Too many options

Some days, we're just blessed with too many stories for us to whittle it down to one. Either that, or we're just scattered and unfocused enough to want to share that conundrum with others. That's what eventually got our awards postings off the ground, and it comes into play today, as well. That's right. This little introductory paragraph wasn't just spouting off meaningless nothings. It was actually setting the stage.

Take, for example, this story. Our first thought is that the guy inside actually failed his initiative roll, but got the benefit of a surprise round. True, he apparently lost initiative to a bathroom mirror or something, but, well, the sneakiest enemies are the ones we don't expect. Seriously, though, what would lead a person to bringing their battle ax, dagger, and sword to a motel with them, let alone then throw said items at the police? If your answer was a convention, then you might just have missed the second part of the question.

Of course, if the man had been engaging in his activity near this couple, he probably wouldn't have had to worry about the police (or, as he saw them, "city guard") showing up at all. Sure, we understand that time is at a premium, and people's lives are so busy that sometimes a little time with a loved one becomes a precious commodity. But still, to see gang symbols, hear gunshots, and then go ahead with your initial plans of making out in a car? That just seems a little self-absorbed. And we didn't even know that Paris Hilton was visiting Seattle recently. Yeah, a bit of a cheap shot, but it had to be made.

Going back to the guy with the weapons, it's probably good that he passed out in a bathroom, as opposed to outside of this hospital. Either way, he would have had to get an ambulance called for him. See, apparently, the hospital staff was concerned about why the person had collapsed, but not concerned enough to check on it themselves. True, they don't really have mobile monitoring devices, but it wouldn't seem like much of a stretch to expect that trained medical professionals would have been able to get a gurney, lift the patient onto it, and bring them into the hospital. Instead, they relied on security guards who had taken a couple of First Responder courses. Never mind that the hospital may actually have had some idea why the man collapsed. After all, he was wearing a patient's gown at the time.

The overall lesson behind all of this? If you really need to get angry while carrying an ax, make sure you've got a high Dexterity. Otherwise it could just get weird.