Well bugger. I just found out that one of the guys I game with is running Castle Amber (or at least a variation thereof) for a group I’ve been taking a break from. So that pretty much takes good ol’ X2 off the table for me in 2012. Alas and alack. But that’s ok – it just helps me focus a bit. Against The Giants, here I come 🙂
So the Thanksgiving game happened. It was a WWII commando raid using a Mini Six/D6 Adventure mashup and it was a blast. But I’m not here to talk about it. Not right now, anyway. I’m gunning to do that a little later on, when I’m ready to post the materials I put together for the game. Nope, instead I’m here to talk about what I’m hoping to run next.
First up, sometime during the Winter Solstice Holidays break, I’m hoping to pull off a BASH game for a friend, his 13 year old son, and maybe a few other folks. I’m currently thinking Golden Age/WWII supers kicking fascist ass in Europe. But the ideas are swirling and unformed at this point, so who knows what (if anything) will ultimately come to pass?
After that, I’m pondering a few possibilities:
just to name a few (in no particular order). All of this is subject to change (i.e., my whims and interests) and player buy-in, of course.
Yeah, I know. My content output has absolutely tanked of late (and, honestly, not-so-late). I’m struggling with that, really. Part of me wants to be cranking out stuff like I had been, but another part just isn’t inclined to spend the time on it. So it’s not quite burnout, per se. It’s more a case of conflicting interests and such. So to answer the question that I asked on no one in particular’s behalf, “Reply hazy. Try again later.”
So I got lucky and landed on of those firesale priced HP TouchPads. I know, I’m a jerk. Anyway, there’s a nice WordPress app for it and I thought I’d try it out this will never replace my mac for content creation, but it is kinda cool.
I should probably go write something real for the blog now 😉
Cthulhu Cake by raingirllori on Flickr
I keep hoping I’ll be able to get back into a serious swing, but for the moment, all I have to offer is my charming demeanor and the occasional tidbit for whatever game catches my fancy at the moment. With any luck, the impending arrival of a shiny new (and deeply discounted) HP TouchBook will somehow make my life easier and I’ll be able to bang out even more fun stuff for your twisted little eyes to feast upon.
Meanwhile, why not spin your way through some of the Strange Stones back catalog, like the Demons of Adad Untash (demony goodness for Labyrinth Lord), the Labyrinth Lord Rogues Gallery, Tlactoztlan (a Meso American setting for Barbarians of Lemuria), my series of 5 Room Dungeons for Mini Six/Open D6, or the Downloads page (where, amongst the other artifacts, you can find regular reader G-Man’s outstanding BoL adventures)?
I won’t even attempt to predict the future of what you might find here at Strange Stones, but if the stars are really right and the Big C himself doesn’t come eat my soul, there might just be some more Nogoloth, November Company, and Narakam action headed your way. Or maybe just some stuff that doesn’t start with the letter N.
Cheers, amigos!
Remember pinball? The folks at Pinballz Arcade in Austin sure do. They’ve got some great older games, including a Star Trek: The Motion Picture-themed machine and one for the Six Million Dollar Man. But the coolest stuff had to be these crazy late 70s/early 80s fantasy-flavored games.
Lost World and Paragon appeared to be part of a series featuring the same horned-helmet wearing barbarian who just happened to be gifted with leathery, green bat wings. I wanna play that guy. Actually, there might just be an entire setting that could be built from the names and situations show on these pinball machines. I’ll have to go back to Pinballz with more of an eye towards making notes sometime.
Sadly, the Gorgar machine was out of order today. But it’s bound to be aces, too.
Neptune as seen by Voyager 2 (image from NASA)
As of today, Neptune – my second favorite planet (of the ones upon which I do not live) – marks the completion of its first full orbit around the sun since our earthly eyes discovered its existence. It’s a cool “Hooray science & mathematics!” type of story, if you don’t know it.
I hope El Santo Negro and some other brave luchas will save us from the Neptunian MonsterMen if they ever show up!
Wine of the Moon, from Bat.
Just updated WordPress and moved to the Twenty-Eleven theme. So I’m just playing around. Pardon the noise in the signal.
I like funny-shaped dice. I really do. But there’s also something elegant about the good old-fashioned cube. But this is really just an aside.
As the history of this here geek blog shows, I’m not generally big on theories, or musings, or other existential nerditude when it comes to RPGs. I’m much more about the content. But lately I’ve found myself in something not dissimilar to a rut and I just thought I’d ask the folks out there a little question (yeah, I kinda gave that away with the title of this post)…
Why do you play RPGs?
What do you get out of this hobby that you don’t get from some other activity? What does it do for you that reading, writing, listening to (or making) music, painting, watching baseball, drinking a nice adult beverage and shooting the breeze with your friends, cooking, or spending good time with your spouse/partner/kids/other family members doesn’t?
What makes rolling dice and pretending to be someone else (or many someone elses, if you’re the GM) compelling? Why have you kept at it for all these years even when so many other folks walk away from it? What (if anything) would make you walk away from it now?
Are there even answers to these questions? Or are we few, we happy few, we band of brothers just effing wired to play pretend in this manner? I know I don’t have any answers right now. That’s why I’m asking 🙂
So sound off if you want to sound off. Be silent if you want to be silent. Shake your head solemnly at my confusion if you want to shake your head solemnly. Dowhutchalike.
And, just so you know, I’m not exactly pondering giving it all up and taking up knitting or anything. I don’t think I could if I wanted to. I’m just curious about why I keep doing this stuff.