tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48328664319185881292024-03-13T06:39:42.429-04:00Professor PopeSerious Thoughts on Trivial MattersNakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.comBlogger376125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-31782337076379539032019-12-03T15:47:00.001-05:002019-12-03T15:50:01.708-05:00Duff McKagan and Henry Rollins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Things I learned from this video:<br />
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1. Duff McKagan has recently (well, earlier this year), put out an album he made with Shooter Jennings. Cool.<br />
2. Duff is an amateur historian who seems to know a bit about rare books. Also cool.<br />
3. Duff's Seattle roots run deep. He casually references Mark Lanegan's solo work as an influence.<br />
4. Henry Rollins has now turned into a weird but cool grandfather type. I mean, even his voice sounds gentle. Who would have thunk it?NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-89497496455179130872019-08-27T09:44:00.002-04:002019-08-27T09:44:45.395-04:00Eulogy for Andre PopeThis was the Eulogy I gave for my brother, Andre, who passed away on August 20th, 2019.<br />
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<b>Eulogy for Andre Pope</b><br />
<b>By Nakia Pope</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>24 August 2019</b><br />
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I will start with a story.<br />
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On Father’s Day, 2015, Andre and his family drove out to spend the weekend with us in Arlington, Texas. My dad came too. Part of the timing of his visit was due to my ridiculous decision to run a Spartan Race at AT&T stadium. Andre was proud and supportive of this challenge I had undertaken. I know it fit his sense of adventure and desire to always be challenged. He was proud of me for doing it.<br />
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The morning of the race, Andre drove me to the stadium. As we parked and walked in, amidst all the pre-race hype and spectacle, he kept remarking how cool this all was. As I checked in, he said “I think I want to do this with you.”<br />
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This would come to be known as a classic #wtfpope moment.<br />
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I had trained, as best I could, for this 4 mile obstacle ridden course with about 4000 stairs for six months or so. Andre had just been riding his bike some. I was, honestly, both amazed and annoyed. Why was he trying to jump into this thing I had been building myself up for for months? Was he crazy?<br />
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Andre was persuaded not to do the race by two things. One was the fact that he would have to run it in a very late heat, a few hours after I started. The other was some ridiculous price tag for onsite registration, Something like $250. “Sorry”, he said. “No problem”, I said.<br />
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He was the first one to greet me as I staggered over the finish line.<br />
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After some post race fun, and watching our kids do a little obstacle race of their own, Andre drove me home. I was spent, tired to the point of incoherence. I gave him some wrong directions on how to get back to my house.<br />
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As we navigated back home, he suddenly pulled his truck over. “What are you doing?” I asked him. “We are going to help these people” he said.<br />
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He had noticed a couple of guys pushing a truck into a gas station. Before I could even really register what was going on, he had parked the truck and was going to help these guys push the car. It turns out they had run out of gas and were pushing it into the station to get some more. Andre ( I was still trying to get out of the truck myself) helped these guys get their truck to the gas pump.<br />
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They said thanks. Andre said no problem. And we went on our way.<br />
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I can think of no better example of the person my brother was than those two events that day. Andre was not just always up for adventure, he pursued challenge and discomfort. He did this really just to see what something was like, to challenge himself physically and mentally, to avoid the sort of complacency that comes all too easily to those of us in adulthood. This pursuit did not always turn out the way he had hoped -- lost in the woods overnight, over his head with one project or another. But he had the resilience and self-confidence that allowed him to take these setbacks and turn them into stepping stones. He was not afraid to challenge himself. He was not afraid to fail. He was not afraid to try the next thing.<br />
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In this way he was a challenge and inspiration to me.<br />
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Andre was also exceptionally giving. This was not always apparent at first, as he certainly possessed his fair share of Pope stubbornness, and a desire to do things his way on his time. But it didn’t take much to see how much he reached out, that his constant offers to “let me know if you need anything” were more than genuine. This continued even as he got sick, as his concern with how his family and friends were dealing with his illness was often greater than his concern for his own health.<br />
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When I think of suffering and loss, especially for someone who gave so much and had so much to do and was so young, I think about Job. Most of us are familiar with the basics of the Job story. A faithful man, brought to suffer through a deal between God and the Devil. What happens in the book of Job, though is an extended question and debate about suffering between Job and four men. The first three of these guys try to tell job why he suffers, why suffering happens, but Job questions and argues with them at every turn.<br />
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When I reread this part of Job a few days ago I could not help but think of Andre in his hospital bed, wondering why all this was happening to his family and arguing philosophically with anyone who happened to wander into his room. If you happened to be there, you were more than likely to get a treatise on Andre’s values, his philosophy of adventure, the importance of friends and family, and why Thor: Ragnarok was the best of the Marvel movies. Andre questioned and fought and was stubborn and refused to accept the easy answers, just like Job.<br />
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It’s also important to remember that those three guys who tried to explain to Job why he suffered were wrong.<br />
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It took another prophet, and eventually God Himself, to explain this to Job. And the explanation at first is not seemingly very comforting -- we cannot understand why the good suffer. We -- limited, fallible, sinful humans that we are -- cannot grasp the enormity and entirety of creation.<br />
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We were not there when the world was made. We cannot know why young people get so sick.<br />
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This means we need faith. And hope. And surrender. And love. Lots and lots of love.<br />
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There is an abundance of love here today. And an abundance of love in the world. That’s hard to see sometimes. But having Andre in our lives is a reminder of just how much love there can be. In his love for his family, his friends, his hobbies, his craft, he shows us the sustaining power of love, how it brings us together and helps us move forward.<br />
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I Love My Brother. And I will miss him everyday for the rest of my life.<br />
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And I know he loves me. Just has he loves all of you here. Love is greater than suffering. Greater than pain. Greater than loss. Over the coming months and years, we can honor, remember Andre by cultivating this sustaining love.<br />
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BBQ story coda. . .<br />
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NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-88943539242963200552019-06-26T08:07:00.000-04:002019-06-26T08:07:02.830-04:00Apparently, I have been to Gerasa.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f5ThBHiddRM/XRDE1-DJLsI/AAAAAAAAO5Q/0rdWTFwhasgqDSOklILQ4Wz_GbttT-x2wCLcBGAs/s1600/640px-Jerash_-_colonnaded_street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="640" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f5ThBHiddRM/XRDE1-DJLsI/AAAAAAAAO5Q/0rdWTFwhasgqDSOklILQ4Wz_GbttT-x2wCLcBGAs/s320/640px-Jerash_-_colonnaded_street.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> J</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">i</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">m Greenhill, U.S. Army - http://www.defenseimagery.mil; VIRIN: 091029-A-3715G-212, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10115817</span></div>
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<br />
File this one under “Nakia is an idiot.” Also acceptable would be “Really cool stuff Nakia has done and now he’s old and can’t remember”<br />
<br />
Last post was some reflection on the miracles of Jesus, with special attention paid to the Gerasene Demoniac.<br />
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As it turns out, I have been to Gerasa. I have walked “amongst the tombs”.<br />
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And I kinda forgot.<br />
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Well, not really forgot I went to a place. Just forgot that the place I went used to be named Gerasa. Let me explain.<br />
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When reading The Gospel of Mark last week as I was thinking about my post, I noted that the Demoniac spread the good news of Christ in “the Decapolis”. I assumed that the decapolis was just a space in the city, like a market, utterly forgetting that “decapolis” literally means “ten cities.” But I wanted to be sure, so I did what any of my students would do -- looked it up in Wikipedia.<br />
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Turns out that the Decapolis was a loosely affiliated group of 10 Greco-Roman cities, including the present day city of Damascus, that are now in present day Syria and Jordan.<br />
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Gerasa is now known as Jerash and is in Jordan. Guess who got to go to Jerash on a foreign study trip to the Middle East and Africa in 1996?<br />
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I remember visiting Jerash. Walking through the Roman columns and ruined streets on a chilly windy day. Standing in the middle of the Forum, trying to get my bearings about being in the middle of so much history. I never really succeded at that for the entire trip, I think.<br />
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I don’t remember much of the modern city of Jerash. My guess is we just visited the Roman city. I am sure, at some point, the connection between the Gospel story of Jesus’ miracle, the possessed man, and the swine was brought up. But, like many other places I went during that trip, the full scriptural and spiritual significance of the location was not something that struck me.</div>
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It was only much later that I would really feel the spiritual effects of that trip. I am not saying I took that trip for granted. I definitely realized how fortunate I (a poor kid from Conway) to be roaming that part of the world when I was 19; I was constantly writing and thinking and dealing with the history and culture and all the newness that such a trip brings up. It still gives me pause, even as I write this. But I entered the trip with a particular attitude about God and Christ and Christianity in general that, while not hostile, was also not the most . . . um . . . open.<br />
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But that’s really another post or 12. Right now, I will just remember and smile at my blessing of being able to do this trip at all.<br />
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<br />NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-86824899793392432092019-06-23T12:32:00.000-04:002019-06-23T12:32:05.898-04:00Thinking about the Gerasene DemoniacI don’t often write about my faith, but I am going to start doing more of it.<br />
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Years of gaming and reading fantastic fiction have conditioned me to read the New Testament in a weird way. When you have a guy who was raised on Tolkien and Howard, then became a philosopher, and THEN became Catholic, you get an idiosyncratic approach to Scripture. All those novels, comics, and movies tend to make me see the New Testament as a story first-- the story of Jesus Christ and the eventual formation of the Church. Of course, it also contains teachings and wisdom and moral guidance and prophecy, all Divinely Inspired. But I always return to the story. Especially the parts of the story that are omitted.<br />
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Note -- I don’t mean “omitted” in the “mutigenerational conspiracy to hide the Truth” sense. I mean it in the much more mundane “things we know happened but the New Testament doesn’t talk about” sense. For me, at least, there are two big ones -- “What was Jesus’ childhood like?” And the related “What about St. Joseph?” Almost no detail of either of these things is given in Scripture. Of course, the two are related. Perhaps it’s the parent and husband in me, but I have always had a fondness for the Holy Family and often wonder about what ordinary life was like for them.<br />
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There is a third thing I wonder about a lot: “What were the lives of those touched by Christ like after that encounter?” Here I am specifically thinking about those who were blessed by Jesus’ miracles. Something amazing happened to them at the hands of Christ. They were healed, fed, or even raised from the dead. Then what?<br />
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All of them are wonderful and fascinating and bring up all sorts of questions -- did people come over to the host of the Wedding at Cana the next day and confront him about the rumors they heard of a man turning water into wine? But the story that really fascinates me is the Mark version of the Gerasene Demoniac. (This is Mark chapter 5, verses 1-20 if you are following along at home).<br />
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This poor man fascinates me. Living amongst the graves, stronger than chains, constantly engaging in self-harm -- it’s difficult not to pity him. His community has both cast him out and, in some backwards way, tried to help him. When Jesus finds him, the possessed man begs Jesus not to harm him or send him away.<br />
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As a bit of an aside, I think this is an important part of the Christology. The Demoniac recognizes Jesus as the Son of God, but immediately thinks Jesus is here to punish him. The recognition of the power of Jesus, but a misinterpretation of what that power is for, is a common New Testament theme.<br />
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Then, there is the famous line “Legion is my name. There are many of us,” which, if you are a guy who has read a bunch of horror novels and seen a lot of movies, you cannot help but hear delivered in the most creepy voice imaginable. Jesus casts the demon out into the swine, they all drown in the sea (probably making a huge mess and putting some poor swineherds out of business). The man is free from his demons. He puts on some fresh clothes and quietly sits with Jesus.<br />
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What’s the (former) Demoniac thinking about? This fascinates me. Confused -- probably. Grateful -- undoubtedly. Perhaps still shaking from his encounter with the power of Christ? Or finally calm and still for the first time in years? We don’t know, and only have our imagination and the experience of our own varied encounters with Christ to give us a clue.<br />
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The Demoniac’s life is undoubtedly transformed after that. He doesn’t just go home and try to figure out how to deal with all those guys who just lost 2000 pigs. I see him as knowing he can’t go home, really. After an encounter that transformational, you can’t just pick up where you left off (What was his family like? How were they faring? How long had he been possessed?). He begs Jesus to take him along, but Jesus gives him another job -- go be a Witness by telling everyone what the Lord has done for you.<br />
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And then that’s it. Mark tells us he wanders the Decapolis and tells his story. “All were amazed.” How could they not be? This guy’s story is fascinating, even the little bit we know. And in all the spaces we don’t know rest even more questions. Questions, I think, that have helped me encounter Jesus in my own idiosyncratic way.<br />
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NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-4880239197939655412019-06-12T10:19:00.002-04:002019-06-12T10:20:43.120-04:00Maybe it is fear, not entitlementI generally dislike generalizations about generations. Any such generalization vastly ignores or simplifies the lived experience of those within the generation, smoothing over differences to falsify coherence or, more cynically, to sell books or speaking engagements. To draw from personal experience, I am a tail-end Gen-Xer, a latchkey kid from a single parent home. Yet I was also rural, poor, and white. All of those things matter when you tell my story, and make it pretty different from my friends who grew up in wealthy Detroit suburbs or black and middle-class in South Carolina.<br /><br />This is not a rant about generations or generalizing. I just want to ask a question about a particular generalization of millennials, part of a story we have told ourselves, especially as educators, that millennials are “entitled” and “don’t want to work their way into or up from anything”. I have heard and experienced this stereotype as a teacher a lot. Like some stereotypes, experience bears out their truth. <br /><br />But . . . What if this “entitlement” is actually rooted in fear? Specifically, a fear that things will be worse in the future than they are now, so waiting and working will bear no fruit.<br /><br />If you are a 30 year old with student loan debt, landing in your first real job after navigating a soft job market for a few years while living at home. You are told, and you have been told, that you can learn the ropes and work your way up and things will pan out. But you’ve seen it not work out for plenty of people. Your needs are immediate and pressing, and the fear of being worse off than you are now is real, so you try to compensate for that fear with (unreasonable?) expectations that you need the salary and title and benefits and everything else NOW. After all, it’s not like houses will be cheaper in 10 years. . .<br /><br />Like I said, this is just a thought -- half formed and not remotely researched. But it makes some intuitive sense and makes me have more empathy for those that I know, teach, and work with.NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-33293364145326990292019-06-06T14:12:00.000-04:002019-06-06T14:28:51.138-04:00Thor and Failure<br />
My theory is that Endgame is really about failure, and what failure means to how we see ourselves. At least the first half of it is. All of the principal heroes deal with the failure of the first film and the repeated failure at the beginning of the second. <br />
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No one feels this more than Thor. Infinity War begins with massive failure on his part, a failure that reaches back into Ragnarok. Most of his Infinity War arc is an attempt to atone for this failure, only to fuck it up again at the last second. Should have gone for the head, indeed. <br />
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It was no surprise that Thor deals with this failure by withdrawal, hiding and drinking and yelling at kids over the internet. He’s let himself go, in all the ways that one can. And we understand it. He has lost everything, almost, and most of it has been a result of his failures. He tried really hard, but through some pride and general bad luck he failed. My own failures, and dwelling on them, minor as they are in comparison to letting half of all life be destroyed, sometimes drive me to stay in bed and eat shitty food and try and ignore my responsibilities. I get where Thor is at. <br />
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The film often plays this for laughs, which is what one should expect. Most of these Marvel movies play it light when facing serious themes. They are, fundamentally, entertainment, not meditations on trauma, even though I wish sometimes they would be just a bit more serious when talking about these issues. And while I chuckled when Thor faced down his panic attack when overwhelmed with the possibility of confronting his ex while at the same time seeing his mother on the day she was going to be murdered, it was a chuckle born by recognition. That’s A LOT to deal with, even for a God of Thunder. Overwhelm is a real thing and running away is a natural reaction. Just say “fuck it” and hit the road. <br />
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No surprise, then, that one of my favorite parts of Endgame is the conversation between Thor and Frigga. Thor’s mother knows that something is wrong, even knows that this Thor is not her Thor, in a sense. Thor tries to explain to her how he has failed -- that he is a failure (an “idiot with an axe”) -- but she won’t have it. He has failed, absolutely, but he is not a failure. Everyone fails. Failure is a part of life. <br />
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What was most interesting to me is what Frigga says next. She does NOT offer the typical “dust yourself off and get back up and get in the ring” speech. Instead, she urges Thor to become who he IS, not who he thinks he is supposed to be. Failure, much of the time, comes from trying to live up to expectations that are not our own, in trying to be something we are not, in fitting some sort of self-image that we have pieced together from books and movies and advertising and others’ words. <br />
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That’s why this whole conversation was my second favorite part of the movie. <br />
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Did Thor fail to stop Thanos? Unquestionably. But the thing that drove him to exile and drink and playing Fortnite -- was the expectations caused in the placement of that failure alongside Thor’s own ideas of being the Strongest Avenger and King of Asgard. He was supposed to stop Thanos, save his people, and avenge his family. Because that’s what heroes and kings do. When that didn’t happen, he was broken. <br />
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Frigga’s words don’t immediately turn Thor around, nor should they. One conversation can start someone on the right path, but the path is often long and twisting. I found Thor’s pleading to wield the stones to reverse the snap almost heartbreaking to watch. “Damn it! Just let me do one thing right!” he effectively says, and we see the depths of his own regret and failure and what he thinks he needs to do to get past them. <br />
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I’ve been there too -- just let me do this one thing, this ONE THING, that will fix what I have fucked up. Even though I know, just like Thor knows deep down, that the failure wasn’t just because of something I did and there’s not one thing that will fix it. <br />
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(Yeah, I know, the second snap kinda did fix it. Sort of. But then Thanos shows up and destroys a lot of nice Hudson Valley parkland. And I don’t have an Infinity Gauntlet anyway). <br />
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Thor then fights the good fight against Thanos and certainly helps bring about Thanos’ end. It’s certainly a team effort. (More on that later. The film goes out of its way to show that everyone helps, but that’s another essay). Then, at the end of the film, we see Thor teaming up with The Guardians of the Galaxy, off to have some space adventure. I really liked this ending for Thor, not just because it sets him up to continue to be a character in the MCU, but because it shows he’s on that path to becoming who he is. He’s not a king. He is a hero, at least sometimes. But he’s a roguish one, bantering as he smacks things around with his hammer. We see a lot of this Thor in Ragnarok, which is one reason I like that movie so much. <br />
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The idea that the biggest struggle in one’s life is to become who one is, rather than who one wants to be or thinks they should be, resonates with me in many ways. I’ve seen it in a lot of my reading on Jesuit spirituality. I feel it in my Catholic faith. I see it highlighted and contrasted in the existentialism that enamored me as a student. It’s an idea with power that I feel I need to accept. I am working hard to do so. So it was really nice to see that Thor has to work through this stuff as well, often with the help of friends and loved ones. <br />
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Man, we really need Thor to be a big part of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, don’t we? <br />
<br />NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-45003534247424682502019-05-31T14:37:00.001-04:002019-05-31T14:37:15.015-04:00Iron Man: Being Who You Are<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Iron Man: Being Who You Are</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-46ca768f-7fff-981e-dd06-b587da94b8d4" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">“I am Iron Man.” </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">It may be hard to remember now, but this line was pretty shocking when we first heard it said by Tony Stark in 2008. Tony’s glib admittance, nay, bragging about his “secret” identity at the end of the first of the MCU films stood general superhero convention on its head. There was supposed to be hiding and skulking and angst about living a dual life. Tony Stark publicly embraced his heroic identity, with all the fame, fortune, and responsibility that entailed.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The rest of the Iron Man and Avengers films can be read as Stark figuring out what being Iron Man means: how his knowledge, responsibility and power ought to work in the world. In so doing, he is constantly exploring how being Iron Man relates to being Tony Stark. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">I don’t want to frame this as the “who is the real mask” conversation we usually have with Batman and Bruce Wayne. It’s not about a secret identity, it’s about tensions between power, responsibility, and happiness. It’s the same conversation Spider Man constantly has (which is probably one of the reasons Spidey and Tony are so close in the MCU, but that’s another essay).</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">When Iron Man is defeated by Thanos on Titan, Stark fails at a particular way of being Iron Man. His failure, ironically, then brings about an idyllic way of being Tony Stark, yet that is also incomplete. His eventual victory and sacrifice in defeating Thanos is possible only because he has been down both of those roads and found them wanting. Let me explain. . .</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Since the second Iron Man film, and especially in the Avengers movies, Stark wants to put a “suit around the world.” What began as a cool weapons/energy platform (the Iron Man suit) became a way to protect the earth from massive threats the normal defenses could not handle. Ultron, all the extra Iron Man suits, the whole SHIELD satellite thing, the Avengers as a whole -- all of these were variations on Tony’s way to “fix” the problem terrifyingly demonstrated by the Battle of New York. There is a problem -- interstellar threat to the Earth embodied by Thanos -- and Stark spends countless hours trying to fix it.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This “fixer” mentality pervades Tony’s approach to the Avengers throughout the films, but it’s not very healthy for him. Tony cannot help but continually mess with stuff. He’s a “tinkerer”, constantly problem solving, building, experimenting. The realization of this aspect of his own identity comes in Iron Man 3, when he’s hiding in that kids garage and building the mega potato cannon. It’s what helps him get back on the horse, so to speak, as he deals with his PTSD. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Being a tinkerer and being a fixer may seem the same, but they are not. The differ in a number of ways, but a key difference is how they deal with failure. When a fixer fixes something, upgrades something, builds something, that thing is supposed to be whole, complete, perfect. If it does not work, then the project has failed. HE has failed. He must start over, or just move on.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">This is exactly how Tony reacts when Captain Marvel returns him to Earth. His plans to fix things so that Earth is safe has failed miserably. And so he’s done. He gives up on the project. Let someone else worry about it. He, finally, can go be a husband and a father.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">By all accounts he’s a good one. He and his family seem happy. But note he is still tinkering. He’s building Pepper a suit. He apparently has massive computing power (enough to figure out time travel) in his living room. He’s still tinkering, this time without the immediate pressure of fixing the problem of protecting earth. He’s able to just mess around with stuff, just like he was able to do in the kid’s barn.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">For the tinker, failure is just part of the process. Things don’t work. They smoke. They break. That just means one needs to try again, refine, get back to it. Failure is a learning opportunity. Similarly, a project is never done. There’s never any final state of “fixed.” There’s just a temporary break where things seem to be working. This lasts until they don’t work anymore or the tinker gets a new idea she wants to try out. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Tony-as-fixer is defeated by Thanos and moves on. Tony is broken, physically and emotionally, at the beginning of Endgame. All his compromises and sacrifices have still led him to failure. When it turns out that Pepper has survived the snap, Tony’s relief is immense. It’s no small compensation that he gets to move on and embrace another longed-for aspect of his life. Not just because the woman he loves still lives, but because now, finally, he has no excuse not to just be Tony Stark -- husband. Iron Man got his ass kicked, so Tony can just be Tony. But, while he seems to be done fixing things, he can’t stop tinkering with things. That’s just who he is. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">Tony-as-tinkerer is the one who jumps back in to help the Avengers figure out the time travel plan. There are problems to play with, permutations to consider, and a big dose of “what if” throughout it all. He improvises with brilliance, helping to guide the recovery of the Infinity Stones.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">The final fight with Thanos, and eventual sacrifice by Iron Man, is the bringing together of all these parts -- Tony the husband, Iron Man the Hero, the scientist, the tinkerer. It’s, in some sense, and embrace of how things ought to be. Only one timeline has Thanos losing; that happens to be the timeline where Tony uses the stones to defeat Thanos and dies in the process. I see Tony’s willingness to do this not just as embracing the inevitable actions that need to be done in order to win, but as a the realization that he -- Iron Man -- has to be the one to do it. Iron Man is the fusion of all the parts of Tony Stark -- fixer, tinkerer, hero, husband, and father.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; white-space: pre;">“I am Iron Man” at the end is not only a smart ass remark to Thanos, but a reminder to us all that Tony has always been the man in the suit, the protector of earth, and that happily married husband/scientist was, at best, a purposeful and earned reprieve. A bit of a vacation into domestic life. Having experienced this part of his life, Tony/Iron Man is complete. And so he can move on. </span></div>
NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-55387959842641083342019-05-22T10:03:00.004-04:002019-05-22T10:03:53.365-04:00Captain America: Moving On and Going Back<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Note, for the Captain America and Iron Man essays, I really feel I need to go back and connect what happens in Endgame to what happens in the movies that focus on the individual characters leading up to the end. However, that means I would need to rewatch six Marvel Movies and I don’t have that kind of time right now, so here goes. Maybe I can write an expanded edition later on.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If Endgame is really about failure, then what does the First Avenger do when he finally fails? I say finally because Captain America doesn’t really loose. Sure, in the larger arc there are setbacks and temporary defeats. Sure, Sokovia was a bad situation that led to Steve Rogers being on the wrong side of the law. And you could argue that, at the end of Civil War, Captain America “lost” in the sense that the Avengers were split up, his relationship with Tony Stark was ruined and SHIELD was destroyed. That’s all true. But through all of this, Cap stuck to his principles. Institutions were fallible and fell, but that’s because those institutions were not principled. SHIELD was literally compromised by Hydra. Tony was willing to compromise freedom for security. And the whole Sokovia mess was because Tony and Banner could not stop messing around with stuff. Cap has a deep and guiding moral compass, one not easily moved. That compass has always led him down the right path.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have always liked the Captain America story in these films, not just because he’s the morally upright hero, but because there’s an element of tragedy to his entire situation. He’s a man out of time, who thought he had sacrificed himself for the greater good only to wake up in a world radically changed. There’s that scene (I think it’s a deleted one) from The Avengers where Steve is living in a 1940’s house constructed inside some aircraft hangar. I found that profoundly sad. There’s the other scene at the beginning of the Avengers where Cap is pounding the crap out of those punching bags. Nick Fury comes to see him. Cap asks “What’s the mission?” The mission, his duty, is all he has left.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Captain America is all about duty. To his country and his principles, at least to the degree those things overlap. He’s also a man who has had everything taken away from him except that duty. He’s a soldier, so he does what he is told in service to a greater good. That’s all he knows. Part of his larger arc is Cap building another family with the Avengers, seeing that duty is best when mixed with love. Perhaps, even, the two are largely codefinitional. As institutions fail and principles are stretched, our duty to those we love remains.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And then almost all of his family dies. Bucky. Falcon. All those people Cap has come to love and trust and see has something bigger than any particular duty he has. He has a duty to them, which is why he refuses to destroy Vision when that’s an obvious way to solve the whole Thanos problem. He fails in that duty when Thanos snaps. One of the most heartbreaking parts of Infinity War was the look on Steve Roger’s face when he takes the handful of ashes that used to be Bucky and falls backward, sitting down hard on the dirt. There is a man who has failed. He has failed those whom he loves, whom he has never failed before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He fails again at the beginning of Infinity War. The plan to track down Thanos, get the gauntlet, and snap everyone back seems reasonable. But it does not work, of course. Thanos wins again. What’s more, Captain America lets a captive, wounded Thanos be straight up murdered by Thor. The movie does not dwell on this, but I see it as icing in the failure cake for Cap. He’s let have the universe be destroyed. He’s failed his loved ones. He fails Thor in letting his friend succumb to his rage. And he fails his principles by letting a captive be murdered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cap has nothing left to do or fall back on. As he tells Natasha on the journey to find Thanos, if the plan didn’t work, he had no idea what to do next. It’s that line, and the heated conversation with Stark when the later returns from space, that are key to the rest of Cap’s choices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon being rescued from space, Tony tells Steve to let it go. They have lost. They cannot fix it. They just need to move on. There is finger pointing, as each sees the other as being somewhat responsible for Thanos’ victory. But each knows it is not one person’s fault, even as each accepts a lot of responsibility.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what does Steve Rogers do? He tries to take Tony’s advice. He’s leading a support group. He’s letting Natalia run the “team.” Really, he doesn’t think there’s a team that needs running. His conversation with Black Widow over that peanut butter sandwich is essentially Steve telling her she needs to relax and move on, just as he is trying to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Brief aside. I know it’s product placement. But you expect me to believe Captain America drives a fancy Audi around? No way. He can have any car he wants now. Maybe a 1960’s Corvette? A nice F-150? Come on!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But an opportunity presents itself, one Cap can’t quite wrap his head around, but he seizes on it anyway. Travel through time, get the stones, bring everyone back. We can do this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need an entire essay to talk about how easy it is for Steve to accept Tony’s revision of their plan to just bringing everyone back to now, not resetting everything to five years ago. But, intentionally or not (I tend to think the writers just didn’t want to dwell on a point that should have been source of serious moral debate), Cap’s acceptance of Tony’s demands shows his acceptance of his own failure. He has moved on, to some extent. But more on this later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we know, Cap then goes back in time. . . twice. He fights himself and comments on his own butt in 2014 (this was my least favorite part of the movie, btw), then he and Tony go back to 1970 to get the tesseract and some more Pym particles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, Cap almost runs into Peggy Carter in 1970. It’s this moment, seeing her through the shutters of her office, seeing his own photo from 1945 there on her desk, undoubtedly remembering visiting her when she was dying and later carrying her casket, that lingers, another reminder of what Steve Rogers has given for duty. He had no control over being frozen for 70 years. Just as Thor lost his family, Steve lost the possibility of love. He became a man out of time, focused on the mission and his duty because those things seemingly remained constant when so many other things had changed. It’s there, standing in Agent Carter’s office when he’s out of time again, he realizes that another possibility might exist. He could let go, move on, and there would be someone overjoyed to see that happen. He just has to save the world again first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being confronted with his past love might have thrown him into a conflict of duty versus that love, but this is Captain America we are talking about. There is no conflict. There’s regret, sure. But Steve Rogers know what he has to do, while silently hoping he is successful enough in his plan to defeat Thanos to really move on, or move back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thus, Captain America confronts his failure in two ways. There’s the obvious, massive failure that led to the snap. Cap confronts this by moving on, accepting the new status quo when there seems to be no alternative. This acknowledgement of failure, of attempting to reconcile one’s self to new circumstances, humanizes Cap, insofar as now he’s a superhero who fails and has to deal with that just like anyone else. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I think it’s wrong to call his decision to not to stay and love Peggy a failure, it’s still a source of “what if”. It was the price he was willing to pay to due his duty. Indeed, it’s love that allows him to persevere in his duty, be it to Peggy or the other Avengers. But this duty is also a burden, insofar as Steve believes he can never put it down, that things won’t get done unless he does them. He was the first Avenger, after all. Captain America’s arc of failure is about letting go, of sharing responsibility with others, about returning to something that, while a powerful source of moral motivation, is also just for him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cap’s ultimate victory is not over Thanos. He gets the brass ring when he gets to live a life with the person he loves most in the world.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He’s like Tony in this way.</span><br />
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NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-60218320556410572812019-05-16T16:45:00.000-04:002019-05-16T16:45:01.895-04:00Under ConstructionThings are being made again.NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-21970771971611609982014-08-24T14:10:00.001-04:002014-08-24T14:10:36.937-04:00From Weyland to the Forgotten RealmsI went on vacation and my players rebelled.<br />
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Sort of.<br />
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The kick off of our new 5E game got pushed back a month or so due to my schedule. My dad was visiting, then we went on vacation, so I missed two Sundays of gaming. On both of those Sundays, the group got together to play board games and talk about characters. During those conversations, they decided they would be more comfortable in a setting they knew, so they picked the Forgotten Realms.<br />
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I admit I was disappointed with this choice at first. I've been tinkering and jotting notes on the Weyland setting for years; I was finally going to get a change to play there! Actually running games in the setting would also motivate me to do more work and better organize the stuff I'd already done. But I understood the group's choice. There's a lot of newness happening, It makes sense to stick to a familiar setting when transitioning to a new rule set.<br />
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So no more new Weyland stuff for awhile. Instead, I'll gather 5E Forgotten Realms materials and rumors, post campaign updates whenever I get around to them, and (hopefully) post new, homebrewed material for the FR that others will find interesting and useful.<br />
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The game begins in Waterdeep tonight!NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-35146694126530743292014-08-01T12:16:00.003-04:002014-08-01T12:16:42.956-04:00Monsters of Weyland -- Bugbears and Gnolls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Beasts both fair and foul roam the wilderness of The Western Barony. Some are organized, banding with others of their kind to menace the travelers, farmers, and ranchers who populate the land. Two of the most prominent of these monsters are bugbears and gnolls.</span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l4kBF1B1SlM/U9u7zL7Z2JI/AAAAAAAAFeE/rwCYpRSUxOg/s1600/Gnoll_by_MarkusTheBarbarian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l4kBF1B1SlM/U9u7zL7Z2JI/AAAAAAAAFeE/rwCYpRSUxOg/s1600/Gnoll_by_MarkusTheBarbarian.jpg" height="199" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gnoll by MarkTarrisse on DeviantArt: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Gnoll-156941776</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Welyand is literally surrounded by gnolls. These nomadic, tribal, dog-like creatures roam both the Great Grass Sea and the desert wastes to the south. They routinely raid settlements on the edge of the Barony, killing inhabitants, stealing valuables, and taking slaves. They are savage, seeming to delight in slaughter, especially of elves. Most contact with gnolls are with war bands, raiding groups, or the like. These bands are often led by the largest and strongest gnolls; some have maintained such a constant presence they have their own standards and sigils, such as the Dead Dog or the Flayed Elf. Rumors persist of gnoll villages, but if they exist they are far away from the Barony. Some also blame the vicious behavior of the gnolls on their displacement from their lands in Weyland centuries ago by the Elves of Cadiz and repeated reciprocal savagery from Weyland’s inhabitants, but such soft hearts are no less likely to end up on the end of a spear.</span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jbff_WmnWCw/U9u68folBvI/AAAAAAAAFd8/vUCGUtaAVic/s1600/bugbear_by_robadimat-d5uzyrx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jbff_WmnWCw/U9u68folBvI/AAAAAAAAFd8/vUCGUtaAVic/s1600/bugbear_by_robadimat-d5uzyrx.jpg" height="200" width="178" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bugbear by robadimat on Deviant Art: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Bugbear-354397389</td></tr>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Bugbears are stealthy brutes and thieves. Roaming about in small bands or working alone, they menace outlying farmsteads and ambush travelers using stealth and ambush. They’ve been known to sneak into ranch homes, killing the inhabitants as they sleep, and taking everything of value. Worse, they occasionally steal children, selling them into slavery to the neighboring gnoll tribes. Bugbears are vicious and strong combatants, smashing skulls with clubs or morningstars, but they often flee when they loose the advantage. Many bugbears hide in the Var Balas — the broken canyon lands that lie in the northwestern part of the Barony — though they can be found throughout the lands of Weyland.</span> <div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">In larger settlements, bounties are routinely paid by local authorities for gnoll scalps or bugbear heads. Though it must be said it’s hard to tell a gnoll scalp from that of a human or halfling after a few days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">While bugbears and gnolls are a constant, known threat, stories tell of darker beasts — goblins and orcs — that live underground, inhabiting the lost dwarven cities and venturing out only at night to menace the unwary and drink human blood. Those are likely just wive’s tales, however.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-53452124839168375552014-07-29T16:53:00.000-04:002014-07-29T16:53:15.951-04:00Thinking About HalflingsWhile I have somewhat clear ideas about what elves, dwarves (coming soon), and humans are like in Weyland, my ideas on halflings are a bit less solid. On one hand, I was thinking that they were mostly slaves/servants to the Elves of Cadiz. Professional servants, almost -- permanent squires, butlers, and the like. On the other, I want the races to generally conform to the race descriptions in the 5E basic rules. And no one really wants to play a race that is perpetually second class.<br />
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So I am thinking halflings may be an island people, initially conquered by the Elves of Cadiz when they came to this part of the world. But the halflings revolted, the elves moved on, and now they are mostly free (and carefree) folk. Some have "chosen" to remain servants of the elves, but just as many now live and work autonomously. Those in Weyland may be settlers, former elvish servants, or merchants.<br />
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How's this sound?NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-56360533120408624992014-07-24T12:55:00.001-04:002014-07-24T12:55:53.690-04:00The Mercian Elves<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">The Kingdom Gilead was born when elves arrived in the lands far north of Weyland. Like the Elves of Cadiz, they arrived mysteriously. Unlike their cousins to the south, they did not come as conquerors. They adopted a more exploratory attitude, befriending the native humans and beginning an exchange of goods and ideas that eventually led to degrees of assimilation and cooperation on both sides. Rumors persist that the Mercian elves were fleeing persecution by the Elves of Cadiz. That might explain some of the lingering animosity between the two; animosity that manifests itself in the various struggles over the Western Barony. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Traditionally, Merican elves also worship Jad, though many also see aspects of the sun god in the moon, which becomes personified as Selus, a figure vague in face and gender. The Cult of Selus may have been responsible for the split between the Cadizian and Mercian elves, contributing to the Merican’s fleeing their homeland. Most of this is mere speculation, however.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UXwUnmRftsQ/U9E6BnrNFbI/AAAAAAAAFc4/XKHvsuF4WjA/s1600/Mercian+Elves+Symbol.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UXwUnmRftsQ/U9E6BnrNFbI/AAAAAAAAFc4/XKHvsuF4WjA/s1600/Mercian+Elves+Symbol.png" height="200" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Symbol from DeviantArt user dreamingnoctis: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Sun-and-moon-symbol-335915612</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Mercian Elves correspond to wood elves in the <i>Dungeons and Dragons Basic Rules</i>.</span>
NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-57936353921528091712014-07-22T18:08:00.001-04:002014-07-22T18:08:37.255-04:00The Elves of Cadiz<div>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">They came in tall ships, with golden hair and sparkling eyes. They came wielding magic as easy as they breathed. They came. And they conquered.</span><div style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">
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Elves in Weyland are not natives, they are descendants of the explorers and conquerors who arrived at the continent some 900 years prior to the present day. Here, in the south, they razed entire civilizations, enslaving the native humans in their quest for gold and magic. In the north, elves arrived later, building a relationship with the native humans that culminated in the Kingdom of Gilead. </div>
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The southern elves are better known as The Elves of Cadiz. What, exactly, Cadiz means no one seems to know (or the elves aren't telling). Most believe Cadiz refers to the great elvish homeland across the ocean, but there is some debate about that. Granted, elves leave in ships and never return, but no non-elf has ever seen the elvish homeland. The Elves of Cadiz correspond to the "High Elf" subrace in the D&D Basic Rules, with all the associated bonuses and proficiencies. For a historical analogue, think 16th Century Spain. They tend to be fierce warriors, cunning wizards, or fanatical clerics. </div>
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The Elves of Cadiz are quasi-monotheistic, worshiping Jad. </div>
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Jad is personified by the sun, which features prominently in the church's iconography. The Jaddite Church is theologically large and sprawling, with sects devoted to certain aspects of the sun (like dawn or dusk) or venerating past heroes or kings like saints. Initial forays into the area that became Weyland were largely church affiliated, which resulted in many missions dotting the Barony. Many of these are now abandoned as the influence of the elves has waned, yet most humans in Weyland ostensibly belong to the Church of Jad.</div>
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The Cadizian Elves feel Weyland is theirs and have tried numerous times to retake it. They have been stopped by the native humans and dwarves, together with the forces of Gilead. Many Cadizian elves still live in the barony, some openly armed and advocating independence or a return of elvish rule.</div>
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<i><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Influences -- Spanish history (especially their conquest of Mexico), Texas history, Pelor from various incarnations of D&D, </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The Lions of al-Rasan</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> by Guy Gavriel Kay, Tolkien</span></i></div>
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NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-43399411842983397012014-07-21T17:12:00.000-04:002014-07-21T17:12:57.347-04:00Weyland, or The Western Barony: Introduction<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Rugged mountains hiding deep dwarven ruins. Grassy plains populated by wild horses. Worn hills where creeks empty into deep, still pools. Shady forests of oak, hiding forgotten settlements. Chalky desert where bones erode under the incessant wind. Broken lands which hide those who don’t want to be found. This is The Western Barony.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Many, most call this borderland by the name of it’s capital and largest city — Weyland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Weyland is the Western Barony of The Kingdom of Gilead. It’s a borderland, far from the machinations of the Kingdom, visited by caravans and traders. It’s a place of exile. Those fleeing trouble in the Kingdom find there way here, at the far reach of the King’s Law. Once, it was a place of penance; prisoners were sent from all over the kingdom to the feared Stonegate Prison. Nominally ruled by a Baron, few of his laws make their way into the lands beyond the capital. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Conflict is everywhere. The Elves of Cadiz have long seen Weyland as theirs by right and conquest and have sparred with the forces of Gilead over the region. The native humans, those who haven’t been assimilated into the ways of the kingdom, keep to themselves, but many still harbor just resentment of both the elves and Gilead. The exile dwarves are often hemmed into ghettos in Weyland and the other cities, never speaking of what drove them from their mountain homes a generation ago. Halflings remain as servants to the elves, but many have gained their freedom and try to lead quiet lives. Gnolls and bugbears menace ranches and caravans, with whispers of darker beasts creeping down from the mountains. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Opportunity awaits the brave, lucky, or foolish. Caravan guards, prospectors, treasure seekers, and even headhunters ply their trade in the canyons and deserts. The weak and unprepared need their defenders. The outlaws need to be brought to justice, especially when little has been heard from Gilead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">It’s mythic Texas meets <i>The Dark Towe</i>r meets <i>Blood Meridian</i>. It’s Weyland.</span>
NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-39046262984096000892012-03-02T11:00:00.001-05:002012-03-02T11:02:06.058-05:00A Nice Quote from Adventurer, Conqueror, King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My gaming reading lately has been Adventurer, Conqueror, King. I'll post more detailed thoughts soon; I really do like it, even its many "fiddly bits" as my friend <a href="http://www.risusmonkey.com/">Risus Monkey</a> would say. But I did come across this quote last night and wanted to share it right away. It's from the section on dungeon construction and traps.<br />
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<i>To kill adventurers with unexpected traps is a hollow pleasure for the Judge; to kill them with traps they decided to trigger, despite every warning of the lethal risks, is deeply satisfying. </i>(p 241)</blockquote>
If nothing else, that demonstrates the Old School roots of ACKS. :)NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-1949265642610254322012-03-01T13:51:00.000-05:002012-03-01T13:51:23.109-05:00The Pathfinder Character Decision<br />
Thanks to all the people that commented on the post wherein I asked about what I should do with Culver, my Pathfinder bard. Most people said "go rogue" (heh), but I ignored them all and stayed with bard. This decision was made largely due to some advice given via Google + and my find of a "guide to bards in Pathfinder" netbook via the Paizo forums. I did go back and retool him with some different skill, feat, and spell choices.<br />
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The netbook was especially helpful for two reasons. First, it helped me better understand some of the bard class abilities, when they could be used, and how to get the most out of them (yes, optimization). For example, I did not realize the Well-Versed class ability let me use my Perform (oratory) skill in place of diplomacy and sense motive. Thus, there's no point in putting ranks in those skills. With a better understanding of what he could do, I was able to go back and reskill and re-feat him. I feel a lot better about how and when he is able to contribute, even though there is now some overlap between this bard and the party paladin, skill wise.<br />
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Second, the netbook gave three different ways in which the bard could be configured to be useful in combat. I hate the term "builds," but that's exactly what these are. Given Culver's poor strength, the one that made the most sense was a missile-weapon sort of bard. I really didn't have to change much about the character to make that focus happen; I just made sure I ended up with the bunch of magical arrows we found in the previous adventure :)<br />
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Armed with this advice and resource, I went back and rebuilt Culver from level one. I was careful to make sure he could still do all the things he had done in his past advenures, but did make some changes. I feel much better about him in terms of his mechanics and how he ought to contribute to the party. His personality is still emerging, but last weeks session could likely have have a signficant imact on Culver, who he is, and his place in the campaign.NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-68694770308342260182012-02-29T10:43:00.003-05:002012-02-29T10:43:39.921-05:00I guess I took February offIt was unintentional. Just caught up in life and trying to figure out how, when, and where to spend my Social Media Time. I am not sure I've really figured out the later, but will be back to posting some gaming related stuff here in March.<br />
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Here's a quick rundown of a few gaming happenings in my world:<br />
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<ul>
<li>I resolved the Pathfinder character dilemma, but we've really only played once since then. That session wasn't the best for testing out my choices. In fact, it was very frustrating in many ways. But it did feature one of the coolest moments I've ever been able to pull off in a game as a player.</li>
<li>I participated in North Carolina game day.</li>
<li>I bought the PDF of <a href="http://www.autarch.co/">Adventurer, Conqueror, King</a>. I haven't finished it yet, but really like what I have read.</li>
<li>I came up with a cool campaign frame for an ACKS game; I am trying to see if it will fit with the desert setting I keep tinkering with.</li>
<li>I've played few games via G+ Hangout and have enjoyed them. </li>
</ul>NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-4697546969996649072012-01-26T15:07:00.002-05:002012-01-26T15:07:24.219-05:00Why Less is More -- My Pathfinder Character DilemmaI'm currently playing in the serpent's skull adventure path and having a lot of fun. My group is solid, the adventure is a nice blend of mystery, exploration, and combat, and the DM does a great job. We've just completed the first book of the AP and are currently gearing up for a trek into the Mwangi Expanse. Now, let me tell you about my character. . .<br />
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Really, what I want is some help with this guy. Culver Farwalker is an adventurer's adventurer. He's motivated by finding lost ruins, discovering new knowledge, and, yes, gaining some loot in the process. One of his major goals is to become a member of the Pathfinder Society. He's mostly heroic when it comes to his friends, but is certainly more motivated by uncovering relics than any sort of greater good. Indiana Jones is certainly an inspiration.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this slight of hand? But then how do I get weapon specialization: whip?</td></tr>
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All of this is great and I feel pretty comfortable with Culver now after some initial misgivings. But notice something about the above description -- it has nothing to do with class or abilities. He could be anything! So I am having trouble figuring out what he should be. Technically, he's a bard, but I don't feel terribly comfortable with that choice. I've been given permission to "reskin" him into a different class. This leads me with a problem and some observations.<br />
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Problem: What should I do with him, class wise? The party has a fighter, cleric, paladin, and a wizard. The wizard's player isn't very experienced, so doesn't make the best choices regarding spell choice and use. He also misses some games due to work. Thus we have a 30% wizard. What can he be that will help the party, be fun to play, and not, well, suck?<br />
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Observations:<br />
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<ul>
<li>I can't help but think that, in Old School sorts of games, this dilemma wouldn't be an issue. That is, the choice of race/class wouldn't matter as much because of all the things we know about old school gaming (no skills, player skill matters a lot, party balance and composition not as important, etc). But these things DO matter a lot in Pathfinder, so I can't help but engage in some sort of character optimization.</li>
<li>Boy, Pathfinder has a lot of options. Just in the SRD, there are core classes and base classes. Each one of those, in turn, has archetypes! Some, like the sorcerer, have further options like bloodlines. I know many people see this as a feature, but I can't help but be struck by option paralysis as I try to see how all those things could be combined to fit the concept. I want Culver to know things about history, ancient cults, and the peoples of Golarion. So do I need to take a class that has a lot of skill points so that he can put some into various knowledge skills? But just knowing things makes for a somewhat crappy character in a game where one fights monsters and runs into traps, so how do I get some combat ability out of this guy while still allowing him to do the things that no one else in the party can do -- like disarm traps?</li>
<li>The above, especially, has led me to the conclusion that comprehensive skill lists are much more of a hindrance than a help and I vastly prefer systems with few or no skills.</li>
</ul>
Since I can't make Culver into a fighting-man, what am I to do?NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-47384340406593972712012-01-24T16:53:00.002-05:002012-01-24T16:54:13.240-05:00"How to Prepare" - -Mentzer Reflections, Part 15This continues my series chronically a close examination of the Mentzer Basic Player's Manual. My central thesis here is that Mentzer was tasked with creating a self-teaching system from the basic Moldvay rules. In so doing, certain implicit or default assumptions about play were made into "rules." Today's section certainly supports that thesis.<br />
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"How to Prepare" spans pages 53-55 of the Player's Manual. It deals with player mechanics and roles around the table, speaking little of character abilities or rules. It starts with what to read (the PM) and what to bring to the table. Of course, the most important thing a player needs is a Dungeon Master! Other than that, you need characters, dice, pencils, paper, and likely refreshments. You may also need retainers if you only have two or three players.<br />
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This section also sees the famous "mapper" and "caller" player roles spelled out, with Mentzer placing considerable emphasis on mapping skill:<br />
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Mapping is an important part of imagining where your characters are. . . If you play often, take turns at mapping; it is an important and useful skill to learn.</blockquote>
Mentzer also urges the players to think about the characters a bit before play with some <b>who</b>, <b>why</b>, <b>where</b>, <b>when</b>, and <b>what </b>questions. This, to me, really signals a move toward less "disposable" characters. Though character creation is still 3d6 in order, paying attention to this level of motivation prior to the first dungeon foray doesn't 100% fit with the 2 hit point fighter who will likely die in the first room. It's a fine line to draw, as one wants more than just numbers on a page, but one also doesn't want to spend too much effort too early on when survival is very difficult.<br />
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The section also contains a rudimentary guide to tactics -- put the fighter up front and the magic user in the middle, let high CHA characters do the talking, etc. I remember following these to a "T".<br />
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I found the sample method for dividing treasure, also included here, to be interesting, though I cannot recall ever using it. Permanent magic items count as one share. Temporary magic items count as 1/2 of a share. Add coins up, divide into shares, pick/assign accordingly. It's straightforward and simple, but we always just tried to get the magic items in the hands of those who could use them. I don't really remember fighting about treasure that much, irnocally, until 3rd Edition. But that was a player, not a system issue.<br />
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That aside, I see this section as laying out some ways to play the game that really influenced how I, as a player, played. I'd wager it's the same for a fair amount of others.NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-88317486368720047682012-01-23T16:18:00.001-05:002012-01-23T16:18:58.050-05:00Thoughts on the Player Driven Campaign<a href="http://beyondtheblackgate.blogspot.com/2012/01/player-driven-campaign.html">Al over at Beyond the Black Gate has an interesting post today about The Player Driven Campaign</a>. There, he posits that most players aren't as involved in a game's development as the DM. He also wonders if there is a way to quantify what makes the best sort of players. There's also the question of if, through any attempt at quantification, one might stifle a player's creativity or turn a player off the game.<br />
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As a DM, I want player involvement, but often it's hard to get beyond the minimal involvement a player has during his turn while fighting some monsters.<br />
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Maybe there are three levels of player interactivity:<br />
1. The character level -- where the player makes up some personality and background for her character.<br />
2. The campaign level -- where the player actively engages in making choices that drive the game forward, advancing her character's agenda within the game world.<br />
3. The world level -- where the player actively participates in world-building (often through #1 and #2).<br />
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In my experience, #1 is fairly easy to come by, even if it's just a few sentences about their character. 2 & 3 are harder, because they require a bit larger scope. The player may also wonder about stepping on the DM's toes.<br />
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I also think I am a better player than DM. Here are some semi-random thoughts about what makes a good player:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Honesty</li>
<li>A minimal familiarity with the rule set</li>
<li>Creativity</li>
<li>Communication skills</li>
<li>Problem-solving skills</li>
</ul>
I am sure there are more, but that's what immediately comes to mind.<br />
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Thanks, Al, for the interesting post.<br />
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<br />NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-60718035786570630152012-01-20T13:41:00.002-05:002012-01-20T13:41:58.953-05:00Mystara LoveReinforcing my desire to run a Mystara campaign is a recent spate of blog posts about the setting:<br />
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<a href="http://dreamsinthelichhouse.blogspot.com/2012/01/ode-to-mystara.html">There is Beedo's "Ode to Mystara" at Dreams in the Lich House</a>.<br />
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Age of Ravens has reviews of <a href="http://ageofravens.blogspot.com/2012/01/principalities-of-glantri-rpg-items-i.html">The Principalities of Galantri</a>, <a href="http://ageofravens.blogspot.com/2012/01/emirates-of-ylaruam-rpg-items-i-like.html">The Emirates of Ylarum</a>, and <a href="http://ageofravens.blogspot.com/2012/01/grand-duchy-of-karameikos-rpg-items-i.html">The Grand Duchy of Karmeikos</a>.<br />
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And I just discovered Darva Shriver's <a href="http://stockingthedungeon.blogspot.com/">Stocking the Dungeon</a>, which is all about Mystara and BECMI D&D. It's an awesome blog!NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-63463055552132048342012-01-20T08:37:00.000-05:002012-01-20T08:37:23.136-05:00Gaming and blogging in 2012 (part 1)The lack of recent posts has not (only) been the result of some hectic moments at work, but also due to some background thinking on my part about my gaming and blogging in the new year. I am trying to figure out what I want to accomplish. I've reached the point where some decisions need to be made, so I am throwing my thoughts up here for some feedback.<br />
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I really want to game more. While I still play in the bi-monthly Pathfinder Serpent's Skull game, I definitely want to expand beyond that. I think I have the time and I know I have the desire. So, I've concluded I want to try and run a somewhat regular game via Google Hangout, drawing in a few of my former gaming friends who are now scattered about. Additional choices need to be made here, about who else to include, how best to facilitate the game, what sort of schedule I can sustain, etc, but the decision to DO IT has been made.<br />
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That leaves me with another choice that hasn't been made yet -- what sort of game to run. For rules, I am likely going to go with some sort of BECMI/Lamentations of the Flame Princesses mash-up (I really like the specialist from LotFP), with final decisions there to be made in consultation with the core players. It's the setting I am really trying to figure out; I have two basic choices.<br />
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1. I've been going on and on for a long time about a desert setting, something like Arabian Nights meets ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia meets the Old West. My recent hand-drawn map sprung from this idea. I have scattered notes about the setting elements and a list of things to look at for inspiration. But that's really the extent of the development here. Thus, there is a lot of work to do. Playing in such a setting would "force" me to do more work. Such work would be fun in and of itself, but would certainly consume some time and creative energy. Such work would also be very good blog fodder.<br />
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2. Use Mystara/The Known World from the BECMI series, including some published adventures. I really do like this setting, not just because of it's nostalgia value, but because it strikes a nice balance between gonzo/kitchen sink fun and coherence. I have a lot of material for Mystara, including most of the Gazetteers and a lot of adventures. I also think it would be an interesting experiment to drop the LotFP rules into this setting and see what happens. Prep work would be lighter, but I don't get the satisfaction of some collaborative world building and moving forward on a long-discussed gaming project.<br />
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All of this relates to other things, like blogging and some work things I want to accomplish this year. I'll talk about those in the next post. Any thoughts or feedback about the above are appreciated. Thanks for reading!<br />
<br />NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-44629027996801527362012-01-13T13:20:00.000-05:002012-01-13T13:23:25.283-05:00"Missions" and Sandbox PlayWhat role does the "mission" have in sandbox play?<br />
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By <i>mission</i> I mean an in-game objective which the characters seek to achieve, arising out of their own motives or due to their taking on a task given to them by another. I'll give a few examples to show what I mean:<br />
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1. In the brief Stonehell Dungeon game I ran, the party captured some goblins trying to sneak out of Stonehell. They learned of the goblins' conflict against the orcs and decided to help the goblins out, mainly so they could use the goblins as fodder against the stronger orcs. The mission: eradicate the orcs on the first level of Stonehell. (Voluntary, wholly player driven).<br />
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2. In the lengthy and fun 2E game in which I played while I was in grad school, our party had some downtime in a big city during a festival. During that time, we were approached by a few different sorts of people, each of which wanted us to do, find, or recover something and get some sort of reward in return. We elected to help this magic-user named Rinver travel to a ruined temple of Oghma in exchange for payment and a big share of any treasure. The mission: get the magic-user safely into the ruined temple. (Voluntary, somewhat player driven. That is, we were given a choice of missions and took one instead of just saying "let's see what's in this hex over there").<br />
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3. In the same game, my character became cursed. Well, it was mostly his own fault, but that's another story. The point was, to remove his curse he had to travel to the distant desert of his youth and recover an artifact. The mission: travel to the distant desert land and recover an artifact. (Involuntary -- my character would have Bad Things happen unless he did this thing. Not very player driven -- the curse was a consequence of my PC's actions, but the manner of the curse and its removal was not).<br />
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I'd submit that the mission has a vital role in sandbox/old-school play. I believe all three types listed above can fit, if posed properly. Missions that are offered as <i>actual </i>choices and/or consequences of PC's actions can fit quite well. In #2, we could have turned down Rinver and accepted an alternative offer. In #3, while I did not know my PC's actions would lead directly to a curse that would then necessitate a mission, I had a good idea that Bad Things could happen by continuing on the present path, yet I persisted. The problem comes when missions are presented as meta-game imperatives, as in "You have to take this wizard's offer or we have no adventure tonight."<br />
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Thoughts? Does the mission have a place in sandbox play?NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4832866431918588129.post-60736665714037431712012-01-10T12:25:00.002-05:002012-01-10T12:25:36.634-05:00The Joy of Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This just makes me very happy.NakiaPopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17406561137170462267noreply@blogger.com1