Replacing a toilet yourself is actually pretty easy. All you need is the new toilet, a new wax seal, and caulk to seal where it touches the floor. You could do it for $100-$200 depending on the quality of the toilet. Just look up online the steps on how to do it.

Check out the youtube tutorials first though to gauge how easy/hard it will be for your skillset on a DIY job.

I once replaced my garage door opener myself and while I did save about $500, it also cost me a ridiculous amount of time, multiple trips to the hardware store and an entire afternoon of cursing like a sailor as I tried to secure this big heavy opener by myself. Never again!

In reply to praguepride (msg # 2181):

Yeah, the maintenance man at one place I lived commented to me on how people (i.e. renters) figured they could do it themselves (because of places like YouTube).  He really didn't appreciate the extra work he ended up doing every time.  ^_^

Additional vent.

So the Windows 11 computer that I bought, I ended up using after all.  However, after 3 weeks...I get the blue screen of death; and the error is recoverable only by an external reinstall of the O.S.   So the manufacturer tells me..$120 plus.

Irony....it boots five times faster and works better as a Linux box.  Which only goes to show how much bloatware Windows 11 has in it.

Players that don't re-read anything, even their own backstory discussion, and then either keep borking things up or keep wanting the GM to find things for them*.

Argh.

It's play by post! It's all written down! It's RIGHT THERE!

/beats head on desk

*-Secondary vent included for the players who then, after having the GM waste time to find things for them, proceed to do/say the Wrong Thing ANYWAY.

In reply to SunRuanEr (msg # 2184):

Don't forget that there's a scratchpad for notes.   Another thing people go "huh?" over, I've noticed.

I'm sure this has happened to a lot of DMs but it's still annoying. the characters in my campaign kill everything in there path with ease. So annoying.

In reply to glaxton (msg # 2186):

Well then, why not just increase the difficulty? For their next combat add an extra enemy or two, or make the existing ones more powerful.

Is it just that they're rolling well? Every now and then you'll get an encounter that's well-balanced on paper that your players plow through because they roll 15+ on a d20 half a dozen times in a row.

Been there, done that, have the t-shirt. And then I learned and grew and made some discoveries.

Some encounters should be easy (They're the heroes, unless this is a grim setting where evil is about to win, let them have their heroic moments). Though if an encounter is too easy and you as GM didn't want that to be the case then analyze their tactics and what allows it to be easy.

Are you not using the environment? Terrain?

Are the characters over-optimized? (Then optimize the opposition)
- Are the characters following the rules?
- By this, are they pre-selecting spells, or are you allowing them to act as sorcerers with wizards and clerics?

Have you put pressure on them to avoid combat or disengage because something bad happens if they don't?
- Door closing and they'll be trapped with an ever-increasing horde of baddies that will wipe them out? (In the first Resident Evil they had to stop the red queen and then get out before the doors sealed them in)
- Princess Peach is about to be executed in a ritual sacrifice and they only have 5 minutes to disrupt the ritual and reach her before the cultist plunges the dagger into her heart. (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
- They have to deliver a message before the enemy forces ambush the king (Watch any of the Three Musketeer Movies, this is usually one of the plots)
- Chase scenes (You must get x item from bad person; or get something away from bad person)

Some great movie plots make for the best interactions. Any movie where combat is secondary to another goal drives tension and has a consequence for failure.

Make it whatever works for you. Swap princess for anyone you want. Even better, make it the sister/mother of a PC. Now the pressure is on. Because that's not just an innocent, but that's family or personal.

Are they meant to not kill everything? Whoops, you killed the one critter with the vital piece of information. Has it caused a setback? Failure doesn't mean game over, just means the PCs lost this round and some evil cause is much closer to achieving a victory.

You'll find characters can only kill what you allow them to kill. Your job as a GM is to give challenge and purpose to the game. But never deprive them of success if they were creative or got a lucky dice roll. That's the purpose of the game after all.

As for the "They killed everything with ease", did they really? In the next room over here comes the reinforcements. Or wow, someone cast a mass cure and they've been revived (Or a fun tactic, raise them as mindless undead). Though, to be very honest, the combat is my least favorite aspect of the game, at least in a Play by Post where simple combat can take a month.

Combat is just one of the many methods of challenging a player and their characters. Some situations aren't handled with a sword, but with skills, or good role-playing. Getting a truce between two nations isn't normally a slaughter-everything-in-sight affair.

But if you want to challenge the characters in a legit method, copy their characters and make a clone party. One in which both parties are trying to acquire the same prize. Though for the clone, you might give them a level or two boosts so to give the edge you'll likely need to account for random events.

Avoid HP grind, that's boring. Add spice to it. Make the creatures unkillable like a troll unless they use the right weapon - need fire or acid. Or use an environment where a favorite tactic would hinder them or be silly. Rope bridge? Best not to roll that ball of flame over it or the bridge you want to cross won't last long. Enemies are popping out of the river have submerged using ranged attacks? Oh, dear, half covered with the water and it's difficult terrain unless they are trying to swim. Or perhaps they're attacking from a pool of acid (They are immune, but the party isn't). Makes the melee types ineffective.

The onus is on the GM to provide a fun challenge. Don't punish the players. Enjoy the game with them but make it rewarding. Heck, surprise them. Have a bad guy surrender. Some of the best NPCs have been bad guys that then served the PCs.

Gah! Had to back out of RTJing three games in the past week, that looked amazing and right up my alley, because they wanted to do a bunch of stuff on Discord. I dislike Discord. I don't want to use it if I can avoid it, and I prefer to keep RPOL stuff on RPOL. It's very disheartening.

I've never been on Discord, and I've never had a GM on RPoL ask players to use it. So that's a weird run of bad luck for you, and you have my sympathies. I share your basic position. I'm sure Discord is great for lots of other stuff, but it's clearly a different animal. RPoL is (and should be) its own thing.

In reply to thebigh (msg # 2189):

because of similar experience, I have a sour taste for even having the app installed. I had such abusive GMs to boot. One was a former local friend. Nothing against the interface, I just had very cowardly bullies use it to make my gaming time miserable.

Plus...yes, the interface is...eh...at best. Worst moments: "Sorry no pigs here" "You don't have any friends. Looks like you're doing something wrong" Screw you, Discord.

In reply to V_V (msg # 2191):
For me the major issue is that I'd rather keep RPoL-related stuff here. Off-site character sheet generators
and weird dice-rolls that the RPoL roller can't handle are bad enough but I do
not want to be spreading game-related communications over numerous websites. The
other thing Discord does that I dislike is make it feel like I'm under time
pressure: "BLOOP! You have a message! The GM wrote something and can see you are
online!! Why aren't you posting?!?"

That, right there.

RPoL is, for many of us, something that's relaxing and/or to be done here and there when you have a few moments. It's low-stress (mostly) in comparison to the 'show up at a specific time and don't waste it' nature of an actual tabletop game. Putting things on Discord takes some of that 'at your leisure' aspect away from play-by-post.

Also, being brutally honest, in my opinion players play *BEST* when they have as little OOC contact as possible with the other players. Some of the best games I've had were ones that didn't even have an OOC (although even then, there's always PMs). Insisting on having some kind of out-of-game chatboard just -encourages- people to talk OOC, and that's something I don't like much at all.

(Before anyone asks why, the big four reasons are: 1 - Players sometimes can't keep their IC and OOC distinct, and metagaming runs rampant. 2 - OOC personality clashes can ruin IC interaction. 3 - Players that talk too much about their characters' story OOC don't -ask- each other about their stories IC, which robs the rest of the game from participating in the story. 4 - Players like to explain how their posts should be taken/should have been taken in a way that prevents others from reacting organically to them.)

In reply to thebigh (msg # 2192):

Makes sense. I have an offsite destination for two things. One to STORE my information on my world. I have many games that revolve around it, and RPoL doesn't want you using their boards specifically to store data. So many of my games die, mostly due to RL hardship, but also players losing interest. So I have a document will all world information players need to visit. Then I have a game I use cards for. This can't be simulated by the 52 card deck, as it involves that deck losing cards, having "discard" and bringing in new cards.

Both of these things are to supplement the game on RPoL though. One is to stay in line with not keeping dead game as storage centers, which is against the rules, the other is to simulate a different degree of randomization, that is largely diceless, but nonetheless strategic.

@SunRuanEr: I agree entirely. I have posted to offiste boards for quicker games, and I have had poor luck. Those using RPoL, I find, want to have that ability to read posts when they are actively on RPoL. The same problem is there, but you can mitigate that over days, not a few hours. I guess it can be hours before you're booted; some games expect minimum of daily posts, but in my circle, when I've been on Discord, it's because I'm in X game, and Y GM expects me to reply, and I'm like "I'm already in session" and they get pissy. Again though, I had predatory GMs. RPoL is chosen for its pacing and ability to craft a post over hours, if you really want to write something very detailed.

I agree to almost 100% with you about OOC. Most of those players I GM for want the OOC, and so I give it to them, it's their choice more than mine. I could say "my game, my rules" but I attract the same players and would rather concede a small deal if they prefer that. I do, however, wish my players would more often leave discovery to in character dialogue. At the same time, I also don't allow ooc lines in plain view unless they are rolls that are self evident. Just by having a game thread, players, I find, will still post OOC, but it'll be an eyesore. In the end, I might try it your way at some point. It sounds preferable, I just haven't found it favorable...yet.

In reply to V_V (msg # 2194):

I've found RPOL to be very helpful with game development.   You rarely have to "wing" something, so it's okay if you take a day to get back to someone over something unexpected.  It's also that much easier to get players in the creation process for exactly the same reason.


I've had more than one moment where I've written something then have gone scratching my head as to why I wrote that later.

I've come to understand why my neighbor (who's lived in this neighborhood his whole life) is such a jerk.    Because asking people nicely doesn't do anything (other than get you ignored).

In reply to Hunter (msg # 2196):

Yikes! You must live in California or New York! :)

I finally got around to seeing the trailer for the new Peter Pan movie.   On thing that really bugs me...*ahem*

Tinker Bell is a blonde you Luddites!    *ahem*   Someone clearly mixed up Iridessa with Tink.

*sulks off back to under his rock*

So was Aquaman. And the little Mermaid was a Redhead. And Nick Fury used to be rather pale (and, once upon a time, he was a sergeant).

Things change. Especially in the movies.

In reply to tmagann (msg # 2199):

It does make me wonder what they plan to do with the Disney fairies, however.   That aside, just unhappy about it and needed to vent somewhere.

Never order from Walmart.   They leave packages outside, without notifying you of arrival; which means that they invariably get stolen.

So, I have to order from someone else....and invariably have to pay twice for it.

I can do you one better with Walmart - Last package I ordered from them was marked as Delivered, specifically to my garage, at a time period that both I and one of my older children was *IN* said garage...no package. No package at the neighbors. No package anywhere in the neighborhood (we looked). No package at the post office. No memory of delivering a GIANT box anywhere that day from my mail lady (I asked the next day).

...took a week, but Walmart refunded everything, and even called me back to tell me that they'd booted the seller from using their service in the future, because my complaint was the final straw. Call and tell them your package wasn't delivered if you didn't get it (even if they say it was delivered), and maybe they'll get you a refund, too. (Won't help with having to pay more elsewhere - I got stuck with that also - but at least I didn't have to pay twice, in the end.)
This message was last edited by the user at 16:19, Thu 01 June 2023.

=Nothing

I don't know if there's one more chair at the table than you need. Light is quicker than all else, but darkness only resumes otherwise.

My very last local friend, who is also my roommate has become a toxic person in my life. She used to be my best friend, and there are good days still, but it's becoming more and more apparent she and I are parting ways, sooner than I would have thought just five months ago.

I have one best friend on here, on RPoL, I call her J. Then I have several good friends, some of which I haven't talked to in years, but believe I could contact if I wanted to. Some of shich I know life is unbearable for, and probably neither can nor should be on RPoL.

This is first and foremost a vent. And I need to vent this, in addition to above, with a song. A song that better does what I would say. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pejyZufjMQ