Ephesos

...you know, those were good enough that a double post would've been okay.

More pics! More snow! Another cricket! I think the colony of crickets in our basement has survived the winter.

The next Selos session will be Saturday, February 27th, 5pm CST. I apologize for any inconvenience, as well as the 3-week gap between sessions. But be ready for awesomeness to make up for it. For the record, feeling slightly better, at least because I have a better idea of what I've got. Thanks, everyone. Originally Posted By: Lerasti, historian "The citadel at E'Tarn, now occupied by the Oracle of Selos, was once the home of a powerful lacewing mage with the ability to shape the land itself. He was known as Orlis the Cliffpainter, and none of his work is known to exist in the present day."

(semi-bump) I am excited for the epic-ness.

Fantastic curling match tonight. The Canadian women's team won the match against Denmark in overtime on the final rock, and they landed it square in the middle of the house. Right on top of the Vancouver logo. I have never been so excited about inanimate objects sliding around on ice in my life.

Originally Posted By: MON OH KATH RA RA AH AH AH <pre><b>NEWBIE IS IN THE EYE OF THE BE-OLDER ISIS IS VEILED BUT HER SKIRT, MY FRIEND, IS BLOWIN' IN THE WIND</b></pre> For the love of all things good and pure, knock it off.

...blarg. Methinks I am ill, most likely having caught something from one of the kids at the house-sitting. Expect delays. Calendar No quote, feeling awful. Sorry.

Originally Posted By: Dintiradan So the latest brouhaha is that French language and culture has been underrepresented in the Games, especially at the opening ceremonies. I'm curious -- what do unbiased non-Canadians think? Depends on who is raising the issue, but it sounds pretty silly to me. Vancouver != Paris ...also, apparently I should not have been panicking about curling. It's just been round robin play this week, and both the men's and women's US teams have gone winless. The later rounds should be more exciting.

Rawr.

...you know, you really don't want the perk Arrogance, but if you keep trying for it... Originally Posted By: Chamulsep, Lord of Pain "Today begins a new epoch. My epoch."

...DANGIT! I knew there was something I was forgetting. Scratch that, how about Sunday? Glad people like the Far Expedition. Originally Posted By: Khielik, human shaman "I have dreams where humanity atones for the wrongs of the past, beautiful dreams where we are welcomed back to civilization. But for the life of me, I can never see clearly the one act that will redeem us. It haunts me to see the effect but not the cause."

Originally Posted By: Enraged Slith It also comes in .zip, which wouldn't upload on freewebs. Seriously? Works just fine on my site, and I've been doing it that way for years.

Alright... so at the moment, it looks like this Saturday, February 20th is the earliest I can do another session. If that works for the Selos party, that would be excellent. Also, in other news, remember that story I promised? Well have a look at the writing of Keoshor, Sorceress of Fates, on the subject of The Far Expedition. (no quote because well, I just wrote all of that)

Oh snap! I'm too late to volunteer, and let's face it, my recent testing history is abominable, but yay Nico!

I'm surprised to say that I watched the pairs figure skating finals tonight. I'm even more surprised to say that I enjoyed it, and found the final results equally satisfying. It's good to see a couple have 18 years of work pay off with a very impressive showing, and a gold medal to boot. Of course, what I really want to know is when curling will be shown. If NBC doesn't show it, I will be sorely disappointed. EDIT: ...NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! This is the worst time possible to be house-sitting for someone who doesn't have cable. No curling for me.

Alright everyone, as I continue to prepare for upcoming sessions (expect a calendar very very soon), I've been poring over everyone's characters. It is certainly time for the first perks to be dished out, so here we go. If you didn't get one, don't worry, it'll come eventually. First, Amadan, who has somewhat inadvertently forged a deeper connection with Liea, receives Liea's Blessing, giving him a +1 bonus to all attack rolls involving fire, as well as a small damage bonus for the same. Next, Kundak, whose boundless curiosity for the world around him was apparent at the Oracle, receives Dig Deeper. Once per in-game day, he can roll twice when casting a Divination spell and use either result. Using the gyroscope in the ritual is optional. Boregloaf, who has enthusiastically rushed into combat at every opportunity, receives Zealous. Once per in-game day, she can get a +5 bonus to any one roll BY YELLING REALLY LOUD. Kurex, who can't seem to stop taunting his enemies (or heckling me, for that matter), receives Smug. Any time he hits an enemy in combat, he gets a +1 to Intimidate checks against that enemy until the end of his next turn. Like all intimidation, however, it runs the risk of simply enraging the enemy. Last, Esstra, who has been doing a lot of face-smashing lately, receives Healing Fist. Any time she scores a critical hit, one ally of her choice regains hit points equal to 5 + Esstra's level. The ally must be within sight. And once more, if you did not receive a perk, don't worry. It will happen eventually, as long as everyone continues doing awesome things. (that story I promised is coming along as well) Originally Posted By: Vothella, lacewing dreamthief "It is surprisingly easy to steal someone's dream and then sell it right back to them."

Snow!!! It's been snowing on and off here for like three weeks. It's awesome. </bump>

I'm with Dintiradan on this one. If there was to be a show, it would have to be structured in a totally different way, lest it descend into the same kind of inanities that bogged down other game-into-tv projects. I wouldn't be against a show set in Avernum on principle, I just don't want it to be like a recap of playing Avernum 1. ..."And now, we return to Episode 3 of Avernum: The Series, wherein Mycroft takes on a pack of 5 Nephilim, 3 Nephar Warriors, and 10 Skeletons in a random outdoor encounter."

...okay. Sorry folks, but I think we might have to skip this week. It's pretty clear that Friday won't work, I have plans for Saturday, and starting on Sunday I'm house-sitting/kid-sitting for someone and internet access will be spotty. Odds are that I will be good to go by next Friday or Saturday (19th or 20th), but no guarantees right now. Also, I have pretty much nothing prepared at the moment. I might be slightly burned out, but a week off will let me recover. In that time, I promise two things: 1. Finally start dishing out perks. 2. Patch together a short story or something to make up for not having a session. In short, sorry for the fail. Hopefully, this little preview of the story to come will help me atone. Originally Posted By: Keoshor, Sorceress of Fates "The Far Expedition... truly an intriguing tale. To think that one of them was able to tear himself away from the wonders beheld, yet I still weep for the knowledge lost. Perhaps one day we shall know, but even my divinations cannot be certain."

Originally Posted By: Dantius There's also the Spirit of the Sick. If you capture the wandering shade that randomly appears throughout the valley 3 times, and then head the the very west part of the valley, a secret wall can be opened leading to a very tough boss fight. Fun fact: You cannot do this fight if you've already completed the rest of the scenario.

It is one of the few sports where you can be genuinely unhealthy and be a pro at it. If you're over 300 lbs, you can just be the guy who sits on blockers. (To be fair, other examples are curling, relief pitching in baseball, and pretty much all of golf.)

Yay! And it has been added to the CSR here. (Link)

Enemy at the Gates Mac/Windows Author: Metatron Recommended Levels: 5-10 Version number: 1.0.0 [composite=eyJ0aXRsZSI6IkVuZW15IGF0IHRoZSBHYXRlcyIsInRpZCI6IjEzMTQ3IiwidGFncyI6WyJiZWdpbm5lciIsImRlc2lnbmVyLXNwZWNpZmljIHVuaXZlcnNlIiwibGluZWFyIiwic2hvcnQiXSwiYmdhc3AiOnsiNSI6MCwiNCI6MywiMyI6MiwiMiI6MCwiMSI6MH19] Composite Score: 3.6/5.0 Best: 0.00% (0/5) Good: 60.00% (3/5) Average: 40.00% (2/5) Substandard: 0.00% (0/5) Poor: 0.00% (0/5) [encouragenecro] [/composite] Keywords: Beginner, Designer-specific Universe, Linear, Short

Oof. Well that's a downer... perhaps we should reschedule this week's Selos session. Fortunately, the bad news is tempered by good news. We have a new character joining up with the Selos party. Meet Triumph's character, Lanrezac! Click to reveal.. (Lanrezac) Name: Lanrezac - Level 3 Occupation: Historian and Mage Alignment: A Bit Eccentric Race: Lacewing Strength: 3 Dexterity: 2 Intelligence: 5 Speed: 5 Health: 16/16 Stamina: 10/10 Magic (Abjuration): 6 Martial (Staves): 4 History: 4 Perception: 1 Thievery: 1 And of course, his spells and backstory are available over at the roster page. Originally Posted By: Liomha, dragonborn weaponsmith "Look, I am not responsible for important quest-related items that you forgot to remove from your sword's secret compartment behind the pommel. Didn't you read the sign?"

Third base.