A thread for those out-of-character discussions we had to have.  Please feel free to talk amongst yourselves. ;>

So far, so quiet...

It was.

Then I joined!  ^_^

Just invited a couple more victims to join us ... <fingers crossed>   :>

Oh good.  More people to watch dying.  Quality entertainment, right there.

You would think that for a Ravenloft game, you could just go pull people in from other games whether they wanted to or not.  Maybe Jase can do something about that.

Well that didn't work out at all ... they both said yes immediately !  Looks like we have a party.  ;>

Saeko - all we need is your username ... <fiendish GM grin>

Wait.. they said yes?  Do we even want the kinds of people who would come here willingly around?  I think you should try again.


No!  Never!  I swear upon my honor, that, you shall never have!

...I mean, you've known it for, what, seven years now?  And Caesius, he knows it - he gets a little bit ill every time I'm right on a public forum, which I have to say, happens a lot.  I stay away from the public forums mostly because I worry about his health.  And I suppose all anybody else would have to do if they wanted it would be to send me an Rmail that somehow enticed me to write back.  I'd suggest they wait, like, a week or so, though - I'm wary now.

Which all sounds about right for an oath on my honor.  I stand by it.

Huzzah!  Somebody to share the DOOM!

Ooo, another shieldfighter.  Welcome, Saeko!

Harumph.  Many giant make big-noise.  Always make want home-place.

Sorry, I'm still trying to deal with Caesius being a Paladin.  Arafarafarfa looks awesome!

Thanks, Violet!  I will try to keep you safe.  Probably.

I'm hoping!

Hello everyone. The party seems well supplied with sword-swingers so I am here to provide a bit of arcane support. (From behind the front ranks, I hope!)

I'm not sure who Violet is yet or what role she fills in the party. Anybody got any hints?

I think she stands somewhere between blue and ultraviolet, but that's just a guess.  She's been terribly mysterious.

And hello, Zertin!  Welcome!  ...Actually, in the circumstances, maybe "Welcome" isn't the right word.  Condolences?

Colour.

Condolences sounds about right.

Sadly, I'm not trying to be mysterious.  I'm basically at a loss.  ^_^  Maybe ultraviolet is correct, because I can't quite see myself...

Still working!

Colour!  Of course!

Hello, Zertin, and colour to Ravenloft!

.. wait, no, that doesn't... were we still talking about Violet?


Shh.  Mysterious.  So mysterious.

Have you considered someone rogue-like?  I don't mean filled with procedurally generated dungeons, although that sounds like a cool Prestige class.  I'm just not sure we have anyone yet.

I love playing rogues, but my idea kind of got...sidetracked, then fell apart.  First it went non-rogue-ish, then into odd territory, then I realized it wasn't working at all and kaboomel.

Ravenloft is working its evil on me already, it appears.

I shall consider a rogue-ish sort.  I wish I still had my Book of Magic.  Had a 'wears mask to get abilities' Prestige Class I REALLY liked.

But I turfed all of my 3.5 stuff loooong ago - didn't think I'd ever use it again!  ;_;

I just picked up a set of the "Complete..." books for cheap! (Probably not yours.)  I remember that one...  it looked neat.  Um... the Master of Masks, in the Complete Scoundrel?

The pre-requisites were 8 Ranks in Bluff, Disguise, and Perform, and at least four languages, so it should be possible to qualify in time for level 6.  It looks crazy complicated, but if you want, I could make some time to type it up for you?

Oooo, yes!  That was it!

Aaaand...here it is.

http://archive.wizards.com/def...20070105a&page=3

Lucky me!  No need to type it out, Saeko.  And if you did get my books, I'd be happy!

Now I just need to figure out what kind of character class.  Seems ready-made for Bards, but I dislike the singing thing...

...I made it for a Warlock, once.  Must look that up.

We're getting there !  :>

Just a couple of char sheets to go, so hoping to get organised and start you on your first faltering steps this weekend.  Why yes, you do all meet in a tavern.  An oldie but a goodie.  Besides, that's what the module says happens, so there.

No, I can't see where it says "and then the tavern catches fire" ... why do you ask ?

Whether or not the tavern catches fire surely depends on the prices of the drinks?

I thought you were a Paladin.

I am.  Which does not make me responsible for the actions of random strangers.  However, should Heironeous mandate a punishment for those actions, I shall see  that His will is served.

But you should probably intervene if random strangers, for example, start burning down a bar because the ale is poor, right?  :D

Seems the lawful good, paladiny thing to do, unless the ale is actually poisonous, in which case the lawful good, paladiny thing to do would be to burn down the bar yourself.  ^_^

In other news, I've given up on making a complicated character and am just working on a bog-standard Rogue - it'll help get the game started quicker, and I understand we need one.  ^_^

Ooh.  I don't think I've ever seen a rogue specialized for muddy environments before.

Technically, alcohol is always poisonous.  Here, Caesius, I'll hold the torch while you light... oh, hey, wait.

Seriously, though, Violet, don't feel rushed!  At least, not on our accounts.  I mean, eager to start the game?  Yes, of course.  In a hurry to get to Ravenloft?  Um.  So these things balance out.

It's fine - I'm really struggling with getting a character, so I'll go with Rogue.  Even a muddy one.

I don't even have to worry about being able to hurt undead seriously, as there are so many people here who CAN.  ^_^

Welp, have a face.  And I'm closing in on being finished.

Mud for face good true seems, face of yours see now.

Hi all.  Violet, you're not the last.  Qvar is also not yet finished, by far the most complicated PC I've ever tried.  He's a cleric of Pelor.  Just needs a big push this weekend, and some rulings from Skald.... Oops, I'm blaming the GM. That's sure to be costly.

Good to see you again Qvar. :o)

Well, that looks like a pretty well-rounded party now. Three combat-oriented characters, a  rogue, a wizard and a cleric. This should be fun.

And we're going to walk into a bar!  I can't wait for the punchline.


If we have a Pelorite.. Pelorian?  Peloretariat?  Anyway, I bet he wins.  But I plan to have fun competing. grin

Hi, Qvar!  Welcome!  I have to admit, now I'm deeply curious what makes Qvar so complicated. (Qvomplicated?  OK, now I'm just making trouble.)  That's a fantastic portrait for a Pelorestrian, though, I must say!

Horrible week - I'm now doing 3 jobs at work (if anyone mentions the Stooges, I'll set, um Arafarafarfa on them !) and cars trouble (one dead battery, on with a bright and shiny Engine Warning Light) ... but still here, and still hopeful of starting !

Just got to answer any questions, give char sheets the once over and throw you all in the deep end (hope the recent flooding in Barovia that makes this game now an aquatic adventure won't wreck anyone's build ... <grrrins>, no, not really).

On the plus side, I have finished the map and the first bit is simply getting you into the tavern to meet and greet.

Yes, meeting in the tavern does sound like the start of a joke.  Is it just me, or does anyone else think Eomer leaves us hanging in LOTR: the Two Towers when he says "What business does an elf, a man and a dwarf have in the Riddermark?"  I'm still waiting for the bazinga !

A well-rounded party ?  Hope those Weight stats reflect that ...  ;>

Apparently, the answer wasn't "funny business."

Sorry you're having such a bad week!  I hope things get better.  Car troubles are like... my third least favorite kind of trouble.  Maybe fourth, actually.  Maybe I'm overthinking it.  Maybe I should add, "Overthinking things troubles" to my list somewhere.  Do you suppose that would help?  Anyway, don't worry about us!  If we can wait for Qvar, I'm sure we can wait for you.

...Actually, even if we couldn't wait for Qvar, I'm pretty sure we'd make an exception in your case.  I mean, what choice would we have, really?


Saeko moves in circles.  I think that will have to count for her.

Everything except the equipment list (ascetic poverty).
Good to see you again too, Zertin.
Character is done, thanks all for waiting.   :-)
This message was last edited by the player at 07:04, Mon 05 Mar 2018.

In reply to Qvar (msg # 37):

We had to wait.  You're our leader.  Off you go.

LOL - the first thing you have to learn about playing a paladin - never admit that anyone else is the leader, unless they are a higher level paladin! ;o)

Quickly now, into the tavern!

...how does she get anywhere?

She wanders round and round and round and round and round and round and round ...

And we're off !  A few bits an pieces to sort out here and there, but mostly all ship shape.

And it's still the weekend somewhere in the world !! :>

The games afoot.  May the gods have mercy on you all ...

Well, if your circles are big enough, it can be hard to even tell.


Yay!  We're afoot!  Even Caesius, apparently.


Yes, they may.  I would like them to know they have my full permission to be 100% merciful to each and all of us.

Well, we have our first volunteer for a divine mercy killing then ... "no, no, it's just a scratch ... you're not foolin' anyone !"  ;>

So, I get sick and miss a Monday, and there are 21 posts.

.....

I'm not going to be able to keep up, am I?  :(

Don't worry Violet, I'm sure this is just the usual enthusiastic 'getting to know you' banter among a new party. Things will naturally slow down a bit over time. You certainly don't need to worry about not responding to everything that is posted at this stage. :o)

:(  It's kind of my favourite part of games, the RP.

I vote we all leave the inn while Violet's playing catch-up, and leave her to pick up the tab...

Frrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

This would not surprise me in the least.

...that first one, not the second.

...also, you're not going to stay a paladin for long.

Your threats do not intimidate me.

THAT'S not a threat.  A threat is something like 'when you're bleeding out, I swap a dagger for bandages when "binding wounds"' or something more clever like that.  ^_^  (it would have to be that, because I'm not beating you in a fight, I can pretty much guarantee that!).

*brightly*  It's a prediction.  ^_^

A prediction, eh?  There's a word for that where I come from...

*brightly*  Burn the witch!!!

*prepares to snuggle close to any fire*

*opens a pack of marshmallows*

Inside-head toad bird?  Roast good eat.

Steps in front of Violet

I think I promised to keep her safe.

*hugs Saeko*

Hah.  Thank you, Saeko.  For you, I will seek out the traps.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:44, Tue 13 Mar 2018.

*crosses Saeko off the list of people who will get marshmallows*

Crosses Caesius off the list of people whose lists get to determine who gets marshmallows

*eats all the lists and starts looking for something meatier*


  ("`-''-/").___..--''"`-._
   `6_ 6  )   `-.  (     ).`-.__.`)
   (_Y_.)'  ._   )  `._ `. ``-..-'
 _..`--'_..-_/  /--'_.' ,'
(il),-''  (li),'  ((!.-'

Sigh... feeling listless.
(Thats the best text cat ever!)

Hee hee hee.  ^_^

And yes, that IS a beautiful text cat!  O_o
This message was last edited by the player at 11:25, Wed 14 Mar 2018.

And after Caesius spent all his starting GP on marshmallows too !

I'll stop now.  Think I've somewhat caught up.  ^_^

In reply to Skald (msg # 65):

And damned fine marshmallows they are too.  Still, all the more for me.

In reply to Oooh'Awww (msg # 62):

Brilliant! That cat is a true work of art.  :o)

Why do I feel like we're on a steep, well-greased slope, that's leading down towards a bar brawl?
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:48, Sun 18 Mar 2018.

I'd guess it's because somebody isn't sharing the marshmallows.  No easier way to start a bar brawl than that!

Of course, I haven't checked the IC thread yet.  I suppose you might be referring to something over there.

That's what brothers are for.  :D

If we are left alone for any length of time we do tend to make our own entertainment.

Although, in this case, I fear there may soon be an opening on the entertainment committee.

Anyone else interested?  ;o)

I don't have the stage presence to manage, sorry.  :(

LOL! I'm just trying to keep up and going with the flow.  Advice to Zertin : stop digging! :-)

I did not mean for Qvar to physically touch Violet's hands, was supposed to be his glow brightened and reached her hands (not clearly worded sorry). But I think his hands would have felt as you'd described if he had... :-)

passes Zertin a Masterwork Adamantine Shovel

I think you're doing just fine.

And that was a great joke.  I'm going to pass it on to the kids tomorrow.

My bad!  :D  I can edit.

LOL! Nice edit:-)

Thanks!  :D  Sometimes it works out.

I detest when other people write stuff my character does in their posts - reactions to things, for examples - that I did not, myself, write in my own post.  So, even when it's a mistake on my part rather than deliberate, I will always change when I find I have ascribed something to a character that has not been written or seriously implied in that character's own post.

^_^

Thanks, and thanks again.  :o)

Going to hold off further replies IC myself, for a bit - seems to be rather important that Araf posts, given the situation....
This message was last edited by the player at 13:23, Tue 20 Mar 2018.

LOL, I am quite enjoying this, despite the communication difficulties.

Don't worry, Zertin isn't offended (in character or out) by anything that has been said in the game.  :o)

Not offended, you say.  Unlike Arafarafarfa...  ;)

Araf, Violet?  Maybe try that IC!  Might be.....enjoyable, Ole.

And back !

With my usual impeccable timing, work got real busy real quick ... just what you want when you're trying to start up a new game !  So apologies ... and I dread to find out what you've been up to without me here to drop in a drunken gang of Tarrasques to break up the brawl !  ;>

Oh good ... my last post isn't even on the same page ... <howls of derisive laughter>

And pleased to see nobody died yet.   Well pleased-ish.  ;>

That just tells you we're still having fun. grin  One of my first games on RPoL, the GM was down with a horrible flu for two weeks almost immediately on setting up.. come to think of it, the tavern in which we were meeting.  We had several hundred posts by the time he got back, including two duels.

Game all went downhill from there, of course. grin

Apologies - we took vacation to change the flooring, and my internet ended up getting disabled at home.  I'm back to work now and it's now fixed at home as well.

I love being a paladin... we're always right about everything.  :p

That statement there...such a good start!

...Zertin's wisdom: dump stat?

Wild guess.

=^_^=
This message was lightly edited by the player at 18:53, Wed 04 Apr 2018.

We did all voluntarily join a game with "Ravenloft" right there in the title.  I'm pretty sure Wisdom isn't a top stat for anybody here. grin

Hey, the mists took me.  I don't know what everyone else's reasons are....

=^_^=

Wisdom? Actually, Zertin's charisma is his lowest stat at the low-average score of 10. He has a knack with people, and high enough dexterity to duck what they throw at him.  ;o)

Be thankful he has enough wisdom not to say the first thing he though of. 'Head chef' might be a mistake but 'Burger King' would be a whopper!  :o)

Would anybody object if I smote him for that?

LOL - I definitely deserve it!

Hopefully one of the other characters knows enough about the local customs and titles to correct Zertin's mistakes.

Smite away!

Violet? Local customs?  Good lord, no.

Well... Skald. grin


You'd have my blessing.


I'd been thinking about it, like, earlier, with Saeko.  In some ways it's a little weird establishing different cultures, yet still all speaking Common.  I don't particularly have a language on Saeko's sheet that matches up with those things she says that are nonsense to the rest of you, but so much of her flavor would be lost if I just kept those all as English.

Honestly I don't know if I kind of figure she really does have an extra language that just isn't relevant to anything, or that Common just has some very wide-ranging `dialects' across the dimensions.  I suppose I lean towards the latter.  Her culture, for whatever reason, just has seriously different rules for proper nouns, but almost everything else is the same.  Maybe their names are based on an old language, otherwise dead and forgotten.  And since her Common is otherwise kind of built on that, it may still bleed in as some odd phrasings here and there, but for the most part... just names.

Which is why it's really cool to see someone like Arafarafarfa, who has really taken it and made Common a second language.  I suppose it could be irritating if it happened too often (like, I'm glad I didn't do that with Saeko - and I had considered it when I was first writing her up - because two of us in one game would be a bit much, I think, and Arafarafarfa just does it so very well.)  But since I don't see it often, I think it's awesome.

...Anyway.  Bergermeister seems like a pretty localized term IRL, and clearly not her locality, so as happy as she generally seems to be to correct people, she won't be handling this one.  Her best guess is that it's someone who sprays just a little bit of water on `bergers', which are maybe some sort of flower?  She'd be the first to admit it's not a very good guess.

Common ?  Piece of cake.  TARDIS translation circuits are fully operational.   :P

OR ... all D&D worlds were once thriving Earth colonies, and in all cases things went downhill relatively rapidly.  Play a few nuclear Armageddons and/or Ice Ages over the resultant mess and here we are.  The rudiments of the language survive to a lesser or greater extent almost everywhere.

I've always believed in finding a good, in-character reason to involve myself in the plot.  ^_^

Me too !  Oh, hang on, I'm the GM ... plot ?  We have a plot ?  ;>

With my usual brilliant timing, I'm going to be away from the computer for the next two weeks, so I'll leave you to continue your very entertaining getting-to-know-you, and I'll answer your questions and set you on the path to certain doom your way, on my triumphant return.

Good luck!  :D

Looking forward to the triumphantness!  I just hope it's all it's cracked up to be.  All too often, people say they're going to have a triumphant return, and then they just sort of... come back.  It's crushing.

No pressure.

In reply to Saeko (msg # 102):

I beg to differ.  If something, or somebody, is being crushed, then obviously there must be a certain amount of pressure, otherwise there would be no crushing.

....well-said.  ^_^

Well, hey now!  First you begged to differ, and then you just went right ahead and differed without waiting for permission?  You are in so much trouble.

Secondly, I used to have a pressure cooker, and the food did not come out crushed, so clearly pressure and crushing are totally unrelated, ipso facto, gaudeamus igitur, ut proverbium loquitur vetus.

But thirdly, I second Violet, and... why do I suddenly feel like I'm counting down?  Does anybody else hear ticking?

Ah, you might be onto something there, Saeko.

High in the castle, the once lord is no longer  ...  is that a Count down, perhaps?  ;o)

Lol!

Saeko's old pressure cooker would impart an equal pressure in all directions upon its contents.  'Food' is usually a fluid, or permeable to pressure, therefore the pressure within the food is equal to the pressure inside the cooker.  So, whilst the food does experience pressure, it does not get crushed.  Crushing implies the pressure is acting in one direction only, eg downwards.  In regard to the anticipation of a less-than-triumphant return one may say: It's crushing... No balancing pressure is to be expected.

In reply to Qvar (msg # 107):

See?  I told you!  Paladin = always right.

I'm pretty sure that just means the Truffula Trees have a chance again.


But what about the balancing pressure of, "Yay, our GM is back!"?  What about the balancing pressure of proving the paladin wrong?

Nothing in the Multiverse can generate enough pressure to prove a paladin wrong.  We are, after all, the strong right arm of our god (with the emphasis on right arm).

It is our duty to right wrongs, and our god trusts us to do this.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:42, Sat 21 Apr 2018.

The paladin's argument is reinforced by reference to a higher authority.  The laws of physics stand above the laws of the gods. :-)

Dexter, not sinister?

There's nothing sinister about paladins.

Sez the Paladin... ^_^

Says the one acting like a cat toy.  ;)

In any case, if the paladin says it, then it must be correct.  Because paladins are always right.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:44, Mon 23 Apr 2018.

Hunches down, tail end wiggles and pupils dilates.

Ta-dah !

That's about as triumphant as I get at the moment.  FINALLY got here, having been cursed with a head cold during my travels/travails.  Saved the most work best till last, obviously.  ;>

Now to find out what you've been up to.  I do hope the Inn is still standing or we're all in trouble ...

... I DID mention it's situated on a Hellmouth ?  Ah, never mind ... probably nothing to worry about.

A Hellmouth, eh?  Splendid!

Oh, a Hellmouth? I thought you said helmet. That doesn't sound quite as safe at all! Much more interesting though! ;o)

Waiting on a clarification from the GM before posting.

Which doesn't help if GM is sick (still fighting the same bug as before) - apologies Violet and everyone else, clarification forthcoming shortly.

Should now be able to post -- good luck with that illness, GM!

Oh, so he's one of THOSE kinds of paladins.

Got it.

^_^

You mean... the paladin-y kind?

The BEST kind.  :)

*thoughtfully* No, no....

The only kind?  ;o)

The kind of Lawful Good that feels being sneaky and offering to go ahead of a knight might deserve the highest penalty of the law (which tends to be 'execution').

^_^

Fortunately he's also the kind of Lawful Good that thinks 'Maybe she doesn't know...I'll let it pass this time.'

Only since he put that one point into Diplomacy.

Oh, and the one point into Tolerate Disrespectful Outlander Scum.

And, of course, the one point in Respect Other Religions And Always Use Your Best Sword On Their Followers.

Precisely.  That kind!

Wait, that was an option?  Blast!  It's too late to change Saeko's points around now.  That sounds super handy, too.

A paladin with one rank of diplomacy ... and a wizard with one rank of diplomacy !!!

That sounds promising. The rest of you might as well pack away your weapons. Obviously they are not going to be needed on this adventure.   ;o)

Sounds like the start of a joke...

"A paladin with one rank of diplomacy and a wizard with one rank of diplomacy walk into a tavern.  [Both roll]  "Hello filthy peasant scum." says the paladin, "Do you have any drinks that don't have wildlife swimming in them?"

"Ignore my friend." says the wizard, "He doesn't have enough sense not to insult the locals when he finds himself in a filthy vermin-infested rat hole, filled with half-witted ne'er-do-wells."

"Oh, don't mind him. You know how paladins are. He'll drink whatever you are having. He is completely immune to disease ..."

Qvar has two whole ranks in diplomacy. "Innkeeper! A round of your finest brandy for everyone... The wizard and the paladin are paying."

Ah, fond memories ... http://www.dorktower.com/files.../04/DorkTower444.gif

Darn it all, I was hoping to interrupt the spellcasting.  :(

Hold Person, maybe?

Sorry - that spell went off last round, before you knew you were in a fight.  You and the big cat between you did manage to stop this round's spell, if that's any consolation.

And yes, you've seen Hold Person before, and would wager good coin on that.  :>

Oh, my CHARACTER for sure hasn't seen Hold Person before.  At least, I doubt it.  :)

But I was guessing 'That's probably Hold Person', myself.  ^_^

Something I forgot to mention earlier - I track experience points, spells use/special ability/item usage, treasure found etc in this thread: link to a message in this game.

I find it easier to keep it all in one spot and let you all look after your own character sheets (as we would were we sitting around a table, except I'm relatively safe from having dice thrown at me).  <grins>

I bring this up now, cos I've just updated the thread with the latest info.

Any problems, you know where to find me.  ;>

*throws dice, just as an experiment*

*consults wandering monster table, just as an experiment*

As long as it's not the Wandering Damage Table.

"Something invisible chews on your character, doing 6-36 damage."

No thanks.  O_o

Hopefully this won't be redundant.  ^_^

That reaction to the fireball was just... wow!  I'm like, actively impressed by everyone's characters in this, they're all amazing and wonderfully written, but I think Violet might be my favorite character concept... ever?  Quite possibly?  I won't say there isn't some good competition, but she's absolutely brilliant.  I adore her, and I am so happy I get to be in the game that has her.  Thank you.

Thank you, Saeko!  :D  High praise indeed!

I'm finding the characters from a mishmash of settings to be very encouraging when it comes to posting.  Cultural issues, and so forth.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of Saeko, herself.  ^_^

And I feel that the overall quality of posting in this game is quite high.  :D
This message was last edited by the player at 09:26, Thu 09 Aug 2018.

I wish to sincerely apologise to everyone for going absent without a word and will at for the time being step away from RPoL.  Thank you all for the exchanges I did take part in and I wish you all a great game.

Sorry to hear, Arafarafarfa.

Hopefully everything is okay.

We'll miss you, little one.  :o(

Oh dear, we don't usually have to resort to fireballs this early ... <evil grin>

Yes, very sorry to lose Arafarafarfa ... I'll be NPC'ing our little Halfling for the nonce - basically continuing in her role as part of your fighting front line.  Just a lot closer to the ground than all you giants.  :>

You always have a spot next to me, Arafarafarfa!  Except possibly on the bus.

...But now I just want Zertin to keep casting spells on Violet so she can describe them.  I wonder if he takes requests...

What a shame I can't cast illusions. That would be an endless source of inspiration, wouldn't it?

O_O

Sadists.  Poor Violet....

Hit her with a fireball!

...terrified AND dead.

We're all going to die anyway.  Violet could become a trend-setter.  :)

That would be a first...

So, I'm off on vacation tomorrow.  I'll try to check in, but my posting will become (more) spotty for the next few weeks.  :D

Have a great time and come back all refreshed and ready for adventure!

Hopefully you will be ready to change your bio lines then.  ;o)

It's kind of hard to picture Violet "refreshed and ready for adventure", but "tired" I can totally empathize with today.

Hope you have a great vacation!  We will miss you.

Not neccesarilly... Zertin, for example, has magic missiles, and they never miss... oh... wait.  Did I say that out loud?

Have a good vacation Violet.

They have a range limit though, don't they?  So I think we can still miss her while she's on vacation.  It's only people who are conveniently right nearby, especially on big horses, that are nigh - even neigh - impossible to miss.

I told you not to cross Saeko off the list of who gets marshmallows - now there's nothing holding her back from divine retribution.

Admittedly she may have got the concept of divine retribution rather back to front, but that's no consolation when the marshmallows start failing their saving throws !

So.  Very.  True.

And I hope you're feeling better!  :D

...and it seems the missiles missed.  Thank goodness.  That would have been difficult to explain to the hospital!

I have returned and will get around to posting at some point soon.  Probably tomorrow.  Today is still busy and I have needed to take time to catch up a little everywhere!

Okay, I found time...

Thanks to Thanksgiving (it's what it's for) and a nose cold, I'm running a tad behind.  I'll catch up on all my games in the next couple of days (just got one done this morning, then tomorrow...etc).

Hope you're feeling better!


So... based on how fast you post in each game, we'll know exactly how important we are to you! grin

Apparently we here are pretty high up.  Sweet.  We love you, too.

Um, anyway, sorry -- am a little disorganized right now.  I need to take my computer back in for some repairs, so I'll be kind of slow for a little while, but should still generally be around.

Skald, you may absolutely not NPC Saeko under any circumstances.  You'll do it wrong. Phblt

...I'm kidding, of course.  If you need to, go for it.  But I'll try to keep up, also, it just might be harder if we get into a higher paced scene before I get my computer back.

PC deaths when they're being NPCd are always so wonderfully tragic.  There is just sufficient time for those regret-filled last words, and a final realisation of Awful Truths™ that are, somehow, only partially articulated before the last rattling breath (or scream of anguish) as the soul is torn, brutally, from the body and borne down into the most terrible pits of the Underworld.

Just so beautiful...  :)

That is one of the nicest things about Paladins. They always see the bright side, even in the darkest situation.  ;o)

Are you sure? I thought it was how well they go with hollandaise.

I just like the squish sound that they make.

On reflection, that statement could be referring to NPC'd PCs or could be referring to the nicest things about Paladins.  We'll just have to stay tuned to find out ...  ;P

I am down to three at the moment... ^_^



This sounds like me!

Sickness in house...my apologies.  :(

I'm not sure the girl came with us...maybe my post made for some confusion?  Sorry, Saeko.  Which makes me sad, because I love what you wrote.  ^_^

I''ll wait for clarity on that - I'm now trying to post every morning like this, so if the GM clarifies today I'll post tomorrow morning.  :D

Oh!  No, it's my post creating confusion.  Skald's last update started in the tavern and then moved into town, so I did the same thing -- Saeko's assurance to the girl was back in the tavern, not outside the crying house.  Looking back at it, I wasn't as clear about that as Skald was... sorry!

I sure hope the little girl didn't come with us!  That just sounds like bad parenting!

The bad parenting started with sending a child to a tavern.  Some people deserve a good smiting.

On hols for a few weeks, so posting may be brief but i'll try to keep up.

Sorry - didn't get on to clarify, but yes, the young girl stayed behind in the tavern, and both Saeko and Violet's posts on that read very nicely as they are.  :>

One of those weeks - migraine for me for starters, and my wife fell while out jogging, and failed to catch herself as she went over, so hit the ground hard and badly grazed/bruised ... seen the doctor and it's possible she's fractured her arm, though he's thinking not on balance - but if the pain's not gone in a week it's off for x-rays.

I deplore the medical profession's failure to memorise CLW ...

My commiserations to you and your better half.

Oh dear.  I hope everything turns out 'not serious', though...migraines.  Ugh.  I'm very sorry to hear about your misadventures.  :(

Ouch! I hope you are both on the mend and soon put those painful memories behind you!

Ah, I do tend towards migraines, but medication generally copes with 'em - if that's the worst I have to deal with then I'm happy to put up with it.

And my wife is doing a lot better today - must be all those good wishes, thank ye kindly !  :>

Good news, that!  I hope the trend continued!

Alas, no, despite all the good wishes ... she must have failed a DC check somewhere.

Pain kept coming and going, so back to doctor and dutifully sent off for x-rays ... got them taken (imaging dept is part of the regional hospital), and immediately ordered down to the emergency department so they could immobilise the arm.  Turns out that it is a fracture - the good news is that it's sitting in pretty much the correct spot, the bad news is that it's an 'avulsion' which means every time she moves the arm the ligament attached to the bone pulls the fracture open.  Hence they immobilised the arm.

Immediate referral to the specialist ... who we see tomorrow morning - I guess they tell us whether immobilisation is working or whether they'll have to pin it - time for a Luck roll !

In the meantime, I've been learning to cook (it was either that or we perished from hunger).  My wife can't help, obviously, but has been giving me excellent step by step instructions and it's so far so good ...

... so that's my excuse for not posting an update here !  Maybe tomorrow if all goes well.  :>

I was going to express surprise that there is a "correct place" to have a fracture, until I realised that obviously there is.  The correct place to have a fracture is in a hospital, where help is easily available.

I hope all goes well from now on, and that you both survive your cooking.

To summarise - "so far so good".  Apparently they don't use the word 'better' at this stage, the best they can say is 'no worse', but since the bit of bone that moves is 99% where it's supposed to be, we continue on.  At this point the bone is what they are happy to call "sticky" which sounds suitably gruesome and I'm sure I can use that in game, but it means it's just starting to knit together ... so my wife's arm is to remain immobilised until we seek the specialist again in 4 weeks at which point judgment will be made - either it worked out or they'll go for surgery.  My job is to stop my wife doing anything that will cause them to pick option b.  I think that DC is one of those imaginary numbers ...

So now we have to survive another 4 weeks of my cooking !  :>  Today we had vegetable fritters (my wife gets to pick the menu, I just follow direction), but that's basically just a lot of grating - the fritters even cooked on a tray in the oven.

And at last you'll get your IC update ... (not yet, Caesius ! not yet !  Give me a chance to write it !)

Well, that's good news...I guess?  Still awful she has to go through this.  I'd make jokes about your cooking as well, but I'm feeling pretty badly for both of you, sooo...perhaps not.

Thank goodness they actually got on top of it quickly, and you managed to get it all figured out!

Hurrah for pneumonia!  I'm too sick to post just now.  When I am feeling better I will start posting again.

Your catching of horrendous diseases (an impressive feat for a Paladin, I must note) is much appreciated, as I'm going to be offline for about a week (hopefully back on Tues).

Erm ... that is, hope you get well soon !  :>

I've heard rumors he might be getting better, though!  Terrible time to abandon him now, you heartless beast!

Erm ... that is, hope all is well!  See you next Tuesday, hopefully!

Urgh.  I need to get in gear on posting....

Keep getting better, bossCaesius!

I'm baaack !  And yes, it's still technically Tuesday at least for another 2½ hrs, somewhere very close to the International Date Line !

I figure any disease that'll take down a Paladin, I really don't want to catch.  Still they're your HP to lose as you will !

Don't worry at all, Violet - this is a slower paced game, so if one or more of us (especially me) is a bit late, absolutely not a problem.  :>

'Frustration be damned' is now my favourite phrase.

Apologies for the IC-crankiness, Zertin; Violet has a 'thing' about magic, you might have noticed.  :)

IC - Zertin hasn't noticed.

OOC - I love it!  :o)

He deserves it ... such an annoying brother :-)

Aaaargh!  I thought I posted here days ago.  I'll get right on it.

"I command you to die again" was totally worth the wait, though!

Paladins... gotta love 'em.  :)

Of course you have to love Paladins !  Because if you hated them that would be an evil act and ... well, we all know how that ends ! :>

Love 'em or cleave 'em?  ;o)

<ROFL>

I should probably have apologised for my absence too ... but then again, I'm not a Paladin, so wouldn't have to Atone if I didn't.  Migraine to blame again, all better now.  :>

Given what you tried to do to me when you got back, I would've been OK with an even longer absence... phblt

But not if it came from a migraine.  Those suck and I'm sorry you have to deal with them.

Sorry to hear, Skald!  :(  Awful - I've only had one, but one was enough for a lifetime of sympathy!

Nice special effects on the map Skald, Zed upside down and Q's glow ... he can turn that down if the light is hurting your poor head :-)

<LOL> Nah, I'm used to migraines now - get them very regularly but got medication and everything ... but every now and then the pills don't work and it gets colourful and messy.

I'm reliably informed that retirement will work wonders.  23 months and counting, then I'll be so healthy I'll be able to inflict awful perils upon you all full-time !  :>

Hu.... ray?

That... was beautiful.

Ooo, thank you!  :D

Aaand back again with the latest in what seems to be a chain of medical disaster.  Spoiler alert - all ends well.  :>

One of those phone calls from my youngest sister, slightly more startling because this time it didn't begin with her customary "don't panic".

To cut a long story short, my Mum had a stroke, rushed to hospital, they found two blood clots on the brain, got medicated ... and by some miracle of modern medicine is now back to normal - no physical defecits, no mental deficits (she was struggling to find words to start with and was slow to respond conversationally, but that seems to have cleared up now).

Doctors are suddenly very interested in running all manner of tests on Mum's heart to determine the underlying cause (she suffers from high blood pressure), so just keeping fingers crossed that turn out well - though there didn't seem to by much urgency in it ("come back in 4-6 weeks"), so doesn't look like that's an immediate problem anyway.

And now, I shall go see what your characters have been up to ... ;>

Don't worry about us ... we've nothing so troubling as old age.  Glad your mum's ok :-)

We all worry about that type of phone call. I can only echo Q's sentiment - glad your mum's ok.

Glad that all ended well Skald.  And yes, "come back in 4-6 weeks" definitely doesn't sound urgent.

And I'm REAAALLY late getting in here to say I'm glad to hear that thing proceeded, well, as best possible in that situation.  Amazing and fantastic that your mother came out of that okay, and I hope that trend continues!  :D

On my side, we've been very concerned about a health issue; it could still be something very serious, but all signs are at least pointing toward 'no'.  Thank goodness.

Oh, dear!  I hope the signs are right.  You've said a couple of things lately that had me a little worried, but I think this has been the clearest.  Won't pry, of course, just... hope. grin

("You have my hope.  And my axe, should it turn out to be the sort of issue an axe could solve, but that's become increasingly less common in medicine.")

S'okay Violet - we waited up for you !  ;>

My Mum's back to normal - and back and forth to doctor to juggle high blood pressure medication as they go through the usual process to work out what works best, so continuing well on that front.

Sorry to hear you've got health problems of your own - certainly hope it all turns out well.

I already rolled for you and the omens are favourable:

12:48, Today: Skald got the result "Outlook good" on the magic 8-ball.

Sounds highly difficult!  :(  Getting medical aid and going through all of the procedures can be very distressing these days, even when it helps.

Things are improving slowly, here.  So far, so good.  Don't know about the magic 8 ball - that thing has always disliked me!  ^_^
This message was last edited by the player at 09:19, Wed 03 July 2019.

Also, I keep totally thinking I did this but apparently I haven't.  I'm going on a trip in about a week - actually going out of the country!  I've never actually done that before, so am super excited.  But I'm going to be Highly Unreliable for like the next... month and a half, possibly?  Like, I'm already a little overwhelmed just getting ready (but fortunately, having chunks of my shoulder ripped out by horrors from beyond the grave is a nice mental break!), but I'm told wi-fi is "spotty" where we're going and I don't know what "spotty" means in this context.

But I, too, have consulted the Magic 8 Ball, and when I asked it how this was going to go it exploded and all the pieces ran away screaming.  As with all Magic 8 Ball answers it's open to interpretation, but I'm pretty sure that's good!

...also, I'm just going to assume the GMs of my games who are also around here will see this.  Especially since two of you are also the GM of this game. grin
This message was last edited by the player at 17:01, Wed 10 July 2019.

Oooo, have a fun time!  :D  I hope it's somewhere with comfortable weather...  ^_^  Or exciting weather, as the case may be.

I shall post tomorrow.

Spotty wifi means that they won't be held liable when you can't get a signal in an emergency.  Such as exciting weather.  F'rinstance.  ;>

On the plus side, other countries are, for the most part, free from horrors from beyond the grave that try to bite you (or at least they tend not to mention them in the adverts).  Just eat lots of garlic and carry a variety of holy symbols, just to be on the safe side.  Tickets, passports, money, Holy Water, repeating crossbow, the usual tourist mantra ...

And the Travel Bug really isn't what you think.

But seriously, have a really nice time out there, relax and enjoy yourself.  :>

OOC: I've no idea how to cleanse a site of evil ... have access to 3rd level cleric spells ... anyone have any ideas?  Does Violet also carry the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch in that pouch?

OOC: The 2nd level spell Consecrate counters and dispels Desecrate. I don't know if that is all that is required here. Not sure about that Holy Hand Grenade idea though - that counting thing is so confusing!

Might be time for a knowledge (religion) check.

No holy hand grenade, sadly.  Only what I showed Qvar.  :(  Which...came to naught.

Arrgh.

Made a good role-playing moment :-)  Qvar is curious to hear more of that story, when we have time to rest.

Hey Caesius, as holy as he is, I bet Qvar's blood is like Super Holy Water.  If you disembowel him over the altar, you'll probably have it cleansed in no time.

Yeah!  Lets try that :-)

As Lord Farquaad said, "Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make."  ;o)

Level 2 spells Consecrate and Desecrate have durations of 2 hours per level, as Qvar would know better than Zertin. Level 5 spells Hallow and Unhallow are long term, with an associated spell effect that lasts for a year. How high is your spellcraft skill? (DC 20+spell level to identify a spell that is already in place.)

Zertin will try a spellcraft check after he's finished detecting magic but I'm not sure if a wizard would be able to identify divine/profane spells that way. The rules don't seem to distinguish between arcane vs divine spellcraft checks.

We can always come back tomorrow and see if the evil aura has dissipated?

Thanks for suggestion Zed.  Qvar will give Spellcraft a try as he now has three-four pieces of info to work with:
- Caesius: the altar has been desecrated, and it taints the whole building.
- Qvar Knowledge of Religion (maybe)
- Caesius lay on hand, Qvar exalted poke.
- Qvar Detect Magic.
- Disembowel Qvar over the altar
This message was last edited by the player at 02:59, Sun 11 Aug 2019.

Nobody brought any bleach with them ?  What about white vinegar ?  Just mix with equal parts of water and ... oh, I see what you mean.

H'mmm ... the major problem as I see it is that you are currently in temporary (or so it is to be fervently hoped) residence on a demiplane of evil.  I don't know that the cleansing of any specific site will last for o'er long.  But I share Qvar's confidence that Pelor will provide.  ;>

I need to step up my posting schedule.  Being cut off at work is NOT helping.  :(

Will start checking more at night before bed.

And mea culpa again ... gone through a couple of weeks of things breaking (including the gas water heater) so a lot of running around and organising and related fixes - apparently whoever originally installed our gas cannisters had only a slight grasp of safety procedures - seems the valves that blow off in an emergency should be pointed away from the house, not directly at it !

Hopefully on top of it all now <fingers crossed>  :>

Suggestion ... hopefully standing safely alongside it all now <thumbs up>  :P

... that would have been better, yes !

Busy again for our annual push to clear firebreaks around the property, but we got there in the end.

Irregular service should resume now.  :P

Good lord.  Firebreaks, gas canisters...it all sounds very hazardous!  Stay safe!

We could use a gas canister or two in the game about now, actually.  ;o)

Had a busy couple of weeks, but a free weekend now.  Thanks for waiting.  :-)
Have to watch that spell-checker, it keeps turning ghasts into ghosts ... would not want alarm Violet overly :-)

Turning ghasts to ghosts?  What an infernal machine!  Pouring a pint of holy water into it should see an end to its deviltry.

That does tend to work on electronics, for some reason...

Too late about alarming Violet....

hits Snooze on Violet

Does that work?

I enjoyed the 'snooze' on Violet much more than the 'awful'.  :D  But I'm impressed you two managed to slip that one in!  ^_^

My goodness, that one is old.  Anyone remember Phil Foglio using it in 'What's New'?  :D
This message was last edited by the player at 10:16, Wed 04 Dec 2019.

Sorry, no, Phil Foglio can’t have made it down under. Someone else must have used that joke down here as I do remember it from a long time ago.

I prefer the one about “The peasants are revolting” but it doesn’t quite fit this situation. :o)

Foglio is indeed how I learned it!  As I recall, Jesters got bonus XP if they could impart information in a humorous manner.

Humorous for who?  One man's witty badinage is often another man's hanging offence.

...when there's a paladin around.

:)

Was going to post but realized it's probably better to wait for a GM post, rather than post again about Violet being terrified.

I can't find a way to describe how much I enjoy the posts about Violet being terrified without sounding like a sadist, and that's not how I mean it.

If Violet wasn't terrified, it would be a certainty that she was possessed... so her being terrified is, on the whole, a good thing™.

Shouldn't surprise anyone that Paladin's have the good thing copyrighted !


Oh, I don't know ... waiting for a GM post sounds wildly optimistic !

Sorry ... life got busy again, but should have a post up shortly, unless there's an undead plague or the like in these parts in the next hour or so.

Now there's an idea ... ;>

This really is deliciously scary!  Rest assured, Qvar would be as terrified as Violet but for being dead already and immune to fear.  I'm enjoying the mix of terror and bravado and heroics :-)

Should clarify, I thought Saeko was moving to the north - past Zertin, to the singing one, not next to Caesius.  She thought Qvar and Caesius could handle the two down there, assuming that if she could resist the song then surely both of the holy ones could, and wanted to protect Violet and Zertin from the other one.

I don't know if that would change Qvar's choices or not, but I can see where it might.

In reply to Saeko (msg # 248):

Well, I can't speak for Qvar, but Caesius would like to rethink his actions based on Saeko's choices.

Specifically, if he had known then what he knows now about Saeko's intention, he would have chosen turnip farming over paladinhood about five or six years ago.

Oops!  My mistake.  Saeko clearly wrote that she was moving to the singer.  Qvar will make the same actions, but without any flanking bonus.  :-)

Apologies with the lack of posting.  Christmas is making my ability to find time WORSE, if that's possible.  :(

Hah ! They'll be expecting me to apologise next !   ;>

But  I see you've all been busy ... let's see what I can do with all that.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, the word of the day is "flensing".

Happy New Flensing Year!!!

To you all, as well!

Ooh, "flensing" is a fun word.  Have you read A Fire Upon The Deep?  That's where I learned about flensing.

Yep, I've read it.  Vernor Vinge is awesome.

I try not to think about flensing...

Aaand that's a wrap on Act 1 !  Well done and thank you all ... and if you look at the Character Status thread, I think we'll find that's levels all round.  Enjoy - thoroughly merited.  :>

For a change, my timing is excellent ... I'm going to be away from my keyboard for the next four weeks, so level up, assume you get the chance to rest so full HP and spell complements for those that got 'em, take the chance to plot and scheme amongst yourselves ... and when I return we'll forge ahead with more perils and predicaments. :>

Aaand rest.

Woo-hoo! We survived to fight another day!

Thank ye kindly, Skald. Enjoy your travels, wherever they may lead you.  :o)

Have a great vacation!  :D

I'm trying something new for posting this week.

Soooo...level 6.  Anything special, there?  No feat or stat bonus?  I'm used to Anima; this would be a stat bonus level, but if I recall it's not in D&D.

You gain a feat at level 6.  :o)

I know there's a Thing at 3's and a Thing at 4's, and with Zertin's post I'm now sure that it's Feats and Attributes respectively.  But didn't we start at level 6, making this 7?  I know Saeko has been level 6 this whole time, and I don't think Skald likes me that much more than all of you.

In reply to Saeko (msg # 262):

Nonsense!  How can anybody possibly NOT like you a lot more than the rest of us?

So we're level 7?  So lost....  ;_;

OK, I wanted to be sure, especially since Skald is gone for a bit.  But yes, we're definitely becoming level 7 - from the character creation thread:



And level 7 doesn't do anything "extra".


Normally I'd agree, but you guys in particular are so awesome I think it's just possible.

Back at last ... intermittent internet problems - day 4 of projected 10 day maintenance period, according to the NBN website.  Not that they told us in advance.  Or told our ISP so they could pass it on.  They'd probably make good GMs.

Now let's see ...

a) yup, level 7 it is

b) of course   And I do like RPoLs Secret message functionality as well ... :P

Right, let's see where we were up to ...

Welcome back Sir.  Will try to do that level up stuff this weekend.

While you were away, Saeko sat in your chair and entertained us all with comical impressions of you.

I think what Caesius means is that I kept your chair warm and made sure no one forgot about you.

...By weird coincidence due to circumstances entirely beyond my control, you did run out of hot chocolate, though, so you might want to pick up some more when you're out.  And next time you have to be gone for an extended period, maybe you could leave some of those little marshmallows?  Ooh, or whipped cream!  My comical impressions, whoever they might be of, would work much better with a whipped-cream-mustache, I bet.  Like, "Oh, ho, I'm running a spooooky game full of spoooooky undead with sixth spooooky level characters, and I'm only inviting the coooolest people on RPoL, and it's gonna be so spooooky!"

See?  A little dab of whipped cream would just make that, um... former Senator Al Franken, perhaps? ..impression so much better!


Just one of many reasons to love me.  I mean, I guess Jase helped a little, but only on the implementation end.

Secret message to Saeko: LOL! Caesius hasn't realised you were actually impersonating him, not Skald. You are so right. Would have been much better with a whipped-cream-mustache!

Totally spaced on levelling up.  Will do so this week.  :)

All done, not really hard.  I keep forgetting this is D&D.

sorry i'm late (again).  clawing my way back up this mountain of holiness, getting there ... easier being a bugbear :-)

Don't be a bugbear.  :P

Wouldn't dare... heard about what happened to a certain werewolf  :P
Stay safe everyone :-)

Apologies for the new absence.  I'm a little burned out at the moment, but I'm slowly getting back into things.  :)

Sort of a catch-up post, just now.

Don't you worry - we've all got to pace ourselves.  :>

've been absent for a week, at least.  :(  Sorry about that.

1.  My beloved Uncle passed on two weeks ago.  Not from Corona, but Parkinson's and pneumonia.
2.  My Mother in Law, with whom we had a difficult (read, abusive) relationship, passed on last Friday from Coronavirus.

Emotions have been fraught.

I'm going to try to get back into some kind of schedule.

I'm sorry to hear that things have been so tough, Violet.
I hope we can help lift your spirits up again.

But not raising spirits in a Ravenlofty kind of way.

Agreed! Definitely not in a Ravenlofty kind of way.

That's one of the things that entertains me most about the English language. So many traps for the unwary, like that delightfully entertaining chap who has been so successful in his one man crusade to Make America Grate Again!

I hadn't heard of that!  I just looked it up, that's awesome.

You have our sympathies, Violet - you just look after yourself and your family and we'll be here when you're in need of a distraction.

Tens of apologies ... spent a lot of the past week sorting out a mess of old tech in my study which ate most of my free time.

Decided I probably don't need all those old boxes for annual software subscriptions going back half a dozen years, nor are the seven mobile phones of much use (2 broken, 5 no longer compatible with the Oz phone networks) - but luckily I can recycle them.

Four old ADSL modems (two internal, two external) aren't going to come back in fashion, particularly as I don't have a landline nowdays, and the least said about the 3 broken laptop power bricks the better.

As for the cables ... at least there were no serial or parallel in the mad tangle, but I don't have anything to plug the SCART or Thin Ethernet ones into, and I only need one phone cable now to plug into VOIP, not the couple of dozen I found.

There's one cable that I just couldn't identify (and this after recognising a DIN plug to 4 x RCA converter which I can't ever have used) ... best guess is that it might have been an extension for a joystick for my long gone Amiga.  That's what I'm going with, anyway.

The good news is I don't have as many USB cables as I'd feared !  I was getting worried they were breeding back there ...

Oh, what I wouldn't give for permission to get rid of all those cables that we haven't been able to find a match for in over a decade!  Good job, Skald.  Sounds like a week well spent.

Wow.  That's a lot of stuff.

*shudders at the thought of what is behind his desk*  There are things that Mankind was not meant to know...

Have you tried getting up and walking around to the front of your desk?

It's a problem for those of us in at the dawn of the Age of Computing and who don't like to throw anything away just in case it comes in useful.  :>

Oh, yes!  Parallel ports are totally coming back.

...annnny minute now... annnny minute...

One of the closets in the spare bedroom is filled with boxes of obsolete hardware - old monitors, floppy disk drives, hard drives with less storage capacity than a CD, unreliable USB hubs...

I'm telling you... when the Singularity happens, and the AIs take over the world, humans will go back to using all that stuff because a computer with all that old hardware will not be able to support the AIs, and will not be infested by them.

Salvation for the Human Race lies with the Commodore 64 and the original Playstation!

Thanks!!  I'm writing all this down.

Don't knock the good old C64 - they're coming back !  My sister has one, though I believe they're hard to get hold of as they sell out fast.  I don't dare ... it'd just be another lot of games (along with my pile of PC and PS3) that I don't have time to play.

https://www.smh.com.au/technol...20200128-p53vf9.html

I do have a slide rule somewhere. I'd like to claim I'm ready for when the Skynet falls, but I've absolutely no idea how to use it.  Maybe I put it in the parallel port ...

I hate the Diplomacy skill !  I hate the Diplomacy skill !  <grins>

http://www.dorktower.com/2005/.../comics-archive-674/

Ah, the good old days. One year at high school I had to do my exams with a slide rule. The next year technology had advanced so quickly we were allowed to use a calculator.

Then at university one of my courses involved using punch cards to input lines of Fortran computer programming - one card per line of the computer program - and come back the next day to check the result. I never did get that program to run all the way through.

I never did own a Commodore 64, but I did invest in a Commodore 128 a couple of years behind the craze. That was about the same time that I discovered the typists at work could type faster than their word processors could read the key strokes - when the word processor just started to beep at every keystroke the typist would pause and let the machine catch up.

So many changes in just half a lifetime. ;o)

LOL - I can't remember how to use a slide rule either. Nor logarithmic tables.

I still have an old Sinclair ZX81 in a shoe box in the closet.  Complete with the RAM expansion that took it up to an amazing 16K (it only came with 1K as standard).  :D

Oooh, the Timex Sinclair ZX81.  I had that, with the big RAM box (big being 'the size of your palm, maybe') for the back!

Used to make silly BASIC programs on it, and occasionally play their version of a Star Trek game!

I had a Star Trek game too.  :P

I liked Bard's Tale. :>

My turn to apologise - a rather busy period of late !  But back and ready to inflict further horrors upon you now.  :>

Wow!   ;o)

)o;   !woW

Sorry!  Things have been a bit off for me.  Response tonight!

Sorry for the delay.  Merry Safe Christmas Lofties.  Q  :-)

I've never thought of myself as a Loftie before. Very good, I shall add that to the list. ;o)

Yes indeed, I hope everyone's Christmas is a good one.

Merry Christmas all!  :D  Or Happy Holidays, depending!
This message was last edited by the player at 11:01, Thu 24 Dec 2020.

Merry Bah Humbug !  ;>

And added a "Fortunes of Ravenloft" Notice which contains Madame Eva's reading of the cards, just to make it easier to refer back to.  :>

Hurrah!  Violet has recovered her father's lightsaber!  The weapon of a Jedi Knight.  Not as clumsy or random as a blaster.  An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.  Pity her dad had to go murdering thirty children with it...

I think you're in the wrong game...

...also, I should have fallen on my rear.

I'm going to take leave of Rpol games for a few weeks. Catch up in April.  GM please npc Q ... eg. make occasional lame joke then look sheepish. Thanks :-)

Ewe got it !  ;>

I'm back.  Thanks Skald :-)

Awesome that you're back!  :D

I'm shocked to hear Violet referred to as a rogue.  :-)
What Next?  Will we be calling Q a zombie?!!  ;-)

*ponders trying to turn Qvar, just in case*

*ponders trying to turn everybody else too, to be on the safe side*

Indeed.  Rude.



RUDE.  O_O

In reply to Violet (msg # 316):

Not really... if my recent effort is anything to go by, I seriously doubt any of you would even notice the attempt.  :(

*hugs*

Game dice hate players.

Sorry ... I recently took early retirement and my plan to have lots more free time for my games hasn't happened just yet ... the exact opposite, in fact ... but I live in hope that things will settle down !! :>

The dice don't like you because you haven't yet turned to the dark side.

How many times have I heard that tale?

"I have been so busy since I retired that I can't imagine how I ever used to fit in full-time work!"

It really is surprising how many people say that.  :o)

Early retirement!  Congratulations!  :D

But the die roller adores me!

...wait...

Early retirement, nice!  Enjoy :-)

Vaccine today.  Finally.

Ontario is sad with this sort of thing.

Yay, though!  This Friday will be my two-weeks-after mark, at which point my actual day to day life will change absolutely not at all.


...It's still kind of exciting, though. shrug
This message was last edited by the player at 21:03, Wed 12 May 2021.

In reply to Violet (msg # 324):

I had mine on 6th.  Second dose is middle of June.

I'm immune to all diseases ... No, wait, that's Qvar.  Booked in for first shot next week :-)

First shot last Tues, second booked for late July ...

... so when do the superpowers kick in ?

Yours haven't yet?  Mine came in after about five minutes.  Mmmm... yeah, according to the CDC page, if it's been more than half an hour you're probably not getting any.  Tough luck!

And I didn't even get a saving throw.

Just going outside to look for a radioactive spider ...  :>

I'd add something, but there doesn't seem to be a lot to add right now.  Sorry... :(

The lot of the rearguard !  :>

I hope the AFL grand final is not a predictor for our battle ... ;-)

That would be AwFuL !  ;>

LOL, yes!

AFL?  Isn't that the sport that's just a pub brawl with a ball thrown in to legitimise it?

Basically just one step up from wallabies wrestling in mud...

LOL. Yes, that's the one!

You'd think so ... if you'd never seen a game (and I hesitate to use that term but 'military engagement' is a bit too formal) of the Irish sport (ditto) of Hurling !  :P

Sorry for the silence recently.  Life, stuff, etc.  :(  Will try to keep posting.

Don't you worry - it makes me feel better about my own tardiness - I've only just been able to get onto this game today.

But hope life starts to treat you better !  :>

Hi - had a loss in the family early this week.  The reason why I've been so quiet of late.

I'm mostly up for posting again - also had to deal with some family drama at the same time, and that didn't help the stress, but that's over and done with.

Sorry to hear all that, but glad that you're doing a bit better now !  Don't worry about Violet if you're not up to it - you worry about yourself and we'll look after her if needs be.  :>

In reply to Violet (msg # 341):

My condolences to you and yours.

Sorry for going AWOL.  Catching up now :-)  Happy New Year to you all.

Happy New Year!  Aaaaand my computer broke after 11 years.  Am currently waiting for the new one….

Casts cure serious wounds on Violet's computer...

Also sorry for going AWOL.  Got sick.  Feeling a bit better now.

Qvar casts cure disease on Caesius

:(

Sorry about the sickness, Caesius!

For me, the computer died.  :(. New one coming soon, will try to post before then!