BCF - Never Forget!

Folks, this is a little painful for me to write about.

I've never shopped at Burlington Coat Factory. I couldn't say why, exactly... it's not like I wasn't aware of them. It's not like the opportunity wasn't there. There was a great big Burlington Coat Factory right outside of Westroads Mall that I passed by on almost a weekly basis for over a year. I just passed it by. I wasn't intentionally ignoring it or anything... I guess I just always had the idea in the back of my head that I could go into it, some day. I took it for granted that it would always be there.

Folks, that Burlington Coat Factory closed down some years back and today there is a Whole Foods on the site where it stood. I cannot visit that store without feeling a pang in my heart and spending about a hundred dollars on a week's worth of groceries. And so I know exactly where Sarah Palin is coming from when she speaks out against the current plans by a group of private citizens to build a community center on the site of a former Burlington Coat Factory in Manhattan. Sure, this is America and they can do what they want with their private property, but some things are special, some things are sacred, some things are too important to leave up to "rights" and "laws", and the ground of a Burlington Coat Factory is hallowed ground indeed and while I never thought the day would come where I'd be saying this, I am glad to have the voice of Sarah Palin speaking out as a voice of reason on this issue.

...wait, what?

Folks, I have just been informed that Sarah Palin's objection to the community center isn't that it's being built on the site of a Burlington Coat Factory but that she objects to a mosque at Ground Zero of the 9/11 attacks. Evidently there's been some confusion somewhere, because I'm almost positive that the 9/11 attacks didn't happen at a Burlington Coat Factory and the plans I've heard aren't for a mosque. She must be talking about something else entirely, I suppose. I'm going to have to go do some more research on the topic, but in the meantime it looks like I'm going to be a lone voice in the wilderness here on this whole Burlington Coat Factory preservation issue.

D&D Transcript: Episode 1, Part 3

Note: These events precede the two interludes posted before this.

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D&D Transcript: Episode 1, Part 4

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Episode 1 Bookkeeping

Experience Totals For Episode 1:
Combat: 975 XP
Curing Jared's Petrification (Major Quest): 900 XP
Retrieving Four Reality Shards (Minor Quests): 400 XP
Sealing The Rift (Minor Quest): 100 XP
Cunning Plan Bonus: 100 XP (Harlan)
Paragon One-Liners: 25 XP (Optima)
Special Award For Being Set On Fire, Knocked Prone, And Still Having More Than Full HP: 25 XP (Spectre)
Taking One For The Team Bonus: 25 XP (Dunbar)
DM's Little Puppet Helper: 50 XP (Gallifreya, Carrog)
Roleplaying Bonuses (100 XP per session per player): 3400 XP

Total XP = 6000 / 9 = 666 Experience Points

The Contents Of The Strongbox:

The box contains 90 GP worth of coins, as well as ostentatious and mystical-looking jewelry and props and patterned fabrics that could be converted to 360 GP with an afternoon's work and a suitable urban center, and a few items that seem to have actual mystical significance.

If somebody trained in arcana examines the lot, they are able to identify the following: a healer's brooch, a gloaming shroud, an amulet of health, bracers of the perfect shot, a belt of vigor, giantkind gloves, and bracers of mighty striking. They all carry a slight whiff of extraplanar energy, as if they were pulled from different worlds.

Gallifreya is able to decipher two alchemical formulae from among Impostro's stash: blinding bomb and alchemical fire. He also had 120 GP worth of alchemical reagents, and a couple of formulae that her current recollection of her skills are not up to deciphering.

The potions are two potions of healing and two gravespawn potions, though their labels say "For Hmn Pncshn Act" and "For Snkhndlng Act", respectively.

Toben's participation in the rift-sealing has given him a slightly greater mastery of his innate powers, enabling him to begin to tap the powers of the staff he carries... it now acts as a +1 staff. (Yes, I know he wasn't even there, but the whole team benefits if the striker is able to strike.) You can decide how to apportion the other items among yourselves... I suggest commenting if you'd like to claim something, and if there's a disagreement you can work it out with whoever else wants the item in question. Or you could comment if you think an item would suit a particular character.