#no seriously almost all of us picked up a tool proficiency for crafting

[lyricaspromise]

We Become Crafters ‘R’ Us

After we slept, we woke to speak with Marsque and Ox again.  Ai was having issues understanding that the Changeling was Ox, which was absolutely hysterical to me.  Marsque thanked us for our help, before he said he needed to return to his people.  He needed to be certain the others who had come with him escaped safely, and he also needed to inform his superiors that we had helped them.

Of course, as a Drider Ai would be very likely to be attacked by anyone who saw her above ground, so Ox offered her an item he felt would be of great use.  When activated, it made her spider body a horse body instead, allowing her to pass as a centaur.  They aren’t common, but they aren’t liable to be attacked at any point in time.  As we made our way to the surface, Ai and Charra found, something in an abandoned building.  Once we reached the surface, however, it was about midday once again.  We told Ox we would meet him back at the guild, and made sure he had the list of everything we’d found during our travels and what we’d encountered so he could figure out our requisition tokens and what not.  Heading to the baths, we all got clean and enjoyed some wine once again before heading back to the guild.

Once there, we found there was a new group in the guild.  Apparently, this was one of the best parties the guild had.  Consisting of a human, an dwarf, and a silver dragonborn they were, interesting.  One of the others in the guild, the Cleric came over before he was amazed that Lenna was alive.  Apparently, we are the third party she has been in, as her first passed on.  Heading to Ox, we were given a number of different forms.  I used my personal forms to get books to learn how to use a Jeweler’s Kit and Tinkerer’s Tools, as well as the tool sets and starting materials for them.  I also took a set of Armguards of Nimbleness and a Quicksilver weapon.  I’m going to enjoy using that: I can switch it from one weapon to another in just a bonus action.  And, I can adjust the weight to be able to utilize even normally heavy weapons as Versatile when I need to.  Not sure what the others got.

We did end up deciding that our party forms would be used to get blueprints for myself and Charra.  I was able to get a blueprint to make message earrings for the party, while Charra is now able to make “of Holding” items for us.  Ikki also turned in her enchanted leatherworker’s tools so I’d have a set of magical Jeweler’s Kit items to work with.  We got Balasar some magical Smith’s Tools and an alchemy jug with our other forms.

Our first day above ground we all took some time to rest, since the Night Shift hasn’t been here in a while.  Our second day we began to learn our new skills, or do some crafting.  I knew Balasar and Charra wanted to smith, so I joined them in the forge.  I rested on the barrel in the corner to read, offering them each Inspiration as they needed it.  I chose to read The Gemstone’s Edge, the book about jewelry, first, and on the tenth day I was able to craft a beautiful new piece for my hair out of gold.  Having gotten the hang of it, I was able to knock Nuts, Bolts, and Everything in Between out in only three days, and made my first trap on that same day.  Charra had apparently been finalizing Ikki’s Spear, before starting on new hammers for Balasar and herself.  I took the next three days off from crafting to work with Elodie, Lenna, and Ikki in learning Elvish.  I’ve made a start, but its going to take some more time in order to understand it.  Elodie also offered me a book: Dr. Chuck Tingle’s Complete Guide to Romance.

We’d spent three days on that before I began making something for Charra.  I managed to create a Ring of Shield for her, which will allow her to cast Shield on herself at need.  Almost as soon as I finished making that, Charra came to me with a gift.  She, well.  She’d made me a new flute.  She admitted that she hadn’t been able to create the internal mechanisms that allow it to be functional, but the outside was done.  I, believe I can handle that myself at some point.  Looking at it, this is one of the most beautiful instruments I have ever been given.  Made entirely of copper, this was most certainly a beautiful piece of Charra’s creation.  Looking it over, I found some murals inscribed on it.  One side has some musical notes for a melody.  I’ll have to take some time, see if it would be best played on this flute when finished or on my lyre.  On the other side, there were a few other depictions.  The cut of an amethyst, a diamond, a woman’s visage, and a shield that may have been made of mithral.  It’s fucking gorgeous, and I know I’ll treasure it forever.  Miten hän teki tämän? Kuinka hän tietää, että soitin huilu? Miksi hän tekee niin vaikeaksi suojautua?  I might have given her a kiss on the cheek in thanks.

I spent the next six days relaxing in the smithy as Balasar started working on a shield for both them self and for Lenna.  They were quite impressive, and I enjoyed watching them work.  I, enjoy watching them and Charra craft really.  After those were finished, I went to watch them spar together, but Alphonse found me there.  Ah shit I forgot.  I went with him and we headed to the roof.  I learned a bit of sign language, but it will definitely take me time to really understand it.  Apparently, Alphonse, Emily, Roderick, and Adamar are to return to the dungeon again sometime soon.  And, well.  He is finding he holds feelings for both Roderick and Adamar, and wanted advice for how to talk to them and be brave.  I felt horrible for pretending to know what I was talking about when I’m having the same issue myself.  Still, I did my best to help him, and tried to act as a good friend and give him solid advice.

A few days after I got the flute from Charra, I found a book of Dwarven poems on my bed.  Miten pidät sydämeni turvassa, kun hän tekee tällaisia asioita?  It told a story, a beautiful story.  By the gods.

The one that really caught my eye in the book, the one I think is the reason the book was left out for me?  A love story.  It tells about a dwarven woman who had decided to prove herself to be worthy of her beloved.  She wished to find her fortune in gems and metals to do so, and as such traveled into the mountains to do so.  During her travels, she encountered challenges that stood in her way, including many beasts she was forced to fight and even Drow looking for new slaves in the mountains.  Yet for all her challenges, she found that the treasures she found didn’t compare to her beloved.  Amethysts couldn’t compare to her lover’s eyes, diamonds were dull compared to her smile.  Copper was dull compared to her hair, and even precious mithral failed to compare.  Even still, she collected these items she wished to use to make her fortune, before hearing a voice raised in song.  Hearing her beloved, she realized she was already rich in love and strove to return home, even though she brought the treasures of the mountains with her.

Somehow, that last bit did not surprise me.  Dwarves, you know.  (Miksi hän innostaa sellaisia tunteita minussa? Kuinka minun pitäisi suojella itseäni, kun hän antaa minulle tällaisia lahjoja?)

Ah!  I forgot one of the other things that happened during our stay at the guild.  We chose to play a game of Never Have I Ever in our rooms.  Well, everyone but Taras that asshole.  On that note, we’d been sent up to the room the Night Shift had been using since a new influx of new members meant the barracks were needed again.  That was fine.  We’re still together anyways.  I’m not going to mention everything, but some of the more interesting things to learn were:

Outside of Charra and myself, Ai and Balasar have also hit their allies in battle

Balasar was in a war

Charra, Taras, Ikki, and Ai have never had their first kiss (and Elodie hasn’t had a second kiss either)

Charra is incapable of casting magic of any kind.

Most of us have hurt ourselves trying to impress someone else

Almost all of us have skipped out on when we promised to be someone

By the gods everyone in this party but myself and the old one are innocent babies.

Charra has at least 12 siblings. What.

Elodie bites if you wake her up

Lenna, Balasar, Charra and myself have all been in love

Most of us have fucked up, big time

The day after working with Alphonse, Fen’Glath asked Ikki and I to help him with something.  Apparently, the company in charge of supplying the guild with Yew has been padding the shipments with pine and other items useless for his purposes.  But, they often given him shit for being a former thief, and he wants some back up.  We agree to help him, since he’s a good man.

Apparently, the town is unhappy with the Guild’s offer of amnesty for work, and the previous crafter actually left the guild when he joined.  When we reached the shop, the owner’s son was inside.  When Fen’Glath asked him about the shipments, he claimed that we were getting our full shipments.  And for doing this, we would only be getting this months shipment and then things would break.  Fen’Glath was stunned, so I stepped in.  Ikki had been able to tell he was lying, so I took that and ran.  I pointed out that even if Fen’Glath might now be respected?  Captain Marks is. Ox is.  And they may get involved if the threat of removing their business goes through.  And of course, upset adventurers drink and might complain.  If enough of the guild does that?  Well, we may end up driving them out of business.  But if they gave us what they had been cheating us on, and make sure our future shipments are fine, no one will ever hear about this.  The guy promises to make sure we get our shipments in the future, and we left.  Ikki?  She actually talked to me.  It. Was. Amazing.

The next day, I finally got to watch Charra and Balasar sparring with their new weapons.  It was incredible, and they are both amazing fighters.  Charra managed to cause massive amounts of damage in one turn, knocking Balasar completely out.  On aina hämmästyttävää nähdä kuinka vahva hän on.  We all returned to our room after that point, deciding to head down in the morning.

[cursed-minus-seventy-five-points]

The Bookbinders

After the End, the machinery of society slowly ground to a halt. Like candles, the factories of the world went out, one by one, as replacement parts ran out, trained operators succumbed to disease, and raw materials stopped being delivered. Some lights of civilization refuse to be snuffed out, surviving on the ingenuity and traditions of the local people.

The Berryville Printing Factory is one such place. While its laser printers have long since been raided for their optics to repair energy weapons and other doodads, a lone screen printer has been repaired and maintained by the Bookbinders. Much of the 400,000 sq. ft facility has been converted into a combination library and barracks.

The Bookbinders is a collective of equals dedicated to the spread of literacy, the preservation of text in all forms, and the printing and binding of books. Its membership consists primarily of librarians, scavengers, teachers, and soldiers.

Beliefs

Information wants to be free. Secrecy is a vice, and documentation a virtue.

The world is about to recover. The so-called End of the World has proven to be a momentary disruption. As people turn back towards civilization, they will need the help and guidance of the literati.

The past is merely a tool for controlling the future. Dispassionate interest, not worship or scorn, is the right way to regard the times before The War.

Goals

To spread the gift of literacy everywhere. To educate and inform people so that they have the knowledge they need to take control of their lives. To preserve and proliferate knowledge, from before, during, and after The War.

Bookbinder Characters

Suggested Races: Humans, Elves, Half-Elves, Gnomes

Suggested Classes:  Wizards, paladins, monks, bards, warlocks

Joining The Bookbinders

The first step in joining the Bookbinders is finding BPF, their base of operations. The Bookbinders are slow to trust outsiders, and never allow non-members into the facility. Often, a gift of a book not in their collection is a good way to get into their good graces. After establishing a relationship with them, they usually will ask you to do them a few favors in order to feel you out, such as escorting a teacher to a small settlement and back, or recovering some lost tomes from a dangerous locale. More important than the tasks is the feel they get for you; any member of any rank can veto adding a new member.

Even after joining the Bookbinders, you are not allowed to explore the facility without an escort until you have Renown 3 or greater, at which point you are offered room and board.

Personality Traits

Roll a d8

I love explaining my craft to whoever will listen.

I don’t mean to be so inattentive, I’m just often lost in thought.

I’m very uncomfortable when I don’t understand something. I often ask follow-up questions, and ask the people I’m with a great many hypothetical questions.

I like to play word-games; great speech illuminates the unspeakable by pirouetting at the edge of language.

I can’t stand secrecy. If you’re keeping something from me, I’ll find out eventually.

I like to read when things get quiet. If I can’t do that, I’ll recite poetry instead.

I am not long-winded per se; I just hate being misunderstood, and so I often resort to over-elaboration.

I like to pepper my speech with literary and mythological allusions.

Ideals

Roll a d6

Cultivation: There is much to learn, and not nearly enough time to learn it all in.

Education: The teeming masses lack the tools they need to be the masters of their fates. Those with the knowledge must show them the way.

Liberation: Knowledge belongs to everyone. It’s not our place to pick and choose who gets to know what.

Application: Book-learning is fine and good, but it’s useless until you put it in action.

Preservation: Anything that’s beautiful is at risk of being destroyed by bitter brutes. Sources of knowledge must be protected from backwards people.

Documentation: There are so many books yet to be written, lessons yet to be shared. It is not enough to safeguard dusty old tomes; new work must be produced and shared.

Bonds

Roll a d6

The Bookbinders taught me how to read, and I hope to pay it forward.

A parent or older sibling was also a member, who died trying to establish a presence at a far-off library.

I’m happy with helping to keep the printing press up and running, but I’d like to work on a bigger machine someday.

The Bookbinders published and distributed the book I wrote, for which I am eternally grateful.

I joined because I agree with their ideals, but sometime I worry that people will use what we teach them to hurt others.

I enjoy teaching, and being a member of the Bookbinders is a good way to find attentive students.

Flaws

Roll a d6

More than once, things I’ve taught people have had unexpected consequences.

There’s very little I don’t already know, and most of it isn’t worth learning anyway.

I’m glad I know how to do it, but, man, is reading books boring!

If someone can’t be convinced to part with a rare book, there are other means of acquiring it.

Sometimes, I feel like I’ve learned too much. I am incredibly indecisive.

Deception isn’t just wrong, it’s an admission of weakness. There’s no one so important or powerful that I need to lie to them.

Contacts

Roll a d8 for an ally, and another for a rival

An older relative is one of the Head Librarians.

One of the paladins has strong opinions on my worldview,

I’ve been assigned the task of feeling out a courier who wants to join.

One of the scavengers has taken to telling me about their adventures.

A sibling is an apprentice printer.

One of the members of my book club has received an important promotion.

A mechanic thinks the printer is sensitive to my presence.

The group has decided to leave the decision on whether or not to publish a book written by a local author to me. Somehow, the author has found out.

Rank and Renown

As your rank and renown increases, you’ll be given the opportunity to decide how the Bookbinders is run. Since formally all Bookbinders are equals, the ranks are informal recognition of your skill and dedication.

Rank 1: Fellow

Required Renown: 3

You are given free reign in their library, and are assigned a bedroom, to use at your option. If you happen to be around while someone is cooking, they’ll normally include you.

Rank 2: Learnèd

Required Renown: 10

Many of the other members consider you a friend. Your opinion on what’s worth spending man-hours on holds a bit of weight. Unusually sensitive, complicated, or important tasks are entrusted to you, and usually 1d4 new members are willing to help you out (use Commoner stats for this).

Rank 3: Literati

Required Renown: 25

At this point, your personal interests have shaped the priorities of the collective pretty seriously. You almost always know about anything that’s going on, and some members hang onto every word you say.

Rank 4: Genius

Required Renown: 50

The number of members who are more respected than you can be counted on one hand. You’re by no means a dictator, and if you try to push the group in a direction that goes against its raison d'être, the other members won’t turn on you, but they will worry about you. Nevertheless, at this point many are expecting you to encourage the group to push itself in a new and bold direction.

Special Roles

Scavenger

Required Rank: 1

Scavengers go out into the wilds to recover lost texts, document old technology, and interview remote geniuses. Scavengers are often loaned one of the collective’s few magical items, almost always something like Gloves of Swimming and Climbing or Googles of Night.

Educator

Required Rank: 2

Requirements: Proficient with two or more Int- and/or Wis-based skills

The other members consider you wise and intelligent. Sometimes, they’ll ask you to teach a class at some far-off locale, offering to lend you either a magic item or a bodyguard, your choice of either a soldier (bandit captain) or cleric (priest). Again, the magic items they have available at any one time is extremely limited, but usually includes Helms of Comprehending Languages or Wands of Secrets.

[asksabhaniblog]

Dilip Kumar born on 11/12/1922 (By Sanjukta Sharma) An inspiration to some of India’s greatest actors, Dilip Kumar is unmatched in craft Grief swelled between his lines. The Dilip Kumar characters that occupy every fan’s mind are from the films he did from the late 1940s to 1960. Dilip in Andaz, Ashok in Babul, Vijay in Jogan, Shamu in Deedar, the eponymous Devdas, Devendra/Anand in Madhumati, Ganga in Gunga Jumna—they are self-conscious, egotistic and rebellious characters, but what sets them apart is an intricate self-pity. The great actor found his energy in this doomed combination; in their being wronged. Indians love sad stories. The sweet, sorrowful film song is sweeter after two pegs. There is veneration and solipsism in the way people say in casual conversation, “Dilip Kumar is the ultimate tragedy king.” A random search on Google Trends revealed Devdas’ angry alibi for dipsomania in Bimal Roy’s 1955 film—“Kaun kambakht hai jo bardaasht karne ke liye peetaa hai…”—was more searched (between 2005 and 2011) than Manmohan Singh. So Yusuf Khan from Peshawar (now in Pakistan), besides being one of our greatest actors, is perhaps also one of our drunk-surfing favourites. Statistics can’t prove that. Then there is the unquantifiable oeuvre spread over more than 60 films. That number is thin compared to most male superstars of Hindi cinema. Dilip Kumar chose to work less, and work immersively. After his films with Mehboob Khan in the 1940s (Andaz, Aan) and Bimal Roy in the 1950s (Devdas, Madhumati )—two directors who shaped a lot of what he was to mature into—Dilip Kumar progressively became involved in every aspect of film-making. “Nitin Bose, who directed Gunga Jumna, was a proxy director almost,” says Sanjit Narwekar, author of the book Dilip Kumar: The Last Emperor, which came out in 2002, the year the actor turned 80. For Gunga Jumna, Dilip Kumar himself cast a teenage boy to play the young Ganga. He rehearsed with the boy for months. For him, it was an exercise in acting. By sculpting the young Ganga, he made the character more convincing and detailed for himself. In later films, he would often ask directors to shoot his back to the camera because he wanted to test his voice as an emoting tool. Dilip Kumar’s films are free of the obsessive attention that the camera often gives to a star’s face making close-ups meaningless. Journalist Udaya Tara Nayar, who is writing Dilip Kumar’s autobiography with him—due to be released soon—recalls what she saw on the sets of Subhash Ghai’s Saudagar (1991)—one of Dilip Kumar’s last roles, a patchy phase beginning with Manoj Kumar’s Kranti (1981), when he came back to films after a six-year hiatus. Nayar says: “He has the habit of observing what is going on while a shot is being set up. So a shot was ready to be taken, Subhash Ghai called him to the set. Dilip saab said with the lighting that was set up, his moustache would not be visible.” Ashok Mehta, the cinematographer, retested, and lit up the shot differently to ensure it was visible. By the 1960s, Dilip Kumar was trapped in his own image—tragedy was in his veins. Around 1966, he frequently visited a psychiatrist in London who helped him overcome a short but intense bout of clinical depression. The doctor prescribed staying away from the melancholic roles. He took the advice seriously and forced a change of template. The buffoon in films like Gopi (1970) backfired—ill-chosen, slapdash and devoid of soul, some of these films were box-office whimpers. But during that period, another film won the fan back. Abdul Rashid Kardar’s Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966) is a petered down Wuthering Heights. As Shankar, he had to find Heathcliff’s dark beats in Naushad’s music and Shakil Badayuni’s lyrics (Koi sagar dil ko bahalata nahin ; Phir teri kahani yaad ayi ). Dizzy in love with Waheeda Rehman’s gorgeous Roopa, Dilip Kumar gave the battered lover’s role all the gravitas. Satyajit Ray had famously called Dilip Kumar “the ultimate method actor”. A few years older than Marlon Brando, who is considered the greatest method actor ever, Dilip Kumar’s obsession with over-rehearsed histrionics made him an idol for famous Indian actors who have followed the kind of dramatic pitch that they saw in Dilip Kumar. They are actors who have largely been arbiters of their own careers. Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah and Kamal Haasan talk profusely about imitating the Dilip Kumar of 1940s and 1950s—they have moved through some of their own best work, aware of Dilip Kumar’s record and potential. Acting was Ashok Kumar’s gift to him. After he took up a job at Bombay Talkies in 1940—for the money, as he has said in interviews—he watched Ashok Kumar on set every day. Devika Rani christened him in the early 1940s at her Bombay Talkies office, then in Pune, because then a Muslim name was anathema to producers. Ashok Kumar even gave him formal lessons on acting. In 1944, when Dilip Kumar’s first film Jwar Bhata, a musical romance, released, the critics were largely indifferent. In the late 1940s, Mela and Andaz swung his career around. Raj Kapoor was already on the rise and Dev Anand was to arrive two years later. The charismatic matinee idol in Hindi cinema was born at this time, as was the steely, sensitive and mindful Nehruvian hero. Lord Meghnad Desai overstretches this idea by deconstructing Dilip Kumar as the epitome of the Nehruvian man in his book Nehru’s Hero: Dilip Kumar in the Life of India (2004). Women loved Dilip Kumar. Up to his 30s, he was tall and wiry but he always looked older than his age—the ingrained seriousness shadowing his high forehead. Sometimes a clump of hair covered the forehead. The smile deepened his eyes. Rinki Roy, director Bimal Roy’s daughter, recalls with glee: “We lived in the same area in Bombay and every time we saw his car pass by, a blue Impala, we would swoon. I remember the car number; 2424.” Dilip Kumar’s love affairs with Kamini Kaushal and later Madhubala were long, much publicized and heartbreaking. In his early 40s, he married actor Saira Banu, 20 years younger than him. His early life was fairly humdrum. Soon after he graduated from college, the fortunes of his family of fruit merchants in Mumbai’s Crawford Market ebbed. Yusuf had to quickly find a job. The 17-year-old set up a sandwich stall in Pune’s Wellingdon Club, a British army club. A passionate cook already (film journalists of that era say that while Dev Anand picked on one roti and a bowl of salad for a meal, Dilip Kumar’s sets had a wide spread, usually his favourite Awadhi style of kebabs and biryani, for everyone), Yusuf learnt how to make sandwiches the English way. The stall became popular. A group of ladies who used to visit the stall would fondly call him “chico”, a “lad” in Spanish. Saira Banu often still calls him “chico”. Pakistan made Dilip Kumar their own—it’s a country he has never lost despite having shifted from there when he was a young boy. But Mumbai remains his home. Through the 1980s, he faced unfair public scrutiny from the Hindu right. A friend of the Congress party and a former nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, he was never in electoral politics. His secularism, questioned on many occasions, is in the broadest sense of the word—a philanthropist, he has fought against the censorship establishment, and for freedom and human dignity. In Gunga Jumna, the censors wanted the last words of his character, “Hey Ram”, cut—how could Dilip Kumar, a Muslim, use the same last words as Mahatma Gandhi, even if it was only on screen? In the 1980s, he was accused of being a Pakistani spy based on some bizarre grounds. He was the target of the late Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray’s ire when Pakistan bestowed its highest honour, the Nishaan-e-Imtiaz, on him. By then, he was in his 70s, and unwilling to fight. Now, on rare occasions, the 90-year-old actor appears in commemorative photo shoots or visits celebrity parties with Saira Banu by his side. Most of the time, says Nayar based on her close interactions with him, he loves watching sports on TV or reading newspapers and books. His blog is a casual chronicle of the people who visit him, or friends he has lost over the years. “When it comes to films, Dilip saab does not miss a Rajkumar Hirani film even if it is on TV,” Nayar says. His clipped, halting manner of speech, in proficient Hindi, Urdu or English, gives away much of him. He has chosen his passions mindfully, and chiselled them to exemplary standards.