In reply to Mallory Bonheur (msg # 890):

Maybe it's just me, but "Illithid-tech" seems perilously close to "Illicit-tech." :)

Given what Illithids get up to on the regular, that's not far off the mark.

So, how is everyone doing?  Had a rather busy weekend myself, attending a relative's wedding.  Lovely time, if quite loud.

Doing well! Right now we've got some extreme rains sweeping in over Norway. Major floods. I'm near Oslo, and we have currently gotten away easy so far. Hopefully it'll continue that way.

Still chewing on the next post. It'll probably be ready tomorrow.

Hope you and your loved ones are safe, DM!

I've been playing Baldur's Gate 3. It's engrossing, and I'm only not putting even more hours on the already-75ish clock right now because my eyes need a break from the screen. ^^;

Haven't touched Baldur's Gate 3 yet since I know I'll just get consumed by it, and my schedule is too stacked at the moment.

I have, however, been playing in the closed beta of "Palia", which is a new small-studio MMO.  The whole intent of it is to be a "cozy" MMO experience that's basically like a multiplayer farming/romance sim.  Not much to it yet, but it absolutely has promise.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:52, Thu 10 Aug 2023.

You know yourself and that's a boon. I'm fortunate to have time off from general obligation for few weeks, so it's the ideal time to play.

That sounds really cute! Cozy games are lovely, they're a genre I'm glad is finding headroom.

Hope everyone's had a nice weekend. :)

I'll be posting again tomorrow to move things along.

In reply to DM Bears (msg # 898):

Thanks for the update, Bears. Have the heavy rains that were plaguing your part of the world moved on in a different direction?

On a different note, has anyone else been playing the latest iteration of "Baldur's Gate"? My PC is too old to be gaming-worthy and my console of choice is an X-Box, so I am thus far unable to participate in this particular version of real world-avoidance.

The game seems to have been quite well-received from all that I have seen, however. I am always pleased to see D&D-themed endeavors do well. :)

Continuing along those lines, one even make the case (paraphrasing the title of a book that was popular a number of years back) that "All I need to know, I learned by playing D&D." :)

Yes, the rains have mostly passed. It was quite devastating for certain parts of the country, but thankfully my city was pretty much unscathed. Some regions are still dealing with the aftermath since some downstream rivers still surge.


I have played it a bit, but only the parts I had already played during Early Access. I'm still on for playing a campaign with my friends group (once we can find some time . . . it's not any less challenging than four adults with adult responsibilities scheduling dnd sessions xd) so I'm saving everything new for then. To say that it has been well received is an understatement. When the discussion becomes 'should video games actually be this good?' the studio must've been doing something right.

I've been contemplating diving into the earlier editions in the meantime. Anyone have any experience with those? Baldur's Gate I & II, Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment . . .
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:49, Mon 14 Aug 2023.

Yep, all of those earlier games. I had trouble finishing them, though. I also have trouble with making a character, playing for a bit, then having an idea to try something new, playing for a bit, etc. lol

Forgive my silence, I actually finished BG3 the other day and resonated so hard with one character, who had a very painful ending in my playthrough, that it kind of opened some old wounds and I had to have an emotional cooldown period.

I'm glad you're safe and whole, Bears.

I'll be able to post tomorrow, but wanted to leave some room for others.

I'm in the midst of dragging myself out from under a mountain of work, but will be getting involved again soon as I can.

Figured it was something like that. Don't stress yourself! Post when you have time :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:56, Thu 17 Aug 2023.

It's been a fair bit of mayhem lately.  We've had two games released recently, have another coming out in a few weeks, and yet another currently in production.  On top of all that, it's convention season so there's been a lot of running around and developer schmoozing to do.  -_-  Very little free time that isn't spend trying to just beat the heat.

I'll be updating the game thread later today to keep the conversation going.

I hope those of you in California stay safe during Hilary!

Parts of California have been getting hit pretty hard, but thankfully my area was outside the direct line of the hurricane's landfall.  It's moved further north by this point so now it's a question of what kind of post-rain flooding might still come along our way.  Still, nothing too bad in my neck of the woods so far.  It was kind of odd getting an earthquake at the same time as the hurricane though.

Idri, Khulekani, everything going okay on your side of things?

Yeah, had some nasty weather blow through the northeast last night. My semester started this week so I've been frazzled, sorry for falling behind during Stormheart's introduction. A poor first impression to make. ;-;

Greetings to all! I am busy flying around and shooting up Rubicon, but I can post again if nobody else is feeling up for it.

Waiting on an IC response from Stormheart, though we have an avenue to push the Vellynne / analysis of the spire acquisitions forward in the meantime. Speaking of, what became of that Thieves' Tools check to unlock the chest now that the Arcane Lock has been Dispelled, Mallory?
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:57, Sun 27 Aug 2023.

Stormheat? Dang. That's a good name for a superhero. =)

I was just giving a bit to see if anyone wanted to post, so I don't just bump the conversation for no reason, but I can post later today.

Whoops xd

I agree though. Maybe I can name my current mech Stormheat.

That was actually going to be Idri picking the lock, as she has a higher modifier than Mallory (+7 vs +5).  The plan was to have Farwalker dispel the Arcane Lock, then have Idri pick the DC 16 physical lock with Mallory's aid to get her Advantage.  With a Portent or Guidance on back-up in case of wildly bad rolls.

Right right, sorry about that. I'll make a post soon, just... It's been A Week^TM. Lock's popped, though. Forgot to roll with Advantage, fortunately didn't need it.

21:54, Today: Idrianthe Mar rolled 19 using 1d20+7.  Thieves Tools.