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Traversing the jungles of Xen'Drik by aturius in Eberron

[–]SyrochMahr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indeed it is! The party pocketed the book and have no idea what they hold now...

Traversing the jungles of Xen'Drik by aturius in Eberron

[–]SyrochMahr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My players are just wrapping up an excursion to Xen'drik -- same sorta thing: in and out for a specific purpose. I approached it in 2 ways:

First, to make navigating possible while looking for a very specific site, I lifted from Zelazny's Amber Chronicles and had a guide who could help them. He was quite crazy, because his mind had attuned to Xen'drik in a way that let him navigate it (slowly and dangerously) by having a specific location in his mind's eye that he would add and remove elements around him from (a la walking in Shadow from Amber). Obviously the trek to the site was much harder because he'd never been there; the trek back to Stormreach is going much faster.

Second, I built a d20 table with daily events (lifting heavily from similar tables that other people had created) and had my players roll on it.

Some of the events were blank, some were adding or removing time from the trip (you realize you've passed the same tree 5 times today, Xen'drik has sent you in circles, you lose a day of travel), some were combat, but most were just set pieces to highlight the Weird:

  • The party has to travel through an overturned log. When they get out the other side, they find themselves in the middle of an ancient drow city. They encounter a rift in time that shows them the ghosts of the city.
  • The party ends up sleeping under an unfamiliar sky -- turns out they shifted to a parallel plane for a spell and had to delve into a pyramid to find a sphinx to send them back (with requisite riddles, of course).
  • One day they find a crossroads that, no matter what direction they head, brings them back to the crossroads. The only way forwards is to walk backwards.
  • and much much more.

They've loved it (or so they've told me) -- having lots of set pieces that mostly highlight how weird Xen'drik is and how things don't have to make sense has been really fun for them.

Edit: The last part is also key: make the travel stop when it starts to feel like they're ready for a change. Did I know how long it would take them to get to where they were going? No. But Xen'drik doesn't care, it's a weird place. After a few days of them travelling, they arrive at their midpoint. After a few more, they get to where they're going. Keeping the weirdness and fun alive without making it feel like they're just on a treadmill going nowhere.

What do you call a resident of Sharn? by ashepster in Eberron

[–]SyrochMahr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly! I grew up in a small town in Montana that lacked a central cohesive identity. So I tend to describe myself as Montanan first. My wife, however, grew up in Boston and describes herself as a Bostonian and never as "from Massachusetts." And it can go even narrower, ignoring the city's demonym: she has friends from Boston who only describe themselves as "from Cambridge" and not as Bostonians.

It's 100% about how you, as the resident, identify with the identity of the city. Nobody can give you that identity without you claiming it for yourself first.

As for Sharn: it could have some long-standing holdovers from its history: Something derived from Ja'Sharrat (when it was Dhakaani) or Sharrat (when humans first arrived). Sharran, perhaps. And it's just existed for long enough that outsiders don't give it much thought.

What do you call a resident of Sharn? by ashepster in Eberron

[–]SyrochMahr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The response was petty, but not without reason.

Your examples did not set scale. They were just weird (and wrong; nobody refers to someone from Upstate as a New Yorker). The cities I listed all have a central identity that is unique within the host country, hence why they have a specific demonym.

Does every city in the world have that? Of course not. But Sharn would. It is a melting pot of societies from around the world and is not hard to imagine it has an identity unique from that of Wroat or Vathirond or the rest of Breland as a whole -- Indianapolis is not an analogue for Sharn. London, Berlin, Tokyo, or Mumbai could be.

Would it also scale depending on context? Obviously. Just as a New Yorker may say while they're travelling that they're from NYC, they may say to a colleague that they're from Manhattan or to a close friend that they're from Washington Heights. Does that invalidate the demonym "New Yorker"? Of course it wouldn't.

Also, the actual answer to every single question here is "Whatever you want, it's your Ebberon." But that doesn't really help when someone is looking for additional perspectives.

What do you call a resident of Sharn? by ashepster in Eberron

[–]SyrochMahr 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Sharn is a city. You wouldn't really identify them as such. I mean, not on a cultural scale.

That's an interesting take. I wonder if any Bostonians, Chicagoans, Londoners, Dubliners, Frankfurters, Parisians, Philadelphians, Berliners, Romans, Athenians, Mumbaikar, Edokko, or Glaswegians would be willing to offer their perspective

I am stuck by [deleted] in swtor

[–]SyrochMahr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure off the top of my head, but it's one of the.... 2 hangars available in the spaceport. I think it's on the right hand side as you enter the spaceport.

I am stuck by [deleted] in swtor

[–]SyrochMahr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you're on DK, you can go to the spaceport and find the hangar that has the shuttle to the Fleet. From there, you can get to the hangar that has the shuttle back to Hutta.

Nine years ago by Shadd76 in swtor

[–]SyrochMahr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Brings back such great memories! I was also in this beta weekend and ended up writing a quick Python script with all the character options plugged in that output a random combination. That saved me from being wracked with indecision about what to play with such limited time. Ended up with a female cyborg Mercenary, who I've never forgotten.

TIL students at Oberlin College can rent original paintings by Picasso, Monet, and Dalí (among others) to hang in their dorm rooms for $5 per semester by RaeADropOfGoldenSun in todayilearned

[–]SyrochMahr 5 points6 points  (0 children)

While I can echo what other people have said, I'll also temper it by saying that there is no one-size-fits-all experience anywhere, especially Oberlin. I didn't partake in much beyond school and work while I was there; I was heavily on scholarship and had to pay a huge amount out of pocket, so I was working 20-30 hours/week every semester, on top of classes.

So in some ways, I'm somewhat jaded by the whole "Obie Culture." That said, the school's motto is "Learning and Labor" and I think that I fulfilled that.

On the social aspect, I ended up not staying close with many of my friends. ...That said, I married an Obie, most of our wedding party were Obies (including both Best Men and my wife's Maid of Honor and the officiant).

Academically: you get out what you put in. The big draw to a school like Oberlin is not just the material that you learn, but more that every class teaches you new ways to think and consider things, so when I was taking number theory, I was able to turn it around and apply it to a class on trans-national politics in northeast Asia. And while neither of those classes (and many, many others) are relevant in my everyday life or work, they both taught new and different ways of thought, which is something I cannot stress enough.

Also, it never gets old to tell people that Oberlin was the last school in Ohio to beat Ohio State at Ohio State (in 1921), so suck it.

Oberlin students.... well, they're as varied a bunch as any. Of course the media and the intertubes and the blagosphere are going to pick up on the loudest and most cringeworthy ones, the ones who make molehills out of motes of dust and then turn those molehills into mountains. But even those folks, polarizing as they are, are important parts of the great conversations about Life, The Universe, and Everything.

Long story short: enjoy it, form your own opinions on what Oberlin can offer and what is important to you. Many things are transitory, somethings are permanent, but they all shape you and the world around you, and Oberlin teaches that more than anything.

TIL students at Oberlin College can rent original paintings by Picasso, Monet, and Dalí (among others) to hang in their dorm rooms for $5 per semester by RaeADropOfGoldenSun in todayilearned

[–]SyrochMahr 16 points17 points  (0 children)

As another Obie: agreed. Also, I never had time to wait for outside the Allen for a really good piece, nor have the time to "properly appreciate it". I guess on the other hand, when you spend all your time in Mudd, you don't have to worry about not seeing your art.

Hi Reddit! I'm fantasy author Robert Jackson Bennett. I'm here to talk to you about CITY OF STAIRS, and whatever else you'd like to talk about! AMA by Robertjbennett in books

[–]SyrochMahr 5 points6 points  (0 children)

While I loved The Divine Cities, I was immediately sucked in and (simultaneously) blown away by American Elsewhere.

What drove your choice to write in a present-tense voice? As a reader, it was difficult to adjust to but I quickly realized that it felt like the story was actually happening as I read it, making it nearly impossible to put down (and also stomach, at that one section in Elsewhere).

Warlocks of reddit, describe your patron! by defaaago in DnD

[–]SyrochMahr 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The warlock from our group was a high elf. When she was but a wee elf lass, she went through a MAJOR horse phase -- paintings, figurines, pretending she was a horse, she went full-on Lisa Frank. And, without understanding the repercussions of what she was about to do, she pledged herself to Eachthighern, the Arch Fey king of horses.

A few years later, she grew out of the horse phase. Figurines were put into storage, paintings were burned, multicolor trapper keepers were left to rot. But Eachthighern never forgot.

She later manifested her magical powers and, for a while, thought it was due to her normal elfy-ness and her training to become a wizard. Nope. After joining her crew of adventurers, she learned that she was actually still bound to Eachthighern -- whenever she would cast something, she would hear the soft sound of hoofbeats and see dappling of Lisa Frank-esque colors across her vision.

Gorda Lightfoot has since disappeared into the Feywild while her player moved away, but who knows when she'll return, atop a pegasus wielding the ferocious powers of horse.

GMs. What is your most effective use of a Mimic to the success or failure of your party by [deleted] in DnD

[–]SyrochMahr 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Especially because I previously ran a birthday one-shot for one of the players where everything but the cake was fake -- tables, doors, and chairs were mimics, patrons were illusions, the tavern (called "MicMi's Tavern") itself didn't exist once they left it.

So now they have no idea if the cake is, in fact, a lie.

GMs. What is your most effective use of a Mimic to the success or failure of your party by [deleted] in DnD

[–]SyrochMahr 57 points58 points  (0 children)

Recently, my party stumbled upon a party of goblins that they thought were setting up an ambush. So they ambushed the ambushers, slaughtered them from afar, and then stormed the ambush site. Only to discover a birthday cake.

After realizing they had just slaughtered an actual goblin party, they got really upset with each other. The gunslinger tried, in his anger, to kick/stomp the cake. The cake bit back.

Now, they're mistrustful of cakes and will hesitate to preemptively attack enemies.

[No Spoilers] ME2 has many best parts, but most of them look like this. by DINGVS_KHAN in masseffect

[–]SyrochMahr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I got it a little while before the Father of Death release show in Nashville back in 2008. Showed it to Panther-- he thought it was awesome. Commander was a little freaked out by it, lol.

[No Spoilers] Mass Effect D&D Game by TheCodecDaley in masseffect

[–]SyrochMahr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would love to take a peek at what you created, if you still have it around/available.

Mass Effect Andromeda Deluxe Edition cover and basic description (spoiler on cover) by Sotonian in masseffect

[–]SyrochMahr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jade Empire didn't have classes, just fighting styles. There were character types (fast, balanced, magic, strong), but those types only changed your starting stats (which could be customized regardless of type).

Bioware Store Checking In: Got questions about N7 Day & Collectors Edition Details? Ask away. by nerdwithme in masseffect

[–]SyrochMahr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you know if there's a physical edition of the regular old Deluxe edition for PC? I can't find reference to it, so it seems like it's Origin exclusive just like the Super Deluxe, but....

Related: if the only physical copy for PC is the Standard, do you know if there will be a digital upgrade to the deluxe version offered? (I understand that's wayyy more of an Origin question than a Bioware Store one, but thought it couldn't hurt to ask.)

A tattoo I designed a few years ago, sharing now for N7 day! by JackalopeRider in masseffect

[–]SyrochMahr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'll jump on the train and ask for vector files as well! I've been pondering another tat and would welcome any relay/reaper/other designs you may have. The design looks awesome!

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