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Just a thread for me to talk about whatever. I've been trying to get into the habit of some sort of journaling, and a part of me would sort of like to start reconnecting with this community and see how things have been going. Two birds, one stone.
I realize people don't really know what I'm up to nowadays. It's been years since I was active around here. If anyone's wondering, I went into the teacher education program for a bit, realized it wasn't for me, burned out just before Covid hit. I started transitioning openly around the same time. Changed my legal name just the other month; still need to sort out the paperwork for it.
I've only recently started getting back into D&D. The edTPA—the test teachers have to take to get certified—is a nightmare train that you can only get off by jumping out of, and I lost touch with a lot of my hobbies in the fallout from it all. If people have noticed me being basically absent around here, that's a big part of why.
I've been writing for a living since then, which suits me just fine. I currently have two roommates to support, both of whom I'm dating. It's a "U-haul lesbians" situation. So it's a good thing writing's worked out. Neither of them have jobs yet. Of the three of us, I'm the most "neurotypical-passing", so I can be pretty productive when I need to be. When I'm not obsessing over my D&D characters, anyways.
Hyperfocus is kind of like a roc. It'll pick you up and take you soaring, and you'll forget why you ever bothered walking on the ground. And then it's just dead weight and you're remembering, "Oh, right, I was supposed to write actual prose today. Oops. Well, at least the GM now has 4,000 words to read if she wants to accept my PbP application."
Get it? It's like a roc. Turns into dead weight. Wordplay. It's midnight, I'm going to bed. I hope everyone's having a lovely night.
<3
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Unfortunately, due to covid I wasn't able to fulfill a life's dream, which is to join a professional cornholing league and win the world championship.
At least I still have cow chip tossing, although it's not as fun without a crowd, or someone to compete against.
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I had a pretty good year professionally last year, on account of specializing in building outdoor living areas and fireplaces.
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Gaming wise we used the pandemic to go crazy with that especially branching out to different RPGs like Mutants and Masterminds, Dead Reign, and Cyberpunk Red.
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That's nice. I've started an Eberron game, as you know. I'm getting back into PbPs, too. Or trying to. I mean, the competition is fierce.
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I'm working on moving Agents of Edgewatch to Sharn, I feel Pathfinder 2 would really allow Eberron to shine.
Unfortunately, this means I get to figure out dragonmarks and the like, but I think I figured out a solution for them.
I'm pretty much either on Pathfinder 1 or 5e at this point. Either I want the customization or I want the ease of use. Or I play something else, like Spell or Paranoia. :P
Hi! Welcome back! When you faded off the boards I just sort of figured that like a lot of folks you'd grown tired or bored with them. Glad you're back among the living!
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Good to see you're still about, DMC! I did get tired of them, sort of—I "left" around the time critical voices were starting to speak up about Paizo's management and the sort, and I was definitely feeling disillusioned with things. That said, the ed program didn't help. :P
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I thought about Kobold Cleavings. It was just too late in the evening for me to be sure it was a clever name and not just incomprehensible.
Polyamory is all well and good, but living with them is the real trick. There's no IRL dating during quarantine. It's all-or-nothing. That's not been optimal, and there's definitely been growing pains, but these two are worth it. :)
And yes, the edTPA is a meat grinder. It seems to be designed primarily for neurotypical people whose parents are happy to cover their expenses while they're student teaching. I knew one guy who quit his job for it—I quit teaching instead. :P
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We play Starfinder mostly, though we're about to start Abomination Vaults in 2nd edition, and we've also played Bunnies and Burrows (the Frog God Games one) I have a fighter bunny named Little Foofoo.
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Running through the green grass
Scooping up the field mice
And bonking them on the head?
Yes, that's the plan.
They have a series of short adventures for it, each set in a different season with starting off in winter, then spring, summer, and finally fall.
So far we have my bunny, The General has an armadillo, and Crookshanks made a squirrel and Tiny T-Rex has a chipmunk.
We made it through the first adventure in one night, it was pretty fun!
I'm surprised you don't play Pathfinder 2 considering how awesome they made kobolds and that they made them a core adjacent ancestry.
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Kobolds aren't meant to be awesome. They're meant to be yappy underdogs. They know they're awesome, nobody else does. That said, I'm glad Paizo finally woke up to how popular a playable race they are. :P
Plus, 5e's kobolds are unbelievably ugly. No edition has ever matched 3.5's art for the monsters in general, to be honest. Meenlocks feel it too.
EDIT: Erm, sorry, got mixed up with 5e and PF2. PF2's kobolds are fine. Pathfinder's kobolds aren't as good as Midgard's or 3.5's kobolds, but they're fine.
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I just Googled Pathfinder 2 kobolds. I didn't know the redesign was that drastic.
They're... fine. Sorry, don't wanna be negative. They're cute. It's a good idea for kobolds. It's better than PF1's kobolds, definitely. "They changed it. Now it's not as good, because it's not what I grew up with." They aren't supposed to be that stocky, or that snakelike/lizardy. They're cute, though. They're basically stocky technicolored lizardfolk. What happened to the confused lizard-rat-dog axis they always drifted between?
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Their art is a bit hit or miss.
I just Googled Pathfinder 2 kobolds. I didn't know the redesign was that drastic.
They're... fine. Sorry, don't wanna be negative. They're cute. It's a good idea for kobolds. It's better than PF1's kobolds, definitely. "They changed it. Now it's not as good, because it's not what I grew up with." They aren't supposed to be that stocky, or that snakelike/lizardy. They're cute, though. They're basically stocky technicolored lizardfolk. What happened to the confused lizard-rat-dog axis they always drifted between?
I think they're supposed to be more dragon like, they tend to resemble their draconic overlords depending on their color.
Yeah, I can see that. And I like the "short, stocky" idea. It worked well on bigheaded goblins. It's very cartoony and iconic. I just miss kobolds being these little rat lizards.
I remember when kobolds where smaller dumber goblins!
Honestly, I just really like 3.5's monster art. It's a high D&D/Pathfinder have never quite matched—the variety of styles led to genuinely iconic images. Everyone recognizes the 3.5 rust monster, ghoul or kobold. The meenlock in particular from 3.5 was just a gorgeous and uniquely horrifying creature. They keep trying to top it. They can't.
I'm also a nostalgic dork and it's what I grew up with. So, y'know.
Anyways, tonight I am obsessively refreshing the Online Campaigns forum to see if I've been accepted out of 20 applicants to a PbP. I swear, at this point I don't even know what I'd do if I actually got in.
I like that they made them little mean dragon people myself.
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As kobold designs go, it's probably my second or third favorite, and that's not faint praise. It's sure better than 5e's inexplicably ugly design.
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I currently have two roommates to support, both of whom I'm dating. It's a "U-haul lesbians" situation.
<3
Why.
Why are you living my dream.
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I just Googled Pathfinder 2 kobolds. I didn't know the redesign was that drastic.
They're... fine. Sorry, don't wanna be negative. They're cute. It's a good idea for kobolds. It's better than PF1's kobolds, definitely. "They changed it. Now it's not as good, because it's not what I grew up with." They aren't supposed to be that stocky, or that snakelike/lizardy. They're cute, though. They're basically stocky technicolored lizardfolk. What happened to the confused lizard-rat-dog axis they always drifted between?
your thoughts on De
Terlizzi Kobolds?| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
I currently have two roommates to support, both of whom I'm dating. It's a "U-haul lesbians" situation.
<3
Why.
Why are you living my dream.
Trust me, polyamory is as much trouble as you'd expect. I love my girlfriends, but if I could have both of them in a one-person package, it would be a lot easier on, among other things, my grocery bill. :P
I actually really like those kobolds! A bit heavy on the "dograt" side of thing, but they feel like kobolds. I'd rate them very close to PF2's kobolds—maybe slightly lower because I'm attached to lizardy kobolds, maybe slightly higher because his style is gorgeous.
My ratings probably currently look like:
3.5/Midgard kobolds: Cute yappy scrawny lizardratdog people. I really like how they visually contrast with Pathfinder goblins.
DiTerlizzi's kobolds: Weird little bulgey-eyed ratdog people. Like something out of the Spiderwick Chronicles (wow, that takes me back). I'd watch a whole movie in his style.
Pathfinder 2e's kobolds: Creative, quirky, dynamic-shifting. I don't think it'll stick like 3'5's did, but I wouldn't be so sad if it did.
"Popular Consciousness" Kobolds: If you go onto social media and see what fanart people are drawing, kobolds have been gracefully added into the inexplicably horny pantheon of D&D races, be they scaly or furry. I see a lot of shorter snouts, a lot of wider hips, cutesey eyes, etc. I think it's cute. They aren't my kobolds, but I'm glad these people are trying new things to make kobolds appeal to them, and I always support new creative takes on old concepts—we wouldn't have DiTerlizzi's kobolds without a welcoming stage for experimentation.
Pathfinder Kobolds: Basically 3.5's kobolds but slightly worse. Pathfinder was also really weirdly big on making kobolds look more "tribal", weren't they? Paizo art always had them with bone piercings and feathers in their scales and all kinds of needlessly dodgy ideas like that. Guys, they're Lawful Evil. They're not the tribe, they're the empire. Gnomes are the tribe, if anyone would be.
5e/pre-third edition kobolds: God, they're regressing. 4e's kobolds are a hair below this.
Kobolds Ate My Baby kobolds: They're fine, but they're just a precursor to Pathfinder goblins, who did the shtick better.
World of Warcraft kobolds: The less said about this design, the better, in my opinion.
As a word of advice to the GMs out there, it pays to leave things ambiguous when it comes to races like kobolds. Different players have different expectations, and a lot of them might be disappointed to learn that their PC doesn't look how they expect. So let them have their interpretation, and keep yours to yourself unless people ask. "Schrodinger's Fantasy Race" is a good approach when it comes to defining what kobolds or goblins look like.
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My problem with Pathfinder Classic kobolds was they were purposely underpowered, so as to not provide competition for goblins.
My youngest, Tiny T-Rex, is a huge fan of kobolds.
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The impression I get is that the devs really didn't like monster races—JJacobs is on record as saying he'd kind of rather humans be the only playable race, isn't he?
There's a weird grudge against kobolds in general. Eberron had it too.
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I currently have two roommates to support, both of whom I'm dating. It's a "U-haul lesbians" situation.
<3
Why.
Why are you living my dream.
Trust me, polyamory is as much trouble as you'd expect. I love my girlfriends, but if I could have both of them in a one-person package, it would be a lot easier on, among other things, my grocery bill. :P
I actually really like those kobolds! A bit heavy on the "dograt" side of thing, but they feel like kobolds. I'd rate them very close to PF2's kobolds—maybe slightly lower because I'm attached to lizardy kobolds, maybe slightly higher because his style is gorgeous.
My ratings probably currently look like:
3.5/Midgard kobolds: Cute yappy scrawny lizardratdog people. I really like how they visually contrast with Pathfinder goblins.
DiTerlizzi's kobolds: Weird little bulgey-eyed ratdog people. Like something out of the Spiderwick Chronicles (wow, that takes me back). I'd watch a whole movie in his style.
Pathfinder 2e's kobolds: Creative, quirky, dynamic-shifting. I don't think it'll stick like 3'5's did, but I wouldn't be so sad if it did.
"Popular Consciousness" Kobolds: If you go onto social media and see what fanart people are drawing, kobolds have been gracefully added into the inexplicably horny pantheon of D&D races, be they scaly or furry. I see a lot of shorter snouts, a lot of wider hips, cutesey eyes, etc. I think it's cute. They aren't my kobolds, but I'm glad these people are trying new things to make kobolds appeal to them, and I always support new creative takes on old concepts—we wouldn't have DiTerlizzi's kobolds without a welcoming stage for experimentation.
Pathfinder Kobolds: Basically 3.5's kobolds but slightly worse. Pathfinder was also really weirdly big on making kobolds look more "tribal", weren't they? Paizo art always had them with bone piercings and feathers in their scales and all kinds of needlessly dodgy ideas like that. Guys, they're Lawful...
in Freehold!, kobolds are a servitor race that any female dragon can bring into being by a simple gesture. 2d4 kobolds will emerge from the egg, fully grown, and will tend to the mother dragon as a combination majordomo/warrior. They are smart without being so smart they would endanger the dragon, seem to be genderless although they have a certain charming appeal due to their intonation that cause them to purr when speaking all languages and they are known to rub up against one another as well as the dragon that created them in to generate heat that some would call carnal, and are capable of savage, trespasser-skeletonizing ambushes when in great numbers, and trespasser-smashing traps in their primary role as egg protectors.
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My flavor for kobolds, regardless of origins, tends to emphasize how deeply social they are—kobolds might be mean arrogant Lawful Evil yappy lizardrat cowards, but they're also extremely cuddly with each other and very community-minded. Kobold PCs have to deal with being denied the touch and company they were used to, which leads to lots of surrogate bonds forming with partymembers. I think it's fun, and makes redemptions easier for kobold outcasts.
In one setting I ran, kobolds were as above, but with the added detail that their service to dragons is a) nondiscriminate (a pseudodragon or wyvern could attract just as large a clan as a great wyrm bronze dragon), and b) generally entirely without the dragon master's knowledge. Kobolds are like house fairies. Dragons think of them as folk tales, and don't believe they exist—they just assume their messes get cleaned up on their own, since even good-aligned dragons are pretty lazy and full of themselves. Adventurers might wade through a whole warren of deadly traps only for the red dragon to snort derisively as they start bringing up their "superstitions" of these "magical little dragon men".
KC, what did you think to Deekin in the Neverwinter Nights game?
I never played it, but he seems like the kobold version of the Drizz't clones—a member of a monstrous race who seems to have no connection to his kind. I generally like the idea that kobolds are generally more Lawful than they are Evil, so a Chaotic Good kobold is a stretch for me.
Which isn't to say he's bad, but I feel like he could've been any small-sized race and he would have been exactly the same. They should've made him more arrogant, or Lawful, if they wanted to create a proper kobold bard.
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Dammit. You're making my think more about my kobolds here.
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I really like your kobolds, for what it's worth! I assume it's a deliberate adaptation of the old story of Kurtlemak creating the kobolds from Tiamat's stillborn eggs.
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The impression I get is that the devs really didn't like monster races—JJacobs is on record as saying he'd kind of rather humans be the only playable race, isn't he?
There's a weird grudge against kobolds in general. Eberron had it too.
Feh. At least kobolds are a playable race/ancestry in PF1 and PF2. They just introduced a tiny Fey race option and still no love for gremlins! And anyway, how bad could the art on 5e kobolds be anyway...
...what the hell is that?!? It looks like a short lizardman crossed with a devil!
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I'm about to start running two Age of Worms PbPs on the forums. That's probably a mistake. We'll see! At least I have plenty of ideas for improving things on the second go-around. I'm gonna try to actually get some work-work done tomorrow morning, though. I am behind on my writing, and sooner or later the readers are going to notice.
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Mite Hoover is actually the perfect equivalent to Kobold Cleaver, considering dust mites' normal experience with vacuum cleavers.
But yeah, mites get a raw deal. They should be playable, really. Paizo came up with this cool new "mook" race and didn't know what to do with them. I actually think they'd be more interesting if they were neutral—sort of a counter to drow's spider loving ways.
Well, I'm really running behind on writing, so my plan is to make tomorrow a Work Day. To accommodate that, starting 8am PDT, I will post here once every hour with my wordcount for that hour. I'll also post here whenever I take a break to go browse Youtube, the forums, or similar online time-killers.
Because, hey, if I'm going to use this thread to ramble on self-indulgently, I might as well put it to good use as a shame motivator.
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Well, I'm really running behind on writing, so my plan is to make tomorrow a Work Day. To accommodate that, starting 8am PDT, I will post here once every hour with my wordcount for that hour. I'll also post here whenever I take a break to go browse Youtube, the forums, or similar online time-killers.
Because, hey, if I'm going to use this thread to ramble on self-indulgently, I might as well put it to good use as a shame motivator.
...and I'll help by looking on, shaking my head somberly, and saying, "Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
>:)
I read it as "sham motivator" the first couple of times I read it.
Woke up a little late; checking my Paizo threads real quick while I get breakfast.
No longer being a member of the workforce, "waking up a little late" means I've slept so long that Buster is threatening to pee in my shoe because we've not been for a walk yet.
But on the flipside of that, a lifetime of school, then college, then working caused me, like so many millions of others, to really anticipate weekends. It's so ingrained into me that while I haven't been able to work since 2007 I STILL get excited about Friday afternoons.
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Being self-employed is great, because my boss is a jackass who never gives me the weekend off.
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I'm running behind on commissions in general, honestly.
Speaking of which, showered, ate breakfast, went for a walk. Going to get started now.
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1035 words for this hour. Gonna take a nine-minute break to see how my Play-by-Posts are doing, then aim for 2k words for the next hour.
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I wonder if I could borrow one of Rysky's motivational devices to...
...help, yes that is the word i was looking for. Help.
0:)