Finally the rain has ceased here in east-central PA. The Schuylkill River is the highest I've ever seen it. A bridge was roped off by police because the far side (away from town) was apparently underwater. I'm glad our house is at a position where it never falls prey to flooding (*knocks wood*).
I forgot to mention the other day that I finished reading Greenwood and Cunningham's City of Splendors novel about that greatest of Realmsian cities--Waterdeep. If you haven't read it yet, let me save you some time--don't. It is clear where Ed stops writing and Elaine begins. Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy what each writer brings to the table in terms of style but Ed almost seemed lost on this one and he had the pleasure (I believe) of writing the first 2/3 of the book! One of Elaine's more noted characters, Elaith Craulnober, receives some attention here but it isn't until the last few acts where he does anything. Yeah, I know, the book isn't about him. However, I'm hard pressed to state what exactly the book was about. Waterdhavian nobles realizing they need to give a damn to see the city prosper? I guess so. And two of them are made Lords at the end! The antagonists were laughable and hopefully will not make a return.
I've since moved on to a trilogy recommended to me by Brad (of Chilled Monkey Brains blog-fame). Brad, please kick me next time we meet for not starting these sooner. I'm about a third of the way through the first of the Erevis Cale trilogy and am really enjoying it. Cale needs to grow on me a bit more before I can really get a sense of what he is and how he'll react to situations but anything involving the Zhentarim, Cyrics vs. Banites, the Shadow Weave, and assassins gets an "A" in my book.
Speaking of new books, can anyone point me to a chronological listing of the Lankhmar books? I'd like to give these a try and want to read them in their order of appearance. Perhaps I'll find some inspiration for my own fiction piece about Delrick Jhomes (mentioned in previous blog entry).
I feel remiss in not mentioning that my brother's wife is currently experiencing some medical woes. After falling in the lobby of their downtown Philadelphia apartment and brutally fracturing her leg, Zlatka went to have the leg rebroken in preparation for future surgery. This was done without pain killers while she was conscious--twice. Scot can chime in with the whole story but suffice it to say it was not a good experience for anyone involved. Now, after finally getting things straight with that after being put under, she awaits proper surgery next week. Send some good thoughts Scot's and Zlatka's way, won't you?
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Monday, June 26, 2006
Retirement My Ass
So a few months back I decided to really back off of freelancing; focusing only on my Behind the Spells and trying to catch up on some reading. Guess what? I'm back!! Over the last few days I've gathered up some ideas and am ready to return to the d20 fray. Here's what I'm planning...
*Behind the Spells: It's not over yet. There are 7 issues remaining to fill out subscription obligations. After this, the print version hopefully won't be far behind. As I finish up the pdf series, I'm thinking of things to add to the print version to make it more desirable even to those who have the pdfs. The compilation will utilize errata that's been pointed out in reviews. Magic Missile will be fleshed out to be more on par with the other releases. As the very first in the series, MM was a prototype. The mechanics presented will either get a makeover or additions (maybe both!). There will also be a section on how spell secrets can be discovered in a campaign.
*Dragon Magazine ideas: It's high time I again submit to this grand 'ol mag. After rejections during the 2nd edition days, I hope to break in with some cool ideas under the new-ish regime of Erik Mona. One idea I have is an article on rules for using objects as familiars. Things like coins, cloaks, and even rope can be an arcane casters best friend!
*Fiction: While I never did dive back into fiction writing, I was asked yesterday by David Jarvis (of Reality Deviant Press) to contribute to a series of fiction pdfs he's planning. After some thought, I decided to go for it. I'm bringing along a character based on an NPC I wrote for Foul Locales: Behind the Gates. Delrick Jhomes, investigator of arcane matters (and an NPC in a past campaign), will be involved in a mystery concerning the return of a death cult thought long extinct. The human's companion is a small sentient ooze named Teek who communicates with Delrick via telepathy. If this sounds at all interesting, keep an eye out for more news.
*Castles & Crusades: Let's try this again. I just ordered the 2nd printing of the C&C PHB (from the sale I mentioned previously) and would like to write a module for this system. If you recall, there was talk of doing this through Ronin Arts some time ago but it never came to fruition. I've got the new writer's guidelines from Steve Chenault (Troll Lord honcho) and am eager to ponder some ideas. Steve said to email him in two weeks. Likely, this is due to their attendance at Origins this weekend but that's just a guess.
*Temporal Digest: Somehow I'm still going to follow up on this as well. Since a lot of the contents are likely going to be tweaked OGC, this series shouldn't be too tough to start up and continue.
That's it for now! If something falls through the cracks here, there's always something else to work on--moving back to pdfs-only or pitching DCCs for example. This post was inspired by Mike Mearls most recent livejournal entry. In it, he states that, at present, there is no reason to freelance. Bah! Link: http://mearls.livejournal.com/126121.html
*Behind the Spells: It's not over yet. There are 7 issues remaining to fill out subscription obligations. After this, the print version hopefully won't be far behind. As I finish up the pdf series, I'm thinking of things to add to the print version to make it more desirable even to those who have the pdfs. The compilation will utilize errata that's been pointed out in reviews. Magic Missile will be fleshed out to be more on par with the other releases. As the very first in the series, MM was a prototype. The mechanics presented will either get a makeover or additions (maybe both!). There will also be a section on how spell secrets can be discovered in a campaign.
*Dragon Magazine ideas: It's high time I again submit to this grand 'ol mag. After rejections during the 2nd edition days, I hope to break in with some cool ideas under the new-ish regime of Erik Mona. One idea I have is an article on rules for using objects as familiars. Things like coins, cloaks, and even rope can be an arcane casters best friend!
*Fiction: While I never did dive back into fiction writing, I was asked yesterday by David Jarvis (of Reality Deviant Press) to contribute to a series of fiction pdfs he's planning. After some thought, I decided to go for it. I'm bringing along a character based on an NPC I wrote for Foul Locales: Behind the Gates. Delrick Jhomes, investigator of arcane matters (and an NPC in a past campaign), will be involved in a mystery concerning the return of a death cult thought long extinct. The human's companion is a small sentient ooze named Teek who communicates with Delrick via telepathy. If this sounds at all interesting, keep an eye out for more news.
*Castles & Crusades: Let's try this again. I just ordered the 2nd printing of the C&C PHB (from the sale I mentioned previously) and would like to write a module for this system. If you recall, there was talk of doing this through Ronin Arts some time ago but it never came to fruition. I've got the new writer's guidelines from Steve Chenault (Troll Lord honcho) and am eager to ponder some ideas. Steve said to email him in two weeks. Likely, this is due to their attendance at Origins this weekend but that's just a guess.
*Temporal Digest: Somehow I'm still going to follow up on this as well. Since a lot of the contents are likely going to be tweaked OGC, this series shouldn't be too tough to start up and continue.
That's it for now! If something falls through the cracks here, there's always something else to work on--moving back to pdfs-only or pitching DCCs for example. This post was inspired by Mike Mearls most recent livejournal entry. In it, he states that, at present, there is no reason to freelance. Bah! Link: http://mearls.livejournal.com/126121.html
Saturday, June 24, 2006
New Link
Over there on the right you'll notice a new link to something called "Choose Death." No, this isn't some kind of advertising for a suicide cult but rather the blog of newly named Dungeon Crawl Classics line developer Harley Stroh. A prolific writer of these "old school" adventures, Harley seems like a perfect fit to oversee the line. Congrats and here's to perhaps working with you in the future! [Note that Harley, myself, and several other d20 scribes penned the contents of the just released DCC #29: The Adventure Begins! as seen here: http://www.goodmangames.com/5028preview.php
One Week Later
Yikes! Has it been a whole week since I posted something here?! Well, I handed in BtS: Antimagic Field and am slowly putting together BtS: The Walls which includes every casters' favorite wall of... spells. Did you know that each of the wall spells was crafted by a different race but at the same time? You'll be able to read about it soon enough!
I've begun work on the first Temporal Digest for Dark Quest by compiling a list of OGC spells from Necromancer's Eldritch Sorcery. This series of pdfs will replace my Behind the Spells work load (although I don't plan on releasing them once per week I can tell you). The TD series will focus on "new" (read OGC) stuff melded with my Temporality concepts and include info for all time periods of gaming (I hope). Looks like I'll have to suck it up and learn some d20Modern now.
This weekend is wide open so I hope to accomplish some writing and reading. After the busyness of last weekend and the agonizingly slow pace of the past work week, it's nice to have a little down time. Oh, and for those interested, Troll Lord Games is having a very good sale--$10 for each book! Check out their newly redesigned site here but be quick because the sale ends soon: http://www.trolllord.com/newsite/
I've begun work on the first Temporal Digest for Dark Quest by compiling a list of OGC spells from Necromancer's Eldritch Sorcery. This series of pdfs will replace my Behind the Spells work load (although I don't plan on releasing them once per week I can tell you). The TD series will focus on "new" (read OGC) stuff melded with my Temporality concepts and include info for all time periods of gaming (I hope). Looks like I'll have to suck it up and learn some d20Modern now.
This weekend is wide open so I hope to accomplish some writing and reading. After the busyness of last weekend and the agonizingly slow pace of the past work week, it's nice to have a little down time. Oh, and for those interested, Troll Lord Games is having a very good sale--$10 for each book! Check out their newly redesigned site here but be quick because the sale ends soon: http://www.trolllord.com/newsite/
Friday, June 16, 2006
Graduates & Dungeon Crawls
No, this isn't the name of a new game I'm developing. It's a brief description for the upcoming weekend. Tomorrow is a trip to Philadelphia for my brother's graduation from Drexel Univ. His degree is in Information Systems (which appears to be a bullshit phrase for "computer stuff"). Sunday is a day of gaming as we return to the Lost Vault of Thazhar Rho" (DCC #2) under Brad's capable DMing. It will be nice for me to play instead of being in the captain's chair. :)
Hoping to get the lion's share of BtS: Antimagic Field completed tonight. Despite being owed a few hundred dollars yet from Dark Quest, I opened discussions with Neal to pen small expansion supplements for Temporality. I've been compiling a list of spells to copy and tweak from Necromancer Games' Eldritch Sorcery. Also plan on developing some new havens and perhaps an adventure or two based on my book.
Hoping to get the lion's share of BtS: Antimagic Field completed tonight. Despite being owed a few hundred dollars yet from Dark Quest, I opened discussions with Neal to pen small expansion supplements for Temporality. I've been compiling a list of spells to copy and tweak from Necromancer Games' Eldritch Sorcery. Also plan on developing some new havens and perhaps an adventure or two based on my book.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Invisibility
The new issue is available here: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=7171 Up next is BtS: Antimagic Field. After that, just half a dozen more until the end. I'm actually looking forward to it (if only to see the finished print product!). I'd also like to pen a few supplements/expansions for Temporality.
I wrote a longer post here earlier but blogger ate it. Suffice it to say that I'm back from pet-/house-sitting (as of Sunday evening) and am happy to get back to business as usual. I'm feeling lazy on my day off today and, while I should write, will likely just go for a hike and read.
I wrote a longer post here earlier but blogger ate it. Suffice it to say that I'm back from pet-/house-sitting (as of Sunday evening) and am happy to get back to business as usual. I'm feeling lazy on my day off today and, while I should write, will likely just go for a hike and read.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Mid-Week Update
Okay, there's not much to say but I felt that I needed to blog something. I'm putting the finishing touches on BtS: Invisibility tonight and must finish it before bed. This is because as of tomorrow I'll be house/petsitting for an older couple about 10 minutes from my place. There dog, Chipper, is very well behaved and I pretty much consider the "job" a kind of vacation. My tour of duty there will be from Thursday through Sunday. The only problem is getting up extra early so I can commute back to Hamburg and prepare for work.
At work today marked the triumphant return of "librarian kid". This is a hell-spawned child from the Chinese eatery two doors up from the drug store. He's been conspicuously absent from my place of business for many months. I learned from Shirley (who owns the herbal store between the drug store and chinese place) that LK is now growing plants and visiting her on an almost daily basis. Today he came into the store for a pair of tweezers, assorted gum and, of all things, women's razors. When Loralee (who was manning the register) informed him the total was upwards of $7, LK did a quick count of the change that had been dumped from his Wolfgang Candy truck tin (which he likely stole from someplace). He then decided he didn't need half of the packs of gum or the tweezers. After paying for the rest and eventually leaving, I said that he would definitely be back. Sure enough, the next person to come through the door was LK. Turns out whoever he bought the razors for didn't want them so he got some money back.
And then the questions started..."Do you have any, ah, things for the car...to make it smell?" Air fresheners, I wondered and asked him as much. He repeated his questioning ramble and I acknowledged it with the same answer, "We don't have any." He then moved over to the Listerine and asked, "What's this for?" I had flashbacks to my last encounter with LK where he asked me what the hell everything cost at the candy counter. I wasn't about to go through something similar with half a grilled cheese sandwich getting cold. So I answered, "That's for your mouth, not your car." He answered, "I know." Then why the fuck did you just ask me, I thought. And then, going against nearly 14 years of faithfully waiting on customers, I turned my back on LK and walked into the back where the rest of my dinner waited.
It worked! LK left the store without further discussion. Now, that may have been mean of me but (despite my having the great amounts of patience) if he thinks he'll be visiting the drug store all summer to get his inane questions answered, he'd better think again.
At work today marked the triumphant return of "librarian kid". This is a hell-spawned child from the Chinese eatery two doors up from the drug store. He's been conspicuously absent from my place of business for many months. I learned from Shirley (who owns the herbal store between the drug store and chinese place) that LK is now growing plants and visiting her on an almost daily basis. Today he came into the store for a pair of tweezers, assorted gum and, of all things, women's razors. When Loralee (who was manning the register) informed him the total was upwards of $7, LK did a quick count of the change that had been dumped from his Wolfgang Candy truck tin (which he likely stole from someplace). He then decided he didn't need half of the packs of gum or the tweezers. After paying for the rest and eventually leaving, I said that he would definitely be back. Sure enough, the next person to come through the door was LK. Turns out whoever he bought the razors for didn't want them so he got some money back.
And then the questions started..."Do you have any, ah, things for the car...to make it smell?" Air fresheners, I wondered and asked him as much. He repeated his questioning ramble and I acknowledged it with the same answer, "We don't have any." He then moved over to the Listerine and asked, "What's this for?" I had flashbacks to my last encounter with LK where he asked me what the hell everything cost at the candy counter. I wasn't about to go through something similar with half a grilled cheese sandwich getting cold. So I answered, "That's for your mouth, not your car." He answered, "I know." Then why the fuck did you just ask me, I thought. And then, going against nearly 14 years of faithfully waiting on customers, I turned my back on LK and walked into the back where the rest of my dinner waited.
It worked! LK left the store without further discussion. Now, that may have been mean of me but (despite my having the great amounts of patience) if he thinks he'll be visiting the drug store all summer to get his inane questions answered, he'd better think again.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Angels & Demons
Some twists I saw coming, some I didn't. This is after just finishing Dan Brown's "prequel" to the DaVinci Code. The ending was certainly more satisfying, that's for sure. I'm pleased Hollywood is also preparing a movie based on this book as well. Mr. Brown can write a good yarn and I feel that I've learned a few things about pacing and working with characters.
In RPG news, another review found its way online today, this one for the first in the Behind the Spells series--Magic Missile: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?cPath=260_283&products_id=5862&reviews_id=13115 Chris (who penned the Temporality review linked below) gives thorough reviews and honest critiques. I'm providing the BtS series to him in order in the hopes he will review the entire run.
In RPG news, another review found its way online today, this one for the first in the Behind the Spells series--Magic Missile: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?cPath=260_283&products_id=5862&reviews_id=13115 Chris (who penned the Temporality review linked below) gives thorough reviews and honest critiques. I'm providing the BtS series to him in order in the hopes he will review the entire run.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Temporality Review #3
Another review for my pride and joy. This pleases me greatly: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_reviews_info.php?products_id=6874&reviews_id=13103
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