That Is Not Dead

Which can eternal lie, and all the rest of that phrase. This blog's not dead. Nay, never! But for as long as a steady campaign is not being run it's hard to come up with relevant posts.

So I propose a new D&D campaign - well, Pathfinder specifically. I've got a fairly short campaign called "Rise of the Runelords" I'd like to run soon, probably during the week at a time when I can get at least two players (more would be better!).

A lot of the details I used to post on this blog have moved over to Facebook. Event scheduling works better on a site designed to handle it, so this blog has gone to sleep in a way. But as the saying goes, "and with strange aeons even death can die."

More details to come.

Check Out Movie Jerks!

Check out the sister blog of the Dragonfyre Association, The Movie Jerks! http://moviejerks.blogspot.com

This will be the general dumping spot for movie reviews, including reviews of the AFI list as we go through them. Check it out and let me know if you want to be added as a contributor!

AFI List Schedule July/August 2009

The journey has begun. As a bit of background, I recently realized I had not seen most of the movies chosen by the American Film Institute (AFI) as the 100 best movies of the last 100 years. A sad state, to be sure, given my love of movies. But I didn't want to just watch them, no no no. There were other people out there just like me who had yet to see some or most of the list.

So I cleaned up the Theater in the Garage a bit (still need a new couch) and dove right into the last. Starting last Thursday night at midnight we watched #100 on the AFI list - Ben-Hur. 3 1/2 hours of Ben-Hur. Oi vey.

We followed up with #99 on Saturday night at midnight - Toy Story. Much easier to take. Only 98 more to go, so I thought I would post a general schedule. This schedule assumes showings on Thursday and Saturday nights at about midnight (give or take depending on who's attending).

7/23/2009, Thurs - Yankee Doodle Dandy
7/25/2009, Sat - Blade Runner
7/30/2009, Thurs - Do the Right Thing
8/1/2009, Sat - The Last Picture Show
8/6/2009, Thurs - Pulp Fiction
8/8/2009, Sat - The French Connection
8/13/2009, Thurs - NO SHOW, GENCON 2009
8/15/2009, Sat - NO SHOW, GENCON 2009
8/20/2009, Thurs - Goodfellas
8/22/2009, Sat - Sophie's Choice
8/27/2009, Thurs - Swing Time (1936)
8/29/2009, Sat - NO SHOW, CALIFORNIA TRIP

That covers the schedule through August. All are welcome, admission is free, and I'll try to have beer and snacks available. People are also welcome to bring beer and snacks, which is always greatly appreciated. But the show goes!

Minnesota Fringe Festival: Must see

Another theatrical production of a Cthulhu Mythos story is playing at the Minnesota Fringe Festival this year, "The Curse of Yig" and it looks pretty cool. It's being performed by Tim Uren who did "The Rats in the Walls" a few years ago, and if this is anything like that, it will be awesome. So, I'm definitely going to go, and I'd recommended others see it too. Here's the info;

http://fringefestival.org/2009/show/?id=973

And a summary; In 1929, a young academic visits the Guthrie Asylum in Oklahoma to explore the native tribal belief in the snake god, Yig. There she is confronted by a bizarre creature, the sole living survivor of the nightmarish Halloween of 1889. As she learns the tragic tale of Walker and Audrey Davis- early residents of the Oklahoma Territory- she too begins to fall under the spell of an unrelenting fear that time cannot diminish.

Roadtrip Specifics

I think that the weekend of July 17 to July 20 would work best for this trip;

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Mound,+MN&daddr=Mankato,+MN+to:Blue+Earth,+MN+to:Austin,+MN+to:Harmony,+MN+to:La+Crosse,+WI+to:Spring+Green,+WI+to:Baraboo,+WI+to:Hayward,+WI+to:Duluth,+MN+to:Brainerd,+MN+to:Alexandria,+MN+to:Mound,+MN&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=44.55106,-93.803355&sspn=0.867058,2.447205&ie=UTF8&z=6

Here is the Google maps trip itinerary; it is around 1,095 miles round trip. Feel free to make suggestions, etc.

Road Cheese Roadtrip

Hey, everyone, I'm in the process of planning a camping/road trip to visit some of Minnesota and Wisconsin's odder oddities, thinking of a long weekend kind of trip starting a Thursday night and ending on a Sunday, sometime in June, July, or August. I wanted to check to see if anyone else was interested in going and what weekends would work best for people. It's been awhile since I've been camping, so I've really been in the mood for some setting up a tent on the lumpy ground, eating burnt things off of a fire after a day of visiting bizarre roadside weirdness. Don't know if anyone else is feeling the same, but if so, please respond here or email me in the near future. Thanks! Oh, here is a mini itinerary I wrote up, nothing set in stone, but just a bit of a preliminary plan I thought up, with some costs, etc. Gas isn't factored in, since I don't know what car we'd be taking. So, if anyone wants to go, contact me soon, and also spread the word around to others who may like this idea.

Double Decker Outhouse- Belle Plaine, MN Thursday
Only open Sundays, but could check out
Jolly Green Giant- Blue Earth, MN Thursday
Eat in Mankato
Camp Minneopa State Park Thursday night
$18 (plus $5 vehicle permit)
Spam Museum- Austin, MN Friday
Open 10-5 Fridays, free
Niagara Cave- Harmony, MN Friday
Open 9:30 – 5:30, tours leave every 15 min.
Tickets $10.50
Eat in Harmony
World’s Largest Six Pack- La Crosse, WI Friday
House on the Rock- Spring Green , WI Friday
Open 9:00-6:00
“ultimate experience” tickets $28, expensive, but said to be well worth for pure oddity, but tours of one of three sections available for cheaper.
Camp Tower Hill State Park
$14 (plus $10 vehicle permit) Friday night
Dr. Evermor’s Forevertron- Baraboo, WI
Open 9:00- 5:00, free
Museum of Woodcarving – Shell Lake, WI Saturday
Open 9:00- 6:00
JFK’s Twine Ball- World’s Largest?- Lake Nebagamon, WI Saturday
Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame – Hayward, WI Saturday
Open 9:00 – 4:00, “nominal gate fee”
Eat in Duluth, MN
Camp Jay Cook State Park Saturday night
$20 (plus $5 vehicle permit)
Paul Bunyan Statue – Brainerd, MN Sunday
The Kensington Runestone Museum- Alexandria, MN Sunday
Open 11:00-4:00, $6
Biggest Ball of Twin- Darwin, MN Sunday
Return

27 Hole Disc Golf Course?!?

27 hole, pay-to-play disc golf course in New Bethel MN. New Bethel's somewhere 20 minutes north of 694 (not exactly sure where yet) but this course sounds awesome. And they sell beer. Not 100% on how much it costs yet, but my guess would be around $5-$10. From the pictures the course looks sweeeeet.

http://blueribbonpines.net/

SW Vehicles More Thoughts

Been thinking about my vehicle rules for Savage Worlds, tinkering them in my head in order to put them down into a cohesive document. I'm thinking now about how they relate to characters.

Right now characters can take Arcane Background to utilize Powers. The one that best fits for vehicles is Arcane Background (Weird Science). Perhaps a new Edge that allows the person to apply Weird Science powers to vehicles? That would work in a pulp setting, definitely, where such vehicle tech is the realm of super-science.

In a setting where technology has become more ubiquitous, I don't think it works as well, so perhaps there's a different way to do it. Arcane Background (Vehicles)? I don't like the way that feels, so I've been leaning towards a new skill - Tech. I don't think a Knowledge skill is appropriate in this case, but maybe? Knowledge (Vehicles) would cover it. More thoughts to come.

Savage Worlds FallOut?

What you need mechanics-wise to do Savage FallOut:

· · Radiation effects – treated as Hindrances?
· Mutation rules – Arcane Background (Mutation)? – Charisma drops for each level?
· Scrounging rules – finding random junk
· Building your own equipment – armor, weapons, vehicles WITHOUT an AB, based on Repair?
· Degrading equipment and repairing it once it degrades
· Arcane Background (Weird Science) – additional rules for handling atomic power
· New Edges and Hindrances – look at FallOut 3 Perks
· Science skill – hacking terminals and robots, maybe Tech to keep it in line with vehicles
· Barter skill – negotiating for better prices, maybe just Persuasion?
· Creatures of the Wasteland – irradiated monsters and robots
· Residents of the Wasteland – generic NPCs
· Standard weapons and armor
· Professional Edges – Trader, Mechanic, Child of Atom, Knight of Steel, Slaver, Robot Engineer, Scrounger, Mercenary, Regulator, Raider
· Available races (maybe Background Edges?) – Wastelander, Vault Dweller, Ghoul, Pureblood
· VATS (Vault Assisted Targeting System) - ???
· Weapon, Armor, Vehicle Perks and Hindrances

Savage Worlds Vehicles

Been thinking a lot lately about a new set of vehicle rules for Savage Worlds. The system's lack of a system regarding vehicles is one of the biggest stumbling blocks I have to full incorporation of Savage Worlds into other games. For instance, to effectively do Star*Drive I would need a set of rules that allowed for the characters to upgrade their vehicle in ways that they want. Beyond that having a definite rule set I think would go a long way towards larger adoption of the system in the gaming community at large. I hope.

Towards that end I've been tinkering. The basic idea I started with was that vehicles have attributes just like characters. SW has five basic attributes that define characters and NPCs: Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strength, and Vigor. Two of these (Agility and Vigor) port over easily. The other ones I had difficulties coming up with comparisons.

Initially then I came up with three new, vehicle specific attributes - Bulk, Power, and Tech. That worked, but there were a lot of good criticisms to that system when I posted the rules skeleton at Pinnacle's forums. Sean Preston also pointed out some things, and made the suggestion that I look at other games to see how they handle it. Not to copy them, but to get an idea of how a vehicle system could be integrated.

In searching through the many games on my shelf, I was surprised at how many of them had proprietary vehicle systems completely separate from characters. This makes sense, and was where I wound up at with my first pass. But what if there was a way? A few games actually had the basic idea of "vehicles=NPCs" that I wanted so I decided to look closer at those. In doing so I came up with the following definitions for vehicle attributes:

Agility: How agile the vehicle is
Smarts: How many automated systems are aboard the vehicle, can be 0
Spirit: How many defense and redundant systems are aboard the vehicle, can be 0
Strength: How powerful the vehicle is, for speed and ramming
Vigor: How resistant to damage and upkeep the vehicle is

This requires another attribute that would equate to the critter score of the same name - Size Modifier. This would allow vehicles and creatures to be rated on the same scale. The SM would help to determine crew requirements and Toughness (just like critters).

Here's the other rub: vehicles can have an Arcane Background. Well, kind of - it would be called something else (like Advanced Systems or something similar) but it would function exactly the same as an AB. You could make some powers permanent by sacrificing Power Points, or require a check.

It is important to note that vehicles do not make rolls on their own (unless there's an onboard intelligence). Instead, the vehicle attributes would replace the Wild Die for character skill rolls. A character driving a vehicle with an Agility d8 for instance would roll d8 for their Wild Die instead of d6. Still working that out for definitions, but that's the basic idea.

Also, all of this I think would require a new character skill which I'm tentatively calling Tech. It is a generic skill for handling the character's use of computers. Maybe a Knoweldge (Tech) skill instead? I don't really like using Knowledge skills for active use but that might be the best solution.

Quarter Campaign: Pirates!

Starting on Sunday, May 10th, I'm going to go ahead with the first Quarter Campaign: Pirates of the Spanish Main! This will be a weekly Sunday game that will wrap up by the end of July, hard and fast rule. There will be supernatural elements, along with swashbuckling and adventures in the Caribbean and environs. It will also be a Savage Worlds game.

Come up with a character that is either a pirate or a non-pirate, and find a reason for that character to be sailing aboard a legitimate British merchant vessel to Port Royal. More details in the next few days.

Relics & Rumors #2!!!!

Hoody hoo! Relics & Rumors #2 was just released today, with #3 coming out sometime before the end of the month. R&R#2 was written almost exclusively by me, with only edits and tweaks done to the final product - or at least that I can see/remember. There were some changes, primarily to the titles of the scenarios, and I'd thought I'd call out ...

* Blackbeard's Cutlass - Original scenario was called "Strike of the Black Thrasher," published scenario changed to "Rise of the Black Thrasher." Not too much change, maintains the gist of the original so I'm pretty OK with that.

* Charlemagne's Crown - Original scenario was called "The Tears of the Saint," published scenario changed to "Saint's Tears." I've always been a big fan of the classic scenario naming conventions, but changing it to the possessive version works.

* Chief Crazy Horse's Rife - This one I'm (fake) angry about, 'cause it was one of my favorite titles. The scenario was changed to "Black Hills Tech," which I feel doesn't capture the pulpy-craziness of the situation. No, the original title would have served better - "Robots of the Black Hills." Period.

* Crystal Skull of Doom - New scenario name is "War of Wasps," which I'm really fine with primarily because I struggled with the name previously. I don't think it had a terribly great name to begin with and "War of Wasps" works perfectly.

So, Relics & Rumors #2 is out today, go buy it and support Ravaged Earth and Reality Blurs.

The Day After Ragnarok

"Know, O Prince, that between the years when the Serpent fell and the oceans drank America and the gleaming cities, and the rise of the Sons of Space, there was an Age undreamed of, when nations guttered low and flared brilliant across the poisoned world like dying stars – California and Texas each claiming the flag of the West, France torn asunder and facing the desert, harsh Mexico, slumbering Brazil, Argentina where the seeds of Thule lay waiting, ancient lands of Persia and Arabia and Iraq between two empires, the coldly clutching Soviet Union whispering behind its Wall of Serpent, Japan whose warriors wore steel and silk and khaki. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Australia, the last green and pleasant land, ringed around by its dominions and bulwarked by the sea."

Doesn't that sound nice? A new Savage Worlds setting from Atomic Overmind written by Kenneth Hite. I've been itching for a post-apocalyptic game since FallOut 3 came out, and I was toying with the idea of converting that setting, but The Day After Ragnarok sounds too cool to pass up. Find out more at www.atomicovermind.com.

Trip to San Francisco?

Still thinking about it, still planning on it, but I need at least 2 other people to "commit," with a maximum of 3 other people (4 total with me). I'm thinking Friday August 28th through Monday, September 7th. Leave on that Friday, drive through to San Francisco by Monday, spend Monday through Friday in San Francisco, drive back on Friday and be back around Sunday September 6th. Monday September 7th is Labor Day, for reference.

So start thinking. Like the Boston trip this will be a budget vacation, staying at campgrounds and hitting the cheap but interesting sites around town. Gas will probably be the most expensive ticket, probably, but with four people it's much easier to bear.

Quarter Campaigns REVISITED

I think four campaigns strung one after another is a bit ... ambitious for us. For everyone, players and GMs included. So, while maintaining the concept of quarter campaigns, I'd like to propose the following general schedule:

January, February, March: Quarter Campaign

April: No campaign

May, June, July: Quarter Campaign

August: No campaign

September, October, November: Quarter Campaign

December: No campaign

This schedule allows for more flexibility while also avoiding potentially busy months. It also allows for more seasonal thematic campaigns to take place, such as the summer campaign or the fall campaign. December always tends to be pretty busy anyway, so picking things back up in January usually happens regardless.

If you haven't noticed, I like schedules and structures - it helps me know what to have prepared when and not not let things slip through the cracks.

Given the above schedule I'd like to propose the first Quarter Campaign - Pirates of the Spanish Main, a Savage Worlds game. Start in May, like Sunday May 3rd, and go on from there.

Star*Drive On the Horizon ... Again!

So I've been wrestling with what system to convert the Star*Drive campaign to. I like the setting a whole bunch, and I've been on the fence on whether to move to GURPS or Savage Worlds. GURPS is a much more complex game with rules and math to handle every situation, while Savage Worlds is light and easy to run and understand. You sacrifice the technical aspects of a sci-fi game with Savage Worlds, but you sacrifice ease of play with GURPS.

This has plagued me for going on two years? A long time. And I was working on it again last night when I came to a startling revelation.

I think I'll just keep Alternity. I'll need to tweak the system to remove levels but ... maybe I'll just use that. More thoughts required, but it certainly would be easier.

May 1st- Party Down in Mankato

Hey, everyone, I'm almost done with my semester down here in Mankato, and I think a good way to celebrate would be to invite some people down here for some fun stuff. There are a couple of disc golf courses we could try in the Mankato area (weather permitting) and perhaps we could play my or David's recently published adventures, or just some Apples to Apples and board games. Anyway, expect food, drink, and entertainment. Well, I hope to see some people down on May 1st, then (sadly, I only have room for about seven- any more than that could get a bit cramped). See ya!

Harris

http://www.inkato.com/page/kato_frolf.html

Quarter Campaigns?

I've got a lot of stuff I'd like to do when it comes to RPGs. Lots of settings I'd like to try out, lots of cool books to utilize, lots of stories to tell. So I would like to propose the following concept: Quarter Campaigns.

The concept follows the fact that we can divide a calendar year into four quarters - Jan/Feb/Mar, Apr/May/June, July/Aug/Sept, and Oct/Nov/Dec. Each quarter gets three months, or about 12 weeks, which I think is a good length for an RPG campaign from start to finish. At least a campaign people haven't played before and aren't quite sure how it would work for them.

At the end of quarter I'd like to have some sort of retrospective, probably over a meal at some moderately fancy restaurant. Sort of a "hey we just completed a campaign how did it go" kind of thing.

Since we're into Q2 of 2009 I'm going to propose we just keep plowing forward with Call of Cthulhu: Day of the Beast for this Quarter Campaign. We can DEFINITELY finish it up before the end of June if we keep up with regular sessions - Sundays or Fridays when there's no Star Wars seem to be the best. But maybe Saturdays.

For the Q3 2009 Campaign I'd like to go with a swashbuckling 7th Sea type game using the Savage Worlds rules. Not sure if I'd actually use the 7th Sea setting or just go with a more real-world type setting (with a healthy dose of unreality in there as well). Suggestions welcome.

My Blog

Some of you (now that its been established that more than just me check out the blog) have expressed interest in viewing the project I've been working on recently. It is a record of my attempt to read the various religious texts of the world to get a better understanding of the world's faiths and beliefs. While I would greatly appreciate any interest or feedback, my writing is mainly for my own practice and is probably fairly boring for anyone but me. I make no pretenses to any great insights into the spiritual, or even good writing. Oh well!

http://spoonbridge.wordpress.com

The Journal of Theodore Wilson Burns, vol 2.

3/18/1928

Out of the blue, I received a call from George Carrington today! I knew that our link was too strong to be ignored. It seems that he needs my help, as strange phenomena not unlike that at those at Carrington’s home have befallen one of his friends. I eagerly told him I would do what I could to help and will meet him in a week at his office in New York. I cannot wait to see what awaits me next in my explorations! Why, he said he would even pay me for my troubles!

3/20/1928

Disappointment mingled with confusion today as I write on the train to the featureless interior of America. My trip to New York failed to bring Cecelia out of hiding (is there someone else?) and Carrington’s “assignment” for me seems frustratingly vague. I do not know what I should do. His college acquaintance has made his fortune through gold mining with New World Industries in the mineral rich regions of South Dakota but his operations have recently come under some mysterious hardships. A terrible disease has stricken some of the miners and a rash of inexplicable suicides have claimed the lives of others, as well as the breakdown of some of the mines’ equipment, demonstrated by the sudden end of our telephone conversation with him. I admit to being quite fearful of this journey as my constitution is naturally quite susceptible to illness and I am mystified as to what these problems of business have to do with my interest in the supernatural. However, I must keep to my word as a man of honor and student of the unknowable. Perhaps more will be explained upon our arrival in the town of Rapid City, South Dakota tomorrow. Accompanying me are that awful cad Graeme Smythe who weaseled his way into the investigation and Volker Sauer Mucke, who hopes to paint new visions of the South Dakotan badlands. I am sure he will find much inspiration.

3/21/1928

I am so tired I can barely summon up enough energy to write this account. However, sleep has been long in coming after the terrible things I have seen today. After arriving at Rapid City, a genial man by the name of Mr. Wallace, geologist by trade picked us up in his automobile to convey us to the site of the mining operations. Along the way he explained more about the current troubles, including the fact that they are digging in an area long believed sacred by the local Indians.
Upon our arrival, however, chaos had overtaken the area and distraught men ran everywhere. Wallace was quickly informed that Carrington’s friend had been the latest victim of the odd string of deaths surrounding the mine and we all were ushered to the mine’s administration office. Never will I forgot the scene of horror there! The man was struck through the head with a mining pick! Though I had never witnessed such a scene before, I believe I handled it like a true detective and impressed even the local sheriff, a man right out of the Western pulps. He blamed the murder upon the Indians, some whom resisted the sale of their lands to the company. Through his deductive skills, (of which I had never suspected) Mr. Smythe was able to determine the man died of self-inflicted wound. How horrific! How could a man do such a thing to himself? Also, there were some strange diagrams that seem to have no know symbolism to me. Finally, we visited the infirmary were this disease was taking a terrible toll on the miners; never have I seen such terrible symptoms and I hope and pray it is not contagious. The local doctor was at his wits end, knowing neither the cause nor the cure for the wasting malady. My only guess is that it has something to do with the mines as most were involved in a tragic accident several months before. Perhaps their guilt for surviving is causing their spirtual malaise to effect their bodies. That is my only conjecture. Tomorrow we explore the mine that was the site of the incident.

3/22/1928

What a terrible day! The weather is cold and windy here in the Black Hills, not at all conductive to my well-being. I slept terribly, wracked by horrid dreams I cannot recall. It must be the pall of sorrow over the mines. The food is vile and the miners are not at all men of whom conversation means much, which is understandable given the situation. And to make matters worse, I sprained my ankle while climbing into that damned, dank mine shaft! It hurts terribly, but not as bad as the headache that has plagued me all day as well. The only thing we found in the mine, site of the accident was another mysterious diagram, almost mathematical in its precision. The sciences have never been my area of expertise, and neither it would seem with Mr. Smyhe or Volker. We can make nothing of it. Time to go to sleep tonight, if I can sleep in this stiff, uncomfortable cot.

I have gone over the mine logs recently, though I am no businessman. Only one thing of note; they are mining a lot of some ore called “pitchblende” but they are not shipping it out. What is it used for, I wonder?

3/23/1928- morning

An even worse dream last night, and my headache has increased to a nearly unbearable pounding behind my temples. The dream was full of menace and I fear something bad is going to happen, dreams are very prophetic. This one was awful, I was in a pit filled with disgusting beetles and large buzzing insects said horrible things to me before I was buried in bugs. Truly unspeakable! I will think no more on it. Today I have suggested that we visit the local Indians, though the sheriff and miners contend that they are hostile and violent to all whites. This is their ancient land, so I feel that they may have important insights to impart upon us if we only but listen. Primitive peoples, have, I feel kept closer to the ancient ideals of the spirit then we scientific civilized men.

Later

Unbelievable! I had no idea of the horrors that lurk under the Black Hills! The Sioux medicine man has explained all but it is up to us to stop this terrible infestation. The miners do not know what they have awoken; terrible evil spirits that science cannot account for!

We trekked out to the reservation where the local Indians live. None of us was skilled riders but horseback was the only way to get to the Sioux village and none of the more experienced outdoorsmen would risk the wrath of the Indians. As we were nearing our destination, a few of the younger men brandished rifles and threatened us. They must have thought us a sorry sight when all three of us tumbled off our horses at the first sign of trouble. I tried to calm them but they were enraged, shouting at us “company men” to get out of their land. Just as things started to look bad, another man appeared on horseback, the Indian sheriff and ordered the ruffians off. He had heard of our activities at the mine and wanted us to meet the local medicine man. I was intrigued, despite my pounding head and wanted to meet this wise man as soon as possible. I was sure he would have great spiritual insights, and I was proven correct in my assumptions.

He asked us to sit in a circle inside of his sweat lodge and told us the story of the evil spirits that dwelt beneath the hills (I shall have to record the full story in another account). The miners awoke them from their sleep and now they were active in the world of men once more. And then something happened that I can barely recall, let alone write. I shall do my best to record it. The medicine man began a chant and a dance unlike any I have seen before. Then, I do not know how to render it in words, my head exploded. It felt like that at least. When I came to, he was stomping on some horrible insect upon the floor of the hut. It was an evil spirit, called Shan that had dwelt inside my very mind, twisting me to its foul bidding. Mr. Smythe and Volker both looked physically ill at the scene. The holy man told us that many at the camp were host to such evil parasites and taught us the song to combat them.

We returned to the camp and set about trying to force any Shan from Mr. Wallace if he was infected by one. In an awkward scene we convinced him to let us show him what we learned, dancing and singing the song we had learned. Unfortunately, we did it incorrectly and had to do it again before Mr. Wallace could get away. The next time it was flawless and, to everyone’s shock a Shan spirit burst out of Wallace’s forehead (without leaving a mark) and the man fainted away. The creature was hideous, glowing a strange blue with many legs and eyes, it flew around at great speeds. Volker and Graeme were horrified and shot at the bug with their pistols, but it was too quick for them. Finally, someone managed to smash it with a broken chair leg. After the sound of gunfire and Mr. Wallace’s state of unconsciousness, many miners were suspicious of us. We tried to explain that there were snakes, but it seemed that many did not believe us. However, they did not question us further and we all retired to bed, which is where I am reading this now. I am exhausted, but almost too frightened to sleep. What if the shan come back and get in my head again.

3/25/1928

I am writing this on the train back east towards home. Graeme and Volker are both feeling quite ill, and I fear they may have been effected by the disease that had stricken many of the miners, and I only hope that they recover. However, I am sure that spiritually they feel much better, as I do, for we have put an end to the terrors of the Black Hills.

The night we drove the shan from Mr. Wallace, we heard some activity in the camp late at night. Investigating we found a group of miners secretly transporting supplies. Following them surreptitiously we discovered that they traveled to a hidden mine entrance about a mile from the camp. There they unloaded a lot of ore- must be that pitchblende. In the morning we explored the place and found that it went deep into the mountainside, a mile or more underground. There we found the home of the shan, a huge glowing pyramid structure. It filled me with terror and I suddenly realized the illness of the other miners; this place had emanations that were not healthy for humans and I insisted we leave that instant. As we were escaping we encountered several of the terrible shan spirits! They attacked us and one struck me with a ray of light in projected, incapacitating me with terrible pain, worse then any I have ever felt! Fortunately Volker and Graeme were able to avail themselves of the heavy shovels we brought with a crushed the evil insects. Escaping from the horrid pit, we collapsed the mine entrance with the ample dynamite left nearby. How convenient! Returning to camp, we spoke to Mr. Wallace who had recovered by that time and he informed us that, after the explosion several miners all collapsed (each part of the secret errand of the previous night) and some claimed they saw some kind of insect nearby. Our measures were enough to force the shan from their hosts, but I fear they are still out there. Thankfully we are on the way home now.

4/10/1928
I have received word from the New York hospital that both Volker and Mr. Smythe have recovered from their inexplicable illnesses, though it seems that both have temporarily lost all of their hair. Radiation poisoning they called it. Very rare, very mysterious!

New Class: The Lord

Been thinking a lot about the Lord class, which is the new Charisma-based class I've been tinkering. It's going to have a medium base attack bonus, which relates to a d8 HD. Not a slouch in combat, but not its primary focus.

Instead the primary focus would be on practices. Practices are associated with spheres, and spheres are tied to one of the Charisma-based skills. Diplomacy, Intimidate, Perform, and the others (which for some reason I can't think of right now). I'm thinking the lord will have access to a certain number of practices based on level, and utilizing the practice will require a skill check of the appropriate sphere skill.

I'm thinking most of the practices will be support level, very similar to the bard abilities, but there should be focused attacks in there as well. With a sphere for the Perform skill I'm really thinking the lord will ENTIRELY replace the specific and focused bard base class. The bard would then become a prestige class, which has always felt more appropriate to me.

Just musings at this point, but I'm starting to come up with concrete details in a document. A good start, I think.

Working on New/Tweaked Classes

I'm going to start earnest work on developing the new classes that I see fulfill system niches in Pathfinder RPG. These include the filch, priest, lord, knight, shaper, and warlock. At the same time the following classes will need to be tweaked: cleric, wizard, sorcerer, and bard. The largest piece of this update is the brand new class based on Charisma - lord. I'm thinking its abilities will be based on the Star Wars noble but more useful, and based around spheres. Each sphere would be associated with a Charisma-based skill, giving each lord a focus.

Here are the specific tweaks to the existing classes I'm thinking about right now:

* The paladin goes away and the cleric steps up to replace it more or less. The cleric would have the good base attack bonus progression and higher hit dice, and fewer spells. I'm thinking a progression of every three levels instead of every other level. So 1st level spells from 1st through 3rd level, 2nd level spells from 4th to 6th, etc. This caps out at 7th level spells at 19th level. Also looking at the domains and building special abilities based off of those - Pathfinder RPG already started down this path.

* The wizard will be tweaked to include the overcast ability we played around with in the Age of Worms campaign along with the abilities from Pathfinder RPG. Not too much change, actually.

* The sorcerer is almost a new class. It'll be a wizard/fighter combo class, sort of, but I'll look at the other variants already presented in existing splatbooks - duskblade comes to mind out of the PHB2, but I know there were others (spellsword out of Complete Warrior?). Something along those lines.

* I'm thinking the bard loses arcane spellcasting abilities, and instead gains something similar to the lord's sphere focus. Not sure at this point, I think the details will fall out from the work done on the lord class.

Some of the new classes already exist in one form or another and I'll just be tweaking them to work with the Pathfinder RPG. This includes the knight, which appears in PHB2 - that might be a straight conversion to be honest. I'll need to give the class an overview to check.

Warlock is going to be pretty different from what's presented in Complete Arcane, and will be based more on the 4E warlock. Someone who trafficks in otherwordly powers, and gains their powers from pacts. Emphasis on summoning? Probably, maybe.

The shaper is going to be an interesting class, and will be more or less a flexi-class based on the polymorph spell and the psionic powers contained within the biokinesis discipline. More details to follow.

D&D? Done? I Think Not!

I love D&D, and I've got a lot of books on my shelf to prove it. I don't want to stop playing D&D just because the new edition is crap and the number of players have dwindled to smaller number. I say thee nay!

Although the title of this post is misleading. Instead of D&D 3.5 I'd like to go with Pathfinder RPG, which is also known as D&D 3.75. With the Age of Worms campaign I used a few of the ideas presented in Pathfinder, including the skill system which didn't really work, but for the new "thing" I'm going with Pathfinder completely. And not just with the system - the setting as well.

More details at www.paizo.com, but in essence I'm going to run a home game of the Pathfinder Society mega-campaign. This is similar to the RPGA, but it's organized by Paizo with fewer restrictions. There are still a few things I'd change, including using the Pathfinder RPG rules rather than the D&D 3.5 rules, but the changes aren't that major.

I'm going to pick up the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, which has more details in it on the world of Golarion, and sometime soon I'm going to start up a more or less free-for-all campaign. Probably on Mondays, maybe Sunday evenings ... ? The hook for the campaign will be the Pathfinder Society.

Gotta go. Bacon popcorn calls.

The Great Funk

I'm at somewhat of a loss. With the close of the Age of Worms campaign (and indeed, D&D in general) I'm feeling very much adrift in a sea of gaming apathy. I don't want to stop gaming, and I don't think I will, but I'm not sure if I'm the only one who feels this this way.

It's quite ironic that at the point where I'm starting to break into the RPG industry that my core gaming group would, more or less, collapse. Perhaps it's just finding the right game to interest people, the right setting that captures peoples' imaginations. I'm just not sure what that setting is just yet.

So in the interest of creating lists, I'm going to create a list of everything that I would want to GM with a "name-system-description" format. In no particular order:

* Deadlands - Deadlands - Finishing up the Deadlands campaign, which is a western horror RPG with its own rule set.

* Ravaged Earth - Savage Worlds - This is where most of my freelance work is being done set within a 1936 pulp hero setting where Martians invaded in 1898.

* Slipstream - Savage Worlds - Space pulp in the vein of early Star Wars

* Star*Drive - GURPS - A more realistic sci-fi setting in the year 2501, kind of a Firefly feel

* Day of the Beast - Call of Cthulhu - We've already started this, so I have no intention of stopping, but I really need to know if the interest is there

* Rise of the Runelords - D&D 3.75 - If there is interest in a new D&D campaign I've got everything I need to get going at the drop of a hat. I'm interested, but only if there is player interest

* Dark Heresy - Dark Heresy - This is a Warhammer 40K game set in the way distant future where you play inquisitors traveling across the vast gulf of space hunting heretics, aliens, and conspiracies. Very gothic, very dark, very violent

* Iron Maiden - Shadowrun - New Shadowrun campaign set in Europe based on Iron Maiden tunes

* Necessary Evil - Savage Worlds - A superhero game where you play supervillains! Most of the heroes of the world were killed by an alien force and now the villains are all that are left to stop the invaders.

* 7th Sea - Savage Worlds - A migration of the excellent 7th Sea setting to the Savage Worlds rules. 7th Sea is a swashbuckling game set in an alternate world - pirates, corsairs, spies, and sorcery all exist, along with a strange new continent beyond the 7th sea itself ...

* RunePunk - Savage Worlds - Dark steampunk fantasy set in a giant city. Very easy to run, could be done with very few people, very Final Fantasy VI (from what I've heard)

There it is. 11 campaigns across 7 game systems. You'll notice that D&D 4th Edition is not up there - this is intentional. Having now played in a full session of 4th Edition my apathy towards it has grown into full disdain - I don't want to play 4E. Brrr.

So there it is. I don't expect anyone but Harris to read this.

Cowboys, Spaceships, or Cthulhu?

The Age of Worms campaign has but one session left and then it will be wrapped up. With it we will be wrapping up the general D&D campaign that has been going for almost 15 years. Quite an achievement, and certainly one worthy of praise.

But looking to the future I don't want to stop gaming on Sundays. It seems to be a pretty reliable day where nothing else goes on, so why not keep going with something? I can find no reason to not. That does leave us with the question of what to do now, however.

In answer to that question I have three possibilities. I'll outline each in brief:

1. Deadlands: I've got a couple of Deadlands scenarios I'd like to do to wrap up that campaign completely. Probably four or five sessions at most, so not terribly long. New characters welcome, as well as the existing posse.

2. Traveler GURPS: I have been itching to play a space game for quite a long time. This would be a GURPS campaign set in the Traveler: Interstellar War setting. It would have a very Firefly-esque feel to it, but would probably take the route of freelancer traders/smugglers in a wide galaxy dominated by an imperialistic regime at odds with the Terran Federation. Unknown campaign length as of now, but I envision it being more open and freestyle than others.

3. Day of the Beast: We started my Call of Cthulhu campaign a few weeks ago on a Friday, and the original idea was to play it on Fridays when we weren't playing Star Wars. Well, we seem to be playing Star Wars most weeks and the weeks we're not there's something going on occupying most of the people's time. So we could move it to Sundays as a regular game. About twelve sessions in total is what I anticipate.

So - cowboys, spaceships, or Cthulhu? What's the vote?

New Shadowrun Campaign

I think I'm going to put to rest the current Shadowrun campaign. We've had 19 sessions (2 with Harris, 17 with me) and it's been a good run. The main crutch of this first campaign was set in North America, specifically Seattle, and focused on runs based on Metallica song titles. This worked exceedingly well in my mind, allowing me to focus a scenario on an aspect of a really cool song for each session.

Here's a quick recap of the Metallica songs that turned into runs:

"Trapped Under Ice"
"Where the Wild Things Are"
"Stone Dead Forever"
"Holier Than Thou"
"Hit the Lights"
"Whiplash"
"Ain't My Bitch"
"Leper Messiah"
"Invisible Kid"
"Wherever I May Roam" 3 sessions in Africa!
"The Frayed Ends of Sanity"
"The Thing That Should Not Be"
"The Call of Ktulu"
"The End of the Line"

I know I'm missing a few, but those were the big ones. So now it's time to look to the future. I'd like to start a new Shadowrun campaign, this time set in the unstable patchwork continent known as Europe. In keeping with the theme of musically inspired runs, I've decided to use Iron Maiden tunes for these runs.

The new "Iron Maiden" campaign will be more focused on travel as well, since there are a lot of interesting places in Europe to run the shadows (Europort, Brussels, Paris, London, most of the Allied German States, Prague, etc., etc.) and you can expect to hit the highlights and lowlifes. I'd like everyone to make new runners, though you will be starting with a bit of experience under your belts. Many options are available, including new metatype variants - comb through the Shadowrunner's Companion book for ideas.

More details to come.

The Journal of Theodore Wilson Burns, vol 1.

This is the personal diary of one Theo W. Burns, student at Miskatonic University, a record of the "Day of the Beast" campaign, of which the first session was January 30, 2009.

5/30/1927

Another semester completed. I am beginning to enjoy my choice of Ancient Greek as my new course of study; much more dignified than English. The Greeks always were wise in matters of the spirit. Explains the majesty of their mythology as such a primal force in human culture. Madame Dulagi’s consultation was hopeful today, and it echoes my own reading of the cards.

7/8/1927

A perfect opportunity to further my explorations of the occult has opened to me! In the Arkham paper, I came upon an advertisement that invited those interested to “experience the supernatural.” For the nominal fee of fifty dollars, I could finally put first hand knowledge of these subjects behind all of the books I have studying so avidly. For so long, I have felt certain that mystical ideas are hidden behind the façade of the mundane, that humans have abilities that the stolid businessman and the scientist scoff at. Oh, if the gray citadels of temporal power are correct and the universe remains the sole domain of the “jealous God” and we have only to keep to the path and not question, then the world will remain as dead to me as the November skies of my northern homeland. If even worse, as the skeptics purport, the universe is under the sole custodianship of blind chance and the idiot rule of pure natural law, than all life is meaningless and without reason at all. Such a thing I cannot accept! We humans are gifted with wonderful eyes for the symbolic, and as Jung and Fraser have shown, these themes remain remarkably consistent through the world.
In short, what some would dismiss as a mere “haunted house,” well, in it I see a total confirmation of my beliefs! I could never pass up such an opportunity! It is scheduled to be held in a small Massachusetts village. Next week, I shall travel to New York City to meet Paul Lamont, the acclaimed spiritualist who will be guiding us on this endeavor.

7/12/1927

I have arrived at Carrington House and I am impressed both with the house and with the famed spiritualist Paul Lamont. He appears to be a gentleman of unquestionable honor and if what he says is correct, he has a rare skill with communicating with the afterlife. His agent on the other hand is a most disagreeable sort, the kind of annoying toad of a man that gives critics of the mystical arts call to condemn the lot of them. He is a self absorbed, greedy nitwit of a man interested only in his own fame. I don’t know what Paul is thinking for working with him, but I will try not to let his ill presence interrupt my appreciation of the mysteries.

The Carrington House itself certainly looks like a place where the spirits of the dead can communicate with the living. Several hundred years old, it has long been the host of unexplainable apparitions, our host George Carrington attesting to them himself. His family owns the house, but his is not a man taken to flights of fancy. Ah, tonight’s séance promise to be most interesting. Perhaps only half as interesting, though, as Cecelia, the most beautiful member of the female species that ever I have laid eyes on! Oh, Cecelia, forever more will the acrid odor of harsh European tobacco be associated for me with the pangs of love! A young lady of the most sensitive and sophisticated nature, I feel a kindred spirit with Cecelia. We both share the pain of lost loved ones, and are both deeply interested in the unseen world as well. If all goes well, I shall propose to Cecelia when the opportunity presents itself.
I should mention the other members of our little party as well. There is a strange artist, Junker. German, I think. His work seems very skilled, but of the recognizable style of the New Objectivity, not to my taste. He seems a good sort though, as I definitely feel akin to artists of all types. Then there is a mysterious older woman by the name of Audrey. She is quiet and rarely associates with the rest of us. She is one to watch I think. Finally, there is Graeme, a common and annoying man. He appears to have little knowledge or interest in the occult at all. It is a mystery to me as to why he is here, but he seems to stick his nose into everything. It is very vexing. Definitely should end here for now, I hear dinner is being called. Our host’s housekeeper has been esteemed for her cooking and I haven’t eaten anything all day!

Later

Tonight’s séance was far more than I ever could have hoped! As soon as John began, he quickly got into contact with a spirit; it proved to be none other than our host’s young sister, who died in the house. He was quite beside himself with unbidden memories at her easily recognized voice. I have never seen such a successful channeling. However, our young guest was frightened herself by the appearance of another apparition, this one in the physical! Graeme was strangely affected and ran upstairs to an empty room, where the air had become unnaturally cold. It was at least 40 degrees in there, and in the middle of July! Here, at John’s suggestion we performed another séance and this time he got into contact with another spirit! This was that of an old Puritan woman who called herself Catherine. She claimed to be protecting the house from some kind of demon spawn and seemed much less pleasant than the little girl. I think that devotion to such a savage and crude religion as the Congregational church could certainly keep an angry spirit here on this plane (in fact, they burnt a witch in this very town!). Catherine claimed to have murdered a child to keep the Devil at bay. How horrific, such a self deluded spirit. It is no wonder she clings to this world.

7/13/1927

What a strange night! While I was having trouble sleeping in the spooky old house, I heard a noise from deep in the house. I summoned the others before we investigated, discovering old Margaret the housekeeper in the basement carrying an axe! I am concerned that she may be being affected by the house. She did do us the favor of bringing our attention to a strange locked door in the basement, behind which we found some profoundly disturbing evidence. A nail was found to ooze spectral blood. Even worse, a human skeleton was unearthed in the corner. Audrey was able to determine it as a child, the cause of death being blunt force trauma to the head (she is quite knowledgeable about anatomy, it seems). These, no doubt, are the sad remains of Catherine’s young victim. I wonder what proper procedure is in this case. Should we notify the authorities? It is nearly breakfast, after which Cecelia and I will take a walk into the village to see if we might be able to find out more about the history of the Carrington house.

Afternoon

Much was discovered in the records of the old church in town, coupled with some documents we have found in the Carrington house itself. I believe I am beginning to peace together the tragic history of the house. Built for Catherine’s husband, the childless colonial woman claimed the son of an executed witch for her own, later going mad and killing him as she believed he had his mother’s “curse.” After her death, she stayed on in the house and later drove others mad, including George Carrington’s sister, whom she forced to commit suicide in the belief she too was a witch. Tonight we shall attempt to contact the spirit of the murdered boy. Oh, and Margaret continues to act strangely; her meals are not up to normal standards. She may be in spiritual danger.

Late

Tonight we were not able to accomplish much; Paul Lamont is physically drained from his encounters with the spirit realm. We cannot ask much more of him, he has earned our money and more. We can only hope now to put some of these poor spirits to rest. The young boy seems to be especially difficult to contact. Tomorrow shall be the last day of our visit, so I hope we are able to succeed.

7/14/1927, very early

Another long night; again Margaret was found wandering the house with an axe, muttering to herself. Audrey put her on some medication, so I hope her episodes are over. I do believe that the spirit of Catherine is having a malign influence on her. In the morning I shall propose we attempt to force the Puritan ghost from the house.

Later in the Day

The day has proved to be the most event and successful we have had; all are satisfied by Paul Lamont’s wonderful gifts (save for his agent, who selfishly wanted to keep the house “haunted”) and we are all linked in our spiritual accomplishments. The morning started when Paul attempted to contact the boy, succeeding! He answered our questions through knocking and he and George’s sister appear to be friends in the world of the dead. They both have an undying fear of Catherine, and imply that she is always near. We determined to rid the house of her malign influence and we all joined our thoughts to forcing her to move onto her final rest, Paul’s mind linking with ours. Without warning Margaret came bursting through the room as we were near to completing our task, attempting to strike Greame with an axe. He attempted to defend himself with a pistol, but fortunately missed as Catherine’s evil ghost was forced from the old housekeeper leaving her in control of her actions once more. It was a miracle no one was injured, but all fear was extinguished when we saw the graceful spirits of the two murdered children dissipate gratefully into their final reward. I feel that we did a very good thing in helping these restless ghosts to move along in their spiritual progression. I have never felt more accomplished in my life, Lamont has helped to show me how right I was in holding that the world held great spiritual power. I can only imagine what wonders he will lead us to next!

Cecilia has agreed to visit me Arkham as well, so I am nearly floating on a cloud right now. I cannot remember when I last was so happy, probably not since mother and father died. Perhaps I can finally improve myself to the place I know I should be.

Call of Cthulhu: Day of the Beast

I'd like to start up a new Call of Cthulhu campaign for Fridays when we're not playing Star Wars. The campaign is "Day of the Beast" - a more traditional Cthulhu campaign, rather than the action-pulp oriented "Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep". It's not terribly long either, probably about 12 sessions in total give or take a few.

The campaign begins in July of 1927. Create an investigator who would be attracted to the following New York City newspaper ad:

"Experience the Supernatural!

Responsible persons of both intrepid and open-minded nature are invited to join famed New York spiritualist in a weekend of observation, investigation, and verification of a haunted house in New England. Contact with the spirit world is guaranteed. Not for the faint of heart. No experience necessary.

Write Box G 28 New York
* $50 fee, inclusive of full catering and transport to the site"

Characters of all types are welcome to join. This campaign will span several years in game time, and there exists the possibility of death and madness 'round nearly every corner. We'll be using the traditional Call of Cthulhu BRP system - it's just simpler that way, and I've never had a chance to use that system.