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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Silus' LiveJournal:
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| Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 | | 10:46 am |
WoW
So, I've been tempted to get back into WoW, even with all my characters deleted. I can't do much in the way of tabletop gaming right now, maybe once a month, and I don't have many books to read so my other leisure activities don't take much time. Still... level 1 again??? bleh.. Current Mood:  sleepy | | Monday, February 5th, 2007 | | 5:20 pm |
| | Monday, January 29th, 2007 | | 4:51 pm |
Nintendo DS, Tabletop gaming
So I've had a Nintendo DS for a couple of months now, and it is turning out to be a very nice purchase. With the games only costing $35 at most, and most games only costing $25-$30, I'm not shelling out $60 for a new game, only to have it turn out to be mediocre. The batteries last at least 12 hours before needing recharging (played 12 hours over the course of 4 days without having the charger on hand). All in all, I'm a fan of it. I had been a Nintendo fan growing up (not a fanboy, but a fan nonetheless), but they lost me with the mediocre N64. The game prices were going up, and the quality just wasn't entirely there but for a few notable exceptions. I don't know about the Wii, but I'll stick with the DS for a while. Also, as of last Saturday, I've finished the campaign I was running. Tyson, our general slacker and music fascist, will be running the next game. It's kind of odd not to be thinking about things for the next session during the week, wondering how the different characters the players play will react to the scenarios I lay out. It will be good to play some, but for once I'm not burned out by DMing. I'm actually beginning planning on my next campaign already. It will be again set in the Aeraria world I developed a couple of years back (and it is a setting Orion2112 probably knows pretty well!). On that note, I was thinking of using his character from the last time I ran that setting as a NPC; he'd work very well for the plot I have started. What I have been doing so far is working out the various cultures in more detail than I previously had. Not only, for example, what the gods are, but what virtues are most closely associated with them, what holy days they have, and what rituals are required on said days. Or what kind of music is favored, how common it is and what instruments are favored. I think it's fun stuff, but then again, I'm fascinated by the structure and sound of a dead language. ^_^ Perhaps I finally have become more of a DM at heart, and no longer a player for these games; it's only been 2 1/2 days and I can't wait to get back in the saddle. Current Mood: NuetralCurrent Music: Megadeath - Countdown to Extinction | | Friday, January 12th, 2007 | | 3:24 pm |
| | Thursday, November 9th, 2006 | | 5:29 pm |
So, last Saturday the weekly gaming session I run went bad. Not many of the players seemed interested, but I know some of the reason for that. One of the players kept playing on their laptop during the first half of the session, one was just distracted (sometimes this has been me, so I have to be lenient. ^_^), and one was just suffering from Shitty Rolling Syndrome. I'm hoping things go better this upcoming week. I'll actually be getting out of the newbie starting adventures and into the meat & potatoes of the plot. That should keep interest up a little more, since there will be, you know, exciting things happening. It will also help if the players average roll (between 3 and 30) is higher than say, 13. That'd be nice. I've already got a bunch of stuff ready for the session, so I don't have to wing it, and I'm thinking this should help, as well. We'll see if this is a symptom of a larger loss of interest as a whole, or just a one or two week flop. | | Friday, October 13th, 2006 | | 3:53 pm |
Hmm
So, the acoustics of the place I work at are really odd. There was a group meeting in the Chart room today, and they were complaining about my music. Now, I did not have my music very loud even, and I'm at the pizza station, which is over 60 feet away from the Chart room. That said, I've heard my music playing clearly while in there, eating dinner on other occasions, when it also wasn't all that loud. When you're at the Grille, a mere 15 feet away from pizza, you cannot hear it at all, and you can barely hear it another 15 feet at the classics station. But when you move another 10 feet in that same direction, it suddenly becomes clear. So, short story shorter, I turned it down. ^^ And that was probably the worst thing that happened today, so it was a pretty good day. Even with me not getting pizza sauce or cheese until 45 minutes before we opened, I still got all my shit done early. ....... ..... I really wanna play World of Warcraft tonight, but I'm also pretty sure I *should* work on some stuff for my campaign tomrrow, so I don't have to wing it. Hmm.. only level 42 with my warrior, better give him some lovin'. Current Mood:  mellowCurrent Music: Counting Crows - Anna Begins | | Monday, August 21st, 2006 | | 5:40 am |
Gah!
So I'm awake early again. (Every night that I have work the following morning I wake between 2 and 3 AM) This time, instead of fruitlessly lying in bed, I've gotten up and going. So, since about 4 AM here, I've been emailing people, exercizing and generally being productive. And tired. Very tired. Can't fall back asleep, though... odd. Current Mood: tired | | Friday, August 18th, 2006 | | 9:16 am |
News!
There is a new test which would allow people to test their blood sugar level with tears. This would mean less poking holes for diabetics. Pretty sweet stuff! | | Friday, March 17th, 2006 | | 6:18 pm |
Campaigns
It looks like (well it *is*) I won't be running a campaign this next quarter. The only viable start time for everyone is Wedensday evening and I wouldn't get home from work until 5:30... that and I'm getting run down mentally from running every week. I can't ever just relax and have fun (I can try, but it doesn't really work while GMing). So this last wednesday I tried to cram as much plot as I could into the session. I managed to finish out Act II (of III). While there's still a third act, it isn't necessary for most people. Act II finishes most of the world event type plot stuff. Things. I figure I'll finish Act III with a few one offs (maybe with Feddis..?). That's all for now. ^_^ | | Friday, February 3rd, 2006 | | 5:07 pm |
| | Thursday, February 2nd, 2006 | | 7:18 pm |
| | Thursday, November 17th, 2005 | | 2:46 pm |
Aeraria Campaign Setting
So, as some of you may know, I run a roleplaying game. In this game, I use my own world setting, entitled 'Aeraria'. I have decided to occasionally add background information through my livejournal account. Such posts will be labeled as 'Aeraria Update', with whatever topic I'm updating on tacked onto the end. And so, without further ado, I bring you 'Aeraria Update - The Spirit Realms & Magic' Long before the old empire of Aer was even formed, magic was much less codified, more chaotic and generally harder to use. There were no great schools of magic and anyone who wanted to learn it had to find a more experienced mage to teach them. In these days there were several great mages, one of whom was known as 'Sciotus'. His true name is unknown, and is likely lost to the mists of time, but his nickname earned by his works remains. He was the mage who wrote the "Book of Six Worlds," which is now used as the basis of all the major schools of magic, save Celestial magic. The five spirit realms through which magic is brought to the physical world (as outlined in the Book of Sixe Worlds) are as follows: Form, Awareness, Memory, Hate and Peace. Form This realm includes the physical parts of the world; mountains, rivers, plains and trees. Throughout this realm, the size of objects is exaggerated. A place where a river cuts through a mountain in the real world will look grander in the Realm of Form. The river will cut deeper, the mountain will be taller and the water's current will run faster. The only naturally occurring spirits present here are great elemental spirits. Beings made purely out of stone, fire, water and wind. The only human made structure that are ever present are large stone buildings that have stood for many, many years. Awareness This is the realm of animal spirits. No artifically created structures appear here. In this place, there are many animal spirits. The typical woodland area is teeming with spirit animals. They are also more colorful and vibrant than in real life. Furthermore, the animals in this place are sentient, possessing some degree of intelligence and self-determination. The various animals each have an animal lord of their type which they obey without question. Memory The Realm of the Dead. This is where the most human spirits appear. The land here is gray and dull. There are many human-made structures here, especially those that were famous or important. It is important to note that only those structures that were important to the spirits here while they were alive appear here. A tower might have had great strategic importance, but it is far more likely that a towns local shrine would appear in the realm of Memory. Hate This is the province of demons, and all spirits of malice. This land looks very much like the physical world, except that everything is tinted a slight shade of red, and, at sunset, the very sun seems to bleed as red colors cloak the sky and ground. This being the realm of Hate, there is much violence present here. In fact, every being appearing here has a desire, a *need* to kill, maim and destroy as much as possible. All spirits are representatives of some kind of creature found on the physical world, but they are misshapen and often have extra fangs and claws. Peace The final realm is the place where spirits may find their final resting place. It is nearly devoid of violence of any kind. In this place, the sun shines all the time, and there is a feeling of calm and happiness that suffuses everything. Most beings here are lost in meditation as they bask in the feeling of pure Peace. | | Monday, August 29th, 2005 | | 4:01 pm |
Recent Events and Such
My brother graduated from college a week and a half ago. My mother, my grandparents and I watched him walk. I thought the ceremony was kind of boring, to be honest. Trevor also said later that he was only going through with it because there were people who wanted to see him walk. Otherwise, he would have gotten his diploma from their office later. We went to lunch at a chinese resturant later. I also participated in the Magic tournament at Cosmic Comics & Arcade last Friday night. I did alright, won some, lost some. I was playing a red and green splice/spirit deck. too often I would not draw the cards I needed, such as I would have a single lava spike, a five mana green creature and not much else to play in a given starting hand. I have since removed the red entirely and am left with a green spirit deck. Very little arcane in it, but as many cheap spirits as I can round up and still do OK with. I also have a Type II red and blue Mirrodin based deck. focused around control through artifacts, countering and burn/destruction. I have just enough creatures to do some damage. I want to modify it by picking up more mana leaks and removing some counters like Remove Soul. We'll see how it goes... Current Mood:  okayCurrent Music: Yasunori Mitsuda - To Far Away Times | | Saturday, July 23rd, 2005 | | 10:33 pm |
End of Day round-up
Completed both tables. Each has a serious problem with it, but they will work for their given purpose: hold stuff up. One table's legs push inwards because the two boards that make up the top didn't have flat sides (I have no joiner to make them flat... might be able to saw them, but it'll work well enough). The other had support beams running along between all the table legs (not thru the diagonals, tho). This attempt turned out to be a near utter disaster, as I couldn't drill a straight hole to save my life. This ended up with the support beams looking like a train wreck. Or perhaps a car hit by a train. The legs and table top turned out OK, though, and you don't see much of the support beams. For my system, I figured out the taxation system, and how it applies to Adventurers. Also, the rights/privileges of various groups. Next project should be making the main plot into something the players can interact with. Heh. Did some work around the house, painted the walls/cieling of my old room (we had this really cool paint roller, which could hold paint in the handle, and you'd squeeze a trigger to let some paint flow out to the roller part). Helped take apart my mom's waterbed (we drained nearly everything out of it, and it wasn't too bad), and bed casing. Then moved a futon into her room (damn thing almost didn't fit through the doorway). All said, got a bit done today. It still wasn't as bad as moving out of the T.P., but it still left me pretty tired. Current Mood:  drainedCurrent Music: Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness | | 10:26 am |
Down South in CR
Back in CR... again. This town has some sort of aura where it doesn't like to let people go. Not like Bellingham, though. This place is more like a ball and chain, while B'ham is more like a group of people saying 'hey, I'll give you a cookie if you stay.' (and, similar to Brett, I will do many things for a cookie). I was in for a big surprise when I got down here; the gas prices down here were even worse than they were in B'ham. I'll have to check Chuck's Grocery (general store and gas), to see their prices, but the Shell (was Texaco) by the freeway entrance had shitty prices. I really wish I had my computer now. Although I've read three books so far, which is a good thing, I suppose. The Thousand Orcs by Salvatore (it was OK), Forge of Heaven by C.J. Cherryh (which was really good), and The Towers of Sunset by L.E. Modessit (it, too was OK, though I liked his later books in that same series much better). I've done a little work on my system (tentatively named 'Terdecem'), fleshing out the basic Daemon stats and looks, I redid the (Static) magic chain, and now the static magic types either grant new types of attacks which can be used ad will, or spells used 3 times a day. No static magic improves with practice, hence it being static. On the other hand, it will always do the same thing, so it can be more reliable than spellcasting magicks. Some static abilities grant specials which are constantly active, like Iron Fists and Iron Skin for the Monk. Plans: work on the overall plotline, get it focused into a couple of adventures at least. Decide on a taxation system, and what laws are more important in given areas. Expand the Daemons section of the Monsters Guide. Create some more 'bandit' type guys so there are a range of them to draw upon, rather than standard (bandit), there can be Bandit (a), bandit (b), etc. I've been working a little on the table. Every time I've been screwing the 'support' beams on, they split. I've decided to simply glue them and not worry about screwing the supporting dealies in place. The tops of the table (it's two pieces of wood) will be screwed onto the legs (and glued), so just having glue on the supports will probably be enough. Wood glue is strong stuff once it dries. Speaking of the table, I'd better get to putting another thing onto it. Bene valete omnes Current Mood:  energeticCurrent Music: Iced Earth - Days of Purgatory (album) | | Friday, June 10th, 2005 | | 4:14 pm |
Magic Game V, Round IV
I take the 4 damage, putting me to 14. Untap: Goblin Striker, Mountains Upkeep: none Draw: 1 card Main Phase: I do nothing. Discard: none End In Play: 2 Mountains (Untapped) Goblin Striker (3/3, First Strike, Untapped) | | 2:41 pm |
Magic Game V, Round III
Righto, I won't see you (online anyways) til late Sunday or early Monday then. Have a fun trip! I take the 2 damage, putting me down to 18. Untap: Mountains Upkeep: none Draw: 1 card Main Phase: I tap my 2 mountains to cast Giant Strength on my Goblin Striker. (Enchant Creature, Enchanted Creature gets +2/+2)  The Goblin Striker is now 3/3 First Strike Haste I attack with him. Discard: none End In Play: Gob Striker (tapped, attacking) 2 Mountains (tapped) Cards:6 | | 7:24 am |
Magic Game V, Round II
Untap: none Upkeep: none Draw: 1 card Main Phase: I play a second Mountain. I tap both mountains to summon Goblin Striker (1/1, First Strike, Haste)  Discard Phase: none End In Play: Gob Striker (untapped) 2 Mountains (tapped) Cards: 6 | | Thursday, June 9th, 2005 | | 4:55 pm |
Magic Game V
First off- Mulligan. I reshuffle. (you have the option of doing the same) Untap: none Upkeep: none Draw: 1 card Main Phase: I play a Mountain. Discard: none End <img src="http://findmagiccards.com/GF/USC/MTGC/MI/MOUTAIN1.jpeg> | | Wednesday, June 8th, 2005 | | 10:38 pm |
On computer 'RPG's - Hack and Slash
I have played several online (or offering significant online play) games over the years, starting with UO around 98, then Diablo II (vers. 1.04 - 1.10), World of Warcraft just this last year, and Guild Wars as of a couple of weeks ago. I find that I now run into the same problem with all of these games: I just dont' want to sit there and spend hour after hour getting experience solely for levelling up. There needs to be some other reward to entice me into playing the game. In Ultima Online, due to it's free-form play, I often want to go bashing some particular kind of critter, see if I can buy some nice armor or maybe advance in a Virtue. For Diablo II, I want to see what sort of cool character builds I can come up with, and see how long they are feasible. I also liked beating Hell mode with two characters (pre 1.10). That was a challenge that drove me on for a while. With World of Warcraft and Guild Wars, I only level so that I can explore more of the world and overall plotline. World of Warcraft had a much more expansive world, with so many more areas to check out. It's regions had a better ambience to them overall... but Guild wars, with it's Plotline (!) keeps up to par with WoW in keeping my interest. Though I was interested in WoW longer than I think I will be with GW, WoW was such a time sink that I couldn't afford to keep playing. Anyways, moving on in this monologue. Each of these games had something that encouraged me to continue playing beyond the joy of seeing the 'Level Up' button appear (though UO did not have levels, you gained in skills, good enough). Yet, in the end, it all comes back to levelling up. The bane of all these games. The curse of the standard Action/RPG/Hackfest game. And yet.... it is so essential to these games. It is an integral part of their character. Kill stuff til you level up, go to a new area, repeat. While I can, and do partake in this activity from time to time, it is the other things in the game that keep me coming back. The discovery (or re-discovery) that there is something more to do than simply hack, get exp, repeat. One of my earlier memories of this was in UO, I created a character who was a fisherman. He had Fishing, Cooking and I think Begging as skills. Not too much. All you had to do to raise your fishing was fish, so he didn't have to kill stuff. I wandered around, talking to other players for quite some while. It is possible in some games to escape from the combat entirely. I have been hoping that more games would embrace this concept, while still offering combat. I haven't heard of any others which pull this off well. World of Warcraft offered a system where you could gain in crafting skills, but you still had to be able to kill stuff of a certain level in order to obtain the resources to level up your crafts. A very rich player could simply buy the materials in a capital, but in order to get money they would had to have gone killing at some point. Guild wars has no such option. Diablo II... just... no. Not that kind of game. In short, I'd like to see more MMORPGs and other similar games offer alternatives to hack n' slash adventure. Maybe some pure crafters, maybe some other skills. Perhaps a game where combat is truly an option most of the time. Random monsters in the wilderness won't necessarily attack you on sight. If you run, you can probably get away from that random large animal. Give several options for avoiding combat. If your stealth is good, you might not even be seen. If you can track, you can stay away from where the bigger critters are. If you have magic, maybe some short range teleportation or minor haste spells. If you're an actual warrior, maybe you can just hide behind a big shield and try a run for it. Current Mood: tired |
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silusoftwilight's journal
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