Sam Ashen the Gate

[Sam Ashen]

As has been my more recent tradition, at the beginning of a Challenge Cycle, I look at what is coming over the next six weeks and make plan accordingly.  So here they are:

 

Week 0: October 24 to October 30 - Post Battle Week.  What are the chances I end up doing NOTHING this week?

Week 1: October 31 to November 6

Week 2: November 7 to November 13

Week 3: November 14 to November 20

Week 4: November 21 to November 27

Week 0: November 28 to December 4

 

The big things are:

Tomorrow is my big day!

 

It looks like I really am doing nothing this coming Week 0 and I am really looking forward to doing absolutely nothing!  It also looks like I will be getting a bunch of Baldur's Gate game time in.  I have picked up the entire Canon Party at Level 1.  The game clock is currently on the morning of Day 8 and we have just rescued our last main party member.  Now we are at a Gnoll fortress in the middle of nowhere heading back.  We still have a decent amount of ammo, so I am optimistic about getting back in good form.  On the way back we will be fighting a bunch of Ogres which is not so easy at Level 1 / 2, and raiding a Xvart village, which should be very easy at Level 2 / 3.  Then we will hit the Easy button and continue the story in the Nashkel mines.

 

Sometime during Week 0 I will be getting some more new programming.  Since I have no plans to enter any meets during the winter, the time of the next battle is very far away.  So programming will reflect that.  Miss Broki said something about lots of technical work, but I would not be surprised to see a lot of volume.  So Week 0 is going to contain yet another big surprise and I have no idea what the next program is.  Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4 will correspond to the same weeks in the program.

 

It also looks like the end of this Challenge cycle corresponds with Thanksgiving.

 

My general goals are Strength and Weight.  Get as strong as possible without gaining too much weight, because *somebody* does not want me to become a 105 kg lifter.  I still think a combination of GoMaD and German 10x10 would be a fun way to get ready for the end of the year!  But that is just not in the cards.

 

Just like your character in BG has a main quest story to follow and a bunch of side quests, we have a main quest story line to follow and side quests as they come up.  The quest list is pretty much the same as always.

 

Quest 1 - Make Plans to Conquer the World Next Year!

There are no planned meets for a long time, so this is a good time to come up with plans for next year.  How many PL and WL events are we going to attend?  So far I am thinking make last year look like this year.  Events will look like:

 

CNF2017 PL - I plan to go next year and I still want to do the PL.  The alternative is to Wiz.

April or October PL - I would like to get one PL meet in, especially if a State DL record is attainable in the Old-Farts 1A Division 93 kg class.  We are talking about 35 kg more.  In Freedom Units, we are talking about going from 5 plates to 6 plates.  Is that attainable in one year?

(Failing that, the Old-Farts 1A 105 kg class DL record is not that much higher.)

 

WL in June and late in the year.

 

Quest 2 - Obtain New Programming

It's pretty simple.  New programming will arrive in Week 0.  And we will follow it.

 

No idea what it is going to look like.  It will be either 5 days or 6 days.  I am hopeful for 5 days because winter is coming and storms can mess with the schedule.  It is a little bit easier to plan rest days around life events and storms.

 

Quest 3 - Tracking

The tracking continues as usual.  No plans to bulk over winter.  No plans to cut, either.  However.  There is an amazing opportunity to "bulk up" between Thanksgiving and New Years due to the amazing quantities of "bulking friendly" foods and it often worries me just how much weight I am going to put on during that season - just like I was worried about how much weight I was going to put on while my parents were in town visiting.

 

I still do not have exact macros to follow.  I have numbers I generally consider to be bare minimum.  And there are numbers my readers generally consider to be bare minimum.  For example they like to ask if I am sick if my overall calorie count is less that 2500.  I do not buy into the 1 gram protein per pound of bodyweight, but I have seen it repeated over and over until everybody has decided it is the truth.  I generally go with 0.8 grams per pound.  Or 1.8 grams per kilogram.  Fat and Carb numbers I have not decided on.  It looks like I have a history of Fat calories and Carb calories evenly split.  Maybe a 3 gram to 1 gram ratio is a better target, but I am not yet that concerned.

 

Week 4 is Thanksgiving, so that will be my outing for Week 4 and that will be interesting to pull off.  There are four weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.  So:

Four outings, including Week 0.  I stand by my claim that getting out once per week helps keep me sane.

Two desserts, including Week 0.  Tomorrow is one of them.  I am planning Texas Roadhouse tomorrow.  That leaves one dessert between tomorrow and Thanksgiving.

Everybody wants to see the dessert pictures as a bare minimum.

Four meal prep days.

 

Quest 4 - Other Quests as they show up

 

And that's it!

[Sam Ashen]

Today was a rest day.

 

Got my Baldur's Gate game up to Day 8 and picked up my party at Level 1.  Now they are at the Gnoll Stronghold ready to fight their way back to Nashkel and continue the storyline.  Fortunately they still have lots of ammo and I am optimistic they will make it.

 

I don't feel like playing much more of it tonight.  Going through the Gnoll Stronghold, among other things, makes for a big day.

 

Score for Today:

3050 Calories

342 Carbs

118 Fat

159 Protein

 

+5.8 Overall

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following along again. It's fun playing the same game you are giving a play by play on during a challenge.

[Sam Ashen]

9 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following along again. It's fun playing the same game you are giving a play by play on during a challenge.

 

Glad you like the AAR!  Here is Day 7!

 

We have arrived at the Gnoll Stronghold!  To get there, we have to cross a bridge.  Hmm.  What might be guarding this bridge?



 

Okay.  Not trolls.  But still.  These guys are not that bright, either.

 

We storm the Fortress and find the Chieftain.



 

And Minsc did exactly what he promised!  He beat sense into his head.

 

Dynaheir was not that far away.



 

And the Canon party is complete!  (all picked up at Level 1, too!)

 

Now we just have to make it back.  But there are some caves to explore, too.

 

Did you see how the corpses explode when somebody hits them hard enough?



 

Little bits go flying everywhere!

 

One of these caves had a book titled, "Basic Manners for Trolls."  I wonder what it could possibly be used for.

 

Leveled Sammy.  Rested.  Ready for what Day 8 brings!  I might be able to run it tonight, but tomorrow is more likely.

[ixaera]

that gate won't know what hit it~

[Sam Ashen]

Weighed in at 91.42 kg. Accidentally have them 75 kg snatch opener but just knew I did it so had it corrected. Then they still had 75 kg loaded. So had them did that too.

Hindsight says I should have opened 75 kg. Hit 3/3 at 70 / 75 / 78 kg. Here is the last one.

 

 

3/ 3 on clean and jerk at 97 / 102 / 106 kg.

 

6 / 6 for a total of 184 kg.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

[Blocky]

Good job buddy.

[Sam Ashen]

Celebrated my victory at Texas Roadhouse.

 

 

 

And just when I got Miss Broki's blessing for the dessert, I just did not have room for it.  So the Big ol Brownie will have to wait.

 

22 hours ago, Sam Ashen said:

Two desserts, including Week 0.  Tomorrow is one of them.  I am planning Texas Roadhouse tomorrow.  That leaves one dessert between tomorrow and Thanksgiving.

 

So today's dessert just did not happen.  That still leaves one dessert between today and Thanksgiving.  Think I can make it?

 

With all the junk snacks post weigh-in, still got an epic score.

 

Score for Today:

4983 Calories

487 Carbs

217 Fat

211 Protein

 

+19.9 Overall

 

That big ol brownie would have made me break 6K!

[Sam Ashen]

And I was able to play out Day 8 of my Baldur's Gate game!

 

Long haul back.  We head back north to the wilderness and another bridge, still guarded by a polar bear.  We kite and kill it, then get winter boots as a reward from Jared.  A little further north, we encounter Neville the Polite Bandit.



 

He is pretty mean with that Longsword.  Too bad he missed a saving throw to an Entangle Spell, making him target practice.



 

His gang of Hobgoblins is still wandering around and we had to be very careful to pick them off one by one before they could get at the more vulnerable members of the party.  (A critical hit on Dynaheir would suck.)

 

Going back across the northern bridge was more trouble.  The Ogre Berserker resisted both Entangle Spells.  They are like that.  They also have good armor, so are very hard to hit with ranged weapons at this level.  Then we ran into another Hobgoblin Elite and it was really looking grim for Sammy....



 

...until he rolled a natural 20.  That helped.  However.  Still in big trouble.  In fact, it was time to pop one of those "pop in case of emergency" potions.  In this case, that would be the white one in the middle.  It is an Oil of Speed.  So Sammy is now running twice as fast and we are back to kiting that Ogre Berserker until finally he goes down.



 

Still high on speed, we take another one down.



 

And that's most of the trouble taken care of in this zone.  We found another ogre too busy eating to fight.  So we looked around waiting for him to finish.  Then....



 

And we met Laurel the Paladin for some Gibberling-splatting fun.



 

Next day brings the raid on the Xvart village.  Always fun!

 

That will be tomorrow's session.  Did I mention Tomorrow is a rest day?

[Mr_Willes]

On 23-10-2016 at 4:15 AM, Sam Ashen said:

how much weight I am going to put on during that season

 

 

Here to follow Ashen_Awesomeness!

[shaar]

13 hours ago, Sam Ashen said:

And just when I got Miss Broki's blessing for the dessert, I just did not have room for it.  So the Big ol Brownie will have to wait.
 

 

 

Would 6k have been an all time high score?

 

I forgot about Roadhouse's rolls, ugh, with that cinnamon butter!!!!!!!!  Bette than dessert maybe???

[Sam Ashen]

3 hours ago, shaar said:

Would 6k have been an all time high score?

 

No.  Earlier in the year I chalked up close to 7k.

 

3 hours ago, shaar said:

I forgot about Roadhouse's rolls, ugh, with that cinnamon butter!!!!!!!!  Bette than dessert maybe???

 

To die for, anyway.

 

4 hours ago, mr_willes said:

 

 

 

Yup.  I'm getting fat for Christmas!

----------------------------

 

Looking back on my lift videos, guess what Miss Broki is going to pick on!

-----------------------------

 

Meanwhile, I got my weekly phone call.  My parents still live in the 20th century, so it is pretty funny how long it takes them to catch up.  They finally found out I colored my hair!  Of course my sister knows this because she follows me on FB.  She finally showed pictures and videos.  Next comes the standard harassment....

 

What's with the blond hair?

What's her name?

I wasn't born yesterday.

Say hi to her for me!

 

Anything more than that, they are just grasping at straws.

[Mr_Willes]

34 minutes ago, Sam Ashen said:

What's with the blond hair?

What's her name?

I wasn't born yesterday.

Say hi to her for me!

 

Parents will remain parents! It's a global thing  

[Stronkey Kong]

Nice lifts and noms!

 

Now I knew it had to be a video game reference, but I was hoping your challenge theme was going to be the 1987 horror film "The Gate" only because earlier this summer I looked it up because it was one of those I saw it when I was very young and the faint memories were driving me nuts because I remembered a couple scenes, but not much else or even the title. Then I found it and watched it. It stars Steven Dorff as a child.

 

 

[Urgan]

Lurking/following as work will allow. Here's to Team Not Bulk and Not Cut. 

[Sam Ashen]

More BG Action.  Days 9 and 10.  The Xvart Village and the Return to Nashkel.

#yayforzeroweek #yayfordoingzerofitnessonzeroweek #itrainsoicandowhatmydndcharactercando

#howmanyhitpointsdoesahave

 

Arrived at the Xvart Village and started slaughtering the evil blue little humanoids.  One of them happens to know Common.



 

Ursa was an easy mark.  Distance is the only armor we need.

 

Ursa's mate was not so easy, hiding in a nearby cave.  No luck with Entangle spells.  Sammy got squashed a few times.  Two healing potions used.

 

Day 10 - Returned to Nashkel with a whole bunch of phat lewts.  Next up is checking out the Fair.

[Sam Ashen]

Rest Day today.

 

Score for Today:

3095 Calories

344 Carbs

125 Fat

165 Protein

 

+6.2 Overall

[Sam Ashen]

[BG Talk]

This is going to sound pretty stupid that it took this long to figure out, but I figured out a cheesy way to beat Zordral in the Nashkel Fair.  The conversation chain is 1,2,3,1 of course.  That saves the girl and turns him hostile.  He immediately tries to cast Mirror Image, then Horror.  If the party is caught flat-footed, then a whole bunch of them miss their Save vs Spells and start running around in fear and that leaves him to hit a couple of party members with Melf's Acid Arrow, then a bunch of Larloch's Minor Drain.  Normally, I have relied on a lucky couple of shots to disrupt the casting and he goes down quickly, but.....

 

A. Enter the tent with one character, say the main character.  Run the conversation chain 1,2,3,1.  He will go hostile and cast Mirror Image.  Leave the tent.

B. Enter the tent.  My Autopause is set to Enemy Sighted.  Immediately leave the tent.  He will cast Horror, but nobody will be in the tent.

C. Enter the tent and immediately leave.  The same thing will happen to Melf's Acid Arrow.

D. Rinse and repeat until he is no longer casting spells.  He is now out of spells.

E. Arm all party members with swords and clubs and daggers and go in there and whack him!

 

Actually this kind of tactic is well documented.  The same tactic can be used in Candlekeep against Firebead Elvenhair for an easy level-up.  (And I forget where this was documented.

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

8 minutes ago, Sam Ashen said:

[BG Talk]

This is going to sound pretty stupid that it took this long to figure out, but I figured out a cheesy way to beat Zordral in the Nashkel Fair.  The conversation chain is 1,2,3,1 of course.  That saves the girl and turns him hostile.  He immediately tries to cast Mirror Image, then Horror.  If the party is caught flat-footed, then a whole bunch of them miss their Save vs Spells and start running around in fear and that leaves him to hit a couple of party members with Melf's Acid Arrow, then a bunch of Larloch's Minor Drain.  Normally, I have relied on a lucky couple of shots to disrupt the casting and he goes down quickly, but.....

 

A. Enter the tent with one character, say the main character.  Run the conversation chain 1,2,3,1.  He will go hostile and cast Mirror Image.  Leave the tent.

B. Enter the tent.  My Autopause is set to Enemy Sighted.  Immediately leave the tent.  He will cast Horror, but nobody will be in the tent.

C. Enter the tent and immediately leave.  The same thing will happen to Melf's Acid Arrow.

D. Rinse and repeat until he is no longer casting spells.  He is now out of spells.

E. Arm all party members with swords and clubs and daggers and go in there and whack him!

 

Actually this kind of tactic is well documented.  The same tactic can be used in Candlekeep against Firebead Elvenhair for an easy level-up.  (And I forget where this was documented.

 

Now you tell me.

[Sam Ashen]

Just now, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Now you tell me.

 

 

What did you do?  Play honestly?

 

In the old days, I just made sure I saved before entering that tent because I knew what to expect and most of the time the battle went just fine.  Sometimes it could go really bad.

 

Now.  If you are playing a Cavalier then you just cast Resist Fear and you do not have to worry about any of this!  Besides, your Cavalier is immune.  But no missile weapon cheese.  Except axes.

[Sam Ashen]

Guess what I did for exercise today?

 

Nothing!

 

Score for Today:

3225 Calories

404 Carbs

106 Fat

180 Protein

 

+7.5 Overall

 

A couple of Pop Tarts fit in there perfectly!  #iifym

[RedStone]

12 minutes ago, Sam Ashen said:

A couple of Pop Tarts fit in there perfectly!  #iifym

 

Airship a few my way? It would probably be easier than me putting on pants and getting some for myself. Kthx <3

[Sam Ashen]

49 minutes ago, ~RedStone~ said:

 

Airship a few my way? It would probably be easier than me putting on pants and getting some for myself. Kthx <3

 

Root beer flavored?

---------------------

 

So much BG action I have to split Day 11 into two sessions!

 

Day 11 starts early at the Nashkel Fair.  The first show we caught was The Great Gazib and Oopah the Amazing Exploding Ogre.



 

Well.  This time, Oopah was tired of it and we had to put him down.

 

We found a Mystery Merchant selling potions.



 

These potions are interesting.

 

The Red Potion sets Intelligence to 25, but Wisdom and Strength to 3.  So I save that one for when I have a character that needs a bunch of spells written in the book.  Or couple it with a Potion of Insight and get a bunch of items identified.

 

The Violet Potion sets Strength to 25, but Dexterity and Constitution to 3.  Couple it with a Potion of Agility and a Potion of Fortitude and buff up.  Save it for a very special occasion.  I am thinking about letting Imoen have it at the very end of the game.  A backstab with 25 Strength just sounds like so much fun!

 

So I always buy these potions.  50 to buy them.  Another 90 to identify them.  Of course, I might have done well to just wait until I finally have the Identify Spell and save a ton of money.  Oh, well.  The money will be piling high before we know it.

 

One way to save money is to not pay this guy.



 

Branwen will just have to wait a little bit longer.

 

Here we stepped into a tent just in time to save somebody from Zordral's wrath.



 

I already discussed the cheesy way to win this fight.

 

This one, everybody got weapons ready and stuck him before he could get Mirror Image off.  That helps.  Just in case, Dynaheir fired off one Magic Missile Spell, and another one in case he gets his Horror Spell off.  The fight did not last long.  Zordral got pincushioned.  The witch rewarded us with a Potion of Heroism.

 

Kobolds were hiding north of the Fair.  And one Ogre Berserker.  This one it was possible to kite and one level higher, we were hitting just a little more often.

 

Magic items got identified and a lot of gold was spent.  Khalid has a Longsword +1 and Minsc has a Flail +1.  There is also a Quarterstaff +1 floating around somewhere, but we will eventually sell it off.  We are almost ready to go hunting for the best magic weapons for our party.

 

There was also a Tome that Sammy badly needed to study.



 

Yup.  Basic Manners for Trolls.

 

[RedStone]

50 minutes ago, Sam Ashen said:

 

Root beer flavored?

 

 

Cereal and cookie aisles kind of freak me out these days... they have the craziest Fn flavors! Where were they when I was 6? I admit I kind of want to try watermelon oreos. There is so much wrong right in that...

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

2 hours ago, Sam Ashen said:

Dynaheir fired off one Magic Missile Spell, and another one in case he gets his Horror Spell off

There are other, sometimes more destructive spells, but I always come back to my old favorite, magic missile. In BG2 there's a couple of scrolls where you can load other spells onto it, and get 3 spells in one action, I think the second is 2 spells in one. This was when I was watching friends play cause I didn't have a computer. I always dreamed of loading those with magic missile then casting time stop so I could read both scrolls and fire off a 3rd magic missle just for fun. If the mage is high enough to have 5 missiles per spell, that would be a total of 6 spells, so 30 missiles. At 1d4+1 you'd have a minimum of 60 damage, and as high as 150, all in one turn. That's enough to even give a dragon some heartburn.