[ 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.

 

[ 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..."

[ Kinship ] The Dromedary Part One

The big draw on Saturday night in Kinship is usually the movie theatre.  The Dromedary is a one screen affair from days of old.  No Dolby Sound, nothing high tech about it at all.  Just a plain, old fashioned movie theatre.

On this particular Saturday night, a small crowd had gather near the theatre looking up at the sign.  On the part of the sign that covers the sidewalk there's a life sized statue of a one-humped camel, a dromedary.

"I could have sworn yesterday the camel was looking to it's right."   Fred the Nerd scratched his head.  " I know it was..."

Verna chuckled.  "Of course it moved, it does that sometimes.  It's looking for it's rider.  The camel used to have a rider.  There's even an old photo in the library that shows him on the camel."

"So what happened to the rider?"  Larry, a newcomer to Kinship, gestured towards the camel.  "Statues just don't just get up and leave!"

"Well... it happened before I came here, but I heard about it.  One day the rider just hopped off, and jumped down to the street, and walked out of town."  Verna shrugged, "Believe me or not.  I don't care.  Stranger things have happened in Kinship."

Larry shook his head in disbelief.  "Well, what's showing tonight?"

"Ah... I believe it's, It Happened at the World's Fair."  Verna smiled.  "I like it."

Fred slumped his shoulders, "Again?"

Giggling, Verna opened the door.  "Don't worry, it's different every time.  Sometimes a little different, and sometimes A LOT DIFFERENT!"

***

The Dromedary Movie Theatre provides a nice respite from the boring, and sometimes terrifying daily grind that is life in Kinship.  There's no admission charge, and the snack bar is always stocked, and everything's free.  Sometimes the selection appears a bit odd, but there's always popcorn.

[ Kinship ] Corn A Plenty

Jeff and Jenny walked down the gravel road towards town.  When they reached the old oak that grew at the edge of the cornfield they turned towards the corn field.  Jenny stopped under the oak, and started picking up acorns.

"Come on Jenny!  We don't want to be late!"  Jeff jumped up and down.  "H U DOUBLE R WHY  HURRY!!!"

"I'm getting Mr. Wrinkles some acorns.  He likes them..."

A loud hiss interrupted them.  Both kids looked back towards the road, and saw the large six legged lizard.  It started running towards them.

Without a word spoken, both Jenny and Jeff ran into the cornfield.  The stalks seemed to move out of their way, and closing up when they passed.  When the lizard reached the edge of the cornfield, it hesitated and then entered.

The corn stalks slashed at the lizard, and slowed it down.

Jeff stopped when he heard the commotion behind them.  "I think were safe, the corn is taking care of the lizard."

Jenny patted one of the corn stalks.  "Thanks Mr. Corn."  The stalk seemed to quiver in pleasure.

"How do you know it's a mister?"  Jeff eyed his sister quizzically.

"I just know.  Let's hurry, we don't want to be late."  Jenny skipped ahead of her brother.  The lizard all but forgotten.

***

There's one thing that there's no shortage of in Kinship, and that's corn.  It grows year round, and the stalks never seem to die of natural causes.  There are many fields of corn around Kinship.   Miles and miles of corn...

In some of the fields the corn stalks grow so close together that it's almost impossible to walk through the field.  In other fields the corn grows in neat rows with plenty of room to walk down the rows.

Those that harvest the corn find the quiet of the fields pleasant.  They feel safe.  A few feel a little disturbed when they are in the fields.  Others have a feeling of being watched...

[ Kinship ] Unlucky Lizardman

Slacmere, High Lord of the Blood Talon Clan, and Chief Research Scientist of the Vlakod Federation, carefully reviewed his research files.  He opened the last file and a error message appeared on the Holoscreen. 

**File Corrupted**

Double checking the back-up file, Slacmere discovered that it was also corrupted.  Hissing in anger, Slacmere raked his claws across the console.  Hours of work gone.  A corrupted file was supposed to be impossible.

The last research file was the scans of the strange life form they had collected from the lone planet in Sector 78-1-999.  It had proven extremely resilient to all forms of damage.  Shortly after collection, the specimen had escaped his constraints, and it took a full security team to recapture it.

After all the testing had been completed, the specimen was disposed of via the Transmission Beam.  Set to complete disruption over a wide area, the creature was now nothing more than molecules floating in space.  Slacmere then remembered there was a copy of the Transbeam scan of the creature, that at the very least will provide some data for research.  Slacmere left his research suite and headed down the corridor to the Transbeam Suite.

Empty of personnel, Slacmere moved to the main console, and activated it.  He scanned the files, until he found the correct one, and activated it.  To his surprise it was corrupted as well.  Slacmere would have to request a review of the computer techs.  Something was wrong.

Looking at the corrupted file, Slacmere noticed that the specimen hadn't been disrupted.  The only data not corrupted was the file name, and destination.  He entered the coordinates of the destination into the Transbeam's computer.  It was a planet.

Suddenly, a warning siren went off., and Slacmere was knocked out of his seat.

"The ship is under attack by unknown forces... prepare for a battle..."  Slacmere noticed the desperation in the Captain's voice.  The lights then dimmed, and there was an explosion near the Transbeam Suite.

Slacmere quickly made his decision.  Grabbing some gear out of a locker, he activated the Transbeam.  He would escape to the same planet that the specimen had ended up on.

***

The Sheriff looked at what remained of what could be only described as a lizardman in some sort of high tech outfit.  The odd thing was that it fell out of the sky, and landed in the same spot as Mr. Wrinkles.

Dr. Velasko leaned over the remains of the lizardman.  "You think this is going to happen every week?  Creatures falling out of the sky?"

The Sheriff shrugged.  "Good grief, I hope not...  say I wonder if Mr. Wrinkles knows about this guy?"

"Well if he does, we still can't talk to him.  Anyway, I'll get it back to my lab.  We certainly don't want a zombie lizardman wandering around.  Look at it's claws!"

Dr. Velasko stood up, and scanned the crowd that had gathered.  "I'll recruit a couple of guys to help.  You think it's weapon still works?  It looks really complicated..."

"Dunno... I'll be by later to pick up the gear."  Turning to the crowd, the Sheriff addressed the crowd.  "Show's over people, move along, and for the time being be wary of walking in the street.  Especially at this spot.  It keeps raining aliens."

[ Kinship ] the Kinship Bed & Breakfast

Once newcomers to Kinship discover that it's ill-advised that they try to find their way home, most end up staying at the Kinship Bed and Breakfast for at least one night, and most times two or three nights. It usually takes the Sheriff that long to find a safe place for the newcomer to live. It wouldn't be good for the newcomer to move into an apartment or home that ends up scaring them, driving them insane, or even eating them. And sometimes there are worse fates than those, but best not to discuss them...

The bed and breakfast is operated by the kindly, Ms. Verna Lockmeir. She keeps the rooms neat and tidy, and prepares meals for the newcomers. Verna does all this for free. It's her contribution to the welfare of Kinship's citizens. When she's not busy at the bed and breakfast, Verna likes to help teach the town's children. Although she's not too enthusiastic about it, she will help fight zombies, but prefers to play a supporting role.

Over a delicious meal, she tells newcomers about her encounters with zombies and vampires, and warns them to avoid the giant mutant spiders, the Skraknids. If they haven't already seen Matt ( Many Awesome Tentacle'd Thing ) she tells them Matt is harmless, and a great help to the town. It's nothing to worry about. Verna has many stories, and is all too eager to tell them to the newcomers.

Verna also has a secret. It's one story she doesn't tell to anybody. One day she had gotten lost picking corn, and came upon a ghastly scene. In a clearing, a man was chained to an upright slab of stone. His throat had been slit, and a strange symbol carved into his chest. Fortunately, Verna was used to the strange, due to her years of living in Kinship, and was mostly unfazed. She checked the man's pulse. He was indeed dead.

As she turned to leave, Verna noticed a book leaning up against the slab. It was large, covered in what she thought was leather. She felt the urge to pick it up, and when her fingers touched it, her arms tingled all the way up to her shoulder. Verna, clutching the book, ran through the corn, and away from the scene. She told no one.

Verna knows it's a magical book she found. Late at night she will flip through the pages, staring at the odd writing. So close to understanding, so close to unlocking mystical secrets. One day, Verna will be able to use magic. She's sure of it! 

A Simple Sunday

Not much going on today, just been reading blogs.  Thinking about gaming, and what's next.  I'm really at a crossroads in my life, and it's time to move on with things.

Writing posts set in what I call the Kinship Universe is a lot of fun. I have yet to run any sort of game set in Kinship, but eventually I will. The trick was deciding what game system to use. For now, I've decided on GURPS 4E, because it seems the best suited to the task. I'm sure Hero System would work as well, and maybe it's even a little more flexible than GURPS in creating certain kinds of characters, but I'll probably stick with GURPS.

Now if I run something online, I might need to choose a different rule set. I've been thinking about one of the OGL games, like d6, or something in the public domain, but more research is needed. If I pick an OGL system, I would definitely customize it for Kinship. It would be a rule system with a real Kinship flavor.

I was reading a blog post lapsus calumni, and Matt Jackson discusses The Descriptive System. You can download it from RPGNow. I haven't read it yet, but to me it would seem a little too simple for what I want. Even for a PbP game on a blog. Yes, It's interesting, and something I'm interested in, but for some games and settings, you want a little more UMPH!

Now if I publish a Kinship book, I'm leaning towards making it a generic campaign setting. Why? I really don't want to have to worry about legal issues. I'm still thinking about this, and of course things may change. Also, while I want it to be a gaming resource, a campaign setting, I want it to be entertaining. Basically, something a gamer would enjoy reading, even if they never use it for a game.

Since I'm brainstorming right now, for some reason play by mail popped into my head. Back in the day, I did a bit, but it was always frustrating waiting for turn results to come in. I wonder if anyone is interested in it anymore? Probably not... Computers are so much faster.

Also, I'm starting to work on a digest sized zine. I co-published a fanzine back in the day, and Christian of destination unknown has inspired me to throw my hat into the zine ring once again. If you haven't checked it out, I strongly recommend you pick up an issue of Loviatar.  I forgot, Christian is taking a hiatus from Loviatar, but you can still purchase back issues.

For now my gaming zine will be published quarterly, with the first issue out in January. More on this later...

Enough rambling for now, I hope everyone had a great weekend!

[ Kinship ] Mr. Wrinkles

It was a normal day, or at least what passes for normal in Kinship, when Mr. Wrinkles fell from the sky, and landed on Main Street.  Almost everyone who saw what had happened had thought that the creature was dead.  He was oozing some kind of substance, and although several people tried to move it, the creature was too slippery.  In fact, one touch was more than enough for most people.  Even gloves didn't help get a grip on the strange creature.

Whatever it was, it was small,  had a vague human shape, was gray and very wrinkled. Hence the name, Mr. Wrinkles.  As far as anyone could tell, Mr. Wrinkles was also naked.  There was what appeared to be some sort of white purse or pouch that hangs by a strap around his neck, but no visible way to open it was seen.

Mr. Wrinkles had no eyes, no ears, and something vaguely resembling a mouth that ran vertically up half it's misshapen head.  Instead of arms, Mr. Wrinkles had tentacles.  Not like an octopus, or squid, there are no suckers.  The legs were sort of like an elephant's, and not as wrinkled as the rest of the body.  A very odd creature indeed.

A few hours after it "landed" it sat up, and appeared to be looking around, even though it had no eyes.  Standing up, it began walking around aimlessly, and a few townsfolk tried to talk to it.  Apparently it can't talk, or didn't understand anyone.  All attempts at communication have so far failed.

Some of the townsfolk thought that it should be captured, but the Sheriff vetoed that idea.  Mr. Wrinkles wasn't causing any trouble, and was to be left alone.  Soon after awakening, Mr. Wrinkles walked out of town.  There's still a stain at the landing spot.

Mr. Wrinkles occasionally walks back into town, and it's behavior is at times very odd.  It will sit on a curb for hours on end, come rain or shine.  Extreme weather doesn't seem to bother Mr. Wrinkles.  Sometimes Mr. Wrinkles will pull something out of the pouch to look at.  People have seen him with a corncob pipe, a small metal disc, and a mess of what looks like tangled wires.

Mr. Wrinkles doesn't appear to be hostile.  It's appetite is strange, and can eat just about any plant or animal matter.  Mr. Wrinkles seems to enjoy corn, even the cob!  Which is a good thing, we have plenty of corn around here.  At times Mr. Wrinkles seems sad...

I would attempt to communicate with Mr. Wrinkles with my telepathy, but...

Excerpt from Number Five's Journal

Mr. Wrinkles ( GURPS 4E NPC )
[ 278 Points ] 
Age: Unknown 2' 100 lbs. SM -3

ST 15 [ 50 ], DX 11 [20], IQ 8 [ -40 ], HT 20 [ 100 ]
HP 20, Will 8, Per 8, FP 20

Basic Lift 45 lbs., Damage: Thrust 1d+1/Swing 2d+1
Basic Speed 7.75, Basic Move 7;
Dodge 10, Parry 11 ( club ), Block -;
DR 10.

Advantages & Perks  Cost: 207
360° Vision [ 25 ], Ambidexterity [ 5 ], Damage Resistance/ +10  [ 50 ],
Doesn't Breathe/Oxygen Absorption [ 15 ], Flexible Arms [10 ],
Hard to Kill/ 10 Levels [ 20 ], Hyperspectral Vision [ 25 ],
Injury Tolerance/ No Eyes [ 5 ],
Regeneration/ Slow 1 HP per 12 Hours  [10 ], 
Slippery/ 5 Levels [ 10 ], Stretching ( arms only )/ 5 Levels [ 24 ],
Temperature Tolerance/ 8 Levels [ 8 ], Universal Digestion [ 5 ] 

Disadvantages & Quirks Cost: 91

Appearance/Hideous [ -16 ], Cannot Speak/Mute [ -25 ]
Colorblindness [ -10 ], Increased Consumption/ 1 level [ -10 ],
Innumerate [ -5 ], No Sense of Humor [ -10 ],
No Sense of Smell or Taste [ -5 ], Unusual Biochemistry [ -5 ],
Broad Minded [ -1 ],  Sexless [ -1 ], Odd Behavior [ -1 ],
Eats Odd Things  [ -1 ], Wanders Aimlessly [ -1 ]

Skills Cost: 32

Brawling – 14  [ 8 ], Gesture – 10 [ 4 ],
Melee Weapon/ Axe/Mace – 15 [ 16 ],
Stealth -12 [ 4 ]

Possessions
White Pouch:  Corn cob pipe, metal disc 3" in diameter, tangled ball of wire, one square foot of burlap, and several small stones

Ognritle, Og for short, was a simple laborer on it's home world.  One day while working in the Vlaph Field ( Vlaph is a vegetable plant ), a strange vehicle flew down from the sky, and attacked.  Knocked unconcious, Og was abducted, and taken offworld.  What happened next is a mystery.  Og awoke on a strange world.

Life on this world is strange.  The creatures are huge, and some are very strange and hostile.  Some desire to eat him.  Some seem concerned about him.  No matter how hard Og tries, communicating with the creatures is very difficult, and mostly impossible.

It's not all bad here.  Og doesn't have to work. Og enjoys the food here, it's texture is wonderful, especially the elongated, bumpy vegetable.  Og sometimes fights the hostile creatures when the good creatures need help.  But mostly Og wants to go home.

[ Kinship ] The Arrival of Fred the Nerd

Fred clutched his backpack close to his chest. Riding the subway late Saturday night, after spending the day at the NYC Comicon, he was still feeling the high of the con. It had been a great day. He managed to fill some holes in his comic book collection, got a couple of autographed photos, and picked up a copy of an out of print RPG he had been looking for. The only other person on the subway car was a scruffy looking man, who was asleep.

Then the lights went out, and suddenly Fred knew someone was standing before him.

It became cold, and Fred shivered. Then the lights came back on, and standing before him was a person in black robes. A very tall person. At first Fred thought the person was in costume, and had been at the con. However, Fred suddenly knew that wasn't the case.

The robed figure lowered his head toward the seated Fred. The face was pale, bony to the point of looking almost completely skeletal. Inches from his own face, Fred saw the glowing eyes, and then the face grinned.  As the lips curled back, Fred saw teeth as black as obsidian, and pointed as a sharks.  Ironically it's breath smelled of grass after a Spring rain.

Then in a voice raspy as sandpaper on rusted metal, the figure spoke...

"You are now free..."

Raising an arm, the monstrous figure grasped Fred's shoulder, a cold shock shuddering through out Fred's body. Peace came with the darkness, and the last thing Fred heard was a melodical laugh.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Fred woke up. Looking around he appeared to be in an alley, but it was daytime. Sitting up, he sees graffiti on a brick wall...

Spray painted in red it read: Kinship NO WAY OUT!

Fred the Nerd knew he wasn't in New York City anymore...

Fred the Nerd  ( GURPS 4E NPC )

Fred the Nerd [ 55 Points ] 45 Unspent Points

Age: 19  5'1" 110 lbs.  Skinny [ -5 ]

ST 9 [-10], DX 11 [20], IQ 12 [40], HT 10
HP 9, Will 12, Per 12, FP 10

Basic Lift 16, Damage: Thr 1d-2/Sw 1d-1;
Basic Speed 5, Basic Move 5;
Dodge 7, Parry 8 ( unarmed ), Block -;
DR 0.

Advantages and Perks
Common Sense [ 10 ], Eidetic Memory [ 5 ], Luck [ 15 ]

Disadvantages and Quirks
Combat Paralysis [ -15 ], Collects Comic Books [ -1 ], Collects Action Figures [ -1 ], Curious [ -5 ], Gullibility [ -10 ], Imaginative [ -1 ], Loner [ -5 ],
Minor Addiction/Caffeine [ -1 ], Trekkie [ -1 ] Weirdness Magnet [ -15 ]

Skills
Area Knowledge/New York City - 13 [ 2 ],
Artist/Drawing - 13 [ 8 ],
Biology - 10 [ 1 ], Chemistry - 11 [ 2 ],
Computer Operation/TL8 - 16 [ 8 ],
Games/RPGs - 14 [ 4 ], Hobby Skill/Comic Books - 14 [ 4 ],
Hobby Skill/Science Fiction - 14 [ 4 ],
Writing -12 [ 2 ]

Possessions
Backpack: laptop computer, digital camera, jar of peanut butter, spoon, 3 issues of Uncanny X-Men 101, 102, 103 ( all near mint ), sketch pad, small box of drawing pencils and pens, GURPS Basic Set 3E softcover, bag of dice, cell phone

He's wearing faded jeans, and a Captain America t-shirt.  The con badge is still hanging around his neck.  He has a wallet with about $10, some loose change, keys, and a pack of gum in his pockets.  He's wearing some inexpensive atheltic shoes.

Poor Fred the Nerd is now in Kinship due to the manifestation of his Weirdness Magnet.  He's not a combat orientated character, and it will remain to be seen if he becomes zombie chow or worse.  He does have unspent points ( I decided he was a 100 point character ) so once the Sheriff assigns Fred a weapon he can begin training.  His combat paralysis may very will be his doom however...

Fred the Nerd is the first GURPS 4E character I have made.  It was fun, and not that different than GURPS 3E. I'm a bit rusty so hopefully there are no mistakes.

[ Kinship ] Vanilla Pudding to Go

Entering Jelly's Cafe, Five saw Tom Solven sitting at the counter eating vanilla pudding.  Jelly's had the best vanilla pudding, except for the time it came to life, and grew to gigantic proportions, and then went on a rampage.  Well, it was still good, but no one can eat that much vanilla pudding, not even Matt.  The town stunk of vanilla pudding for weeks.  The Sheriff requested that Cook not use that recipe again.  Not that it mattered much, people were put off pudding for a long time after that incident.

Sitting next to the diminutive man, he opened his notebook, and smiled as he saw Tom look over at him.

"Exactly why do you do this Five?  Asking everyone who will answer you so many questions?  You fancy yourself the town historian?"  Tom popped his neck, and squinted at his pudding.  "I still don't trust this stuff..."

Five gently probed Tom's mind, but meet with resistance.  A deep growl came from Tom.

"That makes my brain itch.  Stop.  I'll answer your questions."  He pushed the bowl of pudding away.  "I swear this stuff still grows.  I never seem to empty a bowl.  No wonder it's all you can eat."

Looking over his list of questions, a feeling of unease crept into Five's very being.  Shuddering he put down his pen.  Something was wrong.

"So Five you going to the movies tonight?  I hear it's supposed to be a new movie...  Wait what's wrong?"

Five noticed that Tom was sniffing the air, moving his head side to side.

"Zombies... lot's and lot's zombies..."  Jumping off the stool, Tom's transformation was incredibly fast.  One second he was a normal looking midget, the next he was midget werewolf.

Standing up, Five looked through the large front windows of Jelly's Cafe.  Main Street was filled with zombies, more than he had ever seen before.  This was bad.

"Five, I'll go out first, you follow me.  We need to make it to the Sheriff's office.  Something's wrong.  This many zombies shouldn't have made it into town without the alarm going off."  Turning to the rest of the cafe's customers, he noticed most weren't a part of the defense force.  "Everyone else should stay here, unless you're a member of the defense force, and armed.  You will be safe in here."

Tom turned back to Five.  "Try to stay near, I'll clear a path.  Let's go!"

Pulling out his Bowie knife, Five took a deep breathe, and a chill ran down his spine.  He never liked combat, but when he had to fight, he could fight.  Zombies were the worst.  He couldn't read them at all.  Their minds were blank.

With a howl and a leap, Tom, or Snarl, as many of the people called him, was out the door, and in seconds had already beheaded four zombies with a mere slash of his long claws.

Pausing before exiting the cafe, Five sent a mental message to his Clan.  The town was going to need help.  Then he was out the door, slashing out with the knife as the first zombie lurched towards him.  Somewhere down Main Street there was an explosion.  Everything seemed to rumble.  Then he was on the ground, momentarily stunned.  Shaking his head, his ears ringing, he saw the zombie looming over him, a black ooze dripping from a half rotted nostril, and staining what was once a very nice Superman t-shirt.  Five was wishing he had ordered some of the pudding when he had the chance.

Suddenly the zombie was headless, as Snarl came to his rescue.  "COME ON!"  Getting to his feet, Five saw something large and black swooping out of the darkening sky, and straight towards Snarl...

[ Kinship ] Saturday Night

Mac, sitting in a lawn chair, watched as the basilisk sizzled on the barbeque.  He had shot the six legged lizard earlier in the afternoon when it tried to claw it's way into one of the rooms.  Basilisks were dangerous,  one bite, and your flesh quickly calcified, turning into solid bone.  Now it was his dinner.  They were delicious.  Luckily he knew how to remove the poison glands.  He figured he would give them to Dr. Trance, or maybe one of the professors at the college.

The modest patio area he had built beside the office suited him.  A picnic table, the brick barbeque, and the awning he had scavenged from the outskirts of Shadowvale, gave him a nice place to relax.  Perhaps he should consider inviting some people from Kinship for a barbeque?  Sometimes it got lonely out on the highway.

Monkey, jumping up on the table, shrieking and waving his little arms around, startled Mac.

"What the heck are you doing Monkey?"

Monkey stopped and pointed in the direction of Shadowvale.

Standing up, Mac shaded his eyes, looking down the highway.  He saw a dark cloud that was coming his way.

"What the? Could be trouble Monkey..."  Monkey shrieked again.  Looking down, Mac saw Monkey had a pair of binoculars.  "Ah good work."

Mac looked through the binocs toward the cloud.  Demon bats.  Mac had never seen so many together before.  They never swarmed in such large numbers.  Something was up.

"Come on Monkey, lets get inside... I need to radio the sheriff.  Looks like this barbeque has been canceled.  We don't want to be outside if the swarm comes our way."

***

Switching on the mic, Locke picked up the notice Three had dropped off earlier in the day.  It was a birth announcement.

"All right!  Great news people.  Three and Eight are glad to announce the birth of their twin daughters.  In fact, they are co-joined twins.  I have been informed that co-joined twins in the number clan's culture are held in high regard.  The daughter's have been named... Eleven.  And now more great music courtesy of The Doors!  I hope everyone is having a great Saturday night.  This is Mr. Sniggles at KZAN, all Doors, all the time!"

Locke lowered the stylus on the record.  He puffed on his pipe, savoring the taste of his precious tobacco.  Suddenly, he heard the voice of Mac coming over his ham radio.

"Locke!  Big trouble coming your way!  A swarm of demon bats.  Some are headed my way, but they won't be able to get into the office so I'm okay.  Just wanted to warn you.  I've already contacted the sheriff..."

Keying the mic for the ham radio, Locke mumbled his response. "A swarm?  They don't swarm..."

"Well they are now, and they are moving fast.  I'm signing off... need to make sure everything is secured."

Locke set his pipe down.  "Umm thanks... stay safe."  Looking at the clock, he saw it was almost 8 P.M.  Standing up he walked over to the window, it was getting dark.  KZAN's  studio was on the second floor of the Kinship town hall.  He looked down on Main Street, and what he saw chilled him to the bone.  There were zombies.  More than he had ever seen before. And then he noticed other things, moving much faster than zombies ever did.  How had they gotten into town without the alarm being sounded?

He needed to alert everyone.  He walked back and grabbed the mic, and was about to sound the alarm when he was startled by a loud thud.  Turning towards the sound, he saw the demon bat trying to claw it's way through the window.

"You ain't getting inside here!"  Well, Locke hoped the protective wards would hold up.  He slid the volume up on his broadcast mic, and lowered the volume on the turn-table.

"Okay listen up people.  This is a RED ALERT!  We have a major zombie infiltration, as well as demon bats, and other unknowns.  All able body members of the defense force need to get armed and armored.  This is going to be a bad one.  I repeat this is a RED ALERT!  If you're not a combatant get to a safe place.  I'll be signing off for now, Mr. Sniggles is coming out to play!"

He ran to his office, and within five minutes he had his armor on, and all his web gear.  His trusty Thompson was strung over his shoulder,  and he grabbed his 12 guage Mossberg shotgun.   Then he placed his necklace of protective charms around his neck.  The last thing he did was light a cigar.  A very fine cigar from Cuba.  Very hard to get, especially in Kinship.  It tasted great and very handy to light sticks of dynamite.  He inhaled and then blew a line of smoke rings.

Running down the stairs, he paused at the door, and chambered a round into the shotgun.  Then he heard the town's sirens going off.

"About time!"  Locke kicked open the door, and stepped out, firing at the first group of zombies he saw.  "Yup, just another Saturday night in Kinship..."

the Kinship Klan

I mentioned this a couple of posts back, but I thought I would mention it again.  If you would like an advance copy of he Town of Kinship Book, then here's your chance.  I'm going to create a special edition for playtesters and proofreaders.  You'll receive two copies.  One to mark up, write notes in telling me what sucks, etc., and a copy to keep.  This is going to be a limited offer.  The books really aren't 'free'; I'll want some feedback from you.  So let me know if you are interested.  I'll need your snail mail address.

This won't be anything fancy, just a black and white book, with whatever cheap binding I can get at the print shop.   Everyone who play-tests and proofreads it will get credit in the book.

Also if you are an aspiring artist, and would like to get involved let me know.  There's no budget as of now, but that may change.  At the very least you also get copies of the book, and of course credit, and my eternal praise.

[ Kinship ] Room Four

Leaving the motel office, she walked towards Room Four.  She had decided to leave her car parked in front of the office, but thought maybe she had better keep it close.

As she was pulling in front of room four, there was a burst of static on the radio. and then a voice was calling her name.

"Suuuuzzzy...Suzzzy...Suzzy Roberts..."

Now she was hearing things.  Sleep was badly needed.  She shut off the car, and grabbed her bag, and put the pistol inside.  At this point she wasn't concerned about the file, and didn't really feel like lugging the box into the room.

She stood by her car, and scoped out the motel.  It was small; it only had six rooms.  It had seen better days.  Describing it as shabby would be a compliment.  The door to room one was boarded up, and so was the window.  There was a small alcove between rooms three and four that had the vending machines.  She would visit them after she was settled, if she could stay awake.

Stepping inside the room, she felt for the light switch.  It sputtered on, and out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a dark figure.  She jumped, and fumbled for her pistol.  Her eyes adjusted, and she saw it had to have been her own shadow.

Tossing the bag on the bed, she sat down on the edge.  The room wasn't luxurious, but it wasn't too bad.  Then she noticed the lamp on the night stand.  It was a Lava Lamp, but it wasn't on, and after trying to turn it on she noticed it wasn't plugged in.  How odd.

***

The stupid monkey was still shrieking, and banging away on the cymbals.  Mac hated the dang monkey.  Mac hated the fact that he was out of booze and cigarettes.  Mac hated his job, well, sometimes he hated his job.  It was usually so slow he didn't have much to do, so he could indulge in his hobbies.

He set down the microphone and turned off his "radio".  Sometimes he liked to spook the guests.  Sometimes more than just spook them.  He liked to scare the hell out of them.  The new guest, Suzy, he had initially liked, but he didn't like how she doubted him.  It was a picture of Elvis!  Mac liked Elvis.  He hoped he would stop by for a visit soon.

Mac heard the beads rattle, and saw the monkey walking into the room.  "Oh you changed back to normal?"  He saw the monkey pull a cig out of nowhere.  It was already lit.  Monkey took a puff, and jumped up on to the desk.  "Hey, can you give me one of those?"  Monkey handed over the cigarette.  "Thanks, and thanks for letting me know what her name is.  I wonder if she is any good with her pistol?"  Monkey shrugged and summoned another cigarette.

***

Suzy had never heard the sort of sounds that were coming out of the machines in the alcove.  When she first walked into the small area all the sounds stopped for a few minutes.  Then they started up again.  The soda machine started first.  It went, "Thrung, thrung, thrung... vresh.  Thrung, thrung, thrung... vresh..."  The snack machine was even weirder.  "Snee vuk, snee vuk..."  The ice machine was mostly silent, except for the occasional, "Hrung. phut..."

The selections in the machines were odd.  She had never heard of a Veckers Candy Bar before, or Snweebo Soda.  She went back to her room without buying anything.  On a whim she plugged the Lava Lamp in, and turned it on.  Laying down on the bed, she fell fast asleep quickly.

As the lamp heated the wax in the Lava Lamp, it started rising and falling, then the globs started clumping together and took a somewhat human form...

To be continued...?

Breaking It Down

I was reading a post over at B/X Blackrazor about the inherent objectives, or lack-thereof, in role-playing games.  I'm not really sure if games/rule-sets need over all, "meta-objectives", but  it got me thinking about Kinship.  Of course Kinship is a setting, and not a game/rule set, but I've really have been doing a lot of thinking about this very thing.  I've also worried about the fact that I've deviated from my initial design concept, and it's kind of slowed down Kinship's development.

The town of Kinship, and it's surroundings are a setting.  Once a character is there, there really is no quantifiable objective, aside from day to day survival.  It really is up to the player to define their character, and their personal objectives, missions, or goals.  That's the way it should be.  The player can seek assistance from the game master for ideas, but in the end they have to make their own choices.  Of course the GM will throw some missions their way in the form of  conflict and adventures.  We all know there are character goals/objectives, and the game's goals/objectives.  Sometimes they coincide and sometimes they don't.

My initial design concept for Kinship was a cursed town.  A town where it's inhabitants are cursed never to leave, and forever cut off from the rest of the world.  Sometimes people end up there by accident or design, and they can also occasionally escape.

However, it has now kind of morphed into not only a cursed town, but a town that's "somewhere else".  Kinship is now only accessed via the "Road".  An inter-dimensional  highway of sorts.   Which concept is better?  Both ideas have merit, and their pros and cons.  I could run it either way, and have fun with it.

This being said, I think Kinship could have a "meta-objective".  That being returning the town to normal.  This could be done by breaking the gypsy's curse, or?  In, The Town of Kinship book, I may very well cover both ideas.  I want the book to be a bolt of cloth that GMs cut up to make their campaign quilt.

the Kinship Klan

Once I get the first rough draft of the book done, I will want some proofreaders/play-testers.  If you are interested please send me a message via email to zanazaz at yahoo dot com.  The Kinship Klan is going to be limited to about ten people ( or maybe more... ), and these ten people will get a limited edition proofreaders/play-testers copy of the book.  Actually, you will get two copies; one to mark up with corrections, criticisms, etc., and one to keep.  As of now, I  have NO deadline for finishing the rough draft, but I am aiming for the first of the year.  Of course it will also be available as a PDF.  I've got a lot of work to do, but as of now this is my main project.

[ Kinship ] The Snooze Motel

The crunch of gravel under her tires signaled her arrival at the Snooze Motel.  She parked in front of the office, and sat for a few minutes.  She elected to leave the pistol and file in the car.

The motel office was separate building from the rest of the motel.  She walked in, and glanced around.  No one was at the counter, and she saw an opening right behind it covered in  beads.  There were a few things sitting on the counter, one of them being a toy monkey.  She remembered one of her friends had one when she was a kid.  It was animated and would bang it's cymbals together, and shriek.  Even as an adult the thing sort of gave her the creeps.

As she took another step closer the monkey started up, banging and shrieking.  It startled her, and then she realized it must be a modern version that was motion activated.  She then heard a voice that came from behind the beads...

"Be right there in a few minutes..."

Looking around, her natural and reporter driven curiosity  took over, and she walked into the small lobby area.  It had a shabby looking couch and one of those big wooden spools as a table.  On the spool was a bushel basket filled with snack cakes.  It had a sign taped to it that read, Continental Breakfast.

Above the couch was a velvet painting.  Looking closer, it looked like some kind of warrior fighting zombies.  Then she noticed the warrior had a distinct resemblance to Elvis.  To her left there was a paper poster tacked to the dingy wall.  It showed a kitten hanging by it's claws from a tree limb, and the phrase. 'Hang In There, Baby.' was underneath it.

On the wall opposite the dangling kitty poster were, after closer inspection, what looked like pages straight out of daVinci's notebook.  These were also pinned to the wall.  She ran her fingers gently across the paper's surface?  Parchment?  It felt old.

She heard someone walk through the beads, and turned around.  The monkey was still banging it's cymbals and shrieking, and the man tossed it under the counter.

"So miss, how can I help you?"

The man was wearing denim overalls, and a t-shirt.  She took the six steps back to the counter, and noticed the cork bulletin board covered in Polaroids right by the opening.  One was a photo of a triceratops with a very large man riding it.  Another was a group of zombies?

"Miss?"  She turned her head back toward the man.  "I need a room for the night, and I need to know where I am..."

"Well... might be better if you kept on till you get to Kinship.  It's not much further..."

She shook her head. "No, I'm exhausted..."  She steadied herself on the counter feeling faint.

'Well I guess you'll be safe for one night."  He pulled a key out of a drawer.  "Here yah go miss.  Room four.  Once it gets dark, bolt the door, and don't open it till daylight.  The phone don't work, and even if it does ring don't answer it. There's no television in the room.  If you got a gun keep it close..."

"Wait... what?  Don't answer the phone that doesn't work?"

The man shrugged.  "The more I talk the more questions you'll have.  I wish you would just drive on...  just be sure you don't take the exit to Shadowvale... that would be bad."

It was too much.  She took the key from the man.  "How much for the night?"

"Uuuummm... I don't suppose you have a bottle of Jack, or mebbe..."  The man scratched the stubble on his chin.  She heard the monkey still banging and shrieking under the counter.

"No in fact I need some food myself.  Anywhere I can eat?"

"Not anywhere close.  Well, in Kinship... okay it'll be twenty five for the room.  There are vending machines beside the ice machine between rooms three and four."

She looked at the photos again, and pointed at them.  "What about those?  Those from a movie set or something?"  Despite being exhausted, her reporter's curiosity was in overdrive.  She had to know.

The man chuckled.  "Or something..."  He pulled one down, and handed it to her.  She looked at it, and then at the velvet painting, and then back at the Polaroid.  It was a photo of Elvis in the same outfit, some kind of armor, and carrying a sword.  But he was in front of a building, and there were other people beside him. One of the other people only had one large eye.  At the bottom was a signature.  Elvis.  "This can't be real?  No way..."

The man looked hurt.  He took back the photo, and sniffed, and shrugged.  "Believe what you want...  you'll find out soon enough.  Remember what I said... I probably won't be around in the morning.  So just head on out."  Then he walked back through the beads.  She hadn't even gotten his name.

As she left the office the monkey was still banging and shrieking...

To be continued...

[ Kinship ] the Snooze

Driving and driving.  She felt like she had been driving forever.  Lost.  She felt so lost.  Literally and figuratively.  Looking in the rear view mirror she knew there wasn't anyone... or anything following her.  Well she hoped that was the case.   She barely recognized herself.  No sleep in at least two days was starting to wear her down.  She needed rest.

The GPS wasn't working, and neither was the radio.  All that came over the speakers was static, but was it just static?  It was really grating on her nerves.  She turned off the radio.

She had left New York City with a Thermos of coffee, a dozen glazed donuts, the "file", and a bag of clothes.  Oh and the pistol, a parting gift from her father.  It was sitting on the "file" right beside her as if it would protect her and the "file".

Not sure of her whereabouts, she shook her head groggily.  An hour ago she had passed through a desert.  A desert?  She knew any desert should be hundreds, if not thousands of miles away.  She must be losing her mind.  She needed coffee, but had long since finished it off along with the glazed donuts.

Odd, she hadn't seen any other cars on the highway in a long time.  She really hadn't seen anything else either.  No gas stations, convenience stores, or even signs.  No signs of civilization, and right now she needed civilization.  She needed sleep, and it was getting late.

She was regretting that she started the "file".  As a crime reporter, she had discovered a series of disappearances that were being covered up.  At first she thought it was some kind of conspiracy, but the more she investigated the stranger things became.  However, she was tenacious in pursuing the story, and kept meticulous notes.  Taped interviews with the people who would talk.  People, who after talking to her, ended up disappearing as well.  She had hundreds of photographs, and the negatives.  She was old school.  No fancy digital cameras for her.  She didn't really trust them.

When she first submitted her story, her editor rejected the story.  She tried again, and then went over his head.  Then she was fired.  Her apartment had been broken into.  Her friends started avoiding her.

She knew she was being followed.  Watched at all hours of the day.  She went to the police but they wouldn't listen.  Then she went into hiding, but she still felt watched.  Finally, desperate, she went to her father, and showed him the "file".

An hour later, he closed one of the may folders, and set it back in the box.  He picked up his phone, and dialed a number.  She heard it ring three times, and someone answered.

"Mister Jones,  my daughter has a problem...  okay..."  He handed the phone to her.  She listened as Mister Jones gave her instructions.  Apparently, he worked for some group called Orb?   The Occult Research Bureau.  He told her to go to Dallas, and she would be contacted after she arrived.  Well, he actually said, "if you arrive..."

Her father then gave her the pistol, a .45 caliber automatic pistol, and an extra clip, and a box of ammo.  He also gave her a wad of cash he pulled out of a safe.  His last words to her were, "Good luck...".

It had only been a few hours since she left her father's house, but it seemed like a lifetime.

She nodded off and swerved into the other lane.  Jerking awake, she slowed down, and pulled off onto the side of the highway.  Getting out of the car to stretch she wondered where she was?  The landscape seemed strange.  The plants looked odd, like some kind of bizarre cactus.  There was also a weird smell.  A very weird smell.

Then there was the lizard.  A large lizard... with six legs, coming towards her.  Oh great, now she was going nuts.  She was hallucinating.  Then the ground started to shake.  She quickly got back in her car, and drove off.  A few miles later she saw a sign.  A sign for a motel.  The Snooze Motel.  Finally, she could get some rest...

To be continued...

[ Kinship ] They Call It Matt

Jiosh watched as tentacles were slithering out of storm drains, and out from under manhole covers.  Earlier in the evening there had been a huge infestation of zombies, probably close to 50.  Most of the remains of the zeds were littering Main Street and the Town Square.  The Kinship Defense Force had made short work of them.  Jiosh had killed 10 himself, giving him the number one spot on the zombie killing leader board.  However, he was only two ahead of the Sheriff.

Pulling out a clove cigarette, he lit it with his "new" Zippo lighter.  A wonder of technology!  Jiosh was amazed at how well it worked, well, as long as the flint was good, and it still had lighter fluid.  He sat down at his usual perch on ledge around the clock tower, and watched the tentacles work.

Some were similar to octopus tentacles complete with suckers that pulled zombie parts down under the street.  Others seems to have sharp, crab-like claws that chopped apart the larger parts.  Some seemed to have "mouths" that punctured the zombie bodies, and sucked out the insides.  Matt, as the children of Kinship had named it, was good at cleaning up zombies.  It really saved the townsfolk a lot of work.  There usually wasn't a drop of goo or a bit of gore left.

Jiosh laughed out loud at it's name, Matt, which stood for, Many Awesomely Tentacled Thing.  Upon the initial discovery of Matt, many of the people in Kinship were worried it was a threat.  However, they soon discovered that Matt rarely ate living things, aside from the occasional rat.  So it was left alone.

As Jiosh watched the tentacles work, he was startled when a large tentacle rose in front of him.  It ended in a large eye.  Shocked at the appearance of the tentacle, he started to draw his sword, but another tentacle came up beside the other, and it held something.

Jiosh gasped.  It was an amulet he had lost months ago.  How had Matt known it was his?  He held out his hand, and the tentacle placed it in his grasp.  The eye did sort of a nodding movement, and lowered back down.  Jiosh looked down and yelled, "THANKS!", wondering if hearing was one of it's senses.  He also wondered if it was intelligent?  He would tell the Sheriff what had happened tomorrow.  Jiosh looked up at the star filled sky, and pondered the mystery that was Kinship.

[ Kinship ] I am not an elf!

Jiosh-lo-hrun sat in his favorite booth in Jelly's Cafe, and lit a clove cigarette.  Staring at Five, he blew smoke in the odd man's direction.  Five didn't react.  This was the first time Jiosh had seen one of the Numbers Clan up close.  They were a reclusive group.  It was called the Numbers Clan because each member had a number tattooed on their foreheads.  Suddenly, the back of his neck tingled, and he shuddered.

"I don't like mind-speak.  Talk."  He set the cigarette in the ashtray, and poked at his salad.  Five shrugged, and held his hands palms up.  "Oh you can't speak?  Well... okay, what is it you want?"

Five pulled out a spiral notebook, and a pen.

"Questions?  you want to ask me questions?"  Five smiled and opened the notebook.  "Fine...whatever..."

Munching a slice of tomato, Jiosh grimaced.  "No, I am not an elf!"  Five winced.  "Oh sorry, I guess I thought too loud. Heh... Well, I am not from your world, oh wait, are you from the world that many here call home?  The Earth? Anyway, I am not what you would call an elf."

Taking a puff from his cig, Jiosh noticed that Five had an Uzi sitting on the seat beside him.  Nice weapon, but not too effective when fighting zombies.  He patted the sword on the table.  "This is what you need for zombies.  I can take the head clean off in one swipe."

Five, writing in his notebook, stopped, and set down his pen.  He reached behind his back and pulled out a big knife.  Jiosh had seen one like it before in the sheriff's office.  It was called a Bowie knife.

"Okay, back to your questions.  Like I said I am not an elf, I am not from Earth, I do not like it here, I don't know how I got here, this whole place seems wrong... what?  Oh, I'm almost seven feet tall.  Yes, I have pointy ears, but that doesn't make me an elf!"

Jiosh saw Five silently laughing.  "Keep it up, and I won't answer any more of your questions.  Got it?"  Five nodded.

"Oh, how did I get here?  I came through the forest.  I was in a huge battle, and things were getting bad.  I had to make a strategic withdrawal, and was pursued by a Xuctar.  What's a Xuctar?  I guess the best way to describe it in your language is... well, it's a freaking huge red magical spider."

Jiosh saw the look on Five's face, and it was his turn to laugh.  "Yes, a giant spider.  I was running fast, and when I realized I had escaped the Xuctar, I also realized I was in a strange forest.  I walked for a while, and soon found myself here... in this... town."

Five nodded, quickly taking notes.  Jiosh couldn't read the writing.  He knew it wasn't English.  In fact Jiosh realized that Five had used his native language when mind-speaking with him.  Maybe the Numbers Clan didn't speak English?  Whatever the case, mind-speaking was giving him a headache.

"Well, I really need to get back to my post.  Wandering zombies won't kill themselves... well not usually."  He finished his salad, and picked up his sword.  "I've got to go, yeah, we can continue this later."

***

This forest was dangerous... different... delicious... much prey... As soon as the female Xuctar laid the last of her eggs, she would molt one last time, and the hunt for the pale one would continue.  She knew the pale one was close, and there were others... food which her offspring would need, otherwise they would turn on each other.

This was her last hunt, but her offspring would continue her legacy.

[Kinship] Mapping a Strange Place

Creating a map for a campaign is fairly easy, whether it's a city, dungeon, or a continent.  I usually start with a rough sketch, and work from there to a finished map.  Mapping the Town of Kinship is turning out to be a somewhat difficult endeavor.  Not the act of mapping, just deciding what to include. I want to keep the area map fairly simple.  The map of the town will have more detail.  Here's my first rough sketch...

I like the basic layout, but I will probably change a few things, add a few more locations, and add details.  I think I will have both a color and a black and white version.

I haven't decided on a scale yet, probably one inch equals a mile.

Kinship exists outside of the normal world.  It appears to be a small town in the USA, but it doesn't appear on any map of the USA, nor does it's evil sister town of Shadowvale.  Where is it exactly? Well, that's one thing I haven't entirely decided.  Perhaps it's in a small pocket dimension, or something similar.

I've still got many ideas for Kinship I need to capture, but the area map is a major goal for me.  I'll be working on it more tonight, and hopefully decide on a style.

[ NEWS ] The Heat Goes On...

I like ice tea, and due to the heat I've been drinking it non-stop.  However, the other day I got a little sick of it, and switched to Dr. Pepper.  That was a mistake, or rather the mistake wasn't drinking enough water.  So after doing some yard work for my dad, and walking to the bookstore, I became a bit dehydrated, well more than a bit.  I was drinking water, but this energy draining, death dealing heat is BRUTAL.  So I've been down for the count for a couple of days.  Feeling better, but I think I need to drink more water, and not walk for miles when it's 108 degrees outside.

My weekend will hopefully be busy, so probably no blog posts.  I'm hoping I can make to a barbecue and visit with friends I haven't seen in a couple of years.  That would be nice.  There's also a web comic convention in Dallas tomorrow that I may try to attend.

I've been thinking about the map done for the Town of Kinship.  Still trying to wrap my head around what I want it to be like.  I think I only need two or three maps, one of the surrounding area, and the town itself.  I've already decided on a sequel called, The Citizens of Kinship, which will go into much more detail about the people that live there.  I'll probably include stat blocks as well.

Are there any up and coming artists that would like to submit some work for The Town of Kinship?  I don't need that much, and I plan on doing some of my own.  I just feel that some variety would be nice.  I can only promise a copy of the book as compensation ( right now, things can always change ), as well as credit of course.

I can't believe I'm writing this, but I am so looking forward to Winter!