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Lol. You know, I've never done a multiplayer run, but your enthusiasm for the 80's DnD cartoon is making me want to try a themed multiplayer party. Anyone else interested? I call dibs on Sheila.

Thanks. The first step in my development as a player was reading other people's runs. I hope my runs will help you along, as others helped me, and continue to help me. Best of luck in your current run! It sounds exciting! Feel free to share a report on your final fight, if you like. Cheers...

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: The Oasis In my last post I decided that it would be fun to take down an army fighting alongside balors. I was right. This was one of the most enjoyable annihilations of the Tethyrian legion. The first step was to clear the opening wave. Astrid started by...

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: Yaga Shura The mighty Yaga Shura has fallen, and the mighty Astrid continues to rise. Our halfling cleric is now zeroing in on the ToB endgame. This is where is gets real: Abazigal, Sendai and The Throne. As for Yaga Shura, I'm pleased to say that he went...

Welcome, Absat41! We've had four new members join in the last 24 hours or so, so I'm pretty sure you're not alone. I hope the others will feel free to introduce themselves. Best wishes, and enjoy your stay :)

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: The Marching Mountains This is a public service announcement, intended to remind you that Holy Smite is awesome, even when it's party unfriendly. I prefer to use Lightning Bolts with Astrid, on style grounds, but Holy Smite is often the superior tactical...

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: Illasera and Gromnir Forgive me, Talos, for I have sinned. I have robbed one of your faithful of her rightful glory. I have navigated her through early ToB in a spirit of cowardice, not malice. Where there should have been a path of destruction, there were...

I'll post on Astrid's early ToB adventures soon. In the interim, may I just say that this is the best Youtube video ever. If you've ever hunted basilisks you simply much watch this, lol.

Thanks! HLAs and excessive leveling do distort things in late SoA. Soloing exacerbates the problem, since you level faster, but in the no reload context that effect is counterbalanced by the smaller margin for error. You can't make a single mistake. You need to be constantly on your game. Back...

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: Shadows of Amn Conclusion As some of you may have gathered, Astrid's character record photos haven't been up to date in her last few posts. Astrid was really at level 39 by this point in the adventure. Having nearly reached the level cap, and having collected...

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: Late SoA Clean-Up After returning to Athkatala, Astrid took on most, if not all, of the remaining challenge foes. She dropped The Hidden, Thaxxy, Firkraag and the Guarded Compound blokes. The Ruinies were left to twist and shout another day, since I couldn't...

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: The Underdark, Part 2 Astrid's game progress is by now significantly ahead of her updates. I'm going to rush through the rest of SoA, in the interest of getting her up to date. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. After rescuing Phaere, Astrid paid...

Cool vid! Anyhoo, now would be a good time to refocus on the thread's original subject, AI art. My apologies for derailing the discussion.

Absolutely! If you look back at history even the greatest thinkers make fools of themselves when they attempt to predict the future. My take is my take, nothing more. While we're sharing poems, here's a different view on what could be. All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace I like to...

Agreed. As the poet Gary Snyder said, resistance in the face of the inevitable is a matter of character and style. Acquiescence suits some. Buddha-mind opposition suits others. Rage suits others still. I was over-simplifying for stylistic purposes, as Dylan Thomas was in his piece. But, yes...

That's a lovely poem, Alice, but it's terrible advice, lol. Raging at the inevitable is a recipe for misery. It's better to see it, comprehend it and, to the extent that resistance is preferable to acquiescence, approach the endeavor in a spirit of laughter and wisdom. Where life is the cause...

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: The Underdark, Part 1 In the Underdark Astrid continued to prove that she's a powerhouse. She's over-leveled, of course, but that was true of her recent predecessors as well, and she has crushed where they have struggled. The key difference is that her...

Once upon a time, before I took an interest in investing and retired early, I was an academic. I worked with mathematical models of human genetic and cultural evolution. Dual inheritance theory, as it's called. I came to the conclusion that we humans aren't really in control, and that we never...

Astrid, Halfling Priest of Talos: Spellhold Apologies for the unannounced hiatus, everyone. And for those who are wondering: Yes, Astrid is alive and well. She almost wasn't though. She faced her greatest challenge yet in Spellhold. Before we get to Spellhold, let's talk about the ring I...