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Ending a Decade Behind the Screens

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Started 2 years ago by M. J. Young
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M. J. Young
Moderator

Hmmm--lost Harry in the middle of Sherwood Forest, and little hope that Robin Hood's men will find him. And just yesterday I told the board of directors that Harry's help (along with Scott's) had made my workload significantly easier. Would anyone like to pick up Kurt's Sherwood Forest game, or shall I do it?

Harry, were any of those events based on die rolls, or was that just the plan?

Oh, and the party "will be led". If they would be "lead" it would be a very heavy circumstance probably involving painted miniatures....

I hope someone laughed at that.

I opened all these threads two hours ago and then got called away for over an hour without having posted to any, so it might be that someone will have been "missed". I apologize, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I do see Eli and Michael, Harry, Scott, and John 2, so they're the people who get attention.

I just attempted to collate Eli's and Michael's schedules and came up an hour short on both of them; let's see if it's my mistake, and where it is, before I continue.

Harry gets an 18 GE roll on circumstances when he returns to the outside, which means that he's not going to find his errant watchman without looking for him.

Scott indicates that it's only a partial post (I hope it hasn't become a complete one while I was away, but I'll deal with that if it has), but I'll keep the conversation going with it.

John 2 gets a GE roll of 22 for his present sleeping arrangements. I'm not sure he wants to risk the shield while he's that close to Sarah.

--M. J. Young

Tue Apr 13 2010 10:12 pm #
johnosevens
Member

M.J. - The encounter with the bear was the result of a bad GE roll. The timely rescue is the result of a very good GE roll, both posted above.

As it happens, I might be able to resume Kurt's game, but I don't know when. Why? Because I've found myself suddenly unemployed. My new job didn't work out. While this theoretically leaves me with a lot of free time, it also leaves me with rather a lot to do and rather a lot of stress, so please allow me to amend MJ's above request to include the word "temporarily."

Wed Apr 14 2010 3:12 am #
Kurt W.
Member

Don't worry about it, Harry the Person. Real life is more important, so it's cool for me if I need to wait for a while.

Wed Apr 14 2010 3:22 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Osevens, do you have a reliable car and insurance? Deliver pizzas. (I have a feeling I've told you this before) Six bucks an hour, plus tips, plus all the pizza you can eat to sit in your car and listen to the radio for 8 hours. Does it get any better? I did it for 3 years.

(Doing Therapy)

Wed Apr 14 2010 3:43 am #
johnosevens
Member

The problem is, I have only personal insurance. At least in NJ, you need different (more expensive) insurance to use your personal car for commercial purposes. ... Plus my sense of direction is horrific. Kinda funny for someone whose Verser self became a navigator, huh?

Wed Apr 14 2010 2:14 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

The insurance is like that in Ohio too. Just don't tell them. If you get into an accident whilst delivering, call back to the store and have them clock you out. You weren't delivering pizzas, you were on your way home from work when the accident happened. At least that's what every pizza place I ever worked for told me to do.

Wed Apr 14 2010 3:34 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator
Technically that's insurance fraud.

It shouldn't be too difficult to change your insurance to say that you use your car for work, but your premiums will rise drastically, and it's questionable whether you can make enough delivering pizza to cover the costs of insurance, gasoline, and maintenance, and still turn a profit.

But then, Harry and I are in New Jersey. You know you're from New Jersey
1. if your insurance premium exceeds your car payments and maintenance costs combined.
2. if you could negotiate a traffic circle before you could parallel park.
3. if where you live is an exit number.
4. if you understand that a jug handle is something you drive through, not something you grip.
5. if you regard speed limits as a mandatory minimum.
There were some others that I don't remember, and some of them actually aren't related to driving (like, you've ever gone "down the shore"). But much of New Jersey is about cars and driving. Can I get an Amen, Harry?

Back on topic, Michael posted but not Eli, Harry is still firefighting, Scott has his first client, and John 2 is trying to persuade me that his mother looks like a starlet.

Michael's skill learning roll for the martial arts is 15, which I'm certain is successful for a 1@1 Eli's Style B7@1 Fast Aggressive Weapon-utilizing style, kick- and punch-based, RF2, +10 Att SM +10 Att Dam Mod. This raises his bod bias to 7@1, which will make the next lessons easier.

It also means that we have a later roll for Eli using the telepathic vacation, which is another telepathic device; Michael need only tell him that it is the same kind of device to be approached the same way, and Eli need only make a successful skill use check. He rolls 12, so that's going to connect him to the sphere and raise his SAL to 1@3.

Harry rolls 24 on his firefighting skills, which include containing and extinguishing a fire, so he's got it under control at this point. (I should sit-mod his efforts favorably for the combination of help and equipment, but there's no need to worry about the numbers when the roll is obviously successful.) Unless there's a bad turn in events, it's all downhill from here.

Scott is performing his Induce Pleasure ritual, which is heavily sit-modded in his favor, and the roll is 8, so his RS/20 days will come to 2, which is certainly enough to prove the point.

John 2 gets a 15 GE roll on that opportunity to do his shield, which is nowhere near good enough to get him that opportunity.

--M. J. Young
Thu Apr 15 2010 2:18 am #
johnosevens
Member

Amen. It's a miracle that I'm within walking distance of a grocery store, let alone anything else vaguely useful.

Thu Apr 15 2010 2:37 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Funny you should mention that. I hadn't realized until you did that the closing of the grocery store a mile or so from here means I am no longer within walking distance of any such establishment, at least by my current conceptions of "walking distance to a grocery store". There's a 7-11 probably two miles away, but it doesn't have much and that's a bit far round trip.

Of course, my sons all walk distances I walked comfortably when I was their age, but I'm not their age and I'm not comfortable with those distances anymore, so the fact that there are several grocery stores closer than half way to Evan's girlfriend's house doesn't impact my assessment than none are within walking distance. Even apart from the fact that this small local grocery store made really good deli sandwiches and other foods, I'm starting to miss it already.

But let me not miss posting for Eli and Michael, Harry, and John 2.

Eli is exploring. I note as I post that this is the second day I've cross-posted with one of them, but there's not that much in the missing posts so I won't worry about it. Michael is practicing.

We really have two rolls to make for Harry--one to determine the hazards of the fire, the other to determine whether he can assess them correctly; but he'll get two rolls on the latter, because anyone ought to get a difficult intuition check and he as a trained fire fighter ought also to get a skill check, so first the GE: 16 is even, and I've already been thinking that he has this under control. Now the d30+10 difficult intuition check: 11, easy success, we don't need the skill check.

Someone will be in charge of the local watch at the fire location, so we'll have him talk to Harry and Tarah and see what response they give.

Let's take John 2 to 2 months old.

--M. J. Young

Thu Apr 15 2010 10:02 pm #
Kurt W.
Member

So, out of curiosity... What is going on with my thread?

If Harry the Person still wants to run it, but needs time to get a grip on things first, I'm completely understanding, so take as much time as you need to-I won't rush you.

I just want to know if that's the plan or if I'm being put under someone else for the time being.

Fri Apr 16 2010 3:35 pm #
johnosevens
Member

Right now, it seems that the plan is that your thread is on hold until I get my life back in order. If MJ wants to resume running you, or give you to someone else, I'm fine with that, but if he leaves it up to me, you're on hold for now.

Fri Apr 16 2010 3:48 pm #
Glantri
Member

Sorry about the cross postings, my schedule is a little screwy due to exams. I'll attempt to get back to posting more quickly after the nightly update to avoid that issue. Either way exams are over next week.

Sorry for the added trouble.

Fri Apr 16 2010 4:25 pm #
Kurt W.
Member

Okay, thanks.

I just wanted to know-I'll wait then.

Fri Apr 16 2010 6:31 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Kurt: I'm expecting Harry to pick up your thread within a few days; if he hasn't done so by the end of next week, I'll come up with some other solution. I think, too, that his post saying he would be able to resume it probably preempted any other offers, so at this point it will be Harry or me, and I'm hoping it will be Harry, as he was doing well with it.

Mike: You need not apologize for that. It happens frequently, and I make no demands that you post at all, nevermind that it be done on any sort of schedule. I suppose the way to explain it, really, is that if I had not made the decision to put you and Eli together for a while then I would have arrived and found no posts on your thread and would not have answered you until tomorrow; since Eli had posted and you had not when I opened the threads, I answered him when I got to it and did not yet have your post. It's a bit more trouble for me to remember to check back before my last post to see whether I cross-posted, but that's not your problem, as you can't predict when I will post.

I have a concert tonight (and if you did not know that then I've failed miserably at my self-promotion publicity skill check), but I attempted to get a running start on today by starting e-mail shortly after midnight before going to bed. I might try to catch up the rest of it tomorrow, but for the moment I have about ninety minutes to finish as much as I can before leaving for the concert, which should be sufficient time to address threads from Eli and Michael, Harry, and John 2, and get a few other things done before I go.

Eli is still experimenting with the vacation, and Michael is preparing to teach him the use of the drill, so that's progress.

Harry is covering the aftermath of his fire.

John 2 is still experiencing infancy.

--M. J. Young

Fri Apr 16 2010 6:59 pm #
johnosevens
Member

As for my part, moving is going slowly but smoothly. I don't know if I will be settled and reliably online by next week, but my plan remains to return as soon as I am settled. This should not be more than two weeks more at the outside. I thank you both for your patience meanwhile.

Sat Apr 17 2010 11:56 pm #
WilliamTWodium
Member

and the roll is 8, so his RS/20 days will come to 2, which is certainly enough to prove the point.
I'm guessing that roll was either 28 or 38 and the first digit was dropped.

I think I'm about at capacity right now with Maxx, and if I weren't, there's still the fact that I'm about to bring one of my long-time player's long-dormant threads back into active forum play. Otherwise, I might've offered to take over Kurt if it didn't look like O'Sevens was going to pick him back up soon.

I'm sure he'll do a better job than I would've, anyway; I don't have much interest in the scenario, and his style seems to suit it.

Sun Apr 18 2010 6:23 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

The site says that the last post was made by WilliamTWoodium, but the last post I see if from Osevens. Site problem?

EDIT: After I posted, Scott's post came up. Probably just a momentary glitch, but I thought I'd mention it.

MJ, I would love to take over a player, but since I haven't ever refereed, and don't know the rules very well, I would want that player to be a seasoned referee themselves. Someone who could talk me through what to do.

(Doing Therapy)

Sun Apr 18 2010 6:55 am #
Kurt W.
Member

I can wait for a couple of weeks. It's fine. I've got an eighty-five page project that I need to do for a folklore class by the end of the month, so I'll have plenty to do, don't worry. On page 25 so far and trucking along!

But yeah, take your time and get things in order, Harry. It's all good.

Sun Apr 18 2010 7:16 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Oops--sorry, Scott, it comes from doing things late in the day and in a rush. I read that as RS/5, creating a 1-20 spread, instead of RS/20 creating a 1-5 spread. It will be a one-day effect.

Let me see what I can do with Eli and Michael, Harry, Scott, and John 2.

Eli's telepathic vacation has him controlling an alien body, but since it is an illusion of a body we do not need in this case to roll bod skills for him to operate that body per se. Thus as he attempts to manipulate the rock, that being something the body can do he will be able to do it with the facility that the body would have. His twelve minutes are nearly up, and Michael is waiting for him, but he might want to stretch the connect time, so we'll give him the option.

For a moment there I couldn't find the stopwatch and thought I might have to use dice for Harry's GE roll--the roll which determines whether the guy he describes is going to be identifiable from his description or one of a dozen possibles. The roll is 4+9+9=22, so it's not going to go as well as he would like.

We'll give Scott some thoughts on pricing without really telling him what he should charge for his services.

I was going to move John 2 forward a bit more on his Human Growth and Development Chart, but got ties up with other matters in his post and forgot to do so--but that's all right, I'll get it next time.

--M. J. Young

Sun Apr 18 2010 10:36 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

MJ, I think there's something wrong with this thread. The post count is a 333 (before this writing) but there's 334 posts. I don't think it completely registered Scott's latest post.

(Doing Therapy)

Mon Apr 19 2010 3:54 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

John, do you know whether the post count counts the first post or not? I'm not sure, but I think if you start a new thread it is listed as having "0" posts.

I'm late and it's tired, or something like that. Actually, I'm not tired--I was called elsewhere and in my absence got a substantial bit of a nap--but I don't want to be up too long this late, particularly as something might be on my agenda tomorrow. So today let me look at posts from Eli and Michael, Harry, and John 2, and see what they bring. And hopefully I'm not cross-posting with too many (more) posts tonight.

Although they do not now say so, I believe that having discussed the psionic vacation (each sphere contains a unique environment, so they would have to get a different sphere to get a different environment) Michael is going to teach Eli the psi drill. We need a skill learning roll: 21 is in there without having to do much math, given the bonuses for Michael's teaching skill. That adds 1@1 Operate Force Generative Psionic Device P1@8 (psi drill) to Eli's sheet.

Harry has finished fire fighting for today, and can get back to his personal business.

We'll take John 2 to three months old.

--M. J. Young

Tue Apr 20 2010 8:06 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

John, do you know whether the post count counts the first post or not? I'm not sure, but I think if you start a new thread it is listed as having "0" posts.

I don't know. I don't think it took Scott's posts completely. We've had this problem before.

It was almost 4 AM by the time MJ got here. How about a round of applause for his dedication? (Clap clap clap clap!!!)

(Doing Therapy)

Tue Apr 20 2010 8:12 am #
Glantri
Member

MJ, when did I make my successful roll for teaching? Or did I make it just now and the roll wasn't listed? The last time teaching was mentioned Eli learned it, I didn't, and we both made a simple intuition roll to discover whether we had actually passed or not, which we both passed. This is the last I found at least.

Not trying to nit-pick, just making sure if I have the teaching skill I add it to my character list and if I don't to keep trying to get it.

Also, your dedication in posting is really impressive as John pointed out. Thanks for all the work you put into running this forum.

Tue Apr 20 2010 1:16 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator
Mike--thanks for catching that. In fact, "teaching" is not on your sheet. It happens not to matter in the present circumstance--if you are taught a new skill by someone who is not a teacher (or trainer), you still get what is properly called an "instructor" bonus but which is sometimes written as "teacher" simply because it is a shorter word....yeah, well, it's not just laziness, sometimes it's so it will fit in the chart space provided.

One thing a Multiverser referee has to do frequently is "thumbnail" results, that is, do enough of the math to see where the "approximate" result is. I knew:
- Eli has a psi bias of 1@ something for his "use telepathic device", greater than 1@1, not greater than 1@3.
- Eli's BRA in psionics is almost certainly at least 1@5, because the odds of all three relevant attributes being below average are negligible.
- The target skill is not as high as 1@10, might be 1@8.
- The bonus for having an instructor is not going to be lower than 1@5, Mike's BRA in the skill area.
- The roll is 21, which is a good two points below what I figure is the lowest possible chance of success, so I don't need to do more math than that, and I need only check the bias level of the target skill so I can copy it to his sheet.
As you get use to the numbers in pretty much any role playing game, only one in five rolls will require you to check them. You'll know within +/-10% what the target number really is.

So as I turn my attention to Eli and Michael, then Harry, Scott, and John 2, I should start by rolling to see whether this time Michael gets his teaching skill. His odds are better, because his own bias in psionics has increased to 1@10, which combined with his 2@1 BRA gives him a 41% chance of success, but 81 is not going to cut it.

Harry is done with the firefighting, and maybe too with the shopping, but we'll find out what his plans are next.

Scott is still talking with the guy on the bench. I have images of Dr. Gregory House attempting to bounce ideas off the custodian, but at least the custodian is wise.

John 2 has given an intelligent answer to the question of how he will respond to his mother's silly questions; but it occurs to me that they're in Mexico, and Sarah will speak Spanish as much as English, even to John. That might change things.

--M. J. Young
Tue Apr 20 2010 9:01 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

My body is not happy today, but I'm here, and hopefully will be able to address posts from Eli and Michael, Brock, and John 2.

Eli rolls 84 on trying to reconnect with the computer; that's a failure. Michael is working on clothes, but he's got a long way to go before he's done.

Brock probably will have a relatively short post next, but that's all right--he'll be aboard the enemy station soon, and there will be things happening there.

John 2 didn't really answer my last question, so we'll try again.

--M. J. Young

Wed Apr 21 2010 9:18 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

John 2 didn't really answer my last question, so we'll try again.

Actually I did, you just didn't see it.

Wed Apr 21 2010 9:53 pm #
Glantri
Member

Hope you feel better MJ.

Thu Apr 22 2010 1:56 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator
Thank you, Mike; I do, considerably so.

Let's see what is happening with Eli and Michael, Brock, Ahemetia (welcome back, I've worried about you), Harry, and John 2, who says he answered a question but I didn't see the answer.

Eli is going to keep attempting to connect to the psionic computer, which means I keep rolling until something interesting happens. His chance of success is 1@3 SAL+5 SM+1@10 BRA=38%, so his chance to botch is 6%, 95 or higher. He rolls 40, 43, 96, that counts as something interesting.

In NagaWorld, the telepathic botch list always includes contacting the Nash Far Kraal, so we'll put that as number one. We'll also include contacting each of the other telepathic devices he has already contacted, plus the one he has not, and a "wrong skill" entry for each of the force generatives in the museum (come to think of it, which one is burned out? I think that was the blaster, but I'll check--yes, that's what it was), and a burn out of the computer, and the standards brain burn, psionic shock wave, and neural breakdown. That's a lucky 13 possible outcomes, so we'll roll for it against the list:
1. Contact Nash Far Kraal
2. Operate wrong device: data storage device
3. Operate wrong device: data access device
4. Operate wrong device: psionic vacation
5. Operate wrong device: Kraal memorial
6. Wrong skill: operate psionic drill
7. Wrong skill: operate force field lifter
8. Wrong skill: operate psionic rifle
9. Wrong skill: operate psionic disintegrator
10. Burn out computer
11. Brain burn
12. Psionic Shock Wave
13. Neural Breakdown
The roll is 13.

Neural breakdown indicates damage to the brain or mind that manifests as a loss of ability in some area; typical areas are
1. Intellect
2. Intuition
3. Education level
4. Will power
5. Persuasion and Animal magnetism
6. Persuasion and Charisma
7. Mental Stability, that is, Sanity.
The effects can be severe or mild, temporary or permanent, but severe permanent results usually mean instant verse-out and the problem resolved. So we'll have three rolls, one for which of those seven areas are hit, and two GE rolls for the severity factors. 4 is will power, 26 is definitely very severe, 19 is the far side of center, so I'd say we have a verse-out. I'll let him take the computer with him, though.

Now I need a new world for Eli, and I need to address Michael's situation. I also need a flexibility check for Eli, the roll is 20+10=30, so I don't need to look up his flexibility, he is still at stage one. Let's put him somewhere where his skills might be useful.

I'm adding these skills to Michael's sheet:1@3 Stitch & Sew T2@1
1@4 Sewing with Needle T3@1

Now, for Brock. I really want his reaction to the feeling of disintegration of the transmat, so I'm not going to move forward with it beyond that yet.

I'm glad to see that Ahmetia is well, and we'll push her adventure forward a bit as she becomes more enmeshed in the role of Queen of Ruritania.

We'll introduce Harry to another detail of his setting: the nature of baths.

I see why John 2 thinks he answered me and I think he didn't. We'll try to get that clarified.

I think I'm done here.

--M. J. Young
Thu Apr 22 2010 8:29 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

Thanks for clarifying that MJ. I didn't realize exactly what you were asking until today.

(Doing Therapy)

Thu Apr 22 2010 9:46 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator
Having just read Maxx' thread, I can't help thinking that the most important question was not asked or answered--but it's not my game, and I don't think I can ask it. I will repeat Maxx' question though: what is chimerical mind meld? I don't think I've encountered that.

But then, I'm here to deal with Eli, Michael, Ahmetia, and John 2, so let's focus on them.

I'm starting Eli with a potential encounter with a person. I'm reluctant to use the language barrier, because as it plays in this world if these people don't speak English the language doesn't exist, and Eli has no skills to overcome that barrier (unless he speaks Japanese and didn't mention it), but he's interested in having that be part of things, so I can play it that way.

It's not really difficult for a verser to determine that another verser has left the universe, and I think Paul will call Michael's attention to that fact, and settle that question quickly.

It has been long enough that I've not run Ahmetia's game that my mind has forgotten how to pronounce her name; I've got it written somewhere, but I'll never find it, so here's hoping I remember which of the two pronunciations is correct. Meanwhile, we'll move the plot forward--our new queen is going to drink considerably less wine than her kitchens expect, and we'll have to provide a different beverage.

I'm going to have to give Sarah Connor an intuition because she's going to have to notice things. I'm thinking that it's already a bit high, but not extraordinary, so we'll make it 1@10. That's one of several things on which she will be working. In fact, let me also give her a few more scores:
Now for that intuition check, simple, 20+20, can't get worse than that. Well, it's extremely unlikely that any intelligent mother would believe her three month old infant completely understands one language and refuses to learn another. Bad luck for John 2

--M. J. Young
Sat Apr 24 2010 12:45 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Animal Magnetism 1@7--not the beauty John wants, because she's really just an ordinary girl in that department.

I think it's time to get your glasses fixed MJ. Linda Hilton was GORGEOUS!!!! She didn't age very well though.

Education Level 1@10--high school graduate in the work force at 19.

2@1 or 2@2 actually. She was in college. The T-800 finds her student ID when it searches her apartment following killing Ginger and Matt. That's in the movie though, has nothing to do with the game. I'd like it a lot better if you went by the movie in this particular case, but it's your call.

(Doing Therapy)

Sat Apr 24 2010 12:52 am #
Glantri
Member

Hasn't your stance about giving all the information always been conditioned that you would prefer that your experience isn't identical to the book/movies? This applies to both the animal magnetism and education level, but more so education level.

Sat Apr 24 2010 1:02 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Yeah, that's why I was just telling him what was in the movies. If he wants to make her a 3@4 in Astrophysics I wouldn't complain. I was just correcting his knowledge of the movie.

And isn't animal magnetism kind of biased? Beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder, after all. MJ thinks she's a 1@7. That's his opinion. I would probably give her 1@9 at least. That's my opinion. My opinion and 50 cents will get you a can of soda.

(Doing Therapy)

Sat Apr 24 2010 1:06 am #
JohnA1nut
Member

Two

Oh ya know what MJ? Whilst you're fleshing out Sarah's character, I thought it might be relevant to mention that she broke her left leg in the fight with the Terminator. In the book, she had a pin in her leg as the result. I just thought that might make an interesting character detail.

(Doing Therapy)

Sat Apr 24 2010 7:13 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

Having just read Maxx' thread, I can't help thinking that the most important question was not asked or answered--but it's not my game, and I don't think I can ask it.

Now you've got me very curious. If you'd rather not post it here (where it might influence the game), perhaps you would email me?

I will repeat Maxx' question though: what is chimerical mind meld? I don't think I've encountered that.

I'm not sure it would be much different than the other semi-permanent mind melds you've run in the past. I was using "chimerical" in the sense of having to do with a fused entity with several heads - that is, in this case, one fused mind with independent wills (or other aspect; probably wills, though). Perhaps I'd have had each will reside in a separate body, giving Maxx control of the will residing in his own body(/spirit form), but I would have to stress that each will extended from the same fused root.

Not all the details are worked out because I hadn't rolled the die yet when I placed it on the table and there was an eleven in twelve chance I wouldn't need to know. All that was important at the time was that it was a semi-permanent option not easily reversible which would entangle Maxx and the monkey-thing while creating certain kinds of problems. It filled a niche on the table.

Sat Apr 24 2010 7:21 am #
Max
Member

Now you've got me very curious.

Me too. I guess you can tell me what the most important question when it does not matter anymore or will that question matter for a long time?
I wonder why that question becomes the most important question at least to your perspective. I also wonder if that question is as important to me as you think and if I think so too why I have not asked it then.

Sat Apr 24 2010 12:26 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Quoting me, John 2 said:

Animal Magnetism 1@7--not the beauty John wants, because she's really just an ordinary girl in that department.

I think it's time to get your glasses fixed MJ. Linda Hilton was GORGEOUS!!!! She didn't age very well though.

This is exactly the point I have been trying to make to you all along: Sarah Conner is not Linda Hamilton (or the other actress, either). She is an ordinary nineteen year old girl whom Linda Hamilton resembles sufficiently to have played her in a movie. There is actually no reason I couldn't have made her a 1@3 really unattractive nineteen year old girl, but since to some degree she's going to be trading on her attractiveness (even if only to renegade societal outcasts and sociopaths who would probably sleep with even a really ugly girl) I thought I'd be a bit generous. She's entirely average and ordinary looking, and she's your mother, so you probably should be careful how you think of her.

2@1 or 2@2 actually. She was in college. The T-800 finds her student ID....
O.K., I had wondered about that. If she's 19 and not a super-intellect, she's going to be 2@1 some college, and I've made the change.

Scott and Maxx, the important question has now been answered indirectly in the thread. What I wondered was whether from the mind meld it seemed as if the target creature was of animal intelligence or greater. Since a Telepathy to Humanoids succeeded, I now know that it has an intellect of at least 1@1, capable of what we consider thought. To my mind at the time, it really would have mattered mattered whether I was dealing with a beast or a "person".

And thanks for the Chimerical explanation.

I have posts from Eli, Michael, Ahmetia, Brock, and John 2, so I'd better turn my attention to them.

Eli is easy to answer.

Michael has confused two races, but probably this is the first time anyone mentioned the other. Clarification is natural.

I am guessing that Ahmetia is going to give another short post declaring that she will sleep probably until she is awakened or awakens on her own, but I won't exclude the possibility that she will do something else first.

Brock is aboard; we'll go with the flow from here.

John 2 has changed his tactic, and again Sarah has to make an intuition check to see if she realizes what he's doing. 6+13=19, and I gave her a 1@10 intuition, so that's as good as it gets for her.

--M. J. Young

Sun Apr 25 2010 9:04 pm #
JohnA1nut
Member

She's entirely average and ordinary looking, and she's your mother, so you probably should be careful how you think of her.

Beauty is STILL in the eye of the beer-holder. You might give a girl 1@3, and I would give her 1@7, because that's how we see that person. Besides, she might not be Linda Hamilton, but since that's the model we have to work with, that's what I'm going with. And she's not MY mother, she's John Connor's mother. She may have given 23 chromosomes to the body I'm in, but isn't and never will be my mother. I'm sure Whisp doesn't call Mother "Mom" anymore, if he ever did in the first place.

(Doing Therapy)

Mon Apr 26 2010 1:57 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

Beauty may be subjective (or at least the perception of beauty), but An-Mag really isn't. That's not to say you might not have a better impression of a person with a 1@7 An-Mag than the guy next to you has, but when she talks to you she has the same An-Mag score as when she talks to the other guy. Maybe she rolled a better check when she was talking to you. Point is, any attribute is an objective measure of the character's ability in a certain area - in this case, their ability to draw people to them without necessarily trying.

Mon Apr 26 2010 2:15 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Thanks, Scott. The other side of the coin is of course will power. You might have a much higher will power than me but I might be able to resist the temptation to smoke better, simply because I made the successful check when it mattered and you didn't.

I think I see Eli, Michael, Ahmetia, Harry, and John 2, and hopefully I have not managed to overlook anyway. If I did, I apologize based on a somewhat foggy head today which I can't explain.

Eli gets his gear.

I'm attempting to make sure I have the correct revised routine for Michael, after which the pace may quicken a bit because Eli is not part of that scenario so it's only one person's particulars that matter.

The only real question concerning Ahmetia at this point is whether she awakens early or late, rested or not. She would rather be rested than not, and better that she awaken early than later. One GE roll should cover this, the scale suggesting rested early at the best, then rested later, then not rested early and not rested later. She rolls 12, Good Enough.

I'm noting that I have almost no stats on Harry's wife Arabella, and am adding a 1@10 Charisma and 1@10 Animal Magnetism, largely because I am playing her that way and don't want to change anything.

John 2 is moving forward much more quickly in this game world than the last several players I ran in it, mostly because he is being so impatient. However, we will move him to four months old. His hand/eye was last recorded as 0@7, but that was at birth; by six months it will be 0@10, so we'll assume it's now 0@9, and something as simple as picking up a crayon with one hand will require a simple hand/eye check. The rolls are 7+17=24, no chance, and hopefully a better picture of his situation.

--M. J. Young

Tue Apr 27 2010 1:47 am #
johnosevens
Member

I've updated Arabella's sheet on my end as well.

Tue Apr 27 2010 1:19 pm #
Brock
Member

never mind, answered my own question, ignore this post.

Tue Apr 27 2010 7:35 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator
I believe I see Eli, Michael, Brock, Harry, and John 2 on the boards today.

Eli specified that a language barrier would be acceptable, so we'll give him one.

Michael's current routine should have these effects over time:
- Produce 2 yards of cloth five feet wide per day
- Improve martial arts basic skill +4 marks per 60 days
- Improve running skills per sixty days
- Increase Strength +@1 at 1@ per 120 days
- Increase Stamina +@1 at 2@ per 120 days
- Increase flexibility +@1 at 1@ per 120 days
- Increase will power +1 at 1@ per 120 days.
- Use psionic force generative (Drill) +1 mark per 60 days.
All days given in NagaWorld time. Since his focus is on the long-term, we'll move forward in chunks for a while.

If Brock is going to get into the first room, someone has to open the door; Tom is good, but I ought to roll for him, and the roll is 71, which for the best thief in the galaxy is going to be successful. There should be a GE roll for what happens in this room, but I'll let Brock tell me what he's doing first.

Harry will return to work at midnight, which will technically be the first shift of Day 7 on his rotation. I'll have to keep in mind that he's had a long day and probably is headed for a short sleep before he gets to work, but it should be an easy night generally.

John 2 has some questions; I'm not answering all of them because I don't think he can know all the answers, but I agree that Sarah will be working on developing survival skills, gradually.

Oh, the book would usually be an instructor bonus, sometimes an example, but probably not both. The rating would vary.

--M. J. Young
Tue Apr 27 2010 9:08 pm #
WilliamTWodium
Member

# Improve martial arts basic skill +4 marks per 60 days
# Improve running skills per sixty days

Is this your "usual mistake" of 60 for 100, or an artifact of Nagaworld time?

Wed Apr 28 2010 4:59 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Ah, it occurs to me that it might actually be the origin of my usual mistake.

100 days x 24 hours = 2400 hours; 2400 hours / 40 hours per day = 60 days.

I spent 120 NagaWorld days in NagaWorld, which was at that time an impressive record, and a lot of that time went into skill practice; the rules were still being written, but I've run a lot of people in NagaWorld as their starting world since then, and the conversion is pretty obvious. So I have many times done that conversion, and it probably has stuck in my brain in an odd way.

I can hardly believe that I'm starting the games at this hour of the night, but it appears that I am, so I might as well go ahead and do so. Eli, Michael, Brock, and John 2 are in play, and I hope I can get them all done before the top of the hour thirty-four minutes from now. (That hour would be four in the morning, but I'm often up that late anyway, so here goes.)

Since Eli has familiarity with Japanese and a 1@5 average amateur skill in Linguistics M0@0 (added to his sheet just now) I'll give him +30 on his chance to recognize a language he has studied but not learned to speak, with his 2@3 BRA giving him a 68% chance in a flatlined bias to do so. 46 is easily successful. I'm also giving him 1@1 German P0@0.

Michael is asking Paul and Annie about how to make patterns for clothing; the GE roll is 21, but I can't imagine that neither of them know anything at all, so we'll give him something. Besides, if he actually uses his own clothes for patterns, he probably gets credit for an example.

I promised Brock a GE roll, and it's a 17, a nothing happens sort of roll. Of course, "nothing happens" is good, so I'm going to have to think a bit about this.

John 2 is thinking that Sarah would take some risks she would not yet take; probably she'll do those things later, when he's old enough that she doesn't have to worry about a python eating him while she's fetching water from the stream.

--M. J. Young

Thu Apr 29 2010 7:45 am #

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