Artemis Prime Becomes the Lord of the Rings

[Artemis Prime]

On 4/11/2022 at 5:13 PM, Killashandra said:

Fun! Maybe when you die you have to visit a healer, because if you're missing all those hazards you're probably in need of some self care? 

 

Death = Reassessment of what you're doing that caused you to die, a nice long bubble bath or massage, a mental hug and a plan to reduce the external stress? The penalty could be having to take that time to work out what's gone wrong.

Hmmmm...I like the visiting a healer angle. Maybe some kind of Resurrection Ritual?

 

The problem I'm running into is that you're probably right that what I need during those times is to reduce stress and re-evaluate, but I don't want to frame those things in negative terms...but I want there to be a penalty associated with death...maybe separate the two? So the self-care destressing can be the Resurrection Ritual, but then I come back with a penalty in effect that isn't linked to the self-care.  I do believe we are on to something here!

 

On 4/11/2022 at 8:53 PM, Chris-Tien Jinn said:

Give something up (that you like) for a week, such as foods that are treats for you. 

I'm leaning towards this, but keeping it fairly open ended based on current circumstances. For instance, right now I am spending way too much time watching Critical Role, so a good punishment might be to have to go a week without watching any episodes, since that's probably why I'm not getting to my Battle Log stuff. But I tend to go through these phases on a fairly regular basis, so the next time it might be a different show, or a game, or something else entirely. So basically trying to identify what is most interfering with my progress at time of death and getting away from that for a week.

 

On 4/11/2022 at 8:53 PM, Chris-Tien Jinn said:

You could pay a forfeit to a charity

This is a good backup plan for when I'm having trouble identifying what I need to give up. Instead I could put something extra in the church plate to pay the cleric for the Resurrection Ritual.

 

On 4/11/2022 at 8:53 PM, Chris-Tien Jinn said:

I'm loving the continuing development.  

I'm actually really proud of this. I always expect my ideas to spring forth fully formed and when they don't work out, I trash them. This time around I'm acknowledging what needs changed and tweaking it rather than chucking the whole thing out. That's a big win for me.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

On 4/14/2022 at 2:23 PM, Artemis Prime said:

This is a good backup plan for when I'm having trouble identifying what I need to give up. Instead I could put something extra in the church plate to pay the cleric for the Resurrection Ritual.

 

Stealing this idea ....

[Artemis Prime]

Hello all and welcome to the renewal of the Battle Log! I was struggling to maintain this and a challenge thread, but I've decided to cool off on the challenges for now and give this my focus. I made a couple of changes to start this back up: First, I got rid of my on guard hazards. They were starting to pile up and becoming a pain to keep track of. So now, if a hazard doesn't play on my current site path, it will just get shuffled back into the deck. Because of this, I might be a little looser with the site path, but I'm not going to toss it entirely because you should face tougher hazards in the Shadow Lands than a Free Domain. The second change is implementing my new rules for death. Which are still a bit unformed at the moment, but for starters I have 100 hit points and for every resource card I do not fulfill, I will take 1D20 damage. For now I'm going to stick to the original rules and say I can heal up at a haven or if I draw a resource card that allows it. If I start dying too often, I'll revisit this.

 

So, this week's resource cards:

Gates of Morning: Permanent Event. Property clean up.

More Sense Than You: Short Event. Speed workout

Valiant Sword: Major Hoard Item. Fencing drills.

Belegaer: Short Event. Go kayaking or canoeing

Lore of the Ages: Permanent Event. Read a book on history.

 

And the hazards:

Hobgoblins: Creature. Do the Darebee Goblin workout

Greed: Short Event. Make a charitable donation of 1D6x10 (rolled a 4)

Dragon's Breath: Short Event. +1 set to next Dragon or Drake attack.

In Darkness Bind Them: Permanent Event. Pull hazard cards until one keyed to Shadow-land or Dark-domain is pulled. Which led to...

Light Drake: Creature. Do Darebee's Dragon Lord workout.

Despair of the Heart: Permanent Event. Get rid of 1 item.

 

When last we met, I was in Lorien. Since Valiant Sword is a hoard item, I have limited options for playing it, but I decided to take the easy way and go to Framsburg, which is the one hoard site that doesn't have a dragon attack. And then I pulled a Light Drake anyways, which just goes to show that you can't outrun fate. In any case, the dice were kind for my site path (1 wilderness and 1 borderland), so I have 6 miles to go this week.

 

And now...story time!

 

"You have been lost, Ranger Artemis."

 

Artemis Prime tries to disguise her start of surprise when Lady Galadriel comes into view. "A true ranger could never be lost in these woods. The trees talk too much."

 

She smiles, but her eyes remain serious. "It is not out there that you were lost, but in here." She extends her hand until it nearly touches Artemis's chest.

 

The Lady of the Wood is not wrong. The long winter in Rivendell had done much to heal her, but there had been deeper wounds that had remained untreated. Here though..."Perhaps before I arrived, but not now. The trees talk too much for that as well."

 

The Lady's smile becomes wider and more genuine. "The trees do talk much, but not everyone knows how to listen. But those who do may hear interesting tales, such as a Valiant Sword lying forgotten in amidst a great hoard.

 

A Valiant Sword is a treasure indeed, but to disturb a hoard..."I am no dragon slayer, Lady."

 

"I think you may yet prove yourself against such a creature, Artemis Prime. But not today. Fram son of Frumgar, Lord of Éothéod has done all that is required." With that, she disappeared back into the trees.

 

"Lord of Éothéod, eh?" Artemis blew out a deep breath. "Well, it looks like I'm going to Framsburg."

 

 

 

[Rooks]

[Artemis Prime]

Last week's cards:

Gates of Morning: Permanent Event. Property clean up. Cleaned up the rest of the old fencing from when I replaced it all a few weeks ago.

More Sense Than You: Short Event. Speed workout Not done. -8 hit points

Valiant Sword: Major Hoard Item. Fencing drills. Did footwork drills Tuesday and Wednesday.

Belegaer: Short Event. Go kayaking or canoeing Not done. -5 hit points. Suspected I would not get to this because I've lost my taste for being on the water by myself. I think the kayak makes me uncomfortable because I'm so low in the water. I'd like to get a canoe that is light enough for me to load/unload by myself, but for money purposes, that will not be happening in the near future.

Lore of the Ages: Permanent Event. Read a book on history. Read Bill Bryson's At Home. Good, but I'd recommend A Short History of Nearly Everything over that one. Also The Mother Tongue, but I have a special love for etymology and recognize that not everyone will find this book to be as spectacular as I did.

 

So that's two resource points this week for a total of 15, and -13 hit points for a total of 87.

 

And the hazards:

Hobgoblins: Creature. Do the Darebee Goblin workout Did 3 sets on Monday.

Greed: Short Event. Make a charitable donation of 1D6x10 (rolled a 4) Wanted to donate to the library, but they were closed when I tried to drop in, so it went in the church plate instead.

Dragon's Breath: Short Event. +1 set to next Dragon or Drake attack. Applied to the Light Drake.

In Darkness Bind Them: Permanent Event. Pull hazard cards until one keyed to Shadow-land or Dark-domain is pulled. Light Drake pulled.

Light Drake: Creature. Do Darebee's Dragon Lord workout. Did 4 sets on Wednesday.

Despair of the Heart: Permanent Event. Get rid of 1 item. Threw out some old gym shorts with the elastic shot. Seems like too easy of a choice, but the point is to find the stuff I'm hanging onto for no good reason.

 

Adds up to two hazard points for a total of 9. I also went 6 miles this week and have now gone 30.89 since starting this version of the Battle Log.

 

On to this week's resource cards:

Dagger of Westernesse: Minor Item. Knife/Axe throwing. For $ reasons, probably going to substitute darts.

Woodmen: Man Faction. Do an activity with coworkers or church members.

Pledge of Conduct: Short Event. Give a gift.

Palm to Palm: Permanent Event. Offer support to someone.

More Sense Than You: Short Event.  Speed workout.

 

Only one item, which can be brought into play with a faction, so my only stop this week is Woodmen-town. That makes my site path one wilderness and one border-land, which comes to 5 miles.

 

And now that I know my site path, the hazards:

Smaug: Creature. Luckily I'm not in Smaug's territory this week, so this doesn't play. Back into the hazard deck he goes.

Half an Eye Open: Short Event. +6 reps to next Dragon/Drake attack.

Slayer: Creature. Darebee's Slayer workout

Carrion Birds: Creature. Darebee's Blackbird workout.

Rain Drake: Creature. Darebeee's Dragonborn workout.

 

Story time!

 

Artemis dabs at the blood on her shoulder. She had known she was in trouble when dispatching a few hobgoblins left her winded, but she'd fared better against the Drake than she had feared. It had gotten a few swipes in, but at the end of the battle, she was the one walking away, and that was all that mattered. The people of Framsburg had been willing to let her take the Valiant Sword once they knew she came at Lady Galadriel's behest, but they could have been more forthcoming about the creatures in the wilderness around their town. Still, they had let her peruse their written works, studying the history of Fram the dragon slayer, although she's certain the donation she left them helped in that regard. And they had offered to lend her a boat as well, so it's really her fault that she chose to linger on the trail rather than moving as quickly as possible. But she had learned her lesson. Bandaging herself as best she can, she hefts her back and heads west. With any luck, she'll have a quick and quiet trip to Woodmen-town where she'll be able to rest in safety.

[Asha Phoenix]

Just went back in your battle log to see what card set you've been using. How long have you had the set and where did you get it? Would love to get a set, but from what I'm finding in a brief search online, the only place I'm seeing them is ebay. (and for amounts I'm not currently willing to put out. lol)

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

4 minutes ago, Asha Phoenix said:

Just went back in your battle log to see what card set you've been using. How long have you had the set and where did you get it? Would love to get a set, but from what I'm finding in a brief search online, the only place I'm seeing them is ebay. (and for amounts I'm not currently willing to put out. lol)

 

Yea, that's my problem too.  

[Artemis Prime]

50 minutes ago, Asha Phoenix said:

Just went back in your battle log to see what card set you've been using. How long have you had the set and where did you get it? Would love to get a set, but from what I'm finding in a brief search online, the only place I'm seeing them is ebay. (and for amounts I'm not currently willing to put out. lol)

 

45 minutes ago, Chris-Tien Jinn said:

 

Yea, that's my problem too.  

My brothers and I collected the cards in high school when we were playing the game. Unfortunately, since they are now out of print, they have gotten ridiculously expensive. I'm afraid your chances of finding them without shelling out quite a bit aren't great. 

 

There is a site where you can assemble decks and play in your browser: cardnum.com. It would be a bit bulky perhaps, but I think you could use it to duplicate my challenge. I'd have to play with it a little more, but I'd be willing to mess around with this with you guys if you're interested.

[Little_Fox42]

Holy crap there are so many good ideas here. Between your original plan for the cards and all the changes and comments... I'm definitely stealing this for future challenges. I love the random factor the cards add to it, although the cards themselves aren't really my thing. I may doctor your list and use D&D dice in place of them.

 

I was lurking in the forums and I noticed you mentioned using Habitica. Do you still use it? I'm just getting spun up on it. I tried using it before, but got distracted and forgot about it. Just started over at level 1.

[Artemis Prime]

 

3 hours ago, Little_Fox42 said:

I love the random factor the cards add to it, although the cards themselves aren't really my thing. I may doctor your list and use D&D dice in place of them.

The random factor was a big part of the appeal for me. I love the cards because a) I already had them, b) they make it easy to tack on a little narrative structure and c) they leave enough open to interpretation that I can make things a little easier or harder depending on what other cards I pulled and how busy my week is. That said, dice numbers can be fudged if you find things are too easy or too difficult. However you decide to do it, feel free to steal anything here and modify it however best suits you.

 

3 hours ago, Little_Fox42 said:

I was lurking in the forums and I noticed you mentioned using Habitica. Do you still use it? I'm just getting spun up on it. I tried using it before, but got distracted and forgot about it. Just started over at level 1.

I still have my account active, but I haven't been using it. We have a little adventure party that's currently dormant, but I can send you an invite if you'd like to stir it up and get a little lofe going in it.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

11 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

There is a site where you can assemble decks and play in your browser: cardnum.com. It would be a bit bulky perhaps, but I think you could use it to duplicate my challenge. I'd have to play with it a little more, but I'd be willing to mess around with this with you guys if you're interested.

 

I am also using index cards/card stock and creating my own "cards"  that are the same size as the cards from Magic the Gathering: Forgotten Realms (I have some of those) and the cards of the Side Quest deck from Hero's Journal.   

[Asha Phoenix]

16 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

I'd have to play with it a little more, but I'd be willing to mess around with this with you guys if you're interested.

If you want to take the time, it would be much appreciated, but if not no worries!

[Artemis Prime]

2 hours ago, Asha Phoenix said:

If you want to take the time, it would be much appreciated, but if not no worries!

I would absolutely love to dive headlong into geeking out on this with you. Fair warning though: I'm winging this, so no guarantee any of my ideas will work. Case in point, I've already discovered that Cardnum won't let you play a solitaire game, which means it isn't going to work for our purposes. But I think you can do it in Google Sheets, and Cardnum may still come in handy for some things. (Using Google Sheets mean you'll just have whatever text you put in for the card, no pictures. If you want the pictures, I'm sure there's a way to make that happen, but I haven't figured it out yet.)

 

Either way, first step is to build your deck. I'd do it one of these ways:

1. Steal my list from the google doc and save your own version of it.  (I only have each card listed once, but I talk about duplicating cards in option 3)

2. Find a standard deck online. (Cardnum has several available. Cardnum.net/deckbuilder. You may have to create an account for the decks to load.) These will be much smaller than my mammoth list of cards since they're intended for actual game play, which limits the deck size.

3. Build your own deck using a card list. (Cardnum could help here too: cardnum.net/cards.) If I were going with this option, this is what I would do:

I would pick a set to keep things manageable. I'm partial to The Wizards, since that's what I have, but it's totally up to you.

Once you have your set selected, filter a type (either character, resource, or hazard.)

Pick as few or as many of each as you like. My go-to would be to roll a D4 for each card, with 4=0, so I'd have either 1, 2, 3, or 0 copies of each card. (On second thought; that's still a LOT of cards. I'd possibly make 3 and 4 equal 0, but again, it's your call.)

Type up all your cards in Google Sheets with characters and resources on one tab and hazards in their own tab. For multiple copies of a card, type it in multiple times.

 

Whew! We haven't even talked about the site deck yet, but I'm still mulling that one over.

[Artemis Prime]

Last week's cards:

Dagger of Westernesse: Minor Item. Knife/Axe throwing. For $ reasons, probably going to substitute darts. I am not good at darts, guys. I was never great, but it's been a while and it was rough. But I did it!

Woodmen: Man Faction. Do an activity with coworkers or church members. I stayed after the Sunday service for Lemonade on the Lawn and chatted with some lovely women I hadn't actually met before.

Pledge of Conduct: Short Event. Give a gift. Did double duty here - gave my dad a Father's Day present and found a fun little plant marker that made me think of my neighbor, so I picked it up for her.

Palm to Palm: Permanent Event. Offer support to someone. I checked up on some of the challenge threads and followed a few peeps. I tend to either follow everybody and then not keep up with them, or just not follow anyone in the first place. I think I picked a good number here where I can actually keep track of what's going on.

More Sense Than You: Short Event.  Speed workout. Not done. -9 hit points. I really just need to stop procrastinating at the beginning of the week so I'm not trying to cram 3 workouts into 2 days.

 

2 Resource Points for a total of 17 and -9 hit points for a total of 78.

 

Smaug: Creature. Luckily I'm not in Smaug's territory this week, so this doesn't play. Back into the hazard deck he goes.

Half an Eye Open: Short Event. +1D6 reps to next Dragon/Drake attack. +4 reps to Rain Drake.

Slayer: Creature. Darebee's Slayer workout Three sets on Tuesday.

Carrion Birds: Creature. Darebee's Blackbird workout. Three sets on Sunday.

Rain Drake: Creature. Darebeee's Dragonborn workout. Three sets on Saturday.

 

2 Hazard Points for a total of 11 and 5 miles for a total of 35.89.

 

A few tweaks I've forgotten to mention, I'm not doing the prowess=reps, strikes=sets thing anymore. It doesn't actually make for very good, balanced workouts. So I'm also playing a little more fast and loose with the reps/sets modification cards, for example this week I added 4 reps to the Dragonborn workout, but didn't apply it to all exercises, just the accessory work I thought I could do without affecting the whole workout too much. Likewise, I did 3x5 weighted squats because Darebee likes to do very high volume bodyweight moves, and for squats especially I find lower reps at heavier weight to be far more beneficial to my knees.

 

On to this week's cards!

Necklace of Silver and Pearls: Minor Hoard Item. Take a little more care with appearance this week.

Bofur: Warrior Dwarf. Do a workout with someone; do a creative activity with someone.

The Great Eagles: Animal Faction. Do something with Jade and/or Anastasia.

Fast Asleep: Short Event. Take a nap.

New Friendship: Short Event. Welcome a rookie on the forums.

 

Bofur's home site is the Blue Mountain Dwarf-hold, which is on the other side of the freaking world from me, but at least that means the Giant Eagles aren't out of my way. I also need to find a dragon somewhere to play the Necklace of Silver and Pearls since it's a hoard item. So that gives me 4 wilderness, 1 border-land, and 1 dark domain as my site path. Rolling the dice gives me 27 miles, and I don't have time for a marathon this week, so we'll bypass the alternative movement and go with 7 miles.

 

And now the hazards:

Awaken Minions: Long Event. Double the reps of an attack keyed to a dark hold.

Wolf Riders: Creature. Darebee's Hellhound workout.

Lost in Border-lands: Short Event. Draw 1 extra hazard for each border land in site path.

Awaken Denizens: Short Event. Double the sets of an attack keyed to ruins and lairs.

Scorba: Creature. Oh look, a dragon! Darebee's Iron Dragon workout.

Crebain: Creature. Darebee's Raven workout.

 

Because doubling the reps for Scorba and the sets for Crebain make for two very long workouts, I'm going to just aim to do the full workouts twice this week. That's 5 workouts this week, which is a lot, so I might hop on my bike and if I actually get 27 miles in, I'll see about letting myself flee some of these attackers on eagle back, which is the Tolkein-approved way of avoiding conflict.

 

Story time!

Artemis Prime's luck did not hold. Her quiet trip to Woodmen-town started badly when she ran into an assassin on the road. She couldn't imagine that she had drawn anyone's attention enough to be worth a contract, but Slayers didn't like to leave witnesses behind. At least she could know that the intended victim, whoever they were, was no longer in danger, and she'd looted a very nice dagger off the body. Of course, that meant she was already tired and wounded when she found herself facing a Rain Drake, and wherever death comes, Carrion Birds inevitably follow. She had hoped to outrun them on the trail, but her legs had no speed in them, and she ended up fighting the birds as well. But she had made it to Woodmen-town more or less in one piece, and had been able to rest in safety. Until they told her that the Dwarfs had lost a priceless necklace and were accusing Men of taking it. "But you didn't?" she asked, wary of being pulled into a plot. "We did not, but we know where it is." Later, Artemis still wasn't certain how she'd ended up agreeing to this foolish mission, but she found herself heading west to ask an eagle for a ride to a dragon's lair.

[Little_Fox42]

On 6/18/2022 at 7:52 AM, Artemis Prime said:

I still have my account active, but I haven't been using it. We have a little adventure party that's currently dormant, but I can send you an invite if you'd like to stir it up and get a little lofe going in it.

I wouldn't mind trying if anyone else is interested in it. I'm not sure what you need to invite me to the party, but my user name is beccathingy42 and the code thingy that shows up in the party tab is @hb-2g6c9uoccv9xhb7pq.

 

7 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Story time!

Artemis Prime's luck did not hold. Her quiet trip to Woodmen-town started badly when she ran into an assassin on the road. She couldn't imagine that she had drawn anyone's attention enough to be worth a contract, but Slayers didn't like to leave witnesses behind. At least she could know that the intended victim, whoever they were, was no longer in danger, and she'd looted a very nice dagger off the body. Of course, that meant she was already tired and wounded when she found herself facing a Rain Drake, and wherever death comes, Carrion Birds inevitably follow. She had hoped to outrun them on the trail, but her legs had no speed in them, and she ended up fighting the birds as well. But she had made it to Woodmen-town more or less in one piece, and had been able to rest in safety. Until they told her that the Dwarfs had lost a priceless necklace and were accusing Men of taking it. "But you didn't?" she asked, wary of being pulled into a plot. "We did not, but we know where it is." Later, Artemis still wasn't certain how she'd ended up agreeing to this foolish mission, but she found herself heading west to ask an eagle for a ride to a dragon's lair.

I absolutely love that you do this! It's so creative and inspiring. Once I get myself situated with my doctored version of your table, I might try my hand at this. Maybe give myself inspiration (redraw a card/reroll) for successfully writing it in story format.

[Artemis Prime]

On 6/21/2022 at 6:22 AM, Little_Fox42 said:

I wouldn't mind trying if anyone else is interested in it. I'm not sure what you need to invite me to the party, but my user name is beccathingy42 and the code thingy that shows up in the party tab is @hb-2g6c9uoccv9xhb7pq.

It said the invite said, but it also said it couldn't find you, so let me know if you got it or not. If not, we can try again.

 

On 6/21/2022 at 6:22 AM, Little_Fox42 said:

I absolutely love that you do this! It's so creative and inspiring.

Thanks! For me, it's a fun writing exercise to see if I can tie the cards into a cohesive narrative.

[Little_Fox42]

On 6/22/2022 at 9:01 AM, Artemis Prime said:

It said the invite said, but it also said it couldn't find you, so let me know if you got it or not. If not, we can try again.

Nothing is showing up on my end. Maybe the @ isn't needed? It didn't show up when I copied and pasted it to make sure there were no typos. I also realized I hadn't checked out of the tavern from when I was setting everything up. Don't know if that affects it at all.

[Artemis Prime]

I made a few tweaks this week, some of which we'll cover down in the cards, but I've decided that if I die, I have to use a planner for at least the next week. My problem isn't that I don't have time to get to cards as that I pace myself poorly throughout the week, so a planner should help with that. Also it's not really a negative thing that I'll resent doing, it's more like putting the training wheels back on if I take too many spills in a row.

 

On to the cards:

Necklace of Silver and Pearls: Minor Hoard Item. Take a little more care with appearance this week. I didn't do this every day, but I did wear 2 dresses that I got recently but hadn't worn, so I'm counting it.

Bofur: Warrior Dwarf. Do a workout with someone; do a creative activity with someone. Went swimming with my sister and did some barn building with my dad. That's not exactly the type of creative activity I had in mind when I made my card assignments, but the whole point is to be flexible.

The Great Eagles: Animal Faction. Do something with Jade and/or Anastasia. I play with Jade almost every day, so that didn't really seem to count, but Anastasia was in a particularly hyper mood on Thursday and I spent some extra time playing with her, which then meant I had to give Jade some additional attention to make up for it, so lots of pet time on Thursday.

Fast Asleep: Short Event. Take a nap. Had a nice quick power nap on Saturday. I actually wanted to sleep longer, but I woke up feeling ready to go, so I guess that was long enough.

New Friendship: Short Event. Welcome a rookie on the forums. Browsed the rookie threads in the current challenge. I really like how easy the "rookie" tag made finding them.

 

And hazards:

Awaken Minions: Long Event. Double the reps of an attack keyed to a dark hold. This is the other thing I changed; decided that doubling workouts really isn't a great plan. So I'm not counting this as satisfied, which means it gets shuffled back into the deck, but I'm also not taking a penalty for it. Moving forward, I've changed this card to be not using the snooze button one day.

Wolf Riders: Creature. Darebee's Hellhound workout. Not done, -13 hit points.

Lost in Border-lands: Short Event. Draw 1 extra hazard for each border land in site path. One border land this week, drew Awaken Denizens.

Awaken Denizens: Short Event. Double the sets of an attack keyed to ruins and lairs. Same as Awaken Minions, not satisfied but no penalty, changed to no snooze button for future play.

Scorba: Creature. Oh look, a dragon! Darebee's Iron Dragon workout. Did this workout Thursday with 9lb dumbbells.

Crebain: Creature. Darebee's Raven workout. Did 3 sets on Monday.

 

So that's 3 Resource Points for a total of 20, 4 Hazard Points for a total of 15, 7.5 miles for a total of 43.39, and -13 hit points for a total of 65.

 

New cards:

Forlong: Warrior Dunadan. Do a workout with someone, do a good deed for someone.

And Forth He Hastened: Short Event. Do a task I've been procrastinating on.

Lore of the Ages: Permanent Event. Read a book of history.

Washed and Refreshed: Short Event. Do a face mask and/or other type of skin care.

And Forth He Hastened: Short Event. Two in one week? No procrastinating for me this week.

 

Since they're almost all events, the only place I have to go is Minas Tirith, which is Forlong's home site. SO that's way back east again, site path of 4 wilderness, 2 border-lands, and one free hold. 6.5 miles.

 

Hazards:

Icy Touch: Permanent Event. Take a cold shower. *Was originally +4 reps to Undead, but I'm trying to get away from arbitrary rep numbers as they tend to throw off my workouts.

Tom: Creature. Darebee's Troll Hunter workout.

The Black Enemy's Wrath - Not playable in this week's site path.

Ghouls - Not playable in this week's site path.

Giant Spiders: Creature. Darebee's He Who Fights With Monsters Workout.

 

Got off kind of light with the hazards, but that's the luck of the draw. It will make up for another week where I'll get slammed.

 

Story time!

Artemis Prime would not make a very good burglar. But she had managed to fight through the Crebain, snatch up the Dwarfs' missing necklace, and escape Scorba's lair with her life, and that was no small feat. Unfortunately, that had left her feeling cocky enough to excuse her eagle escort back to his eyrie, and of course that's when the Wolf Riders showed up. She would not have survived that encounter, had she not been within the Dwarf's territory at the time. Being rescued from orcs was not the first impression she would have chosen to make, but it was better than not being rescued. She had been able to rest in the mountain hold, and found herself making a new friend in Bofur, but she had declined the offer to stay for more Dwarven hospitality. All these creatures on the move had the feeling of ill times in the air. She had to stay focused on her goal of discovering what was at the root of these disturbances. She knew if she were to get answers anywhere, it would be in Minas Tirith's library. Thanking her new friends once again for their timely rescue, she headed south and east to continue her journey.

[Artemis Prime]

What with the holiday weekend, I didn't get my new cards drawn until Tuesday. I was already a bit crunched this week because of family events this weekend, so I might give myself until next Tuesday to fulfill them. Haven't really decided yet, for now we're just winging it.

 

But first, last week's cards:

Forlong: Warrior Dunadan. Do a workout with someone, do a good deed for someone. I helped my neighbor with her peacocks and went on a walk with my sister.

And Forth He Hastened: Short Event. Do a task I've been procrastinating on. I ordered the metal braces for my barn walls that my dad's been chomping at the bit to get on.

Lore of the Ages: Permanent Event. Read a book of history. Worked on The Warmth of Other Suns. Didn't finish it, but it's 500+ pages, so that's ok. It's very well written and I'm enjoying it so far.

Washed and Refreshed: Short Event. Do a face mask and/or other type of skin care. Got sunburned on Saturday, so exfoliation was out, but I did lots of aloe and lotioning. +4 hit points.

And Forth He Hastened: Short Event. Two in one week? No procrastinating for me this week. Cleared some old papers off my desk. Unfortunately, still lots to go through here.  

 

 

Hazards:

Icy Touch: Permanent Event. Take a cold shower. *Was originally +4 reps to Undead, but I'm trying to get away from arbitrary rep numbers as they tend to throw off my workouts. Took a cold shower on Saturday and actually kind of liked it. Of course, it helps it was steaming hot outside, but still. 

Tom: Creature. Darebee's Troll Hunter workout. 3 sets

The Black Enemy's Wrath - Not playable in this week's site path.

Ghouls - Not playable in this week's site path.

Giant Spiders: Creature. Darebee's He Who Fights With Monsters Workout. 3 sets

 

None of my resources were worth points this week, so still at 20. 2 Hazard points for a total of 17. 6.5 miles for a total of 49.89. And +4 hit points for a total of 69.

 

New Cards:

Orcrist: Greater Item. Flow exercises

Harad: Short Event. Take North Country Trail from Pleasant Valley to Branchton

Wielded Twice: Short Event. Recycle an item or find an alternate use for it.

Burglary: Short Event. Hike neighbor's property.

Stars: Short Event. Sleep outside.

 

Again, all events except for Orcrist, and greater items are playable at Dagorlad, which is just one region over from Minas Tirith and gives me a site path of one freehold and one shadowland, or 7 miles.

 

Hazards:

Leucaruth Ahunt - Doesn't play

True Fire Drake  - Doesn't play

Huron - Doesn't play

Carrion Birds: Creature. Technically also doesn't play, but that was too few hazards, so I let the dice decide and carrion birds it is. Darebee's Blackbird workout.

Incite Denizens: Short Event. Clean for 1 hour (can be noncontiguous.)

 

Narrative:

Artemis Prime had always enjoyed Minas Tirith, though spending too much time in any city always left her restless and anxious. For this visit, that wasn't an issue. She was only there long enough to wash off the road dust and begin a cursory examination of the library when Forlong had admitted to her that some amateur explorers with delusions of grandeur had stolen Orcrist and disappeared into the Dead Marshes. Shortly after this ill-fated venture, creatures had begun to pour forth from the swamp, which explained why she had battled a troll and giant spiders far closer to Minas Tirith than she ever would have expected. Promising to recover the priceless heirloom, she once again headed west, toward Dagorlad and the Dead Marshes.

[Asha Phoenix]

21 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

+4 hit points.

What did you decide to do regarding positive hit points?

[Artemis Prime]

2 hours ago, Asha Phoenix said:

What did you decide to do regarding positive hit points?

For now I'm sticking close to original game rules. If I go to a haven or fulfill a card that lets characters heal or untap, I heal 1d10. 

[Artemis Prime]

Hey all, I am still here. Didn't do great with my last round of cards, then decided to hit pause for a couple weeks because I had a lot going on. I haven't rolled my hit points for the last hand yet, but I'm pretty sure I'm alive, just hanging out in the Dead Marshes and looking kind of rough. I meant to draw new cards last night, but that didn't happen, so I will do them tonight.

[Artemis Prime]

Ok, so the long and short of it is, I find myself in the Dead Marshes with 38 hit points, 24 Resource Points, 17 Hazard Points, and having traveled 56.84 miles. And I drew the following cards:

 

Ford: Short Event: Traverse a river trail

Dark Numbers: Permanent Event: Review budget

Kindling of the Spirit: Short Event: Play an instrument

Enduring Tales: Long Event: Read a classic

Bifur: Warrior Dwarf: Do a workout and a creative activity with someone

 

Characters can be played at havens as well as their home sites, and I need to heal up a bit, so I'm going to head back to Lorien, which is a site path of 1 wilderness and 2 shadowlands. Dice rolls: 3+1+12=16 miles (plus another d8 for Noose of the Sea, rolled a 1, so 17 total)

 

Hazards:

The Pale Sword: Permanent Event: Discard 6 items.

Wolf Riders: Creature: Darebee's Hellhound workout

Dragon's Breath: Short Event: Breath Hold Test

Noose of the Sea: Long Event: Add 1 coastal sea to site path.

Carrion Birds: Creature: Darebee's Blackbird workout

 

I'm thinking about redoing my hazards so that different types of creatures are different types of workouts, so just off the top of my head, animals might be a mobility workout, orcs could be a gym workout, undead would be...bodyweight? I'm not ready to make the change just yet, but I think that would allow me to not make my workouts quite as random. I'm trying to find the balance of enough variation to keep me engaged but enough routine to see consistent progress. While I'm mulling this over, it's narrative time!

 

Artemis Prime had known shortly after entering the Dead Marshes that she had been foolhardy, to say the least. This was not the type of mission to be undertaken lightly and alone. Somehow, against all odds, she had found Orcrist, although she had taken serious wounds in the process. For the next two weeks she made camp and laid low, bring all of her ranger craft to bear in order to avoid the notice of any nearby denizens of the marshes. She now felt strong enough to go seek help, although she knew danger still lay between her and safety. After carefully eradicating any signs of her camp, she strapped Orcrist to her side and began limping west.

[Artemis Prime]

Ok, I missed a week in here, but we're just going to keep fighting through and pick up where I left off. In my endless quest to tweak things, I decided that going to a haven means I heal 1D6 for every card I fulfilled. Still lost 1D20 for every one I missed.

 

Old cards:

Ford: Short Event: Traverse a river trail Not done. I haven't hiked much since starting my barn, but part of this battle log was making time for something other than barn building, so no excuse. -10 points.

Dark Numbers: Permanent Event: Review budget Done. I am going to be able to buy my roofing and windows, which puts me in a good position to finish the shell and barn portion, but I'm probably going to have to take a break after that to replenish the funds. I should be able to swing the transcription certification fee to work on some side income, although that's going to wait until winter gets here. +2 points.

Kindling of the Spirit: Short Event: Play an instrument Spent some time with the piano. +1 point

Enduring Tales: Long Event: Read a classic Read The Scarlet Pimpernel. It was a pretty light summer read. +6 points.

Bifur: Warrior Dwarf: Do a workout and a creative activity with someone Not done. My sister is my workout buddy, and she's recovering from surgery. -11 points.

 

Hazards:

The Pale Sword: Permanent Event: Discard 6 items. I thought 6 items sounded like a lot, but it was pretty easy to find some old clothes/shoes that are either worn out or don't fit right. +1 point.

Wolf Riders: Creature: Darebee's Hellhound workout Not done. -12 points

Dragon's Breath: Short Event: Breath Hold Test Made it 26 seconds. +6 points

Noose of the Sea: Long Event: Add 1 coastal sea to site path. Done. +3 points

Carrion Birds: Creature: Darebee's Blackbird workout Done. +3 points.

 

I did switch from dice miles to region miles, so my 7.5 for the week got me to my location. I'd like to get either a gym membership or an elliptical to make it easier for me to hit higher miles, but thanks to Dark Numbers making me review my budget, that's not happening in the near future. So I go into the new hand with 25 Resource Points, 18 Hazard Points, 64.39 miles, and 27 health points.

[Artemis Prime]

On to the new cards!

 

Theoden: Warrior/Diplomat Man: Do a workout with someone, play a game with someone, do something with church members or co-workers

A Short Rest: Long Event: 15 minutes of porch sitting

Wood Elves: Faction: Do a musical activity, look into local groups

Houses of Healing: Permanent Event: Stretch

Wizard's Laughter: Short Event: Avoid gossiping/complaining

 

So to get from Lorien to Thranduil's Halls to visit the Wood Elves and then back down to Edoras to see Theoden, I have 3 wilderness and 5 borderlands, or 8 miles.

 

Slayer: Creature: Bodyweight workout

Cave Worm: Creature: Doesn't play

Crebain: Creature: Mobility work

Scorba Ahunt: Long Event: Doesn't play

Fury of the Iron Crown: Short Event: Note one positive thing/day.

 

I'll replace this with the narrative section later, have to dash at the moment.