Best & Hardest

Original comic, all rights reserved
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This is so true.

31 December 2019

How to kill my interest in your Kickstarter

I've backed far too many Kickstarter projects in the past. Apparently I'm a 'superbacker' according to my profile, but the last year or so I been massively selective on what I'm willing to back and hardly touched any. Partly because I've ended up with too many games that aren't getting read or played, partly because it's expensive and, most importantly for marital harmony.

Most Kickstarters get backed by me because they excite me in some way. They sound different, or fun, or unique. The creator has offered something that has caught my attention. I'm pre-disposed to like the product.

 A small number of Kickstarters have lost my interest and have ended up being sold, given away or just gathering dust. There's a common set of reasons:

1) Failure to communicate

As the Guns n Roses song 'Civil War' starts, "What we've got here is failure to communicate". If your project is running late, tell me. Tell me as much as you feel comfortable (I'm not needing a Doctor's note, I understand that stuff happens), but talk to me. Don't leave me in a void. Projects run late, I can deal with that.

2) Repeated failures to do what you say you'll do

So you've talked to me, that's good. And then the next thing happens, and the next commitment is missed. And the next. And another. Now I start to feel like you're really unlucky, or you can't meet commitments, or maybe you're making this up as you go along. Or maybe you're lying to me?

3) Your bad attitude

You don't bother to talk to me. Or you give ridiculous excuses. Or I can see that you're focussed on other commitments. You treat your backers with contempt. I'm especially thinking about James Wallis' Alas Vegas and Mark Rein-Hagen's boardgame, Democracy: Majority Rules, as I write this.

4) Your lack of commitment

So you decide to launch another Kickstarter when you're massively behind and there's no clear conclusion to one I've backed. This makes me feel like you've lost interest, or maybe you have a cash flow issue? It doesn't feel like I'm a priority, and instead you're chasing someone new.


Aside from one Kickstarter produced by a serial defaulter, they've all eventually arrived. There's only been a few that I've fallen out of love with completely. I've tended to see those, but the bad taste remains and means I'm unlikely to back another project from you.

There are a few on a cusp of falling from grace in my mind at the moment; City of Mist is just hanging on, as is Cartel.

In honesty, the former is doing better than the latter, as they're communicating and at least sharing PDFs. But they're late, and have admitted they launched their second Kickstarter to fund art for the first as well as cover the new book and reprinting of the core rules.

Anyway, that's what makes me lose interest in your Kickstarter and future projects.

31 December 2019

The Expanse Season 4 (Spoiler free)

The Expanse - now on Amazon

I've just finished watching Season 4 of The Expanse with the eldest coming along for the ride. It covers the book where the story shifts from being mainly space-based to being set mostly on a single planet. I didn't like this so much when I read it, but looking back it was a necessary step in the evolution of the story, a set up for the future.

Like the previous series, it was done really well, and I feel that it is in safer hands now with Amazon funding it rather than SyFy (who have always been fickle). This is intelligent TV, which just happens to be set in space. I'm loving the way that the various short stories and novellas are being integrated into the TV series.

If you haven't dipped into it yet, all the series are on Amazon now. The first series starts slowly (but that's all about setting the characters and plots in motion).

Good stuff.

Space Heroes at the Armouries

Space Heroes - Royal Armouries

We had a quick trip out on Saturday afternoon to the Royal Armouries in Leeds, after we'd spotted the 'Space Heroes' event going on. The youngest went full Sith Trooper, and the eldest hedged his bets by dressing like a rebel with Stormtrooper equipment.

I'm not certain that the Dalek is really a hero, but if you zoom in on the picture you may notice that the circuit board under the eye actually says 'Derek' so he at least had some personality! Doctor Who #10 was in the cafe, which seemed somewhat appropriate.

It was a fun visit and the boys enjoyed themselves, as you can see from the pictures below. If you go, I recommend getting there earlier than we did so you can do more of the events.

The various cosplayers were really gracious to the kids.

So, if you don't shoot me, you can sit in my X-Wing...

This is the droid we're looking for...

An audience with Darth Vader...

Revolutions - highly recommended

Revolutions - a podcast I'd highly recommend.

Mike Duncan's podcast, Revolutions, has given me a lot of pleasure and education over the last two-and-a-half years. I'd previously come across his work in The History of Rome, a podcast spanning some 170 episodes taking the span of Romes transition to major power and the subsequent decline.

The podcast looks at pivotal revolutions across history:

1. The English Civil Wars
2. The American War of Independence
3. The French Revolution
4. The Haitian Revolution
5. The Spanish-American Wars of Independence (Bolivar)
6. The Revolution of 1830 (France)
7. The Revolutions of 1848
8. The Paris Commune
9. The Mexican Revolution
10. The Russian Revolution(s) - current series

There's a lot of content there, perfect for a commute. I've learned a huge amount listening to it, and really miss the weeks when it isn't scheduled. Highly recommnended.

26 December 2019

Merry Christmas

Merry Sithmas!

Happy Christmas to you all! We hope you have a lovely time, no matter what your beliefs are.

On his bike...

We had a quiet Christmas Day at home, and an even quieter Boxing Day. As I write this, the rest of the family are out on their bikes (unfortunately, we can't find the Schraeder adaptor for mine and one of the tyres is flat), led by the eldest. There's been a lot of reading, watching, playing and eating, and a lovely Christmas Service.

The only downside has been that my mother has been ill and unable to enjoy the day; fortunately, the call out Doctor has diagnosed an infection, dispensed anti-biotics and she's much more with it today.  

Season's Greetings, All!

26th December 2019

Blog Maintenance Update

I've changed the name of the blog slightly as I realised that I was subconsciously channelling Graham's blog 'Messages From The Far Havens' in the title. So 'Signals from Delta Pavonis' is the new name.

Some great blogs

I've also added a short blog roll of the blogs I read pretty regularly and would recommend. It's on the bottom right of the navigation. 

My Feedly web home; structured RSS feeds

If you do like to read a lot of blogs, I recommend looking at feedly.com, which is an RSS feed aggregator (translation: you can give it a link to blogs that are updated and it will pull them all together into an organised feed you can skim quickly) which has a great web interface and solid Android and iOS apps. It's the place I went after Google Reader was killed off.

23 December 2019

Rise of Skywalker (Spoiler Free)

After the show.

We went to see Rise of Skywalker last night at the local cinema in Wetherby with some of our friends and kept up our somewhat mad tradition of dressing up to do this. We had a good mix of the Dark and Light sides of the Force present.

Jedi parents with young Rebel Pilot

The youngster looked at me and said: "I'm surprised that your costume still fits you, Daddy". It wasn't quite as cheeky as I thought as he later explained he thought that you kept growing very slowly as a grown-up (I guess that's true!).

We enjoyed the film; it did feel like there was enough material for two films and there was a lot packed in. The story felt like it was on fast forward the whole time. I've only spotted one small plot hole so far, and it's trivial compared to the whole motion of the picture.

Recommended; Rogue One it isn't, but still a fun film. The opening credits took me back to being seven years old as ever...

Flickr needs you!

The refreshed Flickr app

Those of you who remember a time before Instagram will remember Flickr, a fantastic photo platform that was purchased by Yahoo!  That meant the usual - the platform stagnated.

Anyway, it was bought by Smugmug (another photo company). They’ve done a huge amount of refurbishment and updating. Unlike instagram, Facebook isn’t involved in grabbing all your data. 

Anyway, they’re on a push to get more Pro members as they aren’t using adverts to drive and fund the platform. At the moment there’s a 25% discount on Pro if you use the code: 25in2019

It’s still an awesome photo platform and getting better. I’ve used it since 2006, and you can see my photo stream here; https://www.flickr.com/cybergoths

Curse of Strahd - S1E03: "We're not in Faerun anymore..."

SPOILERS BELOW for The Beast of Graenseskov

The party, newly minted at Level 2. 

Ser Alys de Rouge (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good.

Roscoe Tosscobble (a halfling Cleric of Life, a follower of Diancecht, god of medicine and healing, former hermit and companion of Ser Adon), played by Jag (Jagusti). Lawful Good.

Ser Adon of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good.

At the end of the last session, the party found themselves emerging travelling to the west despite having entered the woods going east. The weather was colder and there were patches of snow around, and the mist and overcast weather was persistent. The Squire, Dusan (or Jason as they insist in calling him), took them into Volchykrov Manor's main hall to introduce them to his master and the Boyar.

2nd November?

On entering the hall, they met a tall, blonde warrior in his late 20s, who Dusan immediately went up to and was beaten. Outraged, they challenged who and why he did that after 'the child had been saved from wolves'. The response was that the child was at fault and had Dusan not lost the shield then his life would not have been in danger. This was the way of things; the pact meant that safety was found in the settlements, not the deeper woods. The man was Ser Cedomir, eldest son of the Boyar. He soon remembered his hospitality as he realised that he had a party of monster hunters on his hands. Ale was offered in the same wooden flagons that Cedomir and his Knights, the Hounds of the Borderwood, were drinking from. They sized each other up, and the party found themselves formally invited to a meal that evening. They realised it was mid-afternoon, later than they had expected.

Excusing themselves, several of the party, notably Roscoe and Ser Adon, went to the Chapel carved into the rock face to pray. There they met a dwarven priest, Father Fiofan Kolotov, who recounted the tale of the Beast that was haunting these lands of the Graenseskov. It had appeared three days after a Hag had been executed on the Boyar's orders, and had progressively become more dangerous and vicious. The Graenseskov were the borderlands to Barovia proper, ruled by the von Zarovich's. The party also looked at a map of the Sword Coast left with the priest a few weeks before by a Monster Hunter who had subsequently disappeared. They said it was contemporary and yet it was at least a hundred and fifty years out of date.

The curse: "You who’ve raised hand against my sister, I curse you to reveal your true self, turning against kith and kin. I curse you to show your monstrous self under the sign of the soul’s true form"

Back at the Manor, Ser Cedomir recounted the tale of how the Pact between Wolves and the Volchykrov family had came to be with the actions of the first Boyar, Sordje, to a Dire Wolf cub. It was clear that Cedomir did not respect his father, and there was mention of the death of his brother at the hands of 'the Devil Strahd' as being the Boyar's fault.

The rest of the party arrived back in time for the meal; they met the Boyar and nearly immediately volunteered to assist ridding the Graenseskov of this beast. The Boyar subtly established they were lycanthropes by giving them drinks in silver flagons. Impressing the Boyar, they were immediately introduced to his daughter, Cvetlana, who he doted on and who was clearly a spoiled brat and had her father wrapped around her little finger. She was engaged to be married to Ismark the Lesser, the son of the Burgomeister in Barovia. They met Aco Koslov, a tall, gangly, coffee and spice merchant who used the Vistani to go through the mists and get himself stock. He wore small, round glasses. The also met Krabka, a mongrel-folk, who acted a bit like a jester yet was chained up at night. Father Fiofan was also present and getting very drunk.

Much information was learnt about the Beast and the death of the Hag.

• The Hag was one of three, and executed by a cold iron axe (on the wall in the hall) wielded by Cedomir. Another fled into the mists, and a third, Pretty Kolchya, who cursed her sister's killers  had not been seen since. Ruzina the blacksmith's daughter forged the axe, and Father Fiofan blessed it and gave last rites to the Hag. The Boyar ordered her death having destroyed the coven's tower.
• At least 40 people had died and many animals had been slaughtered over the last year. The attacks were getting closer to the Manor, with the last killing three days before when Jovich, one of the Knights, was killed close to the Manor at a small lake as he went fishing. 
• Ser Branimara, the Boyar's bodyguard, recounted how she was scarred by the Beast, which was 'as large as a horse'. She also clearly was attracted to Cedomir.
• The previous attack was on Lubomir, a servant, who was bringing two Oxen home when the Beast attacked, two weeks earlier. He was bitten badly and was held in the infirmary under the observation of the Halan Witches in case he was infected with lycanthropy. 

A fight broke out between Ser Alys and one of the Hounds who jested she had 'a touch of the Goblin' about her. She won convincingly and secured an apology.

Roscoe learned that the druid Merje, who runs the Infirmary with the Halan Witches, had betrayed the location of the Grey Sister's Tower when the Boyar started burning the woods to drive them out.

Roscoe also found out that Boyar Borje had attempted to hold back taxes from Strahd von Zarovich. His middle child, Pyotr, had been taken by Strahd as a punishment and had not been seen since. There were mutterings about Dark Powers and the Devil Strahd, and everyone assumed that Pyotr was dead. Cedomir's falling out with his father dates from this.

Koslov the merchant and Gaddock retired early and chatted on the way back to the Weary Horse Inn. Gaddock declined a nightcap. He noted that Koslov was preternaturally silent once he went into his adjoining room.

Ser Alys and Ser Adon returned to their room; both woke up the next morning in Ser Adon's bed. They have no recollection of what happened and are convinced that they just played chess and drank. The retainers probably know exactly what happened.

Later, Kel and Roscoe returned to the Inn. Kel had been quietly fixing things in the manor house with his mend cantrip as it bother him that the place was falling apart. Kel noticed that something gangly and dark was climbing Gustav's Turret where the Manor's ballista was kept.

3rd November?

Gaddock rose early; he had breakfast with Koslow and noticed blood on the merchant's collar. Aco tried to laugh it off as a shaving injury, but there was no wound. Gaddock suspects Koslov is a vampire.

Gaddock went to the blacksmith's forge and found himself flirting and being flirted with by Ruzina Nostrova. He bought charcoal, having secured incense the day before. He left the forge, and drew a magic circle in the yard, summoning an Owl to be his familiar in an hour long ritual. The locals didn't like this but he managed to talk them down.

Kel and Ser Alys searched the Monster Hunter Radke Iliev's former room, finding a silver dagger and some notes including the question 'Can I trust the Boyar?' in them.

The whole party went to the Infirmary. They were met by Merje the Seeker and Erelda the Herbalist. They agreed to let the group see the victim, Lubomir. Ser Adon drew upon his faith and laid on hands to purge any disease and heal the rest of the wound. There was clearly a tension between Erelda and Lubomir; Ser Alys established that this was because Ludomir had attacked Erelda for being a 'witch' several weeks before and was in danger until Merje intervened.

Gaddock sent his Owl to scout out where Jovich had been killed. Then they all climbed Gustav's Tower. They realised the ballista had been disabled. There was no sign of the creature, but they could see the tree near where Jovich died, some Barrows on a hill to the north and a Graveyard in the forest to the west. Detect Evil by Sir Adon showed nothing within 60 ft.

Next session, they hope get silvered or cold iron weapons from the forge, and talk to Merje about the Grey Sister's Tower. Clue lines (1) Jovich, (2) Lubomir, (3) Grey Sister's Tower. The party already suspect either Ruzina, Cedomir, Fiofan or Merje is the Beast, based on the curse. They've kind of ruled out Boyar Borje.

DM Notes:

It started to get more complicated this week; I couldn't avoid some info dumps. However, this was setting the breadcrumbs and path going forward. I enjoyed this but the scenario is pretty badly organised to reference quickly, so I may have to do something about that over the holidays.

The Curse of Strahd will return in January 2020.

17 December 2019

In a Star Wars Universe

The Rebel Alliance has been crushed by the Sith and their lackeys. Order 66 was executed and once loyal strongholds destroyed after the poor leadership and dithering of the Jedi Council was exposed, and the people seduced by promises of an end to the conflict and a better life. 

Meanwhile, the Dark Side’s plans to shake the democracy at the heart of the Old Republic apart and focus power with the High Chancellor have already been published. 

A band of survivors lick their wounds and thoughts turn to a Resistance.

#InaStarWarsUniverse

Mince Pies

Mince Pies - must be nearly Christmas

Baking off these beauties from work to ignore the General Election.

I've voted, I just don't want to watch this unfold.

Yorkshire Champions

Yorkshire Youth Fencing Champions 2019

I forgot to post this here when the two lads won their respective fencing competitions (U10 and U12 Foil) for the year in the Yorkshire Youth League at the end of November. Pictured here with a very proud Mum.

New York Subway Map - animated exploration of the design

If you like maps and design, this is worth a look

Fantastic article on the NY Subway map in the New Yorker, animated exploration of the design decisions taken when making the map. 

7th December 2019

Fallen Order - a bit of a puzzler

Fallen Order - more than just a first person slasher game.

After they both won their age groups for the year in the Yorkshire Fencing Competition, my parents wanted to give our lads a present. They suggested a computer game each, which ended up being half share in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for their XBox One.

They've both started to get into it, with the eldest blazing the way, and the somewhat more careful and methodical youngster finding the things that his brother's missed. Very popular present, this.

I was watching them play tonight, and initially wrote the game off as a first person slasher with a Star Wars theme. Kind of Battlefront revisited. And then I realised that it was also a very clever 3D-platform puzzler which had threads of strategy weaved in.

As a result, I've had an evening where - although I doubt I have the physical dexterity to play the game well - I've been sitting there in a support role, helping them solve the puzzles. I'm deliberately not giving the answer, more a hint on how they could unlock it. Some of the challenges are really quite fiendish.

I think I'll enjoy watching the story unfold as they solve this.

7th December 2019

Curse of Strahd - S1E02: Into the Mists

Our second session kicked off with a full complement of players, and more, as Dr Mitch could join us. His character, Sir Adon of House Starbright brings with him a retinue of three; a squire, a cook and a messenger.

The party, still Level 1. 

Ser Alys de Rouge (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral

Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.

Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good.

Roscoe Tosscobble (a halfling Cleric of Life, a follower of Diancecht, god of medicine and healing, former hermit and companion of Ser Adon), played by Jag (Jagusti). Lawful Good.

Ser Adon of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good.

If you recall the earlier post, we left the party in the early hours of the morning when Ser Alys saw four wolf sized shapes passing through the mist towards the village of Forest Gables.

2nd November 

Battle was swiftly joined; initially Roscoe and Gaddock were suffering due to their lack of dark vision, but the party engaged with fire bolt cantrips from Kel and Gaddock, followed by crossbow shots from Roscoe. Ser Alys engaged with her battle axe, which is what she does best. Although the first wolf went down swiftly, burning, the others proved more troublesome and forced both the spell casters to unleash their first level spells. Kel witch-bolted the larger wolf, and Gaddock cast sleep but to less effect than before as only one wolf fell asleep. Startled by the swift attack, the larger wolf turned to flee, only to be cut down. Two trees were set on fire (accidentally) providing more than adequate lighting. Ser Adon had been following the party's path, and hearing combat managed to arrive part way through the battle, tipping the balance conclusively. Not a wolf survived and the party escaped unscathed. Ser Adon planted his javelin, which casts a ward around it if anything comes close bearing ill-intent.

[DM note: the wolves never got to their most advantageous as they never closed enough to gain their benefit from being a pack. That changes...]

The rest of the night passed undisturbed, and the spellcasters recovered their spells. Roscoe found the trial, and after some breakfast where Ser Adon introduced himself properly and caught up with his cousin Alys, they set off into the increasingly misty forest edge following the wolf tracks coming from the east.

The mists drew in, and travel was difficult. The pack animals needed to be lead on foot as the fallen branches, treacherous moss and rocks made going difficult. Soon all sense of direction was being lost by the brave adventurers. Eventually, they stumbled upon a red tassel tied to a tree. They soon realised that there were a set of tassels forming a trail. In the eerie stillness of the mists, cold, damp, wet, they spotted three lights which moved just off the trail, eventually swapping to both sides of their path. The decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and not to investigate these. Sir Adon lit the way with light from his javelin.

As they passed through the mists, Ser Alys heard a scream from a child, and wolves snarling. She ran ahead, outpacing the others and saw a young human child up a try, clutching a shield that was far too big for it as four wolves menaced the boy and tried to leap up the trunk. Sir Alys charged in, and killed a wolf in a blow, but was soon beset by three others. They leapt on her savagely and she soon went down, unconscious. Ser Adon charged in to help; Roscoe blessed Gaddock and Kel, and battle was joined. The tension rose as Ser Alys was bleeding out [Death Saves] and through a combination of fire bolts, silvered steel and crossbow bolts, the wolves were dispatched.

[DM note: I made sure that the wolves were working together this time, which makes their attacks have advantage. This escalated rapidly and I feared Ser Alys' days were numbered.]

Kel talked the child down; he identified himself as Dusan, squire to Sir Cedomir Volchykrov, leader of the Hounds of the Borderlands, a group of knights who protected the Graenseskov. Sir Cedomir was the heir to Boyar Borje Volchykrov, Master of the Graenseskov. Dusan had been on his own as he had fallen asleep over lunch and managed to leave his master's shield at the campsite. He had gone to collect it lest he risk a beating.

He showed the party the way through the forests, and out into a low pass, at the head of which was Volchykrov Manor, an old fortified manor house with walls that block the pass and the route of the Old Svalich Road. What was disturbing was that they emerged travelling westward but they had been moving eastward. It was clear they weren't in Faerun anymore.

The party reached the gates of the manor just before sundown, and the squire took them in to see the Boyar. Just before the party reached the gates, the boy let slip that they had been beset by a vicious wolf-like beast for the last year, since the Hag was executed...

Our adventure continues on the 17 December 2019
---
At the end of this session, the characters levelled up to Level 2, removing some of the fragility.

I'm grateful to have two players who know D&D 5e really well, so it means I rarely have to reference the rules. I'm still some way from being entirely comfortable with them, but it works well and Roll 20 is good. We did have some connectivity problems tonight, but muddled through.

They have now entered the adventure proper... the mists are the boundaries of Barovia and the Graenseskov is a border region through which the Vistani often pass to trade.

First Impressions - The Tomb of Black Sand [minimal spoilers]

[The text and references below are all taken from the webpage for the product and reveal very little about the heart of the scenario, so no real spoilers.]

The Tomb of Black Sand.

This is the latest book from Jacob Hurst, of Swordfish Island's fame. It was kickstarted earlier in the year but I didn't back it because I'm mostly on a break from the platform at the moment. These notes are from the PDF version rather than the print. I've no doubt that the hardcover book will look glorious and be excellent quality based on my experience of the past releases. However, nearly £50 including shipping to the UK is a bit too steep for me.

The set up is as follows:

Deep in the forest plants and animals twist and crack and seem to fill with stars before they vanish, screaming into nothing. A tomb has appeared, and lumberjacks argue about its origin over drinks at the Red Squirrel Inn. Some say it's new, like a freshly grown cancerous lump; others say the twisting earth revealed an ancient trove of bone and unimaginable treasure. No one can agree, but townsfolk have begun to go missing, riders in black have been seen on the roads, and some say the candles are singing.

There are hooks to insert this into a normal campaign and some options for running at a convention. The book is written for Fifth Edition D&D but has the feel of an AD&D era module. Target is three to four characters of fourth level.

The players stumble into the middle of a ritual as they enter the tomb, and need to be very careful how they approach things else they will very rapidly find themselves in a situation escalating out of control. It is more akin to a sandbox, like Curse of Strahd, than the carefully escalating and crafted path that is more common in Pathfinder and D&D 5e. Attacking every foe will get you killed. Clever, sneaky play may mean you live. The scenario is not built around the players; the NPCs and monsters have a purpose of their own.

Gorgeous layout.

The layout is clear and easy to parse, and the evocative black and white art takes me back to the early days of Fighting Fantasy. It is definitely focused upon making life easy for the GM to use through clear layout and focused writing. However, I'd have liked to see a map keyed with NPCs and traps in there as a fast reference. I'll just end up doing it myself.

Overall, it's a scenario that makes me want to run it, perhaps at a convention. Recommended.

Available from Swordfish Islands directly or DriveThruRPG.

1 December 2019

His Dark Materials

Captivating viewing - His Dark Materials.

Every Sunday at 8pm the family is sat down in the living room, waiting for the latest instalment of His Dark Materials to start on BBC1. It's all very old school; we're tied to a channel and a time and the youngest (8) just can't get his head around why we can't binge-watch the series!

It may come of a surprise to you, but I've never read the books. Blame it on Harry Potter. When the Philosopher's Stone was released, I had so many of my friends telling me that it was brilliant and the next best thing after Tolkien. I excitedly read the book and was disappointed. I've no doubt that the series gets better (having watched the films, I imagine it's the case), but I lost the enthusiasm to go on.

Jill picked up the original trilogy quite quickly and told me it was good, but she'd liked Harry Potter a lot too and I couldn't bring myself to read it.

The Golden Compass - more of a miss than a hit?

I watched - and quite enjoyed - the film version despite its flaws, but it was not enough to make me want to read the book with any sense of urgency. So I failed to get excited about the new BBC series, and how wrong I was!

A great cast.

I'm really enjoying the series; the subtlties and complexities of the world reach out in a way the film never did. I really want to read the books now, but I'm waiting until the series finishes. I don't want spoilers and I don't want to mix my media. Visual arts are different to the written form, and there are always differences.

So far, I highly recommend this.

1 December 2019

Lost in Space

Lost in Space - some reboots are worth watching.

I'm a bit late to the party with this, but the reboot of Lost in Space on Netflix is brilliant. Every now and again, we pick a series to watch as a family. We started this before we went on holiday and watched the last two episodes.

It's classic space opera with a moderately hard SF veneer. We all really enjoyed it, and are pleased that there's a new season coming. Recommended.

We're watching His Dark Materials as a family too.

24 November 2019

Back I'll be...

The Mandalorian looks wonderful...

Curse of Strahd - S1E01: Tea with the Duchess

Tonight was our first proper session of The Curse of Strahd. The party numbers five, all level 1:

• Ser Alys de Rouge (a half-orc Fighter with a soldier background, currently the leader of the town militia of Daggerford), played by Tom (Guvnor). Lawful Neutral
• Kelwarin (Kel) (a half-elf Sorceror flush with the powers of wild magic, an outlander), played by Graham (First Age). Chaotic Good.
• Gaddock Teeg (a halfling wizard and former prizefighter), played by Alex (Doggetay), Neutral Good.
• Roscoe Tosscobble (a halfling Cleric of Life, a follower of Diancecht, god of medicine and healing, former hermit and companion of Ser Adon), played by Jag (Jagusti). Lawful Good.
• Ser Adon of House Starbright (a half-orc Paladin, from a knightly background, with two human retainers and a priest), played by Paul (dr_mitch). Lawful Good.

A completely non-human party, so I will be considering how the somewhat insular and very human inhabitants of Barovia react to them along the way. I can't wait to find out how they develop.

We are playing using Discord for audio, and Roll 20 for visuals. I have the Player's Handbook and Monster Manual on the system so the players have full access to the material to reference in the game.

Season 1 - Episode 1

29th October

The party except for Ser Adon (who has been delayed due to family matters) travel north towards Daggerford. Ser Alys has been sent as escort to bring them to see Duchess Morwen. As they near Daggerford, they hear a child screaming, and see three wolves attacking a child around five years old. [Excuse for a battle to get everyone including me used to Roll 20].

The party surprise the wolves and mostly win initiative. Ser Alys charges into battle, closing most of the gap. Roscoe Tosscobble attacks the wolf closest to the child with a sacred flame, hurting it and then Kelwarin finishes it off with a critical firebolt attack doing 11 damage and setting the corpse on fire. Gaddock Teeg casts a sleep spell and knocks the remaining two wolves out. They are quickly dispatched and the party comfort the child and head into town across the river bridge. The gate guard challenges the visitors [bit of a cock-up here where both Tom and I forgot that his character was head of the militia] and eventually, Ser Alys ordered Johnson the guard to recover the wolves' bodies for pelts, whilst they headed to the castle to see the Duchess. The child was passed to the cook to look after; once fed the housekeeper took responsibility.

The party had arrived a day early, but hearing the tale the Duchess summoned them for refreshments. They shared a rare red Barovian vintage from the Wizard of Wines and enjoyed canopees. They discussed the wolves and the Duchess explained their commission; hunt down the wolves which are raiding the hamlets near the Misty Forest and kill them. Be prepared in case there was a werewolf present. The stories coming back tell of tall wolves standing on their hind legs. The party retire, somewhat concerned about the potential of lycanthropes.

30th October  

The day of the formal dinner. Still no Ser Adon. The party meet with Zelrun Roaringhorn, a Harper Wizard who takes a shine to Gaddock Teeg. He gifts him a magic scroll to remove curses in case anyone is infected. Ser Alys has a discussion with Ser Lanniver Strayl, a Knight of Tyr and member of the Order of the Gauntlet. He gifts the party potions of heroism and healing to help them. Neither of the visitors will accompany the party. The Duchess advises caution and presents the party with a warrant of authority that demands cooperation from those who the part meets. Horses and ponies are procured, along with supplies and some silvered weapons. The part of the Misty Forest that the trouble has been reported near is over thirty miles away, partly across the country.

The party enjoy the formal dinner but know that they must be up early in the morning to start their hunt. Kelwarin charms the Duchess with elven smoothness. Roscoe Tosscobble is concerned that the secret magic amber stone he has is now pulling in eastwards, but swinging from north to south and back.

31st October - All Hallows

The party leave early in the morning, with word left for Ser Adon when he and his retinue arrive. The day is spent hard riding, some twenty miles or so. They stop at Liam's Hold before nightfall on a cold and frosty evening. Mists start to rise as the sun drops. The party called upon Baroness Gwynedd Zenhareth and use the warrant to gain hospitality at the castle rather than the Inn. The Baroness recognises Ser Alys and apologises that she is not dressed as finely as when they last met at court but explains that this is a working farm. They get first-hand information which confirms the reports of abnormally large wolf attacks. The village of Forest Gables has suffered badly, with six members of one family slaughtered and three children stolen away. The party sleep well and rise early with the dawn. The Moon is full.

1st November - All Souls

Setting off to the east, it takes until just after midday to reach Forest Gables. The hamlet shows signs of attack and shutters are secured. The party are greeted by Iverts Arksnis, one of the elders (who they don't bother to find the name off). He explains that the last serious attack was nearly a week ago, and a whole family was slaughtered at the edge of the hamlet. Before that, people on their own and animals have been taken. This has gone on for at least a month.

Set some distance out, the cottage shows signs of a sustained and violent attack with the thatch broken through and windows and shutters smashed. Inside, blood is sprayed everywhere and Iverts describes the six adults present as having been torn limb from limb. They've been buried since. Kelwarin finds evidence of distorted large wolf footprints, and the start of a trail. They follow this on horseback towards the forest boundaries through scrublands. Gaddock spots wolf fur snagged on a branch some six feet about the ground and the party starts to get an inkling of the size of the creature that they may be facing. As they reach the forest boundary, Gaddock spots a child's rag doll, dropped on the floor. Inspection shows that it has some blood on it.

It's close to an hour before sunset, so Ser Alys suggests that the party bivouac without a fire so they can ambush any creatures that come out of the woods heading the hamlet. They dig a foxhole to hide them and get out of the wind and settle down for a cold night. The mists draw in, and the moon shines eerily from behind cloud.

2nd November 

Sometime after midnight, Ser Alys is at watch when she sees movement at the forest boundary, and sees at least four shapes set off and out. Waking her colleagues, she calls out and challenges the interlopers. Turning, wolf snarls are heard out of the mist and a man-size wolf with three smaller companions turns towards the party, surprised...

To be continued on 3rd December 2019

19 November 2019

True Detective Season 3 [spoiler free]

Season 3 of True Detective.

Over the last two weeks, I've watched Season 3 of True Detective, which returns from California to the South. Set in the Ozarks in Arkansas, the landscape and setting is almost a character in the story.

There are really strong performances from Mahershala Ali (Wayne Hays) and Stephen Dorff (Roland West) as two detectives and ex-Vietnam veterans in the state police investigating the disappearance of two children. The story operates across three time periods; 1980 (the original investigation), 1990 (the reopened investigation) and 2015 (the 'now' of the story, when both main characters are retired). The story focuses upon the cost that Ali (and to a lesser extent Dorff) pay as they follow through an investigation that has been with them through much of their life.

Carmen Ejogo plays Amelia, a teacher and writer who becomes Hay's wife. The case brings them together and threatens to pull them apart again. The acting between the two is excellent. By the 1990s, Amelia has written a book on the case and is as much an investigator as Hays.

Parts of the story are dark, but the series does have upbeat moments. I really enjoyed it; it does take its time though. The pacing put Jill off the first series, and if you don't like a slow exploration of a case and its impact on the people involved, then maybe this won't be the series for you. Otherwise, recommended.

17 November 2019

11-11 Musings

On Remembrance Day, I returned home from work (where we'd observed a two minute silence) to find the neighbour's house decorated with a large digital display of a Poppy. The red bathed the street and really stood out, and made me pause.

The Poppy has been adopted by the Royal British Legion (the main veteran's support group in the UK) as the symbol of Remembrance for many years, and each year the Poppy Campaign uses it as a fundraiser. It draws its roots from a poem by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, written at the battlefront on 3rd May 1915 during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

If you're British, the Poppy Campaign and the solemness of service at the Cenotaph (repeated across the country) will be part of your upbringing. As a Cub, and later a Scout, we always participated in the service when I was growing up. The observation of the silence has slowly returned to be a norm. 

In one of my favourite tracks from Pink Floyd, 'The Gunner's Dream', Roger Waters references the service, and it's one of the most poignant verses in the song. 

Floating down, through the clouds
Memories come rushing up to meet me now
But in the space between the heavens
And the corner of some foreign field
I had a dream
I had a dream

Goodbye Max, goodbye Ma
After the service, when you're walking slowly to the car
And the silver in her hair shines in the cold November air
You hear the tolling bell and touch the silk in your lapel
And as the teardrops rise to meet the comfort of the band
You take her frail hand
And hold on to the dream

A place to stay, enough to eat
Somewhere, old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud about your doubts and fears
And what's more, no one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no one kills the children anymore
No one kills the children anymore

Night after night, going 'round and 'round my brain
His dream is driving me insane

In the corner of some foreign field
The gunner sleeps tonight
What's done is done
We cannot just write off his final scene
Take heed of the dream
Take heed

I was really surprised to see the Poppy display next door; it felt very garish and unsettled me. I think that the reaction came because I've always felt that the act of remembrance is a shared, solemn, quiet and respectful thing. The neighbour's youngest lad has created increasingly impressive displays for Christmas, New Year and Halloween; they've all been fun celebrations and, in my head, I was linking the Poppy display to them. It seemed disrespectful as a result.

I fear that the Act of Remembrance is starting to become a Festival of Remembrance when people compete to have the best display. You see it with the ways and types of Poppies sold now, the striving in the media to be seen to be the most supportive. It's a small step from remembering the sacrifices and consequences of our veterans to glorifying the wars themselves. I hope we aren't taking it.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Laurence Binyon, 1914

Green Zone

Green Zone - subtitles written by goons.

I caught up with Green Zone this weekend; it's a film that I've been meaning to watch for a while, as it was directed by Paul Greengrass and stars Matt Damon. It's set in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Iraq in the second Gulf War and explores the murky politics that made the cause for war, including the falsification of the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs).

The story follows the NCO lead of a team sent to find WMDs, Chief Warrant Officer Miller (Damon) as he gets increasingly frustrated at all the WMD sites his team are sent to being empty of weapons or evidence, despite the information supposedly being confirmed by a source.

He stumbles upon evidence that the US Administration may have falsified the claims for WMDs and becomes drawn into a rivalry between the CIA and White House teams. Miller is horrified that they may have gone to war on a lie; the CIA operative he is linked to is more concerned that if the Army and Police are disbanded, the country will explode into civil war. The search is on for the source who supposedly corroborated the presence of WMDs.

It's well shot, taught and energetic, and sympathetic to the Iraqi people.

I was frustrated by the subtitles though; they refer to the Iraqi soldiers (dressed as civilians) who are defending the senior Iraqi Army officers as 'goons'. Completely the wrong word to use when the film is trying to be sympathetic to a people whose country has been invaded on a lie.

Overall, a good film. It's on Netflix at the time of writing.

27 October 2019

First Impressions - The Sprawl: Mission Files

Mission Files - scenario frameworks for The Sprawl RPG

I've always had a soft spot for cyberpunk ever since I read William Gibson's Neuromancer as a teenager. I had lots of fun playing the first edition of R Talosorian's Cyberpunk RPG and even more fun running several one-shots and mini-campaigns of Cyberpunk 2020. The first edition of Shadowrun also featured pretty heavily in my early gaming.

I backed The Sprawl as a Kickstarter on the premise that it looked like a well-focused Powered by the Apocalypse engined take on the genre. This proved to be the case; it delivers 'play to find out' approach to the neo-noir genre, and the mechanics of actions clocks are used to drive the missions that the characters take. The heart of a mission hangs around the legwork that the characters do to plan the mission, and then the actual action. If you create noise when you do the legwork, the action is harder, or may even come to you. The mechanic uses two linked action clocks to drive it (count down clocks with linked escalations).

Mission Files was one of the stretch goals for the Kickstarter; a collection of ten mission frameworks for the game that the MC can use to run as one-shots or as part of an ongoing campaign. I have the PDF and the hardcover book version (which is lovely). The cover is a neon-noir city at night. Internal art is predominantly stylised photographs. It is a 107-page book, available from DriveThruRPG. There are two versions - midnight (white-on-black text) and noon (black-on-white text). Clearly, the more cyberpunk version is midnight!

The book opens with a discussion on how to use the frameworks that follow, focussed around the unanswered questions. It also describes how to lift and re-skin elements for other scenarios.

Why frameworks? Each mission is described in the same structure. You won't find maps or detailed NPCs; they are left to expand up as the play requires. The framework structure is effective:

1. Executive Summary - the mission in a nutshell
2. Code Dump - key points about the mission including what character archetypes it's best suited to.
3. Unanswered questions - for the players to research or find out in play.
4. The Meet - descriptions of the Fixer starting the mission and how the characters are drawn in.
5. Mission Directives - key milestones that trigger experience.
6. People and Places - key locations, non-player characters and plot elements
7. The Clocks - as a minimum the Legwork and Action Clocks, and sometimes others.
8. Running the Mission - advice on how to run the mission including observations from playtests
9. Hacking the Mission - advice on how you can twist the mission or re-use elements from it.

Each mission is around 6-8 pages in length. They all have simple three-word titles in a very Robert Ludlum style; The Boyle Recovery, The Bogatyrev Jam and The Cazares-Bell Obsolescence to give three examples. They vary in complexity; some have the potential to be world-spanning chases, and others are a 'simple in and out' mission. The missions will need some light work from the MC, but that's entirely in line with the ethos of the game. Much of the events will develop in play.

Overall, I like this book. The missions catch a real Gibson-esque vibe and the way that they are structured leaves the MC plenty of scope and space to make them their own. The framework structure is worth lifting.

The book could also easily be used for another system such as Cyberpunk 2020.

Recommended.

27 October 2019

Thinking of the iPad

The iPad mini in the wild.

Out and about in Wetherby this morning, I needed to get some designs approved for a function and knew I was likely to bump into one of the decision makers if I dropped into the local Saturday Coffee Shop at the Methodist Church*. I’d sent the designs out by email first thing, but knew there was little chance that they’d seen them, so I grabbed the iPad mini.

I’ve had this iPad since the mini 4 came out; it still feel fast. It’s very portable, and I have it in a Logitech keyboard case that is a predecessor of the versions on the iPad Pro models. It’s a really portable computing device, especially as I have a 4G SIM so data access is available most places. 

I met up with my contact, we reviewed the designs and signed the posters off for print. I’d pulled the designs off Dropbox (which I still rate more highly for reliability than iCloud**), and we reviewed the price quotes on the emails.

This set me pondering; could an iPad replace my Mac?

I think - especially when equipped with a hard keyboard - it could go a long way to doing so now. Certainly much further than it could have done back in May 2010 when I got my first iPad. I think it’s approaching an 80% device. I still prefer the familiarity and flexibility of macOS, but for most of my day-to-day activities the iPad would easily cut it.  If I wanted to go the design side of things, I suspect that I’d need to go to a iPad Pro in one of the larger sizes. In fact, one of my dilemmas with the iPad is whether I get a new mini when I upgrade, or go back to something around 10”. It’s something I’ll consider more when I eventually upgrade my iPhone 7; the new iPhones have bigger screens and that may well influence my decision to go large or not.

That said, when writing I do prefer a decent screen and keyboard. I completed most of my work for Lyonesse using the Lenovo Chromebook; this has a decent (but small) screen and a great keyboard. Plugged in with HDMI to an external screen, it handles two monitors with aplomb and gets the job done. I’m hoping to pass the Chromebook onto Nathan next year and upgrade to an ASUS C434, which looks great.

So coming back to my original thoughts; could an iPad replace my Mac? My answer at the moment is ‘no’, but it could go a long way towards doing so.

* Best Bacon Butties in Wetherby
** iCloud is borked on my desktop, refusing to sync so I need to log everything out and in again.

26 October 2019

Live in the City of Angels

A cover that riffs on the classic 'In the City of Light' album art.

I was confronted with this cover whilst walking through Morrisons at the weekend, doing some of the weekly shop (the non-Aldi bits).

My first reaction was "Why the hell have they messed with the cover from 'In the City of Light'?". That album was my first Simple Minds CD, quite possibly the first CD I ever got. I love it and still play it. Well, I play the MP3 files I ripped from it, originally for my iPod.

My second reaction was "OMG it's a new live album, and they're riffing on the one I love!"

The Deluxe Version.

A bit of searching says don't buy the two disk version, buy the four disk deluxe. 40 tracks in a pretty package, for about £2 more. I still love Simple Minds as a band, so you know what I'll be listening to this week.

21 October 2019

On the throwing of Axes...

Hot on the heels of Furnace, I had a team away day with work colleagues. My reporting lines have changed recently with people moving on, and presently I'm reporting through HR. This session was more about bonding the team rather than something more directed and there were a number of 'fun' activities. Now, despite being Head of Health & Safety, I'd not been shown any risk assessments in advance. I'm sure that they were lovely, as the venue was extremely professional, but there's that moment when you're responsible for safety in the business and you see the list of activities being quad bikes, shooting and axe-throwing, and you mentally swear quite loudly.

Anyway, we threw axes. It was the activity that seemed to most scare people. It certainly scared me when I was watching my colleagues. A key tip is not to swing the axe behind your head at an angle; if you have long hair, it snags wonderfully and then I have lots of paperwork to complete.

We had three types of axe to throw; hand axes, some mid-size ones and large ones (albeit smaller than your typical D&D battle-axe). I tried them all in the practice session. Thrown against tree trunks cut across the diameter to form targets like those for archery, I managed to embed a hand axe successfully. The medium-sized axes flew nicely, and hit the target, but didn't go in. The large axe was even harder to direct correctly.

Anyway, we're competitive; most activities scored points, and we wanted to win. I had four throws and opted for the medium axe despite the please from the rest of the team. I had four throws against the usual two because we were a person down, so I was nominated for the extra go. I got three of the axes into the target, which was a great feeling of satisfaction. One of my colleagues got another one in, and we doubled the points the closest team had.

Throwing the axe was pretty technical; it's a proper throw, and you're looking for momentum. You need to release with your hand at the target and then usually it'll hit. Whether it embeds is a different matter. There is something really visceral as the axe-blade embeds. You realise that if you had thrown it at a person, even the failed throw would do a fair bit of damage from the impact.

It got me thinking if Nali the Dwarf should carry a pair of these things; not too much weight to become fatigued, but scope to engage at range. Perhaps if we restart, we can work that through.

The thrill at succeeding at this was superb; it certainly gives a buzz. No-one hurt on this activity, which is a blessing. Medium axes are the way forward.

18 October 2019

Furnace XIV (2019) - Reflections

The Garrison Hotel, Gaming Capital of the North

My preparation for this Furnace was a little truncated as I was running late on a writing assignment for Lyonesse, which took precedence. I’ve spent a lot of the week running up to the con working up game preparation, and then on admin for the convention itself. Friday saw me reach the happy place were plots and characters were mostly locked.

I rocked in late into Slot 0 on Friday night and said some swift hellos as I headed to the bar for a pint. Lovely chats with my One Ring compatriots (75% of the fellowship was present). The topic of discussion was the X-card and its impact, and the management of children! A very enjoyable evening, but I was a little relieved when they called time as I needed to be up early to set up in the morning.

I had a good night’s sleep but woke with the sinuses from hell. Breakfast with friends helped, and then it was the rush to set up rooms and get everything together. Fortunately, this year the Garrison had pretty much all the tables in the right places, so Graham and I only needed to carry one up from the ground floor to the convention space. Signage went up, the badges went out (and we culled the accidentally duplicated names that would have given a definite advantage in the raffle) and we dropped some of the new business card X-cards on the tables.

Graham tried his usual trick and started the opening speech before I was in a position to video, but I got most of it. This year was a little different, as we covered both the fact that we were promoting the X-card and doing a collection for Tony, the Garrison's manager, who was about to retire.

Slot 1 started up smoothly, and after catching up with Jim from Patriot Games I decided to go back to the room for a short nap (to try to lose the headache) and then prepare for my game in the afternoon. I'd last read A Town Called Malice in detail back in August; fortunately, the notes were clear and I was soon happy that I was in a place to run it. I then dug into my preparation for my Cold Shadows game. The game was called 'Det kan ingen tena tvo herrar', which loosely translates to English as 'No one can serve two Masters', a hint at the treachery at the heart of the scenario. Cold Shadows has been on my shelf since the Kickstarter delivered, and it is a flawed jewel. The game is one of the best attempts that I have seen to try and build a spy roleplaying game that would support play in the style of John le Carre's novels. It suffered from the unfortunate early death of Stewart Wieck and is really lacking a final editing pass. In places, the rules are unclear, complicated or have references back to the game engine that it was developed from. However, there's enough good stuff in it that I wanted to get it to the table.

My challenge was pulling together the plot threads; I'd decided to base the game upon the Isdalen woman, an unsolved death in Norway in 1970 which has many Cold War echoes. As it is a real case, I also had huge amounts of reference material. I feared that I was losing the idea of the plot in handouts and data. By the time Slot 1 finished, I knew what I was going to do as a flow.

A Town Called Malice

After a quick lunch from Morrisons, I went down and set up for my Slot 2 game of Malice. Set in the Canadian north, the town of Malice was threatened by the rising river and hundred-year storm that was approaching. Robin set the tone when his character was interested in the 'historical cannabilism' in town. By the end of the first act, things were accelerating rapidly, and Andy (the Law - Mountie Sergeant) and Pete E (the Official - Town Manager) tried to calm the townsfolk in a public meeting at the tavern. They failed, and the town looked to be potentially doomed by the rising waters and the creature that had murdered one of the teenagers in town. By the time we were in the middle of the second act, I was really no longer needed, just giving the odd nudge. The game climaxed with Jag's little old lady character locking the Town Manager and the YouTube Celeb Journalist (Robin) in an old Cold War fallout shelter to starve to death. Her view was the loss of the Town Manager was an acceptable one it protected the town ('It'd be what he wanted'). It was fun; I will definitely run this out again. Shout out to Pete A and John who formed a burgeoning criminal partnership. I actually had to buy a dice block for this as I foolishly left mine at home!

Annual Trip to see the Colonel

Dinner was a lonely quest to KFC, as the rest of the annual walking club (Keary and Ottomancer) couldn't attend. Nearly a close encounter with some pissed up suit-wearing lads, but I sidestepped it.

Slot 3 brought a game of Traveller with Steve Ellis running and Tom Zunder and I playing. Sadly, we didn't get any more players, but it was great fun. A good GM and a player I get on with and can bounce off. I'd wanted to play this scenario for a while, as I missed it a TravCon. Lots of fun, and after we retired to the bar. I really recommend the scenario as it takes the plot of Beowulf and retells it in an SF setting with lots of twists on top.

In the bar, we met as the full Fellowship from our game of The One Ring and shared reminiscences and toast to absent friends. I went to bed soon after last orders as I wanted to be up early.

Let's get Liminal, Liminal...

Sunday, I had an early start; I got up and finalised the preparation for Cold Shadows in Slot 5. Sitting, listening to the Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy soundtrack made the breakthrough for me, putting my head in the right place. My first game was with one of my fellow organisers, Elaine, who was running Paul Mitchener's Liminal. I really enjoyed the game. We played a group of occult investigators who were tasked with finding a lost book, taken from the London Library. The game was lovely; it definitely catches that British urban fantasy feel and the system is refreshingly light, reminding me of Traveller. I will definitely read my copy now and perhaps get it to the table.

Raffle swag including an ace D12 pot!

Lunch was Morrisons again, somewhat rushed as we had the raffle to follow. Before that, we presented Tony (the Garrison's owner-manager) a card and collection that attendees had taken up to say 'thank you' as he headed to retirement. He was a little embarrassed, but I'm glad that we did it, and thanks to Elina for coordinating the collection.

Slot 5 brought my game of Cold Shadows. I had a full house; I'd three pre-signs; Jag, Gary and Paul Baldowski, and then Tom Z and Graham joined me. We started, and immediately I was a bit worried as everyone was a bit tired and it showed. I had decided to leave some of the set up on the Intelligence Agency the team worked for (the Norwegian Secret Police) until the game, and also let the players finish tailoring their characters. No one had played the system before. We worked our way through it, and although the players were interested, there was a palpable lack of energy.

I'd set each of the characters up with a flaw (a Tag) which gave a reason for them to rub up against each other, but not a reason for full-on PVP; examples include stresses in family life, an alcohol problem, skimming the finances, substance abuse and a debauched lifestyle.

We started the game in the director's office, and the characters discovered that they were being sent from Oslo to Bergen just before Christmas (a huge issue for Graham's character, who had the family challenges) to manage a police investigation into a dead woman found in Isdalen; there was a concern that it wasn't being controlled and could cause embarrassment, especially as Norway was hosting military visitors from West Germany and the USA for final trials of the Penguin missile system.

It was fascinating to watch the players become hooked; the maps on the table were followed with crime scene photos, the autopsy report, hotel cards, and other evidence. They were all tired but they so wanted to pull it all together! To their credit, they managed to find their way through the plot, discover the cause of death, the reason for the death and the true killers. That and also manage to get some Soviet illegals deported! The players connected the clues and solved the mystery; it was a near anti-climax in some ways, that feeling you get when the players pull it all off well and it seems so simple.

I like what Gallant Knight tried to do with Cold Shadows, but I think the execution and the game system let it down somewhat. If I ran this again, I would use a tailored version of Wordplay, as I think it would introduce more a sense of jeopardy in the task resolution. That said, it worked well enough.

And with that, the convention was over. Elaine had already left, and Graham had to go at the end of the game. I did a last sweep around the building and left for home, leaving one game playing out its end game.

Furnace will return on 10th and 11th October 2020.

14 October 2019