He says you could probably get any carpenter to make the shafts, but since you'll want metal heads and the fletcher can make his own shafts, you probably want to make some arrowheads, take them to a fletcher, and ask him about fletching the quarrels. Probably he's not likely to be as free with his secrets as you'd like, since it's his business and he doesn't profit by teaching you how to do it. But then, you can ask him. The smith has no idea how to do it.
--M. J. Young
For the record, I don't think you're giving me a hard time. It's just on the crossbow I had before, the fletching was very simple. A blind man could have duplicated it. That was probably a 50 pound draw crossbow though, as opposed to this one being much heavier. The harder the draw, the better the fletching needs to be. Like with a gun. Bigger guns need better rifling. (What is the draw on this one anyway? How would I know? Well, I can pull the string back and guess.)
"Mr. Smith, where can I go to get the arrows made? I want at least 50 of them. Where can I go to get those? Oh and I noticed that you kind of react strangely when I call you 'Mr. Smith' and your name being John. It's just that my name is John too. I cannot count the number of times I've been walking around a mall or someplace, and heard someone yell 'Hey John' and they're talking to someone else. Where I come from, you got named after your job. You're a blacksmith, so your name is John Smith. If you were a pottery worker, your name would be John Potter. If you were a cook, your name would be John Baker. Get it? Don't be offended by it. I'm sure you prefer Mr. Smith over some of the variations I've heard on the name John. Where can I go for the arrows, and do you have any clue how much they would cost?"
There is a fletcher in town. He's not the fastest, and he's not the best, but the local shire reeve gets his bolts and arrows there for the convenience. Of course, you want them cut to fit this crossbow, so you'll have to take the crossbow with you and work out whether to go with one of his standard sizes that don't fit perfectly or get him to make you that many exactly right.
You have difficultly pulling back the wire without using the lever.
--M. J. Young
Well, I imagine that the gentleman that made the crossbow stock probably also made and/or designed them for the shire reeve. It's probably a pretty standard size. I'll take the crossbow over to him right now. I'm also working today for free, for Mr. Smith helping me build the crossbow, so don't let me forget that. Can the fletcher give me any pointers on how to use this? The crossbow I had was a pistol bow, very different from this. I have no skill with a regular crossbow (unless skill with a rifle translates over to this) I'm going right now. How much are the arrows, the not-so-perfect ones? I'll almost certainly go with those.
Ask Mr. Smith if he can put a flip-up, spring-loaded metal spike on the bottom of my crossbow. Say 6 inches long. A flip up, and locking bayonet for my crossbow. If the tech bias ever gets too low to support my guns, I'll need every weapon I can get my hands on.
MJ. My character has arthritis and I imagine that would come into play working as a blacksmith. Not right now, but after I get the crossbow finished, I'm going to try that psionic healing skill that Oak was trying in the first world. Either it will work or it won't right? If it works and I heal myself, all the better. If it doesn't work here, well, I'll live with the pain. If I botch and kill myself, well, at least I learned some blacksmithing, and I have a nice crossbow. After the crossbow is finished and I have some decent arrows for it.
For now, meditate on it. Meditate on how to do the healing psionics. I have a meditation skill, and I'm willing to bet you cannot botch too badly on that. Meditate on how to do the psionic healing skill. I'm doing that at night after boxing practice.
"Mr. Smith. Can you try to make some metal arrows? I'll work another day free if you make me 10 of them. A metal arrow would be too heavy to fly, that's true, but for point-blank range, they would be devastating. Can you make me 10 of them? It's worth another free day of work to you."
Metal arrows would turn the crossbow into a street sweeper. Devastating at point blank range, but not good for much else. Ideal for inside a building, like a castle. Or for military storm troopers that engage at that distance. Might want to tell the shire reeve. Might not. Thinking not. (Oh John, he's a cop!!!!)
Ask the blacksmith if this has ever been tried. God I hope not. I may have something really fun!!!!!!!
A metal flechette dart. That's what I want. Too heavy to fly right for more than say 20 feet, but at that range, they would be much more powerful. A metal flechette dart. That's what I want him to make.
Even if the dart didn't fly quite right, and hit the person sideways, it would still hurt. I mean having a half pound metal spike hit you sideways in the gut? That would hurt!!!! I have (GOD I HOPE!!!) Invented a close-range weapon!!!
Standard crossbow bolts are a pence apiece, but he usually sells them in lots of twenty-five.
I'm not understanding how the spike you want is "spring loaded". I'm not certain whether such a thing can be mounted to a crossbow without badly unbalancing it and making it difficult to aim, but the first question is what the spring does.
"Metal arrows? I told you, I'm no fletcher--I've no idea how to make them fly right. Now, if you want thin metal bars with pointed ends, I can manage that. Just tell me the diameter and the length, and we'll go with it. But you know they won't fly straight. Need fletching for that."
--M. J. Young
How did you arrive at the sum of a pence apiece for the arrows? I didn't see a GE roll listed in the Behind the Screens thread. Does that go back to the "Not-unfavorable" GE roll I got on finding the fletcher, or did you just pull that price out of thin air? I've got 202 pence coins, let's turn that into 200 arrows, and ask if he will give me an arrow quiver for the other 2 pence coins.
Regarding the metal spring-loaded spike. I was thinking a spike that folded down underneath the crossbow stock, and then a button could be pushed to make it snap up into position. Like a switchblade. I did not consider that it would throw the crossbow off balance though, so just forget about it.
"Mr. Smith, what I'm talking about with metal arrows is just what you said. A metal spike with a point on the end. Yes, you could do the fletching, and I'll tell you how. Hammer the other end into a cross shape. I could see that being a problem, so hammer the end flat, cut a notch in it, take another flat, notched piece of metal, and slide the notches together. Then solder the second flat onto the arrow. (I know the forge could probably do it better, but I want to show him what solder can do.) We might need to put something onto the end of them to make the string hit them straight, but aside from that, it should work. They wouldn't need to fly straight very long, since it would be only for up close and personal. Unless I miss my guess, it would increase the close range strike power of the arrow, since it would be so heavy. We'll experiment with the sizes and weights, until we get one that flies straight, then make a lot of them. At close range, they would have a lot of knockdown power."
And not to sound too petulant, but I did own a pistol crossbow at one time. Pencils fired from it (no fletching) would fly straight enough to be effective at close range. God knows I fired enough pencils into the bedroom wall.
Is there ever any talk amongst the villagers about an oppressive government? Is the shire reeve or whatever over taxing them, and making their lives miserable? Lots of people going to the dungeon for non-payment of taxes, that kind of thing? I'm not sure if I'm hoping for that or for peace and quiet so your call if this happens to be a GE roll. I could see both being fun for play, so if it's a GE roll, your call on how it goes.
I suppose that the best answer is, market forces.How did you arrive at the sum of a pence apiece for the arrows?
On the one hand, arrows are an expended commodity, and the fletcher really cannot charge too much for them; if he charged too much, the shire reeve would buy his arrows from some other fletcher, or tell his men to use their swords more and their bows less. On the other hand, the fletcher buys his arrowheads from other tradesmen, who have to make a profit on what they're making. He probably gathers his own materials, or gets his apprentice to do much of that, but there's a fair amount of hand crafting to do, and he has to earn his living this way. If there's a high enough demand for arrows, he can make a respectable peasant's wage on the work.
It also happens that I've run enough medieval scenarios that I know that arrows and quarrels run close to this price in, for example, Dungeons & Dragons; however, that was recognized in retrospect, and not the basis for the decision.
He's glad to have your money, and to provide the quiver as requested (which he buys from a leatherworker). He can only produce about thirty quarrels a day, and he only has a hundred in that size on hand, so it will take him four days (and he won't work on Sunday) to finish filling the order.
The smith says he can make your metal rods, as long as you don't tell anyone they're supposed to be arrows. He'll even try putting the fins on them, as you suggest. How many did you want?
There are those who complain about the taxes and the shire reeve, and those who answer that Robert is a lot better than some of the shire reeves in other shires in the area, and some who say that the whole lot of them are scoundrels and some who say that they're doing their best at a hard job. As far as you're aware, there aren't a lot of people in dungeons, or starving, or having property taken from them.
--M. J. Young
"Mr. Smith, those aren't arrows, they're tent stakes (wink) Let's make 10 for right now, different sizes, lengths, and weights, until we find one that works well in the crossbow. I'm working 2 days free, one day for the crossbow, and one for the metal arrows."
To the fletcher: "I'll be back next week to get the rest of those arrows. Thanks a lot."
Skip ahead a week. I make 2 shillings a day working, minus 2 days free. So that's 8 shillings, minus room and board at the inn. (Which was what?) Translate what I have left into crowns, shillings and pence, and let me know what it is. I'll be practicing TK pulse on the hammer whilst working, practicing boxing, and practicing with the crossbow. I figure I can reuse arrows a few times for practicing. What's my skill learning level with the crossbow?
2 weeks ahead boxing
2 weeks ahead blacksmithing
1 week ahead practice with crossbow
2 weeks ahead TK pulse practice.
See if Mr. Smith has something that would make a suitable staff weapon, and also practice 1@2 Chow En Lai B7@1 martial arts style fast aggressive weapon-dependent. Bo staff fighting. Use it with boxing. Block with the staff, and throw a punch. Block with boxing, attack with staff, that kind of thing. See if I can persuade little William to help me. I would be teaching him boxing and staff fighting, and he would be a sparring partner of sorts for me. (That's a skill bonus right?) If Mr. Smith will allow that, do that. If not, still practice the staff fighting on opposite days of boxing. I didn't want to do that in Pearl Harbor, because I thought practicing staff fighting might freak out my captors. I was planning to escape, after all.
I wanted to add another skill to my sheet. I got third place in a school-wide first aid contest Junior year of high school. I did not compete Senior year because I was sick, but I did continue to study first aid. First aid skill, I would guess medium or medium high amateur.
Are there any semi-active volcanoes in the area? Preferably in the general direction of the main castle? How would I know? Well, I've been walking around between the two cities and talking to quite a few people. Smalltalk with a stranger can be of all kinds of things, as I'm sure you know. I used to study volcanoes, and I can identify most volcanic rock. There is one, obsidian I believe, that can be ground and made into sunglass lenses. There's another, Mica, I want to say, that can be ground into a blade that is almost as hard and sharp as steel. Brittle, but very hard. It chips kind of easily, but the main blade won't break in half. Makes good stone knives. I'd like to check out a volcano sometime in the next year or two.
Boxing is a weapon-adverse style; that means if you have a weapon in your hands, you can't box. Chow En Lai does allow maneuvers with the hands, such as the solid punch you learned for it, and you could incorporate the solid punch into the boxing, but you can't be in both boxing and chow en lai styles at the same time, so the boxing and the staff work can't be combined. Boxing is missing from my sheet; have you got any numbers on it somewhere?
William is interested in learning how to fight. You never know when the king will conscript an army, after all, and it's better to know something about fighting if they conscript you; being a blacksmith's apprentice, he expects to look like the sort of person who knows how to fight, so he probably should know how to fight, too.
Concerning first aid, what sorts of things do you know how to do? (Multiverser distinguishes medical skills by bias level, so a person who can do splints and bandages has the same skill as a person who can do CPR or a person who can do brain surgery--it's a bias level question that determines which things to include.)
There are no known volcanoes in the area. In fact, when you ask about it, people think you're making that up. Mountains don't do that.
--M. J. Young
I posted 2X the other day. I think you missed the first post, so here it is.
"Mr. Smith, those aren't arrows, they're tent stakes (wink) Let's make 10 for right now, different sizes, lengths, and weights, until we find one that works well in the crossbow. I'm working 2 days free, one day for the crossbow, and one for the metal arrows."
To the fletcher: "I'll be back next week to get the rest of those arrows. Thanks a lot."
Skip ahead a week. I make 2 shillings a day working, minus 2 days free. So that's 8 shillings, minus room and board at the inn. (Which was what?) Translate what I have left into crowns, shillings and pence, and let me know what it is. I'll be practicing TK pulse on the hammer whilst working, practicing boxing, and practicing with the crossbow. I figure I can reuse arrows a few times for practicing. What's my skill learning level with the crossbow?
2 weeks ahead boxing
2 weeks ahead blacksmithing
1 week ahead practice with crossbow
2 weeks ahead TK pulse practice.
1@6 Boxing B7@1 attack multiplier 1, slow defensive, weapon-adverse, no offensive modifier, -15 Defense modifier, -15 damage modifier, hand & arm
Skip the week, teach boxing to William (how old is he anyway?) And practice all other skills as listed.
First Aid: Splints, CPR, controlling blood loss, what to do if someone has a nosebleed, check for pulse, breathing, what to do for cuts, burns, just basic first aid. I'm not an EMT or anything. Medium to medium high amateur.
Let that warn you not to post twice. The software will take me automatically to the last post, and I won't always check the post before it if there's no mention of it. I am very likely to miss the first of two new posts on this board.
William is about nine or ten.
It makes sense to me for you to do the searches back through the thread when you want to know information I've already given, such as how much something costs. If you don't want to search for it, put it in a text file in your computer for reference. I've already got thirty or forty such text files that I use in play, and there's no reason for me to be adding things so you can ask me if they're already in the thread.
You continue to practice.
--M. J. Young
This is what you put down as to the weekly rate at the inn. If there's 5 pence in a shilling. I'm working 2 days free, so that's 20 pence gone. Leaving me 12 pence or 2 shillings and 2 pence. I marked it down.
"A private room (at the inn) with dinner and breakfast is four pence, which is one pence less than a shilling, so if you're staying in a private room it costs twenty-eight pence a week, and if you work six days at two shillings a day that's twelve-shillings, or sixty pence, so you're clear by thirty-two pence a week after room and board."
I figured you would be used to multiple posts from me by now, and would check for them automatically. Well, as long as the EDIT function keeps working, I'll try not to do that from here on out.
Skip the week and train. Train William in boxing and staff fighting. How well does he pick that up? If it makes any difference, I'm very good with children.
2 weeks ahead boxing
2 weeks ahead blacksmithing
1 week ahead practice with crossbow
2 weeks ahead TK pulse practice.
1 week ahead staff fighting.
Let me know when I've been here for 40 days if you can. That's when my cigarettes run out. I'd say I've been here for 3 weeks. 21 days, 19 packs of cigarettes left.
How do those metal arrows work out? When we find one that works well, make 20 of them. 200 long range wooden arrows, 20 metal short range arrows.
Note to self: After MJ comes back from Thanksgiving, start skipping ahead to attribute increases.
The metal shafts do not work terribly well as arrows, but they do have significant impact out to about ten yards, after which it's difficult to hit any kind of target.
Since you only recently learned how to box and how to use the staff, you don't have training skill in these; do you have teaching skill? Also, the way people use a quarterstaff in England, it's a tech weapon--a lever used as a club, in essence. The way you were taught to use it, it is a bod weapon--an extension of your own body, part of a martial arts combat style. If you are teaching him to use it the way you learned, you must also teach him the martial arts style, as it is not effective apart from the style. However, you can probably teach him to use it as a tech weapon, if that's your aim.
--M. J. Young
Ten yards is good. That's about what I wanted. Make 20 of them.
Well, see if Mr. Smith knows how to use a staff. If not, I won't always have a staff, but I will always have my fists. Concentrate harder on boxing. No skill in teaching.
The smith learned to use a staff when he was a boy, but was never particularly good at it and didn't stay with it. There wasn't that much work for soldiers, and he was already fairly competent as a blacksmith's apprentice, which seemed a safer occupation and probably a better paying one.
William has not yet got the hang of boxing; he's just not that coordinated.
--M. J. Young
So that's how the week went? OK.
Forget staff completely. Fists I will always have. Keep skipping ahead. Skip ahead to each attribute increase. Figure out when the next attribute will increase, and skip to it. Tell me how long it is, and help me figure out how much $$$$ I manage to save up in that time. I'm going into savings mode. Let me know when the next attribute will increase, and how many weeks it is. And I'm still teaching William how to box, or at least trying to.
It normally takes two hundred days for a physical attribute under training to increase; your skills will increase much more quickly. I'm willing to jump month by month, but not year by year.
It takes William most of the month to get the hang of boxing, but once he's got it he's pretty pleased with himself.
Thirty-two pence profit a week for four weeks (the fifth week will fall every third month) puts you up 128 pence, which is one pound, one crown, and thruppence, but you can put them into whatever coinage you prefer.
--M. J. Young
I want coins, not paper currency. Coins at least might have SOME value in the next world, paper money will only be good to wipe with. What metals are the coins made from? I'd like to keep as much gold and silver as possible. If that pound is a bank note, I want it as a coin. Gold and silver. As much of it as possible.
How many pence are in a shilling, crown, pound, etc. That will help me decide how to mark it.
Do me a favor. Don't write tuppence, or thruppence, or anything like that. Write 1 pence, 2 pence, 3 pence, etc. What the hell is a thruppence anyway?
6 weeks ahead boxing
6 weeks ahead blacksmithing
5 week ahead practice with crossbow
6 weeks ahead TK pulse practice.
Keep skipping ahead. Remember I had 90 days into my work out routine at Pearl Harbor, that still counts right? Let me know when skills increase. Just so you know, I'm planning to continue skipping ahead until my blacksmithing is 1@10 at least. With a teacher like Mr. Smith, that shouldn't take too long. Just please God no bad GE rolls to prevent it from happening.
tuppence = 2 pence, thrupence = 3 pence; it's a contraction from "two pence" or "three pence," just like "can't" from "cannot."
The post on currency exchange is still here. That's a permanent link, so if you bookmark it in your browser you should be able to find it again easily.
Actually, I'll go ahead and multiply it all out:
100 pence in a pound
5 pence in a shilling, 20 shillings in a pound
25 pence to a crown, 4 crowns to a pound
5 shillings to a crown
2 half-crowns to a crown, 8 half-crowns to a pound
No exact exchange of pence or shillings to half-crowns
Put the other way,
1 pound = 4 crowns OR 8 half-crowns OR 20 shillings OR 100 pence
1 crown = 1/4 pound OR 2 half-crowns OR 5 shillings OR 25 pence
1 half-crown = 1/8 pound OR 1/2 crown OR 2.5 shillings OR 12.5 pence
1 shilling = 1/20 pound OR 1/5 crown OR 2/5 half-crown OR 5 pence
That's enough, right? That's a full exchange chart for the whole business. The little green "#" at the bottom of the post takes to the link you use to bookmark the post.
Thank you Scott.
MJ Multiple posts. What are the coins made out of?
That's in the old post I linked, too, actually. Crowns and half-crowns are silver (four ounces and two ounces, respectively), shillings are nickel, and pence are bronze. Only the crowns and half-crowns are valued by their weight of metal. Although there is no "pound" coin, the term "pound" actually refers to a pound (16 oz.) of silver. That's why four crowns are worth one pound: they're silver and weigh four ounces each.
If you're trying to keep your money in precious metals as much as possible, you'd want your pound, crown and truppence to be 5 crowns (or ten half-crowns, or whatever), 3 pence.
So what is The Pound? You said a pound (16 oz) silver. There's no coin for that, but it's worth 4 crowns (4 oz silver)? OK, I'll do that. I want to try to get some precious stones as well (diamonds, rubies, etc.) I wonder if I can buy them.
EDIT: Scott thanks for looking that up. You also explained it a lot better. When I read that the first time, I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Your version made a lot more sense. And yes, I'm writing it down this time.
Multiple posts MJ. Look up.
The pound is either four crowns or a banknote stating that there is a pound of silver belonging to you at one of the national banks. You're not entirely wrong in your assessment of its value in another world, but it also makes good tinder.
The next month runs reasonably well, although there are still calls for a hero to save the princesses.
--M. J. Young
So how much money did I make? Same as last month? When are my attributes going to increase? I am going to have 1@10 blacksmithing before I go to save the princesses. That's just the way it is. I might need that skill in the next verse. I will have 1@10 blacksmithing before I do anything of the sort!!! If this sounds rude, I'm sorry, but I am going to get an education before anything else happens.
I'm going to assume that I made the same amount. I'll mark it down. When do my attributes increase? Skip ahead again. 1@10 blacksmithing, or nothing at all. Education is more important. I am keeping the coins as crowns. Silver. Banknotes are toilet paper in the next world. If I need tinder, I'll find it by God.
Ask Mr. Smith if he knows of a decent jeweler. See if I can buy precious gems from the jeweler. I'm betting not, but I do want some precious gems.
I have 45 shillings. I'm going to turn some of that into silver crowns. Let me figure out how many.....
5 shillings to a crown. I'm going to turn 40 of those into silver crowns. So I would have 8 crowns and 5 shillings after that.
Is Mr. Smith allowing me to wear my 9mm in the shop? If so, I'm wearing it. I'm also wearing my Kabar knife and the Leatherman tool at all times. Knife and Leatherman if Mr. Smith won't let me wear the 9mm. Kabar knife and Leatherman tool are always with me, whether I say it or not. As of right now, Kabar knife and Leatherman tool are always with me. 9mm if Mr. Smith will allow it.
Ya know, it just occurred to me. In the next world, nickel and bronze might be the precious metals. In our world, they are semi-precious now. Quarters and Pennies are made out of nickel and bronze, respectively. Keep some nickel and bronze too John!!!!! (sorry, just reminding myself)
I remember an episode of Alf. Gold and Platinum. were worth about as much as copper is to us, but things like gravel were worth a lot. It was a status symbol of sorts to have a gravel driveway on the planet of Melmack. If I remember right, (and I admit, I might be hallucinating) I think the gravel was diamonds. But anyway, I digress. Keep some nickel and bronze John!!! If nothing else, see if you can work it into blacksmithing some time soon.
Just a reminder, keep some of the coins as shillings as nickel and some pence as bronze. Who knows, ya know? How much do the shillings and pence weigh, in ounces?
10 weeks ahead boxing
10 weeks ahead blacksmithing
9 weeks ahead practice with crossbow
10 weeks ahead TK pulse practice.
Note To Self: Later, much, much later, see if Mr. Smith can teach you how to work bronze in blacksmithing. Imagine it John, a sword made out of bronze. It would be really cool to have in this world, and what if what if bronze is the value of gold in the next world? You would have a 3 foot piece of "gold" in the next world, and a practical tool, no matter what.
Note to Self: Much, Much, Much MUCH later, try to make a sword out of silver. I could think of many things with sharp teeth that would not like a sword made out of silver, in any event. Sellable, and practical.
Note to Self: I could see steel being a precious metal in some other world as well. Keep Kabar and Survival Knife in good shape. Who knows, ya know? They're both made out of military grade surgical steel. I could see steel being a precious metal too.
Note to Self: Isn't stainless steel a combination of nickel and steel? Can Mr. Smith smelt steel? A stainless steel blade might be worth something to these people.
Note To MJ. I honestly feel that I would be thinking about things like this if I was in that position. I'm thinking about it now. Aside from that episode of Alf, I've never heard of gold not being worth much, but if Multiverser is as flexible as you say it is, then who knows? I believe if I was a verser, I would be thinking about that.
4 gold,
19 crown
5 shillings,
5 pence
10 silver
6 gold/diamond rings
This is how much money I have. Note to Self. Next month, get some pence and shillings. Who is to say what is a precious metal in the next world? In our world, Gold and Lead would be interchangeable. That is, Gold can do just about everything that Lead can. Who is to say that they aren't reversed in some world? So, keep some gold, silver, nickel (shillings) and bronze (pence) in the belt bag at all times. Just in case, ya know?
I'm going to jump you ahead the rest of a year, rather quickly. What I need to know, though, is the details of your previous practice and your continued practice here--that is, you've mentioned that you were practicing something in Pearl Harbor, and you've mentioned that you are practicing some things now, but I need these organized into a single coherent statement of what you are practicing, how long and how often and how.
At the end of the year, you will have a 3@10 blacksmithing SAL, plus some small increases in a couple of attributes, plus something for your other practice. You will also have accumulated some money, but I'll figure that out when I've got the rest organized.
--M. J. Young
10 weeks ahead boxing Started at 1@6
10 weeks ahead blacksmithing Started at 1@3
9 weeks ahead practice with crossbow Started at 1@3
10 weeks ahead TK pulse practice. Started at 1@9
1@2 Mind Reading P1@1
1@3 Panoramic Awareness B7@2
You said 3@10 blacksmithing here, and 1@10 in the Behind the Screens thread, so I'm going to assume that the 3@10 was a typo. (My heart skipped a beat when I thought it was 3@10 though hahaha)
Consider Mind Reading and Panoramic Awareness to have always been on. I know I didn't mark it down, but those are on constantly right? Might as well get some practice in while I'm at it.
Just consider everything practiced as much as reasonably possible over the course of the year. The blacksmithing is going to increase my strength right? Well, that plus 90 days in at Pearl Harbor should give me some strength bonuses. Don't forget to figure out how much practice I've got in already in these areas before you skip me ahead. If you raise your level in 50 days with a teacher, then my blacksmithing is already raised one intensity. I trust you to figure it out properly. And thanks MJ. To me, this is what is fun. I want to get good at some skills. I've been told that the best way to go in an RPG is to be a specialist. Be very good at what you can do, but don't do a lot of it. Besides, if I ever need a job, I can set myself up as a blacksmith. I'm sure this won't be my last medieval world.
After we skip ahead, and I have a boatload of money saved up, see if I can get some gems. Diamonds, rubies, etc. See if I can get those on my own though.
To quote Nicolas Cage "I'm out of cigarettes."
OK MJ, let's skip.
Mr. Young, oh man, I just realized what you're not doing. You're not making me dependent on psionics. If I had psionics constantly, that's all I would do. I would do nothing but psionics. I would have been practicing as I walked to the castle to save the princesses. You could probably see that. I would not have blacksmithing at all probably, I would not have boxing. All I would have would be psionics. Now I'm learning. I'm growing. Now, genuinely, the ONLY psionic skills that I want are the @0 and @1 skills. I'm a better person for it. My character is a better person, and I'd like to think so is the person. Without blacksmithing and boxing, I wouldn't have a chance in a flatline world. Thanks. Flatline worlds would be cooler if I had a psionics teacher though.......
A high psionic world would be a treat. Not a meal. Oh man, I'm sorry I doubted you.
MJ Multiple Posts
I have a 22 rifle, MAK 90, Shotgun, 9mm pistol, and the 30-06. I gave the 30-06 to Mr. Smith (What did he do with it, BTW?) I'd like to also get rid of the shotgun. Keep all of the ammunition for it, but disown it and destroy it. Disassemble it and use the parts in some work of art blacksmithing project. Then get rid of that. Keep the ammo though. I've had all those guns for 3 verses and have not fired a shot in battle yet. Also, if I need a shotgun that badly, I can blacksmith one. But yes, disown and destroy the shotgun, keep the ammo. I need to get my weight limit under control. As far as how many shotgun shells I have, that might be a matter of dispute. Kyler left me with 25 rounds of 12 gauge 00 buckshot, and 25 rounds of 20 gauge bird shot. He did say that all of the guns were still loaded though, so that would be 5 rounds of 00 buckshot. I also had a tactical sling that held 15 shotgun shells. I would have had that loaded with 15 rounds of 12 gauge 00 buckshot. Assuming that those are still intact, I would have not 25 but 45 rounds of 12 gauge 00 buckshot. That's how I would have done it, but your call. Let me know. When I get rid of the shotgun, that's 7 pounds lighter. The 30-06 is 7 pounds as well. And I would not have given Mr. Smith the 4 bullets I had left for the 30-06. I would still have those too.
I would have drank the case of bottled water by now, so that's gone too. 28 pounds lighter on the scale.
How much does the crossbow and all of the arrows weigh? 200 wooden arrows (Some would be lost in practice, I'm sure. I would keep at least 50 though.) And 20 metal arrows. What does all of that weigh?
Note to self: Don't forget to introduce stainless steel.
And just a reminder, this is my second post. You will need to go back to the other.
Yeah, sorry about the typo. 1@10 blacksmithing.
If I'm reading you right, you had ninety days of boxing practice back in Pearl Harbor, and you've continued to practice since you got here. In the time that passes, you reach 1@10 blacksmithing, which starting at 1@3 takes 350 days of instruction. You say your boxing was at 1@6; I'm going to assume this is before the ninety days practice, and that raises your boxing to 1@10. You had already reached 1@4 blacksmithing by the time you had your crossbow and could practice, so you've increased that to 1@6. I'll also give you credit for TK Pulse practice back in Pearl Harbor, but we need to talk about that before I can give you numbers. I'll concede the Panoramic Awareness, which is now 1@7.
Mind Reading is not "always on"; it's on when you use it. However, tell me what you've been doing to practice that's gotten you about three hours of practice every six days, and I'll consider it.
With the TK Pulse, shortly after you arrived you would have reached the best an amateur can be; that means you'd have to toughen your program to a "double doubled" training program. You wouldn't know it in those terms--but you would know, much as a weight trainer knows, that the three hours in six days of bumping things around was no longer doing you any good. Describe for me how you would make it twice as hard in two ways. If you do, you improve significantly; if you don't, it just takes four times as long to get better.
Your strength has improved to 1@7, and your stamina is now 1@6 (I'm assuming I had no stamina listed because you were below average, but I've met you so I'm assuming 1@4 at worst). You've also given yourself a 1@6 Hand/Eye.
If I understand correctly, you are keeping the 22 Rifle, MAK90, and 9mm, but you're also keeping the ammo for the shotgun and the 30-06. I'm happy with your count on the ammo.
I'm also assuming you still have 150 wooden arrows, at ten to the pound, and 20 metal arrows at two to the pound. Dungeons & Dragons gives the weight of a heavy crossbow at 8 pounds, and I have no argument with that--it's about the same as a gallon of water, and although I'd have thought it heavier I'll go with that.
You'll have to go to a major city like the capital to find a dealer in gems and jewelry; the stuff out here, sold mostly by dry goods dealers, is not high quality, but the sort of stuff peasants buy cheaply for decorative wear.
--M. J. Young
OK, first off, how much money did I make? Keeping over half of a year's wages, I should be pretty well off by peasant standards.
How would I have practiced mind reading? Read Mr. Smith's mind here and there. Not all the time, but every now and then. Read William's mind. Try to read the minds of pretty girls walking around, things like that.
How to make my TK pulse practice hard? Well, we work 10-12 hours a day in the shop. I'm attempting to throw a TK pulse in time with the hammer. I would be doing that 10-12 hours a day, unless it got extremely tiring. That's one way. Also, I would be trying to throw the TK pulses at a faster rate than one a minute. I'm trying to teach myself to do a TK pulse in time with my body, as I explained a while ago. I could think of lots of ways to use something like that. Is that two ways?
I think it was 90 days into a heavy workout program, not 90 days into boxing. I had a good boxing coach in Pearl Harbor, and I was going up a lot faster than 90 days. It might have been into both of them. You'd probably have to ask Kyler. Your call MJ.
You said 1@6 hand eye. I think my hand eye score was 1@10 to start with. Yeah, I just checked 1@10 hand eye starting. You gave me a high hand eye score because of my pistol shooting. Did it still improve?
The gems. Dry goods vendors have them? Wait, I was thinking they might be diamonds, but we're talking low grade. Maybe amethyst at best. Still, I'll check out what he has. I'm sure if I flashed some silver in his face, he would let me see the best he has. Might get lucky, you never know.
When you tell me how much money I've earned, I've got something I need to discuss with Mr. Smith. I'm going to try to teach him how to make stainless steel. An allow of steel and nickel. I want to show it to him before I go, so I would be staying however long it takes to make one batch. At least that much longer.
Oh and regarding the weight of the crossbow, I wouldn't think more than 10 pounds. An AK-47 standard issue weighs 9 pounds, it's got quite a bit of steel in it.
MJ, actually, if you want to make the crossbow 10 pounds, I'm fine with it. We need to remember, this one has a steel bow, as opposed to most probably have a wooden bow. Your call.
Money: you made whatever you would make in 50 weeks.
Because your practice focused significantly on John the Smith and William the Smith's Apprentice, you have familiarity bonuses with them--you can read their minds more easily, and can know what they're thinking when they are not in the room, if you turn your attention to their minds. It doesn't always work, of course, but it's gotten easier.
I will give you the bonus for increasing the time and working with timing it to the hammer. Your TK pulse is now at 2@2.
Not sure why your Hand/Eye was not on my sheet, but we'll make it 2@1.
Dry goods vendors do not have gems. They have cheap knockoff jewelry that innkeepers give their mistresses and that sort of thing. If you want real gems, you need someone who sells to nobles, and that means you have to go to the city.
Everything else is as stated.
--M. J. Young
You didn't give me the score on the mind reading. What is that up to?
32 pence a week times 50 weeks is 1600 pence. 100 pence in a pound, that's 16 pounds. I would keep it as coins and not bank notes. I'd also like to convert some of that silver into gold bullion. I believe you said that one of my ounce gold coins was worth a pound of silver. (I think I ripped myself off by 2 pounds, but that's OK. I could see myself drinking that much liquor in a year hahaha) I'll figure out how to keep the coins later. First though, how can I convert some of that silver into gold?
How much do pence coins and shilling coins weigh? I've got 16 pounds (weight) of silver, I'd like to have 5 pounds (weight) of bronze and 5 pounds (weight) of nickel, if it's at all possible. So, some silver to gold, some silver to pence, and some silver to shillings. Five pounds of pence and five pounds of shillings, and some into gold. Also keep some as silver.
"Mr. Smith. Have you ever heard of 'stainless steel'? You mix nickel in with the steel when you smelt it. It makes the end result a lot stronger and a lot less likely to corrode. I'll give you some shillings to use for the nickel to melt down. If you decide to go with it, when you charge people, just make sure they pay in shillings hahaha. Let's make some, what do you say?"
Ya know what Mr. Young? To me, that's just different kinds of metal, not money. Weird.
Just out of curiosity, how high is William's boxing now?
After Mr. Smith and I make some stainless steel, take all of my gear, load it into the wagon, and walk out into the woods. I just spent the last year doing blacksmithing with severe athritis. I'm going to try that healing psionic power. Either it will work, or it won't, or I will verse. Yeah, flip a coin. If it works, save the princesses, if it doesn't work, stay here, if you verse, you verse. Sounds like a good way to decide. Walk out into the woods, so that if something goes wrong, I'll be the only one hurt in the blast. And I'll have all of my gear nearby when I wake up. Yeah, after work tonight, walk into the woods and try the healing psionic power to rid myself of the athritis. I'm still converting the silver to gold, nickel, and bronze first though, so don't think this overrides that.
MJ Multiple Posts.
I want you to do a GE roll on how my quitting smoking went. If I rationed my cigarettes, they could last me to about the time we skipped ahead. Not that it matters, I'm out of cigarettes regardless. The thing is that I would have ran out about the time we skipped ahead. I just was wondering how that went.
Note to self: Straight razors and shaving.
Right Mind Reading is now 1@6.
I'm pretty sure I did not say that an ounce of gold was the equivalent of a pound of silver; it was probably the equivalent of a crown.
If you want to buy gold, you'll have to go to a goldsmith or a jeweler; that means into one of the big cities, like the capital.
Shillings and Pence are about half an ounce each.
It seems that silversmiths and weaponsmiths work with stainless all the time, but blacksmiths don't have any use for it in their line--after all, who wants stainless steel horse shoes, or farm implements, or wagon axles? It's a very high temperature alloy that's very hard to blend right--and he doesn't have that kind of equipment. He has a forge, not a furnace, and you can't get that kind of heat from a forge.
Oh, and there are cheaper ways to get nickel without destroying the king's currency.
I thought I gave the latest numbers on William's boxing; I'll have to look back to find what I last said, and when that was in the story, but he's a mid-level amateur, I'm pretty sure.
When you say you want to try "that healing power", did you have some particular power in mind?
Being out of cigarettes makes you grouchy and edgy, but there's not much point in arguing about whether you can quit smoking when you can't get more cigarettes.
--M. J. Young
I think we goofed somewhere on that conversion from my gold coins to the currency of this world. Either it got turned into way too much, or way too little. I'm not quite certain, and there's really no point in arguing about it, really. I'm straight with it now, so why worry?
Take 4 pounds and convert 3 into 60 shillings (30 ounces weight) and 1 into 100 pence (50 ounces weight) God only knows what will be precious metals in the next world. Better to have a little of everything before I try that psionic healing.
"That healing power" I happen to know is a 6@1 psionic healing of yourself. (I caught someone mention it somewhere sometime) My psionic bias is 5@10, and my BRA is 2@2, so I believe that gives me a 21% chance of learning it in a flatline world. That's the one I wanted to try to heal my athritis. If it works, go save the princesses, if it doesn't work, stay right where I am, if I botch, deal with that when it happens. I am going to take all of my gear and walk out into the woods somewhere to try it. I've seen psionic shock waves before, and I don't want to hurt anyone besides myself if I mess this up.
"Mr. Smith, I need to take a walk. I might be back, I might not be back. It's all in God's hands right now. If I don't come back, I want you to know that it has been a pleasure working with you. I really enjoyed myself, and I thank you for teaching me. And William, keep practicing boxing. You got pretty good pretty fast. You might need that someday. Have a good one guys."
And with that, I'm off into the Wild Blue Yonder.
Your first attempt to heal yourself has no affect.
Were you going to try more than once, and what were you going to do to change the circumstances if so? (Waiting a while is a fair change in circumstances, but there are others.)
--M. J. Young
I said that if it didn't work, I wasn't going to save the princesses. It didn't work, so the princesses can take care of themselves.
I want to learn to blacksmith with rocks. Use a rock as the anvil, and another rock as the hammer. See if Mr. Smith knows how to do that, and if he could teach me. Perhaps even how to make a campfire to use as a forge. At least how to start a fire with no matches. If he is an improvisational individual, he might. At any rate, I want to try to teach myself that. Is that a New Use for blacksmithing if I try to do that?
For the record, my on-person equipment is the Kabar knife, the Leatherman tool in the black, nylon sheath I also have my 9mm, if Mr. Smith will allow it. Also, the belt bag (fanny pack) It contains 1 pound of nickel, 1 pound of bronze, 4 crowns, the gold and silver bullion from B Monster world, and the 6 diamond rings. I would also have all of my cigarette lighters. Also, all of the magazines for the 9mm, again, if Mr. Smith allows them. I would turn the bag backwards so that the magazines were at my back. That's my on-person equipment, at all times.
Note to self: Did you ever show Mr. Smith your two Leatherman tools?