Post-Weekend Ramblings + BtS Silence

Can I just say that summer sucks? And we're not even within those dreaded months yet! Over the extended weekend I put in my air conditioner and things are a little more palatable up here in the attic. The day before, Monday night, I decided to take all of the books belonging to my parents and deceased grandfather off my shelves. I needed room for my books desperately and, well, this is my room after all. After about 4 stinkin' hot hours I finished the task of removal, dusting, and relocation of all books involved. A ton of work for a day off but the end result looks great. I now can actually see the several ceramic pieces of Celtic art I purchase yearly from Bethlehem's autumn Celticfest.

After that evening, I decided to treat myself to a little shopping on Tuesday. Went to the Palmyra store but got there a little too early. Wasted some time at the local pharmacy, interested in another privately owned establishment like my own employer. The store was larger than ours, including such delights as Yankee Candles and Lang products. I bought a couple notepads for my grandmother and me before strolling to the pizza place across the street for lunch. I had a prime spot to watch for the game store owner's imminent arrival. After they opened, I bought a couple older Dragon mags for my collection and two boxes of D&D minis.

I wrestled with thoughts of going home after that but decided to press south to the Park City mall outside Lebanon. They have a CD Warehouse where I scored a cheap trio of cds (Dune soundtrack baby!) and at long last the widescreen Indiana Jones box set. What took me so long? Dunno but this geek's glad they're finally in his collection (a steal at $27.99). After this I headed east on Rt. 30 to get to another game store called Six Feet Under Games. Well, their name was still on the marquee but the inside of the store was empty.

Since I first got wind of this place on the internet, I decided to call my web-guru brother to aid my quest. Sure enough, he found that they had updated their info to include the recent move. Turns out the store is now in New Holland, perhaps a 10 mile or so drive from the old location. Found it and scored another old Dragon mag, Skarda's Mirror (D&D module X12) in shrinkwrap, and the new Dragonlance product Tasslehoff's Map Pouch. After that I wandered home and mowed the lawn. A pretty good end to the long weekend.

Here's a dog update: Veronica continued to be dizzy until today. Her eyes have finally stopped their continuous back-and-forth movement and she seems to have most of her equilibrium back. Thank god.

On the RPG front, Behind the Spells: Silence was released today. Grab your copy here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7115 Sales have slumped once more for the series so I suppose it's a good thing that it's winding down to a conclusion. I hope people are just stalling until the print version comes out. Of course, fantasy just isn't what it used to be with the dwindling d20 marketplace. I'd like to write something for Gareth's company Adamant Ent. but, naturally, it would be fantasy. It's a shame the Dragonstar property isn't alive to write for. I had tremendous fun with those adventures. I'd be content, though, to write something for Castles & Crusades if I could find an opening to do so. There was talk of it with Phil but he has his hands so full that I think I've slipped through the cracks. You may recall some Reality Deviant rumblings from me but that, too, seems to have fallen by the wayside. I was gearing up to do a pdf of feats but, after seeing that the first collection included like 70+, I'm not sorry to have missed that boat. Maybe I'm just fed up with new crunch but that's a lot of feats!

Temporality Review #2

Here's a nice present for the holiday/birthday weekend: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?products_id=6874&reviews_id=13043 So far, so good on reviews.

Yesterday was fun. The module went off pretty well despite my utter lack of prep (which means not everything was detailed to my satisfaction before game time). We had two deaths--Wintermage and Zoryn (my old NPC played by Zlaty and Brad's kobold PC mentioned in previous blog entries). They died fighting a phaerimm, a charmed assassin, and the ancient defenses of a Bhaalist crypt in a desperate gambit to stop the resurrection process of that not-quite-dead Lord of Murder in the Realms. They now have the Crystal of Shadowed Deeds which houses some of Bhaal's life essence. It will be interesting to see what's done with it.

Birthday presents were good: two gift cards and $50 cash. Linda has something for me tomorrow so not everything is accounted for yet. Today is shaping up to be a humid one already with tomorrow not looking any better. I had planned to hike and mow the grass today but....we'll see. It might be better than puttering around in my room (which is the attic so it gets pretty toasty in the summer).

Dog Problems

I returned from my afternoon hike today to find Veronica, our 13-year-old cocker spaniel, dazed on the floor. Her head kept shaking back and forth rapidly and she could not walk at first. After a minute she managed to move forward, sort of. As she walked, she also moved to the right, almost as if drunk. After some phone calls with my parents (who were shuttling my brother and his wife here from Philly), we met near the turnpike before going en masse to the emergency vet hospital. By this time Veronica's head was not moving so much as her eyes were doing a constant back and forth dance. It was quite sad. Thank god the doctor had good news and said chances were excellent that, um, she had something called verticulitis (or some other "v" word). This is a condition stimulated by an ear problem which wreaks havoc on the dog's balance. That would also explain the several vomitings earlier in between the stumbling. I just returned with Veronica and she's resting. I feared the worst so am happy everything should be back to normal within a few days tops.

Here's the funny story. While waiting at the vet, a woman with a larger dog was sitting not too far away. The nurse emerged from the back to ask her a most unusual question--"Do you know what type of underwear he ate?" Turns out the nurse mentioned the underwear a few minutes before but this was the question that got my attention. "I wonder if it was edible underwear," my brother chuckled. The woman's dog was a maybe for an MRI but, after learning the underwear had no metal studs, the doctor instead induced vomiting. Bad for the dog. Funny for the rest of us.

Long Weekend

After working the Saturday shift, I've actually got 3 days to string together of no work. It's almost unheard of! Thank the gods for not working on Monday. Sunday is already filled with gaming. What better birthday present could I ask for? :) I'll likely hike on Monday combined with a generous dose of mowing the grass. Tuesday is up in the air, just the way I like it.

At the moment I'm halfway through writing BtS: Silence. So why wouldn't I be fiddling with my blog? Hoping to finish this issue tonight so I can concentrate on module writing tomorrow. I could probably wing the rest of the adventure Sunday but 3rd edition has left my "winging" skills a bit rusty. Weaving a story isn't the problem; it's coming up with cogent stats for those unavoidable encounters. I'd rather have stats prepared then have to page for some (or worse, just make them up). Never worried about that in 2nd edition but the current rules are so balanced oriented that I worry about killing PCs with a misplaced monster. Sometimes, though, that's just the way the claw-claw-bite crumbles.

Prismatic Trio

This is a day or two late, but the newest Behind the Spells is now up for sale: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7069 Maxolt takes a look at prismatic sphere, spray, and wall in this expanded issue. There hasn't been one this long since Wish & Limited Wish. I can only hope the reviews are as favorable for the Trio as they were for Wish. It took me unusually long to write the latest installment. Either I really am running out of gas for the series or I just didn't like trying to cover three spells at once. Hmm, maybe a little of both. Next up is BtS: Silence. Over the weekend I jotted down some good notes for this one but I don't see me getting to the writing part until tomorrow.

Today I'm taking my brother with me to Bryn Mawr for a little game shopping. He's home from Philly to attend some sort of computer seminar in Allentown and must be returned before day's end. At his suggestion, I'll drop him at a train station in conjunction with an outing. Smart man. ;) The Bryn Mawr store normally has a great amount of gaming stuff and my wallet is shuddering already. As much as I'd like to grab something new (especially considering that my birthday is coming up on the 28th), I'll try to remain composed since my credit cards bills are calling out for some bucks this time of the month.

And speaking of money, I've decided to try and sell some of the d20 stuff I don't see myself using. Help out a starving artist and buy something! See here for details: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=163218

TV stuff

Last night was, as it turns out, the series finale of the ABC show Invasion. This show was starting to really come into its prime so why wouldn't it be cancelled?! There's a rumor it will be picked up by the new CW network but I doubt it. On a more upbeat note, the Lost finale next week looks great! After this and the 24 finale, there'll be a bit of TV downtime until the pair of Stargate shows returns in July.

Speaking of Stargate, I read recently that they're planning not only a feature film (based on Sg-1) but a 3rd series to run concurrently with the other two shows! Now, I really do love these shows but is too much of a good thing going to wear it too thin? I'm not worried about enjoying all of these as I am about quality control. Stretching good writers, producers, etc. too thin may not be a good idea for the integrity of the franchise. That's like a good DM running 3 campaigns at the same time!

About Time!

The first review is in for Temporality! I can only hope future reviews are as kind: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?products_id=6874&reviews_id=12923

Rained Out

Our trip to Jim Thorpe was fun but very brief as the thundering rains of this weekend boomed in on the town. We had bopped into one place just to see it and ask where Linda's niece's shop was. Then we hightailed it over to there where we stayed for at least half an hour. The shop is Country Cottages--in case anyone's wondering--and has a fair assortment of country-ish knick knacks you might expect at reasonable prices. While there, the rains poured, which is why we stayed so long. We hurried into another store down the street for shelter and then gave up and returned, soaked, to the car.

After that, we wandered our way south into Lehighton and then Palmerton. Hunger was on both our minds so we stopped on a whim at a place called the Palmerton Hotel. I'd give our stop an average rating. The waitress was obviously new and eager-to-please; not a bad thing mind you but the perky little girl did spill some veggies at another table. Whoops! The food was also just OK, nothing to write home about. There was an ice cream place a few doors up so I had to grab dessert--chocolate ice cream on a sugar cone. Then we took a little road tour to see Linda's old stomping grounds at a small town called Germansville (or was it Germanstown?).

Mother's Day was an odd one. My mom liked her gift of candles on a country-style wooden holder (no, not from Jim Thorpe but from a great store called Martin's Fabric Barn over in Myerstown). My dad made a big breakfast and I made some good headway on the next BtS (which I've decided to call "The Prismatic Trio"). But then the afternoon was just bleah. I had no ambition. Finished Captain's Blood last night. My opinion? I could have skipped it. But it does apparently set up a trilogy so I guess it was worth it. Oh, and I did get to spend time with my sister and nephews in the evening so that was good. All in all, not a bad weekend.

New Territory

After work today, Linda and I are heading north to Jim Thorpe, PA. She has a relative there with a store and we're both interested in seeing what else the town has to offer. The drive should be fun and I'm sure there'll be plenty of interesting places to shop and see. Then, I really must get to work on BtS: Prismatic Sphere/Spray/Wall. Hmm, not sure how to structure that multi-spell title yet.

BtS: Polymorph review

This pdf seems to have stirred some interest. I suppose those spells which are, shall we say, a little open to rules interpretion, strike consumers' fancies. They must be interested in what someone else has to say about this oft-used transmutation spell. In any case, the review is here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?products_id=7018&reviews_id=12894

BtS: Shield review

Chris Gath (aka Crothian), who won this pdf in one of my recent ENWorld giveaways, was kind enough to write a great review of the product. Check it out here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?products_id=6260&reviews_id=12868

Vengeance in Freeport

There's a new, uh, "review" up for Vengeance in Freeport. More of a rating really, but at least it's a good one! See here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?products_id=4950&reviews_id=12848

While I'm mentioning this adventure, I can't help but wonder if more than a handful of people have played it and what they thought. With feedback like the link above, it's hard to analyze one's writing.

Busy Days

I'm in between church services as I type this. I'm helping to ring handbells with my one boss and his wife for our music sunday service. It's not at all difficult unless you factor in going to both of our morning services. Yuck. Compound that with a module this afternoon (NeMoren's Vault completion) and then taking my brother back to the train station an hour away after that and you have a fairily busy day. Tomorrow is the normal 9 to 5 but then I'm immediately driving to King of Prussia with Linda for a night out. I'm sure I won't be home until after 11pm but it should be a fun time. And to finish off the trilogy of days, my day off has now become baby-sitting day. It's just for 3 hours but it's at the spot during the day when I usually hike. Perhaps I'll just have to get out in the morning. After all of this I'll have to jump back into the next Behind the Spells (handed in polymorph yesterday) among other writing duties. I do so detest not having any down time during any given day.

Temporality

Just a quick note. If anyone has purchased Temporality, feel free to tell me what you thought of it here or in more public venues. I think it's a great resource for all things time travel related and want others to know of its existence. It's always the time between a product's release date and the first review that is the most irritating. I shouldn't even be worried, really, what people think. I wrote it with the best intentions and if people find the rules or even my take on the subject hokey then oh well. I did my best. Let history be my judge. And if I don't like what history has to say, I'll go back in time and change it! ;)

Books

Nearly a week with no blogging and no one mailed me a death threat yet?! Ahem. Things are proceeding apace with the next issue--BtS: Polymorph--and with my Where Madness Dwells tweaking. I also finished Vision of the Future over the weekend. Great stuff! I was slightly let down by a revelation at the end but I'd still recommend the duology to anyone. I'll be jumping into Outbound Flight before too long but am now speeding through Captain's Blood, one of the Shatner/Reeves-Stevens collaborative efforts about the resurrected Cpt. James T. Kirk. In these authors' series of books, Kirk is gallavanting around in the Next Gen time period and swapping adventures with Spock, Scotty, McCoy (now 150 years old!), Jean-Luc, Riker, Worf, et al. He had a hybrid child which he's now trying to raise after his wife's death (herself one of a group of genetically engineered Romulan/Klingon beings). All of these books move at a good clip and I enjoy the interactions between old and new generations of heroes.

I picked up this title along with the Eberron short story collection just released and the "elves" collection of shorts for FR from Waldenbooks' "buy two get the 3rd for 50% off" deal. It feels so good to sit and read again! Have I mentioned that lately?

Later this month our roleplaying group is losing a player to military deployment to Iraq. I hope he stays safe and wants to game ten times as badly when he returns. Greg, you will be missed at the table! Now comes the hard part of explaining his PCs' absences in the numerous campaigns we have going on.