(K) Ancients test - 2 successes - Although this area isn't specifically a hangout for any one faction, most of the Ancients in here at a glance tend to fall in Sting's camp, along with Vixen, and at least one other of the Lillend, a Raven shaman, a woman by the name of Shalamar, who seems to be paying attention to what's going on.

More Updates to Cast of Shadows and Locations

I have no set time frame or schedule for posting ... or even being awake for that matter. I live here when I am not asleep, and I don't sleep all that much.

Bonus updates!

I'm pretty close to the same way, Fortune, except I have class- lots and lots of class related stuff this week- during the day so that generally stops me from posting much during midday for me(GMT-6).

As fpr the difference between treadmills and just running, yeah I know what you mean. I can run for 5 or 10 minutes on a treadmill at a MUCH higher speed, and be less winded than if I just jog from here to my girlfriends apartment which is all of a 1-2 minute run on normal terrain. The big thing for me is my calves, and all the other muscles in my body for that matter, build up nitric acid and cramp a lot faster than I would like. My calves especially, I get shin splints and just crippling, that leg won't move anymore cramps really easily. I haven't figured out a solution for this yet, though I know the biological mechanics behind why it happens to me.(Sympathetic nervous system always activated because of pain, high levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, and several other chemicals as they build up because I don't have a down time and constantly burn into my muscles. I can do 20-30 push-ups if I really push myself(sad I know, but I'm not headed to the Navy, just an overweight computer geek aiming for medical school), but if I just flex my arm really hard for about 2 or 3 seconds it will feel like I have acid running through my veins. Makes "No Pain, No Gain" take on completely new meaning.

Newest episode of Men's Health had some target areas for stiffness- I am always stiff because my parasympathetic nervous system never takes over to calm things down- that might help me with cramping while running. I need to get a foam roll and try to stretch/roll them out like it says and see if that helps. Also, running outside sucks alot for me because of the increased sound/light sensitivity, I basically have to do it in the middle of the night and then it is even harder than normal to go to sleep. It irritates the hell out of me.

Chris

Let me know if I need to make any knowledge or observation or anti-con tests.

Chris

DT - No need for Cont tests or (k) as you've been pretty intent on your work annd Vixen rather than looking around.

Shin splints - #1 hydrate more before running. #2 Run more. I had the same problem and had to deal with it the hard way. Drink water an hour before you run, and 20 minutes before you run. Hell, drink water regularly anyway, it's good for ya'. Then run, even when it hurts. Running's high impact, so it's basically just another kind of conditioning. Your body will get used to it and the pain will go away.

The calves thing is the same thing, and another problem I had. Run'walk for a while if you have to. THe pain is because the muscles are getting used a lot more than they're used and ripping. That's supposed to happen, that's how muscle grows. WHen it gets painful, do a little bit more, then stop. Do enough to get a good work out from it, then rest, andtake a day or two off for the muscle to build back up. IT'll hurt less next time.

As I'm sure you guys figured out by now, my posting is really dpendant on how my family is doing on any given wek, and that dictates my sleep "schedule". Other than that, I post more in the after noon during the beginning of the week, and the early mornings near the end as I work Wed-Sat.

You can also help your calves (and help shin splints) by doing...uhh, crap. I think they're just called "toe lifts," really. It's a dirt simple exercise/stretch, you just sorta stand with your feet shoulder's width apart, and then prop up on your tippy toes, hold it for a few seconds, and ease back down. And repeat. For better ones, stand with just your toes on a raised surface (even just the curb can work, if you run outside), and you lower yourself down past "flat" level then raise up again. It'll make the stretch work both ways.

They'll help. You can even do 'em on a thigh press type weight machine (with less weights), to really work on 'em.

I religiously drink a glass of water a year, whether I need it or not.

PRO TIP: You need it.

I probably drink anywhere from 2-8 liters of water a day, depending on how active I am and how much other stuff I have to drink in the house. I also have very well defined calf muscles so that also confuses me as to why they cramp, they are very strong, I can do toe lifts with my 300-ish pound self +180 or so pounds and get off about 3 sets of 10 reps or 2 sets of 20(seems like it would be easier to do less reps more often, but it isn't.) I think it is due in part to at least two things, one I walk oddly. Because of my migraines I learned at age 12 or so to walk more or less silently(see previous statement of weight to realize how impressive this actually is) I have never met anyone who can be as silent as I am when I walk and to do this I walk and balance largely on the ball of my foot, my heel never really touches the ground unless I'm in shoes and only rarely then. So, running properly(rolling my foot back to front- proper or so I'm told) is a relatively unused motion for me so the muscles just proximal to my ankle and towards the ventral side of the ankle cramp and fatigue quickly.

Also, over the past 3-ish years I have severly damaged the tendons in both my ankles to the point where they will still occasionally collapse on me. I have falls due to migraine dizziness to thank for that. Once, my foot got caught in a drainage access as I fell and rolled under me making numerous popping noises. I of course ignored it and walked the rest of the way to class and up and down some stairs, took a test, walked back to my car and found that I could not persuade the foot to drive me anywhere so I got someone to drive me to the ER. At this point my foot was about 2-3 times normal size, my ankle larger than that and the whole thing was oddly lumpy and red, black, and blue. I also basically couldn't make it do anything. The ER nurse that evaluated me and decided where to send me actually blanched and said "Oh god! We need to get you seen to right away!" which was not good news. The X-Rays were inconclusive so I recieved a lot of medication, a boot, a splint, and was told not to use it, it might be broken we couldn't tell till the swelling went down and that several tendons had probably been stretched, ripped, or outright torn off the bone. The other foot I was walking and basically everything felt like it shifted about 2 feet to the left and 1 foot down(odd sensation I know, but I can't think of any other way to describe it.) and as such I miscalculated where the ground was and rolled my left foot under me producing similar but less severe injuries.

So, I can't imagine that those help. I will try the H2O thing though, I typically exercise- when I do- in the EARLY morning and drink about .5 liters of water while doing it. I supposedly have "increased nutrient needs due to the stress on your body" so I may need to drink several times that and at least try to get some extra water in me before hand. I will try and do more toe lifts too.

Oh, I don't know if I have said it here, but before you think I was lying when I said I was overweight but not fat then mentioned I weigh 300+(300-320 usually, been awhile since I weighed and I've lost a little) lbs. I am 6'8, and my armspan is over 7 feet wide. According to the endocronologist I have "bones that are both denser and thicker than the average" and when I lay flat on my back, my chest is still over a foot thick from front of breastbone(not pecs, but the sternum itself) to dorsal side of the spine is approximately 13-14 inches on me. I'm just a huge person even before you add on some fat.

Chris

Water is for pussies! Real men drink coffee!

Pfft. Caffeine is for pussies. Real men have metabolisms to energize 'em!

I don't drink coffee for the energy. I just love coffee. Seriously! It is pretty much the only liquid intake I get, and has been for over 35 years. I am talking an average of over 30 cups a day. I can drink a pot right before going to bed and sleep like a baby.

Well.... yeah, after ingesting that large an amount you are immune to it's effects. Same as any other drug. Try not drinking any for a day or two though, then you will have some fun.

Chris

Should change your name to DT-Huge-Fuckin-Gorilla!

I've done that for a couple of weeks on end. Other than a slight increase in my headaches, and maybe a little added bitchiness (but who would notice? ), I have no problems.

Wow, if your withdrawal symptoms are that weak- provided you aren't faking us out and drinking decaf coffee and not telling us- then your body really has just become totally immune to the caffiene- which is good, the antioxidants will do you good and the mild caffeine effect will stress your heart just enough to keep in healthy. So, hey, more power to you- crazy bastard....

Yeah, I refer to my arms as "crazy monkey arms" because I am so big they don't stand out as disproportionate till I reach out sideways and snag something from an immense distance away(or we spar and I pop you in the chest from like 10 inches outside your reach) and then it is just like "Woh... that dude has crazy monkey arms."

Chris

Decaf sucks!

I am actually serious about the coffee. I am just glad I don't like booze.

I can't imagine that you being permanently drunk off your ass would be a good thing, so I am glad you don't like booze as well.

I assume you are telling the truth about the coffee, I don't know why but you just seem trustworthy for some reason, so unlike my reactions to most people I don't assume you are lying till proven otherwise. I don't really know why.

Chris

Strangely enough, I despise tea.

Down with tea!

Chris

Hating tea makes me almost a heretic over here though.

Makes me like you a little better though. Now if only you hated coffee...

I really don't get how you guys can like that stuff. Coffee smells terrible!

Coffee is the nectar of the gods. The elixir of life. The great equalizer in the social miasma that it civilization. Coffee is God!

-- Now I want to create a Coffee Shaman. Fitting for Seattle ...

I'll post either later today or tonight. 6 hours sleep in two days, and learning 4 chapters of chemistry, 3 of physics, and 5 biological pathways for Cell Biology as well as doing two lab reports and attending three labs has made me incredibly tired. I need sleep desperately.

Chris

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ...

I wish.....

Fear the ranting crazy man!

Hope you guys are enjoying the game so far. Going for something off the beaten track here.

Is looking chill mate *8->

Sorry about the posting gap, not been a good week but now a free 4 day weekend *8-> I love bank holidays *8->

I wanted to talk about social tests for a minute. Even if it doesn't come up in this scene, it's something that could come up later. I know some people take a very strict view of how their character acts, doing whatever they want regardless of social tests. My view is that an NPCs social test against a character should be just as relevant as a pistols test to shoot them. So an extremely good intimidation test would require the PC to react approriately if the test suceeded against them. The PC isn't out of control, but they should react IC in a way that makes sense with a test result.

Anyone have issues with that or need clarification?

Nope. Not as long as non-magical social skills aren't treated as mind control, I'm cool. Besides, what's good for the goose ...

Sounds fine to me *8->

We might have to talk on and off about what an appropriate reaction by my character is, simply because Haven has become a real person to me over the past months while being built and whatnot, and as such he is a complex and sometimes unpredictable being. Not the most stable either, as you might have picked up. I doubt any of your particularly forsaw that as his reaction, but given his past I felt that it was what would happen.

Chris

I didn't think 'stable' was a prerequisite for a ganger game.

Especially a ganger game where we can all be as crazy as Tir-born/brainwashed characters and gangers, at the same time.

Thank you, Critias and Tain! Poor Dar'ian was beginning to feel even more betrayed and a little alone with everyone else just shrugging this whole thing off and him being so assertive- against his nature especially around attractive- or formerly so, the traitorous bitch- women and then everyone else was just like "Eh, tests are ok I guess. Job?" He was feeling a little left out in the rain there.

Chris

I thought about killing her -- yes, really -- but I don't remember how ambushes and crap like that work (and my game books are at home). This should do, instead.

Shrug.

I thought about killing her too. Then I figured that Claymore can do that any time, but if there really was a task important to the Ancients that needed to be tended to, that comes first. That doesn't mean he 'shrugged it off', or was in any way 'meek', but whatever. He has his priorities ...

Oh, and I'm thinking that Haven better not let Claymore actually hear him call him a coward.

Hehe, was a good yelling at Critias *8-> and I'm glad some of the group don't just toe the line, Aero's a liiiittle too gang focused to just turn down an important mission 'cos he wants to manabolt someone but she's laid out a near suicide run so she'd better either produce Sting for Tain or come up with some good plan/contacts to get us there.... That and she 'convienently' forgot all about the Salish Sidhe *8->

If I wasn't playing a Noble character who's (verbally) fairly reserved, and normally lets actions speak for him, I would've given her a much more insult-riddled refusal. As it was, he just said what he was thinking, tossed in one (archaic, Tir-centric) insult, and told her to go away. It still got the point across, I think.

Hehe, yup that it did *8-> Think I'm still stuck in 'accept any job' mode.... thinking about it I think I've only ever turned down three runs.... although they were suicidal *8->

Awesome, I'm lovin' it guys. By all means, do as you wish. This isnt some "here's the run now let's push you all aboard the Do What I Say Express". Hell yes she's a bitch, and fucked with you . And hell yes she's also got influence and pull in the Ancients. Should be a lot of fun to see where this goes.

Crit, love the post. Good shit man.

Callidus, about what I expected from Haven, being a bit more privvy to his background.

Fortune - in answer to your concern, no it isn't mind control. It may influence what your character does but it certainly doesn't control/dictate. (Well, except for Commanding Voice )

I'm enjoying having a game that's really getting you all riled up. I'm tired of the same old 'Meet Mr Johnson' routine.

Street Magic Errata I thought I should point out, since I know tha at least one of you will be interested in this:

Yeah, I read that Errata. Your original rule only let us exchange half of our Metamagics for Magic Points (1 every 2). Can now we apply that Errata retroactively?

Also ...



Should be Willpower instead of Charisma.

I did make it a Will (not Cha) roll for this resistance, no matter how much I'd like the two spare dice. I spent Edge again (if not now, when?). Do dice KEEP exploding? Sorry if the copy and paste-jobs are sloppy, the Shadowland die roller doesn't look nearly as cool when it's not in little popups like on the original page.


'Cause if so, I had two more dice to roll. If not, 9 hits (which is hardly worth complaining about). If they DO explode, I also got the following:

So 9 hits if they only explode once. 10 if they get to keep exploding. 11 if they get to keep exploding.

I'm a little flabbergasted by my results if the explosions (or whatever they're officially called in the rulebook) keep happening, but if not I'm certainly not gonna complain tying her (overall, IE, each of us having bossed the other around with 1 net success, I won't sneeze at it).

I'm gonna hold off on my post 'till I find out what's up on the rerolling of rerolls.

You bet!

Hahah, holy shit. Okay, then. I think I can retire Tain after that set of rolls, because he's done. His dice are used up.

lol need Tain... who else will Aero get to poke aristocratic jokes at.... if he ever comes up with any *8->