I just heard that Wizards of the Coast announced a 4th edition of AD&D to be released May 2008. No details yet...
But user friendly has some amusing cartoons on the subject:
http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20070825
Friday, August 24, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Tora's Inner Fears
Alone in a room, by a fire, long since darkened, Tora cries to his gods “Oh why is the round eye so much more powerful than I”.
Only silence answers the sword-master. Boroto enters the room, seeing the distressed hero, she removes her robes hoping to comfort his aching heart, but Tora will have none of her love-pity. He must find a way to master the mostly nekked little man, Drako. Spurning her advances he spins about: “He doesn’t even wear armor! How is it that he is so nearly invulnerable to attack?”
Boroto quickly regains her robes and turns away from Tora. “He is a monk, highly disciplined, focused beyond standard human measure. His path is not one that all may walk and so the gods reward him for that.”
Quietly she thinks: “this is my third attempt to seduce this bastard. What is his problem? I’m so totally hot. I wonder if he has the hots for Drako?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I mean really, Drako is so hot! Maybe I should go after Drako? No, skinny round eye is too, I don’t know, hmm....
Tora turns about, drawing his sword (and in the same stroke), slices through a pineapple that happens to be lying about, despite the fact that he has never seen a pineapple and they are not even indigenous to this clime.
He wonders about the odd fruit as he slices through it, reveling in the fact that he has hit something, at least. Quietly to himself, he imagines Drako’s ugly head detached from his body, rolling about on the floor. Tora laughs then kicks the fruit. It hits Boroto, who seems rather annoyed. “Look, Romeo, unlike normal people, Drako adds his wisdom to his ability to avoid blows.” If you haven’t noticed, he has godlike wisdom.”
Tora snorts at this and states: “I’ve never seen his wisdom, just those stupid acrobatic show-off stunts that he pulls. What a dick! Stupid round eye!” Oh, sure, he gave me this dragon armor, fan-frickin-tastic! Ooh! What a nice guy?!
“I didn’t say he was a nice guy, in fact I’m a little worried about his motives of late considering the several times that he has bathed in dragons’ blood. He also seems to really enjoy smacking around Illya. I mean, who doesn’t really? But he seems to take an almost unnatural joy from the experience. Is it the dragon blood? Yes, probably. Also, he seems a bit more frightening to me these days and I can’t explain why. However, he has been very focused on making himself as invulnerable as possible. He must have gotten something for being in the heart of a living dragon. I mean that’s got to count for something. Plus, he bathed in the blood of a black dragon once I believe.”
“Freak!” Tora yells and slices through another strange fruit entirely non-indigenous to this clime. “Why does he do that? It weirds me out?” “It grants him power, Tora. It imbues him with the power of creatures that are near godlike. He himself worships F'thrun, as do I. We are such a perfect match, that hot little man and I?”
“Screw that freak!” Tora yells as he once again spins his sword about cutting a swallow in two – leaving two smaller, but equal swallows in its place to fly off.
Tora is impressed at his ability for a moment and doesn’t continue the conversation with Boroto.
Time passes. ...
“And as I was saying, that is why the mighty Drako is so powerful! Being a monk does most of it, but really, he has focused all of his efforts to be as invulnerable as possible. I mean, look at his spell resistance. The spell resistance itself comes from being a high level monk, but part of it comes from the fact that he’s a damn fine human specimen. But still, it seems like he has preternaturally high abilities to resist magic, most probably from his focus and discipline and all of those damned magic items that he’s been hoarding for so long.
Come to think of it, he’s probably gay. I mean really, all the good ones are right? Seriously, he’s never had a date. In all these months of adventuring, not one date? I mean, look at Artemis, if I weren’t so straight, I would go after her. Meow! Bad kitty! Down kttty, down, lower, lower, ooh, good kitty!
“Boroto! You are not making me feel better.”“Oh, sorry, as I was saying, it makes perfect sense when you think about it. Monks are very limited, but very focused. Almost all of the abilities that he has can be attributed to his monk status and the fact that he has worked hard to be as invulnerable as possible.”
“Fine!” I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me at all. I’ll just laugh twice as hard when he gets his tail kicked by one of the undead creatures wandering about. Let’s see him teleport inside a vampire. Now that will be funny!”
Boroto shakes her head. “Poor Tora, you don’t realize that Drako has moved beyond all that. He is a magical creature now, an outsider. Perhaps we have can learn from him. He will be a good and kind master when he rules these lands. Perhaps it is best if we start praising him now. I think I’ll just go and offer myself to him. Perhaps that will buy me some favor.”
“Aaaah!”Tora snaps his head up. He had drifted off on watch, but it had only been a few seconds. The sleeping forms Drako, Boroto, and the others of the League of Law were nearby. “Yosh!” Tora mumbled under his breath. Drako’s sleeping form smiles.
Only silence answers the sword-master. Boroto enters the room, seeing the distressed hero, she removes her robes hoping to comfort his aching heart, but Tora will have none of her love-pity. He must find a way to master the mostly nekked little man, Drako. Spurning her advances he spins about: “He doesn’t even wear armor! How is it that he is so nearly invulnerable to attack?”
Boroto quickly regains her robes and turns away from Tora. “He is a monk, highly disciplined, focused beyond standard human measure. His path is not one that all may walk and so the gods reward him for that.”
Quietly she thinks: “this is my third attempt to seduce this bastard. What is his problem? I’m so totally hot. I wonder if he has the hots for Drako?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I mean really, Drako is so hot! Maybe I should go after Drako? No, skinny round eye is too, I don’t know, hmm....
Tora turns about, drawing his sword (and in the same stroke), slices through a pineapple that happens to be lying about, despite the fact that he has never seen a pineapple and they are not even indigenous to this clime.
He wonders about the odd fruit as he slices through it, reveling in the fact that he has hit something, at least. Quietly to himself, he imagines Drako’s ugly head detached from his body, rolling about on the floor. Tora laughs then kicks the fruit. It hits Boroto, who seems rather annoyed. “Look, Romeo, unlike normal people, Drako adds his wisdom to his ability to avoid blows.” If you haven’t noticed, he has godlike wisdom.”
Tora snorts at this and states: “I’ve never seen his wisdom, just those stupid acrobatic show-off stunts that he pulls. What a dick! Stupid round eye!” Oh, sure, he gave me this dragon armor, fan-frickin-tastic! Ooh! What a nice guy?!
“I didn’t say he was a nice guy, in fact I’m a little worried about his motives of late considering the several times that he has bathed in dragons’ blood. He also seems to really enjoy smacking around Illya. I mean, who doesn’t really? But he seems to take an almost unnatural joy from the experience. Is it the dragon blood? Yes, probably. Also, he seems a bit more frightening to me these days and I can’t explain why. However, he has been very focused on making himself as invulnerable as possible. He must have gotten something for being in the heart of a living dragon. I mean that’s got to count for something. Plus, he bathed in the blood of a black dragon once I believe.”
“Freak!” Tora yells and slices through another strange fruit entirely non-indigenous to this clime. “Why does he do that? It weirds me out?” “It grants him power, Tora. It imbues him with the power of creatures that are near godlike. He himself worships F'thrun, as do I. We are such a perfect match, that hot little man and I?”
“Screw that freak!” Tora yells as he once again spins his sword about cutting a swallow in two – leaving two smaller, but equal swallows in its place to fly off.
Tora is impressed at his ability for a moment and doesn’t continue the conversation with Boroto.
Time passes. ...
“And as I was saying, that is why the mighty Drako is so powerful! Being a monk does most of it, but really, he has focused all of his efforts to be as invulnerable as possible. I mean, look at his spell resistance. The spell resistance itself comes from being a high level monk, but part of it comes from the fact that he’s a damn fine human specimen. But still, it seems like he has preternaturally high abilities to resist magic, most probably from his focus and discipline and all of those damned magic items that he’s been hoarding for so long.
Come to think of it, he’s probably gay. I mean really, all the good ones are right? Seriously, he’s never had a date. In all these months of adventuring, not one date? I mean, look at Artemis, if I weren’t so straight, I would go after her. Meow! Bad kitty! Down kttty, down, lower, lower, ooh, good kitty!
“Boroto! You are not making me feel better.”“Oh, sorry, as I was saying, it makes perfect sense when you think about it. Monks are very limited, but very focused. Almost all of the abilities that he has can be attributed to his monk status and the fact that he has worked hard to be as invulnerable as possible.”
“Fine!” I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me at all. I’ll just laugh twice as hard when he gets his tail kicked by one of the undead creatures wandering about. Let’s see him teleport inside a vampire. Now that will be funny!”
Boroto shakes her head. “Poor Tora, you don’t realize that Drako has moved beyond all that. He is a magical creature now, an outsider. Perhaps we have can learn from him. He will be a good and kind master when he rules these lands. Perhaps it is best if we start praising him now. I think I’ll just go and offer myself to him. Perhaps that will buy me some favor.”
“Aaaah!”Tora snaps his head up. He had drifted off on watch, but it had only been a few seconds. The sleeping forms Drako, Boroto, and the others of the League of Law were nearby. “Yosh!” Tora mumbled under his breath. Drako’s sleeping form smiles.
Hero's Lament
As you trek into the underdark
where lurid monsters dwell
or climb the highest peaks of ice
or into the planes of Hell.
Do not pack Elf chain for armor
or a cloak to ward off chills.
Just find some lucky dice my friend,
for a one in twenty kills.
A dragon breathes a burst of flame
that steel cannot withstand
and vampires have unholy bites
and undead to command.
But fire and fang you can combat
with bravery, wit, and skill,
but not if you can't roll for shit,
for a one in twenty kills.
You have slain the mighty dragon.
You have crushed the evil king.
You have claimed the crown of glory.
You have mastered Sauron's ring.
Though you have many triumphs
and a destiny to fulfill,
The best hero needs some loaded dice,
for a one in twenty kills.
where lurid monsters dwell
or climb the highest peaks of ice
or into the planes of Hell.
Do not pack Elf chain for armor
or a cloak to ward off chills.
Just find some lucky dice my friend,
for a one in twenty kills.
A dragon breathes a burst of flame
that steel cannot withstand
and vampires have unholy bites
and undead to command.
But fire and fang you can combat
with bravery, wit, and skill,
but not if you can't roll for shit,
for a one in twenty kills.
You have slain the mighty dragon.
You have crushed the evil king.
You have claimed the crown of glory.
You have mastered Sauron's ring.
Though you have many triumphs
and a destiny to fulfill,
The best hero needs some loaded dice,
for a one in twenty kills.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Game Schedules and Whatnot
Alright my mighty band of heroes! Time for the unpleasant business of scheduling the next game(s).
With the fall upon us, at least 4 of our troop will be more or less "out" for the weekends (hunting, SCA, etc.) so we will be moving games to Monday evenings (7pm -10pm). This means the games will be, necessarily, shorter and more focused, and will need to end at 10pm, no matter where we are. You will need to get as much planning as you can done on the blog or via email. Everyone needs to plan on eating before they get there and we'll just have snacky food/drinks. Fortunately, it also means we might be able to play a bit more often - I'm thinking 2x/month - since it's only a 3 hour commitment.
So, taking a look at the rest of the year, I'm proposing the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month. Let me know what you think (is twice a month too often? are Mondays good/bad/indifferent?) I know some folks may only be able to make 1/month due to other commitments, and that's ok, as long as we have at least 4 players for each game.
Also, as an aside, I'd like to have a dinner party in the near future (late September/early October) for anyone interested in working on their back story and/or leveling up their characters. If you haven't applied your experience points in a while, or want some input from your compadre's in shuffling around your skill points, this would be your opportunity. If there's interest, I'll send around a follow up email with details/dates.
That's all for now folks. Look for posts on the blog from Birodo, Marion, and possibly others in the near future...
With the fall upon us, at least 4 of our troop will be more or less "out" for the weekends (hunting, SCA, etc.) so we will be moving games to Monday evenings (7pm -10pm). This means the games will be, necessarily, shorter and more focused, and will need to end at 10pm, no matter where we are. You will need to get as much planning as you can done on the blog or via email. Everyone needs to plan on eating before they get there and we'll just have snacky food/drinks. Fortunately, it also means we might be able to play a bit more often - I'm thinking 2x/month - since it's only a 3 hour commitment.
So, taking a look at the rest of the year, I'm proposing the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month. Let me know what you think (is twice a month too often? are Mondays good/bad/indifferent?) I know some folks may only be able to make 1/month due to other commitments, and that's ok, as long as we have at least 4 players for each game.
Also, as an aside, I'd like to have a dinner party in the near future (late September/early October) for anyone interested in working on their back story and/or leveling up their characters. If you haven't applied your experience points in a while, or want some input from your compadre's in shuffling around your skill points, this would be your opportunity. If there's interest, I'll send around a follow up email with details/dates.
That's all for now folks. Look for posts on the blog from Birodo, Marion, and possibly others in the near future...
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Upcoming Game
Next game, Sunday, August 19th, 2pm-9pm
We will have barbeque chicken and cherry cheese dessert pizza - bring side dishes or chips/snacks!
Starting point: When last we saw our intrepid adventurers, they were licking their wounds from a recent battle with a horror from the mirror in Mira's room. The clerics/druid are low on spells and now have to sleep fully to be able to recover them (since they were interrupted in the middle of the night and had to fight the tentacle - monsters are so inconsiderate!). They have 2 cats shut up in a bedroom and a possible change of landscape outside.
Tora also needs a nap. Good thing Gammy's on his way! :)
We will have barbeque chicken and cherry cheese dessert pizza - bring side dishes or chips/snacks!
Starting point: When last we saw our intrepid adventurers, they were licking their wounds from a recent battle with a horror from the mirror in Mira's room. The clerics/druid are low on spells and now have to sleep fully to be able to recover them (since they were interrupted in the middle of the night and had to fight the tentacle - monsters are so inconsiderate!). They have 2 cats shut up in a bedroom and a possible change of landscape outside.
Tora also needs a nap. Good thing Gammy's on his way! :)
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
2 Games in 1 Month - Yikes
Wow! 2 games this month! How much will that be!! Well, hopefully a lot.
A few reminders before our game this Sunday:
A few reminders before our game this Sunday:
- Writing a summary, a letter home, sketching one of the fantastic animals you see on the way, writing a poem about your adventure, etc. (be creative) earns you a 10% experience point bonus.
- To get the bonus, you have to give me the work of art, letter, poem, cheese sculpture, etc. or post it (or a picture of it) here.
- Everyone in the game should have rights to create posts on this blog. If you don't, let me know and I'll resend the invitation.
- Planning ahead is good.
I want to have a scheduling discussion at the next game. I've kicked around the idea with some of you about playing on Monday nights, twice a month. It would probably be easier for us to coordinate, especially with the holiday's fast approaching, and if we limit it to, say, 6-10pm, order out pizza or Thai or some such, we should all still be good for Tuesday morning work. Anyway, I'm interested in your thoughts on the matter.
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