Happy All Hallows! And on to All Saints and November!

Happy All Hallows Day and Eve all!  Enjoy costumes, food and whatever else one does on this lovely holiday!  Tomorrow is the beginning of November with All Saints Day, November is the ninth month of the Roman calendar, and -in the traditional Irish calendar- the start of Winter.   Tomorrow also sees the beginning of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which I will be participating in, as usual, and perhaps I will even complete it this time.

In light of that, and seeing no obvious theme to November I will just write about whatever inspires me.   I will keep up with the Tuesday magic items and whatever else I can fit.  However, if you have any requests, anything you would like to see or any theme you would like me to expand upon, please let me know and I will try to fit it in.

October, 2013, saw the following posts here:

Tuesday Magic Item – Murderer’s Mask

“Tribune Julius,” said the vigiles member, “there has been some trouble in the pauper’s cemetery.”

The tribune frowned, any news that started that way was likely to end badly.  “Continue, Marcus.”

“Yes, someone dug up several corpses and decapitated one,” he reported.

The tribune felt a headache coming on.  “And the decapitated body, were the hands bound or the chest pierced?”  That strangler had been executed yesterday, the one that killed for fun, this was going to be bad.

Marcus looked at the report.  “No, just the head.  No other desecration, Tribune.”

“Fetch the priest and let us go, hopefully we can stop this before it gets out of hand.”

Murderer’s Mask

These masks are made from the skin of a murderer’s head and face, they can be encased in cloth or leather to hide it, but the skin is there.  The mask feels uncomfortable when handled but such discomfort lessens the closer the person holding it comes to putting it on.

Thinking about a Kickstarter for the Sea of Stars

And really, this is all still in the thinking/planning stage, it will take a lot more research before I am to the stage of actually starting one.

However, asking people what they would want from such a product seems like the place to start.  So, let me tell you what I am thinking of get your feedback and suggestions.

What I am thinking of is an illustrated PDF, about 120 pages, broken down (roughly) as follows:

• Introduction to and history of the Sea of Stars, 12 pages
• New and adapted species with support material, 24 pages
• Magic items, spells and such, 24 pages
• New Monsters, 20 pages
• The world and places to visit, 20 pages
• GM Advice and adventure seeds, 20 pages

Most of this, apart from the GM advice, I already have written just not organized into a form ready for publication but then it will need to be properly vetted and edited, art commissioned and proper layout make it readable and interesting.

What would people want to see more of?  Less of (down to none at all)?  The initial mechanics would be for Pathfinder but I would be happy to include a FATE adaption as a stretch goal.

Just tossing around ideas right now but I would love to hear back from you about what you would like to see in such a kickstarter and what would make you more likely to participate in one for the Sea of Stars.  Thank you in advance.

Review – The Assassin’s Primer (Shadowrun)

The Assassin’s Primer provides information about assassins, killers for hire, in the Shadowrun setting.  While I was worried about the choice of professional killers for an early sourcebook, after all Shadowrun characters can be quite violent enough as it is, the (in game) author of this work advises restraint and minimizing damage beyond the target.  Such things are welcome in the realm of character (and player) advice.  Beyond that, it provides a useful -if short- reference to the types of assassins and a basic overview of how they work.

Shadowrun: The Assassin’s Primer, is a short piece on assassins and other killers in the Sixth World, how and why they operate and some advice on what sort of skills and tools they will need to survive and prosper.  It is a good general overview and of use to shadowrunners as the tricks of the trade overlap considerably.

Tuesday Magic Item – Staff of the Ice Saints

The priest traveled always, at least, so it seemed to him, rarely spending more than three days in any one temple before continuing on his route, bringing news and blessing to all of the communities on his circuit.

Without the staff, blessed by the ice saints, he knew he would not have the strength to continue on the task.  His faith was strong, but the nights were cold and the saints guided him on his tasks.

Staff of the Ice Saints

This staff of polished white wood is topped with a crozier of carved rock crystal.  The staff sheds stains and damage, always returning to its original appearance within a day.

Reviews – Chromebooks for Cyberpunk

Guessing the future, especially the near future is never easy and often filled with missteps, and the entire Cyberpunk line suffered from bad guesses about the future but still there is an occasional moment of genius hidden among the wreckage of the past’s view of the future.

Chrome Compilation of Chrome Books 1 and 2, originally published in 1991 and 1992 respectively, wear their era of origin heavily. 

Putting my time and talent where my mouth is – for the Great Way kickstarter

Let us travel

One of the new stretch goal for the Great Way Kickstarter is YOU or in this case, me.  If the Kickstarter hits 1,200 people, enough to get the expanded Voidcallers setting for FATE, I will write a Twenty Palaces fanfic piece set in the trenches of the Great War and include FATE stats for the main character, villains and monsters (and maybe even Pathfinder states for the monsters too if I am feeling bold).

Visit the Great Way Kickstarter page and show your support and see my earlier post today for more information on the great deal this is.

Edit: And we did it!  Thank you very everyone who helped.  Guess I had best get started on that story . . .

More FATE for The Great Way – A Fantasy Fiction Kickstarter LAST CHANCE

Let us travel

Harry Connolly, author of the superb Twenty Palaces series of urban fantasy stories, is Kickstarting his new epic fantasy series the Great Way, which has weird magic, politics and an invasion by otherworldly beings, what more could you want?  Well, at $30 you get a FATE supplement for the Great Way setting.

But even better news:

[T]he folks at Evil Hat have promised that, if we reach 1200 backers, they will create an expanded Voidcallers game. That’s where I point people who want a Twenty Palaces role-playing game, because they used the FATE ruleset to capture the spirit of the setting and the especially the predators much better than I could have. If you want to roleplay Ray Lilly, that’s the stretch goal you want us to hit.

The Kickstarter drive has been going really well and look at what you can get:

Review – Dirty Tricks (Shadowrun)

Dirty Tricks provides information about politics in the world of Shadowrun, which is a vicious and dangerous game even more so then today.  It is a useful reference for games masters who want to mix politics with their games or just understand the way such things work in the Sixth World

Shadowrun: Dirty Tricks, a Deep Shadows Sourcebook, begins with the usual short piece of fiction, next it moves into a short primer on politics, focusing on what makes voter tick and what tricks are used to manipulate them.  There is some good information here, mostly using mid to late 20th century examples.  It then moves onto scandals, executive entertainment (escort services), and taking the bullet (bodyguards and security).  These sections contain good general information on politics and are a useful reference for both the GM and players.

After laying the groundwork for political games (in both sense of the word) it moves on to various political hot spots:

Tuesday Magic Item – Friendly Flute

Alevi began her set in the common room with her flute, playing a cheerful tune, before pausing and playing a haunting tune on her lute and singing the accompanying song.  It was not until her third song, which started with the flute, and she let it go to drift and play on its own, harmonizing with her voice and the stings of the lute.  It always took the crowd a moment to realize what had happened and she was always amused by the results.  Luckily, no one in the crowd was spooked or disturbed by the floating flute -that had happened a few times in the countryside- but found it fascinating instead.

At the end of the night, her purse was much happier.

Friendly Flute

These flutes are simple wooden or reed flutes that retain a tie to the spirit of the plant from which they came, they are surprisingly durable under most circumstances, though they can easily be damaged by fire.