Enough already XP has to go

Why does Google want me to find a domain name for my already existing blog? Anyways, so obviously this post isn't my RPG characters that wasn't something I kept up with anyways. No surprise to anyone who knows me.

I just switched my laptop to Xubuntu 14.10 and thought I may help anyone who should find this blog by accident chronicling my journey. I am not an IT professional I am a security officer with a High School diploma so if I can do this so can you. If you ask a question I will try to answer it but be prepared for I don't know.

First up would be why I finally switched. I got fed up with the weekly "You computer is old buy a new one" messages from Java and other supposedly free software. I have a T61 Thinkpad from 2007 yes it is not cutting edge but it runs everything fine. Java and other web technologies have stopped supporting XP which I can't blame them for as Microsoft doesn't support it either. However I am swimming in left over computers that still operate they just can't run the new OS's because they don't write for old tech. Also fine after all Microsoft only makes money on OS sales from new computers. So if I am ok with this why not buy a new computer? I damn well don't need one and Canonical has made it so I don't have to. Actually crap loads of people and Canonical because most of this stuff is made by volunteers. So screw it I will just go to Linux.

Why Xubuntu? I have been fooling around with the various Linux distro's for a couple of years and Ubuntu makes installing Linux easy and has tons of software available. Ubuntu also has the Unity shell I won't go into that to much and advise against looking up stuff about it on the web as it is quite heated. Xubuntu uses XFCE as its shell (the thing you see on your screen) which pretty much works they way XP did. Key point I don't want to have to learn how to use a computer again and with Xubuntu I don't have to. I am running the 64 bit version if you know what that means skip ahead some the next couple of sentences aren't for you. That means gibberish, mumble, cacaphony and white noise. I looked up an old review of my laptop found out the CPU, looked up the CPU and found out under architecture I had a 64 bit machine. I intend on forgetting this useless piece of knowledge as quickly as possible you only need it to know which version to install. I used the minimal cd ISO file. Stay with me that seems to mean nothing and for most people it doesn't beyond telling you what to download. If you go off to Xubuntu.org you need to pick your installer and their are a ton of them. If you are moving from windows you want either the I386 or the AMD64. If you don't have a 64 bit CPU you want the I386 otherwise you want the AMD64. You then need to burn the ISO file to a CD try double clicking the file and hopefully windows opens up a program that gives the option to do this. If not, well crap to many software choices for me to guide you go to sourceforge (google it) and get an open source program that will.

Installing Xubuntu is pretty easy actually. I use the minimal installer because I can never seem to get my computer to boot from a DVD which could be its age I don't know. However as long as you can connect to the internet during the install it makes no huge difference. The regular installer is prettier and a little easier but as soon as it is done you are going to need to update the system. The minimal installer pulls almost everything from the web during the install so when your done you have the latest version. You need to know your wireless password and decide if you are going to keep a portion of the hard drive for windows XP. I advise against keeping XP as you will just keep using it instead of Xubuntu making this a wasted effort. Also you need to copy everything you want to keep from you hard drive even if you decide to keep an XP partion. I have resized a different computer this way and it seems to work but I wouldn't count on it.

Pop your newly burnt CD offering in the drive reboot and off you go. It asks some standard stuff most of which you can just take the default on. Even the minimal installer will probably be able to connect you to the web it had the driver for my laptop on it. You also need to know what kind of blah blah gibberish thing you have fortunately the 2 options have the abbreviations you can find for your network WEP and WPA/WPA2 if you don't know pick one and if after you enter the password your connection fails back up and pick the other one, worked for me. Then you need a user name and password just like using a Windows computer at work. Make sure your password is something you remember as you do use it more than in windows. Then you get your first scary screen when it asks how you want to install itself with dire warnings of dog and cat cohabitation levels of chaos. Eh pick the guide option and accept what it suggests then okay writing the changes to disk. Heads up this defaults to not doing what you are asking unlike every other screen so tab to yes. Kind of late to mention it but no mouse in minimal install. It will chug along for a bit then ask you what you want to install besides the minimal kernel and this is where you can actually pick which distro you will be using as pretty much it is a list of the various frontends for linux. I like XFCE, LXDE is also windows like, go with XFCE or I will be of less use to you. It chugs away for a while longer tells you to take the CD out before you reboot (don't do it yet) hit enter and does a couple other things and restarts your computer now hit the eject button.

Hopefully you quickly get asked your password get logged in and really really fast you are good to go. If not you probably are kind of screwed comment on this and I will do my best to help. You should have a couple (3 icons) on the desktop and a menu bar on the top of the screen. I will put my choices for customization's in the next post. The little picture of the mouse face in the upper left is Xubuntu's start button.

A crow's eye view

The relative quiet morning of the day of the Crow in the week of the Ember of month of the Hawk on the Fromth Plains was disturbed by an argument between two young men. A crow lazily flapped nearer to investigate insatiably curious as any member of it's kind. The 2 young men where handsome as humans judge such things and with them were 6 other youths and a Centaur not far removed for being a colt as the young men were all close to being children. Intrigued Corvus, as he was known to the members of his murder, drifted closer.

“I won't be long Peter I just need to get, uh see a few friends before we leave for good” The better looking of the two was saying in a reasonable tone. “Then we should all go or do you have friends we don't know Marcus?” Responded a sandy haired youth possessed of an aura of confidence presumably Peter. After a quick pauses Marcus replied, “I have a sweetheart and farewells between a man and a girl are not generally a spectator event!” Before Peter could respond a red haired youth who hither to now hadn't seemed to be paying attention to anything for long spoke up. “You do not only Kale has a girlfriend sorta and besides you won't find what you want to get where you left it anyways.” After the briefest pause a welter of voices broke into a discordant chorus. A red faced youth of notably large size was denying an amour betraying him as Kale. Marcus was demanding Samoth tell him where his belongings where thus identifying the red head. “Alright quiet down everyone” Peter said coming to a halt and turning to face the others then meeting Samoth's gaze. “Samoth what is going on I should know about?”. A stern glance quieted Kale and Marcus. With a shrug Samoth answered his big brother, “Marcus has been performing at the roadhouse and has some nice clothes and a bunch of money he had hidden in an unused sheep cote, A rather pretty young lady shows up know and again and her and Kale go off together I have tried to find out where she is from but she always heads out into the plains to far for me to follow without getting in real trouble. Doren wants Abel to meet some smiths along the way 'cause he is really good. I haven't found out what Victor is up to yet. Mott can talk to animals by looking at them and Merzbow can't believe how weird we all are.”

“Anything else?” Peter asked. “Othon wets the bed.” A bespectacled and up to that statement quiet youth howled with rage “You will pay you lying little bastard the Sisters aren't here to hide behind now!” Peter and Samoth seemed somewhat stunned by the heat in Othon's anger. “Nnn no if you try and hurt Samoth I will hurt you more.” The largest and quietest of the youth stammered slightly as he effortlessly picked Othon up by his collar. “Whoa, whoa whoa we are all brothers and even if we say things to hurt one another we should never try and harm one another. Samoth that was mean to embarrass Othon, Othon you should think about the consequences of your own cruel words to Abel and Abel please put Othon down.” Peter drew in a breath a scrubbed his face with a hand. Corvus could tell things would really get good now and alighted in a bush near the youths. “alright we are all uneasy or upset to be leaving our home and heading out to the unknown but you are my brothers and I will never abandon you or leave you to face any hardship alone as I would hope any of us would do for any one of us.” The quarrelsome ones looked somewhat ashamed at Peter's sad tone. “Lets try to treat each other with a little respect and pull together on our way to the Stone, now what did you mean about Marcus' belongings no longer being where he left them, Samoth?”

“I put them in Abel's pack figuring he wouldn't notice the weight.” It was apparent Samoth's attention was waning. “Okay why did you do that?” Peter tried again smiling at Samoth in understanding of his need to be doing something other than standing around talking. “Well The Sisters decided we would be leaving today so last night I got his stuff so we wouldn't have to detour and get it.” Peter just sighed, by his inflection Samoth must have meant Mother Beatrice and Sisters Anne and Judith the three ladies most responsible for raising them and Peter didn't need to ask how Samoth knew because he probably had been eavesdropping by climbing up the outside of the tower. A new uproar erupted just them Corvus's own eavesdropping had allowed Mott's wolf companion to creep up on the bush and startle the crow into a hasty flight and loud complaint. “Serves you right for not paying attention” a chuckle in his brain whispered cutting the crow's outcry short. As the group moved off the crow kept them in view. Knowing it wasn't wise the large black bird could not help it they were the most interesting thing encountered in a long time.

So I could make up some lame excuse for not posting but I got nothing

So I have been flirting with unemployment and financial crisis since April. My choice to leave best thing ever! Anyways I finally got a stable job I like well enough to foresee staying at for awhile and most of my debts are current. Why babble all that? because it is the excuse I used to tell myself I didn't have time to do RPG stuff, ummm no same amount of time just laziness. So here we go again.

Done Stuff
1. Roleplay Market is where the game is under Northern Lights if anyone would like to try and play Ogres and Underworlds as Play by Post.

2. All 9 sample characters are created and posted

3. 1 encounter and 1 adventure site slightly beyond idea stage.

To do stuff
1. Write a non-game mechanic piece of fluff rattling around in my head to set character's personalities. Ben and Trog from the earlier posts changed as I went along so this is to see where I will go with 9 characters.

2. Build the dungeon and print out character pawns I like

3. Figure out the decks to use for the site

4. play out both, review rules see mistakes write as story

No promises stuff
1. Write up adventure as a module and turn it over to J to distribute or give the permission to make available on my Google site.

2. Grow up

3. Become responsible

Who needs an attention span anyways?

Well everything started well and then real life bogged me down (actually kicked me in the nuts a couple times). I decided QADD was to rules light for my tastes and tried a couple more systems before settling on Sacrosanct Games Altus Adventum. I adapted the characters and restarted the "Tunnels of Terror". It was okay although still not quite what I wanted but before I could write that up New Realms Publishing released Ogres & Underworlds a skill based system that integrates with the card decks I have been using. Grrr, not wanting to do the group again (it would have been like the 6th time as some other systems were tried as well) I decided to start again with new characters in a different part of the world. Head over to my Google site and you can get to the drive folder with the stuff I did. All is good and I made up the new characters; did a very brief history; decided to use Oone's Ruined Town which I stumbled over on my computer and was getting ready to finish adding the characters when I found my Arcana stuff.

Avalon Games' Arcana setting is on I quite liked 2 years ago when I breifly tried to run a Play by Post game set in it. It's moribund corpse is still on Roleplay Market under Northern Lights if you want to take a peek. Anyways I have decided I really like the setting there is an enormous amount of source material. Each month a journal comes out detailing a hex on the map with who rules there and the entire feudal tree with heraldry. Also there is an encyclopedia section which is very very cool as it is mostly a couple sentences about places; things and individual people which you can use for rumors or idle gossip and what not. It is a low power setting without gods and I am okay with the super deep dark world secret and how to use it. Lastly I love the maps. I also like the premise I was using for a campaign so I am going to go over and hide the threads were stuff had happened make up some new characters to fit the setting and post over there instead as it is set up really well to handle RPG's. I will leave the thread for of topic stuff open for comments from anyone in case you feel the desire to look over there and offer a suggestion.

They are some sick little monkeys in this town

As soon as the History Teachers had finished their epic poem Benjamin climbed up to stand on Tragonothor's shoulders and took a deep breath. "This needs to stop right now!" a surprising loud and forceful bellow came from the small halfling. All eyes turned to stare at him. "Do you really want to amuse yourselves by watching people die? Is this the kind of people you really are? One of your neighbor's is so desperate from illness and despair he is going to be beheaded just to entertain you and you have a party for this?" Benjamin's voice shook with emotion as he pleaded with the crowd. "Are you going to become a town of monsters who distract themselves from the very real problems you have by inflicting cruelty on other beings? Your two supposed pirates what did you actually prove? Is it not true that all you did was say guilty in one building and cage them in another? The church is an empty shell with no meaning since the gods left and now you are going to make a courthouse the same kind of empty and meaningless shell with this travesty." "That will be enough you little foreign bastard!" Pomcus the town official screamed at Benjamin his face red and distorted with anger. "Who are you to judge us? You are just a snot nosed half-man who issues threats relying on his traveling companions to intimidate others into silence." Drawing a deep breath and swelling up Pomcus continued his rant "Yes he volunteered to provide for his family and also to end his own suffering and out of mercy we agreed not wanting to watch him die, who is more compassionate now punk? And the pirates are just that how else would they have come to posses Deagle's fishing boat? They can't say and tell some wild tale of being escaping prisoners of pirates themselves. Possession is 9/10th of the law and they are in possession of a missing man's boat so the law says they die unless you can get Deagle to tell what happened. What are you going to do summon Death and ask?" The smug officious man sneered seeing how frightened the halfling was. "Excuse me Mr Death can you please ask Mr Deagle if the two men accused of his murder really did kill him?" Benjamin stammered out in a hushed frightened whisper. Pomcus noticed everyone looking terrified at something behind him. Whirling around he was confronted by a figure dressed in a long hooded robe a skeletal hand clutching a long heavy staff with two cold green points of light deep in the cowl of the hood. "The Deagle you ask about is not in my realm so no these two did not kill him" the voice chilled everyone to their bones as they could hear the shrieks of the damned in it. Pomcus was never the brightest fellow and he challenged the figure "So you can't prove they aren't guilty can you? As a matter of fact how do we know you are actually Death and not some Lich or wraith with delusions of grandeur?" Death banged the staff on the ground and with a steely rasp a 4 foot long blade sprang from the end with casual ease the figure swung the scythe beheading the official.  The other bony hand caught the head as it fell all the blood sprayed through the air to be absorbed by the dark figure and then the body withered to dust before it could even fall to the ground. "That is how you know" the same cold voice said.

A moment of stunned silence passed before the crowd responded to what they had witnessed. "Death! Death! Death!" the crowd chanted while doing the wave and applauding wildly. The undertaker approached Death and thanked him for the most awesome thing the people had seen in a long time. Benjamin was slewing his head back and forth wildly looking for at least one normal reaction. His gaze met Sim's "That was EPIC! Best ever the next three beheadings are going to be kind of a let down" the boy shouted. Glancing around Benjamin could see no one was making the slightest effort to free the three men whose plight had started this whole scene. With an audible swallow Benjamin slid down Tragonothor's back and approached the angel of death. For his part Death was basking in the crowd's adulation with both arms raised and occasionally blowing kisses to the crowd before noticing the halfling. "Yes?" he asked in the voice made from despair. Benjamin was trembling uncontrollably and had difficulty in speaking. "Mr Death I travel with some very violent people and if you could spare the two pirates I am sure the addition of them to our group will raise the body count to something that would impress even you." Benjamin was close enough to see Death's head was a bare skull with two corpse candles burning in the eye sockets and he wondered if he was going to go insane or die as the figure regarded him for several moments. Death shifted it's attention to Tragonothor "what do you seek that would cause you to confront any obstacle without backing down?". "My one true love" the barbarian answered with simple sincerity. "Not even I can thwart true love only delay it" the cold whisper reached every ear, "release the two pirates". "What about the third man? Do you really need him right now?" Benjamin had no idea where the bravery to ask came from. Again the specter of death rested it's otherworldly gaze on him "You have courage my fame will spread further when I take thee from this world." The skeletal hand made a beckoning gesture toward Grisby and an evil red haze rose from his body, solidified into a large red bat and flew away. Death nodded to the undertaker exchanged salutes with the headsman and exploded into a cloud of scarabs that dispersed into the night.

Benjamin swayed and would have collapsed if Tragonothor hadn't scooped him up and cradled him in his arms. Normally this would have annoyed Benjamin but in the aftermath of speaking with death he was in need of feeling completely safe and for all Tragonothor's faults he did excel in protecting people. Pixie was leading the two pirates over two them. "What luck Igor is a mage and his friend Capt'n Bob is well a Capt'n." Capt'n Bob's greeting turned into a yelp of surprise as Seceese came up behind him and did some inappropriate touching "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to keep traveling with you a while longer" she purred.  The group made their way through the crowd with difficulty as Benjamin was repeatedly stopped and thanked for the best show ever to come to Glimmerdale. Finally breaking free the group gathered around a picnic table under the gazebo near the church to decide what to do next.

Probably the only non-story post to go here

Having just learned I can make my own Google site which allows me to do the file link page and my thoughts page I won't be updating them anymore however the functions of those two pages will be available at Warren doesn't know how to use Google+. I will make files available on the sites resources page.

2 Transient murder hobos walk into a tavern

Benjamin’s head was awhirl after interacting with the ghoulish little beasts that passed for children in this town. They are going to execute someone for being desperate to care for his family with no hope left for his own chances and kill 2 people who may have stolen a boat although he rather doubted they had done anything. Spotting Serceese ahead he rushed over. “Make a muscle for me!” Serceese squealed kneading the bicep of the brawny blacksmith. “Oooh, very nice, now you” she turned her attention to another beefy young man under her other hand. Benjamin stopped, looked at her flushed face and left to find Tragonothor and Pixie. After several more minutes he was directed to the Red Jackal Inn. 

Opening the front door he turned to his left and entered the taproom. 

The other patrons and the innkeeper were warily watching Tragonothor and Pixie. “Crud I wonder what they did now” Benjamin said to himself. With a shrug he headed over “Do you know they are going to kill three people tonight?” “No, no little Ben they are going to execute them” Tragonothor pronounced the word with exaggerated care. “Ummm, that means kill.” “Tragonothor know that Ben Ben but it is okay because it is the law” the big man spoke with conviction. “And you are okay with this as well?” Benjamin asked Pixie in turn. “If Tragonothor is okay with it then so am I after all true love is guiding him” Benjamin mentally shuddered at her sincerity. “One of the men is sick and has volunteered to be killed so the town will provide for his family; does that sound like the law?” Benjamin had turned back to Tragonothor determined to do all he could to stop this. “Who is telling Tragonothor’s little man these things?” He asked gently tilting the halfling’s head back with his enormous hand. The whole room tensed up and waited in terror for what they were sure would follow. “Why are all these people afraid of you Tragonothor?” Benjamin asked noticing this reaction. “Hee Hee whoops my bad” a giggling Pixie said. “Tragonothor and I were asking if anyone was a mage and this guy said he was. He said he had an elephant in his pocket and was going to show its trunk. He was lying and when I realized that I head butted him but missed his forehead and broke his nose.” The girl wrinkled her nose up “He started to bleed and Tragonothor knowing how hard bloodstains are to get out of the carpet yelled Blood! Grabbed the guy and ran outside with him and now no one wants to talk to us.”

Benjamin stared at Pixie realizing she was both sad and confused as to why the ordinary folk would be frightened of two people capable of such casual violence. “You not answer Tragonothor Ben Ben” The barbarian reminded him in a firm voice. Turning his attention back to Tragonothor Benjamin replied “Some boys I met by the river they told me a lot of things going on in Glimmerdale that are scary.” “Good for you making friends your own age it must be hard traveling with grown ups and no other kids.” Pixie was smiling sweetly at him as she patted his check and ruffled his hair. Benjamin was momentarily lost as he realized just how attractive Pixie was and she that she smelled like a summer day. Benjamin pulled back with a start he was not going to be attracted to her ever. “Time lady and gentlemen we’re closing early to head over to the beheading grounds.” The innkeeper announced. With some grumbling the men in the tavern edged to the far end of the bar to settle their tabs while staying away from Pixie and Tragonothor. “You folks should head over soon too otherwise you won’t be able to see particularly your companion” Simmons said pointing to Ben with his chin. “Tragonothor not think beheadings appropriate for little men.” He picked up the halfling and put him on his hip. Simmons looked puzzled first at the barbarian and then at the halfling raising one eyebrow. “I should think he could decide himself but if you will feel better there is going to be some educational stuff for kids during the pre-show 

and kids love that singing druid group 

that will be doing a set in between the pirates.” Benjamin almost burst into tears as he realized someone knew he wasn’t a child. “There, there little camper if Ben Ben wants to go that much Tragonothor guess its ok.”