June begins, May receeds

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 thus linked 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, 2014, saw the following posts on the design journal:

Tuesday Magic Item – Harness of the Hidden Ways

“Take this harness and saddle up Star, my dearest one,” the old man said.

“But why?”

“There are bad things coming and you must ride to take word to the city,” he said sadly.  “I will try to slow them down but you must ride to the river crossroad and take the east road . . .”

“But there is to east road there.”

“There will be if your horse is wearing this harness, now go!  Many lives are at risk is you tarry, now go and take the east road but do not leave the path until you arrive at the city.”

Harness of the Hidden Ways

These finely made harnesses are made of the finest leather with fitting of brass or bronze, subtly worked with runic engravings.

Tuesday Magic Item – Paper Clothes

Her clothes were beautiful, though of an antique style they seemed newly made.  She was charming and delightful even if she kept vanishing.

After midnight was the last time I saw her.  She begged off and when I caught at her sleeve, this piece came away.  It is just colored paper.

Now I just wonder if I will ever see her again.

Paper Clothes

These items are often found in books but can be just a single page upon which is drawn or printed a set of clothing and a brief phrase.

Shadowrun, Shared Campaigns and a New Seattle Scream

It has been a while since I have done one of these but the Shadowrun campaign is still continuing on its more or less monthly schedule but I am trying to get a shared campaign world started to run parallel to the monthly campaign.

In the monthly game, Moonshadow (the elven rocker and shadowrunner) has not quite had his life implode yet but the two sides of his career are on a collision course, various plots continue to mature and this move forward.  You can see the results of some of this in the latest Seattle Scream (44).

Of the shared campaign, I suggested the following ground rules:

My L5R games at GenCon

Once again, I will be GMing the Legend of the Five Rings RPG at GenCon for AEG.  In fact I have seven (!) sessions scheduled:

RPG1454530     Obsidian Night    Thursday 9:00 AM

RPG1454532     Light of Jade        Thursday 2:00 PM

RPG1454533     Light of Jade        Friday 1:00 PM

RPG1454463     Obsidian Night    Friday 7:00 PM

RPG1454534     Light of Jade        Saturday 10:00 AM

RPG1454531     Obsidian Night    Saturday 6:00 PM

RPG1454535     Light of Jade        Sunday 10:00 AM

Obsidian Night is the introductory adventure, so the rules will be taught to those who need to learn.  It will be pretty action adventury.   The characters need to escape from a breakthrough of Shadowlands creatures and survive to carry a warning to Imperial forces.  If you want to give the L5R RPG a shot, this is the session for you.

Light of Jade is the advanced adventure, so for experienced players of the L5R RPG.  It is courtly intrigue scenario with the Dark lurking in the shadows, in the court of the Moshi family in the Valley of the Centipede something . . . unfortunate has happened.  You are tasked by the Daimyo to discover the truth.

There are six tickets for each game but I always prep seven characters, so if you have time (and generic tickets) feel free to drop by and see if there is a spot.

Hope to see you there!

 

Tuesday Magic Item – Stockings of Seduction

Oh, that ankle, it haunted my dreams after seeing it on the dance floor.  Teasingly displayed, just for me, masterfully presented.

And the next night again.  On the stairway, so lovely and flirtatiously shown where I could not help but see it.  My blood was running hot and I hoped for another glimpse.  It was not long in coming, that midnight, on the balcony.  While they were talking to another, their leg was posed for me alone.

Sleeping was difficult, I had to confront them.  To find out the game they were playing.  Did they want me as much as I desired them?  Or was it all just a cruel trick.

The next night, on the veranda, I finally caught them.  “Sir, are you simply toying with this lady’s heart or do you want it?”

Stockings of Seduction

These stockings seem to be made of the sheerest silk with ribbons worked in at the top.  They are nearly impossible to damage are they are fey items woven of moonbeams, spider silk and cats’ purrs.

Review – Run & Gun (Shadowrun)

Shadowrun: Run and Gun provides tools and tricks for the working shadowrunner.  Do you need this book?  Unless you are running a very combat oriented game, probably not, but it sure has a lot of fun toys and options in it.  The rule options can be extremely detailed and are not going to be needed for most games and styles of play, but they are an interesting reference and provide interesting ideas and adventure seeds.  As a GM, I would definitely put this book on the list of things to have to scare players with.

Tuesday Magic Item – Headband of the Animals’ Gift

Recently, Moors the Ranger had taken to wearing the hood of his cloak up, we all wondered why.  Until a strong gust flung it back revealing his ears which had grown tall and furred.

Who had he been eavesdropping upon?

Headband of the Animals’ Gift

These headbands are decorated with stylized animals with complex and intricate knot work, most are made of copper with a silver or gold inlay.

May! It is May! And a look back at April.

Five days into May already, I am slipping.  May was Maius in Latin and probably was named after the Greek goddess Maia, who is associated with Spring.  So, what shall the theme be for May?  The fae and faerie?  Spring and nature?  Gods and religion?  Something else?  Let me know.

It was a quiet April, 2014, for the Journal.  Thing are grinding forward on getting the pieces together for the Sea of Stars Campaign Setting Kickstarter, slowly the pieces come together, I hope.