ah, I don't have much weight, so that's less of a problem. I even do my resting holding myself up.

Congrats, and good luck on the katas (are your patterns called katas?).

I've been told that board breaking isn't nearly as hard as one would expect after you've trained that much for them, but I wouldn't know because I've never done it, I just heard that on hearsay.

Good luck though.

We call them Poomsae. Katas are for the Japanese Karate, I think.

Board breaking turned out to be easier than I expected on the practice runs. But it depends on the type of wood you get. One poor kid bought pine, which is a whole lot stronger than we're supposed to use.

Aargh, I can't stand the wait.

Well when breaking boards it hurts more if you fail then if you make it. Congratulation BCM. Must you make your own pattern in your federation?

Holding and pushing are static and dynamic work, respectively. You can train with both, but to get good effect of your push-ups I'd recommend controlled movements and pausing at your lowest point (for one breath). Keep your body straight at all times, and if it's too hard stand on your knees rather than start contorting your upper body.
Try to do 20 in a row, fairly slowly, and vary the distance between your hands, as well as standing on your palms or your knuckles (fists) between reps. Example: 20 wide (palm), 20 shoulder-width (knuckles), 20 shoulder-width (palm), 20 hands together.
That's a fairly good exercise for the upper body. Do sit-ups and some kind of back exercise and you practically don't need to go to the gym :-)

I generally do about four sets of the 15 a day, along with assorted weights and situps when I get the time to lie down. I'm 16, and I've still got growing to do. I don't want to be a muscle man, just stay reasonably fit. Most of this happens when I'm watching TV or playing games, because I can do situps absentmindedly as I play, or lift weights as I watch TV.

Sorry, but I had something to say in relation to something in the end of the other thread.

If you get really good you can start doing fingertip pushups. Great way to develop strength in your fingers.

or a really nice way to break them. Works nicely if you got a big test you don't want to take.

Have you broken your fingers doing them?

Well, I did it. I am now a black belt.

First up was the patterns, sets of movements for those who don't know. I got off to a good start, until I stepped on something that got stuck to my little toe. I shook it off, but the distraction messed up my pattern, one I always have trouble with. I stopped and started, stopped and started until I got it right. The rest I had a few hiccups with, but recovered or restarted smoothly. I did them all well in the end, and got right all the bits I usually get wrong.

I later found that what I'd stepped on was a Lego block. A Lego block! A freaking Lego block! Of all the crazy things I could have stepped on (once a small grain of glass that embedded itself into my foot), I happen to step on an inexplicably placed Lego block. (Not so inexplicable, I guess, the place is a community centre that was probably doing stuff with children). Anyway, I scored a Lego block for my collection.

Later (there were plenty of black belt weapons demonstrations and mock fights in between for entertainment), we did the one-steps, where one person responds to an attack with a choreographed move. We did those well. I had a whole set of moves in mind that I mixed up and messed up half-way through, though I adapted well.

Then it was time for board breaking, a couple of kicks followed by a routine of 3 hand movements. I did well on those, each board satisfyingly broken. Though I scraped and cut my foot a bit.

And then... it was the fight. I got all the big tough or mean black belts. For ten long minutes they beat up on me like a punching bag. I lost all my energy, breath and strength with the first few kicks and punches to my body. I spent the rest of the match dizzy and confused and terrified, with no idea what was going on, what I should, no time to get my bearings, endless retreating backwards from my attackers. Most of the time I actually was backwards, as the blows to my back hurt much less than those to my front. On the plus side, I got a magnificent turn around back fist to my attacker's head. We weren't allowed head-shots, but I was well past telling the difference. Overall, I felt like a pinball, flying around, crashing into walls and people, the referee or my attacker would grab me and throw me back in.

Finally there was the tile breaking, which was shifted to last in case we broke our hands, though we'd lost of my strength in the fight. Thankfully, I broke six tiles out of eight in one clean strike, and no injuries.

And that was it. After five years of training and 10 minutes of pain and terror, we were given our black belts. There were six of us, three kids who were sickeningly faster and fitter than us older folks, and me and two friends. We'd started together, trained together and finally finished together, which was nice.

I should probably be pleased about being a black belt, but I'm not. I'm tired, my body is a mass of pains and bruises, red, brown, blue, green, with more surely to appear over the next few days. My stomach is sore all over from the numerous kicks and punches I got. I can barely bend, I stagger everywhere. I don't even feel any different to before; just the same me with a new item of clothing.

Maybe later I'll recover a bit and start to care. But for now, it's just pain.

Ooo, Lego - what colour?  Oh, yes, and congrats on the black belt too.  ;-)

Black, fittingly. :)

In my former club we had Norways youngest black belt. I think she was what 13-14 She had some really nice kicks. Wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of those.



Luckily no. The only thing I have broken is my arm. That hurt.

That story reminds me of a buddy of mine who was training to be a state trooper. One of the exercises they had to go through was the surprise mob attacks. Basically they were called in individually and told about a "scenario" like that there were two assailants and back-up was on it's way. That was all they were told and then they were put into a room with two trainers in redman suits.

(A redman suit is like riot gear for sparring and traininig. Here's a pic
http://www.atdamerican.com/images/large/LAW273ms-1.jpg )

They were then told that they had to defend themselves and keep their gun in it's holster until back-up arrived. Now normally an officer in that position where he is facing two aggressive perps would draw his firearm but that training was a different lesson. In this exercise they had to keep their gun holstered and one (or both) of the Redmen would be trying to overcome the officer and take his weapon.

Now the thing about a Redman suit is that they're nearly impervious to unarmed strikes. They have so much padding that they can take a beating all day long and continue attacking. And in this exercise boy did they attack, this was effectively a no-holds barred scenario. So, onto what happened.

My friend had learned some effective multiple opponent tactics from a Krav Maga friend of his, so he kept mobile and the Redmen had difficulties keeping up because of the bulkiness of their suits. They're fast but not manueverable. So my friend is doing alright for the first minute, dancing around and striking at the closest opponent while keeping the otherone blocked and distant. Then the third attacker came at my friend from behind and knocked him down. The three then started to go to town on him. He doesn't remember much until the point where one of them was choking him and pinning him down while the other started doing elbow drops into my friends chest and stomach. That's when my friend lost it, as he puts it. Flying into an angry rage he starts ripping off padding, he tore off one guys helmet and then bashed his face so that the Redman lost a tooth. He also, as he put it started trying to cripple his opponents by latching on and digging into the muscles and tendons with his fingers. I think it was when he ripped off the second Redmans helmet and after the first had lost a tooth when they called the exercise to an end, letting him up with shouts of "back-up arrived, you're safe."


Man I wish I could have seen a video of it. In conclusion: Real fights are nasty, especially when dealing with multiple opponents. I mean, if there's already 2 people you're fighting, what's to stop #3 and #4 from joining in as well?

Oh yeah, congrats BCM.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:41, Thu 20 Dec 2007.

I always liked Kenshin's take on fighting multiple opponents: You can't. But you can control the situation so that you only have to fight one at a time.

Use one as a weapon against the other? :)


Merry Christmas everybody!

This video shows the basic tactics on how to fight multiple opponents, basically always keep one opponent between you and all the other ones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz4iy2-a4s0

Also, happy holidays everyone.

Merry Christmas!

DMing, anybody? Please?

Thay
Evermeet
Savage Frontier
Calimshan
Cormyr
The Shaar / Great Rift
Border Kingdoms - high level regions
Impiltur
Moonsea
Terrors Of The Underdark (Drow)
One-Shot Adventures
One-Shots & Orphanage - a place to run one-off games

And don't forget to let us know if you haven't seen your DM in a while (barring the  usual holiday season problems).

Hello everyone,I just wanted to throw my perhaps contraversial request out because if you don't ask,you don't know!:)

Firstly I want to make it clear I'm not at all trying to rock the boat or be a trouble maker.I love what RoA is and what it allows us as all as D&D fans do,be nerdy!I genuinely am interested and serious about my request as it would enhance my roleplaying experience and allow me and perhaps others who share the same ideas,to play a character they have dreamed of.

I would like to know if the following feats from Librim Mortis would be considered.

Corpsecrafting
& the feats which require it as a prerequisite
-Bolster Resistance
-Deadly Chill
-Destruction Retribution
-Hardened Flesh
-Nimble Bones

Necromantic Presence
-Necromantic Might
Stitchwork Flesh Familiar

Please hear me out with an open mind as I give my reasons for this request,and understand that I am not out to bend the rules or abuse them.

I am aware that raising the undead is considered an evil act and that in RoA most realms are good in nature.However I believe I have justification for playing a character who animates the dead without falling to the stereotype or even the idea of him being a villain.The character I wish to play is fascinated with the mysteries of life and death.He recognizes that death is as much a part of life as birth is,that it is the natural order of things.He tinkers with death as much as any scientist of our day does(the similarities between magic in D&D and technology in the real world are many and interesting)Without being a villain or evil he commits acts which many would believe to be evil,but only for the purposes of getting a better understanding of life and death.Necromancers are maligned because of their "desecration" of the dead,but so we're those performing autopsies.I'm not trying to say an Autopser and a Necromancer are two peas in a pod,but perhaps two peas in a pea field?I'm not positive how peas grow.

As far as animating a corpse being an act of evil,so is theft,and yet Rogues are allowed without question.Is animating a heap of rotting atoms that once was a person as evil as stealing from a man who would then be unable to support his family?While I'm certainly not trying to start a debate about "ethics in the world of D&D" I'm simply trying to give more depth to my argument and show that simply because something is an evil act doesn't imply that the ends don't justify the means.Now if the spirit of the dead person were trapped in the raised body that would be different,but as it is animated dead are just stinky,ugly,biological robots.

Anywho,I've wanted to play a Necromancer for a bit who was good with undead "pets" and these feats would certainly allow me to play that better.Thanks for taking the time to read this and for allowing us players to make these kinds of requests:)

I wish you luck with this PC Pangaean Tales, I truly do!

I believe I was the last one to try to make an case for raising the dead type character.

You're approaching it from a slightly different direction though, so perhaps you'll get this one through.


With all due respect to those that will post against you, I believe a great many arguements are along the lines of "This book says it evil; so its evil.". You simply can't argue with that; so the idea of a "family friendly raising the dead character" does not exist in ROA.

Let me make it clear though; I honestly do respect our DM's who are willing to put work into designing games for our PC's to play it. I simply think a great deal of them got it wrong on this one before.

And if you a get an unstoppable undead army into the bargain, then all the better, right? ;)

Without wishing to get into the whole "Is Necromancy Evil?" debate, there are a number of separate issues to take into account when considering whether to allow a necromancer PC, no matter how well the character can be justified. Is the DM willing to work with it? Are the other players? (Keep in mind that DMs and players rotate often around here). Is there a Paladin in danger of losing his cred according to the Code? Can the Cleric freely use his Turn Undead if needed? Is it safe to be slinging around negative energy effects with living PCs nearby? And undead seen running around town are a sure-fire way to disrupt a campaign, with mobs of villagers with pitchforks and torches. And then there's the smell.

Now, we haven't banned any core necromantic spells or characters. Some of it is usable quite freely. For example, there was once a necromancy-specialist wizard who really only used the spells for injuring and disabling enemies. But PCs specifically focused on the animating of the dead are usually disallowed, for the reasons above: too icky, too much hassle. Similarly, we tend to ban PrCs and the like that are deemed to be icky or antisocial (Alienist, Oozemaster).

Like any slightly off character concept, this is something you really should discuss with your prospective DM. If you can find one.

FWIW, I've been tinkering with a Dread Necromancer concept, one who frees undead from the clutches of evil liches and vampires, lets them have their just revenge, then lays them properly to rest. Or lets the deceased put their affairs in order. He'd also be capable of healing, though by sacrificing his own health.

Thanks PC O_Man_13 :)

You bring a valid point when you said."The book says it's evil;so it's evil."
That there is the rule of the D&D canon that we go by.

In my and all necromancer's defense(I feel like a lawyer or an apologist lol) I just want to point out that simply because your PC performs an evil act such as Animating the Dead,it does not make your PC evil through and through.Your PC could just operate in ways that the general populace frowns upon,just like thievery for example.Yet simply because a Rogue snatches someone's necklace doesn't mean he's black hearted.Yes it is moraly wrong,yes it is evil,but yet this is an evil which is accepted.I am aware that there are consequences for PC's that choose to pilfer,such as the law catching up or the victim coming back for retribution.All the more reason then perhaps to consider allowing people to play animators of the dead if they are willing to deal with the consequences of being socialy shunned.

A thief that steals from a notorious crime boss isn't neccessarily an evil man nor is his act evil

A necromancer that raises the bones of kobold isn't either.

I am sure in games characters of good or chaotic alignments have done some evil things at one point or another,wether by coersion or decision,but these acts in themselves don't define the PC's nor are acts of evil unnacceptable so long as they are performed "within context" of rpol's rules.That last statement wasn't me taking a swipe at rpol,felt compeled to say that as it may come across wrong since I'm typing to you rather than talking face to face.What I mean is as long as the DM and the player come to an understanding of how the PC necromancer will be played and RPd and that it must be done tactfuly and within the rules of rpol,then why not give it a chance? The following is from the PC creation thread.


Restricted Classes

The classes marked with an asterisk (*) above were deemed to be unusual or
difficult to play in standard RoA games. These either have non-Good alignment
restrictions (Hexblade, Dread Necromancer and Warlock), or they are simply
unusual within the context of the Forgotten Realms (Spirit Shaman).

Hexblades, Dread Necromancers and Warlocks are still bound by standard RoA rules
in standard RoA games, and may not be Evil either, thus the Hexblade and Dread
Necromancer must be Neutral (LN, NN, CN), and the Warlock must be Chaotic (CN,
CG).

Players should discuss these characters with their DMs, and plan their
behaviour accordingly - their characters should play (relatively) well with
others, and recognise that most games have Good tendencies.

It is my belief that with the proper mindset and roleplaying,a necromancer who animates the dead could "fit in" just as well if not better than the afformentioned classes.Again I'm not here to make a stink,I just honestly do believe passionately in what I'm saying and that there are like minded players perhaps who could play the Necromancer PC they've always wanted to and still add to their region and game.

Without wishing to get into the whole "Is Necromancy Evil?" debate, there are a number of separate issues to take into account when considering whether to allow a necromancer PC, no matter how well the character can be justified. Is the DM willing to work with it? Are the other players? (Keep in mind that DMs and players rotate often around here). Is there a Paladin in danger of losing his cred according to the Code? Can the Cleric freely use his Turn Undead if needed? Is it safe to be slinging around negative energy effects with living PCs nearby? And undead seen running around town are a sure-fire way to disrupt a campaign, with mobs of villagers with pitchforks and torches. And then there's the smell.

Your concerns are valid DM BadCatMan,In a prospective Necromancer's defense I would say that most of these can be avoided with a player playing "responsibly and with tact." Obviously if a player decideds to run into town with his undead Unicornasaurus in tow then that player isn't responsible or(without being mean) smart enough to play such a class.I would believe that those kind of issues would be adressed and the "quality" of the player assessed when he first talks to his DM.Some of the other issues would just make for interesting gameplay in my opinion,interesting roleplaying and combat dynamic (Your skele-troll better go hide behind those bushes or he's getting turned!)