Spoilered because it's rather disgusting, and a little long.
[spoiler]I love showering. Absolutely love it. I'm from England, it's cold and damp the majority of the time, and in the shower I can have it as hot as I want with no one to bother me, the bathroom's basically a dragon's nest when I'm done. Since I live with other people, I've come to terms with the fact that I can't shower as long as I'd like and that the bathroom may not be as tidy all the time. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO COME TO TERMS WITH PICKING HAIR OUT OF THE SHOWER-CATCH, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S COVERED IN SOMETHING I CAN'T DISCUSS BECAUSE OF THE PG-13 NATURE OF THESE FORUMS.
I could handle it when you lost your ferrets, you paid the veterinary fees for them permanently blinding my bunny in one eye. (Poor Yaro still doesn't like to be touched, even by me, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to rehome him.)
I can handle your lack of sense of humour and general lack of understanding when it comes to sarcasm or any other type of implied humour.
I can handle the general stink you carry about you from being a working man who does working man things.
I can handle the mess you leave everywhere you go, and I can even handle when you literally track mud in after I just mopped.
I cannot handle handling things out of this pg-13 nature coming into contact with my skin, especially my freshly cleaned skin. I cannot handle you turning my biggest source of relaxation into my biggest source of disgust.
/rant about my well-intentioned flatmate before I embarrass him in front of the entire house[/spoiler]
@Tremula chopsticks. The kind you get from the takeaway boxes of food. Us that to pick up -anything- disgusting. Have a handy disposable container /plastic bag to hand. Throw everything away when you're done.
Sometimes I feel irrelevant in my own life. Lately, that's been one of those feelings I feel. I kind of hate it?
I really hate it.
1
EveriineWise Old Swordsbird / BrontaurIndianapolis, IN, USA
Went to bed last night, thought, "Hmm, we should probably start turning on the humidifier every night."
Woke up this morning with a throat and nose so dry and sinuses so stuffed up I actually bled when blowing my nose. This has persisted all day.
I love Autumn, but for some reason, this year, my body is not ready.
Everiine is a man, and is very manly. This MAN before you is so manly you might as well just gender bend right now, cause he's the manliest man that you ever did see. His manly shape has spurned many women and girlyer men to boughs of fainting. He stands before you in a manly manerific typical man-like outfit which is covered in his manly motto: "I am a man!"
Daraius said: You gotta risk it for the biscuit.
Pony power all the way, yo. The more Brontaurs the better.
I have 100% the opposite problem. During warm, wet months everything in my environment grows fungus/mold or goes bad extremely quickly. Everything. This includes me (I fixed that problem though). I run dehumidifiers constantly and remove buckets of water a day, without which I'd basically be living underwater.
0
SylandraJoin Queue for Mafia GamesThe Last Mafia Game
I don't think I'm ever prepared to hear that someone I know has died. He was in a graduate program at my school. We'd had classes together. He was my close friend's roommate. I saw him at a party this weekend, obviously rolling. He'd clearly relapsed, and we were worried. But I don't think we were worried enough to expect this.
He was so young. I keep thinking about his daughter. I don't think there was anything we could have done, or said, but it still feels so tragically preventable.
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
I had an accident at work today, I tripped and fell just as I stepped on the company property early this morning in front of witnesses (Embaressing). At first, my leg wouldn't support my weight so my friend helped me limp inside, but that passed after I sat down for a bit. I get twingy pains in my knee, where I landed first on my side, and the palm/wrist when I also landed on before crumpling to the ground. I worked inside the office today, which was okay but takes getting used to when you work outside every day.
Long story short, I fell down and I hurt. (Why is it always my right side?!)
Avurekhos says, "Dylara's a PvP menace in my eyes, totes rekting face."
The eye of Dylara materialises in your hands and flings itself around your neck, tightening incomprehensibly until it is irremovable. Perfectly clean, this eyeball has been wrenched from the socket of Dylara. It has been animated by some unusual force, constantly looking around itself as if in shock or fear. It is bathed in a light covering of white flames that roll endlessly over its surface. A single chain of empyreal metal pierces either side of the eye, allowing it to be worn around the neck.
I'm having one of those nights where I can't stop feeling like someone is behind me, I keep seeing black figures flickering in and out of my peripheral vision, and it feels like all the eyes on everything in the room are staring at me maliciously. I can't even bear to look at my adorable baby bunny desktop wallpaper when this happens. I wish I wasn't like this. I'm just glad I don't even remotely believe in anything supernatural, so it's easier for me to not buy into my own delusions. The unsettling feeling and the paranoia still get me in a bad way, but I know it's just a feeling, and not anything besides my own brain causing it. I've mused before that if I thought ghosts were real, I'd probably think I was haunted as heck. Thankfully, ghosts don't exist, and I'm just schizophrenic. Yay, I guess?
Today has been a lovely day, and it's only half over. In addition to the usual thrill of working a double shift, separated by five hours where I can't trust myself to have a small nap, I woke up almost four two hours earlier than I should have because someone closed a cat in my room last night. So Yowly McCatterson woke me up and I let him out, then crumpled back into bed and stared hopelessly at the ceiling as the sun rose and the room got brighter until my alarm went off. I reach over to my dresser and swipe my mouse to wake up my computer, see if I have any important things to do other than work today, and realise I don't have any new e-mail notifications.
That sends my alarm bells flashing, so I troubleshoot internet connectivity problems and it tells me I need to plug an ethernet cable into my computer. At the door, I see mine was gnawed on as the night progressed, and it turns out one of our cats (Monster) is prone to do that when he's nervous (which being locked in someone's room all night would do). Now I have to try and patch the cable, get a new one, get a wireless switch for my pc, or flounder on laptop without any Lusternia related things readily at hand (because like a sane person, I use Drive to upload from my personal notepads and download on a different computer, but I can't upload without internet). Tomorrow being my day off is my small silver lining, where hopefully I can catch up on sleep and sort this whole mess out.
Today has been a lovely day, and it's only half over. In addition to the usual thrill of working a double shift, separated by five hours where I can't trust myself to have a small nap, I woke up almost four two hours earlier than I should have because someone closed a cat in my room last night. So Yowly McCatterson woke me up and I let him out, then crumpled back into bed and stared hopelessly at the ceiling as the sun rose and the room got brighter until my alarm went off. I reach over to my dresser and swipe my mouse to wake up my computer, see if I have any important things to do other than work today, and realise I don't have any new e-mail notifications.
That sends my alarm bells flashing, so I troubleshoot internet connectivity problems and it tells me I need to plug an ethernet cable into my computer. At the door, I see mine was gnawed on as the night progressed, and it turns out one of our cats (Monster) is prone to do that when he's nervous (which being locked in someone's room all night would do). Now I have to try and patch the cable, get a new one, get a wireless switch for my pc, or flounder on laptop without any Lusternia related things readily at hand (because like a sane person, I use Drive to upload from my personal notepads and download on a different computer, but I can't upload without internet). Tomorrow being my day off is my small silver lining, where hopefully I can catch up on sleep and sort this whole mess out.
I'm not sure if your PC is connected to your router by a long-running ethernet cable, but something to look into is a Powerline Adapter. It's two little boxes that you plug into your normal wall sockets; one near your router and the other by your PC. You then connect a short ethernet cable into the boxes from both devices.
Your internet signal will then be bounced through your house/apartment/general living space's power lines in the wall. This effectively gives you limitless internet range in your house.
This may help to guard against marauding cats because you won't have a long cable laying out where he'll be able to (easily) get at it. Also, it take away one more thing that you could trip over.
Powerline adapters aren't super expensive, but certainly cost more than just a simple ethernet cable. Cheaper solution is obviously to make sure the cat isn't locked in your room, but if you want to guard against this happening again it may be worth looking into!
ergh, so we've been getting hit with calls at work (combination of high volumes and understaffing because sickies/just not enough people).
We've been slowly getting on top of it and at least getting a lot of people booked in to speak with a tech at a time the customer is available, but the managers keep taking those bookings and marking them for a call back earlier in the day.
So every time I try to call someone they're at work or out doing something and are wondering why I'm calling so early, then I put the call back to the right time and then the managers push it forward again. Meanwhile, our call queue is getting longer and longer because we're too busy calling people who can't talk to us.
Because nothing is more fun than being killed by somebody your character's never met while you fight your toddler for control of your keyboard.
Edit: Thinking about it, maybe he showed up one time when Tamsin was trying to defend. But the point remains!
Truestory, my kids have been responsible for my e-death on many, many occasions.
Yeah, he got me while I was influencing earlier too... the perils of a touchscreen laptop and grabby hands that can mysteriously close a window from the wrong side of the screen.
Because nothing is more fun than being killed by somebody your character's never met while you fight your toddler for control of your keyboard.
Edit: Thinking about it, maybe he showed up one time when Tamsin was trying to defend. But the point remains!
Truestory, my kids have been responsible for my e-death on many, many occasions.
Yeah, he got me while I was influencing earlier too... the perils of a touchscreen laptop and grabby hands that can mysteriously close a window from the wrong side of the screen.
I assure you,it was because I really just needed blood, and you were available to provide it. I did need a corpse though, so had to do it twice.
"'Cause the fighting don't stop till I walk in." -Synkarin's Lament.
1
SylandraJoin Queue for Mafia GamesThe Last Mafia Game
Okay this isn't so much a dissatisfaction as it is general anxiety "aaaaah"-ness. But I'm overseeing my first ever game as a DM. We're playing Dread and I'm basing it (super loosely) on Corpse Party.
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
Dread? Watch the Tabletop episode. Do what Wil Wheaton does.
Make sure everybody actually read the rules in advance. Even for a narrativist thing like Dread.
Make sure everyone is expecting the same tone and whatnot. Dread should mostly fix that because horror, but there are a lot of different types of horror and they aren't all compatible.
Do a plot diagram of If->then statements that cover likely player actions. You cannot know exactly what will happen, but you can play the odds and have a decent starting point for improvisation.
Any sufficiently advanced pun is indistinguishable from comedy.
For horror based games, get consent and remind your players that it's going to mess with their heads. Then proceed to mess with their heads.
Atmosphere is EVERYTHING in horror games.
I've had some success with running games on a dimmer switch, and with providing misleading audio cues: Knocking on the underside of the table while the party discusses things, having my phone play something like a heartbeat or Danse Macabre just below audible range, and slowly lowering the volume of my voice are techniques I used in my live game.
Keep the players off balance as much as the characters. I once interrupted table talk with a creature's attack roll when they took 5 minutes to talk about what they should do, skipping that player's turn (it got the message across and I got a lot more snap decisions after that), or had the party 'wake up' and try to talk over a storm during breakfast only to have them wake up mid-word in their individual rooms.
Make attack rolls in secret. Make observation-style rolls in secret. Make random rolls that aren't actually FOR anything in secret.
Describe everything, even if it's not important. ESPECIALLY if it's not important.
Except the monsters. Never give more than a vague flash of information about the monsters unless the character works for it. Describe their attacks as a clawed hand flashing out, a pewter cup flying at them, or a red hot poker slicing through the air.
In general, remember that you are the players' ally as much as their enemies'. If the players are struggling, give them a small hint (make it an 'intuition check' if you want.). If they're getting frustrated by bad rolls, let them fail forward (succeed at the task, but suffer a consequence.). Don't let them bully you, but don't bully them either. (aside from the aforementioned head-messing.) Remember Rule 0 is a responsibility to make sure that everyone is having fun. Spooky, scary, bone-chilling fun.
Be sure to find a sound clip that properly conveys "ruddy mysterious."
2
SylandraJoin Queue for Mafia GamesThe Last Mafia Game
@Portius we've played Dread before together! This is my first time hosting. So everyone already has an idea of how the game works and what to expect, which is good.
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
Make attack rolls in secret. Make observation-style rolls in secret. Make random rolls that aren't actually FOR anything in secret.
This. The random meaningless rolls will freak people out depending on timing (like... they walk into a room and suddenly you're rolling dice). When players know they've failed a roll they will keep trying to figure stuff out (which random rolls help with cause you're not just rolling when there is something to find) And best of all... doing everything in secret lets you cheat in the players favour to make the game better. Like, if your players are frustrated because combat isn't going their way maybe that crit that could TPK them turns into a light hit.
Edit: I'm pretty convinced that the ST for my Mage game uses the random rolls to determine stuff about completely unrelated characters. Like we'll be organising our plans to deal with some hunters and he starts rolling to figure out how the talks between the local vampires and werewolves are going. So he's actually making notes about every roll >_<
0
SylandraJoin Queue for Mafia GamesThe Last Mafia Game
Oh man. Random rolls in Dread look like "Saran, please pull from the Tower."
"Why?"
"Secret roll. Do it."
So it's a very quick way to ramp up terror, ahaha. ^^;
"Oh yeah, you're a naughty mayor, aren't you? Misfile that Form MA631-D. Comptroller Shevat's got a nice gemstone disc for you, but yer gonna have to beg for it."
We had one GM at EGG (gaming club I got to) running paranoia and he'd constantly take people aside, pass them hand written notes. Even if he didn't have anything to say, there was just this constant stream so the other players are like "what is he telling them?"
Another one did similar stuff, but mostly through facebook. But at one point he let them know that he was tracking points for the traitor, so they start accusing each other over like... weeks or longer, he kept mentioning it every now and then to keep it up. It was this really great thing that brewed mistrust among the party. Meanwhile, most of the regulars who were in the room but not actually in the roleplay had talked to him quietly and found out/confirmed that there was no traitor. So, being from the internet some let it slip that we knew who the traitor was and they'd ask, we'd be like "Oh, you'll be so surprised when you find out, it's probably the last person you'd suspect". One or two of them even got to the point where they're like "Am I the traitor and I just don't know?"
I'm having one of those nights where I can't stop feeling like someone is behind me, I keep seeing black figures flickering in and out of my peripheral vision, and it feels like all the eyes on everything in the room are staring at me maliciously. I can't even bear to look at my adorable baby bunny desktop wallpaper when this happens. I wish I wasn't like this. I'm just glad I don't even remotely believe in anything supernatural, so it's easier for me to not buy into my own delusions. The unsettling feeling and the paranoia still get me in a bad way, but I know it's just a feeling, and not anything besides my own brain causing it. I've mused before that if I thought ghosts were real, I'd probably think I was haunted as heck. Thankfully, ghosts don't exist, and I'm just schizophrenic. Yay, I guess?
I'm sorry. That seems like a really rough deal.
Flames erupt from the caldera below as a distorted voice echoes, "Their spirit must be broken if they wish to be reborn as true warriors."
Comments
[spoiler]I love showering. Absolutely love it. I'm from England, it's cold and damp the majority of the time, and in the shower I can have it as hot as I want with no one to bother me, the bathroom's basically a dragon's nest when I'm done. Since I live with other people, I've come to terms with the fact that I can't shower as long as I'd like and that the bathroom may not be as tidy all the time. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO COME TO TERMS WITH PICKING HAIR OUT OF THE SHOWER-CATCH, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S COVERED IN SOMETHING I CAN'T DISCUSS BECAUSE OF THE PG-13 NATURE OF THESE FORUMS.
I could handle it when you lost your ferrets, you paid the veterinary fees for them permanently blinding my bunny in one eye. (Poor Yaro still doesn't like to be touched, even by me, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to rehome him.)
I can handle your lack of sense of humour and general lack of understanding when it comes to sarcasm or any other type of implied humour.
I can handle the general stink you carry about you from being a working man who does working man things.
I can handle the mess you leave everywhere you go, and I can even handle when you literally track mud in after I just mopped.
I cannot handle handling things out of this pg-13 nature coming into contact with my skin, especially my freshly cleaned skin. I cannot handle you turning my biggest source of relaxation into my biggest source of disgust.
/rant about my well-intentioned flatmate before I embarrass him in front of the entire house[/spoiler]
Ixion tells you, "// I don't think anyone else had a clue, amazing form."
I really hate it.
Woke up this morning with a throat and nose so dry and sinuses so stuffed up I actually bled when blowing my nose. This has persisted all day.
I love Autumn, but for some reason, this year, my body is not ready.
He was so young. I keep thinking about his daughter. I don't think there was anything we could have done, or said, but it still feels so tragically preventable.
Long story short, I fell down and I hurt. (Why is it always my right side?!)
The eye of Dylara materialises in your hands and flings itself around your neck, tightening incomprehensibly until it is irremovable.
Perfectly clean, this eyeball has been wrenched from the socket of Dylara. It has been animated by some unusual force, constantly looking around itself as if in shock or fear. It is bathed in a light covering of white flames that roll endlessly over its surface. A single chain of empyreal metal pierces either side of the eye, allowing it to be worn around the neck.
Estarra the Eternal says, "Give Shevat the floor please."
That sends my alarm bells flashing, so I troubleshoot internet connectivity problems and it tells me I need to plug an ethernet cable into my computer. At the door, I see mine was gnawed on as the night progressed, and it turns out one of our cats (Monster) is prone to do that when he's nervous (which being locked in someone's room all night would do). Now I have to try and patch the cable, get a new one, get a wireless switch for my pc, or flounder on laptop without any Lusternia related things readily at hand (because like a sane person, I use Drive to upload from my personal notepads and download on a different computer, but I can't upload without internet). Tomorrow being my day off is my small silver lining, where hopefully I can catch up on sleep and sort this whole mess out.
Ixion tells you, "// I don't think anyone else had a clue, amazing form."
Your internet signal will then be bounced through your house/apartment/general living space's power lines in the wall. This effectively gives you limitless internet range in your house.
This may help to guard against marauding cats because you won't have a long cable laying out where he'll be able to (easily) get at it. Also, it take away one more thing that you could trip over.
Powerline adapters aren't super expensive, but certainly cost more than just a simple ethernet cable. Cheaper solution is obviously to make sure the cat isn't locked in your room, but if you want to guard against this happening again it may be worth looking into!
We've been slowly getting on top of it and at least getting a lot of people booked in to speak with a tech at a time the customer is available, but the managers keep taking those bookings and marking them for a call back earlier in the day.
So every time I try to call someone they're at work or out doing something and are wondering why I'm calling so early, then I put the call back to the right time and then the managers push it forward again. Meanwhile, our call queue is getting longer and longer because we're too busy calling people who can't talk to us.
Edit: Thinking about it, maybe he showed up one time when Tamsin was trying to defend. But the point remains!
Y'all have tips? I'd appreciate tips.
Make sure everybody actually read the rules in advance. Even for a narrativist thing like Dread.
Make sure everyone is expecting the same tone and whatnot. Dread should mostly fix that because horror, but there are a lot of different types of horror and they aren't all compatible.
Do a plot diagram of If->then statements that cover likely player actions. You cannot know exactly what will happen, but you can play the odds and have a decent starting point for improvisation.
Atmosphere is EVERYTHING in horror games.
I've had some success with running games on a dimmer switch, and with providing misleading audio cues: Knocking on the underside of the table while the party discusses things, having my phone play something like a heartbeat or Danse Macabre just below audible range, and slowly lowering the volume of my voice are techniques I used in my live game.
Keep the players off balance as much as the characters. I once interrupted table talk with a creature's attack roll when they took 5 minutes to talk about what they should do, skipping that player's turn (it got the message across and I got a lot more snap decisions after that), or had the party 'wake up' and try to talk over a storm during breakfast only to have them wake up mid-word in their individual rooms.
Make attack rolls in secret. Make observation-style rolls in secret. Make random rolls that aren't actually FOR anything in secret.
Describe everything, even if it's not important. ESPECIALLY if it's not important.
Except the monsters. Never give more than a vague flash of information about the monsters unless the character works for it. Describe their attacks as a clawed hand flashing out, a pewter cup flying at them, or a red hot poker slicing through the air.
In general, remember that you are the players' ally as much as their enemies'. If the players are struggling, give them a small hint (make it an 'intuition check' if you want.). If they're getting frustrated by bad rolls, let them fail forward (succeed at the task, but suffer a consequence.). Don't let them bully you, but don't bully them either. (aside from the aforementioned head-messing.) Remember Rule 0 is a responsibility to make sure that everyone is having fun. Spooky, scary, bone-chilling fun.
The random meaningless rolls will freak people out depending on timing (like... they walk into a room and suddenly you're rolling dice).
When players know they've failed a roll they will keep trying to figure stuff out (which random rolls help with cause you're not just rolling when there is something to find)
And best of all... doing everything in secret lets you cheat in the players favour to make the game better. Like, if your players are frustrated because combat isn't going their way maybe that crit that could TPK them turns into a light hit.
Edit: I'm pretty convinced that the ST for my Mage game uses the random rolls to determine stuff about completely unrelated characters. Like we'll be organising our plans to deal with some hunters and he starts rolling to figure out how the talks between the local vampires and werewolves are going. So he's actually making notes about every roll >_<
"Why?"
"Secret roll. Do it."
So it's a very quick way to ramp up terror, ahaha. ^^;
We had one GM at EGG (gaming club I got to) running paranoia and he'd constantly take people aside, pass them hand written notes. Even if he didn't have anything to say, there was just this constant stream so the other players are like "what is he telling them?"
Another one did similar stuff, but mostly through facebook. But at one point he let them know that he was tracking points for the traitor, so they start accusing each other over like... weeks or longer, he kept mentioning it every now and then to keep it up. It was this really great thing that brewed mistrust among the party.
Meanwhile, most of the regulars who were in the room but not actually in the roleplay had talked to him quietly and found out/confirmed that there was no traitor.
So, being from the internet some let it slip that we knew who the traitor was and they'd ask, we'd be like "Oh, you'll be so surprised when you find out, it's probably the last person you'd suspect". One or two of them even got to the point where they're like "Am I the traitor and I just don't know?"