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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Bra
http://bbrathwaite.wordpress.com/
I won't go into the exact details and bore you, gentle reader, but after the lecture...I've got some ideas, not just for game writing but for something entirely new to me. Stay tuned.
- Mood:accomplished
Earlier this week, Dave Arneson, co-creator of D&D and, more compellingly, leveled up and went to the Great GM's Table in the Sky. Like as not, you've seen the cartoon over on Order of the Stick - and if you haven't, go there now - and maybe read Bruce Baugh's and Ken Hite's incredible and moving eulogies.
But let me tell you about me and Dave.
I never met the man; hell, I didn't even really know who he was until about 10 years ago. But I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that he's one of the most influential people in my life. When I heard he was ill, it was like a physical blow - so soon after the other founder of my beloved hobby, Gary Gygax, passed on. And 61? Bloody hell. I am not too proud to say that thinking on that cracks my hard heart and brings tears to my eyes. Beloved members of my family, such as it is, have passed on, and that weighs heavily on me.
Y'see, I spent pretty much the entirety of my teenage and all of my adult years to date gaming. My longest-running campaign went on for 13 years. Right now, I'm in 3 games and GMing two others. Gaming has brought me the love of my life, my best friends, and a majillion hours of entertainment. Gaming's informed my writing, my attitudes towards things, so many things. I am a true and dyed-in-the-wool gaming geek. I love my hobby, and so far it's returned my pursuit of it in ways I can't easily describe.
The history of gaming parallels the story of my life. And now part of that history is history. So, Godspeed, Dave. You'll be missed. And thank you.
- Mood:
melancholy
I cannot even look at this thing right now. The excerpts in this thread have me too pissed off already.
Fuck you, Dobson, you blaspheming piece of shit. You are a liar and a fearmonger and a wretched little man twisted by hate and horror of the Other. You are a made-up corpse, a white-washed charnel house, the spawn of serpents, a misleader of children for whom a millstone around the neck would be a mercy. You are an actor with a mask to make you seem fearsome and elevated shoes to make you seem grand. You are a hog trampling pearls into the muck, a rotted wineskin that would burst apart were it ever filled. You've made the House of Prayer into a den of thieves and whores and petty tyrants, and your back cries out for a lashing. You, personally, have done grievous harm to the Gospel of Christ, spattering the teaching of ultimate Love with a tarnish of hate and fear and naked ambition. Be damned to you, and your true master the Lord of Flies.
Fuck you, Dobson, you blaspheming piece of shit. You are a liar and a fearmonger and a wretched little man twisted by hate and horror of the Other. You are a made-up corpse, a white-washed charnel house, the spawn of serpents, a misleader of children for whom a millstone around the neck would be a mercy. You are an actor with a mask to make you seem fearsome and elevated shoes to make you seem grand. You are a hog trampling pearls into the muck, a rotted wineskin that would burst apart were it ever filled. You've made the House of Prayer into a den of thieves and whores and petty tyrants, and your back cries out for a lashing. You, personally, have done grievous harm to the Gospel of Christ, spattering the teaching of ultimate Love with a tarnish of hate and fear and naked ambition. Be damned to you, and your true master the Lord of Flies.
That, Constant Reader, is true righteous wrath. I mean, man. That's a scourging of the moneylenders in the Temple right there. That's Kung-Fu Jesus. In short, awesome.
And now, a cartoon:
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- Mood:
cheerful
*On the biz front - things are a bit stalled/slowed with PZP, due to a multitude of factors. CnC's going to require a major respin due to delays (mostly my fault, and the Day Job), but it's coming right after Catacombs, which is finally in layout. We're going to be expanding our support line beyond Superlink - MongTrav, Savage Worlds, True20, maybe some digital stuff. The meeting tomorrow's going to be a lot of that.
*On the personal front, things are actually going pretty well - I've managed to reconnect with an old friend from college, who's living up in Portland now (hi, David!), the job is going well (though getting respect for what I do is a new and not entirely comfortable sensation), and the birthday is coming up. I'm thinking post-apocalyptic for the party, with crappy '80s-style After the Bombpocalypse movies as entertainment. And on that note...
*Presents! I certainly don't require material goods, but I like 'em. Right now, I'm angling for a few things:
Fallout 3 - latest heir to the venerable franchise, I've been waiting for this one.
Dead Space - another game, with a backstory by Warren Ellis
Hot War/Cold City - A couple of swell indie games from Malcolm Craig over at Contested Ground Studios
Hunter: the Vigil - This mostly 'cause my Global Frequency players are asking for some horror
More later.
Huh.
In other news, product dates for Catacombs and CnC #2 have slipped some, but they're coming out in August, likely along with our first True20 product, Way of the Gun and maybe, just maybe, a really cool surprise for you, Constant Reader.
- Mood:accomplished
anxious1) There's two publishers in the pipe that have eschewed the WotC GSL in favor of...something else entirely:
http://gmskarka.livejournal.com/419
Gareth is one of the, if not the, big names in PDF publishing, and KenzerCo isn't small potatoes either. Should be interesting to see how this shakes out.
2) Catacombs of Mistress Hecate is almost done, and the final writing stuff for Capes and Crooks! #2 is nearing its completion. I know there's a lot of folks out there wondering where CnC! is - well, I'm the hold up. Terra Transformed has really blown up in my head, this crazy mix of superheroes, disaster films and Thundarr the Barbarian, and it's looking like we're going to have to split the setting into two issues. Likely, if interest is there, we'll also be releasing it as a stand-alone.
Stay tuned.
- Mood:
contemplative
Interested parties should direct inquiries to pzp@protocolzero.com
( It's a Cold Future out there... )
- Mood: chipper
- Music:"Save Yourself" - Stabbing Westward
1000 years after Earth's greatest heroes and villains have fallen in battle against the cosmic menace known only as the Primortal, civilizations struggles to rebuild. In the skies, the moon hangs shattered, its mother planet ringed with lunar debris, Luna's surface marred by the armored remains of its destroyer...and below, Earth is a frozen, desolate place, ruled over by tyrants and sorcerers, transformed by the evolutionary energies of the Primortal!
But where there is life, there is hope...and the dawn of a new age of heroes is about to begin when a young boy and his faithful companion discover a secret buried beneath the ice, a secret that will change the course of history again for Nu-Earth!
This mini-setting will introduce Nu-Earth. Ravaged by an ancient war, Nu-Earth struggles to not only survive, but rebuild...and defeat the descendants of supervillains that survived the catastrophe! Leading the fight against evil is Rangorr, the New Thunderer...but what legend will your heroes carve from the unforgiving wasteland of...Terra Transformed?
"It's finally ready!"
Capes and Crooks! #1 is available now through Your Games Now. Issue #1 clocks in at 38 pages (including OGL) and retails for $5.95.
Each exciting issue of Capes and Crooks! gives GMs and players new characters, vehicles, places to throw down and adventures for their M&M 2e campaigns, along with words from the authors, sneak previews of upcoming products from PZP, Ninja Cow and other Superlink publishers and more!
Table of Contents:
Introductions
The Splash Page: 3
Opening Night: 4
Pinnacle City Chronicles: 5
SMASH-Ups: Planet of Blood: 8
WAR MACHINES: 9
Martian Vampires: 9
Martian War Machine (Vehicle): 10
FLIERS: 10
Martian Flier (Vehicle): 11
HUMAN VAMPIRES: 11
Human Vampires: 11
OPTIONS: 12
PLOT SEEDS: 12
WANTED: Macabre!: 14
Macabre: 17
The Good Fight: The Shield: 18
The Shield: 20
Fight Zone: Potter’s Field: 21
Areas of Interest: 21
Stone Gargoyles: 23
Stone Angels: 24
Plot Seeds: 24
Don McCoy: 25
Adventure - Bad Candy: 26
Summary: 26
Set Up: 26
Barking Up the Wrong Tree: 26
It’s A Bum Rap!: 27
Broken Toys: 27
Goblinized Children: 30
Welcome To My Nightmare: 30
Pumpkinhead: 31
Follow Up: 32
Review: The Sixth Seal: 34
Review: Rippers: 36
Capes and Crooks #1 is available NOW through the Your Games Now publishing Co-Op!
http://tinyurl.com/2qxxu9
I've been pretty much criminally negligent keeping this journal updated. No real reason, beyond liking to read more than write here in LJ. But things are a-changing, so I figure it's time for another update.
We're radically redoing PZP - new site, big promotional push, several new and reworked products. We're likely branching out from Ronin Arts, who've been a great help in our initial, stumbling steps. Right now, we're looking at picking up with the great folks at Your Games Now and IPR, possibly Paizo and Warehouse 23 as well.
Once Catacombs of Mistress Hecate and its attendant demos/adventures are out, expect to see Fight Zone!, a revised edition of Mooks Amok!, our stab at a bi-monthly magazine, Capes and Crooks...and possibly something in the way of a licensed property. We're still working on that last, so stay tuned.
And keep watching this space - some exciting things're happening.
- Mood: excited
http://www.koat.com/news/13615149/detai
Hardly a fitting endpiece for a grand master of science fiction, fantasy in horror.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Saber
Rest in peace, Fred.
- Mood: sad
Until at last the blanched mate said:
"Why, now not even God would know
Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very winds forget their way,
For God from these dread seas is gone.
Now speak, brave Adm'r'l, speak I say--"
He said: "Sail on! sail on! and on!"
--Columbus, Joaquin Miller
So, starting our tour of the weird, swashbuckling world of Dread Seas, let's do an overview of the best known sea on the world of Terra Occulta...the Crimson.
The Crimson Sea is haunted by vampires, its waters the color of fresh-running blood. Its element is fire, and its antagonist is the Azure Sea.
At the heart of the Crimson Sea is a volcano known simply as the 'Firemount'. If one can find the Firemount, and has the courage to step into the pure elemental fire at the heart of the volcano, they will be purified of all disease and ills, including vampirism. Although some believe the Firemount grants immortality, it does not increase a mortal man's lifespan — and, indeed, if a vampire has outlived his mortal span of years, he will find in the Firemount merely a cleansing death. Instead, it is a fount of vitality, rendering a man immune to all disease and the travails of age — he will remain youthful to the end of his days.
Legends of the Crimson Sea:
If one sails for long enough in the Crimson Sea, their ship will become vampiric, and turn upon its crew, either devouring them whole, or turning them into vampires subject to itself.
Drinking the waters of the Crimson Sea will turn a man into a vampire — perhaps even falling into them will be enough. The truth behind this is a little less obvious. If someone accidentally drinks a little of the Sea's water, there are a few effects — they get a little more temperamental and have a tendency to go slightly berserk. Someone who willingly drinks of the Sea's water, or who falls into the Sea, is in more trouble. Initially, they only suffer the same consequences: shortened temper, tendency to rage. However, the next time they shed blood, they become vampires. This does provide a period of time in which the afflicted could, if they wished, seek out cleansing at the Firemount.
Thursday's going to be The Day - I'm going to spend what time I'm not using at the doc's or cleaning writing, writing, writing. Finish Catacombs off and start on stats, and take a look at the magical traditions stuff from the Tr20 Companion and see what there is to be seen.
And after that - Dread Seas. Gnostic magicians and priests square off against Atlanten ubermenschen on an artifical world that occasionally steals hapless souls from Age of Sail Earth and deposits them in the middle of serious weirdness. Should be fun.
Post-apocalyptic is our genre. This was reinforced by my watching the really excellent 28 Weeks Later yesterday. I have one apoc/post-apoc campaign semi written (Amused to Death), but I'm saving that for either True20 Quarterly (after we submit Dread Seas), or grabbing the Tr20 license and self-publishing through PZP.
So the question to you, constant Reader, is thus - what's a nicely accessible/gameable end of the world scenario nowadays? We've got plagues and environmental collapse, social upheaval, big rocks falling from the sky and blacking everything out...what else is there? More importantly, what hasn't been done to death?
- Mood:creative
 | You scored as D'Artagnan. You are D'Artagnan, the brash Gascon who embodies the high ideals of the Musketeer. You are sometime your own worst enemy, but your motives are pure and your character is unimpeachable. You are destined for great things and passionate (though often ill-fated) love.
Which Dumas character are you? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com |
So, THE QUOTE, again:
"Every time you heal a hurt, right a wrong, or prevent harm, you get one reward immediately: you immediately, and without any social or legal or spiritual intervention needed on your behalf, get to live in a world that has one less hurt person in it, one less victim of injustice, one less harm done. And from that moment forward, you get to live in a world where that effect has rippled outwards, as that person and everybody around them and everybody who knows them lives their life, makes their own decisions, with yet one more reminder that sometimes people do do the right thing."
Leaving the irony aside...why not? Been thinking about this a lot - why not? Why not do something for the good? Why not change the world, just a little? Is it because the world is full of jerks...or is it because they're jerks because they've been blinded by a steady diet of fear and self-loathing for years? Of being told that you CANNOT make a difference? That that's just the way thr world is, and you can't change it?
Well, Constant Readers, it just ain't so. Whether you buy the ripple effect or not, I can't think of any argument against the quote above. What do you lose? That you're going to get punched, cussed at? That's fear, pally. You don't act that way, it's because you're afraid, maybe been afraid for so long that you're numb, folded into yourself, and you want to not care. Because acting is risk, and danger, and that's scary. You flinch. You fold into yourself and do nothing. Or maybe you're someone who's helped, and gotten screwed. Fine. It happens. Regardless, by helping someone, by healing that hurt, by stopping that injustice, by DOING, you have objectively made the world a better place. You are a hero. Maybe just a little hero, but a hero nonetheless.
I'm not talking about something like tech support - more than half the people I know do support of one kind or another. Support is, by its nature, impersonal, a once remove that if not cheapens the act, at least sets a distance that reduces its sigificance in someone's eyes. Distance is the enemy, Constant Reader. We live in a country and a world where people are connected more than ever - mobile phones, e-mail, boards...even blogs like this one. But who do we TOUCH? Who do we SEE? Not many. So very few. We maintain the distance because we're afraid of disease, or being hurt somehow, or a rotten ideology, or because of words, or because it just seems like too much of an effort, and we're so very tired.
And that's bullshit. So here's my challenge to you, Constant Reader, whoever you are, on the day that Kurt Vonnegut, one of the finest writers in the English language, a man whose characters were just like you, only worse off - poor schlubs in dead-end jobs who a nasty universe repeatedly buggersed in the ass - died, today, Thursday the 12th of April, 2007, and it is this:
Do not be afraid. Do not draw into yourself. If you cannot summon courage, then summon responsibility. Remember that quote from Brad, through Mr. Underkoffler.
Be a hero. Even a little one. By such small steps is the world moved.
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be...Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — 'God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.'" -- Kurt Vonnegut
"Every time you heal a hurt, right a wrong, or prevent harm, you get one reward immediately: you immediately, and without any social or legal or spiritual intervention needed on your behalf, get to live in a world that has one less hurt person in it, one less victim of injustice, one less harm done. And from that moment forward, you get to live in a world where that effect has rippled outwards, as that person and everybody around them and everybody who knows them lives their life, makes their own decisions, with yet one more reminder that sometimes people do do the right thing."
Yeah, ok, it's from a stupid insurance commercial, but, weirdly, those are words to live by.
That's all. You may return to your labors.
- Mood: touched
