Mithral Balloon: Need a reference [Archive] - Wizards Community

Mithral Balloon: Need a reference [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
_metz_
02-27-08, 09:09 PM I intend on using Mithral Balloon in an upcoming interacctive.

They are a Greyhawk Band from an old core or something, and I would like to give credit due to the author.

Does anyone recall which mod it was from? did anyone here write that mod?

Any help would be appreciated.
copperwyrmling
02-27-08, 10:16 PM I intend on using Mithral Balloon in an upcoming interacctive.

They are a Greyhawk Band from an old core or something, and I would like to give credit due to the author.

Does anyone recall which mod it was from? did anyone here write that mod?

Any help would be appreciated.

I believe they showed up in the Year 5 Sheldomar Valley game Eye of the Storm (they may also have been in an old Core, but if so it wasn't one I played, i.e. probably Year 2 or earlier).
Drezden
02-28-08, 12:24 AM Yes, Copper is correct, they were introduced in the Sheldomar mod, Eye of the Storm. The author of that mod was (former Keoland triad member) Sean Smith.

The band was "modeled" after Led Zepellin. The lead singer was named "Roberto Greenleaf," and all 12 of the encoutners in the mod were Zeppelin songs: Ramble On; Good Time, Bad Times; Communication Breakdown, etc.

A couple of the band members also make "cameo" appearences in She 6-03, Things to Do in Bissel When You Are Dead. This was also written by Sean Smith.

Daren
_metz_
02-28-08, 01:08 AM Yes, Copper is correct, they were introduced in the Sheldomar mod, Eye of the Storm. The author of that mod was (former Keoland triad member) Sean Smith.

The band was "modeled" after Led Zepellin. The lead singer was named "Roberto Greenleaf," and all 12 of the encoutners in the mod were Zeppelin songs: Ramble On; Good Time, Bad Times; Communication Breakdown, etc.

A couple of the band members also make "cameo" appearences in She 6-03, Things to Do in Bissel When You Are Dead. This was also written by Sean Smith.

Daren

Yes, its the Led Zepellin tribute that is the reason that we want to use the Band.

There is a request in the Wedding Interactive for 'Stairway to Mount Celestia".

I wanted to give credit where credit is due. (Other attending bands include the Crushing Gourds, The Nightwatch, Alchemical Romance and a few others)
Arvagor
02-28-08, 02:37 PM There is a request in the Wedding Interactive for 'Stairway to Mount Celestia".Hmmm... Shouldn't that be "The Infinite Staircase to Mount Celestia"? ;)
_metz_
02-29-08, 06:01 AM Hmmm... Shouldn't that be "The Infinite Staircase to Mount Celestia"? ;)

Well thats just silly.

Started out, as a nice little parody of some rock legends.

And then it just got silly.
Suvarov454
02-29-08, 08:00 AM It sounds more like an homage instead of a parody.
Arvagor
02-29-08, 12:01 PM Well thats just silly.

Started out, as a nice little parody of some rock legends.

And then it just got silly.
No, it got silly when someone decided to come up with "Mithral Balloon", which, if you think about it, makes less sense as a parody/homage -- if you're going to go with D&D references to pop culture, then it would be more appropriate to be named "Adamantine Balloon". (The elves have probably figured out a way to make balloons out of mithral...)

Regardless, the LG Writers Guidebook discourages such references:Use of pop culture references should not be included in your scenario. Their only purpose is a cheap laugh and they tend to just cheapen the game. Leave your movie lines and TV quotes at home.
Hariman
02-29-08, 07:32 PM Is this the right place to mention that the Mythbusters have made a lead balloon that actually floated like the balloon it was?

It was a 10 foot cube, and it was cool to see the proverbial lead balloon actually float.
_metz_
02-29-08, 10:05 PM It sounds more like an homage instead of a parody.

Course it is :)

No, it got silly when someone decided to come up with "Mithral Balloon", which, if you think about it, makes less sense as a parody/homage -- if you're going to go with D&D references to pop culture, then it would be more appropriate to be named "Adamantine Balloon". (The elves have probably figured out a way to make balloons out of mithral...)

Regardless, the LG Writers Guidebook discourages such references:

Oh I wouldn't do it in a real module.

But its a Wedding Interactive, we are there to roleplay and have a whimsical time. Approaching it excessively seriously defeats the point. We are Perrenders, we have lots of war and serious stuff, so our interactives tend to be that. Interactive.

And why is Adamantine Balloon more suitable than Mithral? too many syllables, would make a terrible band name. And its not like Led is that amazing a metal.

Also its not a movie line or TV quote. Most modules rip stuff off, people just don't realise it. I enjoy serious battle mods, and I enjoy whimsical fun roleplaying mods.

Why wouldn't there be bands in the greyhawk setting? There are real world equivalents of everything else popping up in mods.

Lets not forget that it is a roleplaying game... If It didn't already exist, my mate and I would have made a Led Zeppellin Pair of travellling musicians a long time ago. (I was going to be James Scribe)

If you feel it impinges on your sensibilities as a serious roleplayer, then might I suggest you not attend the Perrenland Interactive

PER INT8-01 My Big Fat Perrender Wedding.

Good thing its only on at one con in Sydney. (Wonders why everyone always seems to insist on playing soldiers at interactives, its fun, but occasionally they are just about people who adventure sitting about and doing other stuff. Things you cannot do in a non home game. - see Terry Pratchett -)

Sorry if I reacted strongly, but I do not see what is wrong with it at all. It doesn't break canon, and its not exactly forcing anyone to roleplay with them. They are just going to be there, for the benefit of the PC/Player who's wedding it is for.
Arvagor
02-29-08, 11:17 PM And why is Adamantine Balloon more suitable than Mithral? too many syllables, would make a terrible band name. And its not like Led is that amazing a metal.Well, the original story is as follows (quoting the Wikipedia version (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_zeppelin)): "One account of the band's naming, which has become almost legendary, has it that Keith Moon and John Entwistle suggested that a possible supergroup containing themselves, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck would go down like a lead zeppelin, a term Entwistle used to describe a bad gig." I.e., like a zeppelin made of a very heavy metal (no pun intended). Thus, if one has to pick a D&D metal out of which to make a balloon, my first choice would not be mithral, since it's half as light as steel. Of the standard (D&D) metals we have remaining, adamantine would be the one that would probably come closest...

Why wouldn't there be bands in the greyhawk setting? There are real world equivalents of everything else popping up in mods.I'm sure there are many minstrel groups wandering the Flanaess; I just question what they might name themselves (unless, of course, they were populated by gnomish bards, in which case, all bets are off...)

Sorry if I reacted strongly, but I do not see what is wrong with it at all. It doesn't break canon, and its not exactly forcing anyone to roleplay with them. They are just going to be there, for the benefit of the PC/Player who's wedding it is for.I have no problem with whimsy; I do think it's something that's sorely missing from the mindset of many players these days (see Why We Aren't Funny, Part 1 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20051104a) and Why We Aren't Funny, Part 2 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20060113a) for better examples than I could ever give). Heck, my last home campaign I ran had a dwarf that had been shrunk to halfling-size (and was blue), and only accepted payment in the form of rocks, and his brother (not halfling-sized nor blue) whose technique for dealing with swarms was to stage-dive and barrel-roll across them.

But... As a Triad, one of my jobs is to help manage the integrity of the campaign, even if it is ending in 10 months time. To that end, I do my best to follow the rules that I agreed to when I accepted the position (including the writers' guide). That means if we do allow humor into an adventure, it's usually situational (such as a clan of halfling barbarian brothers all with the Swarmfighting feat, and all with a bad temper), or something as simple as the name of an inn (I think "The One-Eyed Dragon" made it into one of our adventures last year ;) ).

Just sayin' ...
kenobi65
03-02-08, 02:33 AM I have no problem with whimsy; I do think it's something that's sorely missing from the mindset of many players these days (see Why We Aren't Funny, Part 1 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20051104a) and Why We Aren't Funny, Part 2 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20060113a) for better examples than I could ever give). Heck, my last home campaign I ran had a dwarf that had been shrunk to halfling-size (and was blue), and only accepted payment in the form of rocks, and his brother (not halfling-sized nor blue) whose technique for dealing with swarms was to stage-dive and barrel-roll across them.

But... As a Triad, one of my jobs is to help manage the integrity of the campaign, even if it is ending in 10 months time. To that end, I do my best to follow the rules that I agreed to when I accepted the position (including the writers' guide). That means if we do allow humor into an adventure, it's usually situational (such as a clan of halfling barbarian brothers all with the Swarmfighting feat, and all with a bad temper), or something as simple as the name of an inn (I think "The One-Eyed Dragon" made it into one of our adventures last year ;) ).

Exactly. There's a difference between humor that works within the campaign setting without breaking the suspension of disbelief, and humor that's largely (if not entirely) based on a modern-day / anachronistic reference, and, if viewed solely through the filter of a character in the game world, isn't funny at all (because, while a player might think it's very funny, the character would have no clue about the reference).

Some DMs have no problem using the latter in a game (and this is coming from a guy who once had a court jester in his home campaign named Beau Zoediclaun), but other DMs like to have a higher level of verisimilitude in their campaigns. The quote from the LG Writer's Guidebook that Arvagor references strongly suggests to me that the Circle is in the second camp.
clannagh
03-02-08, 07:00 PM I got approval to include the "bardic ensemble" Alchemical Romance in one of my mods complete with a half orc drummer (non bard with a natural ability to "hit things good" ) .

However the "bardic ensemble" was an integral part of the mod and written straight .. the only real anachronism about them was the tongue-in-cheek name.
_metz_
03-02-08, 10:04 PM I got approval to include the "bardic ensemble" Alchemical Romance in one of my mods complete with a half orc drummer (non bard with a natural ability to "hit things good" ) .

However the "bardic ensemble" was an integral part of the mod and written straight .. the only real anachronism about them was the tongue-in-cheek name.

Thats pretty much what I am doing.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
_metz_ 02-27-08, 09:09 PM	I intend on using Mithral Balloon in an upcoming interacctive. They are a Greyhawk Band from an old core or something, and I would like to give credit due to the author. Does anyone recall which mod it was from? did anyone here write that mod? Any help would be appreciated.
copperwyrmling 02-27-08, 10:16 PM	I intend on using Mithral Balloon in an upcoming interacctive. They are a Greyhawk Band from an old core or something, and I would like to give credit due to the author. Does anyone recall which mod it was from? did anyone here write that mod? Any help would be appreciated. I believe they showed up in the Year 5 Sheldomar Valley game Eye of the Storm (they may also have been in an old Core, but if so it wasn't one I played, i.e. probably Year 2 or earlier).
Drezden 02-28-08, 12:24 AM	Yes, Copper is correct, they were introduced in the Sheldomar mod, Eye of the Storm. The author of that mod was (former Keoland triad member) Sean Smith. The band was "modeled" after Led Zepellin. The lead singer was named "Roberto Greenleaf," and all 12 of the encoutners in the mod were Zeppelin songs: Ramble On; Good Time, Bad Times; Communication Breakdown, etc. A couple of the band members also make "cameo" appearences in She 6-03, Things to Do in Bissel When You Are Dead. This was also written by Sean Smith. Daren
_metz_ 02-28-08, 01:08 AM	Yes, Copper is correct, they were introduced in the Sheldomar mod, Eye of the Storm. The author of that mod was (former Keoland triad member) Sean Smith. The band was "modeled" after Led Zepellin. The lead singer was named "Roberto Greenleaf," and all 12 of the encoutners in the mod were Zeppelin songs: Ramble On; Good Time, Bad Times; Communication Breakdown, etc. A couple of the band members also make "cameo" appearences in She 6-03, Things to Do in Bissel When You Are Dead. This was also written by Sean Smith. Daren Yes, its the Led Zepellin tribute that is the reason that we want to use the Band. There is a request in the Wedding Interactive for 'Stairway to Mount Celestia". I wanted to give credit where credit is due. (Other attending bands include the Crushing Gourds, The Nightwatch, Alchemical Romance and a few others)
Arvagor 02-28-08, 02:37 PM	There is a request in the Wedding Interactive for 'Stairway to Mount Celestia".Hmmm... Shouldn't that be "The Infinite Staircase to Mount Celestia"? ;)
_metz_ 02-29-08, 06:01 AM	Hmmm... Shouldn't that be "The Infinite Staircase to Mount Celestia"? ;) Well thats just silly. Started out, as a nice little parody of some rock legends. And then it just got silly.
Suvarov454 02-29-08, 08:00 AM	It sounds more like an homage instead of a parody.
Arvagor 02-29-08, 12:01 PM	Well thats just silly. Started out, as a nice little parody of some rock legends. And then it just got silly. No, it got silly when someone decided to come up with "Mithral Balloon", which, if you think about it, makes less sense as a parody/homage -- if you're going to go with D&D references to pop culture, then it would be more appropriate to be named "Adamantine Balloon". (The elves have probably figured out a way to make balloons out of mithral...) Regardless, the LG Writers Guidebook discourages such references:Use of pop culture references should not be included in your scenario. Their only purpose is a cheap laugh and they tend to just cheapen the game. Leave your movie lines and TV quotes at home.
Hariman 02-29-08, 07:32 PM	Is this the right place to mention that the Mythbusters have made a lead balloon that actually floated like the balloon it was? It was a 10 foot cube, and it was cool to see the proverbial lead balloon actually float.
_metz_ 02-29-08, 10:05 PM	It sounds more like an homage instead of a parody. Course it is :) No, it got silly when someone decided to come up with "Mithral Balloon", which, if you think about it, makes less sense as a parody/homage -- if you're going to go with D&D references to pop culture, then it would be more appropriate to be named "Adamantine Balloon". (The elves have probably figured out a way to make balloons out of mithral...) Regardless, the LG Writers Guidebook discourages such references: Oh I wouldn't do it in a real module. But its a Wedding Interactive, we are there to roleplay and have a whimsical time. Approaching it excessively seriously defeats the point. We are Perrenders, we have lots of war and serious stuff, so our interactives tend to be that. Interactive. And why is Adamantine Balloon more suitable than Mithral? too many syllables, would make a terrible band name. And its not like Led is that amazing a metal. Also its not a movie line or TV quote. Most modules rip stuff off, people just don't realise it. I enjoy serious battle mods, and I enjoy whimsical fun roleplaying mods. Why wouldn't there be bands in the greyhawk setting? There are real world equivalents of everything else popping up in mods. Lets not forget that it is a roleplaying game... If It didn't already exist, my mate and I would have made a Led Zeppellin Pair of travellling musicians a long time ago. (I was going to be James Scribe) If you feel it impinges on your sensibilities as a serious roleplayer, then might I suggest you not attend the Perrenland Interactive PER INT8-01 My Big Fat Perrender Wedding. Good thing its only on at one con in Sydney. (Wonders why everyone always seems to insist on playing soldiers at interactives, its fun, but occasionally they are just about people who adventure sitting about and doing other stuff. Things you cannot do in a non home game. - see Terry Pratchett -) Sorry if I reacted strongly, but I do not see what is wrong with it at all. It doesn't break canon, and its not exactly forcing anyone to roleplay with them. They are just going to be there, for the benefit of the PC/Player who's wedding it is for.
Arvagor 02-29-08, 11:17 PM	And why is Adamantine Balloon more suitable than Mithral? too many syllables, would make a terrible band name. And its not like Led is that amazing a metal.Well, the original story is as follows (quoting the Wikipedia version (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Led_zeppelin)): "One account of the band's naming, which has become almost legendary, has it that Keith Moon and John Entwistle suggested that a possible supergroup containing themselves, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck would go down like a lead zeppelin, a term Entwistle used to describe a bad gig." I.e., like a zeppelin made of a very heavy metal (no pun intended). Thus, if one has to pick a D&D metal out of which to make a balloon, my first choice would not be mithral, since it's half as light as steel. Of the standard (D&D) metals we have remaining, adamantine would be the one that would probably come closest... Why wouldn't there be bands in the greyhawk setting? There are real world equivalents of everything else popping up in mods.I'm sure there are many minstrel groups wandering the Flanaess; I just question what they might name themselves (unless, of course, they were populated by gnomish bards, in which case, all bets are off...) Sorry if I reacted strongly, but I do not see what is wrong with it at all. It doesn't break canon, and its not exactly forcing anyone to roleplay with them. They are just going to be there, for the benefit of the PC/Player who's wedding it is for.I have no problem with whimsy; I do think it's something that's sorely missing from the mindset of many players these days (see Why We Aren't Funny, Part 1 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20051104a) and Why We Aren't Funny, Part 2 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20060113a) for better examples than I could ever give). Heck, my last home campaign I ran had a dwarf that had been shrunk to halfling-size (and was blue), and only accepted payment in the form of rocks, and his brother (not halfling-sized nor blue) whose technique for dealing with swarms was to stage-dive and barrel-roll across them. But... As a Triad, one of my jobs is to help manage the integrity of the campaign, even if it is ending in 10 months time. To that end, I do my best to follow the rules that I agreed to when I accepted the position (including the writers' guide). That means if we do allow humor into an adventure, it's usually situational (such as a clan of halfling barbarian brothers all with the Swarmfighting feat, and all with a bad temper), or something as simple as the name of an inn (I think "The One-Eyed Dragon" made it into one of our adventures last year ;) ). Just sayin' ...
kenobi65 03-02-08, 02:33 AM	I have no problem with whimsy; I do think it's something that's sorely missing from the mindset of many players these days (see Why We Aren't Funny, Part 1 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20051104a) and Why We Aren't Funny, Part 2 (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dd/20060113a) for better examples than I could ever give). Heck, my last home campaign I ran had a dwarf that had been shrunk to halfling-size (and was blue), and only accepted payment in the form of rocks, and his brother (not halfling-sized nor blue) whose technique for dealing with swarms was to stage-dive and barrel-roll across them. But... As a Triad, one of my jobs is to help manage the integrity of the campaign, even if it is ending in 10 months time. To that end, I do my best to follow the rules that I agreed to when I accepted the position (including the writers' guide). That means if we do allow humor into an adventure, it's usually situational (such as a clan of halfling barbarian brothers all with the Swarmfighting feat, and all with a bad temper), or something as simple as the name of an inn (I think "The One-Eyed Dragon" made it into one of our adventures last year ;) ). Exactly. There's a difference between humor that works within the campaign setting without breaking the suspension of disbelief, and humor that's largely (if not entirely) based on a modern-day / anachronistic reference, and, if viewed solely through the filter of a character in the game world, isn't funny at all (because, while a player might think it's very funny, the character would have no clue about the reference). Some DMs have no problem using the latter in a game (and this is coming from a guy who once had a court jester in his home campaign named Beau Zoediclaun), but other DMs like to have a higher level of verisimilitude in their campaigns. The quote from the LG Writer's Guidebook that Arvagor references strongly suggests to me that the Circle is in the second camp.
clannagh 03-02-08, 07:00 PM	I got approval to include the "bardic ensemble" Alchemical Romance in one of my mods complete with a half orc drummer (non bard with a natural ability to "hit things good" ) . However the "bardic ensemble" was an integral part of the mod and written straight .. the only real anachronism about them was the tongue-in-cheek name.
_metz_ 03-02-08, 10:04 PM	I got approval to include the "bardic ensemble" Alchemical Romance in one of my mods complete with a half orc drummer (non bard with a natural ability to "hit things good" ) . However the "bardic ensemble" was an integral part of the mod and written straight .. the only real anachronism about them was the tongue-in-cheek name. Thats pretty much what I am doing.