Current events
This page is for discussion of stuff related to the game coming up this week, no matter when that actually is. For instance, we can all assume Nate isnt coming for some lame reason and that Ed is sick of pizza and is bringing teriyaki or some other crap. They can post something here if that happens to be untrue.
Contents
Schedule
Date...........game................Location..........(Advanced attendance)
3/21/08......magic/other..........BnD............... ben gone, Brandon gone, Dieter gone, matt gone
3/28/08......WFRP............BnD............... Gabe gone
4/04/08......WFRP............BnD...............
4/11/08......WFRP............BnD............... MATT IS STUPID
4/18/08......W-Wolf..........BnD............... Matt is STILL STUPID
4/25/08......W-Wolf..........BnD............... Matt maybe stupid, Brandon gone
5/02/08......W-Wolf..........BnD...............
5/09/08......WFRP............BnD............... Ben gone
5/16/08......WFRP............BnD...............
5/23/08......WFRP............BnD...............
5/30/08......W-Wolf..........BnD...............
6/06/08......W-Wolf..........BnD...............
6/13/08......W-Wolf..........BnD...............
6/20/08......WFRP............BnD...............
6/27/08......WFRP............BnD...............
Attendance and Food Preference
4/25/08
Gabe: Present~! But no pizza for me. Also I'm glad to say that I will be much better prepared this time. A lot of work has (should) be done before an assult on the fortress is undertaken. Also where do the characters go first, Tellos Industries or the wharehouse? Sorry about being ill prepared last week, hope to make up for it this time. (With only one pre-planned combat this time!)
--Edmiao 18:14, 23 April 2008 (MST)present, no pizza. hopefully be there at 6 for magic, i want to try out my implemntation of gabe's land fuck thank you very much anoying as shit deck.
--Dieter the Bold 14:18, 24 April 2008 (MST) Present, pizza please. I'll be at work 'til about 5pm and will head home as soon as I can.
Ranting and raving or other random comments
GABE: I'd like to say my apologies in advance... No I'm not canceling! Last night I thought it was only 11, well my computer is lame and it was actually 12, long story short I ended up going to bed at like 1:40 so I have only gotten five hours of sleep. So I may be kinda outta of it, and most likely I'm going to try and avoid combat. Please excuse my slowness... more then usual...
JASON: I will be creating a Deadlands GM Page soon, and I would greatly appreciate input on that page or its discussion page from anyone who is not part of the campaign. I would love to hear ideas or possible issues with my ideas. I need discussion for things to work, and I am requesting it from you jokers (hombres, pardners, gringos etc).
Other RPG or Non-RPG gaming Events
Ed: Ben, cheryl claims that you have taken the mantle of uber board gamer as you won puerto rico and carcassone (and since cosmic doesn't count towards the mantle, so she says). i think it's a clever ruse.
BEN: everyone knows that board gaming champion status is determined only by Settlers of Catan: everything else is fanciful frivolity. Since my record there is like 0-50, I can't possibly be the uber board gamer. As you say, she's just taken her psych out tactics to the pre-pre-pre-game.
JASON: Give me a break. Catan is a puss game, especially compared to the likes of Puerto Rico. If you win that and Carcassone, I say you are the uber board gamer. Lets not also forget that you won Caylus too last time.
--Edmiao 08:03, 21 April 2008 (MST)verily, thine prowess in this matter can no longer be protested, as the triumverant has been attained.
--Jason 22:44, 23 April 2008 (MST)Iron Man, next Thursday, Midnite. Which of you knuckleheads are with me? http://www.cinerama.com/coming_soon.asp SPEAK NOW SUCKAFACES
GABE: Uh... I can't really do those midnight on work day things...
--Edmiao 08:33, 24 April 2008 (MST) nor I. but I'm up for seeing it satruday or sunday. so you think it's going to really really suck? from the number of commercials they are running, i suspect so.
GABE: It is a movie with awesome affects and power armor. Shut yer mouth fool! Plus, its gotta be better then Cloverfield... Golden Compass... Transformers... I mean besides Hulk, Xmen 3, and to an extant, Spiderman 3, most of the marvel movies have been pretty good. I'm down for Saturday.
--Edmiao 08:42, 24 April 2008 (MST) your right, most of the comic movies have been good, besides those listed above as well as fantastic 4, FF silver surfer, blade 2, blade 3, electra, daredevil....
JASON: Ok dudes, Gabe is so wrong, all of those were good. X3 was possibly the best of the X franchise. I liked both of the FF and Daredevil too. Those others blew goats, and throw in Catwoman (I know its DC, but its SO bad) and Blade.
--Edmiao 11:07, 24 April 2008 (MST) you liked FF?
JASON: Yes, it was a lot like Xmen, a bit of a sequel primer but overall it was true to the comic and the genre. FF is kind of a dumb comic, thats what over powered characters are as a story: relatively boring. Of all those Spiderman 3 was the least good. Having Venom and Sandman both was overkill, and made them both seem weak and ineffectual, especially Venom. Had they left off that storyline and focused entirely on Sandman, then brought Venom back in his own full vs Spidey movie, that would have ruled.
--Edmiao 11:27, 24 April 2008 (MST) totally agree on the spiderman 3 comment. and, FF as a dumb comic made a dumb movie. they tried to be tounge in cheek, but ended up with only cheek. FF was on par with the Hulk, fun but stupid. The X franchise were great movies in my opinion.
JASON: Top 5 Superhero Movies:
1. Batman Begins
2. X2
3. X3
4. Batman
5. Spiderman
Ed: hmm. i liked X1 and would add superman returns to the list.
JASON: Those movies were both good, but not top 5. Superman Returns was especially good because it was so much about who he is, not what he can do. There are a lot of good superhero movies nowadays.
--Edmiao 13:32, 24 April 2008 (MST)yes, there are, isn't that great? I wonder why that is, think it's just that CGI has made them possible or is it a reflection of some aspect of society that wants heros in a terrorism scared country. I was going to say that old superhero movies sucked, but if you watch superman 1 and 2 and kind of place it in context for when it was made it's pretty good. i liked it when it came out. and the original batman with keaton was good (on your list), that was like in the late 80s, I think. certainly superhero movies are more common now, i can't think of others in the 80s besides superman and batman......
JASON: Dude, you nailed it. The CGI lets them do things without them being hokey, but they are successful because of the political clime that we live in. Superman 1 and Batman were so ahead of their time. Superman 2 was good for what it was, and somehow 3, though terrible, has a special place too. The effects were pretty much non-existent, but Christopher Reeve was an icon who defined a super-character better than anyone with the possible exception of Patrick Stewart.
--Edmiao 13:54, 24 April 2008 (MST) he really did, didn't he. the new actor playing superman really feels like Christopher Reeve but younger. It wasn't like he made the character over, he kind of embraced Reeve's superman and maybe gave him a little bit of a melancholy twist. He did a great job at it, but it was still Reeve's superman in my head somehow.
--Dieter the Bold 14:20, 24 April 2008 (MST) Sign Dieter the Bold up for such an endeavor. I am optimistic for this movie. I would also appreciate a ride home afterwards.
JASON: Iron Man recap: Dieter is in for a Thursday, midnite showing. Ed or Gabe would be interested in a Saturday showing instead. I could do either. Maybe we have board gaming/bbq on Saturday and then head to Iron Man afterwards? Could we get a better quorum for that?
GABE: Okay okay, X 3 wasn't that bad... infact I'd say it was better then Spiderman 3... Which I found over-all predictable and like Jason said, putting both baddies in the movie made both of them seem weak. Rise of the SS looked pretty bad and like others said FF is just a kinda lame comic... The Thing really makes that team interesting.
You know, I've never seen Batman Begins... Is that heresey?
Hey, I liked the first Blade! I never saw Daredevil but I'm sure it can't be as bad as The Hulk. That movie was awful. Course I didn't see all of it. Oh wait.. aren't we forgetting Ghost Rider? I didn't see it but my brother often repeats it is one of the worst movies he has ever seen, anyone else seen it?
Yeah, let us do it Saturday.
Weekly Magic Whining/Complaining/Smack Talking
--Matts 10:12, 21 April 2008 (MST)In what is hopefully the only time I ever buy magic card singles, I have made an attempt to fill out the Sky Swallower deck. It still sucks, but dammit, I'll win a few games with it, and WHAT THEN? WHAT THEN? WHAT!
BEN: I'm quite close to buying a box of shadowmoor, but I'm gonna have to think on it a bit longer...will probably depend on my mood in the next two weeks. I looked through the new cards again and overall I like them quite a bit.
GABE: Man, you really like that Sky Swallower... I think we need to get rid of that card as you have an unhealthy addiction to it. I think I'm pretty good on magic cards for awhile kekeke.
Ed: so what did you get? 3 more SkyS, and 4 of the exploding artifacts? we have a lot of lands that are: comes into play tapped; T: blue mana; T sacrifice: 2 blue mana, which would work well.
--Matts 15:46, 21 April 2008 (MST)Honestly those would work great in architecting a potential turn-3 sky swallower, which I have to say would be freaking awesome. That's revision number 1. The other thing that I need to put in there is Spawnbroker, which I think we have 1 of.
I also bought 3 morningtide boosters and some more spiketail hatchlings.
GABE: Question. Does a rat samurai count as a rat for purposes of cards that say stuff like "Power is equal to number of rats in play."? Cause I'm reading it like rat is the race, samurai is the class. I dunno, whaddya think? (And no Ed, I never had a rat deck... you crazy.)
--Edmiao 08:39, 23 April 2008 (MST) two things, there is the title of the card, and then the creature type. A creature titled "Rat catcher" with creature type "Soldier" is not a rat. a creature "Shit eater" with creature type "rat samuri" is both a rat and a samuri, and technically is also your mom.
GABE: Dude, my mom is a rat samurai? That is awesome. And ah okay, so then it is a rat! Sweet, I'll have my rat deck ready for this Friday then. I'll be there at 6! I'm also going to remake my difficult choices deck(I had it first bitch, but your deck is a bigger bitch... way bigger... so annoying..., it might make a good emperor deck), I've got a few cards that are fun.
--Matts 11:32, 23 April 2008 (MST)I got some interesting treefolk in the morningtide boosters, as well as a badass knight, so maybe I'll make a treefolk deck, though honestly, the whole tribal theme is a little irritating.
GABE: I found out the other day I have a spiffy green enchantment, target land becomes a 6/7 treefolk, it is still a land. For only 2 green and 2 cl. I don't really like the whole tribal theme either... Anyway, prepare for rats, lots of rats. I also may remake my red/white deck into a red/white army deck.
GABE: I don't think my tough choices deck is very good... how many cards is yours Ed? Mine is like 80 and having mana problems but it is so hard to cut the fat out so to speak!
JASON: Dude, you gotta get that deck down to 60, no more than 62. Having that many cards in your deck greatly decreases the chance of seeing the cards you have, which makes the deck design immaterial. If cards have a similar effect, but attack different things (eg: color hosers), instead of putting in 4 of each, include 4 total, or one of each, even even just one of them (sideboard the rest). Trim out nice to haves like Zuran Orb (which generally should be in every deck). Be sure you dont devote too much of the deck to an effect you cant guarantee will happen. Remember what makes magic a great game is deck construction, and deck construction is the art of stacking the odds in your favor. Start with 60 cards, 24 of which generate mana, then divide up the rest into offense and defense. Look at where you are overloaded and trim there.
GABE: Yeah it is a fatty deck, I usually run my decks fatty at first then cut out what proved to not be as useful. Eh, this deck really isn't made to win, just fun to play. I actually don't even have very many attack cards in it, its mostly just a "Hahaha, look what I did to your land! Oh crap you attacked me..." deck.
My rat deck however is exactly 60 cards. Mwuhahaha, rats! SAMURAI RATS.
--Edmiao 16:31, 24 April 2008 (MST) i kind of like making an 80 card deck, play it for a bit, see what works then trim it down to 60. then there's the "this card is fun" deck, which is 80 because there is no theme, just fun cards. of course that deck sucks so so bad.
JASON: The problem with 80 cards is its so many that it isnt accurate at all at assessing what really works. Those two decks (80 and 60) are not analogous. Since you guys play a lot of teams and other multiplayer, that ruins the dynamic. In teams etc decks are highly skewed towards slower decks with a big beefy consequence, which is very cumbersome and difficult to do in duel. In multi, slow decks dont get picked on (because they are doing nothing), where in duel they get slammed before they even get their fly open. Its usually better to do your trimming with about 60-64 cards and sub in the ones you arent sure about, then do a final trim. I used to have a 100 card deck aimed at getting Gabriel Angelfire out. It was stupid as hell, but somehow I liked it and played it. He isnt even that cool.
--Edmiao 18:23, 24 April 2008 (MST) you assume we are as good as you are. you see, i make a deck, can't figure out what needs to be there and what not, there are so many cards i want to have, so i make a big deck. i play it some and find out, wow i need the drover and the token maker, but also am land short. and those big creatures are hard to get out ever, and that artifact that makes tokens really is kind of expensive every turn. so i trim it up, add in some acceleration, take out the cards that didn't work. trial and error.
--Jason 19:19, 24 April 2008 (MST)I think you guys are probably better magic players than I. What I aim to do here is offer what helped me make better decks. Being patient and thinking through a few turns of a really complex strategy is often too much for my over-clouded psyche (damned ADD). I had this deck I used to call 'Altar of Sacrifice' (check out the lack of creativity there!) that I insisted on keeping 66 cards in because it was a good number for the theme, but really, when I cut those cards out (down to 61), it was a completely different deck. Combos happened a lot more, and it played a lot better. What my prior post was really trying to say is, when you test a deck with 80 cards, its not related to the 60 card deck you end up with: youre just playing magic with some of the same cards. The probabilities and play strategy are completely different from 60 to 80 cards. Have you ever played 40 card decks? The rules of magic actually state that 40 cards is all you need, and there is no limit on how many of what. We commonly play with tournament rules (which are often better). Think about that for a while. Whats the best possible 40 card deck? How about 25 lightning bolts and 15 mountains? No one turn wins, but it can pretty much beat anything most of the time. How can that be used to make a 60 card deck? It cant. They arent related. Excuse me, sir, would you like your soapbox back? I think Im done.
On an unrelated note, have you guys ever considered magic themes? In the last magic group I used to play with we had a theme every week, and everyone went home and made a deck for that theme and brought it back the next week. It made deck construction fun and fluid. Plus, who could dislike the 'no more than one of any card, 5 color, equal number of all standard land type' deck?
--Gdaze 20:43, 24 April 2008 (MST) Funny you should mention that last deck, ED made a deck somewhat like that. I think that'd be a neat idea. The one problem is with the big pool of cards if someone did like wizard theme one dude would take all the best cards! Although I think you could make it work. I mean I could make some and bring for people to play as well. Yeah, I realized with 80 cards just today I was like man... this deck is just a bunch of cards... it doesn't combo at all. I brought an almost 75 card deck down to 60.
The Next Step in WHFRP Reboot
The Next Step in Werewolf
PLANS: So just what are some steps people are thinking of taking? If you could give me a rough idea it'd be most helpful.
The gayass story-teller: What a gay name. Anyway, all looks good, I'm gonna guess that we won't make it to the big show down with the fort this week, but I could be wrong... or the character could just rush it head on. Anyway all interesting ideas, it really helps me to see what plans people are going to take. Also there are a few things the characters will learn on Friday. Some hints.
Ed: I see we have two options if we choose to attack. hit the corporate office or hit the hellbeast guarded factory. When we parted, Wakhan was favoring russling up the troops, feinting attack on corporate and then making a real attack on the factory. First, attacking the factory in the real world with a truck borne fertilizer bomb, this to draw the baddies into the real world. then once they shift, hit the factory in the netherworld with the main force. thoughts?
--Matts 22:30, 22 April 2008 (MST)I wanted to get a good idea of what the sewer system around there looked like. I want to use my contacts in the bum community to find someone who knows the area and might have any tips in exchange for whatever, ie roughing up people who are giving him a hard time, cooking him an honest meal, etc.
As far as overall strategy, I think that the truck-bomb is a good idea, but especially that the two-pronged umbral assault is a good idea. I'm gonna ask any bums in the area about what sorts of trucks go through there, what their general look is, and where they're coming from. The waste they're generating these beasts from has to come from somewhere. Maybe we could hijack a real waste-truck, fill it with explosives, and do the deed that way? Like, drive the truck in, hop into the umbra, someone else remotely detonates?
Diverting forces to other targets may be worthwhile, but I'm not convinced that there really are extra resources allocated to this base or that our enemy really considers us a threat.
--Dieter the Bold 11:57, 23 April 2008 (MST) Back when I was considering a crazier version of Frank, Gabe reminded me that this is post-9/11, so large "terrorist" acts might not go over so well. As much as Frank is all about blowing up some BSDs, if we start truck-bombing buildings, all Pentax has to do is nudge the authorities just so and they could put some serious heat down on us. Now blowing up the building so it was in fact a leaky gas line or something? Golden.
--Brandon 13:56, 23 April 2008 (MST) There could be a *crazier* version of Frank? Heaven forbid!
I'm not going to be here this week, but (so?) here are my thoughts on the matter:
(1) We should attack the warehouse/factory ASAP. I'm afraid they will beef up defenses too much or move the factory if we give them the time to do so. I guess I think that our enemy sees us as more of a threat than Matt thinks.
(2) I agree with Wakhan that more reinforcements = better, though I also agree with Dio that we need a creative plan rather than an all-out straightforward attack.
(3) Christopher is going to attempt to figure out how to most effectively utilize his new rite. One possibility might be enacting the rite somewhere away from the warehouse, and then escorting the Chinook spirit (through the Umbra, perhaps with Redemeer's help) to the site to ensure it isn't taken out by defender spirits. This plan could easily be integrated with a number of the other plans, and would be a good redundant destruction plan. That is, if explosives don't work (or the plan is thwarted), maybe the rite will. Indeed, I like best the plan where we feint with a huge force (explosives or otherwise - I'm sensitive to Dieter's worries), pull as many guards as we can from the Umbra into the real world, and then move in in the Umbra (with the Chinook spirit Rite as our Umbral version of the explosion threat).
(4) Lastly, I think that the move on Talos (sp?) Industries could be done in a more clandestine manner, especially since all we want is the laptop. To the best of our knowledge, they don't know that anyone has any idea that the laptop is there, or that it is important. And, since the Umbral approach looks difficult there, I think a spy-like real world approach is most promising. One thought is to approach them as prospective business partners to get inside. With Dio's computer skills and Christopher/Wakhan's ability with Enigmas, we could probably convince them that we have some killer code-encryption or something. Also, Christopher's people skills (Befriend, Empathy) mixed with stealth skills (Invisibility ftw!) might allow him to move around inside. And, of course, Underdog, Lee's Character, and Frank make a to-die-for distraction/S.W.A.T. team.
--Matts 20:36, 23 April 2008 (MST)I think for the laptop, we could stage it like a gang robbery. Underdog's got some gang contacts and the like, word could get out about some valuable shit being up in there, and "certain parties" could be interested in the laptop. OR! Dio goes to interview for an internship, some of us start a ruckus and allow him to get out with the laptop. OR! We impersonate the Mexican cleaning staff and nab it (Underdog speaks Spanish!).
