Progress Is Made...

Been doing some work on the skill list for Dicebag tonight. Just started working on minimal definitions, and have spent the last few nights refining the skill list, trying to trim it down to what I consider the bare essentials for the system.

Anything that is "genre-specific" like "spellcasting", "psionics", or "computer hacking" will be included in the setting documents meant to add to and/or modify the base rules for campaigns that use those elements.

The generic, master skill list..? Here ya go...

• Animal Handling
• Art/Craft (Specify)
• Barter/Trade
• Carousing
• Climbing
• Combat, Armed
• Combat, Ranged
• Combat, Unarmed
• Deception (Specify; Fast Talk, Disguise, Mimicry, Acting, Forgery)
• Deduction
• Demolitions
• Dodge
• Escape Artist
• Gambling
• Healing
• Interrogation
• Intimidation
• Knowledge (Specify)
• Leadership
• Lip Reading
• Public Speaking
• Repair
• Research
• Security
• Seduction
• Shield
• Sleight-of-Hand
• Stealth
• Survival (Specify; Urban, Outdoor, Social)
• Swimming
• Throwing
• Tracking

Looking at the list, a couple more may get trimmed, but I think it is pretty solid as it stands.

-- GopherDave

Odd... But Good...

Things have been moving right along here, with me falling back into good habits that I had dropped for a bit. The one habit I need to pick back up though is working out. I have not done so for a bit, and I need to make that happen once again. Two or three times a week should be more than doable, I just have to carve it out of my schedule, which seems to have become clogged once again.

Not much is happening beyond that. The AC at the store is fixed, so my sweater vest-wearing self is happy on that front. I have been looking at game stuff and gearing up to run a game to find no spots on the store schedule that would be conducive to my doing so. I find that odd, but encouraging.

This Saturday I am thinking about making a short drive to Terre Haute to ISU-Con, just to check it out. It's not that far away, and I have the day off. Then again, I might check out some other area stores just to see what they are doing well that we might be able to implement at the Gopher.

Or I might just stay home and endure the remnants of Hurricane Isaac if it heads this way and hits us about that time...

-- GopherDave

Mental Flattulence...

Okay... I am currently sitting in GopherSemi-Inferno. The air conditioning gave up the ghost Sunday night. Calls were made Monday morning. Technician came out Monday afternoon and proclaimed things "not broken". I came in last night to work on things and found that is was 73 degrees in the store. I came back this morning to find it was 76 and climbing. More calls have been made. I have managed to coax SOME cool out of it, but I am still waiting for a technician to come out and actually do their job of repairing an item instead of fiddling with it enough to get it to "work" and leaving.

Game-wise, not much work got done, but I do have a more focused plan of attack. Going over my convention blurbs gave me some ideas on where to direct some of my work effort and things are being put into place to allow me to actually do some of that work. Talking with Skribl last night also has me a bit jazzed. I know he's biased, and his experience is somewhat limited, but he honestly believes that my Tai'eres (post-apocalyptic fantasy) setting is one of the best settings he's ever played in. That actually has me a more than a bit amped to work on things.

Loq and I also went and viewed the Expendables 2 last night. It's a fun popcorn movie, not quite as good as the first, with some memorable lines and a way-too-difficult-to-track body count. Definitely worth at least a rental.

Anyway, off to do work...

-- GopherDave

The Aftereffect...

Much of what has happened at CasaGopher today has been on the relaxing side. Even though I had a vacation last week, it is nice just to "turn off" GopherDave and just be Dave for a bit. I need that relaxation time to settle down and think about gaming stuff.

During the down time today, I got an idea for yet another setting, but it is one I need to consult with my more science-oriented friends about. The idea is more space opera than hard science fiction, but there are some questions I need answers for in order to make the setting to be more believable to both the players and myself. Right now, I'm thinking light-/heat-based weapons technology and ceramic based armors, with a mood closer to Deep Space 9/Babylon 5 than Blade Runner/Star Wars. I'm still working out some social details in my head, but thoughts may hit "paper" soon enough.

System-wise, I am looking at the homebrew I'm currently twonking on, and ideas on how to incorporate non-human races into said system have finally been ruminating in my skull. I'm hoping to find time tonight to look at what I have so far and actually get some work done.

Wish me some form of luck...

-- GopherDave

I'm Back... Back In the C-U Groove...

Okay... Things are getting back to normal. The spine is still having issues, but I am learning to manage them.

Tonight, my original plan was to go home and do laundry, but then I realized that I have mixed up weekends and it is Shady's Terracide game, so no relaxing at home for me.

Beyond that, students are filtering back into town for the fall semester, which means traffic is clogging up a bit and will be that way until the parents leave and the kids figure out their way across/around town.

Business at the store today has been understandably slow, given a major festival in downtown. That said, we have had people in, mostly people just finding the store and seeing what we have. We smile and nod and encourage them to come back. Just another day of building future business.

Off to go schmooze with new folk! Lovin' every minute of it!

-- GopherDave

Better... I Hope...

I awoke today with only a trace of the headache that plagued me last night. Now, my back is joining in this fray. Oh happy day!

Enough sarcasm aside, I'm starting to get back into good routines I had been dropping in the months prior to my vacation. This is a good thing. Now, if I can make the pain subside enough, I can get back to working out as I am certain my time in Indianapolis absolutely blew my diet away. I was down to 295 pounds when I last checked, so when I get back to the gym (not today) I will just how much damage I have done to my progress.

Beyond all of that, today is Friday which means Friday Night Magic. I am sort of looking forward to it tonight as it is one of our off-kilter draft formats. We'll see how it goes...

Until later...

-- GopherDave

Time Keeps On Slippin', Slippin', Slippin'...

I started this yesterday morning. Here's how the day ended up going...

8AM - 10:30AM: Get ready for work and wait for shipments

10:30AM: Shipments arrive.

11:00AM: Open store while continuing to play with shipments.

12:30PM: Finish with shipments. Get ready to do other stuff inbewteen helping what few customers there are.

1:00PM: Feel the beginnings of what seems to be a major headache/migraine coming on. Take four ibuprofen in an attempt to kill it, or at least slow it down.

2:30PM: Come to the conclusion that four ibuprofen either did bupkiss, or are the only thing keeping me from curling up in fetal position in a dark corner.

6:15PM: Go home after being relieved by Skribl. Hate the sun the entire drive home.

6:30PM: Get home, change into comfy clothes and curl up on the couch, silently suffering. Continue this for three more hours.

9:30PM: Give up and go to bed.

9:45PM - Whenever: Suffer in bed until I finally fall asleep, at which point I sleep like a rock.

Result: Nothing really productive got done this day. Bawls.

-- GopherDave