Gout Tips

With my gout back, I wanted to do a post on some of my tips and tricks for surviving an attack.  This is not going to be scientific at all, I will not be going into food at all.  I really have no idea what works for the food, I have a semi gout diet but I am not sure it does any good.

My gout attacks have always occurred in my feet, I don't know if that is a blessing or a curse.  I can't walk but I can sort of sit in a chair.  I wouldn't waste your time if this wasn't the classic gout, as my tricks wouldn't be much help.

1. Get yourself some crutches and or canes.  You are going to need the help getting around in the worst of the attacks. They are really a life saver.
2. If you have a two story dwelling put one crutch on each floor, you always want one handy!
3. A trick to getting up that has helped me. I get up by putting the unhurt foot on the ground and getting on to the bent knee of the leg with the gout food.  I find i can get up way easier this way.  I can just push up to my strong foot supporting me with much less pain
4. Get yourself some gout shoes. I normally wear Dr. Martins but there is no way to get them on with the gout.  Vans and converse are both terrible to get on.  But I have a pair of Brooks running shoes that are easy to get on and wear.  I suggest something that opens up wide and has a mesh exterior.
5. Stomach sleepers may want to sleep lower in the bed.  I have found Moving down so that I hang my foot off the bed helps.  My ankle or shin is on the bed and the rest hang over.  Nothing touches or hurts my gout this way.  You just need to put the covers a little lower so your feet are nice and warm.
6. Pepsi throwback / Dr. Pepper Heritage are handy for soda fiends like me because they do not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup.
7. Clean houses are best for gout.  If you have a messy place with stuff to kick or trip on you are in trouble with gout.  I kicked a bone my dog had left around, oh my God i was dying.

Observations of rereading the Dungeon Masters Guide 30 years later, part 2

As I continue reading through the players handbook and dungeon masters guide books I am shocked at how poorly the information is arranged.  There are many occasions where the information is split across the rear section of the player handbook and several spots in the Dungeon Masters guide.  Its sort of crazy doing things this way.  I guess this was before the notion that players understanding the rules made things easier for the guy behind the screen.  Actually it seems that all rolling was intended to be behind the screen!

I wanted to make note of a few surprises that have come to mind in reading.  Information is just not clear at all at times.  With regard do the class and sub classes they did a poor job explaining.  Many times you read rules that address a class, but seem to not include the sub classes.  Later in reading on you have similar text that logically must be applied to subclasses, like the int table for magic users and illusionists, Later this class / sub class is directly explained.  Why wasn't this done in the beginning and if you get the Unearthed Arcana, forget what I just said.

Gygax was working on the Mini Haul school of game mastery from the start.  Look at his advice to have people bring first level characters into an existing campaign.  Even more telling are his statements on being stingy followed by his 100gp a level, monthly gold tax.  What the hell dude we are still trying to pay for our in and you want to tax my party 100gp a head at first level?  We are averaging an encounter a day in our first level AD&D game, we are going to be broke forever!  We are just trying to get to the point where we have all the equipment we need to be start, let alone plate armor.

My final observation was something I have been looking for, specifically.  This would be rules for head shots.  In a campaign with my cousins we had this rule of intelligent creatures making 1 in 2 attacks to the head, with non intelligent doing 1 in 6.  The effect was double damage for the head shot.  This was something I never have been able to find, until today, and always wondered about its source.  It seems to come out of the Helmet rules in the DMG, which state this about players not wearing a helmet.  Basically they are saying if you have no helmet you are ac 10 but with the helmet ac 1.  I have no idea about double damage for head shots though.  I wonder if it was read somewhere else then strapped on to form a sort of critical attack rule?