tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80989515049207207572024-03-13T05:01:46.588-04:00The Polyhedral Dice Bag"Go back down, shioggua! Go back down. I am a warlock of the Secret Flame. My circle is the Ninth; my sphere the Shpere of Darkness; my god is Azzamungandyr the Lord of the Mysteries, You may not take the girl!" Lin Carter: Vault of SilenceChris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-15961044883222250092022-07-09T12:17:00.002-04:002022-07-09T15:39:20.858-04:00Laser Cannons & Dragons: or, the return to true scientific realism.<p>Five years, five flippin' years! That would have been when I went to work for my current employer. Let's hope I've settled in now and can set aside a little creative time.</p><p>I have plans to introduce another group of noobs to tabletop rpgs later this month. And here's my thought process. Your crazy uncle (me) asks you if you want to play Dungeons and Dragons. You say sure because your uncle is a fun guy and you haven't spent much time with him in the past few years. But, what's your character motivation? I have a chart for that! </p><p><u>Twelve reasons to visit Tidy Island Bay: or rpg local of your choice.</u></p><p>1. The Fabled Market of Fables (shopping) </p><p>2. Seeking employment on the off world colonies. </p><p>3. Seeking knowledge they would not teach you off in college. </p><p>4. To consult the Ishtar Collective.</p><p>5. To visit the used droid market of the Javas.</p><p>6. 75th Annual Independence Day Cook off and Aquatic Turtle Rat fishing championship. </p><p>7. In search of you Uncle Jake. </p><p>8. Gambling at the Amazonian owned casino. <br /></p><p>9. Explore the wreck of the <span>Kobayashi Maru. </span></p><p><span>10. To visit the Vulcan commune and organic farm.on Tidy Island. </span></p><p><span>11. Seeking passage off world. </span></p><p><span>12. That band you liked in college got back together. <br /></span></p><p><span> </span></p><p><span>Motivated now and do I need another pop culture reference? I'll be using the Mutant Future rules in my Tidy Island Bay location, created for Encounter Critical with elements from the Destiny video game franchise. Stay tuned! <br /></span></p><p><span>Lastly, I've been reading <u>How Few Remain</u> by Harry Turtledove. I'm certain I'm behind the curve, but if you like History, Alternative History, Speculative Fiction, Modern Fiction and humanity, I recommend this book for ya. If you don't like any of these things, why are you reading this!?<br /><i></i></span></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-19785270945727149812017-10-19T09:13:00.000-04:002017-10-19T09:13:43.874-04:00Comic Review: Legion of Super-Heroes #270 (Dec. 1980)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLK0eAiShYyYKR9t9f3GkKSGtR4EgnYL4V-7KDF3L21Hnl2A6TpV6Ogta5JPFOrC6SxE8AW8RcyhiuPH4NPKTquqhLNP2ywKvzlYXaMxdXEfgs3QuzW7n8dC6BAQutwVTc1yCFXmXa-k/s1600/Legion_of_Super-Heroes_Vol_2_270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLK0eAiShYyYKR9t9f3GkKSGtR4EgnYL4V-7KDF3L21Hnl2A6TpV6Ogta5JPFOrC6SxE8AW8RcyhiuPH4NPKTquqhLNP2ywKvzlYXaMxdXEfgs3QuzW7n8dC6BAQutwVTc1yCFXmXa-k/s320/Legion_of_Super-Heroes_Vol_2_270.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">As a lad, I didn't read DC comics. I grew up with Adam West as Batman and Christopher Reeves as Superman, what more did I need to know about the two DC main characters? </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">I have been revisiting DC and vintage Justice League and actually prefer the Justice Society. So, I picked up this issue of Legion of Super-Heroes which should be named Legion of Whining Brats. We have a bunch of super powered teenagers and twenty-somethings who are paired into couples. What, am I reading an Archie comic? I shouldn't complain, the cover price of the comic was fifty cents</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">The Legionnaries seem generic, Lightning Lad, Light Las, Shadaow Lass (are they sisters?), Colossal Boy and Timberwolf (who does that sound like). I did like their enemies, the Fatal Five who always work in pairs minus their boss Tharok who is half man, half cyborg. I also like Mano who wears a fish bowl style helmet which adds an element of mystery. Why does he were that thing, who is he?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">While this comic had a lot of potential, overall, it's just a disorganized mess like a soap opera with an infinite string of plot but on plot resolution. While the 1980s Legion of Super-Heroes isn't for me, other readers may fall in love with it. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">2.5 of 5 Stars</span>Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-18443168453161571552017-10-09T18:35:00.001-04:002021-01-31T12:06:50.633-05:00The impracticality of the Seven Gods1st: "The Sleeper" sounds more like the title of a Wood Allen movie than the name of a potential world builder. Sleepy's name will be changed to Luna, 'cause that'll cover it.<br />
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2nd: The impracticality: As written, none of these guys have any god-like qualities. The Seven (Dwarf) Gods, are more of an extended family than a team of titans. There's one responsible adult, one grumpy old man and five children. Which, now that I think about it, resembles the Greek pantheon. </div>
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3rd: Luckily, I have just uncovered some old notes for a group of five nature gods. They are:</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">A u t u m n, T h e M o t h e r
i s t h e s e a s o n a l g o d d e s s o f h a r v e s t a n d
w i n d . </span>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">W i n t o n, T h e F a t h e r i s t h e s e a s o n a l g o d o f w i n t e r. H e i s a s s o c i a t ed w i t h</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">c o l d w e a t h e r , s n o w a n d i c e . E x a m p l e s o f W i n t o n' s a n i m a l a n d p l a n t</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">a s s o c i a t e s a r e
w o l v e s, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">bears</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;"> a n d e v e r g r e e n t r e e s .</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">G a l e, s e a s o n a l g o d d e s s o f
s p r i n g, a s s o c i a t e d w i t h y o u t h a n d f e r t i l i t y. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">H e r
p l a n t a n d a n i m a l
a s s o c i a t e s i n c l u d
e f l o w e r i n g t r e e s, </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">robins and </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">sparrows. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;">W e i l d e n, </span><span style="line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 107%;">s e a s o n a l g o d
o f s u m m e r, a s s o c i a t e d w i t h
y o u n g </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">m a n h o o d a n d
t h e </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">f r e e d o m a n d r e c k l e s s n e s s o f y o u t h . H i s p l a n t </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">a n d a n i m a l </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">associates </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">include </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 107%;">b l a c k b e r r i e s a n d
b e e s .</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">O r g </span>the unwise <span style="font-size: 11pt;"> o r T h e D e c e i v e r i s
t r a d i t i o n a l l y t h o u
g h t o f a s
m a l e. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Org </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">i s t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o
n o f f e a r, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">violence, injustice and</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">war.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4th: "Org," that's a stupid name. Regardless, now we have The Seven, The Five and the Twelve Gods. Let's hope they don't become angry gods!</span></div>
Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-9838910465764653142017-10-07T08:00:00.000-04:002017-10-07T08:00:28.253-04:00"By the Seven!"I have just finished reading Lin Carter's <u>Thongor and the Wizard of Lumeria</u> in which Thongor continually swears "By the Nineteen!" But, other than Father Grom, none of the gods of Lumeria are ever mentioned. So, I was thinking I would research the nineteen gods of Lumeria. I know they are all documented out here on the entree-net and in the various Lumeria frpg books.<br />
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However, before I got very far with the research, I got another idea. I'll just barrow a well known group of seven fair tale characters and make them members of my pantheon. Everyone knows this group. I'll just change the names and circumstances too fit their new status as immortals and world builders. Below I have listed The Seven by their fair tale names and their new godly labels.<br />
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Bashful -- The Youth: God of adolescence, young brides and Spring.<br />
Doc -- The Healer: God of nature, birth, healing, health and harvest.<br />
Dopey -- The Dullard: God of children, addicts and the simple minded.<br />
Grumpy -- The Elder: God of Time, change, disappointment, anger and old age.<br />
Happy -- Happiness: God of pleasure, celebration and Summer.<br />
Sleepy -- The Sleeper: God of Winter, night, dreams, laziness and death.<br />
Sneezy -- The Plague: God of illness, Fall, etc.<br />
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Without their fantasy names, the origin of the Seven may remain a mystery for a while. Unless, of course, you read it on the Polyhedral Dice Bag.<br />
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<br />Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-39020901213578681012017-10-02T00:00:00.000-04:002017-10-05T15:13:42.549-04:00Caverns of YawHere's a simple little dungeon crawl I designed a few years ago. It was written for two guys who hadn't played an rpg in a while and three guys who had never played an rpg before.<br />
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This was when I was in my "Encounter Critical phase" however, Caverns of Yaw was written for Labyrinth Lord. All the monsters in the Caverns are from the Opponent Opuscule which is the Encounter Critical "compendium of creatures" written by Christian Conkle. My conversions of the opponents is simple, the overall design of Caverns of Yaw is definitely Beer and Pretzels style.<br />
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Those of you who don't have a copy of Opponent Opuscule should be able to find it at the Encounter Critical Yahoo Group. I imagine it is also available on Google Drive too (somewhere). Opponent Opuscule is full of gonzo frpg goodness and each creature has an illustration by Mr. Conkle too. The O.O. certainly expands the possibilities of Encounter Critical. As demonstrated here, the O.O. can expand the possibilities of any frpg or rpg of your choice.<br />
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I have uploaded Caverns of Yaw to my Scribd account,<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/360402607/Caverns-of-Yaw" target="_blank"> have at it.</a><br />
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The ol' blog has come out of hiding in preparation for a Labyrinth Lord game I hope to begin soon.Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-45040402728694223492017-09-21T12:00:00.000-04:002017-09-21T12:00:14.065-04:00Now just in time for Fall: Female Character Name Generator!I had so much fun with the RPG Character Name Generator that I made a second name generator for female player characters. We want gender equality in our RPGs as in everything else. At least, I do.<br />
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Most of the names on this generator are Celtic. I found these via the good ol' entree-net. I have posted the PDF at <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/359150624/Female-Character-Name-Generator" target="_blank">Scribd</a>, of course, because it's easier for me than Google Drive.Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-10045722204697378932017-09-14T12:00:00.000-04:002017-09-14T14:21:44.887-04:00A player character by any other name would slay as sweet. Or, further proof that d12 is not useless.<br />
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After producing the Alternative RPG Survey, I got the idea to create this RPG Character Name Generator. I have finally finished it and stored it at Scribd for our convince. It is a series of charts to produce a first, middle and last name for characters in tabletop role playing games.<br />
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Most of the names are vaguely Nordic, Roman or Anglo Saxon with a few Spanish, modern and fantastic names too. The names are also all masculine. No offence intended, the group I designed the chart for is all male.<br />
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There is an additional chart for descriptive names, if you want your character to have a name like Able the Irritable. The last chart is just a quick d12 roll too provide catchy names like Alpa or Covfefe.<br />
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You should be able to access the chart here: <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/22694373/Chris-Creel" target="_blank">RPG Character Name Generator</a><br />
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Lastly, I have been reading Nietzshe, off and on, for a few months. It is torture and not something I should be undertaking unless for a philosophy class. My school days have been completed for a while but I can be very heard headed about my choices of reading material. I will just add, I am pretty sure that Lovecraft's body of work was inspired by exposure to<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thus Spoke Zarathustra.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span>Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-81359819448140056782017-08-23T12:00:00.000-04:002017-08-23T18:14:03.599-04:00How do you say "Hello" to a grizzly bear?Do you quietly say hello, and anticipate his response? Do you quietly say hello and run screaming? Well, how do ya and "How do you do?" Hello to you grizzly bears of tabletop rpg die hards!<br />
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The rpg urge has been sneaking forward in my consciousness due to a younger generation of Gamers. I had noted that they are a bit too tied to the rule books, not a problem we often had when playing old school rpgs. So, I devised the following survey to give them some ideas about flexibility within their role-playing game settings.<br />
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While this survey may seem vague or sophomoric at first glance, I should point out that these young Gamers which I designed it for are preteens. I hope to patch together an adventure using Risus or a diceless rpg as our base mechanic.<br />
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I'll attempt to attache a link for a Google Doc, the text format of the survey is as follows.<br />
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<u>An RPG which I would like to play other than fantasy. </u><o:p></o:p></div>
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Choose one option from the following lists or combine
choices within the categories. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> <u> </u></span><!--[endif]--><u>The game setting would be:</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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Pre-Historic --
Horror -- Mystery -- Sci Fi --
Comedy -- 1920s Gangsters
-- The Wild West<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pirates -- Lost World Adventure (like King Kong) --
Super Heroes – Time Travel<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wizarding world of Harry what's-his-name<o:p></o:p></div>
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Combine two of the above or add your own suggestion: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> <u> </u></span><u>My character race would be:</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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Human – Wookie – Frankenstein – Vampire – Zombie -- Werewolf
-- Grey Alien --- Giant<o:p></o:p></div>
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Half-dragon -- Puppy, kitty or bunny -- Centaur – Klingon -- Robot or Android --
Caveman <o:p></o:p></div>
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Primate or ape -- Dinosaur -- Godzilla -- The
Hulk -- Mutant (like Ninja Turtles) -- Alien<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pokémon -- Other Fantasy -- Other Horror ---
Other?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>My character class
would be:</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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Warrior -- Wizard -- Thief or rogue -- Monk
(Asian or European) – Gunslinger -- Gangsters <o:p></o:p></div>
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Space Pirate -- Detective – Con Man --- Scientist ---
Jedi --- Bard or Musician – <o:p></o:p></div>
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Star Fleet Commander --- Pioneer or
Adventurer --- Caveman – Other?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>My weapon would
be: </u><o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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Sticks and stones --- a sling and a club --- a
magic wand --- a gun --- a laser gun --- magic beans <o:p></o:p></div>
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a broken bottle --- a magic lamp --- a laptop --- Fire or
other element --- spider senses (mutant ability)<o:p></o:p></div>
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a musical instrument --- a magic harp --- The force --- a
light saber --- other?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>My vehicle would be:</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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A water buffalo -- a little red wagon -- Model T Ford -- a space ship -- time machine -- flying carpet --- a dragon --- a robot or android --- a unicorn ---
Mystery Machine or A Team van --- a pirate ship ---- Other?</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>My
companion or spirit animal would be:</u><o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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Sticks and stones --- a dragon --- a robot or android --- a
Wookie --- A hologram or spirit --- a pixie fairy --- a Smurf --- a pet rock ---- a parrot ---- a talking dog ----
a laptop --- Other?</div>
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<br />Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-71639139913259988462015-04-19T11:37:00.000-04:002015-04-19T11:37:44.010-04:00Sturgeon vs. Bradbury<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-QyRV1GJuZLzsZxIsbnzEN7ubsxikrlOQcQP34zfAyudFHIPxblWzsqPRQ-FkQMNqeSuVxQ2ys7jcVZI4amwIRIZubIbJBsbARRHgF7JL-V7W7wzS60GxGbrbA6R_CZCvIcXjP65gc8/s1600/Sturgeon+in+Orbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-QyRV1GJuZLzsZxIsbnzEN7ubsxikrlOQcQP34zfAyudFHIPxblWzsqPRQ-FkQMNqeSuVxQ2ys7jcVZI4amwIRIZubIbJBsbARRHgF7JL-V7W7wzS60GxGbrbA6R_CZCvIcXjP65gc8/s1600/Sturgeon+in+Orbit.jpg" /></a></div>
I would be hard pressed to define classic Sci-fi Lit. any better than simply referencing Theodore (Ted) Sturgeon who was a Pulp Era Sci-fi writer and early television and film writer. Besides his pulp contributions, Sturgeon is probably best known as a writer for the Original Star Trek series. <u>Sturgeon in Orbit</u> is a collection of five stores published originally from 1951 to 1955 in Fantastic Adventure, Planet Stories, Fantastic, Startling and Other Worlds magazines.<br />
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These five tales which transcend most Pulp Sci-Fi, are more than adventure stories. Sturgeon explores the nature of humanity and the essential function of human relations through this collection. The first example, Extrapolation (Fantastic, 1953), begins as a tale of loneliness. Wolf Reger was a man so intelligent that he is almost prophetic. He "had so many talents that they were past enumerating." Reger could master science, math and engineering. He could predict actions and reactions, or extrapolate, for every invention he created. Reger's weakness was his relationship with humanity. In fact, their ignorance and lack of foresight would occasionally drive Reger into a rage. For this reason he could not work or live near his fellow humans. He lived alone until discovering a women who had attempted suicide who he nursed back to health and married. Reger's reformed attitude of humanity, based on his new romantic love, leads him to save humanity from an alien invasion. Isn't that the basis for most pulp era Sci-fi tales?<br />
<br />
In the introduction to Sturgeon's novel Godbody, Robert Heinlein wrote that Sturgeon's message was that he loved us all. The same can be said of Sturgeon in Orbit as each of the stories is about humanity and science. I believe that few would argue that Ray Bradbury loved us too. Anyone who would write a novel in defense of artistic expression and preservation of knowledge and creativity like Fahrenheit 451 obviously cares.<br />
<br />
I have just finished reading The Martian Chronicles which also is an expression of Bradbury's concern for humanity. As well as, his concern for unbridled bureaucracy and technology and the failure of the use of basic common sense. This concern is no less relevant sixty-five years after The Martian Chronicles began to be published. <br />
<br />
When I begin to read the work's of Sturgeon or Bradbury, I am not seeking an investigation into the nature of human civilization but this is how these men approached their art. I would choose Fahrenheit 451 over The Martian Chronicles if reading for pleasure. I will add, about The Martian Chronicles, it is a bizarre book when the passages I enjoy most are an homage to The Fall of the House of Usher and a piece about the opening of the first Hot Dog Stand on Mars. <br />
<br />
<br />Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-16693812881446385662015-03-16T20:26:00.001-04:002015-03-19T10:31:40.836-04:00Catching up with Gardner Fox. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGN-ECHVJkh74fjqZ_N__Lri9En3QSub3bsdKdz8K9i46I_m-DyPrrFQ2VWrAFh6NzCd6zcI9guQabMjk_EPPzES695O6Yx5xdiOcArM0S0B8XEdFTqmg801n7HhWIszyYKO6ejkboXs/s1600/kyrik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGN-ECHVJkh74fjqZ_N__Lri9En3QSub3bsdKdz8K9i46I_m-DyPrrFQ2VWrAFh6NzCd6zcI9guQabMjk_EPPzES695O6Yx5xdiOcArM0S0B8XEdFTqmg801n7HhWIszyYKO6ejkboXs/s1600/kyrik.jpg" height="200" width="121" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As usual, I have shelves full of old Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels and, in the interest of Spring Cleaning</span>, <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been thinning the herd. I have most recently read these two books by Gardner Fox.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Kyrik: Warlock Warrior</u>; This one is pretty racy, sexy for a tale that was first published in the 1950s. It is "in the tradition of Conan" but I've never read anything this sexy from R.E.H. Perhaps De Camp edited all the sex out? Oh, it appears Kyrik was published in 1975, thus the sexually liberated nature of the content.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Hunter Out of Time</u> is <span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextContainerreview1223708107">Pulp
Sci-Fi at it's, often disjointed and illogical best. This twisted time travel tale reminded me of the
writing style of Lionel Fanthorpe. Which certainly is not meant as an
insult to Gardner Fox, whose literary achievements speak for themselves. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextContainerreview1223708107">Both books were great fun and true testaments to sunny days and the simple pleasure and relaxation of reading. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="readable reviewText"><span id="freeTextContainerreview1223708107"></span></span></span>Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-20406611548714398992015-01-28T20:28:00.000-05:002015-01-28T20:28:10.297-05:00Bizarre Books by Ashe & Lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFlix43KaswFYYjjZz4cimiank20uyooJDxJ_nGUfCC9PsE2QAuL1x9wjl9ajCPDnQUPeD8Jz5ATOjL111A6znTWPir1tPDOqZffQ-fB9nMDAVutPhuN7tcqW2cr73_KT5i42Ocry90c/s1600/Bizarre+books+too.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFlix43KaswFYYjjZz4cimiank20uyooJDxJ_nGUfCC9PsE2QAuL1x9wjl9ajCPDnQUPeD8Jz5ATOjL111A6znTWPir1tPDOqZffQ-fB9nMDAVutPhuN7tcqW2cr73_KT5i42Ocry90c/s1600/Bizarre+books+too.jpg" /></a></div>
This is not some lost list of role playing tomes. Rather, it is a compilation of of awkward titles of published books. Most of the titles listed are publications from Great Britain, the edition which I have just read, the first U.S. publication, is from 2006. Bizarre, comical, intriguing or just plan wrong, Ashe and Lake have included book titles that will capture the interest of anyone brave enough to investigate their compendium. <br />
<br />
How does this fit into a blog which is usually about Weird Fantasy Role Playing Games? Let me start with <u>The Planet of the Knob Heads</u> by Stanton Coblentz which appears to have been printed in the old pulp <i>Science Fiction</i> in 1939. The internet has a hand full of references to what was potentially Mr. Coblentz's masterpiece, but there is no archival existence of this piece that I could find. I did, however, find six results for <a href="https://archive.org/search.php?query=Coblentz%2C%20Stanton%20A.%22%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts" target="_blank">Coblentz</a> on the Internet Archive. Three of these documents are publications of Amazing Stories, there we are sure to find some fodder for any Weird Science RpG we're working on. <br />
<br />
Some of the book titles listed could easily be fictional titles from Weird Science lit;<br />
<ul>
<li><u>The Skeleton Edition of the Book of Comprehension No. 1, The Preparation X.13: The Rose Color Reference for Technical, Kindergarten and Nature Teachers</u></li>
<li><u>To Lake Tanganyika in a Bath Chair</u> by Annie Boyle Hore</li>
<li><u>In Dwarf Land and Cannibal Country</u> by Albert Bushnell Lloyd</li>
<li><u>Was Oderic of Pordenone Ever in Tibet?</u> by <a href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4526418?sid=21105193592381&uid=2129&uid=16886816&uid=2&uid=67&uid=62&uid=16887128&uid=70&uid=3" target="_blank">Berthold Laufer</a></li>
<li><u>The Trapping and Destruction of Executive Armoured Cars</u> by John A. Minnery </li>
</ul>
There is 215 pages of this stuff. As the following examples from the first two letters of the alphabet will illustrate, possibly the most useful info for an rpg is the list of authors' names. <br />
<ul>
<li>Istvan Apathy</li>
<li>Gaspar Griswold Bacon</li>
<li>Ludwig Von Baldass</li>
<li>Jean Baptiste Banal</li>
<li>Otto Banga</li>
<li>Rudyard Kipling Bent</li>
<li>Juana Bignozzi</li>
<li>Rene Palapart de Bigot</li>
<li>Bishop Boguphalus II</li>
<li>Nancy Hess Omaha Boy</li>
<li>Melt Brink</li>
</ul>
I'll consider that the names of the city council members for my latest Encounter Critical burg, Nuevo Brussels. I also consider this further proof that wacky ideas and inspiration can come from anywhere. Inspiration doesn't have to be limited to High Lit. or the latest episode of Teen Titans Go!<br />
<br />
Lastly, enjoy this phasic tune which I'm sure Hank and Jim listened to during the composition and play testing of Encounter Critical. <br />
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<br />Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-21045144662857338762015-01-18T12:17:00.000-05:002015-01-18T12:19:36.893-05:00Lin Carter's Year's Best Fantasy Stories Vol. 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtgH3OntvAr-6_aWWmeeP1NxMYCOEelPuEDD-v1T-q1v9FpVhknCUY2WNpWM37qmpiA2LhZxK2hPlIOUmlIZbUUeQ0jRez5Y2gXqlfbcXbQ0GrIXHk2zRFFyP2LxuQKezqnBx4QWNKEA/s1600/years+best+fantasy+vol+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirtgH3OntvAr-6_aWWmeeP1NxMYCOEelPuEDD-v1T-q1v9FpVhknCUY2WNpWM37qmpiA2LhZxK2hPlIOUmlIZbUUeQ0jRez5Y2gXqlfbcXbQ0GrIXHk2zRFFyP2LxuQKezqnBx4QWNKEA/s1600/years+best+fantasy+vol+1.jpg" /></a>I am a sucker for these old Lin Carter anthologies. They contain the
best of, at least, three generations of Fantasy Fiction. The first two
volumes both contain tales by Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith.
Both volumes have new or rare material from Fritz Leiber, L. Sprague de
Camp, Jack Vance and Carter. The tales which I often enjoy most are from
the young writers of the time. Vol. 1 of The Year's Best Fantasy
Stories features newcomers Pat McIntosh and Charles R Saunders. There is
also a piece of lost history of Middle Earth as told by Marrion Zimmer
Bradley, The Sword of Dyrnwyn by Lloyd Alexander and a posthumous work
by Hans Bok. Every sentence is classic, enduring fantasy enjoyment and most of these folks are listed as inspirational reading in Appendix N of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Dungeon Master's Guide.<br />
<br />
2014 was a quest of personal accomplishment for me which I have completed with success. I am now free of the literal and proverbial text books, free to read any smut, pulp or trash that I may like. And free to wonder the wastelands of fantasy role playing enthusiasts, a journey I hope to renew and share the travels of the polyhedral dice bag. Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-87880668270021496882014-05-13T12:15:00.000-04:002014-05-13T13:19:58.227-04:00Upon Reading Chapman's HomerOr, rather, some things I have learned from George R. R. Martin's A Storm of Swords.<br />
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1. How to name nonplayer charters or, names for the average Joes of medieval fantasy:<br />
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Alyn of Winterfell, Josh Quick-Bow, Little Matt, Anvil Ryn, Ser Ormomd, Ser Dudley, Pate of Mory, Pate of Lancewood, Old Pate, Pate of Shermer's Grove, Blind Wyl the Whittler, Goodwife Maerie, Maerie the Whore, Becca the Backer, Ser Raymond Darry, Lord Darry, Young Lord Darry, the Bastard of Bracken, Fletcher Will, Harsley, Goodwife Nolla....<br />
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This list is from page 465. Those who have read he book may recall it as a list of folks murdered by Sador Clegane, "The Dog."<br />
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2. How many plot seeds can one location contain?<br />
<br />
"The Nightfort had figured in some of Old Nan's scariest stories. It was here that Night's King had reigned, before his name was wiped from the memory of man. This was where the Rat King had served the Andal king his prince-and-bacon pie, where brave young Danny Flint had been raped and murdered. This was the castle where King Sherrit had called down his curse on the Andals of old, where the 'prentice boys had faced the thing that came in the night, where Blind Symeon Star-Eyes had seen the hellhounds fighting. Mad Axe had once walked these yards and climbed these towers, butchering his brothers in the dark." (p. 756)<br />
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3. No surprise, G. R. R. Martin fashions a very authentic medieval folk song.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"My featherbed is deep and soft,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and there I'll lay you down.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'll dress you in yellow silk,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and on your head a crown.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For you shall be my lady love, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and I shall be your lord.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'll always keep you warm and safe,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and guard you with my sword."</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"And she smiled and how she laughed,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the maiden of the tree.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She spun away and said to him,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
no featherbed for me.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I'll wear a gown of golden leaves,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and bind my hear with grass.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But you can be my forest love,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and I your forest lass." (p. 309)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
I read this book over a year ago and it has been lying around while I've intended to post these comments. Now off to Paperback Swap with you.</div>
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<br />Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-65752385376324091872014-05-02T11:03:00.000-04:002014-05-02T11:08:01.426-04:00Another Encounter Critical Community Project!No gaming activity, or blogging, for me since I moved to Alabama and returend to school back in Dec. The term is over at school so I discovered this Encounter Critical commuinty project over at No Signal. I'm having fun with it, come join us, if you will.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://encritgaz.blogspot.com/2014/04/gygaxian-democracy-planets-of-tombs.html?showComment=1399042539892#!/2014/04/gygaxian-democracy-planets-of-tombs.html" target="_blank">Gygaxian Democracy - Planet of Tombs !</a>Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-77521193575553830482013-08-20T08:41:00.000-04:002017-08-22T21:01:12.612-04:00Further Deconstruction of Star WarsThere were a few points which I failed to mention in my last post. First, and just briefly, I find it hard to believe that Lucas had written all six Star Wars movies before making the original. I imagine he had an outline which included material not covered in the first three films. I am sure this outline expanded during the production process of each film. This is neither, here nor there. My opinion of Mr. Lucas' creative process doesn't really get us to my point very quickly. Ultimately, my opinion is mute because Mr. L is the creative genius millionaire and I'm just a lower middle class drone with a laptop. <br />
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I'll let this vague image of Grumpy Cat represent my question for today. What happened to the 999 other generations of Jedi Knights? I know they are covered in the various comics, video games and novels. It just seems that Lucas wrote this line and then farmed it out for creative licensing. Again, if I'm gonna bitch about it, I should be so creative.<br />
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I'm not sure I have all this deconstruction out of my system. I know I need to seek some sanctuary in my copy of the Dark Horse Omnibus of the original Star Wars comics. I should have some actual game content or news of the Adventure Capitalists for you all soon. Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-66273533928586215252013-08-18T11:48:00.000-04:002013-08-19T09:18:11.353-04:00From Tatooine, the Skywalker family! Come on down!I recently crawled out of my corporate cave long enough to discover <a href="http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Harmys-STAR-WARS-Despecialized-Edition-HD-REMASTERED-v21-AVCHD-is-now-out/topic/12713/" target="_blank">Harmy's Star Wars Despecialized Edition</a>. Then, one day this past week, before reporting to work, I managed to watch the first hour of Star Wars. I was, as you may imagine, riveted to the screen. That first hour of Star Wars is some of the best cinematography ever. I mean, evah! <br />
<br />
The viewing of this old film greased the ol' thought process and I couldn't help but wonder how Luke Skywalker had an uncle? Since papa Skywalker, Anakin / Darth Vader, was an only child, where did uncle Owen Lars come from? I was thinking this was another <br />
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giant plot flaw in the Lucasverse until I looked at the<br />
Wikipedia entry for the Skywalker family and was reminded that Grandma Skywalker, once released from slavery, had married Cliegg Lars.<br />
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Now I know where uncle Owen Lars came from, plot flaw resolved. However, having read said Wiki article, I am reminded that Anakin/ Darth Vader was the product of a miraculous birth. Gibberish, pure gibberish I tell you! <br />
<br />
While reading about Harmy's Star Wars project I was reminded that in one of the prequels, Yoda remarks that the prophecy associated with Anakin may have been misinterpreted. What is Lucas saying here? And, why haven't Christian groups protested this stab at their sacred text? Perhaps there was some uproar but I missed the memo. Most likely, they just don't analyze the inner working of the Lucasverse to this extent. <br />
<br />
This discussion could go on all day. I know it is a discussion that has been flogged to death across the entree-net. (Yeah, I call it the entree-net, if you haven't noticed.) None the less, welcome back, welcome back all of you to The Polyhedral Lucasverse! <br />
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Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-42870107991904346262013-07-10T19:44:00.003-04:002013-07-22T09:16:05.530-04:00Technical Difficulties...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-9454458222905116302013-02-01T10:03:00.000-05:002013-02-01T10:07:09.065-05:00Oh yeah!Some of you probably noticed or heard about this; the RPG Blog Alliance was hacked back in Dec. This resulted in a mass mail informing members of the alliance that they had been rejected.<br />
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My reaction was, "Oh, I don't post for thirty days so I get the boot. I don't need them," and I removed their badge from my blog. No offense RPG Blog Alliance, it's common for old farts like me to think like this. It's commonly called "grumpy." A few days later I received an e-mail which informed me of the hack. <br />
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Now that I've crawled out of hibernation I welcome back the RPG Blog Alliance to The Polyhedral Dicebag and I welcome myself back to the RPG B. A. Everybody; Welcome Back!<br />
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I have put the badge on the bottom of the right hand column. It's right above the Order of the D10000 badge which I need to do something with or remove. Now, where's that map I was working on? Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-91742589883233390292013-01-31T16:00:00.002-05:002013-01-31T16:05:54.223-05:00Polyhedral 2013 PremierFirst, I confess, I whiled most of my Holiday vacation time away, creating a Tumblr account and other such useless activities. I did complete a new Encounter Critical adventure. But, I can't tell you about it, in case we find ourselves in an E.C. game using the G+Hangout in the future. It is not a totally new adventure, it is loosely based on a previously published piece for a prominent rpg franchise. I'm intrenched in the old grindstone now and my free time will be limited until July or August, there probably will not be any Hangin' Out in my near future. <br />
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I also did a little work on an OSR community project; <a href="http://rendedpress.blogspot.com/2013/01/all-hail-cris-creel-update-on-community.html" target="_blank">The Young Green Dragon over the Next Hill.</a> This was lots of fun and I am very happy with my contribution. Now I am itching to run a Labyrinth Lord game. When the weather's a bit warmer I may commandeer a table on the patio at my favorite pub for just this purpose.<br />
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<a href="http://heckyeahclassicscifi.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Heck yeah, Classic Sci-Fi!</a> Actually, I ended up with two pages on Tumblr. Heck Yeah, Classic Sci-Fi is the newest and is, obviously, dedicated to images of and related to Classic Science Fiction and Pulp Sci-Fi. I was posting a lot of Sci-Fi book covers to the other page, Fanatical Recycling Inc, and HYCSF evolved out of this practice. <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/fanaticalrecyclinginc" target="_blank">Fanatical Recycling Inc.</a> started as a dump for images that would inspire environmental elements in rpg adventures. Then I started putting images of nature on there and the content became a bit ambiguous. Darn nature and all it's beauty! Hopefully I will manage to keep these the two pages distinct.<br />
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Ah yeah, how could I forget to share this? Thanks to Billiam of <a href="http://adventuresandshopping.blogspot.com/2013/01/mysterious-packages.html" target="_blank">Adventures in Shopping </a><br />
I learned of Dyson's Delves. I don't buy many new RPG products, as few as one or two a year, but this tome looks both useful and fun. I'll be watching the e-mail and snail-mail boxes for this anticipated arrival. <br />
(Those minis in Bill's article look great too.)<br />
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I'm gonna go draw a map for you all now, if you can find a copy of Marvel Apes for $4, I suggest you purchase it. It was a fun read and even has zombies. <br />
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<br />Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-87039191723811825142012-12-14T15:13:00.000-05:002012-12-19T10:18:12.442-05:00Let's talk about mechanics.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_5yaY29kN9cuIWEtJ6oW_QCpiciGjNs2wnUUS-1R80a-2M-E8_dKAAr1NWcCl0pf4eG8gk3NDfeTt7zjoNZvXjVoSX151mjNyxT44pr_PDQY13yQRbPf-a_GhSyS67c3NW0_bUn57dE/s1600/robot+clip+art.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_5yaY29kN9cuIWEtJ6oW_QCpiciGjNs2wnUUS-1R80a-2M-E8_dKAAr1NWcCl0pf4eG8gk3NDfeTt7zjoNZvXjVoSX151mjNyxT44pr_PDQY13yQRbPf-a_GhSyS67c3NW0_bUn57dE/s1600/robot+clip+art.png" /></a></div>
No, not game mechanics, robot mechanics in Encounter Critical or the weird science/fantasy game of your choice. I think every adventure that I have designed for E.C. has had a robot combatant in it. If all the robots in an rpg were exactly alike it would become predictable and boring so I came up with some quirks for my latest robot design. <br />
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Imagine, your players unwittingly stumble into a robot workshop. A super, fighter 'bot is being repaired here but it still has a programing issue or two. The helpless human technicians need the broken 'bot too defend them against the player characters. Will their attempt at mechanized self defense work?<br />
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<u>Roll d100 once per round to determine movement of any robot in ill repair: </u><br />
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01 – 25 The 'bot is malfunctioning and moving slowly; no attack.<br />
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26 – 50 'Bot is able to manage one clumsy attack this round.<br />
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51 – 75 'Bot musters two erratic but very fast attacks this round.<br />
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76 -- 00 Programming works fluidly for two consecutive rounds producing fluid attacks. <br />
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I have some other ideas but I believe this enough information for now.Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-22860296809349411242012-12-06T15:09:00.000-05:002012-12-06T15:09:14.407-05:00Maliszewski Meme and Martin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLD-QtfhjNhGCCV4VYMeURHQQ-x4rEkUcRVRbXgEVHRem2mopgxhA4kDf5Jrsmeyug7NrddD5t4YDEFB0qjn59dY9vfhnbBr-oicvkV46fy0xaak0bkIErWFpIq_ruhTE9_19fJwGPzvo/s1600/100_0463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLD-QtfhjNhGCCV4VYMeURHQQ-x4rEkUcRVRbXgEVHRem2mopgxhA4kDf5Jrsmeyug7NrddD5t4YDEFB0qjn59dY9vfhnbBr-oicvkV46fy0xaak0bkIErWFpIq_ruhTE9_19fJwGPzvo/s320/100_0463.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
And you guys thought you were late to the party...<br />
Mr. Maliszewski started the meme of photos of our current RPG reference material. So, here's what I use the most; Labyrinth Lord and Encounter Critical. I keep telling myself that I'm going to use the AD&D DMG but it doesn't get referenced very often. My use of the Encounter Critical rulebook hasn't been up to par this year. Dang real life getting in the way of Role Playing Games! <br />
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I did leave one book out of the photo, the Holmes Basic rulebook which I look at more often then the DMG. Of course, Labyrinth Lord is the Basic D&D retroclone which prevents frequent references to the Holmes book.<br />
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Who's Martin you ask, George R. R. Martin of course. I've read 700 pages of A Storm of Swords and would like to think Mr. Martin is having some influence on my game and plot design but I can't be certain. Martin's approach to literary plot would seem a bit nontraditional, his use of the protagonist is disposable, literally. His writing is beautiful and flawless but don't become attached to any of the characters or factions in the Song of Fire and Ice series. I still have 300 pages to read in this novel and I am starting to wonder what characters will survive as material for the subsequent books in this series. <br />
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Now, back to the ol' drawing board. I promise to provide some gaming material in the next post since I have posted photos of books for the past two days. <br />
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<br />Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-10226384034323941782012-12-05T13:18:00.000-05:002012-12-05T13:18:32.312-05:00What passes for quality reading around here...Here are two of the latest acquisitions for my library. I discovered <u>100 Fantasy Short Short Stories</u> through Paperback Swap. Yeah, these are some short, short stories and I question if, at least one of them, qualifies as a story at all. Barry N. Malzberg's <i>The Second Shortest Short Fantasy Ever Ever Published</i> is less than a page long and the last paragraph is:<br />
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"The bullet bullet lodged deep deep in his brain he pulled pulled the trigger the bullet lodged lodged deep in his brain brain he he pulled pulled the trigger trigger the bullet"<br />
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So this story ends, with no punctuation. That's not what passes as quality reading around here but it was a challenge to type. However, I'm sure I will get lots of enjoyment when I settle down with the rest of the short, short stories. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSBVmqsL8hwsZnJ91b1T3k5OCmkQsvhLph279CmrbN2PLD4Z9i22n6H4Jv6yfjTl3dMTWeZc61BGXMrK-MXO6r5_1eRSl0jJias01iaj8U28IsZYSganPIgRux9X92f7INNWLTMj9SgE/s1600/100_0458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHSBVmqsL8hwsZnJ91b1T3k5OCmkQsvhLph279CmrbN2PLD4Z9i22n6H4Jv6yfjTl3dMTWeZc61BGXMrK-MXO6r5_1eRSl0jJias01iaj8U28IsZYSganPIgRux9X92f7INNWLTMj9SgE/s320/100_0458.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />At the suggestion of <span class="post-author vcard"><span class="fn">James Maliszewski</span></span> I purchased Patrick Wetmore's <u>Anomalous Subsurface Environment </u>or ASE-1. I looked through the first twenty pages and I love this book! I shared it with the Adventure Capitalist last night and the all seemed to appreciate it too. I told the A.C. guys, "This guy wrote it just like I would and I'm sure I missed some of his inside jokes." If you like swords & laser guns or mutants & magic you should definitely get a copy of Anomalous Subsurface Environment Vol. 1. <a href="http://henchmanabuse.blogspot.ca/"></a>Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-49383191716841878792012-12-04T16:46:00.002-05:002012-12-04T16:47:47.575-05:00Krull-bots, an new kind of stormtrooper. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I reviewed the 1983 Science/Fantasy film Krull this past Sunday. I remember that movie from my youth, I am sure I watched it with my brothers on the good ol' VHS player. At the time, we probably thought that Krull would make a great plot for our D&D games. A plot which we never pursued as I recall. <br />
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Thirty years later, I found the movie nearly unwatchable. (I think I was typing something at the time.) There were a few elements which I can see putting into an rpg, be it D&D, Mutant Future or Encounter Critical. Today I'll create some Encounter Critical stats for what I call the Krull-bots.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqLDbbzxLnBqhiJwIfmWjC5oIBz8G3Qst1xvnla2mkyZQ63iFmvQpExiOOhGV-zyH4DZBAHxoOZG8l0vj3pwiPucnSNqGMQTzpdRM77G_dV1bbjAvJjlm9GRIu_yBrEu-0AkNeCZIcQk/s1600/krull+stormtrooper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqLDbbzxLnBqhiJwIfmWjC5oIBz8G3Qst1xvnla2mkyZQ63iFmvQpExiOOhGV-zyH4DZBAHxoOZG8l0vj3pwiPucnSNqGMQTzpdRM77G_dV1bbjAvJjlm9GRIu_yBrEu-0AkNeCZIcQk/s320/krull+stormtrooper.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
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<u>Krull-bots or KR'83</u><br />
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Robodroid Warriors - Armor: 49% - Damage: by Laser Rifle 1 - 8 - Hit Points: 1 - 12<br />
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The KR'83 model 'droid warriors are the standard econo-line pawns of Evil Overlords throughout the <span class="st">Medieval</span> Rim and the known, and unknown galactic systems. Gold can't buy these robot protectors but a days labor of the smallest copper mine can purchase a legion or mindless, electric servo protection (500 units per legion.) This model is affective against unarmed peasants but is of little use against more experienced warriors or adventurers as one well placed hit renders the KR'83 into a heap of whining servos and frayed electronic circuits. No upgrades are available for this model at this time. Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-21819417822515369332012-11-30T11:42:00.000-05:002012-11-30T11:42:50.643-05:00Phasic 5! Yeah, yeah, I <u>finally</u> finished editing issue 5 of <i>phasic</i>, the Encounter Critical fanzine. This issue actually had five contributors, many thanks to these guys. There are a few scraps remaining, which I forgot to include, that I could use to start issue 6. That may be a project for next year? I've got an unfinished adventure design, or two, I want to work on before I start another issue of <i>phasic</i>. Of course, if someone else would like to take up the editorially banner and produce a subsequent issue that would dandy too.<br />
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I posted the file, a pdf, on Google Drive and left it open for public viewing. It's here: <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0_8U1ujAyH9a0xFY19YaC1XZ0U/edit" target="_blank"><i>phasic</i> # 5</a><br />
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<br />Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8098951504920720757.post-42685089309505788322012-11-26T17:46:00.002-05:002012-11-28T07:42:59.749-05:00Dungeons & Dirigibles I know this has been done, but leave it to my DIY nature to reinvent the wheel, I think that's much the nature of the OSR, is reinventing the RPG wheel. While reading Frankenstein I began imagining what D&D, I mean original D&D, would be if Appendix N where composed of Shelley's Frankenstein, Stoker's Dracula, the Jules Verne catalogue and 1001 Arabian Nights. <br />
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First, the list of classes would be slightly different. There would be the traditional Fighters but they might be renamed Soldiers and magic users would be heavily focused on alchemy . All clerics would be Christian, Masonic, Muslim or Egyptian. (Gotta throw in the Masonic and Egyptology hooks.) Since Frankenstein is based on a scientist that recreates life, there would have to be a class called Professor, Surgeon or Scientist. (I like Surgeon.) There would have to be a rouge, scoundrel or beggar class and a specialist class that all classes could adopt, we'll call it Adventurer. The Adventurer subclass would allow characters to focus on weapon specialization, fine tuning their profession and/or exploration. <br />
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The weapons list would be different too, focusing mainly on cutlasses, rapiers, flint lock firearms, torches and pitchforks.<br />
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Since Frankenstein was the source of these ideas I'll focus a bit more on the Surgeon class. In Shelley's tale, Frankenstein's creation was the central problem or obstacle of the plot. Within the scope of an RPG, the nature or personality of the creation, or Flesh Golems, could be variable. V. Frankenstein struggled with the moral nature and responsibility of his creation and this wouldn't be the case with all, if any, player characters. The player character surgeons could, possibly, create any number of socially functioning Flesh Golems. <br />
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Now I'm thinking that this idea, which I'll call Dangers & Dirigibles, is most likely to become a set of rules for Encounter Critical. Which brings me to the obvious point that I'm way past any reasonable deadline for producing Phasic issue 5. To be continued...Chris Creelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993487911122629839noreply@blogger.com2