Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
[Playtest Campaign][Gaming] Two Games in Two Days-
Well, the short version is that the farewell-boy lost one character, but that character became an intelligent short sword, in the possession of his other character.
The party, minus Delver/CiCi's player (I played them) covered four sub-levels (a subterranean tower of sorts), down to a port with cryo-sleep bays (five occupied, three intact), and learnt a bit more of the history of Qerzyk.
--They are now faced with the option of leaving with an Abbekqorru spaceship captain and his two surviving human crew (one male, one female), or finish their prescribed mission from the Kherstic League to prevent the ship from departing the sea-cave port facility.
During their delve, they faced a horribly-'virulent' fungal plague (almost lost a PC to it twice); two armed Trolls with a Human-Troll spell-caster; a psychic artefact that contacted an Outer Leviathan who possessed the character who was killed (the same guy who'd previously telepathically contacted the Aelbaan and had lost his prior body), before the party members who were able to resist his Empathy-induced fear-effect, killed him.
--They found heli-coil ammunition canisters for bullpup weapons of the Ancients; 5 space-suits; four small fire-extinguishers; 15 'bullpup pistols' not really designed to fire from those larger heli-coils (much lower reliability: Fumble on a 01-05); and sundry items like disinfectant wipe pouches (hundreds of them), and spoiled concentrated rations, and partially-decayed utensil + spices packages.
---
I was in P_Armstrong's Saturday-night Skype B/X game, and had a good time.
--We had 6 characters (five players), plus Mr. Armstrong hosting the Gametable and Skype connections.
* Harpy: Vanquished in one Round, and a positive contact gained in Shewolf.
Next game scheduled for a fortnight.
The party, minus Delver/CiCi's player (I played them) covered four sub-levels (a subterranean tower of sorts), down to a port with cryo-sleep bays (five occupied, three intact), and learnt a bit more of the history of Qerzyk.
--They are now faced with the option of leaving with an Abbekqorru spaceship captain and his two surviving human crew (one male, one female), or finish their prescribed mission from the Kherstic League to prevent the ship from departing the sea-cave port facility.
During their delve, they faced a horribly-'virulent' fungal plague (almost lost a PC to it twice); two armed Trolls with a Human-Troll spell-caster; a psychic artefact that contacted an Outer Leviathan who possessed the character who was killed (the same guy who'd previously telepathically contacted the Aelbaan and had lost his prior body), before the party members who were able to resist his Empathy-induced fear-effect, killed him.
--They found heli-coil ammunition canisters for bullpup weapons of the Ancients; 5 space-suits; four small fire-extinguishers; 15 'bullpup pistols' not really designed to fire from those larger heli-coils (much lower reliability: Fumble on a 01-05); and sundry items like disinfectant wipe pouches (hundreds of them), and spoiled concentrated rations, and partially-decayed utensil + spices packages.
---
I was in P_Armstrong's Saturday-night Skype B/X game, and had a good time.
--We had 6 characters (five players), plus Mr. Armstrong hosting the Gametable and Skype connections.
* Harpy: Vanquished in one Round, and a positive contact gained in Shewolf.
Next game scheduled for a fortnight.
Friday, August 7, 2009
crawls back into sarcophagus
After only six hours of sleep, I went with my business partner to the outdoor range for longarm shooting, only to find it occupied by IPSC folk. Traffic on 595 was lousy and I asked to be dropped off at home again rather than shoot pistols indoors. I'm soon down for a cat nap.
Today, I'll be equipped with my trusty polyhedral dice and a few choice maps, in the hopes of wowing folks with the game.
Have a good Friday/etc.
--Catch you later.
Today, I'll be equipped with my trusty polyhedral dice and a few choice maps, in the hopes of wowing folks with the game.
Have a good Friday/etc.
--Catch you later.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
[Blogosphere][Gaming] Gardens of Delight- (updated)
While I have cut away a few of the blogs that either didn't speak to me as I well as I had hoped, or those whose degrees of inactivity were simply of too great a period for my hope to sustain further interest, I am subscribed to-, and read 35 or so in number.
Your humour, interests, passions, and rants often inspire my commentary (however tangential or insipid) and more than occasionally, I find myself creatively inspired.
Reading Ryan's Save vs. Poison, today, I was inspired to define Blue Lotus flower in gaming terms in a comment.
--Here I present it, and a few other botanicals (over the course of the day) in Urutsk gaming terms:
* Blue Lotus-
:: is both a vasodilator (good for the menfolks) and a relaxant.
Usage: Smoked, or ingested decoction/infusion.
Critical Test: Health at +2 to overcome effects; otherwise (45 minutes - Physique score) duration per dose.
-1 on Initiative
-1 on Certitude, Reasoning, and Balance Tests
+1 per die damage suffered from Edged weapons due to increased blood flow
+2 on Leverage and Constitution Tests
+1 on Resolve, and any sort of 'creativity' Tests
:: Blue Lotus flower, by itself, is a mild relaxant and generally improves the mood of the smoker or imbiber, without having a deleterious narcotic effect. It is also used in an aphrodisiacal application (and often in conjunction with other preparations) for males due to the increased blood flow that it enables.
:: When used in conjunction with other botanicals, increases their overall effect by roughly 20%, largely through the vasodilation action.
:: The smoke is a slightly musty and rather dense affair, while the teas or wines made with the leaves have a pleasant, if herbal taste.
25 dct per 1.5 oz. of dried flowers
* Five-frond-
:: is a moderate relaxant, and a mild hallucinogen.
Usage: Ingested (also as decoction/infusion), or Smoked.
Critical Test: Health to overcome effects; otherwise (45 minutes - Physique score) duration per dose, although the potency of the plant may impose a higher Threshold, or increase the duration. Ingesting the plant requires 2 to 3x the normal amount to be smoked, but does impose a 22 or higher Threshold, and depending on the amount ingested, can extend the duration of the effect for hours.
-2 on Initiative
-2 on Reasoning, and Balance Tests
+1 on Certitude Tests and Experience Critical Tests
+2 on Resolve, and any sort of 'creativity' Tests
:: Five-frond is a medicinal plant with multifarious applications, raging from pain-reliever to diuretic, as well as calming the digestive tract and increasing appetite. It is also used in many spiritual applications, whether directly ingested or inhaled, or in incense.
:: Virtually every Human ethnicity and Humanoid tribe uses Five-frond in some capacity, from the simple recreational relaxant, to the complex alchemical concoction.
:: It has an extremely low toxicity level to its effective dosage strength, and it is virtually impossible to suffer physical toxicity effects. However, even mild dosages of highly potent plants can induce a profound and varied array of psychological effects upon the user. These may be benign or even beneficial, or may be a terrifying and nightmarish mishmash of confused images and deep-seated fears represented in iconic plays of the imagination. In general, the less experience one has with this plant's effects, the more extreme the effect (one way or the other), while habitual users (recreational or shamanic) often feel they gain deep insights through the use.
5 cct per 1 oz. of commercially grown and cultivated dried vegetative buds (ubiquitous growth throughout Urutsk's temperate or warmer climes, or cultivated indoors in Arctic northern climates. The Black Crown has enormous hot-house production fields under Black Glass enclosures in the vast undisturbed frozen north.), otherwise, free.
* Hkraff Leaf-
:: acts as a vasoconstrictor, a stimulant, and a relaxant, based on speed of intake.
Usage: Chewed, Smoked, or Snorted.
Critical Test: Health with 22 Threshold to overcome effects; otherwise (30 minutes - Physique score) duration per dose.
-1 on Certitude, Reasoning if dosage missed, until next dosage
-1 per die damage suffered from Edged weapons due to decreased blood flow
+1 on Resolve (-1, instead, if dosage is missed)
:: Hkraff is an unusual botanical in that it offers very little benefit (or perceived benefit), until the addict is under its sway.
:: While it can be used as a stimulant, by taking in small, sharp breaths (or bumps of it nasally), if longer draws of the smoke are inhaled, it instead acts as a whole body relaxant.
:: The third usage, most popular with work crews, soldiers, and long-haul merchants, is that of a slow-release 'chew' placed between gums and lip, usually of the lower palate, with the toxic juices produced in the saliva, spat out.
:: Ingesting dried Hkraff leaf, will act as a purgative within (1d4 + Constitution) minutes.
:: Eating the green plant has limited nutritional value, but is most often prescribed medicinally to act as a diuretic and anti-inflammatory.
:: Those who have become chemically dependant upon Hkraff find themselves increasingly more irritable as the span between dosages increases. If the individual is a highly irritable or nervous one before Hkraff usage, the intensity of their mood will only increase as the supply in their system decreases. This fact alone makes 'kicking the habit' especially unpleasant for the afflicted.
:: The first time, and every time thereafter that Hkraff is taken into the system in an non-purgative or low-dose medicinal application, the individual must make an unmodified Health Critical Test, or become addicted.
:: Treating Hkraff addiction is generally best accomplished through the use of Catnip or Five-frond, with the substitute gradually increased and the Hkraff gradually reduced and finally eliminated entirely.
5 ct per 3 oz. of dried leaves, shredded
* Klahs-
:: is a powerful medicinal with strong hallucinogenic effects.
Usage: Ingested (pill formulation) or Insinuated (via needle or actual syringe).
Critical Test: Health with 25 Threshold to overcome effects; otherwise (3d6 days - Physique score) duration per dose.
+1 on Initiative
+1 on Certitude, Reasoning, and Balance Tests
-3 on Leverage and Constitution Tests
:: Klahs is a rare compound formed of three different fungi (one subterranean, and two high-altitude lichen). The formulation is difficult to achieve due to the rapid decomposition of the fungus.
:: When administered through insinuation, the subject begins to feel the psychogenic effects within the hour if the resistance Threshold is not met or exceeded. This results in what seem to be optical illusions and auditory hallucinations. In reality, these symptoms are cursory Psychic effects as the subject's brain is being altered, and new neural connections are being formed. At the end of the first (few) doses, the subject becomes increasingly synesthetic (experiencing multiple sense feedback to stimuli, such as hearing light, or smelling colour, etc.).
:: After roughly seven successful treatments (as the formulation rapidly breaks down and must be prepared every other day or so), the subject gains 1d3 beneficial mental aberrations, and 1 detrimental physical aberration (the total value of which is not to exceed 2,400 points, if the construction method is employed). Ingested formulations require roughly two to three times the number of doses to achieve the same results, although the first few will produce considerable, and long-lasting hallucinations along with the synesthetic effects.
:: When the initial treatment has run its course, the subject will find that the beneficial aberrations must be maintained through future daily doses. Without this regimen, the beneficial aberrations rapidly diminish, and they are left with a feeling of psychic vacancy, as well as an exaggerated awareness of their gained detrimental aberration, effectively raising the Threshold of all actions by a cumulative +1 per day. Should no further doses be received for over one month, the subject usually either dies, or takes their own life.
:: If doses are administered again after a span without it being in the subject's system, it will take up to three days for full restoration of the beneficial aberrations, with the least powerful of them being restored first, and so on.
:: The above listed modifiers are essentially permanent, once the Klahs has effected aberration.
1,500 to 4,500 ct per dose, based on availability of the insinuated formulation, or one-third that price for the pill form.
* Shaz-
:: is both a vasoconstrictor and a euphoric relaxant.
Usage: Ingested brew.
Critical Test: Health to overcome effects; otherwise (45 minutes - Physique score) duration per dose.
-1 on Initiative
-1 on Certitude, Reasoning, and Balance Tests
-1 per die damage suffered from Edged weapons due to decreased blood flow
+1 on Leverage and Constitution Tests
+1 on Resolve
:: Shaz is a fermented drink made from the roots and stalks of the Ylurn plant. It has a bitter, smoky flavour, and produces a thick 'head' of foam at the top of the mug.
:: Shaz has many different names, and uncounted local variations, including additional ingredients and varying potency. It is only slightly alcoholic in content, as the fermentation of the vegetative matter catalyses a secondary process which prevents wholesale conversion of sugars. The effect is relatively similar to alcohol inebriation, but with the added euphoria found in more exotic botanicals.
:: Shaz and its derivative blends are the usual first offering in make-peace meetings between potential rival groups.
:: Shaz is easily as psychologically 'addictive' as alcohol-abuse, but is less likely to result in morose imbibers. Sadly, it is equally impairing to motor-skills as well as the imbiber's judgement.
5 dct per 20 fl.oz. serving
Your humour, interests, passions, and rants often inspire my commentary (however tangential or insipid) and more than occasionally, I find myself creatively inspired.
Reading Ryan's Save vs. Poison, today, I was inspired to define Blue Lotus flower in gaming terms in a comment.
--Here I present it, and a few other botanicals (over the course of the day) in Urutsk gaming terms:
* Blue Lotus-
:: is both a vasodilator (good for the menfolks) and a relaxant.
Usage: Smoked, or ingested decoction/infusion.
Critical Test: Health at +2 to overcome effects; otherwise (45 minutes - Physique score) duration per dose.
-1 on Initiative
-1 on Certitude, Reasoning, and Balance Tests
+1 per die damage suffered from Edged weapons due to increased blood flow
+2 on Leverage and Constitution Tests
+1 on Resolve, and any sort of 'creativity' Tests
:: Blue Lotus flower, by itself, is a mild relaxant and generally improves the mood of the smoker or imbiber, without having a deleterious narcotic effect. It is also used in an aphrodisiacal application (and often in conjunction with other preparations) for males due to the increased blood flow that it enables.
:: When used in conjunction with other botanicals, increases their overall effect by roughly 20%, largely through the vasodilation action.
:: The smoke is a slightly musty and rather dense affair, while the teas or wines made with the leaves have a pleasant, if herbal taste.
25 dct per 1.5 oz. of dried flowers
* Five-frond-
:: is a moderate relaxant, and a mild hallucinogen.
Usage: Ingested (also as decoction/infusion), or Smoked.
Critical Test: Health to overcome effects; otherwise (45 minutes - Physique score) duration per dose, although the potency of the plant may impose a higher Threshold, or increase the duration. Ingesting the plant requires 2 to 3x the normal amount to be smoked, but does impose a 22 or higher Threshold, and depending on the amount ingested, can extend the duration of the effect for hours.
-2 on Initiative
-2 on Reasoning, and Balance Tests
+1 on Certitude Tests and Experience Critical Tests
+2 on Resolve, and any sort of 'creativity' Tests
:: Five-frond is a medicinal plant with multifarious applications, raging from pain-reliever to diuretic, as well as calming the digestive tract and increasing appetite. It is also used in many spiritual applications, whether directly ingested or inhaled, or in incense.
:: Virtually every Human ethnicity and Humanoid tribe uses Five-frond in some capacity, from the simple recreational relaxant, to the complex alchemical concoction.
:: It has an extremely low toxicity level to its effective dosage strength, and it is virtually impossible to suffer physical toxicity effects. However, even mild dosages of highly potent plants can induce a profound and varied array of psychological effects upon the user. These may be benign or even beneficial, or may be a terrifying and nightmarish mishmash of confused images and deep-seated fears represented in iconic plays of the imagination. In general, the less experience one has with this plant's effects, the more extreme the effect (one way or the other), while habitual users (recreational or shamanic) often feel they gain deep insights through the use.
5 cct per 1 oz. of commercially grown and cultivated dried vegetative buds (ubiquitous growth throughout Urutsk's temperate or warmer climes, or cultivated indoors in Arctic northern climates. The Black Crown has enormous hot-house production fields under Black Glass enclosures in the vast undisturbed frozen north.), otherwise, free.
* Hkraff Leaf-
:: acts as a vasoconstrictor, a stimulant, and a relaxant, based on speed of intake.
Usage: Chewed, Smoked, or Snorted.
Critical Test: Health with 22 Threshold to overcome effects; otherwise (30 minutes - Physique score) duration per dose.
-1 on Certitude, Reasoning if dosage missed, until next dosage
-1 per die damage suffered from Edged weapons due to decreased blood flow
+1 on Resolve (-1, instead, if dosage is missed)
:: Hkraff is an unusual botanical in that it offers very little benefit (or perceived benefit), until the addict is under its sway.
:: While it can be used as a stimulant, by taking in small, sharp breaths (or bumps of it nasally), if longer draws of the smoke are inhaled, it instead acts as a whole body relaxant.
:: The third usage, most popular with work crews, soldiers, and long-haul merchants, is that of a slow-release 'chew' placed between gums and lip, usually of the lower palate, with the toxic juices produced in the saliva, spat out.
:: Ingesting dried Hkraff leaf, will act as a purgative within (1d4 + Constitution) minutes.
:: Eating the green plant has limited nutritional value, but is most often prescribed medicinally to act as a diuretic and anti-inflammatory.
:: Those who have become chemically dependant upon Hkraff find themselves increasingly more irritable as the span between dosages increases. If the individual is a highly irritable or nervous one before Hkraff usage, the intensity of their mood will only increase as the supply in their system decreases. This fact alone makes 'kicking the habit' especially unpleasant for the afflicted.
:: The first time, and every time thereafter that Hkraff is taken into the system in an non-purgative or low-dose medicinal application, the individual must make an unmodified Health Critical Test, or become addicted.
:: Treating Hkraff addiction is generally best accomplished through the use of Catnip or Five-frond, with the substitute gradually increased and the Hkraff gradually reduced and finally eliminated entirely.
5 ct per 3 oz. of dried leaves, shredded
* Klahs-
:: is a powerful medicinal with strong hallucinogenic effects.
Usage: Ingested (pill formulation) or Insinuated (via needle or actual syringe).
Critical Test: Health with 25 Threshold to overcome effects; otherwise (3d6 days - Physique score) duration per dose.
+1 on Initiative
+1 on Certitude, Reasoning, and Balance Tests
-3 on Leverage and Constitution Tests
:: Klahs is a rare compound formed of three different fungi (one subterranean, and two high-altitude lichen). The formulation is difficult to achieve due to the rapid decomposition of the fungus.
:: When administered through insinuation, the subject begins to feel the psychogenic effects within the hour if the resistance Threshold is not met or exceeded. This results in what seem to be optical illusions and auditory hallucinations. In reality, these symptoms are cursory Psychic effects as the subject's brain is being altered, and new neural connections are being formed. At the end of the first (few) doses, the subject becomes increasingly synesthetic (experiencing multiple sense feedback to stimuli, such as hearing light, or smelling colour, etc.).
:: After roughly seven successful treatments (as the formulation rapidly breaks down and must be prepared every other day or so), the subject gains 1d3 beneficial mental aberrations, and 1 detrimental physical aberration (the total value of which is not to exceed 2,400 points, if the construction method is employed). Ingested formulations require roughly two to three times the number of doses to achieve the same results, although the first few will produce considerable, and long-lasting hallucinations along with the synesthetic effects.
:: When the initial treatment has run its course, the subject will find that the beneficial aberrations must be maintained through future daily doses. Without this regimen, the beneficial aberrations rapidly diminish, and they are left with a feeling of psychic vacancy, as well as an exaggerated awareness of their gained detrimental aberration, effectively raising the Threshold of all actions by a cumulative +1 per day. Should no further doses be received for over one month, the subject usually either dies, or takes their own life.
:: If doses are administered again after a span without it being in the subject's system, it will take up to three days for full restoration of the beneficial aberrations, with the least powerful of them being restored first, and so on.
:: The above listed modifiers are essentially permanent, once the Klahs has effected aberration.
1,500 to 4,500 ct per dose, based on availability of the insinuated formulation, or one-third that price for the pill form.
* Shaz-
:: is both a vasoconstrictor and a euphoric relaxant.
Usage: Ingested brew.
Critical Test: Health to overcome effects; otherwise (45 minutes - Physique score) duration per dose.
-1 on Initiative
-1 on Certitude, Reasoning, and Balance Tests
-1 per die damage suffered from Edged weapons due to decreased blood flow
+1 on Leverage and Constitution Tests
+1 on Resolve
:: Shaz is a fermented drink made from the roots and stalks of the Ylurn plant. It has a bitter, smoky flavour, and produces a thick 'head' of foam at the top of the mug.
:: Shaz has many different names, and uncounted local variations, including additional ingredients and varying potency. It is only slightly alcoholic in content, as the fermentation of the vegetative matter catalyses a secondary process which prevents wholesale conversion of sugars. The effect is relatively similar to alcohol inebriation, but with the added euphoria found in more exotic botanicals.
:: Shaz and its derivative blends are the usual first offering in make-peace meetings between potential rival groups.
:: Shaz is easily as psychologically 'addictive' as alcohol-abuse, but is less likely to result in morose imbibers. Sadly, it is equally impairing to motor-skills as well as the imbiber's judgement.
5 dct per 20 fl.oz. serving
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
[General][Gaming] "But You're Wrong, Steve. You See, It's Only Solitare"-
It is confirmed that Wojo/Vysh' s player is moving upstate for better employment. :)
--I hope to have his last session, this Friday, be memorable for him.
Part of my Classic-Play years were spent listening to a LOT of Jethro Tull, and as I type this, Chequred Flag, off of the Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll, Too Young to Die album, is just ending, and Warchild is beginning.
--Not only do certain albums/songs remind me of certain times and games, but they seem to re-activate centres in my brain with the same sort of creative energies present then.
My mother, of all people, reminded me that I ran a lot of Call of Cthulhu (two or more years of 36-hour sessions each weekend), far removed from the 'right way' of dealing with the Mythos, but a method that kept even the more jaded GMs and picky players coming back.
--What was I doing then that worked so well, and had I lost it in the meanwhile?
---Happily, no, I still have the mental film projector playing in my mind, and am able to articulate it in 'real-time' keeping the PCs on their toes as much as Indy was forced to be back in Raiders, while keeping them totally off-kilter as regards what's around the next turn.
It's not in the holy writ of mouldering and soft-drink stained folio sized booklets, kids. Rather, it is in your noggin and in your heart. Loving the scenes you are describing. It seems to me, that unless you love the game you are running, you cannot expect your players to give much of a good golly about it, either.
--Formulae, charts, and reconstituting a 'lost art' through philosophising the perceived intent of other, now departed, game-players turned 'pros' is a deathtrap, in my worthless opinion.
So, what do I have planned for Friday? I can't tell you that, because now a few of my play group have the URL to this blog, but I can tell you that I am already thinking of the to-be-published Adventure Locations and how they are going to be set up, and even what they'll look like, whether I digi-paint the covers myself, or I continue to utilise Peter Mullen's excellent artistic tallents, or grab the talents of other great artists available in the Classic-Play community and elseswhere.
--To that end, I have made a contact of a local printer and wargamer, and need to discuss the technomantic page layout-look I am seeking for in Autumn Garden Vol. I. I'll need to get my Wacom digital tablet to communicate with my PC again, and then give this guy my roughs rendered in the various art programmes I've fiddled with for over a decade.
Furthermore, I have found a means of securing an actual boxed game release venue ready for brick and mortar stores, as well as selling them out of my home. This prospect, filling a boxed set with custom dice and up to date catalogue and other bit-inserts, thrills me with the same sort of giddiness that I felt when a really cool game caught my eye on The Compleat Strategist, Davie, Florida store when I was a wee cur in my tender teens.
--Likewise, cardboard figures have now progressed to the point where custom artwork can result in game-specific runs, Print on Demand, so that's pretty toe-curling (except my freshly broken one, that is).
Time for chocolate! :D
--I hope to have his last session, this Friday, be memorable for him.
Part of my Classic-Play years were spent listening to a LOT of Jethro Tull, and as I type this, Chequred Flag, off of the Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll, Too Young to Die album, is just ending, and Warchild is beginning.
--Not only do certain albums/songs remind me of certain times and games, but they seem to re-activate centres in my brain with the same sort of creative energies present then.
My mother, of all people, reminded me that I ran a lot of Call of Cthulhu (two or more years of 36-hour sessions each weekend), far removed from the 'right way' of dealing with the Mythos, but a method that kept even the more jaded GMs and picky players coming back.
--What was I doing then that worked so well, and had I lost it in the meanwhile?
---Happily, no, I still have the mental film projector playing in my mind, and am able to articulate it in 'real-time' keeping the PCs on their toes as much as Indy was forced to be back in Raiders, while keeping them totally off-kilter as regards what's around the next turn.
It's not in the holy writ of mouldering and soft-drink stained folio sized booklets, kids. Rather, it is in your noggin and in your heart. Loving the scenes you are describing. It seems to me, that unless you love the game you are running, you cannot expect your players to give much of a good golly about it, either.
--Formulae, charts, and reconstituting a 'lost art' through philosophising the perceived intent of other, now departed, game-players turned 'pros' is a deathtrap, in my worthless opinion.
So, what do I have planned for Friday? I can't tell you that, because now a few of my play group have the URL to this blog, but I can tell you that I am already thinking of the to-be-published Adventure Locations and how they are going to be set up, and even what they'll look like, whether I digi-paint the covers myself, or I continue to utilise Peter Mullen's excellent artistic tallents, or grab the talents of other great artists available in the Classic-Play community and elseswhere.
--To that end, I have made a contact of a local printer and wargamer, and need to discuss the technomantic page layout-look I am seeking for in Autumn Garden Vol. I. I'll need to get my Wacom digital tablet to communicate with my PC again, and then give this guy my roughs rendered in the various art programmes I've fiddled with for over a decade.
Furthermore, I have found a means of securing an actual boxed game release venue ready for brick and mortar stores, as well as selling them out of my home. This prospect, filling a boxed set with custom dice and up to date catalogue and other bit-inserts, thrills me with the same sort of giddiness that I felt when a really cool game caught my eye on The Compleat Strategist, Davie, Florida store when I was a wee cur in my tender teens.
--Likewise, cardboard figures have now progressed to the point where custom artwork can result in game-specific runs, Print on Demand, so that's pretty toe-curling (except my freshly broken one, that is).
Time for chocolate! :D
Sunday, August 2, 2009
[Playtest Campaign] "Undead, undead, undead..."-
After Wojo, Vyshwanythan, and Kitty the Black Bear stayed on the 1st level of the Undercity, the iris valves sealed off the Lift Shaft as the klaxon blared. They quickly set about the task of devising a way of opening the LS, and in the process, determined that easily half of the assembled support crew (as well as Wo' and Vish') were not Human in a genetic sense. One of the Men-at-Arms, Byllys the grizzled veteran, managed to assure the Security AI that the threat was dealt with, and opened the Shaft again. The lot of them tried the psychic AI interface and easily half found that they were 'funny', in that sense.
Meanwhile, the bumbling foo-- the Adventurers determined that if a non-Human were closely accompanied by a Human, the automated defences wouldn't fire. They entered the Bainsidhe room, and fought her to death. Her demise sounded like dishes shattering and glass being ground underfoot. They hoisted Tybalt's body (smoke or mist wafting from his mouth and nostrils) and Dee-dee'd out of the kill-zone without opening the other door. Report that the LS irises had re-opened, and the M-a-A's and the other two (three) party members had descended to meet them.
On the way down and back up, some other sort of undead was seen behind the shimmering blue force field, pounding on it to get at them. Once back up, the irises were sealed.
The plan to map out the rest of Level One was initiated with troops, carpenters building hides to block-off corridors, and other reasonable measures met with good result, slaying most of the undead Screaming Wom carriers (wax in the ear provided a +4 to the Control Critical Test), but even the wax-in-the-ear trick didn't work for a few of the party and they instead fled to the inn across the way from the surface entrance (formerly named bum alley for the dead vagrants found therein) now blocked off with hasty construction, and the establishment 'procured' by the Kherstic Academy as a supply centre and field hospital. With 'whisky' in their systems, as well as the wax, they were able to secure themselves enough to enter the 'dungeon' again.
The Wargs had been commanding some of the Screaming Worm undead to help them batter-down the door to the kennel, but that had been stopped, although the Warg are still in there, ready to fling themselves into the fray.
Now in the third barracks, the party, M-a-A's, and those poor High Risk Armed Security dupes ;) encountered a trio of Lich-like creatures --magick using-- who proptly killed 13 personnel with some sort of plasma weapon ('electric-acid stream') and forced a Resolve test, which was largely failed except for Byllys and a few others. More NPC deaths as the two lesser undead of the trio (diadem, and wand each) were controlled by the greater of the three (crown, hate-filled scrying sphere, and full staff) marched up the stairs toward the party, while the M-a-A's hid in a side passage and waited for a reasonable opportunity to attack the rear front.
Another plasma-stream lashed out, after which melee was enjoined and one of the minors was engaged by Darius, CiCi, Ashta, and Delver; Wojo 'mind-blasted' the major, and they saw the damage was instead transferred to the two minors. Deafening and Blinding attacks knocked out most of the party's ability to fight. ~~~ The two minors were dropped, and finally the combination of the remaining forces, and two of the M-a-A's were permanently blinded as the major undead disappeared in an indigo flash that left the scorched stones of the passage carven with deep sigils.
---
We held it there while the SO and I went to play AT-43; her Karmans beating my Red Blocs when my UNA 'allies' were taken out by her and her 'ally' Theians.
--Dang, but that system is super-fast and plenty of fun.
---
During the game the LGS owner took me and a fellow Classic-Play player (Wojo/Vish') to task for our lack of concern/interest in minis 'back in the day', and offered to run (tool us in) an AD&D game sometime soon. Joy. > eye-roll <
So, what did you game this weekend?
Meanwhile, the bumbling foo-- the Adventurers determined that if a non-Human were closely accompanied by a Human, the automated defences wouldn't fire. They entered the Bainsidhe room, and fought her to death. Her demise sounded like dishes shattering and glass being ground underfoot. They hoisted Tybalt's body (smoke or mist wafting from his mouth and nostrils) and Dee-dee'd out of the kill-zone without opening the other door. Report that the LS irises had re-opened, and the M-a-A's and the other two (three) party members had descended to meet them.
On the way down and back up, some other sort of undead was seen behind the shimmering blue force field, pounding on it to get at them. Once back up, the irises were sealed.
The plan to map out the rest of Level One was initiated with troops, carpenters building hides to block-off corridors, and other reasonable measures met with good result, slaying most of the undead Screaming Wom carriers (wax in the ear provided a +4 to the Control Critical Test), but even the wax-in-the-ear trick didn't work for a few of the party and they instead fled to the inn across the way from the surface entrance (formerly named bum alley for the dead vagrants found therein) now blocked off with hasty construction, and the establishment 'procured' by the Kherstic Academy as a supply centre and field hospital. With 'whisky' in their systems, as well as the wax, they were able to secure themselves enough to enter the 'dungeon' again.
The Wargs had been commanding some of the Screaming Worm undead to help them batter-down the door to the kennel, but that had been stopped, although the Warg are still in there, ready to fling themselves into the fray.
Now in the third barracks, the party, M-a-A's, and those poor High Risk Armed Security dupes ;) encountered a trio of Lich-like creatures --magick using-- who proptly killed 13 personnel with some sort of plasma weapon ('electric-acid stream') and forced a Resolve test, which was largely failed except for Byllys and a few others. More NPC deaths as the two lesser undead of the trio (diadem, and wand each) were controlled by the greater of the three (crown, hate-filled scrying sphere, and full staff) marched up the stairs toward the party, while the M-a-A's hid in a side passage and waited for a reasonable opportunity to attack the rear front.
Another plasma-stream lashed out, after which melee was enjoined and one of the minors was engaged by Darius, CiCi, Ashta, and Delver; Wojo 'mind-blasted' the major, and they saw the damage was instead transferred to the two minors. Deafening and Blinding attacks knocked out most of the party's ability to fight. ~~~ The two minors were dropped, and finally the combination of the remaining forces, and two of the M-a-A's were permanently blinded as the major undead disappeared in an indigo flash that left the scorched stones of the passage carven with deep sigils.
---
We held it there while the SO and I went to play AT-43; her Karmans beating my Red Blocs when my UNA 'allies' were taken out by her and her 'ally' Theians.
--Dang, but that system is super-fast and plenty of fun.
---
During the game the LGS owner took me and a fellow Classic-Play player (Wojo/Vish') to task for our lack of concern/interest in minis 'back in the day', and offered to run (tool us in) an AD&D game sometime soon. Joy. > eye-roll <
So, what did you game this weekend?
Saturday, August 1, 2009
A The Grand Tapestry Exclusive: Jeff Berry: "What's Old School Gaming?"-
The following was an unsolicited (but much enjoyed) e-mail I have received this fine day from Jeff Berry, friend to and gamer with both Dave Arneson and Professor M. A. R. 'Phil' Barker, as well as the author of the Tekumelani wargames rules set: Qadardalikoi.
(c) Copyright 2009 Jeff Berry All Rights Reserved. Used here by permission of the author.
Linking to this article is permitted.
[Bold: mine]
I realise that the above will not settle the matter for either the Old Guard, the OSR or New School crowd, but then again, nothing is likely to do so.
Sally-forth unto Adventure, Honour, and Glory!
(c) Copyright 2009 Jeff Berry All Rights Reserved. Used here by permission of the author.
Linking to this article is permitted.
I'm a dinosaur, I think...
(This is a short little essay on gaming styles that might be of interest to folks, in response to the various postings I've been reading lately.
All opinions are my own, no warranty express or implied, and are packed by weight, not by volume; some settling of contents may have occurred during shipping and handling...)
Okay, I give up. What's 'old school gaming', and how does it apply to miniatures and role-playing games? I've just managed to get my head around the 'simulationist' and 'narrativist' schools of role-playing games, sorta, but now I'm even more confused. I got started in miniatures back about 1970, and in role-playing about 1975, and I have the feeling that I'm either a dinosaur or trapped like an insect in ancient amber; I still do things the way I have been doing them since that ancient and long-lost time, both in miniatures games and in RPGs.
Am I an 'old school gamer', or just imprisoned by the conditioning I got at the hands of Dave Arneson (of D&D), and Phil Barker (of EPT)?
For the benefit of those of you in the audience who hadn't been born yet, gaming back then consisted of historical miniatures. Period. Sure, some folks had been calling their medieval figures 'orcs' and 'elves' so they could play out the battles from Middle-Earth, and if you took the five SPI "Prestags" board games and put all the maps together - and sorted the counters from all five by color - you had a mega-game that looked just like Tolkein but evaded copyright issues; but, oh my patient listeners, the world of RPGs as you know them just didn't exist.
Enter, stage left, a bunch of bored Twin Cities Napoleonics players; enter, stage right, a bunch of bored medieval players from Lake Geneva.
Net result, D&D, followed in short order in the Twin Cities by something really weird called "Empire of the Petal Throne": all three of the authors involved were old hands at historical miniatures, and their first sets of rules reflected this - the 'Simulationist' school of game design, they tell me. Dave Arneson was a particular example of this kind of design; he was a perfectionist at getting all of the little details nailed down before the players showed up on his doorstep, and he played - like they did - for keeps. Sitting down with Dave to play with him was an invitation to having your heart cut out, doused with Tabasco sauce, and eaten with great glee; you - like all of the folks who regularly played in that group - had to be quick on the uptake, fast on the draw, and really smart; you had to know your stuff, or you'd get handed your head on a platter. The only exception to that was if you were a new player, and didn't come into the game session with an attitude; if you were polite and reasonable, that bunch of unreformed Visigoths would be more then happy to help you learn the game and the rules.
Phil Barker certainly did his own rules, of course, but his natural flair for story-telling usually showed through the rules mechanics.
Tekumel was the setting for his stories and fiction writing, and those of us who gamed with him were the 'bit players' in the story arc and quite often provided him with the 'local color' he used in his books.
Very quickly, he dropped using any rules more complicated then the following:
Prof. Mohammed abd Rahman Barker's Perfected Game Rules:
1) We both roll dice.
2) If you roll high, your view of reality prevails.
3) If I roll high, my view of reality prevails.
4) If we're close, we negotiate.
Simple, yes? I still use this complex and detailed set of rules to this very day, which - I assume - makes me a 'Narrativist' like Phil. Mind you, I also do all of my research and planning ahead of each game session, just like Dave did, so I guess I'm sort of a hybrid of the two genres. And just perhaps, is this hybrid 'old school'? The major objective of any game run by either of those two was to have fun; if there wasn't a laugh or two around the table in the course of the mayhem, we all thought we were slipping up somehow. I try very hard to make sure my players have fun, and I also make damn sure that I know my source material, too.
Over on the miniatures table, I run games pretty much the same way.
Yes, I confess, I did write a set of miniatures rules for Tekumel; it's still in print, still being played, and still being denounced as "too simplistic" by historical gamers (who have never played it) and as "too complicated" by RPG gamers (who have never played it). I might modestly mention that both types of gamers who have played the thing discover that it's neither, but that may not be important; what is important is that I try very hard to provide players with a good time; everyone gets something to do, everyone gets a laugh and some fun, and everyone gets to play equally heroically. I do the figures and the scenery, and that's where I get my jollies; I'm a model-builder before I'm a gamer. (Which may be rank heresy, and probably the subject of another essay.)
So, I think I'm a fossil. I game the same way both Dave and Phil did, and my players don't look at the published rules very much; they seem to be having fun at game sessions, which think is the point of the exercise. We keep it light, simple, and fun; is this 'old school'?
[Bold: mine]
I realise that the above will not settle the matter for either the Old Guard, the OSR or New School crowd, but then again, nothing is likely to do so.
Sally-forth unto Adventure, Honour, and Glory!
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