Falling away from May and into June

June is named from the Roman month Iunius, or Junius, is named in honor of the ancient Roman goddess Juno who is the wife of Jupiter and oversees marriage (and who is associated with the Greek goddess Hera).   For the Romans, the first half of Iunius is a period of religious purification and was considered the most favorable time to marry.

Summer officially starts this month, so, any thoughts on a theme, reader?  Send me your suggestions and I will try to act on them.

May, 2013, saw the following posts on the design journal:

Further Cyberpunk Resources

In preparation for my Shadowrun game tomorrow, some inspiration for cyberpunk and near future games:

Useful for a quick change, transforming dresses.  Sometimes you need to blend in with higher society you know.

For some reason, this sport has always struck me as very cyberpunk: Chess Boxing, where the competitors face off in alternating rounds of chess and boxing.  See a video of a recent championship bout here and visit the World Chess Boxing Organization.

Ever wondered what those multicolored diamonds with numbers posted on doors meant, wonder no more with the the Smithsonian’s Decoding the City: the Fire Diamond article.  Useful information on the modern world.

A look at the current state of the art for body replacement from National Geographic.

Another style of community organization: the Jerk Church!  (COMMANDMENT II: Thou shalt not be a douche)  And you can learn more about them at their page: the Jerk Church.

And you can hardly get more punk than these Chinese inventors and their selfmade inventions.

Tuesday Magic Item – Horn of Horonaim

Travelers say they hear strong sounds echoing from the ruins of Horonaim, the ruins so old that no one remembers when it was anything other than ruins and dust, the sounds reported vary but a sounded horn figures in it most often.

The ruins have been ruin and haunted forever, as the ancient texts say, “on the road down to Horonaim anguished cries over the destruction are heard.”

Rarely someone will venture there, more rarely still, will someone return.

Horn of Horonaim

These rare items universally have unhappy histories, made from age blackened ram’s horn and tarnished silver settings, they carry a weight and a sorrow with them.  While apparently fragile, it takes considerable mystic power to destroy a Horn of Horonaim.

Review – the War Dancer (for Pathfinder)

The War Dancer is a combat focused class that specializes in mobility and manipulating circumstances on the battlefield.  It has potential for those who like unusual combat and maneuver-based combatants but should be watched for potential abuse.

Towel Day Magic Item – The Book of Epically Bad Poetry

“Shall I read you . . . another poem?!” said the inquisitor, grinning a feral grin.

“No!  No more, please, I beg of you,” sobbed the prisoner, his will finally broken.

The Book of Epically Bad Poetry

These book are usually made of only the finest materials, such as rich leather decorated with gold leaf and pages of beautiful paper written upon with the best inks.  They are usually made or commissioned by the author of the work and they usually want their works to be showcased in the best book that they can afford.

Review – Hostile Takeover (for Interface Zero/Savage Wolrds)

Cyberpunks, interested in how the other half lives (and works)?  Hostile Takeover is a resource to allow you to play characters working for the megacorporations who rule the world in the near, dark future.  Both as a guide for corporate-based games and as a resource for building and playing the corporations, Hostile Takeover is a useful and amusing resource.

Hostile Takeover is a Savage Worlds/Interface Zero source book on working for the mega-corporation from GunMetal Games.  It is divided into two parts:

Tuesday Magic Item – Strawberry of Desire

Some foods are rare and only found in the most magical and unusual places.  One such place located on a high plateau, is said to be the garden of the goddess of desire that fell to Earth with her death, where it is always spring, the plants and trees always heavy with fruits.  The strawberries from this garden are especially sought after as they can reveal to those who consume them what they truly desire.

Such strawberries are not without price but they are very expensive.

Strawberries of Desire

These strawberries and beautiful and plump, ready for eating and on the verge of being overripe.  Their scent is strong and permeates any area that they are in.

I am Games Mastering the L5R RPG at GenCon!

Again, I will be at GenCon working for The Man, The Man in this case being AEG and I will be running the L5R RPG at the following times:

A Circling of Wolves (intro, action-adventure), Thur, Fri, Sat, 9am.

The Courtly Art of Murder (advanced, intrigue), Thurs 2pm, Fri 6pm, and Sun 9am.

It is all pre-gen characters so if you want to try out the L5R RPG and setting, try A Circling of Wolves, if you have played before and are up for politics and intrigue, go for The Courtly Art of Murder.

Not sure what other work AEG will require me for but I should have some free time outside of the games.

I hope to catch up with some of you there.

Edit: Well, it looks like all of my games are full, but if you are still interested in playing in one, drop me an email.

Review – Ley Lines for Pathfinder

If you have considered adding ley lines, or similar magical phenomenon, to your Pathfinder world this product should be a useful resource.  Not perfect by any means, but a good starting point for thinking about such magics in a world.

Ley Lines is a Pathfinder source book from Scorched Urf’ studios detailing ley lines, that is the lines of magical force that can exist in a game world (and some say exist on Earth).  It details various types of ley lines, divided by color, how they affect magic (and more) and what sort of patterns (“world lace”) they can form to enhance world building along with a meta-explanation for why multiple worlds have ley lines.

M&M Campaign Report – LA Stars Volume 2, Issue 10 “Sea, Sky and Black Sun”

Cover: Bald Eagle punching a jetpacked soldier while Legionnaire wrestles with boilersuited animated corpses, in the background a giant High-Q is wrapped in black bands.  A white male figure and a multicolored female one are seen from the back and they are saying “Do not worry, we will save you!”  “Who are these New Heroes?!” is splashed across the bottom.

LA Stars Volume 2, Issue 10 (October 1967)
Sea, Sky and Black Sun!