because the other OOC was nearing its limit...


For those of you who haven't seen this yet, it's a fun little game, involving Medieval royalty, several assorted fortresses, and a large trebuchet...

http://www.jesper.nu/onlinespe...74-Crush_the_castle/

Interestingly, as you go through the game, knocking down towers, you draw a line across the land...

That sounds like something the adversaries in some game I'm in are doing, but I can't quite place which one.  Hmm...grin

Curses.  :(  Only the second post.

You're slipping WJG. I remember the day when you would have been in before Dworkin :)

Probably all part of a fiendishly cunning and deviously underhanded plan, lulling everyone into a false sense of security.

Ridiculous how much fun it can be to trebuchet a castle, though...

Indeed, it's been a long time since I've cheered over royal families being crushed by that which was meant to protect them.

Are you saying you wish to use that little lose-control-thing on me again, Dor?

"You are a royal failure..."

I don't like that game. :(

I never win the OOC races. Of course, I'd actually have to be around more to do so.. O.o

Castles 17 and 23 gave me the most trouble, but I've decided that the phrase, "Shooting yourself in the foot," would mean something a lot more dramatic than it does now, if it had developed in the age of the trebuchet.

Regrettably, yes.  Must be the age thing.  Reflexes slowing down, that sort of problem.  Dworkin, of course, being immortal and one with the pattern, really doesn't suffer from this.

:(

Ha! Some people suffer such injuries regardless of the weapon type. :p

*addendum*
Just saw Chrissie's 'bio' also. Your wit knows no exhaustion, oh Aged Tormentor. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 01:06, Tue 09 June 2009.

Hooray!  It's Aaron!  :D  You're back!  *hugs*

Yes, hon. Despite rumors to the contrary, my corpse is not rotting away at the edge of some blasted landscape, mere inches from a water source. :)

My writing ability, however... Ugh. Description... it's like pulling teeth, now. >_o

"Rumors? What Rumors?"

*sneaks away quietly*

Blast! I knew I left that water a little too close to you.

Welcome back.

I was going to glance in your direction, Dorian, but I figured you'd feign ignorance. I'm pleased to see you've developed something of a conscience since my last hiatus. :)

Thanks. :D

He's trying to teach his daughter to play nice.  :)

Welcome back, Aaron! :)

Alas, he doesn't mean it as, "Be nice when you play".

He means, "I don't quite understand this `nice' thing, but these are the rules I've worked out so far..."

Dorian's Rules of Niceness
 1. Smile
  1.5  Don't show all of your teeth
 2. Say `please' and `thank you' - these have turned out to be excellent tools
 3. Offer to help any time helping will serve to further your own ends
 4. Leave the water a few inches closer  Not Nice! Tactical error! Ignore!
 5. Share things you have too much of
 6. Need to work on the laugh.  `Less mocking' would apparently be good.

Also, sorry for the delay on replying to Cyan.  I had to re-read a lot of `What is reality' post, and I think I need to check with Dworkin on a few things, and isn't it funny how when I actually need something from him I suddenly hesitate to call him "Dworkie-poo"?

You actually read that 'What is Reality' post more than once?

O_O

Impressive.  It's a garbled mess.  ^_^

Agreed! That's quite an accomplishment, Tahirah. :)

Though you might want to watch out for nosebleeds and migraines in the next coming days. Don't think about it too hard. :p

*blargh*
Thanks, Trista. It's nice to be recalled. :D
This message was last edited by the player at 02:48, Wed 10 June 2009.

Hehe...it's a lot of why I joined the game in the first place, actually.  I love all the different filters people run Amber through.  Classic European elements usually ends with, "So where's the Fire Pattern?", which can be cool.  I liked Cyan's take on the Chinese cycle, though, and it's always fun to see somebody swept up in a new idea...there's that energy there as the spark arcs from one bit to another.  (Like the way the Trump as Creation Energy started - just sort of, "Well, if Abyssal is Destruction, then, um, by default...but, if that's true, then all these things follow!  And it fits with your idea like this!  And...")

Someday I want to match it all up to the Periodic Table Elements, and see where that goes.  But I suspect somewhere in the middle of it will be the phrase, "Of course you know, this makes Trumps radioactive," and that's not a phrase I'm sure I'm ready for yet.

Ha! God. I wonder what the Pattern would be.

Or Logrus. o_O

*the sharp spinning blades that whistles a merry tune of dismemberment and death hovers closer as if to shake Aaron's hand*

♦♦ 'ello ♦♦

I kind of went bonkers with that one post.  It was all just synapses firing and ideas flashing, and I had to get them down before they went away.  I'm lucky it didn't happen in the shower (where my ideas mostly do).

As for the Five Elements, I've always been drawn toward those.  :)  Being in science, though, I'm curious to see how your periodic table works out...I hope the Trumps aren't radioactive.  :)  I suppose we could just turn off the lights to see.

*Aaron holds his hands up to ward off any further gestures of greeting from Banglen*

Uh, nice to see you, but as you surely know, I just got both of these hands back...

Cyan, I can totally relate to that. :)
Though most of out-of-game repartee actually involves character conversation and development. Basically just be talking to myself to flesh out ideas. ;P

Speaking of which, nice sparkling new avatar, Aaron... :)

I could lend you a hand or two, though.  Or twenty-eight or whatever...

Nice to see you back and in one piece Aaron !

(The pool is now open for bets on which body part Aaron loses next.  And no cheating by cutting bits off him yourselves ! :-)

You don't give us any fun, Roman.

*kicks dirt*

$10 on his zygomatic arch.

Ah yes. With my return come the inevitable cash bets on my potential limb-loss. Why do I ever take breaks from this game? :)

And pardon my coarse turn of phrase, but son of a bitch, Ron, your art is freaking unbelievable. :D

"After Doomsday" is awesome... except for that hovercraft. It's cool, but those "Mamoru Oshii Kereberos Jin-Roh-ish" space marines are so bad ass I expect that hovercraft to explode into dust from their sheer awesomeness. :p

Maybe it just seems out of place to me with all the other bad-assery around.

*edit*
Man. Seriously, Ron. How do you find the time to art up this crazy shit? Queen of the Spiders? 'Just ask a cop...' (I feel that cat-dude's pain... I work at that place. :p).Conan?! o_O

Oh, and Aaron, of course. Only the most Metal of all of your art... >D

Hmm. I wonder if there's some art of Cyan in this massive pile of OMG.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:17, Thu 11 June 2009.

Dworkin does some amazing art, to be true!  :)  Some hilarious stuff, as well.

There are a couple of pictures of Cyan in there.

Aged Peeper, I somehow missed out on 'Artemis'.  I love that one!  O_O

Nice piccies :-)

Dorian - which zygomatic arch ?  left or right ?  (or both).

Okay... thanks for the comments on the pictures.  :)  I'm glad people like them.

Images based on this game are:

http://bigbadron.net/file_art/...20pages/Pic-0012.htm  (Cyan and Prime)
http://bigbadron.net/file_art/...20pages/Pic-0015.htm  (Broken God)
http://bigbadron.net/file_art/...20pages/Pic-0020.htm  (Serena)
http://bigbadron.net/file_art/...20pages/Pic-0027.htm  (No, Berd!)
http://bigbadron.net/file_art/...20pages/Pic-0034.htm  (Wolfblade)
http://bigbadron.net/file_art/...20pages/Pic-0038.htm  (The face of the enemy)
http://bigbadron.net/file_art/...20pages/Pic-0051.htm  (The Last Defender of San Anyn)

My D&D game has produced five, and the Traveller game three, so this game is clearly a major source of inspiration.

I like the Artemis one too, and Idun.

http://bigbadron.net/file_art/...20pages/Pic-0082.htm
http://bigbadron.net/file_art/...20pages/Pic-0080.htm

Aaron, I find that once I have an idea for a picture, the actual creation of it goes quickly - maybe a weekend or so (with breaks for other stuff).

My wife is the same way, Ron. Her art is hand-drawn and usually colored in PS, and usually takes about as long as yours.

Broken God is about as creepy as I originally imagined him. :I

Also, Kalika is awesome looking. :)

I know you won't take this the wrong way, but I almost feel a 'Monty Python' vibe from 'The Face of the Enemy.' All I can think of is the Black Knight... >D

Though I have a feeling I'd be the dismembered one if I ever faced this particular knight. :p

Well, I had planned on posting updates this evening... but shortly after I posted earlier, with that list of pictures, we were forced to evacuate the building because our neighbour managed to set his apartment on fire.

No damage to our place, apart from when the fire crew broke the lock on the door so that they could get in and check everybody was out, and the only injury seems to have been the neighbour, who was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation (ironic, considering he may have started the blaze with a cigarette - he inhales smoke all the time), but we got to spend a couple of hours standing out in the rain and the cold, with two highly unamused cats.

Finally we were allowed back in at 1.00 a.m.

Because of the tight-fitting heavy-duty security door, our place hardly smells of smoke at all (it's smelled worse when we've had a candle burning).

Could have been much worse.

Ouch!  I'm sorry, Dworkin!  I'm very glad it turned out okay for you.  :(

Wow, that must have been scary.  I mean, you got out okay, but there's the fear of precious things and memories going up in a blaze.  Phew!

Holy crap, Ron. I'm seriously glad you two (wait... four... can't forget the felines) were on the good side of that particular accident. Your poor neighbor. What a mess! :(

Really glad you guys are alright though, BBR. Freaked me out for a sec!

This message was deleted by the player at 04:22, Sat 13 June 2009.

Apparently, the next thing Aaron was going to have cut off was going to be a post!  Huh.

Whew!  It's amazing how fine the line between `completely OK' and `everybody's dead' can be sometimes.  I am, obviously, very, very glad that you came down on the right side of the line!

I'm going nuts with this final project right now. I've already put about 50 hours into the stupid thing and I'm not near the end. I'm not likely to be posting soon. Sorry.

Good luck with those, Dorian!  O_O  Sounds like a horrible amount of work.

On another note, did Roman just state that paranoid, elder-amberite Brand might not have taken other powers than Pattern into account with his booby-traps?  :)

[Roman]  And now, the Logrus....

*magical, recorded image of Brand appears*

[Brand]  Ah, a chaoslord...*chuckles*

*bzort*

[Roman]  O_o

.....

[Roman]  x_x

*thud*

[Trista]  Medic!

Okay, no damage here, inside the apartment (apart from the fact that the whole place smells of smoke).  We have had the lock replaced, by a locksmith who showed up at about 5:15 the next morning, but that's moot anyway, because the landlords are going to replace the whole door.  The fire crew, in their enthusiasm, damaged the door itself when they ripped out the lock (this was not apparent when I posted the other night, because it was too dark to see).

A couple of guys spent most of yesterday afternoon repairing the cables from the TV antenna, which run through the attic, and were damaged by the fire when it spread to the roof.  So everybody in the building now has TV again.  Nerves are, doubtless, somewhat less frayed.

The only real damage to the building is the neighbour's apartment, and the roof immediately above it (we live on the top floor, in case you didn't know).  Oh, and one window in the stairwell that the firemen broke (apparently for laughs).

According to the newspaper, the neighbour is currently in a stable condition in hospital.  The police are saying that the cause of the fire was "recklessness", which is official Swedish police terminology for, "the !@%#&$£ doofus did something really stupid".  His apartment has been sealed up, pending a full investigation (necessary for insurance purposes I believe).

The cats are taking the whole incident very much in their stride.  I suspect that the worst part, for them, was the boredom of being stuck in their cat carrier for a couple of hours.

I'm just glad we live in one of the places here that isn't built of wood.

At least it sounds like the firemen got to have some fun with it.  That's important, too.  Now, if you can just find a place that's not made of wood, and that has smarter neighbors...

This is how Shadow Editing works, isn't it?  That's where the GM says, "OK!  You're now in an apartment made of brick, with highly intelligent neighbors.  A meteor crashes through your ceiling and smashes the couch to smithereens."


Technically, he said other people, not Powers.  Most games that have `spell creation systems' have specialization options, and most of those allow the option of making a really easy-to-cast highly damaging spell that will only effect one particular person, ever.  Roman's probably guessing that Brand had some of those in his room.  "Ward vs. Gerard", "Glyph of Slay Borel", a Magic Mouth that shouts out "Power Word: Kill Corwin"...

And probably a highly specialized spell that, if ever triggered, will transmit all of Fiona's secrets into the minds of everybody within a five mile radius.  Because Brand knew better than anybody else what would really keep his sister out of his room, and threats of mere death were never enough...

(Of course, for the same reason, Bleys would only trigger a Gust of Wind, but at just the right height and angle to seriously muss up his hair...)

Glad to hear that thing weren't any worse.  (I wonder if the cause was as stupid as arriving home drunk, putting on the chip pan and falling asleep - to use an example I know of).

Cyan, you do Brand a disservice.  Please don't forget that he was a raving egotist, too !
(And obviously not paranoid enough, given his record :-)  While poking around with Pattern-based sorcery would be pretty damned risky I can't see him being especially worried about Chaos Lords or (especially) Shadow people.

Oh...well, maybe that is what he meant, then. grin

I'd be careful about that, Roman.  For the same reasons Roman takes a moment to think, and I quote, "traitorous wretch", when referring to him...I could definitely see Brand having worried about Chaos Lords looking through his things.

Let's be clearer, then.  Brand had no special reason to worry about Chaos Lords searching his rooms in Amber.  (Even if he left a document entitled "My Big Plan to Betray Everyone and Make Myself Master of the Universe" lying around :-).

If you say so.  As I remember it, Amber was exactly where the Chaos Lords were going, and Brand was almost the only one who knew they were on their way.

But I'm a Seer.  I look into the future.  I'm much fuzzier on the past.  So you go right ahead with your plan, and I'll keep trying to figure out why my cards keep spelling out, "ROMAN POT ROAST IN...3"

Hm.  That's odd.  My last reading said "ROMAN POT ROAST IN...5".

I wonder what it could mean. blinkblink

Heheh...

Looks like I have some catching up to do, sorry, been putting in my garden all weekend. Will try to get something in today.

Well, not much of a post, but it seems that the decision was made without Devlin withdrawing the second posibility.

Still have a lot of work to do on that garden, I'll do my best to keep up with everyone here. Going in very late this year. I blew the transaxle on my tiller and it was just fixed end of last week. I've got it ready for planting now, I just have to find the time between rain drops to actually get everything planted.

So they DID fix that tiller, then?  Good show!  :)

Yup, they fixed it, although I question the mentality of actually fixing it rather than replacing it. Let's see, the tiller cost me about $900. They came out to the house twice at a charge of $250 each trip and they replaced over $500 in parts....

At least I didn't have to pay the bill since it was all covered under warranty.

Egh. Re-reading our archived posts makes me regret my original attempts at roleplay. Was I really such a rotten, depressing prick as all that? :p

Gods. Reading my old stuff is enough to put me off my dinner. I'd just like to say 'I'm sorry' for not paying attention and for going off on so many bloody tangents! :)

Typical of companies, Devlin.  Seems they'd rather do something less efficient on their own cost...but that's the policy, sooooo...

At least it got fixed!

Don't worry, Aaron.  Frankly, I enjoy reading the old stuff, including yours.  :)

Aww. Thanks, Cyan. :D

Aaron vs. Ryan trivia time!

I noticed something today. As of this past May 28th (my 29th birthay), I've been in this game (Not counting 'off time'. Curse you, writer's block!) for six years. For me, that's insane! O_O

Still, that really makes me notice how long I've known some of you guys for, and I barely know you at all. Not only that, but it makes me feel like even more of a tool for not putting as much effort into this game as I should have.

It's probably nothing in comparison to Ron and Cyan, though. Your stamina blows me away. :)

I threw my RTJ at Ron on May 28th, 2003, my 23rd birthday. This past May was my 6th anniversary of being in this game. May it be just as epic for another six (or more!), Ron.

...and everybody else, too! :)
This message was last edited by the player at 01:59, Wed 17 June 2009.

Happy Belated 29th birthday, and your 6th Shadow Wars anniversary!  :)  Now quit cursing/insulting yourself - that way lies madness!

_{Whoops...too late.}

:)

I think someone else should get Post 15 000 this time.  I believe I've snagged it before.

_Twice.

Two days from now, it will be Dorian's 5th anniversary in the game.

Five years, and though he has had them all this time, he used his first "gesture" just two weeks ago.

Dorian is nothing without his secrets. Wait till he finally gets to use his big powers.

Wow...did we add people at 1 year intervals or something?  Happy Fifth-To-Be, Dorian!

I'm curious to see what sort of powers he displays in the future, given the medley he has used in the past....

Amazing, all of these big powers!  Seven years in the game, I'm still working on 'Draw Cards Faster'.  :)

Trista's still working on... not being jealous of all the powers!

:)

4th, 2nd, 1st, 3rd, my dear Trista.  :)  *hugs*
This message was last edited by the player at 13:21, Wed 17 June 2009.

Seriously. You might not be able to instantly get what you want, like some of the other characters around here, but you can definetly take a punch. :)

6th, Last, Last, and 6th...isn't so bad, is it?

Careful you get another 6 in there, though...

Banglen-Yp is also still working.  Exactly how she works is a bit of a conundrum, though.

Indeed, Trista, I enjoyed a rather nice and cheap 1st in Endurance for a long time until you came along :)

*applauds Galatea getting the 15 000th post*

I think I'm one of the few who has never paid attention to post count. Even through all the last landmarks, I never realized anything special was up until someone pointed it out in here. O.o

I was happy to unseat you, Dorian! ;)

Trista's creeping up the ranks.  Don't think I didn't notice both you and James climbing another rung in Warfare.  :)

I haven't really paid attention to post-counts here since 20k, but its always nice to see OOC chatter so let's do it again :)

Quiet week, huh?  Or is it just that nobody's actually keen to find out what Brand keeps in his bedroom (besides the magazines of questionable virtue he has stashed under his mattress)?

Somewhat overloaded at work...also, Cyan isn't that interested in finding Brand's stash of Shapeshifters Monthly.

I don't know where Brand's room is.  Besides Playdemon is bett...  Look! I only read it for the stories !

But all the stories start with, "I never thought this would happen to me, but there I was, and there were the tentacles..."

`Magazines of questionable virtue'.  I like that phrase.

This has been a crazy work week for me, working lots of extra hours. Plus now I'm sick... so I've been silent in game, but Trista is going with Devlin and participating with him and Aaron. She's just not a big talker anyway. ;)

Just a short post to keep current.

Uh, don't know if this is old news with anybody else here, but...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_michael_jackson

The King of Pop is dead.

Wow.

Yeah, I heard that, but it'll be big news for a couple of days.

It's been very busy for me at work as well and I'm making a conscious effort to cut down my at-home computer use so that I spend more time with my family, so I wasn't having a dig at anyone.

I've actually dropped out of a couple of my other games, which is a big deal for me because I'm stubborn about these things.

I was (am) rather amused at how quickly everyone picked up on my insinuation of Brand's taste in literature.  I guess we now know why he made a pact with the Courts.

I love Going Into Brand's Room in Amber games.

"The Dungeons of Doom?  Sure!  The Dark Forest of Ultimate Peril?  Absolutely!  Brand's bedroom?  Um, I have to, er...go...do my hair.  Sorry." grin

Hmm... is this a sensible thing to say, when you're standing in the doorway, looking into the room, and Fiona is right behind you?

I'm glad you're sticking with this one, James!  :)

Of course, I totally expect Fiona to kick me into the room.

For some reason, I find the image of a finely dressed Fiona kicking anyone into anything to be hilarious.

Crazy week. Really tired. Laptop is giving me silly messages regarding my AC adapter for some strange reason. Now all I have to do is read up and maybe throw a post your way. :)

*edit*
Heh. Yeah. I've been thinking about this idea during my little hiatus. It would suck quite a bit if somebody pulled a 'Jack' on Aaron again. Only this time, it could be much worse. There's no Arianne psyche to muddle up the works if anyone gets a hint that Ilsefranvir is an empty shell.

So far, I've kept it on the down-low. I believe Aaron himself keeps the sword's empty state a secret due to his psychic connection to it. Still, though, with Arianne gone, there's no telling what might inhabit that thing in the future.

...just a little Meta-Aaron to throw at you guys, there. Should be utterly hilarious when something goes wrong. :D

"Uh oh! Watch out! You know how much that thing loves removing limbs!"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:37, Sun 05 July 2009.

That's because people forget that inside every formal-gowned uber-sorceress, lurks the heart of a six-year-old girl.

(Tahirah's robes don't count as formalwear, so you can be assured that I'm not sticking my tongue out at you.  Nope.  Not me.  whistling innocently)

Why?  I can assure you that Princess Fiona is quite capable of looking after herself in a fight.

See here for photographic evidence of her practising her mad kung fu skillz: http://www.gapingmaw.com/68447/fionna.jpg

Heee....perfect!

Fighting a major infection right now. I have a lump the size of a small potato in my body. Can't spend much time out of bed, so posting will be minimal for a while.

There's a chance it could turn out to be the drug-resistant kind, so it may turn serious too--hoping not. I'll try to keep you guys updated.

Love you all.

--Dor

Take care of yourself, Dorian.  You have my best wishes, and hopes for a speedy, and full, recovery.

Ow.  Yes, indeed, what he said.

Hrmph.  These are the times I wish I really did have the powers some of my characters do...sigh  I hope you come out OK!

 That sounds nasty enough without being drug-resistant too.  Hope you're back on your feet soon, Dorian.

Dorian, I'll be praying.  It sounds awful!  I hope it doesn't last.

Please do keep us informed, but only if it doesn't strain you to do so.

I will also be sending prayers and positive energy your way, Dorian. :(

As for the game, Trista will wait to see if Devlin also enters the room with the possible traps or not. So many have already gone in there, that she doesn't feel the need to add another body unless Devlin does so. She's sort of following him at this point.

Thanks for the concern, everyone :) The lump is down to the size of an egg now, and I'm able to be up and do more things. I still find I need a couple hours more sleep these days, but I'm sure that will improve. I have a week of antibiotic treatments left and then we'll see what happens. I'm hoping the doc will keep me on antibiotics until it is 100% gone.

Thank goodness things are improving!  Size of an egg is still pretty scary, though.  I would think the doctor wouldn't discontinue treatment until the horrid thing is gone.  :(

That depends on the egg.  If it's the size of a fish egg, it's OK!  If it's the size of a pterodactyl egg, on the other hand, that's not such good news...

Dorian, if that's an improvement, I hate to think what it was like before.  If the doctor has any sense you'll be on antibiotics until the infection is definitely gone.  And I hope that a week more will be enough.

Feeling very anxious and frustrated at the moment.  Our main server at work died on Wednesday morning, then in the wee hours of Thursday morning the back-up server crashed as well.  So far our failsafes have sequentially failed to the third or fourth levels of protection.

At best we're looking at losing four days worth of data at worst three weeks.  We can probably re-do the client work as needed but I'm a lawyer and we use electronic timesheets to track and bill all activity.  At the moment we have no way of recovering the end of financial year accounts.  Our financial controller is working through the stages of grieving - I think he's getting close to fatalistic acceptance.

I've been completely unable to use my computer for two days.  This morning I've got internet and email back but still no access to the server.  And there's nothing I can do about it.

Holy shit, James! o_o
That's like the worst kind of data implosion. I hope everything works out alright.

And same for you, Dorian! We definetly miss your talent around here. :(

Well, my Dad should be getting out of the hospital tomorrow, hopefully. He just got his neck surgery finished yesterday and was in the hospital for all of today and a bit of tomorrow. I hope the trucking company he works for will remember to put up signs whenever they add a new speedbump to what's essentially their 25+ MPH exit roadway. I imagine they'll have fewer jammed spinal columns that way. >_<

(Yes, that's what happened. Dad went on his merry way, like he usually does every morning, and drove his semi right over a brand spanking new speedbump that nobody bothered to tell anyone about. Slammed his head against the roof of his cab and pretty much crimped his neck vertebrae like an accordion. After a year and a half, his chance at surgery finally came up. Here's hoping his chronic pain and headaches will stop.)

That's pretty bad, James.  If I were in the IT department there I'd be looking at causes - and at disk recovery specialists.  Both systems going down - and losing data - might be a coincidence, but it's (or should be) very unlikely.

Aaron, hope the surgery works for your Dad.

Wow... I:(

Here's hoping that things work out for the best and get back to normal soon for everybody involved; Dorian, James, and Aaron's dad.

Meanwhile... sorry I haven't been about much lately.  My hours at work have been increased (which suits me fine... I like the job) meaning I have been really busy this week.  Couple that with a peak in the level of people who have decided that RPoL's rules don't apply to them, just to everybody else... and things have been rather hectic.

But I've posted now...

Just tell them all that I am the only one to whom RPOL's rules don't apply, and they'll understand that they're just part of `everybody else'.

Now, now, Tahirah. I thought I was the only one with that particular attribute. :)

*marks what must be his third or fourth Moderator-indicated 'oops' in a Public thread...*

Doh! Damn. I really hate it when that happens. Makes me feel like such a noob. >p

Thanks, Ron, by the way. Really. Dad sounds like he's doing pretty good. He's just in a whole lot of pain right now. (Can't cough, can't sneeze...) We're going to see him tomorrow, so I'll give everyone an update after I see the old man. :)

Ouchies to all and best of wishes for recovery to all onvolved.

Ouch...James, that's a terrible kick in the teeth.  :(  Has there been any joy with restoring the data, or is it all gone, completely?  Small wonder you're feeling tense - I'd be climbing the walls.  Please let us know how things go!

Aaron, I really hope the operation worked out for your dad.  Any news there yet?  I'm surprised nobody was sued at the time...

And what have you been saying for which mods have to correct you?  O_O

I've been away from the keyboard for a bit - posting has been difficult, due to computer issues.  But they're all cleared up now.

Going to see dad in about an hour, so I'll let you know. :)

Huh? Oh! Yeah, well, becoming a relatively competent GM takes a lot of patience and silly, silly practice. Joining forums that I don't normally partake in is another matter entirely! Hence the slight Moderator 'nudges' I get from time to time. :)

"Uh, hey, you can't say that kind of thing in here." (No swearing or rudeness, mind you, just minor mentions of outside sources... :p)

or

"You forgot to mention this in your Players Wanted post."

Woo. Saw Dad as he got home from the hospital yesterday. He's pretty messed up, totally obliterated on his new meds, which I'm kinda glad for. It's tough watching the old man barely be able to sit, or move without hesitating. :/

Really bugs me about his hospital stay, also. Did you guys know that you're supposed to hydrate oxygen when you're giving it to a patient? I didn't. Yeah. Neither did the doctors. >(

What about when a patient, who just had neck surgery, starts having muscle spasms that makes his skull start twitching and shaking like a bobblehead? What do you do then? Anybody know? I don't. Yeah. Neither did the doctors. And then he started choking! Shit! I'm so glad my poor mother was there with him when that happened.

As of this point, I'm just damn glad it's over with. Don't know if you've ever been to Utah before, but the doctors around here seem to be pretty damn dense. I've heard of some crazy shit in hospitals, but this is just common sense stuff! To say I was pissed off is an understatement.

Anyway, he's doing much better today. My brother said he actually ate a home grilled T-bone steak this afternoon. I was jealous. :p

Ouch.  Sounds painful, Aaron.  Extremely so, for you, your father, your mother...boy, you'd think the doctors would have been better help!  Jeez.

And this medical assistance you pay for in the States?  O_O

I'm heartened to hear he is coming around from this trauma, though (but I don't envy the T-bone steak, myself)!  That must be a relief for the entire family.

That mostly goes to the insurance companies, on both the patient and the doctor's ends.  sigh  They're pretty entrenched.  Even our big healthcare reform coming up is all about making sure everybody has health insurance, and not, actually, health care, per se.  I find it very irksome.

http://www.gppcomic.com/2009/0...s-healthcare-system/


Eek!  That is scary.  I'm glad he's doing better anyway...

The lump is down to the size of a grape. (Yes, all my size analogies are food-based.) I just came back from the doctor. He says there is no sign of a cyst, and he doesn't think the infection all come back. No more antibiotics. I'm feeling much better these days.

Fantastic!  Great news that it's 'just' an infection, and it must be a relief to get off the antibiotics (despite the grape-like lump...I'm leery of going off them until everything is gonegonegone, but I guess Doctor Knows Best).

Good stuff, Dorian!

Here's to a pea next and then naught!

Good news indeed!  Huzzah!

Sorry!  I...probably won't have time to get my post in today, and if I don't, it won't be until Monday, but I'll try.

I'm not ignoring you, Trista!  Promise!  Us Alliteratives have to stick together. grin

I'm in absolutely no hurry. We Alliteratives can take a cup of tea while we wait for the others and arrange furniture! Trista is strong... do you want any of the big furniture moved?

:)

Just to clarify something here (and I'm sure Tahirah will thank me, in cash, for doing so)...

What Tahirah really means, of course, is that she already has an extremely epic, awesome and witty post fully prepared... but her divinations have shown her that Monday will be a much more propitious day for actually submitting it, with a far higher probability of inspiring equally epic, awesome and witty responses.

Isn't that right, Tahirah?

Oh the pressure...

Er, well, yes.  Yes, of course!  That's exactly what I meant, but the stars were behind a veil of clouds, which indicated that the reasons must remain hidden, or else my epically witty post would get lost to a power surge, and I'd have to write up a replacement one, which would only be `hopefully worth waiting for'.  So, sorry, Trista - I had this completely brilliant post that would have inspired years of friendship between our characters, but now it's gone.

Thanks a lot, Dworkin. glower

Tahirah and Trista are worlds apart, but Trista will no doubt give some reverence to what the woman does. :)

I'll not be able to post until Wednesday, sorry!

Update from me tomorrow.  Was going to do it tonight, but got distracted by a movie...  My apologies.

I've never heard of a movie called My Apologies. Was it good :)

*icy glare*

Just for that, I'm going to phone Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and have them come round and kick your butt.

The Forbidden Kingdom, was it?

You've been spying on me with those darned Palanquets again!

Palanqueti, please.  :)  And I would never!

*deftly slips card away*

Besides, it would only be just desserts for all those years of being the Aged Peeper...

Palanquets... palanqueti...  Potatoes... potati... meh.  :)

Aged Peeper?  Moi?  You're picking on me because I'm old, and because of a few... misunderstood... experimental tests of Trump usage and function.

Misunderstood, suuuuure.  I understand the ladies of Chaos had some long talks with you about those 'misunderstandings'.  I don't even want to speculate what Flora said to you when she stormed in for that 'visit'.

:D

Thanks, Roman - good to have someone at my back! :)

Love your sword's name... ^_^
This message was last edited by the player at 02:20, Tue 11 Aug 2009.

*embarassment*  I know.  Cyan's just in the habit of saying things like that.

That's okay.  I mean, what's the alternative?  "Relax, it's a bedroom, what could possibly go wrong?"

Ah, the irony... :D

Thanks Cyan.  she likes her name, too :-)

Just wanted to stop in and appologize for being absent. I am here, My attention is just caught up on life and working 18 hours a day. Hopefully I will find a place to jump back in. Devlin is looking forward to playing with that trump when you get your hands on it.

I'm going to hold off posting (and noting BY) for a bit to give Tahirah a chance to respond to Trista's questions. No hurries, Tahirah! Just letting you have time. :)

I have been quite absent too.  Or rather, I have been around, but not my, well, mind.  Think I might have found it now, though, but not sure if it is mine.  Let's see if it fits.

At least you're not playing pancake with a book and a great big sword.  Talk about looking silly...

Thank you for being so patient, Trista!

Just, you know...waiting for the stars to line up right again.  Pesky, slow-poke stars...grin

I'm still here. It's been an eventful summer, so I'm just playing observer in the current scene (not even sure which characters are there.) But I am still here.

Aaaah!  Cyan has been caught in a time loop!

James, why did you focus so much attention on some silly desk?  You should have been guarding against the clock!

I'll get a response up soonish... but since our group is rather just waiting on the other group, I haven't been in a hurry. However, I do want a reaction to these strange things Tahirah has been doing! No later than Wednesday, but likely Tuesday. :)

jumps guiltily

How did you know abou---er, oh.  In the game.  Yes, those strange things.  Of course, as those are the only strange things that I've been up to lately.  Yes.

Obviously, there's no need to hurry on my account...I'll probably just keep you waiting again. grin

I will be away until the 19th - I'll be coming on, but intermittently.  :)

Just got back from the doctor. The remaining lump is still there, about the size of a grape but twice as long. He says it's permanent now, hopefully just scar tissue and harmless.

So I have a souvenir.

Sorry for my tardiness, catching up.....

These 72 hour work weeks are killing me.

Good lord.  :(  Need a break Devlin?

So are we all back in the "testing room" now, with the Tahirah-arranged chairs?

Yes.  :)  All together again.  Even Aaron is in one piece.

For now.

And please, everybody be careful not to bump them, or you'll all have to wait outside. grin

Ah yes, that old horse. Beaten mostly to death, isn't it, Big D? My my, it'd be almost sad to look at if it wasn't so damn... accurate. -_o

I'm rather alarmed. The weapon I'll be using this time is Aaron's mind, after all. I wonder what it will be like when he gets that cut off. :p

Dude... that joke doesn't ever get old.  Barely makes it out of its teens.

Jonnee Kay!  *hugs*

*hugs*

Uh... you've got a piece of brintizzi caught in your hair.  They train hard, and I sometimes get bits splattered over me.  Let me get that for you.

*removes something red and sticky from Cyan's hair*

There you go.

*blinks*  How did you notice that -

*points to goopy bit*

- in there?

*points to copper hair*

You'll be proud, Jonnee.  I managed to make a comment about Aaron's hand!  _{Sort of a comment about mine as well, mind.  :(}
This message was last edited by the player at 12:11, Sat 10 Oct 2009.

It was easy.  You hair doesn't generally drip red.

Good one!  Poor Aaron.

Seriously, I feel sorry for him.  He always has to check his pockets for loose hands when he launders his pants.

Ugh.  Like lint, only worse.

But on the plus side, he can read his own entrails, and that's way better than tea leaves!

(Um, except, of course, from a, `what to brew afternoon tea with' perspective.  There, you definitely want to stick with tea leaves.)

Now now, Tahira, my prognosticative abilities are strictly related to walking in a random direction and encountering whatever happens to be there. And then killing it. Over and over again. x_x

Hands, now? That's not the worst I've ever lost. An eye, maybe. Half of my face. My party's moral support, etc etc. Ever tell you the story of the time someone shot an honest-to-god rocket propelled grenade at me? And it hit me? In the chest? I'm pretty sure those guys were related to me, now that I consider it...

*rambles*

I remember that.  Weren't they your nephews?  Or your grandkids?  Or something like that?

Edit: Though, now I think about it, you smelled pretty bad at the time, so they were probably justified in shooting you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:22, Sat 10 Oct 2009.

Ah yes. Now I remember. I suppose they were just trying to put me out of my misery. In the most blatant way possible.

(Then again, there are slightly more blatant ways than that...)

They were certainly family, I remember that much.  Good thing you hang around with friends.  :)

I just wanted to say thanks for reminding me why I play Amber! grin

Actually that's worse, because any dice thrown about in an Amber game are likely to do Deadly Damage.  :\

Well, now I will put it in the OOC where it belongs. Sometimes I don't know about myself.

What I posted in the game thread was...

I'm just waiting to give everyone a chance to post, I've not disappeared again.

Just a heads up that some time around 1st November, I will be moving house.

This will, unfortunately result in a disruption to my internet service for two weeks (three at the outside *gibber*) following that date.

I may be able to log in occasionally during that time, if I can get some computer access at work, but at most I'll be able to say "Hi." in the OOC thread.

<shame mode engaged>
Yes, I know, it's only been four years since I last took a break (also for a house move), but it really can't be helped.
</shame mode terminated>

Death to shame mode!  Death!

Good luck with moving!  I hope we'll be doing the same in a month or two, but it's all up in the air.  Also, I'm running out of exclamation marks.

No worries, boss!  Consider this a cliffhanger - we'll all be around when you come back.  ^_^

We can keep ourselves amused, I'm sure.  Someone will come up with some horrific torment for Aaron, I expect.

*sigh*  So I'll be away from the game for a little while, and somebody will take my job?

Well, I guess to entertain ourselves, we could cut off his hand and poke out his--

Oh, that's been done? Hmm ... well, nevermind then.

I have no (re)collection of such possessions.






!






!!    !







!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, I'm now in full house-move mode, which means that there won't be another IC post until I'm settled in to the new apartment, and have internet access again.

One good side to this is that no characters will be killed or maimed during that time.  Well... hardly any.

See you all soon.

Progress Report:

House move going moderately well, if a little hectic and exhausting (unless you're one of the cats - in which case it's dead easy, and exciting too).

Further reports soon.

day is done
there is an hour of peaceful rest
behold me, in my chiffon, gauze and tinsel
from song and dream for ever gone
I shake my hair in the wind of morning
there by the window in the old house
who loves the rain

Hopefully the move continues to go well. I hate moving. If I have my way I'll live right where I am till I don't need to live anywhere.

Oh, I am working on a post, at least thinking seriously on it and figuring out exactly what Devlin going to do. I figured I had a bit of time to make sure it's right with the bosses move and all.

That's beautiful, Tahirah!

Um, thank you.  It came from here: http://www.angiemckaig.com/pla...index.php?numlines=5

But, er, I did pick the number of lines.  And then refreshed twice until I saw one that I liked.  So...grin

And I'm officially back.  Will get an IC post in ASAP.

/cheers

Modified my post, boss.

...I see you've managed to get your shirt off.

grin

James would give the group the shirt off his back.

Again, sorry for my tardiness. I had thought to give everyone a chance before Devlin acted and then I got busy trying to finish up a project on time, deadline was today and I just scraped in on time.

No worries, Devlin!  :)  Let's have a look at Finndo.

With Dragonmeet, and flying out to Germany for a short term contract, I'll probably not be posting much this weekend.

I expect to be online after then, but if things go wrong I could be out of touch for a longer period.

Ooer, shirts are coming off!  Will you dance now, James?  Anyone else?  Nice lightshow!


(Utterly lacking ideas for posting, so pretend I post in the style of "stands quietly in the corner" kind of post...)

There is absolutely nothing wrong with standing quietly in a corner.

See?  That's what I would post, even if she may nearly be in all corners at once.  So, pretend I have done so.  Posted, that is.

"Of course," Fiona replies, taking out her ritual dagger and cutting across her arm.  "Just let me inscribe a threefold pentagram, and...oh.  Did you mean a castle servant?  That little bell in the corner works better for those, although I have gotten ahold of the pastry chef's True Name."

Hmm...Finndo is now in the ranking list.

.....

Not surprisingly, he could crush Cyan without breaking a sweat.  :)

Interestingly, the best person to put up against him, attribute versus attribute, is Trista.  In a pure psychic duel, she flat-out beats him, having a higher Psyche and a higher Endurance!
This message was last edited by the player at 15:35, Mon 14 Dec 2009.

Too bad it's never purely attritutes... O.o

I just picture the servant bringing in clothes, and then passing out copies of the latest League Tables.


I tell myself that every time I look at the lists.  It's a great comfort.

The trick is finding the key to making it attributes.  I must admit, for warfare that's pretty easy.  Everything else requires some manipulation of circumstances and/or specialized tools.  :(

That depends where you are on the list !

(Really it should be all about Shapeshifting :-)

Dorian's motto is, "Attributes don't destroy worlds."

But something tells me I should look into a new motto.

I was positively assured that it is all about looking good in white, but that's not even on the list.  I'm beginning to think that that Recruiter may have lied to me.  "Come and join Random's secret service!", he said.  "It'll be fun!  Hang out on the sunny beaches of Cardiniagart.  Play cards with shadowy chanactarsa!  _{trydesperatelytonotlettheuniversebedestroyed.}  Meet Royalty and watch their rugs get destroyed willy-nilly!  Ogle naked men in the private rooms!"  So far, only the rug thing has really been as much pure fun as he made it sound.


I think you just need to add, "Except for maybe Endurance," and you'll be fine.

You were told white? I was told black! What's going on here.

And I think we can all guess what color Cyan was lured in with...hmm...looking suspiciously at the Harmless Little Match Girl

...a sort of greenish-blue?  Wait, no, that's aqua.  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 23:31, Tue 15 Dec 2009.

I don't follow you at all.  I was thinking jet and gold.

giggle

Oh, this.

I figured it was a play on my usual name.  :)

You were all lured in?  I was bullied into it.  :\

I mean, you post one little thread, in a public forum, about how the system works, and the next thing you know, people are all saying how you should run a game... if you know what's good for you.

Well, colour me transparent and call me C-Throo...

Hahahahahaha!

-_-

That's not how I remember things at all.  I figured this was going to be a normal little fantasy game, all bright and shiny and full of hope, and came in with my optimistic, happy bard and her little dragon companion.

Boy, did I get fooled.

I'll jump in now with a big Merry Christmas!  :)  Happy and safe holidays, all!

A Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year.  May the coming months bring all that you could hope and wish for.

Happy Christmas Everybody !

Happy Holidays! :)

It's 2010, and I still don't have that flying car they promised me all those years ago, but Happy New Year to everybody anyway.

It's on my Wish List, I just don't have enough points for it yet =D

Happy new decade everyone!

Happy New Year!

I'm heading away on holidays today, visiting family in the Netherlands until 28 January.  However, my sister-in-law and her husband are both technophiles so computer access shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Apologies for my absence over the last few days (especially to those awaiting replies to PMs).  I had a medical emergency, of the "we're sending an ambulance to fetch you to the hospital" variety, and it kinda threw a spanner in the works for me.

I'm hoping to get caught up over the next couple of days.

It's not your fault.  Paramedics are terribly unsympathetic when you say, "Can't you just tourniquet it while I finish this post?  And hey, could somebody cover the left half of the keyboard for me?  I need an R."  We've all been there.

I'm glad you're OK!  Dorian's glad, too, it just doesn't fit his idiom, so I'll say it for him.  You're welcome, D.

I'll not be here much in the next couple of days - I'm on a course at work.  :(  I might get on at night, though.

Banglen-Yp is the expert when it comes to being catty ! :-) :-) :-)
(Ask her kitten friend !)

Sorry that I haven't been posting much.  No excuse, just difficulty in thinking of something to say.

("Take off and Nuke the site with Primal Chaos, it's the only way to be sure" still doesn't sound like a good plan :-)

It is better than my plan!

Have I mentioned lately that I rather like Random and Fiona?  :)

You've been looking into Fiona's eyes, haven't you?

"I love Fiona.  She was much better than Cats.  I'm going to see her again and again."

This is why I keep my hood low...

I apologize; the last several weeks have been quite difficult with one thing or another so I haven't been around to post or even read. I'll get caught up with everything on Wednesday! Don't know if I'll post or not - Trista doesn't have a lot to say about the scene, I suspect, but I'm fine with that. Just letting those concerned know I haven't disappeared! :)

I will be on a training course for the next couple of days - just to let everyone know.  :)  I hope to update at nights, but might be too busy at home.

This has been a canned announcement.

Hehe...did Cyan really just call Finndo `Princess'?

OOC, I'm pretty sure you just read `Fiona', but it's still...gigglicious.  I bet Gerard would agree, too.

Amusing as it would be, you are correct, and I edited.

Note to self: Keep the Fi- characters separate.

To the big, round guy:  "Now listen, Princess..."

Oh that would go down well!

You'd think that after he arrived in the room naked, there'd be a bit less confusion about his gender.  :)

Smarty pants.

...both of you.  :)

But I'm stunned I got Finndo mixed up with Fiona.  Fiona doesn't whine and complain nearly as much.

Finndo did come off a bit more of a child than I expected, but I think he was exploring the limits of what the Amberites and us would tolerate.

Honestly, if he's really been trapped in the kind of place he described, I think he's actually holding himself together pretty well.  I'd expect gibbering after that.

At least he got one of Gerard's shirts.  If Random had been mean, that scene would have gone, "...Flora has the biggest closets in the castle; I'm sure she can spare something."

Both good points.  I know I was impressed by his sangfroid.

I just think he was a weenie.  :)

Thee hee, she said weenie!

*plaintively*  But he is.

Can't put anything past Fiona, I see.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:42, Tue 16 Feb 2010.

Who said that?  *looks about nervously*

So I'm back in the ranks of the employed again today. Ironically, I landed a job on my last day of college, so that worked out nice. I'm familiar enough with the languages/technology (PHP and SQL), but it's a complicated project, so I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. As a result, I might be a bit out of touch for a while, but I'll do my best to keep up.

Weird thing is ... I remember joining this game before I started college, by about 9 months or so. A lot has happened since I've been Dorian. (And Chance ... And Galatea ... )

Huzzah for employment!  :)  Good show, Dorian!

I know the feeling.  A lot has happened all around since I joined this game....

That's spooky...maybe I should get out, before a lot happens to me!

hehe...congratultions, Dorian!  Landing a job on your last day of college isn't just nice, it's awesome!

Yay for yob, er, job!  Congratulations.

Sorry for the silence, friends. The new job is overwhelming, but enjoyable. Once I get to a certain point, I'll be the only one who knows this system I've been handed, so it'll carry it's own job security--I just have to work hard to reach that point because it is a true sink-or-swim situation.

For those who might be interested, this thread contains an account of what Berd has been up to recently, including information regarding Harbonah's plans, a new hazard, and a new ally, as well as  some musings on the nature of creativity and art, and their significance in the development of cultures: link to a message in this game

Very interesting, James.  :)  Not surprisingly, I find the Shakespeare to be a nice touch... ^_^

Thanks.  James, like me*, can be a bit of a ham.

*_{also not surprising}

This game is full of hams.  :D

Mmmm... ham...

Why do I have the sudden urge to feed bits of James to my cat?

Say, James watch out for that mud!  It looks real slipp... Oh.  Too late.

That would be because you've been subtly corrupted by insidious feline mind-control.  Don't worry, it happens to the best of us :P

I actually wanted to put in a quick note about Tahirah's post...I did some quick back-reading and I'm not seeing where anybody picked the spread Trumps back up.  Fiona pointed out Finndo, and then compared the two decks for Cyan, and named a couple of people in the bigger-and-less-professional-looking one that weren't standard, and then we took Finndo's card and started up The Summoning.  And then we had The Meeting, and then people started leaving, and nobody actually said, "Oh, and I pick up those Trumps."

But, you know, that's kind of sticklery.  Like having all your material components for Mordenkainen's Faithful Watchdog, but you forget to say you actually cast it, so now there's Ogres, OK?  Um, anyway...rattle...just...forgot to take my medicine.  Sorry.

So, um, also, there was a lot I was skimming through and not much time to do it, so I could have missed it.  So if anybody - especially Cyan, who had kind of claimed by being the one to spread them out and ask questions about them - thinks they did pick them up, then please just say the word, and I'll take it all back and do something else!

Nope!  Noooo...  Cyan would never steal someone else's cards, be they palanqueti, Trumps, or whatever.

.....

Unless they were a bad person.

.....

...or she was gambling.

... or there was money involved....

... or a cute guy...

... or ...

:P

Objection.  I have never stolen for money's sake.

:)

Money is useless for their own sake, they are only good for acquiring other things, so why would anyone steal money for the sake of money (except for rare coins etc, however, these coins are no longer considered money but instead an item worth money in itself).

Right?

Oops.  Meant to post this the other day, but you know how it is when dementia sets in, right?

Anyway... moving right along, there are now four new threads:

• Part 66a - Descent into dark places
  For those going to hunt Dworkin in the basement.  Hmm... if there's one thing I learned from all those old movies, it's that you should never go into the basement.  Still, to each his own, I guess.  I'm expecting most people to take this route.  Who could possibly pass up the chance to meet the handsome, witty, charismatic Dworkin, eh?
  
  
• Part 66b - Chaotic diplomacy
  For Roman and Finndo to talk with their Chaos friends.  Not for plotting the fall of Amber.  Nope.
  
  
• Part 66c - The art of war
  For James to talk with his army pal.  And drink all the good brandy.  Then go out, looking to impress the ladies with drunken wit and badly slurred poetry.    Probably all ending in a damned fine brawl.
  
  
• Part 66d - Plan.  Consider.  Reconsider.
  For Cyan and Dorian, plus Grampa Berd, and Dorian's goth daughter, Galatea, to discuss stuff.  Almost certainly nothing to do with betrayal, ambushes and sneaky tricks.

Potentially there is also:

• Part 66e - Leave me alone!
  For those who just want to lay in bed, with the covers pulled over their heads, and wait for the inevitable doom which will befall everybody.  I'll create this one if there is a need for it.

Everybody clear where they should be posting?  Good.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:47, Sat 24 Apr 2010.

I rather like the look of 66e...

You do know an e is not an inverted 6, yes?

Does Banglen-Yp have her high heels?  The servant did leave us the faulty, flickering lantern that's almost out of oil, right?  If we're doing this, we have to do it right!

Are you really asking that of someone able to change their shape and form?


And, wouldn't you know already anyway?  ^_^

All right.  Everyone split up.  We'll cover more ground that way.

Split up, okie dokie, can do that!  In how many parts?

Finally a use for those points I spent on Berd - I could be a palanquet factory!

Sorry I've been so quiet lately!  I have mysterious reasons, of course, but I'll just say it's been busy.  Thank you, Dworkin, for keeping Tahirah caught up with things!

And just to clarify, I'd like to note that she will indeed have taken the entire deck Cyan had laid out on the table, and then put all but Dworkin's card away.

Just to let people know I'll be away from the 20th to the 24th.  :)  Anniversary trip!

Oh, yeah...

Just to let people know, I'll be away from the 29th to the 5th. Anniversary trip. (Not related to Cyan's anniversary trip, though.)

And Happy Anniversary, Cyan. This will be our 9th. We're headed back home to Alaska.

Fantastic!  Good show, Dorian!  :)

To dispel any rumors, I'll note that this is our 10th.

Thanks, Cyan. You too :)

10th, eh? Good round number to celebrate :D

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm still around but I'm not posting for Dorian much while you and Jonnee talk things out. So I haven't abandoned you :P

As for Chance, I'm not really sure where he is right now ... but I'm sure there's alcohol involved. If someone wants to clue me in as to where my character went, I'll see if I can whip up a post.

I don't know...you are Amberites.  One of you could just be a year ahead of the other one.  And we all know bards mature faster than sorcerers...

The fact that you're going different places on different weeks seems quintessentially Amberite, too, come to think of it.  Nope.  I'm not convinced!


...Er, yes, it's possible that if I were keeping up with those little blue tablets that help me separate fantasy from reality, it might all make more sense, but they taste chalky.  Bleah.

They also don't seem to work too well...

Cyan, Dorian: enjoy you respective trips.

Chance is, I believe, probably in the dungeons.  Anybody who didn't specifically indicate that they were going elsewhere is in the dungeons.  Unless Chance is sleeping it off, under a table, somewhere up in the castle.

In fairness, the doctors did indicate that there might be some steps beyond keeping them in the bottle on a shelf I can't quite reach.  I just don't remember what they were.


That seems like a good rule of thumb.  I think I'm going to use that in my game...heheh...

Errrm...this part, not correct.  :)



I think you need a stronger dose.  Much, much stronger.  Orders of magnitude.  :)

Just a reminder that I'll be AFK until about the 7th or so, but I shall return ... with pictures that will send you all into fits of Jealousy.

Awesome!  :D

Why is it awesome that Dory will be AFK?  ^_^

For reasons far too numerous to list.  Just let poor Cyan enjoy the moment.

Okies.

Dealing with some personal stuff right now, so I might be a little slow updating.  But I'll try.

Piggly wiggly!

...I turned 30 this past Friday. Not a big deal or anything. Really.

Not at all.

Now all I have to do is write a massive, "I'm utterly, horribly sorry for being so neglectful of your awesome game," missive to Ron so I can feel better about myself for being a complete asshat to you guys for the past...

*goes to check when he made his last, pointless entry in the OOC*

...year. Holy God. Really? Wow. I am an asshat. I feel even worse, now. :(

Anyway, need to work some things out, character-wise. Since Ron has been nice enough to not sacrifice Aaron to the Holy Order of the Great Garbage Masher while I've been IRL'ing everything, I suppose I have some thinking to do. Not to mention some reading. If Ron'll still have me, that is. :)

Aaron!  :)  *hugs*

Congratulations on turning thirty!  And sticking your head back in the game!  Hooray!

Thanks, Cyan. As always. I don't know what I'd do without you and Ron always putting up with my pointless bullshit. :)

Everybody else is just along for the ride. :p

They are most certainly not.  -_-

'Pointless BS'?  I'd smack you on the head, were I that sort...  Life happens.  I'm just pleased to see you.

Well, I'm glad. And you're right. More often than not, I'm the one riding someone's coattails into some flaming abbatoir of awesome doom.

But hey, flaming abbatoirs of awesome doom is what I signed up for, right? If I didn't want that, I wouldn't be playing in one of Ron's games! :)

I need to check my character sheet and make sure Aaron has all of his limbs and senses intact. I imagine I'm probably sitting in 4th for Ratings as of this point in the game, as I've no doubt been completely overwhelmed by most of the other players. I'm looking at you, Berd, though I imagine Tahirah's meddling had something to do with that... :P
This message was last edited by the player at 00:41, Tue 01 June 2010.

I just realized that I always seem to 'hop back into the game' after every birthday. o_o

I think I just need to stop leaving whenever things get slow. That might help a little. :p

*blows raspberry*

Slow is pretty common with online games, especially ones that have been around for AGES.  :)

Patience, young jedi!  Patience!  :D

...oh, and you're in one piece at present.  I know it's a change, but I think you'll manage...  ^_^

Great! I'm so glad I won't have to go tromping all around shadow just to find a damn finger.

Though I'm fairly sure any number of players and NPC's in this game would surely give Aaron the finger, even if I didn't ask for it. :)

*sigh*
Yes, patience. Something I really need to pay more attention to.

Or not... or something. I should stop before I confuse myself. x_x

You're too hard on yourself.  :(

I know. I'm sorry if this sounds like an emo-fest. I'm just... really pissed at myself for not being responsible with this game. That's just disrespectful to Ron and to you guys as my fellow players. I respect you lot too much to not feel bad.

I'm not going to act like me bailing with no good explanation is a good thing. Ron's very patient with me, and I appreciate that, but nobody can punish me worse than me. As you know, I was just too distracted by other things, not necessarilly things that mattered more than this game, you know. Just... stuff.

But I want to start again on better footing, none of this 'head in the clouds' BS that I've thrown at Ron time and again. I've been very on the fence about how I feel regarding Aaron as a character, but I've decided that I like him more than I hate him. I want to work to make him better through actions, rather than just static, descriptive seizures that I throw at Ron every few weeks. :p

You've been doing this stuff forever, Cyan. I'm pretty sure you understand what it's like, to be unsatisfied with some of your own choices in a game. It's tough to see those things and to still want to continue on despite them.

Aaron, and by extension I, was a real jerk sometimes. I know that you really shouldn't look OOC into IC buisness, but I won't deny that, sometimes, my own confusion just came out through Aaron. That's lame and it's something I should forget, since I'm a better player now, but it's still lame.

Really, I just want Aaron to be awesome. That's all. I just have to be patient about it. Amber is a slow game, but that speed makes the buildup all the more worth it. It also makes every decision important and pivotal, something I was just never able to come to grips with until now.

So, yeah! Blah! I'll work at being a better player all around. Sorry for the tirade. :)

Well, don't kick yourself!  That's all I'm saying.  I totally understand where you're coming from, but it's easy to get a little too harsh with the self-criticism.

If you needed a break, it was probably because...you needed a break.  This is supposed to be FUN, not FORCED.  :D

If you're back, then this is where you should be!

And Aaron?  Has been awesome.  Will be awesome again.  :)

Welcome back, Aaron, and happy birthday!  Now that you're 30 you can afford to be all mature and responsible like the rest of us *goes cross-eyed and pokes out tongue*


I found this quite interesting.  I reached the conclusion some years ago that all of my role-playing characters shared at least some aspects of my character no matter how much I tried to make them different and individual.  In fact the ones I enjoyed playing most were those with some of the most obvious parallels, often playing up some personality trait I'm too reserved or polite to fully express in real life.

Playing a flawed character, then, can be a peculiar, but very worthwhile, exercise as it allows us to explore our weaknesses rather than constantly playing to our strengths.  I think Aaron has fit that description from time to time (he has the scars of past mutilations to prove it).

With James I decided to embrace this.  In one way or another, James is me as I would like to be.  For example, James military background and his subsequent renunciation of it - I am fascinated by military history and strategy but I abhor violence.  So the recent (i.e. last year's worth) of posts has allowed me to consider when I would be willing to fight.  As you can see from James' recent choices, I've made my decision :)

What it boils down to is that we all want to be awesome for our own personal definitions of awesome.  That's a worthy goal.

As usual, James speaks a great deal of good sense.  :)  Flawed characters are the best kind, for me.

I know, you're right. Riding through Shadow with blades of death tailing him? Hardcore. Summoning awesome powers from out of Shadow to rout whole armies? Totally epic. Him and WJG/Cyan slaying Archons back to back? Effing awesome.

Not to mention Ron, Cyan, Jack, myself and a few other people trying to come up with plausible concepts for, oh, I dunno... the entire creational basis for a whole reality. Yeah. I remember that particular Thread.

And this was my first roleplay ever. Also my most successful character, really. I just can't give this game up. :)

Yeah, I just need to be patient. I'm just glad I've got a gem of a game like this to come back to.

I think Ron is just onto my scheme of disappearing for a while and then reappearing just when things are getting good. Maybe if I stick around, he'll lose my scent. :)

Gods! I need to take a step back and view things.

ANYWAY...

So, I've started reading Glen Cook's "Chronicles of the Black Company" series recently (a birthday present to myself). It's very refreshing, actually. Very spare and obvious fantasy, lacking in frills or over-emphasis. I like it a great deal. :)

One of the things I've noticed is the naming conventions used for every character. They're pretty much based around a job or a character quirk (Croaker, One-Eye, The Lady, etc.), brutally simple and obvious.

Now that I'm back, one of the things that I just wondered was this:
I know full well that Berd and, I think, Dorian, have nicknames amongst our enemies. I'm a real sucker for character-reference, and I'll be the last person to say that I don't enjoy a bit (okay - a lot) of horn-tooting when it comes to our character's actions in a univers as massive and varies as Amber's.

Can you imagine the stories that are told about our exploits, among so many worlds? Oh, of course, they wouldn't necesarilly be specific, since our every action is reflected again and again, differently... but still!

I wonder what Aaron's nicknames are, amongst the worlds.

Now that I think about it, I probably don't want to know! :p
</dork>

I could give you nicknames if you want, Aaron.  I'm quite good at that, having not a few myself.

Congratulations on your return - in honor of it, I will avoid deliberately angering you in character for at least two posts.  After that, all bets are off.  *grins*

Ahh Luke. I'd probably be disappointed if your self-control lasted two posts. :)

Regardless, feel free to exercise your wit at my expense. It gives me a good excuse to plan your assassination. Of character, I mean.

We haven't been able to get rid of him yet....

There have been some moments of amazing drama in this game.  There has also been humor, introspection, character interplay both deep and light, terrifying mistakes, awesome displays...the list goes on and on.  The valleys are as exciting as the peaks, and the little streams as interesting as the Nile itself.

Forgive the poetry.  I just mean that everything in this game has captivated me.  ^_^

Well, it's obvious you're not easilly captivated! Some of the stuff in this game is insane. :p

...and now that I've read the lead Ron has given me in "Descent into dark places," this game is driving me even more crazy. Add to the fact that I'm pretty sure I know where Aaron is headed and I'll have to post a probe for details. :)

Time to go exercise. :p

Welcome back Aaron, it's good to see you again.  *checks torture implements for proper levels of dullness and rust*  :)

Regarding nicknames, fame, etc... well there was that one world that one party travelled to where Aaron was remembered as Holy Aaron (and Berd as a magical cat), and they have church services dedicated to him.  I'm pretty sure that that some of the stuff Aaron did when he was off on his own has earned him a certain degree of fame in other places too.  :)

Though in some places, they probably call him Bloody Stupid Aaron.  :p


IC... Aaron was headed for the Pattern.

Great googly moogly!  ahem  Um, naturally, I knew that the OOC was going to explode today.  As a matter of fact, I sent Aaron a Welcome Back card last week and...oh, here's the postman now!  What a coincidence!

A massive missive.  That was fun.  I'm proposing "Legless the Elf" for one of Aaron's nicknames.  And I never, ever, meddle, even in the middle of a muddle.


I think playing a bard suits you.

If Cyan wasn't so humble, she'd be perfect for the Bard role. :)

Pattern! Woo?!

I should probably be scared. That would be the sanest thing, right now, I think. Delving in Dworkin's basement for the Primal Pattern and/or it's actual reflection. Then again, Aaron's always been more of a 'The Hell With It' kinda guy as opposed to a 'Where's the Exit, again?' kind of guy.

Surprisingly, Tahirah, I'm fairly sure Aaron's legs are the only things he's never lost. He's had vision issues, uni-dexterousness and facial deformation (and reformation, for that matter, which only resolved a few, minor issues), but never outright palegia of any form.

Except that time Jack tackled him and tied him up, dragging him up a flight of stairs...

Oh, and thanks again again, Ron. Glad to be back. Again.

Again. o_o
This message was last edited by the player at 23:25, Tue 01 June 2010.

Back from the Last Frontier; I imagine it will take a bit to catch up on all my games and get pictures online for anyone who might be interested. We spent 15 hours on the road today, so I'm just going to go crash in my nice non-motel bed and sleep at least 16 hours now.

But for anyone who says you can never go back home; they're so very very wrong.

Hooray for Dorian's return!  In one piece, and with pictures.  :)

I thought you were dragged down a flight of stairs?  Must go reread that part, Aaron.

Down, up, somehow I doubt it matters, hon. The point is: STAIRS. :)

*sigh*
Next thing I know, Jack will return and throw me off the top of Kolvir just to spite me. :p

Well, I was trying not to point this gross oversight out to Dworkin.  But, you know, if you want him up all night finding solutions to that, I guess that's up to you...grin


Aww...that's very sweet.  It sounds like you went out with high expectations, and everything went as well as you hoped.  Welcome back!

_{(RPoL lies.  This message has never been edited.  I am a seeress.  We do not need to edit our messages.)}
This message was last edited by the player at 00:08, Mon 07 June 2010.

As promised; not great pictures (lens wasn't cleaned apparently) ... removed all the boring family pictures...

http://picasaweb.google.com/10...&feat=directlink

I hope you appreciate this, Aaron.  *big grin*

Not that Luke is competitive, or anything..."You think you get beaten up?  Watch me jump into this flaming blender!"

But, um, it was nice kno--, I mean, good luck, Luke!

Worried for me, Tahirah?  I'm touched.  But really...

*waves at the bottle with an edged grin*

...it's only a cheap copy of the truth.

I appreciate anything that keeps me in one piece, Luke. :)

Dorian! Aweome photos, man. Reminds me that I need to take my lady on a vacation sometime soon. :)

Unemployed again :(

That's like, what, the seventh time I've said that in this game, in almost as many years?

Anyway, same old disclaimer ... I might not be around much for the next week or so while I sort things out.

...what?

Dorian, that's horrible!  O_O

It's not my fault; they keep going out of business or outsourcing their business to India and such.

(This one is going out of business.)

*sigh* It feels so good being true to a character.

Oh ho, good show, my old friend. I'm so glad I have people like Cyan and yourself to keep me humble. :p

(And Jack too, actually, and Dorian, on occaison...)

How could I possibly pass up the opportunity to hurt Aaron again.  I've missed him (well... I've missed inflicting pain on him).  :p

I ask that you be careful of the shotgun effect.  Aaron, please stand in the corner.

And whatever you do, don't drink the vintage bottle labeled Achonaldo 279!  Even if that was a very, very good year!


That was a miss?? grin