Random Raves : Let us eat cake

[The_J]

We have a barbecue scheduled in 3-4 hours, and it's raining .

Worked out better than expected .

*grmlgrmlgrml* there's this friend of a friend of a friend...I know her first name, I know her department and her position, I know her graduate school, I even know where she lives...but do you think I could find out what her goddamn full name is (so that I could drop her an email)?
Universities email register doesn't help, department overviews don't help, phone book is not even an option, even searching for possible 2 letter combinations within the name doesn't help. She must be a ghost. Damnit!!!!
Also can't ask the friend of a friend, because she's the one with whom I had that recently not so well ended date :/.
I know I might see her again in the gym, but there are festivities in the next 2 weekends, so good occurences for doing something together, and no idea if I'll see her til then.
*gah*.

EDIT: also, don't have facebook, that's not a stalking option.
EDIT2: Okay, I also don't know how her first name is written, and all the possible options on Skype give me wrong countries, so yeah...doesn't make it easier.

met her again in the gym, now I know her full name, and she expects my email; already asked her about next weekend, and she said that her plans are not yet set.


Okay, maybe she was just too polite to say no (you never know, it's a different culture), but I'm feeling positive about it .

EDIT: Email sent, let's see .

 

[Hygro]

Got my NPC random encounter algo working. Every time my players enter a populated area, given some parameters (town size, special events..) I roll up a host of NPCs, each with their own frequency rating. There could be anywhere from zero to all of them (I have about 80 or so) but usually rolls 2-4 which is perfect.

The NPCs all have motivations, basic personality tropes, allegiances, political and worldviews, and so forth.

This allows me as the DM to craft an incredibly rich world without adding to the risk of railroading the PCs into a predetermined plot to get them to travel through said world. Basically they can do whatever they want and the world will happen anyway.

 

[Arakhor]

That sounds pretty nifty. Do you have some random tables you could show us?

 

[Hygro]

That sounds pretty nifty. Do you have some random tables you could show us?

Not per se, but here's what I did:

Using google spreadsheets:

each character gets an encounter rating that's an emotionally assigned number from 1 to 100. Currently the highest is 35 and the lowest is 1.

Then, (because to get the right amount of NPCs and with such a radical encounter difference it kept rolling up the same few) I added an arbitrary value, which in this case was the sum of all encounter ratings, which presently is around 450 or so. I could have also just assigned a good number.

Then I divide that number by a campaign constant, which is right now 10,000. If the players walk into a town that had a random "tournament" town encounter then, with the 3x multiplier that constant I would manually reduce to 3,333. If it was a 3x tournament and one of the campaign's few sprawling metropolises (i.e. like 20,000 residents) then owing to D&D convention the paired 3x multipliers become a 5x multiplier so the encounter constant 10,000 gets divided by 5 for 2,000.

I used the =rand() cell command to generate random numbers between 0 and 1 next to each character, and if the the encounter frequency after weighting is greater than the number rolled (=cell>=cell[weighted]), then the value "TRUE" pops up that character is in town somewhere, usually the tavern because D&D but also sometimes the local lord's manor or wherever.

Refreshing the page gives the cleanest results, and then all I have to do is see who has a "true" value in town and roleplay accordingly. The players enjoyed it last night, which proved to be one of the more successful zero-combat sessions I've run thus far.

 

[Phrossack]

After a few weeks of using my dresser as a standing desk, I now barely feel sore at all after a day of standing. It also helps that I use stairs rather than elevators and I often walk rather than ride the shuttle. But walking and standing really don't count as exercise; only working yourself to exhaustion does. I'll need to start doing that.

 

[JohannaK]

Walking is far better than running or actual sport for your limbs and articulations specially.

 

[Hygro]

After a few weeks of using my dresser as a standing desk, I now barely feel sore at all after a day of standing. It also helps that I use stairs rather than elevators and I often walk rather than ride the shuttle. But walking and standing really don't count as exercise; only working yourself to exhaustion does. I'll need to start doing that.

But it does help you live to 99

 

[Phrossack]

Rave: She dropped by where I was doing homework just to chat a little! It always makes my day when I see her. If only she weren't so busy...

 

[Antilogic]

If she's dropping in to see you, you have it made. Ask her out to lunch or something small if she is busy.

 

[cybrxkhan]

Or ask her out to coffee. That's what others have always suggested to me.

Coffee is nice. It makes me feel sophisticated. A sophisticated Turk.

 

[Phrossack]

If she's dropping in to see you, you have it made. Ask her out to lunch or something small if she is busy.

Well, I've been really interested in her for well over a year, and we've hung out a fair bit. She probably just sees me as a friend, but I'm useless at reading signals. Last December she seemed to ask me out on a date, since she invited me over to her town to see a movie alone, but she wasn't receptive to any signals and when I asked her out on a date she said she already had someone.

That was several months ago, and things may have changed; it might also change her mind to see that I'm still interested in her, but I dunno. I'd really like to ask her out alone in person, but I rarely get the chance and she's almost always busy with either work or homework. Still, even if I could only see her an hour each week if we were dating, that'd be enough.

 

[Hygro]

Well, I've been really interested in her for well over a year, and we've hung out a fair bit. She probably just sees me as a friend, but I'm useless at reading signals. Last December she seemed to ask me out on a date, since she invited me over to her town to see a movie alone, but she wasn't receptive to any signals and when I asked her out on a date she said she already had someone.

That was several months ago, and things may have changed; it might also change her mind to see that I'm still interested in her, but I dunno. I'd really like to ask her out alone in person, but I rarely get the chance and she's almost always busy with either work or homework. Still, even if I could only see her an hour each week if we were dating, that'd be enough.

Congrats, you've made a friend!

 

[Phrossack]

Congrats, you've made a friend!

Do you mean she's just going to be a friend, and that I should be happy with that? Because I might be a bit in love with her (I can't really tell, don't know the signs) and I'm hoping for a relationship. I mean, we're basically friends now, and I enjoy seeing her and doing stuff together, but I'd really prefer something more if possible. We don't see each other very often, so I might not have been friendzoned (if that's a thing). But I haven't had too many chances to ask her out alone in person, and over a year's passed since we met.

 

[Hygro]

Ask her, not me!

I can speculate and strategize for days, and if you'd find that fun I might just be game, but none of it would get you closer to taking what will always be a scary leap of faith/hope.

 

[cybrxkhan]

I hope it turns out well either way, if you get friend zoned hopefully you'll still be good friends, if you don't get friend zoned, well, you don't get friend zoned.

 

[Phrossack]

Ask her, not me!

I can speculate and strategize for days, and if you'd find that fun I might just be game, but none of it would get you closer to taking what will always be a scary leap of faith/hope.

Yeah, it'd be fun, but I don't want to overthink this, obsess over it, and screw it up. I'll try to ask her when I get a chance, but I tend to get caught up talking with her or I sometimes chicken out. Next time...

I hope it turns out well either way, if you get friend zoned hopefully you'll still be good friends, if you don't get friend zoned, well, you don't get friend zoned.

Thanks, I hope it goes well, too! She's one of a kind.

 

[Kyriakos]

^Just don't talk to any guy at a party if he has no eyebrows. Moreso if he gives you his mobile phone and asks stuff

(on a serious note: good news, and good luck ).

 

[Mango Elephant]

don't think I posted but at the end of thursday april 24 I fulfilled all my undergraduate graduation requirements!

Now I still have some exams, but I don't need any of them to graduate.

Congratulations!

 

[Takhisis]

Long weekend coming ahead, just in time to heal from the damage caused by examinitis.

 

[GamezRule]

One of my friends from High School just accepted his offer of admission into Harvard University. So yay for him.