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Honestly, it had been too long since I did that.
And too long since I did *this*, too!!
Woo-hoo!!
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Put some feathers on.
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Played Carrion Crown tonight, after a month off. And because of illness, and abundance of caution, we played online. Of course, we weren't planning to play online, so I only had about 45 minutes to try and get things set up for it. And the players left a lot of XP on the table. Basically, they were supposed to explore this tiny abandoned village (about a dozen houses, with only a few having anything in them), but after checking about a third of them they have decided to leave. There was 7200 possible XP for finding/deducing information. They got 1200. There was also about 10,000 XP in monsters/traps they could get. They got about 3500. And without finding all the information, they lose the chance to earn even more XP from using the information later.
Welcome to Carrion Crown. The lack of loot from refusing to be a murderhobo is legendary.
"What? You helped out that beleaguered town out of the goodness of your heart instead of holding out, making a few rolls, and forcing them to shell out $$$ for your assistance? No loot for you!"
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Speaking of "no loot for you", still no word from our PCR tests, so no Costco for me today.
Our fridge is starting to look awfully bare.
On the other hand, my "scrounge for leftovers I can throw together to make something edible" resulted in scallop risotto with asparagus. Somehow the family isn't complaining.
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Not even a matter of loot. They'll get paid when the trial is over. They're just leaving a ton of XP behind, and making it pretty much a guarantee that they'll lose the trial.Played Carrion Crown tonight, after a month off. And because of illness, and abundance of caution, we played online. Of course, we weren't planning to play online, so I only had about 45 minutes to try and get things set up for it. And the players left a lot of XP on the table. Basically, they were supposed to explore this tiny abandoned village (about a dozen houses, with only a few having anything in them), but after checking about a third of them they have decided to leave. There was 7200 possible XP for finding/deducing information. They got 1200. There was also about 10,000 XP in monsters/traps they could get. They got about 3500. And without finding all the information, they lose the chance to earn even more XP from using the information later.Welcome to Carrion Crown. The lack of loot from refusing to be a murderhobo is legendary.
"What? You helped out that beleaguered town out of the goodness of your heart instead of holding out, making a few rolls, and forcing them to shell out $$$ for your assistance? No loot for you!"
OK. That's pretty bad. You're in an AP. You're told to investigate an abandoned town. It's an AP. This isn't going to be a red herring; there IS going to be evidence there. If you don't find any, you didn't search hard enough. Try again.
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How is that better, again?
It isn’t at all
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And there we go (numbers rounded to the nearest $1,000, but yes, even the exact numbers don't add up):
Impus Major's Total Bill: $121,000
"Insurance Discount": $91,000
Insurance Paid: $26,000
We Owe: $2,000
So, we were lucky enough to stay in network so we're paying the maximum out-of-pocket for that.
But what incenses me (and most everyone involved in U.S. health care) is that an uninsured person would pay $121,000 for the exact same service we're theoretically paying $30,000 for.
Complaining about costs is the subject of a completely different rant. But, "You're too poor to afford insurance; pay 4x as much" is just, just... this.
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They hardly even searched. They entered the town, stepped on 2 bear traps, avoided 2 others, and killed 2 wraith spawn. Looked at a handful of buildings, all empty, and then said "Welp, we're done here." Maybe they will change their minds before next week, but there is still over half the town to check, including the one building that they knew beforehand would probably be worth checking out.OK. That's pretty bad. You're in an AP. You're told to investigate an abandoned town. It's an AP. This isn't going to be a red herring; there IS going to be evidence there. If you don't find any, you didn't search hard enough. Try again.Not even a matter of loot. They'll get paid when the trial is over. They're just leaving a ton of XP behind, and making it pretty much a guarantee that they'll lose the trial.Played Carrion Crown tonight, after a month off. And because of illness, and abundance of caution, we played online. Of course, we weren't planning to play online, so I only had about 45 minutes to try and get things set up for it. And the players left a lot of XP on the table. Basically, they were supposed to explore this tiny abandoned village (about a dozen houses, with only a few having anything in them), but after checking about a third of them they have decided to leave. There was 7200 possible XP for finding/deducing information. They got 1200. There was also about 10,000 XP in monsters/traps they could get. They got about 3500. And without finding all the information, they lose the chance to earn even more XP from using the information later.Welcome to Carrion Crown. The lack of loot from refusing to be a murderhobo is legendary.
"What? You helped out that beleaguered town out of the goodness of your heart instead of holding out, making a few rolls, and forcing them to shell out $$$ for your assistance? No loot for you!"
Sometimes you gotta put stuff where there isn't any. Tons of games went from okay to bad because the party didn't pick the right box. There has to be something there to encourage them, and some game design approaches seek to discourage instead.
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The other "interesting" little tidbit is that the total bill is less than 1.5x our annual insurance premiums (including employer contribution), meaning that unless something like this happens to one of us every single year, the insurance company is still making money hands-over-fists off of us.
It's similar to GothBard's company's pet insurance: I used Quicken to calculate our vet bills over the lifetimes of our cats, including $3000 radiation therapy and surgery, $2000 blood work, etc., etc., and the pet insurance would still have cost over 10x what we paid over the lifetime of care for our cats.
Makes "catastrophic medical" a far more attractive option for those whose employers don't pay for most (or all) of their health insurance.
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Sometimes you gotta put stuff where there isn't any. Tons of games went from okay to bad because the party didn't pick the right box. There has to be something there to encourage them, and some game design approaches seek to discourage instead.
Foxglove Manor, anyone?
The only way I got the party to search that entire place was by ruling that since the paladin was immune to fear effects, the party got to see all of the haunts without taking ability damage in virtually every single room of the entire manor.
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And I don't know how it is in other countries, but the whole idea of, "Yes, you're fully insured. Yes, you chose an in-network hospital. Yes, we agree this was medically necessary, life-saving treatment. Now pay us more than many families take home in a month," is quite rankling.
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And there we go (numbers rounded to the nearest $1,000, but yes, even the exact numbers don't add up):
Impus Major's Total Bill: $121,000
"Insurance Discount": $91,000
Insurance Paid: $26,000
We Owe: $2,000So, we were lucky enough to stay in network so we're paying the maximum out-of-pocket for that.
But what incenses me (and most everyone involved in U.S. health care) is that an uninsured person would pay $121,000 for the exact same service we're theoretically paying $30,000 for.
Complaining about costs is the subject of a completely different rant. But, "You're too poor to afford insurance; pay 4x as much" is just, just... this.
Stone me. If I wasn't glad I lived in a country with socialised healthcare before reading those figures, I certainly would be afterwards.
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I've had a bad day. It's not going to get better for some time. I'm probably going to be offline a bit.
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I've had a bad day. It's not going to get better for some time. I'm probably going to be offline a bit.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh, carp. I am *so* sorry!
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I've had a bad day. It's not going to get better for some time. I'm probably going to be offline a bit.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh, my goodness - really sorry to hear that.
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Big hugs.
I am so sorry.
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I've had a bad day. It's not going to get better for some time. I'm probably going to be offline a bit.
** spoiler omitted **
My deepest, deepest condolences. I am so sorry.
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Impus Major: Late at night I toss and I turn, and I dream of what I need!
Impus Minor: A therapist.
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So sorry, Vany.
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Holy s+&!, this thread is still going...Holy s#!@, you're alive?! Welcome back!!!
I've been dead since 2015. I was attacked by a wight. I'm all wight now, though.
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Holy s++$, this thread is still going...~screams like a little girl~ Don't sneak up on me like that!
You're still around? I'd thought you'd succumbed to the cat allergies years ago. And either way, considering I'm officially middle-aged now, I was sure you'd be too elderly to remember me...
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Update:
After trying to get my second bachelor's degree (2018-2020) and an internship in Iowa (2019), I ended up dropping out of school due to "distance learning," giving up thousands of dollars in scholarship money in the process (lost my job too). Picked up work doing landscaping, despite my being well past "my prime,"; currently driving a commercial snowplowing/shoveling route here in central New York State. Come spring, I'll be heading back to Iowa, where Doug (AKA Woodraven) has promised to try and help me get into the IBEW so I can use my trade school certificate that I earned back in the Dark Ages. Everything is upside-down and terrible.
As to everything else, given the current topic of conversation, I'm 100% the f@*+ out of here. Got a blackened heart full o' nope. Wight, remember?
As for the old guard (if I've missed anyone, I apologize):
NobodysHome: good luck, you'll need it.
Captain Yesterday: wait, you remember me?
Drejk: keep on doing your thing. You're cooler than that Canadian guy who stole your name.
Freehold DM: despite my slow posting schedule, the thought of your Mass Effect PbP starting back up is one of the few things keeping me going right now.
Sharoth: all jokes aside, you've got my number, give me a call if you feel like catching up. If I don't answer, it's probably past my 7:00 bedtime. Maybe one day, I'll be able to make it back to Savannah. 12 years later, and I still owe you lunch.
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After trying to get my second bachelor's degree (2018-2020) and an internship in Iowa (2019), I ended up dropping out of school due to "distance learning," giving up thousands of dollars in scholarship money in the process (lost my job too).
Yeah. Impus Major was going great in college, with a 3.4 GPA, then online learning came along. He hasn't managed a grade above a C in any class since then, even ones he's interested in. Being in the field, I'm appalled at how poorly instructors are implementing online learning. It's a completely different way to teach, and if you stick with traditional methods, you're going to stink.
Picked up work doing landscaping
So... stealing Captain Yesterday's identity...
NobodysHome: good luck, you'll need it.
Oooh! A vague and mysterious threat! Well done!
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I've had a bad day. It's not going to get better for some time. I'm probably going to be offline a bit.
** spoiler omitted **
I'm so sorry! If there's anything I or we can do, let me know!!
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Update:
After trying to get my second bachelor's degree (2018-2020) and an internship in Iowa (2019), I ended up dropping out of school due to "distance learning," giving up thousands of dollars in scholarship money in the process (lost my job too). Picked up work doing landscaping, despite my being well past "my prime,"; currently driving a commercial snowplowing/shoveling route here in central New York State. Come spring, I'll be heading back to Iowa, where Doug (AKA Woodraven) has promised to try and help me get into the IBEW so I can use my trade school certificate that I earned back in the Dark Ages. Everything is upside-down and terrible.
As to everything else, given the current topic of conversation, I'm 100% the f!@# out of here. Got a blackened heart full o' nope. Wight, remember?
As for the old guard (if I've missed anyone, I apologize):
NobodysHome: good luck, you'll need it.
Captain Yesterday: wait, you remember me?
Drejk: keep on doing your thing. You're cooler than that Canadian guy who stole your name.
Freehold DM: despite my slow posting schedule, the thought of your Mass Effect PbP starting back up is one of the few things keeping me going right now.
Sharoth: all jokes aside, you've got my number, give me a call if you feel like catching up. If I don't answer, it's probably past my 7:00 bedtime. Maybe one day, I'll be able to make it back to Savannah. 12 years later, and I still owe you lunch.
Coincidentally when Toys R Us closed 4 years ago I got back into landscaping working with a few guys I'd worked with before (I'm now in charge of art projects and natural stone) and I also run a shovelling crew in the winter.
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Four days and counting since we got our PCR tests. Last night was chicken quesadillas, using up the last of our cheese, avocados, and sour cream.
At this rate I'll be serving frozen peas, rice, and fish every night for a week...
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Played Carrion Crown tonight, after a month off. And because of illness, and abundance of caution, we played online. Of course, we weren't planning to play online, so I only had about 45 minutes to try and get things set up for it. And the players left a lot of XP on the table. Basically, they were supposed to explore this tiny abandoned village (about a dozen houses, with only a few having anything in them), but after checking about a third of them they have decided to leave. There was 7200 possible XP for finding/deducing information. They got 1200. There was also about 10,000 XP in monsters/traps they could get. They got about 3500. And without finding all the information, they lose the chance to earn even more XP from using the information later.
Situations like this are why every GM past my GM for Rise of the Runelords went to 'story-based leveling' -- it took a tremendous amount of time and effort to calculate the actuarial tables to the right arcane frequency to calibrate the friendingness of our particular party against 'real xp the party was supposed to earn'.
When we hit about Book Three she threw up her arms and declared 'No exp, I'll tell you when you can level, don't worry about the math, I'll make sure you're ready for the challenges you're supposed to be facing.'
To cover 'side-threads
It's not for everyone, but making the GM's life easier by not having to do horrible math has made for a much more pleasurable play experience both for GMs and for players.
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Four days and counting since we got our PCR tests. Last night was chicken quesadillas, using up the last of our cheese, avocados, and sour cream.
At this rate I'll be serving frozen peas, rice, and fish every night for a week...
I'd consider unfreezing those before serving.
Now, you can ask me for more culinary advice!
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Played Carrion Crown tonight, after a month off. And because of illness, and abundance of caution, we played online. Of course, we weren't planning to play online, so I only had about 45 minutes to try and get things set up for it. And the players left a lot of XP on the table. Basically, they were supposed to explore this tiny abandoned village (about a dozen houses, with only a few having anything in them), but after checking about a third of them they have decided to leave. There was 7200 possible XP for finding/deducing information. They got 1200. There was also about 10,000 XP in monsters/traps they could get. They got about 3500. And without finding all the information, they lose the chance to earn even more XP from using the information later.Situations like this are why every GM past my GM for Rise of the Runelords went to 'story-based leveling' -- it took a tremendous amount of time and effort to calculate the actuarial tables to the right arcane frequency to calibrate the friendingness of our particular party against 'real xp the party was supposed to earn'.
I started running Pathfinder for GothBard and the kids in 2011. Even back then we didn't bother with XP, I just looked at the "recommended leveling points" in the AP and used those.
Our current GM's system is even simpler: If you're level 1, it takes 1 session to get to level 2. If you're level 7, it takes 7 sessions to get to level 8, etc.
No XP. No required number of encounters. You can hang around roleplaying in town for an entire session and know it won't hurt your progression.
We've also gone with "simplified wealth". We agree on a reasonable WBL, and at each level up some random benefactor shows up and brings the party up to the level we've agreed on. No more having to pull the gold out of dead kobolds' teeth or extort the local townsfolk to ensure you have the expected gear for your level.
I'm still on the fence on 5e, but one of the things I really like about it is getting rid of (most of) the idea of, "You need this magic gear to play at this level."
We're moving right along through the campaign with virtually no magic items at all, and it's working well for us. Magic items are rare, and therefore really special and a source of joy to find, instead of a requirement to play.
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We're doing our biweekly game over Zoom and roll20 today. We were supposed to start 52 minutes ago and people are still dorking around trying to figure out their tech.
Happily, I prepared everything for dinner (pancetta mac & cheese, and rotkohl) before we started, so food will not be an issue.
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Artistic fishy.
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I truly hate wealth by level.
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Artistic fishy.
Awesome!
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I truly hate wealth by level.
:'(
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I truly hate wealth by level.
Agreed 100%. But what you learn when you drop it entirely is that you have to start adjusting CRs downward, and that "meaningless" DR 15/magic is suddenly a "big deal". Easier to make sure your players have "good enough" gear to be happy and effective in CR-appropriate encounters. And my players roleplay much better when they feel like they have plenty of money to give away to NPCs.
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I truly hate wealth by level.:'(
Get outta here, you! You ruin games by turning them into accounting and argument!
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So do the dice rolls.
I wouldn't say they turn them into BOTH accounting and arguement, more arguement by itself.
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It's just a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. Frankly, in every game I've been in the only time anyone looks at it is if they are making a new character so they know how much equipment they get to start with.I truly hate wealth by level.:'(
Get outta here, you! You ruin games by turning them into accounting and argument!
You've been lucky then. I've had full on meltdowns from people who wanted to do chicanery with gold they felt they should get because they gained a level.
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Bring back XP for gold - that would solve all the problems above!
It wouldn't.
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I feel like treasure and loot get in the way of a good adventure.
I mean, sure, yes, often PCs are professional adventurers and need to be able to sleep indoors and have a meal that isn't trail rations when they can, but it just gets ridiculous.
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People adventure for wealth and treasure. So that's exactly what I give them.