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Boss Fight
Oct. 8th, 2017 10:15 pmSo, Saturday we *finally* had another session of Pathfinder. The previous week was cancelled because too many people had to be absent. This week... three people were missing for most of the session, but we had enough because the group is way too big.
( Especially for fights in cramped hallways... )
Running away in D+D is always really tricky. I'm sure I've seen a couple of groups manage it, but most of the time it just kind of fails like it did this time.
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( Especially for fights in cramped hallways... )
Running away in D+D is always really tricky. I'm sure I've seen a couple of groups manage it, but most of the time it just kind of fails like it did this time.
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We have to go... deeper...
Sep. 9th, 2017 08:13 pmWe played some more Pathfinder today. This time, we actually ran into some enemies that *attacked us first* and in two out of three cases, this let us fight back without half the party agonizing over whether we were doing the right thing.
( So... the bugbear was out of the harem... )
And cue the cliffhanger.
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( So... the bugbear was out of the harem... )
And cue the cliffhanger.
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Lack of Conviction
Aug. 27th, 2017 11:11 amYesterday we played some more Pathfinder, working through the goblin fortress.
( Queue more arguing... )
I found the game amusing. So did many of the other players, by the end. Phoof's player (Cassandra) was not so amused, since we kept ruining her attempts at negotiation, and various other people got pretty pissed at various times during the session. I don't *think* any of it was unrecoverable, but I don't know most of the people playing as well as I'd need to to be sure of that. :/
It is clear that the large, unwieldy party is large and unwieldy.
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( Queue more arguing... )
I found the game amusing. So did many of the other players, by the end. Phoof's player (Cassandra) was not so amused, since we kept ruining her attempts at negotiation, and various other people got pretty pissed at various times during the session. I don't *think* any of it was unrecoverable, but I don't know most of the people playing as well as I'd need to to be sure of that. :/
It is clear that the large, unwieldy party is large and unwieldy.
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Thistletop
Aug. 13th, 2017 08:19 amYesterday we had another session of Pathfinder, where the GM told us where we should 'obviously' go and we went there.
( After a week spent shopping... )
And we stopped there, because it was six and several of the players had to go to work. We'll pick up with the mini-boss fight next session, probably.
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( After a week spent shopping... )
And we stopped there, because it was six and several of the players had to go to work. We'll pick up with the mini-boss fight next session, probably.
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Exploring the Temple
Jul. 29th, 2017 10:10 pmWe played some more pathfinder today, finishing off the mini-dungeon we'd stumbled into at the end of the last session. Somehow, we managed to do the whole thing in approximately the correct order.
( further on past the prison... )
Tom (GMing) ranted at me after the fight -- "Why didn't you use your rage? I had a magic trap set up for when you raged!"
"Um... I only had a few rounds left and was saving it for when I had a chance to hit the demon, but I never actually got the chance?"
So, hooray for dumb luck. n.n
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( further on past the prison... )
Tom (GMing) ranted at me after the fight -- "Why didn't you use your rage? I had a magic trap set up for when you raged!"
"Um... I only had a few rounds left and was saving it for when I had a chance to hit the demon, but I never actually got the chance?"
So, hooray for dumb luck. n.n
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What Lies Beneath
Jul. 16th, 2017 02:17 pmYesterday was another session of Pathfinder, in which we continued investigating the goblin incursion in the glassworks.
( Where was Ameiko? )
June was sent away because his player (Ed) showed up very very late (5pm, for a game that nominally started at 1:30 and actually started around 2). He was brought back just in time for the session to end... and then Ed revealed that he was missing the next session. SIGH.
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( Where was Ameiko? )
June was sent away because his player (Ed) showed up very very late (5pm, for a game that nominally started at 1:30 and actually started around 2). He was brought back just in time for the session to end... and then Ed revealed that he was missing the next session. SIGH.
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Yeah, we're here to party
Jul. 1st, 2017 10:35 pmSecond session of the new Pathfinder game was today. It mostly consisted of us wasting time partying in inappropriate places, but eventually we stumbled across some enemy activity.
( So, it started at breakfast... )
As you may have guessed, the Ogre Magi was not part of the original level-1 module. x.x Tom added it for some extra challenge. Then decided not to use a cone of cold to kill the entire party when we were all trapped in a small enclosed area, since we'd been expecting an ordinary ogre.
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( So, it started at breakfast... )
As you may have guessed, the Ogre Magi was not part of the original level-1 module. x.x Tom added it for some extra challenge. Then decided not to use a cone of cold to kill the entire party when we were all trapped in a small enclosed area, since we'd been expecting an ordinary ogre.
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Let's try this again...
Jun. 18th, 2017 10:16 pmI'm going to try writing up a summary of Saturday's D+D game. This might or might not be an ongoing thing -- it was kind of fun when I used to do it, but I stopped for a reason.
Also, I don't really know anyone's character names because the GM kept referring to us by our real names. Blaaaah.
( So, three pirates, a ninja, a skeleton, and a groot expee walk into a bar... )
The fights were ridiculously easy this time, because the GM is starting us at level 5 despite the module starting at level 1, as a 'tutorial level' since many of the players are new. But we had fun utterly stomping them, I guess.
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Also, I don't really know anyone's character names because the GM kept referring to us by our real names. Blaaaah.
( So, three pirates, a ninja, a skeleton, and a groot expee walk into a bar... )
The fights were ridiculously easy this time, because the GM is starting us at level 5 despite the module starting at level 1, as a 'tutorial level' since many of the players are new. But we had fun utterly stomping them, I guess.
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Vacation in Toledo
Feb. 27th, 2017 09:41 amToledo, OH, that is.
My sister and my mom guilt-tripped me into visiting the family in Toledo for Thanksgiving, but it turned out that airplane tickets around Thanksgiving were ridiculously expensive, so we rescheduled for mid-February. By committing months ahead of time, and getting my sister and her family to do all the hard parts (picking a ticket, arranging for parking, etc.) they managed to get me onto a plane.
( details )
When I eventually got home around midnight Friday, I found that the management was going to install a new oven and wanted me to clean off my kitchen counters. Don't know how long that notice had been there, but I did it over the weekend so I'll see if I can get in touch with them today and tell them it's ready.
And then go to work. Sigh.
My sister and my mom guilt-tripped me into visiting the family in Toledo for Thanksgiving, but it turned out that airplane tickets around Thanksgiving were ridiculously expensive, so we rescheduled for mid-February. By committing months ahead of time, and getting my sister and her family to do all the hard parts (picking a ticket, arranging for parking, etc.) they managed to get me onto a plane.
( details )
When I eventually got home around midnight Friday, I found that the management was going to install a new oven and wanted me to clean off my kitchen counters. Don't know how long that notice had been there, but I did it over the weekend so I'll see if I can get in touch with them today and tell them it's ready.
And then go to work. Sigh.
Woke up this morning to see everything covered in snow. Like, multiple inches of snow.
It wasn't that bad, actually -- I mean, it was the perfect fluffy snow for playing in and building stuff with, not that I was going to have time to do any of that since it's a weekday. Plus, it was warm enough that the roads were just slushy instead of icy.
But it's snowing more, now. Thick snowflakes. I can see them out my window.
And I'm scared. It's a loooooong walk home from building 36.
It wasn't that bad, actually -- I mean, it was the perfect fluffy snow for playing in and building stuff with, not that I was going to have time to do any of that since it's a weekday. Plus, it was warm enough that the roads were just slushy instead of icy.
But it's snowing more, now. Thick snowflakes. I can see them out my window.
And I'm scared. It's a loooooong walk home from building 36.
Eat Ice Cream
Jan. 6th, 2017 10:36 amThere's a commercial that's been playing on the radio, mangling old sayings to turn them into slogans for their brand of ice cream.
"Find a penny pick it up, all the day you'll eat [brand] ice cream."
"The early bird gets to eat ice cream."
So I was playing with a few others in my head, but since it's hard to think up old saying to mangle I was using... other stuff.
"If it ain't broke, eat ice cream."
"All that glitters is not ice cream."
"Not all who wander eat ice cream."
"Everything is air-droppable; eat ice cream."
"If you can get it back out of the water, eat ice cream."
"Close air support covers for eating ice cream."
Now I lay me down to eat ice cream,
I pray the lord to eat ice cream.
And if I die before I eat ice cream,
I pray the lord to eat ice cream anyway.
Mmm. -.-
"Find a penny pick it up, all the day you'll eat [brand] ice cream."
"The early bird gets to eat ice cream."
So I was playing with a few others in my head, but since it's hard to think up old saying to mangle I was using... other stuff.
"If it ain't broke, eat ice cream."
"All that glitters is not ice cream."
"Not all who wander eat ice cream."
"Everything is air-droppable; eat ice cream."
"If you can get it back out of the water, eat ice cream."
"Close air support covers for eating ice cream."
Now I lay me down to eat ice cream,
I pray the lord to eat ice cream.
And if I die before I eat ice cream,
I pray the lord to eat ice cream anyway.
Mmm. -.-
Woah. I didn't think --
Nov. 29th, 2016 12:40 pmThe last communication from the No Man's Sky people before they vanished for a couple of months was that they were working on 'base building and capital ship ownership'. Since those were two things that they'd specifically ridiculed before release, I'd kind of assumed they were being sarcastic.
Yesterday they (FINALLY) released a new patch, with... base building and capital ship ownership.
Also, they added a survival mode, which makes it more of a game by drastically increasing the inconvenience of recharging stuff and the rate at which you use up life support.
( Specifically... )
What this all leads to is that, at least in the early game, survival considerations are dangerous instead of being a nuisance. You really, really don't want to land your ship anywhere but at an outpost without a good reason, because you might not be able to take off again, and the planet might be super-hostile and difficult to explore.
So... yeah. Definately makes it worth playing again, because it's an entirely new experience. Not sure if it gives the whole game more longevity in the long run, though, since once you have all the stuff I expect it'll still be pretty easy to survive.
There's a third 'creative' mode where they supposedly took out the resource requirements for everything so you can just build whatever you want without limits. Haven't tried that one yet.
Yesterday they (FINALLY) released a new patch, with... base building and capital ship ownership.
Also, they added a survival mode, which makes it more of a game by drastically increasing the inconvenience of recharging stuff and the rate at which you use up life support.
( Specifically... )
What this all leads to is that, at least in the early game, survival considerations are dangerous instead of being a nuisance. You really, really don't want to land your ship anywhere but at an outpost without a good reason, because you might not be able to take off again, and the planet might be super-hostile and difficult to explore.
So... yeah. Definately makes it worth playing again, because it's an entirely new experience. Not sure if it gives the whole game more longevity in the long run, though, since once you have all the stuff I expect it'll still be pretty easy to survive.
There's a third 'creative' mode where they supposedly took out the resource requirements for everything so you can just build whatever you want without limits. Haven't tried that one yet.
So. With Russian help (supposedly), Trump wins the election, promising to dissolve NATO and ally with Russia (supposedly things he promised).
Clearly, he's going to start a joint war with Russia and invade Europe.
Well, that's the worst case scenario that doesn't involve making things up out of thin air, anyway.
And it's what *I'd* be planning if I dissolved NATO and allied with Russia.
Clearly, he's going to start a joint war with Russia and invade Europe.
Well, that's the worst case scenario that doesn't involve making things up out of thin air, anyway.
And it's what *I'd* be planning if I dissolved NATO and allied with Russia.
So, I voted...
Oct. 30th, 2016 12:17 amThat part was easy, although I always feel like I voted wrong on all the initiatives.
Then I went to buy a new car. I almost succeeded! I got a 'new' car with 5000 miles on it and I knew about the mileage because they gave me a discount for that, but the last time a dealer did that it still counted as new for the warrantee and this time, no. Grr.
At least they didn't try to sell me a bottle of turtle wax for $300. 9.9
Anyway, I made the wonderful decision to go buy a car on the way to getting comics and lunch. Buying a car takes a LONG TIME. I ended up eating lunch at around 6pm. I think that means I can blame some of the really stupid things I did on low blood sugar? That's a thing, right?
And I'm not talking about accidentally buying a used car -- I'm talking about almost getting into three accidents because I decided to go for a turn without as much leeway as I usually insist on and then also being kind of slow and hesitant about it because I was in a new car that put me slightly higher off the ground than I'm used to (I think?). Fortunately, I actually did have (just) enough time to make the turn all three times, but ugh. x.x
UGH.
(in case anyone cares, I got a 2016 Subaru Imprezza that is specifically not a hybrid of any sort since I'm still kind of angry about the IMA system being counted as part of the emissions system and making my last car legally undrivable)
Then I went to buy a new car. I almost succeeded! I got a 'new' car with 5000 miles on it and I knew about the mileage because they gave me a discount for that, but the last time a dealer did that it still counted as new for the warrantee and this time, no. Grr.
At least they didn't try to sell me a bottle of turtle wax for $300. 9.9
Anyway, I made the wonderful decision to go buy a car on the way to getting comics and lunch. Buying a car takes a LONG TIME. I ended up eating lunch at around 6pm. I think that means I can blame some of the really stupid things I did on low blood sugar? That's a thing, right?
And I'm not talking about accidentally buying a used car -- I'm talking about almost getting into three accidents because I decided to go for a turn without as much leeway as I usually insist on and then also being kind of slow and hesitant about it because I was in a new car that put me slightly higher off the ground than I'm used to (I think?). Fortunately, I actually did have (just) enough time to make the turn all three times, but ugh. x.x
UGH.
(in case anyone cares, I got a 2016 Subaru Imprezza that is specifically not a hybrid of any sort since I'm still kind of angry about the IMA system being counted as part of the emissions system and making my last car legally undrivable)
No Man's Sky
Aug. 12th, 2016 11:34 pmI originally had this on my wishlist planning to buy it when it went on sale, but as the actual release date came up I found myself actually wanting to play it, so I got it, like, three days early because I'd heard the release date was the 9th and didn't realize that was for the PS4 only.
It's pretty much what I expected, which is a good thing I think. n.n
( performance is okay on my machine at least... )
Aimless exploration seems to be the main activity, of course. Every planet has scattered monoliths that teach you alien language and outposts with random events (usually, multiple-choice quizzes in an alien language that give you a blueprint for something if you get it right), and then lots and lots of wilderness. Scattered treasure hordes. Giant mineral outcroppings. Alien life forms that are usually peaceful but there was this one planet (I named it 'FakeLake' because it had these blue patches of dirt that I thought was open water from orbit) where all the animals wanted to eat you and it was SO ANNOYING because they'd dodge and were hard to hit and then the sentinels would come in to protect the poor, precious flesh-eating monstrosities and...
...I probably should have just left that planet right away, honestly.
So, yeah. The different planets seem different -- some have water, some have caves, some have cliffs everywhere, some have flesh-eating monstrosities, most of them are toxic or radioactive or boiling hot...
But they're so big! And there's no way to get a hint as to how to get back to somewhere that you left behind. If you launch from a planet and fly around in space for a while and then go back to the planet, the odds of finding that outpost with the shop that lets you sell your loot are... not good. I wasn't able to do it, anyway.
So, yeah. It's fun, as long as you like aimless wandering and looting tiny 'dungeons' and mining. And occasionally running away from flesh-eating monstrosities.
It's pretty much what I expected, which is a good thing I think. n.n
( performance is okay on my machine at least... )
Aimless exploration seems to be the main activity, of course. Every planet has scattered monoliths that teach you alien language and outposts with random events (usually, multiple-choice quizzes in an alien language that give you a blueprint for something if you get it right), and then lots and lots of wilderness. Scattered treasure hordes. Giant mineral outcroppings. Alien life forms that are usually peaceful but there was this one planet (I named it 'FakeLake' because it had these blue patches of dirt that I thought was open water from orbit) where all the animals wanted to eat you and it was SO ANNOYING because they'd dodge and were hard to hit and then the sentinels would come in to protect the poor, precious flesh-eating monstrosities and...
...I probably should have just left that planet right away, honestly.
So, yeah. The different planets seem different -- some have water, some have caves, some have cliffs everywhere, some have flesh-eating monstrosities, most of them are toxic or radioactive or boiling hot...
But they're so big! And there's no way to get a hint as to how to get back to somewhere that you left behind. If you launch from a planet and fly around in space for a while and then go back to the planet, the odds of finding that outpost with the shop that lets you sell your loot are... not good. I wasn't able to do it, anyway.
So, yeah. It's fun, as long as you like aimless wandering and looting tiny 'dungeons' and mining. And occasionally running away from flesh-eating monstrosities.
DEATH LAZORS
Apr. 1st, 2016 11:21 pmLast weekend there was the season premiere of My Little Pony, and I've put off giving my opinion on it for long enough that if I don't do it now it'll start stacking up with this week's episode and it'll never get done. Which is... probably not anything anyone would care about but I'm writing this anyway, damn it.
( spoilers )
So overall, while it doesn't make my list of all-time favorites, it was a really good episode. 3/3
( spoilers )
So overall, while it doesn't make my list of all-time favorites, it was a really good episode. 3/3
Another story about Lyra...
Mar. 6th, 2016 12:29 amSo, I put another fanfic up on fimfiction. I like... parts of it? But I did finally finish it and I'm at the point where I would rather be done with writing it so that I can move on to something else than keep trying to figure out how to make it better.
Seriously. I've been writing this one *forever*.
I call it Lyra's World.
Seriously. I've been writing this one *forever*.
I call it Lyra's World.
Games part 3: Strategizifyicating
Feb. 6th, 2016 08:47 pmI reinstalled Civ 5 because we wanted to try playing it multiplayer (co-op) again, and while I was doing that I installed a bunch of pony mods and started a game where I'm Princess Celestia competing with the neighboring empires of Chrysalis, Discord, and Sombra. Chrysalis is my BEST BUD. And as long as she has that ridiculous freaky huge army that she somehow managed to spam, I hope she stays that way.
I'm... not winning. On Prince, which I know Rowyn at least considers 'easy mode'.
I started playing it as a break from XCOM-2. I don't hate X-COM 2. I want to play it more. I'm just not sure I want to play more of it RIGHT NOW since RIGHT NOW I have to go into a retaliation mission where they're throwing mutons and a sectoid against me. The joke about the Ranger class is that 'after years of using plasma weapons, X-Com finally invented the sword'. Well, the aliens invented the sword too. Or at least the power-fist.
...and the tongue. *shudder*
Anyway, yeah -- it's a mission where you have to kill some enemies and save 6 out of 13 civilians. So far, I have not managed to finish the mission with any of my soldiers alive. X-Com 2 is FREAKING HARD.
I'm sure there are people out there complaining that it's so easy and the AI is horrible and even the 'impossible' mode is a cakewalk... because between Civ and X-COM, one thing is becoming increasingly clear.
I am not good at strategy games. x.x
I'm... not winning. On Prince, which I know Rowyn at least considers 'easy mode'.
I started playing it as a break from XCOM-2. I don't hate X-COM 2. I want to play it more. I'm just not sure I want to play more of it RIGHT NOW since RIGHT NOW I have to go into a retaliation mission where they're throwing mutons and a sectoid against me. The joke about the Ranger class is that 'after years of using plasma weapons, X-Com finally invented the sword'. Well, the aliens invented the sword too. Or at least the power-fist.
...and the tongue. *shudder*
Anyway, yeah -- it's a mission where you have to kill some enemies and save 6 out of 13 civilians. So far, I have not managed to finish the mission with any of my soldiers alive. X-Com 2 is FREAKING HARD.
I'm sure there are people out there complaining that it's so easy and the AI is horrible and even the 'impossible' mode is a cakewalk... because between Civ and X-COM, one thing is becoming increasingly clear.
I am not good at strategy games. x.x
