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vampyrvem

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Posts posted by vampyrvem

  1. 17 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

    Role-playing games like D&D used to be my thing. I don't like board games at all. Monopoly always ends up in a fist fight and fantasy/sci-fi type board games are just for people that like rolling dice and a million rules.

    I once had a group where we barely played with dice (and sometimes used alternative conflict resolution like drawing a playing card from a pack). The story was king. It is kind of like a murder mystery most of the time if you have a talented games master that can weave a story and build an atmosphere.

    I haven't played an actual campaign from a book since I was like 12. But you can certainly use them as inspiration and add your own ideas. That is how it should be done.

    Alas, the London group I had scattered to the four corners of the globe about a decade ago. I never had the motivation to start another group. As a GM it is a lot of work initially, until it becomes second nature. I guess some people can just make up a compelling story on the spot but I was not one of those people.

    Good luck!

     

     

     

    14 hours ago, NokturnalBoredom said:

    The worst thing about being a DM is creating a world, writing out a huge campaign, and then having nobody around to play it because they all went to college. This happened to me and it was irritating as hell, and is what made me put away my D&D rulebooks as something from teenage years now gone.

    The thing is, I probably still have the campaign data somewhere in my house. In some forgotten box in my closet.

    Ahh Thankyou guys for your input! I guess in general is the creativity part of it. I've seen so many Matt Mercer videos that it makes it seem overwhelming to me since hes an awesome DM

     

  2. On 11/21/2021 at 6:26 PM, NokturnalBoredom said:

    I'd have liked it more had the "Tristania" been bigger and not sandwiched between the parts of the building. The album is fantastic, it's just the cover design that turns me off because it looks like it was poorly slapped together for such an amazing record.

    But hey, what the hell do you want for an independent label in 1998, you know? Goth metal wasn't as well-received then as it is now, so Napalm probably did not have a huge budget to work with when it comes to the cosmetics of a product.

    You could be right they did not have the budget back then. Also they were just starting out so there's that as well. 

  3. 6 hours ago, NokturnalBoredom said:

    I haven't checked out a lot by Tristania, Widow's Weeds is the only one I ever had because it was the only one that I could get my hands on back in the CD days.

    Yes! Do check out their later records. Morten Veland's last record with them is Beyond the Veil. I do believe their first 2  are masterpieces with WW being their greatest.  A lot of people don't like their 4th record which is Ashes because (if I'm not mistaken) they strayed a little. For me, I came into the Tristania train late so I pretty much like Stene's era.  After their 5th record which is Illumination Stene departed from the band. Tristania then hired Mariangela and I just cant get into it. It's not for me. 

  4. 20 hours ago, Dead1 said:

    The rules are a little bit demanding but once you get it's not an issue.  

    There might be clubs in your local area you can plug into.  

     

    Do you have any specific areas you're struggling with? 

     

    My brother has the new set with all the minis and all the expansions.  Shame about the shakes - I find painting minis to be relaxing (gluing metal ones though drives me nuts).

    I used to have a Tau force for 40K.  I sold them and all my other 40K stuff many years ago as I prefer history.

    Shame you can't get anyone to play.  There might be clubs in your local area.  GW stores are a bit awkward as they are often all young uns.

     

    I'm lucky average age at my gaming club is 30+.  

     

    I joined a D&D group on FB a while back. I havent yet reached out in there. I guess my issue is just playing and understanding it. I know a couple things but I just find it so overwhelming. Also, I'm assuming I will be the DM for my group so my confusion with that is when you are campaigning by the book do you also input some of your own thoughts and ideas (i hope that makes sense) or does the book have it all for you.  Again I hope I was clear with everything I wrote. Since I just find it difficult I'm at a loss lol  But I just need someone to explain it to me in laymans terms and for sure I will get it :) 

  5. 4 minutes ago, Dead1 said:

     

     

    Played Talisman a lot.  Only problem is it goes on forever!  I've painted a ton of the figures too but ten repurposed for Dungeons and Dragons.

    I love really indepth ones like Talisman but also Arkham Horror, House on Haunted Hill, Zombicide etc.  

    We play quite a lot of board and card games but wife is getting out of them so now it's simpler games like Coup, Llamas Unleashed (version of Unstable Unicorns), Throw Throw Burrito, Skulls etc.

     

    I'm also an avid miniature wargamer - WWII but also Viking era and American Civil War.

     

    Yep I am a total nerd.

     

     

     

     

    That sounds like my kind of fun.

     

    My brother ran a one session zombie apocalypse RPG using nothing but a jenga tower.  Each time a player made a choice, you pull a jenga block.  If the tower falls down, it has bad ramifications.  Being a bit drunk I collapsed the tower early on and got bitten!   Epic stuff. 

     

    I am currently involved in a couple of Dungeons and Dragons campaigns (one as Dungeon Master)  and have also done Warhammer 40000 and Star War RPGs.

    Yeah dude! Try playing DoW. Will Wheaton did a video on it on his YT channel that how I found out about it. 

     

    That sounds like so much fun! 

     

    Dude I've been trying to get into D&D but I find it so overwhelming. I have the starter 5e books. I have seen YT videos and also have read but I need help! 

  6. I am really into this RPG game called Dead of Winter. You are basically trying to survive a zombie apocalypse in the dead of winter lol. You have to go out of your compound and try to get supplies and avoid being wounded by zombies . Thing is there might be a traitor in the group or maybe not. It's pretty fun! 

  7. 2 minutes ago, KillaKukumba said:

    I wasn't suggest me :)

     

    haha and thankyou for the luck!  I will be working in Forensics. Basically our clients have been in the prison system for a long time and OT will help them reintegrate into back into society.  What we dont want to see is recidivism. I hope to be that glimmer of hope for them to get back to normalcy. I already met them last thursday and they were very nice and welcoming to me. 

  8. 14 minutes ago, NokturnalBoredom said:

    I just don't like how it's a black and white photo of an old building with the name "Tristania" in red, sandwiched right in the middle of the building. I'm very biased toward Necrolord covers though, so that's probably a big reason as to why.

    I feel like they could have done a better cover for that album, but I get that budget is something that has to be considered when recording and releasing an album.

    That makes sense! It does look a little plain. I personally like it. It reminds me of another band cover somewhat.

     

     

  9. 8 hours ago, MacabreEternal said:

    Welcome, glad to hear you are enjoying the place.

    I truly am! Thankyou 

    3 hours ago, markm said:

    I lived in L.A. beteween 93-2,000. Relocated 2000 to Maryland. Hails!

    Oh cool! Did you go see any good shows while being here?

    2 hours ago, NokturnalBoredom said:

    Welcome. I have never been to LA and will probably never go out there, but it's good that you're here.

    Consequently, that was one of my favorite scenes in Wayne's World.

    Thankyou!

    Yeah as I've gotten older that scene became awesome. 

  10. I got introduced to them in 2012 through Heike Langhans. Fell in love with their sound when listening to Sinking Ships. Began to search more about them and found out that ToE had released a demo. I began to follow them since then. I was so looking forward to their debut album. Also possibly seeing videos of fans recordings of their concerts. (I live in LA and know for a fact that they would have toured the EU first). 

    One morning on my way to work, I saw Anders Jacobsson's post on FB of Stanbridge's passing. I was devastated! I remember thinking of her the whole day. Thinking of what happened and also if the ToE and her solo record would still be released. Then I read Juha's post and felt so sad for him. You can feel how hurt he felt through his writing. 

    Since then I have made sure to keep her legacy alive by posting her music and also introducing her to other potential listeners. She died so young and I can not help but wonder on what other amazing art we have missed. 

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  11. Hi everyone! I just wanted to come in here and introduce myself. I'm from LA as the title says. I've been going to shows now for years. I was first introduced to Metal in the 90s through Waynes World and fell in love with it. BTW I was around 5 or 6 when I saw that movie. I know I'm going to embarrass myself but the Alice Cooper scene scared the shit out of me as a kid. Anywho, I decided to join because I wanted to find other like minded individuals. So far I have replied in two posts and have lurked a couple of others. I am enjoying it thus far. So once again hello! and I am happy to be here :) 

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  12. Hello! 

    Here are my overall thoughts on the legend that is Morten Veland. Here is how I got to know him and his music and my thoughts  and then I will go on to talk about my overall opinions.

     

    When I first got into Metal, I first listened to the "entry level" (I hope that makes sense) bands. Testament, Anthrax, Iron Maiden, so on and so forth. I remember in HS listening to that one CoF song with Liv Kristine called Nymphetamine. I've always been into the melancholy, the darkness, etc. Somehow in the late 2000's when Youtube was becoming big, I stumbled into symphonic, gothic metal. I heard Nightwish for the first time. I was amazed! I had never heard classical vocals in metal before. The more I listened to them, the more I became intrigued and wanted to find more bands who were similar. Through my search I found After Forever, Epica, Delain, Tristania, Elis, Leaves Eyes, Draconian, Sirenia and so on. I also became intrigued by the beauty and beast dynamics. The one thing that set Sirenia apart from all those bands was that (to me) it sounded like a blend between gothic rock and metal. I cant remember which record was the first that I heard from them. What I can say is that At Sixes and Sevens blew me away. I just loved how it sounded completely different from music to vocals. I then heard Henriette's record. I thought she was a perfect fit. The first Tristania song that I heard was Equilibrium and first record was Ashes albeit is not an MV record but there it is. I remember putting them in the back burner for maybe a year. Then one day I thought to myself "Hey Morten used to play with them let me check out their earlier stuff." The first song/video that I heard was Preludium/Evenfall from Widow's Weeds. Let me just say...... I thought I was blown away by NW, Epica and Sirenia boy was I knocked out by that first song I heard. I loved everything about it and from that point on I became hooked to all things Tristania. My favorite alltime Tristania record and one of my top 5's in general is WW. I felt that record embodied everything I was into. Going back to Sirenia... to be honest I actually stopped listening to them. I haven't heard their last two installments in its entirety and I don't feel the need to. Mortemia... don't get me started! One thing I have to add is that I have seen Sirenia once. I live in Los Angeles so when I heard they were coming to the States for their debut appearance I got tickets. I didn't care if I didn't listen to them anymore but its MV! haha

     

    Ok so now my opinions!

     

    My overall opinions on Morten Veland are as follows. I think the dude needs a long break. Once there was a time were you can hear the greatness in his music. That was in his early years with his both Tristania and his first two Sirenia records. I feel as though ever since then he's been on a musical decline. I think that he does not have the spark he once had. To me, everything he's done as of late is either super duper "poppy" or/and does not have originality. I would say that I was happy when Ailyn said Veland was going back to his roots. I was excited to hear what was brewing in his genius mind. When I heard PoTDB for the first time with Ducere Me In Lucem I was thinking ok, ok, ok sounds good. But honestly.. I put it back on the shelf and did not really care for it as much as his others. I've been collecting his records but I havent purchased Sirenia's last two because I simply don't like them. Like I said earlier, he needs a break! The only thing he's been doing for the last couple of years is pumping out music like there's no tomorrow. Not only with Sirenia but Mortemia as well. Mortemia just sounds like Sirenia to me.  Like the phrase says Quantity over Quality. I feel that phrase relates to him so well. 

    I'm not taking the fact that he's a great songwriter and composer away from him. I just think that he needs to give his brain a rest at least for a couple to rejuvenate and find his inspiration and spark again. I know he has it in him. I do admire the fact that he does everything himself. 

     

    My biggest dream is for Tristania's old members to reunite at least for one last performance! One can only hope, right! 

     

    So here is my rating from worst to greatest MV records. I will not be putting Sirenia's last two because I have only heard 2 songs from both. And also, I just simply don't care for them. 

    1. The Enigma of Life

    2. Misere Mortem

    3. Dim Days of Dolor

    4. The 13th Floor

    5. Nine Destinies and a Downfall

    6. The Seventh Life Path

    7. Perils of the Deep Blue

    8. An Elixir For Existence

    9. At Sixes and Sevens

    10. Beyond the Veil

    and the all time greatest MV record is of course Widows Weeds!

     

     

     

     

    If I sound like I'm rambling.. I'm so sorry its late here! Thankyou for reading :)

     

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