The State of Darkness

I got an email recently that lamented the lack of posts regarding World of Darkness recently, specifically mentioning wanting to know what ol' Vinnie was doing.

Well, in a word: nothing.

The Austin game wrapped up a little while ago, after the ST decided it had gone pretty much as far as it could. He gave us a couple of weeks' warning so we could work on/out anything we felt needed some kind of resolution, and then we ended the game on a nice, calm note.

Austin is dark, now.

A few weeks ago, a new game emerged in Austin's place. It is run by the same ST  (and has an additional ST to boot), and is set in Savannah, GA. The game is far more limited in scope, in that there are currently only Werewolves and Mages allowed at this time.

I decided not to join at the time, but after a few sessions, I felt the urge to write creeping on me. I started working on some characters on my own time, and talked about these ideas possibly becoming NPCs in the future of the game.  The ST seemed to like the idea and asked me to send along the finished products.

I'm not finished.

My problem has been the same as with my blog--- I have a very specific idea I want to get across, and my words are totally failing in that endeavor. On my blog posts, I have been working on a specific idea for a month or more, and I still can't get it across the way I want. With the NPCs, I have a group of three, and the third one has me stuck on a specific sentence, and I can't get past it.

I'm usually able to move around an obstacle, but these writing/blogging related issues are dragging me down like so much undertow.

At the same time as the logjam in the word department, I am suddenly thinking in visual terms, deciphering colors and shapes into ideas for cards, altered art projects and other crafty type stuff.

Inked glass is one of my favorite project types 

I've been playing around with the things that are inspiring me right now, hoping that they will carry over into the words that just aren't coming at the moment.

It hasn't happened yet, but I keep hoping. I keep looking for ways to bring words to life.

Paper Castles

I found this online. Thought it was neat.

I do not have that kind of talent yet, but it's something to try to learn and develop.

State of Affairs

I am currently not playing in any games. My favorite cohort to cause trouble with and discuss ideas with is now working 12+ hours a day. I am bogged down by a lack of any real social life and not as much fun as I want.

I am, in effect, uninspired.

Writing this blog us directly related to my gaming life and what's got me excited and interested today/this week/this month.

At the moment, I'm casually working on a pack of Werewolves for a World of Darkness setting, but I'm not anywhere near done and I find myself stalling a lot.

I also recently rediscovered my affection and adoration for paper crafting and altered art; which might correspond to the lack of gaming ideas and might just be happenstance.

Many of the ideas I had in draft are boring to me now, and I wonder if I need another trip to the strip club to get my mind fired up again.....

Wonderland Session 6 & 7

We finally had our entire group together as we began this session.

When we left our intrepid "heroes", the group had heard voices crying for help through the Void, and had gone to their rescue despite the Captain's protests. Once on the island, they had encountered a group of people huddled together on the beach, and one of the people had turned towards the Captain with a wild look of hunger, and we had faded to black.

When we picked back up, I fully intended for there to be a conflict during the session. All of the players had commented at one point or another that they wanted a fight, and I had planned the adventure with that in mind.

But my players had other plans.

[Weekly Words on Women] The Wife

I've alluded to this one for a long time but it's finally here-

The talk on wives and what they do to their spouses.

I'm always frustrated by the assumption that a dude getting married automatically means that he is whipped (that their wives control their access to sex and freedom).

But I've seen it. I've seen that exact thing happen.

I just don't understand it when a guy talks about how his wife won't "let him" (or her) go out once a week for games, or 'doesn't approve', 'doesn't understand', etc.

I know I am 'not your ordinary girl'

but the idea that men need permission to partake in their hobbies, enjoy their passions and have time to decompress is astounding to me. The concept that men get involved in relationships where they are not partners and do not have respect and fairness given to them- it bothers me.

Wonderland Double Feature (Sessions 4 & 5)

So I totally forgot to do a write up of Session 4, and then we had Session 5 this week.

In Session 4, the group was visiting an "island" inhabited by monks living in a monastery. The monks were extremely polite and friendly, rising the group's paranoia. They eat dinner and go to bed for the night, where the island effectively "rolls up" for the night.

The clown and Alistair don't sleep but somehow don't see their boat being taken by the monks and hidden. When the group wakes, they discover the boat is missing, and are invited to go to "service", where they learn more about the Twin Gods and the overall beliefs of the world.

The group stops the revered leader after the service to find out where the boat went and why the monks are trying to stop them from leaving. A larger discussion begins, and the group finds out quite a lot, much of it through observation.

There's a revelation that the TwinGods are off doing something important that takes a while, and somewhere the notion that they are having a baby comes about. While this conversation is happening, the leader of the monks begins to reverse his aging process almost in front of their eyes. As the leader learns, he becomes younger. His encounter with the group seems to reverse his age by a decade, if not more. This process continues throughout the rest of their conversations with him.

The group discovers that the monks came from somewhere else, and moved to their current island to escape the distractions of anything other than studying the TwinGods. They've forgotten what women are like except in a theoretical sense so the presence of the "pretty lady" has them somewhat baffled.  They have also lost sight of the instructions given to them by the TwinGods and the revelation that they need to follow all THREE of the rules laid down is a big deal.

The monks reveal that they left some men and a large contingent of women and children on their homeland, and that they don't remember where their home is, but it's "that way".

The group decides to try to find the monks's homeland if for no other reason than it must be full of women. They set off to the general area closest to where "that way" is, and they prepare to embark out into TheVoid.

that ended session 4.... Session 5 started with the group getting on their boat, trying to get back to the "land of the women ladies".

FoW Mission Design. If You Want Something Done Right...

Hey folks, SinSynn here.

For the longest time, I've been aching to try my hand at mission design for Flames of War. I honestly believe that every mission in the rulebook, with the exception of Free-for-All, is awful.
Here's why:

- Forced reserves.
Oh dear Lord what an awful idea. Ten of the eleven 'standard' missions force one or both players to put 'more than half' of their armies in reserve. A roll of 5up is required to get units in reserves onto the table, and some missions don't allow even that to occur until turn three.
Ugh. Just....ugh.
The most pronounced effect this has on the game is known as Front-Loading, where the 'more than half' of one's army will consist of cheap, virtually useless units, simply because that half will see little to no action. Maybe they won't even arrive at all, since Defenders can be overwhelmed prior to receiving them. Whoops- I couldn't roll a 5up. I lose. Sure...that seems fair. Boy, that was fun!

*Opponent wins on turn four? NOT IMPRESSED*