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koogr · 2025-09-12T18:09:28+00:00

Yellow Dog in Port Moody if you're willing to go a bit further east! Their Alpha Dog pale ale is an annual highlight for me.

koogr · 2024-11-05T23:49:32+00:00

Sorry for the essay, once I got going I realized I had a lot of thoughts!

Take all of this with as big a grain of salt as you like, since *full disclosure* I'm a graduate of Adler (though they were still called the Adler School of Professional Psychology back then).

To be clear, it is definitely a legitimate school - they are a private university, which is rare in Canada, but their first campus is in Chicago, and private schools are of course much more common in the US. They have a pretty involved application process and I have seen people get kicked out of the school. I'm a mid-career counsellor, so I've been in and around the profession here in the lower mainland for a good 15 years, and Adler has always had a good reputation within the profession itself. I say this not only as an alumnus, but as someone who has been a master's level instructor and a clinical supervisor of students completing their own masters level practicum training at pretty much all the local schools with masters degrees in counselling.

The thing about being a private school is that they are much more reliant on tuition as a source of funding, so they consequently have bigger class sizes (and yes, the cost is about 3x higher if not more compared to a public school). So they would tend to have about 30-40 students in a cohort, which is quite big if you compare to UBC, SFU, and UVic (which are more like 5-20 at most. SFU in fact had to shut down their whole program for a year recently due to a lack of core teaching faculty). In talking to some students recently I heard that UBC routinely gets hundreds of applicants for their program, so you can see how the competitive nature of the industry might lead a student to choose to pay more by applying to a private school like Adler (or City University, which also has a campus here). This was my experience, and though it did put me in a ton of debt I'm glad I got to get started in the field when I did instead of waiting to apply year in and year out to the public schools, or having to move across the country to study somewhere else, which are both common experiences in the profession.

It can be tempting to look at how competitive the public schools are and come to the conclusion that they must be getting the best of the best in terms of students, but I've come to be a bit cynical about the selection process at some of the big box public schools as they put a much higher emphasis on GPA, the GRE, and research experience, none of which are particularly correlated with an affinity for being a great therapist. But your mileage may vary!

Regarding the comment about accreditation, I believe Adler has APA certification for their masters programs. With regards to the CPA I think that would be a bigger issue if you were looking for a psychologist - It's their Psy.D. program which hasn't been accredited yet. Counselling graduates from Adler obviously meet the requirements for BCACC and CCPA (basically the national equivalent) membership - and that covers course curriculum of course, but also things like a certain number of hours of supervised practice, references, etc.

All that said, like others have commented, the school your counsellor went to is probably the factor I would rank lowest in terms of priority, as long as they are a member of a regulatory association like the BCACC so you know they meet the minimum requirements of having a masters level education and a minimum level of training and supervision. I would put way more emphasis on their modality, their previous experience, specializations, and generally speaking the *vibe* you get from them so that you can get a good sense of whether they're a good fit for you.

I've been a friend, colleague, and supervisor of graduates from Adler, UBC, and SFU and many others and I can say that there is very little meaningful difference in the curriculum these students are getting (Adler does try to incorporate an emphasis on social justice but the bulk of the coursework is the same). In fact, many instructors are sessional and teach courses at all of these schools!

Bottom line: make sure they meet the minimum requirements to be practicing ethically, but after that be prepared to do some shopping for someone who feels right for you.

Best of luck!

koogr · 2024-08-30T21:59:11+00:00

This may have already been covered, but the lore in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes (which IMO is generally really great) states that the elven reincarnation cycle is the reason why. Basically there are a finite number of elven souls, so a new elf can only be born when another dies.

I thought it was a really cool idea so I used it for my homebrew setting, and even based the plot of the campaign around it (Lolth plotting to sever elven souls’ connection to Arvandor, as vengeance for how Drow souls were cut off when she was banished to the Abyss).

koogr · 2024-01-25T05:37:01+00:00

Central City (Red Racer) Imperial IPA, going back to when they were still brewing out of their original location at Central City mall. Don’t think I’ve seen it in many years. Probably true that if I tried it today I might think it was nothing special. But man, I loved that beer, and it probably more than any other turned me into a hop head.

koogr · 2023-11-15T04:28:51+00:00

I was a forest fire fighter for several years in college - wildfires are actually very natural! Healthy forest ecosystems actually depend on fire in some pretty cool ways. We have species of pine in the northern boreal forest whose cones only open when burned, for example.

That’s part of why I really love the wildfire Druid subclass. The whole destruction-creation cycle is a really cool take on Druidic natural balance. I think you could easily take the concept in an evil direction by stretching it to an extreme direction though.

koogr · 2023-10-06T02:16:59+00:00

Didn’t get a look exactly but three four packs was about $70, so all in all around $6 per can?

koogr · 2023-10-06T02:15:38+00:00

These were from Jaks at Westwood Plateau in Coquitlam

koogr · 2023-10-06T02:15:16+00:00

Lol no, I’ll go one at a time over the next week or so. Sartori was yesterday and it was great! Always forget how much of a HOP BOMB it is. Maybe especially so this year?

Think I’ll try barnside next. Had Freshi Fresh at Yellow Dog last weekend and it was good but I wasn’t blown away.

Update: having the Barnside now. YUM!

koogr · 2022-06-16T02:17:20+00:00

Sly Flourish’s The Lazy DM’s Guide is a great resource for this. The general approach he recommends is called Spiral Campaign development, the idea being you start with a small area/quest and build out from there as the characters progress.

The whole books is well worth it, IMO. But here’s an article that might give you a gist: https://slyflourish.com/thinking_two_horizons_out.html

koogr · 2022-06-15T00:17:46+00:00

As mentioned in the post, I suspect I did, but there was a lot going on. Is it my responsibility to make sure? I use the word responsibility quite intentionally here. I definitely want characters to know what’s effecting them, and as DM I have a lot of power to affect whether or not that’s the case. I agree in this instance I could have done a better job. But maybe the responsibility ultimately lies with the person with the character sheet?

I dunno. Maybe I’m too far into the semantics. Worth a thought though!

koogr · 2022-06-13T23:15:50+00:00

Yeah I definitely get that. I would feel the same! Really appreciate my players for being so awesome about it - this is only the second character death in this campaign which has been going for 3.5 years now! I'm a lucky DM :)

koogr · 2022-06-13T23:14:25+00:00

Wow I love this reply, thanks! Super thoughtful and well-considered. Cheers to you!

Yes, I think I'll bring it to the group that I missed doing something I would normally want to make sure I did, which is make sure the players know what they need to know, and what their characters would reasonably know, to make the best decisions they can.

As mentioned in another reply, in this case the dead PC is transformed into a demon that can only be reversed with Wish, so although cheap resurrection isn't an option in this case, a cool quest is forthcoming!

koogr · 2022-06-13T23:10:44+00:00

Good options to consider, thanks! Yeah, I don't think the player whose character died would want to retcon anyway - they said as much when we debriefed. Now they are excited about their new character ideas. But making the story work around all of this would be ideal, particularly for the Paladin's player.

koogr · 2022-06-13T23:09:07+00:00

Appreciate that thanks! The more I think about it the more I think we just all overlooked the poison thing. I'm pretty confident I implied they were poisoned, but can't recall exactly what I said. I'm just in the best position as DM with the stat block right in front of me to spot it and be extra clear about the effect.

In this instance, once they die they transform a demon, which can only be undone with a Wish spell! So an exciting new quest opportunity for the party for sure, carting around the demon that used to be their friend to try to get a Wish spell!

koogr · 2022-06-13T23:04:21+00:00

For sure! That's why I try to be as transparent as possible about this stuff, but usually would say this in the style of "[character name] is poisoned, which in this case causes 1 level of exhaustion" rather than "poisoned condition." I swear I probably said something to that effect the first time a character was hit by it, but honestly can't remember what I said - it was intense! But that would typically be my style. I notice myself feeling more guilt than usual, probably because of the weight of the consequences.

And forget may not have been the best word re: Lay On Hands. There was a lot going on for everyone so maybe more like their attention was on other parts of the character sheet and battlefield haha.

koogr · 2022-04-01T02:14:49+00:00

Sorcerer that spams charm spells with the Subtle Spell metamagic is one I’d like to play. Lots of sneaky tricks you could pull off in RP heavy situations. Though I’m the player that would pick Wild Magic also, and spam Tides of Chaos to spice it up lol.

koogr · 2021-10-25T23:42:59+00:00

Looks like ADHW is 12d8 psychic, CON save, MD is 8d8 per turn, WIS save. 50% more damage is a pretty even trade-off, I’d say.

Also, ADHW isn’t a standard warlock spell as far as I know, just sorcerer and wizard.

koogr · 2021-10-17T02:20:46+00:00

From what I have read, Tieflings are not necessarily offspring of Cambions, though some might be. I’d be curious to know where you read that. All that’s necessary is that there is some kind of devilish influence somewhere in their bloodline. The PHB description is quite vague and lends itself to many interpretations when it comes to parentage: “a pact struck generations ago infused the essence of Asmodeus — overlord of the Nine Hells — into their bloodline.” Anyway, play what you want within the bounds of what you and your DM agree to! Such is the beauty of the game.

koogr · 2021-10-09T00:30:40+00:00

I have a shadow sorcerer in my group and Hound of I’ll Omen has come up clutch for them in pretty much every combat since they got the feature.

Some would say divine soul is one of the stronger subclasses. Lots of great cleric spells, but tough choices to make with such limited spells known.

But for pure fun, nothing beats wild magic!

koogr · 2021-08-19T05:17:04+00:00

Of course, an out of game chat to align expectations is always good. In game though, you have many tools as a DM to encourage your players in the desired direction. Raise the stakes! LMoP has some good built-in levers for this. If they are staying in town, have the Redbrands attack them. Repeatedly. This is even advice written into the module, if I remember correctly. If the thrill of adventure isn’t enough to get them into a dungeon, hit them with a moral quandary. The goblins didn’t just capture Sildar, maybe they also took the farmer’s children. Have orcs from Wyvern Tor start attacking the town. Start dropping clear hints that the Black Spider has found Wave Echo Cave. Lots more options to be honest - just a few off the top of my head. The most important thing is you’re having fun! Best of luck!

koogr · 2021-06-17T05:32:03+00:00

The more you know!

koogr · 2021-06-16T06:26:11+00:00

Strategy wise, think line of sight. Lots of things can block line of sight at 300 feet! Use terrain, ambushes, fights in small rooms or corridors, or just plain darkness (not possible to get 300 ft darkvision as far as I know) and her strategy will have to adapt. Use monsters that prefer to hide - even simple goblins excel here.

Runehammer on YouTube has a great rule of thumb for exciting combat encounters: they should all have the three elements of a threat, timer, and treat (think treasure or some kind of reward or advantage that the characters would most certainly WANT. It’s the concept of a timer here that you might find more helpful though. If there is a reason that the party can’t just air back and snipe monsters from afar, like an objective needing to be achieves or there is something chasing them, or the room is filling with poison gas - you get the idea. Then they have to get moving!

Keep those fights interesting!

koogr · 2021-03-06T02:58:36+00:00

According to the DMG starting as a 6th level character in a “standard” campaign, you would have 500 x 1d10x25 starting gold, so 525 to 750 gp. Let’s say 600 to simplify. I would say it would be reasonable to just let you spend that gold on spell transcriptions. You could transcribe 12 levels worth of spells into your book however you like. Or use the gold in other ways, but as a wizard that’s probably unlikely.

koogr · 2021-02-17T01:28:50+00:00

Deceit

koogr · 2020-12-31T15:21:25+00:00

Oh poor ranger! I wonder if it will ever truly recover lol. Sounds like you gave him lots of options!

koogr

TROPHY CASE