tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70647879875730088252024-03-13T04:57:39.667-07:00The Ghost without a ShellStarted with a million, still writing...John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comBlogger743125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-47657222503257644142020-07-23T10:45:00.001-07:002020-07-23T10:45:17.171-07:00Expo Awards - Judging in a time of Social Distancing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GxYnnfzP744/XxnJWX06f7I/AAAAAAAAFuo/U1Mj39I9aKsRdKOMjHSjK9L0aK8plvAEQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/20200714_224013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GxYnnfzP744/XxnJWX06f7I/AAAAAAAAFuo/U1Mj39I9aKsRdKOMjHSjK9L0aK8plvAEQCPcBGAYYCw/s320/20200714_224013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In previous years, it hasn't been quite so much of a problem to be able to judge the awards, as getting them to the individual groups hasn't required that we be aware of protocols including not being able to meet up in person.<br />
<br />
So what, I hear everyone ask, there's always PDF's of the product to look through, not seeing the problem.<br />
<br />
Historically, the expo awards have been judged on several different criteria, and many of the products submitted can't be judged objectively by a PDF (or indeed, don't have PDFs of them), so meeting up was agreed to be the best way forwards.<br />
<br />
For the last two weeks, I've been journeying up and down the country and taking all submissions to the judges, or they've been coming to me and we've been doing the judging out in a garden with whatever lights we could find to make the best of things when the daylight started to give in.<br />
<br />
As always, the judges are appropriately bribed for their services with a good meal and as much as they can drink, and as always, we never name the judges, except to be clear that none of the judges have worked on any of the awards submitted, and range in age from low teens to mid fifties to get a good range of different perspectives on what has been put forwards. <br />
<br />
As Expo has grown in popularity, so too have the awards, and we had to split them into categories a few years back. For these reviews, we won't be giving the judges marks or making comment on how well the product did, but we will be noting what was particularly noticed about it and if there were particular positive/negative things said about the submissions.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1_wlHLN5fOs/XxnJWXmXC1I/AAAAAAAAFuw/nF_PKQktTWQIHfMGl6YYuZ0p5t4dQ00_ACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/20200714_221927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1_wlHLN5fOs/XxnJWXmXC1I/AAAAAAAAFuw/nF_PKQktTWQIHfMGl6YYuZ0p5t4dQ00_ACPcBGAYYCw/s320/20200714_221927.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After six hours of judging, even the coffee couldn't keep us at it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With that, a big thanks to all the judges for all their work in this, we couldn't do it without you.</div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-60175779515840553142020-04-14T02:14:00.001-07:002020-04-14T02:14:15.675-07:00Corona’s Virus Adventurers Guild Briefing - Messiah's and Morons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ex7VhHnCZA8/XpV-vcJgCWI/AAAAAAAAFsY/QZRlSn-4ZJkXqRMJju0UPA5O9Lx98DjXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20200414_083853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ex7VhHnCZA8/XpV-vcJgCWI/AAAAAAAAFsY/QZRlSn-4ZJkXqRMJju0UPA5O9Lx98DjXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/20200414_083853.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Morning Everyone</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Busy weekend, good weather contributed
to a whole bunch of idiots buggering off down the docks to sit on the beach,
thanks to all of you who gave up the Easter Sunday to work crowd control, and
of course, the announcement that our glorious leader has managed to fight off
the virus and has risen again to lead us in our time of need…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Risen again… On Easter Sunday…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I don’t pay much attention to what
politicians get up to most of the time, but when someone’s constructed a
narrative that has him as the Risen Lord, I have to ask one thing…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">What was he doing in the previous 40
days…? What had he give up for Lent?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh yeah, he’d given up caring about
everyone but himself, good job there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Still, we’ve had a report from the brewing
house, there’s a lot of beer that about to be spoiled and we’re going to need
volunteers to…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sit down Lebowski, I’m not finished yet…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We’re needing volunteers to take the
beer that’s nearly gone and get it over to the baking guilds, turns out that if
you mix beer and flour, add a little sugar, you get bread, and we’re needing
bread more than beer at the moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s not heresy Lebowski, that’s facts,
there’s more than a thousand barrels down there, and that’s enough to make
bread for most of the city and then some.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’re running low on a number of supplies, so until the relief ships get
here, we’re going to be prioritising keeping essential services running and
repurposing buildings as they’re needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m glad to see that most of you didn’t
take the caravan north to rejoin the army, can’t say that I’d have relished
losing you all to that, and as we figured, the local criminals took the
announcement to mean that they thought you’d all take the chance and get out of
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>City watch reports that it’s had
some of their uniforms lost, nothing else taken, but it means that we’re going
to be getting a lot of fake watchmen out there for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re circulating advice on flyers delivered
by the air elementals about not letting watchmen in the house, but there’s only
so long that’s going to hold, so we’re going to be called in for more and more
domestic matters as this goes on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Never thought I’d say it, but I miss
being in dank dungeons covered in entrails and fighting for my life, that was
easy compared to this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zargolds
president has reported that he’s got it all under control, but remember that
the last time he recommended anything, it was household bleach because “It’ll
clean all the Germs out…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
meantime, you all know the score, Messiah’s and Morons all around, Just
remember.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-17408883776882832952020-04-09T05:17:00.003-07:002020-04-09T05:17:45.135-07:00Corona's Virus Adventurers Guild Daily Briefing - Mogs and Moguls<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Morning Everyone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We’ve had word from Rashenjot that
they’re mobilising the army to keep the capital safe, all reserves are ordered
to report there as soon as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
know several of you were reserves once and may wish to go and help those who
were your comrades, you owe this place nothing, so if any of you wish to go,
take my blessing for safe travel and be out here tomorrow, there’s a caravan
heading north to the capital with supplies enough for everyone to make it there
well fed and rested.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">News for this morning, we did the
inventory on the city councils warehouses, seems that the only thieves we
should have worried about were those that had the money to buy everything in
advance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More Iron rations than I’ve
seen in many years, and enough clean water to wash the whole of the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve sent a runner to the safe haven that the
council are all using to report our failure in managing to protect their goods
from the thieves guild, and promised that retribution and justice will be swift
and merciless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Which it will be…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">To the crime of hoarding while
pretending to be righteous - Guilty<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">To the crime of running away when you
should have stood with your people – Guilty<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sentence to be redistribution of all
hoarded items to the places where they should have been in the first place, the
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By our reckoning, there’s enough
here to feed every household in the vicinity for more than a week, volunteers
for handing things out would be appreciated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In other news, widespread reports of
animals carrying the virus have come to us, we’ve had a word with the shapeshifters
who in turn have reported back that there’s nothing going around the animals
they’ve spoken to, beyond a complete bemusement at how most of the two legs are
behaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reports of a gang of cats on
the west side terrorising their way into a butchers by climbing up on the
window sill and then sneezing are to be discounted, the shapeshifters have
spoken to the Feline Fellowship, who deny all such practises and condemn them as
deplorable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That the shapeshifters smelled
a quantity of fresh beef in the back of the Fellowship halls is also to be
discounted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You catch any cat guilty of
sneezing with intent, bag the furry fraudster and bring them in, we’ll see what
strenuous disinfecting does to dampen their antics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Things seem to be quietening down a little,
hopefully we’ve done enough to make the difference and things might soon start
getting back to normal, I know I prefer a bit of straight forwards crowd
control to all this social engineering, and I’m sure all of you do too, just
remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-53985975448883759302020-04-08T03:54:00.001-07:002020-04-08T03:54:31.686-07:00Corona's Virus Adventurers Guild Briefing - Idiots and Ironworks.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Corona’s Virus Adventurers Guild
Briefing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Morning Everyone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">City watch has thrown us a number of
reports of large groups of people breaking lockdown, they’ve requested our help
in making sure people stay in and observe the rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to say that for once, I’m not inclined
to help and here’s why.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In the beginning, there was doubt,
everyone thought this was just the flu and that it’d roll over soon, gatherings
continued and it’s likely that a whole lot of us caught the damn thing before
the council made a decision to keep everybody locked down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can’t say as I blame them, Balion citizens
are notoriously independent, or “Stubborn” as most other continents call us, so
responding to calls to stay inside when it wasn’t seen as anything dangerous
was never going to happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now we know it’s lethal, and there’s
still people going outside, knowing what’s out there. You’ve all seen the
junior adventurers on their first run charging into fights with Minotaurs that
are going to use their head for Doomball practice, they do it because they believe
that they can handle whatever’s out there, and that’s why a whole bunch of them
don’t make it through their apprenticeship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Because there’s no training room for the
real world, and when you find yourself out there, calling time out just means
it knows it’s got you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">And that’s what we’re going to get here…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Can’t threaten them with jail, just
turns the cells into a breeding ground for the virus, and there’s more of them
than there are of us, so sitting outside their house with a meaningful stare
isn’t going to help either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s clear
they only care about themselves, so we’re going to work with that…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">After apprehending Oldarov yesterday, he’s
offered to help us in return for not being put in jail with magecuffs, so tomorrow
there’s going to be reports of Air Elementals wreaking havoc in public areas,
and we’re going to ignore them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
following day we’re going to put out an apology that we were too busy trying to
police the lockdown to deal with the Air Elementals, and that if people stayed
inside, we’d be doing a lot better at dealing with actual threats, rather than
truculent tossers…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In other news, the Flame sisters forge
just announced that they’re doing a special on custom weaponry and armour. With
the virus going around, they haven’t been getting the usual repair trade that
they rely on, so if you get chance, put something their way rather than
ordering from Zomaza up in Desel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t
support them now, they’re not going to be around when this all lifts, and I
like having competent smiths on my doorstep rather than having to wait for a
giant workshop to get around to delivering what I ordered three weeks ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s everything for the morning, Idiots and
Ironworks, just remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-43643834823187175942020-04-07T14:00:00.001-07:002020-04-07T14:00:26.264-07:00Corona's Virus Adventurers Guild Briefing, Plagues and Protection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Morning Everyone</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hell of a thing this morning, we had a report
from the rangers over at the Tolran forest, there’s a band of plague cultists
on their way over to us, be here in a couple of days. It’s not what you’re thinking,
they’re coming here for sanctuary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Yep, devotees of the plague god and they’re
coming here to get away from the virus…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s what
they said to the rangers, and they were convincing enough that the rangers didn’t
fill them with arrows and leave them to the sky, so there’s probably something
in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trouble is that while they’re
fleeing from one plague, they’ll be bringing more than one with them, so we’re going
to take the high ground on this one and allocate them a space outside the city
with a bunch of tents so that they’ve got somewhere to be. The Paladins have
already offered to go out there and take them supplies, but if those cultists get
near the city, they get a short sharp warning and if that doesn’t work, a short
sharp end, take no chances, we at least have a clue what we’re doing with Corona’s
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">All well and good to exist outside of
society while it suits you and then want to come back in when the world gets a little
rough, and we take the vows of hospitality seriously, but we look after those
who’ve worked to keep the city in one piece before we look to those who’ve been
working to bring it down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">On that note, with the council out of town
and their guards with them, we’re looking for volunteers to go around their
various properties and make sure that they’re secure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re not doing this out of civic duty, we’re
doing this because we’re absolutely sure that the thieves guild is already
sending their people out there to make sure that they’re not secure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need inventory on everything that’s in
there, because we’re not thieves, and anything that goes missing, we’re going
to go looking around certain thieves’ homes to make sure it didn’t end up going
there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Anyone remember when we went on quests
and did heroic things for a living?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A word on that, because we’ve all been
doing what needs to be done for a few weeks now, and I can see that it’s
weighing heavily on some of you, so here’s the thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We started out as Fighters, as Mages, as
Thieves, and now we’re here using talents that could find us far more money elsewhere
and we’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we’re more than that now, people need us,
you saw it when we confiscated all the Gelatinous Cube, you saw it when we made
sure all the food got distributed fairly, and now they see us as the lifeline
that no one else can offer them, and maybe we are, maybe we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s difficult to appreciate that what you’re
doing is making a difference when you have to do it all the time, but we are
making the difference, and without us, there’d be a whole lot more misery out
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get our thanks from the breath
of the living every day, and I never thought I’d say it, but for me, that’s
enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you all know the score, just
remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-87103368388694028622020-04-06T11:15:00.003-07:002020-04-06T11:15:23.372-07:00Corona’s Virus Adventurers Guild Briefing - Scammers and Sailors<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Morning Everyone</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Lot of reports of Scams going around the
province recently, people hearing nothing but bad news are more likely to want
to believe good news, and that in turn plays into the hands of those who are
willing to put good news out there, even if it isn’t true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Case in point, we’ve had official paperwork
from the <i>Illenia Ascendant</i> requesting permission to cast off and leave
port towards Tyravig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any other ship and
it wouldn’t have made the briefing, but that ship’s been laid up for more than
six years, recently got bought by a private individual through a consortium of
merchants, and now they’re offering passage to Tyravig where there’s no infection,
bargain price of three thousand golden rails a head, more than any of us make
in a year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Now, you know, and I know, Tyravig’s
just as infected as everywhere else, and even if it wasn’t, it would be if all
the people who are going to get on that ship got there, but we don’t think that’s
the consortiums aim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did a little
checking on the crew roster, not one of them ever served in the Navy or the
Merchant Marine, so the chance of that ship making it anywhere isn’t high, and the
chance of it making it all the way to Tyravig?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The captain’s name is Tyrus Oldarov, Mage, used to be a swimmer in the
Balion Olympics team till they caught him using Water Elementals for a speed
boost and disqualified him for life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Way
we figure it, he uses the Elementals to get the ship out into reasonably deep
waters, and then sinks everything and they take him to another country where he
does the same again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve seen that he’s
already overloaded with passengers and there’s a waiting list that he’s working
down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Problem here is that we can’t stop people
leaving, the lockdown is on the city, and if anyone gets out of it, short of force,
there’s nothing we can do or say to them that’s going to convince them that
staying here is a better idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With this in mind, I need a show of
hands to repaint a mages tower…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Yep, repaint a mages tower…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only way we save all the people on that
ship is to get it to sink in the harbour, and to do that, we need something
that can repel the Elementals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rayelle Srenas
is willing to do it, but on condition that someone cleans all the “Take your
virus with you” slogans scribbled on her tower and mount a guard on it for the
next month or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>City watch will
provide the guard if we do the cleaning, all those volunteering get a boon from
the city reserves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In other news, the Alliance of
Affordable Companions have applauded our efforts in the last two weeks, and are
offering their services for free, to any member of the guild.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You all know the score with this, I don’t
mind them applauding us, I just don’t want them clapping us, so just remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-5406920095653438672020-04-04T14:44:00.001-07:002020-04-04T14:44:01.388-07:00Corona's Virus Adventurers Guild Briefing - Pitchforks and Pillocks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Corona’s Virus Adventurers Guild
Briefing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Morning Everyone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We had a few warrants in this morning,
but rather than put them up on the board and let everyone go looking for them,
I’m going to tear them up and send them back short form and I’ll tell you why.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Warrant one was for the apprehension and
beating of one Beaufort Williamson, for, and I quote, the crime of singing at
the top of his voice every morning for forty minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Warrant two was an open bounty for the
pursuit and beating of anyone found walking more than once in the green hills
just to the north.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emphasis on <i>pursuit</i>
and beating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We’re going to get more of these before
this is done, some people handle isolation just fine, some, well, you don’t
need to be in a cell to be in a jail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Warrants like these are what happens when people look out of their
window and they’re not able to ignore what they used to be able to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Things that they found a minor annoyance very
quickly become things that they’d happily murder for, and when I say happily
murder, I mean happily murder someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m sure this isn’t the only place these
warrants are going to be placed, and I’m not going to stop any of you going
after any of them you want, but just remember that sooner or later, some bored
bugger is going to watch us all wandering around helping and decide that a battle
royale would be a great way to spice up the day, and I’m not wanting to be
around on the day that one lands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Two more things, we had a report of
indiscriminate damage to two mages towers, one of them had “Take your virus
back” painted on the side afterwards. I don’t need to tell all of you that it’s
nothing to do with our mages, but be on the lookout for our mages in the coming
days, some idiot decided to blame all mages, and all those who lack the brains
to question things for themselves got a few pitchforks and went painting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re lucky they only targeted buildings and
not the mages inside them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Finally, we lost one of our own, “Fast”
Edward Branchwalker, he was sneezing the last time people saw him and they
found him dead this morning on the docks, so the words got around that it was
the virus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me be clear, Eddie was
once a Paladin in the service of the Revelations and he had hayfever, the sword
that did him in wasn’t wielded by the virus and no matter what the healers say,
we ain’t reporting it that way either. Service is in two days, Eddie’s request
was that everyone dress really badly and bring jokes that only adventurers
would want to hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s everything for today, be on the lookout
for Pitchforks and Pillocks, just remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /><br />
</div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-69196417799321014142020-04-03T13:28:00.002-07:002020-04-03T13:28:28.176-07:00Corona's Virus Adventurers Guild Daily Briefing - Of politicians and politics...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Morning Everyone,</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Whole lot of you been wondering what happened
the last two days, and I have to tell you, first day was April fools, and I
have to say, there’s enough fools out there for all of us, didn’t want anyone
thinking this was one more. The second day, well, that’s why I’m here today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I had to attend a city council meeting
yesterday, and it took most of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A lot of you are wondering why it takes so long to do these meetings,
and here’s where I’m going to share a few things with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The city council is made up of people who may
once have been just like you and me, but somewhere along the way, they got some
power and they wanted to keep it. There’s a whole lot of interests going on in
any council meeting, not all of which are lined up with what’s best for the
people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The people, that’d be you and me, not them…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">After about eight hours of listening to
people argue about why we couldn’t do anything because it got in the way of something
that was important to them personally, my natural diplomacy failed, and I
cleared my throat to try and get their attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">You’ve never seen a room clear so fast…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A minute previous, they’d been arguing
that they’d been on the front line looking out for all their people, one second
after, the chamber was clear of everyone but me, Watch Commander Tarven, and
Captain Ortren of the Queens guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bright
side up thought, it turns out that without politicians watching out for their
own interests, you can get a lot done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All overtime is hereby sanctioned, the mages guild have been paid off to
provide all those magical anti virus helmets that were ordered by the council.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Don’t get your hopes up, they only
ordered ten of them… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">What good are ten masks I hear you
say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, the council numbers ten, so
maybe they were valiantly <i>testing </i>them on our behalf… I’m not looking
for comments, and I’m not giving any, we take what we can and we do what we can
with it, masks will be here tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In other news, word from Invicarn is that
they may have found a test to show if you have the virus or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to hold fire on announcing that, as
the last time I saw their test, it was sitting you in a room for a day and
seeing if you coughed in that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
more thing, got a few questions on the council reports about what is or isn’t essential
supplies, the questions came from the National Adventurers Association, so let
me be clear in this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Longswords are not essential items in these
times, Magical trinkets are not essential in these times, and that shipment of
dark fruit chocolate from the western continents is not, regrettably, an essential
item.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep it simple everyone and just
remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-73356233387303912362020-03-31T14:45:00.002-07:002020-03-31T14:51:49.373-07:00Corona's Virus Adventurers Guild briefing day 8 - Murderhobo's diminishing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c7bIrVWV2Jk/XoO7bgPuVnI/AAAAAAAAFr8/sd4xx92FJZMb4vhzonrOql4qkGVAFA9AACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/murderhobos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="736" height="255" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c7bIrVWV2Jk/XoO7bgPuVnI/AAAAAAAAFr8/sd4xx92FJZMb4vhzonrOql4qkGVAFA9AACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/murderhobos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Morning Everyone</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It’s been an interesting morning so far,
we’ve had an envoy from the Ratlin council in the Illenial hills come down this
morning, not the usual complaints of too many adventurers straying from the agreed
treasure drops to get easy wins, but an enquiry into what we were doing
different that’s caused the attacks to cease entirely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We sent a few of you out in the day to
see what’s been going on, turns out that all the local non-human population
have been experiencing far lower levels of attack from overzealous idiots
trying to make a quick win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Seems that the fear of the virus is
keeping our local Murderhobo population inside, drinking and eating to forget
their problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Net result, a whole lot
of the people who normally get the brunt of their attacks are wondering why
there’s been no attacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have assured
them that this isn’t some grand strategy by the Murderhobos to put them in a
false sense of security before they come back, but I have recommended that they
spend the time putting up better defences while they’ve got chance. Tuckers
kobolds were travelling through the area a few days ago, and I’ve put in a
recommendation that they get in touch and see if they can’t make life a little
harder for our resident lunatic fringe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It does raise an interesting point
though, as most of the work we do is out there in the wilds working commissions
for people we barely know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No pension
plan for adventurers, and the city council considers us to be self employed,
and we all know that regular wages isn’t something that any of us can prove, so
we’re unlikely to be getting paid any time soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll continue to offer contracts where we
can and we’ll vet them where they can, but you need to be aware that we don’t
know how well the virus transmits to other races, or indeed if it does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know that it affects Humans, Wilde, Aetherics, and Samca, but we don’t know if it’s going to transfer to anything
else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That said, word back from the
shapeshifters squad, they’ve been running a few experiments over the last few
weeks, just to see what the situation is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Several of you have reported that there’s been a sneezing wolf running
around the outskirts of town, I can now let you all know that that’s Freya
Ironclaw, she’s had the virus for a while and was working to see if her lupine
form might be able to throw it off any faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Turns out that the only thing that goes faster is the time between
sneezing and going to the toilet, she’s resting up the in the temple at the
moment, the paladins have got her under care for now, so if you see any more
sneezing wolves out there, be sure to let us know, she doesn’t think that the
virus transmits, but we need to keep an eye on it in the meantime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Nothing else for the morning, stay away
from the Ratlin encampments, you know what Tucker’s get like, and we’ve got
enough trouble without you lot coming back perforated, just remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-81464744869517488232020-03-30T13:29:00.004-07:002020-03-30T13:29:58.365-07:00Corona's Virus Adventurers Guild Briefing Day 7 – Enough for everyone.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CWPj9k7jt5M/XoJV-Ox8dPI/AAAAAAAAFr0/fVnZFg4AfxUHzbYyP5tGBUnt6sL94tHmwCEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoCENy4YNso0ABU4yCOOorvqBfee2jmNlI5sxqf_uZtCRzrdcgZu_6OMpb75C-95fHbVkqUpow6gWiQXG1GAL-0zyD-daa6K1gkrC9K7wSi0G7fCrCuKZZdfEr0bKnO2rqKWv7ens2IIDTPkkkWtG_JCDwt8CeIBK29dDONCY7MFrLLj88TNTFAtD1bmY6IhMb6yzuN2jzw9YFUjvQxekEk0krr619-1kSzVkGJyJQyMjEQsyNyP5uPVMbxQxprTafNGQLAU-kY17QcGcMrvT0KeIvaGylGSf8V7eVylkn0VZLJQTmpliO1cSGE9_H4PQG-iRTz7AEhztpyGofUPBtvkAmHeJuLkpCYb66GrNrSTzEVlpI2lYsrYSofiGVt_1e2Wl9R9yn8wcsJHaj3Bac5vyJtQNQ9h6MEvzi2xyQxuyugpuAxEXOoLEwrMC1xX211629ancRnm8BkBiD6WTXq13GxNuVd2wrp87P3nE8F-FhCd10DwQCAT6wqPyFX7C5w0_kwiJJ787NDaYyb7WNXywu90TW9M9oBAqQNCRs8AQ7wLRHoQ6Zlfka5-WaGomt6_VIWjGFmweZumbNKNu1_E02_wMDhwzZcw97GJ9AU/s1600/1370_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CWPj9k7jt5M/XoJV-Ox8dPI/AAAAAAAAFr0/fVnZFg4AfxUHzbYyP5tGBUnt6sL94tHmwCEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoCENy4YNso0ABU4yCOOorvqBfee2jmNlI5sxqf_uZtCRzrdcgZu_6OMpb75C-95fHbVkqUpow6gWiQXG1GAL-0zyD-daa6K1gkrC9K7wSi0G7fCrCuKZZdfEr0bKnO2rqKWv7ens2IIDTPkkkWtG_JCDwt8CeIBK29dDONCY7MFrLLj88TNTFAtD1bmY6IhMb6yzuN2jzw9YFUjvQxekEk0krr619-1kSzVkGJyJQyMjEQsyNyP5uPVMbxQxprTafNGQLAU-kY17QcGcMrvT0KeIvaGylGSf8V7eVylkn0VZLJQTmpliO1cSGE9_H4PQG-iRTz7AEhztpyGofUPBtvkAmHeJuLkpCYb66GrNrSTzEVlpI2lYsrYSofiGVt_1e2Wl9R9yn8wcsJHaj3Bac5vyJtQNQ9h6MEvzi2xyQxuyugpuAxEXOoLEwrMC1xX211629ancRnm8BkBiD6WTXq13GxNuVd2wrp87P3nE8F-FhCd10DwQCAT6wqPyFX7C5w0_kwiJJ787NDaYyb7WNXywu90TW9M9oBAqQNCRs8AQ7wLRHoQ6Zlfka5-WaGomt6_VIWjGFmweZumbNKNu1_E02_wMDhwzZcw97GJ9AU/s320/1370_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Morning Everyone<br />
<br />
Street patrols have picked up an increasing amount of almost fresh food being thrown away with the rest of the rubbish, looks like a number of people went out and bought everything when the lockdowns were just coming into force, and in some cases, it looks like they went out and bought everything somewhat before the lockdowns started. <br />
<br />
Watch Commander Frith went to the city council and checked for the level of response that they wanted to put in on people who’ve been hoarding food. Word came back that they wanted to come down hard on all those who’ve been caught hoarding, so for the last week, we’ve had the street teams monitoring the houses who’ve had the most fresh food dumped outside of them, and in each case, we’ve put a team on that house to make sure it’s not some enterprising hoarder who’s decided to leave their rubbish outside someone elses house…<br />
<br />
Turns out we were right to keep an eye on things, seems that one of the rich folk had word from the watch that we were going to be keeping an eye on things, so had their servants dropping the food outside of the church halls to throw everyone off. Now we’re not going to find out any time soon who’s on their payroll in the watch, but we had to take steps so that no one got the briefing before we’d already apprehended them.<br />
<br />
Anyone here familiar with Chancellor Tonil? <br />
<br />
Yes, <i>that</i> Chancellor Tonil, the same one that voted down our wage rises for the last two years and cut the spending for the street squad because, and I quote, it presented an unacceptable increase in public spending. There’s about a quarter ton of not so fresh any more fruit and vegetables, and he gets released from the stocks as soon as he’s finished it, his family can volunteer to help with it if they like, but they don’t get fresh food from anywhere until they’ve finished all the excess they kept from everyone else.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, those who think the rules don’t apply to them and still have any continuing thoughts about hoarding, they might think twice when they see this.<br />
<br />
In other news, south side task force is reporting that the Remian street party is scheduled to go ahead, so I’m going to want a few of you to go along to keep up the social side of things by making sure that no one gets into the party. You’re going to be the least popular people in the city for a day, but only amongst people who can’t comprehend basic instructions, so the chance of you upsetting someone who’s actually going to cause a problem is not very high at all.<br />
<br />
That’s everything for the morning watch, Chancellors and Chancers all over, just remember…<br />
<br />
Let’s be careful out there…</div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-89427737122947127862020-03-29T15:15:00.004-07:002020-03-29T15:15:52.731-07:00Corona's Virus - Adventurers Guild Briefing Day 6 - Merchants and Mobs <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Morning Everyone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We’ve been asked to provide a mobile
patrol for the market today, we’re getting new supplies in and the merchants
figure there’s going to be more than a few people looking to get an advance
purchase in before the goods are on the shelves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re going to put the market on in the
middle of town, goods will sell from one shelf only and will be brought in
through the rear with us walking point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Everyone gets a turn, walk them in
single file, I don’t care if it’s Lady Cries or Grim Jim from third street,
rationing knows no privilege and therefore, neither do we.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Swift word on crowd control, we normally get
to exercise reasonable levels of force when it comes to breaking up
undesirables, but the people we’re going to be watching for here are civilians,
they’re scared and panicky, like the rest of us, so braining them in the name
of the law isn’t the way forwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mages
guild have offered us the use of feeblemind spells for the duration, but as you
all know, a mob is a creature with a few hundred legs and no brain, feeblemind
means they follow the person closest to them, and they’re all going to be
looking to take food, so it’s not going to make any difference at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">What we are going to do is keep the
mages on standby with a few illusions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you see something starting up, get your weapon in the air and the
mages will throw something noisy in your direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You use the distraction to get the crowd
thinking about something other than grabbing everything and you close ranks,
the only thing a mob has second thoughts about is another mob, and that’s the
approach we’ve got to take here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see
that several of you have put in for time so that you can get supplies for your
families, and you all know the city councils thoughts on that. Let me put that
in perspective, because we all know that the only chance we get to go for
anything is after everyone else has already raided it, and the city council is
very much All for one, as long as they’re the one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">With this in mind, I’ve negotiated with
the merchants for them to pay us in goods, rather than coin, all of you do your
job today and you get your supplies from here after shift. It’s the least we
should be doing for all of you, and it’s all that we can do for now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In other news, we’ve got a small group
of giants out on the west side, we don’t know if they’re infected, but take it
from one who knows, a giant sneezing on you is like getting caught in a storm
of snot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone gets caught by one,
report round the back when the paladins come back in, we’ll make sure you get
cleaned off properly, but my advice is to make sure you’re not there when it
happens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s everything for the morning watch,
Shopping and Snotting all around, just remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-30895445521821503982020-03-28T05:34:00.001-07:002020-03-28T05:34:55.333-07:00Corona's Virus - Adventurers Guild briefing day 5 - Clerics and Cures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iD9CnhpOY6I/Xn9EU1ySraI/AAAAAAAAFrk/sMH1rnDqf18tAyPmBnektKrnbTIThi7ygCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iD9CnhpOY6I/Xn9EU1ySraI/AAAAAAAAFrk/sMH1rnDqf18tAyPmBnektKrnbTIThi7ygCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/cure.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Morning Everyone</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">You’ve all heard by now about the
clerics just outside the city, and I know that <i>you</i> all know that what
they’re selling isn’t anything that anyone should be buying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve had the order of Jued down here and
everything short of Wishes isn’t touching this bloody virus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Cure Disease…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Problem is that they’re clerics of the
mind union from way north in Tyravig, so they’re covered by diplomatic
immunity, and they’re being careful with their wording.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re not calling it a cure, they’re
calling it a health boost, even though the wording says that you’ll instantly
feel better and last a lot longer while under the influence of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We gave some to the labs to test, what
we found were a whole bunch of compounds that the Alliance of Affordable
Companions reported stolen a while back, so what those clerics are selling is
accurate, you will <i>last</i> a lot longer while under the influence of it,
but perhaps not in the way you were after.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Can’t do anything about it, people everywhere are just looking for hope,
and remedies from regular sips of swamp water, because if you can survive that,
you can survive anything, to staying out in the sun because the Lord of Light
protects, are being touted everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’re not here to police peoples superstitions, we’re just here to keep
the peace, keep the everlasting clerics outside and if you’re going to take
what they’re selling, make sure it’s only one of them, I don’t want to find any
of you flying flags around town, y’hear?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In other news, we just got word from the
city council, they’ve put word out for volunteers from the prison at Hydra to
help us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Owens and Resec will be
handling the applications, most of them will be looking to make a break for it,
so the first two weeks of any assignment are down the sewers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we lose them down there, they’re already
dead, and if they’re coming back after two weeks, they’re genuinely trying to
help, although I wouldn’t be holding my… Well, I would be holding my breath,
but you know where I’m coming from.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That’s everything for the morning watch,
Convicts and Charlatans are the order of the day, just remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-84671698490240685912020-03-27T03:52:00.001-07:002020-03-27T03:52:33.085-07:00Corona's Virus - Adventurers Guild Briefing Day 4 - Essential Work Only...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aDUCdb_MJug/Xn3avYQeDrI/AAAAAAAAFrU/0-Jp7ztcZBsi0PVu7n7jPwV0FFuHqKf9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wooden-quarterstaff-150-cm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aDUCdb_MJug/Xn3avYQeDrI/AAAAAAAAFrU/0-Jp7ztcZBsi0PVu7n7jPwV0FFuHqKf9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/wooden-quarterstaff-150-cm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Morning Everyone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">You all know that we’re rationed at the
moment, and that the city council has issued orders that you only get to go out
if you need to exercise, get food, or do essential work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Problem there of course, is that the
council haven’t really defined too well what <i>essential</i> really is, so the
Thieves Guild are insisting that thieving is essential, the Cartographers
Council are insisting that going out and mapping is essential and the Alliance
of Affordable companions… Well, you get the picture…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We’re here to keep the peace, so as long
as whatever they’re doing isn’t spreading the virus or causing a problem, we
live and let live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, I’ve
personally seen the Thieves guilds most recent high bounty offerings, and let’s
just say that they’re robbing a different sort of throne to the one the Thieves
normally get asked to rob.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you find
anyone carrying a ten foot pole that’s got nine foot occupied by toilet roll,
make a polite enquiry as to where they’re going with it and make sure they’ve
got enough for themselves and nothing else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">On other news, over the water in Zargoldand,
rumours have reached us that their self appointed God-Emporer just declared
that if everyone goes back to work, their collective enthusiasm will be enough
to defeat the virus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve seen what
enthusiasm is good for, it’ll decimate a buffet in less than a minute and be
completely ineffective against anything requiring a clear head and a plan, so
we’re going to be following approved protocol till someone with the
aforementioned clear head tells us otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">That’s everything for the morning watch,
Thieves and Tempters all around, but remember…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-44307081073069645692020-03-26T08:15:00.001-07:002020-03-27T03:50:54.620-07:00Corona's Virus, Adventurers Guild Briefing Day 3 - Be aware of Wizards and Teleporting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-txHAYOvtPzs/XnzG5kAU4JI/AAAAAAAAFrI/4_sih0kjOEgV2wXSrZ4nQ0fk90UnhtevwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Aetheric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="657" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-txHAYOvtPzs/XnzG5kAU4JI/AAAAAAAAFrI/4_sih0kjOEgV2wXSrZ4nQ0fk90UnhtevwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Aetheric.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Morning Everyone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We’ve had a report this morning of
several bags of supplies going missing from the merchants guild last
night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guards report no one came in and
no one got out, but the inventory count was down by more than thirty bags of grain,
two boxes of salt, and a backscratcher with an extending handle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We had a suspicion that something like
this might come to pass, so we’d been working with the merchants guild to fit
tamper proof locks to the bags that also contained a short range spell that would
go off in the event of magic being used near it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These locks are removed when someone buys a
bag legitimately, but if they get moved by magic, they detonate after twenty
minutes, covering the whole area with luminous manure that also acts as a
nauseating agent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">At around 05:00 of the morning watch, the
tower of Vladimir Renderov, freelance mage, was reported to have been lit up like
a Christmas tree in a sewer, and upon investigation after the area was
cleaned, was found to have the missing supplies in his tower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve cleaned him up and ensured that he’ll
be spending the rest of the outbreak in magecuffs on the lower levels, but as
times go on and supplies get shorter, we’ll be seeing more of this I don’t doubt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In other news, the naturists guild just
announced that they’ll be doing a sponsored hugging session to raise money for
research into the virus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve allocated
them a space just outside the city and as soon as they’re all outside, we’ll be
throwing them some tents so they can wait it out, out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve got no problem with bare-arsed
deviancy, but we’re pretty sure it’s going to break the social distancing the
rest of us are having to observe, the captains comment on it was that they can
get as close as they like, as long as they stay away from us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">That’s everything for the morning watch,
manure and mooning for everyone, just remember<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-32730088157533287232020-03-25T12:41:00.001-07:002020-03-25T12:42:04.171-07:00Corona's virus - Adventurers Guild Briefing Day 2 - Justice has dirty hands...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OXtvfsnVWRc/XnuzzEoWCGI/AAAAAAAAFq8/Xx-MFFz28g4a8Zx3WPJ-9v7PuntqhEwvQCEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoADtDrs2V3yMCto2ZNaUgQbdpZVxgXCLG7xj3pJlaREAlxmoslJb4MASnDa-KUyfTPlHsw8LNcKu1kSyWFjCHDS8-7ARNIgrWgIPcX0khdqc7_Ci9Cj_EbWkqviGL6Hn8FTp433FYz0-etabT-VFS6hJQGE4BTL6KYDqhTuXxnv10KQ9XA8mL78qf3yLvoag6lQuPMt_OYARZQO6vLZmF-BWp_uQ7qQxldd0_PTB38dFUTfR1PQfpvqsRRhr3Jq7Yg2tixXc8_U-Yg_aRg3AauYpMG4a-BmyF-qw6v_exV5Y30c_lqPXT-fi091cLRm9hJDFNrXIA59FNZn2eES2ebTI6EIc0-kbGNPeP0e8sVFBj-86WiWCxGXYn6D7NKjk8Vps9hDOUr4zM4IKaD2igaaoAGqQKl8EyWf7a2udTZ7dkncbt-v-1y6QDWnfZvCJYxSuR4BhFX0nNhurTcJEJM-nMTf8FXpam4_VzT8G8B_fzEdKFWgqxT20GTnPN2RJe3BrlKEgTDGoBvs-J0dv9iGLtcudo0uJhQ2Pah_0c0BP5FI-BSqo1CP5IVIerPpjipfwYY5bWHKwWGZtFaUowUJEZAFcjivzvQwteru8wU/s1600/Samca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="753" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OXtvfsnVWRc/XnuzzEoWCGI/AAAAAAAAFq8/Xx-MFFz28g4a8Zx3WPJ-9v7PuntqhEwvQCEwYBhgLKs0DAMBZVoADtDrs2V3yMCto2ZNaUgQbdpZVxgXCLG7xj3pJlaREAlxmoslJb4MASnDa-KUyfTPlHsw8LNcKu1kSyWFjCHDS8-7ARNIgrWgIPcX0khdqc7_Ci9Cj_EbWkqviGL6Hn8FTp433FYz0-etabT-VFS6hJQGE4BTL6KYDqhTuXxnv10KQ9XA8mL78qf3yLvoag6lQuPMt_OYARZQO6vLZmF-BWp_uQ7qQxldd0_PTB38dFUTfR1PQfpvqsRRhr3Jq7Yg2tixXc8_U-Yg_aRg3AauYpMG4a-BmyF-qw6v_exV5Y30c_lqPXT-fi091cLRm9hJDFNrXIA59FNZn2eES2ebTI6EIc0-kbGNPeP0e8sVFBj-86WiWCxGXYn6D7NKjk8Vps9hDOUr4zM4IKaD2igaaoAGqQKl8EyWf7a2udTZ7dkncbt-v-1y6QDWnfZvCJYxSuR4BhFX0nNhurTcJEJM-nMTf8FXpam4_VzT8G8B_fzEdKFWgqxT20GTnPN2RJe3BrlKEgTDGoBvs-J0dv9iGLtcudo0uJhQ2Pah_0c0BP5FI-BSqo1CP5IVIerPpjipfwYY5bWHKwWGZtFaUowUJEZAFcjivzvQwteru8wU/s320/Samca.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Morning Everyone<br />
<br />
We’ve had some assistance offered from the Revelations, they’ve offered their entire core of Paladins for the duration of the virus, and our higher ups have taken them at their word. They’ll be working mostly the poor quarter and ensuring that we get reliable intel without having to risk any of our people roaming in the streets.<br />
<br />
And that brings me to the other problem we’re going to have. They report to this station and they’ll be coming back in at the end of every shift to give us the details of what they have. You all know that the Revelations have a god given immunity to diseases of all sorts and that includes this one, but if I’ve learned one thing in all my time dealing with people who are immune to something, it’s that they take that immunity for granted, so the chance of them following proper protocol and cleaning themselves up before coming back here is hovering around zero. Most Paladins I know are dirty buggers at best, too busy dealing with injustice to wonder about the niceties like cleaning up after themselves, they figure they prove their worth with the amount of evil they’ve been wading in.<br />
<br />
In summary, they’re immune, we’re not, so when they come in, we’re going to be waiting with the scouring team around the back. They’re not going to like it, but I’ll be happier if they debrief when we’ve cleaned all the injustice off them. I’m going to be drawing up a roster for who’s on hose duty each day, and if any of the Paladins get narky about it, you come and get me and I’ll minister to them about it.<br />
<br />
In other news, we’ve got a convoy of Samca coming in from the east after Mit Tarmin closed all the bars between here and Desel, I don’t care how many arms they’ve got, they’re the best bartenders in the world and they get the same rights and safety that everyone else does.<br />
<br />
That’s it for the morning, insects and injustice for everyone, just remember…<br />
<br />
Let’s be careful out there…<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-81571060620164078402020-03-24T10:25:00.000-07:002020-03-24T10:33:44.722-07:00Corona's Virus Adventurers Briefing Day 1: Gelatinous Cubes can't be used as Hand Sanitiser<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Morning Everyone</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dymO5lNmuV63E-XPi8GIppns9z2zJpBAG06C2ZknBA7y0aCaxbYieBE88tqYXT7WjZMH_0T66oktSW1k0wN-A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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We’ve all been having to wash our hands a lot more recently,
and the number one item on everyone’s pack list after Iron Rations is now
soap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, we all know there’s
been a shortage of soap since the start of the disease, and we know that
everyone is doing their best to make do with what they’ve got, and there’s been
some reasonably inventive things going on in the adventuring community at
large.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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However….<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We got word this morning of a merchant coming in from out of
town with a fresh supply of soap bars, big load, plenty of soap for all concerned,
seemed to be too good to be true, so we checked it out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Turns out that free enterprise runs as far as casting <i>Hold
Monster</i> on a gelatinous cube and then carving it up into chunks and
wrapping it for selling so no one notices till you’re washing your hands with
it…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All those laughing at the back can do one, nothing buggers
up your day faster than realising that not only are your face and hands burning,
but your soap is making a run for it…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, take precautions people, any new soap you buy, leave it
on the side for a day before you use it, if it’s still there, it’s probably
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it’s made a break for it, be
cheerful you didn’t end up with a face like mine this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The glass bowl on my desk contains a sample
of the cube that we rounded up, don’t get too close, and remember…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s be careful out there…<o:p></o:p></div>
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John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-70504576276695073972020-03-24T10:21:00.001-07:002020-03-24T10:21:16.400-07:00Daily Adventurers briefings in the time of Corona's Virus...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
In the spirit of trying to brighten the day, for the next three weeks, I'm going to be doing a briefing for adventurers every day. What would happen in a fantasy world if an evil mage called Corona had engineered a magical virus that was resisting all attempts to take it down. Every day, I'm going to post the latest briefing from the guild, and if anyone's got any ideas on what would make a good brief for adventurers, get in touch.</div>
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Todays briefing: Gelatinous Cubes can't be used as Hand Sanitiser...</div>
</div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-55397119407894314192020-02-19T14:48:00.003-08:002020-02-19T14:48:56.410-08:00To the Memory of an Excellent Man<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
When you run conventions, you get the sense for those who are like you, who would love to play the games on offer, but know that someone has to be there to make sure it all works, or others can't have any fun.<br />
<br />
Most of the volunteers I know fall into this category.<br />
<br />
But there are some who literally never get to make it to a convention to enjoy it, and those people have an understanding, a bond between them that it's not about them, but their people.<br />
<br />
Vince Kingston was such a man. When we came to run the Yavin open and asked for who people would recommend as Judges, there was no one more highly recommended.<br />
<br />
When I met him, I knew that he and I had the same goals in what we did, and we talked often on the nature of what it was that we did, of that service to others that makes our lives better because everyone else being happy makes us happier.<br />
<br />
I learned tonight that he passed away quietly at the age of 43, no details yet, but the world is a far poorer place for the loss of him. We will not forget him or the fairness and calm that he stood for, we will go on making things better to honour our friend and all he did.<br />
<br />
So say we all...<br />
<br />
<br />
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John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-87229222729889255222020-02-17T06:16:00.002-08:002020-02-17T06:25:55.438-08:00You don't notice that you're dying when all you're doing is surviving...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, I made the mistake of trying for something better, in a place that wasn't ready for what I was planning.<br />
<br />
Nothing wrong with that, but I've done the same thing at this place two times previous, so when I took the new job back in June last year (notice the coinciding of my disappearance with the taking of that job), I told them that if the only thing that had changed in three months was that I was working twelve hours a day, five days a week, then I'd be going back to what I was doing before.<br />
<br />
Three months came and gone, and there'd been opposition from people at work who didn't understand what it was we were doing, or how we were doing it, so against better council, I gave them three more months.<br />
<br />
Twelve hours a day, five days a week.<br />
<br />
You don't notice that you're dying when you're doing your best to survive, it's not how the human brain works, and trying to survive is what I've been doing for more than six months.<br />
<br />
Well, that and help run Worldcon, organise Dragonmeet, help with Eastercon, and take up a supporting position for Contingency.<br />
<br />
Normal stuff, y'know...?<br />
<br />
So I stepped down about a month back, went from 60-90 (that's the ETA in minutes for getting someone out to one of our jobs, not recommended hours to work a week.) down to less than thirty. Finished off one novel in between writing a grand space opera that's going to end up larger than any of the other books I've written so far, and started to see that there's things I can do that don't involve me giving my health to a job that won't adapt with me.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Things are doing better than they were by an order of magnitude, and so last week, I took Jude to the Blackthorn windmill down in Oxford for valentines. This is the way the world should be, good times, better people, and work that makes a difference, not just for me, but for all those around me as well.<br />
<br />
For those who've inspired me always to do better.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Many people have a spirit animal, something that guides them and protects them in times of need.<br />
<br />
I have a Jude...<br />
<br />
And now there's a brighter morning, and a better world awaits.<br />
<br />
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<br />
I'll be around more often, promise, and for those wondering when the expo rpg submissions are opening, they're already open...<br />
<br />
Games for the Dice Gods...<br />
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<br />
And here's the thing, I didn't feel that bad when I was working all those hours, I revelled in making the difference every day. Even when I couldn't see what it was doing to me, <i>especially</i> when I couldn't seen what it was doing to me. We have friends and family for a reason, and when they tell you that things have gone bad, listen to them, there's every possibility that they can see something you can't...<br />
<br />
Equally though, when they tell you that something is good, listen to that too, because all too often we can't see the things that are best for us till they've gone sailing past...<br />
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John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-52992659478289838542019-06-14T13:50:00.003-07:002019-06-14T14:03:38.127-07:00Volcon and Longcon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Volcon and Longcon<o:p></o:p></div>
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The announcements for Longcon haven’t gone out this year, and there’s a
number of reasons for that, but I keep getting people asking, so I thought to
tell people what’s going on with it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Longcon, for those who don’t know, followed the idea of having a single
game that ran across an entire weekend, as things used to when we were all
younger and had the time and availability to be able to give up whole weekends
just to spend with our friends.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It worked, and at the same time, it didn’t work, but I learned a lot
from running it, and in some way, it will continue, but in a different form.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first Longcon worked well, but was primarily composed of existing
groups that wanted to run a longer game with a number of friends and still have
the social aspect of a convention where everyone had a few drinks in the evening
and just kicked back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was one group
that decided to hold Longcon at their own house rather than coming to Longcon
itself, and I can’t blame them for that, indeed, that for me was always the concern
for Longcon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have a group of
people who want to play a game together, all you have to do is provide a room,
and they can organise themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
may not have recognised that they all wanted to play for the whole weekend, and
if by starting Longcon I gave them the inclination, that’s good enough for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The problem for Longcon was always in the games being offered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a regular convention four hour slot, if
you have a bad game session, you run the risk of having four hours lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At Longcon, you have a bad game session, and
you’ve lost the whole weekend and ended up paying travel and accommodation for
yourself for no reward.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t get me wrong, when the games go right, they are the best in the
world (Steve Ellis’s epic Dracula Dossier game in year two, Neil Gow’s massive
Watch campaign over several years.), but the increasing risk that if the
players didn’t know each other, there was more chance of something going wrong,
and on the weekend, there would be nothing I could do to prevent that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And it has been that, that played on my mind, and has been all this
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been that, that prevented
me from putting the announcements out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because
there’s something about me that many don’t know, and in telling everyone, it’ll
make a lot of what I do make a lot more sense.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I do conventions so that gamers, board gamers, war gamers, role
players, all of us, can have a good time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t do it for the money, I do it because then there’s a place where
other gamers can have a good time without worrying about anyone giving them a
hard time, just for being gamers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If there’s a chance that a convention I run will end in them not having
a good time, then I get stressed about it, more than I let on, but this year,
it’s been really playing on my mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most of the games that have run at Longcon have done really well, but
there have been two that ended in the players not entirely enjoying them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “Don’t pay if you didn’t like the game
you were in” guarantee has only been taken up once, but still, it concerns me,
and I’ve found that despite this being the one convention where I should have
had no stress at all, I was looking forwards to it less and less.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s where the change is going to be…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Longcon will continue, I’ll still be offering to run weekend long games
and I’ll still accept submissions for day long, weekend long games if anyone
wants to play them, but I want this to be something that people can enjoy, no
matter what game they play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve long
wanted to give something back to all the people who offer their time to
conventions, some place where they can enjoy games with others like them, and
know that the convention will run itself, it’s just a place for them all to
come together and play games, drink, kick back and have a good time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is Volcon…<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m still renting out the Garrison for the entire weekend of the 6<sup>th</sup>
and 7<sup>th</sup> of July, I’m still offering weekend long and single day
games, but more than that, I’m also bringing a stack of board games, and I’m
making it open to everyone, with one particular caveat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you volunteer at any convention, any convention at all, this weekend
is free. There will be no payment asked or taken for this space, this is my way
of saying thank you to every person who does things so that others can have a
good time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not sponsored by any
other convention, it’s from me to everyone else out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to turn up and bring games to
play, that’s fine, if you want to turn up and just catch up with everyone without
having to wonder about turning up on shift, that’s fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to run games across the weekend,
tell me what they are and I’ll put them on the website, submission before the
end of June if you could please.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you don’t volunteer at a convention (and there’s no distinction to
which convention or in what you volunteer as, GM, volunteer, door troll, ambassador),
then you can still book into games at the convention, same price as it
always was, £10 for the one day, £20 for both. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And between this Longcon and next year, just volunteer at any
convention and it becomes free to you as well, any of the Garrison cons, Airecon, Concrete Cow, Stabcon, any convention at all, so spread the word, this is for those that have already put their time in. Feel free to share this everywhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Any Questions, just ask, if you see a game you want to play in, send me
a mail and I’ll put you on the list.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For more details, find us at <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.thedodd.com/">https://www.thedodd.com/</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-71846214320080490002019-06-14T13:06:00.001-07:002019-06-14T13:06:31.608-07:00Convention Announcements - Dragonmeet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S79Ez_qcGCE/V_gp5fC8q3I/AAAAAAAAEz0/-z4ay5lGZd86MpdKIm3VoElaQO9dT3LFQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/3075040.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="165" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S79Ez_qcGCE/V_gp5fC8q3I/AAAAAAAAEz0/-z4ay5lGZd86MpdKIm3VoElaQO9dT3LFQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/3075040.png" /></a></div>
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Worldcon, Volcon, Longcon, Dragonmeet<o:p></o:p></div>
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That sounds a little like a John Le Carre novel title, but it’s what’s
occupying me right at this moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
some of you know, I run a few conventions, I help at a few more…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, maybe more than a few…<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, I thought about doing one massive update, but there’s just too many
things to go through, so we’re going to start with Dragonmeet, all the others will
be following shortly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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First things first, Dragonmeet trade bookings are going live next week,
we’ve worked out the trade areas, moved a few things around, and put everything
in place to get moving on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s now
over four floors, so we’ve had to do a lot of remodelling to get it all in
place. Ground floor for a lot of the trade and the Bring and Buy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Change from the previous year where the Bring
and Buy was upstairs, because the space that we’ve been using for the Bring and
Buy has been acceptable, but rapidly becomes nothing but a scrum that blocks
access.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We put it at the back of the
Trade hall and we can spread it out wide to give people the space they need to
get a good look in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mezzanine level (that bit in the middle that everyone keeps asking why
we’re not using it) will be Press rooms, RPGs in the two north rooms, and
seminars in the Bourg suite, which is not only larger and has better acoustics,
but also frees up space in the first floor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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First floor will still be demonstrations, Best of Essen, Playtest UK,
and the larger games that people have come to love over the years, and with the
increased interest from traders, we will be moving some stands upstairs as the demand
requires.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Second floor:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In previous years,
we’ve had three rooms at the south end of the first floor that have been
dedicated to RPGs, and as the convention grows, I don’t want to be taking away
the very thing that for me makes Dragonmeet, Dragonmeet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re allocating two rooms on the Mezzanine
for more RPGs, and two more rooms on the second floor so that the entire North
Wing is going to be allocated to RPGs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We considered using all the smaller rooms down the side, but if I’m
honest, the several hundred pounds that it would have taken to get all those
rooms is better spent on larger rooms rather than adding five more games per
slot, especially when we’ll be adding more than fifteen games per slot with the
extra rooms.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And on the subject of RPGs<o:p></o:p></div>
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There has been a number of issues in recent years with the scrum of
games and the sheer number of people who all sign up for them at the same time,
so we’re instigating prebooking for games across the weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that’s a controversial move because it
means that a lot of games over the weekend will already be signed up before
people arrive on the day, but if I’ve learned one thing about conventions, it’s
that you can’t please everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This way
we won’t have a crush on the day, and if people want to be prepared for the
business of the convention, they can do that well in advance. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Trade bookings go live next week, and games will be accepted from the end
of next week.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Next is Longcon, which hasn’t seen much movement this year, and there’s
a good reason for that, although not the one that many might be considering<o:p></o:p></div>
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John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-67775875626945971402019-06-07T10:21:00.001-07:002019-09-29T06:48:52.202-07:00On inappropriate content in games and where we as a community need to be going next...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, my week has been completely mullered by the events that took place
over Expo this year, we normally get some problems over Expo, some you can deal
with easily, some are the sort of thing that you hope to only ever have to deal
with once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is my personal thoughts (I do not speak for Expo in this) and resolutions from what happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just for the record, I’d like to say that there
hasn’t been a single waking hour that I’ve had in the last five days where
something about this hasn’t come up, so I’m putting this out in the hope that
it will stop some of the questions<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Friday evening, I was advised by a good friend (Thanks Anthony) that
there had been a situation in one of the afternoon games whereby a GM went
completely off the reservation and subjected the entire groups characters to gang rape and
other things that shall not be mentioned. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the seconds
following reading the advisory, my immediate thoughts were both that I <i>know</i>
the gm in question, and that it couldn’t have been true.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My investigation was swift and through, as I have always promised it
would be, the GM in question did not dispute the charges and was summarily
removed from the Expo so that no more harm could be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the two days that followed, I spoke to all
but one of the people who played in that game, and the general consensus was
that they were all having an excellent time, when about two and a half hours in
(the game finished at three hours), the GM made a shift in tone that none of
them (or anyone who ever knew that GM) could have predicted, resulting in the
horrible situation that all of them found themselves in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have to give every credit to the Expo Directors and the support team
that we have in place to deal with anything like this, I was allowed to
investigate and report back my findings and recommendations, and then they make
the decision based on that and their own investigations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The GM in question was removed from the Expo
roster, the game he was running at the time was halted, all future games were
pulled, and he was expelled from Expo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Given that I am also RPG manager for Airecon, Dragonmeet, and Longcon,
he will also be pulled from those conventions for the foreseeable future, a
question many have been asking.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What I need to address, in the aftermath of what happened and the
resultant hysteria, is the truth of what happened, and what we as a community
need to be doing, going forwards.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And we do need to go forwards.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ll start by saying that I have known this GM for more than a decade, he’s
now been identified by someone who was seeking to use these events for their
own publicity, whose name I won’t give out because it will give him the
publicity he wants. Prior to that, the GM wasn’t named by Expo and he wasn’t
going to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He always turns up to
events on time, always runs his games, and until now, has never (at any event
I’ve been running) had a complaint levelled at him or his style of gaming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s worked for almost every games company
out there, he’s done demo’s at nearly every shop out there, and he’s absolutely
worked at every convention at one time or another, and up until now, never an
issue.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Which is why it was such a shock.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve been hearing a lot in the last few days about #Notinmygame and #Notatthiscon,
and it’s missing the whole point of what happened here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone who had a previously spotless record
went completely off the board and betrayed the trust of everyone who’d
ever known him, this behaviour was so far out of context that many refused to
believe it was him. When we confirmed that it was him, we dealt with it
immediately and without any consideration to the years of service that he’d put
in for the roleplaying community.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Because when you do something like this, you have to be taken to task,
the world has to see that we do not tolerate this sort of behaviour, not from a
newbie running a first game, not from a person who’s put in decades of service,
no one gets a free pass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a duty
to our players and to our community, and that cannot ever be forsaken.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But here’s the other thing, because social media is a wildfire, and
I’ve seen so much unsubstantiated nonsense in the last few days that it beggars
belief, so here’s the truth of it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The reason why the Room Captain didn’t step in on the game when it went
sideways is because the GM in question <i>was</i> the Room Captain, he’d earned
that position with years of good work and trust.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The scenario as listed did not include anything about Gang Rape, and
given that the setting deals with teenagers, would have been rejected had
anything of a sexual nature been suggested by the scenario listings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are those who say that BBFC age rating
guidelines should be used to assess the nature and content of games, and to
those I would say that while it’s fine as a general guideline, there’s a
massive difference between the content of Stir Crazy (Rated R) and Hostel (Rated
R), and in this particular case, the description was deliberately vague.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not uncommon in game submissions, but
going forwards, the description will have to match the scenario to try and head
this sort of thing off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As anyone who’s
ever organised a convention will be able to tell the world, that will add a
massive amount of work to the preparation of a good games schedule and even
then, isn’t a guarantee that someone won’t go off the board.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The system and setting used for the game bear no responsibility for the
scenario that was run using them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
have been a number of people saying that certain game settings should be
censored so that things like this can’t happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Roleplaying games occur in the boundless world of human imagination,
anything can be done with any setting, Rule 34 really does exist, it’s not the
setting that makes the scenario, it’s the person running the scenario.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it wasn’t, Call of Cthulhu could never be
run at a convention.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The reason it took Expo as long as it did to make a resolution on the
situation was because the problem was reported over social media and not to
Expo directly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing was reported to
the Expo front desk, the Hilton Manager, or any of the roving staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was an email sent to me directly, but
that was sent more than half an hour after I’d been made aware of the situation
and by then, I was already investigating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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And that brings us to where we are now, a community still in shock
about what’s been done, some people trying to profiteer off the controversy, and
everyone looking around to see what we need to do next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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What we need to do is act in a rational manner.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We need to vet games more carefully, the descriptions can’t be what
they have been previously.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We need to ensure that everyone is familiar with what to do if there’s
a problem (several cons I know already do this).<o:p></o:p></div>
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We need for people to know that we don’t stand for this, and I think
that Expo’s response has gone a long way to letting people know that, but it
needs to be everywhere.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What we don’t need is people spreading wild rumour and supposition, consider
that I’ve had more than twenty people contact me, both at the show and
afterwards, saying that they’d splashed the name of the GM out there, so as to
make sure that they could never do it again…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Twelve of those people had the wrong name…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now if you’re talking about someone cheating at a board game and
getting caught, or storming off from a game because they didn’t like the ruling
against them, that carries little weight in the non-gaming world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An accusation like this one can have real and
serious impact on that persons life, particularly when they aren’t the one that
did it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We need facts before we act on them…<o:p></o:p></div>
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The initial complaint wasn’t put in to the Expo team, it found its way
to us half an hour later, after several people had pointed out that getting me
involved in something like this was probably going to be a good idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m glad that someone pointed it out to me,
because I’m not normally on twitter (and after this week, I’m turning it off
again), so I didn’t see what had happened, and most of the Expo team work the
whole weekend, so we don’t get chance to look for things like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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People need to let us know that a problem has occurred…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Please, if there’s a team at the convention, you take it to them, they’re
the people most likely to know what to do in the situation and they’re absolutely
the best people to talk to about it, because not a one of us does this for the pay,
we do this because we want other gamers to have a great time, and when someone
pulls something like this, it puts into jeopardy all the works that we’ve done
before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my particular case, I offered
my resignation when this came out because it happened on my watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone in the world has told me that there
was nothing I could have done with this, no way I could have seen, but it still
happened on my watch and I feel responsible for it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We are all responsible, these are our shows, our people, we are <i>all </i>responsible…<o:p></o:p></div>
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We do not stand for behaviour like this, and I’m glad it made the national
news, because anyone looking can see that not only did it happen, but that it
was stamped on hard and that the community does not stand for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A short while back, I did an interview with
ENworld, the content of which can be found at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMKilVWLdtQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMKilVWLdtQ</a>
with my comments on Harrassment policies being found around the 1:13 mark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was how things were back then, they are
still my comments now, we did what I said we would, and we did it fast.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And that’s it for now, if anyone’s got any questions, please let me
know, but if I don’t respond immediately, forgive me that, it’s been a very
long week and there’s been a <i>lot</i> of questions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /></div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-48599523094610138812019-03-16T16:37:00.000-07:002019-03-16T16:37:36.743-07:00So tonight I got to see an X rated film<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D8H0xAjdYfg/XI2G5PaUs2I/AAAAAAAAFh8/pWm0_WQe8tcedJ1AUqhk8A_Tqmzra_NywCEwYBhgL/s1600/20190316_202141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D8H0xAjdYfg/XI2G5PaUs2I/AAAAAAAAFh8/pWm0_WQe8tcedJ1AUqhk8A_Tqmzra_NywCEwYBhgL/s320/20190316_202141.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
This comes as a bit of a revelation to me, particularly as I've seen this film hundreds of times before, from the original cut, to the directors, to the extended directors with added commentary, to the outtakes, to everything else.<br />
<br />
However, I have <i>never </i>seen the film I saw tonight<br />
<br />
Those who know the film, know the film, so I'm not reviewing the content of the film, I'm reviewing the experience of going to see the original 70mm print of the film, not remastered, not digitally enhanced, kept in a locked box for 40 years and brought out to view tonight.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OL6fAGHE40A/XI2G6XU3AeI/AAAAAAAAFiA/gLaNC8ZLeLogUCF24l2fGRo499n2Ha5TQCEwYBhgL/s1600/20190316_222343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OL6fAGHE40A/XI2G6XU3AeI/AAAAAAAAFiA/gLaNC8ZLeLogUCF24l2fGRo499n2Ha5TQCEwYBhgL/s320/20190316_222343.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Literally...<br />
<br />
Every time a new edition comes out, you look for what's new in the version, the added bits, the extras, the new scenes. What's the one thing you don't ask?<br />
<br />
What they took out...<br />
<br />
And it turns out, the 70mm edition has a lot of things in it that every version I've ever seen doesn't have, from little side clips of the actors moving about, to reframed shots that you've never seen from that angle, to sounds that you've never heard before.<br />
<br />
Because it's being shown with 6 track magnetic sound, exactly as it was 40 years ago.<br />
<br />
So me, Mark, and my excellent friends Cory and Joel went to see a film that we've all seen loads of times, and came away with wonder that there was a whole film that we'd never even thought about.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A-YdTfM24EA/XI2G5YQ32gI/AAAAAAAAFh8/LNqMa44PRDs5iArmzoirh47RWNmzyK-pACEwYBhgL/s1600/20190316_202020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A-YdTfM24EA/XI2G5YQ32gI/AAAAAAAAFh8/LNqMa44PRDs5iArmzoirh47RWNmzyK-pACEwYBhgL/s320/20190316_202020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
If you get the chance, go see this in 70mm, it's worth it just for the atmosphere.<br />
<br />
One thing though, just after the iconic moment of the film, watching the actors all stood there, knowing what we know now, knowing the rotten trick that was pulled on them, there was a moment of silence...<br />
<br />
And a ripple of laughter ran around the theatre...<br />
<br />
Pretty sure that didn't happen 40 years ago...</div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-62636862994632059762019-03-15T15:15:00.000-07:002019-03-15T15:15:08.746-07:00Dragonmeet changes for this year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sometimes the hardest thing about conventions is in the organising of the following year, I recently did a podcast on the building and running of conventions. The main thing about conventions is to tell people what they can expect at the next convention, what you've improved, and what you're looking at doing to make it better.<br />
<br />
Today is Dragonmeet's turn<br />
<br />
Last year at Dragonmeet was the largest Dragonmeet ever, and with it, we found that we needed more space again, and so the last three months have been spent negotiating with the Novotel.<br />
<br />
Did I say <i>Negotiating...?</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The words used may need to be a little stronger than that.<br />
<br />
Here's a swift lesson about hotels and convention centres, they don't care about your convention or you, they're strictly in it for the money, and that's how it should be. This means that you're never going to get a freebie unless it's year one and they're trying to get you in the door so you'll pay them. It also means that if you want something from them, you have to give them something in return, or be able to point out that they can make something from you.<br />
<br />
In our case, thanks to everyone at the convention last year, we could point out that even with slow tills and bad service, they still sold out of food and drink by mid to late afternoon, and that, by itself, is reason enough to want us back. It's also reason enough to get more food and drink in, <i>and</i> to put more tills and better service in, all of which we have agreement on. What we're now working on is getting the prices to somewhere near reasonable, which is forever a problem with hotels, just ask anyone who's been to the Hilton at Expo.<br />
<br />
In terms of extra space, we've got the entire of the mezzanine this year, we've also got the big rooms on the top floor, because the boardrooms were only any good for single games, and when it becomes the equivalent of paying another three hundred quid per extra game you can host, it becomes counter productive. This means we've got enough space to move more than the entire gaming roster into the rooms on the upper floor and the mezzanine, which frees up more space for open gaming and demonstration games, together with tournaments and a number of other things that we're still finalising. Don't want to tease, but at the same time, I <i>really</i> don't want to get everyone all excited and then have to let you down, so more on that in months to come.<br />
<br />
But one thing I mentioned in the podcast was that we <i>listen</i>, and we're still listening, so I want to know what people want to see at Dragonmeet going forwards. We've held Larps before, and they did fairly well, so I'm looking to put those on again in the future. We've had a Podcastzone, and it worked better last year than the year before, so they're coming back. We've had seminars forever, but the question there is if we need the same seminars, different ones, or just more of either.<br />
<br />
We listened about the advance bookings for games, and we have something that's going to help there. We listened about bring and buy times, and as soon as we've negotiated, we should have something that will make it better there as well.<br />
<br />
Bookings for traders are going to be going soon, and bookings for games being offered on the day are going to be opened at the same time. What I'm hoping to do is have a clear list of games and traders on the day, some time before the convention opens, so in a change from previous years, I'm not leaving the bookings open till last minute. When they close, it's a hard close, no more changes. Harsh, but it'll save us the problems that we've had every year prior with last minute alterations.<br />
<br />
All that aside, very excited to show everyone what we're bringing to the Novotel this year, and we've been in discussion with Olympia, so when we outgrow Novotel, Dragonmeet will still have a home in London to go to.<br />
<br />
But get those suggestions in, we can't make it the best convention without knowing what everyone wants to see there.<br />
<br />
And if anyone wants to know my thoughts on conventions, they're to be found here.<br />
<br />
http://www.enworld.org/forum/content.php?6134-Podcast-39-Secrets-of-Running-a-Convention-with-John-Dodd</div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7064787987573008825.post-30881000942925324402019-03-15T09:09:00.004-07:002019-03-15T09:29:18.989-07:00Convention round up and support requests<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I've been away a while again, last year was not good, and I mean that in a way where not good isn't an exaggeration, but I'm working on it.<br />
<br />
Today sees three announcements for conventions, the first for Tabletop Scotland, the second for Longcon, and the third for Concrete Cow. Taking on the directors reins at Dragonmeet ate more of my time than I had hoped it might, and this has had a knock on effect with other conventions that I run.<br />
<br />
Tabletop Scotland is looking for new GMs to run games at their convention, it runs in Perth, between the 24th and 25th of August 2019. They already have a strong D&D Adventurers league set of offerings, so what they're after is more in other systems than D&D. Rewards for the convention include a GM T shirt and free entry for running a single game, with free entry for the whole con and a GM T shirt for running more than one game. All enquiries or offers for games should be sent to david @ tabletop scotland .co .uk (no spaces for those wondering)<br />
<br />
Longcon, the all weekend single game convention, is now open for submissions. Running 6th and 7th of July at the Garrison in Sheffield, games can either run for one day or both days, but Longcon doesn't take normal four hour slots. The website is www.thedodd.com, please get in touch with me if you're wanting to offer a game. Bookings for Longcon will be going live in May.<br />
<br />
Finally, Concrete Cow is running all day tomorrow down in Milton Keynes. An RPG heavy convention with a small trade hall and an excellent atmosphere, details can be found at https://www.mk-rpg.org.uk/Concrete_Cow<br />
<br />
I'm going to be keeping up with convention news going forwards, whole bunch of new things coming up.<br />
<br />
Let me know if there's any questions.</div>
John Doddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11916045579829256370noreply@blogger.com