It looks like again I am running games for Harry, John 3, Nikolaj, and John 2.
I keep wanting to ask Harry something that I should not ask him, because I should not be making suggestions. At present, though, what I need to determine is whether this purification ritual will work on an emerald. It is a new ritual, intended to remove impurities specifically from gemstones. He rolls 05 on concentrating the holy ground--but I spot a possible problem and I'm going to have to address it.
John 3 asks some mechanics questions that I will answer here. According to this Behind the Screens post,
I'm not going to give him full credit on an example, because all he really has is that it was done, and not how it was done; but I will give him 1@1 for that.His skill ability level is 1@2, so it is the better example at this point. In short, he knows how to do it a slightly different way, which serves as an example from which he can devise this way. That is a bit irregular, as usually I would think that an example is "do it like this"; but I'm willing to stretch it to "do it similar to this", and the similarities are marked. I'm thinking -5 for translation (added skill), +15 for increase from 1:00 to 3:00 TF, 10:00 duration baseline, +5 appropriate words, +2 for singing quietly. I've debated this last quite a bit; "singing" is bonused because it fits into "loudly or forcefully", something that would be noticed by others. I was tempted to penalize because the words were not to be vocalized, but the music is, so part of it is vocalized even if part is not. But that this is quiet suggests it is not really loud or forceful, but it still qualifies as sung, so +2 instead of +3. -2 for the ability to choose which hand holds the bible over the heart, and I gave +4 for the bible last time so that seems reasonable again. That gives it an internal sit-mod of +19. He gets a lot of other bonuses on his chance of success--high bias for learning, religion SAL, alliance faith, BRA--but I think I'll start with a roll and see what we get: 85 is rolled, so I'd better at least verify that I'm correct that that's a success. +19SM+12 example+12 relgion+125 bias+7 world bias+22 BRA+10 alliance-78 target=129% chance of success, so that's not a problem. That's 1@3 Hear Thoughts M+7@8 pray, lips moving but not vocalized, for insight into thoughts and bridging language barrier, including Matthew 9:3f, then sing quiety Psalm 139 "Oh, know our hearts, O LORD..." while holding Bible over heart with either hand, 3:00 TF 10:00 duration, includes translation if needed +19 SM. He'll get a thorough description of what the primary target as well as some of the others are thinking.
Nikolaj is teaching his one orc what he can from the Bible, and that is being passed to the other orcs. That will remain a relatively small group, because if it got to be a big group it would result in crack-downs against "orc" religions. But for the moment we'll let them grow in knowledge.
John 2 is treating Lauren as if she were his associate. That is not going to happen, I think--it is not likely that she would ever be anyone's associate, nor take any associate with her. But we'll let him do what he can in that regard. He might someday regret it.
--M. J. Young
MJ, now you have to ask, just because you've gotten me all curious. And you can't get me curious and then NOT tell me. It's just mean.
John 2 is treating Lauren as if she were his associate. That is not going to happen, I think--it is not likely that she would ever be anyone's associate, nor take any associate with her. But we'll let him do what he can in that regard. He might someday regret it.
You can disown associates, can't you? I'd just want to stay with her for a couple of worlds, until I got some more skills under my belt.
(Doing Therapy)
John - if it were that easy, don't you think Whisp would have disowned Mother long ago?
They're not associates, or so I thought when I read their character sheets. I thought they were just closely in tune with each other.
(Doing Therapy)
My turnaround time was fast enough today that I have only three players on the boards: John 3, Nikolaj, and John 2. Of course, there were lots of other threads here as well, but that happens.
I'm not certain what John 3 is likely to make of some of the details I give him, but I have no doubt that he will help move the tree, so the NPCs are playing that way.
Some say that the best thing that ever happened to the Jerusalem church is that persecution forced many to flee and carry the gospel to other cities. That cannot happen here, quite, because the orcs cannot flee--but they can be sold. I'm sure someone will suggest that the best and worst things that could happen are the same thing; but I think rather that we can address this with two GE rolls. One determines what is happening with the orc believers, where a bad roll shows internal problems, a moderate roll stability, and a good roll growth; the other determines the human reaction, in which a bad roll is persecution, a moderate roll is indifference, and a good roll is interest and involvement. The first roll is 11; the second is 20. I've a pretty good idea of what that means, but Nikolaj has to make some decisions before I tell him.
John 2 probably thinks I forgot him. I simply got redirected for a much longer time than I anticipated--about twelve hours, I think. But let me finish up today's work before I call it a night. He asks Lauren for advice; she'll give it. I haven't thought about these things for a while, but maybe it will help him if she uses biblical examples of the basic principles--which I think she would do, and maybe he will grasp.
--M. J. Young
John 2 probably thinks I forgot him. I simply got redirected for a much longer time than I anticipated--about twelve hours, I think.
Nah MJ, I realize now I'm one of those people who is really difficult to forget <wink>
(Doing Therapy, and laughing my ass off!!!!)
Kurt returns, joining Harry, John 3, Nikolaj, and a new post from Kyler.
I had to backtrack a bit through Kurt's thread to be certain I knew where he was at this point, but we're good.
I had hoped that Harry would provide me the link of the original description of the spell he wants to use, but I guess I did not communicate that adequately. If he can't find it, we'll assume that the description on my papers is accurate and that it can't be used other than on a ship.
I don't see the roadblock to be too difficult for four strong men to move relatively easily, so John 3 gets this without a roll.
Nikolaj is looking for wood carving tools. He gets an 18 GE roll, which is not favorable but not that bad.
I'm not sure exactly what Kyler hopes to find in a girl, but a GE roll of 21 says he doesn't find it. I want to accelerate this a bit, move week by week; there's a 19 GE roll on the next week, though, so I'm going to have to think about what that portends.
--M. J. Young
MJ - the spell you're referencing is this:
1@8 Consecrate Holy Ground M+1@1 creates consecrated circle 8 feet in diameter, 2:00:00 TF, lengthy appropriate words calling the four corners, calling upon Njordr, god of the sea, to bless the space, Odin, in his capacity as god of wisdom, to guide the casting, and Freya, goddess of magic and patron of sorcerers, to lend strength and valor, with my sword Soulmourn in right hand, sound matters, in English, concentration not interrupted during casting, and limited so that if I am dismissed from the Mary Piper the circle will be rendered useless; add that five minute calling the corners and invoking the gods must be said inside the space before it can be used for casting, +32SM
listed on page 12 of Behind the Screens 2008. Google 'site:gamingoutpost.com/discussions "mary piper" dismissed holy' and it's the first link:
http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/behind-the-screens-2008/page/12
MJ, not to argue, but are you absolutely 100% certain that I don't get a New Use for making those 2 silver knives? You said in the thread that the sharpest thing I would have made would have been a scythe blade, so a New Use for a knife should be in order.
Also, I really don't think Mr. Smith would have ever worked with silver before. That would be a silversmith, like Johnny Tremain. I'm not arguing, but I really think a New Use or two might be in order for those.
(Doing Therapy)
I have so many players active today that I had to check my character records to figure out the order. I've got them as Kurt, Harry, John 3, Nikolaj, Scott, and John 2.
I'm glad to see Kurt is on the ball. I had wondered whether someone might plant a bomb in his car, and then whether the computer would have registered tampering; he's checking it for tracers. Of course, if it were a bomb, it would have to be set on some sort of delay--it is valet parking, and the villains want to hit the driver, not the valet. He gets a GE of 12, which means no bomb. There could be a tracer, but it would be easily found and the computer would be aware of it.
Thank you, Harry and Scott, for helping me find the appropriate information. It turns out that the analysis is here, and reads:
I am going to bet that a holy ground consecration skill has a base half hour duration (ceremonies NOS are left to the discretion of the referee, because there are too many variables), which gives him +20 for two doublings of the time, and I would guess that a thousand square feet would be the baseline, which is pretty close to what he's got. He also has +5 for appropriate words, a sufficiently defined physical action to cover that, and I think I'm giving +7 for Soulmourn as a unique entity. The skill will be described as 1@8 Consecrate Holy Ground M+1@1 creates consecrated circle 8 feet in diameter, 2:00:00 TF, lengthy appropriate words calling the four corners, calling upon Njordr, god of the sea, to bless the space, Odin, in his capacity as god of wisdom, to guide the casting, and Freya, goddess of magic and patron of sorcerers, to lend strength and valor, with my sword Soulmourn in right hand, sound matters, in English, concentration not interrupted during casting, and limited so that if I am dismissed from the Mary Piper the circle will be rendered useless; add that five minute calling the corners and invoking the gods must be said inside the space before it can be used for casting, +32SM. That gives him +1@2+32+2@3 BRA in a world with a 0@ mag bias, 63% chance of success here.It was assumed as part of that analysis that this was a spell he had done before.
The inclusion of Njordr in the ritual makes it seem as if this is only for ships. However, I note that the "limitation" that it would expire should he be "dismissed from the Mary Piper" was taken as a statement of duration, and no bonus was given to chance of success for that. Thus I will accept that the spell can be updated at no change in chance of success, so it now reads "permanently leave the place" instead of "the ship" (or in the original "dismissed from the Mary Piper"). I will take the inclusion of Njordr as appropriate because of his connection to traveling, so much of which was connected to the sea in the Viking lore. His roll is 63, which is either right on the money or just below, depending on whether I've bumped up his SAL before; but we'll give him new use for this, which I note he already has +1 (which might be for practice, not sure) so it's now +2 marks (+4 will kick him to 2@1).
He has a new spell, which he described thus:
I'll spend an hour on it. One eye closed in honor of Odin, sword in hand in honor of Thor, one window open to allow in the wind in honor of Loki in his capacity as Shapeshifter. I'll speak appropriate words invoking each god and asking them to remove the impurities from this stone, reducing it to a more useful form. I will kneel in the circle, at the side of my bed as though using it as an altar, and swish an othala rune (which means 'estate' or 'wealth') with my sword (requiring a skill check).It is a M+3@1 Remove Impurities, but I'm not certain of the range of materials to be covered. I've a few other questions, which are all in the game thread.
The answer to John 3's earlier prayers now come into focus.
Nikolaj wants to know about making parchment. He asks Robert. Would Robert know how to make it? An ed lev check roll is 19; that would require Robert to have the equivalent of a high school education. Robert is a craftsman in a trade, and this is also a trade, so it seems to me that such training is probably the equivalent level (note to Nikolaj: if in the future you ask me whether Robert knows about something, remind me that he has a 1@10 education level so I know against what I am rolling).
Scott will be playing with fire, and since he recognizes the danger inherent in that as well as I do, we're going to have to talk about the fire before we progress.
I have taken the time to go back and track down the time frame thus far on John 2's countdown. He is now on the fifth day; I think his holster arrives on the tenth, and his next martial arts advancement is automatic on the twenty-fifth. He has a lot going on in his thread, but let me see what I can address. He wants to purchase equipment to make his own revolver bullets; I don't see that as something his sporting goods store would carry or even know how to order (because already we're talking about antique designs for collectors, so the available options are limited); a 17 GE roll does nothing to change my opinion on that.
Lauren rolls 16 on projecting the 2@10 example of her Compel Candor P1@4 skill to John; he rolls 30 on learning it.
--M. J. Young
I don't know if I'll still post here today, so I'm taking this opportunity to say that I will be away for about ten days, as tomorrow morning I head out for the Ukrainian orphanages. I will take my photo camera with me for those interested.
pictures from last summer can be seen here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=170372&id=810885182&l=b615a1a06a
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=209090&id=810885182&l=755e1bc9a7
EDIT: the links work! Good work Aaron!
Kurt is headed for Austria, Harry is settling in Durnmist, John 3 is on his way to Nottingham, Nikolaj is settled on the ranch, Scott in the Big Tomato, and John 2 aboard TerraNova. Let's see where they all go.
I mentioned a feature of the tux to Kurt a long time ago, before he donned it, but I think he has overlooked it. He'll probably pick up on it this time.
I have another question for Harry, created by one of his answers.
Whether John 3 takes the top or the back will impact whether he is involved in conversation for the next few hours, so I'll leave it to him to decide. For anyone who wondered, I picked Jared because it is the closest I can find to an English name that is reminiscent of Jairus, the man in the gospels who asked Jesus to come heal his daughter. I figured I could remember that.
I have deleted the longsleeved dark brown T-shirt from Nikolaj's sheet, and added the metal knife designed for carving wood, heavy back, edge angles to sharp point, handle gripp for whittling/carving, wide flat back for chiseling. I had no idea that parchment was high-grade leather. That proves that we can all still learn from play. We also move forward to the moment I anticipated from that other GE roll a few posts back.
I have added the 2@1 Basic Fire Skills Package T1@1 to Scott's paper, based on his Boy Scout background. I wondered about the weather on July 7th, the day he must play hopscotch in the park, but a GE roll of 16 makes it unremarkable. He has avoided doing too much with psionics, which should keep him below the radar of the psi cops for the present.
That completes that.
--M. J. Young
That completes that.
No, you forgot to mention ME!!!!!!
Two Posts
MJ, I just realized there is something very wrong with my sheet. 1@5 Act Psychotic M0@2. This was meant to say "1@5 Acting Crazy to get people to leave you alone."
"Acting Psychotic" would be faking an actual psychotic episode, one which could fool a doctor. An actual psychotic episode is unlike anything you have ever seen or heard before in your life. The greatest actor in the world could not fake an actual psychotic episode.
I can. My character is no longer psychotic. My therapy has made me far less psychotic, so that's all I have to go on. However, I find that I can still fake a doctor-convincing psychotic episode.
I won't accept less than an expert score on it.
(Doing Therapy)
Apparently I forgot to mention John 2 in Friday's post. Mea culpa. I note in passing that there were no rolls made and nothing really to say, but I should have noted that there.
I hope I can get through tonight's posts; I'm very tired and have a deadline for an errand ahead, but the weak promises to get worse before it gets better, so I cannot promise to make every day this week. We will start with Kurt, and then see if we can get through Harry, John 3, and John 2, and if not whoever is missed will be bumped to the front tomorrow--or whenever the next game is.
Kurt needs an overview of Mariska's place, so he can decide what to do next.
It's time to crunch the numbers on Harry's new purify spell. Looking back for the details, I find that there were several posts last week that I completely overlooked. As Pooh would say, oh, bother; or perhaps it is Gandalf I ought to be citing, and I was already tired. I will get to them, I hope.
Harry, the thing that I have not asked--well, I can't tell you, because it's asking whether you are going to do something that you either will think to do on your own or you won't do. Suffice it that you made it to Durnmist. You are here.
Let me compile any information I have on this purification skill:
- with just one of my stones. I'm going to set up a ritual - I'll spend an hour on it. One eye closed in honor of Odin, sword in hand in honor of Thor, one window open to allow in the wind in honor of Loki in his capacity as Shapeshifter. I'll speak appropriate words invoking each god and asking them to remove the impurities from this stone, reducing it to a more useful form. I will kneel in the circle, at the side of my bed as though using it as an altar, and swish an othala rune (which means 'estate' or 'wealth') with my sword (requiring a skill check).
- 1. Does this work for only emeralds, all gemstones, or any rock that might be considered pure/impure (e.g., ore)?
1: Any rock that might be considered pure/impure - this would be the same spell I would use to purify iron ore, for instance.
- 2. You are performing it within your holy ground. Is the existence and/or activation of the holy ground an essential element of the skill, or is it only that you will take the bonus for performing this in active holy ground?
2: Existence and activation are essential. - 3. Is the sound vital or not? Are they spoken loudly and/or forcefully?
3: Sound is vital, but not volume. - 4. You are doing this on a single stone. Is there a limitation on the volume or quantity that can be purified with a single casting, or is this simply a safety precaution in case you botch? That is, would this same spell be able to purify your entire crate of stones, or the gold in a one hundred foot tall statue, or the iron ore in a dump truck, or the oil in a supertanker?
4: Like all of my other purity spells (notice how I was able to purify all the food in the cargo hold with one casting), the limit of the spell is contingent upon the holy ground it is cast in. It affects a sphere with a radius equal to that of the holy ground. It could, theoretically, purify all the gold in a 100' statue, if I bothered to consecrate a 200' holy ground around it, but that sort of thing isn't terribly practical anyway... - I have to stash my crate in the corner in order to avoid purifying them all. This was never an issue before because the only thing I'm controlling is what class of object I'm purifying ("gems", "wine", "food", etc) not which specific items of that type I am purifying. I cannot control which objects of that class are targeted within the spell area - if its of the class I'm specifying (again, this is where that 'divine magic reads your intentions' thing comes into play) it is affected, or at least targeted.
That observed, let's try to piece this together. M+3@1 Purify Minerals, the base TF is 1:00 and this is going for 1:00:00, sixty times, which is 1/8 of a doubling less than 6 doublings, so that's going to be +58 for time. Since the area is tied to the casting of the holy ground, I'm going to take away -5 because he indirectly controls the area (he controls the size of the holy ground). We have +5 appropriateness to answer that. Vital sound is +2, I just hit another question but let me push forward on this for the moment. After all, if there are more questions, I should find them. Total body involvement is indicated, +15. Yes, there is another question. He gets +10 because he must successfully activate the holy ground, +10 because he must successfully perform the sword flourish. That's +95 and we have the two questions pending.
John 3 begins a conversation with yet another vic--er, prospect.
My post for John 2 is brief. I do need to address the comments raised above.
John is right: Mother is not Whisp's associate, and a principal/associate relationship is based on the fact that the two want to be together, and so ends when either of them does not want that.
Which is why it will not begin with Lauren: she will never want that.
Also, anyone who engages in an associate relationship does so from the internal perspective of, "I will never leave you; not even death will keep us apart." That means it cannot possibly be done from the perspective of "let's stick together for a while while I think it's convenient". Granted, associate relationships end. They don't end that often, because they don't start flippantly.
Going through the associates I can identify in my head, the majority of them turn out to be horses, dogs, and cats--animals devoted to their owners. Next on the list is spouses, mostly wives, and in only one case that I recall was she not the wife when she became the associate--she was the faithful brother in arms in the terrorist commando unit he headed, who died alongside him. Apart from that, there is one man who was a sworn protector of the princess who was the wife of the verser, and when the verser went, the princess went, and the protector went with her; and there was the slave purchased and freed but embraced as friend who probably still doesn't know whether he's really a slave or a friend; and there was the adopted big sister who fought alongside her adopted little brother and so became a spy and commando as his partner.
Those are the kinds of relationships that result in associate status, the kind that scream permanence.
And if you try to use magic to impose that kind of permanence on a relationship with someone else, it's apt to backfire on you--precisely because the associate relationship will not work unless you have that same permanence imposed on yourself.
--M. J. Young
Also, anyone who engages in an associate relationship does so from the internal perspective of, "I will never leave you; not even death will keep us apart." That means it cannot possibly be done from the perspective of "let's stick together for a while while I think it's convenient".
I figured temporary "Let's stick together for a couple of worlds" associate relationships would come and go pretty frequently between versers. Every other relationship they have is temporary. I figured those would be too. I didn't realize it was that great of a commitment. In that case, I'm going to drop the idea entirely.
Kurt, Harry, John 3, and John 2 are today's players.
Kurt is asking for something that his people probably don't really have, at least, not current; but he gets a 14 GE roll, so he'll get something.
Apparently I have upset Harry trying to figure out this spell. I'll blame the medium--these questions would go so much more quickly at the table than they do over the Internet. I'm not going to drop the spell; I am going to nix the inclusion of the bed and the window. He's got enough bonuses without these. He needs to create the holy ground, activate it, and successfully do the sword flourish to pull off the spell. I note that the holy ground was just created. 92 is rolled for activation, which requires me to crunch the numbers. BRA 2@3+1/2 2@6 religion+28 inherent SM+1@10 SAL+10 for alliance=94, and he has some powerfully active holy ground here. 19 on the flourish is an easy success, so that brings us to the spell itself: 58 gives him 1@2 Purify Minerals M+3@1, 1:00:00 TF, affects all objects of defined class (gems, mineral ore) in the the area of the holy ground, vital sound as caster speaks appropriate words invoking each of Odin, Thor, and Loki, and asking them to remove the impurities from this stone, reducing it to a more useful form, kneeling in the circle, swishing an othala rune with sword (requiring a skill check), one eye closed in honor of Odin, sword in hand in honor of Thor, +99SM. (I noticed that I had not included the sword int he calculation, and it is a necessary material component even apart from the need to use it for the flourish.)
I'm not the world's best job seeker, so I'm not really sure how someone does what Harry wants to do next--get a job, and a particular job at that. But we'll ask him.
We'll give John 3 information on the city, such as I am able.
Answering John 2's questions, and calling it a night.
--M. J. Young
Now I'm curious. Are there such things as "Let's stick together for a couple of worlds and part as friends" associate relationships? I could easily imagine someone who has been in the verse for 200 worlds befriending a newbie verser and wanting to stay with him for a few worlds until the newbie got to know the ropes a little, then sending the newbie off on his own. It's agreed from the start that they stay together for half a dozen worlds, then shake hands, part company, and hope to see each other again someday. I could easily imagine that kind of a friendship developing. Is that something that has ever been done, or that could possibly be done? Just curious. Like I said, I figured relationships like that would be fairly common between versers.
Two Posts
MJ, I was dead serious about this. Maybe you can't think of any uses for being able to fake a psychotic episode, but I can.
MJ, I just realized there is something very wrong with my sheet. 1@5 Act Psychotic M0@2. This was meant to say "1@5 Acting Crazy to get people to leave you alone."
"Acting Psychotic" would be faking an actual psychotic episode, one which could fool a doctor. An actual psychotic episode is unlike anything you have ever seen or heard before in your life. The greatest actor in the world could not fake an actual psychotic episode.
I can. My character is no longer psychotic. My therapy has made me far less psychotic, so that's all I have to go on. However, I find that I can still fake a doctor-convincing psychotic episode.
I won't accept less than an expert score on it.
(Doing Therapy)
John - friendships are nice, but you can't just ask the scriff nicely and expect that it'll behave how you want it to. Associates only verse out together because the depth of their bond attunes the scriff in each of them to the scriff in the others; you can't do something like that casually.
If the experienced verser was experienced and powerful enough, though, he might be able to follow the new verser from verse to verse for a little while by using powerful and complicated tech or magic skills - scriff manipulation of some kind, or maybe scriff tracking followed by heavy-duty teleportation and/or T15@ scriff travel. Not quite casual, but still a way to stick together for a while without being life partners.
That's strange, so basically, verser's relationships are either temporary, at most until the indig dies of old age, or eternal life partners. They can't really have casual verser friends that they hang out with for a few worlds here or there. I know getting "In Tune" with each other, and repeatedly winding up in the same world together happens, but that's not quite the same as what I'm talking about.
It was just something I was thinking about.
(Doing Therapy)
John, versers on the same cycle hang out together from time to time. We call that "gathers". They just don't usually do so in consecutive worlds. It's kind of like the same way you might get together with your friends at the mall, and as long as you're at the mall you're together; but then someone has to go to work, and someone has to get to bed early, and someone has a dinner date, and someone wanted to go see that new movie, and the group breaks up--but gets back together in another time and another place.
You stay together as long as you are in the same world.
Of course, nothing is impossible; however, there are some things that are very difficult, and other things that are quite possible but you can't do them that way. For example, you can argue that you're going to inflate your lungs with helium so that you can fly. I'll answer that it doesn't work that way, first because you can't put enough decompressed helium in your lungs to make your total mass lighter than the surrounding atmosphere, and second because were you to attempt to do so you would suffocate. That doesn't mean you can't fly, that you can't do it by making yourself lighter than air, and that you can't use helium to accomplish that. It just means that you can't do it that way.
So, too, there are ways for versers to follow each other around the verse for short times, but one of them is not by becoming each other's associates for the short term.
It is also certainly possible for two versers to enter into a principal/associate relationship and then after several worlds break it. What they can't do is enter into such a relationship with the intention that they will later break it. The break-up is going to be a serious decision to separate, usually based on the perception by one that he has been mistreated by the other. So the termination of a principal/associate relationship is what you would call a bad break-up.
Remember, for the relationship to terminate when one of the two is a PC and the other an NPC, three things are necessary:
- The referee must believe that there have been problems in the relationship that would cause one of them to be upset or seriously dissatisfied.
- The one who is dissatisfied must make a successful difficult will power check to break the relationship.
- The other must either fail a difficult charisma check, or having succeeded not meet or beat the successful will power check of the dissatisfied one--a superior successful charisma check means that despite the dissatisfaction, the dissatisfied partner is going to stay because of the strength of the relationship.
I mentioned yesterday that it was looking to be a bad week, and I could not promise to get through all the games each day. I am going to tackle today, and perhaps fortuitously I have only Harry, John 3, and John 2.
What does it take to become a guard in Durnmist? This is an interesting question. I'm told that if you want to be a full time toll collector on the New Jersey Turnpike, you need a personal reference from the governor--it's a cushy well-paid high benefit state job that requires very little work. On the other hand, they do hire some people part time. We'll use a GE roll to determine just how difficult this is going to be. Ooooo--Harry rolls a 6, Best Hopes. Don't see many of them.
We'll move John 3's conversation forward a bit.
Since I think precision is important on the manufacture of bullets, I'm rolling a skill check against the blacksmithing package: 38 is good, so John 2 manages his silver bullets. He also wants to use the computer to get information about boxing; we've established that there's no boxing here on TerraNova. His computer use skill is 1@7, and he rolls 98, and we're looking at 2@2 Tech BRA plus 2x10@ bias, 59% chance of success, 4% chance to botch, and guess what....yeah. It's been a while. Let's create a list:
- Boxing is an illegal activity; John has been flagged for investigation.
- Returns on "boxing" overload the computer and crash the terminal; all appear to be about packing and packaging.
- John's account has been charged one thousand credits to pay for packing materials to be delivered to his address.
- John's identity has been added to the Ralph Boxing fan club, a well known recording artist; he will be charged five credits a month for this membership, and have all the membership benefits including regular updates on concert schedules and recording release dates, and a chance to meet Ralph Boxing in person.
- John has locked all the doors to his apartment with a security lockout code that prevents anyone, including him, from entering or leaving.
--M. J. Young
# Boxing is an illegal activity; John has been flagged for investigation.
And exactly what does my botch have to do with boxing being an illegal sport? The other 4 botches I could imagine. Mistakes made in the computer system, fixed by technicians. My botch would have nothing to do with it being illegal. I could have succeeded and it would STILL be illegal.
Two Posts
Or is the botch that I was stupid enough to look up something that everybody knows is illegal? So it's more of a personal botch than a skill failure. I get it.
(Doing Therapy)
A botch means something went terribly wrong. In this case it means you set off alarms putting you under suspicion for participation in an illegal activity. That, though, must mean that there is an illegal activity that might be connected to whatever you were researching. It could have been something peripheral ("Boxing" is a slang term for human slave running), but it didn't seem unreasonable for sport fighting of that sort to be outlawed, something like dueling. So I went with that.
Now let's go with Harry, John 3, and John 2. (I've already looked at Scott's ritual post, which is sort of in-game and sort of on the side.)
There was a very good GE roll for Harry yesterday, which he is still riding. It's not a 3, but it's certainly good enough that he's going to sail through this pretty smoothly.
I had to check my papers to put John 3 in the correct historical moment (1192, the year Richard will be captured coming home from the Crusade), but otherwise conversation flows fairly smoothly.
I sort of ran out of steam on John 2 I think--well, it's been a terribly disrupted week and a rather disrupted day to boot. But I think the day is over, unless he tells me otherwise.
--M. J. Young
O.K., show of hands: who wants me to run a game while I'm exhausted? Who wants me to call it a night and get some sleep?
Hmmm--no hands for either. That's a tie. In Multiverser, Tie goes to the status quo, and the status quo is that I run games on Friday.
But you know what? I can't even think clearly enough to understand what I'm reading.
With my apologies, I'm going to give up for tonight.
--M. J. Young
*peeks in, sees MJ asleep at the table, throws a blanket over him, and goes to grab a beer*
Well see MJ, it's like the Florida election. Not all the votes were counted. My hand would be raised to you getting your ass into bed and getting some sleep. That's one vote for MJ going to sleep. Any other voters? Looks like you win.
I'm feeling a bit better myself, but the patient is not, and it's complicating life significantly--but hopefully I can get in a bit of game time while making Easter dinner.
Happy Easter, for all those celebrating today.
Play includes Harry, John 3, John 2, and Graeme.
I'm going to have to think about salary for Harry's new position. I know that land-based security gets paid a bit less than ship's security, but ship security crew make less than navigators; on the other hand, the security chief makes more than any non-officer crewman, and Harry is being tapped for something more than walking a beat and carrying a club. That suggests that he'll make more than the typical ship's security guard but less than Balcon, the Security Chief. Then there's the second complication: Harry will be paid on the basis of real time, while Balcon is paid based on average ship's run. Also, Balcon works every day, and Harry will have days off. I'm putting all this out so I can get it in the mix in my brain; we'll come up with a salary as soon as he asks. The dice will also play a part in this--he might have to start on a regular beat and wait for promotion.
John 3 continues his conversation, and I continue to expand the characters around him.\
A bit of research tells me that John 2 is correct about bullets, that most of them are still made primarily of jacketed lead. It is lead shot in shotguns that is no longer legal in most states, with only a few states outlawing lead bullets for hunting. So his bullets are copper-jacketed lead, tricky to make without the right equipment. In any case, we can advance to Day 6.
Graeme and I have to discuss his latest spell idea a bit more; he's trying to do something that stretches what he's done before enough that it lands in a different category.
I've got to go.
--M. J. Young
A bit of research tells me that John 2 is correct about bullets, that most of them are still made primarily of jacketed lead. It is lead shot in shotguns that is no longer legal in most states, with only a few states outlawing lead bullets for hunting. So his bullets are copper-jacketed lead, tricky to make without the right equipment. In any case, we can advance to Day 6.
No, lead shot is illegal for hunting. You are still free to blow away targets with it. Lead bullets are still quite common, especially in reloading, as they are very cheap. Most people use lead bullets only for punching paper, and anything else (hunting, defense, etc) is copper jacketed lead. However, you would be just as dead if you were shot with lead as you would be shot with depleted uranium.
My understanding is that unencased lead bullets are not used because the low melting point of lead results in two undesireable effects. One is that part of the lead vaporizes, creating a breathable poison gas that leads to lead accumulation over time. The other is that in modern high muzzle velocity guns the combined temperatures of the expanding gases from the explosion and the friction against the inside of the barrel causes the lead to melt and coat the inside of the barrel, making it much more difficult to maintain. Thus modern bullets are all jacketed. (They also generally have a boat taper now, pointed at both ends to decrease air resistance from turbulence, but that's probably something you already know.)
I see posts from Harry, Nikolaj, John 3, and Graeme, and I am going to get to them all, Lord willing.
Harry activates his holy ground on a roll of 17, and then on a roll of 47 removes his fatigue. I should increase the SAL on this, because he has been using it for a long time, so it is now going from 1@2 to 1@5 to cover practice over that time. He has to reactivate the ground for the next spell, for which 22 is fine. He is going to attempt the gem purification again, and the roll is 95, which makes me nervous. I needn't be, though, as he has a +99 Sit-mod built into the skill, so the rest of the numbers aren't going to matter.
I need to calculate the pay of a shipboard security chief against the time. What I get looks something like this. The Piper can make the run in 174 days best time, 455 worst (not counting extensions for events that consume time, but this bad or this good are both extremely improbable), with a mean of 314.5 days. A security officer gets 10,000 diktar for the trip, which means he makes something between 22 and 57 diktar per day, the mean being 32. The chief gets 16,000, so that gives him between 35 and 92, the mean being 51. In their favor they also get room and board; they are committed to full time access. I think that it makes sense that a senior investigator might make 40 diktar a day, 6 days on and two days off. Harry will not be senior, but he'll make more than 32, so we'll start him at 35.
Nikolaj is bidding us farewell. His adventures lie elsewhere. I am a bit saddened, because I was really excited about the possibilities emerging in his game; but I'm also encouraged, because a year ago he thought that what we were doing was unacceptable for Christians, and now he recognizes that there is something worthy of praise here.
John 2 has made a decision that I gave him. Lauren rolls 60 on the project psi skill pattern skill, which does work and well. John rolls 56, and so learns it at 1@2 without having used it.
I've got to do the numbers on Graeme's spell. Let me sort out the details as it currently appears:
- The spell will enable those affected to read, write, speak, and understand all the languages for which the spell is attuned. The attuning requires a specially prepared rope, woven by a person who speaks the language or in sections by people who speak the languages to be included, speaking continuously in the language while braiding; any means of braiding may be used, then placed on a ring of written samples of each of the languages to be included, with one candle in the center of the ring for each such language, two concentric circles drawn around it and all the letters, upper and lower case, of both the English and Greek alphabets written between the lines of these two circles, and the preparer walking around the circle fifty-two times clockwise and forty-eight times counterclockwise. This special component may be reused for the same spell, as long as the same languages are to be included. The caster must touch or grasp the rope and will the spell to be cast. Thereafter anyone touching the rope will be able to understand all communication in any of the languages included in the preparation for as long as both he and the caster are touching the rope or a maximum of one hour. When the caster releases the rope, the spell ends.
--M. J. Young
John 2 has made a decision that I gave him. Lauren rolls 60 on the project psi skill pattern skill, which does work and well. John rolls 56, and so learns it at 1@2 without having used it.
And exactly what skill is this?
My understanding is that unencased lead bullets are not used because the low melting point of lead results in two undesireable effects. One is that part of the lead vaporizes, creating a breathable poison gas that leads to lead accumulation over time. The other is that in modern high muzzle velocity guns the combined temperatures of the expanding gases from the explosion and the friction against the inside of the barrel causes the lead to melt and coat the inside of the barrel, making it much more difficult to maintain. Thus modern bullets are all jacketed. (They also generally have a boat taper now, pointed at both ends to decrease air resistance from turbulence, but that's probably something you already know.)
Actually, I knew all of that. When shooting lead bullets, it's usually customary to fire a handful of jacketed rounds afterwards to "Get the lead out" (I bet you a dollar that's where the expression originated) The tapered on both ends bullets are called "boat tail" bullets, and yes, they do have better aerodynamics. Another reason for not using lead is that in some EXTREMELY high powered guns, it's actually a piece of molten lead that strikes the target. The bullet actually melts to liquid in flight. Needless to say, that's far from being efficient.
Apparently I'm not the only one who is a bit busy today--John 2 is my only player. He gets a 25 GE roll on the double-barrelled shotgun and exploding arrows, and that will complete today's game.
--M. J. Young
What psionic skill did I learn at 1@2 yesterday chief?
Alas, so close and yet so far, once again... :p
Let me apologize to the Johns, 3 because I was a bit too quick for him to catch me yesterday, and 2 because I did see that he had asked for the posting of that skill and don't know why I didn't post it. It was the summoning skill previously mentioned, P1@8.
With that, let me note that there are posts from Harry, John 3, John 2, and Graeme; but I'm going to excuse myself for tonight's game, I'm afraid. The person who went to the hospital last week came home today, and my assistance is probably more needed than will be admitted, so I'm going to attend to that.
--M. J. Young
I'm going to excuse myself for tonight's game, I'm afraid. The person who went to the hospital last week came home today, and my assistance is probably more needed than will be admitted, so I'm going to attend to that.
Excuses excuses.... Kidding MJ, hope all is well, and I'm sure we will all be praying for you.
Two Posts
MJ, now I'm wondering, could a lead bullet melting to liquid in fight be a possible botch? I have no idea what getting hit with a half ounce of molten lead moving at supersonic speed would do to its target, but it could definitely be interesting.
Actually, the reason they jacket bullets for high-speed weapons is that molten lead does not have a good solid impact and is easily blocked.
I think that the problem would be that I would have to know that you were using bullets with a low melting point in a high muzzle velocity weapon. In that case, it might be an ordinary failure situation, that the bullet melted sufficiently in flight as to disperse and fail to impact the target--not a botch at all.
Obviously, I've been having a rough week. I'm hoping I can tackle what remains of the week's games today. I've already listed players Harry, John 3, John 2, and Graeme, so let me see how much of that I can address.
I've made a start on Harry's work conditions; let's see what he makes of it.
John 3 has a long ride ahead, and a very likely objection to what he's said arises.
John 2 is asking a question that's already been answered, so I'll give him the same answer.
I have got to change the time on this automatic virus scan; it happens too often that I'm still working at three in the morning, and it makes everything run slow when it runs.
I am adding to Graeme's sheet a 1@8 Braid Rope T2@2, and now I have to crunch the numbers on his spell. Let me cover it in fragments from the description:
- read, write, speak, and understand, four aspects, -15
- all the languages for which the spell is attuned, ability to incorporate multiple languages, -10
- specially prepared rope, +8
- appropriateness in the rope, +5
- caster must touch or grasp the rope, either hand, -2
- Thereafter anyone touching the rope, incorporating multiple participants -10
- as long as both he and the caster are touching the rope, continuation of ritual component for duration instead of standard 1:20 ratio, +43
- or a maximum of one hour, limitation +5
The new skill is 1@1 Full Translation Spell M7@4 The spell will enable those affected to read, write, speak, and understand all the languages for which the spell is attuned. The attuning requires a specially prepared rope, woven by a person who speaks the language or in sections by people who speak the languages to be included, speaking continuously in the language while braiding; any means of braiding may be used, then placed on a ring of written samples of each of the languages to be included, with one candle in the center of the ring for each such language, two concentric circles drawn around it and all the letters, upper and lower case, of both the English and Greek alphabets written between the lines of these two circles, and the preparer walking around the circle fifty-two times clockwise and forty-eight times counterclockwise. This special component may be reused for the same spell, as long as the same languages are to be included. The caster must touch or grasp the rope and will the spell to be cast. Thereafter anyone touching the rope will be able to understand all communication in any of the languages included in the preparation for as long as both he and the caster are touching the rope or a maximum of one hour. When the caster releases the rope, the spell ends +24 SM.
I think I'm done, but for my own game.
--M. J. Young