So sorry to hear about your loss, Alex. We lost our big dog last year. We still miss him. Still got two little dogs for company and therapy that visit me here in rehab. Also 2 cats that miss me. I'm sure the game will still be here when you come back up for air.

I have one that is like 15 years old... so bracing myself for the loss; it is definitely going to be painful when he goes.

Condolences, Alex.

 I am not sure how much but also if I have an action point can I use it StarMaster and use my bandage feat, sorry still getting use to this system.

I fumbled the ball again. Like Lizzie, I was trying to figure out their Vitality/Wound system and it was just confusing me. So I was working out a 'new' system... and then forgot about it.




You should now have a block on your character sheet for keeping track of Vitality and Wounds as above. Although you can receive Wounds  from other sources than injury, every ten Vitality imposes one Wound.

The table also shows the penalty imposed from injury.

It shows, also, recovery time to get rid of the penalty. Medical treatment shifts recovery up one step.


It's still a 'work in progress' so feel free to poke holes in it.

How are things going on your end, oh GM? Recovering nicely, I hope.

Woah... that was the 10,000th message :D

Alas, things aren't going well. The rehab facility sucks, the therapy is inadequate, the nursing substandard, and the food mostly atrocious. Have to be out of here in a month cause I can't afford any longer than that.

The oncologist Wednesday ruled out radiation therapy since I don't have any pain anywhere else on my body. Just chemo which leaves me tired most of the time.

In reply to StarMaster (msg # 360):

I'm no oncologist but that sounds off to me. What does a lack of pain matter in determining whether to use radiation vs. chemo? I thought brachytherapy was fairly common in cases where treatment (versus expectant management) is warranted.

The radiation therapy would have been for treating any remaining tumor in my spine or if it had metastacized to some other location... and thus be causing the pain. The prostate cancer is limited to the prostate now, so only chemo is required.

Either that or the bullywugs are having a mad tea party in my brain.


Apologies for no update but really didn't think there was one.

Still paraplegic trying to recover mobility at a poor rehab facility with bad nursing and half-horrible food until...

Developed a sore on my butt from laying in bed 24/7 that didn't get treated properly and turned gangrene, so now I'm back in the hospital with surgery scheduled for Tuesday.

Recovery to go home was still about a month away. Don't yet know how this new problem will affect that.

Low energy levels at rehab have left me with a one-track mind--just have trouble shifting gears between game systems right now.

My OCD stubbornness is still keeping me from pulling the plug on my games. I really have fun running games and it really bums me out that I can't keep them going right now for all of you. For those of you who are still sticking around waiting for the game to restart, I sincerely apologize for the delay. For those of you who have moved on, no hard feelings here--I completely understand.

Anyway, Happy Easter to everyone!

No need to apologise. You have plenty and enough to deal with right now. We'll be here when you feel ready to get back into playing.

**hugs StarMaster** Take care of you and don't worry about us.

At least being able to post is keeping me from getting too depressed, but it's also what bums me out so much!

Can't sleep, can't focus to post... turn. More of the same. Turn. Repeat.

STAGE MINUS ONE--SPINAL SURGERY: Hell, I don't even remember half of it. This would have been the spinal surgery to remove the tumor and put me on my back for two weeks. DONE. SUCCESS!

STAGE ZERO--REHAB ERROR: Weeks at rehab facility where inadequate and improper nursing care turned an ordinary bedsore into a far more serious gangrene wound... one that now needed surgery to fix. DONE? WAS THAT A SUCCESS OR FAILURE?

STAGE ONE--BACKSIDE SURGERY: Operation on my tailbone went off without a hitch apparently. Just left with a major wound on my tailbone. Couldn't/can't put pressure on the wound while it heals, thus laying on my side and having to get turned to the other side every two hours, necessitating having to learn to type on my laptop upside down and sideways with one finger. Remember, this is at the BETTER recovery/rehab facility rather than at home, so options are still limited. Did I mention the I-V dangling from my arm that also gets in the way? DONE. SUCCESS.

STAGE TWO--STAPLES/SUTURES REMOVAL: Staples and stitches still need to come out. Don't have a timeline for that yet but presumably soon.
___STAGE 2.1: First half of the staples were taken out Tuesday. On schedule, standard routine. DONE. SUCCESS.
___STAGE 2.2: Second half of staples were removed Friday. Again, right on schedule with no complications. DONE. SUCCESS.
___STAGE 2.3: Sutures are currently supposed to come out on Monday, though that probably depends on how the final healing has progressed, since not everyone will heal the same way. PENDING.

STAGE THREE--WOUND REHAB: sitting protocols start as soon as sutures come out (?). Start getting used to sitting up  again... in 15-minute intervals. No details yet on frequency or duration. Will kind of depend on how well I do, but further complicated by not  having any control of my leg muscles. Requires moving to a normal bed rather than this deluxe air bubbling mattress that's meant to stimulate skin/muscle do I don't get more bedsores.

STAGE FOUR--HOME REHAB: As soon as I can stand up on my own two legs, I should be able to go home for final rehab. Regain mobility. At this point, there's no telling how well the wound rehab and the paralysis rehab will work together. The therapist seemed to think they could make them work together in synergy, but I didn't get a whole lot of enthusiasm from him. I suppose it could be uncharted territory for him.


ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: I now qualify for Frequent Surgery Miles. I've had four surgeries so the fifth one is free! Oddly, I started with the Big One (double bypass heart surgery 15 years ago) and that went easier than these.

Still not sure if there's a light at  the end of the tunnel yet--if there is, hope it's the Battery Low indicator and not the Westbound #9 train!

Good to hear that you still have your sense of humour :)

Every good wish for your continuing recovery.

Right! Come to Edinburgh-I'll redeem your Frequent Surgery Miles and do it myself. <3

___STAGE 2.3: Sutures came out on Monday right on schedule, but the final healing is still in progress for several weeks/months. DONE. SUCCESS.

STAGE THREE--WOUND REHAB: sitting up for continued wound rehab protocols start as soon as sutures came out, about a week ago now. Start getting used to sitting up  again... in 15-minute intervals twice a day. Moved to a standard air mattress bed. Frequency and duration will kind of depend on how well I do, but further complicated by not having any control over my leg muscles and not enough feeling below the waist. Communication/responsibility issue has only produced one session--should have been six by now! PENDING???

___STAGE 3.5--RESUME PREVIOUS REHAB: In a week or two or three depending on how quickly I improve here, I get transferred to yet another Rehab facility for continued wound recovery... takes a long time... as well as mobility rehab.

___Stage 3.7--TRANSFER TO NEW REHAB: So the Wound Recovery has done well enough that I'm getting transferred to a different rehab facility for the Sitting/Mobility rehab. Don't know why there's a difference other than where I'm at is more medical than therapeutic so they need to make room for a new patient.

THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL: Different tunnel, different light. I suppose it's a step in the right direction, but we'll have to see how it goes.

How are you doing, StarMaster? How goes the healing?

Fellow Human Beings ... Fellow Gamers ... Friends ...

It is with a saddened heart that I inform you all of the passing of Robert Rusk -- better known to many of us as StarMaster.

Rob passed in his sleep on Thursday morning, July 6, 2023, at approximately 10:30am.  He had been hospitalized since early in the year due to complications concerning Cancer & associated surgeries.  He was 73 years old.

Rob was a Comics Fan Boy & fiction writer wannabe his whole life and came to Roleplaying in the Early Days of 1978.  It was my distinct pleasure to have met him, and gamed with him, since that time.

After his Retirement, Rob committed himself to the community he found in RPol, participating in over 20+ games, here.  He was an especial "softie" for GM-adopting abandoned games and working to keep them running, for the enjoyment of the Players.

He will be missed.

Yes he will be missed, thank you for informing us.

Thanks for letting us know.

Condolences to his family and friends.

Thank you for letting us know. He will be greatly missed. :(

That is bad news indeed. Thank you for letting us know.

He ran a great many games; can you let the site know, Kaspar? There are many people here who would want to know.
This message was last updated by the player at 10:11, Fri 07 July 2023.

I'm in another of his games so I cross-posted this.

Sad news, indeed. And condolences to his family.

Yeah, between myself and a couple other guys I/he know, we think we've got 'em all covered -- but we'll let the Site folks know, too.  Thanks for the suggestion.