House of Ainsley: Out-of-Character Discussion

Wraith wrote:

yeah, a blurb would be nice.... or I could stop scratching my relatively nice behind and do it myself....

Out of curiosity, did you ever send the new newsletter to all our long lost posters?

LOL, I didn't actually write a newsletter. But I sent a friendly email to our absentees. The problem with a newsletter is that everyone who is going to read it is already aware of what's going on because they're active here, anyway.

*sigh* I can pester them again. I probably should. *sigh*

Wraith wrote:

yeah, a blurb would be nice.... or I could stop scratching my relatively nice behind and do it myself....

Well, if you still have the blurb I sent you before, maybe you could just give me a few ideas on you'd like me to expand on it. How does that sound?

GoldenDrakon wrote:

The House of Ainsley wrote:

You know, I never did track down that "accounting error" with Karnoz's money. I think that the relevant PMs were among the casualties when I accidentally flushed my entire Inbox a little while back.

I think that confusion over the stealth suit's purchase was at the root of the problem, but I can't seem to remember the specifics of that problem. I really need to go back over the whole thing again. The times I wish I had Microsoft Excel on my home computer....

Want me to just knock off 110 GP from my current total and call it even?

I'm an easy guy to work with. While I play a shady guy, I'm all about fair and up-and-up when it comes to the mechanics of everything.

Was that all it was? I wasn't sure if I had come up short or over when I counted up Karnoz's money. But since you mention it, I think the root of the problem was that the request to buy the stealth suit came by PM (which, luckily, I had previously moved to my Savebox before I rolled a 1 on my Spot check and deleted my entire Inbox), so I probably overlooked it when I was skimming through the Worktable thread and crunching numbers. Do you think that this might have been the entire problem in a nutshell?

Also, all of the new underworld weapons from Song and Silence have been added to the equipment topic. Enjoy!

Heya, sorry for my pathetic answer in the Zero chapter. I felt like it had been sitting there for far too long for such a simple turn. Sorries, once again.

Oh, think nothing of it. It's better to have a simple one- or two-sentence reply than it is to have a one- or two-sentence reply padded into three paragraphs full of nothing just because you felt bad about typing only one or two sentences.

Sometimes, a short answer is all you can do. Sometimes, "We wait for sunset" is a better post--and a better course of action--than a short essay about moods and wind currents and counting arrows and whatnot. Don't feel the least bit bad about short replies; if nothing else, they're very easy to read.

Yeah, duergar. Lawful to the core. They're evil bastards, but they tend to have a certain honor to them (unlike the craven, Chaotic Evil, half-human derro, who routinely get on the duergar's bad side...). At least they're Honest Joes, though...pathologically honest, even in situations where lies would serve better.


Duergar Wife: "How does this dress look?"
Duergar Husband: "It makes you look like a whore. A fat whore."
Duergar Wife (thinking nothing of it because that's normal conversation in duergar society): "Oh. I should probably change into something else, then. Also, I think you need to wash your feet again; you smell like a skink that's been dead for two days."
Duergar Husband (ditto): "Okay, thanks."

Duergar Military Officer: "Where is your army's arsenal?"
Duergar Enemy Captive: "In Kurgard Pass. Now that you know where it is, you can go there and die. Clan Barzabadd will have your kidneys for breakfast, you poncy toad...."
Duergar Military Officer: "That's okay. I was going to kill you anyway."
Duergar Enemy Captive: "I know. You've already told me that, like, five times since you caught me."
Duergar Military Officer: "You were keeping count? Well, I guess it's not like you had anything better to do...."

Duergar Patient: "How do I look, doctor?"
Duergar Chirurgeon: "You have stomach cancer. It's a pretty big mass of tumors, too; I'd give you two months to live, tops. Better start digging your hole now."
Duergar Patient: "Oh, no...oh, no...oh no oh no oh no...."
Duergar Chirurgeon: "Oh, quit crying! It's not like you have a very big family to support anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if it took them a week to notice that you were gone. By the way, you need to pay me. Now."


Outsiders don't get as much slack, though.


Duergar #1: "Your breath smells like rancid meat!"
Duergar #2: "Damn it! I just gargled salt water, too."

Human: "Your breath smells like rancid meat!"
Duergar: "You insult me? I'll carve your heart out with a stick, fool!"


Aren't duergar cultural norms great?

LOL! That's... thats.... indescribable.

Well, actually, you did a pretty good job

So if Sylvea somehow ends up falling into an erupting volcano or something, you'll be asking to play a duergar character next, just so you can be a sourpuss and get away with it, am I right? There's a character level handicap for duergar characters, but I'm sure you wouldn't mind....

(Just try not to annoy Keitha with your duergar. Keitha is to dwarves what the Predator was to Jesse Ventura. I'm not sure if slathering yourself with mud will throw her off your back, either. )

Oooh, and yeah, I might just have a few new recruits for your game too

Hopefully they show up eventually, lol! But they're big DnD fans, so it should work out

I also hope i'm not getting my hopes up, lol. We know what happens when that happens....

Okay, I just put my work uniforms in the wash. Let's see what I can do while I'm waiting for them to stop spinning.

Wraith wrote:

Oooh, and yeah, I might just have a few new recruits for your game too

Hopefully they show up eventually, lol! But they're big DnD fans, so it should work out

I also hope i'm not getting my hopes up, lol. We know what happens when that happens....

Man, we're going to have a small army of characters at this rate.

Ainsley: "Lord Stang stands at the parapet of his castle with his steely left fist raised to the heavens, defying your intrusion. Arcs of baleful electricity dance across the wicked blade of his dread zweihander Verhängnis as he drags it from the pavestones, its diabolically keen edge carving a deep gouge in the granite as it passes and rises to full height in both his hands...."

You Guys: "We swarm up over the parapets and swamp him with our numbers."

Ainsley: "...and Lord Stang perishes quite horribly. Hmmph! I guess I'd better crunch the XP for Lord Stang and split it twenty friggin' ways...."

One o' You Guys: "Dibs on his two-handed sword!"

Another o' You Guys: "Dibs on his full plate!"

Third Guy o' You Guys: "Dibs on his castle and fiefdom!"

Fourth Guy o' You Guys: "I cast Raise Dead on his black dragon mount and call dibs on that!"

Ainsley: *facepalms*

Taljor wrote:

Is it too late to start a new char?

Ainsley, I PM'd the same question to you. I'll be looking both here or in PM, your chioce.

It's not too late at all; Jaz just joined in very recently herself.

*goes to PM*

There we go. I just got my Gametable out and rolled up ten new sets of Abilities and starting Gold for the Worktable thread. And this batch gave us both another perfect 18 (in Constitution, good for making someone practically unkillable) as well as our lowest score yet, a 4 in Charisma (which pretty much gets you booed and pelted with eggs everytime you show your face in public).

The usual three alterations to those base Abilities still apply, of course:

1) Any two Ability scores can be swapped after you choose a set. If you want to play a Wizard who has any hope of eventually casting those magnificently powerful Ninth Level spells (so you can one day lay waste to entire armies with Weird, Meteor Swarm, Time Stop and Wail of the Banshee), you would do well to pick the set with the 18 in Constitution and switch it with that 11 in Intelligence.
2) One point may be added to one Ability of your choice.
3) Racial adjustments apply. So if you want to pick a hill dwarf (racial adjustments: +2 to Constitution and -2 to Charisma) and either turn that 18 Constitution into a massive, steel-thewed 20 or that 4 Charisma into an utterly untouchable 2, go for it.

Okay, back to PM Land I go (after I put my uniforms in the dryer, that is).

Okay, now I have to get a bunch of work done. I'll be back with Karnoz and Sylvea when that's all squared away.

Well, as those of you who watch the Weather Channel may (but probably don't) know, we just had two or three days of stormy weather down here in East Texas. Our roof leaks, Dad and I have been busy with various projects (including minimizing the damage from the leaky roof until the weather turns dry enough for us to patch and reshingle the roof) and my internet access has been down more than it's been up. We'll see if East Texas Cable has me ready to go by the time I get home from work tomorrow.

And up here, we just got over some country music concert here at Mill Creek Ranch Resort (in our Ampitheater but spread out throughout the rest of the resort as well...and guess who got late-night damage control...) last weekend. Who the heck is Roy Cooper, and why should I be impressed with him and his music? I must live under a rock or something, because the concert sold out. Meh.

Anyway, I'm pretty busy tonight (mostly with cleaning...mopping, washing towels and all). But we'll see if I can do anything here tonight or tomorrow...assuming I get my internet back at home, that is.

Don't worry too much about it, darls

You're pretty much the only thing keeping this forum together at the moment, you and your game. *sigh* I really am lazy.

Oh and by the way! I just got called into Jury Duty. I go to court tomorrow. *double sigh* at least I get paid for it.

Stupid crime people... disrupting my daily routine and all... *grumble*

Just answer one of those questions that either the defense or prosicutor will not wat you in the box. Sometimes being hard line or conservative can play to your favor.

Eh, well it turned out to be a giant bust. The accused ended up playing everyone, saying he would plead then not doing it... then pushing the time back, then saying he would plead... blah.

Anyways, all I got out of it was a white chocolate mocha (which I had to pay for myself) - a parking bill of $5 and a travel allowance of $12.50.

Once again... Blah.

Okay, I think I'm feeling well enough to get back on my horse and continue on with the campaign today. Did I miss anything? Besides the forum changing my text editor buttons all around again....

Wraith wrote:

Eh, well it turned out to be a giant bust. The accused ended up playing everyone, saying he would plead then not doing it... then pushing the time back, then saying he would plead... blah.

Anyways, all I got out of it was a white chocolate mocha (which I had to pay for myself) - a parking bill of $5 and a travel allowance of $12.50.

Once again... Blah.

And you didn't even get to send the buzzard off clapped in irons? I agree. Blah.

Yeah, it was all pretty stupid. But if I had of 'cried off' that day, the system would have been contacting me every two months and asking me to Serve.

So I swallowed a chill pill and decided to attend - this way the system's blind to me for another 12 months.

Well, maybe the next time you'll get to fit some jerk for a set of prison jumpers. In twelve months. After Johnny Law remembers that you exist again.

LOL, true that. But I don't relish the opportunity should it come again. I mean, I'm willing to Serve. But I don't want to get screwed around again jusst because I said 'yes'.

Daggit...foiled by my own lifestyle, occupation and character weaknesses again.

Okay, give me about eight hours to sleep (since I just got home from work, watered the plants, watered the chickens and did a bunch of other chores...), then I'll see about answering my PMs, getting Taljor on the road and switching to Karnoz and Sylvea. I might even add some more Prestige Classes and Feats to the Character Creation lists while I'm at it.

In the meantime, here's a somewhat relevant webstrip to amuse you and convince you to forgive me my trespasses:

http://oglaf.com/breastplate/

Heh! Yeah...which reminds me, just like D&D's loot generation tables are pretty fast and loose with heavy armor fitting various races, they're completely mum when it comes to heavy armor fitting either sex...even though wearing rigid metal armor which was forged for a wearer of the opposite sex would likely have negative consequences. A woman wearing a man's breastplate would have to weather the discomfort of having her jumblies (and their fifty-billion oh-so-delicate mammary glands) smushed by a comparatively flat layer of unyielding metal (and saints forbid she be any better endowed than an A cup...), while a man wearing a woman's breastplate could safely expect to be roundly humiliated for wearing a spacious steel womanly bosom in the middle of the local marketplace, as the webstrip suggests. And then comes the issue of codpieces....

So, yeah. If there's a reason why the party's half-orc can borrow the dwarf's suit of full plate, it's pretty close to the same reason why Dave the Fighter can borrow Jill the Cleric's breastplate: it's just one of those topics where you're better off just glossing over all the whys and wherefores.

(Oh, yeah...and be careful browsing the rest of the Oglaf strips, by the way, especially if you have children, domineering parents, nosy employers and/or high-strung moral standards; most of the strips in the series are a whole hell of a lot "edgier" than this one. You have been warned. )

What do you think of what I have sent you about a char? Or are you waiting for a background before we move foreward?

Hey, sorry it has been so long since my last post. It has been a REALLY bad 20 days for me. Anyway, things are starting to settle finally for the moment so there is a post waiting for you.

Taljor wrote:

What do you think of what I have sent you about a char? Or are you waiting for a background before we move foreward?

I'm looking over it. I'll be replying in PM.

Jazman wrote:

Hey, sorry it has been so long since my last post. It has been a REALLY bad 20 days for me. Anyway, things are starting to settle finally for the moment so there is a post waiting for you.

I think it's just been a rough time for most of us; sometimes life just whammies a bunch of people at the same time, even if those crises and troubles are completely unrelated.

And more lousy news: I got to work last night and found that, for some reason, whoever handles the T1 connections at work sicced the WatchGuard on Illusion Vale. So now I can't view IV from work, let alone post. I'll see if I can hunt down the admin and try to coax him or her into loosening the chains and taking IV off the "blocked sites" list, but until then I can't post at work. Sorry.

It seems awfully petty of them, doesn't it? It's understandable that they would block Facebook and such; those huge social sites can bring bad things like spambots and stalkers to the workplace. But IV is nothing like that.

Yeah, I'd better have a chat with our internet jockey...if I can find him or her. This company started off great, but ever since we got a new site supervisor (who's a real harpy), the workplace just seems to have been getting more and more oppressive.

(Also, I just spent half the day hooking up a new hose caddy and doing some more brickwork in the backyard. My "Backyard 2.0" project is coming along great. You should see it. )

Hurray, I get the next two days off (after my shift tonight)! And with my garden project coming along nicely, I feel confident enough to lounge around tomorrow and bust my hump on this here House of Ainsley campaign, most effort of which will involve catch-up with a splash of further development. After all, just because I can no longer access Illusion Vale from work doesn't mean I have to sit around not working on my campaign notes.

On a related note, just to convince y'all that I'm not a complete slack-butt, more stuff to add to your Gametables! Will it be involved in the campaign's future? Probably, yeah. So enjoy!


So why give ordinary gargoyle statues their own pogs instead of using the generic statue pogs? To keep you guys guessing, of course! The beauty of the monster variety is its ability to masquerade as the ordinary statue variety...until you've wandered into swoop-attack range or whatnot.

Anyway, I'm late for work. Toodles!