, I've heard nothing but good things about Sweden so it's on my list of "places to see in my lifetime".
I hear they have good chefs, too, so maybe I can score some cool pants!
The other possibility is Iceland to see some of the amazing volcanic/glacial structures, but Impus Major and I are really the only "hardcore outdoors" types, so I somehow think that'll fall off the list.
But I've never been to Denmark, and my only trip to the Netherlands was a train ride to Amsterdam to catch a plane, so they're definite possibilities, especially with resident FaWtLers.

lisamarlene |

Took all the kids to the mall.
We have out of state nephews over.
Yup, I hate malls.
Yup. Me, too.
And so where did we go on the last day of our vacation in Oregon?The mall.
So Hermione and Grandma could get their ears pierced together.
Then we got Juliuses. (Julii?)
I got paranoid and had to check to make sure there weren't any pomegranate seeds in my julius.

Limeylongears |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |

Cover Turtle wrote:Woran wrote:Let me know if you make it to the Netherlands :)Ditto if anyone ever got to Denmark ^^Unfortunately rather unlikely simply due to time and everyone's stated preferences. We must return to Scotland, London, and Paris. And we're likely to putter around a large number of old castle ruins in northern Britain. Once we leave Great Britain, NobodysWife loves Paris, so we'll probably do at least a couple of days there. After that, I'm afraid that since Sabaton is from Sweden, and Battle Beast and Korpiklaani are Finnish, we may "follow the bands". Plus, I've heard nothing but good things about Sweden so it's on my list of "places to see in my lifetime".
I hear they have good chefs, too, so maybe I can score some cool pants!
The other possibility is Iceland to see some of the amazing volcanic/glacial structures, but Impus Major and I are really the only "hardcore outdoors" types, I somehow think that'll fall off the list.
But I've never been to Denmark, and my only trip to the Netherlands was a train ride to Amsterdam to catch a plane, so they're definite possibilities, especially with resident FaWtLers.
Wales or Scotland are the places to go for massive great castles (Wales especially), but I shall be happy to show you about should you come to anywhere near Leeds/Manchester.

Vanykrye |

Well I just found out that I'm getting up at about 3am to drive to Cincinnati tomorrow. And then drive back home tomorrow night. At least I'll be paid from the time I leave my house to the time I get back to my house.
I just wish my company could find a way to do this without the super-short notice.

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Cover Turtle wrote:Woran wrote:Let me know if you make it to the Netherlands :)Ditto if anyone ever got to Denmark ^^Unfortunately rather unlikely simply due to time and everyone's stated preferences. We must return to Scotland, London, and Paris. And we're likely to putter around a large number of old castle ruins in northern Britain. Once we leave Great Britain, NobodysWife loves Paris, so we'll probably do at least a couple of days there. After that, I'm afraid that since Sabaton is from Sweden, and Battle Beast and Korpiklaani are Finnish, we may "follow the bands". Plus, I've heard nothing but good things about Sweden so it's on my list of "places to see in my lifetime".
I hear they have good chefs, too, so maybe I can score some cool pants!
The other possibility is Iceland to see some of the amazing volcanic/glacial structures, but Impus Major and I are really the only "hardcore outdoors" types, so I somehow think that'll fall off the list.
But I've never been to Denmark, and my only trip to the Netherlands was a train ride to Amsterdam to catch a plane, so they're definite possibilities, especially with resident FaWtLers.
Dont know when you got it planned, but we have PFS/SFS conventions in march and september. Kids friendly.

The Vagrant Erudite |

Well I just found out that I'm getting up at about 3am to drive to Cincinnati tomorrow. And then drive back home tomorrow night. At least I'll be paid from the time I leave my house to the time I get back to my house.
I just wish my company could find a way to do this without the super-short notice.
If only Cincinnati weren't on the other side of the state, I'd try to swing by and say hi. Oh, and also if I weren't doing my anniversary with my girlfriend, then I'd be like "Hey, wanna meet up in Columbus and chill?" But these ifs...these darn ifs.

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The lady with the crosses in every window and mirrors strategically placed on the outside of her house, which she splashes with boiling water.
Apparently, the mail people have stopped delivering mail because she screams at them for being Illuminati assassins and she also called the cops on the maintenance guy for also being an assassin.
Yet, when I walk by with the dog she'll occasionally open her door, smile, say hi and then disappear again.
Interesting.
Is it really bad of me that the first thing that occurred to me at this was to laugh at how ridiculous the situation was?
But yes it's going to be a problem as how is she going to get her bills that way? Not sure if this might help

lisamarlene |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |

Castles? You want big castles?
What's cool about that (for Americans) is that one of the coolest statues in Central Park in New York is in honor of Wladislaw II Jagiello's victory at the Battle of Grunwald, when the castle was besieged.
The statue is pretty fierce.side view in snow
the "looking up through the crossed swords" shot that everyone and their dog takes

captain yesterday |

Maybe the paizo boards are out to get me!!!
*pulls out fur as she frets*
But it was damned strange. From 7.00 am to about 7.35 am I was trying to post, getting frustrated because I was constantly getting logged out and logging in didn't help.
Yup, I had that too! For a minute I thought they banned me again and I couldn't figure out why.
Glad it's just a glitch!

DSXMachina |

NobodysHome wrote:Wales or Scotland are the places to go for massive great castles (Wales especially), but I shall be happy to show you babout should you come to anywhere near Leeds/Manchester.Cover Turtle wrote:Woran wrote:Let me know if you make it to the Netherlands :)Ditto if anyone ever got to Denmark ^^Unfortunately rather unlikely simply due to time and everyone's stated preferences. We must return to Scotland, London, and Paris. And we're likely to putter around a large number of old castle ruins in northern Britain. Once we leave Great Britain, NobodysWife loves Paris, so we'll probably do at least a couple of days there. After that, I'm afraid that since Sabaton is from Sweden, and Battle Beast and Korpiklaani are Finnish, we may "follow the bands". Plus, I've heard nothing but good things about Sweden so it's on my list of "places to see in my lifetime".
I hear they have good chefs, too, so maybe I can score some cool pants!
The other possibility is Iceland to see some of the amazing volcanic/glacial structures, but Impus Major and I are really the only "hardcore outdoors" types, I somehow think that'll fall off the list.
But I've never been to Denmark, and my only trip to the Netherlands was a train ride to Amsterdam to catch a plane, so they're definite possibilities, especially with resident FaWtLers.
Is there a few good ones near the lake district then there's castle Howard that's more of a Manor than medieval castle. But there's a few nice ruins about, of course maybe not the French châteaux. But again if you are in the York/Leeds area....

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No punishment without a distinct breach in the law - A.V.Dicey's Rule of Law
If you have done no wrong then you should not fear the paizo mods. Sure I may have been complaining and whinging down here about people but I never made any personal attacks against anyone in question, just complained about their behaviour and expectations. Which I do not believe violates any paizo policies. So since I know I have done no wrong, I expect it to me a technical error of some kind.