Friday, November 4, 2011

Necessary rulings I've had to make for DCCRPG

Necessary basic rules I’ve had to make in order to run the game: this section will be updated as needed…

UP-DATE: 7/27/13

Lifting, Pushing, Carrying, and Encumberance: A medium sized character (biped) can lift up to 10 x their Strength stat over their head, and they can carry or push up to half of that weight in equipment and such before becoming encumbered.  An Encumbered character has -1 to hit and damage/ -1 AC/ -10 feet of movement, and must make a Fortitude save for every hour of continuous activity.  The DC for the Fortitude Save is 8+1 per previous check; failure means the creature is Fatigued.  Dwarves are never encumbered by the weight of their equipment or armor.  Characters may combine their carrying/ pushing weight to move large objects as long as everyone can get a good hold on the object.  A Halfling sized creature multiplies STR stat by 5, and large creatures multiply by 15; huge creatures multiply by 25.
Example: medium sized creature with STR of 16 can lift 160# over its head and may carry or push up to 80# without encumbrance.  If the creature were Halfling sized then they can lift 80# and carry 40# without encumbrance.

A characters top running speed is =STRx10 (medium size); STRx8 for small characters
Acceleration per round = normal land speed/ round. Medium= 30ft/rd, small and dwarf= 20ft unless modified by armor. 

Maximum Running Time( in minutes)
STAM  x 7.5

Sprinting speed is = their current top running speed x 1.8, and their acceleration to top speed is (in game terms) nearly instant.  The character can maintain this speed for 1 round and then they must succeed at a Fortitude save DC= 10, +1 for each sprint they've attempted within the last 24hrs.


The three entries above are now covered by information I the CCD (pgs 5-13) and the lifting and carrying rules are the only ones that are mandatory. 

Skills:

I’ve been letting the characters roll ‘ability’ or ‘skill’ checks for any skill covered by their profession or 0-lvl skill set using the following formula: action die + relevant stat bonus + misc. when applicable.  Where misc. = situational modifiers etc.  This house rule only applies to situations that aren’t explicitly laid out all ready in the Core Rules.  Thieves for example can make checks for things like ‘Appraise’ or ‘Tumbling’ or anything else that thieves would get to do but isn’t covered by another skill check.  Likewise wizards and clerics may use their Intelligence score modifier on a wide variety of topics and knowledge appropriate to their training and history, etc.

Climbing: (STR or AGIL)

Character uses strength or agility score bonus or penalty depending on the type of climbing being done: sheer surfaces (STR), natural rock wall or tree (AGIL).  A climber without ropes or a climb speed may climb 5ft per round.  Ropes or other climbing gear will double this speed to 10ft per round. Thieves double these speeds.

Jump (STR):

 A creature rolls a jump check verses a DC= 1 per foot of jumping distance.  A running start grants a +1 bonus per 15ft of running speed; must have reasonable room to run at the speed desired.

Spot (INT):

Assuming good lighting and a large enough room or enclosure the maximum indoor spotting range at ground level is equal to the lowest luck score in the group x 5ft.  Otherwise all indoor spotting distances covered and modified by lighting as well as environment.  Maximum outdoor spotting range is set by the following table re-printed (with permission) from Chapter 4 of Critters, Creatures, & Denizens:

Table 4-11: Spotting distance in miles to the horizon by creature size and observing altitude; assuming perfect viewing conditions.*
Creature Size and Height
Ground Level
5 feet
10 feet
15 feet
20 feet
30 feet
40 feet
50 feet
75 feet
100 feet
Tiny (1.5ft)
1.49
3.11
4.14
4.96
5.66
6.85
7.86
8.76
10.67
12.29
Small (3ft)
2.11
3.45
4.4
5.18
5.85
7.01
8.0
8.88
10.77
12.38
Medium (5ft)
2.73
3.86
4.73
5.46
6.1
7.22
8.18
9.05
10.91
12.5
Large (10ft)
3.86
4.73
5.46
6.1
6.68
7.72
8.63
9.45
11.25
12.8
Huge (15ft)
4.73
5.46
6.1
6.68
7.22
8.18
9.05
9.84
11.57
10.08
Gargantuan (20ft)
5.46
6.1
6.68
7.22
7.72
8.63
9.45
10.21
11.89
13.36
Colossal (30ft)
6.68
7.22
7.72
8.18
8.63
9.45
10.21
10.91
12.5
13.91
*1 Mile = 1.609 Kilometers, & 1 foot = 0.305 meters.


Search (INT):

 Searching a room thoroughly takes 1 turn (10 minutes) per 400sq.ft.; so a 50ft, by 50ft room takes 62.5 minutes (2500sq.ft. /400sq.ft.=6.25turns) to search thoroughly.

Team searching:

Since the calculation assumes only one person is searching, the total search time in minutes can be divided by the number of characters who are successful with their searches… minimum of 5 minutes.

Searching for traps:

Each search roll covers 40ft of standard 10ft wide dungeon tunnel or corridor, and takes the same time.  The total amount of time for searching is also subject to team searching rule, but all participants must be thieves.

Table top movement:

1 hex = 5ft; all distances are measured center to center.

About the Hex Grid:

See CCD pgs 5-7
Ø  Covers number of critters in a hex, and other details.

Flanking:

If you can get behind an opponent that is other wise distracted, or when attacking from ambush; then your attack gets +1 to hit and damage.  See Diagram 1-6 and information on CCD p. 7

Fatigue:

When a PC is fatigued, they suffer -10ft movement and cannot run, sprint or charge & have a -1 penalty to AC and on all actions until they can get a nights rest.

Exhaustion:

Double the penalties for fatigue and the PC must rest for a full day.  If character’s movement is reduced to 0ft they are unable to continue and collapse to the ground.  They’re conscious, but they must succeed at a DC10 willpower save to either move or attack in any given round and they can only crawl at 5ft/round.

Shields shall be Splintered rule: Modified from the post found here - http://trollsmyth.blogspot.com/2008/05/shields-shall-be-splintered.html

Any creature with a shield may opt to avoid lethal melee damage by sacrificing their shield.  A normal weapon may not shatter a magical shield, except as a function of the Mighty Deeds of Arms (MdoA) system.  A warrior or Dwarf must score an MdoA value = shields magic AC rating, and the weapon is destroyed as well.  Magic shields may sacrifice a “+1” worth of their magic AC rating whenever the owner chooses, until they are rendered normal, after that they are vulnerable to normal weapons again & have one more use.

***

Diagnosing skill

Here’s what I came up with for how a healer &/or cleric with the healing ‘skill’ functions:
  1. Diagnose: Healer may approach any willing recipient that is wounded, roll 1d20 +level+ INT bonus to assess their state of health.
  2. If step 1 succeeds, then they can accomplish any of the following: set a broken bone, stop a bleeding wound, apply a potion or antidote, deduce the proper course for treating a disease, or heal 1hp.
  3. Knowledge check: Allows character to “wild-craft” for medicinal plants and apply the basic alchemy skills to prepare medicines & antidotes.  Roll 1d20+level+luck bonus to find the herbs, and a regular healing check to “craft” the medicine.
Tending to the needs of the sick and injured allows everyone to heal at 2x the normal rate when camping


***


Here is my take on the different player character races and the relevant changes… this part is just fluff that the players don’t have to know or read if they don’t care about such details or they aren’t playing one of these races:  The Half-orc class replaces the Halfling class on table 3-1 for MyÁereth.
 
Elves: are in all of my game environments patterned after Tolkin's ideas, and are immortal unless slain.  In game terms they are as presented in the PH except for the changes listed here.  All of the Elven Sub-types exist on or in the World of Aereth, but not all of the Elven Sub-types are available for Players.  Players may choose Sylven (most Common: 0-55%), or Roll randomly: Grey Elf (56-75%), High Elf (76-90%), Averiel (winged Elf: 90-95%), N-G Drow (95-100%) 

·         All starting equipment is purchased with the same “starting-gold” everyone else gets and at the book prices, but the equipment is considered masterwork quality and may (15% chance) be an "elven racial" magic item: Elvin Boots, Cloaks, etc. Without the extra expense.  Ropes, Armor and Weapons have the same chance, but all are never better than +1 at PC generation.  All equipment that is "enchanted" costs thrice the listed book price for the mundane version of the item in question for non-elves, but for elven PC's, there is no need to set costs and might be free if the need is great enough (rated by potential harm/benefit to the Elvin people).  Said equipment doesn't count against the "average Gp by level" tables.
·         They may buy potions from Elven merchants at 2/3 the book price.
·         Due to their longevity, they gain +1 skill point for every 500 years of age.
·         Due to their longevity, they gain +1 to their base attack for every 1000 years of age with their racially preferred weapons, usually mentioned in the race descriptions in the PH.

·         Age range is as follows:  Child/ Young adult/ Adult 750-1499 years/ Middle Age 1500  - 2499 years / Old Age 2500 - 4999 years / Venerable Age 5000 - 9999years / Maximum Age 10000+10d100years.

However, after about 2000 years most Elves “retire” from the mortal realm and go “across the sea.”  They can still communicate with the material world and are not technically dead… just board and too powerful to wander the world looking for something new.  The “going across the sea” line is a euphemism to cover for their knowledge of The Dreaming, which is where they go after they shed their mortal flesh.  They permanently enter into the Dreaming and enter the service of their Goddess Ireth directly.  From there they may choose to be reincarnated, but many go on to become the Saints and Minor Deities of the Elven Pantheon.

Elf Communities are Democratic and deeply socialistic in character.  In the post “fall of the Isle of Lirae” world of Áereth, the unity commonly seen between different Forest Communities of Elves is absent.  When the Island sank into the sea 3100 years before game starts, it took with it most of the elven nobility and many of the finest artisans, but with them went the delicate web-work of treaties and alliances that had put an end to the inter-community strife that we now see.  The general world view of Elves is that everything is done for the greater good of the World, then their Elven Community, then the Elven Race, then everything else: in that order.  Anyone choosing to play an Elf must keep in mind that the fall of the Isle of Lirae is something that happened to their grandparent’s generation, so the fall of the Isle is still in the realm of current events and is still deeply affecting the psychology of the Elven Race.
 
Added to this is the fact that the Isle fell as the result of the failures of the last great coalition of the Races (Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Humans, and the Irethia) and you can see why Elves or any of the other races are not all that friendly towards one another at the moment.   However, within each Elven Community, most everything an Elf needs can be harvested or made in short order by the individual with the specific need or by someone they know.  This means that in an Elvin community common goods are very cheap; if not completely free, and barter is common even in the royal courts.  For Elves, any services like healing or research may be acquired at low or no cost, and material spell components are sold / bartered at cost within their communities.  In many dealings between Elves, the exchange of information and stories has far greater value than gold and gems.  This aspect of Elven psychology is why Gnomes frequently exasperate them, and is at the center of why Elves find Dwarves to be funny.  Sadly, this latter factoid (in addition to the Mountain Dwarven habit of preserving Ancestral Souls in relics) is also why interactions between the two races are, as often as not, dispassionate and even hostile. When you are nearly immortal, the things you fear most are slavery, and boredom.  So Elves are prone to wandering the lands, unless they are focused on learning or studying something that requires them to stay in one place.  It is quite normal for Elves to "disappear" from daily community interactions for a decade or more before anyone they know might notice their absence and go looking for them.  Especially with so much Elven History and artifacts lost in the wilderness…

An Elf is polite in the extreme when dealing with his or her own kind and especially with kin; due to their longevity they have an exaggeratedly ritualistic approach to civil behavior. (very Japanese in style) You cannot afford to offend someone that you will need to live and/or work with for thousands of years, especially now that feuds between Communities are a possibility.

* * *

Dwarves: are split into two types; Mountain and Hill Dwarf.  Both have a fear of water and an inability to float (-4 on swim checks in addition to the penalty from armor) so they can't swim well even when they are naked...

·         Due to their longevity, they gain +1 to their base attack with racial weapons for every 100 years of age.

All Dwarves are long-lived, but not immortal.  The oldest dwarves rarely leave their Clan Halls and have been known to live for as many as 1000 years.  Mountain Dwarves do have a means of extending this to near immortality, by having their memories and consciousnesses preserved within special relics.  This is only done for the greatest and wisest of the elders, crafters, and heroes.  Hill Dwarves can live to 1000 years, but the "exposed" and "rugged" life they lead means that many don't usually see more than about 750 to 800 years.  Hill Dwarves find the preservation relics of their kin to be a horrid practice.  It is thought that this is one of the major points of contention for the two scions of Daenthar’s Children.  Hill Dwarves believe that everything “Proper” and/or wholesome has its time and then fades away.  In the World of Áereth Hill Dwarves and Mountain Dwarves have an additional reason to hate each other… After the fall of the Isle of Lirae the Mountain Dwarves began to steal wives from the Hill Dwarves and keep Hill dwarves as slaves.  Several Clans on both sides have gone rogue rather than adhere to either practice.

In terms of equipment: everything that a Dwarf needs to live and work within the Clan Society is provided to him or her by their clan free of charge in exchange for obedience to the will of the Clan Elders.  Any respectable Dwarf is expected to make as much of his or her own equipment as they can.  The "pay" they receive from their chosen profession is kept on account in the Clan Ledgers and is really only needed if a Dwarf wishes to make a particularly expensive item, or if they are traveling in non-Dwarven lands.  The net result is that any Dwarf PC may begin with masterwork weapons and armor appropriate for their class, provided that they continue to maintain obedience to the will of their Clan Elders and can be reasonably determined to be working in the Clan's best interests. 

·         All edged weapons as well as armor plates/scales (etc.) are made of Laminated Steel: which gives armor +1 AC over book listing; weapon damage (slashing only) and the weapon's critical range are increased by +1.
·         Dwarf Steel has hardness 14 / 35hp per inch of thickness and triples the price of any item (for non-dwarves).
·         Mountain Dwarves (other than Skaalds & Runskaaldern) get 2x standard starting gold; Merchants get 4x.

Mountain Dwarves are the standard, grim and stalwart version put forward in Tolkin's and other’s works.  They are gruff, cynical, suspicious, and difficult to like; but are truly loyal to anyone they have come to trust.  This can easily take a decade or more of observation on the part of the Dwarf.  Positive social reactions of Dwarves (all types) are most easily attained by anyone who shows skill or interest in crafting of some type, or by a demonstrated track record of Lawful behavior.

·         Their Darkvision is 120ft.  Additionally:
·         Mountain Dwarves have their alignment restricted to Lawful.
·         All Mountain Dwarves are devout worshipers of Daenthar Stonehammer in the world of Áereth.  Mountain Dwarves that wish to be clerics are required to choose one of his three aspects: "the Miner", "the Smith", or "the Defender".  This defines the spheres the priest will have access to, but the Stone Hammer is the only tool sacred to all three aspects.  Mountain Dwarves that choose to venerate any other deity are given a chance to repent, leave, or die!  In exactly that order.
·         A Mountain Dwarf may not choose any arcane class if they wish to remain in good standing with their Clan (or any other) and the benefits that come with being part of that clan-structure, unless it is within context of one of the following “sub-classes”.  Additionally, Mountain Dwarves don't make for especially powerful arcane casters.  This is due to the fact that all Dwarves are naturally resistant to magic. 
·         All arcane classes suffer from a natural -1 penalty to casting check that stacks with any relevant armor penalty, encumbrance modifier, or other modifiers.
·         If an Arcane Class is chosen then there is a 60% chance they are a Rune Mage (racially known as Runskaalder) which, while it is a Wizard Class, is viewed as a religious calling by Dwarven Society.  All Runskaaldern are wards of the church because the knowledge of, and the ability to use, Rune Magic is a gift from Daenthar’s Blacksmith aspect.  Runskaaldern are still part of Dwarven society, though a very distant and feared part of society that is respected as a powerful Guildcraft.  Runeskaaldern are always employed to engrave various Runes as wards and traps along the borders of every Clan’s holdings.
·         There are many (relatively speaking) ”Mad Dwarven Hermits” who have renownced Clan and Hall which live on or in the mountains of the wilderness or at the fringes of non-Dwarven societies where they may practice their Spellcraft as mercenaries, adventurers, etc.

The only types of Rogues that are tolerated in Mountain Dwarven society are:
·         "Lock Smiths": a L rogue class that specializes in building and bypassing locks.  This is a useful profession to the clan, but the class is highly regulated within Mountain Dwarf Lands.
·         "Trap Engineers": Get their training in the Dwarven military.  They are rarely allowed to leave service permanently, but extended training leave has been granted often enough for it to become a popular way to "see the world" for a while before settling down to military service or a "quiet life" helping to maintain the Clan Hold's defenses.  Most Clans support a few dozen specialists in this field (independent of the military) in order to see to each Clans personal security.  There is also a large body of written lore on this subject, so Trap Engineers may take the skills Knowledge (trap engineering, & dungineering) as a class skills.



Hill Dwarves: have different racial abilities:
·         Gain Keen Senses: +2 spot, listen
·         Hill Dwarves have the alignment restriction of Neutral.

Hill Dwarves are are naturally resistant to magic. 
·         All arcane classes suffer from a natural -1penalty to casting checks that stacks with any relevant armor penalty, encumbrance modifier, or misc. penalties.
·         All Hill Dwarves gain the Survival (type) skill as a class skill with a +1 bonus for free at 1st level.

Hill Dwarves are not restricted in the worship of any Gods... Daenthar Stonehammer has a special alter in most homes, but a Hill Dwarf is as likely to enter into service of one of the various Nature Deities, and even on rare occasions with Elemental Powers as he or she is to worship Daenthar Stonehammer.  Hill Dwarves have moved further down the Philosophical Road than their under-mountain kin and are comfortable with any Dwarf worshiping any non-evil Deity of their choice.  This is the third and most unforgivable wedge between Hill and Mountain Dwarves.
Hill Dwarves are much more Democratic than their Authoritarian kin.  They have a noted fondness for growing things and natural surroundings and even get along well with Elves, but they will always burrow into the highest available natural land feature, or use augmented natural caves and tunnels within protected river gorges or canyons, etc. regardless of the terrain environment to make their homes.  A great many of their land holdings are actually in the very same mountains as their kin, the Hill Dwarves simply chose to live a less restrictive lifestyle on top of the mountain as well, rather than in a permanently subterranean method because they still sing the slave songs of their ancestors who fled the Khonsurian Empire thousands of years ago.
In more mountainous lands the Hill Dwarves are known for their swift Cavalry units of Mountain Goats or Cave Bears, but in other climates they have equally feared cavalry units of appropriate types.  Wolves and War Hounds are not uncommon, but Boar and the occasional use of Giant Hawks, Hippogriffs, or Griffons as a "support wing" for large engagements are rare, but not unheard of.
Hill Dwarven society is structured much like their mountain kin with respect to the duty to ones Clan, but where the Mountain Dwarves have a King, the Hill Dwarves have the Grand Council that meets when needed and is composed of one Senior Elder and the Chief from each Clan.  There are variations in custom and legal trends at both a local and Regional level and as disputes are common, diplomacy is a valued skill.
All Hill Dwarven clans will come to the aid of a neighboring clan so long as no feud exists between them, but rarely will 4 or more clans unite under one banner in any given five century interval.  The Council of Elders at the heart of each clan has equal rank with their counterparts in another clan and will enforce their own laws; visiting Hill Dwarves are expected to adhere to these laws and customs.

The relations between Mountain and Hill Dwarven clans is negotiable, Mountain Dwarf Clans have been known to enslave and manipulate their kin for any reasons you can imagine.  There have been uncounted numbers of Clan wars between the various factions.  Many of these wars can last for a decade or more before being settled. 

* * *
Half-orcs: Half-orcs are not uncommon in Human lands, especially along the Northeastern borders  They are strong and make excellent laborers and troops, but their Orc heritage makes them unpredictable and dangerous.  While Nature saw fit to make orcs violent, she at least made them durable, and Half-orcs have inherited this trait.

Move: 40ft

Hit points:  1d10

Weapon Training: Battle-axe, Blackjack, Club, Crossbow, Dagger, Dart, Flail, Garrote, Hand-axe, Long Sword, Mace, Pole-arm, Short Bow, Short Sword, Sling, Spear, Staff, Two-handed Sword, and War-hammer.  Half-orcs may use any armor they can scrape together.   They can use shields and can make shield bash attacks like any other warior, but they haven’t the Dwarven prowess with this style of attack.

Alignment: Chaotic

Attack Modifier: Unlike other warriors, Half-orcs do not have access to the Mighty deeds die and variable attack rolls.  Half-orcs have a natural physical prowess and other abilities that make them inherently mighty and they therefore have a fixed attack bonus progression.

MDoA: No

Critical Hits: Like other warriors, Half-orcs have a better chance of causing critical damage due to their natural ferocity and savagery in combat.  They will threaten critical hits on a greater range on their action die and they use more aggressive critical tables.

Luck: A Half-orc’s Luck modifier applies to their number of hit points at each level.

Action Die: Half-orcs have inherited the orc’s tendency towards brutish and stupid, as such they are indifferent students of… well, anything and they are slow to learn and apply new ideas.  This is reflected in many ways, but also in their action die progression.

Special Class Abilities:
Rage – Half-orcs have inherited the blood lust and short temper of their Orc parent.  The character my burn 1 point of Personality or Intelligence score to enter into a profoundly violent rage that lasts for 1d4 rounds, +1 round per level of the Half-orc.  During this violent apoplexy the Half-orc is incapable of recognizing friend from foe without succeeding at a DC12 Willpower save. They can burn more than one point, this just increases the number of d4’s used in calculating the duration of the rampage.  For example, if the Half-orc burned 4 points of INT the rage lasts for 4d4 rounds, +1 round per level of the Half-orc.  They cannot use a shield, nor gain any benefits from tactics or follow the orders of others and are as likely to attack the cleric as sit still for any lay on hands attempt.  NOTE: Character loses the ability to use armor if their INT score falls below 5, and they forget how to use a shield and can’t attack with anything other than a club or fists if their INT score falls below 4.  If their INT score falls below 3 they lose the ability to communicate or experience much beyond raw emotions.  No score can be burned down to 0.

Rage Die – During the Half-orc’s rage they may roll this die along with those for their weapon’s damage as well as on any strength checks made for throwing, climbing or lifting, jumping, etc.

Armor Bonus – Half-orcs gain a natural armor bonus that does not stack with any armor they are wearing, but they gain full benefits from their agility and shields under normal circumstances.

Size – Half-orcs retain the medium size of their Human parent, but they count as one size larger for lifting and running.

Vitality – Half orcs heal at twice the normal rate, and gain +1 point per die of healing applied to them from magical or natural sources.  Half-orcs roll normally for all ability scores other than STAMINA.  For this trait the half-orc character rolls 4d5 and takes what they can get.  The Storyteller may choose to ignore this part and keep this maximum of 18, or they can allow a score of 19 to have a bonus of '+4'; a score of 20 = a bonus of '+5'.

Mutations – Some 0-lvl Half-orcs start off with a mutation, but most don’t gain their first mutation until 3rd level, then they gain another at 6th & 9th levels.  There is a 30% chance that they will mutate at 8th level and a 60% chance of mutation at 10th level.  These percentages are modified by the character’s Luck bonus or penalty in increments of 10%; i.e. a -3 luck penalty increases the percentage chance of mutation by 30%.  When a mutation is indicated, roll 1d30 modified by luck and consult Mutation Table 2-1 on page 21 of the CCD.  Orcs are already prone to violent rages, so they don’t worry about Mutation Instability.  It is up to the Storyteller as to whether or not the Half-orc inflicts Death Throes upon their surroundings at termination. Half-orcs are also subject to a -2 penalty on saves versus polymorph and other such effects.


Class Level Progression Table
Level
Attack bonus
Crit Die & table
Threat Range
Action Dice
Rage Die
Ref
Fort
Will
Armor Bonus
Mutation
0
+0
1d7/ I
20
1d20
+d3
+0
+1
-1
+1
Possibly
1
+1
1d14/II
20
1d20
+d3
+1
+2
-1
+1
N
2
+1
1d16/II
20
1d20
+d4
+1
+2
-1
+2
N
3
+2
1d20/II
20
1d20
+d5
+2
+3
+0
+2
Y
4
+3
1d20/III
19+
1d20
+d6
+2
+3
+0
+3
N
5
+3
1d24/III
19+
1d20+1d12
+d7
+3
+4
+0
+3
N
6
+4
1d24/IV
19+
1d20+1d12
+d8
+3
+4
+1
+4
Y
7
+5
2d12/IV
19+
1d20+1d14
+d10
+4
+5
+1
+4
N
8
+5
2d14/V
18+
1d20+1d14
+d12
+4
+5
+1
+5
30% Y
9
+6
2d16/V
18+
1d20+1d16
+d14
+5
+6
+2
+5
Y
10
+7
2d20/M
18+
1d20+1d16+1d12
+d16
+5
+6
+2
+6
60% Y











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