The Face of Evil

I recently returned from a fabulous trip to Costa Rica.  This gives me material for blogging, and explains the gap in posts.  I love to travel.  It gives me a wealth of personal experiences that expands my horizons.  It also gives me game fodder.  Places, environment, people, animals all give me interesting and insidious ideas to use as a DM.

When it comes to animals in game, I have always played them as recommended by the various editions.  Animals are neutral, not good or evil, and are largely driven by simple basic instincts.  The danger in animals is when a character interferes or becomes the target of one of those instincts.  Otherwise, animals pose no threat and have no complex motives.

Or so I thought until I was only a few feet from The Face of Evil.  The face was at one end of sixteen feet and 1,000 pounds of American Crocodile.  Rationally, I knew this was just an animal with animal instincts, desires and thoughts.  Rationally, I knew this creature was a simpleton, with only simple cunning, muscle and teeth to make it dangerous.  Irrationally, I looked at this beast and shivered right down to the marrow in my bones (of which I am certain it was contemplating just how tasty they might be).  Irrationally and viscerally, I was dead certain this evil creature was plotting my demise and inwardly getting great pleasure from it.

Since I am writing this blog and have posted these pictures you can surmise that the creature did not get to enjoy my bone marrow.  It is not the first time I have seen a dangerous creature up close, there are others I can draw upon.  The experience does add to my perspective to use in game, mostly from a description standpoint.  When you think about fear, let us say for example, generated by the presence of dragon.  The little inkling of terror that felt is just a taste of the overwhelming presence of a great wyrm!

I was relatively safe in a fiberglass boat (hah!), and there were another 40 or so delectable morsels to choose from if the crocodile decided we were lunch and could figure out how make that a reality.  Therefore my odds were pretty good of coming out alive even if my evil fantasy were true.  So why the terror?

I wonder if I would have felt differently had I been on the muddy shore next to this leviathan of the river.

Its long teeth lining that evil grin transfixing my gaze as it slithered closer and closer to my quivering form, all the while pretending it was large, ungainly, and slow.

Memorized and indecisive I might be, pondering my choices.  Should I run?  Should I fight?  Should I....


Until in a moment of stunned surprise it rushes forward and  - snap!  Is it all over?

Time to make your saving throw.  The dice never lie.

Divination, Reflecting On The Advice

Interesting how sometimes post topics get away from you.  I had only intended to write one divination post and here I am at number four.  In my last post, I was waiting for the party to decide on their next action and wondering how they would interpret and use the results of the two divination spells.

At the end of the evening, just before breaking up, they received the second divination.  They really wanted a result which did not involve heading back to civilization, and instead allowed them plunge ahead.  The parting conversation was all about attempting to interpret the result as positive, or finding the trickery in the words which would allow resolution of the problem.  If we had continued on that night I believe they would have rationalized going forward with the doom and death divination.

Ah, it was not to be.  The gift of time between sessions had them all reflect on the results.  They independently and uniformly decided the best course of action was to head back to civilization and seek the bard.  At the end of the last session they had made it back to civilization, leveled up, learned more useful information, and convinced the bard (though reluctantly) to accompany them.  We will see if this was wise in the end, or if they asked the correct divination questions.  I may even write another post about it after it is done if it does not spoil future play.

The group decision mechanics were interesting.  The frustration with the length of time it has taken to find the legendary artifact both in real and game terms has certainly played a huge part in the decisions.  I find the whole thing fascinating - I hope the players are having as much fun.  No spoilers for them here though - I know some of them actual read this darn blog.  Besides, do not post anything on the intrawebs you do not want everyone to know.

The (less than perfect cheap dice I roll which most certainly have a bias) never lie.  Cheers!

Sam Adams Chocolate Bock

Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock can be located in the Sam Adams winter mix pack.

It is a brownish towards blackish color with a limited head that dissipates quickly.  I was really looking forward to the smell, but I find it to be faint cocoa.  I would like it more if the aroma was stronger.
It tastes slightly malty and dry (almost dusty) just before the earthy, slightly sweet cocoa taste hits you.  That part is surprising and yummy. It is not particularly smooth, or deeply malty.  Not much like a bock to me, very much lighter than a bock.  Nice for a one off beer, the cocoa taste is quite intriguing and tasty.

I cannot see myself wanting more than one of these at a time, but I like it enough to buy another winter mix pack which is as far as I can tell the only way to get two of these at the moment.

Cheers

Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier

Sammy Adams brewery does well for me more often than they fall short, so when I saw the Blackberry Witbier on the shelf I snapped it right up.

It has a hazy yellow/gold color, more color that I typically see in a wheat beer.  The first taste is the hardly hoppy at all wheat beer, followed quickly by the blackberries and spice, which fades to the only slightly bitter faintly sticky malt aftertaste.  The carbonation was medium.  I found it very well balanced and easy to drink.  It is very dry; the blackberries only provide a fleeting sweet note.

I enjoy a berry wheat style beer, so I favor this style when it is dry like this.  I like and recommend this brew, but not for just this style all night (if you happen to be one of those who will drink more than 1 or 2).  I found that I enjoyed 1 or 2 of these either as the first beer, or as a palate cleanser between changing beer styles.

Cheers.

I Read Some Raymond Feist

A number of people whose opinions I respect think he is a fine author and worthy of my reading time.  Looking for a little recreational reading, I endeavored to read some Raymond Feist.

Years ago I played the computer game Betrayal at Krondor.  I thought the game was mostly fun but was unsatisfied by the plot line.  At the time I chalked it up to the challenge of applying literature thinking to game design.  This summer I borrowed a copy of Krondor: The Betrayal.  I read roughly about a third of the way through the book and put it down.  Permanently.  I have probably only done that a half dozen times in my life.  At this point in my life I am less tolerant of books which do not reach an enjoyment threshold than I was in earlier times in my life.  This can easily be attributed to the various pressures on my time and the scarcity of reading time.

Why did I not enjoy Krondor: The Betrayal?  Quite simply, neither characters nor plot engaged me.  I found the prose did not create pictures in my head.

First week of December we did an island visit; it was a vacation escape from the cold.  Looking for reading material, I am advised Krondor: The Betrayal is not one of Feist's better books and am recommended to try the Conclave of the Shadows series.  Further advised that the first two books go together and the third is optional, I pack borrowed copies of Talon of the Silverhawk and King of Foxes.

They were better but still I find them wanting.  I never felt the characters progressed beyond two dimensional caricatures.  They never felt like real people to me, I was unable to relate to them.  The plot wandered like a pick your own adventure book.  Powerful background characters acted like omnipotent plot fixers, much like deus ex machina.  The plot fixers had knowledge the characters in the book and the readers never get to know.  They are just smarter than all of us.  I will try not to spoil the series but at one point the central character suffers a debilitating and supposedly permanent injury, which later is 'cured' by the omnipotent plot fixers.

I did read complete the two books while on vacation.  The good news is I did not put them down.  I do not think I will be reading any more Feist though.  As the old saying goes, his books are apparently not my cup of tea.

Divination, not the answer to who, when & where

So, to summarize what I said previously - we want a Divination to give useful advice commensurate to the level of the spell being consumed without spoiling a good time by solving the adventure outright. 

In my current campaign the party is in search of a powerful artifact/weapon.  They have found an ancient city in ruins occupied by a combination of humans, humanoids and nasty creatures in an uneasy and shifting balance.  They have reason to believe the artifact is in the city, hidden in the tomb of the original owner.  They have reason to believe they need a descendant of that owner, one of her bloodline, to overcome the protections surrounding the artifact.  They have reason to believe those protections are potent and dangerous.  They have a lead on a solution, but it is inconvenient.  They decide they want to find an alternate solution.  So far so good; I like it when they use their heads.

So they decide to ask the gods.  Priestess, fire up the Divination spell!  Now what to ask....  The first thought was "where and who is the closest bloodline and how do we overcome the protections on the artifact?"

Rather than just let them try the question and have it fail, I maturely interject as DM.  "Bzzzzzzzttttt, sorry that will not work."  Disappointed and confused look from the player.  So then I take a little time to explain the limits of Divination.  'Similar to augury but more powerful, a divination spell can provide you with a useful piece of advice in reply to a question concerning a specific goal, event, or activity that is to occur within one week.'  More confused looks.  I followup with examples of what successful and unsuccessful divination castings might look like; your character would have had some training at the temple and this is what you would know.  More player discussion ensues and they finally decide on the question.

“If we return to Penchawn to get the bard Faynie, is it our only chance to retrieve Gray Razor?”

The response is as follows:  Tula's children were few, and what still lives are spread far and wide. No path is certain, and no path is sure. A journey to Penchawn to seek the bard may yield what you seek through wise actions and honeyed words.

They think long and hard about this and decide, for now, they do not want to take the time to go all the way back to Penchawn.  They decide there must be a solution here in the ruined city.  So they set about finding the small pockets of humans left in this ruined mess.  At one stop, a middle aged man named Escovar claims to be in the bloodline of the artifact owner, a famous barbarian princess.  The party, ever suspicious, decides another Divination is in order.

"If Escovar joins us in our quest will we be able to obtain Gray Razor?"

The response is as follows: A cloud of doom hangs over this action. The path remains dangerous and the vision of death is imminent.

They decide against sharing this little bit of good news with Escover, telling him they will get back to him.  Away from Escovar they have a long discussion about the meaning of this divination.  Perhaps there is just trickery in the words, and the vision of death is simply the occupant of the tomb.  Ever confident, they discuss their chances of figuring out how to overcome the danger called out in the divination.  After all, the divination did not say absolutely it would not work and they would all die.  Next outing I find out what they decide as their next action.


Ah, the fun I have with Divination. 

Merry Christmas and Thanks

I have been otherwise occupied for the last few weeks, so I have not made time for a post.  I plan to catch up next week.  I had been busy with an island vacation, work, and holiday preparation.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope you can enjoy it with friends and family.  Thank you all for reading, commenting, and fellow bloggers for their interesting musings.  Best to you all.

Here is a link to an old post of mine, a meager attempt at humor.  This was originally written for my PBP group and updated slightly for the blogosphere. The Night Before Christmas, D&D blogger style.

And last but not least - Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus.