Talking Dingo

I live in a fantasy world. No! Really!

2005-03-22T03:08:00.000-08:00

http://home.inwave.com/seraph/dd/fengwur/fengwur%20character%20sheet.htm

This Character (Audible Capitalization added for emphasis) is spot-on the most fun character I have played. The DM for the game in which Fengwur 'lives' is a long-standing friend with tons and tons and tons of DM experience (like ten or more years for sure) and a penchant for letting players dig deep holes. He'll just cart away the dirt. Or, as is often the case, recruit a PC (or his human) to do the heavy lifting. So it can be a challenge. I like a challenge. Who doesn't?

Fengwur represents every essential factor to a successful D+D experience. Oh, I think I feel a list with bullet points on the way...

BAM.

1. Well Rounded Character Idea: This is so important. Its great and everything to MINMAX the snot out of your Character, but, its the weaknesses, the not-so-good stuff that the player highlights during character creation which make the character real. These foibles are also where much of the humor in the game is borne. Y'see, an entire adventuring band of MINMAX characters aren't funny. Where's the personality? Fengwur, Ranger/Thief, second highest stat is Intelligence, then Wisdom. Constitution is a below average. Why? He's just a kid, but still a tenacious hunter and clever survivalist.

Fengwur lives in the deep forest. He was raised and subsequently abondoned there. He doesn't speak common and he despises humanity, square buildings, currency, hard-tack, and magical items. At the same time he is an excellent scout, brave warrior, determined team player for the greater good. Now, if he could only tell the rest of the group....

2. Passion to succeed through conflict: This might be my thing, and mine alone. But this ideal has never let me down. Roleplaying is about drama. An example, can you remember how much fun you used to have playing your favorite specialist Diviner who learned all the answers by staying in his tower all the time staring into mirrors? Of course not. Where's the excitement? Now, with Fengwur, he is brave but not all that effective in combat. And his overall objective is nigh-impossible for him alone to acheive (Temple of Elemental Evil story-line). He prefers unarmed combat and doesn't have much a damage bonus. This doesn't get in his way. He isn't really leadership material either but he is dogged in his determination to succeed, both in day-to-day situations and overall (i.e. drive the evil from the Gnarly Wood). An example, Fengwur often is un-armored and rarely in the front of the group. He is kind of small too so he can't really edge in the fray when it breaks out in confined spaces. Normally, it would take a round or two...not for Fengwur. If he can't climb onto a party member and jump over the rest to get into the fight, he will 'ask' someone nearby to throw him closer to melee. For better or worse, the other players see this. When they finish laughing, they know Fengwur is doing everything he can to win the day. Maybe they can too? Hey. If the illiterate, smelly, short, feral elf is willing to jump off my shoulder to fling himself into harms way, maybe there is a little something more I can do to help him (and the rest of the party).

That pretty much does it for me. Fengwur represents the extreme far end of my gaming philosophy as you can see. But these ideals are so important when sharing a fun, exciting game for everyone involved.

My two cents,

Dingo

P.S. I will never make it into the Israeli Defense Force at this rate.
Israel, the land unrecognized by its neighbors. RolePlaying, fantasy hobby unacceptable to nearly all my neighbors.

Shopping with vanity laid bare.

2005-03-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

---You had me at hello.---

When contemplating the 'belt-buckle' which defines me, as a 'M-A-N' (By the way, those are inaudible hyphens), my tastes are nothing less than discriminatory. Should I stick with the simple, tasteful contemporary designs offered by JCPenney? Perhaps I need a belt which singles me out as a hip, urban, metrosexual? GAP? Urban Outfitters?

Hmmm....understated. fashionable. I can do this.

Take a bite out of life

2005-03-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

Its a new day. Sometimes we regret our actions. Oftentimes we cannot see past our choices. Most of the time we do not enjoy or appreciate the actions of others. Its the 90-10 principle. Life is encompassed by our decisons and our reactions to the decisons of others.

Put another away: the word attitude describes how you stand when you grasp a weapon. Now, a weapon will kill, wound, disarm, warn, and demonstrate peace. All depends on how you stand when you take hold of your chosen weapon.

Now re-read the second paragraph and replace 'weapon' with 'decison' and 'choice' interchangably. This is attitude. Read Swindoll's ---platitudes and post your comments in the morning.

A friend of friend is touring Thailand. Love this picture.

2005-03-16T15:20:00.000-08:00

thoughtscape.org - Thailand 2005/oompa-loompa temple

Infrared Camera - rockin!

2005-03-16T03:23:00.000-08:00

Do you have a old webcam lying around? Ever thought to yourself, "Gee, I am never going to use that thing? Why did I buy it? Ahah! The time has come..

2005-03-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

gorgeous

Yeti! I dig this guy.

2004-10-31T23:49:00.000-08:00

Partisan hack, no doubt. But you might laugh.

Considering immortality

2004-10-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I watched, "Meet Joe Black" yesterday. Considering the themes presented in this movie, and the poor waste of time before realizing the story was ill-concieved, I was left a new appreciation for all that life has to offer.

Hard to imagine that a work such as "Meet Joe Black" could set my mind to wandering.

So I surfed blogger.com to lighten the load, so to speak.

Then I found this. http://quiz.ravenblack.net/blood.pl?biter=musashi

It fit. And then it didn't. Then it did again. And now I meet Joe Black a couple of times a day.

Talking Dingo

I don't know

2004-09-23T23:02:00.000-07:00

I don't know what I am talking about.

As evidence, take into account that I am married. I proposed. I knew I wanted to be married like nine months before I asked her. I participated more than a little bit (i.e. slightly less than half) in the marriage/reception planning and execution. I moved her into my/house mates apartment (with not a ton of notice or consideration for my current house mates) during two weeks she was in California, she came back as the wicked witch of the West and told me (eventually) she was pregnant with our child. It took me a couple of days to compensate for the shock of this message. I grew up in the next three weeks. Quit my current job, got a new job, re-arranged the living situation, looked into state/Federal/private assistance to facilitate the new one in the unit, stopped drinking, smoking, carousing, fun etc... Started reading allot about everything, naturally. Generally freaked out for the next 18 months or so.

Ok, everyone got the mental image?

Now, this isn't a 'bad thing' or even close. Suffice to say I have about as much room to judge for good or ill as anyone else. That isn't much, ok? Except for some people, who not only manage the High Ground but practically have condos there. And maybe some others, who will be wearing the black robes from the High Seat when I am long gone. But, the question that is sticking in my mind at this point is:

"If you're life is a bus, who is driving it?"

Its a pretty easy question at the outset. And not an uncomfortable question either once you know the answer.

I will follow him wherever he may go.

2004-09-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

if events FUN on a XY scatter scale are plotted we will find a curve from 0 which looks remarkably like this:

click

This is not unlike the perimeter surrounding a pool of vomit after events FUN. Life imitates art. Art imitates a scattered pool of vomit.
FUN!

Sorites abound.

Talking Dingo

P.S. Happy birthday