Image with list of questions
Most Amazing Thing a Game Group Did for Their Community?
In real life? It's not actually a Game Group, but Knights of Fiat Lux for the past 8 years have run a small con, with gaming and other activities, to benefit the Autism Society of NC. This year, they raised over $4000.
In game? It started as an excuse to talk to the colony's military governor but it blossomed. We came up with a morale boosting, tourism increasing, trade spiking idea. Take the site of the recently ceased hostilities and make a race course. With a few changes, it could handle off road bikes, cars, off-road cars, drones, etc. The construction would boost economic recovery, then it would be a draw to bring people the area, boosting the local economy that way, plus providing the consumable would provide ongoing economic support.
Unfortunately, the other side resumed hostilities before we could even tell the military governor, much less carry it out. After we left (ending the hostilities on the way), we learned someone had found our plans and carried them out, with great success. Our engineer, who came up with the idea, was quite bitter over that.
Showing posts with label Fantasy Gamers Conclave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy Gamers Conclave. Show all posts
Saturday, August 06, 2016
Tuesday, August 02, 2016
Publishing Scheduled...and Yet Silence
So, I finished my post last week and set it to publish in an hour. And it never published. So, to anyone actually waiting for it, sorry. I hit Publish Monday (again), and this time it worked.
Friday, I went to lunch with my co-workers to celebrate one's lunch. We went to Carolina Brewery. I'd never been before but I can recommend their barbecue and their sweet potato fries. None of us had any beer; middle of the workday after all. No hardship for me, I don't like beer. Our newest co-worker told us about a trip she'd taken to Paris. She's good at telling stories.
Anyway, I made progress on my test swatch for my knitting. It failed, which means I'm starting over using what I learned. My target, is a 7" by 1" strip. My result was about 10" by 1/2".
I've made one earring, for the pattern for Tat Days. I say 'made', but I still need to make one join and hide the ends. Then I need to load more beads, make the mate and then start the variant.
No progress made on the blocking. I need to take the one I've blocked, photograph it, and send the picture to Anitra. And of course, I need to block the next one.
RG's puppy chewed a hole in her blanket (the puppy's blanket). I took it home and I'm going to try to patch it. My main concern is that my patch is not more vulnerable to puppy teeth than the rest of the blanket.
Of course, Fantasy Gamers Conclave was over the weekend. It's a small Saturday and Sunday convention. CD, RG, and I have been running Pathfinder games there for at least since 2010. Alas, they're taking a break and won't have a con next year. But maybe the year after that. :crossed fingers:
I ran Silverhex, or rather 3 of the 6 quests, for 3 people who'd never played tabletop RPGs before. They were interested, and one of them had a Beginner's Box but found it confusing. Getting a chance to play and see how it works in real life and learning by doing really helped. All three of them decided to join PFS (PathFinder Society). Whether they follow up with more PFS play, well, that's up to their preferences and opportunities. I had a picture of one of the maps, but I can't find it.
Saturday afternoon, I ran Sun Orchid Scheme. It's a regular scenario. I had a full table for that one. I had two new(ish) players using pre-gens and everyone else had PFS characters. We also wound up really late. I didn't get to sleep until after 2 am.
CD let me sleep in Sunday and our games didn't start until 1 pm, thankfully. I ended up running a couple of quests from Phantom Phenomena. I had 4 people playing, interrupted by a couple of them needed elsewhere for a time. All the players had fun, and that's the important part.
They raised over $3000 for Autism Society of North Carolina. I helped a little more by buying something at auction. There were other things up for bid that I wanted but they went out of my limited price range.
One really neat thing, on the way home on Sunday, there were some heavy clouds rolling in. And as the sun was setting behind them, there was a smaller whisp of cloud coming out and the sun shining through it cause it to light up like a rainbow. I really wish I could have gotten a picture, because my words are not up to describing just how unusual and lovely it was.
We also had another major storm roll through. There was one crash of thunder so loud it sounded like a cannon going off. Fortunately, this time we didn't lose power.
Some books I had ordered, also arrived on Saturday. I finished reading one of them on Sunday and started another one. That leaves 2 more (book 2 & 3 in a series), plus one I've been putting off because once I start it, I won't want to stop for anything, including sleep.
Tonight is my date with Carry. You'll find out about that next post.
And here's an entertaining flowchart. Are you caught in a time paradox?
Friday, I went to lunch with my co-workers to celebrate one's lunch. We went to Carolina Brewery. I'd never been before but I can recommend their barbecue and their sweet potato fries. None of us had any beer; middle of the workday after all. No hardship for me, I don't like beer. Our newest co-worker told us about a trip she'd taken to Paris. She's good at telling stories.
Anyway, I made progress on my test swatch for my knitting. It failed, which means I'm starting over using what I learned. My target, is a 7" by 1" strip. My result was about 10" by 1/2".
I've made one earring, for the pattern for Tat Days. I say 'made', but I still need to make one join and hide the ends. Then I need to load more beads, make the mate and then start the variant.
No progress made on the blocking. I need to take the one I've blocked, photograph it, and send the picture to Anitra. And of course, I need to block the next one.
RG's puppy chewed a hole in her blanket (the puppy's blanket). I took it home and I'm going to try to patch it. My main concern is that my patch is not more vulnerable to puppy teeth than the rest of the blanket.
Of course, Fantasy Gamers Conclave was over the weekend. It's a small Saturday and Sunday convention. CD, RG, and I have been running Pathfinder games there for at least since 2010. Alas, they're taking a break and won't have a con next year. But maybe the year after that. :crossed fingers:
I ran Silverhex, or rather 3 of the 6 quests, for 3 people who'd never played tabletop RPGs before. They were interested, and one of them had a Beginner's Box but found it confusing. Getting a chance to play and see how it works in real life and learning by doing really helped. All three of them decided to join PFS (PathFinder Society). Whether they follow up with more PFS play, well, that's up to their preferences and opportunities. I had a picture of one of the maps, but I can't find it.
Saturday afternoon, I ran Sun Orchid Scheme. It's a regular scenario. I had a full table for that one. I had two new(ish) players using pre-gens and everyone else had PFS characters. We also wound up really late. I didn't get to sleep until after 2 am.
CD let me sleep in Sunday and our games didn't start until 1 pm, thankfully. I ended up running a couple of quests from Phantom Phenomena. I had 4 people playing, interrupted by a couple of them needed elsewhere for a time. All the players had fun, and that's the important part.
They raised over $3000 for Autism Society of North Carolina. I helped a little more by buying something at auction. There were other things up for bid that I wanted but they went out of my limited price range.
One really neat thing, on the way home on Sunday, there were some heavy clouds rolling in. And as the sun was setting behind them, there was a smaller whisp of cloud coming out and the sun shining through it cause it to light up like a rainbow. I really wish I could have gotten a picture, because my words are not up to describing just how unusual and lovely it was.
We also had another major storm roll through. There was one crash of thunder so loud it sounded like a cannon going off. Fortunately, this time we didn't lose power.
Some books I had ordered, also arrived on Saturday. I finished reading one of them on Sunday and started another one. That leaves 2 more (book 2 & 3 in a series), plus one I've been putting off because once I start it, I won't want to stop for anything, including sleep.
Tonight is my date with Carry. You'll find out about that next post.
And here's an entertaining flowchart. Are you caught in a time paradox?
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| More Zen Koi images |
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Blog vs. Sleep, Guess Who Won?
This past weekend, Fantasy Gamer Conclave went really well, They raised lots of money for the NC Autism Society. I ran Silverhex Chronicles in all three of the slots, as planned. The first table only had 3 people, including a GM from one of the other tables. But they made it through 5 of the 6 Quests and had fun. The next table was in the evening, and we started playing around 7:30. We got through 2 Quests, finishing around 12:15 or so in the morning. But great fun was had by all, It was a group of teens and two fathers.
The next morning C & I tried to get to the Conclave early enough to make it to tea but we just missed it. They sold out, as usual. I ran for five more people in the afternoon. One of them was playing somewhat reluctantly. Her boyfriend had pretty much pleaded with her to at least give it a try. Turns out, she really enjoyed it. Since I had people who had either never played before or had not played in a long time, we played much slower. We got through 2 quests in four hours. Still, the important goal was accomplished, people had fun.
However, I was exhausted. I did not manage to get to bed early Sunday night as I had planned. Monday night, we went out to supper. I., a college friend, was in town visiting her parents. We got together with C, R, DR, and DC to have supper at a noodle place. The food was delish but I think their AC was out. It got quite warm. Nonetheless, we had a great time and walked down the street to find some coffee or ice cream. We ended up at the Irish pub. They were having trivia night, which got a little loud but we managed to keep talking anyway.
I enjoyed the flan at the noodle place, but when we got to the pub I wish I'd saved room. They had some delicious looking desserts. Eventually, I headed home, about an hour later than I should have. To make it worse, I ran into construction traffic and didn't get home until quite late (for me).
Cute website: you can get pictures to inspire more words. Right now, it's set to new kitten picture every 100 words.
I finally got my title to my Saturn straightened out. I've called PBS to send someone to tow it away. They'll auction it off. The company handling the auction gets 25% and PBS gets 75%, and I get at least $500 tax deduction. If my car sells for me, I'll get that amount for a tax deduction. And it does have practically new tires, steering pump, etc.
The next morning C & I tried to get to the Conclave early enough to make it to tea but we just missed it. They sold out, as usual. I ran for five more people in the afternoon. One of them was playing somewhat reluctantly. Her boyfriend had pretty much pleaded with her to at least give it a try. Turns out, she really enjoyed it. Since I had people who had either never played before or had not played in a long time, we played much slower. We got through 2 quests in four hours. Still, the important goal was accomplished, people had fun.
However, I was exhausted. I did not manage to get to bed early Sunday night as I had planned. Monday night, we went out to supper. I., a college friend, was in town visiting her parents. We got together with C, R, DR, and DC to have supper at a noodle place. The food was delish but I think their AC was out. It got quite warm. Nonetheless, we had a great time and walked down the street to find some coffee or ice cream. We ended up at the Irish pub. They were having trivia night, which got a little loud but we managed to keep talking anyway.
I enjoyed the flan at the noodle place, but when we got to the pub I wish I'd saved room. They had some delicious looking desserts. Eventually, I headed home, about an hour later than I should have. To make it worse, I ran into construction traffic and didn't get home until quite late (for me).
Cute website: you can get pictures to inspire more words. Right now, it's set to new kitten picture every 100 words.
I finally got my title to my Saturn straightened out. I've called PBS to send someone to tow it away. They'll auction it off. The company handling the auction gets 25% and PBS gets 75%, and I get at least $500 tax deduction. If my car sells for me, I'll get that amount for a tax deduction. And it does have practically new tires, steering pump, etc.
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| Can you spot the bee? |
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| The edging, as promised |
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Gosh, it's hot
I made my supervisor very happy on Friday. He asked for my help with a spreadsheet. It wasn't hard, just tedious and time consuming. I managed to get it done before I left on Friday. I wasn't at work yesterday, so I wanted it done and not have it waiting for me when I got back.
Saturday, CD, RG and I drove north to Maryland. The drive up was horrendous. The 5 plus hour drive took about 7 or 8 hours. That included a heavy storm, one so dark I couldn't read at 3 pm in the afternoon. It also included stop and roll traffic from Richmond to DC. Ugh.
On the bright side, I finished my edging and got it sewn onto my wrap. It looks..fabulous. I need to get a good picture of it.
Our friends MM and B were having a 'meet our babies' picnic on Sunday. B's sisters organized it. They did a great job, food, decorations, drinks, etc. The only problem was one they couldn't control; the weather. It was hotter'n Hades on Sunday. We were under a shelter, so we had shade at least. There was an occasional, welcome breeze. I wore my lightest weight skirt and wielded my fan. The twins are a couple months old now and quite adorable. RG spent most of the picnic holding Baby D.
After the picnic, we joined MM and B for supper. I helped B by feeding Baby C. I was somewhat alarmed because MM just told me what to do (here's their bottles if they need to be fed, here's the musical mobile) and then LEFT ME! Lucky, B came to my rescue. She showed me how to hold them and I fed Baby C and burped her as she went to sleep and B fed Baby D until she went to sleep, after burping.
We had a great supper and conversation. B made one of her wonderful pies. It was a fresh berry pie, with the berries just picked the day before. She made the whipped cream with honey and marscipone. Oh so tasty!
We drove home on Monday. It wasn't quite as bad but it still took some time. The book I'd packed to read in the car on the way disappointed me. We had to stop for a bathroom break and luckily the place was one of those old fashioned trucker stops, small restaurant, etc and had a rack of used books for sale. I saw an entertaining one and read it on the way home.
Back home at last and then back to work this morning. It was absolutely roasting still. I had to walk to a meeting and took my parasol. It helped.
Next weekend, it's Fantasy Gamer Conclave! I need to go by and print out the pregen characters for Silverhex Chronicles.
I've finished tatting another two bracelets and started a third one.
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| Rose after a thunderstorm |
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| Survived the storm |
On the bright side, I finished my edging and got it sewn onto my wrap. It looks..fabulous. I need to get a good picture of it.
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| Left is almost new ball of thread, right is the one used for edging, started new |
Our friends MM and B were having a 'meet our babies' picnic on Sunday. B's sisters organized it. They did a great job, food, decorations, drinks, etc. The only problem was one they couldn't control; the weather. It was hotter'n Hades on Sunday. We were under a shelter, so we had shade at least. There was an occasional, welcome breeze. I wore my lightest weight skirt and wielded my fan. The twins are a couple months old now and quite adorable. RG spent most of the picnic holding Baby D.
After the picnic, we joined MM and B for supper. I helped B by feeding Baby C. I was somewhat alarmed because MM just told me what to do (here's their bottles if they need to be fed, here's the musical mobile) and then LEFT ME! Lucky, B came to my rescue. She showed me how to hold them and I fed Baby C and burped her as she went to sleep and B fed Baby D until she went to sleep, after burping.
We had a great supper and conversation. B made one of her wonderful pies. It was a fresh berry pie, with the berries just picked the day before. She made the whipped cream with honey and marscipone. Oh so tasty!
We drove home on Monday. It wasn't quite as bad but it still took some time. The book I'd packed to read in the car on the way disappointed me. We had to stop for a bathroom break and luckily the place was one of those old fashioned trucker stops, small restaurant, etc and had a rack of used books for sale. I saw an entertaining one and read it on the way home.
Back home at last and then back to work this morning. It was absolutely roasting still. I had to walk to a meeting and took my parasol. It helped.
Next weekend, it's Fantasy Gamer Conclave! I need to go by and print out the pregen characters for Silverhex Chronicles.
I've finished tatting another two bracelets and started a third one.
Friday, August 01, 2014
Unseasonably Cool
It's been unseasonably cool the past week or so. The high temperatures have been in the 80s and overnight has often been in the 60s (that's Fahrenheit). See some of cloud and sky pictures I've taken:Trigger warning, there's a picture of a bug after the clouds.
I almost have my pawns for Pathfinder organized. This is how I do it.
As I mentioned in my last post, I helped run the Pathfinder Society games for Fantasy Gamer Conclave. Here's my table, all set up for the first game on Saturday. I'm all ready for my players. I ran 3-4 games over the course of the weekend; they were just fights really, not scenarios. But everyone fun and there was roleplaying.
I have been tatting. The rings are Ocean Sunset in Lizbeth 20 with Leafy Greens for the chains. I started out ring and ball then decided I wanted to add a ring 'leaf' to the chains. The picture on the left is me in mid wind from ball to around shuttle to onto my flat shuttle. The picture on the right show the 'leaf'.
Here is a bracelet I made. I need to add findings.
I ordered threads from Yarnplayer, aka Marilee Rockely. Aren't they pretty.
This weekend I go see Mom. And on the way back, I'm scheduled to have supper with a friend from high school. She lives in California so I see her every 2-3 years when she's back in the area to visit family.
And someone online showed me this entertaining website picture; group names of fantastic creatures.
It's also been a bit wet. Last I heard, we're about 4.5" above our normal rainfall for July and more than 6" above normal for the year to date. I guess we won't be worrying about the water table this year.
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| I found an assassin bug on my leg one day. They eat roaches, etc. |
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| Scrapbooking storage case |
I start with this scrapbooking storage case. It's nice because it has some very helpful features.
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| locking handle |
The handle locks closed. The locks slide into place. There are two levels, with the lower one subdivided into several small niches and one big layer for the upper part.
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| bottom part, just after I opened it |
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| upper shelf, holds the huge pawns and the bases |
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| It's full of pawns |
As I mentioned in my last post, I helped run the Pathfinder Society games for Fantasy Gamer Conclave. Here's my table, all set up for the first game on Saturday. I'm all ready for my players. I ran 3-4 games over the course of the weekend; they were just fights really, not scenarios. But everyone fun and there was roleplaying.
Here is a bracelet I made. I need to add findings. I ordered threads from Yarnplayer, aka Marilee Rockely. Aren't they pretty. This weekend I go see Mom. And on the way back, I'm scheduled to have supper with a friend from high school. She lives in California so I see her every 2-3 years when she's back in the area to visit family.
And someone online showed me this entertaining website picture; group names of fantastic creatures.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Depression Rears Its Ugly Head
Yes, I've been struggling with depression. Mostly, it's a drain on my energy and enthusiasm. But I'm in the recovery phase where I can do things again. Yay me.
I've started playing Lord of the Rings Online, in preparation for Pathfinder Online coming out. I took part in the Kickstarter so I've prepaid for some playtime. We'll see how much fun I find it once play starts. I am enjoying Lord of the Rings, so if Pathfinder is a disappointment, I have a consolation.
I've just registered for Palmetto Tat Days (I had to deal with paying for car issues before I was certain I had the funds). Here's an image of the possible layout of one of the scholarships quilts. I had a problem with my quilt square. I thought I had a teapot square. I wasn't sure of the due date so I put the teapot I tatted as part of display (in the library where our local group, Triangle Tatters, has our meetings). Where it remained for a month. I got it back after the 'please send in your square' date. And then I found out I had a 'flowers and vines' square. I frantically tried to tat something to fit the theme. In the end, I sent in my tatting and the fabric for the block, with abject apologies.
I enjoyed myself at ConTemporal. But I didn't see the non-gaming schedule until I was at the convention. And I didn't get to spend as much time in the dealer's room as I would have liked (but more than my wallet enjoyed). I did get to meet an online friend in person. I don't think I scared her off.
This weekend is Fantasy Gamers' Conclave. It's a very small con but so much fun. The hosts, Knightly Order of the Fiat Lux, run it to benefit charity; specifically the Autism Society of NC. I will be prepping the intro stuff for walk ins (we get a lot of walk ins). C, R, & I have helped run the Pathfinder games at this con for the past 3 years.
On the tatting front, once I'd finished the stuff for the quilt, I was a little burned out. I wanted to wear lace cuffs with my short sleeves for ConTemporal, but circumstances intervened and I wasn't able to wear a costume. Well, there's next year. I have made a couple edgings and a couple bracelets (don't tell, the bracelets are presents).
No pictures this time, unless I remember to upload them from my iPad. I still don't have a camera.
I've started playing Lord of the Rings Online, in preparation for Pathfinder Online coming out. I took part in the Kickstarter so I've prepaid for some playtime. We'll see how much fun I find it once play starts. I am enjoying Lord of the Rings, so if Pathfinder is a disappointment, I have a consolation.
I've just registered for Palmetto Tat Days (I had to deal with paying for car issues before I was certain I had the funds). Here's an image of the possible layout of one of the scholarships quilts. I had a problem with my quilt square. I thought I had a teapot square. I wasn't sure of the due date so I put the teapot I tatted as part of display (in the library where our local group, Triangle Tatters, has our meetings). Where it remained for a month. I got it back after the 'please send in your square' date. And then I found out I had a 'flowers and vines' square. I frantically tried to tat something to fit the theme. In the end, I sent in my tatting and the fabric for the block, with abject apologies.
I enjoyed myself at ConTemporal. But I didn't see the non-gaming schedule until I was at the convention. And I didn't get to spend as much time in the dealer's room as I would have liked (but more than my wallet enjoyed). I did get to meet an online friend in person. I don't think I scared her off.
This weekend is Fantasy Gamers' Conclave. It's a very small con but so much fun. The hosts, Knightly Order of the Fiat Lux, run it to benefit charity; specifically the Autism Society of NC. I will be prepping the intro stuff for walk ins (we get a lot of walk ins). C, R, & I have helped run the Pathfinder games at this con for the past 3 years.
On the tatting front, once I'd finished the stuff for the quilt, I was a little burned out. I wanted to wear lace cuffs with my short sleeves for ConTemporal, but circumstances intervened and I wasn't able to wear a costume. Well, there's next year. I have made a couple edgings and a couple bracelets (don't tell, the bracelets are presents).
No pictures this time, unless I remember to upload them from my iPad. I still don't have a camera.
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