Hush now – spoilers.

Not sure how to start this, so here goes. My week started with something wonderful, as I saw a kid pretending a stick was a lightsaber, and humming Duel of the Fates to boot. I managed to stop before grabbing a stick for myself and challenging him, as that would have been well, awkward and inappropriate. I was sorely tempted to congratulate him though. I also started my new meds on Friday. The brain hasn’t been messed with too much yet, but I’m getting knocked about (metaphorically speaking) trying to wake up in the mornings. Nothing new there. I knew the pills would knock me out, at least that’s one of the side effects listed, but the adjustment period so far has been… interesting. I’m hoping things settle soon.

I bouted for the first time last week at rapier, and while I was far from great, according to the others I’m parrying really well. I just need to remember to attack as well. Mostly I was distracted by that half second of “Fuck me, that parry worked!” and only then does the brain remind me to shove my sword in my opponents face. My footwork also needs work, but I already knew that. Either way, something in my fencing is working well, and I’m really pleased with that. Showing improvement means a lot to me.

On to gaming news: one of the games I play in will be winding up, so I’m getting ready to pitch ideas to the rest of the group. It’s welcome that I’m in that frame of mind to try to run a regular game again, given the brain goblins about how my last couple of attempts have gone. It’s equally lovely that the rest of the group seem OK with me pitching, that they’re willing to have me as GM again. Means a lot. I’m now back in the position of of ‘I have ideas, I have adventure seeds, but no fucking idea how to convert that into a campaign.’ At the very least, I have a better idea and more planning work done at this point than previously, so that’s something.

I’m also suffering through having two absolutely mind blowing game ideas that I need to keep my trap shut about. I’ve learned from past mistakes, in that in the old times I’d have spilled the beans and either not run them, or had massive demand and then botched them. Keeping in under my hat means I can work on it more, and it’ll hopefully be as good as I imagine it. As for the ideas themselves, one was my wife’s, and ones half mine, half hers I believe. She makes my games better and I can’t thank her enough for that. I’m sure I could set her up as an adventure coach if she wanted.

As for the game’s themselves, I’ll spare you the full scale pitch, but here’s the short versions.

Torchwood Sydney:
Aliens exists, and it’s your job to hunt them down. Some to capture, some to give a stern talking to. You may be wearing a trench coat or have a knack for posing moodily on a rooftop. The plan to run it is as more alien whackiness (The Corsair comes to town, and demands you take them out for drinks!), with the odd bit of alien horror. To put it this way, I’ve no plans to run Countrycide or Children of Earth.

Crimson Skies:
The year is 1937, America is broken apart into smaller nations and you’re part of the nation of Hollywood’s newest militia squadron. Dramatic derring do, swashbuckling in the skies, and you’re on a highway to the danger zone! (I still haven’t found a big band cover of that song, but I should probably watch the film) Also, Errol Flynn will cameo at some point.

The Troubleshooters:
1960’s espionage. It’s our world, but different. How so? Well, last year a joint French and Japanese operation sent a rocket to the moon. The PC’s would be a mix of people, from scoundrels, spies and who knows, who may be working for a mysterious ministry, or for mutual gain. During play, they stumble across a world shattering/conquering conspiracy that they have to thwart! In short, globe trotting action adventure that fits in a BBC studio or parts of England redressed to look foreign.

This will be the one that takes the longest to appear, as the rulebook was only Kickstarted this year and has been Covid delayed.

So, that’s what I’m working on. There’s a common thread, in that I want each of them to be fun. As I’ve stated previously, I like a large element of fun in my events, I don’t really do the grim and intense so much. You know, there’s reasons why I’m not running anything cyberpunk or post apocalyptic…

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Be seeing you…

Expelliamus Mr Bond? How quaint.

Yes, there’s important stuff to talk about, and I’ll get to some of that soon, but I need to talk about something else first. Look at this.

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Do you see it? It’s a fucking shoulder holster for a magic wand, do you not understand how damn cool that is? DO YOU? I haven’t wanted to play a wizard in a LARP so much since, well, ever. And yet the first image in my head wasn’t of a fantasy game, or Harry Potter. No, I first thought espionage. The Cold War, but with magic instead of nukes. Spell duels in darkened alleys, desperate escapes from shadowy forces, high stakes gambling and cocktails in fancy locations – less Potter, more Bond. I’ve been racking my brain to try to work out a setting I could use it in – the closest so far is Urban Arcana, a D20 Modern sourcebook. The Rivers of London series did come to mind, but doesn’t quite has the feeling I’m going for.

I was reminded of an old idea about a Shadowrun parlour LARP about choosing a team, followed by several rounds of laser tag to simulate runs and that’s an idea I’d still like to do something with someday. My wife and a housemate floated the idea of a spaceship game, where you had to costume both yourself and the area behind you (To represent a starship bridge) and I’d be lying if I wasn’t trying immediately to brainstorm making a Klingon style bridge in my spare room. Enjoy overly macho overacting, me?

Anyhow, back to the holster. My wife giving me approval to buy one to wear at an upcoming wedding (And if my sister is reading this, no, I don’t mean yours) was the icing on the cake. I’m mostly holding off buying one right now as I have several brain doctor appointments upcoming and I’m hoping they make one that’s left hand draw. From looking at it, it seems like I could move the holster to the right side (I use a sword in my right, but write and shoot left handed), but I don’t know for certain yet.

So, to the important stuff. The Torchwood RPG idea I had kicking around has popped into my head again and I’m penning flavour text for it. I’ve also been writing and casting NPC’s for Crimson Skies, and finding that delightful. I’m on the few days between brain drugs right now, and am (slightly) frantically trying to distract myself from said brain right now. It’s entirely possible that’s the reason for this burst of activity, but I don’t care – it’s a burst and I’m trying to channel it into something useful for once. And look, if making the Torchwood team investigate a virtual gaming setup that makes them deal with Tom Baker’s Elf King from the 1st Dungeons and Dragons film is wrong, then I DON’T WANT TO BE RIGHT.

Look, we all know my brain can be, shall we say, overly enthusiastic at times, so distracting it from worrying about what my new brain pill could do to me, I reckon is a good thing. I can’t change it, so why devote time to worrying about it? After all, things are good – I’m back at sword and thanks to selling some old Warhammer books, have some cash to put towards kit. Life isn’t too bad, all things considered.

And yet, I’m still nervous. Because I don’t know when all this will end and can’t hope to, I’m trying to take it day by day. To look out for an end date is folly, up there with invading Russia in winter, or Palladium Books releasing a book on time. I dunno, I’m just having trouble seeing an end to this. And yet, I have to have hope that it will. Because without hope that things will get better, what is there?

Sleep beckons. Be seeing you…

Define ‘interesting?’

Had another brain doctor visit yesterday, and I’m now to be on a new anti-depressant. Hooray for me I guess? This means weaning myself off my current drug, taking a few days to clear it from my system and slowly starting up the new drug, as it’s a higher dose than my current one. This promises to be… interesting. I’m hoping things will work out OK, but I’ve got another doc appointment in a month to see how things are going.

For some reason I was reminded recently of a long held dream/nightmare – to perform Search and Destroy by the Stooges at a karaoke event. The closest I’ve come to doing so was at an engagement party a few years ago*, though I’m not sure if the sound system had the track in question. That was probably a blessing for the rest of the event, as the other people there seemed mostly filled nice, normal, God fearing folk who in no way deserved to be subjected to my atonal howling, let alone what I might possibly do when under the effect of that song. If you can listen to that song and not be moved…

As for what else, the left shoulder has mostly recovered from Sunday’s unexpected cricketing, but the right thigh is pretty sore from sword last night. My lunges are slowly improving, though I’m still trying to nail my back foot to the floor during them. The legs are complaining about that activity as well. Walking today hasn’t been fun. It felt good though (Something I never thought I’d say), and not just the praise from my instructor and the other students. I’m a sucker for praise at the best of times (Positive affirmation is one hell of a drug) and I seem to be latching onto another source here. It makes the struggle worthwhile. I enjoy the practice, but knowing I’m getting better means a hell of a lot.

I don’t really have anything else to write, actually yes I do! I recently discovered the Game of Rassilon podcast and I’m almost to the end of season 1. It’s an actual play of a group playing the Doctor Who RPG and it’s delightful. To set things up, an as-yet un-numbered incarnation of the Doctor is traveling through time and space with a late 90’s slacker and Amelia Earhart. Yes, the Amelia Earhart. To say more would spoil, and I learnt my lesson about that**! So yes, it’s well worth a listen and makes me want to run the game. I suppose I can’t give a higher compliment to it can I?

Be seeing you…

* The night ended well though, with my lovely and talented wife performing Iron Maiden’s Run to the Hills for me.
** There were times when I was showing my wife Babylon 5 and I would get slightly over excited about upcoming events/episodes and accidentally spoil things. This went badly, about as badly as when she’d discover that I’d pinched romantic lines from it to use on her. Hey, it worked. I regret nothing! 🙂

FANTASTIC!

How am I? Well, my left shoulders rather sore after some time bowling in the nets at a local park to Godson, Age 11 on Sunday. it was the first time I’d picked up a cricket ball in at least 25 years and I was never very good at it to begin with. The main issue on the day however, was on the rare occasions when I actually managed to hit the stumps, was resisting the urge to loudly yell “Got him yes, piss off you’re out!” in the manner of the 12th Man… Anyhow, that’s enough about me for now, there’s something far more important to announce!

In these troubled times, in the days of fire and plague that make us wish for the carefree innocent times of 2016, we need things that’ll get us through the day. Minor distractions, upcoming events that as of yet haven’t been cancelled and the tiny bits of good news, things that we can latch on to that give us hope that’ll it’ll get better some day. We may not know when this crisis will end, but there are good things out there in this hellish, perpetually indoor existence. The wonderful, sometimes unexpected things that bring joy, delight and can even make us forget, if only for a little while, that Tony Abbott was once Prime Minister.

*drum roll that soon becomes a rhythm of 4.*

CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON IS DOING BIG FINISH AUDIOS! I REPEAT, CHRISTOPHER ECCELSTON IS DOING BIG FINISH AUDIOS!

It’s now been near 15 years since his time as the Doctor and to say the news is welcome to me is something of an understatement. Details are still being kept quiet, but we do know that 12 stories over 4 box sets are incoming, with Volume 1 to be released in May 2021. Yes, that seems like a long wait, but Big Finish also recently announced a new companion for the Fourth Doctor, with that series premiering in 2024! Never let it be said that Big Finish don’t plan ahead…

The stories about Eccelston’s time in the role and his leaving after one season were few and mostly centered on conflicts with the production team. He’s spoken recently about the issues he was going through at the time and it gave a lot of nuance to his performance. And that’s not mentioning the stigma and courage it takes to speak up about mental health issues. There was a long stretch when he seemingly refused to do anything with the show, but in recent years has been attending conventions and I’ve seen some lovely video of him greeting other Doctors. I’m incredibly happy for the news and it’s my fervent hope that he’s in a better head space than he was during his time as the Doctor. I want him to be well, as I do everyone in my life. I don’t think that’s too much to ask the universe.

Right, now that’s that out of the way, let’s get back to RPG’s. Work on Crimson Skies has continued, with me unable to get the idea out of my head. I think it’s a positive step in my headspace that I’m even considering sitting behind the GM screen regularly again. After I ended my last campaign I told myself that with the right idea I’d give it another crack, and that I’d learn from previous mistakes. I’m still going to get nervous, and have doubts, because that’s what I do. But I think I can do better. I’ve still been unable to come up with an arc yet, but my wonderful and talented wife assures me that the player characters background she can come up with something. I believe her.

There’s a rule from the upcoming Troubleshooters RPG that I’m planning to adapt, and that’s the plot hook. As part of Session 0, I want to players to meet up (Virtually of course), generate characters and a shared background, while I answer questions. I also want to hear about 2 people from their characters lives*. I don’t need them fully written up with stats etc, just a name, a brief description and how they know the character. And the plan is to mine that information for all it’s worth, adding them to story hooks, putting them in danger and having them go missing and need to be rescued. You know, things I haven’t done in previous campaigns. It feels like I’m taking a positive step forward with this. Now, to find people who want to play…

More to follow. Be seeing you.

* Yes, Shadowrun does something along those lines as well. But I’m not touching that overly complex and stat heavy system with a 10 ft pole.

Watch how I soar…

So what’s been up with me since last we spoke? Not much, but it’s been good.

I made it back to rapier on Tuesday night, and while my arms aren’t happy with me, my brain is. I never thought I’d say it, but I enjoy the exercise. I despise the idea of gyms, but exercise while actually doing something I’m ok with. Look, it’s good to have fitness goals, and I have some: to be better at swords, last longer in a mosh pit and to be able to keep beating Godson in arm wrestling for a while longer. And, to quote John Rogers, I need to live long enough to piss on a lot of graves.

Speaking of Rogers work, the first table read for the Leverage sequel series happened this week, and I’m not sure how to feel. I love the show and am more than happy to have the characters, well most of them, back but I don’t know how to feel. I mean, it’s 2020 and I keep expecting to have the rug pulled out from under me you know? I guess I’m just nervous that it won’t be as good as the original, and that Timothy Hutton’s absence will cast too long a shadow over things. Still, I’m taking the show’s return as good news and hanging onto that. (There’s also the hope that we’ll get a fresh source book for the RPG.)

Had my latest session with the brain doctor Wednesday and I seem to be making progress. I’ve been modifying my coping mechanisms an I think it’s starting to show results. She also mentioned the Serenity prayer at one point, and for a second all I could think of was Alan Tudyk…

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Yes, I’m extremely proud of that joke. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

The Crimson Skies brainstorming has continued. I don’t have an arc idea yet, but I have a vision in my head of someone with a cocktail in one hand and a gun in the other and Miss Phryne Fisher came to mind. Sure, there’s the obvious issues of that series being set around 15 years before the time period I’m writing in, but historical accuracy has always been more of a bug than a feature in my events, as those who’ve played my swashbucklers can attest to. An opening scenario is being bashed around as well. Mostly I’m trying not to overthink my approach to this, as well as my nerves about trying another campaign and running it online.

The brain does like sweating the small stuff, such as what planes will the PC’s start with, what should the squadron be named and what’s their colour scheme? You know, the small stuff that by rights most of which the players should be deciding. Not that I have any of them yet, though there’s been some interest. I should also start compiling all this into a Google Doc – I’ve been jotting down notes on the trip to and from work, but it’s time to start putting some order to things I’m going to take it any further.

Lastly, it’s been a long day but it ended well. The Stooges: Live at Goose Lake was released today. I made it in to Red Eye Records about 5 minutes before closing and got the last copy they had. It is, a wonderful thing and by that I mean it’s messy as all hell, but when everything clicks, it’s incredible.

Time for sleep. Be seeing you.

Revving up the engine…

Postmodern Jukebox don’t appear to have done a version of Kenny Loggins Danger Zone. This is something of a shame, as I reckon it would make a damn near perfect theme tune for this game. Sure, the main theme to Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow works wonderfully and is standing in for the moment, while the country version from Archer is close, but it’s not quite what I’m after.

Well, the adventure seeds I posted seem to have gone over well, with my wife saying she could link at least 4 of them together, based on who the PC’s are. Are they blue bloods who’ve only known the high life, or are they scrappy working class kids who’ve poured every cent they had into aviation? That affects things a surprising amount – throwing rich kids into a society party versus putting working class yobs into it. Think of it like the episode of Brooklyn 99 where the characters go to Captain Holt’s party – if Jake and co knew how to act properly the episode wouldn’t have been anywhere near as funny. Obviously, I wouldn’t do that every time, but keeping your players on their toes isn’t a bad thing.

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That followed on some chatter with her about the adventure ideas themselves, with me being pleased at how varied they seemed, but still the chance that each could end in flying. I mean, while piloting should be the focus, that shouldn’t be all you’re doing. If every adventure is ‘fly around and shoot something’ that’ll get dull, both to play and run. Yes, you’re at a swanky party now, but there’s every chance that things will go south and you’ll have to hijack an aerotaxi to escape. So, while you may not have expected to need a parachute tonight, it’s better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. (Said adventures should also have an appropriately pulp name – Cargo of Doom, Night of Fire, Wings of Honour etc.)

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Moving to character gen, I’d prefer to do that in a Session 0 rather than scattered about. Since the characters are spending so much time together, I’d prefer to get all the players in one place (Or as close as we can given Covid) and hash that out together. Shared backgrounds, establishing bits of history and working out who does what best so people each have their own role to play. But I think a Session 0 for any game is damn near essential.

Now for the tone of the whole thing. Look, it’s not tricky to establish – lighthearted pulp theatrics. Think The Rocketeer, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Mummy. There’s danger and action at every turn, and few problems can’t be solved with a solid right hook. Comedy, but not farce, with snappy quips flying back and forth. Plus, who can resist shouting an enemy’s name as they escape? I have fond memories of a Gear Krieg campaign where more than one session ended with one of us yelling “SKORZENY!” at the sky.

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That’s what I don’t have yet: an arc. A recurring nemesis that drives the plot, or a story to wrap the adventures around. I may not really need one, or need one to be immediately introduced, but I like the idea of there being a say, phantom menace. You know, the sort of thing that could lead people into a zone… of danger. (Yes, that joke is what prompted looking for Danger Zone covers) More than that, I want a reason for these adventures to happen, some connecting tissue that can be referenced later, or gives hints as to what’s coming.

What’s next? Ponder a story arc and a villain and re-read the Savage Worlds rules. Follow that with some more research, looking for maps and reference photos, while seeing if there’s enough interest for me to properly write this up and run it. Also, telling myself I don’t have the money to afford one of these to wear while I GM. My tax refund is earmarked towards a new PC, but cosplay has caught my eye more than once over the years.

Be seeing you…