Chat About the Games Part Two

Will do. Playing catch up as usual. Would you like to make a list as to the types of characters you see created? Physical? mental? Mystical? If Physical, blasters, bricks, transformers etc. Maybe you'd like all the characters to share a theme or ability (like flight or speed or whatever) or is it 'anything goes'?

What you want to play, so anything goes. Just remember, you are active duty military with superpowers.

As it says in the character creation rules description, the military and politicians would strongly encourage their new heroes to take patriotic or military themed names and outfits but if you want to call yourself "Average Nice Super-Guy", your fellow GI Joe Heroes will look at you funny and laugh at you but you can call yourself that if you want to.

I want to team all of you up for this first adventure. It may be our only adventure or the adventures may continue after this - solo or as a group. We'll see.

So if you want to have different powers in order to cover each other's potential weaknesses or be able to fight on the land, sea, air and space, do so. Or if you want or wind up with the same type of powers, it's up to you, just like in our 50s game, Lightning Bullet and Captain Conduit have electrical powers but used differently.

Maybe this will help but this is set about six months after the destruction of Washington, DC and the kidnapping of the President by supervillains backed by Advent. So sort of a "Remember Pearl Harbor" attitude is among the military mindset just like it was in the military after December 7, 1941. Your job is to bring in the supervillains still loose out there, restore public confidence that America can rise above this and win, and stop Advent's further attacks on US soil.

I'm posting from my hotel room in Lanzarote. Weird thing, I've never been on holiday on my own (ever) but figured I'd use the time for R&R instead of DIY around the house. Plus side is I have internet. I do have friends over here at the same time but they are a married couple and aside from meeting up in the pub and going for a walk my time is my own so I intend to spend it wisely (basting in my own juices and getting caught up with games!)

It didn't start great. Overcast, a bit windy/chilly and rain. Hopefully things better today. Still, as a wise man might have once said, it generally doesn't rain in the pub. Probably said that or something like it anyway.

The thumb popping open and bleeding all over the place is getting ridiculous now. Have ordered some (basically) superglue which I'll pop on when I get back (tomorrow night) and see how I get on. Every time I press the shift key blood is squeezing out from under the plaster and I've just been trying to pack the case. You guessed it, wiping up afterwards. Taking twice as long and everything needs to go in the wash even if it's not been worn as a result. I'll see how I get on this afternoon with updates but at the moment I'm wanting to toss the laptop at the wall in frustration. Grrrr. Hope you are all ok!

Think I'll go out for a walk. According to google on two days this week I did 11 miles + each day and had a day off yesterday at 4 or so miles. Another 11-12 miler looming I suspect, but at least it will give the thumb chance to heal/seal so here's hoping for later on. Cheers, Paul

(now I have to wipe the keyboard on the left hand side. Again.)

Superglued the thumb together, should be getting back up to speed by tonight and it seems to have (hopefully) done the trick. Moral of the story: If you don't slash your thumb open with a craft knife, you won't have to glue the thing back together.

You should also have an up to date tetanus shot and see your doctor if it keeps bleeding for more than 12 hours.

Lost count of the tetanus shots I've had over the years. Last one was a biggggg needle in my butt

Problem with a non bleeding but glued up thumb is that it's completely numb and not much use for fine detail so if you see typos I've probably tried to correct it and it's taking ages and gave up.

Main thing is it's not popping open. Might need to renew the glue (it's the medical version but other than how it dries, the same stuff as far as I can tell) at some point. Fingers crossed it does the job long enough to heal up.

Should be resuming normal service this evening. Just had my youngest son picked up and cleaning the place up (bomb site) before work then home about 2300 all being well.

I don't remember having this much time off when I was a kid

Hope y'all are well, we're coming up to the end of a couple of issues so maybe time to think about what needs tweaking with the characters...

Ugh what a week. Horrendous long shifts, it's race week where I drive trains to (Liverpool/Aintree. Grand National today. Arrggh) so the drunken buffoonery will sink to new lows. The other day (Thursday) a van crashed through the level crossing I was approaching so an emergency brake required! It's not my 'first rodeo' as far as emergencies go though so after 10 minutes of delay I put the driver onto the signaller's phone and continued on my way. It was only yesterday when I thought about if I'd not done a running brake test (we test the brakes soon after setting off) I'd have T-Boned the van almost perfectly at a combined speed of around 90mph. That would have made the evening news. Probably worse is that I didn't even bat an eyelid. No shock, shakey hands, sleepless nights, flashbacks, nothing. I think I'm just immune these days thanks to so many repeated incidents over the decades.

Anyway, I'll see what I can get done today and tomorrow, see if I can get caught up...

Thanks for your patience guys!

Cheers, Paul

Finally! Finally got some time off and the last month or so sheer grind has ended. It's given me cause to think about changing jobs, been that bad. Just sheer, boring, long (10+ hour shifts) repetition. Ugh. Apologies for the snail pace, all being well will be caught up by tomorrow morning (it's nearly sack time but for the first time in forever no alarm to set).

Phew.

I'm off on holiday (again! Three times this year!) tomorrow and know my posting has been patchy but hopefully things will pick up again. Had the last week off but not a moment to catch breath as have been boarding the loft out, had my son, spent time with the other half etc so no real 'me' time. Hopefully all being well I will get chance this coming week, probably on an evening once the other half is safely sat watching some drivel on netflix. It's fair to say we have different tastes!

Anyway, other than being a bit quiet tomorrow (when I fly) there should be a steady flow of posts.

Cheers, Paul

Have fun!

Finally slowed down enough to post some updates! All being well should be more later...

Apparently Superman was much stronger when he was Superboy.

ALL: My apologies for the absences not just this week but most of May and June. Going through a rough time at work with long shifts and difficult ones. It's not easy functioning in the face of angry passengers squaring up to you - and justifiably so. The level of service my employer provides is appalling, but we're on the 'front line' (as a Driver. I expect the Conductor needs skin like a Rhino to put up with the abuse.).

I came to the realisation today that I must change my job again. I thought the change to this one would be my last but to improve my lot I need to get off my backside and do it, it won't change itself. The main issues are working endless weekends in a row and not seeing the kids. The girlfriend I have been seeing a reasonable amount of (hence the low post rate) but the house took up a lot of time too with boarding out the loft. Finally finished that yesterday before setting off for work again.

ANYWAY, all being well I should be able to post more next week, so thanks for hanging in there. I may have a few rocky weeks ahead but need to find a better employer/job for my peace of mind (and finances, which are somewhat drained by the house improvements).

These things are sent to try us!

Cheers, Paul (and now I have to hit the sack because I'm up at 5am for work...)

Paul,
I remember how excited you were to get this new job - shorter hours, better shifts, better pay. Guess it just didn't work out. Maybe a career change into a different field would help?
Anyways, keep plugging away and take care of RL before the game. Though I know the game helps you unwind too.

Problem is also having to pay the bills. Looking into a swap back to a branch of an old employer. More weekends off and two weeks off at the end of every quarter/13 weeks. Unfortunately everyone else likes the look of it too and I just missed out on an ideal job only 15 mins in the car away. Currently it's an hour commute each way on top of the 9-10 hour shift...

Ah well, will keep looking!

Still alive! Just with the kids off school this week (and for the next five weeks) any days off work I get are kind of accounted for. Theme park (Alton Towers) tomorrow and Friday but will be bringing a laptop with me to preserve sanity on an evening and hopefully get a bit of peace and quiet to update. Hope y'all are well! In the immortal words of Arnie "I'll be back!"

Updates in the morning. Been a crazy last few days in Blackpool with friends (which I needed) away from work, the kids even and the house/diy which seems never ending. Finish one job then start another.

The only other planned time I can think of (other than usual work commitments) that will slow things down is when I have the kids for four days next week while their mum gets a few days away with her friends. Scratching my head on how to entertain an autistic 19 year old and annoying/energetic (in other words normal) 12 year old without them winding each other up (though to be honest it is mostly the 12 year olds' fault).

Anyway, thanks for keeping the faith - this summer has been the worst I can remember in 13 years or so of playing the game for me, for time restraints. I didn't know but taking a laptop this weekend would have been pointless - no internet or phone signal in Blackpool which is bizarre in this day and age.

Cheers, Paul

So how is the job hunting going?

Get your 12 year old involved in reading. Old ERB stuff - John Carter, Tarzan, etc. Get him into light novels. That was about the age I started going to the library weekly and bringing home an armful of books and opened up my world to all sorts of things and idea. Maybe your kids would like that too.

I'm trying to get the 12 year old interested in things other than computer games and annoying his brother. May try them on a simple dungeon crawl and see how they get on, but will probably need something visual - floorplans or minis - to start them off.

As for job hunting I expressed an interest in a company which is a sister of one I worked for. They know who I am, just missed the boat though as they took on two new starters last month and won't need anyone until someone leaves. Would be a slight pay cut but get my weekends back and it's like 10 minutes away in the car so ideal really.

I'll be on strike next month (it's a national rail worker strike, just our company is somewhat late to the party because of a loophole the company found int he union paperwork) so will have to tighten my belt somewhat.

Admin wrote:I'm trying to get the 12 year old interested in things other than computer games and annoying his brother. May try them on a simple dungeon crawl and see how they get on, but will probably need something visual - floorplans or minis - to start them off.

As for job hunting I expressed an interest in a company which is a sister of one I worked for. They know who I am, just missed the boat though as they took on two new starters last month and won't need anyone until someone leaves. Would be a slight pay cut but get my weekends back and it's like 10 minutes away in the car so ideal really.

I'll be on strike next month (it's a national rail worker strike, just our company is somewhat late to the party because of a loophole the company found int he union paperwork) so will have to tighten my belt somewhat.

It seems like we are in for the winter of discontent. Hope things work out with the children, I would imagine your 19 yr old would love the books, but the 12 year a game of football, or going to a high ropes course. But that of course might be stereotyping them. Would your 12 year old be interested in DIY handling a power drill might be out of the league on day 1 but they may take to it? The other thing is to get them out doing things like sport, cycling etc, so some of their energy is siphoned off and they don't, as a consequence, get so bored and annoy their brother to get rid of the energy negatively.

Sj

Still alive! had the youngest dropped off on me a day and a half early Since then I've been entertaining, feeding, cleaning up after etc. The oldest (19 years old now) decided against coming over to stay so I guess he's officially 'left the nest' Had to happen sometime. With his being autistic there is some worry he'll not be able to look after himself but seems to be fine so far. *nail chewing time*

Anyway, the young one is going back home tomorrow and I'm back at work (for a rest, or how it will feel). All being well that's it then because the kids are back at school so the summer of inactivity (on here) will *finally* end. Every time I make a prediction someone or something happens along to grab my time away.

Speaking of which, have to shoot off. Going on something called 'Go ape' which involves climbing about in treetops for a few hours...

Admin wrote:Still alive! had the youngest dropped off on me a day and a half early  Since then I've been entertaining, feeding, cleaning up after etc. The oldest (19 years old now) decided against coming over to stay so I guess he's officially 'left the nest' Had to happen sometime. With his being autistic there is some worry he'll not be able to look after himself but seems to be fine so far. *nail chewing time*

Anyway, the young one is going back home tomorrow and I'm back at work (for a rest, or how it will feel). All being well that's it then because the kids are back at school so the summer of inactivity (on here) will *finally* end. Every time I make a prediction someone or something happens along to grab my time away.

Speaking of which, have to shoot off. Going on something called 'Go ape' which involves climbing about in treetops for a few hours...

Whilst you are going through this time it seems never-ending, but as you've begun to discover with your older son, it does change and then you can't imagine where the time has gone. So make the most of it, whilst they are there my friend. Good to hear from you, as ever no worries the game is for adults so we've all got limits on our times at different seasons, so I'm not worried. Go Ape is fantastic, I've done it down here near Exeter, if you don't mind heights, it's great fun.

Sj

And with the start of the next issue of Lionheart and Miss Victory, this is a great place to start up the Project GI Joe adventure, if Paul's life has gotten a bit more on keel.
This would be the US government's response to what has just happened all over the country and the world. Anyone still interested?