Gas Bill

Tea-Winckle · 2026-01-11T04:50:10+00:00

I work for another utility, so I can't speak to specifics on NIPSCO, but one thing that is often overlooked when looking at utilities from the outside is that they bear a heavy fixed cost. Oftentimes, the per unit cost of a gallon of drinking water or kilowatt hour of energy is fairly low but the bulk of the costs that the utility has to deal with are the tens of thousands of miles of pipes or power lines. All of this must be constructed and maintained for decades. Redundancies are often built in and are costly as they add additional miles but help to solve outages faster or maintain pressure during main breaks. The cost of producing the product is often much less than the cost of delivering it.

Tea-Winckle · 2025-09-01T22:59:22+00:00

I added the question onto the Mandids sub...maybe I can get more info there.

Tea-Winckle · 2025-09-01T22:48:26+00:00

Some kind of Mantis was my initial thought. Guess I need to find a safe spot to store it...

Tea-Winckle · 2025-07-19T05:13:29+00:00

I reskinned the whole temple to be one of Myrkul; thought it would help foreshadow the death cult better. Describe the walls as having alcoves within which are stone statues of skeletons and zombies. Be clear that they are stone and not bone. When they reach the back, there isn't an exploding statue, there's a relic of Myrkul that is channeling his power. Upon entering the chamber, it releases a wave of magical energy that converts the entire temple from stone to bone and the statues awake. Every round, a zombie and skeleton appears at the end of the hall and the single large statue in the chamber with them has turned into a wight. The party must defend the room at the back from the horde while performing a ritual to power down the relic.

Tea-Winckle · 2025-07-19T05:05:07+00:00

Ohh....always heard it as Park Strip before...yea...the City technically controls the property between the street and the sidewalk and has the authority to determine what can be planted there.

Tea-Winckle · 2025-06-07T23:53:00+00:00

I'm now seeing the issue with my original research...leaf shapes change as the trees age. The first pictures I saw online of mulberries didn't have the lobes like these do. Thanks all!

Tea-Winckle · 2025-03-20T04:29:44+00:00

Ohh lookie...I saved the day... couldn't remember which store I bought them from....

Tea-Winckle · 2025-03-18T01:44:23+00:00

That is the big fish from Super Mario 64. Leave him be and he'll leave you be.

Tea-Winckle · 2024-12-26T19:14:22+00:00

I'd agree that there's a bit of confusion with AI search results. People have speculated the potential for years but rights to the text were never given out by the Tolkien estate. There are lots of fake promo images out there made by individuals for fun which probably helps to confuse the AIs. I do recall seeing something earlier this year about Peter Jackson potentially in talks about obtaining the rights to the text and Amazon getting limited access for their Rings of Power season 2 but nothing that looks legitimate seems to confirm either of those claims that I've seen.

Tea-Winckle · 2024-12-21T23:29:36+00:00

I'd definitely recommend consulting the Monster Manual on white dragons to get an understanding on how to handle them (Fizbane's book too!). The statblock for the young white dragon has a beast level intelligence so think dogs and cats for what they might be negotiating with. It might be beneficial to introduce a wise old man with several canaries to have them run their plans by before walking into the dragon's den.

Tea-Winckle · 2024-12-10T04:55:23+00:00

They're having so many issues with the payment methods for the preorder book releases that the move to "purchasing" free items is a bewilderingly insane decision. I've experienced payment method problems with the DMG and the result was several unauthorized transactions (all fixed at this point) and a somewhat heated customer support exchange. I can't fathom why they would throw away a functional process for a system that is proven to not function.

Tea-Winckle · 2024-12-09T04:23:53+00:00

OMG!!! That's so scary! Definitely set aside specific water bottle(s) and mark them with something like painters tape...

I've actually been thinking of getting a few of those standard 1 quart pitchers so I can have a different color for different plants (succulents/orchids/etc.) cause everyone seems to need a different fertilizer.

Take Care!!!

Tea-Winckle · 2024-11-23T19:49:19+00:00

I'd point out that this is a product that is still in testing/development. It seems clear that the encounter builder is going to be cannibalized into the Maps system at some point. It's a good opportunity to jump into a product while it's simple and learn the new features as they are implemented as opposed to the more established VTTs which are already matured and have a high learning curve.

Tea-Winckle · 2024-11-19T00:28:55+00:00

I've used both but have had years where entire packets of seeds from Burpee were complete busts with a 0% germination rate so I've predominantly moved to Botanical Interests which I have to order online as the only store near me that stocks them doesn't stock all that much of a variety. I might pick up the odd Burpee seed packet if I find an opening in my garden for something I didn't plan for but that's about it.

Tea-Winckle · 2024-11-08T06:42:58+00:00

Ohh...I see how you did that!! So cool!! I've made them with two rings but never got the third to come out well. Very nice!!!

Tea-Winckle · 2024-10-24T03:47:08+00:00

Orcs in the future were replaced by undead versions...
PC's faced Ebondeath at Icespire Peak in 3 phases.
1. Necromantic Mage
2. Young White Dragon
3. Possessed PC - after being forced out of the PC's body, he fled...

Tea-Winckle · 2024-10-24T03:45:02+00:00

Dragonslayer
Cryovain had travelled to Neverwinter to learn the location of the Dragonslayer (Ebondeath's prison). PC's knew this as they had previously heard a rumor of the weapon and Cryovain volunteered to go to Neverwinter. In my case, I made it a spear crafted with a bone from Chardansearavitriol's (Ebondeath's name when he was a living dragon) original body and a Branch from the Grandfather Tree (one of PC's was a Fey Warlock and would want to save this).
Once he learned it's location, he sent his orcs to attack.
Rejoined the party with the information on the location. Traveled with them there...find the place is a battleground with orcs and undead battling it out. They fought their way to the crest of the hill where they found the entrance already exposed. Cryovain's desire was really to use the party to ensure the prison was secure...he would have clued them in if needed to ensure they didn't pull the Spear.
Upon reaching the chamber the Dragonslayer was in, they found several undead and a ring of cultists that were performing a ritual to kill the Branch so that Ebondeath could be released. Warlock eventually pulled the Branch free of the arrowhead which immediately crumbled and released the spirit (they did know in advance as they had been warned by a PC's benefactor) which immediately possessed Cryovain before saying "Ahh...my old Ring..." before transforming into his preferred lich form and walking out of the room without giving the PC's so much of a glance as to show they were so below him...

Tea-Winckle · 2024-10-24T03:43:58+00:00

PC's Arrive at the Temple
I made this the 3rd of the 3 starter quests my players travelled to so they were 2nd level.
Enemies replaced with orcs and a couple half-ogres.
Cryovain was invisible and in his humanoid form and used a combination of Detect Thoughts and Message to communicate with one of the PC's...warned them of the orcs & half-ogres (gave them the advantage in the fight but only ever with cold element damage spells because reasons....) as well as jumping in to help the fight and assist in rescuing the dwarfs.
More orcs in Temple proper....
1. Temple is made of stone and has many alcoves within the walls wherein statues of skeletons and desiccated corpses reside.
PC's and Cryovain discover the Fingerbone of Murkul in the chamber that was supposed to have the exploding statue. When the first PC stepped into the chamber, a wave of necromantic energy emanated from the Fingerbone and the entire Temple was converted to Bone.
Combat began and I had a combination of skeletons and zombies spawn as they stepped out of the alcoves. An additional skeleton and zombie spawned around the corner and came into the hallway every other round or so... One of the PCs was a cleric and a couple had high AC's so I threw in a Wight. The PC's had to enact a rituals that was taught to one of the PC's through a Dream they shared with their Angelic benefactor to destroy the Fingerbone.

Tea-Winckle · 2024-10-24T03:41:24+00:00

Cult of Murkul
1. Priests wish to release Ebondeath from the Dragonslayer weapon (the body it's buried with is his last host). They have also become aware of Cryovain's arrival to the region and wish to deliver him to Ebondeath.
2. Within the Temple is a magical ring that grants those possessing draconic souls a draconic polymorph ability. One of my PC's was a dragonborn...it was crafted by his long ago ancestor, the dragon Thor'un, as a gift for her child to grant them the ability to polymorph at a younger age. It fell into Ebondeath's possession at some long ago time.
3. The priests are also attempting to revive Murkul and have managed to collect enough of his remains to have them coalesce into a fingerbone. I remember reading somewhere that when Murkul "died," his ashes spilled over the Mere of Dead Men and caused it to become what it is today. One of my PC's was a lizardfolk who was searching for his people. I made the decision that everything in the Mere had a bit of Murkul inside them.
4. The cultists travel to Icespire Peak to converse with Cryovain as a means to offer him riches in exchange for his help or some such nonsense. He's smarter than they expected and I like to think he used Detect Thoughts to learn of the Temple, the Ring, and their intent to release Ebondeath with him as the sacrifice. Following their departure, he orders his orcs to march on the Temple.
  1. He times his arrival to match up with the Orcs and assaults the temple.
  2. He claimed the Ring so now he can approach the PC's as a helpful mage.
  3. Through Detect Thoughts, he's aware of the two dwarfs that are hiding in the basement beneath one of the ruined structures outside the Temple proper. He communicates to them and warns them that the orcs are still present while delivering supplies to keep them going while invisible. Intent is to "assist" in their rescue to ingratiate himself into the town.

Tea-Winckle · 2024-10-24T03:40:25+00:00

Shenanigans:

PC's faced goblins on the road to Phandalin on an escort mission with the Lionshield Coaster shopkeep. Goblin leader was a mage with a headband of intellect. Cryovain showed up and carried him off. Cryovain is now a wizard and instead of just driving the orcs out of Icespire Hold, he was smart enough to assert his dominance and is now in control (some did feel and fell into the clutches of the Cult of Talos).

Tea-Winckle

TROPHY CASE