Slyth Hive

I’ve said before that it’s not really possible to review an adventure that you haven’t run or played. An adventure module is not a book; D&D is not a film to be viewed or acted. Dungeons & Dragons is a game that needs to be played to be experienced. Without that experience of play, the best one can do is offer thoughts and opinions, critiques and praise over how one BELIEVES the thing will play. And while…sometimes…those opinions will be informed by the experience of the “reviewer” with regard to game play and design, it’s still all just “theory” until the adventure is actually run as a game.

Call all that “The Standard Caveat.”

Slyth Hive is the latest adventure penned by the erudite rapscallion known as Prince of Nothing. You may recall his earlier adventure modules: Red Prophet Rises and The Palace of Unquiet Repose. I own both of those modules; I have not played them (nor reviewed them), though I have offered opinions on them (here and elsewhere): generally, I find them “okay.” In relation to other adventures published these days they are far better than the standard fare, but this is an extremely low bar and, despite nice writing and good-to-interesting atmospherics/aesthetics, I have my issues with them...it is doubtful they will ever see my gaming table.

Slyth Hive, on the other hand, is a different matter.

This is no sophomoric work or retread of earlier work. Rather, it is tour de force, far surpassing (in my estimation) the quality of Prince's early work, while still displaying his trademark flair for evocative writing and his penchant for sword & sorcery tropes. Yet Slyth Hive is elevated, and...for the most part...it is well designed.

True, it needs polish and definitely a good pass with the editor's pen. Several minor flaws related to the map and keying are present (I intend to send him a list of fixes...for when he has the time) and there are numerous 'slip ups' with regard to the system. But the bulk of what's here is "good stuff," and a cut above his earlier work in a way his earlier work is a cut above the usual business produced for publication. 

Let's begin with the basics: the adventure is written for high level (14th+) AD&D play; fully outfitted pre-gens are included. The adventure itself in its current form is some 50ish pages in length PLUS twenty-one pages of appendices (pregens, new monsters, magic items, notes, etc.), ten more pages of maps, and roughly half a dozen pages of (AI generated?) art. Characters seek to penetrate and conquer an enormous, multi-level hive of insect-like super predators (and their minions) obtaining great fortune and glory and (presumably) putting a civilization-razing threat to the sword. The adventure has been play-tested more than once...I observed Prince running it at the Cauldron convention, and I have heard nothing but glowing reports from those who've played the thing.

Something like this, but far nastier...and bigger.

It has been fascinating to watch Prince's gaming evolution over the last 6-7 years (well chronicled on his blog)...from Basic play (generally of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess and Labyrinth Lord variety), back to 2E (from his own primordial origins), to 1st Edition AD&D, aka The King of Games. It seems to have been quite a journey of discovery, aided both by discussion on various forum sites and his own delves into the numerous publications ('zine, mag, and module) of the game's early days.

Writing this post, I find myself wanting to write more about our Brave Sir Prince himself, rather than the module proper. You see, I've met the Prince...I have broken bread with him, have talked with him, have gamed with him. I have had the chance to take something of his measure. He is very intelligent and creative and cursed with the nagging self-doubt that ALL intelligent, creative, self-aware people seem cursed with. He is a young man...but he's no kid. As a creator, he is still maturing, and you can see the growing pains...even as you can also marvel at the brilliance of the work.

Okay, down to it: the scope of the thing is massive, though the premise is simple, drawing amply from a rather obvious list of horror and sci-fi media of the "bug hunt" variety. The tyranid species of Warhammer 40,000 figures hugely in the titular antagonist's mutating/adaptation abilities, creating the main operative pressure on the player characters: the more they fight the slyth, the more the buggers change and adjust (via manifest organic weapons and defenses) to come back harder against their persecutors. This is a wonderful and original concept and...while I might have some quibbles about its implementation...it is a fantastic way to challenge and punish players who take a passive and/or tentative approach to engagement.

The environments here are excellent: a level of prehistoric simulacrum, a level of fungal forests and killer slimes, a more-or-less submerged (underwater) level, a level featuring nothing but a gigantic cavern with a waiting army of killer bugs, etc. Good stuff. Non-bug creatures abound as well, including both minions and subterranean denizens willing to become allies of the player characters. This adventure offers many, many interesting challenges for experienced players, in a horrific, terrifying environment, with (what appears to be) plenty of reward. I'm fairly satisfied that this will provide many hours of glorious bloodshed and adventure gaming, and probably not a few "oh, shit!" moments...exactly what jaded, er, "high level" players are hoping for.

I will move to the criticism: aside from needing an editor to catch some of the errors, the thing could use an editor to tighten things. I hate to say it (because I can already guess the reaction) but, in my opinion, the thing is too big. There are a few many encounters that are too much the same despite the transformative ability of the slyth. There are things added that have the marks of "this would be great!" but really add little to the adventure as a whole. There are two or three too many Giant Impossible Utterly Devastating New Monstrous Threats sprinkled throughout...like endless video game boss battles. There are one or two too many homages present (sorry, not a fan of the Dune reference) that for me would indicate a little too much exuberance with the source material.

And I don't just mean the fiction from which the author draws...I'm talking about the source material of OTHER "high level adventures" that Prince has digested and is now re-synthesizing. He may have looked at TOO MANY examples from days of TSR past, adding things that are unnecessary in terms of theming or even gameplay. By the time an adventuring party has braved a gauntlet of six or seven levels they should be in their last legs...resources depleted, men lost, bleeding from scores of wounds. You don't then hammer them...and then hammer them...and then hammer them again with Ever Bigger Hammers. There is a rhythm to game play...ebbs and flows...even in an adventure like this. 

Back to the good stuff for a moment: Slyth Hive actually includes TWO sets of pregens. A group of mid-level miscreants than get sent in to investigate, followed by the immense high level heroes.  This is a great gimmick: it gives the players a chance to scout a bit and get some idea of what they'll encounter before taking the REAL troops into the jaws of death. Unfortunately, the mid-level guys aren't likely to get too far (unless played extremely well), and the Hive's defenses against gathering intelligence means the party is going to be operating in a blind, reactive state from at least the mid-point of the adventure. Perhaps that won't be an issue for experienced, resourceful players...but it could be a rough go for players of middling proficiency using the pregens.

Eh. That's just critique. As noted, the adventure has been run...multiple times for multiple players...and I am unaware of any complaints. "Stylistic nitpicks," I suppose...but I know what I like. And this feels...mm...'over-exuberant.'

Even so, there IS room to breathe, in the adventure...there are 'beats' that don't feel rushed. The adventure is BIG, but (for the most part) it is has the appropriate DENSITY of information. I didn't feel that in Prince's early adventures, even though they were written for a "basic" edition of D&D.

NOW...one last negative, and then I'll stop. Going hand-in-hand with the "learning too much of the (maybe wrong) thing" category, let's talk treasure. There's a LOT of treasure, and its not just the hand-waved 'millions and millions' found in TPoUR; but a many of the treasure piles are incredibly obscure...they take the whole 'treasure should be hard to come by and/or hidden' thing a little too far; some examples:

• a monster whose "carapace, treated with acids and worked by a supremely capable dwarven blacksmith, yields 3d10 gemstones of 1,000 g.p. value..."
• 125,000 in coins buried under a diamond-hard stone slab that weighs 50,000 pounds and is immune to stone to mud and passwall spells (but not disintegrate).
• a 50,000 g.p. sapphire hidden in the heart of a giant mushroom (requires 120 h.p. of damage by edged weapons to cut through; every round of attack requires a save vs. poison at -4 to avoid effect of hallucinogenic spores; fireballs and the like have a chance of destroying the gem).
• an immense pile of treasure covered in a colorless, odorless contact poison (lethal, -2 save, seeps through fabric and even metal gauntlets). The poison is slow acting (only takes effect after 1 turn) so everyone handling treasure has the potential to be wiped out without warning.
• a purple worm nest with nearly 200,000 in detailed treasure that is not on any map and no indication is given of how one might discover it

A brief accounting of monetary treasure indicates something less 1,400,000 g.p. worth, which is surprisingly small given A) the size of the adventure proper, and B) the number and level of pre-gens on hand. However, magic items are plentiful (though many...specifically Eyes taken from, I assume EoPT sources, have no value listed), and I suspect that this, accompanied by valuable "cores" dug from specific corpses could get that treasure total up to 2.5 or 3 million. But that's still...not much? I'm probably looking for something on the order of 8M or more for something this size, and I can't believe I'm saying this (there are ENORMOUS sections of detailed treasure!) but this might be...stingy? Not on purpose, mind you...it's just tough when you're dealing with things of this size and scope. By the book, 92,000 silver pieces weighs 4.6 tons...and is worth only 4,600 g.p. That's not much bang for the buck when your 16th level mage needs 350,000 x.p. to level up.

Still. There's a lot of combat x.p. on the docket in Slyth Hive.

This "review"...this list of critiques...is going to sound overly negative, I know. Please allow me to reiterate that the adventure is an immense, fantastic tour de force. I have issues with it, but this is a case where my feelings are 90% positive and 10% negative, and I am only harping on the negative because...well, because that's what I do. I am impressed...very impressed with Slyth Hive. I paid $15 on DriveThruRPG for a PDF so that I could read the thing, and I'm not disappointed. It's an ass-kicker of an adventure, with some fiendish design, clever ideas, and evocative writing. It is solid enough to run. With a bit of polish and editing, some slight mechanical fixes (if you're going to include UA rules, you need to get them right), and...perhaps...a slightly streamlined system to the slyth adaptations, this thing would rate in among the best high level adventures of all time.

And I say that as someone who's not really into 80+ page modules.

; )

EDIT: For a more detailed review/advertisement for what's in the adventure (including designer notes and substantial SPOILERS), please check out Prince's own article on Slyth Hive.

Contests

AKA "Friday News Dump"

Or, rather, it would have been (a Friday news dump), if I had been on the ball today.

Let's get right to brass tacks. I feel like a heel for failing to mention this earlier, but Ben Gibson is currently running an adventure writing contest that ends on the 31st. I should definitely have mentioned this earlier, but the thing has a limit of two pages, which many would-be designers can bang out in a weekend. And guess what? You've got a weekend left. Get to it!

So who the heck is Ben Gibson? He's an adventure cobbler himself, who's written some well reviewed pieces, most (all?) of which are of the "short form" variety. Spent some time today downloading and reading things like The Fall of Whitecliff and Night at Fausen's Manor...3E/Pathfinder stuff that reminds me (somewhat) of the best of the old One Page Dungeon Contest (which might still be going on, but I'm not paying attention). Anyhoo...no wonder he's chosen the small format for his contest...if anyone's qualified to judge such stuff, he'd be. Heck, reading it nearly entices me to play a little 3E...except that I still remember what 3E turns into after 7th level or so.

[spoiler: a crapshow, that's what]

Still, for low level stuff, those adventures have definite conversion material/potential. Anyway, I'm going to try to get something in for his contest before Wednesday (the deadline); that's doable, right? Just have a basketball game, a soccer game, volleyball practice, etc., etc.

[somehow, I got tagged with coaching 7th/8th grade volleyball this year. I haven't played volleyball since 1987, when I WAS in 8th grade! *sigh*]

I am sorry I haven't been keeping up with the blog posts in the New Year...I've been distracted. NFL playoffs, and football coaches disappearing from the local teams and eager awaiting of news on those fronts have me glued to my radio while doing menial chores around the home. It's silly; it's distracting. 

*ugh* I don't have time to talk about this right now. Okay, I'm going to amend the title of my post. Get your contest submission in, if you have the chance (five more days!). I haven't yet put pen to paper, so it's not like you'd be lagging far behind Yours Truly...just get something in.

Yak at you all later. Later!

; )

Return of the Jedi

Last night my family watched Return of the Jedi (AKA Star Wars, Episode VI). This was not our first time.

I was cooking dinner tonight...grilling, in fact (no rain...for a change)...and had briefly considered posting pix of how I make Paraguayan chimichurri and baked mandioca. Eh. Another time. My grill is on its last legs (at least the charcoal pan), and in need of a replacement (probably in the Spring). The film I just threw on as "background noise" while putting stuff together...although the movie I started streaming was Rogue One. It was my daughter that switched it to RotJ.

My daughter (Sofia) is nine years old. Because she is my daughter, she's already seen these films...multiple times. However, this is not the same with her classmates. Oh, some have seen the movies...her friend Posey, and most (all?) of the boys. But not her best friend (Milana), and another friend...Maddie...has only seen the original trilogy, and only over the last three weeks. 

They, of course, love it.

Still Good

So they've been playing a lot of "Star Wars" at recess. Acting out the movies. Pretending to be the heroes or the villains or the stormtroopers, etc. This is why she wanted to watch Jedi...they've been self-performing the films sequentially and only just gotten up to "Jabba's palace." Sofia says they know most of the lines (well, she does anyway), but she just wanted to 'go over it.' The film had only just started as my wife and son got home from soccer practice (her turn driving tonight), and Diego exclaimed "Hey! I want to watch!" So we did.

It's interesting, watching my kids re-watch these films...films that were so much a part of MY childhood (I saw all the original films in the theater...multiple times). Sofia is...mm...about where I was at her age as far as understanding goes, but interesting to see her amazement at non-CGI special f/x. My son is much more developed and mature for his age and eyes things with the critical eyes of a film critic and seasoned campaigner (a lot of pseudo-military stuff in these SW films and my boy is all about the war games and military history). 

BUT...just astounding how well they hold up as entertaining films for kids. I do not approve of, nor appreciate, all the the things my kids find "awesome"...a lot of their pop music, for example, or some of the kids shows they dig, or many of their book choices (I can't stand those "Wimpy Kid Books" and they both eat those up). But here's something that we all connect on.

It is also interesting that the 9 year olds are SO into this...perhaps this is the "sweet spot" for those movies? I believe Diego was about the same age when he started his "D&D Club" at school, mainly to run a Star Wars RPG of his own devising (based on the B/X chassis...natch). That club has since gone defunct, but the kids who enjoyed it are still playing D&D (albeit with different groups outside of school). But...Star Wars (and, specifically, the original trilogy) were a unifying factor. 

Sofia last night (during the opening scene in the new Death Star): "Darth Vader is the BEST!" He's pretty good all right, probably my favorite "supervillain" of all time. Religious zealot, scarred cyborg, rage-filled brute...plus, James Earl Jones. Just...menacing. Shiny helmet. Black cape. Featureless mask. It's all delightful. Jedi may be the worst of the first three films, but turning Vader into the hero at the end was a stroke of genius (although I prefer the original cut of the climactic scene which has NO inserted Vader dialogue during the crescendo of the film's score...why make the scene weaker, Lucas? Jeez).

Ok. I'll stop. 

[by the way, while Sofia has a huge appreciation for DV, I know that her favorite Star Wars character of all time...from all the films...is still Darth Maul. She will tell you the same, if asked. She prefers the Rebels for our Star Wars Legion games, but I'm guessing that'll change as soon as she sees a Maul model on the shelf]

Why am I talking about this? Partly to grease the ol' 'blogging wheels' (a little rusty lately). But also because it's (very slightly) pertinent to a project I want to talk about. NOT a Star Wars project, but...perhaps..."SW adjacent?" That might be accurate.

First, though, I need to get back to that whole 'procedural gameplay' thing I mentioned earlier. We'll get to it.

Something New

I wrote three-quarters of a rather long post yesterday (the 19th...my son's birthday) that I didn't have a chance to finish/publish...what else is new?...

[at least it wasn't particularly maudlin...THAT long post happened a couple days before (when I was more than usually drunk) and will probably stay, lingering, on the draft board as a reminder of my "inner darkness." I was just in a rather depressed mood that evening]

...*ahem* a rather looong post attempting to explain why D&D as designed is eminently suitable to its role as an adventure game, as opposed to...mm...well, pretty much any other game that gets categorized these days as an "RPG."

[we are, of course, NOT discussing "computer RPGs;" for purposes of my writing here, I have zero interest in CRPGs]

Anyhoo, I didn't finish it because A) time constraints, and B) I was having a hard time nailing my point or (perhaps) bringing the argument/thesis around to a satisfying conclusion (satisfying to me at any rate). Why do other games...games not beholden to elves and swords and wizards and dragons...just, flat out suck for long-term, experiential adventure gaming?

Why indeed.

SO, while out driving today, or musing a bit, or...SOMEthing....a new idea popped into my head. A new, interesting (maybe) project. Kind of a culmination, or (better) a possible synthesis of a NUMBER of ideas I've had over the years. For a particular game design. 

As usual, this particular idea is a bit...daunting. 

So that's all I want to say at the moment. If anything comes of it, I'll write more. I just want to spend a couple days/nights tinkering with the idea. That's all; just...tinkering. 

My son is a teenager, by the way. 13. I started this blog two years before he was born. It's been a long road. A long, long road.

Peace and love, folks.

RIP Jennell Jaquays

Legendary game designer Jennell Jaquays passed away today at the age of 67. She will be missed.

Thank you for the games.

Good art.

Space Wars

So the Seahawks season is over and, despite yet another close win (against a 4-13 halfling team...big whoop), the orks are out of the playoffs (*sigh*). I may discuss that in later post (or the playoffs in general), but at the moment I'm not in the mood for Blood Bowl.

[not that Blood Bowl hasn't been on the mind a bit...the kids have been clamoring for it in recent days and are in the process of painting up a couple BB teams (wood elves and amazons; Christmas gifts from last year, if I remember correctly)]

It should come as little surprise that in MY household, there's been plenty of game playing that's been going the last couple weeks (during the holiday vacation season). What might be surprising is that almost none of it has been D&D related. Instead, it's been card games, board games, and war games...specifically a new war game that was on the boy's Christmas list: Star Wars Legion. Prior to New Year's eve (when we had to clean the table for a dinner party) our dining room was dominated by battlefield detritus and unpainted models. Now...well, the battlefield hasn't returned (yet) but the table is once again dominated by scores of miniatures...primed miniatures that are in the process of being painted.

Since it IS game related and it's been the main thing occupying my attention lately (at least, the bandwidth I reserve for gaming), I figured I might as well write something about it.

Under the tree this year.

Star Wars Legion is a miniature war game; the core box set comes in two varieties Republic vs. Separatist or Empire vs. Rebels. The rules for both are the same, but the models included in the box are different. We, of course, have the latter set because...duh. 

I find the game VERY reminiscent of 2nd edition Warhammer 40,000. Not necessarily in game play (initiative and turn procedure is NOT 40K-esque, and the thing uses custom dice rather than standard d6s), but in terms of army construction and general paradigm. Each player picks up a faction. Unit types are given "rank" categories, which limits how many of each type can be included in the army list. There are normal generals and whatnot or "special" (Unique) figures based on film characters. There are "upgrade" cards that can purchased for specific points...very much like 40K's "war gear" and "psychic power" cards. And just like 2E 40K, the special characters, can punch above their point value, absolutely dominating the battlefield...something that the 40K designers endeavored to rectify between 2E and 3E.

[when it comes to 40K, I logged the most "game time" playing 2E, though I spent more years collecting & building 3E and/or 4E, before chucking the thing around the time of 5E]

Which is FINE...it is very Star Wars. Luke Skywalker should be able to carve his way through a unit of stormtroopers. Vader should be a big, menacing presence on the moving (slowly) about the battlefield. Mandalorians with jetpacks should be highly mobile, elite units. Etc.

The game has a LOT of fiddle to it: a lot of special rules and spot mechanics and tokens, reminiscent of Magic cards...a fairly obvious influence on the design of Star Wars Legion. But I like the game...a lot. For a NUMBER of reasons:

1) Star Wars is fun. Star Wars as a war game (stormtroopers vs. rebels) is a blast. The models are all recognizable by anyone with even a passing knowledge of the films, and their capabilities are well-modeled by the game mechanics.

2) Really quality components (easily stored in a nice box) and fairly straightforward rules that, after a couple play-throughs, are fairly easy to grok. No issues for the 12 year old, despite being for ages 14+.

3) Dirt-cheap investment. Anyone familiar with GW stuff knows how much money can be spent on the miniatures hobby. I remember when a single rhino tank was $35 or a landraider was an "outrageous" $50ish. Just checking Amazon this morning, the prices on these are up to $89 and $140. 

Holy. Crap. 

Star Wars Legion, by contrast, are cheaper to buy BUT (more importantly) have an 800 point structure limit. The core box provides two forces of circa 500 points...you can customize a legal army with the purchase of 2-3 extra units, probably with less than $70ish total in extra expenditure.  They're cheap enough you can outfit multiple "800 point armies" of the same faction for little money (the core box is currently available on-line for $95...compare that to 40K!). I bought myself a late Christmas present of the "Blizzard" box: three snowtrooper units (21 models), 2 speeder bike units (4 models), another Vader, and an AT-ST (!!) all with associated cards, upgrades, and extra tokens. Total price: $105. Scheduled to arrive tomorrow. One of these days I'll throw down the extra $13 to buy General Veers, and my "Hoth assault" army will be complete. 

[never mind...just took 2 minutes to place the order. It's still only $15 with tax...arrives tomorrow, too]

Arriving tomorrow.

Back in 1996 I paid $18 a pop for each two-pack of space marine terminators. I got six (total), all with thunder hammers and painted them up to be Khorne berserkers. Less than a year later, they were outlawed by 40Ks new rule set and (so far as I know) have never since been a legal 40K unit. Screw you, Games Workshop.

4) Easy assembly. The kids have been doing (most of) the cutting and gluing...I just do all the priming, out in the garage (to save on their young lungs). Even the really fiddly models (the AT-RT, the Mandalorians)...the kid put them together no problem, without adult help.

5) Lego compatible. Over the years, my kids have acquired quite the collection of Lego sets, many of which are Star Wars themed. While these have been used for plenty of "Lego wars" in the past, they are pretty close to the same scale as Star Wars Legion...which means that we have ready-made "terrain" for our battlefield. Who needs plastic forests and spray-painted "hills" when you can battle in the Tattooine cantina? Plus, I just like repurposing toys...or anything...in ways that make it useful. 

6) Fast gameplay. The game plays quite fast...once you get a handle on how each unit's special rules and instructions work. That part is kind of a pain, as each unit generally has at least 1-2 special rules associated with it (even before adding various "upgrade" cards), and you're bound to make mistakes in the first battle or two (we did). However, the limited NUMBER of units (that 800 points is only enough for 6-7 groups), combined with fast turn sequence means you get ramped up pretty quick. The whole "issuing orders" phase (a card drawing mechanic that takes the place of initiative rolling) allows for interesting tactical maneuvering, and the quick attrition means game play speeds up substantially as the game goes. Six turns (again: memories of 2E 40K) goes VERY fast, but battles are tight right to the end. We dig it.

7) With regard to rules, I'm generally fine. Yes, Luke is a beast. He's also been shot to death in every battle we've played. Same with Vader. The only mechanical issue that bugs (or that I'm not used to) is that troop models cannot be screened by other troop models. So, even though the stormtroopers advance in front of DV (because Darth is Sooo Slooow), rebel forces can ignore the troopers, focusing fire on the commander behind. In practice it hasn't been a big deal...but it does feel odd.

Anyway. War gaming is fun. War gaming in spaaaace is also quite fun. Even the nine year old is into it (she's currently painting her Amazon team, but has a Chewbacca and Leia for SWL and plans to get in on the next battle). The kids are getting to an age when I can fo this kind of thing with them...an age where I can unpack my old crates of 40K minis and not worry about them smashing them crazily, or pitching one in a tantrum of frustration (always a possibility with young or immature players). 

But I'm kind of over 40K. I mean, there's a lot of sly Star Wars references in the original 40K game (which I own, but have never played), and I'm tempted to run some first edition 40K using the SWL miniatures in place of GW stuff (now that would be a hoot!). I thought about introducing them to 40K proper, but even though I've got the stuff for it...what edition would I teach them? I mean...how many editions are there now? Eight? Nine? I've got rule books for the first four (five? Maybe) editions. But do I have a favorite? Not really. It's such a simple system, but there are changes to every version that changes the game in significant ways. 

Nah. I think I'll stick with the new Star Wars game for a bit. I'm sure 40K will still be around in ten years...in a twelfth edition with $300 tank models...if the kids want to try it out.

*** EDIT: Sorry, almost forgot: Go Dawgs! ***

Happy New Year!

This is my second try at writing this post. The first one just kept getting more and more morbid...far too morbid for the holidays, in my opinion.

Apologies. My 2023 was rough.

Here's hoping 2024 will be LESS rough...less an emotional roller coaster. Man, I had some high High Points this year. But I also had some really, really low points (main culprit: too many deaths).

Eh. It's life. 

The kids will be going back to school this week...mm...tomorrow. It is nearly noon PST and they are still sleeping (we had some friends over last night and were up till 2am). I should probably wake them so that we can have at least SOME fun before getting back to the grind.

But I do enjoy these solitary moments with my coffee and laptop.

ANYhoo...once they are back to school, I'll have a little more time for reflection and posting. 

To everyone reading this: Best wishes for happy and healthy New Year for you and your loved ones! God bless!

: )