Casey G's G+ Feed

Tomorrow I get to teach two kids how to play D&D. I am become Ms. Frost...corrupter of the innocent.

Entered in the comment box on the Jet's Pizza website: "draw a T-Rex on the box."

Is this any good? I already bought it, so maybe I should have asked earlier, but whatever. Got this and a PHB for the kids of a high school friend. The first hit is free, kids.

Almost as picky as my kids. Originally shared by ClickHole http://www.clickhole.com/blogpost/my-son-ate-his-twin-womb-and-now-hell-only-eat-thi-2820

5e party/time tracker thing. I'm marking a turn as exploring a room or hallway while mapping. Thorough searches are another turn. Check for encounters every other turn. One torch or light spell (see prior post) every six turns. Short rests take six turns. When they long rest, skip down to that, time changes to hours instead of turns. Mark a ration off. If for some reason they don't rest after taking 96 turns, they get a level of exhaustion.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B927w0kbCuZBLXdyak1sRTRnSE0/view?usp=sharing

Light as a cantrip that lasts an hour in 5e kinda screws opportunities for old-school dungeoncrawling. Think I'll bump it to a 1st level spell and add the old attack where you cast it into someone's eyes. Light 1st level evocation Casting Time: 1 action Range: Touch Components: V, M (a firefly or phosphorescent moss) Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour (or 1 minute) You touch one object that is no larger than 10 feet in any dimension. Until the spell ends, the object sheds bright light in a 20-foot radius and dim light for an additional 20 feet. The light can be colored as you like. Completely covering the object with something opaque blocks the light. The spell ends if you cast it again or dismiss it as an action. If you target  a hostile creature, that creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or be blinded for one minute. At the end of each of its turns, the target can make another Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the spell ends on the target.

Last night I watched Willow Creek , Bobcat Goldthwaite’s found-footage Bigfoot movie. I’d only recommend it if you like at least three things on the following list a lot. Bigfoot Bobcat Goldthwaite Found-footage People scared in a tent I didn’t understand the ending until I looked it up afterwards. It was pretty dumb. But this poster is killer.

Once the badger is fully functional again, it is expected to be flown to Wisconsin aboard a chartered jet and greeted as a god. http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/07/30/beach_beer_badger_poland_animal_has_wisconsin_like_tendencies.html

OK, preliminary encumbrance/inventory/resource tracking sheet not based on how much anything weighs. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B927w0kbCuZBMFZ0T3FfVWl4QVE/view?usp=sharing

So real. Originally shared by The Onion http://onion.com/1MxQFt7

Psychic warfare is real. https://player.vimeo.com/video/134626064

I've been in the woods for a few days, so I just saw this. Bloom County is the best reason to check Facebook every day.

Paul V. and Humza K have me thinking about the first time I encountered Robotech mech designs before either Battletech or watching the anime, which I didn't see until college. I can think of three things. 1. Robotech Defenders comic book by DC. Nothing to do with the anime at all. 1985ish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotech_(comics) 2. Jetfire Transformer. Also 1985ish. 3. Robotech novel series. I had all these. Loved them. 1987. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotech_(novels)

I cannot wait to get on the lake tomorrow. Work today is torture.

I ran Zzarchov Kowolski​'s One Thousand Dead Babies for some friends a few months ago. Now one of those friends has started a Roll20 D&D group with his old Warcraft friends, most of whom have never played D&D, and he's going to run it for them. Oh my.

“All gods are evil.”   That is what 11 year old Abby declared last night while we continued to read Greek Gods & Heroes by Alice Low. She is constantly outraged even by Athena and Artemis, who she started out liking a lot. Athena turns Arachnae into a spider (a horrible fate to Abby), and Artemis (along with Apollo) kills Niobe’s fourteen kids. And Aphrodite sabotage’s Atalanta’s independence, then turns her into a lion that pulls a chariot. It goes without saying almost that Zeus is horrible for screwing around on Hera, Hera is awful for taking revenge on mortals for Zeus’s screw-ups, Hades kidnaps Persephone, etc… “Are there any good gods?” she finally asked. I said Hephaestus  was never mean to anyone as far as I knew. Hopefully I wasn’t wrong.

Figured if I was checking on bigfoot, I better check out the UFO situation too. Only two reported sighting near where we'll be camping this weekend. One was probably satellites, the other though... DESCRIPTION: Massive craft seen for an hourVisiting friends with mother at cabin on Hoodoo point - Lake Vermillion. Around midnight, took the 2 passenger paddle boat out about 50 feet from shore. Lots of stars. Saw what appeared to be several shooting stars, but they traveled too fast and to the right in the sky. Looked over, and down extremely low in the sky, so large and visible was a massive craft. Craft was stationary or "hovering". No sound. Craft's size was visible when it suddenly shot off a "beam" of white light which appeared around the craft like a halo. Top of craft had circling green and red lights, which appeared to go on and off in random type of pattern, but were circling around the top of the craft. Watched the craft for nearly an hour and a half,

Heading to Voyageurs to camp this weekend. Thought I better check the Bigfoot report. St. Louis county has the most sightings of any county in MN. Fuuuu.... The latest report, October 2014 http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=46817 OBSERVED: Went hunting south of Buhl about a half mile from the cemetery. In the wildlife refuge I made my way to a large swamp. Seeing nothing I headed back and jumped onto old railroad tracks. I heard something howling in a spruce swamp to the west of me. Every time I stopped it would get quiet. I started walking again and heading north when I noticed something on the road ahead of me about a half mile or so. It was black and at the distance I couldn't make out what it was. The closer I got I assumed it was a bear. But then it stood up and very quickly ran into the ditch and stood in the brush and looked at me. I couldn't believe what I had just saw. Long arms long legs, dark black and about 7-8 ft. tall. It was big and fast. I looked at it a

What’s the most suburban upper-lower middle-class thing I could do right now? I know! Write a sternly worded email to our townhouse association manager.

http://www.grindtv.com/wildlife/hidden-cameras-in-rhino-horns-to-combat-poaching/#toYXOM8MyZwS6UW1.97

Argh! I knew I was going to miss Social D when they came through in August, but I didn't know they were playing the self titled album in full. wailing and gnashing of teeth http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/story-of-my-life-mike-ness-talks-25-years-of-social-distortion-20150722

Abby: "I can't wait to start rehearsing." Cooper: "What's rehearsing?" Me: "It's when you put a coffin back in the hearse. You re-hearse it." Abby: death glare

Look at this. http://www.markwitton.com/shop/4588356872/tyrannosaurus-robust-edition/9968720

Two signs from the Harkin Store, a 1870's general store that closed up with all its inventory intact. Now a museum. The town of West Newton was made obselete by the railroad when trains took all the riverboat freight traffic away. Then a horde of grasshoppers came and stayed for FIVE YEARS . They ate all the crops and everyone went broke. The grasshopper sign is totally gameable. Just make them giant grasshoppers. The LIBERAL sign shows the beginnings of the Farmer & Labor party of Minnesota, later to combine with the state Democratic party to become the Democratic Farmer Labor party.

A few pics from me and Abby’s trip to Jeffers Petroglyphs in southern MN. 7,000 years of continuous history are carved into the rock. 5,000 carvings known. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffers_Petroglyphs http://sites.mnhs.org/historic-sites/jeffers-petroglyphs

To remind myself for later. I love Song of Blades and Heroes, so I'm interested to see how it translates to naval combat. Originally shared by andrea sfiligoi I don't know how many of you are interested in other genres, but Ganesha Games has just made available in PDF a new naval game. http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_25&products_id=276   Galleys and Galleons is available in PDF! This is a set of Age of Piracy naval warfare rules for small fleet actions (a player controls up to 6-7 vessels) but you can easily run a fleet action with multiple players. Based on the Song of Blades engine, the book is 78 pages, written by Nicholas Wright (author of Song of Shadows and Dust). As with his previous effort, Nic is donating 50% of his royalties to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency who protect and assist individuals and families displaced by war and prosecution.  http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_25&products_id=276

Look at this bastard. I know I'll be enforcing a "no heads in the water" rule when I go camping with the kids in a few weeks. Yes, I understand odds and probability. But if someone handed me a revolver with a million chambers and only one bullet, I still wouldn't pull the trigger. http://io9.com/brain-eating-amoebas-have-struck-again-in-minnesota-1716653191

It's funded. The art will be creative commons. The reason to pledge is to read it now. When PCs Have Been Nuked If nukes are used in your campaign, the nature of PCs makes it very possible that they will somehow manage to get caught in a blast radius. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1637945166/starvation-cheap-planetary-warfare-for-stars-witho?ref=email

Listening to Ian McKellan on WTF: ”I do stand up.” ”Oh, do you?” Hilarious.

But ’mocking is what’s happening right now. Not only are hammocks a trend, they’re also a verb, as in, “Wanna ’mock tomorrow?” or, in the guiding principle of a burgeoning movement called the Hammock Initiative: “When in doubt, hammock it out.” We've seen this trend in action. Some dudes mistook the lawn at our townhouse for public space and hung their hammocks in our trees. http://m.startribune.com/variety/316148751.html

Been reading encumbrance rules. The most boring subject in RPGs maybe? I made this quick and dirty tracker for 5e. I’d either laminate these or put them in sleeves so you could use an erasable markers. The only thing I changed from the basic rules was water. A gallon of water a day? Whoever wrote that rule must be one of those people who drinks water constantly and has perfectly clear pee. I also tweaked the weight of a waterskin, whether four pints of water weighs four pounds or not, it’s easier if they match. Another thing I noticed comparing Basic 5e to the PHB, the spell list in Basic does not have create water or purify food and drink . Hardcore dungeon delving is a lot harder in Basic than full 5e.

Summertime, and the DMing is easy.

Anyone done a xp for gold conversion for 5e yet? I was thinking making the required xp x5 the listed value, so 1500 for 2nd level. Leave monsters at their current xp values. That's of the top of my head, any reason it wouldn't work? Something better?

Abby and I spent the day in southern Minnesota at Jeffers Petroglyphs. Super cool. Detailed photos need to be downloaded from an actual camera, but here's a panorama of the site with double Abby.

Must be hot. Originally shared by lynn paden i hope your #fidofriday  isn't as hot as it over here....

Whoa. Nice. Originally shared by Chris Carpenter I am at work, which ironicaly means I couldn't get this to work. http://meta-studios.com/dg/dungen.html

You jokers that posted the Death Star Pluto should have waited. Look at Charon. It's even got a trench. Originally shared by Winchell Chung At 2:00 position, notice the long line. That's a canyon, average depth 6 miles. https://twitter.com/StartsWithABang/status/621397552798109696

So far the best thing about 5e is how house-rule friendly it is.  New races: bonus to a couple stats, proficiency bonus to this, advantage to that, couple other goodies, done.  Dialing down the detail: no skills, background is just a phrase. Proficiency bonus to any roll that relates to the character’s race, class, or background.

Alex Toth.

This is Romby. He's lost. I'm going to take him home in a minute.

Twin Cities peeps, do you want to buy a bookstore? Once Upon a Crime is for sale. http://www.onceuponacrimebooks.com/ http://www.onceuponacrimebooks.com

An RPG about rabbits is coming out?

James LaManna, you left your character sheet at my apartment 20 years ago.

5e A.S.E. Ok, Moktars are easily a half-orc barbarian. Scientist, a reskinned Warlock?  Anyone have a 5e Robot race made? How about mantis-people? Daniel Davis Ed Hackett?

One of my good high school recently moved to the metro. I DM’d for him a couple times when we were kids. He and his kids tried the new 5e starter set on my recommendation. Now I’ve got plans to finally DM for them in a few weeks. I’m thinking ASE. 5e rules should make it slightly more survivable.

Wannagan Creek My favorite part of the Science Museum of MN is tucked away at the back of the paleontology wing. It’s a recreation of Wannagan Creek, a river that flowed through what is now the North Dakota badlands by Theodore Roosevelt National Park. People say the “Age of Reptiles” to describe dinosaurs, but the real age of reptiles was the few million years following the dinosaurs’ extinction, before mammals got so big. Wannagan Creek was home to three two different crocodilians and a choristoderan all occupying the same habitat. The large, apex-predator Borealosuchus (pictured), the little alligator Wannaganosuchus, who probably prowled the aquatic plants, and the large Champsosaur, Champsosaurus gigas, that probably fed on fish at the bottom of the river. It was also home to primitive primates, ungulates, turtles, snakes, all kinds of fish, and huge salamanders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannagan_Creek_site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borealosuchus https://en.wikipedia.org

1001 Pagodas - Pagoda 3 Loplop the Kenku monk explored his third pagoda fairly completely before deciding he had enough treasure, including three 100gp carpets he's pretty sure will tie the one room of his tiny house together, to return and level up. If I had to describe this session in three words, it would be pa'kua kobold genocide.

This is fantastic. Deadpan, blacker than black military humor. Plus an old pilot weighing in on the supposed replacement for the A-10. "...but ask any grunt what he wants to see overhead, and it isn’t an F-35...” Via Mikael Dahl. https://medium.com/war-is-boring/cold-war-coloring-book-taught-a-10-pilots-to-kill-soviet-tanks-a26385113bf0

Kabuki Kaiser, I used the new, bookmarked Mad Monks tonight. Thanks for going back and updating that. MUCH easier! Here's the best thing that's happened in my game so far: Loplop takes his bearings in this new pagoda he has been teleported into. He takes the first door on his right, which leads to a lacquered wood corridor. Suddenly, the single paper lantern illuminating the hallway recites a haiku: Over-ripe sushi, The Master Is full of regret. While listening to this wisdom, Loplop steps in a bucket.

So Star Wars Rebels is just a TV show about someone's West End Games Star Wars campaign, right? Coop and I started watching it and all I could think about was how familiar it felt.

Things are getting crazy up in this dungeon. Dinosaurs vs. Elemental cultists. "Papa, you have to roll a 20." "What?! What do you have to roll?" "A 5."

Yuggoth in the Dreamlands. Originally shared by Winchell Chung Google's Deep Dreamer strikes again https://twitter.com/Bouletcorp/status/619921431653171200

Deep Dream portrait.

Burst your bonds! It's time for D&D !

Purchased without hesitation. Originally shared by Zzarchov Kowolski As promised, a fiendish puzzle adventure for characters leveled 3-6 Art by Scrap Princess  Maps by Simon Forster  Layout by C Huth  Editing by Michael Moscrip  http://www.rpgnow.com/product/152659/The-Gem-Prison-of-Zardax http://www.rpgnow.com/product/152659/The-Gem-Prison-of-Zardax

Last word of many, many characters. Originally shared by Jason Sholtis Yeah, I've turned into a spambot. Avert your eyes, if you must! you may also wish to blame trey causey

Yeah, but it takes three days for the bread to rise. Good day for weird cars.

Hell. Yes. This is better than that recession-Batmobile I saw a few months ago.

Nerdy Ninth I like Legos. I clicked on the search field in Google Photos for the first time and it had a category called "Legos" without me tagging or labeling any pictures. It just saw there were pictures of Legos. That's crazy.