Deep 6 FaWtL


Off-Topic Discussions

239,951 to 240,000 of 280,798 << first < prev | 4795 | 4796 | 4797 | 4798 | 4799 | 4800 | 4801 | 4802 | 4803 | 4804 | 4805 | next > last >>

8 people marked this as a favorite.

I should probably not refer to the Cold War as "playing chicken with chainsaws."


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Orthos wrote:
NobodysHome wrote:

<complaints about author>

Hoo, boy......

Pretty much. The same author did the final chapter of Kingmaker, and it has a lot of the same issues.

The guy can write flavorful stuff, don't get me wrong, I love his material for that. But he's very much a hack n slash, one way to succeed period writer, and any deviation whatsoever from his base expectations basically means you're instantly in homebrew territory.

...I had to change a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooot of stuff to match my party's playstyle.

Which is both good and bad.

I think the time may have come to take another look at the adventure path idea. Multiple writers avoids burnout, but the change in tone and expectations can be jarring- my kingmakers are STILL talking about the problems of the second book being a march STRAIGHT towards the boss.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Scintillae wrote:
I should probably not refer to the Cold War as "playing chicken with chainsaws."

But that is exactly what it was.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Vanykrye wrote:
captain yesterday wrote:
Tacticslion wrote:

Tsk.

Actually unrelated to either of the two links above: a musician you've enjoyed disappears for a few years and you find out shortly after re-finding him that it's because he released a few (since-deleted) actively awful things. Sigh.

On the flip side, you find an artist you haven't listened to in years (Everlast) only to find out he's actually one of your friends (Vanykrye).

You keep saying that and eventually someone is going to believe you.

EDIT: Who are you going to say I am once I shave?

please inform me before you shave. I need to cast buffs so I dont die from the shock of it.


5 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm going to say, I'm really liking Impus Major's physics teacher's style.

Every week he hands out a really nasty homework assignment. Plus a solution. He does not collect this assignment. Instead, every week he has an easy quiz on what was on the assignment. If you do the assignment, the quiz is a piece of cake.

So he's tracking what you're learning and letting you learn by your own method, whether it's by working through the problems (which Impus Major and I are doing together) or by just reading the solutions on weeks where you're pressed for time.

A really nice model. I approve.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

The temperature is supposed to climb 8 degrees in the next hour (up to an almost summer like 9 degrees).

Let's just say I'm doubtful that will happen.

The sun is a lie.


6 people marked this as a favorite.
Freehold DM wrote:
Orthos wrote:
NobodysHome wrote:

<complaints about author>

Hoo, boy......

Pretty much. The same author did the final chapter of Kingmaker, and it has a lot of the same issues.

The guy can write flavorful stuff, don't get me wrong, I love his material for that. But he's very much a hack n slash, one way to succeed period writer, and any deviation whatsoever from his base expectations basically means you're instantly in homebrew territory.

...I had to change a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooot of stuff to match my party's playstyle.

Which is both good and bad.

I think the time may have come to take another look at the adventure path idea. Multiple writers avoids burnout, but the change in tone and expectations can be jarring- my kingmakers are STILL talking about the problems of the second book being a march STRAIGHT towards the boss.

Wow. When we did KM, we meandered like crazy and did literally every optional sidequest and took over a year in-game to actually deal with Hargulka.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
captain yesterday wrote:

The temperature is supposed to climb 8 degrees in the next hour (up to an almost summer like 9 degrees).

Let's just say I'm doubtful that will happen.

The sun is a lie.

Is it the right time to mention that we've reached that point in the year that I can open the windows every morning at around 9:30-10:00 am to let the house air out because it's peaking in the high 60s or low 70s?


Tacticslion wrote:
NobodysHome wrote:

I think I just overthink things.

For both Clone Wars and the Highlander series, all I could think was, "Any character I come to like in this series will die by violence within the next 25 years."

And it was such a depressing thought that I didn't want to watch either series because I didn't want to become attached to characters I knew were going to die horribly.

That's super-fair, but it's also exactly the point (or at least a part of it) of both series - the tragedy is part of the story.

For immortals it was fascinating to see them laugh, hang out, and share a party. They're old companions, friends, and fellows. Who will eventually (and soon by the start of the first film) have to kill each other.

For the Clone Wars, it's a tragedy in progress - we know it ends poorly, but it is about the, "how?" and, "why?" that we follow, rather than for the, "what?"

(This isn't to claim they are all tragedy - that would suck and I wouldn't like it. No, it just means that the tragedy is part of the story.)


1 person marked this as a favorite.
NobodysHome wrote:

I think I just overthink things.

For both Clone Wars and the Highlander series, all I could think was, "Any character I come to like in this series will die by violence within the next 25 years."

And it was such a depressing thought that I didn't want to watch either series because I didn't want to become attached to characters I knew were going to die horribly.

Clone Wars is the glue that redeems the prequel trilogy. No, you shouldn't need multiple seasons of a TV show to make 3 2-hour+ duration movies work, but I generally blame George Lucas for that.

The biggest problem with that show is that the episodes were aired out of chronological order for no good reason.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Vanykrye wrote:
NobodysHome wrote:

I think I just overthink things.

For both Clone Wars and the Highlander series, all I could think was, "Any character I come to like in this series will die by violence within the next 25 years."

And it was such a depressing thought that I didn't want to watch either series because I didn't want to become attached to characters I knew were going to die horribly.

Clone Wars is the glue that redeems the prequel trilogy. No, you shouldn't need multiple seasons of a TV show to make 3 2-hour+ duration movies work, but I generally blame George Lucas for that.

The biggest problem with that show is that the episodes were aired out of chronological order for no good reason.

I tend to view clone wars as separate from the movies so I dont go crazy.

There's no redeeming those movies. Lucas needs Kurtz, or SOMEONE to tell him his genius ideas are not necessarily genius.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Vanykrye wrote:
NobodysHome wrote:

I think I just overthink things.

For both Clone Wars and the Highlander series, all I could think was, "Any character I come to like in this series will die by violence within the next 25 years."

And it was such a depressing thought that I didn't want to watch either series because I didn't want to become attached to characters I knew were going to die horribly.

Clone Wars is the glue that redeems the prequel trilogy. No, you shouldn't need multiple seasons of a TV show to make 3 2-hour+ duration movies work, but I generally blame George Lucas for that.

The biggest problem with that show is that the episodes were aired out of chronological order for no good reason.

This is absolutely true.

That series made the politics and seemingly weird and arbitrary decisions seem to make sense, seem to be in-character, and it successfully fills out characterization for everyone throughout.

It even created Asoka, who, you know, ROCKS THE HOUSE.

(It makes a few missteps - and Asoka maaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy be one of those, considering she just... doesn't exist in the films - but even when it makes mistakes, it's a wonderful series, in my opinion, and it works surprisingly well for pretty much everything, and changes the prequels from absolute weirdness to something that actually relatively makes sense.)


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Tacticslion wrote:
Mmmmmmmmmmeh, I don't have time right now to look at those - gotta choose whether I'm running an AP (and if so, which of two), a one-shot, or something else. SURPRISE I'M A GM TONIGHT

So, how do you drive yourself insane in one easy step?

1) Borrow the premise of a game from a not-very-good anime you saw a few years back

2) Take a Paizo AP you've never done anything with or read or anything

3) Set it in Eberron

4) Make sure to put it in the same time period and canon as a different game set in Eberron

5) Start right away with zero prep time!

It's going great so far!

(We haven't even started the AP, and I've now prepared to start two or more one-shot adventures and another one as "introduction" prior to the actual adventure~! I'm SO sane, you guys!)


At least it's in the PF system edition!

... while I'm also GMing a 5e Wrath of the Righteous!

... ... and playing a 3.5 Second Darkness!

SUPER SANE


4 people marked this as a favorite.
NobodysHome wrote:

I think I just overthink things.

For both Clone Wars and the Highlander series, all I could think was, "Any character I come to like in this series will die by violence within the next 25 years."

And it was such a depressing thought that I didn't want to watch either series because I didn't want to become attached to characters I knew were going to die horribly.

Oh, boy... Hope you doesn't read or watch anything historical taking place before 1900...

Spoiler:
All of them are dead by now.


4 people marked this as a favorite.
Drejk wrote:
NobodysHome wrote:

I think I just overthink things.

For both Clone Wars and the Highlander series, all I could think was, "Any character I come to like in this series will die by violence within the next 25 years."

And it was such a depressing thought that I didn't want to watch either series because I didn't want to become attached to characters I knew were going to die horribly.

Oh, boy... Hope you doesn't read or watch anything historical taking place before 1900...

** spoiler omitted **

I guarantee at least 90% died at a ripe old age of natural causes, rather than murdered by the ones they love.


3 people marked this as a favorite.

That moment when someone writes "The ten things that the Netflix got about Jaskier from Witcher wrong" article, and is wrong in the very first point...

Dandelion is the name Witcher got in translations and the game... Except it's translator's licentia poetic in the first place, because Jaskier is not Dandelion... (it's Buttercup). So, NOPE, they did not get it wrong. They got it right. Not translating names is a common and valid translation choice.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
NobodysHome wrote:
captain yesterday wrote:

The temperature is supposed to climb 8 degrees in the next hour (up to an almost summer like 9 degrees).

Let's just say I'm doubtful that will happen.

The sun is a lie.

Is it the right time to mention that we've reached that point in the year that I can open the windows every morning at around 9:30-10:00 am to let the house air out because it's peaking in the high 60s or low 70s?

I kept the windows slightly open for most of the "winter".


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Winter has been very mild for us. We've only had a couple days where it dropped into single digit F temps, and I think only one day where it dropped below 0. I've been fairly disappointed by this winter.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Vanykrye wrote:
Winter has been very mild for us. We've only had a couple days where it dropped into single digit F temps, and I think only one day where it dropped below 0. I've been fairly disappointed by this winter.

imagine how I feel!


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Tacticslion wrote:


It even created Asoka, who, you know, ROCKS THE HOUSE.

(It makes a few missteps - and Asoka maaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy be one of those, considering she just... doesn't exist in the films...

Ahsoka is not one of the mistakes. The series takes place between the 2nd and 3rd movie, and her absence in the third movie is explained by season 5, and she doesn't appear in season 6. She'll be back for season 7, and I'm confident they'll deal with her leaving again.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Hello, everyone!


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Quote:
“I know you’re almost forty, look almost thirty, think you’re just over twenty and act as though you’re barely ten.”

*sigh*


2 people marked this as a favorite.

*eats another pączek*


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Right!

Lisamarlene! Today is the Fat Thursday!


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Freehold DM wrote:
Scintillae wrote:
I should probably not refer to the Cold War as "playing chicken with chainsaws."
But that is exactly what it was.

Seriously, that metaphor is just about perfect.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I've never seen Clone Wars.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

It's sad when advice articles tell you to live the way you're already living.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

The question - the big one - is, who would win in a fight between Snowhog and Chainsaw Chicken?


The Burning Plague (set in Eberron)

Nestled in the narrow Trumpet Mountains on the border of Thrane and Aundair, a small border town called “Duvik’s Pass” who’s recent surprise boon may soon prove to be a terrible burden.

Previously it was considered unimportant enough that even through much of the war it was relatively (well, relatively) untouched by violence, as, though it serves as a decent pass, it was mostly out of the way and had little in the way of desirable resources or even land. A few skirmishes and a couple of would-be military strikes passed through, but there wasn’t enough of, well, anything to ever really turn it into a true military base; and it was remote enough that it just wasn’t worth expending the effort. In the end, both Thranish and Aundairian governors were withdrawn to more important and militarily significant locales.

Technically (sort of) in the hands of Thrane (they were the last to actually have an official there... who visited after the Aundairian governor withdrew, declared it a great victory for Thrane, and welcomed the good citizens back into the fold... and then promptly left), in practice, the thorp is all but independent from either great nation.

Three months ago, however, all that changed. Duvik’s Pass has always been a mining town - it has roots stretching back to ancient Dhakaani empire (and its name may well be based off an old goblin name - none now actually know who “Duvik” is, though most modern citizens insist it’s a good Galifarran name), but the mines had effectively played out. Oh, an occasional minor vein would be found - enough to keep the mines open and technically lucrative through the years - but ultimately they would play out quickly and almost all were of relatively poor quality. Recently, though, a new vein was discovered by accident - a vein of such purity and size that Thrane and Aundair are both suddenly interested in the place again, and the legitimacy of their mutually competing claims is becoming... strongly... contested by the each side.

As if that weren’t enough, the miners recently stopped responding to messages. A fierce storm is thought to be the cause, but it is causing no small amount of concern among those who know of the place. Of course, the pass is ultimately still remote, little, and comparatively unimportant, but it could greatly heighten political tension between two fierce rivals - and already has! - possibly even leading to an outbreak of violence.

And why have the people suddenly gone so silent?

{{Modified Introduction to The Burning Plague, a free 3.5 e adventure by WotC.}}


Edited for a few purposes.

Tsk. Can't quite get the formatting to look good on both phone and computer. Alas!


Limeylongears wrote:
The question - the big one - is, who would win in a fight between Snowhog and Chainsaw Chicken?

Hm.

This is an excellent question.

On the one hand, one would want to vote for the Snowhog, because you can shorten it's name to "snog" and that's adorable and hardcore at the same time (don't judge me, I'm a USAmerican).

On the other hand, you have Chainsaw Chicken, which is inherently more dangerous in a general way ('cause chainsaws) but much physically weaker than any pig whatsoever (especially more fierce boar-like creatures). Also, because I statted up Chainsaw Chuck Norris, this holds appeal.

Either way, it is a sad day when Chicken and Pig are divided instead of united. Alas!

EDIT:

lisamarlene wrote:
TriOmegaZero wrote:
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist was much funnier to young TOZ.
GOPHER CHUCKS FTW!

Hm, upon reviewing the evidence, and clearly showing no bias at all, between the Snowhog and Chainsaw Chicken, I'd have to say that Beaverchucks would win.

For gopher chucks, reduce the size by one category and/or weapon damage dice by one step.

Grand Lodge

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

This week is a trash fire. I am so glad I have tomorrow off.


TriOmegaZero wrote:
This week is a trash fire. I am so glad I have tomorrow off.

Oof. Sorry, my dude.

What's up?


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Drejk wrote:

Right!

Lisamarlene! Today is the Fat Thursday!

Yes, but I couldn't make it to the one Polish deli/bakery today! Luckily, they'll be making them all weekend.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

SO close to getting to ESCAPE for Mardi Gras!

Me? I'm going to Universal Studios for 3 days!

Imma gonna play 'Harry Potter Wizards Unite' IN harry Potter World! ;)


3 people marked this as a favorite.

On a total side note, it's interesting how different people approach the same necessities in life.

The four of us all have personal checking accounts so we all have "mad money" to do with what we wish. Impus Minor manages his with a precision that borders on scary: He wanted pizza for lunch, checked the price of delivery, checked his account, came to me, handed me $10, ordered the pizza, and dropped his account to $1.27.

I'm not quite as obsessive as Impus Minor, but I'm always aware of about how much is in my account.

Neither Impus Major nor GothBard ever log into their accounts, even though I set up accounts for them and set their passwords to what they asked me to. On occasion, they'll come to me and ask, "So, how much is in my account?", but they never check.

So yep. We have a twofer.

Impus Major ordered $200 in concert tickets. From the $95 in his account. Boom. GothBard was a bit better, making a $330 purchase with only $293 in her account.

Fortunately, Provident's pretty darned good about such things: Overdraft fees are only $4, and they pick the "best" savings account to take the overdraw from, so it's all good...
...except I'm expecting a polite note any day now saying, "Er... either stop doing this or we're going to start charging you an overdraft protection fee."

I'm pretty sure I can manage them. Last time they came after me was because my tenant's checks kept bouncing, and when I pointed out that it wasn't my problem and the $25 fee was probably far more than it cost them to deal with it, they left me alone.

We'll see...


1 person marked this as a favorite.

About to go home. Good night, everyone.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Although I really want spring to arrive, at least it's Friday.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
NobodysHome wrote:

On a total side note, it's interesting how different people approach the same necessities in life.

The four of us all have personal checking accounts so we all have "mad money" to do with what we wish. Impus Minor manages his with a precision that borders on scary: He wanted pizza for lunch, checked the price of delivery, checked his account, came to me, handed me $10, ordered the pizza, and dropped his account to $1.27.

I'm not quite as obsessive as Impus Minor, but I'm always aware of about how much is in my account.

Neither Impus Major nor GothBard ever log into their accounts, even though I set up accounts for them and set their passwords to what they asked me to. On occasion, they'll come to me and ask, "So, how much is in my account?", but they never check.

So yep. We have a twofer.

Impus Major ordered $200 in concert tickets. From the $95 in his account. Boom. GothBard was a bit better, making a $330 purchase with only $293 in her account.

Fortunately, Provident's pretty darned good about such things: Overdraft fees are only $4, and they pick the "best" savings account to take the overdraw from, so it's all good...
...except I'm expecting a polite note any day now saying, "Er... either stop doing this or we're going to start charging you an overdraft protection fee."

I'm pretty sure I can manage them. Last time they came after me was because my tenant's checks kept bouncing, and when I pointed out that it wasn't my problem and the $25 fee was probably far more than it cost them to deal with it, they left me alone.

We'll see...

Oh Papa Nobodyshome, you are so learned!


4 people marked this as a favorite.

Garfunkel and Oates are a national treasure.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Love that show. Miss that show.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

They did an hour-long special that you can still find on YouTube. I know it used to be on Netflix but don't know if it cycled out or not.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Cycled out a while ago. I remember them from IFC.


3 people marked this as a favorite.

Speaking of playstyles and whatnot, after trying to do some more prep last night I ran into the fundamental issue with Strange Aeons Book 4.

(1) "Here is your next lead. You need to find this person to get information on where to go next."
(2) "Here is how you storm their house/place of business/fortress, murder all their guards, loot all their stuff, and kill them."

So the setup is, "You need information from NPC Y," and then the authorship is, "You need to assault NPC Y's place of residence and kill everyone inside."

It just makes no sense, and it's leading to a great deal of frustration on my part as I struggle to change, "Kill everyone," to, "Provide an interesting scenario that takes about as much game time as a murderhobo spree would."

It's a lot of work.

EDIT: I figure some examples are in order

BIG Strange Aeons Book 4 Spoilers:

Section 1: In book 3, you learn that an alchemist named Miacknian Mun shares the BBEG's interest in the Necronomicon, and sold him the knockout potions he used on you to start the AP. Once in Casomir, you learn that he's an upstanding member of the community, but his unorthodox methods make him an outcast, and now he seems to be missing.
The solution? Go to his house, kick in the front door, murder everything inside, and loot the house. The murdering here isn't so bad because the current residents of the house are clearly evil, but every indication is that Mun has been kidnapped, so looting the house is iffy, at best.

Section 2: Once you're done with Mun's house, you head to the Mysterium in Quadira, where the librarians tell you that something horrible has been unleashed in the library. You're supposed to go into the library, murder everything inside, including some of the library guards and protectors, and loot all of the library's property. You learn that BBEG was going to meet with a slaver named Biting Lash in Okeno to get equipped for a trip through the desert.

Section 3: You go to Okeno, find Biting Lash, and you're supposed to assault her fortress, murdering everyone inside (including her). I still have no idea how you're supposed to get information out of her by murdering her, but I'm sure she wrote it all down or something, because the entire AP is written, "If I stat up an NPC, you're supposed to kill them."

Most APs follow a formula of, "Do some investigation, find out about a dungeon you need to go to, and murder your way through the dungeon."
However, most APs provide some justification as to why you're killing everyone in the dungeon. ("This is the headquarters of the goblin army that's been attacking the city. This is the hideout of a cult that's trying to raise a lich lord to spread chaos upon the world.")
This AP is just, "Here's your next location. Kill everyone. Reasons don't matter."
Let's just say I don't enjoy that approach...


1 person marked this as a favorite.
NobodysHome wrote:

On a total side note, it's interesting how different people approach the same necessities in life.

The four of us all have personal checking accounts so we all have "mad money" to do with what we wish. Impus Minor manages his with a precision that borders on scary: He wanted pizza for lunch, checked the price of delivery, checked his account, came to me, handed me $10, ordered the pizza, and dropped his account to $1.27.

I'm not quite as obsessive as Impus Minor, but I'm always aware of about how much is in my account.

Neither Impus Major nor GothBard ever log into their accounts, even though I set up accounts for them and set their passwords to what they asked me to. On occasion, they'll come to me and ask, "So, how much is in my account?", but they never check.

So yep. We have a twofer.

Impus Major ordered $200 in concert tickets. From the $95 in his account. Boom. GothBard was a bit better, making a $330 purchase with only $293 in her account.

Fortunately, Provident's pretty darned good about such things: Overdraft fees are only $4, and they pick the "best" savings account to take the overdraw from, so it's all good...
...except I'm expecting a polite note any day now saying, "Er... either stop doing this or we're going to start charging you an overdraft protection fee."

I'm pretty sure I can manage them. Last time they came after me was because my tenant's checks kept bouncing, and when I pointed out that it wasn't my problem and the $25 fee was probably far more than it cost them to deal with it, they left me alone.

We'll see...

I'm mot,... QUITE, so retentive about checking my account, but I come close.

I also don't look at it for a week or 2 when I THINK I know what's going on and it is all under control.
Yep. THAT's when we get in trouble.

Not so bad when you shave it close, and you overdraft your account by $5.

Much worse when you think you have plenty of buffer, the bills are paid, and when you check you figure that between everyone you have gone through $400-500 that you did not plan on!
O_o
Again, not too bad when, as recently, I have been very lucky/blessed to have a balance in my savings account, so it is covered. (No overdraft fees for drawing from your savings)

However, when you overdraft by $5, AND your savings acct is at $0, they do cover it,... and charge you $35 to do so.
>_<

A couple of $5-$10 charges when you THINK you have money in the bank can REALLY mess up your financial planning for the month.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Regarding checking account balances, I get an automated email from my bank every morning showing current balance and all transactions from the previous day. That makes it easy to keep an eye on things.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

THAT would be both extremely annoying, and very convenient.
O_o

;)


1 person marked this as a favorite.
NobodysHome wrote:

Speaking of playstyles and whatnot, after trying to do some more prep last night I ran into the fundamental issue with Strange Aeons Book 4.

(1) "Here is your next lead. You need to find this person to get information on where to go next."
(2) "Here is how you storm their house/place of business/fortress, murder all their guards, loot all their stuff, and kill them."

So the setup is, "You need information from NPC Y," and then the authorship is, "You need to assault NPC Y's place of residence and kill everyone inside."

It just makes no sense, and it's leading to a great deal of frustration on my part as I struggle to change, "Kill everyone," to, "Provide an interesting scenario that takes about as much game time as a murderhobo spree would."

It's a lot of work.

EDIT: I figure some examples are in order
** spoiler omitted **...

waitaminute. Did the guy whose house you are robbing sell someone poison that was used on the PCs?

Because most players would want a piece of that guys hide if that is the case.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

It's just one email, it's not a big deal. In fact, it's usually the only email I get each day. And it is quite convenient. For instance, today's email let me know that my work pay has deposited, and that my federal tax refund should clear in a day or two.

239,951 to 240,000 of 280,798 << first < prev | 4795 | 4796 | 4797 | 4798 | 4799 | 4800 | 4801 | 4802 | 4803 | 4804 | 4805 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Gamer Life / Off-Topic Discussions / Deep 6 FaWtL All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.