This isn't my cup of tea, but I recall some folks here like this sort of game...

On the SJGames Forums, tony6r Wrote:Odyssey Reborn is a free 2d top-view online RPG that is set within a medieval setting with SNES like graphics. There are several player classes available, Knight, Mage, Crusader, Necromancer, Rogue, and Cleric. The main playerbase focuses on PVP but the game is also very well setup for PvE action.

Odyssey is a fairly basic hack and slash ORPG (Online Role Playing Game). It is designed to run on lower end computers, some as slow as 66mhz. Instead of focusing highly on visual, and aural elements, Odyssey tends to focus on gameplay value, and replayability.

"The Odyssey Engine" is the sole inspiration for many other games such as the original "Mirage Online", which ultimately transformed the ease of Online RPG creation with the Playerworlds program. The Odyssey was started in the mid-90s and is widely said to be the first successful VB6 MORPG.
site: http://Odysseyreborn.com]Odysseyreborn.com

"Then thus I give you
my freedom's first greeting!
Since by curse it came to me,
accursed be this ring!
Since its gold gave me
measureless might,
now may its magic bring
death to whoever wears it!
It shall gladden
no happy man;
its bright gleam shall light
on no one lucky!
Whoever possesses it
shall be consumed with care,
and whoever has it not
be gnawed with envy!
Each shall itch
to possess it,
but none in it
shall find pleasure!
Its owner shall guard it profitlessly,
for through it he shall meet his executioner!
Forfeit to death,
faint with fear shall he be fettered;
the length of his life
he shall long to die,
the ring's master
to the ring a slave,
until again I hold in my hands
what was stolen!
Thus, in direst distress,
the Niblung blesses
his ring!
Keep it now,
guard it well;
my curse you cannot escape!"

Maybe my favorite part of the Ring Cycle. So, what can Doug do with it?

Yes, that card game. I dipped a toe into it many year's ago, but it didn't grab me. I was more into the other systems that was out there: Star Trek, Star Wars, Battletech(yes, it's a CCG too). If you've got me on Steam, you'd notice me occasionally firing up the PC games.

Well, got me some cards and built a few decks and I wander over to a LFGS that's doing Friday Night Magic a couple times over the past few months. With just one small problem, I'm turning up with your basic beginners decks, while everyone else is turning up with the tournament grade decks. The people I'm playing against are also on the local tournament scene too.

--Rod.H

Well in that wonderfull LARP we call Real Life, I think this weekend I gained a level in automobile maintenance as I changed the filter and fluid in the auto transmission and adjusted the handbrake. All using the tool-set I have for IT work.

So I think now I've got skill points in Automobile: driving, tire change, radio install, globe replacement, basic upkeep; Home maintenance: painting, hole repair, electrical fitting replacement; AV: setup; IT assemble & run;

Also the transmission fluid I drew out, I think it increased my understanding on just how difficult it is to contain certain strains of Handwavium. Hoo boy, I had splashes from the catch tray, thing's I needed fall into said tray. Ruined a nice pair of riggers gloves and a plastic drop sheet. Plus we now have a patch of water-repellent concrete from the overflow of a bottle I was filling with the bad fluid.

--Rod.H

Yeah, Mal's got the reboot bug again. The last one worked out okay, so let's give it another whirl, yeah? Everybody hang onto the lap bar 'cause shit is gonna get weird...

Quote:Cornell University
14 February 2006

"Test log seventeen: Since starting work with the handwavium samples directly I've noticed a direct effect to the nature and quantity of my work output. Research among handwavium enthusiasts online suggests this is a common thing - a sort of euphoric effect caused by 'working magic,' or somesuch. Euphoria, sure, but whatever they're feeling isn't what I'm feeling.

"I've now filled six notebooks with math and notes that I only dimly remember writing in the first place, and can barely recognize as workable. It's almost like being in an Ambien trance, or sleepwalking. Though I'm pretty sure that I'm not sleepwalking. I suspect that the effect might be similar it's not identical, because the notebooks aren't filled with incoherent gibberish like a dreaming or stoned person might scribble down. The math is absurdly high level but it all fits together. Apparently in a handwavium-induced trance I've managed to determine that the universe exists in a modified Everett multiworld continuum, and sketched out several interesting modalities that may be able to exploit that.

"And for today's experiment we're going to try the simplest of these out."

~***~

Diedre Greist carefully maneuvered the last bit of wire into her jury-rigged circuit board and soldered it into place. The board was the last piece of a small pile of junked TVs and chunks of handwavium crystal that made up her first attempt at what she was calling the Mark I Bridge. Assuming the math was right and she wasn't crazy, once powered up the Mark I would open a narrow pinhole between her universe and another one, allowing her to see what was on the other side. Of course if the math was wrong then it wouldn't work, or it'd catch fire or explode and there'd be a hell of a mess to explain to the Provost.

She waited for the last few connections to cool down, then doublechecked to make sure there were no loose wires or anything physically wrong with the Mark I. Seeing nothing wrong, she plugged the device into her handwavium-enhanced laptop, an old junker she'd picked up and treated specifically for this test run. The machine booted up agreeably enough and seemed to recognize the device without complaint.

"Right," she said for the benefit of her tape recorded. "Mark I Bridge test number one. The device is powered and on standby. Control systems are responsive. No faults detected in the assembly. Sooo... activating system-" she tapped a key and the laptop chimed "-and let's see-"

"-if this thing works." Said a voice that was very much like Deidre's but not quite identical. Deidre blinked hard and looked at the cathode-ray tube that served as the device's main viewport. In the middle of the screen was a crisp and clear image of another woman a few years younger, with more punked-out hair and clothing but with the same eyes and the unmistakable Griest nose. Deidre tapped the screen just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating and then gave a tentative wave.

The younger her looked back, confused, then broke out with a huge grin. "Hey, it worked!" she said. "Hi, other me!"

~***~

Ithaca, New York
20 April 2006

Noah Anderson adjusted his tie irritably. By rights he should be working on the Boskone post-mortem, calling Scaled about his handwavium-powered aircraft proposal and any number of things a professional serious person in the realms of business and fandom should be doing instead of standing around outside a warehouse in upstate New York waiting for a lunatic. But his contacts in fandom told him something was seriously up, and Noah trusted his contacts. More to the point, Noah trusted his instincts, and they told him that whatever was going on inside that warehouse it was worth checking up on.

The wait in the mid-spring morning chill was wearing on his patience, though. He grumbled a little, idly hoping that the interior was warmer than it looked. As he shifted around, a rental sedan pulled up to the warehouse and stopped beside him. A tall black woman in jeans and a windbreaker got out and gave Noah a puzzled look. "Noah?" she said quizzically. "What are you doing here?"

"Tanith?" Noah replied. "I could ask you the same thing." Tanith Curtis was a name in the Chicago fan circles, and the two had a professional relationship going back almost a decade. Normally very little could get Tanith out of the city, which made her appearance in Ithaca all the more startling.

"I got an invitation to something ‘world-shaking,'" Tanith shrugged. "It was delivered by people I trust, so I figured what the hell. I'm guessing that you got the same invite?"

"You could say that, yes. It's all very hush-hush secret stuff. I probably shouldn't have come but... I got curious. I have no idea what it means."

"Maybe I could help with that," a new voice interrupted. Noah and Tanith turned to see a woman in a labcoat and black gloves standing in front of the door. The newcomer smiled slightly and said, "Ms. Curtis, Mr. Anderson. I'm Deidre Griest. We've never met in person before, but we have had some online correspondence."

Tanith cocked her head in thought. "Griest," she said. "Oh, right, you worked on a couple programming bits for ACen in the past. I thought you'd left fandom."

Deidre shrugged. "Not precisely," she said. "I wasn't going to lose track completely but then academia and... medical issues took over my life for a bit, and then there was this new handwavium material. Fascinating stuff."

"Indeed it is," Noah said dryly. "And I'm guessing that's what we're here to see. Some sort of space colony thing, maybe?"

"Not exactly. Please, come inside."

~***~

The interior of the warehouse was divided up into a dozen offices and makeshift workbenches, in the center of the building a clear spot was carefully marked out with chain-link fencing. A group of students in the traditional garb of the college student worked on unidentifiable pieces of technology around them. "This doesn't look like much," Deidre remarked, "but what you see here is the beginning of the biggest advance in human affairs since the development of agriculture. We aren't on the bleeding edge of science; we've taken a running leap into the abyss and getting a good look at things man probably wasn't meant to know."

"That's... very nice hyperbole," Tanith said, eyebrows raised. "But I'm still not sure what you're doing here."

"We've discovered some very interesting properties of handwavium," Deidre replied. "This is our main research facility."

"And those properties are, what exactly?"

A bell tolled inside the warehouse, and Deidre smiled. "Perfect," she said. "Better to just show you." As she said it, a flash of swirling light came from the center of the fenced-off part of the warehouse, and all of a sudden the space was occupied by a metal shed. Tanith and Noah stared as the shed door opened and a stocky, bearded man in flannel stepped out with a pet carrier in one hand.

"Hey, boss lady!" the man said, lifting the carrier high. "Got you a present!"

~***~

It was the size of a turkey and covered in short dun-colored feathers. It looked up at the humans surrounding it with a vaguely confused expression, then started scratching its sinuous neck with a powerful, clawed hind leg.

"It's," Noah stared, gaped a little more, then started again. "Its, a, a, velociraptor."

The stocky guy from the shack - who'd been introduced to them as Mal Fnord - shook his head. "Nah," he said, pointing at the dinosaur's hind leg. "No sickle claw. It's a dromaeosaur of some kind, but I don't know which. I've not really seen many with the skin still on."

"Did you get the pictures?" Deidre demanded. Mal grinned.

"Did I ever! There was a whole herd of hadrosaurs about a mile from the insertion point. Had to have been thirty or more just sort of moving south-southwest through the hills. Real serious Jurassic Park stuff. I got stills and video. Bitey here-" he gestured at the dinosaur "-was sniffing at the shack when I got back."

"Time travel," Noah said suddenly, giving Diedre a hard look. "You've invented time travel, haven't you?"

Deidre shook her head. "Nope, time travel's impossible as far as I understand the math."

Noah gestured angrily at Bitey. "Then how do you explain that?"

"We're not travelling backwards and forwards through time, Mr. Anderson." Deidre said. "We're traveling across it. Sidestepping, if you will, into alternate realities."

"So you're not interfering with Earth's history... "

"Nah," Mal said laconically. "We're just playing tourist on a counterpart Earth that for whatever reason is still in the age of dinosaurs. And it doesn't stop there. We've gotten a look at a dozen different worlds so far."

"What are they like?" Tanith asked.

"A few are like dinoworld, uninhabited by sapient life but have megafauna. One's pretty much a hellworld like Venus, pretty scary. The majority we've seen so far seem to have changes based on history. Like if the Roman Empire never fell or the Song Dynasty expanded into Inda, stuff like that. We haven't really travelled to the inhabited places yet."

"Interesting," Noah said diffidently. "But dinosaurs aside, I'm not sure this qualifies as the biggest advance since agriculture." Mal snorted as he said it and gave Deidre an amused look.

"You used the agriculture line? Really?"

"Just because it happens to be true," she said loftily, then continued on in a more serious manner. "The technology is still in it's early stages, Mr. Anderson, but I believe we'll soon be able to seek out worlds that are not only as advanced as ours, but more advanced. Through trade we'll be able to bring art, culture and technology back that will enrich our world a hundredfold."

"Such as?" Noah asked.

Deidre shrugged off her labcoat, causing Noah to take an involuntary step back. What he'd initially taken as a glove of some kind on her right hand was actually a layer of artificial material covering the entirety of her arm to the shoulder.

"The beginning of my sophomore year at Cornell," she said softly, "I was out on my motorcycle when some drunk frat asshole sideswiped me. I lived through it but my arm was completely ruined. I built myself a prosthetic exoskeleton, but that only gave me fifty percent functionality and it lasted maybe two hours unless I had a wall socket to plug in on.

"On my first experiment with the dimensional viewer I contacted an alternate version of myself from a high-tech reality who'd had something similar happen to her. She built a completely new cybernetic arm for herself. After she talked to me she sent me the plans to do the same thing, and once I figured out how to start sending things through she sent me the tools I needed to do the job properly.

"That is the potential of sidestepping, Mr. Anderson. We have unlimited access to everything. We can bring it home and we can start making the world a better place. That's where you both come it. We're just about at the edge of what we can accomplish on our own. If we're going to do this right, we need operating capital, political influence and somebody who can keep track of big organizations." Deidre pointed at Noah. "You've got the money to get us started on better equipment, and the pull we'll need to get a fair hearing from the world once we go public." She shifted her finger to Tanith. "And you've got the organizational skills and experience to make a larger group work, and you've got a conscience to keep us from hoarding our discoveries instead of using them for the greatest possible good."

Deidre spread her hands. "That's the pitch. We're looking at the biggest thing in recorded history, and if you want to get in on the ground floor now's the time to say so. What'll it be?"

I started writing a BattleTech Fan fic set in the Dark Age timeline. It is in no way attached or coordinated with Candle in the Dark
here it is: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.p ... 157.0.html
Comment away
 

From here:

Quote: In the decade since the world became aware of the existence of magic, the world has undergone massive upheaval. However, a boy named Tota lives in seclusion in a rural town far removed from these changes. His ordinary life is highlighted by his magic-using female teacher and his supportive friends. When his tranquil daily life is disrupted, he embarks on a unique adventure.

We've got a list going ... well, started ... on the SJGames forums - http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=115492

What have we missed? Aphorisms (as opposed to advice) that we have so far:

• Never bring a gun to a swordfight.
  
• Magic is like a violin. An easy instrument to play...badly.
  
• In a world where life after death is confirmed, murder isn't the best way to solve a problem.
  
• The reason costumes frequently look like underwear is because that's what they are.
  
• Kill twice, bury once.
  
• Find the body, then burn it again.
  
• A niche in time can serve fine.
  
• If at first you don't succeed, retcon until you do.
  
• Hit your enemies hard and your new friends harder.
  
• They won't stay dead, unless they're your parents.
  
• Nothing says "stealthy" like Day-Glo Spandex.
  
• Angus MacGyver was an amateur.
  

http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2013win.html

Quote:“Don’t know no tunnels hereabout,” said the old-timer, “unless you mean the abandoned subway line that runs from Hanging Hill, under that weird ruined church, beneath the Indian burial ground, past the dilapidated Usher mansion, and out to the old abandoned asylum for the criminally insane where they had all those murders.” — Lawrence Person, Austin, TX

Quote:The sharks circled the leaking life raft like a pack of rabid personal-injury attorneys at a five-car pileup, and Clarence could just taste the fear (which tasted like chicken) and wondered morbidly if he too, might taste like chicken. — Wendi Tibbets, San Jose, CA

Quote:The dame that walked into my office was statuesque and looked like she ought to be standing on a bed of roses … in other words, she looked exactly like the garden gnome my ex-wife had stuck in our flower bed, next to a bird bath that attracted a whole lot of bills, much like my in-tray, which was lousy with them. — Jackie Fuchs, Los Angeles, CA

I couldn't resist. They were just lying there..... and....and.... well, the door was left unlocked.

Oops.

'Minnie' May Hopkins
-----

Who exactly was responsible for awakening is unknown. Thus far, nobody has been willing to take responsibility for her[ref]It's suspected it may have been a result of either curious tampering and an unlocked door, or a system malfunction[/ref]. May first became noticed on Frigga when she snuck up on Ford in the shooting range and groped her from behind - assuming she was Rally Vincent.

Since being taken on as an apprentice. Has been trying to persuade Ford to take her out bounty-hunting, but as of yet has failed. Occasionally will accompany Jet Jaguar, who finds her disguise abilities useful. When not working for Ford, she works as a pyrotechnician for Survival Shot.

==Mundane Attributes==

''It's not my first time...'': 'Experienced' - shall we say. And not ashamed to share her experience either.

''Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang'': Explosives expert.

''Gunsmith Kitten'': Ford Sierra's apprentice.

==Handwavium Abilities==

''Boom - Boomer'': Has the typical android bonuses. Potentially immortal with proper care and maintenance. Her exact hardware capabilities aren't known Nobody's even publicly admitted she's an AI, but appear to be roughly average so far.

''Kisaragi Shield'': Little Mistress of disguise. Even capable of passing as a young boy, if required.

==Quirks==

''Our differences run skin-deep''. Built to the exact same design specifications as Anika Daini. Capable of sharing parts up to and including major body components. Referred to as Flint-Type android in Cyber Confederation specifications, after the original designer, William Flint.

''Boom Boom Blush Giggle'': Gets 'stimulated' by Explosives

''It's me Rally!'': Has latched on to Ford Sierra as her 'Rally Vincent' - and still occasionally gets her name wrong. Ford finds this utterly frustrating. [ref] Ford has some quite suspicion as to why this may be, and suspects it may be related to her aunt Irene's business back home.[/ref]

''Is it hot in here?:'' Needs to breath to cool her processors down. In vacuum, she'll overheat in minutes. Physical and mental exertion also heats her up quickly, limiting her endurance and capabilities. [ref]May comes, by default, with the same repairs made to Shinji. Her body was used as practice.[/ref]

''DEXRON, the real thing.'': Requires GM-specification DEXRON VI Automatic Transmission Fluid to transmit mechanical power to her systems, and act as a coolant. It is possible for Minnie-May to bleed to death.

==Appearance==

Blonde hair, shoulder length and very thick. She has broad blue eyes, and has been described as a miniature little angel. Appears to be somewhere between the ages of 13 and 18 - younger than she acts.

==Notes==

[[Category:Characters|Hopkins, May][[Category:AI|Hopkins, May]

[[Category:Image Requested]

Elpeo Ple

Who exactly was responsible for her awakening is unknown. Thus far, nobody has been willing to take responsibility for her[ref]It's suspected it may have been a result of either curious tampering and an unlocked door, or a system malfunction[/ref]. Elpeo first appearred on Frigga when she was caught tampering with the cockpit of an Mz-23 Judy recently delivered from Haephestus.

Elpeo is an unusual case - her body having been built with known-defective parts with no intention of ever awakening it. The shielding around some of her electronics was absent, among other minor technical hitches, leading to some unusual system quirks.

Usually she's upbeat and energetic, enjoying bubblebaths, and ice-cream. A free spirit who likes to run around and play with people and things. Sometimes, she's depressive and angry, with an obsessive hatred for Gundams while seeing herself as the ideal to serve as weapon in a cockpit.

==Mundane Attributes==

''Like riding a 20 ton bicycle'': Skilled mech' pilot.

''PuruPuruPuruPuruPuruPuru....." Regularly seen running around with her arms outstretched, repeating her surname. Usually an indicator that she's happy.

==Handwavium Abilities==

''Boom - Boomer'': Has the typical android bonuses. Potentially immortal with proper care and maintenance. Her exact hardware capabilities aren't known Nobody's even publicly admitted she's an AI, but appear to be roughly average so far.

''Cyber-newtype.'': Able to intuitively understand the behaviour of electromechanical and electronic circuits - especially ones with poor shielding. Her mind has learned to interpret and understand the noise induced in her own systems. She may even be capable of low-level direct emotional empathy with other AI's. It normally only comes in occasional flashes, and can be lost in the background electronic noise. It requires the AI or system being close enough to her to be detectable, and for best effect must be of lesser or equal complexity to herself. She cannot usually do it on purpose. She even picks up stray radio transmission from time to time.

==Quirks==

''Sister, Brother'': Prone to latching on to anyone who shows her kindness, naming them as a 'family member'. Or after members of the Gundam ZZ cast.

''Ple 3''. Built to the exact same design specifications as Anika Daini. Capable of sharing parts up to and including major body components. Referred to as Flint-Type android in Cyber Confederation specifications, after the original designer, William Flint.

''The noises in my mind:" Unshielded electronics expose her core processor to outside interference, from electrical grids, power supplies and, nearby computers and nearby AI. At times this allows her to gain an intuitive understanding of the machine's behaviour. Mostly, it's noise in her mind that's distracting or occasionally disturbing. Extreme levels of noise can trigger a temporary system lockup, as her mind shuts down to protect itself from memory corruption. [ref]Attempts to correct the fault have failed[/ref].

''Keep me Bubbling....'': Loves Bubblebaths. Loves Ice-cream. Addicted to having both simultaneously. If she goes without for more than 24 hours, she starts to lose her energy and vitality - and will. She slips into a more depressive and compliant personality, disturbingly similar to what Flint had intended Anika to be.

''Gundam Smash'': Infuriated by the site of Gundam's... models or otherwise.

''Is it hot in here?:'' Needs to breath to cool her processors down. In vacuum, she'll overheat in minutes. Physical and mental exertion also heats her up quickly, limiting her endurance and capabilities. [ref]Has been retrofitted with the same repairs as Shinji.[/ref]

''DEXRON, the thirst quencher.'': Requires GM-specification DEXRON VI Automatic Transmission Fluid to transmit mechanical power to her systems, and act as a coolant. It is possible for Minnie-May to bleed to death.

==Appearance==

Strawberry Blonde hair, short cut. She has broad blue eyes with an athletic body. Behaves a lot like a ten year old child.

==Notes==

-------------------------------
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?