I really am in X1 about another Foreign Edtions thing creeping up:

as well, I am supposed to be (at the very least) a little more professional while at the Acaeum than I am at DF.

I really don't know if posting dream-visions is appropriate, given the context.

However, can you guys please back me up on this one, perhaps (hopefully) not at Acaeum, but somewhere else on the net, one day?

I will be more than happy to return the favor.

Thanks,

John

modheaven7@gmail.com

PS. To
[auction etiquette :
the identity of the highest bidder must be kept private]

the realization of your aspiration to become a modern Medici is nothing less than inspiring to all of us. an Art gallery where the Artists at work are on 'display' for part of the day is almost as innovative as the concept of hidden pieces of Art that can only be viewed by those who somehow succeed at some kind of a strange game.


/\

modheaven wrote:I really don't know if posting dream-visions is appropriate, given the context.

I'm gonna vote no.  Might be best to lay off the cough syrup.  

bombadil wrote:What the hell?

my thoughts exactly  

jasonw1239 wrote:Wow! Are they putting something special in the water in Toronto?
How about shipping me a jug or two...  

After that post, I'm thinking that maybe he's been drinking straight out of Lake Ontario.  

jasonw1239 wrote:Wow! Are they putting something special in the water in Toronto?
How about shipping me a jug or two...  

Yes, yes we are.

Owwww......and I try to convince my mates that collecting 20-30 years old D & D books isn't geeky.  This thread does not help the cause.

simonmwh wrote:Owwww......and I try to convince my mates that collecting 20-30 years old D & D books isn't geeky.  This thread does not help the cause.

I would almost say what is more important:
what other people think of you,
or how much fun you and your (regular) friends are having every weekend or so (not to mention the fact that you are getting together with real people, instead of sitting in front of a computer screen. I like both, but I have to say, there is really something to be said for the tabletop experience, in this day and age.)

However, these are your mates. Hmm.

I think that some of the Dungeons & Dragons stuff on YouTube is a great laugh, but you're right, it doesn't really portray a gratifying picture.

There is a lady in Toronto with huge kahungas that has a T-shirt that says:

"I love nerds"

I thought of sending her down to slap some sense into your mates, but that isn't probably the best idea, either. Hmm.

I would probably just go along with it, it doesn't bother me that people hurl the word 'geek' and 'nerd', a lot of the time it's said with a teasing affection (although one might not see that), and if it's done in a mean-spirited and/or oh I can make myself look better by making other people look bad kinda way, just shrug it off and have faith in yourself.
(Of course, I'm talking about society in general, not your mates.)

I think it's important to have an extra couple of chairs in your home : (A)D&D has never been an exclusive pastime ... we don't check race, religion, bank account, social status, etc. at the door. We don't practice face control, like you will find in the Russian club scene.

If that makes me a geek or a nerd, then, really, I am having second thoughts about the value of being cool.

John

modheaven7@gmail.com

Hey, don't be embarrassed : be proud!

You're not an idiot, and the same goes for most of the people who play these games. (Although a lot of us could do better when it comes to increasing our Strength and Constitution scores : hmm, since the adventure is flat on the table, maybe I should try lifting weights (within reason : a 10 or 20 pound weight) while reading it? Great for the CB series, by the way. Maybe being more diet-conscious when it comes to snacks at the gaming table. Herbal teas make great potions (they come in all kinds of cool colors, better than pop, though honey will bite your teeth), and a movement towards the kind of foods that they would have eaten way back when ... yes, simple slabs of real MEAT instead of all that cheesiepoofs crap, maybe that would help. Hey, whatever it takes ...)

If you're playing tabletop, and not computer: then you have something that is more important than the opinion of society .... friends that you see on a regular basis!

Unfortunately, I'm not doing any tabletop gaming for a while, but it is something that I look forward to : I would love to run some experimental games of 'D&D' ... the thought of playing 'halfway' fascinates me.

'Halfway' (don't what else to call the concept)
halve the monsters (if one monster, halve the hp)
halve the treasure
halve the magic items (alternate, one yes, one no)
halve the level requirements

For example, T1-4 would become an adventure for character levels 1-4 :

S1 would become an adventure for character levels 5-7 (gulp!).

Again, the keyword is 'experimental'. I could see this as being particularly deadly, but I would love to try out all of the A-Z adventures with these 'rules', just to see what would happen.

I could see S1 as becoming a tomb for more than one person, if not approached with the proper circumspection (moreso than ever). You keep the character sheets of the deceased, key the location of their corpses in soft pencil (although many would differ, interior writing is not a sin). Some mods might outgrow the character sheets in the back of the magbag stage, requiring full binders (gulp:)

No, this is not a computer game, you can't restart when things go wrong.

It is these locations that become legendary among players: it might be years of wading through the remains of their former PCs, and still there is no guarantee of success.

Back to the generalities of this concept: halving the magic items (one yes, one no) would mean less items (of course), less sheet clutter, but more items of greater power. Magic items become rarer, and something of a little more significance. This is generally consistent with the precedent that we have been given in fantasy literature and mythology.

Halving the monsters, and halving the level requirements, makes the PCs a little more on par with other humans and normal people. They were never meant to be superheroes (ignoring the semantics of an 8th level fighter), just better than the rest, and, for the most part, hard-earned at that.

Most importantly, pacing. There would be more people, more plot, more places. More of a story overall.

Sort of a sad thought that people might miss out on a whole bunch of *adventures*, because huge amounts of time were being spent fighting huge battles (there are some big ones out there), sorting through huge piles of treasure, and trying to manage huge lists of magic items (well, keep dreaming, I guess, but I've been through this in the BG games, and others).

The campaign: just write out the A-Z adventures in level order, and place the list in a magazine bag with backing board (same for the photocopied illos that you prop up on the screen, and the overland maps if you know what I mean). Give this as a reference to your players, like the 'final and first' appendix to the Player's Handbooks. It's their choice where they go, not yours. If they move off *the map* of their current adventure, then they go back to the appropriate place on the level list, and choose another adventure from there. Keep your notes, as old places can be revisited. Remember, it will be the players who are choosing the adventures, not you!

Whoops. It seems I went on a rant there. Was supposed to be:
Something about what other people think or something. Hmm.
I'll get to it later, maybe.

Priorities.

John

modheaven7@gmail.com

bombadil wrote:It just occurred to me:  modheaven must be that guy in the youtube video someone posted here a few weeks ago.

Do you mean this douchebag?

http://www.youtube.com/user/shanenetwork