I think it's time we blow this thing... [entries|friends|calendar] AnarchAngel [ userinfo | livejournal userinfo ] [ calendar | livejournal calendar ]

Dark Matter: Actual Play [24 Jul 2008|02:29pm] Setting and Character Session The process of creating this game started from scratch over coffee with nina_in_nz. I hadn't gamed with her before, so I wanted to know what sort of games she was interested in playing. Conversely, surrealfish is one of my oldest gaming friends (I've been roleplaying with him since I caught him and xyphoid playing The Temple of Elemental Evil in the StAC library in 1991) so I already had a good idea of the kinds of things which would fly with him. At this point the game was "some sort of sci-fi" and I was going to read my new Shadowrun 4e rules. I decided that would be too much in the way of system and setting for a three to four session game. Round two was an email in which I solicited input about the sort of game and the sort of setting both players wanted: What would you like to do in the game? What do you find interesting or cool about sci fi? How far in the future would you like to go? Are there any setting elements from other genres you'd like to see? How would you describe the kind of game you'd like to play (You are __(characters)__ who __(do what)__ in __(setting)__)? Their answers were pretty much on the same page, and with two players this wasn't a particularly arduous process! So I collated their responses, made a few notes of questions to be discussed in person, added a few tweaks of my own and decided on a system. Yesterday was the first session with all three of us together. I went through my notes (although I should have printed them out as well) asking questions, discussing various aspects of the setting that we were unclear about, presenting various setting elements and explaining elements of the rules as I went. After an initial pass through, we made characters (with 10 advances rather than the 5 for starting characters), answered a few more setting questions, designed the ship and briefly discussed the starting system. This morning I flavoured and expanded my notes. I'm excited about the collaborative setting and the set-up and I hope nina_in_nz and surrealfish can see their ideas amongst the material. 3 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Dark Matter: Set-up [24 Jul 2008|01:22pm] Smuggling on the Fringe The Brief: The players are criminals, mercenaries, oddjobbers, refugees, dissidents and explorers who, by choice or necessity, exist on the fringes where central control has devolved to local powers of various sizes. They do jobs of varying legality, try to keep their morals, and uncover secrets about the true nature of the universe, its history, and their place in it. ( The Crew ) 4 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Dark Matter: Setting material II [24 Jul 2008|01:21pm] There's No Place Like Home The Mazerolles system lies in the wide Pause-Imperial fringe zone between Imperial space and The Pause Authority. The nearest Imperial system, al-Beidh, is six wormhole jumps away. Mazerolles is an F class star (whiter and hotter than Earth’s sun) ( with five planets. ) Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Dark Matter: Setting material [24 Jul 2008|11:41am] A Disintegrating Galaxy Earth’s galactic empire is splintering under the pressure of internal tensions and external forces. Opportunistic system- and sector-level government structures are breaking away, dissident movements are seizing planets and outposts. Imperial military forces resist in some sectors, collude in others and elsewhere instigate. At the core, the imperial courtiers continue their petty bickering amidst pomp and excess, the escalating price of imported wine provoking only changes in personal and house status. ( While their masters play, the various arms of the imperial bureaucracy struggle to maintain their own integrity and power. ) Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Spare Shihad Ticket [24 Jul 2008|09:35am] We may have a spare ticket to Shihad tomorrow night at the Wellington town hall. We'll know for sure tonight, but if you're interested, drop me a line. 7 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

[24 Jul 2008|09:16am] A genetic hybrid dedicated to discovering the fate of her kidnapped psychic brother... and making her fortune. A hiveworlder who escaped the crush of humanity on his home planet and now seeks renown as a champion of the downtrodden. A hijacked and re-programmed Government-grade AI in a re-purposed dignitary runabout. The quasi-religious order of psychics whose web spreads throughout the decadent and decaying empire. A fragmenting galaxy where those who control the wormholes, control information. Dark Matter 2 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Bits and Pieces [22 Jul 2008|02:20pm] [ music | Oomph! - Dreh dich nicht um ] Party of Two It looks like the sci-fi game tomorrow will be a party of two. It would be nice to have a couple more, but the various local recruitment avenues seem to be largely devoid people with free daytimes. I've been wanting to try a game of this size for a while though, so I'm looking forward to it. Media Update The ending to The Algebraist wasn't particularly satisfying. There weren't any surprises and there was only really one (not particularly) suspenseful moment, so it was a bit anticlimactic. Still, the journey was nice. I just started The Years of Rice and Salt and nishatalitha has lent me The Hallowed Hunt to read next. Neue und Nicht-so-neue Deutsche Härte The observant amongst you will have noticed that I've been listening to a lot of Oomph! lately. The especially observant will have noticed that I've been listening to the albums in chronological order. I've just about finished my Deutsche Reise through the annals of these Neue Deutsche Härte pioneers, and I can report that it was gooooood. They are generally lighter than the hardest Rammstein, but never get as slow and low as Rammstein can, their mean is probably a touch lighter. Oomph!'s melodiousness improves over the nine albums from 1992's eponymous Oomph! to GlaubeLiebeTod in 2006. My personal favourites were the last two, GlaubeLiebeTod and Wahrheit oder Pflicht (2004) for catchy melodies and Rammstein-esque driving rhythm guitars. If that sounds like you, check them out. 6 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Captain's Log VII [22 Jul 2008|01:33pm] [ music | Oomph! - Träumst du ] Hyperion Patrol Cycle 2985: New Dakota System Autopsy: Dead pirate killed with injected poison while under surveillance. Possible link between "Omega Syndicate" and unidentified party with high grade active camo. Package from "Omega Syndicate" showing video of Petrovski and Gate Commandant socialising. Senator Petrovski (linked to First Peoples terrorists by informant and Omega Syndicate) denied sympathy with First Peoples aims, denied all contact with extremist elements (including having even rebuffed any contact attempts by terrorists), demanded lawyer and complained to Gate Commandant: extremely suspicious. Tattooist unsuccessfully resisted arrest, confirmed employment by "Omega Syndicate", no new information. Informant reports on time of pirate meeting at bar, raid nets one pirate and one corporate employee, serious injury to Asher. Saboteur: active threat. Terrorists: active threat. The Thin Man: potential threat. Luger's Pirates (local): active threat. "Omega Syndicate" (kidnappers): active threat. ( OOC information behind the cut. ) 2 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Nothing to see here [22 Jul 2008|09:57am] [ music | The 'C' Section of my 4 & 5 star playlist ] ( Music Meme ) 10 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

System & Metal [21 Jul 2008|01:27pm] [ music | Oomph! - Willst Du Frei Sein ] I'll be using The Shadow of Yesterday for the Sci-Fi game. Here's a hack based on Firefly for key and secret ideas. I think we'll use this list of abilities. I'll Teach you Who Rocks Metalocalypse rocks. They're riffin' brutal. Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

[19 Jul 2008|08:37pm] I've edited the last two Space Western posts to add links to the GM's more narrative account of events which may help give a better picture of events than the sparse style I have adopted for Balázs. 2 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Call for players [19 Jul 2008|03:21pm] Starting next Wednesday afternoon (July 23) in Hataitai, surrealfish, nina_in_nz and I will begin a short run Sci-Fi game (name and system yet to be determined). We can take a couple more players if anyone out there in Wellington wants to play. Here's the initial setting info that I've compiled from the first round of emails: ( Initial Notes ) 9 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Media Watch [17 Jul 2008|08:45am] [ music | Oomph! - Krüppel ] Movies: Kung Fu Panda A typical kids movie plot arc, but still great. Funny, and cool animated kung-fu. Shoot Em Up Fantastic tongue-in-cheek action movie that does exactly what it says on the box. Next Cool idea, generally well executed, suck-tastic ending. Superbad Interesting. A blend of hilarious and uncomfortable, mostly starting with the latter and ending with the former. Apocalypse Now: Redux The first half hour is great, but there's a steady decline towards the end. By the time Captain Willard gets to Kurtz, the story has been told and the last thirty minutes was pretty much unnecessary wank which I watched for completeness. Planned: Hancock, Indy, both Narnia movies, maybe Get Smart, Star Wars & Blue Harvest. TV: Angel Season 4 is weak. Weak. WEAK. W.E.A.K. Season 5 is as awesome as season 4 is weak. Coming up: Seasons 2-5 of Red vs Blue, Blackadder, various other shows. Books: Ah fiction... when was the last time I read thee? 06? 05? 04? Was the last fiction I read Look to Windward (a few years after publication)? No, it was Dan Simmons' Ilium in 06, IIRC the last two or three books of Ken MacLeod's Fall Revolution series. Perdido Street Station See elsewhere. A well detailed and evocative nut-kicker. The Algebraist I've almost finished this and it's got all the Iain M Banks traits that I love: alien aliens, realistic space battles and people fucking up each other's shit. Next on the list are Years of Rice and Salt (as recommended by xyphoid many years ago), Matter (if I can find a copy) and A Clash of Kings (& as many of the subsequent books as I can get through) so that my usual Hollywood gaming group can talk openly about the series once more without spoilering me... and because A Game of Thrones is awesome. Also, surrealfish mentioned that there's a new fantasy novel by Lois McMaster Bujold, The Hallowed Hunt, set in Chalion but apparently not a sequel to The Curse of Chalion & Paladin of Souls, but I suspect I won't get that far. [Edit: Yeah, Jim Butcher seems to be the new hotness, so I should look into those too.] 21 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Captain's Log V & VI [16 Jul 2008|02:15pm] [ music | Oomph! - Wir Leben ] Three weeks ago in the space western: things got complicated. Hyperion Patrol Cycle 2985: New Dakota System New security threat: First Peoples terrorist group demands system council vote on gate closure. Contact local security contractor regarding local First Peoples organisation: credible threat. Eb hires shuttle to scout meeting point between Obidiah and suspected pirate vessel. Obidiah snatched from hotel by a "tall thin black man". Asher and I investigated spaceport bar at which Obidiah previously met pirate Faceman. Face seemed surprised at Obidiah's absence. Asher infiltrates hurried recruitment interview then attempts pursuit of new pilot. I am alerted to gunshots behind the bar: apparently unrelated truck-jacking. Administer first aid and await local law enforcement. Asher returns, impounds truck: Face escorted new pilot to shuttle and escaped. Investigation of bar: owner willing to meet privately later. As meeting imminent, local enforcement alert us to terrorist attack in progress on spaceport: Eb and Asher dispatched. Contact under surveillance by high-tech snoop: not traced. Contact agrees to cooperate in exchange for safety. Local enforcement foil terrorists with heavy casualties, terrorists escape, Eb critically wounded during Asher's pursuit. Saboteur: active threat. Terrorists: active threat. Pirates (local): active threat. Obidiah's disappearance: unexplained & unresolved. ... Obidiah's contracted kidnapper ("The Thin Man") contacted: Obidiah's location discovered. Brent and I raid location and rescue Obidiah. One "pirates" captured: bears fake tattoo of local pirate gang; interrogation reveals Obidiah sought in contact with something stolen in raid on a corporate facility, name of tattoo forger, name: Omega Syndicate. Courier parcel arrives: data crystal with footage of team & a public figure connected to terrorist threat, demand for exchange of captured pirate for information on terrorist threat. Pirate dropped; killed in plain sight. Saboteur: active threat. Terrorists: active threat. Pirates (local): active threat. The Thin Man: potential threat. Pirates (kidnappers): active threat. ( OOC Information behind the cut ) Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Catching up on the weekend. [14 Jul 2008|01:10pm] I'm 200 LJ friend-entries back and counting. Talk about a posting explosion since Wednesday! In the meantime, here are some things I found interesting and shareworthy: For the belly-dancers among you: Super Mario Bros. Invading NZ (via some peeps). Mike Mearls on making solo fights interesting in 4e. In sneak preview news, there are a number of people in Wellywood with short-term daytime schedule gaps and, no doubt, a need to game. Let's talk. 20 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Buckets Debrief [07 Jul 2008|04:04pm] Another year, another Buckets, this time with added snow and 48 hour party. ( A lengthy report follows ) 16 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

This one's for the Xenogram's in the house. [04 Jul 2008|07:34pm] (via winneganfake) 4 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Oh yes... [01 Jul 2008|01:52pm] 14 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Two great tastes... [27 Jun 2008|09:44pm] Don't Rest Your Daiklave. 6 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

Design solutions [27 Jun 2008|01:19pm] On the 2008 Dreamation Round Table recorded by the Sons of Kryos, a suggestion for one of the games under discussion gave me a very promising idea for A Certain Kind of Decision and sparked a very productive train of thought. In brief: Character generation during play, aspects as cards. I smell another round of playtesting in the very near future. 4 comments| Okay... Three, Two, One, Let's Jam...

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