So What's the Plan, Stan?


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DungeonmasterCal wrote:
It was also during a pretty bad period where my depression and anxiety disorders were revved up, so those didn't help, either.

The bane of many a good time. You have my sympathies. I hope you are doing as much better as I am.

Thank you for the response. I hope to be beyond the point where this sort of thing will ruin the game.


I just had to postpone my damned game. At the end of EVERY session we talk about possible dates for the next adventure. Usually we manage to find a weekend that works for everyone and I put it in my calendar. During the week before the game (and sometimes the week before that, as well) I send out an email asking if everyone is still available. I heard back from two players, so I just figured things were fine and went to work on game prep.

But my Spidey Sense kicked on today so I called to ask one of my bunch if he and his daughter are still available tonight. He said they made other plans. I asked if he even saw the email I sent out Tuesday. His response? "I saw it but didn't read it." I've gamed with this guy since 1986 and this is becoming a more and more frequent thing with him. I know things come up and plans change, Games get canceled, and sometimes I'm the one who has the last minute cancellation because of mental health issues. But I've never not alerted my players to it before they showed up at my house. Is asking for the simple courtesy of letting others know too g*******d much? I'm so angry I'm shaking (I know I'm overreacting, but hey, what good is Anxiety Disorder if I can't blow things out of proportion with it?).


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If I were GMing a group, and one of the group told me that, I just wouldn't bother inviting him any more.


Ed Reppert wrote:
If I were GMing a group, and one of the group told me that, I just wouldn't bother inviting him any more.

It's crossed my mind and does so with increasing frequency. But it would also damage our friendship if I did.


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Well, isn't his indifference to your emails doing the same thing?

Alternatively, tell him how you feel and see what he says. And what he does.


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I know that if I'm able to tell everyone my status, then I'm good to play. If my status is such that I can't play, then communication is generally the last thing on my mind.

Not very good to be sure, but that's the way it is.

Of course, Preplanned events are basically never responsible for my inability to play without knowing at the previous session. I just simply don't make plans that would interfere. Of course, I don't have kids.


His kid games with us, which is the aggravating part.

I finally heard back from him yesterday. I'm slightly less irritated now.


Hi, all! No game at Sweet Home Calabama this weekend. Hell, I'm on the verge of telling half of them to sod off, anyway.

How about you'ns?


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Been playing around with a Thaumaturge front-liner build that somebody suggested here in the Advice forum. Probably still don't have it right.

Observation: Pathbuilder is better for advancement planning than Herolab, though it can still be done in the latter.


Ed Reppert wrote:
Observation: Pathbuilder is better for advancement planning than Herolab, though it can still be done in the latter.

I don't like how Herolab switched to a subscription service.

Wait, let's back up. I don't like that Pathfinder is so complex and bloated that I genuinely consider using (and sometimes do use) a software to track and apply the copious options for a character.

I've used and Herolab in the past, but then when they went from pay-for-what-you-need to a monthly subscription model, I saw that I probably would never use it if I got into PF2.

What is Pathbuilder's fee like? Is it kept updated? I thought it was free, but the front page for 2E talks about your "purchases."


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DungeonmasterCal wrote:

Hi, all! No game at Sweet Home Calabama this weekend. Hell, I'm on the verge of telling half of them to sod off, anyway.

How about you'ns?

The school year starts on Monday, but my daughter and I are both a little bit sick. Hoping this clears up for her so she doesn't miss the first day. Otherwise, this weekend is just prepping for school.

Grand Lodge

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Eyes of the Ten continues this Sunday, but otherwise a quiet weekend.


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Andostre wrote:
Ed Reppert wrote:
Observation: Pathbuilder is better for advancement planning than Herolab, though it can still be done in the latter.

I don't like how Herolab switched to a subscription service.

Wait, let's back up. I don't like that Pathfinder is so complex and bloated that I genuinely consider using (and sometimes do use) a software to track and apply the copious options for a character.

I've used and Herolab in the past, but then when they went from pay-for-what-you-need to a monthly subscription model, I saw that I probably would never use it if I got into PF2.

What is Pathbuilder's fee like? Is it kept updated? I thought it was free, but the front page for 2E talks about your "purchases."

It's mostly free. You get some customization ability and a few other features if you pay a one time $5 fee.

When I was running, I bought it, but most of my players didn't. Caused a few annoyances with custom items and the like, but not a big deal.


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I've been doing sword (and/or dagger)-fighting classes all weekend. Will hopefully be back in time for our PF2 game tomorrow.


Got a busy day tomorrow so I thought I'd get my obligatory weekend question in tonight. What's going on for everyone this upcoming weekend? For us it looks like the final adventure in the campaign is going to be run but without two key players. I can't put it off any longer and I told them so. I could tell my friend wasn't especially keen on it, but they're all banging on the walls wanting the next campaign to start (he and his daughter included) and the way I like to manage a campaign it's VERY hard for me to begin a new one with one left undone. When I abandoned the first run at the campaign that I'm revamping, I actually had dreams about leaving it unfinished. So, I've been doing a lot of prep work for it, like updating the timeline of the campaign setting up to the point where the players step in, the house rules (which are only 4 pages this time as opposed to the actual bound booklet we use for the campaign that's ending). Then there are the races and classes allowed, etc. I'm very open to dang near every option available to my players, but some things just don't really fit the flavor of the campaign setting. But for everything I ban-hammer I offer ten things as substitutes. I'm a big fan of 3PP material and I make sure to make it known they can use a lot of that, as well as anything D&D 3.5 that I think will work and can retro-fit.

Well, that turned into a near-manifesto. Sorry about that. So, you guys. What're ya doin'?


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Right now I’m trying to get back to sleep.:-)

Tomorrow I’ll be working on learning foundry, going through loot tables, and trying not to miss my podiatry appointment.

Grand Lodge

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Sunday will be board games at friends, then Monday afternoon I interview for a new engineering position.


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The kids are finishing up their first week of school. I've been filling out a LOT of paperwork and online forms. I'm always amazed at the paperwork that just doesn't... carry over from the previous year.

We got some socializing to do on Saturday, and then my wife wants to go to the museum on Sunday. I'll fit in chores wherever there's a gap.


TriOmegaZero wrote:
Sunday will be board games at friends, then Monday afternoon I interview for a new engineering position.

Good luck with the interview!


Weeeellll...my game for tomorrow has been scrubbed. I already knew two of my players couldn't make it but decided to move forward with this final game in the campaign. As some of you know, one of my friends recently had a stroke (his fifth one) and his ability to keep up with days is getting really spotty. He called to ask if we were still playing on the 27th. I said sure and I'd see him tomorrow. He didn't realize today was the 26th. So, I'm not faulting him for that. The man's had it rough the last couple of years or so with his wife leaving him, two strokes, losing a nearly 6 figure a year job, and now physical and cognizant impairment. So, I put things back on the desk for another open weekend.


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Sorry to hear that, Cal. I know that's disappointing for you.


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I'm hoping to catch an exhibition at the Munch Museum (he of Scream fame) called Satyricon & Munch with a friend tomorrow. It's a mix of Norwegian Black Metal legends Satyricon (whose front man also does a decent selection of wines) and Norway's most famous painter.

Not only does this sound like an interesting combination, but this is a friend I've mostly fallen out of contact with and I need to do better at keeping in touch with people.


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Andostre wrote:
Sorry to hear that, Cal. I know that's disappointing for you.

It is, but I'm really more concerned about Eddie. And then, during a phone call with my player who comes in over Skype, I noticed her speech slurring so badly it was sometimes difficult to understand her. That's a very recent development, she said, recent as in the last two or three months. She's had test after test conducted, for everything from stroke to early onset Alzheimer's but her doctors can't find anything wrong at all.

The Rolling Stones said it best when they sang, "What a drag it is getting old."

Shadow Lodge

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Savage Tide happened this weekend! <fanfare!>

Savage Tide Chapter 7:
Party bid farewell to the lizardfolk and started delving into the ruins of Mantru, looking for any signs of Noltus Innersol or information about the curse of the taboo area or the Empty Ones the lizardfolk spoke of. They found a building that seemed to make Tlanextli (the will-o-wisp from an earlier chapter, now the cohort of the party Oracle/Warlock) unwilling to approach, and signs buried under years of decay, weathering, and overgrowth that the village was lost to violence before it was lost to time and nature.

As the group poked around the ruins, the sounds of approaching figures from the northwest - the route leading to the late within which the taboo temple was situated - heralded the arrival of Noltus, his dog Brogan, and four lizardfolk recruits. The excitable priest was happy to speak with the party, though he likewise avoided the building Tlanextli didn't like, and his dog didn't care for the Warlock's cat-shoggoth familiar. He regaled the party with a fuller retelling of the legends of Thanaclan and its fall, and the party caught on quickly to the mention of an enormous black pearl at the heart of its eventual destruction - insisting that they needed to join Noltus in returning into the taboo temple to not only deal with the vampires he somehow didn't encounter, but also to find and destroy any remnants of the ancient shadow pearl.

The group decided they wanted to investigate the weird northernly house that Tlanextli and Noltus wouldn't go near, and - with some magical aid - found a ghost lurking there who spoke in strained, cryptic messages in a language no one in the party knew, though the Warlock was able to translate with tongues. The spirit revealed she was keeping "the hunger" and "the stalker" at bay, and that was why Noltus couldn't approach - she claimed he was "wearing the face" of the priest, which the group deduced meant some kind of disguise or shapeshifting.

The Warlock attempted to dispel the disguise with a touch, only to remove a completely different spell he had on - and initiate hostilities. Noltus shed his disguise to reveal himself as a maurezhi or ghoul demon, and his dog bloated in size to become a horrible ape-wolf hybrid julajimus. The party moved to combat the two, which were soon joined by the four lizardfolk - vampires protected with a protection from sunlight spell - as hostilities ensued.

The battle was rough, with the party's other Oracle(/Harbinger) taking a few nasty hits from the maurezhi and getting paralyzed and nearly dying as a result, but they were able to take him, the julajimus, and two of the four lizardfolk vampires out before they had to close ranks to help the Oracle not die, which allowed the two other remaining vampires to flee. They're planning to get answers out of the ghost now that they're dealt with and everyone's still alive and healthy.


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Satyricon & Munch was a fun experience. It's the first time I've been to the new museum, which is significantly bigger than the old one so more of his works can be displayed at once. The exhibit itself was interesting. The room was very dark, so dark my aging eyes had to adjust for several minutes before I could see the floor well enough to trust walking around. The walls the works hung on was of the darkest material they could find, giving the impression that the paintings+ almost floated in mid air.

There were 13 works all told, seven paintings and 6 sketches or lithographies. Some of his more famous works like Angst and Vampyr (which I like to call Shambleau) were there, with some lesser known stuff. The music was a variety of stuff that ran from stuff that would work well in a surreal horror show to pure black metal guitar work reminiscent of stuff Satyr's more pure Black works.

All in all, it was a good experience, and dropping by some of the other exhibits convinced me I need to go back soon.


No game this weekend, but my son's band is playing in town tomorrow night so I'll probably take a bunch of Xanax and brave the crowd. It's a good thing I like that kid so much.

Howzabout everyone else?

Grand Lodge

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Driving to Cali Sunday for a couple days of curry and ramen and shopping at Downtown Disney. Not spending any time at the park, not at day ticket prices.


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Hopefully the last session of my Serpent's Skull campaign.


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I was planning on getting all of the last minute back to school stuff done because school starts on Tuesday.

Or so I thought.

Turns out it was yesterday.

So that solves that problem.


DungeonmasterCal wrote:
No game this weekend, but my son's band is playing in town tomorrow night so I'll probably take a bunch of Xanax and brave the crowd. It's a good thing I like that kid so much.

I hope he appreciates you!

captain yesterday wrote:

I was planning on getting all of the last minute back to school stuff done because school starts on Tuesday.

Or so I thought.

Turns out it was yesterday.

So that solves that problem.

I hope they appreciate you!


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We were already driving up to my mom's on Sunday to spend the day with her, so I arranged for us to meet up with some friends on Saturday night. We'll drop the kids off at my mom's Saturday night, have dinner with our friends, and then stay at a nice hotel for the night. Then we'll head over to my mom's Sunday morning to spend the rest of the day with her and the kids.


Andostre wrote:
DungeonmasterCal wrote:
No game this weekend, but my son's band is playing in town tomorrow night so I'll probably take a bunch of Xanax and brave the crowd. It's a good thing I like that kid so much.
I hope he appreciates you!

He does. I haven't seen them play since January and they have a new drummer and guitarist I've not met yet. I only get to see them when they play here in town. Even if they play in Little Rock (like last night, opening for heavy rock singer Dorothy), about 30 miles from here, I can't go. My night driving ability is declining quickly and the last time I drove in LR I had a panic attack so bad I couldn't find my way out of the city (I used to freaking work in there and now I can't deal with any of it). Even here in town, if it's raining at night, forget it. Can't do it. But as of now the forecast is still good so I should be able to go.

As for gaming, it looks like I will be playing tomorrow. Or rather, GMing. My son's friend from high school will be in town and another of his friends wants me to run them on a combat intensive smash and grab adventure. My son has a gig so he can't play, dang it.

In other news, I drastically overslept today and still feel as if I've been drugged. I hope I can shake this off. I need to run some errands but I honestly don't trust my driving skills or judgement at this moment. Weird.


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Dorothy is pretty good!


He said it was a big crowd and they got a terrific response from them. I don't know yet if his band got to meet her or not. Some headliners instantly forget how damned hard they tried to get where they are and look down on the bands that open for them. A precious few come to meet the opening act. I hope she was in the latter category.


Anything going on in your respective necks of the woods this weekend? The final game in my current campaign got shelved AGAIN because the player whose character actually has to be there is going to a con on Saturday. I've made an executive decision to just put that in a box until all of the players who started out with it can actually be here at the same time.

I'm going to go ahead and start the new campaign until then. I've set the 24th of this month as the tentative game night. Most of the adventures will take place in and around Unkhoor, the primary city of my homebrew corner of the universe. I'm going to do my best to run one or at most two session games, and with it being set in a very large, very old, and very diverse city it will be easier to run games without the whole compliment onboard.

So, y'all. What's happening?


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I think it's probably a smart idea to shelve the last adventure of the old campaign until everyone can be there. Good luck with the new (old) campaign! It sounds awesome.

We hosted some travelling family for dinner, tonight, and I've just finished doing about 85% of the dishes, but there's no more room in the dishwasher or the drying rack. I'll finish the rest tomorrow.

Not much else is going on this weekend.

Grand Lodge

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Seems like things are quiet this weekend except for anime. We'll be having Farmer Boys Burgers for dinner with the crew on Monday.


What are these "Farmer Boys Burgers" of which you speak?

Grand Lodge

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A pretty good fast food joint we tried while in Cali this past weekend.


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Interesting chain. Too far from me, unfortunately.


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Playing PF2 at the moment; earlier on today, the little lass and I went to the Northern Guitar Show. It was full of interesting (and expensive) things, but all I bought was some guitar strings and some inexpensive jewellery for my other half and the girl.


TriOmegaZero wrote:
A pretty good fast food joint we tried while in Cali this past weekend.

I love a good cheeseburger!


No game this weekend, though I'm supposed to run another one-shot Monday for one of my son's friends and his gf. Right now I'm running a really high fever and am doing good to hold my head up.

How about everyone else? Gaming stuff going on? Relaxing stuff? Working stuff? Stuff?


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Following Recall Knowledge's Abomination Vaults play through. I'm on session 10 of I don't know how many - but they're just beginning to poke around on level two so either they never finished the whole thing, or I'm gonna be watching this for a while. :-)

Grand Lodge

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Game canceled due to family commitments taking one player out. This is our off week for anime night, so nothing is scheduled.


Saturday night is dinner with friends. A big tree branch broke off and landed right where I normally park my car, but fortunately I was at work. I'll saw the branch up today, because my neighborhood's tree waste pick up is this week.

I'm trying to negotiate with my neighbor (who is a landlord for the people who actually live next door) about a mutual fence we share. He wants his handyman to just replace a couple posts, a few crossbars, and any pickets that break when repairing the aforementioned posts and crossbars. But he can't give me even a rough estimate for how much that would cost. His handyman is "not a bid sort of guy." I feel like the entire section of fence needs to be replaced, and the two professionals I reached out to for quotes agree with me (but of course they would), but this landlord refuses to communicate with me in any manner except texting, repeating that he needs the quotes I got before he'll move forward. The frustrating thing is that I am more than happy to share the quotes with him, and I'm not even expecting him to pay for half, but I want to meet or have a phone call, which he is refusing to do. I have no idea what's going on in his mind about this.


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Shady. He sounds very shady.


What's shakin', kids? Big plans to game? Road trips? Workin' for the man every night and day?

It looks like at long last it's game on again at Sweet Home Calabama. Regrettably, I think in my excitement to get this old campaign polished up and rebooted, I let too large a group sign on, which means one or two folks from here on the boards might not be able to join in and that really bothers me. I have nine players signed up, with two Skyping in and one coming back to gaming after twenty-two years. Along with her and two other players, one a veteran and one a complete nooby (none of whom are familiar with PF1e rules) the first sessions are going to be challenging. The "good thing" is not all nine people can attend this weekend, which will make the new players feel more comfortable learning the ropes, I think. I'm going to do my best to be even more freeform with my GMing style than I have in years and write adventures where even if someone from a previous session is absent it won't throw the storyline out of whack. Wish me luck, y'all.

Grand Lodge

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Sleep and a visit to a Money exhibit are on my plans.


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PF2 on Sunday, and hopefully D&D next Tues.

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