RPGaDay Challenge 2020 - FOREST

Ah, the Forest. A once breath-taking and often foreboding word used to describe a land environment dominated by a dense collection of trees, bushes, and other assorted undergrowth. Thought by early Humans to be a separate world unto itself, the haven of foul beasts and wicked faerie, now reduced to the generic, uninteresting, green and brown backdrop to untold thousands of Medieval Fantasy campaigns. 

Oh how the mighty have fallen. And yet, if the forest falls in the annals of gaming history and no one pays attention, does it make a sound?

As you may know (and even if you didn't until now), I have no great love of Medieval Fantasy. This is in part because it rarely feels Medieval or Fantastic. Forests are a perfect example of this. When was the last time you and your party were frightened to enter a Forest?

Forests have become less of a metaphor for the unknown and more a mundane locale and a rather boring one at that. They've lost their mystique and it isn't especially surprising that this has happened. From our perch high up in the aged and experienced oak of modern times we peer down on the hazy, mist filled woodlands of yore and chuckle to ourselves thinking, "I can't believe I was so young, so naive as to be frightened of the natural world."

People of today, which we all are, believe ourselves masters of the Earth and we no longer view nature, particularly forests, as something unknowable. That is, unless you're actually in one.

On a recent outing to upstate New York with my Mom I had the pleasure of seeing an outdoor sculpture exhibit known as Storm King. While the majority of the Storm King statues and abstract constructions are placed in the middle of vast stretches of low grasslands, a few are hidden away just off the well traveled paths of the art center and even in the deeper woods surrounding it.

My Mother and I trekked across the 500 acre region, climbing hills and ducking under low hanging tree branches but when it came time to leave the road and go into the forest, well, we did it as long as we could see the road from where we were. 

When actually presented with the forest, the ever pervasive maze of trees, shrubs, leaves, and grass with no clear trail outlined in the dirt, it is just as beautiful and as off-putting to us as it was to our ancestors. The dappled light, rustling canopy, and shaded patches of toadstools and wildflowers bring forth the same feelings of mystery and wonder to today's adventurers as they did for those of old for whom folk tales are undoubtedly still told.

I say, bring it back my friends - return the green to it's rightful glory! Add a touch of fear and fascination, depth and desperation to travels through the woods. Bring the ancient forest back to life so they are appreciated now, before it is too late and they are gone.

“Voices in the forest tell of dark and twisted enchantments - as dark and twisted as the roots and grasping branches of the trees themselves. Even the most gnarled tree is eloquent in the telling of its own tale.”

- Brian Froud, Illustrator and Concept Artist.

AD
Barking Alien

Stranger Games

I know I've mentioned this before but I do so love this analogy...

My friend Dave used to say, "Adam, you run two types of games, Blockbusters and Art Films. What [most] players want to play are your Blockbusters. What you really want to run, are your Art Films."

This is so true.

The urge to run something more than a little off the beaten path has been very powerful of late but I'm not sure I have the audience for it. The players in both my current in-person groups have certain preconceived notions and down right hang-ups that make running the ideas I am presently wrestling with a bit more problematic than I would like. 

Truth is, I don't want it to be problematic at all.

I can't help feeling that I have some awesome game ideas that may never get the chance to see the table. This is a phenomena I am not used to (well, I am getting more used to it). I don't like it. It irks me. That's right, irks. 

Maybe my online group? *

Did any of you see Stranger Things? It really inspired me. It reminded me of ideas I've shelved that were originally intended for my NJ group or an older variant of my NY group that I no longer have access to...exactly. More on that in a bit.

Basically, I am in the mood for...

A variety of recent TV shows, books, and other things have me chomping at the bit to run some oddball games that I know, I Just Know, would be awesome for the right group. I might be able to pull some of them off in one of my current groups, or the other, but I don't really feel confident that they'd go over well. Running a game just to run it has never been my thing. If everyone isn't going to buy into it, and love it as much as I do, well really, what's the point?

Here are some of my thoughts...

I have several subjects over which I routinely obsess. Among the ones at the forefront of my thinking right now are UFOs and Aliens, Ghosts, and Faerie FolkloreI.

UFOs and Aliens:

I'm envisioning a game that merges elements of Attack the Block, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Men in Black, and Stranger Things.

The players play Middle School aged kids who uncover and become mixed up in some kind of mass UFO siting situation that somehow involves what appears to be a shadowy government organization. 

I have some interesting ideas on how to make use of 70s and 80s Sci-Fi movie tropes and also how to flip some of them. 

No title for this yet, although I was considering 'Watch The Skies'. The system would have to be something really simple and flexible. Possibly Ghost/Echo, InSpectres, or Powered by the Apocalypse. Likely some kind of homebrew kitbash of these. 

Ghosts:

While I should probably wait until October (Halloween Season), I'm going to try and test drive my long labored upon Ghost Story RPG, Unfinished Business. I think I finally have a system that works. It's very simple, based on the free indie RPG Doom & Cookies. 

The premise, as noted in past posts on the subject, is that you play a ghost. You're dead. The object/goal of the adventure is to move on to whatever comes next. The problem is, for some reason you're stuck here on the mortal plane, though barely able to effect is. 

Through role-playing and resource management, you attempt to accomplish something that will let you go to your just reward. Maybe you need the new homeowners to find your comic book collection, and note on where to donate it that hidden in the basement. Perhaps the want your daughter to know you approve of her choice of husband after all. Whatever is holding you here, whatever tragedy, disappointment, concern, etc., needs to be rectified so you can properly shuffle off this mortal coil.

In addition to wanting to create a game where you get to play a ghost haunting the living, the game was inspired by the concept that in most games you create a character, and try to keep them alive so you can keep playing them. Unfinished Business starts with you being dead. The purpose of play to reach a point where you can stop playing your character, and remove them from the game.

*As it turns out, the opportunity to run Unfinished Business is here quicker than I expected. I will be filling in for our Wednesday night online game GM for two sessions, and I've decided to run my ghost story game. Wish me luck!

Faerie Folklore:

I'm currently using Ars Magica 3rd Edition to run a game set in my D&D-But-Not universe of Aerth. It's fun, but I find myself drifting away from the Superheroic angle of it, and more towards Ars Magica proper.

Why? Recent things I've read, and watched, including Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell on Netflix, a novel set in the world of Jim Henson's Dark Crystal, and other such flights of fancy (and fantasy) have me longing for magic, and myth the way I like it. That is to say, not like D&D.

More specifically I want to go back and revisit some of my sadly short lived ideas for campaigns I never quite got to work.  First, a heavily folklore influenced, Jim Henson's Storyteller inspired Ars Magica game. Next, a variation of what I once tried to do with Pendragon (probably not such a bright idea based on the last experience). Third, a tragically too short Faery's Tale Deluxe campaign I started, but never got to continue.

On a related note, I am going to write a post very soon about Magic in Fantasy that is going to hurt your head, and burn your eyes if you are of the Dungeons and Dragons/Pathfinder persuasion. Just a friendly warning. 

Do view it won't you. Heheheh.

Well, that's about that for now. I will probably be talking about some of these ideas again, and with any luck it will be because I am running on of them. 
Until next time,

Heh-heh. Got carried away,

AD
Barking Alien

Celebrate The Green!

'May the best day of your past
Be the worst day of your future.'

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

AD

Barking Alien




         

The Stuff of Future Memory

It has begun...

PENDRAGON

'The Lion and The Sea'

The Coat of Arms and Personal Symbols of the Player Characters;

Right to Left Top: Sir Basil of Rathmoor, Freydis The Mariner Knight, Aiden The Celt,
Sir Henry of Basker Village
Bottom: Malecai The Magnificent

This past Saturday we held the first session of our new campaign, 'The Lion and The Sea', a campaign of Pendragon, The Role Playing Game of Chivalry, Magic and King Arthur's Britain. And it rocked!

For those unfamiliar with the game, I highly recommend checking it out and reading the following internet references:

Pendragon Role Playing Game Wikipedia Entry
Pendragon Retrospective by Grognardia
Pendragon Analysis By The Silver Key - Why it isn't more popular and why it should be.

Oh, and this guy knows a thing or two about the game as well...

Greg Stafford's Pendragon Site

Yes, that last link is to a very helpful and obviously heart felt website belonging to the creator of the Pendragon RPG, Greg Stafford. This game was and is a definite labor of love for the man and I would personally like to thank him for all his hard work and creativity. Thank you Mr. Stafford. Amazing job.

I should probably also apologize to him, since this post is not just about a Pendragon campaign I am running but a Barking Alien Pendragon game for my particular group of players. I am fairly certain we are already playing it very, very wrong.

That said...

We had an absolute blast and the players really got into their characters (For the most part. Continue reading). They also adapted fairly well to the setting, even though the characters they created were not all what you would normally expect.

See, my players seem slightly allergic to the act of getting behind and into a genre and playing it. If you say your going to run Circle: The RPG, where everyone plays some kind of Circle in Circular World, my players will ask if there are options to play squares and trapezoids. They will be very discouraged if the answer is no, even to the point of losing enthusiasm and interest in the game.

Did I mention we all agreed to play Circle: The RPG when I suggested it and explained what it was about? We did. And still...trapezoids.

Now some of this comes from a strong streak of creativity and individuality that many of my players have. I like to encourage that and certainly don't want to discourage it, so I will hear any crazy idea out before giving my opinion of it. In the recent past, I have been almost too flexible, resulting in games that did not feel right to me or flow the way I wanted them to. Here, with Pendragon, I tried to be a little firmer about what was a fitting character and what wasn't and largely this resulted in characters who fit the milieu even if they are not exactly traditional Arthurian characters.

He's who we have:

Sir Basil of Rathmoor (Andy)

Sir Basil is by far the most classically Arthurian of all the PCs. He is a Knight of a once noble family that has fallen on difficult times, largely due to a curse on the family blood.

Legend has it that an ancestor of Sir Basil's, perhaps two or three generations back, spurned the love of a Faerie Princess who doomed his line to hardship and misery. Some say it is even worse than that. Only Sir Basil knows for certain.

Basil is a Roman descended Briton and a Christian. He is the eldest son of the Lord of Rathmoor, a small, decrepit fortress overrun with moss, vines and all manner of mushrooms. It sits just outside the faerie wood known as the Nain Forest. It lies in the center of the distance between Carlion and Cardiff. His keep and land, such as it is, is in the nation of Escavalon.

Basil is skilled with Lance and Sword and quite the Jouster. He is Valorous, Suspicious of non-Romans and Saxons (but tempers the former well). Basil's knowledge of Folklore and Faeries far surpasses most of the others. He reads and speaks Latin and is knowledgeable about the world beyond Britain to some extent.

Sir Henry of Basker Village, Knight Forester of Dartmoor at Devon (Ray)

Sir Henry is the next most traditional Knight, though in many ways he is less Knight and more Ranger. Sir Henry owes his style and skill to Aragorn as much or more than to Gawaine or Percival.

Sir Henry's father was a Knight Forester (yes, that was a real thing) who owed his allegiance to the former King of Cornwall and now to Prince Geriant of Devon. The current King of Cornwall, King Mark, is a greedy, lazy man of little Honor and pays little attention to the small village of Baskers, a tiny settlement in the vicinity of Dartmoor. Prince Geriant quietly sides with Arthur and lends him Sir Henry's skill as a Forester himself to lead the troupe of Knights north through the wilds of the Cambrian countryside.

Henry is a Cymric and a Christian. He rides with his faithful companion, an Irish Wolfhound/English Mastiff of great size and dark black/gray fur. The dogs appearance disquiets many as it is often mistaken for a supernatural Black Dog or Grim. Henry's main skills are with the most un-Knightly weapon of a Long Bow and in Hunting, Awareness of his surroundings and other abilities common to woodsman.

Someday, Sir Henry hopes to slay a dragon. It's nothing personal. It's just something he's always wanted to do.

The 'Lady' Freydis, In Some Future Time, 'The Mariner Knight' (Will)

(Will wanted to play a female character. That seems to be a trend from my two newest players, Will and Hans. I normally can't stand when men play women and vice versa because, a) it usually sucks and b) it often prevents romantic subplots as the awkward feeling some experience over this type of play is only increased by the dynamic of both players being heterosexual  members of the same sex but their characters being different genders.

Now, I will say that Will and Hans both handle this very well. Will is an especially good role-player and both fellows are big Anime/Manga fans, a medium where complex and strong female characters are not as rare as they are in the West. I look forward to seeing how this plays out in Pendragon, but as you might imagine, it made for a somewhat tricky approach to campaign design in this setting.)

Freydis is the daughter of a former warrior of the North who, when his brothers and allies entered into combat with the dreaded Whale Devourer, sailed to safe shores as fast as his little boat could carry him. While he saved his remaining family (himself, his wife, Freydis and her younger sister), he was labeled a coward in his homeland and could not return.

Sailing on for sometime unable to find safe harbor, Freydis' family and a number of other desperate Danes eventually landed/crashed into the western beaches of Cambria in England, across the sea from Ireland.

A tall, strong and fiercely spirited young woman, Freydis is the most capable and able-bodied individual among the half dozen tiny fishing villages the Danish were able to establish. Saxon raiders hidden in the nearby woods, mountains and a wilderness bramble called 'The Wirral', constantly nab men from the village to add to their ranks.

Our story actually begins with King Arthur contacting the lord of Estragales and telling him by letter (likely written and advised on by Merlin) that he has learned of a young woman living in a fishing village of the shores between Gomeret and Chesire who, according to heresay, slew a Sea Monster with a single throw of a spear. Arthur asks King Lak of Estragales to send some Knights to check out this folk tale.

King Lak sends Sir Edwen of Carmarthen and Sir Dougherty of Pembroke (NPCs) to locate Sir Basil and Sir Henry and commands that all four go to find this young lady on behalf of King Arthur.

Freydis is a Danish Pagan, following a Wotannic religion. Hers is a dark but just god of Drowning and Beer. Pretty metal no? Her weapon of choice is the hand held harpoon.

Aiden The Celt (Hans)

(Hans' character is female, a young Irish woman named Andaste, but this is unknown to the party except for Freydis who, being a woman herself, took notice of things men are quite oblivious to.)

On the way north, the troupe of Knights, Sirs Edwen, Dougherty, Henry and Basil, came upon a wagon and its driver on a little used path through the Arroy Forest. The driver appeared to be a slim, young man, dressed as a warrior and was likely a bandit or a mercenary. The young 'man' saw the troupe first and asked them to identify themselves. They, being Knights, insisted he do the same. Sir Dougherty recognized 'his' accent as Irish and heavy and, since he is Irish himself, decided to talk to 'him' one-on-one.

Long story short, Dougherty felt it proper for him to do something for a kinsmen and hired the young 'fellow' as a guide familiar with the area. The mercenary youth said his named was 'Aiden' (Andaste's father's name).

Andaste/Aiden is a Irish Pagan. She is running from an overbearing father and a forced decree of marriage. Imagine Meredith from Brave is she were able to escape after meeting all the other clans and started a new life as a sword for hire. Yeah, like that!

Malecai The Magnificent (Marcus)

(Ah Marcus. *Shakes head* What am I going to do with you. Marcus, ladies and gentlemen, is not what you would call a team player. As a matter of fact, he is nearly the antithesis. The idea of joining anything larger than a two-man operation gives him hives. The larger, more organized and especially more authoritative the group, the less he wants to be a part of it.

Here in Pendragon, that meant that he did not want to be a Knight. No job where you are the vassal of another or owe fealty to some higher power is going to sit well with Marcus. Instead, Marcus chose the following character...)

Little is known about the dark skinned, white robed stranger found washing himself and his things in the river not far from the Wirral in Northwestern Cambria. Perhaps nothing would be known if it weren't for Sir Basil's knowledge of the lands beyond Britain and Malecai's own propensity to talk about himself when he wishes to.

Malecai is a Moor (a Pagan to the peoples of Arthurian England) who hails from a land near that which serves as home to the Saracens. While not exactly a sage or a priest, Malecai is a little of both of these things and perhaps something more. He claims to be capable of 'Magnificant Feats' and it was said feats that earned him his title.

Intrigued by this stranger and believing their meeting could not be mere chance ("Tis either the way of Merlin or the Will of God. Either way, someone has it in for us to have a grand adventure."), Sir Henry asked Malecai to accompany the group and Sir Edwen reluctantly agreed.

(Malecai is a Magician, more specifically, a Brujo (male witch or warlock of Brujeria, a witchcraft tradition of southern Spain). I have combined the magic folklore of the Northern African 'Moors' with that of the 'Moors' of Arabian heritage and added them to the base of Brujeria to create the magical tradition Malecai uses).

***

There were a lot of great lines of dialogue in the game, but among the best ones came just after Freydis first saw Malecai and assumed the Knights, who she had already been speaking to, had caught the devil.

As the Knights and Aiden tried to explain that Malecai was not (as far as they knew) the devil, Freydis pointed a burning stick in Malecai's direction as her sister heated the tip of an iron headed harpoon. Freydis warned the Knights that the devil was unbound, he was free and might 'away'.

That turned into laughs, clarifications and the Knights and Malecai arguing over what to do. Malecai tried to say, "You do not know me. How can you call me the devil?". Unfortunately, Freydis' grasp of English is not perfect and it sounded like, "You can not guess/know my name?", something a devil would surely say.

Finally we stopped laughing, teasing each other and somehow got into a round about conversation regarding why we were there in the first place and why Arthur would even care about the young Danish woman, even though it turned out she did indeed slay a fairly large Sea Monster single-handedly. When all had quieted down there was a pause and then Freydis turned calmly to Sir Edwen and Sir Basil and asked, "Explain to me how he's not the devil."

I lost it. I almost sprayed soda.

This is not traditional Arthurian fare of that I can assure you but it is much closer to what I have been trying to pull off in Fantasy for some time now. I am really excited to continue.

Now that introductions are over I will get to an actual play report in an upcoming post.

For now, I am weary and must away,

AD
Barking Alien

I should note: Freydis and Aiden are not yet Knighted and in truth, do not have their Coats of Arms yet. The images above are what the two Players hope to some day achieve for their respective characters.

Shared Inexperience

I have several post ideas I'd like to get to this week as time and enthusiasm allow. I may be able to squeeze in the former but I am still struggling a bit to squeeze out the latter.

***

This past Saturday I ran another installment of our Ars Magica campaign, 'Something Rotten In Denmark'. Rather than recapping it, I would like to address and (hopefully) discuss on odd moment we had.

But first...

One of the elements of medieval fantasy fiction and gaming taughted as a major component of its popularity, is that it draws on our shared past. Reiterating something I've brought up a few times before, while we may have different visions of the future, we all, pretty much, share the same view of what the past was like.

While there is no denying there is some truth to the statement, I feel less and less like it's a factor in medieval fantasy RPGs. For one thing, how many of us are actually setting our games in the historic past of the real world? Furthermore, it would seem our shared pop culture knowledge of what a dragon or a magic spell or a knight is means a lot more than any actual understanding of the middle ages.

Now, what if that shared knowledge of what is to be found in a medieval fantasy setting isn't so shared? What do I mean? Case in point...

After a battle with some trolls seeking a crown of some kind, the PC and NPC Magi of the Covenant of The Silver Stag (or The Silver Elk Lodge) look at the cryptic last words of their recently departed leader...

"They will pass the ring...
Go for the crown.
Speak to the stone.
Our niece knows the way."

It took my players a long while to figure out what any of this meant. There were tons of clues to outright evidence but, as I may have mentioned before, investigating and solving mysteries and puzzles is not their forte'. I tried to make it as easy as possible so they would get it and feel encouraged to expand their abilities in this regard. Marcus can be pretty good at it from time to time but it's really hit or miss it seems. Anyway...

The 'ring' turned out to be (not the kind you wear but rather...) a circle of standing stones about 200 feet beyond the perimeter of the covenant house. The standing stones are each inscribed with a rune and must be read one after the other, out loud as if talking to the stone, in a clockwise fashion each morning at sunrise. They later find out you can actually read them anytime but the enchantment only lasts until the Sun rises the next day no matter when you 'started' it. This enchantment provides protection against the trolls during the night.

OK, problem: No one at the covenant except the old leader (who is dead) knows how to read these runes.

"But wait!", you exclaim. "The niece knows how right?"

Excellent observation dear reader. One that it took the players a bit to figure out since the PC who was there when the leader died, Dave's Bjornaer Magus, Adalfrid, could not remember exactly what Oshemming the Stout (now Oshemming the Deceased) had said exactly. Actually Dave couldn't remember. No one remembered and no one took notes. And they wonder why they get baffled by easy mysteries. I sometimes wonder why I bother. *Sigh*

Anyway, who's niece? Oshemming? No, it's confirmed that he had no remaining family. He said 'Our'. The covenant? His house?

It was then that an NPC realized that Adalfrid's Danish isn't particularly good. His native language is German. It's not 'Niece', it's 'Nisse', a type of Gnome or Brownie.

And then the breaks hit.

None of my three players were familiar with what a Brownie is. To them, a Gnome is a slim Dwarf or hairy Halfling in D&D or the tinkering artificers of Dragonlace and World of Warcraft.

I tried to explain it as a household spirit that fixes things when the people of the house are asleep. Like Dobie and the House Elves of Harry Potter.

Not one a Harry Potter fan.

'Like Thimbletack in The Spiderwick Chronicles', started bubbling up in my head but I knew that if they didn't know Harry Potter they weren't going to know Spiderwick. I eventually explained what a Brownie was or Nisse was and the PCs asked the other Magi how to find him. They didn't know. They didn't know there was a Nisse in the building. Lady Hildebritte was particularly stunned and flustered as a member of House Merinita (the house specializing in Faerie knowledge and magic). She was thoroughly embarrased.

When it came to figuring out who other than the departed Oshemming would know about the Nisse, the players flumoxed and stumbled again. I said simply, "If none of the Magi know, who would?"

Nothing. Then mentions of the different Magi in the Lodge. Then me reminding them that none of the Magi knew. Then crazy, no basis guesses. Then me feeling like taking up golf might be a better way to enjoy my Saturdays.*

"The Nisse fixes things, finishes chores for hard working people who fall asleep trying to complete them. Who is giving it the honey and bread or bowl of milk or portridge I mentioned? You think the Mages do that?"

"Of course not," Dave says jokingly, "I bet they don't even know how to cook. They have Grogs to cook...for...them...". Light bulb sputters on. The Grogs.

Anyway...my point is that the idea of a house spirit is a very old and very common one native to many, many regions. From the Scandinavian Nisse or Tomte to the the slavic Domovoi, the British Brownie and Scottish Urisk to the German Heinzelmännchen and even places as varied as Japan and many nations in Africa, there have been stories of this type of creature.

Not one of three guys, 26-34 years of age, who are into Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comic Book, etc and who play RPGs, including D&D, knew what a Brownie was.

Yet they all know what the Central Power Battery is and what a Spartan soldier is. Hmmm.

Something to think about as I plan future games.

AD
Barking Alien

*Golf. I despise Golf.

Facing The NaGa DeMon

This is coming...
 

 

 

Actually, this is here...though technically it doesn't start until November. I...

Wait...why is this pink? They went with pink? Gah.

 

 

 

 

There that's better.

 

So what is this? Why this my creatively curious compadre is the NaGa DeMon or National Game Desgin Month for this November of 2012. A challenge to yourself and the creative community to come up with, design, write and play a game of some kind within one month.

 

Games of all kinds are welcome and encouraged, from traditional tabletop role playing games to boardgames and computer games. There are no judges, no prizes and no obligations. It is simply the chance to challenge yourself and see what you and your fellow designers can come up with.

 

I am pretty excited to be participating as I see this as a test run for the game I am intending to publish but can't seem to get going on. If I can do this NaGa Challenge successfully than I think it will give me the courage to finishing my little 'Project X'.

 

As far as what I will be doing for the NaGa DeMon, it will of course be an RPG of the more Storytelling Game variety, very likely based on some untapped faerie folklore and folk tale ideas I've been thinking about lately. 

 

Wish me luck. Will keep you all updated as I go.

 

Laters,

 

AD

Barking Alien





Something Is Rotten In The State of Denmark

Only have the briefest of moments to get this down and posted before I head off to work but as inspiration struck I felt I needed to share.

I believe I have found the appropriate locale for our upcoming (and soon I might add) Ars Magica campaign...

Denmark

I like the idea of the people who were once counted among the great warriors and explorers of the Age of the Vikings now having to deal with life surrounded by the bickering and battling nobles and warlords of the rest of Scandanavia to the North and Roman-Germany to the South.

Plus, Denmark gives me access to the sea and I do so love the sea. I also love sea monsters, of which Denmark and Norway have some of the best. And speaking of monsters, Grendel anyone? Plus a host of faerie and undead creatures and my first real chance to do something with Gnomes related, but not identical, to the Gnomes book by Will Huygen and Rien Poortvliet that I've mentioned before. Plus, I can indulge my love of Trolls thanks to proximity to Norway. As the title reference of this post attests, ghosts and other mysterious things are likely to occur just as easily.

I need to refresh myself on the trade and politics of the time, mostly just to set the stage properly and examine some maps to see where I want the action to start.

So excited! I leave you with a Danish proverb...

Life is not holding a good hand; Life is playing a poor hand well.

Rejs sikkert alle!

AD
Barking Alien

Will Wonders Never Cease

A New Follower! Lots of Hits! Virtually No Comments!

Wait...huh?

Oh well...

A lot of things to touch upon this evening so let's get started shall we?

While walking by this small thrift store I pass by each and every work day, I decided to peek through the window at the used books. I do this one every week or two and though there has never been anything that caught my interest, I keep doing it just in case. Years ago I did the same thing at another such goodwill store near my old job downtown, periodically peering in from time to time and I came upon one of the Terra Trade Authority books. Ever since then I check out these kinds of stores in the off chance they'll have something cool.

Well luck was with me yesterday as I spotted two books I've been trying to get back ever since my copies were lost in the late eighties or early nineties. I found them both in hardcover and in very good condition for only $6.00 each!

'Flight of the Dragons' by Peter Dickinson is an oddly scientific look at dragons, with detailed theories on the pseudo-science that would enable such an animal to have actually existed in the real world. The book is full of neat illustrations, great stories and, although too science-y for my take on dragons, it is an excellent source for the kind of thoughts that go into world-building and alien creature design in RPGs. In addition, Dickinson gives scientific explanations for many of the legends attributed to dragons so, 'Ecology of the Dragon' anyone?

'Giants' by David Larkin is a book much more akin to one of my all time favorite books ever, 'Faeries' by Alan Lee and Brian Froud. Combining stories from myth and folklore with some fantastic illustrations, Giants is the perfect companion to Faeries, Gnomes and other such fantasy reference books. I am reading this one first and loving it. Very intriguing and giving me tons of fuel for an Ars Magica game (should I ever get to run one again).

Although I am not into D&D, Noisms has an excellent theory/concept of the how D&D style exploration and adventure might fit other historical eras better then it's default pseudo-medieval setting. I recommend checking it out.

It's official (although it will be officially announced at our regular Champions session this Saturday); I will not be running the next campaign my regular gaming group will be playing. Instead, one of my great players and good friends, Ray, will be running a campaign based on the Japanese Anime/Manga Hunter X Hunter. Should be a blast!

Happy Birthday to Lynda Carter! A wonder woman above and beyond her iconic role.

Sad to hear of the passing of Sherman Hemsley, gone at the age of 74. While I am not a religious man (and that is the understatement of the century), if I did believe in an afterlife I would imagine he'd be movin' on up.

Also, Rest In Peace Sally Ride, the first woman in space. A big inspiration to many in and out of the field of space science and a charming person in her own right, she leaves this Earth for the unknown frontier at the age of 61.

OK, lots more to come! Not having to work on a new campaign makes me feel so free. I have all this spare time. I think I'll...ooh, I know...I'll jot down some future campaign ideas...

Yeah, yeah I know. It's in my blood.

AD
Barking Alien

The Big Smurf - Part 3

With little time to think, let alone blog, a few things did pop into my head in the rare space of quiet between the end of my day and needing to go to bed...

I don't like the way I recap.

It's too long winded and much more like telling a story than really recapping an adventure. Granted, my adventures are more cooperative, interactive storytelling type sessions than they are traditional games but still. I don't think I really convey the games as I should and as I want to.

Also, so much happens in even a relatively short session of a humorous game that I end up getting bored retelling the adventure when I'd rather talk about something new. My brain doesn't like or do well with staying on the same subject for too long.

So...Reader's Digest version:

The Smurf party of Expert, Detective, Insano, Spacey and Snarky head off into the wilderness to locate the mysteriously sleeping animals found by Papa Smurf and Spacey the night before. The group is carrying with them a potion that may wake them*.

Before finding the animals, they come upon a hunter/trapper in the forest and decide (completely without me) that Smurfs are 'Guardians of the Forests' and its creatures and they don't appreciate a hunter hunting so close to their village. As the Smurfs plan a way to use Detective's Magnifying Glass and a crosshair made of twigs to improve Spacey's aim with his Ray Gun (hoping to damage the hunter's bow), Snarky walks right up to the fellow and goes into a long speech about whether or not the hunter has the correct permits, if he is licensed to use a bow and arrow in part of the country, etc.

The others realize what he is doing and while they can't believe he walked off to engage the Human directly, they are kind of impressed. They suggest he be renamed Bureaucrat Smurf or Litigious Smurf. Meanwhile, Snarky walks around the hunter as he talks, causing the hunter to turn to follow him. Snarky therefore ends up setting up the shot, which Spacey takes with his newly built Targeting Smurf (Scope). Zap-Poof-Cracked and the hunter gets a crispy bow.

Snarky tells the Hunter to be gone as he (Snarky) did that with his magic and he can do it again. At some point in his conversation with the hunter, Snarky lets out that he is a Smurf. The hunter tries to grab him in a sack, suddenly spurred on instead of frightened by Snarky's 'magic powers'. Snarky threatens to do it again and than snaps his fingers for effect. Spacey takes a second shot at the sack which immediately receives a burning hole. The hunter panics for real this time and runs off.

Expert confers with a wood nymph after hearing Spacey recount that at one point in their journey the day before Papa Smurf, 'Stopped to talk to a tree'. Being an expert on Smurf, Expert is well aware of the close relationship between Smurfs and other fee (faeries) of the woods. The wood nymph warns the Smurfs of a strange patch of shadowy fog she witnessed near her tree(s) and an additional group of sleeping animals the party was not aware of.

Eventually the Smurfs find the magically hidden animals as well as the new batch. A very light dusting of some golden powder is discovered by Insano, especially in the eyes of the larger sleeping beasts. Insano tries to use Papa's potion to awaken one of the smaller critters. It works but the poor little creature almost asphyxiates, trying to breathe in several days of air as quickly as possible.

Insano is able to calm the creature down a bit which helps but he believes a better solution is taking some of the golden dust and mixing it into the waking potion. He tests his theory on another animal and it seems to work. Rather than risking it failing to help one of the larger beasties (a deer), Insano and the gang decide on returning to the village and conveying their findings to Papa Smurf.

That's all for now. We'll find out what happens in a month.

AD
Barking Alien

*The waking potion was described as having the odor of tea made from smelling salts, ginger, and the scent of burnt cola**. It was jokingly described as strong enough to 'wake the dead'. Insano took a drop or two into his own personal vial and said, "Hmmm. Wake the dead, eh? I'll have to try that some time..."

**I have smelled burnt cola. Nasty.

The Big Smurf - Part 2

Continuing my recap of the first session of my new Smurfs campaign...

[Cut to the Smurf's Mushroom Village]

I ask the Players what their PCs are up to and where they are in the village.

Detective Smurf is at Brainy's, repaying a Boon by helping Brainy move heavy piles of books from one bookcase to another. Brainy gave Detective a magnifying glass so Detective owed him. Lots of funny banter, role playing and I got to do my mediocre but not terrible Brainy impression.

Insano is trying to invent something that will make a flash of light and thunder sound every time the front door of his house is opened. Apparently he borrowed Handy's saw to do it. When Handy arrives to get his saw back he discovered Isano is not using the saw to saw anything but shaking it vigorously in various ways to produce the thunder sound (classic radio sound effect trick).

Handy almost has a smurf attack and passes out and the use of his saw for un-saw-like purposes. Lots of funny banter, role playing and Insano reveals his campaign long goal...to build a giant robot! By giant he means...to him. Thirty apples tall! Muhuwahaha! So...almost to Gargamel's knee. We're thinking about the size of the old Shogun Warrior toys.

Snarky is walking through mocking those Smurfs who don't have distinct identities yet. He visits with the few Smurfs who can stand him like Jokey and Grouchy (Weird right?).

Expert is home making notes on various Smurf traditions, foods, holidays and other bits of Smurf cultural knowledge. He then places the notes into his hat and his hat on his head. These notes will be saved for later use.

Eventually, Spacey Smurf (NPC) approaches each PC Smurf (except Snarky) and tells them that Papa Smurf wants to see them. He doesn't recall why. Honestly, he wasn't paying attention.

Eventually the PCs gather at Papa Smurf's crib and proceed to act like kids in a candy store. Insano is looking at the potions and books on alchemy, Expert is noting anything of value on Smurf lore and Detective, being 'Curious' is looking at EVERYTHING! With some effort Papa calms them down long enough to let them know why they were summoned...

While gathering herbs and other ingredients late the night before, Papa and Spacey (there as a guard and guide since he has a magic Ray Gun and can navigate by the stars) came across a number of animals asleep in the woods. This was no ordinary sleep and the Smurfs could not awaken them. Papa returned to the village to brew up a potion he thinks may save the animals who will surely starve and wither away. He needs the PC Smurfs to travel to the spot where the animals are because...

Detective may find clues as to the cause that Papa didn't see.
Insano will know if it was Science and not Magic and he is kind of a Doctor.
Expert is a jack of all trades type with ability to help his fellow Smurfs.

Spacey will guide them to the spot which is currently hidden by a spell from Papa so no Humans or other animals come upon the sleeping creatures by mistake.

Meanwhile, Papa Smurf's house is surrounded by all the village's other Smurfs trying to peak in and see what's up (just like in the cartoon). One such Smurf is Snarky who decides he is definitely needed on this mission as these Smurfs are all wack jobs who'll probably get themselves smurfed before they can do a lick of good.

We'll be right back after these messages...

AD
Barking Alien

The Big Smurf* - Part 1

"Once upon a time, in the middle of a far off place known as 'The Cursed Lands', a village made up of mushroom houses held a population of tiny, blue people known as...The Smurfs.

One day, while...OOF! OW! Clumsy?! Please be careful! You interrupted me in the middle of my introduction to the first adventure."

"Oh, gee, sorry Narrator Smurf. Papa wanted me to come over and tell you we're not starting in the Smurf Village. We're starting in The Kingdom."

"Really?"

"Yeah, um, here...these are the new pages."

(Flips through the pages and quickly tries to organize them).

"I see. Thank you Clumsy. I'll start again..."

(Clumsy stumbles off, knocking over another pile of papers, and a spare microphone).

"Once upon a time, in a far off place known as 'The Cursed Lands', there was a Kingdom of poor resources but happy people. Though conditions were tough and the castle had seen better days, it's inhabitants were kind and just and worked hard to improve their lot.

Just outside the castle were several villages, each poorer and less happy than the next. In one of these villages, a terrible fate had befallen a young peasant boy..."

With that, our story began.

As it turns out, a Knight (Sir Bellerive), his Paige (Johan), the Paige's best friend the court jester (Pirlouit or PeeWee, whom we settled on calling Peewit) and a small entourage of men from The Kingdom, enter a small dwelling in a village on the outskirts of The Lands. There, they find a family whose young son has been asleep for three days and can not be woken up. The parents have tried everything (loud noise, water on the face, smelling salt type approach, etc.) but to no avail.

Word has it this is the seventh such child to be find this way. Four in this town and three in the adjacent one. Villagers are worried, fearing plague, faeries or worse. And there's nothing worse than worse I assure you.

A knock at the dwelling's door turns all eyes toward it. As the lady of the house/shack opens it, in walks a slightly stooped, thin, balding fellow in a tattered black robe over red-brown tights and soft leather shoes. He introduces himself as a herbalist, potion maker and wise man by trade. His name is Gargamel.




One or two members of the crowd have heard of him. They toss out words like Charlatan!, Hoax! and Dark Sorcerer but Gargamel plays the part of concerned citizen of the Kingdom meerly trying to help. He looks at the child, pull out a small vile and after proving it is not a poison or the cause of the malady (by putting some on his own tongue), he passes the vapors of the concoction under the child's nose. The vapor is silvery grey (jokes are tossed back and forth about it being Vicks Vapor Rub - "Didn't you know his first name was Victor? Vick Gargamel.").

Gargamel, nods, steps back and shakes his head in sadness.

"Oh this is just as I feared", the old alchemist says. "This is the work of a dark fairy. A Chaucer. It steals the breath of those who sleep, especially children. Luckily, there is a cure but it is difficult to obtain."

The villagers beg Gargamel for the answer to what will save their children. Even the King's men hang on his every word now. He smiles.

"Why, Essence of Smurf of course..."

AD
Barking Alien

*Each of the adventures in this campaign are going to be named after the title of a movie. In this case there is a double meaning in that the title refers to 'The Big Sleep' which in turn means death. It also refers to Insano's goal of building a 'giant' mecha smurf.

Smurfs, Actually

I am sorry to interrupt my regularly scheduled Earth-N entry but I had to make this special report... I ran my first actual session for my Smurfs RPG this past Saturday.

This was the first installment of a new campaign. Yes! It went over so well, we are actually going to do a campaign based on the Smurfs! Muhuhwahahaha!

Our first session took place at the Compleat Strategist in New York City, on Saturday, Sept 17th. It involved four PCs and myself as Smurf Master and ran from (roughly) 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. (not including character creation time for the first two players to arrive).

The current PCs are...

Donnell - Expert Smurf, whose Trait is Smurfiness.

Donnell is my most 'serious' player normally. I would have almost bet money he wasn't going to show for anything as gonzo and silly as a Smurfs RPG. When he walked in the Strat I was stunned and pleasantly so. I was even more impressed by his character. Expert Smurf is an Expert on Smurfs, smurfy things, and all things smurfy. He is completely and utterly clueless about anything that isn't Smurf related. His player used the word 'smurf' in in his dialog about twice to three times as much as anyone else.

Mathew - Insano Smurf, whose Trait is Mad Science.*

Not actually one of the 99 Smurfs in the village, Insano was created by Gargamel completely by accident. Somewhere in the woods behind Gargamel's cottage there is a pit where he throws his garbage, potion residue, and failed spell materials. One day, after a botched experiment with 'blue clay', he threw out his latest failure only to have the clay mix with the alchemical mess in the pit and by chance the concoction was get struck by lightning. BOOM! Insano Smurf, Smurf Mad Scientist.

Pete - Detective Smurf,,whose Trait is Curious.

Decked out in full Sherlock Holmes gear, Detective Smurf is the most curious Smurf in the village. He is not however the smartest. Not dumb at all, he still doesn't necessarily have the cleverness of Brainy or the knowledge of Papa, Expert, or even Insano and sometimes gathers clues but can't quite put them together into a total picture. He's working on it however. His Detective Outfit gives him a Deduction Knack even if he doesn't normally have one without it.

Lee - Snarky Smurf,,whose Trait is Sarcasm.

Snarky is interesting. While he is definitely Sarcastic and Snarky, much of what he does is not stop talking for long periods. He usually hits allies and opponents alike with a constant barrage of double talk, off handed snipes, and baffling and confounding both people and Smurfs alike. He is very much a deal making, con man type personality in addition to being Snarky. It's extremely useful but sometimes his personal plans and ideas don't line up with what the rest of the group is doing. And sometimes they do but you don't realize it right away.

Joining the PCs and guiding them through the forest (poorly for the most part) was my NPC Spacey Smurf who was so much fun. When his helmet open he spoke a bit like a surfer dude or hippie who was, well, Spacey. With the helmet closed he took on an confident 'astronaut voice' complete with electronic static sound (I imitated it and partially covered my mouth). Spacey also walked really slow like he was on the moon, until Insano explained that on Earth and other planets like Earth you would have 'Earth Standard' gravity and therefore Spacey should move normally.

Tonight I will do a session recap...and hopefully get to blogging more regularly again. Plus, I still have that spot open for my Earth-N campaign. The game runs Friday Nights though so it's kind of tough it seems. Working out the details. More notes are forthcoming. Huzzah!

AD

Barking Alien

*The image of Insano Smurf is apparently a modified image of actor Neil Patrick Harris' twitter avatar since he is Dr. Horrible and in the Smurfs movie. Tee hee.