Friday, August 26, 2011

iPad Gaming Fun (redux)

Okay, I'm going to come clean. I'm stumped on what I want to do with the bartenders idea, so I'm working them before I post them.

However, I realized last night that I have a LOT of stuff RPG-wise on my iPad. I was looking over it and realized just HOW useful a tool for players and GMs it can be.

Let's see... Here is my iPad's RPG tool menu/folder. We can start off with some of the stuff I haven't discussed before. Battle Maps has been talked about before, so we'll skip it.



Starting off with OFFICIAL goodies from Paizo (one of my favorite publishers as you can tell by now, and  an example I think MORE game publishers should look into)

The Critical Hit/Fumble Decks are 10.99 each (currently they are 'as found' since Paizo hasn't reprinted the run I think). The iCrit and iFailure apps are the SAME things and set up by the publisher themselves. You (or the GM) can simply pick out the category, tap the app and get instant results.  Another plus.. they are like 1.99 each.



Then there is the PF Reference App. It's sort of an indexed version of the Pathfinder Reference Document you can get online. The advantages are that you got a bookmarked, indexed and searchable version that doesn't require online access. It's updatable by in App purchases, and while cheap, some folks might not be too interested in putting the money aside for something you can get for free. If you have web access (and who doesn't have wi-fi these days?), you can do the same right from the website without paying a penny.







Then there is all those PDFs you can get from folks like Drivethrurpg (my drug fix of choice online) but Paizo is another good PDF source. You can put all your game manuals, sourcebooks, maps, and other PDFs in iBooks and even organize them.

Starting off, it's fairly each to load. You just open your folder, click and drag into iTunes and synch to your iPad (or iPhone/iPod if you like to squint).

After you synch, it's easy enough to organize the PDFs (and even epubs) by collection as you can see from the example that I put up from my own.

Pluses: I can click on things at a touch, sort by category and carry  LOTS of books with a small lightweight tablet.

Cons: Well for one, not all PDFs are created equal. Some won't work properly in iBooks, mostly personally created PDFs from various websites. Almost ALL commercial pdfs work right and those that don't are typically updated quickly. As of right now I have ONE adventures path map pack that will NOT display on the iPad, but it has some fairly rare options that aren't typically used. (Like the ability to switch between GM and Player maps with a click) and I expect that as iBooks get the occasional update it will eventually be able to display them.

Other grouses include not being able to use the table of contents (when available), search, and highlight PDFs. You can bookmark it though, so that is something. In BIG books, I typically bookmark each chapter start.

All in all, iBooks tends to be the best of the PDF viewing options that I have seen on the iPad among the PDF viewers that I've seen/used. The fact that is the most STABLE of them is another factor. A lot of the others tend to be unstable, crash prone or outright SLOW. Ungodly slow in some cases.

I would LOVE to have the folks at Abode to put together their own app but I think they are on strike or something. I am sure the folks who created the PDF format would be the best at making an app that could most easily use all the features of the format.

And lastly for the moment.

The Black Library app is put out by the folks at Black Libary, who do a LOT of books set in the Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40K settings. This covers a HUGE variety of games from RPGs like Warhammer Fantasy RP, Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, Deathwatch and the upcoming Black Crusade. The other side is the world famous tabletop Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k tactical games.

Black Libary does fiction that ties into ANY of these. I've seen all sorts of things in the app's store and while their 'samples' section isn't too broad, they have LOTS of books on hand. I'd personally love to be able to download old White Dwarf Mags but this is a nice thing anyway since it lets you get fiction set in the genre and setting. (Fun note: The Warhammer fiction on Amazon's Kindle store seems to be mostly plagarized fiction stolen from fan sites. Be warned.)

I would like to see stuff like this come up. The Kindle (and other book vendors like B&N and Nook Apps) recently lost the ability to shop within the App. While not a big issue, this sort of thing would be nice to see.


One of the perks of the iPad is the relatively cheap cost of the apps (most expensive app I've seen in the store is something on the order of 200 bucks, but it was a medical app.) There are lots of 'sheet aps' to hold characters, and a few of them look interesting but I haven't bought them because they don't tie to a system out there that I use a lot. The big trick is to learn how to do your 'search-fu' in the App store since they can be located under a variety of options. Games, Productivity, Books and so on.  'RPG' and such doesn't lead them and you can get a LOT of stuff that doesn't apply.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Apologies.

Sorry about the delays. School has introduced me to my nemesis, Accounting 204. This is without a doubt the worse course I've had to date. I spend a day on Networking 230, save the discussion posts, and the rest of the week on six problems assigned for the accounting class.

I am coming up on the final week of the class and hopefully my drive and vigor for the blog will return then. :D

Bear with me folks. I'm trying to think of some interesting things to put up.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

We BE Goblins!!!


Paizo has a serious Goblin fixation. There is a goblin on each of the bestiary covers so far, and they are big into the whole look of them. I like it.

So, this month they put out a free module for Free RPG Day coming up. Check it out. It's a quick one shot adventure that is both fun, silly and interesting. It comes with 4 pregenerated Goblin PCs.


Sunday, June 19, 2011

Wayfinder by Paizo Fans United

Just a quick post and hotlink.

Paizo Fans United: The fans who got together and made up Wayfinder, the fanzine that Paizo lets you download for free! It's amazing that fans do this on their own, for free! Check it out, it's the best fracking value for your dollar. Oh wait! You don't GIVE THEM YOUR DOLLAR!


See? It's already a good value!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Gamer's Rant: New Editons that shouldn't have been

Warning: The following are the opinions of the person running this blog (me) and no one else. If you disagree, good.. you're entitled to your opinion and I've got a right to mine. I sorry if I offend some folks.. but this is a rant.. fueled by several coronas and someone I know using 'logic' to tell me why I'm 'wrong' about several game systems.

1. Cyberpunk 203X: Sorry Mike Pondsmith, but you totally jumped the shark on this one. You had gamers waiting waiting YEARS for a game that was not anything like it's predecessors. Rache Bartmoss destroys the NET? No one knows what year it is? There is NOTHING reliable about any part of history? Everything everywhere has been changed and without books to backstop things, everything is in question in history. Sorry.. I bought the PDF when it came out, spent six hours reading it..and almost cried.

2. D&D 4e: The bad signs, to me, were the way the core book mangled multiclassing, alignments and went straight to the 'MMORP' outlook. (Tank, Healer, Blaster roles; 'enchanting dust' and such). Then the roll back in alignments and the total elimination of the old spell system, which was flawed I will agree, with a 'daily/combat use' talent set up. ("Oh no..shouldn't have used that fireball earlier.. it's only 1/day now")
Granted, I know that as an old school player dating back to the late 70s, I'm not one of the 'core demographics' that Wizards/Hasbro were aiming for. The total destruction of the 'official' DnD content that came before it and the death of Dragon/Dungeon Magazines as a dead tree publication has a lot to do with my ire as well. Almost every other game system that has been updated in the last few years still sells PDFs of their old content. Good luck trying to do that LEGALLY with Dungeon and Dragons Pre-4e. It's all gone.

4. Shadowrun 4e: Mostly I like the history update. The whole 'wireless revolution' is cool but the downgrade of skills and the addition of more attributes is a bit harsh in my opinion. Other than that it's still the rush of the mystic and tech, runaway culture shock and all the crunchy bits of cyberpunk gaming I like.

5. World of Darkness: Okay.. the Old World of Darkness had it's warts, I will be the first to admit it. Crossovers between systems? Not too good. (Vampire: "Die Were!" Were: "Blargh! I Rage, eat aggravated damage and this VW bus.") But on their own, each was good, especially when you had a GM who set the rules, made the calls on what you could and couldn't play, and knew how to play the Xanatos Gambit on the players. I still miss Mage and Vampire Games.
New WoD not so much fun. (Again.. my opinion.. lots of my buds love them, have fun guys, I'm waiting for the 20th anniversary edition of Vamp:Masquerade and pray that it leads to a Mage anniversary editon down the line)

Coming later on when I calm down and think things through a bit..

Games that were unfairly killed by the license owners.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

My Sources

It just occurred to me that my resources for Pathfinder are a bit more extensive than some GMs might have. (I got probably something like 80%+ of the campaign setting books.

I currently use:
1.Pathfinder Core
2. Bestiary 1 & 2, as well as the bonus bestiary from the Paizo site
3. Advanced Player's Guide
4. Ultimate Magic
5. Player's Guides for: Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, Council of Theives, Kingmaker, Serpent's Skull, Carrion Crown (All free btw)
6. Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to the River Kingdoms, Cities of Golarion, City of Strangers, Classic Treasures Revisited, Faction Guide, NPC Guide, Seekers of Secrets, Gazetteer, Guide to Korvosa, Classic Monsters Revisited
7. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide, Lost Cities of Golarion, Rule of Fear
8. Pathfinder Companion: Adventurer's Armory, Andoran: Spirit of Liberty, Cheliax: Empire of Devils, Dwarves of Golarion, Gnomes of Golarion, Qadira, Halflings of Golarion, Inner Sea Primer, Orcs of Golarion, Faiths of Purity.

This doesn't include things like the Iconic downloads or any of the various beta tests they put on their site. Or the Pathfinder SRD or Golarion Wiki.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

'The Bartender is a what?' Part 2: Haladen 'Hal' Laroe

Balding with a bit of a paunch, Hal looks like your typical barman. He looks to be nearly 10 years younger than his actual age(60). Of note, he walks with a limp and favors his right leg.

Location: Small village in Ustalav where he grew up before heading out to adventure. After losing his left leg below the knee in a fight in with a trio of lycantropes. Healed by his party cleric, Hal was given a metal leg and enough funds to set up his inn (The Orge's Head) and quietly retired and became a preist of Cayden Cailean.
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HALADEN 'HAL' LAROE CR 7
Male Human (Varisian) Cleric 7 Fighter 1
CG Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +12
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DEFENSE
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AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 46 (1d10+7d8+8)
Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +9
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OFFENSE
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Spd 20 ft.
Melee +1 Consecrated, Holy Rapier +8/+3 (1d6+2/18-20/x2) and
+1 Mace, Light +8/+3 (1d6+2/20/x2) and
Unarmed Strike +7/+2 (1d3+1/20/x2)
Spell-Like Abilities Strength Surge (7/day), Touch of Good (7/day)
Cleric Spells Known (CL 7, 7 melee touch, 7 ranged touch):
4 (2/day) Spell Immunity, Holy Smite (DC 18), Neutralize Poison
3 (3/day) Magic Vestment, Magic Circle against Evil, Create Food and Water, Daylight
2 (4/day) Bull's Strength (DC 16), Hold Person (DC 16), Hold Person (DC 16), Suppress Charms and Compulsions, Zone of Truth (DC 16)
1 (5/day) Bless Water (DC 15), Bless, Command (DC 15), Sanctuary (DC 15), Pick Your Poison, Sun Metal (DC 15)
0 (at will) Purify Food and Drink (DC 14), Detect Poison, Stabilize, Light
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TACTICS
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Before Combat He can cast Bless, Bull's Strength and Magical Vestments if he has time to prepare for a fight
During Combat He uses Holy Smite, Sun Metal and Channeling Positive energy to help allies or disrupt undead that he typically has to deal with.
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STATISTICS
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Str 13, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 18, Cha 17
Base Atk +6; CMB +7; CMD 18
Feats Catch Off-Guard, Combat Casting, Extra Channel, Improved Channel, Improved Unarmed Strike, Quick Channel
Skills Diplomacy +11, Heal +9, Knowledge: Local +11, Knowledge: Religion +14, Perception +12, Profession: Barkeep +13, Profession: Innkeeper +13, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +12
Languages Common, Dwarven, Orc, Skald, Varisian
SQ Aura (Ex), Channel Positive Energy 4d6 (8/day) (DC 18) (Su), Cleric Domain: Good, Cleric Domain: Resolve, Spontaneous Casting, Tankard of the Drunken Hero
Combat Gear +1 Consecrated, Holy Rapier, +1 Mace, Light, +2 Leather; Other Gear Acolyte Ale (5), Blue Priest (5), Tankard of the Drunken Hero
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Aura (Ex) The Cleric has an aura corresponding to his deity's alignment.
Catch Off-Guard Proficient with improvised melee weapons. Unarmed opponents are flat-footed against your improvised weapons.
Channel Positive Energy 4d6 (8/day) (DC 18) (Su) A good cleric can channel positive energy to heal the living and injure the undead; an evil cleric can channel negative energy to injure the living and heal the undead.
Cleric Domain: Good Granted Powers: You have pledged your life and soul to goodness and purity.
Cleric Domain: Resolve Associated Domain: Strength
Combat Casting +4 to Concentration checks to cast while on the defensive.
Improved Unarmed Strike Unarmed strikes don't cause attacks of opportunity, and can be lethal.
Quick Channel Channel energy faster by expending more uses
Spontaneous Casting The Cleric can convert stored spells into Cure or Inflict spells.
Strength Surge (7/day) (Sp) Grant +3 to a melee atack or strength check.
Tankard of the Drunken Hero This simple battered tankard is usually made of copper or tin. Its handle is slightly open at the bottom to let you slip it through a belt for easy carrying. You gain a +1 resistance bonus on Fortitude and Will saves. Once per day you may fill it with wine, ale, or some other alcohol and drink from it to gain the benefits of a remove fear spell.

If Cayden Cailean is your patron, the tankard counts as a holy symbol. Once per day, you may drink an alcoholic beverage from the tankard to gain the benefits of a heroism spell. Once per day, the tankard automatically unties ropes that bind you or unlocks locks that hinder you (including loosening manacles attached to said locks). This typically occurs about 5 minutes after the tying or unlocking and only affects bindings that are directly on your person (for example, it won't unlock a door to your prison cell but will unlock your manacles). This power is subtle enough that it is unnoticeable unless someone checks the bindings to make sure they are secure - ropes loosen but still appear to be tightly bound, manacles unlock and loosen but do not automatically fall off. The tankard can only untie or unlock things with a DC of 25 or lower, though more powerful tankards may exist.

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, animate rope, heroism, knock, remove fear, resistance; Cost 2,650 gp
Touch of Good (7/day) (Sp) Grant +3 to skill checks, ability checks and saving throws for 1r.
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BASIC DETAILS
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Motivations & Goals To spread cheer and instill hope in the folk of his village and the surrounding area. He listens to rumors and stories, and discretely slips folks coin to investigate things for him.
Schemes, Plots & Adventure Hooks -Recover his stolen leg
-Investigate a tomb in the local swamp.
Boon Free healing to those who are willing to give him a helpful hand.

Hero Lab® and the Hero Lab logo are Registered Trademarks of LWD Technology, Inc. Free download at http://www.wolflair.com
Pathfinder® and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC®, and are used under license.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Battlemap App!

Battlemap: This is a map I literally drew in like 15 minutes using Battlemap on my iPad. You can do all sorts of things with this app. Output the map to a TV/Monitor using the iPad video connector, set it up so the players see/move on a 'cloud of war' style map. A built in dice roller. Adding (and scaling) custom markers from other sources. (very helpful since it's not got a large library)

Still trying to figure out how to export the raw map to a computer and not just keep it to the app.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Two New Channelling Feats

Note: These have been rattling around in my head for a while. I need feedback REALLY bad on them. So if you use them in a gaming group, I'd appreciate hearing about it. The cost (in channelling and feats) isn't an accident. The ability to extend channelling's reach and to exclude the bad guys from the normal burst is pretty potent. Other options if 2 uses/2 feats is too low for a GM could be changing the Channel from a standard action to a full round action.

Feats

Shaped Channel: Cone
With great effort and concentration, you can channel your divine energies in a cone.
Prerequisite: Improved Channel, Selective Channel
Benefit: With great focus and effort, the cleric (or other channeling class) can release a cone-shaped burst (45 feet long). Each use requires 2 uses of channel energy
Normal: Typically channeling energy is only done in a 30 ft burst.

Shaped Channel: Line
With great effort and concentration, you can channel your divine energies in a straight line.
Prerequisite: Improved Channel, Selective Channel.
Benefit: With great focus and effort, the cleric (or other channeling class) can release a burst of energy in a line up to 60 feet long. Each use requires 2 uses of channel energy
Normal: Typically channeling energy is only done in a 30 ft burst.

A spell whilst you wait!

One of the spells from my old fun on the Stennis group, adapted to Pathfinder. As such, I'm going to give a call out to the guys who let my character (Kyrie Harpell) create crazy spells like this and give the input I needed to make them work. Thanks guys. (That would be: Roland, John, Ryan, Drake, Morris and the rest of the guys I'm trying to recall of the 2000 Stennis Cruise)

For the setting, this is one of the spells that Callie Del Noire is (in)famous for, though she doesn't claim to have created it. Some hints that she found a cache of lost spell books and transcribed select spells from it. It is rumored at least one of the bounties offered is from the creator/owner of the spells.

(Feel free to comment on these please!)


Clinging Darkness

School: Evocation [darkness] Level: Sorcerer/Wizards 3

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Components: V, M/DF (black ink mixed with ground coal/iron fillings)

Range: Touch

Target: Object Touched

Duration: 1 minute/level

Saving Throw: none, Spell Resistance: no

This spell creates a field of darkness just like the darkness spell with the addition that the darkness ‘sticks’ to anyone coming into the field and leaving it. To that person, the effects of the darkness spell persist as if they were still in the spell’s area of effect. The spell effect can be disperse in the same way as darkness, but has to be applied to the victim. To others, the victim looks like they are wrapped in gauzy wisps of darkness. The spell fades at the end of it’s duration regardless of location.

Monday, June 6, 2011

"The bartender is a what?" Part 1

Players have been meeting up for the start of an adventure in taverns, bars, pub and inns for decades in dozens of different game settings. From the gritty fantasy of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, to DnD in all its' incarnations and to the far future of sci-fi games.
I fondly recall one Shadowrun setting where the players had more than a few adventures tied into their favorite club. One being the long running quest to get the owner's truename back (she was a free spirit). One of the fun points my WHFRP GM likes to point out is that an Innkeeper is an advanced career. So they aren't too weak.
In many games I've heard about in campaigns with runaway players, the Bartender is the first to die on the player's whim. I've always thought that any guy (or gal) who runs a bar in an area where there are heavily armed (and armored) folks is not a one-shot one-kill cutaway npc.
So, without further ado, I'm going to start up the 'Bartenders of Glorian' thread over the coming weeks, with alternate notes for my own personal failed game setting of Dragonsgate as an option.

Random Gaming Thingees

Some of the game stuff I use online to game with.

Fantasy Grounds 2: It's run on my PC side of the Mac Pro Desktop. Basically it's a virtual tabletop that you can do games on. I game in Warhammer Fantasy (2nd Edition) on it every sunday we can. Stable, fun, configurable and there is a growing community out there. Add in your favorite flavor of voip (Voice over Internet Protocol) program such as Ventrilo or Skype, and you got everything but sharing the same space with your group.

Hero Lab: The best character generator on the market for supported systems at the moment. You've got Call of Cthlulhu, Pathfinder, Mutants and Masterminds (2nd and 3rd editions), Savage Worlds, World of Darkness (New WoD sadly), 3.5 OGL, Cortex, and 4e DnD (sorta kinda) as well as customizing options. Mac Support coming, as is Shadowrun 4e

Dundjinni: A Mapping program I used in the past, sadly not for sale right now.

Campaign Cartographer: Another mapping program I've used in the past, sadly not supporting the Mac at this time.

Plothook.net: A nice website with an option for online character sheets. Setup an account, and look for them under 'Plothook Tools' on the forums page. You're looking for 'Character Sheet Profiler'. Currently they support: 3/3.5e DnD/OGL, 4e, pathfinder, d20 Modern, Serenity, d20 Star Wars/Star Wars Saga edition and Mutants and Masterminds.

DriveThruRPG: One of the better sources of ebook formats of gaming stuffs. Paizo, and Green Ronin cover their own materials. DTRPG covers EVERYONE. It's a one stop E-RPG download store.

Pathfinder Links

One of the things I like about Pathfinder is the willingness of Pathfinder to work with their players and share all sorts of things on their website. The Paizo Blog is broken up to three sections all of which are good reading. The Store Blog, The Paizo Blog and Web Fiction.

The Paizo Site: Of particular use is the 'freebies' and goodies you can get gratis from the store to expand your goods of the Pathfinder setting of Glorion. You can get free 'Player's Guides' of each of the adventurer's path series, a few other items and the occasional 'beta' test of something Paizo is working on (Like the upcoming Ultimate Combat beta with the Gunslinger PC class)

The Pathfinder Wiki: A nicely organized and growing breakdown of the Glorian setting. Lots of information at a glance for using the setting in games. Good crunchy fluff. Includes sources so if you like something (say the country of Ustalv) and want to read more you know where to look and what to buy.

The Pathfinder SRD: The Pathfinder SRD is a quick access wiki with pretty much everything that the Pathfinder Core Book has, and a lot of the other stuff too. I found it helpful at a game with my iPad. The site covers all the core material and a good chuck of the 2nd tier stuff from the Advanced Players Guide, and some 3rd party races and classes. It has pretty much all the official prestige classes if you area GM looking at something a player wants to do. Also on the GM side it has most of the goodies from the bestiary for quick checks when you're bored at a Starbucks and want to check some critter to drop on the group next adventure.

Callie's Pouch of Spell Components


Callie’s Bottomless Spell Component Pouch (Pathfinder RPG)



Description: Renowned arcane trickster Callie Del Noire is known to have come up with the well-designed pouch of holding to hide her spell components and scrolls and yet have that at ready access when she put her hand into it. The pouch has a false bottom that can be fastened to hide the extradimensional space from inspection. There are several magics that were laid on the pouch that made it different from a normal bag of holding, these include magic aura (to conceal it against magical detection), detect thought and unseen servant (which allow the owner to think the activation word to conceal the extradimensional space and let the servant know what the owner is reaching into the pouch for.) Due to the limitations of the pouch’s size and the servant’s limited lifting ability (2 pounds), it is considered to have a third the space/dimensions of a type 1 bag of holding (contents limit: 80 lbs, Cubic Volume limit: 10 cubic feet)



Construction: Craft Wondrous Item, detect thought, magic aura, secret chest, unseen servant; Cost: 1,500 gp




First Post

Okay.. here goes. I like to talk, read, think and chat RPGs. I LOVE doing it, I've been doing it since oh.. the end of the Carter Administration. Somewhere in the apartment is my old very hot pink and very round 20 sider from my Basic DnD box back in those days.

So here is the plan. I have a LOT of games I want to play but due to the lack of a steady gaming group here in Jacksonville, I will post ONE PC or NPC for a game each week or at the very least a magic item or something for a game system I play.

If you use the PCs, NPCs or items I put up, I ask that you come back, tell me what happened and share with the rest of us in the comments section. That and remember while the game system might not be mine, please remember the items I make are and please don't publish them elsewhere without my permission.