[ Kinship ] The Shadow Riders

 I float above what is called by many the Road, some call it the Highway,  some call it something worse.  Highway to Hell is a favorite.  And if you end up on the Road you can go from nowhere to nowhere, or if you are lucky to someplace somewhat safe.

The Road meanders along through a variety of landscapes, strange places, and downright surreal vistas.  There are no off ramps, no side roads, and only the occasional road side attraction, or resting place.  There is no escape.

I float above the road, following some of it's denizens.  They call themselves the Shadow Riders.  From what I have observed they have called themselves many names.  The Dark Riders, Bone Crushers, Blood Thorns,  a biker gang doomed to ride the road forever,  if not for one thing....

One of the members of this group can create access to the off ramps that do exist.  The Shadow Riders can take these side roads, pathways, and toll ramps to different places.  They can access any place that exists in the multiverse; every alternate Earth, strange dimensions, and on occasion; other planets.  I do not know how long they have been riding the Road, but I think it has been a very long time.

I float above the road.  I follow the Shadow Riders, and watch as they take an exit to a vast junkyard.  I cannot follow them.  I wish them luck; because sometimes their antics amuse me.  I am doomed to float above, travelling the Road, merely observing what happens.  Recording for all of Eternity the history of the Road.

***

Dust billowed as the Shadow Riders came to halt in front of a small. rusty, corrugated steel building.  Parked off to the side of the building is a dirty white panel van.   A frail, old man sits in a lawn chair; asleep in front of the building.

Reginald J. Farnsworth gets off his Harley, and stretches.  Reggy, as most call him, walks over to the old man.  Everyone else but Paul Stone, otherwise known as Pipsqeak; stays on their bikes/  They all have weapons out, and at the ready.  They are always cautious to the dangers of the Road.

Reggy, being a huge man; looms over the sitting figure.  "WAKE UP!"  No response.

Pipsqeak walks over to the side of the man, and taps him on the shoulder.  Then shakes him.  "He might be dead...."

Sniffing, Reggy shakes his head no.  "Nope, he's still alive."

The old man's eyes shoot open and he gasps.  "WHAT THE...  oh you're back."  The old man stands, he's wearing a tattered and dingy grey bathrobe.  "What do you want?"

"Where's Gator?"  Gator the gangs mechanic; drove the support van.

"Dunno.... haven't seen him in a couple of days.  Mebbe he's dead?"

"I doubt it.  Gator can take care of himself."

Pipsqeak turns his head towards the van.  "Reggy, he's asleep in the van. Dreaming of the girl he met in ancient Rome...."

The old man leaps up; out of the lawn chair.  Taking a step back; Reggy pulls his Bowie knife out of it's sheath.  They all watch as the old man's eyes turn white, and opens his mouth.  A strange glow emanates from within, and he begins speaking in a strange, melodic voice.

"When all is well, the Darkness falls.  The Evil that comes will destroy it all.  It's at this time that Kinship calls."  The old man collapses back into the chair unconscious.

Pipsqeak scratches his head.  "That's never happened before.  Strange..."

There was muttering among the rest of the gang.  Reggy walked up and slapped the old man back to consciousness.  "WAKE UP!"

The old man's eyes opened, and he he rubbed his cheek.  "That was too hard you son of a .... wait what happened?"

"Sorry.  Your eyes turned white, and you spoke in a strange voice."  Reggy sheathed his knife.

"Oh.  I have these episodes.  Sometimes I remember what I say, most often times not...."

"No.... not an episode; a message.  Someone or something was using you as a channel to communicate with us."  Pipsqeak shrugged.  "I could sense it...."

"Whatever it was, if evil is coming, we need to be ready.  And it sounds like Kinship is going to need our help.  Somebody wake up Gator, we're heading to Kinship."

As the motorcycles and van roar off, the dust billowing behind the Shadow Riders, the old man heard them all yell in unison....

"WE AIN'T ALWAYS NICE, BUT WE AIN'T EVIL!  SHADOW RIDERS ROLL!"

Flavor Fiction

 I have always liked "flavor fiction" in RPG rulebooks.  It helps me get a feel for the setting I guess, and of course I like to read.  Now I understand the publishing business a little, and know word count can't get to high, otherwise you end up with a couple of hundred pages or more, and end up with a price that may be a deal breaker for buyers.

My current focus is Gamma World 1E, and there's not what I consider flavor fiction in the rulebook,  Now there is an "example of play" section, but it's not quite the same.  I'm really wondering if the writers were told to keep the rulebook under a certain word count or page length?

When I create an character or NPC I like to write a little something about them, a back story, or a minor adventure.  It helps me develop the character.  Sometimes even just a list of places they have been, likes, and dislikes, their goals, etc.  Things that might nor normally be on a character sheet. Of course I know a lot of times gamemasters make up stuff on the fly, but this requires a little extra record keeping.

Well I'm just rambling out some thoughts.  Have a good week, and stay safe and healthy.

Long Lost Sketchbook

I found an old spiral bound sketchbook from when I was in high school.  I'm surprised it survived all the moves and flooded apartments.  I'm sure I drew these for gaming sessions, but probably never used them.  I need to get back to drawing.  I have a few more drawings in this sketchbook which I may post some other time.

Let's get ready to rumble!

I also found this drawing.  I believe this is older than the sketchbook.  In fact it may be over 50 years old.  I kind of want to redo this drawing.  See what I can do now that I am older and a little more skilled.  The drawing definitely has Gamma World vibes to it.  However, I'm not sure I owned the game when I drew this.  I was always drawing weird stuff.

Well, I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Stay safe and healthy.

[ O.R.B. ] New Assignment

 Jeff stood outside the office door.  He nervously fidgeted with his tie.  The Director had ever summoned him before.  Knocking on the door, he began sweating bullets.  He thought he heard something, and summoning all his courage; he opened the door, peaking in.  "Sir?"

"COME IN!  Didn't you hear me?"  Stepping in and looking about; he thought the director's office would be larger.  It was sparsely furnished with a desk, a couple of chairs, a side table with what looked to be a crystal ball.

"Just barely sir... I uh..."

"Sit down.  We have things to discuss.  A very important case has been plaguing the bureau for a very long time, and I think you may be able to help out.  It would require a great sacrifice on your part...."  Jeff jumped out of the chair.  "A SACRIFICE?"

Chuckling the Director, shook his head.  "No.  Not THAT kind of sacrifice.  This case I want you to work on, may last a very long time, and in a well, very far away place.  In fact it may be a permanent relocation.  We know you no longer have any family, and not many friends.  You are perfect for this assignment."

"But sir, I am not a field agent.  I'm a researcher.  I'm better in a dusty library, not out fighting monsters...."

"Well.... we have  been having trouble recruiting field agents of late.  A competitor is paying well, and we can't currently match what they are paying, and all our other agents are on assignment.  And to be honest you might not be fighting that many monsters, if any at all.  Consider this... field research.  We will be giving you some training as well, so you won't be completely unprepared.  Oh and you will be getting a substantial raise."

"Director, where would I be relocating to?  Fidgeting nervously in his seat, Jeff had an uneasy feeling.

"Oh it's a quaint little town called Kinship...."  The Director braced himself for the next question.

"Oh sounds nice.  What state is it in?"  Smiling Jeff thought this might not be so bad.

"Uuumm..... well, that's not important just now.  You need to report to the training facilities.  There's no rush, but we have put this off for far too long now.  So get going, and pack up your desk.  Well transfer you projects to other researchers."

Jeff stood and moved to the door.  "So when do I leave?"

"IMMEDIATLY!"

Jeff half ran out the door, thinking he should perhaps resign.  This assignment seemed a little sketchy, but he did feel a little excited. It would beat flipping burgers.

[ MISC ] Gamma World

 I have been busy cleaning and organizing things, mainly because I was looking for a something.  That something being my Gamma World 1st Edition map.  However, I still have a few places to look.  I haven't had any luck, and haven't found just the map on eBay yet.  The prices of the original boxed sets are just crazy; most being priced over $200.  I don't want to pay that price just to get the map.

I would have gotten a post up earlier but I was bust creating a Gamma World 1E  character for a the mutagenic zone post.  It was fun, and plan on doing it every Mutant Monday.  I have no idea if people still play Gamma World 1E, but if I get the chance to run a campaign then I will have plenty of NPCs!

I also found my AD&D Monster Manuel  that I had purchased a couple of years ago, and it gave me an idea for the next Mutant Monday.  I'm going to mutate a monster for Gamma World.  I may do two from the book,.one of the intelligent races, and a regular monster; which should be interesting.

Anyway, enough rambling for now.   Stay safe and healthy, and keep those dice rolling!

[ KINSHIP ] Eye of the Storm

Sherriff Rasputin walked out of his office and into the warm Spring weather.  He took a deep breath and adjusted his gun belt.  Life in Kinship had been quiet of late; for a very long time.   He should be grateful but it left him with an uneasy feeling and it left him with an uneasy feeling.  It was.... well, strange that nothing weird, bizarre, unnatural, or dangerous had occurred for.... what?  How long had it been since any walking corpses, destructive robots, giant monsters, or anything  had attacked the town?   There hadn't been many new arrivals of late either.  The last arrival had been that lady reporter, Suzan.  She had quite the tale to tell when she showed up.

Chuckling to himself he turned to head to the diner, his stomach was growling, and he was craving chili. He took a step and stopped when he heard someone calling his name from behind him.  Turning around he saw Pendleton walking quickly towards him.   He was probably trying to get in on the weekly poker game again.

Pendleton seemed happy, whihc was abnormal as he was usually morose, grumpy, and at times downright unpleasant.

"Sheriff, good to see you..."  The sheriff noticed he was carrying a stack of papers  Pendleton handed him one of them.  Quickly reading what turned out to be a flyer, he grunted.

"There's going to be a town fair?  Who's running it?  There's hasn't been one since I arrived in town.  Sure there are the fairgrounds but it's never used...."

"Well I've been talking to a few of the old timers, and there used to be one every year.  It was a big deal apparently.  People from all over attended..."

"WHAT?"  People from all over?  What people?  From where?"  Shrugging Pendleton seemed startled at the sheriff's reaction to the news. 

"I don't know sheriff.  You know as much as I do."  Walking onwards, Pendleton  called someone else's name.  The sheriff didn't notice him leaving, as he was lost in thought.  A town fair?  He was going to find out what was going on.  It may be harmless, but this was the town of Kinship, and... He lost his train of thought as sudden chill ran though his body.

Stepping off the curb he looked around, and glanced up in the sky.  A few puffy clouds, and a strange looking bird circled high above.  He looked in the direction of the fairgrounds, and saw dark storm clouds quickly rolling towards town.

"Humph...  sheesh...."He jumped at a flash of lightning and the boom of thunder.  The he heard screaming from down the street.  He started running towards the screaming as a million things ran through his mind; the main one being that the quiet times were over, and that he would have to postpone eating a bowl of chili.

***

It feels good to be writing again.  Writing stories about the town of Kinship is one of my favorite things to do, and despite not writing or blogging for over a decade; the Kinship characters and stories always churned away in my mind.

I need to revamp the graphic of the blog, do something new and different.  I need to check links, and other blog maintainence type things.  I'm having to relearn most of this.

My plan is still to write a novel, and hopefully a game setting based on Kinship.

Anyway, I'm glad I got this post done.  Everyone have a good one, and stay safe and healthy.

 

10 Years Gone.... or Back In The Saddle Again

It's been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Writing a blog again starts with one word, one sentence, one paragraph and so on....  It's been over 10 and a half years since a made a post on this blog.  Over a freaking decade.... Where did the time go? Into the past I guess....

It's late and I'm getting a little tired, but I wanted to post something, anything.  I'm glad to see blogging is still somewhat of a thing, and I have been reading some of my favorites again. I've really been into watching youtube channels.  There's so much great content, that I spend way too much time watching.  I don't even watch much real television.  A couple of shows online but that's about it.

What have I been doing for 10 years?  Just living my life.  It's been good, it's been bad,  it's even been a little crazy.  I've lost a few relatives and friends, and I'm sure many of you have.as well.  My dice are dusty, and when times got difficult I sold all my game books.  I regret it, but it was a survival thing.  I can rebuild my collection.  It's not going to be easy, but nothing worth doing is rarely easy.

I'm 58 years young, and despite possibly catching Covid a couple of months ago I feel great.  It actually didn't seem that bad, but my mom ended up in the hospital but I stayed home.  I kicked it's ass.  I just slept a lot.  Heck, I've had worse flu.

Anyway, time for some sleep.  Stay safe, and be well.

Happy New Year!

First of all, I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and a happy New Year's Eve celebration.  Mine was okay, and I'm kind of glad it's all finally over.  The week of Christmas was busy, which included attending a wedding the Friday after Christmas.

 

I've been thinking about what I wanted to do about this blog, but I think I will keep working on it, even  if my posting is infrequent.  I don't want to make any promises, or write about any ideas I have, because that seems to doom them to oblivion.  So I plan on keeping any plans I have a secret, until I can implement them.

 

2013 was another dry year as far as gaming goes, but I remain optimistic for gaming in 2014

The Half Price Books near me closed last year, as well as the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at the mall.  Rumor has it that Half Price Books intend to open a another store in the city, but somehow I doubt it will be close to me.  Oh well...

NaNoWriMo A Success!

Last night I exceeded the 50K word count goal for NaNoWriMo so I'm happy.  I was so engrossed in the writing that I never considered that I wouldn't reach the goal.  I never had any trouble with writers block, because of some advice I read, which was, 'Write what you would want to read.'  Which is great advice. I had a blast working on this novel, so it never seemed like work.

Most days I probably only wrote for a maximum of three hours, sometimes less, and I never had a problem reaching the word count goal.  If I had tried I could have probably reached the 50K a lot sooner, but that wasn't the point of my first attempt at NaNoWriMo.  All I wanted to do was reach that 50K mark by the end of the month. The fact that I reached it early is icing on the cake.

Of course the novel still needs work.  In fact, I'm sure I'll write many more words for it, but I've got a great start on the first draft. I've got a beginning, alot of middle and an ending.  Now all I have to do is flesh it out.  From what I understand about this process, that's what NaNoWriMo is mostly about.

The working title of my novel is, The Mozaic: Shattering the Veil.  It's a fantasy, but there are no elves, or dwarves, orcs, or other such fantasy races.  There are lizardmen, and Saurians, but the rest of the races are intelligent animals.  There's also magic, because what's a fantasy novel without fantasy?  Well, I guess it would be a fantasy novel without magic.

Anyway, me am running out of good words.  So until next time Happy Thanksgiving!

NaNoWriMo Update

My first attempt at NaNoWriMo is going well. As of last night, my total word count is 35,052 which puts me a couple of days ahead of schedule. So far, I haven't had any trouble with writers block, or any trouble motivating myself to write. If anything the opposite is true. I have to get up, and do other things, otherwise I might write all day.

I can't let other things go by the wayside. I also have trouble with what I call the idea dust bunnies. I came up with the name after learning about plot bunnies at the NaNoWriMo Kick-Off Party at the public library.

 Idea dust bunnies are ideas that come to you as you work on a project, but you don't have a place yet to fit them in. So they pile up, like the literal dust bunnies under your bed. There kind of annoying because I want to use them, but I just don't know when or how I will.

One of those ideas is a flower I came up with, it's called a Skull Blossom. When it closes up at night it looks like a human skull. I thought it was a good idea, but really didn't have a use for it in the novel. So one day I just started writing a section with a herbalist tending to his garden, and one of the things he does is cut off some of the Skull Blossoms to use as a healing herb. Then he sat and watched as they closed up for the night. The bonus of writing the section is that I also came up with a new, quirky character. One idea leads to another, and another... an idea cascade, or I guess an idea avalanche.

I had told one of the other writers at a Write In about the idea, and she thought it was cool. So the next Saturday at the Mid-Way Party,she asked me if she could use it in a book she is writing. Of course I said it was okay, and she wrote my full name down. So I will get credit for the idea. I really like the idea of Skull Blossoms being in more than one book.

So far NaNoWriMo has been a great experience. It's been really motivating going to the Write Ins, updating my word count on the website, and just meeting other writers. In fact I've gotten so many other things done since I started the novel. I don't sit around watching a lot of television. I'm getting things done! The sad thing it only lasts for the month, so I will probably look for a writers group to get involved in.

Once I finish the first draft, I'm not sure what I will do with the book. I thought about self publishing, probably first in an eBook format, but that's still a ways off. If I can find a publisher great if not, it's not that big a deal. I'm basically writing something I would want to read. That's probably why it's been so easy. The first draft is going to need some polishing, and I will need to make it longer. 50,000 words is a short novel.

On a side note, I finally came up with a somewhat better title:  The Mozaic - Shattering the Veil.

Well, that's all for now. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

NaNoWriMo!

This year I've decided to participate in NaNoWriMo. I've been writing like a madman, and have kept on schedule, and in fact I've been ahead of the suggested 1,667 words per day. I may post some excerpts here on HDWT, or I may not. I haven't decided yet.

My novel has a lot of fantasy elements, but not most of the usual fantasy tropes. So there are no dwarves, elves, or other such fantasy races; except for lizardmen, or more like dinosaurmen/saurians. There is magic, and also many intelligent/sentient animal races. I've come up with a lot of great ideas I can use in gaming, and the whole idea behind the novel might make a good game world. I've decided that if I can't get any gaming in, then writing fiction is the next best thing. I'm gaming in my mind as I write. It really helps the creative process.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Halloween. Mine was underwhelming, but that's okay, next year I plan on having a heck of a Halloween party.

What the WHAT???

So I was surfing the net, and found something that made me go whaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Over on the Games Workshop website, they are advertising an entire chapter of Space Marines for sale, the Astartes Ultra. For only $11,500 you get close to 1,200 miniatures. Really? Even if I had that much money there are so many other things I would rather purchase.

Now if I had money to blow I would consider making the purchase, but then I would have to paint them! UGH. That's a lot of minis to paint. How much primer and paint would that take, and brushes? I really wonder how many, if anyone will buy this? I would have to win the lottery, to even consider it.

I also noticed that like on most website's where you make a purchase there's the quantity option. So yes, if you are so inclined you can buy up to 10! HEH... 10 chapters of Ultramarines. Over 10,000 minis! HUZZAH!

Okay, I just noticed that the Ultramarines Paint Collection is $156. I wonder if that's enough for an entire chapter of Ultramarines? Maybe you would have to purchase two of them?

Oh yeah, you can also add this to your gift list. Maybe I need to start a gift list on their website? What are the odds?

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I'm going to try and post more often.

A New Year

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope every one's holidays were great, and I'm looking forward to 2013.

It should be of no surprise to anyone that the world didn't end, on whatever date some people thought it would.  Of course, the power to my bedroom went all wonky, as in... I have no power, so it's been a sort of "little apocolypse' for me.  The rest of the house is fine.  I don't know what the problem is, and I've replaced the breaker.  Not that big a deal, just limits my Internet time.

My laptop has also been giving me problems.  I think it's time to break down and get a new one.  I was using it to back up some files, and suffered some kind of failure, and I lost some files.  I was transferring them from my desktop, and unfortunately I deleted some of them, but due to the power problems I haven't checked what all was lost yet.  I have some files backed up on Cd's so the loss shouldn't be so bad.  I reinstalled everything, and it's working, but it's still kind of acting weird.

I really hope this doesn't indicate what this year is going to be like.  I'm ready for a good year.  With all the problems I've been having I put all my gaming/writing projects on hold, until I can get this chaos under control.

I really hope I can get some gaming in this year.  2012 wasn't a good gaming year for me.

'Tis the Season

I continue to have Internet connection problems, and it's irking me to no end.  Hopefully,  I can stay connected long enough to get this post up.  It's been a while, but wanted to post something today.

Hopefully today I will finish putting up the Christmas lights.  It's a chore I never enjoy.  Bah humbug...

When I do get connected I've been viewing YouTube videos, and wow, are there a lot of them!  I've been watching videos about making terrain, vblogs about wargaming in general, batreps, and other things.  Watching certain videos has really been synergestic and has given me some ideas.  ( Not like I don't have enough of those already! )  In fact it's inspired me to want to make videos to post on YouTube!  Of course this is going to be a project for next year.

On Black Friday, I want to Half Price Books, and picked up a copy of WarLord Core Rules, it's a ruleset for miniature gaming created by Reaper Miniatures.  I've skimmed through the book, and it seems okay.  A few interesting ideas, and I'm intrigued by the campaign system.  The nice thing is that the book cost me just a little over 50 cents, thanks to the $5 gift card for being one of the first 50 people in line.  Some lucky person won a $100 gift card.  This was my second year getting up early to go do this.  This year I was the second person there, but when more people arrived, I didn't  like the idea of being second in line so I hung back.  Oh well, maybe next year...

Since I've lost the connection once already I will close for now, and get this posted.  Again posting is going to be sporadic for the remainder of the year.  Partially due to computer problems, and partially because I want to get a good start on next year.

I received some bad news yesterday, and it's really put a damper on what little holiday cheer I had to begin with.  Needless to say I trudge onward.

Technical Trouble... Please Stand By...

My main computer has decided to develop some kind of problem with software, and I can't browse the world wide web.  I can connect, but can't load webpages.  So until I can sort out the problem, I'll either surf at the library, or on my laptap, at places with free wifi, which is what I'm doing now.  It's also put a kibosh on frequent blog posting.

A week or so ago, my digital camera also decided to go all wonky, and not take photos.  I can turn it on, and get the menu, but I can't take any photos.  Not sure what the problem is with it, but it may meet the business end of a sledge hammer.  I mean, if it can't be fixed cheaply, then I might as well, have a little  fun.  I'm not sure if these things can even be repaired.  We live in such a disposable society these days.  I once found a VHS and DVD player that someone had thrown away, but I checked it out, and it worked.

I'm not a huge fan of technology right now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, and enjoys the holiday.  On Friday I will be heading to Half-Price Books EARLY to get in line for a chance to win the $100 gift card.  Even if I don't win, if I'm one of the first hundred in line I will get a $5 gift card, with that and with the 15% off coupon I have I will get a really cheap gaming book.  I'm not sure what I will get yet, but it may be Warlord, the Reaper's Miniatures rules.

Once again everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

[ Kinship ] The Dromedary Part Two

The smell of fresh popcorn filled the lobby, as the small group entered the theater.  The snack bar was self-serve, since it was free anyway, although one or two people usually served everyone else.  Otherwise it got a bit crowded behind the counter. 

The candy selection seemed to change every week, and at times it could get very weird.  No one knew what a chocolate covered Meklo was, and no one wanted to find out either.  One thing that never changed was the popcorn.  It was always ready, and always fresh.  No one seemed to question who prepared it.

Fred the Nerd was the first one into the theater, but as the others gathered their snacks, he came back out.

"Someone is in there!  I don't know who it is!"  Walking backwards, Fred stumbled over a kink in the carpet, spilling soda and popcorn everywhere.

Verna walked over to the doors, and glanced inside.  "Oh no worries.  I know who it is.  He's not dangerous... at least not to us.  However, don't sit next to him, or bother him.  He likes his solitude."

The small group of Kinship citizens sat in the back rows, and many of the newcomers wondered who the man was.  The movie wasn't that much different from the original, except the small girl was a boy in this version.

About halfway through the movie, the theater light's flashed on and off.  The projection of the movie vibrated, got blurry, and eventually froze.  A burning spot appeared, and then there was a high pitched wail.  Then a strange, vibrantly colored vortex appeared on the screen.

Larry got to his feet.  "Maybe we better leave?"

A loud roar came over the speakers, and everyone jumped to their feet, except the man in the middle row.  Popcorn, candy, and soda was either dropped, or discarded.

Verna was clutching her hands together.  "This isn't right.  We better get the sheriff."

The vortex grew in size, and something... monstrous was moving through it, into the theater.  The man stood, and in his hand he held an Uzi.  Raising it towards the beast, he started firing, a stream of glowing bullets hitting the beast.  It roared in pain, and a tentacle reached out, and knocked the firearm out of the man's hand.

The man looked back, and most who recognized the man, gasped in surprise.

"You folks better leave now.  I'll handle this."  A sword then appeared from somewhere, and the man turned back toward the monster.  He jumped up on the seat, and leaped towards the monster.  Covering twenty feet easily, the man landed on the monsters chest, and shoved the sword into the monster.

A dagger appeared in the man's other hand, and he began stabbing the tentacles that were now writhing around his body.  The monster reeled, and fell back into the vortex, taking the man with him.  With a whoosh and a pop, the vortex closed.  The monster and the man were both gone.  The movie resumed playing.

Larry, a newcomer, scratched his head.  "Was that? I mean, I've seen the photos, but..."

Verna chuckled.  "Yeah, that was Elvis, not sure if it was Elvis Prime or not, but it doesn't matter.  He always seems to show up when he's needed.  It's a shame that his movie night was interrupted.  Think I'll go tell the sheriff what happened.  I need some coffee now anyway..."

Awesome Dice

Which comes first?  A gamers love of dice, or the love of the games you use them in?  A sort of chicken and egg question.  Of course I think gaming dice are cool.  I like all sorts of dice, specialty, and the plain jane variety.  The very large and the ultra-tiny.  Dice are just cool.

A few months back I received an email from Brian Wood with a request to plug his website, which has a dice store and a blog.  Unfortunately life was a real pain at the time, and I never got around to plugging his site.  I keep seeing the email in the Inbox folder, and finally decided I needed to mention the site.

It's Awesome Dice.  On the blog is a cool article about the "History of Dice".

There's a very cool black Dragonscale dice bag that he sells in the webstore that I am now coveting.  It's a bit pricey at $49.95, but I need a new one, because my ancient, trusty Crown Royal bag finally fell apart.  Unfortunately it's out of stock, which is just as well.  I can't justify buying one right now, but eventually I will.

So if you're looking for some new dice check out Brian's website.

Busy, busy, busy... and then OUCH.

So you can gather from the post title that I've been busy.  I was trying to organize the garage and make space for some gaming.  I was so busy that Sunday my back was messed up yet again, and I was wiped out.  I've had trouble with my back for a while now, and finally I had an MRI done the same time they did one for the cyst.  I was diagnosed with degenerative spinal stenosis.  The PA said that they would reevaluate it in a year.  MEH.

I can work for a couple of days, maybe two, but then I'm usually on my back for at least 12 hours, or longer.  Even after I can get up, I'm usually still slow, weak, and limpy.  Not a great feeling.  Anyway, I've been resting for a couple of days, and trying to decide what to do next.  I need to get back to work, but if I find steady work, then I usually only last a few days.  The employer really doesn't like it when a new employee calls in sick the first week.  Even if it's a temp job.

So I plan on looking again, and hopefully I can find something not too strenuous, but in this economy I don't have much hope.

I probably won't be posting much what with the holidays coming up, and job hunting, but when I can find the time I will post something.  I have plenty of Kinship stories brewing in my head.  I'm also working on a book about miniature war games.  It's going to be a comprehensive look at the hobby, and will hopefully cover every rule set published.  Which is kind of daunting.  I just started compiling a list of rule sets, and I'm up to 28.  This doesn't include any historical miniature rules. 

I'll primarily be discussing this project on my miniatures blog, the Mayhem of Miniatures.  There's a link to it on the left sidebar.  I plan on covering EVERYTHING, even fan-created rules, so if you know of a certain rule set, I would appreciate hearing about it.  I'll be creating a page soon, listing the rule sets I know about.  It will be interesting to find out how many there are exactly.

I have other projects in mind as well, but if I say too much I usually end up jinxing myself.

The Detective Character

"Where there is no imagination there is no horror."

– Arthur Conan Doyle

One of my favorite new shows on television is Elementary. I'm a fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, and of course Arthur Conan Doyle. In my opinion this show is well written, and one of the best offerings on television this season. This is a great "reimagining" of the character while still retaining almost all of the things that made Sherlock Holmes a great character.

Doing some research on Holmes, and his creater, I was astounded at how well the writer/s of the show researched the mythos of Sherlock Holmes.

After tonight's episode I started thinking about detectives, sleuths, and investigators in role playing games, and how in all the games I've ever run, no one ever played one. For me it would be fun to play a detective, a solver of mysteries, it doesn't really matter what genre; horror, science fictions, supers... a detective character could work in any of them.

The fun part of playing a detective, ( at least for me ) would be actually using deductive reasoning, and to a lesser extent abductive reasoning, in the game to solve mysteries.  Not an easy skill to develop. Sure you could use skill rolls, but where is the fun in that? It's also not very satisfying. Sure some players wouldn't mind, but me? If I can't figure it out, then I wouldn't want a roll of dice to let me succeed.  Sure perception rolls are fine, but anything else I would want to depend on me thinking things through.

Now, I'm not so sure it would be easy to run a game for a detective character.  Describing the scene of the crime, providing clues, suspects, etc. would have to be carefully accomplished.  Too many clues, and it's too easy, not enough, or misleading clues, would make it impossible for the player or players.

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth".

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes had an almost super-human perception, a keen intelligence, and that, in combination with an esoteric, broad knowledge base, made him a very skilled detective. Well, his knowledge was primarily about things that would help him solve crimes.  Nothing else really interested him.  Sherlock Holmes was all about solving crimes.  He needed the challenge.

I haven't read every story about Sherlock Holmes, especially what's considered canon.  So I've set a goal to read all 54 short stories, and the 4 books.  Well, it's a goal for next year. With the holidays coming up, and me trying to get some things accomplished I can't start right away.

I've also been trying to remember if there was ever a RPG about Sherlock Holmes?  Guess it's google time!