Profile for Thuryl
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Thuryl |
| Member number | 869 |
| Title | ...b10010b... |
| Postcount | 9973 |
| Homepage | http://thuryl.desperance.net/blades.html |
| Registered | Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| Religion, Homosexuality, the Usual in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Wednesday, July 7 2004 23:31
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I'm not touching the bonobo thing; I've heard about it before, but it's not my area of expertise and I don't really have much to add to what you said. Just to make you feel like less of a pedant by comparison, though, bonobos are technically apes, not monkeys.  quote:You make a good point, and while I can't speak on his behalf, I don't think it's one that Creator would disagree with. Even he seems to think that homosexuals are, by and large, only harming themselves. quote:I think, but again cannot be sure, that that's where the religion part comes in. After all, a religion is first and foremost a set of claims about facts, with the two most important of those putative facts almost invariably being "God knows and wants what's best for us" and "This book contains what God has to say to us". quote:Actually, I've heard that studies generally find that homosexuals self-report being less happy with their lives than heterosexuals. Then again, it's hard to be happy when a significant portion of the population sees you as evil, disgusting or both. Pity probably isn't helpful either, though. As for the relation of homosexuality to genetics, my own opinion falls into the "we're-all-a-little-bisexual" camp, with some people turning out more or less homosexual than others due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. There are, of course, a multitude of possible direct or indirect reasons why alleles associated with homosexuality could be an advantage. One could, perhaps, postulate the explanation that in order to understand what the opposite sex finds attractive (and therefore make oneself attractive to them), it's necessary to be a little attracted to the same things oneself. A little far-fetched, perhaps, but it would explain both the male fascination with lesbians and the famously good fashion sense of male homosexuals. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Good books? in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Wednesday, July 7 2004 20:08
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Djur, if he cannot even remember her name, he is obviously not a fanatical Objectivist. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Religion, Homosexuality, the Usual in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Wednesday, July 7 2004 19:41
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Thank you, Creator. That's pretty much the answer I've heard from other Christians who share your views. We all have ideals, in the sense that we wish the world to be arranged in a certain way. Our ideals, of course, differ -- it's almost a cliche that most utopias seem unpleasant to most people. If you were a politician and I were either a psychologist or an ethicist, I'd spend more time addressing the details of what you've said, but you're not and I'm neither, so I think it's best if we agree to disagree. You seem like a basically nice person, and in my opinion, civility and generosity are almost always of more practical importance than the principles that motivate them. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Is it me... Or do the original classes. Archer, Rogue, in Blades of Avernum | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Wednesday, July 7 2004 17:12
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IMHO, only Berserker and Hedge Wizard are really worthwhile. The other classes have too many points wasted in skills you won't use. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| My first stupid question (of many, no doubt) in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Wednesday, July 7 2004 16:38
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If you edit corescendata, the changes you make will only show up on your copy of BoA, not anyone else's -- which means that if other people play your scenario it won't work properly. This is bad. Don't do it. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| My first stupid question (of many, no doubt) in Blades of Avernum | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Wednesday, July 7 2004 16:38
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If you edit corescendata, the changes you make will only show up on your copy of BoA, not anyone else's -- which means that if other people play your scenario it won't work properly. This is bad. Don't do it. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| A Perfect Forest!?! in Blades of Avernum | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Tuesday, July 6 2004 23:14
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Wait, this was first reported weeks ago. Jeff hasn't fixed this yet? Um. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Religion, Homosexuality, the Usual in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Tuesday, July 6 2004 23:07
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Creator, I'll agree with you that it takes a pretty selective reading of the Bible to interpret it as condoning homosexuality. I'll also agree that practising homosexuals who consider themselves Christian have some serious questions to ask themselves. I, however, am not a Christian, and so far your explanation of why you think homosexuality is wrong (and that of most others who agree with you on this topic) boils down to "men and women were designed for each other by God". Since trying to convert each other is likely to be unproductive, do you have any non-theological arguments to support your position? Of course, I'd expect you to base any arguments you make only on moral principles which you yourself would feel comfortable agreeing to, and since your theology probably has a rather important place in your own ethical system I'll understand if you can't find any non-theological arguments which you agree with. (I'd ask your opinion of how exactly religion and morality are related, but then we'd have to start debating ontology and that way lies madness.) Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Is it just me, or is magic pathetically weak in this game? in Blades of Avernum | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Tuesday, July 6 2004 01:40
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Even if that's true (and really, your mages should be doing more damage than that with most spells against most monsters), consider the following factors: Mage spells can attack from a distance and never miss. It can take fighters a full round or more just to get to their opponents. All the good offensive mage spells hit multiple targets. Consider a battle with a group of, say, 6 weak monsters. It'll take a fighter at least 3 rounds to finish them all off even if he's hasted, but two castings of Lightning Spray from a hasted mage will probably kill all of them. Stronger monsters might require more spells, but it'll take the fighters more than 1 hit to kill them too. On the other hand, mage spells cost spell energy and some monsters are highly resistant to some or all magic. Mages do best against large groups of monsters, while fighters do best against single opponents. In fact, mages are usually reduced to a purely supportive role in boss fights, which is why it's a good idea to give mages a few levels of priest spells (enough to cast Mass Healing is probably sufficient). Of course, you're free to make a party without mages if you think that's best. If you do, best of luck to you. In fact, the first party I made in BoA contained three fighters and only a single spellcaster, a combined mage/priest/alchemist. I completed all of the four original scenarios with it, needing to use the character editor only once. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Dr. Seuss Is Better Than Shakespeare in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Monday, July 5 2004 23:35
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Unfortunately, language ages over time. As has been mentioned, Shakespeare was very fond of wordplay, and some of his puns don't make sense to a modern audience. One famous example relied on "hour" having the same pronunciation as "whore", and would probably cause walkouts even today if it were still understood. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Is it me... Or do the original classes. Archer, Rogue, in Blades of Avernum | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Monday, July 5 2004 02:54
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Character classes don't give any abilities. Character traits do. Your berserking berserker probably has the Elite Warrior trait, which does give the Go Berserk ability. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Is it just me, or is magic pathetically weak in this game? in Blades of Avernum | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Sunday, July 4 2004 23:04
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Seems like it. I always try to carry at least one Hasting Potion on each character, for emergencies. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Dr. Seuss Is Better Than Shakespeare in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Sunday, July 4 2004 04:50
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What, you're telling me Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans didn't remind you of Dahl at all? :P Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Dr. Seuss Is Better Than Shakespeare in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Saturday, July 3 2004 23:57
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Rowling made her career by ripping off Roald Dahl at every turn. The fact that more children are now reading the former author than the latter adds insult to injury. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| walkthrough to VoDT in Blades of Avernum | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Friday, July 2 2004 21:12
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Have you talked to the Vahnatai yet? They'll tell you what to do with the spiders. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Good books? in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Friday, July 2 2004 20:55
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I've been getting into a lot of 19th and early 20th-century stuff lately, so most of my list won't be new to you. Sorry. I'll mention the really obvious ones anyway so you can see how closely my tastes match with yours (and therefore how much of my advice you wish to write off as lunacy). Of the great existentialist writers, Camus is good, Kafka is better, and Sartre is a boring old windbag. For Camus, start with The Plague, and avoid The Outsider like, well, the plague. For Kafka, I prefer his short stories and novellas (including Metamorphosis); his minimalistic writing style gets frustrating over the course of a novel. I don't read much fantasy these days either. As far as SF goes, Asimov strikes me as a tad misogynistic, but is worthy of mention if for no other reason than that Foundation is a brilliant, brilliant book. I've also read and enjoyed nearly everything by John Wyndham; The Triffids is what he's best known for, but The Kraken Wakes is also good, especially if you don't mind a little light political satire. I'm also very fond of Goethe's Faust, which I list as science fiction just for the sake of being ornery. :P As regards more contemporary writers, I'm fond of Iain M. Banks (who writes both SF and non-genre fiction). He can get seriously icky with the descriptive detail, though, so start with one of the milder ones like The Player of Games and move on to others if you don't find anything overtly stomach-churning in that one. I also loved Lord of the Flies, possibly because I was never forced to read it in school. Oh, and if you have an overdeveloped sense of irony, you can't go wrong with Jane Austen. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Lucien 'Thuryl' McMahon Is Naked in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Friday, July 2 2004 16:49
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I really do not approve of the direction in which this topic is headed. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Lucien 'Thuryl' McMahon Is Naked in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Thursday, July 1 2004 21:13
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Rosy, thanks for the lovely (if vaguely sinister) drawing. Kelandon, you're more, uh, sensitive-looking than Boreanaz. You remind me more of, say, George Clooney, which still isn't a bad thing. :P Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Odd, but interesting in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Thursday, July 1 2004 20:49
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This sort of thing happens from time to time. It's just another bandwagon. An Imbandwagon, even. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Is it just me, or is magic pathetically weak in this game? in Blades of Avernum | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Thursday, July 1 2004 16:29
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Bolt of Fire is always pretty useless. Ice Lances is moderately useful, and Lightning Spray and Fireblast are very useful. Arcane Blow is powerful, but I prefer the other damaging spells because AB is expensive and only has a small number of targets. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Lucien 'Thuryl' McMahon Is Naked in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Thursday, July 1 2004 04:12
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quote:*giggles* Oh, I can believe that. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| A thought about the line number "bug". in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Thursday, July 1 2004 03:58
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It sounds as if that's what Jeff was planning to do when he first heard about the problem, and now people are trying to harangue him into finding increasingly perfect solutions. Honestly, I'm starting to see why he was reluctant to fix BoE. Even if we have good reasons for it, we can ask for a lot. The Blades community must be worse than Cordelia sometimes. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| A thought about the line number "bug". in Blades of Avernum | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Thursday, July 1 2004 03:58
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It sounds as if that's what Jeff was planning to do when he first heard about the problem, and now people are trying to harangue him into finding increasingly perfect solutions. Honestly, I'm starting to see why he was reluctant to fix BoE. Even if we have good reasons for it, we can ask for a lot. The Blades community must be worse than Cordelia sometimes. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Lucien 'Thuryl' McMahon Is Naked in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Thursday, July 1 2004 03:36
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Aw, Kel, you seem pretty good-looking too, in a TV-show-doctor kind of way. Anyway, I'm led to believe that you're attached, which, unless one spends inordinate amounts of time admiring oneself in reflective surfaces, is the whole point of being attractive. On the other hand, I can take comfort in the fact that you almost certainly spend more time working on your looks than I ever will on mine. :P Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
| Name my web page! in General | |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Wednesday, June 30 2004 22:17
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I'd suggest "Kelandon's Own Web Page", but then you and Alec would conspire to kill me in my sleep. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |