We move into September which is seventh month of the Roman calendar. September does not seem to have any particular ties to myth, man or magic among the Romans, however, as Seven is usually viewed as a magical number, magic and spells will be our theme for this month. As usual, please let me know if there is anything you would like to see.
August, 2017, saw the following posts here:
Well, I am mostly recovered from my experience at GenCon 50 and the trip back, so thought it was time to write things up before it all falls from my head.
Days -2 and -1 were travel towards Indianapolis, early morning arrival and working setup on the AEG booth in the exhibit hall. Busy but not very exciting but we did get most of the setup done on Tuesday which was a great achievement.
Cat Lady in progress
Day 0, Wednesday, is the real beginning of the convention in many ways these days. Had a few moments to wonder the halls, found some of the Goodman Games crew bagging old Appendix N paperbacks for sale and we had a good discussion about Poul Anderson. Also ran across and talked with author Marion G. Harmon, author of Wearing the Cape
Day 1, Thursday, works begins after some Bee Coffee. Dashed through the exhibitors’ hall to grab a GenCon dice set for one of the other demo team members. then teaching Istanbul (not Constantinople), oddly, even though They Might Be Giants were performing at GenCon, no one made that comment all con. During my break, off the get lost in the exhibitors’ hall and try to catch up with some people I know who might be there. Visited Drew Baker‘s booth and checked out his new art, ended up buying a playmat which I cannot find a picture of at his site but L5Rish in theme. Honestly, all a bit of a blur, but I did hit up the Catalyst booth for a Maria Mercurial Tour (an iconic rocker from the Shadowrun setting) t-shirt. Then back to work, general helping then session 2 of Istanbul, yes, expect to see that game mentioned a lot over this. Read the rest of this entry ?
“I am glad we are just mercenaries,” whispered Gollaon to his friend as they stood in the back of the grand hall, surrounded by the assembled nobles of the realm.
“Yes? What am I missing?” Voddick stretched up trying to get a look at what was going on at the heart of the chamber.
“Oaths to the ruler, ones that will be enforced by an ancient magic,” answered Gollaon.
“Ah, best to avoid those entanglements, especially in war,” nodded Voddick. “At least the feast should be spectacular.”
Sceptre of Feudal Oaths
These items are usually ancient having acquired their authority from decades or centuries of use and tradition. The sceptres are usually old and often appear outdated when compared to modern regalia, but are sturdily built and often richly decorated. They come from an era of fierce war leaders who demanded personal loyalty and we willing to enforce their dictates with violence as needed.
The arrow narrowly missed Voddick’s ear. Behind him, the wall was bathed in night and when it faded, covered in frost. “Bullocks!”
“Arrows of the Eclipse! I thought their secret had been lost,” said Gollaon, launching an arrow in return.
Voddick recocked his crossbow. “I am so pleased that it has been found again,” he said bitterly.
“Truth, not the best time to appreciate our enemies’ weapons.”
Arrow of the Eclipse
The arrow heads of these weapons are a pure darkness, not reflecting any light, whatever they may have been originally made of, the shafts are dim, as if always in shadow, only the fletchings react to the ambient light. The final crafting of these arrows must be made during an eclipse making them rare in most worlds.
“Are you sure they went this way?” asked Voddick, trying to spot the person among the flowing marketplace crowds.
“Yes, but between the mass of people and the skill of the one we are, were following, I fear they are lost to us,” answered Gollaon.
“I suggest we search the taverns.”
“Capital idea.”
Cloaked in Crowds
This poetically named item is in fact a rather unassuming cloak, though made of the finest cloths, in muted colors and its platinum claps appears at pewter to those who do not inspect it closely. Around other worn clothing, it gradually shifts to match them in cut and appearance, blending into local styles seamlessly.
Hello Friends,
This year, I will again be at GenCon and again, working for AEG doing game demos.
If you want to drop by and say hello, I will mostly be in the AEG section of the Events Hall in the ICC.
Every day, from 10am to Noon, I am demoing Istanbul, which is a fantastic board game and if you have time (and generic tickets) come by and I will fit you in if I can and teach you how to play.
Then on Thurs, Fri and Sat, from 2pm-6pm, more game demos in the events hall (with the 4-6 shift being more Istanbul). Friday night, I will be working, somewhere in the crowd, at AEG’s Big Game Night.
And my last game demo of the Weekend will be Lovecraft Letter from 1-3pm on Sunday, the new madness and horror themed take on the classic Love Letter game.
Other than that, I will be wandering around and taking it all in. May have a dinner with some L5R friends on Saturday but that is still up in the air, so drop me a note if you want to meet up! Love catching up with and meeting new friends.
Also, you can check out my general GenCon advice here.
“I know the symbol of the kingdom is a leopard, but do there need to be cats everywhere in the palace?” asked Voddick, shooing a kitten away.
“Keeping in a good relationship with the symbolic animal of your house as not the worst plan,” answered Gollaon. “You never know who is watching, after all.”
“I do, dozen of little bright eyed cats,” muttered Voddick.
Watchful Circlet of the Cat Monarch
These circlets are usually understated copper or silver inlaid with gold and a few gems or enameled designs showing a crest displaying a cat of some sort. The circlet is very comfortable to wear and never accidentally falls loose.
To understand what is going on here, you had best read the first PinkCat: Running in the Shade post, but short summary, this is a campaign report for our Shadowrun campaign set in NorCal through the filter of a cartoon made by one of the team members.
Episode Thirty: Bad Science
Guest Starring: Clawz, Double Up, and Toru.
Pink get word that one of the local labs in doing cruel animal experimentation and sets about mobilizing the school’s clubs to protest against such, easy for the environment club less so for the programming group. The student groups include a variety of fan and supporter created characters, PinkCat has her own channel for Running the Shade and other projects and this is a good chance to thank them for their fandom. The organized protest include pickets, virtual and actual, media and blogging offensives, really a light introduction to activism. The lab tries to fight back with experts, their own media offensive and bribery. But exposing the bribes finally turns the tables on the lab and they knuckle under and agree to treat their animals humanely. The protestors retire, but keep the pressure up via blogs and the media. Trust but verify.
What really happened:
Shadowrun: Book of the Lost is a campaign book for Shadowrun and provides a considerable amount of potential adventure for a GM. But is it necessary? Not really, unless your group is already intrigued by the Sixth World Tarot, you do not have to prioritize this book, it is pretty and has quite a bit of fun stuff but all of it will need to be adapted to your campaign. But if a tarot hunt sound like it would be fun for you and your players, then pick this up.
GenCon is about two weeks away, so, I thought I would (again) share my hard-earned experience and try and help out people who are going.
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