realbrickwall

Dresden Files is no more complicated than any of those systems, and quite a bit less complicated than many of them (I'd take it over D&D 3.x any day, complexity-wise). If you're interested, give it a shot!

RPG books have never been cheap. I don't really have a way to provide my files for you, either. However, if you need, I certainly won't investigate it if you research alternate sources for the rulebooks.

Hmm... Dredging up research (my knowledge of Tir na nOg was previously only what I knew from White Wolf's game Scion), Tir na nOg was basically faerie. Its inhabitants were the aos si, or, under the more familiar term, the sidhe. These same myths that give name to the sidhe (which does include the Tuatha de, who are also considered gods by some) are the ones that give them their known bane, iron, so I'd have to say these are the same fairies. If you're angling to distance yourself from the Summer and Winter Court, there's plenty of room in the Nevernever, but I'd have to say that someone hailing from the realm of fairies that most influenced the Dresdenverse fairies (the second-biggest influence would be Shakespeare, of course) would fall under their general rules. If you have something more specific in mind, I'd be happy to help you work it out, but there's quite a bit of complication involved with entirely separating fairies from their mythological source. Of course, Tir na nOg is the place to which the fairies fled. Long ago, the natives of Ireland were driven out by the "modern" Irish peoples (modern as in a few millennia). They were immortalized in myth as a race which fell to iron, whose burial mounds were called "sidhe", and thus the creatures said to have come from them. Basically, they were something else before they became fairies. Maybe your character is somehow connected to that. Whatever happened, it happened long before any form of writing came about, so only the Fairy Queens would have any sort of idea of it at all. tl;dr: Your concept doesn't quite jive as you wrote it, but your idea leads to a few interesting possibilities (obscure fairy, last descendant of the beings fairies came from, to name two). I hope my nerd-rant hasn't lessened your interest in pursuing your character idea! (This is what the Capable Researcher stunt looks like, I think)

Good job on considering leftovers as a food source! Cooking is a chore, but doing it right means you can get multiple meals out of one cooking session. I'm actually still really bad at that (granted, that's partially because I can eat half a pound of meat plus a decent amount of vegetables per meal). I'm glad you're still on track, and that you haven't given up just because things keep getting tougher and tougher. You're bound for good things!

Man, I haven't updated in too long. Did my second parkour workout of the week today. Now, my posterior shin splints were complaining before I even started, so I figured today would be bad for running or vaults or precision jumps. But I found stuff to do. I worked on my QM balance (made a distance PR), and my hanging sidle (finally made the whole distance without relying on my feet at all, another never-before-done-by-me feat) then I decided to work on climb-ups. Of course, I'm not even close, but that's no reason not to start working! I used my hang-sidle ledge. Mostly, I ended up practicing jumping up and grabbing it (which I used to have trouble with, but found surprisingly easy this time around), then getting as high as I could climb-up style. It...it wasn't impressive. That obviously means I need to do it more! After one of my callouses tore off and left raw skin on my hand, I decided it was time to start practicing something else. I did some more QM balance work, practicing climbing over stuff while QM balancing (guys, this is really hard; please practice it). Intermittently, I also practiced regular balancing...with eyes closed (if you've done balance work much at all, you know how much we rely on sight for it). And I got sick of my flailing hands, so I pretended they were tied up in front of me. Am I planning to ever have to do some kind of daring-do while restrained and blindfolded? Well, I don't think anyone ever PLANS to (except performers), so there. When my 30 minute timer came up, I tried to sneak in some more stuff, but I relented after a couple more balance runs. I want to get some other stuff done tonight, and I have to get some sleep because I work tomorrow. Stupid adulthood. Also, gentle readers, please check out my tumblr. A lot of the writing I do is going up there (well, technically, it goes to my wordpress, which goes to my tumblr, but that's just because I don't like the way tumblr handles text as much as I do wordpress). Of course, it's very likely you don't give a care about what I write, even if you support me and my goals. Believe me, I'm not hurt or offended. But some people do seem to enjoy what I write (I have no idea what fraction of people who read my writing like my writing, but it's some), and the NF community is full of intelligent people whose feedback I'd much appreciate. And, hey, if you have a tumblr page, I might just follow you.

In a pinch, a trash can lid and baseball bat will do. Although less so now that the "classic style" trash can is basically non-existent... Crap, they're TRYING to make us zombie bait!

I was hoping for a more heroic game than a morally ambivalent one, so yeah. Of course, being a PC is always about having a choice rather than a nature, so you certainly don't need to be someone insulated against the temptation to be selfish or wicked (as if that were possible; even Michael Carpenter has to deal with that sort of thing on a constant basis). At 10 Refresh, I fully expect players to enjoy the possibilities. There's no reason you can't be something truly strange that the books don't talk much about (I once played a character who was the Hand of the Tao, basically an employee of the Grand Design itself, empowered to defend mortals from things counter to Fate's plans for them, so really, feel free to go out there). Just make sure you play nice with others! Also, if the book says "this isn't really a player power" (i.e. Shapeshifting), and you want it anyway, give me a really good concept and I'll give it some thought. Those restrictions exist so that the players can all enact the most interesting stories. Unlimited shapeshifting, for example, solves too many problems for too little work in most cases. However, just below that, Faerie Glamours are incredibly powerful, but they do things in an interesting way, with interesting limitations. Of course, Spellcasting and Thaumaturgy is the "sweet spot" of power, providing a ton of capability with a ton of complications that make it fun. That rant got away from me. Basically, don't feel restricted by what the books tell you (Harry, and even Bob, may well be wrong about something, for all we know), but make sure your character engages the story in an interesting (I need more synonyms for that word) way that also leaves room for a number of other players. Oh, and don't plan on doing too much Lawbreaking in the game. Obviously, the rules already say that every time you break a Law you get closer to losing your character to Refresh, but still, don't make a necromancer or chronomancer or psychomancer or Cthulhumancer.

Well, now I can't look at my postman the same way again.

There are debates on where you should start in the Dresden Files. I say start with Storm Front (book 1). Lots of people say start with Grave Peril (book 3) because that's when the writing really hits its stride (and I do agree on that point). My one friend says it doesn't even matter (I disagree: watching how the characters change over time is really compelling). Also, Jim Butcher's other series, Codex Alera, is seriously nothing like Dresden Files, so reading that won't help much. Anyway, I'm considering setting the game in Columbus, Ohio, because I know a lot about it, which is good for a GM. Just a heads-up. Finally, I'm setting a solid -10 refresh. I like large-scale stuff, so let's start big!

Water! Drink water! HURRY!

Jim Butcher and yes. Physical copies of the books are hard to find (though I have seen them), but they do sell PDFs, which is what I have (and so can you). The hardest part of FATE PbP is action point negotiation. I admit, that does pose an obstacle for people new to FATE. However, I've done PbP on and off for...wow, almost 10 years. I've found that every game runs into some issue or another with PbP (grid-based games run into grid negotiation, WW games take four posts to resolve any single action, et cetera), so the best sort of game to run over PbP ends up being the one that has an issue that everyone is willing to be patient with and has the best workarounds for. One of the best ways to work around the whole Action Point dealie is the Retcon. PbP allows for ease of editing, which means that you can simply redact a ret-conned post and just put the new truth of the universe up in a new post. So, here's some examples of The Mighty Retcon in action. Casey is playing a shapeshifter named Brosephine in a University-themed game. Brosephine is attempting to pull an all-nighter, so Casey makes a descriptive post with an included Discipline roll, and, seeing the high result, posts general success. However, the GM says that an all-nighter is Scholarship restricted by Discipline (meaning a low Discipline lowers your roll, but a high Discipline does nothing). Sadly, Brosephine's Scholarship is pretty bad...and, it turns out, not good enough. Casey makes a retcon post where Brosephine stays up all night, but doesn't produce a good paper. Turns out you need a good Scholarship to keep your scholarship. Later, Brosephine is fighting off hungry thought spirits at the library, trying to save the books. The GM rolls to attack, and beats Brosephine's defense, so the GM describes Brosephine getting hurt. Casey asks to spend an action point to invoke Brosephine's "Wildly Unpredictable" aspect to help dodge. The GM makes a retcon post. Finally, Brosephine is attempting to beg the professor for an extension, using the fact that there have been issues with the library recently as an example (hopefully the professor doesn't realize those problems started that morning at 4 AM). Casey rolls Rapport, and gets a high result. However, the GM decides to compel Brosephine's "Shapeshifting Student Slacker" aspect (the character's High Concept, of course), to declare that the professor doesn't really think highly of Brosephine's study habits. Casey accepts the Fate point, and Brosephine is forced to turn in a truly god-awful paper. Opposed rolls present a second call-response issue, but that can be solved by anyone engaging an opposed roll simply posting a second, unmodified roll (just the dice) along with their roll. GM rolls are supposed to be out in the open anyway. The GM, of course, knowing the players' character sheets, can certainly opt to include the modifiers. Any changes can be easily retconned. And, since DF seems to be a fairly popular choice, we're going to tentatively say that we're going ahead with that. We'll be playing at either the 8 Refresh or 10 Refresh level, if people want to start working on their concepts. As far as City Creation...that's a pretty big hurdle to getting started. It takes a very long time. We'll probably just stick with the On The Fly rules. I mean, character creation alone will take easily over a week, especially with Phases 4 and 5.

Exercise or the owl will eat you. Okay, but seriously, you have the capability. Every workout and every run that you feel too tired to do, you're almost definitely not actually too tired to do. Remember that a long, hard day (I said "day", get your mind out of the gutter) can't stop you from busting out what could be your greatest workout yet. You're continually improving, and will do so as long as you stick with it.

He hasn't responded since I last PM'd him. I'm not gonna spam him. I hope he's alright. However, I've been looking over my files and timetables, and, after I realized I didn't have any, I just thought for a bit and came to the conclusion that I do actually have time to run a game. I'd prefer not to run Serenity, since Kevin's game is still up in the air, but here's what I have to offer. Dresden Files: I gotta be honest, I love having a combat system based on zones for PbP. Grid combat sucks on forums. Trust me. Also, I just love the everloving hell out of DF. This would be my top pick. Eclipse Phase: Love the setting, decent system. Also, what better place to run a game where characters are constantly enmeshed in cyberspace than in cyberspace? Using the internet to play EP is really, really cool. Besides, I read the last chapter. Other stuff: I can run D&D (3.x, Pathfinder, or 4e, not 4e Essentials), World of Darkness, Exalted, Star Wars Saga, and I could probably manage to figure out how to run Warhammer, but I don't really want to do any of those over PbP. Still, if there's overwhelming desire for one of them, I have ideas.

I don't know my PRs for most of these exercises...once I hit 8 reps of anything, I try to move on to the next progression. But I'll list what I know.

The best methods of venting I've found are multiple windows per room, well-maintained duct systems, and... Wait, that's not what you wanted? Well, believe me, if I knew a good method, I wouldn't be suffering so much right now.

Boxers suffer long-term consequences from repeated head injury, including facial disfigurement and brain damage. But you certainly become more accustomed to it. Fighting experience will make you more capable at fighting through injury and pain. There's a reason I like learning martial arts where the primary thing they teach you is avoiding injury, then dishing it out. What boxing I've taken has been very offense-oriented. If it's attractive to you, go for it. But remember that face punches are just plain awful, and that there's a reason they're banned in almost every other form of competitive fighting. They're very painful, VERY likely to cause irreparable damage, and mess your face up something awful. Also, on the downside for the attacker, you're pretty likely to mess your hands up punching somebody's face. Seriously, the human mouth is full of tiny knives, and you're sticking your fist in it at what could be hundreds of pounds of force. Not smart. In general, avoid face strikes unless you have a serious advantage and can get your attacks exactly where you want them. I've been hit in the face. It actually only really hurts for an instant. What sucks is the immediate follow-up of delirium and numbness and exaggerated feeling of swelling. It's like someone stuck a hose into your face and is just pumping water into your head.

That video is wonderful. The behind-the-scenes stuff is as well (and it confirmed my suspicions about the Assassin costume's practicality). I want to do one someday! But that day is far off...

It's called "ennui" and everybody gets it. You'll get through it. Try to remember that pleasure in temporary, fleeting things is still beautiful, and that love for today is all the greater because it can only exist for today, and tomorrow, it will be only the love of memories. If that doesn't help, punch some bears. Always makes me feel better.

re Shampoo: You should use it, but sparingly (once every few days or once a week), and preferably with an appropriate conditioner. Soaps and shampoos get rid of the stuff on you. Dirt, grime, other foreign substances. But they also get rid of your natural oils and such, excess or not. We overuse them in modern society. Used sparingly, they contribute greatly to hygiene, health, and presentation. Just remember that toothpaste and dental floss really ARE something you should use quite frequently. I'm a bit sad that most other dudes seem to have magic scent powers. I wanted to be special...

Caffeine cold turkey takes, chemically, 4 days. Mentally, a bit longer, maybe a couple weeks at most. You don't have to fight for as long as you might be worried, but you have to fight!

I know you don't want to do upper body focus, but consider doing at least some. There's no part of the body that we're completely conscious of how much we use it, and consequently, no part of the body we fully comprehend the benefits of strengthening. I promise that you'll find joy from the benefits you gain from upper body exercise. As for writing...old characters are people we never lose. I have so many characters from projects I never plan to pick up again. I even like a lot of those characters. But I remember the sudden end of a webcomic I liked. The conclusion page was the writer expressing his regrets that he was unable to continue, and saying how much he would miss the characters. But, the characters told him that they would never leave him. They would always be there when he needed them, in new forms. Basically, if you've written a great character, that character probably has certain prominent aspects that worked very well. Use their parts. You don't have to murder them to do it, and you get a lot of use out of them. I may not be writing the adventures of my old characters, but whenever I need a pair of antagonistic lovers, or a reluctant father figure, or a bon-vivant with a great destiny, or a strong warrior with a deep sadness, or many more, well, there they are. Maybe that will help you, or maybe not. But I promise you that the only writers who don't struggle are the ones who aren't doing the best work they could. Good writing is hard. I really can't advise you on matters of getting over exes. I don't exactly have any, and I've never seen a successful method for dealing with it. The most widespread advice I've found is "take your time, and for the love of God, don't try to do things to get over it, especially not drastic things".

My life is weird. So, back in July, at a wedding reception, this guy asked me if I was wearing cologne. I wasn't. I had, in fact, not showered for about 24 hours, and had done restaurant work earlier in the day, and was dressed too warmly for the weather. Apparently, he thought I smelled nice (in the way a straight guy thinks another guy smells nice, of course [actually, he said it was pretty gay, but his girlfriend didn't seem to mind at all]). I wrote it off as a cheerful little fluke and went on with life. Fast forward months later. I'm teaching some playground games to Japanese kids with a volunteer organization. After running around the gym for half an hour, we're all wrapping up. Suddenly, one of the volunteer coordinators, a woman in her mid-20s comes RUNNING up to me and...smells me. Right around the armpit (not actually in it, but the chest area near it). She then proceeds to wave over her intern, a 21-year-old college student (also female) who, without requiring any explanation, does the same near the opposite arm. The former then proceeds to explain that I smelled good. Which she had apparently noticed from somewhere around 15-20 feet away. Guys, apparently I exude manliness. I don't...I don't even understand at all. Anthropology seems to theorize that good person-smell is often related to immune systems, and mine is powerful enough to stop plagues, but...this is unnatural. Real humans don't get women running up to them by scent like in some stupid body spray commercial. I hope I'm not kidnapped and disassembled to make the new line of "Axe". That'd just be humiliating. I'm drawing a comic to immortalize it, but I'm slow at drawing, and I have a ton of other projects, and I've been dying to tell SOMEONE, so here we are.

After a super-lazy weekend of suck, I finally got back to work today. Basic strength training routine. It feels so good to have one-arm push-ups just stuck in there all regular-like, even if I couldn't finish my third set. Almost got to four pull-ups with only 60 seconds between sets (2-2-3). Seriously lovin' these things. Finally FINALLY did 30s-30s-30s with my hollow holds. I hate these things so much. I really wish there was some non-static ab exercise that I could do, but every one I try either doesn't work me at all below the 10-rep range or is so tough I can't even do one. Argh. And now, for writing. I'm getting really behind on this, partially because I keep working on other projects. Writing a D&D campaign and adventures really distracts one from writing fiction. I'd consider counting it, but having a wordcount on encounters is not exactly the best measure of...anything. So, yeah. I'm not doing perfect. But I'm doing way better than I would if I didn't have SMART goals. I will keep pursuing them, and I'll keep getting back to it when I fall. No other way.

I should probably post in here that I hit 4 pull-ups. Yay!

"First requirement, 20 pull-ups" Welp. I'll keep working on it, I guess. Also my dips, for the upper part. But I think muscle-ups will be my 2013 Christmas present, at best.