OOC I: The Sunless Citadel

[Shaede]

Oh no, Dave! I'm sorry to hear that. I've said a prayer for your mom. Take as much time as you need. We'll be here.

[dmw71]

I appreciate the kind words.

Thankfully, her situation isn't as gloomy as initially thought, but things are still kind of messed up. I guess, in addition to hitting her head during her fall, she also did serious damage to her hip... and can't walk. I've heard conflicting stories, but some have said she may be wheelchair bound for life; others that she may recover her ability to walk with physical therapy and rehabilitation. Neither option sounds great, but the later is obviously preferable.

The fact that she lives in a multi-story home is going to be problematic, so it's looking like she's going to (at least temporarily) end up living with her sister in Louisiana who lives in a single story and accessible home.

No idea yet if this will happen.

Then, if it does, we have no idea how she's going to get there? Or get her stuff there (as it will almost certainly be an extended stay).

The situation is honestly kind of a nightmare.

Things are still largely uncertain at this point, but hopefully will clear up in the next day or two (she was originally schedule to return to Chicago on Saturday morning -- hopefully this will still be possible. Or, hopefully she'll be able to make it to Louisiana on Saturday. Or... hell, I don't know?


While I haven't been able to really play much of a role so far, I expect I'm going to be called upon to handle a lot of the "stuff" in the coming days. But, again, it's still unclear.

What is clear, however, is that my absence from here is going to be somewhat prolonged -- at the minimum, through this week and weekend. I will pop on occasionally to provide updates (and not completely fall out of touch), but I honestly don't expect to be able to return to normal gaming until next week at the earliest (but more realistically the week after).

[dmw71]

A fall and a busted hip is what my Grandmother went through back on mothers day however she was 95 when it happened and has heart problems so surgery was out bed rest and PT was the only choice for her really.

More has come to light over the weekend.

Yes, she has bleeding in her brain (and I learned for the first time that this is the third time this has happened in the past six months).
Yes, she hurt her hip. Thankfully an x-ray and CAT scan confirmed there were no breaks or fractures.

It turns out the reason she can't (which, I guess, is more "shouldn't") walk (potentially ever) is due to her heart. Every time she stands up, her blood pressure drops. Apparently, significantly.

So, my aunt (her sister) flew from Louisiana to Florida and helped get my mom back to her (my aunt's) home; which, by all accounts, was not easy. So, she's in Louisiana.

When she was released from the hospital, she was ordered to be seen by a cardiologist as soon as possible. She's apparently not... at least not right away, and it's unbelievably frustrating.

I'm not going to air all my laundry here (yes, there's plenty more), but this more a status update to share that this looks to be a very ongoing situation.

I do want to remain active here on the boards, for a distraction if nothing else, but my availability is going to be extremely scattered, and I'll definitely have less of it. I'm going to copy-and-paste this across all my games, so here is where the message will splinter a bit.

• A majority of my effort is going to be put towards my original 5e game. I really(!) enjoy 5e, and as it has been what I've been playing (almost exclusivity) for the past year now, it's the system I'm most comfortable with. Besides, that group has established a really good routine and I don't want to break that if at all possible.
• Any leftover time (if any) will be applied to my other two games, in this order: 5e, 2e.
  • This is not a reflection of the players in either game, or how either game has been progressing to date, but is due to two factors:
    1. I prefer 5e, and am more comfortable running it;
    2. It is a much shorter adventure by design, and the group is probably more than half way through it already.
• That being said, I do not expect for there to be much leftover time... which means my two non-primary games will suffer, and I apologize for this.
  • To my players in these games, I will leave it up to you whether you actually want to continue at this much slower pace, or have the game archived for the time being, and returned to normal once things on my side begin to normalize again.

So, I'm going to do my best to keep running this game as normal. It may not be every day, but pretty darn close. At the end of every day lately I've found myself needing a distraction. This will be one for me.

[Scott308]

Dave, I'm fine with either option. If you want to archive it and come back to it at some point, I'll be happy to start playing again whenever you feel ready to continue. If you prefer to keep it active, albeit at a slower pace, where you can update whenever to give yourself a break, that's fine as well. That's actually the better option, I feel. If you don't feel up to putting together an update for a couple of weeks or a month even, fine. It still gives you the option if you want it, whereas if you archive it, you don't have the flexibility. Plus, I'm always afraid of archived games never being reactivated.

Having said all that, the important thing is your mother's health. Hopefully, things can get straightened out and she'll get better. I do know that patients can have chronic bleeds that do not cause them problems, that they live with for some time. Sometimes they resolve on their own or with medication. I'm obviously not a neurosurgeon so I'm not diagnosing anything, just relaying things I have seen and heard while working with them. If you want to contact me in private and let me know where in Louisiana she is, I can talk to some of the docs and see if they have any neurosurgeon recommendations for the area.

[dmw71]

Dave, I'm fine with either option. If you want to archive it and come back to it at some point, I'll be happy to start playing again whenever you feel ready to continue. If you prefer to keep it active, albeit at a slower pace, where you can update whenever to give yourself a break, that's fine as well. That's actually the better option, I feel. If you don't feel up to putting together an update for a couple of weeks or a month even, fine. It still gives you the option if you want it, whereas if you archive it, you don't have the flexibility. Plus, I'm always afraid of archived games never being reactivated.

Actually, I'm looking to run this game as normal (I'm just waiting for an action from Sky and Hargrem at this point). I may need to miss a day here or there, but I've decided to focus on one game for now, and this one is it.

It's my other two games that are at risk of being slowed down.

If you want to contact me in private and let me know where in Louisiana she is, I can talk to some of the docs and see if they have any neurosurgeon recommendations for the area.

Thanks, I appreciate the offer. Apparently the bleeding in her brain doesn't seem to be a concern. (It seems like it would be to me, but what do I know?) As for neurosurgeon's, both of my daughters have chiari malformation, and our youngest actually had decompression surgery, so I have a surgeon I completely trust, and would recommend, if/when something would become necessary for her.


Our focus now is on her heart, which is... well, in a word, bad.

[Shaede]

Dave,

Again, this is all in your hands, and I totally respect whatever decision you leave for this game. I'm glad you like us so well to let the others fall behind! haha. In all seriousness, drop us if it means that you have more time for your family. We'll be here.

Wishing all the best.

[GreyWolfVT]

Dave,

Again, this is all in your hands, and I totally respect whatever decision you leave for this game. I'm glad you like us so well to let the others fall behind! haha. In all seriousness, drop us if it means that you have more time for your family. We'll be here.

Wishing all the best.

I feel the same Dave. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[dmw71]

Two things:

1. I have officially decided to archive the 2e game I've been running because three games is more than I can handle right now. As my primary game is 5e (and 5e is definitely my edition of choice), it just stands to reason that it be the one cut loose;
2. There's still a chance between now and March 2019 that I may reconsider, but I have effectively cancelled my account with Roll20:

   

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   The co-founder is pretty much a prick, and after some consideration, I'm electing (for now) to no longer financially support his company. It sucks, because it is a pretty user-friendly tool that I'm comfortable with, and I've dumped many hundreds of dollars into subscription costs and token/map packs over the years (which will be lost), but I am going to begin exploring alternative tools for my mapping purposes.
   
   Roll20 is one of the only ones I'm aware of that handles dynamic lighting (as opposed to fog-of-war), so it may not be possible to completely replace... but I'm going to try. Worst case, I suppose, I keep just keep and use a free 'basic' account. I'll lose the dynamic lighting, but keep the tokens. But, like I said, there's a lot of time between now and next month when my current subscription expires.
   
   I'm pretty sure I've also purchased some level of Fantasy Ground, so I'll probably start there (but it does not support dynamic lighting... yet).

Anyway, while the drama with my mom is far from over, I'm hoping now that I'm down to just my two 5e games that I'll be able to keep up with them both a bit better.[/ooc]

[dmw71]

I'm in the middle of some unplanned vacation time which I took to decompress... which has been really helpful.

I thought I left notes in all my games to alert you guys of this decision, but apparently did not. Apologies.


I was able to at least check in for long enough to know what the latest updates from you guys is. I have my in-person game tonight and won't be home until late so I probably won't find time to carve out some actual time to provide new updates until tomorrow.

(But, honestly, seeing as how tomorrow is Friday, this may slip into the weekend.)

[dmw71]

Kelben grabs Durnn and pulls him over to the pit holding him to the edge "You first." and the gnome shoves the goblin leader over the edge.

This is awesome, and I hope it works. I'm thinking this will be a contested Strength check, so can you give me one of your rolls? (I'll give you advantage if someone else wants to support your effort.)

[GreyWolfVT]

Kelben grabs Durnn and pulls him over to the pit holding him to the edge "You first." and the gnome shoves the goblin leader over the edge.

This is awesome, and I hope it works. I'm thinking this will be a contested Strength check, so can you give me one of your rolls? (I'll give you advantage if someone else wants to support your effort.)

Sure thing I'll edit my post and throw in a d20 roll

[Shaede]

Kelben grabs Durnn and pulls him over to the pit holding him to the edge "You first." and the gnome shoves the goblin leader over the edge.

This is awesome, and I hope it works. I'm thinking this will be a contested Strength check, so can you give me one of your rolls? (I'll give you advantage if someone else wants to support your effort.)

Hargrem is HELPing for advantage.

[dmw71]

Hargrem is HELPing for advantage.

Got it.

Kelben has an 11 strength, which results in no bonus or penalty. With Durnn rolling a 19 (and the defender winning all ties in a contest), it will take a natural 20 for Kelben to succeed here.

That will be classic if it happens!

[GreyWolfVT]

no such luck there...

Ability/Skill/Stat Check Rolls [1d20] = 3

Kelben likely will change tactics and slit the goblin leaders throat then...I'm feeling a bit mean as the gnome thief currently

[dmw71]

So, the shaman. To kill, or to question?

[Monsieur Rose]

I was interested in getting another opinion on the situation. The shaman may be able to provide that.

I think Sky has already killed the last hobgoblin, leaving five heroes against a tied up shaman. I like those odds.

[GreyWolfVT]

I was interested in getting another opinion on the situation. The shaman may be able to provide that.

I think Sky has already killed the last hobgoblin, leaving five heroes against a tied up shaman. I like those odds.

If that is the case I don't mind trying to question the shaman

[Scott308]

Questioning the shaman is fine. If he tries anything funny Kelben can stab him for sneak attack damage.

[Shaede]

Crazy busy this week. I'll update Monday. Hargrem will climb down after the gnome

[dmw71]

Crazy busy this week.

It's been that for me as well. I have a bunch of vacation days I need to take at work (we lose them if we don't use them), and not going into the office really throws off my sense of time -- every day feels like a weekend. I still have eight days to burn between now and the end of the year, so expect the occasional missed day (or two) every now and then.

Apologies for the delay.