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Post by Ezeze on Oct 23, 2017 9:27:26 GMT -8
You should all move to the promised land! Texas is the best! We got the Astros, Aggies, BBQ, Tejano Music, Houston, Austin (if ya wanna be weird), Street Tacos, Beaches, Mountains, Plains, Forests, and Swamps! It's glorious! Everyone says ya'll and all soda is coke! I may be biased...but I love this state! You missed 'fucking banging Indian food.' It surprised the hell out of me when I moved down to Dallas - there's an amazing Indian restaurant every 20 feet. Paneer Tikka Masala is delicious. Austin (if ya wanna be weird) Have you met us? Of course we want to be weird. Lies. Some of it is Dr Pepper. The Dr Pepper flows like water from the taps.
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Post by notARobot on Oct 23, 2017 9:46:22 GMT -8
I've actually given some thought to going to check out the Austin area, to assess its suitability for long-term habitation. I've been to Houston, DFW, San Antonio...rode the Greyhound and driven across Texas more than a handful of times...and somehow never managed to see Austin. I've heard things, of course...but until I see it for myself, my major concern is that it may not be weird enough. I know you're joking, but just for the benefit of anyone who doesn't get what Jherek was alluding to: Map of Soda/Coke/Pop Nomenclature in the US(I just realized you folks up in the Pacific Northwest are among the 'pop' heathens! And to think, I was beginning to like you!)
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Post by Daos on Oct 23, 2017 10:24:41 GMT -8
I did live in Texas, for about a year, when I was 15. I think it was the city of Humble. Anyway, Heather and I both say 'soda,' not 'pop' or 'coke.' Possibly due to SoCalization. But yeah, in the south, every soda is called coke, even Pepsi. When I worked at McDonald's, back when I was 18, this was an exchange you'd hear regularly at the take out window. "Can I get a large coke?" "Sure what kind of coke you want?" "Dr Pepper."
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Post by GravityEmblem on Oct 23, 2017 10:38:30 GMT -8
So, I've been meaning to ask: what's THAC0?
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Post by Daos on Oct 23, 2017 10:48:24 GMT -8
THAC0 stands for To Hit Armor Class 0. It's the system in 2E used to determine whether you hit or miss something.
To know if you are successful in attacking something, you subtract your opponent's AC from your THAC0 score. So if your THAC0 is 20 and you are attacking something with an AC of 0, then you calculate 20-0 = 20, you need a 20 or better to hit. If you are attacking something with an AC of 8, then 20-8 = 12, you need a 12 or better to hit. And so on. As you level up, your THAC0 goes down, making it easier to hit things.
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Post by Ezeze on Oct 23, 2017 10:52:58 GMT -8
It stands for "To Hit AC 0" It's the number you've got to roll, before any modifiers, to hit with an attack. So if Lillian has taken offense to something Katya has said and wants to stab her we first calculate the number you'd need to roll on a d20 to hit. We start with Lillian's THAC0. Right now it's 20. Then you subtract Katya's AC. She's in chainmail right now, so it's 5. That means you have to roll at least 15. Once you have that target number you'd roll a d20. If you meet or beat that number you hit! If you roll less, you don't. 2nd edition is the last one to use THAC0. Later editions swap it out for Base Attack Bonus, which makes a little more sense but I'm not going to further confuse you by discussing it.
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Post by GravityEmblem on Oct 23, 2017 11:09:05 GMT -8
Oh, don't worry about that. I am well studied on the topic of 3.5e. 5e (the first edition I played extensively) uses an even simpler version: proficiency bonus. It's a number that scales with level-starting at +2 and eventually rising up to +6 at level 16. Or 17, I forget. You apply that number, as well as the applicable ability score, to any roll you make that you are proficient in: from weapon attack rolls to skill checks. 5e is really simple.
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Post by notARobot on Oct 23, 2017 14:36:05 GMT -8
Jherek, Jherek, Jherek...
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Post by Jherek Everfull on Oct 23, 2017 14:53:36 GMT -8
I know it's a not so great idea, but does Jherek?!??! I think he's worried about all this mail making all that noise...plus, have you seen Ingot? I bet he sounds like an elephant walking in a china factory when he hits the woods!
Finbul, Jherek, Lilian, and Theron could get some quality bonding done out in the woods ahead of the group...
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Post by Daos on Oct 23, 2017 15:08:29 GMT -8
Jherek's stealth is completely negated by his armor, too, though. While wearing it, he has a 0% chance of hiding in shadows and moving silently.
Also, a question. I've noticed several of you make references, both in and out of character, of 'going into the woods.' Are you all using 'the woods' as some kind of euphemism for the wilderness? Or are you under the impression the party is going into a literal forest for this adventure?
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Post by notARobot on Oct 23, 2017 15:17:37 GMT -8
I was sort of already thinking that, when we start approaching the goblin's territory, it might be a good idea to have Theron scout ahead on his own from time to time and then report back to the party on whether the coast is clear. It would take way too much time to do that throughout the whole way, though -- Theron's (and Garnet's and Finbul's) base movement is half of everyone else's, unencumbered, and he moves even slower when he's trying to remain stealthy.
The only two people who aren't armored besides Theron are Ladonna and Ryan, and neither of them have any sort of stealth abilities. Jherek does, of course, but he'd have to strip off all that armor to avoid clanking around so loudly that scouting would be pointless.
Another issue with your original plan is that, if we had a second group travelling behind the "scout team" carrying supplies, it would probably make more sense for Jherek to travel with them -- with his colossal strength, he's better suited than anybody for carrying extra weight (Ingot may also be a contender for that title, but it's unlikely he's that strong). But if Jherek (with maybe Katya and Ingot's help) can manage to carry everything with little to no encumbrance, I don't really see why we'd split up in the first place. Even at moderate encumbrance, the humans' speed winds up equal to the short-legged folks.
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Post by Ezeze on Oct 23, 2017 15:24:09 GMT -8
I was sort of already thinking that, when we start approaching the goblin's territory, it might be a good idea to have Theron scout ahead on his own from time to time and then report back to the party on whether the coast is clear. It would take way too much time to do that throughout the whole way, though -- Theron's (and Garnet's and Finbul's) base movement is half of everyone else's, unencumbered, and he moves even slower when he's trying to remain stealthy. The only two people who aren't armored besides Theron are Ladonna and Ryan, and neither of them have any sort of stealth abilities. Jherek does, of course, but he'd have to strip off all that armor to avoid clanking around so loudly that scouting would be pointless. Another issue with your original plan is that, if we had a second group travelling behind the "scout team" carrying supplies, it would probably make more sense for Jherek to travel with them -- with his colossal strength, he's better suited than anybody for carrying extra weight (Ingot may also be a contender for that title, but it's unlikely he's that strong). But if Jherek (with maybe Katya and Ingot's help) can manage to carry everything with little to no encumbrance, I don't really see why we'd split up in the first place. Even at moderate encumbrance, the humans' speed winds up equal to the short-legged folks. All good points. I encourage you to make them in character I've noticed several of you make references, both in and out of character, of 'going into the woods.' Are you all using 'the woods' as some kind of euphemism for the wilderness? Or are you under the impression the party is going into a literal forest for this adventure? I was thinking that 'till the moment I saw the map. Then I was like "oooh."
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Post by Jherek Everfull on Oct 23, 2017 16:14:38 GMT -8
I know, I know! Just trying to spark some conversation. I also understand that to do any sneaking, my boy Jherek would need to practically be naked. I also understand that I am the pack mule...the better to carry all that delicious loot oooor axe a face!
Has anyone noticed we are almost The Fellowship of the Ring.
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Post by Ezeze on Oct 23, 2017 16:29:25 GMT -8
Has anyone noticed we are almost The Fellowship of the Ring. Dibs on being Gimli.
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Post by notARobot on Oct 23, 2017 16:57:12 GMT -8
I'll touch on them IC, by and by. Kinda wanted to give Ladonna and Ryan a chance to get a few words in edgewise, if they're so inclined, before we break from our little huddle and do our pre-travel shopping. Some of what I was saying above was longer-term sort of thinking than Theron typically goes in for. I don't want to exaggerate and give the impression he has no ability at all to plan for the long term...but when it comes to putting together the finer details of a plan, he excels way more at the minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour scale -- maybe thinking ahead 12-24 hrs, at most -- as opposed to how things are going to go down several days from now. If someone were to point out this limitation/flaw to him, he'd say that too much can change between now and then, so he considers it a waste of his valuable brainpower to spend too much time thinking about it. Also, he hasn't left Buho in twenty years now, ever since he came here as a young boy. So going on a however-many-days-long journey out into the wilderness is a big step out of his comfort zone, which makes him doubly reluctant to think too far ahead. On the other hand, I, as a player, have no such reluctance Didn't mean to come down on you too hard Now is definitely a good time for us all to start thinking in terms of tactical considerations like that, with an army of goblins potentially showing up to clobber us at any moment. I'm not even really that sure if Theron ought to attempt any scouting on this mission, to be honest. His Move Silently/Hide in Shadows skills are still pretty weak (40%/35%), and he's the squishiest member of the party with 5 HP. He does at least get a decent armor class thanks to his Dex bonus (-4 for AC 6), though, and in a pinch his illusion magic might be able to distract any enemies long enough for him to slip away. So maybe our best bet would be to plan on sticking together -- counting on our strength in numbers, such as our numbers are -- and if we come across a situation where it looks like some extra reconnaissance would prove useful, Theron will jump up and volunteer. (Also, Daos -- if this OOC chatter gets to a point of "too much metagaming", you'll jump in and metaphorically whack us on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper like a naughty dog or something, right? I've been operating under the assumption that we all trust ourselves and each other to do a good enough job of keeping IC and OOC knowledge separate.) My brain's been stuck thinking of us as the study group from Community ever since I first suggested it. Who's our Frodo? What's our One Ring? Our Gandalf? Our Sauron? "And my axe!" works so much better for Jherek, though...
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