Familiar Ground http://www.familiar-ground.com An epic fantasy comedy, from a familiar point of view. Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:01:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gifSome Rights ReservedFamiliarGroundhttp://feedburner.google.comSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with NewsAlloySubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with Yourminis.comSubscribe with Attensa for OutlookSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with netomat HubSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with FlurrySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily RotationThank you for visiting! ** To keep up with the site updates, you can either subscribe to an RSS feed or subscribe via email. ** For those that don't know what an RSS feed is, it's basically a way to send articles or frequently updated information to a reader. It's basically like getting articles delivered to your own customized personal newspaper. Any site that updates frequently, whether that is daily or weekly, will usually have an RSS feed you can click on to subscribe to the content. ** Then all of that content is sent to a Reader (check your computer, you might already have one and are not using it). ** I myself use google reader so I can access my subscribed content from any computer, but there are a lot of RSS readers to choose from (yahoo, myAOL, google, etc.), which you can find by doing a quick search online for "RSS Reader". Dance Elf Boy, Dance http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/CnlTHw4DPnE/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/11/01/dance-elf-boy-dance/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/11/01/dance-elf-boy-dance/ Can't you just picture Coco with a cowboy hat and a couple of six shooters?

Elven blade dancers combining martial skill and magic are pretty popular in D&D.  The recent Neverwinter campaign sourcebook brought it back (though Swordmages were already around, their focus on Int/Str or Int/Con didn’t really fit the previous lore). Thinking about elven blade dancers though, I can’t decide how it would look like.  A martial art [...]]]>

Can't you just picture Coco with a cowboy hat and a couple of six shooters?

Elven blade dancers combining martial skill and magic are pretty popular in D&D.  The recent Neverwinter campaign sourcebook brought it back (though Swordmages were already around, their focus on Int/Str or Int/Con didn’t really fit the previous lore).

Thinking about elven blade dancers though, I can’t decide how it would look like.  A martial art form that combines dance with weapon fighting.  Would it be similar to Capoeira?  Eskrima?  Break dancing?

Given that elves are involved though, it probably looked like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpaS2v-r7cE

 

]]> http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/11/01/dance-elf-boy-dance/feed/ 16 http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/11/01/dance-elf-boy-dance/ It Hates Us http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/X5hruPsvg-A/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/31/it-hates-us/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/31/it-hates-us/ Hyperbole is a big, giant exaggeration. Hypertension is what I get when people use hyperbole seriously and not in jest.

I’m still unsure whether or not I’m using the great wheel planar cosmology in this setting.  Currently, the storyline doesn’t really touch on planar mechanics except for the existence of a few planes: godly domains “prison plane” for elder primordials elemental planes faerie lands (could be similar to feywild or separate pocket plane) So I [...]]]>

Hyperbole is a big, giant exaggeration. Hypertension is what I get when people use hyperbole seriously and not in jest.

I’m still unsure whether or not I’m using the great wheel planar cosmology in this setting.  Currently, the storyline doesn’t really touch on planar mechanics except for the existence of a few planes:

  • godly domains
  • “prison plane” for elder primordials
  • elemental planes
  • faerie lands (could be similar to feywild or separate pocket plane)
So I could still use the great wheel, use 4e’s planar setting, come up with my own, or just leave it undefined until I have a need to define it.
]]> http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/31/it-hates-us/feed/ 1 http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/31/it-hates-us/ Getting the Boot http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/9c5YYK46SPk/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/28/getting-the-boot/#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/28/getting-the-boot/ Because getting his wizard's pink slip would be very weird.

The phrase “get the boot” means to be fired, but where did the phrase come from? It’s probably related to “kicked out” which is similar in meaning, but kicked out from where?  A house?  A boat?  An organization? Fired is in itself a strange word if you think about it.  Apparently it came about because [...]]]>

Because getting his wizard's pink slip would be very weird.

The phrase “get the boot” means to be fired, but where did the phrase come from?

It’s probably related to “kicked out” which is similar in meaning, but kicked out from where?  A house?  A boat?  An organization?

Fired is in itself a strange word if you think about it.  Apparently it came about because if you wanted to get rid of an undesired person but didn’t want to kill them, you burned their house down and banished them.

Kinda extreme, but strangely enough, I can picture Trump totally doing just that.

]]> http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/28/getting-the-boot/feed/ 0 http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/28/getting-the-boot/ Sorta Kinda Immortal http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/DcvyPeeMYjk/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/27/sorta-kinda-immortal/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/27/sorta-kinda-immortal/ Raise your hand if don't read the manual of stuff that you buy.

This is why a wish to live forever is a bad idea because it can get all twisted.  You’re still technically alive in suspended animation, but that’s not really gonna do you any good. A wish for permanent youth would probably be better to avoid those situations where you find yourself wishing you were dead [...]]]>

Raise your hand if don't read the manual of stuff that you buy.

This is why a wish to live forever is a bad idea because it can get all twisted.  You’re still technically alive in suspended animation, but that’s not really gonna do you any good.

A wish for permanent youth would probably be better to avoid those situations where you find yourself wishing you were dead (i.e. buried alive underground – a situation grave enough to give an immortal nightmares).

Coincidentally, I saw a trailer for a new sci-fi movie about people paying for eternal youth, In Time.  It has Justin Timberlake in it for some reason, which I find kinda strange.

 

 

]]> http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/27/sorta-kinda-immortal/feed/ 9 http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/10/27/sorta-kinda-immortal/ Wand of Time Out http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/1D12OMcWRGU/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/09/02/wand-of-time-out/#comments Fri, 02 Sep 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/09/02/wand-of-time-out/ The command word of the wand is Carbonite.

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The command word of the wand is Carbonite.

The command word of the wand is Carbonite.

]]> http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/09/02/wand-of-time-out/feed/ 21 http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/09/02/wand-of-time-out/ Carrot and Stick http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/sBB06JHI8ug/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/09/01/carrot-and-stick/#comments Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/09/01/carrot-and-stick/ Who wins in a wand versus staff fight? It's still the guy with the death ray.

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Who wins in a wand versus staff fight? It's still the guy with the death ray.

Who wins in a wand versus staff fight? It's still the guy with the death ray.

]]> http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/09/01/carrot-and-stick/feed/ 0 http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/09/01/carrot-and-stick/ Double Negative http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/-KhUJBAdbMg/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/31/double-negative/#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/31/double-negative/ Toad is positive that his current situation is a negative one.

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Toad is positive that his current situation is a negative one.

Toad is positive that his current situation is a negative one.

]]> http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/31/double-negative/feed/ 0 http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/31/double-negative/ Dirty Laundry http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/1X1W6YG-mYc/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/30/dirty-laundry/#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/30/dirty-laundry/ But his boots are made for walking.

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But his boots are made for walking.

But his boots are made for walking.

]]> http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/30/dirty-laundry/feed/ 0 http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/30/dirty-laundry/ Stupid Questions http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/1jnP8ejdaK8/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/29/stupid-questions/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/29/stupid-questions/ Not so much a stupid question as it is a stupid act to ask an evil wizard the question in the first place.

How does one interrogate a suspect that has so much power? If the local constables suspect an archmage of murder, what exactly can they do? A powerful wizard can pretty much use magic to hide his crimes, or resist any attempt of honest questioning. I suppose the authorities can find a stronger wizard, but what [...]]]>

Not so much a stupid question as it is a stupid act to ask an evil wizard the question in the first place.

How does one interrogate a suspect that has so much power? If the local constables suspect an archmage of murder, what exactly can they do? A powerful wizard can pretty much use magic to hide his crimes, or resist any attempt of honest questioning.

I suppose the authorities can find a stronger wizard, but what happens if it’s the strongest wizard in the realm that is accused of wrong doing?

Do evil wizards automatically get away with murder in a fantasy setting as long as they’re the most powerful wizard around? Guess that’s one explanation for evil wizards trying to acquire more power…

]]> http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/29/stupid-questions/feed/ 9 http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/29/stupid-questions/ Concern Consternation http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FamiliarGround/~3/NcKssAR-_JI/ http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/26/concern-consternation/#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 07:01:00 +0000 Cedric http://www.familiar-ground.com/2011/08/26/concern-consternation/ He's probably got bigger things on his mind...finding a better outfit for example.

What concerns does the tabletop RPG industry have? I see three main issues currently affecting the industry. 1) Fewer retail stores. This affects both sales and player recruitment. 2) The format of presenting content is changing (consumers use less books in favor of online sites, PDFs and ebooks). 3) Increased competition from other entertainment platforms. [...]]]>

He's probably got bigger things on his mind...finding a better outfit for example.

What concerns does the tabletop RPG industry have? I see three main issues currently affecting the industry.

1) Fewer retail stores. This affects both sales and player recruitment.
2) The format of presenting content is changing (consumers use less books in favor of online sites, PDFs and ebooks).
3) Increased competition from other entertainment platforms.

People on the enworld or RPGNet forums might complain that WotC is losing their edge in the RPG market to newer companies, but looking at the above issues, I see WotC actively trying to address them (to various levels of success) whereas other companies are not. Paizo has a leg up on PDF sales, but they’re not exactly going out of their way to address any of the other issues.

In fact, I once asked a panel of independent game publishers at a convention if they feel obligated to support local game shops and what programs or incentives they have in place to do so. To a man, they all said that it was not their concern and they don’t have, nor plan on creating, any program to entice customers to support retail shops.

I guess they didn’t share my concerns.

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