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2012-07-11, 04:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
Introduction:
This campaign log is meant mostly as a way to keep my friends and I from forgetting specific details about our first "complete" homebrew world, and to remind us of what happened in the first campaign we had in it. For those of you who don't know what the "Burning Hate" is, it's basically an alternate character interpretation of the paladin-ish god Pelor. The general idea is that he is actually an evil god posing as a good god, or something to that effect.
Since this is set in a homebrew world, it has homebrewed gods as well. Or at least, the names of some gods have been changed. For example, Pelor's name has been changed to Helirast.
We've had three campaigns in this little world so far, two of which haven't been completed for one reason or another. Our first and third campaigns took place on the continent of Mausaurus, which is a stereotypical medieval fantasy setting for the most part. Our second campaign took place on the continent of Adamarin, where magic of all kinds has been outlawed and expunged, causing mundane technology to leap ahead of Mausaurus, leading to the dominance of gunslingers and alchemists in that setting. So far, only our first campaign has been completed.
The groundwork for this setting was laid out by my good friend, known on these forums as Kira_the_5th, who is also one our more frequent DMs. Overtime, another member of our group, known to you as cantdrawatall, and I added little tidbits to the world, such as a creation story and a little background on the pantheon.
Well, that's more or less how all this came to be. I'll get into the details in subsequent posts, as soon as I confer with my friends to make sure I've gotten our story straight.
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2012-07-11, 04:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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2012-07-11, 05:02 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
Pantheon:
Cosmology of Mausarus
Helirast (destroyed as of the end of our first campaign):
Greater God
Symbol: A sun, with flaring corona
Alignment: Neutral Good (Neutral Evil)
Portfolio: God of the sun, bravery, and strength. (As well as heat, hate, and deception)
Domains: Strength, Glory, Healing, Sun, Good, (Evil, Fire, Destruction, Trickery)
Favored Weapon: Morningstar
Quelliasion:
Lesser Goddess
Symbol: An open book, sometimes with scripture written on it.
Alignment: Neutral Good
Portfolio: Goddess of Knowledge, Learning, Magic, and Elves
Domains: Fire, Good, Knowledge, Magic, Rune
Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff
Krantag:
Lesser God
Symbol: A warhammer, with the basins of a scale hanging from either side
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: God of Dwarves, Commerce, Law, and Crossroads.
Domains: Artifice, Earth, Law, Repose (Ancestors Subdomain), Travel
The Celestial Court (Gods of the West, our Oriental analogue)
Intermediate Gods
Symbol: A Wheel Featuring the 13 gods of the pantheon, each in the heavenly order.
Collective Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolio: Gods of Jianking, each animal god governs a different domain, as well as their patron animal
Domains:
Nezumisama: Animal: Rat, Trickery. Favored Weapon: Short Sword
Oushisama Animal: Ox, Strength. Favored Weapon: Greatclub
Torasama: Animal: Tiger, War. Favored Weapon: Kukri
Usagisama: Animal: Rabbit, Luck. Favored Weapon: Starknife
Ryusama: Animal: Dragon, Scalykind (Dragon Subdomain). Favored Weapon: Bastard Sword (Katana)
Hebisama: Animal: Serpent, Scalykind. Favored Weapon: Dagger
Umasama: Animal: Horse, Healing. Favored Weapon: Lance
Uhitsujisama: Animal: Ram, Nobility. Favored Weapon: Spiked Shield
Sarusama: Animal: Monkey, Liberation, Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff
Nekosama: Animal: Cat, Magic. Favored Weapon: Rapier
Ondorisama: Animal: Rooster, Air. Favored Weapon: Shortbow
Inusama: Animal: Dog, Glory. Favored Weapon: Longsword
Butasama: Animal: Boar, Plant. Favored Weapon: Boar Spear
Evan Dirith
Lesser God
Symbol: A Composite Longbow, with both ends blooming into flowers
Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio: God of the Hunt, fertility, Fey folk, and the open sky.
Domains: Air, Chaos, Charm, Luck, Plant, Travel
Xellick
Intermediate God
Symbol: An Iron Maiden
Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Dominion, Leadership, Submission, Compromise
Domains: Community, Healing, Law, Nobility, Protection
Bannest
Intermediate God
Symbol: A Flaming Sword, Encoiled with a Whip
Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: Demon Lord of the Abyss
Domains: Chaos, Death, Destruction, Evil, Void
Skallioth
Intermediate God
Symbol: A Steel Spiked Throne
Lawful Evil
Portfolio: Lord of Devils
Domains: Darkness, Evil, Knowledge, Law, Madness, Repose, Trickery
The Triumvirate (New gods as of the completion of our first campaign):
Willam McKain, the Ur-Paladin, Reclaimer of the Sun, That Guy With a Halberd
Intermediate God
Symbol: A Half Sun, Shining on One Side, Setting on the Other
Lawful Good
Portfolio: God of the Sun, Health, and Justice
Domains: Sun, Healing, Law, Good, Glory, Nobility, and Fire
Favored Weapon: Halberd
Theollan Merrikari, the Archmagus
Intermediate God
Symbol: A Flaming Sword and an Open Book
Chaotic Good
Portfolio: God of Magic, Battle, and Crafting
Domains: Artifice, Magic, Chaos, Good, Luck, Knowledge, War
Favored Weapon: Longsword
Gladius Kitana, The Chained Sword, Keeper of the Code
Intermediate God
Symbol: A Sword, Wrapped in Chains
Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: God of Honorable Battles, Warriors, and Martial Prowess
Domains: Law, Protection, Strength, War, Community, and Travel
Favored Weapon: Elven Curve Blade
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2012-07-12, 01:19 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
A note on the History of Mausaurus:
The Arrival of Humans
Long ago, there were no humans on Mausaurus, only elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes and orcs. Each race worked together and fought each other at different times (the orcs mostly just fought everyone). The Elves eventually established the largest empire, stretching over most of the continent. The halflings and gnomes became client races of the elves, as they were few in number and disorganized. The dwarves laid claim to the vast mountain range that stretched down the middle of the landmass.
Then the humans arrived. They were fleeing from a catastrophe in their homeland, a place called “Adamarin.” None could say what the nature of the catastrophe was, but legends speak of a mad king and an all-consuming hunger. Some humans arrived on the western shores of Mausaurus, and quickly established a small kingdom centered around the 12 gods of the zodiac, the Celestial Court. Another group of humans arrived on the eastern coast, and submitted to the Elven Empire. There was peace and happiness between the humans and elves. The humans saw great beauty in the elves, and envied their long lives. The elves in turn were fascinated with humans. The humans were short-lived, but it was as if all the fire and life of an elf was condensed into all those short years. Humans could learn things in just a few years that elves needed decades to master. The races interbred, producing the first half-elves, and still there was peace.
In time, however, the elves began to fear the humans’ drive and ambition. With a much more rapid reproduction rate, the humans would soon outnumber the elves. The elves enacted numerous laws and put into effect many taxes to prevent the humans from rising as high as their elven rulers. The humans cried out to the gods to deliver them from their oppression.
The Usurpation and the Rise of Humanity
Long ago, a powerful devil upset the balance of the world. His name was Helirast, and he had grown tired of struggling with his brother, Skallioth, for the right to rule all devils. Helirast set his sights on the Solar Throne, the highest seat in all Celestia. He infiltrated the divine plane, and devoured the sun god, whose name is forever lost. Helirast took all the god’s powers and domains, and even his appearance.
The struggle had left Helirast weak, though. Most religious scholars now speculate that the Usurper only resorted to devouring the old sun god as a last ditch attempt to restore his own power. When he heard the cries of humanity, Helirast decided to strengthen himself with the prayers of the ever more numerous humans; he appeared before them, offering them freedom from their rulers and dominion over the land in exchange for the worship of their entire race.
The humans agreed, and with the direct intervention of their new god, they overpowered the elves, and drove the fair folk before them like rain drops before a tempest. The elves were forced to retreat into a deep forest, there to eek out a living amongst the shadows and the predators.
And so the Grand Theocracy of Sol Invictus came into being.
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2012-07-12, 01:21 PM (ISO 8601)
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2012-07-12, 01:52 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
Homebrew
Other Stuff
SpoilerSpecial Thanks: Kymme! You and your awesome avatarist skills have made me a Lore Warden in addition to King of Fighter Fixes!
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2012-07-12, 02:11 PM (ISO 8601)
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2012-07-12, 09:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
Dramatis Personae (
ActCampaign 1):
Willam McKain:
SpoilerThis was Cantdrawatall's character. A paladin of Helirast (keep in mind that the god's true nature had not yet been revealed) based roughly on the idea of the infamous Order of the Stick dark horse, That Guy With a Halberd. Willam is a Galahad-like figure. That is to say, he's such a paragon that his character seems to lack depth at first. No one ever calls him out on this, however, as he is also our resident badass, using his halberd to cut a bloody swath through hordes of evildoers.
Conri the Cloud-shooter:
SpoilerThis was my character. Conri was a Zen Archer 3/Inquisitor x. We called him the Holy Sniper, and I started to make a song for him that went to the tune of "Holy Diver," but I never finished it. Anyway, Conri is a half-elf, and as an inquisitor he was assigned to Sir Willam (as Conri refers to him) as an assistant of sorts. The Theocracy of Helirast is more than aware of the fact that paladins occasionally need someone with a...less idealistic outlook on life in order to get things done properly.
More to come as soon as I get some sleep.
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2012-07-14, 04:31 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
Mind if I give you a hand, Beowulf? I figure I can chime in from time to time, at relevant moments. Anyway, to continue the Dramatis Personae my colleague began;
Merrik:
SpoilerThe resident arcane specialist of the team was Merrik, a magus who worked primarily in the crafting of magic weapons. He was hired to go along with the rest of the party to figure out the magical significance of the tomb the party was originally scouting, as well as to act as a linguist, given that between his base Intelligence and his several ranks in Linguistics, he knew enough languages to just get "all" written on his sheet by the game's end.
The Cleric/The Druid:
SpoilerEven as the DM, I still don't know what our fourth player actually called his characters. The Cleric, the original healer of the group, only lasted one session, and The Druid never gave his name. Anyway, The Cleric was sent along with the group to act as healer, although, as I've mentioned, he didn't last after one session when the player got annoyed with the nerfs the Cleric class received in Pathfinder. Given that a good number of the party could heal on their own, (McKain's numerous Lay on Hands uses from Warrior of the Holy Light, Conri's and his new character's spells, and the large amount of potions the party bought) I allowed the player to switch to a Druid, a decision that would haunt me until nearly the end of the campaign. Remember his reason for switching? Yeah, that'll come up. Anyway, enough ranting. His new character was a Dwarf Druid who lived in the mountains west of Firenze, the capital of Sol Invictus. The Druid had no name, only a young Roc he kept as a companion.
Now, in addition to the main 4 mentioned above, we had a few other characters, friends who couldn't always make it, and jumped in when they could.
Anya:
SpoilerA character who jumped from campaign to campaign that one of our friends played for a while, either as a Ranger or as a Scion of Mother Russia. Anya was, to put it simply, the bear cavalry. She was a mercenary with a thick Russian accent who rode around on her pet bear, Natasha, who she befriended breaking out of a prison. She joined the party during their escape from Firenze, leading them through the wilds. While the player had to leave our college town for a while for medical reasons, Anya stayed along as an NPC, and made a triumphant return in the finale.
Drothmar:
SpoilerA Fighter 5/Hellknight X played by another one of our friends who was trying out the game for the first time, Drothmar carried an Eversmoking Bottle with him at all times, unplugged so that he would be shrouded in smoke, save for the two glowing orbs he enchanted to peer out of them as eyes. The party drew him to their side, and, when in the area, would help them on their mission when not working in the field.
Nodwick:
SpoilerAnother one of our friend's characters, who popped in. He was a Bard 5/ Pathfinder Chronicler who joined in one session as a throwaway character, only to appear again later as McKain's cohort when he took Leadership. He was responsible for spreading the party's message around the continent, and rallying people to their cause.Avatar by Doran Liadon
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2012-07-14, 07:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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2012-07-14, 08:58 PM (ISO 8601)
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2012-07-16, 12:50 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
And now a lesson on geography and recent history.
The eastern portion of Mausaurus is completely dominated by the Theocracy of Sol Invictus, ruled over by the priests of Helirast, with noble families and the landed gentry playing a support role.
In the middle of the continent lies the imposing Twilight Range, which stretches across the entire length of Mausaurus, from the the frozen wastes of the north to the tropical waters of the south. These mountains are nigh impassable except at the coasts, and a single wide pass that frequently becomes blocked by snow. The only other ways to get around these mountains is to climb over them and risk becoming lost in the vast wilderness, or to journey under the mountains using the underground highways of the dwarves. However, using those grand tunnels carries it's own dangers, as many of them are no longer patrolled as regularly as they ought to be.
To the east of the Twilight Range, the think forests of eastern Mausaurus give way to vast grasslands once controlled by numerous gnomish and halfling city-states, and nomadic orc clans. Now, however, this vast area is controlled by the Theocracy. About 150 years before our campaign, the Holy Legion passed under the Twilight Range after pacifying the dwarves, and took control of each city-state. The legions of crusaders then turned their gaze on Jianking and the jungle home of their ancient enemies, the elves. However, the two nations were able to overcome the armies of the Theocracy, and managed to preserve their borders. The Theocracy then settled into an uneasy truce with the remaining two nations on the continent, each side knowing that the war must begin again one day. For the core purpose of the Theocracy was to spread the faith of Helirast and the dominion of his human worshipers.
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2012-08-22, 10:06 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
So I don't know where Beowulf's run off to. I'll talk with him tonight during our weekly game, but I think it's time be got this show on the road.
Prologue: The Tomb of Glendham
The tale itself began in the Theocracy of Sol Invictus, with a group of trusted agents within the Church of Helirast. The group was tasked with excavating the tomb of Glendham, the Archmage. Glendham had served as the Theocracy's Magister General several hundred years ago, and achieved great fame and renown for his defense of the city of Firenze when it was attacked by Jonah Lightbringer, a former high priest of Helirast, and his heretic army. The group was being sent to Glendham's tomb to recover a few old books which had been interred in the Archmage's chambers.
After opening the seal on the tomb, and descending into its depths, discovered a problem; They were not the first visitors to the tomb. In a massive chamber underground, the party found the remains of a huge Silver Dragon, and the Deathknight that had slain it. A fierce battle ensued, but the Deathknight was quickly overwhelmed, between the collective divine energies of the Cleric, Conri, and Willem. The Deathknight defeated, his armor sundered, and his soul released, the party ventured into the innermost depths of Glendham's tomb. Inside, they found the body of Glendham surrounded by a mystic library filled with books and scrolls of all kinds. Although most of the tomes were rotted from age, a few stood out, which looked remarkably new.
Among these books was a small journal, the journal of Jonah Lightbringer, the heretic. As Merrick looked through the book, he discovered a strange hymn, and the code contained within it. Written in code in the heretic's journal was a manifesto denouncing Helirast as an evil god, citing several texts as proof. While the others slept, Merrick searched the library, looking for the other texts that Lightbringer had mentioned, Legendary Heroes of the Days of Yore. Within the book, Merrick found mention of the Holy Relics of Helirast, the Sunstone, the Scabbard of the Vampire Hunter, and the Swords of Sunlight. All four of the swords were said to have been lost, but one of them, Dawn's First Light, was rumored to be hidden away somewhere deep in the Twilight Range. After copying all of the relevant information into his notebooks, Merrick retired for the night.
Chapter 1: Flight from Firenze
In the morning, the party awoke, and decided what their next course of action would be. Willem decided to return the books to the Church, and to mention the heretical texts they found among them. When they returned, however, they were greeted only by Crusaders, lay-soldiers of the church under orders to execute them for heresy. Narrowly defeating the Crusaders in combat, the party fled Firenze, making way into the forests to the wes.
In the wilderness, the group encountered Anya, who agreed to help them travel to Stonehelm, the Dwarven keep on the east side of the Twilight Range. Once there, the party would search the mountains for Dawn's First Light. Hopefully, they thought, evidence of them returning bearing a holy relic would clear their names. These events, however, were only the beginning of those which would reshape the entire continent.Avatar by Doran Liadon
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2012-09-01, 07:16 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
Here's what I was doing, oh ye of little faith!
SpoilerDay 6:
Our quest it seems was a far more fateful one than I first thought. It began with us being formed together into a fellowship under my leadership. There was Merrick the magus, a cleric, and my old friend Conri, an inquisitor. We had been charged by the Holy Church of Helirast to delve into the tomb of a war hero for holy artifacts to use in the never ending war on the forces of darkness. Whilst on the path to the tomb, on the second day of the journey, we were happened upon by bandits, five in number, who had injured a man and left him on the side of the road as bait. After dispatching these rogues, we learned our new acquaintance was a freelance treasure hunter. We all agreed that his knowledge and skills would be useful, and so convinced him to accompany us in exchange for payment.
On the third day, we came to the entrance of the tomb. It revealed to us a long narrow hallway, with six rooms adjoining. At the end of the hall we found a doorway with an inscription in the celestial tongue. Our friend the magus translated the text while the freelancer examined the lock. It appeared to be a riddle, where in if the wrong key was used, a trap would issue. Upon searching the adjoining rooms, several such keys were found, along with some trinkets. Merrick and Conri were able to pool their knowledge to unravel the riddle and allow us to move on.
This next chamber was a coffin room, with three on the walls and one golden sarcophagus in the center. Upon entering the room, Merrick fell victim to an insidious trap. The golden sarcophagus had some how teleported him under water. We were hindered in our ability to free him by a pair of metal skeletons. We handily dispatched these, however, and with the assistance of the magus’s shatter spell and my halberd, he was quickly freed from his potential grave.
The next room was down a long sloped hallway, which was in fact quite slippery, as I discovered. Within, there was a skeleton of a great copper dragon, along with something far more unpleasant. After making our descent, we were ambushed by an undead abomination that had slain the noble creature, some sort of undead warrior of immense fighting prowess. A brief battle ensued, ending when I called forth the powers of righteousness and smote the monster.
After praying for the repose of the soul of the fallen dragon, which has, alas, remained nameless, we proceeded to find ourselves at a fork with another celestial riddle. This was solved by the inquisitor and the mage, whose extensive expertise in these matters lead us to the left fork. There within we found the final resting chambers of the fallen hero. After paying our respects, we set about searching the chamber for artifacts. Among them was a book which I gave little thought to at first, written by the infamous traitor Lightbringer. Alas, it was this seemingly unimportant book which has leads us to this much larger puzzle.
The book contained a spell which protected it from harm, and a puzzling cipher, which when solved was a song singing of an unjust Helirast destroying the true sun god in time immemorial. I thought this to be the damned ramblings of a heretic and ignored these lies. The book, however, lead us on a search through the other tomes in the chamber, and informed us of a probable resting place of the last Dawnstar, a most holy relic indeed.
After saying goodbye to the freelancer, we stayed the night in the tomb and proceeded on for the three day trip back to Firenze. Upon our arrival, the cleric went back to his monastic order. Meanwhile, we three, Merrick, Conri, and I, gave our report to the bishop and handed over the artifacts we found including the heretical book. We were ushered into a back room under the guise of more orders, only to realize that we had been betrayed when two fully armed Crusaders entered with orders to kill us.
Our attempts to persuade him that there was a mistake were for naught, and a battle ensued. Crusaders are not paladins, after all. They are fighters who have sworn to obey the Faith, and do not possess the ability to sense evil. The three of us were able to emerge victorious, though I was saddened at having to kill the loyal Crusaders. It was readily apparent that the church suspected us of heresy or treason, and was attempting to dispatch us quietly. The magus and I escaped by disguising ourselves as the dead Crusaders, while Conri used his magic to render himself invisible. On the way out, we discovered the heretical tome sitting on a fire, though the protective spells woven into it prevented the tome from burning. It was pulled away by the inquisitor and we made our escape to our friend the cleric.
We have made our next plan of action, to recover the Dawnstar and use it to gain favor once more with the church and prove we are being unjustly hunted. Alas we are in a race for our lives, avoiding those who were once allies and friends all over a horrible misunderstanding. It begs the question then, how has this injustice occurred? The church itself has the means to determine the truth from lies, yet why did they not attempt to do so with us, instead deciding we were too dangerous to live? How high up does this go? Was it an attempt to gain power by the Crusaders, a higher deacon or the bishop himself? We shall have to see before our innocence can be shown and this evil shadow removed from the holy light of Helirast.
-From the Journal of Willam McKain, 1 B.R. (Before Reclamation)
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2012-09-01, 08:41 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
I think that this looks like the start of a very interesting and well-written campaign journal. I see where you got your inspiration from (that makes for an intriguing plot hook). I'm enjoying it so far. I hope you'll continue to write this.
SpoilerThanks to Kalirush for the most excellent Avatar.
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2012-09-01, 12:58 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Retro-active Campaign Log: The Burning Hate
Thank you. Truth be told, the above passage was written by Cantdrawatall, and then heavily edited by me (I was the one English major in a pack of engineers). The next entry will be like that, as well, but from then on, I'll take care of all the writing, though I will submit what I have to Kira_the_5th for editing and fact-checking. It's his world, after all.
I'll be switching from one view point to another as we go. I hope everyone's into that sort of thing.
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2012-10-12, 04:26 PM (ISO 8601)
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