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cywscross · 6 years ago

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Dumb question: how does jury duty work in canada?

…Do you want the entire process? I guess I could do that.

There are probably small differences between each province but in general and from my own experience, first if you’re of age and a citizen, then you get randomly chosen and a letter is sent through the mail indicating the date of the jury selection (so you’re not a juror just yet), and you have to confirm - either online or by mail (they prefer online cuz it’s quicker) - within a limited amount of time (10 days, if I remember correctly) that you will be going, or you’ll probably be fined. It also tells you if you’re taking part in a civil case or a criminal case - civil has a final jury of 8, criminal is usually 12. I was picked for a criminal case, so on the day of the jury selection, there were around 145 people, and out of those, 14 would be chosen as jurors (12 jurors + 2 backups who would come on the first day of the trial just in case one of the original 12 doesn’t show or whatever, and then they’re excused and don’t have to come back).

The selection is held in a courtroom with a judge, the accused, the defense lawyers and the crown (prosecutor) all present. Every potential juror has a number from their letter, and the court clerk randomly picks 10-20 numbers at a time. Those 10-20 people go up to the front, and one by one they’re presented to the judge and defense/crown counsels. If you have an excuse for being excused from jury duty, this would be the time to address the judge and tell them, and the judge decides whether or not it’s a good enough reason to excuse you. If it is, then they’ll tell you to either go back to your seat or leave entirely.

For excuses, I think it depends on how severe the case is and the judge. Like, for my selection panel, one guy said he had his allotted vacation weeks coming up, and he didn’t even have anything concrete planned, but the judge was like okay, give the man his vacation. But I heard from a different jury that for their selection panel, they had a guy who said his only kid was getting married on Monday, relatives were flying in, they had a cruise booked, and he even brought tickets and schedules and stuff for proof, but the judge still just asked can you be unbiased, and the guy was like yeah, so the judge said no, and none of the counsels challenged, and so he was made a juror. I also heard though that a lot of people were trying to excuse themselves because that case was a particularly tough one so maybe the judge had to be harder on the selection.

Anyway, if you don’t have anything to say to the judge, then you just stand there while the crown and the defense decide whether they want you on the jury or not. I think it’s different in the States, but in Canada, they don’t really ask you any questions (so no voir dire), they just kind of look at you and say “content” if they’re okay with you or “challenge” if they’re not, although I think they have a limited number of challenges that they’re each allowed. If even one of them challenges, they don’t have to explain why, and you’re immediately excused back to your seat.

For me, the case I was part of had two defense lawyers because there were two accused, so each person needed three “content”s to become a juror. AND LET ME JUST SAY RIGHT NOW - NOT ONLY WAS I THE THIRD NUMBER IN THE VERY FIRST BATCH PICKED TO GO UP, BUT I WAS ALSO LITERALLY THE FIRST PERSON CHOSEN TO BE A JUROR MY LUCK IS TERRIBLE.

Anyway, the process repeats until they have 14 people (or 10 for civil). I imagine the crown and the defense all have some kind of background information on you that they read over beforehand because they do keep track of which numbers are called up, and I know they have a list in front of them. I’m not 100% sure but they probably checked off whoever they thought were suitable beforehand because the content or challenge is really quick. They did ask an occasional question, like for one lady who was called up, they asked what she did before she retired, and then one of them challenged after her answer. But generally from what I saw, on the day of the selection, all they do is give you a quick look and yes or no you, so either they were provided with more info than we realized or they actually just chose us based on what we looked like and our name and current occupation, which is important too but I feel like it’s not really enough info. And the actual jury that’s picked all get criminal record checks.

If you’re contented by the counsels, then you need to swear in. You can decide whether to affirm or swear on the bible, and the court clerk reads out the affirmation, and you just say “I do”.

(Me and public speaking are sworn enemies though, so I’m pretty sure literally nobody except the sheriff standing right next to me heard my “Yes I do’ffirm” nonsensical mumble, my anxiety levels were through the roof, and it didn’t help that I was the FIRST GDI, I didn’t even have an example to follow so I wasn’t 100% sure what to say, like is it “I affirm” or “Yes” or do I have to repeat what she said??? I wasn’t clear on that so that made me panic, and the thought that I had to recite the whole affirmation back to her made me panic more because I missed half of it while I was panicking. My hands were shaking by the time I sat down, it was torture.)

But after you’re chosen as a juror, you go directly to the jury box, and then you just sit and wait for the rest.

So that’s jury selection. For the selection group I was part of, there was only one case that day that needed a jury, but I think it could be more, so if you’re not chosen as a juror, then there’s a chance that the sheriff will take you to another jury selection for another trial.

Anyway, I was picked as a juror, and we were taken to the jury room and given a bunch of instructions (basic info about the trial, don’t look at the news, don’t do any research, photocopy of some ID so they can do those criminal record checks, when to come back for the actual trial, where to meet, etc.) and then we get to go home. On occasion, if the trial is urgent, then you may need to start right on that day, right after you’re selected. But my jury selection was on a Thursday, and the trial didn’t start until Monday, so we got to go home that day.

Actual jury duty started on the Monday. We were told that the trial would last around 20 days but it ended up just short of three weeks. So for about two and a half weeks, we went in every day from Monday to Friday, and we sat in court from 10-4, although there were multiple breaks in between (15min break in the morning, then lunch from 12:30pm to 1:45pm, and then another 15min break in the afternoon). We weren’t allowed to discuss anything about the case outside of the jury room, and the Sheriff assigned to us pretty much escorted us whenever we were in the building.

For the trial itself, we sit in the jury box and pretty much just listen to the evidence presented and take notes. It was a public trial so there were people in the gallery (victim’s parents were there, and a reporter too, amongst other people), and the two accused sat in a glass box in front of the gallery. The crown started first - she gave a summary of the whole case, and then she presented evidence (they’re labelled “exhibits”, which we’re each given copies of) and called in witnesses. For witnesses, the crown asks them questions, and the defense is allowed to cross-examine them each time the crown finished with one. I’ve forgotten how many witnesses the Crown called (I think it was 20-something) but she took about two weeks total to finish, which was faster than they originally thought it would take, and they said it was because several of the exhibits were Admissions of Facts, which are like evidence that both the crown and defense agreed were factual evidence beforehand and so could be compiled into a booklet for the judge and jury, so there was no need to present each piece individually.

Then it was the defense’s turn. For my case, they were originally not planning to call any witnesses but each of the accused ended up testifying so each of them took a couple days. Their lawyers asked them questions, and then the Crown was allowed to cross-examine them after each of them finished.

After all the evidence had been presented, the jury was dismissed (for us, it was about half a day I think) so that the crown and defense could put together their closing arguments for us. Those took a couple hours each, and the crown had something to discuss with the judge so we were dismissed again for half a day and restarted the next day.

After the closing arguments were finished, the judge took about a day to put together her charge, which was like instructions for us (in more booklets, if there’s one thing I learned about trials, it’s that they kill a lot of trees) about what we have to deliberate on, and a bunch of explanations about the law. So that took about three hours, and for us, she split it, so it was two hours on one afternoon and then an hour the next morning. We were told a day before to pack a bag and prepare for a couple overnight stays. I packed for four days, a couple others did too, and we only ended up staying overnight once. I have no idea how other people survive when their deliberations last for weeks, but our sheriff mentioned that after a handful of days, if the jury still isn’t finished, they usually cart in new clothes for them. Maybe they let them use the laundry facilities at the hotel, but I’m not sure. But yeah, they give us a heads-up beforehand to prepare for at least a couple overnights even if you don’t expect deliberations to take that long.

And then after the judge’s charge, the jury was dismissed to begin their deliberations, and from that point on, we are sequestered, any electronics we brought are locked up, and we’re not allowed to go home until we reach a final decision for each of the accused (guilty, not guilty, or if we couldn’t come to an agreement, then the judge would label it a mistrial and order a new trial with a whole new jury, which I hear that judges tend to try to avoid so she probably would’ve sent us back in for further deliberations first if we couldn’t come to a unanimous verdict, and yes it does have to be unanimous). We are technically allowed to contact someone on the outside but through a third party only, and you have to fill out a form each time with whoever you’re contacting, the number, and the message you want to send them, and the sheriffs call for you and convey the message.

Again this is for a criminal case. I heard from another jury of a civil case that was going on at the same time as ours that they’re not sequestered for deliberations, they actually get to go home each day if they take longer than a day to decide.

My jury took longer than a day. About a day and a half. So whenever we left the jury room (we were literally locked in), we were escorted everywhere by two sheriffs. We didn’t have to pay for meals during this time, but holy cow they took us to those family restaurants with appetizer/entree/dessert menus every time? It probably didn’t help that our law courts are surrounded by them, but the food is so heavy, by lunch the next day all I ate was a tomato soup, I don’t know how people who work there don’t die of high cholesterol or food comas if this is their regular diet.

Anyway, so yeah, lunch, dinner, we asked for a walk in the afternoon so the sheriffs took us out for a short walk. People stared, it was kind of funny, we had to walk between the two sheriffs, so one was in front of us and the other brought up the rear. They took us to a coffee shop once and parked themselves on either side of the only door as we ordered, and these two teenagers inside just sort of stared and whispered nervously for two minutes before fast-walking out without ordering.

Deliberations lasted until 9, and then we were taken to a hotel. (And no, we weren’t given back our phones, I felt like I was going into withdrawal.) Don’t expect anything fancy, we just stayed in a Holiday Inn. The way it works is they reserve an entire floor for us, and every juror gets their own room. The sheriffs get the room directly in front of the elevators and they stay awake with the door left open the entire night so nobody is able to sneak out (apparently that actually happens). We’re not allowed to interact with each other and are expected to stay in our own rooms and not watch the news. The rooms weren’t bad, and I was hella tired so all I did was grab a shower and watch an episode of Chicago Med before falling asleep by 11, which has to be some kind of record for me.

I was up by 6:45 I think but wake up call was at 7. The hotel called up to wake us all, and the sheriffs told us last night to be ready by 8. We ate breakfast in the restaurant downstairs (I got an eggs benedict ^_^), and then off we went back to court. Oh, and you don’t leave your stuff at the hotel, you pack up every morning like you’re checking out. Maybe it’s different for really difficult cases when the jury is definitely expected to take longer but I can’t be certain. So yeah, you gotta haul your luggage around every day.

More deliberations, and we don’t stop on the weekends the way we do when the trial is in progress, we work right through. My jury came to a final decision by the afternoon, although before that in the morning, we actually had a few questions for the judge, so we went back into the courtroom for that. During deliberations, the judge and the counsels and the accused don’t have to stay in the courtroom but they are all expected to stay nearby during our work hours (9am-9pm), and if the jury has any questions for the judge, they reconvene the whole court each time before we get our answers.

We came to our final verdict, the court reconvened, the gallery was full, and the foreperson (basically the person we chose to act as our speaker to the judge, cuz we don’t speak in court, only the foreperson does) stood up when called. The judge asked whether each of the accused was guilty or not guilty, foreperson answered, and then the court clerk asked the rest of us to stand if we agreed with the foreperson, which we did.

And that was about it. Sentencing happens later, and is decided by the judge. For this case, it doesn’t happen until May. I think the counsels take that time to prepare their arguments for the sentence that will be delivered, although I’m not too clear on this bit.

But the jury’s job is done. We were escorted back downstairs, given back our phones, and for those of us who wanted one, the sheriffs called taxis for each of us and gave us prepaid cards so the taxis would charge the ride directly to the courts. I knew this before we gave our final verdict, and at the time, I wasn’t sure why the sudden taxis when most of us either drove in or took transit, but… yeah, after the verdict, I didn’t really want to chance bumping into the victim’s or accused’s relatives either.

It can be boring, that’s true enough from what you hear or read off the internet. I almost nodded off a couple times during the trial. But it was also an interesting experience, and I actually learned a lot. And deciding whether someone is guilty or not guilty - that carries a kind of weight I actually wasn’t expecting. It’s not like I even knew the accused, and I’ve never been the empathetic sort, I don’t relate easily with other people emotionally so I didn’t think I’d really care, but - and it wasn’t even just me - when we decided guilty for the first accused, I don’t really know how to describe it, just that it was a weight. The final verdict we came to, obviously I think was the right one. We argued about it and looked over the evidence and explanations of the law so much I never want to see phrases like “beyond a reasonable doubt” or “neither trivial nor transitory” ever again, before each of us made our decision. And I didn’t lose any sleep over it yesterday, but I have asked myself a few times if I’m absolutely sure we made the right decision. And I still think we have. But. Yeah. It stays with you. Or at least it has with me.

And the trial itself was pretty eye-opening in more than one way. Like, each witness was asked - among other things - to describe each of the people involved in the incident, and of course what happened, and every single version was different in some way. A couple times, I’ve found myself taking extra notice of what the people passing me on the streets are wearing lmao. Also, the case made me a lot more aware of how much a simple action can change your life. Like, we absolutely believed that the accused didn’t mean to kill the victim. It was just a simple punch. Not even two minutes before that, he was just going about his day per usual. And then just like that, one punch and he’s being arrested five days later because the guy’s dead from his head hitting the ground too hard when he went down from the punch, and the one who punched him is going to go to jail for something he never intended to do. Some of the most thoughtless actions have some serious long-lasting consequences, and like I knew that, but I didn’t know until after this case. So, you know, think before you act.

Anyway. Uh. A few extra notes:

I know it’s different everywhere, but for where I live, if you do jury duty (not just jury selection but chosen to be an actual juror), then you’re exempt from the jury lottery for two years. Yay.

And there is reimbursement for travel, up to a certain amount. How much is different everywhere too, but basically you get a form at the beginning where you fill out each day how much you used, or how many kilometers you drove, etc., and they send you a cheque later.

And you get paid for jury duty. Which is also different everywhere. I hear in Quebec, starting pay is $103/day, which is totally unfair. In Ontario, you don’t even get paid for like the first 10 days. Most provinces under-pay. Quebec is the exception. And Ontario and I think Manitoba are the opposite extremes. You pay for meals during the course of the trial yourself though; only deliberation meals are free.

Uhhh the Judge is referred to as “Your Lordship/Ladyship” or “My Lord/Lady”, not “Your Honour”. Might be different elsewhere but in a supreme court where I live, that’s what they’re called. And the counsels all refer to each other as “My Friend”.

Clothes. I tried reading up on the jury selection process before I actually went, and it said business casual, so I dressed business casual, and then I went and felt overdressed. Idk if that’s just Canada, but from what I saw, only one guy looked even more formal than me in a full suit and bowtie. The majority just went in jeans or slacks, some in formal shoes, some in sneakers. It’s been cold so coats or sweaters/hoodies, and shirts without logos. That didn’t change for the actual trial. Or maybe my business casual is just a little more formal than everyone else’s. Also I think the guy in front of me when we were lining up to check in with the sheriffs on selection day was drunk. And they told us to be there by 8:45am. We didn’t actually get into a courtroom until like 9:35am, and the selection didn’t actually begin until 10-ish. There was a lot of waiting.

I think that’s it. I can’t really remember anything else at the moment. Oh, the thing about government coffee being terrible? Yeah, that’s absolutely true. They provided the jury room with coffee, but hell it’s disgusting.

So yeah, I hope that helped? If you can bear reading such a lengthy explanation lol.

#Message #Jury Duty #also tbh not a dumb question #i didn't know what to expect either before i actually went #i didnt even know what the letter was for i had to ask my mom #and the internet was super unhelpful when it came to the details

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perditaalottachocolate-blog · 7 years ago

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April Weather (19)

@adrinetteapril 2018, Day 19: Partners

Days: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | art | 6 | 7 | 8 | art 1 | art 2 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | art | 19 | art | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | art | 29 | 30 |

AO3 / fanfiction

Confronting Ladybug about her talk with Marinette was turning out to be quite a challenge. Chat Noir could call her any time, but how would Adrien arrange a meeting without causing too many questions?

In the last few days Ladybug had been restless. She went out on unscheduled solo patrols, transformed and detransformed a few times on the way, as if she knew she was being followed. Tracking her was proving to be nearly impossible, even with Chat’s resources.

Adrien decided to follow her in his super suit and randomly detransform after a while in hope of meeting her in his civilian form. Not once did he succeeded in spotting Ladybug, but quite a few time he happened to almost bump into a very confused Marinette. Not that she noticed. He was keeping a low profile and managed to avoid being spotted by her. Was she tracking Ladybug too? Maybe she wanted more details about him saying she was just his friend?

After the encounter in the rain, when he simply couldn't ignore the soaking wet girl, Adrien’s motivation at contacting the spotted heroine doubled. Plagg, unhelpful as usual, pointed out that it really didn’t matter, but the boy got into his head that talking to Ladybug would somehow clear the air and help him clean up this mess. He wanted to be near Marinette again, he wanted to chase away that sadness and surrender he saw when he walked her home. He didn’t dare to put a label on all the other things he wanted to do with her, not wanting to get his hopes too high.

Desperate times finally called for desperate measures. After the last akuma battle Chat Noir handed Ladybug a card with a location and time.

‘What is it, Chat?’ she frowned at the marked spot. It was that same bench over the Seine, where her and Adrien had their little talk after the photo-scandal.

‘A guy we saved some time ago said he needed to talk to you about something,’ he replied, keeping his features carefully blank. ‘He sounded as if this was something important.’

Ladybug shifted her gaze to him, blinking in confusion. ‘And you’ve agreed, just like that?’ She snapped her fingers. He noticed that she seemed less patient lately and more acidic when it came to comebacks. Her eyes had lost their joyful gleam. He wanted to ask if something troubled her, but she made it clear this concerned her civilian identity, hence she couldn’t say a word.

Chat shrugged. ‘I trust him,’ he stated and that was the end of it. That at least didn’t change. They were partners and she still trusted him immensely. That was the first time he asked for something like that, so she assumed it was important.

Adrien arrived at the river bank with a few minutes to spare. He sat on the bench and fidgeted nervously, wondering if Ladybug would come. An irrational fear was screaming at him that she would flee the moment she saw him. He craned his head to see if he could see her coming from any of the buildings behind his back, but he searched and waited and Ladybug was nowhere to be seen.

He rubbed his thighs in exasperation and hid his head in his hands again, his fingers digging deep into his perfect hair and messing it. Why wasn’t she coming?

‘Adrien?’

Just like the first time, she appeared in front of him silently and out of nowhere. He looked up to see her in the exact same spot as before.

‘Was it you Chat Noir mentioned?’ Ladybug asked, voice tight and worried.

‘Yes, Ladybug,’ he confirmed. He wasn’t so sure anymore this was such a good idea. He didn’t like lying to her, and while omitting the full truth wasn’t the same as lying, it wasn’t honest either. Pretty much what Marinette had done not telling him how she had felt.

She fixed him with a puzzled stare. ‘He said it was important? Is this miraculous related?’

Adrien flushed, his hand automatically going up and to his neck. He didn’t see that coming. She must have thought it was about miraculouses or Hawkmoth. Bad, bad idea. Abort mission?

‘Weeeeell, not really?’ he offered.

Ladybug frowned.

‘It’s personal,’ he sighed in resignation. She was probably going to leave any second now.

The heroine released a startled, ‘Oh?’ She was still standing where she landed, but now she tilted her head as if he piqued her interest.

‘Remember when we talked a few days ago?’ Adrien started. ‘After those pictures of me and m- Marinette appeared in the internet?’

‘Yes?’

‘Did you talk to her about it?’ he asked, watching her carefully.

‘Why would I?’ she shot back, eyes blown wide.

‘I don’t know,’ he shrugged. ‘I’m only asking if you did.’

‘Why are you asking?’

‘Because I need to know,’ he replied, his patience growing thin. Why wouldn’t she just answer? ‘People were talking about me, about us, and… and…,’ he didn’t want to finish this sentence. He couldn’t really say they broke up because of that, because they hadn’t dated for real. But he felt as if someone robbed him off his time with Marinette and he wanted to find the culprit.

Ladybug’s stance turned defensive. ‘Look,’ she rubbed the bridge of her nose and looked up. ‘I swear I didn’t talk to Marinette about you or about anything else, okay?’

Adrien stood up to be closer to her. Somehow he never noticed that he could tower over her if he wanted to, even in his civilian form. ‘Listen, something happened between me and Marinette,’ he explained, a desperate lilt to his voice, ‘and I’m trying to figure out how to make it right.’

Her eyes snapped back to him. ‘Make it right? Is it broken?’ Did he imagine the scoff in her voice? ‘I thought she was just your friend.’

That was it. That was the line. Adrien inhaled sharply. Words rolled off his tongue before he could stop them.

‘So you did tell the girl I love that she’s just a friend to me?’ he burst out.

There was a pause filled with his angry pants and her opening and closing her mouth a few times.

‘The girl you-,’ Ladybug finally choked out, going all pale. ‘B-b-but you said-’

‘You asked if she was my girlfriend,’ he said with emphasis, ‘not if I love her. It was a matter between me and her, no one else. Did you interfere?’

‘W-w-what?’ she stuttered.

‘Did you tell her I think of her as only my friend,’ Adrien asked again, silent plea in his eyes.

If she was out of countenance before, now she looked distraught. She stared at him for a moment, as if making up her mind. When she averted her gaze, the mask of confidence and power was back on. Only the pupils blown wide betrayed that she was shaken.

‘I really didn’t,’ she claimed. ‘Now excuse me, I must go,’ she turned to him with a lopsided smile. ‘A hero’s work is never done,’ she murmured.

He whipped his head at her. ‘W-what?’

‘It’s just something Chat says sometimes,’ she shrugged. ‘Bug out!’

And before he could stop her, she was out of his sight, leaving him flabbergasted again.

Adrien didn’t really remember how he got home, but his head already hurt when he closed the door to his room behind him.

‘Talk to me, Plagg,’ he shot at the floating black sprite, who flew out of his bag.

‘Sure,’ the kwami shrugged and cleared his throat. ‘Uhm, uhm. So, did you know that camembert was originally invented in Normandy, in the midst of the French Revolution, by one genius of a woman named Marie Harel? That marvelous cheese took the name of her home town - Camembert. I’ve already signed the petition to recognize this word as the synonym of perfection, by the way,’ he winked at the boy and resumed the lecture. ‘But where was I? Ah yes. The wood box typically associated with this cheese was introduced a hundred years later, as a cheap way to carry the delicacy without squishing it to pulp. Which by the way is a total waste of…’

‘Not about cheese!’ Adrien groaned and clutched at his hair. His head was swimming with unexpected thoughts and observations.

Things didn't add up. They didn’t add up badly. What’s worse, his subconsciousness was screaming at him in capital letters and kicking his consciousness viciously, but for the love of him he could not make out any words in that constant screech in his brain. Was he on the verge of epiphany or aneurysm, he really couldn’t tell. Might as well have been both.

‘About what then?’ Plagg tilted his head curiously. His ears perked up.

‘About who told Marinette,’ Adrien huffed. ‘It wasn’t my father, it wasn’t Nino nor Alya.’

‘With you so far,’ the kwami nodded appreciatively.

‘And it wasn’t Ladybug,’ the boy concluded releasing another exasperated sigh.

‘Correct.’

‘So then who does that leave?’ the boy scratched his aching head. ‘I’ve eliminated everyone.’

‘Not everyone, kid.’

Adrien looked at him as if he grew a second head. ‘This doesn’t make any sense!’

‘It doesn’t make sense, because you’re thinking about it wrong,’ Plagg lectured. ‘If no one you told tattled to Marinette… who does that leave?’

‘Me?’ Adrien’s brows shot so high up they disappeared under his bangs. ‘I told Marinette?’

Plagg nodded eagerly.

The boy tossed this thought in his head a few times. ‘But that’s impossible,’ he finally said.

‘Is it?’

‘Yeah, because that would mean…’ he drifted off. ‘The only logical conclusion would be…’ he tried again. ‘Ugh, why does my head hurt so much?’

‘That’s right kid, you can fight it!’ Plagg flew closer and waved his paw encouragingly. ‘You’re just one step from breaking the glamour. Get enough clues together and it’s gone.’

Adrien stilled and looked at the flying cat, his green eyes as big as saucers. His brow furrowed.

‘Are you really saying,’ he drawled, slowly, carefully, as if he was trying to grasp the edge of a thought that was sliding out of his reach, ‘what I think you’re saying?

Plagg’s mouth stretched into a shit eating grin. ‘What do you think, kid?

Check out a deleted scene to this chapter

#adrinetteapril2018 #day 19: partners #perdita writes #april weather #adrinette #ladynoir #ladrien #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Ladybug #Plagg #ml fic

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dnd-inspiration · 7 years ago

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Anon

Hey, so do you have any tips on writing a short campaign, (maybe, 1 or 2 sessions)? I have a lot of new players, and they want to get a feel for the game with a short story. I have ideas, but im not sure how to tie them up in a satisfying but quick ending. Please help if you can!

1. Simple is best. This idea can take just a few sessions: An evil necromancer who hid in the local “dead forest”. Raises all the local dead animals to protect him from a large guild that has finally tracked him down. He can be found by following a trail of dead plant life. You can drag the campaign out like so: Having the PCs come across a distraught farmer who doesn’t know where his cows went. Find them. Then the PCs come across some ritual looking graves. Then the PCs have to debate if its a human mass grave, or just the local animal carcass dumb, and so on. The forest is sprawling.

2. Start out with an established miniature backstory your PC’s can customize and work with. Its easier to say “You guys work for [company] due to [your individual reasons] and your latest task has you doing [x].” or my favorite “You wake up with a massive headache, bottles all around you. What happened?” Most of my first session is character introductions, why are we here, what is my character's motivation for being in the group, etc etc.

@cocoa-n-donuts

Hi! I’m currently a level 9 (yay just levelled!) eladrin arcane archer fighter 6 and mystic 3 in a homebrew campaign. The idea of the character was for me to have telekinetic powers that help focus my arrows. However, as my party and I levelled, my DM and I realised that the current UA material and stuff in Xanathar’s doesnt scale quite well for the arcane archer in comparison to the warlock and paladin. Any suggestions to help improve the arcane archer subclass?

Not gonna lie, I’m really bad when it comes to rules and stats and changes. I’m more of an ideas girl. That said, lets make some crazy shit up to help you out! I don’t have Xanathar (assuming its a book?) so If my suggestions are in it, awful, or unhelpful sorry! You can try a straight up damage buff like a +2, or adding poison damage. You could be useful by having your arrows make noises for distraction, or intimidation. Fire it above a door, lure guards over with “cries of help” or scare them away with a beasts howl. Arrows that start fires, or release a flood of water, or electrify the area. Arrows that drop random horrors like teeth, black goop, etc.

@ anon

H E L P!! IN A CAMPAIGN I'M IN OUR PARTY CAN MAKE ONE OF OUR MEMBERS ABLE TO HAVE A CARRYING CAPACITY OF 32MILLION TONS???????? HELPPLEASE!!!

You need help to carry 32million tons, or a player of yours can and its a problem?

First one: A magical mount? Magical gloves/bag that can ONLY be used if its carrying 32million tons minus a few lbs?

Second one: Curse them to wear these boots that are like, super heavy. Make them physically have to carry it. A bag that fits that much stuff is going to be HUGE and not fit through doors.

@superflyingthing

I’m going have a Lv5 party escape a magical casino/resort where the boss feeds of the souls of brainwashed party goers. So far I have sneaking around the casino and blending in, fighting a giant circus lion, and a magic go kart race. Do you have any suggestions for encounters in this setting?

Smoke filled section has some sneaking. A giant pool party filled with croc people servers! Cocktail waitresses who want to serve you poison or stall you! Card dealers who throw small weapons that can be hidden with cards, [monster that can act as a security camera for cheating] tracks you.

@thevoidknight

I'm making my own campaign that takes place on a continent that 11 meteors fell to. 10 green, one blue. The blue has spread a eternal blizard over the land and the green cyristals fend it off. Thus cities rose around them. The catch is anyone lost and alone comes back as part of a undead horde(I wrote up some interesting special and magical undead). This horde is has been waging war against the cites for a long time now. My question is, why would my plays come to a God forsaken place?

1. Something came with the meteors. Its valuable. 2. Finding a lost friend/family member. 3. Paid to see if x region is also infected or not.

I'm doing my first campaign as a DM, and I'm roped with 7 players, fun, but really I do this story I've been mulling over, 7 demon lords, one for each sin, and I wanted to subvert expectations, like it will seem like a rich miserly noble who taxes unfairly might be corrupted by the greed demon lord but I would make it the Robin hood esque npc who's corrupted by pride and his desire for fame and attention. trying to find more creative sin uses.

Gluttony: Ran a foodbank. Stockpiles all the food. Steals all the local animals and starts to set up a feast for himself. Maybe throw in some humans too.

Lust: Has a really, really big thing for flesh. Collects it, wants more.

Pride: I got nothing, sorry.

Sloth: A high ranking official whose duty is to take care of things just… doesn’t care. Doesn’t move, doesn’t delegate, does nothing. Makes others do things for them like bathe, feed, etc. Punishes people who won’t help them.

Envy: ????

Wrath: Demon attaches to the most wronged man in the village. He’s nice, but had bad luck. Rogue carriage kills his wife, his crop is burned from a party gone out of control., etc.

A lot of these are so old I think answering them would be pretty pointless. Please feel free to resend asks, send new ones, or ask for more details or different answers! Also feel free to reblog or reply to this post with more advice or ideas for these people’s questions.

If you would like me to NOT post your question, please tell me that when you send me your question. I finally have my new place and have internet set up so I’m happy to answer your questions and finally post more! Please feel free to send me your art, ideas, inspiration requests, etc!

#dnd #d&d #Dungeons and Dragons #not inspo #ask #anon #long post

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sanguinesprout · 7 years ago

Text

Therapy/Counselling Diary #7 (plus some small but heartening accomplishments and a few other little frustrations)

Hmm... hmm... it’s hard to say how I’m feeling right now, a strange cocktail of refreshing see sawing determination with a little kick of spicy proudness mingled in with the usual bitterness of overhanging doubt and the chill of all those nerve-wracking fears. Tastes pretty terrible, probably an acquired taste, but unique non the less. I’m no expert at all, but I’ll give it a generous 2.3 stars overall.

Last week was... it was not so bad actually (or maybe that’s just cause I’ve forgotten a lot of it already lol). I pushed myself to try harder to do some of the things my counsellor wanted me to do, what I myself wanted to do and le gasp, it happened..! I guess her hard talk really did stir something good in me after all. To put it real brief right here for now, I went out a lot more than I usually would (just mundane stuff like shopping and supermarkets tho) and I did the phone orders thing!!!1! Not once but multiple times over three days! Yaaay! But this week I need to continue it and even one up it... boooo-- uh, I mean go me!! @w@

There were times I totally copped out though and it feels bad man as usual, but I at least tried and I was able to prove some of my presumptions and preconceived thoughts mostly wrong! It’s something! It’s a big step, an accomplishment for me, don’t downplay it silly me! *pats self on back and proceeds to go in hiding again- no no!* This week is already feeling a little bleak but I just have to toast it up a little, let myself get cosy in this newer environment by just being there and exposing myself to it more. C’mon, I can do it! ^^

Okay onto the actual counselling session, which was yesterday. I literally only just made it on time, phew haha. I was a little anxious going up to the room cause there were some other people around in the corridor but w/e no1currs really and that goes for every other situation everywhere else. When you’re absorbed and focused in what you’re doing like other people are and not constantly looking around and assuming people give a damn (which they don’t) then it’s all good!

Um, anyways she did the typical ‘how are you/have you been’ and I gave her my weekly self scoring sheet but also I told her I forgot to give her that self esteem sheet and presented that too. I told her of my achievements last week and she congratulated me, told me I needed to pat myself on the back more and that she’s glad last week actually helped get me off my butt (she said she felt kinda bad about it too, but not so much now that she saw it had a good effect kind of thing too ^^). I agree last week did help, though I definitely wouldn’t wanna go through that again though lol.

We went over the cycle from before real briefly just as a reminder that actually doing things is the best way to break it and to progress and I have this homework sheet consisting of a table with columns for my preconceived thoughts of a situation (which I am to score with a percentage I believe it), my emotions and feelings that arise, and my uhh re-scores and feelings after actually facing and going through the situation. I haven’t actually looked at the sheet since yesterday so I totally winged the explanation just then lol but it’s about linking thoughts and emotions and that’s pretty much the gist of it. I’m kinda nervous about filling it in and I’m leaving it to the end of the week to do it, which is bad, but I’ll at least know what to put in it better by then hopefully.

We went over some of the things I wrote on the self esteem sheet, some of my examples for the unhelpful negative behaviours and we discussed them for a while but only got through a few. She said she’d go over the other ones next time, we agreed I should continue to do what I did last week but maybe try even harder. (There’s lots of small details in the discussions which I can’t remember properly or can’t place in the right time slot rn oh welp ><”)

Then the session ended there (15 mins early) idk why though. But now that I think about it, maybe there was nothing else left to say or not much plan or other things needed to discuss in particular for the last 3 sessions so maybe just try and stretch what content we have on hand to discuss kind of thing? Or maybe she needed to go somewhere like the toilet? lol who knows xD

I was feeling the session felt pretty short (my explanation also), but wasn’t all that bothered about it tbh, I’m not paying for it or anything and it gave me a little time to do other stuff before meeting with my sis. I plucked up the courage to go to a shop on my own again, I had a few things in mind that I actually wanted to look for which like the counsellor has said before will make it easier to motivate and immerse myself into doing things. I think I might write about this experience on the feelings-thoughts sheet.

So, I went in, a little uneasy at first, but not as much as if it would have been a place I’ve never stepped foot into before. I perused at my leisure and tried my hardest not to be overly conscious of other people around, which I noted to myself do actually going about their own stuff and don’t pay you any mind at all which lessened the nerves a lot. I found some things I wanted, and this was another relief as I always get that niggling feeling that if I leave without buying they’ll think I stole something (but looking around the internets randomly, I came to know that this is a super common feeling which is comforting and I shouldn’t worry about it too much because so what if I didn’t buy anything, I just couldn’t find anything I wanted and that is totally fine!).

Partway in the last leg of my perusing, my sis phoned me and told me to hurry up and all that stuff and it kinda made me feel real antsy. I continued looking though at a slightly faster pace but she ended up calling outside and told me to hurry up even more and was waiting for me outside so I cut my browsing short and hurried to pay and felt pretty down about it. When paying I queued up behind a group of guys and felt self-conscious but well, they no care really and I got over it and ignored the thought.

I went to the self serve till (the only kind open, so I wasn’t avoiding or anything) and proceeded to pay and I’m so glad I know how to use them as we use them most of the time my sis goes to the supermarket with me lol but I still was feeling pretty self-conscious and the ‘unexpected item in bagging area’ still gives me nerves and it happened twice to me but the assistant came over and fixed it straight away without me saying anything (which was a relief because I was feeling a little cowardly by then, but I would’ve been a little prouder of myself for actually asking).

I went with my sis to some other shops after that, I voiced that she was being quite mean on the phone and later she apologised, she was in a pretty bad mood in general and also the car park time wasn’t much and most of the bad feeling was dissolved. We then went to some other other shops with my mum in addition and I went off on my own to peruse which was nice though I couldn’t find anything I wanted, but it’s best not to waste monies on things I don’t need anyways. I got kind of sickly on the way home which wasn’t great but the general day was pretty alright.

There was somewhere else I wanted to go and me and my sis planned to go soon after but it was delayed and later I just kind of chickened out and took a nap instead :/ I was really tired and still sickly feeling though. I hope to get this sorted out this week still though, maybe I’ll tag along with my parents this time round, it’ll be okay! ^^

I also went to see a specialist doctor, I got a phone call for the appointment two days before the actual day (probably someone else cancelled) and I took it. I could’ve said no and waited even longer, but I didn’t, because health is important and should be dealt with asap! I wish I could bring myself to apply this to some of my other worries, but I’ll get there. Anyways it went alright, the typical general treatment route, but at least it’s something, now I’m waiting on my regular doc for the next steps.

The kind of funny thing is though (in reference to my last post or maybe the one before it), is that I have been recommended to take anti-depressants (BUT not for depression) they happen to help with migraines and oversensitivity which affects me all the time pretty much. A lot of medicines help with other conditions they were not primarily made for, I only realised this in the recent years lol. I’m a little wary and I’m hoping that it’ll help, maybe even kill two birds with one stone, but if it doesn’t then oh welp and onto the next thing they recommend. I want to get better every way I can and there’s no harm trying (except maybe side effects ugh) it’s just the stigma thing again, it’s... complicated .__. But it’ll be okay!

In terms of my own art and online dabblings, I actually spent two of the days I did phone orders doodling and editing stuff a little. I wasn’t really going to draw anything seriously but my non serious doodle started off pretty alright and I continued it and finished it, which I kind of felt proud of as usually I start things and never finish them because I get scared to mess it up or think it’s not good enough. It has its flaws of course, I’m such a nit picky person and I know I need to improve, but looking past these things, I really like what I did and am glad I persevered and completed it.

I also tried posting something online, not on here, but I actually did it for once at least! It was nothing amazing, in fact it was really really lame, just a scrawl from another time but I still like it and that’s all that matters, right? Right! I was really struggling over what to write in the descriptions (much like how I spend ages agonising over writing comments) and still keep feeling iffy about what I wrote but it’s actually all fine, so I should stop worrying about it! Hear that silly me? Don’t fret and don’t regret, it’s fine so keep going! :D

Some people (very few) even liked my picture and one person even commented some thumbs up emojis. It’s really nice of them ;w; I don’t think they were bots and I looked at their pages too. The person that commented has a page full of beautiful art and idk I just felt like omg ahhhh they’re so much more amazing then me and super intimidated and wasn’t sure what to do about the comment and still haven’t done anything and it’s been a few days .__.

They probably like loads of peoples stuff though, and also there’s no obligation to have to like their stuff back (though I have a feeling that’s probably why they liked my awful doodle in the first place, to draw attention to their own page, but I shouldn’t assume, that’s bad, maybe they really thought my doodle was okay and kindly wanted to encourage, who knows). I think maybe I’ll like the comment at least, I don’t want to be rude >< I’m just scared that if I do go and like their stuff, I’ll feel obligated to always do it kind of thing, I’m still just so scared of interacting with people (also this person doesn’t speak english it seems and language barriers are my death, but this person didn’t mind it, so uh uh wait I’m being such a baby again ;____;)

I’m seriously overthinking things way too much again!! I get this feeling when I think of people that may have taken their time to read my posts or even the few people that have liked a post or two. I’m seriously very very grateful and would hug you if I could but I don’t know what to do from then and it just keeps swirling and nagging me inside and I’m so sorry >< Overthinking and social awkwardness will surely be the death of me. I need to stop all the uncertainty and what ifs and silly assumptions and just do what I feel! Why is it so hard..? ;^;

I actually got so scared I didn’t post the next small doodle I wanted to, but I need to get over it and just get it done and continue and post the things I’ve really really been wanting to post for months. No one actually cares about all the silly things I think they do, I can’t read minds and I can’t go one thinking that I can. The same for just people in general irl. I was actually a little proud that I was so self-conscious out in public as much recently, that I noticed people are too busy in their own world and that I’m silly for thinking they would expend the brain energy to linger on me negatively. Another mantra sort of thing I’ve been thinking is ‘IDGAF (and no one else does)’ lolol for reals, but it seems to be pretty effective so imma keep it! :>

Losing motivation and becoming disheartened is so easy. I’m going to continue small and simple and build up from there in every aspect and it’ll get easier and I’m gonna keep my grip real tight on that motivation and determination and soak in all my accomplishments no matter how small or insignificant they seem and convert them into even more positive energy! Imma do things!! Imma do lots of things and not get mad at myself even if I don’t manage to do some of them! Baby steps is the way to go! c:

Like always I get a bit apprehensive when writing these or even thinking of doing so, but they are actually very useful! I can sift through and explore my thoughts better now and I can help re-motivate and re-direction myself with them and I even think my writing and expression in general has gotten better! It’s a good thing, it’s an achievement! Be happy silly self! ^^

Worry just makes the world seem all the more scary. Break the cycle, break the cycle, snap it to pieces, crush it into dust and let it fly away in the wind and never return! >< Keep going, reach higher, climb further (without forgetting to take rest stops in between and continue onwards with renewed vigour) past the sky and the stars, you can do it! Moar fancy fancy motivation!! x3

I guess I’ll stop here, I think I’ve got most of the stuff down and there’s stuff I wanna do now that I’ve pieced my motivation back together some ^^ When I go to my drafts to write, I see the to do/dream list I wrote last time and it reminds me of all the things I could do, it definitely needs to be tidied up but it’s nice seeing it! I’m pumped! :3

I hope things go well for myself and everyone out there, go go!

Have a great evening! C:

#therapy #avpd #anxiety #social anxiety #depression #thoughts #feelings #*pats self on back*#feels good man #keep going #break the cycle #don't give a damn about the irrational #do it all for yourself #never regret #no obligations #baby steps #try your best!#onwards to victory!

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