NaNoWriMo Update

 Now sitting at 17,029 words. I’m right on schedule for where I want to be. The story is going fairly smooth, but it’s not even at the half way mark yet. I have never written a continuous story for more then a few pages, let alone 50,000 words. I’m up to page 26. It has been an amazing experience so far, and I’m excited to see if the enthusiasm stays throughout the rest of the month.

Oh, and that widget up there – light green days are when I was slightly above the daily goal. Light red is slightly below. Bright red is well below the daily goal and bright green is well above. The one bright red day I have there is not because I didn’t write, I did. I went from 13,518 on Friday to 15,098 on Saturday and then my current 17,029. I didn’t log into NaNo and update it though, so it shows up as a bright red day. Ah well.

Follow Up – Different Type of Gaming

The adventure I’m currently on posted above, again I just have to say that these little D&D mini adventures are a whole lot of fun to read (even if I suck and end up mashing my fingers). In one of the events not shown here the text is that I have to dodge some boulders falling from overhead (and I failed the roll) it says in bold text “doge stargrace, dodge!” 

Good times.

A Different Type of Gaming

It’s been a long time since I dug up those D&D books that an old boyfriend gave me as a gift (pictured above). I think he actually got them 2nd hand from his older brother. I remember looking at them fondly when I first saw them, and then as the newer editions made their way slowly into my friends possessions I remembered being very jealous that I couldn’t afford the fancy books. I used to love gathering with friends (and a lot of snacks) and seeing what adventures we would be getting into. I had the utmost respect for the Dungeon Master, who made us his play-things every weekend in gorey battles for honour. I miss days like that. I never actually used my own books to play, since by the time I started an edition or two had already come out, but I did keep those books tucked away. I still ogle the new hardcover versions at the book store. They remind me of simpler days, even if they weren’t actually so simple. Memories are great things. 

There is a facebook application that I’ve been having a lot of fun getting into, and while I realize that not everyone enjoys using it, this little mini game is amazing. 

It’s called tiny adventures. You create a D&D character, and send them off to roleplay fun. You make dice rolls, get gear, and each ‘stage’ of an adventure takes a bit of time ranging from a few seconds to half an hour or more. You can either leave the application running and the timer will count down until you hit the ‘next stage’ button, or you can leave the application and go do other things, the adventure will play out without you there. 

Adventures consist of anywhere from 5-15+ encounters, with a dice roll deciding each encounter for you as you move along the story. Your class will also dictate whether or not you have a higher or lower chance at winning, some are tailored for clerics using wisdom checks while others are made for other classes, using strength checks or dexterity. 

The stories themselves are very well written, and as you read through each journey it can become slightly addicting. 

You can also look at your friends and their encounters. If they are currently in an encounter when you happen to be on the page and they’re low on health, you can help them by tossing them a heal potion. It’s not really a game per say, but it’s almost as addictive as one especially if you have the longing for good ‘ol roleplay sessions. Not all exciting games are about constant button mashing and wild sounds with action scenes every 10 seconds.

Woodworker Earns Her Epic (Finally)

 

 Finally. After leaving my woodworker at level 80 for a few months now I decided it was time to finish my epic on her. There’s a pretty good reason I neglected it. Well, ok not a pretty good reason, but there’s a reason (which is better then none at all). I’ve already completed epics for three other level 80 crafters. The quest is the same up until the final portion and then it splits into subclasses so needless to say after the first three times I completed it I was just not inspired to do it for a forth. 

Let alone a fifth (my sage has been level 80 for some time as well and I do plan on finishing the epic with her one of these days). Thank you to Albrta and Eyenstein for crafting the majority of the bits I needed, as well as two strangers who responded in channels (carpenter and weaponsmith). It was nice to get some help. The entire quest took about two hours, the longest portions being just running around. Thankfully my woodworker is a druid, and I could just port around to locations close to where I needed to be. I proudly put on my cloak and gave myself the earring buff. 

Besides EQ2 and W101 I had a little time to play Little Big Planet last night. Finished clearing out the canyons though I haven’t gotten the ace (completing a zone without dying) reward for all of them yet. Started working on The Metropolis, and got a few more outfits. The frying pan hand item is one of my favorite. 

Then today I happened to be in EBGames and asked about the Little Big Planet guide. It’s 314 pages of pure awesome. Not only are there walkthroughs for every zone (which you can of course skip. I’ve been reading the ones for the zones I’ve completed just because there is so much information) there is also a VERY detailed ‘creation’ section tha goes over each of the tutorial bits in huge amounts of detail. THAT’S what I was looking for. It’s hard to read the font for the game on my television screen (what can I say, I’m a pc gamer and my tv collects dust) and I couldn’t read what they wanted me to do or what buttons to press. Plus I’m a visual learner, give me something to look at and I’ll memorize it over time easily enough. This guide is fantastic. I don’t typically buy guides for games (ok, lets make that ‘don’t typically’ to ‘don’t ever’) but I would highly suggest picking this one up. The best $21 I spent today. 

So, all in all it’s been a fantastic gaming weekend. How could it not, with great friends and fantastic games. I think by now my friends know they can get me to play pretty much any game if they talk about it long enough and use the F-word (FUN). It’s one of those ‘best selling’ features. It’ll be interesting when a sci-fi game comes out, since I’ve always been completely anti-‘space’ for as long as I can remember. I’ve never seen Star Wars (I know, I need to be buried alive) or Star Trek or Star anything (how amusing that my online persona is Stargrace). Typical female gamer? Maybe. It’s not ALL about the housing and outfits for me though. I really do take pride in knowing my class and characters and doing my job – and doing it well. It’s just all of the extra ‘stuff’ that gets me to keep playing.

Wandering Through Wizard101

Well, she did it again. That’s right, the F word. Ringing through every post loud and clear. 

Fun. What did you think I was going to say? 

Tipa has been talking about Wizard101 for quite some time now, and I never got into it. Why? Am I not a dedicated stalker lemming friend? I just had too much on my plate. I’ve managed to lower that some what and found myself with a whole lot of time to actually game this weekend. I haven’t subscribed to W101, but I may do the “pay as you go” plan, and just pay for zones as I come up to them. I honestly can’t rationalize paying yet another subscription. That’s alright though, because so far the areas I’ve been exploring are FREE. That’s right, I created my account and less then three minutes later was in game and creating my character. My name is Angela Ravendust, and as of right now I’m a level 5 Theurgist, with some training points in storms I believe. That may or may not be an actual school, I’m still on information overload.

Edit: I forgot to mention some where – Tipa is SO uber in W101 that she actually boxes two accounts. There was some talk of her 3-boxing, where we all chuckled and joked nervously – KNOWING that it COULD actually happen with her. /Not Worthy.

 Pictured above is Tipa in the yellow / orange, myself in greens, and Cownose. We were all able to join in on the Nostalgia vent channel along with one of Tipa’s friends (I’m so sorry I’ve already forgotten your name! Remember information overload here). 

I loved doing the Halloween events. I’ve always loved card games, although I’ve never played that many. I played Pokemon (I know, I need to be done away with) and magic the gathering of course. I actually enjoy Legends of Norrath in EQ2 as well. 

We rushed off to do some.. I want to say.. tower.. things.. (yes that’s the technical term) where I spent most of the time accidentally walking backwards and out of the instance. Whoops. Of course me being a healer of sorts, didn’t have any but one single heal card and that was barely enough to keep anyone alive when it came to fighting the big’uns. I had a BLAST though. Almost literally. The spell effects are fun, it’s bright and colourful, the chatting with people sucks since it’s all protected and adding people to friends requires a bit of finesse. Plus Xfire does not recognize the game so I have it loaded on the laptop while I play in full screen (what do you mean you don’t have Xfire? You have friends in multiple games these days, get it so you can keep in touch with everyone no matter what game they play! Add me!) 

I looked at the clock and practically screamed into vent, a good 5 hours had passed (WHERE does the time go when you’re in W101?! That’s the quest I want to do!) and I had forgotten to get my NaNoWriMo portion out of the way. Jumped (quite literally) out of the game, did the dishes, sat down and managed to get to 15,098 words. Little behind where I wanted to be. 

I had a great time gaming, and actually got in some EQ2 time late last night / early this morning – and also got some Little Big Planet in last night / this afternoon. More about those two in the next post, W101 deserved it’s own space.