Summer Madness, Lollipops, Bagels, Phoenixes, Tapered Dogs (and Change)...

Hey all,

These few weeks have been great. I am happily involved in three ongoing DnD adventures, namely Shell's world of ELAMUSA, Vek's Scales of War (SoW) Official 4E Campaign, and Lex's Chapter 1 (of 74 maybe) which is about to end in a couple of months' time. (2 sessions completed so far.)

Between groups of mad sawn-off rifle, I mean staff-wielding shooter dudes, a level 8 Ogre trying desperately to tell us something (he died too fast for us to hear him properly. I do vaguely remember him going "FtF??!1"), and a mandatory cut-scene involving us involuntarily spending a night with a female witch/hag/pelican/whatever in a swamp, I can safely say I had been through quite a bit these days.

Then, there are my characters. In Vek's, I am Unn'Sah - the brash bandana-wearing 6ft 5in Swordmage feminist wielding a modified tennis racket(widely referred to as a longsword in DnD terms). In Shell's ELAMUSA world, I am Evening D'Odds-the quiet but deadly (random) Sorceress who blew her "top" off while dreaming away at the inn.
There is also the tormented Lang's Zai or Lz- the famous bard (in several small pubs at least) in Lex's immense world of three days North and a days South. Couple days West might be an option to uncover a loose floorboard. East is out of bounds due to family issues.

Oh, I have been spending way too much time on the DDi Character Generator, which is strangely addictive even though it is just exactly what it said it was - a character generator. I guess I have always been a builder in a way, be it cards or games. Thinking of and experimenting with builds is interesting; once in a blue moon when it works devilishly well, it is all worth the time wasted, uh spent I mean.
The DDi Character Generator makes it easier for me to throw an idea together, as it contains an updated-monthly DnD database that saves me the time of needing to flip through several books or check random handouts to recall an obscure feat/item/power. I am anxiously waiting for the first Tuesday of next month, where the Revenant race and the newer hybrid classes will be added into the mix.

This experience decided something for me. It confirmed my intention to get my own DDi subscription, even though I already "technically" have a small part in PT's account. I plan to share the account with Shane and Vek, at 5 Usd a month for a year.
Now that I think about it, it is rather cheap for that amount of cash. What can we buy with 5 Usd nowadays anyway?

3 copies of 8 Days? 5 cups of SweetTalk Bubble Tea? Three-quarter of a pack of unbranded cigarettes? The plastic ear of Christian's amazing Elmo toy?

The online deal is made sweeter with confirmation of more snippets of PHB3 coming out in the coming months, hopefully Monk-related (I am a monk fanatic). For fans who prefer gory poison-on-flesh striker action; a whole DDi Exclusive character class- The Assassin is scheduled to arrive in a few weeks.

Tennis have been great as of late. I bought a new Yonex racket, and yes they do make Yonex tennis rackets. I have been experimenting with new strokes and several new concepts I read/saw about on the 'net. I can feel myself wanting to play more. I feel like a student, all over again. I felt alive, hungry.
Through all this, I realized something.
It is not about the fact that I easily get hungry. I learnt that change is sometimes needed to challenge oneself, to do better and not rest on one's laurels. This is the attitude I want to put in all my students as well, for both their studies and sports. Heck, we re-specialize feats, skills, powers and what-not in 4E too. For the growth of the character, to make him/her stronger.

We are only worthy to witness his shoes.

Roger Federer. The greatest of all-time. He changed himself after suffering crushing losses at Wimbledon'08 and the Australian Open this year. He was rumored to have bawled his eyes out. But since then, during the clay court season, he played more aggressive and went back to utilizing his trusty slice more often (which he mentioned was not a "natural" part of his game). Yes, he might not think that it is a natural part of his game, but the slice does win him points and wreck the tempo of the opponent on the other side.
That itself is worth forcing the stroke into his repertoire. I should add that he is not too shabby in the execution of the stroke.

*Imagine Tiffany cutlery, slicing thin layers of fine cheese, with a classical tune playing softly at the back.*

Now, the Federer Express has a career Slam in his ever-thickening resume, and is heading for a record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title. The No.1 spot is there for the taking, exactly one year after he relinquished it to a Spanish guy who could play some tennis.

A modern phoenix, no ? And an inspiring tale to share, yes.

Lastly and I am going rather out of topic here, my computer now has Foxit PDF Editor, which will allow me to make customized DnD "excerpts" with the exact layout and fonts. Monster and power templates can also be easily home-brewed; and did I mention this? They will look like the real thing in the books. Spoofs and parodies? Sign me up, babeeee!



p/s (11:35PM) - Oh no! Evening D'Odds, my Sorc in Shell's adventure seems to be in limbo due to player shortage.

p/p/s(1:20AM) - Hmm, now that I experimented more, some of the embedded information in the original text seems hard to edit, and the doggone fonts screws up when I try to type in certain letters. Oh well, at least I tried, back to MS Word for me until I install the rest of the Foxit suite in the future.

"Excuse me, maya know where to find a proper map of...?"

Hey all,

My original map of Maya have been compared to many things. Toblerone chocolate pieces, blocks of random blocks, a five year old kid's scrawling on the classroom wall just to name a few. It was not that the original was not effective in showing the party important locations, but since I have some time on my hands now, I decided to use CC3 to flesh out the existing areas and future points of interest.
The town is now much easier to update, and more systematic in the long run. As a bonus, it does not hurt that it is more appealing to the eyes too.

In comes the ever-trusty grid which shows town travel (2 minute blocks). Khelid Kadashim's charred compound after the "Black Monday" incident is shown clearly in the Slums now, and so is the upper class district just north of the now-defunct Bankers' Bank.

Additionally, the Beggar's Territory, with Feldra- wife of Reyden Nylors, at the helm, has been updated at the Docks area. The party will remember a dispute with the ruffians on their first day in Maya, resulting in the heroes almost being arrested by the town guards if not for them barging into one of the Territory's warehouses and making themselves a temporary new hideout.

I will be updating the map regularly, so just bear with the 1.1 for now.

Note: Each hex represents 2 minutes of even-paced walking.

Town of Maya ver 1.1 (Click to Enlarge)

"A picture says a thousand words, and a thousand words is quite a bit." -- Fie the DM.

Hey all,

I hope you guys enjoyed the first part of my ongoing series "Legends of Caen", which was meant to provide interesting background regarding the history and lore of this huge northern landmass in my current campaign.

These days, I have been busy trying my hand at mapping my world with CC3, and I have to say, it has been bucket-loads of fun. As I design the map, I can flesh out my existing plot lines and solidify future plans.

Without further ado, these are selected zoom-ins to show the particular region of Caen that our four heroes are currently adventuring in, or are soon to explore.

At the bottom, you are treated to a glimpse of my work in progress- the world of Fracas.

NOTE: Each hex represents approximately half a day of travel, difficult terrain not withstanding.

Maya and its surroundings. (version 1.2)

Maya, and destination-to-be - Castle Greyskill. (version 1.2)

Caen, and the other two continents of Fracas.

Legends of Caen -- Zzen, God of Unspeakable Death

Zzen Elmatraq was a pious human paladin whose deeds for the Great City of the North was surpassed by few.

He led the Sccor's Elite XX Overt Regiment (SeXXoR) to great effect, during the trying times when the city itself was expanding and had to deal with the surrounding pockets of hostile resistance. Many Lizardmen, Kuo-toas, Salamanders and their respective encampments were all destroyed in the name of unity, peace, and long-term harmony.

King Pinn Nafors the Second, ruler of Sccor, admired him so much that he sanctioned the erection of a battle-keep for Zzen's overt operations in the desert, where fierce barbaric tribes threatened the safety of the walled city. Castle Greyskill was to be a bastion of defense, and news of any invading tribes could be quickly passed on to Sccor itself, where ample preparations could be made.

Coupled with the imposing keep and the quiet influence of the Raven Queen, Zzen and his SeXXoR fought numerous battles in the desert, winning all of them. He often disregarded the relaying of tactical information about the barbaric tribes and their movements, and just dispatching them solely with his elite regiment. The old-fashioned paladin had always believed in practical training, and sending troops-in-training to hostile environments for hands-on assignments is a norm in his regimented army.

In addition to his obvious prowess with his sword hand, Zzen was a born leader by example. He had many loyal followers and supporters in Sccor, who admired his drive and will to succeed even in the harshest of conditions.

The sight of the blonde mustachioed paladin, wearing the fabled Greyskilled - a whole suit of matching dark-grey magical plate armor emblazoned with a multitude of fierce Raven Queen insignias, was enough to send lesser enemies scurrying for cover.

Sadly, as time went by, Sccor became rich and complacent along with its inhabitants. Zzen's regiment was obsolete; as years went by without battle. He indulged in the finery of life, including booze and drugs from Sccor's famous spice farms. Zzen was often seen at parties and gala events, dancing and drinking the night away, while reminiscing about his glory days past.

One night during a high society gathering, he drunkenly poured wine onto, and insulted then-mayor Reeche Sliever, a master politician whose wit and viciousness was known throughout the land. In the weeks after, Zzen was embroiled in a smear campaign, vicious lies weaving him into places he had never even step foot into. He was eventually charged with malicious intent to usurp Sccor's royal throne, and found guilty by the tribunal.

King Nafors personally delivered the verdict and sentenced Zzen to die by Unspeakable Death. The condemned paladin was to drink from a poisoned chalice, which will corrode his throat, and then his entire body. He would perish slowly and painfully, without uttering a single sound.

It was carried out a few days later, in front of the Sccorian masses.

A few years passed and nothing much was heard of Zzen. Sccor continued to prosper and the Queen finally bore a heir to the throne- Prince Blor Nafor the Third.

On Prince Blor Nafors's fifth birthday , Sccor was suddenly hit by a freak slimepour from the mountains near it. Hundreds of citizens perished and the Royal Grounds decimated to the ground; as huge waves of green gooey slime flowed down the streets and consumed all. King Pinn and Reeche reportedly drowned, and the young prince was killed too. The entire Nafors family line was wiped out in a single night.

From that night onwards, the sky betrayed to the naked eye a new star- a greenish-black one, small but bright enough for all to see.

The Elder Druids from the Grove of Western Sccor Forest were intrigued by the events before them, and performed age-old rituals to find out the root of it all. They discovered that Zzen had somehow ascended to deitydom, an act never before accomplished by a mortal being in Caen, and once deemed impossible.

Startled by these revelations, they called upon the Five Great Gods of Caen- Pelor, The Raven Queen, Tempus, Mystara and Corellon Stonehands. Pelor reckoned if nothing was done, the delicate balance of the Arial would be disrupted by this new upstart, and total chaos could ensue.

The Five grudgingly decided to bind Zzen into the fabric of Caen itself, The Raven Queen wanted no part in it but lent her power anyway. As told in tales passed down the generations, months of epic storm raged through the skies, and the seas frothed with anger.

This period was to be known as the Years of Storm. Finally, after seven years, there was an eerie calm. Slowly, adventurers who returned by ship from the Far South spoke of something incredulous.

It was about Southern Caen- the huge virgin landmass, separated from Sccor by the Luna Sea.
Once, it was beautiful, luscious and untouched by mankind, but had now become desolate wasteland, no life in sight. The air was hot and stuffy, with greenish mist rising slowly from vents in the ground. Legend has it that the Five Gods binded Zzen's essence there, thinly spread over the endless acres.

The new star disappeared from the skies after that, and balance was restored to Caen. Ever since then, no one but the brave and foolish would travel to the Far South. A few makeshift settlements are rumored to mine and trade in the rich volcanic ash farmed from the dangerous land.