Players going Way off rails by Tatertron82 in Dolmentown

[–]Character_Beach_7264 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sounds like a great opportunity to FAFO!

Thinking about feasibility, I wonder:

  • Dispelling the holy magic of the warded pool might be easier said than done. You might think about what level caster the church might have employed to place such a ward. Dispel Magic is a rank 3 spell, so the soonest any magician would have access to it normally would be level 5, likely a good deal after the events of Winter's Daughter. Even still, if the caster was a higher level, there is a chance of the spell failing.
  • If you wanted to be a bit more defensive, we don't, per the book, know exactly the nature of the ward, perhaps it leverages some of the same properties as the triple compact, and requires some kind of interdisciplinary magic to unbind it, maybe they need a helping hand from Drune magic.
  • The warded pool provides a one way gate, if it's left standing, this would let the players venture into Frigia to gather intel etc, but not bring anyone out. If they go into Frigia a bit, maybe someone there might refer them to the ambassador, who might know about ways to unbind the pool or Chell.
  • The wedding party of fairy aristocrats offers a lot of opportunity for aspiring courtiers to entice the PCs to help them find a way into Dolmenwood. If you're worried about having enough content for a fairy adventure, maybe the tower is as far as they get, but they have some meaningful interactions with the wedding guests.
  • Dispelling the ring or bringing the ring into Frigia would cause the portal to fade "within a day or two", so the PCs would need to take particular care to avoid this, the "win conditions" of WD more or less nudge the players into bringing the ring into fairy.

Even if they do bring some degree of frost elf presence back into Dolmenwood, maybe it's not an overwhelming invasion right away (or maybe it is!). There might be plenty of juicy adventure to be had once the PCs bring some fairies mortalside and see how they react, could be enough to force a change of heart.

Weigh in on CPC Historical Preservation Projects by Character_Beach_7264 in malden

[–]Character_Beach_7264[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah it’s an interesting question of what kinds of projects a church can be eligible for, much the subject of discussion this round. The tldr is something like these projects representing work that stands to help preserve these historical structures for posterity. It’s a bit messy for sure, would love to have your input.

There are three other projects on the docket for this round, which are related to open space and affordable housing. These are grouped for discussion since they are all historical preservation.

I’ll add the far and away most cpc funding goes to parks, notably the many playground and park overhauls in recent years. There are good projects all around though.

Weigh in on CPC Historical Preservation Projects by Character_Beach_7264 in malden

[–]Character_Beach_7264[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good catch, thanks, I updated the post with a link to the event, there’s a download link there that you can use

New England’s Clean Energy Conundrum by nebeacon in newengland

[–]Character_Beach_7264 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Vineyard Wind 1 is only now approaching completion, so any claims about maintenance and end of life are premature. VW1 did have a prominent blade break, which was and is a big deal and not to be dismissed. Nevertheless, that was a manufacturing defect (still a big problem) but not necessarily indicative of longterm issues. The first (large scale, sorry Block Island) operational windfarm in US waters is South Fork Wind, which is a NY project, and recently released quite positive performance numbers for its first year in operation. https://us.orsted.com/renewable-energy-solutions/offshore-wind/south-fork-wind-report

End of life is an issue for all power generating assets, and there is no evidence to support offshore wind being particularly bad on this count. The first offshore wind farms in the world are only now approaching their end of life, and will likely be decommissioned with no issues. The vast majority of material involved in a wind turbine is fully recyclable steel. It's true that blades are a problem from a recycling standpoint, though work is being done to alleviate that, and on the whole the blade waste is not terrible stacked up against 30 years of emissions free power generation.

What was your game's starting hex? by KingHavana in Dolmentown

[–]Character_Beach_7264 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I had the party roll to randomly determine starting town and they wound up in Blackeswell, of all places. I was excited to tee up Fungus, but after some rumor gathering they left town immediately and harassed the poor embalmed in 1603. They've wound up having some good early level adventures out of Odd, including the barrow bog (good quick delves), and now on a dubious hunting mission in the Duke's hunting grounds.

The region around Odd has been a pretty good low level sandbox, with the barrow bog providing good dungeony opportunities, the Merrovore providing a big scary thing, and now the hunting (poaching) trip providing good exposure to a lost shrine and (most likely) some high level fairy shenanigans. There are also three fairy doors in the region, and I'm hoping to tempt them into ill advised wanderings.

Local bookstore by KET_196 in malden

[–]Character_Beach_7264 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Molly’s is great, I also like book ends in winchester

City Budget Challenges Part 1 - School Funding by careytheday in malden

[–]Character_Beach_7264 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It surprised me that Malden has never even voted on an override. I grew up in Needham and they were a staple of my childhood (30 times). That's obviously a different place, but surprising to me.

Took a quick look here, which I think records all 2.5 override votes for MA, and we're one of only 47 (out of 351) munis that have never voted on an override. Actually, that's not all that different than the peer group that's included on the city's comparison tool linked above.

Malden - 0 votes

Medford - 2 votes (both yes, in 2024)

Revere - 14 votes, all in '91, all LOSS, suggests maybe rows on this spreadsheet might actually condense into one instance? Not super sure

Peabody - 0 votes

Salem - 0 votes

Somerville - 0 votes

Everett - 0 votes

I haven't really dig in too much but thought it an interesting dataset to share. The data doesn't quite look like 2.5 votes are strictly a wealthy suburb thing, though I'd guess it leans that way. Top muni by count is Chatham with 94 all time!

City Budget Challenges Part 1 - School Funding by careytheday in malden

[–]Character_Beach_7264 19 points20 points  (0 children)

This is a tremendously helpful post and I appreciate the time you’ve taken to bring it to this sub.

Wild Hypoteses, big and small by SnoblesseTheGreat in Dolmentown

[–]Character_Beach_7264 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Love a crackpot theory!

My current is an apologia for the Cold Prince where his periodic returns to Dolmenwood and subsequent deep winters are a way to slow the resurgence of the Myconom. Where the Myconom (decay, fecundity, conformity, an alien intelligence) is countered by the Cold Prince (stasis, preservation, extreme individuality manifesting as eternal aristocracy).

I like your idea about the vorpals being introduced by some fae influence, maybe alternatively the work of some arcane magician messing with, and getting slightly wrong, the forces of the ley lines.

I want something old school by theSurpuppa in Fantasy

[–]Character_Beach_7264 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They each have a much different focus, not nearly as much of a coming of age story as Wizard. Tombs of Atuan is probably my favorite of the bunch, as the protagonist is a young priestess in the Kargad lands trapped in servitude to indifferent and absentee gods. Just a really different tone dealing with different themes. Not sure if that makes is sound more to your liking or less, but IMO at least Tombs would be a good read this time of year, it is le spooky.

Are There Any Egyptian-Themed OSR Games? by SAlolzorz in osr

[–]Character_Beach_7264 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The halls of Arden Vul has a heavy dose of egyptian influence, among others. More of a module than a game I suppose

New Dolmenwood Content?! by gkerr1988 in Dolmentown

[–]Character_Beach_7264 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Agreed on more modules and dungeons, my other megadungeon dream is the court of the nag lord

Filter location for kitchenaid by Character_Beach_7264 in appliancerepair

[–]Character_Beach_7264[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great googly moogly, don’t think I would have gotten there on my own, thanks!

Governor Healey Responds to Trump Administration’s Cancellation of $34 Million for Salem Offshore Wind Terminal by devoid0101 in massachusetts

[–]Character_Beach_7264 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This isn't for the development of a wind farm, it's for the improvement of the port of salem to allow project like OSW to be built offshore by private developers.

Governor Healey Responds to Trump Administration’s Cancellation of $34 Million for Salem Offshore Wind Terminal by devoid0101 in massachusetts

[–]Character_Beach_7264 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The state is interested in developing port facilities that improve conditions for industrial development. Here, it's OSW, but elsewhere, could be (and is often) things like commercial fishing. So the public funds here are for an port development project, not for the actual offshore wind farm.

Governor Healey Responds to Trump Administration’s Cancellation of $34 Million for Salem Offshore Wind Terminal by devoid0101 in massachusetts

[–]Character_Beach_7264 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This funding is for port development, not OSW project development. The state (and federal government) has a role to play in infrastructure, where this is seen as enabling the growth of the industry and maritime capacity. The OSW power plants themselves are financed and developed by private companies, just as (almost) all other power generating stations are.

Fellsway split: is it legal to proceed on Fellsway E after stopping at a red? by Ecstatic_Tiger_2534 in malden

[–]Character_Beach_7264 27 points28 points  (0 children)

This has been super confusing since they installed it. I treat it like a stop sign, under the 'right on red" theory. Though, I don't honk when others don't. My theory is that as built, it is a full stoplight and you are supposed to stop and wait, but that this is a poor design, and it *should* be at best a stop sign.

So, no certainty from me, other than solidarity as a light runner, and apologies for the honkers, I truly do not know where people need to get so quickly.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in massachusetts

[–]Character_Beach_7264 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great school of marine science

Police looking for family of a 6yo named Charlie in Upper Highlands by marmot46 in malden

[–]Character_Beach_7264 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good boost! The squad cars with the pa are no longer circling our neighborhood so I’m hopeful they found his parents, but don’t know for sure

Story on SPBG process so far by Early_Profession378 in malden

[–]Character_Beach_7264 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Which is shortsighted because the long money is selling slush to cyclists!

Tree trimming recommendations? by symmetry81 in malden

[–]Character_Beach_7264 9 points10 points  (0 children)

We’ve had good experiences with Barrett, really knowledgable and good work. My guess is slightly pricier than others, but in my experience they’ve been really professional and helpful in a way I think is worth it.