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    What kind of D&D character are you?

    Monday, September 14, 2009, 9:18 PM

    I found this thanks to Tancread's Blog. No big surprises here.

    I Am A: Lawful Good Human Paladin (5th Level)


    Ability Scores:

    Strength-16

    Dexterity-17

    Constitution-16

    Intelligence-18

    Wisdom-18

    Charisma-19


    Alignment:
    Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment because it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.


    Race:
    Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


    Class:
    Paladins take their adventures seriously, and even a mundane mission is, in the heart of the paladin, a personal test an opportunity to demonstrate bravery, to learn tactics, and to find ways to do good. Divine power protects these warriors of virtue, warding off harm, protecting from disease, healing, and guarding against fear. The paladin can also direct this power to help others, healing wounds or curing diseases, and also use it to destroy evil. Experienced paladins can smite evil foes and turn away undead. A paladin's Wisdom score should be high, as this determines the maximum spell level that they can cast. Many of the paladin's special abilities also benefit from a high Charisma score.


    Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)


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    A Ω (WOTC should take lessons from these guys)

    Friday, September 4, 2009, 10:20 PM
    Categories: General

    Despite being a proponent of 4E D&D, and a hardcore LFR player, it is no secret to those that know me that D&D, in all of it's various incarnations, is one of my least favorite RPG rule systems.

    I play it all the time, I have a blast, and I take the time to master the rule system of each edition - but this is only because for the most part the gamers I know are invariably terrified of change. 4E is (in my opinion) the best version of D&D yet, but it still falls horribly short when compared to nearly any number of better game systems. It's a beer-and-pretzels game, and while fun, the actual rule system that drives it is unrealistic and goofy. Classes are limiting and restrictive, combat is clunky and unrealistic, the progression of levels and experience is ridiculous, and hit points and their incredible growth from starting your character till the end of your character's career serves to sever all immersion. A high level character who would could survive being stabbed 50 times or so with a dagger, or complete submersion in lava is preposterous. With a few exceptions from the second edition days, the settings for D&D are all also equally un-appealing to me. As a student of history and the development of ancient civilizations - expecting me to believe that castles and towers would exist as a form of defense in magic and monster -rich settings like Oerth or Faerun is funny. The whole economy and ecology of these worlds, the societies, trade and commerce, warfare ... it all just doesn't work if you expect even a modicum of realism.

    That being said I play a whole, whole lot of D&D because it usually seems to be the only game in town. Nobody I know ever wants to take the time to check out better games like Riddle of Steel, Fading Suns, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Deadlands, Cadwallon, Exalted, or any of the myriad of other great games out there. So I play D&D, but I still hopefully collect other game systems.

    All this brings me to my point. Alpha Omega. Alpha Omega by Mindstorm Labs is amazing. The game itself is interesting, well-crafted, dynamic and innovative, but what absolutely floors me is the production behind it. The book is absolutely gorgeous - a product not only of higher quality than any other "non-WOTC" product, but of higher quality than anything I've ever seen WOTC put out. The launch of the game was proceeded by an amazingly genius viral marketing campaign that sparked curiosity and involvement and received coverage in USA Today, Forbes Magazine and the LA Times.

    The official site for the game is equally impressive, and blows WOTC's internet support for D&D out of the water. I'll give you a few links to check it out for yourself. Even if you never plan to even look at a game other than D&D, I think any fan of RPGs should take a moment to check out the sites and marketing that support Alpha Omega - This game system and company has shamed anything WOTC or anyone else has ever done, and they've done it on their first try. And if by any chance any WOTC staffers happen to read this - why can't you guys come up with something this cool? I'm sure your budget and manpower exponentially exceeds what they have ...

    Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I would love it if what Mindstorm labs has done with Alpha Omega has now raised the bar for production and support of RPGs across the board. There is no reason in my mind why RPGs shouldn't be given the fuss and the fanfare that movies and videogames get - and here's an example of how to do it.

    www.alphaomegathegame.com/ - Official Site

    www.ethanhaaswasright.com/ewr.php - The original interactive viral add site, with a lot of mystery and puzzles

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Haas_Was_Rig... - Wikipedia Article on the Viral Campaign

     

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    Three blind mice

    Saturday, August 29, 2009, 5:48 AM
    Categories: General

    Yesterday I found three starving orphaned baby field mice. They are so tiny and helpless, between 4.6 to 4.8 grams. They have fur, but their eyes are still closed, which means they are older than a week, but not quite two weeks old yet. After doing a lot of research online, I found out that it is possible to hand feed them and maybe save them, but it isn't easy.

    I can't just let them starve to death all alone, so I've decided to give it a shot. They need to be fed once every two-three hours while I am awake, and once or twice during the night (I wasn't able to fall back asleep after getting up to feed them last night). For the first day I have them on Pedialyte, and then I am going to switch to a soy-based infant formula.

    I really hope they make it. Wish me luck.

    I am supposed to go play two rounds of LFR at a friend's house in a couple of hours, but since I gotta feed them so frequently I am trying to decide whether I want to call it off and stay home with the mice, and catch up on my sleep, or if I want to bring them with in their little nest-box. I am not DMing either session today, so I guess I could get away with feeding them every couple hours while I am there and playing on low sleep. Oh well, I will figure it out.

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    Here's one taking a nap after eating.

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