# Son of Krauss Greyhawk Age of Worms Game (OOC)



## Branding Opportunity (Jul 28, 2005)

Hey folks!

Note that this is a continuation of KRAUSS VON ESPY'S AGE OF WORMS ADVENTURE PATH OOC THREAD 

This is the brand new OOC thread for this game.  I'm busy with the first round of combat (rolling dice, making maps, etc), but I wanted to get the OOC ball rolling.

Why doesn't everyone check in?

Speaking for myself, I'm excited to get this thing going   Woohoo!

CURRENT CONDITIONS IN DIAMOND LAKE:[SBLOCK]It is currently around 10 AM on Waterday, Coldeven 12th, CY 595.
Current temperature is 58 degrees Farenheit, sky is overcast.
Luna will be full tomorrow, Celene is waxing.[/sblock]

*AS A PUBLIC SERVICE I AM REPOSTING THE GAZETTEER FOR DIAMOND LAKE ORIGINALLY POSTED BY KRAUSS IN THE OOC THREAD*

BACKGROUND ON THE TOWN OF DIAMOND MINE AND ITS INHABITANTS
[sblock]
The Emporium

Every week, hundreds of miners boil up from the depths, their pockets lined with freshly earned coin. The Emporium exists to separate the men from the money, and at this it is paramount among Diamond Lake's diverse businesses. Ten years ago it was simply Zalamandra's, one of a dozen vice dens along the Vein. Its ill fortunes changed the day its charismatic young madam seduced Professor Montague Marat, proprietor of a traveling sideshow and curiosity collection passing through Diamond Lake. The two soon joined forces, and a cavalcade of freaks and eccentrics moved into the building's lower floor. Thus was born Zalamandra's Emporium, and Diamond Lake has never been the same.

Upon entering, visitors encounter a small desk station manned by a grinning, businesslike attendant named Gaspar. The thin, balding man smiles wryly at all times, a gesture accentuated by his upcurled moustache. The house charges three coppers for access to the 'Gallery of Science' along the first floor's central corridor, and three silver for access to the lushly decorated upper floor, which features a large gaming hall, an exclusive entertainment club, and the infamous Veiled Corridor, where any pleasure may be obtained for the right price.


Lazare's House

Those seeking a relatively cultured nightspot often congregate at Lazare's House, a cozy gaming parlor situtated on the Vein's central square. In contrast to the ostentatious banners and garish chipped paint on the Emporium across the street, Lazare's exudes a quiet sense of class with a stylish stone and timber construction and distinctive crooked-peaked roof. Inside, Diamond Lake's elite match wits over dragonchess, a popular game in which two sides of 42 pieces contest over three 96-square boards representing the sky, the earth, and the underworld. Pieces include the griffon, sylph, oliphant, basilisk, hero, thief, and paladin. Scholars claim that the game is a metaphor for the celestial struggles of fundamental law, chaos, good, and evil. In Diamond Lake, it's principally another justification for gambling.

A central hearth, constantly stoked by the courteous staff, serves as the hub of a roughly circular interior. Along the ring, eight alcoves offer an excellent location for private conversation or even romantic trysts. Each alcove is a half-moon of posh benches encircling a rectangular table bearing a special built-in dragonchess board. Visitors are expected to bring their own pieces, but may rent a house set for 2gp. This fee effectively keeps out the riff-raff, making Lazare's a haven for visiting dignitaries and Diamond Lake's upper class.


The Feral Dog

Since both Lazare's and the Emporium charge a small fee for entry, Diamond Lake's poorest laborers must turn to a collection of run-down ale halls with more sullied reputations. The busiest by far is The Feral Dog, a sleazy tavern on the Vein's central square. Every night and especially when the workforces of several local mines let out at the same time, cheering laborers within the bar scream obscenities and wave betting vouchers over two dogs in a lethal pit fight. No one savors the tinny ale, but the place is more about camaraderie, bravado, and desperation than about expecting exemplary quality or service.

A gang of criminals casts a broad shadow over The Feral Dog's squalid taproom. The patrons know from experience to respect the word of Kullen, the silently seething albino half-orc who leads the motley band with little tolerance for insolence and a powerful backhand.

Arguments commonly erupt at the Feral Dog, especially during the dogfights, when betting often grows contentious and even violent. About once a month, a drunk miner falls or is pushed into the thrashing dog pit, with predictably tragic results. During the worst brawls, someone usually gets knifed. A festering garbage pit in the sharp crags behind the building is said to hold the corpses of as many humans as dogs.


Church of St. Cuthbert

Each of the establishments along the Vein's central square trade in the exploitation of human vice or false hope, and the tower-flanked Church of St. Cuthbert is certainly no exception. Within this austere stucco structure, the poorest of Diamond Lake's poor huddle in a torch-lit sanctuary listening to the fiery sermons of Jierian Wierus, a bombastic orator whose populist rants appeal to the best virtues and values of the common man while at the same time preying upon their fears and superstitions. Wierus endlessly preaches a creed of common sense, honesty, and self-sacrifice, encouraging his faithful to give penance to St. Cuthbert by whipping themselves in repetitive acts of self-mortification. His growing cult, now some 150 strong, gives succor to the dregs of Diamond Lake society and is seen as a menace by the town's mine managers, government, and other religious figures. Many claim that the flagellants seem to follow Wierus as much as they do St. Cuthbert, and it is only because the charismatic firebrand somehow keeps his followers from breaking the law that his sect has been allowed to thrive. 


Tidwoad's

Sooner or later, adventurers looking to sell loot will cross paths with Tidwoad, a cantankerous jeweler with a meticulously arranged shop located on the Vein's central square. Tidwoad's is as close to a bank as one can find in Diamond Lake, and the gnome keeps several small vaults in the crawlspace below his workshop. He maintains a collection of his finest gems in a showroom display case, boasting that his establishment is completely theft proof. A shield guardian named Festus helps to keep the gnome's theft-free streak alive with powerful stone fists and a constant focus on protecting the shop.


Sheriff's Office

When a barroom brawl gets out of hand or when visitors threaten to upset the balance of power in Diamond Lake, Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff relies upon the discretion and agency of his private police force, assembled from a collection of corrupt watchmen gathered during Neff's youth as a watch captain in the Free City of Greyhawk. Nearly all of them were drummed out of service in the capital due to some indiscretion, but each maintained a hold over municipal authorities (often in the form of potential blackmail fodder) strong enough to ensure that they were not bounced from the service entirely, but instead reassigned to Diamond Lake.

Led by a boisterous alcoholic named Sheriff Cubbin, the six thugs who comprise the constabulary see to the general safety of the town and ensure that Neff's schemes go off without a hitch. They take a keen interest in unusual visitors and in the dealings of the town's mine managers, Balabar Smenk and Gelch Tilgast in particular. The police don't care one whit about crimes committed against the mine managers' agents, but decorum insists that they persecute overt crimes committed against the managers themselves to the full extent of the law.

The Sheriff's Office off the Vein's central square contains living quarters for all six constables and a twelve-cell jail filled with a motley assembly of drunks and maniacs.


General Store

Running a successful business in Diamond Lake means avoiding entanglements with the constantly maneuvering mine managers and scrupulously avoiding favoritism (real or perceived). No merchant better understands this reality than Taggin, the amiable master of the town's largest general store. Tables line the walls within, stacked high with rope coils, lanterns, bottles, gloves, and gear. Wagon wheels rest against barrels filled with nails or candles. The inventory includes most common adventuring gear, and Taggin cheerfully offers to special order anything he does not have in stock from the Free City, a process that 'usually takes about a week.' Taggin is just shy of middle age, but dresses somewhat stylishly for his class. He has a handlebar mustache and full, receding blond hair. He treats women of any race with exceptional politeness.


The Hungry Gar

Guld Tortikan, head chef at the Hungry Gar, claims to serve the finest meal on the Vein. He is mistaken.


Jalek's Flophouse

When the lake turned foul, Diamond Lake's modest fishing industry fled the town, leaving a wake of empty warehouses and bankrupted fishers. Some of these warehouses became stockades for mine managers, packed with raw ore and letters of credit from the Free City and beyond. Others fell to ruin and became infested with squatters and addicts. Jalek's Flophouse, situated on Front Street within smelling distance of the lake, is the town's most famous warehouse, as it houses nearly a dozen pitiful indigents fighting off destitution with a handful of copper. A rotting wooden framework within supports a lurching, mazelike second floor, where every step brings an alarming creak and the walls thrum with muffled conversation. Lodging is 5 coppers a night, paid to a massive, helmeted half-orc mute named Golot. The brute pummels those who do not pay until they flee or die. No one has an address at Jalek's - the room you have is the one can keep. Most rooms lack doors, let alone locks, but the shifting inhabitants and the chaotic layout of the upper floor makes it one of the best places to disappear in all of Diamond Lake. The halfling landlord Jalek lives in a rooftop apartment and is seldom seen. The Cuthbertine flagellant Jieran Wierus frequently visits the flophouse, where he recruits a growing tide of converts.


Smenk Residence

A corpulent elemental of corruption and bad taste, Balabar Smenk lords his political clout over everyone in Diamond Lake save the governor-mayor and garrison commander, whom he privately mocks. Smenk has wrestled four mines into his possession in the last ten years, and has designs upon the rest. A coven of sycophants and hired goons surrounds him at all times. Rumors suggest that he has powerfully connected friends in the Free City of Greyhawk.

Smenk lives in a sodden old mansion a century past its prime. Three thugs patrol the streets around his home, warning anyone they see to go away with a sneer and the brandishing of a lead pipe. Despite these precautions, Smenk's front door is always wide open, fulfilling an old public promise that he would always be available to his miners.


Deepspike Mine

Balabar Smenk uses this abandoned mine only for storage (and, rumor has it, occasionally to disappear the body of a slain enemy). It is protected by a padlock on an iron door.


Garrison

Centuries ago, long before the foundation of the Free City, a petty lord commanded the shores of the lake and the nearby iron ore and silver mines from a sturdy hilltop keep. Today, the refurbished ruin of that keep serves as home to more than 60 members of the Free City Militia, soldiers tasked with patrolling the northern hills, keeping watch over the lizardfolk-infested Mistmarsh to the south, and liaising with halfling, gnome, and dwarf communities in the region.

A third of the soldiers are always out on patrol, a wide circuit of nearby roadways and wildlands that takes them away from Diamond Lake for a week at a time. Remaining soldiers drill, maintain the garrison, hunt, and familiarize themselves with local terrain.

The bored soldiers present rich mining ground for a cadre of clerics and paladins of Heironeous, who provide spiritual and magical aid to the warriors from a stately chapel within the garrison fortress.

Captain Tolliver Trask, the garrison's aging commander, distinguished himself in a recent war and has the respect of his charges and of the community at large. He cares little about the day-to-day politics of Diamond Lake, and encourages his men to stay out of local business. He sees his job as critical to the defense of the Free City. Diamond Lake is just something that happens to be near his important work.

He supports Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff out of respect for the political process that put him in power, if not for the man himself. He trusts three advisors more closely than any of his other associates. The Heironean chief cleric Valkus Dun acts as Trask's spiritual advisor and foil. Trask's best friend is Dietrik Cicaeda, the middle-aged Chief Cartographer of Diamond Lake. Cicaeda is the region's sole legal authority regarding issues of land ownership, making his journals and maps among the town's most valuable treasures. He and his work thus enjoy the official protection of the garrison's walls and soldiery, and remain safely locked away from the town's manipulative mine managers. Chief Scout Merris Sandovar, lately of the Bronzewood Lodge druidic community three hours northeast of Diamond Lake, rounds out Captain Trask's inner circle.

The complete garrison force consists of 60 soldiers. Militia members typically wear leather or chainmail armor and carry a longsword or shortbow. This force is divided into thirds, with each squad led by a lieutenant. These individuals have the ear of Captain Trask and the admiration of their charges.


Chapel of Heironeous

Most of the guards and soldiers serving in the Diamond Lake garrison honor Heironeous as the patron of justice and martial prowess. The Invincible One's temple is little more than a large high-ceilinged chamber within the garrison itself, but it boasts the second largest congregation in Diamond Lake, as well as one of the village's most dynamic personalities in the form of its high priest, Valkus Dun.

Dun came to Diamond Lake two years ago, after the previous high priest vanished under mysterious circumstances. Local gossip holds that Dun once had great prospects in the Free City's immense Sanctum of Heironeous, but that politics saw him exiled to an assignment in squalid Diamond Lake. Nevertheless, Dun took to his assignment with zeal, and the weekly services have taken on an activist spirit. While the garrison commander urges his charges to stay out of local affairs, Dun instills in them a duty to the villagers and urges them to make a difference in the community. the resulting tension, between the garrison commander and Valkus Dun as well as between the Heironean soldiers and the disreputable elements of Diamond Lake (which is to say nearly all of them), is palpable.

A massive wall fresco of a mythic battle between perfect Heironeous and his traitorous half-brother Hextor looms over the chapel's bronzewood altar. The holy image is lit by dozens of guttering torches at night and by several stained-glass windows during the day. Weekly services exhibit a great deal of fraternity and sober, harmonic hymns. The are open to the public, but are dominated by soldiers and guards. 


Lakeside Stables

While the common folk of Diamond Lake have plenty of reason to despair of their living conditions, they remain several times more fortunate than the community's horses, who predominantly dwell in the run-down Lakeside Stables under the careful watch of the brutal Lanch Faraday, a portly ostler prone to distressing mood swings. Customers commonly complain of mysterious bruises on their horses, evidence of Faraday's uncontrollable rages. Still, the price is right, and the walls around back keep the horses relatively safe from theft, so no one has yet pressed the issue. 


The Midnight Salute

This by-the-numbers house of ill-repute caters to the garrison crowd and anyone seeking a less exotic (and less expensive) experience than that offered by the Emporium's legendary Veiled Corridor. Its proprietess, the ravishing Purple Prose, stresses discretion and decorum with her workforce.


The Spinning Giant

When not drilling, sleeping, or on patrol, garrison soldiers flock to this raucous two-story tavern to meet with friends, chant drinking songs, and drown themselves in ale and good cheer. A blue-shingled roof tops filthy white plaster walls. A faded fresco painted on the building's face depicts a dancing imbecilic hill giant in a yellow dress. Patrons must enter and exit via a door positioned between the giant's legs. This is Flailing Felanore, a dim-witted young giantess captured by the garrison militia 40 years ago and 'granted' to the proprietor of a favorite watering hole to serve as a mascot. The attraction worked, drawing visitors from as far as the Free City to gawk and stare at Felanore's awkward gyrations. Though Felanore died from an outbreak of the Red Death plague, nearly 20 years ago, the free-standing circular center stage on which she once pranced remains the most prestigious musical venue in town, if not nearly the most titillating.

Garrison soldiers make up most of the Spinning Giant's regular patrons, with a handful of mine overseers and merchants rounding out the crowd. Most who come here consider themselves honorable, and expect similar conduct from others. They do not tolerate pickpockets, and respond harshly when confronted with a crime in progress. They hold a similar disdain for Diamond Lake's constabulary, and have made it known on many occasions that Sheriff Cubbin and his boys are not welcome on the premises. Nor do they welcome Diamond Lake's poor, including most miners. Regular patrons routinely "suggest" that riffraff instead visit one of Diamond Lake's other fine establishments. Soldiers act with bravado in these encounters, knowing that most of the Spinning Giant's other customers will have their backs should a fight break out.


The Captain's Blade

Tyrol Ebberly, a severe-looking man who claims to have once been a watch captain in the Free City, runs this small shop with efficiency. He's an absolute fanatic about weapons, always showing off his masterwork items with enthusiasm. He's also an inveterate gossip, and asks endless questions about peoples' affairs, trying to learn more about how they were wounded or why they're looking for money. Ebberly has any melee weapon up to 900 gp in stock, but must send away for more expensive items, a process that takes several days. He specializes in masterwork melee weapons, and keeps his surprisingly wide selection displayed on the walls. He does not offer any masterwork ranged weapons, and sends anyone looking for them to Venelle's, across town. "Don't forget your coin purse," he sniffs indignantly. "You're sure to need it there."


Venelle's

A redolence of fresh pine suffuses this handsome establishment, a distinctive structure that incorporates intricate carved patterns and upright logs. The proprietor, a curious woman named Venelle, makes masterwork bows and arrows, and also deals in other weapons and armor imported from the Free City in exchange for items of her own design. The shop is a bit chaotic, with various items piled on tables. Armor sits loosely on too-small dummies. Venelle has a touch of elven blood about her, and is pleased to entertain guests who appreciate arrowcraft and elven culture. She has friends among the Bronzewood Lodge, and greets other characters from that nearby community with smiles. Venele carries most weapons and armor priced up to 900gp, but must send away for more expensive items.


Allustan's Residence

The "smartest man in town," a friendly wizard named Allustan, dwells within a charming red and deep blue house on one of the rare stretches of healthy grass in all of Diamond Lake. A small meditation garden abuts the face of the house, incorporating vertical stones and small pools of concentric circles. The fresh paint and well-tended yard contrasts sharply with the rest of the seedy town, a testament to the locals' respect for (or fear of) a man whose prowess is known as far as the Free City.

Allustan grew up in Diamond Lake with his brother, Lanod Neff. The sons of the town's powerful and efficient governor-mayor, they abused their influence and shamed the mine managers with social indiscretions. When finally they went too far, their father sent them both to the Free City, urging Allustan to seek an education and placing Lanod in a plum assignment with the city watch. Allustan soon found himself in the prestigious University of Magical Arts, where his apt scholarship and bravado caught the attention of a powerful master wizard named Tenser, a dynamic figure who traveled with some of the most renowned heroes of the day.

Tenser offered to take on Allustan as his apprentice, assuring him a life of thrills and discovery. What Allustan got was a window into a world of manipulative chessmasters willing to backstab trusted friends to honor abstract principles of balance and neutrality. Though he thrived in the company of Tenser and his ilk, the politics proved too much to handle, and he split with the group more than a decade ago after a bitter ethical dispute. He retired to Diamond Lake only to find his inept brother in charge and facing challenges from all sides. So he remains, knowing that his presence supports a corrupt leader but unwilling to leave his family to the wolves. The same political disinterest that got him into trouble with Tenser keeps him from seeing the worst of his brother's offenses.

Allustan offers his library and considerable intelligence to the citizens of Diamond Lake as a sage, although few miners have reason to seek his services. Allustan charges a standard rate of 20 gp per question. He does this more to sate his curiosity than for the money; gains from his adventuring days easily cover his modest lifestyle.


Tilgast Residence

Ten years ago, the aging Gelch Tilgast held the reins of Diamond Lake's ore trade, a position he'd enjoyed most of his life. Then Balabar Smenk and his boundless ambition came to town. In his youth, Tilgast would have relished the challenge, but he didn't move fast enough to block Smenk's ascent, which has led directly to his own decline. Tilgast currently fuels enormous energy into building an alliance against Smenk that includes Luzane Parrin and a handful of weak mine managers from the neighboring towns of Steaming Springs and Blackstone.

The grandeur of Gelch Tilgast's stylish estate far outstrips its owner's current influence, which has been in free fall since Balabar Smenk first infested Diamond Lake. Tilgast maintains a family of seven fine thoroughbred horses within a well-managed stable enclosed in a stockade wall. Wealthy visitors and a few residents of the town pay 1 gp per day to stable a favorite horse within the compound, where a clutch of meticulous grooms tends to the animal's every need.


Old Piers

In decades past, nobles from the Free City flocked to Diamond Lake to sail upon its crystal clear waters. Mine tailings, waste runoff, and other pollution ended the practice almost a century ago, but the rotting carcasses of once elaborate piers still jut into the lake's murky waters. A few masts peek out from the surface, tombstones of abandoned fishing vessels from more recent times. Regular fish cannot survive in the tainted waters, leaving only dangerous, hardy predators like the ravenous, toothy gar that have become such a problem in recent years. Those who venture across Diamond Lake do so at their own risk.

For a piece of silver, a retired marine named Durskin will ferry up to six passengers across the lake in his sloop, a dingy vessel called the Autumn Runner. The destitute boatman lives on the deck of his boat, which smells of urine and teems with fleas and sea mites. Those seeking a safer passage must rely upon the Harkness, a ten-man sailboat maintained by the shadowy cult of the Green Lady, who use the vessel to cross back and forth between Diamond Lake and the cairn in which their order holds its services to Wee Jas, goddess of magic and death. Passage on the Harkness costs 3 sp, and passengers must endure bothersome sermons on the exquisite beauty of death and the arcane prowess of the Dark-Eyed Lady. In either case, it takes about 30 minutes to cross from one shore of the lake to the other.


Able Carter Coaching Inn

The Able Carter Coaching Company connects the City of Greyhawk to its satellite towns via a fleet fo horse-drawn coaches and an inn positioned in every leg of the journey.  Diamond Lake’s hostelry offers 20 rooms for let at a rate of 1 gp per day.  Stable services are available for a fee of 5 sp per day.  Four guards keep watch on the place throughout the day and night and can be hired to ride with a coach for an additional 5 gp per guard per day.  The following chart shows travel time from Diamond Lake to other locations.  Journeys listed as “wild” involve at least one night in the wilderness, when the coach is a sitting duck for the numerous bandits who infest the hills and vex the garrison’s militia.


```
[b]Destination       Days     Direction     Wild?[/b]
Blackstone          1        West          No
Blackwall Keep      2      South-east     Yes
Elmshire            2        North        Yes
Greyhawk            3        West          No
```


Parrin Residence

This is the residence of Luzane Parrian, who is one of the mine owners in Diamond Lake, which she inherited from her parents.  When Balabar Smenk arrived in town years ago, he quickly started acquiring Parrian's assets and holdings.  Over the last few years she as watched as her closes friends, allies forged during her mother's time, fell into bankruptcy or were killed thanks to the machinations of Balabar Smenk, who at the same time continued to press her on the romantic front.
Perrin once lived in the home now occupied by Balabar Smenk but was forced to relocate to this shabby manor about three years ago.


Greysmere Covenant

Three prominant representatives of the dwarven stronghold of Greysmere, many days to the south across the treacherous Mistmarsh, live in this sturdy brick and timber structure.  Greysmere imports some of the raw iron ore unearthed by local humans, as it bears a color prized by the most skilled artisans and metalworkers of the dwarven clans.  Dulok Blitzhame leads the delegation with straight talk and cunning pragmatism.  The other councilors, Galuth Grobadore and Bitris Ruthek spend much of their time representing the interests of Greysmere in neighboring communities.


Gansworth Residence
In the 14 years since he came to Diamond Lake, Chaum Gansworth has remained in the background, never drawing too much attention to himself while quietly amassing a fortune from three very productive mines.
Gansworth lives in the heart of Diamond Lake, at the end of a cul-de-sac marked by a memorial obelisk dedicted to the memory of a mine collapse 70 years ago that killed more than 300 miners.  A low wall surrounds most of the two-story structure, and five loyal sentinels guard the compound at all times.


The Rusty Bucket
This popular restaurant used to specialize in fish, but since the lake went bad its' been forced to adapt to a land-based menu.  Within, green stained-glass windows filter eerie light into the main dining room, where the intertwining melodies of a trio of pipers enhances an ethereal atmosphere.  Guests dine in a large common room, with a handful of nicer tables situatied in a roped-off area beside the main dining hall.  The far table, on a raised platform overlooking the private room, is reserved for Chaum Gansworth, Diamond Lake's most calculating mine manager and the owner of the Rusty Bucket.  Gansworth rigorously pursues a neutral stance in all political dealings, afraid to expose himself to an enemy's treachery by making an overt move against one of the other mine managers.  As a result, all fo the town's major political plaerys consider the Rusty Bucket neutral.


Moonmeadow Residence

Unlike the other mine managers of Diamond Lake, Ellival Moonmeadow manages only one mine for the government of the City of Greyhawk.  Moonmeadow owes his longevity to a keen intelligence and a reclusiveness that offers few chances to become embroiled in local affairs.  The only thing that brings him into the public eye is gragonchess, and even then he plays only with opponents capable of challenging his instinctive, complex style.  The blond, well-dressed elf rarely consorts with humans at all, preferring the company of six grey elves who also hail from his homeland, the distant realm of Celene.  Decades younger than their master, these elves mix more readily with the folk of Diamond Lake, occasionally visiting the Emporium's opium parlor, Lazare's House, or Venelle's.
Moonmeadow's sprawling manor surrounds a central courtyard containing a meditation garden, an ostentation of peacocks, and two green-and-brown-pelted cooshees, mated elven dogs who have accompanied their master since his days in Celene.


Osgood Smithy

The distinctive "O" maker's mark of Manlin Osgood is a regional sign of quality powerful enough that lesser blacksmiths in neighboring communities often forge it to maintain competitive parity.  Osgood and his team of seven apprentices and journeyman smiths specialize in masterwork armor and household items like canteens, canisters, tools, and the like.  Osgood is somewhat coarse, unfailingly polite middle-aged human with a bald head and a walrus-like mustache.  He always remembers a customer's name, and greets frequent patrosn witha  hearty handshake and a slap on the back.


Smelting House

A century ago, local mine managers maintained their own smelting houses, but constant conflict resulted in frequent sabotage that choked the flow of resources from Diamond Lake to Greyhawk markets.  The city directors reluctantly stepped in, monopoloizing the smelting trade and basing the town's only smelting house in a massive fortress-worshop perched on the edge of the lake.  Runoff slag belched from the great sub-surface pipes accounts for the majoirty of the pollution that has killed off most aquatic life in the region, and production these days is more robust than it has ever been.  The rarely seen chief smelter, Vulgan Durtch, is one of the richest men in Diamond Lake, but few neighbors know anything about him.

A tower on the building's northwest corner serves as the residence and workshop of Benazel the Alchemist, a talkative chemist from the Free City who oversees the alchemical rituals and regents necessary for the smelting process and who makes a minor fortune selling potions from his first-floor office.


Diamond Lake Boneyard

The town's overcrowded cemetery used to be a great source of bodies for medical students in the Free City and unscrupulous necromancers, but the Cult of the Green Lady has put a stop to that.  Throughout the day, a handful of green-robed acolytes wander the cemetery chanting songs holy to Wee Jas while tending graves and clearing vines and mude from stone markers dating back hundreds of years.  Tales abound that one coffin in the boneyard -- no one is sure just which one -- contains not a dead body, but dozens and dozens of gold bars.


Neff Manor

Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff's sprawling manor house squats atop the hill overlooking Diamond Lake, a tangle of scaffolding, wires, and workcrews.  Protected by a wooden stockade wall, the manor houses the political apparatus of the town, including several meeting rooms, a courthouse, and numerous bedchambers for visiting dignitaries and (just as frequently) Lanod Neff's countelss cronies and concubines.
Visitation with the governor-mayor is by appointment only, with an audiences sometimes taking weeks to arrange.


Dourstone Mine

This iron ore mine has kept strong for centuries, predating the formal establishment of Diamond Lake as a vassal of the Free City of Greyhawk.  Ragnolin Dourstone has managed the mine since the very beginning, when he chose this spot seemingly at random.


Menhirs

This worn old stone ring is often visited by residents of the Bronzewood Lodge, and is sacred to druids and rangers, a relic from a time when teh laws of the wilderness governed man as well as animals.


Old Observatory

This crumbling abandoned observatory once housed an order of monks obsessed with the heavenly bodies of the nighttime sky.


Dourstone Residence

This squat, well-protected manor is the home of Ragnolin Dourstone, who is one of Diamond Lake's most responsible mine managers.[/sblock]


DIAMOND LAKE'S HINTERLANDS[sblock]Beyond the streets of Diamond Lake is a jagged expanse of wilderness. Wandering bands of militia patrol the region, keeping it mostly safe for the merchants, pilgrims, and travelers heading to and from the Free City of Greyhawk. The following locations, while technically outside the town limits, play important roles in local affairs.


The Twilight Monastery

About two hours north of Diamond Lake, a towering crag called the Griffon’s Roost casts a dark shadow over the muddy road to Elmshire. From a perch hundreds of feet above looms the cat-infested Twilight Monastery, a three-towered monument to an obscure philosophy of the Distant West. Two score monks dwell within the monastery, dedicating themselves to a litany of exercises meant to perfect the body and spirit. The secretive monks hold dusk as the holiest of hours, and sonorous chants emit from the Twilight Monastery’s central courtyard when the night sky appears in the heavens. Foremost among the monks is Izenfen the Occluded, a peerless masked combatant thought to be one of the wisest figures in the hills. Travelers frequently seek her council, but most leave Diamond Lake without ever having gained access to the Twilight Monastery, for Izenfen deigns to speak with only a handful of pilgrims foretold to her via the agency of the night sky and an immense mirrored lens called the Censer of Symmetry.  When word of the Censer’s predictive prowess spread to the miners of Diamond Lake 20 years ago, a desperate contingent petitioned Izenfen to predict the location of the richest unclaimed local ore deposits, appealing to her compassion with tales of starving children and dangerously unpaid debts. The masked mistress of the Twilight Monastery rebuffed their pleas, triggering the miners’ contingency plan—an ill-fated invasion of the monks’ compound that left seven miners dead.  Immediately thereafter, Izenfen gathered a cadre of stealth assassins from the ranks of her best warriors, and silently set them upon the surviving invaders who still milked wounds in the petty shacks along Diamond Lake’s waterfront.  Rumors suggest that Izenfen’s masked silent killers remain active to this day, citing the disappearance or mysterious deaths of nearly a dozen political enemies within the town.


The Bronzewood Lodge

The ring of crumbling menhirs on the bluff overlooking Diamond Lake is a remnant of an ancient human druidic culture that once inhabited the region. They too came to the hills for the ancient cairns, seeing them as monuments to great ancestors of the invisible past. Although modern humans displaced the native druids during great migrations over a thousand years ago, pockets of indigenous architecture and culture remain. Foremost among these near-forgotten practices is veneration of Obad-Hai, the Shalm, the brooding patron of wilderness and natural order.  Druids and rangers who honor the Shalm and a host of minor nature deities and fey spirits (the so-called Old Faith) routinely congregate in great moots three hours northeast of Diamond Lake, at an ancient megalithic structure called the Bronzewood Lodge. Devotees of Ehlonna or the elven pantheon are welcome at these meetings, if a bit gruffly, but all other attendees must be invited personally by someone already within the circle of trust.  A small permanent community inhabits the Lodge itself and the wooded copse surrounding it. Perhaps 30 assorted druids, rangers, and scouts protect the sacred site and keep watch on the nearby roads and valleys.  Occasionally, they step in to rescue a traveler from some natural menace, but just as often they warn explorers to stay on the roads and let the wilderness take care of itself. Their leader is Nogwier, an aged proponent of the Old Faith who strives to keep the focus of his community on preservation of a near-extinct way of life and away from anger at the Free City and its operatives in Diamond Lake, whose avariciousness continually rapes the land.


The Cairn Hills

A few hundred years ago, intrepid explorers discovered a fantastic cache of priceless artifacts entombed in one of the hundreds of ancient burial complexes hewn into the crags surrounding the Free City of Greyhawk. The trove attracted legions of treasure-seekers to the Free City (then a mere trading post), and unbelievable wealth plundered from the tombs. The wealthiest explorers became the city’s first nobility, and the Free City quickly became associated with easy wealth and fabulous archeological artifacts from long-dead civilizations that appeared to predate the emergence of gnomes and dwarves in the region.  But the wealth didn’t always come easy, as many of the forlorn tombs provided deadly surprises in the form of bound demon guardians, relentless constructs, and ingenious magical wards and traps.  The hilly lands surrounding the City became known as the Cairn Hills, and the hunt for lost treasure became an important part of the region’s cultural heritage. But the treasure didn’t last forever. Eventually, the cairns dried out, and unplundered tombs became more and more difficult to locate. Every decade or so a lucky explorer managed to strike it rich, but even more came away from their endeavors with nothing more than broken ankles and clothes singed by the fires of ancient protections.  Several vanished entirely. Over the years, the Cairn Hills began to lose their allure, and the City fell upon difficult times. Although abandoned cairns host no few bandit troupes and savage humanoid enclaves, two nonhuman communities play an important role in the Free City’s economy, so much so that they impact even the remote mining town of Diamond Lake. These are the gnome warren of Grossetgrottel and the dwarven stronghold of Greysmere.
Three days (by coach) northwest of Diamond Lake, the Cairn Hills Trail enters a region of steep crags pocked with natural caverns. Five of these caverns lead to an interconnected series of gnome villages called Grossetgrottel. The gnomes of Grossetgrottel specialize in rare gems rescued from the subterranean depths, but each of the five villages focuses on a different trade or specialization. All told, some 800 gnomes call the place home, though about a quarter as many “expatriates” live in the Free City itself or in the mining towns surrounding it. Able gnome wardens and gem-encrusted constructs stand vigil over the surface entrances to each community, and nongnome visitors are subject to the legendary gnome suspicion.
South of the immense Mistmarsh, the Cairn Hills jut up to become the Abbor-Alz Mountains, and in a tight valley stands the imposing dwarven fortress of Greysmere, its impressive stone-carved façade reflecting in the still waters of a placid mountain lake. Tall mountains completely surround the valley, making the citadel one of the most easily defended locales in the region. Unusually for the dwarves, Greysmere stands open to all visitors, who are welcome in the enclave’s upper markets and vast, agoraphobia-inducing galleries. More than 400 dwarves dwell within Greysmere, under the guidance of Fionor the Rude, a downright mean little fellow who invites all new guests to his dinner table in hopes that they might provide a moment’s entertainment.  Despite his boorishness, Fionor respects those who command respect, and is a trustworthy friend.


Cairn of the Green Lady

Far less welcoming are the brooding inhabitants of the Cairn of the Green Lady, a reclaimed tomb on the opposite shore of Diamond Lake itself. Cloaked in robes of green and quick to threaten outsiders, these two-score devotees of the death goddess Wee Jas honor a fallen saint of that deity with mournful prayers to departed spirits and mysterious explorations of the hills nearby. They base themselves in the tomb of this departed servant of the Dark-Eyed Lady, whom they believe died during a great migration of humans across the treacherous hills more than a thousand years ago. Diamond Lake’s Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff trusts the cultists only because they protect the town’s boneyard from the sinister attentions of the community’s most depraved residents. The order’s leader, the enchanting Amariss, is always on the lookout for new recruits.[/sblock]


DRAMATIS PERSONAE[SBLOCK]I thought it would be a good idea to have a listing of folks whom you would know of and might know personally in the village of Diamond Lake (in alphabetical order).  Anyone with at least 1 rank in Knowledge (local) would have all of this information.  Once you've met them IC, I'll change their names to a different color.

ALLUSTAN (Human m): Wizard and "the smartest man in town"
CHEZABET (Human f): Emporium fortune teller
VELIAS CHILDRAMUN (Human m): Fatherly cleric of Hieroneous
DIETRIK CICAEDA (Human m): Chief Cartographer of Diamond Lake
SHERRIF CUBBIN (Human m): Corrupt Sheriff of Diamond Lake
RAGNOLIN DOURSTONE (Dwarf m): Mine manager
DANNATH (Human f): Lazare's daughter and hostess of his House
VALKUS DUN (Human m): High priest of Hieroneous
TYROL EBBERLY (Human m): Weapon dealer, owner of the "Captain's Blade"
CHAUM GANSWORTH (Human m): Mine manager
ARIELLO KLINT (Halfling m): "The Combustible Magician", entertainer at The Emporium
KURLAG (Half-ogre m): Bouncer at The Emporium
LAZARE (Human m): Proprietor of Lazare's House and dragonchess enthusiast
MELINDE (Human f): Charming young warrior priestess of Hieroneous
ELLIVAL MOONMEADOW (Elf m): Mine manager
GOVERNOR-MAYOR LANOD NEFF (Human m): Rules Diamond Lake for the Free City of Grehawk
NOGWIER (Human m): High cleric of the Bronzewood Lodge
LUZANE PARRIN (Human f): Mine manager
PURPLE PROSE (Elf f): Madame of The Midnight Salute
MERRIS SANDOVAR (Human m): Chief Scout of Militia
TOM SHINGLE (Boggle m): Emporium contortionist
BALABAR SMENK (Human m): Mine manager
SHAG SOLOMON (? m): "The Wild Gentleman", entertainer/freak in the Emporium
TIDWOAD (Gnome m): Gem monger and proprietor of Tidwoad's
GELCH TILGAST (Human m): Mine manager
TOLLIVER TRASK (Human m): Militia garrison's aging commander
DOBRUN TRENT (Half-elf m): Militia lieutenant
MIKKELA VENDERIN (Human f): Militia lieutenant
VENELLE (Human f): Bowyer/fletcher
JIERIAN WIERUS (Human m): Flagellant high priest of St. Cuthbert
ZALAMANDRA (Human f): Queen of the Veiled Corridor[/SBLOCK]

PICTURE OF DIAMOND LAKE MINERS[SBLOCK]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




[/sblock]
PICTURE OF GARRISON MILITIA[SBLOCK]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




[/SBLOCK]
PICTURE OF BALABAR SMENK[SBLOCK]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




[/sblock]
PICTURE OF THE WIZARD ALLUSTAN[SBLOCK]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




[/SBLOCK]
PICTURE OF KULLEN, LEADER OF A DIAMOND LAKE CRIMINAL GANG[SBLOCK]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




[/sblock]
PICTURE OF RAGNOLIN DOURSTONE[SBLOCK]
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 [/SBLOCK]


----------



## Thanee (Jul 28, 2005)

*checks in*

And let me be the first to thank you again for the very nice offer to continue this game. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Branding Opportunity (Jul 30, 2005)

It's begun!  Come rejoin the Age of Worms Adventure Path and help defeat those smelly wolves!  It's all HERE.


----------



## Mista Collins (Jul 30, 2005)

"This is Owen checking in boss."


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## silentspace (Jul 31, 2005)

Majakilar's ready to go


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## Azten (Aug 1, 2005)

Present and accounted for, sir!

Ready to take on the wolves.

Will continue to have intermittent Internet access through the week, but will try to check in once a day.

R E


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## hbarsquared (Aug 1, 2005)

Officially checked in!

And hey, why is Kenneth represented by a _pink_ "K"?


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 1, 2005)

jeremy_dnd said:
			
		

> Officially checked in!
> 
> And hey, why is Kenneth represented by a _pink_ "K"?



I simply adopted the previous color which had been assigned to him.  Would you care for a different one?  Something which could easily be differentiated from the others?


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## Voadam (Aug 1, 2005)

jeremy_dnd said:
			
		

> Officially checked in!
> 
> And hey, why is Kenneth represented by a _pink_ "K"?




"Shut up. Your Mister Pink."

Voadam checking in and ready to start up Gregor the giant again.


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 1, 2005)

Voadam said:
			
		

> "Shut up. Your Mister Pink."
> 
> Voadam checking in and ready to start up Gregor the giant again.



It's strange, from the description Kenneth even looks a little like Steve Buscemi


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## Mista Collins (Aug 1, 2005)

Steve Buscemi rules!


----------



## Voadam (Aug 1, 2005)

All right, I've got these dogs all pinned down and distracted for you guys.

Somebody remind me its not a good idea to wear bacon strips on your armor when you run amongst hungry dogs.

It will take them at least another round to tear apart my corpse so take advantage of the distraction. I'll see if I can take down the first wounded wolf with my one strike before going unconscious.

Branding, is this a subtle way to say you want me to play a different character concept?


----------



## Thanee (Aug 1, 2005)

It's probably more a not so subtle way of realizing, that 1st level chars are not *that* tough yet. 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 2, 2005)

Actually, it's more of an indicator of how powerful a weapon everyone ganging up on one opponent is   If wolves are good at something, it's working as a pack.  Well, as good as creatures with a 2 Intelligence can be, that is.

On a completely different note, be aware than I tend to NPC characters that haven't posted within 2 business days (not counting weekends) of my last major post during combat.  Be also aware that I may slightly alter your actions during combat if things happen in the meantime that make your original post less feasible or more difficult.  If it's something major I'll ask on this thread first, don't worry.  I'm just talking about stuff like moving you an extra 10 feet, or something like that.

Anyone have a problem with this?  I do this because otherwise combat can become so slooooooooooooow in these PbP games.


----------



## Voadam (Aug 2, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Actually, it's more of an indicator of how powerful a weapon everyone ganging up on one opponent is




Wait till Gregor gets size large reach and combat reflexes. Then I will invite the swarms in.


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 2, 2005)

Voadam said:
			
		

> Wait till Gregor gets size large reach and combat reflexes. Then I will invite the swarms in.



In one of my last tabletop games I had a player who played a large-sized character who had a 16 Dex and Combat Reflexes and used a spiked chain.  He basically stopped all melee combat, because nothing had a chance against him.  On top of that, he had improved trip, so everything that approached within 20 ft. of him was basically dead.


----------



## Azten (Aug 2, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> be aware than I tend to NPC characters that haven't posted within 2 business days (not counting weekends) of my last major post during combat.  Be also aware that I may slightly alter your actions during combat if things happen in the meantime that make your original post less feasible or more difficult.  If it's something major I'll ask on this thread first, don't worry.  I'm just talking about stuff like moving you an extra 10 feet, or something like that.



No problem here.  Especially if you post here first and give one a chance to restate the orders for that round.

R E


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 2, 2005)

I have to say, it took me a little bit to figure out the whole Azten/Epistaxis thing.  Hmm, I may not be the brightest thing.


----------



## Voadam (Aug 2, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> In one of my last tabletop games I had a player who played a large-sized character who had a 16 Dex and Combat Reflexes and used a spiked chain.  He basically stopped all melee combat, because nothing had a chance against him.  On top of that, he had improved trip, so everything that approached within 20 ft. of him was basically dead.




As things are I will get size large at level 3 and then combat reflexes at level 5 as a monk 2. Gregor will not have any real class abilities until then though and that will be his big thing. The bonus monk feat improved trip is part of the eventual path but won't be until much later as a monk.


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## Azten (Aug 2, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> I have to say, it took me a little bit to figure out the whole Azten/Epistaxis thing.  Hmm, I may not be the brightest thing.



Well, I have not exactly made it as obvious as I had intended - I wanted to only post to these threads using Azten once we got past the character creation stage, but I've forgotten to see who I was logged in as before posting a few times. 

I'll try to be more consistent...    

R E


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## hbarsquared (Aug 2, 2005)

Sorry about my delay, everyone.  Should have a post up in a few hours.

And I don't mind the pink "K", just jokin'


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 2, 2005)

Azten said:
			
		

> No problem here.  Especially if you post here first and give one a chance to restate the orders for that round.



Even though that's a good idea, it would seem to me that it would drag combat out even farther (by inserting a "proofing" stage).  Just let me know on this board if something doesn't make sense and then we can backtrack and fix it.

FYI, I'm posting the next round this evening, as soon as jeremy posts


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 2, 2005)

Jeremy, you can't move to the indicated square (diagonal from wolf#2) without provoking an AoO from wolf#3.  Would you like to move the diagonal square from wolf#3 instead?Post deleted ... you'll see why


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 3, 2005)

Thanee, I had to move Alexi around a little bit for her to get a clear shot at one of the wolves.  Otherwise she would have had a -8 penalty to hit, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have wanted that.


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## Thanee (Aug 3, 2005)

Sure.

Bye
Thanee


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## Thanee (Aug 3, 2005)

But shouldn't she have the -4 penalty still? All wolves are in melee, right?

And Alexi couldn't reload, since she has moved then. You probably had that in there from my action declaration still.

Also, on the map it looks like Kenneth is now right between the wolves and Alexi, maybe the position isn't the best then, if that was going to be avoided? Alexi could also move (have moved) to the top left of the map, line of fire seems pretty open from there. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 3, 2005)

Thanee said:
			
		

> But shouldn't she have the -4 penalty still? All wolves are in melee, right?
> 
> And Alexi couldn't reload, since she has moved then. You probably had that in there from my action declaration still.
> 
> ...



I made the changes.  You were right, I did not add in the -4 penalty.  Position changes also made.


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## silentspace (Aug 3, 2005)

Majakilar's attack bonus is +2 not +3.  I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have changed anything though.


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 3, 2005)

silentspace said:
			
		

> Majakilar's attack bonus is +2 not +3.  I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have changed anything though.



Ooops, thanks for that catch.  Many eyes make light work ... or however that goes.


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 4, 2005)

Busy here today.  Hopefully will be able to post this evening (EDT).


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## Thanee (Aug 6, 2005)

@silentspace: Withdraw is a full-round action... you can only move+attack, but will provoke AoO then... Tumble or 5-ft. step are about the only ways to prevent this.

Bye
Thanee


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## silentspace (Aug 6, 2005)

Majakilar is withdrawing, not attacking.


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## Mista Collins (Aug 6, 2005)

But does get AoO if the wolf goes for him.


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## Thanee (Aug 6, 2005)

Ahh, ok... sorry, I thought the "same attack as before" part was meant to be an actual attack, while it only seems to mean the attack bonus! 

Bye
Thanee


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## silentspace (Aug 6, 2005)

my post was probably less than clear, sorry


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## Mista Collins (Aug 6, 2005)

as long as Branding Opportunity knows what is up


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 7, 2005)

Huh?  Oh, I guess I should read the IC post first, silly me.


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## Mista Collins (Aug 7, 2005)

silly rabbit, OCC are for kids


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## hbarsquared (Aug 7, 2005)

*silentspace -* No, no bardic music.  They're just a coupla wolves.    

And *Mista Collins*, how did you like the idea of tumbling past so that Kenneth and Owen can flank?


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## Mista Collins (Aug 7, 2005)

jeremy_dnd said:
			
		

> And *Mista Collins*, how did you like the idea of tumbling past so that Kenneth and Owen can flank?




I liked the idea. I was just hoping I could flank somehow/someway (and get extra dmg and a better chance to hit). Plus I love tumbling. It is a skill I try to have all my characters (no matter what class) take if they aren't going to be carry a medium or heavy load (or wearing medium or heavy armor).


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 7, 2005)

Unless you're a dwarf, in which case you can Tumble in Full Plate   It's just fun to imagine it


----------



## Mista Collins (Aug 7, 2005)

tumbling in full plate spiked armor with a spiked shield. I think you just gave me my next character idea.


----------



## Thanee (Aug 7, 2005)

Spike, the hairy, spikey ball of death? 

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Mista Collins (Aug 7, 2005)

If he were to come to a hallway in a dungeon with a slight decline, he would just roll down. He would be the portable dungeon trap.


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## Azten (Aug 7, 2005)

Hmm. Perhaps seeing Owen's success at tumbling would inspire Azten to take some ranks as well.  Then we could have tumble-by healings... 

In full plate 

R
` E


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## Thanee (Aug 7, 2005)

Hey Azten... just looked at your character sheet and... you do not _really_ have those _cure_ spells prepared, or do you? 

You should read the part about clerics and spontaneous casting of _cure_ spells again:



> *Spontaneous Casting:* A good cleric (or a neutral cleric of a good deity) can channel stored spell energy into healing spells that the cleric did not prepare ahead of time. The cleric can “lose” any prepared spell that is not a domain spell in order to cast any cure spell of the same spell level or lower (a cure spell is any spell with “cure” in its name).




There is really no point in preparing them... you can turn any spell prepared in your normal slots into a _cure_ spell, anyways. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Azten (Aug 7, 2005)

Umm.  Well.  I uh...  

I meant to do that.  No really.  I couldn't decide what spells to chose, so I put those down intending to come back later and update the list before we got started.   

Next time we rest I'll correct the situation.

R
` E


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## silentspace (Aug 8, 2005)

Mista Collins said:
			
		

> If he were to come to a hallway in a dungeon with a slight decline, he would just roll down. He would be the portable dungeon trap.




Maybe Gregor could roll him. Dwarf bowling?


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## Azten (Aug 8, 2005)

Oh, come now.

"No one tosses the Dwarf!"

</LoTR>


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## Mista Collins (Aug 8, 2005)

Oh come on Azten, can we toss you? You will enjoy it! 

_OCC: Diplomacy +6


_


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 8, 2005)

Sorry for the absence, but was out of town this weekend.  Update this evening, I promise!


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## Mista Collins (Aug 8, 2005)

that is alright, if you notice we have been entertaining ourselves


----------



## Azten (Aug 9, 2005)

(Fails check miserably)
 Eyes glazed over, speaking in monotone

yes. i would enjoy being tossed.  

please, sir, may i have another



In Yer Dreams!

R
` E


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## Mista Collins (Aug 9, 2005)

pretty please... with mead on top


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 9, 2005)

Remind me again who is carrying the light sources?


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 9, 2005)

I've also reposted Krauss' Diamond Lake Gazetteer (from the old OOC thread) in the first post of this thread HERE .


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## Mista Collins (Aug 9, 2005)

Owen has a hooded lantern


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 9, 2005)

Voadam:[sblock]Your last post inspired me.  What if Gregor's giantism is not genetic but the result of a curse?  What if he, or even better his father, did something horrible to a clan of giants and a giant witch cursed him?  "The sins of the father ..."

Lots of story potential there.

Just thought I'd throw it out there for you to consider.[/sblock]


----------



## Azten (Aug 10, 2005)

Nuts. 

So it ends up I didn't take the Healing domain after all.  I could have sworn I did. :\ Guess that's what I get for not actually looking at my character record before posting.

So, should I change the Protection domain to Healing, (because I already used my Earth domain spell) and live with it, or just take two points of healing back from Gregor?

If you decide to do the latter, go ahead and use my orisons to boost him back to full hp.

R
` E


----------



## Voadam (Aug 10, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Voadam:[sblock]Your last post inspired me.  What if Gregor's giantism is not genetic but the result of a curse?  What if he, or even better his father, did something horrible to a clan of giants and a giant witch cursed him?  "The sins of the father ..."
> 
> Lots of story potential there.
> 
> Just thought I'd throw it out there for you to consider.[/sblock]




Branding
[sblock] That is the character background. His human parents were cursed by an elven hexblade when his mom was pregnant, she died in child birth, Gregor was born cursed with giantism (AU race of giants for stats) and his dad came to Diamond Lake to build a life for himself and his son but the curse took everything away from him and he was always beset by ruination. Gregor vowed on the grave of his mother to stand up against evil like that of the Hexblade granting him his exalted vow feat and setting him on the path of vow of poverty and racial giant class levels followed by monk. I copied over the AU giant stuff and AU giant levels in the old thread and I think they are in the character thread. But the history is that it is not racial but a curse that made him non-human.[/sblock]


----------



## Voadam (Aug 10, 2005)

Azten said:
			
		

> Nuts.
> 
> So it ends up I didn't take the Healing domain after all.  I could have sworn I did. :\ Guess that's what I get for not actually looking at my character record before posting.
> 
> ...





I would vote for healing because it is a really cool domain and fits your character story of being a Moradin healer cleric.


----------



## Azten (Aug 10, 2005)

That's kinda what I'm leaning towards myself, since it does fit better.  I really was thinking protection because of the sanctuary type spells that would allow me to get in combat to heal without getting beat on.  But I had forgotten that I don't have to have that domain to cast the spell.

So, unless our illustrious DM (du jour) has any objections, I'll probably just swap the protection domain for healing.

R
` E

(besides, it makes sense that Gregor would want me to have the healing domain     )


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 10, 2005)

Voadam said:
			
		

> I would vote for healing because it is a really cool domain and fits your character story of being a Moradin healer cleric.



That sounds good to me as well, although I'd be fine having it the other way as well. It's up to you.


----------



## silentspace (Aug 10, 2005)

I prefer the protection for greater versatility, but its up to you.


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 10, 2005)

Whichever you choose, let us know and be sure to update your character sheet


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## Azten (Aug 10, 2005)

Mr Trebek, I'll take Healing for 500.

</Jeopardy>


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 10, 2005)

Voadam said:
			
		

> Branding
> [sblock] That is the character background. His human parents were cursed by an elven hexblade when his mom was pregnant, she died in child birth, Gregor was born cursed with giantism (AU race of giants for stats) and his dad came to Diamond Lake to build a life for himself and his son but the curse took everything away from him and he was always beset by ruination. Gregor vowed on the grave of his mother to stand up against evil like that of the Hexblade granting him his exalted vow feat and setting him on the path of vow of poverty and racial giant class levels followed by monk. I copied over the AU giant stuff and AU giant levels in the old thread and I think they are in the character thread. But the history is that it is not racial but a curse that made him non-human.[/sblock]



Heh, that's what I get for only skimming your background post.


----------



## Branding Opportunity (Aug 10, 2005)

Azten said:
			
		

> Mr Trebek, I'll take Healing for 500.
> 
> </Jeopardy>



Very well, the answer is: "It enables you to channel positive energy into a creature to wipe away injury and afflictions. It immediately ends any and all of the following adverse conditions affecting the Target: ability damage, blinded, confused, dazed, dazzled, deafened, diseased, exhausted, fatigued, feebleminded, insanity, nauseated, sickened, stunned, and poisoned. It also cures 10 hit points of damage per level of the caster, to a maximum of 150 points at 15th level."


----------



## Azten (Aug 10, 2005)

Dangit!  I was trying to buzz in and answer "What is Heal" but Ken Jennings beat me to it. 

R
` E


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 11, 2005)

I've added some more entries to the Diamond Lake Gazetteer .


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 12, 2005)

Um, did you guys ever figure out a marching order?  I don't think you did.

If not, would someone like to propose one for 5', 10' and 20' corridors?

Thanks.  Just so I don't have to do all the work around here!


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## Mista Collins (Aug 12, 2005)

Owen would be willing to go up front, so that he can make sure the path is clear of any dangers. In fact, Owen would love to be upfront.


----------



## Thanee (Aug 12, 2005)

Just a quick pointer to my PbP campaign starting soon, in case someone missed it. 

I cannot guarantee spots, of course, I'll try to make it fair for everyone who applied.

CLICK

Bye
Thanee


----------



## Mista Collins (Aug 12, 2005)

clicked

posted there

posted here


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 12, 2005)

Thanks for the invite, Thanee.  I'd love to join but sadly I have so much on my plate right now that I don't think I could eat another morsel (so to speak).

On a completely different subject, I'm adding your character portraits to my Dundjinni program, so that you can be represented as more than just a simple letter on the combat map (yes, there will be more combat).  I already have pix of Azten, Alexi and Owen, but they're a little small.  If it's possible, could the three of you possibly post a somewhat larger, higher dpi version of your little square pictures?  Perhaps something 50 - 75 k, with at least 70 - 90 dpi?  Thanks


----------



## Voadam (Aug 12, 2005)

I think our original marching order is fine for in general, if we went into a five foot wide corridor then I think Gregor leading for his hp followed by the guy with a reach weapon would work well.


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 12, 2005)

Voadam said:
			
		

> I think our original marching order is fine for in general, if we went into a five foot wide corridor then I think Gregor leading for his hp followed by the guy with a reach weapon would work well.



What was your original marching order?  I couldn't find it.  Thanks.


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## Voadam (Aug 12, 2005)

Majikallar  Gregor
Alexi        Owen
Atzen      Kenneth


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 12, 2005)

Thanks, Voadam.


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## Thanee (Aug 12, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Thanks for the invite, Thanee.  I'd love to join but sadly I have so much on my plate right now that I don't think I could eat another morsel (so to speak).




That's alright, there are more than enough applicants by now. 



> On a completely different subject, I'm adding your character portraits to my Dundjinni program, so that you can be represented as more than just a simple letter on the combat map (yes, there will be more combat).  I already have pix of Azten, Alexi and Owen, but they're a little small.  If it's possible, could the three of you possibly post a somewhat larger, higher dpi version of your little square pictures?  Perhaps something 50 - 75 k, with at least 70 - 90 dpi?  Thanks




Here you go. That should be big enough. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 12, 2005)

Thanks, Thanee.  Yes, that will be plenty big.

*XP Update:*  For the encounter with the wolves, everyone gets 150 XP!


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## silentspace (Aug 12, 2005)

Majakilar and Gregor in front is how we worked it out last time.  Miners have a special method of finding traps... we run into them!  That way, if they survive, they can tell the others that there was a trap


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## silentspace (Aug 12, 2005)

Is my avatar acceptable as a character portrait?  It's one of enworld's default avatars, I believe its Isildur from Lord of the Rings, but I'm not positive.  I like it


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## Azten (Aug 12, 2005)

You need one bigger than the one in my bio? 
Azten pic 

That one is full size from the original I photoshopped.  I can enlarge it a little, but it will get pixellated some.

Just let me know.


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## silentspace (Aug 12, 2005)

What the heck is that little thing Azten's holding, anyway?  I hope that's not his warhammer


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## Thanee (Aug 13, 2005)

Holy symbol, I suppose. 

Bye
Thanee


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## silentspace (Aug 13, 2005)

Yep.

Here's Majakilar

click

thanks to thanee, who has me scouring the internet for artwork


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## Azten (Aug 13, 2005)

silentspace said:
			
		

> What the heck is that little thing Azten's holding, anyway?  I hope that's not his warhammer



Nah. If I used my warhammer as an avatar there wouldn't be enough room for my pretty face.    

Thanee has it right.  Ever looked up Moradin in the PHB?  I got my own little Moradin's hammer to use as a holy symbol.  Also dishes out some damage when I give a holy smack-upside-da-head.  

It also serves as a tool to do my recreational detail stonecarving.


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## Azten (Aug 13, 2005)

Branding, I'm not sure what the issue is, but I can't access the image you've linked to in your most recent post.  With either login of mine.

Is there some sort of blindness effect going that only affects dwarves?  

EDIT: Nevermind. Some sort of browser issue.  It's cookie-deletin' time.   :\


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## silentspace (Aug 13, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> Um, did you guys ever figure out a marching order?  I don't think you did.
> 
> If not, would someone like to propose one for 5', 10' and 20' corridors?
> 
> Thanks.  Just so I don't have to do all the work around here!




About the march order, how about Majakilar in front for 5' corridors, and side by side with Gregor in 10' and 20' corridors?  Don't know about what happens with everyone else.  It'd be good to have Gregor right behind Majakilar for the 5' corridors though.


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## Azten (Aug 13, 2005)

From a resistance to injury standpoint, I'd say I'll take the rear, but then again, it might be nice to have some healing nearer to the melee folks. At least until we acquire healing potions...


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## hbarsquared (Aug 16, 2005)

Sorry about the delay, guys, but my post is now up.  Out of town this weekend, and although I _thought_ I would have internet access, it turned out to not be the case.

As for marching order . . .  Kenneth can stay somewhere in the middle, although where doesn't really matter.  He has weak Spot/Listen checks, but could hold his own in combat if needed.

*Branding Opportunity -* I don't have a picture of Kenneth, but would you like me to hunt one down for you?


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## Voadam (Aug 17, 2005)

I expect to be offline from Friday until Monday.


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## Mista Collins (Aug 21, 2005)

Back from Gen Con and ready to go.


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## Thanee (Aug 21, 2005)

Still about a week until BO is back. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Raging Epistaxis (Aug 21, 2005)

So call me clueless, but where is BO?  Did I miss the memo?  I was starting to get worried again, wondering where we'd pick up a third DM...


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## Mista Collins (Aug 21, 2005)

Branding Opportunity can be found here. Well he isn't actually there, but it lets us know where he went (or rather that he did go)


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 29, 2005)

Back in town and hope to be posting again this evening.  

Thanks for waiting.

Brand Op


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## Thanee (Aug 29, 2005)

Sweet, Welcome Back! 

Bye
Thanee


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## Raging Epistaxis (Aug 29, 2005)

Yay!  More gaming goodness soon!   

(I was going into withdrawal)

R E / Azten


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## Mista Collins (Aug 30, 2005)

The day I have been awaiting has finally arived!!! YAY!!


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## hbarsquared (Aug 30, 2005)

w00+!

All three of my PbP games went on hiatus at the same time!  Thank you for bringing this one back to me!


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## Branding Opportunity (Aug 31, 2005)

Sorry about the delay on my end of things.  I've been dealing with being back in town after a lengthy absence.


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## Voadam (Aug 31, 2005)

I will be away on vacation 9/2-9/6 and also 9/9


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 1, 2005)

Voadam said:
			
		

> I will be away on vacation 9/2-9/6 and also 9/9



Thanks for the heads up, Voadam.


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 3, 2005)

I've added some more locations to the description of Diamond Lake in the first post.  Take a look!


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## Raging Epistaxis (Sep 4, 2005)

And Purty Pictures!

Thanks B O

R
` E


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 4, 2005)

Raging Epistaxis said:
			
		

> And Purty Pictures!
> 
> Thanks B O



You're welcome.  There will be more coming.

_Edit: I've also added a picture to the my first IC post: the intrepid (yet somewhat nervous) young adventurers entering the Whispering Cairn.

Further edit:  I've also added a list of characters you'd be familiar with in the town of Diamond Lake.  Can you tell I'm trying to expand this game past the small cairn you are currently exploring? _


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## Mista Collins (Sep 4, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> _Can you tell I'm trying to expand this game past the small cairn you are currently exploring? _




Nope... not at all


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 5, 2005)

So are there any other opinions as to which "color" corridor to attempt to turn the platform toward?  Just wondering.  I haven't acted on Azten's post as I was giving folks the holiday weekend to be away.

Branding Op


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 7, 2005)

In a (hopefully) continuing effort to more deeply integrate your characters into this campaign setting, I will try and write little private messages to each of you.  These storylines/suggestions/questions can be incorporated as you see fit.

BrOp

Azten/Raging Epistaxis:[sblock]So where did our Mr. Azten actually come from?  Is he from one of the neighboring dwarven communities, or did he come from a more integrated background, such as the Free City of Greyhawk?  Or is he from a distant dwarven community?  I don't know how familiar you are with the Greyhawk setting, but I could certainly help you some in this regard.

The wasting disease that disfigured Azten and almost took his life was called the Grey Death.  It is a disease which comes around every few decades and sweeps through mining communities affecting almost any type of humanoid.  In fact, it briefly swept through Diamond Lake about 20 years ago and even though Azten did his best, there were many locals he could not save.  Because of it is so easily communicable it is difficult to effectively identify and quarantine those affected by it.  It always begins with intense weariness followed by dark-grey splotches which appear in a sick person's armpits or in their groin area.
The dwarven healer who tended to Azten gave him a special talisman to help him through the most difficult part of the illness.  It is a well-made if simple leather strap, adorned with a cluster of tiny, transparent glass globes, each filled with a mix of colored powders.  A dwarven rune symbolizing healing or restoration marks each sphere and emits a distinctive, soothing aroma.  Well, at least to a dwarf it smells soothing.
Azten kept this token with him all throughout his life and discovered something interesting a few years back.  It was during a mine fire in which many of his fellow mine employees were severly hurt.  He had absent-mindedly wrapped the talisman around his hand as he ran to the mine to help the injured.  No one had ended up dying as a result of the smoke inhalation or from their burns and he attributes this partially to the dwarven healer's gift.  Now, whenever Azten attempts to administer first aid to stabilize an ally and the token is wrapped around his hand, he receives a +1 sacred bonus to your Heal check.  Having it with him gives him a sense of calm and focuses the dwarf on the life or death task in front of him.

In the last few months Azten has noticed that Ragnolin Dourstone has been on edge.  Something is bothering him, and not just a little bit.  Non-dwarves may not be able to detect this, but since Azten have known him for almost forty years now it is quite clear to him.  Dourstone does his best to hide it, but the dwarven cleric can see through him fairly easily.  He has not broached the subject with the mine manager, as that is generally considered extremely rude among dwarves.  They are not big on "talking about feelings" especially feelings that make them seem weak or incompenant.[/sblock]


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 7, 2005)

Thanee:[sblock]Since both Lazare's (the cultured nightspot in town run by the dragonchess enthusiast Lazare) and The Emporium charge a cover, Alexi makes most of her money in the Feral Dog, the watering hole frequented by the large majority of Diamond Lake's poor.  She has been able to barely make a living there, bilking the miners out of their hard-earned cash, or lifting a purse or three from a passing merchant.  Every once in a while she will strike it rich, such as when she "found" the moonstone, but most weeks she just makes enough to pay for her room and board at Jalek's Flophouse.
About a year-and-a-half ago a member of Kullen's gang observed her while she was "working" and reported her to his boss.  The albino half-orc made a personal visit to Alexi's sleeping quarters that night and let her know in no uncertain terms that the Feral Dog was his show, and that if she wanted to "perform" there she would have to pay an "artist" fee like everyone else.  To reinforce how serious he was, Kullen left her with a few bruises that didn't properly heal for weeks.
Not wanting any trouble from the easily upset half-orc and his coterie of cuthroats and bullies, Alexi began paying about a quarter of her earnings to the gang on a weekly basis.  Even though the Feral Dog was a pit, it seemed the only gig in town for her.

In the last week, Alexi met an elven woman named Tirra who has made quite an impression on her.  Exuding sophistication and confidence, and bedecked in well-fitted blue and red leather this woman claimed to have traveled here from the Free City of Greyhawk.  When asked her business, she generally claims to be "an explorer".  She arrived in town with two humans who dressed in a similar fashion to her, but has been spending evenings on her own at the Feral Dog challenging anyone to a knife-throwing contest.  Stakes are generally high and no one has beaten her so far.  Even Kullen and his gang have left her in peace, even if they have been obviously keeping a close eye on her.[/sblock]


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 7, 2005)

Mista Collins:[sblock]All of this is merely a suggestion.  Use as much or as little as you like.  Drugs are obviously a touchy subject.

After years of living in abject poverty in Diamond Lake, Owen has recently been making a pretty decent living selling kalamanthis.  This drug is the town's most notorious claims to fame.  It is a potent narcotic cultivated somewhere locally (exactly where he is not sure, although he has his suspicions).  Parts of the kalamanthis plant can be prepared and used in three seperate ways: the raw root can be chewed, the leaf can be dried and smoked, and the sap can be boiled into a concentrated paste and injected.  All of the processing occures in Diamond Lake, in an old, abandoned warehouse on the lake.
Use of kalamanthis, mainly in its dried and injected forms, has spread like wildfire in the past year, as the potent hallucinogen causes the hard-working miners of Diamond Lake to forget about their wretched existence for a little while.  Dried kalamanthis is generally sold in 1 sp bundles, although the highly-concentrated form has been known to sell for as high as 10 gp a dose.[/sblock]


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 7, 2005)

jeremy_dnd:[sblock]To note: it is up to you to decide how much of what I write below you want to incorporate into your character background.  Pick and choose to your heart's content.

Kenneth made quite a few friends growing up at the Emporium.  The most stunning of these is Zalamandra, the self-styled "Queen" of the Veiled Corridor.  Her establishment is frequented by the community's elite, including the governor-mayor, sheriff, most of the mine managers, and several prominent merchants.  Zalamandra does not tolerate blackmailers among her staff, but nonetheless is known to keep a mental file of the predilections and preferences of all of her prominent customers, silently wielding this knowledge as an anvil over the heads of potential political enemies.  That she has not yet been assassinated is a tribute to her considerable political skills and to the shielding influence of the Emporium's motely assortment of other employees.

Although Professor Montague Marat who founded the Emporium ten years ago (before then it was simply called Zalamandra's) abandoned Diamond Lake under mysterious circumstances three years ago, nearly a dozen of his former employees remain at this establishment, making more moeny here than they ever did traveling with him on the road.  Foremost among these nonesuches is the affable Shag Soloman, an aristocratic, shaggy quaggoth "wild man" from the distant Burneal Forest.  Solomon's vicious teeth and jagged claws contrast with his stylish gentleman's garb imported bi-annually from only the finest shops in the Free City of Greyhawk, and his cultured demeanor.  When not on display in the "Gallery of Science", he frequents the kalamanthis (a potent local hallucinogen) lounge upstairs, where the wealthier patrons adore his clever stories and buy him shots of miner's milk (a syrupy whiskey brewed in several makeshift stills behind the Thirsty Gar).  Other attractions include the misshapen boggle contortionist Tom Shingle, the combustible halfling magician Ariello Klint, a two-headed calf named Esmerelda, Jr., and the alluring female human, Chezabet, who reads fortunes.
It was Chezabet who taught Kenneth how to focus his innate magical skills and use the power of his voice to affect the people around him.  She herself is also quite an accomplished singer of saucy ballads and sea chanties, having grown up among the gynarchs of Hardby, and her knowledge of these song in encyclopaedic.  She generally accompanies herself on an old, yet well-made squeezebox, decorated with maritime motifs.

The Emporium offers several rotating games of chance, with the most popular being dragonfire (an ante-based cared game most often run by the flirtatious human woman Daria Angel), norbonne (a polyhedral dice game run by the no-nonsense half-elf woman Nurelle), and a contest known simply as the Rat Game, run by the sardonic, male human Natalo Bask.  In it four rats scurry to be the first through an open-topped maze.  When the winner reaches the labyrinth's central chamber, Natalo injects it with a serum that immediately triggers a rabid frenzy.  At this time, for doors built into the sides of the maze slide open, revealing four tiny spear-wielding jermaline.  Patrons wager on all aspects of the ensuing melee.[/sblock]


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 7, 2005)

I've updated the "Background on the Town of Diamond Lake" section of the first post of this thread, check it out!


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 7, 2005)

I've been busy and have added a new section to the first post called "Diamon Lake's Hinterlands".  You can't say I don't give y'all enough to read!


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## Raging Epistaxis (Sep 8, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> You can't say I don't give y'all enough to read!



Gee, it's just like being back in school again, only fun!   

R E

PS I sent you an email about your suggestions/questions/ideas


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 8, 2005)

Raging Epistaxis said:
			
		

> Gee, it's just like being back in school again, only fun!



Well, none of the background reading is mandatory.  Some people just enjoy understanding the environment their characters are in, and I like helping them with this.


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 8, 2005)

More background info to think about if you so choose.

silentspace:[sblock]There is a community of folks who worship Obad-Hai and the Old Faith who live in a place called the Bronzewood Lodge, located a few hours travel from Diamond Lake.  As a worshipper of Ehlonna, Majakilar has traveled there a few times, curious to see how they live in apparent harmony with the natural world but has always recieved a mixed reception.  While most of the rangers, druids and woodsmen there don't want anything to do with Majakilar due to his association with the despicable mines, a few try to encourage him to further explore his faith in the goddess and come to a more full understanding of the message that she preaches.  They try and show Majakilar that it is not good or natural for men to work under such horrible conditions underground, despoiling the beauty of nature.  They also teach that no man should be as tightly controlled as the miners of Diamond Lake, and that all free peoples deserve to live without the threat of tyranny.

Majakilar certainly has much first-hand knowledge in the depraved conditions in which miners in Diamond Lake live and work, and the intense control the mine managers hold over their employees.  Life in Diamond Lake for the poor is generally short and brutal, and the mine managers have done nothing to alleviate this, although some are fairer than others.  The only reason the miners haven't revolted is because there is little other source of income in the area.  People who end up in Diamond Lake generally come here because they can't go to places like the Free City of Greyhawk, either for legal or monetary reasons.[/sblock]


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## Thanee (Sep 8, 2005)

Very nice! 

Bye
Thanee


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## Mista Collins (Sep 8, 2005)

You run a very well detailed and thought out game. I am enjoying it greatly.


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## silentspace (Sep 9, 2005)

Agreeing with Mista Collins.  Kudos!


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 9, 2005)

Thanks, folks. A lot of the info I am providing you is from the web enhancements for the Adventure Path game, so thank the good people at Paizo as well.

I think that the more you understand the world your character lives in, the more fun you can have playing them.  It's fun to play with action figures in the sandbox, but when you build a whole sand city for them, and put in roads, municipal buildings, trees, etc. it becomes much more exciting.


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## Verbatim (Sep 12, 2005)

BrO: I am about to steal the OOC info from you and wanted to say thank you for the access to it. I will be the first to admit that you have raised the bar pretty high on this and if you ever want to talk shop/bounce ideas off of a fellow runner of this path, please shoot me an e-mail anytime. 

crow112101(at)yahoo(dot)com

Awesome game all, and a great read as well.


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 12, 2005)

Thanks Verbatim, although as I've mentioned a lot of it is simply cutting and pasting.  I put together games I'd like to play in myself, and just type in more background info when I have the time and inclination.  After a while it all begins to pile up.  Good luck in your game.

On a design note, I'm tempted to change some of the combat encounters to non-combat ones for the purpose of running them in a PbP setting.  We'll see if I can pull that off.  I just think in the PbP world, combat can soak up all your time.


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## Mista Collins (Sep 13, 2005)

Whatever works for me. I think we have a good group here that seems to keep it at a good pace.


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## Thanee (Sep 13, 2005)

I will not be around from wednesday til saturday. Have fun in the meantime! 

Bye
Thanee


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## Verbatim (Sep 13, 2005)

I think if the party is willing to wing it some with you, then go for it. I am still wondering how my first toss of the dice will go with my group. I thought about getting them to go to an irony place and send me a preset of twenty rolls. From there, I just started at #1 and went through until I reached the end of the list. Then had them redo it with another block of twenty.

Still milling that one over though...


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 13, 2005)

A recent post in a different game reminded me of something.  Unless we're in combat, or unless you state otherwise, I am assuming that you are "taking 20" on the following skill checks: Search and Open Locks.  Both of these skills are full-round actions, which means that "taking 20" takes about 2 minutes to complete, which is not an unreasonable amount of time.  Also, both of these skills don't have immediate negative consequences, so you can just keep on trying.  There will be exceptions to this rule, given the circumstances, but unless anyone has a problem with this or states otherwise, I'll assume you're "taking 20".


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## Voadam (Sep 19, 2005)

Poor Gregor. The kid is cursed in more ways than just gigantism. He sweats out the grunt hard work of physical tasks, but that rogue Owen gets the credit!


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 20, 2005)

The stone slab/gas trap here, and the one on the sarcophagus in the level above have taught you something about the dangers of exploring ancient cairns.

You each gain 200100 XP.

_EDIT: FYI, that should bring you to a total of 200 + 150 = 350 XP._

_EDIT: It would be helpful if each of you could create an "Current XP" field on your character sheets, if you haven't already.  Thanks._


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## Raging Epistaxis (Sep 20, 2005)

Sure.  I guess this means I'll have to pay attention that sort of thing...

and look up how much we got for the wolves.

Have there been any exp gained other than that?


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 20, 2005)

Raging Epistaxis said:
			
		

> Sure.  I guess this means I'll have to pay attention that sort of thing...
> 
> and look up how much we got for the wolves.
> 
> Have there been any exp gained other than that?



See above.


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## Thanee (Sep 20, 2005)

Branding Opportunity said:
			
		

> It would be helpful if each of you could create an "Current XP" field on your character sheets.[/I]




Done. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Mista Collins (Sep 21, 2005)

...and done 

(sorry for the unannounced absence for almost a week btw).


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## Voadam (Sep 21, 2005)

BO, would you mind posting a link to the character thread in your first post in the thread, I've lost it and don't have search. Thanks.


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## Mista Collins (Sep 21, 2005)

if you can find me signature, there is a link there to the rogue's gallery


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## Raging Epistaxis (Sep 21, 2005)

And mine as well.  

Or click Here. 

R
`  E


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 21, 2005)

Voadam said:
			
		

> BO, would you mind posting a link to the character thread in your first post in the thread, I've lost it and don't have search. Thanks.



It's actually in my signature as well, Voadam.  I don't know what options you have selected, so you might not see the signatures, but it's there.  The way I have it configured, it only shows the signature once per page.  I don't know how everyone else's is set up.


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## Voadam (Sep 21, 2005)

Thanks, I've got it set on no sigs and no avatars. Just direct text. I updated the character sheet.


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## Mista Collins (Sep 22, 2005)

Owen is updated


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## Raging Epistaxis (Sep 22, 2005)

Ditto Azten


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 22, 2005)

Here are a few questions/things to ponder for everyone ...

When you re-enter a room, is it helpful if I post the full description of the room again?  I'm reminded of the old Zork games where you could use the command "verbose" to make sure that it gave you full descriptions of each room every time (dating myself once again). 

I don't think it's a bad idea.  First of all you don't have to scroll or click back through many pages of posts to find the previous full description.  After all, you might want to check something out that you had missed or ignored earlier.  Secondly it also gives me the chance to add a bit more description, and flesh things out a bit more.  Thirdly, I think full posts (although not overly-full ones) tend to encourage people to write more.  After all, there's nothing particularly exciting about "you re-enter the room to the north."  It's much more interesting to say: "Galstaff, you have re-entered the door to the north.  You are now by yourself, standing in a dark room.  The pungent stench of mildew emanates from the wet dungeon walls."  Right?

Discuss.  Talk amongst yourselves.


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## Raging Epistaxis (Sep 22, 2005)

Personally, I prefer the verbose option, as I am a fast reader.  

Besides, I often find myself going back to the earlier posts to clarify something that I thought I remembered before I include it in my post.  If the description were included again closer I wouldn't have to search as far for it.

PS isn't 'dating yourself' a little odd?  Heck, it might even be illegal in some areas, or at least considered immoral...      

PSS Yes, I know what you meant, I just couldn't resist the misinterpretation of dating.  FWIW I played Zork on the Apple II when it came out.  Don't recall if I got all the way through or not.  Stinks getting older. Those neurons have retired or been recycled.


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## hbarsquared (Sep 22, 2005)

Verbose for me, too!

As long as (and I don't think you would be one to do this anyway, *Branding*) it's not cut-and-paste.  Similar information, told a little different.  Half the reason why I play online is I love to read other people's stuff.  So, the more the better, for me!


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 22, 2005)

Raging Epistaxis said:
			
		

> PS isn't 'dating yourself' a little odd?  Heck, it might even be illegal in some areas, or at least considered immoral...



Illegal?  Nonsense, it's a lot cheaper than dating others, that's for sure.  Although I sometimes get a little upset with myself if I don't spring for a nice meal every once in a while.


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## Raging Epistaxis (Sep 23, 2005)

Yeah, I know what you mean.  I hate it when I'm a cheap bastage and make myself pay Dutch treat.

?!


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 23, 2005)

On the subject of cheap dates, I'm going to be out of town for the weekend, and probably won't be posting much next week either.  Looks like I've got a job out of town painting a house out on Long Island to get it ready for sale.


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## Mista Collins (Sep 23, 2005)

Verbose has my vote


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 24, 2005)

jeremy_dnd said:
			
		

> Verbose for me, too!
> 
> As long as (and I don't think you would be one to do this anyway, *Branding*) it's not cut-and-paste.  Similar information, told a little different.  Half the reason why I play online is I love to read other people's stuff.  So, the more the better, for me!



I know what you mean, jeremy.  I always feel as if my descriptions are a little dry the first time through.  By being able to revisit them, you can add a bit more.  Also, I believe that our perceptions are always changing, so that you never see the same place twice, even if the surroundings haven't changed a bit.  The experiences you've had in the meantime subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) change your perception.  To quote Peanuts quoting Thomas Wolf: "You can never go home again."

In more practical terms, if I am describing a more mutable environment than a dungeon (say a street in town, for instance), things are always changing.


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## Mista Collins (Sep 26, 2005)

Hey Branding.. congratulations on the Pepsi sponsorship. Does that mean all your players are gonna receive free shirts.


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 26, 2005)

Mista Collins said:
			
		

> Hey Branding.. congratulations on the Pepsi sponsorship. Does that mean all your players are gonna receive free shirts.



Thank you, thank you, I worked long and hard to get that for us.  Now that we have a steady funding source I should be able to swing the following:

- team shirts displaying the motto of the thread: "That which dies can never be killed" on the back and our mascot "Kenneth the Barefoot Bard" on the front

- lifetime supply of pepsi beverage of your choice complete with branded mini-fridge to keep next to your computer

- cell phone numbers of Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams in case you have any questions about the rules

- a personal masseuse for me, because I get sooo tired and tense typing these posts!

- Sketches of all the characters drawn personally by Claudio Pozas, Bront, Matt Wilson or Brian Snoddy.

...

...

(n.b. All of this may not be etched in stone quite yet, mind you.  There are still a few kinks to work out.)


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## Azten (Sep 26, 2005)

Sorry about the delay in responding to the recent post - Wife's out of town with hurricane relief work and I'm chasing both kids 24/7.  

IC: And, wasn't I afflicted with the Grey Death, not Red?    

Will post ASAP - at work right now.

R E


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## Branding Opportunity (Sep 26, 2005)

Azten said:
			
		

> Sorry about the delay in responding to the recent post - Wife's out of town with hurricane relief work and I'm chasing both kids 24/7.
> 
> IC: And, wasn't I afflicted with the Grey Death, not Red?
> 
> ...



Not a problem Azten/RE.  Hope your wife is doing well.

Fine, pick the Grey Death then! If you do, however, will there be any more Poe references now?

Quoth the DM, "Nevermore!"


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## hbarsquared (Sep 30, 2005)

Hehe.  I love playing Kenneth.  His ideas make so much sense...

Yet how can be so _stupid_?


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## Azten (Sep 30, 2005)

Heh. just like folks in RL.


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## Mista Collins (Oct 4, 2005)

I resent that


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## Azten (Oct 4, 2005)

I believe we all resemble that remark from time to time...


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## Mista Collins (Oct 5, 2005)

I knew you meant all of us...


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## Voadam (Oct 5, 2005)

I will be away on vacation from 10/9-10/15.


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## Branding Opportunity (Oct 6, 2005)

Sorry for being incommunicado (why does that remind me of a Phil Collins song?) for the past few days.  New job, new stresses.  I should hopefully be over the hump soon and back in the saddle.

BrOp


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## Azten (Oct 6, 2005)

Congratulations on the new job.

Thanks for keeping us informed.  I'll just keep checking and hoping...

R E


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## Mista Collins (Oct 6, 2005)

I'll keep checking and hoping also...

Is the new job you got looking for anyone with a Bachelor's of Business Administration...


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## Branding Opportunity (Oct 11, 2005)

Mista Collins said:
			
		

> I'll keep checking and hoping also...
> 
> Is the new job you got looking for anyone with a Bachelor's of Business Administration...



Sorry, MC


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## Mista Collins (Oct 11, 2005)

haha, it's alright. I figured I would at least try.


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## Branding Opportunity (Oct 12, 2005)

I understand, MC, believe me, I understand.


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## Branding Opportunity (Oct 12, 2005)

FYI, I'm going to post the next round this evening.  Anyone who hasn't posted by that time will be NPC'd.  Sorry, but I want to keep things from bogging down any more than they already are.


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## Azten (Oct 12, 2005)

Ok. Sounds fine by me.

Thanks


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## Branding Opportunity (Oct 13, 2005)

Blech, got in late tonight. Sorry, no posting this eve


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## Voadam (Oct 18, 2005)

Who would have thought that two eyeballs attached by a fiber strand could make a physical AoO?


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## Branding Opportunity (Oct 18, 2005)

Voadam said:
			
		

> Who would have thought that two eyeballs attached by a fiber strand could make a physical AoO?



Ja, it's weird, but that's how they wrote the monster!  It's got a slam attack, which is called "lash" in the description.


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## Azten (Oct 26, 2005)

jeremy_dnd said:
			
		

> Sorry guys! I've been checking the first page, and I've been waiting for the good ol' "View first unread." link. It hasn't shown up, so I assumed there was a lag. Didn't realize it was me again.   I'll just head straight to "Last page" from now on, I think.



Or, you could do like I do and just bookmark the direct link and check it a couple of times each day.

On second thought, that's probably a bit obsessive...   

R E


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## Mista Collins (Oct 26, 2005)

Azten said:
			
		

> Or, you could do like I do and just bookmark the direct link and check it a couple of times each day.
> 
> On second thought, that's probably a bit obsessive...
> 
> R E




That's pretty much what I do.... nothing wrong with that


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## Thanee (Oct 26, 2005)

Azten said:
			
		

> Or, you could do like I do and just bookmark the direct link and check it a couple of times each day.




I have put up a web document with all the relevant links for my PbP games (IC, OOC, PC); I use that for navigation, when the threads are not on the first page, anyways. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Azten (Oct 31, 2005)

<ahem>

Branding Op, I believe it is your turn to post?

In the IC thread, that is...

 

R E


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## Branding Opportunity (Oct 31, 2005)

Sorry, folks.  Work and work-related business has kept me very ... well, busy lately.  That, and I bought Civ 4 on Friday   

I'm still here and will begin continue posting in the next day or two.

BrOp

*copied to my other threads*


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## Raging Epistaxis (Nov 23, 2005)

I will be gone for the next several days.  Just in case, you know, anyone should post or anything... 
 

Happy Thanksgiving! for those who celebrate

Happy Thursday for those who don't.  ;-)

R E


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## Mista Collins (Nov 23, 2005)

I might also be gone for a little bit. Not exactly sure though yet.


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