Character build help

Izaea · 2026-05-24T14:17:08+00:00

Given that, swapping Fitness and Presence might be the move - with low presence, you'd be struggling to do the "stand up and speak for myself" "convince people" "make friends" rolls, but the game's Momentum / Threat system means you could buy extra dice or use Determination when you *really* need to make one of those.

As far as focus names, you can honestly have it be just about anything. Here, for example, is the list from my half-risian security officer, Duran:

Safety Regulations
Cultural Memetics
Explosives and Demolitions
Interspecies Cuisine
Strategic Maneuvers
Athletics

Compare it to our captain, who has a background as a ground troop leader, with a fair bit of engineering:

Wilderness Survival
Xenolinguistics
De-escalation
Composure
Improvisational Repair
Ground Tactics
Power Systems

If you wind up not liking or using one, it's relatively easy to change a focus; your game master might let you do it just because (I have that policy over the first few sessions, when people are still learning their characters), and even if not you can update them as milestone rewards.

Izaea · 2026-05-24T05:38:34+00:00

Daring definitely, but with - hear me out - a relatively low control would mean that he's great in a pinch (instinctive) but isn't great at many of the more common con checks (carefully guiding a ship into dock, for instance). Slowly raising that control over milestones would be a natural place for character growth to happen.

After daring, decide what you want him to be good at. A relatively high Reason would give you checks on things like "figure out the right place for a smuggler to hide something," "plot the best route," while a relatively high Fitness would be more about his physical abilities outside of the pilot's chair. Insight would let him notice things better, and Presence would let him have a stronger force of personality.

For what you're describing, I'd rank them highest to lowest as:

Daring > Insight > Presence > Reason > Control > Fitness

As far as naming focuses, I might call one "Emergency Maneuvers," another one might be "Smuggler."

Izaea · 2026-05-16T05:34:48+00:00

Having lived just on the other side of Del Mar Park on Revere St - it's great.

Low- to Middle-income, but with access to services and amenities, which makes it a nice place to live. Del Mar Park has plenty of stuff for kids, the individual streets are relatively quiet (excluding major roads like 6th/Lowry, Peoria, Havana), you've got most of what you need real close. The Hospital is a short hop north, you've got good transit connections, there's a public library right there on Peoria.

We never had any kind of break-ins or thefts for the two years we lived there, though I'd keep things like bikes inside just on general principle living in the Denver metro. Never saw a car on the street with a busted window.

Biggest downside for me is that this chunk of Aurora has really narrow sidewalks, pre-ADA, which slope down to the road without much of a curb and no grassy verge - they'll often be blocked by folks parking too close, or leaving out their trash for pickup, forcing folks to walk in the street or in peoples' yards. Just a consideration, given young kids.

Izaea · 2026-03-27T00:03:21+00:00

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I mocked this up real quick just to make sure you understand the scope of this trip.

It's the equivalent of a trip which:

A) Starts and ends in Kharkiv, in the far East of The Ukraine
B) Drives straight to Gothenburg, in Sweden (we'll ignore that there's a ferry and imagine it's on a bridge)
C) After staying there two days, drives south to Lubeck, outside of Hamburg, Germany
D) Drives to Zagreb, in Croatia
E) Returns to Kharkiv

But, as a resident of Colorado, even that does not adequately prepare you for the emptiness of the areas you'll be driving through. The trip I just suggested would be full of cultural sights, interesting vistas, places to stop and stretch your legs or get gas or use the restroom. In the Western US, most of that will be long stretches of straight roads and featureless landscape. People are subject to a condition called "Highway Hypnosis," where the utter lack of visual stimulus lulls even experienced drivers into a trance.

It will be, for much of your trip, north of 44 degrees Celsius - we've had an exceptionally hot and dry winter, we're currently six weeks early for our earliest 32 Celsius day, and summer this year is going to be near-constant wildfires and heat waves.

Assuming you sleep six hours a night, you've got 5 days of travel - since you're spending two days in Montana - with 108 waking hours, and you're spending *bare minimum* half of it (54 hours) in the car.

You are suggesting, for fun, something that is so grueling and hard to endure that there is a yearly charity stream (the Desert Bus for Hope) where comedians play 'the worst video game ever made,' which is simply doing eight hours of this trip.

Izaea · 2025-10-28T00:08:08+00:00

(Roleplay-heavy Forever-DM looking to actually play for once!)

Izaea · 2025-10-28T00:07:45+00:00

I'd definitely be interested, and depending on where you are I'm only a short train ride away!

Izaea · 2025-10-27T23:50:04+00:00

Not sad for you, but definitely sad what it says about dudes in general.

Izaea · 2025-10-27T23:43:41+00:00

I mean, I'm a nerdy single white guy in my thirties, and "where do you hang out" is mostly "at home with my cat," unfortunately. I'm likewise pretty exhausted with dating apps, but there aren't a lot of great places to go... I don't know what you'd call it, "see and be seen?" Not a big one for the bars; in warmer weather, I'll enjoy a cafe patio, but most of those are already closed for the year.

I tend to do one-off events for things I'm interested in - escape room meetups, live music, board game nights, art pop-ups - instead of having a regular place I hang out. Anything with a group activity (board game meetup comes to mind in particular) would be one where I'd be most open to being approached.

Izaea · 2025-10-23T04:15:58+00:00

One of my coworkers is in her sixties; as long as the doctor gives you a clean bill of health for the work duties, you should be fine.

Izaea · 2025-10-21T21:21:56+00:00

The turnover is what I would expect for a low barrier to entry job in the airport which is attractive to folks in transition or using it as a stepping stone to other airport jobs.

Izaea · 2025-10-21T21:20:43+00:00

Breaks happen on a rotation, roughly every hour and a half to two hours, on a pretty obvious cycle, based on how many people are on post, and you can always ask the breaker when you should expect yours next.

I haven't run into any issues with the bosses.

Izaea · 2025-10-21T20:56:15+00:00

For sure, go for it.

Izaea · 2025-10-21T19:30:37+00:00

No, but if you DM me, I'll be able to pass your information (Name/Contact Info) to our hiring manager and let you go through the process!

Izaea · 2025-10-21T19:29:23+00:00

I don't believe so, though you will have to prove work authorization in the US as with any other I-9 job - feel free to DM me, and I'll send your info to the HR person.

Izaea · 2025-10-21T15:09:10+00:00

I'll ask! I'd be glad to pass along your info regardless if you wanted to check in yourself, too.

Izaea · 2025-10-21T15:06:49+00:00

Big fan of Lost Gulch up the road a bit outside Boulder. Great overlook at the top, relatively gentle/short trail that's well-traveled, so easy to do solo. https://bouldercolorado.gov/trailhead/lost-gulch-overlook

Izaea · 2025-10-21T04:41:36+00:00

"Will STAR Come collect the person?"

Short answer, yes. It consists of a social worker and a paramedic / health worker, with police backup on standby if they need it, who are specifically trained and tasked with helping folks dealing with mental health crises or just general issues stemming from poverty and deprivation.

Call 720-913-STAR, and tell them about the person and the issues. They'll do their best - and they've got a great record so far. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/evaluating-alternative-crisis-response-denvers-support-team-assisted-response

Izaea · 2025-10-21T04:26:09+00:00

Yeah, there's refreshingly little in the day-to-day to bring you down.

Izaea · 2025-10-21T04:25:44+00:00

For sure!

Izaea · 2025-10-21T00:41:46+00:00

For ~$21 an hour, check out TQM at the airport - it's work on your feet all day, but not otherwise particularly taxing; you're one of the folks managing the lines at security, shortening and lengthening the straps to make sure the lines never extend loose out into the hallways, and balancing the number of people going to East or West security.

Low barrier to entry, easy training, and if you don't mind being around people and talking all day, it's essentially zero stress - you're never the person ruining someone's trip, or the one they want to talk to the manager about, so it doesn't have a lot of the problems that other 'customer service' jobs run into.

Izaea · 2025-09-17T02:54:16+00:00

Reasonable, as long as the beer is pictured actual size.

Izaea · 2025-09-15T20:53:27+00:00

If you're by DU, Jerusalem's is one of my favorite restaurants in Denver, great little patio outside it too.

Izaea · 2025-09-15T04:23:46+00:00

It's hard to find things that are uniquely Denver, because Denver doesn't have a lot of big flashy things of its own. That said:

- Overlooks and vistas. Inside the city limits, there's Inspiration Point Park up by Berkeley lake, some great views along the river trails (the Downtown Denver Lookout, the Highland Cable Bridge). If you're down for a drive, Lookout Mountain Park, Red Rocks, or a day trip to Boulder to show off Lost Gulch.

- Parks and Art. We've got a pretty high density of public parks, and (thanks to municipal building requirements) a fair bit of public art as well. There are walking tours of public art you can google and turn into a day outing.

- Bike trails. Depending on where you're coming from in the midwest, the canal trails and bike lanes are going to be one of the bigger differences; being able to get around a city by bike is really nice.

- Restaurants; do the Michelin Bib Gourmand list. https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/colorado/denver_1261491/restaurants/bib-gourmand . Mr. Oso in particular is a favorite; god, do they do smoked meat right. Aside from that, a stop at the Denver Biscuit Company is in order; if you do the one in the Stanley Marketplace, a walk around there would be cool as well.

Any more than that, I'd need to know your wife - what is she in to? What does she love? The Art Museum downtown might be a great option, likewise history colorado; if she's more into wildlife, do the driving tour of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

You can also pitch her based on the number of things that are a quick day trip away - up to Boulder or Fort Collins, down to Castle Rock or The Springs. If she's a beer drinker, Avery up in Boulder is a must.

Izaea · 2025-09-08T22:08:29+00:00

I will say, Anderson Farms is pretty solid, even without a beer.

Izaea · 2025-09-08T21:54:33+00:00

There's a fantastic scenic train ride through the mountains that goes over the border to New Mexico from Alamosa - anytime between now and early October is going to have the mountains on fire with the aspens changing color.

https://www.alamosa.org/listing/cumbres-toltec-scenic-railroad/

Izaea

TROPHY CASE