I'm not sure if you are having Liam mix it up intentionally. You were hired by Godfrey, and found Mahlon mad in the mine. Was this player error, or is Liam obscuring the truth?

Player error, sorry. I know it hurts a GM when NPCs get mixed up.

No worries. I just wasn't sure if you were meaning to mislead Cetus or not. Thanks for the clarification. :)

After realizing Stan's game world is just the Falklands, I'm kind of curious which island Carceres' outline is stolen from.
This message was undeleted by the player at 17:43, Wed 29 Apr 2020.

Good eye! Carceres's outline are the north half of the US Virgin Islands.

How much does Liam know about the merfolk and their lore? Would he be able, in good faith, to make a pact like the leader is seeking? Or does Liam just not know enough to even be able to uphold his end of such a deal?

I'll leave that entirely up to you. According to your sheet, your Bardic Lore is Grand Histories of the Known World. However, I did write in the first message of the third session thread that you encountered your first merfolk. That doesn't necessarily mean you don't know about them or their histories.
I trust you. If you feel Liam would know, then he knows. If you feel he wouldn't know, then that's cool too; we'll learn about them together.

That's Dungeon World, baby. We build this game together.

Liam probably doesn't care that much about Nibs' race at the moment. He's seen so much weird stuff lately, and he's focused on other stuff. Maybe later he'll rummage his lore for the answer.

My life be like:

https://gatherer.wizards.com/H...389503&type=card

Looks like you've discovered my secret! I was hoping you'd pick up on my clues--I just hope they weren't too heavy-handed. I've been in love with the idea of playing a game within the MtG multiverse since our Mutants and Masterminds game.

It's a hard balance between too subtle and too obvious, but I think you nailed it. What better moment to realize the weird implications than when Liam was getting lectured by some Mer-monks?

Edit: I hope you know that when I reveal your sources, it's because I respect your ability to crib from other places, not because I'm trying to out you as "unoriginal" or anything like that.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:26, Tue 19 May 2020.

So sorry for the radio silence! I had to get a new PC two weeks ago, and I'm on "stay-cation" with my family this week. I hope to get my shit together and update again by the end of this week.

No worries. I had to move furniture out of the office (our lease expired) so it was good timing.

Liam's trying hard not to sound like Will Smith in the MIB shooting range scene. "He's not snarling, he's sneezing."

I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Not every creature is out to kill and maim. Sometimes, the real monster is man.

However, this time, it's just a pissed-off monster looking to kill and maim.

I don't know if your absence is at all related to what's going on in the game right now, or if it's just external stuff.

I know sometimes tracking monsters and NPCs in combat can be overwhelming and lead to DM burnout. If that is the case, I'm fine with less combat and more focus on monthly kingdom building plus downtime for social interaction; whatever keeps you motivated.

As I said, your absence could be due to something totally external, in which case this post probably seems silly.

Sorry! I was as Scout camp with my son and forgot to tell you. A new post from me is incoming.

Ah, a survival LARP.

I'm working on an update

I've had weird ups and downs with a job application this week.

I saw an ad in our statewide magazine that a firm was hiring. It seemed perfect for me so I applied. A partner at the firm called me personally the next day to chat me up, and scheduled a phone interview.

He started out gushing how my resume was great, it was so hard to find good help, etc. etc. he really wanted me to be the one.

During the interview he went on an on about how he can't find good help. He wants someone to work 72 hours a week, put the job before family and friends, come in early, stay late, etc.

Also the candidate is supposed to grow the business and act like a partner, without partner's claim to equity.

Also his "ideal salary" would be 48,000 with absolutely no benefits or healthcare.

He's sick of millenials who say "dude" and love their mothers, who leave the firm after 6 months to work at Starbucks.

He told me to take a couple days and think about it.

---

This morning I e-mailed him that it sounds like a good opportunity, but I thought the salary was too low. It basically worked out to being $13 an hour which is insane considering he's looking for attorneys from top schools who have passed the bar exam (not mandatory here in our state).

I outlined what I thought a good salary package might be and why, leaving room open for negotiation. He just e-mails me back "Thanks for your response, good luck with future endeavors." That was his whole e-mail.

This guy is just an asshole, right?

Normally I would ask if I did something wrong, but in this case I feel like it's such a clear-cut case of the other person being irrational.

But I wanted your opinion (based on my obviously biased story) just to confirm that I am not in fact the crazy one in this situation.

I can't speak to your industry or how things are in the area where you live/work; but I can say with 99.9% certainty that that guy was, in fact, an asshole. Or, at the very least, completely off base with reality. Expecting someone—anyone regardless of education/experience/etc—to work 72+ hours a week and grow someone else's business without a claim to equity, without benefits or healthcare is unreasonable, regardless of the salary. Sure, there was a time (you knew me during this time) where I would have done a lot for $48k/year. But not with all the above. Perhaps that's precisely why every Millennial he knows gets sniped by Starbucks.

This guy sounds unreal. As I was reading what you wrote, I kept saying to myself, "don't take that job… tell me you didn't take it!" A part of me was also thinking it was some kind of joke, like after you emailed him, Ashton Kutcher would pop out of your laundry basket and tell you that you've been Corona Punk'd.

I still think that your experience here is crazy.

As I recall, I believe your chosen industry is law, correct? I have a close friend that I met while he was an intern at the insurance company I work at. He was in our claims litigation department helping prep different documents for opinions and such. He had everything planned out for once he finished his education and would quickly make partner at a nearby firm, or get hired on in our claims lit department and make $100k+/year and he'd get a condo downtown and date beautiful women three at a time, so on and so forth.

You get the picture, right? He bought into the story they were selling him. Now, he works in our bonds department and is on a path towards upper level management. He got out and never completed his law degree. At some point, someone in the industry sat down with him and told him how things are in central Iowa. How difficult and demanding the career he wanted actually is. About the sacrifice he'd have to make, and for years if he wanted to achieve the dream as they were selling it. Things I think you also know.

I don't think he quit his dreams of having a successful and fulfilling career—and he just recently bought a condo (in one of the suburbs). But I think he reevaluated what he wanted, and what he was willing to do to get it. Maybe this is that for you. Maybe it's nothing and just a weird experience.

But dude, you're a cool guy. You're smart and hardworking, and most of all you're worth a lot more than what that Boomer/Gen X is offering. And he's finding that most are astutely aware of this, hence his frustrations.

TL;DR: I think you dodged a bullet there. I agree, that dude sounded like he's gotten his head stuck in his ass.

Thanks, man, that means a lot. I think you've mentioned that friend of yours (the one with big dreams) before.


Yup, I've been a lawyer for about five years now.

No worries. And hey, you might get to post twice today.

Happy Thanksgiving.

And merry Christmas. I hope you're alive out in this crazy world.