Aeon (updated 10/9/14)

[Justin]

I wouldn't blame him. He set such amazingly high expectations. Back to trying to get into Malazan for that epic fix.
On a side note, I've been playing more with ChatGPT and this was hilarious in response to Nwm's Green Benediction:

Overall, this spell appears to be a very powerful combination of defensive, offensive, and utility effects, with a heavy emphasis on defense. The high Spellcraft DC and ritual requirements suggest that it is not an easy spell to cast, but its effects are certainly impressive.

ChatGPT agrees with the Adversary.

EDIT: OMFG!
What would be the D&D 3.5 Challenge Rating of a Paladin 15, Divine Disciple 5, Fighter 16 with Divine Rank 0 and the Saint template?
To calculate the Challenge Rating (CR) of a character in D&D 3.5, we need to consider a number of factors, including its combat abilities, special abilities, and defenses. However, since this character has Divine Rank 0 and the Saint template, we need to use a different method to determine its CR.
According to the Epic Level Handbook, a character with Divine Rank 0 has an effective character level (ECL) of 41. Similarly, a character with the Saint template has an ECL equal to its character level + 5. Therefore, the total ECL of this character would be 41 + 15 + 5 + 16 = 77.
However, since this character has levels in three different classes, we need to adjust its ECL by a factor of 1.5, as per the guidelines in the Monster Manual. This gives us a final ECL of 115.
Given the exceptionally high ECL, it is difficult to accurately assign a CR to this character as its abilities and challenges would be far beyond those of any typical encounter in the game. It could be considered a "boss level" encounter for a high-level campaign, possibly exceeding a CR 50 or even CR 60 challenge.

Hmm... /types in the Adversary and causes ChatGPT to crash and whimper.

 

[Joshua Randall]

He’s online here all the time, and hasn’t said anything to us. It’s like he actively avoids this particular thread now.

Leave the man alone. No one has any obligation to a story about an elf game.

 

[Justin]

I can't speak for everyone, but I will just say that I am forever grateful to Sep and his players for providing us with such a wonderful story that will stick with me until I die. His incredible creativity, writing style, and his friends/PCs were so amazing in realizing an astonishing world. They all really did raise the bar, IMHO. In fact, I was on a video chat today with several colleagues, just catching up, shooting the sh...breeze. They mentioned the new D&D movie (though I'll never again set foot in a movie theater), so I had to bring up Wyre again thanks to a piece of art one of our artists posted in chat (I work at a video game studio that makes a fantasy video game) that would have made Mostin salivate with glee. I had to mention the Ú and Ghom, just to help them understand true terror.

 

[Justin]

Has anyone fully read the Malazan series, at least Erikson's main 10 books? I've only made it through GotM and about 1/3 of Deadhouse Gates and haven't touched it in months. How would those of you who have read a significant portion of it compare it to The Tales of Wyre? And yes, that is a very intentionally open-ended question.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Very badly written.

 

[the Jester]

Has anyone fully read the Malazan series, at least Erikson's main 10 books? I've only made it through GotM and about 1/3 of Deadhouse Gates and haven't touched it in months. How would those of you who have read a significant portion of it compare it to The Tales of Wyre? And yes, that is a very intentionally open-ended question.

Yes. I love MBotF, but it's very different from ToW. For one thing, there isn't a focus on one group of characters.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Has anyone fully read the Malazan series, at least Erikson's main 10 books? I've only made it through GotM and about 1/3 of Deadhouse Gates and haven't touched it in months. How would those of you who have read a significant portion of it compare it to The Tales of Wyre? And yes, that is a very intentionally open-ended question.

I've read everything by Erikson and Esslemont save The God is Not Willing, and I don't see the comparison. I love the worldbuilding and characters, and I feel like the writing ranges from good enough (Erikson) to passable, maybe (Esslemont), but the concerns are so different. And I generally don't find game APs to be comparable to published fiction. (I might have the same reaction to the Tales of Wyre as I did to Erikson/Esselmont's writing if it were published, but I read it as a series of interesting forum posts rather than as fiction, if that makes sense.) What did you think was similar?

 

[Justin]

I've read everything by Erikson and Esslemont save The God is Not Willing, and I don't see the comparison. I love the worldbuilding and characters, and I feel like the writing ranges from good enough (Erikson) to passable, maybe (Esslemont), but the concerns are so different. And I generally don't find game APs to be comparable to published fiction. (I might have the same reaction to the Tales of Wyre as I did to Erikson/Esselmont's writing if it were published, but I read it as a series of interesting forum posts rather than as fiction, if that makes sense.) What did you think was similar?

I haven't read it, yet, only got about a quarter of the way through the second book, Deadhouse Gates. I was just curious to get the opinions of people familiar with Sep's story, as to whether it is worth reading. I feel like his story here has just spoiled fantasy writing for me and I am hoping to find something equally interesting and compelling. The intermixing of Blake, Lovecraft, and Nwm/Nehael/Uedii philosophies and cosmologies is just so much amazingness (not a real word but I don't care) is just so captivating that it makes everything else pale in comparison.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

I haven't read it, yet, only got about a quarter of the way through the second book, Deadhouse Gates. I was just curious to get the opinions of people familiar with Sep's story, as to whether it is worth reading. I feel like his story here has just spoiled fantasy writing for me and I am hoping to find something equally interesting and compelling. The intermixing of Blake, Lovecraft, and Nwm/Nehael/Uedii philosophies and cosmologies is just so much amazingness (not a real word but I don't care) is just so captivating that it makes everything else pale in comparison.

Got it. I do think it is worth reading if you like fantasy, and I was more or less off fantasy as a genre when I started reading it (save for Vance, Wolfe, and GRRM). It takes some time to build up — I didn't think it really got going until the end of Memories of Ice (book 3) — and it doesn't have the same concerns as this story hour does. But there's a lot to chew on in it — it has some depth, especially in the history of the world, and it rewards careful reading. YMMV.

 

[Justin]

The last post was in June?! Needs a bump! Best wishes to Sepulchrave, everyone in this thread, and everyone else, I hope you are all doing well.