The Stretch of the Violin
Feb. 6th, 2006 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jakebeCongratulations to those Pittsburgh Steelers, who won the Super Bowl. Hopefully everyone in Seattle is drowning their sorrows in a big fat caramel latte from Starbucks, which works excellently as vastly overpriced comfort food.
Didn't go to the local Super Bowl party (thought I desperately wanted to) because![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
stickypawz was holding his game instead. It's a Gummi Bear campaign (yeah, trust me, the big reveal last week was a surpriose for me, too), only it's set in the Greyhawk universe, complete with the gods and classic battles between good and evil, etc. etc. During the first game last week, we were treated to the sight of ogres doing unspeakably foul things to one another before a strange human fellow has one stripped of its skin and hung out to dry on our great oak gummi tree. This week, we got to see an evil cleric call on the power of Hextor to give some poor bastard an anheurysm, and were nearly fed to two dire badgers by a dryad gone insane. Good times, good times.
The party has yet to gel evenly; none of us had any idea of the premise until the beginning of the first game (Odis *loves* springing surprises on his players, and this one was done with particularly styled flourish) and I think a lot of us are pretty thrown off by...the struggle to readapt our 'self-image'. At least I am. :) There were great strides made in figuring things out, but we're not quite to the point yet where we're...comfortable with each other, as players *and* characters. We're all starting out playing commoner classes as well (a derogatory term for them is 'half-classes,' like sage, acolyte, craftsman, begger...all the NPCs normal heroes see in town and pump for treasure or information), so it might take a little while before we really start to come into our own. Right now, there's a Disneyfied "Buffy Season 4" feel to the whole thing. Thankfully, there's no Riley around to hate.
I'm playing the 'brain' of the whole outfit, a middle-aged Gummi named Summi. (*rimshot*). It's been difficult getting a good feel for him, but I think I'm getting comfortable with him; it's actually a lot of fun playing the bumbling old man/encyclopedic font of knowledge. Just have to work on the whole bumbling part a bit more.arlekin is playing Hunni, a female warrior with a knack for diplomacy and...armor, for some reason; delphinios is playing Aunti, a cooking whiz with a (recently broken) rolling pin and a Big Black Woman voice; and silver_raccoon is playing Gusti, the biggest of the bunch with all the technological knowledge (and grumpiness) of Gruffi and the physical coordination of Tummi. The names are horribly derivative, I know, but there's really only so far the Gummi Bear naming convention will take you.
Odis is quite good at developing cultures, histories, mythologies and the like for non-standard D+D races, or tweaking the canon to fit a more interesting story he has in mind. In addition to a Gummi Bear game, it's also an amnesia game...which means there's the over-arcing mystery of figuring out who we were and where we came from to figure out as well. I have a few ideas about this, but I shan't share them now and I'll be sure to write them down.
The game is...rough, admittedly. In the typical D+D setting, where hyper-violence is kind of an unspoken rule, it's very difficult to break from the "I hack him down with my sword" mentality and take the more pacifist route. Also, the overriding benevolence of the Gummi Way is a bit alien; the insane dryad tried to kill us last game for a problem we had no recollection of causing, but we're helping her anyway. On the other hand, it's a really good litmus test for your own personal values and morality. Nothing tells you how dirty you are quite like shining light, now does it?
Today, I'll have to see about dental insurance with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Supposedly they have an individual plan that's fairly affordable and offers substantial rates for a lot of different things. I don't think it'll help me with the cavity problem as it is now, but chances are I'm going to need it badly when I finally hunker down with an oral surgeon to get those last wisdom teeth removed. In the meantime, I'll also call a few government agencies about financial assistance and get rates from other dentists on fillings. As Eliahn pointed out, nigh $200 for between-teeth fillings is a bit steep; Dr. Beavers only uses porcelain(?), though, so I think that's what makes him so high.
I've also got my D+D game to worry about; I know pretty much the story, but the way I'm telling it has to change. Based on a few conversations with my players, it seems like the main thing I'm doing wrong is...well, not understanding the needs of my players as well as I should be. So, pacing has to be fixed, there needs to be more combat, and...individual skills need to be utilized a lot more. Every scene has to be approached with the question "Who does this involve and how will it move their character?". It's not...such a big deal, but recalibration is definitely called for.
Also, more work on "Grey Warming Over" and watching Billy Collins give a reading later on tonight. I'm particularly excited about the poetry reading, especially since, you know, he'll be signing stuff afterwards. :) Brush with greatness, here I come!
And one more thing; becausetoob whipped my hubris-choked ass at cribbage over the weekend, I am a skunk until further notice. Apologies in advance for the smell.
Didn't go to the local Super Bowl party (thought I desperately wanted to) because
stickypawz was holding his game instead. It's a Gummi Bear campaign (yeah, trust me, the big reveal last week was a surpriose for me, too), only it's set in the Greyhawk universe, complete with the gods and classic battles between good and evil, etc. etc. During the first game last week, we were treated to the sight of ogres doing unspeakably foul things to one another before a strange human fellow has one stripped of its skin and hung out to dry on our great oak gummi tree. This week, we got to see an evil cleric call on the power of Hextor to give some poor bastard an anheurysm, and were nearly fed to two dire badgers by a dryad gone insane. Good times, good times.The party has yet to gel evenly; none of us had any idea of the premise until the beginning of the first game (Odis *loves* springing surprises on his players, and this one was done with particularly styled flourish) and I think a lot of us are pretty thrown off by...the struggle to readapt our 'self-image'. At least I am. :) There were great strides made in figuring things out, but we're not quite to the point yet where we're...comfortable with each other, as players *and* characters. We're all starting out playing commoner classes as well (a derogatory term for them is 'half-classes,' like sage, acolyte, craftsman, begger...all the NPCs normal heroes see in town and pump for treasure or information), so it might take a little while before we really start to come into our own. Right now, there's a Disneyfied "Buffy Season 4" feel to the whole thing. Thankfully, there's no Riley around to hate.
I'm playing the 'brain' of the whole outfit, a middle-aged Gummi named Summi. (*rimshot*). It's been difficult getting a good feel for him, but I think I'm getting comfortable with him; it's actually a lot of fun playing the bumbling old man/encyclopedic font of knowledge. Just have to work on the whole bumbling part a bit more.
arlekin is playing Hunni, a female warrior with a knack for diplomacy and...armor, for some reason; delphinios is playing Aunti, a cooking whiz with a (recently broken) rolling pin and a Big Black Woman voice; and silver_raccoon is playing Gusti, the biggest of the bunch with all the technological knowledge (and grumpiness) of Gruffi and the physical coordination of Tummi. The names are horribly derivative, I know, but there's really only so far the Gummi Bear naming convention will take you.Odis is quite good at developing cultures, histories, mythologies and the like for non-standard D+D races, or tweaking the canon to fit a more interesting story he has in mind. In addition to a Gummi Bear game, it's also an amnesia game...which means there's the over-arcing mystery of figuring out who we were and where we came from to figure out as well. I have a few ideas about this, but I shan't share them now and I'll be sure to write them down.
The game is...rough, admittedly. In the typical D+D setting, where hyper-violence is kind of an unspoken rule, it's very difficult to break from the "I hack him down with my sword" mentality and take the more pacifist route. Also, the overriding benevolence of the Gummi Way is a bit alien; the insane dryad tried to kill us last game for a problem we had no recollection of causing, but we're helping her anyway. On the other hand, it's a really good litmus test for your own personal values and morality. Nothing tells you how dirty you are quite like shining light, now does it?
Today, I'll have to see about dental insurance with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Supposedly they have an individual plan that's fairly affordable and offers substantial rates for a lot of different things. I don't think it'll help me with the cavity problem as it is now, but chances are I'm going to need it badly when I finally hunker down with an oral surgeon to get those last wisdom teeth removed. In the meantime, I'll also call a few government agencies about financial assistance and get rates from other dentists on fillings. As Eliahn pointed out, nigh $200 for between-teeth fillings is a bit steep; Dr. Beavers only uses porcelain(?), though, so I think that's what makes him so high.
I've also got my D+D game to worry about; I know pretty much the story, but the way I'm telling it has to change. Based on a few conversations with my players, it seems like the main thing I'm doing wrong is...well, not understanding the needs of my players as well as I should be. So, pacing has to be fixed, there needs to be more combat, and...individual skills need to be utilized a lot more. Every scene has to be approached with the question "Who does this involve and how will it move their character?". It's not...such a big deal, but recalibration is definitely called for.
Also, more work on "Grey Warming Over" and watching Billy Collins give a reading later on tonight. I'm particularly excited about the poetry reading, especially since, you know, he'll be signing stuff afterwards. :) Brush with greatness, here I come!
And one more thing; because
toob whipped my hubris-choked ass at cribbage over the weekend, I am a skunk until further notice. Apologies in advance for the smell.
