text stringlengths 1 330k |
|---|
They had just vanquished an evil undead presence in the dire woods [soon to be renamed as the not quite as fire as they used to be woods] |
The returned to the Eladrin city, where they were greeted as the heroes they are. Ultain was restored yet again to the land of the living and given a shield to help keep him there. |
There was much discussion and a group of Dwarves had turned up to claim the still imprisoned form of the Dwarven warlock Drag Durrach. Eager to see this evil necromancer destroyed Grax asks to follow with the dwarves, but they decline however they give Isabella the runes necessary to travel by portal to the great dwarven city. |
The Dwarves will be travelling by airship and will arrive there in a months time. Isabella agress to meet them there, and the heroes depart as friends to the Eladrin. |
This gives the group time to regroup back at their headquarters, to train up and sort themselves out. |
The Guild of Heroes does something heroic |
For the first time in centuries the Guild of Heroes successfully vanquishes the foes of all that is good and righteous in the world. Wait, that just makes them sound incompentent. I should caveat that introduction by mentioning the fact that the Guild was destroyed centuries ago in a fierce internal conflict, and has only recently been resurrected by a motley group of youths from the small (read miniscule) town of Oakfield, and of course their newest companion, who is most certainly not from Oakfield. Although he is pretty motley. We’re not sure about the youth bit. |
And so Bosmath the Druid, Isabella the Bard, Ultan the Runepriest and Grax the (now admitted) Assassin return victorious – dead victorious in Ultan’s case – to the Eladrin city of Leiran through a Fey portal in the Dire Wood. Having been sent deep into the woods to discover the source of the increasing undead activity in the area, the Guild successfully infiltrated a desecrated temple/tomb, battled through hordes of the undead, before releasing the dark necromancer from his prison, and then, after rereading the last line, killin…no wait…ending his lif…what do you say when you “dispose of” an undead necromancer you’ve inadvertantly unleashed on the world – apart from “good job, I need a drink” obviously. Suffice(d?) to say he got served. |
DM Note: when you say he got served, I think you mean he beat the living shit out of the party so much he got tired and gave up? |
Itsy Bitsy |
The group have a brief discussion to decide where to go, and agree on the northern door out of the crypt room. Ultan opens one of the doors and again Grax heads off into the shadows. The corridor soon branches into a T-junction, with stairs leading down to the right and a dark room to the left. After much skulking around and sneaking back and forth the adventurers are outside the room peering in. It appears to be an empty room, with a pile of rubble in one corner, and a large hole in the opposite one. Grax is convinced that something was moving in the darkness, but Isabella strides confidently into the room and up to the hole, grumbling about the big brave men being afraid of the.. Ahh spiders!! |
Two spiders leap out of the hole, one at Isabella, another at Ultan. Isabella’s Spider fumbles badly and scrambles at the edge of the pit, exposed and unable to attack. Ultan’s Spider however promptly bits him on the leg, just as his Warhammer smashes into its head, damaging it severely. A few short rounds later, Isabella has learned that turning invisible doesn’t help against creatures with tremor sense, Ultan has learned that he can’t make saving throws to save his life [almost literally] and Bosmath learned that climbing into rubble without checking can get you stuck in spider webs, and that turning into bees just makes things worse. Though he did find some gold and a potion of Healing for his troubles! Grax learned that spiders have valuable venom, after convincing Bosmath to extract some from the corpses. |
Injured and severely put out, the adventurers risk a full rest in the now cleaned out spider room. Isabella casts a ritual of Eye of Alarm, which allowed the party to rest without setting watch. On this occasion a good roll ensures the guardian isn’t wearing an eye-patch. |
The party wakes up in the same room, and they are still alive (a novel experience of late). Feeling somewhat refreshed they head off towards the stairs they spotted earlier. Grax takes the lead, sneaking closer to the room beyond, where he sees a veritable library of bookshelves, tables and…oh my…lots and lots of rats. Some are quite large and mean-looking for rats, he sneaks back up to relay the info, Bosmath learns enough to identify the rats as Dire Rats, very vicious and aggressive creatures. Grax sneaks down again to get another look, when one of the Dire Rats spots him, just as he takes a swing at it with his blade. Grax is quickly swarmed by rats as they try to bite and chew on him, seemingly oblivious to his tasteless Tiefling hide. The group, having looked up the word ‘tactics’, retreats into the stairway and faces the rats two at a time. They discover that swarms of rats are very resilient to swords (and hammers), but Bosmath’s spells do more damage as they target multiple creatures. |
Side note: The combat with the rats took a long time, the close quarters and the swarms halving all damage that wasn’t area or close, dragged out the encounter. |
The highlight of the fight arrived with Bosmath casting a spell with Isabella in its area – a brave move given his feelings for her. However, proving the power of love, and the fickleness of Fate, he hits all the rats, and fumbles on his attack roll against Isabella – perfect result. |
As if to cement Fate’s place in the Pantheon of the Gods, as Grax was about to attack [with about +6 in various bonuses] I said the immortal words “Roll anything but a one and you’re fine.” You can all guess what happened next, but unbelievably (perhaps not to the statisticians amongst you who would merely, and dully, describe it as a 5% probability with no correlation to the previous roll) I then rolled a 1 against Grax. |
I beat the crap out of Ultan though, so all is well with the universe. |
Another tower |
After a brief portal journey, and a restful night the new group is ready to take on the Dire wood and anything it can throw at them. Grax earns his reputation as a rogue and scouts ahead, finding a tower eventually and directing everyone to it. Isabella confirms there is a strong sense of magic from the place, and Bosmath notes the corruption and decay of the plants nearby. The tower is in ruins. With a wary eye and a comment from Isabella to remind Ultan not to touch anything, they venture down into the basement. |
Almost immediately when they reach the bottom of the stairs, they hear shuffling and see glowing yellow eyes in the distance. They move into a room, and Bosmath lights a torch throwing it into the centre of the room, illuminating and agitating the zombies within. Quickly the Group set to work, pulling back to the doorway, allowing only two zombies to attack at a time. Ultan is grabbed several times, but either breaks free or the Zombie is dispatched before it can make use of his grab. Grax flits from shadow to shadow, appearing at times behind the enemy, and his blade finds the weak points with telling blows each time. It seems he is no mere rogue; there is something definitely unusual about Grax. |
The room is cleared, and checked, it seems to be some sort of prisoner are, though the prisoners are long dead, and the doors to the cells are rusted closed. Grax elects to scout ahead into the next room, and as he enters he noticed grooves in the floor. As he is pondering this he steps on a pressure plate, and a swinging blade drops from the ceiling and cutting along the floor, slams into him and knocks him back out of the room. He is badly damaged and bleeding. The rest of the group, head into the room, setting off more plates, and sending more blades swinging along pre-set paths. Eventually they make it across the room, with only a few injuries and find the devices mechanism. Grax sets to work on this as Ultan takes a few swings at the door, trying to open it, unfortunately setting off the trap again and hitting Bosmath, who is not impressed. “Can’t you just leave things alone and just hit what we tell you to?” barks Isabella. |
Grax disarms the blades one by one and eventually the door unlocks. |
A short discussion about who’s goes in first ensues. Isabella decides that it should be Ultan. He opens the door, and barely has time to register the Skeleton archers at the far end of the room, before they open fire on him. Luckily the skeleton archers are terrible shots hitting mostly the walls and the door, with just one arrow hitting Ultan. He moves into the room and is promptly flanked by two armoured and sword wielding Skeletons that were out of sight. |
Despite Ultan taking a beating, the fight went smoothly, Bosmath quickly despatched the Skeleton archers, with some nicely placed spells. Grax, flowed from shadow to shadow, smashing skeletons left and right. Isabella rushed in, her song blade singing as it cut down skeletons, her words of encouragement keeping Ultan on his feet. |
A brief rest later and the group does a thorough search of the crypt, but refuses to open or defile the burial chambers. A magical frost longsword is found attached to the lif of one of the sarcophagi, and Grax promptly claims it. |
Waking up is never easy |
The party regain consciousness in a small cell. It is made of stone, with no windows and a heavy door, the walls are heavily decorated to look like branches and trees, the light in the room is magical, and not from a defined source. All the party members are bound, using vines. |
Standing over the group is a tiefling. He is not bound, but appears as unarmed and un-armoured as the party. He introduces himself as Grax, an adventurer much like the party that was attacked, along with the rest of his group, by hordes of undead. He is the only survivor. He was found by Eladrin soldiers and brought here, not quite as a prisoner, but left here until they can figure out what to do with him. |
The group manage to free themselves, Bosmath finding yet another use of Bee form. But wait to see what the Eladrin do. Soon enough they are all escorted through a winding corridor formed from wood, almost as if they are walking through the inside of a huge hollowed out branch, which is precisely what they are doing. The catch a glimpse outside and realise they have been brought to the Feywild. They are lead to the main trunk of the tree and brought to another room, though this one appears to be a meeting room, decked out with chairs, and tables of fruit and water. The adventurers are directed to eat; they are famished, and set to devouring the food. [Being almost dead does tend to tax the body] |
The Eladrin seated in the room, introduces himself as Teraeth, and explains that they became aware that the wards placed on Draigdurrochs tower had been broken, and they went to investigate, fearing that someone was attempting to complete his work. The Adventurers explain about the frost gem, and how it was being corrupted, to spread the ice to the surrounding countryside, and how they went there to stop it, but succumbed to their wounds. |
Teraeth believes them, and informs them that the Eladrin, deactivated the Stone, and destroyed the tower, to prevent anyone else from following in the warlocks mad plans. He then turns to Grax and speaks briefly with him, and Grax relays that his group was searching for this Draigdurroch themselves when they were attacked by the undead, in the Dire wood. This unsettles the Eladrin, as he explains that they have take Draigdurroch prisoner, and he is no longer a threat. Teraeth leads them from this chamber, and they travel further down into the tree, into another stone room. |
In this room Draigdurroch floats suspended in Amber, he is unaware and unable to act. The Eladrin are holding him until a representative of the Dwarves can claim him. Grax asks if they will let him return Draigdurroch to the Dwarves as he has vowed vengeance on the dwarf for the death of his friends. The Eladrin refuse, but they do request the party and Grax’s aid. They wish them to investigate where these undead are coming from, they fear it may be an accomplice of Draigdurroch, or something he left behind. |
The adventurers agree, eager to make up for the unfortunate incident in the frozen tower. Grax asks to accompany them, he’ll get some measure of revenge against the undead. Their equipment is returned to them and off they set. |
Side note: Bosmath’s Bear companion, Elvira, is still weak, but the Eladrin have bonded her spirit with Bosmath, in the hopes of saving her. they warn him that if either of them dies, the other will too. |
Catherine the Great of Russia - World Leaders in History |
Rising from minor Pomeranian nobility to Empress of all Russia, Catherine II changed the political map of both her empire and the European continent. |
Early Life |
Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, was born in Stettin, Prussia, on May 2, 1729. Her father, Christian August, was the prince of a small German principality. Her mother paid little attention to her, favoring her sickly younger brother and leaving Catherine to be raised by the family's governess. After Catherine’s brother died at the age of 12, her mother began to realize that she could climb the social ranks by marrying her young daughter off into a more elite family. With this in mind, in 1744 mother and daughter travelled to Russia, where they met the Grand Duke Peter. He and Catherine married in 1745, and Catherine became a Grand Duchess. |
Rise to Power |
Catherine’s new husband had little interest in spending time with his Prussian wife, so she became very independent. At this time, it was said that she preferred to spend her leisure time reading. After he became emperor in 1761, Peter started acting cruelly toward her and toward his citizens. This soon led to his becoming unpopular among the common people, elites, and nobles alike in Russia at the time. Tired of his tyranny, Catherine organized a political coup against her own husband. She did not intend to kill him, but Peter ended up being assassinated in the midst of the ensuing actions. Catherine was then crowned Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias in September of 1762. |
As Empress, Catherine first worked to undo some of the ill effects resulting from the late Peter’s poor leadership, including smoothing relationships with the Russian elite and the Orthodox Church. Later, she crafted a legal document, called the Nakaz, which emphasized the equality of all men, and outlawed torture and capital punishment. In 1767, she invited representatives from across the country to a Legislative Commission to share the opinions and ideas of people from different classes. However, these efforts to weaken the feudal system were more symbolic than practical and, in 1785, she passed the Charter of Nobility, which only expanded the power of the upper classes, and did little for the common man and serfs. She also extended Russia’s borders, famously playing a key role in the partition of Poland between the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian empires, and proved the strength of the Russian Army to skeptical European nations through the waging of several wars. She championed education and the arts, and founded several universities across Russia. |
Catherine managed to rise above her husband’s cruelty and become highly independent and ambitious. Her ambitions even extended to her romantic life. Even though she could not remarry after Peter’s death, and had to appear chaste for the public, she was said to have a voracious sexual appetite. She had relationships with as many as twelve lovers during her lifetime, which was also a way for her to expand her influence and territories for her empire. One prominent example was her affair with the Polish noble Stanisław II August, who she placed on the throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the final years before its partition. The Russian people generally liked her, but she did face several coup attempts during her reign. The most threatening of these coups was led by Emelyan Pugachev, who claimed to himself be the late emperor Peter, whom he said had never actually died, and tried to “retake his rightful throne". Catherine did not take him seriously until he gained a substantial following among dissatisfied peasants. Only then did she eliminate him and his followers by force with the Russian military. After his defeat, Pugachev was executed. |
Death and Legacy |
Catherine suffered a stroke in 1796, and died in a coma a few days later. She still remains a source of national pride for most Russians, although historians from other parts of the globe have more mixed opinions. Many criticize her failure to improve living conditions and expand rights for the serfs living under her rule. However, today she is positively remembered as an ambitious and intelligent woman, famous primarily for her military conquests and her expansion of Russian borders. |
More in Society |
40th Anniversary Feature: FROM THE LOOKOUT BOOK |
Sep 16, 2013 | Archive, Feature |
BWR Editor, 1986-1987 |
If white is the color of mischief, then these white walls, this little house of marble we hide behind willing the man with his notebook to find someone else to follow. We hide, kin to bone, to tuft of fur caught in the chain link fence, to everything under the snow: tooth, grass, a skunk’s belly bloated and facing heaven. If earth, then ground and the body it blanketed. If winter, then salt to eat the rubber from your boots, sting skin already cracked and weeping. Skin the blue edge between weather and the bodies we used to carry. Didn’t we hope something easy might rise from the snow and rock us? Rock us long past the dreaming of what we had lost. |
Stranger, list the ways weather tilts the body forward, from the ice body to the body made of sand, the body called from mud. The way weather passes through cell by cell, along spine or synapse. How it runs down the body’s current, the long route past lighting or storm. Pay attention to the way a hand curls, how the tendons of the neck tighten, the skin’s memory of shock and spark. Because you are no stranger to blood or muscle, the bones that refuse to settle, the legs that kick when the body falls toward darkness and comes back to fall again. Stranger, sleep has its own technologies. It lets you walk through snow or walls or water. It lets you linger in that other country. Do you remember? It tugs like a dry wind, that day the body refused to lie down. |
Here is a bowl of water, a clean cloth, a whisper. Wash the first story, lie to the second, send the third off to school where it will learn to play with other children. Here are drawers, wooden baskets, boxes. Take this key. Put this key in your pocket. Hold this key so tight the teeth cut into skin. Here is a blanket for folding or spreading or spreading over. A canvas tarp in case of rain. A knife to scratch directions in the ground. Soon morning will crack the green cold with light. Will lies run from your ears, from your mouth, from your fingers? Here are dry twigs, pages, matches. Write what never happened. |
Janet McAdams is the author of two poetry collections and a novel. Her first book won an American Book Award. She teaches at Kenyon College. |
Article Text |
Toxoplasmosis in heart and heart and lung transplant recipients. |
1. T G Wreghitt, |
2. M Hakim, |
3. J J Gray, |
4. A H Balfour, |
5. P G Stovin, |
6. S Stewart, |
7. J Scott, |
8. T A English, |
9. J Wallwork |
1. Clinical Microbiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. |
Of the first 250 heart and 35 heart and lung transplant recipients at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, who survived for more than one month after transplantation, 217 heart and 33 heart and lung patients were investigated serologically for evidence of Toxoplasma gondii infection. Six patients acquired primary T gondii infection, most probably from the donor organ. Five patients experienced T gondii recrudescence, two of whom had recovered from primary infection a few years earlier. Two patients died from primary T gondii infection and the severity of symptoms in the other patients with primary infection was related to the amount of immunosuppressive treatment. Prophylaxis with pyrimethamine (25 mg a day for six weeks) was introduced for T gondii antibody negative transplant recipients who received a heart from a T gondii antibody positive donor after the first four cases of primary toxoplasmosis. Of the seven patients not given pyrimethamine, four (57%) acquired primary T gondii infection. This compared with two of the 14 patients (14%) given prophylaxis. |
Statistics from |
Request permissions |
All you need to know about The Bradford Factor – Quick Guide |
All you need to know about The Bradford Factor – Quick Guide |
Absenteeism is one of the most persistent obstacles to productivity, profitability and competitiveness. Organisations measure employee absence in a number of ways – including and excluding different types of absence. As a result, one company may have a higher absence rate than another organisation, simply because it includes more non-sickness variables when measuring absence. |
Many companies fail to distinguish clearly between short-term and long-term absence which can have serious implications to both the organisation’s understanding and management of absence issues. Short term absences are often considered more disruptive than long term absences, due to the fact that it’s often easier to make arrangements to cover an employee who is going to be off for long periods. That said, long term absence can be extremely costly to an organisation, therefore it’s very important to track both. One tool that is often used to measure short term absences is; The Bradford Factor |
The Bradford Factor is effectively a formula for measuring employee absence. It measures the number of absence incidents and the duration of each incident, to compute an absence score for each employee. The more absences an employee takes, the higher the score. Therefore, an employee who is absent for 12 days in a row has a much lower Bradford score than an employee who is absent on 12 separate days during the year (e.g. one Monday every month). The score can then be used to monitor trends in sickness absence, to provide ‘trigger’ points for further investigation or action and to offer comparisons with absence rates across the organisation as a whole. |
The Bradford Factor was first developed in the 1980s and has caused some debate over the years. It was originally designed to be used as part of the overall investigation and management of absenteeism. Therefore, it should always be used as part of your overall absenteeism strategy and not as a stand-alone method of tracking and responding to absenteeism issues. |
We have just published a short guide to The Bradford Factor that you are very welcome to download via this link. |
In this free guide we explain, how the Bradford Score is calculated, how and why is it used within organisations and the pros and cons of using. |
Getting a package is a life-changing experience every single time. Getting a package containing food is even more magnificent. Grocery and meal delivery services (e.g. Peapod, Meez Meals) are all the rage right now, but a new demand is emerging in the snack market. These companies offer creative and nutritious options that make 3pm noshing even more exciting: |
For $19.95 each month (for the smallest package size), NatureBox snackers receive a surprise box of new munchies, including granola bars, roasted chips and peas, and fruit crisps. Subscribers can also indicate their dietary restrictions and taste preferences when ordering from this California-based company. Unique selections include flax crostini bites, dried California peaches, Salted Caramel Pretzel Pops, and Siracha Roasted Cashews. |
Headquartered in Jersey City, NY, this subscription snack company has a nibblebox and caloriecounterbox, which are filled with portioned snacks like nuts and dried fruit. I’m intrigued by their unique selection of “dips and dippers,” including My Thai (sweet chilli sauce with baked soy bites), Bonnie wee Oatbakes (red onion marmalade with cheese and chive oatbakes), and jalapeno hot chips (jalapeno salsa with mini tortilla chips). Less healthy (but less guilty) options include billionaire’s shortbread (fudge, blanched almonds, milk chocolate drops, cranberries) and cookies and cream (mini chocolate cookies, roasted hazels, white chocolate buttons and sunflower seeds). |
Healthy Surprise |
Headquartered in LA (naturally), Healthy Surprise sends its customers monthly packages of gluten free, corn free, soy free, vegan and all-natural products. So if you can’t live without crunchy kale and organic chocolate straight from the cooperative farms in Ecuador, this company definitely suits your needs. |
Founder and CEO Sheila Guo calls Peckish the “the Netflix for healthy snacks”, and her Chicago-based company delivers wholesome and nutritious snacks right to people’s cubicles. Snackers pay $5.99 for four snack mixes that are personalized to their tastes (e.g. energy booster, protein, sweet tooth). Flavors include The Green Machine (pistachios, edamame, crunchy broccoli), Super Foods (Goji berries, sour tart cherries, raisins), and Nutty Party (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios). |
SnackItToMe! is a Chicago-based snack delivery company that provides corporate snackers a box of ten unique items each week. Like Healthy Surprise, SnackItToMe!’s snacks are sourced from vendors whose brands I recognize, including Jolly Oak Granola, The Good Bean, and dry roasted edamame from Seapoint Farms. As an avid supporter of local businesses, I spoke with founder Todd Barancik about his company: |
How did you start SnackItToMe!? |
For the first 8 years of my career, I spent roughly half of my time behind a desk and the other half traveling. I was always in search of healthy snacks for the office and the road, and if I didn’t plan ahead, preparing and bringing in my own, it was often very difficult. Plus every time there was breakfast/lunch/snacks ordered for meetings, it seemed like the default was donuts, muffins, cookies, chips, etc. Fast forward to my career as a personal trainer, and my clients complain about the same lack of options. Many of them don’t know what to eat, but even the ones that do are forced into grabbing what’s convenient. |
Have you always been a health nut? Why did you decide to become a personal trainer? |
I have always been passionate about diet and exercise. I think much of it comes from my mom’s influence. She was and still is a meticulously healthy eater and is very active. I became a trainer to allow me to share this passion with others. I grew tired of the corporate grind and wanted to do something that actually impacted people’s lives – it wasn’t happening for me in technology sales. Becoming a trainer also placed me in a health-centric environment each day, ultimately allowing me to conceptualize and bring to life SnackItToMe! |
1489263_10152142767179316_1290913756_n.jpgHow do you decide what kinds of snacks go into the box (e.g. 1/2 sweet, 1/2 savory, 1/4 nuts, nothing above 300 calories)? |
Sourcing our snacks was and still is a very time-consuming process I began roughly a year prior to our launch conducting Google searches, sending emails, inquiries and making calls. We go after products that are made with real ingredients, are all-natural, preservative-free and calorie-conscious. Many also happen to be organic. I’m proud to say we have roughly 92 products in stock from 40 small manufacturers. |
What’s the hardest hurdle you’ve faced since starting the company? |
The biggest hurdle has probably been marketing. Our main focus has been developing snack-plans for corporations and each company has a different point person for a program like this. The fact that we provide regular snacks for the break room as well as per-event snack-catering further complicates this. |
There are other similar snack delivery services out there–what makes your company different? |
Our models are very different. Graze and NatureBox sell a box containing an assortment of snack mixes, which they source and private label. So their vendors are all anonymous. Part of what makes us unique is that our vendors are also our partners. For us, it’s incredibly rewarding to help other business, but also to expose people to unique new products. And if a customer falls in love with a product, we will happily put them in touch with the manufacturer so they can order a case of their own. Another key difference is that we are partnering with companies and individuals, where Graze and NatureBox both target individual consumers. Our goal is to serve Chicago businesses, and we are able to maintain a greater level of flexibility and scalability. We can sit down with a head of wellness and design a corporate snack-plan for an organization that is vegan, or gluten-free, or carb-sensitive and cater to their population size and delivery frequency. |
1017135_10152241180129316_1200690083_n.jpgDo you have any plans to expand your delivery area? |
We did expand our zone to some extent in December. We now ship Nationwide for orders of 3 or more boxes, or snack-plans catering to 5 or more employees. We have picked up a few customers outside of the area, but we aren’t actively marketing outside of Chicago. |
I know you emphasize “corporate wellness,” but what about snacking habits at home? |
Our focus is on corporate wellness because this is where it seems most people fall short. When at home, people have access to their kitchens, and with a bit of planning, can easily ensure healthy options are available. Since people are increasingly busy, sometimes that same level of planning doesn’t translate into their work lives. |
Three US based Nigerian doctors separate conjoined twins in Houston |
NIGERIANS abroad have again lifted the image of the country as three US-based Nigerian medical doctors are counted among a medical team that accomplished the unusual feat of successfully separating conjoined twins in what is now making the waves in the US media and the medical world globally. |
The 26-hour long historic surgical separation of 10 months old conjoined twins in a Houston, Texas hospital was recently conducted by a medical team that included among others, two Nigerian female doctors and one male doctor, Professor Oluyinka Olutoye, one of the top surgeons in the team. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.